Tuesday, December 15, 1998
today's calendar
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S P O R T | Tuesday, December 15, 1998 |
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ICC will
act tough, says Dalmiya England's
Ashes dream in tatters Ludhiana
cops lift hockey crown PSC
win overall championship Northern
Railway, RCF in q-finals |
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Jyotirmoy clinches India's first gold BANGKOK, Dec 14 (PTI) — Jyotirmoy Sikdar heralded India's 'golden' beginning at the 13th Asian Games by racing to victory in the women's 1500 metres to lead a harvest of six medals for her country on the second day of athletic competitions at the Thammasat University Stadium today. The 29-year-old Calcutta-born runner upset the calculations of formidable Chinese opponents with a superb burst to the finishing line to claim India's first track and field gold in the Games for 12 years. Sikdar clocked a commendable four minutes 12.82 seconds to push China's Wang Qingfen (4:13.19) to silver, and young Sunita Rani gave the performance of her life in an fledgling international career by claiming the bronze in 4:13.36 to make it a 1-3 affair. "I wanted to win the gold and went for it. I always knew if I don't win it, the bronze medal was there for the taking," said the exhausted Eastern Railway employee after becoming the first Indian since P T Usha in the 1986 Seoul Games to win an athletics gold for India. The former Asian 800m champion was thrilled to become the first gold medallist at this Games and described the victory as a dream come true. "My first Asian Games medal, and it is a gold, what can I say," she added. Sikdar's showing came as icing on the cake on a day of scintillating performances by Indians led by 36-year-old Shakti Singh who claimed men's shot put silver quartermiler Paramjit Singh and veteran Bahadur Prasad, who clinched highly creditable bronze medals in the men's 400 and 1500 metres, respectively. India won medals from all but one final they were present to raise the country's medal haul in two days to one gold, one silver and seven bronze medals in an incredible improvement over their Hiroshima tally of one silver and two bronze medals. Rachita Mistry carved a special place for herself by sprinting to the women's 100m bronze in yet another splendid Indian showing, clocking 11.41 seconds to come behind Asian champion Li Xuemei (11.05) and Li Yali (11.36), who made it a Chinese one-two. Mistry edged out Malaysia's Shanti Govindasamy in a photo finish after both clocked an identical 11.41 seconds. Asian record holder Koji Ito of Japan emerged the 'fastest man' by breezing to the 100m gold unchallenged at 10.05 seconds. Gurmeet Kaur claimed the women's javelin bronze with a new national record but again star P T Usha came up with a dismal performance to trail in a pathetic sixth in the women's 400m, while Rosa Kutty did a better to come in fourth. Rosa Kutty clocked 53.55 seconds while Usha returned a poor 54.37 seconds. Asian champion Damayanti Darsha reasserted her supremacy to claim the gold in the event at 51.47 seconds in a golden double for Sri Lanka in the event, while Chen Yuxiang of China took silver (52.50) and Svetlana Bodritskaya (Kazakhstan) claimed bronze. The 26-year-old Paramjit Singh CRPF Inspector, who broke the legendary Milkha Singh's national record of 45.73 seconds clocking 45.70 in last month's open national meet in Calcutta, maintained splendid form to power to third in the final 40m. Sugath Tillekeratne of Sri Lanka claimed the gold medal at 44.99 seconds ahead of defending champion Ibrahim Ismail of Qatar (45.32) while the gutsy Indian pushed Kuwaiti Fawzi Al-Shammari to fourth in the last stages. Veteran Bahadaur Prasad finally managed to take the spotlight in a chequred career as the 33-year-old dictated the pace by leading from the outset before racing home in a fine three minutes 41.48 seconds behind former Olympic bronze winners Mohd Suleiman of Qatar (3:40.04) and Kim Soon-Hyung of South Korea (3:40.56), both of whom packed too much of sprint for Prasad to look for a medal of brighter hue. Gurmeet Kaur hurled the javelin to a national record of 59.00m in her fifth attempt to claim bronze medal in the afternoon's first medal for India. The 28-year-old Punjab athlete touched 57.92m in her second try, which was better than her own national mark of 55.35m set in the July Fukuoka Asian meet while coming third. Jyotirmoy Sikdar ran the race of her life as the athletes lifted the gloom over Indian showing here. The experienced Sikdar, confident of her strong finish in the event of a slow race, was granted her wish as Chinese Wang Gingfen and Yan Wei set early pace. Sikdar was lying third with Sunita Rani a comfortable fifth. With two laps to go, Jyotirmoy stepped into lead which seemed to tire the Chinese. Though Wang Qingfen took the lead at the bell, the Indian surged ahead into the final 200m and sprinted away home. The young Sunita Rani, who won the Asian junior 5000m gold at Delhi in 1996, showed lot of stamina left in her by outpacing Japanese Ikumi Nagayama to take bronze. Paramjit Singh once again showed his class, pressing himself running into a strong headwind at the back straight before surging into reckoning at the final bend to eventually clinch the bronze with his third effort under 45 seconds. "We decided not to go all out as the headwind would have finished him by the time he reaches the last 50 metres," said his coach Harbans Singh after the win. Sugath Tillekeratne was in a class of his own by prevailing over Ibrahim Ismail, the games mark holder at 44.93, who was returning from injury this season. Rachita Mistry finally ended India’s medal drought in the 100m since the decline of Usha. With Sri Lankan 200m world silver medallist Susanthika Jayasinghe pulling out due to a hamstring injury, Li Xuemei was clear favourite to win. The 24-year-old Rachita, coached by former national champion Adille Sumariwala, burst out of the blocks and ran brilliantly from the halfway mark with Xuemei to her immediate right working to her favour. The Indian, who was fifth in Hiroshima, maintained her form in final stages to clinch a highly creditable medal with a tailwind of 2.3m per second, over then permissible two m/s. Bahadur Prasad clinched his first ever Asian Games medal with a determined effort. Not known for his final ‘kick’ unlike Gulab Chand, the seasoned runner shot into lead in the 12-man field from the start and dictated a fast pace to tire most of the field. Defending champion Mohd Suleiman of Qatar took over at the bell with Kim Soon-Hyong of Korea chasing him. The Indian produced his long run home 250m out which enabled him to stay clearly ahead of Japanese Kiyoharu Sato till the end. But in the women’s 400m, the 34-year-old Usha clearly showed that she was not in shape to take on the likes of Damayanti and Yuxiang. While Rosa Kutty was placed at lane six, Usha was confined to the outermost lane which gave her no clue to judge the race. The Sri Lankan surged ahead into the final curve with the Chinese and Kazakh Svetlana Bodritskaya chasing even as Usha faded away to finish sixth. Rosa Kutty clocked a more creditable 53.55 seconds to come fourth. A grim-looking Usha said: "My injury set back my training. I did not train for 20 days. So I did not have the endurance to hold on." Usha, however, announced that she would indeed be running in the 200m and the relays. In men’s shot put, Shakti Singh, who arrived here only yesterday, began with ordinary efforts of 17.52m and 17.97m but uncorked a brilliant 18.76 in his third try. He fouled his fourth and fifth attempts but then sent the iron ball to 18.81m to seal the silver. China’s games record holder Liu Hao returned a consistent series of 18.66, 18.73, foul, 19.20, 18.91 and 18.71 and his fourth and fifth attempts were good for gold. Bahadur Singh crossed the 18m mark only thrice, with a best of 18.21m to finish fourth behind Sergey Rubtsov (18.79) of Kazakhstan. Neither Shakti Singh nor the 25-year-old Bahadur Singh could repeat the kind of 19m plus efforts they achieved at home. Bahadur set the national mark at 19.57 and Shakti pegged it at 19.78m. The 28-year-old Gurmeet Kaur produced her third effort of 57.92m to climb to the third spot and then set the national mark before bettering it with a 59.00m effort in her fifth try to land the javelin bronze. Korea’s Lee Yong-Sun took gold with 62.09m in her second of only three legal attempts, while China’s Lili Liang took silver with a second attempt of 60.11m. Li Lei, the Chinese who won the gold at the Fukuoka Asian meet, was pushed to fourth with 56.12m. Koji Ito of Japan won the men’s 100m unchalleneged but there was a lot of confusion about the next two places after Thailand’s Reanchai Seeharwong and Japan’s Olsuki Yasukatsu both clocked an identical 10.31 seconds. The Thai was placed second initially in the photo finish and then relegated to third before again being put at second and an official announcement made. China maintained their
medal supremacy when Liu Hongyu took the women’s 10
km walk gold clocking a games record 43 min 57.28 sec.
Rie Mitsumori of Japan took the silver and Svetlana
Tolstaya (Kazakhstan) the bronze. |
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BANGKOK, Dec 14 (PTI) — Bantamweight pugilist N.G. Dingko Singh stunned world number three and home favourite Sontaya Wongprates to storm into the final of the Asian Games boxing championship and assure India at least one of their two medals from the ring would be of the silver hue. The 20-year-old Manipur lad pummelled overwhelming gold medal favourite Wongprates in the first three rounds to build up a huge lead and then withstood a late surge by Wongprates to win the thrilling semi-final bout 18-14 at the Munang Thong Thani boxing hall today. Dingko Singh will take on Timur Tulyalov of Uzbekistan, who beat Marat Mazinbayev of Kazakhstan 18-4 on points, in what promises to be an explosive final. The Indian navy pugilist, denied clearance by the government, once again revealed his steely resolution as he connected with lightning-quick combination punches to the body and face of his Thailand opponent, who was somewhat defensive in the first three rounds as the Indian went after him. Wongprates, installed
favourite and promised one million baht (one dollar = 35
bahts) by the host government with the local professional
body of the sport in this boxing crazy nation also
chipping in a similar amount if he won the gold, was
pushed on the defensive by the determined Indian, who
weaved in and out and stung his opponent with quick left
hooks and short rights. |
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BANGKOK, Dec 14 (UNI, PTI) — India stunned defending champions South Korea 2-1 in a pool-B encounter, while Japan split points with Pakistan 1-1 in pool-A as the traditional subcontinental rivals topped their pools in Asian Games men’s hockey here tonight. India, which won all its pool encounters, take on Japan in the semifinals on December 17. Pakistan, with three wins and a draw, will face South Korea which finished second in its pool with three wins. In the Hiroshima Asian Games also, India had beaten the South Koreans in the league encounter but lost to them in the final. India wrested the initiative from the Koreans early today and started on an attacking mood. The Indian forward line got busy straight away and the normally aggressive Koreans had to suffer the strange experience of trying to contain the Indian forwards instead of doing a bit of attacking of their own. The Indians came by their first penalty corner in the fifth minute and the second and third followed a while later. But it was the fourth in the 23rd minute which proved ominous with Baljeet Dhillon driving the ball out. The Indian attack was functioning in top gear and they could not be denied for long. Sandeep Somesh initiated a fine move in the 27th min and sent the ball to Riaz, who gave a pass to Dhillon who, dashing down the left flank, let go with one of the finest and hardest reverse shots in the tournament. That put the Indians’ tails up and off Mukesh, Dhanraj Pillay earned India’s fifth penalty corner. That led to another and off Dhillon, Mukesh Kumar struck the ball home. The Koreans managed to get their first penalty corner of the match just before the breather but Yeo Woo-Kon sent the ball sailing over the bar. Cheered on lustily by a large number of Indian-origin supporters, the Indians were up and away immediately on resumption. An opportunistic Pillay pass had custodian Koo Jin-Soo beaten, but Dhillon’s shot was brilliantly thwarded by Cho Muyng-Jun. The Indians appeared to be
satisfied with the two goal lead and began to ease off
the pressure. The Koreans seized the opportunity to
reduce the margin via their third penalty corner. They
pressed hard for the equaliser but the Indians managed to
scrape through. |
Bhupathi,
Srinath storm into last eight BANGKOK, Dec 14 — Mahesh Bhupathi and Prahlad Srinath maintained Indian hopes for individual medals by storming into the men’s singles quarterfinals with facile straight set victories but the challenge ended in the women’s singles with Nirupama Vaidyanathan going down in the second round at the Asian Games Tennis Championships today. The 24-year-old Bhupathi sent down four aces and played a steady game to quell the challenge of 1226-ranked Filipino Bryan Juinio 7-6, (7-4) 6-2 while Srinath took a few minutes longer at the adjacent outer court to dispose of Chinese Taipei’s Chen Wei-Ju with an equally impressive 6-4, 7-5 win. But India’s top player Nirupama Vaidyanathan, ranked 167 in the world, found second seed and world No 40 Li Feng of China too hot to handle and also get slip advantages in the second set before going down 1-6, 2-6 which put out the last Indian hope in women’s singles. Both the 372-ranked Bhupathi and his 393-ranked team mate Srinath run into formidable Uzbekistan opponents in top seed Oleg Ogorodov and second seed Vadim Kutsenko respectively in the clashes for semi-final spots. India had beaten the Uzbek duo in claiming the Asia Cup in Delhi last month and will hope to re-enact the same here with upset victories. Ogorodov, ranked 214 in the atp list and favourite here, kept the seedings intact by downing the 599-ranked Danai Udomchoke of Thailand 6-3, 6-4 while his team mate Kutsenko breezed past Tong Man Chung of Hong Kong 6-0, 6-4. Bhupathi had to fight a close battle with Juinio in the first set before prevailing in the tie-breaker. The world number three doubles player went up 4-2 in the tie-break with two mini breaks and at 6-4 broke his opponent with a backhand winner to take the set. The tie-break also saw a sporting gesture from the Filipino after the lines judge made an error at 1-1, when Juinio following upon his serve hit a smash out. The chair umpire brushed aside Bhupathi’s protests by the Filipino conceded the ball was out to give the Indian the point. Bhupathi, with expactations resting on his shoulders in the absence of the injured Leander Paes, played solid tennis in the second set and affected breaks in the third and fifth games to go up 4-1. Serving the match at 5-2, Bhupathi sent down a thundering ace to go up 30-0 and at matchpoint produced a big serve before putting away a weak return with a double-handed cross court winner. Srinath, who beat Adel Al Shatti in the first round yesterday, played sound tennis from the baseline against Chen Wei Ju. He wrapped up the first set with ease and then, serving for the match at 6-5 in the second set showed character to recover from 0-30 down with two big serves. He set up the matchpoint with an ace down the line and clinched it when his 840 ranked Taipei rival sent a return wide. The 23-year-old Nirupama Vaidyanathan found the going tough from the word go against the superbly fit Chinese rival who sent down deep returns to either flanks and maintained a rock-steady service percentage. The second seed broke Nirupama in the second game and went up 4-1 before serving out a love game for the set. Li Feng packed much power in her returns and was extremely consistent, pulling Nirupama wide many times before unleashing winners. Nirupama kept up a good fight with several rallies but committed many unforced errors, netting her returns and failing to finish off points even after getting her opponent stranded. But the Coimbatore-born player fought back in the absorbing second set, which was much closer than the scores suggest. Nirupama held serve in the first game and then forced deuce six times in the second, but she failed to finish the three breakpoints she gained. Feng, pushed on the defensive for the first time, showed tremendous intensity befitting a top 50 player to wriggle out of the situation and eventually hold serve. In a game replete with rallies, Nirupama forced the first breakpoint with a superb cross-court winner but her Chinese rival produced sharp serves to regain the initiative. Nirupama had a golden chance to convert the third breakpoint when she pushed Feng wide with sharp forehand shots, but with an open court in front, Nirupama sent a weak volley which Feng raced to return and convert to force deuce before holding serve with a fine passing shot. The setback seemed to demoralise the Indian, who dropped serve twice to trail 2-4. But she once again fought back by breaking the Chinese for the only time in the match to close in at 2-4, forcing errors from her rival with fine cross-court returns. But Nirupama could not maintain the same flawless game as her opponent broke her for the third time in the set to go up 5-2. The Indian saved the first
matchpoint with an overhead smash, but hit a return wide
to concede the second, which was converted when the
Chinese pulled the Indian wide and sent a backhand winner
down the open court. — PTI |
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BANGKOK, Dec 14 (UNI) — India finished seventh in Asian Games’ men’s volleyball, outclassing Kazakhstan in straight sets in the relegation round matches here today. Joby Joseph with his fine all-round display was instrumental in India’s fluent 15-6, 15-00, 15-11 victory, which came in less than an hour. The Indians, drubbed by the Indonesians yesterday, played a much better game today and the the Kazaks were no match to them. Their blockings, inaffective against Indonesia, was outstanding. Besides Joby Joseph, Surjit Singh, Amir Singh and Roy Joseph made a good contributed in India’s win. "The team is playing better in each match," said coach Ah El-Wassamy. On the loss to the Indonesians, he said "every horse has to drop its head". Wassamy, who has been with the team for more than a month now, said the Indians should get more exposure with teams that play fast games. He suggested that the team should have practice matches with Thailand and Indonesia initially, and later with Chinese Taipei. "Such practice should help the team remain in good stead in the Asian championships in September next," he said. Coach Sridharan said the team blocked well today and was more on an attacking mood, especially after yesterday’s defeat. Both he and Wassamy were satisfied with the team’s performance. The volleyball team had
come to the Asian Games after a 12-year break. In the
1986 games, they won a bronze. |
Liu unchallenged in 10 km walk BANGKOK, Dec 14 (AP) — China’s Liu Hongyu, fourth at last year’s world championships, was unchallenged to win the women’s 10-km walk at the Asian Games today. Liu finished the road race in 43 minutes, 57.28 seconds, comfortably ahead of Japan’s Rie Mitsumori (44:29.82) and Kazakstan’s Svetlana Tolstaya (45:29.95). Liu, who has a best of 42:38.00, said she never felt threatened today. "If they pushed me hard, the time might have been faster," Liu said. Liu’s teammate Li Yuxin, gold medalist in the asian championships in July, was disqualified two kilometres from the finish after receiving a third warning. "I have nothing to say," Li said. "I can only say that I should perfect my technique in future." The race was the final women’s walk event over 10 km international meets are changing to 20 km next year. Liu said she would cope with the decision. "I will be more confident of winning the longer race," Liu said. The walk was the first of
11 track and field medals on offer today, including the
glamor 100-metre sprint events. |
India move closer to kabaddi gold BANGKOK, Dec 14 (UNI) — Defending champions India moved a step closer to retaining the gold as they humbled neighbouring Himalayan kingdom Nepal 57-40 to record their third win in as many matches in the kabbadi competition at the 13th Asian Games here today. The winners, who yesterday defeated Pakistan and Bangladesh, led 37-21 at half time against Nepal this morning. An overconfident and complacent Indian defence gave away many a point to their rivals in a match which otherwise was a one-sided affair. The Indians raced to 15-1 lead in no time time as the match started. The coaches S.P. Singh and Ashan Kumar decided to rest their main players at this stage. After five minutes Sanjeev Kumar and couple of minutes later B.C. Ramesh were replaced. Sanjeev collected four points and Ramesh three points for their team before being rested. The Nepal defence was very weak and their attackers were also lacking in tactics. It was only the loose Indian defence which gave away many a touch points. After the match, coach S.P. Singh said it was a one-sided affair but our players became too complacent and defence conceded some points The Indians were in the lead from the very start and Shamsher Singh, Virender Kumar and Ranbir Singh, who came in place of Sanjeev Kumar, B.C. Ramesh and Ram Meher Singh performed creditably. Nepal never posed any threat to the defending champions and the Indian players collected points at will without straining themselves. "It was an easy win.
We were far superior to Nepal in all departmentes of the
game", S.P. Singh added. |
Paramjit thwarted by one-third of second BANGKOK, Dec 14 (PTI) — Quartermiler Paramjit Singh bagged a medal but missed another target by one third of a second when he finished third in the men's 400 metres at the 13th Asian Games here today. The 26-year-old CRPF inspector clocked 45.93 seconds, failing by 0.33 seconds to establish beyond doubt that he was India's best-ever quartermiler. Paramjit had clocked 45.70 seconds at the open nationals in Calcutta last month to better the legendary Milkha Singh's 58-year-old national mark of 45.73 set at the 1960 Rome Olympics. But the "Flying Sikh" was not convinced. As Milkha Singh sees it, Paramjit is still to touch 45.6 his timing as clocked by hand in Rome and later revised to 45.73 when athletic records were converted into electronic timings. Paramjit also missed out on the Rs 1 lakh Milkha Singh had promised to give him if he repeated his Calcutta feat in an international meet. Milkha has, however, offered to give Paramjit Rs 1 lakh for his Calcutta mark. The gold in men's 400m was
bagged by Sugath Tillekeratne of Sri Lanka who clocked
44.99 secs while Qatari Ibrahim Faraz took the silver in
45.32 secs. |
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BANGKOK, Dec 14 (PTI) — India’s Pullela Gopichand breezed into the third round of the men’s singles but his woman counterpart Aparna Popat came unstruck at the first hurdle to bow out in the 13th Asian Games badminton competition here today. The 25-year-old national champion Gopichand, fresh from playing in the German league, clinched a tough opening game before quelling the challenge of Park Sung-Wooo of South Korea 17-15 15-2. The Commonwealth Games men’s singles bronze medallist who had received a first round bye in the lower half of the draw, runs into second seed Young Hock-Kin of Malaysia, who face resistance in the first game before downing Tam Kui-Chuen of Hong Kong 17-14 15-5. The 21-year-old Aparna
Popat, not at her peak form after recently recovering
from a bone spur in her right heel went down 7-11 8-11 to
Mee Feng of Malaysia, the 16-year schoolgirl whom she had
downed in straight games in the quarterfinal on her way
to the women’s singles silver medal at the September
Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur. |
Japanese champ but does 10 plus BANGKOK, Dec 14 (Reuters) — Japanese sprinter Koji Ito was crowned the Asian Games new 100 metres champion today, but fell short in a brave bid to become the first Asian to dip under the magical 10-second barrier. In a packed programme at Bangkok’s Thammasat Stadium, Sri Lankan 400 metre runners won their country’s first two gold medals at the games in 24 years, taking both the men’s and women’s races. But the biggest name in Sri Lankan athletics, the controversial Sustanthika Jayasinghe, withdrew from the women’s 100 metres before the start because of a hamstring injury and team officials said she would be leaving Bangkok tonight. Her absence probably made no difference to the result. China’s Li Xuemei cruised home in the women’s sprint to salvage some pride for the fallen Chinese athletics team. Qatar’s Mohammad Taib
Suliaman made it three in a row when he broke from the
field in the men’s 1,500 metres. Suliaman also won
Asian Games golds in Beijing in 1990 and Hiroshima in
1994. |
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BANGKOK, Dec 14 (PTI) — National champion Chetan Baboor scored a facile straight games win over Wong Kuok-Fai of Macau in the second round to enter the pre-quarter finals of the men's singles in the Asian Games table tennis competition here today. The 26-year-old Indian paddler who has struggling in the absence of even a sparring partner after only one entry was cleared for Bangkok, scored an easy 21-10, 21-18, 21-7 victory to set up a last 16 clash with Chang Yeu-Shu of Chinese Taipei, who defeated Phuchong Sangnansin of Thiland 21-13, 21-12, 21-9. Baboor had received a dye
in the first round of the individual competition which
began yesterday. |
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BANGKOK, Dec 14 (PTI) — All the four Indians in the fray for the Asian Games archery medals qualified for the individual elimination round by coming through the second day of the preliminary comeptition over 50m and 30m at the Thammasat University field today. The 30-year-old Satya Dev Prasad was the best among the Indian quartet, finishing 22nd in the qualifying list with 1222 points while teenager Mangal Singh was a spot below with the same tally. Seasoned Skalzang Dorji
made it at the 26th spot with 1210 points while Rajesh
Hasdak logged 1186 to come through ranked 29th. |
Iran, Thailand in last four in football BANGKOK, Dec 14 (AP) — Thatwachai Damrong-Ongtrakul sent in a 40-metre kick in sudden death extra time today as hosts Thailand knocked the favoured South Koreans out of the Asian Games soccer tournament. The 2-1 victory that put Thailand into the semifinals sent the packed stadium into ecstasy. Meanwhile, Iran cruised into the semifinals with an easy 4-0 victory over Uzbekistan. Bayern Munich star Ali Daei scored three goals within seven minutes in the second half. For Thailand, Damrong-Ontrakul took a short pass off a free kick and drove the ball into the net from near the left sideline six minutes into extra time. His shot went into the top left corner of the goal over a leaping Kim Byung-Ji, who was a bit slow to react after appearing to be partially screened by a team-mate trying to block the ball. The Thais were down to nine men after losing two in the second half. A red card to Worrawoot Srimaka nine minutes into the half put the Thais one man down. Despite that, Kiatisuk Senamuang scored 10 minutes before the end of regulation time. Surachi Jirasirchote was booked for his second yellow card of the game four minutes later and Yoo Sang-Chul scored on the free kick to tie the game at 1-1, forcing an overtime with the first goal to win. Damrong-Ontrakul followed his winning shot by circling the track with a flag, and British coach Peter Withe also went on a flag-waving parade. Daei went on a scoring spree in the second half to power Iran into the Asian Games semifinals. Iran went ahead 1-0 in the first half on Ali Reza Mosavi-Hasanzadeh’s goal in the 28th minute. Then Iran turned up its game and dominated the second half. Daei chipped in a shot just inside the penalty area to make it 2-0 in the 37th minute. Then he made a brilliant individual effort for 3-0, scampering past two defenders to score from just outside the penalty area in front of the goal. Barely two minutes later, he added another. On a corner kick, he was in front of the goal with one defender trying to mark him and Karim Bagheri. The ball sailed over Bagheri’s head and Daei headed a bouncer that Uzbek goalie Pavel Bugaio got a hand on it but couldn’t stop from going into the net. In the semifinals on
Wednesday, Iran take on the winner of China-Turkmenistan
while Thailand meet the Qatar-Kuwait winners. |
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BANGKOK, Dec 14 (PTI) — Indian joy of finally striking a gold through women's middle distance runner Jyotirmoy Sikdar was dimmed a bit when the organisers at the Thammasat Stadium made a hash by playing an unidentified tune instead of the national anthem. Stunned members of the Indian camp found a long and unknown tune being played after the medal was presented to the women's 1500m winner by India's International Olympic Committee member Ashwini Kumar. With the Indians in the stadium shouting, the organisers finally realised their folly and played the Indian national anthem and apologised for the gaffe over the public address system. Five minutes later, the
medal presentation ceremony was held once again and the
Indian anthem played for the second time to make up for
the faux pas. |
England's Ashes dream in tatters ADELAIDE, Dec 14 (Reuters) — England face the near impossible task of surviving the final day on an Adelaide Oval minefield and avoid defeat in the third Ashes cricket test, leaving their dream of winning back the Ashes in tatters. England were 122 for four in their second innings at stumps, chasing the improbable victory target of 443 after Australia earlier declared their second innings closed at 278 for five. A defeat for England would put Australia two-nil up in the five-Test series, ensuring a drawn series at worst and allowing the home side to retain the Ashes for the sixth consecutive time. England have not held the Ashes since 1989. Mark Ramprakash on 43 not out and Nasser Hussain, out for 41 just before stumps, were again defiant, batting through all but 10 minutes of the last session for 89 runs. Ramprakash was lifted up the order above struggling captain Alec Stewart, who scored a duck in the first innings and had scored 41 runs in his five Test innings on this tour. Stewart had yet to score at the close. But all the English batsmen struggled to cope with leg-spinner Stuart MacGill’s grenades on a crumbling pitch, as well as deliveries from paceman Glen McGrath that shot through at shin height. Off-spinner Colin Miller grabbed two quick wickets at the death, snaring Headley and Hussain with balls that surprisingly kept straight. England suffered two early setbacks when openers Michael Atherton and Mark Butcher were dismissed within an hour. Atherton, the rock on which so many English rear-guard actions have built, fell for five runs when off-spinner Colin Miller surprised him with a delivery that caught the shoulder of his bat and flew to Mark Waugh at silly point. Australia declared half an hour after lunch after sprinting past an accurate but less than threatening England attack to 278 for five. Opener Michael Slater burst out of the blocks, thumping Darren Gough’s first two balls to the boundary. He then carved his way to 103, his 10th Test century, his fifth against the English and his second of the series. First innings failure Mark Waugh, who was a shattered man in scratching to seven on Friday after being booed onto the pitch, appeared to rediscover his usually graceful form in the second innings and was 51 not out at the declaration. Waugh’s second walk to the middle raised only muted jeers and he was cheered from the ground at the declaration. Twin brother Steve Waugh had earlier written in a newspaper column the scandal had affected Mark more than he was willing to admit, but he would recover from it. "Being his twin, I believe it has affected him more than he has let on," Steve Waugh wrote in Britain’s Sunday Times. "Many of the newspaper reports and critical analyses have hurt deeply and the wounds will take time to heal," he wrote. "But if I were a
betting man, which I’m not, I’d be backing Mark
to come back a tougher, more determined character and
cricketer." |
Match-fixing NEW DELHI, Dec 14 — After due contemplation, the International Cricket Council (ICC) has decided to step into the sordid betting and match-fixing controversy and punish players, officials and others, if found conclusively guilty. Emphasising that "enough is enough", the ICC President Jagmohan Dalmiya said here today that "the time has come to act ruthlessly to help save the image of this noble game, which is being destroyed by handful of persons". Mr Dalmiya was candid in saying that the ICC, of today, had "no teeth of its own but this is no problem as the requisite powers to deal with players will be obtained from member-countries". The ICC Executive Board will meet at Calcutta on January 10 and 11 and by this time "we will examine the cases thoroughly and powers secured to deal with erring players who have brought disrepute to this great game", he reiterated. Mr Dalmiya was, however, non-committal as he kept saying that he was unaware who was guilty and who was not. "I have heard allegations and counter-allegations as much as you all have", observed Mr Dalmiya, adding: "We will now collect all the details and information to bring an end this unseeming controversy, which is destroying the very tissue of the game". "In the existing situation, the ICC cannot merely be a passive spectator and its intervention in the matter at the earliest is essential", said Mr Dalmiya, adding: "The ICC will play a positive role to ensure that the game retains its glory and not be prejudiced by either unexamined outburts and vilification or by misguided individuals, be that a player, an umpire or an official or other". "It would be most unfortunate, if the cricket-loving people, players and the right-thinking members of society, on whose support and cooperation the game has occupied a pride of place, are compelled to believe that some players may play cricket not for the game’s sake but for the unacceptable personal gain", announced Mr Dalmiya. According to Mr Dalmiya, some statements may be "true; many may not be. "But we will be decisive in the matter and not allow the issue to be swept under the carpet". Mr Dalmiya said that "we may form a high powered commission to investigate and inquire into the issue, if necessary". While emphasising that "action will be taken against players, if found guilty", Mr Dalmiya said: "We will at the same time not allow individuals to misuse the opportunity for the purpose of publicity or setting person scores". Mr Dalmiya concluded by saying that "it is of paramount important to set the things right and create a clean and congenial atmosphere so that all players can play their natural game fairly and fearlessly for the enjoyment of the cricket-loving public". Observers maintain that
there is no denying that betting exists in this country.
"It will be worthwhile if the ICC and its affiliated
unit Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) get to
the bottom of the controversy and find out who was the
initiator of this unholy game of betting". |
Ludhiana
cops lift hockey crown NABHA (Patiala), Dec 14 — The experienced Ludhiana Police prevailed over Thapar Academy, Sansarpur, by a solitary goal to annex the title in the 23rd All India Liberals Hockey Tournament played here today. The law of averages finally caught up with the Sansarpur lads labelled as underdogs in its earlier matches who had mowed down top outfits of the country like AOC. Secunderabad, Corps of Singnals, Jalandhar, Dogra Regiment, PSB Academy and favourites Punjab Police on the way to their maiden entry in the final. Playing in front of a sellout crowd at the Ripudaman College grounds, the traditional home of the Tournament for the past 23 years, Thapar Academy lads clearly enojoyed territorial advantage for the better part of the first half. It was in this part that the Thapar Academy boys could have shot into the lead when the crafty right out Kirpal Singh failed to put stick to the ball with the cops custodian Gurpreet Singh st randed near the far post. Kirpal again was the villain when a minute later he again found himself in exactly the same position with only the rival custodian to beat. But a bundle of nerves that he was, he yet again failed to slot the ball home. After a barren first half, the cops forwards, particularly the trioka of Mandeep, Harjinder and Hardev, made a few forays but found Sansarpur goalkeeper Nelson equal to the task. Then came the goal which took the wind out of the sails of academy boys. Two penality corners came the cops' way within a span of two minutes. But the first was wasted due to the indecivisiveness of full back Gurpreet who, while deciding to hit or scoop the ball, wasted precious seconds to cap his effort and with the defense closing on him. Full back Lakhbir cleared the ball. The second penality corner saw the cops scoring through Harjinder Singh off an indirect fake. This goal sealed the fate of the Sansarpur team, coached and managed by former Olympian Udham Singh. With minutes to go for the final whistle, a fluent run down the left flank by the Sansarpur lect in Satwinder saw the move culminating in Kirpal latching on to the pass but his superb reverse flick agonisingly missed the right post by inches. The prizes were
distributed by Mrs Satinder Kaur, member of Parliament. |
PSC win
overall championship CHANDIGARH, Dec 14 — The 14th Senior & 7th Junior Men Chandigarh State Powerlifting Championship concluded here last evening and Public Sports Club, SAS Nagar, won the overall team championship while Weightlifting Coaching Centre Sector 30, finished the runner-up. In the junior powerlifting championship, Vikramjit Singh created a new record in 56 Kg Class, in squat and dead lift. In 90 Kg class, Didar Singh of Public Sports Club, SAS Nagar, established four new records. Junior Results: 52 Kg: Victor Zorawar Singh-PSC, SAS Nagar 1 (Total 232.5 kg), Jagat Bahadur Singh-PSC, SAS Nagar 2. 56: Vikramjit Singh-Chd. 1 (Total 462.5 Kg), Sangeet Dhiman-Body Tone 2. 60 Kg: Balwinder Singh-WCC 1 (Total 307.5 Kg), Surinder Singh-WCC 2. 67.5 Kg: Kamaldeep Singh-PSC, SAS Nagar 1 (total 385 Kg) Arun Kumar-WCC 2. 75 Kg: Ram Paul-WCC 1 (total 482.5 Kg) Surinder Singh-PSC 2. 82.5 Kg Jagdish Singh-PSC 1 (total 560 kg) Gurinder Singh-PAMB, Chd 2. 90 Kg: Didar Singh-PSC 1 (total 637.5 kg) Vikas Duggal-PSC 2. 100 Kg: Inderjit Singh-PSC 1 (total 635 Kg), Balwinder Singh-PSC 2. In the senior Chandigarh State powerlifting Championship, Surjit Singh created a new record in 60 Kg Class while in 75 Kg class Kuldeep Singh established a new record. In 90 Kg class Paramjit Singh broke the previous record. Results: Senior: 60 Kg Class: Surjit Singh-Chd 1 (total 500 Kg), Sukhjinder Singh-Chd 2. 67.5 Kg Class: Hussan Lal-Chd 1 (total 555 Kg) Devinder Singh-Chd 2. 75 Kg Class: Kuldeep Singh-Chd 1 (total 645 Kg) Darshan Kumar-Chd 2. 82.5 Kg Class: Devinder Singh-Chd 1 (total 620 Kg) Dharminder Singh-Chd 2. 90 Kg: Paramjit Singh-Chd 1 (Total 680 Kg), Tarsem Singh-Chd 2. 100 Kg: Gurwinder
Singh-Chd 1 (total 580 Kg), 125+Kg: Amandeep Singh-Chd 1
(total 750). |
Northern
Railway, RCF in q-finals KAPURTHALA, Dec 14 — Rail Coach Factory, Kapurthala, Northern Railway (Delhi), South Central Railway, Secunderabad, and Western Railway, Mumbai, entered the semifinals of the 59th All-India Railway (men's) Hockey Championship, being played at Rail Coach Factory, Kapurthala, here, today. Rail Coach Factory will clash with Western Railway, Mumbai and Northern Railway will play against South Central Railway in the semifinals to be held tomorrow. In the first quarter final, Rail Coach Factory (RCF) defeated Calcutta Port Trust (CPT) by 2-0. From the very start, RCF played an attacking game. In the 10th minute inside-left Sabal Barla made it 1-0 in favour of RCF through a penalty stoke. Thereafter, RCF made regular attempts but could not increase the lead till half-time. On resumption, RCF came with a mind to consolidate the lead. Inside-right M. Ekka missed an open chance in the 45th minute. Inside-left S. Barla also hit wide of the target in the 52nd minute. Ashok Kumar of RCF made it 2-0 in the 60th minute. In the second quarter final Northern Railway beat Diesel Locomotive Works, Varanasi 7-6. The first goal of the match was scored through a penalty stroke by NR inside-left Ajinder in the 27th minute. Shashi Bhushan of DLW equalised through a penalty stroke in the 30th minute. In the 31st minute NR inside-right made it 2-1 with a marvellous field goal after cutting through the DLW defence. DLW did not lose confidence and in the 58th minute, outside-left Ankit Gupta made it 2-2 with a field goal. At last, the match was decided through the tie breaker in which NR emerged victorious by 7-6. In the third quarter final South Central Railway, Secunderabad defeated Integral Coach Factory, Perumbur by 2-1. In this game, SCR went ahead in the 26th minute when outside-right S. Dung Dung scored a field goal with an angular shot. ICF after allout efforts scored the equaliser in the 45th minute by utilising a penalty corner. SCR's inside-left scored the winning field goal in the 50th minute 2-1. In the fourth quarter
final, Western Railway, Mumbai, outplayed South Eastern
Railway, Calcutta 5-1. |
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