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Haryana girls share honours with Railways
India’s performance didn’t match potential: coach
Drag-flick is Sandeep’s forte
Sachin’s arm
healing very well: Leipus
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Marriage bust-up my fault: Warne
SA board asks status of cases against Gibbs, Boje
Mahesh-Sania? Not yet
Atwal finishes tied 58th
Rana Sodhi assures
SAI coaches
Harikrishna in sole lead
Haryana grapplers strike gold in SA
India rout Pak in cycle polo
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Haryana girls share honours with Railways
New Delhi, July 11 In a match marred by umpiring flaws, a brief hold-up and obstruction tactics, Haryana and Railways were declared the joint winners after the match ended in a 1-1 draw at the end of regulation play. Fading light was given as the reason for not enforcing the golden-goal rule, or the tie-breaker shootout. Actually, the decision was taken to mollify Haryana, who had objected to Railways being awarded a penalty stroke which was converted by the defending champions to take the lead. Though Haryana neutralised by scoring off their fifth penalty corner, they held the grudge that they were “done in” by the umpire. Haryana, thus, dented Railways’ invincible image as the defending champions, packed with India players, who were looking to wrest their 20th straight title, and were very confident of achieving the feat. Haryana, with a combination of new and experienced players, matched skills with their famed opponents and controlled the game in the first quarter of the match. Railways, however, penetrated the rival goal area time and again, but could not beat the last line of defence till that controversial stroke came along in the second half. Though Sarvjeet, captain Simarjeet and Jasjeet Kaur set up a blistering pace to mount a series raids at the Railways goal, the experienced rival defence held out to deny the challengers to the throne a goal till half time. Haryana maintained the momentum on resumption and even “scored” in the third minute on resumption when umpire Shamshad Begum whistled for a “goal” on the assumption that the ball had gone in, after a move down the right, via the stick of Sarvjeet, though the ball had bounced in off her pads. The umpire reversed the decision when the Railways team protested, only to earn the ire of the Haryana girls. From then on, it was a rough and ready match, but an equal fight at that, with the Haryana girls resorting to “woman to woman” marking to check Railway forwards Mamta Kharb, Jyoti Sunita Kullu and Sangai Ibemhal Chanu, who were effectively dodging the rival midfield and defence with their pattern-weaving forays and sallies down the flanks. A lot of stick locking and shoulder charges forced the umpires to flash the green and yellow cards to maintain discipline. On a couple of occasions, Haryana were battling with only nine players on the field, including the goalkeeper, and they were lucky that they escaped unscathed during these phases of less numerical strength. The contest reached a boiling point when Railways were awarded a stroke by umpire Anupama following their fourth penalty corner in the 10th minute. A defender stick-checked with custodian Helen Mary squatting on the turf. The Haryana girls protested against the umpire’s decision, but the official stood firm, and Haryana coach Baldev Singh signalled the girls to come off the field. The game was held up for about six minutes and the Haryana players relented only when the president of the Haryana Women’s Hockey Association, Mrs Sampath, intervened, facilitating the stroke. Masira Surin nicely swept the ball in to the right of the diving Haryana custodian Rajni Bala. Haryana did not lose heart at this reverse, but fought on with determination to earn their fourth penalty corner which was struck forcefully by Sandeep Kaur and as the ball rose, Simarjeet held her stick to glide the ball in from the goal line (1-1) in the 17th minute. The remaining minutes witnessed a keen battle to get that elusive winner, but the defenders played their parts well to end the tie in a 1-1 deadlock. Haryana coach Baldev Singh conceded that Railways played better as his girls, some whom were playing in the nationals for the first time, got overawed by the occasion. He also “praised” the umpiring, terming it as world class, though he refused to comment on Haryana’s brief walkout. Jharkhand defeated Mumbai 1-0 to take the third place. Sarita Lakhra scored the match-winner in the 56th minute. |
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India’s performance didn’t match potential: coach
Rotterdam, July 11 At the start of the 16-team competition, India coach Harendra Singh had felt that his team had the ability to go all the way and retain the World Cup they had won in 2001 at Hobart, Australia. “Our ultimate objective here is to retain the World Cup and I feel my team has the talent and potential to do so,” he had said. However, the confluence of potential and performance occurred only twice in the entire tournament, against the Netherlands, whom India beat 4-1 in the preliminary league, and in the first half of the semifinal versus Australia, when they led 2-0. In other matches, the Indians struggled to find their flow and rhythm, resulting in generally lackadaisical performance. India’s form touched the nadir in their final three league matches, against Spain, to whom they lost 0-4, Korea (3-1) and England (1-0). “It was pressure situation for the boys and they just could not perform,” said Harendra. Even India’s progress through the first round of league matches hardly raised any hopes of an eventual cup triumph. After overcoming Egypt 4-1 in their lung opener, the Indians struggled to beat Poland 3-2, nearly squandering a comfortable 3-1 lead. Then came their best performance, a 4-1 drubbing of the Netherlands in a match that saw the Indian team at their sparkling best. However, India’s form dipped dramatically and it was not until they met Australia in the semifinals that they picked themselves up. Here too, it was only in the first 35 minutes that the Indians played at the top of their game, combining quite beautifully while weaving a web of old magic. Despite the disappointing finish, India can count on a few gains. Individually, the likes of forwards Tushar Khandekar and V Raja, and midfielders Nithin Kumar and V.S. Vinaya, enjoyed a good tournament. The quarter, along with skipper and goalkeeper Adrian D’Souza, are certainly good prospects. As for the rest, especially penalty corner specialist Sandeep Singh, very little could be said by way of high praise. Sandeep, no doubt, exhibited his growing expertise at penalty corner conversions, but as a full-back, he was found wanting in covering and tackling. Similarly, fellow defender William Xalco was disappointing and committed far too many mistakes.
— PTI |
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Drag-flick is Sandeep’s forte
A student of Khalsa College here, Sandeep is the latest entrant to the hall of fame in junior hockey in India. He is a product of the Patiala-based SAI’s Centre of Excellence, which has also produced other star players like Olympians Deepak Thakur, Prabhjot Singh and Asia Cup gold medalist custodian Kamaldeep
Singh. Sandeep’s expertise of executing the drag-flick with the minimum of difficulty is the talk among players in the international circuit. Coaches say due to the suppleness of his wrists, Sandeep manages to control the complex drag-flick with the minimum of fuss and maximum of effect. Sandeep used this shot to announce his arrival on the international scene when he scored 16 goals in the junior Asia Cup, held at Karachi in April last year. A vital statistic, missed by many, was that out of these 16 goals, 14 were scored off penalty corners. Sandeep made his senior international debut in the 2004 edition of the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in Kuala Lumpur. Playing alongside senior players, he was a bit subdued, but nevertheless, managed to impress many in the Malaysian capital with his clean hitting and defending. Sandeep, who also played in the Athens Olympics, was selected by the IHF to tour Europe with the junior squad in August, 2003. There he impressed western hockey coaches, many of whom termed him the poor man’s Floris Jan
Bouvelander. On the same tour, while playing in the six-nation junior international tournament at Gniezno (Poland), Sandeep scored 12 goals in five matches. For him, the jewel in the crown was his performance in the final against Pakistan, where he used his mastery over the drag-flick to pump in four goals. The Patiala youngster was again in the spotlight in the 2004 edition of the Champions Trophy, held in Lahore. There he drag-flicked four goals, forcing one of Pakistan finest penalty corner experts, Tanveer Dar, to praise him. |
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Sachin’s arm
healing very well: Leipus
Bangalore, July 11 “The arm is looking like it is healing very well,” said Leipus, here as a consultant to the NCA for a brief period. He had met Tendulkar in Mumbai before coming to the city. “He still has lots of work to do. The pain is gone now, but that is not the end of the rehabilitation.” Leipus said Tendulkar’s arm had thinned down due to muscle loss and it needed to be built again. “I am looking forward to seeing him when he comes down here,” he said. On whether Tendulkar should use a lighter bat, he said it was not an issue at all. “His body has been on a low for some years. That will take some time. I think he will be better than what he has been for the last few years and mentally, he will be more stronger now,” Leipus said. Meanwhile, India’s top cricketers wound up a fitness and conditioning camp here today ahead of a hectic international schedule, but they would assemble here again on Wednesday for a shortened skills-specific conclave, that would see new coach Greg Chappell in full flow. Yoga, fitness drills, exercises and other onfield activities aimed towards preparing them for the rigours of international cricket were part of the camp, that saw the cricketers sweat out in morning and afternoon sessions. Trainer Gregory King and Physio John Gloster had a major say in this camp for obvious reasons, but now it was the turn of the 56-year-old former Australian captain to take centrestage as the final phase of the camp would unfold. The cricketers, who attended the camp, said the last few days had been fulfilling and they had been able to raise the bar vis-a-vis fitness levels. Australian pace guru Dennis Lillee and kinesiologist Charles Krebs also held some sessions with the cricketers, mainly fast bowlers. Meanwhile, the duration of the cricket skills camp had been cut short by three days and it would now conclude on July 19. According to sources, the cricketers would be closeted with Chappell on July 13 and on the morning of July 14 when he was slated to give a lecture on cricket skills and interact with them. Sourav Ganguly, Dinesh Mongia and Harbhajan Singh, are playing in English county cricket, were slated to join them on Wednesday. Irfan Pathan had already joined the camp. Tendulkar was expected to spend some time at the camp, as per the directions of Chappell. Meanwhile, Pathan said he was concentrating more on line and length and believed speed would naturally come when one continued to bowl. “I am concentrating more on my line and length,” said the speedster, attending the camp. “Speed will automatically come as one continues to bowl”. On his county stint in England, he said it was a good experience and he learnt a lot and improved upon his bowling. “Though it was tiresome travelling from one place to another, it was a good experience. I did a lot of bowling; I concentrated on my match fitness”. Pathan said he had fully recovered from the shoulder injury and was completely fit. “I am looking forward to the tri-series in Sri Lanka,” he said.
— PTI |
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Marriage bust-up my fault: Warne
Sydney, July 11 “I do take responsibility for Simone and my separation,” Warne wrote in today’s edition of Sydney tabloid The Daily Telegraph. And despite the media stories of his extramarital affairs, Warne wrote that the reasons for the separation “will remain private.” Warne, 35, holds the record for most wickets in Test cricket, with 583 wickets in 123 matches. He is well clear of second-placed Muttiah Muralitharan of Sri Lanka, who has 532 wickets. He is about to join Australia’s Test team as it gears up for the eagerly anticipated Ashes series against
England. Warne wrote that despite his split with Simone, who last week returned to Australia with the couple’s three children, “I am very lucky that Simone and I remain such close and good friends.” Warne’s article appeared to be an attempt to staunch the flow of media reports about his private life ahead of the Ashes and to protect his wife and children. “To the media, I know I am a target, but please do not make it any tougher on my family than it is already,”
he wrote. Looking forward to the Ashes, Warne wrote that England skipper Michael Vaughan’s leadership was the key to the team’s success. “I think that Michael Vaughan gives them that touch of class and calmness that has been lacking,”
he wrote. “He seems to bring out the best in his players and gets them to play above themselves at times, which is a sign of a good captain.” The spinner also taunted England selectors for their failure to pick his explosive Hampshire team-mate. “As long as they continue not to pick the most dangerous player, Kevin Pietersen, in their Test line-up, it helps,” he wrote. And in a defiant signoff, Warne said he had not been on a losing Ashes team during his illustrious career and did not want to be on one now. “I have never been on a side that has lost the Ashes and I will do everything in my power to keep the record that way,” he said.
—AP |
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SA board asks status of cases against Gibbs, Boje
New Delhi, July 11 Both the South African players had skipped the Proteas’ tour of the country last year after they were denied assurance that they would not be interrogated or arrested by the Delhi police, investigating the case. This year, South Africa were scheduled to tour India for a five-match one-day series and according to a senior official in the Sports Ministry, queries had been put forward about the cases against the players. Joint Secretary (Sports) S.K. Krishnan today said, ‘’Yes, we have received queries from the South African High Commission about the state of the cases against the cricketers, but till now, we have not received anything from the South African cricket board in this matter. Unless we get something in writing from them, we cannot proceed further.’’ Last year, during the India-South Africa Test match in Kanpur, United Cricket Board of South Africa chief executive Gerlad Majola made it clear that Gibbs and Boje would not ever tour India unless they were given the assurance. “We have asked the Board of Control for Cricket in India to provide us a comprehensive report on the matter, but that has not reached us yet. Unless we receive something in
writing from either of the
boards, we cannot make any move,” Mr Krishnan said. “Criminal cases were made against the players — both Indian and foreigner — in the match-fixing scam. The matter is being dealt with by the police. The Home Ministry. If the boards approach us, we may take up the issue with the Ministry of External Affairs and the Home Ministry. But for that, they will have to give a written submission to the Sports Ministry and till then, we have nothing to do,” Mr Krishnan added. Last year, both cricketers were asked to respond to a Delhi police questionnaire, that was forwarded to them through the Indian High Commission in South Africa. Apart from Boje and Gibbs, the then skipper Hansie Cronje and Pieter Strydom were also named in the controversy, as were Indian captain Mohammad Azharuddin and allrounder Ajay
Jadeja. Azhar was banned for life, a decision he challenged in the court, and Jadeja served a five-year ban from international cricket. In South Africa, Gibbs was fined £ 5,800 and served a six-month ban after admitting that he had accepted an offer of money from Cronje to under-perform, though he told South Africa’s King Commission, inquiring match-fixing, that he was never paid. Cronje was slammed a life ban after his admission and he died in a plane crash in 2002. Boje had been pleading innocence since the
incident, but despite being named the vice-captain of the side, the left-arm spinner chose not to tour India last
year. — UNI |
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Mahesh-Sania? Not yet
Bangalore, July 11 “Sania is improving every month. So, she will get a ranking up to a level, we can compete at the highest level (in mixed doubles),” Bhupathi told reporters here. Bhupathi, along with Mary Pierce of France, won the Wimbledon mixed doubles earlier this month while Sania, currently ranked 70th in the world, lost to US Open champion and world number six Svetlana Kuznetsova after a spirited fight in the singles second round. But both Bhupathi and Sania stressed that at this stage of her career, she needed to focus on singles. “It (mixed doubles) is not a priority for Sania (now). Right now, it (mixed doubles) comes only four times a year. She says she wants to break into the top 50. If and when that happens, it will (Bhupathi pairing up with Sania), the whole country will be excited about it. Right now, she needs to focus on singles,” he said. “It will be an honour (to pair with Bhupathi in mixed doubles),” added Sania. “I am playing singles and doubles; mixed doubles happen four times a year. We will see; when it happens, it happens”.
— PTI |
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Atwal finishes tied 58th
Silvis (Illinois), July 11 His final round of one-over 72, his only over-par round of the week, saw him end at five-under 279 and in the tied 58th place. Atwal had three bogeys in the first four holes, but then birdies on fifth and ninth helped him back. Another birdie on the 10th brought him to par, but he gave that away on the next hole before
paring the rest of the holes. Atwal had now made cuts in each of his 10 starts and had two top-10 finishes and one more at 16th place. Arjun would play the BC Open next week. Rookie Sean O’Hair landed his first career PGA Tour win with a sensational six-under-par 65 on the final day to hold off
J.L. Lewis and Hank Kuehne to win the title. O’Hair, who turned 23 today and was making only his 18th career start, finished with a 16-under 268.
O’Hair, who earned a place into the British Open with this win, was however, not sure whether he would make a trip across the Atlantic.
— PTI |
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Rana Sodhi assures
SAI coaches
Patiala, July 11 A delegation of Punjab-based SAI coaches met him at his residence in Chandigarh today. Sodhi said he would write to the Sports Ministry to stall the transfers since it would be a “grave setback to sports in Punjab if the SAI went ahead with its decision.” Sodhi said he would meet Minister of State for Sports Prithvi Raj Chauhan at New Delhi tomorrow to seek an end to the “controversial transfers.” Sodhi had a telephonic conversation with the Joint Secretary (Sports), Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of India, and urged him to enforce a status quo on the transfers till the SAI Director-General (DG) returned from his foreign tour. The delegation, which was led by Ranjit Singh, Secretary-General of the Punjab SAI Coaches Welfare Association, also met Director (Sports), Punjab, Kartar Singh at Chandigarh today. The Director, too, assured the coaches that he would do everything possible to get the transfer orders revoked and added that he would not be relieving even a single coach working on deputation with the Punjab Sports Department. Meanwhile, at a meeting held at Ludhiana’s Guru Nanak Stadium yesterday, about 145 coaches of Punjab, Chandigarh and Himachal Pradesh resolved not to join duty till their transfers orders were taken back by the SAI Corporate Office. |
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Harikrishna in sole lead
Taiyuan (China), July 11 With nine rounds still remaining in the category-15 round robin tournament, Harikrishna was the only player with an absolute score. Grandmasters Luke McShane of England and Tigran Petrosian of Armenia were close on the heels of the Indian with 1.5 points to their credit. China’s Grandmaster Zhang Zhong, Grandmaster Wang Yue, Grandmaster Bu Xiangzhi and Wang Hao were next in line on one point each while late arriver top seed Grandmaster Alexander Motylev of Russia and Grandmaster Ni Hua of China were another half point adrift with 0.5 point with an extra game between them slated to be played on the rest day. For Harikrishna, it turned out be another fine day as he exquisitely dominated Xue. The endgame prowess of the Hyderabadi was on display once again as he played the final part of the game with conviction, leading to an easy victory. Earlier, Harikrishna played the Catalan opening with white pieces and apparently allowed a balanced position to Xue, who went out of control after trading of queens on the 32nd move. The exchange of pieces at regular intervals thereafter led to a better rook and minor piece endgame for Harikrishna, who had an extra pawn and after the exchange of rooks, it was all over for Xue. Stripping black of pawns, Harikrishna knocked down another to wrap the issue in 63 moves.
— PTI |
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Haryana grapplers strike gold in SA
Hisar, July 11 Geetika, 19, was part of the 21-member Indian team which participated in the event. The championship was organised from June 29 to July 2. Soon after the event, Geetika went to Lithuania to participate in the World Junior Wrestling Championship, which was organised from July 5 to 10. She won the second position in the same weight category there. On returning home, a beaming Geetika attributed her success to her parents, Mr Satyavir and Ms Usha Rani, and her grandfather, who had inspired her to join the sport. Geetika had now set her eyes on the Senior World Women Wrestling Championship, to be held in Budapest in September this year. Her ultimate dream was an Olympic gold. The wrestler was critical of the government’s sports policy. She felt that a few disciplines were being given excessive and undue credit at the cost of others. ROHTAK: Ravinder, popularly known as Dhilley, has bagged three gold and two silver medals at the Commonwealth Championship and the Century Cup, which concluded recently at Cape Town in South Africa. According to Ravinder’s family sources, he was adjudged the best wrestler at the Commonwealth Championship. His family sources disclosed here that besides bagging the Greco-Roman gold in the 60-kg category, Ravinder got two gold and two silver medals in the Century Cup Championship. Earlier, Ravinder had represented India in 30 matches, winning four gold medals and one silver medal. In the nationals, Ravinder had won 31 gold and one silver medal. Ravinder is a resident of Kharman village in Jhajjar district. |
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India rout Pak in cycle polo
Jaipur, July 11 Abinash scored the opening goal in the first chukker, followed by two more in the second chukker to complete his hat-trick. Mohammed Mustaq scored for the losers. The third chukker saw captain Srikant Sakarkar scoring a goal. India dominated the last chukker as they scored three goals (Srikant, Abinash and Shabbir M) to complete the rout. Earlier, India had defeated Pakistan at Patiala 9-0, Moonak 5-1, Chandigarh 7-3, Delhi 6-3 and Raipur 10-7. State Sports Minister Yunus Khan gave away the prizes. Cycle Polo Federation of India secretary Raghuvendra Dundlod announced that the 1st Asian Cycle Polo Championship and World Cup
will take place here in October. — UNI |
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Patiala, July 11
