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Tuesday,
March 12, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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Kumar not
ready to blame Cedric
Paes,
Bhupathi part ways Kasparov
wins, Anand joint third Agassi
wins 50th title
No rift in
team, says skipper Dhillon |
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Chanda
shocks Russian GM Gavaskar comments Sourav Ganguli
receiving the Man of the Match Trophy from Punjab Governor J F R
Jacob in Mohali after the one-day match on Sunday. Indian
pitches boon for Test matches: Marsh Strong reply by Australia
Bagan down arch
rivals East Bengal Punjab, TN in final B’ball teams
for Asian Games Gymnastics squad
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Kumar not ready to blame Cedric Chennai, March 11 “He (D’Souza) had a fear that we had not trained for this (playing with a shooting striker) during the last 14 months and a sudden change in our system might not fetch us anything,” Kumar told PTI in an interview here. “He wanted to go with his game plan and he is so much experienced. No one could say anything (against such attitude) as coaches the world over are like that,” Kumar said adding D’Souza had total responsibility and had to do the needful. But Kumar was not ready to blame his predecessor for the team’s poor results. “We have to take collective responsibility for everything and cannot blame just one person. “Cedric consulted me and took my observations. But decision making was with him. He always discussed every aspect of performance, whether we lost or won, with me and players. Kumar said the uninspiring display of India in the first four matches was a big shock for D’Souza and he could not get over it. “After we lost our first three matches, he could not get over from the shock. I felt he needed some rest. But he was a team man and there was no doubt about that,” Kumar said. Kumar could not find anything wrong in IHF’s action against D’Souza. “One should take examples from other games like football where coaches are changed in between prestigious championships for bad performances,” he said. Kumar echoed IHF’s version that D’Souza was just asked to rest for two matches. “Cedric took it differently and felt he had been almost axed from the job. Even I asked Cedric to continue. What else can I do? “I cannot follow suit and return to India. For me, the nation is the topmost priority and then the game. Cedric, to me, comes third in the list of priorities. He has been my guru and will continue to be so,” Kumar said. Kumar said he was now ready for the hot seat as he had been handling national teams for the last five years. “For the last five years, I have been handling national teams. There is no big deal in it but it is very simple for me to handle the team. “In my opinion, I am fit for the job. The present junior boys would be graduated to senior levels and these players would be the team of the future. No new faces are going to be there. “All juniors who trained under me for over 2-1/2 years know my calibre and I know their potential. The players will be more happy about my coaching them,” he said. Kumar also denied reports attributing India’s failure to the overworking the players. “The last phase of the training was very soft. The players have done much harder training before and these were nothing new. Especially in Ipoh, we never gave excessive workload. “In fact, Malaysia played five practice matches, while we played a 35 minute game each against Argentina and South Africa before the tournament,” Kumar said. “The boys were given total rest on the eve of our first match against Japan and we did not fail to take care of the players’ recovery part. None could say they were given heavy workload.” The new coach also denied that there was lack of co-ordination between the senior and junior players. “There was absolute co-ordination. The players never experienced such problems on and off the field. While playing, there might have been some difficulties. “The experienced players sometimes cannot match the junior’s speed. The juniors are more agile and the experienced players cannot play 35 minutes at a stretch”.
PTI |
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Paes, Bhupathi part ways Kolkata, March 11 “They have not been doing too well in recent weeks. It was Mahesh who decided to opt for a separate partner,” Leander’s father told PTI today. The senior Paes said Mahesh came up to Leander after the duo’s first round loss at Delray Beach tournament last week and expressed his desire to play with a new partner. “Lee was surprised ... But life has to go on,” he said. Leander has temporarily teamed up with South African John Laffnie de Jager for the Indian Wells Masters starting today, while Bhupathi has joined forces with USA’s Jan Michael Gambill Asked whether he was hopeful of the two coming together again, Dr Paes said “The two are a very good doubles team. So I hope whatever decisions they take is the best for them as well as for the country.” “However, it is up to them. This time the decision seems to have been taken in a matured way, so if it not to be it is not to be.” India’s finest doubles combination, winners of three Grand Slam titles, of all time split for the first time about two years ago, but then decided to team up again in late 2000 after performing below par with different partners. But they suffered a string of reverses during the last five weeks and dropped out of the top 10 in the ATP Doubles Champions Race. They had also lost in the round-robin league stage of the World Doubles Challenge in Bangalore.
PTI |
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Kasparov wins, Anand joint third Linares, March 11 Kasparov finished on 8 points out of a possible 12 and was the only undefeated player in the tournament. This was his seventh sole victory here and in the year 2000 he tied for first along with compatriot and BrainGames champion Vladimir Kramnik. Amazingly enough, whenever Kasparov took part in this event he won it with one exception in 1994 when he came second to former world champion Anatoly Karpov of Russia. The second place went to youngest ever world champion Ruslan Ponomariov of Ukraine on 6.5 points while Anand, GM Vassily Ivanchuk of Ukraine and GM Michael Adams of England shared the third place on 6 points each. The sixth place went to Francisco Pons Vallejo of Spain on 5 points and his compatriot Alexei Shirov was relegated to the last spot on 4.5 points, following losses in the last two rounds. The last round was another exciting day that witnessed Kasparov at his tactical best and Anand showing his prowess in the Marshall gambit against Ponomariov. Anand surprised Ponomariov with his choice of the opening and it appeared that everything was well analysed in his home preparation in one of the popular variations. Ponomariov could not get much after blitzing out the opening moves and in the end Anand sacrificed a rook to get perpetual checks after the trade of queens. The game was the first one to end in the last round. Anand finished the tournament with one victory, one loss and 10 draws for a 50 per cent result. Speaking about too few decisive games, Anand said, “It is a tough tournament you don’t always get decisive results though I must say in the beginning of the tournament I really had problems playing”. About a rather subdued start Anand said “In the first five rounds I had suffered a lot. I had a problem concentrating; I had the positions but was not able to deliver. After that I played much better but then it was too late. Hopefully in the next tournament I will do much better”.
PTI |
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Agassi wins 50th title
Scottsdale, March 11 He became the eighth player to win 50 championships in the open era, which began in 1968. Among active players, he trails only Pete Sampras, who has 63 titles. Agassi won the last four games of the first set and never faced break point in the match yesterday. Balcells pulled a hamstring early in the second-set tie-breaker. DELRAY BEACH: Davide Sanguinetti of Italy won the second tournament title of his nine-year career and his second of the year on Sunday, beating an ill Andy Roddick 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 in the final of the International Tennis Championships. On a warm, sunny afternoon, the American appeared to vomit at least twice, including once at his chair shortly after Sanguinetti closed out the victory with an ace. Roddick was playing with a chest infection and fever, coach Tarik Benhabiles said. The defeat was the top-seeded Roddick’s first in five career finals. INDIAN WELLS: Second seed Martina Hingis and No 3 Justine Henin continued to progress toward a possible final showdown with third-round victories at the WTA Tour tier one tournament here. Hingis needed 61 minutes on Sunday to overcome Russian Elena Likhovtseva 6-3, 6-3, while Henin needed less than an hour to dispatch Italian Adriana Serra Zanetti 6-3, 6-0. “Yesterday I was relieved that everything went well and my wrist wasn’t bothering me,” said Hingis, who has been receiving treatment for tendinitis.
AP/AFP |
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No rift in team, says skipper Dhillon
New Delhi, March 11 “The senior members gave more than what I had asked from them,” he told reporters late last night landing here from Chennai in his way back home. He added that he had the full support of the players. Analysing India’s dismal performance in the tournament, which saw the unprecedented sacking of chief coach Cedric D’Souza mid-way through, Dhillon said the defensive lapses in the first four matches (one draw and three defeats) proved costly. “We lost the three matches in the first 10 minutes. We conceded too many goals in that phase trying to attack and letting the defence loose,” Dhillon said. “We fought back in the later stages of the tournament and even held an upper hand against tougher teams (like Australia and England) but the early defeats proved costly”. Dhillon also said the performance of the youngsters was not upto the mark but conceded that high expectation put them under tremendous pressure. “Jugraj Singh tried his best in the beginning but he could not handle the pressure and ultimately failed to deliver,” the skipper said. Pressed for an explanation on their lacklustre display against teams like Japan and New Zealand. Dhillon pointed to the history of Indian hockey.
PTI |
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Chanda shocks Russian GM Raipur, March 11 National champion and secondseeded grandmaster K. Sashikiran of India maintained his slender half point lead despite being held to draw by fellow Indian grandmaster Dibyendu Barua (5). Grandmasters Andrey Shariayazdanov (Russia) and Ehsan Ghaem Maghami(Iran) are half a point behind Sashikiran. The honours of the day were, however, stolen by the Kolkata duo of Sandipan Chanda and international women master Nisha Mohota. Sandipan outwitted Fominyh in Sicilian defence while Nisha drew with Uzbek GM Marat Dzumaev. Grandmaster Pravin Thipsay and international master N. Sudhakar Babu suffered reverses as they lost to grandmasters Ehsan and Andrey Shariayazdanov, respectively. Former national champion D.V. Prasad went down fighting to top-seeded grandmaster Pavel Kotsur in English opening. Former national junior champion P. Mahesh Chandran of India, playing for his maiden international Master norm, went down to IM Tahir Vakhidov in Sicilian defence. Grandmaster Abhijit Kunte came back into reckoning with a smooth win over IM Neeraj Mishra in queen pawn game. Grandmaster Maxim Sorokin of Argentina outplayed former national champion P. Konguvel in kings Indian defence.
UNI |
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Gavaskar
comments Zimbabwe’s splendid victory over India in the first game had created an excitement that was infectious and the main topic of conversation leading upto the second game was the incredible cheeky shots that Marillier had played to take his team to a victory, that seemed so distant at one stage. Suddenly Marillier had become a name that every cricket-loving Indian knew and with that there was also a new respect for the Zimbabwe side. The loss also once again put the pressure back on Sourav Ganguly and he better be prepared for the fact that every time the Indian team loses, the rupee will stop with him even if he has scored runs, taken wickets and held some brilliant catches. The man seems to thrive on pressure for he went out and played a superbly placed knock that launched the innings which took India’s final tally beyond 300. Mongia, lucky to survive a close leg-before appeal off the first ball of the match, also played pleasingly and then later on came on to bowl and capture wickets at important times. On a pitch which was supposed to help seamers, the ball came on quite nicely and it also went off the bat pretty quickly. There is, of course, a difference between the Mohali pitch in December and in March and the ball does not move as much in the air at this time of the year. It was good to see Laxman stroking the ball well and Dravid, who has taken some flak for his rate of scoring in the one-dayers silenced his critics with a knock scored at more than a run a ball. India realised that on a pitch as good as this and a quick outfield they need scores of around 300 or beyond because even their attack is limited. Zimbabwe may have fancied their chances while Campbell and Friend were together, for the Flower brothers were to follow as well as the irrepressible Marillier, but every day is not a Sunday, though of course the match was played on one. The two Punjab lads Harbhajan Singh and Dinesh Mongia picked up wickets at regular intervals not allowing a partnership to develop and that meant that Zimbabwe were losing wickets even as they were falling behind the asking rate. Mongia is not a regular bowler but Ganguly used him well, though, of course, he won’t get credit for it. Any other captain using a non-regular bowler and the bowler picking wickets would be hailed as a genius but the Indian skipper will be lucky if it even gets a mention in the match analysis. Harbhajan’s wiles were just too much for the Zimbabwe batsmen and Kumble who had taken a pounding in the first game showed his resilience by coming back and bowling a fine tight spell. The batting and bowling performances of the Indian team was quite impressive but the fielding still needs improvement and the throws are not coming back quickly enough, with most fielders retaining the ball for that second longer that can make the difference between a run completed and a run out. The fielders are still standing a little deeper in the circle that allows the batsmen to pick the single with ease and there seems to be no thought given to this aspect from the England one-dayers. It’s the kind of victory that a team badly needs after losing a close game and the Indians will be feeling a lot better now. The next three matches will be played at centers where the heat and humidity should be in India’s favour as also the pitches, but India needs to guard against that perennial internal foe, complacency!
PMG |
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Indian pitches boon for Test
matches: Marsh New Delhi March 11 Marsh, a former Australian opening batsmen and coach, said the Indian cricket board was free to prepare pitches the way it saw fit. “I think Test wickets in India are magnificent,” Marsh, who played 50 Tests and 117
one-dayers for Australia, said. “The Delhi wicket was a good Test wicket and we had a good game,” he said, referring to the pitch at Ferozeshah Kotla where India won by four wickets to complete a 2-0 series win. On India’s poor overseas record, Marsh said most Test nations found it difficult to win on foreign soil. “If you look at every country around the world, a lot of teams struggle away from home, and that is the challenge in Test cricket,” said Marsh. “And that’s one of the challenges John Wright has got — to win away from home.” Marsh (43) who formed a formidable Test and one-day opening pair with David Boon in the 1980s, said one of the reasons he decided to coach Zimbabwe was his desire to be part of a World Cup-winning team for a third time. Marsh was a member of the Allan Border-led team that won the 1987 World Cup in India and then guided Steve Waugh’s side to glory at the 1999 World Cup in England. He wants to repeat his 1999 feat as Zimbabwe coach. “It is a huge challenge to coach these talented players. The opportunity to work with them and make them competitive in world cricket was exciting, plus the idea of being associated with a third World Cup win was at the back of my mind.” Marsh’s priorities are to make Zimbabwe a competitive side. He is not too pleased with the absence of Sachin
Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag and Javagal Srinath from India’s one-day side because he thinks it makes Zimbabwe complacent. “The bottom line is that we as a team have to play well. We need our players to play consistently well and when we do that we will be competitive,” he said. “So regardless of who we are playing against, our goal is to play well as a team.” The amiable Australian says cricket in Zimbabwe is at an “exciting stage,” with youngsters like wicketkeeper Tatenda
Taibu, off-spinner Raymond Price and hard-hitting all-rounder Doug Marillier coming up fast. Marsh said his job was to ensure that these players improve quickly in the company of experienced players, like Andy and Grant Flower and Heath Streak. “In Zimbabwe, we don’t have the numbers (talented players) that they have in Australia, so you have got to get the best out of those players. That’s my challenge,” he said. He had a special word for left-arm spinner Price who troubled all top Indian batsmen, including maestro Sachin
Tendulkar, in the Test series. “I think Raymond has got a big future in Zimbabwe cricket,” Marsh said. “He bowled very well in the Test series.” Marsh said Price was keen to force his way into the one-day team too. “Raymond’s goal is to play one-day cricket for Zimbabwe. He would do his best to get into the one-day side, try to continue his good performance, impress the selectors and put his name into the hat.” The coach is generally happy with the attitude of his players. “You have got to look at the guys how they train — they are fantastic and they work very hard. “They know they have to be at their best to be competitive and that’s what they are aiming for.” Marsh said the Zimbabweans needed to improve in every department of the game. “Basically what we need is consistency from all players — in batting, bowling and fielding. “Andy Flower has been magnificent for years, but we need other players to play well with him. We saw in the Test series (against India) Price standing up and Taibu doing well. But we need 11 players playing consistently well to be a competitive side.” Marsh said frequent change at the helm had not affected the team. “The spirit in the side is very good now. The guys are all behind Stuart Carlisle and the team is working very well as a unit.”
IANS |
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Strong reply by Australia
Cape Town, March 11 South Africa were all out for 473 in their second innings at tea on the fourth day. Neil McKenzie was run out for a top score of 99 as he was trying for the run which would have brought up his century. He was one of two run-out victims within five overs. Australian leg-spinner Shane Warne, playing in his 100th Test, took six for 161 in a marathon bowling effort in which he sent down 70 overs. Australia, who lead the three-match series 1-0, will retain their world championship if they win, while a South African victory would give the hosts a chance of wresting the crown in the final Test in Durban next week. If South Africa win or draw the series they will become champions. Only nine teams have scored more than Australia’s target to win in the fourth innings of a Test match. Australia were due to face a minimum total of 123 overs. The pitch remained good for batting, although there were signs of wear. Warne made some balls turn sharply and, on two occasions, four byes were conceded when Warne’s deliveries spun and kept low, beating batsman McKenzie and wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist. South Africa (Ist innings): 239 Australia (Ist innings): 382 South Africa IInd innings Gibbs c Ponting b Warne 39 Kirsten lbw b Lee 87 Smith c Gilchrist b Warne 68 Kallis lbw b Warne 73 McKenzie run out 99 Prince c Ponting b Warne 20 Boucher lbw b Gillespie 37 Hall run out 0 Adams not out 23 Ntini c Langer b Warne 11 Pretorius c M.Waugh b Warne 0 Extras: (b-8 lb-3 nb-3 w-2) 16 Total: (all out) 473 Fall of wickets: 1-84, 2-183, 3-254, 4-284, 5-350, 6-431, 7-433, 8-440, 9-464, 10-473 Bowling: McGrath 25-7-56-0 , Gillespie 29-10-81-1, Warne 70-15-161-6, Lee 22-3-99-1, M. Waugh 9-3-34-0, Martyn 4-0-15-0, S. Waugh 3-0-16-0. Australia (2nd innings): Langer b Pretorius 58 Hayden batting 50 Ponting batting 17 Extras: (lb-3, nb-3) 6 Total: (for 1 wkt, 33 overs) 131 Fall of wicket: 1-102. Bowling: Ntini 8-1-25-0, Pretorius 11-3-46-1, Adams 8-0-47-0, Hall 3-0-6-0, Kallis 3-1-4-0.
Reuters
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Bagan down arch rivals East Bengal Kolkata, March 11 The win took two-time national champion Bagan atop the league table with 28 points from 15 matches. Now the green-maroon brigade has equal points with Vasco from as many matches. Behind them are HAL with 27 points from 15 matches and Churchill Bros with 26 points from 14 matches. East Bengal was now relegated in the table further with 20 points from 15 matches and virtually out of contention in the 12-team championship. After the barren first half, the all-important goal for Bagan was scored in the 12th minute when Barreto, the top scorer in the last season, shot home following a cross from medio R.P. Singh. Singh latching on to a miss pass of rival striker Joe Paul Anchery sent to Barreto, who made no mistake hoodwinking East Bengal custodian Sudip Sarkar (1-0). The goal gave Brazilian to score seven times against East Bengal in 13
matches he had played so far.
UNI |
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Punjab, TN in final Ludhiana, March 11 Punjab take on holders Tamil Nadu, who beat Services 103-65 in the summit clash scheduled to be played tomorrow afternoon. Railway eves remained firmly focused to take a shot at the title for a record 13th time in succession when they walloped a hapless Tamil Nadu (TN) 108-80 in the semi-finals. In the other semi-final, Kerala dashed any hopes the Punjab girls might have nurtured of a spot in the final when they gave a superb display to outclass the hosts 85-70. Railway girls quickly slipped into a groove and built up a lead of 12 points by the end of the first quarter. Try as they did, the TN girls failed to bring in any sort of rhythm in their approach but success eluded them. While Railway stars Renjini Jose and skipper Shiba Maggon dazzled and sunk baskets with monotonous regularity, the TN girls found themselves staring down the barrel and failed to chart any worthwhile moves. It was a resurgent TN that took the court in the last quarter but the effort came too late to dent Railways hopes of making it to the final. In the other semi-final, the hosts girls started on a fluent note against Kerala and at the end of the first quarter, the scoreline read 20-20 giving ample indication that Punjab may cause an upset by beating the same team to whom it had lost in the league stage. However, that remained an illusion as the hosts committed errors and some of their key players seemed to be woefully off colour. As compared to the pacy Kerala girls they were a trifle too slow to ambush their rivals. The hosts eventually saw their dream of making it to the final go up in smoke by a margin of 15 points. |
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B’ball teams for Asian Games Ludhiana, March 11 The dates for holding events listed in the Basketball Federation of India calendar were also finalised. The 53rd Senior National Basketball Championships for both men and women will be held at Kolkata from December 20 to 27. The 29th Sub-Junior National Basketball Championships for both boys and girls will be held at Pondicherry from June 3 to 8. It was also decided to field the Punjab Police team in the 13th Asian Champions cup to be held at Kuala Lumpur from April 28 to May 5. The meeting was attended among others by the Basketball Federation of India President, Mr B.K. Saha, and the secretary, Mr Harish Sharma. |
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Gymnastics
squad Jalandhar, March 11 The boys camp for the championship is scheduled to be held at Jalandhar under the guidance of coach Sukhwinder Singh while Ravinder Rinku will conduct the girls camp at Patiala. The probables for the camp are:
Women artistic gymnasts: Renu, Leena Sharma, Seema, Sheena, Preeti, Rajni, Devika.
Aerobics: Saurabh and Renu. Rythmic gymnasts: Rajni Sharma, Dimple, Jashandeep. Men’s gymnasts: Kuldeep, Jaideep Sharma, Paramjit Singh, Lalit, Ravinder, Naresh, Gurbaksh Singh and Narinder Singh. |
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Bout competition Seoul |
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Zimbabwe’s
splendid victory over India in the first game had created an
excitement that was infectious and the main topic of conversation
leading upto the second game was the incredible cheeky shots that
Marillier had played to take his team to a victory, that seemed so
distant at one stage.
Australia chasing 331 runs to win were 131 for one wicket in their second innings at close of play on day four of the second Test against South Africa at Newlands today. Justin Langer scored 58 before being dismissed while Matthew Hayden was 50 not out.
