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Jyoti, Jeev eclipse Tiger on day one
Two days later, Pawar says it was uncivil
PCB to probe Shoaib’s conduct
OCA panel to evaluate Delhi’s Asiad bid
Saina cruises into semis
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Surjit Hockey
Durand Cup
Punjab Horse Show begins today
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Jyoti, Jeev eclipse Tiger on day one
Shanghai, November 9 Randhawa fired a blistering seven birdies to lead by one stroke from Korea's Yang Yong-eun, 2005 US Open champion Michael Campbell of New Zealand and Scotsman Marc Warren at the Sheshan International Club course. Compatriot Jeev Milkha Singh, playing alongside Woods, enjoyed the satisfaction of outscoring his more famous playing partner with a 70. Woods, who had numero uno of men's tennis and his new friend Roger Federer amongst the crowds, battled to a 72 which included four birdies, two bogeys and a double bogey as his game failed to ignite. Thailand 's Chawalit Plaphol ensured a strong Asian presence on the star-studded leaderboard with a 67 that was matched by Europe's number one, Padraig Harrington of Ireland, in tied fifth place. Randhawa, who frequently indulges in high-speed biking on the Indian roads, said catching up with his favourite pastime helped him relax ahead of the prestigious event. "I did a lot of biking which has rejuvenated me," smiled Randhawa who lifted a second Hero Honda Indian Open title last month and then won the BILT Open the following week on the Indian tour. "I was quite relaxed. I was focused. I played the way the golf course should be played. It's great to have gotten a good round in a field like this especially with Tiger here," added the six-time winner on the Asian Tour. "But I didn't think about the field as I didn't want to upset my rhythm. They are great players and it's not over yet. "This is just the first round and there are three more days to go. I've just got to keep doing what I'm doing." Looking to emulate Jeev's stunning victory at the Volvo Masters in Spain a fortnight ago, Randhawa birdied all the par fives and enjoyed a chip-in birdie on the fourth. He took last week off to prepare for Asia's richest event but it wasn't the typical rest or relaxation as Randhawa spent his time riding on his superbike in New Delhi, roaring his machine to speeds of over 200 kph. "I took my chances when I could and I played safe when I had to. I made a few long par putts coming in, six, seven footers, which is quite good for my confidence," he said. The presence of Federer, who is here for the Shanghai Tennis Masters, failed to inspire Woods as he left the course a frustrated man. Despite a superb start with an opening birdie from six feet, the American superstar double bogeyed the next hole by hooking his drive into the jungle and took a penalty drop.
— PTI
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Two days later, Pawar says it was uncivil
Melbourne, November 9 Pawar, who had dismissed his being nudged out by the Australian players as something done in the excitement of the moment, has said he had refrained from making any strong remarks as he wanted to keep up the healthy relationship with Cricket Australia. “I will not react to this other than to say it was totally uncivilised,” he was quoted as saying by the Sydney Morning Herald today. “This is not good at all but I have decided to play it down because we have an extremely good relationship with the Australian board and we would like to keep that going.” Pawar, also the Union Agriculture Minister, objected to the players rushing onto the dais at the awards function and sought an apology from the Australian team. “Those players were not allowed to come onto the dais. It was only supposed to be the captain. Certainly, I would accept an apology because then we could close this chapter. The Australian Board is headed by a respected and civilised man and our relationship is extremely good. If they apologise, it would be a good signal to the people of this country,” Pawar said. Earlier, Pawar had dismissed the incident as a trivial issue, saying he was not insulted or embarrassed by it. He had also accused the television channels of hyping the issue and blowing it out of proportion. Television footage showed Ponting gesturing at Pawar asking him to hand over the trophy quickly and Damien Martyn then pushing him away from the dais. The incident raged former and present Indian cricketers, including Sunil Gavaskar and Sachin Tendulkar. Besides, the NCP, the political party headed by Pawar, also launched a protest against the Australian team. However, the Australian media reported today that both the players had offered to apologise to Pawar. A remorseful Ponting tried to contact Pawar at least a dozen of times, but all his went in vain, The Age reported today. Meanwhile, Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland is trying to arrange through the Indian board for Ponting and Pawar to talk directly.
— PTI
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PCB to probe Shoaib’s conduct
Karachi/New Delhi, November 9 A day after retired Army Colonel Anil Kaul alleged that Akhtar had slapped coach Bob Woolmer in the team bus over a tiff on music, the PCB vehemently denied the incident as did Woolmer but the Indian official stood by his charge. Woolmer also strongly denied there was any fight or slapping between him and Akhtar and said it was all fun in the bus over what to listen to—eastern or western music. Another Indian official, who was with the Pakistan team, seemed to corroborate this version when he said what happened in the bus all seemed to be done in jest. A PCB official said today that it would investigate disciplinary shortcomings levelled against Akhtar. He also made it clear that it would lodge a formal protest with the ICC for the “frivolous and preposterous” allegations by Kaul who, he said, had violated the code of conduct for officials. Kaul, who was attached with the Pakistan team right through the tournament, claimed yesterday that Akhtar had slapped Woolmer in the team bus, misbehaved with a girl at a discotheque and banged on Indian coach Greg Chappell’s hotel door. “Kaul has broken all norms of decency with his frivolous allegations. He is obviously seeking cheap publicity because we have confirmed from our manager and coach that no such incident took place,” PCB Director of Cricket Operations Saleem Altaf told PTI. BCCI distances itself from Kaul
Mumbai: The BCCI today sought to distance itself from Col Anil Kaul’s sensational revelation that Pakistani pacer Shoaib Akhtar had slapped coach Bob Woolmer during the Champions Trophy. The BCCI said Kaul was not a liasion officer, but a security officer attached to the Pakistan team appointed by the ICC. “As the Host Tournament Director, I wish to clarify that BCCI did not appoint Anil Kaul as the Liaison Officer of the Pakistan Team as is being reported,” Ratnakar Shetty, also BCCI’s administrative head, said in a release. “Kaul was appointed as the close protection officer of the Pakistan team by Bob Nichols the security consultant engaged by the International Cricket Council.”
— PTI
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OCA panel to evaluate Delhi’s Asiad bid
New Delhi, November 9 The committee, headed by OCA vice-president and chairman of the bid evaluation committee Celso Dayrit, will include Mrs Natalya Sipovich, Abdul Ghani Tabhalat, Haider Farman and Vinod Kumar Tiwari (co-ordinator). OCA secretary-general Raja Randhir Singh, who is also the secretary-general of the Indian Olympic Association, said here today that the OCA committee members would be in Delhi till November 11 to inspect the facilities in the Capital. Delhi is in any case gearing up for the 2010 Commonwealth Games and therefore, modern infrastructure will be in place, well ahead of the Asiad nearly eight years from now. Incheaon is also in the fray and the OCA committee will leave for the South Korean city after inspecting the facilities in Delhi. The IOA and the Delhi Government will give a detailed presentation to the five-member committee tomorrow on the infrastructure and other facilities in Delhi. IOA president Suresh Kalmadi and chairman of the bid committee Randhir Singh, who is also a member of the International Olympic Committee, will brief the OCA delegation.
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Saina cruises into semis
New Delhi, November 9 The 16-year old Saina, who is just two games away from becoming the first Indian to win the world junior crown in badminton, will meet Bae Youn Joo of Korea tomorrow. Joo was made to sweat by Wen Cheng of China but the Korean finally prevailed 10-21, 21-15, 21-14. In the other semifinal, top seed Yihan Wang of China will take on another Korean Moon Hi Kim. Saina said she was taking the tournament match by match and not thinking about the title at the moment. “I knew that my opponent was a good player so I was prepared for a tough match. I knew that it will be a hard work today and I am happy with the way I played,” she told PTI from Incheon. “I moved well in the court. The first game was close and she (Jie) was very tired after that. I took my chances in the second game,” she said. — PTI
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Japan pip Korea, reach final
Kolkata, November 9 Hayashi blocked Choi Chul-soon’s penalty to carry his team to the title round where they would take on the winners of the second semifinal between Jordan and North Korea. The exciting contest was set for a climactic tie-break finish after the two sides finished regulation time with a 1-1 deadlock, and remained 2-2 at the end of half an hour of extra time at the floodlit Salt Lake stadium. Tsukasa Umesaki, Yasuhito Morishima and Kota Aoki converted for the winners in the tie-break, while Yosuke Kashiwagi hit the bar and Masato Morishige’s effort was thwarted by Korean custodian Jo Su Huk. For 11-time winners South Korea, Park Hyun Bem and Seung Bin Bae converted, but Young Sung-Shim and Sang Ho Lee found the woodwork. Hayashi saved the shots from Dong Suk Kim and Chul-soon. Earlier, the game had an electrifying start with Young putting the Koreans ahead in the first minute, before Kashiwagi drew parity for Japan two minutes into the second session. Japan were reduced to 10 men in the 83rd minute when defender Tomoaki Makino was red carded for bringing down an onrushing Young Sung-shim, as the Koreans raided relentlessly to regain the lead.
— PTI
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Bharat Petroleum crush CRPF
Jalandhar, November 9 In the women’s section, Chandigarh XI secured full three points derailing comparatively stronger Western Railway, Mumbai, 3-2. Star-studded Bharat Petroleum’s Amar Ayamma and other forwards displayed aggressive play and kept the rival defenders under pressure throughout the match, while Joginder Singh of the winning team opened the account with a penalty corner in the third minute of the game, Amar began his assault on the rival goal with a superb move and scored from the top of the circle in the 17th minute of the game. Three minutes later, Ayamma again stormed into the rival D with the ball and sounded the board with a well calculated shot. Just before half time, CRPF also opened their account after their winger Jolen Topno took the ball from Prabhat Saini and pushed in a goal to open the team's account (1-3). In the second half too, Ayamma continued his offensive run and scored two spectacular field goals in the 57th and the 69th minute. He was assisted well by Pundalik, Ravi Naikar and Ajay Saroya who scored one goal each. In the meantime, CRPF's Simon Tirkey also got a chance to reduce the margin with another goal in the 62nd minute. In a Pool D match played between Shadman Hockey Club and SAI, both teams played well. In the 13th minute, SAI's Yudhvir Singh gave a pass to Shashi Kant, who scored the first goal for his team. A little later Shadman Club’s Inayat Ullah scored the equaliser (1-1). In the 28th minute, SAI again got ahead with a fine field goal scored by Jai Karan (2-1). Mandeep Antil and Shashi Kant scored two field goals for SAI in a gap of six minute but in the last 10 minutes, the Pakistani team restored parity through the joint efforts of Mohmmad Usman, Inayat Ullah and Babbar Abdullah, who scored one goal each in the 60th, 62nd and 69th minute forcing a 4-4 draw. In a Pool B match of the women's section, the Chandigarh eves came from behind to upset star-studded Western Railways, Mumbai, 3-2. The winners were trailing 0-1 at half time. Chandigarh's Prakash Devi scored two goals while Poonam contributed one. Nishi Chauhan scored both the goals for the losers. — UNI
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Corps of Signals advance
New Delhi, November 9 Though Hindustan Club put up a game fight, they could not covert their chances into goals while Corps of Signals struck once in each half to garner full points. Mursheed S.K put the Goan team in the lead when he neatly guided home a through pass from medio Avijit Biswas in the 16th minute while L.T Pachuau scored the second goal 18 minutes into the second half. Pachuau latched on to a cross from Bajrangi Ram to find the mark, giving no chance to Hindustan custodian Thakim V.K. — OSR
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Punjab Horse Show begins today
Chandigarh, November 9 According to Mr Rajdeep Singh Gill, President, Punjab Equestrian Association, besides the Olympic events of show jumping and dressage, there will be competitions in international events like tent pegging, endurance and one-day event. Other interesting events will include competitions in dancing horses, obedient horses and age-group competition for children in sub-junior and junior categories. The Punjab Equestrian Association will felicitate former Director-General of Punjab Police, Mr M. S. Bhullar, besides eminent sportsmen and organisers like Col Rupinder Singh Brar (retd), Col Sarpartap Singh (retd), K.S. Sidhu, Pargat Singh, Satpal Singh and Jagdish Singh during the championship.
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Nehru hockey Eves lose
Chris Broad Delhi soccer Asgarali dead
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