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Alonso wins a thriller; Narain ends 14th
John Wright for professional selection panel
South Africa in control
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Pak cricketers treated to grand reception
Take action against Woolmer, says Sohail
Sachin turns 32
Kapurthala cricket body ‘fielding overage players’
HPCA election
deferred
India to take part in beach wrestling meet
Scott wins title; Indian golfers disappoint
Roddick, Grosjean in final
Sasikiran joins Timman at top
Chandigarh DAV School
enter semis
Army XI win hockey cup
2nd Indo-Pak Punjab Games in December
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Alonso wins a thriller; Narain ends 14th
Imola (Italy), April 24 Narain, who began the race in 17th spot, gave a near flawless display for his third finish in four races. He was forced to retire in the last race in Bahrain due to an electrical fault in his car after decent finishes in the first two races -- in Melbourne and Kuala Lumpur. The Indian ace finished nearly 17 seconds behind Red Bull Racing's David Coulthard, who came 13th. The battle for the top spot between Schumacher and Alonsa provided an edge of the seat thriller for the roaring fans at Imola before the Spaniard used all his skills to nose ahead at the finish line just 0.2 seconds ahead of the Ferrari driver. BAR-Honda's Jenson Button took the third place. Austrian Alexander Wurz, standing-in for injured Colombian Juan Pablo Montoya at McLaren, was fourth with BAR’s Japanese Takuma Sato fifth. Canadian former champion Jacques Villeneuve, his place at Sauber a subject of constant speculation after a poor start to the season, took his first point since leaving BAR in 2003 with sixth place. Italian Trulli was seventh and his team mate Ralf Schumacher was eighth. There was major disappointment for McLaren’s Kimi Raikkonen, who threw his steering wheel across the team garage in anger after retiring. He had led from pole position until his car slowed on the ninth lap. Alonso’s Italian team mate Giancarlo Fisichella also retired for the third race in a row. Alonso, ever more the heir apparent, and Schumacher made it an afternoon to remember for all the right reasons however. The Spaniard showed that he has the backbone and determination to go all the way while Schumacher proved that Ferrari were back where they belong. The new Ferrari F2005, which failed to score a point on its rushed debut at the last race in Bahrain three weeks ago, looked every bit a winner. It was the first time since 1998 a that anyone outside the Schumacher family had won at Imola, Michael having won for five of the last six years and his brother Ralf winning in 2001.
— PTI, Reuters |
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John Wright for professional selection panel
New Delhi, April 24 “The way selectors are appointed is a bit outdated. I have worked with 15 selectors and four different conveners in the time that I have been here,” said the former New Zealand captain, commenting on various aspects of his four-and-half-year tenure with the Indian team. Wright wanted the five-member selection panel, presently constituted on a zonal basis, to be replaced by a three-member paid panel. “I am not saying that’s the best system. I have nothing against the selectors; I’ve enjoyed working with them. They do a tough and thankless task, but I see the pressures they are under,” said Wright. “I would urge the administration to look at that area. It’s all about getting the right men in the room, the right players in the team. Selection is probably more important than coaching,” said the man who joined the Indian team in November, 2000. Wright was sure that reducing the five-man panel to three would not come in the way of good players showcasing their talent. “You just have to get the numbers so that you can cover the areas — it’s important. They would be busy as professionals,” said the Christchurch-based Wright. “Also, you are looking at probably only 60 players — 60 or 70 — plus the new ones coming through. I can generally say three selectors, it could be four, whatever, but they should be appointed,” he stressed. The coach believed the Indian team had made progress under his guidance, but felt there was room for improvement. “The other people would judge that. I consider that we have made progress. I still feel it’s a never-ending journey, and hopefully my successor will build on the progress that we’ve made,” he averred. “I feel that we are now a respected, fighting team who can win both at home and away, particularly in the Tests,” said the former left-handed batsman who played 82 Tests and 149 one-dayers between 1977-78 and 1992-93. Wright’s one regret was India’s poor form in one-dayers. “The one-dayers’ form hasn’t been good through the last season, but we reached the final of the World Cup and were co-winners of the Champions Trophy,” he said. “We know we can play the big tournaments, and I think this team will be very competitive in the 2007 World Cup. In fact, both sides, Pakistan and India, will be right up there,” he predicted. The team’s unpredictable nature seems to have caused some concern to Wright. “We can be unpredictable, there is no doubt about that,” he admitted. “It’s because we play in a certain style and it’s generally fairly attacking. From a batting perspective particularly, we can be brilliant or we can be at the other end of the scale — and sometimes there is not much middle ground.” Wright felt the players sometimes got carried away after a win. “Such is the enjoyment and pure joy when we win that the team can get carried away. And maybe that sometimes creeps through to all of us who are involved. It’s just learning to be more professional,” he reasoned. —
IANS |
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South Africa in control
Bridgetown, April 24 For most of the day, South Africa’s batsmen plundered the West Indies’ bowling, but the home team stuck to their guns, and it all began to unravel for the visitors in the evening period when four wickets fell for 61 runs. After South Africa resumed from their tea position of 417 for four, West Indies started to work their way back into the match when left-hander Ashwell Prince was caught at slip for 23 off one of Chris Gayle’s off-spin darts. A further period of resistance from the unflappable Jacques Kallis and Mark Boucher saw South Africa get to within sight of the 500-run mark, but an inspired bowling change from Shivnarine Chanderpaul brought the breakthrough. Kallis, on the backfoot, looking to drive an awkwardly bouncing delivery from Wavell Hinds, was caught at slip for 78. He batted for close to four hours and struck four fours from 154 balls. Four overs later, West Indies claimed their third new ball and Powell did the trick. He bowled Mark Boucher for 28, when the batsman dragged a short-of-a-length delivery into his stumps, and had Monde Zondeki caught at mid-off for two. Although South Africa had things literally their way, the West Indies battled gamely. They bowled tirelessly, fielded brilliantly most of the time, and kept up a good work rate that would have pleased their demanding coach Bennett King. The first signs of their turnaround came quite fortuitously just prior to lunch, when Boeta Dippenaar was run out for 71, failing to beat substitute fielder Dwayne Smith’s direct hit at the bowler’s end from short fine leg. Dippenaar hit six fours and one six from 158 balls in over three hours and added 143 for the second wicket with de Villiers. Dippenaar and de Villiers, who took 40 minutes and 22 balls to get off the mark, were unflappable and batted all but the last three minutes of the morning period, but it took a bit of misfortune for Dwayne Bravo to bring Smith onto the field, and for the West Indies to get the wicket they so badly desired. Bravo left the field with a gash over his left eye, when he attempted a diving stop at cover and the ball bounced awkwardly. He returned after South Africa had taken lunch at 335 for two. In the afternoon, the West Indies continued to bowl with discipline and field like their lives depended upon it. They got themselves back into the match with the wickets of de Villiers and Herschelle Gibbs just before the break. De Villiers was caught behind off Reon King for 178, when he under-edged a cut low to wicketkeeper Courtney Browne. The South African opening batsman hit 15 fours and one six from 352 balls in over nine hours of batting. Scoreboard West Indies (1st innings) 296 South Africa (1st innings) Smith c King b Gayle 104 De Villiers c Browne b King 178 Dippenaar run out 71 Kallis c sub b W. Hinds 78 Gibbs c Bravo b Gayle 8 Prince c Bravo b Gayle 23 Boucher b Powell 28 Boje not out 8 Zondeki c C’paul b Powell 2 Ntini not out 7 Extras
(lb-1, nb-13) 14 Total (8 wkts, 172 overs) 521 Fall of wickets:
1-191, 2-334, 3-392, 4-410, 5-450, 6-496, 7-502, 8-504. Bowling:
Edwards 30-3-101-0, King 30-5-80-1, Powell 28-2-89-2, Bravo 29-3-73-0, R. Hinds 18-1-67-0, Gayle 27-3-85-3, W. Hinds 9-2-18-1, Sarwan 1-0-7-0.
— AFP |
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Pak cricketers treated to grand reception Islamabad, April 24 A massive public reception was held to honour the team that drew the three-match Test series 1-1 and won the one-dayers 4-2 during their 50-day tour of India. In a celebration that matched the felicitation of players for winning the 1992 World Cup in Australia, captain Inzamam-ul-Haq and other players were brought near the Parliament building in heavily decorated vehicles and honoured in a ceremony telecast live by the state-run PTV. The reception culminated the day-long live programmes on PTV that eulogised Pakistan’s victory over India as the biggest “national triumph”. PTV, which organised the celebrations, roped in top television and film stars to conduct the shows since morning in which players were described as national heroes for registering a thumping victory against India in the one-day series. With PTV asking people to join the celebrations, thousands lined up on the main boulevard leading to the Parliament building to greet the players. Nationalist slogans were raised by comperes as the players were brought on to a well-decorated stage and felicitated by Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, who accompanied President Pervez Musharraf during his recent visit to New Delhi. The celebrations came as the two neighbours embarked on a new relationship following General Musharraf’s visit to New Delhi to improve relations and make a sincere effort to resolve all issues in a spirit of friendship and accommodation The players were honoured with ‘pagris’ (ethnic turban) as enthusiastic fans surged forward to greet their heroes. Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz later hosted a dinner in honour of the team. The entire team, barring coach Bob Woolmer, was present to receive the honours. Woolmer is currently away in Namibia with the Pakistan A team. Earlier, appearing on a PTV talk show, Inzamam paid rich tributes to his team-mates for their performance in India which prompted sports commentators to say that the Pakistan captain did not repeat the ‘mistake’ that Imran made after victory in the World Cup. They said Imran had made the mistake by failing to thank his players and he instead focused his address to raise funds for his cancer hospital, which was later built in Lahore. “The young players deserve all the credit because they produced their best cricket on such a demanding tour. The pressure of such a high-profile series was on everyone, but the juniors handled it brilliantly and made the nation proud by their achievements,” Inzamam said. Inzamam said the victory was possible because the Indian team came under more pressure as the series progressed. “I think the Indian team was under more pressure than us and the pressure become tougher for them as the series progressed.” Inzamam, who was also part of the World Cup winning team in 1992, said: “The celebrations, the excitement and the praise we are getting now make us prouder because now we understand what happiness and joy we have given to the nation. “I am sure these celebrations would further motivate the players and these (celebrations) will practically make them understand what victories on the cricket field means to the public,” he said. President Musharraf has already announced cash awards of Rs 1 million for Inzamam, Rs 500,000 for Shahid Afridi and Rs 5 million for the entire team.
— PTI
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Take action against Woolmer, says Sohail
Islamabad, April 24 Woolmer in a recent interview with an Indian newspaper had said "Shoaib is not an integral part of the team." "Woolmer is a part of Pakistan team management who earns his bread and butter from the hard earned public money. The PCB should ask him how he dared to utter such silly words," Sohail was quoted as saying by 'The News'. Sohail said Woolmer's job was only to stick to his work and not to indulge in mud-slinging. "I am astonished over the language used by Woolmer. I had thought of him as an intelligent person. He should have not used such language for
Shoaib,” he said.
— PTI |
Sachin turns 32
MUMBAI: Batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar turned 32 on Sunday and as in the past celebrated his birthday quietly outside the city with his wife Anjali and two children.
The master batsman, who protects his privacy intensely and doesn’t allow any intrusion on it, held his birthday celebrations with his close family members and friends at an undisclosed location outside Mumbai, it was learnt. The maestro had modest success with the bat in his 31st year and the prayers of his well-wishers on his birthday were for more success for him as well as the Indian team whose fortunes have also taken a hit of late.
— PTI
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Kapurthala cricket body ‘fielding overage players’
Kapurthala, April 24 The parents alleged that Sumeet Abrol represented the district in inter-district U-19 tournament and the state of Punjab under auspices of Punjab Cricket Academy in the inter-state tournament in session 2004-05.Whereas eligible candidate should have been born after September 1, 1985 Sumeet’s matric standard result in Punjab School Education Board gazette 2001 (roll no. 535720) recorded his date of birth as 30.09 1984. Similarly, Abhinav Vashisht, a son of KDCA Joint Secretary Dharam Pal Vashisht who appeared in his middle standard exam, 2001 (roll no. 427930 showing his date of birth as 24. 08. 1988) played u-15 category in the year 2000 mentioning his date of birth as October 1, 1988 in the application form, alleged the parents. Gagandeep played in u-19 inter-district tournament in 2003-04 for which cut off date was 1.09.1984. But it didn’t prove any hurdle for him. His matric standard exams result (roll no.615920, year 2000) showed his date of birth as 10.08.1983, lamented the parents. The KDCA had added one more ‘feather in its cap’ by fielding Krishan as captain of Minor Zone-B under-15 team recently though the boy was overage by eight months as his date of birth is registered as 19.7.1989 in the municipal committee records dated 24.7.1989, said the parents. “This malpractice is ruining the future of eligible honest young players of the region,” the parents rued. On contacting Mr MP Pandove, General Secretary, PCA, said the PCA would take the appropriate action to stop every malpractice brought to its notice. Mr Krishan Lal Saraf, General Secretary, KDCA, denying the allegations said the association selected the players adhering to the norms laid by the Punjab Cricket
Association. |
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HPCA election
deferred
Shimla, April 24 The election was deferred after the Registrar of Cooperative Societies served a notice midway during the meeting asking the association to hold the elections as per the newly enacted sate Sports Association (Registration) Act. The association which was holding its meeting under the chairmanship of Mr Anurag Thakur decided to honour the notice and put off the election. The meeting at which the Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI) observer, Mr Narinder Mittal ,was also present had exhausted the agenda for the day and the notice was served minutes before the process of elections was to get underway. Mr Anurag Thakur was authorised to take all possible safeguards to protect the interests of the association, including moving the court against the new law, at the meeting, which was attended by 75 out of the total 85 delegates. The existing body will continue to function as a result of the deferment of the poll. The new act debars non-Himachalis from becoming members of sports bodies and divests life members of the voting right. The HPCA has as many as 25 life members with voting rights. |
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India to take part in beach wrestling meet
Chandigarh, April 24 A six-member committee under the chairmanship of Mr Dhara Singh was been constituted to draft rules for holding the national beach wrestling meet prior to the international event. Mr B.S. Landge was its convener and Mr V.M. Datta, Mr Harpal Singh Harpura, Mr Roshan Lal and Mr Rohtash Singh were its members. Three tentative venues were selected and the Government of India was being approached for approval to participation of the Indian team as it was not included in LTDP-2005 schedules. The Union Ministry of Sports and Youth Welfare and the Sports Authority of India were being approached to provide the services of a foreign coach for one year to enable Indian grapples perform well in the Asian Games, to be held in Qatar in 2006. The committee decided to allot the various national wrestling championships for 2005 as follows: all-category female national wrestling championship at Pimpri in Maharashtra in June; Railways Sports Promotion Board senior men’s national wrestling championship in Delhi in December; junior boys freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling in Uttar Pradesh in June, with Chandigarh as standby host; and cadet boys freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling in Jammu and Kashmir in May. |
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Scott wins title; Indian golfers disappoint
Beijing, April 24 Jyoti Randhawa (71, 73), Jeev Milkha Singh (76, 70), Harmeet Kahlon (77, 69), Amandeep Johl (76, 72) and Rahil Gangjee (79, 70) were the five Indians who competed in the event, but none of them could leave a mark. Randhawa, who was par for two rounds, looked like making the cut at one stage, but then better scores behind him saw him being squeezed out as the cut was applied at one-under. The next campaign for the Indian golfers will be the BMW Asian Open in Shanghai next week. It is a joint-sanctioned event with Europe. The world number 10, Scott, carded an even par 72 in the final round to finish three clear of South Africa’s Retief Goosen, who signed off with a 70. Scott’s total was 18-under-par 270 aggregate and he joins his idol Greg Norman and other golf greats such as Tiger Woods, Fred Couples and Ernie Els as a winner of the Johnnie Walker Classic, Asia’s richest tournament. New Zealand’s Michael Campbell, Richard Sterne of South Africa and Sweden’s Henrik Stenson shared third place on 275 while Asia’s best performer was Thongchai Jaidee of Thailand, who finished in joint 16th place following a disappointing 74. Scott opened with a course record opening 63 which took two days to complete due to weather disruptions. He tightened his grip on the event sanctioned by the Asian, European and Australasian Tours with some dazzling displays. Thongchai was Asia’s top performer at tied 16th place after closing with a disappointing 74, 10 shots more than his brilliant third round effort which he completed this morning. World number three Ernie Els of South Africa shared the sixth place on 276, six shots behind the winner.
— PTI |
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Roddick, Grosjean in final
Houston, April 24 Seeking a third title here, the American would play Sebastien Grosjean in the final after the French sixth seed battled past Nicolas Lapentti of Ecuador 6-1, 7-6. Roddick double-faulted twice in the second game and was broken after three deuces. He was broken again in the sixth game, winning only one point, and falling behind 2-4. He then won 12 of the next 13 points over the next three games, breaking Melzer in the seventh and ninth games and served for the set in the 10th. Roddick hit a 135-mph ace to reach set point and then placed a drop shot that Melzer could not get over the net.
— AP |
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East Bengal beat Bagan 1-0
Kolkata, April 24 After finishing goal-less in the opening half, East Bengal surged ahead through Nabi in the 75th minute of the well-contested game to cull full points before a sizeable crowd at the Salt Lake stadium. With this win, East Bengal, closely followed by Sporting Clube de Goa and Dempo Sports Club, retained their position atop the league table with 39 points from 18 outings. Mohun Bagan, on the other hand, further slipped into the relegation zone with 18 points from 19 outings and might find it tough to survive a drop. The game began on a high note, with both rivals raiding each other’s territory in search of a goal, before slowing down the pace towards the end of the first session. Desperate for a win, East Bengal upped their ante after the break and finally scored the winner in the 75th minute. Skipper Alvito D’Cunha, who had a brilliant day in the field, did the spadework from the right. Fed by substitute Dipankar Roy, Alvito foxed Tomba Singh and essayed a cross into the rival box. Mohun Bagan defender Eduwardo Chacon missed the flight and the ball was going out of play when Nabi suddenly raced in from the left and headed home almost unmarked past a helpless goalkeeper Subrata Pal. SBT hold Salgaocar
Kozhikode: SBT, Thiruvananthapuram, managed to hold formidable Salgaocar Sports Club to a one-all draw in the National Football League here on Sunday. SBT custodian Jean Christian saved his team from certain defeat by coming up with excellent saves at least on three occasions, the last one being minutes before the close. Going into the game in search of an outright win to move up the table, SBT, almost on the brink of relegation, scored the opener in the 14th minute when Mohammed Rafi netted the goal through a header from Paul Antony, who took the corner. The bankmen should blame themselves for not being able to widen the lead when Abdul Hakkim failed to convert a sharp cross from Mohammed Aslam in the 30th minute. Salgaocar’s Francis Andrape almost brought the equaliser in the 37th minute when he had only the SBT goalkeeper to beat after collecting the ball near the goalmouth. The latter not only saved Andrape’s first attempt, but also neatly blocked a rebound. SBT suddenly went on the defensive in the second half, hoping to complete the proceedings 1-0. However, rival captain Nigerian Bello Razaq had other ideas when he neatly converted a corner from Brazilian Fabio Dos Passos in the 76th minute to level the score. Salgaocar now had 23 points from 19 matches, while SBT continued to remain at the bottom of the table with 14 points from as many outings.
— PTI |
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Sasikiran joins Timman at top
Copenhagen, April 24 Top seed Hikaru Nakamura of USA failed to break the defences of Timman on another eventful day and is now out of race for the top spot in this category-13 event.
—PTI |
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Chandigarh DAV School
enter semis
New Delhi, April 24 Brief scores: DAV, Chandigarh: 268 in 45 overs (Sarul Kanwar 79, Karan Sharma 55, Gurkirat Singh 38; Venkat Sai 4 for 50, D R Anbuezhil 3 for 33). Santhome High School: 188 in 43.5 overs (K H Gopinath 71, Avvaikarasan S 33; Karan Sharma 2 for 21). Karan Sharma of DAV was adjudged the man of the match. In another match, Salwan Boys defeated St Joseph Indian High School, Bangalore, by 191 runs, to enter the semifinal. Anshul Gupta was named the man of the match. Brief scores: Salwan Boys: 250 for 8 in 45 overs (Anshul Gupta 61, Sobhit Kaushik 50, Manoj Lohia 43; Naveen Kumar 2 for 30, Aneesh John 2 for 35). St Joseph School, Bangalore: 54 in 37.5 overs (Devender 3 for 6, Arun Rawat 3 for 7, Sawan Saini 3 for 14). |
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Army XI win hockey cup
Chennai, April 24 Army XI won the cliff-hanger 7-6 and pocketed Rs 1.30 lakh as prize money. Tamil Nadu collected Rs 80,000 and its goal keeper Aravind and left winger Raja were adjudged the best goalkeeper and the most promising player of the tournament. The Armymen and Tamil Nadu were locked one-all during regulation time and the two-way extra time. The rivals tied 4-4 in the first set of tie break. In the sudden death, Tete, who replaced K N Palaksha for the tie-break, came up with a strong save deflecting the push of Tamil Nadu’s Ramesh Babu after Army’s play-maker Mahadik had made it 6-5.
— PTI |
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2nd Indo-Pak Punjab Games in December
New Delhi, April 24 “The next edition of the Punjab Games would be held in Lahore in December this year. The exact dates will be announced soon,” Singh said during a felicitation ceremony organised by the Capital’s Sikh organisations to honour him. “After Lahore, the next edition of the games would be held in Jalandhar in October, 2006,” Capt Amarinder Singh said. “These games are the ideal way to foster closer ties between East and West Punjab,” the Chief Minister added. The inaugural Indo-Pak Punjab Games were held in Patiala and Ludhiana last year.
— PTI
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New Delhi, April 24
In video (
