 |
|
| Friday,
November 3, 2000, Chandigarh, India   
|
British detectives to visit India Azhar a major link for underworld ‘Problem worse than most thought’ Lara, Waugh refute charges |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Aussie media hails report CBI remarks unwarranted,
says Muthiah Lanka seeks India’s help Wright appointed
coach BCCI functioning must be transparent Indian men draw with Hungary Stage set for IOA elections Kammann lead
National Games Safin crushes Santoro Services slump to
168-run defeat Neelam lifts gold
|
|
British detectives to visit India LONDON, Nov 2 (DPA) — British detectives are to fly to India this week investigate allegations that the former England cricket captain Alec Stewart was paid to provide match information to an illegal Indian bookmaker, according to a report in the Times newspaper. The team, led by former top London officer Paul Condon, who now heads the International Cricket Board’s anti-corruption unit, will investigate allegations that Stewart received $ 7,500 from bookmaker Mukesh Kumar Gupta during England’s 1993 tour to India and Sri Lanka. The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said yesterday it had accepted a denial from Stewart, vice-captain on the tour in question, and would not withdraw him from the current tour of Pakistan. Stewart (37) who has played 102 Tests and 137 one-day internationals, refused to comment publicly on the allegations. The decision not to suspend Stewart has caused controversy in England, especially as Lord MacLaurin, the ECB chairman, called only weeks ago for the suspension of several Pakistan Test players facing allegations of irregularities involving bookmakers. Ramiz Raja, a former Test batsman, who is now a member of the Pakistan Cricket Board, said: “Lord MacLaurin pushed his nose into our affairs at the start of the tour and it was wrong for him to do so. He should clear his own house before worrying about others. His comments were ill-timed and without justification. You should need proof before you hang somebody.’’ Graeme Wright, the editor of Wisden, said that Lord MacLaurin’s reputation had been damaged by his “crassly insensitive’’ comments. The 162-page report into corruption in cricket compiled by India’s Central Bureau of Investigation includes a claim by Gupta that Stewart was introduced to the bookmaker by Indian player Manoj Prabhakar and received £ 5,000 during the 1993 tour to give advice on weather, pitch conditions and team morale and composition. The ECB has proposed that Condon should be asked to look into the claims on behalf of all the cricket boards involved. Condon is sending a five-member team from his unit, including three former Scotland Yard detectives, to India to investigate the allegations and will also eventually interview Stewart. ”People want to believe it (cricket) is all about skill, courage and heroic endeavour and not about some seedy conversation in dingy hotel rooms or on mobile phones,’’ Condon said. He emphasised it was not his task to dispense justice, which was up to the ICC or the boards in the individual countries. |
|
Azhar a major link for underworld NEW DELHI, Nov 2 (UNI) — Former captain Mohammed Azharuddin has surfaced as a major link for the underworld mafia operation in match-fixing and betting in India, the CBI investigation into the worst-ever cricketing scandal has indicated. The investigation has revealed the involvement of at least two top underworld dons — Anees Ibrahim, brother of Dawood Ibrahim, and Abu Salem — who are wanted in the country in connection with many heinous crimes including Bombay bomb blasts, and the close proximity of Azhar with them. Azhar was apparently ‘doing’ (fixing) matches for Anees Ibrahim, the investigation revealed. Even former team physio Ali Irani, who worked as a conduit for the former captain, has been quoted by the agency in its report as saying that Azhar had told him once that "he was ‘doing’ matches for Anees Ibrahim and hence, he cannot ‘do’ with anyone else.’’ However, the agency failed to establish the exact number of matches that Azhar fixed for the underworld don, operating from Dubai, a destination close to Sharjah where Indian team has been frequently visiting in connection with frequent tournaments. The one-time sturdy middle-order batsman was even contacted by rival underworld don Abu Salem for ‘doing’ matches for him. But Azhar, apparently, turned down the order as he was already ‘working’ for Anees Ibrahim. The CBI report said: “The evidence against Azharuddin clearly establishes the fact that he took money from bookies/punters to fix cricket matches and also the fact that the ‘underworld’ had approached him to fix matches for them.” The 162-page CBI report, made public yesterday, has warned that if no corrective and concrete steps were taken immediately, the Dubai-based underworld mafia would spread their
tentacles in the betting syndicate and would soon control the whole operations. CBI said: “There are clear signals that the underworld mafias have started taking interest in the betting racket and can be expected to take overall control of the activity, if checked immediately with a firm hand.” The CBI inquiry report said it appears that what may have been small-time wagering (which to some extent is inevitable) has now been replaced by an organised syndicate, and this syndicate has started interfering with the purity of the game. “It has been the negligence of the police and other regulatory authorities, that has allowed wagering to turn into an organised racket, particularly with the involvement of the underworld mafia,” the bureau noted. The game has lost a considerable degree of credibility already, and it will be a matter of national shame if the problems which are, to some extent apparent from the evidence gathered and narrated in the report, are not immediately and decisively resolved. Azhar told CBI officials that MK had offered him Rs 1.25 crore but the deal did not materialise. “However, the statement of MK corroborated by Ajay Sharma clearly indicates that Azhar was paid at least Rs 50 lakh initially by MK to ‘fix’ matches. MK has further said he was introduced to Dr Ali Irani by Azhar during the Ahmedabad Test against South Africa in 1996. Dr Irani has corroborated this statement. MK is categorical that some money was paid to Azhar through Dr Irani who, accepting the fact, disclosed that he used to receive a commission of Rs 25,000 to Rs 50,000 from Azhar for
receiving such payments which were running into lakhs, on each occasion. The payment of money through Dr Irani has been further corroborated by the statement of Anil Steel, the Mumbai-based bookie and an associate of MK, who has stated that on two occasions he made payments of around Rs 20-25 lakh each to Dr Irani at Nanawati Hospital, on behalf of MK. Azhar has accepted that he met Ajay Gupta, a bookie, to seek his help in getting a petrol outlet allotted at Bangalore, but later on admitted that Ajay Gupta approached him to ‘fix’ matches. Ajay Sharma stated that on one occasion he had collected Rs 15 lakh from Ajay Gupta on Azharuddin’s behalf and deposited the money in the locker of Azhar at Hotel Taj Palace through the then Food and Beverages Manager, Anil Saxena, who corroborated the fact. The nexus between Azhar and Ajay Gupta is further corroborated through their cell phone print outs which disclose frequent calls between Azhar and Ajay Gupta and his brother Ameesh Gupta especially during matches. Azhar in his statement accepted that he was provided a cell phone - 98111-50860 by the Guptas. Further, he also accepted that Ameesh Gupta paid for his shopping at “Harrods” at London in 1999 during the World Cup. There is more documentary evidence in the form of hotel bills paid by bookie Nishit Goel for Azhar’s stay at Hotel Taj Palace on two occasions — on February 2, 2000 and February 8, 2000. The total amount paid by Nishit Goel to Hotel Taj on the aforesaid occasions is around Rs 37,000. Finally, Azhar in his statement has specifically recalled that he ‘did’ the match between India and Pakistan at Jaipur for the Guptas during the Pepsi Cup match, 1999, after which he received around Rs 10 lakh from an “unknown” person, on behalf of Guptas. |
|
‘Problem worse than most thought’ SYDNEY, Nov 2 (Reuters) — The new president of the International Cricket Council (ICC) said today he feared the worst may still be to come in the match-fixing scandal that has plunged the sport into a deepening crisis. Australia’s Malcolm Gray told a local radio station he believed a damming Indian police report into cricket corruption suggested the problem was worse than most people thought. “I would think we’re getting to the bottom of it now but I can assure you that it is a lot deeper and has been a lot deeper and broader than anybody realised or expected,“ Gray said. “It is another knock to cricket... and I suspect in the future we might get hit with more bad news.” Gray would not comment on specific allegations in the Indian Central Bureau of Investigation’s (CBI’s) report into match-fixing but said the claims had already damaged the game’s battered reputation. “Obviously it’s terribly disappointing for everybody involved in cricket although we all knew that the CBI, who we believe are doing a wonderful job, have been working on this for some time so it wasn’t unexpected,” Gray said.
|
Lara, Waugh refute charges BRIDGETOWN (Barbados), Nov 2 (AP) — West Indies batsman Brian Lara has refuted charges by an Indian bookmaker who has claimed he had paid him to “underperform” during two one-day matches in India in 1994. “I categorically deny taking money from a bookmaker or anyone else to underperform,” Lara said in a statement issued by the West Indies Cricket Board secretariat in St. John’s, Antigua yesterday. Team manager Ricky Skerritt told the Associated Press from the team’s hotel at London’s Heathrow Airport that Lara was unfazed by the claims that had been first hinted at in newspaper reports in Jamaica before the team’s departure Tuesday. “Brian is in great spirits,” Skerritt said. “He is aware of it, we have spoken about it and, as far as he’s concerned, it never happened. He’s not even prepared to discuss it further.” SYDNEY (Reuters): Australia batsman Mark Waugh denied today a claim by an Indian bookmaker that he had been paid $ 20,000 at a tournament in Hong Kong in exchange for pitch and team information. “I’d just like to say that the unsubstantiated allegations from India are totally untrue,” Waugh said at the Australia team’s training camp in Queensland. “All my evidence is there but of course I’m willing to co-operate if there are any further investigations with the ACB or the ICC.” WELLINGTON: New Zealand Cricket Board said today it may set up its own investigation into corruption allegations made in CBI on report. The Indian cricket board has been asked for a copy of the report, chief executive Christopher Doig said in a statement. “If it contains matters requiring further investigation, we will put in place mechanisms to deal with it,” Doig said in a statement. The Indian report named nine former international captains, including New Zealand’s Martin Crowe, among prominent cricketers accused of links of one sort or another with bookmakers. ICC investigators are to visit India later this week to follow up the Indian claims of corruption. Crowe has admitted taking money for information which he gave to a bookmaker he thought was a journalist paying him for a series of articles. COLOMBO: Arjuna Ranatunga today denied involvement while the Sri Lankan Cricket Board expressed shock and disbelief that two of its celebrated players have been linked with match-fixing in the game. “The reference to me in the newspaper articles is entirely false. I have had no dealing whatsoever with any bookmaker or been offered or accepted any bribe from any bookmaker or any other person. Had any offer of a bribe been made to me at any time, I would have promptly reported the matter to the appropriate authorities,” said the retired skipper in a statement. But no word was forthcoming from Aravinda De Silva, the former vice-captain, whose name also figures in the
CBI report made public in Delhi yesterday officials said D Silva was seeking legal advice. Meanwhile, President of the Board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka Thilanga Sumatipala has asked from the Indian authorities a full reports and relevant authenticated transcripts of evidence. He has written a letter to this effect to Dr
A. C. Muthiah, BCCI President. |
|
Aussie media hails report SYDNEY, Nov 2 (PTI) — The Australian media today hailed the efforts of the CBI and credited it with lifting the lid off the match-fixing scandal. Praising the report, made public yesterday in New Delhi, Peter Roebuck in his column in the Sydney Morning Herald writes, “Patently, the Indian detectives have carried out their tasks thoughtfully and skilfully. “Cricket is in their debt. Certainly they have exposed the prejudices of those who scorned them in the early days. They intended to publish their conclusions only about Indian players, most of whom have already been dropped like the proverbial hot potato. Anything else is beyond their remit”. The daily reported that the CBI intends to pass information about other players to Sir Paul Condon, former London Metropolitan Police Commissioner appointed by the International Cricket Council, the game’s governing body, to investigate the matter. Australian Cricket Board (ACB) chief executive Malcolm Speed has reacted cautiously to Indian bookmaker Mukesh Gupta’s claims saying, “The board would make no decisions about a further inquiry until it had seen the report in full. Should the report contain any new evidence or credible allegation against an Australian player, then it would be investigated”. Meanwhile, the ACB is likely to launch an investigation into claims that Test batsman Mark Waugh was paid five times more than he disclosed in confessing his dealings with Gupta. |
|
CBI remarks unwarranted, says Muthiah MUMBAI, Nov 2 (PTI) — Cricket board President A.C. Muthiah today said the statements made against the board in the CBI report on betting and match-fixing were “absolutely unwarranted and lacked accuracy”. Muthiah told reporters that BCCI, after serving the game sincerely for all these years, did not deserve such comments. “We will study the report in detail and the board will spare no efforts to take suitable action as per our regulations”. The board, as the controlling body of cricket in India, would make all efforts to save the game of cricket from the evils of betting and match-fixing. The board members were committed to the common goal of clean and untainted cricket in India, he added. Muthiah said H Madhavan, former CBI additional commissioner, appointed by the board as probe committee in-charge, would go through the report and recommend the course of action to be taken against the guilty players within 15 days. “icc’s anti-corruption investigating officer Paul Condon would visit India to look into the allegations made by
CBI against foreign players including Alec Stewart of England.” |
|
Lanka seeks India’s help COLOMBO, Nov 2 (AFP) — Sri Lanka has asked India to help probe allegations that World Cup-winning skipper Arjuna Ranatunga and his deputy Aravinda De Silva were involved in match-fixing, officials said today. Sri Lanka’s Board of Control for Cricket (BCCSL) asked its Indian counterpart for copies of a report published yesterday by the CBI that probed corruption in cricket. “The BCCSL requires to obtain immediately a copy of the 162-page report and relevant authenticated transcripts of evidence,” said Sri Lanka’s cricket chief Thilanga Sumathipala in a letter to Indian cricket chief A.C. Muthiah. Sri Lanka’s Ranatunga, 36, who retired from international cricket in August, said he had never had any dealings with bookmakers nor was he ever offered money to throw matches. “Had any offer of a bribe been made to me at any time I would have promptly reported the matter to the appropriate authorities,” Ranatunga said in a one-paragraph statement issued here yesterday. He was reacting to allegations in India that he and his deputy, Aravinda De Silva, accepted bribes to fix matches. “The references to me in the Indian newspaper articles are entirely false,” he said. There was no immediate reaction from De Silva, who is still playing Test cricket for Sri Lanka. A bookmaker, Mr Mukesh Gupta, had claimed in a testimony published in CBI report that Ranatunga and De Silva helped him fix an Indian victory in the Lucknow Test in 1994. Mr Gupta had said De Silva was paid $ 15,000, but it was not immediately clear if there were any direct allegations against Ranatunga, who led Sri Lanka to World Cup victory in 1996. Mr Sumathipala said the Indian report had not made it clear which of the Sri Lankan players had taken money or turned down offers of bribes. “The two cricketers are highly respected and loved by the Sri Lankan public and the BCCSL is quite concerned to have this matter expeditiously and correctly examined,” Mr Sumathipala said. Sri Lanka’s Cricket Board in July set up an independent panel to investigate and prevent match-fixing, which is plaguing the sport world-wide. The board appointed a five-member panel headed by a retired Supreme Court judge to draft a code of conduct for players. Sri Lanka’s Cricket Board president Sumathipala said at the time that his country had been spared allegations of match fixing but he wanted the panel to recommend ways and means to ensure that it did not creep into the game here. “We want to have a committee that will make recommendations and we hope to publish them and also go to the ICC and ask them to adopt such systems to prevent the fraud of match-fixing,” Mr Sumathipala said. Wright appointed coach MUMBAI, Nov 2 (PTI) — The availability factor went in favour of former New Zealand skipper John Wright, who was appointed Indian cricket team coach, ahead of other two contenders Australians Geoff Marsh and Greg Chappell, the board President A. C. Muthiah said here today. Speaking to reporters, Muthiah said Wright would take over from Anshuman Gaekwad after the one-off Test against Bangladesh on a year’s contract, which could be renewable. “Wright would be getting more or less the same as the Indian players plus the boarding and lodging when he is here,” he said adding “there will be no assistant coach under Wright”. When queried about the other two Australian contenders for the job, Muthiah said former Aussie opener Marsh could not spare the time the board wanted while Chappell had demanded a very high price.
|
|
BCCI functioning must be transparent CHANDIGARH, Nov 2 — Friday’s meeting between the Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports, Mr Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, and the president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Dr A.C. Muthiah, in New Delhi might well turn out to be a turning point the way the game of cricket is conducted in India. Convened ostensibly to discuss the course of action against Indian cricketers indicted in the CBI report on “cricket match-fixing and related malpractices” which was released to the Press in New Delhi yesterday, it is quite possible that Mr Dhindsa will do some plain speaking on the way the BCCI is conducting its affairs. The issue of match-fixing has not only sullied the name of the board but has also brought a bad name to the country. Ever since the issue of match-fixing became public shortly after the South Africans left India after playing a series of Test and one-day matches in the country, the BCCI ostrich-like has refused to accept the fact that leading cricketers had indeed indulged in betting and match-fixing. This aspect also finds mention in the CBI report which says inter alia that “although there is no concrete evidence to suggest the direct involvement of any of the members of the BCCI in match-fixing, their resolute indifference does give rise to suspicions that there was perhaps more than what meets the eye.” It may be recalled that it was on Mr Dhindsa’s insistence that players like Mohammad Azharuddin, Ajay Jadeja, Nayan Mongia etc were not considered for national selection when the national squad went to Nairobi for the ICC Knockout Tournament and later to Sharjah for the three-nation championship. At that time only the needle of suspicion was pointed towards these players. Subsequently, the players were indeed indicted in the CBI report. Certain people point to the fact that in case the BCCI had taken stringent action after that infamous Kanpur match against the West Indies in 1990-91 against both Manoj Prabhakar and Nayan Mongia then it was quite possible that the issue of match-fixing would have been nipped in the bud. Instead of slapping a ban on the players as certain national selectors had then demanded, the board allowed the players to play in the team after a token ban of two matches. This was hardly the deterrent needed to tackle the menace of match-fixing. By not taking action immediately after the Kanpur incident a certain amount of the blame must be laid on the functionaries of the BCCI. The CBI report said the player-bookie nexus had thrived in India for nearly a decade but the BCCI maintained silence or was not aware of the happenings. “The board has been negligent in not preventing match-fixing and related malpractices in cricket in spite of clear signals about the malaise. This is mainly due to the fact that, for most office-bearers of BCCI, running the board is an end in itself and the future of cricket is only incidental, ” the report says. Mr Dhindsa must ask Dr Muthiah to make the functioning of the BCCI more transparent and all commercial deals finalised by the board must be made public. Moreover, he can ask the board that it should employ the players selected for national duty as also a certain number of probables on an annual contract basis so that they are answerable to the board. By doing so an eye can be kept on the income of the players as also their income tax returns. More important than making the functioning of the board more transparent, steps should be taken to monitor the functioning of the various state associations affiliated to the board. The working of the state associations is pathetic except for a few centres like Mumbai, Calcutta, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka etc where the voting right is mainly given to cricket clubs. In most of the other associations the constitutions are framed in such a way that it is the life members who hold sway in the elections year after year. There is no criteria for the appointment of life members and therefore the functionaries of these associations continue in office for long periods. Most of the state associations have collected large sums of money by conducting international matches. State units which are not allotted international matches are given substantial subsidy by the board every year. But the question is: how much do these associations spend on cricketing activities by way of conducting coaching camps, providing infrastructure and facilities to the players? It is these aspects which Dr Muthiah and Mr Dhindsa should examine. In any case the BCCI and the government could agree to appoint a firm of chartered accountants to examine all the accounts of the state associations as well as the board on an annual basis. By this way the transfer of money from the apex unit to the state units and its accounts can be maintained better. The BCCI constitution should be the model on which the constitutions of the state units should be drafted. The BCCI has a rotation system for its office-bearers who can serve for a specific term. Why not extend this system to the state units as well? |
|
Indian men draw with Hungary ISTANBUL, Nov 2 (PTI) — Grandmaster Abhijit Kunte outplayed highly rated GM Zoltan Almasi as Indian men drew 2-2 against a formidable Hungarian team in the fifth round of the 34th Chess Olympiad being played here. The women had another reversal today when they went down to Bulgaria 0.5-2.5. Germany retained their top position in the men’s event with a hard earned 3-1 victory over Israel which took their tally to 16.5 points. Russia scored a thumping 3.5-0.5 win over Brazil to shoot into the second spot. India with 13.5 points were placed joint sixth. In the women’s event, China beat Kazakhstan 2.5-0.5 and joined Georgia at the top with 12 points. Indian women are poorly placed on 8 points. Abhijit played a fine attacking game today to oust Almasi on the second board and gave his team a very desirable lead. With white pieces, Abhijit opened with the king pawn and the game took shape in a Ruy Lopez. In the middlegame, Abhijit sensed some attack on the kingside and opened a whole lot of options by deploying his queen rook over to the kingside. Almasi remained unfazed by Abhijit’s heroics and continued his counter-attack on the queenside. On the 27th move Abhijit sacrificed a bishop to rip open the king position. Since taking the bishop was futile, Almasi tried controlling the centre but his position was already beyond repair. The knock-out punch was delivered by Abhijit on his 31st turn. On the top board, GM Krishanan Sasikiran went down fighting to GM Peter Leko. Leko, who matches wits with the likes of Anand, Kasparov and Kramnik, was amazed with the Indian’s opening preparation and deep positional sense. In the Sicilian Scheveningen opted by Sasikiran with black pieces, Leko went for Keres attack and got a routine position. In the middlegame, Sasikiran sacrificed a piece and looked better at one stage as he had four pawns as compensation for the lost material. Leko had to sweat hard but in the end his immense experience at top level came to his rescue. After 79 moves Sasikiran called it a day. On third board, rising sensation IM Pendalya Harikrishna continued to impress with an easy draw against GM Guala Sax. In his pet French defence, Harikrishan obtained easy equality soon after the opening and as he deployed his forces on the right squares, Sax had no option but to go for exchange of queens. The position was unclear when Sax offered the draw by inviting for queens trade but Harikrishna agreed to the truce. On the fourth board IM D.V. Prasad drew with R. Ruck to guide India to another impressive result. Prasad did not get much from his unconventional move order against the Sicilian defence and the pieces got exchanged in tandem once the game entered middlegame. In the ensuing endgame Ruck had the bishop pair advantage but Prasad closed all entries before signing the peace after 41 moves. WGM Vijayalakshmi drew with M Voiska on the top board on an otherwise tough day for Indian women. Viji played the Engilsh opening with white pieces and faced a set-up akin to the Kings Indian defence. After getting a slight edge in the middlegame, Viji pressed hard for victory but timely exchange of pieces by her opponent saw advantage slipping from her end and the game entered rook and pawns endgame where Viji had a pawn deficit. However, the Bulgarian did not press much and settled for a draw with exchange of rooks. On board two, Subbaraman Meenakshi fell in a well-known opening trap and allowed S Aleksieva to seize the initiative very early. After defending a passive position for a long time, Meenakshi finally succumbed to the pressure and lost the game in 36 moves. Pallavi Shah’s lacklustre play in the opening cost her dearly as E Djingarova launched an offence against her king in the middlegame arising out of a Sicilian defence where the former was white. The game lasted only 24 moves. |
|
Stage set for IOA elections NEW DELHI, Nov 2 — Mr Suresh Kalmadi and Mr Randhir Singh are likely to be “unanimously” re-elected president and secretary-general, respectively of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) at its annual general meeting at the Nehru Stadium here tomorrow, as Haryana Olympic Association president, Mr Abhay Singh Chautala, has decided not to force a contest. It is reliably learnt that Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports, Mr Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, played the peacekeeping role in bringing together the warring factions to ensure peaceful and unanimous election to the apex sports body. Mr Kalmadi, Mr Randhir Singh and Mr Abhay Singh were closeted with Mr Dhindsa for long hours on Tuesday at his Shastri Bhawan office, where the “truce” between Mr Kalmadi and Mr Abhay Singh was reportedly worked out. Had Mr Abhay Singh decided to force a contest for the post of president, things would have taken a difficult course, but Mr Dhindsa’s counsel seemed to have prevailed, and all have agreed to maintain “status quo”. “My basic difference was about the way the IOA was being run”, Abhay Singh said, when contacted by The Tribune. “We have sorted out our differences”, he added. If everything goes as per plan, the old team of Kalmadi and Randhir would be retained, with some changes here and there among other office-bearers. Mr Abhay Singh will be one of the senior vice-presidents while Mr Raj Chopra, president of the Delhi Olympic Association, will keep his job as treasurer. Yet, one major point of difference has not been resolved — as to who would replace the late Raja Bhalendra Singh in the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Raja Bhalendra Singh, along with former super cop, Mr Ashwani Kumar, had been the permanent representatives in the IOC from India. Mr Randhir Singh is reportedly keen to fill the vacancy in the IOC, caused by the death of his father Raja Bhalendra Singh. But according to sources, former IOA president Mr B Sivanti Adityan may make it to the IOC if incumbent member Ashwani Kumar’s recommendation is accepted by the IOC. “But it’s not necessary that the IOC would accept his recommendation”, remarked the source. If IOA’s recommendation prevails, Randhir or another candidate of his choice may make it to the IOC. Mr Abhay Singh was reportedly given the option of recommending anybody he wanted to the IOA executive to buy peace, but he has reportedly declined the offer as he wanted everything to go off smoothly. And a “unanimous” election of the office-bearers to the IOA tomorrow looks to be on the cards, though nothing can be said with any certainty, with so many ruling party politicians at the Centre heading various sports federations. Mr Dhindsa himself is president of the Cycling Federation of India, and would certainly like to have a bigger say in the running of the IOA. Mr Kalmadi also reportedly enjoys the support of former IOA presidents Adityan and Mr Vidya Charan Shukla, to give him a slight edge over any other probable challenger. |
|
Kammann lead NEW DELHI, Nov 2 — American Scott Kammann made a spectacular eagle putt from 100 feet on the final hole to take a two-stroke lead over India’s Arjun Atwal and Ali Sher after the opening round of the $200,000 Hero Honda Masters, which began at the Arnold Palmer-designed DLF Golf and Country Club in Gurgaon today. Kammann, not very known in the Asian circuit, finished the day at six-under-66. The Wills Indian Open winning duo of Atwal and Ali Sher was at four-under 68 followed by Gaurav Ghei, Uttam Singh Mundy, Andrew Pitts, Chris Hansucker and Clay Devers (all three from the USA) at three-under 69. Atwal’s first birdie came on the third hole when he almost aced the par-3 with an 8-iron tee shot which stopped about five inches shy of the cup. He then birdied the sixth and seventh and played par before three-putting for his only bogey of the day on the par-3 16th. |
|
Klusener guides SA to victory DURBAN, Nov 2 (AFP) — Lance Klusener hit two successive sixes as South Africa completed their fourth successive win over New Zealand in a rain-hit fifth limited overs international at Kingsmead here. Klusener made an unbeaten 41 off 18 balls as South Africa won by six wickets with nine balls to spare after being set a stiff target under the Duckworth-Lewis scoring method yesterday. Jacques Kallis played the anchor role for South Africa, making 50 not out off 80 balls. New Zealand had struggled to 114 for five off 32.4 overs in an innings interrupted twice by rain but South Africa had to make 153 off 32 overs, with the target being revised upwards to make allowance for the curtailment of the New Zealand innings. The task looked difficult on a pitch which helped seam bowlers until Klusener joined Kallis and cut loose. Klusener hit three fours in an over from Geoff Allott, then finished the match with two successive sixes off Shayne O’Connor. Kallis won the man of the match award. Apart from his crucial innings he held two slip catches and took his 100th limited overs international wicket in his 113th match. New Zealand were sent in to bat in seam-friendly conditions after rain delayed the start by half an hour. New Zealand: (innings closed due to rain) C. Nevin c Kallis b Pollock 0 N. Astle c Kallis b Donala 3 S. Fleming lbw b Ntini 21 R. Twose b Kallis 38 C. Cairns not out 25 C. McMillan c Boucher b Ntini 3 C. Harris not out 9 Extras (lb-14, w-1) 15 Total (5 wkts, 32.4 overs) 114 Falls: 1/2, 2/8, 3/71, 4/73, 5/81 Bowling: Pollock 6-2-22-1, Donald 6-3-11-1, Ntini 8-2-21-2, Kallis 6-1-14-1, Klusener 4-0-26-0, Hall 2.4-1-6-0. South Africa: D. Cullinan lbw b Allott 7 G. Kirsten c Parore b Cairns 3 J. Kallis not out 50 N. Boie c Harris b Astle 29 J. Rhodes b Astle 19 L. Klusener not out 41 Extras (lb-1, nb-1, w-7) 9 Total (4 wkts. 30.3 overs) 158 Fall of wickets: 1/11, 2/11, 3/76, 4/100. Bowling: Allott 6-1-38-1, Cairns 7-0-29-1, O’Connor 5.3-1-22-0, Styris 6-0-27-0, Astle 5-0-32-2, McMillian 1-0-9-0. |
|
National Games CHANDIGARH, Nov 2 — Competitions in tennis, water sports and golf in the forthcoming National Games, scheduled to be conducted by the Punjab Olympic Association in March next, will be held in Chandigarh. This was confirmed by Mr J.P. Singh, Joint Secretary, Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, who was here in the city today. However, the shooting events of the games will not be held here. This event, in all probability, will be conducted at S.A.S. Nagar. In an informal chat with The Tribune, Mr J. P. Singh appreciated the facilities provided by the Chandigarh Lawn Tennis Association Stadium in Sector 10. He lauded the efforts of Mr Rajan Kashyap, Chairman CLTA, for taking private initiative in making this centre a model for others. Mr J.P. Singh, who is the Chief Vigilance Officer of the Sports Authority of India, said that in India the annual allocation for sports was very low but informed but hoped that private participation would lessen the burden on the Government. He said that the Union Sports Minister, Mr Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, was taking deep interest in sports and was taking every project very seriously. He said that now Punjab was getting facelift in sports with new infrastructure coming up for the National Games. Even the Punjab Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, wanted all preparation for the National games to be speeded up. On the question of allowing 100 per cent tax exemption to sports, Mr J.P. Singh said the same should be availed by all but the procedure of getting exemption was not known to all. He said that tie-ups with various corporate bodies like CII, ASSOCHAM, PHDCCI etc had been made and "we want the top industrial houses of the country to come forward to adopt at least one sport discipline." Mr J. P. Singh was accompanied by Mr Vishwajeet Khanna, Special Secretary, Sports, and one of the key organisers of the National Games. Later in the evening Mr J.P. Singh met Mr Parkash Singh Badal, along with Mr
M. M. Puri, a former Vice- Chancellor of Panjab University and Mr Kanwaljit Singh of GND University,
Amritsar. |
|
Safin crushes Santoro STUTTGART, (Germany), Nov 2 (Reuters) — Top seed Marat Safin, tired of losing to Fabrice Santoro, crushed the Frenchman 6-2 6-4 yesterday to reach the third round of the Stuttgart Masters Series. Defending champion Thomas Enqvist, the fifth seed, fell to his own bete noire when he lost 6-2 7-5 to South African Wayne Ferreira, who has now beaten the Swede his all their five meetings. Russian Safin was eager to improve on his embarrassing record against Santoro, who had won all four of their previous encounters, the most recent in the first round of the Sydney Olympics. “I just had to convince myself that I had everything to beat him,” said the towering 20-year-old, regarded as the future of men’s tennis since his demolition of Pete Sampras in the US Open final in September. “I got scared every time we played but I just couldn’t let him drive me crazy. He was the only player in the world to have that sort of record against me. It had to be stopped.” |
Services slump to
168-run defeat NEW DELHI, Nov 2 (UNI) — Former champion Delhi handed a humiliating 168-run defeat to Services on fourth and last day of its North Zone Ranji Trophy this morning. Resuming at their overnight score of 83 for eight, the last two Service’s batsmen offered no resistance, adding only 16 runs to their total to be all out for 99 in their second essay to leave the hosts winners by a comfortable margin Ashish Nehra, who had destroyed the Services second innings fittingly picked up the last wicket to fall, at 99, to end with innings bowling figures of six for 31. Overnight batsmen Sanjay Verma and Syed Javed carried the score from 83 to 98 before the latter was run out. Scoreboard Delhi (1st innings): 256. Services (1st innings): 224. Delhi (2nd innings): 235. Services (2nd innings): Narender Singh c Devender b Nehra 3, Harish Bhaskar c Sehwag b Bhandari 6, Pankaj Maitrey c Devender b Nehra 0, Sarabjeet Singh b Bhandari 0, Sanjay Verma not out 29, Amit Nadkarni lbw Nehra 5, K.K Dixit c Devender b Nehra 8, Sudhakar Ghag b Nehra 0, M.V Rao b Sanghvi 21, Syed Javed run out 4, Arun Sharma b Nehra 0. Extras: 6 (b-1, lb-5). Total: (in 31.5 overs) 99. Fall of wkts: 1-5, 2-9, 3-9, 4-9, 5-19, 6-37, 7-37, 8-82, 9-98. Bowling: Amit Bhandari 8-1-34-2, Ashish Nehra 12.5-6-31-6, Rahul Sanghvi 8-4-14-1, Nikhil Chopra 3-1-14-0. |
Neelam lifts gold SHIMLA, Nov 2 — Neelam of Haryana lifted the gold medal in the 63 kgs girls category of the Junior National Judo Championship here today, Arundati of Manipur won silver and Satnam of Punjab won bronze. This is the first National Judo Championship being played in Himachal Pradesh. As many as 22 teams of girls and 23 of boys from 23 states are participating in the championship. Sandeep Kumar of Delhi won gold medal in the 73 kgs boys category, while Vikender Singh of Haryana won the silver. In the 66 kgs boys category, Jagbir Singh of Haryana lifted gold medal and Rambachan Yadav of UP bagged silver. Devinder Wagle of MP and Malkiat Singh of Punjab won bronze medals. Nirupama Devi of Manipur won gold in the 57 kgs girls category, while Jyotsna of Chandigarh got silver. Nidhi of Haryana and Rupali of Maharashtra won
bronze. In the 55-kg boys category, Balrad Dhaiya of Haryana won gold and Navdeep of Punjab lifted silver. Mahesh Saini of UP and Sanjeev of Chandigarh lifted bronze. |
 |
| 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 | |
