Sunday, August 30, 1998
today's calendar
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S P O R T | Sunday, August 30, 1998 |
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President
honours sportspersons Davenport
eyeing breakthrough at US Open Jones
asserts dominance |
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 President K.R. Narayanan awarded the Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Trophy to Dr Inder Pal Singh, Pro Vice-Chancellor of Guru Nanak Dev University in an investiture ceremony held at Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi, on Saturday
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World
Cup win next target, says Sachin Novotna
advances to final Superb
double ton by Jayasuriya Top
seeds move into semis Sports scribe Govindarajan dies in mishap |
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President honours sportspersons NEW DELHI, Aug 29 (PTI) — Cricketer Sachin Tendulkar was the cynosure of all eyes as President K.R. Narayanan today gave away the prestigious Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, Dronacharya and Arjuna Awards at a glittering function in the Ashoka Hall of Rashtrapati Bhavan. The 25-year-old Tendulkar, with wife Anjali among the audience, received thunderous applause when he walked up as the first awardee of the day to receive the Khel Ratna, the highest sporting honour of the country comprising a medal, scroll of honour and a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh. In a rare gesture, the President himself unrolled the scroll before presenting it to Tendulkar, who had dashed in from Adelaide after participating in the the 90th birthday celebrations of Australian cricket legend Sir Donald Bradman. Twentyone sportspersons, including cricketers Saurav Ganguly and Ajay Jadeja, former India goalkeeper Brahmanand and woman weightlifter Neelamsetti Laxmi were presented with the Arjuna Award, comprising a bronze statuette of Arjuna, scroll of honour and a cash prize of Rs 50,000. Special approbation was accorded to paraplegic pistol shooter Naresh Kumar Sharma who walked on crutches to collect the Arjuna Award. Veteran athletic coach Joginder Singh Saini received the Dronacharya Award for coaching excellence comprising a statuette of Dronacharya, scroll and cash prize of Rs 75,000. Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, was awarded the Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Trophy for all-round excellence among varsities, for the 13th time since it was set up in 1956-57. Others who received the Arjuna Award included footballer Brahmanand S.K. Shankhwalkar, golfer Harmeet Kahlon, hockey Olympians Harmik Singh, Rajinder Singh and Surinder Singh Sodhi, kabaddi player Randhir Singh, shooters Satendra Kumar and Shilpi Singh, woman squash player Misha Grewal, paddler Chetan P. Baboor, tennis player Asif Ismail, woman weightlifter Neelam Laxmi and her male counterpart Paramjit Sharma, wrestlers Jagdish Singh and Sanjay Kumar besides paraplegic sportsmen M. Mahadeva. Tendulkar, who reached here straight from Adelaide after an emotional meeting with Sir Bradman savoured equally touching moments here on the occasion of the "National Sports Day" to mark the birth anniversary of hockey wizard Dhyan Chand. The President spoke a few words to the world’s best batsman before handing over the award. Tendulkar is the seventh overall to receive the award and the first cricketer. While Jadeja and Ganguly were cheered lustily, loud applause was reserved for Laxmi, 24, the world and Asian Games medal winner. Mr Narayanan, later, had the customary group photograph session with the awardees. Later, veteran athletic coach Joginder Singh Saini said the Dronacharya Award he received from the President today had "come at the right time". The 68-year-old former national coach who has guided number of athletes in a coaching career spanning three decades said it was a happy feeling that his services have been recognised. Saini said the Indian athletic scene was once again looking up after going through a low and pointed to India’s hearty performance at the recent Asian meet at Fukuoka as a pointer. "We were passing through a low in the last eight years. But this is a cycle which all countries go through," he said. The future was also quite bright. "Gulab Chand the 5000 m silver winner at Fukuoka came up as a junior in ’92 and 94 and has made his mark in the seniors now. There are many more in the junior ranks who will shine either in this Asian Games (at Bangkok in December) or the next," he added. Cricketers Saurav Ganguly and Ajay Jadeja were happy to receive the Arjuna Awards. "It is a nice honour. But I was confident I would be selected this year," said Ganguly, who has formed one of the best opening pairs in the game with Sachin Tendulkar. Naresh Kumar Sharma, the paraplegic shooter, was all equanimity. "It is recognition by the people. But nothing happens if I get it, or if I had not," the 26-year-old pistol shooter who won two gold medals at the German Open meet last week to add to his other exploits said. Former national long jump and heptathlon champion Reeth Abraham was the only athlete among the 21 Arjuna Award winners for the year 1997, adds UNI. Reeth, at present, runs a coaching centre "Sure" with her husband Sunil Abraham in Bangalore. The centre has produced some very promising athletes. Tennis player Asif Ismail after receiving the award said he was feeling on the "top of the world" and added "I have decided to start playing again. I will take part in the domestic circuit and in the ATP tournaments". Veteran weightlifters Paramjit Sharma and N. Laxmi said they have been rewarded for their hard work. "Every Indian sportspersons dream is to receive the Arjuna Award," they added. National table tennis champion and Olympian Chetan P. Baboor said it was a great honour to be conferred the Arjuna Award,’’ I am very thrilled’’. Former hockey captain Harmeek Singh said he was surprised when he learnt that he was selected for the award. Tennis player Asif Ismail said he was feeling on top of the world while shooter Satendra Singh said the award will motivate him to earn more laurels for the country. The youngest award winner,
18-year-old Shilpi Singh said she was confident of
bringing glory for the country. "The award will help
me to work hard for more medals," she added. |
Davenport eyeing breakthrough at US Open NEW YORK, Aug 29 (Reuters) — For the first time in more than a decade there is no clear women’s favourite coming into the US Open Tennis Championships, providing a perfect opening for Lindsay Davenport to step up and make her Grand Slam breakthrough. Two years ago, the nearly 6-foot, 3-inch California girl rode into the US Open with an Olympic gold medal round her neck and high expectations. But in 1996, Steffi Graf was the dominant force in women’s tennis and the German star’s coronation as five-time champion was a mere formality. Last year Davenport, coming off another solid summer on the hardcourts, was again touted as a US Open contender. But the absent Graf seemed to have passed her aura of invincibility on to young Martina Hingis in 1997 and the new number one romped to her third Grand Slam title of the year. This time around, however, Graf is still struggling to find her big game following last year’s knee surgery and assorted physical setbacks. Hingis, although still number one, has come back to earth and, despite having added her second Australian Open crown in January, the Swiss phenom is without a title since early May. As the year’s final Grand Slam event gets underway on Monday, the hottest player on the increasingly competitive WTA circuit is Davenport. Her ranking is higher (2), her weight is lower, and her game is the best it’s ever been heading into a major championship. "Who knows if it is this year," Davenport shrugged last week, fending off the annual questions about whether she was ready to claim her nation’s most important tennis title. "I feel great, I’m playing great and I’m in the best shape I’ve been in, but I’m still only 22," she said, adding an escape clause. "I would like to say that this is the one, but hopefully I will have many more years to say that." The white-hot Davenport, currently putting the final touches on her US Open preparation at this week’s New Haven tournament, is coming off three consecutive hardcourt titles in her home state. She beat Venus Williams in the Palo Alto final, took out Mary Pierce the following Sunday in San Diego and added an exclamation point to her run by outlasting Hingis in three sets in the final at Manhattan Beach. Still, Davenport is well aware that to make her mark in her chosen profession, she needs to start winning the "majors". "If you look at the resumes, every player is kind of measured by the Grand Slams and if they have ever won a Grand Slam," Davenport acknowledged. She insists that she is pointed in the right direction. "At this point last year, I had never been to a semifinal at a Grand Slam, so I have definitely made some strides." Davenport fell to Hingis in last year’s US Open semifinals and has since reached the final four at the Australian and French Opens. Since the mid-1980’s there has always been one player head and shoulders above the rest when the US Open came around — Martina Navratilova, Graf, Monica Seles, then Graf again and last year Hingis. When any other player came in to grab the title, such as Gabriela Sabatini in 1990 or Arantxa Sanchez Vicario in 1994, it seemed a stunning upset. "This year I would consider it fairly wide open," said Davenport, accurately handicapping the field. "Martina Hingis is number one, but this time last year she had won two of them and she was probably the odds-on favourite to win it," Davenport continued. "But you could go down the list. I can tell you eight players who could win it, legitimately win it, and in the past you didn’t have that." With her stunning run to last year’s final, Venus Williams announced herself a force to be reckoned with in women’s tennis. Her consistently high level of play this year could signal her readiness to take the next step. Jana Novotna finally got the Grand Slam monkey off her back and is riding such a high from winning Wimbledon she may just feel like making it two in a row. Sanchez Vicario, who looked washed up last year, rebounded in a big way by winning her third French Open and is now back up to fourth in the world. Graf and Seles, with seven US Open titles between them, are also high on Davenport’s list. Graf, who sat out last year, has not lost a US Open match since the 1994 final. But Davenport proved this
long, hot summer that she now has the strokes and the
stamina to sustain top level play over two weeks on the
punishing hardcourts. |
World Cup win next target, says Sachin NEW DELHI, Aug 29 (PTI) — Sachin Tendulkar today set his sights on spurring India to triumph in next year’s cricket World Cup in England and to provide ‘more consistency’ to his batting exploits. "Winning the World Cup would mean everything to me, the Indian team and the entire country. That’s what we’re all focussed on at the moment,’ the world’s best batsman told ‘Star News’ in an interview to be telecast tomorrow. His idea of perfect batsmen were West Indian Viv Richards and Sunil Gavaskar. "For aggressive batting, there was always Richards. When it comes to defensive technique there is none better than Gavaskar," he said. Tendulkar, who met Sir Donald Bradman on his 90th birthday in Adelaide two days ago, also felt the legendary Australian batsman would not have had any problems in averaging an astonishing 99.94 in contemporary cricket as he did during his playing days in the 1930’s and ‘40’s. "Well, we didn’t discuss this, but when you’ve averaged nearly 100 runs an innings, then I don’t think you’ll have any problems scoring runs whatever the conditions," he said in tribute to Bradman who failed to average a perfect 100 only because he was dismissed for nought in his final test innings. Tendulkar said he asked Bradman, who amassed 6996 runs in 52 Tests with 29 hundreds and 13 fifties, to explain his hunger for runs and the explanation was simple. "I did whatever was required by the team. The team needed my runs," he quoted the game's finest-ever batsman as saying. Tendulkar, the only non-Australian to be invited to the celebrations and had, along with Aussie leg-spinner Shane Warne a 45-minute private meeting at Bradman’s residence, also wanted the ‘Don’ to reveal the secret behind his record of double (9) and triple (2) centuries: ‘His answer was simple once again. He said he did what the team required. I hope the team needs me to score the double tons also,’ Tendulkar, who has rattled up 16 Test hundreds but is yet to score a double-century, said. But Tendulkar was against any comparisons and did not see himself as the Indian ‘Don’. ‘I am Tendulkar, he is Bradman, let it remain that way,’ he said in all modesty. But he was delighted when Bradman said Tendulkar’s style was similar to his own. ‘It’s a great thrill. I saw the video some time ago of the Don and me on either side. There are some similarities I guess in those flick shots shown,’ he said. Asked whether he aspired to break any of Bradman’s records, Tendulkar said records mattered but team performance was more important. ‘What I would like to do in the rest of my career is to do my best for the team. That would be good enough for me, that’s what I’m in this game for. I just want everyone to know that I’m giving hundred per cent out there for my country.’ He reiterated that he
liked to keep his personal target confidential. ‘At
this stage, all I will say is I want to keep the
performance levels of last year going. I just want to be
totally focussed on the game and be more
consistent,’ he added. |
Novotna advances to final NEW HAVEN, (Connecticut), Aug 29 (AP) — Steffi Graf beat Lindsay Davenport 6-3, 7-6 (8-6) in the Pilot Pen International, snapping the defending champion’s 13-match winning streak and advancing to her first final since knee surgery 14 months ago. "It’s been a while," Graf said yesterday. "I’m thrilled to be in the finals." Her last title came in May 1997 on the clay courts of Strasbourg. A month later she had surgery on her left knee. All three of her semifinal appearances this year were against Davenport, who beat her at Indian Wells and at Stanford. Graf will meet Wimbledon champion Jana Novotna in today’s title match. Novotna advanced with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over unseeded Julie Halard-Decugis. Davenport nursed a strained right wrist through most of the match and had to call for a trainer midway through the first set. Graf, the number-four seed, took advantage of the ailing Davenport to win the first set easily. She built a 5-2 lead in the second set but Davenport began to loosen up and pin her with powerful groundstrokes and aggressive serves. "I just started hitting my shots more and trying not to worry about it.... then all of a sudden I was back in the match," Davenport said. Serving at 5-5, Davenport hit a couple of aces and battled through two deuces to go up 6-5. Graf tied it on her next service, forcing a tiebreaker that initially appeared to be all Davenport’s. The 22-year-old Californian won the first five points and suddenly Graf was looking ahead to a third set. "I kind of thought already about going back to the changing room and changing my shirt for third set. That maybe helped. I didn’t start to worry about the match anymore," said Graf, who won the next five points. She served out for the match and won it when Davenport’s return landed in the net. Halard-Decugis, who missed all of last year with wrist, knee and shoulder injuries, had not beaten Novotna in their previous five matches but quickly had the 29-year-old down a break in the first set for a 3-0 lead. Her strong baseline play and crosscourt winners kept Novotna off the net. "My game plan was to come in much more, but unfortunately I couldn’t do that," Novotna said. Instead, she countered with pinpoint passes and deep-angled winners to move the rangy Halard-Decugis around the court. "I just needed to be more consistent, move her around a little bit and let her work for her shots," Novotna said. Novotna battled back from
0-30 in their final game, hitting two straight sideline
winners. Halard-Decugis forced a deuce with a blistering
crosscourt shot. Novotna regained the next point with a
deft drop shot and won on her next serve when
Halard-Decugis’ return was long. |
Superb double ton by Jayasuriya LONDON, Aug 29 (Reuters) — Sri Lanka opener Sanath Jayasuriya put England to the sword with a stroke-filled, unbeaten 202 in the one-off Test at The Oval today. Jayasuriya thrilled a capacity crowd as Sri Lanka made the most of good batting conditions to power to 317 for two at tea on the third day in reply to England’s first innings of 445. Left-hander Jayasuriya and Aravinda de Silva, who stroked 72 not out, shared an unbroken third wicket stand of 232 — a Sri Lankan record for any wicket in Tests against England. Jayasuriya, who compiled the fourth highest score in Test cricket history with 340 against India 12 months ago, timed the ball beautifully, pulled strongly and swept productively. England had started the day encouragingly when Angus Fraser struck with only six runs added to the overnight 79 for one, Mehala Jayawardene driving loosely outside off stump to be caught by Ben Hollioake in the gully for nine.
When de Silva had made 23 he became the first Sri Lankan to score 5,000 runs in Test cricket, then Jayasuriya reached three figures from 124 balls, hitting 17 fours on the way. The Sri Lankans were kept comparatively quiet after the interval by Darren Gough and Ian Salisbury, only 12 runs coming in the first 30 minutes of the second session. However, the next 30 explosive minutes produced 53 runs as Jayasuriya cut loose, pulling and sweeping Salisbury’s leg-spin with relish and hooking Dominic Cork for six to bring up his 150 from 212 balls. De Silva, despite adding only two runs in the first hour after lunch, reached his half-century off 87 deliveries as England captain Alec Stewart turned to the part-time off-break of Mark Ramprakash when Salisbury began to take heavy punishment. But there was no stopping Jayasuriya, whose double century came just before tea off 254 balls and contained a six and 31 fours. England (1st innings) :
445 |
Top seeds move into semis HOSHIARPUR, Aug 29 — All four seeded players moved into the semifinals in the junior boys singles in the Punjab Badminton Championship here. In the girls’ section top seed Nazma and second seed Sumit Kalra along with Shehnaz and Navdeep also entered the semifinals. Holder and top seed Rohan Kapoor of Jalandhar thrashed Jatinder Singh of Ludhiana 15-6, 15-3 in just 15 minutes. Jatinder Singh tried to put up fight but Rohan with thundering smashes and quick footwork got points at will. He will now face third seed Amandeep of Ludhiana who defeated Harinder Singh of Patiala 15-2, 15-11 in a well-fought match. Second seed Dilpreet Singh of Ludhiana faced no resistance from Rohit Kapoor of Jalandhar in the third quarterfinal. Dilpreet won 15-6, 15-0. Dilpreet will clash with Jalandhar’s Ramandeep in the second semis. Top seed Nazma of Ludhiana will clash with fifth seeded Shehnaz of Sangrur in the girls singles semifinals. Nazma defeated Sandhya of Jalandhar in the first quarterfinal. Nazma dominated throughout the match and her superiority over Sandhya was never in doubt. Fifth seeded Shehnaz of Sangrur upset fourth seeded Vidhu Vatrana of Patiala 11-5, 11-1 in the second quarterfinal. Much was expected from Vidhu but she could not match the speed of Shehnaz. Second seed Sumit of Jalandhar also moved to the semis with an easy victory over Ropar’s Arti 11-3, 11-5. Arti who had already won four titles, was no match for the strong Sumit, who will face Navdeep of Patiala in the semifinal. Earlier, Navdeep thrashed Hoshiarpur’s Indermeet 11-2, 11-4. Holder Davinder Bhardwaj retained the veterans singles titles. Working as Senior Manager in PNB, Davinder defeated Ramesh Daul 2-15, 15-7, 15-13 in a well-fought match. Later Davinder joined Ramesh to beat V. Kochar and M. Sagar in the veterans double. They won 15-6, 15-13. Boys singles (u-19) quarterfinals: Rohan Kapoor (Jal) b Jatinder Singh (Ldh) 15-6, 15-3, Amandeep Sakhri (Ludh) b Harinder (Pta) 15-2, 15-11, Ramanjeet Singh (Jal) b Tauseef (Sang) 15-7, 8-15, 15-10, Dilpreet (Ldh) b Rohit Kapoor (Jal) 15-6, 15-0. Girls singles (u-19) quarterfinals: Navdeep (Pta) b Indermeet (Hsr) 11-2, 11-4, Nazma (Ldh) b Sandhya (Jal) 11-7, 11-3, Shahnaz (Sang) b Vidhu (Pat) 11-5, 11-1, Sumeet Kalra (Jal) b Arti Verma (Rpr) 11-3, 11-5. Boys doubles (u-19) quarterfinals: Rohan and Ritin (Jal) b Ashok and Iqbal (Pta) 15-1, 15-11, Touseef and Harinder (Sang/Pta) b Ankit and Jatinder (Ldh) 15-6, 15-11, Harmandeep and Ramandeep (Jal) b Jasneet and Vaneet (Hsr) 15-5, 15-3, Dilpreet and Amandeep (Ldh) b Rohit and Karandeep (Jal) 15-2, 15-9. Girls doubles (u-19)
quarterfinals: Nazma and Sumit (Ldh/Jal) b Arti and
Sarabjit (w/o), Vidhu and Navdeep (Pta) b Rupinder and
Parminder (Ldh) 15-3, 15-5, Sandhya and Madhuri (Jal) b
Gurpreet and Gorika (Hsr) 15-6, 15-11, Indermeet and
Navneet (Hsr) b Anu and Paramjeet (Ldh) 15-4, 15-6. |
SPS lads off to flying start CHANDIGARH, Aug 29 — Defending champions Shivalik Public School, Sector 41, started their campaign with a bang mauling Government Model Senior Secondary School, Sector 37, by 7-0 in the sub-Junior Chandigarh Football Tournament at the Sector 17 football stadium here today. In the pre-quarterfinal encounter, Shivalik lads dominated the proceedings from the kick-off. The Government Model Senior Secondary School lads were no match for Shivalik School boys. Star forward Neeraj Malik scored five goals, including a hat-trick. Two other goals were scored by left striker Vinay in the 35th and 50th minutes. In the second pre-quarterfinal tie, Saint Soldier International School, Sector 28 beat Guru Harkrishan School, Sector 40, by 2-0. Right winger Angad Singh of St Soldier opened the account for his team in the fifth minute. They consolidated the lead when right striker, Amarjit Singh scored a fine goal with a solo effort. In the third pre-quarterfinal match, St John's High School, Sector 26, blanked out Moti Ram Arya Senior Secondary School, Sector 27, 2-0 after a barren first half. After the lemon break, St John's School displayed fine coordination and opened the account in the 40th minute through right striker Manu Sharma. Moti Ram Arya boys tried hard to level the score but failed due to the tight defence of the rivals. Right half Harpreet Sahota of St John's School scored the second goal for his team in the dying minutes with a solo effort. In the last prequarterfinal tie, Government High School, Sector 37, ousted New Public School, Sector 18, by 3-1. Deepak of the Sector 37 Government High School opened the account in the fifth minute. Later his team-mate Gobind Thapa scored another goal to consolidate the lead. In the second half,
Devinder made it 3-0. In the dying minutes right striker
Amandeep of the Sector 18 New Public School reduced the
margin. |
Jones asserts dominance BRUSSELS, Aug 29 (AP) — World Champion Marion Jones once again asserted her dominance of the 100 with a wire-to-wire win over her French rival Christine Arron. Jones ran 10.80 sec to put Arron firmly in second place in the Van Damme Memorial Grand Prix event. Arron finished in 10.95. Arron had been touted as challenger to Jones’ dominance of the 100 after she ran a blistering 10.73 to win the European Championship last week. However, the American controlled yesterday’s race, holding off a mid-race spurt by the flame-haired Frenchwoman and extending her lead in the final metres. "I’ve ran against three times this year and I’ve beaten her three times," Jones told reporters after the race. Today I gave my answer who is the fastest woman in the world." Jones blamed the chilly evening for the relatively slow time, well below her season’s best of 10.71. The cold also thwarted efforts by a trio of African runners to break world records in the 5,000, 10,000 and womens’ 1,000 on the normally fast Brussels track. However, all four athletes still in the running for a share of the million dollar golden league jackpot won their events to stay in contention for the big prize. Apart from Jones,
Ethiopia’s Haile Gebrselassie ran a season’s
best time of seven minutes, 25.09 seconds to demolish the
opposition in the 3,000 m and Mococco’s Hicham el
Guerrouj won the 1,500m in three minutes, 29.68 seconds. |
GGSSS-18 b'ball champs CHANDIGARH, Aug 29 — Up and coming cagers of the Sector 18 Government Girls Senior Secondary School clinched the title in the Chandigarh Open Basketball Championship for girls under 17 years which was organised by the Chandigarh Sports Council at the Sector 16 Government Model Senior Secondary School court here today. They defeated Government Model High School, Club, Sector 26 in the extra time by 30-26 after a 26-26 tie at regular time. GGSSS-18 cagers dominated the proceedings on court in a match that drew a good crowd. The scorers were: Sarita (12) Sonia (6), Poonam (6), Manjula (4) and Mohinder (2). For the winners-up Pushpa, Ranjeeta and Geeta shared eight points each. In the morning session, Government Model High School 26 beat Government Model Senior Secondary School, Sector 16, 36-0 in the first semifinal while Government Girls Senior Secondary School Club, Sector 18, ousted Acro Basketball Club 27-2 (13-0) in the other. The third place went to Government Girls Senior Secondary School 16 who beat Basketball Club 12-8. Wing Cdre Satish Bhatia,
former international badminton player gave away the
prizes. |
Rafter, Rusedski to clash in semis COMMACK, Aug 29 (AFP) — Australian Pat Rafter and Briton Greg Rusedski set up a rematch of their 1997 US Open final here yesterday with quarterfinal wins in the $ 3,15,000 Hamlet Cup. Rusedski posted an easy 6-2, 6-3 victory over Czech Daniel Vacek in one hour. Rafter, the second seed here, who defeated Rusedski in last year's US Open final, needed only 55 minutes to dispose of France’s Nicolas Escude 6-3, 6-2. Rafter also beat Rusedski at last year’s season-ending ATP Tour world championship in Hannover. The fourth-seeded Rusedski moved into his fourth semifinal of the year. The left-handed Englishman showed little rust against Vacek after being sidelined with a sprained ankle for seven weeks. He never lost his serve, and broke Vacek three times. In other quarterfinal play, eighth seed Felix Mantilla of Spain got past 1997 French Open champion Gustavo Kuerten of Brazil 6-4, 2-6, 6-4, and will play Russian teenager Marat Safin in the semifinals. Safin, 18,
despatched David Prinosil of Germany 6-1, 7-6 (7/1). |
Christie to be back on track LONDON, Aug 29 (AFP) — British sprint hero Lindford Christie will come out of retirement next Tuesday to compete in a relay race in Berlin, it was confirmed yesterday. But the appearance of the 37-year-old former world and Olympic 100m champion at the ISTAF 98 meeting in the Olympic Stadium will be one-off. "Lindford is not coming back to serious competition," his manager, Sue Barrett said. "You will never see Lindford on the international stage again." Christie, who retired 13 months ago, will join Britain’s newly-crowned European 100m champion Darren Campbell, silver medallist Dwain Chambers and Christian Malcolm, Wale’s double world junior champion, in a 4x100m relay. Christie, who will run the
anchor leg, is said to be in good enough shape to
comfortably clock a time of around 10.2 seconds if he
were to do an individual 100m. |
Sports scribe Govindarajan dies in mishap CHENNAI, Aug 29 (PTI) — T. Govindarajan, a former president of the Sports Journalists Federation of India and founder president of the Tamil Nadu Sports Journalists Association, died in a road accident here yesterday. He was 72. A former Sports Correspondent of the Hindu, Govindarajan, had covered many national and international soccer championships and Davis Cup ties in his 34-year career. He is survived by his wife, two sons and a daughter. CALCUTTA: Sports Journalists Federation of India (SJFI) president, Shyam Sundar Ghosh, today condoled the death of T. Govindarajan. In a message, Ghosh said: "I am really shocked. He was not only an excellent sports journalist, but a very amicable person who could mix with both the younger and older generations. As a former president of the SJFI, he was a great guiding force and inspired the entire federation with his foresight. He devoted much of his time in solving the problems of working journalists during his tenure as president, he added. MUMBAI: The Sports Journalists Association of Mumbai (SJAM) has condoled the demise of former Special Correspondent of the Hindu, T. Govindarajan, yesterday. SJAM president S.K. Sham today said the fraternity of sports journalists in the country had lost "one of its stalwarts who was a thorough professional". Govindarajan, who was
affectionately called TG by his colleagues and friends,
set standards for young journalists to emulate. He
covered all major sports and when it came to
specialisation he opted for football and was a popular
figure in football circles. |
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