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Saturday,
May 31, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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India need a draw to
qualify
Wayne Ferreira’s campaign ends in agony; serena triumphs One day internationals ‘ruining art of spin bowling’
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Lara praises Andy Bichel India presents bid for Commonwealth
Games
Junior Basketball nationals at
Ludhiana
Siblings share passion for football Khera in
lead Amritsar eves
shine Taekwon-do meet
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India need a draw to qualify Perth, May 30 India hold a slight advantage, having won one of their two previous league matches, and need only a draw tomorrow to qualify for the final. On the other hand, Pakistan, who suffered a shock 3-0 defeat to Australia ‘A’ yesterday, have lost both their league matches so far and must win by a comprehensive margin tomorrow in order to make it to the final. Australia have already secured a final berth having defeated both India and Pakistan and are yet to concede a goal in the tournament, a fact that underlines their awesome form. Knowing well the hype and hopes of an expectant nation every time they take the field against Pakistan, India will be keen for an Asian Games encore when they beat their rivals by a 4-3 margin in the semi-finals. The two sides played each other four times last year with India winning three of them. Pakistan’s only victory came in the playoff for the 3-4 place in the Champions Trophy. The Indian team may draw some heart from the recent record but they know everything else will cease to matter and boil down to their performance in the field tomorrow. India coach Rajinder Singh was not exactly a relaxed man because the team’s form has been mixed here. They did well to blank Australia ‘A’ whose strength can be gauged from the fact that they tamed an otherwise strong Pakistan for a 3-0 win. But before the euphoria of winning their tournament opener could die down, the Indians got a rude awakening from a rampaging Australia who inflicted a 2-0 defeat on them. “We were done in by poor defence against Australia. Also we were put under pressure right from the start as we conceded a goal in the very third minute,” said Rajinder Singh. “But we had an extensive training session today where we tried to plug in the loopholes. We will be fresh for the match and the mood in the team is very upbeat,” said the Indian coach who guided the junior side to World Cup glory in 2001. And Pakistan coach Tahir Zaman was equally hopeful of putting it across India despite the shock reversal at the hands of second-string Australia ‘A’ side. “Nobody likes to lose a match. Hockey is our national game, so when you are playing against India everybody is interested and it is always a big occasion. We will certainly try and give our fans some good news,” Zaman said. Rajinder Singh agreed that the match will provide the crowd with great excitement as the two arch-rivals will cross swords for the first time after the Asian Games in September last year. “The conditions will be different tomorrow. There will be a lot of excitement both on and off the field as India and Pakistan matches always have had a different charm,” he said adding India’s strategy would be to play attacking hockey. Rajinder Singh was worried about the defence a wee bit and hinted there would be some changes in the line-up tomorrow.
PTI |
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Wayne Ferreira’s campaign ends in agony; serena triumphs
Paris, May 30 The defending champion routed Barbara Schett 6-0, 6-0 today, needing just 40 minutes to win her third-round match at the French Open. The victory was the 31st in a row at Grand Slam events for Williams, who is seeking her fifth consecutive major title. Andre Agassi blasted his way past Belgium’s Xavier Malisse 6-4, 7-5, 7-5 today to move into the fourth round. Fourth seed Justine Henin-Hardenne also cruised, needing just 50 minutes to beat Madagascar’s Dally Randriantefy, 6-1, 6-1. The top-seeded Williams lost only 14 points in the first set and six in the second. She won 12 points in a row at one stretch and hit 23 winners to two for Schett. Given the way Williams played, maybe fellow American Meghann Shaughnessy caught a break by losing to No. 16-seeded Ai Sugiyama, 6-1, 6-4. Sugiyama faces Williams next. Also advancing was No. 5 Amelie Mauresmo, a potential formidable hurdle for Williams in the quarterfinals. The French woman beat Fabiola Zuluaga 6-3, 6-4. On the warmest day yet at Roland Garros - 29 degrees Celsius and muggy - No. 19 Patty Schnyder also advanced, defeating No. 14 Eleni Daniilidou 6-3, 6-4. In men’s play, No 29 Vince Spadea lost to Martin Verkerk 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 7-5. That left just one American in the draw - eight time Grand Slam champion Andre Agassi. Wayne Ferreira, playing in his 50th consecutive Grand Slam tournament, left the court on a stretcher. Trailing Rainer Schuettler in the fourth set, Ferreira hurt his groin chasing a forehand and was forced to quit. Ferreira slipped, did the splits and fell on his back in pain. Schuettler grabbed ice from a container behind the changeover chairs and rushed it to Ferreira. After being treated by a trainer, the South African was carried off the court, waving to applauding fans. Schuettler, runner-up at the Australian Open in January, led 6-3, 1-6, 7-6 (7/3), 2-3 when the injury occurred. No. 23-seeded Younes El Aynaoui lost to Mariano Zabaleta 6-2, 6-4,
3-6, 7-6 (7/2). No 7 Guillermo Coria, at 21 the youngest player remaining in the men’s draw, beat qualifier Attila Savolt 6-4, 6-1, 6-1. Schett upset Venus Williams in the first round two years ago, but she was no match for the younger Williams. The Austrian had four break points early but soon found herself overwhelmed. Williams closed the first set with a remarkable exchange that left multiple track marks on her side of the clay. She raced toward a drop shot and scooped it back as she went sliding off the court. Then she reversed direction to hit a running, lunging backhand for a winner as she skidded across the other sideline. “I’m running really fast here, and that’s great,” Williams said. “I guess it’s the fittest I’ve been all year.” Schett managed to hit her only backhand winner in the final game, then raised both arms in mock jubilation as the centre-court crowd cheered. But she dumped a backhand into the net on match point, then walked off the court shaking her head and smiling in chagrin.
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One day internationals ‘ruining art of spin bowling’ Kolkata, May 30 “One day matches are the main villain for the decay in spin bowling,” said B.S. Chandrasekhar as he emerged out of a BCCI-organised brainstorming session alongwith other spin greats to work out ways to revive the art. Chandrasekhar, known for his deadly leg break bowling during his hey days, also said he had suggested during the discussions that there should not be one-day matches at the Under-15 and Under-17 levels of cricket. Another former spin great R.G. (Bapu) Nadkarni also agreed that too many one-dayers were ruining the art saying “if you look at the cricket calender you will find only one-day matches.” First of its kind, the session was attended by 12 former and present spin greats who termed the cricket board’s effort as belated but were unanimous in their opinion that it was “better late than never”. S. Venkatraghavan, a member of the country’s spin quartet in 1970s and now a respected ICC umpire, said, “this type of interaction should have been held much earlier” to work out a revival plan. Emphasising that the country does not have a shortage of talent in the spin bowling, he said that this initiative should be followed up and, “then only we can get the fruitful results”. He said despite the delay all the stalwarts are now here to help the board in its endeavour to revive this art in the Indian cricket. “We have to educate the youngsters how to perform at the highest level,” Venkat, who had taken 156 wickets in 57 Test matches, said. To the queries whether he was enjoying his umpiring stint, he said, “I always enjoyed my cricket, my game and now I am thoroughly enjoying my umpiring. But I must admit that it is a taxing job”. Asked to comment on the recent on-field stand-off involving Aussie speedster Glen McGrath and West Indian batsman Ramnaresh Sarwan, he said it would not be proper for him to comment on the same as he was one of the umpires in that match and he was bound by the ICC contract. Appreciating the efforts of the board to work on the revival of the spin bowling in the country, Nadkarni said the move should have come much earlier but, “better late than never”. He also admitted that spin bowling was on the decline in the country but said this was only a cyclical effect and spin bowling would stage a come back. “Dominance of spin and pace in the world of cricket takes place in a cycle. Now if you look at the world cricket you will see a revival of spin bowling as almost all the teams have world class spinners in their ranks,” Nadkarni said. He strongly recommended that the National Cricket Academy should have a separate spin wing. Altogether 12 former spin greats as well as a member of the current Indian team, Harbhajan Singh, took part in the meeting. Among others were B.S. Bedi, Erapali Prasanna, V.V. Kumar, Raj-inder Goel, Padmakar Shivalkar, Shivlal Yadav, Laxman Siva-ramakrishnan, and Utpal Chatterjee.
PTI |
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Aussies 252 all out
St George’s, May 30 Adam Gilchrist was the highest scorer with 64 runs. Australia Gilchrist c Lara b Samuels 64 Hayden c Hinds b Collymore 29 Ponting run out 2 Symonds c Lara b Sarwan 16 Lehmann c and b Gayle 43 Maher c and b Gayle 19 Hogg c Gayle b Samuels 0 Bichel c Lara b Gayle 41 Lee c Powell b Collymore 14 Hauritz run out 2 Gillespie not out 1 Extras (lb-8, w-10, nb-3) 21 Total (all out, 50 overs) 252 Fall of wickets: 1-90, 2-105, 3-105, 4-149, 5-177, 6-178, 7-193, 8-243, 9-250. Bowling: Collymore 10-1-46-2, Dillon 8-0-52-0, Samuels 10-1-39-2, Drakes 6-0-21-0, Bernard 2-0-17-0, Sarwan 4-0-32-1, Gayle 10-1-37-3. AP
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Lara praises Andy Bichel St George’s, Grenada, May 30 Bichel has dismissed Lara seven times during Australia’s tour to the Caribbean, prompting Lara to say today: “Bichel is definitely a top class performer in a top class team and I have gained a lot of respect for him.” In the latest dismissal, in the fifth one-day international last Sunday, Bichel halted Lara’s progress when he was homing in on a rare century on his home turf at Trinidad’s Queen’s Park Oval. Lara was on 80 and in full flight when Bichel had him swiping at successive offside deliveries, the third of which carried for a catch. “I was in a groove. I’d seen (all the bowlers) and maybe looking to go after the ball, and carve it through the covers. Then (Bichel) comes back and bowls wicket-taking balls,” Lara said. The pair are likely to resume battle in Grenada tomorrow when the West Indies look for a second pride-restoring victory in the seven-match series. They currently trail the tourists 4-1. Lara believes that unwary West Indies batsman may fall into the trap of relaxing against Bichel if they survive against Australia’s top three pace bowlers. “I don’t think Bichel has a hold on me, but he lulls you into a false sense of security. Glenn McGrath and Jason Gillespie keep you on the defensive, and there is Brett Lee with his pace. Bichel then comes on and offers scoring opportunities, but he mixes that with wicket-taking balls,” Lara added.
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India presents bid for Commonwealth Games London, May 30 Former Miss World Diana Hayden, who entered the venue to the rhythmic drum beats along with colourfully attired Rajasthan belles, handed over India’s bid to Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex and President of the Commonwealth Games Federation. Delhi faces stiff competition from Hamilton, Canada -the only other country in fray - but India fancies its chances of winning the bid, the result of which will be announced in Jamaica in November. Presenting India’s strong case for hosting the event, Indian Olympic Association president and chairman of the bid committee Suresh Kalmadi said, “We are hopeful that India’s bid would be accepted as it is fully backed by Pakistan, Bangladesh and other neighbouring countries”. He said India had successfully hosted the Asian Games in 1951 and 1982 but despite being the largest Commonwealth country, it was yet to get an opportunity to host the Commonwealth Games. Barring the Kuala Lumpur Games, the Commonwealth Games have never been staged in Asia. Mr Kalmadi said Pakistan had extended its support to India without any pre-condition and it had also agreed to take part in the inaugural Afro-Asian Games to be hosted by Hyderabad from October 24 this year. At the Marlborough House, where the bids were presented, it was India all the way, with smartly dressed Indian boys and girls ceremoniously welcoming the guests with flower petals and tilaks. India was represented by a high-level 30-member delegation at the glittering function. The delegation included Sports Minister Vikram Verma, Delhi’s Lt Governor Vijay Kapoor, president of All-India Council for Sports V.K. Malhotra and IOA Secretary General Randhir Singh. Secretary General of Pakistan Olympic Association Latif Bhatt was also present. Melbourne will host the Games’ next edition in 2006.
PTI |
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Junior Basketball nationals at
Ludhiana Ludhiana, May 30 This stadium has terraflux surface, portable baskets with pressure release rings, electronic scoreboard, game clock and the 24 seconds device which will be used during the championship. According to Mr Teja Singh Dhaliwal, honorary general secretary, PBA, more than 50 teams comprising around 800 players and officials are expected to take part in this year’s meet to be sponsored by an NRI, Mr Harjinder Singh Dhanoa. The boys teams will be lodged at the Government College for Boys hostel while accommodation to girls will be provided at the girls hostel. The officials would be provided accommodation at the Punjab Agricultural University guest houses. Necessary STD facilities will be provided at the hostels and PAU for the conveinence of the players and the officials. Meanwhile, Mr R.S. Gill, president of the Punjab Basketball Association (PBA) who visited Ludhiana last Sunday to review the ongoing preparations for the event, constituted an organising committee to conduct this championship
successfully. Mr S.K. Sharma, Commissioner, Municipal Corporation, and Mr Gurpreet Singh will be the chairman and secretary respectively of this committee. The committee will have three vice presidents namely-Mr S.K.S. Sandhu, Mr Yurinder Singh and Mr Prem Chand while Mr Balbir Singh Gupta will be the additional secretary. Punjab in the boy’s section while Chhattisgarh in the girl’s section are the defending champions. |
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Siblings share passion for football Patiala, May 30 Sandeep Kaur made her debut in competitive football when she turned out for Patiala in the junior Punjab state championship at Bathinda in 1999. She was also a member of the bronze medal-winning Punjab team that played in the 2001 National School Games. Sandeep’s moment of glory came when she was selected in the Punjab women’s team for the National Games in Ludhiana. She fails to understand the reason for the low participation of women in games like football. Sukhdeep Kaur is an extrovert. She impressed everybody when she played for Punjab in the junior nationals in Assam in 2002. This year, she played for Punjabi University in the North Zone inter-university championship. |
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Khera in
lead Amritsar, May 30 Neeraj Khera of Jalandhar beat Imtiaz Ali of Sangrur to emerge sole leader. Harmeet Singh of Kapurthala played brilliantly to draw with the highest FIDE-rated former Punjab champion Moti Ram of Patiala. Balwinder Singh of Amritsar drew with Shival Jethi of Jalandhar. Pardeep Arora of Amritsar defeated former Punjab champion Sushil Jain of Bathinda. Sanjiv Dhuggal of Patiala trounced Amarjit Kashyap of Ludhiana. Anuj Verma and Sushil Mehra trounced Manoj Mehra and Varun Vij, respectively. The points tally: Neeraj Khera, 4. Harmeet Singh 3.5, Moti Ram 3.5, Balwinder Singh 3.5, Shival Jethi 3.5, Sanjeev Duggal 3.5, Pardeep Arora 3.5, Sushil Mehra 3.5, Anuj Verma 3.5. |
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Amritsar eves
shine Amritsar, May 30 In the national championship competition in three categories sub-junior, junior and senior took place. Punjab secured second place in the junior category and third in the sub-junior section while neighbouring Haryana took first places in the sub-junior and the junior categories. The MTNL eves grabbed first position in the senior category. Elated, Manjit Kaur (22), who has fetched the sole medal (silver) for the state in senior category, said it was the result of hard work, dedication and right guidance from sport’s wing of Citizen Forum of Mr Brij Bedi. The other six players of Amritsar who had brought medals are Rajani Bhalla (60 kg-gold medal), Ritu Bala (44 kg-gold), Suman Preet (67 kg-gold), Gurjeet Kaur (56 kg-gold), Roopinder Kaur (48 kg-silver) and Shaninder Kaur (51 kg-bronze). |
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Taekwon-do meet Ludhiana, May 30 |
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For the past year, Serena Williams has been winning every Grand Slam match. Now she’s winning every game.
