SPORT

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THE HINDU THURSDAY, DECEMBER 31, 2015

Leicester frustrates Man City

Ronaldos brace
downs Sociedad
Cristiano Ronaldo
scored twice and missed a penalty as Real Madrid eased the
pressure on under-fire coach
Rafael Benitez by moving to the
top of La Liga with a 3-1 win
over Real Sociedad.
Ronaldo recovered from a
terrible start, after blasting his
first penalty of the day over the
bar, to put Madrid in front from
another spot-kick just before
half-time. Bruma levelled for an
injury-hit Sociedad minutes after the break, but Ronaldo delivered when his side needed a
goal once more to restore the
lead 23 minutes from time before Lucas Vasquez added a late
third.
Rumours over Benitezs future refuse to go away after a
disappointing first six months
in charge at the Bernabeu with
the former Liverpool boss even
claiming on Tuesday that there
was a media conspiracy against
him. However, Madrid had
scored 22 goals in its previous
three games at home and was
only denied another flying start
by Geronimo Rulli.
The results: Levante 0 lost to Malaga 1 (Duda 79); Real Madrid 3 (Ronaldo 42-pen, 67, Vazquez 87) bt Real
Sociedad 1 (Bruma 49).

MADRID:

The Foxes bounce back with goalless draw, maintains their surprise title challenge
LEICESTER: Manchester City was

frustrated again on the road as

Leicester bounced back from
defeat at Liverpool with a 0-0
draw that maintained its surprise Premier League title
challenge.
Leicester had to withstand a
barrage of first-half pressure
from the visitors but it held
firm for the point that took it
level with Arsenal at the top of
the table.
The Foxes grew in confidence after half-time and
could have snatched another
major scalp in their extraordinary season.
Manchester City is without a
win in six Premier League
away games but boss Manuel
Pellegrini will take heart from
a dominant performance before half-time.
Leicester abandoned its normal 4-4-2 system and started
with Gokhan Inler as an extra
midfielder alongside NGolo
Kante and the returning Danny
Drinkwater, who was back
from a hamstring injury.
Shinji Okazaki and Andy
King were the men to make

way while City brought back

Sergio Aguero in place of Wilfried Bony.
The visitors made all of the
early running and exploited
their hosts repeatedly down
the flanks.
Wasting chances
Pellegrinis men wasted several decent crossing opportunities before Leicester almost
struck a blow against
the run of play. Inler
was fouled 25 yards
from goal and Christian Fuchs free-kick
was headed over by
Robert Huth.
But
Manchester
City was the more likely scorer
and it should have made the
breakthrough when Raheem
Sterling burst down the right
and squared for Kevin De
Bruyne.
He hit a firm shot but it was
pushed away solidly by Kasper
Schmeichel in the home goal.
Leicester had been pinned
back in its own half with
striker Jamie Vardy isolated
for lengthy spells. But Riyad

Mahrez, his goal-scoring partner in crime, nearly made the

most of a slip by Nicolas Otamendi and tried a curling shot
from an angle that dipped just
over.
Manchester City came
again, however, and Schmeichel came to the rescue once
more when he pushed away a
decent shot from Sterling.
The pair was engaged in a
personal battle and
Schmeichel
succeeded again on 32
minutes when he
pushed a left-footed
effort by Sterling
over the bar.
After withstanding waves of pressure, Leicester should twice have led in the
40th minute. First Fuchss
cross from the left eluded
Marc Albrighton at the far post
by inches.
Then Fernandinho gifted
possession to Jamie Vardy,
who exchanged passes with
Drinkwater on the edge of the
box before blasting over.
Aguero should have given
the visitors the lead a minute

Robins absence may

hurt Indias chances

into the second half when he

arrived at the near post to meet
a De Bruyne cross.
But Leicester, which had
squandered possession cheaply, was reprieved when the Argentine sent a cheeky chip
over the crossbar.
Albrighton sent a shot into
the side netting from a tough
angle after a smart pass by
Mahrez as Ranieris men grew
in confidence.
But they almost fell behind
when Otamendi met a corner
from De Bruyne with a firm
header that forced Schmeichel
into another good save.
With momentum behind it,
Leicester sent on Leonardo Ulloa for Inler as it went on the
attack.
It almost paid off instantly as
Ulloas decoy run allowed
Vardy to collect Drinkwaters
pass, but he shot straight at Joe
Hart in the Manchester City
goal.
Later Hart had to make a
good, flying save to keep out a
thunderous shot from Fuchs
following a short corner by the
Foxes. AFP

MR. RELIABLE: Manchester Citys Nicolas Otamendi (left), in captain Vincent Kompany's absence,
kept Jamie Vardy quiet. PHOTO: REUTERS

TENNIS

Consistency is going to be Corics big challenge: Maclagan

S. DIPAK RAGAV
CHENNAI: He worked with Andy

Murray between 2007 and 2010

a phase which saw the Scot
make two Grand Slam finals.
Since then he has worked with
the likes of Laura Robson and
Sam Stosur.
Now, it is the upcoming Borna Coric that Miles Maclagan
has turned his attentions to.
In his relatively short career
so far, the Croat already has
beaten the likes of Rafael Nadal
(Basel 2014), and Murray (Dubai 2015), and is in the city for
his second tilt at the Aircel
Chennai Open.
Asked if Coric had it in him to
take that big leap and fulfill his
promise, Maclagan said: He is
ambitious, works really hard
and has shown that he can beat

the likes of Nadal and Murray.

The big challenge for him now
is to do that consistently.
In the last two years, Coric
has made a huge leap from being ranked outside 300 to reach
the top-50 in the ATP rankings.
Now ranked 44, Coric is the
youngest player in the top-50.
Speaking about the specific
areas they have been working
on, Maclagan said: The top
guys have some big weapons
and you need to develop that to
survive at the highest level.
Guys like Federer and Djokovic
have very good serves and that
is a key area.
Speaking about Murray and
his transformation over the last
few years, Maclagan said: He
is playing more aggressive tennis and coming up to the net a
lot more. His serve has become

become a big weapon now.

Since their split, Murray has
won two Slams under Ivan
Lendls tutelage before hiring
Amelie Mauresmo as his coach.
Maclagan said he too was
surprised by the decision.
I dont know if they knew
each other well. It was a surprise because you dont naturally think of a woman.
But he played the best tennis of his career this year even
though he did not win a Slam.
So it is great that it is working
well, he said.
Maclagan is Corics third
coach in over a year after Zeljko Krajan and Thomas Johansson. Corics tendency to
change coaches is not something Maclagan is overly worried about.
The key thing is you have to

SEEKING SYNERGY: Miles Maclagan (right) says Borna Coric has

already shown that he has the ability to pull off big wins but is in
need of a big weapon to survive at the highest level.
PHOTO: R. RAGU

see the game the same way. Also, it is a big commitment for a
coach to travel, and you wont

WRESTLING

Ive always enjoyed

coming to Chennai:
Wawrinka

Kadian tames
Khatri

CHENNAI: Two-time Grand Slam cham-

India captain Sunil Chetri enjoys a recovery session with his teammates. PHOTO: PTI

VIJAY LOKAPALLY

M.R. PRAVEEN CHANDRAN

NEW DELHI: Satyavrat Kadians superb performance against the fancied Mausam
Khatri in the title bout of the 97 kg category was the highlight of the second and
penultimate day of the National wrestling championship at the KD Jadhav
Hall here on Wednesday.
Kadian had lost the last four bouts between the two with the defeat in the Pro
Wresting League being the latest. I had
no fear of losing, was how Kadian described his approach against a reputed
opponent.
Known to be a defensive wrestler, Kadian did not hold himself back and his
aggression from the start carried him
past the challenge of Khatri. There was
little to choose between the two but Kadians spirit to dominate helped the Railways wrestler to tame his Services rival.
In another surprise result, Vinod of
Services overcame Amit Dhankar of Haryana in the 70 kg final while Sakshi Malik won her bout on expected lines in the
final of the womens 60 kg category.
The medallists: Men: Freestyle: 61 kg:
Gold: Rahul Aware (Rly); Silver: Pradeep Kumar
(Ser); Bronze: Harful (Ser) and Utkarsh Kale
(Mah); 70 kg: Gold: Vinod (Ser), Silver: Amit
Dhankar (Har), Bronze: Vishal Singh (Pun) and
Pankaj Rana (Ser); 97 kg: Gold: Satyavrat Ka-

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:
After
holding back his aces against
Afghanistan, Maldives coach
Herbert Lloyd hopes to catch
host India by surprise when
the two sides meet in the first
semifinal of the SAFF Suzuki
Cup at the Greenfield Stadium
here on Thursday.
But Lloyds team will be
hoping that history doesnt repeat itself given the island nations poor record against India in the SAFF championship.
Maldives has beaten India only
once in the history of the
championship.
But India, on a rebuilding
process, has been inconsistent
and Maldives is hoping to exploit it.
We are delighted to reach
the semifinals and it was one of
our goals before we came here.
We are up against a strong and
good Indian side.
They are ranked higher
than us and they have won this
tournament more than anyone

else. Our record against them

is not so good but we are hoping to change it, said the Kiwi.
The 30-year-old captain
Ashfaq Ali is Maldives trump
card. The striker has been
among goals in the tournament. Lloyd held him back
against Afghanistan and fielded him only towards the end of
the match.

SAFF CUP

will be a loss. Robin has been

terrific for us. Youngsters
should grab this opportunity,
he said.
Constantine said Maldives
was a good settled all-round
side. It will be a tough match
for us. They have been impressive in this tournament and
they have a good coach. They
are highly organised and good
in attacking department, said
the coach.

It was a plan. I wanted to

have a look at our bench
strength. I am pleased with the
way we played against Afghanistan though we conceded
some soft goals. But the experience will keep us in good stead
when we play against India.
We hope not to repeat the
same mistakes, he added.
The New Zealander said
Robin Singhs absence will
hurt India but said the host has
enough firepower to trouble
his side.
India coach Constantine
agreed that strikers absence

Tough task
Sri Lanka faces an arduous
task of reining in a well-oiled
Afghanistan side.
The defending champion
has been a class apart in this
tournament and has scored the
highest number of goals (11) in
the tournament.
Captain Fayas Shayesteh
was confident that his team
will make the final. Though he
acknowledged the oppositions defending capabilities,
the 24-year-old said his team
will not abandon its attacking
style of play.

get to know this until you start

working. So sometimes it
doesnt work, MacLagan said.

FORCING INTO SUBMISSION: Gaurav Sharma (right) proved his class against Manjit in
the Greco-Roman 59kg final. PHOTO: SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR

dian (Rly), Silver: Mausam Khatri (Har), Bronze:

Sunil Kumar (ser) and Rubaljit Singh (Pun).
Greco-Roman: 59 kg: Gold: Gaurav Sharma
(Ser), Silver: Manjit (Cht), Bronze: Manoj (Har)
and Sandeep (Ben); 71 kg: Gold: Manjeet (Har),
Silver: Mohd Rafiq (Kar), Bronze: Aditya Kundu
(Pun) and Shri Bhagwan (Har); 130 kg: Gold: Navin (Ser), Silver: Mehar Singh (Har), Bronze: Ra-

vi (Chan) and Ajay Kumar (Ser).

Women: 53 kg: Gold: Vinesh Phogat (Rly),
Silver: Mamta Rani (Goa), Bronze: Sheetal (UP)
and Seema (Har); 60 kg: Gold: Sakshi Malik
(Rly), Silver: Manisha (Har), Bronze: Babita
(UP) and Anita (Har); 69 kg: Gold: Navjot Kaur
(Rly), Silver: Geetika (Har), Bronze: Rajni (UP)
and Pinki (Del).

pion Stan Wawrinka will be back in the

city to defend his title at the Aircel
Chennai Open 2016, beginning on January 4.
Speaking about the season-opening
tournament, Wawrinka said, Ive always enjoyed coming to Chennai. The
tournament is a nice way to start the
season, the fans are great and I like the
atmosphere in the stadium. Of course, I
would love to defend my title, but I will
have to go match by match.
On winning the French Open final,
Wawrinka said, For sure winning Roland Garros was my biggest win. This
title means so much to me.
I played an amazing final against
Novak and Im very proud of my performance. Adding a second Grand
Slam title to my career, this time with
wins over the world number 1 and 2
was just amazing.
On his coach Magnus Norman, and
how he has helped improve his game,
Wawrinka said Magnus is a great person. Hes very natural and he was a
great player himself so he knows how it
feels to step on a crowded centrecourt
or to be in a Grand Slam final.
I saw how he worked with Robin
Soderling and had a feeling that he
could be the right coach for me.
Special Correspondent

VARIETY
THE HINDU CROSSWORD 11588
1

The Phantom
7

9
10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20
21

22

23

24

26

25

27

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29

Across

1 Spot around dock is wet (6)

4 Excellent squash Carols
sipping (8)
10 Old husband sterile, wife
unhappy? (9)
11 One caught in stampede
about to suffer (5)
12 Teacher expressing
annoyance at four
CM
YK

regular absentees (5)

13 Abbess having love, first for
church say (9)
14 Sunday's fight is tough (5)
16 Birds often returned to exact
locality (8)
19 Son takes regular care to
clean yachts grating (8)
20 Outgoing men always find
excitement (5)

23 undressed, or nude and

promiscuous (9)
24 Difficult chore to obtain this
pigment (5)
26 Lawless regions out of
control (5)
27 Guy to run campaign against
King is a radical (5,4)
28 Ask girl in brown to get
painters equipment (5,3)
29 Execute and bury
Englishman in grave (6)
Down

1 Man wearing small hat used

for covering (6)
2 Start working with group (5)
3 We got involved in arranging
notary for poet as a proxy
legal authority (5,2,8)
5 Memory aid for irresponsible
men forgetting Monicas
article (8)
6 Son feels uptight resulting in
a verbal bloomer (4,2,3,6)
7 Reward money I have after
getting elected (9)
8 Member wearing men's
clothing (8)

9 Joint operation mounted

to get animal (5)
15 Row about bowler getting
run out got hoarser (9)
17 Without question,
nonconformist art uses
drawing tools (1, 7)
18 Wave hanky out expressing
gratitude (5,3)
21 Quietly leaving stage in
shame (5)
22 Became weak having
climaxed? (6)
25 Gardening tool found outside
Americans home (5)

Solution to puzzle 11587

A
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TW
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A T S Y O U R
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A RMA M E
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A N D E U R
T
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L
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G
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F I G H T
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FAITH

SU | DO | KU

The greatest gift

for mankind
A story in the Kausitaki Upanishad teaches the essence of
Atma Jnana in a novel way. Indra once seeks the help of
Pratardana, a king of Kasi noted for his valour, in his fight
against the asuras. Indra is pleased with his fighting skills
and effort and wishes to grant him a boon. Pratardana wishes
Indra to choose the boon for him, a boon that would be most
beneficial and also most pleasing for mankind. Indra then
decides that only Brahmopadesam would be fitting in this
context. He tells Pratardana: Understanding me only. That
is what I deem the most beneficial for mankind.
Though this is a baffling statement, interpreters point out
that Indra speaks from his Sastra Drishti, the Aham
Brahmasmi standpoint of realisation, said Sri Mani Dravid
Sastrigal in a discourse. He then speaks from the perspective
of a celestial godhead and makes a long list of the wrongs he
has done. He has killed the purohit who officiated on behalf
of the celestials; offered the heads of the sanyasis who did
not know the Upanishads to the wolves; and so on and so
forth. But he is unaffected by all these acts. It is shown that
because of his Brahma Jnana, he is the akartha, a non-doer.
Krishna reinforces the truth that a tyagi who does his karma
without attachment, who understands that he is not the doer
of the acts, will be free from the consequences of his acts.
One may wonder why Indra chose to describe only the
wrong deeds he had done. Perhaps this has a more powerful
effect than naming good deeds when one has to drive home
the point that Atma Jnana leads to the supreme wisdom that
frees one from the delusion of egotism. One is not affected
by good or evil deeds anymore.

A mind game and a

puzzle that you solve
with reasoning and
logic. Fill in the grid with
digits in such a manner
that every row, every
column and every 3x3
box accommodates the
digits 1 to 9, without
repeating any. The
solution to yesterdays
puzzle is at left.
HY-HY