Wednesday, July 10, 2002, Chandigarh, India






National Capital Region--Delhi

THE TRIBUNE SPECIALS
50 YEARS OF INDEPENDENCE

TERCENTENARY CELEBRATIONS
S P O R T S

India succumb to Irani’s dream spell
London, July 9
India’s winning run in the triangular one-day series ended in a rude shock when they suffered a comprehensive 64-run defeat to England in a rain-truncated league match here today. It was a great fall for a side that came into the match with convincing victories in three of their four earlier matches - the other, against England, being abandoned due to rain.

India’s Yuvraj Singh catches out England batsman Michael Vaughan (not seen) in the one-day NatWest Series cricket match at the Oval in London on Tuesday. — Reuters photos

Favourites India not complacent
Kolkata, July 9
Despite starting as runaway favourites, India are guarding against complacency as they play one of the world’s weakest sides Bhutan on the opening day of the Asian Football Confederation under-20 championship here tomorrow.

MISBEHAVIOUR WITH SRINATH
Govt ‘considering’ strong action
Bangalore, July 9
Karnataka Government is considering stringent action, including discharge from service, against a police official, who allegedly misbehaved with star cricketer Javagal Srinath at a Mysore police station, the state Assembly was informed today.

Aussies, Kiwis ready to play in Nairobi
Islamabad, July 9
Australia and New Zealand have given a green signal to play the triangular one-day series with Pakistan in Nairobi, Kenya, in August-September.

India to play 7 ODIs in New Zealand
Wellington, July 9
New Zealand will host India in two cricket Tests and a seven-match limited-overs series in a schedule allowing both nations to fine-tune for the 2003 World Cup. New Zealand Cricket chief executive Martin Snedden said both Tests would be played before Christmas, with a one-day international series starting on December 26 in Auckland.

UAE, Hong Kong set to show superiority
Singapore, July 9
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Hong Kong are set to restamp their authority among Asia’s second tier cricket nations at the ACC Trophy tournament beginning here tomorrow.



Lotto team rider Robbie McEwen of Australia celebrates after winning the 174.5km third stage of the 89th Tour de France cycling race from Metz to Reims on Tuesday. Deutsche Telekom team rider Erik Zabel of Germany took the leader's yellow jersey. — Reuters

EARLIER STORIES

 

Corretja triumphs
Gstaad (Switzerland), July 9
Two-time champion Alex Corretja of Spain, seeded eighth, began his campaign for a third crown with an easy 6-1 6-4 victory yesterday over Brazil’s Fernando Meligeni in the opening round of the $ 600,000 Swiss Open.

Tania aims to get WGM in two years
New Delhi, July 9
Anyone who says beauty and brains are a rare combo surely hasn’t met Tania Sachdev, the Asian junior girls chess tournament winner who aims to be the second woman in the country to get the grandmaster’s norm and gives herself only two years’ time to achieve the feat.

Indian juniors defeat Iran
Chennai, July 9
India defeated Iran’s junior national team 3-2 in the second of its five-match series in Iran last evening.

Judoka Kamla Rawat excels
New Delhi, July 9
Kamla Rawat of India won a gold medal in the Mauritius International Judo Tournament and Training Programme held from June 27 to July 4, according to Judo Federtion of India secretary Mukesh Kumar.

Lewis about to retire?
London, July 9
Britain’s world heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis has again indicated he may be about to retire from boxing having achieved everything he wanted to in the sport.

India in group C in Asiad soccer
Busan, July 9
India were placed in group C along with strong contenders China in the first round of the Busan Asian Games football tournament.

Seaman wants to carry on
London, July 9
David Seaman says he wants to continue playing for at least one more year, SkySports reported.

‘Recruit’ more players in Haryana Police
Chandigarh, July 9
The Haryana Olympic Association (HOA) has urged the government to recruit more sportspersons in Haryana Police for the development of sports.

Sasikiran lifts title

Haryana hockey from today
Top




 

 

 

 

India succumb to Irani’s dream spell


Cricket fans shelter from the rain as they wait for play to commence in the one-day NatWest Series cricket match between England and India on Tuesday. Picture taken with a fish-eye lens. — Reuters photo

London, July 9
India’s winning run in the triangular one-day series ended in a rude shock when they suffered a comprehensive 64-run defeat to England in a rain-truncated league match here today.

It was a great fall for a side that came into the match with convincing victories in three of their four earlier matches - the other, against England, being abandoned due to rain. Not only were India bowled out inside their quota of 32 overs, they also became the first side in the tournament to concede a bonus point to the opposition.

The hero of the match was Ronnie Irani who came up with career-best batting and bowling performances to bag the man of the match award’. After top-scoring with 53, his first one-day half-century, to power England to 229, Irani bowled a dream spell of seven overs, claiming five wickets for 26 runs, to restrict India to 165 in 29.1 overs.

His victims included India’s top-scorer Virender Sehwag, who made a 41-ball 46 with eight fours and a six, and Yuvraj Singh and Mohammad Kaif. This was the first defeat for India in the tournament.

The victory is a big psychological boost for England as the two sides are to meet again in the final on Saturday. India have another league encounter left, against Sri Lanka on Thursday.

Earlier, an erratic performance by the Indian bowlers saw England pile up a challenging 229 for eight in the rain-truncated 32-overs a side league match.

The Indians conceded as many as 30 extras, including 18 wides, to supplement the brilliant knocks of Andrew Flintoff and Ronnie Irani who powered the England innings.

Flintoff and Irani struck half-centuries and put on 76 for the third wicket after England had been put in to bat by Indian skipper Saurav Ganguly in a match that was delayed by more than four hours due to rain.

England were off to a flying start with Nick Knight and Marcus Trescothick putting on 52 runs before Anil Kumble struck with the first ball of his spell. An off-colour Trescothick, who made just nine runs from 24 balls, was clean bowled by Kumble with a yorker.

Knight, who hit a 38-ball 31 with four boundaries, was then dismissed by a stunning catch by Mohammad Kaif off Yuvraj Singh and England were forced on the backfoot.

But Irani, who was promoted to bat at number three, and Flintoff played excellent knocks to put England on road to a good total.

Irani hit his first one-day half-century, making 53 off 55 balls with two fours and a six while Flintoff compiled his second fifty of this tournament, a 38-ball 51 which included six hits to the fence.

The partnership was broken by Ajit Agarkar when Flintoff miscued an attempted big hit and holed out to Ashish Nehra in the deep.


England batsman Ronnie Irani celebrates his half century.


England batsman Andrew Flintoff celebrates his half century.
— Reuters photos

Scoreboard

England:

Trescothick b Kumble 9

Knight c Kaif b Yuvraj 31

Irani b Kumble 53

Flintoff c Nehra b Agarkar 51

Vaughan c Yuvraj b Zaheer 30

Hussain c Kaif b Zaheer 6

Collingwood b Nehra 9

Stewart b Zaheer 0

Tudor not out 3

Gough not out 7

Extras (lb-6, w-18, nb-6) 30

Total (for 8 wkts, 32 overs) 229

Fall of wickets: 1-52, 2-72, 3-148, 4-196, 5-202, 6-219, 7-219, 8-219.

Bowling: Nehra 5-0-28-1, Zaheer Khan 7-0-53-3, Kumble 7-0-39-2, Agarkar 4-0-38-1, Yuvraj Singh 6-0-37-1, Sehwag 1-0-9-0, Ganguly 1-0-10-0, Tendulkar 1-0-9-0.

India

Sehwag c Stewart b Irani 46

Ganguly c Flintoff b Tudor 6

Laxman c Hoggard b Collingwood 14

Tendulkar c Stewart b Hoggard 36

Yuvraj st Stewart b Irani 5

Kaif b Irani 1

Ratra c Stewart b Irani 2

Agarkar c Collingwood b Irani 0

Kumble not out 21

Khan c Gough b Flintoff 2

Nehra c Irani b Tudor 24

Extras: (lb-1 w-7) 8

Total: (all out, 29.1 overs) 165

Fall of wickets: 1-31 2-62 3-78 4-100 5-114 6-118 7-118 8-120 9-127.

Bowling: Gough 4-0-19-0, Tudor 4.1-0-30-2, Flintoff 4-0-33-1, Irani 7-1-26-5, Collingwood 5-0-31-1, Hoggard 5-0-25-1. PTI 
Top

 

Favourites India not complacent

Kolkata, July 9
Despite starting as runaway favourites, India are guarding against complacency as they play one of the world’s weakest sides Bhutan on the opening day of the Asian Football Confederation under-20 championship here tomorrow.

The hosts, with a FIFA ranking of 123, are miles ahead of the tiny Himalayan Kingdom, which has recently climbed up to the 199th spot after trouncing Montserrat 4-0 last month in a match between the two weakest soccer sides of the world.

But India’s Uzbek chief coach Islam Akhmedov sounded a note of caution ahead of the flood-lit encounter at the giant Salt lake stadium.

"In international engagements, you cannot afford to take any team lightly. One should remember that they have a Dutch coach, Arie Schans," he said.

The India-Bhutan outing would be the second match on the morrow, with Tajikistan and Kyrghyzstan clashing in the tournament lung-opener earlier in the day.

However, Schans, who arrived in Bhutan on June 6 to prepare the national squad for the Montserrat match, had no hesitation in admitting that his side ‘virtually stood no chance’ against India, who have the home advantage.

"They are physically strong. Moreover, their players have been picked up from different parts of the vast Indian nation while my charges have been culled from some of the schools of Bhutan’s capital Thimpu," he said.

The Indians, who have been practising here for the last one month, are likely to play in a 4-5-1 format, with Syed Rahim Nabi starting as the sole striker.

Ashim Biswas and the fleet-footed James Singh would don the role of withdrawal forwards along with two genuine wingers in the form of Malswan Tulanga and Subhas Chakraborty.

Akhemedov said he visualised a central midfield role for Bungo Singh, but was not sure of his fitness level.

The Uzbek also felt the Indians would have been better equipped for the tournament had they got some good match practice.

"One major drawback is that my top players like Bungo had to sit out almost the whole of the last season on the benches of bigger teams," he said.

On the other hand, youngest FIFA member Bhutan would play in the traditional 4-4-2 format. "They have been playing in this system when I arrived there last month (June 6). I didn’t want to change the system abruptly," Schans said.

Only three players of the team have international exposure of sorts, having turned out against Montserrat.

While number one custodian Pushpalal Sharma took the ground for the last 10 minutes, defender Passang Tshering and medio Pema played the full 90 minutes. The last two, incidentally, occupy a crucial place in Schans’s scheme of things.

Having come from the Netherlands, a side known for an attacking brand of soccer, Schans seemingly had no liking for the defensive approach, but was candid enough to concede that his inexperienced side might end up defending for most part of the encounter. PTI 
Top

 

MISBEHAVIOUR WITH SRINATH
Govt ‘considering’ strong action

Bangalore, July 9
Karnataka Government is considering stringent action, including discharge from service, against a police official, who allegedly misbehaved with star cricketer Javagal Srinath at a Mysore police station, the state Assembly was informed today.

Home Minister Mallikarjun Kharge said during question hour that there had been a lot of complaints over the “reckless behaviour” of the official involved in the incident and the government had viewed it “seriously”.

Kharge, responding to the question raised by A. Ramdas (BJP), said he had today received a report from the Mysore Police Commissioner R Chandrashekhar on the incident.

He said the official involved, who has been in service for the last 20 years, had not been given any promotion following “adverse remarks” about his behaviour. PTI 
Top

 

Aussies, Kiwis ready to play in Nairobi

Islamabad, July 9
Australia and New Zealand have given a green signal to play the triangular one-day series with Pakistan in Nairobi, Kenya, in August-September.

Confirming this, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Director Munawwar Rana disclosed: “Basically I had discussions with the Australian and New Zealand board officials and they have, in principle, agreed to the shifting of the triangular series to Nairobi.’’

“But we have to yet sign a formal agreement with both the boards for the event and also with the Kenyan Cricket Association (KCA), which should be soon,’’ Rana, who returned yesterday from abroad after attending the International Cricket Council (ICC) and Asia Cricket Council (ACC) moots in London, added.

“For the PCB, it is a case of having to make the most out of a tight situation. Ideally we would have liked to play the triangular series in Pakistan as it was supposed to be the showpiece event of our Test cricket Golden Jubilee year,’’ The News, quoting Rana, said today.

He said essentially the itinerary for the event should remain the same except for minor modifications but pointed out that details of how the series would be hosted remained to be finalised with Kenyan cricket authorities.

The PCB director said: “When I spoke to the Kenyan authorities, they were keen to host our series. Essentially it would be considered a home series, but obviously we will have to take care of all expenses involved in organisation of the matches.’’

He maintained that Kenya had been chosen as the venue for the triangular on the recommendation of the PCB broadcasting agents, Trans World International (TWI).

Rana stated, “We had intense discussions in London and they basically choose the venue keeping in mind the time zone difference with Australia and New Zealand as broadcasters there are the main buyers for this series.’’

Initially the PCB had announced a tentative schedule of August 25 to September 7 for the triangular series involving double league matches between the three nations.

But sources said that slight modifications could be made on the insistence of the Australian and New Zealand cricket boards. In all probability, the Pakistan team will now fly straight to Kenya after playing another three-nation tournament in Tangier, Morocco, from August 12 to 21.

Rana said that issues like receipt of gate money, title sponsor and advertising revenues for the tournament in Nairobi still had to be worked out with the KCA.

“However, one thing is obvious that our profits or revenues would be definitely reduced having to play our home tournament at a neutral venue. But in given circumstances we can only go with the majority opinion of the ICC members,” he added.

Rana said the venue for the Test series against Australia, which follows in October, was yet to be decided although Pakistan was still trying to convince the Australians to at least play the Tests in Pakistan.

He pointed out: “But again TWI has recommended Bangladesh and Sri Lanka as the neutral venues in case we have no other options.’’

The PCB has claimed that it has lost $ 25 million in revenues because of cancelled and modified tours since January 2000 with the involved teams including India, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, West Indies and now Australia.

Asked to describe his feelings about the outcome of the ICC meetings in London from a Pakistani perspective, Rana explained that one could not separate cricket from the overall scenario prevailing in Pakistan as far as the international community was concerned. UNI
Top

 

India to play 7 ODIs in New Zealand

Wellington, July 9
New Zealand will host India in two cricket Tests and a seven-match limited-overs series in a schedule allowing both nations to fine-tune for the 2003 World Cup. New Zealand Cricket chief executive Martin Snedden said both Tests would be played before Christmas, with a one-day international series starting on December 26 in Auckland.

“Given the time frame we are working within and the desire of both teams to gain some valuable World Cup preparation by playing an extended one-day series, we have decided to allow for this by scheduling the two Test matches before Christmas,” Snedden said.

India will play its first tour match on December 4 and the first Test will start on December 12 at Wellington.

Tour Schedule: Dec 12 to 16 - 1st Test at Wellington Dec 19 to 23 - 2nd Test at Hamilton Dec 26 - 1st ODI at Auckland Dec 29 - 2nd ODI at Napier Jan 1 - 3rd ODI at Christchurch Jan 4 - 4th ODI at Queenstown Jan 8 - 5th ODI at Wellington Jan 11 - 6th ODI at Auckland Jan 14 - 7th ODI at Hamilton. AP
Top

 

UAE, Hong Kong set to show superiority

Singapore, July 9
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Hong Kong are set to restamp their authority among Asia’s second tier cricket nations at the ACC Trophy tournament beginning here tomorrow.

“UAE beat us in the final last time, and we mean to change that,” Hong Kong coach Lal Jayasinghe said today.

“We haven’t come here to lose.”

UAE won on their home pitch in Sharjah two years ago, beating Hong Kong by 10 wickets in the final and “it’s hard to see past them this time. It looks like it will be Hong Kong and UAE,” Singapore cricket spokesman Anil Kalaver said.

The Asian Cricket Council (ACC) tournament is the testing ground for the non-Test nations in Asia and the Middle East, with the bonus of serving as the qualifier for the Asia Cup which involves regional big guns India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

The 10-nation tournament, which this year heralds the arrival of Oman and Qatar on the international stage, runs from July 10 to 21.

Making the final offers more than an opportunity to play for the title of Asia’s best non-Test nation - also at stake is a potential $10,000 as the participation fee for playing in the Asia Cup.

UAE and Hong Kong, however, are still waiting for their payday after the 2000 final as the scheduled 2001 Asia Cup has been repeatedly deferred due to political tension between India and Pakistan.

They are confirmed for the Asia Cup when it is next held, with the finalists of this year’s ACC Trophy competing in the following tournament. UAE and Hong Kong have earned their front-runner status with the presence of expatriate players bringing additional experience to the sides.

“That’s one of the reasons why they’re so strong. They have one or two expatriates and Pakistanis in the UAE side, and Hong Kong’s in a similar situation,” Kalaver said.

“Under an ICC (International Cricket Council) ruling experts in Hong Kong automatically qualify to play for the side, but that doesn’t happen here. It’s the way ICC rulings go.”

With UAE in group A are Oman, Qatar, Kuwait and Nepal, while in group B are Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and the Maldives.

The top two teams from each group will go through to the semi-finals on July 19 with the final to be played on July 21.

UAE open the tournament tomorrow against debutant Oman, one of the strongest sides in the Gulf but where the spartan facilities include cement pitches, and grassless, stone covered outfields. Hong Kong’s first match is against hosts Singapore.

“This is a major event for us,” said Singapore Cricket Association president Chris Pianca. “At the end we will be able to measure ourselves against the national sides of Asia.”

The ACC has launched a multi-million dollar plan to strengthen the sport in the region, involving a central academy in Nepal with regional academies in Malaysia and UAE.

UAE, Hong Kong, Nepal, Singapore and Malaysia have been earmarked as “fast track” countries with a view to preparing them for one-day international status. AFP
Top

 

Corretja triumphs

Gstaad (Switzerland), July 9
Two-time champion Alex Corretja of Spain, seeded eighth, began his campaign for a third crown with an easy 6-1 6-4 victory yesterday over Brazil’s Fernando Meligeni in the opening round of the $ 600,000 Swiss Open. Corretja, returning to action for the first time since his semi-final exit at the French Open last month, is seeking to become the first player since Sergi Bruguera to win three titles in Gstaad, after winning in 1998 and 2000.

It marked the eighth time Corretja and Meligeni met throughout their careers, with the Spaniard winning six times, including the last three matches on clay.

In other opening-round action, fifth-seeded Juan Ignacio Chela of Argentina was toppled 7-6 (7/3) 3-6 6-4 by Croatian qualifier Ivan Ljubicic.

Despite his higher ranking, Chela has never managed to defeat the Croatian, who has won all three of their head-to-heads. Previously, Ljubicic defeated the Argentine in four sets in the quarter-finals of the Davis Cup this year, and in straight sets in Bastad in 2000.

In other play, Michail Juschni of Russia downed home favourite Michel Kratochvil 6-2 6-4, while 1997 champion Felix Mantilla of Spain beat Romanian Adrian Voinea 6-3 6-4.

Another Spaniard, David Sanchez, trounced Frenchman Anthony Dupuis 6-2 6-1, and Slovakia’s Karol Kucera eliminated Swiss player Ivo Heuberger 4-6 6-2 7-5.

Surprise Wimbledon finalist David Nalbandian of Argentina will get right back to work today following his stunning performance last week, taking on fourth-seeded Andrei Pavel of Romania in further opening-round play.

The 20-year-old Argentine, who broke a series of records on his way to the Wimbledon final, is unseeded in this week’s event. AP
Top

 

Tania aims to get WGM in two years

New Delhi, July 9
Anyone who says beauty and brains are a rare combo surely hasn’t met Tania Sachdev, the Asian junior girls chess tournament winner who aims to be the second woman in the country to get the grandmaster’s norm and gives herself only two years’ time to achieve the feat.

“My ultimate aim is to become the number one women’s chess player in the world...but at present I am concentrating to earn the WGM norm...two years time is good enough for me,” the ravishing five-foot-seven Tania, who won the tournament in Colombo on Friday, told UNI here on the sidelines of a felicitation ceremony yesterday.

For Tania, considered by many as one of the best-looking sportswomen in the country, limelight and success came at a very early age.

The youngest girl to win an international event at the age of eight, Tania had created history by winning five titles at the British championship in Norwich in 1994 and earned the International Masters norm last year.

She was the national champion in the under-12 category in 1997 and 1998 and the state champion (Delhi) in under-19 category in 1999.

Tania, who would celebrate her 16th birthday on August 20, attaches importance to time and strives to reach the top as early as possible. “Contrary to the belief that chess has no age-limits, I think after an age your concentration and stamina starts declining,” she explained.

Tania had rejected several ads and modelling offers and wants to devote her life to chess. “If there is anything else...it is studies which is very important for the overall growth of your personality,” she said. Now, Tania is in the XIth standard having scored over 70 per cent in the Xth boards exam. “Studies actually help me in concentration and have been beneficial for my game...they have opened up dimensions and added edge to my game,” she noted.

Tania had won the FIDE rated open tournament in 1995 and Salem FIDE rated tournament (Women’s section) in 1997 and was the runners-up in both the normal and the rapid section of the national under-16 tournament in 1998. She had also annexed the R K FIDE Open, men’s B Nagpur under-18, NIIT Open All India Chess Championship in 2000, Ranade Open Pune under-18, men’s B Nagpur under-18 and R K FIDE open rated in 2001.

Tania attributed her success at Colombo to Evgeny Vladimirov, the ex-trainer of the former world champion Gary Kasparov. “The training which I got from Vladimirov in the coaching camp in Calicut last month helped me achieve the victory in the tournament,” she added.

Though Vladimrov, who was a long time second of Kasparov, gave her only group training at the centre, Tania learnt about how to handle the pressure and expectations during the key matches.

On her brilliant performance at the tournament, she expressed happiness though with a note of caution. “I am extremely happy to win the tournament. It was like a dream come true...but I have still larger targets in mind,” she exulted.

She would visit the Czech Republic next week to participate in the Czech Open. “I will play as many matches as possible this year and participate in more international tournaments to improve my ranking at the world level,” she added.

She also expressed happiness about the change of attitude of the people, media and government towards chess as a sport. “Now, the government and the media are giving due recognition to the sport which had been discriminated against for many years,” she noted. UNI
Top

 

Indian juniors defeat Iran

Chennai, July 9
India defeated Iran’s junior national team 3-2 in the second of its five-match series in Iran last evening.

According to information received by Volleyball Federation of India (VFI) Secretary General K. Murugan today, India won 25-22, 17-25, 22-25, 25-22, 15-11.

The tour was part of the VFI’s preparations to build a strong team for the coming international events, including the Asian Championships. UNI
Top

 

Judoka Kamla Rawat excels
Our Sports Reporter

New Delhi, July 9
Kamla Rawat of India won a gold medal in the Mauritius International Judo Tournament and Training Programme held from June 27 to July 4, according to Judo Federtion of India secretary Mukesh Kumar.

Kamla Rawat beat judokas from Mauritius, Zambia and Reunion Island on way to the final. In the final bout, she outplayed Dolly Moothoo of Mauritius. Dolly has been selected by the Mauritius Government for the Commonwealth Games to be held in Manchester later this month. Dolly was a silver medallist at the Commonwealth Judo Championship held in Edinburgh in 1998.

Brojeshori Devi of India annexed a bronze medal in the 57kg category. She won four bouts on way to the bronze medal. Anita Chanu of India was also in the running for a medal in the 52kg category, but due to a faulty action was disqualified. Landhoni Devi in the 63kg category could not participate in the bouts due to a knee injury.

The outing was an exposure for the Indian judokas in preparation for the coming Commonwealth Games.

A six-member team, consisting of four women judokas, one coach (Narender Singh) and a manager (K. Radhakrishnan) participated in the Mauritius meet.
Top

 

Lewis about to retire?

London, July 9
Britain’s world heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis has again indicated he may be about to retire from boxing having achieved everything he wanted to in the sport.

The WBC, the IBF and the IBO champion has ruled out a fight with WBO champion Vladimir Klitschko, saying it would be a waste of his time.

Lewis (36) proved himself the best in the world and entered the ranks of the greats by destroying Mike Tyson in Memphis last month.

“Vladimir Klitschko — he’s not tough enough,” said Lewis at Michael Watson’s testimonial here late Monday. “He’s not ready for me yet. It would be a waste of my time to go and fight him - I would knock him out.”

Lewis is not ready to announce his retirement yet, but he told Sky Sports: “I’ve already done everything that I really wanted to do in the sport of boxing, so I’m going to keep them guessing for a little while longer.” AFP
Top

 

India in group C in Asiad soccer

Busan, July 9
India were placed in group C along with strong contenders China in the first round of the Busan Asian Games football tournament.

Bangladesh and Turkmenistan were the other two teams in group C when the draw was made here today for the tournament from September 27 to October 13: The draw:

Men Group A: South Korea, Malaysia, Maldives, Oman

Group B: United Arab Emirates, Vietnam, Yemen, Thailand Group C: China, India, Bangladesh, Turkmenistan Group D: Japan, Uzbekistan, Bahrain, Jordan

Group E: Iran, Qatar, Lebanon, Mongolia Group F: Kuwait, Tajikistan, Hong Kong, Pakistan

Women: China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Vietnam. AFP
Top

 

Seaman wants to carry on

London, July 9
David Seaman says he wants to continue playing for at least one more year, SkySports reported.

The England and Arsenal goalkeeper had considered retiring after blaming himself for England’s 2-1 quarter-final defeat by Brazil at the World Cup last month, with the 38-year-old leaving the Shizuoka pitch in tears.

"I'm having talks with Arsenal. We're negotiating at the moment so that's step in the right direction," Seaman told SkysSports News yesterday.

I'm enjoying my football still. What happened at the World Cup was a big setback but you've got to keep with it as a goalkeeper. Reuters
Top

 

Ronaldo opens centre

Rio De Janeiro: Soccer star Ronaldo and the physical therapist who helped him recover from the knee injuries opened a school of physiotherapy and a rehabilitation centre at a Rio de Janeiro university. AP
Top

 

Recruit’ more players in Haryana Police
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, July 9
The Haryana Olympic Association (HOA) has urged the government to recruit more sportspersons in Haryana Police for the development of sports.

While stating this here today, the President of HOA, Mr Abhey Singh Chautala, said that he had recently met the Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, and Chief Secretary, Mr L.M. Goyal and made a strong recommendation for recruiting as many as 400 sportspersons as Constables, Assistant Sub-Inspectors, Sub-Inspectors in Haryana Police on the basis of their qualifications and merits in sports.

He said that the Chief Minister had lauded the concerted efforts made by the association for the promotion of sports in the state. He said that the Chief Minister had also assured that the State Government would not lag behind in extending full support in recruitment of sportspersons in government departments including Haryana Police, board and corporation to accelerate the pace of development of sports in the state.

Mr Chautala said because of their good physique the sportspersons were also being given special consideration in the recruitment in the Army and para-military forces.
Top

 

Sasikiran lifts title

New Delhi, July 9
Grandmaster K Sasikiran added another feather to his cap winning the inaugural Tan Chin Nam Cup International Open Chess tournament at Qingdao, China. Sasikiran drew his last round game with GM Alexander Goldin of USA to win the coveted title, according to information received here today. Seeded second in the tournament, Sasikiran tallied a total of 6.5 points. PTI
Top

 

Haryana hockey from today
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, July 9
The three-day 25th Haryana State Senior Hockey Championship will be held at the War Hero Memorial Stadium, Ambala Cantonment from July 10.

The championship would be inaugurated by Sports and Youth Welfare Commissioner and Secretary Naresh Gulati.

Haryana Police Director General M.S. Malik, who is also the president of Haryana Hockey Association would be the chief guest on the closing ceremony, which would be presided over by Ambala Range Inspector General Alok Joshi, an official Press release said here today. 
Top

 
 SPORTS BRIEFS

STAMPS OF HIDDINK, PLAYERS
SEOUL:
South Korean postal authorities plan to put out stamps featuring Dutch football coach Guus Hiddink and the 23 South Korean national players to celebrate the team’s performance at the 2002 World Cup. “We plan to issue 24 different postage stamps carrying portraits of Hiddink and the 23 players,” a post official said. “We have been in talks with the players and the coach over portrait rights and some of the players have allowed us to use their portraits for free,” the official said. Hiddink returned to the Netherlands on Sunday, having completed an 18-month mission to make South Korea Asia’s top team. AFP

SA CRICKET SQUAD
JOHANNESBURG:
South African cricket selectors named a provisional 18-man squad for the Morocco Cup one-day international tournament against Pakistan and Sri Lanka, due to take place in Tangier next month. There were no new caps in the lineup, which included captain Shaun Pollock, veteran fast bowler Allan Donald and fielding maestro Jonty Rhodes. The size of the squad would be reduced after a training camp in Pretoria next week, said Omar Henry, the convener of national selectors. Squad: Shaun Pollock, Paul Adams, Nicky Boje, Mark Boucher, Boeta Dippenaar, Allan Donald, Steve Elworthy, Herschelle Gibbs, Jacques Kallis, Gary Kirsten, Justin Kemp, Lance Klusener, Neil McKenzie, Makhaya Ntini, Justin Ontong, Jonty Rhodes, Graeme Smith, Roger Telemachus. AP

RACIAL QUOTAS
DURBAN:
The South African Sports Minister Ngconde Balfour said on Tuesday his ministry would hold talks with the United Cricket Board officials to get more details on the move to scrap racial quotas in national and senior provisional teams. “We will meet in Pretoria tomorrow with Percy Sonn (UCBSA president) and Gerald Majola (CEO) to get full details of the new move,” Balfour said. Sonn announced on Monday that a meeting of 150 top cricket administrators at the weekend had decided to drop the racial quotas because there were sufficient coloured players to be selected on merit. However, provincial B teams and lower league teams will have to have 50 per cent and more of players of colour, including black Africans, in the teams. PTI

IMMORAL BEHAVIOUR
TEHERAN:
One of Iran's best known soccer players has been banned for five years after being caught visiting a brothel, the sports daily Iran said on Tuesday. Khazirabi was also sentenced to 275 lashes by a court in central Teheran. The 22-year-old international midfielder admitted to the offence, which took place earlier this year. His Teheran club Esteqlal said it planned to appeal against the ban, which covers both club and international football. The brothel owner was also convicted and sentenced to a 10-year- jail term and a fine of $ 32,000. Prostitution is strictly prohibited in Islamic Iran and offenders face heavy penalties. DPA
Top

Home | Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir | Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs | Nation | Editorial |
|
Business | Sport | World | Mailbag | In Spotlight | Chandigarh Tribune | Ludhiana Tribune
50 years of Independence | Tercentenary Celebrations |
|
122 Years of Trust | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail |