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Navratilova beaten, Williams
Safin has ‘limitless’
potential: coach Ponting guides Aussies to easy win
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Sitarist to tune India’s Olympic medal hopes Indian shooters to train abroad Talent-packed Italy among Euro favourites again
Victoria stands by Beckham New-look team for soccer qualifier Jones’ new evidence in BALCO case Saheli assured
of title DCF, Sector 16 stadium triumph in u-13 cricket
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Navratilova beaten, Williams sisters sail through Paris, May 25 On the other hand, top men's seed Roger Federer ended his Roland Garros jinx even as US sisters Venus and Serena Williams served notice of their French Open intentions by advancing into the second round with straight sets wins. Federer beat Belgian newcomer Kristof Vliegen 6-1, 6-2, 6-1 to win his first match on the red clay here since 2001. And despite lingering doubts about their fitness, 2002 French Open champion Serena, the second seed, defeated Iveta Benesova of the Czech Republic 6-2, 6-2 in 66min as older sister Venus, the fourth seed, simultaneously beat Thailand's Tamarine Tanasugarn 6-2, 6-4 in 1hr 11min. Serena, who returned from eight months off after knee surgery in March, looked in form despite dropping her serve once in the second set before serving out for the match to love against her 51st-ranked opponent. Venus, the 2002 runner-up, had been in doubt for the tournament after a left ankle problem forced her to default the German Open final, but she never looked worried by her 55th-ranked Thai opponent depite losing her serve four times, including her opening service game. Serena next meets Russian Maria Kirilenko as Venus takes on Croatia's Jelena Kostanic. Earlier, Wimbledon and Australian Open champion Federer dismissed his 110th-ranked lucky loser opponent in just 1hr 16min. The world number one needed just 20 minutes to wrap up the first set with Vliegen putting up the only real opposition in the final game when he saved two match points before Federer wrapped up the tie with a forehand winner. Last year's surprise runner-up Martin Verkerk of the Netherlands, seeded 19, won his opening match 7-5, 6-3, 6-1 against France's Julien Boutter. The big-hitting Dutchman demonstrated how at home he felt at Roland Garros, slamming down 11 aces on his way to victory over wildcard Boutter. German seventh seed Rainer Schuettler was knocked out by Belgium's Xavier Maillse 6-4, 7-5, 6-4. Former women's champion Mary Pierce, the 30th seed, had little problem dispatching Luxembourg's Claudine Schaul 6-2, 6-3 in 74min on the Philippe Chatrier Centre Court. The 29-year-old Pierce, who next meets Spain's Gala Leon Garcia, said she was confident as the French Open always brings out the best in her. Ai Sugiyama and Shinobu Asagoe celebrated a double Japanese triumph by advancing to the second round. Sugiyama, seeded 12, defeated French player Marion Bartoli 6-4, 6-3 and now faces Spain's Virginia Ruano Pascual as she attempts to improve on her best performance here, fourth round appearances in 1995, 2000 and 2003. Asagoe, 27, heaped more misery on former world number five Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia with a 6-1, 6-3 win tobook a second round spot against either 16th seed Swiss Patty Schnyder or Aniko Kapros of Hungary. The Slovakian produced 35 unforced errors in a the 66-minute defeat which could put her out of the world's top 50 from as high as five less than 16 months ago when the new ranking list is compiled after Roland Garros. Fabrice Santoro beat fellow Frenchman Arnaud Clement in the longest singles match in modern tennis history today, spending six hours 36 minutes on court before winning 6-4, 6-3, 6-7, 3-6, 16-14. Second seed Andy Roddick averted a third consecutive first round defeat when he overcame fellow American Todd Martin 7-6, 6-4, 7-5. The US Open champion, upset in the first round in each of the last two years on the slow Roland Garros clay, produced a disciplined display of back-court shot making to dismiss his 33-year-old opponent with some ease on centre court. Third seed Amelie Mauresmo opened her bid with an efficient 6-3 6-3 victory over Slovakia’s Ludmila Cervanova.
—AFP, Reuters |
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Safin has ‘limitless’
potential: coach
Paris, May 25 Now he is working with former number one Safin until Wimbledon at least. He believes the Russian, who lost to Federer in the Australian Open final in February, can be the best. “Marat has so much raw talent, his potential is limitless,’’ the Swede said at Roland Garros where Safin is playing the French Open. “His personality is very different to that of Roger’s but he’s great. He listens to what I tell him. I really like him very much. Sometimes I wish he would be a bit more motivated, because he has so much talent.’’ Apart from Federer and Safin, Lundgren has also coached former world number one Marcelo Rios and the Swede sees much in common between the trio. “I was only saying the same thing to myself the other day; that I had coached probably the three most talented players of their generation,’’ he laughed. “It’s funny. They are different but they also have a lot of things in common. They have so much talent that they all tend towards laziness. Because tennis comes so naturally to them. “With Marat it’s mainly about getting him motivated. But he sometimes finds it hard to have fun on court and tends to get bored. Then he simply doesn’t’ feel like playing.’’ Safin, who reached world number one as a 20-year-old in 2000 after winning the U.S. Open — faces Argentine Agustin Calleri in the French first round on Tuesday.
“The first round will be tough but I think he can do really well at this tournament,’’ he said. “If he plays to his potential, he’ll go far. Calleri certainly isn’t an easy customer but he has been injured for a while and isn’t fully fit. It’s up to us to make the most of that.’’
— Reuters |
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Ponting guides Aussies to easy win
Harare, May 25 In reply to Zimbabwe's hardy 205 for nine wickets in 50 overs, Australia had little trouble surpassing that at 207-3 with 10.2 overs to spare.
Ponting's nearly faultless innings put him in sight of his 16th one-day century, until a great one-handed catch by Vusi Sibanda dismissed the Aussie skipper in the 36th over. He lasted 93 balls, and stroked three sixes and eight boundaries. It was his third score in the 90s, his 41st ODI half century in his 199th match, and his fifth 50 in five matches, after lashing four successive half-centuries against Sri Lanka in February. He came to the wicket after Matthew Hayden was out for a duck to the first ball he faced, in the second over from Tinashe Panyangara. Hayden mistimed a hook and was caught at mid-wicket. Adam Gilchrist and Ponting shared 52 for the second wicket, until Gilchrist pulled Douglas Hondo to mid-wicket, where Sibanda took another great catch at his shoelaces. Scoreboard Zimbabwe: Matsikenyeri c Gilchrist
Taylor c Ponting b Lehmann 59 Sibanda b McGrath 18 Ebrahim b Williams 8 Taibu c Ponting
Vermeulen c Ponting
Maregwede c Clarke
Nkala run out 0 Panyangara not out 14 Mupariwa run out 3 Hondo not out 0 Extras:
(b-2 lb-5 nb-2 w-4) 13 Total: (for 9 wkts, 50 overs) 205 Fall of wickets:
1-9 2-46 3-64 4-125 5-172 6-184 7-184 8-188 9-204. Bowling: Bowling: McGrath 10-1-35-1
(w-1), Gillespie 10-4-21-2, Kasprowicz 10-2-26-2 (nb-1 w-1), Williams 5-0-31-1 (w-2), Lehmann 6-0-32-1, Symonds 9-0-53-0 (nb-1). Australia: Gilchrist c Sibanda b Hondo 26 Hayden c Mupariwa b Panyangara 0 Ponting c Sibanda b Panyangara 91 Martyn not out 74 Clarke not out 5 Extras
:(lb-4 w-7) 11 Total: (3 wkts 39.4 overs) 207 Fall of wickets:
1-1 2-53 3-197 Bowling: Hondo 7-0-40-1 (w-1), Panyangara 9.4-1-48-2, Nkala 5-1-24-0 (w-4), Mupariwa 10-1-47-0 (w-1), Matsikenyeri 6-0-31-0, Sibanda 2-0-13-0 (w-1).
—Reuters.
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Anju determined to win Olympic gold
Chennai, May 25 "I am not going to compromise on winning the gold medal and am determined to hear our National Anthem being played and the tricolour flag being raised in Athens," Anju, the country's brightest medal hope in athletics, said here today. "I am now in a comfortable position to think of (winning) the gold medal in the Games. Though there are pressures, I am confident of achieving my goal since there is consistency in my jumps," the lanky Superintendent of the Chennai Customs said. The 27-year-old Anju, who set her career-best leap of 6.82 metres at Doha 10 days ago, said getting visas for various countries, where she planned to participate in a series of athletic meets, had been affecting her preparations. In fact, she said, she was still awaiting the visa to the Netherlands where she was scheduled to compete in an IAAF Grand Prix event on May 31. "I do not face any financial problems like last year but the pressure has been mounting on me in obtaining visas for different countries in Europe for competing in events before the Olympics. "My entry for the IAAF Grand Prix in Hengelo in the Netherlands slated for May 31 has been confirmed but I could not decide on it since visa is yet to be extended by the Embassy." "The Athletic Federation of India has been doing their utmost for me in this regard," Anju said. The Kerala athlete said overall she was satisfied with improvement in her performance. "Last August I was ranked eighth and I have gradually improved upon it to be fourth presently. I have been consistently reaching at least 20 centimetres more than my usual distance and even my worst jumps during training has been 6.70 metres." Anju's husband-cum-coach Bobby George said the Asian Games 2002 gold medallist was beginning to peak at the right time. "I know where she is standing right now. Anju is in her best form, strength and speed wise. She is more confident than last year." Anju, who bagged the Hero Award for Best Sportswoman of 2003, has come a long way since winning silver medal at SAF Games in Kathmandu in 1999. —PTI
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Sitarist to tune India’s Olympic medal hopes
New Delhi, May 25 Mazumdar will play alongside famous composer Phillip Glass and his group of musicians twice in Athens — on June 3 and 4. “I am very happy to perform for Olympics. It’s a big event,” said a nervous looking Mazumdar, who was handpicked by his guru after his daughter Anoushka, who was originally scheduled to play, pulled out. The performance of Mazumdar and Glass will be part of an Olympic cultural extravaganza titled ‘Orion’ in which famous musicians from around the world will take part. Ravi Shankar, according to Mazumdar, is thrilled that his composition is going to be played at Athens. “He played the composition to me and he was very happy,” Mazumdar told reporters on the eve of his departure for Athens to join Glass and his group. High profile performance is nothing new to the young sitarist, who has performed at the nearby Vatican and the Royal Albert Hall in London. The fast-paced piece in raag Nat Bhairavi in a rhythmic cycle of nine beats is said to be an intricate composition and haunting. Wish Mazumdar’s melody would inspire the medal-starved Indian contingent emerge faster, stronger and higher. — UNI
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Indian shooters to train abroad
New Delhi, May 25 “We are trying to finalise an off-shore venue. It would most probably be Kuala Lumpur, which has similar windy conditions as Athens,” Thomas told PTI. He said the shooting range in the Malaysian capital would present the ideal challenge to the Indian shooters, eight of whom have bagged quota places to compete in Athens Games. “It (the decision to train abroad) has also been taken to shield the shooters from the media glare as it is likely to distract them,” he said. The national coach said the shooters would train abroad for two weeks from the beginning of July after which they would straightaway proceed to Athens. However, rifle shooter Abhinav Bindra is expected to continue with his training in the USA before arriving in Athens. Next up for the Athens-bound rifle shooters, now to training in Bangalore, is the World Cup in Milan from June 14 to 21. Only five shooters — Abhinav Bindra, Anjali, Deepali
Deshpande, Suma Shirur and Gagan Narang — would be sent to Milan to help them finetune for the Olympic Games, he said. Thomas also said that among these five shooters, Suma and Gagan, had plans to undergo specialised training in Hungary. The Dronacharya award-winning coach was not ready to predict whether Indians would win any medal in Athens but was satisfied with the progress made by his wards. “At Sydney we had only one quota place for Anwar Sultan before the International Shooting Sport Federation granted wild cards to Anjali and Abhinav. This time we bagged eight berths,” he said pointing out the progress made by his shooters. The other three who have qualified for Olympics are Major Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, Manavjit Singh Sandhu and Mansher Singh. Thomas also urged critics not to read too much into the performances of Indian shooters in the recent World Cups, including the one in Athens, held as a test event at the Olympics shooting range. — PTI |
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Talent-packed Italy among Euro favourites again
Milan, May 25 Three games into the qualification campaign, Italy looked more likely to be heading for the playoffs than taking the direct route to the finals as group winners. They made a poor start to the Group Nine campaign with a 1-1 home draw against Serbia and Montenegro in October 2000 followed by a shock 2-1 loss to Wales in Cardiff four days later. Both were poor performances with the Azzurri still seemingly suffering from the trauma of their World Cup let-down where they endured a shock second-round exit to co-hosts South Korea. But the return to fitness of key players, a change in tactics and an injection of fresh talent ensured that Giovanni Trapattoni’s side did eventually win their group. Injuries meant Trapattoni was unable to play his preferred attacking trio of Christian Vieri, Francesco Totti and Alessandro Del Piero. In midfield the team lacked spark and creativity and the side gave the impression of staleness and lack of confidence. Some called for a change of coach — Trapattoni responded with a change of direction. He used friendlies to rotate his squad and introduce fringe players, offering them a chance to gain experience and give him better cover for injuries in an approach dubbed ‘Club Italia’. Players such as strikers Marco Di Vaio and Bernardo Corradi emerged as the preferred back-up to Vieri and Totti and Parma defender Matteo Ferrari was given a chance to show he could replace either Fabio Cannavaro or Alessandro Nesta. The centre of midfield was radically altered with Inter Milan’s Cristiano Zanetti and Chievo’s Simone Perrotta establishing themselves as the holding duo. Trapattoni also found a replacement for the retired Paolo Maldini at left-back with Juve’s Gianluca Zambrotta converted from midfield. By the time of the return fixtures against Wales and Serbia and Montenegro, Italy had adopted an attacking approach with Vieri supported by Del Piero, Totti and another new face — Juventus’s Argentine-born winger Mauro Camoranesi. The depth of choice available to Trapattoni was illustrated by Filippo Inzaghi’s hat-trick in the 4-0 crushing of the Welsh in September which turned around the qualifying campaign. A draw in Belgrade and a 4-0 win at home to Azerbaijan in the final qualifier wrapped up what, in the end, was a relatively stress-free route to the finals. Since then Trapattoni has tried out other new faces and has also been boosted by the return to form of some of those who faded from the scene during qualification. AC Milan midfielders Andrea Pirlo and Gennaro Gattuso, who both failed to establish themselves after moving up from the under-21 side, have been outstanding this season and give Trapattoni even more options in midfield. Even in the already talent-packed forward line the emergence of Roma striker Antonio Cassano this season gives Trapattoni more possibilities in his search for an attack that can break down the continent’s best defences. Now ‘Club Italia’ must show they can do much better than the disappointment of the World Cup and for the surviving core of players from the Euro 2000 final there is the memory of that ‘golden goal’ defeat to France to extinguish. With so much talent to choose from all Trapattoni has to do is find the right mix and make sure that this time around the Italians live up to their potential. — Reuters
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London, May 25 “I know my David’s never cheated on me,” she said in the Marie Claire interview in response to allegations Beckham had affairs with his former personal assistant and a model. “I really do believe deep down that I have the most faithful husband I could hope for,” she said in the interview to be published on Thursday and reported in UK newspapers yesterday. The English football captain and Real Madrid star had already dismissed reports he slept with Rebecca Loos as ludicrous. And the Beckhams said they called in lawyers after Malaysian-born Sarah Marbeck also said she had an affair with him. Far from wanting to play away, Victoria, still known as Posh Spice to fans of the 1990s girl band the Spice Girls, said Beckham would love to be a house-husband if he wasn’t the world’s most famous footballer. She poked fun at press reports which had said Loos enjoyed watching pornography, saying “We got into bed the other night and he put on the TV,” Victoria Beckham said. “And what’s he watching? Ground Force. I said to him, ‘But I heard you’re really into porn!’ But he just loves Ground Force and Ready Steady Cook.” The Beckhams announced last week that Victoria and their two children would move to Spain to be with David, who left Manchester United to play for Real Madrid for 35 million euros ($42 million) last year. She denied speculation she had stayed with David to make money from the ‘Beckham brand’. “I couldn’t live a lie and it would be unfair on our children,” she told the magazine. “We are working on things together, but it is absolutely not a business arrangement.” — Reuters
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New-look team for soccer qualifier Margao, May 25 Defender Debjit Ghosh and Abhishek Yadav, who are injured, have not been included in the team, while Samir Naik who missed the last match against Oman which India lost 1-5, is back in the side after having recovered from an injury. Ranvir Singh, a US-based Non-Resident Indian who was in the Indian camp, is the second player besides Ebbie who could not make it to the Indian side. “Ranvir, who joined the Indian camp four days back, was in top shape and showed lot of promise, but could not find a berth as other players that we have are better than him,” Constantine said. Ranvir was willing to stay in India this season and also ready to play for any of the Indian clubs. “Probably, if he shows good improvement he may find a place in the Indian team for the next two remaining matches,” the coach added. The Indian team will play two practice matches against Indonesia on May 30 and June 3 at Indonesia before embarking for Japan. The 1-5 defeat at the hands of Oman at home still haunts Constantine who said, “it is the worst performance of our team since I took over two years back. This match is a good opportunity for our players to make amends for the poor performance. The coach was confident that India could beat Japan. “Japan, who are ranked much higher than us, are a strong side but not unbeatable. If we play to our potential we can upset them,” Constantine said. Team: Goalkeepers: Sangram Mukerjee (East Bengal), Pransanta Dora (Mohun Bagan). Defenders: Mahesh Gawli (East Bengal), Habibour Rahman (TFA), Selwyn Fernandes (Vasco), Deepak Mondal (East Bengal), Debrata Roy (TFA), Satish Bharti (Mohd. Sporting). Midfielders: Renedy Singh (Mohun Bagan), Climax Lawrence (Salgaocar), Samir Naik (Dempo), S Chakraborthy (East Bengal), Jo Paul Anchery (JCT), Jatin Bist (Salgaocar), Gourmangi Singh (TFA), and S Venakatesh (Mahindra United). Forwards: Bhaichung Bhutia (East Bengal), Ashim Biswas (Mohun Bagan), R C Prakash (Dempo), Bijen Singh (East Bengal). — PTI
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Jones’ new evidence in BALCO case
Los Angeles, May 25 “The USADA will add the information learned from Jones to our other evidence as we continue to collect facts related to BALCO materials received from the Senate Commerce Committee,” said Travis Tygart, United States Anti-Doping Agency’s (USADA) director of legal affairs. Two-time world champion Jones also claimed victory yesterday, saying the USADA’s statement that it had no drug samples for her, backed up her view that they have no compelling evidence. “I asked for my old samples to be re-tested for the very simple reason that I know I am drug-free. I know any re-test of old samples would show that,” Jones said. “We have learned that the USADA has no knowledge of any past samples from which to re-test.” Following a three-hour meeting in Colorado Springs with Jones and her lawyer Joseph Burton, the USADA reiterated it has the right to ban athletes even without a failed drug test. —AFP
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Saheli assured of title Kozhikode, May 25 Saheli, playing white, used all her experience to overcome Kiran Monisha Mohanty (Ori) in 42 moves to take the top spot with 7.5 points. She has now been assured of the championship as she enjoys a better progressive score compared to top seed Soumya Swaminathan (VCA) and P Lakshmi Sahiti (AP) both of whom are in the second place at 6.5 points. A keen tussle is on the cards for the boys’ title with the country’s youngest IM norm holder, Negi pulling off a victory against tournament sensation Y. Sandeep (AP) to collect seven points and move to the second spot. Negi plays Keerthi tomorrow in the final round and an outright win will ensure him the title while even a draw will see Keerthi, who beat Rahul Sangma (GNCA) in 77 moves, emerging the champion.— PTI |
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DCF, Sector 16 stadium triumph in u-13 cricket Patiala, May 25 Brief scores: Karnal CC: 124 all out (Naveen Kumar 20, Sameer 19; N. Dass Gupta 4 for 11, Vaibhav Sharma 2 for 14). DEC, Delhi:
125 for 7 (Amit Thakur 34, Rohan 16, Gagandeep Singh 15 n.o.; Naveen 2 for 24, Anshul 2 for 28). In another match played at the Army School grounds, the Sector 16 cricket stadium beat MES juniors by 281 runs. Brief scores:
Sector 16 stadium: 349 for 9 (Gurinder Singh 114, Gaurav 71, Sahib Singh 26, Shatanshu 20 n.o., Parandeep Singh 5 for 57). MES juniors:
68 all out (Antarpreet Singh 13, Vishnu 14, Bikramjit 11; Gurinder 2 for 10, Sidhanshu 3 for 24). |
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Sania enters pre-quarters