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October 15, 2000, Chandigarh, India   
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Sriram may replace unfit Robin Ganguly displayed great maturity
Laxman (165 n.o.) puts Rest on top Nothing to lose,
says Fleming |
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Bonanza
awaits cricket team IOA poll likely to be a smooth affair China hold South Korea Nitin, Rushmi annex titles Paes-Bhupathi duo in final AI pip Bhutan XI; PSEB defeated Sinha to be new AITA chief IOB cagers champions
Davenport cruises past Rubin Lapentti, Schalken
advance to final Indian challenge
ends 2 Aussies, Kiwi
in race Roller skating championships from November 3 Unbeaten
93 by Hemant Dogra Chandigarh eves
triumph
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Sriram may replace unfit Robin NAIROBI, Oct 14 (PTI) — India are on a roll. A team coming into the final of a tournament after defeating reigning World Cup champions Australia and defending champions South Africa in the previous two matches are the natural favourites to win the ICC Knockout Cricket Cup tomorrow. And India not only beat them, but did it in style. Which makes them the strong favouites to win the final against New Zealand tomorrow. Coming into the tournament after a rather unsavoury episode of match-fixing allegations put the team in a complete disarray and the game itself in disrepute, it has been a remarkable turn around in the fortunes of the Indian team. They have played like tigers, outsmarting their opponents in every department of the game. Their batting, bowling, fielding have seen a vast improvement when compared to their performances Down Under, home series against South Africa, triangular tournament in Sharjah or in Asia Cup at Dhaka. But the most noticeable, and welcome, aspect has been their positive attitude, the hunger to win and the willingness to fight for it till the end. For a team which is notorious for snatching defeat from the jaws of victory, this squad has simply refused to wilt under pressure and shown tremendous temperament in crunch situations. True, it has only been three games till now and they are yet to face a real cliff-hanger. But there have been tight situations which demanded that the players to keep their cool and they have come out trumps. As for example when Sachin Tendulkar, Saurav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid got out in quick succession in the quarter-final against Australia, a by-now familiar middle-order collapse looked imminent. But Punjab youngster Yuvraj Singh, playing his first knock, put up a heroic performance and in the company of Vinod Kambli and Robin Singh not only got India out of trouble but saw to it that a match-winning total was in place. Or when Brett Lee and Steve Waugh threatened to take the match away from India with some big stroke-play in the slog overs, instead of choking, speedster Zaheer Khan, playing only his second match, fired a yorker to send Waugh back to the pavillion to turn the match back in India’s favour. Incidentally, Yuvraj and Zaheer, the finds of this tournament, have been tremendous influence on the team. Their youthful exuberance and energy has transformed the entire team and suddenly you have Indians running, diving, throwing themselves at every opportunity. Vijay Dahiya has also shown tremendous promise behind the wickets though he did not have enough opportunity to prove his credentials as a batsman. In yesterday’s semifinal against South Africa, he had four victims and his stumping of Shaun Pollock was simply brilliant. Not to speak of the trio of Tendulkar, Ganguly and Dravid who have more or less done the job expected of them. Kambli has looked good though he has yet to come up with a big knock. And the bowlers led by the ever-dependable Anil Kumble have performed admirably well and have been able to contain the opposition and defend the totals put up by the batsmen. So, on paper at least, it looks like a cakewalk for the Indians. The ultimate redemption after they had virtually been written off. But, complecency is the last thing they would need going in the match tomorrow. For New Zealand are no mean customers. The way they sent Pakistan packing in the semifinals, when the chips were down for them, is but only an indication of the strength and character they possess. Ganguly felt the team has the making of a good unit though he admitted it could do with one or two additions in the line-up. “We need to fill a couple of slots may be a batsman and another pace bowler in the squad,” said the Indian captain. India might have to do without Robin Singh in the final as the gutsy allrounder has dislocated a finger in his left hand and is doubtful for tomorrow’s game. If Ganguly’s mindset is any indication, he would again ignore left-arm spinner Sunil Joshi and opt for Tamil Nadu’s S. Sriram who is not only a useful left-arm bowler and batsman but pretty handy in the field. New Zealand have similarly been underdogs who have come good though they did look scratchy in their two matches against Zimbabwe and Pakistan. The two men vital in these wins were bowlers, off-spinner Paul Wiseman and left-arm seamer Shayne O’Connor. How these bowlers stand up to the assault of the Indian batsmen remains to be seen. Shaun Pollock, yesterday’s beaten captain, rated New Zealand’s chances as good but didn’t forget to add a rider. “New Zealand, of course, can back themselves against India in the final but in order to do so, they would have to get past the three top Indian batsmen”. Pollock said it would not be easy for the Kiwis to get past Tendulkar, Ganguly and Dravid though if they do manage to do so, they could do well against a suspect lower half of the Indian team. The irony about these two finalists is that neither boasts of a very good bowling attack. Yet they have come through and a great deal of credit must go to the pitch. The pitch for the final is the middle of the five in the square and it has not been used. Pollock felt if the Kiwi bowlers could swing the ball on the new pitch, they could have an advantage as it poses problems for the batsmen. New Zealand have some excellent batsmen to take advantage of the good batting conditions. Stephen Fleming, Nathan Astle, Roger Twose and Craig McMillan are batsmen in form. Indian bowlers would find it difficult to get past them. India can only hope their batsmen would bat better and New Zealand bowlers bowl worse than theirs to win the trophy. Twose has now hit his fifth consecutive fifty by the law of averages is due for a failure. The same law of averages would suggest the little Indian maestro Tendulkar would have a big knock tomorrow. Tendulkar has just one hundred to his name this year and his captain was hoping he would come good in the final. “I wanted runs from him against South Africa. Now I hope he has been saving it for the final”. Teams (from): India: Sourav Ganguly (capt), Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Vinod Kambli, Yuvraj Singh, Vijay Dahiya, Anil Kumble, Zaheer Khan, Sunil Joshi, Ajit Agarkar, Venkatesh Prasad and S. Ramesh. New Zealand: Stephen Fleming (capt), Nathan Astle, Roger Twose, Shayne O’Connor, Craig McMillan, Chris Harris, Scott Styris, Geoff Allott, Paul Wiseman, Adam Parore, Craig Spearman and Chris Nevin.  |
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Experts comments THE
five-day gap that the Indians had before the semifinal was a bit worrying for a team can lose its intensity in that period what with the attractions of the safari, golf courses etc. Playing against top teams like Australia and South Africa a team cannot afford any degree of slackness for these teams are quick to pounce on that. Any such apprehension was quickly gone in the first over itself as Tendulkar and Ganguly batted with such refreshing freedom that the South Africans did not know what hit them. The first few overs by Pollock and Telemachus against England had sealed the result of the match in their favour and if they expected the same against India they were rudely awakened. Tendulkar gave the momentum to the innings by playing some gorgeous straight drives. Ganguly has shown great maturity in not getting frustrated when Tendulkar is batting so well and though he was content to wait for the bad balls when it came along he sent it unerringly to the boundary. It took a real special delivery from Kallis, which jumped and left him that got rid of Tendulkar. Dravid did not take much time to settle down and though he was not quite able to match Ganguly he ensured that runs kept coming at a fast clip. Ganguly’s assault on Boje was a calculated one and suddenly the Indian scoring leapt up and the South Africans began to panic. In a situation like this the South Africans, like the Australians, invariably turn to gamesmanship and the shoulder charging and verbals were flying thick and fast. To experienced players like Ganguly and Dravid it is water over a duck’s back but if this thing continues to happen and some players get away with it, it would be a sad thing for international cricket. The promotion of Yuvraj Singh ahead of the more experienced Kambli was a shrewd tactical move and the young man is not only in form but is so supremely confident that he feels he can do no wrong on the field. The way he started belting the ball around gave Ganguly just the impetus he needed to go up one more gear and it was thrilling to watch two left-handers of contrasting styles hit the ball differently but with the same results. A score of 295 is a daunting one to reach and Zaheer Khan continued to make a good impression with his bowling and his positive attitude. The South Africans lost four wickets before 50 runs had been scored, thanks to some fine bowling and one outstanding piece of fielding by Yuvraj when he chased a misfield right to the boundary, dragged it in and threw it in on the turn which was then relayed to the wicket-keeper. It is difficult to understand South Africa’s tactics of holding back Klusener till the fall of the fifth wicket for that did not give him too many overs, especially while chasing a target as big as the Indians had put up. Boucher is one determined character but even he realised that it was a losing battle. The Indian fielding touched great heights with Tendulkar and Prasad bringing off catches that would make the all time classic catches list. It’s been a delight to watch this team perform. They are superbly led and are more of a unit than any Indian team of recent vintage. They have shown an enthusiasm and passion for the game that is infectious and irrespective of what happens in the final, one can safely say that there is a new dawn in Indian cricket. And while we are at it, the transformation has come under Anshuman Gaekwad. So do we need an overseas coach?
— PMG |
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Laxman (165 n.o.) puts Rest on top mumbai, Oct 14 (pti) — India discard v.v.s. laxman reminded the national selectors of his class with a superb, unbeaten 165 to place his team Rest of India in command on the second day of their five-day Irani Cup match against Ranji Trophy champions Mumbai here today. Rest skipper Laxman, ignored by the selectors after touring Australia with the Indian team last season, batted for the entire day after resuming his innings at the overnight score of two in a side total of 23 for two to power his team to a close of play score of 299 for four in reply to Mumbai’s modest first innings tally of 260. The Hyderabad batsman also put on 201 runs for the fourth wicket with another India discard Mohd Kaif, who made a well-compiled 75 in 248 minutes after coming together at a difficult time when the Rest were gasping at 29 for three early in the morning. At stumps, Laxman — who struck 24 fours in his 371-minute, 280-ball knock - had put on 69 runs for the unbroken fifth wicket with another national castaway Jacob Martin, not out with 25 at close, against the listless home team bowling. Rest, who had lost their first two wickets with only eight on board last evening, lost nightwatchman Murali Kartik (22) in the fourth over of the morning and then squandered their next wicket, that of Kaif, only in the last over before tea. It was also Laxman’s second successive ton against Mumbai, following his knock of 111 in the second innings in the Ranji final here in April. At close, Rest were 39 runs ahead of Mumbai. None of the Mumbai bowlers made any impression on the Rest batsmen on a wicket which had lost the extra bounce it had yesterday. Mumbai tasted early success when Kartik, not out 12 overnight, added 10 more before edging Mhambrey to the home team ‘keeper and captain Sameer Dighe. This brought Kaif, who batted for 248 minutes and hit 10 fours in his 193-ball knock, and Laxman together. The duo cut out the frills against the medium-pacers Mhambrey and Santosh Saxena and then started playing strokes once the spinners came on to bowl. The fourth wicket pair took Rest to a lunch score of 140 for three, Laxman having reached his half century in 133 minutes, off 94 balls before remaining unbeaten at the interval with 67, while Kaif was seven short of his fifty. Laxman’s only blemish came soon after the break when he snicked Mhambrey close to a diving Nilesh Kulkarni at second slip and the latter failed to latch on to a sharp chance on his left side. The Rest captain was on 73 in a side score of 146 for 3. Kaif reached his half ton in 175 minutes and off 144 balls before Laxman completed his century in 240 minutes, 180 balls with 14 fours as the two carried on merrily against the trio of Mumbai spinners. Kaif finally departed in the last over before tea. Playing back to a ball which kept low he missed the line and was castled by left-arm spinner Rajesh Pawar. After tea Laxman and new man Martin confined untroubled and were not ruffled even by the second new ball taken when Rest were 277 for 4 in 90.2 overs. Scoreboard Mumbai (1st innings): 260 Rest of India (1st innings): Das c Jaffer b Mhambrey 0 Ramesh c Dighe b Saxena 4 Kartik c Dighe b Mhambrey 22 Laxman batting 165 M. Kaif b Pawar 75 Martin batting 25 Extras (b 2, lb 1, nb 5) 8 Total (for 4 wkts, in 96 overs) 299 Fall of wickets: 1-4, 2-8, 3-29, 230 Bowling:
Mhambrey 16-2-54-2, Saxena 13-1-49-1, Kulkarni 30-6-86-0, Pawar 20-1-67-1, Powar 15-2-37-0, Shetty 2-1-3-0. |
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Nothing to lose, says Fleming NAIROBI, Oct 14 (PTI) — Indian skipper Saurav Ganguly today said he would opt to bat first against New Zealand if he wins the toss in the final of the ICC knock-out cricket tournament here tomorrow. “It is advisable to bat first on these wickets. If you can get a healthy score, the other team is under pressure,” Ganguly said. “In a pressure game, it is always better to bat first. Chasing a big total can be tricky.” Ganguly, who hit a magnificent unbeaten 141 to lead India to a comprehensive 95-run victory over South Africa in the semi-final yesterday, hoped his side’s good run in the tournament so far would help bring back the people’s interest in the game. “There is no denying Indian cricket is going through a bad patch. (But) after a string of good performances, hopefully, we would be able to regain the trust of the people.” Ganguly admitted India were playing some of its best cricket in recent times. “When your stars are good, everything falls in the right place.” Ganguly said the newcomers had boosted the morale of the team and added some more fresh faces were required. “We are looking for another fast bowler to go along with Zaheer Khan. We also need a good quality batsman in the middle, not as much as an all-rounder.” Meanwhile, New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming today said his side had nothing to lose in the final tomorrow and will go all out for a win against India. Having reached the final of a tournament of this magnitude for the first time, Fleming said he was looking forward to winning it. New Zealand manager Jeff Crowe echoed similar feelings. “It will be our first time to play in a one-day final, or any other competition, but it is significant we’ve reached there and hope we will do well,” he said. Fleming, whose side stunned favourites Pakistan on their way to the final, said he had a few plans up his sleeve for the final but admitted the Indian batting could upset them. “We have plans but they (Indian batsmen) can upset plans. Indian batting line-up is perhaps the greatest in the world at the moment,” he said. “We will try out a few things, but with these guys you can never tell.” |
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Bonanza
awaits cricket team NAIROBI, Oct 14 (PTI) — A great windfall awaits the
Indians if they win the final of the ICC Knockout Cricket Tournament
here tomorrow. The Indians have so far collected $120,000 for their progress so far and will pick up another $150,000 if they lose or $250,000 if they win the final against New Zealand, a potential jackpot of $370,000 (approx Rs 2.54 crore). Indians picked up $30,000 for the win against Kenya, another $40,000 for beating reigning World Cup champions Australia in the quarter-finals and another $50,000 for taking care of defending champions South Africa in the semifinals. This is the biggest prize money ever on offer in an international cricket tournament, including the last World Cup in England. As against $370,000 to be won by India in Nairobi from four games, Australia had $300,000 in official prize money after playing eight matches to win last year’s World Cup. |
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IOA poll likely to be a smooth affair NEW DELHI, Oct 14 — The subterrenean moves in the Indian Olympic Association to get the better of each other for the prestigious posts of President and Secretary General appears to have been resolved with elections to the body which oversees sporting activity in the country being fixed for November 3 in the national capital. Interestingly, Haryana Olympic association chief and MLA Abhey Chautala set the cat among the pigeons in Sydney last month where he had gone to attend the Olympic Games. Incumbent IOA President and former union minister Suresh Kalmadi smelt a rat that Mr Chautala is itching to put his hat in the ring when the latter hosted a reception in Sydney during the Olympic Games extravaganza. In a bid to nip any rivalry to his continuing as the IOA chief for a second four-year term, Mr Kalmadi despatched letters post haste from Sydney itself summarily shifting the venue of the elections from Pinjore to his influential homestead Pune. The out of the blue change of venue for the IOA elections created a flutter among the state Olympic associations. It virtually sent everyone with a stake in the IOA into a tizzy that Mr Kalmadi did not want to take any chances with the fractious and acrimonious politics in sports bodies. On his return from Sydney, an undaunted Mr Chautala moved the court praying for a stay on Mr Kalmadi’s directive to all the state associations that the IOA elections will be held on November 3 in Pune instead of Pinjore as decided earlier. That added a new dimension to the ensuing drama of oneupmanship unleased by various interested parties in the IOA which propelled some former presidents of the body like Mr B.S. Adityan to intervene and find an amicable way out of the impasse. Mr Kalmadi and Mr Chautala were brought face-to-face to sort out their differences and work out an arrangement which satisfied all the parties concerned. The mediation is believed to have done the trick which culminated in Mr Chautala agreeing not to put a spanner in the works as far as the IOA elections are concerned. On his part, Mr Chautala also wrote a letter to all the state units of the IOA squashing speculation that he was a candidate for the President’s post. Further, he appealed in a letter to all the state associations that the President and Secretary General of the IOA should be elected unanimously as a neutral venue had now been fixed for the elections. With the contentious issues having been resolved yesterday, the IOA elections are expected to be a smooth affair. Mr Kalmadi and Mr Randhir Singh will in all probability continue as President and Secretary of the IOA for another term. Several others have been eyeing the presidentship of the IOA. Foremost among them is Mr V.K. Malhotra of the BJP who believes that the IOA chief’s job is his due because of his seniority. The Union Minister of State for Railways Digvijay Singh appeared to be a contender as well and might have to cool his heels for a while. Sources said it is imperative to maintain unity and act in a cohensive manner if India is to make a determined bid for staging the 2006 Asian Games along with other contenders. The Olympic Committee of Asia is to decide next month on who gets to host the 2006 Asian Games as the uncertainty connected with the 2002 edition at Pusan in South Korea has since been resolved. |
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China hold South Korea TRIPOLI (Lebanon), Oct 14 (AFP) — A hotly disputed penalty helped China snatch a draw against Asian Cup hopefuls South Korea here yesterday while minnows Indonesia earned a deserved point against Kuwait. South Korea were left fuming after an appalling refereeing decision saw China awarded a match-levelling spot-kick and their captain Hong Myong-Bo sent off in one fell swoop. Fan Zhiyi buried the penalty to give China a 2-2 draw against the Koreans, who had looked by far the more stylish of the two group B contenders. South Korea will remain confident of topping the group, however, after watching Kuwait struggle to break down plucky Indonesia in the second match of the day. The Indonesians, tipped as whipping boys before the tournament began, held the Kuwaitis 0-0 after a sterling performance from goalkeeper Hendro Kartiko. Kartiko pulled off a string of priceless saves in a first half which saw Kuwait, one of the strongest teams in Asian football, launch raid after raid on the Indonesian goal. But while Indonesia’s draw qualifies as the first real surprise of the tournament, the main talking point was the earlier refereeing decision which deprived South Korea of a winning start against China. The Koreans, who have not won the Asian Cup since 1960 despite reaching the last four World Cup finals, twice took the lead through Lee Young-Pro and Noh Jung-Yoon and looked to be cruising at 2-1 with 20 minutes left. Then came referee Omar Al-Mehanna’s howler. Al-Mehanna — Asian referee of the year to boot — pointed straight to the spot after Su Maozhen stumbled and fell in a 60-40 race to a through ball which Hong appeared to have won. Adding insult to injury, Hong was shown the red card. “I was very disappointed by the decision as it was not worthy of a red card nor a penalty,” South Korean coach Huh Jung-Moo said. “However, a man of Hong’s experience shouldn’t have got involved in such a tug of war.” “I am disappointed by the result as I expected three points and we deserved them as the players played really well,” he added. China’s Yugoslav coach Bora Milutinovic denied he had been too negative by sticking with two strikers when Korea had been reduced to 10-men. “Life is about getting points and today I wanted one and we got one,” he said. “I admired the way we twice came back from being behind and I believe the players showed something I regard as most important in football ... Intelligence,” he added. It had looked as if the Koreans, whose coach Huh needs a good performance here after a first round exit at the Olympics, had wrapped up the match when Noh’s beautifully curled effort from the edge of the area had beat ‘keeper Jiang Jin in the second half. The pattern of the first-half had been the same as Korea controlled the match with some beautiful passing movements and finally got the goal they merited when Lee Young-Pro shot home from close range after jiang had spilled the ball from Lee Dong-Gook’s downward header. A minute later, however, the Chinese were level when Chen Gang crossed and Su rose to power home his header past Kim Yong-Dae. Korea though had only themselves to blame for not going in at the break a goal up when Yoo Sang-Chul’s penalty was well-saved by Jiang after Noh had been brought down. |
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Nitin, Rushmi annex titles NEW DELHI, Oct 14 — Nitin Kirtane of Maharashtra ended the reign of Sunil Kumar when he toppled the defending champion from Chandigarh 6-1, 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 to regain the men’s title while Rushmi Chakaravarthi made short work of title holder Sai Jayalakshmi 4-1, 4-1, 4-1 to wrest the women’s crown in the DSCL National Open Tennis
Championships at the Delhi Tennis Association deco-turf courts here today. In the Under-18 boy’s title clash, unseeded Rohan Gajjar of Maharashtra upset second-seeded Parantap Chaturvedi of Delhi 6-4, 2-6, 7-5, while in the under-18 girls final, second seeded Radhika Tulpule shocked her top-seeded Maharashtra colleague Sonal Phadke 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 after a marathon battle of two hours and five minutes to clinch the title. The men’s and women’s finals turned out to be tame affairs as the defending champions put up feeble fights to cave in rather quickly. Second-seeded Rushmi Chakravarthi took just 55 minutes to topple Sai Jayalakshmi. Breaks in the first game of the first set, first and fourth games of the second set and second game of the third were just the opening Rushmi needed to rush to her second senior national title. Rushmi had won the national hard court title in Mumbai in 1997, beating Aarathi Ponnappa in the final. Today’s triumph was a sweet revenge for Rushmi, for her defeat at the hands of Sai in the title clash here last year. Rushmi played too good today, serving and returning too well for Sai’s liking as the defending champion groped to find her rhythm and lost touch. Sai could get nothing right, as she muffed even seemingly easy returns, to botch up her chances. Rushmi picked up Rs 27,000 for her title triumph while Sai received Rs 16,500 for being the second best. Nitin Kirtane too could have posted a straight sets victory over Sunil Kumar, but when he was cruising towards victory, after winning the first two sets, and leading 5-2, and 40-0 in the third, he lost his concentration and dropped serve, and Sunil seized the opportunity to hit back and win the next five games to clinch the set. But Kirtane got back into focus in the crucial fourth set and hung on to complete a fine victory. Consistency was the hallmark of Nitin’s victory as he just kept pushing hard, covering the court like a panther, and his sliced backhands and forehand volleys fetched him many a big point. Sunil Kumar came up with some solid ground strokes and down the line winners, but he fell far too short. Nitin’s two-and-a-half months stint with a German Club, T.C. Freiburgh, seemed to have done a world of good in firming up his stamina, as his fitness and stamina stood him in good stead today. In his hour of glory, when Sunil Kumar put out an easy volley to be broken in the eighth game of the fourth set, to offer the game, set, match and title to Nitin, the 26-year-old Maharashtra youngster, fell on his back at the court in a gesture of thanks-giving. He had worked very hard for this moment, as he is very keen to get back into the Indian Davis Cup team of which he was a member when India played the Czech Republic (he did not play in the rubber, though). Sunil Kumar offered no excuses, saying ‘‘he didn't give me a chance’’. Nitin was all praise for Sunil Kumar who he felt was a very good future prospect, though he has to work hard on his fitness and volleying. Nitin felt that Sunil was also a bit deterred as he had beaten him in the Satellite Circuit in Pune early this year. |
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Paes-Bhupathi duo in final TOKYO, Oct 14 (AFP) — Indian ace duo Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi came nearer to realising the dream of winning a title after a 14-year drought here by booking a berth in the doubles final of the $ 970,000 Japan Open Tennis Tournament today. The unseeded pair, last year’s French Open and Wimbledon champions, powered past the Chile-Brazilian duo of Nicolas Massu and Andre Sa 6-3 4-6 6-2. Earlier yesterday in their semifinal face-off, they defeated second-seeded Swedish-German duo of Jonas Bjorkman and David Prinosil 6-4 7-5. Ramesh Krishnan is the only player from India to have won a title at the Japan Open, taking the men’s singles title in 1986. “We played another good match. They are not a typical doubles team, but they are very good baseliners, they both hit the ball very big from the baseline, and I think we did well with our volleys,” said Paes. “Especially in the third set, we volleyed really well, we were like a wall at the net. That’s the way we got better.” “We’ve been having some troubles winning matches,” said Bhupathi. “But this week, we had a lot of close matches, so I think we have a lot of confidence now”. “We are very happy, because it’s the first final this year. We’ve played only in five tournaments. We are playing well, we have a good chance,” added Bhupathi. Paes and Bhupathi were again mobbed by the Japanese fans. The duo are popular here partly because of Bhupathi’s winning mixed doubles record with Japanese partners. He won the 1997 French Open mixed doubles with Rika Hiraki and the us Open with ai Sugiyama last season. Paes and Bhupathi were also the finalists at the Australian Open and us Open last season, but have not reached a final this season. “I’m happy about that (reaching the final). I hope this is not the last one,” said Paes. |
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AI pip Bhutan XI; PSEB defeated GANGTOK, Oct 14 (PTI) — Air India defeated Bhutan XI 2-1 in a pre-quarter-final match while Baba National Sports Academy (BNSA), Kathmandu, scored a 2-0 win over Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB) at a first-round outing of the 22nd All India Governor’s Gold Cup Football Tournament here today. Bhutan XI went into the lead when W Dorji scored to make it 1-0, but Air India emerged winners with the help of a brace by Harbert Philips in each session of the first-paced match at the Paljor Stadium here. In the second game, Nepal’s Niranjan Raymajhi netted twice to secure his team’s berth at the pre-quarter final stage of the tournament. Air India team, which displayed its prowess in almost every sphere, conceded the first goal in the 36th minute. In a sudden move, Dorji’s diagonal grounder off Ugen’s cross defeated the Mumbai keeper to put the Bhutan team ahead (1-0) in the race. But the Mumbai team equalised in the very next minute through a counter attack, when Philips headed home a Khalid Jamil corner kick to make the score 1-1. Four minutes after the lemon break, Air India’s Tomba Singh outran the Bhutan defenders and chipped the ball diagonally to an unmarked Philips who made no mistake slotting it into the net to make it 2-1 and confirmed its position in the quarterfinal. In the second match, the Kathmandu team, which largely dominated the game, drew the first blood at the 23rd minute when Raymajhi’s grounder from a Sukra Tamang centre baffled the PSEB goalkeeper to make it 1-0. They increased the margin at the 45th minute when Raymajhi penetrated the ball the Punjab defence singularly with his speed and pushed the ball in. But his effort was blocked by the advancing opponent keeper. But he sent the deflected ball back to the goal again to make it (2-0). |
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Sinha to be new AITA chief NEW DELHI, Oct 14 — Come October 16, the All-India Tennis Association (AITA) will have a new set of office-bearers. Union Finance Minister Yashwant Singh will be the president while Delhi Tennis Association (DTA) secretary Anil Khanna will take charge as the secretary. Mr T.D. Francis of Kerala will remain as treasurer while a new post of joint secretary will be created. Mr Bharat Oja, secretary of the Maharashtra Lawn Tennis Association, will fill the new post. Besides, there will be eight vice-presidents (two from each zone) and 11 executive committee members. The vice-presidents would be president of the Karnataka State Tennis Association and Chief Minister of the state S.M. Krishna and N Kumar, president of the Tamil Nadu Tennis Association (South Zone), Mr Ganshyam Patel, president of the Maharashtra Lawn Tennis Association and Chintan Parekh of Gujarat (West Zone), Mr Manik Goswami (Bengal) and Mr Damodaran, an IAS officer of the Tripura cadre (East Zone) and Mr D.V. Bhatia, president of the Haryana Tennis Association and Mr B.P. Verma, vice-president of the Delhi Tennis Association and chairman of Customs and Central Excise (North Zone). On October 16, only the names of 11 executive committee members would be finalised. Outgoing AITA president Raj Kumar Khanna is likely to made the honorary life president (president emeritus) as all the other members of the new body have been elected by consensus. Secretary-elect Anil Khanna, who will be one of the youngest to occupy the office of one of the richest sports bodies in the country, nay in the world, has earned his spurs through the hard way, though the uncharitable says the “son also rises”, simply because he is the son of Mr R.K. Khanna. Anil Khanna told The Tribune that when he was elected the secretary of the Delhi Tennis Association in 1993 it was in the red. Now the DTA boasts of a fixed deposit of Rs 1 crore and has one of the finest tennis centres in the country. “The DTA and the Maharashtra Lawn Tennis Association hold half of the tennis tourneys in the country, and we do a dam good job of it”, Anil Khanna said as he gears up to step into the shoes of his illustrious father. Like father, like son. Did someone say? |
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IOB cagers champions GIDDERBAHA, Oct 14 — With sharp shooting skills and virtually complete domination on the court Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) cagers prevailed over the Indian Bank, Chennai by 62-49 and lifted the trophy and won a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh in the All-India invitation prize money basketball tournament which concluded in the Sri Ganga Ram Municipal Sports Stadium here last night. Indian Bank cagers got could cash prize of Rs 75,000. However, the clash of two teams disappointed the spectators as the players started quarrelling with each other on the court and coach of one team had to intervene. The IOB cagers started dominating the proceeding from the world go and took an early lead Gopinath and Robinson managed to score 19 and 15 points, respectively, for the IOB while Jaishanker and Sunny of Indian Bank collected 11 and 13 points for their team. For the third position, Punjab Police cagers routed by Western Railway by 88-54. The Western Railway were harried by the speeding attack of Parminder Singh (senior) of Punjab police who collected 31 points for his team and emerged highest scorer. By half time, the Punjab Police players were leading by 41-26. In the women’s section, the Ludhiana and Jalandhar ever were involved a neck-and-neck fight in the final and exchanged leads a number of times. The Ludhiana women, however, managed to lift the trophy and cash prize of Rs 50,000 defeating the Jalandhar women by 67-65. The Jalandhar eves established their domination on the court in the first half and managed to take lead of three points. After half time the Ludhiana women regrouped themselves well and played and excellent game. The Jalandhar women were awarded Rs 25,000 for their second position. Savitri and Kiran Dhillon of Ludhiana scored 27 and 19 points, respectively for their team will Reena and Sushma scored 22 and 16 points, respectively, for the rivals. Mr Janmeja Singh Sekhon, Irrigation Minister, and Mr Gurdas Singh Badal, former MP and Mr Parminder Singh Dhindsa gave away the prizes to the winners and runners-up. |
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Davenport cruises past Rubin ZURICH, Oct 14 (Reuters) — Second seeded American Lindsay Davenport cruised past compatriot Chanda Rubin 6-2 6-4 yesterday to move into the semifinals of the Swisscom Challenge and extend her unbeaten run in Switzerland to 19 matches. Davenport will now meet Austria’s Barbara Schett who brought third seed Nathalie Tauziat’s 15th appearance in Zurich to an end, stopping the veteran French woman 3-6 6-3 6-3. Sixth seed Jennifer Capriati, a winner in Luxembourg two weeks ago, continued to enjoy her run of late season form by battling past number four Anna Kournikova 7-6 6-4 and setting up a semifinal with world number one Martina Hingis. Davenport, sidelined since pulling out of the Sydney Olympics in the second round with an ankle injury, could not have picked a better spot to make a comeback. She has not lost a match in Switzerland since 1992. Since then, the Australian Open champion has been unbeatable on Swiss soil, winning back-to-back European Open titles in Lucerne in 1993 and 1994 and Zurich crowns in 1997 and 1998. |
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Lapentti, Schalken
advance to final TOKYO, Oct 14 (Reuters) — Nicolas Lapentti of Ecuador and Dutchman Sjeng Schalken won their Japan Open semifinals today to reach their first ATP Tour final of the year. Lapentti beat an error-prone Dominik Hrbaty of Slovakia 6-3 6-4 while Schalken earned a crack at the fourth seed by edging past Moroccan Hicham Arazi 4-6 6-3 7-6. Seventh seed Hrbaty made a dismal start with 10 unforced errors in the first three games. Lapentti then broke his opponent in the third game of the second set as he twice drew in Hrbaty and watched him strike easy volleys into the net. “It was a great feeling when he missed that last, easy volley,” Lapentti said. “I’ve been playing good tennis all through the week. Hopefully, I can play at the same level tomorrow.” Lapentti barely survived his first match of the tournament because of a stomach upset and has restricted his diet to an easily digestible combination of chicken, rice and toast to prevent the problem recurring. “If I win this week and next week at the tournament in Shanghai, I’m going to eat the same thing,” Lapentti said. Lapentti, currently 23rd in the ATP champions race, has beaten the smooth-swinging Schalken three times in their four meetings. Schalken, not so sharp from the baseline as he was in Friday’s quarter-final upset victory over his Wimbledon conqueror Mark Philippoussis, made fewer mistakes against Arazi — especially in the crucial deciding set tie-break which he took 9-7. The 12th-seeded Dutchman fought off two match points in the 12th game of the third set to force the tie-break and then found himself 4-2 down. But the tables turned as a lucky net cord went Schalken’s way and the eighth seed lost patience in the long rallies and made two unforced errors on the final four points. Top seed Julie Halard-Decugis of France reached her second successive women’s final by defeating fifth seed Tamarine Tanasugarn of Thailand 7-6 6-0. Halard-Decugis put pressure on Tanasugarn in the first set tie-break by taking her serve well within the baseline. She won it 7-5 then demolished her rival in the second set.
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Indian challenge
ends bangalore, Oct 14 (UNI) —The Indian challenge in the Yonex Gernman Open at Duisberg ended with Siddharth Jain Losing to German number one Oliver Ponggratx 15-8, 6-15, 9-15. Earlier Siddharth beat Belgian number one Rund Kuiten when the latter conceded the match with Siddharth up 12-5 in the first game. Abhin Shyam Gupta lost in the prequarters to Chen Yu of China 11-15, 12-15. |
2 Aussies, Kiwi
in race CHENNAI, Oct 14 (PTI) — Two Australians, Geoff Marsh and Dean Jones, and one New Zealander, John Wright, are in the running for the post of the coach of the Inidan cricket team. The three aspirants will have separate discussions with Indian board officials, including its chief, Mr AC Muthiah, and former president Raj Singh Dungarpur in Chennai on October 23. The name of the selected candidate is likely to be announced on the same day, Mr Muthiah told PTI on the telephone from Nairobi where he is watching the Indian team’s progress in the ICC Knockout Cricket Tournament. Wright is considered to be the frontrunner for the post. |
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Roller skating championships from November 3 PATIALA, Oct 14 — The 12th senior, junior and sub-junior Punjab State Roller Skating Championships will be held at the local Rink Hall from November 3 to 5, according to Mr
T.B.S. Gill, Vice-President of the Punjab Roller Skating Association. The championships will also act as selection trials to select the Punjab roller skating squad for the 38th National Roller Skating Championship slated to be held at Faridabad. Swimming championship Swimmers from BSF, CRPF, ITBP, CISF, Punjab Police, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan will take part in the two-day meet, said Mr H.S. Sidhu, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Patiala, who is also the chairman of the organising committee. The event is being organised in the memory of Late Arvinder Singh Brar, a former SSP of Patiala, who was killed by terrorists along with SP Late K.R.S. Gill on the premises of the NIS in 1987. Cash prizes will be given to the winners. Fourteen events will be held in both the men’s and women’s sections respectively. The event is being organised in collaboration with the Swimming Federation of India, the District Swimming Association and the District Administration. Punjab judo teams (Girls): Monica Deep,Rajni Walia, Priyanka Sharma, Ashu Goyal, Tejinder Kaur, Harpreet Kaur, Satnam Kaur and Gursharan Preet Kaur. Mr Surinder Singh Sodhi and Mr Ashok Kumar will be the coach and the manager of the team, respectively. |
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Unbeaten
93 by Hemant Dogra PATIALA, Oct 14 — Punjab bundled out Himachal
Pradesh for 210 on day one of the North Zone Cooch Behar Cricket
Tournament league match played at the Dhruv Pandove stadium here
today. Fast bowlers Gagandeep Singh (4 for 65) and Amit Uniyal (3 to 42) were the main tormenters for the visitors. For Himachal Pradesh, the only bright patch was provided by a defiant unbeaten 93 by Hemant Dogra who ran out of partners before he could reach the three figure mark. In
reply, at stumps, the hosts had piled up 134 for 1 with opener
Gaganinder Garry scoring a half century. Brief Scores: Himachal
Pradesh: Ist Innings — 210 all out (Hemant Dogra 93 n.o, Kushagar
Sharma 33, Anil Sharma 30, Hitesh Angrish 23, Gagandeep Singh 4 for
65, Amit Uniyal 3 for 42, Gautam Mandora 2 for 39, Sandeep Sanwal 1
for 49) Punjab: Ist Innings — 134 for 1 (Binwant Singh 43 n.o, S.P.
Singh 26, Gagandeep Garry 50)
Swimming championship Sujit Mukherjee of BSF stole the honours by winning the 200m freestyle event in the 4th All India Avinder Singh Brar memorial swimming championships, which commenced at the NIS swimming pool here today. Results: 200m freestyle-men: Sujit Mukherjee (BSF)-1, Hitendra Tokas (Delhi)-2, Jaspreet Singh (Punjab)-3 200m freestyle-women: Kiran Tokas (Delhi)-1, Gurbinder Kaur (Punjab)-2, Rupinderjit Kaur (Punjab)3. 50m Breast Stroke-men: Harinder Singh (BSF)-1, Puneet Rana (Surat Kumar Singh)-2. 50m Breast Stroke-women: Ritti Parmar (Punjab)-1, Jyoti Sharma (Delhi)-2, Madhumita Batul (NIS)-3. Earlier,
the two-day meet was inaugurated by the DGP Mr Sarabjit Singh. |
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Chandigarh eves
triumph NEW DELHI, Oct 14 (UNI) — Pune’s Krida Prabodhini overpowered G.V. Raja Sports School, Trivandrum, 4-0 to qualify for the superleague of the 7th Nehru Girls Hockey Tournament here today. In another match, Poonam slammed six goals, including a hattrick as Govt. Girls Secondary School, Chandigarh, thrashed St. Anthony High School, Bardez (Goa), 14-0 after leading 8-0 at half time. Krida Prabodhini scored two goals in each half against Trivandrum team to top group-I. In a slow-paced match, the Pune school surged ahead in the 3rd minute through Anita Sul who scored off a penalty corner. Just before the breather, Anita Sul converted another penalty corner to score her and team’s second goal. |
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