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Football: Indians fail to get past Uzbeks in final Akhil lands India’s sole boxing gold
Korea down Malaysia
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Indians make clean sweep of gold medals in tennis
Profile
of the day — Gagan Ajit Singh Shahbad girls bring gold for India
Asia, Africa vow to hold more meets Hyderabad
jottings Dismal show by Indian lifters
ICC releases India’s
World Cup money
Toss will play a crucial role Indian spinners held key: Ponting
Hussain, Johnson torment
Bangladesh Punjab, Haryana, HP win in
junior hockey Jalandhar teams to clash in final
of Nehru hockey Muktsar college score 9-wkt win
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Football: Indians fail to get past Uzbeks in final Hyderabad, October 31 But with a few seconds remaining for the long hooter, the hosts lowered their defence, and the dashing Innomov Islam, sprinted up from deep inside the field, to fire a powerful right-footer, which brooked no denial. Uzbekistan beat India 1-0 to lift the football title of the inaugural Afro-Asian Games, which shattered the hearts of millions of Indian soccer fans. India were desperately looking for a title victory as a farewell gift to the gifted forward Inivalappil Vijayan, popularly known as I.M Vijayan to millions of soccer fans in the
country, as he was playing his last match of a glorious international career, spanning over a decade and a half. Perhaps, there would have been a different story to be scripted if the referee had concurred in awarding a goal to India when a Vijayan move culminated in a free throw, which was taken by Jatin Singh Bisht, and Jo Paul Ancheri guided the ball in. There was exultation in the Indian camp, but referee Lu Jun of China would have none of it, and he disallowed the ‘goal’ as Ancheri was ruled off-side. A chance missed, India did not come close to such a chance in the rest of the match. Vijayn functioned as a lone-ranger upfront, while captain Baichung Bhutia and Jatin Singh Bisht interchanged positions to beat the Uzbek defence. Tomba Singh also worked hard to move up and take pot shots at the Uzbek goal, but none of the ploys adopted by the Indians worked against the young Uzbek team, who are learnt to be preparing for the Junior World Cup qualifying round next year. Two men were always posted to police Vijayan, and the ageing limbs of the Indian striker hardly could keep in step and pace with the alert, agile and speedy Uzbek defenders like Holikov Muzaffir, Salomov Shavkat and Kadirov Roostam. Bhutia too was not allowed much elbow room up front as the defence kept a hawk’s eye on him. With the mid-field failing to take possession of the ball, the Indian forwardline was starved of passes, and Vijayan hardly got a chance to
display his shooting skills. That the move-makers had failed in their job was clearly evident when Joe Paul Ancheri was pulled out in the 20th minute of second half, with Venkatesh Shanmugam taking his place. The change brought about little improvement as the speedy and quick-tackling Uzbeks very rarely left the ball free, and as a result, the Indian forwards had to look for the stray passes and loose balls to surprise the rival defence. But
ever after beating the defence, the Indian strikers found it difficult to make any impact on custodian Mayeranov Anton, who dived, crouched and jumped to foil Bhutia and company. But the Indian defence too played its part well, as it did not allow much liberty to the Uzbeks inside the box. And a desperate Uzbeks resorted to long shots, and aerial attempts, but still nothing worked, till Innomov, after a one-two with Suyunov Ihomjon, dashed down the middle like a man possessed to blast the ball home to leave Sangram Mukherjee under the Indian bar stunned, and stranded. But to be fair to Sangram, he had brought off many a good save, but the fact of the matter was that Uzbekistan played better soccer and deserved to win. India had lost to Uzbekistan 2-3 in the Asian Qualifying round in 2000. And Vijay had scored a goal in that match. Today, Vijay could not make much impact, and when he was replaced in the 77th minute with Ashim Biswas, curtain was brought down on a glorious career and a fine chapter in the history of Indian soccer. Vijay hugged Biswas, made a visible prayer, and quietly walked off the field. Vijayan’s exit was a silent admission by the Indian think tank that there was hardly any hope for India to get the better of the Uzbeks. And the Uzbeks did not prove them wrong. |
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Akhil lands India’s sole boxing gold
Hyderabad, October 31 In the indoor complex here, Commonwealth gold medallist Qamar was edged out 55-53 in 48-kg light-flyweight class by Filipino Harry S Tanamor, the Commonwealth silver medallist in the category, on individual count after both fought a fierce contest to be tied at 19-19 in the four-round bout. It was a sweet revenge for Harry, who had lost to Qamar in the Commonwealth Games. However Akhil Kumar, in flyweight 48-51 kg, outpunched the other Philippines boxer Violito M. Payla after leading on points right from round one. He was up 3-1, 8-3 and 13-6 in the first three rounds to ultimately emerge the winner 20-15. Akhil did well to defend against Payla’s left hooks, which seldom landed on target. However, what followed was poor showing by the Indians with Diwakar Prasad in the bantamweight over-51kg forced to settle for the silver against some sterling performance by Uzbekistan’s world championship bronze medal winner Bahodrijon Sooltonov who won 18-11 on points. Diwakar was down 3-5, 4-9, 6-11 in the first three rounds. Bahodrijon took the gold. In featherweight category too, India’s A.L. Lakra, looking for his first international gold medal, came a cropper against Nigerian Mujideen Ganiyu. The fiercly-punching Nigerian All-Africa Games gold winner this year, won 29-22 even though Lakra connected his punches in the crucial fourth and final round. Lakra was down 2-4, 5-9 and 12-6 in the first three rounds. — UNI
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Korea down Malaysia
to finish third Hyderabad, October 31 A bitter struggle for supremacy from the onset saw the two sides dishing out an exciting affair to decide the third and fourth positions but the first half failed to produce any goal. The battle resumed with full ferocity in the second half and Malaysia shot into the lead through T Rasoli Muhamad whose field goal in the 42nd minute left the Korean goalkeeper dazed. But Korea were not the ones to give up. Just three minutes later, Hyo Sik Yoo’s field goal brought Korea roaring back and the equaliser motivated S.Kuhan and his team-mates to pile on further pressure. The match-winner in the 52nd minute off a penalty corner conversion by Kyung Seok Kim sent a wave of joy in the Korean camp and the men in red hung on to the lead till the end to finish third. Earlier, in the play-offs Nigeria beat Ghana 3-2 while South Africa defeated Egypt by an identical margin. Nigeria took the lead through Okwudili Peter Menyei who converted a penalty corner in the 15th minute. Nigeria’s Sunday Ogodogu David made it 2-0 with a field goal in the 21st minute but two minutes later , Ghana’s Ebenezer Frimpong converted a penalty stroke making it 1-2. Four minutes into the second session, Isaac Ofori brought Ghana on even terms off a short corner. A field goal by Nigeria’s Samson Ayebawapeime Abrakassa in the 57th minute sealed Ghana’s fate, who though beaten were not disgraced. South Africa, who beat Egypt 3-2, initially went into arrears with Egypt’s Sameh Metwally Mohamed scoring the first goal in the 13th minute. The lead increased to 2-0 when Belalibrahim Mohamed Enaba scored another field goal for Egypt. But thereafter South Africa hit back through Steve Philips and Gareth Carr. First Philips scored a field goal in the 60th minute and then Carr converted two penalty corners (69th, 78th) to give South Africa some consolation.
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Indians make clean sweep of gold medals in tennis Hyderabad, October 31 Sania Mirza and Rushmi Chakravarthy had set the ball rolling in the morning when they defeated Maya Rosa and Septi Nidya of Indonesia 7-6, 6-3 to lift the women’s doubles crown. Immediately after, Vijay Kannan rushed through his men’s singles match against Johnny Arcilla of the Philippines to post an easy 6-1, 6-1 victory which took just about 40 minutes to complete. Hosts India pocketed all the gold medals at stake—in both the men’s and women’s team events and five in the individual events — to dominate the event as players from Nigeria, Indonesia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Congo just could not match upto the calibre and class of Mahesh Bhupathi, Sania Mirza, Prakash Amritraj and Rohan Bopanna. No wonder, the match tempo reached an high octave only when Indian players battled against each other. r Vijay Kannan expectedly cruised to a quick gold while Sania and Rushi had to fight it hard, in the first set, before regaining their form to down the Indonesian pair. But the best tennis of the last day was brought out to the fore when Mahesh Bhupathi teamed up with Sania Mirza to take on Vishal Uppal and Rushmi Chakravarthi in the mixed doubles final. Mahesh and Sania signed off in style, with a straight-set triumph, but they were forced to sweat it out in the first set, which went into tie-breaker, before having it rather easy in the second set. Not that Mahesh and Sania could not have finished off the match quicker, but they seemed to be in no hurry, and was in a mood to offer something to the packed stands, composed mostly of school children, to cheer upon as they had flocked to the stadium to see the Indian stars in action, brave a humid and hot day. Vishal and Rushmi put on a determined fight, but class eventually prevailed as the Mahesh-Sania pair triumphed. It was the fourth gold medal for Sania, the darling of Hyderabad, while Mahesh, Rushmi and Vishal picked up two gold medals each. Prakash Amritraj and Rohan Bopanna were among the gold medals too, as they had played key roles in the team event. So were Vijay Kannan, Vishal Uppal, Sonal Phadke and Megha Vakharia. The tennis gold medals may lack sheen as opposition from the rest of Asia and Africa was nothing to bother about, but the fact that a star of Mahesh’s standing took time off his busy schedule to take part in this “friendship games between two continents” was reason enough to celebrate India’s triumph. |
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Profile
of the day — Gagan Ajit Singh
India's star hockey forward Gagan Ajit Singh, who scored India's third goal against Pakistan in the final of the Afro-Asian Games at Hyderabad today, is ranked among the finest forwards in world hockey. Son of Olympian Ajit Singh, who scored a goal in 13 seconds against Argentina in the 1976 Montreal Olympics, Gagan Ajit is today seen as India's hope in international hockey. His uncanny knack of scoring goals with reverse flicks against formidable opponents like Pakistan sets him apart from the rest. With 79 goals from 134 matches, Gagan Ajit has already proved his prowess as an attacking forward. Born on December 9, 1980, at Ferozepore, Gagan Ajit has represented India in the junior World Cup, Champions Challenge Trophy, junior Asia Cup, Champions Trophy at Cologne and Amstelveen, and was also a member of the victorious Indian team that won the Asia Cup for the first time at Kuala Lumpur this year. Married to Aajna, Gagan Ajit fulfilled his wife's wish by scoring a classic goal against Pakistan last year on her birthday. Gagan Ajit found his moorings in the sports wing of the Punjab Sports Department at Pathankot under coach Bajwa, and later at Sports School, Jalandhar. He initially joined Air-India Academy in 1997 and later played for Air-India and Bharat Petroleum. After winning the junior World Cup at Hobart, he joined Punjab Police as DSP in February, 2002. His surprise omission from the 2002 World Cup team raised several eyebrows but his subsequent performance in the Champions Trophy and Asia Cup made him an automatic choice for the national team in the first Afro-Asian Games. "My winning goal against Pakistan in the Asian Games is among my unforgettable moments," Gagan Ajit told The Tribune shortly before the match against Nigeria in the Afro-Asian Games here the other day. — tns
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Shahbad girls bring gold for India Shahbad, October 31 Gold medal assumes an added significance since these girls hail from humble background and through sheer dint of hardwork and countless hours of practice have they reached the pinnacle of success. Even as the residents of Shahbad are delighted with the performance of these girls, they say that Indian women’s hockey will be revolutionised by the girls from
Shahbad. The girls of Shahbad have proved that undaunted spirit is the key to be a successful sportsperson. Their family background would not have made it possible for this achievement had it not been for coach Baldev Singh. Mr Amar Singh, grandfather of Jasjeet Kaur, said that he was delighted with the achievement of the Indian women hockey team. “I was always confident that Jasjeet would do well, and we are happy for her achievement which helped India in getting a gold medal,” he said. He added that besides Jasjeet Kaur, three more persons from his family are hockey players. The proud grandfather said that Jasjeet has to report for practice everyday at 5 am. “After the hockey practice, she goes to school. From the school, she again goes for hockey practice. She is currently studying in class XII,” he said. “The coach, Mr Baldev Singh is a very strict man and it is due to his efforts that Jasjeet did so well in the match,” he stated. He said that in yesterday’s final match after the tie-breaker, Jasjeet converted the first stroke for India. “Initially, we were reluctant for her to take up hockey. But, she would go for practice on her own. It is her liking for the game that has brought the desired result,” he said. For Reshma Devi, mother of star hockey player Suman
Bala, the happiness is unbounded. “I can’t describe in words how I feel. She has not only made us proud, she has done the country proud,” Mrs Devi said even as the excitement in her voice was palpable. Working on the handloom when this correspondent visited their home on Ladwa road, Mrs Reshma Devi said that Suman Bala has been playing hockey for the last couple of years. “Initially, coach Baldev Singh said that he is forming a team with girls from poor background. Although we were reluctant, he managed to convince us. The girl’s performance has proved him correct,” she said. She said that Suman Bala is currently working in Railways at the Divisional Railway Manager complex in Ambala Cantt. “She would go for practice early in the morning. She gets up everyday at 4 am. After returning from office, she would go for practice,” she said. “We had called Suman up at Hyderabad. Suman was thrilled on having won the gold medal. Earlier, she had also done well in the Manchester tournament. We had never expected that she would do so well,” she said. “Laxmi has come to our home,” she added. The penalty corner converted by Suman Bala in the final match brought India back into contention. It is believed to be the turning point in the match. Surinder Kaur’s residence was more difficult to find. It is located in Balkar Singh colony. There is no metalled road leading upto a group of houses. When The Tribune team reached her home, her father Mr Sukhdev Singh, was working in the fields. The smile on his wrinkled face said it all. “I am an illiterate man but hockey has turned around the life of my daughter Surinder Kaur. I am very happy with the yesterday’s achievement,” he said. He said that Surinder had been playing hockey for the past 10 years. “She has succeeded in overcoming adverse conditions. I am proud of her. It is difficult to explain the role played by hockey in changing her life. She is working in the Railways,” he said. Mr Manmohan Singh of Unique Hockey Welfare Society said that the Shahbad has been producing excellent women hockey players since the last one decade. “A number of girls from Shahbad have shone in national as well as international tournaments. Our society helps in nurturing talented girls from humble background,” he said. He said that the girls from Shahbad who have made a mark in hockey include Suman, Kiran, Surinder Kaur, Gurpreet Kaur,
Nutan, Sandeep Kaur, Suman junior, Devinder, Balwinder, Meenakshi,
Rajwinder, Simarjeet, Sarika, Navpreet and Sonia. It may be pointed out that astroturf is going to be established in two places in Haryana. While one is in Gurgaon, the second one is in
Shahbad. Earlier, the astroturf was being set up at Ambala but it was later changed to
Shahbad. At present, the hockey players regularly practice at Shri Guru Nanak Pritam Girls Senior Secondary School,
Shahbad.
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Asia, Africa vow to hold more meets Hyderabad, October 31 The IOA chief revealed that a joint council had been set up and henceforth joint competitions of the two continents would be organised. “We will hold the Africa-Asia All-Star Meet, Afro-Asian Athletics Championship and the Afro-Asian Junior Championship jointly. Referring to infrastructure, Mr Kalmadi said efforts would be made to ensure that every country had at least one synthetic track. |
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Hyderabad
jottings Policemen on duty inside the Gachibowli hockey stadium were in for a surprise the other day when a man, impeccably dressed in a grey safari suit with silver locks and a gait similar to that of the President, Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, walked past the Press gallery waving to the crowd. As many of those present craned their necks to have a closer look, some cops sitting leisurely jumped to their feet before the situation took a comical turn with a cop holding him by the shoulder and escorting him out. * * * Overcoming the language barrier may not be easy as Indian scribes learnt the other day at the university shooting range, venue of the shooting competition. Competitors from China, Korea and Japan, not familiar with the English language, present a blank look when journalists seek their reaction after the competition. When China’s Qui won the gold in shooting and was confronted by scribes to elicit his views, he remained a mute spectator before a translator intervened much to the relief of the mediamen.
* * * Hyderabad is an established centre for horse racing. After Bangalore and Pune, the city of pearls has good infrastructure for the sport. The Hyderabad Race Club at Malakpet witnesses hectic activity in the winter and monsoon seasons. Races with high stakes are held on weekends, according to Jac Gladson, a local scribe. The derby events include the President of India Gold Cup besides a couple of others. The AP Riding Club near AC Guards offers training facilities to budding riders.
* * * The success of the first Afro-Asian Games was partly due to a strong force of volunteers, mostly NCC cadets from local colleges. Almost 2,500 volunteers in red and yellow uniform assisted officials and delegates in discharge of their duties. Y.Naresh and UV Avinash, both from AV College, were among hundreds of youngsters who worked from sunrise to midnight to ensure that the games were conducted smoothly.
* * * Hyderabad’s Hi Tec City is the home of reputed firms like Microsoft and Wipro. The city is perhaps the largest exporter of software experts. After Bangalore, Hyderabad is the next favourite destination of computer experts.
Amardeep Bhattal
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Dismal show by Indian lifters HYDERABAD: Indian lifters again disappointed in bringing medals, while Iran struck it rich with a two-medal haul on the final day of the weightlifting competition on Friday. Iran, which took both the gold and silver in the 85kg men’s event earlier, recreated the performance by lifting both the medals in the 105 plus kg event, while for the hosts Dalbir Singh (325) finished fifth, ahead of Japan. Mohammed Salehi Sarfd totalled 372.5kg to win the gold, while his compatriot Rashid Sharif Sadeh finished a close second with a total lift of 370kg. Nigeria, which came up with a consistently good performance in the competition, settled for bronze through Mike Enamson Raleigh (360kg). The other Nigerian Joseph Egbo finished fourth. Dalbir Singh had only two good attempts of the six he was allotted. He managed a lift of 145kg in snatch and 180kg in clean and jerk (total 325kg), 47.5kg shorter than the winning lift. Singh, who had tied with Japan’s Keisuke, finished fifth because of lesser body-weight. edals eluded the Indian men from the fourth day of the competition, which commenced on October 25. For India, V Sreenivasa Rao (56 kg men), C P R Suhdir Kumar (69 kg men) and Sateesha Rai (77 kg men) had earned a silver, bronze and silver medals, respectively.
— UNI
Fans lap up action Fans lap up action India fielded their best possible combination, and expectedly, the matches attained electrifying tempo, when the likes of Mahesh, Sania, Prakash Amritraj and Rohan Bopanna fought against each other. Players from Nigeria, Indonesia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Congo could not pose any serious threat to the Indian stars, and most of the matches had ended as lop-sided contests. Yet, the packed stadium seemed to lap up every bit of the action in the middle, and Indian stars like Mahesh, Sania, Prakash and Rohan did their bits to keep them amused and entertained.
— OSR |
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ICC releases India’s World Cup money
New Delhi, October 31 The International Cricket Council (ICC) President Ehsan Mani said the members could get their money back after complying to certain finacial conditions. "The ICC would put in place a process through which any member can access the withheld money upon an unconditional and irrevocable undertaking, perhaps a bank guarantee," Mani told reporters in a teleconference. "This will be conditional upon external auditors and legal advisors who will assess how much money can be accessed by the members," Mani said winding up the two-day executive board meeting of the ICC at Barbados, West Indies. The ICC had withheld India’s guarantee money of $6.5 million after their cricketers refused to accept the Players Terms in the ICC contract and participated in the event on certain conditions. Mani said it was not ICC’s policy to withhold money and the decision today was in line with that principle. “Our policy is to generate money and give it back to the members for investing it for the development of the game. Any money generated belongs to the members.” Mani said the $ 47-million compensation claim of Global Cricket Corporation (GCC) was still being looked into. “It is an on-going process. We have a valuable partnership with the GCC. We must never lose sight of that. We are working with the GCC on it.” The ICC chief said the world body did not see countries differently and it would meet its “commitment” vis-a-vis guarantee money. — PTI
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Mumbai, October 31 The Indians will be eager to capitalise on the second-string Australian bowling attack and keep the momentum going in what promises to be pulsating day-and-night encounter at the Wankhede Stadium.
After a disappointing start to the series when they were clobbered by Sachin Tendulkar and Venkatsai Laxman for a 37-run day-night defeat at Gwalior last week, the Aussies seemed to have got their campaign back on track with an eight-wicket demolition of arch-rivals New Zealand in Faridabad on Wednesday. The home team was leading the points table with eight points from two matches and a victory against the formidable Australians will help them consolidate their position for a berth in the final. The world champions, on the other hand, were just one point behind the Indians and Ricky Ponting and his men were unlikely to give anything on a platter to the hosts. New Zealand, the other team in the fray, were at the bottom of the table with three points. What must have been particularly pleasing to captain Ponting was the performance of new ball bowlers Brad Williams and Nathan Bracken who sliced through the Kiwi batting line-up in devastating fashion in Faridabad. Coming in as replacements for frontline fast bowlers Glenn McGrath, Jason Gillespie and Brett Lee who are out due to injuries, Bracken and Williams have proved Ponting right when he said on arrival that the fringe players of the three-time world champions were as good as the first eleven. The Aussie pacers got a lot of assistance from the Faridabad track and could find the going much tougher at the Wankhede stadium which was likely to favour the batsmen. The victory must have given a lot of confidence to the Indians and captain Rahul Dravid, standing-in for Sourav Ganguly who is recovering from an abscess on his left thigh, handled the team well. Dravid made some intelligent bowling changes to stem the Aussie onslaught and was flexible with the batting order, by promoting Ajit Agarkar in the slog overs. “Flexibility is very important in one-day cricket and the captain will decide over the batting order for tomorrow also as per the situation” Indian coach John Wright said. “Like the captains change or shuffle the bowlers around, even in batting order one should have flexibility which could lead to the success of the team like it happened in Gwalior, Wright said.
— PTI
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Toss will play a crucial role Congratulations to Ricky Ponting for becoming the Wisden International Cricketer of the Year. Ponting is one of the few blokes in international cricket blessed with nimble footwork and who is equally comfortable playing the cut, pull or the lofted drive. That he is the skipper of all conquering Aussie one-day side adds another feather to his cap. We have often seen that captaincy takes a toll on payer’s individual performance. We have quite a few ‘illustrious’ examples but let’s not deviate here from Ricky Ponting and Australia. Ponting has not let his responsibilities as skipper affect his run-scoring duty in the batting line-up, which is, to put it in simple words, brilliant. However, there’s no denying that Ponting’s team-mates deserve a big ‘thank you’ to help him continue his dual role in such a splendid manner. Sometimes it looks so easy to lead a side that epitomises professionalism; a team where everything is done in a rather mechanical manner, yet never cease to excite the cricketing fraternity. A McGrath comes and bowls 10 overs of good length deliveries, a Gilchrist who religiously sends everything out of the park if you bowl within his radar, a bunch of eleven who is habitual of winning every game. You just have to stand there, address a few press conferences and toss the coin before entering the field wearing cool designer shades. Ponting is a damn lucky chap, and you won’t disagree with me. Australia are, no doubt, clearly a touch above everybody in world cricket and only sometimes does an individual brilliance puts them slightly under constraint. Say individual brilliance and India have a huge reservoir to its credit. Precisely, why the world looks up to Sachin, Dravid, Yuvraj and Laxman to lead the way and try catching the springing Kangaroos. Meanwhile, the world champions would be eager to cut down the hand of defiance that made its way at Gwalior and assert their supremacy. The Faridabad match was the first indication towards that line. So can the individual brilliance and charisma of Indians help them get two win against Australia in a row? Tough call, I would put it that way, but by no way impossible. The toss once again will come to play a crucial, if not significant role at the Wankhede Stadium. The sea breeze towards the evening time would help the seam bowlers enjoy their spell but the dew can be a slight deterrent. Nevertheless, it would be a good idea of winning the toss and posting a good total on board. Both the teams, I believe, go unchanged from the one that met a week back but it will be a whole new ball game under lights on Saturday. Just a week back, the Australian bowling line was weak and feeble but coming on now will be the same attack under a whole new identity. Interesting, strange, funny, whatever. That’s how cricket goes. Cricketers are as good as their last knocks. Sachin and Laxman have to fire in Mumbai again, ditto for Williams and party. Well, the doctor just informed me that I have symptoms of Saturday night fever! He prescribed me to ‘watch cricket completely’!
— Dronacharya Sports Promoters Association |
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Indian spinners held key: Ponting
Mumbai, October 31 But India's captain Rahul Dravid was prompt to snub the suggestion by reminding his Australian counterpart that Tendulkar had scored plenty of runs at the Wankhede track. "When I play in front of my home crowd back in Australia, I am under some sort of pressure and I suppose the same might be the case with Tendulkar, which might work out to our advantage," Ponting told reporters here on the eve of the match. However, Dravid said "I don't think Tendulkar will be under any kind of pressure playing here as he has got lot of runs in the past on the same wicket". "A player of his class will not be bogged down by any kind of pressure as he has proved it repeatedly before. Ponting was also upbeat about his team's chances following the big eight-wicket win against New Zealand in Faridabad on Wednesday. "We know that beating India on their own backyard is difficult but if we continue to play the way we did against the Kiwis at Faridabad I think we can win the tournament," he said. Ponting said the Indian spinners would hold the key as in their match against India at Gwalior. "The Indian spinners bowled well under difficult conditions with the wet ball at Gwalior and they (spinners) still have a big role to play in the tournament. Defeating India in their den without their frontline bowlers would be difficult, conceded Ponting but said his team was ready for the challenge. "It is a great challenge for us to come to India and play well in these conditions and I hope we can do well in this tournament even without our main bowlers." Both India and Australia, in all probability, would retain the same winning combinations though the captains withheld the names of the final eleven. The Australian skipper said, "it is hard to make any changes after the way the boys played in Faridabad and it is bad luck that new ball bowler Michael Kasprowicz is yet to recover from his injury and will miss the next two games as well (Mumbai and Pune tie on November 3)". When asked whether any replacement would be asked for Kasprowicz, Ponting said "the format of this tournament is such that we can't fly in the replacement and hence we may not be asking for any and hope that Kasprowicz will be fit for the last part of the tournament". Dravid said Australia's form in the Faridabad match had put them on notice and the team would have to be "very alert" in the match. "The Australians have a lot of talent. They bowled the ball in the right area and forced Kiwis to make mistakes. Their only spinner Brad Hogg too bowled well in the previous ties and we have to be very alert tomorrow," he said. —PTI
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Hussain, Johnson torment
Bangladesh
Chittagong, October 31 Former captain Hussain, who had scored a pedestrian 76 in England’s first innings 326, recovered from a slow start to hammer 15 fours and a six in his 143-ball 95. But the 35-year-old was caught and bowled five short of what would have been his 14th Test century, deceived in the air by left-arm spinner Mohammad Rafique. Hussain shared in a 138-run stand for the third wicket with Graham Thorpe (54), who put behind his first innings duck as England reached 293 for five at stumps. ‘’I’m disappointed at not getting a 100. But I knew I had to get it today, so I went for the runs,’’ Hussain said. ‘’Test cricket is all about playing according to situation. In the first innings, we needed a big total and three wickets had just gone down. This time we had to push the scoring rate.’’ Bangladesh lost paceman Masrafe Mortaza, who had grabbed a career-best four for 60 in the first innings, when he fell over clutching his right knee during his fourth over. He was taken for an MRI scan and returned with his knee in a plaster cast, ruled out for at least three weeks. Somerset paceman Johnson had earlier done the damage, bowling out Bangladesh for 152 with a five-wicket haul. It was the 28-year-old’s second five-wicket haul in two matches following his debut six for 33 against Zimbabwe at Chester-le-Street earlier this year. England (1st innings): 326 Bangladesh (1st innings): Sarkar lbw b Clarke 28 Omar c Vaughan b Johnson 2 Bashar c Butcher b Hoggard 18 Saleh c Read b Johnson 32 Kapali c Buther b Clarke 0 Rahman c Read b Saggers 28 Mashud c sub b Johnson 0 Mahmud c sub b Johnson 15 Rafique not out 12 Mortaza b Johnson 1 Haque c Hoggard b Saggers 9 Extras (lb-1 nb-5) 7 Total (all out, 62.1 overs) 152 FoW: 1-6 2-44 3-61 4-63 5-107 6-110 7-126 8-138 9-139 Bowling: M. Hoggard 20-3-64-1 (nb-5), R. Johnson 21-6-49-5, R. Clarke 7-4-7-2, M. Saggers 12.1-4-29-2, A. Giles 2-1-2-0. England (2nd innings): Butcher c Mashud b Rafique 42 Vaughan run out 25 Hussain c and b Rafique 95 Thorpe lbw b Rafique 54 Read not out 38 Clarke lbw Haque Jnr 27 Trescothick not out 1 Extras (b-4 nb-6 w-1) 11 Total (5 wickets,67 overs) 293 FoW: 1-66 2-70 3-208 4-231 5-290 Bowling: Mashrafe Mortaza 4-0-23-0, Mushfiqur Rahman 5-0-41-0, Mohammad Rafique 29-3-106-3, Khaled Mahmud 14-3-64-0 (w-1), Enamul Haque Jnr 14-5-40-1, Rajin Saleh 1-0-15-0. — Reuters
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Punjab, Haryana, HP win in
junior hockey Raipur, October 31 In another match, Punjab defeated Manipur 4-0. Satwinder scored three goals while Mandeep scored the last one for the winning team. In a similar one-sided play, Jharkhand defeated Bhopal 5-1. From the winning side, Z Barla scored three goals whereas Phombom Bhengra and J.S. Purto scored one each. The solitary goal for Bhopal was scored by Ushaphur Rehman. During the classic match between Mumbai and Delhi, the latter won through Satwinder’s solitary goal even though Mumbai played a very disciplined game. Other scores: Tripura defeated Uttaranchal 2-1; Himachal Pradesh defeated Bihar 2-0; Rajasthan beat Goa 2-0 and Haryana won over Pondicherry 3-2.
—PTI |
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Bank Olympiad from today Patiala, October 31 Since as many as 1850 sportspersons will take part in 15 sports disciplines, the organisers have aptly given the sobriquet `Bank Olympiad’. The meet will be formally inaugurated by the Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh tomorrow at the YPS stadium. The festival is being held simultaneously at Chandigarh and Patiala. The organisers are planning to honour numerous former national and international level sportspersons for their contribution in their respective fields. Prominent among them are weightlifters Kunjarani Devi and Karnam Malleswari, hockey stars Harmik Singh, Balkishen Singh, Baljit Singh Saini, Rajinder Singh, Gundeep Kumar, Saroj Bala and Rajbir Kaur, wrestlers Palwinder Cheema and Gurmukh Singh, former captain of the Indian women’s hockey team Shanta Rangaswamy and hurdler Gurbachan Singh Randhawa. |
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Jalandhar teams
to clash in final of Nehru hockey New Delhi, October 31 In the semifinals, St Soldier School pipped Layalpur Public School, Jalandhar, 1-0, while Government Model School overcame GHPS India Gate, New Delhi, 5-4, in the tie-breaker. In the first semifinal, Varinder Kumar scored the winning goal for St Soldier School in the 37th minute of the match. At half time, the scoreline read 0-0. In the second semifinal, the score remained tied at 1-1 after the regulation time and 4-4 after the tie-breaker. Government Model school took the lead through a penalty corner conversion by Rajinder Singh in the 24th minute of the match. At half time, Model school led 1-0. GHPS India Gate equalised 1-1 through a field goal by Vikas Khari in the 68th minute of the match. In the tie-break, Jagdeep Kumar, Jagjit Singh and Manpreet Singh scored for the winners while Pramod Kumar, Ajaib Singh and Yaspal Hooda scored for the losers. Each team missed two penalty strokes. In sudden death, Jagdeep converted the goal for Model school while Pramod’s miss cost GHPS the match
— UNI
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Muktsar college
score 9-wkt win Ludhiana, October 31 Batting first after winning the toss, the RSD College made 156 runs in 32.2 overs. The main scorers were Ajay (30), Manminder Singh (27) and Deepak (18). For Muktsar, Rajesh was the pick of bowlers who grabbed four wickets conceding 27 runs. Navneet and Ravinder scalped two victims each. Government College, Muktsar achieved the target without facing any
resistance. They scored 160 for the loss of just one wicket after 23 overs. Pushpinder and Bharat remained unbeaten on 65 and 20 runs, respectively, while Prince contributed 56 runs. |
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