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| Wednesday,
January 17, 2001, Chandigarh, India   
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Millennium Cup Williams
sisters, Kafelnikov through to second round Anand shares points with Kasparov |
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Punjab
Govt rescinds order on Raminder England colts concede lead BSF rally to sink
Indian Navy |
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Badminton
title for PU eves Athletics camp a farce Junior
athletics from today South
Korea - Japan row over World Cup title Munich
court ends Beckers’ marriage Gurudarshan
wins 50 km walk Top
players for national tennis Asian school hockey:
India in pool A Windies
to tour Zimbabwe
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Millennium Cup MARGAO, Jan 16 (PTI) — Jordan beat Hong Kong by a convincing 2-0 margin to top the group-C of the Sahara Cup Millennium Soccer Tournament at Nehru Stadium here today. After a barren first half, Jordan drew blood through substitute Badran al-Shaqran in the 49th minute. Following a flag kick, Haitham al-Shbul floated the ball into the goal mouth, where defender Feng Jihi failed to intercept and the ball came to Muhanned Mahadeen who headed it to unmarked Badran. Badran al-Shaqran lunged forward to beat the keeper Chan Ka Ki with a low header to his left. Jordan after missing few close chances consolidated the lead in the 84th minute when Haitham al-Shboul managed to score through a defensive lapse. Haitham al-Shboul stole the ball after defender Yeung Kin Wai tried to back pass to keeper and essayed a firm left footer into the net. Few minutes later, Faisal Suleiman’s powerful shot from the top of the box was saved by Hong Kong keeper who punched the over for a corner. Jordan completed their league engagement with all wins and also topped the table with six points, while Romania, who have three points from a win and a loss are second. Hong Kong who, lost both their matches, are out of the tournament. Jordan will now play the quarterfinal match on January 21 in Calcutta against runners-up of group four. Romania will play its quarterfinal at Goa with the winners of group-1 on January 20. Yugoslavia win Yugoslavian captain Ilic Sasa moved the net twice while Rasovic Vuk and Trobok Goran scored the other two goals while a Bangladesh defender won the consolatory goal for the SAF champions. Ranked 151st in the rating and coming into the tourney as the lowest standing side, Bangladesh could not prove a match to the more imposing rivals, ranked nine in the FIFA rating. However, they can go home with the joy of putting up a fight with the Balkans and moving their nets once in almost a shock. At the end of the league encounters, Yugoslavia topped group I on better goal average after tieing with Bosnia who also have four points. Yugoslavia will meet Romania in Goa in the knockout, while group II leaders Uruguay will take on Bosnia here on January 18. Uzbekistan meet Chile today The result of this match will decide the quarterfinalists from this group as at the moment Chile are leading the league table with six points from two wins. Chile are followed by Japan and Uzbekistan, who are jointly at the second spot, both earning three points from two outings. Bahrain, the fourth team from this group, are already out of contention having lost both the matches they played so far. |
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Williams sisters, Kafelnikov through to second round MELBOURNE, Jan 16 (Reuters) — The Williams sisters grabbed the limelight in the first round of the Australian Open on Tuesday, Venus in a daring new outfit while younger sister Serena let her racket do the
talking. Third seed Venus, the Wimbledon and US Open champion, struggled through her first round match against Spanish qualifier Maria Jose Martinez 6-3, 2-6, 6-0 and her low-cut, blue and black combination outfit drew more gasps than her
tennis. But Serena, the 1999 US Open champion who gives herself a strong chance of winning the season-opening Grand Slam this year, was all cool efficiency as she dismissed Taiwan’s Janet Lee 6-1,
6-4. “I’m playing a little better this year. Most of all mentally I’m more sound than what I was last year,’’ said sixth-seeded Serena, who was bounced out in the fourth round last
year. Dressed more modestly than her sister in a matching fuschia outfit and shoes, Serena said she was happy with her progress after playing in a warm-up event in Sydney last
week. Third seed Venus guaranteed she would be the centre of attention when she walked on to centre court wearing a new creation, a masterpiece of physics and
Lycra slashed open across the
chest. Her tennis had been the headline grabber last year as she built a 35-match winning streak, adding an Olympic gold medal to her US Open and Wimbledon titles. That run came to an end when anaemia cut short her
year. Despite limited preparation and her mid-match lapse — she hit 19 unforced errors in the second set alone — against Grand Slam
Debutatante Martinez, Venus said she was keen to scale new heights in
2001. “I definitely want to move forward, and make sure I do not regress in my tennis career,’’ she
said. “I am pretty good at defending my titles... and I don’t find it that difficult to get going at the start of every
season.’’ A fashion design student at a Florida university, Venus was a little more coy when it came to describing her new
outfit. “I think you’ll do a better job than I would,’’ she said when asked to describe her outfit, which included two gold earrings in each ear, a golf-style visor and a neck
choker. Seventh seed Mary Pierce, who turned 26 on Monday, celebrated with a 6-1, 6-3 win over unseeded Austrian Sylvia Plischke. Russia’s Yevgeny Kafelnikov returned to his second home, the fifth seed brushing aside Germany’s Jens Knippschild 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 to reach the second
round. Kafelnikov’s Australian achievements are impressive — he beat Thomas Enqvist to win the season-opening Grand Slam event in 1999 and reached the final last year. He returned later in the year to claim the gold medal at the 2000 Sydney
Olympics. Not surprisingly, the hard-working Russian said Australia held a special charm for
him. “I guess it’s the surroundings which make me play the way I am playing at the moment... I do feel confident,’’ he
said. It also helps that the Australian Open, like the Olympics, is played on his favourite Rebound Ace surface, a rubberised hardcourt that suits his baseline game much better than the ‘’potato patch’’ grass courts once associated with
Australia. “I do like the surface,’’ he said. “I think that is the most important factor, that every time I come to Australia I play on Rebound Ace... that particular surface makes me play really, really confident,’’ Kafelnikov
said. The Russian right-hander settled quickly back into familiar territory, beating Knippschild — his first round victim last year — in just 92 minutes on Melbourne Park’s centre
court. Kafelnikov will meet another German in Nicolas Kiefer in the second
round. Success there will keep Kafelnikov on track for a likely quarterfinal against top seed Gustavo Kuerten who beat Argentina’s Gaston Gaudio 7-5, 6-7, 6-3,
7-5. Two former top names were among the casualties on Tuesday. The mercurial Chilean Marcelo Rios was knocked out by fellow former world No. 1 Carlos Moya 6-3, 6-3, 6-2. Rios had a fantastic start to the year after winning the title in Doha but struggled with injuries throughout
2000. “Maybe I’m not mentally prepared yet to play good,’’ he
said. Michael Chang, who won the French Open as a teenager back in 1989, fell to Frenchman Fabrice Santoro 5-7, 6-4, 3-6, 4-6. Chang and Rios were both
unseeded. Among other seeded players, Frenchmen Sebastien Grosjean and Arnaud Clement both made it to the second
round. Grosjean, seeded 16, beat Croatian Ivan Ljubicic 6-0, 7-6, 6-4, while 15th seed Clement had a similarly comfortable 6-3, 6-2, 7-5 win over Spanish qualifier Tommy Robredo. Eleventh seed Franco Squillari of Argentina also progressed to the second round, beating David Sanchez of Spain 6-3, 6-4,
6-2. On the women’s side, 10th seed Amanda Coetzer of South Africa beat Canada’s Sonya Jeyaseelan 6-2,
6-4. Australia’s Alicia Molik earlier suffered the embarrassment of recording the tournament’s first 0-6, 0-6 defeat. She was thrashed by Croatia’s Silvija Talaja in less than an
hour. Switzerland’s Martina Hingis strolled into the second round with a 6-1, 6-1 win over Hungary’s Katalin Marosi-Aracama. The World No. 1 took just 38 minutes to defeat her outclassed Hungarian opponent and advance to a second-round meeting with Belgian Els Callens. Hingis, Australian Open champion in 1997, 1998 and 1999, was far too good for her nervous opponent, hitting winners at will on the centre
court. Hingis was defeated by Lindsay Davenport in last year’s Australian Open final but has not been beaten at all this year after winning the Hopman Cup for Switzerland and the Sydney International for
herself. France’s Amelie Mauresmo beat Japan’s Ai Sugiyama 6-3, 6-3. The 13th seed will play Nicole Pratt in the second round after the Australian beat Maja Palaversic of Croatia 6-4, 6-2 earlier in the
day. Mauresmo was beaten by Martina Hingis in the 1999 Australian Open but has struggled with her fitness since
then. She was forced to pull out of her semifinal against Lindsay Davenport at last week’s Sydney International because of a recurring back problem but was passed fit to play in
Melbourne. AFP adds: Number seven seed Lleyton Hewitt had to draw on all his resolve to overcome a hamstring strain and beat gritty Swede Jonas Bjorkman in five
sets. “I came out and gave it everything I had,” said the 19-year-old after winning 7-5, 4-6, 2-6, 6-3, 6-2. “I hung in there and thank God it was enough.” |
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Anand shares points with Kasparov WIJK AAN ZEE (The Netherlands), Jan 16 (UNI) — The first major clash of the chess giants Viswanathan Anand and Gary Kasparov in the Corus 2001 International Tournament here in the sea-side resort of Wijk Aan Zee ended with even honours. The was a match full of thrills and Anand may actually in more ways than one gain some psychological advantage from the game as he looked like having some chances at various stages. Kasparov fired his first salvo in the most eagerly awaited game of the tournament with an e4 move. Anand replied with e5 to indicate a preference for the Ruy Lopez and once again the archangel variation which had appeared at the FIDE world final between Anand and Shirov reared its head up. Anand in a repeat of the FIDE final held his own in it. Anand equalised fairly early and then proceeded to play energetically. By the 22nd move, though Kasparov had a pawn, Anand had enough compensation in terms of position. As the game progressed, Kasparov also looked a little short in time though there was no problem of any sort. Twice he seemed to have made mistakes, to which Anand was quoted later as saying, ''He did make mistakes, but the question is whether I missed something. I don't think, for it seemed the mistakes were not really huge to be called blunders." The mistakes, or what were perceived as such, were the kh2 and qb5 on moves 29 and 30. In the end, Kasparov held on and the game which lasted 37 moves ended in a draw just before the first time control. When asked on the belief that he looked better at time, Anand said, "I also think that I was better at time, but not really better to the point of making anything more from it." ''Maybe there was a win, but it certainly was not easy and I could not see it. So it was a draw,'' he added. On the result, Anand said, "It is
okay. The result was alright." And for good measure, he added, ''It was
fun.'' |
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Punjab Govt rescinds
order on Raminder CHANDIGARH, Jan 16 — The Punjab Government has rescinded its June 22 order appointing the State Director of Sports, Lt-Col Raminder Singh, as Adviser, Sports, against an ex-cadre
post. Lt-Col Raminder Singh, son-in-law of the former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh had challenged the order of the government in the Punjab and Haryana High Court where a Division Bench comprising Mr Justice N.K. Sodhi and Mr Justice R.C. Kathuria, stayed the operation of the impugned order on July 3 besides issuing a notice of motion to the Punjab Government for September 13, last
year. He had challenged the order of the government claiming it to be “vindictive as he was the son-in-law of former Chief Minister, who belonged to the Congress, while the present state government was of the Shiromani Akali Dal-Bharatiya Janata Party
alliance.” The Colonel had also maintained that one of the reasons for shifting him from a cadre post to a non-cadre post had been the ensuing National Games for which a budget of Rs 700 crore had been proposed. The order of appointment of Mr Vishavjeet Khanna as Director of Sports clearly stated that he would have all the powers to make purchases and spend on the development of infrastructure. This was done, he said, considering him a hinderance in utilising this huge
budget. He also maintained that he had been working against a cadre post and the state government had no power to shift him to a non-cadre
post. The state government, however, failed to file any reply on September 13 as the case was adjourned to January 10. On January 9, the Punjab Government issued a new order to “withdraw its order of June 22, 2000, regarding the posting of Lt-Col Raminder Singh, as Adviser, Sports Department, against a new ex-cadre
post. Sources reveal that there was opposition to post the Colonel against a newly created ex-cadre post not only from within the Department but also from the State Administration. Even the Chief Minister was reportedly not in favour of shifting the Colonel to an ex-cadre
position. Once the appointment of Lt-Colonel Raminder Singh as Adviser, Sports Department, was rescinded, the petition became infructuous. Subsequent to stay order of July 3, the Punjab Government made Mr Vishavjeet Khanna, Special Secretary,
Sports. Lt-Col Raminder Singh continued to exercise full powers of the Director following the High Court’s interim order. Now the National Games, too, have been postponed till September.
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CHENNAI, Jan 16 (UNI) — The England (under-19) cricket team collapsed for 183, conceding a first innings lead of 92 runs to South Zone (under-19), following fine spells of medium pace and off spin by L. Balaji (4-54) and Mohammed Faiq (4-40), respectively, on the second day of the three-day match here today. At stumps on the second day, South Zone, who had earlier declared their first innings closed at the overnight score of 275 for eight, were 43 losing the wicket of opener Shesank Nag (0) in 10.5 overs. South Zone (1st innings): 275 for 8 decl. England (first innings): John Saddler c Md T. Hussain 32, Nickey Peng b Steve Lazarus 11, Kadeer ali c & b Md Faiq 13, Gordon Muchall lbw l Balaji 14, Ian Pattison b L. Balaji 19, Mark Wallace b L. Balaji 25, Chris Tremlett b Md Faiq 49, Robert Ferley lbw Md Faiq 0, K. Hogg c N. Yadav b Md Faiq 0, Monty Panesar lbw L. Balaji 0, Nadeem Malik (not out) 0. Extras (lb 4, nb 16) 20. Total 183. Fall of wkts: 1-31, 2-60, 3-64, 4-83, 5-100, 6-157, 7-166, 8-175, 9-183, 10-183 Bowling:
Steve Lazarus 13-0-53-1, L. Balaji 22-4-54-4, Md Faiq 22.4-8-40-4, G. Shankar Rao 16-8-17-1, N. Arjun Yadav 3-1-15-0. South Zone
(Second Innings): T. Suman (batting) 39, Seshank Nag c Kadeer Ali b Monty Panser 0. Fall of wkts: 1-43. Bowling:
Kyle Hogg 4-0-23-0, Nadeem Malik 5-3-8-0, Chris Tremlett 1-0-3-0, Monty Panesar 0.5-0-5-1. |
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MUMBAI, Jan 16 (UNI) — Former champions Border Security Force (BSF) today bounced back from 0-2 deficit to prevail over Indian Navy 6-5 via tie-breaker in a controversial match, while Bombay Customs trounced Southern Railway (Chennai) 4-0 to enter the quarterfinals of the Gold Cup Hockey Tournament here at the Mahindra
Stadium. BSF now meet Indian Airlines and Customs play Uttar Pradesh
eleven. BSF looked dead and buried while trailing 0-2 and two players getting yellow cards. The dispute arose when umpire Ranjit Dalvi whistled for the second Navy goal which BSF disputed claiming the ball which was essayed by Manoj Lokhande just outside the circle had not brushed any of its players. Dalvi stood firm as the other umpire Vijay Shetty confirmed the
goal. The game was stopped for 10 minutes and the Bombay Hockey Association had to inform the police as a
precaution. Fortunately wiser counsel prevailed and on resumption BSF played hockey with vengeance scoring a field goal in the 43rd minute and equalising two minutes later by converting a short corner.
In the tie-breaker two Navy spot shooters made errors while executing pushes — backfoot crossing the front foot — which cost the Mumbai outfit the match.
Navy had a superb ball game in the first half sounding the board in the 15th minute when Lokhande, S. Gurde and A. Haque ran in unison to send the defence haywire. Haque in the last minute swerved away from goalie Harvinder Singh to
score. Haque would have helped in avoiding the needless fraying of tempers if he had not passed to an unprepared Lokhande in front of the open goal soon after the
breather. After the eruption and cooling down of the matters, BSF defender Christopher joining the attack made an accurate angular hit for the first goal. Mangu Tirkey then sent a perfect carpet drive while taking the seventh short corner.
The Southern Railway were never in the game though they managed to keep the goal intact for 30 minutes against speedy Customs men. Then came a timely centre from Tahseen Sheikh and all Stanley Fernandes had to do was tap it
in. In the 39th minute Savio Naik dodged past two defenders from the side of the goal to hit the net and Fernades converted a stroke in the 52nd minute after Mujeeb Kazi had done the spade
work. Kazi himself scored the fourth goal in the 66th minute. |
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Badminton title for PU eves CHANDIGARH, Jan 16 — It was a big day for hosts Panjab University, Chandigarh eves when they were able to repeat history after more than two decades by winning the coveted badminton title in the final of the All India Inter Varsity Badminton
Tournament, overpowering Calicut University 2-1, here today. Another title for men went in favour of North Zone champions Delhi University when they won a six hour marathon battle at 3-2 against defending champions Calicut
University. What was interesting was that for today’s finals, Kanwal Thakur Singh, Arjuna awardee, and Commonwealth Games bronze medallist was the chief guest. She revealed that it was in 1956-1957 that for the first time Panjab University won the All-India women’s title and after two decades she herself along with her elder sister Kiran Thakur Singh, wife of Anupam Kher, now a cine star, bagged the women’s title. Kanwal now settled in the USA though belonging to the city was in tears saying that now in front of her eyes, Panjab University eves had made her proud. She later awarded the trophies to the winning
teams. The final played between PU and Calicut began with Merit George of Calicut taking the first singles against Sarda Devi in two straight games, conceding six points each. In the doubles, played between Merit and Anu Mol of Calicut with Nazma and Sarda of PU, it appeared that after the losing the first game at 9-15, PU had lost the tie. But then came the surprise with PU eves turning the tables wrapping up the next two games at 15-1,
15-10. At this juncture, it was 1-1. Then the onus shifted to Nazma Parveen, a BA final year student of Khalsa College, Ludhiana, who did the needful by winning the match in straight games and sealing the historic win. Nazma deserved kudos for her cool temperament, said Mr Surinder Mahajan, coach of the
team. The men’s final proved to be a cliff hanger with Delhi men winning the first two singles at 2-0 but Calicut shuttlers equalised at 2-2. Then in the decider doubles, DU men were able to win the crucial match in three games and the
title. PU men secured the fourth place. Results (final women): Panjab University b Calicut University 2-1 (H Sarda Devi lost to Merit George 6-11, 6-11; Nazma Parveen and H. Sarda Devi b Merit George and Anu Mol Joy 9-15, 15-1, 15-10; Nazma Parveen b Anu Mol 11-8,
11-0.) Men: Delhi b Calicut 3-2 (Hemant Duggal b V. Diju 15-8, 15-9; Manmeet b Saurabh Saboo 15-4,15-6; Manmeet and Hemant lost to V. Diju and Bidu Balan 1-15, 15-8, 15-11; Sandeep Kaushik lost to PV Sajith 10-15, 11-15; Sukhvinder and
Satwinder b PV Sajith and C valson 15-10, 10-15, 15-6.
Third place: DAH Indore b PU Chandigarh 3-1 ( Prateek lost to Touseef Ahmed 13-15, 10-15; Nimish b Deepak Sidhu 15-7, 15-4; Munish and Vicky b Rajnikant Parajapati and Varun Sharma 4-15, 15-9, 15-10; Vicky Jaswal b Varun 13-15, 15-4, 15-1). |
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Athletics camp a farce PATIALA, Jan 16 — That top Indian athletes are either a disinterested lot or have yet to recover from the reverses of the Sydney Olympics is reflected from the extremely poor turnout at the ongoing senior national athletics camp being held at the NIS here. Even a cursory glance over the roster confirms that the camp, which commenced on January 4, has been virtually reduced to a farce what with the Amatuer Athletic Federation of India (AAFI) selecting 76 probables out of which just 26 have reported till today morning and this despite the fact that more than 10 days have elapsed since the camp began. The camp is being held in preparation for the Afro-Asian games scheduled to be held at New Delhi from November 3 to 11 and the World Athletic Championships slated to be held in Canada in August. This time, even the Sports Authority of India (SAI), in a refreshing change, has adopted a tough attitude towards athletes who are playing truant from national camps. Taking a rigid stand, the Executive Director (Teams) Major O.P. Bhatia has circulated a letter in which it has been made clear that no athlete will be allowed to join the camp after January 11. Some athletes, including olympians K. Beenamol and Lijo David, arrived after January 11 and were not allowed to join the camp. However, the authorities later relented and allowed K. Beenamol, Lijo David and a couple of others to join but only after getting their names cleared from the Executive Director (Teams). Although the athletes parrot the excuse that they were not informed of the dates of the camp by the federation, AAFI sources say that since there is no foreign tour in sight in the next couple of months, athletes are not enthusiastic about joining the proceedings. The AAFI writes to various states and it’s affiliate units regarding the selection of athletes for camps and the state or affiliate units further inform the athletes of their selection. Some of the athletes who had earlier reported, including Sydney Olympians Jagdeesh Bishnoi, P. Ramachandran and Jata Shanker, have already left the camp after taking permission from the authorities. Among the top athletes who have yet to join the two-month-long camp are shot putter Bahadur Singh, sprinters Anil Kumar and Ajay Raj Singh, and quarter miler Paramjit Singh, all of who represented the country at the Sydney Olympics, middle distance runners Sunita Rani and Bangkok Asian games double gold medallist Jyotirmoy Sikdar. Among the ‘star’ athletes present at the camp are Olympians Shakti Singh, Lijo David, Neelam J. Singh, K.Beenamol and Jincy Philips. Out of the 26 athletes who are undergoing training braving in cold and chilly conditions 16 are men while there are 16 athletes on the distaff side. The AAFI had selected 14 coaches to oversee the preparations but interestingly many of them have yet to join, prominent among them being Mr H.S. Shaheed, Mr Kuntal Roy, Mr M.S. Dhillon and Ms Renu Kohli. The manner in which athletes are going through the paces in the camp clearly shows their lack of enthusiasm and many top athletes, preferring anonymity, admit that they were here purely out of
necessity rather than to have any serious training in the run up for the World Championships and the Afro-Asian games. |
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Junior athletics from
today BANGALORE, Jan 16 (UNI) — A keen fare is on the cards as the cream of Indian junior athletes would battle out for the top honours at the four-day 16th Junior National Athletic Championships getting under way here tomorrow.
Several records are likely to tumble at the meet probables for the Asian Junior Championship to be held at Brunei will be picked up. Bangalore has been a happy hunting ground for the athletes to better their performances with the weather being excellent now. Being the last meet of the calendar and the first of the
millennium, the athletes would go flat out to erase the marks.
As a junior meet was being held on the synthetic surface for the first time, better performances could be expected from the boys and girls competing in under-20, under-18, under 16 and under 14 categories. While 57 events would be held in the boys’ section, girls would have 53 events. Five would be common
events. For the first time, pole vault for girls was being introduced in the championship.
A record number of over 1450 athletes from 26 states would be competing in the event with newly carved out Jharkhand taking part in the first national event. As they had not got the affiliation yet, they would be contesting under the banner of the Amateur Athletic Federation of India. Jharkhand, which had lost some athletes to Bihar, was fielding a contingent of 100 athletes.
Already, athletes from 21 states have arrived. Entries had not been received from north eastern states like Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Tripura, Manipur and
Sikkim. The athletes would come under close scrutiny as the Aafi had constituted a separate board of three members to check the age of competitors and they would undergo dope test in certain cases. The meet would also have latest technical equipment like photo finish camera and electronic distance measuring gadgets.
Last year’s champions Kerala, who had won the overall title in Salem, would face stiff competition from Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and some northern states. Karnataka, fielding a big contingent, would go flat out to bag the overall title and had made serious preparations for the meet.
Karnataka Chief Minister S.M. Krishna will inaugurate the meet. Karnataka Amateur Athletic Association will felicitate
Aafi President Suresh Kalmadi on his election as the President of Asian Amateur Athletic Association. The association will also felicitate Rosa Kutty and
G. G. Pramila, who represented the country in the Sydney Olympics, Asian Junior Track and Field silver medallists Bindu Rani. |
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South Korea - Japan row over World Cup title SEOUL, Jan 16 (AFP) — South Korea’s top football official today accused Japan of undermining their co-hosting of the 2002 World Cup finals as the rivals marked the 500-day countdown to the start of the event. Korean organising committee chief Chung Mong-Joon, a vice-president of the international governing body FIFA, condemned Japan’s organising committee for trying to change the official title of the event. The South Korean committee, KOWOC, has made an official complaint to FIFA because Japan is putting its name before Korea on tickets. Under a 1996 accord, the tournament should be called “2002 FIFA World Cup Korea/Japan.” Chung attacked the Japanese organising committee, JAWOC, at a press conference called to launch the countdown. “The fact that JAWOC is trying to change the order of the official title to Japan/Korea I think will be in violation of the agreement with FIFA”. “I think this will also undermine the co-hosting spirit between the two countries,” Chung said. KOWOC made an official complaint to the international governing body last Thursday, a KOWOC spokeswoman said. The two countries were fierce rivals to secure the finals before FIFA awarded the event to both in 1996. They made an accord on several co-hosting disputes the same year. With FIFA as arbitrators, they agreed on the official title of the tournament and that the opening match on May 31, 2002 would be in Seoul, with the final played in Yokohama, Japan, on June 30, 2002. The Japanese organising committee (JAWOC) has changed the order to Japan-Korea on its tickets for domestic sales. Tickets go on sale around the world on February 15. Chung also complained that KOWOC was only informed of the change by its Japanese counterpart “at the last minute.” JAWOC has argued there was an unofficial agreement that the name rule would not apply to domestic promotional campaigns and only concerned the English title, officials said. JAWOC has insisted it will continue to use Japan-Korea during the build up to the 32-nation competition which is being co-hosted for the first time. In a prepared statement, Chung acknowledged worries about South Korea and Japan jointly hosting the first World Cup finals to be held in Asia. “Such concerns were justified because there was no such precedent of co-hosting in the history of the World Cup and because historically the two countries were at odds with each other. “In order to eliminate such concerns and to make the event a resounding success, Korea and Japan must work closely together based on the spirit of co-hosting.” Chung insisted that so far there had been no “major hitches” but both countries must be careful. “To prevent any unexpected problems from undermining the success of the World Cup, the two countries need to develop a good understanding of the significance of co-hosting based on a mature partnership.” Chung, who said he is considering standing for the FIFA presidency or as South Korea’s head of state, said the fact that South Korea was spending almost $ 2 billion on 10 new stadia “shows our commitment to keep our promises.” Both countries are ploughing ahead though with frenzied construction and renovation of stadia. The Confederations Cup — to be held in South Korea and Japan in June — will be the first big rehearsal. The 63,930 seater Seoul World Cup stadium — Asia’s largest purpose built soccer stadium — is more than two thirds finished and is due to be ready around September. The Yokohama stadium, built in 1997, can seat 70,564 people but will be one of the smallest used for a final. The city of Yokohama will install 1,800 extra seats and is studying the possibility of putting seats on the field. |
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Munich court ends Beckers’ marriage BECKER versus Becker, the bitter celebrity bust-up which had threatened to turn into a long, highly publicised and diplomatically sensitive legal battle, was yesterday brought to an abrupt end. A court in Munich announced that the retired tennis star, Boris Becker, and his wife, Barbara, had been granted a divorce in a hearing behind closed doors. The speed with which the ruling was made — barely a month after their separation — astonished German family lawyers. A couple must normally be separated for a year before a divorce is granted in Germany. Exceptions can, however, be made if the court is persuaded that a delay would cause hardship. Becker and his lawyers had argued in separate proceedings in the USA that the publicity surrounding the case could increase the security risk to his children. His wife has contested this. Yesterday’s ruling, which only Becker was in court to hear, put an end to the most talked about marriage in Germany — an inter-racial partnership that disconcerted many of the tennis ace’s fans at first, but which came to be acknowledged as symbolic of an increasingly multi-ethnic society. Its collapse had threatened to take on an even wider dimension. After initially ruling out a divorce and declaring that his wife could have custody of their sons, Becker abruptly changed direction. He filed both for divorce and sole custody of the children. And in a further, and potentially explosive move, he sought help from the German authorities, claiming that his sons had been abducted by their mother. Mrs Becker, daughter of an American, had flown to the family’s holiday home in Florida with her children, Noah Gabriel, six, and Elias Balthasar, one, after the announcement of the separation. Her lawyers counter-claimed that Becker had attempted to kidnap his sons on a Christmas visit to Florida. His application for their return was lodged under the auspices of the 1980 Hague convention, which says that the children of split marriages should be returned to their country of habitual residence. The convention is among the thorniest issues in relations between Germany and the USA. America claims that German courts persistently violate the agreement by failing to hand back children abducted to Germany. A US court decision in favour of such a high-profile German celebrity as Becker would almost certainly have prompted heated controversy. Last week, a judge in Miami who had been asked to rule on applications from both parties, gave them 10 days to settle their differences out of court. But there was no indication that they would be divorced before the deadline expired. Becker had earlier failed in a bid to get the proceedings held in private and faced the uneasy prospect of starring in a prolonged, televised courtroom drama. A German Press report at the weekend said the Beckers had agreed on arrangements for the children and a financial settlement. Becker’s German lawyers confirmed yesterday that the parents would share custody of their children and had agreed on dividing property. But they said that the figures that had been reported were too high. The tabloid Bild am Sonntag reported that the deal involved Becker paying a lump sum of DM30m (almost $ 15 million) to his estranged wife. He was also said to have undertaken to pay for the upbringing of their two children. Such an arrangement would represent a resounding victory for Mrs Becker, who had been guaranteed only DM5m in a prenuptial agreement. Under the reported terms of the agreement, Mrs Becker would have the right to choose whether to live in future at the couple’s apartment in an up-market condominium on Fisher Island near Miami or at their villa in Munich. The three-times Wimbledon tennis champion and his wife, a former actress and model, were married in 1993.
— Guardian News Service |
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PUNE, Jan 16 (UNI) — The reigning champion Havaldar Gurudarshan Singh of the Service Sports Control Board (SSCB), emerged as the most enduring long distance runner of the country, winning the 50 km walk at the Open National Walking Championship for the third time in a row to complete a hat-trick at the Chhatrapatti Shivaji sports city in Mahalunge-Balewadi here
yesterday. He clocked four hours, 39 minutes and 56 seconds to win the gruelling walk. The tall and sturdy 30-year-old Gurudarshan Singh, regimental after being involved in a close fight with his team-mate Havaldar Krishna Singh, stole the march over the latter by just a distance of some 10 metres. “I however, consider my best effort against Havaldar Rewat Singh in the 1995 race, Gurudarshan
said. This is the second time Gurudarshan Singh has secured a hat-trick. Earlier, he won for three years in a row from 1994 to
96. The sturdy men from the Services Sports Control Board made a virtual clean sweep by winning the first three slots in the 20 km walk earlier. |
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Asian school hockey:
India in pool A LUDHIANA, Jan 16 — The Asian School Hockey Tournament will be held from January 18 to 25 at PAU Astro Turf hockey ground here . This was announced by Mr P.S. Chabra, secretary-general School Games Federation of India, here today in a press briefing. The teams have been grouped in two pools i.e. ‘A’ and ‘B’. In pool A the teams are India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. In pool B the teams are Malaysia, Singapore, Iran and Uzbekistan. The tournament will be played on league-cum-knock out basis. An exhibition match will also be played between India and Uzbekistan on January 22 at
Takhanbad, Moga. The tournament will be inaugurated by Mr Tota Singh, State Education Minister while Mr Parkash Singh Badal Chief Minister will preside over the closing ceremony. |
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Top players for
national tennis KOLKATA, Jan 16 (UNI) — All the top men and women players of the country, except Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi, will be seen in action at the Indian Oil-Servo Masters National Grasscourt Tennis Championship to be held at the South Club courts from January 27 to February
3. According to the Chairman of the organising committee, Dr Vece Paes, the competitors in the meet with Rs 5 lakh as prize money include Syed Fazaluddin, Prahlad Srinath, Mustafa Ghouse and Vishal Uppal in the men’s section while Nirupama Vaidyanathan, Sai Jayalakshmi, Manisha Malhotra and Rushmi Chakravarty would lead the challenge in the women’s
section. |
Windies to tour
Zimbabwe ST JOHN’S (Antigua) Jan 16 (Reuters) — West Indies will play two Tests and a triangular one-day series in Zimbabwe in June and July, the Caribbean News Agency
said. The one-day series from June 23 to July 7 also involves India. The first Test will be played on July 19-23. The tour ends in Harare with the second Test on July 27-31. |
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Anil Kumble to undergo surgery MUMBAI, Jan 16 (PTI) — Indian leg-spinner Anil Kumble, who is suffering from shoulder pain in his bowling arm, would be operated by orthopaedic surgeon Dr Mark Fergusson in Johannesburg, South Africa, tomorrow. Cricket Board Secretary Jaywant Lele told PTI here today that Kumble would be out of action for the next four months. |
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