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| Wednesday, August 23, 2000, Chandigarh, India   
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S. Africa out to avenge defeat against Pak SINGAPORE, Aug 22 — It will be a battle of equals when South Africa and Pakistan square off in the Singapore Challenge 2000 triangular cricket meet at the Kallang ground tomorrow. Arsenal humble Liverpool LONDON, Aug 22 — Arsenal beat Liverpool 2-0 here at Highbury yesterday but saw defender Patrick Vieira sent off for the second time in two English premiership matches this season. Coetzer, Roost in 2nd round Chanu got nod for higher rank Agassi, Hingis top seeds |
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Sydney is ready but host athletes are not NEW DELHI, Aug 22 — Tennis ace Leander Paes will be the captain and flag-bearer of the Indian contingent for the Olympic Games at Sydney. National gymnastics results Ramandeep hockey skipper Two Afghan observers
invited Bhim Award function tomorrow RAF chalk out facile win Kunjarani shocked at exclusion
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S. Africa out to avenge defeat against Pak SINGAPORE, Aug 22 (AP) — It will be a battle of equals when South Africa and Pakistan square off in the Singapore Challenge 2000 triangular cricket meet at the Kallang ground tomorrow. The South Africans will be out to avenge their Sharjah Cup loss to Pakistan earlier this year, which incidentally was sacked skipper Hansie Cronje’s last assignment. Under new captain Shaun Pollock, who has led by example, the South Africans appear to have regained the aura of invincibility that they sported over the last five years in international cricket. Fresh from their strong win over Australia in the final game in Melbourne, the South Africans will be looking to add another feather to their cap by winning the trophy in their debut in Singapore. The fact they are a bit under-strength at the moment does not worry the team management much. They flew second-choice wicketkeeper Nic Pothas in from Barbados, where he was doing duty for the South African A team, as a replacement for the injured Mark Boucher. But the void created by Jonty Rhodes’ absence will be hard to fill. Andrew Hall does have tremendous potential with the bat and is quite a handy bowler at the death, but he does not measure up to the lofty standards set by Rhodes in the field. “We will all have to strive 10 percent harder to make up for Jonty’s absence,” skipper Pollock said. The South Africans still have plenty of depth in their lineup, and Pollock admitted that his main problem was to find the right combination for the game. With Gary Kirsten, Neil McKenzie, Jacques Kallis, Andrew Hall and Daryll Cullinan, the South African top-order has a settled look to it. Pollock confirmed that unless it is a rain-curtailed game, Lance Klusener would bat lower in the order to make the slog overs count. There are a few bowling spots up for grabs, however. Pollock, Kallis, Klusener and Nicky
Boje form the core of the attack and will be backed up by two of the remaining four specialist bowlers in the side — Makhaya Nitini, Nantie Hayward, Paul Adams and Roger Telemachus. Pakistan are unlikely to tinker with the side that defeated New Zealand. Azhar Mahmood, who sprained his left ankle during practice today, was
nevertheless confident of taking the field tomorrow. Skipper Waqar Younis and coach Javed Miandad are trying with the idea of playing leg-spinner Mushtaq Ahmed but with Kabir Khan bowling so well the other day, and off-spinner Arshad Khan picking up three wickets, it will be a tough decision. On paper the two sides look well matched, but it is South Africa’s superior fielding that gives them the edge.
Pollock praises
youngsters SINGAPORE, Aug 22 (AFP) — After a hard-fought series against the Australians in Melbourne, the South African squad arrived here for the 2000 Singapore challenge cricket tournament bubbling with enthusiasm. Playing indoors for the first time and finishing level at 1-1 against the Australians, the second game having ended in a tie, skipper Shaun Pollock was profusive in praising the young members of his side. “The new boys have come off very well. They showed they had it in them to play top flight cricket, especially when the chips were down after game one,” Pollock said. |
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LONDON, Aug 22 (AFP) — Arsenal beat Liverpool 2-0 here at Highbury yesterday but saw defender Patrick Vieira sent off for the second time in two English premiership matches this season. Liverpool ended the match with nine men after Gary McAllister departed on his club debut, ironically for a foul on Vieira and Dietmar Hamann also got his marching orders for a second bookable offence as referee Graham Poll laid down the law. Scotland midfielder McAllister was first to get sent off six minutes before half-time for a reckless foul on Vieira who had been shown the red card in the gunners’ opening-day defeat at Sunderland. Arsenal new boy Lauren gave the gunners the lead — although it appeared to go in off the outstretched leg of skipper Tony Adams. The goal was a messy affair following some unconvincing work by Liverpool keeper Sander Westerveld at a corner but Arsenal celebrated because it was their first in seven encounters with the team also managed by a Frenchman, Gerard Houllier. England manager Kevin Keegan was at Highbury to see a frantic opening spell, along with former national coach Glenn Hoddle and Charlton boss Alan Curbishley whose newly-promoted side face Arsenal on Saturday. Liverpool’s England pair Michael Owen and Steven Gerrard were surprise absentees and Arsenal made four changes following Saturday’s dismal defeat at Sunderland as they tried to gain their first win against Merseysiders in 15 games. But Liverpool were neat and thoughtful in their counter-play, trying to work a short passing passage through the home defence. McAllister was close with a snap shot from 25 yards which zipped just wide. Liverpool were uncompromising at the back. |
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Coetzer, Roost in 2nd round NEW HAVEN (Connecticut), Aug 22 (AFP) — South Africa’s Amanda Coetzer and Belgium’s Dominique Van Roost advanced to the second round of the WTA Pilot Pen here yesterday, each by winning a first-round match 7-6 (7/2), 6-4. Fifth seed Coetzer overcame Karina Habsudova of Slovakia while sixth seed Van Roost overcame Magdalena Maleeva of Bulgaria. Van Roost took an early lead again Maleeva, breaking for 2-1 and building a 4-2 lead, but both players struggled to find a rhythm. Maleeva managed to level at 4-4, and then was denied two set points at 6-5 when the umpire over-ruled a ball in Van Roost’s favour. That made the score 30-30, and when the set went to a tie-break Van Roost ran off five straight points to take a commanding lead. In the second set both players swapped breaks in the first two games, and they did so again as Van Roost led 4-2 and Maleeva immediately broke back. Van Roost eventually broke for a third time in the 10th game to claim victory. “I think both of us tried to change the rhythm during the match, but I was a little bit more constructive and she got tired I think in the second set and she was making more mistakes,” said Van Roost. “But it’s very difficult to play her because she can do anything and I had to concentrate and be ready for any kind of ball she might play.” There were a great number of errors in the match, and Van Roost admitted she found it difficult to play well against someone who mixed up their game so much. “When you have someone who switches all the time, plays slow and then fast, then it’s very difficult for me because I don’t have the game to switch like that. But this time I was able to switch between high balls and slice, and she wasn’t expecting that,” said Van Roost. |
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Chanu got nod for higher rank NEW DELHI, Aug 22 — Karnam Malleswari (69kg), Sanamacha Chanu (53kg) and T. Muthu (56kg) will represent India in the weightlifting competition at the Sydney Olympic Games after the 10-member selection panel “unanimously” reposed their faith in them at Patiala on Sunday, with Kunjarani Devi (48kg) and Dalbir Singh (plus 105kg) finding no place. Explaining Kunjarani’s omission, one of the members in the selection panel and a representative of the Indian Weightlifting Federation ad-hoc committee Balbir Singh Bhatia, said she had been ranked fifth by the International Weightlifting Federation after the World Championship at Athens last November and now shares the same position with Indonesia’s Indriyani in the ranking list announced this year. He said Sanamacha Chanu, on the other hand, had been ranked at No 2 for the year 2,000. “Though we have not given her any advantage of the ranking, we have taken into consideration the performances at Athens as well as the Asian championships at Osaka”. Sanamacha, who lifted in the 48kg category at Athens, which was considered one of the qualifying meets for the Olympics, was a total flop as she had failed to register even one lift in clean and jerk. But she changed to the 53kg weight category in the Asian Championship at Osaka and struck gold instantly — three of them — and an Olympic qualification berth for India as Osaka was the second qualifying meet. She lifted 197.5kg to occupy the third position in ranking. As for Malleswari, foreign coach Leonid Taranenko was specially brought in to train and prepare her for the 63kg weight. Malleswari participated in the Athens World Championships in the 63kg, and lifted 230kg total, to finish at the fourth place. And at Osaka she was placed fourth in the total with 225kg, though she had won a gold in snatch. At Sydney, medal is given for the total weight, and the foreign coach felt that Malleswari, who has gained in weight, would stand a better chance for a medal if she competed in the 69kg category, in stead of making her lose weight. Mr Balbir Singh said the Indian authorities wrote to the International Weightlifting Federation, seeking its permission to field Malleswari in the 69kg weight category, which has been granted. And Malleswari has been given the nod for the Olympics. “Now with no pressure of going for a weight loss on her, Malleswari can fully concentrate on her training programme”, noted Balbir Singh. As for the men, a shoulder injury suffered by Dalbir Singh at the training camp at NIS Patiala, paved the way for Muthu, the Commonwealth Games gold medallist. |
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Agassi, Hingis top seeds NEW YORK, Aug 22 (Reuters) — Defending champion Andre Agassi and Switzerland’s Martina Hingis are the top seeds for the
US Open tennis championships starting next week, the US Tennis Association announced yesterday.
Agassi was seeded second when he beat fellow American Todd Martin in a thrilling five-set final last year. He was the top seed here in 1995, when he reached the final but lost to Pete Sampras. Agassi won the 1994 US Open title as an unseeded player. This marks the ninth straight year an American is the top-seeded men’s player. Jim Courier started the streak in 1992 and 1993 and Sampras continued it. However, this time Sampras has been bumped to the fourth place. The reigning Wimbledon champion currently ranks third in the
ATP Champions Points Race behind Gustavo Kuerten of Brazil and Magnus Norman of Sweden. Kuerten, the reigning French Open champion, is seeded second and joins Marcelo Rios of Chile (1998) and Guillermo Vilas of Argentina (1975) as the only South Americans to have been seeded that high. |
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Sydney is ready but host athletes are not The three-day trial marriage of Sydney’s newest stadium and the Olympic movement’s biggest sport showed the Olympic city is ready for the games next month but some of the host nation’s leading athletes are not. Athletics Australia’s Olympic selection trials at Stadium Australia, which ended on Sunday, were a triumph for the infrastructure and the organisation, but a looming disappointment for some of Australia’s highly ranked track and field stars, who may not have time to recover before their Olympic event. The crippling knee injury to Atlanta silver medallist in the javelin, Louise Currey; the tepid third place of Australian 400m runner Pat Dwyer and Melinda Gainsford Taylor’s second place in the 100m to the lithe Lauren Hewitt have dampened Australian hopes. The jury is still out on whether the Olympic mondo track will produce fast times. Former Commonwealth Games medallist and past President of Athletics Australia David Prince reserved judgment on the speed of the red brick surface, saying the cool weather and squally winds were more significant factors inhibiting times. It is axiomatic in track and field that records fall when the temperature rises. Should the cold weather and blustery gusts blow deep into September, the Sydney Olympics won’t produce records that sun-baked Seoul and humid Barcelona did. Track athletes in Australia may not have had a gold medallist since 1968 in the men’s events (Ralph Doubell in the 800m) and 1988 in women’s competition (Debbie Flintoff King in the 400m hurdles) but the current competitors can be assured a jet-like roar when TV introduces them to the crowd. Even 16-year-old Georgie Clarke sensed this when she said after Thursday’s 400m final: “Imagine what it’s going to be like in front of 110,000 people. It’s going to be amazing.” While Australia cannot expect medals from the Olympic Stadium to match those won in the pool a week earlier, even the most cynical residents of the harbour city should allow themselves some pleasure at Sydney’s reputation as a “can do” city, the Down Under city now on top of the world. Sotomayor back on a high Cuba’s Javier Sotomayor won the high jump at the IAAF Golden League meeting with a clearance of 2.30 metres in only his second competition back since having a drugs ban reduced. Sotomayor (32), who had his suspension lifted on August 2 after testing positive for cocaine last year, made his full-scale return to competitive action last week. “The most important thing was to win,” Sotomayor said. “I think I will be able to jump 2.36 or 2.38 very soon. It is certain that by the end of the month I will jump 2.35. “I have only just started. I need a little time.” There will be plenty of skin on show at Bondi come games time and a party atmosphere to match, when the teenager of Olympic sports hits town. Hosted in the most controversial Olympic venue, beach volleyball will be a learning experience for worldwide audiences used to taking their sport seriously. Pumping music, international cheer squads and competition uniforms with bikini briefs that can be no more than six centimetres wide in some places are some of the attractions for the fortnight of matches. These were also on show on Sunday when the multi-million dollar Bondi Beach volleyball stadium opened for the first time to officials, the media and members of the Australian team. The technical director of the International Beach Volleyball Federation, Angelo Squeo, said the venue was the “best ever in beach volleyball history”. “We are back on the beach after the experience in Atlanta,” Mr Squeo said, referring to the 1996 Games when beach volleyball was played on a manufactured court far removed from any beach. He was also on the lookout for any possible improvements, saying volunteers needed more time to find their way around the site properly and athletes needed to be more accessible to the media. “I would say at the moment it is an eight out of 10, but when the games arrive it will be a 10,” he said. There are still more than 52,000 tickets available to 18 sessions of beach volleyball Sydney snippets * East Timor officials have selected a weightlifter, a boxer and two marathon runners to compete in the Olympics. Nobel laureate Jose Ramos-Horta, who will accompany the team, said the four athletes had qualified after intense training for the past month at the Northern Territory Institute of Sport in Darwin. Another six athletes who had been at the institute but failed to make the Olympic team will return to East Timor. Weightlifter Martinho De Araujo, boxer Victor Ramos and marathon runners Aguida Amaral and Calisto Da Costa will take part in the Olympics, but they will have to compete in a white uniform and march behind the Olympic flag as East Timor is still under the United Nations control. *
The International Olympic Committee Vice-President, Kevan Gosper, says Olympic events will not be put on hold for latecomers, and will be delayed only in exceptional circumstances. A spokesman for the Olympics Minister, Michael Knight, confirmed events might be delayed if there was a major transport problem. “They are not going to try and stop events for a few trains running late,” said Mr Knight’s spokesman. “But if there is a major transport problem across the whole network and three-quarters of the stadium wasn’t there, that would be exceptional circumstances.” *
The biggest media centre in Olympic history was unveiled on Sunday. The 40,000-square-metre centre will be home to 5,500 journalists and photographers. It was previously a group of cattle and horse pavilions. It was converted into the media headquarters in just four months at a cost of $25 million. lThe Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Downer, said the Federal Government was not complacent about the possibility of terrorist groups targeting next the games. He said all precautions were being taken. — PMG |
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Paes to be
India's flag-bearer NEW DELHI, Aug 22 — Tennis ace Leander Paes will be the captain and flag-bearer of the Indian contingent for the Olympic Games at Sydney. This was announced here today by Indian Olympic Association (IOA) president Suresh Kalmadi, while signing a sponsorship deal with Satyam Infoway, whose site www.IOA. khel.com, will be the official website of the Indian Olympic Association, for the Sydney Games. Leander, who will play both in the singles and doubles of the tennis competition, in which India hope to strike a medal as the Leander-Mahesh Bhupathi duo is considered a winning combination, will have the honour of carrying the Indian Tricolour during the opening ceremony. Mr Kalmadi said the sponsorship deal with Satyam Infoway Ltd was intended to promote Olympic sports in the country to get out of the clutches of cricket, as at present, “it’s cricket, and more cricket”. P.T. Usha, who had announced her retirement from athletics recently, flew in to Delhi, specially to attend the function, as the company will be organising a “Go for gold run” in Chennai. It also announced cash awards of up to Rs 50,000 each to the Indian medal winners at Sydney. Vice-president of Satyam Padma Chandrashekhar said the company would provide the Indian delegation with phone cards, Internet access, and a 24-hour communication cell at Sydney, so that they can keep in touch with their people in India. She said the official site of the IOA would provide the Internet user with an Indian-centric first-hand view from their home and offices. |
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National gymnastics results AMBALA, Aug 22 — The finals of the apparatus discipline ( men) in the 41st Senior National Gymnastic Championship held here today in which Vikas Pandey emerged winner with 8.450 points. He was closely followed by Awanish Railway with 8.275 points and Mahendra (Railways) with 8.200 points. On Pommel Horse, Vikas Pandey (UP) outshone other gymnasts scoring 9.025 points. In second position was Gaurav Shah (UP) with 8.550 points and Awanish (Rly) was third with 8.425 points. On Parallel Bar , Haryana gymnast Pradeep stole the show scoring 8.425 points. In the second position was S.S. Rao (Services) who scored 8.375 points and Mohit Yadav (UP) was third with 8.300 points. On Vaulting Horse, Rajeev Ranjan ( Railways) was winner, scoring 8.737 points. He was followed by Vikas Pandey (UP) with 8.687 points and Abhinav Dixit (UP) with 8.612 points. In Roman Rings, Mahendra (Rly) logged the maximum points (8.225). He was followed by Sarafraz (Rly) with 7.950 points and Mohit Yadav (UP) with 7.917 points. In the
apparatus championship (women), Sundari Mondal (Rly) emerged winner with 8.73 points. In second position was Chanchala Chakravarty (WB) with 8.68 points and Geeta (Punjab) was third with 8.58 points. On Uneven Bar , Chanchala Chakravarty (WB) finished way ahead (8.325 points) of Sundari Mondal (Rly-7.40 points) and Rakhi Debnath (WB-7.23 points). On Balancing Beam, Chanchala Chakravarty (WB) took the honours with 8.30 points followed by Mansi Topkar (Maharashtra) with 8.05 points and Amrita (WB) was third with 8.00 points. In rhythmic all round (women) exercises Pallavi (Maharashtra) was first with 25,875 points. In second position was Komal (Maharashtra) with 25.675 points. Sonia (J&K) stood third with 25.050 points. In aerobic (men), Y. Ranjan (Services) emerged easy winner with 18.20 points, Hitler (Haryana) followed him with 15.85 points, while Aditya Joshi (Maharashtra) who got 15.30 points won third. In mixed pairs, Haryana finished first with 13.95 points followed by Maharashtra in second position with 13.80 points and in third position was claimed by Chandigarh with 12.65 points. |
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Ramandeep hockey skipper NEW DELHI, Aug 22 (UNI) — In a bold move the Indian selectors today inducted five new faces in the hockey team to represent the country in the Sydney Olympics. The 16-member team to be led by versatile midfielder Ramandeep Singh, have seven members who played in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and nine players who figured in the 9th World Cup at Utrecht in 1998 and 10 players who won the gold for the country at Bangkok Asian Games in 1998. The new faces are goalkeeper Devish Chauhan, who edged out 29 year-old Alloysius Edwards, defender Dinesh Nayak, Deepak Solanki, midfielder Sukhbir Gill and Gagan Ajit Singh. The 22-member squad which is already in Australia was shortlisted to 16 for the Olympiad at Murwillumbah near Brisbane there by the committee comprising Indian Hockey Federation
(IHF) president K.P.S. Gill, secretary and manager K.Jothikumaran, chief coach V. Baskaran, assistant coach Harendra Singh and expert Ranjit Singh. The team: Goalkeepers: Jude Manezes, Devish Chauhan. Defenders: Dilip Tirkey, Lazrus Barla, Dinesh Nayak. Midfielders: Baljeet Singh Saini, Sukhbir Gill, Mohd. Riaz, Ramandeep Singh (capt), Thirumalvalavan; Forwards: Mukesh Kumar, Sameer Dad, Deepak Solanki, Baljit Singh Dhillon, Dhanraj Pillay and Gagan Ajit Singh. The six players who failed to make it to the Olympic squad but will stay put in Australia during the games are-Edward Alloyius, Len Aiyappa, Bimal Lakra, Arjun Halappa, Prabhjot Singh and Senthil. “This is the best possible side we could have selected,” said team manager K. Jothikumaran in Australia. Coach Vasudev Baskaran expressed satisfaction with the team for the Olympics saying “it is a blend of youth and experience” . Though Jude Manezes had played for India in the World Cup, it will be the first Olympics for him and also his under study, Devish Chauhan. |
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Two Afghan observers invited LONDON, Aug 22 (AP) — The International Olympic Committee has invited Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers to send two observers to next month’s Sydney games but has rejected appeals for Afghan athletes to be allowed to compete.
The IOC suspended Afghanistan’s national Olympic committee in October 1999 on grounds that it could no longer function under the hardline Taliban regime in Kabul. The Taliban-run committee does not meet the IOC requirements for recognition. Among other things, the Taliban bans women from competing in sports. The Taliban has been lobbying to overturn the suspension and clear the way for its athletes to compete in the Sydney games, which begin on September 15. A Taliban delegation met with IOC officials earlier this month in Lausanne, Switzerland, but the IOC decided to uphold its suspension. “Athletes from Afghanistan will unfortunately not be able to participate in the games until the Taliban government has recognition of the international community,” IOC spokesman Franklin Servan-Schreiber said yesterday. |
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Bhim Award
function tomorrow CHANDIGARH, Aug 22 —Haryana Governor, Babu Parmanand will honour outstanding sportspersons with Bhim Award at a function to be held in Haryana Raj Bhawan on August 24. Disclosing this here today Commissioner and Secretary, Sports, Naresh Gulati, said the players to get the award include Narender Kumar (wrestling), Surinder Kaur (hockey), Anil Kumar (athletics), Anuradha (judo), Rampal (korftball) and Kamla Dalal (hockey). The, players would be given a cash award of Rs 50,000 a Bhim statue, a scroll, a blazer and a neck tie. Spelling out the achievements of the Bhim awardees, he said that Narender Kumar of Jind won a gold in Commonwealth Wrestling Championship held at Melbourne (Australia) in 1995. He got fourth place in the Asian Wrestling Championship in 1996. Besides, Narender remained champion in senior nationals held from 1995to 1998. He also won the title of Rustme-Hind in 1998. Surinder Kaur (Kurukshetra) was the member of Indian hockey team which won silver in the 13th Asian Games held at Bankok in 1998. She was also a member of Haryana hockey team which won gold medals in the national school games, women sports festivals and senior national hockey championships. Anil of Bhiwani won gold in discuss throw in the 13th Asian Games held at Bangkok in 1998. He also won gold medals in the all-India senior, inter state and senior national athletics championships. Anuradha of Panchkula participated in the 13th Asian Games in judo held at Bangkok in 1998. She won a bronze in the international judo championship held at Belarus in 1995, won silver medal international judo championship in 1998 at Bangkok, and also won gold medals in the Asian Judo Championship held at China in 1999 and in SAARC Judo Championship held at Lucknow. Besides, she won many gold, silver and bronze medals in national championships. Rampal participated in the fifth World Korfball Championship held in Delhi in 1995 and Asia South Africa Korfball Championship in Durban. He was a member of Haryana team which won first place in the national Korfball championship held in 1995, 1998 and 1999. Kamla Dalal of Rohtak was a member of the Indian hockey team which won silver medal in the 13th Asian Games held at Bangkok in 1998. She also won bronze medal in the 9th Word Cup held at Port of Spain in 1996. Besides the Bhim awardees international sportspersons — Manoj Kumar (wrestling) and Sunil Dhaiya (boxing) would also be honoured. Manoj of Jhajjar won silver in 52 kg category in the junior world freestyle wrestling championship held in America in the year 1998. He would be given cash award of Rs 30,000. Sunil of Hisar won bronze medal in 91 kg weight category in the Asian Youth Boxing Championship held at Tiwan in 1998. |
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RAF chalk out
facile win JALANDHAR, Aug 22 — A fighting-fit Rapid Action Force chalked out a facile 4-1 win over Western Sector, while Southern Sector played a 2-2 draw against Central Sector on the second day of the Inter-Sector CRPF Hockey Tournament being organised by Group Centre, CRPF, Saraikhas, here.
The second match was dominated by the energetic RAF Sector. Down by two goals at the breather, Western Sector found the going tough even in the second half. The second match between Southern Sector and Central Sector was full of action with the two teams sharing the honour before the breather and then at the end of the regulation period. Southern Sector scored the first goal through T.Kujur while the equaliser for Central Sector came in the 42nd minute through R.N. Yadav. Southern Sector once again
forged ahead through a penalty corner conversion by T. Kujur. Eventually it was R.N.Yadav in 57th minute who once again brought Central Sector on even terms. |
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Kunjarani
shocked at exclusion Patiala, Aug 22 — The news of the exclusion of Kunjarani Devi from the Olympic-bound squad today dealt a big blow to the ace lifters psyche. The moment Kunjarani Devi, scanned the morning newspapers and found her name missing from the national squad, she turned into a mental wreck and started weeping inconsolably. Kunjarani Devi, who has the rare distinction of being listed among the top 100 lifters of the century by the International Weightlifting Federation, has threatened to move the Supreme Court to question the criteria adopted by the Indian Weightlifting Federation [IWF] in selecting the national squad. When this reporter met Kunjarani in front of the women’s hostel in the NIS complex here today, she was all alone weeping. Kunjarani has represented the country in eight World Championships and has 52 international medals. This attitude of the officials left her disturbed and the only person to give her company, was her friend and national camper Nachita Devi. A sobbing Kunjarani Devi, Assistant Commandant in the CRPF, alleged that the Olympic team’s selection was not all fair. The lifter who bagged a silver medal, in the 1999 Athens World Championships, clarified that she would speak to the CRPF IG and her personal coach, Wing
Commander [Retd] P.K. Mahanand, before moving the court. “ I will see how the women’s weightlifting squad goes to Sydney. Either they will have to select me or nobody will go”, said the lifter. Kunjarani said she was the one who was instrumental in introducing this sport in the country and for eleven long years she had been waiting for an
opportunity to participate in the Olympics. The sport is making its debut in the Sydney Olympics. Kunjarani Devi lambasted the foreign coach L.Taranenko, who she said was heavily biased towards her even during training sessions. |
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The three-day trial marriage of Sydney’s newest stadium and the Olympic movement’s biggest sport showed the Olympic city is ready for the games next month but some of the host nation’s leading athletes are not. Athletics Australia’s Olympic selection trials at Stadium Australia, which ended on Sunday, were a triumph for the infrastructure and the organisation, but a looming disappointment for some of Australia’s highly ranked track and field stars, who may not have time to recover before their Olympic event. 
