ZURICH : Brazilian football stars Ronaldo, Carlos Alberto Torres, Dunga, Ricardo Teixeira, president of the Brasilian Football Association (CBF), and Zico (from left to right) stand in front of the World Cup trophy, while Fifa president Sepp Blatter (right) thanks them for their presentation of the 2006 FIFA World Cup bid of Brazil at the Fifa headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland, on Tuesday— AP/PTI

Ronaldo kick-starts Brazil’s campaign ZURICH, Aug 11 — Brazil flew in two-time FIFA ‘player of the year’ Ronaldo here yesterday to kick-start their floundering campaign to host the 2006 football World Cup. The 23-year-old Inter Milan star had not been down on the original list presented to FIFA but a last-minute switch saw the Brazilian star fly in from Italy.

Sikdar bags Khel Ratna award
NEW DELHI, Aug 11 — Middle distance queen Jyotirmoyee Sikdar has bagged the prestigious Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award while cricketers Rahul Dravid and Nayan Mongia, soccer star Baichung Bhutia and boxer Dingko Singh are among 30 sportspersons named for the 1998 Arjuna awards announced today.

Gopichand, Aparna win in style
BANGALORE, Aug 11 — Top seeds and national champions Gopichand and Aparna Popat retained their titles in style in the men’s and women’s sections respectively in the fifth All India Open Badminton Tournament here today.

Emerson’s comments draw flak in Lanka
COLOMBO, Aug 11 —Sri Lankan cricket chiefs have hit back at Australian umpire Ross Emerson after his comments about off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan’s action.

England coach on selection panel
MANCHESTER, Aug 11 —Incoming coach Duncan Fletcher has been drafted on the England selection panel for the final Test of the series against New Zealand at The Oval in a fortnight.

Haryana win overall championship
CHANDIGARH, Aug 11 — Haryana won the overall championship with 46 points in the 17th National Yoga Championship which concluded at Bhopal.

Seniors ‘alone’ not responsible
MUMBAI, Aug 11 — Interim chief of the board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka (BCCSL) Dhamika Ranatunga has said that it was not right to blame certain senior players for the country’s dismal performance in the World Cup.

Warne shocked to lose captaincy
MELBOURNE, Aug 11 — Australian star spinner Shane Warne was shocked to lose the captaincy of the Victorian Sheffield Sheild cricket team for next season.

Harbhajan, Nehra told to join camp
MUMBAI, Aug 11 — Delhi’s left-arm seamer Ashish Nehra and Punjab’s young off-spinner Harbhajan Singh have been asked to join the short camp for the Sri Lanka-bound Indian squad in Chennai by the BCCI on a specific request by captain Sachin Tendulkar despite the duo not being part of the team.

Pritam Rani to lead hockey squad
PATIALA, Aug 11 — The Indian Women’s Hockey Federation (IWHF) has announced a 16-member squad for a five Test match series scheduled to be held in New Zealand from August 20 to 30.

• Former cricketer Ram Singh dead

Thipsay, Sasikiran score crucial wins

SCARBOROUGH (England), Aug 11 (PTI) — Grandmaster Pravin Thipsay and national champion Krishnan Sasikiran scored thrilling eighth round wins to reach 5.5 points apiece on a good day for India when none of the players from the contingent suffered losses at the British Open Chess Championship here.

The top positions on the points table had their changes too, as GM Julian Hodgson’s (7) lead was reduced to half a point after Peter Wells (6) held him to a draw, and Zia-Ur Rehman (6.5) earned full point beating Mathew Turner (5.5).

Thipsay scored a crucial win over IM Gary Lane in his characteristic style as the event entered the final phase.

Playing the white side of Ruy Lopez, Thipsay gained a small advantage in the middle game and methodically increased his advantage to score a full point.

In contrast, IM Sasikiran had a more adventurous outing against Aaron Summerscale (4.5). Curiously, though Sasikiran’s opponent holds the GM title, the Indian is rated more than 100 points above him in the latest rating list published by world chess governing body FIDF.

Sasikiran chose the king Indian defence against white’s four pawn attack. The Indian achieved equality in the middlegame and took full advantage of his opponent’s time pressure, to win all the queen side pawns and thus the game.

Double GM norm holder Abhijit Kunte (5) and under-12 girls world champion Koneru Humpy (3.5) also scored victories with black pieces.

The other Indians in the fray — V. Saravanan (5), Sundararajan Kidambi (4.5), Bhagyashree Thipsay (3) and Anupama Gokhale (3) — all drew their respective games in the 11-round event.

Kidambi did his usual act when he managed to hold GM Stuart Conquest to a draw in a long drawn out knight and pawns ending arising out of a Caro-Kann defence game.

Playing with black, Kidambi had to defend accurately in the middle game against the dangerous looking attack. In a wild mutual time scramble, when both the players had less than five minutes on the clock with around 20 moves to be played, junior national champion Kidambi held his nerve and forced the game into an equal knight and pawn ending.

Young sensation Koneru Humpy’s victory was also a creditable one. Humpy has been playing each and every game to the finish, thus often playing into long endgames, which is quite unusual and commendable for her age. Humpy defeated Costas Harris (2.5) of England in a very complex ending, with each side having rook, knight and six pawns.

On the top boards, Hodgson’s draw with Wells threw open the tournament with just three more rounds to go. Rehman is just half a point behind the leader and there are three players on six points — GM Wells, IMs Daniel Gormally and Rowson.

Results of round eight:

Peter Wells (6) drew Julian Hodgson (7); Daniel Gormally (6) drew J Rowson (6); Zia-Ur Rehman (6.5) beat Mathew Turner (5.5); Bogdan Lalic (5.5) drew John Emms (5.5); Pravin Thipsay (5.5) beat Gary Lane (5); Aaron Summerscale (4.5) lost to K. Sasikiran; Miroslav Houska (5) drew V. Saravanan (5); Stuart Conquest (4.5) drew S. Kidambi (4.5); Richard Pert (4) lost to Abhijit Kunte (5); Charles Tippleston (3) drew Bhagyashree Thipsay (3); Costas Harris (2.5) lost to Koneru Humpy (3.5); Anupama Gokhale (3) drew Alan Barton (2).

Sampras, Courier record wins

MASON (Ohio), Aug 11 (DPA) — Pete Sampras took most of a set to get going before finally putting his game in gear for a rain-interrupted 7-6 (11-9), 6-4 second-round win last night over Jan Siemerink at the $ 2.45 million ATP Championships.

The top seed and world number 1 appeared to be thrown off his stride by a rainstorm, which delayed the contest for an hour in a critical part of the first set.

Down a break and trailing 3-4, the American put the Dutchman in a corner and facing two break points.

Siemerink, 48th in the world, saved the first one, but rain erupted before the second could be played. Just over an hour later, the match was back on court, with Sampras completing his break for 4-all.

Neither man seemed particularly keen to win the opening set, which lasted for 48 minutes of playing time.

The American had his first two set point chances in the 10th game, but let them both go.

The contest went into a tiebreaker, where Sampras saved two and needed four more of his own before finally taking the lead in the match as he won from the Dutchman’s return long, 11-9.

Sampras broke into a 4-3 lead in the second set and finished his trip to the third round with a trademark leaping overhead winner to beat Siemerink for the fourth time without a loss in the series.

Sampras has now won 18 matches in a row. “It’s been a good run over the past few months,” said Sampras. “I always enjoy competing here. The first set was certainly tight, it could have gone either way.’’

Sampras’ victory run includes titles at Queen’s, Wimbledon and Los Angeles. He has not lost since a second-round upset to eventual finalist Andrei Medvedev at the French Open.

Sixth seed Gustavo Kuerten began his hardcourt campaign with a win over Spain’s Alberto Martin 6-2, 6-3. The Brazilian winner has been resting for several weeks after coming close to burnout in July after his Davis Cup efforts against France.

Unseeded former world number 1 Jim Courier continued the 1999 misery for Goran Ivanisevic with a 7-6 (7-1), 6-2 defeat to power ahead into the second round.

The loss in 74 minutes dropped the Croatian’s win-loss record this year to 13-17 and gave him six wins, seven defeats on hardcourt.

Ivanisevic, a three-time Wimbledon finalist, began the year poorly when he had to drop out of the Australian Open with a back injury. That ended a streak of 23 consecutive Grand Slam appearances.

Despite a brief flurry of form with quarterfinals in Doha, Scottsdale and Queen’s, Ivanisevic showed the inconsistency that has plagued his game as he went out for the second straight week in a tournament first round.

The loss was his ninth of the year in the opening round of an event, a mark which has left his ranking at 30th on the ATP Tour.

Unseeded Michael Chang scored a welcome win with his victory over Russian teenager Marat Safin 6-3, 6-4.

The success represents another small step for former world number 2 Chang in his long fightback to form from a world 58 ranking.

Chang won this event in 1993 and 1994. His ranking is his lowest since coming to the tournament in 1988 at the start of his career ranked 66th.

MANHATTAN BEACH (California) (Reuters): American teenage star Serena Williams scrubbed off the rust but Alexandra Stevenson bit the dust.

Sixth-seeded Williams rallied past Russian Elena Likhovtseva 4-6, 6-3, 6-1, while Anke Huber of Germany ousted 1999 Wimbledon semifinalist Stevenson 6-4, 6-4 last night to complete opening-round play of the $ 520,000 Acura Classic Tennis Tournament.

Williams is tickled to be back on the WTA Tour following a third round loss at the French Open two months ago and withdrawing from the Wimbledon championships last month.

“It was a little tough because I haven’t played since the French Open,” said Williams following the one-hour-58-minute victory. “You forget how it is out there in front of the crowd and the cheers. It feels good to be back out there, playing and competing and trying to do well.

India not taking SA lightly: Baskaran

NEW DELHI Aug 11 (PTI) — Chief national coach Vasudevan Baskaran today expressed confidence of victory over South Africa in the coming five-match hockey Test series, but said India will be cautious in their approach.

“They are a good side and we can’t afford to take them lightly. The boys have been told to be cautious. But we should come out successful,” the Olympian told PTI before the team left Delhi for the final exposure trip before the probables for next year’s Sydney Olympics are shortlisted next month.

India play all the five matches in Johannesburg, on August 13, 15, 17, 19 and 21.

The two teams last met at the Kuala Lumpur Commonwealth Games in September last year where India won 2-1. But Baskaran said South Africa are gearing up for the All-Africa Games to be held in Johannesburg from September 8 to 18.

“We will be applying our twin system we’re working out for Sydney and they will be keen as they will earn a direct berth for Olympics if they win at the Africa games,” Baskaran, who will be in charge of his first international assignment since returning to succeed fellow Moscow games hero M K Kaushik as chief coach, said.

“South Africa’s world ranking is not very good, but they play European style hockey and also are very fit physically. But we have studied their game on video tapes,” he said.

The team, named India “A”, leave for South Africa after a training camp in Amritsar till July end and at the National Stadium here for the past one week.

Baskaran said the tour being part of India’s preparation for Olympics, the players can return and work on the grey areas.

“We will see the efficacy of the two systems we plan to adopt and maybe we can either combine them or make suitable changes.

He was happy with the team led by halfback Mohd Raiz, and said there were a number of good senior players with a few talented youngsters who should come good during the trip.

The team:

Goalkeepers: Edward Aloysius, Jude Menezes.

Defenders and half backs: Anurag Raghuvanshi, Dinesh Nayak, Lazarus Barla, Mohd Riaz, Baljit Singh Saini, Thirumalvalavan, Ramandeep Singh.

Forwards: Kamal Horo, Deepak Thakur, Harbhajan Singh, L. Prabhakaran, Gagan Ajit Singh, Brojen Singh, Samir Dad.

Coaches: Vasudevan Baskaran and Ramesh Parameswaran.

Sikdar bags Khel Ratna award

NEW DELHI, Aug 11 (PTI) — Middle distance queen Jyotirmoyee Sikdar has bagged the prestigious Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award while cricketers Rahul Dravid and Nayan Mongia, soccer star Baichung Bhutia and boxer Dingko Singh are among 30 sportspersons named for the 1998 Arjuna awards announced today.

The 29-year-old Jyotirmoyee, who produced a grand display at the Bangkok Asian Games in December last year by landing a golden double in the 800 m and 1500 m apart from a silver in the 4x400 m relay, became the ninth to receive the award since it was instituted in 1991.

The award is given for the most spectacular performance during the year under consideration and comprises a medal, a scroll of honour and a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh.

The 26-year-old Dravid showed his growing stature as a world class batsman by emerging the highest scorer with 461 runs at the recent World Cup in England while Mongia has remained the national wicketkeeper for the last many seasons.

Top quartermiler Paramjit Singh, who broke the legendary Milkha Singh’s “eternal” 400 m national record and claimed the bronze medal at the Bangkok Asian Games last year, is among five athletes named for the Arjuna award, which carries a bronze statuette of Arjuna, a scroll of honour and a cash prize of Rs 50,000.

Top athletic coaches, Bahadur Singh and Hargobind Singh along with national boxing coach Gurbux Singh Sandhu are the three recipients of the Dronacharya award given for eminent coaches.

Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, retain the Maulana Abul Kalam Azad trophy — winning it for a record 14th time — which is presented to the varsity with the best all-round performance and carries a trophy replica and Rs 1 lakh cash prize for purchase of sports equipment.

The 53-year-old Bahadur Singh, who is currently the chief national athletic coach, joins a special group of persons like Syed Nayeemuddin (football), Pamana Rao and Shyam Sundar Rao (both volleyball) and Wilson Jones (billiards) to be honoured with both the Arjuna and Dronacharya awards.

Till last year, four athletic coaches have been bestowed the Dronacharya award, instituted in 1985 and comprising a statuette of Dronacharya, a scroll of honour and a cash prize of Rs 75,000.

Among the Arjuna awardees are woman discus thrower Neelam Jaswant Singh, current women’s hockey captain Pritam Rani and star of the 1982 New Delhi Asian Games gold medal winning squad Omana Kumari, woman rifle shooter Roopa Unnikrishnan and young male trap shooter Manavjit Singh.

Arjuna award:-

Athletics:- Neelam J. Singh, Rachita Mistry, Siri Chand, Paramjit Singh and S.D. Eshan..

Body building: T.V. Pauly.

Boxing: N.G. Dingko Singh.

Cricket: Rahul Dravid and Nayan Mongia.

Football: Baichung Bhutia.

Hockey (w): Pritam Rani and Omana Kumari.

Hockey (m): Surjit Singh (posthumous), Baljit Singh Dhillon, Mohd Riaz, Baldev Singh and M.K. Kaushik.

Judo: Narender Singh.

Kabaddi: Ashan Kumar and Biswajit Palit.

Kho-kho: Shoba Narayana.

Physically handicapped: Anju Dua and Ranjini Ramanujam.

Shooting: Roopa Unnikrishnan and Manavjit Singh.

Swimming: Bhanu Sachdeva.

Table tennis: S. Raman.

Weightlifting: Satish Rai.

Wrestling: Kaka Pawar and Rohtas Singh Dahiya.

Dronacharya award:-

Athletics: Hargobind Singh and Bahadur Singh.

Boxing: Gurbux Singh Sandhu.

Gopichand, Aparna win in style

BANGALORE, Aug 11 (PTI) — Top seeds and national champions Gopichand and Aparna Popat retained their titles in style in the men’s and women’s sections respectively in the fifth All India Open Badminton Tournament here today.

Both finals proved one-sided. Gopichand (IOC) thrashed Sachin Ratti (Rly) 15/8, 15/1 while Aparna Popat (IOC) crushed former national champion Manjusha Kanwar (ioc) 11/1, 11/3.

Ratti showed some signs of a fightback in the first game when Gopichand was leading 7-0. He exhibited fine technique, forcing Gopichand to commit errors.

The game had some thrills to offer the spectators, but Gopichand, who led 13-3, finally broke through with his speed and smashes for a 15-8 win.

In the second game, Gopichand toyed with Ratti. The only point Ratti got was through a smash at 1-8. There was another long rally at 13-1 which ended in favour of Gopichand, and when Ratti netted a return, Gopichand sealed the title.

Aparna Popat looked too good for her opponent Manjusha Kanwar and wrapped up the match 11-1, 11-3. Though serve changed hands several times, Manjusha failed to grab the opportunity and surrendered.

“I played a better game today and focussed well. I would like to retain my position of world No. 20 and try to beat the best players. I will be playing in the Singapore Open starting Aug 23”, said Aparna Popat.

Aparna Popat retained the title for the fourth time in succession. She had lost in the semifinals in the first edition of the BPL Open Championship.

Results: mens singles (final): Gopichand (IOC) bt Sachin Ratti (Rly) 15-8, 15-1.

Womens (singles): Aparana Popat (IOC) bt Manjusha Kanwar (IOC) 11-1,11-3.

Ronaldo kick-starts Brazil’s campaign

ZURICH, Aug 11 (AFP) — Brazil flew in two-time FIFA ‘player of the year’ Ronaldo here yesterday to kick-start their floundering campaign to host the 2006 football World Cup.

The 23-year-old Inter Milan star had not been down on the original list presented to FIFA but a last-minute switch saw the Brazilian star fly in from Italy.

Brazil’s campaign has been severely lagging behind their four rivals — South Africa, Germany, England and Morocco, but FIFA insiders say Brazil are now posed to launch a 10-month blitz up to next July’s vote on who hosts the 2006 World Cup.

Brazil’s bid has been hampered by the opposition from Brazilian Sports Minister and football legend Pele.

Pele has made no secret that he believes the money spent on bringing world’s biggest sporting event to Brazil would be better spent to social programmes in the economically-strapped South American country.

Supporting Ronaldo was the Brazilian captain in the 1998 World Cup Dunga, 1970 captain Carlos Alberto and the player nicknamed the ‘white Pele’ — Zico. All three dismissed Pele’s objections.

“We don’t have to have Pele to win the World Cup,” said Zico.

“What we need is the support of the members of FIFA executive committee who are voting,” added Ricardo Teixeria, president of the Brazilian Football Federation and FIFA executive committee member.

FIFA insiders believe that Brazil could pose a serious threat to the three early favourites — South Africa, Germany and England.

Brazil’s campaign has been helped by the surprise decision taken by the FIFA executive committee in Los Angeles last month to set back the 2006 decision from May to July.

“There is no doubt the only bidding country helped by that decision was Brazil. Their campaign has hardly got off the ground but those two extra months will allow them to visit every confederation to try and swing the vote their way,” said one insider involved in the 2006 campaign.

England, South Africa and Morocco officially presented their bids on Monday while Brazil and Germany, who had asked FIFA to be allowed to be last, put forward their cases yesterday.

The battle for 2006 will be the most contested campaign in World Cup history.

South Africa are hoping to convince the 24-strong FIFA executive committee to carve themselves a niche in history by giving the African continent their first-ever World Cup.

But bidding sources say the outcome will be decided by commercial interests.

Emerson’s comments draw flak in Lanka

COLOMBO, Aug 11 (Reuters) —Sri Lankan cricket chiefs have hit back at Australian umpire Ross Emerson after his comments about off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan’s action.

Emerson, who called the Sri Lankan slow bowler for throwing earlier this year, said in a television interview on Monday that many players around the world believed he threw.

Sri Lanka’s cricket board said in a statement today that “Emerson’s comments come at a time when there are serious questions about his future career as an international umpire and publicity might be just a means of getting attention.

“Murali has been enjoying a spectacular season in England and is without question a great spin bowler.’’

Muralitharan has taken 66 wickets in six county championship matches for Lancashire, whom he joined after the recent World Cup in England.

Emerson said during the television interview: “I was told by a member of the Australian team that if a secret poll was taken of cricketers around the world, it would be 100 per cent in support of the idea that he throws.’’

Emerson called Muralitharan in a limited-overs match against England in Adelaide last January.

The umpire, who had been on stress leave from his regular job at the time, was subsequently stood down by the Australian Cricket Board (ACB). He has been overlooked for the forthcoming season’s Tests in Australia.

Emerson said he did not regret no-balling Muralitharan and believes his forthright manner cost him his job.

ACB chief executive Malcolm Speed has written to his Sri Lankan counterpart saying Emerson’s views were his own.

Emerson’s comments come ahead of Australia’s tour of Sri Lanka starting on August 19.

England coach on selection panel

MANCHESTER, Aug 11 (AFP) —Incoming coach Duncan Fletcher has been drafted on the England selection panel for the final Test of the series against New Zealand at The Oval in a fortnight.

Zimbabwe-born Fletcher does not officially start his duties until October 1, but after discussions over dinner with leading members of England’s hierarchy on Sunday evening, his input has been invited for this week’s selection meeting.

His involvement is part of England’s forward planning for this winter’s tour to South Africa and Zimbabwe and with the announcement of the tour party expected to follow the final Test, officials believed Fletcher should be party to the discussions.

Fletcher’s earlier than expected role in the England set-up follows the assembly of virtually all the leading figures in the hierarchy at the team’s Manchester base - which officials insisted was “an informal dinner” and not the crisis meeting it had been billed.

The England and Wales Cricket Board Chairman, Lord MacLaurin was joined by Fletcher, skipper Nasser Hussain, the international teams Director, Mr Simon Pack and Mr Brian Bolus, Chairman of England’s management advisory committee, at a meeting which was initially scheduled to welcome the new coach into the fold.

But it took on a far more serious tone following England’s disappointing performances in this series — which is currently locked at 1-1 — and is expected to result in Graham Gooch and Mike Gatting, both members of the selection panel, having their roles marginalised.

Gooch’s contract ends in September while Gatting finishes his term in February, but neither are now expected to be involved in the selection of the winter tour squads - a task which will now be the responsibility of Fletcher, Hussain and the Chairman of selectors, Mr David Graveney.

Haryana win overall championship
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Aug 11 — Haryana won the overall championship with 46 points in the 17th National Yoga Championship which concluded at Bhopal. Tripura finished runners-up with 21 points while Andhra Pradesh remained third scoring nine points.

Ramesh, Deepak, Suman, Narinder, Inderjeet Kaur won five gold medals; Surender, Gazal, Zora Singh, Ratti Ram secured four silver, while Nidhi and Budh Singh clinched two bronze medals to script victory of Haryana team.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr Dharamvir, President, Indian Yoga Federation, disclosed that Indian team, which would participate in the 8th World Yoga Cup championship being held at Uruguay in Latin America in the last week of November, would be selected on the basis of performance during the meet.

The results:

Sub-Junior (girls): 1 Supriti (Tripura), 2 Gazal (Haryana), 3 C. Sawroopa (AP) Boys: 1 Ramesh (Haryana), 2 Amiya Dev Nath (Tripura), 3 Kantisarma (Tripura).

Junior (girls): 1 Sanchita Chaterjee (WB), 2 Usha K. (Karnataka), 3 Nidhi (Haryana. Boys: 1 Deepak Sharma, 2 Surinder Singh, 3 Budhdev (all from Haryana).

Senior (girls): 1 Suman (Haryana), 2 Nandita Banik (Tripura), 3. Nandni H.L. (Karnataka). Boys: 1 Narinder (Haryana), 2. Gopal Chandera Dass (WB), 3 Amian Mulick (Karnataka).

Elderly (women): 1 Inderjet Kaur (Haryana) 2 Roopa Basak (Punjab), 3 D. Durga (AP). Elderly Men. 1 Ramjeet (Haryana), 2 Gobind Rao (Karnataka), 3 Suneel Roti (Maharashtra).

40 to 50 years (women): 1 Madhuri Chaskar (Maharashtra), 2 Rama Devi (Karnataka), 3. Deepali (Maharashtra). Men: 1 Gopal Krishana (Karnataka), 2 Jora Singh (Haryana), 3 Balwant (Maharashtra).

(Above 50 years): Women: 1 Pushpa (Maharashtra), 2 Nisha (MP), 3. Shakuntala (Maharashtra). Men: 1 A.R. Adiga (Karnataka), 2 Ratti Ram (Haryana), 3. Budh Singh (Haryana).

Tyson in search of an opponent

LAS VEGAS, Aug 11 (AP) — Scratch Buster Douglas from the list of possible opponents for Mike Tyson’s latest comeback bid.

Despite reports to the contrary, Tyson’s promoter said on Monday that Douglas would not be Tyson’s opponent for his first fight since his release from a Maryland prison.

That leaves Tyson still searching for an opponent for the scheduled October 2 fight, with the list of possible fighters now apparently down to 33-year-old Orlin Norris and 30-year-old Zeljko Mavrovic of Croatia.

Promoter Dan Goossen said that Douglas, the first fighter to beat Tyson, was not in proper physical condition to get ready in time for the fight. Douglas reportedly weighs more than 135 kg and would have been closely scrutinised by Nevada boxing officials before being allowed to fight in the state.

“Buster Douglas is not in fighting shape and will not be by October,” Goossen said. “Mike is anxious to return to the ring and is looking to fight someone that will be physically and mentally ready to fight in October. At this point, Douglas does not fit that description.”

Tyson’s manager, Shelly Finkel, is now trying to sign either Norris or Mavrovic for the comeback fight. If he can’t find an opponent within the next two weeks, though, the October 2 date at the MGM Grand Hotel-casino in Las Vegas could be in jeopardy.

Douglas (39) had emerged as an attractive opponent for Tyson, who was eager to fight the man who knocked him out in the 10th round on February 11, 1990, after entering the ring as a 42-1 underdog.

Douglas lost the heavyweight titles to Evander Holyfield and was hospitalised in a diabetic coma after his weight soared to more than 180 kg.

After leaving the hospital, Douglas began exercising and this led to his return to boxing. Since coming back in 1996, he has won eight of nine fights against mostly mediocre opponents but was knocked out in the first round by Lou Savarese on June 25, 1998.

Norris, the older brother of former junior middleweight champion Terry Norris, is a former cruiserweight champion. Despite 26 knockouts on his 49-5 record, Norris is defence-oriented and his fights are often devoid of action.

At about 100 kg, Norris would be closer to Tyson’s weight than would Douglas. Norris would have much less of a height advantage over Tyson than Mavrovic, who is 1.93 metres.

Mavrovic (27-1, 22 knockouts), a former European champion, is an aggressive fighter. He lost a WBC title bid to Lennox Lewis by unanimous decision on September 26, 1998.

Seniors ‘alone’ not responsible

MUMBAI, Aug 11 (UNI) — Interim chief of the board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka (BCCSL) Dhamika Ranatunga has said that it was not right to blame certain senior players for the country’s dismal performance in the World Cup.

Dhamika, who was here for the announcement of Sony Entertainment television’s 18-month tie-up with the Sri Lankan board for live cricket coverage, said one person cannot win all by himself in cricket, the same way as one person cannot lose all by himself. “It is a team effort and everybody is equally responsible for victory or defeat.” he said.

He pointed out: “We have been playing consistently well since 1995 and every team has its ups and downs. This was just one of the down phases that the team was going through.”

Analysing reasons for Sri Lanka’s debacle in the World Cup, Dhamika said though there cannot be any excuses, adding that the tournament was played in the first half of the English summer where conditions change very quickly from time to time. Also the new balls used with a smaller seam made it more difficult for us. “It was not a strategic failure, but it boiled down to the resources we have.”

On the turmoil in the Sri Lankan board, Dhamika said it is not good for anybody. Presently the BCCSL is being managed by an interim body after one group went to court over their defeat in the elections to the BCCSL. The matter is still pending in the court.

On the domestic structure, he said there is a big gap between the standard of international and domestic cricket. To devise ways to narrow down the gap, he advocated the participation of international cricketers in domestic tournaments. “They should play a fair percentage of domestic tournaments to improve the standard of domestic cricket. This is important for the development of the game.”

Asked whether the senior players should be sacked or retained, Dhamika said this is a selectors’ job and they will decide which players should be taken in and which should be left out.

Warne shocked to lose captaincy

MELBOURNE, Aug 11 (AFP) — Australian star spinner Shane Warne was shocked to lose the captaincy of the Victorian Sheffield Sheild cricket team for next season.

Warne, vice-captain of Australia, is expected to be succeeded as skipper by retired Test paceman Paul Reiffel.

Warne’s international program would make him available for just one Shield game and three domestic one-dayers but he said today he was disappointed at being dropped as state skipper.

He said he would like to have been told who the new captain was so he could wish him well.

But Warne said he would accept this decision. “ I’m getting used to disappointments but I’ll bust my gut as always playing for Victoria,” he said.

“Whoever’s captain has got my full support and I’ll continue to love playing for Victoria.”

Warne has ambitions to lead Australia and does not believe being axed as state skipper will damage his chances. “I don’t think it will have any effect really,” he said.

“I’m vice-captain of the Test side and and the one-day side at this stage. Myself and Steve Waugh have been getting along very well.”

Warne said his bowling form, post-shoulder operation, was now back to where it had been for the past eight years.

Harbhajan, Nehra told to join camp

MUMBAI, Aug 11 (PTI) — Delhi’s left-arm seamer Ashish Nehra and Punjab’s young off-spinner Harbhajan Singh have been asked to join the short camp for the Sri Lanka-bound Indian squad in Chennai by the BCCI on a specific request by captain Sachin Tendulkar despite the duo not being part of the team.

“Nehra and Harbhajan have been told to report for the camp at Chennai on August 15,” board’s executive secretary Sharad Diwadkar told PTI here today.

“Nehra had been conveyed the message through the Delhi and District and Cricket Association while Harbhajan was personally contacted in Bangalore yesterday and asked to proceed to Chennai,” Mr Diwadkar added.

Nehra, who has played a single Test at Colombo during last season’s Asian Championship Series, and Harbhajan have been asked to bowl at the batsmen in the nets apparently to counter the threat posed by left-arm Lankan pace spearhead Chaminda Vaas and wily off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan.

Pritam Rani to lead hockey squad
From Our Sports Reporter

PATIALA, Aug 11 — The Indian Women’s Hockey Federation (IWHF) has announced a 16-member squad for a five Test match series scheduled to be held in New Zealand from August 20 to 30.

Five changes have been made in the squad which won the silver medal in the 13th Asian Games held at Bangkok recently. The team will be led by Pritam Rani.

The team:

Pritam Rani (capt), Helen Mary, Tingoliema Chanu, Mary Stolla Tirkey, Amandeep Kaur, Sandeep Kaur, Suraj Lata, Sunita Gossain, Samrai Tete, Shaina Kispotta, Kiran Bala, Jyoti Kullu, Manjinder Kaur, Ferdinna Ekka, Pakpi Devi and Sunita Dalal.

G.S. Bhangu will be the chief coach and Rupa Saini will be the manager.

Former cricketer Ram Singh dead

CHENNAI, Aug 11 (PTI) — A G. Ram Singh, a well-known Indian cricketer in the ’30s, passed away at his residence here this evening after a brief illness, family sources said. He was 90.

Father of two Indian cricketers, late A.G. Kripal Singh and A.G. Milkha Singh, Ram Singh had played in one unofficial Test against Jack Ryder’s Australian team in 1935 in India,

Ram Singh was the second cricketer after Amar Singh to score 1000 runs and 100 wickets in a season in Ranji Trophy.

Inter-university cycling at Patiala

HISAR, Aug 11 (FOSR) — The Association of Indian Universities (AIU) has allotted the All India University Cycling Championship for men and women to Punjabi University, Patiala, which will be organised from December 7 this year.

According to a spokesman of the AIU, Kurukshetra University will conduct the All-India Inter-University Hockey Championship for women. The tournament will start from January 15 next year.

Maharshi Dayanand University, Rohtak will host the All-India Inter-University Softball Championship for men and women from January, 5. All India Inter-University Gymnastics and malkham, for men and women will be held at GND varsity, Amritsar, from November 12.

The association has decided to include triple jump and hammer throw in women’s athletics and power lifting for women from this year.

The AIU proposes to organise an international universities hockey tournament for men from January 25 to 31 next year at Delhi to commemorate its platinum jubilee.