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Tuesday,
August 5, 2003, Chandigarh, India 
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Commonwealth Games panel in Delhi China land three titles in world badminton India A make job of selectors easy
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Vasco upset
East Bengal
Junior
football team back with MM Trophy Athens — a
marathon from obscurity to modernism
SPD Academy finish
5th in hockey league Manjit, Prabdeep are swimming champs
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Commonwealth
Games panel in Delhi
New Delhi, August 4 The seven-member team, which arrived late last night was given a formal reception by the central ministers, Lt Governor of Delhi, officials of the Indian Olympic Association and sportspersons this morning. “We will formulate our report by September 10, and by the end of September any further verification or clarification will be over,” BEC chairman Richard McColgan said. The team will be in city till Thursday and it will visit the various venues, the site of proposed games village, and also conduct a general survey of the city. McColgan, who is also the Vice-Chairman of the CGF, said the commission was impressed by the hospitality of the hosts in the brief period they had spent in Delhi. “The hospitality has been excellent. Most of the people we will be interacting with have been our friends,” he said. McColgan said the role of the commission was restricted to conduct a technical review of the city’s bid and not decide on the bid itself. “We will examine the bid document and verify the claims that have been made in it. McColgan said the commission would not make a comparison of the two bidding cities, Delhi and Hamilton in Canada, from where the members have flown in. “It would be wrong and inappropriate for the commission to make a comparison between the two cities. “The decision on the bid will be made by the 72 members of the federation which will meet in November in Jamaica to allot the games,” he said. Sports Minister Vikram Verma said the Prime Minister has pledged his personal support to host the event. “The government promises to fullfil all the obligations on its part mentioned in the bid,” he said. Suresh Kalmadi, President of the IOA, told the commission in his welcome speech that the country of a billion people was eager to host the Commonwealth Games for the first time. “India has enjoyed great success in sporting arena in recent times and the Manchester Commonwealth Games last year was a start. “The entire sporting fraternity is looking forward to host the Games,” Kalmadi said. Lt-Governor Vijay Kapoor, said the city was a major trading centre of north India and the ever growing influx of people into Delhi was an indication. “India is a country on the move... Delhi is a green city and has modern infrastructure. The federal system of administration of Delhi will help in bringing together the various agencies involved in the conduct of the games,” he said. Vijay Goel, Minister of State of Sports and Youth Affairs, pointed to Delhi being the national hub of student education and the consequent availability of volunteership on hand for the event. Commonwealth
gold medallist, shooter Moraad Ali Khan mentioned the brotherhood and familial bonding that is built during a multi-national sporting event. “The quality of life that prevails during the games will directly influence the lives of the people involved in it. “The brotherhood that is built during these events leaves an indelible impression on our character,” he said.
— PTI |
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China land three titles in world badminton
Birmingham, August 4 On Saturday the International Badminton Federation (IBF) said there would be no imminent action although tournament referee Henry Ee of Singapore would report to the IBF’s technical committee. China’s head coach dismissed any talk of match fixing but Stephen Baddeley, chief executive of the Badminton Association of England, has called for the Chinese to hold an inquiry. “It is utterly unacceptable to us as organisers and promoters of this event that any competing nation allows this to happen,” he said. Whatever the argument, it was all cut and thrust yesterday when a large crowd at the National Indoor Arena ignored brilliant sunshine outside and thrilled to six hours of top badminton. Xia Xuanze won the men’s singles, fighting off gallant Malaysian Wong Choong Hann 15-6 13-15 15-6 while 28-year-old Zhang Ning deposed women’s singles titleholder Gong Ruina 11-6, 11-3. Gao Ling and Huang Sui lifted the women’s doubles crown, compensation for Gao who had earlier lost the mixed 15-7, 15-8 with partner Zhang Jun to famed South Koreans Kim Dong-moon and Ra Kyung-min. The Asian stranglehold was broken in an exciting men’s doubles where Denmark’s Lars Paaske and Jonas Rasmussen edged out Indonesia’s Sigit Budiarto and Candra Wijaya 15-7, 13-15, 15-13. — Reuters
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India A make job of selectors easy
Mumbai, August 4 Besides those who played in the World Cup early this year, most of the members of the 17-member India 'A' squad are expected to be called for the camp starting in Bangalore on August 14. Also making it to the camp will be dashing batsman Virender Sehwag, who had to cut short his county stint due to a sore back, off-spinner Harbhajan Singh (finger injury) and Ashish Nehra (ankle operation), a top cricket board official said today. Stylish middle-order batsman V.V.S. Laxman, who was dropped from the World Cup squad, was also almost certain to be selected for the camp which will see the players interacting with the new physical trainer Gregory Allen King for the first time. The BCCI official, however, contradicted India 'A' team manager Samiran Chakraborty's statement today that all 17 players have been invited to attend the conditioning camp. "No such decision (to include all India 'A' players) has been taken as yet. But of course, many of them will make it on the basis of their performance in England," he said. With India still struggling to find the right opening combination, the selectors may look up to those India 'A' openers who excelled on the England tour — Wasim Jaffer, who got a double century in the last match against Warwickshire, skipper Shiv Sunder Das, Delhi youngster Gautam Gambhir and Tamil Nadu's S. Sriram. Veteran speedster Javagal Srinath, who had a wonderful World Cup but was considering whether to extend his career, would in all probability be included in the probables' list which may also feature a host of young seamers keeping the future in mind. Baroda's Irfan Pathan (junior), Mumbai youngster Avishkar Salvi, Tamil Nadu seamer L. Balaji and Amit Bhandari all had a good England outing with the first two being more consistent. Considering the vulnerability of the visitors to spin, the selectors would lay emphasis on having a strong spin team. Apart from the regular spinners Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh, the selectors were likely to name left arm spinner Murali Kartik and leggie Amit Mishra, who performed creditably in England. It would be interesting to see if the likes of Hemang Badani of Tamil Nadu, southpaw Rohan Gavaskar of Bengal and the talented youngster from Andhra A Rayadu — all among runs in England — are picked for the camp. For the wicketkeeper's slot, Parthiv Patel and Ajay Ratra are likely to be considered though Bengal's Deep Dasgupta does have an outside chance. — PTI
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Vasco upset East Bengal
Kolkata, August 4 Substitute Susanth Matthew struck in the 85th minute against the run of play with a spectacular side volley to send the fancied Kolkata outfit crashing out of the tournament in a floodlit quarterfinal exchange at the Salt Lake Stadium. Following a free kick by Dennis Cabral, East Bengal central defender Mahesh Gowli tried to clear, but succeeded in despatching the ball only as far as K Ajayan standing close by. Ajayan headed towards Matthew, who promptly put the ball home, much to the dismay of a sizeable crowd in the stands. East Bengal, riding high after the Jakarta conquest, paid the penalty for complacency and inept finishing. The red-and-gold brigade coach Subhas Bhowmick kept out several key players — Suley Musah, Deepak Mandal, Sasthi Duley and Sur Kumar — from the starting line up, but had to induct Musah in the second session as striker after he found his charges repeatedly floundering before the opponent goal. Vasco, on the other hand, grittily defended for almost the entire stretch of the match, and attacked on the counter, though on a few occasions, before scoring the winner. The Goan goalkeeper Saji Joy put up an outstanding performance preventing his side’s collapse on at least three occasions, while the woodwork stood in the way of a Mike Okoro effort three minutes from time. Vasco will now take on Mumbai outfit Mahindra United in the second semifinal on August 6. After the first half the game descended to a pedestrian level with both sides distinctly uncomfortable with the surface. East Bengal carried out incessant raids into opponent territory but the goal proved elusive. As time wore on, the East Bengal pressure increased, but the forwards frittered away chances one after the other. In the 52nd minute, following a mis-kick by a Vasco defender, the ball went to Okoro, whose shot came to Bhutia, but the star striker failed to take a proper shot as a defender cleared the ball out for a corner. Eleven minutes later, Bijen, fed by the Ghanaian Musah, back centred for Bhutia, who headed over from close, while Musah blew over from inside the box a little later. — PTI
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Junior football
team back with MM Trophy Kolkata, August 4 Momentarily surprised by the incessant clicking of flashbulbs and the large group of electronic media personnel at the NSC Bose International Airport today, the youngsters soon regained their composure displaying their new found confidence following their successful foreign campaign. “We can now win anywhere. This tournament has certainly raised our confidence. The psychological pressure of playing top international sides on foreign soil is now a thing of the past,” said Malswama, who emerged the top scorer netting five goals. Coached by the Anglo-Cypriot Stephen Constantine, the Indian rookies defeated the youth side of premier Brazilian club, Botafago, 3-0 to lift the trophy in the Ian Rush International Youth Tournament on August. The Indians, who began their campaign on a wrong note, losing 0-2 to the same Brazilian club, raised their game by several notches, to drub Foothills, Canada, 6-0 before finishing goal-less against another Canadian side Callagary. They edged past Herefordshire Centre of Excellence 1-0 to set up a title clash with the famed Brazilian outfit which has produced the likes of World Cup winner Bebeto. Vimal Pariyar, who struck two goals in the final, said “this has been a good exposure trip. Constantine has
completely changed our outlook on international football. We have now gained a lot of confidence. “We are now more geared up to take on the top sides of the world on equal terms,” Pariyar, a TFA recruit who hails from the Darjeeling hills, said. The youngsters were garlanded by AIFF secretary Alberto Colaco, IFA secretary Subrata Dutta and East Bengal coach Subhas Bhowmick along with several soccer fans. Mr Colaco said all efforts would be made to nurture the side for the future by giving them proper training and arranging exposure trips from time to time. Visibly happy with the young side’s success close on the heels of East Bengal’s triumph in the ASEAN Cup, Mr Colaco said Indian soccer was now moving in the right direction. “This will definitely boost their confidence and increase the popularity of the game in India,” Mr Colaco said, adding “In this young side we have a brilliant future. We hope they bring more laurels for the country in future also”. Earlier last month, the under-18 squad narrowly missed a quarter final berth at the Milk Cup championship in Northern Ireland on goal difference. They, however, caused a sensation in the championship stunning the junior side of celebrated Ukrainian outfit Dynamo Kiev 2-1 before getting past the leading youth club of the hosts County Antrium 2-0 in the qualifiers. Forced to settle in the secondary rung of the tournament, they finished their campaign going down 0-2 to the fancied Argentine side River Plate.
— PTI |
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Athens — a marathon from obscurity to modernism
Athens, August 4 The 1896 crowd roared as the sweat-soaked Spiridon Louis appeared in the stadium, becoming Greece’s first Olympic champion in more than a millennium.
For French nobleman Pierre de Coubertin — the man credited with reviving the Olympics — it was the crowning moment of the first modern games. "At his entry into the stadium it seemed that all of Greek antiquity entered with him,’’ Coubertin recalled in his memoirs. "Cheers went up such as have never been heard before. This was one of the most extraordinary spectacles of which I have any memory,’’ he wrote. Now, after an entire century in which Athens was overlooked in favour of other great cities, Olympic competitors will return to the hallowed marble of the Panathenean Stadium next year. They will find a very different games.
Second-placed Harilaos Vassilakos received a bronze medal and a crown of laurel, as did all runners-up. Third place earned nothing more than an honourable mention and there were no gold medals. Thousands of female athletes who will converge on modern-day Athens would have been a shock to the crowds at the revival games which were a strictly men-only affair. Some 241 men competed in 1896, according to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) records, a modest total which would scarcely constitute a mid-sized national team for 2004. However, the 1896 medals table would look familiar to modern sports fans as the USA dominated with 11 winners, while the hosts were second. But the final standings were confused by the fact that there were no national teams and many competitors were either tourists or bystanders. A mixed nationality team even picked up a medal. The first Olympic champion in 1,527 years was Harvard law student James Connolly, who paid his own fare to claim first in the triple jump, second in the long jump and third in the high jump. The first Olympiad was less of a sprawling affair than the 28th will be, with just four venues. The stage for all events, bar cycling, swimming and fencing, was the Panathenean Stadium. It was built on the site of an ancient stadium on a timetable that would make today’s organisers blush. With the help of a $3.2-million grant from George Averoff, a wealthy Greek living in Alexandria, it was completed inside 18 months. In 2004, the elegant marble horseshoe will host only the archery and the marathon finish and has been replaced for other events by a modern Olympic Stadium, named after Louis. It stands in the northern neighbourhood of Maroussi, once home to the long-distance hero and his grazing sheep but now a heavily built-up area favoured by multinationals for their Greek headquarters. Surprisingly the 70,000 capacity at the state-of the-art venue outstrips its antique counterpart by only 10,000. With standing room on surrounding hills, some estimates put the crowd for the 1896 marathon finale at more than 100,000. While spectators in 2004 will follow the leading marathon runners on giant screens, their 1896 counterparts relied for news on the starter who galloped on horseback from the set-off point in the village of Marathon to enter ahead of the runners. Security measures at the revival games would appear draconian even to modern planners. Soldiers armed with rifles were positioned at the entrance to each row in the stadium. But organisers’ fears were more to do with overcrowding than international terrorism. Australian champion Ian Thorpe would be unlikely to relish the task that awaited his forebears in the swimming events. They were ferried out to sea from the port of Piraeus and told to swim back. Alfred Hajos, dubbed the "Hungarian dolphin", later recalled that it was fear of drowning that spurred him to a memorable double victory in the 100m and 1,200m freestyle. "I must say that I shivered at the thought of what would happen if I got a cramp from the cold water. My will to live completely overcame my desire to win," Hajos said. The commercial spoils — in the form of bonuses and endorsements — that await modern-day victors dwarf the prizes on offer to their amateur forebears but it would be hard to match marathon-man Louis for style. As he approached the finish line, the shepherd was flanked by two princes while courtiers rained jewellery on him from the VIP stand. One delirious wealthy citizen attempted to offer Louis a cheque for 10,000 French francs but, according to Coubertin, he was refused.
— Reuters |
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Anand holds Kramnik
Dortmund, August 4 In the other ties, Moldovan Viktor Bologan scored his second big win beating Peter Leko of Hungary to stretch his lead to a full point. In a battle of teens, Arkadi Naiditsch, 17, of Germany beat Radjabov of Azerbaijan with white to send the alarm bell ringing among the elite group. After four rounds, Bologan leads with a fantastic score of 3.5 points followed by Kramnik on 2.5. Naiditsch moved to 2 points with his enviable effort against Radjabov who remained on 1.5 along with Leko. Anand brings up the rear with one point earned from two draws. — PTI
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SPD Academy finish
5th in hockey league Jalandhar, August 4 SPD Academy won 2-1. The DAV lads opened the scoreboard in the 13th minute through a field goal by Kamalpreet (1-0). However, SPD team scored the equaliser in the 21st minute, as Vikramjit Singh dodged the defenders to net the ball (1-1). The Patiala boys scored the winning goal in the 27th minute as Varinder Singh made no mistake in converting the penalty corner (2-1). Sports School, Jalandhar, won 4-1 as they scored in the fifth minute as Hardeep Singh scored a field goal (1-0). Consolidating the lead further, Karandeep Singh shot home a field goal (2-0). Miri Piri Academy scored their only goal in the 20th minute through its Sarabhdan Khan. Karandeep Singh scored two goals in the 21st and 30th minute, to complete the scoreboard. The semifinals will be played tomorrow. |
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Manjit, Prabdeep are swimming champs Ropar, August 4 In 100 m senior girls freestyle category, Prabdeep Kaur of Ropar came first, Samita second and Jaspreet Kaur third. In 50 m freestyle boys category, Inderpal Singh of Ropar came first, Parminder of SAS Nagar second and Abhishek of Ropar third. In 50 m freestyle girls category, Mahik Jain of Ropar came first, Shakshi of Ropar came second and Davinder third. In 100 m backstroke senior boys category, Anupreet of SAS Nagar came first. In 100 m senior girls backstroke category, Amanjot Kaur of Ropar came first, Pardeep Kaur second and Jaspreet Kaur third. In 50 m backstroke boy category, Inderpal Singh of Ropar came first, Nikhil second and Abhishek third. In 100 m butterfly senior boys category, Manjit Singh of Ropar came first, Jaspreet Singh second and Anmol Rattan third. In 100 m breaststroke senior boys category, Sandeep of Ropar came first, Jaspreet Singh second and Anmol Rattan third. In 100 meter breaststroke senior girls category, Prabdeep Kaur of Ropar came first, Amanjot Kaur second and Samita third. In 50 m breaststroke boys category, Parminder Singh of SAS Nagar came first, Jatish of Ropar second and Anurat third. In 50 m breaststroke girls category, Davinder Kaur of Ropar came first, Sakshi Jain of Ropar second and Mehek Jain third. In 50 m freestyle senior boys category, Sanjeet of Ropar came first, Abhishek second and Sandeep third. In 50 m freestyle girls category, Harsimran of SAS Nagar came first, Geetanjli second and Neha Sain of Ropar third. Mr Ramesh Dutt Sharma, state Minister for Cooperative and Grievances, gave away prizes to the winners. He announced a grant of Rs 20,000 to the Ropar Swimming Association.
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Birmingham, August 4
Athens, August 4
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