Once the world’s top doubles team but only estranged partners now, Paes and Bhupathi, reproduced their peak-time understanding and compatibility to brush aside the challenge of South Korean pair of Hee Seok Chung and Hyung Taik Lee in the final of men’s doubles.

The Indians carved out a 6-2 6-3 victory in just over an hour of magical tennis that Paes said reminded him of the pair’s Grand Slam exploits.

The chemistry that still exists between Paes and Bhupathi was lacking when Bhupathi took court with Manisha Malhotra in the mixed doubles final. Bhupathi and Malhotra squandered two match-points to lose 4-6 6-3 9-7 to Yen Hsun Lu and Jent Whids Lee of Chinese Taipei. The Indians had to settle for sivler after two-and-a half hours of hard work. Two bronze medals also came India’s way for their team’s semi-final appearances in men’s doubles and mixed doubles.

Vishal Uppal and Mustafa Ghouse took the bronze medal in men’s doubles after having lost to South Korean duo of Hee Seok Chung and Hyung Taik Lee in the semi-finals yesterday.

Paes and Sania Mirza also got bronze for progressing to the last four of mixed doubles where they lost to Chinese Taipei’s Lee and Lu yesterday.

Paes and Bhupathi, who received vociferous support of a sizeable number of Indian fans, were never really stretched by the South Koreans.

The Indian pair turned the heat on straightway by breaking their rivals in the third and fifth games to wrap up the first set 6-2 and take control of the proceedings.

They maintained the momentum in the second set also, forcing a break in the very first game and then provided the finishing touches by breaking their opponents again in the ninth game to win 6-3.

“This is one gold that I will cherish for a long time,” Paes said after the win.

“Our experience of having played together for seven years helped overcome the pre-tournament concerns... once the Games started, we gelled well,” said Paes after the win.“It was not an easy match. The opponents were of top quality... it was a matter of keeping our standards high,” Paes said and immediately set his sights on the next Olympic Games at Athens in 2004.

“With my passion for the Olympics I definitely want to be in Athens,” said the star player who already has an Olympic bronze won in the singles event in Atlanta’96.

Bhupathi, however, failed to claim a double, losing the thrilling mixed doubles which he and Malhotra should have won comfortably.

In a match with fluctuating fortunes, the Indian and Chinese Taipei pairs shared the first two sets to go into the decider.

Bhupathi and Manisha had no difficulty in wrapping up the first set but their rivals staged a brilliant comeback by taking the second, capitalising on a few unforced errors by the Indians.

In the decider where there is no tie-break, both the teams played their hearts out as they went neck and neck till 7-7 before the Chinese Taipei players turned the table on the Indians. The Indians enjoyed two break points leading 6-5 in the third set but they squandered them and had to ultimately end on the losing side. PTI

India, winner of the gold in the Manchester Commonwealth Games and silver medallists in the last Asiad in Bangkok, finished the four-nation tournament winless losing all their four matches.

For Japan both the goals were scored by striker Sakae Morimoto, one in each half, in the 29th and 44th minutes.

This was India’s second loss to Japan after going down 2-3 in the league phase.

But for the display of individual brilliance by few of the Indians, the team lacked cohesion as the Japanese, who upset Champions Trophy winners China in the league phase, managed to hold fort.

The Japanese goalkeeper Rie Terazano was also excellent under the bar and foiled a number of Indian attempts on goal.

Though the Indian midfield worked hard and the two wingers Anjum Saba and Mamta Kharb were excellent, both the forwards, Jyoti Kullu and Maimon Saggai, were found wanting.

After a few raids into the Japan area, Pritam Siwach earned India’s first penalty corner in the 12th minute but the effort failed to beat Terazono. It was the same story four minutes later as the Indians failed to make use of the second penalty corner also.

India then slowed the pace of the match and this allowed Japan to regroup. Yuka Ogura came in menancingly and took a shot on the run but the alert Indian custodian Tingolima Chanu effected a good save.

Japan took the lead against the run of play following a quick counter attack in the 29th minute. Chie Kimura put in Morimoto with a long pass and the Japanese striker beat Chanu with a neat deflection.

Defenders Amandeep Kaur and Suman Bala were partly to blame as they were slow to react and failed to intercept Morimoto.

The second half went Japan’s way and their game plan to increase the lead and then defend it worked perfectly.

Coach Rajinder Singh was obviously upbeat about India’s chances in the final but said the forward line needed to tighten up a bit while the penalty corner conversion needed to be improved.

“The forwards need to tighten a bit. We have faltered in the striking circle quite a few times,” Rajinder Singh told PTI.

“The penalty corner conversion has also not been upto the mark in this tournament. We were doing quite well in this department in the Champions Trophy and we must get it right tomorrow,” he said.

Tomorrow’s match between the two teams will be a repeat of the final in Bangkok in 1994 when India had pipped South Korea in the penalty shoot-out to win the gold only for the second time.

Rajinder Singh said his team was quite capable of repeating that result in what would be the third straight Asian Games final between the two sides.

“I am quite confident about my players and if they play to their potential, I am sure that the gold medal will be ours,” he said.

“But the Koreans cannot be taken lightly. They will be playing before the home crowd.”

“We have kept up our performance and the boys have maintained the tempo from the very first match against Hong Kong. Everything has been working to our plan and the scheme of things now is to retain our gold medal,” Rajinder Singh said.

Like in the match against Pakistan, much will depend on the form of star striker Dhanraj Pillay who is the inspiration for the entire team. Pillay scored the first two goals against Pakistan and if the ball rolls kindly to him again then no defence is safe.

Pillay, who is always guided by instinct and emotion, will be watched from the stands by his mentor and former captain Mohammad Shahid tomorrow.

Going by the present form of the Indian team, the only worry has been the inability of the forward line to give finishing touches to the moves and that has been pointed out by the coach in nearly every post-match Press conference. PTI

Although they admitted that the team’s performance was not up to the mark, they blamed it on unnecessary punishments given to the players by the umpires. “Our main striker Nadeem ND was given an unjustified red card and the punishment was stronger than the offence he committed,” said Col Zafari.

Because of his departure, Pakistan had 10 players for the remaining 22 minutes of the match and this disrupted the rhythm of the team, it was argued.

However, the officials admitted that though “we fought bravely, our overall performance was not match-winning.”

Zaman called upon the International Hockey Federation to introduce a reply umpire to judge some crucial decisions. “It is the right time for FIH to implement the idea of a third reply umpire to judge some doubtful decisions. Appointment of the reply umpires will ensure a good future of the game and make it free of any controversy whatsoever,” he said. ANI

The 17-year-old Bhandari’s achievement is all the more creditable as the government had not cleared the taekwondo team.

Bhandari won three rounds before losing to Behzad Khodadad of Iran in the semi-finals to finish with the bronze.

Earlier, the youngster from Uttar Pradesh trained by two Koreans fought his way into the semifinals scoring superb wins in the preliminary rounds before losing to Khodadad in the semi.

Bhandari showed his class against Kumar Bahadur Karki of Nepal in the second round winning the three-round bout 3-0.

He faced a stiff challenge in the third round against Hamood Aqlan of Yemen and had to fight hard before winning on technical superiority.

Both the fighters were tied 3-3 at the end of the three rounds before Bhandari was declared the winner. After taking the first round 3-0, the Yemenese won the second with a 2-0 scoreline and the third round ended in a 1-1 tie.

However, in the semi, Bhandari despite showing lot of thrust in his kicks conceded three points in the first round itself to the Iranian.

Bhandari, egged on by the Indian team members, tried a waiting game and also scored a point towards the end of the second round with a kick.

But Khodadad settled the issue in the next round scoring another point. The young Indian can, however, take heart from the fact that he did not concede any minus points in any of his bouts and also proved his fighting qualities. PTI

Top-seed Tamarine was favoured to succeed where she failed four years ago in her women’s singles final against Uzbekistan’s Iroda Tulyaganova but succumbed in straight sets 6-1 6-3.

The world No 27 couldn’t get to grips with her game and was unable to hold her own serve until the fifth game of the second set, losing in 69 minutes.

“Iroda was playing so well,” Tamarine said. “Her shots were more aggressive. She played well on the big points. She served unbelievable. She deserved it.”

Tulyaganova, ranked four places below Tamarine on the WTA Tour, won her first title since last year’s WTA event in Vienna.

“It’s one of my best victories,” Tulyaganova said. “I was playing for my country, not just myself, and I’m glad I could make all those people happy.

“I think I will wake up some people. It’s something big for my country that we have a gold medal.”

While there was defeat for Tamarine there were no such problems for compatriot and favourite in the men’s singles Paradorn Srichaphan.

The world No 28 breezed into tomorrow’s final against South Korea’s Lee Hyung-Taik with a 6-3 6-3 win over Uzbekistan’s Oleg Ogorodov.

In men’s doubles final, Mahesh Bhupathi and Leander Paes earned India’s 10th gold of the games, downing South Korea’s Lee Hyung-Taik and Chung Hee-Seok 6-2 6-3.

The boxing tournament meanwhile continued to embrace controversy as it moved into the semifinal stage.

The competition has been bedevilled by claims of biased officiating, and International Amateur Boxing Federation supremo Anwar Chowdhry for the first time acknowledged the problem.

Mr Chowdhry labelled a decision made in Wednesday’s heavyweight quarter-finals a ‘disgrace’ and said he planned to ban the judges responsible for four years.

Jordanian heavyweight Yousef Hasan slumped to the canvas crying after he was ruled to have lost a 91-kg bout against South Korean Lee Hyun-Song by three points on Wednesday.

The 23-year-old from Amman walked sobbing back to the locker room.

“What they did to that boxer was disgraceful,” said Mr Chowdhry. “It was absolutely disgraceful but if they don’t make a protest then we can’t take up the case.”

Asked whether the judges who awarded the decision would sit again during the Asian Games he said: “Please don’t ask me that question.

“I have told them already, I am going to examine your case and you are going to be in big trouble. I am not going to let them get away with it and I am not going to let up.

“I am so annoyed I’m not going to let them off so simply,” he said, insisting that the IABF had taken steps to ensure transparency in judging.

“What more can we do to make it (judging) open?” he said. AFP

UNI

Forced to follow on, West Indies did much better in their second innings, scoring 91 for one in the 27 remaining overs of the day.

Wavell Hinds was the only batsman to be dismissed in the second innings when he was bowled by Harbhajan Singh after scoring 40. India (1st innings): 457

West Indies (1st innings):

Gayle lbw b Zaheer Khan 7

Hinds c sub b Harbhajan 1

Sarwan lbw b Kumble 22

Dillon b Srinath 21

Chanderpaul c & b Kumble 54

Hooper c Bangar b Zaheer 23

Hinds lbw b Zaheer 9

Jacobs b Ganguly b Zaheer 0

The bowlers were spot on in the first two sessions, giving the batsmen no respite, attacking them consistently. I thought Saurav Ganguly was tactically very sound, in his bowling changes as well as field placements, never relieving the pressure on the batsmen. It is so easy to get complacent when the game looks within your grasp, but the Indian captain would not relent.

Zaheer was the pick of the bowlers, the performance even more noteworthy because of the slow nature of the wicket. His aggressive mid-afternoon session spell broke the back of the West Indies batting from which they just could not recover. Zaheer was ably supported by the other bowlers, especially Kumble who picked up four wickets too. Harbhajan bowled well too though he did not have quite the same luck to show the wickets against his name.

But well as these three and Srinath bowled, I think the West Indies batsmen were inadequate to the task and surrendered their wickets without making the bowlers earn them. Chanderpaul apart — and he showed the way to bat in such circumstances — the other batsmen were not willing to stick it out in the middle. There will have to be a huge improvement in their approach if they are to save this game. On a track that is beginning to deteriorate further and further.

The Indians were very, very good in the field, the fielders supporting the bowlers wonderfully. I was impressed with Parthiv Patel again. He looks a natural wicket-keeper and if he keeps his head, has a long career ahead of him. His presence in the team is also credit to the selectors who spotted him, and blooded him when he is fresh and keen and not jaded and cynical.

The Indians are pretty much in the driver’s seat in this match, but it has not come without hard work. They batted extremely well on the first day, consolidated the good work on the second and the bowlers kept up the pressure on the West Indies on the third. Over the next few sessions they now need to maintain this rhythm to make all the hard work put in so far worthwhile. (Gameplan)

Their batting for example was very ordinary. I expected much from the likes of Carl Hooper, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Shivnarine Chanderpaul but except Chanderpaul, the others came a cropper. Without any doubt the Indian bowling was superb today but after watching the West Indians bat, I felt they had not come here with proper preparation. I think they were too tense and this reflected in their footwork against the Indian spinners.

They batted with a purpose in the second innings but I suppose the damage was done in the first, where they conceded a lead of 300 runs. However, in the second sensible approach saw them add 91 runs in losing just one wicket, which must have given them some confidence.

Credit goes to the Indians for keeping the West Indians under the wraps. There were hardly any loose deliveries bowled and when the runs didn’t come their batsmen threw away the wickets. Zaheer Khan was the pick of the Indian bowlers, getting four wickets and was unlucky to miss out on a five-wicket haul. He bowled within the stumps and was getting good movement, especially when the ball was slightly older. His ability to reverse swing the ball at good pace makes Zaheer a good prospect for India. But Zaheer has to continue working on his fitness which has given him an extra yard of pace this season.

There wasn’t a role for Javagal Srinath today but his experience will help Zaheer a lot. When I was in the formative years of my career, I was very lucky to have someone like Kapil paaji taking active interest in me.

He was a fitness freak so he would supervise my fitness schedules and give me tips about fast bowling. As I said about Srinath, he will be a source of inspiration to Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, Ajit Agarkar and other fast bowlers in the country.

The wicket was tailor made for spinners and Harbhajan Singh and Anil Kumble made full use of that. Kumble also picked up four wickets and though Harbhajan had only two, both will have a role to play in the West Indies’ second innings.

Steve Waugh’s side then rubbed in their superiority, removing any room for Pakistan excuses in the process as they raced to 191 for 4 at close.

Warne, the man of the match in the first Test, took four for 11 from 11 overs including three wickets in 19 balls before fast bowler Brett Lee wrapped up the 31.5-over innings by bowling last man Kaneria.