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India outplay Pakistan, lift Asia Cup
Asians can win at Athens, says AHF secretary Shoaib medical report could embarrass PCB Multan declaration was a mistake, |
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Kale case: BCCI to hold more meetings
England bowlers no
longer ‘pie throwers’ Editorial: Cricket
pension
Popov fails in bid for top Russian post
Maradona starts walking towards recovery No comeback on cards: Graf Bagan hold JCT to a goalless draw Chowrasia on top of Order of Merit Anurudh, Sabrina emerge winners
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India outplay Pakistan, lift Asia Cup
Karachi, April 29 Khandekar, one of the most promising players in Indian hockey, and Sandeep Singh, who scored two goals, helped India win the first match between the two sides on Pakistani soil in five years. With the win India also took a giant step towards defending their world junior title next year at Amstelveen, (The Netherlands). Khandekar’s strikes came in the 22nd, 38th, 44th minutes while Sandeep Singh scored in the 31st and 61st minute. Pakistan pulled back two goals after India led 4-0 but spurned two golden chances and a couple of penalty corners in the last 20 minutes. Their goals came through Tariq Aziz (45th) and penalty corner expert Imran Warsi (47th) in the second half. India were tight in their defence and purposeful in attack which in the end reaped rich dividends for the team. Khandekar’s all three strikes were field goals where as Sandeep Singh, the highest scorer in the tournament with 16 goals, scored both his goals through perfectly placed drag flicks. Earlier, defending Junior Asian champions South Korea beat Malaysia 2-1 in a hard fought match to finish third and gained the last berth for the World Cup. The first half of the final saw play mostly confined to the midfield although both the sides made some forays in between. India worked hard to break the Pakistan defence on a few occasions and whenever they got some space inside the circle, they fully utilised the opportunity to test the Pakistani goalkeeper. A glaring error on the part of a Pakistani defender, who failed to clear a Vivek Gupta shot from outside the ‘D’, helped India take the lead as Khandekar tapped the ball to the left of the hapless goalkeeper. The goal came just a minute after Virendra Lakra’s shot to an open post was stopped on the line by the custodian. Pakistan also made some attempts on the Indian goal but were denied by an alert defence and goalkeeper Adrian D’Souza. The hosts also frittered away two chances from penalty corners with prolific scorer Imran Warsi failing to sound the board. India, on the other hand, capitalised from the lone penalty corner they received in the first half, with Sandeep Singh beating the Pakistan goalie comprehensively with his drag flick. India, who went to the half-time with a 2-0 lead, soon made it 3-0 with Khandekar’s goal. In the 38th minute the winger converted a V.S. Vinay’s brilliant pass into the goal while Singh’s rasping drive was deflected inside the cage by a defender in the 44th minute. Pakistan hit back with two quick goals in a great style and came close to restore parity. Aziz scored from the right in the 45th minute and then two minutes later Warsi made it 4-2 with a carpet drive. Deflections from captain Shakil Abbasi and Aziz went over the post and winger Akhtar Ali also missed an easy chance to add to home team’s woes. India, who won the junior World Cup in Hobart, Australia in 2001, sealed the fate of the match with Sandeep Singh’s second goal. A jubiliant Indian side was given a standing ovation by the home fans as they received gold medals and trophy from Asian Hockey Federation President Sultan Azlan Shah of Malaysia. — PTI
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Asians can win at Athens, says AHF secretary
Karachi, April 29 Alagendra said the three top sides in the continent — India, Pakistan and South Korea — had been training and preparing hard for the event and all had a chance of winning the Olympic title at Athens. “We are confident that one of the three men’s team — India, Pakistan and South Korea — can bring Olympic glory back to Asia and are ready to take the Europeans head on,” said Alagendra after AHF’s 40th council meeting here. The AHF meeting was held on the sidelines of the 10-nation fifth junior Asia Cup currently being held in Karachi. Pakistan last won the Olympic title in 1984 while Korea finished runners-up to the Netherlands in the Sydney Olympic four years ago. The Netherlands have won the last two Olympic titles in Atlanta 1996 and Syndey in 2000. “Malaysia have missed out but we have India who have won eight Olympic titles, Pakistan with three Olympic gold and South Korea who has been doing well at international level in the last 10 years,” said the AHF secretary. “We have China, Japan and South Korea representing Asia in the women’s event of the Athens Olympics and we hope and pray that they do well in the event for it would be very helpful for us to promote the sport in Asia,” Alagendra said. The AHF also announced the programme of the AHF events for the next two years. “We have decided to hold Asia’s first-ever indoor hockey tournament in Iran from November 26 to December 1 this year. “The AHF also decided that Hyderabad or New Delhi will stage junior women’s Asia Cup in October-November this year and a four-nation Asian event in Gifu, Japan, next month which will see India, Japan, China and South Korea and will be competed by both men and women,” he said. The four-nation event will be held from May 1 to May 18 this year. “To cope with the
modern changes in field hockey we have decided to hold Asia’s first-ever indoor event in Iran for which we hope to get good response from member countries,” said the AHF secretary. He also announced that the senior Asia Cup could not be held in 2005 and was postponed until 2008 or later. “As per the FIH (International Hockey Federation) rules a World Cup qualifying tournament cannot be staged earlier than 31 months and not later than 12 months so we have postponed the Asia Cup,” he said. India, on account of winning the fifth Asia Cup in Malaysia last year, have already qualified for the 2005 World Cup in Germany. The AHF
secretary said the federation was putting a lot of emphasis on the Asian Games in Doha, Qatar. “Our main emphasis is on the 2006 Asian Games and we are talking with the Doha
organisers after the sport is confirmed for both men and women,” said
Alagendra, adding that, “the Asian Games hockey event is our top-most event so we want to hold it in a befitting manner.” Besides the annual events, the AHF also announced the inclusion of field hockey in the fourth East Asian Games to be held in Macau in October-November next year. “The
organisers of the East Asian Games have agreed to give us events in both men and women and we are now endeavouring to include hockey in the South Asian Federation Games as well which was overlooked this year,” he said. The AHF has also chalked out a five-year development programme for women’s hockey. “The task force on women’s hockey has chalked out a comprehensive plans for women’s hockey in Asia and we are determined to improve upon the number of teams, developing and grooming women’s coaches and umpires for both men and women’s events.” Alagendra said the AFC had not received any information on Indian hockey player Tejbir Singh’s dope test during the Olympic qualifiers in Madrid. “Since the Olympic
qualifiers was an FIH event we have not received any detail on any Indian player testing positive but if we get the case through the FIH we will deal the matter as per the requirements.”
— PTI |
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Shoaib medical report could embarrass PCB
Islamabad, April 29 The controversial speedster underwent scans at the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Hospital yesterday and reports indicated swelling in the rib. “The scans have proved the truth that I did not feign injury during the match. I have swelling on the 11th rib,” Shoaib was quoted as saying in local daily ‘The Nation’. “I have always done justice to my job and given my 110 per cent. I had a fall during bowling in the first innings and I injured my hand as well as my back. I informed about my injury to the captain and the manager,” he said. The daily said the four-member medical inquiry panel had detected the injury, and if it is officially confirmed, it could turn out to be a major embarrassment for top PCB officials including its Chairman Shaharyar Khan. The injury in Shoaib’s rib was confirmed by sources close to the commission. Asked about how he managed to bat on the fourth day of the Test if he was really injured, Shoaib said bowling requires a run-up from 40-yards and delivering the ball with certain force while batting involves less strain. “During bowling the whole body has to be pushed very hard but the case of batting is different and before batting I had taken some pain killers,” he said. He also denied any differences with skipper Inzamam-ul Haq, who had questioned his sincerity, and said: “We play for our country not for personal gains.” All-rounder Abdul Razzak, who had also appeared before the medical commission yesterday, told reporters that he would not play in the English county season in view of the injury and take a month’s rest instead. “I am feeling 70 per cent fit now although I have started light training. I will go all out for bowling practice from next week. I will not be travelling to play in the English county this year and will be staying with the team,” he said adding that he had explained about his injury to the commission. Meanwhile, Shoaib’s former coach Sabih Azhar has given his charge the clean chit. “I know him since he was a child and I can tell you that he will never feign an injury,” said Azhar, who now coaches the Rawalpindi team. “He has won us many matches from hopeless situations and I can tell you he is hard working and will never shy away from a challenge. Although I haven’t met him for long, I am sure injury would have forced him out. Otherwise, it is hard to believe that he would do such a thing.” — PTI
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Latif comes to Shoaib’s rescue
Islamabad, April 29 “Shoaib has played a lot with me and also under my captaincy. I have not known him to run away from challenges when playing for Pakistan. In fact I don’t think any player while playing for the country can fake injuries as everyone wants to perform to the best of his ability for his country,” Latif was quoted as saying in ‘The News’. Latif said in the past he had seen Shoaib bowl with injuries to help the team win matches. “In 1998 in South Africa when I was captain I witnessed Shoaib playing in the series even though his knees had developed fluid and before every game Doctor Dan Kiesel used to drain out the fluid with syringes so that he could play.” The wicketkeeper said from his experience he knew Shoaib could be difficult to handle at times and had attitude problems occasionally but he had never let the team down. “So if there is talk now that he deliberately let the team down by not bowling on the third day of the final Test, then the board needs to find out what are the causes that might have led to such circumstances or allegations,” he said adding that it would be wrong to blame individual players for the defeat to India in the recent Test series. “To blame anyone in particular or a few individuals for the defeat is not fair. Pakistan had problems against a very good and well-knitted side. The board needs to get to the bottom of such things,” said the outspoken player. Meanwhile, former Test opener and Pakistan captain Saeed Anwar said in his opinion Pakistan team had all the required ingredients and the players just needed right mental approach. Talking to journalists, he said proper grooming of talent and international exposure would certainly develop youngsters into good players. He said Taufeeq Umer and Imran Farhat were a great opening pair but their performance against India was very disappointing. Anwar also said untested openers — Muhammad Hafeez and Salman Butt — should be groomed as openers.
— PTI |
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Multan declaration was a mistake, says Ganguly
New Delhi, April 29 The Indian captain, who did not play in the Multan Test because of an injury, also made it clear that the declaration issue was a closed chapter and said as far as he was concerned it was a "non-issue". "Much has been said and written on this subject and not all of it was accurate or in good taste. The media and some people need an issue to talk but as far as I am concerned it was a non-issue. "In the Sydney Test we declared with Rahul (Dravid) in the 90's. As far as I am concerned this incident of Multan is a chapter closed. We are all mature people and know that sometimes we all make mistakes." Ganguly also said that Yuvraj Singh is the opener for the future for India and he had spoken to him in this regard. "Let me make one thing clear: Yuvraj is the opener for the future. I have spoken to him in this regard. He is too good a batsman to sit out and we have backed him ahead of S. Ramesh for precisely this reason." The Indian captain said Aakash Chopra had a lot of potential but he needed to bat more positively and convert the good starts into big scores. "He bats with patience and that is his game. Nothing wrong with it but for his own good he has to change his style... I know he plays the tough part well by taking on the new-ball bowlers but he needs to build on those starts with substantial scores." Asked what he felt made the present team different from the past sides, he said: "We have some exceptionally talented players and we have managed to groom them. The commitment level is high and work ethics are there for you to see... the support group has played its role in the improvement and I must say the role played by (coach) John Wright has been outstanding." Ganguly also said that seniors in the team had made his job easy although he did have some problems with now retired medium pacer Javagal Srinath. "The seniors have made by job easy. I had a few problems with Srinath. He had his own views on certain aspects of our approach but then his intentions were always to serve the team better. Believe me, the seniors in the team have been my strength." — PTI
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Kale case: BCCI to hold more meetings Kolkata, April 29 "No decision has been taken today as we need to hold a few more meetings for hearing some witnesses," BCCI President Jagmohan Dalmiya told PTI immediately after the first meeting of the committee. Asked when the next meeting would be held, he said, "it will be decided later." Kale, who appeared before the three-member committee today, however, expressed confidence that he would prove his innocence in the bribery charges against him saying, "I am confident that I will come out clean whatever be the accusations against me." Apart from Dalmiya the other members of the committee are the two Vice-Presidents of the board, Kamal Morarka and Ranbir Singh Mahendra. Kale has been accused of allegedly offering Rs 10 lakh as bribe to two national selectors — Kiran More (west) and Pranab Roy (east) — for a berth in the Australia-bound Indian cricket team last November. Roy and More also appeared before the meeting, which heard Kale's reply to the show cause issued against him after an earlier one-man inquiry committee found 'prima facie' material against him. Kale was suspended by the board on November 21 last year on the basis of the complaint by More and Roy.
— PTI |
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Harare, April 29 Sri Lanka won the match by 25 runs, the master off spinner completing figures of five for 23 to help restrict Zimbabwe to 221 for nine in reply to the touring side's 246 for seven. Russel Arnold top-scored for Sri Lanka with a fluent 51 off as many deliveries including five fours and a six, while opener Brendan Taylor contributed 74 for Zimbabwe. Sri Lanka struggled to build momentum on the a pitch, relying on steady rather than spectacular batting from Marvan Atapattu and Mahela Jayawardene following the dismissal of Saman Jayantha. Scores: Sri Lanka 246 for 7 in 50 overs; Zimbabwe 221 for 9 in 50 overs. — Reuters
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England bowlers no longer ‘pie throwers’
London, April 29 A random poll of English cricket fans delivered two complementary reactions. Nobody knew exactly what pie throwers were. Everybody realised they were somehow irresolute, possibly effeminate and decidedly un-Australian. The phrase has lingered, echoing England’s continuing failure to win the Ashes back from the bronzed marauders who arrive every four years to demonstrate a contemptuous supremacy at the summer game of the British Empire. Times change. Marsh is now director of the English national academy. He is also markedly upbeat about the present depth and quality of fast bowling in England. Marsh expresses particular enthusiasm about the potential of Sajid Mahmood, who proved outstanding on the England A tour to India this year. “I will be exceptionally surprised if Sajid doesn’t play for England,” he told The Guardian. “He has all the attributes of a fast bowler. He bowled superbly with controlled line, length and pace.” With Steve Harmison at the helm, England’s top line fast bowlers conquered the Caribbean this year, mercilessly battering, bruising and dismissing the current crop of West Indies batsmen in a 3-0 series victory. Harmison, as fast, awkward and accurate as England’s last genuinely world class fast bowler Bob Willis, was a revelation. But whereas Willis lacked support of equivalent pace, with the exception of John Snow early in his career, Harmison was supported by Simon Jones and Andy Flintoff, each bowling consistently around 90 miles an hour. Ninety kilometres separates the men from the pie throwers, as Marsh knows better than anyone after years of intercepting thunderbolts from Dennis Lillee and Jeff Thomson. Now England have three men capable of high pace and more waiting in the wings with Mahmood the pick of the crop. “India was a good place to learn,” Mahmood said. “We have to bowl on slow tracks and learn about line and length, not just pace. I think I am a more complete bowler now. I run and think about what I am doing rather than just bowling.” Once, according to folklore, English selectors found their fast bowlers by hollering down coal mines, recruiting likely lads desperate to escape the horrors underground. Now, as with Mahmood, they are starting to tap into the still largely unexplored pool of Asian and Caribbean talent. Sometimes in sport, as in life, what goes around, comes around, as England showed in the Caribbean when they avenged their 1980s humiliations by the West Indies’ pace merchants. If their fast bowlers stay fit and focused, the England and Wales Cricket Board’s ambition to field the best side in the world in three years’ time seems attainable. — Reuters
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Popov fails in bid for top Russian post
Moscow, April 29 Popov lost despite receiving heavy backing from several top Russian sports officials, including IOC Vice-President Vitaly Smirnov, President of the Russian Olympic Committee Leonid Tyagachyov and Sports Minister Vyacheslav Fetisov. ''It was a good learning experience for me,'' said Popov, who in a separate vote was elected first Vice-President of the RSF. ''I have had plenty of experience as an athlete and today I also learned about the tricky world of sports politics.'' Meanwhile, Alyoshin was in conciliatory mood.
''It will only make Russian swimming better and stronger if we, Alexander and myself, would work hand in hand,'' he said. In his election campaign, Popov, among the greatest swimmers of all time, promised sweeping changes in Russian swimming, including giving a huge financial boost to the sport. ''We're in dire need for a change,'' said the 32-year-old, who won an unprecedented 50 and 100 metres freestyle double at the 1992 and 1996 Olympics. Popov, who will attempt a similar feat at this year's games in Athens, said on the eve of the election: ''I have been in the sport at the top level since 1991 and little has changed since then. I think it's time to change our approach as to how our sport is being run.'' One swimming official, however, said he was not surprised with the outcome of the election. ''I don't think the majority of our sports officials are ready for such a change just yet,'' said one federation member, who wanted to remain anonymous. ''It may take a few more years.''
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Maradona starts walking towards recovery
Buenos Aires, April 29 The 43-year-old has been in hospital for 11 days after being taken ill with heart and lung problems. His fans have kept a constant vigil outside, some chanting and others praying aloud for his recovery. ''He has been able to walk inside his room,'' the Suizo-Argentina clinic said in a statement yesterday. ''(He) continues to be stable with progressive improvement in the state of his heart and lungs. ''He is without fever, the only medication still administered intravenously are antibiotics and the rest of the medication is taken orally. He continues to eat normally.'' Maradona's health is a vast improvement from a few days ago, when he was in a critical condition, heavily sedated and on an artificial respirator. The former World Cup winner's family doctor Alfredo Cahe raised his thumb in the air as he left the clinic on Wednesday, saying: ''He's okay.'' Maradona's official website said he had even joked with his doctors on Tuesday night about letting him watch the Argentine national side play Morocco in a friendly international yesterday afternoon. Argentine Football Association head Julio Grondona, meanwhile, has offered Maradona a role as ambassador for the sport once he has recovered. ''For a man like him, of his popularity, his charisma with people and his place in world football, there is no limit to what he can do,'' Grondona told daily newspaper Clarin. Maradona, one of the most gifted players in the game's history, was rushed to hospital on April 18 with a swollen heart and breathing difficulties after watching his former club Boca Juniors, where he owns a VIP box. Doctors later said he also had pneumonia. Maradona, who has been undergoing a drugs rehabilitation programme in Cuba since 2000, returned to Argentina in March. He has put on so much weight he is barely recognisable from his playing days. — Reuters
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No comeback on cards: Graf
Los Angeles, April 29 “That’s not going to happen. That would take a lot of time away from my children and I would not do that.” Graf, who spoke on a conference call yesterday to discuss her induction in July to the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island, said with two children — two-year-old son Jaden and six-month-old daughter Jaz — she had little time for tennis. “Actually I didn’t play for almost a year,” she said. “Just in the last few weeks I picked up the racquet here and there. “I still love it,” added Graf. “I love to be out there and hit around and have fun.” Even so, Graf said, she doesn’t plan to join her husband in a mixed doubles dream team. “Extremely slim,” Graf said of the chances of such a possibility, which had been put forward by Agassi in 2003 before the couple knew they were expecting
Jaz. “Extremely, extremely slim.” Graf, who won 22 Grand Slam titles, married Agassi in October 2001. She retired from tennis in 1999 following her sixth win at the French
Open. Agassi is one of only five men to have won all four Grand Slam singles titles — Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open.
— AFP |
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Bagan hold JCT to a goalless draw Ludhiana, April 29 The visitors dominated the proceedings in the initial moments of the match as they exhibited better control at midfield which resulted in some good moves. However, they failed to translate the chances into goals. After making some frantic forays into the JCT's citadel, the maroon-green brigade of Kolkata forced first flag kick in the sixth minute. But Brazilian, Reberio Eduardo's angular shot went off the goalpost. The millmen made their first serious attempt in the 19th minute when Joe Paul Anchery gave a parallel pass to Jaswinder Singh in the danger zone but his powerful grounder landed into custodian Prasanta Dora's hands. Midway through the first half, JCT's Jaspal Singh weaved a good move, managed to hoodwink rival's defence, gave the ball to Sukhjinder Singh whose header missed the target just by inches. In the second session, JCT player were distinctly unlucky not ot open their account as the Mohun Bagan players were yet to settle down. Stephen Abarowei and Baldeep Singh ran down the left flank and pierced through the visitors' defence line. In the striking circle, Jaswinder Singh took control of the ball. His sizzling shot hit the upper bar and subsequently Baldeep's header too went aside. The later half of the second session witnessed some rough play by the players of both the sides which forced the refree to show yellow card to three of them. Sukhwinder Singh, coach of the JCT team expressed hope that his team could still finish among the first four, whereas Subrata Bhattacharya of Mohun Bagan was appreciative of his boys saying that they played well to contain their opponents. Now, JCT will play their next match against Salgaocar SC at Goa on May 5 and wind up their engagements after the match against Mahindra United on May 11. |
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Chowrasia on top of Order of Merit
New Delhi, April 29 The Chandigarh Open was Kolkata-based Chowrasia’s third title of the season having won back-to-back titles - the NGC Open and Tata Open, late last year. Meerut golfer Digvijay Singh is second with earnings of Rs 8,12,506 while four-time ‘Champion Golfer of the Year’ Mukesh Kumar is third with figures of Rs 8,05,640. Former Indian Open winner Vijay Kumar of Lucknow is in fourth position with a total of Rs 8,00,428 while Ashok Kumar is a close fifth with Rs 8,00,110. With just a solitary event left during the current season, the fight for the ‘Champion Golfer of the Year’ will be amongst these top five players as the winner of the concluding event — a Rs 30-lakh prize money tournament, stands to gain close to Rs 5 lakh while the runner-up will garner Rs 3.4 lakh. Other players in contention are Kolkata’s Yusuf Ali and Delhi’s Arjun Singh, who occupy the sixth and seventh spots respectively, both having earned in excess of Rs 5 lakh. Meanwhile, in the race for the ‘Rookie of the Year’ award, Chandigarh lad Gurbaaz Mann leads Sandeep Syal of Chennai by a whisker. While Gurbaaz has career winnings of Rs 1,67,821 from 15 events and is in 29th position overall, Sandeep has amassed Rs 1,66,078 from as many events and lies two places lower than his compatriot.
— UNI |
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Anurudh, Sabrina emerge winners Amritsar, April 29 In the boy's section, Saurav Sharma and Kunwar Ujjwal Mehra, both from Amritsar, secured second and third places, respectively, with six point each. In the girls' group it was an all-Moga affair as all the three top scorers were from this district. Rubina stood second with 5.5 points while Pratima Puri was third with five points. Narinder Singh, President, Amritsar Chess Association, distributed the prizes. The winners will represent the state in the national sub-junior championship in Calicut from May 19 to 26. |
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Islamabad,
April 29
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