 |
|
Navdeep Singh, Pichittra
win ITF titles Tour hangs in balance Dippenaar steers SA to win South play East
in Duleep Trophy tie |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Shirur equals world record, books Olympic berth Powell hails Anju’s progress AITA bonus for
Paes, Mahesh Unique shift in allegiance
Punjab team fails to cross over Govt gives Rs 68 lakh to Rathore
|
|
Navdeep Singh, Pichittra
win ITF titles Chandigarh, February 13 Second seed Navdeep Singh won 6-2, 0-6, 6-4 in a match of fluctuating fortunes against wild card and sixth seed Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan while Pichittra downed top seed I-Hsuan Hwang of Taiwan in straight sets 6-3, 6-1. In the doubles Navdeep and Jeevan combined well to get past Rupesh Roy and Sumit Prakash Gupta 6-1, 4-6, 6-4. In the girls section Pichittra teamed with Yanina Wickmayer of Belgium to quell the challenge of Yana Nemerovski of Israel and Jung-Yoon Shin of Korea 6-3, 6-2. Navdeep seemed to have been helped by the presence of his uncle, Lieut-Gen JJ Singh, who was the chief guest. "I was very nervous in the first set because of my uncle. After winning it I relaxed. Before I knew Jeevan had the lead and I was shut out of the set. So, I waited for the third set and luckily I pulled it off. "Jeevan played very well and we had a good match.
Jeevan expressed happiness with his performance, saying "I am happy as I came farther than expected and I played to my potential in the tournament. Navdeep held his nerve in the erratic first set. He broke Jeevan early on but then lost his own serve. He broke Jeevan again to take the lead. He was helped by an erratic Jeevan, who double-faulted at a crucial time and lost serve. Navdeep served out the set. Jeevan was a changed player in the second set and left Navdeep stranded many a times. His return of serve was excellent and his passing shots a delight to watch. He did not let his opponent win a single game to blank him out and take the match into the third set. The third set was of fluctuating fortunes as both players tried to wrest control. Navdeep raised his game while Jeevan struggled with his first serve. Navdeep broke Jeevan in the third game but lost his own serve in the very next game. The scores went to 3-3 before another break. Jeevan struggled with his temper and first service. He also hurt his hand and was warned by the umpire for racquet abuse. The two players again traded serves as the momentum shifted in Navdeep's favour. After taking the decisive break Navdeep held serve to win the title. In the girls section Hwang had no answer to Pichittra's shots which left her stranded most of the times. Hwang had an easy passage to the final while Pichittra played some tough matches. In the first set both players struggled to hold serve but Pichittra's victory was never in doubt. She took the set 6-3 and let the top seed win only one game in the second set. Results: Singles
(boys): Navdeep Singh b Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan 6-2, 0-6, 6-4 Girls:
Pichittra Thongdach b I-Hsuan Hwang 6-3, 6-1 Doubles (boys): Navdeep Singh\ Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan b Rupesh Roy\ Sumit Prakash Gupta 6-1, 4-6, 6-4. Girls:
Pichittra Thongdach\Yanina Wickmayer b Yana Nemerovski\ Jung-Yoon Shin 6-3, 6-2 |
|
Tour hangs in balance New Delhi, February 13 Though authoritative sources in the government maintain that no formal decision about the tour has been taken as yet, the overbearing view is that the tour should be put on hold till the general elections are completed. A section of the BJP leadership insist that this is a highly delicate time for the Indian cricket team to tour Pakistan even though Indo-Pak relations are on the mend with the three-day composite dialogue in Islamabad scheduled from February 16. There is widespread feeling in the BJP that with tempers running high in Indo-Pak cricket encounters, any untoward incident can have an adverse impact on the party in the general elections. Even a minor incident can have a dampening effect on the “feel good” factor being touted by the BJP leaders. Another major factor under active consideration is that senior cricketers like Saurav Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar have conveyed the strong reservation of their families in undertaking the tour. This assumes significance in the light of threats of kidnapping in the past. The Home Ministry is understood to have been advised that it might be prudent to reschedule the tour after the general elections. The Cricket Boards of India and Pakistan can work out the details. Significantly, the BCCI has said that though it has not received any communication from the government, it will abide by any decision taken at the highest political level. Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani are expected to meet next week and discuss the cricket team’s tour to Pakistan. The two leaders will also take into account the report of the three-member BCCI team currently in Pakistan to access the facilities and security environment. |
|
BCCI awaiting advisory
Kolkata, February 13 “Not yet. I have not received any communication from the government till now,” BCCI president Jagmohan Dalmiya told PTI today when asked whether the government had sent any communication to cancel or postpone the historic tour. Mr Dalmiya’s comments came after reports from Delhi said that the Union Home Ministry had suggested to the board to postpone the tour beginning in the first week of March till after the Lok Sabha polls in April-May. Union Minister of State (Home) Swami Chinmayanand also confirmed last evening that a rethinking was being done on the tour following the recent happenings in Pakistan mainly with regard to the exposure of nuclear proliferation by the Pakistani scientists. “We have been forced to think again. Our intelligence agencies have advised us to think again,”, Mr Chinmayanand said. The board president has also said he would not be able to say anything till the three-member BCCI team, currently in Pakistan to oversee the security arrangements, returns here on Monday. Dalmiya has already gone on record saying that the BCCI would abide by whatever advisory it would receive from the government in this regard. Incidentally, Mr Chinamayanand has also said the government would take a final decision only after the BCCI team, which also include a top security officer from the home ministry, comes back from Pakistan and submits a report. The three-member BCCI team headed by its joint secretary Mr Ratnakar Shetty,
include IGP (Security) Yashovardhan Azad of the home ministry. The team is currently visiting all the cricket venues in Pakistan and hotels where the team would be put up.
— PTI |
|
Dippenaar steers SA to win
Auckland, February 13 Bowling after winning the toss, South Africa restricted New Zealand to 225 for eight and reached 226 for five to post their 16th win from the last 18 matches between the teams. An 86-run opening partnership between Herschelle Gibbs and captain Graeme Smith set South Africa on the road to an expected easy win. But they were eventually forced to rely on a cool unbeaten innings of 44 from Boeta Dippenaar to reach the target. Smith made 72 and Gibbs 43 to start the run chase at a steady pace and there was no sign when the openers were together that South Africa would cut things so fine. The tourists faltered slightly when they lost two wickets within three balls near the middle of their innings and only Dippenaar kept the scoreboard moving near the end. Half centuries by Scott Styris and Chris Cairns, who shared a 91-run fifth-wicket partnership, lifted New Zealand to a satisfactory total after they had been sent in on a flat and lifeless pitch. Styris top-scored with 60 from 81 balls and Cairns made 58 to revive New Zealand which had been struggling at 55 for three and 79 for four. Stephen Fleming and newcomer Michael Papps put on 44 for the first wicket but New Zealand lost three wickets for 11 runs and were suddenly struggling to set South Africa a demanding total. The slow nature of the wicket and its variable bounce forced batsmen to be watchful and to rely on improvised stroke play. Styris managed that effectively, using sweeps and deflections to score in singles and taking six fours and a six from his more weighted shots. Cairns, who was also forceful, hit five fours and a six in a timely return to form. New Zealand’s bowlers were unable to exert any pressure over South Africa when Smith and Gibbs were together. The South African captain again tapped a vein of consistent form, reaching the second half century of the match from 74 balls. He played a patient innings, taking his 72 runs from a total 91 balls with eight fours while Gibbs was also cautious, scoring 43 from 57 deliveries with only four boundaries. Gibbs was first out in the 20th over and South Africa briefly lost their momentum when Smith was out with the total 149 for two and Jacques Kallis at the same score. Kallis was adjudged lbw to a delivery from left-arm spinner Daniel Vettori which appeared to strike the bat. Dippenaar and Jacques Rudolph took time to revive the pace of the innings but eventually put on 60 for the fifth wicket to re-establish South African control. The loss of Rudolph’s wicket in the 46th over and Mark Boucher in the 48th interrupted South Africa’s progress to victory and forced them to wait until the fourth ball of the final over for the winning runs. SCOREBOARD New Zealand: Papps c Boucher b Ntini 14 Fleming run out 30 Marshall c Boucher b Ntini 7 Styris c Ntini b Nel 60 McMillan c Boucher b Klusener 9 Cairns b Nel 58 Oram c Nel b Klusener 15 McCullum not out 16 Vettori run out 6 Mills not out 1 Extras: (1b, 3lb, 4w, 1nb) 9 Total: (8 wickets, 50 overs) 225 Fall of wickets: 1-44, 2-52, 3-55, 4-79, 5-170, 6-191, 7-202, 8-222. Bowling: Shaun Pollock 10-0-33-0, Makhaya Ntini 10-1-41-2, Andre Nel 10-1-42-2, Lance Klusener 9-0-39-2, Robin Peterson 8-0-42-0, Jacques Kallis 3-0-24-0. South Africa: Smith b Cairns 72 Gibbs c McCullum b Vettori 43 Kallis lbw b Vettori 26 Dippenaar not out 44 Rudolph c and b Styris 24 Boucher b Tuffey 0 Pollock not out 5 Extras: (b-2, lb-4, w-6) 12 Total: (5 wkts, 49.4 overs) 226 Fall of wickets: 1-86, 2-149, 3-149, 4-209, 5-215 Bowling: Tuffey 8.4-0-34-1, Mills 7-0-42-0, Oram 10-1-44-0, Vettori 10-1-37-2, Styris 10-1-35-1, Cairns 4-0-28-1.
— AP |
|
South play East
in Duleep Trophy tie Dharamsala, February 13 The President of the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association, Mr Anurag Thakur, said that a fast and bouncy pitch had been prepared to ensure entertaining cricket. He hoped the match would last the full four days so that spectators could enjoy the first class match being played here for the first time. Mr Anurag Thakur said that a number of national level cricketers, including Rohan Gavaskar, Deep Das Gupta,
Debashis Mohanti and Utpal Chatterjee (all East Zone) and S. Ram, MSK Prasad and P. Kumaran (all South Zone) would play in the match. He said efforts had been made to provide the best possible best facilities to the players. The 20,000 capacity stadium which is nearing completion has all modern facilities. Mr Anurag Thakur said though construction work was in progress the safety of the spectators had been ensured. |
|
|
Shirur equals world record, books Olympic berth New Delhi, February 13 Before Suma went on to win the gold, she equalled the world record of shooting 400/400 in the qualifying round. She became only the sixth shooter in the world to achieve this mark, according to information received here. Suma scored 102.3 in the finals to clinch the gold, while Deepali Deshpande, who had secured a quota place yesterday, took the silver. Although Deepali was placed fourth with a qualifying score of 397, she held her nerves in the final to shoot a 104.4 to push Akshyonova of Kazakhastan to third place with a cumulative score of 399. Li Young of Korea (398) was placed fourth. However, the third member of the team Pournima Zanane did not perform well and shot only 391/400, while Anjali Bhagwat who shot only for MQS scored 398/400. The Indian team, consisting of Suma, Deepali and Pournima, won the silver medal with a total score of 1188/1200. Even though the Chinese shooters ran up the same score, the Indian eves took the silver on the basis of a better last card score. Korea took the gold with a score of 1189. In the junior category, it was another successful day in office for Ronak Pandit as he won his third gold in the championship in the sports pistol event. Bhrigu Dutt won the silver in the same event to make it two podium finishes for India. The team consisting of Ronak, Bhrigu and Manoj won the gold with a total score of 1701/1800. Thailand took the silver, while hosts Malaysia won the bronze with a score of 1699 and 1645, respectively. However, it turned out to be a disappointing day in the double trap events today. Only Major R.V.S. Rathore, who has already qualified for the 2004 Olympics, could reach the finals with a score of 134/150. He shot 42/50 to finish sixth. The other two shooters, Moraad Ali Khan and Ronjon Sodhi shot 122 and 120, respectively. India have till now won seven gold, two silver and one bronze. Yesterday had been India’s best day at the tournament having won two gold and securing four quota places. Mansher Singh had won the gold in the trap event to qualify for Athens. Manavjit Singh, who finished fifth, also got the quota place in this category. The third quota place yesterday was won by Deepali Deshpande in sport rifle three position event even though she finished sixth in the overall standing. Gagan Narang had won the fourth quota place for India in the air rifle men’s event. With Suma’s feat today, India has now secured eight berths for the Athens Olympics.
— UNI |
|
Powell hails Anju’s progress Mumbai, February 13 Powell, who is here to flag off the Standard Chartered Mumbai International Marathon (SCMIM) to be held on February 15, told reporters that the Indian star was one of the best athletes in the world at present and could cross the seven- metre barrier in near future. “She has not improved in terms of distance but has improved in consistency. She can go places as she is determined to do well and is dedicated in her efforts”, he added. “Only the best get to compete at the Olympics and Anju is up there with them. However, one has to be at her best to win a medal at the Olympics and I don’t want to put additional pressure on her by talking about it. “All I can say is that Anju has proved herself by winning a bronze at the world championship in Paris last year and the same can happen again”, the American, who broke the 22-year-old world record at Tokyo by jumping to a distance of 8.95 metres, said. Powell, who coaches about 30 college athletes at a university in USA, said his only regret was not winning a Olympic gold medal in his career. “I failed to win an Olympic gold, probably I may never win in future (winning gold) as well. I still did well in my career breaking the world record. I will also take part in the Athens Olympics this year as I love challenges, even at 40 years of age”, the champion added.
— PTI |
|
AITA bonus for
Paes, Mahesh New Delhi, February 13 The AITA executive committee, which met under the chairmanship of president Yashwant Sinha, who is also the Union Minister for External Affairs, here today "unanimously" decided to reward each member of the Davis Cup team with Rs 1 lakh each if he wins his match in the Davis Cup Asia
Oceania Zone 1 tie. The AITA also expressed its "deep appreciation" to Karan Rastogi who reached the semifinal round of the boys singles of the Australian Open. The performances of Wimbledon champion Sania Mirza, Asian junior champion Isha Lakhani, Divij Sharan, Tushar Liberhan, Somdev Varman, Asian junior champion Arun Prakash and Rupesh Roy also came in for high praise. |
|
Unique shift in allegiance
London, February 13 Yamile Aldama came fourth at the Sydney Games for her native Cuba. In Athens in August she will be jumping as an African, an extraordinary leap of allegiance which breaks no rules but demonstrates the shortcomings of the system. Nationality in sport, once clear-cut, has become seriously muddied following the break-up of the Soviet bloc and the increasing transfer of talent from poor to rich countries. Weightlifters born in Albania and the Soviet Union will represent Greece at the Athens Olympics while some of Kenya’s top middle-distance talent will wear the colours of
Qatar. Aldama, who jumped further than any other woman last year, was unable to compete in the 2003 World Championships in Paris. She last represented Cuba at the 2000 Olympics and her native country sticks rigidly to the International Association of Athletics Federation’s (IAAF) rules which say three years must pass before an athlete can compete under another flag. Once the three years were up, Aldama had to find another country. She has lived in Britain since 2001 with her child and has a British husband, who is serving a 15-year jail sentence for supplying heroin. However, Britain takes a hard line on residency and Aldama feared she would not be eligible in time for Athens. Media reports said she put out feelers to Italy and the Czech Republic but eventually Aldama picked Sudan, a nation with little Olympic heritage but a swift citizenship process. Aldama appears to have no connection with the African country. Clutching her Sudanese passport, she contacted the IAAF who last month gave her the green light to compete. The Aldama case adds a novel element to the nationality issue: she has chosen to move to a developing country so she can compete whereas most cases involve athletes moving to improve their personal or financial situation. The collapse in the early 1990s of the Soviet bloc, which had placed great emphasis on sporting achievement, led to an exodus of top athletes and coaches desperate to further their careers in countries where ample funding was still available. Tatiana Grigorieva won a silver medal for Australia in the 2000 Olympic pole vault after migrating from Russia. Greece naturalised Albanian Pyrros Dimas in 1992 and he went on to win three Olympic weightlifting
golds. — Reuters |
|
|
Vijay leads in Forest Hill Open Chandigarh, February 13 The cut was applied at 15-over 157 with 51 pros making it to the deciding rounds. In an effort to speed up play and avoid congestion of the golf course the originally par-4 third and 12th holes were played at par 3 today. This brought the par for the course down by two strokes to 70. Earlier overnight leader Harmeet Kahlon pulled out of the second round citing a sore elbow. Kahlon had led the tournament after the opening round at a score of six-under 66. The second day's play was inaugurated by Shiv Sagar
Suri, Relationship Manager, Fotis Heart and Multi-Speciality, one of the tournament sponsors. Vijay Kumar the stocky Lucknow pro, did little wrong but was from time to time set back by nuggets of bad luck. The initial part of his round looked good with birdies on the sixth and ninth placing him at the two-under at the lemon break. Six under for the tournament at that stage, Vijay looked all set to widen the margin between him and the field. This was however not to be. The 12th hole proved to be Vijay's nemesis. His tee shot aimed at a green straight ahead swerved to the right, rolled downhill, finally gliding comfortably into the water-body guarding the fourth fairway. This earned Vijay his first bogey of the day. The ruffled golfer responded by dropping a shot on the very next hole as well. On the par 15th Vijay looked like making up, but with a four-feet birdie putt staring him in the face, he two-putted to par the hole. The final nail in his coffin came on the 18th, where a near perfect tee shot landed in a covered pit. A lost stroke there fetched him a day's card of one-over 71. ‘‘Poor putting and bad luck did me in,’’ said Vijay who incidentally returned a dismal 34 putts for his round, ‘‘ I am hitting the ball well though and look forward to a better round tomorrow, ’’he added. Kolkata's Yusuf Ali's performance was not unlike the terrain at the Forest Hill Golf and Country Club.. roller coaster like. The toothy Kolkatan started the day with a birdie but dropped shots on the next two holes. he made up with a birdie on the sixth to make the turn at level-par. On the back nine, Yusuf carded his third birdie of the day on the 11th but was set back by consecutive bogeys on the 12th and 13th. A well sunk 30 feet birdie putt on the 16th evened things out yet again but was followed immediately after by yet another bogey on the 17th. Mercifully, Yusuf ended his round with a birdie on the 18th to settle for a card of level-par
70. Thind continues to lead amateurs: Local lad Ashpreet Thind fired a round of two-over 72, to continue in the amateur lead, three strokes ahead of second placed Kuldeep Singh. Scores ( after 36 holes):
139 — Vijay Kumar (68,71); 140 — Yusuf Ali (70, 70); 142 — Pappan (71.71); 143 — Basad Ali (71.72), Rahul Ganapathy (73,70), Shamin Khan (74,69); 145 — Dinesh Kumar (72,73), Naman Dawar (71,74), Sanjay Kumar (74.71), Zai Kipgen (73,72), Jaiveer Virk (75, 70), Ali Sher (70,75) Amateurs:
149 — Thind (77,72); 152— Kuldeep Singh (78.74). |
|
|
Punjab team fails to cross over Amritsar, February 13 According to the information the team can now proceed to Pakistan on Monday. The team will not be able to participate in the first two matches to be held at Okara and Lahore. Earlier in the afternoon, kabaddi team was given a warm send off at the Circuit House by district authorities. The team will play 10 matches in different cities of Pakistan, including Islamabad, Lahore, Multan and Faisalabad. |
|
Govt gives Rs 68 lakh to Rathore
New Delhi, February 13 Athlete Bobby Aloysius has also been sanctioned Rs 11.86 lakh for her training programme. Both these sportspersons have been given the money from the National Sports Development Fund (NSDF), according to an official note here today. In 2003, Major Rathore was
sanctioned Rs 10.23 lakh, while Bobby had received Rs 14.31 lakh for her training programme.
— UNI |
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Mailbag | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | National Capital | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
It was double delight for Navdeep Singh of India and Pichittra Thongdach of Thailand as they won singles as well as doubles titles at the ITF Juniors tennis tournament at the Chandigarh Lawn Tennis Association courts, Sector 10, here today.
Auckland, February 13
