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Thursday,
June 12, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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Another upset by Japanese qualifier Ferguson, David Beckham head for split
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Lanka 191 all out against Windies AP boys and girls reach
quarterfinals Big win for Punjab
Police Academy Sports promotion his first love
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Another
upset by Japanese qualifier Chandigarh, June 11 Prakash Amritraj, the No 2 seed, and third-seeded Vijay Kannan advanced to the quarterfinals along with Ajay Ramaswami and Mustafa Ghouse. Local boy Chatwinder Singh went down to eighth-seeded Eliran Dooyev in an erratic display. Chatwinder was broken in the opening game but broke back in the next game. Dooyev quickly built up a 4-1 lead before Chatwinder broke his serve to raise visions of a fighting match. Dooyev soon asserted his control on the match to break the Indian’s serve and take the set 6-2. In the second set Dooyev again upped the ante as both players held serve at 2-2. Thereafter he broke Chatwinder twice and took the match on his opponent’s serve. Takeshi Itoh held on to win after a late surge by Vishal Uppal. Itoh quickly took the first set 6-1 but fell back 2-4 in the second. Uppal failed to hold his own serve after twice breaking Itoh, allowing the Japanese to stay in control. Combining excellent shots at the net with erratic play, Uppal twice squandered the lead and let Itoh level the set at 6-6. In the tie-breaker, both players progresed neck and neck before Itoh won two consecutive points to win the match 6-1, 7-6 (8/6). Playing in the energy-sapping humidity, Ajay Ramaswami gave no chance to Yew Ming Sl of Malaysia, who had won a late night match against Akash Sharma yesterday. Delighting everyone with his crisp shots, both backhand as well as forehand, he provided no chance to the Malaysian with his powerful game. In contrast, Vijay Kannan started slowly and found himself 1-4 down. It took him some time to find his rhythm against a charing Furukawa, whose angled shots constantly left Kannan helpless. Once Kannan started stroking fluently he closed the gap and the set went into the tie-breaker which Kannan took 7/5. Furukawa was not the same player after that and errors crept into his shots. He tamely surrendered in the second set. Kannan next meets Vinod Sridhar, who rallied to down Prima Simpatiaji of Indonesia 3-6, 6-1, 6-3. Prakash Amritraj won 6-4, 6-2 against Jaco Mathew, who refused to give in tamely. Amritraj meets Eliran Dooyev in the quarterfinal. There was no such luck for the other Amritraj in fray, Stephen, as he was defeated 2-6, 6-3, 5-7 by Mustafa Ghouse, who next takes on Ajay Ramaswami. In a doubles first round match Manoj Mahadevan/Rishi Sridhar advanced to the next round as their opponents Daniel Kiernan/Ajay Ramaswami retired after 6-1, 3-3. In the morning matches which were carried over due to yesterday’s thunderstorms, Tomer Suissa of Israel defeated Kedar Tembe 6-2, 6-2; Prima Simpatiaji (Indonesia) beat Rohan Gajjar 6-2, 7-6 (7/2) and Surabh Singh lost to Eliran Dooyev (Israel) 1-6, 5-7. |
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Ferguson, David Beckham head for split
London, June 11 Neither the soccer-worldly Scot nor the skinny London schoolboy who won the Bobby Charlton Soccer Skills competition could have had the slightest notion of what they would go on to achieve together over the next 17 years. “Despite what people say about me and Sir Alex Ferguson, he’s been a father figure for me,” Beckham said this week, shortly before United announced they were prepared to sell their prize asset to Barcelona. “Without him I wouldn’t be the player or the person that I am today, because he had the confidence when I was 18 years old to put me in the first team.” Beckham signed a schoolboy contract with the country’s biggest club on his 14th birthday. In those days United ran their youth team with almost Victorian values. The teenage hopefuls — now multi-millionaire internationals — were farmed out to local homes where a trusted landlady would act as surrogate mother and gatekeeper. Ferguson and the stars of the United first team were a long way from the terraced houses surrounding the homely Cliff training ground in Salford — now replaced by a state of the art complex 10 miles out of the city with security like a prison. But Beckham, part of United’s 1992 FA Youth Cup-winning team, was always going to make it to the big time. As a 17-year-old in 1993, he joined the trainee ranks a few months before Ferguson and United ended their 26-year-wait for the league title. By the 1995/96 season he was a regular in the team that had begun their dominance of the English game that continues to this day. For years his relationship with Ferguson was ideal — the smiling young superstar, also an England regular, arm in arm with his wise old manager as yet another piece of silverware was paraded round the ever-expanding Old Trafford. Ferguson offered unconditional support through Beckham’s lowest moment — the red card in England’s 1998 World Cup defeat against Argentina — and the player did not forget it as he signed a five-year contract to show his loyalty to the club. But as Beckham’s relationship with pop star Victoria Adams flourished, that with Ferguson began to show the first signs of wear. For the former shipbuilding apprentice from the tough streets of Glasgow, Beckham’s forays into the world of fashion, pop and “celebrity lifestyle” were an unwelcome and frankly unfathomable distraction. Beckham was fined for attending a party ahead of a Champions League game in 1999 and the following year Ferguson dropped him after a blazing row when he missed training, Beckham later said it was because his son Brooklyn was ill. Bookmakers at the time began offering short odds that he would move on, but things settled down as Ferguson seemed to accept that one of his most important players on the pitch was also becoming something of an icon off it. The sarong, the tattoos, haircuts, fashion shows and endorsements no doubt rankled, but Beckham was also covering new ground on the pitch as he developed into a proud and inspirational England captain. He also signed a new four-year contract with United in 2002 which made him one of the highest-paid players in the world. However, the two cultures reached boiling point midway through last season with the infamous flying boot affair. Beckham’s face, as well as his feet, has become his fortune and he and his image-conscious wife did not enjoy having it stitched after a furious Ferguson let fly after the team’s FA Cup defeat by Arsenal. By then keeping his brooding midfielder on the bench for a series of high-profile games Ferguson gently reminded everyone just who was boss at United. Reuters
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Agassi reaches milestone
London, June 11 The eight-time Grand Slam winner won his second round match 7-6 (7/5) 6-4 to join the likes of Jimmy Connors and Ivan Lendl in the millennium club, and admitted that he never expected to be playing the milestone match on grass. “When I first started I wouldn’t have thought that any of my 1,000 matches would have come on grass,” Agassi said after the 766th victory of his career. “It is amazing to look back on it really. Not a lot can go on out there that I haven’t seen but it always feels new and presents a new set of challenges,” he added. But despite the achievement, Agassi maintains he is thinking only about the next game and the next assault on a major title. “I’ve never been a fan of quantity, though. For me it is quality and for me to still be here at 33 is something to be really proud of,” said the American. “But I don’t just want to be out here, I want to be out here doing well.” Agassi started convincingly enough, winning serve and finally breaking Luczac after a marathon second game, and a straightforward victory appeared to be in the offing. But Luczac, who had previously beaten former Wimbledon semi-finalist Vladimir Voltchkov, refused to lie down and fought back to level at 3-3 and then 6-6. Unfortunately his nerve failed to hold in the tie-break and Agassi took it 7-5 to establish a fragile lead. AFP
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Lanka 191 all out against Windies
Arnos Vale June 11 Sri Lanka have already clinched the series following victories in the first two matches at Bridgetown in Barbados. Sri Lankan captain Marvan Atapattu played his 200th one-dayer, while fast bowler Jerome Taylor made his debut for the West Indies. Sri Lanka Jayasuriya run out (Samuels) 8 Kaluwitharana c Lara
b Collymore 14 Atapattu c Hurley b Taylor
25 Sangakkara c Lara b Hurley 11 Chandana lbw b Taylor 33 Jayawardene b Collymore
51 Dilshan c & b Samuels 0 Dharmasena c Samuels
Vaas run out (Samuels) 6 Muralitharan b Gayle 4 Nayanakantha not out 2 Extras
(lb 4, w 11, nb 1) 16 Total (all out, 50 overs)
191 FoW: 1-10, 2-28, 3-55, 4-63, 5-130, 6-134, 7-176, 8-184, 9-185, 10-191. Bowling:
Powell 9-0-37-0, Collymore 10-0-28-3, Hurley 10-1-25-1, Taylor 10-0-39-2, Gayle 6-0-29-1, Samuels 5-0-29-1.
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AP boys and girls reach
quarterfinals Ludhiana, June 11 In other quarter finals (boys), last year’s runners-up Rajasthan will play against Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra will clash with Madhya Pradesh while Delhi take on Haryana. In the girls section, the current champions, Kerala will meet Karnataka, and last year’s losing finalists Chhattisgarh take on Tamil Nadu while Chandigarh eves will settle scores with Maharashtra. The first quarter-final was played between Andhara Pradesh and Chhattisgarh in which the former recorded an easy victory by 90-61. AP boys went into an early lead (23-10) at the end of the first quarter. They further cemented the lead by 21 points (50-29) at half-time. In the third quarter, Chhattisgarh lads reorganised themselves and played a better game, scoring five more points than AP cagers but this was not enough to wipe out the deficit. AP went on to wrap up the issue at 90-61. For AP, Nihal Yadav (19), Tirupathi (16), Sohail Khan (15) and P J Davikal (14) played well while Kamal Singh (23 points) top scored for Chhattisgarh. Murali Krishna contributed 12 points. The second quarter final between Tamil Nadu and Kerala turned out to be a ding-dong battle with the Kerala players committing some mistakes in the dying minutes which cost them the match. The final verdict (82-77) went in favour of Tamil Nadu. Both the teams were tied at 54 each at the end of the third quarter and in the deciding period, a couple of baskets by the TN players through fast breaks, whereas Kerala boys missed a few close range shots which made all the
difference. The bulk of scoring for the winners was done by Thangadurai who accounted for 32 points, followed by Javed Khan (15), Andrew (12) and Faizaldeen (12). For the losers, the main scorers were Bimal Raj (26), Vijobi Vakkachan (17) and Siju Kuraian (14). In the girls section, both the quarter-finals, between Karnataka and Gujarat, and Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh turned out to be a lacklustre affairs. In the first match, Karnataka thrashed Gujarat 48-13 while Tamil Nadu eves pipped UP girls 55-15. In the evening session, Uttar Pradesh girls defeated Gujarat 39-27 while in the boy’s section, Kerala drubbed Chhattisgarh 81-48. Both these matches were of mere academic interest as the winners finished at the ninth spot while the losers earned the tenth position in the championship. Thursday’s fixtures: (quarter finals) — Maharashtra vs Chandigarh (girls) at 6.am; Madhya Pradesh vs Maharashtra (boys) at 7.30 am; Madhya Pradesh vs Punjab (girls) at 9 am; Delhi vs Haryana (boys) at 10.30 am; Kerala vs Karnataka (girls) at 4 pm; Punjab vs Tamil Nadu (boys) at 5 pm; Chhattisgarh vs Tamil Nadu (girls) at 7 pm and Rajasthan vs Andhra Pradesh (boys) at 8 pm.
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Big win for Punjab
Police Academy Mandi, June 11 Gurdev Singh and Sher Singh shared two goals each in the first and second half of the game. Himachal Police were down by a goal within five minutes of the start of game as the Punjab boys
dominated the proceedings. Gurdev put the team ahead in the fifth minute and Sher Singh made it 2-0 shortly before the interval. Sher and Gurdev repeated the play in the second half. Himachal boys essayed several long range shots but most of them went off the target. In the inaugural match yesterday. Hoshiarpur’s newly formed Sonalika Club displayed thrust and aggression to beat Union Club Yamunanagar by 2-0 to make a winning start. Earlier during the day Mr Singhi Ram, Minister of Food and Supply, Himachal Pradesh, declared the tournament open.
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Sports promotion his first love Chandigarh, June 11 Next on his list is an exclusive academy for promising grapplers, a sport which is very dear to him. Not only that, he is the main sponsor of the National Basketball Championship for junior boys and girls, currently in progress at Ludhiana’s indoor basketball stadium. Incidentally, Mr Dhanoa belongs to Parasrampur village in Jalandhar, which is hardly at a stone’s throw from Talhan, the village that has been in the news for recent incidents of caste violence. “Ours is a family business and we import fruit and vegetables from Mexico and Jamaica and have a chain of offices throughout England. My father, Mr Amrik Singh Dhanoa, moved to England in early 60s. After doing my matric from
Jalandhar, I also joined my father there but returned home soon as the life in England did not suit my temperament. After doing my plus two, I again returned to England, this time to settle there, and got married. Since I had done my degree in civil engineering, I started working as a civil contractor,” he said in an interview with The Tribune here yesterday. “Now my company undertakes major civil projects, including building of roads, bridges and channels. Success in business and construction company never made me forget my motherland and I was always keen to comeback and do something for my people, my village and my state. “My father wanted me to undertake complete ‘sewa’ of renovating the village Gurdwara. That has been my first project. I have spent about Rs 66 lakh on the gurdwara and propose to make it one of the best in the region. Four years ago, I got support from some friends and formed the Baba
Ludhiana Youth Sports Club with Olympian Kartar Singh as its President and Mr Rana Singh Kandola of the USA as its Vice-Chairman. “This Club organises an eight-day rural sports festival beginning on third Monday of February every year. The main attraction of the festival is wrestling competitions in which the winner in each of four categories gets a cash prize of Rs 1.11 lakh. The competitions are also held for women wrestlers who are also offered equally attractive cash prizes. Our annual budget for the festival is Rs 33 lakh. During the festival, we also organise competitions in other sports, including
weightlifting, track and field, kabaddi and tug of war. “To sustain my long stays here, I have started a small company in Jalandhar in the name of my younger son, Gaven. Initially, my wife and children were reluctant to visit India, but now they have started evincing interest in the annual sports festival we organise at our village. In the village gurdwara, we have a residential block, a big langar hall, a modern kitchen and all the facilities for the participants and officials to stay. On all eight days, we run community kitchen. “To attract people to the festival, we run a lottery on the last day where each adult spectator is given a token. A draw is taken out and winner gets an attractive prize. This time it was a motor cycle besides other prizes,” says Mr Dhanoa. He denies that he has any political or major business interests. |
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Thakur sparkles Patiala, June 11 Resuming from 224 for 4 in their second essay, the visitors piled up 338 for 7 with Saras Thakur scoring a magnificent 164. Brief scores: Amritsar (1st innings):
277 Patiala (1st innings): 113 all out Amritsar (2nd innings)
338 for 7 (Saras Thakur 164, Gur Iqbal Singh 57, Rakesh Mahajan 52, Charanjit Singh 37, Rajwinder Singh 4 for 99, Amarpreet Singh 2 for 70, Gunjot Singh 1 for 36). Patiala (2nd innings):
120 for 3 (Jeewanjot Singh 63, Kunwar Raina 32, Charanjit 2 for 40, Gaurav Bhandari 1 for 12). |
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Dist badminton SANGRUR: Sangrur and Ludhiana entered the semifinals in men’s section in Arvind Memorial Panjab State Senior Inter District Badminton Championships, which started here on Wednesday. Hosts Sangrur had no difficulty in beating Nawanshahr 3-0 in the first quarterfinals. Seasoned Mohd Salim won the first singles for Sangrur, when he defeated Upinder Konda of Nawanshahr 15-3, 15-1.
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