Malaysia Open: Saina advances; Sameer exits

Kuala Lumpur: India's Saina Nehwal advanced to the second round but Sameer Verma and the mixed doubles pair of Pranaav Jerry Chopra and Sikki Reddy exited the Malaysia Open badminton championships in the opening round. Saina got past Hong Kong's Yip Pui Yin 21-12, 21-16 in 42 minutes in the first round to set up a clash against Japanese second seed Akane Yamaguchi, who defeated Indonesian Dinar Dyah Ayustine 17-21, 21-12, 21-13. Verma lost 21-13, 21-5 to Indonesia's Tommy Sugiarto.   

New Delhi
A first in Indian cricket: DDCA comes under RTI Act       

Mired in controversies for decades, the Delhi & Districts Cricket Association (DDCA) today made a giant stride towards transparency by becoming the first BCCI affiliated unit to come under the Right to Information (RTI) Act. The five-member RTI cell of DDCA will be headed by Public Information Officer (PIO) Pradeep Kumar Banerjee. There will be two appellate authorities -- the CEO, who is expected to be appointed after the elections, and the president of the executive committee.  An Ethics Officer and an Ombudsman will also be a part of the committee. — Agencies