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India’s chances at the Games
High hopes from tennis
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Two sides on display
Chance for Indian swimmers to make an impact
India yet to win medal in eight disciplines
Shuttlers look to improve showing
India concede lead as Sachin misses ton
Dravid disappointed
Leander, Sania in action today
Eight Golds up for grabs on Day One
Little known facts of Opening Ceremony
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India’s chances at the Games
New Delhi, October 3 Though men’s team starts its campaign on Tuesday with a match against Malaysia, women team takes on Scotland in its opener on Monday. Fresh from their best ever performance in the World Cup since 1978 - India finished ninth in the 2010 World Cup in Argentina a few weeks ago -women team hopes to improve upon its Melbourne performance. Eyeing gold, the girls led by mercurial Surinder Kaur of Shahbad Markanda, are bubbling with confidence and enthusiasm. The star of the Indian team will be Rani Rampal, the second highest scorer of the Argentina World Cup. She missed the distinction of scoring in every game of the World Cup but for the match against New Zealand. She scored seven, including six field goals. Like her captain, she also comes from Shahbad Markanda. After Bhiwani that is sending 10 Indian athletes to the games here, Shahbad may be a close second with the nucleus of women’s hockey team coming from this small sleepy town on the Grand Trunk Road. Not only the girls, even India’s mainstay in men’s team and crack drag flicker Sandeep Singh also comes from Shahbad Markanda. Indian girls take on Scotland in the opener and have defending champions Australia, South Africa and Trinidad and Tobago in their pool. One of the coaches of the team, Sandeep Kaur, a former Indian captain, too, comes from Shahbad Markanda. In the men’s section, besides Australia, other teams in India’s pool are Pakistan, Malaysia and Scotland. Richard Charlesworth, the Australian coach, has warning signals for India saying the medal appetite of the Kangaroos is still to be satiated. Kangaroos, the current World Champions - they won the title in new Delhi early this year after a gap of 24 years - are also the current Champions Trophy champions. “We are looking for our fourth consecutive Commonwealth games hockey gold medal,” declares Charlesworth. Hockey competition will have seven of the team that played in the 2010 World Cup at the same venue in February this year. Some teams, including India, have brought some changes in their line-ups. India, for example, has taken the risk of including a single regular goalkeeper in its squad. Led by forward Rajpal Singh of Chandigarh, the mainstay of the home team are drag flicker Sandeep Singh, defender Sardara Singh, midfielder Gurbaj Singh and strikers Tushar Khandekar, Shivendra Singh and Rajpal Singh. Though in the opening game of the World Cup, India had beaten Pakistan early this year, the new look Pakistan team under European coach Michel van den Heuvel, looks better than what it was eight months ago. Led by Zeeshan Ashraf, it has a blend of youth and experience. Canada, though in pool B, have also made five changes in the team that played here earlier n the World Cup. It is not only skipper Rajpal Singh, Ravipal Singh and Dharamveer Singh; hockey competition of the Games will have strong Chandigarh connections also. Satinder Sharma, the only Indian referee to have golden whistle, will be umpiring some of the important games of the event. Former international and Customs official, Gurdishpal Singh, is a member of the Technical Committee that will oversee the conduct of the hockey competition.
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High hopes from tennis
New Delhi, October 3 India have got two seasoned performers in Leander and Mahesh Bhupathi in men's doubles and Somdevdev Verman in men's singles. Sania has been seeded second in women's singles, behind World No 65 Anastasia Rodionova, the Russian-born player, now representing Australia. Rodionova will be the biggest hurdle in Sania's path in the women's singles, though the home crowd and the DLTA courts should spur her on to give her best. Somdev Devvarman is a strong favourite for the men's singles, as he has got a favourable draw while he and Rohan Boppanna will have a tough first round in the men's singles. For Rodionova, the Commonwealth Games will be the first major sports event for Australia after she moving Down Under to become a citizen in 2005. The Australian will not only be the top seed for women's singles, but also for the women's doubles and mixed doubles.. Rohan Bopanna will be pairing the 33-year-old Nirupama Vaidyanathan, trying to stage a comeback into big-time tennis. But the second Indian mixed doubles pair will be bumping into top seeds Radionova and Paul Haily. On the other hand, Devvarman, ranked 100, will meet Devin Mulling, to whom he had lost in their only previous encounter in 2003. But since then, the Indian has improved his ranking in leaps and bounds while Mulling is tottering aroud 800 minus ranking presently. Devvarman is likely to face the only serious challenge in men's singles form Peter Luczak of Australia, who is presently ranked 130 on the ATP list. In doubles, Devvarman and Bopanna will meet the latter's doules partner in the Grand Slam circuit, Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi and Atiq Khan of Pakistan. Poojashri Venkatesh and Rushmi Chakravarti can also make much progress, provided they play unfettered tennis, making maximum use of the home conditions.
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Two sides on display
No pass for PT Usha
In making their choices for the sportspersons eligible for select passes for the opening ceremony, the organisers seemed to have committed a gaffe. They left out the name of the queen of Indian athletics, PT Usha, from the list and all hell broke lose in the evening as the news of Usha’s ‘humiliation’ spread. She told media that she was not invited. Some officials said there was no need to send her a separate invitation because she was a coach of Indian track and field contingent. Usha, though, insisted that she was denied the honour bestowed upon many lesser sportspersons. The buzz is that organisers are ensuring that she get the coveted pass for the closing ceremony. Long hours at JN Stadium
Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium had thrown open its gates for the spectators from 2 pm and people, wary of time-consuming security checks and long queues, also began tricking in early. However, they were bored stiff for hours as nothing was happening inside. Thousands had entered by 5 pm and sensing their restlessness, even managers kicked off performances just in front of the aerostat. Singer Shibani Kashyap was the first off the blocks and the audience had at last something to cheer about. Tipping culture
Foreign athletes and officials are quite a favourite in Delhi eateries. For most Indians, giving tip to the waiter is an act of generosity which is optional and the money is hardly more than some change. However, in western culture, tipping the waiter is a normal practice and not giving it is considered as bad manners. It’s common these days to see restaurants making special arrangements for these guests and providing efficient services. Matters came to head in a restaurant when some locals complained that waiters were paying all attentions to a large group of foreigners. It was only when they were told that foreigners were “respected guests” who must be given special preference that they were mollified. Last minute wedding blues
Sports Minister MS Gill has been much ridiculed for comparing the country’s preparations for the Games with an Indian wedding, where nothing is ready till the last minute and then things automatically fall in place as guests start arriving. He was evidently not far off the mark. The Delhi Metro line to Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, which hosted opening ceremony and is the venue of most sports, was inaugurated on Sunday, hours before the ceremony began. The Metro would be playing a vital role in the Games as the orgainsers have actively dissuaded spectators from using private conveyance and asked them to use public transport instead. The Metro station was still strewn with rubble even as the first train reached there. If you ask officials about this last-minute inauguration, they would simply tell you the line was prepared in record time. (Kumar Rakesh, Himani Chandel and Jyoti Rai) |
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Chance for Indian swimmers to make an impact New Delhi, October 3 Having won 24 of the 54 events at home in Melbourne in 2006, Australia will once again be a force to reckon with, in a sport where 150 medals will be up for grabs. Interestingly, of the eight gold medals that will be decided on day one of the Games, five will be in swimming alone. In her pursuit for four medals, England's double Olympic champion Rebecca Adlington will begin her bid in the 200m freestyle in the finals scheduled in the evening. Finals are also scheduled for men's 400m freestyle, women's 200m individual medley, men's 200m butterfly and women's 4x100m freestyle. Indian swimming recently got a boost after Richa Mishra and Jyotsna Pansare, dropped following positive dope tests early in September, were included in the squad after a permission from the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF). The selection panel later added 17 more swimmers to the Indian contingent, taking the strength to 43. India's biggest hope in swimming will be Khade, who made a sensation two years ago by becoming the youngest swimmer to qualify for the Beijing Olympics. The Kolhapur swimmer will look to make the finals of the 50m and 100m freestyle. “Realistically, we have a chance to make the finals. After getting there, it's anybody's chance. I cannot promise a medal. But this time around, we have the best chance, especially in the men's section. Last time, we could not make the finals, but we hope to make the cut this time,” the 18-year-old told PTI. Having bagged silver medals at the Asian Indoor Games in 2007 and with the experience of having participated in the 2008 Olympics, Sandeep would look to better his timings in the 100m and 200m breaststroke this time around. “If I can clock the same timings as I did in Beijing then I can expect to finish in the top three. I had broken two of my own national records then, I now hope to go a step further,” Sejwal said. — PTI
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India yet to win medal in eight disciplines
New Delhi, October 3 Though India did not participate in the inaugural Games held in 1930, it had a bronze in its kitty in the 1934 Commonwealth Games. And the honour for winning first ever games medal went to wrestler Rashid Anwar in 74 category. Since then, India’s third highest tally in the Commonwealth Games has been in wrestling. Of 102 Gold, 97 Silver and 72 bronze medals it has won in 12 of the previous 18 editions of the Game, its highest tally is in shooting where it has won 38 Gold, 20 Silver and 13 Bronze medals. Weightlifting comes next. Controversy over doping notwithstanding, India has to its credit 33 Gold, 39 Silver and 21 Bronze medals won in the weightlifting competitions in the earlier 12 editions of its participation in the Games. In Wrestling India has won 23 Gold 24 Silver and 11 Bronze medals so far. These three sports apart, India is yet to lodge even a single medal in basketball, cricket, hockey (men), cycling, diving, gymnastics, lawn bowls, squash and swimming. Rugby, of course, is new to India. In hockey (women), India has a gold and silver to its credit since the sport was introduced in the Games in 1998. After a gold medal in Manchester, India went down fighting 0-1 to the hosts Australia in the 2006 Melbourne Games. Will New Delhi help India to convert its medalless track record in these games to more fruitful and satisfying performances in front of the home crowds? Competitions at different venues starting from Monday hold the answer. India’s track record in track and field (athletics) in the Commonwealth Games is also far from impressive. It has been sending athletes to the Games since 1934. In 1938 India made its debut in the cycling events of the Games with its athletes entered in five events. But since 1938, country is yet to get its first cycling medal. In 1954 Games, India had competed in five track and field events but could not open its medal tally account. Like 1938, 1954 also saw Indian contingent returning home empty handed. Except for these two editions, India has been in the medals tally in the remaining 10 editions in which it participated. In 1962 and again in 1986, India did not compete for different reasons. In 1962 it was because of the Chinese aggression and in 1986, India joined the group that boycotted the Games. In track and field, after Milkha Singh won a gold medal in 1958 in Cardiff, India’s tally in the sport reads a dismal 1 Gold, five Silver and four Bronze. In Badminton, both Prakash Padukone and Syed Modi by winning mens’ singles event in the 1978 and 1982 editions had converted the bronze start given by Dinesh Khanna in 1978 to the Golden route. As of today, India has to its credit two Gold, two Silver and seven Bronze medals in its badminton kitty. Boxers, who have raised high hopes here have till date given the country two Gold, five Silver and nine Bronze medals in the boxing competitions of the earlier editions. Table tennis, too, has been producing medals. Two Gold and four Bronze medals during the past two editions of the game are an impressive tally especially when most of Commonwealth nations are known to import Chinese paddlers to reinforce their TT squads.
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Shuttlers look to improve showing
Indian lifters eye bagful of medals
Indian lifters would look to erase the dope shame they heaped on the nation in the last two editions and a series of doping offences last year by winning a bagful of medals in the weightlifting competition of the Commonwealth Games which begins here tomorrow. India won nine medals four years ago in Melbourne and with several of its top lifters in peak form, they are expected to do better than the last edition. Gymnasts aim to end medal drought
Even as all eyes will be on traditional powerhouses such as Australia and Canada, India's gymnasts would look to end their medal drought when the competition begins in the Commonwealth Games here tomorrow. India's men's team had finished seventh and the women 10th in the last edition in Melbourne but much has changed in the last two years, at least in terms of exposure. Archers look to strike gold
Boasting of world champions, the Indian archery team will look to hit the bull's eye despite being up against a formidable field when the sport returns to the Commonwealth Games after 28 years at the Yamuna Sports Complex range here tomorrow. With 2007 World Cup final winner Dola Banerjee, the 12-member Indian squad will target the recurve individual and team events to grab at least six gold medals that head coach Limba Ram has targetted out of the eight up for grabs. Indian paddlers battle ready
After being handed out easy draws, Indian paddlers are brimming with confidence ahead of table tennis team event of the Commonwealth Games starting here tomorrow. Olympian Achanta Sharath Kamal will spearhead the men's team, seeded second after Singapore, thanks to their good showings in international tournaments in the recent past. Squash in the limelight
Squash has been a poor cousin of other racquet sports in the country but with the in-form trio of Saurav Ghosal, Joshna Chinappa and Dipika Pallikal making waves internationally, India has a good chance of winning its first Commonwealth Games medal in the sport at the 2010 edition. Ever since its introduction in the Commonwealth Games in 1998, squash has been one of the low-profile events for India but the jinx could be broken this time when the Indian players hit the Siri Fort squash court tomorrow. —
PTI |
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India concede lead as Sachin misses ton
Mohali, October 3 Left-arm seamer Mitchell Johnson dealt crucial blows after the tea break as the hosts’ innings folded at 405. Johnson completed a five-wicket haul as India conceded a 23-run lead to Australia on the third day of the first Test at the PCA Stadium today. Tendulkar, going strong and set for Test century No 49, became a victim of nervous nineties. Just before, he had taken 11 runs off part-time off-spinner Marcus North to reach the mid-nineties. When on 98, he fell lbw to the same bowler when a delivery kept a bit low and struck him on the pads. Tendulkar's 189-ball innings was studded with 13 boundaries. The maestro looked hungry for runs and on display were a wide range of strokes - spanking drives through the off-side cordon, delicate nudges and improvisations. Along with Raina (89) he added 124 runs for the fifth wicket, enabling India cross the 400-run mark. Rahul Dravid played a typical dogged innings and he looked largely in control. When on 77, he edged a Doug Bollinger delivery that moved away and wicketkeeper Tim Paine too the catch. Tendulkar and Dravid put on 79 runs for the fourth-wicket stand. Skipper Mahinder Singh Dhoni and Raina, who both joined the squad just before the first Test after playing in the Champions League in South Africa, looked like suffering from T20 hangover. They took aerial route too soon and too often. The skipper struck a four and a six before he departed after scoring 14. It was this success that spurred Johnson to greater success. Harbhajan Singh was consumed by Johnson off the very first delivery the batsman faced. Raina denied Johnson a hat-trick, but could not survive long. Zaheer Khan attempted a mighty heave off off-spinner Nathan Hauritz to find his timber in complete disarray. Zaheer scored 6. There was jubilation all around the Australian camp when Johnson trapped Raina lbw, completing a well-deserved five-wicket haul denying the southpaw a century. Raina scored 124-ball 86 which included 14 thundering fours. The Uttar Pradesh batsman played some scintillating strokes, the arc from point to mid-off being his favourite scoring area. Raina got reprieve twice, which he failed to capitalise. First, Tim Paine behind the stumps muffed up a simple stumping chance off Hauritz when the batsman batting on 48. Raina was let off again when Johnson made a hash of a simple chance at mid-off. The bowler to suffer on this occasion also was also Hauritz. Suffering from a back injury, VVS Laxman came in to bat at No 10 position along with a runner but barely survived a couple of ball to be the last man dismissed. Scoreboard Australia 1st innings: 428 India 1st innings (overnight 110-2) Gambhir lbw b Johnson 25 Sehwag c Clarke b Johnson 59 Dravid c Paine b Bollinger 77 Ishant b Bollinger 18 Tendulkar lbw b North 98 Raina lbw b Johnson 86 Dhoni c Watson b Johnson 14 Harbhajan c Paine b Johnson 0 Zaheer b Hauritz 6 Laxman c Clarke b Hauritz 2 P Ojha not out 0 Extras (b 5, lb 13, nb 1, w 1) 20 Total (all out, 108.1 ovrs) 405 Bowling: Hilfenhaus 25-2-100-0, Bollinger 16-2-49-2, Johnson 20-5-64-5, Hauritz 29.1-4-116-2, Watson 6-0-19-0, North 12-3-39-1.
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Dravid disappointed
Mohali, October 3 It would be nice if we would have gone for big score,” said Dravid after the end of the third day’s play. However, he was of the view that the game was evenly poised at the moment, saying that the morning session tomorrow would be crucial for Indian bowlers. “We have two spinners. It is very important to strike early in the morning session,” said Dravid. As per Dravid, who scored valuable 77 runs today, the condition of the wicket was still good despite developing some rough patches which were responsible for bounce and turn. “I hope that our spinner will make full use of wicket’s help tomorrow. Tomorrow, the first session would going to be quite decisive,” said Dravid. On Sachin squandering a chance of hitting his 49th ton by just two runs, Dravid denied that he had become a victim of ‘nervous nineties’. “With 48 centuries in his kitty, I don’t think that he gets nervous in the 90s,” said Dravid. |
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Leander, Sania in action today
New Delhi, October 3 Women's Compound Individual Qualifications: Bheigyabati Chanu, Gagandeep Kaur, Jhano Hansdah. Men's Recurve Individual Qualifications: Rahul Banerjee, Tarundeep Rai, Jayanta Talukdar Men's Compound Individual Qualifications: Ritul Chatterjee, Jignas Chittibomma, Chinna Raju Srither Gymnastics: Artistic Women: Meenakshi Artistic Team Women: Priti Das, Dipa Karmakar, Debjani Samanta Artistic Men: Rohit Jaiswal Artistic Team Men: Roma Dilip Joglekar, Ashish Kumar, Partha Mondal, Rakesh Kumar Patra, Mayank Srivastava Women's Hockey: India vs Scotland Group A Lawn Bowls: India vs Australia Women's Pairs Group A Swimming: Women's 200m Freestyle Heats: Arti Bajarang Ghorpade, Tipre Surabhi. Men's 50m Backstroke Heats: Praveen Tokas, Balakrishnan Badrinath. Women's 50m Butterfly Heats: Chittaranjan Shubha, Pooja Raghava Alva. Men's 400m Freestyle Heats: Ullalmath Adaveeshaiah Gagan, Mandar Anandrao Divase. Women's 200m Individual Medley Heats: Pooja Raghava Alva. Men's 200m Butterfly Heats: Tarun Kumar Tokas. Women's 50m Breaststroke Heats: Priyadarshini Priyanka, Mankiran Kaur. Men's 4x100m Freestyle Heat. India Tennis: Men's Singles: Rohan Bopanna vs Robert Buyiniza (Uganada) Women's Singles: Rushmi Chakravarthi vs Montlha Pinki Agnes (Lesotho); Venkatesha Poojashree vs Nqosa Nthabiseng Eunicia (Lesotho) Mixed Doubles: N Sanjeev/Rohan Bopanna vs Paul Hanley and Rodionova (Australia). Mixed Doubles: Sania Mirza/Leander Paes vs Alberton Richelieu and Stacey Nykita Roheman (St Lucia) Weightlifting: Women's 48kg, Men's 56kg. — PTI
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Eight Golds up for grabs on Day One
New Delhi, October 3 The first gold medal will be decided in the weightlifting women event in 48kg category, scheduled to begin at 14:00 hrs. India's Sandhya Rani Devi Atom and Ngangbam Soniya Chanu will represent India in the event. The second gold medal will be decided in the 56kg category in the men's event, scheduled for 18:30 hrs, with India's Sukhen Dey and Srinivasa Rao Valluri in the ring. Out of five gold medals in swimming, two are on offer in women's category - 200m Freestyle and 200m Individual Medley. Men's will compete in 400m Freestyle Men Finals, 200m Butterfly Men Finals and 4 x 100m Freestyle Relay. The last gold medal of the day will be awarded in gymnastics in Team Competition & Individual Qualification Men Subdivision 2. —
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A contingent of foreign athletes were all praise for the modern Indian as they landed at newly-inaugurated T3 terminal at the Indira Gandhi International Airport last week. The snappy terminal built by a private company drew their praise for its tip top looks and facilities. Their joy soon gave way to despair as they were denied entry into the Games Village because organisers had not informed the security. The harried athletes and officials rang up their embassy but the impasse continued. An organising committee official quipped that the foreign guests had got to see both faces of India, the efficient and world class private sector which built an ultra modern terminal in record time and the inefficient and bureaucratic India of the babus which almost derailed the Games.
New Delhi: Saina Nehwal will have to lead by example while the mixed doubles pair of Jwala Gutta and V Diju will have to provide the push as Indian shuttlers take on some strong contenders in the Badminton team event of the Commonwealth Games starting here tomorrow. India are the top seed in group D, which comprises of Scotland, Wales, Barbados and Kenya and national coach Pullela Gopichand feels, in the kind of form Indian shuttlers are in, the hosts should at least make the finals. India will take on a lowly Kenya in their first match at the Siri Fort Complex to set the ball rolling.