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England win a thriller
India keen to restore pride
BCCI to set up cricket academy
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Lindsay Davenport set to regain No. 1 ranking
Don’t rest on past laurels, say hockey Olympians
Tarlochan Singh Bawa (centre), who was a member of India’s Olympic gold medal winning hockey team in 1948, cuts the cake on the eve of the 100th birth anniversary of hockey wizard Dhyan Chand at Shivalik Public School, Mohali, on Sunday.
— Tribune photo by Pardeep Tewari
Hockey series against Malaysia scrapped
Lawrence School win
Patiala boxers dominate
Amritpal fastest
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England win a thriller
Nottingham, August 28 The three-wicket victory left the hosts 2-1 up in the series with one game left. Australia will retain the Ashes they have held since 1989 if they can win at the Oval. The leg spinner took three wickets for seven runs in 29 balls as the home side, chasing 129 to win on a blameless fourth-day pitch, stumbled to a nervy 57 for four. Strike bowler Lee then tore apart the middle order to make it 111 for six and keep the 16,000 capacity crowd on tenterhooks. Warne added a fourth wicket and his eighth of the match with 13 still needed for an England victory but Ashley Giles and Matthew Hoggard clung on to spark scenes of jubilation around the ground. Warne ended with four wickets and Lee got three. Earlier Australia, having been forced to follow on for the first time in 17 years yesterday, battled hard through the opening two sessions to wipe out their 259-run deficit before being dismissed for 387. Michael Clarke and Simon Katich had given Australia hope in the morning session, putting on 100 after the world champions, following on and 259 runs behind, had resumed on 222 for four. Clarke fell 10 minutes before lunch after he had made 56. It was 270 for five at the break and from then on England, without injured fast bowler Simon Jones, kept chipping away. Adam Gilchrist and Katich were the last hopes for Australia to stay level in the five-match series but neither managed to produce a major innings. Gilchrist made 11 before Matthew Hoggard straightened a delivery which began on middle and would have hit leg. It was the first time in 72 Tests and 105 innings that Gilchrist had gone lbw to a bowler other than a spinner. Katich followed for 59, his eighth Test half-century. A study in concentration, the left-hander fell lbw to Steve Harmison, although television replays suggested the ball had pitched outside leg stump and would have cleared the wicket. Scoreboard England (1st innings) 477 Australia (1st innings) 218 Australia (2nd innings) Langer c Bell b Giles 61 Hayden c Giles b Flintoff 26 Ponting run out 48 Martyn c G.Jones b Flintoff 13 Clarke c G.Jones b Hoggard 56 Katich lbw b Harmison 51 Gilchrist lbw b Hoggard 11 Warne st G.Jones b Giles 45 Lee not out 26 Kasprowicz c G.Jones
b Harmison 19 Tait b Harmison 4 Extras (b-1, lb-4, nb-14) 19 Total
(all out, 101 overs) 387 Fall of wickets: 1-50, 2-129, 3-155, 4-161, 5-261, 6-277, 7-314, 8-342, 9-373. Bowling:
Hoggard 27-7-72-2, S.Jones 4-0-15-0, Harmison 30-5-93-3, Flintoff 29-4-83-2, Giles 28-3-107-2, Bell 6-2-12-0. England (2nd innings) Trescothick c Ponting b Warne 27 Strauss c Clarke b Warne 23 Vaughan c Hayden b Warne 0 Bell c Kasprowicz b Lee 3 Pietersen c Gilchrist b Lee 23 Flintoff b Lee 26 G. Jones c Kasprowicz b Warne 3 Giles not out 7 Hoggard not out 8 Extras
(lb-4, nb-5) 9 Total (7 wickets, 31.5 overs) 129 Fall of wickets:
1-32, 2-36, 3-57, 4-57, 5-103, 6-111, 7-116. Bowling: Lee 12-0-51-3, Kasprowicz 2-0-19-0, Warne 13.5-2-31-4, Tait 4-0-24-0. |
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India keen to restore pride
Harare, August 28 A cricketing feast is in the offing and nothing less than a overwhelming win against the inexperienced hosts would help the Indians erase the humiliation of the batting debacle against New Zealand in their opening match two days ago. The new season has shown up the failings of the past and it all concerns the batsmen. Tomorrow is a good day to express their intentions and back it up subsequently against the Kiwis. That such resolutions must have often figured in the Indian batsmen’s mind in the past season and yet it didn’t reflect in the middle either proves that the stars have lost their marbles or the youngsters have not quite seized the moment with both hands. There is a bit of truth in both though the youngsters must be excused for they are just feeling their way into international cricket. Still, the inexorable march of time is throwing up more Suresh Rainas, Venugopala Raos, Jai Prakash Yadavs and Rudra Pratap Singhs. It is upto the seniors to react in time or face being swamped by youth. They now would be ignoring the signals at their own peril. The team seems to be seized with an identity crisis. Virender Sehwag flirts between attack and defence but still can’t find a way forward. Sourav Ganguly is conscious of the monkey on his back and it concerns his ability against genuine quick bowling. Rahul Dravid is above criticism but such is not the case with Yuvraj Singh and Mohammad Kaif. The duo spent much of their careers holding the bottom of the team together, and now when circumstances have afforded them the luxury of extra overs, find themselves unable to grab the moment by the collar. In between, new coach Greg Chappell has shown an impatience to look for answers beyond the perimeters of the exhalted zone and no wonder the sense of insecurity is beginning to run deep. All the while, there is this nation of millions who seem ready to forsake their heroes at the first hint of failure. There is a marked improvement in India’s bowling and fielding and Chappell’s intolerance with wayward length is beginning to produce dividends. It should even encourage him to try out Uttar Pradesh youngster R.P. Singh against a lesser opponent in Zimbabwe by resting one of the regulars, possibly Irfan Pathan who has looked better and better with each passing game, both with bat and ball. Zimbabwe have similar incentive to do well as with each drubbing in the middle, the cry for their ouster is becoming shrill. The return of the seniors has made little difference and Andy Blignaut underlined the point in the first match against New Zealand. He was collared for 96 runs from his nine overs and while batting lasted less than half a dozen balls. Stuart Carlisle, Craig Wishart and Brendon Taylor only served to strength point. Heath Streak is a glorious exception and he seems intent on making his return count. Harare, if anything, is cooler than Bulawayo in the early hours and so toss is not a negligent factor in the equation. The pitch has also its spungy bounce which has often proved to be India’s undoing in the past. In two Tests at the same venue, India has failed to post 200 plus targets.
— PTI |
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BCCI to set up cricket academy
New Delhi, August 28 He said it was the dream of former Board President Madhav Rao Scindia to establish a cricket academy under the BCCI, but could not accomplish that task for various reasons. Mr Mahendra, who along with many other prominent sportspersons were honoured by the Scindia Cricket Academy, credited his rise in the BCCI hierarchy to the late Madhavrao Scindia. Mr Mahendra was presented a shawl and other mementoes for his invaluable contribution to cricket by Scindia Club patron Jyotir Aditya Scindia, MP, who is also the President of the Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association. Others honoured for their contributions to sports included Indian Olympic Association Secretary-General and member, International Cricket Council, Raja Randhir Singh, BCCI treasurer Jyoti Bajpayee, vice-president Rajiv Shukla, top cricket coaches like Guracharan Singh, Sunita Sharma, M.P. Singh, Sunil Saggi, former India player and present national selector Yashpal Sharma, Maninder Singh, Anurag Thakur, former Asian Games wrestling gold medallist Satpal Sehrawat, former Test umpire S.K. Bansal, Scindia Club secretary Baljeet Singh Joban, promising cricketers from Himachal Pradesh Vikramjeet Malik, Varun Misra and Ravi Kant. |
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Federer starts hot favourite
New York, August 28 Not since the heyday of Pete Sampras has there been such a hot favourite going into the final Grand Slam of the year and the Swiss star only reaffirmed his credentials with a straight sets win over Andy Roddick in the final of the Cincinnati Masters Series event last Sunday. There had been a tiny question mark over Federer’s preparations for the US Open as prior to that event, he had not played since his majestic straight sets win over Roddick in the Wimbledon final in early July. That self-imposed pause was to recharge the batteries and fully recover from a painful foot ailment that had dogged him since early in the year. He started edgily at Cincinnati, but quickly got back into his stride and by the time he crushed Roddick in the final he once again looked a class above anyone else. He goes into his sixth US Open campaign with an 18-match win streak, standing 64-3 on the year and has not lost since
early June. He has also won the last 22 tournament finals he has played in, an all-time record and has been 81 weeks as world No 1. Federer was oozing confidence after his win in Cincinnati. “This is the best preparation I could have asked before the Open,” he said. “This is how it will be in every match at the Open. I’m ready for the pressure. It’s a good feeling that I have.” “The players, I know them all, I’ve beaten
them all.” Roddick, who won the 2003 US Open, his only Grand Slam win to date, not only lost again to Federer in Cincinnati, but his hopes this year were dented as he limped away with an injury to his right foot. He was undergoing treatment this week and said he was hopeful he would be fully fit in time. But fully fit or not, such is the hold that Federer has over him — he leads their head-to-heads 10-1 including the last six in a row — Roddick’s best chance would appear to be if someone else can
remove his nemesis from his path. Injuries are also complicating the chances of two other players cited at the start of the year as the likeliest threats to the Swiss player’s world crown. Last year’s beaten finalist Lleyton Hewitt has been beset by a succession of injuries that have sidelined him for much of the year, while Marat Safin
has been struggling with a niggling knee injury since before the French Open
in May. The 2000 US Open winner has a doctor from Russia arriving to help with the injury as well as a fitness trainer to ensure he does everything correctly in his practise sessions. There are doubts too over evergreen Andre Agassi who has made the US Open the focal point of his season. The 35-year-old two-time winner in New York looked impressive in winning in Los Angeles and reaching the final of the Montreal Masters Series event earlier this month. But he withdrew from Cincinnati last week in an apparent bid to pace himself and protect the
injury he has been carrying to the sciatic nerve in his back. That leaves the youngster who defeated Agassi in the Montreal final, Spain’s Rafael Nadal, as the fittest and potentially most dangerous rival for Federer. The 19-year-old from the Mediterranean island of Majorca has won nine titles this year, the same as Federer, and he has been seeded second which means he cannot face the reigning champion before the final. Nadal lost in the first round in Cincinnati following his first hardcourt title win in Montreal, but that allowed him to return to his homebase and better ready himself for Flushing Meadows where he has been eliminated in the second round in his only two campaigns to date. He was the last player to defeat Federer in a four-set semi-final of the French Open in early June and he came close to defeating him in the final of Miami Masters in April. After flunking at Wimbledon, this will be his best chance to date to show that he can prevail on a surface other than clay.
— AFP |
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Lindsay Davenport set to regain No. 1 ranking
New Haven, August 28 The American, who will regain the world number one ranking from Russian Maria Sharapova tomorrow, won the title for the first time having lost in the final on four previous occasions. ‘’I didn’t think either of us played that well in the first set,’’ Davenport said yesterday. ‘’But I played a lot better in the second set and I am very happy to win the title. ‘’I didn’t know what to expect coming back after my injury, but to win the title without playing my best gives me a lot of confidence going into the US Open.’’ After losing the Wimbledon final to Venus Williams, having held a match point, Davenport suffered a back injury and pulled out of her opening match at the WTA event in Stanford at the beginning of August. Davenport lost her world number one ranking to Sharapova last week, but seems to have completely recovered from her injury and moved well against
Mauresmo. The Frenchwoman took almost three hours to win her semifinal against Spaniard Anabel Medina Garrigues on Friday, and though she competed well, was unable to overpower Davenport. The American broke in the first game of the match and, although second seed Mauresmo broke back for 3-3, the American broke again in the next game and held on to win the set. A series of crunching baseline winners gave Davenport an early break in the second set and she went on to claim her third title of the year, the 48th of her career. She won the US Open in 1998 and has reached at least the semi-finals in seven of the past eight years. ‘’It’s been a really good week overall,’’ Davenport said. ‘’Last year (after winning four straight hard court titles) it really seemed like everything was going to go my way at the US Open but it didn’t happen. ‘’This year, I really don’t know what to expect. I know there’s a lot to improve but I feel good, I’m playing well and I love it in New York.’’
Mauresmo said she had felt tired after her epic win over Medina Garrigues but was honest in defeat. ‘’I think I recovered well physically, but she just played a bit better than me today,’’ she said. ‘’Two things she did better than me today — serving and returning. That’s what the difference was. 6-4, 6-4 is close but not close enough.’’ The men’s final will be between Spanish fifth seed Feliciano Lopez and home favourite James Blake. Lopez saw fellow Spaniard and fourth seed David Ferrer 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 to reach his first final of the year. Blake, a wildcard entry who reached the final in Washington earlier this summer, outlasted Romanian Victor Hanescu 7-6, 6-7,
6-1. — Reuters |
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Sania’s ranking rises to 42
New Delhi, August 28 Sania went down to the 66th ranked Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic 6-3, 5-7, 4-6 in the yesterday, but would be happy that she gained ample match practice ahead of the US Open Grand Slam. Playing after a near fortnight's rest following an abdominal strain, the 18-year-old gained 67 circuit points, which combined with bonus points, pushed her ranking eight places from last week's position of 50.
— PTI |
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Don’t rest on past laurels, say hockey Olympians
Mohali, August 28 As the event was held to mark hockey wizard Dhyan Chand’s 100th birth anniversary, which falls tomorrow, several Olympians paid tributes to the legend who wielded the hockey stick like a magic wand. However, they stressed the need to overcome the “golden hangover” and accept the bitter fact that India were no longer a powerhouse in hockey. Former Indian captain and coach Harmeek Singh stated that the revival of hockey in Punjab was the key to its revival in the country. He said the game had to be strengthened at the grassroots level in the state. Echoing his views, Ajit Pal Singh, the captain of India’s World Cup winning team in 1975, said there was a time when there were as many as nine players from Punjab in the national team. He felt that players, coaches and administrators were all responsible for the decline of Indian hockey. Ajit Pal said former players should give back something to the game that had given them so much. Another former Indian skipper, Pargat Singh, was forthright as ever as he admitted that there was lack of sincerity towards the game among those associated with it. He said players avoided calling a spade a spade because they did not want to displease the powers that be. He said hockey got a lot of negative publicity due to various reasons, which made sponsors reluctant to promote the game. Pargat observed that the Indian team’s poor bench strength often let them down in international tournaments. Col Harcharan Singh, who was a member of the team that won the World Cup in 1975, said it was most unfortunate that the Indian team had seen 16 coaches in about 12 years. He stated that no player was indispensable, giving the example of Pakistan, who won the recent Rabo Trophy in Holland without star drag-flicker Sohail Abbas. The guest of honour, Tarlochan Singh Bawa, who played as a fullback in the 1948 Olympic gold winning team, said physical fitness was a key aspect in which India lagged behind Western nations. He opined that this seminar was not an exercise in futility, and more such events should be organised to generate widespread interest in the revival of hockey. Most of the Olympians sought that they should have a greater say in the selection of the team and other matters. Others who spoke on the occasion included Sandeep Singh Nakai, President of the Sports Journalists Federation of India, Mr Hardeep Singh Dhillon, Secretary, Punjab Hockey Association, Manjit Singh Sarang of the Punjab and Sind Bank, former international hockey umpire Gurdev Singh Brar and sports writer Iqbal Singh Saroya. Among the others who attended the seminar were Ramandeep Singh Grewal, Balwinder Shammi, Tarsem Singh, Baldev Singh, Hardeep Grewal, Jagdev Singh, Ripudaman Singh and Gundeep Kumar. Women hockey players Saroj Bala, Satinder Walia, Bimal Parbagga and Sandeep Kaur were also present. Among the coaches, Baldev Singh (Shahbad Markanda) was one of the participants. Senior sports journalist Prabhjot Singh acted as the moderator during the seminar. An exhibition of vintage hockey photographs by Ashok Vahie was also organised on the occasion. Shanthi K. Arumugam, a noted hockey writer who is a geologist by profession, displayed his collection of books, including a biography of present Indian captain Dilip Tirkey. The Punjab Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh, who was to be the chief guest, failed to reach the venue as his helicopter couldn’t take off from Patiala due to bad weather. The President of the Indian Hockey Federation, Mr KPS Gill, was conspicuous by his absence. |
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Hockey series against Malaysia scrapped
New Delhi, August 28 The Indian Hockey Federation has proposed to its Malaysian counterpart that the series be held from October 30 to November 5, sources in the IHF said today. However, the postponement could very well mean the series might not take place at all as the dates coincide with
‘Ramadaan’, the fasting period for Muslims worldwide. The series against Malaysia would be followed by two four-nation meets slated for November 8-12 in Chennai and November 14-18 in New Delhi as a build up to the Champions Trophy in Chennai (Dec 8-18).
— PTI |
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Lawrence School win
Solan, August 28 Seven teams — Yadvindra Public School (YPS), Mohali, Sherwood College, Nainital, Doon School, Dehra Dun, Pinegrove School, Dharampur, and Welhams (boys) Dehra Dun and two teams from the host school — are participating in the four-day tournament. The host school's A team won the opening match by defeating YPS 7-0. Likumari was the top scorer with four goals while Yajur Sharma scored the other three goals. In other matches, Sherwood College beat Doon School 6-0, Sanawar's B team defeated Sherwood College by a solitary goal while Pinegrove School humbled YPS 4-0. The last match of the day saw Sanawar-A team beat Doon School 7-1.
— OC |
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Aarti, Jyoti race to glory
New Delhi, August 28 The races covered the distance between Ambedkar Stadium and the National Sports Club of India ground at Mathura Road. The races were flagged off by NSCI president Subhash Chopra. Former Indian cricket stars Maninder Singh, Madan Lal, Vivek Razdan and several other sportspersons were also present. Over 10,000 school children made it to the starting block. The races witnessed keen competition. In the boys section, Sarif and Umesh Kumar emerged winners in the junior and senior section, respectively. In the girls event, MCD School, Sonia Vihar swept all the medals. Most of the children competed in the races belonged to Government schools. Cash prizes and scholarships worth Rs 80,000 were distributed among the winners. |
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Patiala boxers dominate
Sangrur, August 28 Amandeep Singh of STC, Mastuana, moved into the final of the light flyweight section defeating Sarabjit Singh of Sangrur. He will now face Pushkar Singh of Patiala. Pushkar edge out Anup Giri of Nawanshahr in the semifinal. |
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Amritpal fastest
Sangrur, August 28 In girls under-18 category Sangrur girl Sukhmanpreet Kaur won the 100m race in 13.43 sec. Deepti of Sangrur was second. Fatehgarh’s Karamjit Kaur got the third place. |
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Nottingham, August 28
Harare, August 28
Mohali, August 28
