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Indian eves rout Kazakhstan Sania Mirza to consult cricket team physio
Safin shown the door
Kent remain non-committal
about Ganguly
Sehwag, Wright get accolades from Cairns
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MCC wants to ban Ponting’s bat
Winds halt first day’s play
SGFI embroiled in new row
JCT beat Tollygunge 3-1
Sridhar, Rastogi in semis
Delhi soccer body for pilot project
AI scrape past IHF
Juniors
Haryana under-18 trials
Vijay Singh inducted into Hall of Fame
Horson Club beat Defence Club by 22 runs
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Indian eves rout Kazakhstan
New Delhi, April 21 Twenty-seven-year-old Rushmi, playing instead of the up-and-coming but off-colour Ankita Bhambri, justified her selection with a 6-0, 6-1 defeat of Morozova in a Pool A match at the R. K. Khanna stadium. Shikha Uberoi, the Florida resident playing under the Tricolour, overcame minor hiccups in the second set before coming through 6-0, 6-4 against Mariya Kovaleva to give the Indians an unbeatable 2-0 lead. In the doubles, Shikha and Ankita Bhambri defeated Mariya Kovaleva and Ekaterina Morozova 6-4, 6-4 to make it a clean sweep for the hosts. Ankita, coming back from an injury, had looked patchy against Singapore yesterday, forcing captain Enrico Piperno to do a rethink. Rushmi then rose to the occasion with her second-ever singles win in Fed Cup, and her first after the earlier win on debut in a Group 1 tie against Syria in 1994. Rushmi, who reached her maiden $ 25,000 event final in Mumbai last week, needed only 36 minutes to wrap up the match with a series of accurate serves and efficient forehands. The 374th-ranked Indian reeled off nine games in a row before Morozova held her serve to register her first game on the board. Rushmi then nipped any hopes her rival might have nurtured of a fightback by breaking her once more to close the issue. Shikha, after taking the first set in just 18 minutes, committed three doubles faults to drop serve in the sixth game of the second set against Kovaleva. The 21-year-old, however, broke back immediately and levelled the score 4-4. The Kazakh girl then played a couple of fluent backhand down-the-line winners as if to show that the Central Asian nation had not only oil but tennis potential to be tapped. But Shikha, with the big tie against top seed China coming up tomorrow, was in no mood to spend her energy. She uncorked another break in the ninth before serving out the match. Indian team captain Piperno expressed satisfaction over the team’s performance but said the players would need to be much sharper against China. “I am quite satisfied but we need to be sharper against China,” he said. Piperno said being “the underdogs” against China could work in India’s favour. “It is good to be the underdogs. They are the favourites and so the girls would be under less pressure.” Playing Rushmi instead of Ankita today would also help him have a fair assessment of the players’ form. “I know what I want to do, I have seen the form of all three of them.” Also the fact that Shikha dropped serve thrice today, twice in the doubles, should be a cause for concern. Kovaleva and Morozova broke Shikha in the third and seventh games of the second set. The Indians, however, were more astute at the net to even the advantage on both the occasions, with breaks in the fourth and sixth games. The pressure ultimately told on the Kazakh pair as Kovaleva double faulted on match point to surrender the tie. “It was tiring towards the end but we had a good partnership and pulled it through,” said Shikha, perhaps indicating at the rising mercury levels. China, the top seeds, had no such problems as they lost only three games in three matches put together to rout minnows Singapore 3-0 in the other pool A match. Second seeds and former champions Australia were similarly dominant against Chinese Taipei. Nineteen-year-old Sophie Ferguson made an impressive debut, and with Tennis Australia president Geoff Pollard cheering the team, ran away to a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Hsiao-Han Chao in the opening tie. Samantha Stosur won the second singles to double the lead before combining with Bryanne Stewart to beat Yen-Hua Lu and Ting-Wen Wang. In Group 2 matches, Philippines and Uzbekistan easily won their encounters against Syria and Turkmenistan with identical scores of 3-0.
— PTI
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Sania Mirza to consult cricket team physio
New Delhi, April 21 Sania’s father Imran Mirza said, “She is upset at not being part of the squad. But there was no way she could play. After she twisted the same ankle three times, medical reports found fluid around the injured bone. This is oedema and the doctor has advised her 10 or 12 days of rest. The risk of fielding her was not worth it.” “Sania had met former cricket team physio Andrew Leipus and recently she met Gloster as well. Both Leipus and Gloster believe this injury stems from the movement of her hipbone, which exerts pressure on one side. They have said Irfan Pathan is having the same problem. The doctor will reassess Sania again after 10 or 12 days and Gloster will go through the reports before he suggests anything. Earlier he advised Sania to do some exercises,” Imran said. “Let us see when Sania and Gloster can squeeze out time to discuss the injury,” he said. Sania had also consulted renowned orthopaedic expert Dr Anant Joshi, the BCCI-recommended doctor in Mumbai, who had treated Sachin Tendulkar, among others. Asked by when Sania was expected to return to the court, Imran said, “It is a natural healing process which requires at least six weeks’ rest and Sania never had that. It has already healed 70 per cent, but she skipped the event for playing at this stage could have proved a blunder in the long term,” he said. — UNI
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Safin shown the door
Barcelona, April 21 The scratchy Russian top seed went down without a fight 6-4, 6-4 to Argentine journeyman Jose Acasuso in the second round yesterday after a bye. Second seed Gaston Gaudio, the reigning Roland Garros champion, followed the formbook with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Spanish veteran Felix Mantilla to move into the third round. Monte Carlo champion Rafael Nadal staked out more success on clay, crushing Luxembourg’s Gilles Muller 6-0, 6-2. Nadal earned a match against Slovak 10th seed Dominik Hrbaty, who dominated Italy’s Potito Starace 6-3, 6-2. Nadal joined compatriot Juan Carlos Ferrero as a winner, with the unseeded former world number one defeating compatriot Feliciano Lopez, seeded 12th, 6-4, 6-4. Ferrero would next play a third straight Spanish opponent in the form of Alberto Martin, who preyed upon the continuing shoulder problems of 2004 winner Tommy Robredo, with a 6-1, 6-4 knockout of the sixth seed.
— AFP |
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Narain keen to finish in top 10
Imola, April 21 “I am very focused for this grand prix and well prepared. I am not preoccupied with the thought that it could be dusty for the tyres, nor that it goes anticlockwise because I did a lot of training in Paul Ricard,” Karthikeyan said in an exclusive interview. The 28-year-old Jordan driver said he was eager to get back into action and wanted his team to finish within the top 10, a prospect which had become far more realistic after his team-mate Tiago Montiero of Portugal finished 10th in Bahrain practice session. “The gap since the Bahrain race seems a very long time; I cannot wait to drive again tomorrow and hope for the team to finish the race on Sunday. It will be nice to be in the top 10” he said. The Chennai-born driver said he had some idea on what to expect at the Imola track and was ready for the challenge with a strategy. “I have already raced in Monza so I kind of know what to expect from the Italian tifosi. But I have never raced at Imola before. I am looking forward to it and its electric atmosphere,” he said. “It looks like I will need to set up the car to use the kerbs a lot to get a good lap time, which will probably be a bit tricky. But having said that, Malaysia was also difficult, although I did well there. So I am ready for the challenge and I will give it my best”, Karthikeyan said. “The kerbs are relatively high and the only way to a fast lap is to go straight over them — especially in the chicane at the top of the hill,” Karthikeyan said. The Indian ace also said he was aware of the difficulties here and was prepared for them. “Imola is a maximum downforce circuit that is very tough on brakes. On top of that, I was told that the track is relatively bumpy. But I suppose I will have to live with it. I discovered the track in more detail this morning when I was walking around with my engineers,” he said. Karthikeyan, who arrived in Bologna from the UK, said the weather might be quite favourable. “I guess that the wet weather could be an asset for us and a good sign for the result of this grand prix”, he said. Karthikeyan also appeared fitter than ever ahead of his fourth Formula One grand prix. “I did six hours of training everyday. Yesterday for instance, the emphasis was on a lot of running and cardio-vascular training,” he said. Regarding his car, he said, “In preparation for the San Marino and Spanish Grand Prix, Jordan Grand Prix tested Bridgestone’s tyres thoroughly during our test session last week at the Paul Ricard circuit in France.”
— PTI |
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Kent remain non-committal
about Ganguly
New Delhi, April 21 Refusing to comment on whether the Indian captain — currently cooling his heels after the ICC slapped him a six-match ban following his side’s repeated slow over-rate in the series against Pakistan — Paul E. Millman, chief executive of the county, said from Kent. ‘’We have an opportunity for a second overseas player this year and have been linked with many names. As a matter of policy, we will not comment on speculation and will only make a public pronouncement if and when we make a decision to enhance our current playing staff.’’ Reports claimed Sourav — struggling with his form with the bat — was keen for a short county stint to regain his touch and was likely to sound out Kent on the advice of just-retired coach John Wright, who worked with Kent before joining Team India. This season, Kent had their only overseas player in the 30-year-old South African Martin van Jaarsveld.
— UNI |
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Sehwag, Wright get accolades from Cairns
Mumbai, April 21 “Sehwag is an amazing batsman. People talk mainly about his attacking batting, forgetting that he has got a sound defensive technique too. Without such a good defence, he could not have done what he has,” Cairns told reporters here last night. Cairns also praised compatriot John Wright for the way he had handled the Indian squad as coach till his departure from the scene at the end of the high-profile series against Pakistan. The success or otherwise of a coach was determined by what the players under him thought about him. The Indian players had showered praise on John, leaving him with a sweet taste in the mouth, said Cairns, whose career had been bedevilled by injuries. Asked who to compare the captaincy styles of current Australian skipper Ricky Ponting and his predecessor Steve Waugh, Cairns brought smiles on the reporters’ faces by saying, “Even my mom can captain the Australian team”. “They are such a great team that it is not difficult to captain the squad. I found no difference between the two (Ponting and Waugh as captains),” said the top allrounder, who had decided to quit international cricket after the 2007 World Cup in the West Indies. The New Zealand cricketer was in town for a product launch and to adjudicate in a contest connected with the launch. Cairns sympathised with Indian captain Sourav Ganguly for the six-match ODI ban he got for the Indian team’s slow over-rate at Ahmedabad in the fourth match against Pakistan. “My sympathies are with Sourav. It was a harsh decision, but that is what has been prescribed in the ICC Code of conduct. I hope he comes back soon,” Cairns said. About the series itself, Cairns said Pakistan, usually a bunch of talented individuals, displayed team spirit in abundance, for which he praised their coach Woolmer, the former England batsman. “They played good cricket and I was impressed with Naved-ul-Hasan Rana. He is a very good bowler. The team culture (in the Pakistan squad) looked stronger now. They always had talented individuals, but now looked to be a cohesive bunch. Woolmer has brought them together,” Cairns said.
— PTI |
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MCC wants to ban Ponting’s bat
Sydney, April 21 The MCC has expressed its concerns to the International Cricket Council (ICC), which will debate the matter as part of an overall review of bats at a meeting in Dubai next month, the Daily Telegraph said today. The newspaper said the Lord’s-based organisation did not respond to its telephone calls and e-mails because it said it could not work out which department was permitted to talk publicly on the issue. But an ICC spokesman confirmed to the newspaper that Ponting’s bat was up for review. “At present, there is a MCC process ongoing on this matter and, pending the completion of this process, the player is permitted to use the bat in question,” the spokesman said. Ponting hit a double century against Pakistan with the bat in Sydney last January, a century in the Asian tsunami charity match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground and made 293 runs at 97.66 in three Tests in the recent series in New Zealand. The laws of the game stated that the blade of the bat might be covered with material for “strengthening, protection or repair” as long as the material did not damage the ball. Rob Elliott, the managing director of Kookaburra, which made the bat and was also the largest manufacturer of cricket balls in the game, said it was “rubbish” to suggest the graphite provided extra power or would damage the ball. Elliott said the MCC wanted to ban the bat and felt it could be a part of the MCC’s attempt to try to destabilise Australia’s Ashes campaign. “The carbon reinforces the strength of the blade, but it also protects the blade,” Elliot said. “We designed the bat with the use of the carbon reinforcement to prolong the life of the bat because the player wants to use the bat for as long as possible”, he said.
— AFP
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Winds halt first day’s play
Beijing, April 21 It was also very cold in Beijing as the players struggled all around. Australian Adam Scott, the world’s number 10, was on top of the leaderboard as he negotiated his opening 10 holes in three-under-par. Only three of the Indians, Amandeep Johl, Harmeet Kahlon and Rahil Gangjee, began play in their opening round and all of them were over par. Johl was two over for eight holes with bogeys on 10th and 17th, where he was when play was stopped. Kahlon was also two over after seven. He bogeyed the first hole and the birdied the second, but then dropped a shot each on fourth and sixth. Gangjee was struggling at six-over after six holes. He had a bogey-bogey start from the 10th and then double-bogeyed the 12th. Jeev Milkha Singh and Jyoti Randhawa did not get a chance to start their round and would tee off for first round tomorrow.
— PTI |
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SGFI embroiled in new row
Patiala, April 21 Mrs Choudhury of West Bengal, in a letter to Union Sports Minister Sunil Dutt, claimed that she and Mr Chhabra were elected to their respective posts at a meeting of the Executive Committee and General Council of the SGFI held at Kotkapura on April 18 and 19. Mrs Choudhury, who was earlier the senior vice-president of the SGFI, said the Kotkapura meeting was attended by representatives of 11 state units while messages expressing solidarity with the newly elected President and Secretary-General were received from seven state units. The Kotkapura meeting also saw the proceedings of the meetings held on July 1 and 2, 2004, being confirmed while the budgetary provisions for 2005-06 were discussed and unanimously approved. Mrs Choudhury alleged that Mr Satpal, who was earlier the President, had been expelled because of his ‘anti-federation and anti-school sports’ activities. She also alleged that “Mr Satpal had deserted the federation and formed his own group on October 10, 2004, at the Chhatrasal stadium, New Delhi, which was unconstitutional and unlawful.” At the meeting, Mrs Choudhury’s candidature was backed by Mr Dhirendra Choudhury of Tripura, Dr C.N. Bajpai of Chhattisgarh, Mr S.R. Rathore of Himachal Pradesh and Mr Ravinder Talwar of Chandigarh. In another development, the new set of office-bearers decided that the National School Games conducted under the presidentship of Mr Satpal had no validity and certificates issued to participants would not be accorded any gradation because just four-odd teams participated in the games. In her letter to the minister, copies of which have been sent to all affiliated units of the SGFI and also the ED, SAI, New Delhi, Mrs Choudhury said, “The National School Games organised in Punjab by Mrs Rupa Saini were attended by just four or five teams leading to colossal waste of government funds.” The House also decided to request the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports to take action against Mr Satpal of Delhi, Mr A.K. Mishra of Madhya Pradesh and Mrs Rupa Saini of Punjab for “damaging school sports and harming the careers of budding sportspersons.” The calendar for the National School Games was also released. Meanwhile, Mrs Rupa Saini, Deputy Director, School Sports, Department of Education, said she did not recognise the new set of office-bearers and the actual SGFI meeting would be held at April 23 and 24 at New Delhi. |
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JCT beat Tollygunge 3-1
Kolkata, April 21 Manjit Singh and Sakatar Singh netted for the winners in the first half, before Harvinder Singh struck the third goal in the drab Salt Lake stadium outing. Suman Dutta (Junior) scored a consolation goal for Tollygunge towards the end. After today’s victory, JCT’s points tally has increased to 26 from 18 matches, and they continue in the sixth position. In contrast, lowly placed Tollygunge’s crisis deepened, as they remained at the 10th spot with 15 points from 18 games. Only Vasco (14 from 18 matches) and SBT (13 from 18 matches) are placed below Tollygunge in the 12-team league where the last four sides would be relegated. JCT went ahead in the 17th minute when Manjit capitalised on a loose ball to fire a powerful volley which went into the net, beating Tollygunge custodian Sudip Sarkar all hands down. The millmen got another goal 14 minutes later, with Sukhwinder Singh setting up Sukhjinder Singh with a measured cross. Sukhjinder found Sakatar on the clear, and released the ball to the striker, who volleyed in. Tollygunge tried to stage a recovery in the second half, but failed to create positive chances. Harvinder increased the margin in the 75th minute as he took the ball from Isiaka Abayomi and directed it into the goal with a right footer. Tollygunge managed to make the scoreline 3-1 in the 86th minute with Dutta finding the mark from close range.
— PTI |
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Sridhar, Rastogi in semis
Mumbai, April 21 In the quarterfinals, left-handed Sridhar of Tamil Nadu — the India number four — easily overpowered seventh seed J. Vishnu Vardhan, nationally ranked 18th, of Andhra Pradesh 6-1, 6-2 at the Juhu Vile Parle Gymkhana Club’s courts here. Karnataka’s Arjun, currently ranked 14th in the country, ousted fourth seed Kamala Kannan of Tamil Nadu, ranked three places above him, 6-3, 7-6 (7-5) to earn a shot at number one seed Sridhar in tomorrow’s semifinal. Maharashtra’s third seed Rastogi — nationally ranked ninth — scored a fluent 6-3, 6-1 quarterfinal victory over fifth seed Ashutosh Singh of Delhi. Rastogi’s next round opponent, unseeded former three-time national champion Nitin Kirtane, overcame Kedar Tembe 6-3, 7-6 (7-4) in an all-Maharashtra quarterfinal contest. Southpaw Kirtane shut out second seed Ajay Ramaswami in the opening round on Tuesday.
— PTI |
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Delhi soccer body for pilot project
New Delhi, April 21 The Vision India Team of the AFC and the AIFF will help in building up the DSA as a model association in India. The Vision India Team from the AFC will be in Delhi from April 24 to 27 to study the present status of football in Delhi, and to recommend measures to improve the system. From Delhi, the AFC team will leave for Manipur, the other state selected for the Vision India project, on April 27. The AFC team will consist of secretary-general Dato Peter
Velappan, Brendan Menton, Gary Power, Jita Singh, P. Sivakumar, Imtiaz Rehman and Mohd
Basir. AFC secretary-general Peter Velappan, in a communication to DSA secretary Narinder Kumar Bhatia, said India had huge potential for developing football. “I am confident that the strategic implementation in your State FA will serve as a model for other state associations and will lead to the overall development of Indian football”, he added.
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AI scrape past IHF
Juniors
Chennai, April 21 In
Saturday’s semifinal, Air India would play Tamil Nadu, who defeated
Beighton Cup winners BSF 2-1. After BSF led 1-0 through Mangru Tirkey,
the hosts netted twice through Ramesh Babu and Muthukumar. With IHF
and Air India locked one-all at the end of regulation time and neither
side scoring in the 15 minutes of extra time, the rivals were 3-3 in the
tie-breaker when Olympian Roshan Tete walked in for Air India’s last
push. Tete’s knee-high push was blocked by goalkeeper Adrian D’Souza
with his thigh, but the latter started walking and did not realise that
the ball had rolled from his thigh and crossed the goal line. Air India
thus won 5-4. — PTI
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Haryana under-18 trials
Panchkula, April 21 Athletes will also be selected on the same day for the national competitions for throws and pole vaults to be held on May 9 and 10 at Salwan Public School, Old Rajendar Nagar, New Delhi. Athletes should bring their original certificates of age proof and two passport size photos. They have to report to Jai Singh, chief athletics coach, CCS HAU, Hisar, at 8 a m for registrations and trials. |
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Vijay Singh inducted into Hall of Fame
Houston, April 21 Singh’s spectacular 2004 season included nine victories and nearly $ 11 million in prize earnings.
— AFP |
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Horson Club beat Defence Club by
22 runs Kharar, April 21 Brief
scores: HCC 146 for 7 in 25 overs ( Ashish 39, Gurmeet 29, Pawan 3 for 21) DCC 124 all out in 22.3 overs ( Sanjay 23, Pankaj 28, Ashok 3 for 20) In another match, the Evergreen Cricket Club routed Eagle XI by 6 wickets. Brief scores: Eagle XI 132 all out in 24 overs (Kaka 32, Pardeep 22, Raj Kumar 3 for 28) Evergreen Club: 136 for 4 in 18 overs
(Dipak 32, Mani 29, Sanjay 2 for 37, Pardeep 2 for 10).
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