 |
|
| Tuesday, January 23, 2001, Chandigarh, India   
|
Hingis, Kafelnikov through to quarters
BCCI defers decision on PCA, Bindra ACB disturbed at sex bribery claims |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Waugh not to talk to ICC
panel Anand settles for draw Jha, Chanda start with easy wins Sri Lanka slump to
innings defeat Bosnia pip Chile
to enter final Gambhir, Mane in big
stand Jeev starts year on
promising note 25 teams for Misra
boxing meet Indians trounce Uzbekistan Inter-varsity
yoga begins
|
|
Hingis, Kafelnikov through to quarters MELBOURNE, Jan 22 (Reuters) — Former champions Martina Hingis and Yevgeny Kafelnikov marched through the Australian Open fourth round today but play was marred by a security scare when a flare was thrown on court during Anna Kournikova’s doubles match. Kafelnikov, winner in Melbourne in 1999 and runner-up last year, blasted past Swede Andreas Vinciguerra 7-5, 7-5, 6-1. Hingis, three times Australian Open champion, was merciless in a 6-0, 6-3 demolition of unseeded Italian Rita Grande. Her big sister Venus is seeded to be looming in the semifinals for either Hingis or Serena. Former US Open runner-up Rusedski had downed top seed Gustavo Kuerten in the second round but was unable to reproduce that form against the flashy Frenchman, who is seeded 15th. Security staff detained a 15-year-old boy after a bright orange flare was thrown on to court one at Melbourne Park during Kournikova’s doubles match, the second security breach in two years for the tournament. The flare was thrown from the stands during a point in the first set of the match between Kournikova and her partner Barbara Schett against Japanese pair of Shinobu Asagoe and Yuka Yoshida. No one was hurt. “I was hitting the ball. Suddenly something just dropped in front of me,’’ Kournikova told reporters. Schett said: “Suddenly everything was orange’’ but added neither she nor Kournikova were afraid. “It wasn’t a bomb or anything,’’ the Austrian said. Play was interrupted for 12 minutes, the players retiring to courtside chairs while a tournament official painted over a scorch mark left on the court by the flare. Kournikova and Schett dropped the first set but recovered after the incident to beat the Japanese pair 2-6, 6-3, 6-3. Kournikova said she was happy with the level of security provided by the tournament. “I think in general it’s pretty good,’’ she said. “You can never predict anything.’’ The 52nd ranked Vinciguerra pushed 1999 Australian Open champion and 2000 runner-up Kafelnikov in the first two sets but succumbed on his own serve at crucial points and then weakened in the third set against the confident Russian. Kafelnikov will meet Clement in the quarterfinals after the Frenchman’s surprisingly easy dismissal of Rusedski. Despite his win over Kuerten, Rusedski had no answer to Clement’s array of passing shots. Clement hit winners seemingly at will, many from the backhand as he mixed deft volleys with whipping passing shots. Rusedski hammered 19 aces but marred his usually strong service game with double faults at crucial times. He double-faulted twice to hand Clement a decisive break in the 11th game of the third set. Hingis and Serena Williams had few concerns as they brushed aside lesser opponents. “It was all me. Whatever I did to the ball it was me missing or me making the points,’’ Hingis said. Sixth seed Serena blasted Bedanova and has not lost a set in her first four matches, dropping just 19 games on her way to her first Australian Open quarterfinals. American Venus Williams, seeded third, beat Amelie Mauresmo of France 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 to reach the quarterfinals. Williams, who won last year’s Wimbledon, US and Olympic titles, claimed victory after one hour 41 minutes to reach the Australian Open quarterfinals for the third time in three appearances at Melbourne Park. Williams took the first set in 28 minutes with two breaks of serve. She lost the second after leading 2-1 following a series of unforced errors. Mauresmo, who made the 1999 Australian Open final, fought back from a break down in the third but immediately dropped her own service again as Williams sealed victory with an ace. Williams will now play South African Amanda Coetzer for a place in the semifinals after the 10th seed toppled Paola Suarez of Argentina 6-1, 6-4. AFP adds: Carlos Moya shoved aside the hangover of his euphoric victory over Lleyton Hewitt to storm into the quarterfinals. The 1997 finalist and 1998 French Open champion fought back from an early break down in the first set to carry out his expected victory over German Rainer Schuettler, 7-6 (7/2), 6-3, 6-4 in just under two hours. Moya went rally for rally with the never-say-die Australian Hewitt over three hours 48 minutes to win a gripping five-setter in the previous round early yesterday. It was always going to be difficult for the 24-year-old Spaniard backing up against a lower-ranked opponent from the emotional highs of beating seventh-seeded Hewitt in such a pressure-cooker match. |
|
BCCI defers decision on PCA, Bindra NEW DELHI, Jan 22 — The Working Committee of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), which met here today, has taken a serious view of some of the star player skipping important domestic tournaments like the Ranji Trophy, the Duleep Trophy and the Deodhar Trophy on flimsy grounds, and has firmly resolved to read the riot act, to make the stars see reason. The BCCI President, Dr A.C. Muthiah, told newsmen after the Working Committee meeting, which was attended, among others, by Union Minister for Law and Justice Arun Jaitly, who is also the President of the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA), as a special invitee, and the newly-elected President of the Mumbai Cricket Association, Mr Sharad Pawar, as a “guest”, that “we have taken a serious view of the non-participation of the some of the players in dometic tournaments like Ranji Trophy, Duleep Trophy and Deodhar Trophy and the players have been strictly told to give solid reasons before abstaining from domestic matches”. Dr Muthiah warned that those who skip domestic tournaments may not be considered for selection by the national selectors for India teams, “whoever he may be”. Dr Muthiah said another important decision taken was to refer the Disciplinary Committee’s findings on charges against the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) and its President, Mr Inderjit Singh Bindra, to the special general body of the Board to be convened in Chennai on February 23, for “discussion, approval and action”. When asked whether the Working Committee was not empowered to act on the Disciplinary Committee’s findings on the PCA and Mr Bindra, Dr Muthiah replied in the negative as he said that only the general body was empowered to take action against a state unit and its President, though the Disciplinary Committee had the power to take action against players. Dr Muthiah also confirmed that former Australian international Jeff Marsh has been approached to give an overall lift to Indian cricket, and for this purpose, he has been asked to present a paper before the BCCI on March 29. He said the board felt that “some outside opinion” would be very much in order for giving a new thrust to Indian cricket, and since “Australia have emerged as (virtual) world beaters, we thought Jeff Marsh could provide some valuable tips to Indian cricket.” Dr Muthiah clarified that John Wright of New Zealand would continue as the coach of the Indian team, while Rodney Marsh of Australia would be the “consultant “ for the National Coaches’ Academy, and though Jeff Marsh “will not be directly involved (in the affairs of the national team), if he has any tips to give, he will give them to Wright”. Dr Muthiah also said that Jeff Marsh’s appointment “will in no way impinge on the rights of the Technical Committee (headed by Sunil Gavaskar)”. The board President said Gavaskar’s resignation from the National Cricket Academy (NCA) had not been accepted, though the BCCI was looking for replacements for Vasu Paranjpae and Hanumanth Singh, who had also quit the Bangalore-based NCA. Former Indian player Roger Binny is already associated with the NCA. He said the BCCI will be bearing the full expenditure of Anil Kumble’s shoulder surgery conducted by a Johannesburg-based doctor in South Africa. He said today’s meeting also clarified the “ambiguity” about Test centres getting one-day international matches. Henceforth, the nine Test centres in the country will also be getting one-day matches. Dr Muthiah said in future all cricket tours will be strictly on rotation basis, so as to avoid any sort of confusion. |
|
ACB disturbed at sex bribery claims SYDNEY, Jan 22 (AFP) — Australia’s cricket authority today denied that there was evidence linking its players to new allegations tarnishing the game’s image — that Australian prostitutes were used to lure top players into match-fixing. But Australian Cricket Board (ACB) chief executive Malcolm Speed said the board did not know if any Australian player or teams had benefited inadvertently from the sex bribery alleged to have happened in the 1980s. “What is disturbing is the suggestion, and I’m not sure if it goes this far, that matches played in that period may have not been played fully on their merits,” he said. The latest blow to the game follows the announcement last week that cricket anti-corruption investigators would interview veteran Australian batsman Mark Waugh next month over cricket’s match-fixing scandal. But Waugh said through his manager today that, acting on advice from his lawyers, he would refuse to be interviewed. Mr Speed told ABC radio he had contacted the International Cricket Council (ICC) anti-corruption unit about the latest allegations, reported by Britain’s Observer newspaper to have been made by former Pakistani Test batsman Qasim Omar. Qasim, who played 28 Tests in the 1980s, gave the anti-corruption unit a list of names, addresses and phone numbers of 23 mostly Australian call-girls and the Australian bookmaker said to have employed them. The girls, said to include a doctor, a nurse and a glamorous television presenter, were allegedly supplied by the bookmaker through two Sydney brothel owners, starting in the mid-1980s. The anti-corruption unit, headed by former top English policeman Sir Paul Condon, wants to interview the bookmaker and the girls when it visits Australia next month. Mr Speed said he had contacted the ICC anti-corruption unit, had confirmed it had the file from Qasim and it had said it would investigate the allegations. “We’ve established three things, first that this story is not new: it has been published in a London newspaper some time previously,” he added. “Secondly, it relates to incidents that occurred in the period 1984 to 1987 and thirdly, there are no Australian officials or players involved in these allegations. “What is of concern to the ACB, however, is that it’s alleged that an Australian bookmaker was involved... We’d like to find out more about that.” Mr Speed said he had no idea who was involved, nor the names of the players. But while it was unlikely the ACB could do anything about it so long afterward, it could be a matter for the gambling regulatory authority or the police if criminal offences had been committed. Qasim told The Observer the prostitutes, all Australian apart from one Pakistani and a Chinese, were used to lure some of the game’s best-known players into throwing games or to reward them for under-performing. Prominent players had sex with the girls as part of crooked deals, struck in hotels and restaurants in Sydney and Melbourne, and which Qasim said had destroyed cricket’s honourable image. The bookie had paid up to £ 3,600 for players to lose their wickets and rewarded them also with items such as jewellery and alcohol. Qasim also made allegations about a similar sex scandal in New Zealand. Condon and his team are to brief the ICC’s quarterly meeting in Melbourne from February 9 to 10 about the progress of inquiries into match-fixing. The six-man unit, which started inquiries last September, has a three-year brief to uncover corruption in the sport. |
|
Waugh not to talk to ICC panel SYDNEY, Jan 22 (Reuters) — Australian batsman Mark Waugh has announced he won’t meet with the unit investigating corruption in cricket after previously saying he was happy to co-operate. Waugh said last week he was prepared to speak with the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) anti-corruption investigators when they visit Melbourne next month after he was named in an Indian police report into match-fixing. But his manager released a statement today saying he had changed his mind after discussing the case with his lawyers. “Mark Waugh’s lawyer Raff Pisano of Maddock, Lonie and Chisholm today informed the ACB that her client has presently declined its request for him to be interviewed by the ACB and the ICC investigators in early February,” the statement said. “Waugh’s focus is on his commitment to cricket and to ensure the game’s reputation is not further tarnished by endless inquiries and speculation.’’ Waugh was named last year by Indian bookmaker M.K. Gupta as having taken money in exchange for information. Waugh has strongly denied the claims and has said he has nothing more to add after being quizzed on the matter before. “Pisano says Waugh has co-operated with the previous ACB and the ICC inquiries and is continuing to co-operate with their present inquiries,” the statement said. “The ACB and the ICC have not provided Waugh with any evidence about the unsubstantiated allegations made by M.K. Gupta in the CBI”. “He has already denied those allegations.’’ The ACB was not immediately available for comment. Waugh was due to be interviewed by the ICC anti-corruption unit in Melbourne next month when the ICC has its quarterly meeting. In 1998, Waugh and team-mate Shane Warne admitted to taking money from a bookmaker called “John” in return for pitch and weather information in 1994. The two players were fined by the ACB in 1995 but the matter was kept quiet until it was exposed in 1998.
|
|
|
Anand settles for draw
WIJK ANN ZEE, Jan 22 (PTI) — The spate of draws continued for world champion grandmaster Viswanathan Anand in the Corus Grandmaster Group A chess tournament as he split points in the fifth consecutive game against Alexander Morozevich of Russia in the seventh round. Alexei Shirov of Spain maintained his lead at 5.5 points with an easy draw against Michael Adams of England. Russians Gary Kasparov and Vladmir Kramnik, who registered seventh round victories over Vaselin Topalov of Bulgaria and Vassily Ivanchuk of Ukraine, respectively, were half a point behind at joint second. Playing white against Morozevich, Anand opened with the queen pawn for the first time in the tournament and faced the the
Russian’s pet Chigorin defence. A connoisseur of this opening, Morozevich showed his profound understanding in the non-standard middlegame wherein it appeared as though Anand had all the initiative he had been looking for. The castling on different flanks paved the way for Morozevich to initiate an attack on the queenside and Anand started to look in troubles despite his well advanced passed pawn on the queen file. The attack soon took a dangerous shape and Anand had to pull up best resources to keep it down. In the end Morozevich ran short of time and decided to repeat the moves. The game lasted 33 moves. Kasparov played a fine attacking game to beat Topalov. Playing white, the highest rated grandmaster in the world employed the English attack and continued on a theoretical discussion he started in 1999 against his opponent, albeit with the opposite colour this time. The game witnessed routine moves till the 19th when Topalov came up with a new idea. Kasparov cashed in on the possibility and embarked on an attack, the repercussions of which were severe on Topalov’s fate though he handled the middlegame in street fighting manner. Kasparov gained a decisive advantage after the 32nd move that turned out to be a blunder by topalov. The rest was quick and easy as Topalov resigned after two more moves. In the other game, Ivanchuk put up a decent fight against Kramnik before going down. The opening choice dated back to the early years of last century and on the eighth move, Ivanchuk surprised Kramnik with a good novelty. Soon the position became violent and Kramnik started to feel the pressure. Through a series of excellent
Manoeuvres, Ivanchuk succeeded in weakening black’s kingside and by the 18th move, had a won position on hand. Resourceful as he is, Kramnik started giving the best possible defence and turned the tables in mutual time scramble. Shirov had no difficulty in holding Adams in another English attack game of the day. The queens were exchanged early and in the ensuing rook and minor piece endgame, neither side had a chance. The draw was agreed to after 37 moves. |
|
|
Jha, Chanda start with easy wins UBEDA (Spain), Jan 22 (PTI) — Sriram Jha produced the biggest upset of the opening day of the Ubeda International Open Chess tournament here which otherwise was one of mixed fortunes for the Indians. Sandipan Chanda and R.B. Ramesh registered easy victories but K. Visweswaran, Aarthie Ramaswamy and Rahul Shetty lost their first round matches yesterday. C.S. Gokhale and Dinesh Kumar Sharma drew their opening games. But it was Jha who took all the attention as he beat sixth seeded GM Oleg Korneev (2600) of Russia with black pieces. Sriram employed the Sicilian Pelikan variation which he rarely plays and sacrificed a pawn in the opening for better development of the pieces. Korneev clung on to the pawn and allowed Sriram to initiate a wonderful piece sacrifice on the fg3 square. Sriram then gave another pawn as clearance sacrifice and won back the piece while Korneev’s king was still in the mating net. Korneev was about to loose his queen or get mated when he decided to give up on the 27th move. IM Ramesh (2467), playing with white pieces against partially blind Draghici (2128) of Sspain, got a slight advantage from the opening in a Sicilian Richter Rauzer game. The game went into long ending where Ramesh showed enough patience to win a pawn and the game in 59 moves. Chanda (2431) survived a scare and managed to squeeze a win in a drawish ending against unrated Dioz Luque of Spain. Chanda completely mishandled the white side of the Sicilian Pelikan variation and allowed Dioz to equalise easily. Chanda then went into an equal ending and slowly put pressure on his opponent with his advanced king. Dioz made some mistakes and allowed chanda to transpose the game into a better knight versus bad bishop ending where Chanda won. Sharma (2353) held GM Bogdan Lalic (2531) to a creditable draw to make it a good beginning for India in the event. Sharma started with the queens gambit declined variation and later transposed into a Dutch Stonewall setup. Most of the pieces were exchanged at regular intervals and the experienced GM offered a draw on the 37th move which Sharma accepted. Gokhale (2326) brought more cheer to the Indian camp when he held GM Sulskis (2501) of Lithuania to a draw. Gokhale faced an irregular opening from the grandmaster but kept his cool to obtain a slightly better position from the opening. Sulskis sensed danger and gave an exchange sacrifice to give perpetual check to Gokhale’s king and draw the game in 38 moves. Visweswaran (2289) lost to R. Perez (2492) of Cuba in a Sicilian Najdorf variation with black pieces. Visweswaran misplayed in the opening and gave a clear advantage to perez. He then maneuvered his rook to the fc5 square to create some counter-play but overlooked a simple tactic from his opponent to get into the mating net and lose the game in 20 moves. IWM Aarthie (2250) faced the Sicilian Richter Rauzer from the black side against IM Meijers (2483) of Germany. Aarthie allowed her opponent to launch a big attack on her king after the players castled on the same side. Aarthie couldn’t counter Meijers’ threats on her king and blundered a piece to a tactic in an already difficult position. IM-elect Shetty began the campaign with a loss against IM Comas Fabrego (2508) with the black pieces of queen’s Indian defence. Shetty obtained an equal position but in the ending he played some bad moves to lose a pawn and allow the opponent king to advance into his territory. In sudden death time control, Shetty gave up on the 61st move. |
|
|
Sri Lanka slump to innings defeat CENTURION (South Africa), Jan 22 (Reuters) — South Africa completed a 2-0 series win today as Sri Lanka suffered their second successive innings defeat within three days in the third and final Test. Sri Lanka were dismissed for 252 shortly after lunch to hand the home side victory by an innings and seven runs. Sri Lanka were dismissed for 119 on Sunday in reply to South Africa’s 378. The end came when opener Kumar Sangakkara was trapped lbw by Makhaya Ntini for 98 in the eighth over after the break. Sangakkara would have become only the fourth Sri Lankan batsman to carry his bat in Tests. He hit a four off the first ball of Ntini’s over but was adjudged lbw two balls later. Debutant Justin Kemp, who took the wickets of Nuwan Zoysa and Dilhara Fernando after lunch, finished with three for 33. Ntini took two for 51 and Jacques Kallis two for 39. South Africa drew the first Test and won the second by an innings and 229 runs. S Africa (Ist innings): 378 (S. Pollock 111, N. McKenzie 103) Sri Lanka (Ist innings): 119 Sri Lanka (IInd innings): Atapattu c Cullinan b Pollock 0 Sangakkara lbw b Ntini 98 Jayawardene c Dippenaar b Kallis 23 Arnold c Pollock b Boje 71 A.De Silva c Pollock b Kallis 22 Jayasuriya b Donald 16 Kaluwitharana c Boucher b Kemp 10 Zoysa c Ane b Kemp 2 Wickramasinghe c Boucher b Ntini 1 Fernando c Kallis b Kemp 1 Perera not out 0 Extras: (lb-2 nb-4 w-2) 8 Total: (all out, 81.3 overs) 252 Fall of wickets: 1-9 2-43 3-156 4-187 5-212 6-234 7-242 8-243 9-248 Bowling: Pollock 17-5-43-1 (2nb); Kallis 14-1-39-2 (1w); Donald 7-0-39-1 (1nb, 1w); Kemp 13-2-33-3, Ntini 19,3-5-51-2, (1nb); Boje 11-2-45-1.
|
|
|
Bosnia pip Chile to enter final KOLKATA, Jan 22 (UNI) — Spirited Bosnia sailed into the final of the Sahara Millennium Cup Super Soccer stunning tournament favourite Chile 1-0 in an exciting semi-final match at the floodlit Salt Lake Stadium here today. The all-important goal which saw the European side into the title clash was beautifully netted by their captain DZ Muharemovic in the 77th minute. Collecting a nice centre from right striker Almedin Hota, he shot home to take his team to the grand finale scheduled on January 25. They will take on the winner of the other semi-final match between Yugoslavia and Japan tomorrow. That Bosnia’s victory over favourite Uruguay in the quarter-final was not a fluke became evident today when the team from the battle-scarred European nation dominated the proceedings from the word go. It was for the first time in this meet that Chile, the pre-tournament favourite, were found at the receiving end and were busy defending their zone most of the time. Besides keeping rival strikers Hector Tapia and Fernando Sebastian Gonzalez under strict vigil, Bosnia with their forwards Alemdin Hota and skipper and striker Muharemovic moved in tandem to pierce the rival defence time and again. It was because of fine keeping by the Chilean captain and world cupper that they had to wait till the 77th minute for the goal. The Bosnian dominance in the match tonight was so much that Chile could force only a few goal bound moves. The absence of two of the regular midfielders in Chile’s squad-Marco Villaseca and Christian Uribe- was felt much. They could not play as they were shown two successive yellow cards in earlier matches. Because of their absence, the Chilean side totally surrendered to Bosnia in the midfield which ultimately saw them crashing out of the tournament. The Bosnians also had two of their regular defenders-Omer Joldic and Asmir Ikanovic- sit out for being shown yellow card but the team had enough strength in their reserve bench to contain all the Chile attacks. |
|
Gambhir, Mane in big stand CHENNAI, Jan 22 (UNI) —Following on after conceding a 168-run first innings lead to England, India made a brilliant comeback into the game scoring 241 without loss in the second innings, at stumps on the third day of the second under -19 cricket ‘Test’ match at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium here today. The India colts turnaround in the game was due to brilliant unbeaten knocks of 121 by left hander Gautam Gambhir and 115 by Vinayak Mane, who virtually tore the English medium pace attack apart playing some scintillating strokes all round the wicket. In the 187 minute stay together so far at the wicket, Gautam, who reached his century off 141 balls hit a six and 17 fours, while Vinayak,who dominated the bowling initially, reached his century off 144 balls with the help of two sixes and 13 fours. However, both Gautam and Vinayak enjoyed a life each. Earlier, resuming their first innings at the overnight score of 122 for 4, the Indian boys put up a pathetic display collapsing at 231 , 28 minutes after lunch, in reply to England colts first innings score of 399. After losing the overnight pair of Ishan Ganda (67, 192 mnts, 8 fours) and Kashinath Khadkikar (30, 112 mnts, 3 fours), the Indian colts failed to meet the target of 250 to avoid the follow on by 19 runs. The English colts broke through with hostile spells of medium pace bowling by Andrew McGarry (4-44), left armer Ian Bishop (1-52), Chris Tremlett (2-31) and Ian Pattison (2-37). But the English medium pacers, taking to the field for a second time failed to get any purchase on the slow pitch. Both Gautam and Vinayak had ample of time to play their shots and went after the bowlers at every opportunity. By lunch, the Indian boys were pushed to the brink, struggling at 212 for seven after losing Ishan Ganda in the 13th over of the day to medium pacer Tremlett, snicking to the wicket keeper. That ended a 53-run stand for the fifth wicket between Ganda and Kashinath in 19.5 overs. Kashinath himself fell to medium pacer snicking an outswinger from Bishop. That left only captain Ajay Ratra to hold fort. He added 24 rpt two four runs with left hander Vidyut Sivaramakrishnan for the sixth wicket. But Vidhyut (11 in 35m) fell hooking Andrew McGarry into the hands of Pattison at deep fine leg to see Indian colts reeling at 195 for 7. Score board England (Ist innings): 399 India (Ist innings): Ishan Ganda c M. Wallace b C. Tremlette 67, Kashinath Khadkikar c M. Wallace b I. Bishop 30, Ajay Ratra c I. Bishop b M. Panesar 28, Vidhyut Sivaramakrishnan c I. Pattison b A. McGarry 11, Dharmichand c J. Sadier b I. Pattison 5, Trivedi c M. Wallace b I. Pattison 12, Aggarwal (not out) 5. Extras: (lb 3, w 2, nb 3) 8 Total: 231 Fall of wickets: 5-156, 6-171, 7-195, 8-212, 9-216, 10-231 Bowling: Andrew McGarry 17-2-44-4, Ian Biship 15-6, 52-1, Chris Tremlette 11-4-31-2, Monty Panesar 21-5-64-1, Ian Pattison 15.4-5-37-2. India (IInd innings): Gautam Gambhir (batting) 121, Vinayak Mane (batting) 115 Extras: (1 b, lb 1, nb 3) 5 Total: (for no loss) 241 Bowling: Andrew McGarry 6-1-32-0, Ian Pattison 9-0-47-0, Ian Bishop 6-0-47-0, Chris Tremlett 8-0-40-0, Monty Panesar 11-2-49-0, Gordon Muchall 6-0-39-0, Ian Bell 1-0-10-0. |
|
Jeev starts year on
promising note NEW DELHI, Jan 22 (PTI) — Ace Indian golfer Jeev Milkha Singh shot a two-under par 70 in the final round of £ 500,000 Alfred Dunhill Championship in Johannesburg to finish the tournament at joint 13th spot. The 29-year-old professional aggregated 13-under 275 in the season-opening European PGA Tour, which ended yesterday, to begin his new year on a promising note. The final round saw a keen battle between two 20-year-olds, Adam Scott of Australia and England’s Justin Rose, both of whom carded a three-under 69, according to information received here. However, overnight leader Scott, who is trained by Tiger Wood’s coach Butch Harmon, made a birdie on the final hole which proved decisive and the Australian finished with 21-under 267 for the winner’s cheque of £ 79,000. Jeev’s effort won him £ 7,433 which put him right on track to achieve his first objective — to make £ 65,000 from 12 starts to convert his medical exemption into a full exemption. Jeev could not compete the entire 2000 season of the European PGA Tour. He was laid off by a wrist injury in March last year which forced him to miss almost seven months of active golf. Jeev started the final round with a birdie on the par-4 first hole and added two more within four holes with back-to-back birdies on the fourth and fifth. The birdies dried up thereafter and a bogey on the 15th, the longest par-3 of the course at 225 yards, saw him finish at two-under. In a thrilling final day action, first round leader Dean Robertson and six-time major champion Nick Faldo also came into the equation. Faldo, whose age exceeds the combined total of the first and second by three years, also showed his appetite for the fray by shooting four rounds in the sixties to share third place with Robertson on 19 under par. Defending champion Anthony Wall closed with at 67 for 270 and fifth place. |
|
25 teams for Misra
boxing meet CHANDIGARH, Jan 22 — Over 175 prominent boxers, including those having played at the national as well as international level, will compete in 12 weight categories in the senior section in the eighth All-India
A.K. Misra Memorial Boxing Championship slated to get under way at the Sector 10 Skating Rink here from January 23 to 27. Giving this information Mr
J.R. Kundal, President, Chandigarh Amateur Boxing Association, revealed here today that 25 teams, namely Assam Rifles (Shillong), Sikh Regiment
(Ramgarh), BEG (Roorkee), Steel Plant (Rourkela), Tamil Nadu, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Karnataka, Southern Railway, Jamshedpur Boxing Club, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Border Security Force,
A.P. Sports Wing, Maharashtra, Uttaranchal, Delhi State, Power Fitness Centre, N. Delhi,
Pepsu, TATA Employees Club, Andhra Pradesh, Chandigarh Green and Chandigarh Yellow, have confirmed participation in the five-day championship. Each team has been permitted to field eight boxers in any weight
class. Harpal Singh, Sohal Lal and Himmat Kumar (all Punjab) and Ajitpal Singh, all-India inter-university champion, are among the key pugilists participating. Power Fitness Centre team emerged the overall winners, while Assam Rifles were the runners-up last year. This tournament has been approved by the Department of Sports, Government of India, as part of the long-term development plan. Special awards will be given to those reaching at least the semifinal stage. Mr
G.S. Sarao, joint secretary, Indian Amateur Boxing Federation, has been deputed as the IABF observer. The championship will be inaugurated by Mrs Indu Misra, wife of late Mr
A.K. Misra, at 3 pm tomorrow.
|
|
|
Indians trounce Uzbekistan TAKHANWADH (Moga) Jan 22 — A lustily cheering
crowd, massive by all accounts, provided the ideal backdrop to a historic hockey tie as hosts India and Uzbekistan battled for honours in an exhibition match at Government High School grounds here today. The huge gathering of sports lovers, some of whom had travelled long distances, had never seen foreigners wield the hockey stick in this village, located some 75 km from Ludhiana. With the School Games Federation of India and the Punjab Education Department having taken the initiative after the Education Minister, Mr Tota Singh, gave the go-ahead, enthusiasm for the match was but natural. The 6-1 Indian win that followed only added to the festive spirit. As the chartered buses carrying all the seven participating teams entered Moga, school children waving flags welcomed the guests. At Bughipura, the village where the late Paramjit Singh spent his childhood, the guests were accorded a warm welcome. Banners and buntings all along the route was proof enough of the keen interest shown by residents of various villagers. Today’s match, dedicated to the memory of Paramjit Singh, hockey coach, was of special significance for residents of Takhanwadh. It was in this very ground that Paramjit, a Hindi teacher, honed hockey talent. Although he expired sometime back, two of his trainees, Ravinder and Satwinder, who polished their skill under his able guidance, sparkled while displaying their talent today. The cash awards which flowed in abundance made the Indian team richer by several thousand rupees by the evening. India’s goals came through Ravinder Kumar, Satwinder Singh (three), Raju, Dinesh Rana, and Bharat. The consolation goal for Uzbekistan came towards the end when Ahmadnlin Rinat scooped the ball high into the net. Although a section of the village population was in mourning following the death of an elderly woman, hordes of people from surrounding villages occupied every vantage position to watch the proceedings. All seven teams who are participating in the third Asian School Hockey Championship at Ludhiana took part in the march-past. Mr Jaswinder Singh from Siarh village and Mr Racchpal Singh from Samrala said such an event had never been organised in this part of Punjab and they did not want to miss seeing the foreigners in action. As the match gained momentum, announcements of cash awards were made from time to time. The Moga District Hockey Association headed by Dr Sharad S. Chauhan, SSP, announced an award of Rs 1000 for every goal scored by a team and Rs 500 for each individual scorer. Other prominent residents also displayed their generosity in abundance. Among those present on the occasion were the Punjab Education Minister, Mr Tota Singh, the secretary-general of the SGFI, Mr P.S. Chabra, Mr Paramdeep Singh Sandhu, SP (City) besides a host of other dignitaries. As a special gesture, Mr Tota Singh announced that the village school would be upgraded to plus two level from April 1. |
|
Inter-varsity
yoga begins AMRITSAR, Jan 22 — The all-India Inter-varsity Yoga (men and women) Championship organised by Guru Nanak Dev University was inaugurated here today. Dr H.S. Soch, Vice-Chancellor of the university inaugurated the Championship. On the first day G.K. University, Hardwar, secured 335.8 points while DAV, Indore won 289.8 points in the men’s section. In the women’s section, north Gujarat, Patan, secured 237 points, south Gujarat 223.6 points and DAV, Indore, 234 points.
|
 |
| Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir | Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs | Nation | Editorial | | Business | Sport | World | Mailbag | In Spotlight | Chandigarh Tribune | Ludhiana Tribune 50 years of Independence | Tercentenary Celebrations | | 120 Years of Trust | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
