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Monday,
June 9, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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India avenge loss, lift title
Ferrero triumphs at French Open
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Bowlers shape Lanka win ‘Power not everything’
Sania looking ahead at Wimbledon Cheema, Kiran
settle for silver Beckham set to leave Manchester United Punjab boys outplay Orissa Synthetic track damaged Andhra girls, UP boys win Sukhmanpreet, Chetanpreet win
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India avenge loss, lift title
Sydney, June 8 In the final played before a packed house at the Sydney International Hockey stadium here, India scored through Jugraj Singh (30th minute), Gagan Ajit Singh (31), Prabhjot Singh (38 and 64) and Baljit Singh Dhillon (66) to finish their 12-day tour of Australia on a high note. Though Troy Alder’s scored a hat-trick (45, 55, 70) for Australia, it was not enough to prevent India from registering their first win against the hosts on the tour. “This is a great finish to our tour. I am absolutely thrilled with the way the boys played today,” said an elated Indian coach Rajinder Singh who had said the twin tournaments would start India’s build-up to the Champions Trophy in August and next year’s Athens Olympic Games. “This is a big impetus for us for future tournaments particularly the Champions Trophy and next year’s Athens Olympics. We would like to continue in the same vein,” he said. The visitors, keen to give the Australians a taste of their own medicine after narrowly losing the first leg final in Perth 1-2 last week, started on a positive note, putting pressure on the opposition post at regular intervals. The three strikers — skipper Dhanraj Pillay, Prabhjot Singh and Dhillon — put up a disciplined performance to create opportunities but failed to convert any of them till the 30th minute as the rival defenders successfully thwarted all their moves. India broke the deadlock when Jugraj Singh converted a penalty corner in the 30th minute and after 90 seconds, Gagan Ajit Singh scored a brilliant field goal to make the score 2-0. Pillay and Dhillon set the stage with some brilliant stickwork which Gagan Ajit Singh utilised fully much to the delight of the Indians fans, who had thronged the stadium to watch their team play. India, who went to the interval leading 2-0, extended their lead further when Prabhjot Singh scored the first of his two goals in the 38th minute. India, who had till then played superbly, came under some intense pressure after that as the Australians made frantic efforts to get back into the match. With 25 minutes remaining, Australia scored their first goal through Alder who converted a penalty corner to rekindle his team’s hope of staging a recovery. Alder again sounded the board 10 minutes later — this time dodging the Indian defenders for a field goal — as Australia began to choke the Indian defence with some fine moves. But veteran goalkeeper Devesh Chouhan, coming up with yet another brilliant display on the tour, saved at least four shots taken by the strikers at the Indian goal. But that was all the Australians could do since Prabhjot Singh and Baljit Singh slotted home within a space of two minutes to catapult the team to take a three-goal lead. The double-strikes in the 64th and 66th minutes put the issue beyond the hosts who made some desperate attempts on Indian post. Alder scored off a penalty corner in the last minute to complete the hat-trick, which was the only consolation for the home team. The 3500-odd crowd gave the winners a standing ovation as the team took the lap of honour. Indian skipper Pillay received the winning trophy from the Hockey Australia president Pam Tye. Defeat for Pak Meanwhile, Pakistan's woes continued as they crashed to a 2-5 defeat against Australia ‘A’ in an earlier match. After taking the lead through Ben Bishop in the first minute of the match, Australia ‘A’ scored four goals in the second half as the visitors suffered their second defeat in the second-leg. Australian second-stringers scored twice within two minutes into the second half through Lucas Judge and Grant Schubert while Nathan Eglington sounded the board in the 52nd minute. Eleven minutes later Tristram Woodhouse scored the fifth goal. For Pakistan, Rehan Butt (24) and Shakeel Abbasi (53) slotted home.
PTI |
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Ferrero triumphs at French Open Paris, May 20 The straight sets pummelling was the most one-sided men's final here since 1978 when Bjorn Borg wiped Guillermo Vilas for the loss of just five games. Clinching the win with a searing forehand, Ferrero fell to his knees before vaulting into the players' box to hug and kiss his father and elder sisters as the tears flowed freely. ''It was 12 years ago when I first came to Roland Garros and I always dreamed of winning here, I don't know what to say,'' the 23-year-old said. ''These two weeks were the most special in my life, I was hoping to win and now it's in the bag. I'd like to congratulate Martin, I hope he will keep improving.'' Twelve months ago Ferrero was denied victory here when, as overwhelming favourite in the final, his nerves failed him against compatriot Albert Costa. But one year on, Ferrero never looked in any doubt that he would finally make his Grand Slam breakthrough in front of Spain's former Olympic president Juan Antonio Samaranch. Ferrero has never failed to reach the semifinals here since first playing in 2000. For Verkerk the entire tournament was a voyage of discovery. Playing his first Roland Garros, he was only the third Dutchman to reach a Grand Slam final and bidding to be the second —after Richard Krajicek at Wimbledon in 1996 — to win one. However, he had not won a Grand Slam match before stepping on to the ochre-hued Parisian clay, and simply lost his way on centre court. Overwhelmed as he was in the title match, his heroics this past fortnight have lifted him from world number 46 to a ranking of 15. The 420,000 euros ($495,200) he picks up for reaching the final also doubles his career earnings to date. ''I was behind all the time, he played unbelievable. He deserved to win,'' a shell-shocked Verkerk said. ''I never expected to stand here. Now I am here and all I can really say is I am happy for him that he won because he is a great champion. I don't want to get too emotional so I won't say too many words.'' A fortune-teller had told Ferrero he would emerge as champion this year but in truth very little providence was needed to discern the winner today. A ripple of Dutch orange scarves and hats ran through the sea of faces on the centre court crowd but the tide was always with the Spaniard and he imposed himself from the start. Ferrero broke his gangly opponent in a 10-minute opening game, forcing the Dutchman to hit ball after ball. His forehand finally broke down facing his fifth break point as he relinquished the momentum of the match. |
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Le Roux dumps India for South Africa New Delhi, June 8 Le Roux’s appointment and his acceptance of the assignment with his home country’s team came as a surprise to the Indian cricket board which had recently offered a one-year extension to the trainer who has been with the Indian team since early last year. The Indian cricket board President Jagmohan Dalmiya and secretary S.K. Nair were both caught unawares by news from Durban that Le Roux had accepted two-year contract with South Africa. "So far, the board has no knowledge about this. We have not got any communication from him till now," Dalmiya said in
Kolkata. PTI |
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Bowlers shape Lanka win Bridgetown (Barbados), June 8 SCOREBOARD Sri Lanka: Jayasuriya c Jacobs b Dillon 0 Kaluwitharana run out 54 Atapattu c and b Samuels 22 Sangakkara c Sarwan b Bernard 15 Jayawardene c Dillon b Hinds 8 Dilshan b Drakes 27 Dharmasena c Jacobs b Dillon 40 Vaas b Dillon 10 Murali c Samuels b Collymore 3 Nissanka not out 7 Gamage run out 1 Extras (nb-3, w-11): 14 Total (all out, 48.4 overs): 201 FoW: 1-0, 2-46, 3-83, 4-106, 5-112, 6-171, 7-186, 8-192, 9-193. Bowling: Dillon 9.4-1-39-3, Collymore 9-0-44-1, Samuel 10-0-31-1, Drakes 10-0-43-1, Bernard 2-0-11-1, Hinds 6-0-17-1, Gayle 2-0-16-0. West Indies: Gayle c K’witharana b Vaas 0 Hinds b Nissanka 0 Powell lbw b Vaas 5 R Sarwan c Sangakkara b Nissanaka 8 Lara not out 64 Samuels c Kaluwitharana b Gamage 29 Jacobs c Jayasuriya b Muralitharan 14 Bernard b Muralitharan 0 Drakes run out 4 Dillon c Atapattu b Murali 2 Collymore lbw b Dilshan 3 Extras: 17 Total (all out in 41 overs): 146 FoW: 1-2, 2-4, 3-15, 4-19, 5-73, 6-105, 7-106, 8-118, 9-121. Bowling:
Vaas 6-2-16-2, Nissanka 6-1-27-2, Gamage 7-1-30-1, Dharmasena 8-1-31-0, Murali 7-2-17-3, Jayasuriya 2-0-9-0, Dilshan 5-0-14-1.
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‘Power not everything’ Paris, June 8 But the 21-year-old proved she has a whole armada of weapons at her disposal yesterday in thrashing compatriot Kim Clijsters 6-0, 6-4 in the French Open final to become the first ever Belgian Grand Slam champion. Henin-Hardenne saw off world number one Serena Williams in her semi-final to prevent the big-hitting American from making it five Slam singles titles in a row before blowing Clijsters off court in a way which belied her pocket-sized frame. The manner of her victory dealt a big blow to the power merchants who have ruled the game in recent years. “On clay court it is a little bit easier for me — the power is not the same. “I’m not so tall, I’m not so strong. But I can win,” Henin-Hardenne smiled as she sat proudly alongside the silver Suzanne Lenglen trophy, handed to her by Belgian monarch King Albert II on centre court as she became her country’s queen for a day. “Power is not everything,” she added, eyeing the cup carefully after picking up a television camera to photograph her own victory march into her post-match press conference. Henin-Hardenne came to Roland Garros as an overawed spectator 11 years ago with her mother Francoise, who died of cancer eight years ago but who inspired her to become a top player. On that occasion she saw Steffi Graf play Monica Seles — nine Roland Garros crowns between them. “I was just a little girl. I couldn’t imagine I’d win his tournament one day!” With Serena and Venus Williams having long dominated the women’s circuit, taking nine Grand Slam titles since 1999, Henin-Hardenne was asked if she envisaged a day when tennis fans might just become fed up with all-Belgian finals as she and Clijsters bid for superiority.
AFP |
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Sania looking ahead at Wimbledon New Delhi, June 8 The 16-year-old Sania is definitely pleased with her show at Roland Garros but she knows she still has a lot of ground to cover, especially as far as singles are concerned. “I am happy with the way I played in French Open. We reached the semis (in doubles), but I had a bad singles week,” Sania told PTI today.
PTI |
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Cheema, Kiran
settle for silver New Delhi, June 8 The tall and well-built Cheema was expected to pull off the gold for India, but the stocky Iranian proved to be a tough nut to crack. Rezai had Cheema on the run from the word go, and the Indian, surprisingly, withdrew into his defensive shell, and allowed the Iranian to gain the upper hand. Within seconds into the start of the bout, Cheema was cornered and pinned down by Rezai to notch up a 3-0 lead. Cheema, a few inches taller than the Iranian, failed to utilise the height to his advantage, and the Iranian widened the lead progressively till he made Cheema surrender completely with a final tackle, which saw the Commonwealth and Asian Games medallist totally shattered. The Iranian emerged victorious with a one-sided 10-0 points verdict, and India’s golden hopes vanished into thin air. Like
Cheema, Kiran Sehag too failed to respond to the challenge in the title bout of the 67kg
event for women. In the two-woman field, Sehag had to display some aggression to put up at least a semblance of a fight. But instead, the Indian lass was mowed down on the mat by Nori Saito of Japan, who prowled like a cat to be all over
Sehag. Sehag seemed fagged out, struggling to even stand on her feet, when it was all over, with the Japanese girl winning with a standout 11-0 verdict. Yet, overall, the Indian grapplers did a commendable job. Four silver and six bronze medals were an impressive haul, as India’s pickings in the 15th edition of the Asian championship, held at Ullanbator (Mongolia), were just two silver medals. The day’s final bouts, watched by Haryana Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala, Ajay Singh Chautala, Wrestling Federation of India president MS Malik, and a host of other distinguished guests, got off the blocks in an exhilarating manner for the hosts as Alka Tomar fetched the bronze in the 59kg for women with an easy 12-3 points victory against Hung Yutuning of Chinese Taipei. Though Cheema and Kiran could not live upto expectations, there was flurry of bronze medals in the morning when Sushil Kumar beat Jung Yon of Korea on points at 10-4 to finish third in the 60kg free style, after losing to Mohammad Seyed of Iran in the semifinal. Renu Bala lifted the bronze in the 51kg while Sujit Mann got the 74kg free style bronze the easy when Gennady Lalivev of Kazakhstan gave a walk over. The wrestling powerhouse Iran expectedly swept most of the men’s medals to canter away with the team title. |
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Beckham set to leave Manchester United London, June 8 Beckham, a lifelong United supporter who signed for the club as a 14-year-old schoolboy, has repeatedly insisted he does not want to leave Old Trafford. But in a statement released yesterday, the English champions made it clear they had decided to try and cash in their most marketable asset. “Manchester United can confirm today that clubs from Italy and Spain have expressed a firm interest in signing David Beckham,” the statement said.
AFP |
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Punjab boys outplay Orissa Ludhiana, June 8 Punjab boys maintained the lead through out the game, scoring regularly. Orissa cagers tried hard to match the current champions and continued to score points when they got the chance but ultimately finished on the losing side. At half time, the winners led 48-31. Punjab skipper, Snehpal Singh top scored with 20 points while Jagdeep Singh and Mandeep accounted for 15 and 8 points, respectively. For the losers, the main scoreres were Asis Ranjan and Jasman
Iqbal, who contributed 16 and 10 points, respectively. In the girl's section (group B), last year's runner-up,
Chhattisgarh, routed Chandigarh 53-10 to register their second consecutive victory and advanced to the knock-out stage. M
Pushpa, Bharti Netam and Mridula Adil of Chhattisgarh played well to help their team to top the group. Earlier, Chhattisgarh eves had trounced Rajasthan 69-11. Yesterday, in the match (girls) between Punjab and Delhi, played late in the
evening, the former recorded a hard-fought 35-22 win. The group 'C' match between Delhi and Kerala turned out to be a mismatch as the former won hands down 73-25. Sanjay and Shiv Kumar scored 18
points each while Satvinder netted 12 points for Delhi. Jijobi (6) fought the losing battle for
Kerala. In another group B match, Rajasthan went down to Andhra Pradesh 13-25 and losing chances of making it to the knock-out phase. For Andhra Pradesh, their captain Vaama led from the front to net 10 points. Poornima matched her skipper by scoring 10 points. In group D encounters, Haryana thrashed Orissa 32-4 and Maharashtra defeated Uttar Pradesh 51-23 while in a group E match, Tamil Nadu, displaying speed and skill, proved too good for Karnataka, whom they trounced 55-22. In the boy's section, last year's losing finalists,
Rajasthan, in a group B match faced a stiff challenge from Uttar Pradesh before winning 86-69. The winners led by six points (35-29) at the end of the second quarter. Rohan, Rajasthan's skipper was the main scorer, netting 33 points, followed by Hanuman Singh, who scored 20, while Bhupinder and Srender Singh chipped in with 14 and 10 points, respectively. For the losers, Vikram top scored with 14 points while Amitesh, Santosh and Rakesh secured 10 points each. In a group C match, Kerala had to struggle hard to outplay Goa 55-34 and in a group D fixture, Madhya Pradesh overcame Chhattisgarh 79-68. However, in their next match, Chhattisgarh lads scored an easy win over Gujrat 68-35. |
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Synthetic track damaged Ludhiana, June 8 During the inaugural function of the Junior National Basketball Championship, an exhibition of acrobatics show by the motor cyclists and horse riders of the Punjab Police was held. Though the organisers took precautions to save the synthetic track from any damage by putting mats on it, the horses repeatedly went on to the track at the Shastri Badminton Hall and Durga Mata Mandir ends, thus, causing further damage to the track. A number of athletes who come daily to practice on this track and were present yesterday to witness the inaugural ceremony expressed their anguish and resentment over the organisers' decision to hold a horse show in the stadium. They alleged that with the monsoons round the corner, the damaged track would wear out which could not be repaired. Meanwhile, during the marchpast, before the formal inauguration of the championship hosts Punjab contingent presented a awkward look. The girls team entered the stadium in its full playing kit whereas the boys were wearing the casuals. When asked, a player remarked that they did not get the shirts and so they were not in proper uniforms. Mr Gurcharan Singh Ghalib, member of Parliament from Ludhiana, inaugurated the week-long championship in which teams from 21 states are taking part. Before the formal inauguration, international Snehpal Singh, captain of the Punjab team, took oath on behalf of the participants to play with true games' spirit. Ms Surinder Dhir, former Deputy Director, Sports Punjab, read out the oath on behalf of the officials to conduct the meet in a fair manner |
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Andhra girls, UP boys win Chandigarh, June 8 In the boys final, Uttar Pradesh had a narrow 25-24 win over
Delhi. For Uttar Pradesh goal shooter Robin Dhal scored11 points while goal attacker Iman Ali shot 14 points. Delhi boys led by Dheeraj and Amit Kumar, the goal shooter and goal attacker, respectively, put up a spirited fight. Dheeraj shot 13 points while Amit netted 11 points. |
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Sukhmanpreet, Chetanpreet win Chandigarh, June 8 Sukhmanpreet of Punjab Police shot 571/600 while Chetanpreet shot 388/400. Avneet and Ramandeep Kaur shot 387 and 370, respectively to take the second and third spot in the women’s section. Gurparnit was second in the men’s section with 564/600. In the team championship, Ranjitgarh Rifle Club, Phillaur won the .22 open sight prone men’s championship, while Jalandhar came second. In the .177 open sight air rifle men’s team championship, Mansa were first while Ludhiana secured the second place as Patiala came third. In the .177 open sight for air rifle women, Ludhiana took the lead. In other individual events, Navdeep Dhillon shot 379/400 for the top slot in the .177 peep sight air rifle junior women’s section while Bikramjit Dhillon shot 361/400 to bag the junior men’s title. Amanpreet Singh shot 556/600 to clinch the air pistol men (ISSF) title while Lakhbir Kaur shot 364/400 to take away the women’s title in the same event. In the .22 open sight standard rifle prone men’s section, Ashreet Singh shot 564/600 to win the title while in the women’s section, Amandeep Kaur shot 447 to bag the title. |
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