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Thursday,
March 27, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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Manavjit, Anwer in line for medals
Indian bowlers were found wanting Bangladesh captain Mashud resigns
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Prasad likely to replace Atram
New Zealand, Pak triumph Voeller looking to motivate Germany Parnita Garewal surges ahead Beighton Cup:
CISF, BSF win AG Punjab hockey
champions Parambir in final
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Manavjit, Anwer in line for medals New Delhi, March 26 Manavjit Singh, who began with a not too promising 23 in the first round, got his act together in the second and third rounds to post perfect scores of 25 each, while Anwer Sultan, who had shot a gold in the last Asian Clay Championship in Malaysia, began with a perfect 25, but then slumped to 23, before hitting peak form again to shoot 25, to catch up with Manavjit. Mansher, who too got off to a perfect start, hitting 25 targets, flopped in the second and third rounds to hit only 23 and 22 targets. Khaled Al Mudhaf of Kuwait was at the third position with a total of 71, while there were five shooters, including Mansher, on a score of 70. National coach Prof Sunny Thomas was very guarded in his reaction as he felt that the performances of Manavjit Singh and Anwer Sultan were “adequate, but not good”. “They need to show a lot more resilience tomorrow to keep up their good work, and qualify for the final”, remarked the coach. In the women’s section, there was some cheerful news for India as Arti Singh Rao plucked the silver medal with a score of 87. She could have easily gone for the gold, but in the final round, she had very poor round of 18 targets, out of 25, after making an impressive score of 69 in the qualifying round. Arti had won the gold in the Grand Prix event of the World Cup. Jin Yan of China lifted the gold with a score of 87 (72 plus 20) while Yu Mei Wang of Hong Kong tallied 85 points to claim the bronze. In the skeet event for men, the three Indians in the fray — Amardeep Singh Rai, Naveen Jindal and Inderjit Singh Rao — put on poor show to languish way down the ladder. Amardeep Singh was placed at the 19th position with a score of 68 (20, 25, 23) while Naveen Jindal was at the 21st position with a score of 67 (21, 23, 23) after the first three rounds of 75 targets. Inderjit Singh Rao was placed at the 22nd position with a total of 66 (22, 23, 21). All the three Indians have very slim chances of qualifying for the final round. Zaid Almutairi of Kuwait, and Saeed Almaktoum of the UAE, who had perfect rounds, were leading the pack with scores of 75 while there were three shooters on 73 points, and as many on 72 points. In the trap event for women, Chinese Taipei claimed the gold and silver medals, respectively, through Fang Han, who shot 89, and Huike Ma, who had a final tally of 80. Gary Corral of Philippines finished third, with a total score of 77. Birendeep Sodhi of India finished first in the trap event for junior men with a total score of 67. He had rounds of 22, 21, 24 while Victor Khazzyanov of Kazakhastan took the second place with rounds of 20, 18, 19. Ankur Singh of India totalled 48 (14, 19, 15) to finish third. In the men’s trap for Minimum Quota Score (MQS), Mohammed Syed Faisal of India ended up third, with a total of 61 (22, 18, 21). Hamad Alathbi of Qatar took the top spot with a score of 65 while Victor Pidgayevskiy finished second at 62. |
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Anand defeats Almasi
Monte Carlo, March 26 With two more rounds remaining in the 12-player double round robin tournament comprising one blindfold and one rapid game in each round, Anand (12 points) was half a point ahead of his nearest rivals Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria and Linares champion Peter Leko of Hungary in the combined standings. Defending champion Alexander Morozevich slipped to fourth spot after settling for a 1-1 draw with fellow Russian Evgeny Bareev while Israeli Boris Gelfand was relegated to fifth position when he lost to Braingames champion Vladimir Kramnik of Russia by 0.5-1.5 margin. Anand lost his top position in the rapid standings and overtaken by co-leader Bareev. However, the Indian ace is slated to play the Russian in the next round and that could be his chance to regain the lead in this section. Kramnik got back in lead in the blindfold with a fine victory over Gelfand who now shares the joint second place with Topalov in this section. Leko, Morozevich and Anand are in joint fourth position. Anand played a fine technical endgame to beat Almasi in the blindfold. The opening was a Berlin defence where Almasi was close to equalising on a few occasions but never quite there. The routine exchanges led the game to a rook and bishop ending where black’s perennial problems in the pawn structure was exploited by Anand to perfection. Almasi failed to restrict Anand from making a decisive headway on the kingside after allowing a pawn bind that left his bishop crippled. Anand penetrated the seventh rank with his rook and got two passed pawns to romp home in 93 moves.
PTI |
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Indian bowlers were found wanting IT has been a fantastic World Cup and the team that played the best deserved to win. From the Indian point of view, it may seem disappointing that the final became so one-sided. But believe me, if there was one team that looked capable of the stopping the Australians, it was India. There was heavy rain in the night before the final, which could have clouded Sourav Ganguly’s decision after winning the toss. At the end of the day, fielding first was not such a bad decision considering that there was some help in the wicket for the fast bowlers. It’s just that the bowlers were found wanting. For me, the match was won and lost in the first 8-10 overs of the Australian innings. India’s fast bowlers forgot the very attributes that had got them into the final and seemed more worried about what the opponents were likely to do. That is a recipe for disaster at this level. Once Australia had got away without losing a wicket in the first 15 overs, albeit with their share of luck, the match was more or less over. Zaheer Khan, who had bowled beautifully throughout the tournament, was over enthusiastic and Srinath with all his experience succumbed to pressure. This allowed the Australian innings to take root and then flourish. Australia had their openers to thank for a good start, and this gave the batsmen to follow an opportunity to build a big total. Ricky Ponting started scratchily, but soon stamped his personality on the World Cup. The manner in which he changed gear from the 38th over was a great tactical move because it helped Australia reach 350 from which there was no looking back. But as well as Ponting played, the top innings for me came from Damien Martyn. His was a sublime effort and instrumental in getting the innings going after two wickets had fallen in quick succession. When India came out to bat, they had to chase at more than seven runs per over. Sachin Tendulkar, who has the weight of the whole world on his shoulders, had double that by now. In hindsight, one can say that he was in a bit of a hurry, but one cannot fault his mindset to dominate the attack. Tendulkar’s dismissal sent the signal into the mind of every Australian player that they had won the World Cup. After that, their task became relatively easy. It is convenient to be critical in defeat, but I can say from first hand experience that the difference between the two World Cup finals India has played in - 1983 and now - is the luck factor. The rub of the green went our way in 1983, little went right for us now. India have no reason to feel dejected, rather should hold their heads high. They have had a terrific World Cup and they should be proud of their performances. The captain has done a fine job, and given the talent available, he has a chance to build a good team.
(Gameplan) |
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Bangladesh captain Mashud resigns
Dhaka, March 26 “I have asked him to relieve me of my job,” the 27-year-old Mashud said. “I took the decision to give the board enough time to get a replacement before the tri-series and Test matches against South Africa next month. “I have enjoyed every moment on the field as Bangladesh captain, but I did not enjoy anything off the field.”
IANS |
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Prasad likely to replace Atram Bangalore, March 26 Plate B Skipper J Arunkumar said Prasad was likely to replace C Atram. Plate B have 11 points from their two games, with eight points from the win here last week and three points from the drawn game against Elite B in Chennai. An under-performing Elite A, on the other hand, are saddled with injury worries.
UNI |
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New Zealand, Pak triumph Kuala Lumpur, March 26 The Kiwis scored in the first minute of the match, as Bevan Hari punished the Koreans for a lapse in concentration during the opening moments of play in Malaysia’s northern city of Ipoh. Seo Jong-ho equalised in the 16th minute, but New Zealand stormed back with two goals by Hayden Shaw and Phillip Burrows after the interval. The Asian champions fought to claw back, but Jang Jong-hyun’s goal two minutes before the match ended was not enough to rescue his team. In another match, Pakistan beat Malaysia 3-1, a result that will likely doom the hosts to finish last among the five teams in the annual competition, which also includes world champions Germany. Malaysia has not won a match so far. Pakistan, which won the title in 2000, scored through Ali Raza and Sohail Abbas, who rammed in two goals in the 3rd and 57th minutes. Malaysia’s goal came through Norazlan Rahim in the 47th minute.
AP |
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Voeller looking to motivate Germany
Herzogenaurach (Germany), March 26 Germany faces Lithuania on Saturday in a Euro 2004 qualifying and its record under Voeller clearly shows the players perform better when something is on the line. The team has lost just twice in 19 matches that count toward something, including the World Cup and its qualifying, plus the current European campaign. But when it comes to friendlies, the team’s motivation is highly questionable, something witnessed in 3-1 losses to both the Dutch and Spaniards. After the latter match, captain Ollie Kahn publicly lashed out at his teammates, accusing them of being more interested in big upcoming international matches with their clubs. “Naturally we want to win friendlies, but losses there aren’t that bad,” Voeller said. “In the last friendlies, we’ve tried some things, left a player home here and there. But now its about three points.” Lithuania can’t count on the German players looking ahead to big club matches this time, because all the Bundesliga sides have been bounced in a dismal year for the league, the worst showing since the 1983-84 season. That means Voeller’s team will get five days to practice, a long stretch for the national side, and his players are largely healthy and rested. Voeller says his priority is charging up his players for the match, hoping to take a big step toward securing a berth in Portugal when Europe’s best tangle. His squad leads its group with six points ahead of Scotland with four and the Faroe Islands with three, with only the winner advancing. “The most important thing is we play 100 per cent with the right attitude — that’s what we’re going to work on this week,” Voeller said. World Cup star Michael Ballack, labouring under an ankle problem, will be the only major loss. His Bayern Munich teammate, Jens Jeremies, probably will also miss the match with an injury, but is expected to be adequately compensated for by the return of Liverpool’s Dietmar Hamann, often sidelined in recent matches by aches and pains.
AP |
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Parnita Garewal surges ahead Chandigarh, March 26 After making a lackluster start Parnita shot an excellent one over in the back nine to card a gross 82. Shruti Reddy, the youngest participant, continued her brilliant performance shooting a scorching 11 under nett 61 practically assuring her carrying away the Air-India Challenge Bowl. Scores after the second round: Grewal Salver (best gross score): Parnita Garewal 159, Madhu Brar 177. Air-India Challenge (best nett): Shruti Reddy 124, Kiran B M Singh 141, Madhu Brar 145. Bawa Gill Trophy ( 13-24 handicap) gross:
Madhu Brar 177, Dalbir Sahi 187, Gurbrinder Johl 188. Rani Jagdish Kaur Cup ( 13-24 handicap) nett: Madhu Brar 145, Dalbir Sahi 147, Sheena Sekhon 149. Meters & Instruments Trophy ( 25-36 handicap) gross: Neelu Chopra 195, Shruti Reddy 196, Gaitri Singh 202. Ell Ess Trophy ( 25-36 handicap) nett: Shruti Reddy 134, Kiran B M Singh 141, Neelu Chopra 145. Lady Governor’s Cup for seniors:
Gross — Madhu Brar 177, Dalbir Sahi 187; Nett — Kiran B M Singh 141, Madhu Brar 145. Junior Cup:
Gross — Kanika Minocha 189, Suleen Kaur 195; Nett — Shruti Reddy 124, Suleen Kaur 154. |
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Beighton Cup:
CISF, BSF win Kolkata, Mar 26 Scorers for CISF were Mongra Munda, Bharat Kumar, Cyrill Ekka and Prambir. In the BSF vs Karnataka XI match the fate was decided via tie breaker in favour of the former 4-3. While, Harbhajan Singh, Devinder Kumar, Cristopher Ekka and Marinua Lakra scored for BSF, Laxman Rao, Suresh and John Verghese scored for Karnataka XI. In another match Bombay XI defeated Tamil Nadu XI 12-11 after the match ended in a 2-2 draw.
UNI |
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AG Punjab hockey
champions Chandigarh, March 26 Delhi Audit were match for the champions who got the vital lead in the eight minutes when Surjit Singh hit the ball off a penalty corner. Ravinder Singh of AG Punjab further compounded the misery of Delhi Audit when he scored two goals in the 26th and 36th minutes. At the interval AG Punjab were leading 2-0. Both the teams have qualified for the inter zonal tournament which will commence on March 28. Others teams include AG Tamil Nadu, AG Andhra Pradesh, AG Madhya Pradesh, AG Rajasthan, AG Orrisa and AG Bihar. The all-India tournament will be played on league-cum-knockout basis. Mr Nand Lal, Accountant General, Punjab, was the chief guest. |
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Parambir in final Patiala, March 26 Parambir Singh, employed as an ASI with Punjab Police displayed sharp reflexes and went into the attacking mould right from the start. He will cross swords with Rohit Kumar of Karnataka who downed Vikramjit Singh of the hosts 15-9 in the other semifinal. Punjab girl, Sarabjit Kaur seemed to be totally out of place in her semifinal bout against
M. Usha Rani of Manipur and went down 8-15. the final will be an all-Manipur affair as in the other semifinal,
E. Geta Devi comprehensively outclassed Sudha Rani of Maharashtra 15-2. Earlier, the four day meet was inaugurated by Mr G.S. Grewal, Commissioner, Municipal Corporation. |
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