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Sunday,
May 27, 2001, Chandigarh, India  
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Indians get down to business Pak
appoints judge to probe charges |
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Lebanon rout Pakistan Sampras
faces tough draw El
Guerrouj wants to run fastest mile England
rout Mexico 4-0 |
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ITF meet
from tomorrow
Penalty
runs for indiscipline Australia win Team Cup Sasikiran
crashes out WFI
calendar PM to
honour Abhinav Bindra Punjab in last 8 Bathinda
win
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India, Pak to play Test in Sept Islamabad, May 26 As per the schedule worked out during the two-day meeting of the Asian Cricket Council which concluded in Lahore yesterday, Pakistan will host India from September 13 to 17. “In addition to this, India has also agreed to take part in the Asia Cup to be played in Pakistan in 2002,” Zia said. India’s last Test in Pakistan was in 1989-90 when K. Srikkanth led the team against Imran Khan led Pakistan in a four-match series. Cricket ties between the two countries have been strained following the Indian Government’s refusal to allow its team to play against Pakistan since the Kargil War in 1999. India pulled out of the annual Sahara Cup bilateral one-day series in Toronto in 1999 and 2000 and cancelled a scheduled tour of Pakistan starting in December last year. The Indian Government also refused permission to its team to participate in a triangular one-day series in Sharjah involving Pakistan and Sri Lanka in April this year. However, the government recently clarified that the ban on the Indian team playing Pakistan was restricted to bilateral series and tournaments at ‘non-regular venues’ and that the two countries can play each other in multi-lateral tournaments, a stand that has been welcomed by PCB officials. “The Indian authorities have shown flexibility in furthering cricket ties with Pakistan and have taken initiatives in this regard by agreeing to allow their team to play Pakistan in multi-lateral tournaments. PCB welcomes this,” General Zia had said yesterday. He said if India play in Pakistan, the PCB had no objection in sending its team to India to revive cricketing relations between the two countries. He also proposed a quadrangular one-day tournament, involving Zimbabwe and West Indies as the other two nations, to be jointly hosted by India and Pakistan in February next year to further cement sporting ties. “West Indies are visiting Pakistan early next year and Zimbabwe will be in India. It is a good opportunity to organise a tournament involving all the four countries,” General Zia said, adding that the tournament could be played in both the countries. General Zia, who is also the chairman of ACC, said Pakistan was not unduly worried about Indian Government’s ban on bilateral series. “We are not bothered whether India play us or not (in a bilateral series). If they do not want to play us we are also not interested in playing them.” “Cricket authorities and the players of both the countries are willing to play against each other but there are some political hurdles in the way of revival of (cricket) relations,” General Zia said. India last toured Pakistan in 1989-90 under Krishnmachari Srikkanth with the four-Test series ending in a 0-0 draw. Sachin Tendulkar led an Indian team for a three-match one-day series in 1997.
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Indians get down to business Harare, May 26 Captain Saurav Ganguly was keen that the team members should all acclimatise themselves to the conditions here and gear up ahead of the first Test starting in Bulawayo on June 7. “The boys are a little stiff... And we are keen that everyone loosens up in time for the important battle ahead,” Ganguly said. Particularly enthusiastic during the training session today was the fast bowling bunch of Javagal Srinath, Ajit Agarkar, Zaheer Khan, Debasis Mohanty and Ashish Nehra, and for obvious reasons. “They (fast bowlers) are very happy being out of India as the conditions abroad support them,” Ganguly said. “They realise these wickets have something for them, there is bounce and movement and they feel good.” All the pacemen devoted a fair bit of time stretching their limbs and then took turns in bowing at full tilt at the batsmen. The batsmen too had an extensive practice session against both spin and pace bowling. With the ground providing ample bounce, even batsmen of the calibre of Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid had trouble against the rising deliveries. “These conditions are different,” said Ganguly. “The grounds are a bit heavy and it will be a strain on the calfs. So the earlier we shrug off this stiffness the better. We are sure everyone would be okay in a couple of days.” Ganguly praised the facilities provided for the practice. “The nets are good and everyone is pleased.” The series will use the kookaburra balls and team manager Chetan Chauhan insisted that every bowler got a good feel of it. “These balls retain shine a bit longer and are helpful for seamers all through,” said Chauhan. “In contrast, the spinners do not get as good a grip as they do with the SG ball back home.” But Ganguly was not willing to make it a factor. “These is no point in talking about umpiring, pitches, balls etc in international cricket these days. You have got to get used to them. “As far as I am concerned these are minor issues. We should concentrate on winning the series,” he said. Tendulkar and Dravid helped each other out in practicing different strokes on an unused net. Tendulkar would time and again roll the ball down on the turf and Dravid would smash it around. When asked Dravid said it was aimed at getting the backlift and follow-through going. “It is difficult to put it in words but the idea is to get the rhythm of the body going in shot-making,” he said.
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Pak appoints judge to probe charges Karachi, May 26 “The judge has been given a two-month time to complete his inquiry and submit a report to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for appropriate action, if required,” PCB chairman Tauqir Zia told Reuters from Lahore yesterday. “The judge has been asked to probe two matches in the World Cup and allegations against former Test umpire Javed
Akhtar,” Zia said. Pakistan has been accused of throwing matches against India and Bangladesh in the 1999 World Cup. Sir Paul Condon, chief of the International Cricket Council
(ICC) anti-corruption unit, said in his interim report released on Wednesday there had been “persistent allegations” that the match between Pakistan and Bangladesh at Nottingham was rigged by bookmakers. “There has been suspicion about the Pakistan and India match also. We want to get that investigated too so that no leaf is left unturned in Pakistan’s effort to root out corruption,” Zia said. “I want to bury all the allegations by getting them investigated.” He said the PCB would implement the recommendations of Justice Karamat as it had in the case of Justice Malik Mohammad
Qayyum, who investigated accusations of corruption in Pakistan. Reuters |
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Lebanon rout Pakistan Bangkok, May 26 Lebanon, who scored a 6-0 whitewash against the Pakistanis on home soil during the first leg, mounted a fierce attack. With the game just three minutes old, Lebanon staked their claim as Faissal Antar volleyed home a Warton Ghazarian cross. Seven minutes later, Ghazarian found himself with only goalie Jaffar Khan to beat and easily outwitted the Pakistani to make it a 2-0 lead. In the 20th minute, Pakistan narrowed the gap when Gohar Zaman broke down the right wing to curl in a cross, for Muhammad Arshad to score. The emboldened Pakistanis pressed forward for the equaliser but instead it was Lebanon which extended the lead in the 32nd minute when Fadi Ghosson and the keeper collided, allowing the ball to bounce feebly to star striker Rida Antar who effortlessly side-footed into the net. Four minutes before the break, Antar tore through the Pakistani defence for his second goal. |
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Sampras faces tough draw Paris, May 26 After a first round match against a qualifier, the seven-time Wimbledon champion, seeded fifth, will head for a quarterfinal against third seed Andre Agassi, winner in 1999. As a result, one of the two American stars of men’s tennis will not make it to the last four. American Monica Seles, who would have been seeded sixth in the women’s draw, pulled out injured, two days after defending champion Mary Pierce. Top women’s seed Martina Hingis has reasons to be satisfied with her draw since Venus Williams, Lindsay Davenport and in-form Frenchwoman Amelie Mauresmo are all in the other half. On the way to his possible showdown with Agassi, Sampras, whose best result in Paris was reaching the semifinals in 1996, may have to face tricky opponents like former finalist Andrei Medvedev of Ukraine, German Tommy Haas or Frenchman Sebastien Grosjean, seeded 10th. The path of defending champion Gustavo Kuerten is the opposite of Sampras’s. The Brazilian top seed faces an intriguing first round against Argentine Guillermo Coria, one of the rising forces of claycourt tennis, before hitting a simpler path to the second week. Coria, 19, reached the final in Mallorca and the semifinals in Monte Carlo this season and his clash with the current world number one will be one of the few highlights of a lacklustre first round in the men’s tournament. Kuerten’s opponent in the quarterfinals could be 1996 champion Yevgeny Kafelnikov. Spaniard Juan-Carlos Ferrero, the most successful player on clay this season, could meet Australian Lleyton Hewitt in a clash of the young generation in the last eight. US Open champion Marat Safin could meet Spaniard Alex Corretja in the round of 16 while Australian Pat Rafter and Sweden’s Magnus Norman are in his quarter of the draw. Hingis, who like Sampras has yet to win the French, meets Spain’s Gala Leon Garcia in the first round and is set to meet last year’s losing finalist Conchita Martinez in the last eight. Her potential semifinal opponent is American Jennifer Capriati, the Australian Open winner. Spain’s Arantxa Sanchez Vicario and American Serena Williams are the other seeds in Capriati’s quarter. As a result of Seles’s withdrawal, American Meghann Shuaghnessy was awarded the 16th seed.
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El Guerrouj wants to run fastest mile New York, May 26 “Every time I come to America for a holiday, I have the image of Atlanta,’’ he said in a telephone interview from Oregon, where he is preparing for the Prefontaine. “But this year I want a new picture to remember.” In Atlanta, El Guerrouj fell while going for the lead in the last lap of the Olympic 1,500 metres final. He finished 12th. “I want to run to break the record for America,” said El Guerrouj, whose world mark, set in Rome in 1999, stands at three minutes, 43.13 seconds. “If I can, I want to run 3:49 or 3:48.’’ The fastest time ever run in the United States is the 3:50.86 posted at the Atlanta Olympics by El Guerrouj’s main rival at the time, Noureddine Morceli. The Algerian owned the world mile, 1,500 and 2,000 metres records of the day. Moving up to overtake Morceli on the final lap in Atlanta, El Guerrouj’s knee collided with the Algerian’s foot and the Moroccan crashed to the ground. He finished last and wept under the stands after the race, taking a measure of comfort only after receiving a consoling phone call from Morocco’s monarch, the late King Hassan. Just one month later, El Guerrouj beat Morceli over a mile in Milan, and in the next few years took down each of his world records as well. But El Guerrouj suffered more Olympic disappointment in the 1,500 metres Sydney last year, having to settle for silver after entering the race as the strong favourite. As the 2000 Olympics approached, El Guerrouj, the reigning world champion, seemed headed for certain gold, having lost only one race over 1,500 metres since Atlanta. But in the final straight of the final he was overtaken by Noah Ngeny of Kenya. “In Sydney, I had a problem with my thigh,’’ said El Guerrouj, quickly adding: “But I respect my adversaries, I respect this placing”. At the time, however, El Guerrouj was crushed. His confidence on the track returned after he collected his third indoor world championship in Lisbon in March. That was in the 3,000 metres, a step closer to the 5,000 metres he plans to start running. “I feel very good after the world indoor championships,’’ said El Guerrouj, who won indoor 1,500 metres gold in 1995 and 1997, and feels ready to start his 2001 outdoor season with a bang at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Oregon. He has been training at a high-altitude camp in Morocco’s Atlas mountains. “I have been training hard with my coach in Ifrane,” he said. El Guerrouj will be challenged by a strong field in Eugene. “Lagat, maybe Chirchir, Kevin Sullivan from Canada,” he said, referring to Sydney 1,500 metres bronze medallist Bernard Lagat and his fellow Kenyan William Chirchir. Sullivan finished fifth in Sydney and beat Lagat in Osaka two weeks ago. Chirchir was not listed as a starter as of late Friday night. The stellar field also includes Sydney sixth-place finisher Daniel Zegeye of Ethiopia, and all but assures that the meet record of 3:50.95 will be broken. “I have wanted to run at the Prefontaine Classic because in Eugene there is a very big tradition for the mile,’’ said El Guerrouj.
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England rout Mexico 4-0 Derby, May 26 Superb goals by Paul Scholes, after just three minutes, Robbie Fowler and David Beckham had England deservedly 3-0 up after half an hour as their movement and superb passing created chances at will. Ten England substitutions and five for Mexico made the second half a totally different game but, after Jose Abundis had put a penalty wide after a rare Mexican attack, Teddy Sheringham completed a thoroughly deserved victory with a stunning free-kick 15 minutes from time. It was the perfect preparation for England, who play Greece in a World Cup qualifier in Athens on June 6, but will have done little for the confidence of Mexico, who now travel to South Korea to take part in the Confederations Cup. England, continuing their policy of touring the country while Wembly is unavailable, got the perfect start as Scholes drove in his 12th goal in 34 internationals. They doubled the lead in the 14th minute with a superbly created goal as Beckham slid a perfect pass into the path of the marauding Steven Gerrard on the right wing. Gerrard’s first-time cross was bundled in by Liverpool team mate Fowler, whose first international goal came in England’s 2-0 victory over the central American side last time the two met in 1997. Fowler, Owen and Gerrard — all of Liverpool — went close as England’s driving play on a surface made for crisp passing repeatedly tore through the Mexican defence.
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ITF meet from tomorrow Chandigarh, May 26 Giving this information, Mr M. Ramsekhar Secretary, CLTA said the players ranked above 300 in the world would feature in this meet. They include 24 prominent players including 14 from countries such as Germany, United Kingdom, Ireland, Uzbekistan, Israel, Chile and Austria and 10 from India. The Indian challenge will be spearheaded by Mustafa Ghouse, Nitin Kirtane, Syed Fazaluddin among others. Mr Ramsekhar, himself a keen tennis player said there would be draw of 32 in singles and 16 in doubles. He said this meet would not have any qualifying rounds and players would be picked on the basis of their performance in last three legs of the meet held at Trivandrum (May 7 to 12), Bangalore (May 14 to 19) and Ahmedabad ( May 21 to 26). The meet carries a total prize money of $ 6250 and will help a player in gaining valuable ATP points. Mr Ramsekhar said the matches would be played on six synthetic courts and the semifinals and finals would be covered live by Doordarshan Sports. He further said Mr Hany El Khafief from Dubai would be the ITF supervi ser and Mr Puneet Gupta along with two other white badge umpires would assist Mr Hany in the conduct of the meet. He said considering the scorching heat now a days, the singles matches might be advanced in the morning hours. It may be recalled that during 2001,CLTA had hosted several international tennis tournaments such as ITF Men’s Futures’, ITF Juniors, ATP Challenger and ITF women’s meet. The final seedings and draws will be held tomorrow afternoon. |
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Penalty runs for indiscipline London, May 26 Announcing the decisions of the committee meeting yesterday, the ICC said in a Press note that penalty runs to be awarded in both Test and one-day internationals would be for a trial period of 12 months. A proposal from the ECB for the introduction of a six run penalty in ODI matches for each over of an innings not bowled by the scheduled time was also approved and will apply to both innings of a match. The new decisions will be applied from September 1 this year. It has also agreed to the mandatory use of lights in Test matches in conditions where natural light fails. The decision to use lights will be at the discretion of the umpires. A proposal from the Australian Cricket Board for the use of disciplinary cards was discussed and will be further reviewed at the June 17 meeting of CC — Management in London. To avoid the predictability apparent in many ODI matches, the committee also approved the allocation of bonus points for tournaments and series involving three or more teams. It also okayed bowling of one bouncer per over. The winner will be awarded four points and two points for a tie or no result. A detailed assessment of the formula to calculate the award of bonus points will be agreed at the CC-M meeting. The CC-P also decided to continue with the Duckworth Lewis method for a further three years. After thorough discussion and debate on the pros and cons of technology CC-P has decided to maintain the status quo allowing TV replays to assist umpires in making what are termed ‘line decisions’ covering stumpings, hit wicket, run out and boundaries. Replays can also be used to determine if a catch has been cleanly taken by a fielder. “In reaching the decision to maintain the current level of technological assistance the committee considered the merits of all options available to it. These included using more or even less technology,” said Gavaskar.
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Australia
win Team Cup Duesseldorf, May 26 Australia won the deciding doubles in the best-of-three matchup after Russia’s Yevgeny Kafelnikov needed less than an hour for a 6-2 6-4 rout of Scott Draper that even the singles at 1-1. Hewitt, seeded sixth at the French Open which starts on Monday, had little trouble against Safin, the second seed in Paris. Wayne Arthurs and Draper then upset Safin and Kafelnikov 7-6 (5) 1-6 6-4 in the doubles to add to Australia’s 1999 and 1979 titles at the $ 2.1 million event. Draper, who has played just seven matches this year, was last-minute replacement for Pat Rafter. The two-time U.S. Open champion pulled out of both the singles and doubles today to rest an inflamed elbow on his serving arm for the French Open. Hewitt, 20, scrambled around until he broke the Russian’s serve to take a decisive 4-3 lead in the second set at the $ 2.1 million team event. He raced to a 4-1 first set lead in just 15 minutes against Safin, frustrating the 1.93 meter (6-ft-4) Russian by chasing down his drop volleys, while driving him around the court with his ground strokes until he could lash a winner into the open side. The moody Safin, who soared up the rankings last season and won the U.S. Open, rattled off three straight errors in the decisive break. After he netted another backhand, Safin slammed a ball in to the stands in frustration and drew a warning. Earlier in the week, he broke a racket and accused the referee of being biased against Russians. This year the 21-year-old has made a series of first and second round exits at tournaments and has struggled on clay. Hewitt and Safin could possibly face each other again in the French Open semifinals. Russia was also the losing finalist last year. Earlier, Nicolas Kiefer, who had lost his previous two singles rubbers in Duesseldorf, gave Germany a 1-0 lead after a fight back against Patrick Rafter. The Australian ace breezed in the first set but fell behind 3-0 in the second set as Kiefer won, 1-6, 6-2, 6-4. Alex Corretja and Alex Lopez Moron beat Swedes Jonas Bjorkman and Niklas Kulti, 6-3, 6-3, to give Australia a tiebreak against Germany.
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Sasikiran crashes out Lausanne, May 26 Sasikiran, who had lost the first game to Bacrot needed a win to stay on in the tournament. He entered the second game with white pieces with gruenfeld defence in the Kings Indian defence. Though Sasikiran adopted an attacking line,
Bacrot, the 17-year-old Frenchman, knew he needed only a draw to progress. He did so without taking any undue risks and decided to split the point after 36 moves storming into the final condemning Sasikiran to the play off for third and fourth positions. In the other semi-final, Lazaro Bruzon of Cuba eliminated Andrei Volokitin of Ukraine to enter the final. While Bruzon and Bacrot clash for the title, Volokitin and Sasikiran will meet for the third
place. Sasikiran now needs to win outright against Andrei Volokitin, who shocked the top seed Ruslan Ponomariov in the quarterfinals, to secure a his third seeding for the tournament. Meanwhile in the clashes for minor placings from fifth to eighth, Pentyala Harikrishna was beaten by Lev Aronian of Armenia in a tie-breaker whereas in another clash Ukrainian Ruslan
Ponomariov, who had begun the event as the top seed, beat Bu Xuangzhi of China, to get into contention for the match for fifth
place. Ponomariov will meet Aronian for fifth place, while Harikrishna and Xuangzhi will clash for the seventh and eighth places respectively.
Harikrishna led Aronian 1-0 after the first game. But the Armenian player hit back in the second game to tie the match and send it into the tie-breaker. In a
Sicilian-Pelikan, Aronian was on the go. He attacked well and with white pieces he put himself a pawn up. From 18th move, when he took a pawn, Aronian gained ascendancy in space and material. He went two pawns up but gave one back. As the end game approached the exchange of queens and then with impeding exchange of rooks meant Aronian was very well off with his extra pawn. He won comfortably in 44 moves. In the first game of the tie-breaker, it was once again a Bogo Indian, something similar to the first game which Harikrishna had won in 71 moves. But this time Aronian was better prepared. They drew in 47 moves. In the second game of the tie-breaker, Aronian began with white. The game was a Kings Indian and went to the Yugoslav attack. Aronian controlled the game well and won 42 moves to
position himself for a clash for fifth and sixth places. Results
: Semifinals: Bacrot beat Sasikiran 1.5-0.5, Bruzon beat Volokitin 2.5-1.5 (1-1 in regular; 1.5-0.5 in tie-breaker) Minor
Placings: Ponomariov beat Bu Xiangzhi 1.5-0.5 Aronian beat Harikrishna 2.5-1.5 (1-1 in regular; 1.5-0.5 in tie-breaker).
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WFI calendar Chandigarh, May 26 Giving details, Mr M.S. Malik, president, Wrestling Federation of India, said the Indian wrestling team would be in Mongolia to compete in the Asian Championship from June 5 to 10. The Indian team will participate in the coaching camp being held at Shilaroo from June 24 to August 12. A team will visit Tashkent under the exchange programme between the two countries from July 16 to August 7. A coaching camp will be organised at Patiala from August 25 to September 2. He said that the Indian team would participate in the world championships to be held in New York, USA from September 24 to 30. A team is likely to participate in the wrestling matches with Uzbekistan. |
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PM to honour Abhinav Bindra Chandigarh, May 26 The shooter had clinched 6 gold, 4 silver and 2 bronze medals in the recently held European Circuit Championship, where he was declared the “Overall Champion”. He also lifted the RIAC-2001 Cup, NISSAN Cup and the Den-Haag Cup. |
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Punjab
in last 8 Amritsar, May 26 In a most gruelling match between girls from Punjab and Orissa, the home team managed to defeat the current champions by a solitary point. In an another tough encounter, in the women’s section, Karnataka managed to thrash Vidarbha by 10.5. In the men’s section, Punjab and Madhya Pradesh beat Himachal Pradesh and Pondicherry to top their respective pools. |
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Bathinda
win Bathinda, May 26 |
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Bereaved Chandigarh, May 26 |
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