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| Sunday, August 6, 2000, Chandigarh, India   
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MANCHESTER, Aug 5 — West Indies, facing a first-innings deficit of 146 after dismissing England for 303, continued their fightback as they reached 35 without loss by tea on the third day of the third Test today at Old Trafford. Kidambi
gets IM title Father-figure of Indian cricket passes into
history
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 More dead heats as timekeepers told not to be so
preciseBy Andy O’Brien Dead heats are likely to occur at the Sydney Games because officials will not be allowed to use the latest technology, which can time races down to 1/2,000th of a second. Computer technology long ago solved the problem of dead heats, but the governing bodies for most sports, including athletics and swimming, have decreed that the precision of race timing will be limited to 1/100th of a second. Sunita Rani’s career in
jeopardy? KOLLAM, Aug 5 — Union Minister of State for Sports Shahnawaz Hussain yesterday warned that those found guilty of match-fixing would be dealt with seriously. Ratti stuns Abhin Shyam De Silva recalled
for final Test Allround
show by Kumble Kournikova enters semis CBI report by
September: Dhindsa
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Campbell, Griffith lead Windies’ fightback MANCHESTER, Aug 5 (Reuters) — West Indies, facing a first-innings deficit of 146 after dismissing England for 303, continued their fightback as they reached 35 without loss by tea on the third day of the third Test today at Old Trafford. Openers Sherwin Campbell, with 21, and Adrian Griffith, with 12, survived a few scares but began to look increasingly comfortable just before the break. Earlier, veteran pace duo Courtney Walsh and Curtly Ambrose, with four wickets each, had kept West Indies in the game as England’s last seven wickets tumbled for 107. The home team had resumed in a strong position on 196 for three, 39 runs ahead, but lost two wickets for the addition of just two runs. Alec Stewart, who had reached 105 not out on Friday to become only the fourth player to make a century in his 100th Test, dabbed at the second ball of the day from Ambrose and was caught behind without adding to the score. Debutant left-hander Marcus Trescothick, 65 not out overnight after putting on 179 with Stewart, added a single before he was bowled off a pad by Walsh. Reon King then came on to cut a delivery back and hit Craig White’s off stump after he had made six. But Michael Vaughan, England’s last specialist batsman, and all-rounder Dominic Cork put on 41, the second-highest stand of the innings, as the fielding became increasingly ragged. Ambrose, however, returned to force Cork to edge behind to make it 251 for seven just before lunch and quickly dealt with Vaughan, caught at first slip for 29, and Andy Caddick after the break. Robert Croft, with 27 not out, and Darren Gough, with 12, put on 20 for the last wicket. The two teams are level 1-1 in the five-match series.
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Kidambi, having been denied his third and final IM norm by the arbiter on a technicality after his ninth round drawn game aganinst GM Klovans, needed a win in this round for his IM title and went about his task with clinical precision. However, his compatriot R.B. Ramesh squandered an advantage to draw his game against Volokitin thereby missing an excellent opportunity to finish in the joint first place. IM V. Saravanan held highly rated GM Rashkovsky to finish in the third spot while T.S. Ravi defeated Ian Thompson of England. IM Konguvel was the lone Indian to lose his game going down to Pikula for his second successive defeat. |
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Father-figure of Indian cricket passes into
history INDIA’s unquestionably most colourful, though highly controversial, cricketing personality, Lala Amarnath, is no more. His death leaves a big void in the country which is already rocked by the sordid scandal of betting and match fixing. Amarnath, born in 1911 (some magazines gave his birth year as 1906), held a kind of charisma no other player of any era can boast of. A renowned writer, in a foreword to his book ‘A stormy petrel of Indian cricket’, says: “If Amarnath walked into the field alongside, say, Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev, and Sachin Tendulkar, he surely would attract greater attention, by the swagger of his gait, his deliberate mannerisms of putting his arms across one’s shoulders and cocking a snook with a newly-acquired pipe and felt hat to boot”. Dominance and more dominance was Amarnath’s trait. He treated every one with contempt. His endeavour was to force a decisive march over his rivals in batting, bowling and captaincy. When he came good, it was simply marvellous. When he did not, he still was the winner because he refused to accept defeat. Articulate, farsighted and also intelligent, Amarnath lived and kicked around by his wits ends. He thrived on controversies. He had in him guts and stamina to translate lost cause into success. Not for nothing someone said that he had grabbed Fate by the scruff and oozed a living out of it. When Amarnath was honoured with the Padma Bhushan, Mr Madhavrao Scindia called on him to congratulate him. Amarnath promptly said: “It should have come earlier”. Amarnath was again first to receive the C K Nayudu Award. Amarnath’s only century in his maiden appearance against England in 1933 at Bombay Gymkhana is considered a ‘legend’. When Amarnath completed his century, Col C K Nayudu walked up to him to congratulate him. Amidst unprecedented jubilations, embraces, kisses, garlands, the band played ‘God Save the King”. Awards were announced for Amarnath and cash flew on the ground. Women tore off their jewellery and presented it to the hero. An unknown youth suddenly rose as hero. On the tour to England in 1936 under Vizzy, Amarnath had struck a purple patch. He had scored 613 and also taken 32 wickets. In a match against Essex, he had scored a century in each innings. The value of his centuries was immense. The manner in which he was playing, he could have achieved the cricket’s double-1000 runs and 100 wickets before May. Then in the match against Minor Counties, Vijay Merchant made 95 and Mushtaq Ali 135 while Amarnath stayed in readiness to occupy the crease as either of the batsman got out. When the stand was broken, Vizzy altered the batting order and demoted Amarnath in the batting order. When Amarnath was sent in eventually, there were only a few minutes left for the day’s play to end. In the dressing room, Amarnath was fuming: he was all fire. Vizzy took unkindly to Amarnath’s outbursts. He along with manager Brittain-Jones, decided to send Amarnath back home despite appeals by some senior players that he should be pardoned after he had apologised. While Amarnath was on high sea for his voyage back home, Brittain Jones apprised the board president, the Nawab of Bhopal, about the sad episode throwing total blame on the deported players. Yet the Nawab of Bhopal was about to send him back to England, when Lady Willingdon, the Viceroy’s wife, telephoned the nawab of Bhopal asking him that more problems would surface, if Amarnath was sent back. It was said that the lady had stepped into this unsavoury controversy at the behest of Brittain-Jones, whose actions showed that he was anti-India and Indians as he wanted to prove to his ‘bosses’ that the Indians were not a race to stay together in peace”. Amarnath’s active career as a player in the arena of international circuit lasted for two eventful decades. His ‘sack’ in 1936 only provided him a befitting spring to plunge to higher heights. While he received a hero’s welcome in a Bombay, his skipper Vizzy had a hostile audience and press. On the day Vizzy arrived, there was a banner headline in Bombay paper, which said: “India’s captain unhonoured, unashamed and unsung returns home”. Amarnath stayed ‘amar’, while Vizzy went underground. The Beaumont Committee report virtually exonerated Amarnath and caused further embarrassment to Vizzy. Once a ‘bad boy’, Amarnath rose to lead India in Sir Donald Bradman’s Australia in 1947. He did not have much success as a batsman in Tests, but he was a great success as a bowler. In county matches, he showed his calibre and prowess as a batsman. On the tour, Amarnath earned praise from all, including Bradman, for being an outstanding allrounder and a very shrewd captain. Bradman went on record saying that he considered Amarnath a fine ‘ambassador’ of his country. Amarnath was retained as captain when West Indies visited India in 1948. He earned a distinction in the final Test at Bombay’s Brabourne Stadium when he batted, bowled and kept wickets. After retirement, Amarnath became a selector and stayed chairman of the selection committee for many years. There was time when nothing happened in the board without his concurrence. He was considered a ‘king maker’ in the late 1950s. Amarnath-his family name is Bharadwaj — had a very tough early life. He moved from place to place — Lucknow, Aligarh, Amritsar, Lahore, Patiala and some other cities to find his bearings. A physical fanatic, he was extremely particular about his diet. Lithe of muscle, Amarnath’s stance was wellpoised and well balanced. His left toe stood slightly upward while facing the bowler. His grip was not exactly orthodox. But his feet were nimble and eye sharp and quick. He was a batsman always in a position to attack and he was not afraid to attack, no matter who the bowler was. He belonged to the Lerrie Constantine school of thought that ‘attack was the best form of defence’. Gifted with most of the strokes, he executed them precisely and powerfully, thanks to his strong wrists. When he executed drives perfectly, the fielder even in the country found difficult to intercept them. It would be sheer foolhardy to measure Amarnath’s batsmanship in terms of runs he made. His style of batsmanship revealed his dashing personality. His batting did not belong to the classical school of batsmanship, like, that of Vijay Merchant or Len Hutton but it could be compared with the batting style of Macartney and McCabe. He had in him to attract crowds just as C K Nayudu and Mushtaq Ali could. Amarnath’s hands were of steel. So strong were his palms, so to say, and fingers that he could have de-shaped the ball with his strength. He also had very powerful shoulders. All these assets helped him generate pace off the pitch although he bowled with a short run-in and with a wrong foot to deliver the ball. When he brought into play his shoulder, he obtained such nasty lift that even quick-footed batsmen were caught unawares. Amarnath’s captaincy was not of usual style of leadership. He always did something unusual on the ground. He had a streak of gambling in his make up. In the end, Amarnath loved being called ‘Lala’. Once, in Ahmedabad, some one was addressing a person as ‘lala’. Amarnath called the youngman and told him in strong words that: “There are only two ‘Lalas’ — one Lala Lajpat Rai and second myself. There is no third Lala”.
Lala ‘brought glory to nation’ NEW DELHI, Aug 5 (PTI) — Leading cricket personalities and national leaders today paid tributes to the legendary Lala Amarnath, who died this morning, describing him as an icon.President K.R. Narayanan, expressing grief over his demise, said Amarnath brought glory to the country and would long be remembered for his contribution to the game. Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee said Lala Amarnath was an icon and he will be an inspiration for generations of cricketers. “An all-rounder, he became an icon for a large number of Indians. I will remember him because he belonged to my generation,” the Prime Minister said in a message. Spin wizard Bishen Singh Bedi described Amarnath as a legend and said “Indian cricket literally took off from his shoulders”. “He was a volatile, at the same time forceful character who always believed in himself, if anything bordering on over-confidence,” Bedi told pti on phone from Amritsar. Apart from his own cricket, Lala Amarnath gave the nation two outstanding crickets in Jimmy (Mohinder) and Surinder, he said. The first captain of independent India cricket team, Lala Amarnath died in his sleep here this morning after protracted illness. Recuperating from a hip surgery he underwent a few months ago, Amarnath was bedridden and on a liquid diet. Amarnath, who was to turn 89 next month, is survived by three sons and two daughters. Amarnath would be cremated tomorrow. Cricketer-turned-parliamentarian Kirti Azad said Amarnath “stood tall among the tallest in sports”. “Lalaji’s death is a loss to the entire sports fraternity,” Kirti Azad said. In Bangalore, stylish batsman Gundappa Viswanath said: “I can’t forget the tips he gave me during my last season in 1982-83 in Pakistan. I was mentally down during that period and his words made a lot of difference. Though it was my last tour, I played a couple of innings well after that.” Legendary off spinner Errapalli Prasanna said: “Lala’s contribution to cricket is ever lasting. I played one match in Hyderabad under him in the mid 60’s and Lala might have been in his mid 50’s and believe me, he had such control and command over the game which cannot be put in words. I always used to think how Lala would have been in his younger days”. In its message, the Delhi and District Cricket Association (ddca) said Amarnath was not only a great cricketer, his contribution as chairman of the selection committee was also immense.
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More dead heats as timekeepers told Dead heats are likely to occur at the Sydney Games because officials will not be allowed to use the latest technology, which can time races down to 1/2,000th of a second. Computer technology long ago solved the problem of dead heats, but the governing bodies for most sports, including athletics and swimming, have decreed that the precision of race timing will be limited to 1/100th of a second. The official timekeeper for the Sydney Games, Swatch, has been told only to provide times to within 1/100th of a second for all sports except flat-water canoeing, which is measured to 1/1,000th of a second. On Saturday, Swatch will join IBM, Fuji Xerox and other Olympics technological sponsors in a four-day technical run-through of the Games, involving 5,400 people. But when it comes to testing the automatic timing systems, the technology will not be used to its full capability. Swatch’s senior engineer, Mike Gibbons, said any timing company “worth its salt” could produce equipment capable of recording times within 1/2,000th of a second. “But we’re just not allowed to do it.” FINA [swimming’s international governing body are quite clear when automatic timing is used that the judging and timing shall be to 1/100th of a second. Mr Gibbons says this is because the physical construction of the pool and the width of the lanes cannot match the precision of the electronic timing system. In athletics, the procedure is even stranger. According to the International Amateur Athletic Federation, in dead heats the gold medal is awarded to the winner according to the photo. The photo also records the time by the 1/1,000th of a second. But the third decimal is not considered official. The times are so close at that point that the IAAF does not consider it just to differentiate. According to athletics convention, athletes names are put up [on the scoreboard] as having the same time, but they’re not put up as equal place. Games cyber vandalism Cyber vandals looking for a “trophy” could attack popular Web sites during the Olympic Games, international online security experts have warned. They predict that when the Olympics comes around, there will be a very real threat from the number of people just playing around. The experts say the hacker community — including many teenagers — typically gravitated towards such big events. In the underground world, that’s what gets a 14 to 17-year-old Notoriety. By forcing a site to be taken down, the cyber vandals have a trophy they can show their underground community. And Games Internet battles Meanwhile, IBM has begun a battle with another company over Olympics fan e-mail to their heros, called Heromail. IBM is facing a second ambush of its Olympic Internet rights with APN Digital, the online offshoot a radio and publishing empire, yesterday announcing a Heromail service it claims will deliver fans’ congratulatory e-mails to athletes during the Games. IBM launched the official Fanmail service with Telstra last month, and says its Internet Surf Shack will be the only area within the Olympic village where athletes can access the Internet and read and respond to fan e-mail. The Surf Shack programme was first used at the Nagano Winter Olympics, where IBM claims 90 per cent of athletes went into the computer room during the Games. IBM have an exclusive contract to provide fan mail and e-mail communication to Olympic athletes which will be a worldwide programme. IBM, which runs the official olympics.com Web site for SOCOG, only learnt through press reports last month of an alliance between television rights holder, the Seven Network, and the Australian Olympic Committee to launch a rival olympics.com.au site. IBM says negotiations with SOCOG over the Seven site and concerns that its rights were being infringed were continuing. Australia’s top ranking Internet site, Ninemsn, also plans to capitalise on the Olympics through participation in a site run by US television rights holder NBC, which has an association with Ninemsn partner Microsoft. After the Games, what of Homebush? It’s interesting that from time to time many famous cities around the world have received a boost to their identity through special events or exhibitions. Crystal Palace in London and the Eiffel Tower in Paris were both built as temporary exhibits. Over time, such icons can not only boost a city’s identity but come to define it. Perhaps there’s a lesson here for Sydney. OK, the Olympics have put Sydney on the map; as an international city. Sydney has made it. But after all the hullabaloo, when the wind whistles through an empty Homebush, what next? There is now a call for a permanent showcase for Australia, based in Sydney? Something that Australians can feel proud of and yes, even Sydneysiders will want to visit many times. Commercially run, absolutely, but supported by government and local authorities and executed with integrity and sympathy for its content. Dynamic, vibrant and above all fun, it should celebrate the diverse spirit of Australia today, portraying Australia’s history, culture, sport, agriculture, mining, high technology and the future as Australians see it. It would give visitors a one-stop taste of Australia, and encourage them to see more of it. The locals would get a chance to learn more about, and perhaps even come to terms with, their own history and culture. And, by chance, there is a great place to build such an attraction. Somewhere reasonably central with plenty of space, good existing facilities and good communications. Well-known to residents and tourists alike, and after the September Games, world famous. Once the Olympics are gone, Homebush is perfectly suited to a permanent attraction of this kind. What better way to fill the Homebush vacuum than a new destination with Australia as its theme? And what better way to unify schizophrenic Sydney?
— PMG |
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Sunita Rani’s career in
jeopardy? PATIALA, Aug 5 — The Sydney olympic dream of India’s promising athlete, Sunita Rani, ended due to a stress fracture, but it has now come to light that her injury is far more acute and serious as earlier anticipated. So much so, the 20-year-old middle distance runner should thank her stars, for keeping in view the gravity of the injury, it would have been quits for the athlete had she delayed visiting the doctors by just a couple of days. The injury to the Bangkok Asian Games double medallist, who is employed at the local DCW as Office Superintendent was initially diagnosed as stress fracture. But, subsequently, doctors at the Sir Ganga Ram hospital at New Delhi where Sunita Rani was referred to after NIS doctors here asked the athlete to go in for a MRI, contested the ‘stress fracture’ diagnosis. There the doctors diagnosed the injury as “severe decalcification of the femur (thigh bone) near the hip joint”. Doctors said Sunita’s budding career would have come to a premature end, had the athlete come a couple of days later and in between continued her training. They opined that the thigh bone had become so brittle due to erosion caused by acute decalcification,that the bone surely would have spilt into two any moment. However, sports medicine experts at the NIS here are flummoxed as to how the erosion could have occurred in an isolated area and decay which is normally associated with old age. With the inept handling of Sunita Rani’s injury, the role of the Ukrainian doctor attached with the national athletics squad, Dr Youri Boyko, has come under severe scrutiny. When Sunita Rani had felt the first pangs of pain in February during training, she was allegedly administered a couple of pain killing injections by Dr Youri Boyko and moreover the doctor advised the athlete to continue intensive training. Medical experts here say that before administering injections, a thorough diagnosis should have been done as the injections might have acted as a catalyst in aggravating the erosion of the thigh bone. It is known to everyone that during national camps held at the NIS, the Ukrainian doctor is in the habit of giving pain killing shots almost at will. Even star athlete Rachita Mistry,who lowered P.T. Usha’s 100m record recently, has gone on record as saying that the Ukrainian doctor removes labels from vials before giving injections. After enduring pain in February, Sunita Rani flew off to Kiev (Ukraine) on May 23 to participate in a training-cum-competetion stint. At Kiev, she had to suddenly stop training as the pain increased considerably and subsequently Sunita had to be hospitalised for 10 days in a Kiev hospital. On her return, numerous X-rays and C.T. scans revealed nothing and it was only when the NIS doctors asked Sunita to go in for a MRI, did things come out into the open. Although Sunita Rani was not available for comments at her home in Sunam, her brother said Sunita had gone to Sir Ganga Ram Hospital for a check-up on August 2. She has been advised complete bed rest for the next three months, confirmed her brother. |
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Safin prevails over Pete Sampras TORONTO, Aug 5 (Reuters) — Pete Sampras was edged out of the Masters series event in Toronto by Russia’s rising star Marat Safin. Playing his first tournament since lifting his record 13th Grand Slam title at Wimbledon, second-seeded Sampras was beaten 6-4 3-6 7-6 (10-8) yesterday. Meanwhile, Patrick Rafter’s participation in the US Open was plunged into doubt when he was beaten 3-6 7-6 (7-1) 6-2 by Czech Jiri Novak and then withdrew from next week’s tournament in Cincinnati. Fifth seed Yevgeny Kafelnikov was also defeated, going down 6-3 7-6 (7-1) to his doubles partner, Wayne Ferreira. With qualifier Harel Levy of Israel beating Frenchman Jerome Golmard 6-4 6-4, Safin was the only seed to advance to the semifinals. Sampras struggled on his serve and faced three match points before the tiebreak. It was his serve that ultimately cost him the match. Having trailed 4-1 in the tiebreak, he broke to lead 7-6 but double-faulted, and double-faulted again when facing his fourth match point. “It’s a tough loss and I felt I played well enough to win, but my serve is the shot that let me down,’’ said sampras. “I double-faulted a couple of times on big points. But he played very well and I give him full credit. “He served big at the right times and it was hard to get a rhythm when he was serving that big. It was anybody’s ball game, it really was. I had it on my racket and could have closed it out, but I went for it and i missed it and did it again on match point.” Ferreira played inspired tennis to upset Kafelnikov, and now faces Safin in the semifinals. The second semifinal features Novak against Levy, who became the first Israeli since Amos Mansdorf at the Paris indoor event in 1988 to reach the semifinals of a top tier tournament. Levy celebrates his 22nd birthday today. Ferreira was under pressure just once, as Kafelnikov held two break points at 5-5 in the second set. But the South African responded with a service winner and three straight aces to hold for 6-5, and then went on to dominate the tiebreak. “I wasn’t too worried,’’ said ferreira. “The first four points I played in that game I threw the ball too far in front of me and tried to go for it too much. “But at 15-40 I threw the ball further back and slowed down the serve and got more placement, and from there on those four serves and the tiebreaker was the best I’ve served probably in many, many years.’’ Ferreira and Kafenikov are friends as well as doubles partners, and they left to play a round of golf shortly after their match. “We’re competitive, we’re both doing a job, but we warmed up together for our match and now we’re going out to play golf,’’ said Ferreira. “So I think we’re able to differentiate between what’s work and what’s play. We’ll be good friends and probably be just as competitive on the golf course.’’ |
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Match-fixing ‘ similar
to treason’ KOLLAM, Aug 5 (PTI) — Union Minister of State for Sports Shahnawaz Hussain yesterday warned that those found guilty of match-fixing would be dealt with seriously. “Match-fixing was similar to treason committed by a soldier against his nation while engaged in a war,” Mr Hussain said addressing a function here. |
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Ratti stuns Abhin Shyam BANGALORE, Aug 5 (UNI) — Twenty-year-old former junior champion Sachin Ratti of Railways stunned second seed Abhinn Shyam Gupta of Air-India while other fancied players stormed into the semi-finals in the 6th bpl all India Open Badminton Tournament here today. In a ding dong 95-minute battle, Sachin Ratti clawed back to surprise more-fancied Abhinn 12-15, 15-7, 15-5. Abhinn, who has been playing superbly in the last few months, failed to raise his game against Ratti, known for his fighting ability. Ratti will meet third seed Nikil Kanetkar of Indian Oil Corporation, who beat Anuj Gupta of Gujarat Narmada Fertiliser Corporation 15-3, 15-4 in just 20 minutes. Top seed P. Gopi Chand of Indian Oil Corporation was made to sweat in the hour-long outing by Arup Baidya of Railways. The national champion won the first game with ease at 15-2, but Arup offered a spirited challenge in the second and won it to level the score. In the decider, Gopi Chand did not take chances and went on to win 15-2, 13-15, 15-7. Now he will meet Siddarth Jain of Oil and Natural Gas Commission who accounted for Abhishek Bakshi of Air-India 15-10, 15-13. In the women’s section, top seed and national champion Aparna Popat of Indian Oil Corporation and B.R. Meenakshi of Karnataka scored facile victories over their rivals. |
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De Silva recalled
for final Test COLOMBO, Aug 5 (AFP) — Sri Lanka have recalled experienced batsman Aravinda De Silva to their squad for the decisive third and final cricket Test against South Africa starting at the Sinhalese Sports Club here tomorrow. De Silva was left out of the first two Tests due to poor form. He averaged just over 13 in the series against Pakistan earlier this year and has struggled throughout the season. De Silva or Tillekeratne Dilshan is likely to replace all-rounder Kumar Dharmasena in the final Sri Lankan line up. With Nuwan Zoysa ruled out with a hamstring injury, the second seamer’s berth will be decided between Dilhara Fernando and left-armer Ruchira Perera, who have played one Test each. Sri Lanka missed a golden opportunity of clinching the rubber at Kandy, and now find themselves fighting to save the series. Having won the first Test convincingly by an innings and 15 runs at Galle, Sri Lanka gave South Africa a new lease of life when they lost the second Test at Kandy by seven runs. “Despite the loss, which was disappointing, our morale is very high. We are going to give it our best shot,” said Sri Lanka captain Sanath
Jayasuriya. |
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Allround
show by Kumble LONDON, Aug 5 (AFP) — Anil Kumble rubbished his poor form with the bat at Canterbury with a half-century as Leicestershire added 51 more runs to their 324 for eight against Kent in Division One of the County Championship yesterday. The Indian wrist-spinner then snared three victims in his more familiar role with the ball as Kent, struggling to aviod the follow-on, slumped to 184 for eight in reply. Elsewhere two former England Test bowlers produced career-best performances. At The Oval, Division One leaders Surrey surged towards victory over Lancashire. The county champions were grateful for Alek Tudor’s best-ever return of seven for 48 as third-placed Lancashire were shot for a paltry
120.
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CARLSBAD, Aug 5 (AP) — Anna Kournikova looks like she might finally break through for her first career WTA title. Kournikova used late service breaks in each of the last two sets for a 2-6 6-4 7-5 victory over France’s Nathalie Tauziat yesterday in the quarterfinals of the $ 535,000 Acura Classic. Early on, Kournikova looked nothing like the player who ousted No 2 ranked Lindsay Davenport earlier in the week in three sets. But she rebounded to match Tauziat stroke for stroke in the last two sets. “I have a good history of losing the first set, then winning the next two,” Kournikova said. “I get into the match pretty slow. But once I got into the match, I think I was playing pretty well.” Kournikova, (19) advanced to today’s semifinals where she’ll play the winner of the Monica Seles-Sandrine Testud match. Kournikova, still searching for her first title, is playing in her 70th career WTA event. “(Journalists) are the only ones who are making pressure,” said Kournikova, responding to whether she feels pressure because she has yet to win a tournament. “It’s always been more important to have a ranking, good results than to win a tournament,” she said. Kournikova said the win was more satisfying because it was against Tauziat. The French player had recently questioned why Kournikova gets so much attention compared to other more successful players on the tour. “She has made some strange remarks about me,” Kournikova said, “so that even makes it better.” Said Tauziat: “I like Anna. I just said the truth.” With the players on serve in the second set, the first service break opportunity of the set came in the 10th game with Tauzia serving. After wasting one break chance, Kournikova took the set when Tauziat’s backhand volley landed long. The eighth-ranked Tauziat, (32) stood motionless at the net, staring at the baseline, then glaring at the chair umpire. The third set was a mirror image of the second as Kournikova staved off one break chance to hold her serve for a 6-5 lead. After winning the first three points on Tauziat’s serve, Kournikova closed the match as Tauziat’s backhand volley sailed long. “I think I played really good in the first set,” Tauziat said. “But today, she didn’t miss too much.” Kournikova, who has reached five semifinals this year, beat Tauziat for the first time in four career meetings. Tauziat, who reached a career-high ranking of No. 3 earlier this season, was hurt by her serve. Tauziat made just 61 per cent of her first serves and finished with nine double faults. |
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CBI report by
September: Dhindsa AMRITSAR, Aug 5 — The Union Sports Minister, Mr Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa today emphasised the need to implement the code of conduct for Indian cricketers in view of the match-fixing controversy. Talking to newsmen here, Mr Dhindsa said the International Cricket Council had forwarded a code which was debated within the BCCI and was also discussed with him when the board office bearers met him at Delhi, recently. The Sports Minister felt that the final draft of the code with due recommendations would be presented to the government at the next meeting on August 19 and after due deliberations it would be approved for implementation. Mr Dhindsa added that the CBI probing the match-fixing scandal was likely to submit its report within the next one-and-half month. The Sports Minister also paid tributes to Lala Amarnath who died today. |
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