 |
|
| Tuesday, February 22, 2000, Chandigarh, India  
|
Board XI-SA tie draw
East Bengal shock Churchill Bros |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
India to play in opener at Sharjah
Gurpreet to lead handball team
|
Board XI-SA tie drawn MUMBAI, Feb 21 (PTI) — Nayan Mongia braved a thumb injury to return to the middle and help Board President’s XI to hold out for a draw against the visiting South Africans on the third and final day of their tour match here today. Mongia was hit on the thumb off the first ball he faced from rookie South African paceman Mornantau Hayward before returning to the crease at the fall of the 8th wicket and, with support from number nine Debashish Mohanty (6 not out), remained unbeaten with 9 at the Brabourne Stadium here. The home team were virtually nine down at the fall of the eighth wicket, that of Amit Bhandari, as Mohammed Azharuddin was not in a position to bat after having sustained a thumb fracture in the first innings. But Mongia and Mohanty denied the visitors, who were also content to use the left-arm spin of Clive Eksteen — who took five wickets for 79 runs — for the most part, for 12.1 overs and batted out the last 35 minutes to earn a draw. Earlier, South Africa declared their second innings closed at the stroke of lunch on 207 for five to set the Board team, 121 behind on the first innings, an improbable victory target of 329 to get in a minimum 63 overs. Opener Wasim Jaffer (47), one-down Mohammed Kaif (33) and Harbhajan Singh, who came up with another fine display in making 39 in an hour with five fours and two sixes, were the batsmen who batted well earlier before Mongia and Mohanty held fort till the end for the Board team. The visitors now take on India in the first of the two-Test series at the Wankhede stadium here from February 24. The last day began with the tourists commencing their second innings at the overnight 93 for 3 with their captain Hansie Cronje (29) and Pieter Strydom (12) at the crease. The South Africans decided to have some good batting practice in the first session with the fourth-wicket pair of Cronje (55 in 113 minutes with 8 fours) and Strydom (63 not out in 67 minutes with 4 fours) having a good feel of the conditions and bowling with a stand of 92 runs. It was broken when Mohanty trapped Cronje on the pull shot. The batsman missed the ball, which kept a bit low, completely and was caught plumb in front. It was later only a question of when the visitors would declare their innings and they did so on the stroke of lunch at 207 for five — for an overall lead of 328 — after the fall of Lance Klusener (12). Mohanty and Harbhajan claimed two wickets apiece. Opener J. Arunkumar fell cheaply for the second time in the match after the Board XI started their second innings. He made only two before fending a lifter from Allan Donald to Klusener in the slip cordon. Wasim Jaffer, the Mumbai opener who has been included in the first Test team, and Mohammed Kaif — also named in the same squad — stitched a stand of 63 before Kaif stepped out to Eksteen and was bowled when he missed to connect with an almighty heave. Mornantau Hayward, the paceman who rattled the home side with his speed and lift in the first essay, was brought on immediately after the arrival of home team captain Ajay Jadeja to the crease and he sent back the one-day stalwart for the second time in the match cheaply. Jadeja edged the 7th ball he faced to ‘keeper Mark Boucher. This brought in Mongia who had to retire to the pavilion after awkwardly fending at Hayward’s short ball. The home team, then, lost Murali Karthik (9) and Jaffer at the same score of 102. Karthik was bowled round his legs trying to sweep left-arm spinner Pieter Strydom while Jaffer, who again batted with calm assurance for 149 minutes and struck seven fours, was bowled by the other left-arm spinner Eksteen. Tiru Kumaran (7) also fell leg before to Eksteen at 121. South Africa (first innings): 293 for 6 decl. Board President’s XI (first innings): 172 South Africa (Second innings): (overnight 93 for 3) G Kirsten lbw b Mohanty 4 H Gibbs lbw b Harbhajan Singh 28 J Kallis b Harbhajan Singh 12 D Cullinan retired hurt 2 H Cronje lbw b Mohanty 55 P Strydom not out 63 L Klusener c Kaif b Bhandari 12 M Boucher not out 7 Extras (b 8, lb12, nb 4) 24 Total (for 5 wkts decl in 63 overs) 207 Fall of wickets: 1-6, 2-30, 3-59, 4-147, 5-171. Bowling: Mohanty 12-3-30-2, Kumaran 12-1-27-0, Harbhajan Singh 16-2-59-2, Bhandari 14-6-37-1, Karthik 6-1-27-0, Kaif 2-1-2-0, Jadeja 1-0-5-0. Board President’s XI (second innings): J Arunkumar c Klusener b Donald 2 W Jaffer b Eksteen 47 M Kaif b Eksteen 33 A Jadeja c Boucher b Hayward 3 N Mongia not out 9 M Karthik c Boucher b Strydom 9 T Kumaran lbw Eksteen 7 Harbhajan Singh lbw Eksteen 39 D Mohanty not out 9 A Bhandari c Sub (Boje) b Eksteen 6 Extras (b-11, lb-4, nb-2) 17 Total (for 8 wkts, in 65 overs) 181 Fall of wickets: 1-12, 2-75, 3-78, 4-102, 5-102, 6-121, 7-161, 8-169 Bowling: Donald 5-2-6-1,
Hayward 11-1-45-1, Eksteen 28-8-79-5, Kallis 5-3-4-0,
Strydom 14-4-30-1, Cronje 2-0-2-0. |
Jadeja to replace Azhar in team MUMBAI, Feb 21 (PTI) — Recalled after seven months in the wilderness amidst high drama over Sachin Tendulkar’s resignation as skipper, Mohammed Azharuddin was today ruled out of India’s first Test against South Africa beginning here on February 24 due to a thumb fracture. The 37-year-old Azharuddin will be replaced in the 14-member national squad by Ajay Jadeja, who was one of the standbyes. Selection Committee Chairman Chandu Borde told reporters that Azhar had been ruled medically unfit for the first Test and his injury would be reviewed in a week’s time before the second Test scheduled to begin in Bangalore on March 2. Azhar was forced to retire hurt immediately into the post-lunch session yesterday after being struck a painful blow on his right thumb when on nine by a rising delivery from South African rookie paceman Mornantau Hayward while playing for Board President’s XI. Cricket board Secretary Jaywant Lele, announcing the team yesterday, had said it was only a bruised thumb and Azhar was expected to be okay in 48 hours, but further examination revealed the fracture. Though Borde did not say Azhar had fractured his thumb, orthopaedic and hand surgeon Dr Nitin V. Gajjar confirmed there was a small avulsion chip fracture of the base of distal phalanx of the right thumb. It was a cruel blow to the former Captain who had made a determined bid to return to the national side with consistent performances in the domestic circuit after being ignored for the Australian tour following his recovery from a shoulder surgery he underwent after the 1999 World Cup. Azhar has been advised elevation-splint-anti-inflammatory medication and cold compresses at present. He requires rest for a
period of seven days from today and a review examination
would be done after a week to assess the recovery, Dr
Gajjar said. |
Tendulkar was ‘not enjoying’ game MUMBAI, Feb 21 (PTI) — Sachin Tendulkar has said his abrupt resignation as captain had nothing to do with the recall of Mohammad Azharuddin, but he took the stunning decision because he was not enjoying his cricket. He made this revelation last evening to reporters less than five hours after reading out a Press statement at the Cricket Club of India about his decision to quit the job at the end of the two-Test series against South Africa. “I decided to do this after my return from Australia as I was not enjoying my cricket. No, this has got nothing to do with Azharuddin’s inclusion (in the first Test team), I had decided well in advance”, the master batsman said. Queried who was the ideal man to replace him at the helm, he was a bit reluctant to say anything before saying it should be either Saurav Ganguly or Ajay Jadeja. Asked whether he was not afraid of comments that he was running away from the job, he said there would always be people who would talk. Tendulkar later released a book titled “236 Cricket Questions answered”, edited by first class umpire Marcus Couto. His brother Ricky, who had helped him in bringing out the book, was Tendulkar’s schoolmate for five years. Tendulkar had a long telephonic conversation presumably with India coach Kapil Dev prior to announcing his decision to step down. According to cricket board sources, Tendulkar had reached the Cricket Club of India, the venue of the selection committee meeting to choose the Indian team for the first Test against South Africa at Mumbai from February 24, one hour before the scheduled time of 3 pm. He then went into a long private huddle with selection committee chairman Chandu Borde, which lasted for nearly half an hour, before adjourning to a secluded place presumably to talk to coach Kapil Dev on his mobile. Sources said he had come to the meeting with the prepared statement which he later read out to the Press and couple of other papers too. DUNEDIN (New Zealand), (AFP): Australian cricket captain Steve Waugh said he was not surprised to learn that Sachin Tendulkar had decided to quit the Indian captaincy. Waugh said he could see Tendulkar was feeling the strain as the Indians fell to defeat in all three Tests and seven out of eight one-day internationals against Australia recently. “I don’t think it’s a surprise,” Waugh said. “It’s the best thing for him and India because he was under a lot of pressure and he didn’t play his best cricket and I could see the strain on his face in the third Test in Sydney.” Waugh did not agree with Tendulkar’s comment that he had accepted full “moral responsibility” for the losses in Australia despite again being India’s stand out player. “That’s a bit
much for one person to take that responsibility on his
shoulders,” Waugh said. Ganguly not in race for
captaincy CALCUTTA, Feb 21 — “I’m not in the race for captainship”, Saurav Ganguly said today. Ganguly said he was busy preparing, both mentally and physically for the matches against South Africa. He is, however, ready to shoulder the captain’s responsibilities if the opportunity came his way. He expressed shock at Tendulkar’s announcement yesterday. “I haven’t heard anything about Sachin stepping down officially but everyone will welcome Azhar’s return. But who will be the captain is not my headache. My only concern is how to win all the matches”. Arun Lal, a former captain, however, said Saurav had all the qualities to lead the Indian team and he would be a better captain than Azharuddin.
|
|
India go down to Korea 1-2 KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 21 (PTI) — India crashed to their third defeat by going down 1-2 to Korea while reigning champions Pakistan ended Malaysia’s amazing winning streak by edging them 3-2 in the Sultan Azlan Shah hockey tournament today. Asian Games champions India squandered chances galore as Korea went ahead in the 25th minute through Seung Hwan’s penalty corner conversion and consolidated it through another penalty corner goal by Yeo Woon Kon in the 42nd minute. Forward Baljit Dhillon reduced the margin in the 53rd minute but India paid for their profligacy, squandering nine open chances and three penalty corners to lie fifth overall. India, whose hopes to use the tournament as a build-up for the September Sydney Olympics have been dashed, had lost to Germany and Pakistan by identical 1-2 margins besides scoring a narrow 3-2 win over Canada in the seven-nation event.Earlier, Pakistan took a 2-0 lead but Malaysia, seeking their fourth straight victory, rode on the support of a capacity crowd of 15,000 and struck twice in the space of two minutes to draw level in the 60th minute. But a penalty stroke three minutes later put paid to the fightback as Pakistan as expected used speed during counter attacks to good effect and controlled the game better. Today’s results lifted Korea to the top of the table with Pakistan and Malaysia behind them in that order. Imran Yousuf (5th, 63rd) and Kamran Ashraf (13th) scored for Pakistan while Chua Boon Huat (58th) and Kuhan Shanmuganathan (60th) found the mark for Malaysia. The Indians dictated terms entirely and earned their first penalty corner in the 18th minute but Dhillon’s flick rebounded off the Korean goalkeeper. Pillay pounced on the rebound but even his shot was saved by the goalkeeper. In the 20th minute, Mukesh came in for Senthil and the pace increased for India. Dhillon played good game controlling the ball in the midfield and sending some breathtaking passes upfront. One of those passes found Pillay but the mercurial striker again failed to pierce the wall of Korean goalkeeper. Korea’s 25th minute controversial goal prompted Indians to protest but the umpire waved them away. Two minutes later, India earned their second penalty corner but Dhillon’s flick went out after hitting a Korean stick. Pillay had another opportunity in the 31st when he was face-to-face with the Korean keeper but in his haste to put the ball away, he fell on it as Korea led 1-0 at the break. Korea tried to force the pace, but after surrendering the advantage for around five minutes Indians wrested it back. But again, a couple of chances in the Korean circle were wasted as Indian forwards bungled time and again. Korea’s second goal also came against the run of play. In the 42nd minute, a Korean move led to a penalty corner. And Yeo Woon Kon scored with a superb flick. In the 51st minute, Pillay went into the Korean circle, thanks to a pass from Dhillon but when faced with Chun, he shot onto the pads. Two minutes later, India earned their third penalty corner and this time the flick worked for Dhillon the ball flew low and fast to cut Korea’s lead (1-2). It was a mad rush in the
dying minutes. |
East Bengal shock Churchill Bros CALCUTTA, Feb 21 (PTI) — A resurgent East Bengal played true to reputation to jolt title contender Churchill Brothers 2-1 in a National Football League tie here today. Fresh from a convincing 3-0 victory over State Bank of Travancore after a series of lacklustre performances, the city giants dominated the exciting exchange and came back strongly after being a goal down to put it across the current table toppers at the Salt Lake Stadium. While Ukrainian Andrei Malchevsky put Churchill in the lead, Brazilian Ossius Louis Fereira equalised for East Bengal before Dipankar Roy struck the winner early in the second half. East Bengal’s victory came as a boon for arch-rivals Mohun Bagan, now locked in a fierce struggle for the coveted title with Churchill. While the Goans now have 31 points from 16 outings, Bagan have secured 29 points by playing a match less and a win over a weak Dempo at the same venue tomorrow would propel the city team to the top of the chart. Despite today’s victory, East Bengal are virtually out of the title race, having managed only 20 points from 16 ties. Churchill were reduced to 10 men for the last 25 minutes after Malchevsky was given marching orders by referee Michael Andrew for arguing with him. The Ukrainian, who was tripped by East Bengal defender Anit Ghosh, engaged in a verbal duel with the referee after his (Andrei) demand for a penalty was dismissed. FC Kochin down ITI THRISSUR: Fancied FC Kochin shrugged off their lethargy to carve out a solitary goal win over Indian Telephone Industries (ITI), Bangalore, and secured full points in a National football League encounter here today. The all-important goal was booted by speedy Liberian striker Isaac Tondo in the 68th minute. With this win, FC Kochin have 21 points from 14 encounters while ITI have 12 from 16 outings. In the first session, the action was mainly confined to the midfield. Though both teams occasionally broke through the defence cordon, neither of them had a close look at the goal. Kochin badly felt the absence of mercurial striker I M Vijayan who got yellow cards in earlier match, as their striking duo of Liberian Eugene Gray and Tondo time and again fumbled at crucial junctures either striking straight to custodian Balaji or losing possession to rival defenders. Tollygunge hold Salgaocar MARGAO: Defending champions Salgaocar’s chances to defend the title became bleak when they were forced to a 1-1 draw by Tollygunge in the National Football League return match here today. Both the teams began attacking each other’s territory from the beginning. However success came Salgaocar’s way in the 24th minute when Bruno Coutinho shot deep into the net to give his team the initial lead. Tollygunge stunned the rival defence with a counter move and levelled the score five minutes later. Sasthi Duley from the left beat the rival defence with a well-measured cross. A firm header from Seriki past the hapless keeper Siddi to far end of the net brought the score to 1-1. Salgaocar had themselves to blame for the draw as they squandered the chances that came their way. Tollygunge keeper Ghosh also came to his team’s rescue thrice when he thwarted Dharmajit Singh, Santos and Venkatesh. Tollygunge who came off with counter moves, had a good chance to take a lead in the second half but Salgaocar keeper Siddi did well to bring off a fine save from a Chandan Das header off a Seriki Cross. Salgaocar have 24 points from 15 matches while Tollygunge have 21 points from 16 matches. Salgaocar will take on ITI here on February 25, while Tollygunge meet SBT at Calcutta on the same day. Tollygunge could have increased the lead in the 37th minute when Seriki, sent a fine low cross to Duley but he failed to connect the ball. After change of ends, Salgaocar kept on probing the rival half and came close to scoring in the 47th minute but Dharmajit Singh who was off colour today. The game, thereafter, was confined to the midfield for a brief period and Salgaocar had the best chance to take the lead. Defender Covan Lawrence from his own half sent a long pass to substitute Azmat who relayed the ball to Venkatesh but he failed to beat the on rushing keeper Ghosh. Tollygunge, who made
counter move, came close from scoring midway into the
second half when Seriki from the left sent a cross to
Chandan Das into the box. Das’ header was saved by
keeper Siddi for an abortive corner. |
RCF eves beat Delhi XI LUDHIANA, Feb 21 — Last year’s losing finalist, Rail Coach Factory, Kapurthala, prevailed over Delhi XI 5-3 in the inaugural match of the fourth All India Mohinder Partap Singh Grewal Hockey Tournament for women at the astro turf stadium of Punjab Agricultural University here today. RCF eves drew the first blood in the eighth minute through a penalty corner conversion through right full back Renubala. Three minutes later Mukta consolidated the lead (2-0). Despite being down by two goals Delhi players made counter attacks and succeeded in reducing the margin in the 13th minute when outside left Anita found the target (1-2) and in the next minute Anita again struck to equalise. After changing ends both the teams pressed hard to surge ahead and finally Kapurthala outfit went into the lead in the 47th minute when Seema Puri gave a pass to rightout Sumitra Minz, who scored a superb goal to make it 3-2. In a counter attack Delhi’s Sushila sounded the board in the 53rd minute to level the score again at 3-3. Two minutes later RCF again surged ahead. Delighted, RCF players
went all out and earned three short corners in a row but
Renu Bala failed to capitalise on these chances. Just
before the long hooter, RCF pumped in another goal
through Sarika to wrap up the match 5-3. |
Juventus, Manchester United stay atop LONDON, Feb 21 (AP) — Filippo Inzaghi did it all as Juventus kept their cushion atop Italy’s Serie A. But defending champion AC Milan is making a move. Inzaghi scored a second-half hat-trick and set up Alessandro Del Piero’s winning penalty in the 34th- minute as the Turin side won 4-0 yesterday over Venezia. Juventus is unbeaten in 17 matches and leads in Italy with 47 points. AC Milan moved into second with 44 points with a 2-1 home victory over Lazio as Croatian midfielder Zvonimir Boban converted two first-half penalties. Lazio held on to third spot with 43 points. Elsewhere, French defender Laurent Blanc scored on two headers off corners to give Inter Milan a 3-1 victory over Piacenza. Inter stayed in fifth place with 40 points, two points behind AS Roma. After taking a two-goal lead, AC Parma lost 4-3 to lowly Verona. Parma’s star midfielder Dino Baggio was ejected early in the second-half for a hard foul, while Verona’s Domenico Morfeo notched a goal and assisted off of two free kicks. In other games, Lecce drew with Bologna 1-1, Torino drew with Cagliari 1-1 and Udinese beat Bari 5-1. On Saturday, Vincenzo Montella scored three goals and newly signed Japanese star Hidetoshi Nakata added another in AS Roma’s 4-0 rout of Fiorentina. Reggina and Perugia played out a 1-1 draw. In England, even without David Beckham — cut from yesterday’s 16-man team after missing practice on Friday — Manchester United defeated Leeds 1-0 on Andy Cole’s 52nd-minute goal to push their league lead to six points. In the FA Cup quarterfinals, Newcastle won 3-2 at first-division Tranmere, Chelsea beat second-division Gillingham 5-0, and Aston Villa won 2-1 at Everton. Bolton clinched the fourth spot on Saturday. Yesterday’s semifinal draw pitted Bolton against Villa and Newcastle against Chelsea. The games will be played on April 2 and 9 at Wembley Stadium. Manchester United’s win on Cole’s 100th goal for the club improved the defending champions to 56 points followed by Leeds (50), Liverpool (47), Arsenal (44) and Chelsea (43). In yesterday’s FA Cup quarterfinals, Gary Speed, Didier Domi and Duncan Ferguson scored for Newcastle and Gary Jones and Wayne Allison scored for Tranmere. The Magpies are trying to reach their third straight final after losing the previous two. Chelsea, the ’97 FA Cup champions, got goals from Tore Andre Flo, John Terry, George Weah, Jody Morris and Gianfranco Zola on a penalty in their 5-0 win against Gillingham. Villa won 2-1 at Everton as Benito Carbone scored the winner in first-half injury time. Steve Stone opened for Villa in the 16th-minute American Joe-Max Moore equalised in the 20th. It was the red-hot Moore’s fourth goal in four games and his fifth in six since joining the team two months ago. It was a great weekend for Spanish league leaders Deportivo La Coruna, who beat Athletic Bilbao on Saturday 2-0. And a good one, too, for Barcelona, who hammered Valladolid 4-0 yesterday in the Catalan capital on two second-half goals by Rivaldo. Dutchmen Ronald de Boer and Patrick Kluivert got the other two. Barca moved into second place, five behind Deportivo with 46. None of the three teams closest to Deportivo and Barca managed victories. Number three Zaragoza fell 2-1 at Real Sociedad, No 4 Real Madrid drew 1-1 at Valencia and No 5 Alaves drew 2-2 at Sevilla. In other games, Mallorca beat Celta 1-0, Real Sociedad beat Zaragoza 2-1, Racing de Santander beat Rayo Vallecano 2-1, Atletico de Madrid drew with Espanyol 1-1, Oviedo drew with Betis 1-1 and Malaga beat Numancia 3-1. In two Bundesliga games, VFL Wolfsburg defeated Arminia Bielefeld 2-0 and SSV Ulm drew 1-1 with Hansa Rostock. In Portugal, Benfica
moved to within a point of co-leaders FC Porta and
Sporting, beating Farense 6-2 on a hat-trick from Nuno
Maniche. Nuno Gomes scored two goals and Karel Poborsky
had the other. |
England clinch series HARARE, Feb 21 (AFP) — Zimbabwe-born batsman Graeme Hick steered his adopted England to a 3-0 series triumph here yesterday with one match to play. Hick’s 80 runs, scored in 95 balls and his first five wickets haul with off-spin bowling, enabled England to reach a total of 248 in their 50 overs, to which Zimbabwe managed only 163 in reply. With Hick so dominant and given England’s clear overall superiority, their performance was more than sufficient over the three internationals to wipe out any memories of a 3-0 whitewashing at the hands of Zimbabwe here three years ago. The remaining match of the tour on Wednesday will bring to an end England’s almost four months long tour of Southern Africa, where they were beaten by South Africa in a Test series and in the final of a one-day tournament. But they could not be having a brighter finish. Hick’s 80, which took him to 3, 515 career runs in internationals, included 10 fours. He reached 50 in 50 balls but then dropped into a lower gear to ensure stabilising the innings after Nasser Hussain and Nick Knight were dismissed. Later he collected four Zimbabwe wickets with his off-spin, two of them stumpings by Chris Read. England’s middle order collapsed just as England appeared set for a huge score, with Zimbabwe spinner Dir Viljoen accounting for Darren Maddy (53), Mark Ealham and Chris Read while Gary Brent sent back Vikram Solanki. Set to get 249 to win at almost exactly five an over, Zimbabwe lost two wickets to Darren Gough with 16 runs on the scoreboard. It was a setback but not so damaging as the run rate, which was generally only two an over and did not reach three an over until the 30th, by which time it was far too late for the home side to retain any expectations. England: Hussain c Campbell b Strang 1 Knight c Strang b Olonga 26 Hick run out (Goodwin) 80 Maddy c Brent b Viljoen 53 Solanki c Carlisle b Brent 14 White not out 27 Ealham b Viljoen 0 Read c and b Viljoen 2 Caddick not out 21 Extras (4lb, 3nb, 17w) 24 Total (50 overs 7wkts) 248 Fall of wickets: 1-4, 2-85, 3-149, 4-171, 5-198, 6-198, 7-207. Bowling: Streak 8-0-44-0; Strang 10-0-34-1; Olonga 6-0-44-1; Johnson 2-0-16-0; G. Flower 10-0-37-0; Brent 7-0-42-1; Viljoen 6-0-20-3; Campbell 1-0-7-0. Zimbabwe: Johnson b Gough 7 Campbell c White b Gough 2 Carlisle run out (Knight) 41 Goodwin c Mullally b Hick 28 A. Flower st Read b Hick 21 G. Flower st Read b Hick 5 Viljoen c Ealham b Hick 4 Streak c Hussain b Mullally 7 Strang c Mullally b Hick 13 Brent not out 13 Olonga c Knight b White 11 Extras (lb-7 nb-1 w-3) 11 Total (all out, 46.5 overs) 163 Fall of wickets: 1-5 2-16 3-83 4-91 5-104 6-112 7-124 8-126 9-146 Bowling: Caddick
8-4-7-0; Gough 6-2-10-2; Mullally 10-1-43-1; White
5.5-0-35-1; Ealham 7-0-28-0; Hick 10-2-33-5. |
India to play in opener at Sharjah SHARJAH, Feb 21 (UNI) — India, Pakistan and South Africa will participate in the tri-nation Sharjah Cup Cricket Tournament from March 22 to 31. According to the tournament fixture, India will take on South Africa in the opener on March 22. India take on Pakistan in the next match on March 23 while South Africa will meet Pakistan on March 24. On March 26, India again meet Pakistan and then take on South Africa the next day. Pakistan will clash with South Africa on March 28. The final will be played on March 31. All the matches are
day-night, to be played under floodlights. |
Serena captures Faber Grand Prix title HANOVER, Feb 21 (AP) — Serena Williams, displaying all her power, blasted unseeded Denisa Chladkova 6-1, 6-1 yesterday at the Faber Grand Prix to capture her sixth career title. The top-seeded Williams needed just 46 minutes to win, hammering the little-known Czech player’s second serve and winning most of her own service games at love at the $ 535,000 event. Williams, who had taken a long break to attend design college, showed none of the rustiness that she’d fought against in a three-set semifinal against France’s Amelie Mauresmo. The American US Open champion, ranked fourth, took home $ 87,000 after breaking the $ 3 million mark in career earnings last week. Williams, who also reached the final at Paris last week, became the eighth different winner in as many women’s tournaments this season. Williams broke Chladkova’s serve five times, simplying blasting the Czech player’s weaker second serve for easy points. Williams had soared into the world top 5 last year by capturing five titles, but had taken a break from October to January 17. Since coming back, she has reached the fourth round of the Australian Open and last week’s final in Paris. Against Mauresmo, Williams fought both her erratic serve and forehand before winning in two hours and 32 minutes. But against Chladkova, she showed none of the weak phases that had cost her against Mauresmo. MEMPHIS (USA): Magnus Larsson used a big serve to overcome mistakes and win his first title since 1994, defeating Byron Black 6-2, 1-6, 6-3 at the Kroger St. Jude tennis tournament. The 29-year-old Swede had 26 unforced errors to 16 for Black. But Larsson, who had a tournament-high 35 aces coming into the final, served up 16 more on Sunday. Larsson had never played the tournament before and entered as the 16th seed. But the Swede, playing with tendinitis in his left knee, got help in the third round when top-seeded Mark Philippoussis quit before their match because of an inflamed knee. The Swede needed the rest to survive two three-set matches and reach his first final in the USA. It looked like Larsson wouldn’t be pushed to three sets as he broke Black, the 13th seed from Zimbabwe, in the fifth game without Black scoring a point. He broke Black again for a 5-2 lead and served out. But Black, beaten 6-2, 6-3, 7-6 (7/4) by Andre Agassi as the USA rallied to beat Zin the Davis Cup earlier this month, rallied in the second set. Larsson didn’t score a point off his serve as Black broke him for a 0-2 lead and eventually won the set in 23 minutes. ROTTERDAM: Cedric Pioline showed more composure on the big points on Sunday to down Tim Henman 6-7 (7-3) 6-4 7-6 (7-4) in the final of the indoor ABN-Amro World Tennis Tournament. Pioline’s fourth career tournament win took over two and half hours. In a close match between two of the top 15 players in the ATP rankings, the British No. 5 seed came back from 5-2 down to force a tie-breaker in the first set. Trailing 3-2 in the tie-breaker, Henman took five successive points including a lob on the line to earn three set-points and an ace to convert the first of them. But the eighth-seeded Frenchman came back with a break in the next game and both men started to play better as the rallies lengthened. Play was halted in the fourth game of the second set as the Pioline interrupted two straight rallies to complain about the ball. But he won the game and served out to tie up the match at 1-1 in sets. Both players started to dominate more on service as the final set went on. At 5-5 Henman offered Pioline a break point with a backhand error but then saved it after a bizarre exchange of drop-shots at the net. In the tie-breaker Pioline grabbed the first mini-break with a backhand pass but immediately handed it back with an error. At 4-4 the Englishman fatally hit a forehand a fraction too long, Pioline nailed his sixth ace and Henman put the next return into the net. SAO PAULO (AFP): Unseeded Hungarian Rita Kuti-Kis shrugged off the loss of the opening set to shock sixth-seeded Argentine Paola Suares 4-6, 6-4, 7-5 in the final of the Sao Paulo tour event here. The 22-year-old Kuti-Kis, who has shed 15 kilos in extensive training over the past few months to cut a bantamweight dash on court these days celebrated her first title win on Sunday following three years on the WTA circuit. “I have been running more and am putting more beef into my shots,” added Kuti-Kis, who took away a winner’s cheque for $ 22,000 and 110 ranking points. Kuti-Kis was labelled a
‘nobody’ who would never make the grade by
Australian teen Jelena Dokic whom she beat at the
Australian Open in January. |
Sunder Rajan’s death mourned CALCUTTA, Feb 21 (PTI) — The Sports Journalists Federation of India (SJFI) today condoled the death of veteran sports scribe and former Sports Editor of “The Times of India”, S. Sunder Rajan. In a condolence message here, SJFI President, Shyam Sundar Ghosh said ‘Sunder’, as he was popularly known, was not only a devoted and dedicated journalist but a perfect gentleman. “He was a great source of inspiration for the younger generation. His death was a big loss for the sports fraternity,” Ghosh said. The Calcutta Sports
Journalists Club (CSJC) secretary, Manik Banerjee also
condoled Sunder Rajan’s demise. |
Aussie hockey team to play in
Jalandhar CHANDIGARH, Feb 21 — The Indian Hockey Federation has allotted the second Test match between Australian junior XI and Indian junior XI to Surjit Hockey Society, Jalandhar. This match will be played at Surjit Hockey Stadium, Jalandhar, on February 23, 2000, at 2.30 p.m., according to Mr Jagjit Puri, organising secretary of the society. Capt Kanwaljit Singh, Finance Minister, Punjab, will give away the prizes.
|
Hockey trials a farce PATIALA, Feb 20 — Trials to select the Indian women’s hockey team slated to play in the Olympic pre-qualifying hockey tournament to be held at Milton Keynes (UK) from March 24 to April 2, which were held at the NIS here turned out to be a big farce today. Since today was the last day, the trials were reduced to a mockery, as in front of the IWHF selection committee, barring its president, Mrs Vidya Stokes, only a farcical match was played between the women probables and boys of the SDPA centre. After the so-called match referred to as “final selection trials” the selectors dispersed without announcing the team. Among those present were the honorary secretary of the IWHF, Mrs Amrit Bose, government observer Elvira Britto, team manager Rupa Saini, treasurer of the IWHF and a selector, Mr D.D. Singh, chief coach Mr G.S. Bhangu and vice-president of the IWHF, Ms Sudha Gupta. According to Mr Bhangu
there will be another round of selection trials from
March 6 to 8. The IWHF selection committee will again
meet to decide the composition of the teams, both for the
Milton Keynes tournament and the junior national squad
slated to play matches in Germany and England. |
Grants for sport bodies being
released CHANDIGARH, Feb 21 — With the National Games, round the corner, sports associations must step up their preparations for training their teams so that Punjab as hosts outshines the rest. According to Col Raminder Singh, Director Sports, Punjab, the Sports Department, Punjab Olympic Association and the sports associations must immediately start selecting, training and equipping the Punjab contingent. He informed that despite financial constraints, pending grants of the associations which had completed all the requisite formalities were being released and those who have not, are being asked to do so. The Sports Department is
trying its best to make a provision not only for
upgradation of existing infrastructure and equipment for
the National Games but also to make these available for
training of the Punjab contingent. A meeting in this
regard is being proposed shortly where are loose ends, if
any, will be tied so that the process of preparation gets
underway without any delay, Col Raminder Singh added. |
Kotla to get facelift NEW DELHI, Feb 21 (PTI) — The Ferozeshah Kotla ground looks set for a major facelift with the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) on Saturday announcing plans to double its seating capacity to around 60,000. Former India opener and DDCA Vice-President Chetan Chauhan said a time-bound project would be drawn up soon to build fresh stands. “The present capacity is 29,000. A bigger stadium is must and funds will be organised to take it to 50-60,000,” he told a press conference here. Chauhan and Board and
DDCA Vice-President C.K. Khanna said the cricket board
had already sanctioned Rs 1 crore for the purpose. The
BCCI, which had set apart Rs 4 crore for building and
upgrading stadia in Test venues, had disbursed Rs 3 crore
earlier. |
Gurpreet to lead handball team LUDHIANA, Feb 21 — International Gurpreet Purewal has been selected to lead the Punjab women's handball team in the 28th Senior Natioanal Handball Championship to be held at Calicut (Kerala) from February 24 to 28, according to Mr S.S. Channy, President, Punjab Handball Association. Other players of the team are —Pardeep Kaur, Ashima Bali and Simarjeet Kaur (Ludhiana), Harvinder Kaur, Harpreet Kaur, Anjana, Navdeep Kang, Indubala, Baljit Kaur, Karamjeet Kaur and Jyoti Sharma (Jalandhar), Harjinder Kaur and Mandeep Kaur (Hoshiarpur), Amarjeet Kaur and Sharanjeet Kaur (Amritsar). Harinder Sharma and
Gurcharan Singh will accompany the team as coaches. |
 |
| 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 | |
