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| Wednesday,
July 25, 2001, Chandigarh, India    |
Lanka keen
to secure berth in the final Sludnov
gives Russia 1st gold
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Let Saurav
Ganguly not play favourites Cronje not
to be ‘allowed back’ Honduras
stun Brazil, make history |
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Indian athletes
win 10 medals Abhinav
receives award Students’
careers in jeopardy Hockey
team denied permission Resentment
in LDBA Chamba
in final
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Lanka keen to secure berth in the final Colombo, July 24 But the task may not be so easy for the one-day experts as New Zealand have displayed remarkable grit in etching a comprehensive 84-run victory over India after almost upsetting the Lankans in the opening encounter which they went on to lose by a 16-run margin. The Kiwis also seem unaffected by the politically volatile situation in the island nation as they chose to spend the five-day gap between their two league matches visiting popular tourist destinations rubbishing rumours of their calling off the series mid-way. New Zealand bowlers, especially veteran Chris Harris and the debonair Daniel Vettori, have been successful in checking the onslaught by the flamboyant rivals spearheaded by Sanath Jayasuriya, and did well in bowling out the Indians inside the quota of 50 overs. It is their batting line-up which needs to be regrouped. The absence of all-rounder Chris Cairns is being acutely felt in the middle order which appears rather fragile. Opener Nathan Astle, the only centurion in the series so far, will have to play the role of sheet anchor again to pile up a 220 or above score on a not-so-batsmen-friendly pitch. Meanwhile, security has been beefed up for the one-day triangular series in Sri Lanka after a suicide attack by Tamil Tigers rebels closed Colombo’s international airport today. India, New Zealand and Sri Lanka have decided to play on after they were promised increased security by the country’s national cricket board. “The Board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka (BCCSL) discussed the current safety situation on Tuesday morning with officials in charge of security, match referee Cammie Smith and managers of the three teams,’’ the board said in a statement. “All matches will continue as scheduled. Officials in charge of security have given assurances that adequate precautions are being taken to ensure the safety of players and officials, which is of the highest priority,’’ the board added. The visiting Indian and New Zealand teams said they were satisfied with the security arrangements. “The board has promised us additional security, both at the ground and at the hotel,’’ Indian team manager A.N. Mathe told Reuters. “They have assured us there will be no problems and we are fully satisfied. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had left the decision with the team management and we have decided to play on,’’ he added. New Zealand manager Jeff Crowe was also confident of the rest of the event going through smoothly. “We are pretty happy with the security provided to us. There are no problems and we will play on,’’ he said. New Zealand have had security scares in the past in Sri Lanka, but completed a tour in 1987 after a car bomb killed more than 100 in central Colombo, while a tour in 1992 was severely disrupted by a bomb blast outside the team hotel. But Crowe said: “The team is calm. They understand the situation here. When you come to Colombo, you are half prepared for this happening,’’ he said.
PTI, Reuters |
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Sludnov
gives Russia 1st gold
Fukuoka, (Japan), July 24 Olympic bronze medallist Sludnov, third at the 50-metre mark behind American Ed Moses and Britain’s Darren Mew, accelerated to the front on the second length and touched in one minute 0.16 seconds. The 21-year-old student from Omsk lowered his own world record in yesterday’s semifinals when he stormed through in 59.94 but, although he was up on Monday’s 50-metre split time today, he could not maintain that pace. Olympic champion Domenico Fioravanti came through for the silver in 1:00.47 and Olympic silver medallist moses, holder of the world record before sludnov, took the bronze in 1:00.61. Moses came third just 0.06 seconds ahead of Japan’s Kosuke Kitajima, who had also finished fourth at the Sydney games. Sludnov became the first man to swim the distance inside a minute when he clocked 59.97 at the Russian championships in Moscow in June, having broken the world record for the second time in two days. Ian Thorpe claimed his third gold medal of the championships and set his second world record in three days when he won a great duel with fellow Australian Grant Hackett in the 800 metres freestyle final. Thorpe, who had swum the 200 metres freestyle semifinals less than 20 minutes before he dived in for the 800 metres cut loose on the last length of the 16-length race. He won in a world record seven minutes 39.16 seconds in an event new to the men’s world championship programme. Thorpe won his first two gold medals on Sunday when he broke his own world record to retain his 400 metres freestyle title and anchored Australia to victory in the 4x100 freestyle relay. Hackett, silver medallist behind Thorpe in the 400 metres for the second successive world championships, set the pace for the first 700 metres but Thorpe was always in close attendance next to him. Thorpe hit the front at the 750-mark when he touched just 0.01 seconds ahead of Hackett and then forged away to win by more than a second with his famous hard-kicking finish. Hackett clocked 7:40.34, also inside Thorpe’s previous world mark. Thorpe shattered the 1994 world mark of fellow Australian Kieren Perkins in the Australian championships in Hobart in March with a time of 7:41.59 when Hackett finished second, also inside the Perkins record. Britain’s Graeme Smith took the bronze in 7:51.12. Russian Dmitry Sautin retained his title in the three-metre springboard diving with a dominating performance today. Sautin, who took the bronze medal at last year’s Sydney Olympics, scored 481.62 points for his free routine, giving him an overall total of 725.82 points after adding his score from the preliminary round. Sweden’s Olympic silver medallist Therese Alshammer withdrew from the women’s 100 metres freestyle because of problems associated with an infection she picked up three weeks ago.
Reuters |
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Tirkey keeps Indian hopes alive Edinburgh, July 24 Tirkey, a failure with penalty corner conversions earlier in the tournament, came good when India needed it the most and scored in the 20th and 55th minutes through direct hits. With this win, India have three points from two matches and are placed second in their pool behind Argentina, who have six points from their two wins and already through to the last four stage and to the 2002 World Cup. India play their last pool match against Poland tomorrow and need at least a draw to reach the semi-finals and seal their berth in the World Cup. India’s best goalkeeper Jude Menezes was today dropped and his place was taken by Devesh Chauhan who did a decent job in keeping the Japanese at bay. After both the teams had tried out their moves in the midfield, India earned their first real chance in the 20th minute when Baljit Dhillon moved in and the ball found a Japanese foot. Tirkey’s powerful hit off the resulting penalty corner beat the entire Japanese defence and put India 1-0 ahead. Though India enjoyed a territorial advantage for most part of the match, they could not convert it into goals. Four penalty corners till the 50th minute in the second half were wasted. The desperate Japanese increased their attack raiding the rival half frequently but it was the Indians who found the net to increase their lead. Off the seventh penalty corner Tirkey fired in another powerful hit which beat the Takahashi and gave India a 2-0 lead.
PTI |
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Let Saurav Ganguly not play
favourites Chandigarh, July 24 This task perforce will have to be performed by team coach John Wright and the senior members of the Indian squad, specially the captain and the vice-captain. If ‘‘new’’ players like Sameer Dighe, Reetinder Sodhi and Ashish Nehra, to name a few, have been able to transform their game to suit the one-day format there is no reason why the so-called ‘‘stars’’ in the making cannot follow suit. One thing that Wright will have to drill into the boys is: play for the team or leave the squad. There is no use having ‘‘stars’’ in the squad if they cannot perform to the requirements of the team. It has to be admitted that India are sorely missing the services of Sachin Tendulkar, rendered unfit due to a hairline fracture sustained during the series in Zimbabwe. (Never mind if certain sections of the media are saying that Sachin is sulking). More often than not it has been Sachin who has fashioned India’s recent one-day wins, the claims by Saurav Ganguly notwithstanding. India’s miserable showing in the two matches in Sri Lanka has only helped to buttress the standing Sachin has in the Indian squad. One thought prior to the start of the series was that Sachin’s absence from the series would push the younger players to perform even better since there is no denying the fact that all cricket playing countries are trying to reorganise their resources and ironing out their deficiencies as they prepare for the 2003 World Cup in South Africa. A few superlative performances by the younger players would have helped them to cement a permanent place in the one-day squad. One question which always arises is: why is it that the bench strength of other teams is far superior to that of India and why does Indian cricket has to depend so much on just one or two players year after year. But so far the performance of the Indian players in the Sri lanka tournament has been below par. The biggest disappointment in the two matches India have played in the Sri Lanka tournament so far has been Yuvraj Singh. First recalled into the team at the behest of the captain, and then promoted to the opener’s slot by Saurav Ganguly (for reasons difficult to fathom), Yuvraj has simply failed to live up to his initial promise he showed in the ICC Knockout Cup two years ago. Said to be the best fielder in the Indian squad, it is he who missed vital catches in both the matches that India have played. Then his batting has failed to get going (although commentators have tried to soften his failure by saying he got a dubious decision in India’s opening match against New Zealand). His attitude to the game has to undergo a total change if he is to remain in the squad — even if the skipper has total faith in his cricketing abilities. Just cricketing abilities will not do. He has to transform himself into a team man and perform keeping the interests of the squad in mind. The forced absence of Sachin had given yet another opportunity to Amay Khuresia (yet another protege of Saurav Ganguly) to prove that he can hold his own at the highest level of the game. This attacking batsman has been ignored by the national selectors for quite some time but obviously Saurav Ganguly has faith in his cricketing abilities but this batsman also has failed to rise to the
occasion. The same is the case with Hemang Badani. These players can surely pick up some tips from Reetinder Sodhi. This young Punjab player has excelled in every department of the game, be it fielding (his strongest attribute), bowling or even batting where he has had to throw his wicket in the interest of the team. He has been totally involved in everything on the field and it is players like him on whom Indian cricket would come to depend more in the future. If only the ‘‘stars’’ could pick up some tips from this Punjab all-rounder. |
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Cronje not to be ‘allowed back’ Durban, July 24 “Even if Cronje succeeds in overturning the life ban against him in the (Pretoria) High Court, we will embark on another disciplinary hearing to impose another life on him”, board President Percy Sonn said today. Sonn’s statement comes in the wake of a report published by London’s ‘Sunday Times’ that an audit carried out into Cronje’s finances had found that the former skipper had made 120 deposits into 19 accounts during his five-year term that could not be identified as either salary, endorsements or any other declared income. The total amount in the accounts was stated to be 10.5 million rand (about $1.3 million). Cronje, who is scheduled to address a press conference at Bloemfontein later today, dismissed the report as “irresponsible and malicious” journalism. Meanwhile, a former board president has accused the present members of not giving Cronje a “fair hearing” and suggested that it would have been better if he had kept silent on match-fixing like other cricketers.
PTI |
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Honduras stun Brazil, make history Mainizales, July 24 The Hondurans scored one of the greatest upsets in international footballing history, winning 2-0 to book a semifinal Thursday against hosts Colombia and leave the reputation of their victims lying in shreds. Four-times world champions Brazil had been looking to win the South American continental championship for the third time in a row. But they turned in a performance which would have shamed the great sides who have pulled on the famous yellow jersey since their first world title in 1958 and the loss could sound the death knell for coach Luiz Felipe Scolari. “We didn’t underestimate them,” insisted Scolari, who now must turn his attention back to Brazil’s faltering World Cup qualifying campaign. “We lost out to a team that played really well and fought for every ball. It’s always possible to lose,” he shrugged. “Everybody in Brazil thought we couldn’t lose to a team such as Honduras, but they played better than we did and deserved to win,” said Scolari, who ironically initially turned down the post of coach last year suspecting it might prove a poisoned chalice. In another peculiar irony, the original David and Goliath tale recounted how David’s brothers were soldiers in the army of King Saul. Against mighty Brazil, the Hondurans were equipped with their own modest footballing equivalent of a sling and a stone - a striker called Saul. Saul Martinez duly claimed hero status with both goals to send the Hndurans through to meet a Colombian side who earlier battered Peru 3-0 to preserve their record of not conceding a single goal in the event. Honduras coach Ramon Maradiaga hailed the win as easily “the best result of my career. “It was a win of conviction and showed Honduras is capable of beating the big guys,” he added. The 30,000 crowd at the Palogrande stadium in Manizales could scarcely believe their eyes as the Hondurans, having drawn their rivals’ sting in a goalless and evenly-matched first half, went ahead in the 59th minute with a Martinez header which deflected in off Belletti on the goal-line. Martinez reacted quickest after Julio Cesar ‘Rambo’ Leon whipped over a cross from the right and Belletti could only help the ball into the net at the near post. Martinez then added another on the counter attack in injury time, stabbing the ball past keeper Marcos to complete an amazing win which surpassed anything that had gone before in the tournament’s 91-year history. Both sides finished the match with 10 men after late dismissals for David Carcamo of Honduras and Brazil’s Emerson, who squared up to each other in a dramatic finale.
AFP |
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Indian athletes win 10 medals New Delhi, July 24 Apart from the gold India claimed six silver and three bronze medals. Women athletes accounted for seven medals — five silver and two bronze. Amit Tyagi threw shot put to the distance of 17.66 metres for the gold. Men 4x400m relay team comprising P. Shankar, K. Suresh, Sheik Samsur and Dharamender Hansda took silver clocking 3:12.15 sec. Rakesh Kumar bagged bronze in hammer with a throw of 60.69m. In the Women’s section, Mukti Saha won silver in 100m clocking 11.90 sec, another silver in 100m with a time of 14.12 sec and bronze in 200m with a time of 24.12 sec. In 400m, Manjit Kaur took the silver clocking 55.11 sec. In discus Seema Antil finished second for silver with a throw of 53.04 mts. Archana Bara came third for bronze in hammer with a throw of 44.79 mts. Women 4x400m relay squad of Bindu Rani, S. Geetha, Pratima Goankar and Manjeet Kaur finished second for silver with a time of 3:42.22. (Men) 400 MH: P.S. Pahi 52.74s (5th), 10 km walk: Vijay Ghalot 48.00 (6th), Gurmeet Singh 47:19.22 (6th) Long jump: Satish Kumar 6.91m (9th), shot put: Ranvijay Singh 15.83 m (7th), Hammer: Birkaran Singh 59.40 (6th). Women Javelin: Suman Devi 46.88m (4th), 10 km walk: Ravina Antil 56:36.41 (4th) 4x400m relay:
K.N. Priya, G.D. Guramman, Meera Singh, Mukti Saha (4th). UNI |
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Abhinav
receives award Chandigarh, July 24 Mr Barnala lauded the achievement of the young shooter and hoped that he would win more laurels in the coming days. The Chief Minister expressed happiness over the Olympian’s feats. Mr Subhash Chander, Chairman, Zee TV, who was bestowed the “Pride of the Nation Award” was also all praise for the young shooter and assured him of all help in finding a suitable sponsor. The Doon Citizens Council is a non-political body engaged in social service and it selects
outstanding personalities for these awards. Among those honoured in the past are Ruskin Bond, Dalai Lama, the late Gyani Zail Singh, Sunil Gavaskar and Air Chief Marshal S.K.Sareen besides others. |
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Students’ careers in
jeopardy Patiala, July 24 Sportspersons holding valid gradation certificates issued by the Punjab Sports Department (PSD) authorities were left high and dry as the authorities refused to entertain their claims for admission to PTU affiliated colleges on the plea that they should have listed their gradation certificates along with other documents when they had filled their application forms. However, according to clause No 4.5 listed in the CEC-2001 admission brochure of the PTU, it has been clearly mentioned that “candidates will be required to produce sports gradation certificates (reserve quota) only at the time of counselling and not at the time of filling of applications.” How the PTU authorities are playing with the careers of students is reflected from the manner in which the authorities rejected the case of twin brothers Umang and Tarang Bindra. With the date of the counselling of the PTU affiliated colleges drawing near, they personally approached the Director (Sports), Punjab, Col Raminder Singh, who promptly gave them grade “C” (junior) certificate by virtue of their winning a gold medal each in the Punjab inter district tennis championships. The gradation certificate is a pre-requisite for seeking admission to professional engineering and medical colleges in the state. The brothers, along with at least 12 other students, were told in no uncertain terms on the day of counselling that their cases would not be considered as they failed to list their sporting achievements when they applied which had left their applications incomplete. However, clause No 3.2 inserted in the PTU brochure clearly mentions that incomplete applications will be immediately rejected and that the sports gradation certificates will have to be shown by the candidates only at the time of counselling. The affected students have alleged that had their applications been incomplete, as claimed by the authorities, the same should have been rejected. However, neither their applications were rejected nor were their gradation certificates taken notice of during counselling. Mrs Pramod Bindra, mother of the twins, who accompanied her wards during the counselling, alleged that both the PTU Vice-Chancellor Dr H.S Gurm and Registrar Dr M.S Sukhija told her in harsh terms that “come what may, the admission of your son’s is not possible”. However, Mrs Bindra claimed that no reasons had been forwarded by the authorities for not entertaining the claims of her sons. Mrs Bindra also said that the authorities had threatened her with dire consequences if she tried to approach a court of law. Both the PTU Vice-Chancellor and the Registrar, despite being repeatedly contacted at Jalandhar, refused to come on the line. Due to the stubborn and adamant attitude of the PTU authorities, the academic careers of at least a dozen students will be jeopardised for no fault of theirs if the authorities do not follow the guidelines as set in the PTU brochure. |
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Hockey team denied
permission Patiala, July 24 IWHF sources reveal that reason why the tour had to be suddenly aborted was that the members failed to secure visas for the five-nation tourney. The Indian team was to tour Lithuania to gain some valuable experience in the run up to the World Cup pre-qualifying tournament. Significantly, the Indians were to play teams like Russia, Khazakstan, Uzbekistan apart from the hosts — all of which will be playing in the World Cup qualifying rounds along with the Indians. That senior Indian women’s hockey is going through a rough phase is evident from the fact that after the Milton Keynes World Cup pre- qualifying tournament held prior to the Sydney Olympics last year, the team has just gone on one exposure tour to New Zealand and Australia recently. Even during the Milton Keynes tourney, the Indians finished at the bottom of the table out of the 12 teams that took part in the tournament. |
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Resentment
in LDBA Ludhiana, July 24 In a letter signed by 12 members of the executive committee addressed jointly by Mr Chand Kapoor and Mr R.S. Behal, president and general secretary, respectively, of the association, it has been urged to hold a meeting to elect office-bearers of the LDBA within 15 days and also to table the income and expenditure accounts of the association for approval. It was further stated that in case no action was taken within 15 days, the members of the executive committee would call a meeting on their own and hold elections. A copy of this letter has also been sent to the general secretary of the parent body, the Punjab Badminton Association. |
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Chamba
in final Chamba, July 24 Chamba team won the toss and opted to field first. Kayani Cricket Club batsmen could counter the deadly spin bowling of Kapoor Singh and Umesh, who shared eight wickets. Leg spinner Kapoor Singh is, at present, in the Himachal Cricket Academy at Una. Kalyani Cricket Club were all out for a mere 40 runs. In reply Chamba team scored 41 without losing any wicket.
Basketball trials Patiala, July 24 |
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