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| Thursday,
April 19, 2001, Chandigarh, India   
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Raman enters third round Interesting duel on the
cards Northern Railway, IA enter semifinals |
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SA aim to maintain ascendancy Safin bundled out Vashisht sails into semifinals IOA for Games on schedule Ajay Chautala is chief of CTTF Malik elected WFI president Vasco hold East Bengal Ratti praises new
scoring system Rahul Shetty, Kunte maintain form 15 spikers selected
for academy
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Raman enters third round New Delhi, April 18 From his form, it looked Raman had put the nightmare of losing to Nigeria behind as he went about the task of decimating his Canadian opponent in a near flawless fashion. The only flaw he seems to suffer, for that matter all Indian players, is that he loses concentration midway during a match. Even when he is getting all his shots right and has a commendable lead, suddenly the game comes a cropper. This was evident even in the match against a lowly placed Kassam Faazil who was not a regular in the Canadian team. Raman started in a great style, hitting Kassam on both flanks with the efficiency of a great player. The only thing the Canadian could do was to watch the ball travel on both flanks by him. In a matter of few minutes, the game was over at 21-14. Sensing that his opponent was not capable of putting up even a semblance of fight, Raman turned more heat on him. He attacked him ruthlessly, executing powerful drives following his close-to-table serves. He finished the second game at 21-6. But in the third Raman suddenly seemed to have lost the earlier touch as his opponent started getting his act together. Kassam started matching his opponent stroke for stroke and their began a real duel between the two. In the process the score ran neck and neck. From 6-6 onwards, when Raman took a 10-7 lead, he failed to maintain it as Kassam counterattacked Raman and caught up with him at 11. However, Raman sensed the danger at the right time and combined aggression with caution. He again led 17-13 first and then 19-16. He even had two points at 20-18 but the Canadian would not let him go still. With a steady display, Kassam forced deuce (20-20). However, controlling his nerve, Raman earned the third match point (21-20). He did not falter this time and finished the match at 22-20. Raman is the only to have moved into the third round. Others are, of course, following him. Till evening six Indian players figured in the men’s singles event and all of them moved to the next round though four of the six were beneficiaries of walkovers. Ranbir Das of India took the better of Indika Prasad in four games. Ranbir Das won the first game 21-16 but lost the second to his rival 19-21. But he played a controlled game thereafter and won the third and fourth games, 21-12, 21-15. Another R. Rajesh had a smooth sailing against Geroudes Giorgosc of Cyprus. Rajesh had no problem in winning the match 21-11, 21-10, 21-10. Those Indian players who got walkovers in the first round were Zabarjit Singh, Anal Kashyap, A. Mahagaonkar and Nilesh Vaid. The mixed doubles event is turning out to be a happy hunting ground for the Indians. As many as seven pairs won their first-round matches. Six of them crossed the second round also. However, only two pairs, those of Soumyadeep Roy and Montu Ghosh and Chetan P. Baboor and Poulami Ghatak survived the third round hurdle and entered the fourth round. But the remaining four pairs licked the dust in this round. First in the third round, Roy and Montu beat Ryan Jenkins and Bethan Daunton of Wales 21-17, 19-21, 21-17 while the pair of Chetan and Ghatak defeated another Indian pair of Arjun Dutta and Sushmita Roy 21-15, 21-14. However, Anal Kayshap and Mamata Prabhu lost to Duan Yong Jun and Li Jia Wei 15-21, 7-21; Raman and Mouma Das of India lost to Alex Peri and Helen Lower of England 19-21, 17-21, and the last Indian pair of Shivaji Dutta and Vishakha Vijaya lost to Sen Yew Fai and Tan Paey Fern of Singapore 15-21, 12-21. |
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Baroda, April 18 The team handling the pressure better is expected to do well. The final is bound to be more of a mental game as both the teams have played seven league and knock-out matches before entering the final. It is also for the first time that the prequarterfinal, quarterfinal, semifinal and final matches are being played on the same ground. Railways’ coach Vinod Sharma, after seeing the wicket, said the strip would help the seamers initially but the batsmen too could score freely if they showed some patience. Baroda captain Jacob martin will take another look at the wicket in the morning before deciding the playing eleven. Railways’ skipper Abhay Sharma said winning the final was his team’s goal and “we are confident of achieving it”. “My boys are firm in their resolve and determined to achieve the goal. They are young and energetic with an average age of 23 years”, Abhay Sadded Martin said he was satisfied with the performances of his batsmen, including Indian stumper Nayan Mongia, Satyajit Parab, Connor Williams, Tushar Arothe, Valmik Buch, Himanshu Jadhav and Ajit Bhoite, who have found their touch and helped their team in pile up a good scores in previous matches. The selection committee of the Baroda Cricket Association, headed by former India coach Anshuman Gaekwad, nominated Martin as the captain after Arothe stepped down due to personal reasons. Inclusion of paceman Zaheer Khan, who missed the previous ties as he was on national duty against the Australians, will add more sting to the Baroda attack. Baroda may play two more medium pacers — Rakesh Patel and Irfan Pathan (sr) or Irfan Pathan(jr) — apart from Khan as the wicket here has always helped the medium pacers. The final is going to be played on the same wicket on which Baroda had scored outright wins in the prequarter final against Bengal and quarterfinal against Tamil Nadu while the semi-final against Orissa, played on the adjacent wicket, had ended in a draw. The toss too will be vital as the team batting first has always managed to win and the wicket takes turn which helps the spinners in the later part of the match. Baroda coach Vinit Wadker said the team was playing very well and was well-balanced and this gave it a slight edge over the opponents. On the other hand, Railways’ Vinod Sharma said his team had restricted their rivals in the previous ties due to some tight bowling and then had piled up huge scores before bundling out the opponents cheaply in their second knocks. “Our fielding is our plus point and players like vice-captain Sanjay Bangar, Amit Pagnis and others are known for their fielding abilities,” he added. “There is the right mix of pace and spin in our bowling and our batting line-up is very strong,” Sharma said. Baroda have won the championship four times and were twice runners-up while Railways would be searching for their first win after being runners-up to Tamil Nadu at Chennai in 1987-88. Teams:- Railways: Abhay Sharma (capt), Sanjay Bangar, Murali Kartik, Amit Pagnis, Tejinder Pal Singh, Yere Goud, Raja Ali, Shreyas Khanolkar, Santosh Sahu, Kulmani Parida, Zakir Hussain, Harvinder Singh, P.S. Rawat, Sudhir Wankhede, Dhiraj Sharma.
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Northern Railway, IA enter semifinals Lucknow, April 18 At chowk stadium, put to bat first, Vidharbha were all out for 118 runs in 35.2 overs. Northern Railway scored the required runs in 30.4 overs, losing just four wickets. In another league match of the day, Indian Airlines, Delhi, defeated Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association by 57 runs at ‘’Babu’’ Stadium where the pitch was unfit for full play and the match had to be reduced to 25 overs an inning. VCA’s Alind Naidu (17), Faiz Faizal (16), Sameer Khare (28) and Amol Jichkar (16) were the main scorers. Shivadhar Bajpai took three wickets for 16 runs. B.C. Harbola and Ashutosh Sati shared two wickets each, conceding 18 and 05 runs, respectively. In reply, Northern Railway scored the needed runs in 30.4 overs losing four wickets. S Raza Ali (23) and Satish Jaiswal (27 not out) added 53 runs for the fourth wicket. Arun Sharma made 20 runs. Abhijeet Piprode and Amol Jichkar shared two wickets each giving away 39 and 24 runs, respectively. In the second match, put to bat, Indian Airlines piled up a score of 203 runs for the loss of three wickets and then bundled out UPCA for 146 runs in 23.0 overs. The Indian Airlines team went for quick runs right from the start. J. Arun Kumar and Ravneet Ricky opened the innings and when the score was 39, Kumar was sent back to the pavilion after being caught at mid-on by Nasir Ali off Ratnesh Misra for 27. His 27 came off 22 balls with one six and three fours. Ravneet, scored 29 in 44 balls, with two fours, before he was caught by Ratnesh off Gyanendra Pandey. The team score stood at 88. Munish Sharma (69) and Sukhvinder Singh played entertaining cricket and hit three sixes and five fours each and added 97 runs for the third wicket. Munish was run out for 69 runs in 48 balls while Sukhvinder remained not out with 55 runs in 31 balls. M Bisla made an unbeaten 16 runs with two sixes and one a four in five balls. UPCA’s Ratnesh Misra and Gyanendra Pandey shared one wicket each. Both conceded 42 runs. Needing 204 to win, UPCA’s Mritunjaya Tripathi, promoted in the batting order, opened the innings with Nasir Ali and started on a quick note. They put up 45 runs in 23 balls before Nasir was caught by Ravneet Ricky off V. Jain for 28. Nasir hit two sixes and two fours for his 28 off 16 balls. Up team lost their second wicket five runs later when Deepankar Malviya was declared lbw to Qayoom when his personal score was four. At 60, Mritunjaya was also back in the pavilion caught by Nikhil Chopra off Qayoom for 21. He faced 14 balls and hit two sixes and one boundary. Gyanendra Pandey (26) and Satish Durai (19) were the other main scorers for the UPCA. They were all out for 146 runs in 23.0 overs. Indian Airlines’s Qayoom, V. Jain and Sonu Sharma shared two wickets each conceding 46, 27 and 17 runs, respectively. Brief scores: UPCA: 146 all out in 23.0 overs (Nasir Ali 28, G. Pandey 26, M. Tripathi 21, Satish Durai 19, Lalit Verma 15; A. Qayoom 2 for 46, Vineet Jain 2 for 27, Sonu Sharma 2 for 17). NCA: 118 all out in 35.2 overs (Alind Naidu 17, F. Faizal 16, Sameer Khare 28 n.o., Amol Jichkar 16; S. Bajpai 3 for 16, B.C. Harbola 2 for 18, Ashutosh 2 for 5) Northern Railway: 119 for 4 in 30.4 overs (Awadhesh Srivastava 23, S. Raza Ali 23, Satish Jaiswal 27 n.o., Arun Sharma 20; Abhijeet 2 for 39, Amol Jichkar 2 for 24.)
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SA aim to maintain ascendancy Kingston, April 18 Although South Africa took a winning 2-0 lead in the fourth Test in Antigua earlier this month, the tourists are determined not to allow their level of performance to slip. South Africa will be boosted by the return of fast bowler Allan Donald, who missed the fourth Test because of a hamstring injury. Donald said he was delighted with his fitness after playing in a one-day match in Montserrat last Thursday and a two-day match against Jamaica in Montego bay at the weekend. Donald worked up to full pace and said afterwards: “I haven’t felt this good about my bowling for quite a long time.” Allrounder Jacques Kallis, who plays in his 50th Test Tomorrow, summed up the feeling in the South African camp. “From a team point of view we would like to win the series 3-0. We have dominated the West Indies sufficiently to have a better scoreline than
2-0.” AFP |
Monte Carlo, April 18 The Monaco-based Russian is yet to win a title this year and never looked comfortable during the bad-tempered clash on Centre Court. His serve disintegrated and his timing deserted him as he angrily hurled his racket into the red clay after spraying shots out of court. The U.S. Open champion dumped yet another backhand into the net on match point to crash out in just 52 minutes. Chilean Marcelo Rios withdrew from the $ 2.95 million ATP Masters Series event here today with a pulled right hamstring. Rios, the 1997 champion here, pulled out shortly before his second round match against Spaniard Albert Costa after coming past Slovakia’s Karol Kucera in his opening match. Charleston (South Carolina): Martina Hingis of Switzerland defeated German qualifier Bianka Lamade in straight sets here in the second round of the $ 1.2 million WTA Tournament. Lamade led halfway through the first set before Hingis, the No. 1 seed, rallied to win 7-6 (7-4) 6-1. Conchita Martinez of Spain also had to come from behind to move into the third round with a 1-6, 6-3, 6-0 victory against American Lilia Osterloh.
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Vashisht sails into semifinals Chandigarh, April 18 Paterson, who had also upset Shruti Dhawan (5th seed) and Sania Mirza, today scalped top seed Sai Jayalakshamy of India. Vashisht, who had earlier downed Yamini and Ankita, silenced the challenge of former national junior champion Radhika Tulpule today. Local girl Shruti Dhawan later took revenge for her defeat in the singles when she and Jyotsna Vashisht got the better of Karen Paterson and Nicola Payne of Great Britain, to make their way into the last four. Rushmi Chakarvorthy of India, playing consistently, prevailed upon seventh seed Nicola Payne in straight sets. Dea Sumantri of Indonesia made mincemeat of India’s Sheethal Goutham in another match. Tomorrow in the singles semifinal, D. Sumantri will clash with Karen Paterson Chakarvorthy will lock horns with Jyotsna Vashisht. The Paterson-Jayalakshamy match lasted for 110 minutes. Jayalakshamy, ranked 358, seemed confident from the beginning and gained an early 5-2 lead in first set. Paterson tried to come back grabbing two games but lost the first set 4-6 in 35 minutes. The next set say Paterson moving with more agility and after trailing 3-1 made it 4-4. Jayalakshamy committed few mistakes which proved decisive and she lost the set 4-6 in 38 minutes. In the third set, Paterson, riding high on confidence, clinched the set 6-3 in 37 minutes. D. Sumantri of Indonesia surprised all with her deft placements at the net and Sheethal Goutham, who was no match for her, lost tamely 1-6, 1-6 in 72 minutes. Rushmi Chakarvorthy- Nicola Payne match lasted for 50 minutes. Payne was completely outclassed by the Indian and lost 0-6, 1-6. Tulpule, earlier a surprise winner over second seed Sonal Phadke, today did not play her natural game. In the first set, Vashisht, playing with lots of grit and determination, was up 4-2. She finally bagged the set 6-3 in 30 minutes. In the second, Vashisht, with her long rallies and deep volleys, made Tulpule run all over the court to take the set 6-3 in 38 minutes. Results: Doubles: Sheethal and Shalini Thakur (Ind) b Marutha Devi and Jasleen Randhawa (Ind) 6-0, 6-0; D. Sumantri (Ina) and Radhika Tulpule (Ind) b Medini Sharma and Archna (Ind) 6-1, 6-0; Sai Jayalakshamy (Ind) and Rushmi Chakarvorthy (Ind) b Donna Calvert and Debbi Carr (Aus) 6-0, 6-1; Jyotsna Vashisht and Shruti Dhawan (Ind) b Karen Paterson and Nicola Payne (GBR) 6-3, 6-3. |
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IOA for Games on schedule New Delhi, April 18 In an one-line communication yesterday, the Union Sports Ministry had asked the IOA to “defer” the Games, and accordingly the IOA “has been advised to suggest new dates for the games”. Mr Kalmadi met Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee to apprise him of this unexpected development in the morning, and to plead with him not to agree to the postponement of the
games. Mr Kalmadi said if the games are postponed “India would not have any such opportunity to hold an international (such as the
Afro-Asiad) for the next 10 years. After the 1982 Asian Games, this is the only opportunity India has been given to host an event of such magnitude”. The IOA president said the contents of the Sports Ministry’s letter, seeking the postponement of the Afro-Asian Games “was noted by the IOA and national sport federations with great disappointment when all the 96 national Olympic committees in Africa and Asia are preparing for the Games”. He said this was an international commitment and Indian cannot go back on
it. Kalmadi said an IOA delegation, in the presence of Sports Minister Uma Bharati and former Sports Minister Sukhdev Singh
Dhindsa, would be meeting the Prime Minister again to seek his intervention in holding the games as
scheduled. Mr Kalmadi said there was no tangible reason for the postponement of the games as every thing was in place, including the sponsors. Even President
K.R. Narayanan had dealt with the holding of the Games at length in his address in Parliament a month
back. Mr Kalmadi said if India could hold the 1982 Asian Games in one year’s time, with an expenditure involving about Rs 1500 crore for the construction of infrastructure and the conduct of the Games, he saw no reason why the
Afro-Asiad could not be held on time, as the expenditure required was far too meagre — just Rs 40
crores, which is besides the Rs 25 crore the government has already sanctioned for the renovation of
stadia. The government has included Rs 20 crore in the union Budget for the Games, and Rs 20 crore would come by way of sponsorships. Kalmadi said if money was the problem, the IOA was prepared to raise the whole amount of Rs 40
crore. |
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Ajay Chautala is chief of CTTF New Delhi, April 18 Mr Chautala is the first Indian to hold the post. He succeeds Mr Alan Kansome of England. For the TTFI supreme M.C. Chowhan, it was a re-election to the post of honorary secretary of the CTTF. Another Indian Dhanraj Choudhry, a relation of Mr Chowhan, has also been retained as the member of the technical committee. Earlier, the CTTF put on record the appreciation of the TTFI for successfully conducting the ongoing Commonweath Table Tennis Championship. Mr Ajay Singh Chautala has been associated with social, political and sports activities. Since 1987, he has been continuing as the president of the Haryana Table Tennis Association and it was only recently that he was elected president of the TTFI. At the end of the general body meeting of the CTTF, Mr Chautala first thanked the members for reposing faith in his leadership. He assured the members that there would be more interaction among the Commonwealth countries and that every effort would be made to improve the level of the game. |
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Malik elected WFI president Chandigarh, April 18 Crediting Mr Abhay Singh Chautala, president, Haryana Olympic Association until the victory, Mr Malik said that hencefourth the Wrestling Federation of India will bear the expenses of all wrestlers participating in international championships. The election was held peacefully after Mr Abhay Singh Chautala arrived in Pune yesterday evening and appealed to the two opposing groups to contest the election in a democratic manner and without any ill-will. Representatives of practically all state associations from all over India were elected office-bearers. Mr Abhay Singh Chautala requested them to work in unison for the promotion of the sport. The other office-bearers of the Wrestling Federation of India are:- Sr. vice president: Mr S.S. Saini (Chd). Vice presidents:- Mr A.R. Bhargava (Bihar), Mr Vijay Punia (Rajasthan), Mr V.M. Dutta (Rajasthan), Mr B.C. Das (Orissa), Mr Ashok Patel (MP), Mr B.S. Landge (Maharashtra). Secretary general: Pudumshree Kartar Singh (Arjuna Awardee). Teasurer: Mr Prem Nath (Bihar), Joint Secretaries: Mr Sukhbir Singh (Haryana), Mr Roshan Lal (UP), Mr Shiv Lal (Rajasthan), Mr K. Puroh (Nanagaland), Mr Laxman (Tamil Nadu). Executive members: Mr NR Chaudhary (Rly), Mr K.D. Sharma- (SSCB), Mr Swaroop Singh (P&T), Mr PK Misra- UP), Mr SM Mulla (Goa), Mr NP Phony (Manipur), Mr Dharshan Lal (Chandigarh), Mr R.K. Maini (J&K). |
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Vasco hold East
Bengal Margao, April 18 After a goalless first half, East Bengal drew the first blood in the 53rd minute when defender Suley Musah found space into the box and headed home a flag kick taken by defender Falguni Dutta from the left. Vasco, who held edge over their opponents throughout the match, especially after conceding the goal, found the net in the 70th minute when Nishant Pednekar’s glancing header beat keeper Nasim Akhtar all ends up off a chip from medio Avazbe
Koshimov. However, referee Ravi Shankar disallowed the goal after linesman Avtar Krishna pulled Nishant off side to the dismay of Vasco. Vasco did not lose heart and continued to attack and were in total command in the last quarter of the match. They finally found the equaliser in the 81st
minute. Koshimov Avazbek from the right took the free kick and floated the ball into the box for Nishant Pednekar who on the run headed home to the delight of the crowd.
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Ratti praises new
scoring system Chandigarh, April 18 Ratti, yet to complete 21 years has been among the top five in national badminton for the past few years. He has now been accorded top ranking in India as Gopichand did not play in one domestic tournaments and was pushed to the second place. Sidharth Jain is third and Abhinn Shyam Gupta is at the fourth position. Ratti, employed with the Railways, practises under the ‘Centre of Excellence’ scheme run by the Sports Authority of India and is being trained by former Thomas Cup player Vikram Singh. Ratti is of the view that more exposure in international tournaments is needed for Indian players so that they gain in cinfidence. Ratti had reached the last 16 at the French Open in March this year where the new scoring system was experimented. Commenting on the system he said it meant deuce at six all and at that juncture, whosever reached six points first, was allowed two options. Either the player could opt for straight game or go for two points. After each game, 90 seconds of rest was allowed which helped one to recover and seek guidance. If both players were tied at 2-2 players will change sides at four points in the fifth and final game. Ratti was happy with the system and said during the French Open, most of the players appreciated the new scoring system as it was felt that it would make the game more exciting. Sachin said earlier, the doubles game was considered more
absorbing but the new scoring system would create more interest in singles. Ratti, who came into the limelight when he won the New Zealand Open title at Wellington when just 18 , said he would be attending the national camp beginning on May 1 at Pune or Bangalore in preparation for the World Cup to be held at Seville, Spain from May 28. Ratti began playing when he was just seven years, old and his father,a coach at Raizada Hansraj Stadium, Jalandhar, tried him in badminton and it was his father’s hardwork which led, him to his present status. |
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Rahul Shetty, Kunte maintain form Dubai, April 18 “The winning chances were minimal in view of the superior pawn structure of my opponent,” he said. The opening phase was complicated and in a queens Indian defence, he attained the isolated pawns in centre. Kuzmin was unable to attack the central pawns and after exchange of queens the Russian Grandmaster had two weak pawns in queen side. Rahul managed to force Kuzmin on to the defensive mode and after exchange of minor pieces he reached a rook ending with an outside passed pawn. Abhijit Kunte also conceded a draw in 18 moves to Ghane Shojaat of Iran. In a queen pawn opening, Kunte delayed castling for early counter play in queenside. The middle game was complicated and Ghane obtained a slight edge with his active pieces but took the draw offer as he was in time pressure.
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15 spikers selected
for academy Chandigarh, April 18 The players were asked to report on April 22 as the new session begins the next day. The selected players are: Surjit Singh, Trilochan Singh, Paramjit Singh, Balwinder Singh, Paramjit Singh, Rajesh Kumar, Surinder Kumar,Anuj Tegta, Kishore, Narinder, Rajneesh, Raju Chauhan, Surjit Singh, Vijay and Sunil Kumar. |
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