Pakistan to honour commitments
KARACHI, July 14 — Pakistani cricket chief Khalid Mahmood said his country was still prepared to play against India despite the conflict between the neighbouring states over Kashmir.

A routine probe: BCCI chief
MUMBAI, July 14 — Indian cricket board chief Raj Singh Dungarpur today said the BCCI wanted to know from three members of the World Cup team about the contents of their post-cup comments to the media and it was a routine inquiry.

Panel ‘has evidence’ against 3 players
KARACHI, July 14 — Counsel for the Pakistan Cricket Board has informed the executive council members that the judicial commission probing into match-fixing and betting allegations has found evidence against three players, sources said.

Chang’s comeback begins with win
APTOS (California), July 14 — Children played in a sandbox a short distance away. Spectators munched on crab cakes and pasta salad, and wondered aloud whether they were allowed to cheer at tennis matches.

IOC panel for screening bids
LONDON, July 14 — Cities interested in staging future Olympic Games must meet certain qualifications before being allowed to submit a bid, a special panel has proposed.

Sampras reluctant to play singles
BOSTON, July 14 — Even though his team-mates Jim Courier and Todd Martin have losing records against Australia’s top player, Patrick Rafter, the USA’s Pete Sampras is still reluctant to play singles in the upcoming Davis Cup quarterfinal between the two countries.

3 shuttlers reach third round
NEW DELHI, July 14 — Three shuttlers reached the third round in boy’s singles on a mixed day for India in the Asian Junior Badminton Championships at Yangoon, Mayanmar today.

Kaptan wins gold in Asian triathlon
CHENNAI, July 14 — India’s Kaptan Singh won a gold in the 8th Asian Triathlon Championship held in Sokocho City of South Korea on July 11.

• India for 4-nation meet in Kenya

Uruguay down Chile, enter final

ASUNCION, July 14 (AFP) — Uruguay’s crop of talented youngsters booked a place in Sunday’s Copa America final here, beating Chile 5-3 on penalties with an unprecedented 15th continental title now within their grasp.

Midfielder Federico Magallanes sealed victory with his side’s fifth kick - Mauricio Aros had earlier seen his attempt saved by Uruguay’s teenage goalkeeper Fabian Carini.

It was 10 out of 10 for the young guns from the River Plate country, who also did not miss a single kick in their quarter-final shoot-out victory over host nation Paraguay.

The match proper had finished 1-1 after Chile skipper Ivan Zamorano’s second-half header had equalised defender Alejandro Lembo’s opener for Uruguay in the first period. Marcelo Salas had missed a first-half penalty for Chile.

The reward for Uruguay is a place in Sunday’s final against the winners of the other last four match between favourites and reigning champions Brazil and Mexico tomorrow.

The first 20 minutes were very cat-and-mouse with both sides reticent in coming forward. The only threats to either goalkeeper came from long range with Federico Bergara testing Chile’s Marcelo Ramirez and Jose Luis Sierra stinging the hands of Uruguay custodian Fabian Carini.

But Uruguay’s movement was the more impressive and after 23 minutes they took the lead. Gabriel Alvez forced a corner after a slick passing movement from Uruguay.

Pablo Garcia floated the ball in towards the far post where it was met by Bella Vista star Lembo who shrugged off a challenge from his Chilean marker Zamorano to head the ball in off the post past Ramirez. Within three minutes, however, Chile had a golden opportunity to square the match.

Sierra crashed a freekick from 35 yards against the bar with Chile Striker Salas, restored to the line-up after missing two games through suspension, tumbling under a challenge from Alvaro Picun as he went for the rebound.

Paraguayan referee Ubaldo Aquino, who awarded five spot kicks in Argentina’s group C match with Colombia, had no hesitation in pointing to the spot despite furious protests from the Uruguayan defenders, who obviously believed the Lazio striker had dived.

Salas picked himself up but crashed the penalty kick against Carini’s crossbar.

Uruguay wasted a good chance to go 2-0 ahead three minutes into the second period.

A superb passing move released Fabian Coelho on the right. The midfielder centred to Marcelo Zalayeta who failed to connect properly with the goal at his mercy.

It was a rare blemish for the Juventus striker, who spent last season on loan with Empoli. He has three goals to his credit in the Copa so far.

Just a minute later Garcia failed to test Ramirez from a freekick when well placed. Then Sierra, Zamorano and Salas worked a superb move for Chile with Lembo doing well to turn the ball behind for the corner.

Next Zamorano tested Carini with a header although the young Uruguayan dealt with it easily.

But within sixty seconds Zamorano had another chance and this time there was nothing Carini could do.

Sierra’s left foot floated in a precise freekick and the Inter Milan striker lost his markers to bury the header into the far corner and square the match.

It was the Chilean captain’s third goal of the campaign. With 20 minutes left tempers became frayed and Aquino, who sent off Argentinian coach Marcelo Bielsa in the Colombia game, then ordered Chile boss Nelson Acosta from the dugout.

Acosta had to be escorted to the stands after he made a blistering verbal tirade at the Paraguayan official.

Acosta’s Uruguyan counterpart Victor Pua, running team affairs in the Copa because new coach Daniel Passarella opted to take the helm after the tournament, was also getting agitated.

Garcia was then given his second yellow card of the knock out phase, ruling him out of contention for the final.

Zamorano immediately joined him in the book apparently for more harsh words at the referee. The tension was evident and 19-year-old Carini had to dash from his line to foil a raid from Salas. Acosta continued to relay instructions to his team from behind a wire mesh fence.

Uruguay finished the match the strongest and Zalayeta began to stretch the Chilean defence.

With just two minutes left substitute Diego Alonso volleyed over from point-blank range after being played onside by Zamorano, who went down injured at a corner.

The Chilean skipper limped off the field and was replaced by Pedro Gonzalez before Aquino blew to signal a penalty shoot-out.

Carini one of many youngsters blooded by Passarella and Pua, saved Chile’s second kick from Aros and with the other young guns betraying no sign of nerves at the spot it was left to Magallanes to seal the victory.

Focus on Shakti in final leg

CHENNAI, July 14 (PTI) — With the participation of foreign athletes alongside 95 Indian campers, the fourth and final leg of the AAFI International Athletic Circuit meet here tomorrow will provide a keen tussle.

The focus would be on Indian throwers, particularly on policeman Shakti Singh - who has grabbed six gold medals (discuss and shot put) in all the three meets he participated.

Also, Neelam J. Singh is an outstanding favourite after having ruled the roost in the women’s discuss throw event in the previous legs.

Saraswati Dey (Bengal), who claimed the 100 metres gold at Nagercoil, Thiruvananthapuram and Bangalore legs, would also be the other woman athlete to watch.

Unlike the first three meets, which were handicapped by the non-arrival or late-arrival of several athletes, full strength is expected here for the meet being conducted by the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB).

In all, 64 foreign athletes - Sri Lanka (14) and Iran (13) being the largest contingent - have had a feel of the facilities at the Nehru Stadium this afternoon.

Paramjit Singh and veteran P.T. Usha, who missed the first two legs, have confirmed their participation.

Chintaka de Soya of Sri Lanka, who has emerged the fastest man so far in the three legs, is in line for the gold in the 100 metres although he survived a photo finish (10.54 seconds) with India’s C. Thirugnanadurai at Thiruvana-nthapuram.

The synthetic track here, laid in 1991, is said to be the ‘fastest’ one in the country and will be to the liking of the Lankan sprinter, who had shown tremendous improvement clocking 10.42 seconds in the previous leg, to further better his lining.

The men’s 400 metres is wide open amongst the two Indians, Lijo David and Ramachandran, and the Sri Lankan Roshan Pradeep Kumaran, while on the distaff side Jincy Philip of India (gold winner in Nagercoil and Thiruvanantha-puram) is expected to face stiff challenge from Ukraine’s Movchen Tatiana.

Mexico to go all out against Brazil

ASUNCION (Paraguay), July 14 (AP) — Mexico plan to bury Brazil under a relentless attack. Ronaldo and company can hardly wait.

Two teams with the same exuberant soccer and the most potent attacks in the Copa America go head to head tomorrow night in a semifinal match that promises a show of fireworks.

Lining up for the opening whistle will be three of the tournament’s top scorers. Ronaldo leads the standings with four goals, while team-mate Amoroso and Mexico’s Luis Hernandez each have three.

Mexican coach Miguel Lapuente promises more. “The only way to beat them is by attacking,” he said

Brazil took a 2-0 lead, then barely hung on as Mexico stormed back in the second half to narrow the score to 2-1. Only a miraculous save by goalie Dida in the closing kept the Mexicans at bay.

Still, Brazil remain the favourite to become South American champions. They were undefeated in the first round, then knocked out its biggest rival, Argentina in the quarterfinals.

New coach wanderley Luxemburgo, who replaced Mario Zagallo after Brazil’s loss to France in the 1998 World Cup final, has given the team a balance and unity it lacked.

‘Ties possible if peace returns’
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, July 14 — Now that the guns are about to stop booming in Kargil, former Indian cricket star Kapil Dev is of the view that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the Government of India should review sporting ties with Pakistan.

Kapil Dev, whose call led to the cancellation of the Sahara Cup, said here today that he still maintained that India should not play Pakistan as long as a war-like situation prevailed along the Indo-Pak border in Kargil and other areas in Jammu and Kashmir.

But now that peace was likely to return, sport could help the two countries to come closer as it had happened in the past, Kapil Dev said. The situation on the Kargil front was expected to become clear in the next few days.

In view of the changing scenario following Pakistan’s decision to withdraw its infiltrators from across the Line of Control (LoC) in India and other steps being taken to defuse tension, the holding of cricket matches, including the Sahara Cup, could be reconsidered.

He said that the final decision on playing Pakistan had to be taken by the BCCI and the Centre. His call not to play Pakistan in the Sahara Cup and other tournaments was spontaneous after his visit to Srinagar to see the injured jawans, Kapil added.

The Star cricketer was here to meet his aged mother, who told him that she was proud of his action in giving the call for not playing Pakistan in view of the Kargil situation. He said that he was flooded with telephone calls and letters from people expressing sentiments similar to his own,” I had got a platform to express my views to my countrymen. But the people, including children, expressed their views through me”, he added.

Kapil Dev said that the entire Indian cricket team and a number of film personalities, who also later on went to Srinagar to see the injured jawans, responded positively to his suggestion to play a football match in aid of the Kargil jawans.

He said that once the situation was normalised there was no reason why cricketing ties should not be resumed. “Sports has always helped improve relations between the countries”, Kapil added.

He said that the callers shared his sentiments that when a war-like situation prevailed, India should not play Pakistan. “In such a situation players cannot be expected to give in their best”, he said, adding that he also felt happy on reading reports in newspapers this morning that India had stopped the import of sugar from Pakistan in view of the war at Kargil.

He said that the number of messages from the people to his call were much more than what he got when he made the world record. “People also expressed anger and anguish at Pakistan action, which came a couple of months after the memorable bus ride to Lahore” Kapil Dev said that he felt elated and proud when he undertook the bus ride to Lahore in February along with Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee but the events that followed leading to the war-like situation in Kargil anguished him. “When jawans die on the border in adverse climatic conditions there should be no matches” he emphasised.

Ronaldo has sad memories of Cup

PARIS, July 14 (AFP) — As France celebrate the first anniversary of their World Cup victory, Brazil striker Ronaldo said on Monday he had “a sad memory” after being made the scapegoat for his team’s 3-0 final defeat at the hands of the host nation.

With French TV schedules producing endless anniversary programmes and even re-transmitting the final in its entirety, Ronaldo was one of many key players interviewed by France 2 channel.

What happened to Ronaldo on the day of the final is still shrouded in mystery - and the controversy surrounding his performance even eclipsed the match-winning display of France playmaker Zinedine Zidane.

Speaking from Paraguay where he is playing in the Copa America Ronaldo told France 2 that the fit had “disturbed his concentration”.

However, the 22-year-old added: “the medical tests showed I was fully fit to play in the match. The decision to play was a joint one with the technical staff and I had the last word.”

The player denied Brazil’s sponsors Nike had influenced the decision, saying: “The sponsors did not have the possibility of going in the dressing rooms at that time.”

Asked to explain the team’s defeat the Brazilian said: “We did not concentrate as we should have done. The outcome, after Zidane’s first goal, was practically settled. The team never got back in the match, it did not play well. Without taking any credit away from France Brazil did not really look like scoring.”

He conceded that the World Cup was “a sad memory”.

Ronaldo had been billed as the tournament’s star player months before and during the World Cup and on the day of the final the scene seemed to be set for the Inter Milan striker to be crowned the king of world football.

But when the team sheets were handed out 45 minutes before the final the world Press was stunned to see that Ronaldo had been omitted by coach Mario Zagallo.

As the news was beamed around the world to shocked fans a second team sheet appeared with Ronaldo’s name on it. He played but was clearly out of sorts and eventually he was substituted.

It later emerged that Brazilian defender Roberto Carlos had gone to his bedroom in the early afternoon of the day of the final to discover his room-mate in the midst of convulsions. Initially some of his team-mates thought the striker was dying.

The player was transported in high secrecy to a Paris clinic and turned up at the Stade de France after Zagallo had handed in his team sheet.

Even though it was clear that Ronaldo was not himself during the game and despite the later revelations he had suffered a fit he was scapegoated by many Brazilian fans for the defeat.

He was jeered by fans in some of the early Copa America games but now — as top scorer and with Brazil in the last four — he seems to have won back the hearts of some of the world’s most demanding football fans.

A routine probe: BCCI chief

MUMBAI, July 14 (PTI) — Indian cricket board (BCCI) chief Raj Singh Dungarpur today said the BCCI wanted to know from three members of the World Cup team about the contents of their post-cup comments to the media and it was a routine inquiry.

“The issue is being blown out of proportion. It is just a regular inquiry to see what the boys (Robin Singh, Saurav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid) have told the press. Nothing more should be read into it,” Dungarpur said here.

“For example, we would like to know what exactly Saurav has written in Bengali,” Dungarpur added.

“The boys are already in touch with the board secretary (Jaywant Lele) and the small issue would be sorted out soon,” the board chief added.

Dravid and Robin Singh had talked to the media while Ganguly had written an article in a Bengali newspaper after the conclusion of the Cup which, according to board secretary Lele, was against Rule 17 of the board’s bylaws.

The board chief also lavishly praised the team members’ behaviour during the Cup campaign by saying “they were very disciplined. It was the impression of even the ECB (England and Wales Cricket Board) officials too. I am very proud of them.”

Dungarpur refused to be drawn again into the controversy of what happened during the final overs of India’s preliminary group match against Zimbabwe by saying: “I have said all I wanted to say in England itself. There is no point in going into it again,” he said.

Dungarpur was reacting to a report in a national daily that former India captain Sunil Gavaskar had resigned as director of the proposed National Cricket Academy.

“I have not heard about it,” he said and clarified that as per his knowledge the different set of office-bearers were yet to be constituted though Gavaskar’s name was uppermost in the board’s mind for the Director’s post.

Gavaskar had gone on record on TV saying that according to his knowledge some instructions had gone to the batsmen at the crease to try and win the match against Zimbabwe by the penultimate over itself and not wait till the 46th and final over. India went on to lose the match narrowly. The former India opener had also demanded an inquiry by the BCCI.

The matter has been given a new twist by Gavaskar’s interview to a news magazine in which he had said it was manager Brijesh Patel who told him “this Zimbabwe bit in Raj Singh’s presence”.

Gavaskar has also written in his latest column in a sports weekly, “the Indian cricket administrators must also be as honest to the game as they are when they speak off the record. When they speak officially it is completely the opposite of what they say informally.

“If only they did what they speak of privately, Indian cricket would progress. Unfortunately, rare is the cricket administrator who actually speaks what he believes in.

“Sweeping everything under the carpet is the way and that does deflect attention and the problem seems to have gone away. However, we all know that unless one gets to the root of the problem it will never be eradicated,” he has written.

Pakistan to honour commitments

KARACHI, July 14 (Reuters) — Pakistani cricket chief Khalid Mahmood said his country was still prepared to play against India despite the conflict between the neighbouring states over Kashmir.

Mahmood, chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board, also blasted supporters who criticised the team’s performance in losing to Australia in the recent World Cup final in England.

He said Pakistan would tour Australia next year as planned, when they are also due to take part in a triangular tournament involving India.

And he said Pakistan would still be ready to play in a one-day series against India in Toronto in September which was scrapped earlier this month because of the Kargil conflict.

Organisers cancelled the series after several Indian players said cricketing links between the two countries should be severed.

“The Pakistan cricket board stands by all of its international commitments, and that includes Toronto,’’ Mahmood said after a rowdy news conference where he defended his team against accusations of match-fixing in the lopsided final which Pakistan lost to Australia by eight wickets.

“There were a number of reasons for losing after playing so well during the tournament,’’ he said.

“Conditions were not very conducive for batting in the morning and if the Pakistan team had bowled first I think the result of the match would have been different,’’ Mahmood said.

Pakistan were dismissed for just 132 after electing to bat first, setting a target which Australia reached in 20.1 overs.

“Also there was tremendous pressure because there were a number of inexperienced players in the side,’’ he said.

Vice-captain Moin Khan, one of the few players not criticised after the tournament, called on the public to support the team.

“They should appreciate the team, because after all we are number two in the world right now,’’ he said.

Mahmood said he expected the judge conducting an inquiry into alleged match-fixing in Pakistani cricket to finalise his report in a month or two.

Australian cricket officials said earlier this month they were looking at other options for the triangular one-day series in January and February in case the problems over Kashmir prevent India or Pakistan playing each other.

Panel ‘has evidence’ against 3 players

KARACHI, July 14 (ANI) — Counsel for the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has informed the executive council members that the judicial commission probing into match-fixing and betting allegations has found evidence against three players, sources said.

Ali Sibtain Fazli, who has been actively involved in the commission’s working ever since it started its proceedings last September, told the councillors on Sunday that during the course of its inquiry, the commission had got enough evidence to suggest that three players, whose identities are not disclosed, were involved in fixing matches and betting but as far as the other players were concerned, there was only hearsay and no evidence.

He informed them that Justice Qayyum, who is heading the commission, on the basis of the evidence, would be recommending action against three players when he submits his findings to the board’s chief patron, the President of Pakistan. But if the board wanted the commission also to include the World Cup final in its area of investigations, it would prolong the inquiry, something which Justice Qayyum himself had stated in an interview with a local newspaper on Tuesday.

However, the exact time when Justice Qayyum will submit his final report remains uncertain since he is reported to have gone on leave until August 12 on vacation abroad. However, when one confronted a senior council member and president of the Karachi City Cricket Association (KCCA) Nusrat Azeem about Fazli’s briefing, he maintained in principle it was not mature to discuss this issue until the name of the players came forward from the commission.

The council believes that it is premature to take any action or make any comments until the report comes forward and the accused party also has a chance to defend itself,” he said.

The same position prevailed when the board’s probe committee, of which he was a member, had investigated the match-fixing allegations last year. “But unfortunately before the players could be given a chance to explain their position, vested elements had leaked out our confidential report in which the names of some players were taken,” he said.

Chang’s comeback begins with win

APTOS (California), July 14 (AP) — Children played in a sandbox a short distance away. Spectators munched on crab cakes and pasta salad, and wondered aloud whether they were allowed to cheer at tennis matches.

Michael Chang was back on the court yesterday, but not at the French Open or the other tournaments at which he’s built his reputation over the past decade.

Instead, he began his comeback in the hinterlands of tennis. He played his first match since May at a challenger tournament in a tiny sports club overlooking Monterey Bay.

Chang overcame a few unforced errors at the start of the second set to win 6-2, 7-6 (7-5) over Wade McGuire, ranked 472nd in the world. It was his first match since losing in the first round of the French Open in late May.

“I feel right now I’m at a little bit of a crossroads, and I’ll do what I have to do,” Chang said. “And that means playing at challenger.”

Chang was No. 2 in the world a couple of years ago and has won a singles title on the ATP men’s tour every year since 1988, the longest streak of any active player. He’s trying to regain his touch in a tournament at which banners promote sponsors such as the Natural Neurology Centre and Aegis Assisted Living.

Chang is not the first player to take this route. Andre Agassi played in a couple of challenger tournaments in 1997 as he began a comeback that culminated recently with the No. 1 ranking in the world.

Chang won the first seven points of Tuesday’s match and needed just 38 minutes to capture the first set against McGuire. Chang dropped the first three games of the second set, but rallied to force the tiebreaker and finished off the match with an overhead winner.

Chang had not played in a challenger event since 1987, two years before he became the youngest man to win a Grand Slam title when he captured the French Open as a 17-year-old.

But this has been a difficult year for Chang. He has entered 14 ATP tour events and made it past the second round just once. After losing to Yevgeny Kafelnikov in the first round of the French Open, he was bothered by back spasms and decided to skip the grass court season.

IOC panel for screening bids

LONDON, July 14 (AP) — Cities interested in staging future Olympic Games must meet certain qualifications before being allowed to submit a bid, a special panel has proposed.

A working group of (IOC) 2000, a reform commission set up in the wake of the Salt Lake City scandal, reached consensus on the need for a “bid acceptance” procedure.“We would make sure that before a city could become a candidate they would have to meet certain technical standards,” said Anita DeFrantz, IOC Vice-President, who heads the working group.“It will save money for the cities that really are not properly prepared to bid and will ensure that cities that are accepted are cities that have the qualifications to be selected.”Ms DeFrantz said after a day long meeting of the 18-member panel in Lausanne, Switzerland.The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is studying ways of reforming the bidding and selection process to avoid the type of vote-buying abuses which marked Salt Lake City’s choice as host of the 2000 Winter Games.Other details, including the timetable for the bid screening procedure, still have to be worked out. The panel will meet again on September 2 and make its final recommendations on September 25.The new bid procedure will apply immediately to the race for the 2008 summer games. Ten cities have expressed their intention to bid, including Beijing, Paris and Toronto.Ms DeFrantz said it was “premature” to discuss who would judge a city’s readiness to bid or what the specific technical requirements would be.The IOC has previously used a “pre-selection” procedure to reduce a field of candidates to a short list of finalists, but this took place far into the bid process. The new proposal would eliminate some cities right from the start.

Sampras reluctant to play singles

BOSTON, July 14 (DPA) — Even though his team-mates Jim Courier and Todd Martin have losing records against Australia’s top player, Patrick Rafter, the USA’s Pete Sampras is still reluctant to play singles in the upcoming Davis Cup quarterfinal between the two countries.

The quarterfinal will be played at the Longwood Cricket Club in Brookline, Massachusetts, from Friday to Sunday.

“When I called (U.S. Captain) Tom Gullikson about playing this tie, it was just to play doubles,” said the Wimbledon champion Sampras, who refused to play the American’s opening tie against England.

“I know Todd’s a nice enough guy to step aside, but it’s not something I’m comfortable doing. Unless Todd or Jim get hurt, I feel like Jim and Todd deserve to play singles because they went to England and won a great tie. That is what I feel is best for me and the team. I don’t think it’s right that I play singles. Those guys deserve to play singles and it’s their show. I’m just happy to be a part of it. I just see myself playing doubles,” Sampras said.

Courier, who was the hero of the 3-2 victory over England, said he won’t be offended if he is asked to sit on the sidelines.

“We’ve made it very clear to Pete that once you’re on the team, you’re on the team,” Courier said. “He made it clear to us that he wanted to be on the team. We made it very clear to him that we wanted him on the team. There’s no reason for any awkward feelings. It’s time to go out and try to win three matches before the Australians do.”

After he lost to Rafter at Wimbledon, Martin said he would be happy to step aside for Sampras. But on Tuesday, he emphasised that it was Gullikson’s decision.

“I’ve told Tom that I think we should have the best team on the court,” Martin said. “If he thinks that I’m not part of it, that’s fine I’m not upset. I have said that I would just sit out. If Tom feels like I should be on the court, I’d like to be on the court.”

Sampras added that even if the team asked him to play singles, he might not feel right. “It’s really hard to say,” Sampras said.

“It’s something I’m not comfortable doing. If we get through this tie and I showed the commitment by being here, then I’ll play singles in our next round.”

Gullikson wouldn’t yet commit to a lineup, but appears to be leaning to playing Courier and Martin in singles.

“It’s pretty amazing that Pete could be so humble as to come on the team and say he wants to play doubles,” Gullikson said. “He knows Todd and Jim have the single spots, because he feels that they’ve been more committed than he has over the years. Circumstances do change, but I think what you heard from Pete was his honest opinion about the way it should work. Unless the other four guys physically throw him on to the court, I don’t know if he’ll be playing singles unless one of the guys gets hurt.”

The Davis Cup draw will be held on Thursday. The Aussie squad has been a bit weakened over the past two weeks by an injury to U.S. Open finalist Mark Philippoussis, who withdrew from his Wimbledon quarterfinal against Sampras with a knee injury.

Two days ago, doubles standout Todd Woodbridge stunned his team-mates when he pulled out of the tie, citing lack of confidence and a sore right arm. Aussie captain John Newcombe named 29-year-old Sandon Stolle as Woodbridge’s replacement.

Stolle has never played doubles in a Davis Cup tie, but did win the 1998 U.S. Open doubles crown with Cyril Suk. He is currently ranked No. 3 in the world in doubles.

“While Todd’s withdrawal is a bit of a blow, I feel very confident that Rafter or Sandon will get the job done with Mark (Woodforde),’’ said Newcombe.

3 shuttlers reach third round

NEW DELHI, July 14 (PTI) — Three shuttlers reached the third round in boy’s singles on a mixed day for India in the Asian Junior Badminton Championships at Yangoon, Mayanmar today.

In girl’s singles, B Vahini reached the second round after getting a walk-over from Wong Miew Kheng of Malaysia.

A Prithvi, India number two, led the march in the boy’s section with teammates Abhishek Bakshi and V Diju following him into the third round.

But Pallav Kumar Deka’s stiff resistence to Thailand’s T. U. Manawat went in vain as the Indian, who had levelled the score winning the second game, lost the decider after a tightly-fought battle in a second round clash.

Prithvi emerged a 15-1 15-3 victor against Tarek Cha of Syria to storm into the third round.

Diju beat Lee Seung Yoon of South Korea 15-9 15-13 in the second round. Earlier, the youngster from Kerala thrashed Hung Yuk Wong of Hong Kong 15-0 15-3 in the opening round.

Former national U-16 champion Bakshi defeated Japan’s Shogo Inagaki 15-3 15-6 in the first round but then struggled to beat Liao Sheng Shiun of Chinese Taipei.

After securing a narrow 15-13 win in the first game, the Indian went off the boil and lost the second 8-15 before pulling off a 15-6 win in the third game.

Deka came back strongly after losing the first game 15-9 to secure the next 15-12. The youngster from Assam then took his opponent to the wire before losing 17-14 in the decider.

India had lost 2-3 to Singapore in the second round of the boy’s team championship.

Kaptan wins gold in Asian triathlon

CHENNAI, July 14 (PTI) — India’s Kaptan Singh won a gold in the 8th Asian Triathlon Championship held in Sokocho City of South Korea on July 11.

Kaptan Singh of Services Sports Control Board returned a timing of 2hr 10 mins and 24 secs to clinch victory in the 30-years and above category, according to a press note issued by the Indian Triathlon Federation (ITF) here today.

He took 24 min 47 sec for swimming, 1 hr 10 min and 12 secs for cycling and 35 min 25s in running to finish the Olympic distance of 1.5 km swim, 40 km cycling and 10 km running in the gruelling competition.

Manipur’s Sangini Devi finished 6th in the junior women (elite) category with a timing of 2 hrs 37 min 43 secs.

Tamil Nadu’s C.Pughalendhi came 12th in the junior men (elite category), while T.R. Hariharan, also from Tamil Nadu, came 24th in the men’s elite category.

India for 4-nation meet in Kenya

NAIROBI, July 14 (Reuters) — South Africa, India and Zimbabwe will join Kenya in a four-nation one-day tournament starting on September 24, the Kenya Cricket Association (KCA) today said.

The 50-over matches will end on October 5.

Shooting meet re-scheduled

CHANDIGARH, July 14 (BOSR) — The Punjab Shooting Championship which was scheduled to be held from July 26 has been postponed due to the change in the GV Mahalankar National Shooting Championship because of the announcement of elections in the September and the model code of conduct which prohibits the carrying of firearms.

The championship will now be played from September 10 to 12 at the same venue i.e. Sector 25 shooting range.

The national shooting championship will now be conducted at Ahmedabad from October 21.