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Tough to beat India, says
top Uzbek player
Time for Tendulkar to quit, says Richards
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Harbhajan reposes faith
in BCCI
Karthikeyan finishes 17th
Sasi salvages draw
A major showdown on the cards
Act may affect sports bodies significantly
India defeat Pak in netball
Ludhiana emerge winners
Vasco edge out Fransa
Tickets for NFL ties
at Ludhiana
Cricket tourney
Hockey awards for Adrian, Jyothi
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China eves dash India’s hopes
New Delhi, April 22 With this 2-0 lead, China rendered the doubles match, to be played later today, inconsequential. A lot depended on Shikha Uberoi, India's best bet in absence of her more illustrious compatriot Sania Mirza but the Boca Raton-based Indian tasted her first Fed Cup defeat against the highest WTA ranked Chinese player in the tournament Na Li. Li won 6-1, 6-2 in just over an hour. Currently ranked 41 in the latest WTA rankings, the Chinese dished out percentage, error-free tennis compared to her flashy Indian rival. Li took a 2-0 lead in the first set but Shikha raised her game to break her rival in the third game. That, however, proved the only consolation for the 22-year-old Indian as Li went on to win the next four games and bag the set. The second set saw hardly any change in the complexion of the game as Li, the Asian champion, made Shikha run around the court. She broke Shikha in the first game itself and took a 2-0 lead. Shikha held her serve in the third game but Li raced to a 5-1 lead. The seventh game saw Shikha serving three aces to make it 2-5 but that proved the last flicker. A rasping Li forehand had Shikha stretching for it but the ball and the match were by then well beyond her reach. Earlier in the first singles, Rushmi Chakravarthi needed a miracle of sorts to overcome Jie Zheng with more th-an 300 places separating them in the WTA rankings. The 28-year-old Indian started promisingly breaking Zheng in the very first game and then held serve to take a 2-0 lead which she managed to stretch to 3-1 but there she lost the plot as a fleet-footed Zheng made her toil in the court and clinch five games in a row to win the first set 6-3. The second set saw Zheng, the first Chinese woman to reach the fourth round of a Grand Slam tournament at Roland Garros last year -- in devastating form and she did not concede the local favourite an inch and blanked her to complete a facile 6-3, 6-0 win in under an hour. India was made to regret the ankle injury of Sania Mirza who had defeated the 22-year Chinese in the second round of the Hyderabad Open earlier this year.
— UNI |
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Tough to beat India, says
top Uzbek player
New Delhi, April 22 The 21-year old Uzbek was of the view that even leading teams of the world have found it hard to overpower India on grass courts. “It is very tough assignment for us,” Inoyatov said. Inoyatov along with teammate Denis Istomin arrived here on April 18 to acclimatise to the conditions and practise on grass. “We came here early to get used to the conditions. We have been practising hard on grass courts as we are not used to playing on them,” he said. Two other members of the team, Akmal Sharipov and Farrukh Dustov will reach here tomorrow and then they all will leave for Jaipur in the evening. “Sharipov and Dustov were playing in the ITF tournaments hence they could not reach here earlier,” Inoyatov said. Inoyatov, a baseline player, was candid enough to say that his side has virtually no chance in the doubles. “It is difficult to win against them (Paes and Bhupathi),” he said. The Tashkent-based Inoyatov knows Prakash Amritraj and Harsh Mankad. “I lost to Mankad in 2003 in Mumbai. They are very good players and by now have gained a considerable experience on grass,” he said. “Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi are very senior and experienced players and have several great Davis Cup victories to their credit. They are the mainstay of the Indian team,” Inoyatov said. He has been to India on several occasions so the hot conditions are not new to him. “I am comfortable in this weather but it is not the case with Denis Istomin. He is feeling the heat,” he said. “Weather is more or less similar in our country so I think I’m comfortable playing here. But Istomin is sick. He has got a throat infection,” he said. “I have visited India two weeks ago, so I am comfortable playing in this weather,” Inoyatov said. He said for the last five days he along with his partner is having gruelling work outs. “The courts at the NSCI were good and we have been able to get good practice,” he said and added, “Now we plan to have more rigorous workout in Jaipur. I hope Sharipov and Dustov will be in good nick. We want to give a tough fight to the hosts.”
—UNI |
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Time for Tendulkar to quit, says Richards
New Delhi, April 22 “Even if he retires right now, he will be a legend”, Richards observed here today. “His achievements are such that it will be very difficult for anyone to better him. He has carried India’s mantle for a long time and has done his job; and done it well”, said Richards, who was here to participate in the McDowell’s Celebrity Golf Tournament. The former West Indian captain, who often made mincemeat of the best of bowling with his ruthless batting, noted that Sachin’s reflexes had slowed down and it was time for him to retire. Richards, who has great memories of India as he had scored his first Test century at the Ferozeshah Kotla on his debut in 1974, said now that people had started asking questions about Sachin’s form, he should step down gracefully. “When you are 21, you are at your best; at 26 you become a bit tiresome as the wear and tear takes it toll on your health”, he opined. He said though both Sachin and Brian Lara had scored lots of runs, they could have achieved a lot more to serve the team’s cause. Richards, who in his career spanning from 1974 to 1991 scored 8,540 runs from 121 Tests at an average of 50.23 and was chosen as one of the five best cricketers of the 20th century, said India had talented players like Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid, Irfan Pathan and Zaheer Khan. However, he felt that the dashing Sehwag should become more consistent. “He doesn’t care who the bowler is”, Richards said. “I like his style, the way he plays. But I would love to see Sehwag a little more consistent”, Richards emphasised. He warned that it would be difficult for Sehwag to sustain his batting success unless he varied his approach. He was all praise for Dravid’s “sound technique” which had served the cause of the team time and again. Richards said Pathan was a “wonderful find” of India’s tour to Australia last year. He was equally impressed with Zaheer’s bowling. “They swung the ball a lot to tease the Aussie batsmen”, Richards said. He said Pathan was a great talent, but India should preserve both pacers by keeping them fit and injury-free. “They gave a whole lot of trouble to the Australian batsmen”, Richards recalled. On Indian captain Sourav Ganguly’s continued lean patch, Richards said he should show his character and mental strength to keep his head above the water. “Sourav should believe in himself to come out of the rut he finds himself in now”, Richards noted. Richards, who sees nothing wrong in employing foreign coaches as “cricket has become more globalised now”, said he admired great players like Ian Chappell, Sunil Gavaskar, Gundappa Viswanath, Martin Crowe, Gordon Greenidge and Greg Chappell. But he was not willing to pick any one player as a role model. He also praised the present Australian team which he felt was as good as any great Test side in the past. Richards observed that Pakistan’s 4-2 triumph in the one-day series against India was a notable feat, coming as it did after their tour of Australia. He said the Pakistanis mustered enough confidence after they defeated the West Indies to reach the final of the triangular series Down Under, to do a good job on the Indian tour. About the controversies dogging West Indies cricket, considering the fact that the Caribbean islands would be hosting the 2007 World Cup, Richards said some people involved with the administration of cricket in the Caribbean should depart instead of being pushed out. “There must be some changes”, he asserted. |
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Lara’s ton props up Windies
Bridgetown, April 22 Lara again underscored his value to the West Indies’ batting after the home team crashed to 12 for three in the first 40 minutes following their decision to bat first on a hard, true Kensington Oval pitch under a sunny sky.
He reached his landmark when he glanced Jacques Kallis off his hips to long leg for a single.
The left-handed batsman hit 21 fours and one six from 224 balls in just under six hours before Andre Nel, who had earlier put the skids on the West Indies, claimed his wicket for the seventh time in a Test late in the day.
Circumspect through the first phase of his innings, Lara added 138 for the fourth wicket to stabilise the innings with fellow left-hander and West Indies captain Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who scored 53. Gradually, Lara grew in stature, and the ball began to disappear to the boundary with greater regularity, particularly when compatriot Dwayne Bravo joined him after tea and they added 115 for the sixth wicket. South Africa, however, held sway for most of a day that started brightly for them when Nel removed left-handed opener Chris Gayle with the fifth ball of the match, caught behind for a duck. The wickets of Wavell Hinds and Ramnaresh Sarwan in the space of six balls set the West Indies back further. Hinds was caught at first slip for one off Makhaya Ntini playing defensively forward, and Sarwan was caught at backward point for 10 off Nel cutting a short, rising ball. Lara and Chanderpaul, the West Indies’ two most experienced batsman, settled the nerves and the crowd with a workmanlike partnership that carried their team through lunch that was taken at 60 for three. They were just beginning to get into the full swing of things following the interval when Monde Zondeki took the crucial wicket of Chanderpaul to leave the West Indies at 167 for four at tea. In the first over of his second spell, Zondeki had Chanderpaul flashing at a short, wide delivery to be caught behind. The West Indies captain hit six fours in 53 from 138 balls in just over three hours. South Africa could have strengthened their grip had Kallis been a little more alert at slip, when Hinds, on zero, edged a short, rising first ball from Zondeki just short of the fielder. After tea, South Africa did not have to wait long for success. Hinds was caught behind for 10 off Kallis flirting with danger outside the off-stump to leave the West Indies at 171 for five. This provided the platform for Lara to attack and he brought the spectators in the half-filled stadium to their feet with an array of attractive strokes. Scoreboard West Indies (1st innings) W. Hinds c Smith b Ntini 1 Gayle c Boucher b Nel 0 Sarwan c Prince b Nel 10 Lara b Nel 176 Chanderpaul c Boucher R. Hinds c Boucher b Kallis 10 Bravo c Smith b Zondeki 26 Browne not out 3 Powell not out 3 Extras
(b-1, lb-3, w-1, nb-5) 10 Total (7 wkts, 89 overs) 292 Fall of wickets:
1-2, 2-12, 3-12, 4-150, 5-171, 6-286, 7-288. Bowling: Nel 19-3-54-2, Ntini 17-2-61-1, Kallis 14-6-37-1, Zondeki 14-0-48-2, Smith 8-1-23-0, Boje 16-2-65-0.
— AFP |
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Harbhajan reposes faith
in BCCI
Jalandhar, April 22 “BCCI has already written a letter to the ICC, raising objection on my undergoing one more test to clear myself from the allegations, as a similar kind of test has already been conducted on me in Australia,” Harbhajan said today. The off-spinner was reported for a suspect bowling action for his
‘doosra’, a delivery that spins away from a right-handed batsman, after the second Test between India and Pakistan at Kolkata. He was earlier reported in the second Test against Bangladesh in December, but was cleared by the ICC after tests in Australia.
— PTI |
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Sasi salvages draw
Copenhagen, April 22 Dutch Grandmaster Jan Timman continued with his great form and defeated GM Viorel Iordachescu of Moldova to maintain his sole lead with five points out of a possible six. Top seed Hikaru Nakamura of USA made sure that Timman remained within striking distance from him after defeating GM Sune Berg Hansen of Denmark. The American took his tally to 4.5 points in this category-13 event. Following the draw, Sasikiran slipped to joint third spot on four points where he now has company of GM Curt Hansen of Denmark while Iordachescu is sole fifth on 3.5 points. With just three rounds remaining, the other contestants in the round-robin tournament are simply out of the race. Dane Davor Palo has 2.5 points, Sune Berg, Hansen and Hector have just two points while Swede Tiger Hillarp Persson is on 1.5, half a point adrift of compatriot Emil Hermansson. Sasikiran failed to capitalise on his chances and conceded a draw after attaining a clearly superior endgame. Earlier, in the opening, the Indian, playing white, had faced the Slav defence and Hector had a perfectly balanced position when he went haywire in trying to equalise sooner. As it turned out thereafter, Sasikiran had a firmly placed rook on the 7th rank and according to a popular computer programme he could have obtained a decisive advantage on the 35th move itself.
— PTI |
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Karthikeyan finishes 17th
Imola (Italy), April 22 The 28-year-old Jordan driver had described Imola as a "highly technical" circuit as the session was held on a sunny day under a temperature of 16 degrees with track temperature reaching 38. Karthikeyan's team-mate Tiago Monteiro was 20th (1:24.573). Pedro de la Rosa of McLaren went fastest overall with 1:20.484 followed by Jenson Button of Bar-Honda. Kimi Raikkonen of McLaren who finished in 1:21.704. Earlier, in the first session Kathikeyan finished 16th with a timing of 1:24.512. The session was dominated by de la Rosa. — PTI
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A major showdown on the cards
Mandi, April 22 The game is set to for a major showdown over the HPSCA's elections being held on April 24 at Hamirpur in the Mandi division after a gap of five years. What has added fuel to fire is the sports Bill, which has been come into force in the state from yesterday, sending a stern warning to the DSA members as it can incur the wrath of state government, disclosed the sources. The pro-Congress sports lobby under Mr. Ram Lal Thakur has directed all 12 District Cricket Associations (DCAs) to boycott the HPSCA's general body elections as the present body is dominated by Mr. Anurag Thakur, revealed the sources in the SCA. "On the other hand, Mr. Thakur is out to ensure that 85members attend the general body to re-elect him for the second term", they added. The chances are that over five -seven DSAs, headed by the government servants are unlikely to attend the elections following warning from the pro-government sports lobby, who have supported the new sports Bills and want to make the elections as a failure, revealed the sources in the DSA. The hush-hush silence of the DSA members is the result of the directive as the new sports Bill has come in to force and no one wants to speak on the subject, commented a member of the DSA, requesting anonymity. Meanwhile, the HPSCA has over 85 members out of which 25 are life-members, mostly enrolled during Mr. Anurag Thakur's tenure. "Twentyfour members, two each from state's 12 districts have also has the voting rights", revealed the HPSCA sources. Even Mr. Prem Kumar Dhumal is the patron- in-chief, and also enjoys a voting right under the HPSCA's new constitution. Incidentally, Mr Anurag Thakur is Mr. Dhumal's son that has added a political drama to the show, disclosed the members. Talking to the Tribune, Mr Anurag Thakur said the sports minister had handed over the copy of Bill of the to DSA members, reminding them not to attend the election as his only aim was to capture the body. "But the HPSCA will go ahead with the elections as scheduled as per the constitution on April 24 regardless of its consequences", he said adding that all the 85 members of the HPSCA had the voting rights and they needed a quorum of over 40 members for the elections. Mr. Anurag Thakur said the Congress government had dragged the cricket body into the political arena and was out to sabotage the elections, darkening the future of not only cricket, but also other games in the state. Mr. Thakur claimed the Bill aimed to keep the state sports associations in check, but it had no jurisdiction over the cricket as the cricket does not fall under the Olympic charter. "The BJP will go four step ahead as the Congress has made it a political issue. We will go to any extent to defend the body to make it autonomous", he charged. Mr. Ram Lal Thakur said that the sports Bill had come into force in the state and all 43 associations had been informed about this. "It is not the question that the cricket is not under the Olympic charter, the association is in Himachal and they will have to abide by the new law", he added. |
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Act may affect sports bodies significantly
Shimla, April 22 Some sports associations have enrolled a large number of life members with voting rights who play a decisive role in the elections. There are also cases where outsiders have been made members. All such bodies are likely to get a new look as elections will have to be conducted as per the new law. Under the Act, every sports association other than a primary body will have to get registered under the Act. Every association will frame its constitution, which shall also include area of operation and bylaws. The elections for the executive body of the sports association will be held at least once in every four years. Every district-level association will be a member of the state-level association and no addition, deletion or change in the membership can be made without approval at the general body meeting of the association. A state-level association will be constituted by a minimum of eight district-level associations and a district-level association will be constituted by a minimum of eight primary sports bodies and clubs. A primary sports body will be constituted by a minimum of seven individuals. There shall be a minimum of five and a maximum of 21 members, including the office-bearers, in the executive body of the association. Election to the executive body of a state-level sports association will be held in the presence of an observer, to be appointed by the state sports council. Election to the executive body of a district-level sports association will be held in the presence of an observer, to be appointed by the state-level sports association or the district sports council. Every member of a sports body has the right to cast one vote in the election to its executive body. Each affiliated primary sports body will have the right to cast one vote on behalf of that primary sports body for the election of the executive body of a district-level sports association. But no outgoing office-member of any sports association will have a right to cast vote for election to the executive body. All individual members are eligible to contest in the election to a primary sports body and elected office-bearers of all the affiliated primary sports bodies will be eligible to contest in elections to a district-level sports association. Office-bearers of all affiliated district-level sports associations will be eligible to contest in elections to a state level sports association. Under the provisions of this Act, no person, or group or persons, either individually, or collectively, shall represent or be allowed to represent the state in any game or sport without being authorised by a state-level sports association. |
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India defeat Pak in netball
Ghaziabad, April 22 The four-round match was interrupted soon after the start when the umpires, from India and Pakistan, followed different yardsticks to decide fouls. Pakistani umpire Anwar Ahmed Khan followed the Asian netball rules, while his Indian counterpart Juvesh Verma went by international rules. In the third round, when the score was 21-21, the situation turned ugly after the Pakistani team left the ground, protesting against an umpiring decision. But they returned once Verma was replaced by Ibrahim Khan for the remaining part of the match. Meanwhile, Pakistani umpire Anwar Ahmed Khan and players alleged that they had to wait for long hours at the Wagah border while crossing over to India.
— PTI |
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Ludhiana emerge winners
Ludhiana, April 22 Jashanpreet Sidhu (3 for 44) and Rahul (2 for 53) were the most successful bowler for Ludhiana. Resuming at overnight total of 23 for 1 Minors Districts Zone B team could muster 236 runs in 87 overs. Brief scores: Ludhiana 290 all out. Minor Districts Zone B- 236 all out (Sushant 38, Harpreet 40, Vishal 36, Munish 25; Jashanpreet Sidhu 3 for 44, Rahul 2 for 63, Kanav 1 for 25, Prince 2 for 53) |
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Vasco edge out Fransa
Margao, April 22 Vasco, who led 2-1 at half time, scored through Sidney Rodrigues (22nd), Francis Fernandes (43rd) and substitute Levy Coelho
(86th). Fransa reduced the margin through Joseph Ogor’s brace (28th, 76th). Vasco with 17 points from 19 matches were at par with Churchill Brothers, but were placed ninth on account of superior goal
difference.
Fransa remained on fourth place with 29 points from 19 matches.
Francis Fernandes was declared the man of the match. — PTI |
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Tickets for NFL ties
at Ludhiana
Chandigarh, April 22 According to Arjuna awardee Inder Singh, secretary of the Punjab Football Association the decision has been taken following acceptance of their plea for waiving entertainment tax by the Punjab Government in respect of the NFL matches at Ludhiana. Accordingly, entry to Guru Nanak Stadium on April 26 and 30 will be through tickets priced at Rs 10 and Rs
15. JCT are schedules to play against Goa's Dempo SC on April 26 followed by the match against Mohun Began on April 30. |
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Cricket tourney
New Delhi: Delhi Police defeated Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) by 57 runs to enter the quarterfinal of the 15th All-India Om Nath Sood Memorial Cricket Tournament for the Sperry Trophy here on Friday. Sanjay Verma, who gave a fine all-round performance, was adjudged the man of the match.
Brief scores: Delhi Police: 246 for 7 (Harvinder Singh 68, Sanjay Verma 66, Sunil Kumar 25, Ravi Chikara 22; Durga Prashad 4 for 50, Dharam Veer Beniwal 2 for 32, Aditya Jain 2 for 43). MCD: 189 (Aditya Jain 51, Dharamveer Beniwal 54, Mansish Kagra 38; Ravi Chhikara 2 for 20, Premveer Nagar 2 for 28, Naveen Chandra 2 for 39, Rajesh Sharma 2 for 46).
— OSR |
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Hockey awards for Adrian, Jyothi New Delhi, April 22
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