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Kahn standing despite blows Realising dreams on green baize Hussain calls it quits IN THE NEWS
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Kahn standing despite blows
Even hearing Arsenal's Jens Lehmann say recently that he was Germany's best goalkeeper and should be the No 1 has failed to unsettle the thick-skinned, 34-year-old Kahn. His schoolboy howler that cost Bayern Munich victory in their 1-1 draw with Real Madrid in the first leg of their Champions League first round knock-out tie was just the latest bump Kahn has had to weather during a turbulent period in his life. He has been through hard times since helping his country to reach the 2002 World Cup final with a string of superb saves, becoming the first goalkeeper to win FIFA's Golden Ball award. But the Yokohama final turned into a nightmare for him as his blunder led to the first of two Ronaldo goals in a match Brazil won 2-0. Since then he has earned a stream of unwanted publicity, notably for an ugly foul in the Bundesliga, an untimely visit to a nightclub for which he was fined by Bayern, and an affair with a barmaid. Kahn made headlines for weeks in Germany after admitting having an affair while his wife was pregnant and Lehmann was quick to knock him while he was down. ''I didn't know we were supposed to talk,'' Lehmann said when asked why he did not speak to Kahn. ''I don't have a 24-year-old girlfriend. I have a different life.'' The Germany coach said his two goalkeepers had to talk and the pair made their peace at a meeting in April. Kahn has been No 1 goalkeeper since Andreas Kopke retired after the 1998 World Cup and has had his highs and lows since then. His time with Germany might be drawing
to a close but next month gives him another chance to end up top of the
pile again. — Reuters |
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Realising dreams on green baize
He has already entered the record books by becoming the first player in 16 years to win the national title in billiards as well as snooker, a feat last performed by Geet Sethi. At one time Alok's family told him to give up the game and pay attention to the family business. Now at 35 he has their full support to devote himself to the green baize, which has helped him realise his dreams. He hopes to devote himself to the sport till the age of 50. Not content having mastered billiards and snooker, Alok is now trying his hand at pool. He is ranked No 2 in pool and hopes to annex the national crown next time to add to his other two titles. Making a clean sweep of all the national titles in the cue sports is well within the reach of this extraordinary player. Cue sports were included in the Asian Games schedule in 1998 at Bangkok, after which they have gained in popularity. Alok won the billiards silver medal at the Busan Asian Games in 2002. The same year he was honoured with the Arjuna Award. His hard work and perseverance has paid him rich dividends in a sport those popularity graph is on the ascendant. His endeavour is now to promote ties between India and Pakistan in the season of reconciliation between the two neighbours. Alok plans to host an Indo-Pak snooker tournament in Chandigarh in June. The standard of the game in both countries is fairly high, with youngsters passionately pursuing the sport. Five players from each country, besides a delegate each, will take part in the tournament. Yasin Merchant has offered to sponsor the title for the tournament. Alok hopes the tournament will draw
youngsters to the game, specially in the region, where in due course he
hopes to establish an academy. |
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Hussain calls it quits
Hussain, in his indomitable way, chose to walk away from the game when his place in the team was more than assured. The great tactician, who liked to stretch the rules to the limit, said he was making room for youngsters like Andrew Strauss. This was not the first act of renunciation from the obdurate Hussain, who refused to give opposition an inch as a captain as well as a player. He not only gave up the one-day captaincy but also his place in the team after the World Cup, making way for younger players, who would serve England better. In the same vein he walked away from Test captaincy, paving the way for Michael Vaughan to take charge, who Hussain said would be a more inspirational leader after Vaughan had produced the results in one-dayers. Hailed England's best captain after the legendary Mike Brearley, Hussain(36) captaincy will be remembered for freeing England from the bottomless mediocre mindset that had become their bane after the era of Ian Botham and the three G's (Gatting, Gower and Gooch) came to an end. He was forced to take the aid of sheer tactics to compete with other teams, thereby taking the rules to the limit and starting unnecessary controversies. With meagre resources at his disposal he was often forced to defend. In 2001, while touring India, to contain a rampaging Sachin Tendulkar, he asked Ashley Giles to bowl way outside the leg stump. It robbed the match of spectators as well as charm. Tendulkar finally got tired of not being able to play a ball for hours, charged out and got stumped for the first time in more than twelve years of international cricket. Paying tribute to Hussain after his announcement, Tendulkar, while brushing aside the controversial tactic, said his ploy was within the rules. He also called him a great tactician and one of the best captains he had played against. Hussain restored the sense of self belief that the England team had lacked for quite a while. Innumerable times he rescued his team from perilous situations, saving the best for times of distress. Hussain played 96 Tests for England, scoring 5764 runs at an average of 37.18, which is much higher than many of his illustrious predecessors. He also played in 88 one-day internationals and captained England in 45 Tests. "At 10 for 2, I have done it for
you." That was the gritty Hussain who served England for 14 years. |
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IN THE
NEWS
All of Schumacher's victories have been emphatic and he proved that his defeat at the Monaco Grand Prix was more of a fluke than anything else. His cool and calculated victory was a befitting answer to those who had harboured hopes that after the Monaco victory Renault's Jarno Trulli could mount a challenge to the champion's domination. Schumacher led from his 60th career pole position at his home ground. Team-mate Rubens Barrichello finished behind the champion while Briton Jenson Button in BAR-Honda was third. Jarno Trulli eventually finished fourth. Schumacher has been in ominous form and
seems ready to speed past all challenges before him. Continuous
victories have failed to dim his enthusiasm to finish ahead of everyone
else on the track. He has redefined the standards of Formula One and
looks set to stay the champion without having to stretch himself to the
full. — RG |
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| HOME PAGE |
Hockey win ignored When the cricket matches were being played at Karachi, Peshawar and Lahore, everybody was keen to watch the proceedings on the idiot box. Doordarshan paid millions to a sports channel for live coverage. The Indian viewers could not control themselves while celebrating the victories. Apart from slogans, they burst crackers and blew horns on the streets and roads. Although cricket did generate a feeling brotherhood between India and Pakistan, we did not see the same treatment being given to other games, particularly hockey. India won the Junior Asia Cup Hockey Tournament on April 29 defeating Pakistan at Karachi. Nobody was seen raising slogans in favour of the hockey team and no crackers were burst. And neither did politicians send congratulatory messages. Did not the hockey players add to our pride? SURJIT SINGH VIRK, Patiala II It was a proud moment when India won the Junior Asia Cup hockey title convincingly beating Pakistan in the final on their home soil 5-2. Now India are the proud winners of the men's, women's and junior Asia Cup titles. Since the Olympic Games are drawing near, it is time to build a strong hockey team comprising senior and junior players. After winning four titles, including the Asia Cup and Afro-Asian Games, the performance of India's senior team in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup and in the four-nation tournament in Australia was dismal. PRITPAL SINGH, Patiala Poor show I was distressed to know that India finished last in the four-nation hockey tournament in Sydney. The defeat was attributed to injuries to three key players. The absence of senior players like Dhanraj Pillay and Baljit Singh Dhillon perhaps was another factor which contributed towards our team’s poor showing. D.R. SHARDA, Chandigarh |
Personal
problems off the field and uncharacteristic blunders on it have opened
up chinks in Oliver Kahn's armour but the Germany captain has the mental
strength to withstand a few blows.
Alok
Kumar, from the small town of Mandi Gobindgarh in Punjab, has travelled
quite a way to make a mark in his chosen sport of billiards and snooker.
The dusty town is far from the cool environs where the two sports are
played by men dressed in impeccable formals.
Finally
Nasser Hussain confirmed what all were expecting. He decided to say
goodbye to all forms of cricket after taking England to victory over New
Zealand in the first Test at the haloed ground of Lord's.
World
Formula One champion Michael Schumacher asserted his supremacy at the
European Grand Prix leading a Ferrari one-two at the Nurburgring race
track. It was his sixth victory of the season in seven races.