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| Saturday, November 4, 2000, Chandigarh, India   
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BCCI suspends 5 players No decision on stripping players of Arjuna Awards NEW DELHI, Nov 3 — The Board of Control for Cricket in India has suspended the five players — Mohd Azharuddin, Ajay Jadeja, Ajay Sharma, Nayan Mongia and Manoj Prabhakar — indicted in the Central Bureau of Investigation report on match-fixing and related malpractices, from playing cricket. Kalmadi re-elected IOA chief Kapil offered to face lie detector test Groundsman denies taking money |
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| Kasparov loses crown to Kramnik LONDON, Nov 3 — Garry Kasparov’s 15-year reign as world chess king ended ingloriously yesterday when he was trounced by former pupil Vladimir Kramnik in the World Chess Championship. Indian challenge ends as Sai bows out Agassi, Safin bite the dust
Indian eves outplay Switzerland
Hockey star Jagjit is no more Punjab in commanding position ‘Murky’ dealings of
wrestling federation NFL’s inaugural tie on Nov 29 Gopi in semis of Indonesian Open Azhar, Ajay to be
prosecuted JCT post win Randhawa shines
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BCCI suspends 5 players NEW DELHI, Nov 3 — The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has suspended the five players — Mohd Azharuddin, Ajay Jadeja, Ajay Sharma, Nayan Mongia and Manoj Prabhakar — indicted in the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) report on match-fixing and related malpractices, from playing cricket. In a fax message to all the affiliated associations of the board, BCCI secretary J.Y. Lele has informed that “under instructions from the president, BCCI, this is to inform you that pending inquiry by the board based on the CBI report, you are advised not to select the undermentioned players in any of the domestic tournaments conducted by the BCCI”. Among the five indicted in the CBI report, Ajay Jadeja is playing in a Ranji Trophy match for Jammu and Kashmir. BCCI president, Dr A C Muthiah, who had an half-an-hour-long meeting with Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports, Mr Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, at his Shastri Bhawan office here today, said “the government was pleased with the prompt action taken by the board against the tainted players”. “We (the board) have taken cognisance of the CBI report”, Dr Muthiah said, adding that “I do not fully endorse the CBI report, as there are a lot of inaccuracies in it, particularly in reference to the BCCI, though they have done a detailed job”. Dr Muthiah announced that the BCCI had constituted its own enquiry committee, headed by its vigilance commissioner and former CBI joint-director A Madhavan, and it has been asked to submit its report within 15 days to the board’s disciplinary committee, “and after that I will meet the minister again, and would decide about further action to be taken against the five players”. Dr Muthiah was summoned by Mr Dhindsa to get his views on the match-fixing report, and the board chief said “we had a very cordial meeting”. He refused to comment on further action to be taken against the tainted players “until our own enquiry is completed”. Dr Muthiah said Mr Madhavan will work in co-ordination with ICC’s anti-corruption investigating officer Paul Condon, who will be coming to India to investigate the allegations against the foreign players, before submitting his report to the BCCI Disciplinary Committee. He said the board would also extend necessary assistance to their Sri Lankan counterparts to help them probe allegations that former captains Arjuna Ranatunga and Aravinda D’Silva were involved in match-fixing. “We have already sent a copy of the CBI report to the Sri Lankan Cricket Board”, he said. Dr Muthiah said the BCCI enquiry report will cover each and every aspect of the match-fixing report of the CBI “point by point”, and will also give a detailed reply to the minister on all the adverse points raised in the CBI report regarding the functioning of the board. Dr Muthiah said there was no doubt that some of the players were involved with the book-makers, and he appreciated the efforts put in by the CBI to collect a lot of data after “painstaking exercise” though he did not fully subscribe to all the findings in the report, as he felt that a lot of discrepancies had crept into it, particularly regarding the references made against the board. Dr Muthiah said he had assured full co-operation from the BCCI for the government to take whatever follow-up action it deemed fit against those named in the CBI report. He said the board was an autonomous body, and was functioning very well, and he did not see any reason why the government should to get involved in the functioning of the board. Mr Dhindsa, too, admitted that the board was an autonomous body, and added that the government did not wish to interfere in their
functioning," but I would want them to have some accountability in their actions”. Mr Dhindsa said appropriate action would be initiated against the tainted players after receiving the BCCI report, and reiterated his earlier statement that the law may be amended or re-framed, if need be, to punish the guilty “and root out the evil of match-fixing and corruption from cricket”. Mr Dhindsa said the question of stripping the tainted players of the Arjuna and other awards conferred on them by the government would be decided after receiving the BCCI report. Dr Muthiah said the BCCI’s Code of Conduct had enough clauses to rein-in or punish errant players, though the board has not taken any decision to erase the records of the tainted players from the books, as it would also affect some innocent players’ record partnerships. “The working committee had deliberated on this issue, but has not taken any decision, as yet”, the board chief noted. When pressed further what extreme punishment the board would initiate against the tainted
players, Dr Muthiah said that “may be life ban”. When asked whether Kapil Dev would be reinstated as the coach of the Indian team, now that the CBI report has cleared him of match-fixing allegations, Dr Muthiah replied that he did not expect Kapil to come back “as he has said that he has snapped all his links with cricket”. Dr Muthiah admitted that the match-fixing allegations had put a question mark on the future of cricket in the country as the players were demoralised, “but now that we have taken corrective steps, things are looking up”. Dr Muthiah also revealed that the board had placed a suggestion with the Sports Ministry to resume cricket series between India and Pakistan. Mr Dhindsa, however, said the question of resuming the India — Pakistan series would be decided after carefully weighing all the pros and cons as the approvals of the Ministry of External Affairs and the Home Ministry were also necessary before taking a decision. |
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Kalmadi re-elected IOA chief NEW DELHI, NOV 3 — Union Sports Minister Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa set the tone for forging unity among the feuding factions of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) which contributed in Suresh Kalmadi cementing his place as the chief of the country’s apex sports body for a second four year term with Randhir Singh retaining the crucial Secretary General’s post here today. Making his presence felt at the annual general meeting (AGM) of the IOA which had opted for the national capital as a neutral venue for the bitter election of office bearers, Mr Dhindsa underlined the imperative need for unity and focussing on result oriented work. Despite all the hype preceding the elections, the exercise went off smoothly with unanimity reigning after a gap of two decades. On his part, Mr Kalmadi tried accommodating all sections and interests in the IOA. Businessman Raj Chopra has been retained as the treasurer of the IOA. Interestingly, Mr Abhay Chautala and son of the Haryana Chief Minister who heads the Olympic Association in his home state who was angling for the IOA president’s post has been made a Vice President. Mr Dhindsa emphasised that the Atal Behari Vajpayee Government did not want to interfere in the autonomous character of either the IOA or the various sports organisations in the country. At the same time, he said it is up to the IOA and the other sports bodies to function in a transparent and forward looking manner so that the government was not compelled to intervene. The Union Sports Minister also told the IOA AGM that he would use his good offices and see that the government’s directive that no office-bearer of any sports organisation should be elected for a second term was kept in abeyance. Clearly, Mr Dhindsa did not want to put a spoke in the wheel as it were in the affairs of the IOA. He, however, sounded a note of caution that the government wanted the IOA and others overseeing various sporting disciplines were doers on the track and indeed on the playing fields. Before the election proper got under way, Mr Dhindsa made his exit from the IOA AGM. The message came across loud and clear and the IOA AGM after some initial wrangling decided to elect the President first before moving on to other office-bearers. The consensus reached was that Mr Kalmadi should continue for another term as IOA President. Thereafter, it was left to Mr Kalmadi to put his team together for ensuring cohesiveness in the functioning of the IOA. Mr Kalmadi took no fewer than two and a half hours in ascertaining the views of all various factions and groups in the IOA before working out a mutually agreeable list of office-bearers. Sources said the machinations in the IOA is not all over though Mr Kalmadi has expressed his intention for preparing in right earnest for the inaugural Afro-Asian games in November next year as well as making a determined bid so that the 2006 Asian Games is
allotted to New Delhi. A seat from India will fall vacant for the membership of the International Olympic Committee next month when Ashwini Kumar retires after a long innings. It is anybody’s guess that there will be an intense struggle in the IOA to secure the prized membership of the IOC. Besides Mr Chautala, the other vice presidents of the IOA are: V K Malhotra, J.S. Gehlot, P.R. Das Munshi, Vidya Stokes, G S Mander, Digvijay Singh, M.C. Chowhan, V.D. Nanavati, Avinash Kohli, K. Murugan and Ashok Kumar Mattoo. Later, addressing a press conference, Mr Kalmadi claimed there are no groups in the IOA now and that everyone wanted to work unitedly. He said his message to the federations was that the IOA was ready to help in achieving results. |
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Kapil offered to face lie detector test CHANDIGARH, Nov 3 — It will come as a surprise to many that Kapil Dev was the only player who offered to undergo a lie detector test during the course of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the cricket match-fixing issue. The CBI had asked Manoj Prabhakar, the player who had alleged that it was Kapil who had offered to pay him money to play below par in the 1994 Singer series in Sri Lanka, had set a number of conditions before he would sit for a lie detector test. However, Kapil had offered to undertake the test without any conditions. Finally, however, the CBI did not conduct any lie detector test and arrived at its conclusion after examining the evidence provided by players, officials of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, bookies and punters. That the CBI report has been generally accepted by all quarters, both in India and abroad is the fact that it was the Delhi police which first broke the match-fixing story with the report that it was the visiting South African captain Hansie Cronje who had accepted money for fixing matches in the series against India in India. Subsequent events proved that the Delhi police sleuths had hit the nail on the head. And only after Hansie accepted his guilt during the King Commission hearing did the government order the CBI enquiry. But what will be difficult to explain is the fact that the selective “leaks” to the media during the course of the enquiry all pointed an accusing finger at Kapil. It was made out even during the income tax raids on Kapil’s residences and business premises that he did have a role to play in the match-fixing issue. But the final report did vindicate his stand that he was absolutely clean . What must have hurt Kapil Dev the most is the fact that Mr Inderjit Singh Bindra, the former president of the Board of Control for Cricket India (BCCI) and President of the Punjab Cricket Association, repeated Manoj Prabhakar’s allegation of Kapil trying to offer him (Manoj Prabhakar) money to play below par without verifying the facts. Also, the insistence of the senior functionaries of the Board of Control for Cricket in India that he give up his job as national cricket coach even before the CBI enquiry had been completed on hindsight must prove that the star allrounder was indeed telling the truth that he had nothing to do with the murky world of betting and match-fixing. People close to Kapil Dev are of the view that the former allrounder would have to return to cricket. During the course of the CBI probe Kapil had gone on record to say that in future he would have nothing to do with the game of cricket. Dr Ravinder Chadha who was medical officer with the Indian team for three years after Dr Ali Irani was removed from his post, is of the view that even today a player of Kapil’s stature would find it very difficult to get a role either in the BCCI or in the Haryana Cricket Association. Both Dr Chadha and Kapil Dev have played first class cricket together for a long time. In fact, Chadha was Kapil’s captain in the Haryana Ranji team for many years. Yet another cricketer who has come out unscathed in the CBI report is Patiala-based Navjot Sidhu. The former Indian opener was named as one of the witnesses by Manoj Prabhakar when he was allegedly offered money by Kapil Dev to under-perform. While admitting that he did share a room with Manoj Prabhakar during the tour of Sri
Lanka in 1994, Navjot said, in his disposition, that he did not remember whether Kapil had come to their room. Also, while admitting that Manoj did tell him of players taking money to under-perform, Navjot denied that he had ever under-performed for money at any stage of his career. |
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Groundsman denies taking money NEW DELHI, Nov 3 (IANS) — Mr Ram Adhar Choudhary, one of the groundsmen who prepared the pitch for the 1996 Delhi Test against Australia, has denied that he took money to make a "suitable" track for the match. "Nobody has ever given me any money to make the pitch suitable for any team," Mr Choudhary told IANS. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which conducted a four-month probe into match-fixing allegations in Indian cricket, had said in its report that Choudhary was paid Rs. 50,000 by former Indian cricketer Ajay Sharma to prepare a "sub-standard" pitch for the match. "The CBI had called me to its headquarters, where I was questioned on the same issue," Mr Choudhary said. "I told them the same thing -- that no one had ever paid me money to make the pitch to favour Indian spinners for that match," he added. The match was held at New Delhi's Ferozeshah Kotla ground in October 1996. In that match, Australia won the toss and batted first, scoring 182 with opener Michael Slater making 44. Anil Kumble took four wickets for 63 runs, while off-spinner Ashish Kapoor took two wickets. Thanks to man-of-the-match Nayan Mongia's superb 152 and Saurav Ganguly's 66, India replied with 361. In their second innings, Australia fared better and scored 234, Steve Waugh making an unbeaten 67. Kumble was again the highest wicket taker, with five for 67. India notched up the required runs easily, winning by seven wickets in three-and-a-half days. Although Mr Choudhary said he knew Sharma, he denied that the former Delhi captain had offered him money to prepare the pitch according to specific instructions. Mr Choudhary said he has been working as a groundsman for the past two decades. An official of the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA), which runs cricket in Delhi, said he remembered that the then Indian coach, Madan Lal, had asked three days before the Test that the pitch be left as it was. However, he denied that Lal's request implied any ulterior motive. The Test was Lal's first match as national coach. |
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Kasparov loses crown to Kramnik LONDON, Nov 3 (Reuters) — Garry Kasparov’s 15-year reign as world chess king ended ingloriously yesterday when he was trounced by former pupil Vladimir Kramnik in the World Chess Championship. Kramnik, 25, won by two games to nil, with the pair drawing 13 games. Kasparov, famed for decimating opponents, failed to win a single game. Conceding a draw in the 15th game of the 16-match tournament, Kasparov looked bewildered and exhausted, his trademark arrogant glower missing. The new world title Kramnik has inherited is an informal one — Kasparov refuses to recognise official world chess body FIDE after an acrimonious split — but their contest was widely regarded as the ultimate showdown. Azerbaijan-born Kasparov, 37, entered Thursday's match needing a miracle against his Russian opponent. He had to win both the final two games of the tournament to hold Kramnik to a draw and win by default. But Kasparov, dubbed the world’s most feared chess player for his often-inspired tactics and aggressive demeanour, accepted his defeat with grace. "I was not outplayed at the board but was completely outprepared," Kasparov said with a wry smile after the match, watched live by millions on the Internet at www.Braingames.Net. "I feel that my chess strength is still here," he said. "Vladimir played definitely better than me...but I still believe my performance could be dramatically improved and I’m intending to start proving it...With the tournaments.’’ Some had feared Kasparov could react angrily to defeat as he did when he lost to IBM’s supercomputer Deep Blue in 1997, and possibly withdraw from chess altogether. Former US chess champion Bobby Fischer famously withdrew from world chess to become a recluse after being stripped of his title in 1975. But Kasparov wants his title back. "I’m just waiting for (match sponsor) Brain Games to tell me how I can come back and play a match with Vladimir," he said to cheers from the 300-strong audience at London’s Riverside Studios. "I believe that the world champion has an obligation to defend the title," he said. While the two players are obliged to go ahead with the 16th and final game of the tournament on Saturday, when they will split the $ 2 million prize depending on the score, the match organisers said they were reviewing the situation. Whether or not the game goes ahead, the outcome would be purely academic. Kasparov must abdicate. The gruelling tournament has taken its toll on Kasparov, who earlier said he was "tired and depressed" and blamed unspecified "personal reasons" for his lacklustre play. His dismal performance against Kramnik has shocked chess experts, who say he was outplayed, outprepared and ‘’lost the fire in his belly’’. He will be rueing the prediction he made at the outset of the tournament, confidently forecasting he would see "surprises" from his "toughest challenge" since snatching the world title from Russia’s Anatoly Karpov in 1985. The hulking, soft-spoken Kramnik, who attended the Botvinnik-Kasparov chess school in Moscow and was chosen as Kasparov’s second in his title defence against India’s Viswanathan Anand in 1995, is a humble new champion. "(Preparation) is always very subjective," he said in defence of his former mentor, whom he visibly outwitted with little-known strategies and solid defensive play. "During the match I had a feeling I had no openings, neither with white nor with black," he said self-effacingly to raucous applause. |
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Indian challenge ends as Sai bows out NEW DELHI, Nov 3 (UNI) — India’s challenge at the ongoing $ 10,000 ITF Women’s Tennis Tournament ended here today as the country’s lone player in fray, Sai Jayalakshmi, fell at the penultimate hurdle, going down to Slovakia’s Lenka Dlhopolcova. Sai, who looked sluggish on the court despite a flying start, could not match the consistency of Lenka, losing the 67-minute encounter 4-0, 1-4, 1-4, 0-4. Lenka will clash with Russian Olga Kalijnaia tomorrow for the championship title. The latter today gave a brilliant example of determination and solid tennis to beat Slovenian Urska Vesenjak 3-5, 5-4 (8-6), 4-2, 4-0 in one hour 47 minutes. This will be first final at this level for both Lenka and Olga, for whom this will be the first one to one clash. Asked what went wrong with her game, especially when yesterday she had exuded confidence that she was getting better with each game, Sai said: “I can only say that she played very well. She never seemed to give up and always hit the ball well, which caused me so much trouble. “Besides, I was also tired, playing tennis for four weeks in a row.” Lenka, on the other hand, was happy with her performance. “This is the first final for me at this level. Today’s match has given me confidence and I will go all out in tomorrow’s match,” she said. Sai started the match on a confident note, breaking Lenka in the very first game. She continued her strong run, breaking her opponent again in the third and served the set out at 4-0 in just 14 minutes. However, Lenka soon picked up her game against a faltering Sai who seemed to be unsuccessfully going in for early winners against her consistent opponent. Said Lenka, “I was nervous in the first set. But I guess I always have a slow start and pick up momentum as the match progresses.” In the second set, the Slovakian broke Sai on her very first serve in the second game to lead 2-0. Though the Indian managed to break back in the next, finishing with a forehand down the line, she could not back it up with her serve, as Lenka again managed to break through her defences and weak serves to surge ahead. In the fourth game, Sai wasted two game points when at 40-15 to push it to a deuce. Here Lenka gave a good serve return for an advantage and Sai did the rest, hitting an easy forehand to the net, to give her opponent a break and a 3-1 lead. Lenka served the set out at 4-1. Sai seemed weakened by this time. She was broken twice in the third set — in the first and the fifth games — the last for the set which she lost 1-4 in 16 minutes. She could not even manage a break point in this set. By the time the fourth set began, which was the only chance for Sai to stay in contention, she seemed to have given up. She was broken in both her serves and though managed a break point in the third game, could not convert it as she mistimed a shot to the nets. Sai collected 13 WTA points for her efforts here. In the other semifinal, Urska started well, taking the first set 5-3. However, the second was stretched to a tiebreak, which Olga finally took (8-6), though she squandered two set points here. The third set progressed with the serve till the fifth with Olga leading 3-2 after her serve. However, at this point Olga picked up momentum against a frustrated Urska to clinch two break points. Though Ursk managed to save one, she could not do so in the next, hitting a forehand into the net to give her opponent the third set. The loss of two sets seemed to have laid heavy on Urska. She hit loose shots and frequently disputed line calls. She was even warned by the umpire for ball abuse. Olga never allowed her to retain the serve, breaking her in the second and fourth while retaining her own for the set and the match. The doubles final will be a repeat of the $ 10,000 event last week with the pair of Sai Jayalakshmi and Rushmi Chakravarthi clashing with Urska and Masa Vesenjak for the title. Results (semifinals) Lenka Dlhopolcova (Svk) bt Sai Jayalakshmi (Ind) 0-4, 4-1, 4-1, 4-0; Olga Kalijnaia (Rus) b Urska Vesenjak (Slo) 3-5, 5-4 (8-6), 4-2, 4-0. |
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Agassi, Safin bite the dust STUTTGART, Nov 3 (AP) — Andre Agassi completed the exodus of the top four seeded players from the Stuttgart Masters Series, losing to Andrei Pavel in the third round. Agassi, the No 4 seed, lost 3-6 4-6 after dropping his opening service games in each set. The Romanian had never beaten Agassi in their four previous matches. The defeat interrupted Agassi’s comeback after a two-month break following his second-round defeat at the US Open, where he had been the defending champion. Agassi finished 1999 as No 1 in the world and won the Australian Open. But he lost in the second round of the French Open, where he also was defending the title. He dropped out of the Sydney Olympics to stay with his mother and sister, who are battling breast cancer. French Open champion Gustavo Kuerten and US Open champion Marat Safin, battling for the No 1 world ranking, also lost third-round matches. Greg Rusedski dented Safin’s hopes of closing in on top-ranked Kuerten by upsetting the top seed 7-6 (7/2) 6-4 to reach the quarterfinals. Kuerten, who was seeded second, lost 7-6 (11/9) 6-3 to Sebastien Grosiean, who has one ATP title — on grass — to his credit. Had he won, Kuerten would have extended his narrow, three -point lead over Safin in the champions race, which will produce the new No 1 for the year at the end of the season. The Brazilian wasted a set point in the tiebreaker. Safin, a 20-year-old rapidly rising star who won the US Open in September, served for the first set after breaking Rusedski’s serve in the seventh game. But he could not hold, allowing Rusedski to get back into the match. “The key to the match was at 5-4 when he served for that set. If I’d gotten down that first set, it would have been a tough match to come back from,” Rusedski said. Rusedski raced to a 6-1 lead in the tiebreaker and converted his second set point. The Briton broke Safin’s serve again for a 2-1 lead in the second and never looked behind. Rusedski not only served well, but also outplayed Safin from the baseline, usually not the Briton’s strongest asset. Safin had won both previous matches against Rusedski. The Russian’s ouster came one day after he had halted a five-match losing streak against Fabrice Santoro. Safin has won a tour-high five titles this year, including the US Open, his first Grand Slam. Sjeng Schalken, who lost in the qualifying tournament but got a place in the main draw following the withdrawal of Cedric Pioline, rallied to beat No 3 Magnus Norman 4-6 6-3 6-4. Last month, Schalken won the Tokyo tournament and then lost the Shanghai final to Norman, a Swede. No. 8 seed Lleyton Hewitt prevented an all-British quarterfinal when he beat ninth-seeded Tim Henman 3-6 6-3 6-4. Hewitt broke serve for a decisive 5-4 lead in the final set, after wasting series of break points in a marathon seventh game. Sixth-seeded Yevgeny Kafelnikov, the Olympic gold medallist, survived three set points and went on to beat Franco Squillari 6-3 7th-seeded Yevgeny Kafelnikov, the Olympic gold
medallist, survived three set points and went on to beat Franco Squillari 6-3 7-5. Wayne Ferreira also advanced to the last eight when his opponent, 12th-seeded Mark Philippoussis, withdrew because of a neck injury. |
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Indian eves outplay Switzerland ISTANBUL, Nov 3 (UNI) — Indian women outplayed Switzerland by 3-0 while mens’ team was held for a 2-2 draw by Croatia in the sixth round of the 34th Chess Olympiad. Germany maintain lead with 18.5 points, followed by Russia with 17.5, Slovakia with 17, Hungary and Ukraine with 16.5, Armenia at 16 and India, USA, Georgia, Yugoslavia, China, Philippine, Netherlands, Bulgaria, Croatia all at 15.5 points. The Indians fielded GM Shashi Kiran, Kunte D. Barua and S.S. Ganguly against Croatians, Kozl, Morovic Fernandez, Cvtan and Izaza. At board I Shashikiran opened with d4 and successfully got double bishop advantage in King Indian Defence game. After exchange of pieces both grandmasters agreed for draw. Kunte played Queen Indian Defence and after 23 moves not finding any thing new hence agreed to a draw. D. Barua played very energetically and sacrificed two pawns in opening to get kingside attack. His opponent very clearly exchanged the pieces to equalise the game after 30 moves. Young S.S. Ganguly got a unclear position after 40 moves in queen gambit accepted game and agreed to split the point. The women of Indian team came back in their fight with a clean sweep in sixth round to take the team score to 11 points. S. Vijaylaxmi scored an emphatic victory at top board after 60 moves in knight and three pawns against knight and pawn. Vijaylaxmi’s younger sister Menakshi won as well. Menakshi straightway attacked in king side and got a winning advantage. Her opponent J. Ramselr resigned after 60 moves. Saheli Barua started after rest in rounds and won against Bohrer-Moser of Switzerland. The Olympiad is booming, for all the teams have fielded their super stars. Russian team included Morozevich, Peter Swidler, Rublevsky, Sakaev, Grischuk against Germany Arther Yusupov, Dautov, Lutz, Luthert and Hubner. The USA with Y. Sherevan and Boris Gulro, and all stars like peter Leko, Judith Polgar, Victor Korchnoi, Tiviakov are seen in action for their team. Total of 128 countries are participating in the mens’ competition and 86 in womens' competition. Games are also available on the FIDE website on the internet. A total 14 round are scheduled to be played. |
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Hockey star Jagjit is no more MEERUT, Nov 3 — Eminent hockey player Jagjit Singh died here last week. He was 72. According to family sources, he died of brain haemorrhage in a private nursing home on Divali day. Jagjit was a member of the Indian hockey team in the 50s. He played in the 1958 Asian Games in Tokyo (Japan). Besides, playing for the country he represented the hockey team of Uttar Pradesh for more than a decade. He was reportedly ill for the past few months. He was admitted to a private nursing home early last month. Although, initially he recovered and was shifted to his residence, a couple of days before Divali he complained of severe pain in his head. He was again admitted to the nursing home where he breathed his last. |
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Punjab in commanding position ROHTAK, Nov 3 — Punjab were in a commanding position against Haryana on the second day of the BCCI (under-14) cricket match at Maharaja Aggarsain Stadium here today. After taking a first innings lead of 117 runs, Punjab scored 236 for 3 in the second innings at close. Earlier, Haryana were bundled out in just 170 minutes of play after scoring 81 runs. Deepak Saini was the highest scorer with an unbeaten 31. Harvinder Singh and Rattan Bricher bagged three wickets each. In the second knock, a second-wicket partnership of 118 runs between Aashish Vinayak and Munish Bhatia enabled Punjab to strengthen their position further. Munish scored 82 while Aashish made 68. Scoreboard Punjab
(Ist Innings) 198 Haryana (Ist Innings) Gaurav Chopra lbw Rattan Bricher 0, Kailash b Rattan Bricher 10, Manish Verma b Ankur Jand 3, Neeraj Bansal lbw Harvinder Singh 3, Sant Kumar c Uday Kaul b Harvinder Singh 0, Prem Prateek c Uday Kaul b Rattan Bricher 0, Deepak Saini not out 31, Varun Ratra c Uday Kaul b Harvinder Singh 0, Nitin Mehtani run out 12, Abhishek Choudhary c Aashish Vinayak b Tavish Gupta 0, Yuzvendra Singh c Karan Goel b Tavish Gupta 0. Extras
22 Total (all out in 47.2 overs) 81 Fall of wickets:
1-2, 2-7, 3-24, 4-26, 5-26, 6-30, 7-37, 8-79, 9-79. Bowling:
Harvinder Singh 16-7-21-3, Rattan Bricher 13-4-22-3, Rajnish Sharma 4-3-1-0, Ankur Jand 6-2-10-1, Harmanjit Bajwa 4-0-9-0, Tavish Gupta 4.2-2-5-2. Punjab (2nd Innings): Total for 3 wickets 236 Fall of wickets: 1-21, 2-139, 3-183. Bowling: Sant Kumar 6-1-24-1, Gaurav Chopra 3-0-19-0, Prem Prateek 15-0-58-0, Yuzvendra 11-2-43-0, Nitin Mehtani 20-3-68-2.
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‘Murky’ dealings of wrestling federation HISAR, Nov 3 (UNI) — Twelve times national champion, the first Arjuna awardee and former Olympian grappler Uday Chand Pehalwan, has made starting revelations about the functioning of sports federation in the country. While talking to UNI here today, Uday Chand said: “I am breaking my long silence when I came to know that wrestling officials charged Rs 13,000 from Manju who represented India in the recent World Women’s Wrestling Championship held at Poland. The graft is continuing since our times’. I was paid Canadian dollars but my signatures were obtained for American dollars. If I had resisted at that time or spoken against the gross irregularity I would have been ousted from the team.” The veteran grappler said, “My son Karan Beer became the victim of high handedness of the federation when he had to go to Canada. He was shown defeated merely by two points and the wrestler who was selected and sent to Canada never came back to India nor won any medal’’. Uday Chand alleged that women wrestlers were exploited in the name of selection. The
wrestling federation is fully responsible for “extorting’’ money from Manju. The federation charges for the kit from wrestlers while the cost is borne by the federation in the papers. The money is taken from almost every
wrestler but only Manju “dared to speak out’’. He said the setback to India in Olympics is due to the wrong sports policy in which he bureaucrats are made “bosses’’ of the federations. Uday Chand said the federations should be made accountable and sportspersons should be given ample funds to meet their modern requirements. |
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NFL’s inaugural
tie on Nov 29 NEW DELHI, Nov 3 (UNI) — The inaugural match of the National Football League (NFL) will take place on November 29, according the All India Football Federation. It was initially decided that champions Mohun Bagan would play East Bengal at the Salt Lake Stadium, but Indian Football Association
(IFA) secretary Ranjit Gupta yesterday produced letters of the West Bengal Government which stated that the Yuvabharati Krirangan Stadium at the Salt Lake would not be available till January 25 next year, which is the last day of the Millennium Cup. The
AIFF in a meeting here decided to hold back the itinerary till November 7.
AIFF president Priya Ranjan Dasmunshi will discuss the matter with the West Bengal Government on November 4. The
AIFF had earlier decided to conduct the match at the Kanchanjunga Stadium at Siliguri to which East Bengal agreed while Bagan refused. The meeting also decided that the payment scheduled to made to the players will be done on November 7. The committee could not announce the ‘best player of the year’ as various clubs had not yet forwarded the names of their players. |
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Gopi in semis of
Indonesian Open
NEW DELHI, Nov 3 (PTI) — World number eight and ace Indian shuttler Pullela Gopichand stormed into the semifinals of the Indonesian Open badminton tournament in Jakarta today. The fourth seeded Gopichand defeated Chen Yu of China 15-7 16-17 15-13 in a closely-fought encounter. Gopichand now meets top seed Taufik Hidayat of Indonesia, who beat Yong Hock Kin of Malaysia 17-16 15-13. In the other semifinal, Marleve Mainiky of Indoanesia who beat Ronaldo Susilo of Singapore 6-15 15-13 15-5 will meet compatriot Rosy
Augustino. |
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Azhar, Ajay to be prosecuted NEW DELHI, Nov 3 (UNI) — The CBI is likely to take about a fortnight to initiate prosecution proceedings against former Indian captain Mohammad Azharuddin and ex-all-rounder Ajay Sharma, suspended after having been found “guilty” of fixing matches and betting under the Prevention of Corruption Act (PCA). The agency said the evidence against these two public servants is being analysed and the case is under study. “The assets and properties of the two cricketers are being ascertained to find out whether they are disproportionate to their known sources of income. The process is likely to take about a fortnight to be completed and after that we will decide the date for filing the case against them,” the sources told UNI. The CBI will also take the assistance of the Income Tax Department to calculate the value of the properties of Azhar and Ajay Sharma. The Income Tax Department had in July carried out massive raids at the premises of several cricketers, including Azhar and Ajay Sharma. The agency was also awaiting the findings of the Income Tax Department on the raids. “It (the finding) will help us ascertain the financial status of the two cricketers,’’ the sources said. About the prosecution of other three guilty cricketers — Manoj Prabhakar, Ajay Jadeja and Nayan Mongia — and former physio Ali Irani, the agency said it on its own cannot proceed against them due to want of cognisable evidence against them. But, the sources felt, the Income Tax Department could play a major role as it can ascertain their financial position, in case found disproportionate to their income, and issue notices to these cricketers. Any failure to response satisfactorily to the IT notices could then lead to the prosecution of these cricketers and the official, the sources felt. |
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JCT post win NEW DELHI, Nov 3 (UNI) — Goa league champions Zee Churchill brothers beat Calcutta giants East Bengal 2-1 while JCT Phagwara drubbed Muktijoddha K.C of Bangladesh 2-0 in their respective quarterfinal matches of the Durand Cup at the Ambedkar Stadium here today. Both East Bengal and Churchill began the match on an attacking note but the latter were particularly severe on the Bengal defenders right from the word go. The combination of Wilson-Silviera-Colaco wreaked havoc on the East Bengal defence. Churchill fired the first salvo in the 21st minute when centre-forward Francis Silviera snatched the ball from an East Bengal defender and lobbed it to fellow forward Stephen Abrowei outside the rival penalty box. Stephen, on seeing two Bengal defenders charging towards him, back-passed it to outside right Jose Colaco whose powerful right-footer swerved into the net beating Bengal custodian Sangram Mukherjee. The Goan lads clinched the lead in the 30th minute when they won a free-kick just six yards outside the Bengal penalty box. Standing in a three-shooter formation Somtai Shaiza instead of hitting the ball passed it back to left stooper back Ousman Hussein, whose right-footer rocketted into the net to make it 2-0 till the lemon break. |
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Randhawa shines NEW DELHI, Nov 3 — Defending champion Jyoti Randhawa of India shot a stunning round of eight-under 64 to come back from the dead, but was still overshadowed by Rodrigo Cuello of the Philippines who set ablaze the Arnold Palmer-designed DLF Golf and Country Club with a course record nine-under 63 on the second day of the $ 200,000 Hero Honda Masters,
today. Also shooting a bogey-free eight-under 64 card was South African Hendrik Buhrmann. At the halfway stage, Cuello led the tournament at nine-under followed by Randhawa, Buhrmann, Arjun Atwal and overnight leader Scott Kammonn of the USA at eight-under 136. |
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