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| Saturday,
July 7, 2001, Chandigarh, India   
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Rafter beats Agassi in a thriller
Venus to use serve to down
Henin Capriati glad as pressure is off |
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Sachin, Ganguly, Pillay face threat
India look to end tour with
victory Saurav Ganguly writes
Osaka trying to strengthen Olympic
bid Wiebe in lead; Woods
struggles Taiwan backs China’s
bid From boxing ring to
drugs Lensman’s work
acknowledged
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Rafter beats Agassi in a thriller London, July 6
match points on Agassi’s serve and won a place in the final with a backhand pass on the third. Agassi, the game’s best counter-puncher, and Rafter, a classic serve-vollyer, were meeting in the Wimbledon semifinals for the third year running and the quality of tennis reached the heights of their classic five-setter in 2000, considered the match of that tournament and won by Rafter. The 31-year-old Agassi dominated long stretches of the match from the baseline but Rafter’s agility and volleying kept him in touch. Rafter squared his tense, high quality semifinal against Agassi, winning the fourth set 6-2 after just over two hours today. Agassi won the first set 6-2, Rafter the second 6-3 and Agassi the third 6-3. After the first five games of the fourth set went with serve in a match of see-sawing fortunes, Rafter broke Agassi in a controversial sixth game, during which the American disputed two line calls by the same judge. One call gave Rafter a break point which he took. The disputes obviously rattled Agassi who complained vociferously to the umpire at the changeover. Rafter went on to win his own service game then captured Agassi’s serve again - and the set - with a forehand on the line as the American failed to settle. It was the third time in three years the two men had met in the semifinals at Wimbledon, Agassi winning in 1999 and Rafter last year. Agassi had raced away with the first set, his trademark return of serve proving far too potent for the Australian. Agassi, looking as ever like a man in a hurry, broke Rafter’s serve to love in the third game and converted his second break point in the fifth to lead 4-1 with just 15 minutes gone. Hardly putting a foot wrong the 31-year-old Agassi, the oldest semifinalist since John McEnroe in 1992, repeatedly left Rafter standing with an array of passing shots from the back of the court. Rafter, a classic serve and volleyer, hit three aces in self-defence, but could not penetrate the Agassi defences. Agassi, champion in 1992, won the set in 24 minutes with a thumping backhand that last year’s runner-up could only put wide. Third seed Rafter rediscovered rhythm on his serve in the second set, volleying with more confidence to win the first game to love. He then pounced on the American’s serve, forcing a series of errors. Agassi saved one break point before putting a forehand wide to lose the game. Rafter saved a break point on his own serve in the third game as the standard of play reached the level seen in last year’s semifinal between the two. Both players produced scintillating shots, including a twisting backhand overhead from Rafter when he was struggling on his serve in the fifth game of the set. He held to lead 4-1. Games then went with serve. Rafter produced his 10th ace for set point in the ninth game, followed by another big serve that Agassi could only return into the net. Both players put pressure on each other’s serve at the start of the third set and produced top-quality tennis, rallies including almost every variety of shot, as games went with serve until the sixth. It was the third-seeded Rafter who weakened first. Agassi’s thumping returns pressurised the 28-year-old Australian. He sent an easy volley into the net, saved a break point, double faulted to allow the American another then put a forehand wide to hand Agassi the all-important break for 4-2. Agassi, showing the greater consistency, was able to hang on to his own serve and took the set with a fine delivery that Rafter could only return tamely into the net.
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Venus to use serve to down
Henin
London, July 6 The athletic 21-year-old American, who beat her compatriot 6-2, 7-6, 6-1, yesterday thumped down eight aces and won 74 per cent of points on her first serve to reach her second successive Wimbledon final on Saturday. “Any match if I serve well, it’s just so much easier for me. And I think it makes my opponent think a lot about having to break me,” the languid defending champion said afterwards. Williams hardly broke into a sweat on the steamy Centre court against Davenport, just losing her concentration a little to allow the third seed back into the match in the second set. “I think she started to play a lot better... then I made a few loose shots,” Williams said. Davenport, champion in 1999 when she beat seven-times winner Steffi Graf, had no answer to the missiles raining on her from the other end of court. “She was putting a lot of pressure on hitting the ball really hard... Women’s tennis is just not used to it coming that hard,” Davenport said. In the fifth game of the first set Williams, her jewellery glinting in the sun, sent down an ace clocked at 125 mph (200 kph), faster than many of the men. Williams holds the women’s record for serving speed set three years ago in Zurich at 127 mph (205 kph), just 22 mph behind the men’s record held by Greg Rusedski. Against Henin, the 19-year-old Belgian who snuffed out Jennifer Capriati’s hopes of a third grand slam title in a year, Venus will not slow down. “It seems that when it comes to the larger matches I’m able to raise the level of my game to a really high degree,” she said. “I don’t want to go home without carrying a plate or a trophy or a title or something. So I think that’s motivation enough for me. “I love winning here. Once you win here, it’s pretty addictive.” Williams, watched for most of the match by her coach and father Richard, said she had been tole by her mother Oracene never to underestimate anyone. “I want to do something that I enjoy, but I don’t want to do too much. I don’t want to work too hard so... may be I’ll be a couch potato.”
Reuters
London, July 6 |
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Capriati glad as pressure is off Wimbledon (England), July 6 Now she can start all over again at the U.S. Open next month. Throwing away a set and a 2-1 lead, the Australian and French Open titlist failed to reach her first Wimbledon final when she lost in the semifinals yesterday to 18-year-old rising Belgian star Justine Henin. After her 2-6 6-4 6-2 loss on Centre Court, the 25-year-old American, whose comeback from drugs and shoplifting scandals has lifted her back to the top of the game, said she was sorry to lose. But she admitted she was glad it was over. “A loss is a loss, no matter where,” she said. “It was the semifinals of a Grand Slam so I’m not too disappointed.” But she still felt a sense of pride in what she had achieved and that had nothing to do with winning at Melbourne or at Roland Garros. “It’s mostly for myself. I was already feeling pride,” she said. “I was already pleased with myself even before winning these Grand Slams. So now it’s more for myself. Nothing that I had to prove to anybody. I’m really happy about it. “Everyone was making the big deal out of the Grand Slam but me. I’m pretty happy with the way the year has gone so far. I mean, it’s hard to win one Grand Slam so I’m pretty happy. “I can go out of here happy with my head held high. And I have to try again.” Capriati, who reached the French Open final at age 14 and won the Olympic title two years later in Barcelona, effectively dropped out of tennis for two years after being arrested on separate occasions for shoplifting and possession of drugs.
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Sachin, Ganguly,
Pillay face threat Mumbai, July 6 The threats to the players came to light when some members of the militant outfit were apprehended by Thane police some months ago, he said. Interrogations revealed that the militant group had prepared a list of persons who would be kidnapped to secure certain political benefits. The hockey camp for the Indian probables for the Sultan Azlan Shah Tournament in Malaysia, to be held at Jammu, has been shifted to Punjab due to alleged kidnapping threat to ace forward Dhanraj Pillay, according to the Indian Hockey Federation sources.
PTI |
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India look to end tour with victory Harare, July 6 India registered comprehensive victories in all their four league matches with both Zimbabwe and the West Indies hardly posing any challenge. All their players look to be in fine form and are bubbling with confidence. But, they have lost the last three finals they have featured in, and in at least two of those tournaments, they had performed exceedingly well in the league matches. Captain Saurav Ganguly had exactly this in mind even as he expressed confidence with the team’s preparation for the final. “We have lost three finals in the recent past,” he said referring to the ICC knock-out tournament in Nairobi last year, the subsequent Sharjah triangular series and the recent home series against Australia. “We don’t want to lose one more final this time,” he said On form and record, India seem to have a strong case this time. In both batting and bowling, they have outperformed their opposition by miles. And the fielding has seen tremendous improvement with the youngsters bringing in a lot of energy and vitality on the field. On the other hand, the West Indies continue to look a poor imitation of their former self. The absence of Brian Lara has seen a shaky performance by the batsmen while the bowling is hardly formidable. With the captain having regained his batting form, the famous troika comprising Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid is all set to fire on all cylinders in the final tomorrow. Tendulkar and Dravid have been in ominous touch in this tournament though the latter has had a couple of soft dismissals for small scores. V.V.S. Laxman is ready to be included in the side having recovered from his finger injury and that would give a boost to the batting order considering that his replacement Dinesh Mongia, though he got some runs, hasn’t looked very comfortable at the No 3 slot. Laxman, in all probability, will play tomorrow and that makes Mongia’s inclusion doubtful. Hemang Badani, who has shown much promise, has been dismissed cheaply a couple of times and the team will need a handsome contribution from him on the big stage. The bowlers have done an admirable job on this tour with all the five seamers competing with each other in giving an impressive performance. After another good show in the last game, Debasish Mohanty looks certain to be included for tomorrow’s game along with Asish Nehra, surely the best bowler for India on this tour. The third seamer’s slot is up for grabs between Zaheer Khan, Ajit Agarkar and Harvinder Singh but Zaheer looks to be the favourite considering his consistency in recent times. The West Indies pace department has suffered a setback following Cameroon Cuffy being sidelined for four weeks due to a fracture on his left foot. Mervyn Dillon and Reon King have performed only in patches and it is their spinners Mahendra Nagamootoo and Neil McGarrel who have comparitively better performances to their credit. Among the batsmen, the bulk of the scoring in this tournament has been done by openers Darren Ganga and Chris Gayle and wicketkeeper Ridley Jacobs. Shivnaraine Chanderpaul, the most experienced member of the team apart from captain Carl Hooper, has been unable to lend the solidity to the middle order that was expected of him and has got out cheaply till now. It will be important from the West Indies point of view that he comes good tomorrow and ensures a good total. Hooper himself has looked good though he has come in pressure situations where all he was required to do was to go for the big shots. He will once again be the key to his team putting up an impressive score. Despite the absence of hosts Zimbabwe from the final, tomorrow’s match is a sold-out affair. The wicket looks favourable to batsmen though it remains to be seen whether the side winning the toss likes to bat first or not. Ganguly has won the toss on all four ocassions and every time he has sent in the opposition to bat. He would like to do it again, if only for continuity’s sake, but it would be interesting to see how India fare if they are forced to bat first tomorrow.
PTI |
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Saurav Ganguly writes IT'S
been a good one-day series for India so far. I say this not because we have an impressive all-win record, but because of the way we have been playing. The bowlers have been spot-on right through the series and the fielding has been of the highest standard. It is an important final for us tomorrow, and it is very vital for us to win so that we can go home with a good tour behind us, except for that one hour in Harare. It’s going to be a bit of a problem picking the final eleven, especially in the bowling department. This is a very good sign for Indian cricket, because it gives us many options. In the last game, we maintained our impressive level of performance on the best wicket of the series. It was a game where the toss hardly mattered for it was a sporting wicket with help for the bowlers, and also one on which the ball came on to the bat nicely for strokeplay. Fortunately, we are playing the finals on the same wicket. The bowlers did well to restrict the West Indians to 229 on this wicket. Mohanty and Nehra were the pick of the bowlers. Mohanty seems to be a much-improved bowler and has developed a lovely slower one that makes him pretty handy in the slog overs. His temperament needs to be appreciated because he is one player who has been in and out of the side. However, whenever he does get an opportunity, he makes the most of it . He certainly has earned himself the right to figure in the playing eleven this Saturday. Nehra continued the great form he has been enjoying right through this tour. He did give us a scare when he had a nasty fall during his first over on Wednesday. Fortunately he could continue bowling, and is completely fit ahead of the big game. He once again bowled well in the death overs. In fact, this is one important aspect of the one-day game in which we have shown a marked improvement during this series. Our batting is looking great with Sachin and me getting the team off to a good start in the last league game. Sachin was once again in superb form and the only worry was the mini-collapse after the opening partnership. This has been a bit of a bother for us for this has happened a couple of times during the series. We have to sort this out if we are to maintain our consistency. On the positive side, it’s good to note that one of our frontline players have stayed till the end in each of the games. This is extremely important if a team has to put up a good score or overhaul a target.
Gameplan |
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Waugh slams ton Birmingham, England, July 6 It was Waugh’s 26th Test century and his ninth as Australia’s captain, and after clipping Craig White to the square leg boundary to reach three figures, he joyously punched the air before raising his bat to acknowledge the acclaim of a capacity crowd. Waugh, who reached 9,000 Test runs when he had scored 35, led from the front again when it mattered most to carry Australia to 332 for four at tea on the second day, with Damien Martyn 34 not out, in reply to England’s first innings of 294. Australia moved into the ascendancy as brothers Steve and Mark Waugh, who scored 49, put on 133 for the fourth wicket from 253 balls in a critical partnership after Michael Slater was out for 77 to the seventh ball of the morning. Steve Waugh, playing his 136th Test, is the third highest scorer in Test history behind compatriot Allan Border, with 11,174 from 156 matches, and India’s Sunil Gavaskar, who made 10,122 from 125 appearances. The Waughs shared their seventh century partnership in Tests on an overcast day. Scoreboard England (Ist innings): 294 Australia (Ist innings): Slater b Gough 77 Hayden c White b Giles 35 Ponting lbw b Gough 11 M. Waugh c Stewart b Caddick 49 S. Waugh not out 101 Martyn not out 34 Extras: 25 Total (for 4 wkts, 81 overs) 332 FOW:
1-98, 2-130, 3-134, 4-267. Bowling: Gough 20-6-90-2, Caddick 20-0-93-1, White 20-5-60-0, Giles 20-0-78-1, Butcher 1-0-2-0.
Reuters
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Cronje angry he can not train poor Durban, July 6 Cronje makes his feelings known in a letter to his former teammate Jonty Rhodes, who is a resident of Durban. “At the time of my playing career I wanted to help some of the local schools with equipment and a bit of coaching here and there”, he said in the letter from his home town of George in the Western Cape. Cronje, who is studying for his MBL (Master of Business Leadership) certificate, said he had seen a great deal in George to suggest there was a lot he could do for the poor children of the area. “I do believe a lot can be done to improve the game of cricket in this part of the world. But I was denied the opportunity to contribute by the life ban. “I found this a bit frustrating, because some of the schools here, especially in the rural townships, are desperate for equipment.” He said he was puzzled by the ban, especially those aspects that dealt with his rehabilitation. “Part of the UCB statement said I would have to be rehabilitated first and I felt this was a way of proving that my intentions were genuine.
PTI |
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Osaka trying to strengthen Olympic bid Tokyo, July 6 Osaka city officials, however, are strengthening their last minutes campaigns such as special promotion events in Osaka and Tokyo, ahead of the International Olympic Committee’s vote on the host city in Moscow on July 13. “After an evaluation report by the IOC in May, we lost our confidence to win and many people in Osaka are less careful about it now,” said Yoshikazu Yokoo, a 26-year-old resident of Osaka. According to the IOC report on May 15, Osaka has significant problems in plans to host the games and together with Istanbul ranks behind Beijing, Paris and Toronto. The committee’s criticism of Osaka focused on potential transportation congestion and the financial implications of the city’s extensive infrastructure plans for the games. City finances have been another issue, particularly since economic troubles have resulted in a ballooning national government debt. Osaka has about 5 trillion yen ($ 40.7 billion) in accumulated debts as well as an estimated 10,000 homeless people, the largest concentration in the nation, and it was half of the nation’s total at 20,000 homeless. Despite the IOC report and calls for Osaka to withdraw from the race, bidders have decided to press ahead with their campaign. “We will not know until the very end what happens. We will do our very best,” Osaka Governor Fusae Ota said. Responding to the IOC’s criticism of city finances, the Osaka Olympics bid committee said the total cost of infrastructure for the games, including construction of facilities and transportation systems, was estimated at 2.83 trillion yen ($ 23 billion). Among them, city of Osaka will shoulder only 12 per cent, or about 346.1 billion yen ($ 2.8 billion). “The amount, which Osaka has to bear, is not too much because the Olympics budget could be spent over a seven-year period until 2008 and city of Osaka has an annual financial budget of 4.35 trillion yen ($ 4 35.4 billion),” the bid committee said in a written statement. Osaka is Japan’s third largest city, after Tokyo and Yokohama. While Osaka is a home for some of Japan’s leading companies, such as Matsushita Electric and Sanyo Electric and the popular Hollywood theme park, Universal Studio, opened its first overseas park in Osaka in March, the city has yet to have low international recognition. Supporters say the western Japanese city’s international image would be improved by hosting the games. But many residents of Osaka are worried about having huge deficits afterward. Since the end of the Japan’s bubble economic era in early 1990s, the economy in Osaka and surrounding Kansai region area has fared worse than many other parts of Japan. According to Sanwa Research Institute in Osaka, an Osaka Olympics would mean economic benefits of only about 500 billion yen (about $ 4.1 billion). “City of Osaka’s financial situation is very bad, so hosting an Olympics would affect negatively to its already severe finances,” said an analyst at the Tokyo-based credit rating firm, Rating and Investment Information. Kazuhito Konishi, head of the Osaka Needs No Olympics Union, said the Olympics could cost local taxpayers nearly 1 trillion yen ($ 8.1 billion) in additional debt, which would come in the form of bonds to pay for new roads, tunnels and sporting facilities. Knoshi said Osaka already has nearly five trillion yen worth of municipal bonds. He also said Osaka is also struggling over what to do about the estimated 10,000 homeless now living in its streets and parks in which some of them are the sites for soccer and hockey matches.
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Wiebe in lead; Woods struggles Lemont (Illinois), July 6 Wiebe fired a bogey-free seven-under-par 65 yesterday to grab the lead after the first round of the $ 3.6 million Western Open, where Woods lost his cool after a one-over 73. Clearly the world’s top-ranked player, Woods has finished outside the top 10 in consecutive starts for the first time since April 1999. After taking a week off, he surged into contention with three birdies on the back nine. But the two-time Western Open champion bogeyed the 16th hole, then tossed his club and avoided questions after a double-bogey at the par-four 18t left him seven shots off the pace. Wiebe, whose 2001 winnings of $ 225,992 put him million dollars behind Woods on the money list, never was frustrated at the Cog Hill Golf and Country Club. Playing for a spot in the British Open later this month, he opened with seven birdies, including three in a row on the back nine, for a one-shot lead over Phil Mickelson and Davis Love. “I didn’t know it was bogey-free until I got into the scoring tent, so that means my mind was right, for sure,” said Wiebe whose second of two career PGA wins came at the 1986 Hardee’s Classic. “There’s too many time that as soon as you say, Hey, I haven’t had a bogey today,’ you make at least one. So mentally, I was into it.” A week after surmounting his final-round troubles with a win at the Greater Hartford Open, Mickelson also completed a bogey-free round. “The key to the round was really minimizing mistakes because it was very difficult to make birdies here today,” said the lefthander, who is second behind Woods in the world rankings and on the PGA money list. “The greens were very firm and it was very hard to get the ball close. I made a couple good 15-to 25-foot putts that got me under par and I was able to go bogey-free throughout the round.” David Toms and Jerry Kelly, who was in contention last week in Connecticut, shot five-under 67s and are two strokes behind Wiebe. It’s another stroke back to Bob Tway, Brad Faxon, Kenny Perry, Carl Paulson and New Zealand’s Frank Nobilo. Defending champion Robert Allenby of Australia, who defeated two-time winner Nick Price of Zimbabwe in a playoff last year, already is nine shots back after a first-round 74.
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Taiwan backs China’s bid Taipei, July 6 Vice President Annette Lu frequently criticizes China for being a repressive, undemocratic bully that enjoys threatening this island. China’s state-run media have fired back at her, calling Lu a “lunatic” or “scum of the nation.” But during a speech yesterday to Harvard University alumni, Lu endorsed China’s Olympic bid, which the International Olympic Committee will vote on next week. “Sincerely, we wish and hope that China would have the honour to earn the auspicious Olympic Games in 2008 and we will share with their victory,” said Lu, who studied law at Harvard in the 1970s. President Chen Shui Bian has also supported Beijing’s bid and has suggested that China and Taiwan could share some of the events. But for now it seems unlikely that the two sides could cooperate in such a way because of long-standing political differences. Beijing is a strong favourite ahead of the International Olympic Committee vote on July 13. Paris and Toronto are also considered to be front-runners, while Istanbul, Turkey and Osaka, Japan, are considered to be long shots.
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From boxing ring to
drugs Bathinda, July 6 Devinder Singh, a resident of Talwandi Sabo, who was known for his ‘hook’ in the boxing circles had won silver medal in the Punjab Junior Boxing Championship in 1994. He is now undergoing de-addiction treatment with the help of district police authorities. Devinder, who had been an addict for the last five years came in contact with these police personnel through sheer chance. While watching movie ‘Gadar’ the police suspected him to be a thief. Three injectable intoxicants and syringes were found from him when searched. It happened about six days back. He was taken first to the police station and then to the SSP, Dr Jatinder Kumar Jain. The SSP motivated him to undergo de-addiction treatment and subsequently he was admitted to the local civil hospital. A motivated Devinder now says he will not try drugs again. Talking to The Tribune here last evening he said he was forced to try drugs by his friends, who told him that to maintain a good physique it was necessary for him to have these capsules. “I started with capsules and gradually shifted to cough syrups. Both of these are freely available at most of drug stores. After a few months I shifted to intra-venous drugs and would inject myself five times. “My game has been reduced to almost nothing as I have not practised for the last five years. All my friends, who are drug addicts are finding it hard to finance their needs as most of them are unemployed. Pressure of my friends to have drugs was the main factor for me to try drugs,” he said. “My relatives, friends and family were not helpful whenever I tried to quit drugs earlier. Now the help from Punjab Police would definitely help me quit drugs.” Sham Kaur, Devinder’s mother, holds bad company responsible for the end of her son’s sports career. “It was due to a bad omen and ill wishes of jealous neighbours that my son landed in bad company. The help and affection shown by the district police chief is no less than the grace of the Almighty.” Dr Jatinder Kumar Jain, SSP on his part, says every drug addict was encouraged to quit drugs. Drug free Bathinda-2000 campaign launched by the district police has shown remarkable results and the police officials are encouraging youth to quit drugs. “Parents and the NGOs have a very important role to play and the youth should be motivated not to lose heart.” |
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Lensman’s work
acknowledged New Delhi, July 6 The book was a product of New Zealand’s longest cricketing safari which started with South Africa, followed by Australia, and Singapore before ending in their triumph in the ICC Knockout Trophy at Nairobi. |
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