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Tuesday,
August 12, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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Bond doubtful for Test series Vettori excited about India’s tour Aussie media hits out at Warne India will do well, says IHF Clijsters attains No 1 ranking
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Real Madrid back at base after tour
Cheema, Beenamol elated
Annul records
set before 2000, demands Norway Sahil, Rohan in title clash JKCA to host cricket tourney Manavjit wins gold RCF down BSF in soccer league
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Bond doubtful for Test series
New Delhi, August 11 "He is making very good progress but it’s a long season and we won’t be pushing things," Frost told the New Zealand Herald website. "He is pain-free which is a very good sign." Although it is almost two months to go before New Zealand play the first Test at Ahmedabad on October 8, the chances of the Kiwi strike bowler playing the Test series are remote since he would need "at least six weeks" of build-up in the nets, starting with light four-over spells next week, before he is even considered for a match. The one-day triangular series, with Australia as the third team and starting on October 23, would be a more realistic target for Bond, who became the fastest New Zealander to reach 50 one-day international wickets when he raced to the mark in 27 matches. However, Frost was positive about another injured player in the side, batsman Nathan Astle, being fit in time to play the Test matches. "We’re just getting him to feel confident on the knee but we’re reasonably confident he can be there for the India series," Frost said. "He’s pretty happy with how things are progressing." Astle, New Zealand’s highest one-day international run scorer with 5540 runs from 174 matches, started batting again in the nets last week after the knee surgery in April. Star allrounder Chris Cairns was also back bowling for English county Nottinghamshire and Frost said he was progressing well with an eye on the tri-series in India. Cairns played unconvincingly as a batsman in Sri Lanka in May after a series of injuries hampered his comeback from a knee surgery. Frost said two other injury-troubled bowlers, Jacob Oram and Daniel Vettori, were on track for India. Oram suffered disc problems in his back in Sri Lanka but escaped any stress fracture while Vettori’s county stint with Nottinghamshire was cut short after he split the webbing between the spinning fingers of his left hand. Vettori, who has returned home, sent down 57 overs in county cricket and took seven wickets before the hand problem flared up. Things got worse as he was eventually admitted to Nottingham hospital with an infected arm, but Frost said he had recovered now.
— PTI |
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Vettori
excited about India’s tour New Delhi, August 11 Vettori, whose preparations for the India tour were severely affected as the injury forced him to return home last week from England after a brief stint with county side Nottinghamshire, said he would not be surprised to see turning tracks on the tour. "(Indian captain Sourav) Ganguly’s already on record as saying he’s determined to make amends, so I’m sure we’ll see pitches prepared for their spinners," Vettori said. "But that’s good news for me and I’m looking forward to it," he was quoted as saying by the New Zealand Herald website. Vettori was not required to bowl during India’s tour down under last summer as New Zealand thrashed the tourists in the two Test matches played on under-prepared pitches which offered too-much lateral movements. "I’m really excited about India because it’s the ultimate tour for a spin bowler," Vettori said.
— PTI |
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Aussie media hits out at Warne
Melbourne, August 11 Test cricket’s second-leading wicket taker was only last week telling World Anti-Doping Agency chairman Dick Pound to mind his own business. Canada’s Pound had said it was “against the spirit of the game” for Cricket Australia to allow Warne, who had tested positive for a banned diuretic, to play charity matches and train with the national team during his suspension. By yesterday, the world’s most successful leg spinner was making headlines again, this time in South Africa’s Sunday Times newspaper as Johannesburg mother of three, Helen Cohen Alon, 45, accused Warne of inundating her with raunchy phone messages. Later Warne’s brother and manager Jason released a statement saying: “We regard the allegations of the South African woman Helen Cohen Alon as a personal issue between Shane, (wife) Simone and the relevant parties.” Melbourne’s The Age said in a front-page headline on Monday: “Warne hits back at woman’s claims of raunchy phone messages.” The newspaper added: “The allegations bear a striking resemblance to an incident in 2000, when Warne admitted he engaged in “dirty talk” with a British nurse”. Melbourne tabloid the Herald Sun ran a headline saying: “Shane slow to deny new sex claims”. The paper said Warne had done some fine charity work this year since his suspension in February. But it added: ‘’(Warne) hired a public relations firm to help rebuild his shattered public image. Now this. “If Warne is innocent, his public relations men could have done a better job for him yesterday by declaring his innocence in direct terms.” The Australian newspaper ran a front-page headline saying: “Warne accused of “text sex” harassment”. The Australian Associated Press (AAP) called for the world’s top-ranked team to sack Warne, saying: “Not only is Shane Warne a liability off the field, he is no longer a necessity on it.” Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland said the issue would rest between the individuals involved. Sydney: Mr Helen Cohen Alon, who has accused Shane Warne of pestering her with salacious telephone calls and messages, challenged the leg spinner to undergo a lie detector test even as Cricket Australia sought to wash its hands off the scandal saying the matter rested with the individuals involved. “I want him to take a lie detector test — I’m prepared to take one if he is denying everything,” said Mr Alon whose sensational accusations have landed Warne in a soup yet again after he was involved in a similar scandal three years back. — Reuters, PTI
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India will do well, says IHF
Chennai, August 11 Talking to UNI on the eve of his departure to Amstelveen, Mr Jyothikumaran, who has been appointed as one of the four judges of the prestigious tournament, said the IHF as well as hockey lovers across the country had high expectations from the team in the wake of Indian senior team’s back-to-back victories at two international championships recently. “The period of preparation after the two wins has also set in well. I spoke to every team member during the 20-day camp in Lucknow. They, especially seniors like captain Dhanraj Pillay and Baljit Singh Dhillon, told me that the team was all pumped up and focused,” he added. However, every game would be crucial for India and no rival team could be taken lightly, especially Germany who might have rested some of their senior players. “We have to be wary about the new players,” he said. About penalty comes conversion, he said both Jugraj Singh, whose drag flick was working well, and Dilip Tirkey had confidence in doing the job. “Goal keeping also must not be a problem.” He said the excellent support and arrangements were being made by official sponsor, ‘Sahara’, and that the training at Lucknow, barring some hot spells of weather, was good. “The level of preparation will do the team good,” he added. — UNI
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Clijsters attains No 1 ranking
Brussels, August 11 Yesterday, the 20-year-old Belgian beat Lindsay Davenport in the final of a hard-court tournament in Carson, California That means Clijsters will take over the No 1 ranking from the injured Serena Williams today. It’s a reward for relentless stamina and consistency. Clijsters is the first woman to reach No 1 without having won a Grand Slam title since the WTA Tour introduced its rankings in 1975. But she has shown steady form, winning a tour-leading six tournaments this season and reaching the semifinals of all 14 events she entered. She is among the favourites to win the US Open, which starts on August 25. Like Williams, No 1 for 57 straight weeks, Clijsters stood out at an early age, earning rave reviews. At 11, her youth coach bet a case of beer that one day she would be ranked in the top 10. When the head of the regional tennis federation saw her play for the first time, he went home and woke up his wife to tell her he had seen something remarkable. It seemed only her father, Lei, remained stoically calm through it all. After all, it was unlikely that anyone in the family would reach the sporting heights he had. Lei, now his daughter’s manager, was a midfielder on the Belgian national soccer team that reached the 1986 World Cup semifinals. Clijsters’ mother was a local gymnastics champion. Clijsters showed talent for sports quickly and spent hours training as soon as she started with tennis at age 6. Soon, the prodigy started raking in the titles. At 11, she became the youngest Belgian junior champion. She won the national title at 15, also a record. She groomed a game built on booming ground strokes and impressive court coverage. At Wimbledon that season, she lost in the fourth round to the woman whose pictures long adorned the walls of her bedroom -Steffi Graf. That fall, she won her first WTA tournament, the SEAT Open in Luxembourg. From then on, her rise was swift — clijsters reached No 18 in 2000 and almost immediately was a contender at majors. She reached the 2001 French Open final, losing to Jennifer Capriati 12-10 in the last set, the longest third set in a Roland Garros title match. After a right shoulder injury slowed her early in 2002, Clijsters came back strong in the second half, capping it with victory in the year-ending tour championships, beating Williams in the final. — AP
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Bhupathi-Mirnyi duo wins title New Delhi, August 11 The top seeds, who got a walkover in the semi-final against Czech Republic’s Cyril Suk and Martin Damm, had no problems last night in overcoming the challenge of the 4th seeded Swedish-Australian pair in straight sets to win their third ATP title of the year, according to information received here. The duo had earlier won the Estoril Open and the Monte Carlo Tennis Masters event and finished runners-up at
Wimbledon. — PTI |
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Real Madrid back at base after tour
Madrid, August 11 Parading new signing David Beckham, the nine-times European champions covered close to 30,000 km to play four exhibition matches in Beijing, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Bangkok. The tour, primarily designed to help the club crack the lucrative Asian market, was an undoubted success on many fronts and demonstrated the immense pulling power Real now possess. Even for training sessions, adoring fans packed the stadiums to the rafters. The welcome afforded to the players, in particular Beckham, frequently bordered on the hysterical. There can be few who can now challenge Real’s own claim that they are the most popular club in the world. Financially the tour was also a success, with the club banking 10 million euros ($11.28 million) in appearance money for the four exhibition games, while the exposure on television will ensure a major boost in the sales of club merchandise. But although they played some eye-catching football during the tour, Real also managed to score some spectacular own goals. The trip was littered with public relations gaffes that led to allegations of arrogance against the team and its directors from the local Press. The team disappointed thousands of fans in Hong Kong by cancelling a training session because of tiredness, only for several players to be spotted later in the island’s most popular night clubs. Real also appeared over an hour late for an open session, and Chinese officials were left bewildered when the team left a dinner function after only 20 minutes. There must also be serious doubts as to the value of such an exhausting tour ahead of what is set to be another marathon season for most players at the club. Many players hinted that they would have preferred to have prepared for the forthcoming season back in Spain or at a low-profile training camp rather than by undertaking meaningless exhibition matches against relatively poor quality opponents. The endless round of publicity engagements and the restrictions on the players’ freedom of movement as team hotels were laid siege to by fans inevitably took their toll on the patience of many. "We can’t deny that the tour has been very tiring and we will look forward to going home," full back Michel Salgado told Spanish state television on Sunday. Beckham, who was in the starting line-up for all four matches, has adapted well to his new team mates and produced a series of assured performances that augur well for the future. The England captain showed he was comfortable when called on to play a more central role, although coach Carlos Queiroz looks set to use him on the right and switch Luis Figo to the left. Beckham struck up an immediate understanding with Ronaldo, looked as dangerous as ever from set pieces and was in good physical shape, although he still shies away from taking men on. Despite looking as though he could afford to shed a few kilos, Ronaldo was in deadly form and Zinedine Zidane and Luis Figo were clearly in good shape. Real’s Achilles’ heel remains their defence and Queiroz will have his work cut out if he is to stop his side leaking goals at the back.
— Reuters |
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Cheema, Beenamol elated Patiala, August 11 It were roses, garlands and ‘ladoos’ all the way for the matman once the ‘long and eagerly awaited’ news was telecast by various TV channels. Palwinder was immediately flooded with congratulatory messages from near and dear ones even as his mother, Mrs Harjinder Kaur, turned a bit misty eyed keeping in view the significance of the occasion. Sukhchain Singh, Palwinder’s father, alleged that the Punjab Government had turned a blind eye towards his son’s achievements. He claimed that former Chief Minister P.S Badal had promised to promote athlete Sunita Rani, hockey international Gagan Ajit Singh and Palwinder to the rank of DSP in Punjab Police. However, he lamented, while the first two had been given promotions, his son’s case had been stalled for unknown reasons. The president of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI), Mr M.S Malik, has also written to the Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh urging him to give the rank of a DSP to Palwinder. The Arjuna Award is a fitting tribune to Palwinder who has a list of phenomenal achievements to his name this year. After garnering a gold in the Manchester Commonwealth Games, Cheema won the bronze in the Busan Asiad. He went on to add a silver in the senior Asian championship and a gold in the Canada Cup where he was also declared the ‘Best International male Wrestler’. Palwinder rounded off a glorious year by winning two gold medals in the World Police and Fire Games which concluded at Barcelona recently. K.M. Beenamol, who won two gold medals and a silver in the Busan Asiad, was equally elated when the truth sank in that she had won the country’s most prestigious sports award — Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award. Late yesterday evening, the `Ldduki Express’ rang up her parents back home in native Kerala to break the news. Beenamol, who at present is attending the senior national athletic camp at the NIS here, also received a congratulatory message from her brother K.M Binu, who is competing in an international meet in London. |
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Annul records
set before 2000, demands Norway Oslo, August 11 “The records from the 1980’s and 1990’s are virtually impossible to break because many of the athletes who set them were doped,” said Hansen, who plans to launch the initiative at the World Athletics Championships, which take place in Paris from August 23 to 31. Hansen said the records set by athletes from the former East Germany, for example, could be removed with “total confidence” as the widespread state-sponsored doping of athletes had been proven in a court of law. East German athletes Juergen Schult (1986) and Gabriele Reinsch (1988) hold the respective men’s and women’s records in the discus while Marita Koch holds the women’s 400m record (1985). The women’s 4x100m relay record (1985) is also held by East Germany. In women’s athletics, only five of the 28 world records have been broken since 2000 while only four out of 29 have been broken by the men in the same period.
— DPA |
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Sahil, Rohan in title clash Jalandhar, August 11 Sahil Arora thrashed Navdeep Singh 15-3, 15-2 to secure place into the finals of the boys singles (under-19). Defending champion Navita Thakur easily ousted rival Navpreet Kaur 11-2, 11-0, while Heena Kapoor defeated Komal Preet 11-2, 11-2 to enter the finals of girls (under-19) category. Meanwhile, pair of Rohan and Rohit would clash with Sahil and Ashish, while the Sumit-Navita duo will take on Heena-Navneet in the finals of men’s double and women’s double, respectively. |
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JKCA to host cricket tourney Srinagar, August 11 “This is the first cricket tournament to be played at the Sher-e-Kashmir cricket stadium after a gap of many years due to security concerns as many VIPs reside in its vicinity,” Imtiyaz Ahmad
Zargar, convener and joint secretary of the association told PTI here. The tournament, named after JKCA founder late
S.D.A. Drabu, will be sponsored by the JK Cricket Association. Dressing room and pavillion are still being occupied by security forces, who have been instructed by the state Chief Minister to look for alternative
accommodation, he said. In reply to a question, Zargar said the JKCA had started a conditioning-cum-coaching camp to prepare boys for national tournaments like Ranji and Cooch Behar trophies.
— PTI |
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Manavjit
wins gold Chandigarh, August 11 Former Italian international Marchello Dradi, who is Manavjit’s current coach, finished second. Manavjit will now participate in the World Cup in Italy from September 2 and World Championship in Cyprus from September 10 and try to book a quota place for the Athens Olympics, 2004.
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RCF down BSF in soccer league Chandigarh, August 11 Although BSF made a promising start by forging ahead through J. Ouseph's goal in the seventh minute, RCF kept their nerves and succeeded in restoring parity through Navjot Singh in the 26th minute. In the 38th minute, RCF found the match winner through Kulwinder whose well-timed shot gave the BSF goalie no chance. Tomorrow Punjab Police will meet Punjab State Electricity board at the PAP Stadium, Jalandhar, at 4.30 pm. |
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