S P O R T | Sunday, July 26, 1998 |
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Subbaiah, Mukesh help Airlines win
trophy CHENNAI, July 25 A.B. Subbaiahs heroics at the goal and halfback Sandeep Someshs fine performance helped Indian Airlines defeat Mumbai XI three-zero to lift the Independence Cup in the 76th MCC Murugappa All India Hockey Tournament. Chowhan fails to find berth CHENNAI, July 25 Barring forward Rajesh Chowhan of Air-India, all the 15 members of the Indian team that played in the World Cup in May last, were included in the 51 probables announced by the Indian Hockey Federation for the conditioning camp for the forthcoming Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games. Donovan Bailey vows to bounce back BARCELONA, July 25 (Reuters) Canadas Donovan Bailey has vowed to bounce back after his Goodwill Games loss. |
South Africa's Allan Donald (right) lifts his captain Hansie Cronje, as they celebrate Donald's dismissal of England's Mark Butcher (foreground) for 75 during the first innings of the 4th England/South Africa Test at Nottingham's Trent Bridge on Friday. AP/PTI |
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Kaushik named new hockey coach CHENNAI, July 25 M.K. Kaushik was today named chief national hockey coach replacing his 1980 Moscow Olympics skipper Vasudevan Baskaran, ending suspense over a change at the helm following Indias debacle in the Utrect World Cup. Punjab to hire a full-time coach CHANDIGARH, July 25 The Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) has drawn up an exhaustive plan to prepare the state team for the National Cricket Championship for the Ranji Trophy. It would hire a full-time coach. |
Subbaiah, Mukesh help Airlines win trophy CHENNAI, July 25 (PTI) A.B. Subbaiahs heroics at the goal and halfback Sandeep Someshs fine performance helped Indian Airlines defeat Mumbai XI three-zero to lift the Independence Cup in the 76th MCC Murugappa All India Hockey Tournament. After a barren first half, veteran right winger Mukesh Kumar (41st minute and 69th) and forward Brojen Singh (54th) found the goals at the Radhakrishnan Stadium here today. Airlines, spearheaded by Mukesh Kumar, played like men possessed and despite Mukesh and forward Altaf-Ur Rehman being shown yellow cards Mukesh for arguing with the umpire and Altaf for a tackle they showed their supremacy in abundant measure. In the first half, Mumbai threatened the Airlines goal time and again and it looked they would score anytime. Twice Dhanraj Pillay and Ravi Nayakar missed sitters. Pillay always created dangerous moves, but whenever he managed to split the defence, he found goal keeper Subbaiah hard to beat. Shakeel Ahmed, who came up with superb passes in the absence of centrehalf Mohd Riaz, who had withdrawn after 10 minutes, was accurate with his trapping which made things difficult for the Mumbai forwards. An opportunistic goal by Mukesh Kumar six minutes on change of ends put Airlines ahead and Brojen Singh made it two-zero. A minute before the hooter, Mukesh settled the issue by banging home an Altaf pass. Mumbai capped their first half ascendency by earning a "stroke", but Gavin Ferrieras try was saved by Subbaiah, who was controversially dropped from the World Cup squad. Throughout the tournament, Subbaiah has proved his skills in great measure and was aptly named the `Man of the Match and also best goalkeeper. In the third minute following a combined move by Sandeep Somesh, M. Prakash and Ravi Nayakar, Dhanraj Pillay took a goalward hit and the ball struck Shakeel Ahmeds leg on the goalline. But to Mumbais chagrin, Ferriera muffed his chance. Airlines first attempt at the Mumbai goal came only in the 32nd minute, which resulted in a penalty corner. Crossing over, Mumbai had their chance in the very second minute. Nayakar gave a tailormade cross but Claes was unable to trap. Varkey ran in quickly and passed the ball back to Nayakar but he failed to beat Subbaiah. It was then the turn of Airlines to attack. Mukesh Kumar, whose speed made Mumbai defence look weak, drew first blood. Brojen Singh was tackled by Sourab Bishnoi on the right and Mukesh picked up the loose ball and banged home from the top of the circle. Mumbai was now at the receiving end and Airlines second goal came when Sameer Dad beat Enrico Fernandez on the right and passed to Brojen, who dodged past Cheops DCosta and scored. Pillay missed yet another chance but Mukesh showed good opportunism to net the third for Airlines. |
Chowhan fails to find berth CHENNAI, July 25 (UNI) Barring forward Rajesh Chowhan of Air-India, all the 15 members of the Indian team that played in the World Cup at Utrecht in May last, were included in the 51 probables announced by the Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) for the conditioning camp for the forthcoming Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games. The probables were picked by the IHF selection committee headed by IHF President K.P.S. Gill and selectors Col Haripaul Kaushik, Ashok Kumar, Balkar Singh and former national coach Cedric DSouza, after watching the performance of the players in the Murugappa Gold Cup Hockey tournament, which concluded here today. The probables contained seven goalkeepers, eight defenders, 13 midfielders and 23 forwards. Mr Gill told reporters that the 51 players would assemble for a 21-day conditioning camp from August 1 at the SAI Centre of Excellence, Bangalore. The Indian team for the Commonwealth Games would be announced on August 5, he added. He said all the selectors would be at Bangalore to finalise the team. From Bangalore, the players would fly to Chennai for the final camp and the team would leave for Kuala Lumpur on September 4 for the Commonwealth Games. Mr Gill said the IHF would field experienced players for the Commonwealth and the Asian Games, hinting that most members of the Indian team, which performed badly in the World Cup, would find a berth for the two major events. However, it also depends on the physical fitness of the players, he added. Mr Gill said the IHF would send a development team to Hamburg for a tournament. The present Tamil Nadu coach C.R. Kumar would be the coach of the team, which would consist of mostly players of the IHF Colts XI, which participated in the Murugappa Gold Cup tournament here. However, those selected for the main team would be excluded. Kumar would be assisted by one of the Sai coaches, he added. He said another colts team would be sent to Europe. The main idea was to keep two or three teams on foreign tours as part of the preparations for the 2000 Olympics. The 53 probables are : Goal keepers: A.B. Subbaiah, Jagdish Ponnappa (both Indian Airlines), Jude Menezes (Mumbai), Ambuj Srivastava (Railways), B.U. Bopanna (Karnataka), Sandeep Shankeen (FCI), B.C. Poonacha (Customs). Full backs : Dilip Tirkey (subject to proving his fitness), Lazarus Barla (both Indian Airlines), Dinesh Nayak (Tamil Nadu), Cornelius DCosta (Air India), Cheops DCosta (Mumbai), Anurag Raghuvanshi (IHF Colts), Rajinder Singh (Customs), Sundaram (Railways). Midfielders: Mohd Riaz (Indian Airlines), Baljit Singh Saini, Rajbir Singh Baoo (both Punjab and Sind Bank), Ramandeep Singh (Punjab), S.S. Gill, Rahul Singh (both Customs), Bimal Lakra (IHF Colts), Thirumalvalavan, Radhakrishnan (both Tamil Nadu), Shanmugham (Karnataka), Jagmohan, Nausher Singh (both Railways), Paramjit Singh (Services). Forwards: Mukesh Kumar, Virender Singh, Sameer Dad, Altaf-ur-Rehman (all Indian Airlines), Dhanraj Pillai, Sabu Varkey, Mahesh Bagade, Ravinayakar (all Mumbai), Parminder Singh, Sanjeev Kumar (both Punjab and Sind Bank), Ronald Kiran (Karnataka), Baljit Singh Dhillon, Daljit Singh (both Punjab), L. Prabhakaran (Tamil Nadu), Gagan Ajit Singh (Air India), Ajinder Pal Singh, M Ekka, Rajiv Mishra (all Railways), Kamal Horo, Cuprian Aind (both Services), Suresh (Customs), Sandeep Sagwan (FCI), Gurjant Singh (IHF Colts). Coach: M.K. Kaushik. Assistant coach: Ramesh Parameswaran. |
Donovan Bailey vows to bounce back BARCELONA, July 25 (Reuters) Canadas Donovan Bailey has vowed to bounce back after his Goodwill Games loss and the Atlanta Olympic 100 metres gold medallist said he was getting close to being back at his best again. Bailey, holder of the world best of 9.84 seconds for the blue riband event, added that he was not worried about trailing in disappointing seventh in the Goodwill Games 100 metres on Tuesday, a race won by his American arch-rival and reigning world champion Maurice Greene. "It was just a bad race, thats all. Actually I thought there was a false start but when the gun goes you cant call back the race yourself," Bailey said in Barcelona. The 30-year-old sprinter starts his campaign of European racing at an International amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF) permit meeting in the 1992 Olympic Stadium today. He commented that although his results this summer had been less than impressive, as a result of injury problems stemming from a car crash last October, spectators at the IAAF golden league meetings in Monte Carlo and Zurich next month could witness the Donovan Bailey of old. "I have only been training properly for three weeks. I can get back into world record shape but Ive never predicted a world record. I just need to be in the right place at the right time with the best condition and great competition," Bailey added. He criticised the confrontational early season talk by Greene and his Trinidadian training partner Ato Bolden of breaking Baileys world record, set when winning the Olympic title, saying that he hoped events had now proved that his mark was better than they thought. "We all train hard to achieve the ultimate and as part of how we train we have a lot of dreams - but to say something is weak and not particularly tough to beat is not a good idea," commented Bailey. However, in a year when there is no Olympic, no world championships and he is still undecided about whether to go to the World Cup or the Commonwealth Games in September at the end of a long summer, Bailey admitted that he is thinking more about recharging his batteries rather than world records during the rest of 1998. "I think this is a year when I will be taking it steadily. I have been climbing since 1994 and been exceptionally consistent so this year I have to rest a little and get a good base in order to prepare and compete at the World Championships next year." "Last year maybe I was concentrating too much on breaking the world record and not thinking about having fun. This year I remembered it was all about having fun." |
Kaushik named new hockey coach CHENNAI, July 25 (PTI) M.K. Kaushik was today named chief national hockey coach replacing his 1980 Moscow Olympics skipper Vasudevan Baskaran, ending suspense over a change at the helm following Indias debacle in the Utrect World Cup. Announcing this at a press conference, Indian Hockey Federation president K.P.S. Gill said Kaushik with Ramesh Parameswaran as his deputy would handle the team till the Asian Games. An effective right winger who played in the 1970s, Kaushik was also chief coach of the womens team. He is a Deputy Director (Sports) with the Haryana Government. Mr Gill did not give any reason for Baskarans ouster and when told that M.P. Ganesh, chairman of the coaching committee, said he had not recommended any change, said: "Ganeshs task in the federation is to interact with the coaches from time to time and give us a feedback on the coaching front". Mr Gill, who refused to be drawn into any discussion on the issue, said "many other names also came up during the meeting and Kaushik was chosen". He said 51 probables had been picked for preparing teams for the Commonwealth Games, IHF colts tour of Germany and another European tour. Reacting to his exit, Baskaran told PTI "I have been made a scapegoat. I had no say in selecting a team and was given just 32 days to prepare the team for World Cup". Congratulating Kaushik, Bhaskaran said "all countries began preparations a month ago for the Commonwealth Games. We are already late and it is wrong to give 51 players to a coach to pick a senior team". When told that Mr Gill had not ruled out a recall, Baskaran said "I have few offers from foreign countries but my aim is to serve the country. I will not be available to coach on a term basis." Reacting to his appointment, Kaushik said "some players were not fit to play in the World Cup. My priority will be to see only the fittest are included in the team for the future". Kaushik said "apart from fitness problems, penalty corners yielded by India in the earlier tournaments has resulted in debacles. I have inter-acted with both Cedric (DSouza) and Baskaran. We have to strengthen our defence". About the big list of players given to him to pick senior players, Kaushik said "I have had discussions with all the selectors. I will not hestitate to seek inclusion of few others, if necessary". Kaushik, 43, had played alongside Baskaran in Moscow. He played in the 1982 Bombay World Cup and 1983 Asia Cup. Kaushik, who was an observer in the Murugappa Hockey Tournament that ended today had been assistant coach (senior) in 1989-1991 and coached the national womens team till 1994. |
Punjab to hire a full-time coach Tribune News Service CHANDIGARH, July 25 The Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) has drawn up an exhaustive plan to prepare the state team for the National Cricket Championship for the Ranji Trophy in the coming season. This has become all the more important since Punjab did not fare well in last year's National Cricket Championship in spite of the fact the state association spared no effort to prepare the state team. At a meeting of the PCA Executive Committee here this afternoon at the PCA stadium it was decided that the association would hire a full-time coach or professional under whose guidance a coaching scheme would be operated . The services of Daljit Singh, the current coach of the Punjab state team, would also be used in the proposed coaching scheme. In the first phase of the coaching scheme six districts, who contribute the maximum number of players for the various teams of Punjab, would be involved in the coaching scheme. The full-time coach or professional would interact with the coaches or managers of the six districts Amritsar, Ludhiana, Chandigarh, Jalandhar, Patiala and Mohali who in turn will operate nets in their respective districts at a place to be earmarked by the district association. It is expected that 30 to 40 players will attend the nets run by these six districts. It has also been decided that these coaches or managers (it has been left to the districts to name them in the style they want) will accompany boys from his district whenever they are invited for state-level camps under the guidance of the professional. According to Mr M.P. Pandove, Secretary, Punjab Cricket Association, this coaching scheme would be extended to other districts also. He disclosed that it had been left to the technical committee of the association to decide what help the state level association can give to these districts. Today's meeting also decided that the Punjab under-14 cricket championship will henceforth be played for the Sushil Bali Trophy. Sushil Bali, an eminent sports journalist of Chandigarh, died towards March end this year. Besides this, the PCA has also given Rs 1 lakh to the family of Sushil Bali. The PCA executive also decided that the Punjab under-14 team which won the Vijay Merchant Trophy last year and the cricket team of Guru Nanak Dev University, which won the All-India Inter-University Cricket Tournament for the Rohinton Baria Trophy, would be honoured during the annual general body meeting of the association scheduled to be held sometime in August. On the issue of venue of the Ranji Trophy matches to be hosted by the PCA this year, the executive left the matter to the President of the association. Mr Inderjit Singh Bindra in consultation with Daljit Singh and the professional to be employed by the association would decided on the venues. Punjab is to play host to two ranji Trophy matches this year, one against Haryana and the other against Jammu and Kashmir. The executive decided that the Punjab Cricket Club, whose club house was recently inaugurated at the PCA stadium, would apply for affiliation with the Sports Clubs at Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Toronto as also the Cricket Club of India, Mumbai, National Sports Club of India at Delhi and Mumbai, Gymkhana Club, Delhi, KSCA Club House, Bangalore, and MCC Chennai. It was also decided that the PCA would invite the President of the MCC of London and extend to him honorary membership of the club. The PCA executive also decided that a paid cricket academy would be started at the PCA Stadium for the dependents of the members of the Punjab Cricket Club . Also, two synthetic tennis courts would be laid behind the swimming pool . These courts would be of international standard and can play host to international tennis matches. |
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