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Pakistan to probe Shoaib’s injury Pak media heaps praise on India Kapil all praise for Balaji, Pathan Sania to spearhead Indian challenge in Fed Cup
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JCT aiming for revenge against Mohammedan Sporting
Aussies beat India, win hockey crown
Mediocre show mars circuit meet
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Pakistan to probe Shoaib’s injury
Islamabad, April 18 Sounding tough after a wave of media criticism denouncing Akhtar for refusing to bowl after he sustained a wrist and rib injury on the second day of the Test match, PCB chairman Shaharyar Khan today said a special medical committee would be constituted to inquire and determine whether the injuries were serious enough. “I have taken serious notice of this lack of commitment to national honour and want to interview each potentially offending player to inquire the reasons for not upholding the team morale. I want to make it crystal clear that any player who is found incapable or unwilling to give 150 per cent for team morale and national honour will have no place in the Pakistan team,” Shaharyar said in a statement issued today. “I have decided to set up a medical inquiry committee to report on Shoaib Akhtar’s injury as also the large number of injured players who have depleted and undermined Pakistan’s cricketing strength,” he said. “On the completion of the media committee’s report and on receipt of the responses from certain players, I shall after consulting the advisory panel, the Chief Executive and the management, decide on disciplinary action, if any, that is to be taken,” said Shahryar, a former Pakistan foreign secretary. He said while young batsman Asif Kamal made a “courageous” attempt to bat despite an injury suffered during fielding, “there were others who patently failed the test by their carefree, unprofessional approach in Pakistan’s second innings.” The PCB chief said the committee, to be announced by PCB Chief Executive Ramiz Raja later this week, will be headed by a senior orthopaedic consultant. Akhtar, nicknamed Rawalpindi Express, withdrew in the midst of an impressive bowling spell during which he got the prize wickets of Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman. But soon he fell down while delivering a faster delivery in his 22nd over and withdrew after complaining of severe pain in the left-hand. He then opted not to bowl on the crucial third day, during which the Indian batsmen piled up a mammoth total of 600 runs to set the stage for the big win. Undaunted by the criticism, Akhtar came to bat on the fourth day, with Pakistan in a hopeless position, and entertained the crowd with few lusty blows. His free hitting made skipper Inzamam-ul-Haq and the local media to ask what prevented him from bowling on the previous day. But Shoaib shot back at the critics saying there was a world of difference between bowling and batting and reiterated that he was not fit enough to bowl. — PTI
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Pak media heaps praise on India
Islamabad, April 18 “There is no doubt that the present Indian side is the strongest ever with an awesome batting line-up,” ‘The Dawn’ wrote. “In bowling, young and relatively inexperienced Irfan Pathan and Lakshmipathy Balaji proved to be more than a match for Pakistan with their medium pace. And in fielding, India, more often than not, reached the very highest international standards. “Taken everything together, India were a far better side than their hosts and deserved to win. This indeed was their finest hour,” it said. “The vanquished must have the courage to acclaim the victors who won fair and square”, the paper said. The newspaper said but for the miscalculation by Rahul Dravid in opting to bowl on a green wicket in Lahore, India could have won the series 3-0. ‘The Nation’ in its article titled “It’s time for heads to roll” said the twin series loss was no different from the ignominious defeat in last year’s World Cup after which several top players like Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis were “forced to retire.” It called for removal of coach Javed Miandad and Manager Haroon Rashid, both of whom, it accused, are responsible for “devastating” Pakistan cricket. ‘The Nation’ also accused PCB chief Shaharyar Khan of promoting Indo-Pak bonhomie at the cost of the fortunes of the national team and asked for former cricketers like Imran Khan to be given the task of running the board. ‘The Daily Times’ in its editorial said Pakistan team’s inability to fight back when the chips were down was a “remarkably depressing development” that came to the fore during the series. “They (Pakistan cricketers) just lay down and allowed the Indians to walk all over them. Imran Khan had instilled a fighting, never-say-die streak into the team that continued to shine under Wasim Akram.” “The other tragedy”, according to the paper, was the lack of spirit in Inzamam’s captaincy. “We still don’t have a true captain to write home about. We have experimented with several and each has been a bigger disaster than the first,” it said. “We have more than eleven good players but we don’t have a team and therefore we don’t see evidence of any team spirit or esprit de corps. The PCB should focus on finding solutions to these two problems. Until then, the Pakistani eleven will continue to languish at the bottom of the league and the crowds will not return to the grounds,” it said. — PTI
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Kapil all praise for Balaji, Pathan CHENNAI:
Legendary all-rounder Kapil Dev on Sunday expressed hope that the Indian new ball pair of Laxmipathy Balaji and Irfan Pathan would maintain their fitness levels to help the country garner more laurels in world cricket. Kapil Dev, renowned for his prowess in swing bowling and known for an injury-free career during his playing days, expressed happiness over Sourav Ganguly-led Indian team’s historic series win in Pakistan. “I am impressed with the whole team’s performance and more so the way both Balaji and Pathan shone well with the ball, taking vital wickets which helped the team’s positive approach,” he said.
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Sania to spearhead Indian challenge in Fed Cup New Delhi, April 18 The Group II ties will also be held simultaneously with the Group I matches. The draw ceremony was held at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in the morning, with the President, Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, picking out the draw of lots. India have effected a late change in the team, with Manisha Malhotra replacing an injured Isha Lakhani. Rushmi Chakravarty and Ankita Bhambri are the other members of the team, with former Davis cupper Enrico Piperno as the non-playing captain. India have been placed in the tough pool B in Group I, along with second-seeded Indonesia, third-seeded Korea, Uzbekistan and Chinese Taipei while pool A consists of top-seeded Thailand, China, the Philippines and fourth-seeded New Zealand. It will be a tough task for India to retain their place in the Asia/Oceania Qualifying Group I, though the hosts nurse the ambition of moving into the World Group. Though India enjoy the ‘home advantage’, it will be a tall order for the hosts to tame the likes of Indonesia and Korea, though a lot of faith has been invested on Sania Mirza to pull off the rabbit from the hat. India are scheduled to meet Chinese Taipei in their opening match tomorrow, though the Taipei team are expected to reach Delhi late in the evening. Indonesia will take on Uzbekistan in the other match of the opening day. Indonesia have brought their star player, Angelique Widjaja, who is ranked No 98 on the WTA list.
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JCT aiming for revenge against Mohammedan Sporting Chandigarh, April 18 With the threat of relegation looming large following successive defeats, Mohammedan Sporting know that any further damage may prove fatal and coach Jamshed Nasiri's priority will thus be to ward off defeat. A draw may perhaps be his immediate aim but victory will certainly be a bonus for the struggling outfit, who are playing in the national league for the first time since its inception. The glamour outfit, with a chequered history, was one of the India's top outfits some decades back and was considered at par with Mohun Bagan and East Bengal. However, the club gradually slipped from the pedestal of glory, making way for Tollygunge. As the second team to enter the national league through qualification from the second division last season, Mohammedan Sporting were dogged by controversy when coach Shankar Moitra quit his job and former Iranian star Jamshed Nasiri took over under trying circumstances. However, the club failed to make much headway and is today precariously placed at the 11th position. Incidentally, the last two teams get relegated from the NFL every year. Out of 18 matches, Mohammedan Sporting have won only four. They have beaten Tollygunge Agragami 1-0, Indian Bank 1-0 and Churchill Brothers 2-0 but the most impressive showing was against JCT whom they beat 3-1 at Kolkata on January 19. They have drawn six matches and lost eight. In the previous round, they lost to East Bengal 0-3. Despite the lacklustre showing, Mohammedan Sporting's strength cannot be under-estimated. In Gumpe Rime, they have an experienced goalkeeper while Nigerian recruit Okoli Onyeka Odafa and Hossain Mustafi lend strength to the defence. T. Bongo Singh, formerly of Salgaocar, is an established midfielder while the attack is spearheaded by another Nigerian, Edeh Chidi, the club's most prolific scorer this season. Among other notable faces in the Kolkata outfit are forwards Dipendu Biswas, Sheikh Sanjib and Syed Rahim Nabi although players like Amjad Ali Khan have also been among the scorers. When JCT lost to Mohammedan Sporting in the away match, Syed Rahim Nabi had scored a brace while the third goal was scored by Dipendu Biswas. For JCT, tomorrow's tie assumes significance since it will not only provide an opportunity to the mill men to avenge the earlier humiliation but also to consolidate their position in the league's decisive phase. The absence of star international IM Vijayan will surely be felt and attacking medio Joe Paul Ancheri will have to shoulder added responsibility in the midfield and attack. Right winger Jaswinder, forward Baldip, Harvinder and Manjit have shown promise in the attack though they were not at their best in the previous outing against Tollygunge. Nigerian striker Stephan Abarowei may play an important role in bolstering the attack. In the defence, stopper backs KV Dhanesh and Musa Aliu besides wing back Daljit Singh will have to be extra vigilant while goalkeeper Mansuru Mohammed will have to be on the guard against the marauding Mohammedan Sporting forwards. A slight lapse of concentration can prove costly as in the previous tie and the team management knows that nothing less than an outright victory can keep their club in the top bracket. The kick-off is at 6.30 pm.
The following are the latest standings of the teams in the eighth National Football League after taking into account the result today’s match in Goa (read under teams, matches played, won, drawn, lost, goals for, goals against, and points) : Teams P W D L GF GA Pts. East Bengal 18 12 4 2 30 10 40 Dempo 19 9 9 1 20 9 36 Mahindras 18 10 3 5 28 18 33 Churchill 18 8 5 5 26 21 29 JCT 18 7 6 5 19 20 27 Haywards 18 7 5 6 29 25 26 Vasco SC 18 5 8 5 19 17 23 Salgaocar 19 6 4 9 20 21 22 M. Bagan 18 5 4 9 17 20 19 Tollygunge 18 4 6 8 14 20 18 Mohd.
Sport. 18 4 6 8 16 29 18 Indian Bank 18 1 2 15 12 40 5
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Aussies beat India, win hockey crown Canberra, April 18 Indian coach Rajinder Singh believed the injuries dictated the way his team played but took some positives from the tournament. Harpal Singh played 21 minutes of the second half in place of Kanwalpreet at full back and is also a prospect for Olympic selection for India. India held Australia to a 1-0 lead through Travis Brooks field goal four minutes before the break. India continued to play defensively in the second half and applied the fast break on Australia’s third penalty corner to have Arjun Halappa shoot wide of goal when he had Gagan Ajit Singh in place in the middle of the circle. Troy Elder created Australia’s second goal for Michael McCann unmarked near the left post, before Andrew Smith added a third. Earlier, South Africa defeated Malaysia 2-1 to clinch third place. South Africa outplayed Malaysia in the first quarter with Greg Nicol converting South Africa’s first penalty corner.
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Mediocre show mars circuit meet Patiala, April 18 The spotlight today was on Kerala’s K.M Binu, who put on a superb show in the 400m during the season’s first circuit meet held in New Delhi last week. However, for reasons best known to him and his coaches, Binu skipped the 400m today and instead opted for the 800m where he returned a timing of 1:47.89, which however turned out to be quite far away from the National record of 1:45.77, set by ace athlete of yesteryear Sriram Singh way back in 1976. The other notable performance came from discuss thrower Neelam J Singh. She managed to heave the discus to a distance of 59.08m, considerably less than the national record of 64.55. The men’s quarter mile event saw Bhupender Singh reigning supreme by nipping in the bud the formidable challenge put up by Satbir Singh and P.Ramachandran. Bhupender fumbled at the start but recovered in style near the bend to clock 46.12s to take the first spot. Results: 4 x100m relay (women): AAFI (A) (Rajwinder Kaur, Chitra, S.Geeta, Manjit Kaur)-1, AAFI (B) (J.J Shobha, Kalpana, Sagardeep Kaur, Jincy Philips)-2. Hammer throw (women): Ritu Rani -1 (53.68m), Rajwinder Kaur -2 (52.71m), Sarabjit Kaur -3 (48.91m). Discus (women); Neelam J Singh-1 (59.08m), Harwant Kaur- 2 (58.53m), Seema Antil -3 (58.39m). High jump (women): Sahana Kumari -1 (1.78m), P.Aiyappa -2 (1.65m), J.J Shobha -3 (1.60m). 200m (men): P.Anil Kumar -1 (21.16s), Nagraj B.G - 2 (21.39s), Vilas Nalgude -3 (21.49s). 400m (men): Bhupender Singh- 1( 46.12s), Satbir Singh -2 (46.37s), P.Ramachandran -3 (46.40s). 800m (men): K.M Binu -1 (1:47.89s), Rajeev R -2 (1:54.66s), J.P Patel -3 (1;55.71s). Triple jump (men): Amarjeet Singh - 1 (16.04m), Maha Singh -2 (15.43m), Bhupinder Singh- 3 (15.11m). Shot put (men): Navpreet Singh- 1 (19.58m), Shakti Singh -2 (19.43m), Bahadur Singh -3 (19.28m). |
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Islamabad, April 18
