Friday, December 11, 1998
today's calendar
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S P O R T | Friday, December 11, 1998 |
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Stern
action needed against ACB Moin
replaces Sohail as Pak skipper PSEB
reign supreme ITBP
shock BSF in Liberals hockey
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Malleswari hoists first medal for India BANGKOK, Dec 10 (PTI) — Andhra Pradesh iron woman Karnam Malleswari put up a sterling display to open the Asian Games medals chest for India with a silver-winning effort before the equestrian team collected a bronze on the first day of tangible returns for the jumbo-sized contingent. Malleswari’s glorious battle for the gold with China’s strong woman Lei Li in the 63 kg weightlifting class provided the high point on the fifth day of the multi-sport extravaganza for the beleaguered Indian squad which has faced reverses on most fronts in the first four days. Malleswari lifted 105 kg in snatch, bettering the previous world mark of 103 kg in the process, cleared 125 kg in clean and jerk to total 230 kg which was only 2.5 kg lower than Li’s world record mark of 232.5 kg. In fact, the 23-year-old Indian, daughter of a Railway Police Head Constable, went for break in an attempt to outdo the Chinese in clean and jerk by attempting an unbelievable 132.5 kg in clean and jerk but failed in her brave endeavour to settle for the silver. Li Lei’s gold-winning feat included a new world snatch bench mark of 107.5 kg which, in the ultimate analysis, settled the issue in her favour. If Malleswari’s was a feat of excellence, the bronze medal the Indian riding team of Imtiaz Anees Amlokjit Singh, Rajesh Pattu and Palwinder Singh secured was nothing but fortuitous. They attained medal standards despite accumulating a staggering penalty points tally of 1,203.80 in the three-day event’s team final. The Indian team went into the final day’s showjumping event with the secure knowledge that barring disqualification, which knocked out Malaysia and South Korea from the fray yesterday, they could land an unexpected bronze. They never tried to match their might with overnight leaders Thailand and Japan, collected a staggering 956.80 penalty points in the showjumping and yet ended up with the bronze. Thailand, with 191.40 penalty points, bagged the gold while Japan, tallying 199.80, picked up the silver. There was further good show on the hockey field when the women’s team overcame a stiff hurdle in the form of China by two goals to one in pool ‘B’ to notch their second straight win in the league following the 13-0 drubbing of Thailand. Skipper Pritam Rani gave India the lead through a penalty-corner in the first half which was neutralised in the second half by China’s Yang Haiping. Manjinder Kaur struck the match-winner for India twelve minutes from the end to bring further cheers to the Indian camp. The team has Japan and defending champions Korea to overcome in order to achieve the feat of winning the gold for the first time since 1982 when the event was introduced. India teed-off in the golf too on an encouraging note with Harmeet Kahlon taking up the third spot with a par-72 score behind Japan’s Tonohiro Kondo (70) and Taiwan’s Hong Chia-yuh (71). The team also was placed third with a tally of five-over 221 behind leaders Japan (218) and Taiwan (219). The Indian challenge in the snooker doubles came to an abrupt end here today when former Asian amateur champion Yasin Merchant and former national champion Alok Kumar were knocked out in the pre-quarter-final stage. Merchant, who was the lone Indian to make the quarter-finals of the singles, and Alok went down 3-5 to Thai superstar James Wattana and his partner — 1997 Sea Games champion Chuchart Trirattanapradit. ‘Thaiphoon’ Wattana, who made a shock first round exit in the singles, was very pleased with the result and said the win should help him a lot to overcome the intense pressure of performing in front of adoring home fans.
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Indian eves down China 2-1 BANGKOK, Dec 10 (PTI) — Displaying a rare sense of purpose and adopting an aggressive approach, India beat strong China 2-1 in the Asian Games Women's Hockey Tournament here today. This was the first of the three major hurdles — the other two being Korea and Japan — for the Indian girls in their quest for recapturing the glory they had achieved at New Delhi in 1982 when this event made its debut. Indians got off to flying start handing out a 13-0 thrashing to hosts Thailand in their lung-opener on Tuesday. Today, they went from strength to strength to notch up a convincing win and shoot up to the top of the table with six points from two wins. There was never any sense of panic even when the Chinese were on the offensive in the initial stages of the match in which the Indians led 1-0 at the breather thanks to a fine penalty corner conversion by skipper Pritam Rani Thakran. Yang Haiping hit back the same way immediately on resumption to help China draw level. But 12 minutes from the end Manjinder Kaur put the issue beyond doubt. The aggressive intentions of the two sides were clear right from the beginning as India’s Manjinder Kaur and China’s Chen Jing received green card treatment from Korean umpire Lee Keun-Ju within the first 10 minutes. But then the teams settled down to the game on hand and as expected, the Chinese began to enjoy greater freedom of movement. They caused the first flutter in the 19th minute with Chen Jing firing a powerful shot. But an alert Tingongleima Chanu under the bar brought off a fine save. The Indians counter-attacked immediately, forcing two penalty corners, and then off Sita Gussein, Pritam Rani made a fine attempt which, however, was deflected away by Chinese goalkeeper Nie Yali. The Indian women fell back a bit, conceding two successive penalty corners before striking with their own third. Surinder Kaur sold a perfect dummy and Pritam Rani took fine advantage of it to put India up. At the other end, China’s Tang Chuling drew the Indian custodian out after a fine run in, but hemmed in by the defence, hit across the goalmouth. Immediately after the change of ends, China forced two more penalty corners — each side had eight in all in the match — and Yang Huiping came up with the equaliser. Stung by the equaliser, the Indians went into the offensive once again.
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Disastrous start by debutant Indians BANGKOK, Dec 10 (AFP) — The rapid rise, fall and rise of Sri Lankan sprinter Susanthika Jayasinghe has all the ingredients of a bestseller — success, shame, sex and suspicion. Against all the odds — she faces a drugs investigation in early 1999 which could see her banned for at least two years — she has made it to the Asian Games starting line. If she is still in shape, despite months of inaction sparked by the drugs scandal, she will win the 200m gold and another medal in the 400m here next week. When she arrived last week the 22-year-old, her hair beautifully beaded, charmed everybody with a dazzling, relaxed smile. "I won’t just win the 100 and 200m — I’ll win them in record time," she said in hesitant English. Few of the neutrals who cheered her to a world championships silver in Athens last year, however, will join the applause this time. The tale of Susanthika Jayasinghe is simply too bizarre, and too packed full of lies and half-truths, to leave anybody feeling comfortable. For Jayasinghe supporters, this is a story of an uneducated and exploited victim, the youngest daughter in a family of five children, who grew up in a mud hut in the village of Uduwaka, 70 km north east of Colombo. A tom-boy, she climbed tree for fruit and coconuts because there was no food at home. She had no shoes, so she learnt to sprint in her bare feet. When she joined the world elite by winning Sri Lanka’s first world track medal last year she became an instant heroine in the small tropical Indian Ocean island of 18.3 million people. But things soon turned sour. First it was reported she had skipped army national service. Then a Sri Lankan Sports Minister allegedly harassed her for sex (he counter-claimed that she was ‘mentally deranged’ and looked like a ‘black American youth’). Then she failed a drugs test for an anabolic steroid. Her supporters claim she is the victim of Sri Lankan sports officials trying to control her and her massive earning potential. She was painted as struggling to make the ends meet after being ditched by her sponsors. In August, however, the tide turned in her favour when an independent Sri Lankan appeals panel cleared her of drug abuse. She would run at the Asian Games after all. But Jayasinghe, approaching her 23rd birthday, is far from being in the clear. The sports world governing body, the International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF), is deeply unhappy with the panel’s decision, so much so that they have set up a new board to reopen the case. If they find her guilty, she will lose any medals won here and be banned until at least April 2000. When you meet Jayasinghe, it is easy to take her side. She is slim and petite where you expected a broad, muscular clone of the "wundermaedchen" produced by the secret East German drugs laboratories in the 1970s and 80s. You expected evasiveness and suspicion and instead she smiles, laughs and jokes. "My conscience is clear," she says. You want to believe her. How can such a woman have got embroiled in such an ugly story (even the Chinese have stirred the pot, trying to get the IAAF to ban her from running in the Asian Games)? But one fact remains stuck in the craw. Fact; since 1994 — the year Jayasinghe was first noticed by winning a silver medal in the Hiroshima Asian Games — she has failed not one, not two but three drugs tests. All for the anabolic steroid nandrolone. The previous two cases were dropped. On December 18 — one day after her 23rd birthday — Jayasinghe will run for the 200m gold here. She should win, but who will cheer her home?
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India crash out of contention BANGKOK, Dec 10 (UNI) — India crashed out of the Asian Games men's football going down 0-2 to defending champions Uzbekistan in a second round league tie marred by controversy yesterday. The controversy erupted in the 35th minute when referee Ahmed Ali blew the whistle the moment a free-kick was taken by the Uzbeks, confusing the Indians who did not react thinking it was offside. An unmarked Igor Shkyrin headed the ball home leaving the Indians fuming. To add to India's woes their goalkeeper Hemanta Dora was sent off in the second half after he collected two yellow cards in the match. The goals came in each half blowing up India's chances to make the knockout stage. Playing with determination, India had their fancied rivals under pressure in the second half in which they muffed five good openings and an equal number of flag kicks. Forwards Bhaichung Bhutia, I M Vijayan along with Joe Paul Ancheri and Carlton Chapman created a lot of problems for the Uzbek defence but poor marksmanship let them down. The Uzbeks started the game on a cautious note, trying to probe their rival's strength and weak spots. But the Indians gave a much improved display and kept the Uzbeks at bay till the 35th minute when they conceded the controversial goal. The referee awarded a free kick to Uzbekistan and the moment the kick was taken he blew the whistle again. The Indians thought the whistle was blown for offside and no player reacted. The ball went to an unmarked Igor Shkyrin who headed home much to the surprise of the Indians (1-0). The Indians rushed to the referee protesting against the decision and goalkeeper Dora also joined them. Ali showed a yellow card to Dora for arguing and disputing his decision. The Uzbeks had good chances to consolidate their lead in the first half but Hemanta Dora and defender Jijo Jacob foiled all their attacks. The winners had a good opening in the 34th minute when due to defensive lapse by F. Baretoo the ball went to Shirshov Nikolov whose shot was saved on the goal-line by Jijo Jacob. Earlier, Lushan Sergevy's powerful drive was well cleared by Hemanta Dora. After conceding their second goal, the Indians went flat out on the offensive and between the 26th and 35th minutes virtually had the rivals at their mercy. In these nine minutes, the Indians played a great game and had five openings, but they could not translate them into goals. Baichung Bhutia's powerful shot was deflected off the defender, Carlton Champan had an open goal before him but he shot wide. Vijayan's shot hit the crosspiece. When the goalkeeper was not in his position, Bhutia's shot was deflected by a defender for a flag kick and and then Joe Paul Anchery shot over the bar from top of the box. The furious Indian onslaught totally unnerved the defending champions who were relieved to see that their citadel was safe despite the bombardment. The Uzbeks retaliated but the Indians showed no sign of panic and matched their rivals move by move. The Uzbeks mounted pressure in the last stages of the match and in the 39th minute they earned a penalty due to an infringement by Dora in the box as he was trying to foil an attack. The referee showed Dora his second yellow and red card and he had to leave the field. New goalkeeper Feroz Sharif came in place of Dora but he did not have to do much as Kasmov Mirdjalal's kick went over the bar. The Indians did make some forays into the rival citadel but could not breach the defence. Overall it was a good showing by the Indians with both the forwards and the defenders giving out their best. Chief coach Syed Nayeemuddin said after the match: "The disputed goal let us down. How can a team play in such circumstances when umpiring is not right." "We gave a better display and should have converted our chances, but lack of international competition also effected us," he said. The coach stressed the need for more international matches for the team.
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Bronze for India in equestrian BANGKOK, Dec 10 — India returned to the Asiad equestrian medal table after a gap of 16 years, winning a bronze in the three-day team competition here today. After finishing fourth on the opening day in dressage, the riders — Imtiaz Anees, Amolkjit Singh, Rajesh Pattu and Palwinder Singh — moved up to the third place after the cross country yesterday. In the third and final event — show jumping — at Fort Adison, Saraburi, despite disqualification of Palwinder Singh and the retirement of Pattu, the Indian duo of Imtiaz Anees and Amolkjit Singh gave a fine display of horsemanship earning only 20 and 25 penalty points respectively. India ended with 1203.8 penalty points as both Pattu and Palwinder were given 1000 penalty points each for being non-starters. Thailand won the gold with 191.4 penalty points, while Japan were second with 199.80 points. — UNI
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Motorist slams into Prince's car BANGKOK, Dec 10 (Reuters) — Prince Tomohito of Mikasa, a cousin of Japan's Emperor Akihito, escaped unhurt yesterday when a van slammed into the front of his car while he was travelling to watch the billiards at the Asian Games, the police said. "Apparently the van driver was frightened when the police in his motorcade turned on the siren," Japanese Embassy spokesman Hidetoshi Ukita told Reuters. "He put on his brakes, whereupon the van lost control and slammed into the front bumper of the Prince's limousine." Prince Tomohito, the honorary president of the Japanese Billiards Association, was not injured and continued to the Muang Thong Thani sports complex on the outskirts of Bangkok. "He is now watching the billiards competition and we have already replaced the car for him," Ukita said. The sportsman Prince is fond of rugby and billiards, the spokesman said. The police said the van driver, Mr Cherd Pinkam, was detained for careless driving and would face a drugs and alcohol test.
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Shooters wide off the mark BANGKOK, Dec 10 (PTI) — Indian shooters continued to be wayward with the men’s trap trio finishing low down the order and failing to qualify for the final individually and ending up a poor seventh out of eight competing teams at the Asian Games today. RVS Rathore, Moraad Ali Khan and Gaurav Sondhi belied expectations to finish a lowly eleventh, 18th and 23rd respectively after the preliminary round of 150 shots to go out of reckoning for the finals featuring the top eight. Rathore shot a poor sequence of 43, 39 and 39 to tally 121 out of a possible 150 while Moraad Ali Khan returned a sequence of 36, 38 and 42 to finish 18th. Gaurav Gandhi was further down the rankings with a miserly total of 110 made up of a series of 40, 34 and 36. India tallied a miserable 347 out of a possible 450 to end up seventh in the event. India can hope for a better fare tomorrow with star shooter Jaspal Rana, veteran Ashok Pandit and Vivek Singh figuring in the standard pistol (team and individual). The country had won a gold medal through Rana in the centre fire pistol at the Hiroshima Asian Games four years ago.
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Kahlon third in golf BANGKOK, Dec 10 (PTI) — India’s Harmeet Kahlon fired an even par 72 to stay two shots adrift of leader Tomohiro Kondo of Japan after the first round of the Asian Games golf here today. Kahlon, who missed the bronze by a whisker four years ago at Hiroshima, came up with a good performance under windy conditions, which saw as many as 18 players shooting 80 or above, to take third place behind Kondo and Taiwan’s Hong Chai-Yun (71). Kahlon’s even-par score helped India lie third in the team championships behind Japan and Taiwan. The Indian team comprising Amit Luthra, Amit Dubey and Digvijay Singh besides Kahlon came up with a five-over par 221 to start the proceedings on an encouraging note. Japan, helped by Kondo’s 70, were leading with two over par 218 followed closely by Taiwan (219).
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OCA warns taekwondo officials BANGKOK, Dec 10 (AFP) — The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) today laid down the law to top taekwondo officials over protests and near riots at the Asian Games tournament here. Wei Zhijong, chairman of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) sports, gave the dressing down to the martial art’s officials in a one-hour dressing meeting. Taekwondo makes its Olympic debut at the 2000 Sydney Games, but the taekwondo leadership were warned that they could face severe consequences unless order was re-established. For the past three days protests have marred the Bangkok competition. Five Chinese women fighters and coaches staged an 80-minute protest in the arena yesterday, a day after police intervened to halt a near riot. The first day of the tournament also saw heated protests over the scoring. The incidents left the World Taekwondo Federation red-faced as the karate-style sport prepares for Sydney. The worst incident came yesterday when hundreds of spectators invaded the arena, hurling plastic bottles and other missiles and forcing police to move in with electric truncheons to protect the jury from angry Thai fans. "What has been going on here is a bad advertisement for the sport," said Wei. "You have got to get your act together," he told officials. "You must think of the future."
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You have no chance, Chinese tells rivals BANGKOK, Dec 10 (AFP) — China’s shot put veteran Li Meisu virtually has warned her rivals that it is not worth turning up for the Asian Games event. The giant Li, at 39 the oldest member of the Chinese athletics team, said: "The shotputters from other countries can hardly pose a threat to us. The final will be an all-Chinese affair." Li, who said her only real rival here was teammate Cheng Xiaoyan, is hoping to win her second Asian Games gold medal after a 16-year break - including seven years in retirement. After winning the 1982 title in New Delhi, she skipped the next three games. Her Asian record of 21.76 metres, however, set in 1988, still stands. "This is just the second time for me to compete in the Asian Games. After 16 years, I really want to gain a gold again," said Li, who weighs in at a hefty 92 kg. Li, a sports teacher, won the Asian championships in July with an 18.63m effort. She came fifth at the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984 and won a bronze at Seoul in 1988 — the first Olympic medal won by mainland Chinese woman athlete. She then retired to start a family but resumed training in 1996 after a break of around seven years. Li, however, said she could struggle against Cheng here, following a series of leg and knee injuries. "At such an old age, I only want to make another try."
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Gambling fever grips Thai teens BANGKOK, Dec 10 (AP) — Thai teenagers are expected to part with the equivalent of $ 56 million betting on the Asian Games, according to a local poll. Most of the bets will be laid on boxing and soccer results. Of the 1,140 Bangkok students polled by assumption university, some 40 per cent said they planned to bet on Asian Games events. A sizeable percentage said they wouldn't place bets because their money was already tied up in gambling on other tournaments like English premier league soccer. The poll said around 400,000 Thai teenagers were regular gamblers. Gambling fever among youngsters reached fever pitch during the soccer World Cup last year. According to the Thai
Farmers Bank Research Centre, Thais young and old placed
nearly $ 1 billion in bets during the Cup. |
Indian challenge in squash ends BANGKOK, Dec 10 (PTI) — Indian challenge in the Asian Games squash ended at very first hurdle with both Mekhala Subedar and Sohini Kumari going down in their women's singles opening round matches at Pattaya yesterday. National champion Mekhala Subedar, however, acquitted herself well by stretching Kofuji Masami of Japan fully before going down in five games while Sohini Kumari tamely surrendered to the strong Choy Lin Kuan of Malaysia in straight games. The 21-year-old Nasik-based Subedar rallied brilliantly after losing the first game to take a 2-1 lead before narrowly failing to put it across her veteran rival to eventually lose 3-9 9-1 9-1 7-9 8-10 but the tennis player-turned India number two Sohini Kumari hardly put up a fight before going down to her Malaysian rival at 4-9 0-9 0-9.
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Team-mates unruffled; media critical ADELAIDE, Dec 10 (Reuters) — Australian cricketers gave their full support today to tarnished team-mates Mark Waugh and Shane Warne despite national outrage over a scandal involving the pair. Australian captain Mark Taylor said the Test team had no problem playing with either of its two stars, who admitted to selling pitch and weather information to a bookmaker during a tour of Pakistan and Sri Lanka four years ago. "It will certainly not divide the Australian cricket team," Taylor told a news conference. "They have our full, 100 per cent support." Taylor said Waugh would play in the third Ashes Test against England, starting tomorrow. Warne has been unavailable so far for the series because he is recovering from shoulder surgery. He is expected to play in the fourth Test starting in Melbourne on December 26. Warne's major sponsor, Nike, also stood by its pin-up player, saying his actions would not affect his contract with the US-based sporting goods giant. "We do not, however, condone these actions in any way," Nike said in a statement. Australia's sporting pride has been deeply wounded by the revelations, which broke a four-year silence from both players and the Australian Cricket Board (ACB) over the bookmaker affair. The ACB had fined the two cricketers in 1995 but hushed it up. The revelations were doubly humiliating for Australia because Warne and Waugh accused former Pakistan captain Salim Malik of offering them money to lose a match during the same 1994 tour. Malik said the admissions prove his innocence and that he is considering legal action against the pair. The Lahore High Court Judge probing the allegations against Malik said the admissions cast doubt on the credibility of the Australians' testimony. He was due to submit his report to Pakistan president Rafiq Tarar next Tuesday. Meanwhile, Australians ranging from Prime Minister John Howard to cricket legend Richie Benaud have voiced pain and shock over the scandal. Former Test player Neil Harvey said Warne and Waugh should be banned from playing for two years. ACB chairman Mal Speed said the scandal and subsequent cover-up had hurt Australian cricket. "I think it is inevitable that Australian cricket’s very high reputation has been damaged by this incident," Speed said. "In the hindsight, it would have been better if it had been made public at the time." Reaction around Australia ranged from outrage to dismay, commentators and fans upset by what the players had done and by the ACB’s subsequent actions. MELBOURNE: Australia’s media were united in their fierce condemnation of Shane Warne, Mark Waugh and the Australian Cricket Board (ACB). The respected broadsheet "The Australian" said the ACB was guilty of hypocrisy after pressing for an inquiry into allegations of matchfixing in Pakistan while engaging in a concerted cover-up of its own betting scandal. "The cover-up shows, once again, that the sport’s administration is self-serving and ineffectual. The board was more concerned with avoiding embarrassment than with investigating the incident in detail and with taking a strong public stand on the dangers of players becoming involved with racketeers who run illegal gambling." "The Age" called on cricket’s governing body to launch a full investigation into the influence of gambling in the game. The scandal also dominated Australia’s airwaves with thousands of listeners expressing their anger on talk-back radio stations around the nation. It was also the main item on each of the television networks. Australia’s government-backed Australian Broadcasting Corporation carried yesterday’s news conference live like a Prime Ministerial address to the nation and continued to run updates on the scandal through today. AFP: Sir Donald Bradman was disappointed at the bookmaker scandal enveloping Australian cricket, captain Mark Taylor said today. Taylor met with the sport’s greatest batsman here yesterday as Mark Waugh and Shane Warne apologised for taking money from an Indian bookmaker for providing information during Australia’s tour of Sri Lanka in 1994. "I think he is little disappointed," Taylor said of Sir Donald’s reaction to the bookmaker controversy. LONDON: The International Cricket Council (ICC) yesterday criticised Australia's Mark Waugh and Shane Warne for accepting cash from a bookmaker but distanced itself from responsibility over accusations of a cover-up. The cricketers admitted they took money from an Indian bookmaker in 1994 in exchange for weather and pitch information during the tour of Sri Lanka and Pakistan. David Richards, chief executive of the ICC said: "There's absolutely no way any player should become involved in all that."
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Jayasinghe predicts facile victories BANGKOK, Dec 10 (AFP) — The rapid rise, fall and rise of Sri Lankan sprinter Susanthika Jayasinghe has all the ingredients of a bestseller — success, shame, sex and suspicion. Against all the odds — she faces a drugs investigation in early 1999 which could see her banned for at least two years — she has made it to the Asian Games starting line. If she is still in shape, despite months of inaction sparked by the drugs scandal, she will win the 200m gold and another medal in the 400m here next week. When she arrived last week the 22-year-old, her hair beautifully beaded, charmed everybody with a dazzling, relaxed smile. "I won’t just win the 100 and 200m — I’ll win them in record time," she said in hesitant English. Few of the neutrals who cheered her to a world championships silver in Athens last year, however, will join the applause this time. The tale of Susanthika Jayasinghe is simply too bizarre, and too packed full of lies and half-truths, to leave anybody feeling comfortable. For Jayasinghe supporters, this is a story of an uneducated and exploited victim, the youngest daughter in a family of five children, who grew up in a mud hut in the village of Uduwaka, 70 km north east of Colombo. A tom-boy, she climbed tree for fruit and coconuts because there was no food at home. She had no shoes, so she learnt to sprint in her bare feet. When she joined the world elite by winning Sri Lanka’s first world track medal last year she became an instant heroine in the small tropical Indian Ocean island of 18.3 million people. But things soon turned sour. First it was reported she had skipped army national service. Then a Sri Lankan Sports Minister allegedly harassed her for sex (he counter-claimed that she was ‘mentally deranged’ and looked like a ‘black American youth’). Then she failed a drugs test for an anabolic steroid. Her supporters claim she is the victim of Sri Lankan sports officials trying to control her and her massive earning potential. She was painted as struggling to make the ends meet after being ditched by her sponsors. In August, however, the tide turned in her favour when an independent Sri Lankan appeals panel cleared her of drug abuse. She would run at the Asian Games after all. But Jayasinghe, approaching her 23rd birthday, is far from being in the clear. The sports world governing body, the International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF), is deeply unhappy with the panel’s decision, so much so that they have set up a new board to reopen the case. If they find her guilty, she will lose any medals won here and be banned until at least April 2000. When you meet Jayasinghe, it is easy to take her side. She is slim and petite where you expected a broad, muscular clone of the "wundermaedchen" produced by the secret East German drugs laboratories in the 1970s and 80s. You expected evasiveness and suspicion and instead she smiles, laughs and jokes. "My conscience is clear," she says. You want to believe her. How can such a woman have got embroiled in such an ugly story (even the Chinese have stirred the pot, trying to get the IAAF to ban her from running in the Asian Games)? But one fact remains stuck in the craw. Fact; since 1994 — the year Jayasinghe was first noticed by winning a silver medal in the Hiroshima Asian Games — she has failed not one, not two but three drugs tests. All for the anabolic steroid nandrolone. The previous two cases were dropped. On December 18 — one day after her 23rd birthday — Jayasinghe will run for the 200m gold here. She should win, but who will cheer her home?
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Stern action needed against ACB CHANDIGARH, Dec 10 — The International Cricket Council should take stern action against the Australian Cricket Board if it wants to bring about a semblance of order in the international cricketing fraternity after the revelation by Mark Waugh and Shane Warne that they took money from a Chennai-based bookmaker for giving "mundane" information like pitch and weather conditions during their tour of Pakistan in 1994. It was in 1994 itself that the Australian Cricket Board found out the "indiscretion" by the two Australian stars and they were fined. Also, the ICC was informed by the Australian board that the players had been suitably warned and the matter should be closed. But the question which remains is: why did the ICC not make the issue public specially since it was alleged by certain members of the same Australian tour party that certain Pakistani players had approached them to "play badly" during the same tour. Instead, the ICC kept quiet while cricket in the two sub-continent nations was subsequently embroiled in controversy over "match fixing", with the Indian board setting up an inquiry committee under former Supreme Court Chief Justice Y.V. Chandrachud. The in-house inquiry of the Board of Control for Cricket in India came to the conclusion that bribery and match-fixing did not exist in Indian cricket. If Justice Chandrachud had known about the activities of the Australian cricketers would his enquiry have taken some other line? The matter probably needs further investigation since betting is not legal in India. So what is the role of the bookmaker? In Pakistan a judicial enquiry in currently on the issue of match-fixing charges against former captain Wasim Akram as well as Salim Malik. Justice Malik Mohammad Quayyam is due to submit his report within the next two weeks. Now with the revelations made by Shane Warne and Mark Waugh his report is keenly awaited . Followers of the game will remember that it was one Australian named Kerry Packer who tried to commercialise the game in the late seventies by introducing "pajama cricket" with coloured clothing and white balls with the game being played mostly at night. Almost the entire Australian cricket team defected to the Kerry Parker "circus" since Kerry Packer was paying them money by the "sackful". It is a different matter that Kerry Packer was unable to lure a single Indian with his "dirty money" in spite of the fact that players Sunil Gavaskar, Bishen Bedi and Gundappa Vishwanath were still in their prime. It must also be remembered that the Australian Cricket Board had then used an official series against India in Australia to revive interest in the traditional game. The ICC is currently headed by an Indian, Mr Jagmohan Dalmia. It is in the interest of Indian cricket in particular and cricket in the sub-continent in general that Mr Dalmia must take punitive action against the Australians if some semblance of order is to be brought to international cricket. Also he can initiate an international enquiry committee consisting of ex-cricketers to go into the whole gamut of "match-fixing" and bribery in international cricket. The role of bookmakers also needs an in-depth probe. Simply taking the game to every nook and corner of the world, as Mr Dalmia is doing nowadays, is not enough. Fairplay is more important.
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Embarrassing 7-wkt defeat for India NAPIER, Dec 10 (PTI) — India began their New Zealand tour on a dismal note suffering an embarrassing seven-wicket loss to Central Districts on the final day of their opening game at McLean Park here today. Resuming at 73 for two, Central Districts cruised to 158 for three notching up the remaining runs with ease to post a memorable win 10 minutes before the tea interval after a sharp shower in the opening minutes had threatened a watery grave for the match. Captain Craig Spearman, 47 overnight, did not lose any time in reaching his half century first thing in the morning and when his partner Jarrod Englefield hit off-spinner Harbhajan Singh straight into the sightscreen for a six, the match appeared to be in for an early finish. But suddenly the scattered clouds burst open and lashed the ground with such ferocity the game seemed to be as good as over. However, almost after an hour the sun came out in full glory signalling resumption of play and immediately India got a breakthrough with Robin Singh Jr sending back Spearman (86 -141m, 100b, 1x6, 12x4) as the skipper of the Kiwi side, who made 85 in the first knock, again missed out on a century. Englefield (40 not out) and Mark Douglas (17 not out), however, denied the tourists any more success and sealed the match in their favour with no difficulty. India now meet Wellington in the second four-day match at Wellington on December 12. Indian coach Anshuman Gaekwad admitted after the match his team’s batting was of some concern with the first Test against New Zealand starting in Dunedin next Friday. The Indians headed for a batting practice session after the match finished, and have just the four-day game against Wellington before the Test series starts. "We are confident we’ll get it right by Wellington," Gaekwad said of his team’s batting blues. Central Districts coach, former Test allrounder Dipak Patel, was delighted for his young team. "We got a lot of pluses out of the game but the major one, and the one the lads can be proud of, is we beat a test side," he said. Scoreboard Central Districts (Ist innings): 336 India (2nd innings): 390 Central Districts (2nd innings):G. Milnes c Tendulkar b Prasad 0 C Spearman c Mongia b Robin Singh Jr 86, M Sinclair b Prasad 8, J Englefield not out 40 M Douglas not out 17 Extras: (lb-1, nb-6) 7 Total: (for three wkts, 41.1 overs) 158 Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-31, 3-130 Bowling: Venkatesh Prasad 10-2-37-2, Debashish Mohanty 11-2-39-0, Robin Singh Jr 8.1-0-43-1, Harbhajan Singh 12-2-38-0.
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Moin replaces Sohail as Pak skipper ISLAMABAD, Dec 10 (PTI) — Pakistan cricket plunged into a crisis on the eve of the second cricket Test against Zimbabwe as skipper Aamir Sohail opted out apparently due to continuing infighting in the team forcing the cricket board to appoint a new captain and make changes in the team. Moin Khan was handed over the charge of the team just a couple of hours before start of the second Test at Lahore as the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) also made as many as five changes in the team that had lost to Zimbabwe in the first Test at Peshawar. Sohail, who had been named as the skipper of the 14-member team by the board earlier, opted out of the team conveying his inability to play to the board chairman, Mr Khalid Mahmood. Hard hitting batsman, Inzamamul Haq and opener, Saeed Anwar, have also opted out of the team earlier citing indisposition. Though Sohail did not spell out any reason for his decision not to play, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) claimed he suddenly fell ill with vomiting and had to be rushed to a local hospital. But media reports here
were full of Sohail’s differences with the selectors
and other leading players of the team as one report
claimed that last evening Salahuddin Ahmed, one of the
selectors, wanted to sit with Sohail to discuss the
playing eleven but Sohail refused to meet him. |
PSEB reign supreme MUKTSAR, Dec 10 — Hosts Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB) won the 26th All-India Electricity Boards Basketball/Wrestling Championship which concluded at Bathinda yesterday. PSEB registered a remarkable 75-44 win against the Kerala State Electricity Board in the last match. PSEB dominated the proceedings and were leading 42-26 at half time. With the early lead, Punjab powermen kept their opponents confused through repeated attacks and added more points to their kitty. The Kerala players, who tried their best to reduce the margin could not do so as they lacked coordination. Some good chances missed by Kerala cost them dear and they lost the match. On the other hand PSEB's shooting was more consistent unlike the Kerala Powermen, who failed to get their act together under the basket. Arun Ashish Gill was the most impressive PSEB player.He scored 17 points. Gurinder Singh, who did the bulk of the scoring for PSEB in the championship, contributed 16 points for the winning side. Renjith Mode was the star player of Kerala. He scored 17 points. Gopal Krishan scored 11 points for the losers. PSEB's Gurlal Singh, Kuldeep Kippy and Gurpreet Singh also played well for the winning side. Tamil Nadu State Electricity Board secured the second position whereas Maharashtra State Electricity Board were third. In wrestling Punjab State Electricity Board amassed 31 points and were declared winners. The Haryana power board secured the second position with 19 points. Maharashtra were third with 10 points. The results: Mr Baldev Singh Mann, administrative member, PSEB, gave away the prizes. Mr Kirandeep Singh Bhullar, Secretary, PSEB, was also present.
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Zimbabwe all out for 183 LAHORE, Dec 10 (Reuter) — Zimbabwe were all out for 183 at close of play on the first day of the second cricket Test against Pakistan today. Zimbabwe (First innings): G. Rennie c Ijaz Ahmad b Waqar Younis 5, G. Flower lbw b Waqar Younis 7, M. Goodwin c Moin Khan b Waqar Younis 10, A. Campbell c Yousaf Yohanna b Waqar Younis 5, A. Flower not out 60, J. Johnson c and b Shoaib Akhtar 14, C. Wishart c Salim Malik b Saolain Mushtaq 28, H. Streak c Wasim Akram b Saqlain Mushtaq 19, H. Olanga c Shoaib Akhtar b Saolain Mushtaq 3, A. Huckle c Saeed Anwar b Saqlain Mushtaq 13, M Mbangwa c Ijaz Ahmad b Saqlain Mushtaq 2. Extras (b-4, lb-3, nb-12) 19. Total: 183. Fall of wickets: 1-3, 2-16, 3-22, 4-28, 5-55, 6-104, 7-136, 8-140, 9-170. Bowling: Wasim Akram 20-6-42-0, Waqar Younis 18-3-54-4, Shoaib Akhtar 15-1-48-1, Saqlain Mushtaq 13.5-3-32-5.
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ITBP shock BSF in Liberals
hockey NABHA (Patiala), Dec 10 — ITBP Jalandhar, created the first major upset of the tournament as they beat holders BSF 2-0 to reach the next round in the 23rd All-India Liberals Hockey Tournament at the Ripudaman College grounds here today. Parveen scooped the ball into the roof of the net to make it 1-0 for the cops. Full back Sunil passed the ball to an unmarked Gopal who sounded the board to seal the issue in favour of ITBP towards the end of this enthralling contest. In other matches, SAIL, New Delhi, and SAIL, Rourkela, made their exit from the tournament while Thapar Academy Sansarpur Sprung yet another surprise thrashing local outfit Liberals XI 4-0. Army XI seemed to carry far more guns for SAIL, New Delhi, as they rode on centre-forward K. Horo's brace to move into the next round by virtue of their 2-0 win. SAIL, Rourkela, who had exhibited fine hockey yesterday were an exhausted lot against PSB Academy, Jalandhar. PSB Academy outstroked the Rourkela boys 8-7. Goals by Ranjit Singh, Kirpal and a double strike by left-half Harjinder saw Thapar Academy, Sansarpur, earn a spot in the last eight by virtue of their 4-0 victory over Liberals XI.
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H
Football tourney CHANDIGARH, Dec 10 — The All-India Baba Zorawar Singh Fateh Singh Shaheedi Football Tournament will be held at Fatehgarh Sahib from December 22 to 27. According to Mr Sher Singh, secretary, Dashmesh Football Club, top football teams, including BSF, JCT, PSEB, Punjab Police, RCF, Blue Star (Delhi), Aryan Club, Ambala, Chandigarh XI, Haryana Police, IAF, Ludhiana Police, DFA Patiala and DFA Fatehgarh Sahib, will take part in the tournament to be organised under the patronage of Mr GS Tohra. Annual day CHANDIGARH (BOSR): The
XXIV annual day of Moti Lal Nehru School of Sports Rai,
Sonepat, will be celebrated on December 19. The school is
famous for its achievements in sports and academics. |
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