 |
|
|
Sehwag rues missing Hayden’s record
Declaration surprises Tendulkar
Pak media blasts pitch curator |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Pathan, Balaji good for Indian cricket: Zaheer Sidelights Notes from Pakistan Ticket prices
Mumbai set to retain title Colourful start to SAF Games India favourite
in volleyball Anand slips to joint 6th position Phadke loses, Archana advances 45 selected for academy Amandeep adjudged best athlete
|
|
Sehwag
rues missing Hayden’s record
Multan, March 29 “I am thrilled. I can’t believe that I have done it. May be it will sink in after a couple of days. All I can say is that it is a great feeling. It is very special because it has come against Pakistan,” was Sehwag’s reaction at scoring 309, the only triple ton by an Indian ever in Test cricket. But the flamboyant opener admitted that he had Hayden’s world record of highest individual Test score of 380 in his mind and was disappointed to have missed it. “I had Hayden’s record at the back of my mind when I started my innings today. I am a bit disappointed at missing Hayden’s record. But I will settle for a 300 any day. “This innings will definitely give me a lot of confidence. It is particularly satisfying because no Indian had done it till now,” he said. The flamboyant opener broke teammate VVS Laxman’s record of 281, the highest individual score in Tests by an Indian, which he established against Australia at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata in 2001. Sehwag said his idol Sachin Tendulkar, who hit up an unbeaten 194, was reminding him not to play loose shots. “I just told myself that I should play for as long as possible. My first objective in the morning was to reach 300. Tendulkar kept reminding me that I should not play any loose stroke. “I was having my own plays which was to keep attacking and play my strokes but Tendulkar asked me to cool down. He pointed to me that a 300 does not come easily for every batsman and it is a lifetime opportunity and I should not let the chance go,” he said. Asked whom would he dedicate the triple century to having dedicated his double ton to his parents and would-be wife, pat came the answer “to the same people”. “People have talked about my inability to hit the big scores. But now that I have scored 300 there is going to be more expectations,” he said. Sehwag also said he was determined to carry on the good work for the team when play started this morning. “I slept well in the night, in the morning I told myself that I should try and get the triple century. I am happy that I could achieve that”. Sehwag said he hated the idea of reaching the triple ton by painstakingly accumulating singles and, batting at 295, he was sure that if the Saqlain Mushtaq delivery touched any part of his willow, it would land out of the ground. “I did not want to move from 295 to 296 and so on to reach 300. I knew if the ball comes anywhere near my bat, it would just sail out of the ground,” he revealed. Incidentally, Sehwag had hit Shoaib Akhtar over third man for the maximum that fetched his century yesterday. Hitting big knocks in tours had boosted his confidence, said the buccaneering batsman. “Playing big knocks outside the country gives you confidence. I've scored 195 in Melbourne and now a triple ton here. Now I'm confident that I can play any bowling side anywhere,” he said. Sehwag, initially considered only a one-dayer prospect, said playing international cricket helped him learn a lot and improve his temperament. Sehwag’s milestone earned him a lot of praise from his teammates with batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar describing it as a “fabulous Knock”. “It is a fabulous knock, I hope he will continue playing in this way. At last we have an Indian in the 300 club, it was high time. We feel proud of Veeru,” he said. Captain Sourav Ganguly, who had to sit out the first Test because of a troubled back, said “it was an outstanding innings which settled the issue about opening the innings. He has done a phenomenal job at the top of the order”. Rahul Dravid, leading the team in Ganguly’s absence in this Test, said “it was a fantastic effort, full of breathtaking shots — it was a privilege to watch the innings”. Laxman, whose record fell by the wayside, was equally effusive in his praise of Sehwag. “I am extremely pleased that Veeru has become the highest Test run-scorer for India. I always thought that he would do it because he scores so fast. But I am somewhat disappointed that he did not go past Hayden’s record,” Laxman said. — Agencies |
|
Slater
lavish in praise of Sehwag Multan, March 29 Slater, while praising Sehwag’s fantastic 309, described him as a “special player”. “His rate of scoring makes him a dangerous customer. The best thing about him is that he hits the ball when he wants. He has perfect timing and a brilliant bat flow. It is great that he got going on a top batting pitch but you have to hand it to him to keep his concentration despite getting a hundred early on in the innings. The best part of the innings was that he was not satisfied with a hundred and went on and on and on to get a big score,” Slater said. The Australian also compared Sehwag’s strokeplay to the great West Indian Viv Richards. “There are no techniques for these batsmen. Even the captains can’t say much about their batting technique,” he said. “Sehwag’s liking for scoring boundaries and his unremitting attitude to get a big score makes him a different batsman. He played so many shots despite waiting for the right ball to hit. He got going but never overdid it,” he added. Slater said Sehwag’s technique was the “reality of the way he plays his cricket”. “When you are naturally aggressive then you live and die by the sword. You play your natural game and win matches for your country. And the best way to silence critics is by scoring consistently and never changing. “I find shades of Mark Taylor and me in the opening pair of Akash Chopra and Sehwag. They play the same way as we did,” Slater said.
—UNI
|
|
Declaration surprises Tendulkar Multan, March 29 But the batting genius said it was the decision of the team management and he respected it since it was taken in the interest of the team. “It is disappointing not to have scored the double century. I was aware that the declaration was round the corner, but I was taken by surprise by the timing,” Tendulkar said after the second day’s play. India’s stand-in skipper Rahul Dravid declared the first innings at 675 for five immediately after Yuvraj Singh was dismissed with about one hour’s play left, leaving the master batsman stranded on 194. “Whatever has happened has happened. We were scoring at four runs an over which is a good strike rate in Test cricket, but I was not sure about the declaration,” said the 30-year-old who is now just one century short of equalling Sunil Gavaskar’s record of highest number of Test hundreds of 34. Asked whether he discussed the issue with the team management when he returned to the pavilion, Tendulkar said, “there was no need to talk. Once the decision is taken, it’s taken. Nobody can do anything. “At tea, we had a discussion in the dressing room and it was decided that we will play positively. I thought that we will give Pakistan a few overs to play late in the day. But I think they may have decided to do it a little earlier, so I was not aware,” he said. Asked whether his 34th century was round the corner, he said, “I don’t know where the corner is. Test cricket is a different game. I will try to play my normal game and not worry too much about these things. If it comes, it is good. “I am not thinking about going past Gavaskar’s record. It is important to keep these thoughts at home. What is necessary is to read what the bowler is doing,” he said. On whether India could clinch a memorable victory in this first Test between the arch-rivals in 15 years, the little master said, “It is going to be a long day’s work tomorrow. It is important that we continue to play like this. We have to keep the game tight and hope that the bowlers can take 20 wickets. The fielders would also have to support the bowlers”. Commenting on the pitch at the Multan Cricket Stadium, he said, “it is a good batting track. May be it will become slower on the fourth or fifth day. There are some patches which could break up. But the bowlers will have to really work hard to get 20 wickets on this surface”.
— PTI |
|
|
Tendulkar closer to century record Multan:
The Multan Test here is turning out to be a statistician’s delight as batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar inched closer towards the highest Test century record, presently held by another Indian great Sunil Gavaskar. With his 194 not out today, Sachin recorded his 33rd Test century and is breathing down Gavaskar’s neck with just one century short of the legendary opening batsman. Gavaskar took 125 Tests to record his 34 centuries while it took Sachin 112 Tests to score his 33rd ton. Prior to this Test, Sachin was tied with recently retired Australian skipper Steve waugh who registered 32 centuries in his 168 Tests. Among other contemporary players, West Indies captain Brian Lara has the most number of centuries, 24, after playing 104 Tests.
—
UNI
|
|
Pak media blasts pitch curator
Multan, March 29 Pakistan’s noted cricket columnist Omar Kureshi took a dig at Englishman Andy Atkinson for preparing a batsman-friendly pitch in his column in the daily ‘The Dawn’. “Do we need to import a curator to take us back in time to the wickets that we used to have in Faisalabad. Dennis Lillee had vowed never to tour Pakistan and Bishen Singh Bedi had wanted to be buried in it since it was a bowler’s graveyard. “Pakistan bowlers must have taken one look at it and abandoned hope,” he said. He also criticised Pakistan team management for misreading the pitch and including three seemers. “What was the point of playing Shabbir Ahmed and leaving out Danish Kaneria,” he asked in the report. Another daily ‘The News’ slammed the decision to remove the grass on the pitch before the start of the Test match. “No one is willing to say who was responsible for removing the little grass that was on the pitch on Friday and more interesting thing was the fact that captain Inzamam-ul-Haq said on record that he had asked for a supportive track which was not given to him.” “Coach Javed Miandad also declined to comment on who was responsible for having such a flat pitch prepared for the Test but stated one had to keep in mind that decisions were always taken with consensus,” the report said. One look at the pitch and even a layman will say it had nothing for the pacers but could offer some support to the spinners later on in the match. “Yet the Pakistan team management opted to play just one spinner in Saqlain and fielded four seamers including allrounder Abdul Razzaq,” it added. The Indians have also played just one spinner in Anil Kumble but at least they have the option of using Virender Sehwag and Yuvraj Singh which is not the case with the Pakistanis, the newspaper said. The Indians, electing to bat, made full use of the track to amass a huge first innings total with opener Virender Sehwag creating history by becoming the fist Indian to score a triple century. — PTI
|
|
Pathan, Balaji good for Indian cricket: Zaheer
Multan, March 29 Zaheer said the two bowlers have so far shown a lot of promise at the highest level for which he could afford to bowl first change in one-dayers in recent times. “I think their (Pathan and Balaji) emergence is a good sign for Indian cricket. Fast bowling is a tough job and I am happy that they have come through. They have worked hard and have to now sustain that level and keep improving,” Zaheer said. The 25-year-old pace bowler from Baroda, returning into the team after a gap of nearly two months because of a hamstring injury sustained during the Australian tour, said he knew the tour of Pakistan was “going to be tough” for him. “I knew it will be tough for me, coming back from injury. I had not played competitive cricket for two months and needed some time to get my rhythm back. “I am improving after every match and its just a matter of bowling more overs,” he explained. Zaheer struggled for his rhythm and proved to be quite expensive conceding as many as 291 runs in 45 overs during the five-match one-day series against Pakistan, completing his full quota of 10 overs just twice. “It’s tough to return from injury and play in one-dayers. The wickets had nothing to offer for the fast bowlers, it was a struggle,” said Zaheer, who has captured 82 wickets in 28 Tests for an average of 34.71. “Fast bowling is all about maintaining discipline and putting the ball in the right areas. Once you start doing that everything else will fall in place,” he said. On how he felt bowling first change in the one-day series, he said “it was a decision taken by the team management, and I respect it. The management felt that Pathan and Balaji could provide the initial breakthroughs and that’s why they have been given the new ball. Any fast bowler would like to open the bowling.” Zaheer said the first-ever one-day series triumph on Pakistan soil had dispelled the notion that the Indians were ‘chokers’ in crunch matches. “The last match of the series was a pressure game. We all played very well to win a one-day series in Pakistan for the first time. It is a great feeling as many had suggested that we are chokers.” On how he tried to adjust to conditions in Pakistan after bowling on bouncy tracks in Australia, he said “it’s all about maintaining discipline, that’s the most important thing on any track. You have to strive to do that. One-day cricket is a batsman’s game but the bowlers have just go out and give their best”. — PTI
|
|
Sidelights Multan, March 29 Imran probably signs as many autographs a day now as he did in his illustrious playing career, during which he led Pakistan from the front and helped create many records. These days he wears the national dress of Pakistan, salwar-kameez, smiles a little more than he did in his playing days and is more forthcoming in his views. What has, however, not changed is his forceful views on how to run Pakistani cricket. He is still critical of both the cricket administration and the team for playing reckless shots that led to the 2-3 defeat in the one-day Samsung Cup series that preceded the three-match Test series. *
There is an unofficial competition going on here to welcome the Indian and Pakistani cricket teams by various shops, business houses and sundry organisations as can be seen at every nook and corner of this dusty town. Huge banners welcoming the two “honourable guest teams and officials” line up the roads within the dusty city and the long one to the stadium, which is located in Makhdoom Rashid on the outskirt of the city. These banners are imaginatively done and vary in shapes and sizes. Even the barbershop at Holiday Inn, where the teams and officials are staying, has put up a welcome message on its glass doors, while the hotel has put up two huge posters of captains Sourav Ganguly and Inzamam-ul-Haq. But the idea does not seem to be wholly to greet the teams because these companies also publicise their products on these banners. *
More cases of people taking undue advantage of the unprecedented hospitality by Pakistanis are coming to light, five days after the fifth and final one-day international was played at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore Wednesday. Some people wearing T-shirts that indicated that they were Indians sneaked into the stadium after telling the security men on duty that were from Delhi and had no tickets, according to the daily Nation. Somehow, the security personnel allowed them inside, only to discover them cheering for Pakistan later during the day-night match that India won by 40 runs to clinch the Samsung Cup 3-2. A quick inquiry revealed that the fans were actually Pakistanis, who had gone to the stadium after probably learning that the actual Indian ticket holders had gone shopping and sight seeing.
— IANS |
|
Notes from Pakistan Pakistan’s young players have yet not come to terms with the defeat they suffered at the hands of India in the one-day series as Taufiq Umar says, “it still rankels in the mind, it hurts.” For Umar, it is more upsetting as he led the Pakistan ‘A’ which thrashed the Indians in the warm up match in Lahore on March 11. Umar’s own contribution in that match was 100 off 89 balls. Umar is very articulate in his views and is seen as future captain of the national side. Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Tauqir Zia feels that Umar has a bright future. “He is educated and balanced. He has all the making of a good captain.” Umar was included in the XI in place of Shahid Afridi for the last one-dayer at Lahore and he gave his side a flying start smashing three boundaries off Laxmipathi Balaji. However, Umar is sad that Pakistan lost to India. “I think we should have won,” but is candid enough to admit that he did not play well in that crucial match. “I should have stayed at the crease much longer thanm I did. I moved a bit too much. I was just too confident. The ball was coming onto the bat. I was stroking it well.” “My game plan was to dominate the Indian attack early on and dent the bowlers’ morale. If you can get on top early against them (the Indians) then you have the match won,” he said, adding that there was no pressure on him to perform. ”I don’t have to prove anything to anyone. I am confident,” he added. *
Pakistan’s chief pitch curator Andy Atkinson has
It was a “better innings” than Alec Stewart’s 190 against Pakistan in 1990, Atkinson said. “It was a fabulous innings, a very good knock,” Atkinson, who has been hired by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to prepare the pitches, told IANS. “I have seen some good innings in my life, and this was one of the best of the lot,” he said. “He played very straight and showed good temperament.” Atkinson compared Sehwag’s knock with former England captain-wicket-keeper Stewart’s 190 that he scored against Pakistan at Edgbaston in June 1992. “Sehwag’s knock was better than Stewart’s,” said Englishman Atkinson about the man who played 133 Tests for England between 1990 and 2003 and batted at various positions starting from opening the innings. On the Multan Cricket Stadium pitch, which some experts said was a batting paradise, Atkinson looked partly happy with his work for the first of the three Tests. *l In what can be called another goodwill gesture from the hosts, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has decided to felicitate a few former Indian greats during the last two Test matches at Lahore and Rawalpindi. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has already forwarded the names of the former cricketers that include Chandu Borde, Gundappa Vishwanath, Ajit Wadekar and Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi. “The Indian board has nominated their names and would be paying for their airfare. But we are responsible for providing them complete hospitality and it would be an honour for us to host them, “PCB Chief Executive Rameez Raja told reporters here on Friday. The former cricketers are expected to reach Pakistan for the last two Tests. — Agencies |
|
Ticket prices Multan: Concerned over the poor crowd turnout for the first Test in 15 years between the arch-rivals, the Pakistan Cricket Board has reduced the price of tickets by half to lure fans to the ground. In sharp contrast to the one-day series, which witnessed capacity crowd at all the five venues, the first day of the ongoing cricket Test here attracted barely 3000 spectators. The crowd response was even more disappointing on the second day today as less than 2000 spectators turned up at the Multan Cricket Stadium.— PTI |
|
SA-Kiwis Test set for close finish
Wellington, March 29 Kirsten, who will retire from Test cricket after this series, was 19 not out and his captain Graeme Smith 46 not out as South Africa reached 82 for three by stumps on the fourth day today. The visitor are chasing 234 for a win which will tie the three-test series. New Zealand must either take seven wickets or prevent South Africa from making the 152 runs they need for victory tomorrow to consolidate their 1-0 series lead and win a series against the Proteas for the first time. Stephen Fleming, New Zealand’s captain, described the match as an exhausting rollercoaster and his view was verified as fortunes rose and fell on a day delayed by rain and shortened by bad light. New Zealand was dismissed for 252 in their second innings after resuming at 128 for five and after trailing South Africa by 19 runs in the first innings. The target of 234 was an exacting one in a match dominated by bowlers and it became more so as New Zealand’s rediscovered hero Chris Martin claimed two of the three wickets which fell before stumps. Martin removed Hershcelle Gibbs for 16 when South Africa was 29 and Jacques Rudolph for 0 to leave them 31 for two. Jacob Oram chipped in the vital wicket of Jacques Kallis for one at 36 for three and the balance of the match, always tenuous, was again with New Zealand. Smith and Kirsten guided South Africa safely to stumps, drawn 45 minutes early because of bad light, and balanced the match even more delicately. “If they can get through the first hour without losing a wicket, they hold the advantage. Until then it’s even,” said New Zealand coach John Bracewell. “Bowlers have dominated the match so far but it’s a matter of us not going searching for wickets tomorrow, just keeping the intensity on.” The middle session of the fourth day belonged to the South African bowlers, particularly spinner Nicky Boje, who took four for 69, as they summarily claimed New Zealand’s last five wickets and end their innings. The last session belonged in part to Martin, the gangling right-armer who has taken 18 wickets, including three five-wicket bags, in slightly more than three innings in the series.
Scoreboard New Zealand (1st innings): 297. South Africa (1st innings): 316. New Zealand (2nd innings): (overnight 128-5) Papps lbw b Pollock 0 Richardson c Smith b Boje 37 Fleming c Boucher b Nel 9 Sinclair lbw b Pollock 21 Styris c & b Nel 73 McCullum b Boje 3 Cairns c van Jaarsveld
Oram lbw b Boje 40 Vettori c van Jaarsveld
Mason run out 0 Martin not out 1 Extras:
18 Total: (all out) 252 FoW: 1-1, 2-42, 3-73, 4-107, 5-111, 6-198, 7-201, 8-220, 9-224. Bowling:
Pollock 22-10-65-2, Ntini 20-6-50-1, Nel 21-5-58-2, Boje 33.2-7-69-4. South Africa (2nd innings): Smith not out 46 Gibbs c Fleming
Rudolph b Martin 0 Kallis lbw b Oram 1 Kirsten not out 19 Extras:
0 Total: (3 wkts, 30 overs) 82 FoW: 1-29, 2-31, 3-36. Bowling:
Martin 8-1-30-2, Mason 4-1-21-0, Oram 5-2-6-1, Cairns 5-1-8-0, Vettori 8-1-17-0.
— AP |
|
Mumbai set to retain title
Chennai, March 29 The competitive interest to the five-day contest was robbed the moment Mumbai took a big lead as Tamil Nadu, which had finished the day at 163 for three in their second essay, would be battling for pride to save the contest. With 156 runs still in arrears and seven wickets in hand, Mumbai skipper Sairaj Bahutule would be looking forward to press home the advantage to win the title for a record 36th time. Earlier, resuming at their overnight score of 513 for five, Mumbai lost their last five wickets for 50 runs in 13.5 overs to be bowled out for 613 in 200.5 overs. The moment the last night’s pair of Amol Muzumdar (146, 291 b, 462 m, 20x4, 1x6) and Sairaj Bahutule (92, 182 b, 227 m, 11x4, 2x6) were separated, the rest of the innings fell apart despite the lower order using the long handle effectively to propel the total. SCOREBOARD Tamil Nadu (first innings): 294 Mumbai (first innings): Mane c Kaarthick b Suresh 106, Jaffer c and b Suresh 133, Thakkar lbw Ganapathy 9, Muzumdar c Kaarthick b Ganapathy 146, Kambli c Srinivas b Ganapathy 55, Joglekar c Kaarthick b Badrinath 0, Bahutule c&b Vidyut 92, Kulkarni lbw Vidyut 4, Samant c Ramesh b Ramkumar 16, Patel c (sub) b Vidyut 10, Salvi not out 12. Extras: (b-6, lb-3, w-1, nb-20) 30. Total: 613 all out in 200.5 overs. Fall of wickets: 1-243, 2-257, 3-266, 4-379, 5-382, 6-563, 7-570, 8-576, 9-591, 10-613. Bowling:
C. Ganapathy 34-3-131-2, M.R.Srinivas 29-13-74-0, R. Ramkumar 38-8-106-1, S. Suresh 27-5-77-2, S. Vidyut 42.5-5-146-3, S. Sriram 11-2- 17-0, S. Badrinath 17-2- 51-2, Hemang Badani 2-0- 02-0. Tamil Nadu (IInd innings): Suresh c and b Bahutule 36, Vidyuth st Vinayak Samant b Kulkarni 70, Sriram st Samant b Bahutule 5, Ramesh (batting) 31, Badrinath (batting) 17. Extras:
(lb-2, nb-2) 4. Total: for three in 59 overs 163. Fall of wickets:
1-80, 2-94, 3-135. Bowling: Avishkar Salvi 7-0-23-0, Munaf Patel 5-0-20-0, Nilesh Kulkarni 21-1-48-1, Sairaj Bahutule 17-2-47-2, Vinayak Mane 4-1-12-0, Manoj Joglekar 5-0-11-0.
— UNI |
|
|
Colourful start to SAF Games
Islamabad, March 29 The Games was originally scheduled to be held here in 2001 but was postponed thrice because of various reasons, including attack on the American Trade Centre and the subsequent Afghan war. Welcoming athletes and officials to the mega event, President Musharraf, in his message said: “The Games stand for what is best in the human spirit. The commitment of all athletes competing in this Games is a fine example of dedication, tenacity and is an inspiration to us all.” As the President declared the meet open, ‘fireworks lit up the Islamabad night sky. Earlier, the opening ceremony began with playing of Pakistan’s national anthem and recitation from the Holy Quran. An ensemble of Pakistan’s military bands then heralded the parade of nations into the stadium and the 2000-strong rally of sportspersons from eight nations — Afghanistan, Bangaldesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Pakistan — entered the stadium with their respective national flags. Shooter Jaspal Rana was India’s flagbearer as he led the contingent into the stadium. Following the parade, students of a choir group sang the welcome song and noted Pakistani singer Hadiga Kiani enthralled the audience with a rendition of the song ‘It’s a nice day’. Besides swimming, the event where India is expected to excel most is shooting, India has arrived here with a 29-member shooting team. The spotlight would be on Olympian Jaspal Rana, Kuheli Ganguly and veteran Ashok Pandit. The shooting event will also see Ashok Pandit, who represented the country in as many as six world cups and as many Asian championship, competing with his own son, 18-year old Ronak Pandit, in Standard Fire, Centre Fire, Rapid Fire and Free Pistol individual events. Later both father and son would join Rana in the team event in the same four categories. India, which have won the volleyball title the last three occasions out of the total four times it was held, are favourite to win the gold this time as well. India will take on an unfancied Afghanistan in the inaugural match tomorrow at the Liaquat. Gymnasium here. Besides Afghanistan, India have been clubbed with Bangladesh and Maldives in group “A” while Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka have been placed in group “B”. After round robin league, two top teams from each group would play the semi-finals. — UNI
|
|
|
India favourite
in volleyball
Islamabad, March 29 With India and Pakistan sharing the top spot in the event since its addition to the Games in 1987, there is a possibility of a title clash between the arch-rivals. India have won the title on four occasions in 1987 (Kolkata), 1991 (Colombo), 1995 (Chennai) and 1999 (Kathmandu) while Pakistan clinched it twice - in 1989 in Islamabad and 1993 in Dhaka. Three matches will be played each day amongst the seven teams in fray with India, Bangladesh, Maldives and Afghanistan in group A and Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Nepal in group B. Riding high on their recent successes, India would be banking on the younger lot to defend the title. “We consider this game as a good chance for our players to get good exposure as India has tight schedule of international tournaments in the coming months,” coach G E Sreedharan said. The team: Subba Rao, Pradeep, Dinesh Kumar Singh, Abhijeet Bhattacharjee, S Srikanth, J Natrajan, Amir Singh, Tom Joseph, Sanjay Kumar, Ravikanth Reddy, Kapil Dev, Kulvant.
— PTI
|
|
Anand slips to joint 6th position
Monaco, March 29 After a debacle against Alexander Morozevich in the previous round, Anand did not try hard ahead of the second and final rest day, and as a result, both the games combined had just 40 moves in all. Top-seeded Vladimir Kramnik’s path to recovery continued as he shot in to sole lead defeating Loek van Wely of the Netherlands in both the games. After the eighth round, Kramnik has accumulated 11 points and is followed by Hungarian Peter Leko and Morozevich, who have 10 points apiece. Russian Evgeny Bareev and Vassily Ivanchuk of Ukraine are next in line with 9.5 points each while Anand slipped to joint sixth on nine points along with Russian champion Peter Svidler. Just three rounds remain in this Euros 193250 prize money tournament being played under incremental time controls of 10 seconds in rapid and 20 in blindfold.— PTI |
|
Phadke loses,
Archana advances
Mumbai, March 29 But it was a joyous
moment in the Indian camp when unseeded Archana Venkatraman advanced to the next round beating qualifier Jenny Broughall of Great Britain 6-2, 6-4. Sonal was no match for the Chinese and was broken twice before losing the first set 2-6. In the second set, the Chinese dominated completely and never allowed Sonal to bounce back. She won all the games before winning the second set at 6-0. On the other hand, barring the first game, Archana held all her services and broke Broughall in the fifth and seventh to take the first set 6-2. In the second set, Archana earned two early breaks for a 3-1 lead but the Briton broke back in the second and sixth games to level the scores at 3-3. Both held serve for 4-4 but the Indian earned a crucial break in the ninth for a 5-4 advantage before serving for the match. Results (Round 1): Kumiko Iijima (Jpn) b Ji Sun Ha (Kor) 6-1, 6-1; Archana Venkatraman (ind) b Jenny Broughall (GBR) 6-2, 6-4; Jie Hao (Chn) b Sonal Phadke (Ind) 6-2, 6-0; Yan Chong Chen (Chn) b Diana Julianto (Indonesia) 6-1, 6-2.
— PTI |
|
45 selected for
academy Sangrur, March 29 The list of players is: Athletics: Amrit Pal Singh, Satinder Singh, Pargat Singh, Sukhdev Singh, Malkeet Singh, Nirvair Singh, Amandeep Singh, Harinder Singh, Jaspal Singh, Sukhdev Singh, Jagdev Singh, Rajinder Kumar (For Sports School, Jalandhar). Judo: Sanjay Kumar, Rajnish Sharma, Hardeep Singh, Manpreet Singh, Parveen Kumar, Bhupinder Singh, Balwinder Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Sukhwinder Singh, Sukhwant Singh, Amit Kumar, Tejraj Awasthi. Weight lifting: Inderjit Singh, Manjit Singh. Lawn tennis: Gursher Singh, Satvir Singh. Hockey (group colleges): Ravinder Kumar, Mandeep Singh, Harjit Singh, Harsimran Singh, Gurteg Singh, Manjit Singh, Sarvjot Singh, Bodh Raj, Rupinder Singh, Balwant Singh, Manpreet Singh, Ikwinder Singh, Raj Gaurav Singh, Harpal Singh, Jaswinder Pal Singh, Sunil Kumar. |
|
Amandeep adjudged
best athlete Jalandhar, March 29 Earlier, the Vice-Chancellor of Punjab Technical University Dr S.K. Salwan formally inaugurated the sports festival. The proceedings of the sports festival was dominated by Amandeep Bhatti, who won gold medals in three events- discus throw (boys), shot put (boys) and javelin. In 400 m (Girls) event, Loveleen of Lovely Institute of Technology (LIT) bagged the first position, while Amandeep of Lovely Institute of Law (LIL) and Paramjit of Lovely Institute of Management (LIM) were adjudged second and third, respectively. Damanpreet Kaur of Lovely Institute of Education (LIE) won the first position in discuss throw (Girls) event, while Jaya and Paramjit of LIT were declared second and third, respectively. The president of Lovely Educational Trust Mr Ashok Mittal said that the outstanding sportspersons would be given scholarships. Results: 1500 m (boys): 1 Harbeer Singh (LIL), 2 Ajay Rana (LIT), 3 Amarjit Singh (LIT). Discus Throw (boys): 1 Amandeep Bhatti, 2 Mohit Garg, 3 Aman Thapar. Shot put (boys):
1 Amandeep Bhatti, 2 Sunil Dipit Vij, 3 Aman Thapar. Shot put (girls): 1 Jaya 2 Rajwinder, 3 Suruchi. Long Jump (boys): 1 Pankaj, 2 Sunny Passi, 3 Gurpreet Singh. Triple Jump (boys): 1 Amritpal Khaira, 2 Prithpla Bal, 3 Munish. Team event: Volleyball: Lovely Institute of Technology. Kho Kho: Lovely Institute of Technology. Table Tennis: Lovely Institute of Law. Badminton (boys): Lovely Institute of Management. Badminton (girls): Lovely Institute of Technology. Chess (boys): Lovely Institute of Pharmacy. Chess (girls): Lovely Institute of technology. |
| 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 | |
In video: Pakistan installs anti-aircraft guns ahead of SAF Games.
(
