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Credibility test for
Federer, Mauresmo in French Open Crowd won’t bother me, insists Serena
IHF to name Olympics probables today Give pension to domestic cricketers, demands Bedi |
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Coaching camp for Asia Cup
in Bangalore Richardson anchors New Zealand innings Imran confirms adopting ‘love-child’ Alka wins bronze in Asian wrestling Jones, Greene cruise to victories Marion Jones and Maurice Greene got the extra push they needed. Jones and Greene benefitted from strong tailwinds as they easily raced to 100m victories at the Home Depot Invitational meet yesterday.
Humpy makes a winning start Volleyball meet at Shimla 
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Credibility test for Federer, Mauresmo in French Open
Paris, May 23 Beaten in the first round on his last two visits to Roland Garros, the 22-year-old top seed from Switzerland, recognised as the best all-round player on the tour, has yet to prove himself on the sapping Paris clay. The Wimbledon and Australian Open champion opens up against a qualifier so another first-round defeat seems unthinkable, but matters could quickly get difficult for the languidly brilliant Swiss with former champion Gustavo Kuerten of Brazil and Argentine David Nalbandian in his quarter of the draw. While Federer’s sheer class makes him favourite, Argentine Guillermo Coria, a semi-finalist last year, can claim to be the form player going into the championships. His defeat by Federer in the Hamburg this month ended a run of 31 wins on clay, dating back to his shock semi-final defeat by Dutchman Martin Verkerk at Roland Garros last year. Coria, seeking his maiden grand slam, has a far from easy first-round match against Russian Nikolay Davydenko. Second seed Andy Roddick, like Federer, has yet to indicate he has the patience and application to win the most gruelling grand slam of the year. The US Open champion opens against a familiar foe in experienced compatriot Todd Martin with a possible quarter-final against another compatriot, Andre Agassi. Defending champion Juan Carlos Ferrero, seeded four, has endured a miserable season so far due to illness and injury. A first-round meeting with dangerous German Tommy Haas was certainly not what the doctor ordered, however, and his resurgent compatriot Carlos Moya may be a better bet for Spanish fans. Others to watch out for include aggressive Chilean clay specialist Fernando Gonzalez and another powerful German, Rainer Schuettler. An intriguing women’s tournament is in store with none of the leading contenders in tip-top condition, bar Frenchwoman Amelie Mauresmo. A winner on clay at Berlin and Rome, she has consistently under-performed in her home event slam but this is undoubtedly her best opportunity to break her grand slam duck. The third seed opens up against Slovakia’s Ludmila Cervanova and such is the draw she may not be properly tested until a possible quarter-final against American Lindsay Davenport. Holder Justine Henin-Hardenne says she is glad just to be competing after a debilitating viral infection deprived her of any real preparation. The Belgian world number one and top seed faces a tricky opening game against French wildcard Sandrine Testud. Second seed Serena Williams, beaten in an acrimonious semi-final by Henin-Hardenne last year, is looking close to her best following knee surgery and should dispatch Czech player Iveta Benesova easily enough. She will have noted the presence in her quarter of the draw of compatriot Jennifer Capriati and 47-year-old Martina Navratilova, whose first grand slam match in 10 years against Argentine Gisela Dulko should be one of the highlights of the first round. With last year’s losing finalist Kim Clijsters missing through injury, Serena’s older sister Venus is the other obvious contender, although her record in Paris is relatively poor and she is not fully fit. Last year she lost to Vera Zvonareva, who together with compatriots Anastasia Myskina, Nadia Petrova and Elena Dementieva should spearhead another impressive showing by the Russians. — Reuters
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Crowd won’t bother me, insists Serena
Paris, May 23 The American was widely jeered and broke down in tears after her loss to the Belgian number one with many observers believing that her hostile reception was a fallout from French opposition to America’s role in the war in Iraq. After the match, Williams accused Henin-Hardenne of cheating, although she retracted the claim the following day. “I am not trying to win over the crowd. I haven’t thought about the sort of reception I may get here, I am just focusing on the ball,” Williams said today ahead of the second Grand Slam event of the season which starts at Roland Garros tomorrow. “You can’t stay in that moment. You have to move forward and if I was thinking about what happened here I would not have gone on to win Wimbledon.” “I am just here to have fun and enjoy myself.” Williams, the 2002 champion here, will be playing her first Grand Slam event since capturing her second successive Wimbledon title last summer. She has played just four events since returning from an eight month lay-off following knee surgery but won her comeback event by taking a third straight Miami title in March. But since then Serena has been forced to withdraw from the Charleston event with knee inflammation and fell to American rival Jennifer Capriati in the semi-finals in Rome.
— AFP |
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IHF to name Olympics probables today
New Delhi, May 23 Pillay, whose omission from the fitness camp at Barog, Himachal Pradesh, and a four-nation meet in Japan created a lot of furore, has been shortlisted alongside veteran forward Baljit Singh Dhillon, highly placed sources in the IHF told PTI today. Besides the two, struggling-to-be-fit penalty corner expert Jugraj Singh is also likely to be included in the list, the sources added. The other probables would include all the top players of the country although senior defender Baljit Singh Saini is unlikely to get a chance to play in the mega event. The list is likely to contain three goalkeepers in Devesh Chauhan, Kamaldeep Singh and Adrian D’Souza, who had a fine outing in India’s title triumph in the junior Asia Cup in Pakistan last month. Regular half-back combination of Dilip Tirkey and Kanwalpreet Singh is unlikely to be disturbed even though Sandeep Singh, promising drag-flicker from Haryana, could make the list for his recent exploits on the field. Sandeep Singh’s presence would serve the side in more than one way, since besides being a defender, the teenager is a quality penalty corner expert. Young turk from Orissa William Xalxo, who earned a lot of praise from chief coach Rajinder Singh for his performance in the Japan tournament, and Harpal Singh could also be named as probables. The mid-field is expected to see no surprises as regulars Viren Rasquinha, Vikram Pillay, Ignace Tirkey and Bimal Lakra are difficult to be ignored. The famed-foursome could have Vivek Gupta for company as a probable. The Indian strike-force, considered one of the best in the world would have probables in Pillay, Dhillon, Deepak Thakur, Prabhjot Singh and Gagan Ajit Singh. Sandeep Michael, who did a good job as the captain of the junior team in Asia Cup, and the talented Tushar Khandekar are likely to join their illustarted seniors in the list. As a build-up to the mega-event in August, the players would undergo extensive training at a reputed institute in the USA before going to Holland for a four-nation tournament — featuring Pakistan, Holland and Germany besides India — next month. The next destination for the players is Germany, where besides undergoing training at Cologne, the team would play another four-nation tournament also involving the hosts, Great Britain and France. — PTI
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Give pension to domestic cricketers, demands Bedi Kangra, May 23 Bishen Singh Bedi, who
is at Dharamshala in connection with a six-week long coaching camp
organised by Bishen Bedi Cricket Coaching Trust and in which 75 junior
cricketers from different states of the country including 15 from
Himachal Pradesh are participating, was talking to The Tribune today.
He said that he would meet the BCCI president Mr Jagmohan Dalmiya
within few days in Kolkata and would plead their cause. He said that
it was a good beginning for the encouragement of cricket players but
still a lot needed to be done. He said that Padmakar Shivalkar,
Rajinder Goel, Sarkar Talwar, Amarjeet Kaypee, Kamaljeet Singh and
Utpal Chaterjee were the people who kept domestic cricket alive. They
and others like them had contributed a lot and their services could
not be ignored. Former left-arm spinner said to hold a camp for the
young cricketers in the Dharamshala cricket stadium was a wonderful
experience. Under the foothills of Dhauladhar mountain this stadium,
when completed, will have no match in the globe. He said 75 young
cricketers in the 10 to 20 age group from Delhi, Punjab , Haryana,
Jammu and Kashmir, H.P, Maharashtra, Assam, Bihar, Chattisgarh and M.P
were participating in this camp. This was the 15th camp for young
cricketers since 1992 when the trust was set up under the patronage of
the former Indian captain Nawab of Pataudi . He said that it was a
great opportunity for the junior cricket players of this state to have
a stadium of like this to learn cricket and to contribute to the game.
He said, “When I step into this stadium every morning I wish to
dance and then I go deep into the my lifelong experiences of cricket
which I share with these boys.” Bedi said it was not pride of
Himachal Pradesh alone but of India and suggested that Himachal
Pradesh Cricket association should convert this stadium into “Center
of Excellence”. He said that the BCCI can hold high-altitude camps
here. During the camp specialised training would be imparted to the
youngsters by veteran cricketers the E.Prasanna bowling, Hanumant
Singh, Syeed Kirmani, Vijay Dahiya and Jawagal Shrinath. He said that
high-altitude cricket in the hill areas was the need of the hour. In
reply to a question Bedi said, “I have dedicated myself to develop
cricket at the grassroot level. I can not do any thing other than
cricket. |
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Coaching camp for Asia Cup in Bangalore
Bangalore, May 23 Meanwhile, a fitness-specific conditioning camp for pace bowlers will be held here from June 7 to 12. Those selected for the camp include Ashish Nehra, Ajit Agarkar, Irfan Pathan, L Balaji, Amit Bhandari, Munaf Patel, Avishkar Salvi, Srishanth, S S Paul, S Mathur, S Trivedi, N C Aiyappa, Gagandeep Singh, Jogender Sharma, Mohammed Faizal and T Kumaran, Nair said. Thereafter, from June 13 to 19, a combined fitness camp will be held, in which some of those who attended the earlier one will also feature. This week-long camp would be attended by Sourav Ganguly, Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, V V S Laxman, Yuvraj Singh, Mohammed Kaif, Parthiv Patel, Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh, Murali Kartik, Ramesh Powar, Aakash Chopra, Hemang Badani, Sairaj Bahutule, Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, Ajit Agarkar, Irfan Pathan, L Balaji, Munaf Patel, Amit Bhandari, Rohan Gavaskar and Gautam Gambhir, he added. Nair clarified that the two camps in June are fitness specific — and not cricket coaching ones — and they would be overseen by physical trainer Gregory King. PTI
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Richardson anchors New Zealand innings London, May 23 Scoreboard New Zealand (1st innings): 386 England (1st innings): 441 New Zealand (2nd innings) : Richardson batting 101 Fleming
c Hussain b Harmison
4 McCullum c Jones b S Jones 96 Styris c Hussain b Giles 4 McMillan c Hussain b Giles
0 Oram run out 4 Astle batting 29 Extras (b-14, lb-10, nb-7) 31 Total
(5 wkts in 98 overs) 269 Fall of wickets: 1-7, 2-180, 3-187, 4-187, 5-203 Bowling:
Harmison 19-7-48-1; Flintoff 16-5-40-0; Hoggard 14-3-39-0; S Jones 19-4-45-1; Giles 30-5-73-2.
—AFP. |
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Imran confirms adopting ‘love-child’
Lahore, May 23 The World Cup-winning captain, however, ducked questions about whether he was the father of the girl. Responding to a question at a meet the press programme at the Karachi Press Club yesterday, the chief of the Tehrik-e-Insaf revealed that ten days before her death, Sita had requested him and Jemima to take custody of her child. “I and my wife Jemima accepted her request and decided to take Tyrian into our guardianship,’’ Imran said.
Tyrian, however, continue to live in America, he added. Earlier, Imran had said that Sita and Jemima knew each other well because Sita’s father, the late Lord White and Jemimas father, the late Sir James Goldsmith, were very close friends. Sita White, the mother of Imran’s allegedly illegitimate daughter
Tyrian, died on May 14 of a heart attack which was suspected to have been induced by drugs. Despite Sita’s claims, Imran has always denied that Tyrian was his daughter even though in 1997 a US judge ruled in favour of Sita stating it was the Pakistan cricket legend who fathered
Tyrian. — UNI |
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Imran flays Musharraf Lahore, May 23 "How can one expect a drastic improvement when the game is headed by people who have scant knowledge about cricket and the cricket board has the Pakistan President as its patron?’’ he asked. Making it clear that Musharraf had no business staying at the top of the PCB administration, Imran, also the chief of the Tehrik-i-Insaf party asked, "What does he know about cricket?’’
— UNI |
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Alka wins bronze in Asian wrestling New Delhi, May 23 Tomar edged past Mongolia’s Ochirbat Myagmarsuren in a hard-fought bout which the Indian won 4-3, according to information received here. Other Indian wrestlers — Renu Bala (55kg) and Asian silver medallists Geetika Jakhar (63kg) and Kiran Sihag (67kg) — however bit dust against their technically superior Mongolian counterparts and suffered defeats to finish fourth. India team, which participated in all the seven weight categories, also included Kamini Yadav (48kg), Neha Rathi (51kg) and Sonika Kaliraman (72kg). This was the first international meet for Indian wrestlers, who have missed their maiden opportunity to book the birth for the Athens Olympic Games.
— PTI |
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Jones, Greene cruise to victories
Los Angeles, May 23 Two-time world champion Jones finished in a wind-aided 10.99 seconds then completed her second double in as many meets as she leaped 7.13 metres to capture the long jump. “I am pleased with the time in the 100 and the long jump,” Jones said. “To hit the seven metres club is always a good thing, regardless of the wind.” The American sprint queen beat 100m runner-up Angela Daigle by .18 of a second while LaKeisha Backus was third in 11.23. Jones exploded out of the blocks and led from start to finish while getting help from a favorable wind of 4.4 metres per second. Earlier this month, Jones won both the 100m and the long jump at the Jamaican International Invitational meet. She improved upon her winning time in Kingston by .05 of a second in her triumph here. In her first outdoor race of 2004, Jones finished a disappointing fourth in 200m at last month’s Mount San Antonio College Relays. “I am right where I want to be,” said Jones, who is just getting back into regular competition after giving birth a year ago. “I had a little bit of a layoff last year, but now I am excited. My goal is gold in Athens.” But Jones is growing tired of answering questions about the doping scandal that has sent shudders through the US track and field community. She couldn’t escape questions about the ongoing doping probe. She did not want to comment on a San Jose Mercury News report yesterday that Greene’s coach John Smith met and signed a confidentiality agreement in 2001 with California-based Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative (BALCO) owner Victor Conte. “Story, schmory - I am not listening to it,” Jones said. Jones, a Los Angeles native, thanked the Los Angeles fans for their support over the years. “This crowd knows the true Marion. I grew up in front of you. You know what’s going on,” Jones said. According to an Internal Revenue Service report, Jones and her partner Tim Montgomery also allegedly received a banned substances from BALCO. — AFP
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Elista, Russia, May 23 Playing with black, Humpy opened with the Sicilian defence and got a better position in the middle game. Cecile could not defend herself against Humpy’s attack in the endgame and surrendered meekly. After the game, Humpy analysed her game and said that though she could not properly prepare for the championship, this round had given her ample opportunity to get in shape. — UNI
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Volleyball meet at Shimla Chandigarh, May 23 Mr Manoj Chauhan, president of the Wills Sports Club, Jubbal, and the organiser of this meet, said earlier this tournament was confined to North Zone only. Mr Mohan Nagreta, technical advisor of the club said the winning team will be given cash prize of Rs 25000 while runner-up would get Rs 15000. He said matches will be played as per the rules of the Volleyball Federation of India, who have also deputed its qualified referees for this event. |
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