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Sharapova, Dementieva in last 8
Davenport set to skip Olympics Mahesh-Mirnyi advance Dutch clubs keen to sign Indian hockey players Bangladesh notch up highest-ever total |
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Inzamam calls for fitness report on Rawalpindi Express
Reluctant Murali may tour Australia France game would be one of the hardest: Beckham Haryana wrestlers retain title Chandigarh, Kalka teams
in final Patiala girl excels in roller
skating Humpy one draw away
from semis
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Sharapova, Dementieva in last 8
Paris, May 30 Davenport had just seven winners and 28 unforced errors. She won fewer than half her service points and was broken six times. The American played with a bandage on her right knee and was treated by a trainer early in the second set. She had arthroscopic surgery on the knee in 2002. Davenport (27), has never reached a Roland Garros final in 10 appearances. She won the US Open in 1998, Wimbledon in 1999 and the Australian Open in 2000. Joining the No 9-seeded Dementieva in the quarterfinals was Russian compatriot Maria Sharapova, who beat Marlene Weingartner 6-3, 6-1 to reach the final eight at a Grand Slam event for the first time. The 17-year-old Sharapova, seeded 18th, hit 34 winners to nine for Weingartner. Playing the first match on Court Suzanne Lenglen in cool, damp weather, Davenport struggled from the start. She won just seven points as she fell behind 4-0 in just 14 minutes. As the match slipped away, Davenport failed to run after shots she might have reached. She clenched her teeth and once kicked a ball in disgust after losing a point. Dementieva, long hampered by a wobbly serve, hit six double faults but closed out the victory with a second-serve ace. She arrived in Paris with a 10-9 record this year and is in the French Open quarterfinals for the first time. Sharapova oozed confidence after reaching her first Grand Slam quarterfinal. The 17-year-old from Siberia, seeded 18, has yet to drop a set in the tournament and she swept aside her fourth-round opponent with another fine display of baseline hitting under sullen skies. ‘’Nothing is out of reach for me,’’ said Sharapova. ‘’Every tournament I come into I want to win. ‘’I have been playing very good and I’m very confident. I don’t think anything can stop me — unless I lose!’’ Sharapova was always comfortable against the 94th-ranked Weingaertner, who upset Russian eighth seed Nadia Petrova in the third round. The Florida-based teenager, who already has two WTA Tour titles to her name, wrapped up victory in 67 minutes with a trademark driven forehand. She will play either China’s Jie Zheng or 14th seed Paola Suarez of Argentina in the last eight and could face French third seed Amelie Mauresmo in the semifinals. ‘’This tournament isn’t over yet,’’ Sharapova added. ‘’To be in the quarters, it’s an amazing accomplishment. ‘’I never really expected to go this far. I am so happy to be here and to have three rounds to go to win the tournament. I’m just going to keep calm.’’ The elegant Russian’s previous best Grand Slam performance was reaching the Wimbledon fourth round last year and she readily admits slow clay courts are not best suited to her style, which is based on a penetrating serve and clubbing forehands. ‘’This is not my favourite surface,’’ she said. ‘’I like a faster court. I did very well on grass last year, it really suits my game. In the men’s field, 2002 champion Albert Costa lost 4-6, 6-2, 6-4, 6-7, 6-8 to Belgium’s Xavier Malisse in a third round match held over from Saturday.
— Agencies |
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Davenport set to skip Olympics
Paris, May 30 “It’s an awkward feeling to go somewhere where Americans aren’t really wanted,” said Davenport after being knocked out of the French Open in the fourth round by Russia’s Elena Dementieva today. “A year ago I was dying to go, I was so excited but over the last few weeks I have had a different feeling. I used to be 100 per cent sure about it, now that percentage is down. “But as well as the safety situation, there is also a lot of tennis coming up, so I have a decision to make.” Davenport also admitted that playing in the Olympics was not as high a priority as it used to be. “It’s probably decreased in stature for me compared to playing at Wimbledon and the US Open. It was an amazing feeling to play in 1996 and I will cherish the gold medal forever but I don’t think that even winning it again in 2004 would even come close to that feeling for me. “I was fortunate to play in my own country and again in Sydney. I might just keep those memories and not try and add anymore.” Davenport, the fifth seed, was hampered by a knee injury in her 1-6, 3-6 defeat to Dementieva, and the French Open remains the only Grand Slam title she has yet to win. Last year at Roland Garros, she had to withdraw from the fourth round with a foot injury before suffering a shoulder injury at the start of this year. At 27, she believes that keeping a sensible schedule will be key to another Grand Slam push. “I am trying just to play a few weeks at a time and if I went to the Olympics as well as Wimbledon and playing here, it would mean three trips to Europe in nine weeks,” said Davenport who played today with her knee taped.
— AFP |
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Mahesh-Mirnyi advance New Delhi, May 30 The Indo-Belarus pair faced no resistance from the unseeded pair and romped home 6-2, 6-2 to set a quarterfinal clash with Karsten Braasch of Germany and Sargis Sargsian of Armenia. The country’s juniors also made a promising start to their campaign with top Indian player Karan Rastogi and Tushar Liberhan moving into the second round of the boys event. The 12th seed, Rastogi, overcame a slight lapse in concentration to beat local hope Jonathan Dasnieres 6-3, 6-7 (1/7), 6-3 while Liberhan defeated Jamie Murray of the UK 6-2, 4-6, 6-4. Rastogi will now face Martin Fischer of Austria while Liberhan will take on the winner of the match between 10th seed Woong-Soon Jun of Korea and Donald Young of the USA. But Divij Sharan lost to Briton Miles Kasiri 1-6, 2-6 in the boys’ singles first round match. Bhupathi, however, bowed out of the mixed doubles event. Bhupathi and Russia’s Elena Likhovtseva, the top seeds, were knocked out by Els Callens of Belgium and Argentine Sebastian Prieto 5-7, 3-6. Paes and American legend Navratilova, sixth seeds, breezed past Spaniard Magui Serna and Martin Rodgriguez of Argentina 6-3, 6-2 into the second round.
— PTI |
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Dutch clubs keen to sign Indian hockey players
New Delhi, May 30 At least five of the 12 clubs in the Netherlands are keen to sign Indian stars for the high-profile Dutch Premier League, according to the Managing Director of FieldhockeyTV, John Goedegebuure, who is acting as the facilitator for the clubs to rope in the players. “There is an increase in demand for Indian players in the Premier Hockey League. We have been approached by a number of clubs to sign Indian players and they are some of the best clubs in the country,” Goedegeburre told PTI over phone from Amsterdam. He said some of the players have already been shortlisted for the League after consultation with marketing consultants in India, Percept Profile, “who have already started their work.” Goedegeburre said the clubs are ready to offer “attractive” pay packages to the Indian players, who last year caught their imagination with some impressive performance in the elite Champions Trophy held in Amstelveen, Holland late last year. “I can say this is not going to be a matter of worry for the players since its going to be attractive.” Though he declined to name the clubs interested in the Indians, Goedegeburre said the move is aimed at cashing in on the popularity of the stars as well as their artistic style of play. “We need more and more professionals in the Dutch League. There are a number of foreign players currently playing, but the Indians are quite popular here. They have very good technical skills and their style of play is different,” he said. “It’s like a platform between the east and the west. The League will see the best from both India and European countries. “There is not much time before Olympics and everyone has a tight schedule. But we are making the moves before the start of the mega event,” he said.
— PTI |
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Bangladesh notch up highest-ever total Castries, St. Lucia, May 30 The visitors, overnight 278 for seven, used Rafique’s unbeaten 103 to power their first innings yesterday to 406 for nine on a day shortened to just 41.1 overs. The 34-year-old, in just his 11th Test, brought up three figures by blasting his 11th four through the covers just before play ended early due to bad light. He also counted two leg-side sixes off 138 balls in 215 minutes. Heavy overnight and early morning rain forced a four-and-a-half hour delay to the start to the second day.
Scoreboard Bangladesh (1st Innings): (overnight 278 for seven) Sarkar lbw Collins 0 Omar c Devon Smith
Bashar c Dwayne Smith
Saleh c Jacobs b Sarwan 26 Ashraful lbw Lawson 81 Hossain c Best b Collins 5 Rahman c Jacobs b Sarwan 1 Mashud st Jacobs b Gayle 2 Rafique not out 103 Baishya c and b Sarwan 9 Aziz not out 4 Extras:
(10-lb, 1-w, 19-nb) 30. Total: (for nine wkts) 406 Fall of wickets:
1-0, 2-121, 3-171, 4-227, 5-238, 6-241, 7-250, 8-337, 9-370. Bowling: Pedro Collins 26-7-83-3, Fidel Edwards 21-2-78-0, Jermaine Lawson 16-2-66-2, Tino Best 18-3-62-0, Dwayne Smith 4-1-5-0, Chris Gayle 24-3-51-1, Sarwan 22.1-7-51-3.
— AP |
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Inzamam calls for fitness report on Rawalpindi Express
Islamabad, May 30 Inzamam said he would ascertain from the Pakistan Cricket Board the latest fitness position of fast bowler Akhtar and also call all the players for a fitness camp ahead of the six-nation event in Sri Lanka beginning on July 16. “When I meet with the PCB officials on June 4, I would like to know the fitness position of Shoaib because he is a key player of the team,” Inzamam was quoted as saying in ‘The News’ today. “Injuries have been a major problem for us in recent months and I don’t want a repeat of things that occurred in the India series in the Asia Cup,” he said. “I will also ask the board to call the players playing in county cricket for the Asia Cup. “I want to know the tournament availability of these players from the board.” Inzamam’s injury fears stem from the fact that Akhtar had aggravated his rib injury, which stopped him from the taking the field on the third day of the decisive Test against India, by playing for Durham in the English county. The Pakistan captain also said he would be laying emphasis on fitness of players before start of any tournament. “From now onwards I would be laying lot of stress on the fitness of players before they are selected for any tournament,” he said. The burly middle order batsman made it clear that the players should put country ahead of county, meaning the planned 22-day training camp from June 20 should take precedence over non-Pakistan commitments. The 34-year old, however, termed the alleged rift between himself and the Rawalpindi Express as media speculation. “I think the media has played up this issue a lot, specially after we lost to India in Rawalpindi. But as far as I am concerned, as captain I will do whatever is best for my team. Shaharyar joins
chorus PCB Chairman Shaharyar Khan has said he would not apologise to Shoaib Akhtar for instituting a medical inquiry to verify his injury claims and that the express pacer would have to undergo a fitness and attitude test to be considered for future selection. Khan spelt out his tough stance against the Rawalpindi Express while addressing the media following a three-hour grilling he and his PCB
colleagues received from a Senate committee that sought explanations for the national team’s humiliating defeat against India in the recent home series. Asked for his response to former captain Imran Khan’s remarks that the PCB had insulted Akhtar by instituting an inquiry, Khan said the setting up of medical commission was a damage control exercise to preserve the morale of the team after the fast bowler refused to take the field on the third day of the series-deciding Test in Rawalpindi. “The manager, the coach and the captain of the Pakistan team were annoyed with the attitude of Shoaib (Akhtar) during the recent series and he caused a decline in the morale of the whole team,” the PCB chief said.
Casts doubts on
Inzy’s leadership Acknowledging that Inzamam-ul-Haq was not an inspirational leader, Shaharyar Khan said the team was found lacking in unity and national spirit in the Test series. “I do not want to give excuses and as Chairman I accept full responsibility. I admit there were faults,” Shaharyar told the Senate Standing Committee on Sports, which is looking into the reasons for the home team’s defeat in the historic series against India last month. Shaharyar also told the committee during a marathon meeting yesterday that he would see if the services of coach Javed Miandad were required and termed Inzamam as a decent man but not an inspiring leader, according to a report in local daily ‘Dawn’. He outlined three reasons for Pakistan’s first series defeat to India at home. “The Indians played to their true potential while our strong point which was bowling let us down and our team was found to be lacking in unity and national spirit, especially in the Tests.” But the Chairman insisted that the defeat was not a disaster. “We lost narrowly; however we have reviewed our cricketing failures and the PCB advisory council will analyse these further.”
— PTI |
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Reluctant Murali may tour Australia
Colombo, May 30 Muralitharan softened his position during a reception held to honor him by Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga yesterday in Colombo. Cabinet ministers and former and present Test players attended the ceremony at the president’s palace. According to the officials, who asked not to be named, Muralitharan gave indications that he may now play in the two-Test series in Australia beginning next month. Muralitharan, 32, became Test cricket’s top wicket-taker when he overtook retired West Indian Courtney Walsh’s world record of 519 during a match against Zimbabwe earlier this month. However, his bowling action has been under scrutiny since the conclusion of a home series against Australia in March, when match referee Chris Broad reported the off spinner’s “doosra” delivery to the International Cricket Council for a suspect action. “Doosra” is a delivery that spins away from a right-handed batsman. Muralitharan was later ordered to undergo independent observation of his bowling action, and after considering the findings, the ICC asked him to stop bowling the “doosra”. Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse, an ardent cricket fan, is leading the campaign in Sri Lanka to support Muralitharan to convince the ICC to drop its ruling. Muralitharan had vowed to fight back against detractors who claim that he uses an illegal bowling action. Muralitharan had said earlier that he was reluctant to tour Australia because he was offended by comments about him being a “chucker” — a term to describe bowling with a bent arm — by Australian Prime Minister John Howard.
— AP |
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Gilchrist fancies World Cup treble Sydney, May 30 At present playing against a depleted Zimbabwe side, Sydney Morning Herald quotes him as saying, “No one’s won three World Cups, it’s as simple as that, and there’s four or five of us that have got the possibility of doing that.”
— UNI |
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France game would be one of the hardest: Beckham
London, May 30 Beckham maintained that France are not unbeatable, as their group stage elimination at the 2002 World Cup proved, even if he has the highest respect for them. The teams meet at Lisbon’s Stadium of Light on June 13 in a Group B fixture. “People will always look at the France team and say they’re unbeatable but they are definitely beatable,” he declared. “It will be one of the hardest games in the competition, but it’s up to our players. We’re looking forward to the game and we’re not scared of any team or any players.” “We’ve got a team of young players and they’re not worried about going into any game and how good the French team are on the day. “They’re just concentrating on winning the game. We can take something from France being beaten at the World Cup, although I’m sure they will be playing a lot differently now. “They’ve got players who have been unbelievable for their clubs this season, such as Patrick Vieira, Thierry Henry and Claude Makelele, but Zinedine Zidane realises we’ve got a great squad of players, just like they do. “I think it’s a lot better to be playing France first, rather than second or third, as we don’t want to let Thierry get his legs going!” While France lost two of their three opening games in South Korea, England reached the quarter-finals, only to lose to Brazil. Beckham nevertheless, observed how much stronger England are now, with the addition of Steven Gerrard, Wayne Rooney and Gary Neville, while he and Michael Owen are now fully fit. Then there is Scholes, one of a handful of world-class players in the England side, and his talent is certainly appreciated by Beckham’s team-mates at Real. “He’s always one of those people others talk about,” said Beckham. “Even playing at Real Madrid, the players always say to me ‘what’s he like’? They respect him as a footballer and to have that respect from some of those players is great. “He has a great importance to Manchester United, the manager has always said that. He always creates space and gets into the right places at the right time. “He’s always a major threat. He hasn’t scored for England for a while, but if he scores in these championships, people will forget that straight away.” Scholes’ goal drought for England actually extends to an incredible three years, with his last strike for his country having come in Greece on June 6, 2001. Since then, he has failed to find the net in 25 international appearances, even though he has continued scoring freely at club level. “It’s quite unbelievable as he does get into spaces where he can score in nearly every game,” observed former United team-mate Beckham. “It would annoy me if I scored as many goals as Scholesy and hadn’t scored for a while for England but he’ll put that right.” As for the trio who did not make it to the 2002 World Cup, Beckham added: “Wayne Rooney is young but he plays like a player with Alan Shearer’s experience. “He doesn’t care about who he is playing against. He’ll compete against the toughest defenders and that is a great testament to someone of his age. He’s not just a goalscorer, but he’s got a lot of heart there. “Steven Gerrard has been one of the best players in the Premiership this season. You need to have ball-winners and ball-players like that in your team. “What he’s done for Liverpool this season has been amazing, he’s probably even surprised himself by how his standards have been in every game. “Gary has also had a good season, scoring a couple of goals - maybe the manager will put him up front at some point! He’s come out with a trophy so to end a season like that is a boost for the team.” With Sol Campbell in defence and Owen up front, England have plenty of reasons to be confident ahead of their clash against France, believes Beckham. “People are more excited about this competition than any other one I’ve been involved in. We’ve got a young team but with a lot of experience as well,” he added. “If we get a bit of luck and stay fit, then I think we’ll have a great chance. Expectations in the team are already very high.”
— AFP |
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Haryana wrestlers retain title Jalandhar, May 30 Haryana bagged the first place in Greco-Roman style with 77 points, Nidani were second with 47 points while the third place went to the DAWA with 41 points. In freestyle, Haryana were on top with 70 points while second and third place was secured by Nidani with 57 points and DAWA with 47 points, respectively. Punjab got its first gold when Hari Kishan won his final bout against Sandeep of Chandigarh on points in the 46kg category in Greco-Roman style. In the 85kg category in Greco-Roman Lokesh Kumar of Haryana won the gold defeating Bhim Singh of Pondicherry. In the 50kg category final Balraj of Haryana managed to beat Sumit of DAWA. The results: 46kg: Raiv (NCR) b Sandip (Haryana) on points. For third and fourth place Manjit (AP) b Subhash (UP). 50kg: Balraj (Har) b Sumit (DAWA) on points and Manoj (Pondicherry) got third place. 54kg: Amod Kashih (Mah) b Rahul (NCR) by fall, Somvir (Delhi) b Dinesh Yadav (MP) by fall. 58kg: Hardeep (Nidani) b Sahib Singh (Har) on points and for third and fourth places Jaibir (DAWA) b Amit (DAWA) on points. 63kg: Mukesh (Nidani) b Narsingh Yadav (Mah) on points. For third and fourth place Ashish (Har) b Munish (Pb). 69kg: Sandeep (Nidani) b Raj Kumar (Chd) on points, for third and fourth place Naveen (Har) b Hemant (Mah) on points. 76kg: Dheeraj (UP) b Bhupinder (Chd) by fall and for third and fourth places Neeraj (Ors) b Somvir (Delhi) on points. 85kg: Ramesh (DAWA) b Mukesh (Ors) on points and for 3rd and 4th place Monupal (Pondi) b Surinder (Har) on points. Plus 85kg: Joginder (Chd) b Chander H Patel (Goa) by fall. Ravinder (DAWA) b Gurvinder Patel (Goa) on points. Greco-Roman: 46kg: Hari Kishan (Pb) b Sandeep (Chd) by fall. For third and fourth place Ropesh (Nadini) b Deepak (TN) by fall. 50kg: Jaibir (Har) b Joginder Singh (WB) on points. For third and fourth place Tushar Kadam (Mah) b Sunil (Goa) on points. 54kg: Sandip Yadav (Mah) b Ajit Pal (DAWA) on points. For third and fourth place Vir Pal Singh (Pb) b Jeet Kumar (Har) on points. 58kg: Vikas Kumar (Raj) b Bajrangi (Mah) on points. For third and fourth place Narinder (Nidani) b Deepak Kumar (UP) on points. 63kg: Ravinder (Kerala) b Samunder (Har). For third and fourth place Gurpreet (Pb) b Sandeep (Goa) on points. 69kg: Ranbir (TN) b Rajbir (Har) on points. For third and fourth place Sandeep (Mah) b Pardeep (Nidani) on points. 76kg: Sanjay (DAWA) b Manjit (Har) on points. For third and fourth place Satish Ranbir (Goa) b Rakesh (Nidani) on points. 85kg: Lukesh Kumar (Har) b Bhim Singh (Pondicherry) by fall. For third and fourth place Vishal (Goa) b Parveen (TN) by fall. 100kg: Dharinder (Chd) b Surinder (DAWA) on points. For third and fourth places Vijay (Har) b Krishan (Delhi) on points. |
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Chandigarh, Kalka teams
in final Nahan, May 30 In the first semifinal, Diamond Club, Kalka, beat Union Club Yamunanagar by 4-2 in a tie-breaker. In the second semifinal, Coaching Centre Chandigarh beat Hamirpur by 6-0. Jagmohan of Chandigarh played an exemplary game and scored four goals. He also scored first goal of the match in the 10th minute. With the help of the goal scored by Narinder Singh, Diamond Club Kalka beat DFA Sirmour by 1-0 in the quarterfinal, while football team of Mumbai suffered a big defeat as it lost to Coaching Centre Chandigarh by 7-0. Gurupartap of Chandigarh scored hat-trick. In the other quarterfinal, Union Club Yamunanagar beat Hoshiarpur Police by 2-0 and Hamirpur beat Coaching Centre Ambala, by 2-0. |
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Patiala girl excels in roller
skating Patiala, May 30 Bharti, who has featured in Doordarshan’s programme ‘Young Achievers’, won a gold medal in the road race-1, a silver in rink race-1 and a bronze in roller hockey. Heena, who is the daughter of a physician, also did well in the Asian championship held in Taiwan earlier this year where she won a bronze medal. Based on this performance, Bharti represented the country in the 2003 world championship held in Portugal. Elista, Russia, May 30 After gaining a 1-0 lead over her Chinese opponent yesterday, Humpy now needs a draw in the second game of the quarter-final round for a berth in the last four stage. Xu Yuhua, playing with black, had an upper hand in the middle game but could not cash in on the advantage.
— UNI |
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