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Swiss hold Croatia to goalless draw
Valeron strike gives Spain 1-0 win Italy not taking Denmark lightly
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Sweden pins hopes on Larsson Dutch ready to make Euro different
Thorpe fashions England series win
Hyderabad club, Tata academy win Sunil Kumar for ITF Satellite meet Pre-Olympic boxing camp in full swing Punjab boys win national junior
basketball title Punjab defeated Delhi 81-57 to win the National Junior Basketball Championship for boys for the fifth consecutive year at Chittoor today. Punjab girls, however, went down fighting to Chattisgarh at 52-62 in the final.
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Swiss hold Croatia to goalless draw
Leiria, Portugal, June 13 Switzerland were reduced to 10 men when defensive midfielder Johann Vogel was sent off four minutes into the second half for a second bookable offence. Vogel had been shown his first yellow card after only four minutes for a foul on Niko Kovac and was dismissed when for another infringement in a melee of players just after the break. The PSV Eindhoven man's yellow card was the sixth in a game that became increasingly disrupted by stoppages, several of them for simulation. There was very little flowing football from either side with the Croatians seemingly intent on breaking up the rhythm of the game and trying to snatch a goal on the counter-attack. This produced several ugly individual clashes and plenty of theatrical gestures as the card count rose steadily. Swiss keeper Joerg Stiel was cautioned for dissent and Benjamin Huggel for a foul while Dado Prso, for diving, joined Nenad Bjelica, substitute Milan Rapaic and captain Boris Zivkovic who were booked for fouls and Ivica Mornar for diving. Switzerland looked lively in attack and striker Alexander Frei warmed the hands of stand-in keeper Tomislav Butina with a crisp low shot, Tomislav Sokota replying in kind for Croatia. Croatia quickened the pace at times, Kovac heading over the bar from a corner and then Ivica Olic clipping the bar from close range after Stiel had beaten out a Josip Simunic effort. Prso had a half chance with a shot on the turn saved by Stiel and the keeper almost misjudged a bounce from a clearance, but in humid conditions, chances were few and far between. —Reuters.
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Valeron strike gives Spain 1-0 win
Faro (Portugal), June 13 Spain dominated possession in the first half, but failed to break through despite at least five threatening crosses into the box. Spanish coach Inaki Saez changed his striker mix early in the second half, bringing in Valeron for Fernando Morientes. And it worked. The Deportivo striker wasted little time, scoring almost instantly on a left-footed shot from eight metres off a cross from Carles Puyol in the 60th minute. Spain had overwhelming support, with Spanish fans from just across the border guaranteeing the 28,182 sellout on Portugal’s Algarve coast. Goalkeepers Iker Casillas and Sergey Ovchinnikov each made reaction saves in the first half, though it was the Russian who was much busier. Raul Gonzalez, trying to made up for a poor club season with Real Madrid, almost scored in the second minute when he left-footed the ball across the goalmouth. For the first 15 minutes, Spain continually got crosses into the Russian six-metre box with efforts from Morientes, Vicente Rodriguez and Puyol. Russia began to attack midway through the half, but it was always Spain that looked much more likely to score. In the 27th minute, Morientes attempted to control a ball sent into the box, but was pulled down by a Russian defender with Spanish fans calling for a penalty. The best chance in the half probably came in the 36th minute when Morientes was stopped point-blank on a header by the Russian goalkeeper. A minute later, Dmitry Alenichev, who plays in Portugal for Champions League winner FC Porto, had Russia’s best chance coming down the left side, but Spanish goalkeeper Casillas came out to stop it. Russia picked up four yellow cards in the half, pressed by the Spaniards into continual defending. The Russians were down to 10 men for the last two minutes when defender Roman Sharonov was sent off for his second yellow card. That means he misses the game against Portugal on Wednesday. — AP
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Italy not taking Denmark lightly Guimaraes, June 13 Recent rumours about tension in the team began when midfield battler Gennaro Gattuso expressed disappointment at not starting against the
Denes. However, coach Giovanni Trapattoni and captain Febio Cannavaro were quick to squash the notion of any sort of rift in the side. “The group is united,” the Inter Milan defender told reporters. “There is no rivalry between us”. The challenge now is to prove this edict on the pitch, as the typically talented Italians must break down an always difficult to beat Danish team.
Trapattoni, who against all odds kept his job after a disappointing 2002 World Cup, is not taking the Euro 92 champions lightly. “Denmark are a strong team because they have a Nordic mentality mixed with Latin creativeness. Many of their players have experience of leagues like ours. It will be difficult to beat them,” said
Trapattoni. To win three points, the boss is able to call on one of the most impressive line-ups in the tournament. Playing in a 4-2-3-1 formation with the prolific Christian Vieri the only outright striker, the attacking thrust should be plentiful from a midfield including such talent as Alessandro Del Piero and Francesco
Totti. Stefano Fiore is likely to get the nod on the right side of midfield, but he is being pushed hard by Argentina-born Mauro
Camoranesi, who was also quick to play down any notion of competition in the team. “I don’t understand the controversy,” said the 27-year-old Juventus player. “We are a 23-man squad who all want to play. Competition is normal, and there’s no problem.” As usual, Italy have a back-line that can stop the best of attackers, though they could have problems with the speedy Danish in full flight.
Jesper Gronkjaer will miss the match following the death of his mother, but Dennis Rommedahl and Marin Jorgensen should still be able to get behind expected outside backs Gianluca Zambrotta and the aging Christian
Panucci. “The Italians are not used to playing against teams with two wingers like we do, and I’m sure we will cause them trouble,” said forward Jon Dahl
Tomasson, who is based at AC Milan.
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Porto, June 13 Sweden have an impressive seven wins and two draws from the past nine meetings and Bulgaria have to go back to 1967 for their last success. As if that was not enough to tilt the odds in favour of the Scandinavians in Lisbon, they have the considerable boost of the return of prodigious striker Larsson. The record-breaking forward, who left Celtic to find a new challenge at the end of the season, has changed his mind about playing for his country after retiring two years ago and marked his return with a goal in last week’s 3-1 win over Poland. His partnership with Zlatan Ibrahimovic gives Sweden a real cutting edge and Bulgaria’s sometimes shaky defence will be in for a stiff test. ‘’Everybody’s been welcoming me since I came back and that’s very good,’’ Larsson said. Ajax Amsterdam’s Ibrahimovic was among the many welcoming Larsson’s return. ‘’It means a lot, not only for me but for the Swedish team, the supporters, the whole country,” he said. Bulgaria are well aware of the threat Larson brings. “We know he is the star and we respect him,” said goalkeeper Zdravko Zdravkov. Bulgaria’s hopes depend heavily on striker Dimitar Berbatov converting the few chances he is likely to get but the likes of Larsson’s Celtic teammate Stilian Petrov might have to be more concerned with defending than setting up attacks. The Swedes have plenty of creativity in midfield, with Rennes youngster Kim Kallstrom nicely complemented by Arsenal’s hard-running Freddie Ljungberg Sweden’s only concern is defender Olof Mellberg, who is playing through the pain of a long-term Achilles tendon injury. Bulgaria’s chief worry is midfielder Martin Petrov, who strained a hamstring earlier this week but is expected to play. — Reuters
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Dutch ready to make Euro different Albufeira (Portugal), June 13 “It’s not about playing at a big tournament. It’s about performing well at a big tournament,” the Manchester United striker said. “It’s about getting everything out that there is to be gotten.” Dutch coach Dick Advocaat has shifted from a two-striker system to a 4-4-3 and has named Van Nistelrooy as his lone striker. The move comes in wake of a pair of losses to Belgium and Ireland during warm-up matches. Both opponents failed to qualify for Euro 2004. “I don’t think you can conclude anything about the team from those games or judge us on that basis,” he said. “Things can turn around in a single match.” One thing is sure, a loss to Germany would damage the team’s chances of advancing with the Czech Republic and Latvia also in the group. Van Nistelrooy said he planned to justify his selection above other talented strikers, including Roy Makaay and Patrick Kluivert — the Netherlands’ all-time leading scorer, with 40 goals.
— AP |
Lisbon:
The Portuguese police clashed with English fans at a square in central Lisbon late on Saturday night.
Witnesses said four England fans were taken away by the police after scuffles broke out. The fans gathered around the Rossio square in a downtown area of the Portuguese capital.
Later, there were clashes between English fans and members of a Portuguese marching band who had been taking part in the city’s festivities for St Anthony’s Day, Lisbon’s patron saint.
— AP
Scolari in soup Oporto:
Luis Felipe Scolari will need to call on all the guile he employed to guide Brazil to World Cup glory two years ago if he is to extricate Portugal out of the hole they have dug for themselves. The Euro 2004 hosts slipped up badly in their Group A opener here on Saturday, errors from Chelsea’s Paulo Ferreira and Manchester United’s Cristiano Ronaldo handing Greece a gift-wrapped 2-1 victory. The unscripted reverse has suddenly put Scolari under intense pressure. “I can only apologise to the Portuguese public — this is not what they deserved,” said
Scolari, who described his side’s next game against Russia on Wednesday as a matter of “life or death”.
— AFP
Well-timed wedding Lisbon:
A soccer-mad Portuguese woman chose the day of the opening game of Euro 2004 between Portugal and Greece to marry her Greek fiance. Alexandra Fialho Amaral and Dimitris Psarris tied the knot in a church at Coimbra on Saturday, then set up a screen at the reception so that both sides of the family could cheer their teams, the daily Diario de Noticias reported on Sunday. Though the home side lost 2-1, the guests accepted the result “sportingly”, the newspaper said.
— Reuters
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Thorpe fashions England series win
London, June 13 Thorpe scored 104 not out with Ashley Giles chipping in with 36 as England reached their target of 284 with the loss of six wickets to clinch the series 3-0. All-rounder Chris Cairns, celebrating his 34th birthday and playing in his 62nd and final test, had threatened to turn the game New Zealand's way with four wickets to go with his five for 79 in the first innings. New Zealand (1st innings): 384 England (1st innings): 319 New Zealand (2nd innings): 218 England (2nd innings): Trescothick c and b Franklin 9 Strauss lbw b Cairns 6 Butcher lbw b Cairns 59 Vaughan lbw b Cairns 10 Thorpe not out 104 Flintoff c sub b Cairns 5 Jones c Oram b Franklin 27 Giles not out 36 Extras:
(b-4 lb-16 nb-8) 28 Total: (6 wkts, 71.3 overs) 284 Fall of wickets:
1-12 2-16 3-46 4-134 5-162 6-214 Bowling: Cairns 25-2-108-4 (6-nb), Franklin 17-3-59-2 Richardson 1-0-4-0, Oram 14.3-0-50-0 (2-nb), Styris 14-1-43-0.
— Reuters
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Hyderabad club, Tata academy win Mandi, June 13 In a well-fought match, Hyderabad Globe Club excelled both in attack and defence and gave no chance to their rivals to do any damage. The first goal was the result of fine work on the right flank by Ayaz, who dribbled past two defenders, crossed at the goalmouth and though goalkeeper Bili Fung managed to tip the ball away, Zaki seized the chance to head the ball into the net in the 24th minute. ONGC were the first to carry out a offensive and Sunil Choudhary tested the rival goalkeeper in the 16th minute. ONGC threatened to score in the 30th minute again when Micky crossed from the left but Mondal headed wide. Then Sunil Choudhary passed the ball across the goalmouth but it went unconnected. ONGC strove hard but failed against the defence of the opponents. When an opportunity came, Mondal faltered in taking an aim. In a desperate bid, ONGC pressed into service Hitender Rawat, a seasoned goal-getter, but the veteran player could not help them out. Ayaz increased the margin just six minutes before the final whistle. |
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Sunil Kumar for ITF Satellite meet New Delhi, June 13 The other leading players taking part in the tournament are Davis Cupper Vishal Uppal, Vinod Sridhar, Vijay Kannan, Ajay Ramaswami, Japan’s Sugiyama Norikazu and Goodall Joshua of Britain. Players from other countries such Hong Kong, Korea, Slovakia, Spain, Netherlands, Italy and Brazil are also participating in the tournament. The wild cards have been given to Rahul
Rajkhewa, Gurmehar Singh, Ashutosh Singh and Aqueel Khan. Tournament director Lt. Col Amarbir Singh said the All India Tennis Association has received a grant from the Grand Slam Development Fund, administered by the International Tennis Federation, towards this tournament. Sunil Kumar, who made an early exit from the first leg at Indore, is determined to do well here to ensure a slot for himself for the Masters, also to be played in Delhi, next |
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Pre-Olympic boxing camp in full swing Patiala, June 13 Two of the four boxers who have qualified for the Olympics, Akhil Kumar (51kg) and Vijendera (64 kg), have made the Indian Amateur Boxing Federation (IABF) top brass happy by winning a bronze medal apiece in the Olympic pre-qualifiers which concluded in Athens last month. Their performance carried all the more punch as only those boxers took part in the pre-qualifiers who have already made it to the Olympics. Chief coach G.S Sandhu is confident that boxers will shine in the Olympics. Apart from Akhil and
Vijendera, who at 18 is the youngest Indian boxer to make it to the main event, the others who will be in the ring in Athens are Diwakar Prasad (54 kg) and old warhorse Jitendera Kumar (81 kg), who was there at the Sydney Olympics too. Sandhu said despite the fact that the Indians remained medal-less at Sydney, the positive aspect of the boxers’ performance there was the quarter-final bout of Gurcharan Singh. Sandhu said Gurcharan’s performance had motivated the pugilists and they had started believing that a medal could come their way. To add more pep to the preparations, the IABF has, albeit belatedly, roped in Cuban coach B.I.J Fernandez, who trained the players for the 1998 Bangkok Asian Games and the Sydney Olympics. Sources said the IABF and SAI had already tied up the loose ends of Fernandez’s contract and he was slated to be with the pugilists at Patiala soon. In an attempt to give more exposure to boxers before they fly to Athens, boxing federation officials have sent Diwakar Prasad and Jitendera to the Grand Prix being held in Prague and both players are expected to rejoin the camp on June 15. Meanwhile, the federation held a meeting in New Delhi yesterday to oversee the preparations of the boxers. Prominent among those who attended the day-long meeting were IABF working president
R.S. Dalal, coaches G.S Sandhu, Dharmindra Singh Yadav, Ashok Kumar and A.K Mehta. The President of the IABF, Abhey Chautala, has yet to take stock of the situation at the national camp here, while Dalal is a regular visitor and has been often seen talking to the pugilists. The camp concludes on August 6 and all four boxers are scheduled to fly to Uzbekistan on June 20 for a training-cum-competition stint.
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Punjab boys win national junior
basketball title Chandigarh, June 13 Led by Talwinderjit Singh (24), Punjab cagers maintained a constant pressure on their opponents and held comfortable lead throughout the game to retain the title. Mandeep Singh (21), Yadwinder Singh (17), Jagdeep Singh (nine) and Vijay Kumar (seven) were other scorers for the winners. For Delhi, who had lost the final to Punjab last year also, Vinod Kumar (16) was the top scorer while sanjay (11), Prabhjot Singh (10) and Mukesh (seven) were the other scorers. In the girls section, Punjab girls went down fighting. Skipper Ashna (21) was the top scorer while she got ample support from Saloni and Kiranjeet (eight points each).
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A Swiss fan waits for the start of the Group B Euro 2004 soccer match between Croatia and Switzerland at the Magalhaes Pessoa stadium in
Leria on Saturday. — Reuters
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