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| Friday, August 4, 2000, Chandigarh, India   
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Early shocks for West Indies Sampras too busy for Olympics |
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Kidambi denied IM norm Chiba loses fight
Sotomayor cleared for Olympics Sydney ready for EPO tests Kournikova stuns Davenport Hollioake to Surrey’s rescue ‘Payyoli Express’ and Patiala
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IT sleuths grill Ajay Jadeja NEW DELHI, Aug 3 (PTI) — Income Tax sleuths today questioned cricketer Ajay Jadeja for hours on certain documents relating to property seized from his official, residential premises and bank lockers, IT sources said.
The questioning of Jadeja, who was accompanied by his brother Ajit Jadeja, began at 11.15 a.m. and continued till late this evening, the sources said. Jadeja is the first cricketer to be summoned by the IT department after the authorities conducted nation-wide raids on
July 20. He was confronted with documents seized from his premises about the property and real estate possessed by him, the sources said. The Income Tax Department would also summon other cricket players and bookies, the sources said. The IT Department opened his bank lockers yesterday and found some jewellery in a State Bank of India locker belonging to his mother. The locker was part of the 17 lockers sealed during a nation-wide swoop. Jadeja, who was present during the search, told reporters at his two-bedroom flat in Greater Kailash, that IT personnel had searched him at the airport and even taken his laptop computer when he returned from London on Monday night. As per law, the person, against whom an income tax raid has been conducted, has to be confronted with every document seized before fixing any penalty for evasion of tax. Meanwhile, IT authorities were awaiting the return of Delhi batsman Ajay Sharma, currently in London for assessment of his assets found during the recent raids. The IT Department had written to Sharma, who left the country immediately after the scandal surfaced to play for a minor county in London, the sources said, adding indications were that he would be coming in the second week of September. The residential and office premises of Sharma, who is alleged to have some links with bookies, were raided and sealed on July 20 during the nation-wide swoop. Nikhil Chopra has called the income tax authorities from London and informed them that he would be returning and filing a statement. In the nation-wide swoop on July 20, IT officials raided the premises of cricketers including Kapil Dev, Ajay Jadeja, Ajay Sharma, Nikhil Chopra and Manoj Prabhakar, Navjot Sidhu (in Patiala), former International Cricket Council chief Jagmohan Dalmiya (in Calcutta), Worldtel chairman Mark Mascarenhas (in Bangalore) and BCCI treasurer Kishore Rungta (in Jaipur), besides some bookies. |
Early shocks for West Indies MANCHESTER, Aug 3 (AFP) — West Indies were 21 for two as rain forced an early lunch on the opening day of the third Test against England at Old Trafford today. Wavell Hinds was 10 not out and Brian Lara four not out.
West Indies captain Jimmy Adams won the toss and elected to bat in a surprising decision given that the tourists have outstanding bowlers in pacemen Curtly Ambrose and Courtney Walsh while their top order batting has been consistently frail. The veteran quicks would have been relishing the opportunity to immediately test England debutant and opening batsman Marcus Terescothick. Instead Sherwin Campbell was first to fall with a fine catch going to his left at third slip. West Indies were three for one and opener Adrian Griffith already under pressure after being chosen ahead of Chris Gayle was looking ill at ease in the face of some accurate bowling from Gough and Andrew Caddick. Somerset paceman Caddick ended Griffith’s unconvincing stay, the left-hander was trapped leg before wicket for two, caught on the crease. The tourists were 12 for two and had not Lara got the faintest of inside edges against Caddick their situation would have been even worse. SCOREBOARD West Indies (1st innings): Campbell c Thorpe b Gough 2 Griffith lbw b Caddick 2 Hinds not out 10 Lara not out 4 Extras: (lb1, nb2) 3 Total: (for 2 wkts) 21 Fall of wickets: 1-3, 2-12. Bowling: Gough 7-3-13-1 (1nb); Caddick 6-2-7-1 (1nb). |
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Sampras too busy for Olympics TORONTO, Aug 3 (AP) — Saying he’s too busy to compete in the Olympics in Sydney next month, Pete Sampras yesterday said he might play in the 2004 games in Greece.
“(This year) was never a consideration,” Sampras said after winning in the second round of the Tennis Masters series in Canada. “If I’m going to go to the Olympics, it might be when I’m done playing. But not right now. “I know the next one’s in
Athens and — being a Greek — that’s a possibility.” The only drawback to that is that tennis at the Athens games are scheduled to be played on clay — a surface Sampras doesn’t enjoy — and they’ll be held just before the US Open, which is played on hard court. Sampras, who’s only Olympic competition came when he reached the round of 16 at the 1992 Barcelona Games, spoke a day after the US Tennis Association announced its six-member men’s team for Sydney. Jeff Tarango took Sampras’ spot in the lineup, which also includes defending gold medallist Andre Agassi, Michael Chang and Todd Martin. Alex O’Brien and Jared Palmer will play doubles. Sampras, who won a record 13th Grand Slam title last month at Wimbledon, said the Olympics fell out of his plans when he committed to play Davis Cup. It turned out that he pulled out of last month’s Davis Cup semifinals, too, citing injured shins that bothered him at Wimbledon. “The schedule is tough. That’s why you see a lot of upsets today,” he said. “Guys are playing a lot and playing Davis Cup. And you add the Olympics to that, that takes its toll.” Sampras added: “To have Davis Cup and the Olympics in the same year, you’re going to see a lot of guys burnt out at the end of the year.” He also suggested that the Olympics would be more appealing to some players if the format was changed to better represent nations and team play. “It’s a 128-draw. We play that all year around,” he said. “If we have more of a team concept, like the World Team Cup, that’s more (with) the Olympic spirit.” Stan Smith became US Olympic men’s coach last week and talked with Sampras, but was unable to change his mind. Jan-Michael Gambill also turned down a chance to play, opening a spot for Tarango, who ranks 81st in this year’s ATP Tour standings. The four-player women’s team announced on Monday includes defending gold medallist Lindsay Davenport, Monica Seles and Venus Williams in singles, and Venus and her sister Serena in doubles. The women will be coached by Billie Jean King. The tennis event at Sydney will be held from September 19 to 28. |
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Kidambi denied IM norm BIEL (Switzerland), Aug 3 (PTI) — Sunderarajan Kidambi was denied his third IM norm on a technical point after he played a quick draw with GM Klovans while IM Konguvel continued his winning form to score a victory over Bunzman in the ninth round of the Biel Open Chess championship here. In other matches, V. Saravanan and R.B. Ramesh played a draw among themselves, while T.S. Ravi was unlucky to lose from a rather advantageous position. Grandmasters Shariyazdanov and Huzman are in the joint lead with seven points each after the end of the ninth round. Kidambi, who needed a draw in this round for his IM title, did not take any risk and manouevred his game against Klovans to a draw. However, the arbiter ruled Kidambi was not eligible for the norm as his eighth round opponent Adam Valerian was unrated despite the bulletins and official lists mentioned his (Adam’s) rating as 2291 ELO points. The arbiter’s contention was that it was Adams national rating and not that of FIDE, though Adam has been seeded 54th here on the basis of that rating. Kidambi, who has 5.5 points, now needs a win in his next round against IM Chermiev to gain his final IM norm. Saravanan and Ramesh, who have run neck and neck in the points race, drew their game to jointly move to six points. Playing with white pieces, Saravanan employed an irregular form of Sicilian defence where the pawn structure slightly resembled that of Ruy-Lopez variation. Ramesh’s game with Bunzman in the last round was adjudged the best match of the day and the Indian won a tournament wrist watch for his performance. After a complicated middlegame, the queens were exchanged on the 20th move. But the pawn structure was completely blocked with neither player having any chance of a breakthrough and truce was signed on the 28th move. Konguvel applied the same tactics against Bunzman which his compatriot Ramesh had used to defeat the German IM in the previous round. Bunzman varied his move early and appeared to obtain sufficient counterplay on the queenside of the French Tarrasch variation but Konguvel sacrificed a pawn to gain initiative on the kingside. Bunzman then gave back the pawn to enter into a drawn queen and pawn endgame, but blundered by offering his queen for exchange thinking it was winning for him. In fact it was Konguvel who was winning at that time which he finally did on 47th move. Konguvel now has six points. In a tragic turn of events, Ravi, who enjoyed a clear advantage from the opening of queens Indian, lost to IM Hanke Florian to remain on 4.5 points. Ravi was a pawn up initially but then sacrificed an exchange for an attack. In the time trouble he missed many chances to go down in the sudden death time control. Results of ninth round: GM Shariyazdanov (7) drew GM Galkin Alexander (6.5); IM Pelletier (6) lost to GM Huzman (7); FM Volokitin (6.5) drew GM Kempinski (6.5); GM Aurukh (6.5) IM Kelecevic (5.5); IM Saravanan (6) drew IM R.B. Ramesh (6); IM Konguvel (6) IM Bunzman (4.5); S Kidambi (5.5) drew GM Klovans (5.5). |
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TOKYO, Aug 3 (AFP) — Swimming star Suzu Chiba lost her appeal today against a hotly-disputed decision by the Japanese federation to exclude her from next month’s Olympic team, an official said. She was the first Japanese competitor to take a case to the Swiss-based Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), set up by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1983. Swiss lawyer Hans Nater, who was appointed the sole arbitrator by the CAS, dismissed the appeal after hearing from her and the Japanese Swimming Federation (JASF) at a Tokyo hotel. “The sole arbitrator found in particular no unequal treatment of Japanese swimmers by the JASF,” said acting Secretary-General of the CAS, lawyer Matthieu Reeb. “On the other hand, he found that the JASF did not adequately communicate the selection criteria to the Japanese swimmers,” Mr Reeb told a news conference here. The CAS arbitrator awarded Chiba the costs of her suit. The 24-year-old veteran swimmer sued the federation for excluding her from the national squad despite comfortably clearing the Olympic “A” qualifying standard at the national championships in April. Chiba argued she had been discriminated against for personal reasons while the JASF said her qualifying time was simply not good enough. The CAS arbitrator felt the appeal could have been avoided if the JASF had disclosed its selection procedure, said Mr Reeb. “Therefore, he ordered the JASF to pay an amount of 10,000 Swiss francs ($5,970) to partly compensate Suzu Chiba for expenses incurred in connection with this appeal procedure.” A flu-stricken Chiba won the 200-metre national title for a ninth time last April in a time of 2 minutes 00.54 seconds. That was 1.76 seconds slower than her personal record but comfortably inside the Olympic “A” qualifying standard. The national championships served as Olympic trials. But the JASF denied Chiba a ticket to Sydney without clarifying their own criteria. Last year, the body said it would form a “select team of swimmers who have cracked the ‘A’ standard and are able to fight against the rest of the world.” |
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Athletes to be chosen at random for samples ATHLETES face surprise tests for the endurance drug EPO when the Olympic village opens on September 2, after an International Olympic Committee review endorsed blood and urine tests on Tuesday. IOC medical commission Chairman Prince Alexandre de Merode of Belgium announced the IOC scientific panel had approved the combined use of an Australian blood test and a French urine test to catch cheats before and during the Sydney games. “The review group agreed unanimously that EPO tests designed for the Olympic Games in Sydney should be implemented,” he said in Switzerland. “As soon as the Olympic village opens we can start with blood samples, as of September 2. The athletes will be expelled if the result is confirmed as positive.” Australian Institute of Sport Director John Boultbee warned cheats they would now be caught if they used EPO — a hormone that boosts red blood cell production. Prince de Merode said athletes would be chosen at random to give blood and urine samples for the tests from the time the village opens until the games close on October 1. “We will be there with our test any where, at any time,” he said. The test still needs to clear the IOC juridical commission — which will meet on August 27 to decide if the tests can withstand legal challenges — and the IOC executive board on August 28. But Prince de Merode said he was confident the tests would clear all hurdles as the scientific teams had given “maximum guarantees” the tests would be reliable. The athletes would have to fail both the blood test — which can indicate long-term EPO abuse — and the urine test, which can detect EPO taken in the previous week. IOC medical director Patrick Schamasch earlier said the main objection to the EPO tests, that they might label innocent athletes as cheats through “false positives”, had been allayed. EPO or erythropoietin, is a hormone that can boost an athlete’s endurance by 15 per cent by stimulating the production of red blood cells. Officials suspect the undetectable drug could be rife in endurance and strength sports, such as cycling and running. Sun damage risk to
games tickets Olympic spectators have been warned to keep their tickets out of the sun to avoid being refused entry to events. The official games spectator guide released on Tuesday said tickets could be damaged if left in the sun or vehicle gloveboxes for prolonged periods, making them unuseable. Ticket storage is the first of a host of steps spectators have been advised to take. Some will have to leave where they are living more than five hours before their events starts to negotiate the expected transport bottlenecks. If you are going to see India play hockey then you’ve got a 55 minute walk from the north gate of Homebush to the hockey centre. Chip of the old block Yesterday, the Olympic torch was held by a world champion with a difference. David Foster’s 159 kg and 6 ft 4, is an axeman and the Pavarotti of wood chopping. He is one of Tasmania’s favourite sons, because he can chop through a tree 30 cm thick in 8 seconds. At 43, he is, without question, the greatest living non-Olympic champion, perhaps in the world. He has more than 1000 individual championships in chopping and sawing. He has won 175 world titles in chopping, and with his late father, George, and then with brother Peter, won 20 straight world 600 mm double-handed sawing championships. Yes, David Foster was a chip off the old block. His son, Stephen, who is 16, is headed in the same direction. He made the Australian under-21 side at the age of 15. The big man donned shorts yesterday to take the Olympic torch for its first run in Tasmania. Foster is not planning to fade into memory in the near future. His father won his last world title when he was 57 and David’s father-in-law, Henry Munday, is still chopping and he is 77. Delayed and dubious: how will this airport cope? This time the power failure at the Sydney airport lasted just 80 minutes — yet the flight delays went on and on. Twelve hours after the lights went out at the traffic control centre on Tuesday, passengers were still enduring delays. More than 500 domestic and international flights were delayed, diverted or cancelled throughout Tuesday, leaving thousands of irate customers stranded for hours in airport lounges. A Qantas pilot said the big question was: Are we really ready for the Olympics? “It just makes a mockery of our readiness for the Olympics. All of us (pilots) are very concerned,” he said. “The irony is that the Prime Minister was caught in it, which I think is just beautiful.” Passengers wondered if they can’t get it right now, how will they cope in the Olympics? Perhaps they better start checking all the plugs. Taxi drivers expected to drop ranks during games Coming to Sydney for the games? Travel by train. About 2,500 of the Sydney’s 21,000 taxi drivers do not intend to work through the Olympic Games. But the NSW Taxi Council says the high rate of leave will not affect the number of taxis in service, with the entire fleet of 4,700 cabs in Sydney still expected to be on the road. “We will have 100 per cent of the fleet operating for the games and as requested by the ORTA (Olympic Roads and Transport Authority), we will be focusing on the central business district” a council spokeswoman said. “An industry survey found 87 per cent of drivers will be working during the games, which is more than during an average school holiday period.” But the Australian Taxi Drivers’ League said Sydneysiders and Olympic visitors would be forced to wait for hours for a cab in September because there were not enough taxis to meet demand. “The hallmark of this Olympic Games is going to be the lines of people standing around at the city ranks.” they said. Hundreds of drivers giving up their shifts had planned to go on holidays or take up Olympic volunteer roles during the games. — PMG |
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Sotomayor cleared for Olympics MONACO, Aug 3 (Reuters) — World high jump record holder Javier Sotomayor was cleared to compete in next month’s Sydney Olympics when the International Amateur Athletic Federation decided to half his two-year ban for taking cocaine. A special meeting of the IAAF’s ruling council yesterday decided on humanitarian grounds to reinstate the 1992 Barcelona Olympic champion after a plea from Cuban council member Alberto Juantorena. After the council had met for 10 hours in an effort to clear up its outstanding doping cases before the Sydney games, IAAF President Lamine Diack said Sotomayor had passed 300 tests in his career. ‘’We thought this athlete deserved a lot of our support,’’ Mr Diack said. ‘’We said we can give him the possibility to compete again. He is a human being, he made a mistake.’’ Sotomayor (32) tested positive at the Pan-American Games in Winnipeg, Canada, in August last year. He denied taking the recreational stimulant and was cleared by his national federation. The decision was over-ruled by the IAAF’s arbitration panel and then in turn overturned at an emergency one-day council meeting convened on Wednesday to clear up remaining doping cases before the Olympics. In other decisions Dieter Baumann, the Barcelona 5,000 metres champion, had his positive test for nandrolone referred to arbitration while Linford Christie, who won the Olympic 100 metres title in the same year, will have his nandrolone case heard by the panel on August 14. Baumann startled the all-conquering Africans with his win in Barcelona after taking silver four years earlier at the Seoul Olympics. An outspoken anti-drugs campaigner, he tested positive for the anabolic steroid last November. He maintained his innocence, saying his toothpaste had been spiked, and on June 23 he was cleared to run by the German Athletics Federation. Mr Diack said the 35-year-old German was free to compete in the meantime and added the arbitration panel would meet before September 10 to give Baumann the chance to compete in Sydney. The council decided that British Athletes Christie, Doug Walker and Gary Cadogan would have their cases heard in 12 days. The trio were cleared by the British governing body UK Athletics after testing positive for nandrolone but were subsequently banned by the IAAF pending a decision by its arbitration panel. A hearing originally scheduled for July 6 to 9 was postponed. Although the hearing will be held only a month before the start of the Sydney games, its conclusions will be largely academic. Christie has retired and said he has no interest in the proceedings because he considers he has already been cleared. Walker, the European 200 metres champion, won an order at the high court in London allowing him to compete pending the hearing but then said this week he would not take part in the British trials because he did not consider he could be ready in time for the games. Cadogan, a 400 metres hurdler, has retired. The council also sent the case of Hungarian women’s 400 metres flat and hurdles sprinter Judit Szekeres to arbitration. Szekeres was cleared by her national federation after a positive test for the steroid stanolzolol. UK Athletics Chief Executive David Moorcroft presented the council with the results of a recent study conducted at Aberdeen University which concluded that a combination of dietary supplements and vigorous exercise could create excessive levels of nandrolone. The study was instrumental in persuading a UK Athletics disciplinary committee to clear Commonwealth 400 metres silver medallist Mark Richardson after a nandrolone positive. The IAAF has received the necessary documents from UK Athletics on the Richardson case but they must first be considered by the doping commission which will recommend to the council whether or not he should go to arbitration. Mr Diack said the report was interesting but added the problem of nandrolone needed further research. |
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Sydney ready for EPO tests SYDNEY, Aug 3 (Reuters) — The organisers of the Sydney Olympics said yesterday they were ready to spring into action to back up the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) decision to allow EPO drug testing at the September games.
“We’ve been working on a contingency for this for three years,” Sydney’s Manager of Doping Control, Nikki Vance, told a news conference yesterday. “We already have a large proportion of the equipment in place.” The IOC announced in Switzerland on Tuesday that its medical commission had approved a test to detect the banned drug erythropoietin (EPO) in time for the Sydney games, which start on September 15. EPO is a hormone that boosts red blood cell production enhancing the endurance of athletes. A 15-member panel of doping experts and scientists spent two days examining research on two different tests, a urine-based method developed by a French laboratory and a blood sampling control devised in Australia. The panel decided that together, the two methods would provide indisputable evidence of use of the performance-enhancing drug. The Secretary-General of the Australian Olympic Committee, Craig McLatchey, said the approval of an EPO test was a major breakthrough in the fight against performance-enhancing drugs. “Clearly it now is detectable, if people use, they will be caught,” McLatchey said. “You’ve got to say that’s another nail in the coffin of the drug cheats.” The tests must still receive the stamp of approval from the IOC’s juridical commission, which will examine the threat of legal challenges. The IOC executive board will then examine both scientific and legal opinions at meetings on August 28 and 29 and make a final decision on the implementation of the tests for the Sydney games. |
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Kournikova stuns Davenport CARLSBAD (California), Aug 3 (AFP) — Russian teen Anna Kournikova, well known for her beauty but winless on the WTA Tour, stunned world No 2 Lindsay Davenport here yesterday to reach the quarterfinals of the Acura Classic. Kournikova ousted the American 2-6, 6-4, 7-5 and will face either compatriot Elena Likhovtseva or France’s Nathalie Tauziat for a berth in the semifinals of the $ 535,000 event, a hardcourt tuneup for the US Open. The victory prevented a possible third consecutive finals matchup between Davenport and Wimbledon champion Venus Williams, who advanced to the quarterfinals with a 6-0, 6-4 triumph over South Africa’s Amanda Coetzer. Kournikova, ranked 18th at age 19, is one victory from matching her best showing of the year, two from her third career finals appearance and three shy of that elusive first professional title. Davenport, who had not lost a set in four prior meetings with Kournikova this year, was denied a chance at her third title of the season. After a 24-1 start to the year, including a 21-match win streak, Davenport is 10-6. Both of Davenport’s titles this season have come on hard courts, including the Australian Open in January. Her most recent title was at Indian Wells in March. Third seed Williams began her quest for a third consecutive singles title following her Wimbledon and Stanford triumphs, ousting Coetzer for her 12th consecutive victory. Williams (20), is nine victories shy of equaling Davenport’s WTA season-best winning streak. She has put together an 18-3 record in the six tournaments she has played since returning from wrist tendinitis. At Wimbledon, Williams defeated top-ranked Martina Hingis, younger sister Serena and Davenport to capture her first Grand Slam singles title. Then she lost only one set on her way to winning at Stanford. Coetzer spoiled Venus Williams’ first tournament of the season with a 6-3, 6-4 quarterfinal win at the Betty Barclay Cup in Hamburg, Germany in May. It was Coetzer’s first victory in five meetings with Williams. Fourth seed and two-time finalist Monica Seles secured a quarterfinal berth by defeating fellow American Meilen Tu, 7-5 7-5. Sixth seed Conchita Martinez of Dpain, the 1995 champion, outlasted Sustralia’s Nicole Pratt 4-6, 6-0, 6-3. Toronto: The fall of the seeds at the $ 2.95-million ATP tournament here continued on Wednesday with French Open champion Gustavo Kuerten losing at the hands of Canadian Sebastien Lareau 6-7 (4/7), 4-6. The fourth-seeded Brazilian, who lost in the second round, joined third seeded Magnus Norman of Sweden and top-seeded American Andre Agassi on the scrapheap of this event. Wimbledon winner Pete Sampras, the second seed, barely avoided joining the exiles, holding off Morocco’s KarimVAlami 7-6 (7/3), 6-2. Sampras needed a third-set tie-breaker to oust a French qualifier in his first match on Tuesday. “It wasn’t easy but after I won the first set he got down on himself and I was able to raise my level up a bit,” Sampras said. “Like yesterday, it was a struggle but I feel my game is where I want it to be.” |
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Hollioake to Surrey’s rescue LONDON, Aug 3 (AFP) — Adam Hollioake dug Division One leaders Surrey out of immediate danger to frustrate title rivals Lancashire on a rain-affected first day of their county championship clash at The Oval here yesterday. Surrey, who began the match just four points ahead of the third-placed visitors, were in desperate early trouble as Mike Smethurst struck thrice in the space of 11 balls to leave the hosts on 12 for three. But captain Hollioake struck a crucial 80, his highest score of the season, and shared a fourth-wicket stand of 96 with Alistair Brown to propel Surrey towards 191 for six from 68 overs by the close. Brown hit 54 before he also fell victim to Smethurst, who finished with four for 27 from 15 overs, while Ben Hollioake added 24 before both he and his brother fell victim to Joe Scuderi. Lancashire’s Australian coach Bobby Simpson was pleased with his team’s display on a good pitch. He said: “The team has bowled and caught very well. It is a very good wicket for batting.” The weather also restricted progress at Taunton where second-placed Yorkshire, just a point ahead of Roses rivals Lancashire, reduced Somerset to 73 for three in the 37.3 overs that were possible. Somerset quickly slumped to 16 for two as Chris Silverwood and Matthew Hoggard, after being released by England, claimed the wickets of Jamie Cox - caught by debutant wicketkeeper Simon Guy — and Mark Lathwell, respectively. Gavin Hamilton then removed Piran Holloway for 15 to leave Peter Bowler, unbeaten on 29, and Keith Parsons (11 not out) trying to repair the damage for the fourth-placed hosts. At Derby left-arm paceman Alan Mullally was in fine form for relegation-threatened Hampshire taking five for 85. Matthew Dowman’s 102 was the cornerstone of the hosts’ 241 for five. England misfit Mark Ramprakash continued his rich run of form to strike a fluent 84 for bottom-club Middlesex on the first day of their County Championship Division Two match against Essex at Lord’s. On a rain-affected day the hosts - whose only first class victory this season came against Essex at Chelmsford - closed on 214 for five with seamer Ashley Cowan being the pick of visitors’ attack with three for 54. Bristol saw 14 wickets fall in a day as batsmen from Gloucestershire and Glamorgan struggled. Tailender Darren Thomas 52 was the major scorer in Glamorgan’s 122, medium-pacer Mike Cawdron taking five for 45. |
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‘Payyoli Express’ and Patiala PATIALA — THE sudden announcement of retirement by P. T. Usha, the ‘sprint queen’, has left scores of her fans in the city shocked and dejected as they will not be able to see one of their favourite sportspersons at the National Institute of Sports
(NIS) here as often as they did before. What, however, will remain etched in their memories is the consummate ease with which
Usha, nicknamed ‘Payyoli Express’, used to carry the day at various national and international sports events. For
Usha, the NIS was like a home away from home. She used to spend considerable time at the institute attending numerous national camps ever since she made her debut in the international sports arena in 1978. During these years, she developed an excellent rapport with all, including the humble tea stall owners around the main gate of the NIS and the shopkeepers at the posh AC market in the heart of the city. At the end of a rigorous schedule on the track, she was often seen sitting at one of the tea stalls sipping hot tea and mingling with other athletes, whether they were members of the men’s hockey or women’s judoka
teams. Usha liked being at the NIS and often talked fondly about it. “I have toured all over the world; yet I am of the firm opinion that the NIS has better facilities than any other sports institute I have seen. The food is good and so are the other facilities.” According to her a visit to the institute will always be on her agenda whenever she visited this part of the country. Ringing up her family from a booth outside the NIS and talking to her little son was almost a daily ritual for her. “Usha was very friendly with all of us. Once, just before leaving for the Bangkok Asian Games, she ran a telephone bill of Rs 8,200. She promised to pay soon. The day she reached her home in
Trichy, she promptly sent a draft along with a ‘thank you’ note,” says Mr Harbaksh Singh, owner of the telephone booth. So much for the trust the people of the city reposed in her. That Usha has a special fondness for children is revealed by an incident which occurred while she was on one of her weekly visits to the AC market. She was recognised and mobbed by a group of school children who would let her go only on the promise that she would visit their school. Usha kept her word and visited the school the next day accompanied by her friends. She talked to the children extolling the virtues of sports and inspired them to actively participate in various sports activities. The city would have seen more of her had she bought the 1,500 sq yard plot in the vicinity of the NIS that she was contemplating to purchase at one time, but her plans fell through. This writer once asked her about her four long-standing national records (three of these, except the 400m hurdles, have since been broken). She replied, “Records are meant to be broken, but when any of my records is surpassed, I will request the AAFI to dope test the athlete.” No sport in the country owes so much to one individual as athletics does to P. T.
Usha. Ms Kamaljit Sandhu, a senior city-based athletics coach who was the first Indian women to win a gold in the Bangkok Asian Games in 1970 and with whom Usha enjoyed a warm relationship, says, “It was Usha’s unquenchable thirst for challenge, an urge to conquer and achieve that kept her going for so long on the track. She faced odds with fortitude till the very last when it was time to bid adieu came.”
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