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Monday,
June 10, 2002, Chandigarh, India   |
Japan make history
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Russians on the rampage; 1 dead
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Torrado sees Mexico through It’s do or die for Portugal, Poland Belgium gear up to face Tunisia Korea confident against USA Expert comments — Gary Linekar Brazil believe they can go all the way
Zidane trains with team Klose fit for Tuesday’s tie
Lewis knocks out Tyson Windies beat New Zealand End of a great career?
Coaches to
attend clinic
from June 11
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Japan make history
Yokohama, June 9 The deserved victory — midfielder Hidetoshi Nakata also hit the bar with a piledriver — lifted Philippe Troussier’s side to the top of group H and kept them on course to reach the second round for the first time. Japan have four points from two games, one more than Russia, who were a major disappointment in Sunday’s game, which warmed up after a tepid first half. Belgium, who play Tunisia on Monday, have one point, with the north Africans on none. In their first appearance in the finals in 1998 in France Japan lost all three group games and went home after the first round, having scored just one goal. Hidetoshi Nakata should have put Troussier’s side, who were without captain Ryuzo Morioka through injury, in front after 27 minutes but fired wastefully over the bar when the ball fell to him 12 metres out. Russia offered little, although 19-year-old Marat Izmailov looked lively and almost scored after 15 minutes when he curled a delightful 20-metre effort just wide of Seigo Narazaki’s far post. Romantsev, who did not risk his unfit playmaker Alexander Ostovoi, brought on lively 18-year-old Dmitry Sychev at the start of the second half, making the combined age of his strikers just 37 years. But it was Japan who struck the only goal. Koji Nakata played a diagonal ball into the penalty area that Atsushi Yanagisawa diverted into Inamoto’s path and the midfielder took one touch before slamming the ball into the net past Ruslan Nigmatullin. Romantsev introduced his most experienced striker, Vladimir Beschastnykh but the out-of-form Russian immediately contrived a shocking miss, hitting the side-netting when he should have scored after rounding the goalkeeper. Japan fully merited their win, though, and Hidetoshi Nakata almost made it 2-0 after 71 minutes, rattling the bar with a ferocious 25-metre drive.
Reuters Japanese fans ecstatic Tokyo, June 9 Cheered on by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and a delirious crowd at Yokohama International Stadium, the co-hosts scored the all-important goal in the 51st minute when man-of-the match Junichi Inamoto smashed home from eight metres. Ecstatic fans, most clad in the team’s blue jersey, chanted “Ni-ppon, Ni-ppon,” and “Inamoto, Inamoto” as they streamed out of the stadium for the start of a celebration that, for many, was likely to last until the early hours of the morning. “It’s like a dream,” said Hironobu Nakano, a 42-year-old owner of an electronics part company, as he left the stadium. “My heart was in my throat, although I believed Japan could win.” “I was honoured to be present at such a historic victory,” said Hidetoshi Chiba, a 36-year-old computer programmer. “It was an historic victory,” said Keita Saito, who works for a sporting goods firm and coaches kids soccer.
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Russians on the
rampage; 1 dead Moscow, June 9 The police said the man died from stab wounds as mass brawls erupted on Manezh Square and spilled into other parts of central Moscow, where some 3,000 fans had been watching the group H game in Japan on a giant outdoor screen. One policeman was stabbed and two were injured, Interfax said, as the authorities sought to restore order. Some of those wounded in the disturbances were taken to hospital. Angry fans, many of whom had been drinking throughout the match, smashed windscreens, overturned cars and hurled missiles at the under-strength police forces deployed to prevent
trouble. Reuters |
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Costa Rica hold Turkey
Incheon, June 9 The draw booked Brazil’s place in the next round but Turkey with only one point to Costa Rica’s four must win against China in their final group match. Costa Rica finish playing Brazil and a draw would send Turkey crashing out. It was a heartbreak result for the Turks. Victory looked to be theirs when thanks to the tenacity of Inter Milan midfielder Emre Belozoglu they took the lead in the 56th minute. The 22-year-old saw his shot from just inside the area blocked by Luis Marin but the ball came free and given a second chance Emre made no mistake — driving the ball hard and low past a helpless Erick Lonnis. The relief on the Turkish players faces as the ball crossed the goal-line was obvious. But their relief quickly turned to consternation as Costa Rica threw everything into attack. And with only four minutes left substitute Winston Parks found himself all alone in front of the goal. He made no mistake and blasted the ball past Rustu Recber. Two minutes later Parks had a chance to seal victory but somehow managed to blast high over the bar with the goal at his mercy. Carlos Castro caused all sorts of problems with his deep runs up the left side and Turkish keeper Recber was forced to pull off a brilliant near post save from Wilmer Lopez. Later Lopez broke into the box on the right but instead of slipping the ball to a waiting Ronald Gomez free on the left he blasted the ball high over the Turkish goal. As Costa Rica continued to push forward the creaking Turkish defence somehow managed to keep Lopez, Gomez and Castro at bay until Parks’ last gasp goal. Turkey were deprived of the services of defender Alpay Ozalan of Aston Villa and Galatasaray midfielder Hakan Unsal, who were both red-carded in the controversial Brazil clash and it showed. Costa Rica were unlucky not to open the scoring when Gomez split the Turkish defence in the 35th minute with a pin-point pass that sent Walter Centeno bursting into the area.
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Torrado sees Mexico through Miyagi (Japan), June 9 Midfielder Gerardo Torrado hammered home the winner with a cracking left shot from outside the box in the 57th minute to put Mexico in the driving seat with two victories out of two. But with their final game against Italy, the Mexicans are still not certain of going through and the most likely scenario is that three of group’s four teams will finish on six points as Croatia are clear favourites to beat the Ecuadoreans. If that is the case, it will all come down to goal difference and the Mexicans might yet live to rue the fact that they did not knock more past Ecuador here, as the Italians already won by two clear goals. Mexican coach Javier Aguirre admitted that his side’s place in the second round still hung in the balance. “I am very happy with the result but now we have no option but to go all out for victory and three points against Italy,” he said. Ecuador stunned the Mexicans by taking an early lead when giant striker Agustin Delgado rose high to send an unstoppable header past diminutive Mexican goalkeeper Oscar Perez from Ulises de la Cruz’s right wing cross after just five minutes for the country’s first World Cup goal but the two sides were level at 1-1 by half-time. Delgado, who played in the Mexican league with Necaxa until his big money move to English Premiership side Southampton last season, has only just returned from a long lay-off due to extensive surgery on a knee injury and notched his 22nd goal in 48 games for his country. But it was Ecuador’s only serious assault on goal in the half as the Mexicans took almost total control, with around 80 per cent of the ball, even though all the good approach work by Braulio Luna and Ramon Morales was swallowed up by the confident Ecuador defence. However, it was only a matter of time before Mexico made their territorial superiority and the equaliser came in the 28th minute when Jared Borgetti deftly turned Morales’ cross past Jose Cevallos in the Ecuador goal. Five minutes before the break, Joahan Rodriguez broke away but was checked by the Ecuador defence and scrambled the ball to Cuauhtemoc Blanco whose low shot lacked power and was held by Cevallos. A minute later, Blanco chipped the ball over the defence but Cevallos was again equal to the task, gathering it before Luna could reach it.
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It’s do or die for Portugal, Poland Jeonju (South Korea), June 9 “It’s very simple. If we lose, we are going home, that’s why you are going to see a much improved Portugal,” said Portuguese midfielder Rui Costa. “And I’m not naive, Poland will be playing a lot harder than they did against Korea. They are definitely not going to make it easy for us. In fact, I think you are going to see two good teams on the field because everything is at stake,” added the AC Milan player. Despite their disappointing display against the USA, on Wednesday, Portuguese coach Antonio Oliveira is not expected to make any changes, although few would blame him if he brought in the reserve goalkeeper Ricardo. Errors by first choice Vitor Baia contributed to the first two goals in the 3-2 defeat by the Americans. However, Oliveira has essentially stuck by his key players since their impressive Euro 2000 campaign, which saw them reach the semi-finals, and is unlikely to chop-and-change his team on the basis of one poor performance. “We still have two matches to play and we are going to look at the team physically and psychologically,” commented Oliveira in the wake of the upset. However, Portugal have had the distraction of the controversial choice of Scotsman High Dallas as the referee, and have complained several times to the sport’s governing body FIFA about him being the man in the middle. Dallas was the fourth official at the tempestuous Euro 2000 semi-final between Portugal and France, which the French won with a golden goal from the penalty spot, and his damning post-match report of the Portuguese players’ behaviour lead to lengthy bans for three of them. Portugal have also remonstrated with FIFA about the appointment of Slovakian linesman Igor Sramka for tomorrow’s match. Sramka performed the same role in the game against France two years ago. The injury-hit Polish squad have been struggling to find right-sided players so severely that they played Marek Kozminski down that flank on Tuesday in their 2-0 defeat by the host nation. However, the Ancona midfielder said on Saturday that he expects to return to his natural left side against Portugal, leaving the door open for Arkadiusz Bak replace Jacek Krzynowek, who struggled for long periods against Korea. “We are going to change tactics to give us a chance of winning,” commented Kozminski.
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Belgium gear up to face Tunisia
Oita (Japan), June 9 For the Belgians, the yardstick remains the thrilling run to the semi-finals by the Red Devils in 1986 where only Diego Maradona's Argentina stopped them. But even progress here out of the group stage would consolidate their position among Europe's elite — another one in the eye for neighbouring Holland, who this time didn't even make the event. For one member of Robert Waseige's squad, football cannot be a matter of life and death - because he might easily not have been around to experience the tournament at all, not even as a spectator. Yves Vanderhaeghe is a World Cup debutant at the age of 32 — having only made his international debut three seasons ago. Even getting that far was a dream for Vanderhaeghe as aged 17 the Anderlecht star was pronounced clinically dead from meningitis. He bounced back, even though doctors gave him a five per cent chance of surviving and dragged himself back into football. Having finally got on the national team he played in all their qualifiers. The Belgians have had to overcome numerous albeit less serious injuries here but received a boost yesterday with the news that Anderlecht central defender Glen De Boeck is in the frame to start following a foot injury. "If Glen is fit to play then he will face Tunisia," Waseige said even before De Boeck moved back in to full training going into the weekend. De Boeck was badly missed last week in the 2-2 draw with Japan, whose speedy forward line exposed numerous defensive frailties. Defender Daniel Van Buyten and attacking midfielder Johan
Walem, who both suffered knocks in the opening game, are both expected to be in the side — but striker Nico Van
Kerckhoven, skipper Marc Wilmots and Jacky Peeters are all doubts. However, Belgian Football Federation spokesman Nicolas Cornu is unruffled and said that "their cases do not worry us unduly."
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Korea confident against USA
Daegu (South Korea), June 9 South Korea, transformed from chaotic to classy under Dutch coach Guus Hiddink, secured their first ever World Cup victory in their sixth campaign with a fantastic 2-0 victory over Poland. The USA, last of the 32 teams at France ‘98, played with surprising confidence to open up a shock 3-0 lead over Luis Figo-led Portugal and held on grimly to win 3-2. The two unbeaten teams in group D face each other in a showdown with pride, prestige and a virtual passport to the second round at stake. Although South Korea and the USA are allies, the match is being talked about as the 2002 World Cup equivalent of the USA against Iran at France ‘98-the so called “mother of all football matches”. A victory will put South Korea or the USA within touching distance of the last 16, a cherished goal of the home side and an unexpected destination for the USA. Both coaches have vowed that their sides will go all out for three points but have conceded that attacking flair may be blunted by tough tackling. “It would be foolish not to go for the three points but I am expecting a very physical encounter,” said Hiddink, the coach of Holland at France ‘98 who is approaching God-like status in Korea. Hiddink described the team as “in chaos” when all the foreign-based players arrived at training camp several months ago but since then he has turned them into an outfit capable of matching the world’s best teams. A pre-World Cup 4-1 thrashing of Scotland, a deserved draw against England and an unlucky 3-2 defeat at the hands of world champions France were harbingers of success. A tremendous goal by veteran striker Hwang Sun-hong, his 50th for the national team, put South Korea ahead against Poland and the foraging Yoo Sang-chul, one of the few players to emerge with credit from the France ‘98 debacle, added the second with a fierce long range effort. Hwang, who has announced he will retire from international football after the World Cup, Yoo, Anderlecht- based Seol Ki-hyeon and captain Hong Myung-bo are playing with new found vigour. But it is the relative new faces in the side, the impressive Kim Nam-il who dictated the midfield against Poland, the speedy Song Chong-gug and solid defender Choi Jin-cheul who have been the revelations in the past few months. Hiddink has plucked them from relative obscurity and turned them into top class performers competing on the game’s biggest stage. “The team has changed a lot in the past four months. I really started in January and February,” said Hiddink, the first non-Korean to coach the national side. “That was when I had the players full-time, with no obligations to their clubs. I have worked with them daily. I have seen the squad open up and learn very fast. This is one of the great strengths of the side.” Hiddink is expected to combat the aerial threat of the USA by asking Choi to stick closely to US striker Brian McBride whose heading ability brought him a goal against Portugal. “They pose a big threat with headers but I am sure I can compete with the USA players in the air,” said Choi. USA coach Bruce Arena is hoping that skipper Claudio Reyna, the Sunderland star who missed the win over Portugal, will be fit to play against South Korea. “He has been training with the rest of the squad and should be ready,” he said. The baking heat during the afternoon game, with temperatures expected to reach 35 degrees celsius, and the huge vocal support for South Korea from the sell-out 65,000 crowd will be big factors.
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Expert comments — Gary Linekar I know exactly how the England lads will be feeling out in Japan because I've been there and got the T-shirt, not to mention the bruises from playing in the intensity of World Cup matches. We had an even worse start in Mexico in 1986, losing to Portugal in the opening game and then drawing 0-0 with Morocco. It seemed like things couldn't get much worse when Ray Wilkins, of all people, was sent off in that match for throwing the ball at the referee. But then my hat-trick against Poland got us through to the second phase and there is nothing like feeling that you're finally in the World Cup proper, that you're on your way and that anything can happen. The group matches tend to be more cagey and nervy because of the fear of failing and being forced to fly home just when the event is getting going. But the England players will be absolutely euphoric at the way they beat Argentina and they'll be wishing the next match was tomorrow. But there will also be a sense of relief that they managed such a wonderful performance after the disappointment of the Sweden game. It's important, too, that they are in a hotel complex cocooned from the rest of the world and, most importantly, from the hype back home, which will be way over the top, as usual. You realise what's going on back home, of course, and in some ways, you're desperate to speak to people. You want all your friends to phone up and say well done and ask what it's like because it's great to share moments like that. Sven-Goran Eriksson got quite a bit of stick after the Sweden game but the most interesting conversation I had last week was with David Beckham, who said they hadn't intended to play that way. He wasn't sure whether it was first-day nerves, a bit of apprehension among the players after all the expectation or whether the team got carried away by having two quickies up front in Michael Owen and Darius Vassell and kept trying to pump it up to them too soon and by-passing midfield. Certainly, the players didn't do what they were told to by Sven, and that look of thunder on his face when Sweden equalised told you that. But you have to give Sven credit for isolating the problem and doing something about it before the Argentina game. It was hard on Vassell to lose his place after doing so well against Sweden but it was for the good of the overall team display and I thought some of the passing against Argentina was among the best we've seen in the tournament. This was the first time that Sven had been asked a serious question and you have to say that he answered it brilliantly. I got the feeling that many people were waiting to take a pot shot at him and he was accused of being a long ball man. But it wasn't long ball stuff on Friday and the manager showed all his experience and quality. Let's face it, you don't get a record like his by a fluke. He definitely did his homework on Argentina, working out that they like to do everything through the middle with intricate passing. So he played it tight, getting his midfield men to play narrow and forcing Argentina to try to go on the outside. I was delighted to see Emile Heskey back as a central striker, where he belongs, but we were all a bit worried when we first saw the team sheet and realised that Paul Scholes really was going to play on the left, which was another example of playing a man out of position at the highest level. As I said last week, it's hard enough playing in your own position at the World Cup. We'll never know how it would have worked out if he had played there all the game. But to me, Owen Hargreaves' injury turned out to be a blessing in disguise because it allowed Scholes to move back into the middle, where he was outstanding as usual. He is also such a competitive player, someone who makes things happen, that you always want to see him on centre stage, rather than pushed out wide to become a more peripheral figure. The performance of the team was fantastic and to a man they performed brilliantly. But unfair as it might seem to single players out, I thought there were two performances that were the key to our victory. The first was Rio Ferdinand, whom I said could become one of the biggest stars of the tournament, though I didn't expect him to put in an effort like that quite so early. He not only read the game brilliantly, there was a wonderful calmness about the way he did the job and that rubbed off on his fellow defenders. The other out-of-this-world performance for me was from Nicky Butt. He'd been sidelined for weeks but did a job that couldn't have been bettered. He tackled well, he didn't give the ball away all day and he even managed to play a few passes that split the defence. It was particularly pleasing after all the problems we've had in midfield. The team's display will give everyone encouragement for the rest of the tournament, though Sven and his management team will be trying to keep everything calm since we still need to get at least a draw against Nigeria. As they're out of the competition, they ought to be de-moralised and de-motivated but this is too big a tournament to take anything for granted against anyone. People keep asking me how far England can go but I always find that a rather ludicrous question since if you say, quarter-final, then you are assuming they will play in the quarters and if you're in that, you must have a chance to win it and get into the semis. And if you're in that, then . . . no, no, let's stop dreaming and enjoy one magnificent victory for the time being.
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Brazil believe they can go all the way Seogwipo (South Korea), June 9 Buck toothed star Ronaldo, who snatched his second goal is as many games in Brazil’s 4-0 Group C win over China yesterday, led the charge. The Inter Milan striker said he was back to his prolific best and would score a goal in every game. “I believe I can now score a goal in every match,” he said. “I feel great. I know I’m on the right path.” Dubbed “The Phenomenon” in Brazil, and twice FIFA’s footballer of the year, he said his confidence was running high and Brazil have what it takes to win the World Cup for a fifth time. “I want to go to the final and I think the team is getting better,” he said. “I believe we can go to the final match.” He has every reason to want to play in Japan on June 30 to put the ghosts of 1998 to rest. His name was omitted from the starting line-up against France in the final four years ago after he suffered a fit. He eventually took the field but was a shadow of his former self, barely managing a shot on goal. He has since been wracked by injury. Wing back Roberto Carlos, who also got on the score sheet against the Chinese, said there would be no relaxing against Costa Rica in their final first round match on Thursday despite all but being guaranteed a place in the round of 16. “For us it is very important to beat Costa Rica and get nine points,” he said after scoring his seventh international goal and his first from a freekick since 1997. “It will help the confidence of the team. That’s why Costa Rica is the more important match.” While they can never be written off, Brazil were wearing the underdog tag before the tournament started after barely stumbling through qualifying, losing an unprecedented six games. But Roberto Carlos is also growing to believe that they are now capable of winning the Cup. “Game by game, we will show improvements and will eventually make it to the round of 16 and the final too,” he said. Despite the confidence bubbling back to the surface, coach Luiz Felipe Scolari urges caution, saying that while he was pleased with the progress Brazil were making they had yet to meet world class opposition “Brazil has not played such difficult opponents so far” he said. “That’s why we have been getting better results than say France, Argentina or Italy. “But I know the team is improving. We know that our team is getting better each match and we can still improve for the next match.” Roberto Carlos said they would work in training this week on tightening up their passing after too many went astray against China. “We still have problems with the quality of our passing but we now have three or four days to work on it before the next match,” he said. Brazil head back to their training base in Ulsan today to prepare for the clash with Costa Rica in Suwon. They came from behind to beat Turkey 2-1 after a controversial penalty decision in their opening match. Several title contenders have come unstuck in the past week. Defending champions France are on the verge of elimination while Argentina lost to England on Friday. Italy surrended the lead to go down 2-1 to Croatia yesterday. Brazil won the World Cup in 1958, 1962, 1970 and 1994 and were runners in 1950 and 1998. No other team has played in all 17 World Cups.
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Zidane trains with team Seoul, June 9 Boghossian, who hasn’t yet been played in this tournament, stayed behind at the team hotel receiving treatment, while team-mate Frank Leboeuf, who has a groin injury, only took part in light training. “Zidane played normally. He ran, dribbled and kicked the ball several times. He didn’t have many problems,” said team spokesman Philippe Tournon. Zidane, the French team’s undisputed key player, missed the first two matches after suffering a thigh injury in a pre-tournament friendly.
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Klose fit for Tuesday’s tie Miyazaki, June 9 Klose — the tournament top-scorer with four goals — was replaced during the 1-1 draw with Ireland last Wednesday after suffering a knee injury. There had been fears he would miss the game against the African and Olympic champions, who need a win to be sure of advancing into the next phase. Defeat would almost certainly see Germany eliminated. “He’s going to train on Sunday and the medical team are confident that he’ll be playing against Cameroon on Tuesday,” Germany assistant coach Michael Skibbe said. Germany were also lifted by news that defender Christoph Metzelder was also likely to be fit after injuring an ankle against the Irish.
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Lewis knocks out Tyson Memphis (Tennessee), June 9 Lewis flattened Tyson with a powerful right hand after two minutes and 25 seconds of the eighth round here yesterday to retain his world heavyweight boxing crown. The British champion had defeated every other major foe of his era. After months of threats to brutalise Lewis ended with Tyson taking a lopsided beating, the challenger heaped praise upon his conqueror. “He’s a magnificent, prolific fighter,” Tyson said. “He was just masterful, a splendid fighter.” A punishing right hand to the chin spelled doom for Tyson, who had been punished round after round by Lewis’ superior jab and solid rights and uppercuts. “He can take a hell of a punch. I was shocked that he was able to take them. The punches were hard and he took them like a man.” Tyson twice asked for a rematch with Lewis, who has also mentioned retirement as a possibility. Lewis scored with uppercuts and used his left jab to set up his powerful rights, Tyson becoming more and more reluctant to even try and get within the champion’s reach as the rounds wore on. Lewis inflicted steady punishment throughout the seventh round, staggering the former champion with a flurry of six punches to Tyson’s head in rapid succession. A Lewis uppercut made Tyson squat early in the eighth round and seconds later, two more punishing uppercuts set the stage for the left jab and powerful right to the jaw that sent Tyson to the canvas on his back.
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Castries (St. Lucia), June 9 New Zealand: Fleming b Gayle 89, Astle b Dillon 2, Nevin c Jacobs b Collins 15, McMillan b Collins 0, Harris lbw b Collins 0, Vincent b R Hinds 33, Styris b Dillon 85, Vettori not out 13, Tuffy not out 4. Extras (w-4, lb-3) .7 Total (for 7 wkts, 50 overs) 248 Fall of wickets: 1-3, 2-53, 3-55, 4-55, 5-113, 6-203, 7-235. Bowling: Dillon 10-2-60-2, Cuffy 7-0-43-0, Collins 9-1-33-3, Gayle 10-0-48-1, Hooper 4-0-15-0, R Hinds 10-0-46-1. West Indies: Gayle c Vettori b Tuffey 30, Chanderpaul not out 108, Sarwan b Hitchcock 44, Hooper b Hitchcock 47, Jacobs c Vettori b Hitchcock 3, Lara not out 9. Extras (w-4, nb-4, lb-1) 9 Total (for 4 wkts in 49.1 overs) 250 Fall of wickets: 1-55, 2-141, 3-225, 4-233 Bowling: Tuffey 8.1-1-36-1, Bond 9-0-59-0, Hitchcock 10-0-43-3, Vettori 10-0-54-0, Harris 10-1-39-0, Styris 2-0-18-0.
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End of a great career? Chandigarh, June 9 For quite some time Srinath has not being included in the India one-day squad with younger and fitter players getting the nod. At 31 Srinath has undoubtedly done yeoman's service to India but then one-day cricket demands total fitness which Srinath, ever since he underwent surgery to his bowling arm, obviously lacks. His throwing from the deep is laboured and one-day cricket demands fitness of a level which Srinath cannot even think of reaching at this stage of his career no matter how hard he tries. It must be remembered that some time ago Srinath had sought “rest’’ from playing one-day cricket so that he could conserve himself for Test cricket. Why this suddenly reversal is not difficult to fathom. Playing one-day cricket is more lucrative as the payments are much more as compared to Test cricket and this could have made Srinath take the decision to play only one-day cricket. But then playing one-day cricket is a different cup of tea. However, Srinath still is India's best bet with the new ball in Test cricket and skipper Saurav Ganguly should have spoken to him as he had promised immediately after returning to India from the West Indies. It is obvious that the Indian skipper has not been able to make Srinath change his mind about his ‘‘retirement’’. The decision of the national selectors not to consider the Karnataka player now means that for all practical purposes Srinath's international career has come to an end. He will not play Test cricket on his own choice and he is not found fit enough for one-day cricket. However, there is no denying the fact that after the retirement of Kapil Dev, Javagal Srinath was India's best bet with the new ball. India will surely miss his services in Test matches. Srinath's decision to step down has helped Mumbai's Ajit Agarkar to stage a comeback into the Test team. Agarkar's role in the one-day squad is well defined and although he has not done very well in the limited opportunities he has got in Test cricket it is hoped that in England he will make all-out efforts to make a mark in the longer version of the game. |
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Aussies thrash India 6-0 Melbourne, June 9 The Kookaburras made a fast start, racing to a 3-0 lead after just nine minutes and effectively ending the match as a contest. Troy Elder opened the scoring in the fourth minute from a penalty corner, Michael McCann added another a minute later and Craig Victory latched onto McCann’s backhanded pass to score in the ninth minute. Jamie Dwyer beat Indian goalkeeper Devesh Chavhan to complete the four-goal first half and then scored his second goal in the 48th minute when he flicked home a pass from Nathan
Eglington. AFP |
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Coaches to
attend clinic
from June 11 Chandigarh, June 9 According to Director, Sports, Punjab, former Olympian Kartar Singh, the coaches have been split in two batches, with the first batch consisting of 131 coaches in such disciplines as athletics, badminton, cycling, tennis, gymnastics, table tennis, swimming, basketball, w’lifting and judo. This batch will attend the clinic from June 11 to 13. The opening of the clinic will be done by B.S. Ahluwalia, Executive Director, SAI, NIS, Patiala, while the closing ceremony will be performed by Patiala DC Tejvir Singh. The clinic for the second batch starts from June 15 with 127 coaches drawn from cricket, football, boxing, hockey, handball, wrestling and volleyball. Former hockey Olympian and presently Executive Director (Teams), SAI, New Delhi, M.P. Ganesh will open the clinic. According to DSO, Patiala, R.K. Rishi, all arrangements to hold the clinic are complete. Board and lodging arrangements have been made at the Polo ground while the theory classes will be taken at the
NIS. Patiala, June 9 |
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Paris, June 9
Cricket
fans in Ahmedabad are jubilant following inclusion of the
local hero Parthiv Patel in the 16-member Test squad picked up
for the England tour later this month.
(
