 |
|
| Sunday, April 9, 2000, Chandigarh, India  
|
India crash to 2nd defeat Slender lead for Russian GM |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
USA and Czech Republic tied 1-1 Bevan (185 n.o.) fails to force
win Devinder steals the show
|
Vishal
saviour as India go 2-1 up NEW DELHI, April 8 — Fortune favours the brave, they say. And it did favour India, whose non-playing captain Ramesh Krishnan took the bold step of inducting Vishal Uppal at the last moment, replacing the earlier choice Syed Fazaluddin, to take on the South Korean pair of Yong-Il Yoon and Hyung-Taik Lee in the crucial doubles match of the second round Asia Oceania Davis Cup tie between the two countries at the R.K. Khanna Stadium here this afternoon. Krishnan who knew he had limited resources at hand found it appropriate to baptise Vishal Uppal by fire, by fielding him against the South Koreans. The gamble paid off as Vishal Uppal who is a commerce graduate from Delhi and is these days playing tennis whole time, rose to the occasion by matching his more illustrious companion, Leander Paes as Indians won 6-7(5-7), 6-4, 6-4, 7-6(7-4) Interestingly, throughout the match, the young Uppal was never tested seriously by either Yong or Lee. Without much ado, he held his serve. In fact, it was Leander who faced the prospect of his service being broken a number of times in the match. Though, experienced as Leander is, he hit his way out at every critical moment, yet Leander saw his service broken by Yong and Lee in the sixth game of the third set, though the loss of service did not affect much as India had already broken South Korea twice in that set. So, the bold move by the former India captain and now the non-playing captain Ramesh has placed India in the driver’s seat, by earning a crucial 2-1 lead in the tie. With Leander playing the first of the reverse singles on the third and final day for India, it should see the hosts chalking out a good win if everything goes according to a plan. Leander too will not like to leave it to Fazaluddin to decide the Indian fate in the Davis Cup. So Leander, in all probability, will press home the advantage to put India on victory podium. Contrary to expectations, Leander began India’s campaign in the doubles match on a shaky note by wilting under pressure. Though the South Korean pair earned a break point on his serve, and deuce being called thrice, yet Leander served his way out to deny any earlier advantage to South Korea. On the other side Yung-Taik Lee held his serve without difficulty. Vishal Uppal, whom one expected to crack under pressure, surprisingly played in a relaxed manner and held his serve without much difficulty. The score moved from 2-2 to 4-4. Though Leander was under pressure again in the ninth game and Yong in the 12th game, yet both managed to hang on and as the score moved to 6-6, tie-breaker rule was applied. Though the tie-break too saw the same titanic struggle with score moving from 2-2 to 5-5, yet towards the fag end, Uppal cracked under tremendous pressure as Yong and Lee turned the heat on him. At 5-6, Uppal hit wide to give South Korea a hard-fought 7-6 (7-5) victory. Since there was not much to choose between the two pairs, the defeat stung the Indians who now struck with full vengeance. They broke Lee in the opening game of the second set and led 3-1. Though Yong and Lee held their serves rest of the game, India clung on the advantage to win the second set 6-4 in 27 minutes and thus restored parity. Having blunted the South Korean guns, Leander and Uppal now decided to raise the tempo of attack further. This time they broke Yong in the first and fifth games of the third set and led 4-1. The two Indians had now scented victory. Though South Koreans were now playing with their back to the wall, yet they captialised on a bleak patch and broke Leander in the sixth game of the set, thus reducing the extent of damage. This was the only time that Leander was broken in the match. But the brief success did not benefit the visitors much as India wrapped up the third set 6-4 to go 2-1 up in the match. The fight entered a new phase in the fourth set as Yong and Lee for South Korea and Leander and Uppal for India held their services. From 3-3, the score moved to 5-5. When Yong held the serve in the 11th game at 40-30 and Leander in the 12th game at 40-15, the umpire ordered another tie-breaker to resolve the deadlock. With the crowd sitting on the edge of seats, India began well, thanks to Yong who served a double fault at 2-2 to give India the advantage (3-2). With Leander serving next, he earned both the points to increase the lead to 5-2. Though Lee and Yong did their best to repair the damage and stay in the match, yet at 6-4, when Uppal hit a down the line ace, the whole stadium roared in approval and with excitement as India achieved a 7-6 (7-4) victory in the fourth set, which put India 2-1 ahead of the visitors in the Davis Cup second round tie. Leander takes on South
Koreans top player, Hyung-Taik Lee, in the first reverse
singles on the final tomorrow. If the South Koreans fail
to stem the tide, they will be swept away by tornado
called Leander. |
Memorable
debut by Vishal NEW DELHI, April 8 — Cometh the hour, cometh the man. Delhi’s Vishal Uppal fully lived up to this saying when he made a memorable debut in the Davis Cup, to take India to victory in the company of seasoned Leander Paes in the crucial doubles rubber of the Asia-Oceania Group I second round tie against South Korea at the R.K. Khanna Stadium in Delhi on Saturday. The victory in the doubles enabled India to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five tie. It was a smart move on the part of Indian non-playing captain Ramesh Krishnan to field Vishal Uppal in the doubles match, considering the fact that the teams had split the singles matches on Friday.With Syed Fazaluddin showing shaky confidence, Ramesh had to take some shrewd steps to save the doubles. And the choice fell on the lanky Delhi boy, who played beyond expectation to deliver the goods. But it was not a decision Ramesh made at the spur of the moment. It was a very calculated decision. ‘‘Leander had brought up the subject of considering Vishal Uppal for the doubles a month ago.And two days back, we sounded him about the possibility of his playing in the doubles’’, Ramesh explained. And Uppal did not disappoint his captain. He put on a sterling performance to help Leander Paes clinch the doubles to put India 2-1 up, making the reverse singles matches tomrrow very crucial. Ramesh said the ‘‘Leander-Vishal personalities gelled perfectly, and with Leander playing on the right court, it was easy for him.Vishal, being a Delhi boy, also had the home advantage’’. Vishal, who did not expect his cup debut on home ground to turn out so superbly, said he was, however, confident of doing well. ‘‘I decided last night to leave everything on the court, just go out and do my best’’. And he did precisely that. The performance was all the more creditable ‘‘because it’s not easy to partner a strong personality like Leander,’’ Ramesh pointed out. Vishal Uppal, a trainee of Delhi coach Vinod Kumar, had been staying on the fringe of Davis Cup, waiting for his chance to materialise, for the past couple of years. And when the chance presented itself rather unexpectedly, he grabbed it with both hands. ‘‘Vishal took the load off me. He was the leader,’’ said Leander. ‘‘It was a more mental and physical battle out there. Vishal and Ramesh did well to keep me cool’’, Leander noted. Vishal, in turn, complimented Leander for keeping his cool, though the Indian ace flared up once at the umpire when the Koreans adopted some unsettling tactics at Vishal. Leander said he was happy that the match got over in four sets. ‘‘All through the match, we tried to conserve our energy.Now I feel excited to play tomorrow,’’ added Leander. Ramesh disclosed that he had no plans to make any changes in the reverse singles, though the new rule allows him to make changes on the last day. Vishal Uppal, born on March 4, 1974, has been a regular on the Satellite and Futures circuit, and has won the satellite titles in doubles. Uppal not only did well for India, but also ‘‘impressed a lot’’ the visitors. ‘‘We did not expect him to do so well. He served and returned very well’’, observed South Korean non-playing captain Wong-Hong Joo. He said ‘‘We will now concentrate on Leander tomorrow as we are very confident on the second reverse singles’’, added the Korean captain. Former Indian
non-playing captain Naresh Kumar too was all praise for
Uppal’s ‘‘sterling performance’’
but he also felt that the Koreans committed harakiri when
they fell back to play a defensive game from the
baseline. |
SA Government set to intervene JOHANNESBURG, April 8 (Reuters) — South Africa’s government is set to intervene on behalf of Hansie Cronje and the three other cricketers who have been charged with match-fixing by Indian police. “The South African government is to contact the Indian government to convey the country’s concerns about the match-fixing allegations levelled against four South African cricketers,’’ said a statement by the United Cricket Board of South Africa (UCBSA) today. “Aziz Pahad, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, has assured UCB Managing Director Ali Bacher the government would seek an explanation for reports that South African players’ telephones were tapped while they were on an official cricket tour in India. “The government is also to ask for an explanation regarding the process by which the allegations against the four players were made public. No Indian official has yet contacted the UCB, the players concerned or South African officials in India or in South Africa,’’ the statement added. In another development, a South African cricket journalist said the voice on a tape recording being touted as evidence in the match-fixing controversy was not that of Cronje. The Saturday Star reported that veteran cricket writer Trevor Chesterfield listened to the broadcast of the recording of an alleged conversation between Cronje and bookmaker Sanjiv Chawla while waiting to be interviewed by an Indian radio station yesterday. “My impression was that both voices were of Asian origin,’’ the paper quoted Chesterfield as saying. “The voice that was supposed to be Hansie’s did not have a South African accent. It was definitely not Hansie’s voice, and my conclusion was that the whole thing was a hoax.” South African cricket captain Hansie Cronje vehemently denied charges of match fixing made yesterday by Delhi Police saying they were ‘’without substance.’’ “I am stunned,’’ he said in a statement distributed by the United Cricket Board of South Africa (UCBSA). “The allegations are completely without substance. I have been privileged to play for South Africa since 1992 and I want to ensure every South African that I have made a 100 percent effort to win every match that I have played. “It has been an honour to play for South Africa and I would never do anything to let my country down”. Police in New Delhi filed charges yesterday against Cronje and teammates Herschelle Gibbs, Nicky Boje and Pieter Strydom of fixing matches in a one-day series last month which India won 3-2. The UCBSA Managing Director Ali Bacher said in the same statement that he had spoken to all four players. “All deny emphatically that there is any substance to those allegations,’’ he said. The UCBSA believes these players have not been involved in the practice of match fixing,” the statement said, describing Cronje as “a man of enormous integrity and honesty”. The UCBSA and the players concerned have had no contact from police in India and learnt about the allegations through media reports,” it added. South Africa’s cricket-loving public were outraged. One caller to a public SABC radio talks show said South Africa should break off ties with India. Others suggested the claims were a ploy to demoralise South Africa ahead of next week’s three-game one-day series against Australia. “Hansie and his guys don’t just play for money, they play for pride,” said a caller. “They carry this country with them. We carry them in our hearts.’’ Another said: “If he was throwing those games, he is in the wrong business. He should be in acting. You can read the pain on his face when he loses.” Gibbs’s father Herman Gibbs said his son knew nothing about any match-fixing. “Herschelle has been instructed by the UCB not to speak to the press, but he has told me he knows nothing about these allegations,” he said. “These sort of claims do not come as a surprise to me. It (betting) happens all the time on the subcontinent and cricketers, players and managers are often approached to throw games. “Betting is a big industry on the subcontinent and to me it appears that someone lost a lot of money and is now making up a fabricated story.” NEW DELHI (PTI): Rajesh Kalra, arrested in connection with the betting and match-fixing case, has alleged that last month’s one-day series between India and South Africa was fixed at about $ 500,000. Kalra, a South Delhi businessman, is quoted by “India Today” weekly as having told its reporter in his cell at a police station here that he believes “the series was fixed at $ 400,000 to $ 500,000.” Police have registered a case of cheating, fraud and criminal conspiracy against a London-based NRI Sanjeev Chawla and Kalra, alongwith the South African cricketers. Kalra, who was remanded to two days’ police custody by a city court, reiterated that he had “never met” Cronje. He had told the court also that he did not know the South African captain. Asked about the police
charge that he had provided a particular cellular phone
to Cronje, he said “may be it was given to him by
Chawla.” |
|
NEW DELHI, April 8 (PTI) — It will be difficult for the Delhi police to prove the authenticity of the alleged taped conversation between South African skipper Hansie Cronje and a bookie in the cricket match fixing case, legal experts say. “The exercise to verify the authenticity of the recorded voice is so cumbersome that it will not be an easy task for any investigating agency, especially when an accused is from a foreign country,” a senior CBI prosecutor who has handled many sensitive cases said on condition of anonymity. He said though the court may not reject the evidential value of a recorded talk outrightly, the voice of the accused has to be matched by an expert with the recorded one produced as evidence by the investigation agency. Noted criminal lawyer Ashok Arora said, “the recorded voice of an accused person can only be used as a corroborative evidence against him but not as an independent evidence. “It will depend to a great extent on foolproof establishment of the identity, time and place of the recording of the voice of the accused,” he added. Arora, who has handled the St Kitts forgery case against Chandraswami, Lakhubhai Pathak cheating case and cases pertaining to the Jain hawala scam, said the most important thing for prosecution would be to prove that the entire conversation between the two persons was an uninterrupted talk and not in bits and pieces as also to its link with the crime. “Once a chain in the talk is broken its admissibility will become doubtful as it will be then considered only a doctored version,” he said. Agreeing with Arora, the senior CBI prosecutor said “if investigating agency fails to establish the exact place and time of the conversation, establishing the identity of the persons will be meaningless.” Standing counsel of the city police in the Delhi High Court, K.C. Mittal said registration of FIR was only a basic legal requirement to initiate investigation. “The case can be made tight after all loose ends are tied together and that is why the police is approaching Interpol for help,” he said, adding “it is pre-mature at this stage to arrive at a conclusion because the case has to be thoroughly probed.” The CBI prosecutor said that once the chargesheet is filed in the case after a detailed investigation, the court could summon the accused and take recording of their voices. These recorded voices could then be given to experts to match that with the tapes on the basis of which the police had initiated probe into the case and registered an FIR, he said. The police yesterday registered a case of match-fixing and betting against Cronje, Herscelle Gibbs, Nicky Boje, Peter Strydom and Henry Williams during the recent one-day series against India and arrested an Indian businessman. The police also released
excerpts of alleged conversations between Cronje and a
London-based NRI Sanjeev alias Sanjay Chawla in which
various figures for payment have been discussed. |
Ex-captain, manager involved: Prabhakar NEW DELHI, April 8 (UNI) — The match-fixing controversy in India got murkier with former all-rounder Manoj Prabhakar alleging today that a former captain and a manager were involved in throwing matches. During a discussion on a website (www.wahindia.com) the transcript of which was made available to UNI here, Prabhakar said no match could be fixed without the involvement of team management, particularly the captain who can change the course of the game. Prabhakar had in 1997 come up with the sensational allegation that a teammate had offered him Rs 25 lakh to perform poorly in a one-day international in the Singer Cup in Colombo in 1994. However, he had not divulged any names. When asked about the sequence of events, the former cricketer said he went to the team management. “Team management is what? the manager, the captain and the vice-captain.’’ To a pointed question by one of the panelists “you mean when Mohammad Azharuddin was the captain and Ajit Wadekar the manager’’, the former all rounder said “Yeah. I am quoting those (who were involved).’’ At the beginning of the discussion on the website, Prabhakar said, “Cricket is a money game now. Money is every thing... cricket takes the back seat.’’ Asked what the then team management told him when he approached them, he said: “The manager said it’s okay. You are too good a player.’’ And about the then captain, he said: “Captain you know what I said. Without the captain you can’t do any thing.’’ Prabhakar charged the team management with demoting him to number six in the batting order during the 1996 World Cup as he “knew every thing.’’ “If you remember I was the Man-of-the-Series against New Zealand prior to the World Cup. I was batting at number one. I was told to go at number six. So I asked the manager what’s going on. He said this was not his decision but the management’s decision. I said management is what? It means it’s your decision. It means you want to spoil the whole combination of the team,’’ he said. Prabhakar called for a CBI inquiry into match fixing in the Indian cricket which had affected the credibility of the game in the sub-continent. What he thought was the reason behind his demotion in the batting order? Prabhakar replied, “they (team management) knew that I know each and every thing about the things going on.’’ On a question about what kind of evidence he can provide to the investigating agency, he said he had concrete evidence regarding the details of the players who were involved in match-fixing. About the one-man committee set up by the Board of Control for Cricket in India under the chairmanship of former Chief Justice of India Justice Y.V. Chandrachud in the wake of his allegations, Prabhakar said: “It was all fake. Planned. To let a person down.’’ He claimed that Justice Chandrachud never asked him the main question. “I was with my lawyer. And both of us were looking at each other. I asked my lawyer if he was thinking on the same lines. He (Justice Chandrachud) didn’t ask the names.’’ Regarding reports of a former India captain depositing Rs 16 crore under the VDIS scheme, Prabhakar said: “I am sure the source of the money is match fixing... even Sachin (Tendulkar) can’t afford to make Rs 16 crore in two-three years. Though he (Sachin) with his talent is the only player who can make so much money through the contracts.’’ He said the captain can influence the result by playing around with his bowlers and changing the batting order. Even the history proved that match-fixing had allegedly taken place only with the involvement of the captain. Wasim Akram and Salim Malik (who were among the Pakistani players charged with match-fixing) were captains, Prabhakar said. New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming was reportedly approached by an Indian sports promoter to throw away a match. Lamenting on state of
Indian cricket, he said: “Cricket in India is in the
wrong hands. It should be run by cricketers, but
businessmen are running the game. If businessmen will run
the show, they will only do business.’’ |
Lele’s clean chit to SA players NEW DELHI, April 8 (PTI) — Indian cricket board Secretary Jaywant Lele today termed as “rubbish” charges of match-fixing filed by Delhi Police against five South African cricketers including skipper Hansie Cronje and gave a clean chit to all of them. “As far as we are concerned there is nothing. As far as we are concerned everything is okay, there is nothing wrong,” Lele told a private television channel on telephone from Baroda tonight. “This is not fair, the players they have mentioned, (Pieter) Strydom and (Henry) Williams, you know (they played) one match each, they played in the last match at Nagpur and the series was not at stake at all. “Where is the question (of fixing the match)? This is all rubbish,” Lele told Star News. “Hansie Cronje has made runs in every match,” he added. Lele doubted the police
would be able to prove the charges in the court. |
Ghost of
Prabhakar's charge returns CHANDIGARH, April 8 — The ghost of the charge that Manoj Prabhakar had levied on the authorities regarding match fixing, has risen again. To the surprise of all, South Africans, who were here past month for the Pepsi series, have been blamed for demanding huge money through Indian bookies. It has come as a rude shock to various prominent cricketers in the city. Indian cricketers have been spared from the charge at present, but, local fans and former cricketers have said that it is a big blow to the game and more disclosures are expected in a couple of days. Desh Prem Azad, Dronacharya Award winner and coach of Kapil Dev, said he was sad at the episode. He said, ''The International Cricket Council should have acted earlier when Prabhakar highlighted the issue. However, even now, if the ICC is really serious, it should investigate and punish the guilty." He also said it was a shame for the entire cricket fraternity. Another surprising part was the involvement of Indians who were a part of an international betting racket. "These bookies should have been exposed long ago. The ICC should not act in a weak manner like it did in the case of Salim Malik," said Mr Azad. Flying Sikh Milkha Singh said the incident had spoiled the image of the sport worldwide. He said as cricket was the most popular sport in the country, the charge if it was proved, could shake the confidence of the mojority in the game. He also sought an inquiry in the matter because otherwise, it might lead to further maligning of the image of the game. Surinder Singh 'Baijee', Secretary of the Chandigarh Cricket Association affiliated to the Haryana Cricket Association, favoured a strong punishment for the guilty in order to set an example for future generations. Surinder seemed quite perturbed over the yesterday's sensational disclosure. He said those who bet should be penalised and the laws should be made stringent so that culprits should not go scot free. Regarding the chances of any Indian cricketer being involved in match fixing, he said one could never be sure, but, some "fishy" activity was there. He said Mohammad Azharuddin had once got out by deliberately playing a ball wide outside the off stump which even a young cricketer would avoid. 'Baijee', who coaches cricketers at the Sector 19 centre, said if these men were poved guilty, all their prize money should be confiscated. Mohinder Singh, Secretary of the Chandigarh Cricket Association affiliated to the Punjab Cricket Association, said truth should come out and a CBI inquiry into the affair could help in it. Mohinder Singh said the incident had made cricket look like the WWF tamasha bouts. "In future, cricket will also be viewed as a fraud and had already become a source to make money, regardless of a player's duty towards the country," he said. Arpinder Bedi, a keen cricket player and fan who never misses any match, said, ''Present-day test cricketers play for money only. Manoj Prabhakar had made initial revelations, but, it was dismissed as mere gossip. Had the administrators of the game taken it seriously, things would have been different. It will set a bad example for youngsters who will enventually lose interest in the game." Vikram Talwar, a former
cricketer, said the sport as a whole had suffered a
severe blow with the present disclosure. "Cricketers
enjoy the superstar status and sponsors prefer to sign
them instead of other sportsmen. Cricketer fans in India
deserve to know the truth so that the most popular game
does not become the most hatred one," said Talwar. |
USA and Czech Republic tied 1-1 INGLEWOOD (California), April 8 (Reuters) — The USA and the Czech Republic were tied 1-1 after an opening day of their Davis Cup quarter-final tie which showed that Andre Agassi thrives on the team concept but Pete Sampras has yet to get comfortable with the competition. A clearly bewildered Sampras opened yesterday’s action by getting pummeled by Jiri Novak 7-6 (7-1) 6-3 6-2, putting the United States in a 1-0 deficit. Agassi imposed an ironclad 6-3 6-3 6-3 victory over Slava Dosedel in the second match to pull the Americans even. In the doubles match, Alex O’Brien and Jared Palmer were to face Novak and David Rikl. Novak raised his overall record in Davis Cup to 10-1 and secured the best win of his career. “On this surface, which is very favourite for Pete, it’s amazing for me to beat him,” Novak said. “we made the first point. I think this is a big surprise for us and especially for the US team because they thought after Saturday the match would be over.” Sampras, who has played Davis Cup only occasionally, now has a 17-8 overall Davis Cup record with a 13-7 win-loss in singles matches. Agassi improved his Davis Cup record to 29-5. Current US Davis Cup captain John McEnroe is the only American with a better Davis Cup record, 41-8, in singles matches. “I knew I had to remain solid and establish a good work ethic out there,” Agassi said. “Davis Cup is certainly a high energy environment, brings out the best in you and you can’t afford to be the slightest bit off.” Sampras hoped to have a successful showing here, especially with friends and family members throughout the hometown audience, but he does not thrive on Davis Cup competition. “I’m not happy with the way I played,” Sampras said. “I came in here very confident, had a great week last week in Miami. Some days you don’t have it and I didn’t have it. But those are the days you have to come through. I have come through them over the years, but today I didn’t.” As for McEnroe, he was admittedly stunned to see Sampras taken advantage of in the match. “It was a shocking, shocking situation”, McEnroe said. “It wasn’t expected — perhaps I should have expected Novak to play that well. I didn’t foresee that”. Sampras struggled with his serve, posted far too many unforced errors, and was obviously confused when his attempts to change strategy kept failing. He would try to come in and Novak would pass him with exquisite passing shots. He would attempt to rally from the baseline and find himself hitting balls into the net or beyond the baseline. In contrast, Agassi
arrived eager to take charge and never opened the door to
Dosedel. Agassi never allowed Dosedel a break point
opportunity and converted on four of five break point
chances in a one hour, 30 minutes match. The loss left
Dosedel with an unimpressive 3-7 overall record in Davis
Cup. |
Bevan (185 n.o.) fails to force win DHAKA, April 8 (DPA) — India’s star opening batsman Sachin Tendulkar put up a brilliant 80 runs to set the stage for a one-run victory for the Asia xi against the Rest of the World XI today. Tendulkar was backed up by fellow countryman Saurav Ganguly who scored another 67 in the day-night international friendly at the Bangabandhu National Stadium here. The final result of the exhibition match organised by the ICC was Asia xi 320 for 9 in limited 50 overs and World xi 319 for 9. The close defeat of the World xi could not, however, overshadow a sparkling innings by Australian all-rounder Michael Bevan who alone had kept hopes high for his side of returning to the match after early setbacks. Bevan’s unbeaten 185 runs came from 19 fours and five sixes off 132 balls as the packed stadium of an estimated 40,000 spectators lustily cheered the ace striker who mercilessly blunted the Asian pace and spin attack. The ICC sponsored the
match known officially as the cricketnext.com cup as part
of a week-long campaign to popularise cricket worldwide. |
|
SYDNEY, April 8 (PTI) — India paid for their shoddy finish after suffering early reverses as they lost their second straight game by a 0-2 margin against formidable Germany in the four-nation Pre-Olympic Men’s Hockey Tournament today. India, aiming to bounce back after suffering a 2-3 loss against hosts Australia on Thursday, were left groping after penalty corner experts Bjorn Emmerling and Bjorn Michael struck in the 13th and 18th minutes to give Germany their second successive victory after the 5-1 triumph over South Africa, reports Australian Associated Press (AAP). South Africa recovered from their 1-5 rout against Germany to hold Australia 1-all, veteran forward Jay Stacy’s fourth minute goal neutralised by Greg Nicol’s 40th minute equaliser. India found the opposing defence a hard nut to crack and failed to apply any sustained pressure. The Germans, who were surprisingly off-form in the recent Azlan Shah Cup Tournament, struck within five minutes in the middle of the first half and were happy to play their heavily defensive game thereafter. The Indians, who had lost 1-2 to Germany in Kuala Lumpur before ending up ahead of their rivals at third place, could hardly respond in the second half in the uninspiring clash. India created a couple of good chances in the second half but poor finishing and two good saves by German keeper Christopher Reitz sealed the result. Forwards Deepak Thakur and Gagan Ajit Singh proved the culprits as they squandered two excellent chances. Early in the second half, Deepak missed a simple tap-in right in front that would have helped India bridge the leeway and soon after Gagan Ajit saw a hard reverse stick saved by Reitz. India showed none of the verve seen against Australia when they fought back well. They were totally subdued and failed to gain any control over the midfield and also came up against fullback Michael Green, who was outstanding with more than a dozen perfect tackles. India will take on South Africa while Germany and Australia will clash in the final league games tomorrow. Australia surprisingly played much below their best as South Africa hustled their opponents to emerge with honours even. The African champions, whose participation in the September Sydney Olympics still is in doubt as their Olympic Association has not cleared their participation on grounds that the team was not good enough to finish among the top eight, hustled the hosts to telling effect. Veteran Jay Stacy hoisted the lead for Australia in the fourth minute when his cross intended for right winger Matthew Smith was deflected into the South African goal. But Australia’s
dominance lasted only 10 minutes and the South Africans
pulled off the equaliser five minutes into the second
half when a diagonal hit by Steve Evans found Greg Nicol
on the far post for the tap in. |
|
GUNTUR (Andhra Pradesh), April 8 (UNI) — Russian grandmaster Shariyazdanov with 4.5 points led the field by half-point margin over his nearest rivals GM D. Barua and Alexander Fominyh at the end of the sixth round of the Chalapathi International Grand Masters Chess Tournament here today. The top two seeds from Russia, GM Shariyazdanov and GM Ibragimov, decided to take a day off by agreeing to a quick seven-move draw. IM V. Saravanan put an end to string of defeats with an creditable victory over IM Ziaur Rehman of Bangladesh in 42 moves. Rehman once again played the taimanov variation of sicilan defence in reply to Saravanan’s king pawn opening. Saravanan methodically improved upon opening edge and with great care avoided Rehman’s trap to emerge with significant advantage with series of exchanges. Saravanan obtained control over light squares and pressurised Rehman into making mistakes in the final movements of first time control. Saravanan won a central pawn and soon the game when Rehman blundered to allow back rank mate in an already hopeless position. IM G.B. Prakash played French defence tarrash variation against GM Yurtaev Leonid king’s pawn opening. GB Prakash equalised early in the opening itself and had no problem whatsoever in the middle game. Prakash even managed to win a pawn on 42nd move. In a position with pawns on the same side and a queen and rook for both the players the game seemed to be heading for a draw. However, the Indian IM made a serious mistake on 44th move.... kg7, which made the difference between drawing and losing the game. Yurteav won the game on 54th move. The following are the results of sixth round. Yurteav Leonid (3) beat
G.B. Prakash (2), V. Saravanan (3) beat Ziaur Rehman
(1.5), Alexander Fominyh (4) drew K. Sasikiran (3.5),
Ildar Ibragimov (3.5) drew Andrew Shariyazdanov (4.5),
D.V. Prasad (2.5) drew Sandipan Shanda (3.5), D. Barua
(4) drew Pravin Thipsay (2), Abhijit Kunte (2.5) drew K.
Humpy (1.5). |
Devinder
steals the show BATHINDA, April 8 — Devinder Singh of West Zone today won the 5000 metres race by covering the distance in 16.40 minutes, Ramesh Chander of North Zone stood second with the timings of 17.46 minutes, while Parkash Singh of Border Zone came on third position by covering the distance in 19.15 minutes in the second day of 35th Punjab State Electricity Board annual sports meet here today. Devinder Singh of West Zone also won the 1500 metres race with the timings of 4.23.42 minutes, Pritam Singh of Border Zone emerged second with the timings of 4.36.15, While Ramesh Chander of North Zone stood third by covering the distance in 4.38.25 minutes. Kushwinder Singh of head office emerged winner in 400 metres race clocking 55.46 seconds. With a distance in 55.65 seconds. Vikram Singh of Border Zone came second and Jugraj Singh of South Zone stood third by covering the distance in 57.34 seconds. Madhuri, A Singh of head office, who won 100 metres race yesterday, stole the show in 200 metres race today by covering the distance in 29.94 seconds. Charanjit Kaur of West Zone and Monika of South Zone came second and third with the timings of 32.12 seconds and 33.00 seconds, respectively. Harjit Kaur of North Zone triumphed in the long jump while the second and third positions went to Sumitra of Head Office and Monika of South Zone, respectively. Satnam Kaur of North
Zone won first position in Discus throw while second and
third positions went to Gobind Kaur of West Zone and Ms
Karamjit Kaur of head office, respectively. |
 |
| 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 | |
