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Saturday,
July 5, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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Philippoussis, Federer to clash for title
MEN'S DOUBLES Williams sisters on top; Henman flops
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IOC adopts anti-doping code Jeev Milkha tied for 13th place Hockey team can win gold in Olympics: Lakra
Nistelrooy misses Beckham India ‘A’ win by 7 wickets Kallis, Rudolph fashion South Africa’s win
Youth Asia Cup in Pak
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Philippoussis, Federer to clash for title
London, July 4 Philippoussis, like Federer reaching his first Wimbledon final, earlier demolished 13th seed Sebastien Grosjean of France 7-6, (7/3), 6-3, 6-3 in 1hr 56 min. Federer clenched his fists after winning on his third match point when Roddick fired wide as the 21-year-old from Basel, junior champion here in singles and doubles in 1998, became the first Swiss man ever to reach the final. On Federer’s first match point Roddick, who had lost all three of their previous meetings, forced a forehand error. A crunching backhand brought another chance to finish the job — but the Swiss drove long. However, a punched volley brought a third opportunity and Roddick drove wide. “It’s incredible. It’s tough to understand what has been happening. I played an incredible match today — this is my favourite tournament. “It’s a dream,” said Federer. “I am happy I won in three sets. I was way more focused that I was the last few matches. Everything went right, I was serving well, I was reading his serve well. “I hope I can keep this up for the final,” added Federer. Mark Philippoussis of Australia beat French 13th seed Sebastien Grosjean 7-6 (7/3) 6-3 6-3 today to reach the men’s singles final at Wimbledon for the first time in his career. The 26-year-old from Melbourne won in just 1hr 56min and now meets either US fifth seed Andy Roddick or Swiss fourth seed Roger Federer in Sunday’s trophy match. Philippoussis, the eighth Australian man to reach the final in the Open era and looking to succeed compatriot Lleyton Hewitt as champion, spent almost three months in a wheelchair two seasons ago and missed all of the 2001 season as well as almost half of last season. Having endured that living hell he said he could hardly realise what he had achieved after winning on his third match point. “I am not really feeling much. Maybe it hasn’t sunk in yet. But I’m feeling pretty good.” “The only thing I was looking for was just to stay healthy. There was no way I was thinking about the second week. I was just thinking about playing good, solid grasscourt tennis.” “It feels like I’ve been away for six years,” he said of his injury nightmare. “I don’t think Sebastien played his best tennis today and I took advantage of that — I tried to keep the pressure on,” said the Australian, who only had two points against his serve in the entire match.
— AFP
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MEN'S DOUBLES New Delhi, July 4 Top seeds Bhupathi and Mirnyi, who had been ousted by Paes and Rikl in the quarter-finals of the French Open last month, won 6-7 (6/8) 6-4 7-6 (9/7) 6-3 in a keenly contested match, according to information received here. Bhupathi and Mirnyi will now play fourth seeded team of Jonas Bjorkman of Sweden and Todd Woodbridge of Australia for the title. Bjorkman and Woodbridge had earlier defeated the Israeli pair of Johanthan Elrich and Andy Ram 6-2, 4-6, 6-2, 6-1 in the first semi-final.
— PTI |
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Paes, Martina move into quarterfinals
New Delhi, July 4 Paes and Navratilova, seeded five, defeated Peter Luczak and Christina Wheeler of Australia 6-4, 6-2 in a third round match yesterday. Earlier, top seeds Mahesh Bhupathi and Argentine Paulo Suarez were upset by Nenad Zimonjic of Serbia and Iroda Tulyaganova of Uzbekistan 3-6, 4-6. In the boys’ doubles, Somdev Dev Varman and Karan Rastogi went down to unseeded home pair Andrew Pair and Tom Rushby 0-6, 5-7. There was both good and bad news for Indians in the girls doubles’ events as Sania Mirza progressed to the second round while Sanaa Bhambri bowed out in the first round. Sania and Alisa Kleybanova of Russia scored an upset victory over the top seeds Slovakian Jarmila Gajdosova and Andrea Hlavackova of the Czech Republic 7-6 (9/7), 6-4 while Sanaa and Lara Giltinan of Australia lost to Casey Dellacqua and Adriana Szili 1-6, 4-6. Anand Amritraj and Vijay Amritraj had a run down memory lane when the former Davis Cup pair lost 3-6, 2-6 to third seeds Peter McNamara and Paul McNamee of Australia in the over-45 men’s doubles. — PTI
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Williams sisters on top; Henman flops
London, July 4 But British hopes of ending a 67-year-wait for a men’s champion were dashed when Tim Henman lost his quarterfinal to Frenchman Sebastien Grosjean. Defending women’s champion Serena demolished Belgian rival Justine Henin-Hardenne 6-3, 6-2 in their grudge semifinal rematch, while Venus played through agonising stomach muscle pain to beat Henin’s compatriot Kim Clijsters 4-6, 6-3, 6-1. Provided Venus, the 2000 and 2001 Wimbledon champion, is fit to play, Saturday’s final will be the fifth all-Williams final in the last six Grand Slams and a sixth in total. Serena, who is now assured of keeping her No 1 ranking, has won the last five matches between the two siblings. The American had accused Henin of ‘’lying and fabricating’’ in their bad-tempered game at Roland Garros last month but this time was all smiles, saying: ‘’I’m just happy to be in the final of Wimbledon again, I’m really excited. “It’s a great feeling. I just have another opportunity to have another go at another championship here.” Battling Venus was just glad to have made it through her match in one piece after aggravating her stomach injury early in the match. The older of the two sisters said a rain interruption after the first set, which she lost, had probably saved her. “I had a lot of issues,” the fourth seed said. “It was tough. I think the rain saved me. I couldn’t calm myself down, I was so worried about the injury. — Reuters
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IOC adopts anti-doping code
Prague, July 4 The code, drawn up by the World Anti-Doping Agency, was formally approved by acclamation on the final day of the IOC general assembly in Prague. The IOC changed its charter to replace its own medical code with the new global version. The world anti-doping code is the first global policy against banned performance-enhancing substances. It was endorsed at a conference in Copenhagen, Denmark. Among other things, the code calls for two-year suspensions for steroid or other serious doping offences. WADA is also considering whether to add an “exceptional circumstances” clause to the sanctions. Sports organisations are required to enact the code before next year’s Athens Olympics. Governments have until the 2006 Winter Games in Turin, Italy. The IOC also streamlined the disciplinary procedure for doping cases during the Olympics. At the 2002 Salt Lake City Games, an inquiry commission and a disciplinary panel investigated positive test results before passing the case to the IOC executive board for a final decision. Under the new system, a single disciplinary commission will investigate cases. The executive board can delegate power to the panel to decide on punishments. IOC vice president Thomas Bach said the change would avoid the problems of Salt Lake, where some athletes who tested positive were allowed to compete in some events because their cases had not been resolved. “We think this is just fair, fast and better,” British IOC member Craig Reedie said. Sweden’s Arne Ljungqvist, chairman of the IOC medical commission, said he “strongly welcomed” the change. — AP
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Jeev Milkha tied for 13th place
New Delhi, July 4 According to information reaching here from Ibaragi, Jeev was shot a one-over 72 to aggregate three-under 139 after two rounds. Jeev, who started the tournament in whirlwind fashion and was sole leader at 6-under after 16 holes on the opening day, finished with successive bogeys to be tied for the third place at four-under yesterday. Today, the Chandigarh pro birdied the sixth and tenth holes, but a three-putt bogey on the 11th disrupted his momentum. Further bogeys on the 12th and 18th ensured a one-over 72 card. The other Indian in the fray, Jyoti Randhawa missed the cut after making a bogey on the final hole. Randhawa shot a four-over 75 on the opening day, but looked like pulling it back with a two-under card till the 17th hole. However, the bogey on the par-4 hole saw him finish the day at one-under 70 for a two-day total of three-over 145. The cut was applied at two-over 144. Japan’s Taichi Teshima and Toshimitsu Izawa led the field after two days with scores of nine-under 133. Teshima had rounds of 68 and six-under 65, while Izawa shot a brilliant eight-under 63 to add to his one-under 70 on day one. On the European PGA Tour, Kolkata’s Arjun Atwal had a forgettable opening day in the 2.8 million Euro Smurfit European Open, which began at the par-72 K-Club course near Dublin, Ireland. Atwal, twice winner on the European Tour, shot a four-over 76 to be tied for 125th place after the first round. — UNI
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Hockey team can win gold in Olympics: Lakra Ranchi, July 4 “India is the best team right now and the next Olympic gold will be ours,” Lakra said on his arrival at the Birsa airport here. Lakra, who got a rousing reception from enthusiastic fans, said India would now go into the Champions Trophy with more confidence after the wins in Australia and Germany. Displaying the hockey stick with which he had played the tournament in Hamburg following a request from fans on reaching here, he said “we are on the right path to achieve more success.” It was team work that had fetched tournament wins in Australia and Germany, said Lakra who was greeted with traditional Adivasi song and dance performance at the airport. Lakra, who left for his native place Simdega, would rejoin the team after a 10-day break for a preparatory camp in Delhi for the Champions Trophy to be held in the Netherlands in August. Olympian Sylvanus Dungdung and Monohar Topno were all praise for the young player and hoped he would fetch more laurels for the country. “He is turning out to be a good player with every tournament,” the duo said. — PTI
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Nistelrooy misses Beckham
London, July 4 “David will be a big loss,” said the striker. “We will miss him very much. “Everyone knows about Becks and his right foot. There is a kind of magic that comes out of it, which you rarely see. It was fantastic to be with him for two years and that is what I will keep in my mind. “He did so much both technically and tactically last season,” said Van Nistelrooy. The Dutchman admitted he had hoped Beckham’s transfer to Real Madrid would not go through. “Even though it became more and more likely he would go, I was hoping the transfer would not go through. But it has and we must move on.” But Van Nistelrooy believes United are close to another Champions League success following their 1999 triumph. United twice beat Juventus, who lost on a penalty shoot-out to AC Milan in the May final, in the second group stage, including a record 3-0 in Turin. However, United came unstuck in the quarterfinals, bowing out 5-6 on aggregate to Real Madrid, who in turn were beaten by Juventus. “I have been the Champions League top scorer for two years in a row. Now the time has come for me to win it instead of just being top scorer,” he said. “Real are not unbeatable. They put us out of Europe last season, but we played almost equally as well as them. “We will be very competitive again this season in the Champions League and I cannot pick a favourite between us, Arsenal, Real Madrid, AC Milan, Juventus and Inter Milan.” — AFP
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India ‘A’ win by 7 wickets
London, July 4 Gavaskar struck 139 not out from 181 balls with 17 fours and four sixes to lead India ‘A’ to 341 for three, past the Nottinghamshire total of 339. With the match looking doomed for a draw after the entire second day’s play yesterday being washed out due to rain, the two sides decided to forfeit one of their innings to force a result. Nottinghamshire, who had closed the first day at 265 for three on the opening day, declared their first innings at 339 for five and then forfeited their second innings. India ‘A’ forfeited their first innings and started chasing a score of 340 in their second innings. Nottinghamshire (1st innings): Bicknell c Bhandari b Balaji 52, Welton b Balaji 25, Afzaal not out 161, Shafayat c Jaffer b Kartik 6, Clough b Pathan 55, Vettori c Patel b Kartik 10.
Extras: (lb-13, w-1, nb-16) 30 India ‘A’ 1st innings (forfeited) Nottinghamshire 2nd innings (forfeited) India ‘A’ 2nd innings: Das c Thomas b Harris 18, Jaffer b Shreck 0, Parab b Vettori 90, Gavaskar not out 139, Rayudu not out 71.
Extras: (lb-7, w-1, nb-15) 23.
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Kallis, Rudolph fashion South Africa’s win
Manchester (England), July 4 It was the biggest successful run-chase under lights since Zimbabwe successfully chased West Indies’ 232 and won by six wickets in Bristol in 2000 - the first floodlit match in England. The victory put South Africa at the top of the table with two wins (11 points) from three games, while England (10 points from four) and Zimbabwe (9 points from three) have one win each. It was another mature innings by the 27-year-old Kallis, who has now scored 314 runs in the three innings with an average of 314, including two hundreds. Continuing from where he left off in the 107 against England at The Oval, and 125 not out versus Zimbabwe in Canterbury, Kallis paced his innings to suit the needs the of the team. Kallis didn’t score the century that would have put him among an elite company. Nevertheless, the innings should rate among his best. It helped South Africa erase the bitter memories of the six-wicket hammering at The Oval. Rudolph, South Africa’s newest batting find, came good after two promising innings of 20 and 32, to score his second half century in his eighth match and complimented Kallis’ efforts. Like South Africa’s seam attack, James Anderson and Darren Gough were effective in helpful conditions and kept South Africa in check. Gibbs failed again, this time brilliantly run out by Vikram Solanki. He has managed 11 runs in three innings so far. Smith was beaten and bowled by an Anderson delivery that swung late, and when South Africa was 37 for two, the anticipation of another England win was growing. But Andrew Hall, 29 off 39 balls, Kallis and Rudolph deflated England and the capacity crowd’s hopes with measured innings to mark South Africa’s timely return to form. “Definitely it wasn’t a revenge game,” said Smith. “We wanted to come here and perform to our potential, and I think we did.” Smith was impressed by maturity and the calmness with which Kallis and Rudolph took South Africa to victory. “The calmness with which we dealt with the run-chase was unbelievable. The way the guys kept calm and took control... it was terrific to see the guys with such calmness.”
Scoreboard England: Trescothick c Boje
Solanki c Boucher b Ntini 4 Vaughan c Boucher
McGrath st Boucher b Boje 52 Flintoff c Smith b Kallis 12 Troughton c Gibbs b Ntini 5 Read not out 30 Johnson b Ntini 10 Giles not out 20 Extras: 27 Total:
(7 wkts, 50 overs) 223 Fall of wickets: 1-4, 2-7, 3-121, 4-140, 5-162, 6-162, 7-176. Bowling:
Pollock 10-4-21-1, Ntini 8-0-38-3, Hall 7-0-43-0, Langeveldt 6-0-25-0, Boje 10-0-46-1, Jaasveld 5-1-18-1, Kallis 4-1-18-1. South Africa: Smith b Anderson 22 Gibbs run out 1 Hall b Flintoff 29 Kallis not out 82 Rudolph not out 71 Extras: (lb-11, w-9, nb-2) 22 Total: (3 wkts, 47.3 overs) 227 FoW: 1-24, 2-37, 3-82. Bowling:
Anderson 7-0-37-1, Gough 10-0-38-0, Flintoff 9.3-2-33-1, Johnson 7-0-30-0, Giles 9-0-51-0, Vaughan 5-0-27-0.
— AP |
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Sachin raring to go against Kiwis
Chennai, July 4 “I was out of action for about two and a half months. After the operation on my finger in the USA, I have recovered fully now. I am looking forward to play competitive cricket,” Tendulkar said. Asked what position he would like to bat at against New Zealand, Tendulkar said he would prefer to continue to play at number four but it would depend on the decision of the captain and the team management. To a question on whether Ajay Jadeja would come back to international cricket, in view of the recent Supreme Court order, Tendulkar said “it is for the board and the player to decide”. — PTI
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Youth Asia Cup in Pak
Islamabad, July 4 The finalists of this tournament would qualify for the Youth World Cup to be held in Bangladesh in January-February next year. “It is a good opportunity for Pakistan to once again establish itself as a safe venue to play cricket,” Zakir Khan, PCB’s General Manager Cricket Operations, said. “We are also delighted to be hosting the 10 participating teams who have expressed no security concerns,” Khan, who is also the incharge of the event, said. The other significant part of the competition will be the representation of two Indians — former Test all-rounder Roger Binny and Dr Vece Paes. “We welcome the Indians who are involved in this competition. It just goes on to show that the relations between the two countries are on the mend,” Khan said. A total of 23 matches will be played in the event being organised by the PCB on the request of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC), a PCB press release said here. — PTI
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Commonwealth
Games: India’s chances brighten New Delhi, July 4 |
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Organisers
keep away from brothel plans Athens, July 4 Athens Olympics organising committee spokesman Serapheim Kotrotsos said they were not behind the proposal. “This issue is not of our concern,” he added. The Swedish and Iceland governments have already complained to the International Olympic Committee and the Greek government about the idea.
— AFP |
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