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Friday,
September 5, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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Roddick beats rain, Xavier Malisse Bopanna out of Jakarta meet
Singapore ready to
host India-Pak hockey matches |
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Bangladesh let initiative
slip against Pak
I am no Barbie doll, says Mrs Ronaldo
Proposal to shift
STC from Patiala A tennis ball sits on the wet court at Arthur Ashe Stadium as rain delayed the start of play at the
US Open in New York
on Wednesday.
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Roddick
beats rain, Xavier Malisse
New York, September 4 On a frustrating day that tested the will of both players and fans, fourth-seeded American Andy Roddick beat the rain and Belgium’s Xavier Malisse 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 to become just the second men’s player through to the quarterfinals alongside world No 1 Andre Agassi. The match was just the fourth completed in the last three days at water-logged Flushing Meadows leaving officials bracing for the possibility of a Monday’s men’s final. But day 10 was very nearly a complete washout, with 12th-seeded Dutchman Sjeng Schalken and eighth seed Rainer Schuettler of Germany refusing to return to action following a second delay, arguing that the Armstrong Stadium court was unplayable. With Schalken leading 5-1, the two players sat slumped in their chairs in the near-empty stadium for 20 minutes before officials postponed the match. In the nearby Arthur Ashe stadium, Malisse was also having second thoughts about continuing his match. With a heavy mist making the centre court as slick as an ice rink, both Malisse and Roddick skidded awkwardly across the surface chasing shots. After falling behind 2-3 in the second set, Malisse expressed his anger flinging his racket at his chair, demanding umpire Jerry Armstrong come down and inspect the lines. Following a consultation with tournament referee Brian Earley, the match was again halted while workers were brought on to wipe up the court. “It was slick but I didn’t think it was that bad until I slipped,” Roddick said. “The lines were definitely slick. I just suggested they towel them off or dry them and they did and we were able to play again.” — Reuters. |
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Indoor courts for practice
New York: Indoor practice courts at the National Tennis Center became available to players on Wednesday at the rain-marred US Open after the US Tennis Association closed down its “Smash Zone” entertainment area. Showers kept players off the Flushing Meadows hardcourts for the third day in a row, with neither the men nor women able to complete the fourth round.
— AFP |
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Bopanna
out of Jakarta meet New Delhi, September 4 Bopanna and Vijay Kannan later conceded the doubles match to Dong-Whee Choi of Korea and Malaysian Yew-Ming Si while trailing 3-6, 0-1, according to information received here today. In the $75,000 Challenger hardcourt event in Istanbul, Mustafa Ghouse and Danai Udomchoke of Thailand moved into the second round with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Konstantinos Economidis and Solon Peppas of Greece.
— PTI
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Jugraj wants Asia Cup as gift
New Delhi, September 4 “It is a big setback for the team. It is a personal blow as a captain. Jugraj has been one of the biggest contributors to the growth of the Indian team in the last one-and-a-half years. If we can convert 70 to 80 per cent of our penalty corners now, it is because of him. “Every time he was on the field, he would give confidence to all the players. He was one player who could take on the Europeans. The injuries he suffered at the Champions Trophy bears testimony to the lion-hearted efforts he put up against the likes of Jorge Lombi, Takema and Sohail Abbas there,’’ the mercurial striker added. His Punjab team-mate and captain during the Junior World Cup in Australia two years ago, Gagan Ajit Singh dubbed him as a “three-in-one player.” “He can defend, attack and strike, which is not seen in any other player in the team,’’ said Gagan, who was bestowed with the Arjuna Award last Friday. “We are thankful to God that he survived the crash. He may take time to heal but we will always be there for him. We will encourage him to be fit and be back amongst us on the field.’’ Gagan was also of the view that the Indian Hockey Federation should “hire a special physio for him and he should be sent to either Australia or America so that he can start training at the earliest.” On Jugraj’s replacement, Pillay said, “Nobody can take his place in the team. We can train specialists for the drag-flicks, but Jugraj had been dong it for almost 15 years. He had established himself and could play for at least another 10 years. He is a fighter. I want him to be fit and return to the ground with national colours. He has tremendous will power and am sure he will succeed. “Till that time, Baljit Singh and Ignace Tirkey will have to do the job. Some younger players, who played in Poland will probably also be inducted, but that is a decision to be taken by the coach and the Federation. “Since he came into the side, I had stopped running out during the penalty corners. Ask Devesh Chauhan. He will tell you how Jugraj would guard an angle. Either Ignace or I will have to start running out now,’’ he added. Asked about the pressure on the forwards, Gagan said, “Jugraj was a fine feeder. He would clear the ball and regularly give us the passes in open spaces. There will be pressure on the forwards and also our chances of forcing penalty corners may be affected.’’ Pillay and Gagan Ajit were in town to promote the sport among school children through the first hockey clinic, organised jointly by Percept Profile and Appu Ghar. The two players interacted and offered tips to the children and Gagan also displayed his famous reverse flick. — UNI
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A steady trickle to ward No 27 Ludhiana, September 4 At the reception I am accosted by a group of youngsters, mostly hockey players. One of them, Sarabjit Singh, who plays for Punjab and Sind Bank, informs me that Jugraj’s room is on the first
floor. On reaching the ward, I am told to take off my shoes before entering the corridor linking the room where Jugraj is being kept under observation. As some visitors peep through the small glass window for a glimpse of the hockey star, whose condition was described as stable by the doctors attending on him, they are aghast to see the boy lying motionless. An elderly woman with a rosary utters a few words, probably a prayer. As a TV cameraman focuses on the patient, whose critical condition caused a nationwide alarm, I am ushered into the room where Mrs Gurmeet Kaur, Jugraj’s mother, is sitting by his bedside. His father, Mr Harjinder Singh, is seen rushing about passing on some instructions to his nephew. “I am grateful to the Almighty for sparing my son,” is all that she can say. With his right arm and right leg in plaster due to multiple fractures, an oxygen mask on the face, and an intravenous drip on the left arm, the livewire of Indian hockey is indeed rendered motionless. But on hearing our conversation, he opens his eyes. As I gesture with my hand since any conversation is prohibited, he reciprocates by blinking his eyelids. Team-mate Prabhjot Singh, who played alongside Jugraj in the Champions Trophy, makes a quiet entry to take some instructions from Jugraj’s mother. Jugraj’s cousin Harmit Singh, also a hockey player of Punjab Police, who is trying to connect somebody on the mobile telephone, recalls the moment when the profusely bleeding Jugraj was trying to cheer them up after the accident. “ I will bounce back, just wait,” were his words shortly before being wheeled into the operation theatre, recalled Prabhjot. But that may not be possible in the near future. India, as the veteran Dhanraj Pillay, said last night on reaching the hospital, will definitely miss him in the Asia Cup at Kuala Lumpur this month and probably the Olympic qualifiers in March next, a fearful proposition which has already given the team management and the IHF the jitters. |
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Singapore
ready to host India-Pak hockey matches Kuala Lumpur, September 4 “A match between India and Pakistan is always very popular and a great treat for the sports fans,” Singapore Hockey Federation
(SHF) President M Lukshumayeh said. The offer by the SHF comes ahead of a meeting between Indian and Pakistan hockey officials here later this month to work out ways of reviving bilateral series between the
arch-rivals. Lukshumayeh said Singapore was open to hosting either an Indo-Pak Test series or a friendly match. “It is a good sign that both the countries are considering to discuss the possibilities to play a series. For some reason if either countries could not be selected as a venue for these matches, then Singapore would be a neutral and familiar place for the teams,” he said. India and Pakistan have not played a bilateral series since 1999 though they have faced each other a number of times in multi-nation tournaments.
— PTI |
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Gibbs, Kirsten punish England
London, September 4 Gibbs (183) and Kirsten (90) made up for the early loss of skipper Graeme Smith for 18, and punished the five-man England attack. Smith’s side is leading the series 2-1, and is seeking to become the first South African team to win in England since its readmission to international cricket in 1991. The second-wicket pair fully vindicated Smith’s decision to make first use of a good batting pitch, and flayed the England bowlers to all parts of the Oval in front of a capacity crowd. Gibbs, whose form has been indifferent since his 179 in the first test at Edgbaston, batted flawlessly to reach his 10th century in his 50th test appearance. Resuming on 50 after lunch and with South Africa on 111 for one, Gibbs soon joined Smith and Kirsten as the only batsmen to score two centuries in the series. Gibbs wandered down the pitch to the offspin of Michael Vaughan and hit the England captain to the mid-wicket boundary for his 20th four to reach his milestone off 163 balls. His second 50 included a six and 10 fours. After reaching his ton, Gibbs hit swing bowler James Anderson for 14 runs in the space of four balls including three fours. Anderson was the worst to suffer at the hands of the South Africans, and was hit for 11 fours in nine overs that cost 54 runs. In four hours of batting, Gibbs hit a six and 23 fours off 190 balls. Kirsten, the batting hero in South Africa’s 191-run win at Headingley, played second fiddle to Gibbs, and set eyes on scoring his third century in back-to-back Test matches. South Africa (Ist innings): Smith run out Gibbs b Giles 183 Kirsten lbw b Giles 90 Kallis batting 32 McKenzie c Stewart b Extras: 30 Total:
(4 wkt, 89.5 overs) 362 Fall of wickets: 1-63, 2-290, 3-345, 4-362. Bowling:
Bicknell 13-2-48-0, Anderson 17.5-4-61-1, Harmison 16-6-42-0, Giles 21-2-75-2, Flintoff 14-2-73-0, Vaughan 5-0-24-0, Butcher 3-0-18-0.
— Reuters
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Bangladesh
let initiative slip against Pak
Multan, September 4 Bangladesh (Ist innings): Sarkar c Latif b Gul 13 Omar c Younis b Gul 38 Bashar c Latif b Ali 72 Ashraful lbw b Saqlain 12 Saleh run out 49 Kapali b Gul 11 Mashud c Latif b Gul 29 Mahmud lbw b Ahmed 19 Rafique b Ahmed 11 Baisya lbw b Ahmed 0 Islam not out 0 Extras: 27 Total: (all out, 99.2 overs) 281 FoW: 1-28, 2-102, 3-136, 4-166, 5-179, 6-241, 7-248, 8-278, 9-278 Bowling: Shabbir Ahmed 25.2-3-70-3, Gul 32-7-86-4, Yasir Ali 14-4-43-1, Saqlain 25-5-61-1, Hafeez 3-1-7-0. Pakistan (Ist innings): Hafeez lbw b Mahmud 21 Butt c and b Mahmud 12 Hameed b Rafique 39 Inzamam c Sarkar b Mahmud 10 Khan c Mashud b Mahmud 34 Adil lbw b Rafique 25 Latif c Kapali b Baisya 5 Saqlain b Rafique 9 Ahmed lbw b Rafique 4 Gul b Rafique 5 Ali not out 0 Extras (lb-5 b-1 nb-5) 11 Total (all out, 54.4 overs) 175FoW: 1-27, 2-36, 3-50, 4-121, 5-135, 6-152, 7-154, 8-166, 9-170 Bowling: Manjural Islam 13-3-42-0, Tapash Baisya 11-2-54-1, Khaled Mahmud 13-1-37-4, Mohammad Rafique 17.4-6-36-5 Bangladesh (2nd innings): Sarkar c Latif b Gul 3 Omar c Inzamam b Ahmed 16 Bashar c Latif b Gul 3 Ashraful c Butt b Ahmed 3 Saleh not out 29 Kapali retired hurt 17 Mahmud not out 2 Extras (lb-1 w-1 nb-2) 4 Total (4 wkts, 21 overs) 77 FoW: 1-4, 2-9, 3-23, 4-41. — Reuters.  |
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I am no Barbie doll, says Mrs Ronaldo
Sao Paulo, September 4 But after being called Mrs Ronaldo, or Ronaldinha, after her husband of three years and Real Madrid star Ronaldo, Domingues takes the criticism which has even come from team coach Paulo Goncalves, with humour. “I’d really love to have her (Barbie’s) waist,” she quips. “Funnily when I was small I never played with dolls, I always pulled off their heads to run out and play football.” Goncalves told the daily Folha that they rarely saw Domingues, who is a member of the women’s team of Spanish side Rayo Vallecano, play and that she had been called up at the insistence of Brazilian federation to popularise the game. But Domingues hit back at criticism. “On the pitch I can’t be such a Barbie, otherwise they’d criticise me,” she said. The mother of three-year-old Ronald admitted she would not be allowing her husband, who scored both goals in Brazil’s World Cup victory last year, to watch her play. “Imagine if I missed a goal? He wouldn’t let me forget it for two years.” — AFP
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Proposal
to shift STC from Patiala Patiala, September 4 The STC here does not come under the direct control of the NIS and is being handled by the SAI’s Northern Centre office at Chandigarh. In this context the NIS Regional Director, Mr G.S. Anand has written to the Northern Centre Regional Director, Mr P.C. Kashyap, to initiate action for the “early shifting of the STC so that the STC building could be utilised for accommodating inmates of the Centre of Excellence.” The STC, at present, has 74 trainees in the disciplines of cycling, hockey, athletics, judo and hockey and all of them have been selected keeping in view their potential. If SAI officialdom has its way, all the trainees will have to be re-admitted mid-session which will prove to be a financial burden on them, many of whom come from poor families. Moreover, the shifting entails a long drawn out procedure as it will require all the trainees to procure migration and transfer certificates from the authorities concerned. Sources reveal that on earlier occasions when national camps were held prior to the Sydney Olympics, Manchester Commonwealth Games and the Busan Asiad, there was no scarcity of accommodation in the hostels of the NIS. Moreover, it has also been pointed out that facilities at Ludhiana’s Guru Nanak stadium are already stretched to a limit since the Punjab government is running the Speed hockey academy there. To solve problem of accommodation, hostel at the adjoining Polo Ground may be made use of instead of shifting the STC. The Punjab Sports Department has already paid electricity bills to the tune of Rs 3 lacs to the PSEB without using the available hostel facilities which can be used by national campers. |
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New York, September 4
Video
