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Double blow for India
Saina goes down in qualifiers
Nadal streak sparks mixed emotions
Hingis coasts into second round
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Dhoni, Pathan slip in ICC’s ODI rankings
Boje is innocent: Bacher
Spinners hold the key in Test series: Ambrose
Punjab, Haryana lads in quarters
Men beat Bulgaria
Stadium XI, SCA register wins
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Double blow for India
Paris, May 30 Russian 10th seed Anastasia Myskina, 2004 champion and world number 12, proved to be too good for the 19-year old Indian while coming through 6-4, 6-1 at Suzanne Lenglen court. Sania matched her 24-year old opponent shot for shot initially, breaking her twice in the first set, but could not hold on to the advantage on both the occasions. The Hyderabadi lass also had two more breakpoints but Myskina skillfully wriggled out of the tight situations. The crucial moment came in the 10th game when a little piece of fortune swung the momentum in the Russian’s favour. A backhand retrieve on return of serve from Myskina clipped the net and fell on the vacant part of Sania’s court. That paved the way for a double breakpoint to the former champion and she converted it with a backhand down the line winner. Myskina, the first Russian woman to win a Grand Slam, was on a roll in the second set. After Sania held serve in the first game, Myskina won five games in a row, breaking the Indian in the fourth and sixth games, to cruise to victory. What undermined Sania were her 37 unforced errors, compared to 25 by Myskina. The latter also led on total points won, 64-41. Sania paired
with Husarova in doubles
Sania Mirza has paired with 31-year-old Janette Husarova of Slovakia in the women’s doubles at French Open Grand Slam tennis here. The 19-year old Indian and Janette, formerly world No. 3 and currently ranked 100 in doubles on the WTA Tour, will take on Catalina Castano of Colombia and Spaniard C Martinez Granados in the opening round.
— PTI
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Saina goes down in qualifiers
New Delhi, May 30 The 16-year-old Saina went down fighting 17-21, 21-23 in her second qualifying match to Yuan Kartika of Indonesia. The 86-ranked Saina, who had to go through qualifiers for the $ 250,000 tournament, got a walkover in the first qualifying match against Fiona Mckee of Canada before going down in the second round match. The rising star, however, could make a strong comeback and prove her win was not a flash in the pan as she has another two tournaments, Singapore Open and Malaysian Open, in the Asian circuit lined up in the following weeks. Heartbreak was also in store for other Indian girls, none of who could pass the qualifying hurdle. Teenager Sayali Gokhale, who also created a sensation by dumping seasoned Anna Rice of England in the first round of Philippines Open, lost to Aprilia Yuswandari of Indoensia 18-21, 21-17, 21-18. Ruth Misa gave a fight before losing 15-21, 8-21, 18-21 to Weny Rahmawati of France. Aditi Mutatkar went down 10-21, 10-21 to Li Chen of China while Cheda Kadambari gave up 18-21, 11-21 to Melica Kurniawan. Jwala Gutta won the first qualifying match 21-9, 19-21, 21-9 against Chirtina Rhany Sanusi but lost the next round 13-21, 16-21 to Atu Rosalina of Indonesia. In the men’s singles, Rohan Castelino cleared one qualifying match beating Holvy De 21-10, 21-12 and would take on Agus Budhi for a berth in the main draw. Another Indian in the fray, J. Vidyadhar won the first two matches against Ferdinand Satrio and Aditya Arifin of Indoenesia and will fight it out with Andrea Adityawarman in the final qualyfying match. India’s top shuttler Chetan Anand, national Champion Anup Sridhar, Arvind Bhat, Anand Pawar, P Kashyap have got a direct entry to the main draw.
— PTI
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Nadal streak sparks mixed emotions
Paris, May 30 While fellow players expressed their admiration for the French Open champion, the man whose record he beat believes the achievements of the past are being quickly forgotten. Guillermo Vilas, who went 53 matches unbeaten on clay in 1977, reminded people that he still holds the record for an unbeaten streak on all surfaces and for the most tournaments won in a year. The Argentinian even appeared at a hastily-convened French Open press conference yesterday just minutes after Nadal had set the new mark with his first round 6-2, 7-5, 6-1 win over Robin
Soderling. “I have three records,” said Vilas, who presented a specially commissioned trophy to the 19-year-old to mark his success. “I found out the clay court record thanks to Rafael. They never gave me a trophy or anything like that. The other record is 46 without losing. He lost in Key Biscayne and places like that but he never lost on clay. “Then there is the 14 tournaments in one year. I hope he’s not going to break those.” Nadal hasn’t been beaten on clay since losing to Russia’s Igor Andreev in Valencia in April, 2005.
— AFP
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Hingis coasts into second round
Paris, May 30 Playing in her first French Open since her semifinal loss in 2001, the Swiss player eased past US veteran Lisa Raymond, 6-2, 6-2 in 54 minutes. The 25-year-old looked at ease on a chilly Philippe Chatrier court where she finished runner-up in 1997 and 1999, easily outclassing her 32-year-old opponent for the seventh time in their eight meetings. Hingis next meets Czech Zuzana Ondraskova for a place in the third round. In other matches, Justine Henin-Hardenne opened the defence of her French Open crown with a 6-3, 6-0 thrashing of Estonian Maret Ani to reach the second round at Roland Garros. Third seed Nadia Petrova suffered a shock defeat in the first round today, beaten 2-6, 2-6 by Akiko Morigami of Japan. Fourth seed Ivan Ljubicic of Croatia reached the second round with a commanding 6-2, 6-0, 6-3 win over Argentine Carlos Berlocq today. He will meet qualifier Oscar Hernandez of Spain next. Frenchman Gael Monfils won the battle of the 19-year-olds, outlasting an injury-hit Andy Murray 6-4 6-7 1-6 6-2 6-1 to reach the second round. — Agencies
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Dhoni, Pathan slip in ICC’s ODI rankings
Dubai, May 30 Dhoni began the series in second place in the rankings for ODI batsmen, within touching distance of the top spot, which he held briefly last month before Adam Gilchrist of Australia overtook him. However, a return of only 95 runs from five innings has seen Dhoni drop two places to fourth and he now trails not only Gilchrist but also the West Indies’ Ramnaresh Sarwan, up nine spots to second position, and Australia captain Ricky Ponting, currently in third place. Like Dhoni, Pathan has endured a series to forget. The left arm seamer started the tour in second place in the bowling list, but six wickets in four matches has seen him slide to seventh, although there are relatively few rating points between many of the players in that top group. With the bat, Pathan is down 10 spots to 57th place while, in the rankings for ODI all-rounders, he has slid two spots and now finds himself in fifth position. Captain Dravid has dropped out of the batting top 10, down three places to 12th, but it is not all doom and gloom for India in the player ratings. Virender Sehwag’s excellent form has seen him move into the top 20, up six places to 18th, Yuvraj Singh remains in 10th place and Mohammad Kaif is up eight spots to 46. Ajit Agarkar has jumped back into the top 20 bowlers, rising eight places to 13th while Harbhajan Singh is also in that top 20, down one spot in joint 11th, alongside South Africa’s Makhaya Ntini.
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Boje is innocent: Bacher
Mumbai, May 30 Bacher, the man behind the successful conduct of the 2003 World Cup in South Africa, also said the scandal that blighted cricket’s good name six years ago, was the biggest crisis to have affected the game in its long history and he was happy the game had come out of it. Bacher, who is in India as consultant for South Africa-based electronics display firm Stellavista and is negotiating with Indian centres organising the matches in the ICC Champions Trophy to sell giant TV display screens and giant scoreboards, also came out in support of having a players’ representative in cricket administration. Asked specifically about Herschelle Gibbs, who served out a one-year ban for match-fixing related activities, and Boje, Bacher said the latter had no part in the scandal. “Nicky Boje was innocent. I know that for a fact. When it (the scandal) all broke, Herschelle Gibbs’ body language was not good. Boje was fine. I can read people. He was innocent,” said Bacher in an exclusive interview to PTI. Both Boje and Gibbs were named in the conversation, taped by Delhi Police, between Cronje and some Indian bookmakers and have been since wanted by the police for questioning. They have refused to revisit India after 2000, when the scandal broke, fearing arrest. “They (Boje and Gibbs) would have been tense coming back to India. Maybe the (South African) government should have got involved to stop it (possible arrest by Indian police) and allowed them to come here,” Bacher, to whom Cronje confessed, said. There is still a question mark whether the duo would visit India with the South African squad for the Champions Trophy event in October-November unless given an undertaking by the Indian authorities that they would not be arrested or questioned.
— PTI
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Spinners hold the key in Test series: Ambrose
St John’s (Antigua), May 30 “The pitches in the Caribbean no longer find faster men licking their lips in anticipation. Instead, I expect spinners to play a big role in the forthcoming Test series,” says the bowler who himself was a menace for batsmen around the world before hanging up his boots after claiming 405 wickets in 98 Tests at an average of 20.99. Ambrose, described by former Australian captain Steve Waugh as the “meanest and most perfect fast bowling machine of his time”, looks at the West Indies team and puts his finger on a few areas of concern. “Somebody like Fidel Edwards is not bad. He has the potential. But he doesn’t have anyone senior helping him through. He has to find his way through trial and error. I was lucky in this regard that I had the likes of Courtney Walsh and Malcolm Marshall sharing their experience with me,” the Antiguan said. Ambrose, who was known for his stifling accuracy, in particular, chose one of the many nuggets, which peerless Marshall passed on to him while he was coming along. “I remember an advice in particular from Marshall. He told me, “maan, watch your figures. If you take care of your figures, you would be alright.” “It was a significant message. I realised the more you could dry up the runs, the better chances you stood in getting a batsman out,” Ambrose said. Ambrose took the message to his heart. He says he never liked the tribe of batsmen anyway and hated conceding even an inch to them. “I didn’t like them anyway. A few of them were worthy but I wouldn’t take their names now and make them feel happy. I hated conceding runs.” But one name slips through his closed chambers and it happens to be Sachin Tendulkar. He was only 17-and-a-half when I watched his hundred in England in 1990 in the Manchester Test. I then said to myself, ‘Only 17, hmmm’, the great bowler said. He has little hesitation in describing Tendulkar as one of the greatest batsman to have ever graced the game. “He is not over. He is just 33. He would recover from his injuries. He is still one of your best guys. You would surely miss him in the Test series.” Not only was Ambrose miserly, he was hostile too. He didn’t like interacting with opposition and revolted at the sight of news reporters. “I didn’t like to be friendly with rivals. I wanted them to feel the heat. And I didn’t like reporters because you people think you know everything,” he said. No wonder Ambrose is arguably the least interviewed of all cricketing legends. The world hasn’t heard his side of the story when he stood towering over Steve Waugh at the striker’s end in the 1995 home series, like a volcano about to erupt, when his captain Richie Richardson yanked him away. That photograph remains one of the most memorable in the history of the game. “Yes, I could have hit him. It was that close,” Ambrose said. Waugh himself has acknowledged in his autobiography that he feared a physical pounding from the mean fast bowler after he twice uttered a four-letter word in his frustration following his inability to hit anything in the middle of his bat. Ambrose is able to talk about it today because cricket is now out of his system. “Cricket gave me an identity but it wasn’t my first love. I did it as a job, for me basketball and music were my true passions. I started the game very late, at around 21 years, and didn’t enjoy the day-to-day discipline. I packed up when my body told me to do so. I felt happy to be out of it,” Ambrose said. It’s impossible to believe that one of the greatest fast bowler in the history of the game never cherished being on the field and that his undeniable quality was because of natural talent and not due to hours of honing his skills. Even though Ambrose no longer has time for the game, he picks the 1992-93 tour to Australia as his most cherished one when they overcame a 1-0 deficit to emerge 2-1 victors. “It was remarkable for we were a largely young team.Except for Courtney (Walsh), Dessie Haynes, Richie Richardson and me, all other guys were young.” It was a momentous series not only for him, but for cricket in general as a certain Brian Charles Lara first served notice of his talent with a majestic 277 in the Sydney Test. The scary fast bowler of yesteryears today is happy spending hours sitting by the shores of Antigua and catching fish. He can spend 6-8 hours by the seashore, angling for fish. He is heavily into promoting his music band by the name of ‘Dread and Bald Head’ and strums guitars in the company of his former captain Richie Richardson.
— PTI
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Punjab, Haryana lads in quarters
Ludhiana, May 30 On the fourth day, reigning champions, Chhattisgarh thrashed Uttaranchal 71-27 to emerge on the top of group A. Uttranchal lads seemed pale shadow of themselves as Chhattisgarh cagers went on a spree. For the current champions, Kiran Pal and Murali added 17 and 16 points, respectively, while Pratham contributed nine points. Wasim and Maninder, who chipped in with nine and six points, respectively, spearheaded Uttranchal’s fight. In a group B encounter, hosts Punjab romped home victorious without being challenged by their opponents Goa. Punjab won the verdict 87-23 with Gurjeet and Sukhjeet Singh contributing 20 and 13 points while Dilawar Singh netted 12 points. The group D match played between Haryana and Karnataka turned out to be an absorbing affair with the former managing to clinch the issue with one point margin (80-79). The winners were trailing by seven points (36-43) at half time. Earlier in the girls section, Punjab skipper Kiranjit Kaur lead from front netting 16 points to enable her team to score an authentic win over Orissa (80-28). Sarabjit and Manda too played well scoring 19 and 17 points, respectively. Other results: boys — Chhattisgarh beat Chandigarh 102-70; Uttaranchal beat West Bengal 63-45; Jharkhand beat Mizoram 70-43; Chandigarh beat West Bengal 70-47; Madhya Pradesh beat Andhra Pradesh 96-95 and Manipur beat Himachal Pradesh 71-57. Girls — Orissa beat West Bengal 61-55; Chhattisgarh beat Gujarat 107-44; Himachal Pradesh beat Uttaranchal 47-29; Kerala beat Uttar Pradesh 71-58; Tamil Nadu beat Jamamu and Kashmir 50-10 and Maharashtra beat Pondicherry 77-13.
— OSR
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Men beat Bulgaria
Turin, May 30 While Viswanathan Anand played out his fifth draw on the trot, settling for peace this time with former world junior champion Kiril Georgiev, National Champion Surya Shekhar Ganguly suffered a defeat at the hands of Alexander Delchev. India were saved the blushes, however, by a late onslaught by Krishnan Sasikiran and Sandipan Chanda, who beat Ivan Cheparinov and Vasil Spasov respectively to ensure victory over Bulgaria. Eves lose to Armenia
Indian mainstay Koneru Humpy had a rare off day as India suffered defeat for the second successive day, going down 1-2 against Armenia in the Women's Chess Olympiad here. Humpy fumbled against Lilit Mkrtchian to encounter her first defeat in the event and Woman Grandmaster D Harika also had a similar fate in store. The saving grace was National Women champion and WGM Swati Ghate who won an engrossing battle to thwart a whitewash.
Stadium XI, SCA register wins Patiala, May 30 Brief scores: Stadium XI: 118 all out (Shahrukh 22, Shyam Sundar 20, Ravi 19, Amit 16, Udit 3 for 28, Rishab 2 for 14, Varinder 1 for 5). Kanpur Nursery: 82 all out (Rishab 15, Yash 3 for 12, Amit 2 for 9, Ravi 1 for 17). In another match, SCA, Haryana, beat YPS, Patiala, by 65 runs. Scores: SCA: 206 for 8 (Jatin Maan 50, Ashok Patwal 26, Rajiv Hans 21 n.o, Karan Dagar 19, Gurkaran Singh 2 for 40). YPS: 141 all out (Rajeshwar 30, Ayush Kumar 22, Karan Sidhu 19, Paramvir 2 for 24, Jatin Maan 1 for 4, Roshan 1 for 10, Karan Dagar 1 for 15).
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