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| Friday, June 2, 2000, Chandigarh, India   
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71-run defeat for India |
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Cricket losing spectator appeal? Sonal
dashes Megha’s title hopes
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DHAKA, June 1 (PTI) — Batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar missed his 26th century by seven runs and India surrendered meekly after his dismissal as Sri Lanka virtually made it to the final with a 71-run with today in the four-nation Asia Cup cricket tournament here. Riding on skipper Sanath Jayasuriya’s superb 105, the Lankans chalked up a comfortable win by forcing Indian batsmen on to the backfoot after Tendulkar had provided some hope with a responsible knock, to be all out for 205. Rookie paceman Kaushal Weerartne (3-46) and left-arm speedster Nuwan Zoysa (2-47) wrecked the Indian batting with their penetrating second spells to notch up a well deserved win with five overs to spare. Run machine Tendulkar was the only Indian who withstood the probing Lankan attack and was well on course for another one-day ton when the pressure of mounting run rate forced him to go for risky shots. One such aerial hit off today’s bowling hero Weeraratne failed to clear mid-on boundary as Mahela Jayawardena placed himself perfectly to send Tendulkar back to the pavilion much to the disappointment of the Indian fans. The dismissal of Tendulkar left India in tatters as the tail failed to wag against the hard working Lankan attack at the Bangabandhu National Stadium here. Only Rahul Dravid (24) made some useful contribution but India was yards away from the Sri Lankan total of 276 for eight. With a challenging target to achieve, India started on a brisk note with openers Saurav Ganguly and Tendulkar going strong against new ball bowlers Chaminda Vaas and Zoysa. Skipper Ganguly and his famous partner put on 38 runs in seven overs with Tendulkar in punishing mood, but Zoysa had other ideas when he came on to bowl the eighth over of the innings. An outswinger from Zoysa induced Ganguly to go for a hit but the left-hander only managed to snick the ball behind for Romesh Kaluwitharana to take an easy catch. India’s batting, which had left much to be desired since the Sharjah tournament in March, again showed its brittleness as Sunil Joshi (11), sent in as pinch-hitter, failed to contribute anything substantial. Joshi holed out against Vaas and Kaluwitharana had ample time to get under the ball to reduce India to 56 for two. Stylish batsman Rahul Dravid, after a busy day behind the stumps, looked confident and grafted ones and twos in the company of Tendulkar to raise India’s 100. Just when Tendulkar and Dravid looked like threatening the Lankan game plan, Jayasuriya made an intelligent bowling change by introducing orthodox spinner Muttiah Muralitharan. Dravid hit a straight drive but failed to keep the ball down as Muralitharan dived ahead of Tendulkar, who had come out of the crease, and took a return catch. Former captain Mohammad Azharuddin (3) made a mockery of his experience as he went for an impossible single off Jayasuriya but Muralitharan was at his athletic best diving from short extra cover to run out the stranded Indian. Scoreboard Sri Lanka: Jayasuriya run out 105 De Silva c and b Kumaran 23 Atapattu c Dravid b Tendulkar 42 Jayawardena lbw b Agarkar 7 Arnold c Dravid b Tendulkar 5 Kalu c Ganguly b Agarkar 33 Dilshan c Ganguly b Chopra 1 Vaas not out 34 Weeraratne run out 2 Muralitharan not out 1 Extras: (b-2, lb-11, w-9, nb-1) 23 Total: (for eight wickets) 276 Fall of wickets: 1-58, 2-162, 3-183, 4-191, 5-202, 6-209, 7-264, 8-273. Bowling: Agarkar 10-1-55-2, Kumaran 9-0-46-1, Chopra 10-0-49-1, Kumble 8-0-36-0, Robin Singh 3-0-22-0, Joshi 2-0-11-0, Tendulkar 8-0-44-2. India: Ganguly c Kaluwitharana b Zoysa 13 Tendulkar c Jayawardena b Weeraratne 93 Joshi c Kaluwitharana b Vaas 11 Dravid c and b Muralitharan 24 Azharuddin run out 3 Jadeja c Kaluwitharana b Weeraratne 8 Singh c Kaluwitharana b Weeraratne 6 Agarkar c De Silva b Zoysa 0 Kumble not out 18 Chopra run out 5 Kumaran c Vaas b Jayasuriya 7 Extras (lb-3, w-11, nb-3) 17 Total (all out in 45 overs) 205 Fall of wickets: 1-38, 2-56, 3-123, 4-139, 5-156, 6-174, 7-174, 8-174, 9-194. Bowling: Vaas 6-1-24-1,
Zoysa 10-0-47-2, Weeraratne 9-2-46-3, Muraalitharan
9-1-38-1, Jayasuriya 9-0-39-1, De Silva 2-0-8-0. |
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PARIS, June 1 (Reuters) — Top seed Martina Hingis made hard work of beating 154th ranked German qualifier Julia Abe 6-4, 7-5 today to reach the French Open third round. But men’s seventh seed Thomas Enqvist won in straight sets for the second successive time, reaching the third round with a 6-3, 6-2, 6-0 win over Argentine Gaston Gaudio. Enqvist has lost just seven games in his opening two matches. Hingis struggled in the ‘bull-ring’ court one against an opponent with little to lose playing only her second Grand Slam tournament. The Swiss player’s normally precise groundstrokes looked ineffective in the swirling wind at Roland Garros while Abe appeared the more comfortable. Eventually, though, experience told. Abe became nervous serving for the set at 5-4 and Hingis broke before reeling off the next two games for victory. Far more convincing was three times champion Monica Seles who smashed past Switzerland’s Emanuelle Gagliardi 6-0, 6-1 in double quick time. The American third seed looked close to her best as she sent the Swiss scampering around the court. Seles is making her best start to a year since 1992 — the year she won her third consecutive French Open — having won three titles already: Oklahoma City, Amelia Island and the Italian Open. Performing well on clay, and more mobile than in previous years, Seles is gunning for her 10th Grand Slam title. French 14th seed Amelie Mauresmo brushed aside Spain’s Angeles Montolio 6-3, 6-4 with a powerful performance on centre court. Australian teenager Jelena Dokic, who made a name for herself by beating Martina Hingis 6-2, 6-0 in the first round at Wimbledon last year, was on the receiving end of a pasting, crashing 3-6, 1-6 against Czech Kveta Hrdlickova. The victory meant Mauresmo progressed beyond the second round at her home tournament for the first time. “Compared to last year I feel much less pressure...last year, with what happened at the Australian Open (reaching the final) there was a lot of expectation from the public and the press. I was too tense,’’ she said. “I am still struggling to finish off my matches, though. Montolio played more freely at the end and troubled me with those high and long moon balls.’’ Yesterday’s heroine Dominique Van Roost crashed back to earth. Twenty-four hours ago she beat second seed Lindsay Davenport in the first round but on Thursday, despite winning the first set 6-0, she went out to Spain’s Marta Marrero 0-6, 7-5, 7-5. Last year’s men’s finalist Andrei Medvedev of Ukraine wasted no time in knocking off Switzerland’s Marc Rosset 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 but 14th seed Dominik Hrbaty lost against Argentine Agustin Calleri 6-7, 6-1, 6-4, 6-4. Former women’s champion IVA Majoli of Croatia was beaten by Swede Aasa Carlsson. The 1997 winner bowed out 7-6, 1-6, 6-1, but two French seeds had straightforward matches. Tenth seed Sandrine
Testud beat Rita Grande of Italy 6-1, 6-1 and seventh
seed Nathalie Tauziat beat Argentine Florencia Labat 6-1,
6-3. |
IT Dept identifying cricketers’ assets NEW DELHI, June 1 (UNI) — The income tax authorities across the country are on the trail of the earnings for the past 10 years of some present and past cricketers and their family members in view of the allegations of match-fixing. “We received an oral request from the CBI two-three days back. The earnings of the some players whose names figured in the allegations will be closely scrutinised for the last 10 years,” sources in the department said. The department has already set in motion the process of a detailed identification of assets of a number of cricketers including Kapil Dev, Mohammad Azharuddin, Ajay Jadeja, Manoj Prabhakar and Nayan Mongia whose names figured in various media reports on alleged match-fixing. The IT Commissioners from the respective zones will oversee the process. Azharuddin, Jadeja and Mongia are currently in Dhaka playing for the Asia Cup where Kapil Dev is the team coach. The department is also identifying the assets of Manoj Prabhakar who first raked up the match-fixing controversy in the country three years back. “In the northern region, besides Kapil and Jadeja, we are also identifying the assets of Manoj Prabhakar whose name has also figured in some media reports,” the sources said. “We started the process even before receiving the oral request from the CBI on the basis of the media reports and allegations by various persons related to the game,” the sources told UNI. The CBI is currently investigating the case and examining all those related to the controversy. The sources, however, clarified that the department is yet to be on the investigation mode for which “specific information with regard to individual cricketers” will be required. “We will issue individual notices only after receiving such intimation,” they said. “Right now we do not want to rush in since the CBI is already inquiring into the case. We will wait for a while before starting any investigations ... we do not want to spoil the pitch,” the sources said. The sources did not rule the possibility of the department being eventually drafted in to strengthen the case by tracing disproportionate wealth, if any, of all those named in the match-fixing controversy. “We want to do a focussed inquiry,” the sources said. “We will scrutinise the bank accounts, investments and business deals of cricketers and their wives or family members. The family tree becomes important while assessing the earnings,” they said. The department is to reopen their files for the past 10 years for any unexplained expenditure, investment or deemed income. Before 1989, the department had powers to reopen files for the past 16 years. Expensive gifts like cars received by the players (including those abroad) are also to come under scrutiny. The department is also expected to verify whether they had declared all their recurrent earnings from endorsements. “An advertisement by a player remains in circulation for many years and he is paid for each time it is showed,” the sources explained. The income of all those, identified as bookies by police, is also to be surveyed by the department. “Income trail is relevant for most criminal investigations since the main objective (of the accused) is to make money .... The CBI only sees it from the point of view of criminality,” said a senior department official who did not wish to be identified. The CBI draws its powers from the Special Police Establishment Act, 1947, and deals with cases relating to the criminal procedure code (CrPC). “A case of bribing
(as is the case in alleged instances of match fixing)
cannot be really made out against a player who is not a
public servant. Whereas the IT Department or the
Enforcement Directorate (for foreign exchange violations)
can bring anybody under scrutiny for his alleged
involvement in such cases,” he said. |
Cricket
losing spectator appeal? CHANDIGARH, June 1 — Are people of Bangladesh losing their interest in cricket? Going by the size of the crowd at the Bangabandhu Stadium in Dhaka in the first two matches of the ongoing Asia Cup one might like to answer the question in the affirmative. And, in the first two matches, it was the home team, Bangladesh, which was one of the contesting squads. In the first match the hosts took on champions Sri Lanka while in the second encounter they met India who incidentally are led by a Bengali — Saurav Ganguly — who is the darling of the Dhaka crowd. And one remembers that during the 1996 World Cup in India even a match between Bangladesh and Kenya (two teams who had qualified for the tournament through the ICC Cup) had drawn a near full house in India. Is the crowd staying away from these cricket matches in Dhaka because of the issue of match-fixing which has rocked cricket not only in India but also in Pakistan? Have followers of the game come to believe that the cricket matches are all fixed, a boast once made by Pakistani star Salim Malik? Or are the lovers of the game in Bangladesh fed up with too much cricket? It is largely due to the efforts of the President of the International Cricket Council, Mr Jagmohan Dalmiya, that Dhaka has now become a highly successful international cricket centre. It was Mr Dalmiya, a former BCCI Secretary, who was largely responsible for Bangladesh getting one-day international status. In fact, in the recent past, there has been talk of granting Test status to Bangladesh. Whether they deserve it or not is altogether a different proposition. In fact, during his tenure as ICC President, Mr Dalmiya has been making constant efforts to “globalise” cricket by making the Indian team play in places like Singapore, Kenya as also Dhaka. What has come about by his efforts is a different cup of tea. Very recently the ICC had organised a cricket match at Dhaka between an Asian XI and a Rest of the World XI to commemorate International Cricket Week, again one of Mr Dalmiya’s scheme to popularise cricket worldwide. This match had also seen a full house although not a single player from Bangladesh did not get a chance to play in that match. So why the apathy of the Bangladesh spectators towards the ongoing Asia Cup? The real reason why the crowd is staying away from the Bangabandhu Stadium during the Asia Cup might be the hot and sultry weather prevailing in that part of the subcontinent. To play, or for that matter watch, cricket in temperatures hovering around 40°C in 100 per cent humidity is definitely not an easy thing. Only an insensitive board can ask players to perform in such weather conditions. But then the Indian team of late has been performing like a circus (the original name given to the Packer series in Australia which literally ripped the international cricket community apart in the seventies) thanks to insensitive men at the helm of affairs. Cricket in the
sub-continent cannot and should not be played in such
weather conditions. At one time “summer
cricket” used to be played in India with the matches
starting at 6 a.m. in the morning. But now international
matches start at around 3 p.m. when the heat is at its
peak. However, the officials might force the players to
perform in sub-human conditions but then they cannot
force the spectators to come to the ground. And one must
remember that the shorter version of the game was devised
in an effort to bring the paying spectator to the ground
for “instant” results. But it seems that even
this “incentive” is not working in Dhaka. Is
this crowd apathy towards the game is something the
cricket administrators be forced to live with? Only time
will yield a reply. |
Karim’s injury to heal in 10 days CHENNAI, June 1 (UNI) — The injury to wicket keeper Saba Karim’s right eye suffered while keeping wickets to Anil Kumble in the Asia Cup, will heal in 10 days. Saba Karim, who was admitted to “Sankara Nethralaya” here addressed a press conference along with ophthalmologist Dr Lingam Gopal who is treating him. His doctor said there was no permanent damage and no emergency surgery was required. The doctor said Karim would recover in 10 days time. “If we can discharge him earlier, we will be happy”, he hoped. Saba Karim has sustained a blunt injury leading to compression of the retina, Dr Lingam Gopal explained, adding he was being given only emergency treatment. The damage is not permanent, Dr Lingam also clarified. “I will be out of action for 10 days”, Karim said adding: Although I will be missing the rest of the Asia Cup, it would be important for me to get regimen back. “ I hope I will be
back on the field soon”, Karim said.
Dalmiya’s boycott threat to ICC MUMBAI, June 1 (UNI) — International Cricket Council (ICC) President Jagmohan Dalmiya has threatened that if the ICC continues to treat Asian Cricket Council shabbily, than its members will boycott the second ICC one-day knock-out trophy to be held in Nairobi next year. Mr Dalmiya, who leaves the cricket governing body’s top post this month, has sent a letter to the ICC with a copy to Asian countries stating that though tournaments in Asia ushered in the biggest cash flow to the ICC coffers, the funds in return made available to them for the development of the game were less than that given to South American countries, according to the Mid-Day website. Mr Dalmiya has decided
to take up the matter in his last meeting as ICC
President later this month and has requested support from
other Asian countries. |
Holyfield-Ruiz bout called off LAS VEGAS, June 1 (AP) — Evander Holyfield’s June 10 fight with John Ruiz for the vacant WBA heavyweight title was called off after Holyfield suffered an injury in training. Holyfield had been scheduled to fight Ruiz at Caesars Palace for the piece of the title taken from Lennox Lewis by a judge for not defending it against the top-ranked contender. Marc Ratner, executive director of the Nevada Athletic Commission, said he was told yesterday that Holyfield was injured while training in Houston and the card was cancelled. A spokesman for promoter Don King said he believed Holyfield injured a rib, but that specifics would be discussed at a new conference today in Las Vegas with King, Holyfield and Holyfield’s doctor. Spokesman Greg Fritz said it was possible a new date could be announced for the fight at that time. Caesars Palace spokeswoman Debbie Munch said the hotel had begun refunding tickets bought for the bout. Holyfield’s manager, Jim Thomas, was not immediately available for comment. Holyfield was to have
tried for a fourth time as heavyweight champion in a bout
that had attracted little interest because of the way the
title was declared vacant. |
Santoro’s tactics down Gustafsson PARIS, June 1 (AFP) — If you want to talk tactics with Fabrice Santoro set aside a couple of hours. Asked how he had plotted the downfall of Swede Magnus Gustafsson in four sets in his men’s singles opener, Santoro said he knew his opponent likes to run around the forehand — and launched into a lengthy explanation. “I prefer to play an average shot on his backhand rather than a very good shot on his forehand. On his forehand it doesn’t bother him at all. Instead of playing deep, without an angle, then he’s able to hit a good forehand. It’s useless. “The good tactics were on the return serve. I block, counterattack, then if I hit to his forehand I have a lot of trouble. “The same for the serve. I often served to his forehand, although I knew he was going to hit back hard. I thought it would be hard on the first shot but afterwards I would be able to hit to his backhand. If I was serving to his backhand it wasn’t as good. Do you see what I mean?” Er, perhaps you should tell us again Fabrice. Highest tension for Kuti-Kis No one feels the tension more than Hungarian left-hander Rita Kuti-Kis. The 22-year-old, who reached the second round of the French Open for the first time, has her rackets strung at a whopping 39 kg. Not only is that the highest tension of any competitor here but it’s just below the maximum 40 kg the stringing machines can muster. The players are, meanwhile, getting through their rackets faster than ever. After just two days play, around 1,800 had been strung by the two teams working in shifts at the event, compared with 2,900 for the whole of last year’s tournament. Cozy Centre Court Dominique Van Roost felt as if she was walking with giants after knocking former world No. 1 Lindsay Davenport out of the women’s singles yesterday. The slightly-built Van Roost, who was celebrating her 27th birthday, said she used to feel lost on Centre Court -but this time was different. “I have the feeling that the Centre Court is much smaller. I didn’t feel lost in it as I did previous years. It seemed more cozy — I didn’t feel tiny in a huge space.” Maybe Van Roost’s performance in knocking out the second seed made her feel like a giant. But, in fact, extensive renovations over the past 12 months have stripped out more than 1,000 seats on the main show court, although the actual venue size hasn’t shrunk. Venus learns French Top stars don’t have a lot of time for extra-curricular jollity at a Grand Slam but Venus Williams does have one goal while she’s in town for Roland Garros — she wants to brush up her French. Venus is making sure that little sister Serena — absent here with injury — doesn’t get one up on her. Serena had done a little homework before making an unsuccessful defence of her Paris Indoor Open title here last February. Venus has also had the phrasebooks out in Paris and has been taking lessons in recent months. But something’s still getting lost in translation. “Nobody understands me in the taxi. I feel really bad. My confidence is really low,” she said plaintively. Footballers take in tennis With their league seasons finished and ahead of Euro 2000, several top football stars have been taking in some tennis at Roland Garros this week. Among those spotted in the crowd have been French World Cup winners Zinedine Zidane and Frank Leboeuf as well as Croatian international striker Davor Suker. Agassi gears up for doubles Andre Agassi has held out the possibility of playing Davis Cup doubles for the USA semifinal against Spain in Santander from July 21-23. “Certainly I’ll make myself available to help the team any way I can. If the conclusion is that I’m one of the two guys that would be best for the situation then I would do it. But that decision would need to come from (team captain) John (McEnroe),” said Agassi. But Agassi said he thought it was unlikely he would partner Pete Sampras. “While I would love to go out there and play with Pete, a quality doubles team plays a lot together. Pete and I don’t.” With the tie taking place on the slow clay the Spanish favour McEnroe might opt to keep Agassi fresh for the singles. Agassi last played
competitive doubles with Petr Korda at Monte Carlo two
years ago. |
Sonal
dashes Megha’s title hopes NEW DELHI, June 1 — Sonal Phadke played percentage tennis to dash the title hopes of second-seeded Megha Vakharia to score a 6-1, 6-3 victory in 52 minutes in the singles final of the ITF Women’s Masters Tennis Tournament at the Delhi Tennis Association court here today. The left-handed Vakharia, who was in line for a hattrick of titles, having won the crowns at the Mumbai and Pune legs of the circuit, played erratic tennis and could never assert herself, as the top-seeded Sonal Phadke raced to victory. Phadke played focused tennis and never allowed Vakharia the upper hand, though the latter had a brief moment of ascendancy in the second set when she led 2-1, but it was just a flash in the pan as Phadke quickly regained the lost ground to tighten her hold. The first set was a rush job as Phadke seemed to be in a tearing hurry to wrap up the set, which she indeed did, breaking Vakharia in the third, fifth and seventh games. It was over in just 20 minutes. In the second set, a momentary lapse of concentration almost cost Phadke dear, as she was broken in the first and third games, with Vakharia surging to a 2-1 lead. But Phadke gained breaks in the second, fourth and eighth games to bounce back, and clinch the set and the title. Phadke, who played steady tennis, had two aces and as many double faults, while Vakharia committed eight double faults. However, it was not just work and no reward for Vakharia, as later in the morning, she partnered Isha Lakhani to beat Sheetal Goutham and Liza Pereira 7-5, 6-2 in the doubles final. Though the first set was a touch and go affair, as Sheetal Goutham and Liza Pereira played tough tennis to hold out as long as they could, Vakharia and Lakhani did not allow them much liberty in the second set, running up a 4-0 lead. They were in a playful mood, yet managed to snatch the crucial points with Lakhani executing some fine down the line winners. The final game of the
match, with Lakhani serving, prolonged a little longer
than expected as Sheetal and Pereira saved four match
points, after the game went to deuce many times, but
Vakharia and Lakhani eventually had the last laugh. |
Adams keen to end losing streak BRIDGETOWN, June 1 (Reuters) — West Indies cricket captain Jimmy Adams is leading his revitalised side to England determined to end their losing streak in overseas tours. “We want to win. Whatever it takes to win, we want to do,” Adams told the Caribbean News Agency (CANA) in Barbados. “I’m not into making any predictions but I can say as we group, we are aware of it (the run of overseas defeats) and we are committed to turning that around,” he said. The squad, with batsman Brian Lara back in the fold after a self-imposed absence, is in England on their three-month tour. The side have lost their last three overseas Test series, 3-0 to Pakistan, 5-0 in South Africa and 2-0 against New Zealand. Coach Roger Harper said the return of Lara, who missed the home series against Zimbabwe and Pakistan, would boost the team. “I think Brian Lara would strengthen anything in the world and we are looking forward to him performing at his best.” Harper expected a tough tour and added that “the English conditions will be trying at the best of times.” “We have some players on the team who have not had the experience of playing in England and we expect England to be very competitive.” “All in all, we think it is going to be a tough tour but we are expecting to perform to a very high standard. We want to be as competitive as possible from ball one,” he said. Harper said the 16-man squad was confident after the nail-biting series win against Pakistan. “They worked hard all season and on Monday they got their just rewards,” he said. Adams, who has not captained the temperamental Lara previously, said he was looking forward to it and insisted the left-handed batsman would not disrupt the side’s cohesion. Lara, who had originally told the West Indies Cricket Board he could not travel to England because of his mother’s ill-health, suddenly changed his mind two weeks ago. Veteran fast bowler Curtly Ambrose, who will be making his international farewell, said the West Indies were playing well together again. “That has been lacking in the not too distant past and I think we gelled together and we are playing some wonderful cricket but I am a firm believer that there is always room for improvement,” he said. “I don’t think you’ll ever get everything right but so far we are on the right path and I will hope that we go from strength to strength.” Ambrose, who needs 12 more wickets to reach the coveted 400-mark, warned England he was still “standing strong” even though the tour will be his last. “I am 12 wickets away and I have done well against England over the years and hopefully I can maintain that kind of form against them. It would be nice to get 400 wickets.” “So far, only three guys — Courtney Walsh (449), Kapil Dev (434) and Sir Richard Hadlee (431) — have done that in Test cricket. Wasim Akram, great bowler that he is, is almost there (398) as well, so if I do get there it will be a nice feeling.” The West Indies play five Tests in England and a triangular one-day series against the hosts and Zimbabwe. Squad: Jimmy Adams (captain),
Sherwin Campbell, Adrian Griffith, Wavell Hinds, Chris
Gayle, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Ridley
Jacobs, Brian Lara, Curtly Ambrose, Courtney Walsh,
Mahendra Nagamootoo, Franklyn Rose, Reon King, Nixon
McLean, Corey Collymore. |
Cronje tapes: SA panel keen to visit India CAPE TOWN, June 1 (Reuters) — The South African commission into match-fixing would be willing to travel to India to listen to tapes being held as evidence in a case against former cricket captain Hansie Cronje, an official said yesterday. Commission secretary John Bacon said a trip to New Delhi would be considered if the Indian authorities vetoed the commission’s request for the tapes. The recordings are purportedly of conversations between the disgraced cricketer and a bookmaker. “We need to be able to listen to the tapes or at least to properly authenticated copies of them,’’ Bacon said. “If that means we have to go to India, then we’ll do that.’’ The South African government has made a formal request to its Indian counterpart for access to the recordings, but as yet it has not been granted. The tapes are central to the charges laid by Indian police on April 7 which implicated Cronje, Herschelle Gibbs, Nicky Boje and Pieter Strydom in match-fixing. All have denied the
charges, but Cronje was sacked as South Africa’s
captain after admitting to taking money from bookmakers
for providing information. |
|
DHAKA, June 1 (PTI) — When Bangladesh meet Pakistan here they will hope to repeat their World Cup victory against their formidable but unpredictable opponents. A good performance will also help cement Bangladesh’s claim for Test status, which will come up before the International Cricket Council this month. They have a good batting line-up and opener Javed Omar, Habibul Basher, skipper Aminul Islam and Akram Khan have all made decent contributions in the first two matches. But it will need a brilliant performance from their bowlers also if they are to upset Pakistan’s applecart. Pakistan, with needle contests against arch-rivals India and defending champions Sri Lanka next in line, cannot afford to be complacent and nothing less than a title triumph will be acceptable to their fanatical fans in the wake of the Justice Qayyum report on match-fixing. Coming into the
tournament after winning the tri-series against the West
Indies and Zimbabwe in the Caribbean recently, Pakistan
has a well balanced side with the best bowling attack
among the four teams. |
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AMRITSAR, June 1 (UNI) — Having bagged the coveted Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Trophy for a record 14 times, Guru Nanak Dev University has emerged as the country’s top university in sports. The success story of the university, which has produced wrestler Kartar Singh, cricketer Mohinder Amarnath and hockey stars Pargat Singh, late Surjit Singh and Rajbir Kaur, began in 1976-77 when it bagged the Maulana Azad Trophy for the first time, edging out arch-rivals Panjab University and Delhi University. Founded in 1969, Guru Nanak Dev University set an all-time record by winning this trophy seven times in a row from 1978 to 85, and have never dropped below the third position. Others on the list of the university’s international athletes include Parveen Kumar (hammer throw), Davinder Ahuja (badminton) and Suman Sharma, the country’s only woman basketballer to be awarded the Arjuna Award. “Right type of training, selection, administration and above all dedication of the players as well as their coaches are behind the success story of this university”, Dr Kawaljit Singh, Director, Sports, and head of the physical education department said. Due credit must also be given to the principals of the colleges under this university who have provided the best of facilities to the players, he said. The university has mainly excelled in power games like kabaddi, weightlifting, gymnastics, handball, hockey, basketball, wrestling and cross country running, said Dr Kawaljit Singh while pointing out that the university has won laurels in both indoor and outdoor events. “Majority of the sportspersons here are from villages and are strong and sturdy as compared to their rival universities outside Punjab,” he added. Students from the Jalandhar area are good in hockey, football and indoor games, while those from the Patti belt of this district excel in kabaddi and wrestling and those from Gurdaspur belt are good in volleyball, he said. The entire Punjab women’s gymnastics team comprises of girls from Gurdaspur, who also represent the university, he added. He, however, admitted that the university had received a setback in athletics in recent years. Though the state government had centred the best of sports facilities at Chandigarh, Patiala and Ludhiana, this university has overtaken other universities of the state, he said. The importance that the
university gives to sports can be gauged from the fact
that every year in the summer vacations, it holds summer
training camps in Himachal Pardesh. By the time the next
academic session starts, the university’s sportsmen
and women are ready for the inter-university tournaments,
Dr Kawaljit Singh added. |
Ambala to have
astroturf AMBALA June1—The city is all set to find itself in the international hockey circuit as an astroturf field is going to be established here soon. The Central Government has given the go-ahead for the astroturf here as well as Gurgaon, a sports official said. He said it would be for the first time in the state that an international level astroturf would be laid. "The astroturf will be laid at War Heroes Stadium in Ambala Cantonment. It will give a big boost to local talent, " he said. The official explained that astroturf is basically a synthetic surface and `polygrass' is going to be put on the field. "An area of approximately 6,000 square metre will have the astroturf which includes the playing area," he said. The project for setting up the astroturf field is expected to cost Rs 2.80 crore. "While the Central Government has sanctioned Rs 1 crore for the project, the rest of the amount will have to be borne by the state government," the official stated. The astroturf would be undertaken under the aegis of the district stadium committee and the timeframe in which the astroturf is expected to be ready has been set at two years. An engineer explained that first the ground will have to be prepared before the artificial grass can be laid. "A concrete base will be made which will contain water drainage and the sprinkler system," he said. Officials are confident that the astroturf will be ready for playing in about an year's time. "After the concrete base is ready then the artificial grass will be put by one of the six firms which are approved by the Sports Authority of India (SAI) after tenders are invited for the project," he said. A sports official said the astroturf surfaces which are close to Ambala include Chandigarh, Ludhiana, Amritsar, Delhi and Gwalior. Local players, especially school and college students, teams of the Railways, Army, Air Force, Indian Oil and players from the Shahbad hockey centre are expected to benefit from the astroturf surface . One of the reasons for choosing the stadium was because there will not be any security problem as there are guards apart from a high wall. Deputy Commissioner Ram Niwas said:"It is a prestigious project which will put Ambala on the international hockey circuit map. Hockey will witness a sea change in Ambala after the introduction of the astroturf," he said. Treasurer of District Hockey Association Satish Saini said that it would provide a golden opportunity for the local talent to prove its mettle. "It will be an excellent learning ground for the local hockey players. An astroturf of the international standard is definitely a welcome change," he said. He pointed out that one of the oldest hockey Olympians, Hukum Rai, hailed from Ambala. "Besides, Ambala has already produced five international level players, including Gundeep Singh, Kaushik and Sanjeev Kumar. Ambala has also hosted the state hockey championship seven times. So, the astroturf for Ambala is the right decision," he emphasised. Mr Saini observed that players from Kurukshetra and Karnal would also be able to benefit from the astroturf. "Earlier hockey used to be quiet a popular game in Ambala but over the years its popularity waned. Now with the astroturf, hockey will get a new lease of life," he added.
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‘Bribed’ jewels to be auctioned SYDNEY, June 1 (AP) — The jewels which became the centre of a corruption scandal involving Australia’s International Olympic committee member Phil Coles last March will go to auction next week. Sydney’s Daily Telegraph yesterday reported that Coles’ former wife, Georgina Coles, had sold the jewels to a diamond dealer, who planned to sell them at auction next Wednesday. Coles, severely censured
last year by IOC for accepting excessive hospitality from
Salt Lake City 2002 winter games bid panel, denied
allegations that the jewels had been bribe. |
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