|
|
|
|
|
India’s tour of west indies
Shouldn’t have applied laws of cricket on Indians: Harper
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Doping Controversy: Body blow for Indian sports
Mandeep claims innocence, wants food supplements tested
Suspecting food supplements as the reason behind her dope flunk, tainted quarter-miler Mandeep Kaur has asked the Athletics Federation of India's Anti-Doping Committee to test them during the hearing process.
Boxing team leaves for President’s Cup
|
|
India’s tour of west indies
Bridgetown, July 1 Vijay was removed for only 3 by Rampaul, who is having a wonderful series with the ball. But Mukund and Dravid were defiant in their approach as the two made sure that the visitors did not lose any more wickets and took the overall lead to 73 runs. Despite India’s dominance, a result looks unlikely as weather has hit play for two days and much play has been lost to rain and bad-light. Earlier, a superb three-wicket burst by speedster Ishant Sharma, who grabbed career-best six for 55, helped India dismiss the West Indies for 190 in their first innings and put themselves into a comfortable position on the rain-affected third day. Ishant took the last three West Indies wickets off five balls for just one run to end the West Indian resistance in the post-lunch session to give India a slender 11-run first innings lead at Kensington Oval. India, who had scored 201 all out in their first innings, were 23 for no loss from 5.4 overs in their second innings when the stumps were drawn as only four deliveries were bowled in the final session due to rain and bad light. Tea was also taken 10 minutes earlier than scheduled due to rain. The visitors have now taken an overall 34-run lead with all their second innings wickets intact. Openers Murali Vijay and Abhinav Mukund will resume tomorrow on three and eight respectively. Altogether, 42 overs were played on Thursday, an improvement from the 25.3 on Wednesday. Ishant picked up the last two wickets off successive balls — Ravi Rampaul (0) and Fidel Edwards (0) — after dismissing West Indies captain Darren Sammy (15) in the earlier over towards the close of post-lunch session to keep India ahead in the Test. He added three more wickets on the third day to the three he scalped on the second day to grab his second career five-wicket haul in an innings. Playing in his 33rd match, the 22-year-old Delhi pacer completed his 100 wickets in Tests during his inspirational spell when he dismissed Sammy for his fourth wicket of the innings in the post-lunch session. West Indies were marvelously served by returning batsman Marlon Samuels who remained unbeaten on 78 from 178 balls with eight fours. — Agencies Scoreboard India 1st innings 201 West Indies 1st innings 190 India 2nd innings Mukund not out 27 Vijay c Baugh b Rampaul 3Dravid not out 18 Extras (lb 8, w 5, nb 1) 14 Total: (1 wkt; 21 ovrs) 62 Bowling: Edwards 5-1-18-0, Rampaul 8-1-21-1, Sammy 8-3-15-0.
|
|
Shouldn’t have applied laws of cricket on Indians: Harper
Harper, who withdrew from the third Test starting on July 6 at Roseau, Dominica after severe criticism from the Indian players, sarcastically said that he should not have applied the laws of cricket to them. "I didn't have my best game of the year but referee Jeff Crowe, who observed every ball, calculated that I had managed to get 94% of all my decisions correct. That analysis was confirmed from headquarters in our Dubai office," Harper said about the series-opener, which India won by 63 runs. "There was one LBW against Harbhajan that would have been reversed had Decision Review System been available. I also failed to detect a no ball when West Indian Bishoo's back foot touched the side or return crease. It's about as common as Indians eating beef burgers," he said. "WI expressed concern over Indian players' habit of charging at umpires when appealing which is against the spirit of the game," Harper said. "I should never have applied the laws of cricket to Indian players," he said sarcastically. On his exchange of words with Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Harper said, "We did not share many pleasantries in the match." On his decision against Indian middle-order batsman Virat Kohli, Harper said, "Another decision that was notable involved Virat Kohli. He flashed wide of his body at a short ball that passed well outside his body down the leg side. He clearly gloved the ball and was given out. "Replays could not confirm that my decision was right and they could not confirm my decision was wrong," he wrote. Dhoni should have been pulled up: Oz media
Sydney: The Australian media has come down hard on the International Cricket Council (ICC) for not taking any action against Indian captain MS Dhoni, whose criticism of umpire Daryl Harper's performance in the first Test against West Indies led to the withdrawal of the official from the third Test. "Indian harassment and the ICC's inaction have seen Australian umpire Daryl Harper pull out of his farewell Test in the West Indies," reported the Australian.
— Agencies |
|
Mahela powers Lanka win
Leeds, July 1 Faced with a stiff target of 310, England threatened for a while, particularly while Eoin Morgan was compiling a 37-ball half-century, but eventually succumbed to 240 all out. Earlier, Mahela Jayawardene's career-best century powered Sri Lanka to 309 for five. The opener made 144 — Jayawardene's highest score in 343 ODIs surpassing his 128 against India at Sharjah in 2000 — as Sri Lanka leveled this five-match series at 1-1. A couple of reckless run-outs reduced Sri Lanka to 45 for two in the 10th over after England captain Alastair Cook won the toss and elected to field. But a record stand of 159 between former captains Jayawardene, dropped on seven, and Kumar Sangakkara, who made 69, turned the tide Sri Lanka's way. Angelo Mathews kept the runs coming with a brisk 46 not out off 30 balls while Jeevan Mendis's unbeaten seven included a hooked six off Stuart Broad that saw Sri Lanka past 300. — Agencies |
|
Sania-Vesnina lose in semifinal
London, July 1 The second seed Czech pair beat the fourth seed Indo-Russian pair 6-3, 6-1 to reach the Grand Slam final. On Wednesday, Sania Mirza reached the Wimbledon doubles semifinal for the first time in her career after she and Elena Vesnina came from behind to beat Nuria Llagostera Vives and Arantxa Parra Santonja. Djokovic in final Novak Djokovic overcame the acrobatic brilliance of Jo-Wilfried Tsonga to reach his first Wimbledon final and secure the world number one ranking with a dramatic 7-6, 6-2, 6-7, 6-3 victory on Friday. Bhupathi-Vesnina in semifinals Fourth seeds Mahesh Bhupathi and Elina Vesnina advanced to the semifinals of the Wimbledon mixed doubles event after registering a straight sets 6-4 6-1 win over Israel's Jonathan Erlich and Shahar Peer here today. Erlich and Peer were no match for the in-form Indo-Russia duo who needed exactly an hour to see them off on court number 12. — Agencies
|
|
Doping Controversy: Body blow for Indian sports
New Delhi, July 1 The real tragedy is that despite the crisis hitting the Indian sporting scene time and again, it keeps happening, with tact and even active involvement of many of those who ostensibly have the responsibility to take the nation to great heights in this field. All they are doing is dragging it down, every time it looks like India is emerging from the shell of mediocrity. As always, there will be inquiries, demands for heads and loud noises about how the athletes have brought disrepute to the country. But it would take a serious optimist to actually think that the ills will be done away for good. Mandeep Kaur and Jauna Murmu are just two names, two faces which now bear the brunt of disciplining, censure and criticism, while the unknown monster of self-serving coaches, ‘doctors’ and other advisors will once again get away scot-free. What comes as a shock is that it was the International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF) which nailed the two athletes, when the much vaunted state-of-the-art anti-doping system in place now in India was caught by surprise. The IAAF evidently had been keeping tabs on certain athletes and the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA), responsible for doing the job in India was found wanting, a fact amply reflected by the alacrity with which the names of the other failed athletes popped up, once Mandeep and Murmu were caught. The evidence of syringes found at sports institutes, the presence of many questionable ‘doctors’ and other experts from nations with dubious reputations in terms of doping and the constant misinformation till the time news suddenly breaks all point at some pretty deep dealings in this front. India has seen discus throwers, weightlifters and now runners too finding themselves in the net. The situation in the weightlifting world was so bad that India had to shell out a considerable amount for getting some lifters cleared before the Commonwealth Games. So as soon as the IAAF got going, NADA too suddenly found dope offenders in Sini Jose and Tiana Mary Thomas, 400m runners who were going to represent India in the relays at the Asian Championship in Japan. Plus there were shot putter Soniya and long jumper Hari Krishnan Muralidharan. The impact for the region will also be telling. Punjab and Haryana had been throwing up athletes in all events and it was beginning to look like that these two States would lead the Indian charge as a challenging sporting nation. Mandeep and Soniya have suddenly put a spanner in the works, since every such development sets back the entire process. For runners to be caught is a recent development. Power disciplines like discus, shot put or hammer throw, rapid growth of muscle mass and strength could be achieved quickly through just one way - the dishonest way. This malaise spread alarmingly to weightlifting. But as the riches associated with sports began to grow, so did the competition and subsequently the desire to make it big. The coaches and training staff too would only succeed if their athletes were successful. Consequently, they not only kept quiet about doping offences, they actually tacitly or even actively encouraged these athletes, most of whom come from modest backgrounds with modest education, to adopt the short-cut road to success. But such success is always fraught with the risk of being caught. While the officialdom in India often does its best to hide such issues, once the cat is out of the bag, as was the case with the two athletes caught by the IAAF, everyone suddenly turns holy and gets on the job of nabbing more people. All of this is a bit shambolic. The tragedy here is that Indian athletics, which were beginning to look up, has suffered a body blow, recovering from which could be difficult. |
|
Mandeep claims innocence, wants food supplements tested
New Delhi, July 1 AFI Director M L Dogra said that Mandeep and another quarter-miler Jauna Murmu have written to the Anti-Doping Committee, which would conduct the disciplinary hearing, to test the vitamin food supplements which they had been taking during training. "Both the athletes had written to the committee to test the vitamin food supplements and the panel will decide on it. If the panel wants, the test can be conducted at National Dope Testing Laboratory or any other government laboratory," Dogra told reporters here. Mandeep, who won 4x400m relay gold in Commonwealth and Asian Games, and Jauna, who finished fourth in 400m hurdles in Asian Games, flunked out-of-competition tests conducted by International Association of Athletics Federations. The 'B' samples of both the athletes returned positive for anabolic steroids and they have been provisionally suspended. A teary-eyed Mandeep, who came here along with Jauna to receive the notice of suspension and for disciplinary hearing, denied taking any banned substance knowingly. "I am in International Registered Testing Pool of WADA after Asian Games and I am not a mad person that I would take steroids to enhance performance. Steroids remain inside the body for three months and how can any athlete in international testing pool take drugs," Mandeep told reporters. "I have been running at top level for a long time and have not taken any banned substance in my career. This is the first time it is happening. Why should I do something which would taint the reputation of my family? "I am sure I will come out clean and I hope that I will be given a chance to return to athletics," said an emotional Mandeep. Mandeep said she suspected the banned substances to be present in her food supplements she had bought from the market and not prescribed at the national camp at NIS Patiala. "We can't win medals at international level without taking food supplements. I suspect the vitamin supplements we took have created the problems. We don't have a doctor and we don't know which drug can create problems. We ourselves can't become doctors. I want supplements to be tested whether they contain steroids," she said. What could prove difficult for her and Jauna to escape punishment was that they had bought the food supplements prescribed by the coaches without consulting doctors from outside and also without the knowledge of AFI. "These food supplements are not those provided by government at NIS Patiala. We bought them from the bazar (market). Our coaches knew the food supplements we are having. They accompanied us when we bought," she said while showing more than a dozen cans of vitamin supplements and capsules to the journalists. Asked if the AFI knew that the athletes were using food supplements bought from outside the camp, Mandeep said, "No, they don't know." Mandeep also produced the documents of dope result of the two earlier tests prior to the May 25, in which she returned positive for anabolic steroids. "I have been tested so many times in the past and I have come out clean, I am clean now also. Since I am in the international testing pool, I have been tested twice before May 25 and those have returned negative for banned drugs," she said. The two tests she was referring to were done on April 25 and May 3.
— PTI |
|
Boxing team leaves for President’s Cup
One such opportunity has fallen in the hands of seven boxers as they leave for the 21st President’s Cup boxing tournament in Jakarta, Indonesia tonight. The tournament, which was stopped about seven years ago, is being re-organised and participation has rolled in from almost 30 nations. The Indian contingent will be headed by Asian Games silver medallist Santosh Kumar (64 kg) along with Gaurav Bidhuri (49 kg), Santosh Harijan (49 kg), Chhote Lal Yadav (56 kg), Neeraj Goyat (60 kg), Lakhbir Singh (69 kg) and Jasveer Singh (81 kg). A three-member support team- coaches Jagdip Hooda, Narendra Rana and Dr Tarun Kumar Tamta — is also going. Speaking to the The Tribune Sanotsh sounded optimistic about putting up a good fight at the event, which is part of the IBF’s plan to provide maximum exposure to Indian boxers in the run-up to the Olympics. “We have worked hard at the camp in Patiala. For two weeks, we used computers and new technology to get a hang of the new scoring system. I feel confident that we will be able to put up a good fight at the event,” Santosh said. Hooda is also very excited about the preparation the squad has had. “The boys have trained hard and I feel they are in the right frame of mind to do well. The changed scoring system doesn’t mean that you have to adjust your game a lot. We have worked on understanding the system and I am confident that we will do well.” For light heavyweight boxer Jasveer Singh, this is a good opportunity to make a strong impact. “I am not thinking too much about results just yet. All I want to do is give it my all and leave the results at that. The only thing I am bothered about is I my performance, not the outcome.” The tournament begins on July 2 and concludes on July 9. |
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Letters | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | E-mail | |
Chandigarh, July 1
