 |
|
Saturday,
May 12, 2001, Chandigarh, India  
|
India
clash with lowly Brunei today
Wave of
anger, grief sweeps Ghana ‘India
needs more shooting ranges’ |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Ex-Olympian
alleges foul play by IOC Dalai
Lama may back China’s bid BCA bank
accounts frozen Eves’
soccer from today Working
of MLNSS reviewed Rukshar
to lead India
lose to South Korea Paes-Bhupathi
duo beaten Harbhajan
honoured Handball
trials |
|
India clash with lowly Brunei today Bandar Seri Bagawan (Brunei), May 11 Mathematically India can still advance to the second round though there are a lot of ifs and buts involved weighing not in favour of India who are placed third with four points in the Asian zone group 8 behind leaders UAE and Yemen. While India will have to rely on providence for Yemen to hold UAE to a draw twice at least, they must fire their own resources to register not only a win against Brunei but a thumping one, if they intend to make history. However, it may be all over for India if UAE win their qualifier against Yemen later tonight. So what makes this match interesting despite all odds is that it will give Indian football a much-needed perk should the visitors win and a loss will indicate how much ground needs to be covered before India can make a mark in the sport. Brunei come into this match with memories they would want to erase as soon as possible - a 0-12 loss to UAE and a 0-5 loss to Yemen both at home. This should not call for complacency for India. In fact, they will have to be on their toes even more as their weak rivals have nothing to lose and will go all out without any pressures. “Though Brunei started off badly, they have improved with each outing. We will not take them lightly....It will be a good match,” skipper Baichung Bhutia told PTI. Bhutia, back after serving a one-match suspension after he was booked against UAE which
India lost 0-1, said the team wanted to garner the full three points though the result would be of little significance in the immediate scheme of things. “Mathematically we can still qualify and we are all keeping our fingers crossed. We will put in hundred per cent on the field and hope for the best,” he added. But even Bhutia knows he is hoping against hope as that mathematics requires scoring at least 17 goals from the match tomorrow and the last on May 20 at home against the same rival, provided again if Yemen hold UAE twice. Coach Sukhwinder Singh echoed Bhutia’s remarks and admitted everyone in the team was anxiously awaiting the outcome of the UAE-Yemen match. “But irrespective of whether we qualify or not our aim is to excel on the field tomorrow.” He said the performance of the team had been remarkable uptil now and he hoped the boys would keep up the good show in the last two outings. “The team is fit and with Bhutia back in action I am expecting an inspired performance from the boys”. Some defensive lapses had cost India dearly in the drawn match (3-3) against Yemen and the coach said this time around they would avoid repeating the same mistakes. “I am keeping my fingers crossed...With a little bit of luck and lots of hard work we can still make it to the next round,” Sukhwinder, who was declared the Asian coach of the month last week, said. If India keep up this never-say-die attitude, certainly anything is possible as the group 8 competition has sprung a few surprises indeed.
PTI |
|
Wave of anger, grief sweeps Ghana Accra, May 11 President John Kufuor held an emergency meeting to look into whether police over-reaction had sparked Wednesday’s disaster — the worst sports tragedy in Africa and the fourth such incident to rock the continent in a month. Troops were deployed at three Accra city hospitals to hold back crowds looking for bodies or lists of the injured. Most people were crying, in shock or bitterly angry. Meanwhile, about 120 youths mobbed a police station in the suburb of Kotobabi, throwing stones, bottles and metal objects. They shouted anti-police slogans, witnesses said. The police fired in the air to quell an angry crowd but there were no reports of injuries. Ghanaian President John Kufuor, who said he was in a “state of shock” over the tragedy, appealed for nationwide calm in an address on state television. Independent reports said the stampede claimed at least 130 lives. Ghana’s Health Ministry put the toll at 123, but stressed that some other bodies may have been taken home by relatives without the knowledge of hospital authorities. Accra has announced free treatment for the victims as relatives and friends sought out the missing and city hospitals treating the injured posted up names of their patients. Doctors were allowing groups of 20 into the hospital morgues to identify bodies. A doctor said it was necessary “as Ghanians do not carry identity cards.” Meanwhile, the police late yesterday brought back to hospital at least four bodies of victims, all Muslims, whose relatives had taken the corpses for burial. The government has said it will not allow burials for the moment to have a head count of the dead. There were 106 dead bodies in Accra’s military hospital, of whom eight were women and four children. Scenes of the piled up bodies were aired on state-run television last night and many people in bars and restaurants were openly crying while watching the news bulletin. Government spokeswoman Elisabeth Ohene said: “It looks like the police may have over-reacted but a committee of inquiry will be set up.” The tragedy occurred late on Wednesday after a 2-1 victory by reigning league champions Hearts of Oak. Supporters of arch rivals Kumasi Ashanti Kotoko began to rip up seats at the Accra Sports Stadium, hurling them on to the pitch. In an attempt to quell the unrest, police fired rounds of tear gas into the stand where the fans were rioting, sparking a stampede. The crowd panicked and many were crushed underfoot, unable to escape the trouble and tear gas as the gates were locked shut in the 30,000-capacity stadium, the Joy FM radio reported. The stadium had giant iron grills separating the stands from the pitch and trapping the spectators. This did not conform to FIFA standards. President Kufuor addressed the nation on television, and vowed that anyone convicted in connection with the tragedy would face “the full
rigorous of the law.” He also announced three days of national mourning in memory of the victims, and appealed for calm. “I am...Appealing to all of you to show restraint and calm. The eyes of the world are upon us and we must show the world that we are a dignified people,” said Mr Kufuor, an avid football player in his youth and a former president of the Kumasi Ashanti Kotoko Football Club. National anger was reflected in calls to private radio stations aired throughout the day. One caller said: “How do you equate plastic chairs to 130 lives?” While another alleged that the police’s main intention “was to watch the match, not security.” Firefighters used water hoses to clean up the bloodied Accra stadium, but the venue was still littered with torn clothing, footwear and stray personal belongings such as lockets and bags. Ghana’s Inspector-General of Police, E. Owusu Poku, said: “It is very regrettable what happened and we are going to set up our own internal committee of inquiry. Anybody found to be responsible will be duly punished.” Ebenezer Kofi Owusu, one of the lucky ones to escape unscathed, told AFP that the floodlights “were put off for the first 10 minutes when the trouble started” and that “many of the exit gates were locked”. Owusu said many thieves and pickpockets were “going
thought the pockets of the dead, removing mobile phones and money.” Meanwhile, a FIFA spokesman said in Paris yesterday that the tragedy would affect plans to hold the 2010 World Cup in Africa.
AFP |
|
‘India
needs more shooting ranges’ Chandigarh, May 11 Along with another international shooter from Chandigarh, Sabeeha Dhillon, they are attending the national shooting camp now in progress at Ranjitgarh Shooting Range at Phillaur ( Punjab). The camp is being held for top shooters of India who will be taking part in the world meets at Germany and Italy. The camp will end on May 20 and trials will begin from May 13 Sabeeha has a 10-metre shooting range in her rear courtyard. Shilpi Singh, employed with the Central Industrial Security Force as Sub Inspector based in Delhi, who visited her house, said in Punjab and Chandigarh people showed keen interest in sports, including shooting. Shilpi, now 21, will be participating for the third time in the World Cup in air pistol ( 10 metre) and sports pistol ( 25 metre) event. Earlier Shilpi had taken part in the Commonwealth Shooting Championships in 1997 and 1999 in Malaysia and New Zealand where she secured the silver and bronze medals respectively. Shilpi learnt the finer aspects of shooting from her father, himself a national ranked shooter. She is a native of Jharkhand and took to shooting at the age of 14. Sabeeha, who is yet to complete 18 years, is now preparing hard in 10 metres and 3 position.22 event. Poornima Rao, the soft spoken shooter from Mumbai, said it was her first visit to the city. She took to shooting only two years back and astonished all with her astounding performance in the National Shooting Championship in 1999 at Phillaur where she shattered the national record. She shot 395\400. Poornima, who is based in Mumbai and practices at the Maharashtra State Shooting Association ranges said: “ There is a galaxy of women international shooters like Olympian Anjali Ved Pathak, Suma Dixit, Anuja among others and the atmosphere is ideal for shooting in Mumbai. However the high humidity level sometimes makes it difficult to perform at the desired level” Poornima said the juniors were also coming up well. She expressed her gratitude to Hungarian rifle shooting coach Lazslo Szuvask, who was on a contract with the Indian Government for the past few years. She said it was the two-month training under him which helped her to become a top class shooter. She hoped Indian women shooters would secure medals at Asian Games and other big meets. Poornima said she belonged to a middle class family and could not afford to pursue costly sports like shooting, but free equipment provided by the Sports Authority of India boosted her morale. Rao is employed with the Railways as junior division clerk. Her practice schedule runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. |
||
|
Ex-Olympian alleges foul play by IOC New Delhi, May 11 According to Randhawa, who is among the select five Indians to have figured in the finals of an Olympic event, said here today that his claim was ignored by the Indian Oil Corporation Ltd while allotting a petrol station under the sports quota to one Tejinder Singh, who claims to have represented Punjab in the Cooch-Behar Trophy and North Zone in the C K Naydu Trophy, which the veteran Olympian said, was no criteria for him to become eligible for a petrol station under the “outstanding sports person category” at Kamah (Nawanshahr) in Nangli. Randhawa, Tajinder Singh and a former national athlete Mrs Surjit Kaur had applied for the petrol station following an advertisement in 1998, for which the eligibility criteria for the applicants was: Arjuna awardee or winner of a medal in Olympics\ Asian\ Commonwealth Games\ recognised world champion\championships or national champion under recognised national championships. Randhawa said the interviews were conducted on May 2, 2001 at Chandigarh by the Dealer Selection Board, Punjab-2, but when the merit list was displayed, Tajinder Singh pipped Randhawa to the second place. Randhawa, the “only Asian athlete to be the Olympic finalist in 110m hurdles in the 1964 Tokyo Olympics” and the first Indian sportsperson to receive the Arjuna Award in 1961, said Tajinder Singh was reported to have been selected to represent Punjab in the C K Nayudu (Under-22) Trophy held in Jammu in 1981 while Surjit Kaur was the national champion in the 3000 metres. Randhawa said he had his doubts whether “Tajinder Singh was ever a member of he North Zone (Under-22) team for the C K Nayudu Trophy, which participated in the inter-zonal championship in Delhi in 1981”, adding that “Tajinder Singh has never played first class cricket and has never been a participant in the senior level cricket championships conducted by the BCCI. Randhawa said it was unfair that “candidates with better credentials have been relegated to second and third place and those with lesser credentials have been given a higher place”. Randhawa, Asian gold medallist in decathlon in the 1962 Asian Games in Jakarta (Indonesia), also questioned the wisdom of giving the Padma Shri to Sunita Rani of Punjab, overlooking the claims of double gold medallist Jyotirmoy Sikdar of Bengal, who had won a golden double in the Bangkok Asian Games in 1998 whereas Sunita Rani had won only a bronze in the 1500m and silver in the 5000m at Bangkok. Randhawa said it was a travesty of justice that an athlete of his credentials was never ever considered for the Padma Shri. “Such a grave injustice has been done (to me)”, he said. But he made it clear that “if it is given to me now, I will not accept it”. Randhawa is the recipient of the President’s Police Medal for distinguished services in 1990, which is one of the string of honours bestowed on him in his distinguished career, though his claim had been overlooked when it came to the Padma awards, and now a petrol station. |
|
Dalai Lama may back China’s bid Salt Lake City, May 11 “This is a very complicated issue because China is the most populous nation in the world and deserves to be the Olympic host,” the Tibetan Buddhist leader said minutes after his plane arrived from Minnesota yesterday. He said if democracy supporters in China favour the Olympics he would not stand in the way. He spoke to reporters at the Salt Lake International Airport, the start of three days of speeches and teaching sessions in Utah. His three-week tour also includes stops in Portland, Oregon; San Francisco; San Jose, California; Madison, Wisconsin; Washington DC and Los Angeles. He visited Minneapolis earlier this week. Each city has Tibetan residents settled by the 10-year-old Tibetan Resettlement project. The first group of eight Tibetans arrived in Salt Lake City in 1992 and there are now 150 in the resettlement project. The Dalai Lama, the leader of 6 million Tibetan Buddhists expressed hope for relations with China in the future, especially on human rights issues. “China should not be isolated,” he said. “Friendship with China is essential.” China distrusts the Dalai Lama because since the spiritual leader fled Tibet in 1959 following a failed uprising against Chinese rule, he has opposed the way Beijing governs the Himalayan territory. Although the Dalai Lama says he supports greater autonomy for Tibet, not independence, Chinese leaders continue to accuse him of wanting to separate the region from China. A small protest was also organised by Students for a Free Tibet to encourage International Olympic Committee members to deny China the 2008 Olympics. Thupten Tsering had flown to Utah from New York to organise the protest and said the Dalai Lama’s visit was “a fortunate coincidence.” He said China should be denied the privilege of playing host to the Olympics until Tibet was independent. Although the Dalai Lama had taken a more moderate view on the subject about an hour earlier, Tsering said he stuck to his position. “He’s my leader, but he’s in a different position than I am,” he said standing amid banners, posters and leaflets spread out on a street corner. “He has to compromise because he is trying to save a nation that is dying.”
AP |
|
|
BCA bank accounts frozen Ranchi, May 11 IT sources said the BCA owed Rs 10.4 million in back taxes, of which it had paid Rs 4.6 million. The accounts, in various banks in Jamshedpur, had been frozen as the remaining Rs 5.8 million had not been paid in spite of repeated reminders, the sources said. The BCA is reported to have Rs 18 million in its bank accounts. The dues date back to 1991, sources in the BCA said. “Most of the cricket associations are exempted from paying income tax, as they are treated as non-profit organisations. The BCA got entangled in the tax net because it has not procured the tax exemption certificate from the Central Board of Direct Taxes.
IANS |
|
Eves’ soccer from today Gurusar Sadhar (Ludhiana), May 11 Ruralities and students are excited over the championship and Mr M.S. Khatra, Principal of the college, revealed that people were visiting his office daily to inquire about the fixtures. The inaugural match will be played between Bihar and Meghalya in the evening while in second match on the first day of championship, Rajasthan will take on Goa. As many as 350 players and 60 officials will participate in the meet and their board and lodging arrangement have been made in the college hostels. Bihar, Meghalya, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Goa teams have already arrived at the venue. Sixteen teams will demonstrate their skill in the preliminary league matches. Four top teams will then face Manipur, Assam, West Bengal and Kerala, who had reached semifinals last year. Ratin Mukherhee, national referee from West Bengal, while talking to this correspondent said the grounds were well-maintained but he was worried about the weather conditions. The coach of the Goa team, Severino Fernandes, too, is quite happy with the maintenance of the grounds. Agnelo Rodrigues, manager of the team, was also of the same view. |
|
Working
of MLNSS reviewed Chandigarh, May 11 Dr Sinha said the campus was spread over 300 acres with excellent sports infrastructure and educational facilities. However, due to the poor performance of the school, the department was also considering handing over the management of the school to some private educational society like Delhi Public School. Among others who attended the session were Mrs S.
Chona, Principal, DPS, Mr H.S. Dhillon, Principal, YPS, Mohali, Dr Rajinder Singh, Director, Physical Education, Jivaji University,
Gwalior, Milkha Singh and Mehtab Singh. |
|
|
Rukshar
to lead New Delhi, May 11 The team: Chetna Anand and Ruma Khandelwal (goalkeepers), Dhanmeet Kaur, Sarita Khatri, Rehna Parveen, Sonia Gaur, Anju Gosian, Urmila Jayant, Meenakshi Gaur and Deepti Singh (defenders), Anita Sharma, Sunita Prasad, Sangeeta Madan, Mukesh Kumari and Bhavana (goalkeepers), Zehra Rushkar, Deepti Sharma, Sujata Dhampurkar, Amarjeet Kaur and Neelam Sharma (forwards), Pooja and Sajjan Kaur (stand-byes). N.K. Bhatia will be the manager, Mrs Shanti Bhatia the assistant manager and Rajan the coach. |
|
India lose to South Korea Islamabad, May 11 Korea outclassed India 25-18 25-16 25-17 with strong smashes and brilliant serves. Barring some shades of sparkle here and there, the Indians failed to raise their game in the face of relentless smashing. After losing the first game, the Indians appeared to come back into the match when they levelled 14-14 in the second game. But the Koreans increased the tempo with some accurate smashes to clinch the game 25-16. In the third game too, the Koreans were never in trouble as they romped home 25-17. Commenting on the team’s performance, Indian coach G.E. Sridharan rued the fact that the team was pitted against top teams in the first three matches. “The boys played very well. But you cannot expect to put a strong fight against a team like Korea in the very first outing,” he said. “In the next few matches we will be hitting a winning combination to put up a better show against light-weights in the latter part of the tournament,” Sridharan added.
PTI |
|
Paes-Bhupathi duo beaten New Delhi, May 11 Wild cards Agassi and Hewitt prevailed over seventh-ranked Indians 2-6 7-6 (7/5) 7-5 in little under two hours, according to information received here today. Paes and Bhupathi, who had won the Houston title last week, rose their game on several occasions but failed to sustain the momentum. They even had a match point in the second and were up 5-0 in the third but squandered the advantage when it mattered.
PTI |
|
Harbhajan
honoured Bathinda, May 11 He was given a rousing welcome and presented a memento and a cash prize by the Punjab Science and Technology Minister, Mr Chiranji Lal Garg, on behalf of association. Mr Jaspal Singh, Deputy Commissioner, and Dr Jatinder Kumar Jain, SSP, were also present. |
|
Handball
trials Chandigarh, May 11 |
 |
| 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 | |
