 |
|
| Saturday, January 15, 2000, Chandigarh, India  
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Maradona’s condition
‘grave’
|
India crash to 5-wkt defeat SYDNEY, Jan 14 (PTI) — The Indian batting sunk to a new low during its current tour of Australia with the team being shot out for 100 runs to suffer a five-wicket defeat at the hands of hosts Australia in the tri-nation limited overs cricket series here tonight. A lion-hearted bowling effort by Javagal Srinath, who took four wickets for 30 runs to have Australia in some trouble at 59 for five, was not enough and the Indians lost their third successive match having been beaten previously by Pakistan and Australia. Skipper Sachin Tendulkar led the rot, failing for the third match in a row, and the team succumbed meekly to the Aussie pace attack superbly led by Glenn McGrath, who took four wickets for a mere eight runs. But for 32 extras, the Indian total would not have even touched the three-figure mark. This loss leaves India with zero points from three outings and an unenviable task of having to win all their next five league matches to be in the race for a spot in the final. The sundries, which were the highest score and also a one-day record in terms of percentage of runs, played a huge role in India moving past their lowest ever one-day total of 63 all out in 25.5 overs made at the same Sydney Cricket Ground against the Aussies in 1980-81. Srinath pushed the hosts on the defensive on a helpful track with Venkatesh Prasad playing a fine supporting role, but the Indians had too few runs to defend and Australia reached 101 for five in 26.5 overs. The Indian skipper seemed to have misread the pitch in opting to bat and the top order was back in the pavilion in no time to leave the score a pathetic 29 for four. India sorely missed the services of third seamer Debasish Mohanty who would have been a handful on the grassy wet pitch and the inclusion of two spinners, Anil Kumble and Nikhil Chopra, proved totally unjustified. Kumble was brought on to bowl only with 17 runs required for Australia to win. Srinath and Prasad were both virtually unplayable as they sent down 20 overs in tandem in a desperate bid to run through the side. Srinath claimed four wickets and Prasad deserved far more than the lone wicket he got. Once the two were off the firing line, man of the match Andrew Symonds (4/11 and 28 NO) and Damien Martyn put up an unfinished 42-run stand for the fifth wicket to guide their side to victory. Tendulkar, back as opener, followed his previous knocks of 13 and 12 by perishing for one after an uneasy stay of 11 deliveries. McGrath, who extracted disconcerting bounce and bowled superb length, produced a sharp lifting ball that moved away and wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist took the resultant edge. The in-form Ganguly (5) was also caught behind off the lanky paceman, and V.V.S. Laxman’s wretched run in the one-day series - after making the team thanks to his 167 at the same venue in the third Test — continued as he was bowled through the gate by McGrath. Rahul Dravid, struggling for runs throughout this tour, and veteran Robin Singh showed some gumption by adding 42 runs for the fifth wicket in 13 overs. Dravid top-scored with 22, but once Robin Singh fell to a superb catch by Martyn off Shane Lee, the final collapse followed with Nikhil Chopra (14) being only the third man to reach the double figure mark. Scoreboard India: Ganguly c Gilchrist b McGrath 5 Tendulkar c Gilchrist b McGrath 1 Laxman b McGrath 2 Dravid lbw b Symonds 22 Gandhi c Bevan b Brett Lee 6 Singh c Martyn b Shane Lee 11 Dighe c Martyn b McGrath 2 Kumble c Gilchrist b Symonds 0 Chopra lbw b Symonds 14 Srinath not out 5 Prasad b Symonds 0 Extras (lb-14, w-15, nb-3) 32 Total (all out in 36.3 overs) 100 Fall of wickets: 1-6, 2-9, 3-18, 4-29, 5-71, 6-74, 7-74, 8-82, 9-100. Bowling: McGrath 10-4-8-4, Fleming 6-0-18-0, Brett Lee 10-0-29-1, Shane Lee 7-0-20-1, Symonds 3.3-0-11-4. Australia: Gilchrist c Dravid b Srinath 37 Waugh lbw b Srinath 3 Ponting c Laxman b Prasad 0 Bevan c Kumble b Srinath 2 Waugh lbw b Srinath 4 Martyn not out 13 Symonds not out 28 Extras (lb-7, w-2, nb-5) 14 Total (for 5 wkts, 26.5 overs) 101 Fall of wickets: 1-28, 2-29, 3-55, 4-56, 5-59. Bowling: Srinath
10-2-30-4, Prasad 10-0-29-1, Ganguly 3.5-0-22-0, R. Singh
2-1-1-0, Kumble 1-0-12-0. |
Error in judging pitch: Sachin SYDNEY, Jan 14 (PTI) — After their pathetic batting display in a five-wicket defeat to Australia on a bouncy SCG pitch where they sorely missed the services of a third seamer, Indian captain Sachin Tendulkar and coach Kapil Dev admitted their error in judging the wicket cost them the match. “I think that’s where we made a wrong choice”, said Tendulkar about misreading of the pitch. “When we saw the wicket in the afternoon, it had loose cracks. We thought if the wicket breaks up, it might help the spinners”, he said, explaining why he went into the match with two spinners. “I think it was a bad decision,” Tendulkar told reporters after their third successive defeat. Kapil Dev also admitted his mistake. “As Sachin said, we picked the wrong team. We should have played the third seamer”, the world’s highest Test wicket-taker said. “I think everyone of us judged the wicket wrong. I think even the groundsman would not have thought it would help the fast bowlers so much. There was a lot more bounce than we expected,” he added. The Indians, shot out for a measly 100 in 36.3 overs with Aussie pace spearhead Glenn McGrath (4/8) and Andrew Symonds (4/11) running through their batting, still had hopes of making a match of it but ran out of ammunition once the unplayable Javagal Srinath (4/30) and Venkatesh Prasad finished their quota of overs. “Even with 100, I was hopeful we would have a chance to make them struggle. I thought we had a remote chance”, said Tendulkar, but the absence of a third seamer despite Debashish Mohanty being available for selection, proved India dear. “Even chasing 100
runs, the opposition was not sure if they would reach
there”, said Kapil. |
Philippoussis stuns Sampras MELBOURNE, Jan 14 (AP) — Australian Davis Cup hero Mark Philippoussis seized on his chances perfectly in two tie-breakers today, beating Pete Sampras and advancing to the final of the Colonial Classic. Deft passing shots were the key in both the sets as Philippoussis won 7-6, (7-4), 7-6, (7-5). Tomorrow, he will meet top-ranked Andre Agassi in the final of the eight-man invitational, a warm-up for the Australian Open. He also could meet Agassi again in the fourth round of the Australian Open, which starts Monday. The draw was announced today. Against Philippoussis, “it always comes down to a couple of points here and there. ... He managed to hit the right shot at the right time in the tie-breakers,” said Sampras, who slipped from No 1 to No 3 last year, partly because of a back injury that kept him out of the US Open. Philippoussis, who won the key victory in Australia’s Davis Cup title triumph over France last month, served 15 aces and allowed only six points on service against Sampras. “With his serving capability, he’s going to be very tough to break” on the faster courts for this year’s Australian Open,” Sampras said. Meanwhile, Philippoussis threatened Sampras with three break-points in the second set’s sixth game and one more in the 10th. That was the first of four match points. The Australian finally won with a serve that Sampras sent flying long. AUCKLAND (Reuters): In-form Swede Magnus Norman and Michael Chang of the USA will meet in the final of the $ 130,000 Auckland open tennis tournament after semifinal victories on Friday. Chang triumphed in three sets over Spanish qualifier Juan Balcells 6-3, 3-6, 6-2, while the second-seeded Norman beat Gaston Gaudio of Argentina in straight sets 6-4, 7-5. Chang, ranked 50 on the ATP tour at the end of last year, countered Balcells’ serve and volley attack with a combination of accurate returns and passing shots. “I knew I had to return well because Juan has a big serve and it was really jumping all over the place,” Chang said. Balcells, ranked 216 at the end of 1999, had thrilled the crowds all week with his aggressive and athletic style, characterised by a diving forehand volley to break Chang in the fourth game of the second set. “Juan was playing some unbelievable tennis this week and he came out with some unbelievable shots today,” Chang said. Norman earlier proved too strong for Gaudio, who ended 1999 at 69 in the ATP rankings. Gaudio, who seldom moved off the baseline, made too many errors against Norman’s well-rounded game. “Gaston is a tough player. I beat some good players this week so I’m very happy to get through,” Norman said. Norman, ranked 15 on the ATP tour at the end of 1999, has not conceded a set in his four matches in the tournament to date. HOBART (AP): Defending champion Chanda Rubin of the USA and Belgian teenager Kim Clijsters will meet in the final of the Tasmanian International tennis tournament after semifinal wins on Friday. Rubin, the fourth seed, beat fellow American and top seed Amy Frazier 6-2, 6-1. Clijsters (16) defeated Venezuelan qualifier Maria Vento 6-3, 6-2. Rubin, who had struggled for consistency in earlier rounds, was almost error-free against Frazier. Rubin and Clijsters have
never met in a tournament match. No plans to play in Olympics: Sampras MELBOURNE, Jan 14 (AP) — Although Pete Sampras has every kind of major tennis trophy except a French Open championship and an Olympic gold medal, he is not planning to play in the Sydney Olympics. Sampras cited a busy schedule and the greater attraction for him of playing the Davis Cup. He also suggested that Olympic tennis could be more interesting if it followed a team format like that of the Davis Cup, rather than being just another singles and doubles tournament. “I have played it
in Barcelona, a great experience to be a part of it, but
I don’t plan on playing this year,” Sampras
said today at the Colonial Classic, a warm-up for the
Australian Open. |
Why did Indians bat first? Has India’s cricket coach Kapil Dev abdicated his responsibilities? It is apparent that he had no role to play in India’s defeat, the third in succession, at the hands of Australia in the three-nation cricket tournament at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Friday. Kapil Dev, who in his times has been an excellent exponent of the new ball, should have told his team to field first in case the captain won the toss given the condition of the pitch. But in this case he seemed to have left everything in the hands of his skipper. And what a mess Sachin Tendulkar made of everything. It was a good toss to win. The pitch, as was evident from the television reports, was lively with a lot of grass on it. The Indian skipper, knowing fully well the weakness of his team to negotiate the rising deliveries, should have opted to field instead of batting first. He did not and India were sent crashing to be all out for 100 runs thanks to some excellent bowling by Glenn McGarth, who ended the day with a haul of four wickets for eight runs. One reason why Sachin Tendulkar opted to bat first even if the pitch was green and lively was the fact that India have rarely been able to successfully chase a total. If India had opted to field first then things might have been totally different as is evident from Javagal Srinath’s wonderful spell in which he went on to claim four wickets for 30. And Venkatesh Prasad’s lone wicket is not the exact picture of his efforts on the field. With a little more runs under their belt the Indians might have been able to make things a little difficult for the hosts. Not even the skipper Sachin Tendulkar himself (who today opted to open with Saurav Ganguly) were able to negotiate the Australian bowlers never mind the fact that the two between themselves have 33 one-day centuries to their credit. The bounce of the wicket posed quite a few problems for both these Indian stars and once they were back in the pavilion there was very little that the other batsmen could do with the Australian bowlers bowling with their tails up. Sachin, who had scores of 13 and 12 in the first two matches of the tournament, today could contribute only one. But more important than the runs he seemed to be very uncomfortable facing the Australian quickies. And once these two were out, the familiar sight of Indian batsmen making their way back to the pavilion one after the other in quick succession was there for all to see. Only Rahul Dravid, who only came good in the last match after a string of failures against the same team with a painstaking 60, top-scored with 22. The faulty selection of
the playing eleven by the Indians was apparent by the
decision of the team management to have two spinners in
Anil Kumble and Nikhil Chopra and only two seam bowlers
— Srinath and Prasad —in the squad for a strip
where the fast bowlers held total sway. With Ajit Agarkar
on the injured list the decision to leave out the other
seam bowler in the touring party — Debashish Mohanty
— was obviously not the right choice. Sachin used
Srinath and Prasad in one long spell but once they had
completed their 20 overs there was nothing he could do to
prevent an Australian win. |
Lillee not ready to work with Akhtar SYDNEY, Jan 14 (PTI) — Legendary Australian fast bowler Dennis Lillee has made himself unavailable to work with Pakistan’s controversial paceman Shoiab Akhtar saying he was holidaying with his family south of Perth. Lillee was named by the Pakistan team management for helping the young speedster correct his bowling action after he was banned for chucking by the world body’s throwing panel. The ban was subsequently lifted by the ICC which has permitted him to play in the ongoing one-day triseries, but he is still barred from playing Test matches till remedial measures are carried out on his bowling action. “I have not been contacted by the Pakistan team... and I would be unavailable to help him as I am presently holidaying,” Lillee said reacting to reports that he was to help out Akhtar. Meanwhile, Akhtar has
again headed for Perth to work out further on his
controversial bowling action. |
Karnataka in final of Wills Trophy BANGALORE, Jan 14 (PTI) — Ranji champions Karnataka reached the final of the Wills Trophy Cricket Tournament by virtue of spin of the coin as the semi-final against Madhya Pradesh ended in a tie here today. Winning the toss, the hosts had a superb start through openers J. Arun Kumar (71) and Mithun Beerala (78) but they failed to capitalise on it and were all out for 293 in their allotted 50 overs at the Chinnaswamy Stadium here. In reply, the visitors made 293 for nine. Santosh Sahu, who struck an unbeaten 67 (94m, 63b, 8x4), played a superb innings and crossed his half century in 51 balls. Sahu and Sanjay Pandey (6) were at the crease in the last over. With M.P needing two runs to win off the last ball, Pandey had to settle for one leg bye off David Johnson to tie the scores. Earlier, Karnataka middle order collapsed except for B. Akhil, who chipped in with 23 runs and Anand Yalvigi, who struck a quick-fire 32 runs off 19 balls which included four boundaries and one six. Board President’s XI win CHENNAI: A Mohd Azharuddin-led Board President’s XI came back from the brink of defeat to score a thrilling six-run victory over Bengal and enter the final of the Wills Trophy Cricket Tournament here today. The former India captain led his team from the front as he topscored with 56 and with opener Jyoti Yadav (52) and Sanjay Bangar (51 n.o) lifted Board President’s XI to 263 for seven in the allotted 46 overs and then bowled out Bengal for 257 off the penultimate ball of the match. The match witnessed a nail-biting finish as Bengal needed seven runs off the last two balls with two wickets in hand. But paceman Gokulakrishnan, the most impressive bowler on view today, helped Board XI emerge victorious by striking twice to finish with a grand haul of five for 55 in 8.5 overs. A fine 71 by Rohan
Gavaskar, 49 (7 fours) by pinch-hitter Sumit Panda and a
quickfire 50 by Syed Saba Karim went in vain as other
Bengal batsmen failed. |
Mauresmo beats Hingis SYDNEY, Jan 14 (Reuters) — World number one Martina Hingis walked unknowingly into the backhand of France’s Amelie Mauresmo today and found herself bundled out of the Sydney International Tennis Tournament. But world number two Lindsay Davenport, semifinal winner over Russia’s Anna Kournikova, said she would not be making the same mistake against the powerful French woman in tomorrow’s final. Teenager Lleyton Hewitt will start unbackable favourite in the men’s final in Sydney after confidently blasting past Spanish baseliner Alex Corretja 6-4 6-4. The fired-up Hewitt, who will go to the top of the rankings race after nine straight match wins this year, will meet fellow Australian Jason Stoltenberg, 6-4 6-2 winner over injured Croatian Ivan Ljubicic in the second semifinal. Switzerland’s Hingis beat Mauresmo in last year’s Australian Open final after controversially dismissing her as “a half-man”. Hingis denied before today’s match that there was any bad blood left between them but the muscular, openly gay French woman was clearly desperate to claim her scalp before the year’s first Grand Slam and fought back from a 3-5 deficit in the first set to win 7-5 6-3. Hingis helped her along, marching blindly into enemy territory by deliberately playing to Mauresmo’s backhand — which she said was well known as Mauresmo’s weaker side. “If you watched me play a bit...I think the backhand is my weapon,” a surprised Mauresmo explained later. Davenport, who lost to Mauresmo in last year’s Australian Open semifinal but has beaten her three times since, was equally surprised. “I don’t know who said that was her weakness,” said Davenport after a convincing 6-3 6-2 win over Kournikova. Mauresmo played down any lingering tension over Hingis’s “half-man” remark, although the handshake between the two was extremely curt. “The trouble between us was all over a year ago. We’re not the best friends in the world but I think that’s the end of it,” Mauresmo said. “She’s the world number one and she’s a very good player, so this gives me a lot of confidence for the season.” The men’s final will be the first all-Australian showdown on the tour since the 1998 U.S. Open final in which Pat Rafter beat Mark Philippoussis. But despite a confident
display by Stoltenberg against Ljubicic, few expect that
Hewitt will have any more trouble against his compatriot
than he had when beating him 6-2 6-2 in Adelaide last
week en route to his third career title. |
Britain allows Tyson’s entry LONDON, Jan 14 (Reuters) — Britain made a late decision yesterday to allow former world heavyweight champion Mike Tyson into the country to fight despite his conviction for rape. For days, government officials have said Tyson’s visit was purely a matter for immigration officials. But just three days before he was due to fly in, the Home Secretary, Mr Jack Straw granted him leave to be in the country until January 30 — the day after his bout against British champion Julius Francis in Manchester. “In the special circumstances of this case it would be invidious for an individual immigration officer to weigh the competing considerations involved,” Mr Straw said in a statement. “I have decided to give...An instruction to grant Tyson leave to enter the UK until January 30, for the purposes of the scheduled contest.” The volatile American had made clear he would fly to Britain on Sunday whether or not he had official permission. Tyson was convicted of rape in the USA in 1992 and sentenced to six years in jail. He then served another term for attacking two elderly motorists and was freed eight months ago. The British rules state that anyone convicted of a crime which carries a sentence of 12 months or more in Britain should not be allowed into the country unless they could demonstrate ‘’strong compassionate reasons” to do so. Fight promoter Frank Warren said: “I am pleased it has been sorted out and I take my hat off to the immigration department.” In a 67-page submission to immigration officials, Warren is thought to have argued that to bar Tyson would hit the northern city of Manchester hard. Thousands of tickets have been sold for the fight and lucrative television deals made. Warren added: “The
whole situation has been handled very badly from the
start. A lot of people will have egg on their faces
tonight. The situation has been a total waste of
taxpayers’ money. |
Maradona’s condition ‘grave’ BUENOS AIRES, Jan 14 (AFP) — The condition of Argentinian football legend Diego Maradona’s heart has deteriorated 62 per cent from its former level, top cardiologist, Dr Carlos Alvarez has said on La Red radio station. Doctor Alvarez, who described his patient’s condition as “severe and grave”, was frank about the state of health of the former player, admitted to a Uruguayan clinic last week with a life-threatening condition subsequently linked to a cocaine overdose. Maradona’s state of health has improved since — he was reported to be playing with a football today — but Doctor Alvarez pulled no punches when describing the condition of the 39-year-old, rated by many as second only to Pele in the list of all-time great players. His pessimistic
prognosis was backed up by Maradona’s personal
physician Dr Alfredo Cahe, who said the condition of his
heart was worse than he had expected. |
South Africa 43 for two CENTURION, Jan 14 (Reuters) — England had the better of the early exchanges in the fifth Test against South Africa at Centurion Park today, grabbing two early wickets after electing to field. At tea, which was taken 20 minutes early due to rain, South Africa had recovered to 43 for two. Jacques Kallis led South Africa’s revival with an aggressive 25 not out in which he hit two fours and a six. With him in an unbroken third-wicket stand of 28 was Daryll Cullinan, who was eight not out. England struck with the last ball of the first over when fast bowler Darren Gough had Gary Kirsten caught by Chris Adams at second slip for a duck. Seven overs later seamer
Andy Caddick was rewarded for a fine spell when opener
Herschelle Gibbs, on three, gloved an inswinger to Adams
at second slip to leave South Africa on 15 for two. |
India remain on top COLOMBO, Jan 14 (UNI) — India remained on top of group ‘B’ in the under-19 World Cup Tournament despite the truncated match against Holland ending in a no result due to incessant rain at Matara Stadium here today. India dismissed Holland for a paltry 58 runs, and could only play for 26 minutes in the second essay. India lost three wickets for 15 in four overs when rain finally ended the play at 1632 hrs (local time). The match started late and was reduced to a 35 over affair. Holland choosing to bat first were all at sea against the left-arm medium pace attack of Sallab Srivastave and Anup Dave. The pair made the lives of opponent batsmen miserable in an ovecast sky by swinging the ball prodigiously. The introduction of another left-armer Yuvraj Singh saw Holland crash to 58 all out in the 30th over with none reaching a double figure. Racing against time,
India lost three cheap wickets to Holland’s left arm
seamer Vikash Tiwarie. He finished the match with the
figure of 3 for 8 in two overs. |
FC Kochin clash with ITI today BANGALORE, Jan 14 (PTI) — Indian Telephone Industries (ITI) will clash with FC Kochin in the fourth edition of the National Football League (NFL) here tomorrow. The local outfit are no doubt a confident side, the draw against Calcutta lions Mohan Bagan has certainly boosted their morale. Nowshad Pari, ITI’s mid-fielder is back in the squad, the combination of R.C. Prakash and Iekeh in the forward line worked effectively against Tollygunge but Loolo Nwike, another striker proved his potential in the last match against Mohan Bagan. Nwike may not play tomorrow as ITI play 4-4-2 combination. For ITI, the entry of Oneka is an added advantage and the team’s mid-field will be strengthened. He has played only four matches in seven encounters. Yusuf Mohammad might warm the bench, Nasir Jamal, who was injured in the last encounter has shown signs of recovery and may be seen in action tomorrow. The professional club with many stars in the side have not tasted a convincing victory so far in the NFL. The only win the Kerala team had was against SBT (1-0). Star striker I.M. Vijayan has scored only one goal for his side, it looks he is yet to recover from an ankle injury. Young Ram Rai will play in tandem and assist Vijayan and may be a threat to the telephone men. Joe Paul Ancheri will be at mid-field while the defence seem to be not healthy. With Balaji at the post, the local’s defence is boosted, the defence line up has been outstanding so far and the attitude of attacking right from the word go may yield fruits. Mahindras hold edge MUMBAI: Local outfit Mahindra and Mahindra, riding on new found success, are the clear favourites against Border Security Force, Jalandhar, when the two clash in the National Football League here tomorrow. Mahindras, who have won the last three league ties against Goan outfit Depmo Football Club, JCT Mills and State Bank of Travancore under make-shift coach Harish Rao, would be seeking their fourth win in a row. Mahindras have three wins, an equal number of draws and a loss to their credit while BSF won just one match, drew another and lost five. Mahindras’ Jordanian imports — striker Bassam Khatib and defender Sameer Jamil — have boosted their teams’ morale with splendid performances so far. They have O. Bernard and I. Christopher in the deep defence while international Virender Singh will do duty under the bar. The mid-field consists of Satish Minz, Aqeel Ansari, Khalid Siddique and Samshi Raza while Mohammed Najeeb and Abbas Ali Rizvi are the two wingers. Bibas Saha is BSF’s goalkeeper while Pradeep Garai, Raghveer Singh and K. Mobi Singh are the three defenders. They have Satinder Singh, Prasantho Das, J. Osif and S. Lama in the mid-field. T. Battacharjee, D.S.
Negi and Gurjeet Singh Atwal are the three forwards in
their ranks. |
Panjab University rout Jodhpur LUDHIANA, Jan 14 — Continuing their winning sequence, north zone runners-up, Panjab University, Chandigarh, demolished Jodhpur University 7-0 to top pool ‘C’ and storm into the semifinals of the All-India Inter-Varsity (inter-zonal) Hockey Tournament for men at Punjab Agricultural University here today. Holders Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, outplayed University of Mumbai 4-0 to record their second successive victory in pool ‘A’. Thus from pool ‘B’ hosts Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, who too had won both their matches along with GND varsity are almost certain to make it to the last four stage. The tussle for the fourth semifinal spot will be in pool ‘D’ between Kurukshetra University and south zone runners-up Bangalore University. The pool ‘C’ match between Panjab University, Chandigarh, and Jodhpur University proved to be a mismatch as the later were unable to come up with anything worthwhile against their strong opponents. Panjab varsity drew first blood in the 14th minute when Navdeep Singh scored a field goal. In the next minute Satwinder Singh increased the lead 2-0. In the 18th minute, Gurpreet Singh made it 3-0 while Gurdeep Singh converted a penalty corner in the 20th minute to make it 4-0. With four minutes to go for half-time, Navdeep Singh again struck to make it 5-0. In the second half, Panjab University further consolidated the lead through Jatinder Kumar (47th minute) and Gurpreet Singh (60th munute) and sealed their rivals’ fate 7-0. In pool ‘A’ current champions Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, went into the lead in the 8th minute through Gabbar Singh. Full-back Sukhmanjit Singh increased the lead through a penalty corner conversion in the 23rd minute. Mumbai University were no match to their rivals and even failed to force any penalty corner in a battle of 70 minutes. For Amritsar, the third goal came off Lakhwinder Singh’s stick in the 45th minute. Five minutes later, Sukhmanjit Singh again proved lucky as a penalty corner shot taken by him sounded the board (4-0). In a crucial pool ‘D’ match, Kurukshetra University thrashed Bangalore University 7-1 after leading 3-1 at half time. With the second win off three matches, Kurukshetra University are keeping their hopes alive of making it to the last four stage. Kurukshetra University boys dictated terms most of the time and did not allow the rival forwards to come near the danger zone. For Kurukshetra, Prabhdeep Singh and Rachpal Singh scored a brace each while Dharminder Singh, Prabhjot Singh, and Karnail Singh scored one goal each. Ajay Aiyappa reduced the margin for Bangalore University. In other matches, Ranchi University scored an emphatic 5-1 victory over Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam, in pool ‘A’ while in pool ‘D’, Jiwaji University, Gwalior prevailed over MGK University, Varanasi 3-1. In pool ‘B’ Pt
Ravi Shanker University, Raipur, wrecked south zone
winners Annamalai University, Chennai, 4-0 and in pool
‘C’ east zone winners Sambalpur University
defeated University of Kerala 5-3. |
Panja-Srinath duo wins doubles title HYDERABAD, Jan 14 (PTI) — The Indian duo of Saurav Panja and Prahalad Srinath defeated Pramono Hendri and Febi Widhiyanto of Indonesia 6-4 6-2 to clinch the men’s doubles title in the ITF Men’s Futures Tennis Tournament at the Gymkhana Grounds here today. In the men’s singles final to be played here tomorrow, Denis Golovanov of Russia will clash with Svarc Ladislav of Slovakia. In the men’s semifinals today, qualifier Golovanov after initial hiccups outplayed Jeremy Delinbeuf of France 7-6 (7-2) 6-3 in one hour 20 minutes while third seed Ladislav of Slovakia made short work of seventh seed Andy Ram of Israel 6-2 7-5 in one hour eight minutes. In less than an hour, the Indian pair of Saurav and Srinath played in tandem to shatter the hopes of Indonesian pair of Hendri and Febi. The tie began on an even note, with both pairs level till 3-all in the the first set. At this juncture, the Indians broke the Indonesian serve to take a lead of 4-3 which was a turning point for the Indian duo to claim the first set at 6-4. In the second set, the Indians were far superior in all departments of the game, their quick returns stunned the visitors who at times were left stranded. The Indian pair won the second 6-2 and the title. Results: Men’s doubles (final): Saurav Panja and Prahalad Srinath (India) b Hendri Pramono and Febi Widhiyanto (Indonesia) 6-4 6-2. Men’s singles
semi-finals: Denis Golovanov (Russia) b Jeremy Delinbeuf
(France) 7-6 (7-2) 6-3; Svarc Ladislav (Slovakia) b Andy
Ram (Israel) 6-2 7-5. |
County re-examines Akhtar’s contract LONDON, Jan 14 (Reuters) — Nottinghamshire are re-examining their contract with controversial paceman Shoaib Akhtar after discovering his availability could be sharply reduced this summer because of commitments with Pakistan. “We signed up Akhtar last summer when Pakistan had one tour lined up during our English season,’’ Mick Newell, Nottinghamshire assistant manager told BBC radio yesterday. “We’ve now found out in the last two weeks that they’ve actually got four tours during our English cricket season. “We need to be clear about how much cricket Shoaib is available to play for Notts because at the moment it doesn’t appear very much,’’ Mr Newell said. But he insisted there
were no hard feelings, saying: “It’s not his
fault. It’s just the way the world of cricket works
these days.’’ |
Cheema is Rustam-e-Hind PATIALA Jan 14 — Patiala-based 17-year-old wrestler, Palwinder Singh Cheema, was given the title Rustam-E-Hind at a function held at Hoshiarpur past week. The title was given by Punjab Minister of Revenue and Rehabilitation, Mr S.S. Sekhwan. Tall and burly Palwinder Cheema, by winning the title, has not only done his city proud, but has also kept the tradition of wrestling in his family alive. The achievements of many good sportsmen in this country have been buried under the tombstones which read “He had talent”. Young Cheema is all set to add another line to its, reading “And he made use of it”. In a nation where sport medals are rare, Cheema is a treasure worth protecting. Wrestling is in his blood as he is the grandson of the legendary Kesar Singh whose achievements are recalled with awe even today by oldtimers. Kesar Singh, who represented the country in the 1956 Melbourne Olympics remained Rustam-E-Hind from 1951 to 1961. Palwinder’s father, a Commandant in the BSF, had won a bronze medal each in the Teheran (1974) and Bangkok (1978) Asian Games. After winning gold medals at the 1999 Junior National Wrestling Championships and the All-India-Inter-Varsity meets (97-kg-plus weight category), he showed that with his technique and temperament along with determination, devotion and dedication, he was ready for the big league. After winning a bronze medal in the Junior Asian Wrestling Meet in Teheran early this year, Cheema was ready for the sterner tests ahead. In the Junior World Wrestling Meet in Sydney this year, he made good impression. Though he went without a medal in Sydney, a fifth position in the pecking order was enough to boost his confidence. The selectors thought it wise to include him in the senior squad and Cheema was selected for the Senior Asian Wrestling Championships at Tashkent past year. Cheema returned from Tashkent without a medal, but, he learnt techniques of senior wrestlers. His experience at Tashkent, where he rubbed shoulders with some of the world best wrestlers, will help him in future meets. Asians have produced some of the world’s best matmen as countries like Mongolia, China, South Korea and Iran are wrestling powerhouses of the world. Cheema, experts opine, has the technique and skill of a seasoned campaigner. With a string of good
performances behind him and given his present status,
Cheema should now be ready for the future. He should have
many victories, just like his father and grandfather had
in their heyday. |
Club fines Roberto Carlos $ 30,850 MADRID, Jan 14 (Reuters) — Real Madrid defender Roberto Carlos and mid-fielder Jose Maria Gutierrez were each fined $ 30,850 by the Spanish club yesterday after incidents in a World Club Championship match. The pair were among
three Real Madrid players sent off in their team’s
3-2 win over African champions Raja Casablanca in Sao
Paulo on Monday. |
AI, UP move into last 8 JABALPUR, Jan 14 (PTI) — Air-India and Uttar Pradesh entered the quarter-finals of the 15th Women’s National Hockey Tournament with solitary goal wins in their last league matches at the Ravi Shankar Shukla Stadium here today. Air-India beat
Chandigarh through a 28th -minute field goal by Urmila
Kumari in pool-F, while Uttar Pradesh overcame Delhi in
pool-G with a goal from Seema in the 63rd minute. |
|
Thiruvananthapuram, Jan 14, (PTI) — JCT, Phagwara, held State Bank of Travancore, Thiruvananthapuram, to a goal-less draw in a fourth National Football League match here yesterday. JCT custodian Baljit Singh had an hectic time in saving his side by thwarting the dangerous attempts from the bankmen. In the second minute of the first-half, SBT striker Ignatious sent a freekick to Manoj but the ball was ably pushed away by Baljit Singh. On the other hand, a combined move by Rampal and striker Jaswinder Singh in the 13th minute was saved by the SBI custodian Feroj Sherif. In the first 10 minutes of the second-half, JCT tried a variety of attacks but could not score with SBI conceding three corners. With both teams sharing
one point each JCT has a total of 10 points from eight
matches with two wins, four draw and two losses while SBT
has six points from eight outings with two wins, five
losses and one draw. |
 |
| Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir | Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs | Nation | Editorial | | Business | Sport | World | Mailbag | Chandigarh Tribune | In Spotlight | 50 years of Independence | Tercentenary Celebrations | | 119 Years of Trust | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
