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Wednesday,
July 9, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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Ganguly keen to upset Aussie applecart South Africa struggle against England
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Arbitrator’s findings in Jadeja case biased: BCCI
Gopi to miss world meet
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Federer fills the void left by Hingis Zurich, July 8 One was a media superstar who retired from top flight tennis due to her injuries. The other is a down-to-earth hero whose time appears to have just begun. When Roger Federer became the first Swiss man to win a grand slam title at Wimbledon on Sunday, there were inevitable comparisons with 1997 when his compatriot and one-time doubles partner Martina Hingis lifted the women’s trophy.
IHF flayed for top players’ withdrawal Hockey team to meet Kalam Khalsa Diwan to hockey star’s aid Asian basketball qualifiers from today Depleted squads for Asian w’lifting meets Sasikiran in joint lead 41 selected for football camp Haryana junior athletics
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Ganguly keen to upset Aussie applecart Kolkata, July 8 After seven years of riding the crest and trough of cricket, the Indian Captain is a seasoned campaigner and the only thing on his mind is the series Down Under. “What I am looking forward to is the tour of Australia. We had beaten them here two years back, but it will be a real test of our calibre when we play them on their turf,” Ganguly told reporters here. Ganguly is a relaxed man these days with his father’s health improving and the recent run spree during the World Cup that had once again put the screws on the talking heads that seem to rise every now and then to pull him down. “We need to
consistently get the basics right. Once that’s done, as I’ve said in the past, other things will fall in place. We also need to have a pool of 20 players who would be going through a conditioning camp first. That will increase the choice at hand,” the confident-as-ever skipper said. Talking about his immediate assignments, Ganguly said: “We will definitely be a little rusty at the start of 2003-04 series. It can’t be avoided, but the conditioning camp will go a long way to reducing that. At the same time the hunger to win will be there.” About the upcoming home series against the Kiwis, Ganguly said: “Thery are a tough side. But we really don’t have any scores to settle. We didn’t play well in New Zealand. We kept on losing tosses and things simply didn’t go our way.” “However, at the World Cup we proved that if the wickets are fair we are a far better side. And it must have hurt them when a loss threw them out of the competition.” The elegant southpaw is certainly not a man to sit on his haunches and wait for things to happen. He would
rather make things happen, so when asked whether he was keeping a tab on the young cricketers, he said: “I think we have a place for one opener. Sehwag has done well in England and the West Indies and can certainly be seen as a contender. The India `A’ squad has taken four openers with them in Shiv Sunder Das, Wasim Jaffer, Gautam Gambhir and Akash Chopra. I have enough faith in Jaffer and Das. Both are backfoot players and should do well in Australia where the tracks are bouncy.” He is also looking for a keeper who can bat a bit. Though Ganguly has faith in the abilities of young Parthiv Patel, he is also looking at other options like Deep Dasgupta and Thilak Naidu from Bangalore. Then there is also Vikram Rathore who is more a batsman than a keeper. The skipper is also keenly watching Avishkar Salvi and Hemang Badani, besides Ambati Tirupati Rayadu all of whom he thinks are fine cricketers. Moving onto the World Cup, he said: “It keeps coming back to mind. But life has to go on. Today while being happy at the way we played we can only wait for 2007. Hope we have proved one point that we can perform on bouncy tracks too like we did in South Africa.” Ganguly said that Sachin, Dravid and he himself would be in between 32 and 35 during the next World Cup and would be able to bring in all their experience along with younger players like Kaif, Yuvraj, Sehwag, Zaheer and Nehra who would have by then also garnered sufficient experience. —
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Harbhajan puts off surgery Mumbai, July 8 Dr Anant Joshi, the specialist who has been treating him, said Harbhajan had responded to physiotherapy after consulting a specialist in Melbourne last week and been able to bowl long sessions in the nets without discomfort. “Harbhajan was feeling much better after physiotherapy,” he told Reuters, explaining the reasons for deciding against surgery. Dr Joshi said the surgery had been scheduled for last Tuesday and added: “He may not need it at all. He is very happy and relieved.” Harbhajan was advised to undergo surgery last month to rectify a ligament injury in the knuckle joint of his middle finger, attributed mainly to his tight bowling grip. The bowler, nicknamed “Turbanator” after capturing 32 wickets to lead a home Test series upset over Australia two years ago, chose to consult the Melbourne doctor who had operated on Shane Warne’s spinning finger a few years ago on the advice of the Australia leg spinner. He would again consult the doctor during India’s Test tour of Australia in November, he added. —
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South Africa struggle against England Birmingham, July 8 Anderson, hit out of the attack at Edgbaston after conceding four boundaries in his opening over, returned to remove Mark Boucher (13), Jacques Rudolph (16) and Shaun Pollock (0). He ended with four for 38. Andrew Flintoff was as influential in the triangular series encounter, dismissing Graeme Smith (45) with his fifth ball and taking a spectacular catch to remove danger-man Jacques Kallis (15). He took three catches in all. Martin van
Jaarsveld, however, made 45 and put on 71 for the eighth wicket to give the South Africans a chance after slumping to 104 for seven. Kallis averaged 314 before Tuesday after hitting two centuries in three innings. Scoreboard South Africa Smith c McGrath b Flintoff 45 Gibbs c Clarke b Gough 2 Kallis c Flintoff b Johnson 15 Hall lbw Johnson 3 Rudolph c McGrath Boucher c Trescothick Van Jaarsveld lbw McGrath 45 Pollock c Flintoff Adams not out 33 Nel c Flintoff b Anderson1 Ntini not out 10 Extras (lb-6 w-8 nb-1) 15 Total (9
wkts, 50 overs) 198 FoW: 1-28, 2-65, 3-67, 4-74, 5-99, 6-104, 7-104, 8-175, 9-177 Bowling: Anderson 10-2-38-4, Gough 10-3-29-1 (nb-1), Johnson 8-1-34-2 (w-3), Flintoff 9-0-47-1 (w-4), Giles 10-0-29-0 (w-1), McGrath 3-0-15-1. —
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Arbitrator’s findings in Jadeja case biased: BCCI
New Delhi, July 8 Opening arguments on the BCCI’s objections to the Arbitrator’s award in favour of Jadeja, who was allowed to play domestic matches in an interim order by a Division Bench of the High Court, board’s counsel C.S. Vaidyanathan told Justice Manmohan Sarin that no cross-examination of the criketer was allowed by Justice Mehra. “The order passed by him (Arbitrator) was not only bias but was based on perverse findings,” Vaidyanathan alleged, seeking reversal of the award, given in favour of Jadeja on January 27. Not allowing cross-examination of Jadeja was against the principle of natural justice, the BCCI counsel said, claiming that no reasons were cited by the Arbitrator for rejecting of the board’s request for putting questions to the cricketer. Though there is no provision for appeal under the Arbitration Act against the award given by an Arbitrator appointed on mutual agreement by the contesting parties, yet a party not satisfied about his findings could raise those objections in the High Court, which in its opinion, were not considered by the Arbitrator. BCCI had filed an application raising certain objections on the findings of Justice Mehra on April 25, two days before the award would have become final under the law. The board also questioned the Arbitrator’s findings that former CBI Director K Madhavan, who was appointed as an investigator by the BCCI to inquire into the match-fixing allegations, had acted contrary to principle of natural justice by not giving Jadeja enough opportunity to put forth his stand before him. “Jadeja was given full hearing by Madhavan and the BCCI disciplinary committee before the ban was imposed on him,” Vaidyanathan said. The BCCI had imposed the ban on Jadeja on December 5, 2000, following a report submitted by Madhavan, who had proceeded on the basis of CBI findings in the match-fixing allegations. The BCCI had also imposed life ban on former captain Mohammad Azharuddin and Ajay Sharma and five-year ban on former alrounder Manoj Prabhakar. While Justice Sarin had rejected Jadeja’s application for allowing him to play at least in domestic matches during the pendency of the matter before the court, a Division Bench of Mr Justice B.A. Khan and Mr Justice O.P. Dwivedi in an interim order allowed him to play. The Supreme Court had also declined to interfere in the interim permission granted by the High Court’s Division Bench to him. Jadeja and
Azharuddin, who also has challenged the BCCI ban in a Hyderabad court, had said the allegations of match-fixing against them were false and they were not involved in the racket. |
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Gopi to miss world meet Bangalore, July 8 The Indian team would undergo a 15-day training starting here on Thursday in preparation for the big event. Gopichand is not a part of the team since his world ranking on February 20, the criteria for qualification, was not high enough, coach Vimal Kumar told PTI here. Indian entrants at the meet are Abhinn Shyam Gupta, Nikhil Kanetkar and Aparna Popat in singles; Jaseel Ismail/Jason Xavier, Sanave Thomas/V Diju and Jwala Gutta/Shruti Kurian in doubles. Vimal Kumar said the draw to be made on July 18 was crucial. “None of the Indians are seeded and if they run into top-rung players in the initial phase itself, things would be difficult for them,” he said. He said if the Indians manage to reach the quarterfinal stage, it could be considered a good achievement. On Gopichand, he said a knee problem saw him out of international action in the last one year and his world ranking was now 129. But there is some good news for Gopichand fans. According to Vimal Kumar, Gopichand is taking part in the Indonesian, Malaysian and Singapore Open Championships. —
PTI |
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Sania eager to do well
in singles Mumbai, July 8 The 16-year-old Sania became the first Indian girl ever to win a Grand Slam title when she won the juniors doubles girls title partnering Russia’s Alisa Kleybanova at Wimbledon on Sunday. Sania, however, would not be able to pair up with Alisa at the US Open as the Russian has pulled out of the Grand Slam due to personal reasons. “I will not be partnering Alisa at the US Open as she has decided not to play for personal reasons,” Sania told reporters after her arrival from London here. “Moreover I want to concentrate on my singles performance though I will be playing in the doubles as well with a new partner,” the Hyderabad lass said. Sania did not rule out partnering an Indian but said she will have to wait and see how things turn out before arriving at a decision. On her triumph at Wimbledon, Sania said: “It is a great feeling to be the first Indian woman to win a Grand Slam title. I am very happy about it though I was not expecting to win it.” “I just decided to play in the doubles after Alisa said she was looking out for a partner and now I am very happy I decided to play with her,” Sania added. The youngster’s hands are full in the short break that she would have before the US Open, the fourth Grand Slam of the season. “I will just rest in Hyderabad for a week and then would go either to Bhupathi’s Academy in Bangalore or to the US early and start practicing to get the feel of the courts over there,” she said. Sania and Alisa beat Katerina Bohmova of Czech Republic and Michaela Krajicek of Netherlands 2-6 6-3 6-2 and was the second Indian success story in this year’s championship after Leander Paes had won the mixed doubles title along with legendary Martina Navratilova. Sania said she was not even aware that she was the first Indian woman to win a Grand Slam. —
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Federer fills the void left by Hingis Zurich, July 8 When Roger Federer became the first Swiss man to win a grand slam title at Wimbledon on Sunday, there were inevitable comparisons with 1997 when his compatriot and one-time doubles partner Martina Hingis lifted the women’s trophy. At 21, Federer is just one year younger than Hingis, but their careers and characters could not be further apart. “They are two totally different personalities,” Swiss Tennis Federation president Christine Ungricht told Reuters. Brought up on a rigorous diet of training and tournaments, Hingis hit the headlines young, becoming world number one at 16 and attracting the media spotlight with her on-court tantrums and disagreements with her mother and coach Melanie Molitor. Level-headed Federer, the softly-spoken man from the Basel region who was overwhelmed by his win, was tipped for stardom since becoming world number one junior in 1998 but took his time to get to the top. His success is seen as a result of his close-knit team of trainer, physio, family and girlfriend. “They followed totally different paths. But Martina and Roger are both exceptional players as they have to be to win,” Ungricht said. “Martina wrote sporting history in Switzerland but Roger is now doing the same.” Hingis retired from the top flight after being dogged by ankle injuries and increasingly frustrated by her inability to handle today’s power hitters. In February she ruled out a return to spend more time studying at her home outside Zurich. She hailed Federer’s win yesterday, telling Blick newspaper: “Congratulations! Roger was masterful, it was very impressive. Winning at Wimbledon is a fantastic feeling. Something unforgettable.” Le Temps newspaper reflected on Hingis’s exit from the sport: “Even though it was unfinished, her work marked an era.” “Martina Hingis won everything, except Roland Garros. At 22, defeated by the wear and tear of power and the pressure of a new generation, she took her final bow.” Now Federer’s 7-6 6-2 7-6 victory against Australian Mark Philippoussis on Centre Court, and the tears he shed at the prize ceremony, have cemented the media’s latest love affair. “No, tennis is not yet dead! Roger Federer is the saviour who we’ve been waiting for,” the French-language Tribune de Geneve said on its front page, heralding the “Federer Era”. Federer himself, it seems, will need some time to get used to his new status. “Before I was just a good tennis player — now I am a celebrity,” he told Reuters in an interview on yesterday. Observers say that Federer’s success lies in his ability to keep his feet on the ground in the dizzying whirl of tennis. “I have known Roger since he was young,” Ungricht said. “He is a relaxed guy. He has a good relationship with the media, his statements are on the ball, he is very real and enjoys a joke.” While his Swedish trainer Peter Lundgren and physio Pavel Kovac look after his fitness and his game, his 25-year-old girlfriend Miroslava Vavrinec acts as sponsorship agent and press officer. Federer is also his own manager. “He is now marketing himself like a business,” Ungricht said. “He is his own man.” His family also stress they never pushed him into the game. “We have never pushed Roger’s progress — really never,” his father Robert told Swiss media. “Even when he was just knee-high he was already running down the street with a tennis racket.” “Even today he still likes coming home, back to the family.” Federer has said himself he is aware of the pressure to fill the void left by Hingis’s retirement, especially among young Swiss players inspired by her meteoric rise to the top. “She’s only a year older than me,” Federer told Reuters earlier this year. “I’m just getting started now and she’d already achieved so much and just quit.” “Martina is still very well liked...but of course there was a lot of jealousies because she was so young, so famous, so rich, so good...it’s tough for Swiss people to accept that.” Hingis, who was named after Martina Navratilova, picked up a tennis racket aged two and played her first professional tournament aged 14, inspiring a generation. “Martina really created a trend in that she began training professionally when she was young,” Ungricht said. But by taking the longer route to success, Federer has bought himself a certain wisdom and maturity in the process. But he will have to work hard to remain on top. “Look at the professionals today: they play so much and are under so much pressure. It depends what kind of person you are, whether or not you enjoy it. But you have to work so hard to stay at this level. It doesn’t come for free.” —
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Roger Federer milks Wimbledon success Gstaad (Switzerland), July 8 The Swiss, who pocketed £575,000 in taking the Wimbledon men’s singles title on Sunday, received the unusual gift after being greeted by a standing ovation from 6,000 fans in the Roy Emerson Arena. “It is a great idea, very funny,” was Federer’s reaction when presented with the cow. “It is unbelievable to be here in my home country to celebrate winning Wimbledon.” Basel-based
Federer, who made his professional debut five years ago in the Gstaad tournament, plays Spanish qualifier Marc Lopez in the opening round.
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IHF flayed for top players’ withdrawal Chennai, July 8 Addressing a press conference to explain the salient features of this age-old Grade-A tournament approved by the IHF, Vellayan, Managing Director, Murugappa Group said: “I did not get even a telephone call from the Secretary of the IHF, who, since he is based in Chennai, should take the responsibility for withdrawal of the Indian team players from this prestigious tournament”. The IHF had confirmed the dates for the tournament but Indian Airlines and Indian Oil Corporation, which boasts of the top Indian stars in their teams, have withdrawn at the last moment. “I appeal to Mr K.P.S. Gill, IHF president, to have the game’s interest in mind and administer it well, otherwise we will have problems,” Vellayan said. “At a time when sponsors are not coming forward, such acts of not releasing the players for big tournaments like this will be detrimental to the game.” Vellayan declared that Murugappa Group would continue to help develop the game by sponsoring the event in the future but the teams that withdrew after confirming participation this time will not be invited next year. As for the tournament, Rajiv Reddy, sub-secretary, MCC said 12 teams split in four groups will play each other and the top two teams from each group would qualify for the quarterfinals to be played on July 15 and 16. The semifinals would be on July 18 and the final is slated for July 19. The prize money for the winners have been increased from Rs 60,000 to Rs.75,000 and for the runners-up from R 40,000 to Rs 50,000. Groupings: Group A: Bhopal XI, Tamil Nadu, MEG, Bangalore. Group B: Indian Railways, ASC Centre, Bangalore, Mumbai. Group C: ONGC, New Delhi, IHF Juniors, Delhi and Air India, Mumbai. Group D: Karnataka XI, IOB, Chennai and Punjab Police. —
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Hockey team to meet Kalam New Delhi, July 8 Overwhelmed by the team’s victory in two international tournaments in under a month, the president has invited Dhanraj Pillay and his squad to the regal Rashtrapati Bhavan, or presidential palace. “The high tea will be on at 7 p.m. Friday,” an Indian Hockey Federation official told IANS. The team won two successive international titles — in Sydney and Hamburg - last month. A sports lover, Kalam decided it was time to celebrate. Normally, the president invites a team only when it wins a title at the Asian level or a world championship. But the two tournaments the Indian hockey players won were contested fiercely. One was played at Sydney and also drew Pakistan and Australia, which fielded two teams, while Argentina, Spain and Germany were the challengers at the Hamburg Masters tournament. The presidential invitation will coincide with the team’s one-month preparatory camp for the Champions Trophy in the Netherlands, from August 16 to 24. Besides India, Argentina, Australia, Germany, the Netherlands and Pakistan will take part in the meet. “The invitation from the president itself is an honour,” said a source. “As is the established practice, the president of India does not announce any awards or cash prizes.” Some players, however, anticipated that Kalam would announce some rewards for their good performances. The IHF has not announced any prizes so far. On both occasions after winning the title, the players dispersed from Mumbai and New Delhi airports, with the celebration restricted to the airports. Some players were even temporarily lodged in a small and apparently shabby hotel in Paharganj area on their return from Sydney on June 10. —
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Khalsa Diwan to hockey star’s aid Tarn Taran, July 8 Mr Hanbans Singh Kairon honorary secretary of the local committee of the Chief Khalsa Diwan, said here today Rs 10,000 had been sent to Kanwaldeep Singh at his native village Beer. Ahmedabad near Ludhiana through Joginder Singh an Asian gold medallist. Mr Kairon had read about the hockey star’s plight in the columns of The Tribune on Monday and brought the matter to the notice of the office-bearers, who decided to help the player. Mr Kairon further said the committee had decided to provide free education, including free boarding and lodging and other facilities to his younger brother at the Sri Guru Harkrishan Public School here and also provide him all facilities to help him with hockey. |
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Asian basketball qualifiers from today New Delhi, July 8 Hectic preparations were on to get the stadium ready as the Talkatora indoor stadium was the venue of a mango festival, and the Basketball Federation of India (BFI) was handed over possession of the stadium only on Tuesday. The BFI was working at a frenetic pace to get the stadium ready for the competition. The Indian team, who arrived in Delhi a couple of days ago after fine-tuning their skills in Hyderabad for about a month, was looking forward to the competition, as chief coach Chandsooria exuded the confidence that India could secure a berth in the final round to be held in China next month. The Talkatora stadium is a familiar battle terrain for the Indian hoopsters, and the hosts should find the setting to their liking. India have been placed in Group A, along with Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, while Group B comprises Uzbekistan, Kyrgystan and Nepal. India enjoy an easy group as Lanka and Bangladesh are not much of a force to worry about. The Indian team suffered a mild blow during the one-month coaching camp in Hyderabad when their pivot and key player, M S Shabbir Ahmed, pulled out of the team because of a knee injury. However, senior player Parminder Singh and coach Chandsooriya were confident of India doing well, and securing a place in the final round. |
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Depleted squads for Asian w’lifting meets Patiala, July 8 Only Punjab, Maharashtra and Andhara Pradesh lifters turned up while other units affiliated to the IWF went unrepresented during the day-long selections trials. A three-member squad for the Asian sub-junior meet and a seven-member squad for the Asian youth championships both the events which are slated to be held in the Indonesian island of Bali from August 5 to 13, was selected. The low-key turnout was attributed the absence of 23 junior lifters who were found to have tested positive during the junior national championships held in Chennai in January this year. A majority of them, who were found to have used stimulants, are serving a six-month ban while steroid offenders have been banned for a period of two years. However, a key IWF official refused to be drawn into the doping controversy and opined that the prime reason for lifters absenting themselves was due to the fact that the IWF could not communicate with its affiliated units on time. A few months ago, the IWF had to reverse its decision of fielding a team in the junior world championship as many lifters failed to report at the training camp, leaving the federation bosses with little option except to withdraw the squad. The IWF selection committee has selected Dhirendra (Maharashtra-56kg), Nag Raju (AP-69kg), Sunil (Maharashtra-62kg) and Raj Kumar (AP-77kg) in the boys section for the Asian Youth Championship. On the distaff side, Supriya (Maharashtra-44kg), Shivrani (AP-44kg) and V. Chennari (AP-62kg) comprise the squad. For the Asian sub-junior meet, the IWF has selected P. Harita (AP-63kg) and S. Kalyani (AP-48kg) in the girls section while the sole lifter who finds a spot in the boys section is Sarabjit (Punjab-105kg). |
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Sasikiran in joint lead Esbjerg (Denmark), July 8 Sasikiran took his tally to 3 points out of a possible 4 and now shares the lead with GM Luke McShane of England, who defeated GM Michal Krasenkow of Poland in a keenly contested game. Half a point adrift of the leaders are top seed GM Alexey Dreev of Russia and Curt Hansen of Denmark. —
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41 selected for football camp Chandigarh, July 8 The probables: Goalkeepers: Harvir Singh, Daljit Singh and Garish Bhatt. Defenders: Hardeep Singh, Sarabdeep Singh, Ranjit Singh, Viney Kumar, Varun Kumar, Manjot Singh, Prabjot Singh, Gurpreet Singh, Amrit Pal Singh, Jaspreet Singh, Bachitter Singh, Soruv Kumar and Baljit Singh. Midfielders: Hari Singh, Ranvir Singh, Satnam Singh, Daljit Singh, Jasvir Singh, Dalvir Singh, Gurmukh Singh, Harinder Singh, Adil Hassan, Navtej Singh, Amrit Pal Singh, Jagdish Singh, Manvir Sharma, Balraj Singh, Sukhvinder Singh and Gagandeep Singh. Forwards:Harmanjot Singh, Dal-winder Singh, Inder Pal Singh, Sukhvir Singh, Hardeep Singh, Nanak Singh, Shakil Ahmed, Jaspal Singh and Sandeep Singh. |
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Haryana junior athletics Chandigarh, July 8 The events to be conducted in the championship are: Boys under-16 :5km walk. Girls under-16 : 100 m, 400m, 800m, 2000m race, long jump, high jump, shot put, discus throw, javelin, 100m hurdle, 4x100m relay, and 3km walk. The events for the under-14 category would be according to groups and each athlete would take part in three events, he said. Boys and girls under-14: Group I : 100m, long jump, 800m Group II: 100m, long jump, shot put Groups III : 100m, high jump, shot put (one athlete can participate in two events only.) |
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