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Monday,
September 24, 2001, Chandigarh, India
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Gibbs scripts SA victory with
ton Dalmiya camp suffers
setback |
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Dokic beats Arantxa
for Tokyo title
Australia to meet France in
final |
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Indian eves held by Ukraine Thailand, Iraq out of
reckoning SAF
Games put off indefinitely Bhandari finishes joint second BSF dethrone Signals Haryana defeat Punjab Ranjiv fashions SBOP
win Skating squads announced SRC, Chandigarh XI record
wins 3 sports projects
for J&K okayed KU retain title
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Agarkar to replace Nehra Mumbai, September 23 “We felt Agarkar could fit well for the tri-series,” selection committee chairman Chandu Borde told reporters here today after picking Agarkar from the three stand-byes asked to attend the fitness camp at the Wankhede
Stadium. Debasish Mohanty and Rakesh Patel were the other two who attended the fitness
test. Indian skipper Saurav Ganguly who also attended the press conference said, Agarkar would be used as an allrounder in the one-day series with South Africa and
Kenya. He was hopeful that both Nehra and Zaheer Khan would be fit for the three-match Test series against South Africa soon after the triangular
series. Nehra, who had been claiming that he was fit, had been pronounced unfit by team physio Andrew Leipus.
Despite the absence of injured seamers Zaheer Khan and Ashish Nehra, Indian skipper Saurav Ganguly today expressed confidence that his team would do well in the tough triangular series in South Africa if the team played to its true potential. Speaking on the eve of the team’s departure for the 66-day tour, Ganguly said: “I know it is not going to be easy (winning in South Africa), but if we play our cricket hard and think positively, we can do well on the
tour.” “Even in Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka, we could win Test matches and managed to come back from impossible positions in the triangular series, which is a good sign but could not finish off on a winning note,” he
added. Asked whether they had come up with some gameplan to beat South Africa, Ganguly said: “We are going there a few days ahead to get acclimatised to the conditions and we will plan our strategy from there
on.” The skipper said he was disappointed to lose both Zaheer Khan and Nehra. “We thought it would be wise to rest Nehra so that he can recover completely for the Test series,” he said. “Their services would be more important for the Test series,” Ganguly
added. “Nehra is a quality bowler and he would do well bowling long spells in Tests compared to one-dayers where he can bowl only 10 overs. We need him fresh for the Tests and we have taken the precaution by not playing him in the triangular series”, Ganguly
said. On his own form in Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka, the Indian skipper said, “I have been playing well in patches and satisfied with my form though I have not made much changes in my style of
play”. Ganguly said he had not given a thought to going down the batting order after the selection Shiv Sunder Das in the one-day
squad. “We will see how it (the batting) goes in the early part of the triangular series and then make changes if necessary,” he
added. Speaking about the composition of the team, Ganguly said, it is good that Sachin (Tendulkar) and Anil (Kumble) are back and if we play tough cricket we can do
well. The Indians will play their first one-day international against the hosts, a day-night tie on October 5 at Johannesburg while the final is slated for October 27. Kenya are the third team in the
fray. The Indians will also play two one-day practice matches on October 1 against Nicky Oppenheimer XI and on October 3 against South Africa ‘A’ before the start of the triangular
series. The Test matches will be held at Bloemfontein (November 3-7), Port Elizabeth (November 16-20) and Centurion Park (November 24-28).
Team: Saurav Ganguly (capt), Rahul Dravid (vice-captain), Sachin Tendulkar, Anil Kumble, Yuvraj Singh, Virendra Sehwag, Harbhajan Singh, Javagal Srinath, Reetinder Singh Sodhi, S.S. Das, Venkatesh Prasad, Deep Dasgupta (w/k), Harvinder Singh, Ajit Agarkar and Jacob Martin.
PTI |
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Gibbs scripts SA victory with
ton
Bulawayo, September 23 Gibbs scored 125, hitting 15 fours and two sixes, as South Africa piled up their highest limited overs total of 363 for three from their 50 overs in the first game of the three-match series. Zimbabwe replied with 210 for five in which Alistair Campbell scored a defiant 81 off 117 balls with four fours and two sixes. Opening batsman Gibbs reached his century off 84 balls, beating the South African record of 89 balls set by Nicky Boje against New Zealand at Potchefstroom in 2000-01. The left-handed Kirsten was also in fluent form, hurrying to 50 off 41 balls and making 66 off 59 before he was out in the 19th over. It was South Africa’s highest one-day total, beating their 328 for three against Holland at Rawalpindi during the 1996 World Cup. South Africa: Kirsten lbw b Strang 66 Gibbs lbw b Streak 125 Kallis c A. Flower b Friend 83 Rhodes not out 54 Klusener not out 10 Extras: (b-1, lb-2, nb-7, w-15) 25 Total:
(3 wkts, 50 overs) 363 FOW: 1-153, 2-244, 3-346. Bowling: Streak 10-0-80-1, Friend 7-0-73-1, Nkala 10-0-72-0, Strang 10-0-56-1, G. Flower 6-0-36-0, Whittall 7-0-43-0. Zimbabwe Campbell c and b Pollock 81 Ebrahim c Klusener b Nel 0 Masakadza run out 11 A Flower run out 34 Wishart c Kallis
G Flower not out 22 Whittall not out 5 Extras (b-4 nb-2 w-6) 12 Total (for 5 wkts, 50 overs) 210 FOW: 1-6 2-43 3-97 4-157 5-189 Bowling:
Pollock 9-0-33-1, Nel 8-1-27-1 Klusener 5-0-22-0, Ntini 10-0-51-0, Henderson 10-0-44-1, Kallis 5-0-22-0, McKenzie 2-0-6-0, Rhodes 1-0-1-0.
AFP |
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Dalmiya camp suffers setback Jaipur, September 23 The interim stay order was issued by Barmer additional civil judge yesterday on an application moved by Barmer District Cricket Association Secretary Devaram. If the stay is confirmed, it will restrain RAC Honorary Secretary Kishore Rungta from participating in the crucial election meeting of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) scheduled at Chennai on September 29. Mr Rungta, who could not be contacted, was reported to be busy in filing an appeal against the lower court decision. If the RCA failed to get the stay vacated on time, Mr Kishore Rungta, strong supporter of Mr Jagmohan Dalmia, will automatically lose his post as treasurer of BCCI under its rule. In that case, he would have only one option: to seek representation from some other state to get himself entitled to sit in the meeting. The decision in itself is a big jolt to the Dalmia camp as the BCCI Secretary J.Y. Lele was also facing a similar situation in Baroda, where former India Wicketkeeper Nayan Mongia was leading the rival group. Mr Devaram had filed a petition against the RCA seeking the appointment of a receiver so that there could be no “misuse’’ of its funds. In view of the crucial election meeting of the BCCI, an application was further moved to seek temporary injunction restraining the RCA authorites to represent it at any forum and to take any policy decision. Mr P.M. Rungta is father of Mr Kishore Rungta. UNI |
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Dokic beats Arantxa
for Tokyo title
Tokyo, September 23 The 18-year-old from Yugoslavia, who posted her first tour victory at the Italian Open in May, used her dangerous forehand in full swing to score a 6-4, 6-2 victory over the Spanish fifth seed. “I’ve been here for a few years and it’s great to win here. I had a great week and hopefully I can come back next year and defend my title,” said Dokic. “I won my first title this year in May, that was a very big tournament for me. To win the second title in the same year in my career is great. I’m really happy with the way this year has gone.” Dokic hit two double faults and gave a 30-40 break chance to Sanchez-Vicario in the second game of the first set, which she fended off with her power-packed forehand. She soon stormed into top gear, firing numerous unstoppable winners from the baseline and breaking the fifth game to get ahead 3-2. She then never looked back. Dokic had to save two more break points in the fourth game of the second set and another three when she was serving for the match at 5-2, but she never allowed Sanchez-Vicario to capitalise on them. Dokic converted three out of six break points. “I wasn’t calm. I was very nervous today, coming into this match, because I knew I would have a chance to win, it would have been great to win my second title, and I really wanted to win today,” said Dokic. “I’ve just been very confident this week and that’s what got me through,” added Dokic, currently ranked at her career highest of 11th against former world No 1’s 19th. “My goal this year was originally top 15, but I’ve played really well this year and I’d really like to finish top 10. I have a great chance to do that. “But whatever happens, I’ve had a great year and I’m happy with myself,” she added. With the 70-minute win, Dokic, seeded third here, tied her head-to-head record against Sanchez-Vicario at three-all, winning the last three encounters in a row at Hamburg and US Open this year.
AFP |
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Australia to meet France in final Sydney, September 23 Lleyton Hewitt clinched the tie for Australia with a 7-6, 5-7, 6-2, 6-1 win over Thomas Johansson before Pat Rafter finished off Jonas Bjorkman 6-3, 6-2 in the dead rubber. The final will be played in Melbourne from November 30 to December 2 against the French, who beat the Netherlands in the other semifinal. Australia went into the final day leading 2-1 after winning yesterday’s doubles match and splitting the first day singles, but lost only one set on the final day at Sydney’s Olympic tennis centre. The first reverse singles match was evenly poised after Johansson won the second set to level the rubber but Hewitt quickly put the issue beyond doubt by winning 10 of the last 11 games. Johansson came from two sets behind to beat Rafter in Friday’s opening match but was able to repeat his heroics against Hewitt, who was playing for the first time since winning this month’s US Open. The 20-year-old Australian, who beat Bjorkman on Friday, took the first set in a tie-break after he failed to serve it out at 5-4. Johansson levelled the match when he won the second, breaking Hewitt in the 11th game, but ran out of puff in the final two sets. They were level at 2-2 when Hewitt got the decisive break in the fifth game of the third set, with the Australian dropping just one more game on his way to victory, sealing the win with an ace after two hours and 40 minutes. With the tie already decided, Rafter made light work of his match with Bjorkman, sealing victory in the best-of-three set clash in under an hour. Australia’s win secured them their first home final in 15 years. They beat France in Nice in the 1999 final to win the Davis Cup for the 27th time but lost last year’s decider in Spain. “It doesn’t get much better than playing a Davis Cup final in Melbourne,” Hewitt said. “We always had that in the back of our minds so there was no way we were going to let that slip.” GUAYAQUIL (ECUADOR): Britain will play in the World Group of the Davis Cup next year after taking an unassailable 3-0 lead against Ecuador in their qualifying round tie on Saturday. Britain’s Tim Henman and Greg Rusedski beat brothers Nicolas and Giovanni Lapentti 6-2, 6-3, 6-4 in the doubles to clinch victory. Rusedski beat Nicolas Lapentti 2-6, 6-2, 7-5, 6-3 in the opening singles rubber on Friday, while British No. 1 Henman saw off Luis Morejon 6-4, 6-2, 6-2. The result spelt revenge for Britain, who were beaten by Ecuador at Wimbledon last year. LONDON: Light-time champion France clinched a place in the Davis Cup final for the second time in three years when Cedric Pioline and Fabrice Santoro outgunned doubles specialists Paul Haarhuis and Sjeng Schalken 7-5, 6-1, 7-5. At the Ahoy Arena in Rotterdam, the French partnership, which only comes together in Davis Cup matches, silenced the home fans by outplaying vastly experiennced Dutch doubles team, who have three tournaments and were semifinals at the recent US Open. Although Haarhuis had his serve broken four times, it was Schalken, who came off a five-set loss to Nicolas Escude on Friday, who appeared the weaker link while the French pair allowed only one break point and saved it.
Reuters, AP
Abbeville (France), September 23 With this draw India with four points, a win, a draw and a loss, was fourth in the seven-team pool. In a keenly-fought battle, Ukraine went ahead in the 13th minute through Kolomiyets. Stung by the reverse India mounted pressure on the Ukraine defence with repeated forays and scored the equaliser 13 minutes later thourgh Surinder Kaur. At half-time, the teams were level at 1-1. The second half saw the fast-moving Ukrainians turning the heat on and again took the lead through a goal by Salenko in the 39th minute. Ukraine held on to the slender lead for the next quarter resisting the sallies of Jyoti, Surinder Kaur, Mamta and Shangai. But their perseverence earned India a penalty corner in the 58th minute and Suman Balla sounded the boards with a rasping shot.
PTI |
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Thailand, Iraq out of reckoning Bangkok, September 23 Iraq, who needed a victory to stay alive, fell behind in the 38th minute when Thailand’s Sutee Suksomkit scored the first goal of the match. Emad M. Ridha equalised in the 63rd minute, but it was all Iraq could muster in front of the 20,000 Thai fans. Thailand’s Nirut Surasiang nearly scored with a header, but Iraq goalkeeper Haider M. Majid pushed the ball over the bar. Seven minutes before half time, Tawan Sripan crossed from the right flank to Sutee, who headed it home. In the second half, Ridha seized an opportunity during confusionin in front of the goal to jab the ball in. Thailand are in last place in the group with just three points from five matches, one behind Iraq, who have four points. Saudi Arabia lead group A with 10 points from five matches, followed by Iran with eight points, and Bahrain with six. In Tashkent, Mohammed Omar scored an early goal to give the UAE a narrow 1-0 win over Uzbekistan. Six minutes into the game, UAE midfielder Abdul Ahmed made a solo run down the right flank and was knocked down by Uzbek defender Andrey Vlasichev several yards outside the penalty box. Omar fired a free-kick which slightly touched a wall of Uzbek defenders, changed its trajectory and hit the right upper corner of the Uzbek goal. Uzbekistan, playing without four key players, stormed the UAE’s goal and had several chances to equalise, but goalkeeper Mutaz Abdulla made several stunning saves to keep his goal untouched. Seven minutes before regulation time, Bakhit Saad, who came on in the 78th minute, missed a clear scoring opportunity to make it 2-0. He found himself one-on-one with goalkeeper Alexei Polyakov, but his shot shaved the left post. The UAE are now in third place with seven points from five matches while Uzbekistan drop to fourth place with six points. China lead the group with 10 points from four matches, followed by Qatar with eight points from five matches. Oman are in last place with two points. The two Asian group winners qualify for the 2002 World Cup final in South Korea and Japan. The two runners-up play a two-leg playoff series, with the winner facing a European team for another spot in soccer’s biggest tournament.
AP |
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SAF Games put off indefinitely Islamabad, September 23 The decision was taken after a technical committee of delegates recommended that the games be postponed due to the prevailing security scenario in the region arising out of the September 11 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, Pakistan Sports Minister S.K. Tressler said at a press conference today. “We have reluctantly agreed to postpone the games. The new dates for the games will be announced once the situation improves,” Tressler said. Tressler said no participating countries from the seven SAARC nations had asked for postponement but they could have pressed for it sooner or later. More than 800 sportspersons, including at least 350 from India, were scheduled to take part in the regional games. The postponement was more or less expected as a result of US preparations to attack Pakistan’s neighbour Afghanistan, accused of harbouring terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden, who is the prime suspect in the attacks on New York and Washington on September 11. The SAF Games thus became the latest to join the casuality list of major sport events affected by the terrorist blitz in USA. The Indian Government had last week postponed the November 3 to 11 Afro-Asian Games, also citing security concerns. Pakistan has had to bear the brunt of other important events being put off after the terrorist blitz in USA. Earlier, New Zealand cricket team cancelled their scheduled tour and the prestigious Champions Hockey Trophy was also deferred indefinitely.
PTI |
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Bhandari finishes joint second
New Delhi, September 23 Bhandari’s final scorecard read 69, 71, 71, 66 for an 11-under 277, according to information received here today. His final round 66 included a birdie on the difficult 18th. Bhandari, who also finished second two weeks ago in the Taiwan Masters, was left to rue a costly three-putt from 30 feet on the penultimate hole. The other Indian, Amritinder Singh finished seven strokes behind bhandari with scores of 72, 71, 73, 68 in the four rounds. For the third day on the trot at Kaya Country Club, Wi double-bogied 17 and bogied 18. Yesterday his poor finish cost him the third-round lead but today his two-under-par 70 was enough to secure him the title. Wi who pocketed a winner’s cheque of $ 60,195 also regained the lead on the Asian Tour Order of Merit from Thailand’s Thongchai
Jaidee. PTI
Faridkot, September 23 In a well-contested match right out Shinu Horenz of BSF gave a lead of 1-0 to his team through a penalty stroke in the 30th minute of play. Both the winners and runners-up got seven and six penalty corners, respectively, but failed to make much use of them. Imran Khan, goalkeeper of the Corps of Signals, was declared best player. BSF has won gold for the seventh time since the start of the tournament 10 years ago. As many as 15 teams took part. Giving away prizes to the winners and runners-up, Mr Sukhbir Singh Badal, member, Rajya Sabha, announced a grant of Rs 50,000 to the organisers. He also promised to take steps for laying of Astro-turf in the hockey ground at the earliest. |
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Haryana defeat Punjab Rohtak, September
23 In circle kabaddi match Haryana defeated Punjab in a closely contested match with 40-31 margin. The competitions were organised to mark the ‘Chetna Saptah’ being organised as part of 88th birthday celebrations of former Deputy Prime Minister, Mr Devi Lal. A large number of spectators gathered at the venue to witness the matches and other cultural
programmes. Haryana Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala presided over the function whereas Subhash Mehria, Union Minister of State of Rural Development was the chief guest. |
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Ranjiv fashions SBOP
win Faridkot, September
23 Earlier Ranji won the toss and chose to bat. They made 146 runs for the loss of nine wickets in 30 overs.
Amit Verma and Pankaj scored 29 and 27 runs, respectively. Sanjay Mahajan and Rajiv took three wickets each for 29 and 20 runs, respectively.
Needing 147 runs to win, the SBOP achieved the target by the loss of five wickets in 25 overs.
Distributing prizes to the winners and runners-up Mr Sukhbir Singh Badal, member, Rajya Sabha, and general secretary Shiromani Akali Dal, announced a grant of Rs 75,000 to Faridkot cricket club of organising national level meet at Faridkot.
Navjot Sidhu, former Indian cricketer, who was also present, released a souvenior on the occasion. Bajaj Scooters Limited, Pune, sponsored the tournament. |
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Skating squads announced Chandigarh, September
23 The team is: roller hockey — Men: Rajesh Anand, Navdeep Puri, Nirmal Nanda, Ankush Kohli, Aryavir Jamwal, Rohit Randhawa, Sourabh Bakshi, Anil Dev Singh, Bhupinder Johal, Umesh Gupta. Women: Priyanka Sharma, Amrita Singh, Reetika Sharma, Rayasha Rajput, Anuja Chauhan, Heena Bharti, Kriti Puri, Pallavi Kabra, Suruchi Chandel,Upma Jamwal, Aditi Mahajan, Priti Joshi and Megha Saini.
Artistic: Men — Nikhil Parikh, Anup Yama, Karan Dave, Amarnag Yama; Women: Pooja Rathod, Natasha Shah, Sweta Dattani and Shananya Patel.
Pair skating-Rishindra Babu and N Alekhya; Rahul and Padma Rohini. Speed: Men — Jagrut Thaker, Subodh Patil, M Lokhandala, Zubin Ginawala, Poojan Pateland K Ravi Karan; Women — Heer Patel, Khushboo Saini, Varsha Puranik, D. Harisha, Parul Jaiswal and Shraddha. |
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SRC, Chandigarh XI record
wins Chandigarh, September
23 EME, quarterfinalists in the Baba Farid Gold Cup where they lost to Indian Air Force 0-3 at Faridkot a few days back, put up another lacklustre show. Although they did get some good chances off penalty corners, yet the Army outfit failed to get the better of the local
team. It was off a penalty corner that Chandigarh XI took the lead as early as in the eighth minute and thereafter maintained a steady flow of passes in the rival territory. Their sustained efforts bore fruit in the 24th minute when Navdeep buttressed the lead with a fine field
goal. The Chandigarh lads could have further consolidated the lead with some intelligent moves in the second half but failed to add to the
tally. Earlier, Sikh Regimental Centre rallied to down SAI Patiala 6-5 via sudden death after the issue remained deadlocked in regulation time and tie-breaker. SAI Patiala were leading 1-0 at the
breather. It was another drab affair but SAI were lucky to find the target two minutes from the lemon break when Gurtejpreet sounded the boards following a combined move. The Army team had to wait till the 66th minute for the equaliser when Suman Kumar restored parity with a field goal. In the tie-breaker Baljit Singh, Satnam Singh (Jr), Sukhminder Singh and Rajpal Singh were on target for SRC while Satnam Singh Senior’s stroke was blocked by the goalkeeper. For SAI Patiala Sanjay, Gurtejpreet, Inder Singh, and Jasdev Singh successfully converted their strokes while Gurvinder failed in his
attempt. Subsequently in sudden death, Sukhminder Singh of SRC clinched the issue in favour of the Army outfit by successfully converting his stroke while Sanjay’s failure spelt doom for the Patiala
team. Monday’s fixtures: ITBP v Shivalik PS — 1 p.m.; Ropar Hawks v Namdhari XI — 2.30 p.m.; CISF v SRC — 4 p.m. |
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3 sports projects
for J&K okayed Srinagar, September
23 State Industries and Commerce Minister Sheikh Mustafa Kamaal said the projects include an Astro-turf hockey ground, a swimming pool of international standard and three ice hockey
rings. The swimming pool, costing Rs 90 lakh, would come up at Bakshi Stadium while the Astro-turf will be laid at Polo Ground in Srinagar at a cost of Rs 1 crore, Kamaal said at the concluding function of the three-day kayaking and canoeing water sports tournament here last
evening. The minister said the ice hockey rings would come up at Leh, Kargil and Gulmarg.
PTI |
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KU retain title Solan, September 23 Himachal Pradesh University bagged the runners-up slot while the GND Varsity and Punjabi University were placed third and fourth,
respectively. Kurukshetra eves defeated Himachal Pradesh University 53-33 in the first match. They later beat Punjabi University 28-18 and Guru Nanak Dev University
51-31. Himachal Pradesh University after losing to Kurukshetra went on to win the next two matches. They beat GND Varsity 27-20 and Punjabi University
27-26. GND Varsity’s lone win was registered against Punjabi University whom they defeated 27-25. |
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