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Wednesday,
July 2, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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Serena, Venus battle into semis Agassi dismisses talk of retirement Paes-Navratilova duo
advances ‘Team
peaking at right time’
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England-Zimbabwe tie washed out by rain Contracts issue to dominate
meeting Letter may land
Latif in trouble Young is beautiful in cricket today
‘Indians should play abroad’
Ferguson often throws bottles at players Yoga team
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Serena, Venus battle into semis
London, July 1 Venus Williams and Kim Clijsters will face each other in the semifinals after thrilling quarterfinal victories. Capriati was the last player to beat Serena at Wimbledon — at the same stage in 2001 — and a repeat looked on the cards when she romped through the first set in 27 minutes against a strangely wayward Serena. But the defending champion suddenly clicked into gear and after she broke serve with a bludgeoning backhand to lead 3-2 in the second set, the tide began to turn. She raced through the next six games to lead 3-0 in the decider and, although eighth seed Capriati hung on gamely — winning one incredible 31-stroke rally when serving to stay in the match — Serena proved unstoppable. In a thrilling final game with both players at the peak of their powers, Capriati carved out two break points, netting a forehand on one and being passed on the other. Serena then clinched victory in one hour 39 minutes as Capriati dragged a forehand into the net with her opponent stranded out of position. Fourth seed Venus, the 2000 and 2001 champion, maintained her Grand Slam domination over fellow American Lindsay Davenport on Centre Court with a 6-2, 2-6, 6-1 success. Clijsters, the Belgian second seed, dropped the first set against Italian Sylvia Farina Elia, but then reeled off nine straight games en route to a 5-7, 6-0, 6-1 victory that gave her a place in the Wimbledon semifinals for the first time. Less than 10 minutes of play were possible on Centre Court before the rain intervened, but that was enough time for Venus to establish an immediate service break over Davenport to lead 2-0. Venus lost serve on the resumption but quickly regained her rhythm, her power forcing errors from Davenport as she took the first set in 29 minutes. But Davenport broke early in the second set and dominated it after that with some searing ground strokes down both flanks. Venus, though, proved the stronger in the decider, and when Davenport netted an easy backhand volley at 0-40, 1-4 the game was up. Venus served out easily to complete her third successive victory over Davenport, the 1999 champion, at the All-England Club. Farina (31) had never before been further than round four at a Grand Slam. But the Italian produced a gutsy display to steal the first set off Clijsters, the first the Belgian had dropped in the tournament. Farina saved three set points at 4-5, broke Clijsters to lead 6-5 and served out for the set with a crunching delivery. But the Italian simply fell apart after that. Stung into life, Clijsters stormed through the second set in 20 minutes, whitewashing the Italian with some breathtaking baseline shots. The third set continued in the same way as Clijsters, her hammer-like forehand wreaking havoc, went 3-0 up before a shell-shocked Farina finally stopped the rot. It was too late, though and Clijsters, who is seeking her first Grand Slam title, wrapped up victory in stupendous style with three successive aces. Andre Agassi joined Lleyton Hewitt on the Wimbledon scrapheap yesterday - ruining what was otherwise shaping up as a dream of a day for the American contingent at the All-England Club. Andy Roddick, the young pretender to Agassi’s crown as the king of American tennis, blasted his way past Paradorn Srichaphan to join four of his female compatriots in the quarterfinals. The 6-3, 2-6, 6-7 (4/7), 6-3, 6-4 win was a victory to relish for Philippoussis, who has battled back from a recurring knee injury which had threatened to end the 26-year-old’s career. But for Agassi, now 33 and preparing for the birth of his second child with wife Steffi Graf, it was a defeat that could herald the end of any realistic chance he had of adding another Wimbledon crown to the title he won here in 1992. Unbowed, Agassi vowed he would be back next year. “Why wouldn’t I be back? I’m still a tennis player. This is the place to be.” But British dreams of a first Wimbledon champion since Fred Perry in 1936 remain alive after Tim Henman eliminated David Nalbandian, last year’s beaten finalist, 6-2, 6-7 (4/7), 7-5, 6-3. Roger Federer, seen by many as Roddick’s main title rival, suffered a blow to his chances when his back seized up during the warm-up for his match against Spain’s Feliciano Lopez. The 21-year-old had to have on-court treatment from the trainer and said afterwards he had been in pain throughout the match which he won 7-6 (7/5), 6-4, 6-4. Federer, who next faces the Netherlands’ Sjeng Schalken, admitted he thought his time in this year’s tournament was up. “I didn’t think I’d be sitting here today as a winner,” said the Swiss fourth seed. “I have to take this lucky match today and try to get rid of this and get ready for the quarterfinals it’s a great opportunity.” —
Agencies |
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Agassi dismisses talk of retirement London, July 1 Did he consider, as he walked off the court yesterday after his fourth-round loss to Mark Philippoussis, whether he would ever be back at Wimbledon? “Why wouldn’t I be back?” he shot back. “I’m still a tennis player. This is the place to be. ... My plan is to be back here next year.” So there were no sentimental farewells, no blown kisses or teary looks at the cheering crowd. He swallowed this five-set loss hard and moved on. There will be other chances at Grand Slam titles, no matter what the calendar or skeptics say. Agassi’s age, 33, had nothing to do with his five-set defeat. He didn’t run out of energy, didn’t lose a step in quickness. Like his loss to Pete Sampras in last year’s US Open final, he simply came up a tad short on a day of monster serves by Philippoussis, who tied Goran Ivanisevic’s Wimbledon record with 46 aces. “It’s quite the same animal at work,” Agassi said. “You know, it’s somebody who’s willing to push the boundaries of what they can get away with out there, and coming up with it. The only sort of question I have to ask myself and answer is, ‘Am I making him do something special, or am I letting him get away with something?’” Agassi answered that question by giving full credit to Philippoussis. Even with the best returns in the business, Agassi was helpless against serves that were consistently 126-134 mph (200-215 kph) and nicking the lines. When defending champion and top-seeded Lleyton Hewitt lost on opening day last week, the No. 2 Agassi became the favourite to win Wimbledon.—
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Paes-Navratilova duo advances New Delhi, July 1 The fifth seeded Indo-American pair defeated Spain’s Alex Lopez Moron and Rossana Neffa-De Los Rios of Parma 6-0 6-1 in the second round yesterday. Paes also won his men’s doubles third round match as he, in tandem with David Rikl of the Czech Republic, ousted Ecuador duo Giovanni Lanpentti and Nicolas Lapentti 3-6 6-3 7-6 (7/5) 6-3, according to information received here today. Paes and Rikl next face the third seed American brothers Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan in the quarterfinals. The other Indian star gunning for a Wimbledon crown, Mahesh Bhupathi had his second round mixed doubles match suspended due to fading light. Bhupathi and Paola Suarez of Argentina, the top seeds, were level with Jared Palmer and Abigail Spears of the USA 6-4 6-7 (2/7) 0-0 when play was abandoned. Bhupathi’s scheduled men’s doubles match with Belarussian Max Mirnyi against Gaston Etlis and Martin Rodriques of Argentina is to be played today. In the boys’ singles, Karan Rastogi went down to Dudi Sela of Israel 2-6 6-3 3-6. Somdev Dev Verman was schduled to take on David Mullings of Bahamas in another match. In the girls section, Sania Mirza will play Eden Maram of New Zealand. It will be Wimbledon Revisited for Vijay Amritraj and Anand Amritraj when they play John Newcombe and Owen Davidson of Australia in the 45 and over age category doubles event. Another former India player Sashi Menon pairing Jan Kodes of the Czech Republic will take on an Iran-US combo, Mansour Bahrami and Gene Meyer. —
PTI |
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‘Team peaking at right time’
New Delhi, July 1 “Our build-up to the Champions Trophy and Olympics has been just right and we are on track to achieve our long-standing goals,” said the coach who arrived here early this morning alongwith the Indian team after a victorious German outing. Rajinder Singh, who had guided the junior team to World Cup glory in 2001, said the recent successes of the Indian team may have raised the expectations of fans but the team was not under any kind of pressure. “There is no pressure of expectation on us. But our good performances have put the pressure on our rivals who will have to start taking us more seriously,” said the coach. India will persist with more or less the same team in the upcoming assignments so as not to upset the balance. “We have struck a right balance in the team and we will stick with this winning combination though there may be minor changes here and there,” Rajinder Singh said. Reflecting on India’s triumph in the four-nation Hamburg Masters tournament, he said, “a coach is never satisfied with his team’s show but I must say the boys played their hearts out”. Pointing out the weaknessses which needed to be sorted out, Rajinder Singh said he was worried about India’s field goal scoring abilities. “We have improved in penalty corner conversions but the field goal scoring needs to be worked on. “Also we must strengthen our midfield attack. The European teams play with a lot of power and we have to match them by being more aggressive,” Rajinder Singh said. The coach said the team would iron out the weaknesses in the camp preceding the Champions Trophy in August in Amstelveen, the Netherlands. Rajinder Singh praised the team for its concerted effort while picking out captain Dhanraj Pillay and Baljit Singh Dhillon for special mention. “Both Pillay and Dhillon are my biggest strength.” The coach, however, said Deepak Thakur, who made a comeback to the team after a brief injury lay-off, needed to improve his game. “I am not satisfied with Deepak’s performance. He did not justify his talent. He will have to work harder.” Player-of-the-tournament Gagan Ajit Singh said the tournament turned out to be one of the most memorable for him. “It feels great to be honoured with such a big award among stalwarts and champions. It is nice to be declared the best among the best,” said the forward. Gagan Ajit Singh said India failed to win against Germany because “certain umpiring decisions went in their favour”. But Rajinder Singh said he has satisfied with the umpiring. Captain Dhanraj Pillay said the team’s performance had made the “world stand up and take notice of Indian hockey” as was evident when the president of FIH, the game’s international body, personally congratulated the side. “It is the first time ever in my 15-year career that FIH President has congratulated and appreciated the Indian hockey team. It shows that Indian hockey team is moving in the right direction and is on track to regain lost glory,” Pillay said. “India is not right at the top but we are certainly in a position to intimidate any opposition.” While giving credit to the entire team for the triumph in Germany, Pillay singled out Gagan Ajit Singh, and Devesh Chauhan as the revelation of the tour. “Gagan Ajit Singh did not have a particularly good Australian tour as he managed to score only three goals. But he had promised me before we left for Germany that he will deliver his best and he did. He proved that he is one of the best strikers in the world,” the hockey wizard said. “Devesh Chauhan also impressed a lot with his keeping and it was because of him that we conceded very few penalty corner goals.” However, more than individual effort it was the team unity which helped India win matches, Pillay emphasised. “We played very well as a unit and our mutual understanding was also very good. We also used to speak to the IHF president KPS Gill on a daily basis and there was consensus on every matter,” said the captain. —
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England-Zimbabwe tie washed out by rain
Leeds (England), July 1 England were 81 for four in 16.3 overs when rain, which had delayed the start, forced the players off after 74 minutes playing time. England captain Michael Vaughan was 35 not out and his Yorkshire team-mate Anthony McGrath 15 not out. Because the match had already been reduced to 25 overs per side, the minimum required for the fixture to produce a positive outcome, the stoppage meant the end of the game. England and Zimbabwe received three points apiece for a no-result, putting them on nine points each, three ahead of South Africa. But Zimbabwe top the table because of their better head-to-head record against England after beating them by four wickets in the series opener at Trent Bridge on Thursday. South Africa who beat Zimbabwe by 46 runs at Canterbury on Sunday, play England in the next triangular match, a day-night fixture at Old Trafford, on Thursday. —
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Contracts issue to dominate meeting New Delhi, July 1 The two-day meeting has a slew of issues before it, including the approval of the itinerary of home series against New Zealand later this year and the extensions to coach John Wright and physiotherapist Andrew Leipus, but the money being witheld by the ICC will certainly be the uppermost concern. “That would be the biggest issue before us. The meeting will try to find a way to recover our money,” said a top board official. The ICC has witheld India’s entire share of the World Cup revenues — around $ 9 million — to meet the compensation claims of Global Cricket Corporation — the rights holders of all ICC events till 2007 — which has sought damages for breach of contract by the Indian players. Amidst indications that the actual compensation amount claimed from India would be much larger than $9 million, board president Jagmohan Dalmiya recently launched a counter-attack on the ICC, saying it would file counter-claims against the GCC for not marketing the World Cup properly. The meeting will discuss all this and finalise its next course of action on this vexed issue. Dalmiya will also brief the members about the decisions taken during the ICC’s annual meetings in London earlier this month. With the contracts issue set to keep the officials engaged for majority of the time, a number of decisions awaiting the working committee’s approval are likely to be ratified without much ado. There are as many as 32 items on the agenda and a few more might be added before the meeting. Prominent among them are the one-year extenstions to Wright and Leipus and the appointment of new physical trainer Allen Gregory King of South Africa. The tours and fixtures committee had last month finalised the itinerary for the New Zealand tour and the subsequent triangular one-day series with New Zealand and Australia, and a seal of approval from the working committee is only a formality. India’s proposed tour programme to Australia from November to February next year is also scheduled to come up for discussion at the meeting. The working committee will also give its approval to the participation of its under-19 team in a triangular tournament in Pakistan. The issues emerging out of the spinners’ panel meet in Kolkata last month would also be discussed and taken forward. “A number of things on the agenda are decided and only need the clearance from the working committee. Everything on the agenda will be discussed and decided,” said the official when asked whether it was possible to attend to such a large number of issues at the meeting. — PTI |
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Letter may land Latif in trouble New Delhi, July 1 The PCB has not taken kindly to Latif’s letter asking the ICC to stop ‘fancy-fixing’ and said the Pakistan captain was trying to rake up a “dead and buried” issue. “He has done something which is akin to clawing at an issue dead and buried,” PCB CEO Rameez Raja told PTI today just before boarding a flight to Rawalpindi where he would meet his chairman Lt-Gen Tauqir Zia to discuss whether disciplinary action needed to be initiated against Latif. “In a way he has brought unwanted attention on Pakistan cricket. This is the kind of attention we could have done without,” Rameez, a former captain, said. In his letter, Latif, the original whistle-blower on the match-fixing scandal, said though the game was not currently threatened by match-fixing, betting was very much prevelant. He asked the ICC to do away with the 15-over fielding restrictions in one-day cricket as it was a primary source of betting. Raja said action might be taken against Latif because he did not inform the PCB before writing the letter. —
PTI |
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Young is beautiful in cricket today London, July 1 After years of worshiping at the altar of experience, international cricket is awash with young talent at the moment. England, that most conservative of cricketing countries, finds itself in the vanguard for once, with James Anderson first in the queue. Anderson, still only 20, was the team’s most successful bowler at the World Cup at the start of the year. Since then, he has taken five wickets in his debut Test innings and become the first England player to take a one-day international hat-trick. Last year he had yet to establish himself in Lancashire’s side and now he is first name on the England team sheet. Pakistan are being as bold, with 22-year-old quick bowler Mohammad Sami in particular catching the eye, while the West Indies have blooded the impressive 21-year-old quick Fidel Edwards — who has been likened to Waqar Younis and Jeff Thomson — against Sri Lanka after a single first-class game. The World Cup, it seems, represented a line in the sand for many selectors as they ushered out the old in favour of the baby-faced. Pakistan, indeed, showing a startling lack of respect for the elder statesmen, pensioned off their entire team. England’s embracing of the trend, however, is perhaps the most remarkable. This is not a country prone to rashness. It took 211 years, after all, to allow women into the Long Room at the Lord’s. Evergreen experience has always been valued — ask the dependable Alec Stewart — and the vigour of youth treated with the greatest suspicion. Look at the youngest players to play Test cricket and the top 14 all come from Asia. There, if you are good enough, you are old enough. Look at the most rickety of Test practitioners, however, and the list is dominated by white-whiskered Englishmen, Wilfred Rhodes, WG Grace and Jack Hobbs among them. There is only one Asian player in the top 20. Rhodes was well into his 53rd year when he played his last Test against the West Indies in 1930. History suggests England have taken a long time to learn the lesson that youth can be trusted (if, indeed, they really have, for at Anderson’s age, many Asian prodigies are already well into their careers). Pakistan’s Mushtaq Mohammad, who went on to average just under 40 in Tests, was first capped at 15 years and 124 days. Sachin Tendulkar first appeared aged 16 and 205 days, while Hanif Mohammad, Waqar Younis and Gary Sobers were all playing before their 18th birthdays. No that things always work out. Batsman Hasan Raza first played for Pakistan in 1996, at the record age of 14, but has featured in only four more Tests in the intervening years. Batsman James Troughton, meanwhile, one of England’s new wave, lasted three one-dayers this month before he was sent back to finishing school while 21-year-old all-rounder Rikki Clarke lasted one match more before being ‘rested’. The trend, however, is clear and a welcome breath of fresh air. Young is beautiful. And everyone, after all, can get bored of a weathered face, even one smiling all the way to the winner’s rostrum. Waugh and his battered, 160-Test baggy green cap should watch out. —
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‘Indians should play abroad’ Kolkata, July 1 “Whenever Indian youngsters get good offers from abroad, they should lap it up. Only then can they learn modern soccer techniques and taste competition at the highest level,”
Bhutia, who spent three years with English professional side Bury F C, told PTI in an interview here. The Indian national side, he said, would also benefit from the rich experience of these boys taking up foreign assignments. Expressing concern at India’s consistent failure to improve FIFA ranking substantially, Bhutia said the AIFF should ensure that the team take part in more international competitions. “It is important to play more international tournaments to improve ranking. Once we move up, we will get more invitations to participate in international meets, which will in turn help in further lifting our standards,” he said. The Sikkimese striker, however, expressed confidence about India climbing up the FIFA charts under the stewardship of chief national coach Stephen Constantine. Lavishly praising the Anglo-Cypriot coach, who took over the reins a little over a year back, Bhutia said: “Stephen has done a great job. Under him, the players have improved a lot. The longer he stays, the better it is for India”. The star striker said Constantine had some good plans for the Indian team, and with support from the AIFF, he would be able to put them in place in the near future. Describing 2002 as a “good year” for Indian soccer, when the Busan
Asiad-bound side won the LG Cup under his captaincy, Bhutia blamed a spate of injuries for the dip in performance this year. “A number of key players were injured since late last year. I also could not assist the side after the Asiad due to injury. But the guys generally played well,” Bhutia said. “They were unlucky to draw some matches which they should have won. Again, they lost some games which they ideally should have drawn,” he said. Despite expressing happiness with the pre-season training in his club East Bengal under the South African physical trainer Kevin Jackson, Bhutia indicated that he was not in favour of recruiting a high-profile trainer for the national team. —
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‘Beckhamania’ to hit Madrid Madrid, July 1 Alfredo di Stefano, Ferenc Puskas, Hugo Sanchez, Luis Figo, Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo — all of them have been received warmly when arriving to sign for Real Madrid. The reception granted to these illustrious players, however, is about to be over-shadowed by that accorded to English icon David Beckham. All hell will break loose in the Spanish capital on Tuesday, when the England captain flies in with his wife and children to undergo medical tests and sign a lucrative four-year contract. True, there will not be quiet the same scenes of schoolgirl hysteria and fan frenzy produced by the arrival of the Beckhams in East Asia last week. But their arrival in Madrid will, without doubt, provoke much more of a media maelstrom than did the previous signings of club president Florentino Perez — even though Beckham may be a less talented player than Figo, Zidane and Ronaldo. The medical tests alone will be covered by some 150 journalists. Real’s television channel will provide exhaustive coverage of the tests and feed the pictures to at least seven foreign channels. This evening the media feeding frenzy will turn its attention to the Beckham’s search for a house. They will be looking in the trendy north-western suburbs of La Moraleja, Puerta de Hierro and Zarzuela, close to the palace of King Juan Carlos I. Tomorrow, “Beckhamania” will go into overdrive, with more than 500 journalists from 63 countries crowding into his official presentation in white. Television pictures of the event will be taken by 35 countries. The Madrid sports daily As claimed that Real had given accreditation to 542 journalists, all of them sports specialists rather than society or gossip columnists — in an attempt to maintain the seriousness of the occasion. Presiding over the circus, of course, will be Perez himself, a man who believes himself to be a skilful manipulator of the media. Yesterday, Perez denied that he had signed Beckham for merchandising reasons. “Obviously we are going to sell thousands of Beckham shirts’’, he drooled. “But I want to make clear that we have bought him because of his footballing qualities.’’ It remains to be seen whether Beckham is capable of fitting into the most star-studded team on Planet Football, and whether the other stars welcome him or not. —
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Ferguson often throws bottles at players London, July 1 “Bottles are thrown in the dressing room,” the Argentine international told the Daily Mirror newspaper on Tuesday. “One time I had to dodge one which flew very close to my head. “Ferguson doesn’t do it intentionally, he’s not looking to hit anybody in particular, but he throws them. “Sometimes he’s more withdrawn, then he gets close to you to speak to you and when he has to throw a bottle he does. He loses his cool. “But I don’t mind. He corrects things and it doesn’t bother me at all. He’s very respected at the club.” —
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Yoga team Amritsar, July 1 Three yoga players are from HMV, Jalandhar, while one is from R.R. Bawa DAV College for Women, Batala. |
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DCA win in under-15 cricket meet Patiala, July 1 Brief scores: DCA, Panchkula: 243 all out (Prabhal 30, Ankit Sharma 26, Karan Goyal 13, Deepesh 2 for 30, Amanjeet Sandhu 2 for 42, Ujwal Sharma 1 for 26, Manveer Singh 2 for 37). MES CC: 223 all out (Manveer Singh 62, Kunal Grover 21, Vikram Singh 19, Deepesh 13, Ashish Sardana 4 for 37, Karan Goyal 2 for 32) |
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Ambala team first in martial arts contest Ambala, July 1 The medal winners in Wushu championship, junior boys, upto 30 Kg Manish, upto 30-35 kg Rahul Sharma, up to 35-40 kg Pardeep Panchal, upto 40-45 kg Pankaj Dogra, up to 52-56 kg Harish Nath, up to 56-60 kg Pawan. In the senior boys up to 48 kg Deepak Parche, in sub junior girls up to 25-28 kg Neetu. In the kick boxing championship the medal winners included junior boys up to 30 kg Manish, up to 30-34 kg Rahul Sharma, up to 34-38 kg Pardeep Panchal and up to 38-42 kg Rahul. |
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Top seed Serena Williams dug herself out of trouble against fellow
American Jennifer Capriati on Tuesday, winning 2-6, 6-2, 6-3 to reach
the Wimbledon semifinals for the third time in the last four years.
In video (
