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| Tuesday,
December 5, 2000, Chandigarh, India   
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Sriram may replace Sodhi
Suspensions to life bans on cards |
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Pak ready to play
India in B’desh Third win for Indian eves SA clinch series against Kiwis Haryana in strong position Anand rolls into
fourth round Gustavo Kuerten lifts Masters
Cuplis Love storms past Woods, Garcia; wins title Ram Chand, Swaran in
final HPS-6 set to host
skating competitions Akash scores
upset win Himachal
skittled out for 184 Haryana,
HP lose; Chandigarh win North Zone finish
on top Playing match the ‘fixed way’
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Sriram may replace Sodhi AHMEDABAD, Dec 4 (PTI) — Having taken a one-zero lead in the five-match series, India are likely to opt for the left arm spin of S. Sriram rather than Reetinder Singh Sodhi’s medium pace as they take on Zimbabwe in the second one-day cricket international at Motera here tomorrow. Skipper Saurav Ganguly told reporters after nets today that he was satisfied with the condition of the pitch and there might be some turn in the later stages of the match and hence “we might play Sriram who can bowl left arm spinners in place of (seamer) Sodhi”. “However, the final decision on the playing eleven will be taken only after inspecting the pitch tomorrow morning”, he added. Sriram hurt his right cheek during fielding practice and needed two stitches. However, Ganguly later clarified that the injury was not serious and Sriram, an opener, would play as a middle order batsman if selected. Off spinner Nikhil Chopra, whose name also figured in the betting and match-fixing controversy along with five other cricketers, and opening batsman Shiv Sunder Das would be left out along with Sodhi or Sriram. Asked about the controversy surrounding Chopra, Ganguly said: “It is for the board to sort out the matter. As far as I am concerned when he (Chopra) is in the 14-member squad he is very much a part of the team”. “I don’t want to be part of any controversy and it is better you ask the board for further clarifications”, Ganguly said to a query on Chopra’s selection in the Indian team. About tomorrow’s clash, he said it always feels good to go into any match one up in the series. Praising middle order batsman Hemang Badani’s fine batting in the first one-dayer at Cuttack which India won by three wickets, Ganguly said: “He (Badani) has got runs whenever he played for the country and it was good to see him win the match for us”. “After Rahul Dravid’s run out, Badani not only took the initiative but also guided the team to victory with an unbeaten half century”, Ganguly added. “It is very good for the team and I hope the youngsters come up with more and more such performances in future as it is not humanly possible for just three or four batsman to perform all the time”, he said. About the poor fielding by the Indian team in the last match where as many as eight catches went abegging, Ganguly said the catching was very poor and “I just could not believe the end result despite fielding poorly”. “However, it (bad fielding) will not happen again”, he added. Coming back to Chopra’s selection in the Indian team, Ganguly said: “The board told us he (Chopra) was available for selection and that is how he came into the side”. The teams (from): India: Saurav Ganguly (capt), Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Yuvraj Singh, Hemang Badani, Shiv Sunder Das, S. Sriram, Vijay Dahiya (wicketkeeper), Sunil Joshi, Nikhil Chopra, Zaheer Khan, Venkatesh Prasad, Ajit Agarkar and R.S. Sodhi. Zimbabwe:
Heath Streak (capt), Guy Whittall (vice-capt), Andy Flower, Alister Campbell, Grant Flower, Stuart Carlisle, Dirk Viljoen, Doug Marillier, Brian Murphy, Travis Friend, Henry Olonga, Bryan Strang, Trevor Madondo, Mleleki Mkala and Gavin Rennie. Umpires: S. Venkatraghvan (TN) and K. Ariharan (Del). |
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Suspensions to life bans on cards NEW DELHI, Dec 4 (PTI) — Punishments ranging from two or three years of suspension and ban for life are on the cards when the disciplinary committee of the cricket board meets in Chennai tomorrow in the backdrop of betting and match-fixing scandal. A.C. Muthiah, president of the board and chairman of the committee, and board vice-presidents Kamal Morarka and K.N. Ram Prasad would decide on the punishments to be meted out to the five — Mohammed Azharuddin, Ajay Jadeja, Nayan Mongia, Manoj Prabhakar and Ajay Sharma — cricketers found guilty by the CBI in the wake of match-fixing allegations. Morarka said this evening he would attend the meeting, contrary to information available in Chennai. Though there was no confirmation on hand, the sources say there could be a life ban on Azharuddin and two or three years of suspension on Jadeja, Prabhakar and Sharma, the last named might also invite a life ban. The sources confirmed that the board President had sought legal opinion from reputed Supreme Court counsels in case the ‘punished players’ went in for legal remedy. Meanwhile, the board’s Anti-Corruption Commissioner K. Madhavan has said in clear terms that Azharuddin had close contacts with bookies and was involved in match-fixing while Ajay Jadeja had “undesirable contacts and obiectionable nexus with various bookies and punters”. The Madhavan report giving the final opinion on Azhar said: “He had close contacts woth bookies/punters like M.K. Gupta, Ajay Gupta, Ameesh Gupta etc and was involved in match-fixing. The report said: “He is guilty of unbecoming conduct and misconduct as a national level player in maintaining such frequent contacts with bookies/punters. “In his case the misconduct is aggravated as he was the captain of the Indian team for long and let down the country and the cricket-loving public in a despicable manner.” Stating that cricket made Azhar rise from middle class status to a level of affluence, Madhavan took a dig at the former skipper by recording: “The most humorous statement I have come across in the present millennium is of Azhar stating before me: “I am staying in a rented house.... I do not have enough money to buy a flat or a house in Hyderabad”. |
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Prabhakar’s ‘no’ to ICC panel NEW DELHI, Dec 4 (UNI) — Controversial cricketer Manoj Prabhakar today categorically refused to appear before the ICC’s anti-corruption team, in the Capital to question him in connection with the match-fixing case, unless the BCCI allowed him to talk to the panel. A three-member International Cricket Council’s anti-corruption team arrived here from London in the morning to question Manoj Prabhakar in connection with his deposition before the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The CBI, in its investigation report, had alleged that Prabhakar had introduced several international cricketers, including Sri Lankan Arvinda De Silva and Arjuna Ranatunga, West Indian star Brian Lara and Australian Mark Waugh, to the global betting syndicate. Prabhakar confirmed that the three-member team were in Delhi and had contacted him for his examination. “But I had categorically told them that I will talk to them only in the presence of the BCCI officials. I know only the BCCI. I don’t know the ICC. I told them to talk to the BCCI first.” Asked whether he would not depose before the ICC team, he said: “I have no problems in appearing before it but will do so only after a direction from the BCCI.” The three ICC investigators are Robert, Peacock and Martin. Peacock had earlier visited as part of the two-member ICC team to make preliminary inquiry about the match-fixing scandal. The ICC officials have contacted the BCCI officials to seek their approval to question Prabhakar. However, it was not yet known whether any clearance have been given to them or not. The team is here for two days. Prabhakar is credited with raking up the match-fixing and betting controversy in India by alleging that Kapil Dev had offered him a Rs 25 lakh bribe to underperform in a match against Pakistan in Sri Lanka in 1994. The ICC is understood to have decided to question Prabhakar in view of the CBI report which quoted bookie and prime accused Mukesh Kumar Gupta alias MK as saying that he was introduced by the ex-all rounder to several foreign cricketers. Among the cricketers introduced by Prabhakar were D’Silva, Ranagtunga, Waugh and his ex-teammate Dean Jones, Lara, English cricketer Alec Stewart and former Pakistan captain Salim Malik. Prabhakar denied the allegations in most of the cases. The CBI report said MK had stated that Aravinda D’Silva and Arjuna Ranatunga were introduced to him by Manoj Prabhakar and the two had ‘fixed’ the Lucknow Test in 1994 between India and Sri Lanka. Mukesh Kumar also stated that he was introduced to Dean Jones by Manoj Prabhakar in Sri Lanka during a festival match. The CBI report also quoted MK as saying that he was introduced to Mark Waugh by Prabhakar during a six-a-side tournament in Hong Kong. Prabhakar has accepted this fact. MK has further stated that he paid $ 20,000 to Mark Waugh to provide ‘information’ about pitch, weather, team strategy, morale, etc, whenever Australia played. MK has stated that Alec Stewart was introduced to him by Manoj Prabhakar in 1993. Prabhakar has accepted this fact as well. MK disclosed that he paid £5000 to Alec Stewart in exchange for information about pitch, weather, team composition, etc. Whenever England played. MK has further stated that Alec Stewart, however, refused to fix any matches for him. MK has stated that
Prabhakar had tried to ‘telephonically introduce’ him to Gus Logie, who, however, refused to talk to MK. MK disclosed that Prabhakar introduced him to Brian Lara. BCCI team’s UT visit delayed CHANDIGARH, Dec 4 — The internal problems within the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and its pre-occupation with the issues of match-fixing had delayed the arrival of the fact-finding team of the board to Chandigarh. The fact-finding team is scheduled to examine the cricketing facilities in the Union Territory of Chandigarh. On the basis of the report of the team the BCCI will decide whether to grant direct affiliation to the cricket association operating in Chandigarh. The UT Cricket Association has been waging a long-drawn battle spanning over a decade and a half to get direct affiliation with the board. If the affiliation is finally granted, it will enable players from Chandigarh to play directly in all tournaments conducted by the BCCI. The decision to send the committee to Chandigarh was taken at the last annual general body meeting of the BCCI held in Chennai in September last. The members of the team were also identified by the board. They are Shivlal Yadav, a former Test cricketer who is now based in Hyderabad, Mr Ratnakar Shetty, Secretary of the Mumbai Cricket Association, and the BCCI executive secretary, Sharad Diwadkar. The same team is also scheduled to visit Pondicherry, whose application for affiliation with the board is also pending. According to earlier indications, the board team was scheduled to visit Chandigarh in late November. However, the convening of the special general body meeting of the board at Calcutta — where the issue of match-fixing and the quantum of punishment to be handed out to players who had been indicted in the CBI report on match-fixing were discussed in detail — late last month delayed the arrival of the team to Chandigarh. In any case the secretary of the BCCI, Mr J.Y. Lele, who is to finally decide the dates when the team will visit Chandigarh as also Pondicherry, is now busy with the Zimbabwe team currently touring India. It is only after the conclusion of this tour with the last of the five one-dayers scheduled to be held at Rajkot on December 14, will he get the time to decide when the fact-finding team will travel to Chandigarh as also Pondicherry. Mr Lele was in the national capital during the course of the first Test between India and Zimbabwe last month. Sources close to him had then indicated that the BCCI team would visit Chandigarh immediately after the special general body meeting of the board but now the UT Cricket Association of Chandigarh had yet to hear from the board. However, sources in the BCCI have indicated that the team will definitely visit Chandigarh this month, maybe some time around Christmas. Besides affiliation to Chandigarh and Pondicherry, the BCCI will also have to decide when to give affiliation to the newly created states of Jharkhand, Uttaranchal and Chattisgarh as soon as possible. For many years the BCCI has been reluctant to give affiliation to Chandigarh. Even states like Himachal Pradesh and Goa had to wage a long-drawn dialogue with the board before they were able to get affiliation to the BCCI. Hopefully, Chandigarh’s turn will come in due course. In any case, if the BCCI does decide to give affiliation to Chandigarh as also the other states waiting in the wings the matter can only be finalised at the next annual general body meeting of the board to be held in September next year. |
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Pak ready to play India in B’desh KARACHI, Dec 4 (PTI) — Pakistan, who had threatened to skip every tournament where India featured following New Delhi’s refusal to allow its team to play across the border, has relented, showing interest in playing a triangular series in Bangladesh even if India participated in it. Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Lt-Gen Tauqir Zia has said Malaysian cricket officials were trying to stage a triangular series in Dhaka in January with Pakistan, India and Bangladesh as participants. “So far nothing is confirmed, no itinerary has been finalised and I’m not very hopeful India will play. But if they do, Pakistan will have no problems going to Dhaka,” He said the Malaysian Cricket Association had taken the initiative of organising the series in Dhaka after their plan to host one in Kuala Lumpur fell through because of the short time available to have international facilities ready in time for the event. “We’ve no part to play in the organisation of this event. It’s Malaysia who are doing everything and if they succeed in their move, good luck to them.” The PCB chairman’s statement about playing India has come as a clear shift from his earlier threats that Pakistan would consider breaking all ties with India. The idea to host the triangular series in Dhaka has come about after India refused to visit Pakistan this winter, and also after Pakistan shot down a proposal to play host to Bangladesh in an alternate Test series. The PCB cited possible financial losses as the reason for refusing to host Bangladesh. But Gen Tauqir Zia said as far as playing Test matches was concerned, the Bangladesh Cricket Board had not sent any confirmation or itinerary - a clear indication that Pakistan instead of playing host, wanted to tour Bangladesh. On the prospects of holding the Asia Cup in April next year in Pakistan if India boycotted that tournament, the PCB chief said it was too early to say anything, but added that Pakistan would have to take into consideration the financial aspect of hosting the Asia Cup without India, before taking any decision. Asked if India had given any indication on reviewing the decision about touring Pakistan, Gen Tauqir Zia replied in the negative, but said he was still waiting for something to happen.
“We’ve not lost hope, that’s for sure.” |
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Third win for Indian eves LINCHON,
Dec 4 (PTI) — the Indian women’s cricket team today recorded their third victory from as many matches in the women’s cricket World Cup beating England by a narrow margin of eight runs with help of an allround performance of Rupanjali Shashtri in a low scoring match. The Indian team, batting first, could muster only 155 runs from their allotted 50 overs with the help of good knocks from Chandrakanta Kaul (45), Mithali Raj (32) and Rupanjali Shastri (29). For England,
S C Taylor and C J Connors accounted for two wickets each. The English team could not handle the accurate bowling of Rupanajali, Deepa Kulakarni and Smitha Harikrishna and were bundled out for 147 runs in 49.2 overs. While Rupanjali was the main wrecker capturing 3/25, Deepa and Smitha accounted for two wickets each. With this, India and Australia are at the top of the table with six points each from three matches played by them. Brief scores: India - 155 for 7 in 50 overs (Chandrakanta 45, Mithali 32 and Rupanjali 29. Taylor 2/18 and Connor 2/25). England
- 147 all out in 49.2 overs (Taylor 60, Connor 23. Rupanjali 3/25, Deepa 2/22 and Smitha 2/25). |
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SA clinch series against Kiwis PORT ELIZABETH (South Africa), Dec 4 (AFP) — South Africa clinched the series against New Zealand today with a seven-wicket win on the fifth day of the second Test at St George’s Park. Opening batsman Gary Kirsten shepherded South Africa to their second win of the three-match series, making 47 not out after South Africa had been set a small target of 86. New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming blamed his side’s defeat on a “disastrous session” yesterday, when New Zealand lost five wickets between lunch and tea before being bowled out for disappointing 148. “You just can’t afford that against a good side,” he said. Fleming admitted his team had been affected by a string of injuries and by the difficulty of playing against a strong South African team. “With the frustration, the pressure builds,” he said. But he said he was pleased with the progress made by young players like Chris Martin, Brooke Walker and Kerry Walmsley, who had come in for injured bowlers. South African captain Shaun Pollock, after his first Test series win since taking over from the sacked Hansie Cronje in April, paid tribute to a fighting performance in which South Africa had struggled in the first innings. “It’s great to have wrapped it up in the second Test. It was a big effort to bowl New Zealand out in the second innings,” he said. Pollock said the match had been evenly poised before a 136-run eighth wicket stand between ‘man of the match’ Neil McKenzie and Nicky Boje enabled South Africa to take a 63-run first innings lead. “If you are going to be one of the best sides in the world, you have to be able to fight back,” he said. As in the first Test, which South Africa won by five wickets, the New Zealand bowlers and fielders showed spirit in defending a small target. After dismissing Boeta Dippenaar on Sunday, they claimed the wickets of Jacques Kallis (26) and Daryll Cullinan (11) before conceding defeat. Kallis struck five boundaries and was looking in good form until he top-edged a hook against Martin and was caught at deep backward square leg. Cullinan drove at an inswinger from Walmsley and was bowled between bat and pad. The third Test starts in Johannesburg on Friday. South African fast bowler Allan Donald is a doubtful starter for the final Test because of a stomach muscle injury. Mfuneko Ngam, 21, from Eastern Province, is on standby and is likely to win a first cap. South African physiotherapist Craig Smith said Donald would not play if there were any signs of the injury on the day before the game. Scoreboard New Zealand (1st innings): 298 South Africa (1st innings): 361 New Zealand (2nd innings): 148 South Africa (2nd innings): H. Dippenaar lbw b O’Connor 0 G. Kirsten not out 47 J. Kallis c O’Connor b Walker 23 D. Cullinan b Walmsley 11 N. McKenzie not out 7 Extras (lb-1) 1 Total (for 1 wkt, 34.1 overs) 89 Fall of wickets: 1-4, 2-53, 3-71. Bowling:
O’Connor 8-4-9-1, Martin 12-3-32-1, Astle 2-0-8-0, Walker 7.1-1-32-0, Walmsley 5-2-7-1. |
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Haryana in strong position ROHTAK, Dec 4 — Haryana were in a commanding position against Jammu and Kashmir on the second day of the north zone Vijay Merchant cricket encounter at Maharaja Aggarsain Stadium here today. Resuming their innings at the overnight score of 183 for 3, Haryana scored 406 for 9 to declare the first innings closed in reply to Jammu and Kashmir’s first innings score of 154. The highlight of the day was the three-figure knock by Haryana skipper Hemant Bansal. He scored 106 in 175 minutes off 157 balls with the help of 13 fours. Rahul Gahlot made 41. After conceding a lead of 248 runs, Jammu & Kashmir began their second innings disastrously. The first two wickets went for 13.
At close J & K scored 100 for 4. Scoreboard Jammu & Kashmir (Ist innings) 154. Haryana (Ist innings): Puneet Gupta b Anil Balgotra 30 Kailash Shah c Abid b Vimarsh Kaw 28 Sachin Rana b Anil Balgotra 100 Hemant Bansal b Sumit Silwal 106 Rahul Gahlot lbw Zibran Hassan 41 Deepak Saini lbw Sumit Silwal 38 Munish Kumar lbw Abid Nabi 26 Nitin Mehtani lbw Sumit Silwal 9 Imran run out 1 Neelap Thamman not out 1 Extras 26. Total:
402 Fall of wickets: 1-38, 2-145, 3-176, 4-273, 5-360, 6-367, 7-404, 8-405, 9-406. Bowling:
Balgotra 14-1-75-2 Abid Nabi 9-0-38-1 Zibran Hassan 10-1-52-1 Vimarsh Kaw 32-5-131-1 Sumit Silwal 27-3-85-3. Jammu & Kashmir (2nd innings): Amandeep Singh lbw Sachin Rana 4 Kapil Dev lbw Sachin Rana 4 Munish Sharma lbw Hemant Bansal 38 Vimarsh Kaw c&b Neelap Thamman 15 Mayank Goswami batting 9 Nikhil Sharma batting 11. Extras
19 Total: for 4 wickets 100 Fall of wickets: 1-8, 2-13, 3-69, 4-73. Bowling: Sachin Rana 9-2-20-2 Imran 7-3-14-0 Kapil Bali 3-1-12-0 Neelap Thamman 12-5-16-1 Rahul Gahlot 4-1-4-0 Nitin Mehtani 1-0-7-0.
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Anand rolls into
fourth round NEW DELHI, Dec 4 (UNI) — Vishwanathan Anand, the top seed and favourite at the third FIDE World Knockout Chess Championships, rolled into the fourth round, but not before being given a tough fight by the Armenian Grandmaster Smbat Lputian (2598) here today. Anand (2774), who had agreed to a quick 19-move draw in the first game with black pieces, was taken to 46 moves and more than four-and-half hours before being handed the ticket into the next round. Anand awaits the winner of the match between Bartlomiej Macieja of Poland and Alexander Beliavsky, a match which was still in progress when Anand won his game. Macieja and Beliavsky had drawn the first game yesterday. Apart from Anand, some of the days other winners were Russian Alexy Dreev over the Dutchman Loek Van Wely; Russian Evegeny Bareev over Belarussian Aleksej Aleksandrov and veteran American Boris Gulko over the higher rated Zurab Azmaiparashvili of Georgia. Anand commenting on his game, it was tough game. Frankly a 1-1 would have been a fair result. When asked on Garry Kasparovs feeling that Anand should have it easy till the quarter-finals, the Indian GM smiled and said, “It is one thing to play and another to sit elsewhere and comment. You saw what happened on the board. He (Lputian) is a tough player.” Going further, he added, “I was surprised with the opening. He played the same at the Wijk Aan Zee in January, where also the game went somewhat long to about 60 odd moves. But I felt he may have prepared some surprise.” Anand felt that the 24th move, where he got the a 7 pawn may have led to the game being tilted a little in his favour. “I was happy when I got the a 7 pawn. Without that I am dead,” he said in jest. “But the decisive blunder came on the 32nd move, when Lputian played knight to c2 to save his pawn on c4. Lputian had doubled pawns at that stage with another pawn on c3. That move gave my bishop the control of the (long) diagonal,” he said, indicating that it probably spelt the end for the Armenian. That move, the Indian champion felt, may have come under time pressure. |
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Gustavo Kuerten lifts Masters Cuplis BON, Dec 4 (Reuters) — Gustavo Kuerten smashed Andre Agassi 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 yesterday to win the season-ending Masters Cup and clinch the year-end top ranking. Kuerten’s win makes him the first non-American to end the year with the top ranking since Stefan Edberg in 1991, and the first South American to finish the season in pole position. “I don’t know if I feel like a human being today...this feeling is just unbelievable,” the French Open champion said. “I had many chances this year to be number one and now, on the last match of the season, I gave it everything and won. To beat Pete (Sampras) and Andre here in two days is unbelievable. “To play like I did in the last two matches...I mean, I played better than ever I could have imagined.’’ The Brazilian, roared on by a partisan Portuguese crowd, leapfrogged Russia’s Marat Safin in the rankings in the final match of the season. Agassi had been gunning for his second season-ending title 10 years after his first but Kuerten was in inspired form at the Atlantic Pavilion. The Brazilian had lost to Agassi earlier in the week in his opening round-robin qualifying match but turned the tables in style to lift his 10th career title and fifth of the year. Kuerten, dubbed “O Portugues” by the local media, collected $ 1.4 million for his victory. He got off to a storming start on the quick, indoor court. Inspired by the vocal support of the 11,000-strong crowd he broke Agassi in the very first game, thumping a forehand winner away on game point. That immediate break was all he needed as Agassi never came close to breaking back. The Brazilian changed his shoes — from white to black — during the sixth game and a succession of winners immediately flew from his racket. After 40 minutes of action he lashed an acutely-angled forehand past Agassi at the net to take the opener 6-4. Kuerten suffered a hamstring strain in his first match against Agassi on Tuesday and also sported strapping on his lower back today but showed no sign of discomfort as he raced around the court chasing down Agassi’s missiles. Agassi had to fight off a break point in the opening game of the second set before eventually holding and taking the lead in a set for the first time in the match. Determined to get down to business, Agassi jogged round to the other side of the net to receive Kuerten’s serve. Seeing the ball earlier, Agassi rifled a return almost on the half-volley to earn a break point of his own, but Kuerten dealt with that by hammering down an unstoppable serve before holding. In the fifth game he again broke Agassi — this time to love — with some breathtaking tennis which overwhelmed the American. Kuerten was in unstoppable form and earned three break points in the seventh game, but Australian Open champion Agassi managed to fight them off. Serving for the set, Kuerten faced a break point himself. A heavy serve got him out of trouble, followed by two aces to take a two-set lead. The pressure on Agassi was mounting and he finally cracked in the fifth game of the third set. Having saved one set point he double faulted to hand Kuerten a 3-2 lead. It was the only invitation Kuerten needed and after two hours and six minutes he served out for an historic 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 victory. “Everybody in Brazil can celebrate now,” he beamed after the match. “I come from a small city and nobody knew I could play tennis. Now I am here and everybody can see.” Agassi said: “There are just two things I can say now.” “One is I just want to say thank you to the Portuguese fans here who have made it so special. You’ve not only made this tournament special for me but for many other players as well.” “The second thing to say is an incredible congratulations to Guga. Not just because of the way he played today when he proved himself a true champion, but also because of a great, hard-fought year. |
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Love storms past Woods, Garcia; wins title THOUSAND OAKS (California), Dec 4 (AFP) — Davis Love has a title, albeit an unofficial one. Love carded an eight-under-par 64 to storm past Tiger Woods and Sergio Garcia of Spain at the $ 3.5 million Williams World Challenge, an unofficial event on the PGA Tour. “Sergio and Tiger also played well this week, but they didn’t have a great day today,” Love said. “I beat two guys that have been playing pretty good.” The two-stroke victory over Woods marks Love’s first win since the 1998 MCI Classic. Since then, he has gone 63 official PGA events without a title. “I think making putts under pressure, when you’re in a position to win, really fills your confidence,” Love said. “Hopefully, this victory will carry over into next year.” Despite being seventh in the world rankings, Love was not given much of a chance today, especially since the biggest superstar in sports was ahead of him in second place. Woods entered the day one stroke behind Garcia and carded a 69 — his fourth straight sub-70 round — but Love shot his second 64 in three days. “I played hard coming in and made a few birdies, but Davis just flat-out played great ball today,” Woods said. A 13-time winner on the PGA Tour, Love recorded a four-round total of 22-under 266 and won the $ 1 million first prize. He finished ninth on the money list in 2000 with $ 2,337,765. After beginning his round with four straight pars, Love had six birdies and an eagle in an 11-hole stretch. He finished with three consecutive pars but held on for the win. Woods, who won nine PGA Tour titles, including three majors and a record $ 9,188,321 in 2000, collected $ 500.000 after finishing two strokes back at 268. “I
had a lot of distractions this last week, a lot of commitments here,” he said. “I don’t play with complete concentration in some of these tournaments. It’s just the way it is.” Garcia began the tournament shooting 65-64-69 but ballooned to a 73 and placed third at 271. He won $ 3,50,000, a third of what he claimed in 16 PGA Tour events during the season. “This is the first time I played with Tiger on Sunday when I was in a position to win,” said Garcia, the runner-up to Woods at the 1999 PGA Championship. “It was great today, unfortunately, it just wasn’t my day.” |
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Ram Chand, Swaran in
final SANGRUR, Dec 4 — Ram Chand and Swaran Singh both from Sangrur will clash in the final of the Punjab Junior Boxing Championships here in the fly weight category. In the first semifinal in this category Ram Chand toppled favourite Kamaldeep Datta of Patiala in a well-fought bout. Datta, who had some excellent victories in the earlier rounds was unable to match the quick reflexes and powerful punches of the Sangrur lad. Ram Chand won on points. Another Sangrur boxer Swaran Singh had an easy victory in the second semifinal. He defeated Prabhjot Singh of Patiala. The following are the results (semifinals). Lt. fly wt.: Gurmukh Singh (Mastuana) beat Dinesh Kumar (Pta), Sarabjit Singh (Sang) beat Amandeep Choudhry (Ldh). Fly wt: Ram Chand (Sang) beat Kamaldeep Datta (Pta), Swaran Singh (Sang) beat Prabhjot Singh (Bnl). Bantam wt.:
Gopal Singh (Pta) beat Sarabjit Singh (Sunam), Narinder Singh (Sang) beat Sitam Sharma (Pta). Feather wt: Pritpal Singh (Mastuana) beat Pankaj Kumar (Ropar), S. Sood (T. Sabo) beat Amrinder Singh (Sunam). Light wt.: Gurjant Singh (Pta) beat Gurdip Singh (Sang), Gagandeep Singh (Mastuana) beat Varunjit Singh (Jal). Lt. welter wt.:
Harvinder Singh (Pta) beat Sanny (Sang), Amandeep Singh (T. Sabo) beat Neeraj Batish (Pta). Welter wt: Roopvinder Singh (Sang) beat Gurpreet Singh (Bnl), Didar Singh (Mastuana) beat Rajinder Singh (Sunam). Lt. middle wt:
Amandeep Singh (Sang) beat Satnam Singh (Mastuana), Bikramjit Singh (Bth) beat Satnam Singh (Khanna). Middle wt: Ram Singh (Pta) beat Nishkamdeep Singh (T. Sabo), Davinder Singh (Mastuana) beat Ravinder Singh (Sang). Lt. heavy wt: Gurbakhshish Singh (Mastuana) beat Kuldip Singh (T. Sabo). Rajvir (Mansa) beat Manvinder Singh (Jal). Super heavy wt.: Gurpreetpal Singh (Sang) beat Manveer Singh (Jal). Jaspreet Singh (Pta) got a walkover. |
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HPS-6 set to host
skating competitions CHANDIGARH, Dec 4 — Hansraj Public School, Sector 6, Panchkula the main venue for the 46th National School Games in roller skating, is all set to host this mega event beginning tomorrow. The five day event is being held under the aegis of School Games Federation of India in coordination with Haryana Education Department. Teams from far off places like Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Goa, Maharashtra had already arrived till the afternoon. The rest were expected by tonight and tomorrow morning. Mr S.K. Monga, Deputy Commissioner, Panchkula, and heading the organising committee, said that boys have been lodged at Vivekananda High School in HMT Pinjore colony while girls at Haryana Model Senior Secondary School, Sector 10. The subsidised food as per the rules of the SGFI has been arranged at the venue of stay separately and at the HPS. Mr Monga appreciated the transport arrangements made by the hosts. As many as 14 deluxe buses have been
pressed into service. Mobile wireless sets with range of nearly 60 kilometers have been provided to each conductor to ensure proper coordination. Ms Rajni Thareja, Principal of the school, who is also president of Roller Skating Association of Panchkula said that artistic and roller hockey events will be held at Hansraj Public School while speed events will be conducted at Blue Bird School, Sector 16, Panchkula. The prominent artistic skaters to be seen in action were Pooja Rathore and Nikhil Parikh. Mr Om Prakash Chautala, Chief Minister Haryana will be the chief guest tomorrow. A cultural programme will be held at the Hansraj school. The competitions will formally start on Wednesday and the technical officials of the Roller Skating Federation of India on the panel of SGFI have arrived for smooth conduct of the championship.
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Akash scores
upset win NEW DELHI, Dec 4 — Akash Sharma of Chandigarh fought back from a set down to shock eighth-seeded A.R. Anant Kumar of Andhra Pradesh 2-6, 6-1, 6-2 in a boys under-18 section match of the Adidas AITA Ranking Tennis Tournament at the Delhi Tennis Association courts here today. On a day when the local boys and girls ruled the roost against their opponents from other parts of the country, Haryana’s Jitender Mehlda was one of the very few outsiders who could make their mark, with authoritative victories. He beat Mohan Bharat K of Tamil Nadu 6-2, 6-1 to enter the second round in the boys under-14 section. Seeded players lived upto their rankings in the boys under-18 section when top seed Shivang Mishra of Delhi beat Amit Karunakaran of Maharashtra 6-2, 6-3, seventh seed Karan Rastogi of Maharashtra beat Vivek Shokeen of Delhi 6-1, 6-2 while fourth seeded Vivek Jhaveri of Mahrashtra toyed with Bharat Mohan of Tamil Nadu 6-1, 6-0. In the girls under-18 section, top-seeded Ankita Bhambri breezed past Nidhi Mathur 6-0, 6-0 while wild card Jaya Vatwani of Delhi ousted Punam Reddy of Andhra 6-1, 6-2. Another wild card, Neha Phalpher of Delhi, too tasted success when she beat Jilke Nelord of Delhi 6-0, 6-1 while Anuradha Shankar, a wild card, was not that lucky as Oormila Ram of Andhra gave her a 6-0, 6-2 pasting. |
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Himachal
skittled out for 184 SOLAN, Dec 4 — Thanks largely to sterling display by left-arm spinner Abhishek, Delhi skittled out Himachal Pradesh for 184 in the first innings of the North Zone match of Vijay Merchant Trophy, which got underway at Parmar University of Horticulture and
Forestry at Nauni, near here yesterday. Abhishek conceded 60 runs for a haul of five wickets. The other Delhi bowler Puneet bagged three wickets conceding 30 runs. The main scorers for Himachal Pradesh were Deepak (51), Paras Digra (43), Varun (28) and Puneet (23). Delhi replied with 190 for two. Shikdhar Dhawan with 85 and Abhinav with 42 were at the crease at the time of the draw of stumps today. Earlier openers P.P. Singh and Himesh were sent back to the pavillion with their individual contributions being 10 and 36, respectively. Haryana, HP lose; Chandigarh win JAMMU, Dec 4 (UNI) — The hosts Jammu and Kashmir beat Haryana by 3-2 in the league match and reached the super league stage of the 60th Senior National Hockey Tournament held at K.K. Hakku astroturf stadium here today. Haryana took lead in the 8th minute by a field goal of Deepak and the hosts Jammu and Kashmir reduced the margin through penalty corner in the 16th minute. Again Deepak of Haryana scored the beautiful field goal in the 26th minute. However, Jammu and Kashmir equalised through a field goal by Gurjeet in the 52nd minute. In 69th minute, Mandeep of Jammu and Kashmir struck again from the top of the circle with reverse hit and with this goal they won the match. In another match between Customs and Excise and Himachal, the Customs and Excise won by 4-0. Similarly, Chandigarh routed Bhopal by 4-0 and another match between Patiala and All-India Electricity Board was draw. |
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North Zone finish
on top HISAR, Dec 4 — North Zone emerged team champions in the 12th National Inter-Zonal Junior Athletic Championship which concluded here today. The North Zone athletes accounted for 49 gold, 40 silver and 27 bronze medals. East Zone were a poor second with 28 gold, 33 silver and 30 bronze. West Zone came third and South Zone occupied the fourth place. North Zone collected 751 points against 637 of East Zone. West Zone and South Zone scored 348 and 279 points respectively. Surinder Singh of North Zone was declared the overall best athlete. The best athletes for other categories were: Boys: 20 years-Brahmeshwar (EZ), 18 years — Mukesh Kumar (NZ), 16 years — Surinder Singh (NZ) and 14 years — Ajay Kumar (NZ). Girls: 20 years — Deepti Vaidya (WZ); 18 years — Reeta Patkar (WZ); 16 years — Monica Joon (NZ); and 14 years — Sabeena Khatum (EZ). North Zone won the championship in all three boys categories while East Zone were the runners-up in these categories. Among girls East Zone emerged champions in under 20 and 18 years categories. North Zone emerged champions in the 16 years category. As many as 24 new records were established during the three-day meet. The Finance Minister, Mr Sampat Singh, gave away the prizes. He said four Astro Turf tracks would be laid in four district towns shortly. The towns were in the process of being shortlisted, he added. Noted athlete Seema Antil, who recently won a gold medal in discus throw at the World Athletic Meet, was honoured by the Haryana Athletics Association during the closing in ceremony.
Playing match the ‘fixed way’ JALANDHAR, Dec 4 — It would have been any other street cricket match but for the fact that players did not play for trophies, but to satirise “fixing”. The unusual pre-fixed match was organised by the local Fizool Soch-vichar Manch”
(FSVM) and was played under “strict control” of the “Match Fixing Board” at the local Sain Dass Memorial School last evening. At the end of the eventful match, the “Ajgar-11” team was bowled out by rivals “FSVM-11”. The match was inaugurated by Mr Prem Kakria by sewing a ribbon already cut. What was more interesting were the prizes and titles awarded by Mr Ramesh Bunti, president of the district unit of the Congress, and Mr Chaman Dada, local councillor. Naresh
Patwari, Rajesh Sonu and Bittu Oberoi were awarded with “glass balls” for their best “bogus” fielding skills, whereas Ashwani
Khurana, Vishwamitra and Amardip Chotu, all who contributed “zero” to the scoreboard, bagged the “prestigious prize of eggs”.
Olympiad for disabled NEW DELHI, Dec 4 —The XII Special Olympic Games for the disabled will be organised by the New Delhi YMCA in association with the Danish Embassy at the Nehru Stadium here from tomorrow.
More than 1100 children from 28 schools of Delhi will participate in the four-day event. Air Marshal D Keelor, president of the New Delhi YMCA, has been elected as the chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Special Olympic Games. Air Marshal Keelor said events will be held in athletics, basketball, cricket, soccer, roller-skating and floor hockey in which boys and girls in the 12 to 30 years and above age category will participate. Rajeev, Rudra
triumph NEW DELHI, Dec 4 —Twentysix-year-old Rajeev Patel and 30-year-old Rudra Jadeja emerged as the Vadodara regional karting finalists, beating more than 100 speedsters in the JK Tyre National Karting Championship. Rajeev and Rudra won the JK Trophies and total cash award of Rs 15,000 and Rs 12,500, respectively, besides an invitation to drive in the JK Tyre National Karting Championship finals in Delhi on December 24. Kirti Patel, the third fastest in the race, also won a trophy and a cash award of Rs 8,000. |
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