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IOA to challenge interference in autonomy
BCCI to set up panel to select coach
I have nothing against Woolmer: Miandad
Narain can’t wait for Barcelona race
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Qualifier knocks out Safin
India wrap up series 4-0
Bagan
rout Tollygunge
India paired with Wales, USA
Chandigarh boys beaten
Karan hits 123
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IOA to challenge interference in autonomy
New Delhi, May 5 The IOA and the sports federations, closing ranks, have vowed to take the battle to court if there was no move to check the attempts being made by the State Governments of Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh through legislations to curb the autonomy of the national sports federations. IOA president Suresh Kalmadi said here today that these States would be barred from competing in national championships if they did not stop meddling in the affairs of the sports bodies. IOA secretary-general Randhir Singh, who is also the secretary-general of the Olympic Council of Asia, and a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), said the minutes of the 20th OCA General Assembly, held at Aomori (Japan) on July 5, 2001 had passed a resolution to the effect that "it has come to the notice of the OCA that of late aggressive interference is being made in the autonomy of many member NOCs (National Olympic Committees) by the Governmental bodies of their countries, and therefore, it affirms that in keeping with the spirit of the Olympic Charter, all the NOCs must preserve their autonomy as envisaged in Rules 31.5 of the said Charter. Any violation of the rules by the Olympic Charter shall result in withdrawal of recognition by the OCA". Randhir Singh warned that India would forfeit the right to host the 2010 Commonwealth Games and may not win the bid for the 2014 Asian Games if the State and Central Governments did not stop meddling in the affairs of the National Sports Federations. At a crowded press conference, attended by BCCI president Ranbir Singh Mahendra, besides others, Randhir Singh said the Sports Authority of India (SAI), which consumes around Rs 120 crore of the total budget allocation of Rs 200 crore for sports for administrative purposes, has not held its General Body or Governing Council meetings for the past three years, and the Government, therefore, had not business to interfere with the sports federations. "In no other country, the Government interferes with the autonomy of the sports federations". Mr Kalmadi said the IOA expected the Centre and the State Governments to respect the autonomy of the IOA and the sports federations instead of precipitating matters, which may force the IOA to take legal recourse to protect its territory. He requested the three State Governments to take back the bills and ordinances to safeguard the autonomy of the sports federations. Randhir Singh said the budget allocation for sports this year had come down from 50 crores to 45 crores, which would be distributed among 60 sports federations to run its affairs and win medals in international competitions. He said the SAI, which imports ammunition for the shooters, had not done it for the past three years, though shooting was one of the elite events, expected to win medals in Olympics, Asian Games and the Commonwealth Games. He said the Government and the SAI should put their houses in order first before reforming others. |
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BCCI to set up panel to select coach
New Delhi, May 5 Ranbir Singh said many stories were being planted in newspapers regarding the appointment of the national coach without any basis. “We will appoint a committee within 48 hours to take a decision on the national coach,” said the BCCI chief, refusing to elaborate further, or mention the probable candidates for the panel. Asked whether the new coach would be a foreigner, Ranbir Singh said he was “neither confirming it, nor denying it”. Ranbir Singh, terming Sourav Ganguly as a “brave captain”, felt that the six-match ban slapped on him by the ICC match referee for India’s slow over-rates in the recently concluded one-day international series against Pakistan, was “too much”. The board chief clarified that the BCCI would follow the rule as far as Sourav’s ban was concerned. He ruled out any BCCI interference in the team selection, which he felt was in the sole domain of the national selectors. “The selectors will choose the team,” he asserted. Asked whether he agreed with Wright’s view that the national selection committee should consist of a three-member panel, Ranbir Singh said he could not talk to Wright before he left India to elicit his views on the team, though he would like to meet him and get his views. Ranbir Singh, along with former BCCI President Jagmohan Dalmiya, today met Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh in connection with the tax waiver for the Champions Trophy, to be held in India in 2006, following International Cricket Council (ICC) President Ehsan Mani’s warning that the event would be taken out of the country if the Government of India did not relent on exempting the event from the tax net. Ranbir Singh and Dalmiya met Dr Manmohan Singh in his chamber in Parliament and apprised him of the need to give tax concession for the Champions Trophy, considering the fact that the final settlement of the 1996 World Cup accounts was hanging fire, pending sorting out the tax imbroglio. Ranbir Singh was hopeful that the government would take a positive decision on giving tax concession to the Champions Trophy. India had forfeited the right to host the event to England last year for the same reason, and now Pakistan was waiting host it, should India opt out. Ranbir Singh said the BCCI had received a letter from the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) about the inclusion of cricket in the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi. He said the matter would be put before the working committee at its meeting, most likely to be held in Delhi at the end of this month, before forwarding the proposal to the ICC for ratification. The IOA wanted the best teams and the best players to participate in the Commonwealth Games, though it was not much concerned about the rules and regulations. Ranbir Singh made it clear that there was no chance of the BCCI accepting the proposal mooted by Punjab Cricket Association president I.S.Bindra to set up a BCCI cricket channel “as we are not a commercial body”. Ranbir Singh expressed BCCI’s solidarity with the IOA in its fight to maintain the autonomy of national sports federations as the state governments of Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh had passed Bills to intrude into the autonomy of sports federations. |
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I have nothing against Woolmer: Miandad
Lahore, May 5 Saying that he was ready even to work with Woolmer for the betterment of the side, the former Pakistan captain said, “I was not happy with the way they removed me as coach. I don’t think they treated me with the respect someone of my stature deserved. Even if they had decided to bring in Woolmer, they could’ve done it in a more respectable manner and taken me into confidence. I wouldn’t have objected and perhaps might even have offered or agreed to work with him for the betterment of the team.” It was a mellowed down Miandad who had earlier sent a notice to the PCB Chairman Shaharyar Khan threatening to sue him and demanding an explanation for a statement made by him regarding the reasons for his removal. Asked if he toned down himself after PCB released his payment Miandad told ‘The News,’ “The money was always due to me as under the contract they had agreed to pay me 50 per cent of my full fee for the 11 months that remained in my contract. No, I’m saying all this because recently there have been stories that I had a personal vendetta with the Board or the coach.” Defending his occasional outburst, Miandad said, “Who would not be happy to see the team perform so well in India? But as a former captain and coach and a critic on TV, if I feel they are doing something wrong or there are shortcomings in the team I’ve every right to point this out. Why should they take offence to it?” “To me nothing is bigger than Pakistan cricket and my self-respect. I was hurt with the way the Board treated me; that is all but it’s a thing of the past and I don’t want this impression created that because I was removed as coach I’m trying to settle scores with them,” he stated. —
UNI |
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Narain can’t wait for Barcelona race
Barcelona, May 5 “I am quite happy with the progress the team has been making and cannot wait to drive at the Circuit de Catalunya,” said Jordan driver Karthikeyan, who arrived here yesterday. The 28-year-old had some wonderful memories of the circuit from his Nissan World Series days. “I have excellent memories here from racing in the Formula Nissan World Series, like standing on the second step of the podium in front of the crowd. Let us hope that my good results at the Barcelona track will bring me luck this weekend,” Karthikeyan said. “Barcelona will be the first track I race on this season that I know well,” he said. Karthikeyan said he was working hard with the Jordan team and the “results were excellent” when he attended the two-day test on April 27 and 28 held just over the road from their factory at Silverstone. The high point was his fastest lap of 1 minute and 22.75 seconds “The days at Silverstone were very constructive for the team. The weather was wet at the start of the test, and it was reflected in our times. When the weather improved, we managed to do many laps, testing different tyres and a new gearbox.” “Overall, I am expecting a reasonable run and race finish in Spain. This does not necessarily mean that it is going to be easy for us, considering that the track was a mix of high-speed and low-speed corners on the abrasive and bumpy surface.” Karthikeyan also did not rule out the
possibility of weather playing truant, which could pose a challenge for the drivers. “Even though I know the track well, you can always be caught out by the strong wind and the sand that can make the track slippery.” Karthikeyan said, after testing at Silverstone, Jordan had introduced some mechanical and aerodynamical developments to help them get closer to the pace. “Jordan Grand Prix has tested here during the winter and has already been able to gather some helpful and valuable data. But the track is still a challenge for drivers.” “Overall, Barcelona is a track where traction and aerodynamics play an important role because of the long corners,” he said. “We have introduced a few small aerodynamic and mechanical developments after Silverstone testing and some of the results of the team’s work in our newly acquired wind tunnel facilities.” “Hopefully, this will help us get closer to the pace. Most of the other teams know exactly how to set up their cars for this circuit, but I am sure it will be an interesting and challenging weekend,” Karthikeyan said. Recalling his last race at Imola, Karthikeyan said his priority was to finish the race and was happy to do that. “Looking closer and analysing the results with the team, my fastest lap was quicker than that managed by Mark Webber (BMW Williams) or David Coulthard (Red Bull Racing). I was even within a few thousandths of a second of Jarno Trulli (Toyota),” he said.
— PTI |
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Women’s singles final an
all-China affair
Shanghai, May 5 Zhang and Guo lined up their showdown, with respective victories over Hong Kong’s Lin Ling and China’s Guo Yue to assure China of another gold medal to add to the mixed doubles they won yesterday. That narrow defeat was devastating for Zhang, but it ultimately forced her to try even harder. “In the past years, I have experienced all kinds of difficulties. I finished with silver medals so many times. But defeats are not useless and they have become my assets,” she said. While Ling achieved what no one else had managed this tournament by taking a set off the Olympic and Asian Games champion, that was as far as she got. The pencil-thin Zhang’s response was to shift up a gear, giving away just 19 points in the next four sets for a comfortable win. Lin was never going to beat the 23-year-old, having lost all five previous matches to a woman who had been firing ping pong balls across tables since she was five. Guo was in a similar situation, losing seven of the last nine to Zhang, although she did have victory in the 2003 Japan Open and the 2001 China Open to cling to. “Although Zhang Yining is better than me, I feel my chances are 50-50 in the finals,” said Guo, seeded eighth. “I still hope I can take the title even though I never thought about winning the championship. And I think if I make few mistakes and as long as I play well, then that will be just fine.” China’s men had shown chinks in their armour in Shanghai, but still had two paddlers in the last four — Ma Lin and Wang Liqin — following quarterfinal action today. The top-ranked Wang continued his march to the men’s singles crown with a hard-fought 4-2 win over team-mate Chen Qi. The surprise of the day came from little-known Dane Michael Maze, who followed up his fourth round thrashing of world number three Wang Hao with a come-from-behind victory over China’s Hao Shuai. Maze was 3-0 down and on the verge of defeat before rallying to win 4-3 and keep the European flag flying. Oh Sang Eun of South Korea was also through after beating Peter Karlsson of Sweden. China were aiming for a clean sweep of all five golds here and few were betting against it, with their women on course for the doubles title. Only Hong Kong’s Tie Yana and Zhang Rui could be able to prevent it happening, with three Chinese pairs into the semifinals.
— AFP |
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Qualifier knocks out Safin
Rome, May 5 More at home on hard courts than on clay, Safin put away just two of his 11 break points as Almagro punched above his weight to oust the two-time grand Slam champion. Spanish fifth seed Rafael Nadal, going for his fifth singles title, barely broke sweat in his 6-1, 6-1 demolition of Romanian Victor Hanescu. Nadal, a winner in Monte Carlo and Barcelona, would now face Argentine 1lth seed Guillermo Canas, who beat Juan Monaco. Top seed Andy roddick, Andre Agassi and Tim Henman all reached the last 16 after trouble-free second round victories. Roddick beat Spanish veteran Albert Costa, while sixth seed Agassi, a winner here in 2002, defeated French teenager Richard
Gasquet. Sharapova in next round
BERLIN: If Maria Sharapova wants to claim the world’s top ranking at the German Open, she may have to earn it the hard way. Sharapova needs to win the title at the event, a major French open tune-up, to unseat Lindsay Davenport. The 18-year-old Russian breezed past 40th-ranked Anna-Lena Groenefeld of Germany 6-2, 6-2. Sharapova would next face China’s Shuai Peng in the third round and she could run into the tour’s two hottest players — former top-ranked Belgians Justine Henin-Hardenne and Kim Clijsters — if she advanced. Her quarterfinal opponent could be Henin-Hardenne, who ran her record to 15-1 since coming back from a virus and injury.
— AFP, AP |
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India wrap up series 4-0
New Delhi, May 5 India clinched the five-match series yesterday when they defeated Pakistan by three wickets in the fourth match. The third match was abandoned due to rain. Chasing Pakistan’s 294 for nine, India rode on man of the match Gamvit’s superb batting, which saw him hit 13 boundaries as he plundered 79 off just 37 deliveries. Subhash Boya came up with 62 off 22 balls while Rajender Verma scored 60 off 54 balls to comfortably take India to 298 for the loss of three wickets in just 27 overs. Sushil Gupta also contributed in the Indian victory with a valuable 54 off 39 balls. Pakistani bowlers Zeeshan Abbasi and Mohammad Fayaz took one wicket each conceding 37 and 54 runs, respectively. Earlier, Tariq Samuel (51 off 36 balls), allrounder Abbasi (39), Sultan Shah (34) and Adnan Ahmad (33) helped Pakistan to set a competitive total as they made 294 for nine wickets in 32 overs. For India, Shekhar took 2-43 while Ashish Negi and allrounder Subhash Boya pocketed a wicket each. Brief Scores: Pakistan 294 for nine in 32 overs (T. Samuel 51, Z. Abbasi 39, S. Shah 34; S. Naik 2/43) India 298 for three in 27 overs (G. Gamvit 79 no, S. Boya 62, R. Verma 60; Z. Abbasi 1/37).
— PTI |
Bagan
rout Tollygunge
Kolkata, May 5 Badly needing a win to improve their position lower down the order, Bagan took an early lead through Jerry Jirsanga before substitute Chhetri netted thrice to seal the fate of city rivals Tollygunge, who were certain to be demoted. After today’s stupendous show, the beleaguered Bagan advanced to the eighth spot among 12 teams with 22 points in their kitty from 21 outings. They now needed only a draw in their last match versus another relegation-threatened outfit, Churchill Brothers, here to stay in the premier league. Churchill, now placed ninth, had the same number of points as Bagan, but the Kolkata side had the edge in goal difference. The Goans faced a must-win situation in the away tie to ensure their survival. As per rules, four sides were to slip into the second division, and other than Tollygunge, Vasco and SBT already stood relegated. Bagan dominated the show throughout the Salt Lake Stadium tie, and could have returned home with a bigger margin, but for the wood work which stood in their way twice. Tollygunge defenders also brought about two goal-line saves. Dempo blank Vasco 2-0
MARGAO: Powered by a brace of goals by Nigerian Renty Martin, title aspirant Dempo Sports Club blanked Vasco Sports Club 2-0 and maintained their second spot intact in the ONGC Cup 9th edition National Football League championship match played here at Nehru Stadium, Fatorda today. Both the goals for winners came from man of the match Renty Martin in the 25th and 33 minutes of the first half. With today’s win, Dempo increased their points tally to 44 from 20 outings with (13 wins, 5 draws and 2 losses) behind table toppers Sporting Club de Goa with 45 points from 21 outings, followed by defending champions East Bengal with 40 points from equal number of matches. Vasco, who are virtually relegated, remained on the same 10th spot with 17 points from 21 outings. Dempo played true to reputation and tore open the Vasco’s defence repeatedly in the opening half to dominate the exchanges. Dempo’s first good move came in the 14th minute when R.C. Prakash slammed in a shot from close range which was fisted over for an abortive corner by Vasco goalkeeper Virendra Singh. —
PTI, UNI |
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India paired with Wales, USA
Sangrur, May 5 India has been placed in group 3B with Scotland, Wales and the USA. Only eight teams in group I have a chance of winning the coveted Sudirmancup, while the remaining teams — positioned in groups, according to their ranking from the previous competition — will fight for promotion in the five lower divisions. Groupings: Group IA-Korea, Denmark, England, Thailand. Group IB-China, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Group 2A-Malasiya, Russia, Netherlands, Chinese Taipei. Group 2B-Singapore, Japan, Germany, Tikraine. Group 3A-New Zealand, Finland, Bulgaria, Poland. Group 3B-Scotland, India, Wales and the USA. Group 4A-Norway, Switzerland, Kazakhistan, Estonia, Group 4B-France, Australia, South Africa, Peru. Group 5A-Italy, Cyprus, Luxembourg. Group 5B-Israel, Lithuania, Turkey. Group 6- Sri Lanka, Armenia, Turkmenistan, Mongolia. |
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Chandigarh boys beaten
Subathu, May 5 Mr Praveen Vasisht, Officiating Headmaster, Lawrence School, Sanawar, inaugurated tournament. In the second league match YPS ( Mohali) boys defeated Bishop Cotton School, Shimla, 26-14. In another exciting match, YPS (Mohali) girls beat Punjab Public School, Nabha. In the last encounter Pinegrovian girls were leading Vivek High School, Chandigarh, by 9 points. |
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Karan hits 123
Patiala, May 5 Scores: Minor Districts XI: 1st innings: 228 for 9 in 90 overs Patiala: 1st innings: 33 for no loss (K.Raina 9 n.o., Jeewanjot Singh 19 n.o.) |
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