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BCCI cancels telecast rights tender
England send Aussies packing
Irani Trophy
Anju, Rathore steal the show
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Anju hopes for giant leap
Award has boosted
morale: Rajinder
Raid de Himalaya from October 7
St Stephen’s win in Subroto Cup
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BCCI cancels telecast rights tender
Mumbai, September 21 The cricket body also contended that the draft intent letter sent by the BCCI to Zee Telefilms was not accepted by the latter and talks were still continuing between them. ESPN-STAR Sports, which had challenged the award to Zee Telefilms before the Bombay High Court, immediately withdrew its suit after the BCCI’s announcement. However, the matter is far from over with Zee Telefilms threatening to sue the BCCI for cancelling its winning bid. Zee Telefilms argued before the court that the tender process had been concluded as they had been asked to make arrangements for production by the BCCI. The television channel also held that the BCCI had accepted an initial surety amount of $20 million from it after telecast rights were awarded to it. Zee Telefilms Chairman Subash Chandra insisted that his television company had completed the contractual terms specified in the tender process. He accused the BCCI and ESPN-Star Sports of hatching a conspiracy and warned that Zee Telefilms would go to court against the cricket board’s decision. “There is a collusion and conspiracy between the BCCI’s Jagmohan Dalmiya and ESPN-Star Sports,” Chandra said. He added that lawyers for Zee were examining legal options. Earlier, ESPN-Star Sports insisted that Zee Telefilms was not eligible as it did not possess the required two-year experience in “producing” live international cricket matches. It also said that Zee Telefilms lacked the “in-house” production facilities required for such an event. The matter, however, took an interesting turn after Zee Telefilms pointed out to the court that ESPN-Star Sports, similarly, lacked the requirement which they had been holding against the entertainment major. The court then observed that if strict adherence to eligibility criterion was made, both the parties would be ineligible. The BCCI told the court that it had proceeded on the basis that both were qualified. Zee Telefilms also raised the issue of its “Indianness”and said ESPN-Star Sports was trying to monopolise the business by trying keep out a new entrant in the form of Zee Telefilms. |
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England send Aussies packing
Birmingham, September 21 Their success, completed with 3.3 overs to spare, was England’s first win over the Australians in five and a half years, ending a 14-match losing streak in one-dayers. Vaughan, following a wretched run of form with the bat, could do no wrong at Edgbaston as he won the toss, took two key wickets with his occasional off spin, completed a run-out and anchored England to victory with a one-day best of 86. He and opener Marcus Trescothick (81) put on 140 for the second wicket to wreck Ricky Ponting’s hopes of sweeping England away with a battery of pace bowlers. Australia, seeking to win the title for the first time, never looked at their best as they were restricted to 259 for nine, with Damien Martyn top-scoring with 65. Scoreboard Australia: Gilchrist c Trescothick b Gough 37 Hayden c Trescothick Ponting c Gough b Giles 29 Martyn c Trescothick b Vaughan 65 Lehman b Vaughan 38 Symonds run out 0 Clarke b Flintoff 42 Lee b Gough 15 Gillespie b Gough 0 Kasprowicz not out 0 McGrath not out 0 Extras
(b-3, lb-4, w-7, nb-2) 16 Total (9 wickets, 50 overs) 259 FoW:
1-44, 2-69, 3-114, 4-189, 5-190, 6-210, 7-249, 8-249, 9-258. Bowling:
Gough 7-1-48-3, Harmison 10-0-53-1, Flintoff 10-0-56-1, Giles 10-0-40-1, Wharf 3-0-13-0, Vaughan 10-0-42-2. England: Trescothick b Symonds 81 Solanki lbw Gillespie 7 Vaughan c Hayden b Lee 86 Strauss not out 52 Flintoff c Hayden b Lee 16 Collingwood not out 6 Extras
(lb-5, w-5, nb-4) 14 Total (4 wkts, 46.3 overs) 262 FoW:
1-21, 2-161, 3-227, 4-249 Bowling: McGrath 8-0-46-0, Gillespie 8-0-32-1, Kasprowicz 10-0-52-0, Lee 8.3-0-65-2, Lehmann 6-0-28-0, Symonds 6-1-34-1.
— Reuters |
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Good opportunity for Zaheer, Mongia, Chopra
Gopal Sharma Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, September 21 On offer is a possible berth in the national squad for the Test series against world champions Australia next month. Continued lacklustre performance by the Indian team has won opprobrium from one and all. A good performance here will do a world of good to the player concerned. The performances of Dinesh Mongia, Akash Chopra, Zaheer Khan, Avishkar Salvi and others will be keenly watched by the national selectors, who will be here during the five-day contest. “It will be a big game,” conceded Dinesh Mongia, skipper of the Rest of India, after a practice session at the PCA Stadium in Mohali today. “Mumbai has always been a top team having so many reliable performers like Sairaj, Kambli, Jaffer, Mazumdar and Mane in their ranks. Their record speaks for them. They have been Ranji Trophy champions for a record number of times. We will try to give our best,” he replied when asked about chances of his team against Mumbai. “I have been getting runs for whichever team I have played, be it Punjab or India A, besides the Duleep Trophy. I am hopeful of carrying the form into this match,” said the Chandigarh player, who last played for the country about one-and-a-half years ago, when asked how he viewed the match vis-a-vis his comeback to the national squad. Playing for Lancashire, Mongia came up with a couple of good knocks besides chipping in occasionally with wickets with his left-arm spin. Mongia has the advantage of playing on his home turf. Chopra was unceremoniously dumped after he did a decent job as a Test opener during the tough tour of Australia. The Delhi batsman, who has recovered from the injury which forced him out of the recent India A series, revealed his eagerness to do well to stake his claim again as a reliable Test opener. The presence of Gautam Gambhir, Ambati Rayudu, Dhiraj Jadhav and Y Venugopal provides enough solidity to the Rest of India batting. Among the bowlers, the spotlight will be on Zaheer Khan. The Baroda seamer, once the spearhead of the Indian bowling attack, has been on the sidelines due to the recurrence of a hamstring injury which forced him out of the team for Asia Cup, NatWest Challenger and the Champions Trophy. The Mohali wicket, known to assist seamers early on, can well prove to be perfect ally for Zaheer to give a timely boost to his confidence. The dampness in the wicket due to recent showers should be tempting to Zaheer as well as Avishkar Salvi, Munaf Patel and SS Paul to make first use of the strip and have a go at the batsmen. For Mumbai, skipper Sairaj Bahutule, Vinayak Mane, Wasim Jaffer, Amol Mazumdar and Vinod Kambli have all been consistent performers in domestic cricket. Bahutule was in fine nick during the recent three-match series against Zimbabwe. Giving an impressive all-round performance, he played a key role in ensuring a 3-0 whitewash for India A last month. Ramesh Powar will be keen to maintain his reputation as a hard hitter besides being a useful off-spinner. Both Bhupinder Singh Sr and Chandarkant Pandit kept the players from the Rest of India and Mumbai, respectively, thoroughly engaged in batting, bowling and fielding drills to prepare them for the crucial contest which will begin at 9.30 tomorrow. Teams (from): Rest of India: Dinesh Mongia, S Sriram, Akash Chopra, Gautam Gambhir, Dhiraj Jadhav, AT Rayudu, Parthiv Patel, Murali Karthick, Shiv Shankar Paul, Zaheer Khan, YA Golwalkar, Y Venugopal, Joginder Sharma, Sidharth Trivedi. Mumbai: Sairaj Bahutule, Vinayak Samant, Vinod Kambli, Vinayak Mane, Wasim Jaffer, Bhawin Thakkar, Vinit Indulkar, Amol Mazumdar, Ramesh Pawar, Avishkar Salvi, Swapnil Hazare, Nilesh Kulkarni, Robin Morris and Munaf Patel. Umpires: I Sivaram, AV Jayaprakash. Match referee: SK Bansal.
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Anju, Rathore steal the show
New Delhi, September 21 Women’s long jumper Anju Bobby George, who received the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, also got a warm ovation, but Rathore, without doubt, was the toast of the packed house. Among the award winners, cricketer Harbhajan Singh was the only absentee. His mother Mrs Avtar Kaur received the Arjuna Award on his behalf. The President presented the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, Dronacharya, Arjuna, Dhyan Chand and Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Trophy and Tenzing Norgay National Adventure awards at an impressive investiture ceremony, witnessed by the near and dear ones of the award winners, the top brass of sports, ministers and other VVIPs, including Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports Sunil Dutt and Indian Olympic Association president Suresh Kalmadi. Anju Bobby George, resplendent in a silk sari and matching blouse, received the Khel Ratna Award for her splendid deeds in 2002 and 2003 when she won the bronze in the Commonwealth Games at Manchester, gold at the Asian Games in Busan (Korea) and bronze at the World Championship in Paris. Husband Robert Bobby George was conferred the Dronacharya Award. Together, they raked in Rs 10 lakh as reward. The Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award, instituted in 1991-92 to reward sporting excellence of the highest order, carries a medal, a scroll of honour and a cash prize of Rs 5 lakh. The Dronacharya Award, which carries a statuette of Guru Dronacharya, a scroll of honour, ceremonial dress and a cash award of Rs 3 lakh, was presented to four coaches. Instituted in 1961, the Arjuna Award consists of a statuette, a scroll of honour, ceremonial dress and a cash award of Rs 2 lakh. Following were the award winners: Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna: Anju Bobby George (long jump). Dronacharya: Rajinder Singh (hockey), Robert Bobby George (athletics), Sukhchain Singh Cheema (wrestling) and Anoop Kumar (boxing). Arjuna Award: Soma Biswas and Madhuri Saxena (athletics), Pankaj Advani (billiards and snooker), Mangte Chungneijang Marykom (women’s boxing), Koneru Humpy (chess), Harbhajan Singh (cricket), Mithali Raj (women’s cricket), Rajesh Pattu (equestrian), Devesh Chauhan (hockey), Suraj Lata Devi (women’s hockey), Akram Shah (judo), Sanjeev Kumar (kabaddi), Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore (shooting), Shokinder Tomar (wrestling) and Madasu Srinivas Rao (badminton, physically handicapped). The Dhyan Chand award for life time achievement, with a cash award of Rs 3 lakh, has been given to Labh Singh (athletics), Hardayal Singh (hockey) and Digambar P Mehendale (physically handicapped). The Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Trophy for the best sports university has been bagged by the Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar for a record 17th time. The award carries a cash prize of Rs 3 lakh. Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Awards: Bula Chowdhury Chakraborty (swimming), Brian Dermot Kharpran Daly (land) and Relu Ram Thakur (water rescue). This award includes Rs 3 lakh in cash prize. |
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Anju hopes for giant leap
New Delhi, September 21 Talking to UNI after receiving the award here today, Anju, who finished sixth in the Athens Olympics, said, “I missed the bronze by a whisker at Monaco this week. I have two more competitions this season. After that I would take a break and prepare for the big event-the world championship at Helsinki.” On Thursday, Anju competes in the Super Track and Field event in Tokyo, an event which is scheduled to get the Grand Prix status next year. From there, she will go to Singapore for her last assignment of the season on September 28. “Anju missed the bronze by .4 centimetre at Moncao -it was because of delay in getting the visa. We reached barely 18 hours before the event and the jet lag did affect her show. Anyway, this is the end of the season and she would begin her campaign next year after a break’’, Anju’s husband-cum-com Bobby George told UNI. Bobby was conferred the Dronacharya award at the Rashtrapati Bhavan today.
— UNI |
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Award has boosted
morale: Rajinder
New Delhi, September 21 In his hour or glory, Rajinder thanked the Sports Ministry, the Sports Authority of India and the IHF for recognising his coaching achievements from 2001 to 2003, which included the title victory in the Junior World Cup at Kobart and the Asia Cup and Afro-Asian Games wins by the seniors. “This award has boosted my confidence”, he said, adding that “I would devote all my energy for another 10 years to train talented young players. I will work hard at the junior level to produce results, through the SAI. I will train good players for the overall interests of Indian hockey”. He showed no traces of bitterness at the humiliation heaped on him the by the IHF, when he was on the threshold of taking the squad to Athens. Rajinder is presently posted at the National Stadium in New Delhi where he has been working with a bunch of juniors after being removed as the national coach. “I will devote my time to hockey”, he said. He opined that the Indian team should have finished among the first four at Athens, “but we played defensive hockey, which was unlike the Asian style we were familiar with. Had we played attacking hockey, the result would have been different.” Rajinder observed that champions Australia played a mixture of Asian and European styles of hockey with good effect. He said the morale of the Indian players was low after the Athens debacle. “It will take some time for the players to get back into their form,” he noted. Rajinder admitted that there was a dearth of quality players even at the junior level, as the base of the game was shrinking slowly but surely. He said India needed six to seven drag-flickers, but in reality there was none good enough to step into the shoes of injured Jugraj Singh. The former national coach said it was a positive move to pack the team for the Test series against Pakistan with juniors, considering that the Junior World Cup was round the corner. |
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Narain qualifies despite bad luck
New Delhi, September 21 Karthikeyan was beaten only by the local driver Tiago Monteiro- who knew the place better than anybody on the grid but the Indian was still able to get very close to his time. Twice he was running well and twice his rubber was attacked by something sharp which led to a sudden deflation.
— UNI |
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Raid de Himalaya from October 7
Shimla, September 21 This year too, the Maruti Suzuki raid de Himalayan will run two
independent race formats concurrently. The sheer speed version is called the ‘X TREME’’ while the ‘time,speed, and distance’ version is called ‘Reliablility trial’. The route for both the versions traverses through Lahaul, Spiti and Ladakh. The Raid will terminated after its five-day grelling run at Manali on October 11. The prize distribution ceremony will be held at Manali on October 12, 2004. The event will be cosponsored by Indian Oil Corporation Limited and the Himachal Pradesh Tourism. The event will cover a distance of about 1700 kms of which about 650 kms will constitute the competitive sections. Care is being taken to schedule day movements, so that as far as is possible, all competitive sections run during day-light. The safety plan envisages the use of roving mobile teams manned by some of the senior members of the organization and mobile ambulance units.
— UNI |
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St Stephen’s win in Subroto Cup
New Delhi, September 21 In the under-17 category, St Stephen’s School, Chandigarh beat Rabbani High School, Nagpur (Maharashtra), 3-1. The winners got the lead in the very first minute through Jashanpreet Singh who struck again to complete his brace in the 17th minute. Chavideep buttressed the lead for the Chandigarh school when he scored in the 35th minute. S. Akhtar reduced the lead.
— UNI
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