| Ashley Force Hood copes with steamy conditions in Charlotte Our race in Charlotte was very interesting as far as points. The conditions were some of the hottest we have had to race in so a lot of cars ... rssfeeds.usatoday.com |
Under Armour signs Ravens WR Boldin to endorsement deal Under Armour Inc. said Monday it signed Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Anquan Boldin to an endorsement deal. (UA) feeds.bizjournals.com |
Commonwealth Games 2010: Penalties cost Vijender Singh place in final • England's Anthony Ogogo edges middleweight favourite• Five gold medals up for grabs for England's boxersThere was a sense of shock and scandal at the boxing arena tonight. The Indian national pin-up Vijender Singh lost in the semi-finals to England's Anthony Ogogo. Singh is the No1 ranked amateur middleweight in the world, and one of the biggest names at these Games. Ogogo failed to land a single scoring punch in the fight, but won 4-3 after the referee twice penalised Singh for fouls in the final round.As the bell went, the packed crowd of 2,500 rose to their feet and howled in furious protest at the result. Ogogo skipped up and down and blew them kisses. Singh's coach said afterwards that Indian Boxing Federation had lodged an appeal, arguing that Ogogo had also committed a foul but was not punished. Their case was rejected."He is the Indian Beckham," grinned Ogogo afterwards, "and I have proved to be his achilles heel. He was doing illegal things. You can't hold and you can't put your head down and you can't perform illegal moves, what he was doing was foulplay and he got penalised for it."Singh had been leading 1-0 after the first two rounds. The first two penalty points were awarded against him because he was holding Ogogo, and the second set came because he was pushing his opponent's head down.He was warned on both occasions. Not that that appeased the Indian fans. When Singh won the bronze at Beijing in 2008 he became the first Indian boxer to win an Olympic medal. Since then he has been awarded the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, the country's highest award for achievement in sport. His popularity skyrocketed after his appearances on a series of TV game shows.But then Ogogo knows a little about show business himself, having done a stretch on Big Brother back in 2008. "It was a shame the fight wasn't in a neutral place," he insisted with a grin, "because I'm sure I would have won it outright without the added points."I think plenty of right hands were going through, a few short hooks were getting in and they weren't registering on the scoreboard."There was already a lot of bad feeling about the English team among the home fans. Earlier in the day Liverpool's Tom Stalker had beaten another Indian, Jai Bhagwan, in the lightweight semi-finals. Again, Stalker benefited from two lots of penalty points, though he was also penalised himself for throwing a low blow.There were two more defeats for Indian boxers at the hands of a pair of Northern Irishmen. Paddy Barnes fought brilliantly to beat Amandeep Singh 5-0 in their flyweight semi-final, and Patrick Gallagher survived a frantic final round onslaught from Dilbag Singh in the welterweight semi.The only Indian boxer to make it through his semi was Suranjoy Singh, who beat Amir Khan's brother Haroon 9-3. For England Khan is the one who got away. He opted to box for Pakistan because he was disaffected with the English set-up. Disappointed as he was to lose, he said he had done what he came to Delhi to do."There's not one British boxer in my weight category that's going to get a medal now, so I think I've proved my point to the selectors. I'd love to see [the GB boxing head coach] Rob McCracken right now and say to him, 'Look, it's in your face now. I've got a medal and I should have got that medal for England'."McCracken will not be too bothered by that. Five of the boxers in his England team have made the finals. The light welterweight Bradley Saunders beat Mauritious' Louis Colin 10-7, and in the next division up Callum Smith won 4-3 against Carl Hield of the Bahamas, landing the winning blow with two seconds left on the clock.The heavyweight Simon Vallily had a walkover, after his opponent pulled out before the fight. The finals are all on Wednesday. One thing is certain – after what happened today, none of the English boxers should expect anything but boos and jeers from the crowd.Commonwealth Games 2010BoxingAndy Bullguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Dwyane Wade gets day in court in child custody battle Testifying for the first time in a case for custody of his children, Dwyane Wade denied on Friday a slew of allegations made by ex-wife Siohvaughn ... rssfeeds.usatoday.com |
Boise State trumps Louisiana Tech for 21st consecutive win Kellen Moore threw two touchdown passes and caught another on a trick play, helping No. 2 Boise State beat Louisiana Tech 49-20 on Tuesday night ... rssfeeds.usatoday.com |