Shilpa's newfound fitness mantra?

Friday, November 22, 2013 11:32 IST

Shilpa Shetty has managed to knock off a lot of weight in the past few months

Apart from following a weight loss regime, the actress also does yoga regularly.

She says, `I am an avid believer in the benefits of yoga. My ultimate dream has been wellness of India. During one of my travels abroad, I chanced on this bio-energy stimulation machine technology that actually speeds up the recovery process strengthening the immune system accelerating the healing of wounds. It also helps in cell and bone rejuvenation to deliver over all well being."

Shilpa shared her idea with a known fitness chain and they, too, liked her concept. Now she has decided to unveil it in India.

Says the actress, `In the past six months, I have managed to lose all my baby fat. I am one kilo less than my actual size now. I had to reduce weight after my delivery. I have been working out every day and it is a complete makeover for me.`
By arrangment with Mid-Day.com

Shocking Sunday! Minnows upset title contenders in Premier League

Newcastle United players celebrate their 1-0 win against the Spurs.

With one of the most exciting and unpredictable Premier League season underway, the Super Sunday had three games on the offering for the football fanatics. Four of the title contenders with the likes of Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United and Arsenal were slated for action in a power-packed weekend.

The results for all the games - at least the first two - were expected as one would wonder what can possibly go wrong for the EPL giants Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City against the likes of Newcastle United and Sunderland.

But, the Spurs and Man City were in for a shock rather than a simple surprise as they crumbled against the minnows - placed in the bottom half of the Premier League table.

On one hand, where Andre Villas-Boas' Tottenham lost 0-1 to Alan Pardew's in-form Newcastle United, Manuel Pellegrini's brigade suffered a jolt to their title dream at the hands of Sunderland.

In the first game, Newcastle United - who were high on confidence post their 2-0 win over Chelsea - traveled to the White Hart Lane to lock horns with Tottenham Hotspur.

Pardew retained his match-winning team that stunned Jose Mourinho's Chelsea earlier while Andre Villas-Boas gave in to the pressure of mistreating goalkeeper concussed Hugo Lloris and started the game with Brad Friedel at the post.

Newcastle striker Loic Remy scored the only goal of the game in the first half as The Magpies clinched three points to storm at the ninth spot in the table. The 13th minute goal came after Paulinho was robbed of the ball by Yoan Gouffran, who then slid the ball through for Remy to breeze past Friedel and thump it into an open goal.

Spurs were constantly being bullied by Pardew's invincible wall of defence as the AVB team found themselves restricted to long-range efforts. Newcastle's goal-keeper Tim Krul was the star of the day with magnificent saves throughout the game including a teasing back header from Roberto Soldado.

Spurs lost three crucial points and now find themselves trailing at the seventh spot in the league table.

If the party was foiled at the White Hart Lane, the Stadium of Light was brought to life by Sunderland's emphatic win over the big-spending Manchester City.

Manchester City were in explosive form after running riot against Norwich City with seven goals, while Sunderland were looking for revival after their 1-0 defeat against Hull City earlier.

Man City's Samir Nasri in action against Sunderland on Sunday.

The Blues were expected to continue their fine form against the mediocre Sunderland. But, no one would have expected - especially Pellegrini - that the team placed 19th in the league would stun the 2012 Premier League champions.

Phil Bardsley scored the only goal of the game as Gus Poyet's Sunderland got the better of Pellegrini's star-studded team. Bardsley's goal came in the first half after he shrugged off James Milner and curled in a low shot to take the lead for Sunderland.

The goal appeared controversial with Bardsley nudging James Milner to win a long-ball but the referee thought otherwise. City dominated thereafter but were thwarted by a well-organised defence of the Black Cats.

Pellegrini's substitutions made impact but couldn't get the crucial goal for the team. It was a hard-earned win for Sunderland while City soaked in the pressure of their fourth league defeat of the season.

In the third and undoubtedly the biggest match of the weekend, David Moyes' struggling Manchester United were up against the table leaders Arsenal at the Old Trafford. The clash was crucial for both the teams with Moyes' men looking to get back in form and the Gunners trying to extend their lead at the top.

Similar to the first two games, the third tie also witnessed a surprising result. Arsene Wenger's team were clearly the favourites to win at the Old Trafford considering the kind of form they are in currently.

But, the Gunners were handed a shock defeat by their ex-employee Robin van Persie - who scored the only goal of the game and snatched a win for Manchester United. Van Persie rose to meet a Wayne Rooney corner in the first half to take the lead for the hosts.

Robin van Persie reacts after scoring the goal against Arsenal.

The Gunners were held against the sparkling trio of Rooney, Kagawa and Jones in their first league defeat since the opening day of the season. The Red Devils have now stormed to the fifth spot while the Wenger's men continue to lead at the top with 25 points.

The three encounters on Sunday witnessed the minnows - or in Man Utd's case the unlikely winners - getting the better of their opponents to upset the dream run of Premier League title contenders.

With the unexpected results in the season, the race for the Premier League title is evenly poised as the minnows turn into giant-killers to spoil their party.byy india today.in

Aaron Ramsey steals winner as Arsenal stun Borussia Dortmund in Champions League

Aaron ramsey scored the winner for Arsenal in the 62nd minute of the game.

Borussia Dortmund, last season's runner-up, is in danger of missing the knockout stage of the Champions League after losing 1-0 at home to Arsenal on Wednesday.

Aaron Ramsey's goal with Arsenal's first attempt on goal in the 62nd minute ended Dortmund's run of seven consecutive home wins and dropped Jurgen Klopp's team to third place in Group F with six points from four matches.

Arsenal and Napoli have nine points each, while Marseille is without points after losing 3-2 at Napoli. Dortmund, which lost at Napoli, must beat the Italian club at home to preserve its chances of advancing.

"We still have two matches and everything is possible," said Klopp, who returned to the sidelines after a two-match suspension.

"We created much more today up front and we started well in the second half. But they scored with their first chance of the match and we could not come back. This defeat could have been avoided."

Dortmund had the better chances until Ramsey's goal, but Arsenal was the more dangerous lineup once it had gone in the front. The Premier League leaders have stretched their run to 15 consecutive wins on the road in all competitions.

Arsenal broke the deadlock when Mesut Ozil crossed into the area, Olivier Giroud nodded the ball into the path of Ramsey and the midfielder got ahead of Neven Subotic to head past Roman Weidenfeller.

"Dortmund was the better side in the first half. But after our goal we should have scored another," Arsenal's coach Arsene Wenger said. "Once we were in the lead, we were not so much under pressure."

Dortmund appealed for a penalty in stoppage time were ignored after defender Per Mertesacker pulled down striker Robert Lewandowski.

Dortmund's best chance of the first half came in the 37th but Henrikh Mkhitaryan sent his shot wide when clean through with just Arsenal keeper Wojciech Szczesny to beat. Earlier, Subotic had volleyed wide and Lewandowski also had an effort off the target.

Both teams closed the space and gave little room, although the match had pace.

Szczesny did well to turn away a header by Marco Reus early in the second half, but then Arsenal stunned the home side with Ramsey's goal.

Ramsey nearly doubled the lead two minutes later, but Weidenfeller blocked his point-blank shot. From the corner, Nuri Sahin cleared off the line from Giroud.byy india today.in

Alvaro Negredo's hat-trick fires Man City into UCL's last 16 after 3 seasons

Manchester City won 5-2 against CSKA Moscow.

It's taken three frustrating seasons but Manchester City has finally reached the knockout stage of the Champions League for the first time - and the English team achieved it in style on Tuesday.

Alvaro Negredo scored a hat trick and strike partner Sergio Aguero grabbed the other two goals as City crushed CSKA Moscow 5-2 to guarantee a top-two finish in Group D.

After splashing out hundreds of millions of pounds on big-name players over the past five years, City was desperate to transfer its recent domestic success to the European stage and make a dent in the Champions League.

Roberto Mancini failed to get City out of its group in the past two seasons, though, and was fired. His successor, Manuel Pellegrini, has succeeded at the first time of asking.

"The minimum target was to qualify for the next round but it's not the only target," Pellegrini said. "I'm sure the team we play (in the last 16) will not be very happy to play against us."

Not with Negredo and Aguero in this kind of form.

A debate is raging in England about the Premier League's top strike partnership. Most plump for Luis Suarez-Daniel Sturridge at Liverpool or Robin van Persie-Wayne Rooney at Manchester United, but the Negredo-Aguero combination is giving them a run for their money.

In putting City 2-0 up after a third-minute penalty and a sumptuous turn and shot in the 20th, Aguero became City's leading European scorer with 13 goals and has now scored in six straight games. Negredo made it 3-0 in the 30th minute after tapping in Aguero's teasing cross, slotted home from Samir Nasri's deft lay-off in the 51st for 4-1 and then rounded off a satisfying night for the hosts with a headed goal off the last touch of the game.

"Aguero is in a great moment, not only because he's scoring but because the whole team is playing offensive football and that's important," said Pellegrini, whose side came into the game off a 7-0 thrashing of Norwich in the Premier League on Saturday.

Such was City's swashbuckling attacking play, admittedly up against a feeble CSKA defense, that it almost took the attention away from what was going on in the crowd.

Almost.

The behavior of CSKA fans was under heavy scrutiny in the wake of the first meeting between the sides, a 2-1 win for City two weeks ago that was overshadowed by racist chanting by home supporters that earned the Russian club a partial stadium ban.

A small contingent of CSKA fans traveled to Manchester for the return game and, flanked by a mass of stewards, were constantly barracked by City counterparts over what happened in Moscow. Things didn't boil over - local police said there were no arrests made and no reports of racism - although officers intervened at one stage and appeared to remove at least one fan, while a smoke bomb appeared to go off during the second half.

"We must say thank you to the fans today, they showed the fans of CSKA how to support a team," said City captain Yaya Toure, one of the targets of the racist abuse in Moscow.

As the teams emerged from the tunnel for kickoff, stewards also moved quickly to remove a banner put up by City fans that read "Free Pussy Riot" in reference to a Russian punk band, two members of which are serving prison sentences for an irreverent protest against the country's president, Vladimir Putin.

Back on the pitch, City took charge from the first whistle and Aguero was allowed to continue his free-scoring form after David Silva had his heels clipped.

Aguero slotted the penalty high into the right-hand corner and was then at his brilliant best for his second, spinning marker Aleksei Berezutski with his first touch after receiving a pass from Nasri before giving himself space to curl low into the bottom corner.

It got worse for CSKA, whose failure to press City's midfield was the source of most of the problems. In the 30th, Aguero was given far too much time and space to thread a cross into the box between goalkeeper and defenders, allowing Negredo an easy tap-in at the far post.

However, if there was a blot on the evening, it was the goals City's defense, which has been vulnerable all season, conceded.

Lax defending in first-half injury time saw Pontus Wernbloom feed Seydou Doumbia, who rounded Costel Pantilimon - again preferred to Joe Hart in goal - and tapped into an empty net.

After Negredo scored his second goal, Doumbia became the third player to grab a brace when he sent Pantilimon the wrong way from the spot in the 71st after being bundled over by Gael Clichy.

Negredo had the final say, though, heading in James Milner's cross with the game's last act.

"It's amazing, it's history for the club," Toure said.

All that remains now is the prize of winning Group D, in which Bayern Munich currently has a three-point lead over City. The pair meet on the final matchday.byy india today.in

Real Madrid vs Juventus: Bianconeri fight for survival against Blancos in Champions League

Juventus lost 2-1 against Real Madrid in the first-leg.

Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti can push his former club Juventus and disciple Antonio Conte closer to the Champions League exit door if they win in Turin on Tuesday.

The two teams, who have won the competition 11 times between them, were both expected to comfortably progress from Group B and Tuesday's match was seen initially seen as little more than some early sparring for the knockout rounds.

But, after drawing with Galatasaray and Copenhagen and then losing in 2-1 Madrid two weeks ago, Juventus suddenly find themselves fighting for survival.

Ancelotti is unlikely to admit it but he may gain some grim satisfaction if he can help eliminate his former club.

He had two difficult years at Juventus early in his coaching career, where despite twice leading them to second place in Series A he was sacked on the last day of the 2000-01 season.

Conte, who has led Juventus to two successive Serie A titles, was his swashbuckling captain at the time and has since gone on to become of Europe's top coaches although he has sometimes shown exasperation at his club's lack of financial clout.

A win for Real, whose only previous away win against Juventus was 51 years ago, would send them into the last sixteen with two matches to spare and leave third-placed Juve with only two points from four games.

Should Galatasaray win away to FC Copenhagen in Tuesday's other Group B game, Juventus would find themselves five points behind the Turkish champions with a trip to Istanbul still to come.

WINLESS RUN

Juventus have failed to win their last five Champions League ties, a run which started when they lost both legs of their quarter-final to Bayern Munich last season.

Worryingly, three of those matches have been at home at the Juventus stadium, which the club had hoped to turn into an impenetrable fortress when it was opened two years ago.

On the other hand, they have won their last three Serie A matches without conceding a goal and will be hoping that Real's defence will be caught off guard, having leaked five goals in its last two La Liga outings.

"Real have plenty of strong players up front who sometimes help out less in defensive areas, which puts their backline under pressure," Juventus midfielder Claudio Marchisio said on Sunday.

"We managed to defend well in Spain, enjoy possession and cause them problems."

Juventus will be without defender Giorgio Chiellini, who was sent off at the Bernabeu a fortnight ago, leaving Marchisio as the only survivor from the team which beat Real on their last visit to Turin five years ago.

"Even when down to ten we played an excellent game in terms of our attention and chances created," he said of their last meeting.

"We must do this again on Tuesday night, whilst being cautious of their threat on the counter through the likes of Angel Di Maria, Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale."

"Plus, in Turin, we'll be able to count on the support of our fans, who will provide a red-hot atmosphere at the stadium.

"We haven't had a great deal of time in which to prepare for the game, but encounters like these provide plenty of motivation by themselves."byy india today.in

Chelsea vs Arsenal: Gunners face top-flight rivals in Capital One clash

Arsenal have not won the trophy since 1993.

Arsenal, who suffered a humiliating Capital One (League) Cup quarter-final defeat by fourth tier Bradford City last season, will again rotate their squad when Chelsea visit the Emirates in the last-16 on Tuesday.

Manager Arsene Wenger has used the competition in recent years to blood youngsters and field fringe players and did so when a second-string side edged out West Bromwich Albion in a penalty shootout in the third round.

"I will rotate against Chelsea but play with a team that has a good chance to qualify as well. That will be the target," Wenger told the club's website (www.arsenal.com).

Arsenal have not won the trophy since 1993 when they beat Sheffield Wednesday. They lost to Chelsea in the 2007 final and to Birmingham City at the same stage four years later.

Adding spice to the tie is the Premier League positions of the two clubs, with Arsenal two points clear of their London rivals at the top of the table.

Wenger's team have a tough sequence of games coming up that will test their credentials as title contenders.

Arsenal host third-placed Liverpool in the Premier League on Saturday and then, after travelling to Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League, they take on Manchester United at Old Trafford.

FLYING AGAIN

"You worry about fatigue a little bit but not too much. Sometimes when you play every three days you look tired and then in three days you are flying again. It goes a bit in cycles," Wenger said.

There are four other all-Premier League clashes.

Manchester United, who came back from 2-1 down to beat Stoke City 3-2 on Saturday, should prove too strong for struggling Norwich City at Old Trafford on Tuesday.

On Wednesday, Newcastle United entertain Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur host Hull City again, three days after a 1-0 league victory for the Londoners at White Hart Lane.

Southampton also travel to Sunderland on November 6.

Championship leaders Burnley will fancy their chances of causing an upset when they host West Ham United on Tuesday.

Burnley, who spent one season in the Premier League in 2009-10, have won eight and drawn one of their last nine league games and manager Sean Dyche said Saturday's home victory over promotion rivals Queens Park Rangers was their best performance so far.

Two other second-tier sides welcome Premier League opposition.

Surprise 2011 winners Birmingham, who stunned Arsenal at Wembley with a late Obafemi Martins winner, entertain Stoke while Leicester City, who won the trophy in 1997 and 2000, take on Fulham.byy india today.in

Aamir is fascinated towards tall women?

Wednesday, November 20, 2013 12:15 IST

He may not be very tall himself, but Aamir Khan Tuesday revealed that he enjoys working with actresses who tower over him.

In "Dhoom 3", Aamir will be seen romancing tall and beautiful Katrina Kaif.

"I love tall women and her (Katrina's) heels didn't come in the way," Aamir told reporters at an event to announce Yash Raj Films' association with Mattel to create D:3-inspired limited-edition "Barbie Collector Dolls" based on his and Katrina in "Dhoom 3".

Katrina said heels are not something that one randomly decides to wear. "If it's required you do it or else you don't," she added.

In terms of actresses getting their due in Bollywood, Katrina feels things are changing for good.

"I do see the change ... the change is happening. Actresses are getting their due credit. A lot of womencentric films are being made," she said.

Some of the forthcoming such films are "Dedh Ishqiya", "Gulaab Gang" and "Mary Kom".
By arrangment with Mid-Day.com