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| Wednesday, July 19, 2000, Chandigarh, India   
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Randhawa qualifies
for British Open SACRAMENTO (California), July 18 — Sandra Glover clocked the fastest time in the world this year and beat world record-holder Kim Batten in the 400m hurdles to book her ticket to Sydney at the US Olympic athletics trials. BCCI gag order on captains |
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 Making the Olympic team sends them over the topWHETHER you’re the world’s fastest athlete, or one of the many who’ll make up the numbers in Sydney, reaction to making your first Olympic team tends to be the same — OTT — over the top. “I’m going to the Olympics, I’m going to the Olympics,” a wild and unrestrained Maurice Greene chanted after he came from behind to win his do-or-die 100 metres US trial in 10.01 seconds in Sacramento, California. British tennis hits a new low Pak upset as players’ heads shaved
Fromberg enters 2nd round 6-year-old Indian
for world golf meet Holmes’ son victim
of racist attack German captain
apologises
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Randhawa qualifies for British Open ST. ANDREWS (Scotland), July 18 (UNI) — Jyoti Randhawa became only the second Indian to qualify for the British Open when he set Scotscraig Golf Course on fire with a scintillating round of four under par 67 on the last day of the sectional qualifiers to attain his lifelong ambition. However, four other Indians in the fray — Gaurav Ghei, Amandeep Johl, Arjun Atwal and Indrajit Bhalotia — failed to qualify. Ghei was the first Indian to make it to the main round of the British Open in 1997. The 28-year-old Delhi based professional, who had carded three under 68 in the first round, achieved his dream with some superb display after overcoming a near disastrous start with two bogeys in his first four holes. He recovered brilliantly with four birdies and an eagle three to finish the two day qualifying on seven under par 135. Randhawa, winner of Indian Open this year, was placed fourth in the company of Scotland’s Sam Torrance, the 2001 Ryder Cup captain for Europe. “Reaching my first major is a big step for my career and it feels really good. This is what professional golfers prepare so hard for and it is good that all the work has paid off” said a visibly overjoyed Randhawa. Randhawa almost missed his boat with a shaky start. A poor opening drive landed in thick rough and he barely got the ball out with the second shot. At the fourth hole, he three putted from 15 feet but did not lose his sight of an open berth. “It was a really rocky start but I did not panic. I managed to birdie the seventh and ninth to get back to even par with some solid putts. The birdie at the seventh was from 20 feet and then I two-putted the par five ninth for another birdie” Randhawa said. With a seven under par total in the clubhouse, the Indian had anxious wait as more than half the field was still on the course. “I tried to sleep at the hotel but I was thinking about my position all the time. I phoned the course to ask what spot I was in and they told me I was ok but someone had come in with a 131 and that worried me. So I went back to see if I would have to compete in a playoff but luckily, I did not have to,” said Randhawa, who played at St Andrews six times during the Alfred Dunhill Cup last year. However, luck did not favour the other Indians who were part of the “Asian invasion.” Delhi’s Gaurav Ghei, the 1997 qualifier at Royal Troon, struggled in the windy conditions at Ludin as he posted a one over par 72 for a total of 142, five strokes outside the play off group of eight players who battled for the last slot and the right to be the first alternate for the Millennium Open. At Leven Links, Chandigarh-based professional Amandeep Johl carded his second straight even par 71 while Calcutta’s Arjun Atwal improved his opening 73 by three shots. But both were well off the qualifying mark. Calcutta’s Indrajit Bhalotia struggled to a 76 at Ladybank after hitting 75 on Sunday. Ghei was disappointed not to join Randhawa in the British Open. “I played really well from tee to green but it did not quite happen for me. It is really disappointing because I missed a lot of opportunities.” “Jyoti will do well at St Andrews because he has played there before. He will know exactly what to do” said Ghei, famous for pulling off an upset win over Scotland’s Colin Montgomerie at the 1996 Alfred Dunhill Cup at St Andrews. |
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Glover clocks year’s best time in 400m hurdles SACRAMENTO (California), July 18 (AFP) — Sandra Glover clocked the fastest time in the world this year and beat world record-holder Kim Batten in the 400m hurdles to book her ticket to Sydney at the US Olympic athletics trials. Glover won the final in 53.33, surpassing the 53.53 that Moroccan Nezha Bidouane posted in Rome on June 30 as the best in the world this season. Batten led early, but Glover took control on the curve and sprinted for the victory. Batten held on for second in 54.70, holding off Tonja Buford-Bailey who was third in 54.80. Glover confirmed her status as America’s premier intermediate hurdler with her second national title, and showed that Batten and Buford-Bailey still have some way to go after time off for injury and motherhood, respectively. When Batten set the world record of 52.61 at the 1995 world championships, Buford-Bailey was second in 52.62. But Buford-Bailey took a two-year maternity leave from the track, and Batten was felled last year by a painful toe ailment, originally diagnosed as a bone chip but later found to be a nerve problem. “I have more races under my belt, but it’s only the second race I got the ribbon,” said Glover, who won her first national title last year at the age of 30. Glover took her personal best from 55.11 in 1998 to 53.65 in 1999, and said her religious faith - not to mention seven years as a primary school teacher - had given her the patience to wait for her moment. “Everybody has this period of darkness,” Glover said. “God waited for me to grow, and took me to another level. “Working eight hours a day and dealing with children, you have to be patient,” she added. Glover gave up her job to concentrate on training this year. “After working seven years, and you take a year off you feel a little lazy,” she said. “But training-wise it went very good. “Most definitely I can break the world record,” Glover said, adding in an aside to Batten: “Sorry, Kim, your record is going down this year.” “That’s OK, I’ve had it a long time,” Batten replied. The former world champ is just glad to be competitive after racing only in one low level meet this season. “I’m not 100 per cent, as far as training,” Batten said. “But I felt very confident during the race.” And she’s extremely happy to have finally found a way to fight the debilitating pain in her feet. “It’s 95 per cent OK,” Batten said. “There was a lot of nerve damage, that was from years of training and not getting it taken care of. We were all over the country looking for doctors to get the problem diagnosed. Then I went to Chiropractor, and she used some different techniques than you would expect. “I had to laugh to myself, it was like voodoo,” Batten said. “But about a day and a half later, the pain was starting to decrease. Now, I have no pain.” Buford-Bailey said she was fit, but still “race rusty”. By the time I hit the eighth hurdle, I think I was in sixth place, and I started to panic,” she admitted. “At that point I just decided to stop thinking and just run.” Melvin Lister more than made up for his disappointing performance in the NCAA Championships by winning the long jump with a leap of 8.32m, leading a trio of first-time Olympians from the college ranks. They inherit the task of continuing the legacy of jumpers like Carl Lewis, Larry Myricks and world record-holder Mike Powell, whose battles made the long jump a marquee event in the USA in the 1980s and 90s. Lister, a 22-year-old product of the perennial jumping powerhouse University of Arkansas, had improved his personal best by a foot over the course of last year, but crashed to fourth place at the collegiate championships. But yesterday he took control of the competition with his second jump. As soon as he saw that it was fair, he jumped up and down and pumped his arms in triumph, and the celebration proved to be warranted. Dwight Phillips was second with a leap of 8.14, and Walter Davis, the national junior college champion, was third with the 8.11 he cleared on his first attempt. Lynda Blutreich won the women’s javelin with a throw of 58.28m, followed by Kim Kreiner and Emily Carlsten. It remains to be seen if all will make it to Sydney, since none has yet met the Olympic “A” qualifying standard off 60m. Seilala Sua won the women’s discuss with a throw of 65.90, ahead of Suzy Powell and Kristin Kuehl, in the final event before the two-day break. |
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BCCI gag order on captains NEW DELHI, July 18 (PTI) — In a virtual gag order, India’s cricket captain will henceforth be barred from talking to the media on his own. The captain will not comment on play in any of the matches except with the permission of the manager, according to a draft agreement prepared by the Indian cricket board (BCCI). The captains will be required to sign the agreement. However, the captain is permitted to request the manager to convene a press
conference at which both of them will be present. The captain can then address the conference on the day’s play. The agreement, which forms part of the draft Code of Conduct, will be finalised at a meeting of the
Boca's three-member select committee in Mumbai on July 24 before being submitted to Sports Minister Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa in New Delhi on August 1. The draft agreement is silent on the use of cellular phones but stipulates that the captain shall not invite without the consent of the manager any person to his room, dressing room or any mode of transport reserved exclusively for the use of the players and officials. The captain can also not invite any person to travel with the team, nor allow any relative or friend to stay in his room or in the hotel without the prior permission of the manager. The agreement says the captain shall carry out all the orders and directions given by the manager off the field and shall not leave the team expect on non-match days to visit friends and relatives without the prior permission of the manager. He shall not act or cause any act to be done or be guilty of any act or commission or conduct which may render him or any player of the team unfit or incapable to
play in any other matches and shall not without permission of the manager take part in any sports discipline other than cricket. In consideration of the engagement and in the interests of the team building and of his availability for future selection, the agreement requires the captain not to enter into any agreement to play cricket for any team other than India for a period of 12 months without the written consent of the board. If the manager’s report on the captain is not satisfactory the board may determine the sum payable to him be not paid wholly or in part. The board will be the sole authority in this matter and its decision binding on the captain. The BCCI will have the power to set up a disciplinary committee to take action for any act or misconduct or breach of any conditions in the agreement after holding an enquiry and giving the captain an opportunity to be heard and cite any witness on his behalf. If found guilty, the captain will be debarred from participating in any tournament conducted by the board besides facing any other punishment the committee may deem fit. To sell or permit the sale of his autograph or complimentary passes, the agreement says, the captain will need the manager’s permission. Similarly, he will need clearance for appearing at any place of public or private entertainment, participate in making of records or films, appear on television or deliver talks or lectures. At nets, the captain cannot employ a ground-bowler without the consent of the manager. One sop for the captain, however, is that the board will take steps to insure him for Rs 5 lakh against air travel risk and injuries during play and accidents on a tour. |
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British tennis hits a new low LONDON, July 18 (AP) — For a country accustomed to tennis futility, this was a new low. British tennis was embroiled in humiliation, scorn and recrimination yesterday after Ecuador knocked Britain out of the elite 16-nation World Group of the Davis Cup. Not only did the Brits lose, they did so at Wimbledon on grass, their best surface. The winning point was provided by a 17-year-old Ecuadorian with a world ranking of 959 who had never even played on grass until a month ago. Giovanni Lapentti came from two sets down to beat Arvind Parmar in five sets in the final match on Sunday to give Ecuador a 3-2 victory. In
unprecedented scenes at the All-England Club, members of the Ecuador team piled on top of Lapentti as he sprawled on the turf of Court No. 1. In what newspapers described as further shame for Britain, fans booed as the flag-waving Ecuador team celebrated, drowning out a court-side interview with Lapentti. The loss dropped Britain into the Euro/African zonal group, the Davis Cup’s second-rate division, with prospective opponents including Ivory Coast, Slovenia and Belarus. “Another British sporting disaster,” read the front-page headline in the Guardian. “Davis Cup — it’s the end of the world,” said The Times. “Losers — we’re a Davis Cup disgrace,” said the Express. The main target of blame was the Lawn Tennis Association, the sport’s governing body in Britain, accused of wasting the £ 30 million it receives each year in Wimbledon profits. Former Davis Cup captain David Lloyd, who was fired after Britain’s loss to the Czech Republic earlier this year, was scathing in his assessment of the LTA. “This has been going on in British tennis for years and years and years,” Lloyd told BBC Radio 5 Live. “Every single time they say, `don’t worry, we’ll change something, and it will be better next week.’ But next week is never better — in fact it’s worse. “We have £ 33 million given to us from the All-England Club, and it does not add up. We have no players in the top 100 apart from Tim and Greg and not one single girl in the top 100.” |
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Making the Olympic team sends them over the top WHETHER you’re the world’s fastest athlete, or one of the many who’ll make up the numbers in Sydney, reaction to making your first Olympic team tends to be the same — OTT — over the top. “I’m going to the Olympics, I’m going to the Olympics,” a wild and unrestrained Maurice Greene chanted after he came from behind to win his do-or-die 100 metres US trial in 10.01 seconds in Sacramento, California. The world 100 metres champion’s female counterpart, Marion Jones, then flew past a crack women’s field to qualify for the first of five events in Sydney. “When I was nine, I had a dream of making the Olympic team, and finally the dream has come true — and I don’t plan to stop there. I am not satisfied just being on the team,” she said. It was a case of one down, four trials to go for Jones, who wants to win five gold medals in the 100 metres, 200 metres, long jump and relays. Her next battle will be in the sand pit against US Olympic legend Jackie Joyner-Kersee, who is vying for her fifth games after two years out of the sport. “The most important thing for me is to experience the Olympic spirit everyone talks about. I talked to Jackie about it,” Jones said. “She said it was unlike anything you have ever experienced. That’s what I want to feel. I want to get to Sydney and see what it is all about.” Together, the OTT trio (Greene, John Drummond, who finished third, and Curtis Johnson) danced, sang and entertained a capacity crowd of 23,000 at the California State University — performing a victory lap with their tops down and muscles out. Perhaps they have set a trend which will be copied in victory laps in Sydney. Cathy reignites games as political demonstration In the midst of a call for a boycott of the Sydney Olympics by Aboriginal leaders, Cathy Freeman had made a plea for the Sydney Games not to turn into a political demonstration. Now, the Olympic gold medal hope has branded the Australian Government “insensitive to the issue” of the stolen generations. Freeman has entered the political arena, reigniting the boycott debate by expressing her anger over the Aboriginal stolen generations. Her statements are highly political, especially as she has been accused by Aboriginal leaders of “trivialising” the issue after appearing in a recent Nike sports-gear advertisement that focused on the word “sorry”. “My grandmother was taken away from her mother because she had fair skin,” Freeman said in an emotional interview. “She didn’t know her birthday, so we didn’t even know how old she was when she died. You have to understand that when you have a government that is so insensitive to the issues that are close to people’s hearts, that have affected so many lives for the worse, people are going to be really angry and emotional.” The Howard government has consistently ruled out a formal apology to the stolen generations, despite public pressure for one, most recently expressed during nationwide marches for reconciliation. Until now, the 400 metres world champion — currently training in England — has stayed out of the argument. But in an interview yesterday with London’s Sunday Telegraph, she broke her silence to say she was “so angry” that the government was refusing to say sorry. Freeman said she knew only too well of the “torment” that the policy of removing Aboriginal children from their parents caused. “I was so angry because they were denying that they had done anything wrong, denying that a whole generation was stolen.” She added: “The fact is, parts of people’s lives were taken away, they were stolen. I’ll never know who my grandfather was, I didn’t know who my great grandmother was.” Freeman, Australia’s only hope for a gold medal on the track, said she hoped her Olympic performance would provide a more powerful lead to young Aborigines. Freeman also revealed that if she takes gold at Sydney she will carry both the Aboriginal and Australian flags around Stadium Australia in celebration. Freeman sparked controversy in 1994 when she paraded with the Aboriginal flag during the Commonwealth Games but has largely kept out of political debates since then. Weekend rehearsals send Sydney into Olympic mood Breathtaking excitement. Spectacular entertainment. Record-breaking crowds. Just the sort of weekend’s sport to get Sydney in the mood for the Olympics, on Saturday night, it was the Bledisloe Cup rugby. In what was acclaimed by many as the greatest game of rugby ever played, New Zealand beat Australia 39-35 with a try in the last few minutes. The crowd at Stadium Australia (the centrepiece for the Olympics) was almost 110,000, a world record for rugby. On Sunday, on the morning after the late, late night, before the city to surf, Sydney’s version of the London Marathon. Or, as one struggling fun-runner described it. ‘The Bloody Slow Cup’. It wasn’t for the Kenyan guest competitors. Led home again by last year’s winner, Laban Chege, they finished first, second and third. If rugby was played up a slope and over a pitch measuring 14 km the Kenyans would surely be odds-on favourites to beat the Kiwis. Both events were seen as rehearsals for the Olympics especially for the transport and security systems. Though there were a few delay and long queues at the train station outside Homebush Stadium, no one was complaining because they had just witnessed the finest exhibition of a game they say is played in heaven. Holders of the flame secret Over the next two months Steven Hill and Gus Nathan are bound to be badgered, taken out for drinks, and straight-out bribed. They have one of the biggest secrets around — they know how the cauldron will be lit at the opening ceremony of the Sydney Olympics. But the SOCOG executives can breathe easily: they’re not saying a word. And on Sunday in the Adelaide Hills community of Hahndorf, they got to sample another part of their handiwork when they ran a leg of the torch relay. Mr Hill was representing. Fuel and Combustion Technology and Mr Nathan
Adelaide University, which have worked jointly on the combustion components for the torch, community cauldrons and the Sydney cauldron for about two years. “It’s just a big thrill to actually be involved in the run,” Mr Hill said. “Even though we have held the torch and done the work on it for months, to actually run is really special.” When the World Cup of soccer went to the USA in 1994, over 50 per cent of Americans did know that their country would play host to the greatest tournament on earth. So what’s wrong if nearly 75 per cent of businesses around the Sydney harbour foreshore do not know when the Olympic Games
begin. A State Chamber of Commerce survey last month of 108 businesses in the city hub found only a quarter could give correct dates of the games, even though all are close to an Olympic venue. Only 25 per cent were able to give the correct starting and finishing dates, while 44 per cent knew the Games would be some time in September, and 28 per cent could not name the month. Although 79 per cent of businesses said they would have to make alternative arrangements for deliveries during the games, only 62 per cent had contacted their suppliers to discuss changes.
— PMG |
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Pak upset as players’ heads shaved KABUL, July 18 (Reuters) — A Pakistani diplomat today criticised the arrest in Afghanistan of visiting Pakistani soccer players and the shaving of their heads because they were wearing shorts. He said the Taliban authorities were also shocked by the incident and had removed the person responsible for the decision from his post. “We are unhappy and saddened by the incident. Such an incident should not have happened,’’ the diplomat, Ibrar Hossain, told Reuters from Pakistan’s consulate in the southern city of Kandahar. “We have spoken to Taliban officials who regret its occurrence and apologised about it,’’ he added. The Taliban movement regards wearing shorts as a violation of its Islamic dress code. Team officials said the players from the Pakistani border town of Chaman were arrested during a game in front of thousands of spectators on Saturday by the religious police of the ruling Taliban and had their heads shaved. They were released after the incident at a stadium in Kandahar, spiritual headquarters of the Taliban, which now controls about 90 per cent of Afghanistan and has been enforcing its strict version of Islamic law since springing to power four years ago. Five of the soccer players escaped the scene and sought refuge at the Pakistan consulate while the other players had their heads shaved, team officials said. After their release, the players, from Chaman’s young Afghan Football Club, returned home. Afghan men are regularly punished for trimming their beards, and there have also been isolated incidents in the past where visiting Pakistani nationals have been punished for the same thing. |
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NEW DELHI, July 18 (PTI) — Star striker Baichung Bhutia will lead a 22-member Indian football team’s ‘historic tour’ of Britain for exhibition matches against English clubs and Bangladesh. All-India Football Federation (AIFF) president Priya Ranjan Dasmunshi announced the team yesterday with only hours left for their departure to England. The July 18 to 31 tour, will go ahead on schedule after the AIFF made last minute announcement following team’s practice camp in Patiala sans skipper Bhutia. The dashing forward, playing for English club FC Bury, will join the team in England the AIFF said here yesterday. India will play their first match against Fulham at Craven Cottage on July 22 and second against West Bromwich at Hawthorne on July 26. The team’s final engagement is against Bangladesh at Leicester on July 29. Mercurial striker IM Vijayan was named vice-captain with PK Banerjee technical director and manager, and Sukhvinder Singh chief coach. Team: Baichung Bhutia (capt), IM Vijayan (vice-captain), Virender Singh, Sandip Nandi, Prabjot Singh, Daljit Singh, Mahesh Gawli, Jo Paul Anchery, Mustafi, Robert Fernandes, Tapan Ghosh, Hardip Sangha, Hardip Saini, Basudev Mondal, Renedy Singh, Jules Albert, Khalid Jamil, Sabir Pasha, Hardip Gill, Francis Silvera, Bijen Singh, Prasanta Dora. |
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HYDERABAD, July 18 (UNI) — Top seed grand master (GM) Evegeny Vladimirov of Kazhakstan defeated India’s national champion GM Abhijit Kunte to join the leaders with two points and a game in hand at the end of round three of the Wipro Grand Master International Chess Championship played at Taj Residency here today. Wipro’s GM Hari Krishna, GM Sasikaran, international master (IM) Sandeepan Chanda and GM Alexander Fominyh of Russia were all at two points. GM Leonid Yurtaev of Kirgystan was yet to report but GM Vladimirov, who coordinated in inviting him, said he may be coming today or tomorrow. Since he did not convey the arrival details, it was hoped that he may arrive without intimation as he did in the Guntur’s grand master event. IM Surya Shekar Ganguly with black pieces scored over international woman master (IWM) Aarthie Ramaswamy after a marathon 78 moves. Kunte-Vladimirov’s game in Reti opening was the best played game of the day. Vladimirov showed his class by outwitting Kunte in style. Vladimirov first sacrificed a pawn to open up the centre and played few curious bishop moves to bottle up Kunte’s knight and queen. Kunte played same tactical shots with his knights but Vladimirov’s knight occupied a vital ‘d3’ square and played havoc. Kunte could not save the game since Vladimirov’s all pieces, especially the knight at ‘d3’, made interesting strides to win pawns at will. Finally a tactical shot on the 37th move forced Kunte to resign and his king got in mating net. National women champion IWM Vijayalakshmi Viji game with GM Alexander Forminyh was a strange opening, where both played unorthodox systems. Vijayalakshmi lost the exchange but her two bishops dominated and won back the exchange. However, the game was played over a full session of seven hours. |
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STUTTGART, (Germany), July 18 (AFP) — Yevgeny Kafelnikov squeezed through three tie-breaks for a win over Frenchman Julien Boutter 7-6 (7/3), 6-7 (5/7), 7-6 (8/6) and a place in the second round of the $1 million Mercedes Cup yesterday. Kafelnikov, holder of 20 titles and a 1996 finalist here, rolled out of Wimbledon during the first week after losing with a painful rib injury. He had taken two weeks off to rest and is playing his first event since then. The hard-working Russian took a break at his home in the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi. The pause refreshed the 26-year-old as he seemed to have recovered all of his fighting powers - but not without a battle against the Frenchman, who reached the third round at Monte Carlo. Kafelnikov is known for barely ever stopping on the year-long tennis grind. But he has promised to start taking life a bit easier despite a schedule of singles and doubles which is the most hectic for a top player in the sport. But he also keeps going in the belief that those who don’t win big events don’t stay at the summit. For that reason, he’s not sure that this year’s new Champions points race on the ATP Tour is the right way to calculate standings. “The competition is stronger than ever now,” he said. “But without playing well at the majors, you cannot be on top of the standings. It’s as simple as that.” Kafelnikov gives his nod as No 1 to seven-time Wimbledon winner Pete Sampras, rather than Mercedes top seed Magnus Norman, the current race leader and a steady winner but whose best career showing was the French Open final in June. Norman opens tomorrow against German wild card Bjorn Phau, a member of the Boris Becker junior team. Moroccans suffered contrasting fates, with fourth seed Younes El Aynaoui beating German Christian Vinck 6-1, 7-6 (10/8) while Australian Andrew Ilie rallied from 3-5 down in the final-set tiebreaker to oust Hicham Arazi 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (7/5). |
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Fromberg enters 2nd round UMAG (Croatia), July 18 (AP) — Albert Portas of Spain, seeded third, advanced to the second round of the $ 400,000 Croatian open Umag ATP tournament yesterday ousting Petr Kralert of the Czech republic 6-1, 6-3. Another Spaniard, a two-time French Open champion Sergi Bruguera, had more trouble defeating another Czech, Jiri Vanek. He eventually advanced to the second round with a 6-3, 1-6, 7-5 result. The sixth-seed Spaniard Alberto Martin beat Guillermo Canas of Argentina 1-6, 6-0, 6-4. After winning the first set, Canas failed to win any subsequent game, and later complained of his hand injury. Spain’s Galo Blanco, seeded eighth, defeated Michel Tabara of the Czech Republic, 7-5, 6-4. Jeff Tarango, the fifth seeded American and last year’s finalist of the Umag tournament, was ousted by Italian Marzio Martelli, 4-6, 6-2, 6-1. In other matches, Roberto Carretero of Spain defeated Tomas Zib of the Czech Republic 6-3, 6-2; Juan Antonio Marin of Costa Rica defeated Hernan Gumy of Argentina 5-7, 6-2, 6-4; Wolfgang Schranz of Austria beat Alex Lopez Moron of Spain, 3-6, 6-2, 7-6. Croat Goran Ivanisevic, who initially was to play in the tournament, stayed away after losing in the first round in Wimbledon. AMSTERDAM: Australian Richard Fromberg eased into round two of the $ 375,000 ATP Dutch open tennis tournament on Monday, meeting little resistance from Russian Andrei Stoliarov and winning in straight sets, 6-2, 6-3. The Australian no 5 seed’s accurate drop-shots and patience in the long rallies on Amsterdam’s slow clay courts paid off. Stoliarov was consistently outmanoeuvred, showing apparent frustration and in the end making no effort on Fromberg’s first match point. On a day dominated by heavy clouds, Romanian no. 8 seed Adrian Voinea ousted Bulgarian Orlin Stanoytchev 7-5, 6-2. And the third seed to see action, Nicolas Massu, also had an easy straight sets ride. The Chilean sixth seed downed Uruguayan Marcelo Filippini, 6-4, 7-5. Unseeded Argentinean Frederico Browne eliminated Frenchman Stephane Huet, 6-4, 6-4 and Spaniard Manuel Sala downed Rodolphe Cadrat, also of France, 7-6 (7), 6-0. And in the last singles of the day Spaniard Alex Calatrava had to work hard to beat Dutchman Martin Verkerk, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3. |
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6-year-old Indian for world golf meet NEW DELHI, July 18 (PTI) — Six-year-old golfer Sahil Dewan is all set to make history by becoming the youngest Indian player to participate in an international golf tournament ever.
Dewan will compete against boys in the age group of 6-8 years from as many as 35 countries, at the 33rd World Junior Golf Tournament at the par-54 Presido Golf Course in San Diego, USA. |
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Holmes’ son victim of racist attack EASTON (Pennsylvania), July 18 (AP) — Former heavyweight champion Larry Holmes said he was furious about what he considered lenient charges against two men accused of a racist assault against his son and two of his son’s friends.
“They’re lucky I didn’t find them because I’d probably be in jail,” Holmes said from his office in Easton yesterday. “Nobody should be able to hit somebody with a baseball bat and get away only being charged with simple assault.” Larry Holmes jr., Jason Black and Sean Burgio were assaulted with a baseball bat on Saturday, according to the police. Black and Burgio were both hospitalised, and Black has sustained some hearing loss. Nickoles Lambert, 18, was charged with two counts each of aggravated assault, simple assault and reckless endangerment. Charles Kaufmann, 52, was charged with one count of simple assault and one count of disorderly conduct. |
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German captain
apologises SYDNEY, July 18 (AP) — The German swimming team captain who reportedly said Ian Thorpe’s size 17 feet were a byproduct of taking human growth hormones (HGH) has apologized to Australian multiple world-record holder. Chris-Carol Bremer, a swimmer and qualified doctor, sent a letter to Thorpe via Australian Swimming claiming that the allegation published in an article by German newspaper DisWelt was a misrepresentation of his comments. |
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