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Tuesday,
July 24, 2001, Chandigarh, India   |
Sludnov beats Moses to new world
record Uruguay
end Costa Rica’s run |
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Saurav Ganguly writes Lankan
twist to Indian defeat Price
for England’s missed catches
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France enter Fed Cup finals Ma back
in favour Grandmaster
norm for Prasad
School
games: Punjab gets 6 disciplines
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Sludnov beats Moses to new world
record
Fukuoka (Japan), July 23 Sloudnov beat arch-rival Ed Moses of the USA to set a new world mark of 59.94, beating his previous record of 59.97 set at the Russian national championships. He is the only man in history to swim below one minute. “Just 20 days ago I broke the world record and I said to myself that I should try to do it today, at this race, again,” he said. “I feel very happy that I did it again. I want to swim under one minute in the final. “I feel heavy pressure because I’m not competing in my home country but I feel quite comfortable in Japan and with the water here.” Moses was second fastest qualifier in 1:00.05, his best ever time. Olympic gold medallist Anthony Ervin added a world title to his collection when he won the men’s 50 metres freestyle. Ervin claimed the first US title of the championships, sprinting through to win by a whisker from Olympic bronze medallist Pieter van den Hoogenband. Ervin clocked 22.09 seconds and Van Den Hoogenband, coming through in a late charge, took the silver in 22.16. Tomohiro Yamanoi gave Japanese fans a medal to cheer, sharing bronze with South Africa’s Roland Schoeman in the next lane as both touched in 22.18. World record holder Alexander Popov of Russia pulled out days before the championships through illness. Luo Xuejuan claimed China’s first gold of the world swimming championships when she won the women’s 100 metres breaststroke. A devastated Jones was led away from the pool deck in tears. Olympic champion Megan Quann and defending champion Kristy Kowal, the US standard-bearers, were beaten into fifth and sixth places, respectively. Matt Welsh claimed Australia’s fourth title of the championships with a storming victory in the men’s 100 metres backstroke. Olympic silver medallist Welsh, starting in an outside lane as second-slowest final qualifier, took charge on the first length, turning ahead of American Randall Bal at the halfway mark of the race. Welsh hurtled on to win in 54.31 seconds to add one more title for Australia to those won on Sunday by Ian Thorpe in the 400m freestyle and the men’s 4x100m freestyle relay and, today, by Petria Thomas in the women’s 200m butterfly. Orn Arnarson snatched the silver for Iceland in 54.75 and Germany’s Steffen Driesen took the bronze in 54.91. Germany’s Hannah Stockbauer raced away with the gold in the women’s 800 metres freestyle. Stockbauer, European champion in 1999, seized the lead from Diana Munz, who had set the pace for the first 200 metres, and surged away from her American rival after they had gone through the 400 metre-mark almost level. Stockbauer swept on to win in eight minutes 24.66 seconds, leaving Munz with an all-too familiar silver medal in 8:28.84. Munz finished second to compatriot Brooke Bennett in the 800m at the last world championships in Perth in 1998 and in the 400m freestyle at the Sydney Olympic Games. Canadian Blythe Hartley held off the challenge of Chinese pair Wu Minxia and Zhang Jing to win the women’s one-metre springboard gold medal. Hartley led from start to finish and tallied a five-round total of 300.81 points at Fukuoka Prefectural Pool to capture Canada’s first gold medal on the eighth day of the meet. Wu won the battle for the silver medal with an aggregate of 297.57 points, but only after Zhang, the bronze medallist at the 1998 world championships in Perth, slipped up on her final dive, leaving her on 294.15 points. Germany collected their second title of the day when they won the women’s 4x100 metres freestyle relay. Germany took the lead from Australia through Antje Buschschulte on the second leg and held off all challengers as Sandra Voelker brought them home in three minutes 39.58 seconds. Meanwhile, American Tom Malchow and France’s Franck Esposito set a new joint world championship record in the 200m butterfly. The pair touched in 1:55.03 in their semifinal to smash the championship mark of 1:55.68 set by Stewart Melvin of the USA in Perth in 1991. The world record of 1:54.92 is held by 15-year-old American Michael Phelps, who swam the first semifinal in 1:56.41.
Reuters, AFP |
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Uruguay
end Costa Rica’s run Armenia, (Colombia), July 23 The Uruguayans, who had drawn with their opponents in the group phase, recovered from Wanchope’s 51st-minute opener to come through with a Rodrigo Lemos penalty on the hour and a winner three minutes from time by Pablo Lima to book a semifinal against revitalised Mexico, 2-0 winners over Chile. The Costa Ricans, despite playing in the continental showpiece for only the second time, went into the match as slight favourites following their superb group showing where they beat Honduras and Bolivia before holding Uruguay, 14 times copa champions, who could only scrape through into the last eight as one of the best third-placed teams. But the South Americans, who won their last Copa on home round in 1995 and who lost the 1999 final to Brazil, finally come good in windy and rainy conditions at the Centenario Stadium. Wanchope broke the deadlock with a typically opportunist effort after Colombian referee Oscar Ruiz failed to spot an apparent foul on defender Alejandro Curbelo. But Ruiz didn’t miss anything in awarding the Uruguayans spotkick on 61 minutes which Lemos duly buried past keeper Erick Lonnis following a foul on Carlos Maria Morales. Lima snatched the win with a snapshot which Lonnis got a hand to but couldn’t hold. Uruguay coach Victor Pua said his men were going for solid rather than spectacular progress in looking to better their 1999 final showing which saw them lose 0-3 to Brazil.
AFP |
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Saurav Ganguly
writes We have not played good cricket in the two games in the triangular one-day tournament in Sri Lanka. We were absolutely outplayed in the first game by the Kiwis, and although we got stuck on a poor wicket that could never be an excuse. The loss against Sri Lanka, however, was absolutely inexcusable. We did a good job in restricting them to 221 on a good batting surface. The bowlers did a fantastic job specially the spinners. Harbhajan Singh again proved what a highclass bowler he is. He has looked like picking wickets with every delivery, and whenever I have thrown the ball to him he has delivered. Sehwag and Yuvraj have done very well with the ball. We did a fantastic job in restricting the hosts to 155 for seven but the pair of Dharmasena and Perera added some useful runs at the lower order. 221 was not a huge total on the surface and we always thought that a couple of partnerships would see us through. It was a good decision in part of the team to bat me and Rahul lower down the order because we knew Muralitharan, Sri Lanka’s main bowling weapon, and the other slow bowlers would be bowling the middle overs and that’s when India would need its top batsmen. If we could negotiate the spinners the game would be ours, was our thinking. I know my decision not to come in at number one, a position at which I have scored lot of runs in one-day cricket, might not go down well with some. But one must weigh the experience, or the lack of it, of this young Indian team against that of the formidable hosts, and that I think would put the matter in proper perspective. Surely, to let the likes of Yuvraj negotiate Murali would have amounted to letting the cat loose among the pigeons. In fact, we had the match in our control even when it was six down for 200, but some poor application cost us the game after that. To be able to get only 30 runs from as many balls with four wickets in hand was definitely disappointing. Plainly, the batsmen have to pull up their socks. One does not get the India cap easily, there is a lot of value attached to it. We all have to realise that performance is the key at this level. We have some potential all-rounders in the team who have done well with the ball. But if these youngsters want themselves to be talked in the same breath with Kapil Dev, Sir Richard Hadlee, Imran Khan and In Botham — the four legendary greats who ruled the game in the eighties and could win the game for their teams either with the bat or ball — they have to come up with much improved and consistent performances with the bat too. We have four more games to go which are going to be very important for us to qualify for the finals. The three teams are equally balanced and it is a bit too early to predict the finalists. The Lankans have won two close games, which could have gone either way so we have to pull ourselves up and play good cricket.
Gameplan |
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Lankan twist to
Indian defeat Colombo, July 23 The match, part of last tri-nation tournament being held on the island, was held up last night as two men ran to the middle of the pitch and held up banners denouncing the government, as India began their innings under lights. The men have been charged with criminal trespass, obstruction of a cricket match, and displaying anti-government banners, the police said. At a hearing at a magistrate’s court in Colombo, police inspector SAS Suraweera said India lost by six runs because they were “frightened” after the demonstration disrupted play for about three minutes. “We have charged the two men on three counts and we also told the magistrate that India should have won the match if not for the disturbance caused by them,” Suraweera said. “There was no formal complaint from the Indian team, but we know they lost because of the disturbance.” However, lawyers for the men said their demonstration was only aimed at the recent “dictatorial” action of the President in shutting down Parliament and had nothing to do with cricket. Colombo magistrate Priyantha Fernando freed the two men on bail of 20,000 Sri Lankan rupees ($ 222) each and adjourned the case until August 15.
AFP |
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Price for England’s missed catches London, July 23 England were counting that cost again today after a second Ashes humiliation at the hands of the Australians. While Australia dazzled with their fielding in winning the first two Tests of the five-match series, England have dropped around a dozen catches. That dismal performance could not be a greater contrast to the first Test of the English summer, when the home side took 15 catches behind the wicket in their victory over Pakistan, with only one chance grounded all game. Wicketkeeper-batsman Gilchrist has been the biggest benefactor of England’s butter-finger form. Man of the match at Edgbaston, he hammered 152 as Australia won by an innings and 118 runs, but only after being dropped on 14 and 125. At Lord’s, he made 90, helping his side to a 214 run first-innings lead, but only after being dropped four times, twice off the easiest of chances, the first after he had made only 13. “It was one of my fortunate innings,’’ he said with a smile afterwards. If England were to subtract the Australian batsmen’s score at the time of each missed chance from their eventual totals — with a little double-counting in Gilchrist’s case — they would find 553 runs which had slipped through their fingers, more than half the runs required by Australia to win the first two Tests. As Steve Waugh put it after Sunday’s lord’s win: “Fielding was the big difference... If England had taken their chances they would have been on a par with us.’’ Mark Waugh, meanwhile, was rubbing the point in by breaking the world record for catches by a fielder, his slip catch to remove Darren Gough off pace bowler Jason Gillespie giving him an unprecedented 158, from 113 Tests. As his captain and brother said: “He’s probably been the best slip catcher in the world for the last 10 years.’’ Australian pace bowler Glenn McGrath, who took eight wickets in the match, could not resist one last dig. “With the slip squad we have...they seem to catch every one,’’ he said. “The old saying, ‘catches win matches’, that hasn’t been more true than in this game.’’ List of England’s missed fielding chances: First Test, Edgbaston: — Michael Slater, on 43, is dropped at square leg by Usman Afzaal. Straightforward chance. Slater goes on to make 78. Cost: 35 runs. — Mark Waugh, facing leg-spinner Ashley Giles on 28, is missed off a stumping by Alec Stewart. Easy chance. Waugh makes 49. Cost: 21. — Mark Waugh, on 29, is dropped by Marcus Trescothick at second slip. Straightforward. Cost: 20. — Adam Gilchrist, on 14, is dropped by Craig White at gully. Difficult. Gilchrist goes on to score 152. Cost: 138. — Damien Martyn, on 65, is dropped by Stewart diving across first slip. Bad error of judgement. Martyn makes 105. Cost: 40. — Gilchrist, on 125, is dropped by Mark Butcher off a caught-and-bowled chance. Easy. Cost: 27. Total cost: 281. Second Test, Lord’s: — Mark Waugh, on 59, is dropped by a diving White in the gully off Dominic Cork. Half-chance. Waugh makes 108. Cost: 49. — Steve Waugh, on 14, is dropped by Gough off his own bowling. Straightforward. Waugh makes 45. Cost: 31. — Gilchrist, on 13, is dropped by Butcher at second slip off Gough. Staightforward. Gilchrist makes 90. Cost: 77. — Gilchrist, on 33, is dropped by Ian Ward at point off Gough. Straightforward. Cost: 57. — Gilchrist, on 49, is missed at gully by Butcher off Gough. Half-chance. Cost: 41. — Gilchrist, on 73, is dropped by Michael Atherton at first slip off Caddick. Easy. Cost: 17. Total cost: 272.
Reuters |
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‘Kournikova weds Fedorov’ London, July 23 Kournikova (20) and Fedorov (31) married in a registry office ceremony in front of just five guests after travelling back to Russia, the tabloid reported in its later editions, claiming a world scoop. “It was a lovely ceremony. I am very happy to be Anna’s mother-in-law,” Fedorov’s mother Natalia was quoted as saying. “Sergei is totally smitten. They are completely in love,” a friend of the ice hockey player, who has a professional contract with the Detroit Redwings in the USA told the Sun. Kournikova has had an on-off relationship with Fedorov since she was 15.
DPA |
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France enter Fed Cup finals Hamburg, July 23 Mauresmo hammered Adriana Serra-Zanetti, 6-2, 6-0, yesterday to decide the tie before the final singles and concluding doubles rubber. On Saturday, Mauresmo had also made short work of Maria Elena Camerin, 6-4, 6-4, and Sandrine Testud defeated Serra-Zanetti, 6-4, 7-5. Argentina’s Paola Suarez saved three match points in a 4-6, 6-3, 12-10 victory over Anke Huber for a 2-1 lead against hosts Germany in Hamburg.
DPA |
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Ma back in favour Beijing, July 23 Ma will make his “re-emergence” as deputy head of China’s team at the meeting in Edmonton, Canada from August 3 to 12, the China Daily said. However, it said China was giving the event secondary priority, quoting a sports official as saying the country would concentrate its efforts on the World University Games in Beijing at the end of next month. The newspaper said China was sending only half the number of participants it had sent to past world championships, due in part to higher qualifying standards. The China Daily said only three of Ma’s proteges were down to compete. Li Jingnan and Lan Lixin are due to run the women’s 1,500 metres, and Dong Yanmei will run the women’s 5,000 metres. Chinese sports officials were not available for comment on the status of Ma’s athletes or the fiery coach, whose unorthodox training regime has provoked criticism in state media and led to public rifts with sports officials and athletes. He shocked the track world at the Stuttgart world championships in 1993, when his team of unknown peasant women from the north eastern province of Liaoning — the so-called “Ma’s army” — won five of six medals at 5,000 and 10,000 metres. Just a month later, they shattered three world records at the Chinese national championships. Ma vigorously denied allegations his runners were fuelled by banned drugs and famously attributed their stunning times to high altitude training and traditional tonics of turtle’s blood and caterpillar fungus.
Reuters |
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Grandmaster norm for Prasad Dortmund (Germany), July 23 Prasad jointly leads the table with Zoltan Varga, A Mikhailchisin and Davit Lobzhanidze with 7.5 points. “I am very happy and relieved to make the norm here at Dortmund. With my wife accompanying me, it helps greatly tackling the food problem for vegetarians,” said a delighted Prasad after the game. Needing just a draw in the 10th round, Prasad began cautiously in a Caro Kann game. With the routine exchange of pieces, it left little to be played for and draw was agreed on the 25th move in an equal rook and pawns ending. In other games, Konguvel won and Kunte drew, leading both on 6.0 points. It was a technical win for Konguvel who needed three hours of play and 55 moves to conquer Heck Norbert. Holdingon to a small advantage, Konguvel gradually improved his position and Norbert gave up when he was three pawns down in a rook and pawn ending.
PTI |
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School games: Punjab gets 6
disciplines Chandigarh, July 23 Mr Chhabra said Haryana had come forward to host the gymnastics competition in all categories for boys and girls. Chandigarh will host the carrom event to be introduced for the first time in under the 19 boys and girls section. Jammu and Kashmir will host football at Srinagar (boys) while softball will be organised at Jammu in under-19 section for boys and girls section. Mr Chhabra said Delhi had agreed to hold the maximum number of events and disciplines including cricket (under14 boys), hockey (under 17 boys and girls), judo (under14, 17, 19 boys and girls), baseball (under19 boys and girls), handball (under17 boys and girls), basketball (under 17 boys and girls) and the CK Nayadu trophy. Kerala will conduct athletics (under 14, 17 and 19) along with ball badminton (under 19 boys and girls). Swimming, lawn tennis and yoga in all age groups for both boys and girls will be held in Gujarat, while Assam will host badminton for all age groups in boys and girls sections besides cricket (under 19 girls) and football (under 14 boys). Football (under 17) and archery (under 19) in boys and girls sections has been allotted to West Bengal while kho-kho (under 19 and under 17) for boys and girls has been allotted to Navodya Vidyalya Sangathan (NVS). Chhatisgarh will host basketball (under 14) handball (under14) and kabaddi (under14 and under 17) boys and girls. Andhra Pradesh will host volleyball (under14, 17) and throwball (under 19) for boys and girls. Jharkhand will play host to the under-14 hockey (boys and girls) while table tennis (all age groups ) for boys and girls has been allotted to Madhya Pradesh. |
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CRPF hockey Jalandhar, July 23 |
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Amit is ‘Snooker King’ Patiala, July 23 Forty players took part in the five- day tournament. Former National billiards player Arif Akhtar distributed the prizes apart from imparting valuable tips to the youngsters present. |
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MOYA TRIUMPHS IN CROATIA OPEN 380-MEMBER INDIAN
BADMINTON MEET Khirwar heads boxing body |
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