 |
|
|
Malaysia hold India
Badminton team in quarterfinals
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Paddlers maintain winning streak
Swimmers eliminated in heats
Avneet keen to win singles gold too
Tainted masseur can’t return after games
Cagers lose to Nigeria
Flintoff compared to Lord Rama!
HC vacates stay, asks Dalmiya to reply
Aussies seize the initiative
Pak-Lanka tie washed out
Bangladesh rout Kenya
Uphill task for Salgaocar against JCT
|
|
Malaysia hold India
Melbourne, March 17 For the Indians, who trailed 0-1 at half time, the goal scorer was Sandeep Singh (44th), while Muhamad Amin Rahim converted a stroke for Malaysia in the 25th minute. Indians thus earned only one point instead of three, which they should have claimed, and now have a daunting opponent in Pakistan against whom they play tomorrow. India dished out a mixture of European and Indian styles of play and concentrated more on long passes and looking to enter the circle but this did not work out against the Malaysian defenders who showed their skills in great measure. In fact, the Malaysians settled down defensive tactics during the second half in hunt of some vital points. Besides, main Indian forward Deepak Thakur, though did not find his usual exuberant form, was totally manned and rarely got out of the shackles and the forward line’s movement was also restricted. India put up a decent performance and even reached near victory at a point when Bharat Chettri showed his impatience to wield the stick after the ball passed him from a rival attacker, which warranted umpire Simon Taylor of New Zealand to show the dreaded spot. Amin beat Chettri for the vital lead. Chettri showed resilience coming up with couple of saves but paid the penalty for his technical ignorance in wielding the stick at the zero angle when Tengu Ahmad was trying to retrieve the ball. This culminated into a penalty stroke and Rahim scooped in. India earned its first penalty corner in the 31st minute and Sandeep Singh’s drag flick was well saved by Ibrahim Mohd Nasihin. In the first 25 minutes of second half, Indian dominance put Malaysia under pressure. A minute after Prabodh Tirkey put Tejbir Singh on the left and the latter’s try was saved, Rajpal’s superb effort from about 20 yards on the right hit the cross piece to the chagrin of Indian supporters and it developed into a penalty corner for India, their second in the match. Sandeep Singh sounded the board. Then on, the Malaysians adopted defensive methods while India suffered as several umpiring decisions went against them. Sandeep Singh received a yellow card for five minutes suspension by Simon Taylor for a tackle and Prabodh, a green card in the match.
— PTI, UNI |
|
Badminton team in quarterfinals
Melbourne, March 17 India’s V Diju and Jwala Gutta combined in the mixed doubles to beat Winsley Georgie Cupiden and Chantel Juliette Ah-Wan 21-8, 21-10 in the first match of the Pool D tie. National champion Anup Sridhar enjoyed an easy outing against Steve Hansley getting past him 21-8, 21-5 in the men’s singles at the Melbourne Exhibition Centre. Promising starlet Saina Nehwal then disposed of Cynthia Denise Course with a 21-3, The women’s doubles pair of Jwala Gutta and Shruti Kurien beat Cynthia and Ah-Wan 21-12, 21-14, while Rupesh Kumar and Thomas Sanave got the better of Winsley Georgia and Steve Hansley 21-7, 21-12 to complete the rout. In another Pool D match, England beat Trinidad and Tobago 5-0. India, who defeated Trinidad and Tobago 5-0 yesterday in their first tie, will now play England in the inconsequential encounter as the latter have also defeated both the nations. Two teams each from four groups will qualify for the quarterfinals.
— PTI |
|
Arun loses gold by a whisker
Melbourne, March 17 Murugesan and Vidanage lifted an equal overall weight of 271 kg but the Lankan
created history for his country, thanks to his lower body weight. Murugesan weighed 61.87 kg while Vidanage weighed 61.79 kg. Malaysia’s Abdul Rashid Roswadi Bin won the bronze with an overall lift of 261 kg (120+141). The 24-year-old Indian lifted 121 kg through snatch to be comfortably ahead of Vidanage by 3 kg after the Lankan hoisted only 118 kg. Murugesan’s maximum lift through clean and jerk was 150 kg but Vidanage courageously raised the bar to 153 kg to make up for his low scores in the opening snatch section. Vidanage, who had won the silver in the 56kg division at the 2002 Manchester games, had faced elimination after the snatch section when he
took three attempts to clear 118 kg. — PTI |
|
Pun bows out, Harpreet advances
Melbourne, March 17 Bahadur lost to local challenge Todd Alan Kidd on points in the light welterweight bout on the opening day of the event. Pun, who was the gold medallist in the Commonwealth Championships in Glasgow last year, went down 19-31 to Kidd. However, Olympian Vijender and Harpreet Singh compensated for Pun by making the second round of welterweight and heavyweight categories, respectively. Vijender got the better of Poleti Seipua of Samoa when the referee stopped the contest (RSC III) in favour of the Indian, while Harpreet got past Sean Santana of South Africa with the referee stopping the bout in the fourth round (RSCIV).
— PTI |
|
Paddlers maintain winning streak
Melbourne, March 17 Their women team-mates had to face a stiff challenge from Wales before coming through 3-1 in their Group C encounter. Soumyadeep Roy set the ball rolling with a thumping 11-6, 11-2, 11-6 win over Jason Sugrue in the Group D tie. Achanta Sharath Kamal was tested by Jonathan Cowan in the first game before the Indian prevailed 12-10 and went on to take the next two games 11-7, 11-6. National champion Subhajit Saha clinched the tie,
beating Andrew Dennison 11-8, 11-4, 11-3. In their match against Australia, Soumyadeep Roy fought back from a game down to take the first match. Roy lost the first game 8-11 before bouncing back to take the next three games 12-10, 11-7, 12-10. Sharath Kamal carved out a 11-3, 11-8, 11-9 win over Brett Clarke while Subhajit Saha downed Trevor Brown 11-5, 11-9, 11-7. Indian paddlers had yesterday defeated Kiribati as well
as Saint Vincent and Grenadines 3-0. The men’s team event features 27 nations in four groups with the top two from each group going through to the quarterfinals.
— PTI |
|
Swimmers eliminated in heats
Melbourne, March 17 Rana finished seventh in the men’s 100m breaststroke heat with a timing of 1:06.51 seconds while Tandon came sixth in the women’s 100m backstroke clocking 1:08.52 seconds. In the 50m freestyle for Elite Athletes with Disabilities (EADs), India’s Kanchanmala Pande finished sixth in her heat with a timing of 42.40 seconds. Rana, the national champion, lost to Australia’s Brenton Rickard who qualified
being sixth with the time of 1:01.28 secs. Tandon was 7.20 seconds adrift of the last qualifier Sophie Edington of Australia, who qualified in 1:01.32 secs.
— PTI |
|
Avneet keen to win singles gold too
Bathinda, March 17 Speaking to The Tribune on the phone from Melbourne, Avneet said: “It feels great to have won a gold medal for your country and being my first in the international arena it means a lot to me.” Talking about the stiff competition that she and her partner Tejaswini Sawant faced, she said they were leading by merely 10 points, but they held their nerves and notched up an impressive victory with a score of 791 points. Sounding focused, she said: “Right now we’re on our way back to Games Village and we haven’t thought of celebrating as yet, as a crucial singles event is just three days from now.” With this victory Avneet and Tejaswini have succeeded in justifying their berth in the Indian contingent, which they secured by replacing likes of Anjali Vedpathak and Sema Sherur. “I think I have lived up to people’s expectations and I’m quite happy on winning today’s event,” she added. The singles event holds immense significance for Avneet, as she is yet to win an individual medal for the country at international level. “Obviously I’m keen on leaving a mark in the singles event too and today’s win has come as a morale booster ahead of it,” she averred. Meanwhile, Avneet has also been eying a place in India’s squad for Olympics. “Soon after the singles event in Melbourne I’ll be leaving for Guangzhou in China to participate in the World Cup where I would be competing for quota berth in Olympics. The 10-day event would start from March 25,” she said. She would also take part in World Cup 2 scheduled to be held at Resende in Brazil from April 18-May 3. Her father, Mr Amritpal Singh Sidhu, said: “Her endeavour has borne fruit and she has made all of us proud. I hope to see her repeat her golden performance in the singles event on March 20.” |
|
Tainted masseur can’t return after games
Melbourne, March 17 The 35-year-old masseur, charged with one count of indecent assault and one count of unlawful assault on an Australian teenager in the Games Village, however, denied any wrongdoing and his lawyer Tom Danos told Melbourne Magistrates Court that the Indian was anxious to have the matter solved before the games end. “His great concern is that he is here only for the period of the games, or had intended to be here for the period of the games,” the lawyer said. Magistrate Paul Smith said the court would hear the case in a two-day sitting next month and extended Nabi’s bail until then. Nabi has surrendered his passport to police and he has to stay till the hearing and the Indian consulate will be aware of his movements. Though Indian Olympic Association (IOA) has suspended Nabi from the contingent and he was thrown out of the Games Village, it was decided to provide him with legal assistance.
— UNI |
|
India’s events today
BADMINTON: India v England team event 7 pm (0130 hrs IST).
BASKETBALL:
India v England women 6 pm (1230 hrs IST). BOXING: 51 kg Jitender Kumar v Nouman Karim (Pak) 1.52 pm (0822 hrs IST); 60 kg Jai Bhagwan v Len Robert Turley (Wal) night bout; 75 kg Parvinder Singh v Charles Emmanuel (Cmr). HOCKEY:
women: India v South Africa 1.30 pm (0800 hrs IST); men: India v Pakistan 3.30 pm (1000 hrs IST). SHOOTING:
Medals to be decided) Vivek Singh air pistol 10m 9 am (0330 hrs IST); Samaresh Jung air pistol 10m 11.15 am (0545 hrs IST); Sanjeev Rajput 50m rifle prone pairs 11 am (0530 hrs IST); Joydeep Karmarkar 50m rifle prone pairs 11 am (0530 hrs IST); Deepali Deshpande 50m rifle prone pairs 1 pm (0730 hrs IST); D. Lakshmi Priya 50m rifle prone pairs 1 pm (0730 hrs IST); Ronak Pandit 25m pistol pairs 1.30 pm (0800 hrs IST); Samresh Jung 25m pistol pairs 3.30 pm (1000 hrs IST). SWIMMING:
Rehan Poncha (M) 200m backstroke 11 am (0530 hrs IST); Arjun Muralidharan(M) 200m backstroke 11 am (0530 hrs IST); Prem Kumar (EAD) 50m freestyle 11.26 am (0504hrs); T.K. Subbaiah (EAD) 50m freestyle 11.26 am (0504hrs). TT:
(women) India v Mauritius 9.30 am (400 hrs IST); (men) India v Ghana 9.30 am (400 hrs IST). WEIGHTLIFTING:
(Medals to be decided) women’s 58 kg Y. Renu Bala Chanu 2 pm (0730 hrs IST); men’s 69 kg Sudhir K. Chitradurga 6.30 pm (0100 hrs IST).
— UNI |
|
Cagers lose to Nigeria
Melbourne, March 17 India were neck and neck with their African rivals in the first quarter, which the Nigerians shaded 22-21. Continuing their good work, the Indians kept the pressure on their opponents in the second quarter and went into half time only four points behind their opponents (49-45). The last two quarters, however, saw a resurgent Nigeria raise the pace of the game. The third quarter score read 31-24 in favour of the Africans. The final quarter was a disaster for the Indians as they managed only 15 points as against Nigeria’s 33. Riyazuddin was the top scorer for the Indians with 29 points.
— PTI |
|
India look to wrap up Test series
Mumbai, March 17 The hosts, upbeat after their nine-wicket win in the Mohali Test, have retained the squad but it remains to be seen whether they will go in with five specialist bowlers at the Wankhede stadium where the track was expected to assist the slow bowlers. The visitors, plagued by injury worries right through the series, will badly miss the services of the lanky Harmison who has been ruled out because of a shin injury. But Andrew Flintoff and his men, desperately looking to square the series at a ground which has not been too lucky for them, have to pull up their socks to counter the Indians who have found quite a few youngsters capable of turning the game on its head. If the Indians decide to deploy five specialist bowlers, the stylish VVS Laxman and Mohammed Kaif would be forced to warm the reserves’ bench like they did in Mohali. Leg-spinner Piyush Chawla could be sacrificed to include an extra pacer in S. Sreesanth, who has recovered from his illness which forced him to sit out the Mohali match. However, another youngster, Munaf Patel, whose seven wicket haul and his ability to reverse-swing the ball at a good pace undid the English batting at Mohali, is sure to relish the conditions where the sea breeze late in the afternoon helps to move the ball in the air. But if the Indian think-tank decides to play it safe after having taken a 1-0 lead, then the extra batsman could make it to the eleven at the cost of the fifth bowler. England will be missing five key players, including regular captain Michael Vaughan, who played important roles in the Ashes triumph against Australia at home. History, along with current form, are against the visiting team whose hopes of at least drawing the Test series, after their dreams of winning a rubber in India after more than two decades were shattered at Mohali.
— PTI |
|
Flintoff compared to Lord Rama!
London, March 17 A report in prestigious daily ‘The Times’ said though Flintoff was not, “despite superficial resemblances”, the earthly form of a God but he was the nearest England had got to Rama and was doing a pretty good job. Admitting that the comparison was not exact, it noted that Rama gave up his kingdom and his authority on a point of honour, while Flintoff has assumed authority and taken up captaincy on a point of honour. “Both willingly accepted exile: Rama 14 years in the forest, Flintoff 14 extra days in India,” it said.
— PTI |
|
|
HC vacates stay, asks Dalmiya to reply
Kolkata, March 17 A Division Bench comprising Justice Bhaskar Bhattacharya and Justice P.N. Sinha observed that the trial judge had acted illegally in granting the stay while setting aside the city civil court order of ad-interim injunction on the show-cause notice. The court also observed that there was no want of authority on the part of the BCCI to issue such show-cause to Dalmiya and
the lower court should not have granted the stay as the allegation involved a large amount of money. The Bench, however, granted seven more days to Dalmiya to respond to the February 27 show-cause notice since the former BCCI chief had approached the trial court on March eight, nine days after the show-cause was issued.
— PTI |
|
Aussies seize the initiative
Cape Town, March 17 Kallis took three for 51 to lead the SA fightback. Matthew Hayden (94) and Ricky Ponting (74) shared a partnership of 154 for the second wicket.
— Reuters
|
|
Kallis leads SA fightback
Cape Town, March 17 Fast bowler Kallis took three for 39 to send Australia to tea on 273 for six, a lead of 68. Andrew Symonds was 41 not out with Shane Warne yet to score. Australia, who resumed at 63 for one, lost their last four wickets for 80 runs and opener Matthew Hayden fell six runs short of his century.
— Reuters |
|
|
Pak-Lanka tie washed out
Colombo, March 17 The rain started just minutes after Sri Lanka had restricted Pakistan to a modest 201 for eight and the outfield was soon covered with water. Sri Lanka all-rounder Farveez Maharoof and leg spinner Kaushal Lokuarachchi shared six wickets in the Pakistan innings.
— Reuters |
|
Bangladesh rout Kenya
Bogra, March 17 Bangladesh also posted their best win, in terms of runs, when Kenya were all out for 170 in 48.1 overs. Sayed Rasel took three wickets for
31. — Reuters |
|
Uphill task for Salgaocar against JCT
Chandigarh, March 17 Rattled by the defeat at the hands of defending champions Dempo Sports Club at Panaji three days back,
Salgaocar, under the watchful eyes of coach Savio Medeira, are indeed under pressure. The Goan outfit, who won the NFL title in 1998-99 and also finished runners-up in 2002-2003, are yet to strike form this season. After finishing sixth in the previous edition of the NFL, Salgaocar could only make it to the semifinals of the Federation Cup preceded by a lacklustre showing in the Governor’s Cup. In the current league, Salgaocar have so far won only one match and have drawn three. They have tasted defeat in four encounters. The latest setback against Dempo at Panaji three days back where they lost 1-2 has added to their misery. It was on January 11 at Goa that they had trounced Air-India 3-1 in the lung opener to making an impressive start. Thereafter, their campaign went off track as they drew with East Bengal 1-1; lost to Mohammedan Sporting 0-1; drew with Fransa Pax FC 1-1; lost to Sporting Clube de Goa 0-1; lost to Mahindra United 1-2 and drew with Mohun Bagan 1-1. The team lost some promising players in the inter-club transfers like foreign recruit Bello Rasaq, the Nigerian defender now assisting Fransa, and Felix Ibrebru, who incidentally was involved in a row with the club management. Nevertheless, Salgaocar still have promising players like Fabio dos Passos and Bruno Oliveira, both from Brazil, besides Samson Singh, Asim Biswas and Prashant Jaggi. While Passos is a midfielder, Bruno Oliveira is a striker. In fact both have been among the scorers for Salgaocar in the NFL this season. While Passos scored the equaliser against East Bengal at Kolkata on January 15, Bruno scored his team’s only goal against Mahindra United at Goa on February 2. In Juje Siddi and Sangram Mukherjee, Salgaocar also have a pair of highly reliable goalkeepers. Coach Savio Medeira, who replaced Shabir Ali on January 9 this year, is likely to bolster the attack with the induction of Nigerian striker Emmanuel, who is set to be registered with the club. JCT Mills, under coach Parminder Singh, rediscovered their winning touch against Air-India in their previous home match. Brazilian striker Marcos Pereira, who scored a brace, will once again be in the limelight against the Goan team whom he himself assisted some time back. Assisting him upfront will be striker Parveen Kumar, whose opportunism holds the key to JCT’s success. However, JCT are not without problems on the eve of the crucial encounter. Regular goalkeeper Kalyan Chaubey will be out of action as he earned his second yellow card against Air-India. Also missing action will be forwards Rennedy Singh and Johnson Banner. While Rennedy is still unfit, Johnson aggravated a groin injury in the match against Air-India earlier this week. The setbacks notwithstanding, the JCT management is set to make optimum use of their bench strength. Substitute goalkeeper Karanjit Singh will replace Chaubey under the bar while the diminutive Sunil Chhetri, formerly of Mohun Bagan, is likely to fill the void left by Johnson. In the defence, stopper back Julius Akpele and wingbacks Daljit Singh and Harish Sharma will be shouldering added responsibility. On the whole, JCT appear to have the edge after their fine performance against Air-India. The kick-off is at 3.30 pm. |
|||||
UP in semis |
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Mailbag | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
.jpg)
.jpg)
Video
Goa’s Salgaocar Sports Club face another uphill task when they take on Punjab’s JCT Mills, Phagwara, in the ninth round of the 10th National Football League at Ludhiana’s Guru Nanak Stadium tomorrow.
