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Mumbai, October 23
India’s star batsman Sachin Tendulkar has been declared fit for the third cricket Test match against Australia in Nagpur beginning on Tuesday.
Jayasuriya, Fernando leave Pak struggling
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Manipur players Manitombi Singh (2) and Tiken
Singh (11) tackle the ball during the Santosh Trophy Football Championship in
New Delhi on Saturday. Manipur defeated Sikkim 4-1. — PTI photo
Chess: India lose to Ukraine
DAVC, Chandigarh, score huge win
India win world yoga crown
Suresh Rana overall Raid winner
PAP, BSF win
Surjit hockey from Oct 29
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Sachin fit for Nagpur Test
Mumbai, October 23 Andrew Leipus, physiotherapist of the Indian cricket team, announced here that Tendulkar had fully recovered from the injury to his elbow and was all set to take on Australia in the third Test. "Tendulkar is fit and will be on the plane to Nagpur tomorrow and play in the third Test," Leipus said after nets today. "He has done everything he was asked to do. There is no reason to hold him back now," Leipus added. "The stiffness and soreness in his elbow has gone and he was comfortable while batting," said Leipus, who tested Tendulkar's elbow by bending it at the wrist and at the elbow joints. Leipus had yesterday said that the deadline for Tendulkar to prove his fitness was Sunday (tomorrow). Tendulkar himself said he was feeling confident about his fitness. "It is good news. I am feeling pretty confident and comfortable and I am fit to play in the Nagpur Test," Tendulkar told reporters. Tendulkar batted for 30 minutes at the nets and faced spinners. He even played his trademark attacking strokes. Tendulkar said he was feeling pretty confident and comfortable while batting in the nets today. In first 20 minutes of nets, Tendulkar faced two new ball bowlers, including former Mumbai skipper Paras Mhambrey, and two leg-spinners from MIG Club. He practiced some defensive shots on either sides of the wicket. However, the next session was of 10 minutes duration where Tendulkar played a few attacking strokes, including a back-foot drive to the on-side and a lofted shot over the cover region, before calling off the nets. During his 10-minute break between the two session, his son Arjun took over, while the senior Tendulkar bowled from a short distance with the pads on. Tendulkar, though named in the squad, did not play the first two Tests in the ongoing four-match Test series, which Australia is leading 1-0. Tendulkar also missed ICC Champions Trophy, the three-match NatWest Series against England and Holland tri-series in last few months. Tendulkar has so far missed five Tests in his glittering career that began in 1989, having been out of action when India last toured Sri Lanka for a three-Test series in 2001. He's thirty short of the 9500-run mark after playing 114
Tests. |
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Can use heavy bat: doc
Kolkata: Sachin Tendulkar could play with his normal heavy bat, cricket board doctor Anant Joshi said today.
"I don't think the weight of the bat really matters in this case. Sachin can use his normal bat," Joshi, the head of BCCI medical panel, told PTI here. Dr Joshi, who was here in connection with an operation, said the problem of tennis elbow has nothing to do with the weight a person carries as even housewives can get it without lifting heavy things. He said he had examined Tendulkar's affected elbow two days ago and was fully satisfied with his recovery. "Two days ago his condition was very good following which we decided that the load on his hand could be progressively increased and a final decision about his availability for the third Test be taken by team physio Andrew Leipus this morning," Dr Joshi said. When asked whether there was any risk of recurrence of the problem, Joshi said extra precaution had been taken in this case to ensure it did not recur. "We played very safe as even before Chennai Test he was in a position to play but we did not allow him to take the risk and waited for some more time for complete recovery. Now we are sure that the problem is over," he said. When asked why it took so long for the injury to heal, he said the problem of tennis elbow was such. "In some people it gets better in a week to 10 days, in some cases it take months and in some cases it never gets better," Joshi said. Tendulkar has been out of action since August when the problem surfaced.
— PTI |
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Return lifts spirits in Indian camp
Nagpur: The news of Sachin Tendulkar being fit to play in the third cricket Test against Australia has lifted the spirits in the Indian camp with coach John Wright saying the master batsman’s presence will be a big boost to the side, currently trailing the series 0-1.
Wright said Tendulkar enjoyed playing against Australians and it was evident from his record against them. “Since he has been declared fit for the Nagpur Test after missing the first two Tests at Bangalore and Chennai, we are looking forward to having him in the team tomorrow for his first match in the series,” Wright told newspersons after nets by the Indian team which arrived here today. Skipper Sourav Ganguly and Tendulkar would join the team tomorrow for the third Test beginning here on Tuesday. Wright said the team management would sit down with selection committee Chairman Kiran More tomorrow to work out the changes that would have to be made with Tendulkar returning to the side. “With Sachin coming back, we have to adjust our middle order batting. More will also join tomorrow and accordingly we will decide the batting order,” Wright said. Asked about Tendulkar using a lighter bat instead of his usual heavy one, Wright declined to comment saying “he is the right person to answer to that”. On the wicket, he said, “The pitch looks full of runs. However, the outfield was slow during our practice session. We cannot say (how it will behave) unless the first ball of the day is bowled.” The former New Zealand skipper conceded that the advantage lay with Australia as they were leading 1-0. Wright also said all the team members were fit barring a minor bruise on
office Harbhajan Singh’s knee.
— PTI |
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Ponting welcomes Sachin’s return
Mumbai: Australian skipper Ricky Ponting today welcomed the news of Sachin Tendulkar being declared fit for the Nagpur Test beginning Tuesday, saying the Australians would like to be judged by playing against the best Indian team. "From the spectators' point of view, Sachin's absence from the first two Test matches because of the tennis elbow was very disappointing. It is good that he is fit now as we (Aussie team) want to be judged against the best," Ponting told reporters upon his arrival here. Ponting, who missed the first two Tests in the ongoing series because of a thumb injury, said he would utilise his time to be match-fit for the November 3 to 7 fourth and final Test in Mumbai. "I am very excited to be back in the thick of things as I am fit to play the fourth and final Test at Mumbai and would like to utilise the time before that to be with my teammates and do some practice to be match-fit," he said. On his previous poor showing on Indian soil, Ponting said: "I had a pretty ordinary series in 2001 and I was hoping to set it right this time around, but unfortunately the thumb injury I sustained during the Champions Trophy semi-final against England has kept me out of action in the first three matches." Praising stand-in skipper Adam Gilchrist's handling of the team which has put the Aussies 1-0 up in the series so far, Ponting said "Gilchrist has executed the plans very well and I am happy about the way the series is heading." When asked whether the Aussies had changed their approach on this tour from being an aggressive outfit to a disciplined one, Ponting said "we played tough and disciplined cricket in Sri Lanka before this tour and we would like to continue in the same vein here as well." He said it had been a bit frustrating not to have good batting averages on Indian wickets. — PTI
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Jayasuriya, Fernando leave Pak struggling
Faisalabad, October 23 Jayasuriya’s whirlwind 253 off 348 balls helped set Pakistan a massive target of 418 runs before Fernando took four wickets to leave the home team in deep hole at 114 for four at stumps on the fourth day. Pakistan still require 304 runs to stop Sri Lanka from taking a 1-0 lead in the two-match Test series with six wickets in hand. Fernando, a right-arm medium fast bowler, trapped both openers Imran Farhat (53) and Yasir Hameed (17) lbw before knocking back the stumps of Asif Kamal (1) and Inzamam-ul Haq (3). Earlier, Jayasuriya’s swashbuckling double century — the highest ever Test knock by a Sri Lankan against Pakistan — helped the tourists pile up 438 runs in their second innings. Jayasuriya was the last man to be dismissed midway into the second session after hammering 33 boundaries and four sixes in his eight-hour-10-minute stay at the crease. Pakistan replied confidently to be 57 without loss at tea before Fernando struck at regular intervals after the break. Jayasuriya sped to his double century when he lifted paceman Shoaib Akhtar for a big six over square leg. He took 20 more runs in Akhtar’s next over with four crisp cover boundaries as Sri Lanka scored 80 runs with the new ball in 68 deliveries. When Jayasuriya moved to 231 he surpassed the previous best Sri Lankan Test score of 230 against Pakistan, made by team-mate Kumar Sangakkara during the Asian Test Championship final at Lahore two years ago. Fernando was well protected by Jayasuriya, and in an electrifying run-a-ball 101-run record-breaking stand, the No 10 batsman could contribute just one run before he was run out at the total of 438. Soon after, Jayasuriya was trapped lbw by Danish Kaneria. The partnership bettered Aravinda de Silva and Rumesh Ratnayake’s 52-run ninth-wicket record against Pakistan which was made at the same venue in 1985-86. Scoreboard Sri Lanka (1st innings):
243 Pakistan (1st innings): 264 Sri Lanka (2nd innings): Atapattu lbw b Akhtar 0 Jayasuriya lbw b Kaneria 253 Sangakkara c Moin b Akhtar 59 Jayawardene c Moin
b Kaneria 57 Samaraweera run out 21 Mubarak c Moin b Akhtar 0 Kaluwitharana c Naved
b Kaneria 1 Vaas b Malik 4 Herath lbw b Kaneria 5 Fernando run out 1 Malinga not out 0 Extras
37 Total (all out, 109.2 overs) 438 FoW: 1-0, 2-98, 3-216, 4-309, 5-314, 6-319, 7-330, 8-337, 9-439. Bowling:
Akhtar 25-1-115-3, Sami 12-1-48-0, Razzaq 22-7-78-0, Kaneria 38.2-4-117-4, Malik 12-1-58-1. Pakistan (2nd innings): Hameed lbw b Fernando 17 Farhat lbw b Fernando 53 Kamal b Fernando 1 Inzamam b Fernando 3 Youhana batting 23 Malik not out 3 Extras
(b-4, nb-5, w-5) 14 Total (4 wkts, 41 overs) 114 FoW:
1-59, 2-65, 3-86, 4-91 Bowling: Vaas 9-1-42-0, Malinga 6-2-13-0, Herath 14-4-27-0, Fernando 9-2-27-4, Jayasuriya 3-2-1-0.
— AP |
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Manipur thrash Sikkim, join Kerala in semis
New Delhi, October 23 If Manipur rode on a four-goal burst by striker Narendra Singh to make it to the last four from group B, Kerala thrived on two goals in two minutes towards the end of the first half to pip Delhi, who came back strongly in the second session before crashing out of the tournament. Kerala dominated in the first session and their all-round superiority over the hosts culminated in two quick goals which proved to be fatal for Delhi in the end. Even as the first half seemed to end goal-less, Delhi’s citadel fell in the 43rd minute. The move began from Shabeer Ali, who sent a long ball to the rival area from inside the centre circle. The pass went to skipper S Ignatius, on the left flank, who quickly relayed it to Abdul Naushad. Naushad, man-of-the-match against Railways, got space on the edge of the box and he unleashed a rasping shot which bulged the net, giving no chance to Delhi custodian Rajat Guha. Even before the celebrations died down in the stands, Delhi found themselves 0-2 down when another Kerala wave culminated in a powerful strike by Ignatius which Guha could only block. The rebound bounced to Abdul Hakeem, who tapped in adding to the delight of his team-mates. The change of ends saw Delhi making more inroads through the right wing where versatile player Praveen Rawat, the architect of all three goals against Assam in their last match, came into his own after a subdued first session. With young Sunil Chetri finally managing to slip past the tall Kerala defenders, Delhi looked set to reduce the margin. Delhi’s only goal came in the 66th minute when skipper Rishi Kapoor gave voice to the home team supporters, who were stunned till then by Kerala’s double strike. The move came through the right with forward Faiz Alam going up in tandem with Rawat. The Mohun Bagan player found Kapoor near the box with a diagonal cross which was directed to the goal by his Bagan team-mate with a powerful left-footer. But that was all Delhi managed to show on the score sheet for their efforts as they defended grittily and went really close to drawing level in the 89th minute. It was Delhi’s best chance but substitute Nageshwar Rao, who came in place of defender Pushpender Kundu fumbled from close with just keeper MV Nelson to beat. Manipur looked to steamroll Sikkim, who began with two Bhutias but without their star Baichung Bhutia, who remained on the bench wearing the No 15 jersey. The champions opened the account in the third minute before Narendra completed his hat-trick with goals in the 26th and 30th minutes. Before the hour mark, Manipur completed the score line. This time James went up through the right and had a shy at the goal. The keeper again failed to gather cleanly and man of the match Narendra scored his fourth goal in the 58th minute. Earlier, Delhi replaced goalkeeper Rajat Guha with Viney Singh and the move worked as the hosts did not concede any more goals after the change. The second half was really exciting with Kerala relaxing a bit and Delhi stepping up the tempo. Captain Rishi Kapoor, who was declared man of the match, tried to inspire his mates going up repeatedly through the left. Besides going close to levelling the scores, they also survived some really tough periods. In the 74th minute, Kerala almost stretched the lead when winger NP Pradeep saw his two back to back tries evading the goal. After the goalkeeper saved Pradeep’s first try, he came up with an equally fierce shot on the rebound which was cleared on the goal-line by substitute Ranvijay Singh. Delhi got more and more bold by denying Kerala and four minutes later it was Kerala’s turn to escape. Chetri tried to force his way through the centre and earned a free kick for his side. Rishi took the shot and it flew over the wall and was on its way into the net when Kerala keeper Nelson leaped high and punched the ball away to a corner. For Kerala, Abdul Basheer was easily the pick of the defenders and full credit should go the 26-year-old for smothering Delhi’s star forward Chetri.
— PTI |
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Ex-cricketers flay Ranbir
Mumbai, October 23 Eleven former Test cricketers, including Ajit Wadekar and Nari Contractor, expressed concern over the statement. The cricketers, in a statement here today, said, ''It takes a lot of blood and sweat and involves sacrifices in personal and professional front to become international cricketers.'' The statement further added, ''We had gone through this toil and labour only for the greater glory of representing our country in international arena.'' ''We attach the highest value to our Indian caps and blazers and still preserve the letters we received from the BCCI on getting selected for the Indian cricket team and not the BCCI team and gave our best in the international matches to bring India to the hallowed place it is now in,'' the statement said. ''The very idea of the President's statement that we had not represented our country, but a BCCI team, strikes at the root of the belief we stood for our achievements on the field and we request the board not to take away our pride, built over eight decades, and set all doubts at rest by declaring that we had represented India, our country, in international ties,'' the statement said. Other former players who have signed the statement are Hanumant Singh, Dilip Sardesai, Indrajit Singhji, Polly Umrigar, C T Patankar, Umesh Kulkarni, Eknath Solkar, R G Nadkarni and B P Gupte.
— UNI |
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Chess: India lose to Ukraine
Mallorca, October 23 At the half-way stage Ukraine lead with 21.5 points followed by
Russia, Armenia and Bulgaria, who are two points behind. Spain 'A', are fifth with 19 points after beating Azerbaijan while India have slipped to the joint sixth spot on 18.5 points with Poland. In the women’s
section, India held third-seeded the USA to a creditable draw. Viswanathan Anand drew with Vassily Ivanchuk, Sasikrian held former world champion Ruslan Ponomariov to a draw and P Harikrishna
squandered a winning position and had to settle for a draw with Pavel Eljanov. In the crucial tie Abhijit Kunte made one critical mistake on the fourth board which turned the tide in favour of Karjakin. This is Kunte’s first loss at the Olympiad. Krishnan Sasikiran was also unlucky not to have won his match. He played beautifully but his opponent, former world chess champion Ruslan Ponomariov, did not give him any opportunity to encash an advantage.
— UNI |
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DAVC, Chandigarh, score huge win
New Delhi, October 23 DAV blanked Ganga International 13-0 while NCC Jalandhar stroked out GHP School 3-2 via tie-breaker. In a one-sided match DAV led 6-0 at half time. For the winners, Ajit Singh (3), Jujhar Singh, Harnek Singh, Ravinder Singh, Jagdeep Singh (two each), Jagjit Singh and Harsh Chaudhary (one each) scored. NCC, Jalandhar and GHP School, Loni Road, Delhi failed to score any goal in the regulation period and to break the deadlock, tie-breaker was ordered. In the tie breaker, Harpreet Bansal, Jagjit Kular and Kanwaljit Singh converted their strokes for NCC Jalandhar while Deepak and Manjinder Singh failed. For the losers, Virender Malik and Ravneet Singh found the target as Suresh Pathania, Navtej Singh and Mudit Garg muffed their strokes.
— UNI |
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India win world yoga crown
New Delhi, October 23 Twenty countries
participated in the championship. The medal winners: Vaishali Makwana, Aneri Mehta, Vipul Bhatti, Jyotsna Chotroda, Vishal Dabade (gold), Saumic Bora, Subhash Kumar Sharma, Savita Pawar, Mangesh Vaikul (silver), Naresh Chadha, Tripti Bilgi, Rupali Thorat, Sayali Katti and Rudraswamy (bronze). |
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Suresh Rana overall Raid winner
Shimla, October 23 He was followed, in second spot by a hard charging Col KS Chauhan of the Army, who was a mere 17 seconds behind. An equally determined Vikram Mathias of Team MRF was third overall, a motorsport association press note said. In the
X-treme motorcyclists Sukhjinder Singh Rana of Anandpur Sahib won easily, for the second year in a row, by a comfortable margin of six minutes and 13 seconds over second-placed Marcus Bugar of Himachal. Third placed Ashish Saurabh Moudgil trailed by almost 18 minutes. In the Reliability Trial, Mumbai based Pranav and Dhaval Desai, in their Mahindra Bolero took top spot by a comfortable nine-minute lead over Team
Autocar. Rishad Saam Mehta and Rishad Cooper of Autocar, were five minutes ahead of Team Overdrive’s Sirish
Chandran. — UNI |
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PAP, BSF win
Phagwara, October 23 The results : Men: Punjab Armed Police b Rest of Punjab 73-65, b Rail Coach Factory 75-40; Border Security Force beat Punjab State Electricity Board 70-42, b Rest of Punjab 74-63, b RCF 79-39; Rail Coach Factory b Punjab Juniors 73-53, Rest of Punjab b Punjab Juniors 73-45. Women: Ludhiana b Hoshiarpur 36-29, b Amritsar 30-11, b Kapurthala 40-20; Rest of Punjab b Amritsar 51-34, Kapurthala b Rest of Punjab 37-12, b Hoshiarpur 42-41; and Jalandhar b Amritsar 63-21.
— TNS |
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Surjit hockey from Oct 29
Jalandhar, October 23 In the knock-out stage of the men’s section, 12 teams, including CRPF, Delhi; PAP Hockey Academy, Jalandhar; Indian Air Force, Delhi; Rail Coach Factory, Kapurthala; EME, Jalandhar; Surjit Academy, Jalandhar; Punjab National Bank, New Delhi; Integral Coach Factory, Chennai; Corps of Signals, Jalandhar; Namdhari XI, Bhiani Sahib; Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) and ITBP, Chandigarh, will participate in the tournament. Eight teams, Bharat Petroleum, Mumbai; Indian Air Lines; Punjab Police, Jalandhar; Indian Oil Corporation Limited; Border Security Force, Jalandhar; Punjab and Sind Bank, Delhi; Air-India, Mumbai and Shadman Hockey Club, Rawalpindi (Pakistan); have a direct entry into the quarterfinal league. In the women’s section, top four teams would clash in the super league matches for the title. They are defending champion Northern Railways, Delhi; Chandigarh XI; Western Railway, Mumbai; and Rail Coach Factory, Kapurthala. The Surjit Hockey Society has decided to raise the cash awards for the winners and the runners-up in the men’s section. The cash award has been raised to Rs 75,000 from Rs 60,000 for the winners while the runners-up would get 50,000 as against Rs 40,000. Besides, the society would honour journalist Prabhjot Singh and S.S. Saini (Ropar), for their contribution in promotion of hockey, on the concluding day of the tournament. |
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