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Thursday,
June 5, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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Tirkey salvages draw for India
Agassi now
sets sights on grass |
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Paes, Bhupathi consider Olympic reunion Wright to be permanent coach of NCA
‘Upliftment of cricket HPCPA’s aim’
Musah East Bengal skipper Seeded players have it easy Stage set for Asian wrestling UP eves brush aside J&K Factionalism
to the fore in AGA Mahindras’ search for fastest bowler
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Tirkey salvages draw for India
Sydney, June 4 Dhanraj Pillay (35th), Prabhjot Singh (55th) and Ignace Tirkey (70th) scored the goals for India, while Australia scored through Andrew Smith (19,34) and Scott Webster (57th). Trailing 2-3 till the final minute, India secured a point from the pulsating match after Ignace Tirkey sounded the board just 35 seconds from the hooter. The match, which witnessed much drama as both the sides made frantic efforts to grab full points, saw the Australians dominating the first 20 minutes with some fine moves. Their repeated attacks on the Indian goal bore fruit in the 20th minute when Andrew Smith gave them the lead. The hosts extended their lead further when Smith scored his second goal just a minute before the half time. India, keen to avenge their two losses against Australia in the first leg of the tournament in Perth last week, were able to reduce the margin when skipper Dhanraj Pillay, showing his brilliance, beat the rival goalkeeper in the 35th minute. "Our style of play is clicking and today’s match proved that. We are improving with each outing and the boys’ performance today was much better than what it was in Perth," chief coach Rajinder Singh told PTI after the match. "The match was quite tight and we peaked at the right time to score the goals after trailing 0-2 for most part of the first half," he said. After Pillay’s first half goal, India’s hopes for winning the match were rekindled when striker Prabhjot Singh pumped in a goal 20 minutes into the second half to make the score 2-2. But the visitors’ joy was shortlived as Australia again surged ahead through a Scott Webster goal in the 57th minute. However, the hosts failed to maintain the tempo as a rejuvenated India started to exert pressure for the equaliser. With time running out, India made several desperate attempts to score a goal, but were thwarted in their attempts by the Australian defenders, who patrolled their area well to deny the visitors any space near the goalmouth. But India’s persistence paid dividends when they scored just 35 seconds before the hooter through Ignace Tirkey. It was the combination of two veterans -- Pillay and Baljit Singh Dhillon -- which set the stage for Ignace to slot home the equaliser in the final minute, much to the delight of his teammates. Despite just managing a draw, Rajinder Singh said India did exactly what Australians had done to them in the Perth final. "We played very well and you cannot say that we were lucky to manage a draw. Rather it was Australia who were lucky to score at the last moment to win the title in the Perth final match, which we dominated throughout," he said. In the first-leg of the tournament in Perth, India squandered a 1-0 lead and conceded two goals in the last five minutes to finish second behind Australia last week. India will be playing their next match in the four-team competition against Australia ‘A’ tomorrow and take on Pakistan on Saturday. Encouraged by India’s performance on the tour so far, Rajinder Singh said his side will continue to experiment in the tournament. "We are here to experiment and will continue that in our next matches -- be it against Pakistan or against Australia ‘A’. We would like to use the games to prepare the team for future." PTI
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Ferrero,
Costa in semifinal PARIS, June 4 The third seed, a runner-up to Albert Costa in last year's final, will meet his compatriot again in the next round. Costa earlier beat another Spaniard Tommy Robredo in five sets. Ferrero made hard work of his victory, allowing the Chilean back into the match on each occasion he had dominated a set, but his experience on centre court showed as his nerve held best after three hours 29 minutes. Spain's comeback king Albert Costa recovered from two sets down once again to reach the French Open semi-finals with a 2-6
,3-6, 6-4, 7-5 ,6-2 victory over compatriot Tommy Robredo today. For the fourth time in five matches at Roland Garros the defending champion triumphed in five sets to go through to a last-four clash with either third seed Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain or Chile's Fernando Gonzalez. Robredo, ranked 31 in the world and playing his first grand slam quarter-final, raced into a two sets to love lead with some sublime claycourt artistry. But he began to tire badly and Costa, seeded nine, levelled the match before burying his increasingly frustrated 21-year-old opponent in the fifth set with a barrage of brutal back-court blows after three hours 28 minutes.
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Agassi now sets sights on grass
Paris, June 4 But the Argentine outplayed the 1999 French Open champion 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 and the American will now have to reach a notable mark in his outstanding career on a surface that suits his game much better. "It’s a challenging time of the year for me, on the clay," said Agassi, who has played in three finals at Roland Garros, losing in 1990 and 1991. "And in a strange way I sort of look forward to the torment of trying to figure it out and quite look forward to when it’s over. "But when the disappointment settles a little bit , I’ll be able to look forward to picking up my game where I left off last time I was on a court with lower bounces," said Agassi, who won the first of his eight grand slam titles at Wimbledon in 1992. Asked what he hoped for at Wimbledon this year, he joked: "To play Coria". The Argentine, reaching a Grand Slam semifinal for the first time, said Agassi had been his idol when he was a child. "I’d rather not be his idol and play him on a hardcourt than be his idol and play him on clay," said Agassi. "You know, it’s not for me to suggest that I’m going to win every time I play on a hardcourt but I definitely know that on this surface he poses a tremendous threat to anybody. "He’s one of the best out there on it," Agassi said. The only active player to have won Grand Slams on all surfaces, Agassi, who added another Australian Open crown this year, was led to reflect on his career so far. The American has played more career matches than anyone else on the circuit right now but is some way behind Stefan Edberg, John McEnroe, Guillermo Vilas, Ivan Lendl and Jimmy Connors, who leads the way with a record 1,425 matches at tour level. No player has been able to win in Melbourne and Paris successively since Jim Courier in 1992. "To say something’s not possible is a naive statement, because anything’s possible," said Agassi. "But winning all four in one year would certainly rank up there with one of the most difficult things to do in the whole of sports. "I’m overwhelmed with the things that I’ve managed to accomplish but it doesn’t quite take away the immediate disappointment of having to figure out how I can do it again. And I’m disappointed," he said.
Reuters
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Paes, Bhupathi consider Olympic reunion
Paris, June 4 Bhupathi and Belarus doubles partner Max Mirnyi, the US Open champions, went down in three sets to Paes and his Czech partner David Rikl in the men’s doubles quarter-finals yesterday. But after later advancing to the mixed doubles quarterfinals with Russia’s Elena Likhovtseva, Bhupathi said he would not rule out a reunion to play at the Athens Olympics. “Both of us would like to go to the Olympics with the chance to win gold,” said the 28-year-old from Bangalore. “I wouldn’t say no, but we’ll see, it’s better that no one puts pressure on us.” “We were out there to play tennis today not to try and beat up each other,” he added. By contrast Paes said that the win was a bittersweet one for him against a partner with whom he won Wimbledon in 1999, and the French Open in 1999 and 2001. The duo, popularly known as “The Indian Express” and who were once No 1 in the world, had already split once in 1999 before reforming their partnership just before the Sydney Olympics the following year, where they went out in the second round. They reformed briefly to win the Mallorca title in April 2002 before separating again. Vece Paes thanks Navratilova KOLKATA: Doctor Vece Paes described his son Leander’s triumph alongside David Rikl as a “very vital win” and thanked tennis legend Martina Navratilova for rekindling Leander’s zest for the game. “It was an emotionally exhausting match for both Lee and Mahesh. It is good that Lee and Rikl won in the end. Now they will be high on confidence and must go all out to win the title,” the senior Paes told
PTI here. Paes and his partner fought back after dropping the first set to carve out a 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 win over Bhupathi and Mirnyi on court two at the Roland Garros yesterday. “Both Lee and Mahesh are professionals and in that sense it was just another match for them. But the media is very emotionally attached to their progress in the circuit. They are constantly compared. In that sense it was a very vital win,” he said. Asked how Leander felt after the match, Paes said his son was more relieved than excited. “They have been playing against each other off and on. Lee is now focussing on the semifinal.” Giving credit to Navratilova, who partnered Leander to the Australian Open mixed doubles title, for remotivating his son, the senior Paes said “after 13 years on the circuit, his body was hurting. He was tired. He was thinking of retiring. But seeing Martina so keyed up at the age of 46, infused a new vigour and energy in Leander.” Paes said late last year Leander was planning to hang up his boots after one more season. “But he was so inspired by Navratilova that he is now keen to continue for three to five years more. As such i must say that Martina has played a huge role in Leander’s come back.”
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Sanaa-Sania duo advances New Delhi, June 4 In the second round match, the Indian pair defeated Mari Andersson of Sweden and American Megan Falcon 6-1, 6-3, according to information received here today.
PTI |
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Wright to be permanent coach of NCA Bangalore, June 4 He said a camp for wicket-keepers and spinners would be held here after the completion of the ongoing India A camp on May 18.
E.A.S. Prasanna and Kiran More, among others, were expected to impart training to the participants. He said seminars would be held for coaches from all zones, from June 22 to 26.
UNI
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‘Upliftment
of cricket HPCPA’s aim’ Chandigarh, June 4 “The players belonging to Himachal Pradesh had started feeling suffocated because there was no check on players from the neighbouring states to play from Himachal,” Mr Anil Sen, former Himachal player and captain, elected president of the association, alleged in a statement submitted to The Tribune here. Besides, the cricketers have formed the association “to save the interests of Himachal Pradesh cricketers of all the categories”. The association will work “to create conducive atmosphere between the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association and cricketers,” the statement said. It mentioned that the state had qualified for the Elite group of the Ranji Trophy championship which concluded recently because of the sterling efforts of former skipper Rajiv Nayyar, Sangram Singh, Nischal Gaur, Jaswant Rai and Shakti Singh. But after the induction of a host of players from a neighbouring state, Himachal, remaining winless in seven matches in the Ranji Trophy, finished at the bottom in Elite Group “A” this year and was facing relegation to the Plate group. The team even lost to minnows Jammu and Kashmir in the Deodhar Trophy one-day match despite the presence of these professionals. The association demanded that any Himachal Pradesh player residing outside the state but willing to play for the state should be made to play in the district championship for at least two years before he is eligible for selection to play for the state, Sen, the first Himachal bowler to take a 10-wicket haul in a match ( against Jammu and Kashmir) and now based in Shimla while talking to TNS, said. In an peculiar case a non-Himachali player (Raja Ali) made his Ranji Trophy debut from Himachal Pradesh in 2000-01. He performed miserably in the two games that he got to play. Expectedly, he was shown the door, Sen alleged. “The HPCA is ignoring the former players by not giving any assignments to them as managers, selectors and match referee etc,” the statement alleged. The association lamented that despite the presence of a host of NIS-trained cricketers in the state, coaches from the neighbouring state were getting preferential treatment. “The coaches are also benefited by giving them extra perks like house rent allowance for which they were not entitled to because they are coaches of the Sports Authority of India,” it added. Jaswant Rai has been elected senior vice-president of the association, while Shakti Singh and Mukesh Kumar will be the vice-presidents. Anuj Pal Dass and Anup Vij have been elected joint secretaries, while Surinder Kumar will be the treasurer of the association. |
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Musah East Bengal skipper
Kolkata, June 4 Musah, who has been serving the East Bengal defence for about five years, would have medio Dipankar Roy as his deputy, football secretary Santosh Bhattacharjee said here. The club, he said, has also planned to organise a grand felicitation on June 12 for the NFL winners who have achieved a historic feat of winning all the five tournaments they took part in last year. The red and yellow brigade had also culled a record 49 points and scored maximum number of 44 goals in the national league. Football star of yesteryear Amed Khan, who played for the club during the 1950s, would be invited at the felicitation programme, he said. PTI
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Seeded players have it easy
Mumbai, June 4 International shuttler Abhinn sidelined C.M. Shashidhar of Railways 15-11 15-9 while Ratti crushed K. Srinivasan of Andhra Pradesh 15-8 15-5. Third seed B.S. Vidyadhar of Railways rallied magnificently, after dropping the first game 9-15, to pip Joy T Anthony of Kerala, 9-15 15-2 15-4 in 40 minutes. Women’s top seed B.R. Meenakshi of the PSCB was too good for Poonam Tiwari of Railways. Meenakshi won 11-5 11-4 while her teammate and former national champion Manjusha Kanwar had to sweat out before making it to the second round with a 11-0 7-11 11-8 win over Palkan Nagori of Railways. Others who made it to the second round were Neha Makwana of Madhya Pradesh, Jwala Gutta, Shruthi Kurian and C H Deepthi (all three from PSCB), Saina Nehwal of Andhra Pradesh and Trupti Murgunde of Maharashtra. In the men’s singles, Hemant Duggal of Railways pipped Amar Mohite of Maharashtra 15-11 15-5 while Arvind Bhatt of the PSCB sidelined Jibi Varghese of the Railways 15-6 5-15 15-9 on way to the second round. Also making it to the next round were Nikhil Kanetkar of the PSCB, S D S Krishna of Andhra Pradesh. PTI
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Stage set for Asian wrestling New Delhi, June 4 Vice-president of the International Wrestling Association (FILA) Tomiaki Fukuda, who along with Wrestling Federation of India president M S Malik met reporters here today, said 15 teams from Asian countries have already arrived in the Capital. The teams are being put up at Hotel Rajhans at Surajkhund, near Faridabad. Korea were the first to arrive, followed by Mongolia. Iran have brought a 35-member squad, and hope to corner a chunk of medals. Other countries who have arrived are South Korea, Kazakhstan, Chinese Taipei, Syria, Japan, Bangladesh, Uzbekistan, the Philippines, Nepal, Tazikistan and Krgystan. All the wrestling powers of Asia would be fielding teams in the Championship. Mr Malik said president of the Asian Associated Wrestling Committee (AAWC) was highly impressed with the facilities in Delhi that he felt India could easily host the World Championship. Mr Malik said though there was no known case of doping in wrestling, he has
nevertheless requested the government to provide dope-testing facilities, and if the facilities are provided, dope-testing will be conducted during the championship. He said FILA president Raphael Martinetti will be arriving in Delhi to attend the championship. Mr Tomiaki said four weight categories—48, 55, 63 and 72—will be introduced in women’s wrestling, which will make its debut at the Athens Olympics in 2004. India will field a seven-member women’s team in the Asian meet. The team is: Kamini Yadav (48kg), Renu (51kg), Manju Sekhawat (55kg), Alka Tomar (58kg), Gitika Thakur (63kg), Kiran Sihag (67kg), Gursharan Preet Kaur (72 kg). |
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UP eves brush aside J&K Chandigarh, June 4 Mr Virendra Singh, Adviser to the Chandigarh Administration, formally inaugurated the five-day meet. In all, five boys matches were held today. In the first tie, Uttaranchal got the better of Gujarat 14-7, while Delhi downed Goa 24-5. Rajasthan pipped Dadra Nagar and Haveli 23-2 while Karnataka defeated Madhya Pradesh 16-10.
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Factionalism
to the fore in AGA Amritsar, June 4 However, the other faction revealed that the changes were compulsory and minor as the one player had to go to Sri Lanka to play in some matches and the second batsman had not joined the training camp. Former secretary of the AGA, Mr Surinder Arjun, said he had given a memorandum to the Deputy Commissioner two days earlier in which he had sought the recognition of the governing body elected on November 5, 2002. |
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Mahindras’ search for fastest bowler Chandigarh, June 4 The fastest bowler in each region will travel to Mumbai to compete in a grand national final, which will be telecast exclusively on ESPN Star Sports. |
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Una beat Chamba Chamba, June 4 Brief scores Una: 311 for 9 in 50 overs (Aurn Dayal 129, Ashish 43, Sandeep Saini 41; Abhinav nayyar 6 for 52). Chamba:
132 all out (Chandan Puri 49; Varun Sharma 2 for 8, Ashish 2 for 25, Gaurav 2 for 24). |
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Paris, June 4
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