S P O R T S

Federer cruises into 2nd round
Paris, May 24
Roger Federer made a confident start to his French Open title defence with a 6-4, 6-1, 6-2 win over Australian Peter Luczak on a searing hot Monday at Roland Garros. The world number one gradually found his stride.

Roger Federer plays a return to Peter Luczak during their first round match on Monday. Federer won 6-4, 6-1, 6-2. — AFP

‘I proved I have killer instinct’
Chennai, May 24
Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand today said by winning his fourth World Chess Championship title early this month he has proved wrong his critics who accused him of lacking in killer instinct.

1,500 blood tests to be conducted during CWG
Srinagar, May 24
For the first time in the country around 1,500 blood tests will be conducted to check for doping during the upcoming Commonwealth Games in New Delhi. “This would be for the first time that 1, 500 blood tests would be conducted for which 447 doping checking centres would be opened,” said additional director general Communications of the Games, Priya Singh Paul.

Lt. Gen R Kadyan and Priya Singh Paul address the media in Srinagar on Monday. Tribune photo: Mohd Amin War

Park inspires South Korea
Japan, May 24
Captain Park Ji-sung inspired South Korea to a 2-0 away win over fierce rivals Japan on Monday in a World Cup send-off for both teams. Park stunned Japan in the sixth minute with a superb solo goal, bursting past three players before smashing a right-foot shot into the bottom corner from the edge of the penalty box. Substitute Park Chu-young added an injury-time penalty to complete a deserved victory for the 2002 World Cup semi-finalists in front of a crowd of 57,000 in Saitama.

South Korea’s midfielder Park Ji-Sung (C) reacts after scoring his team's first goal against Japan during their international friendly at Saitama Stadium, in suburban Tokyo, on Monday. — AFP

Legends
Ruud Gullit
Born as Ruud Dil on September 1, 1962, in Amsterdam, Gullit is a Dutch football manager and former player, who played professionally in the 1980s and 1990s. He was the captain of the Netherlands national team that was victorious at Euro 88 and was also a member of the squad for the 1990 World Cup. He was named the European Footballer of the Year in 1987 and the World Soccer Player of the Year in 1987 and 1989. He was a versatile player, playing in numerous positions during his career. He last managed the Los Angeles Galaxy in Major League Soccer after taking over in November 2007. Gullit is currently working to promote the Belgian-Dutch 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bid.

Federer cruises into 2nd round

Paris, May 24
Roger Federer made a confident start to his French Open title defence with a 6-4, 6-1, 6-2 win over Australian Peter Luczak on a searing hot Monday at Roland Garros. The world number one gradually found his stride on centre court where panama hats and caps blossomed in the stands and shoulders went bare as temperatures nudged 30 degrees. Swiss Federer, who will face Colombian Alejandro Falla in round two, treated the crowd to some exquisite strokes, pointing his finger to the ethereal skies with a self-satisfied smile after one of many cunning drop shots. His teal blue top barely moistened by sweat, Federer ended the one-sided contest with a rolled backhand crosscourt winner.

Serena stutters, but wins

World number one Serena Williams recovered from a stuttering start to beat Swiss Stefanie Voegele 7-6, 6-2 and book her place in the second round of the French Open on Monday. The 2002 Paris champion stooped and clenched her fist as she saw off three break points en route to a 7-2 win in the first set tiebreak after struggling to break her opponent's serve. World number 76 Voegele, backed by the centre court crowd, lost her composure in the second set as Serena ended the contest with a routine volley after an hour and 21 minutes. She will next face German Julia Georges.

Wozniacki beats Alla

Danish third seed Caroline Wozniacki showed no signs of her recent injury troubles with a 6-0, 6-3 demolition of Russia's Alla Kudryavsteva in the French Open first round on Monday. The U.S Open runner-up burst out of the blocks and wrapped up the first set in just 25 minutes under the blazing sun on Court Philippe Chatrier.

Li edges past Mladenovic

China’s Li Na used her experience to fend off teenage French wildcard Kristina Mladenovic and reach the second round of the French Open on Monday, winning 7-5, 6-3 on a baking hot Suzanne Lenglen court. The 28-year-old Li dropped serve twice in the opening set but replied with three breaks of her own.

Djokovic too wins

Third seed Novak Djokovic overcame a mid-match glitch to launch his French Open campaign with victory over Kazakhstan's Evgeny Korolev on Monday. The Serbian third seed, twice a semi-finalist at Roland Garros, won 6-1, 3-6, 6-1, 6-3 as spectators sizzled in 30 degrees of heat on Court Suzanne Lenglen. — Reuters 

‘I proved I have killer instinct’

Chennai, May 24
Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand today said by winning his fourth World Chess Championship title early this month he has proved wrong his critics who accused him of lacking in killer instinct. Anand retained his World Chess Championship title after beating Bulgarian Veselin Topalov in a nerve-wrecking 13th and final game on May 11 in Sophia and the Chennai-born Indian said the triumph was a special one.

"Generally people accuse me of lack of nerves or killer instinct. My nerves worked better.I defended the third title in a row and that is very special," he told reporters here.

Anand said the contest against Topalov was the toughest of the World Championship matches that he had played and his Bulgarian opponent was an incredibly tenacious fighter. "It was the toughest that I played. Every game was intense and hard fought. We almost never finished a game under four hours. It was exceptionally tense and nerve wracking," he said.

"I knew that any way he was not going to offer draw (12th game). For the first time, we did not speak to each other during the match. Only at the end of the game, he spoke," he said. "I generally had the edge over him (Topalov). Even there the dominance was not clear at all. That perhaps makes the joys of pulling it off in the end even greater," he added.

Comparing his latest world title with the earlier three, Anand said, "It was tough on the chess board and off it. In general, I guess this is how the match is supposed to be. It was just that in the earlier championships, I suddenly built up a huge lead. But this match went the whole length. In that sense this championship was the sternest test that I ever faced." There were many firsts en-route to Anand's World Championship title. It was the first time he travelled by bus to the Championship because of the volcanic ash emanated from Ireland. It was the first match between "non-Soviets" since 1921. It was the first time a player defended his title after losing the first game.

"This is incidentally the first World Championship match that I played full length. Every other match finished actually ahead of schedule," Anand said. — PTI

1,500 blood tests to be conducted during CWG
Tejinder Singh Sodhi
Tribune News Service

Srinagar, May 24
For the first time in the country around 1,500 blood tests will be conducted to check for doping during the upcoming Commonwealth Games in New Delhi. “This would be for the first time that 1, 500 blood tests would be conducted for which 447 doping checking centres would be opened,” said additional director general Communications of the Games, Priya Singh Paul.

The Games will be the biggest ever sporting event in the history of the country after the 1982 Asiad. Around 8,000 athletes from 71 Commonwealth nations will compete for 270 gold 270 silver and 280 bronze medals in 17 disciplines.

The Games would be ‘green games’ and would be held with a message of planting more and more trees. “During the event we expect 3.5 lakh trees to be planted in New Delhi alone and around 10 lakh to be planted in the entire country,” she said.

Around 1 lakh tourists from around the globe are expected to visit Delhi during the Games and the organisers hope that the event will be watched by around 2 billion viewers on television across the globe. “Prasar Bharti has invested Rs 360 crore on the coverage of the event,” she said, and further added that telecast rights for various countries had already been booked.

She also stated that the event had created 2.5 million jobs and was expected to contribute $45,000 million to the GDP of the country in the next four years. The Queens Baton Relay that was handed over to the Indian President by the British queen, will reach India on June 25 from Pakistan, via the Wagah border in Amritsar. The baton will reach Jammu and Kashmir on June 28 and remain there till July 2.

“During the baton relay in the state it would cover Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh and various sports personalities of the state would get the honour to run with the baton,” said Lt. Gen Raj Kadyan additional director general ceremonies and QBR Commonwealth Games. He said elaborate security arrangements have been made and there has been coordinated intelligence sharing between various security agencies to make sure that the event passes peacefully.

“The security aspect of the Games would be taken care by the Delhi police, apprehensions of an attack (terror) attack are always there, but the coordinated intelligence sharing of various security agencies would make it sure that the event passes peacefully,” Kadyan said.

Park inspires South Korea

Japan, May 24
Captain Park Ji-sung inspired South Korea to a 2-0 away win over fierce rivals Japan on Monday in a World Cup send-off for both teams. Park stunned Japan in the sixth minute with a superb solo goal, bursting past three players before smashing a right-foot shot into the bottom corner from the edge of the penalty box. Substitute Park Chu-young added an injury-time penalty to complete a deserved victory for the 2002 World Cup semi-finalists in front of a crowd of 57,000 in Saitama.

South Korea face Greece, Argentina and Nigeria in Group B at this year's tournament in South Africa, which begins on June 11. Japan have been drawn with Cameroon, the Netherlands and Denmark in Group E.

‘Write the future’ among best ever ads: Nike

Melbourne: Sports goods manufacturer Nike has launched an ad on YouTube in time for the World Cup that it says is among its "best ever". Nike's latest effort is gathering around one million views per day, which is much a statement about the growth of YouTube as it is about Nike's creative genius. It's called "Write the Future" and is a goosebump-raising mashup of the world's best football stars and how their pivotal moments on the field are shared around the world.

This time Ronaldinho reappears, along with Wayne Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo and even Homer Simpson for the three-mintue epic directed by Alejandro G. Inarritu of 21 Grams and Babel fame. "It's among the best we've ever done," news.com.au quoted Nike VP of Brand and Category Management Trevor Edwards, as saying.

France vow to do well

TIGNES: Divided and miserable two years ago, France have pledged to unite and have fun at the World Cup in South Africa to avoid a repeat of their Euro 2008 flop. Since arriving at the scenic Alpine resort of Tignes for a week-long training camp, the players have taken part in a series of unusual group activities in search of harmony and "healing". Coach Domenech, who was surprisingly left in charge after his side's group-stage exit from Euro 2008, made his players hike up a glacier and participate in biathlon and dune buggy races. — Agencies

Legends
Ruud Gullit

Born as Ruud Dil on September 1, 1962, in Amsterdam, Gullit is a Dutch football manager and former player, who played professionally in the 1980s and 1990s. He was the captain of the Netherlands national team that was victorious at Euro 88 and was also a member of the squad for the 1990 World Cup. He was named the European Footballer of the Year in 1987 and the World Soccer Player of the Year in 1987 and 1989. He was a versatile player, playing in numerous positions during his career. He last managed the Los Angeles Galaxy in Major League Soccer after taking over in November 2007. Gullit is currently working to promote the Belgian-Dutch 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bid.

Gullit epitomised the ethos of Total Football as he was naturally adept in several positions. His foremost attribute was his athleticism, as he used his strength and speed to great effect, as well as being excellent in the air. Yet unusually for a man of his stature Gullit also possessed outstanding natural balance and poise that gave a graceful style to his game. Gullit thus combined technical ability with physical presence to become an iconic figure in world football.