 |
|
| Tuesday, May 30, 2000, Chandigarh, India  
|
We
are here to win: Ganguly
Akram puts Test in balance |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Cricket under a cloud in rain-hit
tournament Kapil
serves notice on Prabhakar
|
|
DHAKA, May 29 (UNI) — Notwithstanding the current match-fixing allegations, a confident India begins its campaign in the seventh Asia Cup cricket championship, taking on the hoots Bangladesh at the Bangabandhu Stadium here tomorrow. Indian skipper Saurav Ganguly, who seems confident to win the Cup the country has earlier won four times, said: “We have come here to do well and win the title. Our record here is good so far and I am sure it would remain so.” Addressing the first press meet after assembling here, the Indian camp, however, decided to steer clear of the match-fixing allegations, saying: “We would speak only on questions relating to the Asia Cup cricket.” The meeting was attended by coach Kapil Dev, captain Saurav Ganguly, vice-captain Rahul Dravid and manager Samiran Chakrabarty. Admitting that that the absence of Javagal Srinath and Venkatesh Prasad would be felt, Saurav said two young bowlers — Thiru Kumaran and Amit Bhandari — had been chosen in their places. “This is the best available side now,” Saurav added. Coach Kapil, when asked how he rated his opponents who were considered to be minnows of cricket, said: “At the moment we are thinking of Bangladesh seriously. Besides having the home advantage, Bangladesh had put up a good show in the last World Cup. We are taking the match with all seriousness.” Asked whether there would be any special strategy and what would be the playing eleven, Kapil said: “We will decide about our strategy and team after seeing the condition of the wicket and the number of overs we have to play tomorrow.” To another question whether India would agree if there was any change in the schedule like playing a match on the reserve day, Kapil said: “It is the authority here who would look into it. Our job is to play.” Manager Samiran Chakrabarty yesterday hinted that India would not mind to play on a rest day. Saurav later said the wicket at Bangabandhu Stadium was likely to favour batsmen. “If it remains so we have very little to worry as we have a very good batting line up this time,” he said. It may be mentioned that there were three hundred plus runs in the last Asia vs the Rest of World match and also during the Independence Cup where both Sachin and Saurav amassed huge individual totals. Saurav reiterated that he did not subscribe to the view that the team would be in distress if he or Sachin did not get runs. In all probability, 23-year-old batsman from Tamil Nadu, Hemang Badani, who impressed the team management with his performance at the camp and various home tournaments, is likely to make his debut for the senior Indian team tomorrow. Besides being a hard hitting batsman and a top fielder, Badani is also a spin-bower. Since Bangladesh is the weakest of all opponents here, it is likely that the team management would prefer to include him in the playing eleven. Since the team is likely to retain at least a couple of specialist spinners and medium pacers against Bangladesh, one of the senior batsman could be rested to make way for him. Hosts Bangladesh, who play their first match today against champions Sri Lanka, are also not a pushover. They made a fine debut in the world championship where they beat Pakistan in league encounters. The match tomorrow is
scheduled to start at 2.30 pm (local time). |
|
ST. JOHN’S (Antigua), May 29 (AP) — Pakistan’s champion left-arm pacer Wasim Akram claimed a vital wicket with the last ball of the fourth day, leaving the final cricket Test against the West Indies delicately poised with one day remaining here. The home team would enter today’s final day on 144 for four, still 72 away from its victory target of 216. Captain Jimmy Adams was unbeaten on 15 in just over two hours batting. Wasim bowled left-hander Wavell Hinds off the inside edge just before light rain ended a tense fourth day’s play, ended with three for 28 off 12.3 overs. Hinds’ enterprising topscore of 63 included two sixes and seven fours and gave the West Indies the edge after Wasim earlier removed both openers for 31 runs. Wasim, who brought Pakistan back into the match in the first innings with a six-wicket haul, got both Sherwin Campbell and Adrian Griffith caught in the deep to miscued hooks. Campbell perished for six, caught at deep backward square leg by Yousuf Youhana, while Griffith powered four fours in 23 before he top-edged to Waqar Younis at fine leg. Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Hinds aggressively consolidated in a run-a-minute stand of 53. Chanderpaul cracked four boundaries, while Hinds lifted leg-spinner Mushtaq Ahmed for a four and six in one over. But as the pair threatened to take complete command, Chanderpaul was trapped leg before by the persevering medium pacer Abdur Razzaq for 31. Chanderpaul faced 40 balls and batted just under an hour. Jamaicans Hinds and Adams rebuilt the innings with their contrasting styles, Hinds aggressive throughout and Adams prepared to be the defensive foil. In a gripping final hour, they gradually tilted the balance in the West Indies’ favour before Wasim’s late strike. The pumped-up Hinds could not survive to the end, his ill -advised hook at a looping bouncer from Wasim deflecting from the edge into middle stump. As the 23-year-old was walking off the field, the rain sent the umpires scampering, forcing an end to the day. Earlier, the West Indies’ fast bowlers removed the last five Pakistani wickets for 62 just after lunch. Scoreboard Pakistan (1st innings): 269 West Indies (1st innings): 273 Pakistan (2nd innings): (overnight 157 for five) Mohammad Wasim b King 21 Imran Nazir c Sarwan b Walsh 0 Younis Khan lbw b Ambrose 2 Inzamam c Jacobs b Rose 68 Youhana lbw b King 42 Moin Khan c Hinds b King 10 Saqlain c Campbell b Ambrose 15 Razzaq run out 0 Akram c Adams b King 24 Younis c Adams b Ambrose16 Mushtaq Ahmed not out 3 Extras (byes 2, leg-byes 4 no-balls 12) 18 Total (all out, 90 overs) 219 Wickets fell at: 0, 3, 49, 129, 150, 162, 163, 186, 213, 219. Bowling: Curtly Ambrose 21-5-39-3 (nb1), Courtney Walsh 20-4-39-1 (nb5), Franklyn Rose 20-2-69-1 (nb6), Reon King 23-6-48-4, Jimmy Adams 6-1-18-0. West Indies (2nd innings) (set 216 to win) Campbell c Youhana b Akram 6 Griffith c Younis b Akram 23 Hinds b Wasim Akram 63 Chanderpaul lbw b Razzaq 31 Jimmy Adams not out 15 Extras (byes 3, leg-byes 3) 6 Total (for four wickets, 44.3 overs) 144 Wickets fell at: 16, 31, 84, 144. Bowling: Wasim Akram
12.3-4-28-3, Waqar Younis 11-0-39-0, Mushtaq Ahmed
7-0-36-0, Abdur Razzaq 6-3-8-1, Saqlain Mushtaq
13-5-27-0. |
De Silva dazzles in easy Lanka win DHAKA, May 29 (PTI) — Veteran Aravinda de Silva relished his new role as opener with a free-flowing, unbeaten 96 as holders Sri Lanka crushed minnows Bangladesh by nine wickets in the Asia Cup tournament opening league tie to bring focus back into cricket after two months dominated by match-fixing controversy in the sub-continent. The 34-year-old de Silva notched up an effortless, unbroken 112-run second wicket partnership with the stylish Marvan Atapattu, who contributed a well-paced unbeaten 41 after skipper Sanath Jayasuriya fell for 28. De Silva smashed a six and two consecutive fours to signal victory with a flourish as Sri Lanka coasted to 178 for one wicket in just 30.4 overs after Bangladesh, asked to bat first, made a modest 175 for six wickets in the allotted 50 overs at the Bangabandhu Stadium. Set a modest target, Sri Lanka proved too good for the hosts seeking to match their superior rivals in their quest for Test status. De Silva smashed two sixes and a host of boundaries in his customary style and the match was settled long before his final fury. Bangladesh owed their total to opener Javed Omar Belim, who cracked an unbeaten 85 and figured in 75-run stand with former skipper Akram Khan (41) for the fourth wicket and raised 57 runs for the sixth wicket with Khaled Masood (18) in the slog overs. De Silva, declared man of the match, raised 66 runs with Jayasuriya before the left-hander was stumped by wicketkeeper Khaled Mashud as he was beaten going after left-arm spinner Rafique, who finished with a decent effort of one for 42 in his full quota. But De Silva, whose innings was marked by punched drives through the off-side and patent pulls and flicks, along with Atapattu rapidly build the score and the hosts were a beaten lot long before the match ended. Atapattu hoisted Rafique for a six over midwicket and then rotated the strike to perfection as the islanders warmed up nicely for tougher outings against India (June 1) and Pakistan (June 5). Earlier, career-best unbeaten knock of 85 by opener Javed Omar helped hosts Bangladesh to post 175 runs for the loss of six wickets. Omar, who opened the innings along with Shariyar Hossain, restored some respect to the Bangladeshis after it lost three quick wickets within a space of 27 runs during the 12th over. Omar was ably assisted by former Bangladesh captain Akram Khan who made 41. Omar led a 75-run partnership with Akram Khan, followed by a 57-run partnership with Khaled Masud. Masud contributed 18 runs to the scorecard. Scoreboard Bangladesh: S Hossain c De Silva b Vaas 2 J Omar not out 85 H Bashac Chandana b Vaas 1 A Islam c Vaas b Weeraratne 5 A Khan c Vaas b De Silva 41 N Rehman run out 0 K Masood c Jayawardena b Muralitharan 18 M Rafique not out 11 Extras: (b-2, lb-4, wb-3, nb-3) 12 Total: (for 6 wkts in 50 overs) 175 Fall of wickets: 1/6, 2/11, 3/27, 4/102, 5/102, 6/159 Bowling: C Vaas 10-0-28-2, N Zoysa 7-0-30-0, K Weeraratne 7-1-18-1, M Muralitharan 10-0-35-1, U Chandana 4-0-17-0, S Jayasuriya 8-0-23-0, A de Silva 4-1-18-1. Sri Lanka: Jayasuriya st. Khaled b Mohammad Rafique 28 Arvind de Silva not out 96 Marvan Atapattu not out 41 Extra: 13 (lb 2, w 6, nb 5) Total: (for one wicket in 30.4 overs) 178. Fall of wickets: 1/66 Bowling: Hasibul Hossain
5-0-38-0, Monjurul Islam 7-0-33-0, Khaled Mahmud
4.4-0-40-0, Mohammad Rafique 10-0-42-1, Naimur Rahaman
4-0-23-0. |
Cricket
under a cloud in rain-hit tournament THE monsoon has arrived early in Bangladesh. The streets have been submerged with water. Rickshaw drivers have found themselves sloshing through mini-lagoons. Above the Bangabandhu National Stadium in Dhaka, the sky has been stormy and tumultuous, turning at dusk to pink-black. Down on the pitch, it is hot and crazily humid - and wet. Yesterday (Sunday)’s scheduled opening match, between the home side and Sri Lanka was washed out. These are not ideal conditions for cricket. But then these are not ideal times at all. It is against an unsettled and steamy backdrop that the Asia Cup between India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka has begun. It is the first test of subcontinental cricket since Hansie Cronje last month made a late night confession to an evangelical pastor that he had been involved in match-fixing. Since then cricket’s fortunes have sunk a lot further. Over the past week in particular, they have been sinking especially fast: India’s coach, Kapil Dev, has denied fresh claims by his former team-mate Manoj Prabhakar that he tried to bribe him to underperform in a match against Pakistan six years ago. “I will give him one on his jaw,” Kapil said, shrugging off the suggestion he should withdraw from the Dhaka tournament. The allegations were “baseless and malicious”. So far only one Indian player has supported Prabhakar’s claim. The Indian squad arrived yesterday (Sunday) to fresh allegations by Prabhakar. An undercover investigation, recorded on a secret camera and screened on Saturday, revealed senior Indian officials and players privately admitting that match-fixing was rife. In Pakistan, Salim Malik and the all rounder Ata-ur-Rehman were last week banned for life by the Pakistan Cricket Board following the publication of Judge Malik Qayyum’s report into match-fixing. His conclusions were scathing. “Doubts of varying intensity have been cast on the integrity of some members of the team in their individual capacity,” Qayyum found. Six other players were censured or fined either for bringing the game into disrepute or failing to cooperate with the inquiry, including Wasim Akram, Inzamam ul-Haq, Waqar Younis and Mushtaq Ahmed, all now due to return from Pakistan’s tour of West Indies. In previous years the Asia Cup has been a low-key affair. The one-day tournament, last won by Sri Lanka in 1997, had occupied a marginal place in the cricketing calendar. In the past both India and Pakistan have declined to take part. But this time things are different. The satellite channel Star TV has been pumping out trailers for the event in India. “It’s all about honour,” they point out. Seasoned cricket journalists who would normally be somewhere cooler are flying into Dhaka. And millions of ordinary Indian cricket fans are poised on their sofas, zappers ready, mildly depressed at the state of the game, but curiously expectant. Even before last week’s shattering developments, Indian cricket was in an unprecedented mess. Its ruling body, the BCCI is at war with itself and busy fending off allegations of corruption. Several other Indian players have come under suspicion, as well as Kapil Dev. They include Mohammed Azharuddin, Ajay Jadeja and Nayan Mongia - all except Mongia are in the Asia Cup squad. No one is very sure whether the Indian squad is really interested in winning any more. With a giant question mark hanging over the probity of the entire sport, most commentators expect the Asia Cup to be the most transparent tournament for years. “I think there will be enormous pressure on the players to play to their full capacity. I would be surprised if the Asia Cup is anything other than clean,” Harsha Bhogle, one of India’s leading cricket commentators said. “There is no place for an innocent mistake at the moment, sadly. Everyone is watching,” he added. Other commentators agree. “It will be fascinating to see how the tournament unfolds,’’ Pradeep Magazine, cricket writer with the Indian Express, said. “The players will be under great pressure to play properly. If they drop an easy catch or are run out, questions will be asked.” “Enjoy it, for it’ll be the first clean tournament for quite some time,” Surjit Bhalla wrote in last week’s Outlook, the Indian magazine that first accused Kapil Dev of corruption. While the allegations of malpractice continue to swirl, the four teams involved in the Asia Cup are expected to be on their best behaviour. Bookmakers, who might normally congregate in the air-conditioned lobbies of Dhaka’s Pan-Pacific and Sheraton hotels, where the players stay, are expected to be discreetly absent. Over in the dressing rooms, the players will think twice before answering their mobiles. But for the vast underground betting industry which flourishes from India to Pakistan and the Gulf, the Asia Cup means business as usual. No concrete steps have been taken against the bookies in the wake of the Cronje affair. A suggestion that betting on cricket should be legalised was ruled out by the Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee. While scandal enveloped the South Africa cricket captain, a few bookmakers - principally in Bombay - vanished for a while. Now they are back, sources suggest. Dr K.K. Paul, the head of Delhi police who released the Cronje tapes to an initially incredulous world audience, concedes as much. “Illegal betting is still alive. These people continue to operate surreptitiously. Betting has been going on for a long time. You have to remember that betting was going on well before match-fixing. I’m afraid we can’t really say we have eliminated it.” Dr Paul’s inquiry, meanwhile, is going nowhere. The South African authorities have failed to respond to requests for assistance, he says wearily. Although the exact odds are a closely guarded and fluctuating secret, bets are already being taken on the Asia Cup. Sri Lanka, with their reputation for playing terrific one-day cricket, appear to be the favourites, over a shattered Indian team and a Pakistan side still reeling from Qayyum’s damning report. The Bangladesh players will hope to consolidate their country’s bid for full test status. The big question is whether the rain will hold off to allow any cricket to be played at all. If previous betting patterns are anything to go by, Indian punters will not just bet on who will emerge from the tournament as the winner. They will bet on absolutely everything, including, for example, whether India will score above 100 in the first 15 overs, who wins the toss, the number of boundary sixes and fours, man of the match, bowling order and the result of every ball. It even includes the number of wide balls. “India have not played recently,” one source with contacts in the underworld said. “People are itching to bet.” Naturally, the subcontinent’s cricket officials are adamant that none of the seven games in the Asia Cup will be, well, fixed. Mr Syed Ashraful Haque, secretary of the Bangladesh Cricket Board, said: “I personally think it’s going to be a very, very clean tournament. More so because the players are going to play their best so as to prove these allegations wrong.” Mr Haque is also convinced Hansie Cronje has done nothing wrong. “I don’t think he has fixed a match.” Such sentiments appear to be shared by India’s cricketing establishment. For several weeks now it has been in a state of deep, pathological denial. Mr A.C. Muthaiah, the president of the BCCI, last week declared that “Indian cricket is clean” - a statement which was greeted with scarcely concealed sniggers. Mr Jagmohan Dalmiya, chairman of the International Cricket Council and the most powerful man in Indian cricket, has also dismissed the mountain of evidence implicating the Indian side in match-fixing. “Most of these are unsubstantiated allegations,” he said. The BCCI has been involved in a messy feud with Mr I.S. Bindra, its defiant former president. Mr Bindra has accused a series of top Indian cricket officials, including Mr Dalmiya, of corruption. He also backs Prabhakar’s claim that Kapil Dev was involved in match-fixing. Furthermore, he says he was forced to admonish three Indian players for betting on matches they were playing in. The BCCI has accused him of bringing the game into disrepute. The CBI has launched an official inquiry. More than ever, then, this week’s Asia Cup is about amour-propre. At stake, for the players at least, is personal reputation. However, they certainly have less to lose than the scattering of ordinary cricket followers who unwisely wager on the outcome and fail to pay their stakes. An underworld don recently gave an illuminating account of what happens to those punters who do not settle their debts. “We shoot some people, murder some and kidnap others,” he said. — (Guardian
News Service) |
|
AMSTERDAM, May 29 (AP) — The Netherlands defeated New Zealand 3-0 in a women’s Champions Trophy league match last night after Dutch coach Tom Van’t Hek’s protest forced the International Hockey Federation (FIH) to reverse its decision on abandoning matches due to stormy conditions. The day’s matches were cancelled in the morning following forecast of a storm and the police advising the evacuation of spectators for safety reasons. Revising the schedule, however, created problems as both the Netherlands and New Zealand teams would have had to play games on four straight days. Van’t Hek protested and the FIH, which could not stretch the tournament beyond 10 days, sought an alternative. Women’s tournament director Evlyn Raystrick of Scotland suggested an in-camera match could be played in the night as the blistering winds had subsided. Ms Raystrick, speaking on behalf of the FIH, said the game’s governing body understood the players’ position of not wanting to play matches on four consecutive days. Police permission to play the match without spectators was sought and it came only five minutes before the start. Ageeth Boomgaardt converted a penalty corner in the 20th minute to give Netherlands the lead for good. Fatima Moreira de Melo deflected in Dillianne van den Boogaard’s free hit into the goal in the 31st minute and Susan van der Wielen drove home in the 49th minute to settle the issue. Van’t Hek said the teams knew it was a difficult decision for the organisers to make. “It was a difficult decision to hold the match in camera,” he said. “We are grateful to the organisers for allowing us to play this game today (Sunday).” Only team officials and the Press were permitted to watch the match. Royal Netherlands Hockey Board chairman Andre Dolhuis said the spectators had been kept out for their safety. The men’s league match between Australia and Spain was stopped at half time and spectators were evacuated from the arena. Australia and Spain were tied 0-0. The remainder of the match will be played today. Mr Bolhuis said the police had advised immediate stoppage of play in the morning. “We were given the warning on a severe thunderstorm and told to evacuate spectators quickly,” he said. “The police said if we (the organisers) did not stop the matches they (the police) would do so. Mr Bolhuis said 4,000 spectators were evacuated from the stadium. It was the first time an international hockey tournament in Netherlands faced disruption by a storm. Four matches were scheduled on the third day of the 10-day competition which brings together the best six teams in the world every year. This year’s
Champions Trophy is the biggest competition before the
Sydney Olympic Games and is being used by teams to test
their strengths and figure out the shortcomings. |
Isha stuns
Shalini Thakur NEW DELHI, May 29 — Sixteen-year-old left-hander Isha Lakhani scalped fourth-seeded Shalini Thakur to script the biggest upset on day one of the ITF Women’s Masters Tennis Tournament at the Delhi Tennis Association court here today. In a battle of wits and skills, Lakhani prevailed over her more experienced opponent at 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (7-5). Shalini simply failed to utilise her considerable experience against the sheer exuberance of Lakhani’s youth power. In other matches, results went on expected lines as top seed Sonal Phadke, second seed Megha Vakharia and third seed Archana Venkataraman all posted easy straight set wins. While Sonal Phadke powered past Liza Pereira 6-3, 6-0, Megha Vakharia made short work of Arthi Venkataraman. Vakharia, whose exploits in the second and third legs at Mumbai and Pune have come in for high praise, was too good for Arthi, whose singles hopes once again crashed to smithreens as Vakharia cruised to a 6-2, 6-4 victory. But Arthi’s sister, Archana, finalist at Pune, handed out a 6-2, 6-2 whacking to Sheetal Goutham to keep alive her singles hopes. The Venkataraman sisters are in line for a fourth-in-a-row title in the doubles, having won the crowns in all the three previous legs of the circuit, but the singles fight seems to be a tough one as both Phadke and Vakharia are in fine fettle. But the match of the day was undoubtedly the one between Shalini and Lakhani as both held on determinedly till the very end, but the young Lakhani eventually had the last laugh due to her superior court craft, a dependable serve, and powerful strokes. Shalini Thakur was allowed to hold serve just once in the first set, in the sixth game, after dropping serves in the second, fourth and eighth games as Lakhani raced to wrest the set, despite dropping serve herself in the first and seventh games. In the second set, a pumped up Shalini, despite being broken in the very first game, played with purpose to break back in the second game, and achieved breaks in the sixth and eighth games too to wrest the set to make it one-all. In the decider, it was a neck-and-neck race with both trading brakes, to setup the tie-breaker. Shalini, who was broken in the first and fifth games, hit back to get even with Lakhani in the fourth and eighth games, but squandered away an enormous lead in the tie-breaker to throw away a match, that was very much within her grasp. Shalini ran up a 5-1 lead and then developed butter fingers as she started spraying her shots erratically. With Lakhani making a gritty effort to hang on, she struck it rich in the end. It was a deserving reward for her outing in the World Youth Cup where she had the opportunity to hone her talent with the best in the business in the junior section vying for honours. For 22-year-old Shalini Thakur it was a chance gone awry. Results: (Sonal Phadke b
Liza Pereira 6-3, 6-0; Srichanya Thiyagarajan b Marutha
Devi 6-2, 6-3; Isha Lakhani b Shalini Thakur 6-3, 2-6,
7-6 (7-5); Karishma Patel b Deepa Chakrabarty 6-7 (2-7),
6-2, 6-2; Radhika Mandke b Geeta Manohar 6-2, 7-5;
Archana Venkataraman b Sheetal Goutham 6-2, 6-2; Yamini
Thaukkaindi b Nona Wagh 6-4, 7-5 and Megha Vakharia b
Arthi Venkataraman 6-2, 6-4. |
Tapes can be corroborative evidence NEW DELHI, May 29 (UNI) — Legal experts said today that conversations like those captured on video by cricketer Manoj Prabhakar relating to match-fixing in Indian cricket last week can be relied upon only as corroborative evidence in Indian courts — that too if their authenticity and originality is proved. However, in the absence of evidence of any such conversation, the recording cannot be relied upon. Before any court can accept the evidence of tape records, it must carefully consider the genuineness of the tapes, according to a Calcutta High Court judgement. Usually, as it is expected to be, the tape recording of voice is done without the knowledge and consent of the person concerned and very often he is being trapped unknowingly into it. “Therefore, anything which is born of trickery or trapping or cunningness should be very cautiously and carefully considered. After all, ventriloquism is not very uncommon and before any court can rely on a tape record, the court must carefully guard itself against all these possible tampering and manufacturing. It should look for independent corroboration and intrinsic evidence before it relies on the tape.” The court should be cautious to accept the testimony of tape recording and should reject it unless there is further independent and reliable corroboration, said the Calcutta High Court. Also, the custody of the tape record must be beyond suspicion before a tape can be accepted. Mr A. S. Chandhiok, president of the Delhi High Court Bar Association (DHCBA), said the videotapes produced by Tahelka.com — which showed several prominent cricketers, officials and others acknowledging instances of match-fixing in Indian cricket — are admissible in Indian courts provided they are proved to be genuine, authentic and relevant to the case. Prabhakar and his associates may be prosecuted separately for invasion of privacy or defamation. But as long as the evidence is relevant, the court may assert the right to information as well, Mr Chandhiok said. Another judgement of the Madras High Court is significant here. It says the tape recorded statement is admissible if there is no dispute about the identity of speakers, the accuracy of recorded statement is duly proved, the possibility of tampering with statement is ruled out, the cassette is carefully sealed and kept in the custody of a judicial officer and the voice of parties are clearly audible. In 1982, the Supreme Court said in one of its rulings: “Tape recorded conversation can only be relied upon as corroborative evidence of conversation deposed of by any of the parties to the conversation and in the absence of evidence of any such conversation, the tape recorded conversation is indeed no proper evidence and cannot be relied upon.” Mr T.L. Garg, advocate at the Delhi High Court, said even English courts view the tape recordings before admitting it as evidence. “But the court must
be satisfied that the evidence yielded is not only
relevant but is authentic and original.” |
Kapil serves notice on Prabhakar NEW DELHI, May 29 (PTI) — Kapil Dev today sent legal notices to cricketer Manoj Prabhakar and the owners of portal tehelka.com demanding public apology from them for causing damage to his reputation by levelling “false” allegation of match-fixing against him, his counsel V.N. Koura said. The purpose of the notices was just to inform them of initiation of legal proceedings against them for causing ‘tremendous damage’ to the reputation of former captain and great allrounder Kapil Dev, who had set many records and won laurels for India by always leading from the front, the counsel told PTI. While stating that
Prabhakar and tehelka.com will be given one week’s
time to tender public apology for their act, Mr Koura
said “Kapil still will go ahead with the damage suit
against them for mitigation of his reputation.” He
said the amount of damage to be claimed would not be
specified in the notices as Prabhakar was still
“continuing with his shooting against Kapil
Dev”. |
|
NAGPUR, May 29 (PTI) — Former Indian medium-pacer Prashant Vaidya felt ‘completely betrayed’ by his 1994 Singer Trophy team-mate Manoj Prabhakar for video-recording their meeting. In a statement released today, Vaidya said: “I feel let down by a friend in whom I reposed a trust which now turns out to be misplaced”. “There was no necessity for Prabhakar to secretly tape record my conversion with him. I am a person who would always stand by truth,” Vaidya stated. “Prabhakar will himself be exposed,” he said adding, “I was not privy or witness to the incident alleged by him”. On Prabhakar’s allegation that “I have said Kapil acted well during BBC interview,” Vaidya said he meant “Kapil should have controlled his emotions”. “I have no
intention whatsoever of involving myself in the
controversy. I am away from cricket for the past four
years after my retirement and do not wish to become a
part of an unsavoury controversy of which, I have no
personal knowledge,” Vaidya said in a signed
statement |
|
PARIS, May 29 (AFP) — Swiss teenager Martina Hingis made an impressive start to her French Open campaign with a 6-0, 6-4 win over Belgium’s Sabine Appelmans in her first-round women’s singles match today. Top-seeded Hingis, aiming to win the only Grand Slam tennis title that has eluded her, looked slick as she swept aside Appelmans in just 52min. German eighth seed Nicolas Kiefer and French 12th seed Julie Halard-Decugis became the first big-name casualties when they were beaten by two Americans, Jan-Michael Gambill and Meghann Shaughnessy. Gambill swept aside Kiefer 6-3 7-5 6-1, while Shaughnessy won 7-5 6-4. France’s Sebastien Grosjean celebrated his 22nd birthday with a 6-4 6-2 1-6 6-1 win over Richard Fromberg of Australia, while 13th-seeded Briton Tim Henman beat Vincent Spadea of the USA 7-5 7-5 6-4. That result was Spadea’s 19th consecutive defeat. He has not won a match since he lost to Lleyton Hewitt in Lyon last October. Women’s seventh seed Nathalie Tauziat restored French pride after Halard-Decugis’s defeat, beating Dutch player Kristie Boogert 6-3 6-3, while 17-year-old Jelena Dokic survived a scare. The Yugoslav-born Australian, who caused a sensation by beating Hingis 6-2 6-0 in the opening round of Wimbledon last year, came from behind to beat Slovenia’s Tina Pisnik 3-6 7-6 6-4. Eleventh seed Nicolas Lapentti of Ecuador beat France’s Julien Boutter 6-4 6-2 6-0 and 1989 French champion Michael Chang beat Romanian Adrian Voinea 6-1 6-2 2-6 6-3. Hingis raced through the first set in just 16 minutes on a sunny but blustery centre court, allowing Appelmans — a former top 20-ranked player — just eight points. Hingis, 19, hit the ball deep and hard but also had time to add the odd delicate drop shot. Appelmans finally got on the scoreboard in the second game of the second set and fought her way from 2-4 to 4-4 as Hingis’ concentration briefly wavered. Hingis promptly broke for 5-4, however, and then served out for the match. Slovak-born Hingis showed no signs of the foot injury which has been troubling her recently and now plays either German qualifier Julia Abe or Austrian qualifier Marion Maruska. Hingis is looking to make amends this year after breaking down in tears and throwing tantrums as she lost to Steffi Graf in last year’s dramatic final. Hingis was also beaten by Croatia’s Iva Majoli in the final three years ago. Despite her outburst last year, Hingis was given a relatively warm welcome by the Paris fans. “I feel very comfortable here and it is nice to play my first match on centre court,” Hingis said. “This is a new year,” Hingis said. “I learned a lot from last year, and there were a lot of emotions, but now I’m looking to the future.” First-round men’s and women’s singles were being played on 16 of the slow, red clay courts on the opening day of the second Grand Slam tournament of the year. Former men’s champion Gustavo Kuerten, the fifth seed this year, also breezed into the second round with an amazing 6-0, 6-0, 6-3 win over Sweden’s unseeded Andreas Vinciguerra. Kuerten, the champion here in 1997 and the Hamburg Masters Series winner earlier this month, is a master on clay and completely outplayed Vinciguerra — taking just 73min to breeze into the last 64.
|
Dist
boxing meet results HOSHIARPUR, May 29 — Gaurav of Delhi Public School in the mini section, Gautam of Vidhya Mandir Senior Model School in subjuniors section, Baldev Krishan of Government Senior Secondary School in the junior section and Jagdish Singh in the senior section were adjudged best boxers in the 14th District Boxing Championship which concluded here last evening. Indoor Stadium Club, Hoshiarpur won the over all championship in the junior section and Punjab Police were champions in the senior section. Mr R.S. Sandhu, Secretary, Education, Punjab, gave away the prizes to the winners. The following are the final results. Junior section:- 36-39 kg — Vikram Negi I, Sumit Lamba II, 42-45 kg — Vikrant Kanwar I, Navneet Sharma II, 45-48 kg — Sanny Walia I, Amarjit Singh II, 54-57 kg — Karanvir Saini I, Ashutosh II, 60-63 kg — Anup Shard I, Rajvir Singh II. Senior section Light fly: Anand Thakur I, Joginder II, Fly weight — Anil Pathania I, Vinod Kumar II, Bantum weight — Devinder Kumar I, Swatantar Singh II, Feather weight — Pawan Kumar I, Sanjiv Saini II, Light welter — Jagdip I, Raghuvir II Welter weight — Vimal Nayar I, Munish Kumar II. More than 550 boxers
from all over the district participated. |
|
RENUKOOT, May 29 (UNI) — Uttar Pradesh won the 17th Sub-Junior National Handball Championship defeating Punjab 18-11 in the finals at the Hindalco football ground here. Jammu and Kashmir won the mini boys title defeating Madhya Pradesh 16-12. The Uttar Pradesh-Punjab encounter saw some exciting and thrilling moments. Though Punjab boys began confidently with a two goal lead in the opening phase yet up boys with their superior play technique not only equalled the lead in the next few minutes but also managed to take a decisive lead to lift the trophy. The combination of left
hander Anil Kumar and Sanjay was instrumental in the
hosts’ remarkable win as their stylish game kept the
rivals at bay. Sanjay with five goals and Anil with four
goals led the pack. For Punjab Sanjeev scored five goals
well supported by Sanjay’s four and Lateef
Mohd’s two. Parthiva triumphs CHANDIGARH, May 29 — Racing prodigy Parthiva Sureshwaren sponsored by JK Tyre, in his maiden international venture at Kuala Lumpur, secured the second position in the Formula Asia 2000 Championship, yesterday. This was his first race
in the international circuit after winning the JK Tyre
National Road Racing Championship in 1999. |
|
NEW DELHI, May 29 (PTI) — Doordarshan is finally bracing itself to the competition from other channels. Its sports channel is going round the clock from June 1, 2000, a press release said here today. Viewers will not be able
to watch the missed programmes in the night or next
morning. Live telecasts would be given most importance
which will be re-telecast as deferred live. Even
participating players will now be able to see their
performances after the live telecast. Afro-Asian Games: 2 disciplines
added NEW DELHI, May 29 — Two more disciplines — hockey and weightlifting, both for men and women — have been included in the inaugural Afro-Asian Games to be held in New Delhi in November next year. The Games will now have eight disciplines—athletics, football, boxing, shooting, tennis, swimming, hockey and weightlifting. According to a communication received by the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) in New Delhi from the Afro Asian Games Council’s (AAGC) Maj Gen Francis Nyangweso, the decision to include two more events was taken at the Afro-Asian Games Council meeting at Rio de Janeiro on May 23. The communication
stated: “The International Olympic Committee (IOC)
has reiterated its total support to the first Afro-Asian
Games which New Delhi would host from 3 to 11 November 3
to 11 next year”. |
Haryana
clinch taekwondo title HISAR, May 29 — Hosts Haryana annexed the title of third National Taekwondo Championship by securing 49 points which concluded here at Shanti Niketan Secondary School hare yesterday evening. Chandigarh with 12 points and Bihar with 10 points finished second and third, respectively. Over 300 players from all over India took part in the two-day championship. Results: Men: 50 kg: Ranvijay (Har) 1, Vinod Kumar (Chd) 2, Sunil Chatterjee (Bihar) 3. 54 kg: Sanjay Kumar (Har) 1, Amit Kumar (Pb) 2, Rajiv Chauhan (Chd) 3. 58 kg: Rajveer (Haryana) 1, Satpal (Pb) 2, Anoop (Raj) 3. 62 kg: Mandeep (Har) 1, Sanjeev Kumar (Chd) 2, Baljit Bedi (Orissa) 3. 66 kg: Sanjeev Bhardwaj (Har) 1, Navdeep (Chd) 2, Muskan Vij (Pb) 3. 70 kg: Anoop (Har) 1, Makhan Singh (WB) 3. Women: 30 kg: Parwinder Kaur (Har) 1, Pooja (Bihar) 2, Monika Sethi (Chd) 3. 35 kg: Jyoti (Bihar) 1, Neelam (Orissa) 2, Preety (WB) 3. 40 kg: Kanwaljeet Kaur (Har) 1, Neeru (Raj) 2, Poonam Dalal (Guj) 3. 45 kg: Aarti Kajal (Har) 1, Mamta Benarjee (WB) 2, Neetu (Bihar) 3. 50 kg: Reetu Dhanda (Chd) 1, Priya (Mumbai) 2, Nidhi Kaushik (Har) 3. 55 kg: Madhu (Har) 1, Santosh (UP) 2. 60 kg: Tinu (Har) 1, Rekha (Chd) 2. Above 60 kg: Krishana (Orissa) 1. Boys (junior): 34 kg: Rajesh Sharma (Har) 1, Sanjiv Kumar Chatterjee (WB) 2, Yashdeep Kajal (Raj) 3. 40 kg: Narender Vij (Mah) 1, Vikas Loon (Har) 2, Lucky (Mumbai) 3. 45 kg: Ramit Lot (Har) 1, Arun Maveja (Chd) 2, Rajat Sharma (Orissa) 3. 50 kg: Rakesh Kumar (Har) 1, Suresh Madan (Chd) 2, Ghanshyam (Raj) 3. 55 kg: Tara Chand (Har) 1, Sandeep Singh (WB) 2, Ganesh (Orissa) 3. 60 kg: Shiv Lot (Haryana) 1, Rohtash (Raj) 2, Amit Kumar (Chd) 3. 65 kg: Ankoor (Haryana) 1, Vijay Kumar (Bihar) 2, Mangat Sharma (Gujarat) 3. Boys (sub-junior): 20
kg: Bharat Bhushan (Har) 1, Kailash (Pb) 2. 24 kg: Sahil
Sharda (Haryana) 1, Amit Kumar Soni (Gujarat) 2. 29 kg:
Parteek Lamba (Har) 1, Rohit (UP) 2, Ajay Kumar (HP) 3.
34 kg: Nishant Lamba (Haryana) 1, Kimti (J&K) 2,
Gulshan (MP) 3. 39 kg: Praveen (Haryana) 1, Vijay (Bihar)
2, Ram Bilas (Chandigarh) 3. |
MP, Goa
emerge champions SOLAN, May 29 — Madhya Pradesh defeated Andhra Pradesh 10-4 in the finals of the boys’ section of the 10th National Sub-junior basketball Championships that concluded here yesterday. Goa lifted the girls’ section trophy by edging past Delhi 5-3. Maharashtra were placed second runner-up in the boys’ section while this consolation went to Haryana in the girls’ section. Maharashtra Izazud-Din was adjudged best pitcher while Bharat (Andhra) Pradesh) got the best catcher prize. The best fielder, best batter and best all rounder awards went to Flex Dias (Goa), Vikas (Madhya Pradesh) and Aniket (Andhra Pradesh) respectively among boys. Ms Dharuvi (Daman) and Neelu (M.P.) were given the best pitcher and best catcher prizes respectively. Saroj (Haryana) was adjudged the best fielder while best batter and best all rounder awards went to Goa’s Ms. Michlle and Delhis’ Shilpa, respectively. Sports Minister Parween
Sharma gave away the prizes. |
 |
| 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 | |
