 |
|
|
Spectacular show marks
Afro-Asiad opening
Afro-Asiad sends out political message |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hyderabad
jottings Amritraj, Bopanna mean business Indian men storm into soccer semis Indian men take on Nigeria today Hockey: South African eves stun India
Profile of the day —
Prabhjot Singh
Sehwag needs to sort out his attitude Gibbs misses ton as Pak dominate
Abhey re-elected HOA chief
Aparna champion
|
|
Spectacular show marks
Afro-Asiad opening Hyderabad, October 24 The multi-crore budgeted opening ceremony, attended by a host of foreign and Indian dignitaries, with Priyanka Chopra as host, left the massive gathering in the city of pearls spellbound. Spread over two hours, 40 minutes, the ceremony had almost everyting that exists in the realms of excitement. Synchronised pyrotechnics, dazzling lights, lasers, space canons, a multitude of dancers and China's Imperial Circus kept the large gathering on the edge of their seats. The amazing laser show, Son-et-Lumiere, marked the climax. With Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishan Advani as chief guest, the ceremony started well in time after a breathtaking paradiving show by personnel of the Air Force. Among those present on the dais were the Andhra Pradesh Governor, Mr Surjit Singh Barnala, Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, IOA chief Suresh Kalmadi, secretary-general Randhir Singh, and Chairman of the Miniorities Commission Tarlochan Singh. Also present were India's tennis star Leander Paes and film star Sanjay Dutt. After buglers from the armed forces livened up the proceedings at the far end followed by the National Anthem, three helicopters carrying the Tricolour, and flags of the Asian Olympic Association and the African Olympic Association flew over the stadium. Another sprinkled flower petals soon after. This was followed by a colourful march past. However, the Indian contingent was without the hockey and football players. Later, when the Charminar, symbolising dynamism of the capital city which also is the logo of the Games, appeared on the giant screen, a loud cheer went up in acknowledgement. The giant lotus in the middle lit up and the petals opened, followed by spectacular fireworks that lit up the night sky. Leading vocalist SP Balasubramaniam accompanied by Usha extended the traditional welcome through rendition " Atha Swagat" to the accompaniment of dancing schoolchildren. Mr Advani then declared the Games open. With the arrival of the sacred torch, the chakra rose from the receptacle before ascending the waterway to the torch tower and lighting the flame. With the introduction of 'Sheroo' ,the mascot, by Priyanka Chopra, Sonu Nigam took centrestage accompanied by 1000 children. And then the great continental story amidst chants of peace unfolded. After some time it was the turn of Shaolin monks to perform kung-fu. This was followed by an unprecedented show depicting Emperor Ashoka circling the track before taking centrestage. The war ballet performed by 1000 dancers, an enchanting experience for most present, followed by the act of laying down arms by Emperor Ashoka drew loud applause with the entire stadium reverberating with the sounds of claps. Enactment of the Dandi march by an actor dressed like the Mahatma, a recorded speech of Dr Nelson Mandela followed by a "mashaal" dance ushered in the spirit of celebration. Later, the breathtaking performance by China's Imperial Circus and performances by folk artists added colour. Shankar Mahadevan's presentation of the theme song and Priyanka's open invitation to performers to ascend the stage was lustily cheered. And then followed the mesmerising Son-et-Lumiere. With a duration of nine minutes, the laser show left a lasting impression not only on the average Hyderabadi but also on all every visitor. As the colourful rays lit up the night sky, the stands reverberated with cheers in every corner. After all it was something unprecedented. |
|
Afro-Asiad sends out political message Hyderabad, October 24 The message was not lost on the packed stadium, including dignitaries from Asia and Africa, as saffron and yellow dominated the colour schemes of the evening. Congress president Sonia Gandhi did not make it to the opening ceremony, as promised, and if read between the lines, everything fell in a political pattern. If it was a Congress Government, under the benign leadership of statesman-Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, who sowed the seeds of the Asian Games movement at the elegant National Stadium in New Delhi in 1951, which has now grown into a sort of banyan tree encompassing the whole of Asia, it was due to the blessings and unstinted support of another statesman-Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, that the idea of the Afro-Asian Games movement has now crestalised into fruition. Indian Olympic Association president Suresh Kalmadi admitted as much when he conceded in his longish address that it was because of the ‘blanket cheque’ given by the Central Government that the dream of hosting the inaugural Afro-Asian Games has turned into a reality. Though Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and president Dr APJ Abdul Kalam were expected to grace the stadium only during the closing ceremony, the presence of Mr Advani, Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports Vikram Verma, his deputy Vijay Goel, Information and Broadcasting Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, Civil Aviation Minister Rajiv Pratap Rudi and a host of other
VVIPs, not to mention the name of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandra Babu Naidu, made the opening ceremony a spectacle to remember. Though Suresh Kalmadi has many shades to his political avatar, the latest being that of a Congressman, it was out and out a BJP-sponsored show. If the Afro-Asian Games movement picks up momentum and grows as big or bigger than the Asian Games, then the credit would go to Mr Vajpayee who gave the go ahead to the sporting spectacle without bothering much about the cost involved in hosting such an extravaganza. Crores of rupees have been spent on renovating, refurbishing and creating infrastructure in Hyderabad and the sports city at Gachhibowli but it all seem to be worth the bother. Mr Chandrababu Naidu, who put on his pants for the first time after surving a murderous attack by outlaws at Tirupathi a few weeks ago, promised to turn Hyderabad into the sporting capital of India, and expressed his readyness to host the Commonwealth Games, if the 2010 edition was allotted to India. Mr Advani dwelt on the great tradition of India, and also the sporting ethoes of the nation, which it has brought out to full play not only on the sporting arenas, but also on the political battle ground as well. The quality of competitions may not be of the level of the Olympic Games and the World Championships, but the Afro-Asian Games would definitely set a bench mark, in many respects, and if the movement gets going, another golden chapter would be written in the sporting history of India, that is Bharat.
|
|
|
Hyderabad
jottings Hyderabadis love nature. Trees, ornamental shrubs, and creepers are not only seen in homes but also on roadsides. Where planting saplings is not possible, especially outside showrooms, artificial trees serve the purpose. Just as the enterprising business man on Rashtrapati Road has an artificial tree fixed with nuts and bolts at his doorstep. Those living on upper storeys are not far behind. One resident has tall papaya trees on his terrace, probably on the sixth floor. A city of nature lovers indeed. * * * Concern for fellow citizens appears to be among the priorities of the local people. When an ambulance carrying a critically ill patient was caught in a traffic jam a few kilometres short of Banjara Hills, the screaming siren and the drivers's appeal had an instant impact. Not only was the way cleared voluntarily for the ambulance to proceed, but some of the car drivers preferred to take their vehicles completely off the road to facilitate smooth flow of traffic upto the hospital saving precious seconds for the patient in distress. * * * It was unique experience of Hyderabadi modesty yesterday at the GMC Balayogi Stadium when I encountered a well-dressed gentleman, who appeared to be an official connected with the Afro-Asian Games. On seeing him standing alone, I enquired whether he was on the organising committee, since I needed information about the opening ceremony. " Yes," came the reply. " My name is P. Ramulu," he said before asking an associate to lend a helping hand. Later I learnt that he was the Andhra Pradesh Sports Minister ! * * * The colourful opening ceremony saw high-profile dignitaries turning out in their best but among the most prominent was the president of the Indian Olympic Association, Mr Suresh Kalmadi, who with his traditional Rajasthani headgear, drew immediate attention. Amardeep Bhattal
|
|
Amritraj, Bopanna mean business Hyderabad,October 24 They view the tennis competition in the games as something to be taken seriously as their reputation and future prospects are at stake. Both arrived dot on time at the tennis complex at the Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium in Hyderabad on the even of the the tennis competition to have a serious workout, as they are taking their matches in all seriousness. Prakash will be playing his first match tomorrow, but till late in the afternoon, the draw was not ready, and it was not clear who all would be representing Asia and Africa in the games. India are definitely fielding their best combination in both the men's and women women's section. Prakash, Rohan and Sania Mirza will be seen in action. Rohan Bopanna said Mahesh Bhupathi too would be playing in the competition. Leander Paes would not be playing, but his dapper presence was a source of joy and pride for the packed GMC Balayogi Stadium at Gachhibowli here today during the inauguration of the Afro-Asian Games. That spring was back on Leander's feet and he looked debonair in long hair and a black suit. This was not the bloated Leander who arrived at the Mumbai airport a few days ago after undergoing treatment for an abcess in his brain in the USA, which was at one stage, was suspected to be a malignant tumour. Mercifully, nothing of the sort happened, and Leander has fully recovered from his illness to take on the tennis world yet again. He was expected to watch the tennis matches at the Shastri Stadium, and his presence on the stand would definitely give a big boost to youngsters like Prakash and Rohan to unleash their best display. Both Prakash and Rohan were in the dark as far the quality of the players they were likely to encounter from Asia and Africa. Prakash has not played against any of those who have been listed in the roll of players.Rohan said he too was unaware of the quality of opposition he was expected to encounter. But both were determined to give the competition their best shot. Prakash Amritraj, who turned a professional this June, was expecting "good challenge" and a lot of fun. He had a very satisfying outing in the Satellite tournaments held in Karnataka recently. Prakash said he would be playing in the singles matches of both in the individual and team events while Rohan was sure of playing only in the doubles in the individual events. But the bottomline is that tennis would be one competition which would witness some interesting contests, come tomorrow. The young Prakash has a long distance to travel,though he has made a promising beginning in the Indian Satellite circui. He has a reputation to maintain — the names of the Amritrajs are synonimous with Indian tennis — and the young Prakash Amritraj said he was ready for the challenge. Tennis is one discipline in which India can count thmeselves among the medals, of the golden hue, and Prakash does not want to let slip this chance. |
|
Indian men storm into soccer semis Hyderabad, October 24 Having already trounced Rwanda in their lung opener, India led by Baichung Bhutia only needed a draw to qualify for the last four. After a goal-less first half, India mounted tremendous pressure and their efforts bore fruit in the 50th minute when Jatin Bisht found the target against the run of play. Veteran striker IM Vijayan, who has already announced his decision to retire after the Afro-Asian Games, boosted the tally to 2-0 in the 64th minute to give his full points and ensuring a semifinal berth for his team.
|
|
Indian men take on Nigeria today
Hyderabad, October 24 The hosts, who gave a heart-warming display against Egypt in their opener last night, are virtually through to the last four. Given the clinical precision they displayed yesterday, the fans could not have asked for a better start. At the same time, the showing of African teams, particularly Nigeria and Ghana, has come as a pleasant surprise. Egypt and South Africa have been representing the African continent in Olympics and Commonwealth Games, respectively, but it was perhaps for the first time that Nigeria and Ghana played at such a big forum. Nigeria made Pakistan's life miserable in the opening match and were least disgraced when they lost 3-4 to the Asian giants. Most hockey buffs and pundits here were sceptical about the capabilities of Ghana and Nigeria. A few of them even doubted whether the two nations had basic knowledge of the game. But at the end of the day, they were proved wrong. Yet there is no denying that Nigeria and Ghana lack the finer technical aspects of the game. Nevertheless, they make it up with their resolute attitude. That they are physically fit and have better speed and stamina than their rivals. Asian giants Pakistan and Korea should as well have realised it. India, despite starting clear favourites, cannot under estimate Nigeria and will have to reproduce the form they displayed against Egypt last night. For the hosts, the 5-1 victory against the Africans was significant since it came against a team which has already qualified for the Olympics. For the Indians, they have to go through the qualifier at Madrid next March to book a ticket for the Athens games. In the All-African Games at Abuja (Nigeria) last week, Egypt had stunned South Africa to emerge hockey champions. Ghana finished third and Nigeria fourth. India's showing yesterday thrilled the fans. Their forwards clicked wonderfully and the mid-field was too strong for the
rivals. Bimal Lakra and Ignace Tirkey were simply superb as halves, while Dilip Tirkey stood like a rock in defence. Len Aiyappa also was able to display his wares and same was the case with Sandeep Michael.
—UNI |
|
|
Hockey: South African eves stun India
Hyderabad, October 24 Pietie’s onslaught ensured a berth for South Africa in the semifinals where as India would now have to at least force a draw in their last match against Kazakhstan to be in the hunt for a place in the last four. Earlier, Korea continued their winning streak thrashing Nigeria 6-0 at the Gachibowli stadium in a Pool B match. India, who won their opening match yesterday thrashing Ghana 8-0, looked totally out of sorts against South Africa particularly in the second half and wasted nine out of 10 short corners they earned. The two sides met today after their last encounter in a league match of the Commonwealth Games in Manchester last year where India came back from 0-3 down to beat the South Africans 4-3. But Pietie’s two goals in the first half (20th and 25th minutes) and a third seven minutes into the second session poured cold water on India’s hopes of registering a win over their tactically superior opponents today. Though India raised hopes for a repeat of the Manchester act when Suman Bala converted the sixth penalty corner in the 47th minute, they failed to capitalise on the goal mainly due to some poor finishing and ordinary conversion attempts. “It was really a disappointing performance by the girls. We conceded two goals in the first half but in that 35 minutes India’s performance was quite good. But it was indeed a poor show in the second,” chief coach M.K. Kaushik said afterwards. He said that India could have won the match by utilising the chances that came their way. India will take on Kazakhstan and Korea will play Ghana on Sunday in their last league matches. Starting their campaign just hours after reaching the venue, a jet-lagged Chinese team overcame a spirited Kenyan side 2-1 today. The World Cup winners, who were scheduled to arrive on Wednesday and play their opener yesterday, could not arrive on time not getting a connecting flight from Singapore and only reached here at 9 am this morning. They looked totally out of sorts when they began play just two hours after landing. As the Chinese struggled to settle down, Kenya surprised all by taking an early lead. Taking advantage of some defensive lapses Lilian Nzisa Kimeu put her team ahead. But Kenya’s happiness was shortlived as China bounced back with a Yai Yu goal three minutes later equalising off a penalty corner. China then got their act together and took the lead in the 20th minute through Chen Xiaoling. Though Kenya stepped on the gas searching for the eqaliser they failed to beat the Chinese defence which held good till the end.
— PTI |
|
Profile of the day —
Prabhjot Singh Hyderabad, October 24 Born on August 14, 1980, at Masania village near Batala, Prabhjot had his initial schooling at Adarsh Vidya Mandir, Batala, from where he also learnt the basics of hockey. After doing his matriculation from Dhadial, he completed his plus two from Talwandi Rama, in Gurdaspur district. His talent found instant recognition and he was soon picked in the Air-India Academy team where under expert guidance, he further polished his skill. Prabhjot Singh played in the junior nationals in 1997; junior Asia Cup in May, 2000, at Kuala Lumpur, and was a key member of the junior World Cup winning team at Hobart. He proved his mettle in the Champions Trophy at Cologne and at Amstelveen this year and also played in the Prime Minister's Gold Cup at Dhaka, incidentally won by India. Last year he represented India in the senior World Cup at Kuala Lumpur. This year he was in the team that won the Asia Cup at Kuala Lumpur for the first time. His spectacular goal against Pakistan in the Asia Cup final in the dying minutes is still remembered by hockey fans with joy. Prabhjot Singh is destined to soar higher under the tutelage of coaches.
|
|
Sehwag needs to sort out his attitude The abandoned first tie of the tri-series is dedicated to the collective wisdom of the cricket board honchos who thought it logical and rational to ask India and New Zealand play in Chennai during this time of the year. Like I mentioned in my previous column, rain pelts in this region much to the delight of the locals here and therefore India and New Zealand were forced to share points. There was nothing the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association could possibly do about the weather gods but it did put in every single effort to get the game cracking on time. Mind you, there aren't many grounds in the country, or shall I dare say, in the entire world where fans can witness some cricket action despite three days of relentless rain. Once again, the much-vaunted Indian batting found itself struggling on a wicket that afforded some steep bounce to the faster bowlers and came quick to the bat. Had it been not for some wayward stuff by the Kiwi seamers, equally backed by their fieldsmen, India could not have posted that healthy run-rate on board despite losing three crucial wickets. Nevertheless, all we could now do is a post-mortem of the 27 overs of play witnessed on Thursday. It was interesting to see Tuffey bowling to Tendulkar. It has been a little over 48 hours since his in-cutter crashed through the defence of the master blaster but still the strapping medium pacer wasn't ready to pitch the ball up and preferred the just -short-of-good-length spot to tidy Sachin to one's and twos. Call it Sachin's reputation or the ODI syndrome of the bowlers; cricket can sometimes be real funny. Sehwag, meanwhile, got going in his trademark fashion and provided some fireworks before Cairns rearranged his furniture. He needs to be a bit cautious with the attitude he flaunts at the crease. Agreed, he can destroy any attack in the world on a given day but the frequency of that knock worries me no end. If Sehwag can try and sort this out he will do himself and Indian cricket a huge favour. Laxman would be furious with himself after wasting such a fine start on his comeback game. The Hyderabadi failed to read the field postionings, picked his man and handed Styris a wicket on a ball which deserved four additional runs to the Indian total. Yuvraj looked much comfortable after getting back to the mode of cricket more suited to his style of play. The dashing left-hander stemmed the flow of Indian batsmen returning to the pavilion and gave a stand which put life back in the Indian innings. The Kiwis controlled the balance of the game for major chunk of the Indian innings, even forcing Sachin Tendulkar to stay quiet in the middle and resort to dangerous innovations in face of scoring some runs before rain decided it was ultimate authority to call the shots and thundered the players and officials into the dressing room.
|
|
Gibbs misses ton as Pak dominate Faisalabad, October 24 The touring side, already one down in the two-Test series, had fought back from 40 for three only to lose five wickets, including that of Gibbs, during the final session. The tall, lanky Shabbir Ahmed led the Pakistan attack in the absence of strike bowlers Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Sami. He rattled the top order with the wickets of Graeme Smith and Boeta Dippenaar and finished with four for 63. All-rounder Abdul Razzaq took the wickets of Gary Kirsten and Mark Boucher. Gibbs was the one batsman to stand out, rebuilding the innings cautiously during a 108-run stand for the fourth wicket with Kirsten, who made 54. But Gibbs’s dismissal saw South Africa crumble after reaching 195 for four. It was a disappointing end to a fine innings as he refused to allow the bowlers to dictate on a pitch with encouraging bounce and plenty of turn. South Africa (1st innings): Smith c Inzamam
Gibbs lbw Mushtaq 98 Dippenaar c Taufeeq
Kallis c Taufeeq
Kirsten c Taufeeq
McKenzie c Mushtaq
Boucher b Razzaq 27 Pollock run out 16 Peterson c (subs) Misbah
Adams not out 3 Ntini not out 5 Extras:
(lb-1, w-1, 4-nb) 6 Total: (9 wkts, 91 overs) 256 Fall of wkts:
1-6, 2-20, 3-40, 4-148, 5-195, 6-212, 7-236, 8-247, 9-250. Bowling:
Shabbir Ahmed 22-7-63-4, Abdul Razzaq 19-4-62-2, Danish Kaneria 32-10-63-1, Shoaib Malik 5-0-19-0, Mushtaq Ahmed 13-1-48-1.
— Reuters |
|
Dhaka, October 24 England (1st innings): 295 Bangladesh (2nd innings): Sarkar c Trescothick
b Hoggard 59 Saleh c Read
Bashar c Trescothick
Kapali c Butcher
Rahman not out 43 Mashud c Hussain
Omar lbw b Hoggard 27 Mahmud not out 17 Extras:
(lb-6 nb-3 pen-5) 14 Total: (6 wkts, 98 overs) 245 Fall of wicket: 1-12 2-120 3-140 4-148 5-176 6-219 Bowling: Hoggard 22-7-45-2, Harmison 21-6-41-2, Batty 20-2-65-1, Giles 20-4-52-1, Clarke 15-6-31-0.
— Reuters |
|
Jadeja in Delhi Ranji team New Delhi, October 24 “Jadeja has made himself available and
as far as we know he is allowed to play domestic cricket,” Chetan
Chauhan, Chairman of Selectors of Delhi and District Cricket
Association, said. — PTI |
|
|
Abhey re-elected HOA chief Ambala, October 24 After being re-elected, Mr Abhey Chautala told mediapersons that Haryana was again going to bid for the National Games. “We are again going to try for the National Games. The National Games will go a long way towards development of sports in Haryana,” he said. He said that Haryana was prepared to provide for necessary infrastructure which is required for hosting the National Games. Mr Chautala said that Haryana Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala has provided incentives which has strengthened sports in the state. “The sportsmanship spirit has been fostered in the state and more and more people are taking to sports. When the sports festival was held at Bhiwani, there were only 800 sportspersons. In the sports festival at Yamunanagar, there were nearly 5000 sportspersons,” he said. He pointed out that unlike previous governments, they are giving incentives to encourage the sportspersons. "We have built two Astro-turfs. Also, three new stadiums are going to give a boost to sports in the state. The stadiums are in Gurgaon, Panchkula and Sirsa. Chaudhary Devi Lal sports centre in Sonepat is spread over 85 acres and it is being built at a cost of Rs 100 crore. It will be of international standard," he said. The other office bearers are: vice presidents — Mr Brijender Rail, Mr Gopi Chand Gahlot, Mr Ashok Arora, Mr Jaswinder Singh, Mr Surender Singh Barwala, Mrs Bimla Sangwan and Mr Resham Singh. Treasurer is Mr Bhupender Singh while Joint Secretaries are Mr H.S. Bhadu (Technical Director), Mr Randhir Singh and Mr Sukhbir Singh. Executive members are Mr D.D. Gautam, Mr T.C. Gupta, Mr Anurag Rastogi, Mr Vijendra Kumar, Mrs Deepti Umashankar, Mr Jagroop Singh (Arjuna awardee), Mr Devender Singh, Mr Ashok Yadav, Mr Puran Singh Dabra, Mr Duli Chand, Mr Om Prakash and Mr Dalbir Singh. |
|
|
Jaipur, October 24 In the men’s section second seed Yeoh Kay Bin of Malaysia surprised top seed countryman Chong Wei Lee 15-5, 15-13 to take the crown. Popat started cautiously against Polsana but soon controlled the opening game as she raced to a 8-1 lead and then took the game 11-4. She looked in a hurry to clinch the title as she took a 7-1 lead in the second. But a slight loss in concentration on the part of Popat was enough for Polsana to strike back and take the match into the decider. But the champion made sure that her opponent got no chance whatsoever to stake claim to the crown as she took the game and the tie 11-4 with some perfect placements. — PTI
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Mailbag | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | National Capital | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
In
video: (
