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Chance for Indian batsmen to strike rhythm
Bangladesh on right track, says Whatmore
Indian veterans beat Pakistan
Last chance for India to redeem themselves
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Indian athletes
dominate
Pak Punjab shooters win three gold
Face-to-Face
Profile of the Day
Indo-Pak Punjab Games Diary
IA lift hockey title
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Chance for Indian batsmen to strike rhythm
Dhaka, December 9 A lot of importance will be attached to the match, to be held under unprecedented security arrangements at the Bangabandhu stadium, following a death threat to Indian cricketers from a militant group. Nevertheless, one can be sure that discussions will return to cricket matters once the dust around the security issue settles down. And inevitably, the topic most likely to dominate the print and electronic space would be the hosts’ status as a Test playing nation. Bangladesh have lost 29 of the 32 Tests they have played so far and drawn the remaining three. The ‘draw’ percentage goes down further at home, only one of 13 matches besides the dozen defeats. A huge billboard of a smiling Dav Whatmore welcomes one and all at the gates of the National stadium. But it is long since one saw Bangladesh’s Sri Lankan coach actually smile on the cricket field.
So much so that some former cricketers have suggested restricting Bangladesh, along with Zimbabwe, to playing A teams besides the World Cup and the Champions Trophy one-day championships. The difference between two teams on paper could have not have been more vast. The combined aggregate of the Bangladesh squad is 6964 runs, far below India’s leading run scorer Sachin Tendulkar. And the joint tally of the 14 host bowlers (204) fails to reach 50 per cent of Anil Kumble’s record collection. Records are indeed what the Indians might end up playing for. Kumble is on the verge of becoming India’s leading wicket-taker, having equalled Kapil Dev’s tally of 434 in the second and final Test against South Africa. Tendulkar is in search of that elusive century to move on par with Sunil Gavaskar for most Test hundreds by an Indian. Yet, Sourav Ganguly’s men come here with a question or two nagging their mind. In a sense, the situation the team finds itself in now does have some similarities with what prevailed in 2000 when they visited here for Bangladesh’s inaugural Test. The win at Kolkata might have served more to saving a few individual places than enhance the team’s reputation which took a beating in the Australian series. The teams (from): India: Sourav Ganguly (capt), Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Mohammad Kaif, Dinesh Kaarthick (wk), Irfan Pathan, Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Murali Kartik, Shib Shankar Paul, Gangandeep Singh. Bangladesh: Habibul Bashar (capt), Khaled Mashud, Nafis Iqbal, Javed Omar, Mohammad Ashraful, Rajin Saleh, Aftab Ahmed, Mushfiqur Rahman, Mohammad Rafique, Tapash Baisya, Mashrafe Mortaza, Talha Jubair, Manjural Islam Rana.
— PTI
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Bangladesh on right track, says Whatmore
Dhaka, December 9 Whatmore, who led Sri Lanka to World Cup triumph in 1996 before taking over as Bangladesh’s coach two years ago, said the hosts were on the “right track” and the failure to notch up one Test win since gaining Test status in 2000 did not mean that there was no progress. “It is definitely disappointing, and time to time frustrating. But as a new Test team, we have a slightly different set of goals, and the players are working harder to achieve that goal,” Whatmore said on the eve of the first Test against India at the Bangabandhu National Stadium from tomorrow. He said the performance against New Zealand, when Bangladesh bounced back from a disastrous Test series to run the Kiwis close in the three one-day internationals, promised a lot. “Against New Zealand, there were definite positive signs and the performance was a lot more encouraging. There was a glimpse of what is to come in the future,” he said. Whatmore preferred to look at the larger picture instead of hoping for one breakthrough win. “There is no short term fix. Our planning is right, the domestic cricket is rich in talent and youngsters are coming through. The right ingredients are there but it will take time. “The one win will help, (because) we can’t ignore that now. But that will only be a short term fix, what we are looking for is a long term fix. The one win will come along the way. “Couple of dips are going to be there but we are on the right track.” The Australian felt it was harsh to strip Bangladesh of Test status as some have called for. “Everyone is entitled to his opinion, but if one cares to dig deeper into the results we have got, you will find that there has always been some improvement. “People must realise that in no other associate country is there the same amount of interest and infrastructure that is found here. “What we need is a system and positive approach. The future of Bangladesh cricket is rosy,” he said.
— PTI |
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Indian veterans beat Pakistan
Sirsa, December 9 The exhibition match was played to raise funds for an orphanage being developed by the local Dera Saccha Sauda in the town. The Pakistan captain Sayeed Anwar won the toss and elected to bat first. The team scored 210 runs in 40 overs and Man of the Match Shoib Mohammed scored a fine knock of unbeaten 110 runs in 137 balls. Ejaz Ahmad scored 52 runs. Chasing the target, Indian opener Sameer Dighe scored 41 runs and Praveen Amre scored the winning 48 runs off 66 balls. Masood Anwar, Pak veteran, took four wickets in 8 overs giving away 31 runs. |
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Last chance for India to redeem themselves
Lahore, December 9 A win against their lowly ranked opponents would give India a chance to match their best-ever performance in the Champions Trophy -- a third place finish in the 1982 at Amstelveen, Holland, but going by their form, it looks a Herculean task. India have just one win to their credit —against an experimental German side — from four matches so far and a victory against New Zealand would set them against either Pakistan or Spain who would be battling out for a berth in the final tomorrow. Holland, seeking a hat-trick of titles, have already qualified for the summit clash with four wins from as many matches and would be playing Germany in their last league engagement. After four matches each, Holland were sitting atop the points table with 12 points followed by Spain and Pakistan, both of whom were on nine points. India were on the fourth position (3 points) while New Zealand and Germany on one point apiece following their draw yesterday. Except for the match against the defending champions, India hardly showed any fighting qualities in the other two losses and had even struggled to scrape past Germany for the three points. New Zealand, who showed a lot of promise in the tournament, have the potential to upset the Indians and if they manage to do that they would be playing in the bronze medal match on Sunday. India, who qualified for the event by default after Olympic champions Australia pulled out on security ground, would certainly not take their opponents lightly who had stunned them at Athens with a last minute winner for a 2-1victory. A win tomorrow would be a perfect revenge for the Asian team that has come to the tournament with a young side under veteran player and captain Dilip Tirkey. "This is our last chance to prove ourselves. We are not going to take any chances against our opponents even though they have remained winless in the competition. We will be going all out to win," Dilip told PTI. India have many gaps to plug if they hope to improve on their performance in the remaining matches of the competition. They need to work on different aspects of their game, forwardline in particular, to emerge as a better and stronger team.
— PTI |
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India Punjab score 3-0 victory
Jalandhar, December 9 The match was played on a fast note from the very beginning. Indian Punjab got an early lead in the 4th minute, when Baljit Saini got a pass in the penalty area and forwarded it to Gaganjit Singh, who did not commit any mistake to put the ball into the box through an excellent reverse flick (1-0). In 5th minute, Pakistan Punjab got an opportunity when they got a penalty corner, but the strong defence of the rivals thwarted it. Captain Baljit Singh failed to convert a penalty corner in 12th minute as he missed the target. Subsequently, Pakistan Punjab were awarded two penalty corners, but Indian defence was strong enough the futile their attempts. In 28th minute, Gaganjit Singh missed the opportunity to score second goal for his team as he failed to properly hit the ball into box after getting a pass from Baljit Saini. Indian Punjab team was leading 1-0 at half time. In the second half, Pakistan Punjab boys entered the ground with full confidence but Indian boys were fully determined to shatter former’s dream. In 46th minute, Indian Punjab consolidated their lead 2-0 when Olympian Deepak Thakur successfully converted a penalty corner. After wasting two penalty corners awarded to it in 43rd and 47th minutes, the winning goal for Indian Punjab came through the stick of Prabhjot Singh who after dodging the Pakistani players put the ball straight into net (3-0). Meanwhile, the manager of the Pakistan Punjab team Zahid Iqbal openly expressed dissatisfaction over certain decisions of the umpire and termed these as unfortunate. “The organising committee, despite assurances, did not allow our umpire to participate in the match. Besides, the second goal through penalty corner by Deepak Thakur should have been disqualified as the hit was above 18” height,” he said, adding that seven players of his team were playing an international match for the first time. Earlier, Union Sports Minister, Sunil Dutt, who was chief guest of the occasion, termed the on-going Indo-Pak Punjab Games as the best effort to promote peace in both the countries. After being introduced with the members of both the teams, Dutt took round of the ground and greeted the spectators. The Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh failed to keep the date with the city residents as he was away to Delhi. |
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Indian athletes
dominate
Patiala, December 9 In shot put for men, the Indians faced hardly any challenge as they went on to bag all the first three positions. The event was won by Navpreet Singh who was followed by Gurpreet Singh and Kulwinder Singh in that order. Keeping in view the fact that there was hardly any competition, the Indians never felt the urge to go all out with the result that timings and distances registered today were mediocre in nature. In the 1500 event for men, the field was dominated by the Indian runners. Vikas Kumar started off strongly and maintained his lead to run away with the gold. He was followed by Subhash Chander and Daljit Singh in that order. In the discus throw event for women, the Indian throwers virtually had a field day with international Harwant winning the gold. She was followed by Baljit Kaur and Swaranjit Kaur. The only event where the Indians were troubled was the pole vault where Pakistan Punjab’s Mohammad Ayub proved to be a tough nut to crack. He won the gold and was followed by Satpal Singh and Kulwant Singh. Everything went according to the script for ace middle distance runner Sunita Rani as she breezed past the finishing line without any challenge. The Pakistan Punjab girl, Gulnaz Ara who picked up the silver, came back after a not so good start, but failed to catch up with Sunita. So feeble was the challenge faced by Sunita Rani, a DSP with the Punjab Police and who is a veteran of many an international meet, that by the time the race entered the second and last lap, the Indian runner was already way ahead of the field. The versatile and expereinced Harwant Kaur bagged her second goal when she bagged the first place in the shot put for women. Pakistani athlete Zeenat Parveen claimed the silver while the bronze went to Bimmi Singh of Indian Punjab.
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Pak Punjab shooters win three gold
Chandigarh, December 9 In skeet events, Pakistan Punjab shooter M. Shafique won gold with a score of 138. In 25 metre centre fire and 50 metres rifle 3 position, Irshad Ali and Shahid Imran Clinched gold, respectively, by scoring 578 out of 600 and 1083 out of 1200. Results: centre fire: Irshad Ali 1, Zahid Ali 2, Haneet Jakhar 3;
rifle 3 positions: Shahid Imran 1, Hamid Abbas 2, Gurdeep Singh 3;
skeet: M.Shafique 1, Sikandar Javed 2, Aroze Sandhu 3; trap:
zorawar Sandhu 1, Birendeep Sodhi 2, Shazad Noor 3.
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Paramjit Singh clinches gymnastics gold
Patiala, December 9 Paramjit Singh, who garnered 50.65 points was followed by Punjab Police colleague Gaurav Kumar who accumulated 50.05 points. Pakistan Punjab’s Khaled Mohammad, with 46.90 points in his kitty, had to rest content with the wooden spoon. Paramjit Singh is a special talent. Today he proved this in abundance as seemed to be in complete control of himself during the exercises even as he was given a tough fight by Gaurav, who like Paramjit is also from Gurdaspur. Earlier, Indian Punjab, with 255.10 points, won the team championship. Pakistan Punjab accumulated 226.10 points to be placed second. Mohammad Afzal became the first gymnast from across the border to pick up a gold medal when he won the first position in the floor exercises of the gymnastic event. Afzal was followed by Akashdeep Singh of the hosts and Imran Khan of the visitors, both of whom bagged the silver while the bronze went to Jaideep Sharma of Indian Punjab. On the pommel horse, Akashdeep Singh excelled by winning the gold while Amajivanjit Singh of the hosts and Imran Khan of Pakistan Punjab shared the silver. Taqeer Ahmed had to remain content with the bronze. |
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Pak Punjab win cycling gold
Patiala, December 9 |
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Two cyclists hurt in
collision
Patiala, December 9 While Manjot Kaur, a double gold medallist from India Punjab was rendered immobile after the fall, Pak Punjab cyclist Rahila Bano made a supreme effort and got astride her cycle again to complete the race. She won the bronze medal in this process. It was only later that it was discovered that Rahila had fractured her collar bone during the fall. Manjot incurred a muscle tear in her back. Rahila is still admitted in the Government Rajindra hospital here while Manjot was discharged late in the evening. Both the cyclists were brought to the Rajindra hospital here in an ambulance after the fall which resulted when they collided with each other. Sources said both of them were trying to wrest the lead towards the end of the race when their cycles came in contact with each other which led to the accident. Manjot, who has earlier won the gold medal in two team events and a silver in the Mast Start event, was leading the pack when the accident occurred. The race, which was held from Rajpura to Sirhind and back, was eventually won by Manpreet of India Punjab while Misbah from Pakistan Punjab came in second. |
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CFI goes ahead, fields ‘guilty’ riders
Patiala, December 9 Interestingly, one of the riders, Gurpreet Kaur, was allowed even today to take part in the 50 km road race even as the CFI refused to accept the findings of the report. The CFI secretary-general, Mr J.S Grewal, when contacted, said he was willing to withdraw the riders only if the committee members gave him in writing that the riders had tested positive. Since the CFI had not received anything in writing from the committee he was at liberty to field the cyclists in today’s events, said Mr Grewal. The CFI Secretary-General revealed that before he was called by the Committee members yesterday evening for a discussion on the issue, he had rang up a Project Officer in the office of the Executive Director (Teams) of SAI at New Delhi who in turn had informed him that the riders could take part in the games. The doping controversy involving the women cyclists had left the organisers of the `Friendship games’ red faced and it was only on the intervention of the Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh that the three-member committee was formed to look into the incident. However, the decision to take back the medals of both Gurpreet Kaur and Kulwinder Kaur who had tested positive for allegedly using an anabolic steroid- DHEA- during the 5th Hercules Mountain Bike Championship held in October this year, will be taken by the Executive Board of the Organising committee. However, Rana Gurmeet Sodhi refused to reveal when the Executive Board, which is headed by the Chief Minister, will meet to take the decision. Incidentally, Gurpeet Kaur has so far won five gold while her colleague Kulwinder has bagged a gold and a bronze in the ongoing games. The three-member committee, comprising of secretary of the Punjab Olympic Association (POA) Raja K.S Sidhu, Chairman of the games Technical Conduct Committee Mr Gurbir Singh Sandhu and Dr Manmohan Singh, member of the anti-doping commission for the games, had submitted their report to the Working Chairman of the Organising Committee Rana Gurmeet Singh Sodhi late yesterday evening. However, Mr J.S Grewal maintained that since the SAI lab at New Delhi did not have the proper equipment to check the samples, the Federation could not have clamped a ban on the riders for participating in the games. He added that so far he had received no report about any cyclist testing positive from any authority, including the SAI lab. Sources reveal that keeping in view the friendship spirit with which the games are being held the issue may well die a natural death once the games are over. He added that it will be in the benefit of both the Organising Committee and the CFI to give the issue a quiet burial once the Games conclude on December 11. |
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Forgetting trauma through sports
Pakistan Gymnastics Federation secretary Painda Malik, who represented his country in the 1966 Asian Games, is among those unfortunate people who had to flee India in the wake of Partition. Just 10 months old then, Malik, in mother Umrao’s lap, reached Lahore, where his father Malik Mohammed Sharif, was a practising lawyer. Umrao, who later came to be known as Amir Begum, was a native of Batala. The family left behind their hearth and home to settle down in Lahore. Overwhelmed by the warmth showered by Punjabis during his maiden visit here, Mr Malik said the Indo-Pak Punjab Games would pave the way for strengthening bonds of friendship between the two countries, though it might not be to the liking of some people. “These barriers are the making of politicians. The common man in either country does not harbour any ill-will towards the other. When our teams compete in foreign meets, the Indians clap for us and so do we to back Indians,” he said. “Indo-Pak Punjab competitions were the need of the hour. Sports is certainly a harbinger of peace. Somebody had to break the ice. Chief Ministers Amarinder Singh and Pervaiz Elahi have taken a bold step and the efforts will not go waste,” he said. “I was born at Batala and our house was located in Mohalla Bada Darwaza,” Mr Malik told The Tribune at the multipurpose indoor hall here, the venue of the gymnastics competition. “In fact, there were three families — Hindu, Sikh and Muslim — staying in the same building. During holidays, my father used to visit Shimla. Until her death, my mother pined to visit Batala and see the house where she spent her childhood. The attachment was special. But alas, the desire remained unfulfilled,” Mr Malik said. “In Patiala, we feel as if we are in our own country. It seems as if we are participating in our own nationals,” he said, asserting that mutual exchanges should be made easier. “For going to London, we do not require permission, but to visit India, we need an NOC from the Home Ministry. Such restrictions should be eased,” he said As Principal of Government Islamia College, Lahore, the erstwhile DAV College, Mr Painda Malik, also secretary of the Punjab Gymnastics Association in his country, has not confined himself to academic affairs only. Matters concerning Pakistan gymnastics are also close to his heart. Although he himself excelled in horizontal bars, he sees a lot of potential in the young gymnasts who are performing well on parallel bars as well as in floor and vault events. — Amardeep Bhattal
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Athletics in his blood
Mohammed Ayub, who clinched the gold in pole vault in the first Indo-Pak Punjab Games, has athletics in his blood. Son of legendary pole vaulter Wadi Khan, Pakistan’s first pole vaulter and national record holder who also was a bronze medallist in the Commonwealth Games, Ayub took to athletics in 1990. Though none of his four brothers are sportsmen, Ayub’s nephew Mohammed Saleem is following in his footsteps. Standing 6’3” in his socks, Ayub has cleared 5 metres in training, although today he only managed to clear a height of 4.70 metres. India’s Satwant Singh and Kulwant Singh could only achieve the 4.50m mark. Born on May 25, 1969, Ayub has undertaken a few foreign tours, including his appearance in an Iran meet. At an international meet in Karachi, he achieved 4.80 metres to win gold. His coach, Mohammed Aslam of Faisalabad, a former Olympian having represented Pakistan in the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984, is optimistic of a better show by Ayub in the near future. — Amardeep Bhattal
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Dishes Pakistanis relish
Amardeep Bhattal Catering to the taste buds of visiting Pakistanis seems to be high on the organising committee’s agenda. The daily menu includes dishes which the Pakistanis relish. Bhuna gosht, Kashmiri pulao, subz-e-bahar, zafrani handi chicken etc are being served by The Garden Resort in the Raja Bhalendra Singh Sports Complex. Incidentally, this hotel is owned by Mr Prateek Thakur, whose ancestor Ajmer Singh was a guardian of Maharaja Rajinder Singh, who lost his father at an early age. The hotel, formerly referred to as Nalagarh House, is in front of Prateek’s ancestral house, which itself is over a century old. * * * Lahore has emerged as a centre of gymnastics in Pakistan. Though Pakistani gymnasts have not made a mark at the international level in recent years, many youngsters like Yasir Hafeez, Imran and Afzal hold a lot of promise, according to Mr Painda Malik. The youngsters are mostly from local colleges and one is still studying in school. The Pakistani army and Wapda recruit promising gymnasts. The indoor stadium at Abbotabad in Lahore is a training venue, although the stadium at Islamabad, which is of international standard, is far superior. Coaches are paid an honourarium. Pakistan’s Punjab Government has borne the expenses for the squad’s maiden visit to India. * * * Sports medicine has become an integral part of modern competitions. Every team relies on the expertise of sports physicians as injuries, if not treated properly, can put an athlete’s career in jeopardy. Dr Asad Abbas Shah, in charge of the sports medicine section in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Mayo Hospital, Lahore, is accompanying the Pakistani contingent at the Indo-Pak Punjab Games here and has been lending a helping hand to sportspersons in distress. * * * In the age of self-projection, where people tend to throw their weight around, modesty is an exception. When Ms Jaspreet Talwar, an IAS officer, came and sat on the fringe during the cultural programme here on December 7, local officers immediately recognised her and escorted her to the VIP enclosure.
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IA lift hockey title
Mandi, December 9 In the first half, PNB built up some moves and maintained pressure on Indian Airlines, but failed to score a goal. Indian Airlines scored the first goal in the first half. In the second half, Sanjay from Indian Airlines scored another field goal in the 51st minute. The PNB team scored a field goal and made some moves. In the 59th minute, the umpire awarded a penalty corner to Indian Airlines, but PNB raised an objection resulting in a brief scuffle among players. Gurbej from Indian Airlines and Vikas Topo from PNB came to blows in which Topo received an injury on his head and was rushed to hospital, but was safe after a couple of stitches. |
Paul not to give up playing soccer Styris, McCullum free to play Yoga tourney Clijsters hopeful |
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India’s struggling top order batsmen will look to get into the big-scoring mould as they take on minnows Bangladesh in a two-Test cricket series starting here tomorrow.
Except for the two draws against Zimbabwe and the West Indies at Bulawayo and Gros Islet respectively, the performance of the latest full member of the ICC in recent months has only been better than that of a shambolic Zimbabwe. 
In
video: Sportspersons seek proper medical facilities following
striker's death on the field.