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Saturday,
June 2, 2001, Chandigarh, India   |
Ferrero, Kafelnikov in last
16
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Tendulkar, Dravid not to play Indian ban to hit
Singapore body Thorpe, Vaughan thwart Pak |
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Punjab and National Games — two
Fairytale debut for unknown
Brazilian Rana finishes 11th, Shilpi 10th Kapil’s plea admitted
Indonesia storm
into finals Hockey player retires from
service
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Ferrero, Kafelnikov in last 16 Paris, June 1 Ferrero overcame a second set blip to oust fellow Spaniard Jacobo Diaz 6-1, 6-7, 6-1, 6-2, Kafelnikov crushed Belgium’s Olivier Rochus 7-6, 6-4, 6-3 and Henman lost 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 to Argentine claycourter Guillermo Canas. Kafelnikov, who began his claycourt campaign by losing five of his first six matches, has suddenly found his stride in Paris. “I am like an old diesel car, it is very difficult to start the engine but once the engine is going it goes non-stop,” said Kafelnikov, the 1996 French Open champion who will play Spain’s Tommy Robredo in the next round. Ferrero, winner of his maiden Masters title on Rome’s clay courts last month, had led the second set of his match 4-1 before allowing qualifier Diaz — junior champion at Roland Garros in 1994 - to pinch it in a tiebreak. That set was the only one Ferrero has lost in the tournament as he stays on track for a semifinal clash with top seed and world number one Gustavo Kuerten, who takes on Morocco’s Karim Alami in the third round later on Friday. Ferrero, who is showing no signs of the thigh injury which hampered him in the Hamburg Masters final last month, will next face 14th seed Thomas Enqvist of Sweden or Czech Jiri Novak. Henman, the 11th seed, lost a French Open third-round match in five sets for the third successive year as Canas’s claycourt know-how proved too much for the coachless 26-year-old. Canas, the world number 82, will face American teenager Andy Roddick or Australian sixth seed Lleyton Hewitt in the last 16. On the women’s side, Belgian 12th seed Kim Clijsters continued her almost effortless journey through the field by beating Spain’s Marta Marrero 6-2 6-2. Clijsters, along with compatriot Justine Henin and Yugoslavia’s Jelena Dokic, is one of only three seeds left in the bottom half of the draw, which is opening up perfectly for her. “I feel good, I am feeling a lot better on this clay than I was last year,” said the 17-year-old Clijsters who has not dropped a set and will next play Nathalie Dechy or Henrieta Nagyova. “I think I have improved and that I can definitely play even better,” she added. “I am confident and every win I get makes me more and more confident.” Number 14 seed Justine Henin reached the fourth round with a confident 6-3, 6-4 victory over Virginie Razzano. After an exchange of breaks at the start of the match, Henin gradually took control as her French opponent struggled for consistency on Centre Court. She will next face Barbara Schett following the Austrian’s 6-0, 4-6, 6-2 victory over Spain’s Nuria Llagostera.
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Agassi comforts old pal Sampras Paris, June 1 Andre Agassi, commenting on his old rival and friend Pete Sampras’s latest French flop, surely his final realistic chance at winning Roland Garros, looked genuinely moved. “You know, it’s never been easy for a game like Pete’s to do well here. Few people who play his style have it easy. “But I just think year in and year out, with the variety of players that you have to beat, you run into battles, like he had in the first round, and then you have to find something a little deeper, it’s just not easy to do. “I think it’s straight fundamentals, styles of game. Pete, he looks for an explosive move to his forehand side, which allows him to play a lot to the backhand corner. “On clay, when you don’t have that kind of traction, where you move in a disciplined way, you can’t just explode for one shot and hit through the court.” Bad traction or not, the slow red clay in Paris has been an instrument of torture over the years for Sampras, winner of a record 13 Grand Slam titles in his career but just an ordinary mortal here. The closest he came was in 1996 when he clawed his way through three successive five-setters into the semi-finals only for eventual winner Yevgeny Kafelnikov to give him a lesson under a broiling sun which left Sampras close to exhaustion. Since then, he has never got past the third round and this year very nearly went out at the first time of asking, saving three match points against French unknown Cedric Kauffmann before winning 8-6 in the fifth. But in yesterday’s second round, Sampras was quickly put out of his misery in straight sets against Spain’s Galo Blanco, who would be lucky to make it into his own country’s top 10 rankings. Sampras sounded resigned at the end of another French campaign. “I feel over the course of my career I did everything possibly could to do well here. I have done pretty well here. I’ve tried different schedules, tried playing a lot on clay, tried playing a little bit less on clay. So far, nothing’s happened. It’s very frustrating.” Could things have been different had Sampras brought in a clay court expert to unravel the mysteries of the surface for him instead of sticking by serve-and-volleyer Paul Annacone? Agassi thinks not. “There’s nothing that you could teach Pete that’s going to make it any easier,” he said. “I think Paul’s done a great job with him. I think Pete’s done an incredible job with his game. When we go to the grass, he’ll get everybody’s attention again.” Wimbledon, the fast, slippery stuff, serve and volley, and maybe one last chance for Sampras to rise again phoenix-like from the Roland Garros gutter.
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Paes-Bhupathi duo crosses
1st hurdle Paris, June 1 The unseeded Indian pair rallied after conceding the opening set to defeat 15th-seeded Jaime Oncins (Brazil) and Daniel Orsanic (Argentina) 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 in the first round of doubles matches here last
evening. Paes-Bhupthi had won the French Open doubles title in 1999 on their way to becoming the top doubles combination the same year. After an infamous split the following year, the duo got together to win three clay court titles at Monte Carlo, Atlanta and Houston earlier last month. Languishing close to No. 100 in world rankings at the beginning of the year, the Indians have now rocketed to No. 7.
PTI |
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Tendulkar, Dravid not to play
Harrare, June 1 Medium-pacer Debasis Mohanty has also been excluded from the 12 selected to play the match. “The final XI will be selected on the morning of the game”, said the Indian team manager Chetan Chauhan. While Dravid had scored a cultured century in the tour opener against Zimbabwe ‘A’ at Mutare, Tendulkar had failed to notch up a big score. The move to make him sit out for this game has been made to avoid Tendulkar playing an average attack. The match will be an opportunity for newcomers Hemang Badani and Sairaj Bahutule to stake a claim to play in the first Test. Both missed the rain-interrupted tour opener in Mutare. The openers, S. Ramesh and Shiv Sunder Das will also be hoping to find some form after their failures in the first tour game. Skipper Sourav Ganguli will also be keen to spend some time in the middle after a recent run of poor scores. “The team is adjusting well to the conditions and it should be a good game for us before the first Test”, said manager Chauhan. This being the final match ahead of the first Test starting in Bulawayo on June 7, the Indians would be keen that their players get into top form. The batsmen, especially the openers, need to get their act together. In Mutare, Shiv Sunder Das had scores of 12 and 4 while Sadgopan Ramesh made 13 and 6 in the two innings and both of them generally struggled against the medium-pacers. Of the other batsmen, only vice-captain Rahul Dravid, who notched up a brilliant century, and wicket-keeper Samir Dighe were able to make big scores. All the batsmen will get another chance to have a hit, though against a schoolboy side, and they will be hoping to make the best use of the opportunity. The two seamers rested in Mutare, Javagal Srinath and Ajit Agarkar, are expected to play tomorrow while Zaheer Khan, who is almost certain for the Test, is likely to take a break. Delhi seamer Ashish Nehra, who came up with an impressive performance against Zimbabwe ‘A’ would be given another chance to compete with Agarkar for the third medium pacer’s slot. This full-force attack may seem to be cruel on the academy boys with former Test star David Houghton saying not much should be expected from his wards. “They are at the school of excellence to learn the sport and not to win matches.” However, they are not novices though. Houghton speaks highly of Terrence Duffin, a left-handed opening batsman who was captain of the Zimbabwe under-19 team this year. He has lots of courage and gets into line well. His partner Ryan Butterworth is a right-hander and is rated as a good stroke players and a good fielder. The hosts’ bowlers, who would be up against one of the best batting line-ups in the world, are also in their early stages of learning. They would certainly like to exploit the Indians’ seeming discomfort against the rising deliveries but the visitors’ are expected to have learnt their lessons well from their experience at
Mutare. PTI |
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Full-strength India face schoolboys Harare, June 1 This being the final match ahead of the first Test starting in Bulawayo on June 7, the Indians would be keen that their players get into top form. The batsmen, especially the openers, need to get their act together. In Mutare, Shiv Sunder Das had scores of 12 and 4 while Sadgopan Ramesh made 13 and 6 in the two innings and both of them generally struggled against the medium-pacers. Of the other batsmen, only vice-captain Rahul Dravid, who notched up a brilliant century, and wicket-keeper Samir Dighe were able to make big scores. All the batsmen will get another chance to have a hit, though against a schoolboy side, and they will be hoping to make the best use of the opportunity. The two seamers rested in Mutare, Javagal Srinath and Ajit Agarkar, are expected to play tomorrow while Zaheer Khan, who is almost certain for the Test, is likely to take a break. Delhi seamer Ashish Nehra, who came up with an impressive performance against Zimbabwe ‘A’ would be given another chance to compete with Agarkar for the third medium pacer’s slot. This full-force attack may seem to be cruel on the academy boys with former Test star David Houghton saying not much should be expected from his wards. “They are at the school of excellence to learn the sport and not to win matches.” However, they are not novices though. Houghton speaks highly of Terrence Duffin, a left-handed opening batsman who was captain of the Zimbabwe under-19 team this year. He has lots of courage and gets into line well. His partner Ryan Butterworth is a right-hander and is rated as a good stroke players and a good fielder. The hosts’ bowlers, who would be up against one of the best batting line-ups in the world, are also in their early stages of learning. They would certainly like to exploit the Indians’ seeming discomfort against the rising deliveries but the visitors’ are expected to have learnt their lessons well from their experience at Mutare. The attack of the academy may not have big names but there are a few who would be out to impress the selectors and stake a claim to future Test sides. Leon Soma, a right-arm medium-fast bowler can bowl genuinely quick and swings the ball away from right-handers. He is extremely aggressive too and Houghton said he is one of the most impressive bowlers at the academy in terms of both pace and control. Then there is Justin Lewis, a left-arm seam bowler, who is small in stature but hits the deck hard and has a good outswinger. Campbell McMillan can bowl quite fast and Nyasha Chari has been very effective with his medium-pacers at the club level. The academy is based in Harare’s highland suburbs and its 15 students trained with the senior national team on Monday and Tuesday. They played against Bangladesh in a one-day tour match on April 7. The Indians returned from Mutare yesterday and had an optional work-out at Harare Sports Club. In Mutare, they couldn’t resist paying a brief visit to Leopard Rock, an outstandingly beautiful resort up in the mountains. The Queen Mother of England, during her visit a few years ago, had rated it as one of the most scenic spots in the world. Teams (from): CFX Academy:
Ryan Butterworth, Nyasha Chari, Ian Coulson, Guy Croxford, Keith Dabengwa, Terrence Duffin, Justin Lewis, Campbell McMillan, Blessing Mahwire, Andre Neethling, Barners Rogers, Wisdom Siziba, Leon Sama and Matthew
Townshed. PTI |
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Indian ban to hit Singapore body Singapore, June 1 The decision by the Indian Government is critical because the Singapore Cricket Association (SCA) derives much of its annual income in sponsorship and gate receipts from its eight-day tournament which involves teams from three nations. Major sponsors like Sony TV have threatened to pull out of the triangular tournament unless India agree to play, SCA officials said. In April, the Indian Government banned the national team from playing at venues like Singapore, Sharjah and Toronto for three years after a critical report on corruption in the sport. Although Singapore was not named in the interim report to the International Cricket Council (ICC) by its corruption investigator Sir Paul Condon, the report cited offshore venues as easy pickings for syndicates seeking to fix matches. SCA secretary Anil Kalavar discussed the situation with his Indian counterpart Jaywant Lele during last weekend’s meeting of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) in Lahore, Pakistan. “I have been assured by Mr Lele that India is willing to play anywhere, subject to government clearance,” Kalavar said after the ACC meeting where the itinerary for the second Asian Test championship was finalised. “The Asian Test Championship gives us a window between September 1 and 9 to get the Indian team over as they will have finished their tour of Sri Lanka and play Pakistan only later.” The SCA plans to raise the issue at the June 18 meeting of the ICC in London, where it will be represented by Mr Kalavar and deputy president Imran
Hamid. Reuters |
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Thorpe, Vaughan thwart Pak
Manchester, June 1 But the Surrey left-hander’s unbeaten 98 had helped revive England from the perilous position of 15 for two to 204 for two from 62.2 overs when the umpires took the players off shortly before 2230 IST (1700 GMT). At the other end Michael Vaughan was no junior partner, his best Test score of 84 not out helping create an unbroken third wicket stand of 189, the pair together for just under four hours. England’s total was the exact figure they needed to avoid the follow-on after pakistan had rattled up 403. Scoreboard Pakistan (1st innings): Anwar c Atherton b Caddick 29 Razzaq b Caddick 1 Iqbal c Vaughan b Gough 16 Haq c Ward b Hoggard 114 Youhana c Knight b Caddick 4 Khan lbw b Hoggard 65 Mahmood c Knight b Hoggard 37 Latif run out 71 Akram c Stewart b Gough 16 Mushtaq not out 21 Younis lbw b Gough 5 Extras (lb-9, nb-15) 24 Total (96.4overs) 403 Fall of wickets: 1-6, 2-39, 3-86, 4-92, 5-233, 6-255, 7-308, 8-357, 9-380. Bowling: Gough 23.4-2-94-3, Caddick 28-2-111-3, Hoggard 19-4-79-3, Cork 21-2-75-0, Trescothick 3-0-14-0, Vaughan 2-0-21-0. England (1st innings): Atherton c Rashid b Waqar 5 Trescothick b Wasim 10 Vaughan not out 84 Thorpe not out 98 Extras (lb-4, w-1, nb-2) 7 Total (for 2wkts, 62.2 overs) 204 Fall of wickets: 1-15, 2-15. Bowling:
Wasim Akram 18-5-52-1, Waqar Younis 12-1-55-1, Azhar Mahmood 4-0-18-0, Saqlain Mushtaq 22.2-5-53-0, Abdur Razzaq 6-0-22-0.
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Doran lifts
crown Chandigarh, June 1 Doran received $ 800 in prize money while Dekel got $ 600. Doran also collected vital 33 points and his rankings is likely to move up to near 300 with this win. Dekel got 27 points. The final slated for 10 a.m. was delayed by 45 minutes due to rain. The first set saw Doran, beginning with 0-1, but soon levelled at 1-1. The Irish player was at times at loggerheads with the ball boys and the chair umpire. He psychological pressurised the fancied Israeli, who could not match his and finally lost the first set 2-6 in just 36 minutes. In the second set too Doran depended on powerful aces. However, Dekel put up a valiant fight which put pressure on the Irish player Dekel took a lead of five games even as aces continued to pour in from Doran. The scores once read 5-2 in favour of Dekel. But Doran rallied to level at 5-5 and then 6-6. The tie-breaker saw Doran taking three points to finally emerge the winner in 76 minutes. |
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Punjab and National Games — two Chandigarh, June 1 The Union Government had agreed to release Rs 18.5 crore for the National Games, the release of which is conditional. Nearly 70 per cent of the funds are to be released as a loan and the remaining 30 per cent as grant. Some time ago, the Principal Financial Adviser, Planning Commission, Mr K.K. Bakshi, visited Punjab and went around all five venues of the games for an on-the-spot study of the progress of the preparations. The money to be released by the Union Government would not only be for the conduct of the games but also to improve infrastructure in the five host cities. The areas to be improved are civic amenities, including provision of parking areas, street lights, creation of new health centres and also for improving sports infrastructure. Now when the Planning Commission has given the clearance, the Punjab Planning Department is not releasing the money on the plea that this money is to be adjusted against Rs 15 crore already released by the state government for the conduct of the National Games. The Sports
Department has, however, contested this version maintaining that financial assistance from the Union Government and the state government are under two separate heads and for different purposes and thus cannot be confused. So far no
decision has been taken for the release of the Central Government grant. In fact, funds have been the major problem for the organising committee. The Finance Department has been pressing the organising committee to squeeze its budget for the games. Though a number of joint meetings have been held between the officials of the Finance Department, including the Planning wing, and the Sports Department, but differences still remain to be ironed out. With time running out, the worries of the organising committee are on the rise. In November, 1998, a month after the general house of the Indian Olympic Association formally allotted the 2000 National Games to Punjab, the state Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, shot off a letter to the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, seeking a release of special grant of Rs 100 crore for the conduct of the games. The funds were demanded under various heads, including infrastructure development, which the Punjab Government wanted to be linked to the holding of the games. The financial demand was subsequently pegged down to 50 crore and finally both the state government and the Union Sports Ministry approved a Rs 44 crore budget for the games. Of this the state was to release Rs 15 crore, the Union Government Rs 18.5 crore and the rest was to come from sponsorship, special grant from the Union Ministry of Sports and the Planning Commission. With the budget expected to go up for the conduct of the games, the availability of money may pose a serious challenge to the organising committee, which for all practical purposes is yet to be constituted, what to talk of holding its meeting. Though several meetings have been called to discuss preparations for holding the games but a properly constituted organising committee is yet to meet and discuss the preparations. Even other committees, which are to organise board and lodging, transport besides the prestigious opening and closing ceremonies, are yet to be set up. Most of the meetings held so far under the chairmanship of Mr Parkash Singh Badal involved officials of both the Sports Department and the Finance Department besides the office-bearers of the Punjab Olympic Association. The Union Chemicals and Fertilizers Minister, Mr Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, is the President of the POA. (To be concluded) |
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Fairytale debut for unknown Brazilian Kashima, June 1 Having made it as a professional, the Sao Paulo winger was able to nurture the dream for longer than most. A respectable career, including a spell in Europe with Sporting Lisbon, allowed him to carry on hoping that one day the call might come. As he moved into his late 20’s however, Miguel was beginning to resign himself to the fact that it might never happen. But then it did. Not only that, it happened in such fairytale circumstances that even a Roy of the Rovers (comic book) Editor would have rejected the script as ludicrously implausible. Two days short of his 29th birthday, Miguel finally made his international debut against Cameroon yesterday. With Brazil struggling badly at half-time, coach Emerson Leao decided to gamble. He pulled off wing-back Vagner and threw Miguel into the fray with orders to run at the Cameroon defenders. Miguel did just that and his lively presence down the left flank turned the match around. Brazil, who had been woeful in the opening period and were lucky not to be trailing by several goals, were suddenly recognisable again with Miguel the catalyst for the transformation. Eight minutes after the break Washington fired them ahead. Another four and Miguel had rounded off his dream debut with a spectacular volley to complete a comfortable 2-0 win over the African champions. Miguel could have been forgiven had he chosen to reach for the oldest cliche in the footballer’s lexicon — “it was like a dream come true.” As it was, he said: “I just cannot believe it. I had no idea that anything like this would happen. “A few days ago I did not know I would be coming to Japan. Even when I got here I never expected to play. When Leao told me to get ready to go on for the second half, it was a total shock. I did not have time to get nervous.” The winger was only in the Brazilian squad as a last minute replacement for Ze Roberto, the Bayer Leverkusen midfielder who pulled out injured. “I only arrived in Japan on Wednesday and I had been travelling for 28 hours,” Miguel said. “On the morning of the match I woke up at 5 am because of the jet lag. I could not get back to sleep so I just read a book.” Leao was generous in his praise for the winger’s performance. “He is a player who knows how to make things happen and that is what we needed at that time.” Miguel now looks certain to celebrate his birthday tomorrow with another international appearance in Brazil’s second match against Canada, when victory should be enough to ensure them a place in the semifinals. But having endured so many years in obscurity, he know that he cannot take his time in the limelight for granted. “Hopefully I will be in the starting team but it is entirely up to Professor Leao — whatever he decides I will respect.” The Brazilians will be expected to comfortably dispose of Canada, the lowest-ranked team in the tournament. The Canadians face a tough task in picking themselves up after their demoralising 3-0 defeat by Japan last night. Canada had contained the joint hosts for nearly an hour but they faded badly at the end. After spending more than five hours travelling by Niigata to Kashima today, they will have only 24 hours before facing a Brazilian side that has been revitalised by yesterday’s Miguel-inspired performance. “The first thing we will have to check is the fatigue factor,” admitted Canada’s German coach, Holger Osieck. “When you lose a game it is always twice s hard to recover as when you win.” “But we have a couple of fresh legs available to us and I will have to see how I will adjust the team.”
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Rana finishes 11th, Shilpi 10th Milan, June 1 Rana, who was competing in the Air Pistol event for the first time in such a major tournament, aggregated 579 out of 600 with the gold medal taken by Vladimir Guchsha of Kazakhstan with a score of 586. Rana, who shifted to Air Pistol because his pet Centre Fire Pistol is not an Olympic event, had scores of 96, 96, 98, 97, 98 and 94 in the six rounds last night. The silver in the category was won by Kanstantsin of Belarus with a score of 584 while there was a two-way tie for the third place between Jerzy Pietrzak of Poland and Vigilio Fait of Italy, both of whom tallied 583 points.
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Kapil’s plea admitted Chandigarh, June 1 In his petition, taken up by the Bench comprising Mr Justice R.S. Mongia and Mr Justice K.C. Gupta, Kapil Dev, who had represented Haryana in first class cricket, had also sought directions to the HCA and other respondents to discharge their duties properly and lawfully. This, he had added, was in the better interest of cricket players, cause of the game and for the achievement of the objectives for which the association had been set up. The petitioner had also stated that as many as 86 persons had been included in the association as life members even though they had not represented the state of Haryana at any level. Most of them did not even know how to play cricket, the petitioner had added.
Seville, June 1 After losing the opening mixed doubles rubber, the Indonesians won the men’s and women’s singles and the men’s doubles to clinch the tie and keep on course for their first title after winning the inaugural event in 1989. Korean world champion pair of Kim Dong-Moon and Ra Kyung-Min gave their team a flying start defeating the Indonesian combination of Tri Kusharyanto and Marisa Vita 15-7 15-7 in the first match. However, men’s world number three Taufik Hidayat proved too good for Lee Hyun-Il of Korea, winning 15-11 15-5 to level the tie at 1-1. Lidya Djaelawijaya put up a spirited performance in the women’s singles and came from a game down to beat Jun Jee-Youn of Korea 4-11 11-9 13-12 in a tough match lasting over an hour.
PTI
Patiala, June 1 Saroj Bala, a sports officer in the PSEB, was an International Hockey Federation (IHF) certified umpire who had officiated in various national and international women’s hockey tournaments. She was also a member of the senior Indian team that took part in the 1985 World Cup in Argentina. Saroj was a regular for the Pepsu and Punjab teams from 1976 to 1986. She received a warm farewell. Powerlifting meet The second Punjab Sub-junior Powerlifting Championships will be held in Veer Haqiquat Rai School, of Rajpura Colony, here on June 8 and 9, according to Mr K.S. Dhillon, Secretary of the Punjab Powerlifting Association. |
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SAHARA GROUP BAGS
SPONSORSHIP RIGHTS FOOTBALL STAR BEATEN TO DEATH HUSSAIN’S INJURY TT SQUAD AKHTAR ILL CANINE RELATIONS |
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