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Hosts survive; heartbreak for Spain
France need draw to advance |
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England turn to Rooney for final thrust Nedved hails the 12th man in Czech squad
Van Nistelrooy perplexed by defeat
Dutch unhappy with Czech decision Wayne’s worth
Mongia shines for Lancashire India overpower Pakistan to clinch snooker title
Indian chess players off to poor start Myskina starts with tips from ‘grandpa’ Boris Ex-cager succumbs to injuries, wife held Kabaddi player Jarnail Singh
dies in mishap Satinder Sharma for 4-nation hockey meet
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Hosts
survive; heartbreak for Spain Lisbon, June 20 The Portuguese went into the game needing a win to advance and got it courtesy of a sharp shot on the turn by Nuno Gomes 12 minutes after he had come on at halftime. The victory, 23 years to the day since their last win over Spain, was just reward for Portugal's enterprise against a Spanish side initially content to sit deep and play for the point they needed. It marked a remarkable turnaround in fortunes for both sides after the host nation had begun the tournament with a shock 2-1 defeat by Greece as Spain eased past Russia 1-0. Fans of the Iberian neighbours had been on the streets of Lisbon all day in anticipation of the clash but the enormity of the occasion seemed to get to both teams as the opening 20 minutes was punctuated by poor control and misplaced passes. Cristiano Ronaldo, enjoying his first start of the tournament, was a constant threat on both wings for the hosts and he missed their best first-half chance when he headed a Luis Figo cross wide in the 45th minute. Spain were reluctant to commit men to attack and had only a Fernando Torres header over the bar a minute earlier to show for their limited efforts. Portugal coach Luis Felipe Scolari sent on Gomes for the ineffective Pauleta at halftime and the change soon had an impact. Figo slid a pass into his feet at the edge of the box in the 57th minute and the striker turned and fired low past Iker Casillas to send the Jose Alvalade Stadium crowd into raptures. Spain, forced to change tactics and go for the equaliser, came close to getting it five minutes later when Torres beat the offside trap but poked his shot against a post. Portugal hit back and Casillas made two sharp saves in a minute to keep out a Figo free kick and a close-range header by Jorge Andrade. Spain then went close through substitute Albert Luque and Juanito, whose looping header grazed the top of the bar, as they threw everyone forward in a desperate last 20 minutes. But ti was Portugal who could have added a second through Maniche, whose run and shot was cleared off the line near the end, and Nuno Gomes whose late effort was blocked.
— Reuters
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Greece
through despite defeat Faro, June 20 Needing only a draw to guarantee a place in the last eight, the Greeks made the worst possible start by going a goal down after just 65 seconds. Striker Dmitry Kirichenko burst through the middle of the Greek defence and fired past keeper Antonis Nikopolidis for already eliminated Russia's first goal of the tournament. The Russians doubled their lead 15 minutes later when unmarked striker Dmitry Bulykin powered home a diving header from a Rolan Gusev corner. It could have been even worse for the dazed Greeks, but Russian midfielder Andrei Karayka volleyed a great chance over from close range midway through the first half. Greece grabbed a lifeline two minutes before half time when striker Zisis Vryzas pulled one back, making space to chip over goalkeeper Vyacheslav Malafeyev after Dimitrios Papadopoulous headed the ball down into his path. The Russians, who came into the match on the back of a record winless streak of nine games at European Championships, continued to play with greater freedom in the second half. Substitute Dmitry Sychev almost made it 3-1 after 61 minutes but goalkeeper Nikopolidis beat away his shot. Greece, who beat Portugal and drew with Spain in their first two matches, badly missed injured midfielder Stelios Giannakopoulos and the suspended Giorgos Karagounis. Midfielder Vassilis Tsartas almost equalised for Greece in the 78th minute but Malafeyev did well to save his bending free kick. — Reuters
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Coimbra (Portugal), June 20 Jacques Santini’s side was not at its most convincing in the 2-2 draw against Croatia, and only a missed David Beckham penalty and two late goals from Zinedine Zidane got them out of jail against England in their opener. The Swiss themselves are not completely out of the knockout stage picture either — Croatia’s surprising draw against France giving Jakob Kuhn’s team an unexpected, albeit fragile, lifeline. They need to secure all three points and pray for a kind outcome in the Croatia vs England game. There’s only one problem — to win Switzerland must score, and goals for the Swiss have been as rare as teetotal English fans in Albufeira. France, in contrast, have had no similar worries. While Arsenal’s goal-scoring machine Thierry Henry may have hit a quiet patch, Zinedine Zidane is firing on all cylinders, the Real Madrid playmaker accounting for two of France’s four goals from setpieces. Zidane is having a sublime tournament, and he has now taken on the leader’s role too. Zidane wore the captain’s armband against England and despite Marcel Desailly returning against Croatia it was Zidane, not the waning Chelsea defender, who stepped in to steady the ship when Croatia went 2-1 ahead. Defender Mikael Silvestre said he had seen the change in the inspirational 31-year-old. “Before there were several natural leaders in the France team,” said Silvestre, who may not retain his place for the Swiss clash as he has conceded two penalties in the two encounters so far. “Zidane only had to express himself through his talent. But a lot of the senior players have left and many young players have come in. So he has taken over the reins of the team a little more. Against Croatia, he was the symbol of our comeback. “He told us not to panic and to be patient because there was enough time left,” Silvestre said. However, all is not sweetness and light in the French camp as was revealed by World Cup and Euro 2000 winning fullback Bixente Lizarazu. — AFP
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England turn to Rooney for final thrust
Lisbon, June 20 England were leading the holders and group favourites France 1-0 in stoppage time at the Luz stadium last Sunday before Zinedine Zidane struck twice for an astounding 2-1 victory. Scarred by the defeat, Sven-Goran Eriksson’s side followed up with a nervy 3-0 win over 10-man Switzerland in which Rooney became the youngest-ever scorer at a European championship. With Michael Owen firing blanks in Portugal, England need his 18-year-old strike partner to rise to the occasion again and avoid another yellow card that would rule him out of the quarterfinals. “As a manager, I can’t think about leaving him out and hoping we can win the game anyway,’’ Eriksson said. ‘’He has to play against Croatia and that’s it.’’ The two strikers will be supported in midfield by Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard, who scored his first goal for England in a 3-1 friendly win over Croatia last August. Central defender Sol Campbell has the formidable task of subduing Croatian striker Dado Prso, who hit four in Monaco’s memorable 8-3 win over Deportivo Coruna in last season’s run to the Champions League final. England will underestimate Croatia at their peril after Prso was again on target in their highly impressive 2-2 draw with France on Thursday, following an ugly 0-0 draw with the Swiss. ‘’Six months ago we did not have the self-confidence to beat England and maybe were a bit scared of them, but not now,’’ Baric said on Friday. ‘’I trust my players and I believe they will show what they can do in this next game as we did against France.’’ Bayern Munich’s Robert Kovac provides experience at the back, where he will be joined by skipper Boris Zivkovic, who missed the draw against France with a knee problem. Captain David Beckham knows England cannot afford to be complacent. They needed only a draw with Romania in their last group game at Euro 2000 to reach the quarterfinals but lost 2-3 after conceding a late penalty.
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Nedved hails the 12th man in Czech squad
Porto, June 20 The Czechs have already qualified for the quarterfinals as group D winners but Germany must win to clinch a place.
“It’s quite simple,” said Nedved, “we just go out there and carry out his (Bruckner’s) instructions on the pitch”. The playmaker was also full of praise for the fans at the Municipal stadium in Aveiro. “If he is the 12th player then you can also say that the supporters were the 13th.” The grey-haired coach is highly-respected by everybody in the Czech squad from the seasoned Nedved and fellow midfielder Tomas Rosicky to players on the fringe of the first team. His tactics rarely backfire. While Dutch coach Dick Advocaat tinkered with his team during yesterday’s match, Brueckner just told his players to continue with his game plan. “Advocaat is a good coach and a good human being,” said Brueckner, when asked about his counterpart’s decision to substitute dangerous attacking winger Arjen Robben. “He once said I’m a man who never changes his ideas. Maybe he was right in that and now I forgive him for saying that.” The Czechs’ comeback win over the Netherlands, making them the first side to reach the last eight, puts the team among the favourites to win Euro 2004 but the pragmatic Brueckner said the 2-1 victory over Latvia in their opener made him just as happy. “It was easier to score against the Netherlands than Latvia,” said Brueckner, as he evaluated the performance. “It could have been 7-7 against Holland because they play such an open game. The more I think about the Latvia game the more positives I see in it. “In both games I was coaching a lot. I think you can say that both victories were down to good coaching.” The Czechs’ recent record against the Dutch backs up Brueckner’s comments. They took four points off the Netherlands in the Euro 2004 qualifiers and will face them again after being drawn in the same World Cup qualifying group. With the Czechs safely into the quarterfinals, Brueckner has the luxury of freshening up his team for the Germany match, especially as several players have struggled in the fierce heat. After telling reporters on Sunday that he will rest players, Brueckner said: “I will rest Nedved for the final match. The players have played two very hard games here so far and I have plenty of good players to come in.” Nedved agreed, saying: “I’m sure he will pick a strong line-up for the final match against Germany. We need to fully concentrate on that now.” Right back Zdenek Grygera, given a torrid time by Dutch winger Arjen Robben on Saturday and taken off after 25 minutes, will be replaced by Martin Jiranek, while central defender Rene Bolf, who was not fit to face the Dutch, may return. “The right side of our defence was far from perfect,” said Brueckner. “In the future games it will go back to normal.”
— Reuters
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Van Nistelrooy perplexed by defeat Albufeira, June 20 The Manchester United striker, scorer of the Netherland's second goal, said he could not fathom how his side had thrown away a two-goal lead to leave the 1988 champions teetering on the brink of
elimination.
"We have to get this heartache out of our system," declared 27-year-old van
Nistelrooy.
"I am a very emotional person and was downbeat after the defeat. "But my team-mates understand that and have got used to how I react." Van Nistelrooy stood alone hand on hips in despair after the full-time whistle aware that his first major finals could come to an abrupt end. "I found it so difficult to cope with," added van
Nistelrooy, who missed Euro 2000 because of injury and then the Dutch failed to qualify for the 2002 World Cup finals. "I was so pumped up with the fans out there and by the importance of the match. "To lose after going two goals in front is so disappointing." The former PSV Eindhoven man could only find consolation in the fact that an enthralling match was a great spectacle for the Dutch fans. "I think that could be one of the best ever matches in a European championship," said van
Nistelrooy, whose deployment as a lone striker has been unpopular with fellow strikers Patrick Kluvert and Roy
Makaay, with both of them reportedly refusing to talk to him. Despite his disappointment the striker hopes to continue his goalscoring streak against Latvia on June 23 and hope the Czechs can hold Germany to a draw. "I have scored two goals in as many matches and want to continue that against Latvia," stated van
Nistelrooy.
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Dutch unhappy with Czech decision Albufeira, June 20 “For sure it is not to our advantage but they still have some good squad players,” Advocaat said today. “For the Czechs, the match against Germany is not important only the match after that.” “It is something you fear beforehand but this is the consequence of yesterday’s match.” The Dutch were beaten 2-3 by the Czechs yesterday after leading 2-0. Striker Ruud van Nistelrooy said: “Czech reserve players are fit and they will want to prove something.” “We should focus on Latvia, they did quite well against Germany and the Czech Republic. We will have to play that match and afterwards we will find out where we stand.” — Reuters
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Wayne’s worth London: Everton chairman Bill Kenwright says Wayne Rooney is now worth £ 50 million in the transfer market after the 18-year-old striker’s sparkling Euro 2004 performances for England. “Manager David Moyes and I agreed Wayne had to be a £ 50 million player now,” Kenwright was quoted as saying in Sunday’s News of the World newspaper. “We do smile about what Wayne is worth but, then again, we also talk about who’s going to be alongside him with us next season. “I would turn down any bid for him and say: ‘Thank you very much, what else do you want to talk about?’.”
— Reuters
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Harbhajan Singh among Asia Cup probables
Bangalore, June 20 The selectors, who had earlier named 24 players for a fitness camp, pruned the list by excluding Test opener Aakash Chopra, leg-spinner Sairaj Bahutule, Delhi opener Gautam Gambhir and fast bowler Munaf Patel. Also making it to the probables’ list was left-arm paceman Zaheer Khan, who had to pull out of the Pakistan tour due to a hamstring injury, and Rohan Gavaskar, who had missed the trip to the neighbouring country after making his debut in Australia early this year. Announcing the list, cricket board Secretary S.K. Nair said the 20 shortlisted players would assemble in Chennai for a training camp from July 3 to 8. “The team for the Asia Cup will be named on July 7,” he added. Nair also named eight speedsters as “support” for the probables at the Chennai camp. These bowlers, who had also undergone a special camp for pacers earlier this month, are Munaf Patel, Avishkar Salvi, S.S. Paul, Siddharth Trivedi, Sreesanth, Joginder Sharma, N.C. Aiyappa and Gagandeep Singh. The Asia Cup, the first match which begins in Colombo on July 16, features six nations, including Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Nair said fitness trainer Gregory Allen King, who had conducted the week-long fitness camp which concluded here yesterday, had declared that all probables were fit. The 20 probables are: Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Mohammed Kaif, V.V.S. Laxman, Parthiv Patel, Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh, Irfan Pathan, L. Balaji, Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, Ajit Agarkar, Murali Kartik, Hemang Badani, Rohan Gavaskar, Amit Bhandari, Ramesh Powar and Yuvraj Singh. — PTI
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Shoaib reluctant Lahore:
The love-hate relationship between the enigmatic Shoaib Akhtar and the PCB continues, with a criticism-stung “Rawalpindi Express” now deciding to reconsider his decision to play in the Asia Cup. The News quoted sources close to the tearaway pacer as saying that Shoaib was hurt by some recent comments by his skipper, Inzamam-ul Haq, and PCB officials. According to the report, Shoaib was hurt after Inzamam allegedly remarked that the temperamental bowler had cost the side more defeats than wins. Shoaib was also upset by the comments made by Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Sharyar Khan who insisted that only a 150 per cent fit Shoaib could be considered for the Asia Cup.
— UNI
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Mongia shines for Lancashire London, June 20 Lancashire finished at 299 for three in reply to Warwickshire’s first innings total of 499.
— UNI
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India overpower Pakistan to clinch snooker title Chandigarh, June 20 After the tournament, Asian snooker champion Alok Kumar said it was a revenge series and a sweet victory after the Indians in Pakistan last December at Karachi. The non-playing captain of Pakistan said they looked forward to the Indian team coming to Pakistan in the near future so that they could settle scores. Earlier in the morning, three special prizes were announced. India’s coach and four times world champion, Padma Bhushan Michael Ferreira announced a Rs 5000 prize for the highest break by a Pakistan player above 100 points. Rexello Castors decided to give Rs. 10,000 as a special prize for the player with the highest break, above 100. The Triple A Syndicate announced a prize of Rs 51,000 to a player who made a break of 147. Pankaj Advani came back to life after his listless performance in the first two days. He made a break of 92 in the first frame and won the match against Imran Shahzad of Pakistan 94-0, 75-6 with another good break of 56 in the second frame. The second match saw Alok Kumar blasting his way through the match and Khurram Agha was simply swept away in straight frames 77-27, 76-1. In the third match, doubles, duo of Manan Chandra and Rafath Habib of India were pitted against Pakistans Imran Shazad and Muhammad Atiq Bux. Thanks to a break of 30 by Manan Chandra, India won the first frame 67-34. In the second frame, the Pakistani pair swung back into the game with some consistent play and won 64-21. In the third frame, Manan again played spoilsport for Pakistan and with a break of 47, put the match firmly in India’s pocket. India won the frame 85-19. Manan continued his excellent form in the next match and won against Pakistan’s Muhammad Atiq Bux 38-80, 83-39, 83-0. Pakistan came back in the fifth Match and Mohammad Yousof won 68-60, 90-0 against India’s Rafth Habib. He narrowly missed claiming the special prizes and with his break of 88 fell short by just 12 points. The sixth match between India’s Pankaj Advani & Yasin Merchant and Pakistan’s Saleh Muhammad & Khurram Agha extended to the full three frames as India finally prevailed 75-27, 21-72, 47-42. In the last tie, Yasin Merchant downed Saleh Muhammad 49-37, 78-58. |
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Snooker
a rage in Pakistan Chandigarh, June 20 Khan, who is also the vice-president of the Pakistan Billiards and Snooker Association, said in the past one decade the association had done a commendable job in promoting the sport in the country. He said one could find snooker being played in parlours, clubs and coaching institutes run by the Pakistan government. Khan, who is elder brother of former Pakistan cricketer Mohsin Khan, said in spite of the rise in popularity, the sport did not attract much money or sponsors like cricket. He said hockey, squash and snooker could be considered equal in terms of popularity. A number of national tournaments were being organised in snooker, encouraging national players to take part in Asian and world-level tournaments, he added. “At present both India and Pakistan are strong forces in Asia and they occupy top positions in snooker at the world level,” he said. In Asia, China had come up in a big way and had been preparing hard in the sport. The UK was normally considered to be the stronghold of snooker, but with Asian players like Pankaj Advani, Saleh Muhammad, Alok Kumar proving their mettle at the international level, Asian countries were likely to dominate in the times to come, he added. On the sporting ties with India, Khan said they had taken the initiative to start the Indo-Pak peace cup last year keeping this in mind. He said the president of the Pakistan Billiards and Snooker Association was a great lover of snooker and had taken lot of pains to promote the sport. He said most of their office-bearers were ardent lovers of the game with the sole aim of giving a boost to it in the country.
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Anju wins bronze with 6.83 m leap Bangalore, June 20 American sprint queen Marion Jones, who suffered a rare defeat in the women’s 100 m, finishing fifth, won the gold with a leap of 6.93 m. Her compatriot, world No. 6 Grace Upshaw, clinched the silver, touching down at 6.88m (wind aided) yesterday at the University of Oregon. This was Anju’s second wind-aided 6.8 m-plus jump after winning the gold in the Super Grand Prix meet in Doha, where she recorded a distance of 6.82m on May 14. The tail wind recorded yesterday was 2.6 m/s, more than the legal limit of 2 m/s. Anju’s national record still remains at 6.74 m, first achieved at Thiruvananthapuram and later equalled in New Delhi in 2002. Anju will continue with her Olympic preparations in the USA before moving to Europe to compete in the Madrid Grand Prix on July 17.
— PTI |
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Indian chess players off to poor start
Tripoli (Libya), June 20 India’s brightest hope in the tournament, Krishnan Sasikiran, could not withstand the pressure against Kritz Leonid of Germany. Playing with black, the Indian never really had any chance against Leonid and the German won the game in 39 moves. Another Indian Grandmaster, Dibyendu Barua, however, gave the higher-ranked German opponent a tough time before eventually going down. The third Indian in the fray, Grandmaster Surya Shekhar Ganguly, also tried his best to keep his Danish rival Peter Heine Nielsen at bay and, to some extent, succeeded in doing so. Playing with white, Nielsen, however, maintained the tempo and won the game.
— UNI |
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Myskina starts with tips from ‘grandpa’ Boris
London, June 20 ‘’Oh, he’s like a Grandpa to me,’’ the 22-year-old smiled today. ‘’He always has tips for me on how to play...it’s really nice. ‘’I had lunch with him at his house last week and he had some tips for me. He is always like ‘you should play down the line more’. ‘’He’s coming here for the first week to watch.’’ Myskina is seeded second for Wimbledon and senses that since her Paris triumph other players are treating her with more respect. ‘’It is starting to sink in,’’ she said. ‘’I mean the morning after I was jumping in my bed and screaming ‘I am a Grand Slam champion’. ‘’And now I think some of the other players are maybe a little more scared of me. I feel different. I feel more confident.’’ Myskina became the first Russian woman to win a Grand Slam event when she triumphed at Roland Garros but knows she must put that behind her if she is to succeed at Wimbledon. ‘’That’s in the past,’’ she smiles when reminded of her French glory. ‘’This is a new tournament, and it is going to be a tough one. ‘’Before Paris I always thought I felt more comfortable on grass than on clay but now I guess I don’t know. ‘’But really I feel comfortable on all surfaces everywhere. You know, if you play right, you can do anything.’’ That philosophy applies equally to her compatriots. A Russian woman has now won titles in the last three weeks, Maria Sharapova winning Edgbaston the week after Paris and Svetlana Kuznetsova winning at Eastbourne on Saturday. ‘’It is awesome...really great,’’ Myskina said. ‘’I mean I would love it if there were four of us in the semi-finals. ‘’For a while everybody has been saying ‘the Russians are coming’. ‘’Well now we are here.’’ — Reuters
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Ex-cager succumbs to injuries, wife held Jamshedpur, June 20 The SP said Yadav confessed that he had a relationship with Chanda, a nurse at the hospital, for the past two and half years.
— PTI |
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Kabaddi player
Jarnail Singh dies in mishap Jalandhar, June 20 Both players were rushed to a private hospital here, where Jarnail Singh succumbed to his injuries. Gurpreet Singh was later referred to the DMC Hospital in Ludhiana. Jarnail was cremated today at his native village, Pandauri Bibi, in Hoshiarpur district. A large number of players from different places were present. Jarnail had participated in several national and international tournaments, including the Toronto Cup in Canada.
— UNI |
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Satinder Sharma for 4-nation hockey meet Chandigarh, June 20 Teams participating in the tournament are Pakistan, India, Netherlands and Germany. Satinder who is a grade I umpire, is also among the umpires selected to officiate in the forthcoming Olympic Games at Athens. |
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