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Sunday,
January 19, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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Injury forces Safin out, Hewitt
wins Bopanna fails
to get past Vlasov Lehmann suspended for five matches
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ICPA meets as contract row continues
Sodhi has not given up yet Haryana rout Himachal Top shooters for Delhi World Cup Chetan, Gurdeep to clash in final Gurpreet, Sandeep best lifters DAV beat Mahilpur academy Alok wins billiards title
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Injury forces Safin out, Hewitt wins
Melbourne, January 18 World No 1 Hewitt equalled his best-ever performance at the Australian Open after trouncing Czech Radek Stepanek 6-3, 6-2, 6-0 in just 90 minutes at the Rod Laver Arena. The victory puts the top-seeded Hewitt into the last 16 for only the second time in seven attempts. He faces 18th seed Younes El Aynaoui in Monday’s fourth round. Hewitt’s chances of reaching next Sunday’s final received a boost earlier today when Russian third seed Marat Safin was forced to withdraw from the tournament with a wrist injury. Safin blamed too many tournaments on the crowded tennis calendar after failing to recover from torn left wrist ligaments in time for his meeting with Rainer Schuettler of Germany. Safin — who had also withdrawn with a shoulder injury from last week’s Sydney International — said the grind of playing week-in, week-out had taken its toll. “Everybody is getting injured and tennis is becoming too physical,” he said. Safin’s withdrawal means Schuettler advances to a last 16 meeting with James Blake, the American 23rd seed having too much class for Alberto Martin in his third round match, winning 6-3, 4-6, 6-2, 6-2. Swiss star Roger Federer worked his way into the second week to set up a revenge match with Argentina’s David Nalbandian in the fourth round. Sixth-seed Federer accounted for Swedish qualifier Andreas Vinciguerra 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 in one hours 36 minutes on Vodafone Arena to complete a satisfactory first week in which he hasn’t dropped a set. Federer faces his first crunch match of the Australian Open on Monday against Wimbledon finalist and 10th tournament seed Nalbandian in the fourth round. Nalbandian got a saloon passage into the fourth round when his opponent Xavier Malisse retired during the match with an arm injury. Nalbandian was leading 4-6, 6-2, 6-0, 3-0 when 20th Belgian seed Malisse called a halt.
Serena, Clijsters advance In the women’s draw, world No 1 Serena Williams and Belgian fourth seed Clijsters enjoyed easy wins to romp into the last 16, both recording victories inside an hour to ensure their presence in week two. Williams overwhelmed Thailand’s 26th seed Tamarine Tanasugarn with an exhibition of power tennis on her way to a 6-1, 6-1 victory in just 46 minutes. Clijsters needed slightly longer against Belarus’ Tatiana Poutchek, but was just as emphatic in a 6-2, 6-1 55-minute workout. Williams’ win sets her up for a fourth round meeting with Greece’s Eleni Daniilidou, who defeated French 16th seed Nathalie Dechy 6-4, 6-3. Clijsters now faces Amanda Coetzer of South Africa on Monday. Coetzer defeated Israeli Anna Pistolesi in straight sets, 6-0, 6-2. Russian teenager Elena Bovina upset No 11 seed Magdalena Maleeva of Bulgaria 7-5, 4-6, 7-5 to reach the last 16.
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Bopanna
fails to get past Vlasov New Delhi, January 18 On a foggy day, sixth seed Bopanna, the top-ranked Indian, failed to lift up the spirits of a handful of supporters, who trooped in for the final, going down to the second seed. The 387th-ranked Bopanna looked tentative right from the start against the 305th-ranked Vlasov. “I was on the defensive today. He was hitting the ball hard and flat. In the second set, he just played fantastic tennis, giving me no chance with all-round winners,’’ Bopanna said after the match. The 19-year old Vlasov, who had won a $ 25,000 Challenger in Russia last year, said he was playing near to his full potential and was lucky to have won.
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Lehmann
suspended for five matches
Adelaide, January 18 Lehmann was found guilty of breaching the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) racial vilification code by ICC match referee Clive Lloyd during a three-hour hearing here today. He will miss four or five remaining matches in the triangular one-day series against Sri Lanka and England, along with possibly Australia’s opening match at the World Cup, starting next month in South Africa and Zimbabwe. Lehmann is the first international cricketer to be suspended for breaching the ICC’s racial code of conduct. Lloyd’s verdict was delivered to Lehmann shortly before he left to attend the christening of his young twins. Lehmann reportedly referred to Sri Lankan players as “black” in a two-word obscenity shouted by him when entering the Australian dressing room after being marginally run out in a one-day game with Sri Lanka in Brisbane on Wednesday. He offered verbal and written apologies to the Sri Lankans, which were immediately accepted. The Australian Cricket Board instructed Lehmann to undergo counselling but they did not impose a further penalty, prompting the ICC to charge the 32-year-old player under the racial vilification code. Lehmann had the right of appeal, but his lawyer, Greg Griffin, said there would be no appeal. Lloyd said the breach made by Lehmann could be punished by a ban of between two and four Test matches or between four and eight one-day internationals. “In this instance, I have decided that a ban of five one- day internationals is the appropriate punishment. “Lehmann has apologised for the remarks. “In reaching my decision, I took into consideration Darren’s impeccable record and other matters put to me about his standing and reputation in cricket. “Darren’s comments could be interpreted as deeply offensive, and I do not think we can condone such things in sport or life in general.” Lloyd said if he had imposed the maximum penalty of eight one-day internationals, Lehmann’s World Cup would have been “thrown out of the window.” Now he still had a chance of playing a very major role in the competition, he said. Lloyd denied the ICC was making an example of Lehmann. “The point is that we have to abide by a code. It doesn’t matter who you are — if we have a code, we have to stick by that.” “I hope this will serve as a warning to other players, because we really cannot condone this sort of stuff in the society we live in. As sportsmen, we have to show the way. We have to be above those sort of things. “I spoke to all managers and coaches before the one-day contest started about the importance of behaving properly, because if they transgressed they could miss out on some very important World Cup games.” AFP
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A clear message to players: ACB SYDNEY: The five-match suspension handed out to batsman Darren Lehmann will send a clear message to players about appropriate conduct, both on and off the field, the Australian Cricket Board (ACB) said. ACB Chief Executive Officer James Sutherland said he would personally reinforce this point to Australian players when he briefs them prior to their departure for the World Cup on January 30. “It is important that all players not only know their formal code of behaviour responsibilities, but that they also fully understand that these are a reflection of community expectations,” an ACB release quoted him as saying.
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McGrath
to miss next two ties Adelaide, January 18 McGrath’s problem forced national selectors to recall explosive fast bowler Brett Lee for tomorrow’s day-night sell-out encounter against England at the Adelaide Oval. Lee was to have been rested, but continuing concerns over McGrath have foiled selectors’ plans.
AFP
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ICPA meets as contract row continues New Delhi, January 18 Although it was described as an “administrative” meeting, it came on a day when the controversial ICC players’ contract was challenged in the Delhi High Court by former Union Minister and BCCI president N.K.P. Salve and former cricketers Kapil Dev and Madan Lal among others. All the top functionaries of the association, including president Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi, secretary Arun Lal, Abbas Ali Baig, Anil Kumble and Rahul Dravid attended the hour-long meeting yesterday, which was surprisingly a very low-key affair. Despite the brewing contract controversy, Arun Lal refused to attach much significance to the meeting. “It was just an administrative meeting. We went through the papers as we are setting up everything,” Arun Lal
later said. “It was a planned meeting. Since Dravid and Kumble had a programme in Delhi, we had scheduled the meeting accordingly,” he said. Asked whether ICPA officials had discussed the contract dispute, Arun Lal said “We are aware of all that’s happening. I would not like to say anything more at this point of time”. However, the fact that the members had a tele-conference with Indian captain Saurav Ganguly in Kolkata during the meeting, suggests that the meeting had more to do than mere administrative work.
PTI
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Sodhi has not given up yet
New Delhi, January 18 And helping him in his resurrection is legendary basketball player Michael Jordan. “I am reading an autobiography of Jordan. He explains in the book how to remove the fear of failure from the mind,” Sodhi told PTI here today. “That is very important and that’s what I am trying to do these days.” But it is not that Sodhi cannot counter the negative feelings for he has nerves of steel. He is prepared to start afresh and emulate his friends and U-19 mates - Yuvraj Singh and Mohammad Kaif. “I am a little disappointed at not making it to the World Cup squad but I am confident that I will come back into the team,” said Sodhi with a steely calmness. Sodhi was the vice-captain of the Indian team that won the U-19 World Cup in Sri Lanka in 1999. And playing alongside Sodhi then were — Yuvraj and Kaif — who later went on to author one of India’s finest one-day wins against England at the Lord’s last year. While Yuvraj and Kaif have carved a niche for themselves in world cricket, it is an irony of fate that Sodhi is trying to piece together his shattered dreams. “My cricketing career is back to square one. But I will not give up,” Sodhi said. One is led into believing his words as the man from Patiala is not the one to give up easily and a series of events in recent months has helped him remain positive and motivated. Vikram Rathore is playing for Himachal Pradesh this season, and in the absence of Dinesh Mongia, Sodhi is the captain of Punjab. “Captaining a first-class team is a big responsibility and that has given me some maturity. It has also kept me occupied and helped forget the disappointments,” Sodhi said. Punjab have done well in Ranji Trophy this season and are top of the Elite Group ‘B’. But Sodhi’s more memorable moment came three days ago when he led North Zone to victory in the Deodhar Trophy. “I scored 58, picked up a wicket and a catch in the last match against South Zone, which decided the winner,” said a beaming Sodhi. The tour of South Africa in 2001, where he played in the tri-nation one-day series, was the last major tournament for Sodhi although he played in a one-dayer against the West Indies at Jodhpur in the recent home series. But being left out of the team has only strengthened his resolve. “I am firm believer in God. I just want to keep concentrating on my work and put in more effort. PTI
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Haryana
rout Himachal Jalandhar, January 18 The match was reduced to 30 overs instead of 40.Haryana won the toss and elected to bat first. Batting well they made 217 runs for the loss of three wickets. Haryana’s Amarjit Kaypee thrashed the Himachal bowlers, scoring an unbeaten 110. He hit nine boundaries. Ram Mohan (33) and R.P. Singh scored 36 while Dhanraj Singh contributed 18 runs. Chander Mohan, Shambu and A.S. Chandal of Himachal Pradesh took one wicket each. In reply, Himachal failed to last the entire quota of overs and were bowled out in just 26.2 overs for just 81 runs. Only three Himachal players were able to reach double figures mark. Haryana’s left arm spinner Madan Lal took three wickets for 15 runs in five overs. Medium pacer Dhanraj Singh took two for 14 runs. While right arm legspinner Rajinder Madan took two wickets for 12 runs and Jaswant took two for 6 runs.
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Top shooters for Delhi World Cup New Delhi, January 18 The Dr Karni Singh ranges at Tughlaqabad, on the outskirts of Delhi, are being spruced up for the big events, as they are also the qualifying competitions to clinch a quota place and minimum qualifying score (MQS) for the 2004 Olympic Games, to be held in Athens. One important feature of these competitions will be that dope test would be conducted on the medal winners. Accommodation committee chairman Deep Bhatia, who is also the secretary-general of the Haryana Shooting Association, said accommodation for all the participants would be provided at the tranquil Rajhans Hotel in Suraj Kund. NRAI secretary-general Baljit Singh Sethi announced that 30 entries had been received for the World Cup, in which over 250 shooters representing Canada, China, the UK, Ireland, Germany, Italy, Spain, Hungary, Qatar, the Netherlands, Turkey, the UAE, South Africa and Finland are expected to compete. Mr Sethi said the field for the Asian Clay Shooting Championship, which would follow the World Cup, would be equally strong with ten countries, comprising about 100 shooters, having already confirmed their participation. They are Japan, Sri Lanka, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, China and Hong
Kong. He said more entries were expected in this exciting event. But Mr Sethi and NRAI president Digvijay Singh, who is also a Union Minister, were still struggling to rope in sponsors for the mega show as it would be clashing with the cricket World Cup in South Africa. But they were hopeful to net sponsors, considering the prestige of the events. Though India had organised World Cups in 1997 and 2000, Mr Sethi said this edition would be very competitive as many top shooters were expected to compete. He said the thrilling shotgun events would be held in trap, double trap and skeet for men, women and juniors. He said India would field a large contingent, and they were expected to make a good killing at the sweepstake. Mr Sethi said efforts were on to get a top coach to train the Indian shooters. India had won 24 medals in the 17th Commonwealth Games held in Bisley, Manchester, last year. India were placed on top in shooting, followed by Australia and
England. Indian shoots also created nine games records. Jaspal Rana won four gold, one silver and one bronze. Anjali Bhagwat lifted four golds while Samresh Jung shot two gold and three silver. In the Commonwealth championship held in 2001, India won the overall championship. Anjali had also won the Champion Trophy in the open air rifle event in the ISSF World Cup final in Munich (Germany) from August 20 to 24. Anwar Sultan and Manavjit Singh Sandhu had won a gold and bronze medals in trap in the Asian Clay Championship 2002 held in Bangkok. India had also won a team gold. Mr Sethi informed that since 1995, Indian shooters have won 65 gold, 43 silver and 26 bronze medals in events such as World Cup, Commonwealth Games, Commonwealth championship, Asian Games and Asian championship. |
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Chetan, Gurdeep to clash in final Sangrur, January 18 In one of the best fights of the day Chetan Garg defeated a spirited Bunty Sharma of Sangrur in a close contest. Former Panjab Champion and bronze medalist in the Nationals, chetan will take on Gurdeep of Sangrur in the finals. Earlier Gurdip thrashed Khushpreet of Bathinda on points. Results ( all semi-finals): C-3:
Gurdeep ( Sangrur) beat Khushpreet (Bathinda), Chetan Garg ( Jalandhar) beat Bunty Sharma ( Mastuana). E-I:
Keshap ( Hoshiarpur) beat Jagjit Singh ( Amritsar), Varinder ( Ludhiana) beat Paramjit (Gurdaspur). E-2:Ravi Kumar (Patiala) beat Vipal Kumar ( Ludhiana), Vinod Kumar (Ropar) beat Harinder Singh ( Faridkot). E-3: Jagdip Kumar (Jalandhar) beat Pradeep Kumar ( Sangrur), Ishat ( Amritsar) beat Joginder Singh ( Hoshiarpur). E-5:
Bhagat Singh ( Bathinda) beat Gurvinder Singh ( Sangrur) D-2: Prabhdeep Singh ( Sangrur) beat Vishal (Jalandhar), Pawan Kumar ( Bathinda) beat Rohit Kumar ( Faridkot). D-3: Punit Kumar ( Patiala) beat Kuljit Singh ( Ferozepore), Jatinder Singh ( Sangrur) beat Robin Kumar (Nawanshahr). D-4: Inderjit Singh ( Sangrur) beat Manjinder Singh ( Moga), Manish (Ludhiana) beat Saurav Tandon ( Hoshiarpur). D-5: Baghel Singh ( Ludhiana) beat Karav ( Hoshiarpur), Balkar Singh (Faridkot) beat Vicky ( Amritsar). D-6:
Deepak Sharma ( Patiala) beat Harjit Singh ( Amritsar). |
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Gurpreet, Sandeep best lifters Sangrur, January 18 The results (all finals). Junior Girls: 48 kg — Amanpreet Kaur (Sang) 1, Dalbir Kaur (Sang) 2; 53 kg — Manpreet Kaur; 58 kg — Inderjit Kaur (Sang); 63 kg — Sandeep Kaur 1, Sandeep 2. Junior boys: 56 kg — Navdeep Singh (Sunam) 1, Maninder Singh (Jalaliwal) 2, Bikramjit Singh (Sunam) 3; 62 kg — Gurinder Singh (Upali) 1, Sonu Singh (Sunam) 2. 69 kg — Gurpreet Singh (Ranike). Senior boys 56 kg — Rachpal Singh (Upali) 1, Ranjit Singh (Sunam) 2, Daljit Singh (Sang) 3; 62 kg — Naib Singh (Sang) 1, Jasvir Singh (Sang) 2, Manjinder Singh (Jalaiwal) 3; 77 kg — Beant Singh (Baniko) 1, Mansa Khan (Kattu) 2, Harvinr Singh (Sang) 3; 85 kg — Gurmail Singh (Ranike) 1, Deepak Singla (Sang) 2, Dilshad (MK) 3; 94 kg — Amit Singla (Sang) 1, Jagdev Singh (Sang) 2, Harminder Singh (Sunam) 3. |
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DAV beat Mahilpur academy Chandigarh, January 18 The match started at a fast pace as DAV, Hoshiarpur players took full advantage of their height and maturity. After the fist half DAV went of the attack time and again. Dilbag Singh gave a fine pass, beating the rival defence, to Gurpreet Singh, who put the ball in the net in the 60th minute. Gurpreet scored the second goal too. The third goal was scored by Ravinder with a powerful shot to complete the tally. In the second match GNNB College defeated GN College, Phagwara 1-0. The match started at a slow pace. In the second half GNNB boys showed some good moves as Lakhbir Singh left no chance for the goalkeepers as he headed the ball into the net for GNNB College. In another match Lyallpur Khalsa College, Jalandhar, defeated DAV College, Phagwara, 1-0. The only goal of the match was scored in the fourth minute by Kularjit Singh but Lyallpur Khalsa College boys missed many chances to increase the lead. |
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Alok wins billiards title Chandigarh, January 18 Alok’s win in the nationals follows his good showing the World Billiards Championships held at Sydney in December, 2002. Alok had bagged the third position there. He had also won the silver medal in the Busan Asian Games in billiards with Geet Sethi. The Billiards and Snooker Federation of India has decided to recommend Alok Kumar’s name for the Arjuna Award this year. This was decided in the federation’s annual general body meeting held at Jammu on January 15.
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Melbourne, January 18
In video (
