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Hair under fire
Inzamam’s hearing put
off again
BCCI sympathises with Pakistan
Cricket eves lose series 0-4
India cross 100-gold mark
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Anthem gaffe upsets teams
Chopra, Atwal make the cut
Sania bows out
RCF beat PSEB, finish fifth
Cueists enter final
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Hair under fire
London, August 26 Amidst suggestions that the burly Australian should be charged by the ICC, Dickie Bird, arguably the greatest umpire and former England captain Michael Atherton thought that Hair’s time as a Test umpire was over. Bird, who retired a few years ago, said he was “absolutely shocked and stunned” about the happenings since Hair accused Pakistan of ball tampering and awarded the fourth Test match to England at The Oval last Sunday. Subsequently, Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq was charged with ball tampering and bringing the game into disrepute for which he will face an ICC disciplinary hearing on September 15. Bird said “there have been controversies going back through the history of cricket and the closest would be ‘Bodyline’ in 1933 - but never anything like this.” Bird and some other commentators thought that the charges against Pakistan might be dropped after the ICC has disclosed Hair’s offer to stand down as a Test official if he was paid the whopping amount. Atherton said it was “extraordinary” that Hair had not been charged with any offence by the ICC. “It seems extraordinary when you consider that Inzamam-ul-Haq has been charged on two counts — one of ball tampering, for which nobody can find any evidence, and secondly for bringing the game into disrepute on the back of the first charge,” the former England captain told Sky Sports. “So poor old Inzamam finds himself under two charges, but Darrell Hair, after these extraordinary letters (which carried the $ 500,000 offer), finds himself under no charge whatsoever.” Geoffrey Boycott, another former England captain, wrote in his column in the Daily Telegraph that “Hair has lost his credibility” and his demand showed he was only interested in money. “What Hair has just done is make himself a laughing stock. It weakens his case considerably because it smacks of somebody just interested in money. “It’s amazing to think that on Sunday night he was blocking a restart in the Test match on a point of principle, and then 36 hours later he was sending this letter asking for $ 500,000. I’m sorry, but to me, that’s just a joke,” Boycott wrote. “It is clear to me that Hair was acting beyond the bounds of his office. Being an umpire is a people’s job: that’s why Dickie Bird was good at it. Yes, he was a loony, and he made mistakes - everyone does. But he knew how to deal with people, so they respected him.” Writing in the same paper, former Test cricketer Derek Pringle said Hair’s offer to quit in return for $ 500,000 was “essentially a blackmail note to his employers, the International Cricket Council” and “that makes his position as an umpire untenable”. In India, Hair’s offer to quit in return of money was widely condemned by the umpiring fraternity with Piloo Reporter and Dara Dotiwala describing it as “blackmail” and “like putting a gun on the ICC. “He should have shown more tolerance and flexibility and not allowed things to degenerate to such a level that led to the first ever forfeiture in Test cricket,” Reporter said in Mumbai. Dotiwala said “It was fine if he wanted to step down from the panel but I don’t think it was fair on Hair’s part to demand money for doing so.”
— PTI
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Inzamam’s hearing put
off again
London, August 26 International Cricket Council (ICC) chief executive Malcolm Speed said today that earlier reports had falsely suggested a hearing was set for September 15. Inzamam’s case was initially to be heard Friday. But after consultation with the legal team assembled by Pakistan for the inquiry into Inzamam’s behaviour in the abandoned fourth Test at The Oval last weekend, both parties have agreed to a further delay. It was put back when it transpired chief referee Ranjan Madugalle was unavailable to chair the hearing because of a family problem, and Speed explained why Inzamam must now wait even longer than had been anticipated. “When we met with the lawyers for the (Pakistan Cricket Board) PCB yesterday, which was a very amicable meeting, we suggested that the hearing happen on the 14th and 15th, bearing in mind that the one-day series finishes the previous Sunday,” Speed said. “That date did not suit them for one reason or another and they asked for it to be put back. We are looking now for a date that suits the key participants so at this stage we are looking at the last week in September.”
— AFP
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BCCI sympathises with Pakistan
Kolkata, August 26 “We have sympathy for Pakistan,” board Secretary Niranjan Shah told reporters here. Shah, however, said, “We will have to see the full material and documents that will be placed before the ICC Executive Committee meeting in Dubai on September 2 before deciding our stand on the issue.” “It is not a question of whether to support Pakistan or not. It is a question of the game of cricket,” he added. He stated that I.S. Bindra would represent the BCCI at the ICC Executive Committee meeting. Asked whether former BCCI President Jagmohan Dalmiya’s opinion would be sought in the matter as he was involved in the controversy over Sachin Tendulkar’s alleged ball-tampering in South Africa, the Secretary said, “there is no question of our getting involved.” Shah, who was in the city to provide documents to Dalmiya as per a court order in connection with the PILCOM accounts, said it was a series involving Pakistan and England, not India.
— PTI
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Cricket eves lose series 0-4
London, August 26 In the final one-dayer played at Rose Bowl yesterday, Anjum Chopra, the highest scorer for the side in the last match, was the only one to make a decent score (44). Only two other Indians — skipper Mithali Raj (12) and Amita Sharma (20) — managed to reach the double
figures. Isa Guha picked up three wickets while Jenny Gunn, Holly Colvin and Beth Morgan claimed two wickets each for England. The hosts achieved the target easily in 37.5 overs losing three wickets. Laura Newton (41) top-scored for the home side. Claire Taylor (35) and Charlotee Edwards (29) made useful contributions to guide England home.
— PTI
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India cross 100-gold mark
Colombo, August 26 Pinki, one of the five Indians to find a place in the Asian team for next month’s World Cup Athletics Championship in Athens, had won the 400m gold last night. The Railway runner, a pre-tournament favourite after winning the Asian Grand Prix legs in Bangkok, Bangalore and Pune, clocked 2:03.81 to finish first ahead of fellow Indian S Shanthi (2:04.77) and Pakistani Bushra Parveen (2:08.04). India’s Francis Sagairaj won the men’s 800m final, clocking 1:50.23. Archers score bullseye
Indian archers maintained their hegemony, picking up both the men’s and women’s team recurve gold medals at the Colombo Gymkhana Club here today. Earlier, Dola Banerjee and Jayanta Talukdar had won the individual recurve gold in two all-Indian finals yesterday. In the team event, the men’s team, consisting of Jayanta Talukdar, Tarundeep Rai, Rahul Bannerjee and N Ravinder, beat Sri Lanka 212-201 in the semifinal to storm into the summit clash with Bhutan. Here too, the Indians proved head and shoulders above their rivals and beat their opponents from Bhutan 220-196 with consummate ease to bag the gold. Bangladesh got bronze in the event. The women’s team event also proved a lop-sided affair with the Indian squad, comprising Dola Bannerjee, Reena Kumari, Laxmi Rani Majhi and Sushma, thrashing Bangladesh 200-163 in the semifinal before taking on Bhutan in the final. Again, the archers from Bhutan proved no match for their illustrious Indian counterparts who won the final 211-192. Pak outgun India in shooting
Regional shooting powerhouse India were upset by Pakistan who took both the individual and team honours in 25m standard pistol men’s event here today. MM Tabassum fired a total of 562 (188+185+189) to pip India’s C K Chaudhary, who managed 556 (190+187+179). Veteran shooter Ashok Pandit finished with the bronze after shooting one point less than Chaudhary. The former Asian Games and Commonwealth medallist shot a series of 193, 187 and 175 at the Shooting Range of Sri Lanka Navy base at Welisara. Tabassum (562) helped Pakistan win the gold in the team event of the same shooting category along with Mustaqeem Shan (550) and Irshad Ali (548). The Indian team of Chaudhary (556), Pandit (555) and Kanchan Gurung (543) picked up the silver with an effort of 1654. India made up for their disappointment somewhat in the men’s 50m rifle 3 position when Imran Khan and Manoj Kumar won the individual gold and silver medals, respectively, before teaming up with Sushil Ghaley to pick up the team gold as well. With the shooting events concluding today, India, who had fielded their second-choice shooters, finished with a haul of 18 gold, 10 silver and five bronze medals. Judokas clinch five gold
Indian judokas bagged five of the six gold medals on offer in the discipline here today. Pakistan could lay their hand on the only remaining gold, with Akhtar Saeed winning in the 81 kg weight category. Fetching India gold medals were Anil Kumar (90 kg) and Solanki Yashpal (100 kg) in the men’s section and Chongtham Ch Jina (70 kg), L Brojeshori Devi (57 kg) and Garima Chaudhary (63 kg) in the women’s category. Medal eludes football team
Silver medallists in the last edition of the games in Islamabad, the Indian football team ended up outside the medal bracket this time after they were handed a 0-2 defeat by Nepal in the third-place play-off. For Nepal, Jumanu Rai opened the account in the third minute, while Pradeep Maharjan completed the tally with a 17th minute strike. India had drawn 1-1 with the same side in their Pool A match earlier. Meanwhile, India got the better of Pakistan in men’s volleyball to make it to the final against Sri Lanka. The Indian spikers won 25-18, 25-16, 25-16. India also beat Pakistan in the semifinal of men’s kabaddi. They will meet Sri Lanka in the final.
— UNI, PTI
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Anthem gaffe upsets teams
Colombo, August 26 Before the start of India’s football semifinal against Sri Lanka on Thursday, the Indian National Anthem could not be played, which was later blamed to a “technical sang”. The Indian footballers, queued up for the anthem, were visibly annoyed by the gaffe. Surprisingly, there were no such glitches when the Sri Lankan anthem was played. Also at the receiving end of an anthem goof-up was the Nepalese team. The organisers played the old Nepalese national anthem
(Sriman Gambhir Nepali...) instead of the new one sanctioned by the National Sports Council
(Mero Desh Jasai Ma Samjhanchhu...) at the beginning of their football match against Pakistan.
— PTI
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Brunei, August 26 Gangjee, winner of the 2004 Volkswagen Masters - China, shot a two-under 69 and is now nine-under 204 for 54 holes after three rounds. He is four shots behind the leader and defending champion Terry Pilkadaris (64) and his Australian mate David Gleeson (65), who are both at 13-under for three rounds. Young Filipino Juvic Pangusan (67) is third at 12-under, while seasoned Wang Ter Chang (64) of Chinese Taipei and Jason Knutzon (66) of the USA were tied for fourth at 11-under. Four players were tied at 10-under, and then another three, including Gangjee, were at nine-under to set up a close final round at the Empire Hotel and Country Club. Among other Indians Jyoti Randhawa (68) and Arjun Singh (69) were at five-under 208 and tied 25th, while Harmeet Kahlon (70) was four-under 209 and 35th and SSP Chowrasia (72) slipped to 61st at even-par 213 for three rounds. Gangjee, who opened the tournament with a sizzling 64, opened with a birdie but then dropped back-to-back bogeys. The young Kolkatan quickly recovered with successive birdies on fifth and sixth and turned in one-under and that improved to two-under with a birdie on 11th. Kapur slips to 61st
Akron (Ohio): A disastrous back nine of six-over 41 saw Shiv Kapur’s hopes of high finish recede in the star-studded $ 7.5 million World Golf Championships. The 24-year-old Indian, who qualified for the event after winning the Volvo Masters of Asia last December, has just one birdie on the second and then had four bogeys on the 10th, 11th, 13th and 14th and then double bogeyed the 16th for a terrible round on Friday. His total of seven-over 147 for two days placed him 61st in a field of 78 players. There is no cut and all players are assured prize money. Korea’s Choi Kyung-ju improved his position in the second round when he was even-par for the day. Choi, who has won three Asian Tour titles, blasted three birdies against an equal number of bogeys as he rose to the joint 48th position at the Firestone Country Club. Defending champion Tiger Woods snatched the lead when he fired a 64, while American David Love III was a stroke off the pace after a 65. Woods made a very unusual bogey on the 18th. His nine-iron from about 170 yards to pin, went over the green, hit cart path and took a huge bounce over the building. No one seemed to know where it had gone. It seems the ball landed in a cart past the security guard at the clubhouse. The boy in the cart took the ball and went away not knowing whose ball it was. After determining the distance with a range finder, Woods was allowed to drop to the right of the green to get line of sight relief from the grandstands. Another drop was necessary when the first landed on the cart path. The entire process took more than 30 minutes, and the group behind played through. Woods finally got away with a bogey. The ball was not considered lost, because the referee was able to correctly determine what had happened to it.
— PTI
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Chopra, Atwal make the cut
Remp (USA), August 26 Also making the cut was Arjun Atwal, who with a second round of even-par 72 was one-under 143 for two rounds and came inside the cut in tied 66th place. However, Jeev Milkha Singh, missed the cut at four-over 148 with rounds of 79 and 69. Chopra, lying at 46th after first round 71, made a huge improvement with three birdies on the back nine of the course after starting from the 10th. He had four more birdies on the front nine and also two bogeys as he finished at 67.
— PTI
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Sania bows out
New Delhi, August 26 Sania lost 4-6, 7-5, 3-6 after resuming the play yesterday at the score 3-4 in the first set, which was interrupted when the rains lashed the Centre Court and the match was suspended on Thursday. The Indian, clinging on to 44th rank for around a month now, was brave enough to fight back into the match in the second set but ran out of the steam in the decider to Lino, who is just one rank above her in WTA charts. Sania had defeated American wildcard Alexa Glatch 6-2, 6-3 in the opening round of the event being played as the final tune-up for the year’s final Grand Slam event, the US Open, beginning Monday. Meanwhile, Shikha Uberoi lost in the third round of qualifying match at the Flushing Meadows. Uberoi lost to Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland 3-6, 1-6.
— PTI
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Spain finish Serbia’s reign
Saitama, August 26 Olympic champions Argentina also had an easy passage into the final eight but Turkey and Lithuania survived last- second frights before clinching their places in the next round. Led by 28 points from the San Antonio Spurs Manu
Ginobili, Argentina rolled past New Zealand 79-62 to post their sixth straight win and stay on course for a world championship-Olympic double. While the Argentines advanced in routine fashion, Lithuania survived a nail-biter as Italy missed five free throws with just over a second to play to hand the Baltic battlers a 71-68 victory. Turkey also left it late, rallying to beat Slovenia 90-84. Trailing 81-77, Serkan Erdogan sparked the Turkish comeback nailing 10 of his game high 24 points in the final three minutes to seal the win. Chasing their first world championship medal, Spain showed the defending champions little respect as they improved their 100 per cent record to 6-0. Memphis Grizzlies all-star Pau Gasol scored 19 points and dominated the boards pulling down 15 rebounds as the Iberians overwhelmed a Serbian squad going through a rebuilding period. After lifting the world title in 1998 as Yugoslavia and staging a successful defence as Serbia & Montenegro in 2002, the team sent to Japan to defend the crown was — like the country — largely unrecognisable from eight years ago.
— Reuters
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RCF beat PSEB, finish fifth
Chandigarh, August 26 Playing their concluding tie in the league, PSEB blew up their chances of finishing fifth, as they tasted their eighth defeat. RCF settled for the fifth position with their third victory from 12 matches. PSEB, once a force to reckon with in the Indian circuit having won prestigious titles like the Durand Cup many years back, were a pale shadow of their past. Absence of new faces has indeed taken its toll and it remains to be seen how the management reacts to pull the team out of the abyss. The opening goal for RCF came midway through the first half when Navjot Singh managed to put the ball in the net. The second goal for RCF came in the 60th minute when a cross by Nirmaljeet from the right was brilliantly headed home by the well-positioned Harvinder Singh (2-0). Meanwhile, in the second division, Mahilpur FC outplayed Harcharan SC, Hoshiarpur, 3-0 at Mahilpur today.
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Cueists enter final
New Delhi, August 26 Advani beat Kobkit Palajin 57-22, 117-8, 21-22. Manan Chandra posted a comprehensive win over Atthasit Mahitthi but Yasin Merchant lost two of the three frames against Phaithoon Phonbun.
— PTI
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