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Germany come out Bast
Scolari bemoans Ballack goal
India interested in Test C’ship
Massa sets the pace at Magny-Cours
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Superlicence Row
Wimbledon
Easy draw for Sania
Arshavin is Guus’ trump
Ronaldo’s future with Manchester United is under immense scrutiny due to keen interest shown in him by Spanish giant Real Madrid. — AFP
photo
‘Charlesworth will surely help Indian hockey’
Rafa favourite, says Borg
Sub-junior Basketball
Dhoni enthralls his IAF fans
Night GP ticket sales booming
Tiger wants a healthy roar
India gear up for AFC Challenge Cup
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Basel, June 20 Nuno Gomes had pulled one back for the battling Portuguese just before halftime and substitute Helder Postiga put late pressure on the Germans when he made it 3-2 but they held on. In the semifinal in Basel on Wednesday, Germany will meet the winners of today’s match between Croatia and Turkey. “I’m so happy we won,” said Schweinsteiger. “We’re in the top four and we’ve got the best team in my eyes. We saw we can play football, we can fight and German virtues are still there.” Germany coach Joachim Loew could only applaud his team from the stands after being banned for one match following a dispute with the fourth official in their last group game. “We had a lot of courage today, had good combinations, moved well without the ball -- all the things that we’ve done well in the past we did tonight,” said Loew, who added that it was nerve-wracking sitting so far away from the action. Portugal coach Luiz Felipe Scolari, in charge for the last time before taking over at Chelsea, added: “I leave with a clear conscience. I always did my best and today was no exception. I did the best I could, hoping the players would do the same.” Two of Germany’s goals came from Schweinsteiger’s free kicks which exposed poor marking by the Portuguese and goalkeeper Ricardo’s failings at dealing with high balls. Germany struck first in the 22nd minute after a brilliant break down the left wing. Ballack sent Lukas Podolski away and he crossed low to the near post where Schweinsteiger got ahead of marker Paulo Ferreira and Ricardo to smash the ball home. Four minutes later Armando Petit fouled Christoph Metzelder about 40 metres out. Schweinsteiger floated the free kick to the far post where Klose beat the offside trap to head past Ricardo. Portugal, who had come close twice before the German opener, got back into the match five minutes before the interval when Deco began a counter-attack with a long ball forward to Simao. Cristiano Ronaldo took Simao’s pass but his shot was blocked by keeper Jens Lehmann only for the ball to run free for Nuno Gomes who swivelled and shot left-footed past the stranded keeper with the ball going in off Metzelder’s outstretched leg. Ballack increased Germany’s lead just past the hour when Pepe gave away a free kick on the left which Schweinsteiger took and Ballack headed home past the badly positioned Ricardo after what looked like a little push from behind on Ferreira. Postiga came off the bench to give Portugal hope when he headed powerfully past Lehmann in the 87th minute after winger Nani escaped Ballack on the left and provided a perfect cross. The Portuguese threw everything at Germany in the closing stages but despite their best efforts could not find a way past a determined defence and the Germans were into the last four.
— Reuters
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Scolari bemoans Ballack goal
Basel, June 20 “We thought Germany would be first in the group and as first in our group we would not face them until the semis,” Scolari said. “Germany came second and we had to face a team with quality, especially on free-kicks which decided the game. “What went wrong? The dead ball situations for one, and there were other things that did not go correctly. We had designated certain players to mark Ballack and others but the players changed who they were marking on the free-kicks and Germany made the most of that.” On the controversial third goal, Scolari said: “I do not want to say Germany benefited from that but all the TV screens show Ballack clearly pushed our player. Unfortunately the referee did not see it and we stopped.”
— AFP |
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India interested in Test C’ship
New Delhi, June 20 BCCI president Sharad Pawar said Test cricket was their first preference and they were willing to discuss the idea with the game’s governing body. “The BCCI is definitely working for the future of Test cricket. We are clear and confident that Test cricket has a future. We have digested one-day cricket, we have digested Twenty20, but the first preference is always Test cricket. We will discuss the Test championship proposal," Pawar told a cricket website. With the huge success of Indian Premier League, many cricketers had expressed fears that T20 would soon eclipse other forms of cricket including Test cricket. ICC acting CEO, Dave Richardson had revealed that they they were considering creation of a Test Championship to ensure that a place remains for Test cricket in the cricket calendar. “The ICC will consider a number of options in the upcoming board meetings (in Dubai later this month), one of which is an option to introduce a Test championship or league,” Richardson had said at the Champions Trophy launch ceremony in Pakistan. According to Richardson the move was intended to preserve Test cricket as the pinnacle of the game. “There are so many ways this could be done, a league over one year, two years or four years. I am certainly in favour of looking at such an option to make sure we provide a good quality context for Test cricket to take place so that it can be preserved as the pinnacle of the game.”
— PTI |
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Massa sets the pace at Magny-Cours
Magny-Cours, June 20 McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton, who will be penalised 10 places on the starting grid for Sunday’s race after a pit lane collision with Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen in Canada, was second on the timesheets, 0.696 slower. BMW Sauber’s championship leader Robert Kubica, winner in Canada, was fifth quickest. The Pole leads Hamilton and Massa, who have both won twice this season, by four points with world champion Raikkonen a further three adrift after seven rounds of the 18-race championship. However, Kubica could struggle to match the pace of the Ferraris this weekend. The Italian team have won for the past two seasons at Magny-Cours and seven times in the last 11 years. Raikkonen led Massa in a one-two finish in 2007. Finland’s Heikki Kovalainen was third fastest in Friday’s morning session for McLaren, with compatriot Raikkonen fourth. Renault’s double world champion Fernando Alonso was sixth but pulled over with two minutes remaining with smoke billowing from the engine. Kovalainen also had a narrow escape when he ran wide onto the gravel on his last lap but managed to steer the car clear of the looming concrete wall. France’s only Formula One driver Sebastien Bourdais, in a Toro Rosso, was 16th fastest while German team mate Sebastian Vettel was eighth.
— Reuters |
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F1 drivers threaten strike at Silverstone
Magny-Cours, June 20 Drivers have to pay for them because teams regard this as a part of their racing equipment. Last year a typical superlicence cost around $2,600 (£1,327) for the season, with an extra $700 (£357) per drivers’ world championship point scored in the previous season. Recently, however, the FIA World Council decided to change that since driver salaries, particularly among the midfield runners, had risen to around $8m (£4.01m). They figured they could get away with charging $15,000 (£7,650) for the superlicence and $3,100 (£1,580) a point. So world champion Kimi Raikkonen may be paying $350,000 (£178,000) for his 2008 superlicence. That is less than 10 per cent of his salary, but the majority of drivers consider this to be too much, and members of the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association are considering taking action at Silverstone. Raikkonen did not seem too perturbed about the situation. “I don’t see this as any reason to strike,” he said. “I don’t think it’s the right way to go about it.” The last time the drivers went on strike over superlicences was in South Africa in 1982 when attempts were made by Mosley and Bernie Ecclestone to tie licences to teams, trying to create a transfer system similar to that in football. Led by Nikki Lauda, Gilles Villeneuve and Didier Pironi, the drivers refused to race. The transfer system proposal was dropped. However, Mosley is aware that disgruntled fans are unlikely to be sympathetic toward striking racers, especially given drivers’ levels of remuneration. — By arrangement with The Independent
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Federer faces Hrbaty in opener
London, June 20 Defending women’s champion Venus Williams was paired with British wildcard Naomi Cavaday in today’s draw at the All England Club, but the American faces a tough task should she make it through the first week. The seventh seed, bidding for a fifth title at Wimbledon, is in the bottom half of the draw and could face a quarter-final against second seed Jelena Jankovic and a prospective semi-final with world number three Maria Sharapova. New world number one and women’s top seed Ana Ivanovic will open her campaign against Rossana De Los Rios of Paraguay. Federer has been handed a relatively tough draw with a potential second round against big-serving Swede Robin Soderling while Gael Monfils, who he beat in four sets in the French semifinals, lurking as a potential third-round opponent. Lleyton Hewitt, the last man to win Wimbledon before Federer took over, and Chile’s Fernando Gonzalez are also in Federer’s quarter. Australian Hewitt faces Dutch youngster Robin Haase in the first round. Nadal, who won his first grasscourt title at Queen’s Club last week, plays world 123 Andreas Beck in the first round but things could get tougher in the second where he could face rising Latvian teenager Ernests Gulbis. Australian Open champion Djokovic plays Michael Berrer of Germany. Twice runner-up Andy Roddick meets Argentine Eduardo Schwank while British number one Andy Murray plays French veteran Fabrice Santoro. In the women’s singles Jankovic plays Ukraine’s Olga Savchuk while Sharapova, champion in 2004, takes on French qualifier Stephanie Foretz. Sixth seed Serena Williams, who is in the top half of the draw, has a tricky start against Estonia's French Open quarter-finalist Kaia Kanepi. The Wimbledon fortnight begins on Monday. — Reuters
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Easy draw for Sania
India’s Sania Mirza was today handed an easy first round against unseeded Colombian Catalino Castano in next week’s Wimbledon but the going would get tough for the Indian ace thereafter as she could be up against defending champion Venus Williams in as early as the third round.
World number 33 Sania, placed in the last quarter of the draw, also goes into the match with a 1-0 win-loss advantage against her 28-year-old rival. Sania had beaten Castano in the first round of Pattaya Open last year in their only clash so far. If Sania gets past the first hurdle, she would take on the winner of the match between German Martina Muller and Spaniard Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez. |
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Dutch legends in battle of Basel
A week ago the Dutch looked odds-on to advance to the last four but, though they remain favourites, Russia’s sparkling 2-0 victory over Sweden in Innsbruck on Wednesday has altered the balance.
But Dutch coach Marco van Basten is keen to learn the lessons from Spain’s 4-1 rout of Russia early in the tournament. “We have to see what the Spanish did against them and take our lessons from that,” he said. Many of the Dutch first choice players have had a week to rest and prepare after Van Basten used mostly reserves in the final group game against Romania. He is likely to start with the team that came out of the dressing room for the second half of the 4-1 romp over France last Friday, with Robben starting and Orlando Engelaar dropping to the bench. Robben, who missed the opening match against Italy through injury, did well after coming on for Engelaar against Les Bleus and was a starter against Romania. However, while Robben’s attacking talents are undoubted he and Dirk Kuyt must show they can cope defensively with the free-running Yuri Zhirkov and Alexander Anyukov. Russia’s players will have had less than three full days to recover from the Sweden game and that could prove a key factor. They have no major injury worries and Arshavin should be fresh having played only 90 minutes in the tournament. His return from suspension was the catalyst in transforming Russia into a slick-passing team that could have been modelled on the Dutch. With Dutchman Guus Hiddink in charge that should not come as too much of a surprise. The well-travelled coach has forged his reputation from building hard-working sides where players perform above their ability but in this group of Russians he recognises he has some top quality raw material. “The players have proved at this tournament they can keep playing this type of football,” he said. “The way we play we get respect, we like to play the way football should be played and I think the Netherlands do the same.” — Reuters
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Arshavin is Guus’ trump
Basel, June 20 On the pitch he is known for his quick-thinking, while off it he also knows how to get what he wants. The playmaker holds a diploma in fashion design and admitted on his website (www.arshavin.eu) that his choice of what to study at college had been influenced by the fact that “there would be lots of girls” on the course. His cunning mind translates to a footballer that has given Russia class, confidence and goals. Suspended for the first two Group D matches after getting a red card for kicking an opponent in a qualifier against Andorra which also cost him the captaincy, it was a measure of his value that Hiddink even brought him to the finals. By scraping a 1-0 win over Greece, Russia gave themselves hope and ensured Arshavin's trip to Austria and Switzerland had not been wasted and that he would get the chance to strut his stuff in the must-win game against Sweden. He made all the difference. From the word go it was an unrecognisable side, oozing neat passing and threatening on the attack with Arshavin the architect. “Andrei Arshavin is a player who makes quick decisions and who can create danger. He can turn left or right and knows immediately where the opponent is,” Hiddink told a news conference after the 2-0 win over Sweden in which Arshavin scored the second goal.
— Reuters |
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Cristiano
Realistic
Basel, June 20 After Portugal’s 3-2 loss to Germany in the quarterfinals of the European Championship, Ronaldo also said he will “need surgery” for “a small problem on his (right) foot.” Ronaldo, who talked briefly to reporters after yesterday’s match, said he expects “a good recovery,” according to Portuguese media. He did not elaborate on the type of injury. Portuguese federation spokesman Onofre Costa confirmed the player’s injury today and said he underwent normal treatment during the competition. Ronaldo was held scoreless in the team’s loss to Germany yesterday, and was key in the second German goal when he failed to mark striker Miroslav Klose inside the area. Ronaldo arrived as one of the tournament’s top stars but failed to come up with top-notch performances. He still had a solid performance, however, posing danger to Portugal’s opponents and setting up three goals. Ronaldo has a contract with Manchester United until 2012, but Madrid was believed to be one of the top teams willing to spend millions of euros (dollars) to sign the winger for next season.
— AP |
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‘Charlesworth will surely help Indian hockey’
Melbourne, June 20 “It’s a tragedy India has not qualified for the Beijing Olympics, a regrettable first in 80 years,” Smith said in a speech at the University of Western Australia, his alma mater. As a lawmaker from Perth, Smith said his electorate has well-established connections with India through cricket and hockey. “Firstly, cricket through the WACA and secondly hockey, generally, but also through my friend and predecessor as the Member for Perth, Ric Charlesworth, an Australian Olympic hockey team captain, who is now technical advisor and expert coach for Indian hockey,” he said. “I’m sure Ric will help ensure the Indian hockey team is at London in 2012,” he added. Smith said he met agriculture minister and BCCI president Sharad Pawar, at the recent Food Security Summit in Rome. He also pointed out that Australia’s relations with India were increasingly interwoven by enhanced people-to-people exchanges in educational, scientific, cultural and sporting areas. “This is greatly benefiting our society and our economy,” he said, citing the case of Lisa Sthalekar. Lisa, who was born in Pune is now Australian women’s cricket team vice-captain and New South Wales captain. For the second successive year, Lisa was named Women’s International Player of the Year in February 2008, Smith noted.
— PTI |
London, June 20 There could be no better place for Federer to reconfirm his tennis supremacy, however, than at the citadel of grasscourt tennis, especially if he lifts a modern-era record sixth successive trophy. Since 2003, Federer’s dominance on turf has been absolute. With no equal in sight, it seemed as if the most keenly-fought race would be to see who would collide with the Swiss master in the men’s final. Not this year, however. Bjorn Borg, whose tally of five consecutive titles Federer equalled last July, has tipped him as only third favourite for the championship. “I pick Rafael Nadal as winner and my second choice is Novak Djokovic, my third is Roger,” Borg said on Thursday. “For (Roger) to beat those guys at Wimbledon he needs to play much better than he did last summer. He knows he will have to play some unbelievable tennis to win again.” This season Federer, who suffered a bout of glandular fever at the start of the year, has often looked ragged, winning only two titles. One of those successes for the 26-year-old was achieved at Halle five days ago and allowed him to extend his unbeaten streak on grass to 59 matches. That tournament would no doubt have gone some way towards healing the psychological damage caused by the Paris mauling, a loss that prevented him becoming only the sixth man to have captured a career grand slam. Seven-times Wimbledon champion Pete Sampras believes the lean spell will galvanise Federer. “He’s still the guy most likely to win the majors. He’s lost a couple but if anything that’ll do him some good, it’ll get him fired up,” said Sampras. “As great as Roger is he’s going to have his losses and his bad days, it’s just human nature to go through some lulls.” Should Federer hold aloft the trophy on July 6, he would become only the second man to win the title six times in a row, emulating Britain’s William Renshaw who completed his haul in 1886 during the Challenge Round era when the defending champion played only the final. It would also put him just one title away from Sampras’s overall grand slam record of 14. But Federer did not need to rely on Borg’s observation to realise that Nadal and Djokovic would stalk him at Wimbledon. Seven days after winning his fourth French Open trophy, Nadal effortlessly adapted his heavy topspin game at Queen’s Club to win his first title on grass by defeating Djokovic. After finishing runner-up to the Swiss at the All England Club in 2006 and 2007, the 22-year-old Spaniard will no doubt fancy his chances of ending Federer’s reign this year. Should he succeed, he would become the first man to win at Roland Garros and Wimbledon in the same season since Borg in 1980. “I think I am playing well and if I continue to play like this, I am going to have chances to have a good result at Wimbledon,” Nadal said after becoming the first player in 35 years to pull off back-to-back victories in Paris and at Queen’s. Djokovic has backed up the hype with results this year, beating Federer en route to picking up his first major at the Australian Open and Nadal on the way to the Indian Wells title. By reaching at least the semifinals in five consecutive majors coming into Wimbledon, the 21-year-old Serb has proved that he has the weapons to be a big threat on any surface. — Reuters
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Chandigarh eves in semifinal
Kusum Arora Tribune News Service
Jalandhar, June 20 Last year’s runner up team Chhattisgarh beat Tamil Nadu by 53-23. For Chattisgarh Ajay Pathak-20, Murali-15, Jaia-10 were the main scorers. Similarly Uttar Pradesh beat Jharkhand by 60-36. In this match Aman Singh-6, Gaurav-4, Lalit-14, Kumar Shantanu-14 were the main scorers. In another one-sided match of the day, holders Punjab beat rival Maharastra in by 68-31 points. The main scorers from team Punjab were Loveneet-9, Money Pal-3, Gagandeep-4, Kushmeet-25 and Sameer Sen-9. In the last quarter final, Delhi beat Rajasthan by 53-22. Classification Round: Girls Section: 5th to 8th place: Maharashtra beat Karnataka by 34-20 points; Andhra Pradesh beat West Bengal by 52-47 points; 9th and 10th place: Punjab beat Haryana by 46-28 points; Boys Section: 5th to 8th place: Jharkhand beat Rajasthan by 70-66 points; Tamil Nadu beat Maharashtra by 57-56 points; 9th and 10th place: Kerala beat Manipurby 49-46 points.
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Dhoni enthralls his IAF fans
Jaisalmer, June 20 Before flying for New Delhi, the star cricketer rode on his bike and went from one end to the another of the runway waving to his fans who had gathered around. A brief air stunt show was organised by the Air Force pilots for him. During his three day sojourn here, Dhoni surpassed Indian Air Force fighter plane in a fun race on mobike but failed to hit six sixes in an over bowled to him by an Indian Air Force team bowler. He played cricket and carom with airmen, interacted with Air Force personnel’s children shared light moments with them and their families. Yesterday, he participated in a 10-over fun match between two teams of airmen which his team won by six wickets. However, he failed to achieve the target of hitting six sixes in the last over. The target was set by himself but he failed to achieve and was clean bowled by the rival bowler on third ball after hitting two sixes. Dhoni also raced his bike against an Air Force fighter plane twice and surpassed it.
— UNI |
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Night GP ticket sales booming
Singapore, June 20 Of these, the Stamford, Raffles and Marina grandstands are sold out while Turn 2, Turn 3 and the Esplanade Waterfront grandstands have very limited or single-seat availability, they said.
— UNI |
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Tiger wants a healthy roar
Washington, June 20 He announced recently he had been playing with a torn ligament and two stress fractures in his left leg and would require surgery ruling him out for the rest of the year. “I was in bad shape going in and came out in just the same shape,” he told ABC’s Good Morning America. “So it will be nice to finally get fixed and feel healthy, which I haven’t felt in probably a decade.”
— Reuters |
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India gear up for AFC Challenge Cup
New Delhi, June 20 India, who lost the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Championship final to Maldives recently by a solitary goal, will have a training camp here from June 24 before the team flies to Portugal for a 10-day training-cum-competition tour in the first week of July. The team will also play a few friendly matches after their return from Portugal. Indian coach Bob Houghton has added 11 players to the 20 who were part of the team for the SAFF Championship for the camp.
— UNI |
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Basel, June 20
Vienna, June 20
While the Dutch have Ruud van Nistelrooy in attack, Russia can call on the revitalised Roman Pavlyuchenko. Wesley Sneijder will be up against the equally skilful Andrei Arshavin in the middle of the field while on the wing the Dutch have Arjen Robben and Russia counter with versatile midfielder Konstantin Zyryanov.
