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Shamed abroad, thanks to IPL
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Messi caught off side?
london eye
Dalmiya to represent BCCI in ICC meeting
Punjab win title
Jonathan Trott plays reverse sweep against Rangana Herath during the Champions Trophy on Thursday. — AFP
Saina Nehwal reacts as she plays against Sayaka Takahashi during their Indonesia Open match on Thursday. — AFP
Murray makes flawless return
Andy Murray hits a return during his match against Nicolas Mahut at the Aegon Championships on Thursday. — Reuters
Play suspended at stormy US Open
Schwartzel leads in rain-delayed
US Open
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Shamed abroad, thanks to IPL
Birmingham, June 13 This is deeply embarrassing to the Indian expatriates, proud as they are of the shiny new airports at home, of the refurbished roads and the expressways and the glass towers. “In an unregulated situation, this is bound to happen,” says Ajay Kaul, a doctor who moved to the UK in the 1980s. “But I’m not optimistic about things changing very soon. The system needs an overhaul, a total clean-up, but the people whose job it is to clean up are themselves deeply corrupt.” “It shows our country in a very bad light,” says Babs Rai, a professional based in London. Those who are frequently thrown among their cricketing friends/foes from other countries feel the pain even more. One of them is Gursharan Singh Gulshan, a club cricketer who was with the Middlesex county as a junior. He’s very upset with what the IPL has done to the image of Indians here. He feels the hurt most keenly when Pakistani supporters ridicule India and Indian cricket as corrupt. “The gora people here, they know that Indians are keen about two-three things — that Indians become doctors or engineers, the men go into business,” he says. “Then there’s cricket — we’re known as crazy about cricket. It’s a religion for us.” He says that corruption in cricket had earlier been associated with Pakistan. Then the match-fixing scandal of the year 2000 came. “We were already having a difficult time living down the bans on Mohammad Azharuddin and Ajay Jadeja,” Gulshan says. “Pakistani players have been caught, banned and even jailed. Now there is evidence that spot-fixing was happening regularly in the IPL.” Butt of the ridicule He says acquaintances and friends of Pakistani origin have been having fun at the expense of Indians. “People here know of the owners of Rajasthan Royals, Raj Kundra and Shilpa Shetty. The IPL is free to watch here, and people know what’s happening there,” says Gulshan. “So, on the day of the IPL final, Pakistani fans were making fun of us, on facebook too, saying that the match was fixed, and that this was perhaps the end of the IPL.” Honesty is central to sport, he says; why watch sport if it’s all fixed and unreal? Mahesh bhai is an India supporter, recently retired from his business; among his friends he counts MS Dhoni, to whom he regularly provides homemade Indian food when the Indian captain is in the UK. Mahesh bhai is so disgusted with the IPL scandals, he doesn’t wish to talk about them. “I have been keeping my phone switched off, for the media people have been calling me,” says Maheshbhai. “It’s a very embarrassing time for us.” Neeraj Malhotra, a very serious Indian supporter, to whom Indian cricket seems to be a matter of life and death, almost as important as beer, says that IPL has hit the credibility of Indian cricket. But, he says, his faith in cricket has not really gone. “My faith is not shaken, but the BCCI needs to do something,” says Malhotra. “The ICC should give the BCCI a massive fine for not being able to control its players. I don't like the IPL... Maybe they should ban the tournament!” But the ICC is just a clerical organisation dominated by the BCCI — the other cricket boards depend on the BCCI for most of their revenues and, in some cases, survival. Feeling the pain Indians all over the world feel the pain — they are hurt by India’s image of a poor country, but one with thousands of individuals who have money stashed in secret Swiss bank accounts. They’re sad they’re seen as a people whose homeland has proved to be corrupt in the organisation of sport as well. Blogger/writer Samir Chopra is fortunate to be insulated from the bad vibes because he’s based in the US, and not too many people know of cricket there. But he’s upset, nevertheless. “It’s one more symbol of the never-ending Indian corruption,” Chopra says. “Yesterday, I met an Indian friend who was angry about it all but it was an emotion that was mainly tired. There is nothing we can do about it. “I do not feel embarrassment, but I feel a kind of resignation and anger. We have so much money but such little class.” But Indian expats aren’t going to give up on cricket — they’re hurt, but they’re not mortally hurt. They want the IPL bad news to go away like a bad dream.
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Messi caught off side?
Madrid, June 13
The 25-year-old player and his father Jorge Messi were accused on Wednesday of defrauding the Spanish state of more than four million euros after allegedly filing fraudulent tax returns for the years 2006 to 2009. The prosecutor's office for tax crimes in Catalonia alleged that the sale of Messi's image rights had been hidden from the authorities via a complex web of shell companies in Uruguay, Belize, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. “It is something that surprises us because we have never committed any offence,” Messi said in a statement on his Facebook page. Under Spanish law an examining magistrate has to decide whether to continue the investigation and whether to bring formal charges. “If an (examining) judge accepts the case, he would call Messi and his father to give evidence, which is what the tax authority has called for,” the prosecutor's office said. With the Spanish government under pressure to reach tough European deficit reduction targets, they have cranked up their efforts against tax evasion. Former Barcelona president Joan Laporta is defending Lionel Messi against allegations of tax fraud, a case that experts say could carry a prison sentence for the Argentina star. — Agencies the case AT a glance The Complaint Offence Jail term Annual income
The other suspects 2012:
Former tennis world number one Steffi Graf's father went to prison after a tax investigation in Germany and compatriot Becker, another former tennis world number one, was fined for tax evasion. 2009:Former tennis world number one Arantxa Sanchez Vicario was ordered to pay 3.5 million euros in unpaid income taxafter it was deemed she was a resident of Spain rather than of Andorra, as she had said. |
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london eye
Birmingham, June 13 The Indians are keen to snap up the tickets. Today’s going price was close to £180 for a £25 ticket. Over the next two days, as fans become keener and perhaps more desperate, the prices would easily go over £200. “I’m a member of the cricket club here,” says a young south Asian cricketer. “I've been getting hospitality tickets — food and drinks included — for the Oval in London and for the matches here. Those VIP tickets for matches involving India would easily go for over £400.” “We’ll be happy enough if Pakistan defeat India,” says Saj. “After all, it’s more about the contest between Pakistan and India... Winning the tournament is not that important. But I’d rather watch the match home.” South Africa aim not to choke South Africa face West Indies in Cardiff tomorrow; the Saffers, famous chokers over decades, have won 18 of their last 20 ODIs against West Indies. What about the two defeats? They both came in the Champions Trophy, in 2004 and 2006. Both defeats ended South Africa’s campaign in those two tournaments. Cardiff may be hit by rain tomorrow, but South African fans, knowing their team well, fear that another choke could well be on the cards. Indian summer It’s been a terrible English early summer as of now. There have been squalls and gusts and rains — the variety that is neither harsh, nor accompanied by thunders. It’s the simplest kind of rain, a steady drizzle that goes on for hours and hours. The Indians have been wearing thick pullovers during the matches, and some have been wearing woollen caps and gloves during the warm-up football games before the nets. “Reminds me of Belfast,” captain MS Dhoni muttered under his breath the other day in London. Belfast 2007 was perhaps the coldest the Indians have played cricket in in recent times. Arriving from the 40 C-plus temperatures of the Indian June, they were staggered to discover that it felt like the Himalayan winter in Belfast. India won that tournament, incidentally. Dhoni would be hoping for a British summer-winter encore. MSD’s Delta Force Indian cricketers didn’t practice today too. The way they’ve won their four matches, including two warm-up matches, it would appear they don’t need to practice. They’ve not really practised too much earlier too. Mahendra Singh Dhoni said that they had a “team activity” on one of the off-days in London. It involved a visit to Delta Force, a game and entertainment centre where grown men play war games, using toy guns. Delta Force is a paintball centre; paintball is a outdoor sport in which groups of players eliminate opponents by shooting at them with dyes of different colours. It was probably Dhoni’s idea, for he actually owns guns, is interested in weaponry and likes to shoot. |
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Out till Ashes, Warner says sorry LONDON, June 13 Earlier, the batsman was suspended until the first Ashes test on July 10 and fined 11,500 Australian dollars ($10,900) for his part in the incident which occurred in the early hours of Sunday in Birmingham after Australia's Champions Trophy defeat by England. ‘Minor incident’
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Dalmiya to represent BCCI in ICC meeting
New Delhi, June 13 With president N Srinivasan ‘stepping aside’ till the two-member probe committee complete their inquiry on his son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan, Dalmiya will be the face of the board at the meeting which might witness some important decisions. “Dalmiya is all set to represent the BCCI in London. There won’t be any change in this plan,” said a senior BCCI official. The meeting is likely to be a tense one as the ICC is likely to take a stand on whether the Decision Review System (DRS) can be uniformly implemented across all Test playing nation. It will be very interesting to know what will be Dalmiya's stand on the issue as Srinivasan has vehemently opposed the use of DRS. “The BCCI currently has a stand on DRS, so it will be unfair for me to make any comments till I have a detailed look at the relevant documents,” said Dalmiya. The veteran administrator was non-committal when asked about his point of view on this issue. "I am not going to say anything further on this issue," he said. — PTI
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Sonepat, June 13 Punjab scored their opening goal through skipper Gaganpreet Singh who converted a penalty corner in the 10th minute, while Odisha leveled the score in the 24th minute with a field strike from Joseph Toppo. In the second half, both the teams fought hard but before captain Gaganpreet converted yet another penalty corner in the 63rd minute, his second of the day, to hand Punjab the title. Madhya Pradesh Hockey Academy (MPHA) defeated Hockey Maharashtra 5-4 to finish third in the championship. MPHA scored through Mohd Nizamuddin (19th, 28th min), Arjun Sharma (26th, 69th) and Arman Qureshi (42nd) while Ashutosh Lingesh (9th) and Mithlesh Kumar (60th, 63rd) were on target for Hockey Maharashtra. The other goal for Maharashtra came from through an own goal in the 30th minute. — PTI
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Sanga, Kulasekara guide Lanka to victory London, June 13 Chasing a total of 293/7, Lanka reached home in the 47.1 overs to register a convincing win against hosts and moved ahead in the tournament. Engalnd’s defeat means they will have to beat New Zealand on Sunday to reach the semi-finals. England took their time in trademark style before some last-over fireworks by Ravi Bopara helped them post 293.Bopara (33 not out) blasted 28 off Shaminda Eranga's final over to give a decent total. His brilliant cameo included the only three sixes of the innings. Jonathan Trott scored 76 off 87 balls. Dilshan also dropped three awkward catches. — TNS england Extras: (lb10, w3) 13 Bowling: Kulasekra 10-2-42-1; Malinga 10-2-58-2; Eranga 10-0-80-2; Mathews 6-0-28-0; Herath 10-0-46-2; Dilshan 4-0-29-0 sri lanka Extras: (lb 6, w 7) 13 Bowling: Anderson 10-0-51-2; Swann 10-0-50-1; Bresnan 10-0-63-0; Bopara 6-0-33-0; Root 3-0-27-0; Pollard 3.1-0-21-0; Broad 8.1-0-67-0
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Jakarta, June 13 RMV Gurusaidutt advanced to the quarterfinals of the men’s singles with a hard-fought win over Kazumasa Sakai of Japan, while it was curtains for Sourabh Varma. World number two Saina took 39 minutes to outplay her 24th ranked opponent 21-13, 21-19 in a women’s singles second round match at the Istora Gelora Bung Karno Stadium. The 23-year-old from Hyderabad will take on Carolina Marin of Spain in the quarters. Saina, seeded second, relied on her smashes and superior net play to steer clear of her Japanese rival. The two started on equal footing and were tied till 6-6 before Saina surged ahead to open up a gap of six points. The Japanese managed to clinch a few straight points to reduce the gap to 13-14 at one stage, but the Indian showed her class and easily wrapped up the first game 21-13. Takahashi got her act together in the second game, leading at 15-12 one point. But Sania battled on and turned the tables at 18-18 and eventually won the game and the match 21-19. Gurusaidutt prevailed 21-12, 9-21, 21-19 over Sakai in a contest that lasted a little less than an hour. Gurusaidutt will meet Tommy Sugiarto of Indonesia in the last-eight stage. — PTI
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London, June 13 The top seed, who missed the French Open after being struck down in Rome, needed only 45 minutes on day four of the Wimbledon warm-up event to ease past Mahut. "(Today) the back felt great especially with the conditions we have had. It is very cold and I'm sure, as anyone who has had a back problem knows, that's not good. Resuming at 6-3 2-2, Murray rattled through a brisk second set and brought up match point by threading a screaming forehand down the line winner. — Reuters
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Play suspended at stormy US Open
Ardmore, USA, June 13 The siren sounded after just under two hours of play had been possible at rain-softened Merion Golf Club where severe thunderstorms and high winds have been forecast for later in the day. Englishman Ian Poulter was the early leader in the year’s second major at three under par, having birdied his first three holes after teeing off at the par-four 11th. — Reuters
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Schwartzel leads in rain-delayed US Open Ardmore, USA, June 13 Less than two hours of play had been possible earlier in the day before the siren sounded at 8:36 a.m. to halt the action due to the threat of lightning. Schwartzel and Clark had completed ten holes, Cheng-Tsung Pan was through four. — Agencies
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Madrid, June 13
Andy Murray emerged unscathed as he completed a rain-delayed 6-3 7-6 (4) win over Frenchman Nicolas Mahut at the Aegon Championships on Thursday in his first match following a four-week break caused by a back injury.
The top seed, who missed the French Open after being struck down in Rome, needed only 45 minutes on day four of the Wimbledon warm-up event to ease past
Mahut.
