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Tuesday,
June 26, 2001, Chandigarh, India  
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WIMBLEDON
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Australian
team faces historic hurdle Indian
team rallies behind Ganguly CBI puts
off visit National
record by Karamjit |
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Onus will
be on world champ Anand
Costa Rica
down Ecuador MERDEKA CUP Smoking
to be banned during World Cup Sonal
maintains winning streak Jones
sets stage for sprint double 
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WIMBLEDON
London, June 25 Sampras, bidding for a record eighth title here, next faces Barry Cowan who ousted fellow British wildcard Mark Hilton 6-3, 6-2, 7-6, (7-2). Serena Williams started a sunny
Wimbledon with a speedy victory beginning what could be another successful two-week family trip. Williams lost just one game in her first-round win. Her sister Venus starts defence of her championship tomorrow and should have a similarly brief exercise against unseeded Shinobu Asagoe of Japan. Serena, seeded fifth, needed just 40 minutes to beat lefty Rita Kuti Kis, 6-1, 6-0. It was Hungarian’s third consecutive opening-round exit from Wimbledon. “Everyone deserves a break now and then,” Serena said. Her stroll on the grass court was spoiled only by Kuti Kis taking the sixth game of the first set, in which Serena had three break points. Serena then held serve to win that set, starting a seven-game roll that got her into the second round. “I’m a kind of insatiable person so I’ve never had a perfect match,” she said. “I think I lost a little focus out there. I started thinking of different things. My eyes started wandering.” On the men’s side, British hope Tim Henman, seeded sixth, disposed of qualifier Artem Derepasko of Russia 6-1, 6-1, 6-1. And Goran Ivanisevic of Croatia, a three-time runnerup but now unseeded, beat Fredrik Jonsson of Sweden 6-4, 6-4, 6-4. The victory by a Williams was a familiar development at the All-England Club, a bastion of tradition that has undergone significant changes this year. The number of seeds was doubled to 32 men and 32 women, and the Boston Ivy that long has clambered up the clubhouse walls has been removed in preparation for renovations. Last year, Serena won four matches before losing to her sister in the semifinals. Venus reached the quarterfinals in 1998 and 1999, then beat Lindsay Davenport in straight sets to claim her first Wimbledon championship. Today’s temperature hovered in the upper 70s as Serena took the court at high noon and didn’t break much of a sweat. “This is like heaven compared to what it’s like back home in Florida,” she said. London’s unusually dry stretch reached its ninth day as the two-week tournament, often plagued by rain, began. More traditional weather was expected tomorrow: isolated showers with possible late thunderstorms. That’s when Venus will show if her nearly
month long layoff left her rested or rusty. It didn’t bother Serena, who hadn’t played since the French Open either. “I’m not concerned at all,” Serena said, “I definitely feel in form, not only physically but mostly mentally.” In practice yesterday, Venus smacked some balls long, others wide. Her long legs lacked their usual drive and her strong arm its customary power. None of that means, of course, that she won’t retain her Wimbledon title. But Venus, whose last match on May 28 was a straight-set loss in the French Open, must play better than she practiced yesterday with
Serena under a bright sun. “It was hot,” Venus said after leaving the court. Perhaps the fatigue and lack of flow good about myself,” Venus said. The third-seeded Davenport is coming back from a layoff of her own, an unwanted one. A bruised right knee sidelined her for three months, forcing her out of the French Open and ending her streak of 34 straight Grand Slam tournaments, starting in 1992 at Wimbledon. But she returned with a championship, winning a tournament on the grass at Eastbourne on Saturday over Spain’s Magui Serna, 6-2 6-0 in only 43 minutes. And she pronounced herself fit for her opening match tomorrow against unseeded Martina Sucha of Slovakia. “It felt great,” Davenport said of her practice. “Everything’s been going well and now I’m just trying to stay fresh and healthy and I’m ready to go.” Davenport and Venus are in the same half of the draw and can’t meet in the finals. “Grass was the best surface for me to come back on and I feel confident on it,” she said. “I think it was good for me to get back out there and just get back in the swing of things, not at a Grand Slam (event) where there’s a lot more pressure.” On the men’s side, No. 2 Andre Agassi and No. 3 Patrick Rafter were set to play tomorrow. But the second day’s spotlight figured to be on Venus.
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One title not enough: Venus London, June 25 Venus ousted fellow American Lindsay Davenport in last year’s final to become the first black American woman to lift the famous plate since Althea Gibson in 1958 - but the 21-year-old says while she was delighted to take what was her first Grand Slam title she will only be satisfied with more wins. Winning Wimbledon is not enough. You’ve got to do it twice again to prove it wasn’t a fluke!” was how Venus saw her duty over the coming fortnight, which she starts with an opening-round match against Japan’s Shinobu Asagoe. And she said first time round had left her only with the feeling that she wanted more. “It wasn’t as exhilarating as I thought. It wasn’t as important as I thought it would be. “It didn’t change my life - I was the same person afterwards,” she explained. The world number two said she needed no reminding how a clutch of rivals are after her crown. Current number one Martina Hingis seeking a first Grand Slam title since the 1999 Australian Open, Jennifer Capriati bidding for a hat-trick of crowns this year following the Australian and French titles and Davenport desperate to go one better this time. “I’ve just taken over her position at number two and I’m sure she’ll want it back,” laughed Venus, regarding her rivalry with Davenport, who was in sizzling form in winning Eastbourne last week. Williams, who went on to win the US Open after last year’s success here, said she felt under no special pressure as defending champion. “I’ve no problem being defending champion. I think it’s an honour,” she told BBC Radio. “I don’t think I’ll be nervous. I’m calm and relaxed. This is a new year, I’ll play different people.” Williams was dismissive of the controversy surrounding her last-minute withdrawal before a semi-final meeting with sister Serena at Indian Wells in March, which provoked the ire of disappointed fans and prompted allegations that the two decide in advance who is to win when they have to meet.
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Australian
team faces historic hurdle Melbourne, June 25 The Socceroos, who wrapped up No. 1 in Oceania World Cup qualifying with a 4-1 win over New Zealand yesterday at Sydney — a 6-1 aggregate for the home and away series — will play the home leg of their final qualifying series at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. The winner will advance to the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea. For Australia, MCG was the venue of its biggest soccer disappointment. The Australians led Iran 2-0 in the final phase of qualifying in 1998 before surrendering two late goals that allowed the Iranians to tie at 2-2 and advance to France ’98 on the away goals rule. Soccer Australia confirmed today that MCG would be the venue for the crucial World Cup playoff, likely in the last week of November. The Socceroos are unlikely to know their opposition until November 13, when South American regional qualifying concludes. “I don’t really have a preference at all — I’m just glad to be there,” Australia coach Frank Farina said. “Whoever we come up against will be a very good side.” Likely candidates are Colombia, Ecuador and Uruguay, although four-time world champions Brazil could slip into fifth place if they continue to struggle. Australian captain Paul Okon said he hoped to avoid Brazil, despite the Socceroos’ 1-0 win against the former world No. 1 during the Confederations Cup in South Korea and Japan earlier this month. The Socceroos, who last reached the World Cup finals in 1974, are scheduled to play Japan on August 15 and have a match scheduled against world champion France on November 11. Okon said he expected Leeds United pair Mark Viduka and Harry Kewell to make themselves available in November despite a club vs country scheduling clash. Both players have bowed to pressure by Premier League club Leeds to miss non-World Cup matches for Australia. “Everybody will be available,” Okon said today. “That incentive to qualify for the World Cup will outweigh everything.
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Indian team rallies
behind Ganguly Bulawayo, June 25 After Ganguly was dismissed for just two in yesterday’s triangular one-day series match against Zimbabwe, Melbourne Radio rang up team manager Chetan Chauhan to know why the stylish left-hander should not be asked to sit out and sort out his batting blues rather than be a liability to the team. “I have a lot of time for him,” was Chauhan’s cryptic reply which put an end to the issue. A desperate Ganguly also sought to draw solace from his opening partner Sachin Tendulkar’s clean chit to his batting technique. “He (Tendulkar) has assured me that my technique is okay and I should not worry on that count,” the skipper said, while putting up a brave face amidst continued failures. “I know the runs would come shortly. I can feel it from inside,” said Ganguly who has led India to five wins in eight Tests. But that has not prevented the critics from raising the shrill over his inability to get the runs. The website of the company telecasting the series is flooded with hate mails for Ganguly and questions on his form and captaincy are appearing on the ballot boxes of various other sites. The pressure is showing on the captain who is not leaving any stone unturned in his efforts to get back to his scoring ways. He is having an extra session in the nets and is usually on the ground an hour before the team arrives for practice. This, from a man who usually does not like to bat much at the nets. “I do not quite like batting in the nets but if that is the answer (to my bad form), so be it,” he said. In the matches too, he has tried various methods to break the shell. He briefly toyed with the idea of going on the attack to shrug off his poor form but discarded it quickly after it failed to click, and he did not want to be seen as an irresponsible batsman. He did not duck his responsibility even when he had to face the new ball on the crucial fourth morning of the Harare Test though it ended in an yet another failure. But it is not the effort but the figures alongside his name on the scoreboard that count and Ganguly needs to get that as quickly as possible to silence his critics.
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CBI puts off visit Mumbai, June 25 CBI informed the board that the visit had been postponed as the team had to rush to Delhi on some urgent visit, BCCI executive secretary Sharad Diwadkar told UNI. A fresh date for the visit has not been intimated, he added.
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National record by Karamjit Bangalore, June 25 The formidable Army contingent logged 112 points to finish way ahead of the second placed Southern Railway with 71 points. In the women’s section, West Bengal finished with 98 points and were followed by the Southern Railway with 63 points. Sandeep Sarkaria, who emerged as the fastest man of the meet, was adjudged the best athlete with 1097 points under the new International Amateur Athletic Federation rules. Olympian K.M. Beenamol, despite an unimpressive show, took the honours with 1112 pts in the women’s section. On the concluding day, two marks were obliterated by 24-year-old Olympian G.G.Pramila of Southern Railway in heptathlon and Pritpal Singh of Punjab in triple jump. Karamjit Kaur, an ASI with Punjab Police, has been dominating the field ever since the event made its debut a couple of years ago. She cleared 3.15 m, which was five cm more than her own mark set in Kolkata in March, 2000. Preethi of Karnataka and Jyothna Deka of Central Reserve Police Force were way behind with 2.5 and 2.2 m respectively. Pramila, who had competed in the Sydney Olympics, pushed national record holder Soma Biswas to the second place. Pramila logged 5825 pts to better her own three-year mark of 5541 points set in Chennai. However, it was well below her personal best of 6105 points but above the +b+ qualifying mark set for the Edmonton World Cup in August. Soma Biswas of West Bengal finished second with 5625 pts and was followed by R.Sneha Princy of Tamil Nadu with 4630 points. The other record of the meet came in the triple jump with Pritpal Singh of Punjab clearing 16.05 m with the previous mark being in the name of Roy M.Mani of Kerala in August 1999. Robin M.Verghese of All-India Electricity Sports Control Board and Dego Briganza of Karnataka took the second and third positions with 15.72 m and 15.64 m. Madhuri A. Singh of Punjab State Electricity Board, who had won the 1500 m, made it a grand double bagging the gold in 800 m clocking 2:07.55 sec. Geetha Monral of Central Reserve Police Force (2:09.99 sec) and Sunitiya of Haryana (2:11.85 sec) collected silver and bronze respectively.
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Onus will be on world champ Anand Mainz (Germany), June 25 The much-hyped clash of titans will be played on a 25-minute each basis and an additional 10 seconds will be added after every move is made. This is the first time that the addition in time system is being applied in the traditional tournament that was earlier organised at Frankfurt. And this has been done on Kramnik’s proposal to which Anand readily agreed. Ideally, this could be the most important match ever since the world title match between Bobby Fischer of the USA and Boris Spassky of Russia in 1972. Both Anand and Kramnik have a long list of title triumphs at various levels and are considered the two most enigmatic individuals ever in the chess fraternity. The event could not have come at a more opportune moment as the whole world is yearning for a reunification match between FIDE world champion and the BrainGgames match winner. For Kramnik there isn’t too much at stake as he claims to have already done the best beating world’s highest rated player GM Gary Kasparov of Russia in the BrainGames match last winter. Anand, however, will have psychological advantage going into the match as he has a terrific reputation in the rapid variety of the game. GM Michael Adams of England, who is playing a match against GM Peter Leko of Hungry, here rates anand as the favourite while Leko thinks it will be a tight match. In head to head against Kramnik in Rapid, Blindfold and Blitz versions of the game, Anand has a healthy lead of 8:5 with as many as 25 games between the two ending in draws. Taking into account all the disciplines of the game, Anand is just a shade ahead with 36.5:34.5 score in the 71 games played so far. The first game between the two back in 1989 had ended in a draw in Moscow while the last too had the same result at the Amber Blindfold and rapid tournament earlier this year. The prize money and the starting fee is undisclosed but it is believed it would run into huge sums. Anand, who spent the last two days relaxing with long walks along the river
Rhine and in the old city, after his simultaneous display on Saturday said he is ready to take on Vladimir Kramnik. “It will be an interesting match, but then since this is a match between two strong players it would be expected to be.’’ Kramnik, who also came through an exhausting simultaneous display, expressed similar sentiments on their first match, as opposed to tournaments, since both won their respective world titles. Anand is the official world champion while Kramnik is considered likewise after his win over Garry Kasparov in a match sponsored by Braingames last year in London. Anand’s title is recognised by the world body, which does not recognise Kramnik’s title. The two popular and rather social players, who tend to interact in a very friendly and amiable manner with even the guests of the hotel — posing for pictures, signing autographs and chatting around — have been regulars here in Germany for the Chess Classic which till last year used to be held in Frankfurt. “I have been to Frankfurt a few times and I like playing here. The atmosphere is good and the people like chess and the tournaments are always good,’’ said Anand, who also belongs to the Frankfurt Chess Tigers Club, whose officials put together an annual tournament. Anand and Kramnik have drawn all their three games this year. All three games came in different forms of chess. There was a draw in classical format in January in Wik Aan Zee and then two draws at Moncao in Melody Amber, where they stayed level in blindfold and rapid. Last year, Kramnik beat Anand in Linares and Dortmund. But later in the year Kramnik beat Kasparov in the BrainGames match in London, while Anand won the World Cup in China and then the FIDE world championships in India and Iran.
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Costa Rica down Ecuador Buenos Aires, June 25 Costa Rica won group E outright when they maintained their 100 per cent record with a 1-0 win over Ecuador, who were already qualified going into the tie. Ghana and France bagged the two top spots in group F after a 0-0 draw in front of 5,000 fans at the Jose Maria Minella Stadium in Mardel Plata, with France setting up a crunch tie with their old enemy Germany on Wednesday. The 2,500 fans at Newell’s Old Boys’ Stadium in Rosario saw the young Australians go through to the last 16 by virtue of a 1-1 draw with already qualified Angola. Argentina, Brazil, Ukraine, Angola, Costa Rica, and Ghana all qualified as group winners. Egypt, Germany, the USA, Angola, the Czech Republic, Ecuador and France went through in second spot and the four best third-placed sides China, Australia, the Netherlands and Paraguay also made the cut. Paraguay became the fifth South American nation to reach the next round after their 2-0 win over Iran, while the Netherlands came away 3-2 winners against Ethopia. Japan, who had already been knocked out of the championships, salvaged some pride when they scored a 3-0 win against the Czech Republic. The all-Latin clash between Ecuador and Costa Rica looked to be heading for a stalemate but a Carlos Hernandez goal divided the sides after 85 minutes. Ghana came into their tie against France off the back of two victories and France coach Raymond Domenech made six changes to the side that drew 2-2 with Paraguay on Thursday in their bid for the sole point needed to qualify. The match was not short of action but both sides failed to find the net. Lille striker Mathieu Maton had a ball cleared from the line after four minutes while for Ghana Empoli’s Abdul Ibrahim had a fierce free-kick turned round the post by the stretching fingertips of Nicolas Penneteau. Jonathan Joseph-Augustin was stretchered of the pitch just before half-time after a clash with John Pantsil, hospital checks revealed no serious injury to the Guingamp man. Panathinaikos striker Derek Boateng went on a mazy run on 54 but his shot only made the side netting. The French brought on Auxerre midfield dynamo Djibril Cisse for the last half-hour to liven up the flagging tempo but in the end the stalemate suited both sides. Australia’s bid to win group D got off to a bad start when Mantorras opened the score for the Africans after 12 minutes. The junior Socceroos had to wait until the 81st minute for their equaliser, a penalty from second half substitute Gregory Owens. The Netherlands overcame Ethopia 3-2 in their group E tie at Salta, 1,500km north of Buenos Aires. The Dutch dominated the first half with Youssouf Hersi and Rafael Van der Vaart directing play, with Rahamat Mustapha leading serveral forays into the opposition’s half. Two first half goals from by Santi Kolk (21) and Youssouf Hersi (40) gave the Dutch a comfortable half-time lead. After the break, however, it was the Ethopians who took the initiative and their efforts paid off when Bekel Zewdu found the net in 51st minute. But in their search for the equaliser the Africans neglected their defence and the Netherlands scored their third when Klaas Huntelaar found the net in the 78th minute. The Africans attack crumbled and not even a last minute effort from Solomon Andargachw could salvage the Ethopian’s tournament in which they failed to score a single point.
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MERDEKA CUP Kuala Lumpur, June 25 Uzbekistan meanwhile posted a second victory in group B play — building on a 1-0 win over Thailand — and snuffed the Malaysian under-23 side, 2-0, dimming the glow of the youth squad’s cup opening win over India. With the Uzbeks in the semifinals, the Thais and Malaysians will slug it out Tuesday to fill the other slot. The Thais, fielding their under-23 side in a tune-up for the South-east Asian Games in September, read the Indian game well and came out gunning. In the 17th minute, Manit met a cross from Narongchai Vachiraban and put the Thais on the boards. The Indians struggled to fight back but were not deadly enough. Thai goalkeeper Umarin Yaodam saved several long-range shots and Indian marksman I.M. Vijayan was tightly marked through out the match. Thailand lengthened the lead in the 71st minute, when Nirut received a pass from Manit, beat his marker and made a solo run to easily chip into the Indian goalmouth. After a scoreless first half, the Uzbeks came alive and piled in goals by Andrey Vlasichev in the 62nd minute and Bakhodir Seytkamalov in the 71st minute. Both teams had equal chances to score but had trouble finishing their attacks. The Malaysians had the first look at the goal. In the third minute K. Rajan fired a powerful drive from inside the box but it sailed over the crossbar. Finding it difficult to break the Malaysian defence, Uzbekistan slowed down the game and tested Malaysian goalkeeper Kamarulza man Hassan with long-range shots that failed to find the net. Malaysia had a chance to take the lead in the 29th minute, but Hairuddin Omar missed a one-on-one chance against the goalkeeper, sending his shot over the crossbar.
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Smoking
to be banned
during World Cup Seoul, June 25 The ban was decided by the government with the backing of football’s international governing body, FIFA, and the World Health Organisation. The Environment Ministry and the Korean Organising Committee for the World Cup will also hold a five-minute “clean-up session” after each match when spectators will be asked to collect and dispose of rubbish near their seats, officials added. “We want this to be an environment friendly World Cup,” a ministry official said. Japan and South Korea will co-host the World Cup which starts on May 30 and finishes on June 30. Each country will stage 32 matches. Tokyo is also likely to ban smoking, an official for the Japanese organising committee said.
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Sonal maintains
winning streak New Delhi, June 25 Sonal was in high form, and despite Nandita putting up stiff resistance, the top seed kept a strong hold on the game to record yet another victory. She had won the title of the third leg circuit here on Saturday, and today’s victory was an extension of that effort, in her bid to keep in line for a third title in four weeks. She had won the crown in the first leg in Mumbai, beating Samrita Sekar, and in Delhi too, Samrita was at the receiving end of Sonal’s fury. Heavy early morning pre-monsoon showers had made the weather just ideal for spirited tennis, and that’s what Sonal and Nandita indulged in. But Sonal had that cutting edge, and that really made all the difference. Third-seeded Samrita Sekar, who too has had a good run in the ITF circuit, scored the
quickest victory when she disposed of Vishika Chhetri 6-1, 6-1 while giant-killer Isha Lakhani put paid the hopes of Liza Pereira, beating her 6-1, 6-2. Though Megha Vakharia too scored a straight sets 6-4, 6-4 victory against Marutha Devi, it was hard work all the way for her. But Ankita Bhambri and Laila Shetty had to bring out their best to recover from first set arrears to oust Tara Kanbargimath 4-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-3 and Annie Trepanier of Canada 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, respectively to join the quarter-final line-up, which will be completed tomorrow when second-seeded Archana Venkataraman takes on Yamini Thukkiandi and fourth-seeded Sheetal Goutham clashes against Arthi
Venkataraman. |
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Jones sets stage for sprint double Eugene (Oregon), June 25 Jones, who has a defending champion’s bye in the 100m at the 2001 worlds in Edmonton, Canada, next August, clocked 22.52 seconds in a headwind of 1.6m/second in the 200 final, easily defeating Latasha Jenkins (22.88) and Kelli White (22.93). They’ll be joined on the US team by Inger Miller, the defending women’s 200m world champion, who earlier this week failed to qualify to race the 100m in Edmonton after suffering a groin strain in the semifinals. “This morning I was like, ‘oh, please clear up, please clear up!’” Jones said of the chilly, rainy, blustery weather. “The conditions were not conducive to fast times. But I’ve always said, it’s not just lane five that has a headwind. Overall I was pleased.
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New meet record by Parveen Chandigarh, June 25 |
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