Guangzhou, November 27
A month after producing their best ever show in the Commonwealth Games, India underlined its rising sporting prowess by bagging the biggest madal haul in the Asian Games which concluded here today.

India, who finished sixth yesterday with 14 gold, 17 silver and 33 bronze for a record 64-medal haul, maintained that position after the end of today’s events.

China ended on top with 199 gold, 119 silver and 98 bronze (total 416), followed by South Korea (76-65-91) and Japan (48-74-94) at second and third, respectively.

India’s best medal haul in the Asian Games till date was recorded in the 1982 Games in New Delhi when they had won 13 gold, 19 silver and 25 bronze for an overall tally of 57.

India had finished 10th in the last edition of the Games in Doha with a tally of 10-17-26.

The sixth spot on the medal rostrum by India is the best it has attained since 1986 at Seoul, where the country ended fifth with a more modest haul of 5-9-23.

But a quarter century ago there was no Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and the rest of the former Soviet bloc to make the competition as stiff as it was here. In fact, Kazakhstan finished higher than India at fifth in Guangzhou.

The 14 gold India won in Guangzhou is the second best after the inaugural edition in 1951 in New Delhi where the country finished second with 15 gold, 16 silver and 20 bronze for a total medal haul of 51. The 1951 Games was though contested by just 11 countries whereas the 16th edition here had seen 45 nations competing.

India had also been improving in their medal haul in the last five Asian Games, having won 22 medals (4-3-15) in 1994 Hiroshima, 35 (7-11-17) in 1998 Bangkok, 35 (10-12-13) in 2002 Busan and 53 (10-17-26) four years ago in Doha.

The record medal tally of 64 in the Asian Games came a month after India won 101 medals (39-26-36) to finish second ahead of the likes of England and Canada in the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi.

Out of the 14 gold India won in Guangzhou, the highest number of five came from athletics and two each were won in boxing, kabbadi and tennis and one each from shooting, cue sports and rowing.

Just like in many earlier editions of the Asian Games, athletics contributed the lions share in India’s number of gold medals in this addition also.

AC Ashwini (400m hurdles and women’s 4x400 relay) and tennis star Somdev Devvarman (men’s singles and doubles) won two gold medals while Preeja Sreedharan bagged a gold and a silver -- in women’s 10,000m and 5,000m, respectively. -PTI

Guangzhou, November 27
Overwhelmed and exhausted in equal measure, India's chief boxing coach Gurbax Singh Sandhu has told his wards to stay away from the ring and him for at least the next one month after notching up two unprecedented golds in a haul of seven medals at the Asian Games here.

Vijender Singh (75kg) and Vikas Krishan (60kg) clinched India's first boxing golds at the Asiad after 1998. Dinesh Kumar (81kg), V Santhosh Kumar (64kg) and Manpreet Singh (91kg) fetched silver while Suranjoy Singh (52kg) and Paramjeet Samota (+91kg) settled for bronze medals here.

"I have told the boxers not to keep in touch with me and talk boxing for one month. It's a complete break for them before they start preparing for the London Olympics through the qualifying rounds which commence with the World Championships sometime in September next year," Sandhu said.

Sandhu revealed that Vijender fought with a dislocated thumb in his final bout against Uzbekistan's two-time world champion Abbos Atoev.

"It was a superb performance, the best ever in Asian Games in boxing in which we finished first along with China in the men's competition. Vijender dislocated his thumb in the first round against the world champion (Uzbekistsan's Abbos Atoev) and fought a great tactical fight to win the gold," said Sandhu today.

"The procedures are different here as they do complete investigations and then attend to the patient. But it was taken up as a special case. The thumb has been dislocated at the base and his hand is in plaster. But I don't think it will cause any problem as he can use the right hand," said Sandhu.

Sandhu said Vijender used the right straight and the right uppercuts to good use in his fight against Atoev, to whom he had lost in the Milan World Championship last year after winning at the Asian championship in China.

"Vijender used the straight right and the right upper cuts very well and the opponent played into our hands by staying defensive in the first and second rounds," Sandhu said after the end of the team's campaign at Fosham Gymnasium.

Sandhu said the entire boxing squad, which has trained tirelessly for several months now, would be given a complete break of one month before preparations for the Olympic qualifiers will start.

"It has been a superb performance by the squad. We were first in the Asian championships, first in the CWG, won four medals in the World Cups and also a first-ever medal (bronze for Vijender) in the World Championship and here we are joint first with China. What more can be asked for?" he said. — PTI 

Guangzhou, November 27
Chinese officials praised today the nation's Asian Games record medal haul as a major step towards the London Olympics and denied the muscular powerhouse was monopolising sports in Asia.

"Being number one on the medal table does not mean that we are the monopoly in Asia," Cai Jiadong, head of China's delegation to the Asiad told reporters.

"In some events where we have tradtional advantages we did well, but in other sports... we didn't perform so well," he said, citing weightlifting, wrestling, shooting and archery.

After taking gold in the women's marathon, the first event of the final final day of the 2010 Games, China had claimed 198 gold medals and a whooping 415 in total -- both Asian Games records -- dominating the event nearly accros the board.

"The reason why we have been largely successful is related to the rise of our nation, along with the constant rise of China's economy and our comprehensive national strength," vice minister of sport Duan Shijie said.

"This medal haul again can represent a major achievement in our preparations for the London Olympic Games." The nation still lagged behind top world levels in many sports including major competitions like football, basketball and volleyball, he said.

"Just because we had a successful Asian Games does not mean that we will be bound for success at the London Olympic Games," Duan said.

But "we will never relent. We will devote our utmost efforts to the preparation of the London Olympic Games." — AFP

New Delhi, November 27
As Guangzhou bids farewell to the 16th Asian Games, the Indian contingent returns home with a sprinkling of smiles. After all, this has been by far the best outing at a multi-sport event for the nation.

Having said that, one is left wondering about our so-called strong sides, and also a little bit of ‘what if’ - what if the shooters and wrestlers had lived up to even half the hype surrounding them. We’d be looking at 20 more medals, surely.

Firstly, applause for those who added to the medal tally. We have acknowledged swimmer Virdhawal Khade, gymnast Ashish Kumar and wushu exponents Sandhyarani Devi and Bimoljit Singh. Add to that the names of Anup Kumar Yama and Avani Panchal.

They won us two bronze medals in Roller Sports. This was quite a revelation - that roller skates are not just equipment for up market kids to create havoc in colony lanes. It is actually a competitive medal-winning sport. The men’s golf team rallied superbly to snatch silver. The sailing team too added a silver. Tarundeep Rai stepped on uncharted territories, winning a silver in men’s individual archery.

However, India really came to be noticed on the athletics track, especially the women athletes. Four gold medals, including in sprints, was sensational. The tall and rangy Ashwini Akkunji was brilliant. Her finish in the 400m hurdles was better than anything we have seen in India and it was thanks to her striding in the third leg of the 4x400m relay that India notched up their fifth gold on the track. was thanks to her striding in the third leg of the 4x400m relay that India notched up their fifth gold on the track. Thomas Abraham did equally well to snare the men’s 400m hurdles.

On the flip side, we had absolutely no business losing out to Malaysia in the men’s hockey semi-finals. Whether India would have won the gold is no longer relevant but there is no question the side should have played the final.

Eighteen wrestlers got India only three bronze while the formidable shooting contingent had to make do with Ronjan Sodhi’s gold in the double trap and seven other lesser medals.

Somdev Devvarman was a revelation but Sania Mirza’s singles bronze and mixed doubles silver weren’t quite up to the script, though the script may actually have over-rated her, as always.

It was also expected that Saina Nehwal would win gold, but given the field, dominated by the Chinese and Malaysians, that was never realistic.

Boxing did very well to put nine pugilists into the semi-finals, and five to the finals. Two gold out of five wasn’t a bad return. Also, Suranjoy Singh surely would have a case if he claimed that got a raw deal from the judges.

So a total of 64 medals, a hike of 11 from Doha, is being cheered all around. At the same time, 14 gold is one ahead of the 14 at home in 1982. So essentially, we are on the path to success, but there is still some way left before we are actually there.

Guwahati, November 27
The Test series won and senior members including skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni given some rest because of injury concerns, a new-look India under Gautam Gambhir will take on a never-say-die New Zealand in a five-ODI series starting here tomorrow.

The series will be India's last outing in the sub-continent before they begin their campaign in the World Cup.

Thus it will be one last chance for the fringe players to prove their worth before the big summit in February-April next year to be jointly hosted by India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

From the Kiwis perspective, Daniel Vettori's men will look to erase the bitter memories of a 0-4 series loss to Bangladesh by coming down on India heavily.

New Zealanders have the ammunition in the form of an experienced line-up with the likes of Scott Styris, Ross Taylor and the skipper himself, while India will look up to their young bunch.

Besides skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, India have rested star players Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh due to injury concerns ahead of the World Cup.

In the absence of Sehwag, Murali Vijay will look to add solidity to the opening slot, while the middle-order will be in the hands of in-form Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina and the senior-most member of the side, Yuvraj Singh, who will be the cynosure of all eyes in the series.

Demoted to B contract, the stylish Yuvraj is yet to get back his silken touch and the Punjab batsman will be desperate to come out of the phase and contribute with a winning knock.

In-form Kohli will be the one to watch out for as the Delhi lad is going great guns at all levels of the game.

His career-best 118 in Visakhapatnam -- in the only one-dayer possible during their last series against Australia -- helped India clinch the series 1-0. Kohli carried the momentum to Ranji Trophy as well and struck two back-to-back hundreds against Bengal and Tamil Nadu.

With the World Cup in mind, the selectors have also brought in the devastating Yusuf Pathan who recently had a good domestic season for Baroda both with the bat and ball.

Having got yet another chance to prove his worth before the World Cup, Pathan will have direct competition from Ravindra Jadeja to grab the all-rounder's spot in the line-up.

This series will also mean a lot to Bengal wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha who is all set for debut tomorrow as the skipper has been given rest.

Having made his Test debut by default (in place of an injured Rohit Sharma), Saha has earned his place in the first two one-dayers and the Test series against South Africa ahead of more experienced Dinesh Karthik.

The diminutive Bengal lad's skills -- both with the bat and behind the stumps -- will be watched closely.

Off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin will look to stand tall against the Kiwi opponents in the absence of Harbhajan and Pragyan Ojha.

The new ball is likely to be shared by S Sreesanth and Ashish Nehra who has been drafted in place of Praveen Kumar -- out with fever -- with either R Vinay Kumar or Munaf Patel coming in as first change.

The new skipper Gambhir, who made a return in the Test squad after recovering from a knee injury, has the experience of leading IPL team Delhi Daredevils and the Delhi Ranji side and it will be a test for his leadership qualities in the first two matches that will have a direct bearing on the series.

"I am really excited. It is a dream come true for any player to lead his country, whatever opportunity I will get of leading the team is great. Hopefully, I can do well personally and also as a team. Hopefully, we can win the series," Gambhir said.

Gambhir said his past captaincy experience would be of immense help.

"I'll try to be relaxed. The experience of captaining Delhi Daredevils and the Delhi Ranji team is always of great help as I've seen and handled the ups and downs as a captain.

"But everyone has different ways and I personally feel it's all about being instinctive in the middle. Hopefully, I can do well personally and also as a team." The Black Caps on the other hand are rich on experience, even though they will miss the services of Jesse Ryder who pulled out of the series after suffering from a calf injury.

Ryder, who was New Zealand's second best batsman after Brendon McCullum aggregating 274 in the just-concluded three Tests, has been replaced by James Franklin even as it is yet to be seen whether he is picked in the final XI.

Following a fantastic Test series that saw him notch a double century (in Hyderabad Test), McCullum will look to lead the batting pack as he is expected to reclaim the gloves from Gareth Hopkins for the one-day series.

The side is also bolstered by veteran Scott Styris while Ross Taylor will look to reinvent his lost form as he looked lackluster in the Tests. — PTI

Chandigarh, November 27
Indian team coach Gary Kirsten will accompany some senior Indian players to South Africa as they depart early in a bid to get used to the bouncy pitches there.

Kirsten alongwith six Indian players (Tendulkar, Sehwag, Laxman, Dravid, Zaheer and Pujara) will fly to SA on Dec 6. Captain Dhoni and Harbhajan will be joining them two days later.

The rest of the Indian team will be flying to SA on December 12, two days after the ODI series ends against NZ.

The first bunch of players going with Kirsten will be based in Cape Town (the coach’s home town) before joining the other team members in Jo’burg on December 12. According to BCCI sources, even Suresh Raina is likely to rested for the last two ODIs against NZ and will be joining the initial bunch of players going to SA.

Brisbane, November 27
England were battling to save going one down in the Ashes series after Mike Hussey and Brad Haddin posted centuries to give Australia a massive innings lead in the first Gabba Test today.

Hussey registered his highest Test score of 195 and Haddin contributed 136 in a Gabba record stand of 307 runs to propel Australia to a 221-run innings lead on the third day.

England, who have not won a Brisbane Test since Mike Gatting's team prevailed by seven wickets in 1986, reached the close at 19 without loss with Andrew Strauss on 11 and Alastair Cook six.

Australia rammed home an early psychological advantage by keeping England toiling in the field for 158.4 overs and almost 12 hours before they got their second turn to bat.

The leviathan sixth-wicket partnership ended 20 minutes after tea when Haddin was snapped up by Paul Collingwood at first slip off spinner Graeme Swann for 136. — AFP

BRIEFLY

Singla is BCCI observer
Chandigarh: BCCI has appointed former Ranji player and CITCO General Manager RP Singla as the observer for the one-day international series against New Zealand at Guwahati. A notification here said Singla would oversee compliance of various instructions and guidelines of the BCCI. — TNS