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| Saturday, August 26, 2000, Chandigarh, India   
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No recommendations in King report
22 state units back AIFF chief NEW DELHI, Aug 25 — The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) today formally handed over to the government its report regarding regulations for players, team officials, managers, umpires and administrators prepared in the wake of the match-fixing scandal.
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| Why Kapil issue was left to Muthiah CHANDIGARH, Aug 25 — Why did the Working Committee of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), which met at Bangalore last week, not discuss the Kapil Dev issue in detail? Why did the meeting leave the issue to the President, Dr A.C. Muthiah, who has been asked to talk to Kapil Dev and arrive at an amicable solution? Venus moves into last four COMMACK (New York), Aug 25 — American Michael Chang won twice here yesterday upsetting Australia’s Patrick Rafter 6-4 6-4 in 89 minutes to reach the quarter-finals of the $ 415,200 ATP Hamlet Cup.
Vaibhav to lead
cricket team
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No recommendations in King report CAPE TOWN, Aug 25 (Reuters) — An interim report on match-fixing in South African cricket containing no recommendations was released by the South African government on its website today. The 66-page report, which was presented to the government by Judge Edwin King two weeks ago, is primarily a chronological account of the commission’s investigations, including transcripts of testimony delivered at the hearings from June 7-26. Judge King is currently working on a supplementary interim report that he has said will contain recommendations for the government and cricket authorities. No date for its publication has been set. “Perhaps those recommendations will not touch individuals directly, but will indicate how cricket could prevent this type of thing happening in future,” Sports Ministry spokesman Graham Abrahams said. the King Commission rejects disgraced South African skipper Hansie Cronje’s contention that he was merely “spinning along” an Indian bookmaker. Edwin King says it was apparent from Cronje’s first meeting with bookmaker Sanjay Chowla early this year that the bookmaker wanted nothing less than for the captain “to lose matches and to get other players to assist him in this.” “These facts ... are not readily reconcilable with the notion of Cronje spinning Sanjay along” as he had repeatedly protested, the report says. Elsewhere the retired judge, notes his surprise that the first time Cronje was approached to fix a match, “he was prepared to and did entertain the suggestion.” Cronje, who was fired from the team in April, admitted to the commission in often tearful testimony that he received thousands of dollars from gamblers and bookmakers on five separate occasions between 1996 and 2000. However, to Cronje’s credit, the report also notes the evidence does not show that “anything untoward happened from about January 1997 to January 2000.” During that period Cronje skippered South Africa in at least 25 Tests and many more one-day internationals. The report contains little new but chronicles Cronje’s evidence and actions, including the trail of lies he embarked on to cover his tracks once rumours emerged in India in April that the popular South African captain was involved in match-fixing. It notes that he coerced opening batsman Herschelle Gibbs to lie to United Cricket Board
(UCB) boss Ali Bacher. Cronje telephoned Gibbs on April 16, telling him he could tell Bacher that Cronje approached him with a money offer but that no amount was discussed and Gibbs turned the offer down. Gibbs in fact confessed to the commission in June that Cronje offered him $15,000 if he made fewer than 20 runs in a one-day match in Nagpur in March. Gibbs’ testimony was not only damning for Cronje, who had at first claimed he had never involved any of his teammates, but also cast a shadow over the 26-year-old’s own promising career. UCB
will on Monday announce his fate following a disciplinary hearing on August 19, which observers say could range from a year-long to a life-long ban. In the same boat are Henry Williams and Pieter Strydom. Williams accepted a similar offer from Cronje to underperform while Strydom said he had had agreed to place a bet on Cronje’s behalf on the outcome of a match between South Africa and England in January. Cronje yesterday pleaded with the cricket authorities not to punish Gibbs, who did not stick to the low-scoring deal but in fact went on to score 73 runs. “In my opinion, Herschelle should be given another chance to play,” Cronje said in his first television interview since the scandal broke. Cronje also repeated his denials of match-fixing, saying he had “always given my best for South Africa.” The King report makes no recommendation on his fate or that of his three teammates, but the investigation into their conduct is far from over. |
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Tiger Woods back on top AKRON, Aug 25 (AFP) — Tiger Woods was back on top of the leaderboard in the $ five million World Golf Championship Invitational here. Woods raced to a one-stroke lead after firing a 6-under-par 64 at the 7,139-yard Firestone Country Club, overcoming a pair of late bogeys for a one-shot advantage over Jim Furyk. “I got some rest on Monday and Tuesday, which was nice,” Woods said. “I came here and played about six holes yesterday, which was nice. And I got a feel of the golf course.” Woods beat unheralded Bob May in a three-hole playoff at Valhalla to claim his second straight PGA Championship and join the legendary Ben Hogan as the only players to claim three majors in the same season. Woods also captured this year’s US and British opens and is the youngest to win all four major championships after winning the 1997 Masters. Woods said: “The week when I am playing, you’ve got to give it all you’ve got and you can’t turn the switch on and off. Jack (Nicklaus) was probably the best at that.” Woods was off to a quick start knocking in a six iron with in a foot at the 497-yard second hole to set up an easy eagle. He reached five-under with birdies at the fourth, fifth and eighth, then went back-to-back birdies at hole 11 and 12. He stumbled at the 625-yard hole 16 when he missed the green after blasting out of the bunker. He chipped to six feet and settled for a bogey. He got his stroke back with a six-foot birdie, but closed with another bogey after hitting a tree with his second shot and two-putting from 20 foot. Furyk also began quickly. His tap-in at the second hole triggered a run of three straight birdies followed by five consecutive pars. He rolled in a six-footer for a birdie at hole 10, but a bad tee shot led to his lone bogey at the par four 13th. “At the PGA I hit the ball pretty well and I putted very poorly, as bad as I can remember in my career. And its frustrating. It puts a lot of pressure on the rest of your game... To get off to a really good start and see some putts go and get some confidence was a good start to the day,” said
Furyk. Justin Leonard and Phil Mickelson head a group of six players who opened with 66s. Australian Greg Norman shot a 31 on the back nine to finish with a four-under 68. Last year, Woods shot a 10-under 270 at this World Golf Championship event for a one-stroke victory over Mickelson and the $ one million first prize. Woods went on to capture his second WGC event at the American Express Championship in November. This year, he lost to Clarke in the final of the WGC Match Play Championship. Still, Woods leads the PGA tour with seven victories this season and tops the money list with a record-breaking total of $ 6.7 million. This 37-player field is comprised of members of the 1999 US Ryder Cup team, the top 12 players on the European Tour’s Order of Merit through August 13 and the 24 US and International Team members who will compete at the Presidents Cup in October. However, there are several notables not playing because of injury. Third-ranked David Duval withdrew on Tuesday due to a lower back sprain, Masters champion Vijay Singh of Fiji pulled out Wednesday because of a sprained left forearm and Australia’s Steve Elkington underwent hip surgery last week. |
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South Africa march into final SINGAPORE, Aug 25 (Reuters) — South Africa marched into the final of the Singapore Challenge Cricket Tournament today as Shaun Pollock delivered an incisive new-ball burst and Gary Kirsten struck an unbeaten 75. The pair played key roles in South Africa’s eight-wicket victory over New Zealand with 16 overs to spare, and now face Pakistan in Sunday’s final. New
Zealand were bowled out for 158 in 47.3 of their 50 overs and South Africa eased home at 159 for two. South African captain Pollock finished with three for 24 and was named Man of the Match, plunging New Zealand into immediate trouble by removing promoted opener Daniel Vettori for nought and Nathan Astle for five. New Zealand’s plight was increased when skipper Stephen Fleming, attempting a risky single, was run out by Kirsten’s underhand throw to the bowler’s end. Jacques Kallis, who came on as first change, bowled Roger Twose for eight with an inswinger and had Chris Cairns caught at short cover for 27. From 55 for five in the 15th over, New Zealand achieved a degree of respectability after Chris Harris hit 42 and Scott Styris offered late resistance with 23 before becoming Pollock’s third victim. Opener Kirsten pressed home South Africa’s advantage with his sparkling 75 off 103 balls, during which he reached 5,000 runs in one-day internationals. His opening stand of 94 with Andrew Hall put the result beyond doubt. Scoreboard New Zealand: Vettori c Kallis b Pollock 0 Astle b Pollock 5 Cairns c Pollock b Kallis 27 Fleming run out (Kirsten) 12 Twose b Kallis 8 McMillan c Kallis b Klusener 1 Harris c Pothas b Telemachus 42 Parore c Pothas b Hall 5 Syris lbw Pollock 23 Wiseman not out 12 Allott b Hall 1 Extras (1b13, w6, nb3) 22 Total (all out, 47.4 overs) 158 Fall of wkts: 1-1, 2-10, 3-39, 4-54, 5-55, 6-72, 7-94, 8-129, 9-157, 10-158. Bowling: Pollock 0-1-24-3, Telemachus 10-1-36-1, Kallis 5-1-15-2, Klusener 9-1-23-1 (1 w), Boje 10-0-33-0, Hall 4.4-0-14-1. South Africa: Kirsten not out 75 Hall c Cairns b Wiseman 46 Kallis c and b Styris 22 Cullinan not out 8 Extras: (lb-1, w-3, nb-4) 8 Total: (for 2 wkts, 34 overs) 159 Fall of wickets: 1-94, 2-141. Bowling: Allott 4-0-24-0, Cairns 4-0-18-0, Vettori 7-0-40-0, Wiseman 6-0-30-1, Harris 6-1-23-0, Styris 7-1-23-1. |
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22 state
units back AIFF chief NEW DELHI, Aug 25 — The All-India Football Federation (AIFF) president Priya Ranjan Dasmunshi got a shot in the arm in his fight against the Indian Football Association (IFA), Bengal, when 22 out of the 28 affiliated units of the federation, at an emergency meeting here today, requested the IFA to withdraw the court case against the AIFF, as the members felt that the allegations of financial impropriety levelled against Mr Munshi had no basis. A special meeting of the AIFF general body, on the request of 18 member-associations to discuss IFA’s case against the AIFF at the Calcutta High Court, “unequivocally supported the resolution”, requesting the IFA to withdraw the court case. Among the affiliated units who attended the meeting were Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chandigarh, Daman and Diu, Delhi, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, IFA, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Pondicherry, Punjab, Railway Sports Promotion Board, Rajasthan, Services Sports Control Board, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Western India Football Association, and the Women’s Football Committee. Sikkim, Manipur, Mizoram and Orissa did not attend the
meeting. The resolution was a great relief for the AIFF president who is trying to seek another term in office, as an overwhelming number of members seem to be siding with him, though there have been protests at the way he has been handling the sponsorship deals of the AIFF. |
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Why Kapil issue was left to Muthiah CHANDIGARH, Aug 25 — Why did the Working Committee of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), which met at Bangalore last week, not discuss the Kapil Dev issue in detail? Why did the meeting leave the issue to the President, Dr A.C. Muthiah, who has been asked to talk to Kapil Dev and arrive at an amicable solution? The issue of whether Kapil be allowed to continue as coach of the national squad or he be asked to step down was not listed in the agenda of the meeting. While Kapil Dev was named coach of the national squad for an unprecedented two-year term by the annual general body of the board last year, the demand to remove him from the job started gaining momentum once he was named as one of key players in the issue of betting and match-fixing which has rocked Indian cricket in the recent past. Also, India’s miserable showing in international cricket ever since Kapil took charge has only added to his problems. However, the matter did come up during discussion under “any other matter” of the agenda of the meeting but the discussion was short. And finally the meeting decided to leave it to the board President to talk it out with the former superstar. For quite some time the Union Minister for Sports, Mr Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, has been advocating that players whose names have surfaced following the detection of the match-fixing scandal by the Delhi Police in April last should be asked to stay away from the national squad. His demand became vigorous once the Income Tax Department carried out raids on the houses and business premises of a number of players, both past and present. Mr Dhindsa also played a major role in the government not giving permission to the BCCI to field a team for the five-match one-day series against Pakistan in the Sahara Cup at Toronto next month. While it was mentioned that the relations between India and Pakistan at the moment was not conducive to playing cricket in an off-shore venue, certain insiders say that the permission was not given as the BCCI was not inclined to listen to Mr Dhindsa’s diktat on the selection of the Indian team. In fact, there are reports from Bangalore that certain members of the Working Committee have not taken it kindly to the government’s interference in the working of the board which is not only an autonomous body but also a body which does not depend of any sort of government grant to run its activities. In the immediate future India are scheduled to play in the ICC Cup in Kenya in early October . Then Zimbabwe are scheduled to tour India in November . While previously the board went ahead with finalising its programmes even when formal permission of the government was forthcoming it is not willing to do so now without getting the formal approval of the government. So much might depend on how early the CBI submits its report to the government. The CBI, which is enquiring into the question of betting and match-fixing, has now said that it will be in a position to submit a preliminary report sometime towards the end of next month. And, in the meanwhile the board has taken the stand that it could take action against players once they are named in the charge sheet, although it is a different matter that merely filing of charge sheet against any person does not prove guilt. At Bangalore, according to sources, it was apparent that a certain section of the Working Committee was very keen to discuss the Kapil issue. However, they were thwarted in their bid when it was pointed out that the Income Tax Department had not only raided the homes and premises of the national coach but also the houses and premises of a number of board officials. Therefore, this section of the Working Committee said that in case the issue of Kapil Dev was discussed and he be asked to step down from his post then all persons whose houses and premises had been raided should also be asked to step down from their respective posts till the matter was solved. This suggestion obviously did not go down well with the ruling group in the board as the premises of not only the BCCI Treasurer, Mr Kishore Rungta, was searched but also the premises of the former ICC President, Mr Jagmohan Dalmiya, whom many describe as the BCCI President in waiting, was subject to the income tax raids. It was at this stage that the meeting decided that the matter be left to Dr Muthiah to discuss with Kapil Dev and work out an amicable solution. By doing so the Working Committee was able to stop an acrimonious debate from going out of control. But then will such a strategy work when the annual general body meeting of the board is convened next month ? It is obvious that the BCCI might like to have two yardsticks — one for the players and national coach and one for its office-bearers and senior functionaries. But for how long can this continue? |
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BCCI submits code to govt NEW DELHI, Aug 25 (UNI) — The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) today formally handed over to the government its report regarding regulations for players, team officials, managers, umpires and administrators prepared in the wake of the match-fixing scandal. “As promised we submitted the code of regulations to the government after the BCCI working committee ratified them,” BCCI president A.C. Muthiah told mediapersons after handing over the 14 page document to Union Sports Minister Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa here this evening. The game was earlier regulated by the International Cricket Council (ICC) code of conduct, but from now onwards this code would regulate the game in the country, Mr Muthiah said. Regarding Kapil Dev’s decision to quit the game after his contract as a coach with BCCI expired next year, Mr Muthiah said he had a brief meeting with Kapil Dev. “He (Kapil) was in hurry as he had to go to Mumbai, I will be meeting him again next week.” Later Mr Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa said that government would study the report. “We received it today, we will go through it.” |
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NEW HAVEN (Connecticut), Aug 25 (AFP) — Wimbledon winner Venus Williams extended her WTA win streak to 17 matches, reaching the semi-finals of the Pilot Pen with a 6-4 6-2 win over Switzerland’s Patty Schnyder here yesterday. The American next faces fifth seed Amanda Coetzer of South Africa, who because of rain on Wednesday battled through two matches to claim her place in the final four. In the other semi-final, third seed Nathalie Tauziat of France will take on second-seeded Monica Seles of the USA after beating Belgian teenager Kim Clijsters 6-2 6-4. Earlier in the day, Clijsters overwhelmed Colombia’s Fabiola Zuluaga 6-1 6-1 in just 44 minutes. Williams, who has not been beaten since losing to Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario in the quarter-finals of the French Open, kept on track for fourth successive title after winning at Wimbledon, Stanford and San Diego. But she again struggled to gain the upper hand after being stretched by Russia’s Elena Dementieva in the previous round. Williams had her serve broken three times as only three of the 10 games in the first set went with serve. Williams broke to lead 2-0 and 3-1, only for Schnyder to break back soon each time, and the Swiss left-hander broke a third time to take a 4-3 lead. She was unable to hold on to her advantage, however, and after losing the next three games she received a warning for racquet abuse after conceding the set. In the second set, Williams broke to take a 4-2 lead, and although she had to hold off a break point in the next game she went on to claim a ragged 61-minute victory. “When I have a bad day my balls fly long and I couldn’t get them to stop,” said Williams. “But I’m not worried about my game. I played better today than in my first match and I’m gradually moving forward, and if I play a top 10 player for sure I’m going to play better. I have the ability to raise my game.” Coetzer had to fight off a spirited challenge from Belgian Justin Henin in a delayed second-round match, eventually winning through 6-2 4-6 6-1. Henin responded to losing the set by winning the first four games of the second, but Coetzer rallied to win the last five games of the deciding set. The South African then overcame fourth-seeded Anke Huber of Germany, winning 7-6 (7/3) 6-1 to set up the meeting with Williams. |
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Chang upsets Pat Rafter COMMACK (New York), Aug 25 (AFP) — American Michael Chang won twice here yesterday upsetting Australia’s Patrick Rafter 6-4 6-4 in 89 minutes to reach the quarter-finals of the $ 415,200 ATP Hamlet Cup. The 28-year-old Asian-American ousted Byron Black of Zimbabwe 7-5 2-6 6-4 in a tough match in sweltering mid-day heat. Then he came back to dispose of seventh seed Rafter for the seventh time in their last 11 meetings. “It’s been a long and tough day,” said Chang, who began suffering from cramps after his second match. “I’m pretty pleased to get through.” Rafter, who won here in 1998 and saved three match points in beating Austria’s Stefan Koubek, blasted four straight aces. He opened a 3-0 lead and had two break points in the fourth game to go up 4-0. “I was just cruising through that stage and I was playing very relaxed,” Rafter said. But Chang, who captured his 34th career title this past July by winning in Los Angeles, rallied back with a forehand and topspin volley winner. “It was just important for me to get on the board,” Chang said. “Pat came out smoking. He started off really well.” Chang, the 1993 Hamlet Cup runner-up, clearly started to play with hardcourt poise and grabbed the momentum breaking Rafter in the ninth game to serve out the set. The second set was almost identical to the first with Rafter breaking in the opening game to go up 2-0. But Chang, ranked 30th on the ATP Champions Race, stormed back to even it at 2-2. He broke Rafter’s serve for the last time in the 9th game on a series of remarkable return winners to earn the match. “It would have been nice to have at least a couple of more matched to keep the confidence growing before the Open,” said Rafter who reached the finals at Wimbledon this year. The 27-year-old Australian star said he had trouble focusing on his game this week with important events looming on his agenda like the US Open, the summer Olympics and the Davis Cup final between Australia and Spain in December. “So much is going on that it’s hard to focus,” Rafter said. “That’s what happened this week. There’s one event after the other and you don’t have time to rest.” Also advancing to the quarterfinals were top-seeded and defending champion Magnus Norman of Sweden who routed American qualifier Eric Taino 6-3 6-2 while fellow-countryman Thomas Enqvist, the third seed, easily won two singles matches in the same day to reach the last eight. |
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Uncertainty over readiness of football venues Organisers of the Olympic football tournament are sweating on the advice of turf experts that new playing surfaces in Canberra, Sydney and Melbourne will be up to standard in time for the opening round of matches on September 13. The Sydney Morning Herald reports that work on resurfacing the pitch at Sydney Football Stadium began virtually straight after the National Rugby League preliminary final on Sunday and is half completed. Two other venues for the Games football tournament — the Melbourne Cricket Ground and the Olympic stadium at Homebush Bay — also have to be re-turfed. Work on the MCG will begin the day after the Australian Football League grand final on September 3, while a new pitch will be put down at the Olympic stadium straight after the opening ceremony on September15. SOCOG football tournament director Peter Hugg prefers to remain optimistic that the turf experts employed for the Olympics will be able to deliver on their pledges but concedes the pressure is on. The late re-turfing of four of the six stadiums for football has long been a concern for both the International Olympic Committee and the football world governing body FIFA. It would be a massive embarrassment for SOCOG if the football tournament had to be played on sub-standard surfaces at the other venues. African invasion of Olympic soccer Meanwhile, Cameroon has suddenly emerged as a legitimate medal chance in the men’s tournament after selection of a stronger-than-expected squad yesterday. Included in the list are several members of the 1998 World Cup squad, among them strikers Joseph-Desire Job (Middlesbrough), Samuel Etoo (Real Mallorca) and Patrick Mboma (Parma), defender Rigobert Song (Liverpool) and midfelder Lauren (Arsenal). Cameroon have been drawn in a relatively moderate group with the USA, Kuwait and the Czech Republic. The three other African qualifiers — Nigeria, Morocco and South Africa — have yet to announce their final squads, but Nigerian coach Jo Bonfrere has been told by his country’s Olympic committee that he must name his 18-man list by today, the SOCOG deadline for accreditations. However, Bonfrere wants to hold out as long as possible to try to convince several of his key players, including Arsenal striker Nwankwo Kanu, Borussia Dortmund midfielder Sunday Oliseh and Chelsea Defender Celestine Babayaro, to make themselves available for the Olympics. The FIFA deadline for squad lists is September 1 and changes can be made until then. Most coaches are planning to wait until the last moment before declaring their hand, particularly in relation to the three over-age players they are entitled to select. Public sucked in and sold out After a year of swindling, backpedalling and trying to reclaim credibility, SOCOG on Wednesday presented Australians with the tickets it didn’t want ordinary locals to have. Finally, the last instalment of tickets set aside for sale to the rich and well-connected will be sold to the public. It’s a pity many Australians have already spent their money buying other tickets. SOCOG had said artistic gymnastics and athletics finals were sold out last year. One journalist from The Australian newspaper says instead of watching Marion Jones and Maurice Green run for gold in the 100m sprints, he’ll be down at Bondi cheering on the women’s beach volleyball quarter-finalists. “It will probably be a good day, but I wouldn’t have minded a bit of honesty before I shelled out and waited for SOCOG’s interest earnings to mount,” he writes. “Michael Knight, who decided himself to axe the super-ticket plan, was right to fear a backlash if SOCOG insisted on inflating the prices. “At least now the suckers among us who still have a little cash left over can psyche up for another tangle with SOCOG’s call centre. “After all, this is our last chance for the best tickets, isn’t it? Don’t be too sure, “he wrote. “That’s the bulk of them — that’s just about it,” a SOCOG spokesman said on Wednesday night. Drag queens for closing ceremony Olympics organisers have ignored a backlash from social conservatives, pushing ahead with a plan to incorporate drag queens in the closing ceremony as part of a celebration of Australian cinema. Drag queens dressed in frocks from the hit movie The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert will frolic amid the party atmosphere of the Games swan song. Australia’s best-known drag queen, Dame Edna Everage (also known as Barry Humphries) is also expected to be involved in the extravaganza. Other movies to be featured in the tribute will include Babe, Crocodile Dundee and Mad Max. Appearances by actors Paul Hogan and Mel Gibson have been mooted. Talkback radio lines in Sydney ran hot yesterday as news broke of the planned drag queen scenes. Some angry callers threatened to sell their closing ceremony tickets. But ceremonies master Ric Birch refused to back down, attacking the critics. “This element of the show is only a tiny part of a huge celebration and for the right-wing reactionaries or whatever part of a community is outraged about it, they’re always going to be outraged,” he said. “I’m not sure if they’ve noticed there is a Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade that takes place in Sydney watched by hundreds of thousands of Sydneysiders and which attracts a huge international contingent. “That’s part of Sydney life whether they like it or not — it’s part of Sydney.” Olympics Minister Michael Knight disputed suggestions that the closing ceremony would be a celebration of drag queens. “The whole feel of the closing ceremony will be one of great celebration, party, fun,” he said. “We’ll do lots and lots of things that reflect that theme.” Mr Birch said: “Everyone who’s ever seen an Olympic ceremony knows they are massive cavalcades of colour, movement and celebration, particularly the closing ceremony, which is essentially a huge party that celebrates 16 days where a host city has put on an extraordinary event.” But critics say the feature would spoil the Olympics, tarnish the performance of athletes and create the impression that Australia was the “homosexual capital of the world”. — PMG |
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Youth tries to snatch torch SYDNEY, Aug 25 (AFP) — The Olympic torch survived another attempt at sabotage today when a teenager tried to snatch it from a torch bearer. Just one day after a teenager tried to douse it with a fire extinguisher, a 17-year-old youth has been arrested for trying to steal the Olympic flame.
The police said the youth had tried to snatch the torch from a woman torchbearer as she ran along the Pacific Highway near the Kempsey Golf Club north of Sydney. After failing to grab the torch, the youth fled but was caught by security officers. The incident is the second time someone has attempted to snatch the torch, after a youth tried to grab it last month in Victoria. |
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IHF
official for Sydney Olympics PATIALA
Aug 25 — Prof Gursewak Singh, senior vice-president of the Indian
Hockey Federation (IHF) and member of the International Olympic
Committee’s (IOC) ‘Sport for all commission’, has been invited
as a special guest to witness Sydney Olympics, scheduled to be held from September 15 to October 1, according to a communication received by Professor Singh from the International Olympic Committee, signed by its Secretary General, Mr Francois
Zweifel. The IOC invites 100 special guests for Olympics every time. Prof Gursewak Singh, on his way back, will deliver a lecture on ‘Future of Indian Sport’, at Singapore on October 2. The lecture is being organised by the Singapore Sports Welfare Association. |
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Vaibhav to
lead cricket team HISAR, Aug 25 — Vaibhav Chauhan of Hisar will lead the 17-member Hisar district cricket team in the under-19 cricket tournament to be organised by the Haryana Cricket Association, a spokesman of the district cricket association, announced here today. Mr Banti Sharma and Mr Baljit Girdhar will accompany the team as manager and coach respectively. The team members are: Vaibhav Chauhan, Sunil, Sandeep Kherb, Mukesh Soni, Vikrant Sharma, Bajrang Yadav, Madhukar Sharma, Surender Singh, Bharat, Vikas Chaudhary, Parminder, Mukesh Sharma, Kuldeep, Sandeep, Naresh, Rajesh and Sidharth Sharma. Trials to select the under-14 team of the district will be held at Haryana Agricultural University on August 27, the spokesman added. |
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Organisers of the Olympic football tournament are sweating on the advice of turf experts that new playing surfaces in Canberra, Sydney and Melbourne will be up to standard in time for the opening round of matches on September 13. The Sydney Morning Herald reports that work on resurfacing the pitch at Sydney Football Stadium began virtually straight after the National Rugby League
preliminary final on Sunday and is half completed. 
