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Wednesday,
July 23, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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Astle, Bond doubtful
for India tour
Impressive start by Phelps
Devesh a reliable hockey custodian |
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Pak recall Sohail Abbas, Waseem 79 tested positive for dope: Verma
Afro-Asian Games on schedule
Indian colts’ impressive win
in soccer Dharam Singh
memorial hockey
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Astle, Bond doubtful
for India tour
New Delhi, July 22 Bond, who has been out of cricket since suffering a stress fracture in his back during a triangular series in Sri Lanka in May, is “progressing nicely” but will take some time before resuming bowling, said New Zealand Cricket’s sports science medical co-ordinator Warren Frost. “He’s still on the comeback trail and is building up his work in the gym. He is still a little from being back bowling,” Frost was quoted as saying by Wisden Cricinfo website. Although Astle has resumed his build-up to full fitness, his training will be stepped up this week, he said. With no time frame set for the duo’s return, stand-in coach Ashley Ross said in case they fail to undertake the tour, players with international experience will be accommodated in the team. New Zealand, who are scheduled to leave for India on September 23, will play two Tests and a triangular series, also involving world champions Australia, on the tour. Despite uncertainties over the availability of regular coach John Bracewell and some of the key players for the upcoming tour of India, New Zealand’s stand-in coach Ashley Ross said his side was fully ready to face the challenges in the sub-continent. Ross, who is likely to take over Bracewell’s role during the tour, said all the players are in peak form which can help the side achieve what they have not done in their previous seven
attempts — winning a Test series in India. “This side has played extremely well away from home in recent years. We won in Sri Lanka, we won our first series last year in the West Indies and when we toured England in 1999 we won that series and the bulk of players from those teams are still together. We have a very good record in Asia recently,” Ross told the Wisden Cricinfo website. “We have been working very hard on our ability to play spin by approaching it in a more methodical way and in the way we approach each bowler. “There has been a real move forward in our batsmen. Stephen Fleming, Mark Richardson, Scott Styris, who was on his debut tour to Asia, and Jacob Oram, all had good scores in Sri Lanka and the batting of the side has come of age, and our spinners also showed out,” he said. During the tour, New Zealand would be looking to better their record in India as they are yet to win a Test series here in their seven previous appearances. Bracewell may not be on the tour, but his inputs will be there as Ross expects to be in close consultation with his senior before the side leaves on September 23. He also said the team was preparing in right earnest for the upcoming challenge. There is a prospect that New Zealand could prepare for its tour by travelling to India earlier than intended, or by stopping in northern Australia before travelling on to India. Currently the team is undergoing training at New Zealand Cricket’s High Performance Centre where conditions are similar to that of India and which had proved very effective in coping with foreign conditions. “It is a tough and difficult environment in India and our training will be reflective of that,” Ross said. Despite doubts surrounding Kanpur hosting one of the Test matches, Ross said the choice of venue hardly bothered his players.
— PTI |
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Stewart
to quit Test cricket
London, July 22 The 40-year-old Stewart is England’s second-highest run-scorer in Test history, behind Graham Gooch’s 8,900-run record. Stewart overtook David Gower’s total in the recent Tests against Zimbabwe and has 8,281 runs to his name. If he plays in all five Tests, the right-hander will become the third most capped player in the game behind Australians Steve Waugh and Allan Border. Stewart said: “I have given it a lot of thought and I let Duncan (Fletcher, coach) know this morning over breakfast and then informed David Graveney as well”.
— AFP
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SWIMMING
Barcelona, July 22 The 18-year-old American opened his quest for four individual titles by clocking one minute 55.70 seconds, leading the way into the evening’s semifinals by more than a second. Phelps let Takashi Yamamoto lead through the first 150 metres but cut loose after the last turn and left the Japanese swimmer trailing. Yamamoto still returned the second-fastest overall time of 1:56.95. Olympic champion Tom Malchow of the USA won his heat in the third-fastest aggregate time of 1:57.25 but nothing went right for 32-year-old French Franck Esposito, the fastest man in the world this year so far. Esposito had a problem with his goggles, which his coach said had filled with water, and finished a distant seventh in the final heat, 27th overall in 2:01.35, and was eliminated. Phelps, who looks capable of breaking his 2001 world record of 1:54.58, is also contesting the 100 butterfly, 200 and 400 individual medley and two relays. Britain’s James Gibson, bronze medallist in Monday’s 100 metres breaststroke, posted easily the fastest time in the men’s 50 breaststroke heats. The Commonwealth gold medallist sprinted the one-length race in 27.54 to win his heat from reigning world champion and world record holder Oleg Lisogor of Ukraine, who clocked 27.85. Kosuke Kitajima, who became the first Japanese world swimming champion in winning Monday’s 100 breaststroke in a world record 59.78, has pulled out of the 50 to concentrate his efforts on the 200 event. Hungary’s Mihaly Flaskay swam the second-fastest time of the morning in winning his heat in 27.84, fully three-tenths of a second slower than Gibson. Fellow Hungarian Karoly Guttler, at 35 the old man of the championships, continued his remarkable long career by earning a place in the semifinals. Fifteen years after taking the silver medal at the 1988 Seoul Olympics, the former 100 breaststroke world record holder clocked 28.34, fifth in his heat and 14th overall. American Lindsay Benko was more than a second faster than the rest in the women’s 200 freestyle heats, leading the way to the semi-finals in 1:58.84. China’s Yang Yu, the 2001 silver medallist and the fastest woman in the world this year, won her heat in 2:00.32, the second-quickest aggregate time. — Reuters
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Swimmer
Poncha disappoints New Delhi, July 22 Poncha clocked 2min 08.05sec, substantially better than his previous best of 2min 09.02sec, but his 46th position in the qualifying rounds took him nowhere. The Olympic qualifying mark for the event is 2:04.56. Ambica Iyenger also bettered her personal best in the women’s 200m freestyle race but finished a poor 52nd in a field of 65 swimmers.
— PTI |
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Devesh a reliable hockey custodian
Lucknow, July 22 The only player from UP out of the 24 strong-probables to play in the coming Champions Trophy in Holland, Devesh claimed that he had generated passion for goalkeeping over the years and would continue to do so till he could. Incidentally, UP also gave several other renowned players including wizard Dhyan Chand, Talking to UNI,
Devesh, who contributed much to the junior Indian side in 2001 to win the World Cup, maintained that his tenure as a student in the sports hostel in Lucknow had trained him well. The young Indian goalkeeper from
Etawah, while attributing his success to coaches, said his performance in the last two international tournaments had proved that he deserved a place in the team. Chief coach of Indian side Rajendir Singh said, Devesh does a fantastic job under the cross bar whenever he was given chance. “He is hardworking and extremely committed to the game which are his main strengths,” he
added. Devesh said while taking advice from his seniors, he tried hard to improve his communication skills which made a lot of difference while standing under the bar in international matches. “He has all the capabilities to perform at his best and I hope that Devesh will continue to effectively display his skills at Holland,” said
Rajendir. The upcoming goalkeeper said the involvement of M A Subbiah to provide some tips was good for him and the other two goalkeepers in the
side. Devesh along with Kamaldeep Singh and Bharat Chettri are being trained by Subbiah under the bar along with the chief coach. Incidentally, Devesh proved wrong the tall claims of the hockey pandits, who expressed apprehension that he might not be a good replacement for - Jude Menezes who retired after playing 133
international matches. The young goalkeeper is also meeting old friends and coaches in his free time here in the training camp.
— UNI |
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Pak recall Sohail Abbas, Waseem Karachi, July 22 The pair were selected in a full strength 18-member squad for the tournament in Amstelveen, the Netherlands and September’s Asia Cup in Kuala Lumpur. However, both were fined Rs 100,000 ($1,700) for playing in the hockey league in Germany without the permission of the federation. Squad: Muhammad Nadeem (captain), Waseem Ahmed, Ahmed Alam (goalkeeper), Sohail Abbas, Ali Reza, Zeeshan Ashraf, Ghazanfar Ali, Muhammad Saqlain, Dilawar Hussain, Adnan Maqsood, Rehan Butt, Mudassar Ali, Kashif Jawad, Shabbir Hussain, Sameer Hussain, Khalid Saleem, M. Asim, Salman Akbar.
—Reuters |
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Sohail Abbas’ return on expected lines Chandigarh, July 22 In Australia, the Pakistan hockey team put up a pathetic showing. At Perth, Pakistan were beaten 3-0 by Australia, 2-0 by India and 2-1 by Australia ‘A’. In the second leg at Sydney, Pakistan, after drawing with India 4-4, lost to Australia 3-4 and Australia ‘A’ 2-5. The disastrous tour led to a public outcry and manager Shahnaz Sheikh became the first casualty. The disciplinary committee of the Pakistan Hockey Federation which summoned the three players for a hearing recommended a one-year ban on them besides imposing a fine for neglecting national duty. However, it was national interest which forced the Pakistan Hockey Federation to recall the three key players for the Champions Trophy, which features the world’s top six nations including Australia, Germany, Holland, India, Pakistan, and Argentina. Without Sohail Abbas, Pakistan would have faced further embarrassment, as he has proved to be the team’s trump card in crunch situations. With 196 goals in 161 international appearances ever since his debut in 1998, Sohail Abbas has steered Pakistan to a respectable position on more than one occasion. He was not only the highest scorer in the Asia Cup but was also the joint highest scorer with Argentina’s Jorge Lombi in the last World Cup at Kuala Lumpur last year. With his recall, Pakistan will be a changed side in the Champions Trophy next month and all other teams will have to reformulate their strategies to deal with him, given his lethal striking power. |
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79 tested positive for dope: Verma
New Delhi, July 22 Replying to a query during Question Hour, Mr Verma disclosed in the Lok Sabha that as many as 79 athletes had tested positive for dope in domestic meets during random tests in the last one year and that action against them was being taken by the National Sports Federations concerned as per the rules of their international body. Asked if the government had set up an Anti-Doping Commission to take action against those involved in doping, the minister said simple “no”. “The Indian Olympic Association and National Sports Federations are primarily the action-taking authorities,” Mr Verma said. As many as 33 weightlifters, 22 powerlifters and 13 athletes were found using performance-enhancing drugs. Besides, two sportspersons in swimming and one each in rowing, volleyball, cycling and football were also found guilty of doping. The minister, however, pointed out that the government, through the Sports Authority of India had made serious efforts to keep away sportspersons from use of any kind of prohibited drugs. “Strict instructions have been issued to the coaches attached with the campers to educate and regularly counsel the players about the banned drugs. “Rooms and belongings of the players are also searched and checked at regular intervals to see that no banned drugs are used besides testing the urine samples of sportspersons during the coaching camps at random,” he said. — UNI
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Afro-Asian Games on schedule Patiala, July 22 This was disclosed by Mr H.J. Dora, President of the Andhra Pradesh Olympic Association (APOA). Mr Dora, who is also the president of the Indian Weightlifting Federation (IWF), was here at the NIS in connection with trials to select the Indian squads for the Afro-Asian Games and the World Weightlifting Championships slated to be held in Vancouver in November. Mr Dora said the infrastructure that had come up during the Hyderabad National Games would be used for the Afro-Asian Games. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu was taking keen interest in the games and various committees under his chairmanship had been constituted to look into different aspects relating to the organising of the mega event. Various facilities at the games village were being upgraded and gadgets like air conditioners were being installed. A grant of Rs 10 crore to improve facilities at the Games Village had been released. Another grant of an equal amount to lay two hockey Astro-turfs was also in the process of being released. Mr Dora disclosed that according to norms laid down by the International Hockey Federation (FIH), two Astro-turfs had to be laid side by side for staging the hockey event. This work, would be completed before October 20. Final touches were being given to the swimming pool where a water heating system was also being installed. |
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Real Madrid too expensive for Asia Kuala Lumpur, July 22 Real Madrid had been scheduled to play the Malaysian national team on August 10 at the National Stadium in Kuala Lumpur, and regional television stations had already advertised the game. “The terms were not acceptable,” he said, without elaborating. The New Straits Times said Real Madrid had wanted 11 million ringgit ($ 2.9 million) to play in Kuala Lumpur, while the total cost of staging the match would have reached 18 million ringgit. “While sponsors can help defray some of the costs, ticket sales are the major revenue earner but even a capacity crowd of 80,000 at the National Stadium would not help meet the costs,” the paper said. Real Madrid, keen to cash in on Asia’s love of soccer, are due to showcase David Beckham, Ronaldo, Raul and all their other stars in a series of exhibition matches across the region next month. Beckham is regarded as the hottest soccer property in Asia and Real Madrid intended to particularly showcase him after his transfer from Manchester United. Real are due to land in the southern Chinese city of Kunming on Friday before playing a game against an invitational Chinese team in Beijing next week. They are then due to play in Tokyo and Hong Kong. However, Chinese officials said last week that the match between Real Madrid and the Chinese national side scheduled for August 8 in Hong Kong was also under a cloud because the Spanish giants were asking for too much money. The Guangzhou-based Nanfang Sports News said Real Madrid had priced themselves out of the market with a demand for an appearance fee of two million euros ($ 2.26 million), plus travel and accommodation expenses.— AFP
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30,000 fans
welcome Ronaldinho Barcelona, July 22 The 23-year-old, who will inherit the number 10 shirt from the departing Argentine Juan Roman
Riquelme, was given a hero’s welcome by Barca fans packing two sides of the ground. They were able to see the presentation on giant video screens before watching their new idol run through a range of tricks and flicks on the Nou Camp pitch. “This is one of the most emotional days in my life,” Ronaldinho told the crowd. “I’ll do everything to give the fans reason to cheer.”
Ronaldinho’s decision to join Barcelona in preference to Manchester United or Real Madrid was based in part on the recent experiences of
Romario, Ronaldo and Rivaldo — three Brazilians who all triumphed during their time at the Nou Camp. “I want to follow in their footsteps,” said
Ronaldinho. “They are all great players, world champions, and in part they’re the reason why I’m here.”
— Reuters
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Indian
colts’ impressive win
in soccer Kolkata, July 22 According to information here, the young brigade of Stephen Constantine took the lead in the 20th minute through Vimal Periyer. The Euro giants restored parity a little before half time. However, the Indian side had other ideas. Bengal’s defender Habib Rehman Mondal got the match-winner from a set-piece, setting a memorable win for the country. —
UNI |
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Dharam
Singh memorial hockey Chandigarh, July 22 The tournament a six-a-side affair, will be held on league basis from July 24 to 31 at the Sector 18, hockey stadium. As many as six leading teams of Chandigarh namely CISF Red, Rock Rovers, Air Force (3BRD), CISF Blue Wanderers Club, and Spartans Club will participate. The inaugural match will be played between CISE Red and Air Force (3BRD) at 7 p.m. on July 24. All the matches will be day and night affairs and will be played under floodlights, according to Mr N.S. Sodhi, organising secretary. |
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Archers
miss flight NEW DELHI: The Indian archery team, which was scheduled to arrive here tonight, missed their flight in New York, according to the Archery Association of India (AAI). The Indian team was stuck in a traffic jam in New York City and reached the airport late, AAI sources told UNI here. |
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