We are leaving no stone unturned for Olympic qualifiers: Sandeep Singh

Having missed the qualification for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Sandeep Singh, one of only two players in the current Indian squad to have represented the country at the Olympics is well aware of the side-effects of another failure and is leaving no stone unturned to ensure that the team does not miss the bus for a second consecutive edition, writes Mail Today.

With France, Canada, Singapore, Italy and Poland in fray in the men's Olympic qualifier that begins on February 18, most of the players in the Indian squad are unfamiliar with the opposition they will face and are trying to find every possible detail about the other teams.

“I have played against France, Canada and Poland while I have never played against Italy and Singapore. But the set-up of most of the teams have changed so it is better to know beforehand what exactly is coming at you,” said Sandeep.

Meanwhile, the men's final at the 31st PSPB inter-unit table tennis tournament on Tuesday was a repeat of the National championship, except that the winner this time was different and so were the celebrations, writes The Times Of India. Sharath Kamal, representing IOCL, beat the new national champion Amalraj 11-8, 11-9, 7-11, 5-11, 13-11, 11-5 to mark his supremacy. "Everyone wanted me to win so I went all out in an aggressive mode. In the third game the feeling of superiority got to my head and I forgot my lines," Sharath said, adding, "I needed a wake-up call after the nationals. I gave him more time to attack in the nationals but today I played my natural game."

According to a new research whose findings are expected before the London Olympics could suggest that as many as 1 in 10 athletes who compete internationally may be doping, the World Anti-Doping Agency warns. Accepted wisdom until now, drawn from annual testing statistics, was that "maybe between 1 and 2 percent of athletes who are tested are cheating," WADA director general David Howman said.