 |
|
|
US Open
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Ireland announce depleted squad
Chanderpaul leads fightback
Pak nod for foreigners in domestic cricket
Tricolour replaces distorted map
Berdych parties on Baghdatis’ birthday
Junior archer sets Asian record
|
|||||||||||||||||||
|
US Open
Oakmont, June 17 The Indian, in fact, was within half a roll of a final-hole par that would have seen him another five places up on the leaderboard, which is headed by Australian Aaron Baddeley (70) at two-over. Baddeley is followed by Tiger Woods (69), who displayed brilliant ball striking, finding 17 of the 18 fairways as he moved to four-over and into the leader group for the final day. Jeev’s three-day total at the Oakmont Golf and Country Club stands at 13-over 223 and he is ahead of the likes of defending champion Geoff Ogilvy (40th at 14-over), Masters champion Zach Johnson (50th at 16-over), Major winners Michael Campbell (45th at 13-over) and Jose Maria Olazabal (50th at 16 over). Jeev was joined at the 35th place by Ernie Els (74) and Fred Funk (74). In the final round, Jeev plays with John Rollins (74). Jeev bogeyed the third, fifth, seventh, eighth, 16th and 18th holes but birdies on the 10th, 12th and 17th holes saw him strike back on the second stretch. The Indian did not have a great start to his third round and the cruel Oakmont golf course threatened to swallow the Indian, who groped for that elusive birdie and managed only to drop four bogeys on his front nine. But it turned out to be a different Jeev on the back nine. He birdied the 10th and 12th holes and was suddenly looking good in a field that was dropping shots all over. Then came a bogey on the par-three 16th, where his tee shot landed just below the shelf of the large green. It took him three putts and that bogey set him back. Incidentally, this was the third successive time Jeev had bogeyed the hole. But he quickly made up by knocking in a third successive birdie on the short par-four 17th, which played to 313 yards yesterday. Unfortunately on the 18th, his finely stroked putt stopped half a roll short of the cup and disappointment was writ large on Jeev’s face as he tapped it in for a bogey that saw him end at 13-over. Still it was a good improvement from his tied 51st place at the halfway stage and Jeev looked set to improve on his 37th place finish at the Masters in April. Jeev admitted things could have been better without that final-hole bogey but still was happy with his best round of the tournament so far. “That last bogey was a big disappointment. I thought I had it, but it stopped short. Each stroke is so valuable on a course like this,” said Jeev. “But I am happy that I played positively on the back nine with three birdies, as against one in first and two in second.” So far in the tournament, five of Jeev’s six birdies have come on back nine, while the stretch between the fifth and seventh holes has cost him nine shots with five bogeys and two doubles. “It is a tough course and you have to be pay due respect to it and be patient,” added Jeev, the reigning Asian Tour’s UBS Order of Merit champion. If there was on aspect that he was not much happy about, it was his putting, Jeev said. “I’m a little disappointed with my putter. I’m making about 34 putts every round and I expected it to change but it did not,” he said. Meanwhile, Woods shot the day’s second best of one-under 69 which was bettered only by Steve Stricker’s 68, which placed the latter tied seventh. Woods found an incredible 17 of the 18 fairways and with slightly better putting, it could have been a 64 and he may have gone under par to lead all alone. His only wayward tee shot was the 18th hole, and it cost him his only bogey. The course has been playing incredibly tough to the extent that Phil Mickelson declared the course dangerous to the health of golfers everywhere. Yesterday, the Oakmont greens were heavily watered to make them a little friendlier.
— PTI
|
|
Governor’s Cup
Nainital, June 17 Lohan teed off from the first hole and opened his score with a birdie, followed by six more, and returned a card of four-under-par 60 after completing 18 holes on the opening day of the tournament. This also turned out to be a course record for the tournament in its fifth edition. This is the first major golf title for the Faridabad boy, who has so far played only at the club and junior levels. He was ranked fourth in the country in the junior category for the past two years. The victory, coming just after he cleared Class XII examinations, is all the more praiseworthy as he achieved it under adverse weather conditions and challenging terrain of the golf course situated at 6,675 ft above sea level. “It would have been more satisfying to win after completing 27 holes, but you can’t do much with this kind of rain,” Lohan told The Tribune. His tally of seven birdies was the maximum in the tournament. He also won a prize in the longest accuracy drive category by covering 281 yards. A special feature of the tournament was 61 birdies and two eagles scored on the opening day, which speaks of high golfing standards of the participants. “I scored five birdies and two eagles today after nine holes but unfortunately play was called off due to bad weather conditions,” said Lt-Col Manjeet Singh, the runner-up with a score of one-under-par 63. He had to be content with a special prize in nearest-to-pin drive category. His drive reached 12.5 ft from the hole. Uttarakhand Governor Sudarshan Agarwal presented the Governor’s Cup to Lohan at a prize distribution ceremony organised in the ballroom at Raj Bhavan. He also won return air tickets for Delhi-London-Paris-Frankfurt for two from Air-India. Chief guest Lt-Gen OP Nandrajog, GOC-in-C, Central Command, was a star participant of the tournament. He secured a position in the best nett winner category. There was a tie as Col G.S. Combo and Lt-Col M.S. Wadia both scored an eagle on the eighth hole. About 60 golfers from all over the country took part in the event.
|
|
Hectic schedule, expectations put off Emburey
London, June 17 In an interview to Sky Sports, Emburey said, “The interview process went very well, but there were one or two things during the process that I wasn’t wholly happy with.” “Being involved in team selection was certainly one of them, but also the program over the next 10 months is pretty intensive with not much rest in between.” The 54-year-old former England off-spinner was also unhappy over just one-year contract being offered by the board. “It came to transpire afterwards that it was only a one-year contract, so you really haven’t got the opportunity or a chance of developing a side,” he said. Emburey was well aware about the pressure attached with the coaching job in the subcontinent. “In international cricket you are judged by success, particularly in India. They have a huge passion and love for the game. “It would have been very difficult, so I decided that I would pull out,” he said. Emburey informed Middlesex on his arrival back in England that he would be staying at Lord’s as the county’s director of cricket. “I made my decision when I came back (to England). I came into Middlesex on the Monday morning and spoke to the chief executive and said: ‘it was a great experience but I’m not going if they offer me the job’,” he admitted. “It was an hour after that that Graham Ford then turned down the job and then all of a sudden the phone started ringing again.” “I’d already made my commitment to Middlesex and that is a position I am going to stick with.”
— UNI
|
|
Ireland announce depleted squad
London, June 17 In the bowling department, Andre Botha, Dave Langford-Smith and most disappointingly of all, Boyd Rankin, have all failed to recover from their injuries in time. The batting also lacks depth, and to compound their troubles, both Jeremy Bray and Eoin Morgan have declared themselves unavailable, while all-rounder Peter Gillespie has decided to call it a day. “There’s no doubt we have been badly hit by injuries,” coach Phil Simmons was quoted as saying on the official website of the Irish Cricket Union. “Langford-Smith has a side injury, and this type of injury can be very slow to heal. Both Botha (elbow injury) and Rankin (stress fracture of the fibula) are still two or three weeks away from full fitness, but I’m confident all three will be ready for the quadrangular tournament,” he said. Morgan’s case is a great concern as more and more Ireland players pledge their future to England. “Morgan has informed me that he isn’t available for the ODIs because of his commitments with Middlesex,” Simmons said. “Morgan wants to qualify and play for England, and feels that by obtaining a regular place in the Middlesex team is the best way to achieve that,” Simmons said. “Bray asked not to be considered for selection for these matches and Gillespie has decided to retire from representative cricket. “The positive aspect to this is that a number of the younger players in the squad will now get a chance to show me what they are capable of,” he said “They have the opportunity to firmly establish themselves in the squad. I’m already starting to look ahead to the World Cup qualifiers in the UAE in 2009, and the composition of
the team.” Squad: Trent Johnston (captain), Kenny Carroll, Alex Cusack, Thinus Fourie, Dominick Joyce, Gary Kidd, Kyle McCallan, Kevin O’Brien, Niall O’Brien, William Porterfield, Roger Whelan, Andrew White and Gary Wilson.
— PTI
|
|
Defiant B’desh team arrives in Lanka
Colombo, June 17 The Sri Lankan government immediately hailed the visit as a sign of confidence in the island’s security arrangements. “The Bangladeshi government has accepted our security guarantees, making the tour possible,” Sri Lankan Sports Minister Gamini Lokuge told AFP, adding that Colombo would provide adequate security for the team during its five-week stay. “This shows that Sri Lanka is safe for anyone to travel,” he said. The Bangladesh government has warned its nationals not to travel via the troubled island, and cricket officials said the authorities in Dhaka would have the final say on whether the tour could go ahead. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) has carried out two air raids in the Sri Lankan capital since the end of March, the first of which targeted an air force base adjoining the island’s only international airport. At least nine persons died and more than 40 civilians were injured in two roadside bombs targeting troops in the city and its suburbs since then. South Africa abandoned their tour of Sri Lanka in August last year after a bombing in Colombo blamed on the Tamil Tigers, which targeted the Pakistani ambassador. The three-match Test series begins on June 25, while the three-match ODI series starts on July 20. Atapattu opts out of series
Sri Lanka’s former captain and opening batsman Marvan Atapattu has opted out of the Test series against Bangladesh, a top Sri Lanka Cricket official said today. SLC secretary Kangadaran Mathivanan said the former skipper had told them he would not be available for the Bangladesh tournament despite being chosen for the Test matches. “We have received an e-mail from Marvan announcing his non-availability citing personal commitments,” Mathivanan told AFP. He said the former opener, who has scored more than 5,300 runs in Tests and 8,500 runs in one dayers, had said he would, however, be available for selection in future. Atapattu is currently in England playing for Lashings World XI. Mathivanan said the SLC need to look at Atapattu’s contract to see if he could be allowed to be absent from national selections. Atapattu was overlooked by the Sri Lankan selectors throughout the World Cup in the West Indies and for the three-match series against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi. He has not played a Test since December, 2005, and a one-dayer since February this year. Atapattu was drafted into the Test team last week in place of Sanath Jayasuriya, who is considered only for one-dayers under the new selection policy.
— AFP
|
|
|
Chanderpaul leads fightback
Durham, June 17 England are seeking to finish the series with a third straight victory after taking an unassailable 2-0 lead at Old Trafford last week. Scoreboard West Indies (1st innings) Ganga c Cook b Sidebottom 0 Gayle lbw Hoggard 28 Smith b Sidebottom 4 Morton c Sidebottom Chanderpaul not out 136 Bravo b Hoggard 44 Samuels b Sidebottom 19 Ramdin c Collingwood Powell c Prior b Harmison 1 Edwards b Sidebottom 5 Collymore lbw Panesar 13 Extras (b 4, lb 13, nb 1) 18 Total (all out; 97.1 overs) 287 Fall of wickets:
1-0, 2-32, 3-34, 4-55, 5-141, 6-199, 7-219, 8-220, 9-229. Bowling:
Sidebottom 29-10-88-5, Hoggard 26-8-58-2, Harmison 25-4-78-2, Panesar 13.1-2-34-1, Collingwood 4-1-12-0. England (1st innings) Strauss not out 65 Cook c Ramdin b Edwards 13 Vaughan not out 17 Extras (w-2, nb-7) 9 Total (1 wkt; 27 overs) 104 Fall of wicket:
1-37. Bowling: Edwards 5-0-33-1, Powell 10-3-32-0, Collymore 8-1-27-0, Gayle 3-2-3-0, Bravo 1-0-9-0.
— Reuters
|
|
Pak nod for foreigners in domestic cricket
Karachi, June 17 “Regional teams can now sign an overseas player and we believe cricketers from neighbouring countries like India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh would be keen to play in our domestic cricket for the right price,” a PCB official said. The regional teams can also field a guest player from other regions so that there is more balance and equality of strength between the teams, according to the official. “Another incentive we have taken is to award monthly salaries for 12 months to 25 of our best performers in domestic tournaments. We have earmarked around Rs 6 crore ($1 million) to pay these salaries,” he said. The decisions came after a meeting of the board with representatives of regional teams and departments in the summer hill resort of Bhurban yesterday to review the domestic cricket structure. The board official said the minimum salary to be given to the top players would be Rs 10,000, while other players appearing for regional teams would also get match fees and daily allowances. There has been a lot of criticism on the standards of domestic cricket in Pakistan after the national team was eliminated in the first round of the World Cup after losing to Ireland. The meeting assumed greater significance as the representatives passed a vote of confidence in the leadership of board chairman Naseem Ashraf, who has been appointed directly by the country’s President to the prestigious post. “It is the first time that a sitting chairman appointed directly by the President, who is the chief patron of the board, has been given a unanimous vote of confidence and it augurs well for the future,” the official said. Inzy unlikely to get new contract
Former Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq is unlikely to get a new central contract due to his retirement from one-day internationals and an irrelevant seniority slab in the PCB’s payment system. A PCB official said a policy decision had been taken to only give central contracts to those players who play in Tests and ODIs. The board had cancelled the central contracts of all players when the team returned from the World Cup after being eliminated in the first round. The PCB has formulated new contracts after discussions with the players with the stress on performance-based incentives rather than seniority slabs as was the case in the past when the central contracts were introduced in Pakistan cricket in December, 2005. “Now the contracts would not differentiate between seniority slabs and players will get a uniform monthly salary but clauses are incorporated that for good performances a player(s) will get bonuses besides his salary,” the official said. The contracts are apart from the match fees paid to the players which would continue to be on a seniority slab
system. — PTI
|
|
Tricolour replaces distorted map
New Delhi, June 17 A day after it was noticed that the Indian map featuring on the tournament website showed Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) as part of Pakistan, the organisers, in a corrective measure, replaced the map with the Indian flag. Interestingly, all other five participating nations’ maps have been kept intact on the website. The Indian map had some other glaring distortions also, like the proportions of Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh were shown differently than in the original sketches. Even the factual mistake reported yesterday, which showed India’s current world ranking as seven instead of eight, was not corrected. Factually, Argentina, another participating nation, is currently seventh and India is eighth. The other participating nations in the tournament are England (ranked ninth), New Zealand (10th), Japan (11th) and hosts Belgium (13th). India lock horns with New Zealand in the lung opener on June 23 in Boom, Belgium.
— UNI
|
|
Greater Kashmir golfers shine
Srinagar, June 17 Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad teed off the tournament here this morning. Greater Kashmir, a leading newspaper group of Jammu and Kashmir, had organised the tournament played at the picturesque Royal Springs Golf Course here. Jammu and Kashmir Governor Lt Gen (retd) S. K. Sinha later presented the winners trophy to Greater Kashmir Editor-in-chief Fayaz Ahmad Kaloo. Ashraf Bakshi received the runners-up trophy from the Governor on behalf of the Chief Minister’s team. Speaking on the occasion, Gen Sinha said golf and tourism go hand in hand. “Whenever a golf tournament is organised, tourism automatically gets a boost,” he added. The Governor said Greater Kashmir last week organised a golf tournament for caddies, which was for the first time at any level whether national or international.
— UNI
|
|
Ashok Kumar pips Bhullar for crown
Gurgaon, June 17 Ashok carded his fourth straight round in the 60s, with a three-under 69 that saw him aggregate 18-under 270 and overcome young Gaganjeet Bhullar’s (66) challenge by two shots. Bhullar, who shot a bogey-free final round, was 16-under after two rounds 66 each. Digvijay Singh (69), who started off in an impressive manner, was done in by three consecutive bogeys from 12th to 14th which took the sting away from his challenge. He ended third at 14-under, while seasoned campaigners Gaurav Ghei (69) and SSP Chowrasia (69) tied for fourth 13-under. Mukesh Kumar shot a final round of 68 and climbed to sixth place. It was the fifth title of the season for Ashok, who had already won the Indian Oil Xtra Premium Masters, Solaris Global, SRF All India Matchplay Crompton Greaves Open. In his last seven events, he has won five, and he was second and eighth in other two, which were won by Jyoti Randhawa. In 10 events, Ashok has won five, Randhawa three and others have been won by Chowrasia and Harmeet Kahlon. Ashok opened with a birdie on the second but dropped a shot on the fourth before picking birdies on the fifth and eighth. He turned in at 34 and then on the back nine, he birdied the 11th and 15th and dropped a bogey on the 17th, but by then he was comfortably
ahead. — PTI
|
|
Berdych parties on Baghdatis’ birthday
Halle, June 17 Fourth seed Berdych, beaten by Roger Federer in last year’s final, was too consistent for Baghdatis this time as he wrapped up victory over the eighth seed in one hour and 20 minutes. The win gave Berdych his third career ATP title and his first on grass. Federer’s decision to pull out of the tournament after he complained of fatigue following his loss to Rafael Nadal in the French Open final left the competition wide open. From the start, the 21-year-old Berdych looked one of the favourites with his strong serve and aggressive ground game. He reached the final without dropping a set and his all-round strength meant he was always in command against Baghdatis, who reached the semifinal at Wimbledon last year. Berdych was in trouble just once on his serve in the first set, when Baghdatis missed two break points in game 10.
— Reuters
|
|
Junior archer sets Asian record
Kolkata, June 17 Verma shot 335 and 334 in the two 70m qualifiers to finish first with a cumulative score of 669 out of 720 at the Taiwan Shooting Range. Verma was followed by team-mate Sumit Mishra of Jharkhand with 646 (320+326) in second place. The third Indian, Sonam Pintsho Lepcha of Services, was fourth with a total of 609 (314+295). Nisha Rani Dutta of Tata Archery Academy led the field in the girls recurve round with 616 (315+301). Reshma Banerjee (589) was fifth and Pranitha seventh (571). Twelve countries — South Korea, Japan, Australia, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Singapore, India, Indonesia and hosts Chinese Taipei — are taking part in the championship that ends on June 19.
— PTI
|
| 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 | |
