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| Monday, July 24, 2000, Chandigarh, India   
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Murali spins Lanka to win ST ANDREWS (Scotland), July 23 — Golfing phenomenon Tiger Woods issued a chilling warning to his distant rivals after the third round of the British Open here yesterday that they had yet to see him at his very best. British overtaken at ‘home of golf’ Spain enter Davis Cup final |
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England win trophy LONDON, July 22 — England beat Zimbabwe by six wickets to win the triangular series tournament here at Lord’s today. Chasing Zimbabwe’s 169 for seven, England made 170 for four with in-form Alec Stewart hammering 97 and Graeme Hick (41) as the hosts raced to the victory target with 4.4 overs to spare. Dravid lifts Kent to victory RIO DE JANEIRO, July 23 — Brazil are in disarray after Tuesday’s shock 2-1 World Cup qualifying defeat in Paraguay.
PARIS, July 23 — Paris Saint Germain broke the French transfer record on Friday to bring international striker Nicolas Anelka home from Spain. They have agreed to pay Real Madrid in the region of 31 million dollars for the player, club president Laurent Perpere told AFP last night. Narrow win for
Indian cagers Ganguly holds top seed Vladimirov Ominous silence marks duel Ludhiana, Patiala win b’minton titles Punjab athletics
squad
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GALLE, July 23 (AFP) — Off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan condemned South Africa to defeat by an innings and 15 runs before tea on the fourth day of the first cricket Test here today. Muralitharan finished with a total haul of 13 wickets for 171 runs at the Galle International Stadium, the fourth time he has managed 10 wickets or more in Test cricket and a feat for which he was named the man of the match. South Africa, trailing in the first innings by 284 runs, were dismissed for 269 after following on to suffer their third innings defeat since their return to the international fold in 1992. Sri Lanka scored 522. Muralitharan took six wickets in the first innings, and followed up that performance with seven for 84 as
South Africa failed to come to grips with his turning balls on a cracked and dusty pitch. Only Jonty Rhodes played with some success, hitting the spinners for six fours in an unbeaten score of 63 runs in 144 minutes. South Africa began the fourth day at 112 for two but lost five wickets in the morning session to slide towards defeat. Muralitharan took four of them for 45 in an 18-over morning spell. South Africa were pushed onto the back foot in the first hour when they lost two wickets within seven balls. Leg-spinner Upul Chandana had Jacques Kallis caught off a top edge sweep at short fine-leg for 40. Then Muralitharan dismissed first innings century-maker Darryl Cullinan for 12 in a brilliant one-handed catch off a bat-pad by Russel Arnoaran who dived across the pitch from silly mid-off. Further disaster struck when Muralitharan had Lance Klusener caught behind for four and Mark Boucher leg before wicket off a full toss for seven. Skipper Shaun Pollock hung around for 26 minutes helping Jonty Rhodes add 30 for the seventh wicket before falling to a bat-pad catch by Arnold off Muralitharan. Bowling onto the cracks appearing just outside off stump, Muralitharan proved unplayable as he juggled with the ball like a magician. He had figures of six for 87 in the first innings. Nicky Boje and Rhodes raised hopes of South Africa avoiding an innings defeat when they put together an eighth wicket stand of 70. But Muralitharan once again broke through by having Boje leg before wicket, when he did not offer a shot, for 35. He then provided a swift end to the innings by bowling Paul Adams and Makhaya Nitini off successive balls. For South Africa, it was their third defeat by an innings since 1992. The earlier defeats were by an innings and 196 runs at Johannesburg in 1996-97 and the other by an innings and 21 runs at Sydney in 1997-98. Both defeats were by Australia. The victory was Sri Lanka’s first over South Africa in six Tests. SCOREBOARD Sri Lanka (1st innings): 522 South Africa (1st innings): 238 South Africa (2nd innings) (overnight 112 for 2): Kirsten run out 55 McKenzie c Ranatunga
Kallis c Muralitharan
Cullinan c Arnold
Rhodes not out 63 Klusener c Sangakkara
Boucher lbw b Muralitharan 7 Pollock c Arnold
Boje lbw b Muralitharan 35 Adams b Muralitharan 2 Ntini b Muralitharan 0 Extras: (b-3, lb-5, nb-6) 14 Total: (all out, 92 overs,
Fall of wickets: 1-58, 2-112, 3-139, 4-141, 5-153, 6-163, 7-193, 8-263, 9-269. Bowling: Vaas 7-2-18-0, Zoysa 5-2-11-0, Dharmasena 10-1-37-0, Muralitharan 35-5-84-7, Chandana 29-6-88-2, Jayasuriya 5-0-21-0, Arnold 1-0-2-0. |
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Best is yet to come, says Woods ST ANDREWS (Scotland), July 23 (AFP) — Golfing phenomenon Tiger Woods issued a chilling warning to his distant rivals after the third round of the British Open here yesterday that they had yet to see him at his very best. Asked after a five-under par score had left him 16-under for the tournament, six strokes clear of the field, whether he would continue with an aggressive approach, a
surprised Woods replied “I haven’t really played that aggressive to be honest with you!” “Look at the way I’ve played. Pin locations are such where it is hard to play aggressive,” he said. It was a reminder, if a reminder was needed, that the 24-year-old world number one is head and shoulders ahead of everyone else. Woods refused to take it for granted, however, that he would win the open today to become the youngest player ever to achieve a career Grand Slam, dislodging Jack Nicklaus. “Yes, it’s possible,” he replied when asked if he could be caught. “I would have to go out there and not exactly execute the shots I want to execute and David (Duval) or someone else like Thomas (Bjorn) or someone else at 8 or 9 under has to play a wonderful round of golf,” he said. There would be pressure despite the six-shot lead, Woods insisted, but nothing he could not handle. “I understand what it takes to play in the final round of any tournament,” he said. “You can’t let yourself look ahead to the final outcome because if you don’t take care of the present the final outcome may not be what you want”. “Any time you have a lead you are under pressure, but I have played in the big leagues before,” he added. Woods deflected questions about completing his Grand Slam set and beating Nick Faldo’s record aggregate score for an open at St Andrews. “I am going to go out there and play the best I can and whatever happens happens. If I break it so be it and if I don’t, so be it,” he said. |
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Spain enter Davis Cup final SANTANDER (Spain), July 23 (AFP) — Spain yesterday booked a spot in their first Davis Cup final in 33 years when they dismissed a last ditch challenge by the USA to take an unbeatable 3-0 lead in their semifinal world group here. Spanish No. 1 Alex Corretja and Juan Balcells saw off a determined five-set effort by Americans Todd Martin and Chris Woodruff 7-6, (8/6), 2-6, 6-3, 6-7, (5/7), 6-3. Albert Costa and Corretja gave the Dpaniards a comfortable two point lead when they swept opening day’s singles, defeating Martin 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 and Jan-Michael Gambill 1-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 in the best-of-five series. The win was greeted with euphoria by the enthusiastic home crowd at the 10,500-seat temporary stadium at Real Sociedad de Tenis de la Magdalena in the northern Spanish resort town of Santander. The Spanish team will now bid to win their country’s first Davis Cup title in the tournament’s 100-year history when they meet Australia, who last weekend demolished Brazil 5-0 in Brisbane, in the finals in Barcelona from December 8 to 10. Spain were finalists in 1965 and 1967 but have never lifted the silver bowl. In a last ditch effort to stay in the tie and make the scoreboard “respectable” US captain John McEnroe changed his doubles lineup replacing Vince Spadea, who only broke a 21-match losing streak at Wimbledon, with Martin. Despite the singles loss, Martin, who missed most of this season because of injury, had a good record against Spaniards on clay and was the only member of the US team who had played doubles in Davis Cup, with a 3-5 record. Martin and Woodruff have a 3-1 record playing in one event and reached the final in Stockholm in 1996, while Spadea and Woodruff had never played doubles together. But Spanish clay court specialists Corretja and Balcells, who have a 1-1 Davis Cup doubles record together, were too strong for the Americans and were able to pull out the winning shots when necessary. Although not strong doubles players the pressure was not on the Spanish and they were relaxed knowing that they could lose yesterday’s rubber and still have a chance during two reverse singles. However, the US team had all to play for and opened the first set strongly, breaking their opponent’s serve in the fourth game to take a 3 -1 lead. The Spanish broke back in the seventh game, but the Americans had another chance when they again broke in the eighth. But Corretja and Balcells equalled at 5-5 bringing the game to a tie-break which the Spaniards wrapped up 8-6 after the Americans threw away a three point advantage. The Americans came back in the second winning 6-2 after gaining two decisive service breaks to wrap up the set in 31 minutes. RENNES (France) (AP): France secured their place in the Davis Cup elite Saturday when Olivier Delaitre and Nicolas Escude beat Julian Knowle and Thomas Strengberger of Austria in their qualifier, giving France a 3-0 lead in the best-of-five match series. Escude and Delaitre won 6-4, 6-3, 6-3, clinching France’s place among the 16 top nations. Austria will drop to zonal play next year. MESTRE (Italy): The Belgian duo of Christophe Rochus and Tom Van Houdt defeated Italy’s Diego Nargiso and Andrea Gaudenzi in straight sets on Saturday to give Belgium a 2-1 lead in a Davis Cup World Group qualifying match. The Belgians took the doubles, on red clay, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 in two hours and 15 minutes to push the Italian team on the brink of relegation to the second-tier European zone. The Belgian duo played aggressively, dominating play from the net with winning volleys. |
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LONDON, July 22 (AFP) — England beat Zimbabwe by six wickets to win the triangular series tournament here at Lord’s today. Chasing Zimbabwe’s 169 for seven, England made 170 for four with in-form Alec Stewart hammering 97 and Graeme Hick (41) as the hosts raced to the victory target with 4.4 overs to spare. Graham Thorpe was 10 not out and Nasser Hussain was on nine when England scored the winning runs. Alec Stewart was England’s hero, his 97 after two consecutive centuries, setting up the home side’s run chase. It left him with 408 tournament runs at an impressive average of 81.6 and saw the 37-year-old claim Man-of-the-Match and Man-of-the-Series awards. Chasing 169 after some disciplined bowling, England’s innings got off to a shaky start as on nine they lost two wickets in the third over. First man out was Somerset opener Marcus Trecsothick, continuing with his poor innings after scoring 287 runs at 57.40 in England’s previous matches. On an intended cut off Heath Streak took the edge and Alistair Campbell took a fine catch high to his right at first slip. Then four balls later Andrew Flintoff’s forward defensive stroke was a touch late and he was bowled off the inside edge for nought by the Zimbabwe spearhead, who started in mean fashion with figures of 6-2-11-2. Stewart steadied the ship striking three consecutive offside fours off Mluleki Nkala. The pace bowler’s first two overs cost 16 runs and he was promptly replaced by left-armer Bryan Strang. Neither Stewart nor Graeme Hick took any chances against Strang, whose opening spell read 6-3-11-0. Stewart, batting calmly, brought up his 50 off 75 balls including seven fours. SCOREBOARD England: Trescothick c Campbell
Stewart c A. Flower b Streak 97 Flintoff b Streak 0 Hick c and b Viljoen 41 Thorpe not out 10 Hussain not out 9 Extras (lb-5, w-5, nb-2) 12 Total (for 4 wkts, 45.2 overs) 170 Fall of wickets: 1-9, 2-9, 3-144, 4-149 Bowling: Streak 10-3-30-3; Nkala 5-0-30-0; Strang 10-3-26-0; Johnson 6-0-22-0; Viljoen 10-0-35-1; Whittall 4-0-20-0; Campbell 0.2-0-2-0. |
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British overtaken at ‘home of golf’ ST ANDREWS (Scotland), July 23 (AFP) — Northern Ireland’s Darren Clarke spared British blushes in the third round of the British Open here yesterday as the leaderboard took on a distinctly foreign look at the home of golf. Clarke fired a four-under par 68 to stand nine-under for the tournament, a whopping seven strokes behind runaway leader Tiger Woods. But the 31-year-old cigar-chomping Ulsterman, who beat woods four and three in the world matchplay earlier this year, at least can harbour realistic hopes of a second-place finish, which is more than can be said for the rest of the British elite. The Scottish crowd, awed by another majestic performance from Woods, were desperate for a home hope to give them something to cheer about. “I heard all sorts of voices shouting at me, going off the tees and greens, and what have you. It’s great to have that much support,” he said. One after one the other Britons failed the ultimate golfing test around the Old Course links as Swedes, Argentinians, Spaniards, Japanese, a German, a Frenchman and a Zimbabwean powered past them. Three-times Open winner Nick Faldo opened with a double bogey six and it hardly got any better as he staggered home with a three-over 75 and level par for the tournament. This was to have been the tournament that confirmed the return of the good old days for Faldo, but instead, it has plunged him back in among the also-rans. He could also suffer the frustration of seeing his 18-under-par, Open aggregate score record at St Andrews fall to Woods who stands 16 under par with a round to play. “I want to keep all my records,” a grumpy Faldo said, “but this man will blitz the lot.” Seven times European No 1 Colin Montgomerie was next, finishing with a level par 72 for a three-under 213 and another chance at that elusive first major had gone out the window. Asked if he could sort his problems out, a scowling Montgomerie blasted: “If I didn’t think there was a way out, I would give it all up!” The blitz of the Britons continued as Lee Westwood, in stunning form coming into the Open, confirmed his dislike for the Old Course with a depressing four-over 76 and then stormed off refusing all press interviews. It was all a world away from 12 months ago, when Scotland’s Paul Lawrie, who would have been lucky to rank in the British top 10 at the time came from nowhere to take the Auld Claret Mug back to Aberdeen. The way it is looking, Aberdeen or any other British city for that matter will have a long wait for getting another peek at the trophy! |
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Brazil in disarray after defeat RIO DE JANEIRO, July 23 (Reuters) — Brazil are in
disarray after Tuesday’s shock 2-1 World Cup qualifying defeat in
Paraguay. Furious Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) President Ricardo Teixeira has backed coach Wanderley Luxemburgo, who is involved in a spat with captain Cafu, and lambasted the players for lack of fighting spirit. Central defender Antonio Carlos, who missed the game through suspension, has stirred the pot of discontent by criticising his team mates’ performance. Brazil were expected to qualify easily for the 2002 tournament after being losing finalists in 1998, but they have slumped to fifth in the South American group with two wins, two draws and one defeat from five games. They are seven points behind leaders and arch-rivals Argentina, who will be firm favourites when the two sides meet in Sao Paulo on Wednesday. The Brazilian public has been angered by the lacklustre performances, particularly from players such as Roberto Carlos and Rivaldo who are accused of failing to live up to the form they show for their Spanish clubs. Luxemburgo is under fire for chopping and changing the team. Fans said the players looked lost and uncertain during the first half of their first defeat against Paraguay in 21 years and only their second ever in a World Cup qualifier. The repercussions of Tuesday’s defeat began when the team returned to the border town of Foz de Iguacu to begin training for the Argentina match. Captain Cafu, sent off against Paraguay and therefore suspended from Wednesday’s match, walked out of the team hotel and was criticised by Luxemburgo for deserting his team mates. Several players, including Roberto Carlos, expressed surprise at Cafu’s behaviour. But on Thursday, Cafu gave a news conference in which he said he had the coach’s permission to have some time off. “If Wanderley had told me to say, I would have done,” said Cafu, whose national team future is in serious doubt. The rest of the team spent the whole of Thursday locked up in the team hotel, apparently washing their dirty laundry. A planned training session was cancelled. Antonio Carlos, who could take over the captain’s role against Argentina, upset his colleagues by implying they had not given their all in Asuncion. “When you pull on the national team shirt, you have to have character,” he said. Although many feel a defeat against Argentina could cost Luxemburgo his job, CBF President Teixeira put the responsibility firmly on the shoulders of the players. “The first half against Paraguay made me ashamed,” he said. “I can accept a bad performance but not a lack of fighting spirit.” “Wanderley is capable of qualifying the team and has my backing.” |
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Nisha dreams of putting India on swimming map Indian swimming champion Nisha Millet is to take a break from her rigorous training schedule in Perth to return to India to accept the Arjuna Award on August 29. Nisha, who has qualified to represent India in swimming at the Sydney Games through her performances in Australia, says she is excited about returning to India to receive the country’s top sports honour from the President at Rashtrapati Bhavan in Delhi. “I’m specially looking forward to wearing a sari,” she told the Australian Anglo Indian Radio Program yesterday. Interviewed by the Perth-based program in connection with her Anglo Indian heritage, the Bangalore girl spoke of her ambition of putting India on the world swimming map. “They don’t even know that we have an Indian swim team,” she said. Nisha has been training with a Perth swimming club over the last few months, a schedule which includes two sessions of 7 km each a day. “We train from 5.30 am for two hours and then return for a two-and-a-half hour session in the evening,” she said of her training schedule. “The difference between the training here and what we get at home is that here they train you in every aspect of the sport and set you up as complete athlete. “They look after your diet, your mental fitness, post and pre-competition. In India you train in the pool and then just jump into the water for competition.” She said she owed a lot to her family who have been very supportive of her coming to a foreign country to train and compete. Nisha said she chose Perth as her training centre because she visited the Western Australian capital in 1998 and fell in love with it. The fact that Nisha’s Bangalore-based parents have relatives, who migrated to Perth many years ago, also helped. She said her mother had been with her since she came to Perth and was looking after her diet and making sure she “lived the life of an athlete.” “It’s very important to feel comfortable and have family around when you are in a foreign country. My mother and all my relatives in Perth have been great. They have made me feel like I’m at home and have even come out to cheer me on during competition,” Nisha said. Nisha will make a trip to India at the end of August but will return to Perth to continue her training leading up to the Sydney Games. Johnson-Greene battle The ego oozing from the US Olympic track and field trials threatens to become an explosive cocktail. Once known as Mr Cellophane because of his invisible personality, Michael Johnson has become Mr Butane at the US Olympic trials. Cross his path and he’ll torch you, invade his territory and he’ll back-burn. The world’s fastest man, Maurice Greene, is burned because he’s a threat to Johnson’s world supremacy in the 200m in Sacramento on Sunday. Many of Greene’s training mates are burned, too, including Miss Sydney Olympics in waiting, Marion Jones. So much for team spirit and bonding. The team that comes to Sydney will be the (Dis)United States of America. After getting a taste of what it’s like to be on the other side of the camera, Johnson has taken it upon himself to become seer as well as sprinter. “I’m a competitor and I couldn’t image sitting at home this year watching the Olympics on TV or being in the booth commentating on guys who I know I could beat with my suit on.” Throughout the trials, he’s been using his column in the USA. Today newspaper to trash all. The truth apparently is that Johnson is running scared. Maybe that’s why he goes everywhere at the US trials surrounded by a minimum of four no-neck security guards. He insists he didn’t ask for them, that the organisers insisted, but Greene often prowls around solo, signing autographs, jiving, just hanging with the boys. Despite his statistical superiority, Johnson has been upping the “anti” against Greene at every turn, embellishing the dirt he’s been trotting out in his column. Now, Greene is a homeboy from the midwest who travels the world with the nickname the Kansas Cannonball. His number plate reads Mo-Gold. It’s the sort of crassness you’d expect from Mike Tyson. It is no surprise. The sprinters are the heavyweights of track and field and they have egos to match Don King’s bank balance. Johnson and Greene have no reason to hype this fight. The tickets for the main event of the trials were all sold long ago. They are getting no pay. This is for real. This is personal. This is about who will dominate at the Olympics. Who will be Mr Sydney. Now it’s time for the talking to stop. Mr Butane must burn up the track and reduce Greene’s challenge to ashes in the Sacramento dust. Safer skies during Games For a country still recovering from the shock of the Alliance air crash in Patna last week, it would come as comfort to Indians visiting Sydney for the Olympics that a special information scheme intended to keep the skies safe has been launched in preparation for the Games. Thousands of national and international pilots are expected to descend on Sydney during the Games and the Australian Aviation Authority wants to reach all pilots planning to fly during the Olympics through a campaign known as ‘Flying Australia — Olympics 2000’. Sporting legend and professional pilot Grant Kenny launched the campaign on Friday calling it “the aviation safety net for the Olympics.” The aim is to enjoy the experience of flying during the Games but in complete security. “We want pilots to come and have fun, enjoy what will be a spectacular event but to do so in safety,” he said. Mr Kenny explained that pilots around the world are being targeted through ads in their local press encouraging them to use information supplied on the ‘Flying Australia — Olympics 2000’ web site. Special restrictions will apply to airspace during the Games and the campaign advises pilots to educate themselves on where these areas are before hiring a plane. There are no-go zones around each of the Olympic venues and larger no fly zones around Homebush Stadium. During the Games air traffic control services will be expanded and flight planning requirements will be altered temporarily to handle the vastly increased traffic. Although particular restrictions will apply many facilities are in place for pleasure craft, Special scenic flight routes have been put in place which have great views but keep people away from restricted airspace”. — PMG |
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Dravid lifts Kent to victory LONDON, July 23 (PTI) — A fluent unbeaten 73 by Rahul Dravid helped Kent post a six-wicket victory over Hampshire in a English county championship Division One match yesterday. Dravid, who scored 137 in the first innings, was a picture of composure and displayed superb balance and flawless technique in his chanceless knock as he guided Kent safely to a target of 205 and out of relegation in Division One. Dravid was ably supported by Robert Key who scored a patient 60 and the two added 115 runs for the second wicket. For the second time in the match, Dravid came out triumphant in the head-to-head duel against the spin of Shane Warne, who was unable to produce the magic of the first innings, when he claimed four wickets for 81 runs, though the wicket did offer some help to the spinners. He has displayed tremendous discipline against spin, particularly that of Shane Warne — considered the greatest exponent of the art of his age — in the last few innings and his first class tally now adds up to 921 runs. An elated Kent coach John Wright was all praises for the master batsman. “I reckon this was always likely to turn into a duel between two of the great cricketers in the world and that was how it turned out,” he said. “Our guy came out on top despite the fact that the conditions were there to encourage spin and that’s really the reason we won.” Brief scores: Hampshire — 320 (J.S. Laney 81, Shane Warne 69, M.M. Patel 4/118) and 136 (G.W. White 80 not out, M.M. Patel 4/46). Kent — 252 (Rahul Dravid 137, Shane Warne 4/81) and 205 (Dravid 73 not out, Robert Key 60, Udal 4/42). |
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Anelka joins PSG in record deal PARIS, July 23 (AFP) — Paris Saint Germain broke the French transfer record on Friday to bring international striker Nicolas Anelka home from Spain. They have agreed to pay Real Madrid in the region of 31 million dollars for the player, club president Laurent Perpere told AFP last night. Anelka, 21, who began his career with PSG, will sign a six-year contract and will be presented to the fans at half-time during today’s friendly with Brazilian club Corinthians at the Parc des Princes. “An
agreement was reached today between PSG and Real Madrid for the transfer of Nicolas Anelka to Paris,” Perpere said. “The transfer fee is a little under 220 million francs. Real were asking for 250 million.” Perpere and newly-elected Real chief Florentino Perez had on Thursday held two rounds of talks with the player’s brother and agent, Didier, to finalise the deal and Didier Anelka was reported as saying afterwards that his brother would report for training with the Spaniards on July 31. Now, only a medical examination remains to be completed. The transfer brings to an end Anelka’s controversial spell with the European club champions after he served 22 days of a 45-day ban and was heavily fined last season for missing three days of training, claiming the team were not playing to suit his style. Anelka did make a successful return to the side and scored crucial goals in both legs of the semi-final against German champions Bayern Munich before playing a part in the 3-0 win over Valencia in the final in Paris. The 21-year-old returned yesterday from holiday in Martinique and next week will begin the Franch season
with the club with whom he began his career in 1997 before English Premiership giants Arsenal snapped him up for a bargain fee of $ 750,000. Gunner’s coach Arsene
Wenger nurtured Anelka and turned him into a top international and the moody forward was a member of the League and Cup double-winning side of 1998 and scored 18 goals in his last season with Arsenal. But he moaned he did not like London and said he found the British media intrusive — suggesting that his Real adventure was also likely to reach a sticky end as the Spanish media are equally football-obsessed. |
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Narrow win for Indian cagers MUMBAI, July 23 (PTI) — Bobit Mathew excelled under the offensive and defensive boards to help India record a narrow 61-58 victory over Yemen and keep their hopes alive of finishing in the top 10 in the 16th Asian Basketball Champion-ship for junior (under 18) men at Kuala Lumpur today.
Kerala’s Mathew rose to the occasion in style and scored 19 points while Tamil Nadu cager P. Bhubalan contributed 13 points as the two made up for the off-colour Uttar Pradesh sharp-shooter Tridip Rai in their second placing match. It was Mathew’s cool and assured performance when Yemen had fought back well from 41-53 to 53-56 that helped India, who led 28-26 at the halfway stage, 80 past their West Asian rivals, as per information received here. Bobit came to India’s rescue by sinking a superb three-pointer and then converted two free-throws by keeping his nerves intact to see India home. |
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Ganguly holds top seed Vladimirov HYDERABAD, July 23 (UNI) — International master (IM) Surya Sekhar Ganguly of Calcutta caused a major upset today by holding top seed grandmaster (GM) Evegeny Vladimirov of Kazhakstan to a draw in the 8th round of the Wipro Grandmaster International Chess Championship being played at Hotel Taj Residency here today. The top seed leads with a slender half-a-point. India’s GM K. Sasikiran’s victory over Wipro’s Aarthi in the classical variation of the Kings Indian defence was the only decisive result of the day. The other four games ended in a draw after a bitter struggles. The 94-move marathon tie between GM Maxim Sarokin of Argentina and GM Alexander Fominyh of Russia was an interesting affair but marred by oversights in the time scramble where Sarokin let off the hook. Fominyh defended with his back to the wall and salvaged a draw after seven hours of play. |
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Ominous silence marks duel SACRAMENTO (California), July 23 (AFP) — Silence fell on the men’s 200m at the US Olympic Athletics Trials here yesterday, the sudden quiet turning ominous when Michael Johnson felt a twinge in his thigh that could threaten his duel with Maurice Greene. Johnson, the world record-holder in the event, posted the second-fastest time in the world this year — the fastest at sea level — in the first round, winning his heat in 19.89sec. But seconds after he left the track, Johnson had ice strapped to his right quadriceps. “I’m not sure what to say now,” Johnson said. “I felt it cramp a little in the middle of the curve. I was able to finish the race. Tomorrow, I hope the schedule won’t be a problem, but I don’t know right now,” the 32-year-old added. Reigning world champion Greene had the fifth-fastest qualifying time, winning his heat in an ill-judged 20.29. With just under 100m remaining, Greene relaxed with his lead and had to summon up a late surge to hold off Ramon Clay. The 100m world record-holder, chief architect of the war of words with Johnson that has made headlines all week, promptly said he would have no further comment between rounds. The uncharacteristically subdued sprinter was dressed and away before Johnson’s race in the next heat was over. However, Greene will take his argument with Johnson to the track earlier than expected: they were drawn in neighbouring lanes in the first semi-final. That suited Brian Lewis, who will run in lane four of the second semi-final, just fine. “I’m more relaxed than ever right now,” Lewis said. “I’ve trained hard enough for this, now it’s time to let it go on Sunday.” Lewis said the hype surrounding the race had little effect on the runners — including Johnson and Greene themselves. He said a stare-down between the two in the warm-up area yesterday was overblown on television. “That kind of reminded me of a heavyweight title fight,” Lewis said. “You know, when you got two guys in each other’s faces. Nobody said anything. They just stared at each other and they laughed,” he added. Drama was at a minimum in the women’s 200m, as Marion Jones took another step toward her goal of winning five gold medals in Sydney. Jones bucked a headwind to lead the first-round times with a 22.62sec. “I’m glad to be back,” said Jones, who had five days off after winning the 100m and the long jump last weekend. “I was a bit bored watching everybody on TV.” “I want to get this 200 over with and make the team,” added Jones, who hadn’t run a 200m race since she was forced out of the world championship semifinals in Seville with back spasms. “Tomorrow we should have much faster times.” Inger Miller, eager to prove that her 200m world title was no fluke — possible only because of Jones’ absence — won her heat in 23.13 and will race against Jones in the semifinals. Angelo Taylor, (21) bounced back from food poisoning earlier in the week to win the 400m hurdles final in 47.62, fastest in the world this year. “This is a big relief for me,” he said. “I am kind of surprised I made the team based on my age,” he added. Eric Thomas settled for second in 48.22, good enough to get a second shot at the Olympic medal that eluded him in Atlanta. “This was not the exact race I wanted to run, but my goal was to finish among the top three,” Thomas said. “I’ve been training for this race since ’96 — after I finished fourth in the Olympics.” James Carter was third with a career best 48.46. Miracleman Larry Wade, racing at the trials for the first time since a serious auto accident was followed by surgery to drain fluid from his heart in May, advanced to the semifinals of the 110m hurdles. “I was a little rusty today,” he said after finishing second in his heat. “I didn’t get into the rhythm of the race. This is my first time over 10 hurdles since the accident.” |
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Ludhiana, Patiala win b’minton titles JALANDHAR, July 23 — The inter-district badminton championship ended here today at the local Raizada Hans Raj Stadium. Ludhiana outplayed host Jalandhar to win the men’s title. In the women’s section Patiala had an easy victory over Jalandhar. Yogita of Patiala beat Sapna Ratti of Jalandhar in straight sets 11-3, 11-4 and in doubles Nancy and Meeta of Patiala beat Sumit Kalra and Sapna Ratti 15-7, 15-3. Jaideep of Jalandhar lost the first game to Harish Chander 15-10, 8-15 and 9-15 and turn in the second game Jalandhar bounced back when Opinder Pal Singh defeated Gurmukh Singh. In the doubles Jaideep Kohli and Rohan Kapur of Jalandhar lost to Harish Chander and Sunil Sekhri 5-15, 6-15 but then in singles Rohan Kapur defeated Dilpreet Singh of Ludhiana with a 15-5, 15-6 to make the tie 2-2. In second doubles and the last tie Gurmukh Singh and Iqbal Singh helped Ludhiana clinch the title beating Opinder Pal Singh and Ram Lakhan 13-15, 15-16, 15-13. In the boy’s (U-19) section Amritsar beat Ludhiana 2-1. Maynk and Varun were the key performers for the winning side. In ‘junior’ Girls (U-19) hosts Jalandhar beat Patiala 2-1. Navneet lost the first game for Jalandhar but then in the doubles she teamed up with Indermeet to beat Vidhu and Amritpal of Patiala 15-6, 13-15, 15-8. In the last singles Indermeet Kaur beat Jaspreet Kaur of Patiala 11-5 &
11-6. |
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Punjab athletics
squad JALANDHAR, July 23 — A 45-member squad comprising 28 boys and 17 girls have been selected to represent Punjab in the Inter-State National Athletics Championship to be held at Chennai from July 29 to 31, according to Mr Isher Singh Deol, honorary general secretary, Punjab Amateur Athletic Association.
Teams: Women’s: Mandeep Kaur, Sapinder Kaur, Rajinder Pal, Ramala Devi, Amarjit Kaur, Paramjit Kaur, Prabhjot Kaur, Karamjit Kaur, Anupama, Neelam J. Singh, Harjit Kaur, Surinderjit Kaur, Hardeep Kaur, Jasmine Kaur, Prabhjot-II, Manjit-I and Manjit Kaur-II. Men’s: Ajay Raj Singh, Paramjit, Prabhjot, Harpal Singh, Sabib Singh, Gurpreet, Jangjit, Satnam Singh, Subash, Gurmit Singh, Davinder Singh, Pritpal Singh, Baljit Singh, Bahadar Singh, Amarjit, Kanwalpreet, Jagdish, Satveer, Ramanjit, Phull Singh, Baljit-II, Sucha, Jagpreet Singh, Gurdev, Kuldeep, Surinder Pal and Vikas Prashar.
Maharashtra win
team championship CHENNAI, July 23 (PTI) — Maharashtra clinched the men’s team championship in the third All-India Telecom Carrom Tournament here yesterday. In the finals, they outplayed Tamil Nadu 3-0. |
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WBA champion Felix Trinidad of Puerto Rico
(right) lands a jab to the head of Mamadou Thiam of France during the first round of the WBA super welterweight title fight at the American Airlines Arena,
on Saturday. Trinidad defeated Thiam in the third round. — AP/PTI
Nisha dreams of putting India on swimming map
