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| Tuesday,
May 22, 2001, Chandigarh, India    |
Anand, Khalifman split point
Condon’s anti-corruption probe shows |
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Baichung Bhutia opts out
of Merdeka Cup Punjab Education Deptt camp in HP |
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Bathinda, Ludhiana claim titles Manipur eves in
last four Qualifier Portas upsets Ferrero Atwal finishes
joint fifth
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Anand, Khalifman split point Merida (Mexico), May 21 If the first game was a 16-move draw, the second was only slightly better lasting 20 moves. The game may have been short, but it was a nice tussle in theory. However, the draw for Anand allowed Nigel Short, former world No. 3, to inch a little close and reduce the gap to half a point. Short handed Gilberto Hernandez, the local star his third successive defeat. Clearly the two, the current and former FIDE world champions, Anand and Khalifman, were in no mood to give even the slightest of chances to the other. It is not just one defeat in this tournament but also the overall psychological advantage the winner gets in this small world of Super Grandmasters. And Khalifman is hoping to hit that scene soon. Khalifman, despite his rating of more than 100 Elos less than Anand, is no mean player and in recent months has shown terrific play. His opening and defence are excellent. The Khalifman-Anand match followed the game Anand played against Kramnik at this year’s Corus event. They followed the same pattern till 18 moves and here they drew in 20 moves, but in Corus Anand and Kramnik drew after 35. Anand managed early neutralisation against Khalifman’s white. It was a battle in theory and Khalifman is good at that, but Anand’s ascent to the top has not been without such high quality theoretical work. The game followed the Rubinesten variation of the Nimzo Indian defence. Once Khalifman realised that Anand was comfortable and adept at handling anything new that was being thrown at him, the draw was the logical course. Anand simplified the situation a great deal and it was no surprise that Khalifman offered a draw and Anand accepted. The game may have an exercise in brevity, but it showed the depth of theoretical knowledge the two players have and that added to the charm of this clash. Maybe, a result will come sometime else. Still Anand knows he carries a big plus score against Khalifman. Hernandez would have loved to take a quick draw, more so after two losses in the last two rounds. But Short was not offering any such chances. Short outplayed the local star in a Maroczy bind in the Sicilian to hand the Mexican his third loss in a row. Short offered a great positional game as in his victory over Khalifman. Short used the gradual advantage of space into great positional gain and ground is opponent and beat him. Realising he could not get rid of his weak pawn structure, Hernandez finally resigned after 33 moves. In the fifth round, Anand has white against Hernandez and has a chance to complete a 2-0 verdict over the Mexican and that will also virtually ensure him the title. Short, though on paper, can win both his remaining matches including the last round against Anand and still take the title.
UNI |
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Condon’s
anti-corruption probe shows London, May 21 The report, to be released on the International Cricket Council’s website www.icc.cricket.org, confirms that match-fixing is alive and flourishing and that vast sums of money are involved across a network of countries. But, while its 75-plus pages will deal extensively with the mechanics of corruption, no individuals will be named and no specific allegations dealt with because it is a public report. This does not mean, however, the unit is no longer investigating allegations such as those made last November against England’s Alec Stewart by the Indian bookmaker M.K. Gupta. Stewart was accused of receiving pounds £ 5,000 ($ 7,150) in return for certain information, an allegation immediately dismissed by the England and Wales Cricket Board Chairman Lord MacLaurin. “Alec Stewart is absolutely clear,’’ MacLaurin said. “For the moment Stewart’s case is absolutely closed.’’ However, a member of the unit said it would be carrying out a further interview with Stewart, having already talked to him once. The Condon-led report labels players naive in their dealings with approaches and says access to them remains all too easy for would-be fixers. It goes on to propose big changes to the game’s infrastructure, with 25 recommendations. These include proposals for players’ education, new security measures and the enhancement of playing conditions, particularly the earnings of international cricketers which in the past have been so low as to leave them vulnerable to offers. The Dubai resort of Sharjah again features heavily in this analysis of cricket’s troubles. The one-day festivals held there over the past 20 years are seen as a magnet for match-fixers, with the ICC having minimal control over events and players heavily exposed to betting syndicates. BBC-TV’s Panorama programme has an interview with the Sharjah tournament’s organiser Sheikh Bukhatir, who begins his response with the words: “I’m not saying that there is no match-fixing . . . it’s very obvious that if a match is fixed it’s between two people, a bookie and a player.’’ The Surrey skipper Adam Hollioake also recalls how a caller to his Sharjah hotel room had promised to make him “very wealthy’’. The programme paints a picture of a sport dragged through the mire, presenting compelling clips of the Justice King commission inquiry into the downfall of South Africa’s captain Hansie Cronje and highlighting the ease with which the bookmaker Marlon Aronstam hooked him into providing information. The programme also shows notebooks uncovered by an Indian Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) agent which detail the multitude of illegal bets struck under the noses of the sport’s officials. It quotes an Indian investigative reporter, on the subject: “In private the players and managers would talk about match-fixing, were willing to admit match-fixing. In public everyone’s stance was `nothing happens’.’’ Set up in June last year, the ICC’s anti-corruption unit began its investigative activities only in September. Consisting entirely of former Metropolitan (London) police officers and led by Condon, the unit set about the task of weeding out the game’s match-fixers, so far visiting six of the Test-playing countries, plus Sharjah, in its sweep. The unit is scheduled to operate for three years, up until the 2003 World Cup in South Africa. After eight months its first report is full of sound principles; however, it could be accused of offering a prognosis for the sick patient before it has carried out a complete examination. Wednesday’s report will expose the ICC’s failings in confronting the issue of match-fixing and is sure to make uncomfortable reading for the game’s governing body. For years allegations have been almost completely ignored by the ICC and, indeed, Cronje’s spectacular demise happened by pure chance. He was found with his hand deep in the cookie jar only when his voice appeared on tapes taken by the New Delhi police force, who were investigating illegal bookmaking. For years, too, cricket’s national governing bodies have been equally lax. Even in those countries where allegations were investigated the governing bodies have acted either slowly or in secret. In Australia Shane Warne and Mark Waugh were fined in 1995 for taking payments from a bookmaker but it did not become public until 1998. In Pakistan Justice Mohammad Qayyum’s report was filed in October 1999 but not acted upon until after the judge himself complained the following April. A month later Salim Malik and Ata-ur Rehman were banned for life. If Pakistan set the ball rolling, it is the India investigations which have put most of the flesh on the bone. The Madhavan report, acted upon by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) last November, was extensive and listed the allegations against players, whether they had been substantiated or not. Untrammelled by the constraints of libel laws, the investigation proceeded apace and ended with the life bans of Mohammad Azharuddin and Ajay Sharma, and five-year bans for Manoj Prabhakar and Ajay Jadeja. While the Indian research has been the most extensive, the Cronje affair remains the most dramatic. However, Cronje’s semi-admission before the King inquiry — which has now been postponed for legal reasons — highlights the contradictions still plaguing efforts to cleanse cricket. He and others maintain that they never fixed matches but only took money in return for information. Given that Cronje’s bookmaking contacts lasted at least five years, it would be a generous bookie indeed who paid so long for so little. In India there are criminal charges against him still pending. Across the board, indeed, the payments admitted seem remarkably low. It is hard to imagine so many players would risk career and reputation for, in many cases, no more than a handful of dollars. Australian Dean Jones made exactly that point when he reported an offer of $ 50,000. He questioned why his information should be worth so much more than anyone else’s. It adds up to a world where truth is still a hostage.
(By arrangement with The Guardian) |
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Laloo planning India-Pak tie Patna, May 21 “Logon ne mere chunao par majak udaya hai (people have made fun of my election to the post of BCA president)...Even though I was least interested, I took the responsibility,” Mr Yadav told newsmen here following his unopposed election as the president of Bihar Cricket Association in Jamshedpur yesterday. “I have taken my election to the post as a challenge and I will contribute my share to prop up Bihar on the world sporting map,” he said. Mr Yadav said he would do his best for fully equipping the Moinul Haq Stadium here to hold day-night matches, the “first of which will be organised between India and Pakistan”. Religion and politics would not get in the way of promotion of sports, he added. In reply to a question, Mr Yadav said the funds crunch would not be allowed to come in the way of promoting sports in Bihar. “Once I hold the office, people from several quarters will come forward to generously contribute to promote sports.” He said he would also take steps for promoting football, volleyball, kabaddi and other disciplines. PTI |
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Ricky to be
honoured Chandigarh, May 21 Ricky was adjudged the best batsman in the Junior World Cup which India won in Sri Lanka early last year. Now Ricky is an integral part of the strong Ranji squad, which reached the Ranji Trophy final this year. |
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Baichung Bhutia opts out of Merdeka Cup Bangalore, May 21 AIFF secretary Alberto Colaco, said here Bhutia had requested AIFF not to consider him for the Merdeka Cup, beginning on June 20, as he wants to take some rest and holiday with his family. Bhutia, however, has said he would be willing to play in the tour of England (in July) and the Afro-Asian Games (in New Delhi in November) if he is released by his club, Bury FC, Colaco said in a statement. Meanwhile, none of the players who figured in the group 8 Asian Zone pre-World Cup qualifiers has been dropped for the preparatory camp, for which AIFF has added eight more players. They are: Sangram Mukerjee, Daljit Singh, Tapan Ghosh, Basudev Mandal, Hardip Sangha, Deepankar Roy, Najeeb and Hardip Gill. The 20 members of the national team that played in the qualifiers and retained are: Virender Singh, N. Balaji, Prasanta Dora, Surkumar Singh, Deepak Kumar Mondal, Mahesh Gawli, Robert Fernandes, Dhanesh K.V., Ratan Singh, Jules Alberto, Khalid Jamil, Jo Paul Ancheri, Renedy Singh, S. Venkatesh, R.P. Singh, I.M. Vijayan, Alvito D’Cunha, Abdul Hakkim, R.C. Prakash and Noel Wilson. The camp begins here on June 8. Sukhwinder Singh and Krishnaji Rao will continue as coach and technical director of the team, respectively, it was stated. India is taking part in the Merdeka tournament after a gap of nearly 15 years. The Merdeka invitation is seen here as a direct result of India’s win over the UAE in the opening group 8 Asian Zone pre-World Cup qualifying match here and their creditable performances in subsequent matches in the group, according to AIFF sources. Besides India, other teams expected to take part in the tournament are: Malaysia, Malaysian under-23 team, Slovakia, Bosnia, Bahrain and the UAE, the sources said. Meanwhile, the executive committee of AIFF is meeting in New Delhi on June 9 to finalise next season’s
calendar. The meeting is also expected to finalise AIFF’s ambitious youth development project, the sources said. There is a proposal before AIFF to allow club footballers to represent states of their origin in the Santosh Trophy, but it would have to be approved by AIFF’s general body, they said.
PTI |
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Punjab Education Deptt camp in HP Chandigarh, May 21 Mr P.S. Chhabra, Deputy Director, Physical Education, said the trials for the same would be held on May 24 and 25 at Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana. On the first day, trials will be held in athletics, handball, basketball and volleyball (all under-19) and athletics (under-11). On the second day, trials will be held in kabaddi, kho-kho, judo, football and hockey (all under-19) and kho-kho, kabaddi, judo (boys and girls) and wrestling (boys under 11). Mr Chhabra said the department in the past few decades had been holding such camps in the lean season only when the potential outstanding sportspersons were being provided with free board, lodging and best of coaching facilities. The camps were earlier held at Srinagar also. He said the District Education Officers all over the state had been asked to send the shorlisted boys and girls in each discipline to hone their talent. He said Mr Tara Singh laddal, State Education Minister, Punjab, would inaugurate the camp on June 3 while Chief Minister P.S. Badal, Governor of Uttaranchal S.S. Barnala, and Jathedar Tota Singh, Education Minister, Punjab, would grace the ocassion on the concluding day. |
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Netball to make debut in National Games 2001 SAS Nagar, May 21 Mr Bindra revealed that 240-odd netball players were slated to participate in the biggest sporting extravaganza involving all state teams of the country in 27 disciplines. Though approval was still required to be taken from the organising committee, he said, it was a mere formality. The former president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India revealed that most of the issues on the agenda of the meeting viz approval of venues for the competitions, confirmation and approval of dates and schedule of events, selection of qualifying teams, requirement of equipment and technical officials, number of medals required and technical directors and approval of technical rules had been okayed at the meeting. The care, he said, would be taken to ensure that competitions for the participants who were slated to take part in the SAF Games scheduled to commence from October 6 were held at early stages of the Games so that they had enough time to prepare for SAF Games. Since the competitions were being conducted in five cities — Anandpur Sahib, Chandigarh, Jalandhar, Ludhiana and Patiala — it was not feasible to have a games village. It was decided to lodge most of the players at college and university hostels, while the technical officials would stay in hotels. To avoid the last-minute hiccups full-dress rehearsal would be organised. The plan, in fact, was to conduct various state championships for the purpose. Tug-of-war and bullock cart races were being planned as the demonstration sports. While the former was likely to be held at Ludhiana, the latter may be held at Kila Raipur, a proposal for which had been received from Grewal Sports Association. The honorary president of the Punjab Cricket Association revealed that nearly 1900 technical officials would be involved in the successful conduct the games. Of this, 50 per cent would be taken from Punjab, while the rest would be from the adjoining states only because of logistical reasons. He further stated that for approximately 8000 participants — the maximum in any edition of the competition so far — 1400 medals would be up for grabs. The opening and closing ceremonies would be held at Ludhiana. The efforts were being made to rope in the President of India, Mr K.R. Narayanan, for the opening ceremony and the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, for the closing ceremony. An expenditure of Rs 45 crore was expected to be incurred on the games. Of this, Rs 23 crore was meant for infrastructure, nearly Rs 5 crore for the equipment, while the rest would be spent on board and lodging of players and officials, hospitality, transportation, medals etc. Mr Bindra said that no efforts were being spared to ensure that the games were best-ever organised. Successful conduct of these, to a large extent, depended on the cooperation and efforts of the national federations. Most of the technical information required had been received from the federations. Mr T.C. Gupta has been appointed Director, Media and Publicity. |
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POA elections on the cards Chandigarh, May 21 Mr Dhindsa, who is also the Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilisers, was in Chandigarh to attend the first meeting of the Technical Conduct Committee of the National Games 2001. The meeting, held at the PCA Stadium at SAS Nagar last evening, finalised the dates and the various venues where the games would be conducted. Elections to the Punjab Olympic Association fell due early last year. But these have been repeatedly postponed for one reason or the other. Certain office-bearers were also of the view that since Punjab were scheduled to hold the National Games (the games were originally scheduled to be conducted last year) the elections should be conducted only after the games so that the continuity of the office-bearers was not disturbed. Mr Inderjit Singh Bindra, Secretary-General of the Organising Committee for the National Games 2001, and the man who is directly interacting with the functionaries of the POA on a day-to-day basis, was of the view that nothing would be disturbed if the elections to the Punjab Olympic Association were held as any change in the office-bearers would not effect the on-going preparation for the National Games. In any case, state sports associations would be involved in the actual conduct of the various events and the role of the POA office-bearers would at best be only advisory in nature. Mr Dhindsa disclosed that the exact dates of the POA elections would be finalised by him after consultation with other POA office-bearers. But in any case, he said, the dates would be announced within a week and the elections would be held in Chandigarh so that it would be convenient for all to attend the meeting. Mr Dhindsa, who returned to the national capital today to attend an urgent meeting, said he would return to Chandigarh tomorrow to discuss the issue of holding elections and would announce the exact dates within a week. Mr Arvind Khanna, Secretary-General of the POA who did not attend last evening’s meeting of the Technical Conduct Committee although he was expected to do so, had hinted once that he too was keen that elections to the association should be held as early as possible. Now that both senior POA functionaries are keen to hold elections there is no reason why these should be delayed any further. |
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Abhinav Bindra for
ISSF World Cup Chandigarh, May 21 These competitions are prestigious ones as top shooters of the world will be competing at both meets. Renowned shooters like Sydney Olympic gold medalist Cai yalin of China, Seoul World Cup gold medalist Rolland Steinar, bronze medalist in World Cup Munich Mario Knoegler of Austria and Eugeni Aleninkov of Russia will also take part in the competitions. The Indian shooters underwent intensive coaching at the Phillaur shooting ranges, a likely venue for the shooting competitons of the National Games 2001. Ironically, a nation that is going to spend millions of rupees for hosting the Afro-Asian Games in November is not able to afford a coach to groom the ace shooter Abhinav Bindra. Abhinav was the lone Indian participant in the ISSF World Cup at Munich and World Cup Seoul-2001 and shot high scores of 590 and 591, respectively. The following is the team: Men: air rifle - Abhinav Bindra, Ashok Kumar Shahi, Neeraj Kumar Free rifle 3-position — A.P. Subbiah. Pistol — Jaspal Rana, Ved Prakash Pilaniya, Samresh Jung, Mahavir Singh, Umesh Chandra. Women: air rifle — Anjali Ved Pathak, Kuheli Gangulee, Suma S. Shirur, Anuja Tee, Meena Kumari. Air pistol — Snia Rana, Shilpi Singh, Saroja Kumari, Shweta Chaudhary. Coaches — Prof Sunny Thomas, D. Lingam, T.S. Dhillon and Randhir Singh. Armourer — Mr D.K. Shukla. |
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Bathinda, Ludhiana claim titles Sangrur, May 21 Bathinda lost to Gurdaspur in their last league match but on the basis of points they were declared winners. In a closely contested match Gurdaspur edged out favourite Bathinda 71-69 in a well-fought match. At half time, Gurdaspur were leading by 39-38. Prabjot Singh, Parminder Singh and Manpreet excelled for Gurdaspur while Harpreet, Lakhwinder and Gurpal played well for Bathinda. Ludhiana got third place in the boys section. They managed to beat spirited Jalandhar 83-81 in a close match. Jalandhar players gave their best performance in this match. Half time score was 43-42 in favour of Ludhiana. In the girls section Ludhiana faced no resistance from Kapurthala in their last encounter winning 85-57. Kapurthala, who won their earlier matches were no match to Ludhiana, who dominated throughout. Half time score was 40-28 in Ludhiana’s favour. Kamaljit was top scorer for Ludhiana with 27 points. She was ably supported by Manpreet (21). For the losers Mala scored 21 points followed by Satwinder with 14 points. Faridkot got third place in girls section defeating Hoshiarpur 75-53 in a one-sided match. Amit Prashar of Ludhiana was declared ‘best shooter’ and Lakhwinder Singh of Bathinda was chosen ‘best player’ of the championships in boys section. Another Ludhiana player, Kamaljit was declared ‘best shooter’ and ‘player of the tournament’ in girls section. Ranjit Singh Balian, State Minister for Urban Development, gave away prizes to winners. He also announced a grant of Rs 2 lakhs for the development of stadium. |
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Manipur eves in
last four Ludhiana, May 21 Manipur played an attacking game right from the word go and dominated the proceedings. Centre forward Tivabi opened the account in 11th minute by scoring a goal on a pass from Rani Devi. In the 21st minute, Tivabi increased the lead to 2-0. Bimbim made it 3-0 in the 26th minute. After the lemon break, right winger Shanti Devi struck the fourth goal on a cross by Rani Devi in the 42nd minute. In the 78th minute, Tivabi took the tally to 5-0 and two minutes before the final whistle, Rani Devi struck the last and decisive goal. In a close match Maharashtra drew 1-1 with Kerala. Despite many efforts, both the teams could not score a goal before the breather. After the interval, Quelly from Maharashtra opened the account in 44th minute on a pass by Maria Rebellow. In 67th minute, Soona restored parity. Tomorrow, Bihar will clash with Assam in the morning and the host the Punjab will face West Bengal in the evening. Yesterday, Punjab eves once again proved tough when they defeated last year’s semi- finalists Assam 5-0. It looked like a cakewalk for the Punjab team when they faced little resistance from the Assamese. Right from the start of the game till the final whistle, the Punjab eves dominated the show amidst the regular and frequent applause from the jubilant crowd. |
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Qualifier Portas upsets Ferrero
Hamburg, May 21 Eighth seed Ferrero had expected to carry off his fifth title of the season and also become the first man ever to win the Rome and Hamburg titles back to back - but instead he faded badly as Portas won a tumultuous encounter 4-6 6-2 0-6 7-6 (7/5) 7-5 to lift his first- ever career title. After the pair had split the opening two sets Portas, nicknamed the “drop shot dragon” but ranked a modest 42 on the ATP entry system to Ferrero’s sixth placing, recovered brilliantly from a third-set lapse, Ferrero winning that one in just 22 min, to storm back and outlast a rapidly tiring rival. Portas, playing only his third career final, grasped the unexpected opportunity which had come his way to emulate roberto carretero, another spaniard who carried off the title at the Rothenbaum Tennis Club here as a qualifier in 1996. Carretero became the first qualifier ever to win a Masters Series title when he ousted Alex Corretja in the 1996 Hamburg final — though he promptly disappeared from view after barely winning a match in the 12 months which followed.
AFP |
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Atwal finishes
joint fifth
Seoul, May 21 South Korea’s Charlie Wi clinched the title after prevailing in a titanic seven-hole play-off at IL Dong Lake Golf Club. The 29-year-old Wi holed out a two-foot birdie putt on the 17th hole to edge out compatriot Kang Wook-soon and Scotsman Simon Yates and end one of the most gripping shootouts witnessed on the Davidoff Tour. Of the other Indians in the fray, Vivek Bhandari finished 25th with a total score of one-over 289, Jyoti Randhawa and Amritinder Singh finished 55th, Gaurav Ghei 71st and Amandeep Johl in 72nd place in a field of 78.
AFP
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Bridge tourney Ludhiana, May 21 Mr Krishan Goyal, general secretary, PBA, said that the prize money would be about Rs 50,000. He said 40 teams were expected to participate from all over India. |
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