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| Thursday, February 8, 2001, Chandigarh, India   
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Windies continue woeful run
BCCI to retain selection panel system |
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Gillespie cleared for Indian tour 5-day conditioning
camp begins Pak cricketer was “paid to throw
matches” Jadeja challenges
ban, CBI report Chauhan manager |
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Ganda rescues Haryana Gopi, Aparna retain titles Unseeded Shaughnessy ousts Testud Indians fight Siberian winds;
coach confident Tollygunge, AI play dull draw IOC panel to stick to technical issues Ajay Chautala elected TTFI president Jitendra Kishore to lead
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Windies continue woeful run SYDNEY, Feb 7 (AFP) — Australia crushed the West Indies by 134 runs in the first clash of the best-of-three final in the tri-series contest at the Sydney Cricket Ground here today. Australia made 253 for nine from their 50 overs and dismissed the West Indies for a woeful 119 in their 38th over. It was Australia’s ninth consecutive one-day win of the summer and continued a dominance over the West Indies which now stretches to an amazing five Tests and five one-dayers. Altogether Australia have won 14 international matches in an unbeaten run this summer - a marvellous record for them to take to India next week when they embark on a programme of three Tests and five one-day internationals there. All-rounder Ian Harvey was the star for Australia today, scoring 47 not out off 33 balls, including two fours and a pair of sixes, at the end of the innings to turn what seemed likely to be a moderate score into a good one. He then took two for 5 from six overs as Australia produced another superb display in the field. After losing their first two wickets without a run on the board, the West Indies were rescued briefly by star left-hander Brian Lara, who was stunned into action after a heated exchange of words with pace ace Glenn McGrath and fieldsman Michael Bevan. It was not clear what prompted the trouble, but Lara was so incensed he even went down the pitch at one stage to continue a discussion with Bevan, fielding at mid-on. Umpire Simon Taufel tried to calm Lara. Lara responded by hammering four fours in his first five scoring strokes. Altogether he hit seven fours in a brief stay for 35 runs from 38 balls. His knock ended when he edged a ball from fast bowler Damien Fleming to wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist. Once Lara had departed, the West Indies collapsed, with Harvey claiming two for 3 in a three-over burst. Earlier, Australia’s formidable batting line-up had one of their less enterprising days. Apart from Gilchrist (44 from 55 balls, with seven fours) none of the recognised batsman played a dominant role and it was left to Harvey to push the score towards a defendable target. It was the first time this season Australia’s tailenders had been asked to contribute and Harvey added valuable runs alongside Shane Warne (7) and Damien Fleming (14). The second match in the best-of-three final will be at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Friday. Australia will be looking to secure victory and avoid the need to figure in a deciding final, which would be played in Melbourne on Sunday, if necessary.
Scoreboard Australia: M.Waugh c Lara b Cuffy 10 Gilchrist run out 44 Ponting c Joseph b Nagamootoo 33 Bevan c Jacobs b Williams 23 S.Waugh c Jacobs b Williams 38 Martyn run out 18 Symonds c Jacobs b McLean 8 Harvey not out 47 Warne c Jacobs b Cuffy 7 Fleming c Nagamootoo 14
b Samuels McGrath not out 1 Extras (lb-5 w-5) 10 Total (for 9 wkts, 50 overs) 253 Fall of wickets: 1-28, 2-72, 3-111, 4-137, 5-168, 6-179, 7-199, 8-219, 9-242. Bowling: McLean 10-0-47-1, Cuffy 10-1-45-2, Williams 10-0-55-2, Nagamootoo 10-0-55-1, Samuels 10-0-46-1. West Indies: Jacobs c Gilchrist b Fleming 0 Ganga lbw b McGrath 0 Lara c Gilchrist b Fleming 35 Samuels run out 24 Adams c Gilchrist b Harvey 9 Powell lbw b Harvey 3 Williams c Ponting b McGrath 1 Nagamootoo c Warne b Symonds 8 Joseph c and b Warne 18 McLean c Martyn b Symonds 0 Cuffy not out 0 Extras (b-5 lb-4 11-w nb-1) 21 Total (all out, 37.2 overs) 119 Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-0, 3-58, 4-74, 5-74, 6-77, 7-81, 8-102, 9-103, 10-119. Bowling: McGrath 10-4-25-2, Fleming 7-2-34-2, Warne 9.2-1-28-1, Harvey 6-2-5-2, Symonds 5-0-18-2. |
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BCCI to retain selection panel system MUMBAI, Feb 7 (UNI) — The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has decided to retain the system of the five-member senior selection committee. The code of conduct committee of the
BCCI which met here recently for over eight hours also decided that a limit of 20 years be brought on the selectors so that they are not out of sync with the latest happenings in the game. In effect this means that if a player retires at the age of 35, he cannot be a selector after he reaches the age of 55. Board sources told
UNI here that the committee also decided that a minimum of 15 Tests should have been played by a selector of each zone. This proposal would be put forward to the special general body meeting scheduled to be held later this month in Chennai, the source added. The five-member selection committee meeting was retained with the qualification clause that each of the zonal cricketer should have played 20 first class matches and should have retired from international cricket five years before such an appointment. The code of conduct committee also recommended that the
BCCI’s working committee should consist of 23 persons including the president, five vice-presidents, secretary, joint secretary, treasurer and five representatives from the five zones - West, North, Central, East and South. The committee also recommended that the five vice-presidents would have the right to vote in working committee meetings. Another recommendation of the code of conduct committee is that the president of the
BCCI should be elected on principles of zonal rotation as follows: Central Zone, South Zone, East Zone, North Zone and West Zone. The committee also decided that the secretary’s and treasurer’s post would be of five years. The committee has recommended that no person should be eligible for re-election as president for more than three years in a row. It stated no person shall be eligible for re-election for more than two consecutive years provided that the general body be elected for the fifth year after they served for four years consecutively. The committee also recommended the democratic way of elections in the annual general meetings of the board. The committee recommended that everyone seeking election should file nominations for the posts that he is to contest to the office of the board, 24 hours before the elections. The committee also said the respective associations should, for all general body meetings, including the working annual and working committee meeting, nominate its representative for such meetings in writing to the board secretary seven days in advance before such meetings. The members who attended the meeting included Subba Rao of Andhra Pradesh Cricket Association and President Bar Council Association, Shashank Manohar of the Vidarbha Cricket Association, Ashok Kumbhat of the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association, while Kishore Rungta, Treasurer
BCCI was the convener and a member at the meeting. Gillespie cleared
for Indian tour SYDNEY, Feb 7 (AFP) — Australian fast bowler Jason Gillespie was passed fit today to tour India next week. Gillespie suffered a strained hamstring tendon a month ago in the fifth Test against the West Indies in Sydney and has been working since then on being fit to make the tour party. But Gillespie, who has a history of niggling injuries, was given the green light by physiotherapist Errol Alcott and doctor Trefor James. “It has come along well. I’m satisfied with his recovery,” Alcott said. It was good news for the Australian team, which had already been hit by the loss of speedster Brett Lee, who underwent an operation for an elbow injury yesterday. Gillespie should now be named in the side tomorrow that will catch the flight to Mumbai on February 13. “I feel really good after two long bowling sessions,” he said. “I’ve been working hard on the maintenance programme I was given after I suffered the injury in Sydney and it has brought me back to full strength.” With Gillespie cleared to tour, the debate still centred on who would fill Lee’s place. Those in contention include New South Wales pair Don Nash and Nathan Bracken, Queenslanders Michael Kasprowicz and Andy Bichel and South Australian Paul Wilson. With Shane Warne returning to form, NSW legspinner Stuart MacGill looked an outside chance despite a successful Test series against the West Indies. 5-day conditioning
camp begins CHENNAI, Feb 7 (PTI) — The five-day conditioning camp for cricket probables for the upcoming series against Australia, commenced here today with coach John Wright putting the boys through a 120-minute strenuous workout at the Chemplast grounds here. Seventeen of the 25 probables were put through their paces by Wright, and former Australian coach Geoff Marsh. India spin spearhead Anil Kumble, former India captain and off spinner, S. Venkataraghavan and MRF Pace Foundation Director and Coach T.A. Sekar and physio Andrew Leipus of South Africa were present. Deviating from the previous camps, where the accent initially was batting and bowling at the nets and then fielding, Marsh asked Leipus to put the players through a 15-minute physical conditioning session Following the session, Wright and Marsh grouped the 17 in bunches and observed them at the nets. Kumble, with his right arm in a sling, was giving tips to left-arm spinner Murali Kartik, while Venkataraghavan was coaching off spinner Sharandeep Singh. Batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar was also seen at the nets. |
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Pak cricketer was “paid to throw matches” SYDNEY, Feb 7 (IANS) — The ongoing cricket match-fixing controversy has become even murkier with Qasim Omar, a former Pakistani Test player, naming a prominent Perth businessman as a bookmaker involved in fixing matches on Pakistan’s 1984 tour of Australia. The named bookmaker allegedly contacted Omar before the first Test of the 1984 tour in Perth and induced him to throw his wicket in the tour matches for “unlimited” rewards. Qasim Omar told the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper in an interview published Wednesday that he agreed to follow the Perth businessman’s instruction and was paid a paltry $500 each time he got out intentionally at an agreed point. He has also alleged that the bookmaking racket was well established in Australia in the mid-1980s and it was being conducted “right under Australian cricket authorities’ noses”. Till now it was believed that match-fixing activities originated on the Indian subcontinent and were still restricted to that part of the world. The former Pakistani Test player has also revealed that the Perth bookmaker, whose name the Sydney newspaper has withheld for “legal” reasons, also sent his agent to him in Sydney and Brisbane. Omar has also named a Sydney woman who met him at Amar’s, an Indian restaurant. The Pakistani whistle blower told Sydney Morning Herald that the Perth bookmaker’s agent quickly got to the point at lunch. “You know (the businessman)?” she reportedly said. “You are being asked to fail in your first innings and you will be rewarded. So much money has been placed on you — are you willing to throw your first innings away?” she is alleged to have asked Qasim Omar. The alleged Australian bookmaker has been described by the London-based Omar as charming and that he used to give lavish presents to the Pakistani players during several days of practice and play in the Perth Test in 1984. “I have traveled to 52 countries and I have never met anything like him,” Omar said. “He was so kind. He took such an interest in my cricket. He said to me: ‘The money is unlimited, you can count on that. If you keep on performing the money will go up’. At that time it was in hundreds and it seemed a lot, now it is in hundreds of thousands,” he told Sydney Morning Herald in the interview stated to be conducted in a hotel in Omar’s home town Karachi. Qasim Omar, who was among the first to blow the whistle on corruption in cricket, also alleged that the same bookmaking ring supplied girls for the Test cricketers. These girls used to be sex workers and “in some cases” might have induced some players to participate in match-fixing, he said. “Some players you can’t approach them directly by saying: ‘You throw your game away’,” he said. “So the girls do the work. It happens everywhere,” he added. He has also alleged that the Australian bookmakers arranged sex workers for him and some other Pakistani players during the tour of New Zealand through a leading hotelier. Omar said that for a tour of New Zealand, the Sydney and Perth bookmakers put him in touch with a New Zealand betting ring, run by a hotelier, which provided him and another Pakistani player with sex workers from a leading call-girl agency. Omar is supposed to have given a list of 23 names of women who had sexual liaisons with Pakistani and other international cricketers touring Australia to the head of the investigation team of the International Cricket Council (ICC), Sir Paul Condon. It was reported earlier that Sir Paul Condon and his team would be interviewing some of these women when this week and would submit their preliminary findings to the ICC meeting in Melbourne later on. The ICC’s anti-corruption unit is also scheduled to interview Australia’s star batsman Mark Waugh Saturday for his alleged involvement in match-fixing activities. An Indian bookmaker, Mukesh Gupta, had alleged that he had given $20,000 to Mark Waugh in 1994. His allegations were included in India’s Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) report, which was made public in November last year. But Waugh is likely to deny knowing Mukesh Gupta when he appears before ICC’s anti-corruption unit. Qasim Omar was dropped from the Pakistani side after his allegation in 1987 that a number of his team-mates were taking drugs. In recent years he has been at the forefront of a campaign to untangle the match-fixing controversy, which has thrown international cricket into an unprecedented turmoil. Jadeja challenges ban, CBI report NEW DELHI, Feb 7 (UNI) — Banned cricketer Ajay Jadeja today moved the Delhi High Court challenging a five-year ban on his playing career and quashing an inquiry report of the
CBI which indicted him for match-fixing. Jadeja also challenged a notice issued by the Sports Ministry asking him to reply why the Arjuna award should not be taken back. Justice Vijender Jain fixed February 9 as the next date of hearing after additional solicitor general K.K. Sud said he need more time to go through the 800 plus page petition. The sports ministry had issued notices to three Arjuna awardees — Ajay Jadeja, Mohammed Azharuddin and Manoj Prabhakar — after an inquiry by former
CBI Director K. Madhavan held them guilty of having nexus with the bookies. On January 29, former cricket captain Azharuddin had filed a plaint in the court of Chief Judge of Civil Courts in Hyderabad, challenging the life ban on his cricket career by the Board of Control for Cricket in India
(BCCI). Naming the BCCI, its president A.C. Muthaiah and Mr Madhavan as respondents in his petition, the tainted cricketer said the inquiry conducted by the
BCCI has not been transparent, free and fair. Azharuddin termed the CBI
inquiry report as shreds of falsehood. “Whatever the CBI report or the
BCCI enquiry says is not the gospel truth and it has no judicial sanctity. They have only made a collage of circumstantial evidence, calculatedly doctored to suit the conveniences of the board and its favourites,’’ he said. In the first instance, Azharuddin questioned the appointment of
Mr Madhavan as the vigilance commissioner. “He is Muthaia’s hand-picked. Mr Madhavan is the counsel of Muthaiah in the spic. Muthaiah has been hostile to my candidature from the beginning. Besides, the rules of the
BCCI also do not permit Muthaiah to form another vigilance commission when the disciplinary committee, comprising three senior members, already existed. Hence, his report is untenable as per by laws and the constitution of the
BCCI.’’ |
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Chauhan manager NEW DELHI, Feb 7 — Former Test opener Chetan Chauhan, who is now a senior vice-president of the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA), has been named manager of the Indian team to play against the visiting Australian team, in both Tests and one-day matches. DDCA vice-president C.K. Khanna, who is also the vice-president of the BCCI said here today that the appointment of Chauhan as manager of the Indian team was intimated to him by the BCCI secretary J.Y. Lele before he left for Melbourne to attend the International Cricket Council meeting. Ganda rescues Haryana ROHTAK, Feb 7 — The fourth-wicket partnership worth 105 runs between Ishan Ganda and skipper Ajay Ratra helped Haryana to reach a respectable score of 242 against the Rest of India (under-19) on the opening day of the four-day Chidambram Trophy cricket match at Maharaja Aggarsain Stadium here today. Right arm medium pacer Steve Lazarus struck with the very first ball of the day to dismiss Manvinder Bisla who opened the innings after Haryana won the toss and elected to bat first. He reached Rohtak only after midnight from Hyderabad after playing the final one-dayer against England at Hyderabad yesterday along with skipper Ratra, Amit Mishra and Nitin Aggarwal. Haryana lost another two wickets before the score-board read 50. Ratra joined Ishan Ganda to add 105 runs for the 4th wicket after staying at the wicket for 114 minutes and facing 124 balls. They were separated when the Rest of India skipper Kashinath Khadkikar dismissed Ganda when the batsman had scored 76. His knock comprised 12 hits to the fence. He occupied the crease for 197 minutes and faced 166 balls after addition of another two runs skipper Ratra was stumped by Naman Oza off left arm spinner Kiran Adhav. He scored 44 off 98 balls. Haryana had lost eight wickets at 177 when Yuvraj Sidharth Singh and Amit Mishra added 51 runs in 64 minutes off 104 balls. Yuvraj remained unbeaten on 42 whereas Amit Mishra contributed 31. Haryana innings finally folded at 242. Stumps were drawn at the fall of Haryana’s last wicket.
SCOREBOARD Haryana (Ist innings) Manvinder Bisla b Steve Lazarus 0, Bhuvnesh Sharma b Kashinath 15, Ishan Ganda c Deepak b Kashinath 76, Sumeet Sharma c Mohnish b Kashinath 2, Ajay Ratra st Naman Oza b Kiran Adhav 44, Deepak Joon c Steve Lazarus b M. Faiq 12, Joginder Sharma lbw Kiran Adhav 0, Amit Mishra c Steve Lazarus b Kashinath 31, Gaurav Vashishta lbw Rajesh Banik 1, Yuvraj Sidharth not out 42, Nitin Aggarwal b Kashinath 1. Extras: (b-1, lb-11, w-1, nb-5) 18 Total: (all out in 88.2 overs) 242 Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-43, 3-47, 4-152, 5-154, 6-154, 7-170, 8-177, 9-228, 10-242. Bowling: Steve Lazarus 13-3-35-1, A.S.K. Verma 3-0-15-0, Kiran Adhav 25-9-39-2, Kashinath Khadkikar 22.2-3-74-5, Rajesh Banik 10-4-27-1, Mohammad Faiq 15-2-40-1. |
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Gopi, Aparna retain titles JAIPUR, Feb 7 (PTI) — Pullela Gopichand and Aparna Popat justified their top billing as they clinched men’s and women’s title, respectively, with straight sets victories in the final of the Senior National Badminton Championships here today. Gopichand defeated third seed Siddharth Jain 15-8, 15-6 for his fifth straight title while Aparna overcame Manjusha Kanwar 13-11, 11-2 in a tough encounter for her fourth crown. Both finals were all-PSCB affairs. Gopichand, looked good for Siddharth who, despite taking a 5-0 lead in the opening game, saw himself totally outclassed. Four-time champion Manjusha started confidently against Aparna in the women’s final and gave here a tough fight before succumbing to the guiles of here much fancied rival. Siddharth, in his maiden final was not overawed by his illustrious rival and surprised Gopi by racing to a 5-0 lead in the first game. But Gopi got his act together with a few powerful smashes and some deft placements and levelled 5-all. Patches of brilliance from Siddharth, could not sustain his fine show as Gopi drew him into long rallies which he finished with powerful smashdrops and flicks. Siddharth looked clearly frustrated as he struggled to find an answer to Gopi’s net-placement. He managed to effect a service break at 12-7 in favour of Gopi but could manage only one point before hitting in the net. Gopi then finished off the first game without much ado. In the second, it was Gopi who took an 8-0 lead. Siddharth, a former junior national champ, looked tired and demoralised as he made many unforced errors. Things went on easy for Gopi who wrapped up the match in 48 minutes winning 15-8, 15-6. After the match, Gopichand said Siddharth played well in the first game but slowed down considerably in the second. “He played brilliantly in patches. I tried to engage him in rallies and he, being eager to finish them off early, made some errors,” Gopichand told PTI. “I guessed he was
tiring up so I tried to extend him and finished off with splacements whenever he sent a weak return,” he said. A dejected Siddharth said he was unable to keep pace with Gopi’s game. “Gopi is an international player and it was expectedplay at his pace. It is okay with rest of the guys but Gopi is too fast. Probably I will have to work more on my fitness as I hit too many errors,” he said. UNI adds: Contrary to expectations, four-time national champion Manjusha Kanwar made a flying start against Aparna Popat, the former world junior runners-up, as she led 4-1 taking full advantage of erratic display. Popat hit the shuttle out twice and hit at the net as many time. When Kanwar committed two unforced errors, Popat opened her account. One beautiful placement and a clever drop close to the net earned two points for Popat, who was again seen hitting out the shuttles to see her senior rival take a 7-3 lead. Surprisingly, Kanwar then hit at the net thrice in a row and a brilliant back hand drop by Popat saw her level the score at 7-7 and then 10-10. At this juncture, Kanwar conceeded three negative points-first hitting out, second hitting the net and third by a bad judgment allowing Popat take the set on 13-11 in 20 minutes. Kanwar appeared to have lost the heart in the second set right from the word go as she conceeded an amazing 9-0 lead to Popat without change of service even for once. Popat enabled her to score two points when she made bad returns. But that was all for her as Popat took this set on 11-2 in only seven minutes. Jwala Gutta and Shruti Kurien — the third-seeded combination from Andhra Pradesh shocked the top seed pair of P.V.V.Laxmi (PSCB) and veteran Madhumita Bisht (Rly) 15-13, 15-2 and annexed the women’s doubles title. Vincent Lobo (PSCB) and Madhumita Bisht (Rly) had last night won the mixed doubles defeating Marcose Bristow (PSCB) and B.R.Meenakshi (Ktk) 15-5, 15-6. |
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Unseeded Shaughnessy ousts Testud PARIS, Feb 7 (AFP) — France’s Sandrine Testud was the first seed to crash out of the $565,000 Paris Indoor Open when she suffered a three-set defeat at the hands of unseeded American Meghann Shaughnessy on the opening day of the WTA event here yesterday. The 28-year-old No 5 seed, runner-up in Canberra last month and ranked No 15 in the world, lost the first round battle with the 21-year-old Arizonan who came away with a 7-6 (7/4), 4-6, 6-3 win on her debut here. World No 30 Shaughnessy, who won her first WTA single’s title at Shanghai last October, rushed to an early lead breaking Testud’s first serve, before the Frenchwoman rallied to force a tie-break in the opening set. Testud came back to take the second, but her American opponent broke serve at 2-2 in the final set before breaking again to take the match. “I had chances in this match and didn’t take them. I don’t have much success in this tournament,” said Testud, who has been unsuccessful in her six appearances here. Shaughnessy, who had her best Grand Slam result at the US Open last year, reaching the third round before being defeated by eventual champion Venus Williams, said that her improved play was due to a new-found maturity. “Over the year’s I’ve got physically stronger and matured a lot later than the other girls, but I’m coming along and want to go all the way here,” added Shaughnessy, who defeated top seed and world No 5 Conchita Martinez en route to the semifinals at Gold Coast in January. Shaughnessy next meets Denisa Chladkova after the Czech player defeated fellow qualifier Ana Isabel Medina Garrigues of Spain 6-2, 6-3 to book her place in the second round. Meanwhile sixth-seeded Huber, making her return to competition after sustaining a wrist injury during the US Open last September, advanced to the second round after downing Canada’s Sonya Jeyaseelan 6-1 6-3 in 58 minutes. After a rusty performance during which she missed several easy shots Huber said that she was happy just to come away with a win after four months out and felt comfortable playing indoors. “It wasn’t perfect. I think if I can have a few more matches it will be better. But I’m just happy to have won this match,” said the 26-year-old. This is the sixth Paris Indoors for Huber, No 17 in the world, and who was defeated in the 1997 final here by Switzerland’s Martina Hingis. Huber next meets Romania’s Ruxandra Dragomir, who had little difficulty scoring her fifth straight win over Kveta Hrdlickova of the Czech Republic with a 6-2, 6-1 victory. The 28-year-old Dragomir, No 39 in the world, needed just 55 minutes to see off her 25-year-old opponent Hrdlickova, ranked 55 and playing in her first tournament this year. “I’ve started the season well and am very glad to have won my first match here because it’s always difficult to come from playing outdoors to indoors and I always play better on clay,” said Dragomir. Meanwhile, title favourite Mary Pierce played her first match at home in France since her French Open win last June when she and partner Elena Likhovtseva of Russia won their opening doubles tie. The duo, seeded No 2, defeated American Amy Frazier and Dutch team-mate Caroline viz 7-6 (7/5) 5-7, 6-3. The 26-year-old Pierce only returned to the circuit in Canberra last month after a four-month absence with a shoulder injury. “I feel a little sore all over, but it felt OK,” said world No 8 Pierce after the match. “The emotions and feelings out there were super. I’m very happy, it’s good to return to France.” Indians fight
Siberian winds; coach confident BEIJING, Feb 7 (PTI) — The globe-trotting duo of Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi were today left to fight Siberian winds as if the sub-zero temperatures were not enough in the suburban city of Lang Fang ahead of India-China Davis Cup Asia-Oceania zonal rubber from February 9 to 11. With no heating system at the indoor university campus, some 70 kms from here, the Indians were finding it difficult to adjust to the terribly cold conditions. While sub-zero temperatures were expected to welcome the Indians, piercing winds from Siberia started sweeping the city adding to their woes. Despite the discomfort, non-playing captain Ramesh Krishnan and coach Nandal Bal are confident the Indian team would overcome the problem and win the five-match first round Zone-I rubber starting on Friday. Krishnan and Bal are confident that Paes and Bhupathi with Prahlad Srinath and Syed Fazaluddin, would prove too strong for the Chinese. On paper, China look a weak team as they have hardly progressed beyond the zonal competition. India had beaten China 5-0 in Calcutta in 1999 the only other time the two countries met in a Davis Cup tie. |
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Tollygunge, AI play dull draw MUMBAI, Feb 7 (UNI) — Tollygunge Agragami of Kolkata and Air India of Mumbai today were engaged in one of the most mediocre goalless draw witnessed on the Cooperage ground here in the National Football League. It was now clear why Amal Dutta’s Agragami has remained without a win so far. Despite having three sturdy Nigerians in the side, the Kolkata side remained ultra defensive but it takes two to share the blame and Air-India matched the rivals in senseless football. In the whole of wasted 90 minutes there was not one single move, which could bring cheers to some faithful crowd. Air-India had three main players missing from the line up due to injuries but that can never be its coach Bimal Ghosh’s excuse for his players meandering around. The only time the crowd stirred was when Agragami former India goallie Prasanta Dora dived at the feet of a lethargic Tomba Singh’s feet to clear a dangerous situation. His rival custodian MY Ansari was left to get some goal kicks only. Tomba’s partner Bungo was listless and skipper Khalid Jamil could not galvanise either himself or his players. In the first half Air-India had two flag kicks but the great height of Abdul Sereki nullified the advantage. In the second half also Air-India had more of the ball and in the fag end Tomba gave a cross, which could have given a chance to break the deadlock but keeping in tune with the whole match Anthony Fernades was not ready for it. Air-India has now five points from one win, two draws and two losses while Agragami has two points from five matches three of which they have lost.
East Bengal triumph MARGAO: East Bengal halted Salgaocar’s winning spree with a hard fought 2-0 win with a goal in each half in the National Football League championship match being played at Nehru Stadium at Fatorda here today. East Bengal, with this win, moved on to the fourth position with 10 points below table toppers
Mohan Bagan with 13 points and F.C. Kochi and Vasco Sports Club (Goa) with 11 points each. Salgaocar with nine points relegated to fifth position. In a fast paced evenly contested match bengal came up with the first good move in the 18th minute of the first half when Dipandu Biswas header sailed over the bar off a cross from Chandan Das. Biswas made amends for his earlier lapse in the 37th minute putting his team ahead by 1-0. The goal was a result of fine combined move when defender Suley Musha from the top of the box gave a cross to Dipankar Roy, whose close ranger shot deflected from Salgaocar goalkeeper Juje Siddi’s grip and went towards Biswas. The latter pounced upon the opportunity and tapped it home. Strung by the goal, Salgaocar attacked in waves and gave East Bengal several anxious moments. However, Bengal defence led by Suley Musah, Jackson and Dipak Mondal were at their best thwarting the rival attackers. |
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IOC panel to stick
to technical issues DAKAR (Senegal), Feb 7 (AP) — The IOC team that will assess the bids for the 2008 Summer Olympics will not address China’s human rights record or other political issues. The International Olympic Committee instructed its 2008 evaluation commission yesterday to stick to the technical issues when it inspects the five bid cities and compiles a report on their capability of staging the games. “The evaluation commission shall not take into account any other political considerations,” IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch said. “Each IOC member is, of course, free to assess them according to his/her personal convictions.” Mr Samaranch defined the panel’s role in a letter to Hein Verbruggen, the IOC member heading the evaluation commission. Mr Verbruggen had sought advice from the IOC executive board after coming under pressure from outside groups to take human rights and other issues into account. “He has been approached by many, many groups and persons asking him to make a judgement,” IOC executive Jacques Rogge said. The executive board said, “You don’t have to make a judgement, you are there in a technical role.” China was dogged by controversy over its human rights record during Beijing’s bid for the 2000 games. Beijing lost the IOC election by two votes to Sydney. With Beijing the front-runner in the 2008 race, critics have again raised the human rights issue. The four other candidates are Paris, Toronto, Osaka, (Japan) and Istanbul. The IOC will elect the host city on July 13 at its session in Moscow. BEIJING (AFP): Meanwhile, Beijing’s vice-mayor Liu Jinmin said hosting the 2008 Olympic Games would fulfill the human rights of all Chinese. The olympic bid is a “process of realising and developing human rights,” the Xinhua news agency said, quoting Liu who is also vice-president of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games Bid Committee. “Everyone has the right to take part in what they are concerned about,” Liu said. “Now the Chinese people have the aspiration to hold the games in China, this is just their human right.” Liu’s linking of human rights and the games runs contrary to that of many activists who argue China would enhance its chances of getting the 2008 Olympics if it first improved its human rights record. Last month, more than 100 Chinese dissidents urged the government to release jailed colleagues, saying the move would help Beijing’s bid for the 2008 Olympic Games. |
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Ajay Chautala elected TTFI president NEW DELHI, Feb 7 — Mr Ajay Singh Chautala, MP, and president of the Haryana Table Tennis Association (HTTA), was today elected unopposed president of the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI), at the annual general meeting here today. Ajay Singh’s smooth and unanimous election was facilitated when the only other candidate in the fray, Satish Pradhan, MP from Maharashtra, withdrew his candidature for the presidentship. Mr Pradhan has been appointed as “adviser” to the TTFI. The 40-year-old Chautala, a volleyball and kabaddi player during his playing days, now heads a body which had been led by such illustrious names as Ranga Ramanujam, the man credited with organising two world championships in India, I.S. Bindra and V.C. Shukla. Mr Mool Chand Chowhan (Rajasthan) and Mr Suresh Gawde (Madhya Pradesh) were unanimously re-elected secretary-general and treasurer, respectively. The following are the other office-bearers: Vice-presidents: Suresh Prabhu (Union Minister for Power, Mumbai), Birender Vaishya (Assam), Probir Mitra (West Bengal), Titus Phillipose (Kerala), P C Budhiya (Punjab), Vipul Mitra (Gujarat) and D V Sunder (Tamil Nadu). Associate vice-presidents: Dr Narender Rege (Maharashtra), Karunakaran (Pondicherry), Rajiv Bodas (Maharashtra) and S Sultan (Andhra Pradesh). Joint-secretaries: Rajiv Kaushal (Chandigarh), Arun Bannerjee (Uttar Pradesh), Satyanarayan (Karnataka), Ravi Nivaskar (Madhya Pradesh), M P Singh (Haryana), Tapan Chakravarty (Tripura), Ajay Sharma (Jammu and Kashmir) and Ravi Parida (Orissa). Executive members: Abasuddin Ahmed (Assam), Mukesh Rai (Bihar), Reggie Kumar (Kerala), V P Bawa (Petroleum Sports Control Board), N R Chaudhry (Railways), S Sridhar (Banks Sports Board), S Sriram (Maharashtra) and Arun Jain (veterans). Sriram has been accommodated in the executive as an “eminent ex-international”. Mr Ajay Singh Chautala, who had earlier been appointed as the chairman of the organising committee of the Commonwealth Games Table Tennis Championship to be held at the Indira Gandhi indoor stadium in Delhi from April 14 to 20, will also head the Selection Committee. D R Chaudhary will chair the technical committee while Rajender Sharma of Haryana will be the joint chairman. Mr Chautala, who has been heading the HTTA for the past 12 years, said his immediate task would be to make the TTFI “player friendly”. He said all efforts would be made to provide the best facilities to the players, and he would use his good offices as a member of Parliament to derive maximum benefits for the TTFI, one of which would be to get table tennis promoted to the “A category”, from its present B category status by the Union Ministry for Youth Affairs and Sports. The new TTFI chief said no effort would be spared to make the Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships in Delhi a memorable one. The TTFI expects about 20 to 22 countries for the championships, and entries from 12 countries have already been received. Mr Chowhan announced that the last date for entries for the Commonwealth TT would be March 15. The next senior nationals have been allotted to Andhra Pradesh, to be hosted in Hyderabad in January 2002, while the junior nationals will be held in Goa, and the sub-junior and cadet nationals in Jammu and Kashmir. Immediately after the Commonwealth TT, the Indian team will leave for Osaka, to participate in the world championships, to be held in the Japanese city from April 22 to May 6. Mr Chautala said members of the TTFI today collected Rs one lakh, out of which Rs 50,000 was contributed by the Haryana association, to be presented to the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund for the quake victims in Gujarat. The Rajasthan Table Tennis Association had raised an amount of Rs 50,000 for the Kargil martyrs, which would now be contributed to the quake victims. Mr Chautala said the national camp was presently on in Calcutta, while the four best paddlers — Chetan P Baboor, S Raman, Sondeep Ray and Subhajit Shah — were training in Sweden. He said the TTFI would soon embark on a talent search hunt and if need be a permanent coaching centre, with all the modern facilities, would be set up “so that our players do well in international meets, and bring glory to the country”. Jitendra Kishore
to lead CHANDIGARH, Feb 7 — State Bank of Patiala’s Jitendra Kishore will lead a five-member state team in the 8th National Veteran’s TT-Championship to be held at Udyogmandlam (Kerala) from 20th to 25th February. According to Mr N.S. Kalsi, President of the Punjab Veterans TT Association; other members are: Sanjiv Sood (SBOP), J.K. Bhardwaj (Patiala), Harminder Singh (Ldh) and Yash Pal Bajaj (Jal). Mr P.K. Choffla will be the manager of the team. Mr Kalsi further said that the next Punjab State Veterans TT Championship had been allotted to Jalandhar. Punjab will also bid for the 9th National Veterans TT Championship at the executive meeting of IVTTA to be held at Kochi (Kerala). There was a tremendous response to the competition which the veterans association organised at Patiala from February 2 to 4. Jitendra had won the veterans men’s singles title. |
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Flood-lit golfing in
Chandigarh CHANDIGARH, Feb 7 — It was eight in the night. The venue Chandigarh Golf Club. It was not a gala dinner, but a new addition to the club. Yes, it was the inauguration of the flood-lit driving range, the first of its kind in the region. And the chief guest was the Principal Secretary to the Punjab Chief Minister, Mr Ramesh Inder Singh. This was an event the club members had been waiting for eagerly. They thronged the venue. White golf balls littered the driving range. As soon as chief guest arrived, a special machine went into operation collecting the balls. And within 10 minutes the range turned green, the balls having been collected in the two baskets of the tractor type machine. This flood-lit range will be a boon for those who do not get time in the day. It is for those who find time after sunset. According to the President of the Golf Club, Mr G.S. Sandhu, the range would be named after the sponsors (Punjab Tractors Limited) and would be named “Swaraj Driving Range”. The special floodlights have been provided by Astra Lights. According to Dr Ravinder Chadha, Chairman, Media, the 300- metre range is covered on all sides by a special net supported by 32 pillars so that the ball does not go into the adjoining fairways. The 11 slots from where the golfer will drive the ball are covered by Astroturf. With the machine in operation caddies will not be required in the driving range. Any golfer using the driving range will have to pay for a bucket of maybe 25 balls or 50 balls. To start with, the driving range will be open up to 8.30 p.m. But as and when the weather improves the timing may be extended. With the opening of the driving range the stage is now set for driving after sunset. |
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2nd win for Punjab,
Chandigarh lose NEW DELHI, Feb 7 (UNI) — Karnataka created a major upset as the spiked national champion Kerala 3-2 while Punjab recorded their second successive victory humbling host Delhi 3-0 in the Senior National Volleyball Championship here today. Chandigarh suffered their second straight defeat as they went down to Madhya Pradesh 1-3. In the first match of the day, Karnataka men surprised Kerala to record their first win. Kerala still put up a great fight and despite losing the first set, won the next two to take a 2-1 lead but they failed to defend that lead and match went to the wire before Karnataka could clinch it. Karnataka won 25-20, 26-28, 20-25, 25-21, 15-8. Punjab, who had beaten Karnataka 3-0 yesterday, scored 3-1 win over Delhi today to keep their slate clean. Playing attacking game, Punjab outlasted Delhi 25-17,25-12,21-25 25-17. This was Delhi’s first defeat in two outings. The hosts had beaten Chandigarh in the opener yesterday. Despite losing the first set Madhya Pradesh men put it across Chandigarh to start the campaign with a win. Madhya Pradesh conceded the first set but after that their spikers gave no quarters to their rivals to win the next three. |
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