|
|
|
|
|
England play tourists, Indians play soccer
Sport in times of shiver
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Azarenka faces bullish Na
Tainted Kalmadi to chair AAA meeting
Dravid, Mary Kom to get Padma Bhushan; PVSM for Vijay Kumar
|
|
England play tourists, Indians play soccer
Dharamsala, January 25 The fifth ODI is expected to be a chance for both teams to test bench strength and give players match practice. Cheteshwar Pujara is most likely to make his debut on a seamer-friendly wicket. It’s going to be quite an occasion for the Himachalis — all 68 MLAs of the state have been given free passes, which is not surprising given that as many as 4,000 tickets have remain unsold. But first things first. When in Dharamsala a trip to Mcleodganj is a must and England team followed the brief to a T. The whole team dressed in casuals trooped down to Little Lhasa and combed the place in group formations. Of course, the leisure trip started after a visit to Tsuglagkhang Buddhist Temple. Skipper Alastair Cook dressed in a mere sweatshirt and blue jeans got busy capturing the scenic beauty in his camera. Kevin Pietersen, wearing khakhi shorts and jacket, bought perfumes and cosmetics in a departmental store. Interestingly, the England team, just like any other tourists, were bewitched by Tibetan antiques and spent considerable time hopping from one shop to the other. Unmindful of the security, the visitors ambled on the roads and mingled with a handful of fans and obliged autographs hunters generously. The Indian team, on the other hand, has remained indoors except for a training session in the day time. The adventurer in Suresh Raina sprung up after the practice session and headed for Chintpurni Temple, 90kms from here. Raina has been an ardent devotee of the deity and had visited the place during the last Indian Premier League also. Meanwhile, the Indian team took to the ground under blazing sun but did not take to the nets. A game of soccer keep the leg movement well tuned. Warm-up and a gym session for a few saw the end of the day in office for them. The word is that skipper MS Dhoni has not asked for any replacement for wicketkeeper, implying that he will be in action on Sunday. Virat Kohli took a hit during the football match and was out of action for a while but resumed again. |
|
Sport in times of shiver
Dharamsala, January 25 Of a snow-covered White Hart Lane, where Spurs vs Manchester United English Premier League encounter got delayed due to snow all over the pitch. Though ending in a draw, it, nevertheless, was the most cracking match of the weekend. A crouching Charlie Hodgson in a white maze at the Vicarage Road stadium: Rugby Union’s man of steel and Saracens fly-half kept diving into snow pool in atrociously cold conditions till his side beat Edinburgh 40-7 and made it to the Heineken Cup quarterfinals. A crinkly-eyed Toby Flood, appearing more like a troubled snowman than a Leicester Tigers’s outside-half. He may not be the most recogniszable face in sports but rugby fans will remember him for a long time for leading his side to victory despite the hostile conditions. Had it not been for the ephemeral snowflakes, these images could well have fallen in the abiding ones of the fortnight. In times of shiver, where else will you find such adversity countering human will in sports? Perhaps, in Dharamsala. The fifth and final match of the India-England ODI series here is eagerly, and somewhat unreasonably, anxiously awaited. Unreasonably, because there’s a risk of snowfall, there’s the anxiety of a maiden attempt falling short, the fear of the unknown and comically the concern that a bigger aircraft cannot land at the hill station’s airport. Certain English Johnies, with funky T-shirts and glum looks, are overly concerned about playing in sub-zero conditions. Understandably, ridiculous questions too are being raised. Thankfully, the jovial locals are not taking them too seriously. They are unmindful, forgiving and above all, peace-loving — as everyone would vouch for a “pahari”. Had it been said on any other wintery day, the temperature would have shot up in no time. How could anyone question the viability of a match venue that can only be described as ‘picturesque’ by the most ingenious of cricket writers. Any other ‘cold’ word like ‘abandonment’ or ‘shifting’ would have only been insulting, thwarting, robbing and utter treachery. But all that the “paharis” bother is to politely remind that ‘Himachal’ literally means in the lap of snow. It’s a way of life here. And it is perfectly fine to play and watch an international cricket match here at this time of the year. Paras Dogra, an HP batsman who was recently in the India A squad that played a warm-up tie against England at Palam in Delhi, says, “The snow fears are unfounded. It’s a wonderful venue. I have played in colder conditions than what they are here normally.” The 25-year-old, also the third highest scorer in Ranji Trophy this season, does not forget to mention that an international match in Dharamsala will encourage HP cricketers also. Encouraging are the words of meteorology officials, who too predict that the match day will be a sunny one. By the time the umpire says “Let’s play”, the fog of uncertainty will have vanished and the sun would be shining on a stadium that loves to call itself picturesque. The first, and the last, word on Dharamsala. Squads: 5th ODI India: MS Dhoni (captain), Ajinkya Rahane, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ishant Sharma, Shami Ahmed, Rohit Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara, Amit Mishra and Ashok Dinda England: Alastair Cook (captain), Ian Bell, Kevin Pietersen, Joe Root, Eoin Morgan, Craig Kieswetter (wk), Samit Patel, Chris Woakes, James Tredwell, Steven Finn, Jade Dernbach, Tim Bresnan, Danny Briggs, Jos Buttler, Stuart Meaker
|
|
Ranji final: Mumbai have big guns, Saurashtra have guts and hope
Mumbai, January 25 The weight of having Sachin Tendulkar, captain Ajit Agarkar and Wasim Jaffer along with top performers like Abhishek Nayar and wicketkeeper Aditya Tare in their ranks tilts the scale in favour of the 39-time champs. West Zone rivals Saurashtra, who have advanced to the final for the first time, are the underdogs in the five-day clash on a wicket that is believed to be loaded in favour of the pace bowlers, at least initially. However the hosts, who have lost just four finals out of the 43 they had figured in, in the long history of the national championship, are not taking things for granted. “I am very happy with the way it has gone for us, from struggling a bit to qualifying and being in the final,” said Agarkar today. “Saurashtra, obviously, is a tough opposition who we cannot underestimate. It’s a one-off game and we need to be at our best.” Saurashtra skipper Jaydev Shah said that it was very important for his team to get off to a flying start. “It’s a very big game for us. Mumbai is an experienced side. We would like to get a good start and put in best effort in the first innings).” Shah, who had scored 87 in the semi-final at home against Punjab, said the key would be to score heavily and put Mumbai under pressure. It’s though, easier said than done, as Saurashtra realised in their last meeting in Rajkot in the league stage in December, when Mumbai rattled up over 600 and bowled them out for 300 to take the vital first-innings lead. Both the teams would miss key members for the clash with Saurashtra appearing the more handicapped in the absence of Cheteshwar Pujara and Ravindra Jadeja, both in India’s ODI team. “They were doing very well in domestic cricket, but we can’t help it as they are playing for India. If they would have been with us we would have been mentally up and the opponents would have felt more pressure. But we have to fight without them,” Shah said. Agarkar said, though Mumbai would miss Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma (both playing in the ODI series) and the injured Zaheer Khan, others have stepped up to do the job and there was Tendulkar to boost the team big time. “That has been the case for a while now. We have been lucky enough to have Sachin. Does not change anything as other guys have stepped up for us and so is the case with them. We are missing some big players and so are they, but it’s an opportunity for others to try and make a mark. “We are obviously missing Rohit, Ajinkya and Zak (Zaheer), all big players. But we have Sachin whose mere presence in the dressing room helps a lot of the younger guys. His involvement on the field is still the same since the first time I met him. We are very happy he is part of the squad,” added Agarkar. Tendulkar has played just three games this season and has contributed in each of them, scoring a ton in the league opener against Railways and in the quarter-final against Baroda, before notching up a crucial 56 against Services to help Mumbai recover from 23/3 in the company of Nayar. Nayar has been the stand-out batsman, notching up 940 runs at over 100 per innings, and close behind him are Tare (839 runs), Rohit (712) and Wasim Jaffer (703). “We have had good performances from most of the squad, and that’s what you want though there have been stand-out ones like Nayar, Tare and Wasim. Everyone has chipped in at important times,” said Agarkar. Mumbai’s bowling’s stand-out performer has been left-arm spinner Ankit Chavan with a haul of 33 wickets in nine ties, including 9/23 in the league game against Punjab. Mumbai lack an off-spinner, and Agarkar insisted they have the two left-arm bowlers in Chavan and newcomer Vishal Dabholkar to turn to. Asked about Mumbai’s awesome record in finals — they have won all nine finals they have figured in after losing by two runs to Haryana in the 1991 final — the skipper felt it was because of their superior experience. “It comes with experience as we have got more than one guy who have played more than one final. That generally helps in winning big games,” he said.
— PTI Squads Mumbai: Ajit Agarkar (captain), Sachin Tendulkar, Wasim Jaffer, Suryakumar Yadav, Dhaval Kulkarni, Kaustubh Pawar, Abhishek Nayar, Hiken Shah, Aditya Tare, Ankit Chavan, Nikhil Patil (Jr.), Javed Khan, Sushant Marathe, Shardul Thakur and Vishal Dabholkar Saurashtra: Jaydev Shah (captain), Sagar Jogiyani, Sitanshu Kotak, Sheldon Jackson, Arpit Vasavada, Rahul Dave, Kamlesh Makwana, Chirag Pathak, Sidharth Trivedi, Jaydev Unadkat, Vishal Joshi, Dharmendra Jadeja, Sandip Maniyar, Saurya Sanandiya and Harsh Anghan
|
|
Murray gets by Federer, sets up final thriller
Melbourne, January 25 Murray had looked the more likely to win from the outset with a superior service game and aggressive shotmaking, but the 17-times grand slam winner proved he was a force to be reckoned with by forcing a fifth set. The U.S. Open champion, however, got off to a storming start in the fifth, racing out to a 3-0 lead and after being two points from the match in the fourth set was not prepared to let the opportunity slip again. “It's always tough against him. Slams are when he plays his best tennis,” Murray said in a courtside interview. “When I was serving for the match at 6-5 in the fourth, he came up with some unbelievable shots.” Murray produced a superb service game in the first set, broke in the third game and gave Federer only one break opportunity to take the first set 6-4 in 45 minutes. Neither player was prepared to give any quarter in the second set as they thrusted and parried, punched balls down the tramlines, produced delicate drop shots and running cross-court passing shots from amazing angles to force a tiebreak. Murray was the first to blink when he allowed Federer to a 4-1 lead and while he battled back to 5-5, Federer seized the opportunity from a mistimed overhead from Murray to level.
He set up three break points in the sixth game, sealing it on his second, to take a 4-2 lead and then blasted through the next game to love to ensure he closed out the set two games later when he served his 16th ace of the match. Federer jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the fourth set when he finally broke Murray's serve for the first time in the fifth game, but the Scot stormed back, levelled at 5-5 and was two points away from the match while serving. The Swiss, through sheer force of will, forced a tiebreak and deciding set, though Murray powered through it in just 30 minutes. “He (Djokovic) plays his best tennis here,” Murray said. “I hope it's a painful match because that will mean it's a good one.” — Reuters
|
|
Azarenka faces bullish Na
The Belarusian will take on sixth seed Li Na, who has not dropped a set all tournament and boosted her sky-high confidence further by demolishing last year’s finalist Maria Sharapova 6-2 6-2 in the semi-finals. Azarenka’s performance against American Sloane Stephens was less assured, and marred by controversy when the top seed took a near-10 minute medical timeout after blowing five match-points. Azarenka returned to the court with jeers from the crowd, and after closing it out on the sixth match-point, added fuel to the fire by telling the on-court interviewer she nearly had “the choke of the year.” Slammed on social media and grilled by reporters, Azarenka denied she had taken the timeout to calm her nerves, saying it was to receive treatment for a rib injury that was restricting her breathing. Medical staff confirmed the treatment, according to tournament director Craig Tiley, and the 23-year-old tried to clear the air in an interview with the host broadcaster Channel Seven on Friday. “It wasn’t really pleasant but there are some things that you have to deal with and some things you have to learn from,” said Azarenka of the controversy. “The important thing is just to move forward and have a great match tomorrow.” If Azarenka requires any additional motivation on Saturday, she knows she will lose her world number one ranking to Serena Williams if she fails to take the title. The public relations exercise is unlikely to win much of the Rod Laver Arena crowd back to her corner, especially against an opponent like Li, who lost in the 2011 final to Kim Clijsters and remains a sentimental favourite at Melbourne Park.
— Reuters Women’s final: the protagonists Victoria Azarenka (Age 23) Seeded: One Grand Slam titles: 1 (Australian Open 2012) The previously hot-headed Belarusian has spent a year at world number one after capturing her maiden major title at Melbourne Park last year Path to the final 1st round: beat Monica Niculescu (Romania) 6-1 6-4 2nd round: beat Eleni Daniilidou (Greece) 6-1 6-0 3rd round: - beat Jamie Hampton (U.S.) 6-4 4-6 6-2 4th round: beat Elena Vesnina (Russia) 6-1 6-1 QF: beat Svetlana Kuznetsova (Russia) 7-5 6-1 SF: beat Sloane Stephens (U.S.) 6-1 6-4 Li Na (Age 30) Seeded: Six Grand Slam titles: 1 (French Open 2011) Li Na has continued her love affair with the year’s first grand slam, where she has made at least the semi-finals in three of the past four years. It’s her second final here. Path to the final 1st round: beat Sesil Karatantcheva (Kazhakn) 6-1 6-3 2nd round: beat Olga Govortsova (russia) 6-2 7-5 3rd round: beat 27-Sorana Cirstea (Romania) 6-4 6-1 4th round: beat Julia Goerges (Germany) 7-6 6-1 QF: beat Agnieszka Radwanska (Poland) 7-5 6-3 SF: beat 2-Maria Sharapova (Russia) 6-2 6-2
|
|
Tainted Kalmadi to chair AAA meeting
New Delhi, January 25 The meeting, which Kalmadi will chair in his capacity as head of AAA, will also be attended by International Association of Athletic Federations President Lamine Diack. Kalmadi, who was jailed and later released on bail last year in connection with the 2010 CWG scam, is also an IAAF council member. AAA Secretary Maurice Nicholas said there was nothing wrong in Kalmadi chairing tomorrow's meeting. “He (Kalmadi) is the president of AAA and so he will naturally chair the meeting,” Nicholas said. “We are going to discuss about the Asian Championships which India is hosting and we will also discuss about the AAA calender for this year.” It will have to be seen what decision the AAA Executive Council would take on the championships in the wake of the IOC directives to international federations to “protect the autonomy of national federations” and act on erring NSFs in the wake of the ban on India. There could be a question mark on India hosting the Asian Championships if the ban on India continues till July. Asked about IOC's strictures against Kalmadi and directives to international federations to act on NSFs which associate with the suspended IOA, Nicholas said the AAA was “not concerned” with individuals and individual associations. — PTI
|
|
Dravid, Mary Kom to get Padma Bhushan; PVSM for Vijay Kumar
New Delhi, January 25 Mountaineer Premlata Agrawal, wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt, Para athlete Hosanagara Nagarajegowda Girisha, London Olympic silver medallist shooter Vijay Kumar, boxer Ngangom Dingko Singh and rower Bajrang Lal Takhar were chosen for the Padma Shri Awards. In more honour for sportspersons, Army's ace shooter and Olympic silver medallist Subedar Vijay Kumar has been awarded the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal (AVSM), given rarely to military pesonnel other than senior ranking officials. His name figures last in the list of 31 personnel. He had won silver in men's 25m Rapid Fire Pistol event at the London Olympic Games. Havildar Laishram Devendro Singh, who represented the Indian boxing team in the Olympics but narrowly missed a medal, will be awarded the VSM. — PTI
|
| 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 | |
Murray quickly dismissed the disappointment of dropping the set, picking up his serve again and increasing the accuracy and power on his forehand.
Melbourne, January 25
