Tuesday, September 15, 1998
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S P O R T | Tuesday, September 15, 1998 |
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 (Left) Australia's Patrick Rafter holds his trophy after defeating fellow countryman Mark Philippoussis in the men's singles championship at the US Open on Sunday. (Right) Jana Novotna and Martina Hingis show off the winners trophy after defeating Lindsay Davenport and Natasha Zvereva in the women's doubles final match.—AP/PTI Unstoppable Rafter defends title NEW YORK, Sept 14 — Patrick Rafter reigned supreme once again at the National Tennis Centre playing a near-perfect match to defeat fellow-Australian Mark Philippoussis yesterday and repeat as US Open men’s singles champion. Pakistan register easy 51-run victory TORONTO, Sept 14 — Playing like wounded tigers, Pakistan brought themselves on even keel with India by winning the second game of the five-match Sahara Cup series by 51 runs here yesterday. |
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Unstoppable Rafter defends title NEW YORK, Sept 14 (Reuters) — Patrick Rafter reigned supreme once again at the National Tennis Centre playing a near-perfect match to defeat fellow-Australian Mark Philippoussis yesterday and repeat as US Open men’s singles champion. The third-seeded Rafter, who christened the New Arthur Ashe stadium by storming to his first Grand Slam title last year, was unstoppable yesterday as he committed a mere five unforced errors while slashing 39 winners in disposing of the unseeded Philippoussis 6-3, 3-6, 6-2, 6-0. The 25-year-old Rafter, amazingly quick to the net and showing remarkable agility and anticipation, swept the last 10 games against a tiring and despirited Philippoussis, who ended the two hour, four minutes match by striking his 13th double fault. "It is been a very long summer for me and a great two weeks of tennis for me," Rafter said. "Commiserations for Mark." Rafter received $ 700,000 for his bravura performance. The 21-year-old Philippoussis, appearing in his first Grand Slam final, pocketed $ 400,000. The victory lifted Rafter into the number-two spot in the world rankings behind Pete Sampras, who lost to Rafter in Saturday’s semifinals. The triumph crowned an amazing run by Rafter in the summer hard court season following the Wimbledon championship. The win over Philippoussis improved the net-charging Rafter’s run to 25-2 with four titles, including the Open. "You have to hand it to Pat. Five unforced errors in the match," said Philippoussis in wonder. "Right now, he is the best player in the world." The Rafter-Philippoussis match marked the first all-Australian men’s singles final at the open in 28 years since Ken Rosewall beat Tony Roche, now an advisor of Rafter’s, in 1970 at Forest Hills. It had all the makings of a slam-bang, serve-and-volley shootout in typical Australian style, and for two sets it delivered on the promise. The first two sets were settled by a single service break in each, Rafter broke Philippoussis in the second game of the opener, cashing in on his fourth break point when his young opponent double-faulted. Philippoussis posted the only break of the second set when he took advantage of Rafter’s soft second serve to crack some huge forehands and seize a 3-1 lead in the fourth game. Philippoussis had blasted in 51 aces in his two previous victories but Rafter’s athleticism and keen anticipation defused the big Australian’s most lethal weapon, and Philippoussis notched just five aces in the match as he eased up on his booming first serve to get a higher percentage of them in. The challenger fought best when his back was against the wall as he fended off break point after break point to stay in the match. The young Australian saved 14 to 20 break points Rafter held against him. Rafter began to show his frustration in the fifth game of the third set when he squandered a 40-0 lead, slamming his racket down in disgust after netting a volley on third game point. He held his serve, however, and fans in the stands yelled out, "Go Scud," to urge on Philippoussis, so nicknamed for the force of his rocket-like serves. The pivotal third set swung on the very next game. Philippoussis saved three break points in the game, the last with an emphatic overhead. But Rafter rose to the occasion on the next point, returning another overhead smash with a reflex shot from the baseline. He hurried into the backhand corner to retrieve the next shot and then raced forward to the other side to reach a drop shot and rip a forehand that handcuffed Philippoussis at the net. Philippoussis netted a half-volley on the next point to go down 4-2, and the 21-year-old failed to win another game as Rafter won a remarkable 22 out of 27 points during one dominating stretch as he closed in on the title. "I think having the experience of last year really helped me," said Rafter, who lost his serve only seven times in the entire tournament, which included five-set victories in the first round against Moroccan Hicham Arazi and in the semifinals against Sampras. Rafter had kind words for the loser. "He is going to be one of the top players in the world once all his game starts to come together," Rafter said of Philippoussis, whose ranking will improve from 22 to 14 for his Open run.
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Indian men win badminton silver KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 14 (PTI) — India produced one of their finest team performances by reaping silver in the men’s section though their women counterparts had to be content with the bronze medal after forcing a three-way tie by toppling eventual gold medallists England in the Commonwealth Games Badminton today. Indian men capped their consistent showing by whipping New Zealand 4-1 in their four-team summit league clash after stunning England 3-2 in the morning to eventually finish second with a 2-1 win-loss record. Malaysia, who won all their three superleague outings took the gold with England and New Zealand winning bronze. Indian women, whose gold medal aspirations suffered a dent when they lost to hosts Malaysia in the morning, downed England 3-2 in a thrilling affair to force a three-way tie where all three had a 2-1 win-loss record. But England, who had downed Malaysia in the morning to scotch their hopes for a double, claimed the gold medal and Malaysia took silver after the game scores were taken into account to break the deadlock. Indian eves had to be content with the bronze medal alongside Australia. Prakash Padukone, the 1980 All-England Champion who had provided one of India’s finest hours in the games by clinching the 1978 men’s singles gold was at hand to applaud the showing of his wards as the team manager here. After their exhilarating victory over England in the morning which was clinched by 19-year-old former national junior champion Abhinshyam Gupta’s thrilling comeback from 1-9 down in the decider to beat Mark Knowles in the deciding fifth singles, India proved too good against the Kiwis. India number one P. Gopichand once again displayed his class by disposing of Nicholas Hall 15-10, 15-2 in the opening singles but the Kiwis raised some hopes of a fightback when Dean Galt and Daniel Shirley wrested the doubles by beating Jaseel Ismail and Vincent Lobo 15-1, 15-6. However, India quickly regained initiative as south paw Nikhil Kanetkar downed Geoffrey Bellingham 15-9, 15-8 to give India a 2-1 lead. George Thomas and Markose Bristow then rallied well to down Antonio Gargiulo and Nicholas Hall 10-15, 15-8, 15-7 before Abhinshyam Gupta once again revealed his steely nerve and retrieving abilities to subdue Dean Galt 15-12, 15-5 to ensure silver status for India. In the morning, Gopichand had fired Indian hopes by outplaying veteran Darren Hall 15-7, 15-2 in the opening singles. India lost both doubles rubbers but Nikhil Kanetkar beat Mark Constable 15-13, 15-6 before Gupta produced the heart-stopping stuff in the final rubber. The Indian women put up a fine show to prevail over England and trooped out of the KL Badminton Academy Courts with their heads held high, despite earning only the bronze. Twenty-year-old national champion Aparna Popat gave India yet another flying start by overcoming Julia Mann 11-2, 1-11, 11-6 in the opening singles with a good combination of smashes and delectable drop shots. Joanne Goode and Donne Kellogg neutralised the lead with a facile 15-0, 15-2 victory over Archana Deodhar and Chapala Deepthi, who replaced Manjusha Kanwar. Neelima Choudhury earned a hard-fought 7-11, 11-2, 11-9 victory over Tracey Hallam to regain initiative for India, but veteran Madhumita Bisht and P.V.V. Lakshmi went down rather tamely to Joanne Davie and Sara Sankey 7-15, 0-15 as the tie was locked 2-all. But thrice former national champion Manjusha Kanwar, held back for the final singles by coach S.M. Arif, remained cool under pressure to win her final singles in straight games to clinch the tie in India’s favour. Malaysia bounced back from their morning setback against England by blanking Australia 5-0, to eventually take silver.
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India trounce Wales 6-3 KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 14 (PTI) — India put up a vastly improved show to thrash lowly Wales 6-3 for their second victory in three matches to stay on course for a semifinal berth from group ‘a’ in the Commonwealth Games men’s hockey competition here today. Indians, desperate for a big win in their quest for a last four berth, unleashed an all-out attacking game and led 4-2 at the break but the spirited Wales went down fighting by scoring three goals themselves. Skipper Dhanraj Pillay scored his first goal of the tournament to hoist India’s lead in the fourth minute before Dilip Tirkey (7th), Baljit Singh Dhillon (19th, 60th), Lakshmanan Prabhakaran (28th) and rightwinger Mukesh Kumar (67th) followed suit as Indian ploy of all-out attack paid telling dividends. But Wales showed tremendous fighting spirit by pulling off goals through a brace by Simon Organ (33rd, 48th) after David Hacker (17th) had struck early on. But India might end up having to achieve the task of beating strong New Zealand as South Africa brought off a major upset by downing gold medal favourites Australia 3-2 in an earlier encounter. New Zealand beat Trinidad and Tobago 3-0 in another outing in the same league. Pillay began the onslaught by slotting home from close following a free hit just outside the circle before India consolidated soon after when Tirkey pushed in a penalty corner rebound. Wales reduced the margin in the 17th minute when captain David Hacker pushed in after a Simon Organ penalty corner hit rebounded off goalkeeper A.B. Subbaiah’s pads, with none of the Indian defenders in a position to foil the attempt. Relying on fast counter attacks, the Indians took control of the game again with Baljit Singh Dhillon finding the target with a crisp angular hit. The goal was the result of a fast counter attack which saw Sabu Varkey break through the defence and essay a centre which deflected off a Wales defender’s stick. Dhillon took control and beat the custodian. Prabhakaran then made it 4-1 after cashing in on a defensive lapse. But Wales penalty corner
specialist Simon Organ reduced the margin two minutes
from the breather with a blistering hit which beat the
Indian defence and Subbaiah all ends up. (UNI) — Indian women scored another emphatic victory today, this time 6-1 against hosts Malaysia and inched closer to the semi-finals of the 16th Commonwealth Hockey Championship. The Indian team next meet their toughest pool-A rivals Australia, winner of the World Cup, Olympic gold and Champions Trophy on Wednesday and take on Scotland on Thursday. A win against Scotland would safely see them through to the semi-finals where they will probably play against England, who are heading to top pool-B. Indian centre-forward Pritam Rani raised her personal tally of goals to 8 in the present tournament with two goals today. Pritam had converted a hat-trick against Jamaica in India’s 4-0 opening pool-A game and then slotted in three in the 7-1 victory against Trinidad and Tobago on Saturday. Aiming to become the highest goal scorer in the tournament, she struck the first goal for India in the second minute on the very first raid. Four minutes later, Kamala Dalal was on target and the Malaysian team were 0-2 down. Undaunted by the strong local support for the Malaysians, the Indians went on the rampage reeling off attack after attack and scored in the 13th and 14th minutes. The third goal came through a penalty corner with Sandeep Kaur sounding the board with a direct hit and India’s fourth was Pritam’s second. Malaysia, in a counter attack in the 41st minute, squeezed in a goal through Melati Inan but that was about all they could do. The Indians controlled the game, hardly allowing their rivals to touch the ball. In fact, India should have been through with some more goals but the girls played easy. Manjinder Kaur, who chipped a bone on the cheek during the match with Jamaica, was on the field seemingly fit showing little signs of injury. A penalty stroke in the 61st minute was converted easily by captain Sita Gussain and four minutes later, Kamala Dalal sealed the match for India 6-1.
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Indian shooters disappoint KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 14 (PTI) — Indian euphoria of winning their first gold medal gave way to dejection as they ended up fourth in men’s rapidfire pistol and fifth and 12th in women’s air rifle and men’s free rifle (prone) pairs events, respectively, at the Commonwealth Games shooting competition in Faraway Langkawi today. After Mansher Singh and Manavjit Singh had won the trap pairs gold medal yesterday with scintillating marksmanship, their teammates proved quite wayward at the ranges. Army marksmen Ajab Rao and Banwarlal Dhaka - second in the practice "badge shooting" a few days back - could only tally 1,121 points to finish fourth out of eight competing teams, two points separating them from South African bronze medallists Allan McDonald and Andre van Emmenis. Australian duo Patrick Murray and Michaengelo Giustiniano snapped up gold logging 1,138 points with New Zealand’s Jason Wakeling and Alan Earle, five points adrift, taking silver. Further disappointment was in store as medal hopes Anjali Vedpathak and young partner Anuja Tere were relegated to fifth in women’s pairs air rifle, tallying 765 points to finish one point ahead of Bangladesh pair of Sabrina Sultana and Fawzia Karim. Anuja Tere shot 388 out of 400 (96, 98, 98, 96) in her four rounds Anjali could manage only 377 (94, 95, 94, 94). Canadians Sharon Bowes and Christina Ashcroft won the gold with an aggregate of 778 with Australia’s Noemi Rostas and Belinda Muehlberg picking silver (774) and England’s Louise Minnet and Rebecca Spicer (772) the bronze. The men’s free rifle (prone) was even more disappointing for India as Army shooters A.P. Subbaiah and T.C. Pallangappa finished tamely in the 12th spot with an aggregate of 1,160 points. Subbaiah and Pallangappa, who had ended up 19th and 37th in the elimination rounds of the July world championship in Barcelona, once again performed well below expectations. While Subbaiah returned scores of 98, 94, 95, 96, 96 and 99 for a six-round total of 578 out of 600, Pallangappa was slightly more on target touching 582 (99, 97, 97, 97, 95, 97). The coveted gold medal went to South African duo of Gavin Rhyn Van and Michael Thiele who had a combined total of 1,189 points with England’s Philip Scanlan and Neil Day running them close before securing silver just one point behind. Australian bronze medallists Timothy Lowndes and Warren Potent totalled 1,178 points. However, Indian medal hopes should be sky-high in the men’s centrefire pistol pairs event scheduled for tomorrow where pistol ace Jaspal Rana, the Victoria Games individual champion, teams up with 1990 Auckland Games gold medallist Ashok Pandit. National junior stars
Shilpi Singh and Sushma Rana, Jaspal’s younger
sister, compete in women’s air pistol while Anjali
Vedpathak and Roopa Unnikrishnan combine in the sport
rifle (3-position) event for women. |
Indian men win badminton silver KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 14 (UNI) — The Indian men’s team today came up trumps to outclass New Zealand 4-1 and grab the silver medal while the women took the bronze in the badminton team events at the 16th Commonwealth Games today. In the men’s section, Malaysia bagged the gold while the bronze was shared between England and New Zealand. The Indian women had to be satisfied with a bronze which they shared with Australia. The gold went to England and silver to Malaysia. India number one Pullela Gopi Chand defeated Nicholas Hall 15-10, 15-2 to set the stage for India’s victory. In the doubles, however, Jaseel Ismail and Vincent Lobo lost to the Kiwi pair Dean Galt and Daniel Shirley 1-15, 6-15. In the next singles, Nikhil Kanetkar overcame G. Bellingham 15-9, 15-8 to make it one up for the Indians. George Thomas and Markose Bristow then sweated it out to beat Antonio Gargiulo and Nicholas hall 10-15, 15-8, 15-7. The hero of the
morning’s match against England, 19-year-old
Abhinshyam Gupta once again showed his class sweeping
past Dean Galt 15-12, 15-5. |
Speed merchants set for showdown KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 14 (Reuters) — A week ago it looked like a one-man race, just Trinidad’s Ato Boldon making a lonely crack at the world record. But the sudden re-emergence at the World Cup of Barbadian Obadele Thompson and news that Namibia’s Frankie Fredericks could also line up means Thursday’s Commonwealth Games 100 metres has become a genuine sprint showdown. Add a fast-improving young runner from Sydney and the race could go down in athletics history in more ways than one. Boldon, the fastest man in the world this year, is so desperate to break Donovan Bailey’s 9.84 seconds world mark that he will not be bothering with the 200 metres, an event at which he is the reigning world champion. Sprinters, of course, always say they are going for the record. None of them wants to be the second fastest man on earth. Boldon seems to mean it though, and Thompson, whose 9.87 second win at the World Cup in Johannesburg is the quickest time this year after Boldon’s 9.86, should give him just the push he needs on the untested Bukit Jalil track. Unofficially, Thompson is already the fastest man ever. He ran 9.69 at a meet in Texas two years ago but missed out on the record because of a tailwind. There followed a long period of injury. Fredericks, the Olympic silver medallist at both distances, has yet to decide whether to race the 100 metres but should be able to shed his perpetual Bridesmaid tag in the 200. For good measure, even one of the also-rans could make history in the 100. Young Australian Matt Shirvington is out to become the first white man to run under 10 seconds. Only a couple of months back, Shirvington was just a promising 19-year-old. But his times have improved so rapidly, from around 10.3 down to 10.07 in the rarefied atmosphere of Johannesburg, that he could better the 10 flat run by Poland’s Marian Woronin in 1984 and become the first white man to join the sport’s most elite club. All of which must irritate Primo Nebiolo, the Italian boss of world athletics who has been accused of trying to derail the Commonwealth Games programme by scheduling the World Cup at the same time. Some of the biggest names in athletics will be absent from the games, including Canada’s Olympic 100 metres champion Bailey, teammate Bruny Surin and Welsh 110 metre hurdles world record holder Colin Jackson. Cathy Freeman, who wrapped herself in both the aboriginal and Australian flags after winning the 400 metres four years ago, will not be defending her title because of injury. Also missing will be English triple jumper Jonathan Edwards. But there will be a strong men’s 400 metres, the powerful Kenyans will line up in the distance events, and former world champion Maria Mutola of Mozambique will add credibility to the women’s 800 metres. In the 400, Wales’ European champion Iwan Thomas will be up against his British teammates Solomon Wariso and Mark Richardson, both racing for England. Thomas should be fired up by victory over American Jerome Young in Johannesburg at the weekend. Thursday’s 100 metres will be the main event, however, as a new champion replaces retired Englishman Linford Christie. It should be Boldon, but Thompson cannot be dismissed. "He’s improving every time he runs," said a Barbadian team official. "Believe me it’s been coming and it’s been building up. He’s going to do better, he’s got a lot of pedigree."
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O’Neill takes gold haul to four KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 14 (Reuters) — Susie O’Neill took her gold medal haul to four today as Australia unveiled yet another bright new talent in Commonwealth Games swimming pool. The 25-year-old Queenslander produced a brave performance to win the 400 metres freestyle against a surprise challenge from little-known Englishwoman Vicki Horner. Then she anchored the 4x100 freestyle relay quartet to see off another English run. All in all Australia won four of five golds, taking their tally so far to 12 in 15 events. Only Canada’s Mark Versfeld stood up to the onslaught today, winning the men’s 200 metres backstroke by almost two seconds. And Michael Klim, the 21-year-old star of the Perth world championships in January, finally came good in the individual events as he claimed gold in the 100 metres freestyle with a personal best time of 49.43 seconds. The teenagers were not silent, however. Both Australia and Canada unveiled new talents as 15-year-old Giaan Rooney just beat Kelly Stefanyshin, 16, to win the women’s 100 metres backstroke. Rooney won the race by virtue of a driving start from the starting blocks, then admitted: "We don’t even have blocks at our pool" back home on the gold coast. The 100 metres freestyle
race saw a welcome return to form for Klim, who anchored
the men’s 100m freestyle silver and a bronze in two
individual events. |
Jitender powers way into last 8 KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 14 (PTI) — Middleweight Jitender Kumar rode on the weight and power of his right fist to punch his way past Francis Partsoh of West Samoa to move into the quarterfinals in the Commonwealth Games Boxing competition here tonight. The 21-year-old Jitender, an Asian Youth Championship gold medallist in 1995, notched up a one-sided and highly impressive 13-3 verdict, throwing powerful punches while neatly side-stepping those thrown at him by the Samoan adroitly and with quicksilver footwork to earn an overwhelming verdict in his favour. Kumar joined his lightheavy compatriot Gurcharan Singh, who will take on Canada’s Troy Amos Ross in the last eight stage tomorrow, as the two held India hopes for a medal from the ring. The 20-year-old Gurcharan
Singh, a SAF Games gold medallist, outpunched Enroy Toney
of St. Vincent Grenadines in his opening bout yesterday
and earned a favourable verdict when his opponent was
disqualified in the third round for holding. The medal
hopes of India, who won a lone bronze medal in Victoria
four years ago, had substantially diminished after
19-year-old bantamweight N.G. Dingko Singh bowed out in
the second round alongwith featherweight Gurmeet Singh,
who was unlucky to face gold medal favourite James Swan
of Australia in his opening round. |
Indian hopes rest on Tendulkar’s magic KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 14 (UNI) — A couple of weeks back, former Indian captain Sachin Tendulkar may not have known that he would be in a South-East Asian capital shouldering the burden of getting a Commonwealth Games medal for the country. Tendulkar is not captaining the side that is becoming a part of Commonwealth Games history, but India’s hopes are pinned on this batting dynamite when they face Steve Waugh’s Australia at a small stadium in Kelana Jaya tomorrow. A depleted India has to beat a star-packed Aussie side to be in contention for a medal. If it rains and the match is abandoned, the Indians who have come here amid much controversy go back without a medal. Although, the first Commonwealth Games were held in 1930 in England, cricket is for the first time a part of the meet. It took a lot of cajoling by the Indian Olympic Association to get the Indian cricket board to send a team. According to reports, a lot of compromises and deals were struck which is why skipper Ajay Jadeja, vice-captain, Anil Kumble, Tendulkar and a couple of other players are here. The village gossip is that the Indian cricketers, used to plush hotel suites and being feted wherever they go, are enjoying the bonhomie that a meet such as the Commonwealth brings out. But there are reports that the stars are not too happy about missing out on the lucrative trip to Canada to play the Sahara Cup against Pakistan. Team manager Krishnamachari Srikkanth has dismissed rumours that if India are not in contention for a medal then Tendulkar, Jadeja, Kumble and Robin Singh will fly off to Canada. On arrival here on September 8, Tendulkar had told the Press that he and the team were very keen that they get a medal for the country. It is for the Indian cricketers now to push back all the bad vibes that they have got from one and all and play their heart out against Australia, which has brought their full team for the Commonwealth Games. The Indians start off with a disadvantage. They have three points, having had to share points with Antigua when rain forced the match to be abandoned on Wednesday last. The Indians then went on to hammer Canada by 112 runs after the minnows of cricket had shocked the stars by containing them to a low score of 157 for nine. A superb innings of 83 by Amay Khurasia, who became the first Indian cricketer to be dope tested, was the highlight of the Indian innings, in which only two other players Gagan Khoda and Rahul Sanghvi managed to get into double figures. Kumble grabbed four wickets and Debashish Mohanty scalped three to skittle Canada for 45 runs. Australia have four points which is why they are on an advantageous position if there is another spell of unseasonal tropical rains here tomorrow. They defeated Canada by nine wickets and then outplayed Antigua to win by seven points and looked among the favourites for the first Commonwealth Games medals in cricket. The wicket here, because of the rains, has been very soft and difficult to handle as the ball stops and comes. Aware of Tendulkar’s reputation, Malaysian cricket fans are eager to see a big innings from him. He got 15 runs in the match against Antigua and two against Canada. In pool A, world champions Sri Lanka, who have not brought six top players, are cruising towards a medal having beaten Malaysia by seven wickets and Jamaica by 67 runs. South Africa in pool-C also looked very strong having whipped Northern Ireland and Bangladesh by four and five wickets respectively and a game against Barbados left. Pakistan, who have also come with a second string team are in the same position as India having had to share points with Scotland because of rain. In pool-D, they beat Kenya by 129 runs and play their last game against New Zealand who have four points. The Indian and Pakistani camps are hoping that rain stays away and they get a chance for victory tomorrow. The Malaysian cricket board has gone to the extent of calling ‘bomohs’, the traditional medicine men here.
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Sri Lanka win cliffhanger KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 14 (Reuters) — Under strength world champions Sri Lanka won through to the cricket semifinals at the Commonwealth Games today with a stunning, cliffhanger victory over Zimbabwe. In a see-saw game either side could have won, the Sri Lankans seemed to have the match wrapped up in the 46th over in the chase of Zimbabwe’s total of 265 for seven in their 50 overs. They needed just three runs to win and they had three wickets left. But then Zimbabwe seamer Heath Streak took two wickets in successive balls to leave the match on a heart-stopping knife edge. First he bowled Tilan Samaweera with an inswinging yorker. Then he got Suresh Parera with an identical ball. But Streak could not achieve the hat-trick which would have saved the match for the full-strength Zimbabweans and Sri Lanka had the magnificent Indka de Saram (71 not out) to knock off the runs needed. Russel Arnold (44), De Saram and Chandika Huthurusinghe (60) turned the match around after Zimbabwe paceman Mpumelo Mbangwa dismissed Sri Lanka’s opening pair and the world champions limped to 115 for five. But the Sri Lankans went on the attack — "I just told them to play their normal game," said captain Hashan Tillekeratne — and by the time Huthurusinghe departed, they were comfortably poised. Zimbabwe captain Alistair Campbell was bitterly disappointed at the loss. "We didn’t bowl well enough. Our fielding was not what it should have been", Campbell said. He did not blame the batsmen, but Zimbabwe should have set a bigger target. Campbell (82) and Murray Goodwin (55) put on 109 for the second wicket at a swift pace against some poor bowling and the Zimbabweans looked well on target for a total of around 300. But then six middle order wickets tumbled for only 75 runs as the Sri Lankans tightened their attack and kept Zimbabwe to a total which was manageable on a wicket that was unusually dry in hot and humid Kuala Lumpur. Goodwin, coming in after the fall of Grant Flower (28), cut and drove the hapless Sri Lankan bowlers, hitting two sixes an four boundaries in his 57-ball innings. He eventually fell to a beautiful stumping by Lanka de Silva two balls after swatting leg spinner Upul Chandana for a six to reach his 50. The left-handed Campbell was an even greater delight, scoring 82 off 119 balls with four boundaries and four sixes, one of which forced a search for the ball among trees well over the boundary. The expensive Chandana had his revenge as a fielder, running out Andy Flower and Craig Evans with direct throws when the Zimbabweans were going well and not in need of quick singles. India play Australia, Pakistan meet New Zealand and South Africa tackle Barbados tomorrow in matches which will decide the other semifinalists. Other round robin group results are: Jamaica beat Malaysia by six wickets. Malaysia (84 all out in 48.3 overs — Cunningham 4-13, Jimmy Adams 3-8). Jamaica — 87 for 4 in 21 overs. Antigua beat Canada by 121
runs. Antigua — 256 for seven in 50 overs (Hayden
Walsh 51, Anthony Lake 54. Canada — 135 in 31.4
overs (lame 4-17, Hamish Anthony 3-34). |
Pakistan register easy 51-run victory TORONTO, Sept 14 (PTI) — Playing like wounded tigers, Pakistan brought themselves on even keel with India by winning the second game of the five-match Sahara Cup series by 51 runs here yesterday. Set to make 246 for nine in the afternoon, admittedly in not very difficult conditions since the sun was out and the wicket played perfect, India missed the presence of Saturday’s man-of-the-match Saurav Ganguly — whose hamstring injury necessitated a precautionary rest, and slid to a defeat. The promoted opener, Nayan Mongia and Navjot Singh Sidhu were confronted with a disciplined Pakistani attack, who for once stuck to a one-stump line and bowled to their field. Even the field placements were done meticulously as Sidhu’s cut and thrusts past point and gully were effectively blocked. Still, India stretched this opening association which did not have many sparkling strokes to 57. The only incident of note in this period was a disputed appeal for a catch by Salim Malik off Nayan Mongia, when the batsman was on one and the total seven. The standing umpire, Ian Robinson, and later his partner at square leg, Trevor Manuel, thought it fit to refer it to the third umpire who could not come to a decision going by the evidence of television replays. It must be said Mongia played competently and to the best of his ability. But clearly India was missing a strong presence at the start. But Sidhu departed in the same manner as it had happened on Saturday, bowled by Mohammad Zahid, though this time the veteran opener dragged the ball on to his stumps. Skipper Mohammed Azharuddin began belligerently, slashing Zahid for a six over third man and then swatting Shahid Afridi over deep long on for a massive six. But Azhar was in a great deal of trouble against Azhar Mahmood and finally succumbed to him for 25, made off 40 balls with two sixes. Thus, India were not only losing wickets but the scoring rate was climbing too. Rahul Dravid and Hrishikesh Kanitkar appeared promising initially. But Dravid offered a return catch to Abdul Razzak while Kanitkar failed to lift the same bowler successfully and gave a catch to Pak skipper Aamir Sohail at midwicket. The innings was in a mess and there was no way it could have recovered from the blows. Javagal Srinath, though, entertained himself and the crowd by singling out the most successful bowler of the innings, Salim Malik, for some harsh treatment by hitting a six and two fours in his 21. But there was little substance left in the Indian innings and it was all over bar the shouting. Finally, the end came in the 47th over, 46.3 to be precise, when Venkatesh Prasad was adjudged leg before wicket to Malik who finished with four for 36. Earlier, Pakistan batted in a hectic manner from the start, and even though five of their wickets were down by the 25th over, the score was perched at 132. Shahid Afridi, with a blazing 56 (49 balls, 2 sixes, 6 fours) set the tone which was taken to logical conclusion by wicket-keeper-batsman Moin Khan whose 69 came off 83 balls with eight fours. For India, the medium-pacers — Srinath, Venkatesh Prasad and Ajit Agarkar — gave too many runs. But the spinners — Sunil Joshi, Sanjay Raul and Kanitkar — were surprising successes. The third match of the
series would be played on September 16. Pakistan: India:
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Ganguly sorely missed WHAT a difference a day makes. Yesterday Pakistan turned the tables on India and played excellent cricket after beating India dished out in the first Sahara Cup match. I would like to have been a 'fly on the wall' when players were made to listen to coach Javed Miandad dissect their poor performance. Whatever he said worked but it was an indication of how nervous Pakistan were before the start of the match when Mushtaq was told he was playing and then five minutes before the toss he was informed his wrist spinners were not needed! Even being put into bat didn't matter. The charged attitude-body language and sense of urgency took the Indian bowlers by surprise. Pakistan looked to get after the bowlers and succeeded against Prasad and Agarkar who bowled too short. Each bowler bowled two beauties an over but then followed it with two expensive bad balls. Srinath was the only seamer to cause the batsmen problems. He was fast, aggressive and nasty. Sometimes he got alarming bounce but unfortunately the runs were coming too quickly at the other end. The problem with playing Pakistan is that you are never sure how they will play. They are so unpredictable that I sometime think they are 'ruled by the moon' or the way they play depends on which side of the bed they got out of in the morning! In the middle of the inning Kanitkar and Joshi mowed down Afridi, Malik and Ijaz to squeeze out the three big wickets in 22 balls for only 13 runs. Debutant Raul got Inzamam out with his fifth ball and suddenly India had a sniff of bowling out Pakistan for a reasonable total. But Moin Khan was superb as he measured the bowling with audacious unorthodox shots into all kinds of funny areas. Even Srinath at his best could not bowl him out. Khan's outstanding 69 not out of 84 balls put the icing on the cake and took Pakistan's total out of reach for India. Whatever the Indian batsmen tried the bowling was always on top. Nobody was able to get some momentum going. Pakistan had a grip on the match and never let go. Sidhu and makeshift opener Mongia were made to struggle. They had to take chances just to get the score moving. By having to take risks and always behind the run rate it was only a matter of time before wickets would fall. Once Sidhu, Azhar and Mongia were out the rest of the batsmen had too much to do in too few overs. They tried hard with a few lusty hits but it was a case of middle and late order batsmen having to commit 'hara kiri'! India need to get Ganguly fit for Wednesday. His record of five 'man of the match' awards and presence on the field was sorely missed. — IMG
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DAV College set meet record CHANDIGARH, Sept 14 — Three records were created on the opening day of the two day Panjab University Inter-College Swimming Championship being held at the PU Campus here today. Defending champion and hot contender DAV College, Sector 10, started its campaign in short when their relay team set meet record in the 4X100m freestyle relay comprising Dinesh Dahiya, Naveen, Sudhir Kumar and Tarun Negi, clocking four minutes 35.47 seconds erased the old record held by Government College, Ludhiana with the timing of 4: 35.60 seconds in 1994-95. DAV College, Hoshiarpur, finished second with a timing of 4: 43.76 while Government College, Hoshiarpur took the third place, clocking 5:49.31 seconds. Another record was set when DAV College Hoshiarpur’s Aseem Parmar established a new meet record in 200m freestyle in the men’s section, clocking two minute 20.47 seconds. He improved his own record which he set last year with a timing of 2: 21.25 seconds. Madhav Sund of Government College, Ludhiana, bagged second place as he clocked 2: 23.22 seconds and the third place went to Anwar Masih, representing DAV College, Hoshiarpur, (2: 26.62). In 100m backstroke, Madhav Sund set a new meet record with a timing of one minute 11.18 seconds, beating the old record held by Rahul Kalia of Government College, Hoshiarpur with a timing of one minute 14.87 seconds. Record holder of this event Rahul Kalia slipped to second place, clocking 1:14.18 seconds while DAV Chandigarh’s Sudhir Kumar came third with a timing of 1:14.36 seconds, respectively. The results are (all finals) Women's section: 100 m backstroke - Abhipsha (GCW, Ldh) 1, Bindia Sareen (GCW, Ldh) 2, Archana Anand (GCG-10, Chd) 3. time 1:27.25 sec; 100 m freestyle: Bindia Sareen (GCW, Ldh) 1, Abhipsha (GCW, Ldh) 2, Sarmita Sen (GCG-10, Chd) 3. time 1:18.03 sec; 800 m freestyle: Bindia Sareen (GCW, Ldh) 1, Abhipsha (GCW, Ldh) 2, Sarmita Sen (GCG-10, Chd) 3. time 12:16.91 sec. 4x100 m medlay relay: Government College for Women, Ludhiana 1, Government College for Girls Sector 11, Chandigarh 2, MCM DAV College, Sector 36, Chandigarh 3. time 6:18.81 sec; 200 m butterfly stroke: Bindia Sareen (GCW, Ldh) 1, Abhipsha Thakur (GCW, Ldh) 2, Sarmita Sen (GCG-11, Chd) 3. time 3:10.28 sec; 50 m freestyle: Bindia Sareen (GCW, Ldh) 1, Abhipsha Thakur (GCW, Ldh) 2, Taranpreet (MCM DAV, Chd) 3, time 0:35.31 sec; 4 x 100 m freestyle relay: Government College for Women, Ludhiana 1, Government College for Girls, Sector 11, Chandigarh 2, MCM DAV College, Sector 36, Chandigarh 3. time 5: 56.41 sec. Men's section: 200 m freestyle: Aseem Parmar (DAVC, Hsp) 1, Madhav Sund (GC, Ldh) 2, Anwar Masih (DAVC, Hsp) 3. time 2:20.47 sec (NMR) old record 2: 21.25 sec.; 100 m backstroke: Madhav Sund (GC, Ldh) 1, Rahul Kalia (GC, Hsp) 2, Sudhir Kumar (DAVC, Chd) 3. time 1:11.18 sec (NMR) old record 1: 14.87. 100 m butterfly stroke: Dinesh Dahiya (DAVC, Chd) 1, Madhav Sund (GC, Ldh) 2, Tarun Negi (DAVC, Chd) 3. time 2: 47.53 sec.; 200 m breast stroke: Naveen Dalal (DAVC, Chd) 1, Dinesh Dahiya (DAVC, Chd) 2, Anwar Masih (DAVC, Hsp) 3. time 3: 03.94 sec; 4x100 m freestyle relay: DAV College, Sector 10, Chandigarh 1, DAV College, Hoshiarpur 2, Government College, Hoshiarpur 3. time 4:35.47 sec (NMR) old record 4: 35.60 sec held in 1994-95. 100 m freestyle: Aseem Parmar (DAVC, Hsp) 1, Madhav Sund (GC, Ldh) 2, Tarun Negi (DAVC, Chd) 3. time 1:03.88 sec; 1500 m freestyle: Anwar Masih (DAVC, Hsp) 1, Aseem Parmar (DAVC, Hsp) 2, Dinesh Dahiya (DAVC, Chd) 3. time 21: 02.41 sec. Water polo matches (knockout stage): Government College, Hoshiarpur b Government College, Ludhiana by 15-5. League matches: DAV College, Hoshiarpur b DAV College, Chandigarh 14-1, Government College, Hoshiarpur b Panjab University campus by 11-7.
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Year's first defeat for Marion Jones JOHANNESBURG, Sept 14 (Reuters) — An exultant Carlette Guidry anchored the US 4x100 m relay team to victory yesterday and a first World Cup for the American women’s team. The US quartet, without Marion Jones who had earlier suffered her first defeat in a year, clocked an even 42 seconds for a maximum eight points and top places for the USA with 96 points. Europe were second with 94 and Africa third on 88, their highest position ever, in the quadrennial inter-continental team contest, now renamed the Nelson Mandela Trophy in honour of the South African President. "My plan was to get a good exchange and to blast out the straight away and that’s what I did", said Guidry. Cheryl Taplin, lead-off runner for the USA, said: "It feels great to be here in Africa and win the first Nelson Mandela Trophy and to do it on a day like today, rainy and cold." Africa won the men’s competition for the third consecutive time with 110 points, just one ahead of Europe. Germany, who enjoyed an excellent competition, were third on 102. "I’ve been to three World Cups", said 400 m hurdles champ Samuel Matete. "This was special because this was coming home. It’s a great honour to win a trophy bearing the name of Nelson Mandela." For the third day in a row, conditions were damp, dark and dismal here, with heavy rain and the start adding to the misery of athletes and spectators alike. Jones, who recorded personal bests in the 200 and 100 on the first two days to move closer to Florence Griffith-Joyner in the all-time list, failed to come to terms with the conditions and her best mark of 7.00 m was not enough to defeat Germany’s European champion Heike Drechsler. Drechsler jumped 7.07 with her first attempt and said she had felt especially motivated jumping against the young American who had been unbeaten in eight indoor and outdoor events. Frank Fredericks, still negotiating with the Namibian authorities about his participation in this week’s Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur, maintained the African momentum with a determined win in the men’s 200 m. The former world champion clocked 19.97 in the thin Johannesburg air ahead of American Gentry Bradley. "The fans have been great", he said. "When the fans come out you have to perform. I am very pleased, especially with the time today." Nigerian Olympic bronze medallist Falilat Ogunkoya, winner of the 400 m in 49.2, showed similar commitment. "I wanted to win badly because this is home for me", she said. Dieter Baumann, 1992 Olympics 5,000 gold medallist, revealed startling acceleration in the straight to win the 10,000 m for Germany in the continent whose runners have dominated distance running in the past 10 years. There was a rather more dubious German victory in the 110 m hurdles where Falk Balzer appeared to get away before the gun. Balzer won in 1.10 —
0.01 of a second ahead of Britain’s world record
holder Colin Jackson. |
Gaekwad blames bowlers TORONTO, Sept 14 (PTI) — "We bowled the way the Pakistanis bowled on Saturday," was how coach Anshuman Gaekwad summed up the situation after India went down tamely to Pakistan in the second game of the Sahara Cup yesterday. Skipper Mohammed Azharuddin was more specific. "By and large, our pacers bowled too short. They could not move the ball as they should have. They, thus, allowed the opposite batsmen to cut and pull with ease." Azhar did not spare his batsmen too. "We needed to score more runs in the first 15 overs, needed to hit more boundaries. It did not happen and it put the remaining batsmen with too much of work to do." He said it was a better wicket than the one on Saturday but still it was a good toss to win. "Also, we missed Saurav Ganguly for he has been so good an influence on the team," Azhar said. Was he happy with the way the newcomers batted in this match? "They could have done better but I don’t blame them. It is never easy when there is so much of pressure," he said. About the spinners, Azhar said: "it was a pleasant surprise. I never expected them to perform this well." Jubilant Pakistan skipper Aamir Sohail said: "We did our homework and luckily it paid off." "Coming to this tournament, the boys were a bit rusty since we did not play any top cricket for some months now. But thankfully, they are coming good now." On Shahid Afridi’s batting, Sohail said: "Miandad has been doing some talking to Afridi."
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Indian golf duo wins title CHANDIGARH, Sept 14 — India's Asian Games probables Harmeet Singh Kahlon of Punjab and Amit Luthra, who hails from Delhi, bagged the top honours in the team event in the Singapore Open Amateur Golf Championship held at Laguna National Golf Club in Singapore recently, reports received here have said. In this international team event Harmeet Kahlon and Amit Luthra had an aggregate of 436 while the second place was claimed by Sri Lanka with 437. A total of 12 countries participated. It is for the first time that an Indian team has clinched an international team event in the Singapore amateur circuit.
UT athletics team announced CHANDIGARH, Sept 14 — The Amateur Athletic Association, Chandigarh, has selected a team for the 10th All-India Zonal Junior Athletic Championship to be held at Allahabad. A coaching camp will be held from September 15 to 24 at the sports complex, Sector 7 under the supervision of Sarabjeet Singh, athletics coach. The team will leave for Allahabad on September 24, according to Mr Shangara Singh secretary of the association. The team: Boys under-20: Sunil Yadav, Pargat Singh and Pawan Kumar. Boys under-18: Mohit-I, Ved Parkash, Harmeet Singh, Sumit, Ajay, Mohit-II, Shiv Bahadur Singh, Julfkar and Lakhbir Singh. Boys under-16: Lakhbir and Manmohan Singh. Boys under-14: Harinder Girls under-20: Aishwarya Chandel, Rachna, Daya Verma and Deep Sharma. Girls under-18: Suman and Parkiti Girls under-16: Mohinderjit Kaur, Veena Yadav and Shakshi. |
Bierhoff 'footballer of the year' BONN, Sept 14 (Reuters) — AC Milan striker Oliver Bierhoff was voted German footballer of the year by a panel of sports journalists. Bierhoff, 30, beat veteran Bayern Munich libero Lothar Matthaeus and Kaiserslautern striker Olaf Marschall into second and third places in the vote organised by soccer magazine Kicker. Bierhoff was the best scorer in the Italian series A last season with 27 goals for Udinese. He then moved to AC Milan and scored twice in a 3-0 win over Bologna in the club’s opening league match last Saturday. The tall, blond striker went down in history two years ago scoring the "golden goal" which gave Germany victory over the Czech Republic in the European Championship final at Wembley. Since making his international debut in February 1996 against Portugal, Bierhoff has appeared 33 times for Germany, scoring 20 goals. Bierhoff won 501 votes compared with 196 for Matthaeus and 107 for Marschall. Borussia Dortmund defender Juergen Kohler, who claimed the award last year, came fifth. Shortly before stepping down as national coach last week, Berti Vogts had appointed Bierhoff as the new German captain. Erich Ribbeck, who succeeded Vogts, has yet to announce who will be his captain.
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Fate of National Football League uncertain CALCUTTA, Sept 14 (UNI) — The fate of the forthcoming National Football League remains uncertain as the All-India Football Federation (AIFF) has so far failed to find a sponsor for the tournament, according to AIFF president Priya Ranjan Dasmunshi. Mr Dasmunshi, however, said talks were on with three companies, including the last two edition’s sponsors — Philips. He said it was difficult to find a sponsor in view of the West Bengal Sports Department’s prevailing rules which, he said, took no care of the sponsors. He warned that if this continued it would be very difficult to stage matches in the state even if a sponsor was ultimately found for the third edition of the league. Mr Dasmunshi said at present the state Sports Department procured all the VIP and complementary passes which should otherwise go to the federation. "So we cannot even give passes to our sponsors," he added. He further said the in-stadia advertisement policy of the state should also change so that sponsors can put up their advertisements inside the stadia. "If the tournament does not give them any mileage in terms of advertising, why will they come forward with finances ?", he reasoned. This was one issue which Philips brought to the notice of the federation. Mr Dasmunshi further informed that the Federation Cup had a three-year contract with Kalyani Black Label (KBL) of the United Breweries group that ended this year and talks were on with the same company to renew the contract for another three years. UB group chief Vijay Mallya has reportedly evinced interest in a renewal.
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Students collect Rs 60,000 for
injured gymnast BHIWANI, Sept 14 — "Do contribute some more money to save the life of a fellow student". These are the words of appeal of local school students and schoolmates of Lachhman Singh, a leading gymnast of Bhiwani, now struggling for life in Delhi's Apollo Hospital. Students of the local Baptist Senior Secondary School, Public Sr Sec School Bal Bhavan and Vaish College have collected Rs 60,000 from students of their respective schools. "Lachhman Singh was a very sincere student and he brought laurels to our school through his achievements in various gymnastic competitions", says Mrs Usha Soni, Principal of Bal Bhavan School. Lachhman was selected for the National Games and was practicing under the guidance of his coach at Ambala. He suffered serious injuries to his neck and spinal cord during practice on the vaulting horse on August 25. The apathetic and indifferent attitude of the Sports Department and the state government has disappointed his father, a Class IV employee, for whom the hospital's expenses are beyond reach. According to sources, Lachhman is to undergo further surgery. His first operation performed on Friday, was successful and has brought some hope. The Local Sports
Department told this correspondent here today that an aid
of Rs 1 lakh had been demanded from the Director
(Sports), Haryana. |
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