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Test squad to be selected today
Centre clears national colours for cricketers
Shoaib will have to prove fitness: PCB
Punjabis ready to reciprocate
Narain attends Jordan show at Red Square
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Anand off to a brilliant start
Mahesh-Woodbridge enter semifinals
Vijay Singh, Woods advance
Bagan slump to third home defeat
Punjab teams have field day
Judges to take part in golf meet
Pak golfers arrive
Chowrasia takes lead
Haryana team win postal basketball tourney
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Test squad to be selected today
Mumbai, February 25 The committee, headed by former India stumper Kiran More, would also finalise the Board President’s XI that will play a warm-up match against the visitors at Dharamshala from March 3 to 5. The choice of players for the wicketkeeping slot include former India wicketkeeper Parthiv Patel, East Zone’s Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who did duty during the ODIs in Bangladesh and South Zone’s Dinesh Kaarthick. Both Dhoni and Patel come on the back of impressive performances in the domestic season in the Challenger Series, Deodhar Trophy one-day tournament and the on-going Duleep Trophy tournament. The hard-hitting Dhoni has proved that he can be a very useful batsman low down the order even in the longer version of the game while Patel, who had already got enough chances to prove himself, has not only fine-tuned his skills but has also chipped in with useful scores. Kaarthick, meanwhile, has been quite impressive behind the stumps but has not contributed much with the bat which may go against him. However, the selectors’ task to pick the rest of the 13 members for the Mohali Test will be all the more easier as most of the players have proved their fitness. The opening slots should be filled by the Delhi duo of Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir though in-form Baroda batsman Satyajit Parab’s name may come up for discussion because of his consistent performance. The experience of V.V.S. Laxman should fetch him a slot in the middle order with Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and skipper Sourav Ganguly being certainties. Mohammad Kaif or Yuvraj Singh may get a look in depending on how many batsmen the Indian think-tank decides to pick on the bowler-friendly wicket in Mohali. The four seamers — Irfan Pathan, Zaheer Khan, L. Balaji and Ashish Nehra — who all have
recovered from all kind of niggles pick themselves while champion leg spinner Anil Kumble and off-spinner Harbhajan Singh, who has been reportedly cleared of suspect bowling action by the International Cricket Council, will be the automatic choice for the two berth for spinners. Counting themselves unlucky would be left-arm spinner Murali Kartik and Mumbai off-spinner Ramesh Powar, who has emerged as a true contender for place in the national squad. The Pakistanis will be playing three Test matches and six one-dayers during their 50-day tour.
— PTI |
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Centre clears national colours for cricketers New Delhi, February 25 BCCI vice-president Rajeev Shukla, who had written a letter to Home Minister Shivraj Patil seeking clarification on the issue, said the ministry had conveyed that cricketers could use the Tricolour without the Ashok Chakra. Mr Shukla, who met Mr Patil today, said, “I was told that there is no problem with the players using only the colours, minus the Ashok Chakra.” “It means the players can use the national colours — saffron, white and green — in their uniform or in helmet. But the Ashok Chakra should not be there,” he added. The government decision implied that sportspersons like batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar and driving sensation Narain Karthikeyan would have to do away with their helmets which feature the Ashok Chakra. — UNI
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Shoaib will have to prove fitness: PCB
Lahore, February 25 Informing that the tearaway pacer was undergoing treatment at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) here under the supervision of South African trainer Grant Compton, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Director, Cricket Operations, Saleem Altaf said Shoaib would have to prove his fitness by playing in competitive cricket if he wanted to join the team in India.
— UNI |
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Punjabis ready to reciprocate
Chandigarh, February 25 This can be guessed if the response to the recent appeal issued by the PCA to the people living in Mohali, Chandigarh and other nearby areas to come forward and arrange for the visitors’ stay is anything to go by. “We received nearly 15 to 20 calls from the people today willing to accommodate the visitors from Pakistan. We have told them to give their consent in writing. They have been told to specify the type of accommodation detailing the number of rooms they can provide.” Mr G S Walia, treasurer of the PCA, revealed. “Son of a minister approached us and expressed his willingness to accommodate 15 persons,” Mr Walia said. Besides, there are people who are willing provide rooms for the guests. The PCA has informed them to reveal their willingness to adjust families, couples, etc. The owners of a shrine in Mohali have offered to chip in with accommodation and langar. The offers from other quarters are also pouring in, he said. Mohali is hosting the first Test of the three-Test series. As many as 7,500 tickets for the match reached Lahore today. The rush of visitors to Mohali is expected to be more than any other venue due to Punjab’s proximity to Pakistan as well as similarity in language and culture of the people living on either side of the border. Earlier, the PCA found itself in a somewhat uncomfortable situation after the BCCI was forced to redraw the tour itinerary following refusal of Pakistan to play Test in Ahmedabad. The Test was subsequently shifted to Kolkata, whereas Ahmedabad had been allotted a one-day international. Alteration in the dates meant that the Test which was scheduled to be played at Mohali from March 4 will now be played from March 8. The change in dates necessitated the cancellation of the bookings for hotel rooms and re-booking these as per the fresh dates. “Earlier, we had booked nearly 150 rooms in Hotel Mountview. But now we are getting not more than 60 rooms there. The dates of a medical conference, rooms for which have already been booked, are clashing with the fresh dates of the Test. Hence the problem in getting more rooms,” he stated. He was noncommittal about he number of former captains, players and Pakistan Cricket Board officials likely to visit Mohali. “We were 30 to 40 officials who visited there during the Lahore Test,” he said. |
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Narain attends Jordan show at Red Square
Moscow, February 25 Karthikeyan and the entire team would now be jetting off to Melbourne, for the Australian Grand Prix, next week. “We are going directly to Melbourne now to make our final preparations for the Australian Grand Prix. We cannot wait to race,” team boss Trevor Carlin said. It was a colourful event with a grand setting in the city’s oldest and most famous square in the midst of the imposing landmarks of the Kremlin, St Basil’s Cathedral and Lenin’s Mausoleum, where the Jordan-Midland brought Formula One to Russia. Braving the snow and temperature of -10°C, Karthikeyan and Monteiro showed the yellow Toyota Jordan car EJ15. Bought by Russia-born Canadian steel magnate Alex Shnaider last month, Jordan would be renamed Midland next year. “We want our F1 team to have a Russian flavour, so it was very important to introduce ourselves appropriately to the media and business here in Moscow,” team managing director Colin Kolles said. “We want to show them how thrilling Formula One is. I hope that it has been exciting for people to see a Formula One car and racing drivers here at the heart of the Russian capital,” he said. Elated to be a part of the programme, Karthikeyan said, “I think Russia, like my home country India, is a nation which would very much like to host a race in the future grand prix calendar.” “There are many similarities between us, although the climate is certainly not one of them,” he said. “It is such a great business opportunity for sponsors and with the sport attracting interest in new countries, the fans are increasing in number day by day,” Karthikeyan added.
— UNI |
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Zia killed women’s sports in Pak: Atif
Amritsar, February 25 Wife of hockey player Brig M.H. Atif, who along with Brig Hamidi had represented Pakistan four times in the Olympics, she remained president of the PWHF for 16 years from 1969. She said over 11 years of rule of General Haq undid whatever little Pakistani women had gained in sports since the creation of Pakistan. Reminiscing the events, she said girls were not allowed to take part in sports events held overseas. Narrating one such incident, she said the hockey team had received an invitation from Japan to participate in the 1985 Asian Women Hockey Championship, which was cleared by the Ministry of Sports Affairs without taking permission from General Haq. She said when the team were about to board a plane for Japan, men of General Haq came and stopped them from proceeding. She said players were dejected and the Japan Government was also not happy as it had publicised that for the first time, the women’s hockey team of Pakistan were to play on any foreign ground. Eventually, she and the captain of the team were allowed to leave for Japan. “We went to just participate in the opening ceremony”, she added. Being the first person to introduce competitive hockey in Pakistan, Atif started the Premier National Women Hockey Championship in 1983-84, which worked like a platform to select the national team. Commenting on the then Indian women’s hockey team, she said they were good and were considered among the top teams of Asia. She said though after the death of General Haq in an air crash in 1988, she remained president of the PWHF for seven years, she failed to do anything concrete as his legacy continued for several years after his death. |
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Anand off to a brilliant start
Linares, February 25 Top rated Gary Kasparov of Russia tried hard to break through the defences of FIDE world champion Rustam Kasimdzhanov of Uzbekistan but had to settle for a draw in the other keenly contested game of the day. Britain’s Michael Adams and Hungarian Peter Leko played out a tame draw. The Category-20, Euros 297,000 prize money event is being played on a double round-robin basis with seven players. As things stand now, Anand, Kasparov, Topalov and Leko share the lead with one point each but Anand’s ‘plus one’ means the Indian ace is effectively in sole lead after playing only one game. ‘Plus one’ means a player has scored one victory apart from draws in his remaining matches. Anand was simply in his element against Topalov even though the latter was on a high after being in sole lead. Playing white, Anand employed his trademark English attack against the Sicilian Nazdorf and maintained his stronghold right through the game. For the major part of the game, Topalov looked like contesting Anand move for move but once white got a substantial advantage, the Bulgarian proved no match. Anand won after 59 moves.
— PTI |
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Mahesh-Woodbridge enter semifinals
Dubai, February 25 The Indo-Australian pair got the better of Schuettler and Youzhny 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 to set up a showdown with unseeded Czech pair of Martin Damm and Radek Stepanek for a berth in the summit clash. Damm and Stepanek upset top seed Mark Knowles of Baharain and Daniel Nestor of Canada 6-4, 6-4 in the other quarterfinal. “It’s definitely a tough team to beat as both of them are strong singles players,” Bhupathi said after the match late last night. Bhupathi said they was under pressure as he missed many volleys, which cost them the first set. After losing the first, Woodbridge and Bhupathi regrouped well and took the next two sets and the match. Coming together for the first time on a long-term basis from the start of this season, Bhupathi and Woodbridge have already won a title in Sydney. “We can only get better as we go on,” Woodbridge noted. “I think this is a perfect partnership. And tonight we showed how we can find the way to get ourselves out of trouble out there in the middle,” he added. “There’s no team we cannot beat. We can win anything as long as we play to our full potential.” New Delhi: Leander Paes and Serbian Nenad Zimonjic crashed out of the $ 585,000 ATP Tour event in Dubai with a straight sets loss in the first round today. Paes, playing his first match since injuring his ankle in Sydney prior to the Australian Open in January, and Zimonjic went down 6-7 2-6 to Germany’s Nicolas Kiefer and Tomas Berdysch of the Czech Republic.
— PTI |
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Vijay Singh, Woods advance
Carlsbad (USA), February 25 The lower-ranked player won 12 of the 32 matches played in sloppy conditions at rain-soaked La Costa, where play began 24 hours behind schedule. Vijay Singh, Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Retief Goosen — the top four seeds overall seeded first in their brackets — were among those to advance, but fifth seed Mike Weir lost 1-up to US veteran Kirk Triplett. Singh, Woods and Mickelson found their way into the second round fairly smoothly, but fourth-ranked Goosen had to battle to subdue persistent Australian Stephen Leaney 1-up. Woods never trailed in his match against 48-year-old Nick Price of Zimbabwe, who bogeyed the first hole and never really recovered. The two-time defending champion won 4 and 3. “Nick gave me the first hole and I was able to stick it out,” Woods said. Singh was similarly untroubled against Japan’s Shingo Katayama, also winning 4 and 3. “I managed my game really well today and I am just glad the first round is through,” Singh said. Mickelson also never trailed in a 3 and 1 win over the short-hitting Loren Roberts. Close matches were the exception rather than the rule, with two needing extra holes and 14 others decided at the 18th. Among the narrow winners was 48th seed John Daly, who edged Justin Leonard 1 up. Graeme McDowell was a 1-up winner over fellow Northern Irishman Darren Clarke. McDowell was never ahead until he birdied the par-five 18th from 10 feet. He won the 16th hole when Clarke missed a putt of less than five feet. A more emphatic winner was sixth seed Sergio Garcia of Spain, who scored a 4 and 2 victory over Germany’s Alex Cejka.
— AFP |
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Bagan slump to third home defeat
Kolkata, February 25 Vasco played to a gameplan and stole the thunder from under the wings of the former champions. The all-important goal came in the 23rd minute of the first half when Susant Mathew sent a defence-splitting through from the midfield that Dennis Cabral collected at the top of the box, carried a couple of Bagan defenders in his stride and then set up Alex Ambrose with a perfect minus for the latter to score with elan. The goal apart, Vasco mainly played on counter attack even as Mohun Bagan looked unimaginative and lethargic in the rival defence though they dominated with a better ball position. In the first half Bagan did create a couple of chances. At first Jerry shot out from close in the 12th minute and then in the 24th minute Asim Biswas shot out with Vasco keeper Virender Singh at his mercy. Betto too had his chances but once he headed straight into the keeper and then inexplicably decided to set up a colleague for the goal when he could have finished it itself. After the match Vasco coach Derrick Pereira did not hide his surprise. “I did not expect Mohun Bagan to be so insipid. I thought they would give us a stiffer challenge. I hope this is the turning point for us,” Derrick said. On the contrary, it was Sydney Rodrigues, Vasco’s Brazilian recruit, who almost opened up the goal five minutes into the game off a wrong clearance by Dulal Biswas. In the second half, the game further degenerated to mindless ball play in the midfield as Vasco coach Derrick closed all doors on Bagan offence with a dour defence comprising Nicolau Colaco, Angelo Colaco, Vinu Jose and Avinash Thapa. Mohun Bagan made a couple of forays in the second half with Noel Wilson trying out a long ranger and Betto back-heading one that went way off its mark. Subrata tried to change the fortunes of his team making three changes bringing in Rishi Kapoor for Manas Das, Dharamjeet for Renedy Singh and Sunil Chetri for Asim Biswas. However, even Sunil Chhetri’s entry could not inject any momentum to Bagan attack as they looked like a fangless team even as the axe loomed large over coach Subrata Bhattacharya’s head. Vasco created a couple of chances in the second half but Sydney Rodrigues was a couple of seconds late to a measured cross from Anees . K who substituted the goal scorer Alex Amrose in the second half. After the match, a visibly dejected and under pressure Bagan coach admitted that they were out of championship contention. “Now it is a fight to maintain some
respectability. We are out of contention,’’ he said. Asked was there any remedy to the poor show of Bagan, Subrata said there was none. The team is feeling the pressure of playing at home, he said. Asked if the coach was under any kind of pressure, he said, ‘’I have done all that I could do. Now it is the players’ turn to convert.”
UNI |
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Punjab teams have field day
New Delhi, February 25 In a see-saw battle, Punjab and Sind Bank found themselves in arrears when Indian Airlines forged ahead in the very first minute through Ravinder. Though the Bankmen equalised through Navpreet Singh, who converted a penalty stroke four minutes later, Airlines once again took the lead when Arjun Halappa scored a off a penalty corner in the 23rd minute. But two minute later, the Bankmen drew parity through Baljit Singh Saini and five minutes after resumption they surged ahead with Parminder Singh slotting home a field goal. Mandeep Singh then enhanced it to 4-2 in the 59th minute but just before the final hooter, Airlines earned a penalty stroke and Bimal Lakra made no mistake. In the second match, after a goalless first session, Punjab Police got into their scoring act to strike three goals in seven minutes through Sarabjit Singh and Kawalprit Singh (2) to blank the Malaysian Club. |
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Judges to take part in golf meet
Chandigarh, February 25 The Judges from Delhi High Court participating in the tournament are Mr Justice Vikramjit Sen and Mr Justice C.K. Mahajan. Mr Justice K.S. Garewal and Mr Justice J.S. Narang of the Punjab and Haryana High Court will also take part in the tournament. |
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Pak golfers arrive
Amritsar, February 25 M.S. Babar, leader and captain of the team, said his team would play matches against golf clubs of Chandigarh, Panchkula and Patiala. He added that golf had gained popularity in Pakistan in the last decade. |
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Chowrasia
takes lead New Delhi, February 25 Chandigarh’s Amritinder Singh occupied the second position at three-under 213 while another Chandigarh golfer, Ranjit Singh, and Bangalore’s S. Madaiah were tied third at level-par 216. Chowrasia, who started the first tee box with a two-stroke lead, birdied the fourth and sixth. Thereafter, it was an up-and-down ride, but he recovered well with birdies on the 14th and 17th holes.
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Haryana team win postal basketball tourney Ambala, February 25 Amit Prashure of Haryana team was adjudged the player of the tournament. Chief Post Master General, Punjab circle, Mr L.K. Puri was the chief guest at the concluding function. He gave away prizes to the winners. Sports Day: Sports Day was held in Roots Cantonment Public School, Ambala Cantt, on Friday. Commander PH & HP (I) Sub Area, Brig G.S.
Malhi, was the chief guest. He gave away prizes to the winners. Indira House was awarded the Best House trophy while Surya and Harjasleen Kaur were given prizes for best student male and best student female, respectively. A number of fun races were held. School principal, Ms Uma Sharma, while presenting the annual report, said focus was on complete personality development of the students. She spoke about various activities being undertaken throughout the year.
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IHF revives senior nationals Hockey academy Nadal ousts Canas Gullit blames fans College meet
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