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MESSI MANIA
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Lessons unlikely from Messi experience
Malhotra urges PM to constitute GoM
Palwinder wins gold in Police Games
Demus wins 400 metres hurdles
Hero Cyclothon at three venues
England beat India
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MESSI MANIA
When Maradona, the then official coach of Argentina, visited Kolkata in 2008, where he was to be just felicitated, over 50,000 football fans hit the streets for a glimpse of the star. And when Lionel Messi landed at Kolkata’s Netaji Subhas International Airport in the wee hours of Tuesday, there were still two thousand fans waiting outside, screaming his name and waiting for a mere wave from the Lion King.
In Kolkata, Maradona did not participate in any exhibition match. His visit was sponsored by a business house in collaboration with the state sports department which engaged him to inaugurate a sports stadium in a remote village in south 24-parganas and the sitting CPI(M) MP Samik Lahiri tried to utilise the visit for his own electoral gains. Messi, after an almost 24-hour long round-the-world trip, was understandably bewildered and jet-lagged. But Indian officials displayed their usual indifference to the people by whisking the star away through a side entrance. The young and the not so young fans, who had missed their sleep, perhaps half-expected the treatment. There was no display of anger, no rowdism and no slogan shouting as the stunned lot slowly dispersed, content in the knowledge that one of the greatest footballers had arrived in their city. The Argentinian team has been put up at the Hyatt Regency, a stone’s throw from the massive Salt Lake stadium, which will be filled up on Friday with over 100,000 spectators. The stadium and the turf, neglected by successive Left Front governments, have been given a make-over in less than two months with massive funding by the state government and under the stern instructions from Mamata Banerjee. Huge LCD screens have been put up for the first time to enable spectators to follow the moves closely and also for the first time, as many as 15 cameras will be used on Friday to telecast the friendly match live. The Argentinian team was pleasantly surprised to see the new-look stadium and some of them, who had visited the city three months ago to finalise the details, could not help exclaiming at the speed with which the project was completed. The hotel’s ballroom has been converted into an indoor practice facility for the team and the chefs are working overtime to give an Argentinian flavour to Indian food. Meanwhile, the Messi mania has extended far beyond the city with thousands of fans, including several Chief Ministers, expected to descend from the neighbouring states. The tickets have been sold out with the lowest of them priced at Rs 500. The match is widely expected to revive the fortunes of football in the city, which was once a Mecca of Indian football. The city wears its football fever on its sleeves. During every Football World Cup, walls are still painted with the colours of the teams and figures of the players. Even the roads are seldom spared and small businessmen do brisk business selling various team jerseys to the fans. It has not been any different this time either. The newly appointed Argentina coach Alejandro Sabella will make his debut as Argentina ’s football coach at Friday’s friendly match against Venezuela.
Venezuela team has not received much attention either from the organisers or from the media. The Venezuelan coach Cesar Farians is not complaining though. “We are here to play the match, for practice and preparation,” he curtly told the media before breezing into the stadium where players were warming up for practice. |
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Lessons unlikely from Messi experience
New Delhi, September 1 AIFF President Praful Patel was a vehement critic of the Sports Development Bill, put up before the Cabinet for discussion on Tuesday and threw his lot with his NCP boss and cricket czar Sharad Pawar in defending the independent turf of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), even as the Sports Bill wanted to bring the BCCI under the ambit of the RTI Act. Perhaps Patel was re-emphasising his gratitude towards the BCCI for granting a few crores of Rupees to the AIFF, thanks to his proximity to Pawar. But Patel has not displayed such pro-active role when it comes to giving the game he administers a push. Football -- quality football - is still a major draw in the country, which was evident during the India versus UAE World Cup qualifying tie at the Ambedkar Stadium in Delhi on July 29. Despite pouring rain, fans packed the stands to witness a good contest and the teams did not disappoint them. Indian football should have grown by leaps and bounds drawing from the experience of the Nehru Gold Cup international football tournament. When late Ashok Ghosh was AIFF secretary, he brought national teams from the erstwhile Soviet Union, Yugoslavia, Hungary, Poland, Argentina, Uruguay etc. packed with World Cup players, to perform in the Nehru Cup. The Indian team did display flashes of brilliance under the late Yugoslav coach Ciric Milovan. India’s 1-1 draw with Poland in the 1984 Nehru Cup at the Eden Gardens was a classic contest. Over the years, the Nehru Cup was suspended and then revived, but India failed to cash in on the experience gained from watching top quality matches as there was no proper grass-root programme, infrastructure creation or marketing of the game.
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Argentinian stars have a long affair with this city
Kolkata, September 1 A young Argentina team, preparing for the 1986 World Cup, defeated India 1-0 in the competition's round robin league, with Ricardo Garreca striking the winner late in the second session. The assistant coach of the current team Jullien Camino also featured in the game as a wing back. "We were really very excited. Not only Argentina but we played Romania and Poland also, the teams that are regular World Cuppers. To play for the country against such big teams was in itself a great motivation and we all had this feeling 'come to the ground and we will show you'," famed ex defender Tarun Dey said. The Argentines led by goalkeeper Nery Pumpido were disappointed in the tournament, as they narrowly missed the final berth. Two years later, the Argentines went on to win the World Cup for the second time in Mexico. Camino returned to the city in 1988 to don the East Bengal jersey for a few months. He gave a good account of himself in the midfield and his defence splitting precision passes earned praise from his teammates, East Bengal fans and soccer pundits. However, language problem and East Bengal's inability to meet his financial demands prompted Camino to return home. Calling Messi the greatest footballer of the present generation, Dey said, "He is an exceptional talent. There is a magic in his feet." The soccer-crazy city's date with Argentina is not confined to this match. In December, 2008, soccer legend Diego Maradona visited the city to attend a series of programmes including laying the foundation of a football school. The Argentine legend's two-day trip generated tremendous enthusiasm and an estimated 50,000 strong crowd hit the roads well past midnight to accord him a tumultuous welcome. Every stopover that Maradona made during his tour drew crowds by the thousands. Over 80,000 frenzied soccer fans attended his felicitation at the Salt Lake Stadium, the venue of Friday's first ever FIFA international friendly in India featuring Argentina and Venezuela. Besides the Argentines, the city has in the past hosted football's hall of fame heroes like Pele, Eusebio, Lothar Matthaus, Zico, Oliver Kahn, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, Roger Milla, Ottmar Hitzfeld, Gerd Muller, Romario Branco and 2010 World Cup's top scorer and best player Diego Forlan. Except Forlan, none of them visited the city in their prime. Most of them came after hanging their boots, while Pele and Kahn were then on the verge of retirement. Forlan did not play. Thus Messi becomes the world's highest rated player to play here during his peak form and the city's soccer aficionados are hoping to see some mesmerising moments from the 'Flea'. Another former Indian defender Aloke Mukherjee, who took on the might of the Argentines in 1984, feels the 1984 team was stronger than the current visiting side. "Maradona was not there. But several members of the team that won the World Cup in 1986 played here. That team I feel was stronger than the current batch." Mukherjee regretted that the Argentines would not play against any Indian team. — IANS
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Everything About Messi
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New York, September 1 Somdev, India's lone men's singles competitor, lost 6-7 (5), 2-6, 3-6 against the British number one in a match lasting two hours and 27 minutes at the Arthur Ashe Stadium here. Sania, Leander win
Sania Mirza, ousted from the singles event, and Leander Paes moved into the second round of the women's doubles and mixed doubles' competitions respectively after winning their opening matches. Sixth seeds Sania and her Russian partner Elena Vesnina eased past Americans Samantha Crawford and Madison Keys 6-2, 6-0. In mixed doubles, Vesnia teamed up with Leander Paes to beat the Russian-British combine of Nadia Petrova and Jamie Murray. The seventh-seeded Indo-Russian team won 6-2 ,6-7 (7), 1-0 (6). Venus withdraws
Former U.S. Open champion Venus Williams withdrew from the last grand slam of the year on Wednesday, revealing she is suffering from an autoimmune disease. The former world number one quit the tournament before her second-round match against Germany's Sabine Lisicki and explained the extent of her health problems.
— Agencies
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Malhotra urges PM to constitute GoM
New Delhi, September 1 IOA Acting President Vijay Kumar Malhotra told the Prime Minister that not only the IOA but all the NSFs were willing to be subjected to any scrutiny by the Government agencies, but without trampling upon their autonomy granted to them under the Olympic Charter. “We have nothing to hide. The NSFs are open and transparent, the IOA is a democratically elected body which strictly follows the constitution of the country and adheres to the Charter of the International Olympic Committee (IOC),” Malhotra said. “The IOA and the NSFs are feeling suffocated by the unfounded and sinister tirade launched against us by certain vested interest,” he added. “This smear campaign is having crippling effect on our preparations for the London Olympics.” Malhotra said a wrong and malicious impression has been created in the mind of the general public that the IOA was against every Government move. "This is not correct. The IOA and all the NSFs have regular elections. The election process is fair and transparent. The sports federations are already under RTI and their accounts are audited by the CAG. The Government pays for the sportspersons' training and travel at home and abroad and that is also accounted for," the IOA acting president clarified.
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Palwinder wins gold in Police Games
Patiala, September 1 This is his sixth consecutive gold medal in these Games. His father and coach Sukhchain Cheema was delighted with this win. He said though this was nothing new for Palwinder but every medal certainly has its own importance. “Reaching a certain position is easy but sustaining it is more difficult. I am glad that Palwinder has managed to retain his position. It was a proud moment for all of us and I am really happy,” he added. He further informed that Palwinder defeated American wrestler Elinte Waldeck in the final to win the honour. Palwinder has been winning gold in Indian Police Games for the last 10 years. Previously, he had won gold medals in Asian and Commonwealth Championships and bagged two bronze medals in Asian Games.
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Daegu, September 1 Defending champion Melaine Walker of Jamaica took the silver and Russian Natalya Antyukh the bronze. Walker burst out of the blocks and built up a good early lead but Demus bided her time and reeled the Jamaican in around the final bend. The pair powered down the home straight stride for stride before Demus used the momentum from a cleaner jump over the final hurdle to edge in front and take gold. Kaliese Spencer, the pre-race favourite and fastest in the world this year, was a disappointing fourth. India’s Tintu Luka qualifies, Om out
India's Tintu Luka made it to the women's 800m semifinals but shot putter Om Prakash Karhana was eliminated in the qualifying round of the World Athletics Championships. Luka clocked 2:01.89 to finish sixth in heat number four, which was enough for her to make it to tomorrow's semifinals. The 21-year-old prodigy of legendary P T Usha has a personal best timing of 1:59.17 which she recorded last year during the VTB Continental Cup and which is also the national record. Meanwhile, shot putter Om Prakash disappointed as he failed to qualify for the final round after finishing 12th in Group A qualification round and 23rd overall with a throw of 19.29m. The Gurgaon-lad failed to go near his personal and season's best of 20.04.
— Agencies |
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Hero Cyclothon at three venues
New Delhi, September 1 The Cyclothon is designed to promote cycling among people, built on the dual plank of environment conservation and fitness. The event in Delhi would feature international cycling race, spanning 105km, with two India teams participating. Cyclists can register for the events at www.indiacyclothon.com.
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Left-hander Morgan was the hero of England's chase of 166, striking seven fours and a six. Morgan put on 73 runs for the fourth wicket with Ravi Bopara (31 not out) off only 49 balls to lead England to a comprehensive victory despite Ajinkya Rahane's 61 off 39 balls. Jade Dernbach (four for 22) and captain Stuart Broad (two for 37) helped the hosts with a flurry of wickets as the visitors scored only 61 runs, losing nine wickets from the final eight overs. Thirty-three of them were scored by Suresh Raina who marked Tim Bresnan and Broad for special attention, smashing them for three sixes, as he took only 19 balls for his cameo. The hosts actually gave Indians a lesson in Twenty20 cricket as they scored their runs with a mix of defence and attack. The visitors, in contrast, appeared to play to the gallery and largely got their runs in fours and sixes. — PTI Brief Scores: India (165 all out, Rahane 61, Dernbach 4 for 22). England (169 for 4, Morgan 49, Munaf 2 for 25)
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New Delhi, September 1
FULL NAME: Lionel Andrés Messi
BARCELONA (2004-Present)
n
The youngest to play a match in La Liga on October 16, 2004 at 17 years and 114 days (a record that was later broken by his Barcelona teammate, Bojan
Krkic, in September 2007).
n
Argentine club River Plate were interested in signing Messi to their youth academy, but did not have enough money to pay for his treatments, which were around $900 a month. Barcelona, on the other hand, offered to pay the Messi family’s medical bills provided they were willing to relocate to Spain. Needless to say, they did, and the rest is history.
He’s
(Somdev) very solid. I’ve seen a little bit of him before. I watched a few videos of him the last couple of days just to see what his game was like. He doesn’t give you many free points, especially early on in the match. You have to get him to work hard before he starts making
mistakes.
Manchester, September 1