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Friday,
August 29, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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Federer advances in US Open Bhupathi-Mirnyi duo in second round 6 shooters likely for Athens: coach |
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Indian challenge ends in Indonesian Open
Shoaib Akhtar halts Bangladesh
progress Sehwag keen to build on starts Mavlankar shooting: Naveen equals record
Arjun Singh in lead Masseur’s selection raises eyebrows Rock Rovers score 5-0 victory MNSS Rai win swimming title
RCF defeat PSEB
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Federer
advances in US Open
New York, August 28 The reigning Wimbledon champion spent the short delay yesterday juggling the ball with his feet and taking a few serves before Argentine Jose Acasuso retired two games later. The score of the first-round US Open match was 5-7 6-3 6-3 2-0. In the final game of the third set, Acasuso was twisting to get away from a shot that ended up deflecting off him and it appeared he tweaked his lower back and groin. He later said his groin and back started hurting in the second set. He hurt his groin last week at a tournament on Long Island. Acasuso also took an injury timeout earlier in the match to receive drops in his right eye. “You’re always scared because it was not very hot today,” Federer said. “There was always a breeze, at least for us players. I didn’t want to risk any injury. I started serving a few and moving around. I played some soccer as well.” Federer is trying to become the first man to win Wimbledon and the US Open back-to-back since Pete Sampras did it in 1995. World No. 1 Kim Clijsters of Belgium followed Federer on to the court and easily eliminated American Laura Granville 6-1 6-1 in a 49-minute second-round match. The top-seeded Clijsters is going for her first Grand Slam title and this is her first major since becoming No 1earlier this month. She hit 24 winners to five for Granville. “Against Laura today I thought I definitely had to play better than in my first match,” Clijsters said, referring to her 6-2 6-3 win over NCAA champion Amber Liu in the first round. “I definitely did that.” In early men’s action, 20th-seeded Mark Philippoussis of Australia used hard serves to beat 19-year-old qualifier Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia and Montenegro 6-2 7-6 (7/4) to reach the second round. Ninth-seeded woman Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia held on through a tough second set to beat Julia Vakulenko of Ukraine 6-0 7-6 (7/5). The 26-year-old Philippoussis blasted 20 aces and showed the tennis world he’s serious about making a Grand Slam revival — he’s been a finalist twice but never a champion. He’s continued to compete despite having three surgeries. “I haven’t played too many matches this summer so this one’s a good one to start off with,” Philippoussis said. “It’s always tough playing someone you haven’t played before. He’s got nothing to lose.” “I’m not the sort of guy who comes out blasting in the first one. I feel each match I play my rhythm gets a little better, whether on the serve or groundstrokes.” The Wimbledon runner-up withdrew from the Canada Masters in Montreal earlier this month with a viral infection and the Open is only his third tournament since losing to Federer at the All-England Club. A year ago here, he retired in the first round with a left knee injury caused when he jumped for an overhead. Philippoussis’ best finish in six previous Opens was runner-up in 1998. He hit a record-tying 46 aces to upset world No 1 Andre Agassi in five sets in the fourth round at Wimbledon. Tipsarevic was one of 27 men making Open debuts. It was also his first Grand Slam event. After winning the second-set tiebreaker, he jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the third but couldn’t hold it. Nicolas Massu of Chile upset No 30 Gaston Gaudio of Argentina 6-3 6-3 6-2 and Younes El Aynaoui of Morocco, seeded 22nd, defeated Alex Kim of the USA 7-5 7-6 (7/5) 6-3. No 7 Carlos Moya of Spain came back from a set down to beat American Scott Draper 4-6 6-4 7-5 7-6 (8/6) and 13th-seeded David Nalbandian of Argentina beat Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany 6-4 7-6 (7/4) 6-3. American Jan-Michael Gambill won only his second match on the hard courts this summer by beating David Sanchez of Spain 7-6 (7/3) 6-2 6-2 to end a four-match losing streak. No 10 Jiri Novak of the Czech Republic was a five-set winner over Mario Ancic of Croatia. On the women’s side yesterday, fifth-seeded Amelie Mauresmo of France defeated countrywoman Stephanie Cohen-Aloro 6-2 6-2 in one hour, while Thailand’s Tamarine Tanasugarn pulled off an upset by beating No 18 Patty Schnyder of Switzerland 6-4 6-3. Another upset victim was 12th-seeded Conchita Martinez of Spain, who lost 5-7 4-6 to Alicia Molik of Australia. No 27 Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia advanced with a straight-set win over Petra Mandula of Hungary. — AP
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Bhupathi-Mirnyi duo in second round
New Delhi, August 28 Bhupathi will play the mixed doubles alongside Paola Suarez of Argentina. The duo are top seeded and face Petra Mandula of Hungary and Graydon Oliver of the USA in the first round. Meanwhile, in the grade 1 junior tennis event in Quebec, Canada, Divij Sharan and Sania Mirza advanced to the boys and girls doubles semifinals with their respective partners while Karan Rastogi lost in the singles quarterfinals. Rastogi went down 5-7 2-6 to American Alex Kuznetsov in the third round yesterday. Divij Sharan and G.D. Jones of New Zealand advanced to the semifinals with a hard fought 7-5 6-7 (4/7) 7-5 victory against fourth seeds Jesse Huta Galung and Romano Tatuhey of the Netherlands. Sania Mirza and Russian Anna Tchakvetadze had it easy against home pair Anna Blagodarova and Ekaterina Shulaeva, winning 6-1 6-2. The Canadian Open event is a prelude to US Open junior championships which begin on September 1.
— PTI |
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6 shooters likely for Athens: coach
Chennai, August 28 Two Indian shooters, Anjali Bhagwat and Abhinav Bindra have already qualified for the 2004 Olympic Games in the air rifle event. The Indian coach said “the days of ignoring Indian shooters by the developed nations in the sport are over. Now, even world champions in their pet events in shooting have started giving a second look to our shooters.” Putting his weight behind those who advocated that the shooters who have already qualified for the four-yearly event should not be fielded in Asian Championship, he said “those who are in the fringe of achieving the Olympic quota mark might feel so because Asian Championship will be the last event and it could be a do or die battle for them to get the Olympic berth.” The team for the Asian Championship to be held in Kuala Lumpur in next February would be selected on basis of the 2003 performances, including those in the nationals, Afro Asian Games, Commonwealth and World Cups and the four trials, he said. Thomas, also the vice president of National Rifle Association of India, said the Indian team for the Afro-Asian games in Hyderabad from October 24 to November 1 and Commonwealth Championship (Delhi- Dec 1 to 9) would be selected soon. The team would undergo a camp in Delhi from September 10 to 22 and the third and fourth selection trials would also be held during the camp, he said, adding the two trials held in April last would also have a bearing on selection of shooters for the Afro-Asian Games. According to the Indian coach Summa Shirur, Deepali Deshpande and Poornima Gawane in women’s and Gagan Narang, Samir Ambekar and Sandeep Tarte in men’s, had good chances of making it to the Olympics in the air rifle events. Another prospect in air pistol shooting, Samresh Jung, who missed the berth by a whisker falling short of the Olympic berth by 0.4 points in the World Cup in Seoul in last June, should make it to Athens, along with Jaspal Rana, he said. Stating that the performance of Ronak Pandit, an upcoming Junior, was also encouraging, he said “in most of the international events in the recent past at least three Indian shooters were in respective finals and my assessments are based on their good showing.” Ronak Pandit has been in excellent from after his good showing in the world junior competition in Suhl, Germany and long with Sweta Choudhury and has the potential to make it. Among Army shooters, Thomas pinned hopes on A.B. Suppiah, Palangappa and Satguru. “Though I expect most of these shooters to earn their Olympic quota in the coming international competions, I am confident that those who miss, will definitely gain from their experience in the Asian championship in Kuala Lumpur from February 8 next,” Thomas said. As for the trap and skeet events, Thomas, national coach since 1995, expected that Manavjit Singh Sandhu, Anwar Sultan, Maj R.S. Rathore and Mansher Singh could make it to Athens. The shooters are at the peak of their fitness and the coming domestic events and the camps before international events should put them in good stead to achieve their goals. — PTI
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Indian challenge ends in Indonesian Open
New Delhi, August 28 According to information received here, Gopichand, national champion Abhinn Shyam Gupta and B R Meenakshi lost their respective matches in straight games to much higher ranked rivals. Gopichand had made it to the main draw through qualifying rounds while Abhinn Shyam Gupta and Meenakshi along with national women’s champion Aparna Popat, Trupti Murgunde and Nikhil Kanetkar were given a direct entry to the main draw. Aparna,Trupti and Nikhil Kanetkar had crashed out yesterday losing in the first round. Fourth seed Sony Dwi Kuncoro of Indonesia totally outplayed Indian ace as conceded only eight points to Gopichand before emerging, winner 15-2, 15-6, Abhinn Gupta was no match to 14th seed Malaysian M Roslin Hashim and went down 9-15, 7-15. In the women’s section, fourth seed Chen Wang of Hong Kong thrashed B R Meenakshi in a one-sided tie. Meenakashi, the only Indian to reach the round of 32, could collect only six points that only in the first game as she received 6-11, 0-11 thrashing.
— UNI |
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Shoaib Akhtar halts Bangladesh
progress
Peshawar, Pakistan, August 28 Bangladesh (Ist innings) Sarkar c Latif b Gul 6 Omar b Akhtar 119 Bashar lbw b Ahmed 97 Ashraful c Latif b Akhtar 77 Saleh c Latif b Kaneria 3 Kapali c Latif b Akhtar 4 Mashud lbw b Akhtar 0 Mahmud c Shabbir b
Akhtar 25 Rafique b Akhtar 0 Murtaza b Gul 10 Kabir not out 1 Extras:
(b-4, lb-4, nb-10, w-1) 19 Total (all out in 137.5 overs) 361 Fall of wickets:
1-13, 2-180, 3-310, 4-315, 5-315, 6-315, 7-320, 8-320, 9-341. Bowling:
Shoaib 22.5-4-50-6, Gul 27-3-67-2, Shabbir 25-7-73-1, Kaneria 41-11-110-1, Malik 12-4-27-0, Hafeez 10-4-26-0. Pakistan (1st innings): Hafeez c Mashud b Mahmud 21 Taufeeq Umar not out 60 Yasir Hameed b Rafique 23 Inzamam not out 24 Extras
(lb-1 nb-5) 6 Total (2 wkt, 42 overs) 134 Fall of wickets:
1-51 2-84 Bowling: Mashrafe Mortaza 9-3-27-0, Alamgir Kabir 7-0-49-0 (nb-4), Khaled Mahmud 5-1-15-1 (nb-1), Mohammad Rafique 13-4-21-1, Rajin Saleh 6-2-12-0, Mohammad Ashraful 2-0-9-0.
— Reuters |
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Sehwag keen to build on starts
New Delhi, August 28 Admitting that he was yet to do justice to his potential, Sehwag said he was making a conscious effort to occupy the crease and patiently build on his starts. “After the World Cup my main concern has been to ensure that I do not get out in a reckless fashion,” Sehwag told PTI here. “I will try not to go for my strokes early. I will respect the good balls. But I will definitely be on the lookout for the loose deliveries to unleash my strokes,” the aggressive right-hand batsman said. Sehwag’s tendency to go for rash strokes after decent starts has come in for much flak from critics and skipper Sourav Ganguly has also expressed his displeasure over the manner the Delhi youngster often gifts his wicket away. “I am trying hard to overcome this shortcoming. I had focussed on this aspect during my county stint with Leicestershire and I am sure my efforts will show positive results against New Zealand,” said Sehwag who has 2,255 runs in 73 one-day internationals for an average of 34.69. On his desire to bat in the middle order in Tests, Sehwag said: “I am essentially a middle-order batsman. In England I was asked to open in the Tests because the team management felt I could give the side a good start. “But I think I can contribute more batting down the order,” said Sehwag who has been opening the innings in both forms of the game since the last season. Sehwag, however, said he would not like to “disturb” the current combination which has been largely successful. “But whenever there is an opening for a midlle order slot I would like to stake my claim. Till then I am happy to bat wherever the team management asks me to.” The Delhi player said he would not like a relatively inexperienced batsman to be exposed to the pressure of opening the innings as that could upset the rhythm of the entire team. “I am willing to open till we find an alternative,” he added. Sehwag, who returned without completing his stint with English county team Leicestershire because of a back injury, said he was hoping to be fully fit ahead of the first Test against New Zealand at Ahmedabad starting on October 8. “I am continuing with my rehabilitation programme as prescribed by the team physio. I am shaping up well and hope to be in peak fitness in time for the home series. “I am looking forward to the series against New Zealand. We did not have a good outing the last time we went there. We are determined to make amends.” A day before being bestowed with the Arjuna Award, flamboyant batsman Virender Sehwag today said he would have never allowed his game to be affected even if he had missed out on the coveted honour due to the controversy surrounding his late nomination. “Of course it is a great honour to be picked for this award. But like a true sportsman I would have taken it in my stride even if I was not selected,” Sehwag said. The 24-year-old right hand bat said he did not allow the controversy over his late nomination affect him too much but deep inside he was hoping he would be included.
— PTI |
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Mavlankar shooting: Naveen equals record
Chennai, August 28 Naveen Kumar scored 521 out of 600 to win gold, followed by N Ranjit of Karnataka, who finished a distant second at 503. George Gidhu of the National Cadet Corps took the bronze, seven points behind Ranjit. Naveen’s effort equalled the existing mark of 521 set by Sudhir Kr. Singh in the 2000 edition here. In the other events, Suvjit Chakravarthy of Bengal, representing the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) won the individual men’s gold with 533 points, while Rajesh Kumar of Army bagged gold in the men’s services category with a tally of 552 points, four points ahead of Bhom Singh of BSF. Prashant Tomar of Indian Army was a run-away winner in the Services category of junior men with 556 points, while Pramila Badlani of Maharashtra and Deepti Bhope of NCC bagged the women’s individual and junior women golds with 533 and 529 points respectively. Initially it was a close race between Naveen Kumar, Ranjit and David Singh of NCC after the first 20 shots in the prone position. In fact David, who later failed miserably by shooting in the standing position, led the pack with 188 points out of a possible 200. Naveen was placed third at 186 points along with George Gidhu, one point behind Ranjit (187). Things changed dramatically in the second category (standing position) as Naveen topped the list with 155 points out of a possible 200 to emerge on top of the field. Ranjit with 151 points just managed to retain the second place and David Singh, who eventually finished a distant fifth, had to rue himself for the slip in form. He shot a poor 126 in the round. In the third and final event — kneeling position — Naveen Kumar asserted his supremacy, garnering 180 points out of 200 for a total of 521 out of 600 to win by a big margin. M Ranjit and George Gidhu shot 165 and 161 to bag the silver and bronze with a total score of 503 and 496, respectively. — UNI
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A tryst with hockey legend Ambala, August 28 Mr Prem Singh Bhatti, a resident of Ambala Cantonment, vividly recalls his association with Dhyan Chand. Few people are perhaps aware that Dhyan Chand spent more than a year in Ambala. The hockey legend was posted with the 15 Punjab Centre, which was located near Kali Paltan in 1934-35. Talking to Chandigarh Tribune, Mr Bhatti said Dhyan Chand was not only a superb hockey player, he was also a gregarious and warm-hearted person. “Tomorrow is his birth anniversary and the memories of the days spent with him come rushing back to me,” he said. “We used to fondly call him Dada,” he added. Mr Bhatti (82) said he began playing hockey in 1934. “My father Pratap Singh had played against Dhyan Chand in a match between North Western Railway and Army,” he said. “Later, I was selected by the Tikamgarh State,
Gwalior, to play hockey. In 1949, I played against Dhyan Chand in an exhibition match held at Lucknow. The match was between Army-XI and UP-XI,” he said. “He noticed my talent and encouraged me to join the Army so that I could continue playing hockey with him. I joined the Punjab Regiment Centre at Meerut,” he said. Mr Bhatti said they used to play hockey regularly. “We went on international hockey tours to Japan, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka. Those were exciting days. We used to work hard and the results were rewarding,” he said. He lamented that when Dhyan Chand fell ill in 1979, he was admitted to the general ward of a hospital. “It was unfortunate as a player of his stature should have been looked after properly. However, on the intervention of Mr Sikandar
Bakht, he was shifted to a private room,” he said. Mr Bhatti said during those days, there were rumours that Dhyan Chand’s stick had a special glue that would make the ball stick to it. “He was an expert in handling the ball deftly. He would tackle the ball in motion, unlike these days when the ball is brought to a stop, costing precious time in the process. His actions were superb and there was a rare fluidity in his handling of the ball,” he said. He stated that after Hitler saw Dhyan Chand play during the Berlin Olympics, he offered him Colonelship in the German army. “Dhyan Chand was a staunch nationalist. He turned down the offer even though before the Partition, he was a Subedar (Quarter Master) in 14 Punjab Centre in Ferozepore,” he said. “We used to practice for three days in a week and then play matches on two days. We would look at the opposition as an enemy and were determined to win,” he said. He stated that Dhyan Chand became an Army Captain in The Punjab Regiment Centre at Meerut after the Partition. “He was a jolly good fellow. When the Army undertook Hyderabad operation after the Partition, the Army hockey team played a match there. After the match got over, a party was arranged in which Army officers like General
Cariappa, General Mahadev and Major General Choudhary were present. When the party was going on, he was informed that he had been blessed with a son. He remarked: “What a time for me to be blessed with a son,” Mr Bhatti recounted. “While Dhyan Chand used to play centre forward, I occupied centre half position. We had a wonderful combination,” he stated.
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Arjun Singh in lead
Bangalore, August 28 His three-day total read seven under 209, three strokes ahead of the second placed Digvijay Singh, who scored three-under today. Gaurav Ghei shot two under to register a total of 213 for third spot, while Mukesh Kumar was fourth, a stroke behind. S. Madaiah, who became a hero overnight by sharing the lead on the second day, shot one-over and found himself in the fifth position. Ajay Gupta and Ashok Kumar were tied for the sixth position, while the other overnight leaders, Shiv Prakash and Vijay Kumar shared the eighth spot. Arjun Singh, who had shot eight-under on the final day of the TNGF-KONE Open after trailing by three strokes, found form in the third round here. Sinking a 30-footer for a birdie on the third, the 33-year-old played with renewed confidence as he birdied the fifth and the sixth, the latter from 20 feet, to overtake the leaders. On a day when most of the golfers failed to keep their balls in line, Arjun consistently found the fairways and the greens. He began his return journey with consecutive birdies. He chipped in from close on the 14th and birdied the 15th as well. On the finishing hole, Arjun pulled his shot from the centre of the fairway and landed off the line. He closed the round with a bogey. Meanwhile, Digvijay Singh, opened his birdie count on the fifth, the lone one on the front nine. The Meerut pro three-putted on the eighth for a bogey. A 35-footer on the 12th for a birdie marked his best putt for the day. He narrowly escaped on the 14th, where he shanked his chip, losing a birdie opportunity. The 31-year-old signed off the round with birdies on the 16th and the finishing holes. — UNI
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Masseur’s selection raises eyebrows Patiala, August 28 This seems to hold true if the decision of the federation’s bosses to send unqualified people in the guise of masseurs and doctors with national squads on foreign tours is any indication. The WFI has included the name of Ranbir Singh as masseur to accompany the Indian team which is scheduled to participate in the World Wrestling Championship to be held in New York from September 11 to 14. His selection has aroused much curiosity among grapplers since he is an employee of the Haryana Police and has nothing to do with massaging tired limbs of wrestlers. Ranbir Singh oversees the federation’s file work in it’s office at New Delhi. Freestyle wrestlers, who attended the senior national camp which concluded at the NIS here on August 26, disclosed that Ranbir Singh reported at the camp on August 1 and absented himself after that. During the camp the wrestlers, to soothe their sprained muscles, had to take the help of Nabi who has been contracted by SAI to act as a masseur with national camps. Even the doctor selected by the
WFI, Dr Sunit C. Singhi, failed to report at the camp even for a single day. On earlier occasions too the WFI unqualified people in the garb of doctors and masseurs on foreign tours. National campers, preferring anonymity, also disclosed that the lady doctor who accompanied the women’s squad for the Commonwealth Wrestling Championship and Canada Cup did not return with the team after the trip was over. However, it is not clear whether she returned later or not. The selection of one Mr K.K. Dahiya for both the meets also stirred a hornets nest. Mr Dahiya, who is reported to be a sarpanch of a Haryana village, was selected as a masseur to accompany the men’s squad for these events.
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Rock Rovers score 5-0 victory Chandigarh, August 28 In the first match, Chandigarh Academy defeated Gopal Academy 8-0. The half time score was 4-0. Harman Singh and Suminder Singh scored two goals each, while one goal each was scored by Deepak Kumar, Sandeep Singh, Dharamvir and Sukhjit Singh. Harman Singh was declared the Man of the Match. In the second tie, Rock Rovers defeated St Stephen’s by 5-0. The half time scored was 2-0. Preetinder Singh who scored three goals was also declared Man of the Match. Gurpreet Singh and Rupinder Singh scored one goal each. |
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MNSS Rai win swimming title Chandigarh, August 28 Mr D.S. Dhesi, Commissioner Sports, Haryana, was the chief guest who gave away prizes to the winners. Nearly 150 girls and 350 boys from all over the state took part in the championship. Best swimmers in other age group are as under: Boys:
group I — Ram Phal, Hisar; group II — Harbir, MNSS Rai; Group III — Vaibhav, Jind; Group IV — Amit, Bhiwani. Girls:
group I — Renu & Surbhi, MNSS Rai; group II — Sujata, MNSS Rai; group III — Abhilasha, Gurgaon; group IV — Abhilasha, Faridabad.
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RCF defeat PSEB Chandigarh, August 28 Five minutes before the long whistle, Kulwinder Singh made if 2-0 in favour of RCF. The two team had some good scoring chances. RCF were unlucky on two occasions as the ball struck the pole while PSEB also failed to find the target when the ball struck the upright. Tomorrow Punjab Police will meet BSF at PAP Stadium, Jalandhar, at 4.30 pm.
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New York, August 28
New Delhi, August 28
Time has failed to fade his memories of hockey wizard Dhyan Chand, who led India to a resounding victory in Berlin Games.
