 |
|
| Friday, May 26, 2000, Chandigarh, India  
|
SA wants copies of Cronje tapes
Navratilova makes comeback at 43 |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Parthiva leaves for Kuala
Lumpur
|
Lele revealed 2 more names: Prabhakar NEW DELHI, May 25 (PTI) — After rocking the cricket world with the allegation that Kapil Dev had tried to bribe him to play poorly to fix a match against Pakistan in 1994, former all-rounder Manoj Prabhakar today came out with another sensational claim that cricket board secretary Jaywant Lele had mentioned names of two more players saying they too were involved in fixing matches. A day after making the allegation against former India skipper Kapil Dev, Prabhakar told PTI that Lele revealed the names when he met him in Baroda recently. “When I met Lele in Baroda on May 6, he mentioned two more names saying they were also involved,” Prabhakar said. But he refused to give the names and said he wanted Lele himself to come out with them. “I want to see first whether he comes out with the names,” he said. Prabhakar had met Lele at his Baroda residence raising speculation it had something to do with the raging betting and match-fixing controversy, but Lele said it was to invite him for a product launch by Prabhakar’s company. “Prabhakar came to my house to invite me for the launch of a cosmetic product of his company,” Lele had then said. MUMBAI: Former India cricket team manager Ajit Wadekar declined to comment on Manoj Prabhakar’s interview to a website that he had alerted him (Wadekar) and then skipper Mohd Azharuddin of the bribe allegedly offered by teammate Kapil Dev to underperform in Sri Lanka in 1994. “It is not proper for me to comment on this after having deposed before the Justice Chandrachud commission (in 1997) and having talked to CBI officials very recently on the issue”, the former skipper said. NAGPUR: Crickter Prashant Vaidya, a member of the Indian team for Singer Cup in Colombo in 1994, today categorically denied having any knowledge of the alleged attempt to bribe Manoj Prabhakar by Kapil Dev saying he was neither aware nor noticed any such incident. Vaidya in a signed statement expressed his shock and surprise for being drawn in the controversy. “I have to categorically state that I am not aware of, nor have I witnessed any incident, as mentioned by Manoj Prabhakar appearing in the press today”, Vaidya stated. He said: “Statements contained in the newspapers about my presence during the alleged incident are not true”. “I am surprised to
see my name appear in newspapers and I have only to state
that I am neither aware or nor have I noticed any such
incident of which Prabhakar was talking about”,
Vaidya noted. |
|
MUMBAI, May 25 (PTI) — Cricket board secretary Jaywant Lele today denied former all-rounder Manoj Prabhakar’s claim that he (Lele) had revealed the names of two Indian cricketers allegedly involved in match-fixing when the two met in Baroda earlier this month. “I never revealed any names when he came to meet me in Baroda and invited me for a product launch of his cosmetics company”, Lele told PTI here. “I just listened to what he had to say after telling him I was not going to react but only listen. He took the name of two cricketers who he claimed were involved in match-fixing, and I just listened. “When he asked me about his dues from the benevolent fund which had been withheld by the board, I told him to draft a letter apologising to the board for his allegations on match-fixing in Indian cricket”, Lele said. “He also asked me how to draft the letter and I advised him, but till today I have not received any such letter from him”, the board secretary said. Lele was on his way back
to Baroda after a meeting with board treasurer Kishore
Rungta in Delhi for finalising details of the upcoming
juniors’ tour to Kuala Lumpur for the inaugural
Asian Cricket Council under-15 tournament. |
Bindra
defends going public CHANDIGARH, May 25 — Mr Inderjit Singh Bindra, a former President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and President of the Punjab Cricket Association, today defended his going public by naming Kapil Dev as the team-mate who allegedly tried to offer Rs 25 lakh to Manoj Prabhakar to play poorly in a one-day tournament in Sri Lanka in 1994. Mr Bindra was sure that with the issue of match-fixing and betting being investigated by the CBI the truth would emerge and the guilty would be punished. After the issue of match-fixing first emerged when the Delhi police revealed that visiting South African captain Hansie Cronje had accepted money from a bookie for throwing matches of the Pepsi series against India in March last, it was Mr Bindra who had first revealed in a television interview that it was Kapil Dev who had allegedly offered money to Manoj Prabhakar to play below potential in a match against Pakistan in the Singer Cup in Sri Lanka in 1994. Ironically, because of rain the match was never played. Mr Bindra reiterated today that Manoj Prabhakar had indeed “told me on April 22 the name of the player who had allegedly offered him money to play below par was Kapil Dev. This was told to me in the presence of two other people.” Manoj repeated the allegation first in a television interview and later at a press conference in Delhi yesterday. Mr Bindra said the fact that Manoj “has also named several Indian cricketers (past and present) to whom he had earlier given the information. I am convinced that I did the right thing in revealing the name during a TV interview in answer to a specific question. It was my moral responsibility and public duty and I am glad that I had the courage of my convictions to do so.” He added that he as well as the Punjab Cricket Association always had the highest regard for Kapil Dev “for his tremendous cricketing abilities”. (A dressing room in the PCA Stadium at SAS Nagar is named after Kapil Dev. Also, the PCA honoured Kapil Dev after he broke the world record of the maximum wickets in Test cricket). But in the same breath Mr Bindra said that more people would now get the courage to come forward with information that they may have which will help clean up Indian and international cricket. The President of the Punjab Cricket Association said that “for having the courage to stand alone and share with the world relevant information (which is essential to restore the glory of the game), I am being selectively victimised by the BCCI as also other persons who stand to lose if cricket is cleaned up.”
|
SA wants copies of Cronje tapes JOHANNESBURG, May 25 (IANS) — The South African commission of inquiry probing match-fixing charges intends to seek copies or transcripts of the Delhi police tapes of conversations between Hansie Cronje and an Indian bookie. Shamilla Batohi, a lawyer of Indian origin, who is collecting evidence for the commission which has started its work in Cape Town, said the panel understood Indian authorities’ reluctance to hand over the original tapes. “We understand the need for security of the original tapes and do not expect the Indian police to hand them over,” said Ms Batohi. “But we are in the process of requesting either copies or transcripts of the conversations through the proper channels,”she said. The Delhi police sources had said previously that they were unlikely to hand over the tapes, which they described as “case property” and the only hard evidence in the case of fraud brought against Cronje and four of his team-mates. Ms Batohi said Maite Nkoana Mashabane, the South African High Commissioner in India, would be meeting relevant officials in New Delhi this week to discuss the request by the commission. The High Commissioner was unavailable for comment, when contacted by IANS. “We are hoping to get the full cooperation of the parties concerned, locally and abroad, to finalise this matter, “Ms Batohi said. “I am certain that all those who have an interest in the game have the same objective of ridding the game of these issues”. The commission of inquiry into cricket match-fixing and related matters is headed by Judge Edwin King. It has already conducted interviews with and taken statements from a number of South African cricketers who participated in a 1996 tour to India. By Friday it is expected to announce a date for public hearings that will last a week. The commission is expected to submit its interim report by June 30. Ms Batohi is an experienced advocate who is known for her work on high-profile cases such as hit-squad allegations against apartheid-era Defence Minister Magnus Malan. cape town, (AP): A panel investigating corruption in South African cricket met today with lawyers representing players charged in the country’s worst sports scandal to discuss procedures to be followed at planned public hearings. The meeting was held behind closed doors. The commission, headed by retired Judge Edwin King, was created by the government after national team captain Hansie Cronje admitted in April to taking $ 8,200 from a bookmaker for information on an England-Zimbabwe match. John Bacon, the commission’s secretary, said a date had yet to be set for the public hearings as statements were still being taken and other preliminary work had to be completed. SYDNEY (Reuters): Former South African cricket coach Bob Woolmer said Ashley Mallett had been “grossly unfair” in casting doubts over the integrity of the South African team,the Sydney Morning Herald reported today. Mallett highlighted veteran off-spinner Pat Symcox’s defensive bowling tactics and now-disgraced former captain Hansie Cronje’s field settings for Cronje. “We were beaten fair and square in that Test, and the reason we lost was because of Shane Warne, not Symcox,” said Woolmer, who was South African coach at the time.
|
Match-fixing rampant, says Mascarenhas NEW DELHI, May 25 (UNI) — Sports promoter Marc Mascarenhas has said match-fixing takes place wherever cricketers play and a bookie ring existed. He told this to journalist Vir Sanghvi during an interview to be telecast on the Star News. Mascarenhas, when asked about allegations of match-fixing at off-shore venues like Sharjah and Dhaka, said what happened in India recently (the Hansie Cronje episode) proved that match-fixing was taking place everywhere. “It happens wherever there a cricketer or a group of cricketer and a bookie ring. It happens in England. It happens in Australia.’’ “After what we have learnt from Cronje, what I know about is betting is obviously taking place and its not just one place in one country, I think its taking place in quite a few countries,’’ the sports promoter said. Asked how many players were needed to fix a match, Mascarenhas said it would take at least three players to get involved in this kind of betting. He admitted that the match-fixing episode had adversely affected business in the game and said till this mess is cleared, the business is definitely on the hold. About the decision of the board to pay expenses of players against whom allegations have been levelled till they are proved guilty, he said the board feels sympathetic towards the players as the allegations are wild and baseless floating all around. Mascarenhas informed that he was contemplating action against the people who perpetrated these baseless allegations and said that criminal complaints were being filed in such cases. He denied charges of illegality in any of the telecast rights contract with Doordarshan saying that he was clean and would clear his name from all such allegations. In a clear defence of Kapil Dev, who has been charged with offering bribe to Manoj Prabhakar to throw a Singer Cup match against Pakistan in 1994, Mascarenhas said: “It was a tragedy to name Kapil who had given his 20 years to the country with full dedication. You don’t let your country down, whether on international forum.’’ About the CNN interview
of former BCCI President I. S. Bindra in London, he said:
“Doing that to a person of Kapil’s calibre who
won us the World Cup was in poor taste.’’ |
Malik, Rehman decide to challenge life ban ISLAMABAD, May 25 (IANS) — Former Pakistan cricket captain Salim Malik and medium pace bowler Ata-ur-Rehman have decided to challenge a life ban imposed on them after they were found guilty of match-fixing by a one-man judicial inquiry. Malik denied “allegations” contained in the inquiry report. “I am not a match-fixer. I am going to challenge this in a court,” he told IANS on the telephone from Lahore. “I will very soon come up with my side of the story,” Malik said, adding, “I am not going to be quiet but at the moment I can’t say anything more.” Ata-ur-Rehman’s brother, Abdul Hafiz, said his family has decided to move the court against the decision as the bowler was never involved in match-fixing. He said the case would be filed within a couple of days after the cricketer returns to Pakistan from Dubai. Justice Malik Qayyum recommended life bans for both players and a Rs. 1 million (about $ 20,000) fine for the former skipper following a year-long investigation into match-fixing allegations. Justice Qayyum recommended that Malik be barred from any role in cricket. “There is clear evidence of match-fixing against Mr Salim Malik,” Justice Qayyum said. “He should be banned for life from cricket. Further, an inquiry should be conducted into his assets and charges brought against him in a criminal court of law.” The former star batsman said the international media had hatched a conspiracy against Pakistani cricketers. He lamented the fact that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had not supported the players. Legendary Test cricketer Imran Khan, while claiming that he believed no one from Pakistan was involved in match-fixing, said in case such charges were proved punishment for every “culprit” must be “even-handed”. “In case of match-fixing, I have a very strong feeling — no cricketer guilty of such an act, who defames the country internationally, should be spared. He must be awarded the harshest punishment,” he said. Batsman Ijaz Ahmad said he thanked God his name had not been mentioned in the list of the cricketers who had been recommended for punishment. He said the report had quashed the rumours that he had been ousted from the team for match-fixing. Justice Qayyum also recommended a Rs 300,000 fine for former cricket captain Wasim Akram because he failed to cooperate with the judicial inquiry. The report does not accuse Akram, who is currently playing for Pakistan’s national squad, of any wrongdoing, though it recommends that neither he nor Mushtaq Ahmed be allowed to captain the team. Waqar Younis, Inzamam-ul Haq, Akram Raza and former captain Saeed Anwar have also been slapped with fines of Rs 100,000 each for not cooperating with the inquiry. Addressing a press conference on Wednesday evening PCB Chairman Taqueer Zia said, “Salim Malik is the main culprit. He has brought the Pakistan national team into disrepute.” MELBOURNE (AFP): The Australian Cricket Board on Thursday expressed relief at the life ban handed down to former Pakistan captain Salim Malik. ACB Chief Executive Mal Speed said the report by Judge Malik Qayyum, who investigated match-fixing in Pakistan, had backed the board and senior Australian Test stars, Shane Warne and Mark Waugh. It was allegations by Warne, Waugh and former Test offspinner Tim May against Malik that led to the judge’s investigation. Acting on the report’s findings, the Pakistan Cricket Board banned Malik from the game for life. “We are pleased the Australian players who made a complaint at an early stage, their evidence has been taken into account,” Mr Speed said. “It’s formed a major part of the judge’s findings. “There’s been a lot said about those players (Waugh and Warne) and the role they played in this investigation and these incidents. “It’s very pleasing to see those players’ evidence has now been accepted and I think if there was any doubt about it, the evidence of those players has been exonerated.” Mr Speed said the report cast the ACB in a positive light, given the importance the judge’s inquiry gave the testimony of the Australian players. The board also liased with the judge after it became public knowledge that Waugh and Warne had received money from an unidentified subcontinent bookmaker. “The judge makes a strong point of the fact that 15 to 18 months ago, when evidence surfaced here about Mark Waugh and Shane Warne, that we made a number of offers to the Pakistan Cricket Board about how we might deal with that. “Their evidence has been accepted unreservedly by the judge and has played a major part in his investigation.” LONDON (Reuters): England cricket chief Lord MacLaurin believes the outcome of the Pakistani match-fixing inquiry reveals just the “tip of the iceberg’’. “I don’t like to say this really but I think this might be just the tip of the iceberg,’’ the England and Wales Cricket Board boss told BBC Radio today. “I believe there are other problems which we have to unearth. I do know there are a number of investigative journalists looking at this problem throughout the world. I know police forces are looking at it.’’ He added: “Although we have had this result so far, watch this space because this is not the end of it.’’ Lord Maclaurin said it was possible the International Cricket Council could intervene further in the Pakistan case. “I think the ICC have the authority to ask the parent board to look again at the fines or suspensions that they are going to impose,’’ he said. “If they are not satisfied they would ask a third party to look at it, so this is by no means an open and shut case.’’ Asked if he thought it was administrators or just players involved, he added: “I’m uneasy. I have a feeling that it can be both. It could be a mafia-type organisation and the players are just pawns in this. “These findings are
coming out and I’m very pleased indeed they are
coming out. We have to pursue it to the end to clean the
game.’’ |
Navratilova makes comeback at 43 MADRID, May 25 (DPA) — Martina Navratilova came out of retirement at the age of 43 and the Spanish media loved it. “She has a few more wrinkles and is a little slow in the legs, but she still has her former touch,’’ the Spanish sports daily Marca enthused yesterday about her comeback on “a circuit where the average age of players is around 20.’’ Yesterday Navratilova and her South African partner Mariaan De Swardt had beaten Japan’s Rika Hiraki and American Meghann Shaughnessy 6-3 7-5 at the Madrid Open. Six years after Navratilova announced her retirement from top tennis, she still dreams about the game. “Sometimes I dream that Wimbledon is full of trees, or that I float above it, or that there is no water in the shower just as I must go out and play,’’ she said. The Madrid tournament is only the first step in her comeback, which culminates at Wimbledon starting June 26, when she also plans to play alongside De Swardt. “I have no plans beyond Wimbledon,” she says. Navratilova said she needs to “improve quite a bit’’ to play at the All-England Club, where she won nine singles titles. But winning is not on the mind of one of the greatest players the game has ever seen. “I no longer want to triumph, just to enjoy myself,’’ said the Czech-born American, who boasts 55 Grand Slam titles. Despite winning 167 singles and 165 doubles titles and having spent years globetrotting from one top court to another, Navratilova admitted that the comeback was tough on her nerves. “It was a hard day,’’ she said, saying she was “much slower, and I cannot hit the ball as hard’’ as younger players. “My game was okay but my serve - on the toss up I was fishing for the ball. And I was not returning very well, at times it was a bit iffy.’’ Spanish tennis critics were less harsh, welcoming the ‘’myth’’ back to the courts and speculating that her opponents may have lost the game due to sheer awe. “I know I can still compete,’’ Navratilova said, but said she was not really making a comeback. “I never retired from playing doubles. But I will never again play singles - it’s too much hard work.’’ She described tennis as
having changed since her times, with the players hitting
the ball harder and having better managers, rackets and
tournaments. |
|
TAIPEI, May 25 (UNI) — Jyoti Randhawa was the only Indian, among the six in the fray, to shot an under par first round in the $ 200,000 Ericsson Classic Golf here today. Jyoti Randhawa shot a one under 71 and was placed joint 28th while Thailand’s Prayad Marksaeng, south African James Kingston and Andrew Pitt of America shared the first day lead. The trio fired five under 67s to lead by a stroke from Jaspan’s Dragon Taki, England’s Chris Williams and Ecuador’s Rafael Ponce. Randhawa’s compatriots Digvijay Singh and Gaurav Ghei hit identical one over par 73 round and were clubbed at crowded 55th slot with 32 others. Chandigarh’s Amandeep Johl with two over par 74 was lying at joint 77th position while Calcutta based Arjun Atwal with four over 76 was at 106 place. The 6th Indian,
Amritinder Singh also of Chandigarh, returned with five
over 77 and was way down the leader board at 117 place in
the field of 144 golfers. |
|
PARIS, May 25 (PTI) — Continental giants Real Madrid lifted a record eighth Champions League soccer crown after a crushing 3-0 win over maiden title aspirants and fellow Spanish rivals Valencia in a magnificent display of aesthetic and attacking game last night. The multi-national Real Madrid lived upto their billing as they quelled Valencia’s hopes of rapid counter-attacks to be a goal to the good at halftime before running their opponents ragged into the second half to set up wild celebrations for their fans at the Stade de France and back home. Forward Fernando Morientes capped a spell of domination by Real with a slick 39th minute header at the left post after prodigal son Nicolas Anelka, their temperamental French striker, had raised early visions of a goal with a powerful header from the top of the box. Argentine Fernando Redondo and the hardworking Englishman Steve McManaman provided the fillip to the midfield as Real overran Valencia with two more strikes in the second half to set aside a disappointing season in the Spanish league. McManaman cemented the lead in the 67th minute with an old-fashioned scissors kick to the right corner, past a flailing Valencia custodian Santiago Canizares before Raul sealed the issue in the 75th minute. Raul sprinted about 60 metres down the middle as Redondo sent him on his way with a long ball side-stepped Canizares and tapped the ball in leaving no chance to the chasing defender. First-time finalists Valencia, who had stunned Italian league champions Lazio and Catalan giants Barcelona to make it a Spanish night at the venue of the 1998 World Cup final, set much by the prowess of their Argentine striker Claudio Lopez. But the first ever meeting between teams from the same country in the 45-year-old championship was completely dominated by Vincente del Bosque’s team whose defence also stood out with the left-wing flair of Brazilian Roberto Carlos complemented by the long-haired Ivan Campo in the right. The young and energetic Valencians, brimming with enthusiasm, started well but gradually faded away as Real took charge. Canizares summed it all up: “Madrid played with a ferocious defence and took advantage of their quality forwards”. It was a festival ambience in Paris since morning with over 45,000 Spanish fans descending on the streets with “hola” (hello) ringing out in the metros, bars and cafes. Real gave their fans,
chanting “octavo” (eighth time) cheer early in
the fast-paced first half when Anelka, who emerged the
hero for his semifinal exploits against Germany’s
Bayern Munich, fired the first salvo. |
U-16 coach confident of victory CALCUTTA, May 25 (PTI) — Improper facilities notwithstanding, chief coach of the national under-16 football team Islam Akhmadov is hopeful of India winning the Asian under-16 qualifiers to be played in Jamshedpur from June 20. “After having seen the boys for two months, I am quite satisfied with their talent. Though they lack in individual skills, the boys are physically strong and organise themselves well,” the Uzbek coach, now busy training the 25 probables, told newsmen today. India would be pitted against Pakistan, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in Jamshedpur, with the winner making it to the final round to be staged in Vietnam in September. Cautioning that Bangladesh might be a tough opponent, Akhmadov said “We need to win all our matches. A draw will land us in trouble. If we lose any match, we are finished.” Appearing bitter about
the facilities at the Sports Authority of India Eastern
Regional Centre, the venue of the coaching camp, the
Uzbek coach said: “I am not at all satisfied with
the arrangements. It has been a painful experience.”
He complained that the food was inadequate and the
probables were constantly shifted from one room to
another. “There were even days when all the boys had
to stay in one room,” he added. |
24
trainees for football academy CHANDIGARH, May 25 — The Chandigarh Football Academy will have 24 trainees in the 9-10 years age group. The trials to select boys for the academy will be conducted at different places in Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh, beginning June 1 and will continue until June 28. The final selection trials will be held in Chandigarh on July 10 to 12. According to a spokesman of the administration, the trials will be held from 7 am to noon and from 4 p.m. to 7 pm. On June 1 and 2, trials will be held at Gandhi Grounds, Amritsar while on June 7 and 8, they will be conducted at government college grounds in Hoshiarpur. On June 12 and 13, the trials will be conducted at War Heroes Stadium, Ambala while on June 15 and 16, the venue will be Senior Secondary School, Yamunanagar. In Himachal Pradesh, the
sole venue of trials will be the SAI training centre in
Dharamsala on June 21 and 22. In Chandigarh, the trials
would be conducted at the Sector 7 Sports Complex on June
27 and 28. |
Parthiva
leaves for Kuala Lumpur CHANDIGARH, May 25 — Promising racing driver Parthiva Sureshwaren has left for Kuala Lumpur to participate in the first event of the Formula Asia 2000 Championship scheduled for May 27 and 28, according to a press release here. Parthiva’s racing career started in 1998 when as a 17-year old he won the JK Tyre Indian national championship. A year later he won JK Tyre National Road Racing Championship and at British Formula Ford Winter Championship he finished 12th. Formula Asia was founded
in 1994 and has served the Asian drivers to make a mark
in Formula 3 championship. |
Pak
kabaddi team to visit India CHANDIGARH, May 25 — The Amateur Circle Kabaddi Federation of India has invited Pakistan circle kabaddi men's team to play five exhibition matches in Haryana, Punjab and Chandigarh, according to the secretary of the federation. The team consisting of
24 members will remain in India for about two weeks. An
exhibition match will be played to celebrate the Haryana
Olympic day on June 23 at Panchkula. |
 |
| Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir | Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs | Nation | Editorial | | Business | Sport | World | Mailbag | Chandigarh Tribune | In Spotlight | 50 years of Independence | Tercentenary Celebrations | | 120 Years of Trust | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
