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| Friday, June 23, 2000, Chandigarh, India   
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Holland fight back to down France |
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Harneet, Tushar win
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Holland fight back to down France AMSTERDAM, June 22 (AFP) — Holland earned a rousing 3-2 fightback victory over second-string France here last night meaning they play in their own country for the rest of this Euro 2000 tournament. Boudewijn Zenden scored the winner, shortly after a blistering freekick goal from skipper Frank de Boer, as the co-hosts came from behind to earn a quarter-final meeting against Yugoslavia in Rotterdam on Sunday. Group D runners-up France meet Spain in the Belgian city of Bruges the same day. France had led at the interval after a David Trezeguet deflection gave them a 2-1 lead. earlier, Holland’s Patrick Kluivert had equalised Christophe Dugarry’s opener for the World Cup holders. Dutch coach Frank Rijkaard said afterwards: “We wanted to win and fought very hard. We did not get it for free and we had to work hard to get the result we wanted.” When asked whether the French B team being technically superior to Holland worried him, Rijkaard added: “No it does not worry me because we know the French always have technically good players. “They showed we a lot of confidence and remember we were playing the world champions tonight. They were dangerous up front when they were in possession. “We showed as can equal the French and do better when we want to. We lost the ball too much in the first half but we played better in the second and the result was there in the end.” Frank de Boer admitted that the Dutch were delighted to be playing the Yugoslavs instead of Spain in the last eight. “Without (French star Zinedine) Zidane it was important for us to win the match and the group as we wanted to play Yugoslavia because they have picked up several yellow cards,” explained the Barcelona player. But France coach Roger Lemerre said he was not perturbed at facing Spain instead of Yugoslavia. “Whether it is Yugoslavia or Spain it is a match we must win and it changes nothing”, said Lemerre. Although both teams were already through to the quarter-finals they both played attacking football from the whistle. Stand-in French keeper Bernard Lama saved early on from Zenden and Phillip Cocu’s downward header from a Dennis Bergkamp cross went just left of the goal. Then came France’s opening goal, Johan Micoud fired over a corner from the right and it was headed home by Dugarry after eight minutes. Just before the quarter-hour was up though, Holland had equalised. On Bergkamp’s second through ball to striker Kluivert, the forward ran into the area, checked to his right and rifled the ball across the face of goal into the corner. Frank Leboeuf had been caught out of position by Bergkamp’s pass. Bergkamp, having a superb half, twice had shots before another attempt rebounded off the corssbar and Lama was relieved to catch the rebound from Kluivert. Moments later Micoud tried an audacious chip from the halfway line which was tipped over the bar by Holland’s reserve keeper Sander Wes Terveld. Just past the half-hour, France were once more in the lead. Sylvain Wiltord fired a shot through a crowded goalmouth and Trezeguet stuck out a leg to get the slightest of deflections, sparking songs of celebration by the away fans. In time added on in the first period, Dugarry, who had earlier upended Marc Overmars to the right of the box, earned a yellow card for a foul on Artur Numan in the only caution of the half. Dugarry and Kluivert both had chances before Frank de Boer scored one of the goals of this June 10 to July 2 tournament so far. Edgar Davids was fouled some 30 metres from goal. But as the French defence slowly put their wall together the quick-thinking de Boer stepped up to fire home an unstoppable left foot shot, a surprised Lama could only palm on to the crossbar and into the net in the 51st minute. Then came Zenden’s winner eight minutes later. Westerveld kicked the ball upfield, it bounced once, and Zenden was on the end of it, firing a low, right-footed shot inside Lama’s right hand post. Again poor defending was partly to blame with Leboeuf unable to get his head to the punt and Christian Karembeu allowing Zenden a free run on the goal. Dutch coach Frank Rijkaard brought off Kluivert, probably to keep him fresh, giving Deportivo La Coruna striker Roy Makaay a taste of the action. Denmark lose 2-0 LIEGE (Belgium): The Czech Republic left Euro 2000 in style with a 2-0 win over Denmark in a match made meaningless after both sides had lost twice in group D. Two second half goals in four minutes from Liverpool’s Vladimir Smicer gave the Czechs both points and left Danish captain and goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel fuming as the 1994 champions went home without a win and without a goal. They also had the tournament’s worst defence, conceding eight goals.The first half was a subdued affair with neither side creating chances in a half empty stadium. The pace lifted in the second half as both sides abandoned their defensive positions in a bid to end with a win.Yellow cards were handed out to Karel Poborsky and Jesper Groenkjaer when they faced up to each other after 51 minutes and Stig Tofting followed into the referee’s book with a late tackle four minutes later. The Danes started to
look dangerous as they piled forward, but it was the
Czechs who opened the scoring on the counter-attack after
61 minutes. Benfica’s Karel Poborsky did well to
control an overhit through ball from midfield and fire in
a low, hard cross past Schmeichel for Smicer to blast in
at the far post. |
Media hails Spanish win MADRID, June 22 (DPA) — Spain’s breathtaking 4-3 defeat of Yugoslavia, which allows Jose Antonio Camacho’s spirited side to squeeze into the European Championship quarter-finals, has already become part of Spanish football history. The media have hailed the win - accomplished thanks to two goals in injury-time - as one of the most memorable in the history of the Spanish national side. Within seconds of the dramatic clash in the Bruges finishing, state television channel TVe already compared the victory with the astonishing 12-1 defeat of Malta which allowed Spain to qualify for the 1984 European Championship finals. Other television channels vied with TVe in offering hyperbolic, apocalyptic descriptions of the game. Whilst repeating the goals for the umpteenth time, Tele 5 claimed that “this will go down as one of the greatest moments in Spanish football history”, and made the point that Camacho’s side had shown the “fury” traditionally associated with the national team since the 1920 Olympics. Antena 3, meanwhile, compared the win with Spain’s memorable 1-0 defeat of Germany in the 1984 tournament, with Antonio Maceda scoring the only goal in injury time. All of the channels and radio stations agreed that Spain deserved to win and qualify for the quarters. Tele 5 summed up popular sentiment by describing the Yugoslavs as “a cynical bunch of time-wasters who deserve little”. There was even less sympathy for Norway, who, according to radio station Cadena Ser, “deserve to be going home after scoring just one goal”. The reaction in the streets was a mixture of euphoria and surprise, despite the game being played at an inconvenient hour by Spanish standards. Many factories and offices finished work early in order to follow the match. After the frenetic finale, around 200 fans converged on Madrid’s famous Plaza de Cibeles, where Real Madrid’s Champions Cup triumphs are always celebrated. The reaction in the Basque country and in Catalonia was notably less vociferous. Fans in these regions have rarely identified with the national team, despite the abundance of Basque and Catalan players in Camacho’s squad. Predictably, the win is reported on the front page of every single newspaper today, with “miraculous” being the most frequently used adjective. The most succinct headline is offered by ABC: “From hell to glory in two minutes”. Sports daily Marca talks about the “three minutes which could change the history of Spanish football”, whilst Catalan paper La Vanguardia praises “Camacho’s courage and the players’ persistence”. Most papers are optimistic about Spain’s chances against France on Sunday. According to Diario 16, “If the team plays with the same character and ambition, then the world champions are in trouble”. El Pais, however, wisely
adds a note of caution. “Spain have not played well
in any of their three matches, against mediocre
opposition, and an element of luck was needed to beat
Yugoslavia. They will need to recapture the
sophistication and elegance displayed in the qualifying
round in order to compete with France.” |
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OSLO, June 22 (Reuters) — Norwegians drowned sorrows at their team’s ejection from Euro 2000 after a nail-biting injury-time drama by concluding today the team were simply not good enough for the quarter-finals. “We got what we deserved,” the top-selling Verdens Gang daily said in a front-page headline over a picture of a thunderstruck coach Nils Johan Semb on his knees on the pitch where Norway had just played out a dull 0-0 draw against Slovenia. Some commentators called for a more imaginative style, upgrading a long-ball system which brought the team just one goal in three matches at Euro 2000. None called for Semb’s resignation. “Red, white and beaten,” the daily Dagbladet said in a headline over a photograph of a Norwegian fan wiping away a tear with the nation’s red, white and blue flag. Souvenir sellers in Belgium and Netherlands halved the price of Norwegian mementoes. Norway celebrated for about two minutes after their 0-0 draw against Slovenia seemed to have put them in the last eight ahead of Spain. A television commentator hailed a “historic” achievement. Those celebrations stopped when Spain knocked in two goals in the dying minutes of the other group C match to beat Yugoslavia 4-3 and overtake Norway. Bars around Norway, full of cheering supporters, quickly emptied. “Maybe we didn’t deserve to go further. We didn’t create enough chances and we didn’t score enough goals. So the two teams who qualified deserved to do it,” said striker Ole Gunnar Solskjaer of Manchester United. “In a sense we deserved to be knocked out. We played two bad games, against Yugoslavia and Slovenia,” said midfielder Erik Mykland. Striker Tore Andre Flo of England’s Chelsea, who has not scored for Norway since late 1999, said he had never felt so fed up with football. Norway, undefeated away from home since the 1998 World Cup, went to Euro 2000 with high hopes despite injuries to several key players, such as Manchester United defender Ronny Johnsen. According to theory, the team’s traditional strengths in defence were supplemented by a new edge in attack — by players like Solskjaer, Flo, Tottenham’s Steffen Iversen and Valencia’s John Carew. But none lived up to the billing. Iversen scored the only goal in a 1-0 victory over Spain. Norway lost their other game 0-1 to Yugoslavia and created almost no chances against Slovenia, whom they beat convincingly last year. “Norway didn’t
manage to beat Euro 2000’s worst team in Euro
2000’s worst match. Norway scored just one goal in
three matches and so everyone understands that Norway got
what they deserved,’’ Verdens Gang commentator
Truls Daehli said. Dagbladet’s commentator Oivind
Monn-Iversen was more forgiving. “I’m convinced
that Nils Johan Semb’s playing style is the only
right one for a Norwegian national team,” he said.
Semb has been trying to diversify the team away from its
rock-solid defence. |
How
‘Banjo’ was drawn into match-fixing JOHANNESBURG, June 22 — A passion to be recognised as the man who could introduce anyone to Hansie Cronje, dragged Johannesburg businessman Hamid “Banjo” Cassim into the match-fixing scandal. Cassim was named by Cronje as the middleman who introduced him to Indian bookmaker Sanjeev Chawla. However, Cassim has denied knowing at the time that Chawla was a bookmaker. Cassim’s lawyer, Itzie Blumberg, told the commission that his client often wanted to show his importance because he knew Cronje. Blumberg said Cronje’s reference to his client as “just a bloke who used to hang around handing out biltong to the team” was derogatory, as Cassim had become very friendly with several members of the team. “I may have had dinner with Mr Cassim and certain administrators in the South African side,” Cronje tried to recollect when questioned. Cronje confirmed that he communicated with Cassim in Afrikaans. Cronje said that Cassim had introduced to him an actress from India, who was not named, and that Cassim was really the go-between and the one who had introduced him to Chawla. Blumberg argued that on the night that Cronje met Chawla in Durban, Cassim was more interested in a match that was being shown on television in his room than in the discussion between the two men. “I think he was aware of the discussion that was going on between me and Sanjay,” Cronje said, adding that the meeting lasted only 10 minutes. Cronje confirmed that Cassim saw Sanjay hand him a packet, but that there was no discussion of the amount of money. “Sanjay originally wanted some information which would be helpful and he wanted us to get a negative result in a game against Zimbabwe to try and get him to make some money,” Cronje said. Cassim emerged as a popular figure with local and international cricketers, and as a person who was instrumental in acquiring South African cricketers to play in benefit games in India. Cronje admitted that he was aware of Cassim’s familiarity with Indian and Pakistani players. Blumberg said Cassim had taken Indian players around when they came to South Africa for medical treatment and that he had also given South African cricketers electronic goods at cost price. Cronje agreed with Blumberg that Cassim was only a “conduit for messages” when Sanjay could not get hold of him. He also agreed that Cassim was not involved in betting. “He (Cassim) called many times and Sanjay would speak to me afterwards,” Cronje said. “As I’m aware, Hamid never placed any money on the games. Sanjay was the one who placed the bets,” he added. Cassim is a popular socialite in the Indian community in Johannesburg. The sweetshop that he runs in the suburb of Fordsburg is adorned with autographed photographs of sports stars and draws large crowds on weekends. — India
Abroad News Service |
IOA team inspects Games venues CHANDIGARH, June 22 — “I have apprised the visiting two-member team of Indian Olympic Association regarding the progress and other recommendations for the National Games. Now it is up to them to submit their report and come out with their viewpoint”, quipped Mr Inderjit Singh Bindra Secretary-General of the Organising Committee of National Games scheduled for November this year here today. Mr R.L. Anand, vice-president of the IOA, and AVM Mr S.M. Mayor, Director of the National Games had come to inspect various venues at Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Patiala and Chandigarh for the on-the-spot study of the progress made on this front. Today morning the team visited four venues of the city — Lake Club, Golf Club, Sector 10, tennis stadium and Patiali Rao Ranges. Mr T.K. Balu, Director, Technical and Raja K.S. Sidhu, Secretary, Punjab Rifle Shooting Association, accompanied them. Mr Bindra said that planning commission had sanctioned Rs 18.5 crore early this month. A sum of Rs 5 crore had already been released in the previous financial year. Regarding roping in of sponsors, Mr Bindra said since the dates were yet not clear no talks with them could be possible. He said if no renovation was made in the Sector 25 range, the discipline could be shifted to SAS Nagar, Anandpur Sahib or even Phillaur. When asked about the deadline for deciding the city venues, he said that within next seven days the decision will be taken. Regarding the new boats for rowing, he told that as per the estimates, Rs 20 lakhs were required for purchase. No postponement PATIALA (FOSR): Despite some hiccups regarding the renovation of the main stadium at Ludhiana where the President will inaugurate the 31st edition of the National Games and the Prime Minister will be the chief guest, the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) has ruled out any further possibility of postponing the games, which are to be held at various cities in Punjab from November 18 to 29. The games have already been postponed once. This was disclosed by Mr.T.K. Balu, Director (Technical) of the National Games yesterday. Mr Balu was in the city with a high-level IOA team to meet officials concerned with the holding of the games, construction agencies engaged in renovating and upgrading the existing facilities and senior officials of the Punjab Sports Department. Mr Balu accompanied the two-member IOA delegation comprising Mr R.L. Anand, vice president of the IOA and AVM S.M. Mayor, Director, National Games (IOA). The IOA team visited various venues in the city which are to host various disciplines the team officials accompanied by the NIS executive Director Col B.S. Ahluwalia and the District Sports Officer Mr S.S. Tiwana. The disciplines of archery, kho-kho, gymanstics, swimming and weightlifting have been allotted to Patiala. In a new development, Mr Vishwajit Khanna has been appointed as special secretary (Sports) till the completion of the games. He will assist Mr I.S. Bindra, Secretary (Sports) and Secretary General of the National Games Organising Committee. A sum of Rs 50 crore has been earmarked for holding the event. The Punjab Government will chip in with Rs 15 crore out of which Rs 5 crore has already been released in the previous financial year while the remaining amount will be disbursed shortly. The planning commission has in the first week of June sanctioned Rs 18.5 crore and the Department of Sports , Government of India, will be doling out Rs 11 crore. The remaining amount of Rs 5.50 crores will come through corporate houses and sponsors. For laying Astro-grass hockey turf at Jalandhar`s Burlton Park and the new eight-lane synthetic surface for athletics at the Guru Nanak Stadium, global tenders were invited and letters of credit (LOC) have already been opened in the name of two foreign firms. The IOA team looked worried over the slow pace of work going on at the Main stadium at Ludhiana. Fearing that the monsoon season is near and work during that period may come to a complete standstill , the IOA team which visited Ludhiana has asked the officials concerned to take up the renovation and other related work on a war footing. The IOA team expressed satisfaction at the venues here, where events will take place at the Rink Hall, YPS stadium, Polo Grounds and the indoor gymnasium. However, the IOA team has asked the organisers here to improve the acoustics system and the lighting arrangements at the Polo grounds indoor hall which will host the gymnastic and boxing events. For the first time circle kabaddi will be held during the games. Earlier the National Games used to host only the national style kabaddi the YPS stadium will play host to both the kho-kho and kabaddi events. While kho-kho will be held on the first four days the next five days have been allotted to kabaddi events. The IOA team has asked
the organisers to build seven extra rooms at each venue
in the state specifically to be used as computer centre,
media centre, players lounge etc. |
Harneet,
Tushan win CHANDIGARH, June 22 — It was big day for Harneet Singh a class IX student of local St John’s high school, who scalped sixth seed Ajay Selveraj of Tamil Nadu and sailed into finals of the under 14 boys section on the penultimate day of the AITA sub-junior tennis tournament here today. Harneet downed Ajay 6-3, 6-2. Another city promising lad Tushar Liberhan, a class VIII student of St John’s School, whipped local lad Ardaman Sidhu 6-0, 6-2 to set up a title clash with Harneet tomorrow. Harneet had earlier upset two seeds in this tournament. The matches scheduled for morning hours were delayed due to light rain. In boys under 16 section, top seed Dhrub Kumar representing West Bengal was extended in first set by Britannia Amritraj Academy, Chennai, trainee Chhatwinder Singh. In the second set, Chhatwinder, could not face the spirited stroke play of Dhrub and tamely lost 6-7(5), 0-6. In second semifinal, second seed V. Vignesh of AP proved too good for Rishi Behl of Maharashtra and won at 6-1, 6-3. In girls 14 section, Ankita Bhambri and her sister Sanaa Bhambri thwarted Parul Goswami of Delhi and Karitiki Bhat of Maharashtra at 6-0, 6-3 and 7-5, 6-2, respectively to set up a clash in the finals. In under 16 girls section, Ankita Bhambri defeated her younger sister Sanaa in straight sets 6-3, 6-4 while Priyanka Parekh of West Bengal outplayed Oormila Ram of Andhra Pradesh 6-3, 6-3 to enter the finals. Ankita Bhambri and Sanaa bagged the girls under 16 doubles title blanking Anjani and Mallika Malhotra 6-0, 6-0. In boys doubles under 16
semifinal, Saurabh Kohli and V. Vignesh got the better of
Rishi and P. Vikas 7-6(2), 2-6, 6-4 while Dhrub and Manoj
overpowered Chhatwinder and Somdev 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 to book
a berth for the tomorrow’s final. |
Anwar, Inzamam hit tons GALLE, June 22 (AFP) — Centuries by Saeed Anwar and Inzamam-ul-Haq saw Pakistan take complete control of the second cricket Test against Sri Lanka at the Galle International Stadium today. Anwar made a sedate 123, and Inzamam a scintillating 112 as Pakistan finished the third day strongly placed at 341 for five wickets, a lead of 160 runs on the first innings. Sri Lanka made 181. After Anwar hit his 10th Test century and his second against Sri Lanka, it was Inzamam who dominated the batting. The strongly-built stroke-maker took the Sri Lanka bowling by the scruff of the neck to race to his 11th Test century off 135 balls. Inzamam went to his hundred by hitting Sri Lanka captain Sanath Jayasuriya for four consecutive fours after the drinks break. His century comprised 16 fours and he batted for 170 minutes. Scoreboard Sri Lanka (1st innings): 181 Pakistan (1st innings): Anwar c Kaluwitharana b Arnold 123 Wasim c Ranatunga b Muralitharan 29 Mahmood b Muralitharan 0 Youhana st Kaluwitharana b Muralitharan 41 Inzamam c Kaluwitharana b Pushpakumara 112 Younis Khan not out 24 Razzaq not out 0 Extras: (lb-2, nb-10) 12 Total: (for 5 wkts, 113 overs, 458 mins) 341 Fall of wickets: 1-71, 2-72, 3-161, 4-266, 5-340. Bowling: Vaas 26-6-54-0,
Pushpakumara 16-2-77-1, Herath 19-3-66-0, Muralitharan
35-11-84-3, Arnold 15-4-36-1, Jayasuriya 2-0-22-0. |
Mankad rallies to defeat
Fulcher NEW DELHI, June 22 — Second-seeded Harsh Mankad fought back from the brink to oust seventh-seeded Barry Fulcher of Britain 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (7-4) after a gruelling duell, lasting two hours and 43 minutes, while Rishi Sridhar maintained his amazing winning streak, scalping third-seeded Sandeep Kirtane 7-5, 6-2 in the third leg of the ITF Men’s Satellite Tennis Circuit at the Delhi Tennis Association courts here today. In the other quarterfinal matches, top-seeded Danai Udomchoke notched up yet another effortless victory, this time over Marian Leysek of Slovakia 6-3, 6-2 while Kunj Mjumdar of the USA arrested the advance of qualifier Gwenael Gueit of France 7-5, 6-3, in about one hour and 20 minutes. In the semifinals tomorrow afternoon, Mankad will meet Sridhar, while Udomchoke will take on Mjumdar. Sridhar, who scored his first ever victory over Kirtane, has never beaten Mankad, though going by his current form, there is an interesting battle on the cards. Kirtane sported a defeated look from the word go, and but for Sridhar’s own lapses, he could have wrapped up the tie earlier than he eventually did. Mankad, on the other
hand, was down in the dumps when he trailed by one set
and 1-5 in the second. With the match virtually in his
grasp, Fulcher seemed to lose focus, as the humid and hot
weather started getting on his nerves, but Mankad hung on
tenaciously to captilise on his rival’s mistakes,
and coasts to the last four, for the third consecutive
time in the circuit. |
Haryana wrestling squad HISAR, June 22 — Haryana State Wrestling Association (HSWA) has selected 26 grapplers, including eight girls, to represent Haryana in the National Junior Wrestling Championship to be held at Bangalore from June 23 to 27, according to Mr M.S. Malik, President, HSWA, here yesterday. He disclosed that Virender of Sonepat, Jai Bhagwan of Nidani and Kiran Jangra of Hisar will lead the greco roman, free style and girls free style and girls free style teams, respectively. The team: Boys (greco roman): 50 kg: Virender (Sonepat), 54 kg: Rajiv (Sonepat), 58 kg: Satish (Nidani), 63 kg: Dilbag (Bhiwani), 69 kg: Dayanand (Bhiwani), 76 kg: Kalu Ram (Bhiwani), 85 kg: Dharambir (Rohtak), 97 kg: Ved Pal (Bhiwani), plus 87 kg: (Sonepat). Boys (free style): 50 kg: Sanjay (Nidani), 54 kg: Rakesh (Nidani), 58 kg: Paramjit (Jhajjar), 63 kg: Rakesh (Sonepat), 69 kg: Jai Bhagwan (Nidani), 76 kg: Ajmer (Bhiwani), 85 kg: Sajjan Pal (Sonepat), 97 kg: Naveen (Gurgaon), plus 97 kg : Virender (Bhiwani). Girls (free style): 40
kg Sinu Jain (Hisar), 43 kg: Meena Kumari (Hisar), 50 kg:
Kiran Jangra (Hisar), 54 kg: Neha Rathi (Rohtak), 58 kg:
Poonam (Bhiwani), 63 kg: Anita Jain (Jind), 68 kg:
Inderjeet Kaur (Hisar), 75 kg: Monika Dahiya (Jhajjar). |
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LONDON, June 22 (PTI) — India’s captain Saurav Ganguly scored a rousing 120 off 98 balls to steer Lancashire to a 10-wicket win over Lincolnshire at Cleethorpes yesterday. In his hurricane knock, Ganguly hit 18 fours and two sixes and along with Michael Atherton put up Lancashire’s best opening stand in the competition and took his side to victory with 20 overs to spare. Replying to Lincolnshire’s 190 for nine in 50 overs, Lancashire scored 193 without loss.
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