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India keen to settle pace doubts Streak desperate for a win Pakistan players still under suspicion Ngam back for South Africa
after 3-year break Federer has world at his feet
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Indian wrestlers fail
in Olympic qualifiers
3 Indian teams for YMCA boxing Delhi lift Cooch Behar trophy
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India keen to settle pace doubts
Perth, February 2 Now the Indians must look to inflict a similar damage to the Africans in the last league match, not for any other reason but just to reassure themselves that all is well and they are ready for the first final against Australia in Melbourne on Friday. Coach John Wright has asserted that his team would not be looking ahead for the finals yet and the two games at Perth were what they were concentrating on first. But it is difficult to believe that the Indians would have made nothing of the pummelling at the hands of the world champions. India’s strength all summer has been their batting and they would be keen to recover the poise at the cost of the Zimbabweans. Zimbabwe have had nothing to show for their presence in the triangular series and are keen themselves to prove a point in the final league game of the series before they leave the Australian shores. Materially it would make no difference, for Zimbabwe ceased being a factor in the tri-series a long time ago but there is pride to play for and fine-tuning to be done for future battles. India would be keen for Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag to fall back into the groove for the two had been terrific together before WACA happened. VVS Laxman can always look back at his bank of runs and derive confidence but both Rahul Dravid and Saurav Ganguly are short of runs — a strange comment to make for the pile of runs have somewhat obscured their lack of big knocks in a few matches lately. Dravid looks in good touch but has not had a big score in the last few matches while Ganguly’s best remains his 82 in the first match against Australia in Melbourne on January 9. Ironically, yesterday’s game was not without its silver lining for the Indians as the tail produced a marvellous effort and showed courage in adding over 100 runs for the last four wickets. The praise to the tail does not include Ajit Agarkar, though he does not seem to be a batsman who should come out at number eight, except for a few cynics who feel he is fit to bat only at number 15! Agarkar cut a sorry figure yesterday needing 21 deliveries to go off the mark but his misery ended when he ran himself out to leave his mates exasperated in the dressing room. Zimbabwe would like to win at least one game at the cost of the Indians who they ran close in their last two matches, losing at Brisbane and Adelaide by 24 and 3 runs, respectively. Their batting surely has started to come together with Sean Ervine, Stuart Carlisle and Grant Flower hitting their straps and even the bowlers have not allowed Australia to run up scores of 300 in the last two games — a factor which would not have gone unnoticed by the Indians. Zimbabwe’s bowling would be a bigger force than it has been, given the help the trundlers have got at WACA and captain Heath Streak would be hoping for more of it. Indians would largely like to go into the game with the same eleven though the selection of left-arm spinner Murali Kartik cannot be a foregone conclusion. Kartik has struggled to come to terms with the true nature of Australian wickets and despite Ganguly’s assertion of his utility, the evidence of WACA is pretty unlikely to support his case. Teams (from): India: Saurav Ganguly (captain), Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, VVS Laxman, Rahul Dravid, Yuvraj Singh, Rohan Gavaskar, Ajit Agarkar, Irfan Pathan, Murali Kartik, Laxmipathy Balaji and Ashish Nehra. Zimbabwe: Heath Streak (captain), Stuart Carlisle, Dion Ebrahim, Travis Friend, Tatenda Taibu, Andy Blignaut, Grant Flower, Raymond Price, Douglas Hondo, Sean Ervine, Visu Sibanda and Stuart Matsikenyeri. — PTI
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Perth, February 2 "Our bowling has been consistent and we have had good fielding. Our last few games have been fantastic and I hope we are over the line tomorrow," Streak said ahead of tomorrow's day-night game. Indians were blown away at the pace-friendly WACA ground which saw Brett Lee and company bowl them out for 203 and Streak was hoping for a repeat of the story tomorrow. "Their batsmen struggled but you can't take it for granted it would happen tomorrow. The batsmen would learn to make adjustments -- if you can do that, it could be a good wicket to bat on," he said. "A lot of times, not enough credit is given to bowlers. There was some swing and movement and if you take those early wickets there would be pressure on batsmen coming in after that," said Streak. The captain also bemoaned the absence of two of his key players because of injuries -- Craig Wishart and Mark Vermeulen. "We lost a key batsman in Craig Wishart and then Vermuelen was injured. It made our top order struggle for runs," Streak said. "But we have had a good fightback in the last few games. Our young bowling attack has developed here and we continue to develop and improve as bowlers. Hopefully, we would have sides which could bowl out teams in Tests as well." Streak said it has been fantastic to watch the Indians play their cricket the way they did this summer -- playing aggressive and hard and matching Australia in all aspects of the game. Zimbabwe have so far played seven games in the series and won nothing though they did come pretty close to winning at least two of their matches -- both against India at Brisbane and Adelaide before losing by 24 and three runs respectively. — PTI
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Pakistan players still under suspicion
Lahore, February 2 “The News’’ claimed that Condon in his letters also mentioned some allegations which said the team under-performed in two one-day tournaments in 2002, in Morocco and Kenya. The paper said that Condon in one of these letters, dated September 29, 2002, said: “None of the allegations of match-fixing or under-performance made in relation to Pakistan in recent weeks are capable of proof, at this stage, for judicial or cricket disciplinary purposes. And that all the sources might be wrong and there might be an innocent explanation for all the above.’’ “Nevertheless, a worrying amount of information is being received from different sources in different countries and I place it before you in case it resonates with your own information and anxieties about recent results,’’ he added. The paper said it is not known is whether the PCB carried out its own inquiry into allegations by the ACU in its September letter that the Pakistan team might have under-performed in Morocco and Kenya. “A variety of sources including match officials, players, informants, journalists and police sources have raised doubts with my unit about some matches and some players,’’ Condon said in his letter. “Of particular relevance to you is the allegation that the Pakistan team under-performed to order in Morocco and Kenya for betting purposes. Sources suggest that the Bhandari report, having cleared the team of malpractice in the last World Cup, gave Wasim Akram and perhaps others the confidence to fix matches,’’ Condon alleged in his letter. “It is suggested that the person primarily responsible for arranging the under-performance is Ratan Mehta from Delhi. As agreed with you, I have enclosed a copy of the statement my unit took from an Indian businessman recently. You will see that in the statement the businessman alleges a relationship between Mehta and cricketers, including — (Pakistani player names
witheld) - at the time of the World Cup in 1999,’’ Condon wrote. “Ratan Mehta has also been mentioned in the Indian Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) report in 2000. He has always been of interest to my unit but in the last two months the intelligence reports suggest he is actively seeking to match fix.’’ Condon also made it clear in his letter that the Indian businessman was not the only source of information about Mehta. The paper said that in the same letter Condon alleged that several meetings had taken place during the ICC knockout tournament in Colombo in early September 2002 in or near the Hotel Hilton, a hotel where the players were not even staying. According to ACU chief two senior Pakistani players were regularly seen in the company of an unidentified Sri Lankan man in Hilton and the man according to Sri Lankan sources is said to be involved in criminal activities and whose background was being traced with the help of Interpol. The ACU chief also informed the board that a Pakistani player (name
witheld) also used the room occupied by the Sri Lankan man for a tryst with a Russian prostitute.
— UNI |
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Ngam back for South Africa
after 3-year break Johannesburg, February
2 It is the first season since his debut that Ngam has not missed a game through injury but his form has been
unconvincing. Ngam, then 21, was picked for the third Test against New Zealand in Johannesburg in 2000/01 and would have had a wicket with his fourth ball if Daryll Cullinan had not dropped a straightforward catch at first slip. He took two for 34 in a game reduced to one innings by
rain. Ngam then played in two Tests against Sri Lanka, taking three wickets in each innings of the second Test at
Newlands, Cape Town, where he bowled with electrifying pace which clearly discomfited the touring team. The youngster from Motherwell, a poor black area near Port Elizabeth, had beaten the odds to make it to the top and was set to join Makhaya Ntini as a black cricketing hero. After the Newlands match, though, Ngam was diagnosed with a stress fracture of the right thigh. Since then, it has been a litany of injury woes - two operations on his right shoulder and a total of five stress fractures. He would no sooner make a comeback than he would be put out of action again. One-Day squad: Graeme Smith (captain), Mark Boucher, Nicky
Boje, Boeta Dippenaar, Herschelle Gibbs, Jacques Kallis, Lance
Klusener, Albie Morkel, Mfuneko Ngam, Andre Nel, Makhaya Ntini, Robin Peterson, Shaun Pollock, Ashwell Prince, Jacques Rudolph. For Test squad,
Dippenaar, Prince, Peterson and Klusener will be replaced by Paul Adams, Gary Kirsten, Neil McKenzie and Martin van
Jaarsveld. — AFP |
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Federer has world at his feet
Sydney, February 2 It also left the tennis world wondering whether they had discovered one of the greatest players of all time. Former world number John McEnroe, commentating on Australian television, said he was already convinced. “He is one of the most talented players I have ever had the pleasure of watching,” McEnroe said. “I include my idol Rod Laver and Pete Sampras in that. He is one of the all-time shotmakers.” Federer’s all-round game and his ice-cool temperament has already kicked off speculation that he could become the first man in 35 years to win the four majors in the same calendar year. But the 22-year-old from Switzerland has played down his chances. “If there is anybody, I would like them to step forward and say they can do it because I think it’s really difficult,” he said. Federer’s victory capped off one of the best Australian Opens in years to set the stage for a fascinating season, with a handful of young players snapping at his heels. Andy Roddick, who had been number one at the start of the championship, and French Open champion Juan Carlos Ferrero head the list of challengers. Roddick was eliminated by Marat Safin in an epic five-set quarter-final while Ferrero lost to Federer in the semi-finals. After a year in the wilderness, Safin showed that he has re-emerged as powerful as ever, winning a series of gruelling matches to reach the final before he ran out of gas. The 33-year-old Andre Agassi showed he is still far from a spent force, reaching the semi-finals before going down to Safin in another five-setter. While the men’s tour seems to be on the verge of a golden era, the same could not be said for the women, whose tour continues to lack depth. The tournament had already been ravaged by the withdrawal of former champions Serena Williams, Jennifer Capriati and Monica Seles and when Venus Williams, playing her first tournament in six months, departed in the early rounds the result was predictable. World number one Justine Henin-Hardenne and number two Kim Clijsters both strolled to the final without dropping a singles set between them, with Henin-Hardenne winning the final. Henin-Hardenne, 21, currently holds three of the four major titles but already has her eyes set on Wimbledon, the only one she is missing. “It’s going to be a goal if not this year, then in coming years,” she said. Clijsters, 20, is still searching for her first grand slam title after finishing runner-up at four major championships but lost no admirers this time. She almost missed the event after injuring her ankle playing a warm-up event but decided to risk aggravating the problem. “I’m very lucky to have been out there. I could have been home for two weeks in Belgium... watching matches on TV,” she said.
— Reuters |
Hyderabad:
Unseeded Sania Mirza of India won her seventh international professional title beating third-seed American Cory Ann Avants 6-2, 6-3 in the singles final of the Boca Raton Classic Women’s ITF tournament in Florida. In a scintillating display of power, Sania raised the level of her game splendidly to dislodge the highly-rated American girl, ranked 80 places above the Indian at 282. In the semifinal played earlier, Sania upset South African Chanelle Scheepers 6-2, 7-6 (7-3) with another strong showing. The second set was evenly poised until Mirza came through with brilliant forehand winners to win the tie-break. This was a sweet revenge for the Indian as Scheepers, who till a season ago was ranked 169, had beaten Sania 1-6, 3-6, two years ago in the semifinal of a juniors event in Durban, South Africa. The title gives Sania nine WTA points and she had added 3.25 by reaching the quarter-finals in last week’s tournament.
— UNI
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Indian eves salvage a draw New Delhi, February 2 After muffing 10 penalty corners, one in the first half and nine in the second, India forced their 11th penalty corner three minutes from the final hooter. Suman Bala executed a powerful hit, which popped up off the pads of Chinese custodian Huimin Lan. Jyoti Sunita Kullu, standing close by, quickly connected her stick to deflect the ball home (1-1) to the delight of the home fans. India, thus, played an encore as in the fourth edition of the championship, played at the same venue, India and China had played a goalless draw. China did not participate in the first edition at Seoul in 1985, while in the second and third editions, they defeated India by 3-0 and 2-0, respectively. The Indian girls got going particularly in the latter part of the second half, and could have pulled off a victory, if only they knew how apply the killer punch. They failed to cash in on golden chances as time and again, the Indian girls ran into the well-knit defensive web of China. Both the teams relied on counter attacks to inject an element of surprise in their sallied, but the defenders of both the countries stood their ground to baulk the attackers. The Indian girls dazzled with their dribbles, and stickwork. They used the flanks to mount assaults, and often used the scoop to breach the Chinese defence. The alert Chinese forces, marshalled by skipper Ma Yibo, however, made quick interceptions, to quash the Indian aggression. “It was our match, we should have won it”, summed up chief coach M K Kaushik. He was concerned with the team’s inability to score from penalty corners. Suman Bala was very predictable in her hits—often mis-hits—though on a few occasions, her direct shots along the carpet looked dangerous.But for the heroics of Chinese custodian Huimin Lan, who blocked at least half a dozen hits of Bala, India would have made use of a couple of more penalty corners to score. Captain Suraj Lata Devi, Mamta Kharab, Adline Kerketta, Saba Anjum and Jyoti Sunita Kullu proved more than a handful for the Chinese defence to handle, though it was another story that a chance goal helped the hosts even the score and share the honours. India now need only a draw against the weak Kazakhstan to earn a place in the semis. Kazakhstan suffered their second defeat when they lost 0-2 to Malaysia today. China beat them by 4-1 yesterday while India had beaten Malaysia 4-2. In Pool B, there was no let up in the deluge of goals as Korea and Japan maintained their scoring-spree. They had notched up identical 15-0 wins against Sri Lanka and Singapore, respectively, yesterday. Japan whipped Lanka 21-0 while Korea crushed Singapore 9-1 in today’s matches. The high-point of Japan’s rip-roaring victory was half a dozen goals, including a hattrick, by Sachimi Iwao. After a rest day on Tuesday, India will take on Kazakhstan in their last Pool A match on Wednesday at 11 a m while Malaysia will meet China, Sri Lanka will clash against Singapore and Korea will take on Japan in other matches to complete the pool engagements. |
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Indian wrestlers fail
in Olympic qualifiers
New Delhi, February 2 The event held from January 31 to February 1 at Bratislava saw 35 wrestlers booking their berths to Athens. The second qualifier will be held at Sofia on February 14-15. Cheema, who competed in the 120kg class, and Dutt, in 55kg, both ended sixth to miss the mark by a whisker with the first five qualifying for Athens Olympics in August, according to information received here today. But the other Indians in the fray — Kripa Shankar Patel (55kg), Ramesh Kumar (66kg) and Anuj Choudhary (84kg) — failed to come anywhere near the mark with Ramesh finishing eighth. Two Indian wrestlers Sushil Kumar and Sujit Mann have already secured their Olympic berths by virtue of their performance in the World Wrestling Championships held in New York last year.
— PTI |
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3 Indian teams for YMCA boxing
New Delhi, February 2 While Iran, Kyrgystan, Seychelles and Qatar will be contesting for the first time, many other teams like Afghanistan, Japan and Thailand will be here after a few years’ gap. A build-up tournament ahead of the second Olympic qualifiers in China next month, the competition will also give the participating nations an opportunity to test the potential of their reserve talents. “We will try our No. 2 and 3 boxers in some categories,” national coach G S Sandhu told PTI referring to the absence of Mohd Ali Qamar (light flyweight), Akhil Kumar (fly weight) and Jitender Kumar (light heavy weight). The trio would not be coming to Delhi so as to continue with their training schedule in Patiala to prepare for the event in China. Though India dominated in all the three categories — senior, junior and sub-junior — in the last edition, the hosts would not have a cakewalk this time around with challenge expected from Kazakhstan, Seyschelles, Turkmenistan and Kyrgystan. The hosts will field three teams India ‘A’, India ‘B’ and India ‘C’ in the senior section. Teams: Senior: India A — Suranjay Singh (lightfly), Suresh Singh (fly), Bijender Singh (bantam), A L Lakra (feather), Ramanand (light), Vijender (lightwelter), Subodh Kumar (welter), Radheshyam (middle), Harpreet Singh (lightheavy), V Johnson (heavy), Harpal Singh (superheavy). India B — Arun Singh (lightfly), Ashwani Sharma (fly), Amandeep Singh (bantam), Dharambir Singh (feather), Jai Bhagwan (light), Harvinder Singh (lightwelter), Sanjay (welter), Naveen (middle), Raj Kumar (lightheavy), Pankaj Attri (heavy), Parminder (superheavy) India C — Khimanand (lightfly), Robin Dev (fly), Diwakar Prasad (feather), Pawan Kumar (lightwelter), Barinder Singh (welter). Junior: India A — Balbir (lightfly), Bijender (fly), Manoj Kumar (bantam), Kapil Kumar (feather), K T Singh (light), Sawan Kumar (light welter), Virender (welter), Krishan Kumar (middle), Krishan Sharma (light heavy), Sukhbir Singh (heavy), Naveen Rao (super heavy). India B — Sanjay Kolte (light fly), Atesamuddin (fly), Lalit Chahal (bantam), Narender Sangwan (feather), Sonu Chahal (light), Sandeep Kumar (light welter), Pradeep (welter), Sandeep Kumar (middle), Jasweer Singh (light heavy), Mohit Tokas (heavy), Narender (super heavy). Sub-Junior: India A — S Sreenivas (E-1), H J Singh (E-2), M Satish (D-3), V Santosh Kumar (D-4), Sunil Shukla (C-5), Sunil (C-6), S Santosh Singh (B-8), Jagbir Singh (B-9), Dilbagh Singh (B-10), Indra Kumar Singh (A-11), Dinesh Kumar (A-12), Himanshu Chaudhary (A-13). India B — L Devendro Singh (E-1), Srikant Routh (E-2), Mitesh Budhlakoti (D-3), Pramod (B-4), Rakesh Kumar (C-5), N Santosh Kumar (C-6), Jaibir (B-8), Manjit Singh (B-9), S Brucelee Singh (B-10), Chhote Lal Yadav (A-11), Pardeep (A-12), Pawan Nara (A-13). — PTI
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Mumbai, February 2 Delhi coach Bantoo Singh ordered his boys not to eat lunch as punishment for dropping six catches, a harsh punishment by any standard as the final was as good as won especially after Delhi took a huge 512-run lead yesterday, which eventually denied them an outright win. Though Singh denied ordering his boys to skip their afternoon meal, the players revealed after the match that they were banned from taking lunch. In fact, there was very little interest left in the match after a delayed declaration (702 for seven), chasing UP’s first innings total of 190 all out, made sure the Delhi boys were far superior in every departments of the game.— PTI
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Senior Punjab hockey from February 5 Amritsar, February 2 The championship will be played at the Astro-Turf ground of Guru Nanak Dev University. Mr A.A. Siddique, Director-General, Punjab Police, will be the chief guest on the concluding day. |
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Rural sports festival
on February 6 Amritsar, February 2 On the occasion gymnastics, motor cycle show by Punjab Police personnel, gataka, bodybuilding show and cultural programmes will be presented. |
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