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Friday,
September 14,
2001, Chandigarh, India   |
Kiwis
cancel tour of Pakistan Saurav
Ganguly to try change of bat South
Africa may alter team for Bulawayo Test |
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Injuries
worry Lanka cricket team Lillee to train fast, medium pace bowlers
Malaysian
“supermom” walks to gold Malaysia
jrs win, level series |
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Tollygunge
stun Bagan CFA keen
on zonal soccer academy Simmer,
Tushar enter finals Yogeshwar,
Dalbir win opening bouts Wrestling
meet at Rohtak from Sept 23 Kakria
puts Patiala on top
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Islamabad, September 13 Confirming the pull out, Pakistan Cricket Board Director Brig Munawar Rana, told PTI over the telephone from Lahore that an official communication had been received from New Zealand Cricket today informing PCB about its decision to ‘postpone’ the tour in view of the situation arising out the attacks in the USA. Brigadier Rana said New Zealand Cricket had said it preferred to postpone the tour till things become clear. The decision to pullout of the tour comes after the New Zealand team had already left their country and reached Singapore en route to Pakistan. It was scheduled to arrive two days ago but could not make it due flight disruptions due to terrorist attacks in New York and Washington. New Zealand were scheduled to begin their tour with three one-dayers beginning on September 19 followed by three Tests. New Zealand’s decision to ‘postpone’ the tour followed the recent Indian pullout of ATC due to the prevailing political situation between the two countries. Subsequently, PCB also dropped a proposal to hold a four-nation tournament involving India, Pakistan, Zimbabwe and West Indies planned for early next year. New Zealand’s decision to postpone the tour is considered to be a major blow to PCB as it has not got any other team playing in Pakistan till next February, when the West Indies are expected to tour. The Indian pullout reportedly caused a huge financial loss to the PCB and New Zealand’s decision is expected to aggravate the losses. In anticipation of the tour, the PCB has already named its squad which is without fast bowler Shoaib Akthar who was dropped due to poor form. “As soon as it became obvious that the risks were tangible rather than imaginary it was an easy decision to come home,” New Zealand Cricket chief executive Martin Snedden said, adds AFP from Auckland. Mr Snedden also announced that the New Zealand ‘A’ team had withdrawn from a tour of India. The two teams were going home immediately. New Zealand cricket tour is the first international event believed to have fallen victim to security fears in the wake of the kamikaze-style attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. On the New Zealand Cricket website, Mr Snedden was quoted as saying: “The safety of the players is our only consideration and, given the advice we have received from the Department of Foreign Affairs, it is obvious we should bring the Black Caps home. “We have advised the Pakistan Cricket Board of our decision and, with PCB, we will re-visit the possibility of some cricket during October, should we be satisfied that the situation has stabilised.” HYDERABAD: The New Zealand ‘A’ cricket team, who entered the semifinals of the Moin-ud-Dowla Gold Cup Tournament, here, has pulled out and is returning home. A Hyderabad Cricket Association spokesman told PTI on Thursday the team was likely to leave tonight but failed to give any reasons for their pull out. “Today being the rest day of the tournament, the Kiwis went out for sight-seeing,” was the standard reply the posh hotel, where the vistors were lodged, maintained. However, the HCA spokesman hinted that the Kiwis would explain their stand on their pull-out from the tournament later in the evening after they return to their hotel from sight-seeing. New Zealand ‘A’ made it to the semifinals after defeating SICAL by 50 runs in the quarterfinals on Wednesday. The semifinals were slated for Friday. The manager of the New Zealand ‘A’ Cricket team Ross Dykes, expressing his disappointment for withdrawing from the tournament, said the Indian tour was satisfactory one as the “boys had learnt a lot by playing in the sub-continent”. Speaking to newspersons, he said the decision of withdrawing from the tournament was taken by the New Zealand Cricket after consultations with the New Zealand Foreign Department. “They felt, in case the situation escalates, we will be better of at home keeping in view the players security,” he added. On being asked about the achievement of the Indian tour, he said “firstly our boys are disappointed and we could achieve what we set out for. We won the Buchibabu tournament in Chennai and we could reach the semifinal in the Moin-ud-Dowla Gold Cup. Mr Dykes told a letter was given to the Hyderabad Cricket Association regretting that it had decided to pull out of the tournament as the decision was taken by the New Zealand Cricket. “They was a phone call from New Zealand about the decision to come back this morning at 6 a.m.,” he added. The New Zealand team would be flying to Auckland via Singapore where they would join the other 10 members, who were stranded at Singapore enroute to Karachi.
AFP, PTI |
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Saurav Ganguly to try change of bat Kolkata, September 13 Ganguly flew a couple of days ago to Meerut, where the sports goods company making the famous ‘SS’ brand of cricket bats is located, apparently to convey the specifications required in the bats to be used by him during the tour. A source at the Ganguly household confirmed his visit to Meerut but refused to give any details. Ganguly returned home last night but attempts to reach him proved futile. Sareen Sports Industries of Meerut confirmed that Ganguly had paid a visit to the company on Wednesday. Jatin Sareen, one of the owners of the company, when contacted over phone from here refused to elaborate on the purpose of the visit but confirmed that the firm regularly supplied bats to leading Indian cricketers, including Sachin Tendulkar and Saurav Ganguly. Sareen also said they were in the process of making bats for the South African tour and hoped to deliver them within a week. Asked about the types of bats used by Ganguly, he said that lately he had been using comparatively lighter bats weighing 1225 to 1230 gm. As against that, Tendulkar used much heavier bats weighing 1300 gm, he said. Ganguly was using slightly heavier bats weighing 1250 gm when he was in peak form and the mainstay of Indian batting last year. Ganguly, who will be leading the Indian team on the tough South African tour beginning September 24, has already expressed determination to bounce back with the bat. “I have gone through several experiences in my life and seen great sportsmen around. They never give up. You may be fighting for a place in the side, you may be down in the dumps.” “...One evening you play a great match that will change everything. That is why you should never give up”, Ganguly had said on the day he was retained as skipper for forthcoming tour while commenting on his poor form. Ganguly was going through strenuous practice sessions currently spending time in the nets at the Eden Gardens here daily.
PTI |
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South Africa may alter team for Bulawayo Test Bulawayo, September 13 Only Andy Flower’s heroic innings of 142 and 199 not out prevented South Africa from cruising to an innings victory in the Harare match, which ended on Tuesday. But South Africa coach Graham Ford said Bulawayo’s reputation for producing slower pitches that favour spinners could prompt a rethink. “We haven’t even had a chance to look at the pitch because it’s been covered,” Ford told reporters. “We were reasonably pleased with the guys who did the job in Harare, but if conditions ask for it we would consider changing the side. “I think the chance of Zimbabwe bringing in an extra spinner is likely, and that’s why we’d like to have a look at the pitch. “They probably feel that those kind of pitches suit their batting better and neutralise our attack a bit, and they’ve got a few spinners floating around who can bowl quite nicely.” Zimbabwe have included leg spinner Paul Strang in their squad of 16 along with left armer Ray Price, who played in the first Test. The problem for South Africa is that they selected just one specialist spinner for the Test squad in left armer Claude Henderson. Off spinner Justin Ontong — who also bowls leg breaks — is travelling with the squad, but was selected only for the three one-day internationals to be played after the Test series. That leaves the visitors with Gary Kirsten’s occasional off spin and the off cutters Lance Klusener sent down with reasonable success in the first Test, taking two for 50 in 29 overs in the second innings. But if South Africa are to bring in medium pace all-rounder Justin Kemp or swing bowler Charl Langeveldt, Klusener would be one of the candidates to make way. Fast bowler Makhaya Ntini, who had a lacklustre first Test, could also find his place under threat. Another possible change would come if opening batsman Herschelle Gibbs does not recover from the lower back spasm that kept him out of action on the last day of the Harare Test. “Herschelle’s had that problem before and he’s come through it without any real difficulty, so we feel he’ll be alright,” Ford said. Zimbabwe seem set to relieve Flower of his wicketkeeping duties to speed up his recovery from a long standing thumb injury and from the slight groin strain he sustained in Harare. In that case, Tatenda Taibu would take over behind the stumps. Gavin Rennie is a rival to struggling opening batsman Alistair Campbell, while Stuart Carlisle could replace Craig Wishart. Fast bowler Henry Olonga is out of form, but Zimbabwe may be forced to find a place for him in the side after their attack’s tame display in the first Test. Despite the unsettled state of the Zimbabwe camp, Ford said his team faced a rigorous Test. “They’ve shown over the last few years that they can compete with the best,” Ford said. “They’ll want to get out there and, I’m sure, fight all the way, hang in and try and frustrate us as much as possible.” Squads: Zimbabwe: Heath Streak (captain), Alistair Campbell, Stuart Carlisle, Dion Ebrahim, Andy Flower, Grant Flower, Travis Friend, Doug Hondo, Hamilton Masakadza, Henry Olonga, Ray Price, Gavin Rennie, Paul Strang, Tatenda Taibu, Craig Wishart, Guy Whittall. South Africa: Shaun Pollock (captain), Mark Boucher, Boeta Dippenaar, Herschelle Gibbs, Claude Henderson, Jacques Kallis, Justin Kemp, Gary Kirsten, Lance Klusener, Charl Langeveldt, Neil McKenzie, Andre Nel, Makhaya Ntini.
Reuters |
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Injuries worry Lanka cricket team Colombo, September 13 Selectors have included Dilhara Fernando, suffering from a sore back and Nuwan Zoysa, down with a fractured right ankle, in a pool of 20 that was announced today. Sanath Jayasuriya has been retained as captain with Marvan Atapattu as his deputy. All rounders Upul Chandana and Tilan Samaraweera, middle-order batsman Tillekeratne Dilshan and fast bowler Akalanka Ganegama were recalled. The selectors also named Suresh Perera, who is having a bowling action problem, in the hope that he will be cleared before the October 26-November 4 tournament that will also feature Pakistan and Zimbabwe. Perera was reported to the International Cricket Council by ICC umpire Steve Bucknor over his bowling action at the end of the first Test against India last month. Darryl Foster, the fast bowling coach from Western Australia, will arrive in Sri Lanka later this month and a report from him will help determine if Perera’s action is legal. Foster cleared Sri Lanka’s champion spinner Muttiah Muralitharan after he was called for chucking by Australian umpire Darrel Hair six years ago. Squad: Sanath Jayasuriya (captain), Marvan Atapattu (vice-captain), Mahela Jayawardene, Russel Arnold, Romesh Kaluwitharana, Avishka Gunawardana, Kumar Sangakkara, Chamara Silva, Muttiah Muralitharan, Chaminda Vaas, Nuwan Zoysa, Dilhara Fernando, Suresh Perera, Kumar Dharmasena, Dulip Liyanage, Dinusha Fernando, Upul Chandana, Tilan Samaraweera, Tillekeratne Dilshan and Akalanka Ganegama.
AP |
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Lillee to train fast, medium pace bowlers
Chennai, September 13 They said the decision was taken during the selection committee meeting in Mumbai to pick the team for the South African tour. Coach John Wright had insisted that the fast bowlers picked for the tour should attend Lillee’s camp starting here, the sources added. The fitness test of all six fast bowlers and leggie Anil Kumble was to be held here for three days from September 17. Orthopaedic surgeon Dr Anand Joshi was also to be present to assess the fitness of these bowlers, the sources said. Meanwhile, T.A. Sekar, chief coach of the foundation and a national selector, said in a press release that Lillee, who is arriving here tonight, would fine tune bowling techniques and suggest corrections. Though there was no information on Javagal Srinath attending the camp, Venkatesh Prasad, Zaheer Khan, Harvinder Singh and all-rounder Reetinder Singh Sodhi would be arriving here tomorrow, said Sekar. He said they had not received any message from Kumble and added that they were expecting a word from Dr Joshi tonight. Besides the seniors, the BCCI has also directed fast bowlers in national and regional cricket academies like Devinder Singh (UP), Senthil Kumar (Karnataka), Kunal Lal (Delhi), Mihir Diwakar (Bihar), Shalabh Srivastava (UP) and L. Balaji (TN) report at the academy. Teacher Balwinder Singh Sandhu and Rakesh Kamath will also be attending the camp, along with their wards. On the financial implications, he said “Lillee is doing an honorary job, helping these cricketers and trainees deputed by the board. MRF is extending their facilities free of cost to help develop Indian cricket.”
PTI |
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Malaysian
“supermom”
walks to gold Kuala Lumpur, September 13 Her win in a time of one hour and 42.55 seconds completed the hosts’ domination of the event where compatriot Teoh Boon Lim earned the gold in the men’s edition yesterday. Yuan, who finished 15th in the event in the Sydney
Olympics, took control early on and outpaced Indonesian Tersiana Riwu Rohi by nearly three minutes. Another Indonesian, Darwati took bronze. “Since the SEA games are being held here, I did not want to miss the chance of repaying the support given by everyone at home,” Yuan said. While she failed to surpass her national record of 1:3.16 Yuan’s feat was remarkable considering that the 25-year-old was fresh from giving birth to a baby boy, Lee Guong Ho, just three months ago. It was her second race since the birth after her win in the recent Malaysian Open. Yuan’s early challenger, Khin Mar Soe of Myanmar, was awarded midway through the race for continuous floating. “I just told myself to take it easy and always checked that I was using the right walking technique,” Yuan said. “I just want everyone to know I am still capable of winning more medals for
Malaysia in the future. I can still be a strong contender for the next eight to 10 years.” Dubbed “supermom” by the Malaysian press, Yuan has opted out of the marathon, in which she had been tipped as a strong contender. “I discussed the matter with the doctors and they told me it was too close after my childbirth. But I hope to be running the marathon next year,” she said.
AP |
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Malaysia jrs win, level series Hyderabad, September 13 The visitors, who lost the first Test and drew the second, have won the third tie with style to infuse interest into the fourth and final Test to be played tomorrow. Taking off on a cautious note, both the teams made no impressive moves until forward Arjun Hallappa converted a penalty corner in the 33rd minute for India. The Indian lead did not last long as Zahrin, moving fast and taking the passes with precision, found the mark two minutes later to level the score 1-1 at the breather. Indian attack slowed down and defence was slack in the second half while the visitors unleashed
aggression and Azlan smashed the ball into the goal with accuracy in the 44th minute to take a 2-1 lead in
favour of Malaysia.
PTI |
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Tollygunge stun Bagan Kolkata, September 13 Despite the shock defeat, Bagan continued to lead the points table with 30 points from 11 matches while Tollygunge Aggragami had 22 points to its credit from 10 outings. Playing with a great deal of determination, Tollygunge Aggragami scored once in each session to create an upset of sorts against the green and maroon brigade, who tasted their first defeat of the season. Medio Amitava Chanda and striker Akim Fired in the goals for Tollygunge Aggragami in the fast-paced encounter. Bagan had themselves to blame for the debacle as they not only failed to play a cohesive game but were also guilty of muffing a number of scoring opportunities that came their way, particularly in the second half. Tollygunge shot into the lead four minutes before the interval with Amitava Chanda finding the target with a left footer, which got deflected into the goal after hitting Bagan defender Dulal Biswas.
PTI |
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CFA keen on zonal soccer
academy Chandigarh, September 13 The concept of having zonal football academies has been floated by the All-India Football Federation (AIFF) which decided at its executive committee meeting in Delhi in June last to set up a national training centre to be funded by the “FIFA goal project” as also a number of zonal training centres to give impetus to the game which has been languishing for quite some time. The federation is keen to have the national academy in the national capital and has approached the government for land to build infrastructure needed for the academy. The AIFF has divided the country in five zones and Chandigarh is keen to have the centre for the north zone which comprises Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttaranchal and Chandigarh. Functionaries of the CFA argue that since Chandigarh is not only an Union Territory but also the capital of Punjab and Haryana it will be prudent to house the zonal AIFF academy in Chandigarh, Players from other states of the zone like Jammu and Kashmir as also Himachal pradesh can send their players to the academy. They say even for the junior academy being run by the Chandigarh Administration boys from outside the Union Territory have been selected for training. The funds for the proposed football academy will come from the national body. However, the CFA will have to have a place of its own if it hopes to be allotted the zonal training academy. It is for this reason that the association has made repeated pleas to the Chandigarh Administration for handing over control of the Sector 17 football stadium so that it can maintain and develop it according to its needs. The AIFF proposal says that the “academy project and its coordination shall also be left in one technical hand and uniform curriculum and syllabi including entry and passing out cut-off age of the completion of work of each trainee.” Besides the zonal football academies the AIFF will also fund a nursery project for under-11 players in a few selected states. The AIFF has also decided that each state association will have to announce and intimate to the AIFF every year the name of their state coach. The state coaches will be given some financial support from the youth development fund of the AIFF. Meanwhile, to give a boost to the development of the game the AIFF is contemplating certain changes in its administrative infrastructure. The federation plans to have a director for competition, a director technical, a director for finance and administration, one director for communication and one director for marketing. All these persons will be paid employees of the federation and answerable to the elected president and secretary of the federation. The federation has also decided that coaches of the first division, second division and third division clubs all over India will be trained by licensed coaches having a licence to work issued by the AIFF licensing committee. |
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Simmer, Tushar enter finals Chandigarh, September 13 Five other local players joined Simmer in making it to the finals out of total eight slots in contention in the meet, which carries a total scholarship money to the tune of Rs 50,000. In the boys under-14 section it will be an all-Delhi affair with top seed Vivek Showkeen to take on Honey Rana in the final. In the boys under-16 section, top seed Tushar Liberhan will clash with another Chandigarh player Jitin Bishnoi, while in the girls under-14 section, robust Isha Toor of Total Tennis Academy, Sector 11, will clash with Simmer. In the under-16 girls section, Satvika Saboo will face Neha Singh, another local girl in the finals to be played tomorrow morning. All the matches today were almost one sided. But Neha Singh, in her under-16 semifinals, did not let Isha to dominate in any department of the game and outplayed her in straight sets. Though yesterday’s star player, Isha, has already made it to under-14 finals by getting a walkover from Anukriti Prasad of Delhi on medical grounds. The final will be played tomorrow at 8 a.m. Results (all semifinals): Boys: (U-14): Vivek Showkeen (Dli) b Simran S. Cheema (Chd) 6-1, 6-3; Honey Rana (Dli) b Paras Thakur (Chd) 6-4, 6-1. U-16: Tushar Liberhan (Chd) b Siddharth Gulati (Dli) 6-1, 6-0; Jitin Bishnoi (Chd) b Vivek Showkeen (Dli) 6-3, 6-0. Girls: U-14: Simmer (Chd) b Shilpa Dalmia (Dli) 6-3, 6-1; Isha Toor (Chd) by Anukriti Prasad (Dli) coneded. U-16: Satvika Saboo (Chd) b Gitanjali Sharma (Pb) 6-4, 6-1; Neha Singh (Chd) b Isha Toor (Chd) 6-1, 6-3. |
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Yogeshwar, Dalbir win opening
bouts Rohtak, September 13 Yogeshwar Dutt (54 kg), Paramjit (63 kg) and Tasbir Singh (76 kg) defeated their opponents easily to walk into the second round. Yogeshwar Dutt, who had participated in the World Junior Wrestling Championship in 1999, overpowered Balram of Gorakhpur University by a margin of 10 points in the opening bout of the day. In 63 kg category Paramjit-who had donned Indian colours in the World Cadet Wrestling Championship in 1998-99, defeated his rival Vivek Kumar of Bareilly University while in the 76 kg weight category Tasvir Singh of the host university managed to defeat Masurdhana of Saurashtra University. Kalu Dass (63 kg) and Sunil Kumar (97 kg) of Kurukshetra University and Delhi University, respectively, also moved into the next round. Dalbir Singh of Panjab University, Chandigarh, and Ganesh Kumar of Himachal Pradesh University also won their respective bout in the 54 kg category. Earlier, the four-day wrestling championship was inaugurated by the Haryana Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala. As many as 600 grapplers representing 70 universities from all over the country are participating. The results: 54 kg: Praveen Kumar (DU) b Chander Bhan (AMN), Ajay Ingley (Baroda) b Yumraj (Bilaspur), Umesh Kumar (Kanpur) b Kuldeep Kumar (Udaipur), Dalbir Singh (PU) b Manoj Kumar (Utkal), Yogeshwar Dutt (MDU) b Balram (Gorakhpur), Ganesh Kumar (HPU) b Satyapal (GK Haridwar), Sanjay Kumar (KU) b Shiv Shankar (BHU). 63 kg: Jayanat Shankar (Jabalpur) b Harinder (LBS, Delhi), Rangnath Patil (Mumbai) b Jagdish (Udaipur), Nitesh Yadav (Indore) b Mohit (Gwalior), Suresh Kumar (Jammu) b Mukesh Arya (GK, Haridwar), Bharrow Singh (Rajasthan) b Navdeep (PU), Paramjit (MDU) b Vivek Kumar (Bareilly). 76 kg: Tasvir Singh (MDU) b Masuradhana (Saurashtra) 97 kg: Sunil Kumar (Delhi) b Rudra Pratap (Gwalior). |
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Wrestling
meet at Rohtak from Sept 23 Chandigarh, September 13 While stating this here today, HoA Secretary General M.S. Malik said that renowned wrestlers like Palwinder Singh of Punjab and Rakesh Kumar of Haryana, besides international female wrestlers like Sunita Sharma and Monika Laliraman would take part in this meet. Cash awards of Rs 50,000 and Rs 30,000 would be given to the winner and runner-up besides other cash awards. He said the HOA would participate in a big way in the sports events being organised during the ‘chetna saptah’ from September 21 to 27. Mr Malik said tent-pegging demonstration would be held during Kisan mela at Karnal on September 21. Circle kabaddi match between Punjab and Haryana would be organised. During the ‘chetna saptah’, the sports events would be organised in collaboration with Haryana Sports Department. |
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Kakria
puts Patiala on top Patiala, September 13 Brief scores:
Patiala: (Ist Innings): 277 all out (Lakhbir Singh 67, Binwant Singh 57, Harikishen 53, Anoop Kumar 26, Gagandeep Singh 3 for 57, Rajan Singh 2 for 11, Rakesh Saini 2 for 82). Ludhiana: (Ist Innings): 103 all out (Ashim Jindal 22, Amit Kakria 4 for 15, Babloo Kumar 3 for 24, Reetinder Sodhi 1 for 19, Gautam Mandora 1 for 16, Rajiv Sirhindi 1 for 19). |
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