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| Sunday, May 7, 2000, Chandigarh, India  
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Sydney
Olympics
India storm into semis |
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Injury mars Sampras’ chances Irina
Brar shines
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Sydney Olympics India open campaign against S. Africa KUALA LUMPUR, May 6 (PTI) — Asian Games champions India will open their Sydney Olympics hockey campaign against South Africa on September 17, the second day of the competition, according to the draw released by the International Hockey Federation (FIH). Reigning champions Holland take on former winners Great Britain in the tournament opener on September 16. India meet hosts Australia on September 19, Asia Cup champions South Korea on September 21, Atlanta Olympics silver medallists Spain a day later before rounding off their league engagements against Poland on September 26. Pool a comprises Canada, Great Britain, Germany, Poland, Netherlands and Pakistan while strong contenders Australia, Spain, India, Korea, Poland and South Africa form pool B. Two teams from each pool will qualify for the semifinals which will be played on September 28, with the final scheduled for September 30. Though South Africa have been included in the draw, it is still not clear whether they will enter the hockey competition or not. South Africa qualified directly as African champions but their National Olympic Committee decided against fielding the team, saying it may not finish in top eight. If South Africa decides not to send their team, Argentina, the first stand-by, will take their place in the tournament. Argentina finished seventh in the Olympic qualifying tournament in Osaka. The top six finishers at Osaka qualified directly for the Olympics. The following is the full draw: September 16 — Netherlands vs Great Britain, Spain vs Korea, Canada vs Pakistan, Malaysia vs Germany September 17 — Australia vs Poland, South Africa vs India September 18 — Netherlands vs Malaysia, Great Britain vs Pakistan, Germany vs Canada. September 19 — Spain vs Poland, South Africa vs Korea, Australia vs India September 20 — Netherlands vs Canada, Malaysia vs Great Britain September 21 — Korea vs India, South Africa vs Poland, Spain vs Australia, Germany vs Pakistan September 22 — rest day. September 23 — Malaysia vs Pakistan, Spain vs India, Australia vs South Africa, Netherlands vs Germany. September 24 — Great Britain vs Canada, Poland vs Korea. September 25 — South Africa vs Spain. September 26 — Malaysia vs Canada, Australia vs Korea, Netherlands vs Pakistan, Germany vs Great Britain, Poland vs India. September 27 — 9-12 match 5th pool A vs 6th pool B. September 28 — 5-8 match 4th pool A vs 3rd pool B, 5-8 match 3rd pool A vs 4th pool B, 1st semifinal 1st pool A vs 2nd pool B, 9-12th match 6th pool A vs 5th pool B, 2nd semifinal 2nd pool A vs 1st pool B. September 29 — final classification matches (5-6, 7-8). September 30 —
final classification matches (11-12, 9-10, 3-4), final. |
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GEORGETOWN, May 6 (AFP) — Inzamam-ul-Haq fashioned as vital a hundred as his previous nine to bring Pakistan back into the opening Test of three against West Indies at Bourda Oval. Once more carrying the batting on his broad, meaty shoulders, Inzamam yesterday gathered an unbeaten 117 and shared a sixth-wicket record with Abdur Razzaq, not out on 80, to revive his side’s sagging fortunes when bad light stopped play with Pakistan on 221 for five and three overs left to be bowled. Sent in to bat, Pakistan had crumbled to 39 for five in the first hour-and-a-half as the West Indies fast bowlers, led by Curtly Ambrose with three wickets, gave proof that their side’s decision might have been justified. For more than four hours, Inzamam and Razzak stood up to the West Indies and dramatically transformed the direction of the opening day with an unbroken stand of 182. Studious in defence, but ruthless in his attacking strokeplay, Inzamam showed his liking for the West Indies’ bowling by batting for close to six hours and striking 17 boundaries for his third Test hundred against them. For someone in only his fourth Test and entering at the time he did, Abdur batted with much aplomb to win the Oscar for playing the best supporting role in an innings that has spanned close to five hours in which time he has smote 11 fours. The two had been paired after Ambrose and company torpedoed the top-order of the Pakistan batting. In the penultimate over before the interval, Inzamam, on 32, was fortunate second slip Sherwin Campbell got only his finger-tips to the ball after he top-edged a cut at Reon King. His wicket would have been the icing on the cake for West Indies in a sensational morning period that saw Ambrose rip the heart out of Pakistan’s batting. It was Courtney Walsh, however, who made the breakthrough after opening batsmen Mohammed Wasim and Wajahatulluah Wasti appeared to be batting solidly. Walsh, playing his first international match since becoming the world’s leading Test wicket-taker in the second Test against Zimbabwe in Kingston just over a month ago, bowled Wajahatullah for eight with the last ball of third over. Ambrose struck with the fifth ball of the next over when Mohammed Wasim was also bowled for four, and then proceeded to capture the wickets of Younis Khan and Yousuf Youhana off successive balls in his sixth over. Younis was adjudged lbw for two when he played across a well-pitched delivery and Yousuf, on the backfoot to his first ball, was brilliantly caught down the leg-side by wicketkeeper Ridley Jacobs for nought, in side-edging a forcing stroke. The excitement died down a bit as Inzamam and captain Moin Khan batted for close to half-hour together, but the Pakistan captain was caught at gully with King’s first ball in a Test before his home crowd. Scoreboard Pakistan (1st innings): Mohammed Wasim b Ambrose 4 Wajahatullah Wasti b Walsh 8 Younis Khan lbw b Ambrose 2 Inzamam not out 117 Youhana c Jacobs b Ambrose 0 Moin Khan c Adams b King 6 Razzaq not out 80 Extras (lb1, nb3) 4 Total (5 wkts, 362 mins, 86 overs) 221 Fall of wickets: 1-12, 2-12, 3-21, 4-21, 5-39. Bowling: Ambrose
18-6-37-3; Walsh 16-4-28-1 (nb2); McLean 15-1-67-0; King
19-6-41-1; Gayle 9-4-16-0; Adams 9-0-31-0 (nb1). |
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KUALA LUMPUR, May 6 (PTI) — India continued to dominate their group, whipping Japan 9-2 to register their third victory and stormed into the semifinals at the Junior Asia Cup Mens’ Hockey Tournament here today. India, who defeated minnows Bangladesh and China 5-1 and 8-1 respectively in their previous two league matches, were the first team in the tournament to enter the semifinals with nine points from three victories in as many matches. They now have two easy games against lowly Iran and Uzbekistan to claim the top place in pool B. Star forward Gagan Ajit Singh scored three goals, Arjun Halappa and Len Aiyappa struck a brace each while Deepak Thakur and Bikramjeet Singh contributed one goal each as the Indians established their clear superiority in the match at the Bukit Jalil Staadium here. Nakabeppu Konte and Nakayama Gakumaru reduced the margin for Japan. Earlier, Pakistan skipper Kasif Javaid slammed home six goals including a hat-trick as the defending champions took a step closer to a last four berth when they thrashed Chinese Taipei 12-0 in a pool A match. Javaid, who opened the scoring in the 5th minute, added his second in the 40th minute and then scored thrice in a row between the 42nd and 60th minute to complete a hat-trick before rounding off his tally with a last second goal. Muddasar Ali Khan and Atif Mushtaq struck twice each while Shahid Rabban and Sameer Hussain contributed one goal each as Pakistan scored their second big victory after beating Singapore 13-0 in their first match. Pakistan, who defeated India in the final of the previous edition, established their superiority from the start, though their rivals surprisingly managed to keep the Pakistani forwards more or less silent till the break, allowing only four goals at the Bukit Jalil Stadium here. But the reigning Asian champions came out firing after the interval and slammed home eight more goals to complete the tally. In the another match, Bangladesh whipped iran 14-0. Indian women scored 16
field goals as they overwhelmed minnows Thailand 17-0 in
their opening match of the Junior Asia Cup at the KL
Hockey Stadium here today. |
Kapil Dev prefers death to bribe NEW DELHI, May 6 (PTI) — A sobbing Kapil Dev has said a life time of his service had been finished by one stroke of irresponsible allegation of match-fixing by third parties. Breaking down inconsolably during Karan Thapar’s interview ‘Hardtalk India’ to be telecast by BBC World next Wednesday, the former Indian captain said “I will commit suicide rather than take a bribe. Who wants money. Take all my money. I come from a family where pride is more important than anything else”. Asked about former cricket board chief Inderjit Bindra’s claim on TV two days ago that allrounder Manoj Prabhakar had told him that Kapil Dev had offered him Rs 25 lakh for under performing in a one-day international in Sri Lanka, the current Indian coach said that these were all “third party allegations”. “I am sick of third party allegations,” he said adding “please for God’s sake become the first party and say what happened. I feel ashamed that I played cricket”. He would never have played cricket had he known matters would come to such a pass. He said these “wild allegations” had spoiled his life and all the credibility he had achieved in over two decades of service to the game had gone down the drain. Stating that his family had undergone trauma all these days, the ace cricketer said if this was the world to live in, he would rather take ‘sanyas’. Asked about Mr Bindra’s statement that Prabhakar had met him on April 22 in the presence of Punjab Cricket Association secretary M P Pandove and told him that Kapil Dev had made the offer to under perform in Colombo in 1994, and that he had confided in the then team coach Ajit Wadekar and his room-mate Navjot Sidhu, Kapil Dev said “what were they doing all these six years? Why did they not go to the police”. About the Outlook newsmagazine story that the Mumbai police had certain evidence regarding his involvement and that a lawyer was prepared to reveal all that he had overheard at a police station, the former India captain asked was Mumbai police “so incompetent” that it would keep quiet this long? This was again based on third party allegation and there was nothing much one could do on such things. “These people want publicity on my account,” he said. “You find out about bigger things like Bofors, can’t you find out anything about this?” he asked. “Is the country more important to you or the cover up?” Blaming the media for not doing its job of double-checking, Kapil Dev said he was alleged to have been paid Rs 1 crore by a bookie and Rs 25 lakh through a cheque in 1994-95 but his entire income, including match fees from the board and modelling, was only Rs 23 lakhs during the period. “I have never done any wrong. Never taken any money from any bookie. Please go to my accountant and see my accounts,” a hurt Kapil Dev said adding that the entire episode had “burnt my house. What is left after that?” Asked about media reports that Prabhakar, who along with Kirti Azad, met Home Minister L K Advani on May 5 and allegedly named Kapil Dev for match fixing, he said “Manoj is not coming out. Only stories are coming out. I am clear in my mind. If he had said, he should come out. It is going to harm the game”. Asked whether he would
step down from his current assignment as the coach of the
Indian team which is to participate in the four-nation
Asia Cup Tournament at Dhaka this month end, he said
“I will still go with the team. I promised my
captain, I promised my boys. I will talk to them before I
take a decision. |
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HAMBURG, May 6 (DPA) — Martina Hingis of Switzerland today regained the world number 1 position in women’s tennis from American Lindsay Davenport with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Anke Huber in the semifinals of the $ 535,000 Hamburg Cup. The top seed Hingis (19) won on the sun-flooded centre court in exactly one hour in front of 7,000 fans. In Sunday’s decider she meets either three-times champion Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario of Spain or South Africa’s Amanda Coetzer. The WTA Tour said regardless if she won or lost the final Hingis will move back on the top of the rankings ahead of Davenport in the next rankings issued Monday. Davenport had dethroned Hingis on April 3. Now Hingis is back on the throne for her 137th total week as world number 1 after a victory over 7 seed Huber which was easier as expected. Hingis squandered a 3-1 lead in the opening set as Huber rallied to 3-3, but the Swiss kept her composure and took the next three games to win the set. The players traded breaks early in the second, but Hingis prevailed with further breaks in the third and seventh games. “I took her very
seriously and was confident because I had won my last
tournament. It is great to be number 1 again,” said
Hingis, who also received a giant cake shaped as the
number 1 on the centre court from tournament director
Guenter Sanders. |
Boxers’ treatment: IABF officials ‘did not intervene’ NEW DELHI, May 6 (PTI) —Indian Amateur Boxing Federation yesterday said its officials had at no point intervened with the medical treatment of star boxers Ng Dingko Singh and Jitender Kumar and denied that the plaster casts in their hands were removed prematurely to facilitate their trip to Cuba last year. Reacting to a report that both Asian Games bantamweight champion Dingko Singh and Commonwealth Games middleweight silver medallist Jitender Kumar were grappling with hand injuries because the casts were taken off before the fractures had healed, the IABF said the report was “not entirely correct”. IABF vice-president Ashok Gongopadhyay told PTI that both Dingko Singh and Jitender Kumar went to Cuba after being medically cleared by team doctor Ashok Ahuja and that he was solely responsible for supervising their recovery. He said the casts were removed only after the stipulated periods and Dingko Singh was taken to Cuba “in anticipation that he will be fit to train” during the training and competition stint in the Caribbean country. Gongopadhyay said Jitender Kumar recovered full fitness and also won a bronze at the Eduardo Garcia competition in Cuba. Asked whether the federation officials were certain the casts were not removed ahead of schedule, he said: “It is the doctor (Ahuja) who cleared the boxers”. Asked whether the doctor had submitted a report on the medical status of Dingko Singh and Jitender Kumar following the Cuban trip, Gongopadhyay replied: “Ahuja had not given any explanation”. An IABF release on the issue said Jitender Kumar has in fact recovered from his hand injury and after being examined by top Delhi orthopaedic surgeon Ashok Rajagopal, was “now undergoing light training” at the camp in NIS, Patiala. The release said both boxers will proceed to Cuba for a training stint scheduled for July only if they were found totally fit. Gongopadhyay said the injury suffered by Dingko at the Imphal National Games in February last year had nothing to do with the one he suffered at the April Olympic qualifying event in Bangkok. Indian boxers aiming to make an impact at the Sydney Olympic Games will be among those travelling to Algeria and Cuba for finetuning ahead of the September Games in Australia. Thirteen of the 20 pugilists currently undergoing a camp at NIS, Patiala, will travel to Algeria for a two-week stint from June 10. Eight boxers from the Northern African nation have qualified for Sydney and the exposure is expected to be of great help to the four Indians who have made the grade. Lightfly Suresh Singh, Bangkok Asian Games gold medalist and bantamweight star Ng Dingko Singh, Commonwealth Games silver medalist Jitender Kumar (middleweight) and lightheavy Gurcharan Singh, who won bronze at the 1998 Asiad in Thailand, will also travel to Cuba for a brief training stint from July 10, according to IABA officials. The camp under Cuban expert Blas Iglesias Fernandes and chief coach Gurbux Singh Sandhu also includes prospective pugilists for the inaugural Afro-Asian Games to come off in Delhi in November next year. A request from Mauritius, which has four qualifiers for the Olympic competition to be held from September 16 to October 1, to train in India was being considered ahead of the trip to Cuba, a world powerhouse in the sport. The Indian boxers will also undergo a warm-up programmer in Sydney ahead of competition as they set out to better their previous best Olympic performance of reaching the pre-quarters. Suresh Singh, Jitender Kumar and Gurcharan Singh qualified for the Olympics from the second Asian Zone event held at Taejeon City, South Korea, in January while Dingko Singh, grappling with a hand injury like Jitender Kumar, made the grade by reaching the final at the final continental qualifying event at Bangkok last month. A junior camp in Delhi, comprising 70 boxers began here on May 1 and 12 will go for a training-cum-competition trip to Cuba from June 3 to 15. Sub-Junior summer camps for five weeks starting at Bangalore, Guwahati, the high-altitude Sholaroo in Himachal Pradesh and Calcutta will be the basis for picking 11 boxers to Yakutsk, Republic of Sakha in Russia, for the Children of Asia International Sports and games competition to come off from August 3 to 13, they added. Promising pugilists
under 17 years of age from Australia, China, Japan, South
and North Koreas, New Zealand, Malaysia, Mongolia,
Singapore, Thailand, Turkey and Vietnam will take part in
the event. |
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LONDON, May 5 (Reuters) — Pete Sampras’s chances of winning the only Grand Slam to elude him — the French Open — have been hit by a thigh injury and he will not play again until the Hamburg clay court tournament two weeks before Roland Garros. Sampras, bidding to break the record of 12 Grand Slam titles he shares with Roy Emerson, hurt his quad muscle in the U.S. Davis Cup defeat of the Chech Republic in early April when he lost his first singles but won the deciding final rubber. In a telephone news conference Sampras yesterday said he had been out of action for three weeks following that injury. The former number one said he would definitely play at the French Open, starting on May 25, but would miss the Italian Open next week. “My quad is still giving me some problems. So my first event back will probably be at the German Open in Hamburg and I will play Dusseldorf all the way through Wimbledon,” Sampras said. “I am on the court hitting, but I am not doing a lot of explosive movement and there’s still a little bit of tenderness. Obviously I am trying to stay in shape somehow, but I am not able to really play any sets.” Sampras has never got past the semifinals at Roland Garros and was knocked out in the second round in 1998 and 1999. “Hopefully I can just play well. The last couple of years I haven’t played too well at the French for a number of reasons, but this year I am going to get over to the clay in a couple of weeks time and hopefully get into a good groove over there.” Sampras’s late 1999 early 2000 schedule was disrupted by injuries and the lay-ups are beginning to get to him. “These injuries are
very frustrating because I am putting in the time. My
body — I have got high twitch fibres that if they
are not completely ready and warmed up I am going to have
little pulls and that is kind of what has been
happening.” |
Dalmiya may move court against Amul CALCUTTA, May 6 (PTI) — International Cricket Council (ICC) President Jagmohan Dalmiya is contemplating legal action against Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation Limited (the owners of Amul brand) for putting up allegedly defamatory hoardings against the ICC chief. Dalmiya’s solicitor UN Banerjee yesterday said they were contemplating moving court as the company had not tendered an apology despite having been served with a legal notice. Banerjee had served a legal notice on behalf of Dalmiya to Amul Chairman V. Kurien last Friday, asking him to tender an apology to the ICC President within 48 hours failing which a ‘civil and criminal defamation’ would be filed against the company. “The 48-hour deadline is over. Since they have not yet apologised, we are contemplating moving court,” Banerjee said. Dalmiya had reserved the right to claim damages worth Rs 5 crore from the company. Banerjee said Amul had put up hoardings which said: “Dalmiya mein kuch kala hei, maska khao, paise nahi” in Calcutta and other places. The company had also displayed the slogan in its website. The hoardings appeared in the wake of the raging match-fixing allegations in international cricket. The legal notice served
to Kurien mentioned that it was a clear case of
defamation intended to earn undue business profits at the
cost of “injury and harm to Dalmiya.” |
Irina Brar
shines CHANDIGARH,May 6 —Sixteen-year-old Irina Brar has done it again. Yes, this Chandigarh girl has repeated her last year’s performance finishing fifth in the Asia -Pacific Junior Golf Championship which concluded in Calcutta yesterday. Her performance was the best in the Indian girls’ contingent. Despite strong opposition from the Korean and Thai girls, Irina put in her best to wrest the fourth runners-up place. This performance has given the Chandigarh girl the much-needed boost as she leaves for Taiwan tomorrow to participate in the Queen Sirikit Cup . Shalini Malik and Anjali Chopra , both from Delhi, are the other two members of the team. A class XI student of Vivek High School, Irina is all praise for her principal, Mrs P.K. Singh , who she says has always encouraged her to take to the sport seriously. And in return, Irina has justified the faith reposed in her by putting in her best to be a topper in her class. Now that the city girl
has had her brush with the top juniors of the
Asia-Pacific region, she is all set to take on the
leading golf ladies in the Queen Sirikit Cup. |
Manchester United down Tottenham LONDON, May 6 (Reuters) — Champions Manchester United were in party mood as they surged to a 3-1 victory over Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford before receiving the English Premier League trophy today. First-half goals from Norwegian Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, David Beckham and Teddy Sheringham won the match for United, who clinched their sixth league title in eight seasons two weeks ago. The champions were only briefly jolted as a premier league record crowd of 61,629 watched them complete their 19 home league matches with their 15th win, the other four games being drawn. It was also their 10th successive league victory. A diving header by Tottenham striker Chris Armstrong in the 20th minute equalised Solskjaer’s fifth-minute headed goal, but United soon took charge again. Winser Ryan Giggs created the opening from which Solskjaer provided the final pass for Beckham to restore his side’s lead in the 34th minute. Two minutes later the
Norwegian forward was on hand again to set up Sheringham
for the third goal. |
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HAMBURG, May 6 (AFP) — Defending champion Venus Williams surrendered her title at the Hamburg Cup when she was beaten 6-3, 6-4 by eighth seed Amanda Coetzer. The South African now faces third seed Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, who gained a single break of serve in each set to defeat German wild card Andrea Glass 6-3, 6-3. Top seed Martina Hingis also struggled yesterday before overcoming Anna Kournikova 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 to advance to the semi-finals. Hingis will face seventh seeded Anke Huber, after the German surrendered a 6-3 lead in the first set tie-break before upsetting third seeded Spaniard Conchita Martinez 6-7 (6/8), 7-6 (7/4), 6-2. Coetzer at first found little resistance from second seeded Williams, who was making her comeback this week after an injury break of nearly six months. The American often overhit the ball, and after exchanging service breaks in the first three games Coetzer took the opening set when Williams double-faulted. Coetzer played a fine defensive match against the hard-hitting but erratic Williams, but it was two more double-faults that helped her break at love for a 2-0 lead in the second set. Another break to love gave Coetzer a 4-0 lead, and the contest was all but over. Williams though finally found the accuracy she needed and staged a fightback, breaking when Coetzer served for victory at 5-3 but then dropping her own serve. Kournikova, whose only win against Hingis came on clay in Berlin two years ago, looked as if she might repeat her success as she outplayed the top seed in the first set and had the opportunity to gain an early break of serve in the second. The sixth seeded Russian looked confident, used the width of the court and struck the ball cleanly. Although Hingis made few glaring errors she appeared to have nothing in her arsenal to hurt Kournikova. But she survived two break points against her at 1-1 and making use of some slack play from Kournikova, got a 4-2 lead. After breaking again for the set, Hingis then built a 5-1 lead in the third before Kournikova staged a late fightback. Hingis twice failed to serve out for the match, surrendering one match point at 5-1 and two more at 5-3, before breaking serve with her fourth match point. “I didn’t have enough patience to play on clay,” said Hingis. “I wasn’t able to play the shots I’m used to playing and I was a little bit nervous. But even though I didn’t play my best I was still in the match. It wasn’t that I didn’t have any chances. I think a match like this helps me a lot to get ready for the semis and the next event.” Kournikova admitted to feeling tired after a busy time last weekend playing singles and doubles in the Fed Cup, but she considered she had played a good match. “I was a little bit tired after playing so many matches, and I think Martina was much fresher than me and that was a little bit of a factor. But it gives me confidence that I’m playing well.”
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Indian paddlers lose to HK, finish 6th DOHA, May 6 (PTI) — Chinese women put paid to the aspirations of Chinese Taipei, whipping them 3-0 to retain the Asian Table Tennis Championships team title here yesterday. Packed with star players, the Chinese women could afford to play at a relaxed pace which still proved too good for their opponents, winning in less than an hour. Surprisingly, Taipei made no real effort to force the pace and it allowed the Chinese the extra freedom to find the corners. In the men’s section, India finished sixth after losing 0-3 to Hong Kong. The Indian’s who had earlier lost to China in the quarterfinals failed to put up a fight and lost all the matches tamely. Chetan Baboor, who came up with a fighting display against China, failed to keep up the momentum as he went down 14-21, 17-21 to Chig Ug Tak of Chinese Taipei. Arup Basak lost to Leong Chuyan 5-21, 16-21 while Soumyadeep Roy fared no better as he went down 18-21, 24-22. Indian women, who fell to Thailand in pre-quarterfinals, however, blanked Kazakhstan 3-0 to finish ninth. The first match between Sun Jin and Taipei’s Tsui Li won was one which looked to go the distance. Southpaw Tsui proved more than a handful for the Chinese at least in the initial stages, but the contest took a turn when the Sun Jin turned on the heat at appropriate time. Once Sun drew away from her opponent at 15-15, it was different ball game. Tsui threw in the towel early in the second game, a little uncharacteristically. Xi Jung, the other left-hander in the Taipei ranks was no match for the fitness freak, Kong Ling Hui. Kong clinched the issue in less than 15 minutes with a 21-11, 21-9 verdict. In a contest between two lower ranked players, Li Nan was a shade better than Lu Yun-Feng, prevailing over 21-16, 21-16. It was a slow paced match with each player waiting for the other to push the pace. From 10-5 Li raced to an easy win in the first game. The second game also went in similar pattern though the aggressive instincts of Lu came in a little late. Earlier, China set up a grand double by reaching both the men’s and women’s final, beating South Korea easily. Chinese men lost one match as they won 3-1 but the women maintained their superiority with another thumping 3-0 victory. Results: Women’s final: China bt Taipei 3-0 (Sun
Jin b Tsui Li 21-17, 21-12; Kong Ling b Xu Jing 21-11,
21-19, Li Nan b Lu Yun 21-16, 21-16; Li Nan b Lu Yun
21-16, 21-16. |
Indians
have a feel of international driving CHANDIGARH, May 6 — Indian rally drivers could not have asked for more. For the first time in Indian motor driving, they had a feel of international driving under the watchful eyes of Mr Simo Lampinen, chief instructor of the SAAB Arctic Driving School, Finland. The celebrated coach was overwhelmed by the response and keen interest shown by the participants. But he felt the drivers required guidance and more practice. During the five-day training at Coimbatore, Simo sat along with each driver, made him aware of his flaws in driving and suggested corrective action. But the tips would be of no use if the drivers did not do regular practice, said Simo adding that “only then can the driver improve and become faster”. Most Indian drivers he felt drove fast (120%) but ended up making mistakes. They should follow the elementary rules. For instance, he said, most drivers would go through a ditch or a bump rather than go around it hoping they would clock faster. “Such action, however, tends to upset the settings of the car and even damages the vehicle which ultimately slows down the speed”, he said. The camp was organised by the Motorsports Association of India under the sponsorship of MRF. The course was free though admission was restricted to serious drivers and navigators selected by the Motorsports Association of India. This is the first of a series of training programmes planned by the MAI to prepare Indian drivers for faster cars which will be permitted for rallying in the Indian National Championship from October 1.
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No conclusions from allegations: Dhindsa CALCUTTA, May 6 (PTI) — Sports Minister S.S. Dhindsa today said no conclusions could be drawn from mere allegations against senior cricketers whose names have figured in the cricket match-fixing controversy unless they were supported by substantial proof. “Making allegations is one thing. Proving them is another,” he told ‘Khas Khabar’, a private news programme telecast on Doordarshan today, when asked for his comments on former Indian cricket board president I.S. Bindra’s sensational allegation that Kapil Dev had offered money to former all-rounder Manoj Prabhakar to play below par in a 1994 tournament in Sri Lanka. Mr Dhindsa said he had asked all players and officials to furnish whatever information they had in this regard to the CBI, which was conducting an inquiry into the match-fixing allegations. “Nobody should rush to the press.” He said the government had asked the CBI to complete investigations soon, but had not stipulated any time frame as the proceedings were complicated with the involvement of Interpol and a number of state governments.Delhi police, which blew the lid off the Hansie Cronje controversy, would continue their probe. “The Delhi police inquiry is a different matter altogether, but they can talk to the CBI if they so desire,” he said. Sleuths from Scotland
Yard are already in Delhi and “our personnel also
might go abroad to further the investigations,” he
added. |
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KARACHI, May 6 (AFP) — Former Pakistani allrounder Imran Khan today hit out at officials of the International Cricket Council (ICC), saying they were biased against Pakistan. “They should have asked (ICC)chief executive David Richards why he concealed facts about Australian players’ confession of having contacts with bookies in 1994,” Khan said, commenting on the governing body’s London meeting this week. “I don’t know why the ICC has not taken the Australian Cricket Board to task for hiding facts. The ICC instead put pressure on Pakistan for its match-fixing report,” Khan said. The former Pakistan captain, who now heads his own political party, was referring to Australian players Shane Warne and Mark Waugh who confessed to accepting money from an Indian bookmaker for providing pitch and weather information during Sri Lanka’s 1994 tour.
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OSAKA, May 6 (AFP) — Seasoned Ujawala Mane, Geeta Rani and Vijaya Sharna finished out of the medals bracket as India failed to add to their tally of five golds, two silvers and two bronze, on the final day of the Asian Weightlifting Championships here today. Mane finished fifth in the women’s 75 kg class, lifting 95.0 kg in snatch and 112.5 in clean and jerk for a total of 207.5 kg in the event in which China’s Sun Tianni set a world record of 257.5 kg. In the women’s over
75 kg class, Geeta Rani finished seventh with a total of
207.5 kg (95.5 + 115.0kg) while Sharna ended fourth in
the mens’ over 105 kg class, with a snatch of 145.0
and clean and jerk of 175.0 for a total of 320.0 kg. |
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