 |
|
Gaudio upsets Coria to win French Open
Myskina determined to collect more titles Lara’s ton puts Windies on top
Murali may sue Bedi over remarks |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
India can win Olympic hockey medal, says ShahidNew Delhi, June 6 Legendary hockey player Mohammed Shahid has backed the country to win an Olympic hockey medal in Athens despite the national team’s unimpressive performance in the recent past. Olympic torch reaches Japan
Punjab rout Bengal, book berth in last 8 Local lad Ravneet Singh became the overall champion in the 29th Junior Punjab State Swimming Championship by securing five gold medals in as many appearance being held at Guru Nanak Dev University here today. Mandi, June 6 Himachal Pradesh edged out Assam 13-12 while Jammu and Kashmir overpowered Himachal Pradesh 27-26 to lift the 21st Sub-Junior Girls and 6th Sub-Junior Boys National Handball Cup, respectively, at the final day of the National Sub-Junior Handball Tournament being played here at Paddal Stadium today. Sports hostels at Una, Jogindernagar Himachal Pradesh Industries Minister Mr Ram Lal Thakur, who also holds the charge of Sports and Youth Affairs today said that the two new sports hostels having facility for 80 players each would be constructed at Una and Jogindernagar to promote sports in the state. Punjab boys win national softball title Kerala girls and Punjab boys won the 22nd Softball Junior National Championship at Dharamsala today. Kerala girls defeated Madhya Pradesh by 19-18 in a well-contested match. Kerala managed to edge out Madhya Pradesh by one point. Sirsa, June 6 The local Ch Devi Lal University bagged first position in the All-India Inter-varsity Boxing (Men) Championship. Disclosing this, the secretary of the sports council of the varsity, Dr Kishore said the university players won gold medals in lightweight, Bantam weight, light welterweight and high middleweight categories at championship held at Dr. YS Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni Solan, Himachal Pardesh.
|
|
Gaudio upsets Coria to win French Open
Paris, June 6 Coria had dominated the opening two sets of the first all-Argentine final in grand slam history but he was struck down by cramps in the fourth set, which allowed his opponent back into the contest. Although the fifth set was a tense battle of nerves, Gaudio had the final say after three hours and 31 minutes. "Since I was a kid, this was a dream for me but now that I'm here, it's just too much for me and I don't know what to say," a stunned Gaudio told the Centre Court crowd. Gaudio, ranked 44th in the world, became the second Argentine to win at Roland Garros, 27 years after Guillermo Vilas. Coria took advantage of his opponent's errors in the first game to break him straightaway and gained the upper hand in the long rallies of the following game to lead 2-0. More unforced errors and a double fault from Gaudio helped Coria take his serve once more and make it 3-0. Gaudio tried to come to the net to break Coria's momentum, but the third seed held his serve to win his fourth game in succession. Far more focused and consistent than his unseeded rival, Coria kept dictating play and a double fault gave him a third break and a 5-0 lead. Coria won the sixth game to love and struck his first ace to win the first set 6-0 in 24 minutes. The second set also started badly for Gaudio, two more double faults giving Coria his seventh game in a row. Gaudio, ranked 44th in the world, kept making unforced errors -- 22 at that stage -- as Coria added an eighth game to his collection. But the crowd went wild as Gaudio finally held serve for the first time in the third game of the second set. Gaudio even won six points in succession, leading 30-0 in the next game but Coria picked himself up and finally won his service game to lead 3-1. Gaudio dropped his racquet in despair as he lost serve once more to go 4-1 down. But there was little he could do as the merciless Coria struck two aces in the next game to lead 5-1. The longest rally in the match so far allowed Gaudio to hold serve for only the second time and trail 5-2. For the first time, Gaudio started finding the right depth in his shots as Coria was serving for the set, and he finally obtained his first break of serve. But it was only a reprieve as Coria broke him back to love to win the second set 6-3 in precisely an hour. The start of the third set was more disputed. Rallies were longer and Gaudio seemed determined to keep the ball in play. For the first time, the 25-year-old took the upper hand, breaking Coria at the end of a superb rally to lead 3-2. But he faltered again in the next game as Coria broke back for 3-3. A Mexican wave started as the spectators tried to help Gaudio back into the match and it worked as he broke again after the best point of the match to lead 5-4 and serve for the set. Gaudio won his service game to love to win the third set 6-4 after one hour and 54 minutes. Coria took a short break after the third set loss and asked for the physiotherapist to massage his left thigh when he returned to his chair at 1-1. It was not clear what the favourite was suffering from but Coria lost his serve in the following game and Gaudio went on to lead 3-1 as his opponent looked to be in pain. Unable to run, Coria quickly found himself 5-1 down as an embarrassed silence fell over the Philippe Chatrier court. Standing still behind his baseline and missing all his shots, Coria looked on the verge of giving up as Gaudio took the fourth set 6-1. Coria, who was given pills to fight cramps, looked back in shape at the start of the fifth set, breaking Gaudio to lead 1-0. But he lost his serve to love in the next game. Another break of serve put Coria back on top and the third seed went on to lead 3-1 and 4-2. Gaudio took his opponent's serve to level at 4-4, as Coria was seen jogging behind his baseline to relax his muscles. The match turned into a tense battle of nerves as five breaks followed each other. The level of tension rose and Coria had, and wasted, two match points in the 12th game. But Gaudio kept fighting and finished off his compatriot with a backhand after three hours and 31 minutes of play.
— Reuters |
|
|
Myskina determined to collect more titles
Paris, June 6 Before her crushing 6-1, 6-2 win over compatriot Elena Dementieva at Roland Garros yesterday, the 22-year-old had gained a reputation for controversy both on and off the court. At the Australian Open in January, she was involved in a heated slanging match with her coach while, two years ago, she posed semi-naked for an American men’s magazine. Now, the new world No 3 insists those days are behind her as she hopes to spark a Russian revolution in the women’s game after becoming the first woman from her country to win a Grand Slam title. “It doesn’t help if you are yelling at somebody but if you are confident enough you realise how to change,” said Myskina. “I was usually yelling at myself more than my coach and, finally, I have become more professional on court.” Keeping her emotions in check is paying off. “I was crying before I went on court for the final and the physios told me how to breathe because it was really emotional. If you can control yourself, it is much easier to play important matches. “Now I believe I can win more Grand Slams and that I can play on all surfaces. “Hopefully, this will be the start of a bright future and there will be more and more girl winners from Russia and more titles for me.” Yesterday’s final had been the first all-Russian affair in Grand Slam history. Two weeks ago, the first round featured 12 Russian girls and the signs are there are more to come. Myskina and Dementieva are 22-year-old veterans compared to 17-year-old prospects Maria Sharapova, who reached the quarterfinals here, and Maria Kirilenko who took the first set off Serena Williams before losing in three in the second round. “My country used to be a closed country, nobody could go anywhere and just the top athletes travelled,” said Nadia Petrova, who made the semifinals last year. “Sport used to be a hobby for people, they did it just to keep in shape. It wasn’t something they could make a living out of. “Then the doors were opened and everybody could travel and go wherever they wanted and they realised they could do something with sport.” Myskina’s next test of her title-winning ability will come at Wimbledon in two weeks’ time where the Williams sisters, along with Belgian duo Justine Henin-Hardenne and Kim Clijsters, if fit, will be amongst the favourites. Myskina accounted for Venus in the quarterfinals here 6-3, 6-4 but both sisters suffered injury-hit build-ups to Roland Garros. “I don’t think Venus and Serena are done yet, they are just not at the best level. They will be back because they don’t want to lose, they don’t like it. “But we have been practising hard and more and more players are believing they can be beaten.”
— AFP |
|
Lara’s ton puts Windies on top
Kingston, June 6 Lara (119) and Ramnaresh Sarwan (106 not out) put on 179 for the third wicket and the West Indies closed the day on 294 for three in reply to the visitors’ 284. Bangladesh had started the day on 264 for nine and added 20 to their overnight score before Pedro Collins had Tapash Basiya caught for 48. The first Test in St Lucia was drawn amid embarrassment for the home side. It was only the third draw for the Bangladeshis in 29 Tests and they still await their first victory.
Scoreboard Bangladesh (1st innings): (overnight 264-9) Sarkar lbw b Collins 0 Omar c Jacobs b Edwards 20 Bashar c Banks b Collins 20 Saleh c & b Banks 47 Ashraful c Sarwan b Banks 16 Islam c Jacobs b Best 7 Rahman st Jacobs b Banks 22 Mashud c Banks b Edwards 39 Rafique c Collins b Banks 30 Baisya c D.S.Smith b Collins 48 Aziz not out 10 Extras (b-4 lb-7 nb-12 w-2) 25 Total (all out, 95 overs) 284 Fall of wickets:
1-0, 2-37, 3-54, 4-88, 5-97, 6-145, 7-152, 8-192, 9-238 Bowling:
Collins 19-2-64-3, Edwards 20-5-66-2, Best 20-4-53-1, Banks 31-5-87-4, Sarwan 2-2-0-0, D.R.Smith 3-1-3-0 West Indies (1st innings): Gayle c Mashud b Aziz 14 Devon Smith run out 44 Sarwan not out 106 Lara c Mashud b Rafique 119 Best not out 1 Extras
(lb-6 w-1 nb-3) 10 Total (3 wkts, 83 overs) 294 Fall of wickets:
1-26, 2-109, 3-288 Bowling: Tapash Baisya 14-3-57-0, Tareq Aziz 12-2-45-1, Mushfiqur Rahman 19-3-62-0, Mohammad Rafique 19-1-61-1, Manjural Islam 18-2-63-0, Mohammad Ashraful 1-1-0-0.
— Reuters |
Leeds, June 6 Hitting a six and 12 fours, Flintoff went for another big hit and was caught in the deep. The wicket ended a sixth wicket partnership of 118 with Jones who was nine short of a first test century at the tea interval. The Lancashire allrounder also shared a fifth wicket partnership of 99 with Graham Thorpe, who made 34. Leading the series 1-0 after a seven-wicket victory at Lord’s, England now will be confident of forcing at least a draw in this game with just the third test at Nottingham to come. Scoreboard New Zealand (Ist innings): 409 England (Ist innings) Trescothick b Styris 132 Strauss c Tuffey b Vettori 62 Butcher lbw b Vettori 4 Vaughan c Fleming b Styris 13 Thorpe b Martin 34 Flintoff c Martin b Styris 94 Jones not out 91 Giles c Fleming b Martin 21 Hoggard not out 2 Extras:
(b-21, lb-17, w-3, nb-13) 54. Total: (7 wkts in 126 overs) 507 Fall of wickets: 1-153, 2-174, 3-229, 4-240, 5-339, 6-457, 7-491. Bowling: Tuffey 23-6-77-0; Martin 30-9-127-2; Styris 27-5-88-3; Cairns 23-2-94-0; Vettori 23-2-83-2.
— AFP |
||
|
Murali may sue Bedi over remarks Colombo, June 6 Muralitharan, who recently surpassed West Indian paceman Courtney Walsh’s tally of 519 Test wickets
taking action against Bedi for writing degrading articles questioning his bowling action. The Sunday Times today quoted a lawyer retained by Muralitharan as saying that they were studying the remarks attributed to Bedi in recent times. Muralitharan was recently reported for suspect action and a bio-mechanics team found that the spinner’s ‘doosra’, a delivery that spins away from a right handed batsman, did not conform to the laws of the game. Muralitharan had earlier twice been no-balled by Australian umpires Darell Hair and Ross Emerson in 1995 and in 1996-97, respectively, and was later referred to an ICC experts panel which said his mysterious bowling action was due to congenital deformity in his right elbow. Bedi, however, has maintained that the Sri Lankan should never be allowed to bowl. The Indian left arm spinner, who was a member of the famous spin quartet of the 1960-70s, was of the opinion that Muralitharan’s action was basically
|
||
|
India can win Olympic hockey medal, says Shahid
New Delhi, June 6 Three-time Olympian Shahid, who was a member of the team in the 1980 Moscow Games where India won their last of the eight gold medals, said the team has all the qualities needed to win at least a bronze, if not the gold. “The team has a perfect balance and almost all the members of the squad are great players. This team has won some competitions which previous teams had never won,” Shahid said. “They won the Asia Cup for the first time last year and came close to win the Asian Games in 2002. Unfortunately, the team lost to Korea in the Asian Games final despite playing so well.” Shahid, a former captain, said he had full faith on the abilities of the players, who can help the country win its ninth hockey gold in Olympics. But he added the performance needed to be a bit more consistent. “I am hoping for a gold. But if we miss out on that, we can finish at least with a bronze. “I feel what is lacking is consistency. One day we play well against formidable opponents but the next day we flop. But I am sure senior players like Dhanraj Pillay and Dilip Tirkey would help the side overcome this,” the 44-year-old former player said. After a successful 2003, when the team won the Asia Cup and the inaugural Afro-Asian Games, it has struggled in all the tournaments they have played so far this year. Shahid said the recent controversies surrounding the game in the country were unlikely to affect the players. “They will put behind all the controversy. All are preparing well and seem very focussed.” He also took a swipe at the International Hockey Federation (FIH) for changing the penalty corner rules at a crucial time. “It seems whenever we get mastery over something, they change the rule. I don’t know why they did this with the Olympics round the corner. But I hope the Indians will adapt to the changes soon.” On the Indian Hockey Federation’s decision to send 26 probables for training in the USA, Holland and Germany before the Olympics, Shahid said: “I don’t think two months time is enough to prepare for the mage event. But I hope they must have started their preparations much earlier.” Shahid said the players’ morale must be up since more and more money is coming into the game. “The players are getting more than what we used to get during our playing days. Its a very good thing for Indian hockey. It will certainly encourage youngsters to pick up the game,” the Varanasi-based player said.
— PTI |
|
Olympic torch
reaches Japan
Tokyo, June 6 Torrential rain failed to dampen Japanese enthusiasm as the Olympic flame touched down in Tokyo, host city of the 1964 games. Amid heavy security, former baseball player Kazushige Nagashima was the first torch bearer on the 53 km run which began near Tokyo Bay. Olympic speed-skating champion Hiroyasu Shimizu and Kyoko Iwasaki, who won swimming gold at the 1992 Barcelona games, were among 136 participants. Fifteen-year-old table tennis player Ai Fukuhara was set to run the final leg.
— Reuters |
|
Eriksson gets it right for England
Manchester, England, June 6 In the space of five days, attacking midfielder Frank Lampard has stolen Nicky Butt’s place in the starting XI and coach Sven-Goran Eriksson has found a system of play that is far better suited to his player’s talents. A diamond-shaped midfield that had served him well since October 2002 was found cruelly wanting in Tuesday’s 1-1 draw with Japan, as Eriksson tried to accommodate Lampard in the unfamiliar role as a defensive midfielder. England’s unconvincing display also highlighted the wastage in having to use Liverpool’s driving central midfielder Steven Gerrard on the left, particularly as he set up Michael Owen’s goal in one of his brief forays into the middle. All those apparent wrongs were righted, though, on Saturday when Eriksson reverted to the 4-4-2 formation that had taken England to the World Cup quarter-finals.
— Reuters |
|
Punjab rout Bengal, book berth in last 8 Bangalore, June 6 The other teams which have already qualified for the last eight stage are Haryana, Manipur, Himachal Pradesh, last year’s runners-up Jharkhand and defending champions Orissa. After the opening salvo by Sukmanjeet Kaur in the tenth minute, it was Gurjeet Kaur who performed the star turn for Punjab yet again. Gurjeet, who scored twice for Punjab when the team was held to a 2-2 draw by Maharashtra on June 4, pumped in four goals— including a penalty corner conversion in the 41st minute — past a clueless West Bengal defence. Mamta Sharma was the other major contributor for Punjab, slotting three goals, while Sarabjeet Kaur, Pritaka Rana and Parjeet Kaur scored one each. Punjab led 6-0 at half-time. In other matches, Maharashtra beat Assam 6-0 and the Gujarat-Bundelkhand tie ended in a goal-less draw. Sadhana Mane (three), Pratibha Sawant, Ashwini Tonpe and Kamal Navale (one each) were the goal-scorers for Maharashtra. Delhi will vie with Kerala while Karnataka take on Pepsu tomorrow for the remaining quarter-final slots.
— UNI |
|
|
Ravneet swimming champion Amritsar, June 6 Sangrur became the overall champion in the championship. Patiala came first in the girls section and Sangrur in the boys category. In the water polo events (boys) Jalandhar lifted the trophy. Lanky Ravneet standing six feet and three inches high had won the two gold and three silver last year in the same championship. In 1500 metres freestyle boys group two (13-14 years), Sangrur’s Harmanjit Singh stood first while Ranjit Singh of Amritsar was second. In girls, Komal Avtar stood first (26:12) while Jasleen (27:30) and Guranit (27:58) of Sangrur were second and third, respectively. In the 400 metres free style boys group one (15-17 years), Ravneet Singh of Amritsar was first with 05:06 while Vibhor Mundepi of Ludhiana (05:22) and Satnam Singh of Amritsar (05:26) were second and third, respectively. In the same event among girls, Bhavneet Kaur of Ropar secured first position clocking 06:28 while Vasuda Sharma of Ferozepore (06:54) and Neetika Vats of Ludhiana (07:04) remained second and third, respectively. |
|
Himachal, J&K handball champs Mandi, June 6 The first final was played in boys section where Himachal boys locked horns with Jammu and Kashmir. Both the teams played excellent game and at a half time the score was 10-12, Jammu & Kashmir leading by two goal. Himachal boys moved ahead with brilliant passed and levelled the score at the end of the game. In the extra time J and K boys snatched the match from HP lads with a narrow margin. Krishna and Devender were the highest scorers from Himachal, scoring 9 and 6 goals, respectively, while Bharat from J and K netted seven goals. In the girls section Himachal girls dominated the show right from the beginning and looked confident as a team. At half time the score was 5-4 in favour of Himachal girls. They continued their attack and never let their opponents take lead any time during the match. Assam girls tried hard to equalise the score till last moment but Himachal girls stole the show (13-12), Sudesh of Himachal was the highest scorer with 7 goals. Julie of Assam team scored 6 goals. Industries Minister Ram Lal Thakur gave away the prizes and declared the tournament closed. |
|
Sports hostels at Una, Jogindernagar Mandi, June 6 Addressing the gathering at the concluding ceremony of the 21st Sub-junior(Girls) & 6th Mini National Handball championships here today, Mr Thakur said that the government had allocated Rs 14 lakh for construction of a stadium at Joginder Nagar, while the stadiums at Una and Dharamshala are being upgraded this year. Mr Thakur said that the department would cancel the grants to the districts if they do not conduct the sub-juniors games.” This is being done to promote game at the sub-junior level in which private sponsors would be tapped as the government did not have adequate sources to conduct the games” |
|
Punjab boys win national softball title Kangra, June 6 Kerala girls defeated Madhya Pradesh by 19-18 in a well-contested match. Kerala managed to edge out Madhya Pradesh by one point. Ashmi, Siama and Reshmi scored 3 points each to bring a victory to their team. Punjab boys defeated Delhi 11-6 in a one-sided match. Punjab played a controlled and balanced game till the last and maintained the lead from the very beginning. Joginder and Jaspal of Punjab played well to take their team to victory. Joginder scored 3 points while Jaspal scored 2. Forty five teams participated in the championship. |
|
Sirsa varsity boxers excel Sirsa, June 6 The women’s judo team won two gold, one silver three bronze medals to finish first in the inter varsity championship while the men’s team were second with one gold, one silver and four bronze medals. |
| 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 | |
Cricketers
play benefit match to save an ailing child.
(
