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Roddick, Hewitt in second round
Drug furore overshadows Australian Open action
Paes out of Australian Open
Iqbal hits ton, Test ends in draw
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Mohali likely to host Test against Pak
Shahzad first Asian cricketer to play for Yorkshire
Anand draws with Short
India in danger of losing Commonwealth
Games
2nd Afro-Asian Games in Algeria
India sign
anti-doping declaration
Tollygunge, Mahindra win
Ritwik lifts squash crown
Prabhjot Singh
Centre of Excellence win 3 TT titles
Mankad, Rastogi bow out
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Roddick, Hewitt in second round
Melbourne, January 18 Berdych was the last man to beat Roger Federer, at the Athens Olympics in August. But Berdych had little answer to the big groundstrokes and rifling returns of Coria in their 96-minute match. Coria would next face Brazilian Ricardo Mello, a 6-3, 6-3, 7-6 (7/5) winner over Spain’s Alberto Martin. Ninth-seeded David Nalbandian won a five-set marathon 7-6 (7/1), 4-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 over David Ferrer of Spain. It was Nalbandian’s first win in four meetings with 22-year-old Ferrer. Nalbandian, a quarterfinalist at the past two Australian Opens, won when Ferrer hit a backhand return wide. In a good day for Argentinean players, Coria and Nalbandian were joined in the second round by 12th seed Guillermo Canas and Juan Ignacio Chela, seeded 25th. Canas beat Australian Chris Guccione 6-4, 6-2, 7-6 (7/4), while Chela downed another Australian, Wayne Arthurs, 6-4, 7-6 (7/4), 7-6 (7/1). Canas, playing in his seventh Australian Open, was also happy with his opening display. “I feel very comfortable on these courts,” said Canas, who would next face Spaniard Fernando Verdasco, who beat Gilles Muller of Luxembourg 6-3, 6-0, 6-4. Canas finished 2004 with a career-high ranking of 11, after having overcome a wrist injury that needed surgery the previous year. “The end of last season gave me a lot of confidence for this year,” said Canas, who won three tour titles in 2004. Chela said he was initially concerned about Arthurs’ big serve, but soon got comfortable and was able to use his passing shots to great effect. Jose Acasuso lost 3-6, 3-6, 6-3, 6-3, 7-5 to Chile’s Fernando Gonzalez, seeded 23rd. Second seed Andy Roddick won a war of attrition with Georgian Irakli Labadze to power into the second round of the Australian Open. The big-serving American wore down the 75th-ranked Labadze, winning 7-5, 6-2, 6-1 to line up a second round encounter with another power-server, Great Britain’s Greg Rusedski, on Thursday. The match was played exclusively from the backcourt as the two traded hammer forehands in the afternoon heat. Roddick gained a winning break when Labadze hit a wild forehand long to hand the opening set to the American, ending a 41-minute baseline war. Roddick broke the big Georgian left-hander’s serve in the fourth and eighth games to go two sets up when again Labadze lost concentration and overcooked a forehand. From there, for the 22-year-old American, it was plain sailing and he broke the Georgian’s serve in the second and fourth games to steam to a 5-0 lead, but Labadze delayed the inevitable when he fought off a match point and held service for 5-1. Roddick rolled through the next service game and clinched the match on his second match point when Labadze netted a tired forehand return. Lleyton Hewitt maintained his perfect record against Arnaud Clement to beat the Frenchman 6-3, 6-4, 6-1 in the opening round. The Australian world number three stretched his record over Clement to 7-0 to set up a second round meeting with American James Blake. Clement, an Australian Open finalist in 2001, lost to Hewitt in two warm-up tournaments this month and was again unable to find a way past the former world Wimbledon and US Open champion, hoping to provide the host nation with their first Australian men’s champion in 29 years. Playing in front of a packed centre court, Hewitt took control of the match from the outset. He broke Clement’s serve once in each of the first two sets and three times in the third to seal victory in less than two hours. Seventh seed Tim Henman overcame a customary lapse in concentration to beat Frenchman Cyril Saulnier 6-1, 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 in the opening round. The Briton, who had never been beyond the fourth round in Melbourne, recovered his poise after dropping the third set, easing through the fourth to set up a meeting with Romanian Victor Hanescu. Henman had to come from two sets down to beat Saulnier in the first round at the French Open last year, but under the lights on Margaret Court arena, he began in superb fashion, racing to a two-set lead in less than an hour. Saulnier took advantage of some loose play from the Briton to snatch the third set, but the 30-year-old Henman, who hit 32 winners, took the first three games of the fourth set on his way to victory. In the women’s draw, Russia’s third-seeded French Open champion Anastasia Myskina overcame Kveta peschke of the Czech Republic 6-1, 6-4. There was also a win for highly-rated Australian prospect Alicia Molik, the 10th seed, brushing aside Anabel Medina Garrigues of Spain, 6-1, 6-3. World number one Lindsay Davenport made the perfect start to her campaign with a 6-1, 6-0 win over Conchita Martinez. Davenport showed no mercy against the seasoned Spaniard as she raced to victory in just 48 minutes on the Melbourne Park centre court. Martinez, who won Wimbledon in 1994 and was an Australian Open finalist in 1998, had no answer to the American’s superior power and pace, winning just seven points in the second set of a lop-sided match. Davenport, who won the Australian Open five years ago, would play Michaela Pastikova in the second round after the Czech beat Anne Kremer of Luxembourg 6-4, 6-4. Former world number one Venus Williams stuttered to a 6-1, 7-5 victory over Greece’s Eleni Daniilidou to reach the second round. Williams stormed through the first set in just 23 minutes, but Daniilidou pushed her hard in the second before the American wrapped up victory in one hour, 17 minutes. Williams, who had not won a grand slam title since the US Open in 2001, began well, but 26 unforced errors allowed Daniilidou, the world number 40, back into the match. After being broken when serving for the match at 5-4 in the second set, Williams broke the Greek in the next game and served out to love to set up a clash with Peng Shaui of China.
— Agencies |
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Drug furore overshadows Australian Open action
Melbourne, January 18 The furore overshadowed on-court action at the Australian Open, where Andy Roddick led the charge of seeds into the men’s second round and Anastasia Myskina and Elena Dementieva skipped over their first hurdle in the women’s draw. Kuznetsova was accused by Belgian regional sports minister Claude Eerdekens of testing positive for a stimulant at a charity match in Charleroi last month. Eerdekens said the world number five had tested positive for ephedrine, a stimulant found in over-the-counter cough medicines. However, the Russian had not broken any doping regulations and would remain in the Australian Open, WTA tour chief Larry Scott said. “I think what he (Eerdekens) has done is disgraceful. I know our players will like to see an immediate apology for the damage that it has done to our sport already,” Scott said. Kuznetsova asserted her innocence on Tuesday, saying she had taken cold medicine. “I pride myself on being a clean athlete of the highest integrity and am offended by these disgraceful accusations,” Kuznetsova said. Kuznetsova’s doubles partner, Australian Alicia Molik, typified the anger felt by players. “I bought every single newspaper in the convenience store and threw them away. That is how strongly I felt about the issue,” Molik said. Kuznetsova made a confident start to the Open on Monday, brushing aside American qualifier Jessica Kirkland 6-1, 6-1. Today her Federation Cup team-mate Myskina — the French Open champion — was untroubled in beating error-prone Czech Kveta Peschke 6-1, 6-4. While angry at being implicated in the controversy, Dementieva chalked up a 6-3, 6-3 win over Ukrainian Alyona Bondarenko. Dechy, the 19th seed, beat Swiss Emmanuelle Gagliardi 6-4, 6-3. Molik, seeded 10th, kept local hopes alive when she downed Anabel Medina Garrigues 6-1, 6-3 after the Spaniard saved five match points only to surrender with a double fault. Meanwhile, Elena Dementieva and Nathalie Dechy said they were the real victims of the doping saga. Dementieva and Dechy said they were both furious that they had been implicated in the scandal. “How can you be happy when you see your face on the cover page and talking about doping,” Dechy said. “I am really upset about it and I think the Belgium government did some really bad job about this,” she said. “I think that deserve an apology from the guy. I mean, you cannot say anything like this — you cannot say some stuff like this, saying it is one of these girls. I mean, this is terrible,” she said. Eerdekens, however, refused to back down. “I will never offer an apology,” he said in a telephone interview. Dementieva had been so upset by the incident that she said she could not bring herself to discuss it with her compatriot. “You have no idea what I have been through all these days. It has been too hard on me,” he said. “The WTA is trying to handle this problem by saying there are three victims, but I see only two victims in this story — me and Nathalie Dechy, who really have nothing to do with this. “To be honest with you, I do not feel like I want to talk to Sveta (Kuznetsova) at all. I am just very upset with the way everything has happened. I do not feel like I want to talk to her, that’s it,” Dementieva said. Other leading players were also quick to show their support for the three women. Briton Greg Rusedski, who was at the centre of a doping scandal last year before being cleared of any wrongdoing, said he sympathised with the three women and blamed the Belgian official. “It should never be made public, these sort of things, until all facts are out, until there’s a tribunal, until everything goes through,” he said. “I just wish he just would have kept his mouth shut and dealt with it properly,” Rusedski said.
— Reuters |
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Paes out of Australian Open
Melbourne, January 18 Paes was not available for comment. His entry in the mixed doubles event, of which he was the defending champion with Martina Navratilova was also in doubt. Meanwhile, Bhupathi and Woodbridge were seeded third behind the pairs of Mark Knowles-Daniel Nestor of Bahamas and Canada, and Bob Bryan-Mike Bryan of the USA.
— PTI |
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Iqbal hits ton, Test ends in draw
Dhaka, January 18 Rajin Saleh finished on 56 not out while Khaled Mashud was on 28 to ensure the hosts won their first series since being granted Test status in 2000. Bangladesh won the first Test in Chittagong by 226 runs, their first Test victory in 35 matches. Only the West Indies, India and Australia have chased more than 374 runs in the fourth innings to win a Test match. Bangladesh’s slim hopes of achieving the target were dashed in the afternoon session when they lost stroke-makers Habibul Bashar (two) and Mohammad Ashraful (three) in the space of just five runs. Bangladesh batted to save, rather than win, the match as they scored just 37 runs in the two-hour morning session. Iqbal and Javed Omar were involved in a 133-run stand, Bangladesh’s only century stand for the opening wicket in 36 Test matches. Neither could step up the run-rate, required to keep pressure on Zimbabwe. Omar made 43 off 258 balls before falling to a low catch at gully while driving leg-spinner Graeme Cremer. Scoreboard Zimbabwe (first innings): 298 Bangladesh (first innings): 211 Zimbabwe (second innings): 286 Bangladesh (second innings): Omar c Taylor b Cremer 43 Iqbal c Taylor b Panyangara 121 Bashar c Masakadza Ashraful c Ebrahim b Cremer 3 Saleh not out 56 Ahmed c Taibu b Panyangara 5 Mashud not out 28 Extras: (b-13, lb-6, nb-8) 27 Total: (5 wkts, 142 overs) 285 Fall of wickets: 1-133, 2-148, 3-153, 4-196, 5-206. Bowling: Panyangara 21-10-28-3, Mpofu 22-10-29-0, Hondo 21-7-37-0, Chigumbura 19-7-31-0, Cremer 34-9-61-2, Matsikenyeri 8-0-41-0, Masakadza 10-3-11-0, Taylor 4-0-11-0, Rogers 3-0-17-0.
— Reuters, AFP |
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Mohali likely to host Test against Pak
Mumbai, January 18 In case Delhi’s Ferozeshah Kotla ground, which is under renovation, is unable to host any of the matches, Bangalore is likely to get the nod, according to sources in the BCCI. There are nine full Test centres identified by the BCCI at present and six of these hosted the Tests against Australia (Bangalore, Chennai, Nagpur and Mumbai) and South Africa (Kanpur and Kolkata) earlier this season. The complete itinerary of the tour by Pakistan is to be chalked out by the Programmes and Fixtures committee of the BCCI, headed by one of its vice-presidents, Kamal Morarka, here on January 20. The Pakistanis, who are set to arrive on February 25, are also scheduled to play five one-day internationals during their visit.
— PTI |
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Shahzad first Asian cricketer to play for Yorkshire
London, January 18 Playing against Worcestershire over the week-end, Shahzad opened the bowling from the Kirkstall Lane end and fared relatively well on a good batting wicket, going for 35 off six overs. Shahzad said: “I am chuffed to bits. It was just a great moment for me going out and playing in front of this crowd at Headingley. Now I want to keep performing and do it again.” The England under-19 player believed that his emergence would encourage other youngsters from ethnic backgrounds to push on and play for the county.
— IANS |
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Anand draws with Short
Wijk aan Zee, January 18 Anand was engaged in a Caro-Kann Advanced and there seemed no way of forcing his authority after about 10 moves. Instead of trying to find some openings in a situation where there was none, Anand and Short, the seniormost players in the tournament, decided to split the point. Anand now has one point from two draws and one loss. He is languishing in the lower half of the standings, though there is still a long way to go in the tournament. For now, Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria leads the table. After two wins he decided to take it easy today and opt for a short 19-move draw with Loek Van Wely in a Sicilian Rossolimo game. Of the three games which produced results, the in-form Peter Leko, who shocked Anand in the second round, scored his second successive win beating Peter Svidler. Leko, now willing to wait and grind it out for a win, had white pieces in a Sicilian Najdorf. Leko seems in good form at Wijk aan Zee whilst Svidler will be hoping for easier rounds ahead. Svidler lost a theoretical battle and although he fought hard, Leko’s technique was enough. Anand with black will be Svidler’s next opponent. Ruslan Ponomariov handed Ivan Sokolov a defeat in 61 moves from a Nimzo Indian game, while Alexander Morozevich went down to Alexander Grischuk in 42 moves from a Sicilian game. The remainder four games were drawn. The first of the three rest days will come after four rounds, but before that Anand meets Svidler in the fourth round.
— UNI |
India in danger of losing Commonwealth
Games
New Delhi, January 18 “We are already one year behind. We were supposed to form the committee by December 31, 2003. We have already asked for additional time to form the committee thrice and it is high time that the committee is formed,” he told reporters here today. “If this delay continues, it is going to cost us the games.” The initial deadline was first extended to March, 2004, and then June before India asked the CWG Federation to give them time till December, 2004, to form the organising committee during the federation meeting at Athens in August. However, the formation of the committee has been in jeopardy and insiders say it could be a result of the tussle between the government and the IOA on who should head it. A few months ago, Sports Minister Sunil Dutt had announced that the government had made him chairman of the organising committee to which the IOA had raised objections saying that it was their prerogative to form a committee. The IOA had also declared that its President Suresh Kalmadi would be the chairman of the organising committee during their annual general body meeting in November and had been authorised to form the committee. But no headway has been made since then and with CWG Federation President Mike Fennel due to visit the Capital on February 2 to take stock of the preparations, the IOA is under tremendous pressure to form the committee before that. Asked what was causing the delay, Randhir Singh said the IOA was waiting for the names of the three government nominees on the executive committee and that even after repeated reminders, there had been no response as yet. He said he had now asked the IOA President to go ahead and form the committee instead of waiting for the government nominees as the delay could affect India’s chances of hosting the games. “The delay may also show us in bad light in our bid for the 2014 Asian Games and 2016 Olympic Games,” he added. Randhir Singh, however, sidestepped a question on whether the issue of who should head the committee was causing the delay and said under the host city contract signed by the IOA and the government, it was clearly mentioned that the national federation had the right to form the committee. “It is not the issue of the government (support). It is just the system which is the problem. We create a hue and cry when we don’t win a medal. But then we go to sleep.”
— PTI |
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2nd Afro-Asian Games in Algeria
New Delhi, January 18 Alhadji, who is heading a three-member delegation of ANOCA to the national capital to discuss various aspects of the games, said the decision to hold the Afro-Asian Games a week after the African Games was taken so that the top athletes from the continent could participate. He said six of the eight disciplines for the games had been finalised while the remaining two would be decided in the next couple of months. “Athletics, football and swimming are compulsory disciplines while boxing is the choice of the ANOCA. The Olympic Council of Asia has asked for shooting and the host city has pitched in for handball,” Alhadji added. OCA Secretary-General Randhir Singh said many disciplines including hockey, weightlifting and tennis were under discussion for the remaining two spots but the final decision would be taken depending on the available infrastructure to save costs. The decision on the remaining two disciplines was expected to be taken at the next meeting of the Afro-Asian Games Council, which would also decide on the host city in Asia for the third edition of the games to be held in 2011, he added. — PTI |
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India sign
anti-doping declaration
New Delhi, January 18 India was the only one remaining to sign the declaration from among all governments which attended the world conference on anti-doping in sport in the Danish capital in March, 2003. The Copenhagen Declaration is a non-binding document, through which governments have signalled their acceptance of WADA and the World Anti-Doping Code and their intention to formally accept and implement the code. With the addition of India, the number of Asian countries having signed the declaration rose to 31.
— PTI |
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Tollygunge, Mahindra win
Margao, January 18 The goals for the visiting team came through ‘man of the match’ Surajit Bose in the second minute and through Dinesh Swar in the 47th minute. Churchill managed to reduce the margin in the 87th minute through substitute I.M. Vijayan, but were left to rue the missed chances. KOLKATA: City giants Mohun Bagan paid for missed chances as Mahindra United rode on a late penalty strike to finish with a 1-0 win here on Tuesday. Mahindra’s Brazilian striker Flavio Rodrigues scored the all-important goal barely two minutes before the long whistle from a spot kick to register his side’s first victory in their second match in the current edition of the tournament. —
UNI, PTI |
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Ritwik lifts squash crown
Prabhjot Singh
Chandigarh, January 18 Ritwik, India’s top seed, has won four national titles.He was runner-up at the World Doubles Championship in 2004. He is the only Indian to win a PSA title. He defeated Bader Abdel Aziz from Sweden in straight games in the final in Barcelona on Saturday night. Aziz, who had beaten second seed Dylan Bennett in the quarter finals, stayed with Bhattacharya in the first game, holding game balls at 10-7, but could not hold on to the advantage. The next two games proved to be a stroll for Ritwik, not allowing Aziz any opportunities and justifying his top seeding as he collected his third PSA tour title in a little short of half an hour. On the way to the final, Ritwik beat Lago Cornes of Spain, Julien Balbo of France and Wai Hang Wong of Hong Kong. He played his best squash in the final, especially in the second and third games. He was three game ball down in the first game and fought back to win at 12-10. He then shifted into a higher gear and outplayed his opponent. |
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Centre of Excellence win 3 TT titles
Chennai, January 18 Centre of Excellence claimed the first three finals — sub-junior girls and cadet boys and girls — without much ado while Bengal beat Tamil Nadu 3-0 for the sub-junior boys crown.
— PTI |
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Mankad, Rastogi bow out
New Delhi, January 18 The Indian committed many unforced errors at crucial moments as Istomin held on to his nerves to score a 7-6(5), 7-6(2) win in a tension-filled encounter. Another Indian, Karan Rastogi, semifinalist in the last leg of the tournament in Mumbai, also failed to cross the first round hurdle and fell by the wayside. Rastogi, who was given a wild
card, lost to Uzbekistan’s Murad Inoyatov 2-6, 6-4, 4-6.
— UNI |
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