 |
|
| Monday, March 5, 2001, Chandigarh, India   
|
Resilient Germany clinch
series Ruiz dethrones Evander
Holyfield
Injured Gilchrist pulls
out |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Greene matches world
record JCT, ITI evenly
matched Tiger pushed to 2nd spot; Jeev finishes joint 6th Davenport downs
Capriati Kumble working
on set goals Abhinav secures bronze Jwala-Kurien duo enters last 8 Creditable draw for
Palestinians Qatar rout Malaysia 5-1 in
qualifier Jitendra chosen for
Indian veteran team
|
|
Resilient Germany clinch series Chennai, March 4 Germany won the first Test at Mumbai 1-0, and India levelled the series winning the second at Hyderabad 2-1. In a fast-paced match backed by a good crowd, it was India who called the shots initially, but poor finishing let them down. Forward Gagan Ajit Singh was the main culprit as he missed nearly four chances, while the Germans after being pegged back in the first half, showed enough resilience in the second and slotted two goals in a space of five minutes to took the stuff out of the Indian sails. However, due credit should be given to the Indian defence, where Dilip Tirkey, Dinesh Nayak and Thirumalvalavan kept the rampaging German forwards at bay. Indian custodian Jude Menezes too had a busy time under the goal effecting as many as five saves, before succumbing in the last quarter of the match. After skipper Baljeet Singh Dhillon failed to cash on the opening in the very first minute, Gagan made a mess of a superb pass given by Tirkey from the defence in the 12th minute. With a fine solo, Gagan entered the striking area and was well postioned to score with only German custodian Arnold Clemens to beat. But he bungled hitting the ball straight to the goalkepeer who recovered well to prevent Gagan from taking the rebound after effecting a feeble save. However, India struck the first blood seven minutes later, when Deepak Thakur hoisted the lead off a pass from Gagan. Deepak showed enough knack in tapping the ball home following a goal-mouth melee. The success came in as a source of inspiration as India attacked well. Dhillon, Prabjoth Singh and Gagan were never short of passes as Bipin Fernandes, Lazarus Barla, Baljeet Singh Saini and S.S. Gill manned the midfield well. But it was poor finishing that led to India’s defeat. Gagan messed up another chance in the 23rd minute before Jude Menzes in the other end came up with a superb save for the second time of a penalty-corner hit by Michel Bjorn. After change of ends, India came close to increasing the lead but Gagan again was found wanting near the goal-mouth. Baljeet Singh Dhillon did the spade-work and crossed to an unmarked Gagan, but the latter hit straight to Clemens. A few minutes later, luck deserted India as Gagan’s rasping shot from the top of the circle, hit the post. Thereafter, it was Germans all the way as they attacked with verve. Substitute Florian Keller lent admirable support to Sascha Reinelt and Bjorn in the attack and Wess Timo and Bjorn Emmerling played their role to perfection with timely clearances in the half line. After thwarting the German forwards on many a occasion, the Indian citadel finally fell when the Germans drew level in the 57th minute through Oliver Domke, whose reverse flick five minutes earlier was saved by Jude Menezes. Of the fifth penalty corner, Sascha switched the ball to Domke to provide the finishing touches. The Germans struck five minutes later to gain the lead when Bjorn secured the lead with an immaculately executed shot from the top of the circle. Wein Christisan from the left relayed the ball to Bjorn who tapped it well at the top of the circle and banged home. Jude reacted a trifle late and was comprehensively beaten by the pace of the shot. The Indians nearly held the lead, before the twin strike dashed their hopes. With swift counterattacks India did pose a problem or two for the German defence and forced three penalty corners in the second half, including two in the last six minutes, but the visitors held on gamely to emerge victors.
UNI |
|
Ruiz dethrones Evander Holyfield Las Vegas, March 4 Holyfield was knocked down for only the fifth time in his career by a solid right to the temple from Ruiz just 30 seconds into the 11th round, the deciding blow in the all-American matchup. “I didn’t see the shot,” Holyfield said. “Of course, I’m surprised. But if you don’t get these guys out of there, these things happen.” Judges gave Ruiz the victory by scores of 116-110, 115-111 and 114-111. The 29-year-old American born to Puerto Rican parents improved to 37-4 in the rematch of a controversial fight Holyfield won by unanimous decision. “I was coming for what belongs to me and I was coming home with it,” Ruiz said. “I just wanted to be on him. I wanted to prove to the world I had the punch. I died up here last time. Not this time.” “First Latino - it’s a great feeling. I love it. The greatest.” It might be the end for Holyfield, who fell to 37-5 with one drawn with his fourth defeat in a title fight. But the 38-year-old “Warrior” refused to say goodbye and pushed for a third fight with Ruiz. “Ain’t no tears in my eyes,” Holyfield said. “People can say what they like. I still want to be the world heavyweight champion. I just have to get back in line.” “I will just go back to training camp and work a little more. I would like to fight him again. We will have to see what happens.” Ruiz was ready for a third encounter with Holyfield, saying, “He gave me a rematch. If he wants to fight again, we’re going to do it. Now there’s one thing only — show me the money.” The biggest money foes for Ruiz’s first title defence would be former champion Mike Tyson and Britain’s Lennox Lewis. But a third fight with Holyfield in June at Beijing is promoter Don King’s more likely path as he backs both men. “Maybe they should have a rematch,” King said. “John is going to China, Beijing baby.” Lewis, the World Boxing Council and International Boxing Federation champion, dropped the WBA crown last April rather than face Ruiz, whom he dubbed “Johnny Louise” and insulted as an inadequate rival. Lewis, who fights American Hasim Rahman in South Africa next month, won his last defence by unanimous decision over Samoan David Tua, who stopped Ruiz in 19 seconds earlier in their careers. Tyson said he wanted to fight the Holyfield-Ruiz winner, but only if King had nothing to do with the bout. Tyson is suing King over monies taken from fight contracts when the two worked together. Asked if he would step aside to ease the way to a Tyson-Ruiz title fight, King laughed and said, “Are you crazy? Are you insane? I have no interest in resolving it with Mr Tyson. If he thinks he’s going to fight John Ruiz without me, hasta la vista, baby. “We’re not going to worry too much about Mike. We’re going to Beijing. He will be the first boxing champion to fight in Beijing.” The fight’s turning point came when Ruiz dumped Holyfield on his rear in round 11 and the stunned champion struggled to stay on his feet for 2:30. Holyfield evaded, clutched and grabbed Ruiz, taking punch after punch and wrapping his arms around Ruiz in desperation until he had escaped with the bell sounding to end the round. Ruiz and Holyfield, both bloodied and weary, traded punches to the finish in the 12th round. But by then, on every judge’s scorecard, the outcome was no longer in doubt. Holyfield won a controversial unanimous decision last August over Ruiz to claim the WBA crown stripped from Lewis when he bypassed Ruiz to defend his title against then-unbeaten Michael Grant. Holyfield looked sluggish in that victory, a fact he later blamed on a punctured eardrum, and Ruiz found support for his claim that his defeat was “highway robbery without a gun” when the WBA ordered a rematch. Ruiz was struck by a low blow from Holyfield two minutes into the 10th round, a hard left below the belt that sent the challenger face down to the canvas in agony. A point was taken from Holyfield and Ruiz took about three minutes to recover and resume fighting.
AFP |
|
Injured Gilchrist pulls
out New Delhi, March 4 Gilchrist reportedly suffered an “abductor muscle strain” on the hip, while practising at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai yesterday, and as a precaution, Haddin is being flown in for the three-day tie. Australian coach John Buckanan said the team management didn’t want to take any risk by fielding a regular batsman as a make-shift wicket-keeper, because if he gets injured, then two players would be on the injured list. “Moreover, our bowlers need to practise against a regular wicket-keeper”, explained the coach. He said Gilchrist’s injury was not serious, and he would be fit for the second Test in Kolkota. Ricky Ponting, Justin Langer, Michael Kasprowicz, Mark Waugh, Colin Miller and Damien Martyn turned up for a “net” session at the Ferozeshah Kotla ground here this evening. The Aussies will have no practise session tomorrow as they will be leaving for Agra for sight-seeing. At a brief interaction with the media, in the morning, Ricky Ponting said the catch he took to dismiss Sachin Tendulkar in the second innings of the first Test in Mumbai, was one of the best catches he had taken. He said Sachin’s dismissal was the turning point of the Test. Recalled Test speedster Michael Kasprowicz, who had replaced the injured pace terror Brett Lee in the squad for the India tour, is all set to play in the three-day match, after sitting out in the first Test. He said it’s time he did well with the ball “as my batting average in India is better than my bowling! (He scored 92 and 15 against India A in the three-day match at Nagpur)”. The Board President’s XI, to be skippered by Indian captain Saurav Ganguly, will assemble here only tomorrow. The match will be a litmus test for Ganguly, as he will have to prove his worth with the bat as well as his captaincy skills, which had taken a terrible beating in the Mumbai Test. The match may also make or mar leg-spinner Narendra Hirwani’s bid to return to Test cricket. Players like consistently proficient run-getter Dinesh Mongia, medium-pacer Surinder Singh Bagal and spinner Sharandeep Singh will get another chance to impress the national selectors, with their deeds on the field. The selectors, headed by chairman of the selection committee Chandu Borde, will be watching the three-day match, as the Indian for the second Test is likely to be announced on the second day of the match here. Indian team manager Chetan Chauhan, who is also the senior vice-president of the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA), said no player from the Board XI would be dropped and Ganguly’s addition would make it a 15-member team. The original captain, Vijay Dahiya, will now be one of the boys in the team, as no vice-captain has been named. Mr Chauhan said there was good response for tickets, though the match will be clashing with board exams. Mr Sanjeev Rao (Indore) and Mr Subrata Banerjee (Kolkata) will be the umpires. |
|
|
Greene matches world record Atlanta, March 4 Greene tied his own mark of 6.39sec, dominating his semifinal from start to finish and making good on his intention to turn in a world record at the two-day meeting in the Georgia Dome. “In the semifinals, I timed the race just right,” Greene said. “In the finals, the last two steps I slowed up on, and that is what affected my time.” However, Greene said he would not be competing at the Indoor World Championships in Lisbon from March 9 to11, preferring to concentrate on his preparations for the outdoor world championship season. “I will not be participating in the Worlds next week simply because it is not in my plan,” he said. “My plan is to continue training and try to break the outdoor record”. “Part of the reason that I came to compete today was for motivation. I am constantly looking for ways to challenge and push myself”. “Other reasons for my participation today also include supporting USA Track and Field and the other great athletes competing.” The top finishers in the meet earned berths for the World Championships, provided they have met the qualifying standard. World record-holder Stacy Dragila, who captured her sixth US indoor women’s pole vault world title on Friday night, was looking forward to a chance to make up for a disappointing performance in the 1999 world indoor championships. Lawrence Johnson set an American record in the men’s pole vault with a leap of 5.96m. He then made three unsuccessful attempts at a would-be world record height of 6.16m. “On the last attempt I moved my hand up just a little bit and that’s the closest I got,” he said. “If I had done that on the first two attempts at the world record it might’ve happened. I’ve been working a lot with John Smith lately and I’m stronger and faster down the runway. That’s a big reason why I’m confident enough to go hard for the world record. “I’ve believed for a long time that I’m the best athlete in this event and it’s up to me to prove it. I expect to get the world record this year during the outdoor season. I’ve never been more confident.” Terrence Trammell won the men’s 60m hurdles in 7.49, and joined Dragila in claiming a new car awarded to the top men’s and women’s performers in USA Track and Field’s indoor golden spike tour, which concluded with the championships. Trammell was born in Atlanta, and two more Georgia natives delighted the crowd in the men’s field events. Adam Nelson, shot put winner at the 2000 US Olympic trials, won his first US indoor title with a throw of 21.40m. Dwight Phillips won the men’s long jump with a leap of 8.12m. Chryste Gaines, a member of the 1996 Olympic 4x100m relay gold medal-winning team, claimed her first US indoor title, winning the women’s 60m in 7.15sec. Seneca Lassiter won his first indoor title in the men’s mile, taking control of the race from Jason Pyrah in the late stages for an easy win in 3:58.67. Amy Acuff, a two-time US outdoor champion, won her first US indoor high jump title with a jump of 1.92m (6-3.5).
AFP |
|
JCT, ITI evenly
matched Chandigarh, March 4 With only four points from four draws, the struggling mill men today are in a precarious situation which is largely not due to their own making. Injuries to key players like Hardip Sangha, who is among the probables for Inda's pre-World Cup campaign, medio Hardip Saini, defenders Prabhjot Singh and Kuldip Singh coupled with ill luck have pushed them to the last spot, something unthinkable in Punjab football circles. But even rivals admit that the mill men cannot be written off easily as the squad is known for their unique fighting ability in the face of adversities. Sangha, Saini and Prabhjot are partially fit, but once they move into top gear, JCT may in fact spring a couple of surprises in the coming days. TI with Mohammed Habib as coach are also no pushovers. In ten matches played so far, they have won one and drawn four. In fact the Bangalore outfit registered a major upset on December 19 when they edged out current leaders East Bengal 1-0 in a home match at Bangalore. But that was the only victory for them after they held State Bank of Travancore to a goal-less draw in the lung opener.
ITI later lost to Mohun Bagan 0-1, Mahindras 0-1, drew with FC Kochin 1-1, lost to Tollygunge 0-1, Salgaocar 0-1, drew with Air-India 1-1, Vasco 0-0, and eventually lost to Churchill Brothers 1-2 in the tenth round. The margin of defeat in all the matches has been one goal which suggests that the team's defence and midfield have been effective although they did concede eight goals. Scoring has been a problem for them. Till now they have scored only four goals, with skipper KV Dhanesh alone accounting for two. The others scorers have been Prakash Rawat and Yusuf Mohammed. Unlike JCT, ITI have a couple of foreigners in their ranks like George and Kenneth from Nigeria and Hamid and Majid from Iraq. Yousuf Mohammed, who plays as stopper back, hails from Oman. But they have not been able impress much so far. The other notable faces are Shabbir and Feroze besides the dependable N. Balaji under the bar. The team will sorely miss the services of striker RC Prakash, who shifted to Mohun Bagan last season, and Rajesh Meetei, who is now assisting Churchill Brothers. In the previous edition, ITI escaped relegation by the skin of their teeth after drawing with BSF in the last match at Ludhiana. Playing in the league for the third year in running, the Bangalore outfit, formerly coached by Nagendran, will seek to put up a better show tomorrow. Dubai, March 4 In one of the major upsets, world number one Tiger Woods of the USA was relegated to the second spot along with Padraig Harrington of Ireland with 20 under par 268 as the championship was won by Thomas Bjorn of Denmark with a 22 under par total of 266. Jeev, who was placed at the fourth spot overnight, played credibly by any standards. In his final round
today, he carded one under par 71. In the first round, he had carded 67, followed by 66 in the second round and 67 in the third. Jeev said he was quite pleased with his performance, saying it had given him great encouragement for the tournaments ahead. He is leaving for Japan tonight to participate in another championship.
UNI |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Davenport downs Capriati Scottsdale, March 4 Davenport, the world number 2, constructed a 6-4, 6-7(2), 6-1 semi-final victory at the Scottsdale Princess outdoors last night. She will play for the title Sunday and a top prize of $ 90,000 against unfancied eighth seed Meghann Shaughnessy. The young American scored the biggest win of her career with a knockout of second seed Monica Seles 3-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-2. In January, the up-and-comer defeated world number 5 Conchita Martinez at the Gold Coast in Australia. “She’s a legend, an unbelievable player who has accomplished so much in tennis,’’ Shaughnessy said of Seles. “I hope I can accomplish only some of what she has. To beat her in front of all my family and friends was great.’’ Seles, champion last week in Oklahoma with a win in the finals over Capriati, said she let her chances go. “I was feeling fine today. Meghann just played better at key times than I did. I had the match in control and let it get away. She played a lot better.’’ Davenport now stands 6-2 against Capriati, whose semifinal victory in Australia stopped a run of five straight Davenport wins dating to 1997 - including the 2000 Scottsdale second round. But in the American desert a month after winning her 31st career singles trophy in Tokyo, Davenport showed she had ironed most of the recent kinks out of her game. Losing the second-set tiebreaker could have been a disaster for the Californian. “Fortunately, I was able to move on. You don’t want to let top players in like that, but I was able to recover.’’ Davenport added: “I was happy to get a good lead in the third set. To feel like I could run away with it was a good feeling.” Capriati complained of cold in the third set. “I didn’t feel tired mentally, but the conditions were stiff out there. All the credit goes to Lindsay.’’ At the men’s ATP event in California, Andre Agassi moved to a perfect 11-0 record for 2001, beating Jan-Michael Gambill 6-4, 6-4 to reach the $ 400,000 Sybase Open final. Agassi will take on big-serving Briton Greg Rusedski, who earned a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Belgian qualifier Xavier Malisse. Rusedski was pleased with his effort: “I got a little pop in my serve and lifted my game when I had to.’’ Malisse, 20, admitted defeat, saying: “I was a little bit tired out there today. But even if I was in great shape, Greg played very well.’’ Today’s final against Agassi will be Rusedski’s first shot at a title since October 1999 in Munich at the Grand Slam Cup, which he won. Rusedski reached the San Jose Trophy match in 1997, withdrawing with a wrist injury against Pete Sampras. Agassi won the Australian Open in January and is one victory away from a fifth career title here. He owns a 5-2 record over Gambill with every one of their matches having been played on the American West Coast. “I’m executing well,’’ said the 39-year-old Agassi. “Playing Jan-Michael is a pretty straightforward match.’’
DPA |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Kumble working on set goals Bangalore, March 4 “It is just over a month after the surgery and the shoulder is coming along very well. I have set some goals and I have been achieving them,” he told in an interview to a cricket website “thatscricket.Com.” Stating that Indian physio Andrew Leipus was taking good care of him, Kumble said that he was planning to go to South Africa this month to see shoulder specialist Mark Fergusson. “Kumble, who underwent the surgery in South Africa in January said he could not say for sure when he would be back on the field.” On India’s chances of victory in the series against Australians, he said, “if we can get the runs in the first innings, I don’t think it would be difficult to get 20 wickets to win the match. Once the runs are up on the board, the Australians will be under pressure.” Asked whether speedster Glenn McGrath would make a difference, Anil Kumble said he would give the Aussies an edge in terms of fast bowling. “But I am sure our batsmen are capable of handling him as he will not get the same amount of bounce from the India wickets.” He said Indian spinners had got a good opportunity to perform against the visitors. During the camp, “I passed on whatever knowledge that I could to the spinners and helped them out at the nets,” he added. On his impression about john wright, he said “I have hardly interacted with Wright except for the short camp in Chennai.” Meanwhile, Srinath told the website that he was keen to learn from Glenn McGrath. “Personally, I am looking forward to picking up a few things from McGrath.”
UNI |
|
Abhinav secures bronze Chandigarh, March 4 His latest achievement has created ripples in whole of Europe. About his coaching and training in India, Abhinav said: “Well, to be aiming for Olympic and World Cup gold medals, one has to get oneself trained and coached by the very best”. Mr Reakelmeir who trains German Olympic team, was now giving coaching to Abhinav. He said he will be returning to India and have 10 days rigorous training with the German coach from March 23 to April 1 to prepare him for the Atlanta World Cup to be held in mid April. |
|
Jwala-Kurien duo enters last 8 Chandigarh, March 4 As many as 19 country teams are taking part in this meet. Gutta Jwala and Shruti Kurien had also won their first round singles matches before losing in second round to the seeded players. SDS Krishna had beaten Henno Baks of Netherlands at 10-15, 15-8, 15-11 and Tuomos Karhula of Finland at 15-14, 15-6 while Anoop Sridhar outplayed Fredrik Ulinder of Sweden at 15-6, 15-4 and Gijs Van of Netherlands 15-10, 15-11 in their league matches. Nishad Dravid of India was another spirited player who won his first round match against Jan Junker of Germany in straight sets. |
|
Creditable draw for Palestinians Hong Kong, March 4 A team made up almost exclusively of amateurs from the violence-wracked West Bank and Gaza fully deserved their point in their opening match in group three of the Asian preliminary round and could easily have come away with three. After a dour first half in which neither side looked like scoring, the Palestinians upped the tempo in the second period and went ahead in the 63rd minute. Emad Abou El Kair was the hero of the hour, sidefooting home from close range after the Hong Kong defence allowed a low cross from the right to run right across the six-yard line. Palestinian goalkeeper Ramzi Saleh sprinted 80 yards up field to join his jubilant teammates in celebrations that included kneeling in a circle and kissing the Hong Kong stadium turf. The celebrations proved premature. Ten minutes later Hong Kong striker Chan Ho Man got in front of the Palestinian defence to get his head to a cross from the left. The ball looped cruelly over Saleh and in off the woodwork. Hong Kong piled on the pressure in the last quarter of an hour with both Chan and midfielder John Moore spurning chances to win the match. The match ended in acrimony with Moore and Palestine’s Osama Abualia both red-carded for a clash in the dying minutes of the match. Ali Abdramou, the Palestinian’s goalkeeping coach, said the team’s participation in the World Cup was an important symbol of Palestinian nationhood.
AFP |
|
Qatar rout Malaysia 5-1 in qualifier Hong Kong, March 4 The tiny Gulf state lived up to their billing as group favourites with what turned into a comfortable victory in the opening match of group three in the Asian zone preliminary round. Things might have been different if Malaysia had been able to hang on to the advantage they gained when left back Rosdi Talib opened the scoring with a spectacular 25-yard free kick in the 11th minute. But the lead lasted for only 90 seconds before Al-Enazi outjumped third-choice goalkeeper Mazlan Wahid, to flick a hopeful cross into the back of the net. It was a disastrous start for Wahid, who was only playing as a result of coach Allan Harris’s decision to axe his top two goalkeepers from the squad after they were spotted revelling at a Kuala Lumpur disco in the early hours. Al-Enazi should have put Qatar two up in the 26th minute when he somehow managed to fire wide from six yards with the goal gaping. But he made amends eight minutes before the break. A neat one-two with Waleed Hamza Rasoul left him free to slot home from 12 yards.
AFP |
|
Jitendra chosen for
Indian veteran team Chandigarh, March 4 The selection of the two was made during the National Veterans TT Championship held at Cochin from February 20 to 25, according to Mr Arun Jain, President of the Indian Veterans TT Association. According to Mr Jain, Mr N.S. Kalsi, who is president of the Punjab Veteran TT Association, has also been made Vice-President of the Indian Veterans TT Association. Punjab has already sought to organise the National Veterans TT Championship at Chandigarh this year. The squad is: Men’s 50+: Jitendra Kishore (Punjab-SBOP), G.V.S.V. Rao (AP), P.K. Tamkar (Mhr), D. Suren (AP), Jagan Nath Prasad (AP), G.C. Kanchan (Mhr). Men’s 40+: K.K. Rai (Mah). K.G. Purohit (Guj), P.K. Satpathy (MP), Sanjeev Sood (Punjab- SBOP), Tapan Das Chakarvarty (WB), Gurupatre (Mhr). Men’s 60+:
Anand Prakash (Delhi), D. Kesav Rao (AP), A.N. Bhargava (UP), R.P. Chatterjee (BNG). Women’s 40+:
Mangla Sharaf (Mhr), Anuja M Ghadhi (Mhr), Sudha M.B. (Krl), Sunita Verma (MP). Womens 50+: Geeta Purania (MP) and Laxmi Krishna (AP). |
 |
| Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir | Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs | Nation | Editorial | | Business | Sport | World | Mailbag | In Spotlight | Chandigarh Tribune | Ludhiana Tribune 50 years of Independence | Tercentenary Celebrations | | 121 Years of Trust | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
