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Federer to take on Hewitt in semis
Bhupathi is an unbelievable partner, says Hantuchova
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Sania to wear shoes conceived by Gloster
Langer leads strong reply by Australia
Sehwag, Gambhir hit tons
Sirsa likely to host Ranji tie
J.P. Atray cricket from Sept 18
Turban allowed on soccer field
D’Souza stars in Baloch Lions victory
Arjun Singh, Randhawa stand out
Karthikeyan gunning for Belgian GP
Fund-starved AIU suspends events
DPS win 4x100m medley relay
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Federer to take on Hewitt in semis
New York, September 9 Federer produced his best tennis of the championships to score a lop-sided 6-2, 6-4, 6-1 win over old nemesis David Nalbandian of Argentina. Third-seeded Hewitt was strangely subdued before finally sparking into life in the final set against Finland’s Jarkko Nieminen, winning 2-6, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3, 6-1. Federer had won his last eight encounters with Hewitt and there was nothing on show yesterday to suggest that it would be any different tomorrow. The other semifinal, also tomorrow, would be an all-American match between crowd favourite Andre Agassi and the unseeded Robby Ginepri. Federer dropped his opening serve against Nalbandian, but a game later, he was already back on level terms and then abruptly stepped on the accelerator to power ahead 4-1, winning 12 points in a row. A third break of serve in the eighth game gave Federer the opening set in just 27 minutes and already Nalbandian was looking concerned. His concern was justified as the champion remained totally in control, producing winner after winner and reducing Nalbandian to despair at times, resulting in a spectacular destruction of his racquet at one changeover. It was a very different Federer to the player that struggled through four sets in the last round against Nicolas Kiefer. But Nalbandian was never an opponent he was going to take lightly as the muscular slugger from Cordoba held a rare winning 5-2 record over him, including a fourth-round tie here two years ago. It was Federer’s 69th match win against three losses this year and his 33rd straight win on hardcourts this year since losing to Marat Safin in the semifinals of the Australian Open in January. In contrast,
Hewitt needed five sets to see off the modest challenge of Nieminen, the first Finn to reach the last eight of a Grand Slam tournament. Hewitt dropped the first set and was in danger of a shock exit when he went two sets to one down. Curiously for him, he looked jaded and at times, almost disinterested, and it took him until he broke serve at the start of the fifth set before he finally let rip with one of his trademark ‘come ons’.” Hewitt was playing in his sixth straight US Open quarterfinals, the only man with such a record, as he campaigned for his third Grand Slam title after victories here in 2001 and at Wimbledon in 2002. Asked if he would adopt a different approach to the game with Federer compared to last year’s final, when he was outclassed 6-0, 7-6, 6-0, Hewitt said he had to get off to a better start. Federer said despite his eight wins in a row over the Australian, he was wary of him.
— AFP |
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Bhupathi is an unbelievable partner, says Hantuchova
New York, September 9 “We had a lot of fun. We saved a match point in the first round and after that she told me we’re probably going to win it now,” Bhupathi said after the final against Nenad Zimonjic and Katarina Srebotnik at the Arthur Ashe Stadium here. Earlier this year, Bhupathi teamed up with Frenchwoman Mary Pierce to win the mixed doubles title at Wimbledon. His previous Grand Slam titles include the French Open mixed doubles with Rika Hiraki of Japan (1997), French Open and Wimbledon men’s doubles with Leander Paes and US Open mixed doubles with Al Sugiyama of Japan (1999), French Open men’s doubles with Paes (2001), Wimbledon mixed doubles with Elena Likhovtseva of Russia and US Open men’s doubles with Max Mirnyi (2002). It was a special moment for Hantuchova, who achieved a career Grand Slam in mixed doubles. The Slovak had won the Wimbledon in 2001 with Leos Friedl, Australian Open title in 2002 with Kevin Ullyett, and French Open with Fabrice Santoro this year. Last night’s win at the US Open saw her complete the feat. “It feels great. I’m so happy right now. This was the last one I was missing and finally I got it, thanks to an unbelievable partner on my side,” she said. Bhupathi and Hantuchova will share the winners’ check of $ 150,000. Last night, Bhupathi and his comrade-in-arms Hantuchova capped their brilliant run in the tournament taking the wind out of the sails of Serbian Nenad Zimonjic and his partner from Slovenia Katarina Srebotnik and inflicted a straight-set 6-4, 6-2 defeat on them to lift the title. Bhupathi and Hantuchova played with precision and their return was exceptionally well which denied the big-serving Zimonjic any advantage and the Indo-Slovak pair went on to win in just 61 minutes.
— UNI |
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Sania to wear shoes conceived by Gloster
New Delhi, September 9 “We may get to try it even before Kolkata. If they give the shoes, she can wear those immediately,” Anirban Das Blah, Vice-President of Globosport, the company managing Sania, said. “Basically, what John Gloster has identified are the stress points that need to be protected,” Anirban
said. — IANS |
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Langer leads strong reply by Australia
London, September 9 Australia’s hopes of exploiting their strong position, however, were thwarted by bad light followed by rain which wiped out the entire final session. Langer, who moved to 75 not out, and Matthew Hayden, on 32, accepted the light as the players came back out after tea. To the frustration of a packed Oval, the teams never returned to the field, with 37 overs remaining. Langer’s innings relied on two slices of fortune. On 26, he cut hard at Matthew Hoggard. The ball would have hit Andrew Strauss in the midriff, but the gully fielder seemed to lose sight of the ball and the ball whistled past him. On 53, Langer edged medium-pacer Paul Collingwood’s eighth delivery high to first slip, where Marcus Trescothick spilled a hard chance one-handed. Langer, though, provided some lavish strokeplay, hitting two leg-side sixes off Ashley Giles’ second and fourth balls. He then exploited an Andrew Flintoff misfield to scamper two runs off the same over and reach his half century. Earlier, England added 54 runs to their overnight score of 319 for seven in bright sunshine. Giles made 32 and last man Steve Harmison pulled and hooked four boundaries in his unbeaten 20. Strike bowler Brett Lee broke through with the ninth ball of the day when Geraint Jones, England’s last batsman of note, was bowled for 25. Leg-spinner Warne, who took five wickets on the opening day, finished with six for 122. He had taken 34 wickets in the series. England lead the series 2-1. Australia need to win at The Oval to retain the Ashes, which they have held since 1989. Scoreboard England (1st innings) Trescothick c Hayden b Warne 43 Strauss c Katich b Warne 129 Vaughan c Clarke b Warne 11 Bell lbw Warne 0 Pietersen b Warne 14 Flintoff c Warne b McGrath 72 Collingwood lbw Tait 7 G. Jones b Lee 25 Giles lbw Warne 32 Hoggard c Martyn b McGrath 2 Harmison not out 20 Extras: (b-4, lb-6, w-1, nb-7) 18 Total: (all out, 105.3 overs) 373 Fall of wickets: 1-82, 2-102, 3-104, 4-131, 5-274, 6-289, 7-297, 8-325, 9-345. Bowling: McGrath 27-5-72-2, Lee 23-3-94-1, Tait 15-1-61-1, Warne 37.3-5-122-6, Katich 3-0-14-0. Australia (1st innings) Langer not out 75 Hayden not out 32 Extras: (lb-2, nb-3) 5 Total: (no loss, 33 overs) 112 Bowling: Harmison 8-1-21-0, Hoggard 7-1-21-0, Flintoff 7-2-20-0, Giles 7-0-31-0, Collingwood 4-0-17-0.
— Reuters |
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Sehwag, Gambhir hit tons
Mutare, September 9 Indians were ahead by 71 runs in reply to opposition’s 294 for nine declared and would be looking to force a result tomorrow at Mutare Sports Club ground. Openers Virender Sehwag (122) and Gautam Gambhir (126) put on 196 for the first wicket which was padded further by a sedate unbeaten 102 from Rahul Dravid, who had VVS Laxman (9) for company at close. Sehwag was contemptuous in his strokeplay and mostly didn’t bother to run as the fast outfield quickly took the ball past the ropes. He mostly relied on beating the field with placements. He smote scorching shots like a propelled six which took the ball to the adjoining ground. Sehwag then smashed a six and a four off leg-spinner Graeme Cremer before another dash down the track connected little as the ball took the middle stump out. He stayed at the crease for 144 minutes and faced 118 balls, hitting 22 fours and two sixes. Gambhir, on the other hand, was extremely watchful and looked like he had a century in mind. He finally completed it in the final session with a cut for two to third man. Earlier, Zimbabwe Board XI added another 29 runs from nine-odd overs before deciding there was no point in continuing after overnight centurion Dion Ebrahim was dismissed for 169. Ebrahim, who eyed a double century, edged a cut to Laxman at second slip who scooped up the ball for first slip Rahul Dravid. It was Anil Kumble’s second wicket of the morning and gave him impressive figures of 5 for 48 from 30-odd overs.
— PTI |
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Sirsa likely to host Ranji tie
Rohtak, September 9 It is learnt that district cricket associations of Rohtak, Gurgaon and Panchkula had also shown interest in staging this tie, likely to generate keen interest among followers of the game as Haryana would be playing their first match at home after having entered the Elite Group of the Ranji Trophy for the first time since the two-tier system of the domestic cricket tourney was introduced three years ago. The HCA has several options of well-maintained grounds in different districts. In the past, Haryana had organised matches at different venues like Bhiwani, Rohtak, Panchkula, Gurgaon, Faridabad, Rai (Sonepat district) and Kurukshetra, but it remained largely dependent on the venues located in the backyard of the National Capital — Rohtak, Gurgaon and Faridabad. However, in recent years, others districts had been able to develop adequate infrastructure and the regular centres had upgraded their infrastructure. In Gurgaon, there were two stadia in a position to host matches during the session — one built on HUDA land and another owned by the Tata Energy Research Institute. The HCA had recently constructed its own stadium at Lahli village near Rohtak, which was now in a position to host matches from this session. Similar was the case of Panchkula and Sirsa. In the 2005-06 session, Haryana would form a part of Group B in Elite Division of Ranji Trophy along with Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, Baroda and Services. Haryana would begin their campaign in the Ranji Trophy championship on November 23 against Uttar Pradesh at Kanpur. The Haryana versus Punjab tie would be held at Mohali from December 1 whereas Haryana would meet Hyderabad in Hyderabad from December 17. Haryana would play away from home against Andhra Pradesh from December 25 and against Services at Delhi from January 11. |
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J.P. Atray cricket from Sept 18
Chandigarh, September 9 The opening match of the tournament will be at the Sector 16 Cricket Stadium, Chandigarh, between Bishnoi Cricket Club, Delhi, and Minerva Cricket Academy, Chandigarh. According to Mr Sushil Kapoor, organising secretary of the tournament, the final will be played at the PCA Stadium, Mohali, on September 29 under lights. The match will be telecast live by Doordarshan on DD Sports. This is the first time that the tournament’s final under lights will be telecast live. This tournament will also be the first one to introduce the latest ICC experimental rules. The following are the participating teams: Punjab Cricket Club. PCA Colts, MP Cricket Association, Jharkhand Cricket Association, Mumbai Cricket Association, Cricket Association of Bengal, ONGC, All-India FCI, Rajasthan Cricket Association, ICL Cricket Club, Chandigarh, Bishnoi Cricket Club, Delhi, and Minerva Cricket Academy , Chandigarh. The tournament serves as a lung opener for cricketers before the start of the domestic season and has been growing from strength to strength every year. This year the matches will be played at PCA Stadium, Mohali, Sector 16 Cricket Stadium, Chandigarh , DAV School, Sector 8, DAV College, Sector 10, and St John’s School, Sector 26, Chandigarh. |
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Turban allowed on soccer field
Vancouver, September 9 The battle began when the 17-year-old player, a high school student, was told that he could not play in a soccer tournament during the weekend because he wore patka. The referee told Gurinder that non-soccer related clothing items could not be worn on the field. The referee asked him to either remove his patka or leave the game, the South Asian Observer reported. Taking the second option, Gurinder decided to boycott the tournament his team was playing. He, however, was not alone as the entire team from Calgary’s Northwest United stood by him and walked out of the game. The referee gave a walkover to the other team. After the match, a bewildered Gurinder said: “I could not believe it. That has never happened to me ever before.” He praised his team-mates’ resolution to stand by him. The incident took place during the Langley Labour Day Tournament, in which more than 200 teams from Western Canada competed for the title. The tournament was wrapped up on the Labour Day on September 5. The patka ban on Gurinder created ripples in the Sikh community of British Columbia. The community leaders criticized the decision and demanded that Gurinder be allowed to play. Gurinder’s father, Gurmit Dhah, said no explanation was given why some referees allowed his son to play, while others did not. “He was very much hurt when he learned he could not play, but he had his team-mates back him up and he knew, and everyone knew, that it was a wrong decision,” he said. Better sense, however, prevailed as the British Columbia Soccer Association overturned the referee’s decision and ruled that Gurinder could play wearing patka. The sports body also issued a statement, saying it regretted the incident and would conduct a thorough investigation. The association said referees applied their own judgment on interpretation of the rules of FIFA, the international federation for soccer. One of the rules prohibited any equipment that would be unsafe to players and officials involved in a match. The association’s president, Victor Montagliani, said the rule did not apply to religious head coverings. “BC Soccer has never sent out an edict, saying it should not be allowed. Perhaps there was a misinterpretation and perhaps there were some
personalities involved,” he said. — IANS |
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D’Souza stars in Baloch Lions victory
Karachi, September 9 Lions took the lead in the eighth minute when Kashif Yaqoob sounded the board, and it took the fancied Qalandars another 22 minutes before forward Kashif Jawwad equalised. Lead changed hands as Qalandars went 2-1 up after Gohar Rasool converted a penalty stroke eight minutes later. Player of the match Shakeel Abbasi equalised for the Lions in the 49th minute, but Shabbir Hussain came up with the winner to help the Qalandars start their campaign in the SHL on a winning note. Adrian was at his best in the match and he thwarted umpteen efforts by the Qalandars to make his mark in the match. India captain Dilip Tirkey, playing for the Qalandars, also failed to beat Adrian on a number of occasions. Adrian first pushed a Tirkey effort over the bar following a short corner and saved a Kashif Jawwad reverse flick in the 23rd minute. Tirkey again tried his hand at a short corner in the 27th minute but Adrian frustrated Tirkey once again. Meanwhile, in another match yesterday, Shan-e-Punjab thrashed Frontier Falcons 4-1. Malik Shafqat opened the account for the winners in the fifth minute and Zahid Afzal buttressed the lead in the 27th minute. Shafqat Rasool sounded the board in the 42nd minute to make it 3-0 and Mohammad Saqlain fired the last goal for Shan-e-Punjab. The Falcons got their consolation goal when Mohammad Farooq found the target in the 65th minute.
— UNI |
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Arjun Singh, Randhawa stand out
Singapore, September 9 Arjun continued to be best among the 12 Indians in the field and moved in sight of a top-10 finish with his one-under 70, that placed him tied ninth. He was one of the 13 golfers under par for two rounds. Ironically, Shiv Kapur was one of the best Indians on view in the second day, but his par round of 71, was just not enough after his first day 81. Only Arjun (70) and Randhawa (69) broke par among the Indians, and Digvijay had 72. Seven of the 12 Indians made the cut at six-over 148. Others making it to the weekend rounds were Digvijay Singh, Rahil Gangjee, Uttam Singh Mundy, Ashok and Kahlon, the last four right on the bubble. Those who failed to make the cut were Jeev Milkha Singh, Gaurav Ghei, Firoz Ali and Amandeep Johl. Atwal 55th
VANCOUVER: Arjun Atwal opened with an up-and-down round with five birdies and seven bogeys to finish two-over 72 in the Canadian Open. Atwal was tied 55th, while defending champion Vijay Singh was one further behind
on 71st place. — PTI |
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Karthikeyan gunning for Belgian GP
Spa-Francorchamps, September 9 “The new EJ15B car I will get has not done any mileage anywhere. Its first miles will be when I drive it on Friday,” said Karthikeyan, who won here in F3 in 2000 in Jackie Stewardt’s team. “My team-mate Tiago Monteiro had the first new car at Monza and he finished the race, from which we learned a lot. I believe that overall, this track is better suited to our cars. Monza is very low downforce, but here there are more options with aerodynamics,” he said. The 28-year-old realised that the circuit had undergone some modifications since he last drove here, but believed that experience would still be of use to him. “I won here in F3 in 2000 in Jackie Stewardt’s team. Of course, that was on the old configuration of the track. The “bus stop” chicane was not as slow as it is now. I can tell you that the famous Eau Rouge and Pouhon corners are really breathtaking and challenging,” he said. “Blanchimont is another challenging corner, where you have to be very confident on the entry, and have a very well-balanced car to get a good lap time,” he said. Originally the track was a 14-km triangle of public roads linking the three Belgian towns of Malmidy, Francorchamps and Stavelot, and it was on these roads that the track’s legend was born. The first Belgian Grand Prix held here on June 18, 1950, was the fifth race in Formula One history. The new seven-km circuit layout was first used in 1979. It is that track, but for a few alterations, which exists today.
— PTI |
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Fund-starved AIU suspends events
New Delhi, September 9 The Amritsar university won the Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Trophy for excelling in inter-university sports events for the 19th time from President APJ Abdul Kalam at the Arjuna Awards investiture ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhawan on August 29. The AIU has been relying on the grant provided by the Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports for the development of sports. But from this April, the grant has been incorporated in the budget allocation of the respective state governments, thus starving the AIU of its funding. This has forced the AIU to discontinue inter-university competitions. The AIU provides financial aid for holding inter-university events, for the participation of the university teams in national championships, international competitions and for holding coaching camps. But the Centre’s move to apportion the AIU’s share of funds to the states’ budgets has dried up the income of the AIU, and most of the universities do not have much resources to bear the entire expenses of holding inter-university meets. Though the AIU secretary, Prof Dayanand Dongoankar, was away on tour, a spokesperson in his office here confirmed the suspension of all inter-university sports meets by the AIU, though the news is yet to reach many of the universities in the country, including the hosts of some of the forthcoming events. The Delhi University Deputy Director of Sports, Dr Sudarshan Pathak, was unaware of the AIU’s decision. “We have no news. We are, in fact, preparing our team for the All-India Inter-University Cross Country Championship to be held in Mumbai on September 16”, she said. But the AIU spokesperson confirmed that all inter-university competitions stood suspended, including the cross-country event and the Inter-University Aquatic Championship, scheduled to be held in Kerala from October 25. The only hope of holding the inter-university competitions now depends on the possibility of the host university bearing all the expenses, or the state governments concerned earmarking funds for the purpose. Before the age-group national championships came into vogue, the inter-university contests were the only forum for sportspersons to display their talent. The inter-varsity competitions also enabled a large number of sportsmen and women to secure employment in Railways and other major government and public-sector institutions. Several top sportspersons hogged national and international limelight via the university route, prominent among them being Sunil Gavaskar, Dilip Vengsarkar and P.T. Usha. If the inter-university competitions are scrapped, sportspersons getting into colleges and universities on the sports quota face an uncertain future. Sportspersons who have secured admissions on the sports quota with the intent of pursuing education without sacrificing sports also face an uncertain future unless the Centre comes out with a financial package to bail out the AIU. |
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DPS win 4x100m medley relay
Patiala, September 9 Modern school, Barakhamba Road, foursome of Tanuj Bhatla, Rajesh Khanna, Mohit Kohli and Ishnaz Singh stood second while the Yadvindera Public School, Patiala, team, comprising Manjot Singh, Sukhtej Singh, Harshit Narang and Sikander Singh, were placed third. Harshit Narang came third in the 400m individual relay and 100m breaststroke events, both for senior boys. |
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New Delhi, September 9
London, September 9
