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Rain halts England’s progress
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Another athlete fails dope test
Top names for boxing squad
Boxers, wrestlers hope for better showing
Archers win first medal for India
Federation Cup draw announced
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Rain halts England’s progress England reach 75-0 before rain halts play Strauss, Cook looking good again India bring in RP Singh for Praveen London, August 18 Indian bowling lacked teeth as openers Alastair Cook and Andrew Strauss batted comfortably to take England to 75 for no loss at lunch. From the moment recalled medium-pacer Rudra Pratap Singh sent a wide delivery down the leg stump which almost bounced twice, Indians never backed themselves to do any worthwhile damage to the hosts' formidable batting. Both Cook and Strauss began with boundaries down to the third man region and generally played without any alarm till the second hour when a sharp Ishant Sharma bouncer nearly took England skipper's head off. Strauss was on 24, England 48 for no loss, when Sharma dug one in which got Strauss in a tangle and hit him smack on the peak of his helmet, taking a piece off it. An inch below and Strauss could have ended up with a serious blow on his face. But for this solitary moment of superiority, there wasn't any genuine moment of shout emerging from the Indians. England openers, for most part of the session, accumulated their runs in ones and twos and only nine fours were hit in the first session. Strauss hit Sreesanth for two delightful boundaries, putting a straight delivery past the square-leg fence and then getting his stride forward to stroke one back past the bowler. Cook too got into the swing of things by getting on top of a short delivery from RP and square cutting it to fence and later flicking Sreesanth for yet another boundary. As the minutes passed by, the strides of batsmen went longer and shots got deeper in front of square. Indians largely stuck to its medium-pacers in the first session but they didn't have the quality to make use of overcast conditions. RP only got better after his first over which Ian Botham in the commentary box described as the worst first over he has ever seen in Test cricket. He finished his first spell of seven overs with 19 runs but his pace was disappointing even by gentle military medium-pace standards. He clearly looked a bowler who hasn't played Test cricket for three years now. Sreesanth had his own problems. Clearly uncomfortable in bowling to left-handers, he tended to bowl too straight to two left-handers and was hit for most boundaries — 4 — during the morning session. — PTI Scoreboard England 1st innings
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Khel Ratna for Gagan Narang
New Delhi, August 18 The Sports Ministry today formally announced the names of those who won the Khel Ratna, Dronacharya, Arjuna and Dhyan Chand awards. However, the Government has withheld the name of the best university for the Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Trophy as the selection formalities are yet to be completed. India’s strike bowler, the injury-prone Zaheer Khan, was the lone cricketer among the unusually large number of 19 sportspersons, covering virtually every sport, selected for the Arjuna Award. Normally, the Arjuna Award is limited to a maximum of 15 sportspersons, but the Government has taken into account the athletes’ performances in last year’s Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games in China, to enhance the number to 19. Thus, despite the dope scandal, which had tainted many of the CWG medallists, two athletes have been picked for the Arjuna Award — runner Preeja Sreedharan and discus thrower Vikas Gowda. Indian hockey captain Rajpal Singh, footballer Sunil Chhetri, tennis ace Somdev Devvarman and badminton player Jwala Gutta are the other prominent sportspersons selected for the Arjuna Award. The Sports Ministry stated that a large number of nominations were received for these awards this year, which were considered by three select panels of eminent sportspersons and sports administrators. Former Asian badminton champion Dinesh Khanna headed Khel Ratna and Arjuna Award panels while former Asian Games wrestling gold medallist Satpal headed the Dronacharya Award committee. Secretary (Sports) Sindhushree Khullar was the chief of the Dhyan Chand Award selection committee. Apart from a medal and a citation, the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award includes a cash prize of Rs 7.5 lakh. The Arjuna, Dronacharya and Dhyan Chand awardees will receive statuettes, citations and a cash prize of Rs 5 lakh each. President Pratibha Patil will give away the awards at Rashtrapati Bhawan on August 29. The winners: Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna: Gagan Narang (shooting). Arjuna Award: Rahul Banerjee (archery), Preeja Sreedharan and Vikas Gowda (athletics), Jwala Gutta (badminton), M. Suranjoy Singh (boxing), Zaheer Khan (cricket), Sunil Chhetri (football), Ashish Kumar (gymnastics), Rajpal Singh (hockey), Rakesh Kumar (kabaddi), Tejeswini Bai V. (kabaddi), Tejeswini Sawant (shooting), Veerdhawal Khade (swimming), Somdev Devvarman (tennis), Sanjay Kumar (volleyball), Ravinder Singh (wrestling), Naib Subedar K. Ravikumar (weightlifting), Sandhyarani Devi (Wushu) and Prasanta Karamkar (swimming paralympics). Dronacharya Award: I. Venkatgeshwara Rao (boxing), Devender Kumar Rathore (gymnastics), Ramphal (wrestling), Dr Kuntal Roy (athletics) and Rajinder Singh (hockey). (Roy and Rajinder get the award for ‘lifetime achievement’. Dhyan Chand Award: Shabbir Ali (football), Sushil Kohli (swimming) and Rajkumar (wrestling).
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Another athlete fails dope test
Patiala, August 18 Ranjana Roy, a 400m runner who represents Railways, tested positive for the steroid Nandrolone, when she was tested during the 75th All-India Railway Athletic Championship, held at Netaji Subhash National Institute of Sports (NIS), Patiala, in July this year. The current results hold importance for the country’s athletic circle as Ranjana was considered to be a future asset. With the country’s top six 400m runners already under provisional suspension on doping charges, Ranjana was a contender for the Indian 4x400m relay team. The 21-year-old has been put on notice and barred from participating in all recognised events till her ‘B’ sample results are cleared. The recent results that emerged after raids, the first of their kind, on any inter-departmental meet in the country by NADA, had surprised many. “Till recently, such inter-departmental meets never caught anyone’s eye, including NADA, but when the NADA team actually made a swoop on the athletes at NIS during the Railway championship, many tried to skip the tests but the winners of the events could not,” said officials attached with the meet. Sources inside NIS said that during the raid, NADA had collected urine samples, for the first time in the Railway trials, at Patiala on behalf of the Railway Sports Promotion Board (RSPB) which left many participants ducking for cover. “While some simply could not be tested as they went missing, the ones tested were also reluctant,” they said. NADA chief Rahul Bhatnagar confirmed to The Tribune that Ranjana’s ‘A’ sample had tested positive and said that the sprinter would now undergo ‘B’ sampling and if she fails in that, her case would go to the NADA appointed panel.
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Top names for boxing squad
Patiala, August 18 This is a very crucial tournament as it is the first qualifying event for the London Olympics. Top ten boxers in each weight category will qualify for the London Games, except heavy and super heavyweight categories, where only six will qualify. Squad: Lt Flyweight (49kg) L Devendro Singh; Flyweight (52kg) Suranjoy Singh; Bantamweight (56kg) Akhil Kumar, Lightweight (60kg) Jai Bhagwan; Lt Welterweight (64kg) Manoj Kumar; Welterweight (69kg) Vikas Krishan; Middleweight (75kg), Vijender Singh; Lt Heavyweight (81kg) Dinesh Kumar; Heavyweight (91kg) Manpreet Singh; Super Heavyweight (over 91kg) Paramjeet Samota.
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Messi fires Barca to win
Barcelona, August 18 The Argentine World Player of the Year capped another marvellous performance, after scoring one and setting up another in the first leg, with an unstoppable volley to claim the first silverware of the season before the trouble erupted. Tempers boiled over on the touchline after debutant Cesc Fabregas was hacked down by Marcelo and the Brazilian defender, Mesut Ozil of Real and Barca's David Villa were all dismissed. Messi had set up Andres Iniesta for the first goal in the 15th minute and, after Cristiano Ronaldo had quickly equalised, he scampered through to grab the second just before the break. Karim Benzema put Real level again with nine minutes remaining, but the irrepressible Messi guided Barca to victory with another piece of magic that had the crowd in raptures. "The players have made a super-human effort because we were missing some and those we had were far from their best form," Barca coach Guardiola said. "Messi isn't at his best level ...we have to congratulate the players for their efforts and character." Pep Guardiola fielded the side that won the Champions League final in May, which meant new signing Fabregas was on the bench, but Real controlled the opening minutes. The visitors pushed up on Barca from the start and Ronaldo stung Victor Valdes's hands inside the first minute as they harried and hustled their hosts all over the pitch. The game was being played at pace when Messi picked up the ball in midfield and played the darting Iniesta straight through the middle with a perfectly weighted pass. — Reuters |
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Boxers, wrestlers hope for better showing
Patiala, August 18 Though the Sports Ministry and Sports Authority of India (SAI) are trying their best to provide top-class facilities to these players, the entry of private players like Mittal Group is providing more opportunities to them. With Mittal sponsoring many athletes in shooting, archery, wrestling, athletics and boxing, the sportspersons are on a new high. Manisha Malhotra, Chief Executive Officer of Mittal Champion Trust (MCT), said here that the Indian athletes were very talented and if provided with better opportunities, they could reach new highs. She said she was sure of better performances in the London Olympics compared to Beijing as the players have been training really hard. Even the boxers and wrestlers are sure of better performances and were looking forward to the qualifying tournaments. Talking about his future plans, Vikas Kishan Yadav, who has made it to the Indian squad for the World Boxing Championship, said the Indian squad was all set for London Games and they were hopeful of three or four medals there. Haryana wrestlers Geeta and Babita too are eyeing their World Championship in September to qualify for the Olympics. When asked about primary concern before the Olympics, the athletes sought more foreign exposure. “Though our coaches are good but training in foreign countries certainly provided more exposure,” Geeta said. “After being attached with Mittal, I am expecting that I would be able to train in other countries with different sparring partners. As of now, I am focussing on qualifying for the Games because that is really difficult.” Pugilists Yadav and Meena too said they were happy with the coaching but by being attached with Mittal, they were mentally at peace. “We have personal doctors and trainers from abroad, who are looking after each and every problem. This is the need of the hour. Personal attention and motivation is what we need right now. Training is already going good,” they added.
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Archers win first medal for India
Patiala, August 18 Talking to The Tribune from Shenzen, Gagandeep, who recently won silver in the Ogden World Cup, said she was delighted to win the first medal for India during this championship. "We were a little disappointed in the morning after losing the semi-final to Russia, we didn't give up hope. We managed to keep our cool and win against Mexico in the last round. What makes it more special is that it is the first medal for our country in this tournament," she added. Expressing delight over her achievement, Sunita, who became National Games champion this year defeating all international archers, said she could not find words to express her feelings. "This is my first international medal and I have been working really hard for it. Though I managed to enter the India camp this year for the first time, I lost by a narrow margin during the final trials and could not make it to the team. I was very disappointed but Gagandeep motivated me to continue practice and see here I am today, not only representing India but also winning a medal for my country," she said. Back home, coaches of both universities, Jiwanjot Singh and Phulbagh Kaur, and their parents are in a jubilant mood. The coaches said it was a proud moment for them and the entire sports fraternity. “This would certainly motivate youngsters to take up archery that till date is not very popular in Punjab," they added. Gagandeep and Sunita’s parents said they were extremely happy and wished that at least now the Punjab Government must offer jobs to their talented players in order to stop their drifting to other States.
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Federation Cup draw announced
New Delhi, August 18 According to the draw, Groups A and B would play their matches in Pune while Groups C and D would play in Kolkata. The winner from each groups will make it to the semi-finals. The group matches begin on September 17. The semi-finals are slated to be held in Kolkata on September 25 and 26 and the final at the same venue on September 29. The qualifying tournament for the tournament will be held in Kolkata from September 8. The Groups: Group A: Mohun Bagan, Churchill Brothers, Shillong Lajong FC, Qualifier B; Group B: Pailan Arrows, Salgaocar Sports Club, Mumbai FC, HAL; Group C: East Bengal, Dempo SC, Pune FC, Qualifier A; Group D: Prayag United SC, Sporting Clube de Goa, Air-India, Viva Kerala.
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The opening day of the fourth and final cricket Test between India and England was called off because of torrential rain which began during the lunch break at the Oval here today.
MASON: