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Oldtimers' day at Goodwill Games
NEW YORK, July 26 — It was oldtimers day for the USA at the Goodwill Games yesterday. Karch Kiraly, who celebrates his 38th birthday this fall, and Adam Johnson, a relative kid at 33, advanced to the gold-medal match in beach volleyball with a straight-set win over a pair of Australians in their 20s...
India, Korea record victories
HYDERABAD, July 26 — A totally transformed India today demolished Kazakhstan, pumping in half-a-dozen goals without any reply in the round robin league of the eighth Asian Junior (Under-16) Football Championship at Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium here today.

Swiss tennis player Martina Hingis (left) listens to instructions of her mother, Melanie Molitor, captain of the Swiss team, during the first match vs French Julie Halard-Decugis, at the semi-final Fed Cup Switzerland vs France, in Sion, Switzerland, on Saturday. Hingis won 7-5, 6-1. Switzerland lead 2-0 after the second match. AP/PTI


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South Africa all out for 208
NOTTINGHAM, July 26 — South Africa were all out for 208 in their second innings on the fourth day of the fourth Test at Trent Bridge today, leaving England a victory target of 247...

Aravinda better than Sachin, says Mendis
NEW DELHI, July 26 — Former Sri Lankan cricket captain and Manager Duleep Mendis is averse to any move to introduce artificial wickets saying it would rob the game of its natural charm...

Bailey back to winning ways
BARCELONA, Spain, July 26 — Canada’s Donovan Bailey returned to winning ways at the Barcelona International Athletics Meet, finishing first in the 100 m in 10.27 seconds...

Ronaldo issue still hot topic in Brazil
SAO PAULO, July 26 - Two weeks after Brazil’s shock 3-0 defeat by France in the World Cup final, fans are still asking themselves the question that won’t go away...

Joyner-Kersee bids farewell
EDWARDSVILLE, (Illinois) July 26 — Jackie Joyner-Kersee the greatest woman athlete of her generation, bowed out of competition yesterday with a subdued performance before family, friends and hometown fans...Top
  Oldtimers' day at Goodwill Games
NEW YORK, July 26 (AP) — It was oldtimers day for the USA at the Goodwill Games yesterday. Karch Kiraly, who celebrates his 38th birthday this fall, and Adam Johnson, a relative kid at 33, advanced to the gold-medal match in beach volleyball with a straight-set win over a pair of Australians in their 20s.
"You’d probably have to open his brain to find that out," Johnson said when asked what keep Karch kicking. "I think his drive for success is so much greater than a lot of people’s. He raises your level of play.’’
Wrestler Melvin Douglas, who turns 36 next month, raised his own level of competition and helped pace a big American victory over Turkey.
Douglas, the 1993 world champion at 96 kg from Mesa, Arizona, scored a 3-0 overtime decision over Kasif Sakiroglu, one of six US Victories in eight matches.
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Les Gutches, of Corvallis, Oregon, scored the biggest victory of the contest, a technical-superiority defeat of Ali Ozen.
Gutches led 11-0 when the referee stopped the bout at 4:49, earning four points for the USA.
Other US winners were Sam Henson at 119 pounds, Lincoln McIlvary (152), Steve Marianetti, in overtime (168) and Kerry McCoy (286).
Russia beat Iran, 17-12, in the tournament opener.
As the competition continued on a glorious summer day, a Chinese gymnast paralyzed in a practice accident underwent surgery in hopes of someday walking again.
Doctors at Nassau County Medical Centre fused two fractured and dislocated vertebrae in the neck of 17-year-old Sang Lan during a seven-hour operation.
Sang was in critical but stable condition.
In Central Park, Kiraly and Johnson dominated the Aussie pair of Julien Prosser and Leo Zahner, 12-2, 12-10, for a spot in championship match.
In the first game, Kiraly, the 1996 Olympic gold medallist, and Johnson ran off nine straight points for a 11-1 lead. In the second game, Australia tied it 9-9 and 10-10 before Kiraly hit a pair of kills on his serve to win the match.
In soccer, China upset women’s world champion Norway 4-2 in a shootout and will play the winner of USA-Denmark match.
The men’s triathlon title was won for the second straight time by Simon Lessing of Britain, while Australia’s Loretta Harrop rallied to win the women’s race.
Cycling, in an unusual team format, found the USA in front after the first of two days. Mike McCarthy won the men’s elimination and scratch race, and the US trio of Paul Swift and brothers Jonas and James Carney took the magic mile. Olympic speedskating medallist Chris Witty was second in the women’s sprint.
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  India, Korea record victories
HYDERABAD, July 26 (PTI) — A totally transformed India today demolished Kazakhstan, pumping in half-a-dozen goals without any reply in the round robin league of the eighth Asian Junior (Under-16) Football Championship at Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium here today.
Earlier, in the first match of the day, DPR Korea triumphed 2-0 over Pakistan.
Korea, who had beaten India 1-0 on July 24, now head the table with six points from two matches while India are at the second position with three points.
In the last group matches, to be played on July 28, Korea will take on Kazakhstan while India play Pakistan to decide the group-D winner.
India held the territorial advantage all through the match and put up a brilliant performance with better coordination among the forwards and strong defence.
The first goal was scored in the 22nd minute. Saroj Patnaik’s well calculated pass from the left flank went directly to Kumam Samson Singh and he found the net with a diving header.
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Soon, India captain Satish Kumar Bharti, latched on a free-kick lob from Depanker Roy and booted the ball in to give the hosts a 2-0 lead at half time.
Immediately after resumption, Kumam Samson Singh found his second and India’s third goal.
Deepankar Roy, moving down the left flank, took a powerful shot at the Kazakh post. Their custodian failed to collect the ball neatly and Kumam had just to push it in.
The fourth goal was scored by Saroj Patnaik after a solo run in the 48th minute, while the fifth was like a gift with the goalkeeper again being the culprit in the 50th minute. He fumbled while thwarting an Indian attempt and the ball went to Deepankar Roy who found the target easily.
Deepankar scored again in the 71st minute to seal the fate of the Kazakh boys, who have only one point so far after their one-all draw against Pakistan on the opening day.
Earlier, DPR Korea scored a goal each in both halves to register their second straight win against Pakistan.
Korea opened their account in the 12th minute through Young Gwang while Hwang Myong Choi increased the lead in the 77th minute.
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  South Africa all out for 208
NOTTINGHAM, July 26 (Reuters) — South Africa were all out for 208 in their second innings on the fourth day of the fourth Test at Trent Bridge today, leaving England a victory target of 247.
South Africa captain Hansie Cronje held his team together as England reduced the tourists to 169 for six by lunch.
South Africa, with a first innings lead of 38, found themselves trying to consolidate in a match which they had previously dominated.
Three wickets fell in the morning session beginning with that of Daryll Cullinan, who added 98 for the fourth wicket with his captain.
Having once again looked in prime form, scoring 56 from 105 balls with eight boundaries, Cullinan departed in the same way as he did in the first innings when he clipped an Angus Fraser delivery straight to Mark Ramprakash at square leg.
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Jonty Rhodes (2) completed a miserable Test with the bat when a second controversial umpiring decision saw him given out caught down the leg side by Alec Stewart off Dominic Cork.
Rhodes seemed unlucky with an lbw decision by English umpire Mervyn Kitchen in the first innings and television replays appeared to suggest the same umpire had made a mistake second time around with the ball hitting the pad, not bat.
South Africa (Ist innings): 374
England (Ist innings): 336
South Africa (2nd innings):
Kirsten lbw b Fraser 6
Liebenberg lbw b Gough 0
Kallis c Stewart b Cork 11
Cullinan c Ramprakash b Fraser 56
Cronje c Stewart b Cork 67
Rhodes c Stewart b Cork 2
Pollock c Stewart b Cork 7
Boucher c Hussain b Fraser 35
Elworthy lbw b Fraser 10
Donald not out 7
Adams c Stewart b Fraser 1
Extras (b-1 lb-4 w-1) 6
Total 208
Fall of wickets: 1-3 2-17 3-21 4-119 5-122 6-136 7-189 8-193 9-200.
Bowling: Gough 16-4-56-1, Fraser 28.3-6-62-5, Cork 20-4-60-4, Flintoff 6-1-16-0, Salisbury 5-2-9-0.
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  Aravinda better than Sachin, says Mendis
NEW DELHI, July 26 (UNI) — Former Sri Lankan cricket captain and Manager Duleep Mendis is averse to any move to introduce artificial wickets saying it would rob the game of its natural charm.
"I strongly feel that cricket is natural only in the present form. I will always prefer old and natural turf. Cricket should not be made artificial,’’ he said during an interview here.
Asked whether it was a move to push back the cricketing nations of the sub-continent, he said, "I am unaware of the idea and motive behind any such move, but I would certainly not subscribe to it.’’
Mendis still rates stylish middle order batsman Aravinda de Silva ahead of India’s batting genius Sachin Tendulkar, who lately took the cricketing world by storm with a string of brilliant performances.
"There is a difference in their respective batting profiles. Sachin is an opening batsman in one-dayers, whereas De Silva is a specialist middle order batsman who automatically brings in a difference in their styles of cricket,’’ says the veteran cricketer, under whose tutelage Sri Lankans became the world champions in 1996.
About the prospects of the Sri Lankans to retain their status in the World Cup to be held in England next year, he promptly replied that he rated his team to be the favourites.
"There could be some hiccups to start with, but I am confident that they would make it (retaining the trophy). They have all batting, bowling and fielding armoury in them which placed them ahead of others,’’ Mendis said.
Asked about the Sri Lankan players to look forward to during the next World Cup, Mendis said though almost all players were good, Aravinda, Arjuna Ranatunga, Sanath Jayasuriya and Muthiah Muralitharan were a few whom the spectators would like to perform.
Talking about the ‘lean patch’ master blaster Jayasuriya, he agreed that Sanath, who has been instrumental in raising the Sri Lankan score on countless occasions, was going through a poor form, but soon added that he (Sanath) would overcome it shortly.
"There was nothing wrong in his batting. It was only that one cannot be expected to perform every time. That’s a normal phenomena attached to the career of every cricketer,’’ the cricketer was of the view.
Supporting the move of Sri Lanka and India to appoint foreign coaches, Mendis said, "It was a correct move as it gives us an opportunity to develop the cricket more scientifically.’’
"We have good coaches, but to do it scientifically we need to hire them,’’ he added.
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Asked whether the Sri Lankan team was over depending on players like Jayasuriya and De Silva, Mendis said this was not true as there have been several occasions when the team had lost quick wickets, but still it had won the matches.
"Even during the last World Cup in this sub-continent, there were a few matches where we lost wickets in quick succession, but we still won convincingly because of the efforts of the batsmen coming at the later stage,’’ he elaborated.
Players down the order in the Sri Lankan squad have always stood to their reputation, he added.
About the effects or ill-effects of excessive cricket on players, Mendis agreed that there was a little too much of cricket going on these days, but felt that it was not affecting the cricketers.
Talking about the efforts of the MRF Cricket Foundation in developing medium pacers, the cricketer praised the manner in which the foundation had helped prop up medium pacers for India and Sri Lanka. "They have really helped us.’’
Mendis was here in connection with the announcement of the fixtures for a five-match series between India and Sri Lanka seniors to decide the ‘freedom-50’ cup to be held here between August 25 and September 2.
How did he rate Arjuna Ranatunga as a captain, Mendis said, "Arjuna was one of the best today. He shuffles the bowlers well and good in strategy evolving.’’
About his preference between Muralitharan and Australian Shane Warne, the veteran middle order batsman said the two were distinct bowlers as one was an off spinner and the other a leg spinner.
"There cannot be any comparison between Warne and Murali. Both are great bowlers. Murali really does a great job for us,’’ he concluded.
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  Bailey back to winning ways
BARCELONA, Spain, July 26 (Reuters) — Canada’s Donovan Bailey returned to winning ways at the Barcelona International Athletics Meet, finishing first in the 100 m in 10.27 seconds.
Smarting from his Goodwill Games thrashing on Tuesday by American arch-rival Maurice Greene, the ease of Bailey’s victory showed that it would be unwise to write off the Olympic champion just yet.
Bailey was smiling at the finish, knowing that it was in effect a warm up for the clashes to come next month against Greene and his Trinidadian training partner Ato Bolden.
The rather modest time by Bailey’s standards, even during this less than stellar season, can be attributed to jet lag, a lethargic start and having to run into a gusting breeze of more than two-metre per second.
He took 50 m to overhaul Nigeria’s Davidson Ezinwa but once Bailey edged in front there was little doubt about the winner.
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All other leading turns at the 1992 Olympic Stadium performed up to expectations.
Nigeria’s Glory Alozie, the fastest woman hurdler this year, continued her unbeaten run in the 100 m hurdles.
The Spain-based athlete won in 12.81. Like Bailey she was slowed by having the wind in her face.
Mozambique’s Maria Mutola, 1993 world champion over two laps, was a comfortable winner of the women’s 800 m in 1:58.27 sec.
Russia’s Yelena Afanaseyva, who just beat Mutola for the world championship silver medal last August, was a distant second in 2:00.17.
Debbie Ferguson of the Bahamas won the women’s 100 m in 11.18, an impressive run considering the conditions.
Steve Lewis, 1988 Olympic 400 m gold medallist, showed a glimmer of form from a decade ago, winning over one lap in 45.38.
Best field event performance came in the hammer from Hungary’s Balazs Kiss.
The 1996 Olympic champion cleared 81.12 m, the ninth best throw of the year. Five of them already belong to Kiss.
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  Ronaldo issue still hot topic in Brazil
SAO PAULO, July 26 (Reuters) - Two weeks after Brazil’s shock 3-0 defeat by France in the World Cup final, fans are still asking themselves the question that won’t go away.
"What on earth happened to Ronaldo on that Sunday afternoon in Paris ?"
In what was the most important game of his career, the world’s greatest player and his team were colourless shadows, meekly surrendering the chance of a record fifth title.
Ronaldo’s initial omission from the team was explained by a number of conflicting reports - he suffered a leg injury, a panic attack, an epileptic fit and nearly died.
But just as puzzling was why he eventually took the field after being ill just hours earlier. The picture is now, if anything, even cloudier than it was in the days following the final. Conspiracy theories continue to feed off each other.
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"This is going down as one of the eternal mysteries in football history," said Diogo Mourao, an Editor at Brazilian sports daily Lance.
The state of siege around the Brazilian team was not helped this week when authorities cancelled a visit to Japan slated for next month and postponed until October a friendly against South Korea.
The Japanese Football Association explained the scheduling changes arose because Brazil is looking for a new coach to replace Mario Zagallo.
But once again the explanations did not rein in the voracious Brazilian Press in their quest to find a scapegoat for the July 12 defeat.
Brazil had for months been hot favourites to win the title but they suffered their worst defeat in World Cup history in the final. Ronaldo wandered around the Stade De France pitch as if in a daze and his team-mates seemed to try to keep the ball away from him.
Zagallo recognised after the game that Ronaldo, who he said had suffered a bout of dizziness and nausea in the team hotel, should not have played.
"I kept thinking about taking him off. But he said he felt well enough to play and if I had not played Ronaldo after he said he was fit, I’d have been under even more criticism," he said.
But different versions of the "truth" emerged. Piecing together statements made by team-mates, doctors and Ronaldo himself, the events before the game appear to have been as follows:
Shortly before the game the team’s doctor rushed Ronaldo to hospital for tests after he had suffered what looked like a convulsive fit for a period of between 40 seconds and one minute.
Ronaldo was scratched from the starting line-up, but when he showed up at the field less than an hour before the game with clean bill of health and demanding to play, he was quickly reinstated.
In an interview on Brazilian television, Ronaldo said he had been given prescribed sedatives to recover from a convulsion.
"The doctor told me I could have been under emotional stress and agitated, so he gave me some sedatives."
He said he didn’t remember anything about the convulsive attack. "But when I woke up, I remember feeling pain all over my body...My back, my legs, everywhere."
Predictably, these explanations have satisfied few of the fans back home and triggered a flood of theories trying to explain the bodyblow to Brazilian pride.
Local media have alleged Ronaldo was forced on to the pitch by the combined efforts of Zagallo and Brazilian Football Federation (CBF) officials bent on winning the championship.
On their arrival back in Brazil the defeated finalists were greeted with muted enthusiasm. But the unpopular Zagallo was furiously jeered and insulted.
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Another version had it that Nike, Brazil’s corporate sponsor, demanded Ronaldo play as he was slated to promote a new line of footwear which was scheduled to be launched after Brazil’s planned victory.
Nike have strenuously denied it had tried to exert any pressure on team officials.
Messages on the internet allege inter-governmental shenanigans and trade-offs between various parties aimed at securing the hosting of the World Cup in the future.
Some sections of Brazilian media have suggested Ronaldo’s model girl friend Susana Werner may have been the object of advances from a romantic rival, raising the 21-year-old striker’s anxiety levels.
Coverage of Ronaldo has now switched from the sports section to the society pages of newspapers, where he has appeared together with Werner.
He seems to have recovered from whatever afflicted him but his standing in Brazil may have taken a knock.
Yellow and green caps, banners and shirts bearing Ronaldo’s number 9 have been stacked away after vendors off Sao Paulo’s busy Avenida Paulista tried to offload them at half price.
"I still believe in Ronaldo, but Brazilians aren’t buying that dream right now," said Rosa, tucking her remaining World Cup merchandise under a stack of umbrellas and contraband alarm clocks.
"At least not until the next cup."
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  Joyner-Kersee bids farewell
EDWARDSVILLE, (Illinois) July 26 (AFP) — Jackie Joyner-Kersee the greatest woman athlete of her generation, bowed out of competition yesterday with a subdued performance before family, friends and hometown fans.
Joyner-Kersee, who won the Goodwill Games heptathlon in New York three days earlier, finished sixth in the long jump at the us Open IAAF Grand Prix meeting here.
"I knew it would be tough to come here from the heptathlon," she said. "Tonight was more about being out there, giving the fans a chance to see me."
"All in all, I would have liked to jump better, but I can’t be disappointed. I leave the sport healthy."
A crowd of 9,100 turned out at southern Illinois University in Edwardsville, not far from her hometown of East St. Louis, to see the three-time Olympic gold medallist — in 1988 and 1992 in heptathlon and in 1988 in long jump — say farewell.
Her best jump of the evening was her last, a leap of 6.39m.
"I really didn’t want it to end, but I always told myself you can’t run forever."
She didn’t lose her composure until she thanked her fans.
"I’ve heard so much bad news about my hometown," she said her voice breaking as she stood in the infield surrounded by people. "I wanted to do something for people here."
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