 |
|
| Friday, September 22, Chandigarh, India   
|
Perec flees Australia; Davenport pulls out |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Poland hold Argentina Jones ready for uncharted waters Indian athletes have few pretentions Yuvraj, Dahiya selected CBI report ready Pall of gloom in
Patiala as Sodhi is excluded
Ankit wins skating
championship
|
|
India go down to South Korea SYDNEY, Sept 21 (PTI) — Asian Games champions India’s hopes of making the semifinals of the Olympic hockey competition were severely dented when they crashed to a 0-2 defeat against continental champions South Korea here today. The Koreans struck seven minutes on either side of the break through Song Seung-Tae and Kang Keon-Wook to inflict on the Indians their first defeat in three ties, notching in the process, their first win in the group B league. The Koreans also avenged their defeat to the Indians in the Bangkok Asian Games two years ago by outpacing the latter to take their points tally to five, with two matches in hand. India, with four points to their credit following the 3-0 win over Argentina and the rousing 2-2 draw against hosts and favourites Australia, now have to win their last two group clashes against Spain (September 23) and Poland (September 25). After the fast and furious encounter against the Aussies on Tuesday, in which India squandered the lead twice, they tried to slow down the pace against the Koreans, easily the fittest side in the championship, and the tactics did not work. The Indians did have their chances, but failed to utilise them, while the Koreans took full advantage of the opportunities that came their way. The action began with Korea’s Kim Jung-Chul cutting through the otherwise solid Indian defence only to shoot wide. At the other end Sameer Dad found his shot saved by a rival defender off a scooped pass from Mohd Riaz. Midway through the session, India earned their first penalty-corner following a free-hit outside the Korean cricle, but made a mess of the award. A prompt counter-attack gave Korea, in turn, their first penalty-corner award and Yeo-Woon-Kwon shot wide. In the 24th minute a Baljit Saini forward pass to an unmarked Mukesh Kumar, scorer of that peach of a second minute goal against the Aussies two days ago, saw the ace right winger shooting straight into Korean custodian Kim Yoon’s pads. The Korean pressure increased and four minutes later Kim Kyung-Seok crossed the ball to Song who shot it home in brilliant style past Indian custodian Jude Menezes to put his team 1-0 in front. Song was again in the thick of action soon with a superb reverse-flick while himself going sprawling on the ground, but the ball missed the mark. At the other end young Dinesh Thakur, collecting a pass from Tirumalvalavan, shot wide of the target which led to a melee in which India got their second penalty corner. This time Baljit Dhillon scooped over the bar. The teams adjourned for half time with India trailing 0-1. Then it was Song’s turn to feed Kang who came up with a fine shot for his team’s second and last goal soon after resumption of play. The Koreans continued to apply the pressure and got their second penalty corner in the 51st minute. Indian goalkeeper Menezes came up with a brilliant save off a scoop from Yeo Woon-Kwon. With time running out fast, the Indians mounted pressure and forced two penalty corners one after another, but drew a blank. However, Ji Seong-Hwan received temporary marching orders for obstructing veteran Indian striker Dhanraj Pillay. After the match chief coach Vasudevan Baskaran said “we missed and they scored. Both their goals were great.” Admitting that one small mistake in each half undid the Indian team, Baskaran, however, sounded optimistic about India’s chances of entering the last four for the first time since the 1980 Games at Moscow where he was the captain. “India have two games left (against Spain and Poland). Every team is struggling and anything can happen”. Skipper Ramandeep Singh said that his team did not get adequate rest and time to recover after India’s draining, fast-paced outing against Australia on Tuesday night. But the Indian captain said that the defeat against Korea had not put undue pressure on the team. “We take each match as it comes”, he said. Spearhead Pillay said that the team’s strategy of slowing down the game did not work out. Asked whether he got too little of the ball,
Pillay, who was effectively marked by two Korean players, said his not scoring any goals so far in the tournament did not
matter. |
|
Perec flees Australia; Davenport pulls out SYDNEY, Sept 21 (Reuters) — Tempestuous French track star Marie-Jose Perec fled Australia in tears today, robbing the Olympics of one of its most exciting contests, and top tennis seed Lindsay Davenport went out through injury. As the games lost two of their biggest attractions, Canadian sprinter Donovan Bailey also looked doubtful for another big race, the 100 metres, after going down with flu. The mystery departure of Perec, the Greta Garbo of athletics, left the Olympics without one of its most dramatic draws, a 400 metres showdown with Aborigine Hero Cathy Freeman. Perec’s sponsors, Reebok, said she left Sydney after being threatened by a man at the high security apartment hotel where she was living in seclusion from the rest of the French team. But the hotel management said they had received no report of any security breach. Perec won the 200-400 metres double four years ago at the Atlanta Olympics and the 400 metres title in 1992 in Barcelona. But she has hardly competed this year. Fiercely independent, the statuesque 32-year-old from Guadeloupe shunned the French training camp and refused to attend an official team news conference. She refused to talk in public after arriving in Sydney and Australian newspapers branded her a petulant prima donna in contrast to the likeable Freeman, even more of a national icon since she lit the Olympic flame. Perec’s agent Annick Averinos said the French athlete was in tears when she called her to report the incident. Airport sources said she was on her way to London. In another blow for the games, Davenport, the defending tennis champion, withdrew in the second round because of an injured left foot. Her withdrawal came one day after the men’s tournament lost top-seeded US Open champion Marat Safin of Russia and fourth-seeded Australian Lleyton Hewitt among seven seeds ousted in a series of stunning upsets. There was more bad news when Bailey’s agent Ray Flynn said the defending Olympic champion had the seasonal “Sydney flu’’, which could eliminate him from a track battle with American favourite Maurice Greene. The bug also hit Australia’s swimming “Thorpedo’’. Team doctors said 17-year-old Ian Thorpe developed symptoms of the upper respiratory tract infection on Monday and it might have slowed him down that night when flying Dutchman Pieter van den Hoogenband robbed him of gold in the 200 metres freestyle. Swimming, highlight of the Olympics’ first week, still had some thrills in store before the athletics takes centre stage. Inge de Bruijn, female half of a devastating Dutch duo with van den Hoogenband, targets her second Olympic gold on Thursday in the 100 metres freestyle. De Bruijn cracked her own 100 metres butterfly mark to take her first gold on Sunday and has already lowered the 100 freestyle mark, in the semifinals on Wednesday. Russian master Alexander Popov, who lost his Olympic 100 metres freestyle title to van den Hoogenband, outpaced his conqueror when he opened the defence of his 50 freestyle title in the heats on Thursday. Van den Hoogenband is aiming for an unprecedented Olympic treble in the 50, 100 and 200 freestyle and — like Popov — will have more to give in the semifinals and final. But the atmosphere at the pool was disrupted by a row over drugs between two powerhouse teams, from the USA and the Netherlands. Dutch coaches fiercely attacked a top US official who alleged — in what was seen as a swipe at de Bruijn and van den Hoogenband — that some swimmers must be using performance-enhancing drugs. In the dangerous equestrian three-day event a Brazilian and a Danish rider were taken to hospital after crashing falls on the cross country course. Brazilian rider Roberto Macedo suffered a fractured Pelvis and Dane Nils Haagensen a broken shoulder, organisers said. A dream heavyweight boxing quarter-final was set up when Cuba’s Felix Savon and the pretender for his title, American Michael Bennett, won their first fights. Savon, one of the all-time Olympic boxing greats, is going for his third successive gold at the games. One of the biggest celebrities of the Games is its slowest swimmer, accidental hero Eric the Eel from Equatorial Guinea. Eric Moussambani had never seen a full-size pool before arriving in Sydney and had trouble completing the 100 metres but he refused to give up, turning himself into one of the favourites of the Games. Spanish, French, English, Swedish, Japanese, Canadian and Australian media queued up to hear his story and the German team took him out for a dinner cruise round Sydney Harbour. “It is all so overwhelming for me,’’ said Eric. |
|
Dingko crashes out of Olympics SYDNEY, Sept 21 (PTI) — Bangkok Asian Games gold medallist Ng Dingko Singh crashed out of the Sydney Olympic Games in his very first appearance in the boxing ring here today. The bantamweight pugilist, who got a first round bye, was no match to former world champion Sorgiy Danylchenko of Ukraine who outclassed him 14-5 points in the second round of the 56 kg class here this afternoon. The Ukrainian was taller and had a longer reach, but he preferred to fight from close and bottled up the 21-year-old Indian Navy Petty Officer into helplessness. Starting with a right swing, Danylchenko built up a healthy 3-0 lead at the end of the first round. Dingko let go with two powerful rights, but the Ukrainian, with a solid and closed defence, was going strong and a right and left followed by a series of rights saw him jump to 9-2 by the end of the second round. The third round was relatively quiet with Danylchenko increasing his lead by two more points. As the final round began, Dingko, who realised he was trailing badly, went on the offensive. A left followed by a punch into his rival’s chin did not help in reducing the deficit as the Ukrainian increased his tally to 14. UNI adds: The 1997 Kings Cup gold medallist, Dingko started off cautiously avoiding direct contact with his rival. The Ukrainian, however, kept attacking and the moment the Indian opened up a bit, Sergie landed three quick punches in a space of six seconds to take a 3-0 lead in the first round. The Ukranian was simply unstoppable as he pounded the Indian with hooks and jabs and Dingko ran for the cover in the second round. Sergie collected four points in the process. However, the Indian did manage two points with incisive blows in the round (2-7). The man from Ukraine, who qualified for the Olympics after winning the boxing festival in Liverpool, used his reach to demolish the Indian in the third round with four powerful hooks to raise his points tally to 11-2. That virtually sealed Dingko’s Olympic campaign. In the last round, Sergie loosened his grip a bit and conceded three points to Dingko but still won comfortably 14-5 on his way to the quarterfinal. ‘‘Sergie is a much superior boxer,’’ admitted the Indian coach G.S. Sandhu. ‘‘It was simply not Dingko’s day. He is a good fighter but today he could not produce the form which was expected from him.’’ The coach said he was not offering any excuses and added, ‘‘Dingko was outboxed by his rival. There is no doubt about that.’’ This was the worst battering Dingko has received in his career. Perhaps, his painful right wrist acted up. There are now two Indian boxers — Jitender Kumar and Gurcharan Singh — left in the fray after winning their first round bouts. |
|
Krayzelburg completes backstroke double SYDNEY, Sept 21 (AFP) — Treble world record-holder Lenny Krayzelburg completed his Olympic backstroke double here today winning the 200m back in an Olympic record of 1 minute 56.76. Inge de Bruijn also doubled her gold medal haul with a victory in the women’s 100m freestyle, but the dutch swimmer couldn’t match the world record of 53.77 seconds she set in the semifinals. De Bruijn added the freestyle gold to her world record-setting 100m butterfly triumph. She defeated Sweden’s Therese Alshammar, while Americans Jenny Thompson and Dara Torres finished tied for third to share the bronze. Thompson earned her ninth Olympic swimming medal, surpassing Dawn Fraser, Kornelia Ender and Shirley Babashoff on the all-time list. Seven of Thompson’s medals are gold, but all of those have come in relays, and tonight’s race was widely seen as the 27-year-old American’s last chance at that elusive individual gold. Krayzelburg, holder of world records at 50m, 100m and 200m backstroke had to content himself with lowering the 200m back Olympic record for the third straight race. Krayzelburg, a week shy of his 25th birthday, led a US one-two, with 17-year-old compatriot Aaron Peirsol taking silver in 1:57.35. Australia’s Matt Welsh was third in 1:57.59. Massimiliano Rosolino completed his Olympic medal collection, adding the 200m medley gold to the 400m free silver and 200m free bronze he had already won. Rosolino posted an Olympic record 1:58.98 to do American Tom Dolan out of a medley double, the 400m medley champion settling for silver ahead of compatriot Tom Wilkens. Hungary’s Attila Czene, the 1996 gold medallist, led at the halfway point, but faded over the closing breaststroke and freestyle legs. Rosolino claimed the third gold of the games for Italy -which had never won an Olympic swimming gold before. Agnes Kovacs, 15 when she won bronze in Atlanta, climbed up the podium with her victory in the women’s 200m breaststroke. Kovacs, now 19 and the 100m and 200m breaststroke European champion in 1997 and 1999, was lying third at the final turn. She surged past American Kristy Kowal and China’s Qi Hui to win in 2:24.35. Kovacs said she knew she was racing fifth at the halfway point, but she didn’t let it disrupt her race plan. “I was racing against myself,” she said. “I concentrated on my own performance.” Kowal ended up with silver in 2:24.56. Atlanta silver medallist Amanda Beard of the USA - who was 14 in 1996 - edged Qi for the bronze by one-hundredth of a second in 2:25.35, leaving China still looking for their first swimming medal of the Games. Beard, who was swimming in lane eight, said she had no idea she was in third until she saw the scoreboard. “I had no idea what was going on in the water,” said Beard, who unlike Kovacs struggled after her precocious performance in Atlanta. Gary Hall said his top semifinal time in the 50m free would give him a good view of the competition in tomorrow’s final, but he didn’t expect to have time to use it. Hall posted a time of 22.07sec and Dutch sensation Pieter van den Hoogenband came next in 22.11. Van Den Hoogenband, who set the Olympic pool alight with two world records in winning the 100m and 200m freestyles, won the second semifinal ahead of Russian legend Alexander Popov. Popov’s fourth-fastest time of the night was enough to see him progress in his bid for an historic third straight 50m free title. Van Den Hoogenband has already denied Popov’s quest in the 100m free. |
|
Poland hold Argentina SYDNEY, Sept 21 (PTI) — Argentine striker Jorge Lombi pumped in four goals to help his team produce an exhilerating 5-5 draw against Poland in the Olympic men’s hockey here today, reports AFP. Both sides delighted some 10,000 fans at the State Hockey Centre with fluent counter-attacks that produced seven goals in the second-half, four of them in the last 10 minutes. The game reached a thrilling climax seven minutes before the final whistle when Lombi’s fourth goal helped Argentina draw level 4-4. Santiago Capurro then put Argentina ahead 5-4 in the 66th minute, but Poland’s Rafal Grotoswski equalised the very next minute. After a game that neither side deserved to lose, Poland were left with four points from three matches and Argentina two. Argentina, who made the trip to Sydney only because the South African government withdrew the men’s team, led 2-0 by the 23rd minute through two Lombi goals. Lukasz Wybieralski pulled one back for Poland four minutes before half-time to set up a rousing second session. Lombi put Argentina 3-1 ahead after the change-over but Poland, returning to the Olympics after 20 years, refused to give up. Piotr Mikula scored twice in a six-minute burst to make it 3-3, then Poland took the lead for the first time in the match when Pawel Jakubak converted a penalty corner in the 60th minute. That opened the floodgates as goals came thick and fast in the closing stages. Spain hold Aussies Spain made a timely return to form to hold hosts Australia to a 2-2 draw in the Olympic men’s hockey here today. What was expected to be an easy outing for the Kookaburras almost turned into a nightmare as Spain finally showed the touch that won them the silver medal at Atlanta four years ago. The draw threw open the race for the two semifinal berths from group B, with all six teams still in contention ahead of the last two rounds of preliminary matches. Australia and South Korea lead the group with five points each, followed by India and Poland, who both have four points. Even Spain and Argentina, trailing with two points apiece, fancy their chances as the tournament lives up to it’s hype of being the most open ever. Australia took an early lead in the eighth minute when veteran Stephen Davies converted a penality corner, but Spain drew level four minutes later through Pablo Amat’s corner hit. It was Spain’s turn to go ahead immediately after the interval when Xavier Arnau deflected in a pass from the right. Australia, however did not disappoint a full house at the 15,000-seater State Hockey Centre with a brilliant equaliser from Adam Commens four minutes later. Commens latched on to a pass from the left,
dribbled his way to the right before beating Spanish goalkeeper Ramon Jufresa with a backhand flick. Germany snatched a valuable point in the Olympic men’s hockey by forcing Pakistan to a 1-1 draw in group A here today. |
|
Jones ready for uncharted waters SYDNEY, Sept 21 (Reuters) — At 1.35 p.m. on Friday Shamha Ahmed of the Maldives will enjoy approximately 13 seconds of fame at the Sydney Olympics. Ahmed, with a best 100 meters time of 12.48 seconds, has been drawn in the same first round heat as Marion Jones, currently the world’s fastest woman with a personal best of 10.65. Barring a miracle that will be Ahmed’s last appearance at the Games while for Jones the 100 metres first round represents the start of a voyage into uncharted waters. The 24-year-old American aims to become the first person to win five track and field gold medals at a single Olympics, a quest that will become progressively more difficult over the nine days of competition. Jones is the overwhelming favourite to win the 100 metres in the absence through injury of long-term rival Inger Miller. Even if Miller makes a full recovery from a left hamstring injury sustained in training this month, she is unlikely to beat Jones in the 200. The long jump is technically Jones’s weakest event, a fact she freely concedes while pointing out that with her basic speed she is capable of jumping further than anybody in the field. The Americans will have the four fastest women in the 4x100 metres relay, after which it will be the 4x400 relay and another step into the unknown.
Russian threat The Russians are traditionally strong in the 4x400 and beat the USA, without Jones, at last year’s Seville World Championships. The USA have not yet decided on their running order and it is possible Jones could run the final leg a metre or two down on her opponent, providing the best possible climax to the games. “I love running the relay,’’ Jones said. “It could all come down to the last event.’’ Irina Privalova, the 100 metres bronze medallist at the 1992 Barcelona Games, is a probable starter in the Russian 4x400 quartet at the end of a remarkable season for the 31-year-old. Privalova has switched from the flat to the 400 metres hurdles this season and although her technique is raw her basic speed makes her a gold medal possibility in Sydney. American Gail Devers will not defend her 100 metres title after finishing out of the places in the US trials and she will now concentrate all her energies on the high hurdles. Devers has won three world titles over the 100 hurdles but does not yet have an Olympic title after crashing over the final barrier in Barcelona. “I don’t think about the 100 metres,’’ Devers said. “now is the time for me to be a hurdler.’’ Cathy Freeman’s chances of winning the 400 metres for Australia were dramatically boosted on Thursday with the news that defending champion Marie-Jose Perec of France had left Sydney. A spokesman for her main sponsor said Perec had pulled out of the Games after being threatened at her hotel. The probability of wind and the possibility of cool conditions make world records unlikely on track. But the world marks could fall in two events making their Olympic debut. American Stacy Dragila is confident she can improve her current world mark of 4.63 metres in the pole vault and Romanian Mihaela Melinte may break her own hammer record of 76.07 metres. |
|
Indian athletes have few pretentions SYDNEY, Sept 21 (PTI) — The showcase discipline of any Olympic Games, the track and field events, commence here
tomorrow and India is represented by its largest-ever squad after the 1980 Moscow Games, though with hardly any claims to fame. The 30-member Indian team, with an equal number of men and women in it, is bereft of athletes of proven ability like ‘Flying Sikh’ Milkha Singh, ace half-miler Sriram Singh, distance aces Shivnath Singh and Hari Chand, hurdler Gurbachan Singh Randhawa or the incomparable P.T. Usha. Even the Indian athletics officials here, large in numbers but difficult to locate, find it difficult to say confidently whether their wards would make it to the finals, let alone win a medal. The only reason for so many athletes to be present here from India is that most of them have met the qualifying norms and the government has cleared all those who have achieved them. The rest have been sent here by the Amateur Athletics Federation of India with its own funds. The maximum that can be expected from the athletes is for them to improve upon their personal bests which can be aided by the excellent track conditions here. Those with a semblance of a chance of making it anywhere near the finals are in shot put and the two 4x400m relay teams. |
|
SYDNEY, Sept 21 (UNI) — The following is the schedule for India at the Olympics tomorrow (all timings Ist): Athletics: 0430: Shakti Singh (men’s shot put qualifying ‘A’. Bahadur Singh (men’s shot put qualifying ‘B’. 0540: Paramjit Singh (men’s 400m Ist round. 0600: Jagdish Bishnoi (men’s javelin throw qualifying ‘A’. 1430: K.M. Beena Mol (women’s 400m Ist round. Tennis:
0530: Mahesh Bhupathi-Leander Paes vs Todd Woodbridge-Mark Woodforde (men’s doubles second round). Manisha Malhotra-Nirupama Vaidyanathan vs Jelena Docik-Rennae Stubbs. Boxing: (75kg IInd round): 1200: Jitender Kumar vs Adrian Diaconu (Romania) |
|
|
India at a glance SYDNEY, Sept 21 (UNI) — The following is the summary of India’s performance at the 27th Olympics here today. Hockey: India’s chance of making to the semifinals suffered a jolt as they lost to South Korea 0-2 in a pool ‘B’ league match of the Olympic hockey competition. Boxing: Asian Games gold medallist Dingko Singh put up a sluggish showing to be outpunched by Ukrainian Sergie Danylchenko in the second pound of the bantamweight (54 kg) category of the Olympic boxing competition. Equestrian: Rider Imtiaz Anees lay at the bottom of the pool of 25 contestants after the cross-country round on the second day of the three-stage Olympic equestrian event. |
|
|
Medal tally
(Given in the following
order: Country, Gold, Silver, Bronze, Total): USA 11 10 10 31 Australia 8 9
8 25 China 8 4 7 19 France 7
9 4 20 Itlay 7 2 9 18 Netherlands
6 2 2 10 Russia 4 8 8 20 Japan
4 3 1 8 Romania 4 2 4 10 Germany
3 5 7 15 South Korea 3 5 5
13 Bulgaria 3 1 1 5 Britain 2 5
3 10 Ukraine 2 4 3 9 Cuba 2
1 2 5 Sweden 2 1 1 4 Hungary
2 1 1 4 Spain 2 0 1 3 Turkey
2 0 0 2 Slovakia 1 3 1 5 Switzerland
1 3 1 5 Indonesia 1 1 2 4 Canada
1 1 1 3 Poland 1 1 0 2 Czech Rep
1 0 3 4 Mexico 1 0 0 1 Lithuania
1 0 0 1 Croatia 1 0 0 1 Colombia
1 0 0 1 Azerbaijan 1 0 0 1 Brazil
0 2 1 3 Belarus 0 1 4
5 Belgium 0 1 2 3 Greece 0 1
2 3 South Africa 0 1 1 2 Taiwan
0 1 1 2 North Korea 0 1 1 2 Greece
0 1 1 2 Yugoslavia 0 1 0 1 Uruguay
0 1 0 1 Nigeria 0 1 0 1 Denmark
0 1 0 1 Costa Rica 0 0 2 2 Thailand
0 0 1 1 Portugal 0 0 1 1 Latvia
0 0 1 1 Kuwait 0 0 1 1 Kyrgyzstan
0 0 1 1 India 0 0 1 1 Georgia
0 0 1 1 Estonia 0 0 1 1 |
|
Yuvraj, Dahiya selected CHENNAI, Sept 21 (PTI) — In an effort to develop a team for the 2003 World Cup, the national selectors today capped batsman Yuvraj Singh of Punjab, wicketkeeper Vijay Dahiya of Delhi and medium pacer Zaheer Khan of Baroda for the ICC Knockout Tournament to be held from October 3-16 at Nairobi. The selection committee, headed by Chandu Borde also recalled experienced Mumbai left-hander Vinod Kambli after more than one year to fill in the gap created by the exclusion of former skipper Mohammed Azharuddin and dashing batsman Ajay Jadeja who were not picked in the probables list. Borde told reporters after the two-hour meeting that that the selectors were impressed with these three youngsters. Dahiya is a specialist wicketkeeper who could improvise better than the other two probables, Reuban Paul of Tamil Nadu and Ajay Ratra of Haryana, according to Borde. For the first time in over two decades, the selectors chose seven left handers in the team — captain Saurav Ganguly, Hemang Badani, S Sriram, Robin Singh, Vinod Kambli, Yuvraj Singh, and Sunil Joshi. The team is: Saurav Ganguly (capt.), Rahul Dravid (vice-capt), Sachin Tendulkar, S Sriram, Vinod Kambli, Hemang Badani, Robin Singh, Yuvraj Singh, Vijay Dahiya, Anil Kumble, Sunil Joshi, Ajit Agarkar, Venkatesh Prasad and Zaheer Khan. Kambli’s recall was on the cards due to his good performance in the domestic season last year with four centuries to his credit. The selectors were impressed with his batting in the two selection matches held during the camp which commenced on September 14, according to Borde. The flamboyant left hander last played for india on the twin tour of Sri Lanka and Singapore in August-September last year. The meeting was attended by coach Anshuman Gaekward and captain Ganguly along with the other selectors, T.A. Sekhar (South), Madan Lal (North), Anil Deshpande (Central) and Ashok Malhotra (East). |
|
NEW DELHI, Sept 21 (PTI) —CBI has completed report on its investigations into the match-fixing scandal in cricket and would soon send it to its legal department. Highly-placed sources in the agency said the special crime branch of the agency, probing the scandal, had almost finalised the report. They said the agency would soon send it to the legal department to find whether the evidence collected by the agency could stand judicial scrutiny in prosecuting anyone interrogated by the agency. Asked when the agency would prefer to submit its report to the Union Sports Ministry, the sources said it could be only in the first week of next month. The sources denied that the report was being delayed because the agency had asked former test all-rounder Manoj Prabhakar to take for a lie detector test. The CBI has asked him (Prabhakar) to appear for a test but it was not obligatory, the sources said. Meanwhile, sources close to Prabhakar said he would soon file a reply to the agency asking them to call other players also for a lie detector test. |
|
Pall
of gloom in Patiala as Sodhi is excluded PATIALA If southpaw
Yuvraj Singh’s selection for the ICC cricket tournament, to be held
in Nairobi, has made the residents of Chandigarh proud, the atmosphere
here was different. An errie silence seemed all prevasive at the Dhruv
Pandove Stadium when it was known that Sodhi was not selected. Barely
a couple of months have elapsed since Ian Botham and Arjuna Ranatunga
extolled the virtues of Sodhi. Ever since the selectors dropped Mohammad Azharuddin, Ajay Jadeja, Nayan Mongia and Nikhil Chopra from the list of 24 probabales for the Chennai camp, the Patiala lad was considered to be a certainty for the Nairobi tour. Reetinder had been among the probables twice before. On both the occasions, he was dropped from the final squad primarily because of the presence of seniors in the team. When
news of Sodhi’s non-inclusion reached Dhruv Pandove Stadium, a pall
of gloom descended on the players and spectators. His father
Maheshinder Singh tried to maintain a calm exterior, but there were
enough signs that he was a shattered man. Said Maheshinder,” Destiny
follows no predictable pattern. It was God’s will.” At the NCA,
its Director Hanumant Singh was so impressed by Sodhi’s all-round
abilities that he asked the youngster to captain the NCA team in the
Bhuchi Babu tournament in Madras last month. Sodhi led from the front
and NCA won the tournament. He will reach the city tomorrow. |
 |
| Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir | Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs | Nation | Editorial | | Business | Sport | World | Mailbag | In Spotlight | Chandigarh Tribune | Ludhiana Tribune 50 years of Independence | Tercentenary Celebrations | | 120 Years of Trust | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
