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| Monday,
June 5, 2000, Chandigarh, India   
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Pakistan hold edge on Sri Lanka England in command
Hingis, Martinez win Medvedev flays
new ranking system
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Anand defeats Polgar Bierhoff boosts German
hopes
Badminton camp at Bhiwani Punjab Police win
basketball title
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Pakistan hold edge on Sri Lanka DHAKA, June 4 (PTI) — Having already made it to the final, defending champions Sri Lanka and Pakistan clash tomorrow in an inconsequential league match of the Asia Cup four-nation cricket tournament with each hoping to gain psychological advantage going into Wednesday’s summit clash. The two teams reached the final ahead of tomorrow’s last league match by winning both their league matches against Bangladesh and India — the four times champions returning home with only a lone win against the hosts to show. Sri Lanka was the first team to seal their berth in the final by beating India by 71 runs in their second league match on June 1 after thrashing Bangladesh by nine wickets in the tournament opener on May 28. And Pakistan followed suit, with a record 233-run rout of the hosts followed by a 44-run defeat of India last night. Tomorrow’s match — a dress rehersal of the final — though of academic interest only, will give the winner a perfect morale-booster ahead of the all-important final on June 7 though the two teams may avoid exerting much ahead of the final and even rest some key players. The Dhaka weather has been very oppressive and has caused all the teams a lot of trouble, and playing under lights in humid conditions has taken its toll on the players. Both Pakistan and Sri Lanka have well balanced sides with a mixture of young and experienced players. Both teams have good opening pairs and Pakistan through Saeed Anwar and Imran Nazir, and Sri Lanka with Sanath Jayasuriya and Aravinda de Silva have made good starts. But it is in the middle and lower order and bowling department that Pakistan hold a slight edge on their rivals. The Pakistani middle order of Inzamam ul Haq, Yousuf Youhana and Moin Khan looks formidable compared to the Sri Lankan trio of Mahela Jayawardene, Russel Arnold and Romesh Kaluwitharana. Pakistan also have talented all-rounders in Azhar Mahmood and Abdur Razzaq, who can chip in with good efforts with both the bat and ball whenever the team is in need. Razzaq has been the pick of the Pakistani bowlers with superb efforts of three for five and four for 28 in the two league matches while Mohmood, returning to the team after missing the Caribbean tour because of a groin injury claimed two wickets for 22 runs in the first match. The two medium-pacers along with seasoned paceman Wasim Akram, youngster Mohammad Akram and Arshad Khan form the backbone of the Pakistani attack with Shahid Afridi chipping in with his fastish leg break for a handful of overs. Sri Lanka also has a good bowling attack with seasoned Chaminda Vaas and Muttiah Muralitharan the biggest threat for any team in the world. And with Jayasuriya, Aravinda de Silva, Upul Chandana and Russel Arnold also able to turn their arm effectively, they have more variety than Pakistan — making tomorrow’s match a crack contest with the bat and ball — if the two manage to pump in some seriousness in it. |
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England in command NOTTINGHAM, June 4 (AP) — England rallied around a fine century by opener Michael Atherton to take control of the second cricket Test against Zimbabwe at Trent Bridge yesterday. After Atherton’s 136 had provided the backbone of England’s 374 all out, Zimbabwe were reduced to 51 for two at stumps on the third day. Trailing the two-match series 1-0, the visitors’ first task will be to score 175 runs to avoid following on. Paceman Darren Gough dismissed an out-of-form Grant Flower with the fifth ball of the innings before Ed Giddins trapped stop-gap opener Guy Whittal leg before for 28 runs. Zimbabwe were 181 for three in reply to England’s first innings total of 374 at tea on the fourth day of the second Test at Trent Bridge today. The mainstay of the innings, Atherton was the seventh dismissed when he drove loosely at medium paceman Mpumelelo Mbangwa to give extra cover Grant Flower a head high catch. In addition to Atherton’s near eight-hour innings there were useful contributions from opener Mark Ramprakash (56) and lefthander Chris Schofield, who hit 57 in his second Test. After a 75-minute delay in the morning, England resumed on 203 for 3 and lost two quick wickets before lunch. But the day belonged to the former England skipper, who put behind a frustrating wait since the first day and took just nine balls to complete his 14th hundred in his 97th Test. Atherton, resuming on 96, pulled Johnson to the mid-wicket boundary to post his fifth century here in 10 Test matches. Scoreboard: England (First innings) overnight:203-3 Atherton c G.Flower b Mbangwa 136 Ramprakash c G.Flower b Johnson 56 Hussain c Streak b Nkala 21 Hick c Murphy b Nkala 5 Stewart lbw b Whittall 9 Knight lbw b Whittall 1 Flintoff lbw b Mbangwa 16 Schofield b Murphy 57 Caddick c G.Flower b Nkala 13 Gough c Campbell b Streak 9 Giddins not out 3 Extras: (b-9 lb-13 w-16 nb-10) 48 Total: 374 Fall of wickets: 1/121 2/182 3/188 4/209 5/221 6/264 7/303 8/335 9/359. Bowling: Streak 32-7-82-1, Nkala 31-6-82-3, Johnson 22-7-63-1, Mbangwa 18-6-40-2, Murphy 12.2-1-36-1, Whittall 19-7-47-2, G.Flower 1-0-2-0. Zimbabwe (first innings): G.Flower c Ramprakash b Gough 0 Whittall lbw b Giddins 28 Goodwin not out 11 Johnson not out 9 Extras: (lb-2 nb-1) 3 Total: (for two wickets) 51 Fall of wickets: 1-1 2-33 Bowling (to date): Gough 5-0-12-1, Caddick 4-1-24-0, Giddins 4-2-4-1, Schofield 1-0-9-0. |
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Hingis, Martinez win PARIS, June 4 (Reuters) — World No 1 Martina Hingis survived a mid-match collapse at the French Open today to reach the quarter-finals with a 6-3, 0-6, 6-1 win over Romania’s Ruxandra Dragomir. Fifth-seeded Conchita Martinez of Spain qualified for the singles quarterfinals with a hard-fought 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 fourth-round win over Japan’s Ai Sugiyama. Having beaten the veteran Dragomir in straight sets at the same point of last year’s tournament, Hingis strode confidently on to the Suzanne Lenglen court. But, with the crowd clearly in Dragomir’s corner, Hingis soon appeared unsettled despite the reassuring presence of mother and coach Melanie Molitor sitting nearby in the stands. The contest began under slate grey skies and Dragomir, ranked 31 in the world, broke Hingis at the first opportunity. But Hingis broke back immediately, almost running into the stands to chase down what looked to be a Dragomir winner and then slamming a backhand passing shot down the line. Hingis went on to take the set but in less than impressive fashion, hitting more unforced errors than winners. In a scene reminiscent of her first round collapse to Jelena Dokic at Wimbledon last year, Hingis was broken three times in succession in the second set. It was the first set Hingis had dropped in four matches. But the top seed, determined to claim the one Grand Slam title missing from her collection, returned to the court for the final set looking much more determined. She lost the opening game but reeled off the next six for victory. “It was very cold and conditions were tough,” said Hingis. “In the second set I just wasn’t patient enough and got tired. “But in the third I knew I had to fight.” Earlier Martina Navratilove burst back into Grand Slam tennis after a five-year absence with a French Open women’s doubles win. Shaking the rust off her famous serve and volley game, the 43-year-old rewarded the crowd with a performance that she and South African partner Mariaan De Swardt were never in serious danger of losing. “I still managed to get the competitive juices going and have fun at the same time. It was a blast to be out there, a total blast”, she said after Friday’s first round match. “I don’t think I’d want to play against somebody as old as I am. I’m sure the players are thinking, ‘Oh, she’s not going to get to that ball”, she joked, nursing a wrist wrapped in an ice pack. Navratilova was all smiles as she stepped out on to the clay court to whistles and shouts of “Martina”, but a look of glacial concentration took over when the pair found themselves losing for a time. But Navratilove and De Swardt recovered to beat Belgium’s Sabine Appelmans and Italy’s Rita Grande 5-7, 6-1, 6-3 for a winning return here. Paying tribute to 29-year-old De Swardt, Navratilove said they made a good team. |
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Medvedev flays
new ranking system PARIS, June 4 (DPA) — Last year Andrei Medvedev talked about his love-life at the French Open, this time around he has more serious matters to discuss, most notably the new ATP ranking system. Coming off a third-round win over Argentinian qualifier Augustin Calleri, Medvedev referred to his next opponent Magnus Norman as “the so-called No 1”. “For everybody else it is Andre Agassi. For every guy in the locker room there is no better player than Andre Agassi at the moment. Even with his loss at the French Open everybody still thinks he is No 1,” said the 25-year-old. “You know Norman is No 1 because everybody is talking about it. But actually none of the players care,” he added. The ATP changed its ranking system this year from a rolling 52-week format to a race where all players start with zero points at the beginning of each year. Medvedev ranks 52nd in the race, but is 20th in the old format which is only used now for entry purposes. “I don’t know why they changed it. We are not like formula one. But it’s the first year and we have to wait until the end of the year. It only matters at the end of the year anyway,” said Medvedev. |
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Navratilova unhappy with French Open facilities PARIS, June 4 (DPA, AFP) — Martina Navratilova’s got a few suggestions for the medical and catering sides of the $ 10.25-million French Open. The tennis legend is back in the doubles mix, winning through with South African Mariaan De Swardt into the second round. After the victory, the 43-year-old American had a list of complaints about life in the Roland Garros locker room. For one thing, the ice used for treatment is not to her liking. “They don’t make it easy for players here, they really don’t,” she complained. “Just getting ice, it’s big chunks. Can’t they give you smaller ice?” The particular player with the precise tastes also didn’t approve of the selection of food available for competitors. “Now I know why I brought my own food before,” she said. “They have 18 kinds of desserts — I counted — and not one vegetable. Who are they feeding? The people that are here or the players?” US men have slumped to one of their worst performances at the French Open. The third-round exit of 1989 champion Michael Chang marked the end of the North American run for this edition. It was quite a contrast to last year, when Andre Agassi lifted an emotional title. Chang, Agassi, Pete Sampras, the retired Jim Courier and Todd Martin are the last of a generation reaching 30. Their days in the elite are numbered, with only Agassi and Sampras still considered top contenders. This was only the second time in the post-1968 open tennis era that an American man has not reached at least the round of 16 at a Grand Slam. The other time was just two years ago, when Chang again emerged as the final survivor, albeit in the third round, where he lost. Russia moves forward With Yevgeny Kafelnikov, 20-year-old Marat Safin and teen star Anna Kournikova hogging their share of the limelight, Russia is moving steadily to the forefront of world tennis — and another young hope, Max Mirnyi, says there are political reasons for that. Mirnyi, now playing for independent Belarus, remembers the old Soviet system of excellence which developed the likes of Andrei Chesnokov, who is now enjoying success as Safin’s coach, as well as Ukraine’s Andrei Medvedev. It was a hard school, according to Mirnyi, but effective. “The system only allowed the best two to play (overseas) competitions — for the rest, there was nothing. But the positive thing was it was extremely competitive,” he said. Mirnyi said Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko was continuing to push the sport — just as former Russian President Boris Yeltsin, another self-confessed tennis nut, had during his time. Sick French Open Playing at the French Open is enough to make you sick — at least, that appears to be the case, with players suffering from a whole range of ailments in the opening week. For outgoing champion Andre Agassi, it was a blister which wrecked his tournament, but he was far from being the only one. For Australian Andrew Ilie it was wrist cramps as he bowed out to Russia’s Marat Safin while Swiss pair Roger Federer and Michel Kratochvil both said they felt like throwing up after a five-set tussle lasting four-and-a-half hours in the summer heat. Colombian Fabiola Zuluaga also suffered an upset stomach as she exited the women’s singles at the hands of Natasha Zvereva and even Monica Seles had to resort to antibiotics to treat a cold on her way into the last 16. Chile’s Marcelo Rios pointed to pains in his legs as he lost in the opening round while Hernan Gumy and Davide Sanguinetti also felt queasy as they crashed out. Lindsay Davenport tumbled out with a back injury, while Rika Hiraki went of the women’s doubles with a twisted ankle. Former world No 1 Pete Sampras must be feeling pretty sick, too — of the sight of Parisian red clay. His assault on the only Grand Slam he has never won failed once more when he slid out in the first round to Australia’s Mark Philippoussis. Big names take time out Pat Rafter and Martina Hingis are two of the biggest names in tennis — but they haven’t forgotten their roots. The two-time US Open champion from Australia and the world No 1 from Switzerland both took time out to sign autographs for adoring young fans at Roland Garros last afternoon — drawing huge crowds. Organisers said Anna Kournikova and another Australian, Mark Philippoussis, had proved the most popular autograph-signers over the opening five days of the tournament. Support for Medvedev Ukraine star Andrei Medvedev has a famous fan in attendance as he aims to repeat his feat of making last year’s final at the French Open. Striker Andrii Shevchenko, a fellow Ukrainian who plays football for AC Milan, has been at courtside cheering Medvedev on. Other stars spotted in the crowd have included French World Cup winners Zinedine Zidane and Frank Leboeuf as well as Croatian international striker Davor Suker. Medvedev, meanwhile, has been the butt of jokes for wearing loud, baggy plaid shorts — be he says he only wears them because they are comfortable and that it has nothing to do with superstition. “I’m superstitious about not being superstitious,” he said. “I wouldn’t do the same things because it is silly. You become dependent on things that have nothing to do with your tennis. Why should I go to the same restaurant or wear the same shorts?” |
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Anand defeats Polgar leon, june 4 (pti) — Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand stormed into the final of the Advance chess tournament with a hard-fought 2.5-1.5 victory over world’s top woman player Judit Polgar of Hungary here last night. Bidding to revive his form which has touched a low this year, India’s Anand drew both the rapid games and then defeated Polgar in the second blitz game to set up final against Spaniard Alexei Shirov. One of the best users of computers amongst competitive players, world No 2 Anand was stretched to 60 moves in the opening rapid game before the two agreed for a truce. Anand, with white pieces, started the game well opting for less used ‘5c3’ variation against the Sicilian Paulsen and gained space advantage in the middlegame. |
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Bubka to
retire TURIN, June 4 (AFP) — Six-time world pole vault champion Sergei Bubka announced here yesterday that he would call time on his glittering career after a final stab at gold in the Sydney Olympics. The Ukrainian legend, speaking at a memorial service for former athletics’ chief Premio Nebiolo, said: “I’ve had a difficult time, undergoing a second tendon operation after the one I had in 1996. I’ve had to really work hard these last three months to make sure I’m in the best condition for September (and the Olympics).” Bubka, who has towered over his discipline for years, refused to be drawn on his chances of striking gold in Australia to add to the Olympic title he gained in 1988. |
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Bierhoff boosts German
hopes
NUREMBERG, (Germany), June 4 (Reuters) — Olivier Bierhoff breathed a deep sigh of relief after ending his goal drought to give Germany a timely boost ahead of Euro 2000 in yesterday’s 3-2 win over the Czech Republic. The AC Milan forward, who scored both goals in the 2-1 win over the same opponents in the Euro 96 final, repeated the feat after coming off the bench for the final 30 minutes. The victory, coming just four days after a 4-0 demolition of Real Mallorca, lifted more of the gloom which has enveloped the national team in the countdown to the European Championship finals. Bierhoff had come in for heavy criticism after failing to find the net in 616 minutes of international football and after the match he admitted to feeling relieved. “It’s never easy when you don’t score for a long time,” said the 32-year-old. Bierhoff put the Germans 2-1 ahead from the penalty spot in the 62nd minute and then scored the winner with a header in the dying moments. The German captain said he had been upset to start the match on the bench against the side placed second in FIFA’s world rankings. “I wasn’t happy about it,” said Bierhoff. “Nobody likes it but you have to accept it.” |
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Dutch lift Champions Trophy AMSTELVEEN, (Netherlands), June 4 (DPA) — The Netherlands defeated Germany 2-1 in extra time today to capture the men’s hockey Champions Trophy. Eikelboom put the hosts ahead in the 11th minute, before Domke tied it up for Germany in the 54th. The winning goal came from Veen in the 82nd minute. Yesterday, the Dutch women had won their version of the trophy with a 3-2 victory, also over Germany. In earlier men’s matches on Sunday, South Korea beat Spain 3-0 for the third place, while Australia edged Great Britain 3-2 to finish fifth. Olympic and world silver medallist the Netherlands defeated Germany 3-2 to win the title in the women’s Champions Trophy hockey tournament here yesterday. The Netherlands rode on Ageeth Boomgaardt’s two goals to repeat their triumph in last year’s European Cup final in Padova, Italy. The Netherlands had won 2-1 in the European Cup title clash. Ageeth Boomgaardt scored the Netherlands match-winner two minutes from close on a penalty stroke after Germany had dominated play in the second half. During the action-packed final two minutes of play, the Netherlands earned a penalty stroke on their fifth penalty corner when Dillianne van den Boomgaardt’s shot struck German defender Simone Grasser on the foot. Boomgaardt’s penalty flick was blocked by goalkeeper Julia Zwehl but the umpires asked the stroke to be retaken as the custodian had moved before the flick was executed. Boomgaardt made no mistake on her second penalty flick and sent the ball into the top right corner of the cage for her second goal of the final. She had opened the scoring in the sixth minute by deflect-ing Van den Boomgaardt’s penalty corner shot into the goal. Van den Boogaard then sounded the boards on the second penalty corner with a rasping drive in the 17th minute. Ace striker Nadine Ernsting-Krienke’s two-goal burst brought Germany back into the game. She first tipped in Denise Klecker’s long shot in the 22nd minute and then snatched the ball from a defender to drive home from the top of circle in the 30th minute. Germany held away for most of the second session but wayward shooting by its strikers let the Netherlands off the hook. |
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HP players pivot of BSF, Punjab Police DHARAMSALA, June 4 — It pains the heart of these promising young men from Himachal Pradesh to represent outside teams like Punjab Police and BSF on their home soil, but it is the indifferent attitude of the state government towards promoting sports that compelled these sportsmen of international repute to play for outside teams. Having won laurels at the international level, seven of them are part of the BSF volleyball team and three of the main players in the Punjab Police team hail from Himachal. It was evident during the 49th All-India Police Sports Meet, held here, that sportsmen from Himachal Pradesh not only formed part of teams from other states and organisations but played a major role in that victory. Surjeet Singh, of Jandoor village in Una district, has captained the Indian national volleyball team and been its member for the past six years. After the Himachal Government refused to induct him as an Inspector, Punjab Police lapped him up. It was BSF officers who came to us with an open offer to join them, while we were still training at the Sports Authority of India centre at Bilaspur,” he said. “With the best training, facilities and promotional avenues being provided to us by the BSF, I have played in Germany, China Czechoslovakia, Malaysia and most of the Middle-East countries,” says Surjeet. Manoj Kumar (23) who hails from Chamoh village in Hamirpur district, is the backbone of the Punjab Police team. “The Punjab Police officers have a knack of spotting talent and grooming it, to take it up to the international level,” he says with all praise for Punjab Police, ADGP, Mr M.S. Bhullar Manoj too has represented Punjab Police at international sports meet, but laments that Himachal Pradesh lacks the infrastructure and interest to promote sports. It was on the demand of the public in Shimla, while playing for the Dr Y.S. Parmar Tournament, that all these players made a request to the Chief Minister, Mr P.K Dhumal and the Himachal Pradesh DGP, Mr T.R. Mahajan, to take them in Himachal Pradesh Police, at the same designations. “The organisations we are playing for have taken really good care of us in all respects but one feels special pride in playing for his home state,” they say. However, it has been almost a year since this request was made but there has been no response from the government. These sportsmen intend taking up the matter again with Chief Minister. Owing to the lackadancal approach of the government, even Sub-Inspector, Shive Ram Chaudhary of the Himachal Pradesh Police, was not promoted, even after winning a gold medal in boxing at the last All-India Police Meet, held at Jalandhar. The members of the Himachal Pradesh Police team, which participated in the meet, were asked to return even their track suits and sports shoes after the event. With this attitude of the Himachal Pradesh Government, the talented youth are left with no other option but to seek avenues outside the state. |
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Badminton camp at Bhiwani CHANDIGARH, June 4 — The national badminton coaching camp in progress at Bhiwani since May 15 will continue up to June 9. As many as 29 players from various states are participating. The selection of the players was done by the selection committee of the Badminton Association of India and the expenses are being borne by the Sports Authority of India. The players are Madhvi, Samarika, Vikram, Vipul, Divya and Nishu (all Jammu); Ankush, Jitender, Kavleen, Afrosa, and Praveen (all Rajasthan); Manish, Nitin, Parul, and Chitralekha (all Delhi); Anoop and Ankush (Himachal pradesh); Rohit, Sumit Dahiya, Gaurav, Anshul, Gauri, Roma and Anita (all Haryana); Mayank and Akshay (Punjab); Puneet Bansal, Akash Sethi and Isha Sharma (all Chandigarh). According to Mr Surinder Mahajan, camp in charge, the training is being imparted in three sessons. Coaches from M.P. and Haryana are also assisting the camp. The Regional Director of Sports Authority of India, Dr P.C. Kashyap, and president, Haryana Badminton Association, Mr Devinder Singh, IAS, visited the camp to motivate the
trainees. |
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Punjab Police win
basketball title DHARAMSALA, June 4 — Punjab Police won the basketball and volleyball titles while Haryana Police won the kabaddi final. The trophy for handball went to Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) team at the 49th all-India sports meet here yesterday. Speaking on the concluding function, the Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister, Mr P.K. Dhumal, blamed the wrong sports policy and selection norms for the poor performance of the Indian teams at the various international meets. While stressing the need for spotting talent at a young age, he said all facilities should be provided to the sports persons so that they could perform well as national and international levels. |
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