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Wednesday,
August 20, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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Australia rout India 4-1
Pak hold Holland 2-2 Aussie eves stun
Argentina Stage set for eves’ hockey nationals |
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Bond, Cairns to miss India Test series Sehwag not keen to
open in Tests Sachin’s car case hearing on
September 23
Leggie Kaneria holds
key for Pakistan Smith plays down Pollock’s absence Gopi one win away from main draw Harika, Xiaobing
leading in chess Kalmadi re-elected IAAF council member 22 countries for
Asian Jr TT Swimming probables Just 14, but elegance of a senior batsman Punjab cops hold RCF
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Australia rout India 4-1 Amstelveen, August 19 But for goalkeeper Devesh Chauhan, India would have faced a bigger humiliation as they suffered their second defeat in three outings and are virtually out of contention. The much-hyped Indian hockey team just could not face the speedy Aussies and caved in without a fight. During the whole 70 minutes, India hardly tested the rival defence seriously. Australia got two penalty strokes and five penalty corners. The Indian forward line looked disjointed, midfield was off colour and defence was under constant pressure. With this win, Australia avenged their three-nation tournament loss earlier this year. Striker Grant Schubert did the star turn for the Aussies with a three goal blitzkrieg with half-back Troy Elder chipping in with a penalty stroke conversion. Dilip Tirkey converted a penalty corner to score India’s only goal of the day in another disastrous day for the Indians at Wagener stadium here. The match opened on expected lines. Open spaces in the midfield and the defence saw both the teams attacking and missing with India holding the edge in the ‘’missing goals’’ section. Australia too had their chances, three off penalty corners and one stroke but they managed to defend all that with goalkeeper Devesh Chauhan keeping the stroke out, a rather tame effort by Brent Livermore. The first half should have been India’s. But loose play in the striking circle and a penchant to go for massive shots rather than place or flick the ball in destroyed India’s hopes of taking the lead or even equalising after Australia had taken the lead in the 32nd minute. Just after missing the stroke, Australia entered the Indian striking area and taking advantage of a slow Indian midfield cut the ball through in the middle for Grant Schubert who flicked in past Devesh Chauhan. India had two wonderful chances, one before the Aussie goal when Ignace Tirkey with the goalkeeper on one side shot wildly out. And then immediately after Australia had taken the lead, Gagan Ajit Singh had an empty net in front but he too shot wildly.
At the break, Australia led 1-0. The Aussies would have gone immediately ahead but for two superb saves by Devesh Chauhan who kept away what were sure goals, once coming out and taking it on the pads and then diving backwards to glove it off the line. But the Aussies relishing the open spaces in the midfield took advantage and Grant Schubert struck home in the 44th minute. Two goals up, there was an element of panic in the Indian defence. Another attack through the middle and Chauhan coming off the charge squatted on the ball and the umpire gave the stroke. Troy Elder was on target and this time Chauhan couldn’t save India as Australia converted for their third goal in the 46th minute. Finally, India got one through and earned their first penalty corner which resulted in a second. Dilip Tirkey’s direct hit was taken on the pads by Mark Hickman but the rebound was long and Tirkey stood his ground, waited and smashed it in.
— UNI |
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Pak hold Holland 2-2
Amstelveen, August 19 Both the teams were level at 1-1 at half time as well. Teun de Nooijer opened the scoring for the hosts in as early as the fourth minute. Pakistan’s penalty corner expert Sohail Abbas then converted in the 27th minute to score the equaliser. The second half saw Holland again take the lead through a penalty corner conversion by Taeke Taekema in the 59th minute. But five minutes later Kashif Jawad scored the second goal for Pakistan and the scoreline remained unaltered till the final hooter. Jawad, however, was shown the yellow card in the very next minute for shouting on the umpire. With this draw, Holland and Pakistan have seven and five points, respectively after three matches and look all set to vie for the top spot on Sunday. — UNI
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Aussie eves stun
Argentina
Amsterdam, August 19 Australia for their part have seen off China and Spain twice in Europe in the past fortnight. Argentina had the better of the scoreless first half with crisper passes and more shots on goal while Australia’s performance in the circle was poor. But the Aussies improved in the second half with goals by Bianca Netzler’s backstick loop over the head of Mariela Antoniska in goal for Argentina (43rd minute) and Karen Smith’s strike from the top of the circle of a penalty corner rebound (48th minute). Australia sharpened their performance in the midfield and earned a third penalty corner which Angie Skirving converted with a flick along the carpet which deflected off Antoniska’s boot to dribble into goal (69th minute) to take the 3-0 win. “We played a good first half but our midfield and attackers in the second half did not combine well or find a good way to score,” said Argentina’s coach Sergio Virgil. — AFP |
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Stage set for eves’ hockey nationals Lucknow, August 19 The 10-day championship is being organised by Uttar Pradesh Women’s Hockey Association for the first time in the state. Organising secretary of the
championship Bula Ganguly said all formalities to conduct the championship, in which 28 teams would participate, were complete. Earlier, 30 teams had confirmed their participation but later, two teams withdrew for some unavoidable reasons, she said. Ms Ganguly said the Assam government denied permission to its team due to internal security reasons while the Mizoram team withdrew due to a number of landslides there. She said that 18 teams had already reached the state capital.
— UNI |
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Bond, Cairns to miss
India Test series
Wellington (New Zealand), August 19 Strike bowler Shane Bond, who is recovering from a back injury, will miss the tour. Allrounder Chris Cairns, whose wife is expecting their second child, will not play in the Test matches but is on the limited-overs team. Also returning to the team after an injury-enforced absence is batsman Nathan Astle. Bowler Michael Mason will take Bond’s place in the Test team. McMillan, who had a poor run of form late last year and during the World Cup, had been dropped for the tour of Sri Lanka in April. He was recalled because of his experience and because the selectors were confident he would recapture his best form, selection manager Sir Richard Hadlee said. “Craig is very keen to re-establish himself in the team as a senior player and to contribute again,” Hadlee said today. “His experience will be vital in India.” The Test squad leaves for Brisbane, Australia for an eight-day training camp on September 10, but will return to New Zealand before leaving for India on September 21. The Test-match section of the tour will run from September 23 to October 20 and will include two first-class matches followed by two Tests against India. New Zealand teams: Test:
Stephen Fleming (captain), Nathan Astle, Ian Butler, Robbie Hart, Richard Jones, Michael Mason, Craig McMillan, Jacob Oram, Mark Richardson, Scott Styris, Daryl Tuffey, Daniel Vettori, Lou Vincent, Paul Wiseman. Limited-overs:
Stephen Fleming (captain), Nathan Astle, Ian Butler, Chris Cairns, Chris Harris, Paul Hitchcock, Brendon McCullum, Craig McMillan, Kyle Mills, Jacob Oram, Scott Styris, Daryl Tuffey, Daniel Vettori, Lou Vincent.
— AP |
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Sehwag not keen to
open in Tests
Bangalore, August 19 But the dashing batsman was in no hurry to make the shift nor has he approached the team management as the present batting line up was “doing a good job”. “So far I have not spoken about this desire (to bat in the middle order) with the team management as the present batting line-up is doing a good job and I do not want to disturb it,” he said. “As and when a slot opens in the middle order, I will stake my claim,” Sehwag told reporters here today. Sehwag, who shot into limelight with his explosive strokeplay in the one-dayers, said India were determined to blank New Zealand in the upcoming two-Test series. “I am very much looking forward to the New Zealand series. They beat us 2-0, and hope we will beat them 2-0 in Test matches. We are really looking forward to beat them 2-0,” he said. On his recent county stint in England, Sehwag said his main emphasis was on trying to stay at the wicket for longer durations. Sehwag said he had not curbed his natural strokeplay but was making a serious effort to compile more runs by staying at the wicket longer. “It’s very important to have the staying power in Test cricket and to see off the good spells,” he said. The 24-year-old Delhi player said he used to attack from the word go earlier which got him quick runs but at the same time it also cost him his wicket on many occasions. He said his stint with Leicestershire was a great learning process. “County sides depend a lot on the performance of overseas players in view of their international experience, which puts them under some pressure to deliver. Nevertheless, it was a good experience as it was a new team and I played with new players.” Asked about his injury, Sehwag said he is currently undergoing rehabilitation programme and is being treated by team physio Andrew Leipus.
— PTI
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Sachin’s car case hearing on September 23
New Delhi, August 19 The court fixed September 23 as the date for hearing on the public interest litigation (PIL) challenging the duty exemption on the Ferrari car gifted to Tendulkar by Fiat. When the matter came up for hearing today, Additional Solicitor General K.K. Sud said it was a case of a policy decision of the government and “things have unnecessarily been blown out of proportion. Cricket is a game in which we are doing well and let’s not discourage players”. Mr Sud also informed the court that a fresh petition on the issue raising similar questions has also been filed and it would be listed for hearing very soon. “Since the respondent (Tendulkar) has not been served with the notice, the matter has to be adjourned,” a Bench comprising Chief Justice B.C. Patel and Justice A.K. Sikri said. At the outset, amicus curaie Arjun Bhandari submitted that it was not an issue of Tendulkar alone. The entire issue of duty exemption under the Customs Act has to be examined. “Let us go through the records and see who all have been given duty exemption in the last three years under Section 25(2) of the Act,” he said. — PTI
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Leggie Kaneria holds key for Pakistan
Karachi, August 19 The 15-man squad includes seven uncapped players as Pakistan continue the rebuilding process following their first-round exit from this year’s World Cup in South Africa. “This is a new side full of talent and has done well in one-day tournaments and now we hope that the new boys put the team on the right track with this Test,” said Latif, whose fourth Test as captain will be his first on home soil. The destructive pace pair of Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis, who shared 787 wickets in 191 Tests between them, will not be there. Wasim, the highest wicket taker in one-day games with 503 scalps, announced his retirement three months ago while Waqar has been cast in the wilderness by Pakistan’s selectors. Opener Saeed Anwar bade farewell to international cricket last week while experienced off-spinner Saqlain Mushtaq was not available due to commitments with English county Surrey. Exciting allrounder Mohammad Hafeez has already made an impact during Pakistan’s triumph in the quadrangular one-day tournament in Sharjah in April. Pakistan finished runners-up in a tri-nation series in Sri Lanka in May and were then edged out 2-1 in a close one-day series in England in June. Middle order batsman Inzamam-ul Haq has been recalled after being sidelined since he flopped in the World Cup and express pacer Shoaib Akhtar will spearhead a new-look attack. On a flat looking track, though, leg-spinner Danish Kaneria holds the key for Pakistan. The 22-year-old Kaneria took 12 wickets when Pakistan humiliated Bangladesh by an innings in 2001. Bangladesh showed their weakness against spin when they were routed by an innings in both Tests by Australia last month with leggy Stuart MacGill taking 17 wickets. “This will be different from the last time we played against Pakistan as we are progressing well and hope to put up a better show,” said Bangladesh captain Khaled Mahmud, whose team is under pressure for sub-standard performances. Since gaining Test status three years ago, Bangladesh have lost 20 of their 21 Tests, 15 by innings and nine inside three days. “We know how desperately we need to lift ourselves and with some positives from the tour of Australia we hope improvement will come,” he said. — AFP
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Smith plays down Pollock’s absence
Leeds, England, August 19 Pollock, South Africa’s main strike bowler and a powerful middle-order batsman, misses the match to attend the birth of
his first child, with the two sides locked together at 1-1 in the series following England’s 70-run victory in a fluctuating third Test at Trent Bridge yesterday. “We will miss Shaun, he is a world-class cricketer but it is up to others to take responsibility,” Smith said. “Gary Kirsten should be fit to return to the side and we are confident we can continue to play the fantastic cricket we have done to dominate the series until this match.” Kirsten, the most experienced batsman in the South African squad, missed the third Test because of an arm injury but should be fit to return at Headingley, possibly in place of Boeta Dippenaar, who failed twice at Trent Bridge. Seam bowler Dewald Pretorius will also probably come in, though he will have to perform well to fill the boots of Pollock, who took six wickets in England’s second innings with his nagging fast-medium deliveries to bring his career total of Test victims to 299. Vaughan believes Pollock, who also contributed a handy 62 with the bat, will be a loss, though he still expects South Africa to bounce back, just as his side did from their drubbing in the second Test at Lord’s. “He’s one hell of a player to replace,” Vaughan said. “Shaun is a world-class performer, especially on wickets which suit his style of bowling, But the pressure is now on us to continue where we left off at Trent Bridge and we know South Africa will come back at us hard.” Vaughan said England had made a candid assessment of their poor performance in the second Test. We were honest after Lord’s and said we didn’t play well as individuals or as a unit,” he said. “Headingley should be a result wicket and if we exploit the conditions we will have a chance.” England are likely to make one change to their side because fast bowler Steve Harmison picked up at calf injury at Trent Bridge, with experienced Surrey seamer Martin Bicknell and Worcestershire fast bowler Kabir Ali added to the squad. “It was important to win at Trent Bridge and we all feel elated but we realise it’s only 1-1,” Vaughan said. “There was a bit of tension and a few nerves early but we stuck to our disciplines well.” Smith is confident his team can recover their momentum quickly. “We are not too down on ourselves, just a little irritated to lose the Test match. We did well to take the match to five days and I think lesser teams might have crumbled,” he said. “Day one of a Test match is always important”, Smith added. “The first morning sets the tone and it’s about who performs best on the day. We will go to Headingley and practise hard. Now it’s our turn to bounce back.”
— Reuters
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Gopi one win away from main draw
Singapore, August 19 He now meets Kennevic Asuncion of the Philippines or Bo Rafn of Denmark for a first round spot. Gopichand’s fortunes have nosedived since his victory at the All-England in 2000, and his ranking is so low that he has been forced to qualify for the $ 170,000 Singapore Open grand prix event. Gopichand is looking for a good performance in Singapore, and following events in Malaysia and Indonesia, in order to pick up ranking points to qualify for next year’s Athens Olympics. “It’s my big push to improve my world ranking. My aim right now is to qualify for Athens. Titles will come, I’m not really thinking about winning just yet,” said a smiling Gopichand after today’s match. “It’s the points that really matter. The last two years have been a real disappointment but now all that is past. I’m looking forward to a second innings.” The Singapore Open features the world champions in all five categories. World champion Xia Xuanze starts as one of the favourites in the men’s singles, where he is likely to face a stiff challenge from Wong Choong Han of Malaysia, a finalist here in 2001. The top billing among men has gone to defending champion Chen Hong of China and Kenneth Jonassen of Denmark is seeded second. Both have been placed ahead of Xia and Wong, who are seeded third and fourth.
— AFP
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Harika, Xiaobing
leading in chess Kozhikode, August 19 Harika, who stunned second seed Zhao Xue of China in the previous round beat China’s Tian Tian today to tally three points, the same as Xiaobing. There was more good news in store for the Indian camp as Aarthie Ramaswamy defeated third seed Wang Pin of China. Displaying fine tactics, Aarthie launched an attack on her opponent’s queenside after deploying the sicilian defence.
— PTI
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Kalmadi
re-elected IAAF council member New Delhi, August 19 Brig Dalhan Jumaan Al-Hamad, president of the Qatar Amateur Athletic Federation and Prince Nawaf Bin Mohammed Bin Abdullah Al Saud, president of the Saudi Arabian Amateur Athletic Federation, were also in the fray, but Brig Dalhan withdrew in favour of Mr Kalmadi. In a direct contest held today in Paris, Mr Kalmadi defeated Prince Nawaf by 29 to 8 votes.
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22 countries for
Asian Jr TT New Delhi, August 19 The individual competition will see 62 boys and 45 girls slug it out for the coveted title while 14 nations will vie for the team championships at the Siri Kotla Vijaya Bhaskar Reddy Indoor Stadium, secretary-general of TTFI M.C. Chowhan said here today. The participating teams include two countries each from five zones and four direct entries who were the semi-finalists of the earlier edition. Seven nations — China, Indonesia, Maldives, Malaysia, Turkmenistan, UAE, Qatar and India — will also attend a week long training camp preceding the event from August 26 to 31 in Hyderabad, Mr Chowhan said.
— PTI |
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Swimming
probables Ludhiana, August 19 According to Mr Balraj Sharma, honorary general secretary, Punjab Swimming Association, besides these swimmers, eight junior waterpolo players who represented the state in the last national meet at Delhi have also been advised to join the seniors at Jalandhar. The names of the probables are: Lakhbir Singh Kang, Babu Dass, Anwar Masih, Balraj singh, Sukhpal Singh, Alic Masih, Harminder Singh, Rohit Mehta, Jaspal Singh and Rajiv Modi ( all Punjab Police); Yadwinder Singh and Gagandeep Singh (Faridkot), Pankaj Sharma, Umesh Priya and Ragwinder Bhatia (Jalandhar), Harmanpreet Singh Saini (Hoshiarpur), Mridul Sunil (Ludhiana) and Amrinder Singh (Sangrur). Juniors-Hemant Singh Ghai, Rohit Sharma, Kanwarinder Singh Kochhar and Varun Khanna (Jalandhar), Simarjit Singh, Varinder Singh and Pardeep Singh (Faridkot), Rakesh Sharma (Hoshiarpur). |
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Just 14, but elegance of a senior batsman Patiala, August 19 Gunjot trains at a private academy under the guidance of NIS qualified coach Manav Sharma. These innings and a couple of other sweetly timed knocks, like the 63 he scored against a local team having players much senior to him, only went to prove that he is a crafty cricketer. At the crease are his confidence and calmness which stand out and often steer his team to victory. A part-time bowler, Gunjot has the knack of breaking important partnerships with his gentle off-spins. Even at this age he bats with a grace normally associated with senior batsmen. He is slowly, but steadily developing into an exciting batsman and does not tend to give away his wicket early. Tall and sturdy, Gunjot plays most of his shots by putting his height to use and favours shots that go square of the wicket. Gunjot knows that his severest test is yet to come. He has to remain focused on the job at hand and it is imperative that young cricketers like him have their feet firmly placed on the ground. Cricket in the senior category is entirely a different ball game. It will be here where qualities like courage and skill will be put to test. That Gunjot is ready for his baptism into senior-level cricket is reflected from the confidence he exudes both on and off the field. |
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Punjab
cops hold RCF Chandigarh, August 19 In the 65th minute Kulwinder Singh of RCF missed a sitter. Punjab Police also had a good chance in the 80th minute when Amit Kumar received a cross from the midfield. With the rival goalie out of charge, he despatched a powerful shot but unluckily the ball struck the upright. Tomorrow, JCT will met BSF at the JCT Stadium, Phagwara, at 4.30 p.m. |
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