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Pawar play: Ponting offers to apologise
Kho-kho is dangerous, says Vengsarkar
‘Shoaib slapped Woolmer’ |
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Surjit Hockey
Durand Cup
Saina storms into quarters
PU wins Osmania University trophy
Women’s Boxing Championship
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Pawar play: Ponting offers to apologise
Melbourne, November 8 Admitting that the whole episode had dampened their maiden Champions Trophy victory, Ponting said his team did not mean to show disrespect to Pawar. “I’m a bit disappointed some of the gloss has been taken off, but I’ll be doing the best I can to get to the concerned people in India to get my point across and let them know we weren’t trying to embarrass them,” Ponting said. “We were all pretty keen to get our hands on the trophy and celebrate, so I’ll be making an effort today.” Ponting said the Australians would do their bit to close the chapter of this unpleasant issue. “We were all pretty keen to get the photo taken and get off the stage and enjoy the moment for what it was. If there needs to be anything done from the Australian cricket team’s side, I’m more than happy to do that and hopefully it can be forgotten about and we can move on,” he told reporters in Sydney. Asked if he would consider tendering an apology to the BCCI supremo, Ponting said: “It probably will, yeah. If we all feel that’s relevant we’ll probably do that. “Once I’ve spoken to him and get an idea on how he’s taken the thing and not just what’s been said by the Indian journalists and what a fuss they’re making of it, if it is required I’ll certainly do it (apologise),” Ponting said. Ponting said his team would be cautious in future to respect protocols and refrain from hurting anybody’s emotions. “We’ve got to show the due respect to everyone that’s around us. That’s part of representing your country. Hopefully we haven’t offended him too much and we’ve got to be aware of those sort of things in the future,” he said. The episode evoked a sharp reaction from various current and former Indian cricketers and Pawar’s political party NCP after media published pictures showing the BCCI chief being pushed aside by the Australian cricketers at the presentation ceremony of the Champions Trophy on Sunday. NCP contemplates legal action
Mumbai: The NCP may take legal steps against Australian cricketers for “nudging” party president and Indian cricket board chief Sharad Pawar during the Champions Trophy prize distribution, a party official said today. “We are seriously considering legal action against the erring Australians. To begin with, legal notices would be sent to Cricket Australia, the Australian cricket board, and the Australian embassy,” Nationalist Congress Party secretary and eminent lawyer Majeed Memon told PTI here. The proposed inquiry by Cricket Australia into the incident would at best discover whether the misdemeanour was incidental or inadvertent, Memon said. “In either case it deserves to be condemned and the least that is expected is to seek a written apology from erring cricketers without any further loss of time,” he said. Memon said the incident had damaged the fabric of Indian culture and tradition. Though Pawar described the incident as insignificant and asked it to be treated as closed, the people of India would not excuse the Australians’ high-handedness, Memon said. “They (Australian cricketers) must remember the award giver is the person much taller in stature than the award receiver and courtesy requires that they behave in a proper fashion,” he said. CA to quiz team management
Melbourne: Cricket Australia is likely to quiz the team management besides viewing the footage of the Champions Trophy award presentation ceremony during which some of the players nudged BCCI President Sharad Pawar. A media report today said CA officials could not view the incident yesterday on account of a public holiday in Melbourne. But they plan to do so shortly, a report in the The Herald Sun said here today.
— PTI
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Kho-kho is dangerous, says Vengsarkar
Mumbai, November 8 Yuvraj sustained a knee ligament tear ahead of India's ICC Champions Trophy match against Australia on October 29 and missed the crucial tie. "Kho-kho involves a lot of twisting and turning and can lead to injuries. I have spoken to the team management about this," Vengsarkar said. The star batsman, who has been ruled out of action for at least six weeks, will miss India's one-day series on their tour of South Africa starting November 13. — PTI
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Mumbai, November 8 Umrigar’s death was not only a great loss for Indian cricket but also an “irreparable” loss to the game, cricketers past and present said, a day after Umrigar passed away after a protracted battle with cancer. Cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar, who broke quite a few national records set up by Umrigar during his illustrious career, said he had learnt the nuances of the game from him.
“I have learnt so much from him that I can’t pinpoint one particular thing. He once told me that I try and take my first run too early. He told me to take at least the first few runs safely,” Gavaskar said. Sachin Tendulkar described Umrigar as a perfect gentleman and said Indian cricket was “passing through a bad phase and the death of Umrigar was part of this cup of woes”. “The time is not good for Indian cricket and the passing away of Umrigar is another sad event. He was a great cricketer and even more importantly a perfect gentleman,” said the star batsman. Chairman of Selectors Dilip Vengsarkar said, “He was our manager and I learned a lot from him. He was a fine human being apart from being a great cricketer. His death has left a void which will be difficult to fill.” Former India captains Chandu Borde and Ajit Wadekar and ex-Indian Cricket Board president Raj Singh Dungarpur, also hailed the all-round contributions to the game rendered by Umrigar. “Two weeks ago I had visited his residence along with Raj Singh. There were tears in our eyes and I still remember him taking my hand in his and talking about incidents that happened during our playing days,” said Borde. Wadekar said that whatever little he did well as captain for India was all due to the guidance and mentoring that he received from Umrigar who was his first Ranji Trophy captain. “His death is a great loss to Indian cricket. He was my first Ranji Trophy captain. I learned a lot from him. Whatever little I did as captain (he won three back-to-back Test series between 1971 and 1972) was because of the guidance, encouragement and inspiration received from Umrigar,” Wadekar said. Dungarpur, who was a huge admirer of Umrigar and was instrumental in opening a swanky bar at the CCI to honour the all-time great, said his death had brought an end to the era of great cricketers of the 1940s, 50s and 60s. “He was a great captain which many who have played under him would vouch for. It was a tragedy that he could not lead India even in one full Test series and got one or two Tests on a piecemeal basis,” he said. “He was totally committed to the game of cricket and his death is an irreparable loss to the game,” the former board chief said. — PTI
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‘Shoaib slapped Woolmer’ New Delhi, November 8 Retired Army Colonel Anil Kaul, who was with the Pakistani team right through the tournament, also alleged that Shoaib had misbehaved with some girls at a discothèque which led to a brawl. Questioning the timing of the dope charge on Shoaib, the Army officer said he was coming out with this account since he wanted the world to know that there was “more to it (doping scandal) than what meets the eye”. “During the journey in the bus there was an impasse over whether to listen to Indian or Western music. Woolmer tried to crack a joke on Shoaib who then slapped him on the neck,” Kaul told TV channels. “Shoaib also misbehaved with some girls in a disco which led to a brawl,” he alleged. Kaul also claimed that Woolmer wanted Pakistan Cricket Board to take stringent disciplinary action against the fast bowler following these incidents.
— PTI
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Surjit Hockey
Jalandhar, November 8 In another match Punjab National Bank, Delhi, defeated Air-India 3-2 while in the women’s section, experienced Northern Railways downed Chandigarh XI 4-0 to earn full points. Although, the Indian Oil team had an edge over BSF but the latter gave a good fight to the star-studded IOC in the first half. The BSF took an early lead in the third minute of the match on a flawless field goal scored by Mukhjinder Singh on a pass from captain Habil Topno. After the initial lead, the Oilmen attacked well but the BSF men defended stoutly and kept the rivals at bay till the 31st minute. At this point of time, IOC’s Deepak Thakur, Prabhjot Singh, Kamlesh and Inderjit Chadha came into their own and scored three goals within a gap of three minutes to secure a 3-1 lead at half time. The first goal for Indian Oil was scored by Kamlesh Kumar on a pass from Deepak Thakur. Two minutes later Deepak Thakur himself stormed into rival D and after a pass from Prabhjot Singh sounded the board(2-1). Soon after Inderjit Chadha slammed in the third goal on a pass from Deepak Thakur. In the 42nd minute Bikramjit Singh converted a penalty stroke for Indian Oil(4-1). In the 54th minute, the Border Security Force reduced the margin, scoring their second goal through a penalty corner by Mandeep Singh. In the 63rd minute Bikramjit Singh scored the last goal for the winners through a penalty corner. The match between Punjab National Bank, Delhi, and Air-India produced spectacular hockey. In the first half Air-India dominated whereas Punjab National Bank boys controlled the proceeding in the second half. Air-India took the lead in the 16th minute when Osaf Ur Rehman sounded the board(1-0). At half time Air-India was leading by 1-0. The second half of the match was eventful. In the 44th minute PNB, equalised with a field goal, scored by Damandeep Singh(1-1). In the 59th minute, Delhi’s Bikash Toppo scored the goal from a pass of Ajitesh Rai(2-1). In the 65th minute, Jitender Siroya converted a penalty corner for Delhi(3-1). In the 67th minute Len Ayappaa reduced the margin through a penalty corner(2-3). In the women’s section, Northern Railways, Delhi, dominated in the first half and secured a 2-0 lead at half-time through fine goals by international player Pritam Rani amd Ramneek Kaur. In the second half, Chandigarh XI also fought well but they could not overcome rival defenders and in the meantime Pritam Rani posted another goal in 49th minute. The fourth goal for Railways was scored by Balwinder Kaur in the 60th minute. The Chandigarh team wasted at least three penalty corners in dying moments of the match. — UNI
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Durand Cup Our Sports Reporter
New Delhi, November 8 The scoreline did not reflect the actual nature of the contest as Army Green could get into their scoring mode only late in the second half when Shimla Youngs, reduced to 10 men in the first half itself after medio Innocent was sent out following his second yellow card, showed fatigue. Playmaker Ashok Lepcha put Army Green in the lead in the 20th minute of first half, but their second goal came only in the sixth minutes into the second half when Aji B sent the ball crashing into the net. Eleven minutes later Diwash Cheetri made it 3-0 while Aji completed the tally five minutes before close. Shimla Youngs, despite playing with 10 men, did not cave in meekly as they counter attacked to rattle the Army goal on a few occasions, but their strikes were wayward in their attempts.
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Saina storms into quarters
New Delhi, November 8 World number 32 Saina carved out a 21-17, 21-16 win in 31 minutes to move to the last eight where the 16-year-old Indian will face China's Liu Jie. Jie got the better of Mizuki Fuzii of Japan 21-10, 21-9 in just 27 minutes. In boys' singles, India's lone contender Srujan Nandaluri bowed out in the prequarterfinals after going down to top seed Kenichi Tago of Japan 10-21, 19-21. In boys' doubles, Jishnu Sanyal and Akshay Diwalkar also moved to the quarterfinals after defeating the English pair of Marcus Ellis and Liew Victor 21-15, 21-12 in just 25 minutes.
— PTI
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PU wins Osmania University trophy
Chandigarh, November 8 The trophy has been awarded to the university by All India Universities (AIU) for getting the first position in women sports events during the particular year. The trophy will be awarded at a function during the forthcoming AGM of AIU, scheduled to be held from November 25-28 at University of Mumbai. The university has also won the prestigious Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Trophy for 2004-2005 for overall excellence in sports during the year. Congratulating all the sportspersons as well as the officials and coaches of the university Vice-Chancellor Professor R. S. Sobti said, “Winning the second trophy in the year is a proud moment for us. I congratulated all the sportspersons as well as sports officials for the achievement. I will do all the required things to strengthen sports in colleges and the campus.” Professor Sobti along with Professor D. S. Toor, former Sports Director, will receive the trophy at the function. Meanwhile, Dr B. L. Gupta General Championship Trophy went to Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, while Punjabi University, Patiala, won the Shri Meghnath Nageshkar Trophy.
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Women’s Boxing Championship
New Delhi, November 8 Indian Amateur Boxing Federation (IABF) president Abhay Singh Chautala said at a media briefing here today that 170 boxers from 29 countries have confirmed their participation. Despite being a pay tournament, as the competitors have to deposit entry fee, the response has been very good as more entries are expected. Twice world champion M.C. Mary Kom of Manipur will lead the Indian challenge, as she would be competing in the 48kg event. The other Indian entries are Kalpana Choudhary of Assam (48kg), Chhotu Loura of Haryana (50kg), L Sarita Devi of Manipur (52kg), Preeti Beniwal of Haryana (54kg), N Usha of Andhra Pradesh (57kg), S Ibomcha Devi of Manipur (60kg), Jenny R.L of Mizoram (63kg), Aruna Mishra of Jharkhand (66kg), Aswathymol of Kerala (70kg), Lekha KC of Kerala (75kg), Renu of Haryana (80kg) and Jyotsna of Haryana (86kg). Anoop Kumar of Sports Authority of India will be the chief coach. Mary Kom, who won a silver at the inaugural edition of the World Championship in 2001 in USA and gold in the 2002 World Championship in Turkey and the 2005 championship in Moscow, is all keyed up for the big event, though she admitted that injury fear was one of the major concerns of the Indian girls. India’s other medal hopes rest on Asian champion Sarita Devi and last year’s world championship bronze medallist Kalpana Choudhary. India had won one gold and three bronze in the second World Championship to finish fifth while the Indian eves had logged one gold and four bronze medals in the third edition in Moscow to secure the overall third position.
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