 |
|
|
Sania crashes out |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
England bring Bangladesh
down to earth
Selectors discuss problem areas
with Chappell
Argentina rally to hold Germany
India meet Australia in opening match
Harvinder Singh confident of making it to Indian team
Sasikiran records two straight wins
Army to train, nurture future champs
Samresh Jung finishes sixth
|
|
Clijsters, Federer win
London, June 22 Before this year, Irvin had never been beyond the first round in five attempts. There was no chance of her extending her stay any further as a hungry-looking Clijsters battered winners all over the court. Myskina ranted and fretted before posting an unconvincing 6-4, 6-3 victory over lowly Nakamura. Comfortable though the scoreline was for the 2004 French Open winner, it hid another erratic performance from the Russian, who last month became the first defending Roland Garros champion to perish in the first round. As a comfortable 5-1 first-set lead evaporated on another baking hot day at the All-England Club, the volatile Myskina shrugged, shrieked, rolled her eyes and pounded her racket in to the turf as set points came and went. A searing backhand clinched the first set, but she looked no happier in the second as she battled both herself and a stubborn opponent who refused to go quietly. France’s Amelie Mauresmo clubbed her way past Maria Sanchez Lorenzo 6-1, 6-3 to reach the third round. The third seed, still seeking a maiden Grand Slam title, flexed her grasscourt muscles once again against the hapless Spaniard. The Frenchwoman charged the net on 26 of the 79 points while Sanchez Lorenzo hugged the baseline, out of her depth. Next up for Mauresmo was Shenay Perry of the USA. In an all-French battle held over, ninth seed Sebastien Grosjean, a semifinalist in the previous two years, held off Michael Llodra to reach the second round. Having been two points from defeat yesterday and trailing 4-3 in the fifth set overnight, Grosjean reeled off the last three games to win 3-6, 7-5, 4-6, 7-6, 6-4. In men’s second round action, British wildcard David Sherwood’s tournament came to an abrupt end, losing 6-2, 6-4, 6-2 to big-serving Spanish 26th seed Feliciano Lopez. American Taylor Dent went through with a 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 defeat of compatriot Kevin Kim. Russian fifth seed Marat Safin won his duel with Australian Mark Philippoussis, winning 7-6, 7-6, 6-4 on Centre Court. Safin displayed superb opportunism in a second-round match of such fearsome hitting that at one stage in the second set, the net collapsed and had to be replaced. The 2003 runner-up Philippoussis, who had dropped to 142 in the rankings, squandered three set points in the first set and Safin took it and the second set 7-4 in the two tie-breakers. Neither set featured a single break of serve, but Safin, once again showing none of his usual dislike for playing on grass, nailed one for 4-3 in the third and completed a highly impressive victory with a thumping ace. The Australian Open champion would play Lopez in the third round and could face a quarterfinal with Australian Lleyton Hewitt. Champion Roger Federer turned on the style to glide into the third round with a 6-4, 6-4, 6-1 victory over Czech Ivo Minar. The Swiss world number one, going for a hat-trick of titles at the All-England Club, chalked up his 31st successive grasscourt victory by defeating his 99th-ranked opponent for the second time this season. While Minar had managed to wrangle a set off Federer in Dubai earlier this year, he came nowhere near repeating that feat this time. Federer broke the 21-year-old Minar at the end of each of the first two sets before piling on the pressure in the third. Federer’s ninth ace of the contest was enough to end Minar’s challenge after 82 minutes. Russian eighth seed Nikolay Davydenko retired injured from his second-round match against Sweden’s Jonas Bjorkman. Right-hander Davydenko was leading 7-6, 2-1 on Court Two when he decided to quit after receiving treatment on his right wrist. The 24-year-old had reached the second round of the grasscourt Grand Slam for the first time. Other results: Men’s singles: Justin Gimelstob (United States) b Nicolas Massu (Chile) 6-3, 4-6, 7-6(5), 7-6(0); Juan Carlos Ferrero (Spain) b Hyung-Taik Lee (South Korea) 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3; Tomas Berdych (Czech Republic) b Lars Burgsmueller (Germany) 6-3, 6-3, 6-1. Women’s singles: Jelena Jankovic (Serbia and Montenegro) b Mariana Diaz-Oliva (Argentina) 6-3 7-5; Roberta Vinci (Italy) b Anne Kremer (Luxembourg) 6-3, 6-2; Elena Likhovtseva (Russia) b Meghann Shaughnessy (United States) 6-3, 7-6(4); Silvia Farina Elia (Italy) b Maria Vento-Kabchi (Venezuela) 6-1, 5-7, 6-3; Nicole Vaidisova (Czech Republic) b Michaela Pastikova (Czech Republic) 7-5, 6-3; Shenay Perry (United States) b Tamarine Tanasugarn (Thailand) 7-6(1), 6-2.
— Reuters |
||
|
Sania crashes out
London, June 22 The 18-year-old Indian showed great fighting qualities before losing 4-6, 7-6 (7-4), 4-6 in 137 minutes. Sania, who had her fifth-ranked opponent in trouble on a number of occasions, saw all her hard work going in vain on Centre Court after failing to be benefit from the advantageous position she had put herself in with some fine play. Though Kuznetsova, who would turn 19 on June 27, won the contest, there was hardly any difference in the level of play, with both players hitting an almost identical number of winners, Sania 35 and Kuznetsova 38. Sania started the match on a great note, breaking her much-higher ranked opponent’s serve in the very first game, much to the delight of her supporters in the Centre Court stand. The Indian held her next two games and Kuznetsova her serve in between as the scoreline read 2-1 in favour of the Indian. But making it clear that Sania was not going to have it easy, the Russian girl, a quarterfinalist in the 2003 edition of the event, squared the score with some perfect shots. Sania saved two break points before Kuznetsova converted the third to level the score. The Indian raised hopes of clinching the first set when she broke the Russia again and held her own to take a 4-2 lead. But a plethora of double faults in her next game marred her hopes as Kuznetsova squared the scores yet again. The Russian won the next two games with quite ease to pocket the first set. Sania cruised to a 3-0, lead including two breaks, immediately in the second set, before the Russian returned to winning ways, claiming two games on the trot to put the pressure back on the Indian. But Sania, maintaining her cool, held her serve next to make it 4-2 before some keen tussles saw the lead changing hands, with Kuznetsova winning three games consecutively to take a 6-5 lead, for the first time in the set. Sania won her game as the set entered the tie-breaker, which she won, to take the match to the decider. The Russian put her opponent under pressure by breaking the third game in the decider and made matters worse for Sania by breaking her again three games later to make it 5-2. Sania’s last-ditch effort, which saw her breaking Kuznetsova’s serve once, could not stop the Russian from booking a third-round berth.
— PTI |
||
|
Bhupathi-Woodbridge in second round London, June 22
|
|
England bring Bangladesh
down to earth
Nottingham, June 22 Collingwood made a personal best 112 not out and then took six for 31 with his medium-pacers, an England record return as Bangladesh, chasing 392, were bowled out for 223. Bangladesh, fresh from their stunning five-wicket win against world champions Australia in Cardiff on Saturday, were all but out of the game after conceding 391 for four — the second highest international limited overs total of all time. Only Sri Lanka, with 398 for five against non-Test side Kenya in Kandy in the 1996 World Cup, had scored more in the 2,252 game history of one-day internationals. Scoreboard England Trescothick c Nafees b Hossain 85 Strauss lbw b Hossain 152 Vaughan b Hossain 0 Flintoff c Bashar b Ahmed 17 Collingwood not out 112 G. Jones not out 2 Extras
(b-1, lb-4, w-9, nb-9) 23 Total (4 wkts, 50 overs) 391 Fall of wickets:
1-141, 2-148, 3-179, 4-389. Bowling: Mortaza 10-0-71-0, Baisya 7-0-87-0, Hossain 10-0-83-3, Rafique 10-0-54-0, Ahmed 10-0-65-1, Imran 3-0-26-0. Bangladesh Omar b Collingwood 59 Nafees b Tremlett 10 Imran c Jones b Tremlett 0 Ashraful b Collingwood 94 Bashar c Strauss b Collingwood 16 Ahmed c and b Collingwood 0 Mashud c Jones b Collingwood 8 Rafique b Tremlett 19 Mortaza b Collingwood 0 Baisya b Tremlett 3 Hossain not out 2 Extras
(w-6, nb-6) 12 Total (all out, 45.2 overs) 223 Fall of wickets:
1-30, 2-30, 3-155, 4-181, 5-181, 6-196, 7-201, 8-201, 9-205. Bowling:
Lewis 5-1-23-0, Tremlett 8.2-1-32-4, Harmison 8-1-55-0, Flintoff 4-0-30-0, Giles 10-0-52-0, Collingwood 10-1-31-6.
— AFP |
|
Selectors discuss problem areas with Chappell
Kolkata, June 22 The five selectors apprised the Australian of the grey areas in the Indian team and discussed ways of improving the performance in the coming season, that kick-starts with the tri-series in Sri Lanka. India had lost 13 and won only nine ODIs last season. In Tests, the team finished with a 1-2 loss against Australia, got the better of South Africa 1-0 and sailed past Bangladesh 2-0. The Indo-Pak series ended 1-1. The 45-minute discussion yesterday prior to selecting the 36-member probables for the Lanka tri-series covered a wide range of topics, including the nature of wickets to be prepared in home matches. "The type of wickets which our team can come across in Sri Lanka also came up for discussion," sources close to the selection committee said. The Indian team seldom got to play at full strength last season with several players having to sit out due to injuries. "The problem was most acute in the bowling department, and rarely did the team get the services of all pacers at the same time," they said. Chappell listened intently to the selectors' views and also took down notes. "The selectors briefed Chappell on the problems in the fielding department. There was also some discussion on the batting order, but it was mostly general in nature," they said. Asked whether the performance or non-performance of any player was deliberated upon, the sources replied in the negative.
— PTI |
|
Argentina rally to hold Germany
Frankfurt, June 22 Despite the draw in Nuremberg yesterday, Germany finished first in Group A and will face the runner-up from Group B — either Japan, Brazil or Mexico — in Saturday’s first semifinal. Argentina also reached the semis and will play the Group B champion on Sunday. Kevin Kuranyi put Germany ahead in the 29th minute, with Juan Riquelme equalising four minutes later. In the 51st, German striker Gerald Asamoah made it 2-1, with Esteban Cambiasso equalising in the 74th. Three-time World Cup champion Germany applied most of the pressure early before Kuranyi finally broke through. After Thomas Hitzlsperger drove a 25-metre free kick into the wall, the ball rebounded to Fabian Ernst who chipped into the area with Kuranyi scoring. Two-time World Cup champion Argentina equalised just four minutes later when Riquelme neatly curled a 25-metre free kick in to the left of diving goalkeeper Timo Hildebrand for his third goal of the tournament. Germany moved ahead 2-1 when Asamoah, after several quick German passes outside the area, took a through ball from Kuranyi and drove a sharp-angled shot past Lux. Cambiasso’s tying goal in the 74th minute sailed high into the corner, perfectly driven home from 20 metres. Both teams started with strong teams. Germany rested influential midfielder Michael Ballack, saving him for the weekend. Germany also started No. 3 goalkeeper Hildebrand. Javier Saviola started on the bench for Argentina and didn’t play. In Leipzig, Brazil-born Santos scored twice — in the 26th and 70th minute — as African champions Tunisia defeated Australia 2-0. Tunisia finished third with three points in Group A, but the Socceroos’ third straight defeat meant Frank Farina’s team finished last with no points, losing 4-3 to Germany and 4-2 to Argentina. It was the African champions’ first victory after losses to Germany (3-0) and Argentina (2-1). With Germany and Argentina already safely through to the semis from the group, only pride was at stake at Central Stadium, which has been rebuilt for next year’s World Cup.
— AP |
|
India meet Australia in opening match
New Delhi, June 22 The top five teams from the Athens Olympic Games and hosts India would vie for the title. The other teams in the fray are Holland, Germany, Spain and Pakistan. New Zealand, who finished sixth in the last edition of the Champions Trophy in Lahore, have been replaced by Olympic champions Australia. India meet Australia on the opening day on December 10 after Holland clash against Pakistan in the Championship opener. Germany will meet holders Spain in the third match. In other matches, to be played on a round-robin format, India will take on Germany on December 11, Holland on December 13, Pakistan on December 14 and Spain on December16. India have never won this prestigious trophy. |
|
Harvinder Singh confident of making it to Indian team
Amritsar, June 22 Harvinder Singh is staging a comeback after four years. He played for India for the first time in 1997. However, in 1998 he developed a back problem which forced him out of the national team for two years. He made his comeback in 2001 and played a triangular series in South Africa, which was his last international appearance. Exuding confidence, Harvinder owed his inclusion to his persistent efforts and performance in the domestic league. He has been one of the leading wicket takers in the Ranji Trophy for the past three years. Keeping the tough competition in view, he is working on improving his batting. He smashed six sixes in the triangular series involving India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka for the tsunami charity match held in Dubai earlier. He has played 16 ODIs claiming 28 wickets with the best figures of three for 41against Pakistan in the Sahara Cup held in Toronto in 1997. He has also played in three Tests taking five wickets. |
|
Sasikiran records two straight wins
Paks (Hungary), June 22 Striking back with a vengeance after a disastrous loss against Sasikiran, Grandmaster Zoltan Almasi of Hungary emerged as the sole leader after beating 74-year-old Viktor Korchnoi of Switzerland. For the second day running, Hungarian Ferenc Berkes also emerged a winner, accounting for top seed Emil Sutovsky of Israel. Earlier yesterday, Sasikiran’s hunt for victory ended as he crashed through the defences of Almasi in style in the eighth round. On a day that witnessed black pieces coming out better than the favourable colour in the game, 74-year-old Korchnoi tasted defeat at the hands of Berkes, the youngest participant. Like the second round, the eighth round witnessed exciting encounters and another gainer was Acs, who made merry at the expense of top seed Sutovsky. Interestingly enough, all three victories yesterday were scored by players who had not won a single game till now.
— PTI |
|
Army to train, nurture future champs
Chandigarh, June 22 ASI Commandant Col Jagjit Singh told reporters at a talent-hunt rally in Chandimandir today that sanction from the Ministry of Sports for setting up the company is expected any time. “The company will be funded by the Ministry but will be run by the Army,” he said. The company will have a strength of about 150 boys aged between 11-16 years. They will be educated up to the matriculate level and trained at government expense, following which they will be enrolled in the Army if they meet the requisite standards. A total of 10 disciplines have been identified where there is a chance to win an Olympics medal. Towards this end, five Olympic nodes catering to various disciplines have been raised. Archery, according to the commandant, is offering the highest hopes among other disciplines of winning an Olympics medal. At present, the ASI has a strength of 182 persons, out of which 60 are aged between 13-16 years. The remaining are national-level sportspersons. The institute has six foreign coaches and about 30 Indian coaches, besides academic staff. Col Jagjit Singh said inmates from the ASI, including boys as well as serving personnel, have been participating with distinction in international competitions. A three-member team will be participating in the World Outdoor Archery Target Competition in Madrid this month. Another three personnel will be proceeding to Uzbekistan for a sub-juniors training-cum-competition camp in boxing, while two persons each participated in the international wrestling tournament in Tehran this month and the Asian free style and Greeco-Roman wrestling championship in South Korea. Besides, the 49th Military World Boxing Championship to be held in South Africa next month would see the participation of nine personnel from the ASI. As many as 2,631 boys had appeared for trials held at Subathu, Ambala and Jalandhar earlier this month, out of which 175 have been shortlisted for final selection, being held at Chandimandir. There are 18 tests to judge a candidate’s strength, speed, agility, stamina and flexibility, which are the basic traits of a good sportsperson. |
|
Samresh Jung finishes sixth
New Delhi, June 22 Jung shot 563 in the preliminary round to enter the final and then came up with a 92 for a total of 655 that saw him finish sixth. China’s Tiang Zhang won the gold with a total of 666.7 points, according to information received here. Ronak Pandit finished 30th and Deepak Sharma came 44th. In men’s 10m air
rifle, Gagan Narang disappointed by finishing 19th. — PTI |
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Mailbag | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
