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Two hockey coaches sacked after Holland disaster

          New Delhi: In the aftermath of India's dismal showing in the four-nation hockey tournament in Holland, the Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) on Tuesday sacked two of the coaches. The two members of the current Indian support staff -- assistant coach Harendra Singh and goalkeeping coach M R Negi -- would make way for Olympian Jagbir Singh and Dutch expert Frank Leictre, IHF president Gill told a press conference here. "Jagbir would assist chief coach Rajinder Singh," Gill said while rejecting the view that the new staff would hardly have any time to bring about improvements in the team. "The time is sufficient," Gill said.

Maria Sharapova's sugar daddy revealed (Go To Top)

          London: Wimbledon's latest star Maria Sharapova reportedly has a millionaire mentor who financed her. Mark Fisher, 44, a business tycoon, is said to have spotted Maria's talent at a tennis academy where his children also played, and immediately agreed to help her. "He's like a sugar daddy, but without any sex involved," The Sun quoted a source as saying. "He is her mentor and a father figure," he added. Fisher, however, denies that he is the man who paved the way for Sharapova's success.

PCB has mentally tortured me: Shoaib Akhta(Go To Top)

          Lahore: It seems there is no end to the ongoing spat between Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). The latest salvo was fired by Shoaib on Monday, when accused the PCB brass of mentally torturing him into "submitting" to its " discipline diktats". Speaking to reporters after joining the Asia Cup training camp here, Shoaib said that his credentials as a player wanting to play for Pakistan could not be questioned, as he hadn't thought twice about canceling out on an over 10 million rupee contract with Durham to return home in time for the Asia Cup in Sri Lanka. "I have a contract of Rs.10.25 million with Durham which I set aside to appear in the Asia Cup," the Dawn quoted the enigmatic pacer as saying after his training session at the Qadhafi Stadium here. "I have never been short on commitment and will prove this in the coming Asia Cup. People alleged that I play county cricket for money but I have returned home for national duty and do not care about financial losses," Shoaib said. Shoaib, the last of the 26 probables to report at the camp, said that although the PCB attitude towards him in the past gave him mental torture yet he was ready to play for Pakistan, though he still wasn't completely fit. He also said that he had great confidence in the abilities of new team coach Bob Woolmer, who also knew his psyche. "I know Woolmer has special tactics to deal with the fast bowlers and I hope I will enjoy my game under him," he remarked.

'Datasaver' will recover entire PC after crash in 30 minutes (Go To Top)

           Singapore: A new device called `Datasaver' reportedly has the ability to recover an entire PC or system in three simple steps after a crash. According to The Straits Times, Digital Artifact, the team that created the `Datasaver' said that it not only backs up data but also recovers it. It can restore a system to what it was before a virus attack or blackout brought it down, right down to putting desktop icons in the same place. Company spokesman Jason Lim said that the hi-tech device will also allow a company to restart and be back in business in as little as 30 minutes. The `DataSaver' is available in four different capacities. The entry-level DS0250 has 250GB of disk space, supports between three and 10 PCs in an office and costs 4,800 dollars.