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| Sunday,
March 4, 2001, Chandigarh, India    |
Lack of strategy led
to defeat: Muthiah CCI membership for Waugh Hooper named West Indies
captain Pak batsmen fail against Kiwis |
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Andre Agassi, Gambill sail into
semifinals San Jose (USA), March 3 Australian Open champion Andre Agassi remained unbeaten in 2001 and swept into the semi-finals at the Sybase Open with a 6-1 6-3 victory over Sargis Sargsian of Armenia. Fierce contest on the
cards Pillay for Dhaka
tourney Afro-Asian Games “on schedule” |
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Bjorn draws level with
Woods Golf title for Atwal
Absenteeism mars athletics camp Double crown
for Rohtak
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Lack of strategy led to defeat: Muthiah New Delhi, March 3 “I think we need to have a relook at our strategy and improve upon it. I don’t think there is anything lacking. It is a good side. ... good potential .... If we revitalise and improve our strategy then I think we can do very well,’’ Mr Muthiah told Eenadu TV in an interview. “It is up to the coach and the captain to decide .... They have to identify,’’ he added. Mr Muthiah’s comments assume significance as after easy wins against Zimbabwe and Bangladesh, India lost their first big Test match (against the Aussies) under foreign coach John Wright. The BCCI president, however, does not think that the team needs a psychiatrist. “No, no I don’t think so .... We should plan what specifically needs to be done.’’ He refused to comment on whether any changes were being planned for the side to be fielded in the second Test, beginning in Kolkata from March 11. “That all depends on the selectors,’’ he said. Meanwhile, Indian team manager Chetan Chauhan, said skipper Ganguly’s inclusion in the Board President’s XI for the three-day match against the visitors, to be held in New Delhi from March 6, could do well for the left-handed batsmen. Regarding Ganguly’s decision to play in the match, Chauhan told the news channel,’’ It is between him and the selectors ... I do not come in the picture .... Every game is important, especially a game against the any visiting team.’’ Chauhan does not feel all is lost after the defeat in Mumbai. “It is an open series. The Indians have suffered a setback, but all is not lost. We will definitely bounce back.’’ He said the Indian team for the second Test would be picked on the second or third day of the match. “I think the performance of the players here will be judged by the selectors. It is an important match for the players knocking at the doors of test cricket.’’
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CCI
membership for Waugh Mumbai, March 3 However, Waugh, at 34, was surprised that the greatest Australian cricketer ever, Sir Donald Bradman, who led his generation’s invincible team, was given such felicitation at the ripe old age of 80 when he had already shrunk away from public life. If such honour was handed over to Bradman at the same age of Waugh then the great man would have come personally here, it was felt.
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Hooper named West Indies captain Bridgetown (Barbados), March 3 The 34-year-old all-rounder, who temporarily quit international cricket two years ago, replaces Jamaican left-hander Jimmy Adams, 33, who held the captain’s post since last February, the Board confirmed late last night. Hooper, a veteran of 80 Tests and 182 one-day internationals, announced his retirement in April, 1999. Hooper had a moderate batting average in Tests of 33.76 and a bowling average of 47.01. After retiring, he emigrated to Australia played a season’s club cricket in Melbourne, but returned for the regional Red Stripe Bowl one-day tournament in October and for the current first-class Busta International Series. Hooper broke a tournament batting record this year with 889 runs at an average of 97, including four centuries, took 24 wickets with his off-spin, leading Guyana to the final of the Busta International Shield against Jamaica in Kingston on last Saturday. The first of five Tests against South Africa starts in Hooper’s hometown, Georgetown, Guyana next week. Hooper’s case was strongly promoted in his native Guyana. Guyana’s president Bharrat Jagdeo publicly called on the West Indies Cricket Board to consider him as captain. There were fears that fans would boycott the Test if Hooper was not made captain. Adams, the outgoing captain, was appointed when star left -handed batsman Brian Lara resigned last February. Adams led the West Indies to victory in four of his first six Tests at the helm, against Zimbabwe, Pakistan and England, in which he averaged 65. But his team’s fortunes and his own declined dramatically. The West Indies were beaten 3-1 in the Test series in England last summer, when Adams averaged 24.44, and suffered a 5-0 sweep in Australia in the series that ended in January. Adams failed to pass 50 in 10 innings and averaged 18.8. Adams was not included in a squad of 16 named by West Indies’ selectors for a pre-Test training camp in Trinidad this weekend.
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Pak batsmen fail against Kiwis Lincoln, March 3 The New Zealand Test hopefuls then scored 66 for the loss of three wickets, to be just 34 runs behind at stumps on day one. Sent in by New Zealand a skipper Jacob Oram, Pakistan were bundled out by tireless medium-fast bowling on a greenish wicket under leaden skies. About an hour of play was lost during the Pakistan innings because of bad light. Yousuf Youhana top-scored with 26 as the A team attack of Chris Drum (four for 42), Andrew Penn (three for 25), Kyle Mills (two for 14) and Oram (one for 13) cleaned up the tourists. There was some late resistance from Mushtaq Ahmed and Ashad Khan, who scored 11 and 13, respectively, but not much encouragement for Pakistan as they tried to put their loss in the one-day series against New Zealand behind them. New Zealand A started brightly enough in their run chase, but had some trouble with the lively pace of Mohammad Sami, playing his first match on tour, and acting captain Waqar Younis. Sami bowled both Richard Jones (11) and Gary Stead (23) in two spells.
Reuters
Cops’
cricket tie today Chandigarh, March 3 The idea of introducing this annual match, he said, was not only to promote sports activities but also to bring men and officers of the two force closer for better coordination and cooperation in discharge of their professional duties. |
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Andre Agassi, Gambill sail into semifinals San Jose (USA), March 3 Agassi routed his friend and occasional training partner to improve to 10-0 this season. He will play sixth-seeded countryman Jan-Michael Gambill in tonight’s semi-finals. “We’ve had a lot of matches together and we practice a lot together,” said Agassi, who raised his lifetime record against Sargsian to 4-0. “When you know each other’s game, you know what you’re going to do. I certainly had a good day today. I was hitting the ball very clean.” Agassi, the top seed, is 34-4 lifetime at this event. The 30-year-old had to withdraw last year due to a back injury but has reached the quarter-finals in eight of his previous nine appearances. He won this event in 1990, 1993, 1995 and 1998. Gambill rolled over Spain’s Juan Balcells 6-2 6-0 to reach his first semi-final of the season. He served 14 aces against Balcells and will try to continue his strong serving against Agassi. ACAPULCO (Mexico): Top-ranked Gustavo Kuerten outlasted fellow Brazilian Fernando Melingeni 6-7 (3-7) 6-3 3-2 (ret) in a hard-fought match to advance to the semifinals of the Mexican Open, which was forced by rain to postpone some matches. Melingeni, a wildcard entry in the tournament, surprised Kuerten yesterday, ATP’s top-ranked player, by taking the first set in the tiebreaker. He dominated going into the second set as well, breaking Kuerten’s serve in the third game. But suddenly he tired, committing three double-faults in the sixth game and then watching Kuerten deliver two aces in the following one. Kuerten won five games in a row and took the second set 6-3. In the third set, Melingeni fell apart, stepping out with a cramp in his lower back during game 2. He returned to the court but never recovered, and retired after five games. “He was very intelligent,” Melingeni said of Kuerten after the game. “He made me run a lot and he beat me on the physical side, on strength.” DUBAI: Top-seed and world number two Marat Safin of Russia, fought back from a set down and an apparent pulled muscle to defeat Thomas Johansson of Sweden 6-7 (0-7) 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 to reach the final of the $ 1 million Dubai Open. Safin, the US Open champion, meets seventh-seeded Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain in today’s final, worth $ 167,000 to the winner. Ferrero, the losing finalist last year, saved three match points before defeating Dominik Hrbaty of Slovakia 5-7 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 in 2 hours, 9 minutes yesterday. Safin acknowledged he wouldn’t be in top condition for the final following an injury to the lower left side of his back during the fifth game of the third set. “For the final, I would like to be 100 per cent, but I think it is impossible. I have beaten Ferrero three times quite easily but he is playing very well in this tournament and is in very good form,” said Safin, who received on-court treatment during a 3-minute injury break. “I hope it will clear up in a few days...My back is not very good and I cannot serve fast or make fast movements,” Safin said. Safin, who also was plagued by unforced errors, came through in the last set after being taken to two tiebreakers, losing the first and winning the second. SCOTTSDALE (Arizona): Lindsay Davenport will have a chance to avenge her loss to Jennifer Capriati at the Australian Open. The two Americans took different paths in setting up a semi-final showdown yesterday at the State Farm Tennis Classic. Davenport, the top seed, shook off a rocky start against fellow American Lisa Raymond and rallied for a 1-6 6-0 6-3 win over the seventh seed. She improved to 9-0 lifetime against Raymond. Capriati, the third seed, rolled to her third straight semi-final by dumping qualifier Tina Pisnik of Slovenia, 6-1 6-2 in 55 minutes. In January, Capriati defeated Davenport in the Australian Open semifinals and went on to down top-ranked Martina Hingis in the final for her first Grand Slam title. Second seed Monica Seles of the USA continued her bid for a second straight singles title last night with a 6-4 6-3 victory over Spain’s Magui Serna. On Sunday, Seles defeated Capriati in the final at the IGA US Indoors in Oklahoma City. Eighth seed Meghann Shaughnessy became the third American to reach the semifinals by upsetting fifth seed Kim Clijsters of Belgium, 6-2 6-4. Davenport arrived at this event last year going for her second straight title after winning the Australian Open. But the championship match with Hingis was canceled due to rain.
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Chennai, March 3 The India-Germany hockey matches are being reported as Test matches but they are only exhibition matches, it was explained. But having drawn level 1-1 in the three match series, Germany having won at Mumbai and India at Hyderabad yesterday, the third and the decisive contest will definitely be a battle of attrition with the German blitzkrieg expected to come into its own again. Having tasted success with the other development team triumphing in the five nation tournament in Egypt yesterday, the recalled national coach Cedric D’souza, who looked a very happy man at the press conference last night, would be pressing hard to chalk out another triumph for a series win against the Germans tomorrow. Undoubtedly, the contest, would be an exhibition of solidity, strength and the set play of the Germans fielding as many as eight current Olympians and the Indian’s flair, fluency and finesse which D’souza is trying to mould into a winning combination again in the international arena, would be no less than a Test match. With both the coaches, Germany’s Bernard Peters and India’s Cedric D’souza sitting down with their boys and ironing out the loose ends seen in the second match at Hyderabad, contest will be fierce. But the pressure will again be on the India, who will be expected to prove that the Hyderabad win was not just by luck. The forward line which had spilled a few chances, may not be let away again by the mighty German defence. And talking of defence, both the German goal keeper Nils Kowaiczek and Jede Menezes will be on trial as the strikers on both the teams who will be expected to give a head start and sustain the pressure. The teams: India (from): Baljit Singh Saini (capt), Jude Menezes, Devesh Chauhan, Dilip Tirkey, Dinesh Nayak, Lazarus Barla, Anurag Raghuvanshi, S.S. Gill, Thirumalvalavan, Baljeet Singh Dhillon, Deepak Thakur, Probjoth Singh, Gagan Ajit Singh, Bipi Fernandez, Sameer Dad, Tejbir Singh,. Umpires: Md Muneer (TN), Krishnamurthy (Kar).
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Pillay for
Dhaka tourney Chennai, March 3 On the eve of the third match between India and Germany to be played here tomorrow, federation secretary K. Jyothikumaran told newsmen that the IHF would also form an under-14 team. This team would go to Hobart in Australia and watch the play of the Indian junior team which would be competing in the junior World Cup. Mr Jyothikumaran also announced that Jagan Senthil and Samir Dad, both suffering injuries, will not be available for the Dhaka tournament, but striker Dhanraj Pillay will be back in the team.
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Afro-Asian Games “on schedule” New Delhi, March 3 Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Uma Bharati told The Tribune here today that even without touching the Rs 25 crore additional allocation made for sports in the Union Budget, the Afro-Asian Games could be held without any hitch. She said with the forming of the Steering Committee, work on the Games front was expected to progress expeditiously. At a hurriedly called “National Conference of Ministers of Sports of States and Union Territories” at National Stadium to discuss “emergent and important issues”, it was decided to frame a “code of conduct” to make the sports officials and sports federations accountable, and also to limit the tenure of the office-bearers of the federations, to set-up a National Sports Academy in each state and union territory and to bring sports in the Concurrent List. Ms Uma Bharati said it was strongly felt that a code of conduct rule was essential, which could be implemented in letter and spirit, to rein-in sports officials and federations. But she said final touch to the code of conduct would be given only after “a sitting with the sports federations. “The issue of election and tenure of office-bearers of various federations needs to be given a serious thought with regard to improvements that can be brought about in this process”, she said. “The spectacle of Indian performance in international events has drawn adverse criticism from all quarters, and in spite of the administration of various disciplines being the concern of national sports federations, the government cannot abdicate its responsibility in this regard”, explained the minister. And hence the need was felt for a code of conduct. But she said “the development of sports needs a participatory approach, and calls for creation of inputs from the government, the federations, the Sports Control Boards, universities and colleges, the Indian Olympic Association and the people at large”. Ms Bharati said the meeting of the sports ministers also approved a suggestion to set up a sports academy in each state to develop the sport for which the concerned state is well-known, and it was upto the state to choose which sports discipline it wanted to select for specialised training in the academy. She said the National Sports Policy was ready, and a note has been sent to the Cabinet for approval. It would be made public, and implemented, after getting the green signal from the Cabinet. The minister said she has received approval from the opposition parties, particularly the Congress, to bring sport into the Concurrent List, though the sports ministers of two Congress-ruled states sought a little more time to discuss the matter with their respective Chief Ministers, before giving their assent. However, Ms Bharati said with a sense of relief that two staunch opponents against putting sports in the Concurrent List — West Bengal and Kerala — have relented, and agreed to the Union Ministry’s proposal. She said the need to have sports in the Concurrent List was felt very badly during the cricket match-fixing scandal as “we could not fix the culprits, because we did not have the necessary powers”. When asked whether she was satisfied with the allocation of funds for sports in the Union Budget, Ms Bharati said: “Dil se poocho to me khush nahi hoon, lekin demakh se poocho to me khush hoon (I am not satisfied from my heart, but when you think of budgetary compulsions, I am happy),” she said, with mischievous smiling on her lips! |
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Melbourne, March 3 Only the late Brazilian Ayrton Senna, who claimed a phenomenal 65 poles, has been more successful in qualifying than the trio of multiple champions. It was typical of the 32-year-old Ferrari driver to reach his landmark with a record-breaking lap in qualifying for Sunday’s season-opening Australian Grand Prix only one day after his spectacular high-speed crash. The 32-year-old German steered smoothly around the Albert Park track and even allowed himself two additional laps in the team’s spare car to complete Ferrari’s preparations. The additional chassis had never turned a wheel on a race circuit before Schumacher decided, after eight laps had shot him to the top of the time-sheets with a comfortable advantage over his rivals, that a little extra homework was in order. “We know our car is fast,’’ said Schumacher, who showed no ill-effects from his spectacular rolling shunt on yesterday afternoon. “Now we have to show it is reliable. I took this opportunity to try out the spare car because until then it had not been tested before.’’ Such fastidious attention to detail by Ferrari during a qualifying session typified their approach and left them looking down on the rest of the field. Schumacher’s team-mate Brazilian Rubens Barrichello clocked the second-fastest time in the closing minutes, regaining a front row place from Finn Mika Hakkinen in a McLaren.
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Dubai, March 3 Woods found three successive early birdies to establish a clear lead, but a bogey five on the eighth hole — his first dropped shot in 44 holes here — and another on the 10th allowed Bjorn to level it up. Three shots back were Welshman Ian Woosnam and Irishman Padraig Harrington, both still on the course. Woods started the day on 16-under, two ahead of Bjorn, his playing partner for all three rounds so far. For the third successive day he was wayward with his early tee shots and had to produce recovery irons to save par on the first two holes. He picked up his first shot on the par-5 third after failing by an inch to make eagle, but Bjorn also made birdie. Woods seemed fired up by that success and he strode to the fourth tee with his head high and duly put his tee shot four feet from the hole for a second birdie. Another beautiful iron approach on the fifth left him a three foot putt which he holed to make it three birdies in a row but Bjorn hit back with a 15-foot putt on the sixth to close back to within three. On the eighth Woods sent a 30-foot birdie putt sliding past the hole and then missed his return to raise a collective gasp from the gallery. Bjorn holed for birdie from 12 feet to secure a two shot swing. Both parred the ninth but after Bjorn missed from four feet for birdie on the 10th it seemed as if Woods was going to extend his lead again. However, not only did he miss his three foot birdie putt but astonishingly also missed the next — from less than two feet — to drop his second shot in three holes and leave the two men level.
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Golf title for Atwal Kolkata, March 3 Brushing aside yesterday’s poor show, the in-form Atwal toned up his game to fire in birdies on the 4th, 7th, 12th, 15th and 16th holes to claim the winner’s purse of Rs 1.62 lakh in the Rs 10 lakh prize money tournament. Inderjit Bhalotia, who had been quite consistent with scores of 71, 72, 71 in the first three rounds, returned with an identical score of five under par 67 to take the second position with a total of 281. Local favourite Feroze Ali finished the fourth round with a two over 74 to finish third.
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Absenteeism mars athletics camp Patiala, March 3 Even a cursory glance of the roster confirms that out of a total of 76 probables selected by the Amatuer Athletic Federation of India (AAFI), just 30 odd athletes have reported and this despite the fact that nearly two months have elapsed ever since the camp
commenced. The camp is being held in preparation for the Afro-Asian Games scheduled to be held at New Delhi from November 6 to 17 and the World Athletic Championships to be held in Edmonton (Canada) in August this year. Although athletes parrot the all-too-familiar excuse of not being informed of the dates of the camp by the federation, AAFI sources reveal that since there is no foreign tour in sight in the near future, the athletes are not at all enthusiastic about joining the proceedings, a fact which is reflected from the low turnout. The most intriguing case is that of middle distance runner and star of the Bangkok Asian Games Sunita Rani who joined the camp for a couple of days and then decided to leave. When contacted ,Bahadur Singh who is also the chief coach, confirmed that Sunita had cited her mother’s illness as the reason for leaving the camp midway. However, Sunita’s colleagues at the camp reveal that ever since Dr Yuri Boyko, the Ukranian doctor attached with the Indian contingent for the Sydney Olympics, had injected Sunita with some unknown medicines and in the process complicated the athlete’s hip injury. Sunita absented herself from the camp. When contacted at her native place in Sunam, Sunita Rani’s mother, Ms. Santosh, added another dimension to the story by saying that Sunita had `recovered from the injury’ and that she had gone to New Delhi on some domestic errand. It may be recalled that due to the same injury Sunita Rani had to skip the Sydney Olympics and the Jakarta Asian Track and Field Meet (ATF) held prior to the Olympics. As if absenteeism and injuries were not enough, indiscipline has also reared its ugly at the camp. A perfect example of this is the case of discus thrower and Bangkok Asian Games silver medallist Anil Kumar who was earlier expelled from the camp a few weeks ago by the NIS authorities for creating rowdyism. Subsequent to this incident, in which the police swooped down on the NIS complex after the athlete had reportedly picked up a tiff with some police personnel outside the complex, Anil Kumar was asked to explain his conduct to the SAI Executive Director (Teams) at New Delhi. However, the authorities for some unknown reasons decided to relent after initially being adamant on expelling the athlete in an effort to nip in the bud the indisciplined attitude of some other athletes in the camp. Yet another example is that of Sydney Olympian and javelin thrower Jagdeesh Bishnoi who has been sacked from the camp on disciplinary grounds. Prominent among top athletes who are yet to join the camp and are unlikely to do so are Asian games medallists Jyotirmoy Sikdar and Sunita Rani, quartermilers P. Ramachandran, Paramjit Singh and Ajay Raj Singh and sprinter Anil Kumar, all of whom represented the country at the Sydney Olympics. The manner in which the athletes are going through the paces at the camp clearly shows a total lack of enthusiasm and commitment. Many top athletes, preferring anonymity, admitted that they were at the camp puerly out of necessity rather than to have any serious training prior to the World Championships and the Afro-Asian games. |
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Double crown
for Rohtak New Delhi, March 3 In the men’s semifinals, Rohtak beat Jind by 16-13 while Bhiwani edged past last year’s runners-up Hisar 12-11. In the final, Rohtak beat Bhiwani 11-10, while Jind got past Hisar 12-10 to take the third position. In the women’s semifinals, Rohtak beat Sonepat 10-9 while Panipat beat Bhiwani 15-9. In the final, helped by fine performance from Sushila, Punam and Rakhi, Rohtak beat Panipat 15-4. Bhiwani took the third position, beating Sonepat by an innings and eight points. Mr Dhir Pal Singh, Revenue and Rehabilitation Minister of Haryana, and Mr S S Barwala, MP gave away the prizes. |
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Greek actress Thalia
Prokopiou, playing the role of high priestess, delivers the Olympic flame to a torch-bearer during a lighting ceremony at the ancient hill of Pnyx in Athens on Saturday. The flame will travel to Finland's Vuokatti where the fifth European Youth Olympic Winter Days 2001 are to be held from March 10 to 16. 
