 |
|
Thursday,
June 14, 2001, Chandigarh, India  
|
Sodhi, Harvinder in
one-day squad
ICC snubs Pak; no action against
India |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
IOC urged to reject Beijing’s bid Lewis ‘beginning to slip’ Wimbledon seedings a ‘flop’ Sampras wins Paes-Bhupathi duo in last 16
Tushaar enters last
four Ambala girls take second day’s honours DFA Mandi win
|
|
Sodhi, Harvinder in one-day squad Mumbai, June 13 The selection committee, which met here today also included Railways paceman Harvinder Singh and middle-order batsman Dinesh Mongia in the 14-member team for the triangular series from June 23 to July 7. Opener Sadgopan Ramesh, Delhi paceman Ashish Nehra and Mumbai leg-spinner Sairaj Bahutule will return from Zimbabwe alongwith Srinath and Das after the second Test, BCCI secretary Jaywant Lele told reporters here today. Selection committee Chairman Chandu Borde said Mongia was selected ahead of his statemate Yuvraj Singh as the former was more consistent. Paceman Ajit Agarkar, who did not play the first Test due to a leg injury, had been declared fit by physio Andrew Leipus and he had been retained in the side, Borde said. Team: Sourav Ganguly (capt), Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, V.V.S. Laxman, Hemang Badani, Samir Dighe (wk), Debasish Mohanty, Zaheer Khan, Harbhajan Singh, Reetinder Singh Sodhi, Harvinder Singh, Ajit Agarkar, Dinesh Mongia and Virendra Sehwag. Borde said the committee decided to have just one spinner (Harbhajan Singh) as pitches in Zimbabwe help medium pacers. Also, Sehwag can be used as an effective spinner too. “We included Harvinder Singh as he can bowl a very good line and length and decided to ask
Mohanty to stay back in Zimbabwe. Sodhi, who played for India against Zimbabwe last year is very promising, and hence we felt he should be given a chance,” he added. Asked whether Robin Singh’s name was discussed, Borde said, “Yes, of course. But we felt Sodhi being younger would be a better choice and at the same time the door is not shut for Robin Singh to make a comeback.” “With Ganguly and Tendulkar opening the batting successfully for quite some time now, we thought Das and Ramesh could not be fitted into the scheme of things while Nehra is a good Test bowler,” Borde added. When asked who he would prefer to open the batting along with Das in the second Test against Zimbabwe as Ramesh was a doubtful starter due to injury, Borde said Rahul Dravid would be an ideal choice. “Dravid has very good technique and patience — the two most important qualities for an opening batsman. He is also more experienced than Hemang Badani. However, i think it is better that the team management decides about the choice of the opener,” he added. When asked about leg spinner Anil Kumble’s fitness, Lele said, “We are in touch with him but he is still not match fit and is ruled out for the next two months.” Kumble underwent an operation on his bowling arm and could miss the tour of Sri Lanka from July 15 to September 2. Borde, who spoke very highly of Kumble, said, “Once Kumble comes back into the side I think the Indian team will be one of the formidable outfits in the world.” “Kumble and Harbhajan can form a deadly combination and no country can take a leg spin-off spin combination lightly,” Borde added. The Indians will play their first match in the triangular series against hosts Zimbabwe on June 24 and the four specialist one-day players will reach Zimbabwe by June 17.
PTI |
|
Surprised Harvinder raring to
go Amritsar, June 13 An excited Harvinder, also known as Harro said persistent hard work have paid off but was surprised at his inclusion in the Indian side. Harvinder played his last one day match for India in Sharjah in the Coca-Cola Cup in 1998. He has played 15 one day international matches claiming 20 wickets till now. His best performance was during the Sahara Cup in Toronto, Canada, against Pakistan, where he claimed three wickets for 38 runs. Harro said he was keen to make a comeback and now along with other two Punjab players Dinesh Mongia and Reetinder Singh Sodhi was eager to make a mark in the international arena after lay-off of three years. Although he was invited for the trials for the selection of Indian Test team currently touring Zimbabwe, but was disappointed when he was not selected. Feeling superb he said he would go all out to establish himself so that he can carve a permanent place for himself in the national team. His neighbour, opener Ravneet Ricky too hopes to get a chance to play for India. The general secretary of the Amritsar Games Association felt that the both Harvinder and Ricky were talented cricketers who were trying to emulate under senior stalwarts like Bishan Singh Bedi and Madan Lal. |
|
|
Nehra to play in 2nd Test
Harare, June 13 “He (Nehra) would play,” Ganguly said with a finality after a look at the wicket at the Harare Sports Club where the second Test starts on Friday. There were doubts over Nehra’s inclusion in the team for the second Test after umpires stopped him midway in his 27th over of the Zimbabwe second innings in Bulawayo and disqualified him from bowling for the rest of the innings for damaging the pitch in his follow-through. Nehra, whose boots damaged the pitch near the non-striker’s wickets in his follow-through, was warned twice by umpires and on the third occasion he was stopped from bowling. Coach John Wright too, supported Nehra’s cause saying the bowler had performed very well in the Bulawayo Test claiming five wickets including the prized wicket of Andy Flower in both the innings. However, Ramesh, who struggled with the bat in the first Test, has not recovered from the injury he sustained while fielding in Bulawayo, and is not sure of playing here. “His back has not improved much,” said Ganguly. “We would have to keep a close watch on his fitness.”
PTI |
|
ICC snubs Pak; no action against India Sharjah, June 13 “There is nothing the ICC can do if one country does not play against another,” ICC chief Malcolm Gray, who was here on a short visit on his way to London for the ICC annual general meeting, told reporters. Mr Gray said, “We can’t control foreign relations...With the World Test Championship now in place, the maximum we can do is to deduct points if one country refuses to play against another’’. India has refused to play cricket against Pakistan, holding the neighbouring country responsible for encouraging insurgency in Kashmir. The Indian Government did not permit the national squad to visit Pakistan for a Test series and five one-day internationals late last year. The team was also not allowed to take part in the one-day tri-nation tournament in Sharjah in April. PCB Chief Gen Tauqir Zia has been demanding that the ICC punish India for refusing to play against Pakistan. Mr Gray, however, noted that India had no objection to playing against Pakistan in multilateral tournaments. India is refusing to play against Pakistan only in bilateral matches. Indian Sports Minister Uma Bharati had written to the ICC in this regard, he added. The ICC chief said Ms Bharati had never stated that India was pulling out of the coming Asian Test Championship, during which it is scheduled to play a match against Pakistan in Pakistan. She had only criticised the Indian cricket board for making an announcement in this regard with securing the approval of the government for participation, he added. Mr Gray said, “Unlike FIFA, the ICC does not enjoy that big presence or sweeping powers to control the game. We do realise this and hope to get more powers’’. He lauded Paul Condon, the former Scotland Yard chief, for his 80-page report on match-fixing. “It is an excellent work,” he said, adding that it would be taken up at the ICC meeting next week.” “We are very serious and treating this issue (match-fixing) with utmost importance. After the meeting, we will announce what action can be taken.” He said views were expressed in certain quarters about playing at non-regular venues like Sharjah, Singapore and Toronto. The issue could be resolved if the ICC had a central authority to oversee the programming of the cricket schedule. He was of the view that, “the cricket schedule should be on global basis unlike the present system in which each country draws up its own programme”. He blamed corruption in cricket on general deteriorating moral values in society. To control the game effectively, the ICC chief indicated that younger umpires would be put on the ICC panel. “We will be looking for young people with some playing background or degrees in sports management for the job”. He said, “From now on, there will be two independent umpires for Test matches and one for one-day games”. Mr Gray said he was not averse to the idea of having a three-day series for associate members of the ICC but wondered whether they had “cricketing skills” to cope with the longer version of the game.
UNI |
|
Lack of sponsors worries Abhinav New Delhi, June 13 “Nothing has come to me so far (by way of sponsorship), though many people have shown interest”, said the talented shooter wistfully. His father has already spent “hell of a lot of money” from his pocket to make Abhinav what he is today, as the equipment and the playing kit are very expensive. Moreover, “just shooting at the Karni Singh ranges (Delhi) or Phillaur (Punjab) do not bring you the same sort of competence as shooting abroad. You need to shoot with the best”, he said. And to shoot with the best, you need money as you have to travel abroad frequently which is prohibitively expensive. He feels betrayed that the Punjab Government has not fully recognised his achievements. “I am not going to beg after them. They should come to me themselves. They should evaluate my performance and see whether I deserve anything”, he said with a tinge of disappointment. Abhinav won a bronze medal in the World Cup meet in Munich, and did well in Milan too, though he did not figure among the medals there, finishing sixth. Despite his favourite Walther gun giving him some anxious moments Abhinav shot as a champion would, to leave a remarkable imprint on the two competitions. He shot 99 in his opening gambit, then 98, before hitting the bull’s eye with four perfect 100s in Munich. In the final, his total score read 103.5, which got slightly spoilt as his eighth shot was a little off target, fetching him only 9.6 points. In the other nine attempts, he shot ten plus. He said the difference among the first 20 in the world was not much, and a slight mistake here or there could mar one’s medal chances. “I was well prepared for the competitions. I shot well both at Milan and Munich”, Abhinav elaborated in a chat with The Tribune here today. “This year, I went to many, competitions abroad and that helped me”, noted the young shooter. But he is yet to know where he figures in the world rankings as the process is a bit complicated, and he would know where he stands among the best in the world, only after a couple of days. Abhinav is unhappy that the government has not been able to finalise the name of a foreign coach, though many months have passed since the Olympic Games at Sydney last year. “The search (for a coach) should have begun immediately after the Olympics. All the famous ones have been engaged somewhere or the other. Former foreign coach Laszlo Szucsak was willing to stay back after the Olympics. But there was some pay dispute, and he has now been engaged by Japan till 2004. We want a proper plan for rifle shooting in the next Olympics”, Abhinav asserted. The government has shortlisted a Russian coach, who was supposedly present at the World Cup in Milan and Munich, though Abhinav said he had never met the coach, and had no knowledge about his background. Abhinav said national coach Prof Sunny Thomas was a “good coach”, but there is a definite need for an expert coach to help us win an Olympic medal — somebody who is well-versed with the latest on the international shooting front”. “And we need the latest equipment too, like electronic target. At present, the rifle shooters shoot on a paper target, and the target comes back to you. But shooting with electronic target is an absolutely different feeling psychologically”, explained the shooter. Abhinav said he got to know about the government’s offer to him to send him on training abroad for 45 days at a stretch, thrice in a year, only yesterday and he was not sure whether he would accept the offer or not as no coach would be available for 45 days at a stretch. Abhinav’s aim is the Olympics. “Everybody’s goal is the Olympics. Everybody plans for the Olympics. Competitions between Olympics is just a build up for the Olympics.” The coming months would be very hectic for the shooter as he would have to attend to his business management exam in July, and then the Commonwealth Championships in August, and if he qualifies, the World Cup finals, in which the best eight shooters will participate. And then the Afro Asian Games, the Commonwealth Games next year, the World Cup with quota places for the Olympics 2004, the World Championships and the Asian Games. He was not very sure whether he would participate in the National Championship and the National Games in Punjab. “It would all depend on my training schedule”, Abhinav added. |
|
IOC urged to reject Beijing’s bid Paris, June 13 RSF, the group Solidarity China and the Committee for the Support of Tibetan People called on the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to reject Beijing’s candidature when it chooses a host nation on July 13. In a statement addressed to the IOC’s 123 members, the groups said “there are enough democratic countries to avoid giving one of the last and most violent dictatorships in the world the privilege of organising the most prestigious festival of sport.” Beijing is the front runner among the candidates cities — which also include Paris, Toronto, Osaka and Istanbul — when the IOC votes in Moscow to decide the winner.
AFP |
|
Lewis ‘beginning to slip’ New York, June 13 Steward appeared as a witness for Lewis, who is suing Hasim Rahman, the WBC and IBF world heavyweight champion, to force him to honour a rematch on August 18 as mandated in the original clause of a contract. Lewis (35) lost his championship belts to Rahman (28) on April 21 in South Africa. Under questioning from Judd Burstein, Lewis’ attorney, Steward told the hearing: “Everything is a little more different when you’re 35. At his age, he’s beginning to slip a little bit. We’ll probably see a little more of the decline in the coming years. “Losing weight becomes a problem now because he’s a big man. That’s why he has to stay active.” Mike Tyson’s manager Shelly Finkel and Rahman’s former promoter Cedric Kushner also testified yesterday. Tyson is suing Rahman because he feels he should be the next mandatory opponent as stipulated by the rules of the WBC. Kushner is suing for breach of contract. Kushner, under questioning from his attorney, Richard Edlan, denied Rahman was not satisfied about his services because he couldn’t secure a bigger payday for the champion. “I managed to get two fights in the event that he lost in the rematch against Lewis,” Kushner said. “They were thus two comeback bouts totaling $3.5 million. In the event he (Rahman) kept winning, Rahman would have got a potential total of $121 million.” Rahman ended his relationship with Kushner to sign a two-fight guaranteed contract with rival promoter Don King when he became a free agent in October 2000. Rahman’s attorney, Michael Armstrong, argued the contract was extended another six months. In order to keep his promotional rights over Rahman, Kushner had to make a payment of $75,000 by April 12. Edlan showed he only paid Rahman upon his return from South Africa two weeks later, making the contract null and void. Rahman said in evidence on Monday he refused the check. Kushner told the hearing: “No one told me Rahman refused the check.” The hearing will resume June 18.
AFP |
|
Wimbledon seedings a ‘flop’ London, June 13 Wimbledon organisers, along with the other three Grand Slam tournaments — the Australian, French and US Opens, announced on Monday they were to double the number of seeds from 16 to 32. The tournaments will seed the top 32-ranked players but also use surface expertise to decide the order of seeding. Wimbledon decided to implement the changes in order to stave off a threatened players’ revolt. Claycourt specialists were upset that they were not being seeded according to their world rankings. It remains to be seen if the half-way measure will pacify them. But Safin yesterday said: “This is not going to work. “It is a mistake that is and just going to be a headache for everybody,’’ he added after beating Jens Knippschild in a second round match at the Stella Artois ATP tournament. “It is very simple. Just seed everybody according to their rankinge these are done over 12 months. “It has been like this for I don’t know how many years. “Make Wimbledon like everywhere else no more discussions, nobody is upset I think this would be the answer. “I mean come on, okay, I won the US Open last year. Does that mean I have to be No 1
seed? Reuters |
|
|
Sampras wins
London, June 13 Seeded second, Sampras cruised to victory in 44 minutes, serving 14 aces to reach the third round. The American, two months short of his 30th birthday, had a bye in the first round and was in his first match since losing to Galo Blanco in the second round at the French Open almost two weeks ago. Sampras, who has not won a tournament since last year’s Wimbledon, raced through the opening set in 19 minutes, finishing with his 10th and 11th aces. He broke for 3-1 with a cross court forehand service return winner and also broke the Belgian again from 40-0 down in the sixth game. Sampras also broke the Belgian in his opening two service games of the second set to open up a 4-0 lead before Rochus ended a losing run of nine games in a row. The Belgian smiled after serving his first two aces at 5-1 in the second set and also had two break points at 5-2 down. Sampras saved them both with service winners and clinched victory on his second match points when the Belgian netted a forehand.
AP |
|
Paes-Bhupathi duo in last 16 London, June 13 The crack combination, winners of the Wimbledon doubles title in 1999, defeated Neville Godwin of South Africa and J. Waite of the USA in three sets 6-3, 3-6, 6-4. Playing on grass for the first time after nearly two months of clay court tennis, the Indians are seeking to regain the world No 1 ranking, which they achieved in 1999. The victory at Roland Garros has catapulted them to world No 3.
PTI |
|
|
Tushaar enters last four
New Delhi, June 13 While in the boys under-16 section, number one seed Chandigarh’s Tushaar Liberhan beat fifth-seeded local lad Siddharth Gulati 6-2, 6-1 to enter the last four stage, in the girls under-16, Parul Goswami (Delhi) overwhelmed Punjab’s Kamal Preet Kaur 6-0, 6-1. In the boys under-14 category, local lad Vivek Shokeen defeated fifth-seeded Sumit Prakash of Uttar Pradesh 6-3, 6-4 while his girls counterpart in the under-14 section, Sanaa Bhambri, ripped through Taskeen Bains of Chandigarh to win 6-0, 6-0. Only two unseeded players made it to the last four. While in the girls under-16 section, Chandigarh’s Isha Kapoor staged an upset victory over third-seeded local girl Sanjana Kapoor to win 6-4, 6-2, in the boys under-14 Honey Rana beat Paras Thakur (Delhi) 6-2, 6-4. In the boys u-16 section, other players to make it to the last four were second-seeded Wrik Ganguly and fourth-seeded Divij Sharan (both from Delhi) along with third-seeded Jatin Bishnoi of Haryana. In the girls u-16 section, apart from Parul and Isha, others in fray are sixth-seeded Aastha Uppal and Sanaa Bhambri (both from Delhi). In the boys u-14, joining Vivek and Honey are local lads third-seeded Raghav Nanda and fourth-seeded Vijit Sehgal. In the girls u-14 section, Sanaa is joined by seventh-seeded Isha Toor, second-seeded Sanjana Kapoor and sixth-seeded Kamaljeet Bhullar of Punjab.
UNI |
|
|
Ambala girls take second day’s honours Ambala, June 13 Both in the categories of girls under-15 and women, the Ambala gymnasts outshone others and won the team championship. In girls under-15 section, the team championship was won by Ambala, followed by MNSS Rai in second position and Bhiwani in third spot. In the individual championship, Neha of Ambala was first, Amrita of Ambala was second and Poonam of Bhiwani was third. In floor exercise, Amrita of Ambala was first and Neha of Ambala was second, followed by Deepak from MNSS Rai in third position. In balancing beam, Amrita was first, Neha was second and Poonam was third. In the uneven bars, Neha was first and Poonam was second. In the women’s team championship, Ambala stood first. Rai was second and Faridabad stood third. In the all-round championship, Renu from Bhiwani was first, while Pretty from Ambala was second and Rekha of Ambala was third. In floor exercises, Renu was first, Neha stood second and Rekha was third. In balancing beam, Renu was first, Pretty was second and Jyoti was third. In uneven bars, Renu was first, Rekha was second and Pretty was third. In vaulting horse, Pretty was first, Renu was second and Yogita was third. In boys’ under-17 category, the team championship was won by Gurgaon, while Bhiwani was in second place and Yamunanager was third. In the all-round championship, Bansi Lal of Gurgaon was first, Devender of Bhiwani was second and Anil of Bhiwani was third. In floor exercises, Devender was first, Anil second and Amar was third. In side horse, Devender was first, Sandeep Kumar was second and Rajinder was third. In Roman rines, Bansi Lal was first, Devender was second and Amar was third. In vaulting horse, Bansi Lal was first, Vikam was second and Anil was third. In parallel bars, Devender was first, Bansi Lal was second and Vikram was third. In horizontal bars, Pardeep was first, Bansi Lal was second and Anil was third. Few persons would have realised that a state-level championship was currently underway. The lack of spectators apart, in the afternoon, the grills of the spectators’ seating area were locked, dissuading those who had turned
up.
|
|
DFA Mandi win Mandi, June 13 Both the teams had to struggle hard but the Gurgaon team took the lead in the 27th minute when Hans Raj dispatched a cross and Gurinder headed the ball into the net. DFA Mandi missed two easy scoring chances through Sushil and Hitendra Verma. In the second session DFA Mandi maintained their offensive but it was in the closing stages that the home team succeeded in scoring the equaliser through Hitendera and then the match winner came through Virender. Himachal Pradesh Police also moved up beating Punjab Sports Club, Faridabad, by two goals to one. There was free for all in which kicks and blows were traded and the match was held up for over 10 minutes. Vijay Pathania of Himachal Police and Harinder Singh Rana of Faridabad were shown the red card while Naresh Kumar of Himachal Police received yellow card.
|
 |
| 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 | |
International Olympic Committee President Juan Antonio Samaranch, right, chats with Randhir Singh, left, Secretary- General of
the Olympic Council of Asia, during the opening of the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (ANOCA) general assembly meeting in Mombasa,
Kenya, on Wednesday. Samaranch
will be retiring from the International Olympic Committee on July 16, 2001, after 21 years as
its President.
— AP/PTI photo
