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Champions League T20 Mumbai Indians’ Sarul Kanwar in action in the Champions League T20 semifinal against Somerset in Chennai on Saturday. — AFP
Perera displays steady golf to win Haryana Open
Sri Lanka’s Mithun Perera holds the Haryana Open trophy at the PGC on Saturday. Tribune Photo: Nitin Mittal |
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IHF, HI standoff heading for trouble
Surjit Hockey
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Malinga bowls MI to victory
 Mumbai Indians beat Somerset by 10 runs to enter final Malinga claims four wickets MI will meet RCB in the final today Match starts 8 pm
Chennai, October 8 Set to score 161 for a place in the finals, Somerset could only manage 150 for 7. RCB are already in the finals and it will be an all-Indian clash for the title on Sunday. Craig Keiswetter batted valiantly for Somerset but his brave innings of 62 was not enough to give his team victory. Malinga was the most successful bowler with 4 wickets for 20 runs from his four overs. Earlier, Adrian Blizzard was the only batsman to play with assurance as Mumbai Indians posted a fighting score of 160 for 5. Opener Blizzard topscored with a half-century (54 from 39 balls with five fours and three sixes) and three later order batsmen played cameos as the Mumbai outfit struggled to put up a challenging total. Pollard (24), Yadav (23) and Sathish (25) all used the long handle to some good effect but the English county side will feel that they have a chance with the total not spiralling out of reach. — Agencies
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Perera displays steady golf to win Haryana Open
Panchkula, October 8 Perera’s final score of 18-under 270 was one stroke better than Ashok Kumar, who returned a highly commendable final round of 64. Ashok’s bogey-free round was dotted with brilliant strokes but Perera reaped in the benefit of having played three superb rounds earlier. On the final green, Ashok was in a position to force a play-off but he two-putted from about 15 feet to hand Perera the title. Perera, who last year became the first golfer from Sri Lanka to qualify for the Australian Open, played steady golf on the tricky and undulating fairways of the Panchkula course to remain ahead of the pack. Some prominent names from the region (like Gagan Bhullar and Sujjan Singh) were missing here in Panchkula this time around, but Perera’s performance was great since he hasn’t played much in these parts. Perera had won the Asia Pacific Amateur Championship at Mission Hills (China) in 2009 and turned pro just this year. His father Nadasena Perera was also a highly respected golfer in Sri Lanka. For the final round today, Perera (68-66-64-72), the overnight leader by nine strokes, made a slow start with a bogey-birdie on the fourth and fifth and looked a little out of sorts when he dropped another shot on the seventh as a result of a three-putt. Ashok Kumar (70-69-68-64) had narrowed the gap to three strokes at this stage as he made three birdies and an eagle on the first seven holes. Ultimately it was the Lankan’s better handling of pressure that saw him edge out Ashok and pocket the winner’s cheque of Rs 8,08,250. Ashok won Rs 5,58,250. Perera, who has now climbed from 14th place to fifth position on the Rolex Rankings for 2011, said, “I hit all fairways today even though my putting wasn’t that great. I hit some shots extremely close to the flag for birdies on the fifth and eighth. The two three-putts on the seventh and 12th were disappointing. Nonetheless, I was very proud of the final putt for victory that came in a high-pressure situation,” he said. Chiragh Kumar (71-70-67-67) of Delhi carded a second straight 67 to finish third at 13 under 275. Mukesh Kumar of Mhow, the first round leader, ended up in fourth place at 12 under 276 after he shot a 68 in round four. Mukesh has now climbed back to the top of the Rolex Rankings. Kapurthala-based amateur Ashbeer Saini won the trophy for the best amateur score in the tournament. Saini finished overall tied 12th at four under 284.
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Thrills and spills mark MRF Super Cross
Chandigarh, October 8 The first race - Class 7A - saw a dangerous accident with one driver from Goa flying right at the second turn of his first lap and crashing out of the competition and into hospital. But this did not hinder the other five drivers as they kept the thousands gathered there smitten with exhilarating speed and towering jumps on the 110m dirt track. Gaurav Khatri completed Moto 1 of 13 laps beautifully and finished first. He was too fast for his fellow riders. Even though Harith Veettil successfully completed 12 laps of Moto 2, Gaurav won the overall race with 37 points. Race 3 was the most elite of all - Class 1A Foreign Bikes - and it reflected the adrenaline rush involved in motocross. All the seven drivers came out of the chicken box sprinting to take the lead. These drivers were scarily fast and splendidly skilled. C.S. Santosh, a 27-year-old from Bangalore, took the lead from Arvind K.P., who was the driving on the edge but manages only third position. H.K. Pradeep finished the 28 laps to finish second. Santosh, who stood first, was also honoured as the best overall driver of Round Three of the championship. “The freshly prepared track always scares me, because I am not familiar with it first,” Santosh said. “Even though I’ve been racing since I was 19, but even today, during the first lap, I had butterflies in my stomach. But soon it felt like walking over ‘my’ track, even though you can hardly see my bike even touching it.” Yesterday, a radio-control car was arranged to grab the attention of the folks, while today the organisers had brought in a tiny, but really swift radio-control helicopter that hovered over the track after every race. Race 2 - Class 3B - began with five drivers contesting. Former National champion Narinder Singh flagged off this race and it began with Arvind immediately taking over the lead. His extremely long and high moves won him eight-lap race with 20 points. Pradeep was just metres behind in second place. Race 4 - Class 5C Indian Experts - saw R. Natraj take the first position with 20 points from eight laps. Basheer Ahmed and Murrthy stood second and third, respectively. The last race - Class 4B Locals - was the most exciting of all in terms of the cheers for the local drivers. Even though there were just five riders and two were badly injured while crossing a high table top, the remaining three did not look back. Mohit Verma took the first prize after completing six laps with 20 points. The event was held under the aegis of FMSCI and CMSA in Chandigarh after a gap of six years and attracted big crowds. |
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IHF, HI standoff heading for trouble
New Delhi, October 8 According to a letter from Gujarat State Hockey Association secretary R.V. Shelar to director in the Sports Ministry, Deepika Kachhal, on January 1, “Ashok Mathur was representing the Gujarat State Hockey Association that was illegal, because we are not sending any representative from the Gujarat State Hockey Association”. “Moreover, Mr. Ashok Mathur belongs to Delhi and he is the secretary of the Delhi Hockey Association. He is not working anywhere in Gujarat. So he made a forgery,” the letter claimed. The FIH had recently given an ultimatum to the Sports Ministry that it should recognise HI as the sole body for the game in India as it did not approve of the IHF-HI truce at the behest of Sports Minister Ajay Maken. In a letter to the ministry on September 27, FIH President Leandro Negre had threatened that India will forfeit the right to compete in FIH-sanctioned tournaments, including the London Olympics, if the ministry did not recognise HI as the sole body for hockey administration. The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) then called a meeting of the two bodies to work out a solution but nothing came of it, despite IOA acting president Vijay Kumar Malhotra’s plea to the parties that they should discard their rigid posture to enable Delhi to host the Olympic qualifiers in February. He said the country’s prestige had already suffered when the FIH pulled out the Champions Trophy from Delhi and allotted it to New Zealand. But the IHF reportedly maintained a strident stand, saying that it would go ahead with the WSH and India qualifying for the Olympic Games was not of much consequence to it. It argued that the WSH would bring money for the federation as well as the players and it would also spread the hockey culture across the country. IHF also wanted the IOA to restore its recognition, which the apex Olympic body had withdrawn, after Hockey India was formed to host the World Cup in Delhi in 2010. The charge against IHF was that it was responsible for India failing to qualify for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, for the first time in 80 years. HI also accused IHF of ruining the game, as it was during its rule that India performed “abysmally” in the World Cup, Commonwealth Games and Asian Games in 2006, finishing 11th, 6th and fifth respectively. HI took credit for the recent revival of the game, claiming: “The team performed much better under Hockey India in the next edition of all these Games in 2010, as they finished 8th, silver medallist and bronze medallists respectively at the World Cup, Commonwealth Games and Asian Games. Recently, India won the elite men’s Asian Champions Trophy at Ordos (China), beating Pakistan in the final.” But what has irked HI most is IHF’s insistence of going ahead with the WSH, weaning away the top players by promising them huge financial gains. HI, on its part, announced that it would hold an international men’s league, under the aegis of the FIH, from 2013 and has requested for a 45-day window in the international body’s calendar to conduct this event. HI said the WSH will upset the National camp for the Olympic qualifiers, as the event will be clashing with the proposed series. IHF’s stand is that if IPL in cricket and leagues in football and basketball could succeed, it saw no reason why WSH should not be a success, which will get the players a bigger financial deal. Now it seems only the Sports Ministry can leverage some positive response from the IHF, as the WSH would not take off without the ministry’s support. The ministry has called a meeting of all the three stakeholders of hockey — IOA, IHF and HI — on January 14 to thrash out a formula which would be acceptable to the FIH, so as to ensure that the Olympic qualifiers remain in Delhi. The ministry can bring the IHF to its knees if it refuses to allow stadiums under the Sports Authority of India to host the WSH. The BCCI could kill the nascent Indian Cricket League (ICL) which was starved of grounds, as all the main cricket grounds are owned by its State affiliates. That was why the BCCI could make the IPL a roaring success, as it had the necessary infrastructure to host these matches. But the same is not the case with the WSH. Very few hockey associations boast of owning hockey stadiums and most are under SAI. So the ministry can put a spanner into IHF’s WSH works. But so far, the IHF has maintained a defiant stand and was determined to go ahead with the series, though the HI insists that WSH will have “serious implications for both players and officials, who participate in this (FIH)-unsanctioned event”.
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Punjab Police, PSB win
Kusum Arora Tribune News Service
Jalandhar, October 8 For Punjab and Sind Bank it was a flying start as they started the game on a fast note and managed to dominate the proceedings till the end. The Punjab and Sind Bank team opened their account in the 10th minute when Kulwinder Singh scored (1-0). The team scored another goal after five minutes through Dilair Singh who sounded the board from the penalty corner (2-0). In the 22nd minute, Karamjit Singh consolidated the score with a field goal to make it 3-0. It was in the 31st minute that Vikramjit Singh netted the ball from a penalty corner to complete the scoreline (4-0). In the second match a spirited Punjab Police Jalandhar edged out EME Jalandhar 4-0. Punjab Police opened their account in the 25th minute when Jagmit Singh scored a field goal from the right flank. At half time Punjab Police were leading 1-0. In the 38th minute, Punjab Police consolidated their lead from a pass by Gaganajit Singh when Satwinder Singh sounded the board to make it 2-0. Olympian Baljit Singh Dhillon converted a penalty corner in the 41st minute followed by another goal in the 44th minute when Satwinder Singh scored another field goal to complete the tally (4-0).
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Lasith Malinga bowled a lethal final over that ensured a win for Mumbai Indians over Somerset and took his team into the final of the Champions League where they will meet Royal Challengers Bangalore on Sunday.
Final Round: Ashok Kumar shoots 64 to finish second
