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Champions Trophy
chennai
Diary
Indian PHL players get insurance cover
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Kolkata erupts over Ganguly’s exclusion
Pawar may take up issue with selectors
Ranbir flays selectors’ decision
Akmal powers Pak to big win
SA tough to beat: Hayden
ICC to review super sub rule
Army XI stun JCT
Korea, China share honours
Cricket probables
Balwant hockey from today
Inter-college athletics meet begins
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Champions Trophy
Unless India and Pakistan create sensation with upsets in the last round-robin league matches, things are not going the way the two Asian hockey powers wanted to go. And whosoever loses the classification match, loses the chance to play the next edition of the Champions Trophy. Argentina would replace the sixth placed team of Chennai in the 2006 edition of this tournament. Both India and Pakistan have been big disappointments here with their lethargic and incoherent hockey. Going by their performance so far, the two traditional rivals are unfortunately all set for a repeat clash for the wooden spoon. It was in 1986 that India and Pakistan played each other for the 11th and 12th positions in the Willesden World Cup. Since then whenever they have played each other for the last
classification game, Pakistan has emerged winner. In the last three editions of the Champions Trophy, for example, Pakistan has been piping India for the bronze medal match. "Indian hockey has been suffering from a complex syndrome," remarked Dr Richard Charlesworth who had offered last year to train our team. "It is unfortunate to see degeneration of hockey in India," he told a group of mediapersons here yesterday. "The situation is not hopeless. India can still be back in the top bracket of world hockey. But it will need time," says Richard Charlesworth maintaining that he has been no more in touch with the Indian Hockey Federation. "It is difficult to communicate with them," he lamented. The present management of the Indian team, too, is not happy with its performance. "They have not been playing to the instructions," lamented coach Rajinder Singh Junior, maintaining that lack of will to fight out after conceding an early lead was clearly evident in games against Australia and Germany. Australians are the most coherent and compact team here. They not only gave India a lesson in hockey with their 19-minute virtual blitzkrieg but also demonstrated how short and crisp passes mixed with exploitation of gaps can rip open any defence in the world. "Australians did what exactly they had learnt from India over the years, " remarked Sukhdev Singh, an NRI from Australia. "India used to pride in short passes, using gaps and aerial ball to upset its opponents. And Australia did the exactly same to them yesterday." Though Aussies have not too impressive record against Pakistan, their unbeaten status in the tournament so far may be to their advantage when they take on bottom of the table Pakistan in their last league encounter tomorrow. "We have been playing well and hope to maintain our slate clean," was the comment Australian coach Barry Dancer made yesterday. On the other hand, the Netherlands would also be looking for a win against India to set a title clash with Australia making Spain and Germany fight for the bronze. The task for the Netherlands team looks well set. Unlike their hosts, they were in the ground, practising with ball machine. The Indian team was perhaps away, attending wedding of a daughter of a former Mumbai player. For India, Champions Trophy, whether at home or away, has never been a good hunting ground. The best performance to date has been a bronze in Amstelveen in 1983. But unfortunately this time it looks improbable that India would be able to hold on
to the fourth position which it retained in the last three editions of the tournament. |
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Chennai Diary Prabhjot Singh
Chennai, December 15 “We brought them here from Amritsar to watch the best hockey players in action,” says Olympian Balwinder Singh, the man behind the Amritsar-based academy. “The boys, 28 of them, are so pumped up that they used the rest days in the tournament for practice. Today they were lucky as they shared the ground with the Dutch team. The Dutch officials were impressed by the skills our trainees have mastered in a little more than one year,” said Balwinder. All these boys are regular students of Springdale Public School, where emphasis is on quality education, good manners, English speaking as well as on confidence building. “We do not want them to suffer the way we suffered because of lack of proper schooling and grooming,” says Balwinder, who now plans to take these youngsters on a training-cum-study tour of Malaysia and Singapore. “My only aim is to produce at least five Olympians from this batch of enthusiastic trainees. Some have shown real flair for hockey. One of them is a natural left winger, while two of them are developing into excellent goalkeepers,” he adds. On the opening day of the Champions Trophy, these trainees performed bhangra. They will do the same at the closing ceremony also. Dressed in red T-shirts and white patkas, they sit together in the ground to watch all games. Here they are staying at a gurdwara. Besides the Amritsar Maharaja Ranjit Singh Academy, two members of the Namdhari Vidyaka Jatha from Bhaini Sahib, including the in charge of their hockey team, Rachpal Singh, is also here. Hockey continues to be the first love of Punjabis anywhere in the world, going by the number of overseas visitors here to watch the tournament. Sukhdev Singh has travelled all the way from Perth, Australia, to cheer the Indian team. “I am slightly disappointed at the performance of the Indian team,” he said. His views are corroborated by Mohinder Singh, who has accompanied his son from Nairobi, Kenya. “I have been in Kenya since 1956. Though I am associated with the Kenyan Hockey Union, I am here on my own to watch the matches. I am involved in hockey administration in Kenya. “I am originally from Khanna, near Ludhiana,” says Mohinder Singh. Also here to watch the Champions Trophy is Dil Bahra, a Sikh Police Inspector in Metropolitan Police, London. Dil Bahra has been closely associated with British hockey and is currently Secretary of the Hockey Writers Club. He is doing research on Sikh hockey Olympians and has been able to make a list of 128 Olympians who represented different countries, including India, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Canada, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Great Britain. There is one player who played for both Canada and Hong Kong in the Olympic Games, adds Dil Bahra, who hopes to be ready with his book by the time the 2006 World Cup starts in Germany.
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Indian PHL players get insurance cover
Bangalore, December 15 The city-based company will provide a life insurance cover of Rs 5 lakh each to all participating Indian players (in Tier-I and II). It would also sponsor the Bangalore team and The Bangalore Hi-Fliers has now been rechristened as Bangalore Lions for the 2006 edition of the PHL, ING Vysya Life’s MD and CEO Frank Koster said. “We have started off with Bangalore Lions (for sponsorship) and we are keen to see that hockey develops strongly in India,” Koster said. In addition to the Bangalore Lions title sponsorship, Koster said ING Vysya Life will also be awarding the “Lion of the day” to each man of the match for Tier-I and Tier-II games. The Tier-I “Lion of the day” will be awarded Rs 10,000, while Tier-II “Lion of the day” will be awarded Rs 5,000. “Lion of the day” during the best of three finals will get Rs 15,000 each, he added.
— PTI |
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Kolkata erupts over Ganguly’s exclusion
Kolkata, December 15 Several former players and selectors, besides politicians and film artistes, also expressed their resentment against Sourav’s omission. Meanwhile, Sourav, who arrived here last night from New Delhi, avoided the media and stayed put at his Behala residence. Residents of several districts obstructed rail and road traffic and held demonstrations. In south Kolkata, a number of women, including housewives, brought out a silent procession, wearing black badges as a mark of protest against the decision of the selectors. Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee termed Ganguly’s omission as a great injustice done to the former skipper. He conveyed his resentment to BCCI President Sharad Pawar last evening through NCP leader Praful Patel, Civil Aviation Minister, whom the Speaker met at a dinner party in the Capital. He told Mr Patel to ask Mr Pawar to make amends for the injustice. Mr Jagmohan Dalmiya, former BCCI chief, expressed surprise that the man who had won many laurels for Team India had been dropped. Several former selectors and Test cricketers in the city felt that Sourav had been made a sacrificial goat in the rivalry between the groups led by Mr Dalmiya and Mr Pawar. Former selectors Ashok Malhotra, Pranab Roy and
Sambaran Banerjee found no reasons for dropping Sourav. They felt his omission had nothing to do with his performance on the field. “It’s unfortunate that Sourav, who has done so much for Team India with his able captaincy and outstanding performances, has been ignored by the selectors,” remarked Sambaran. Mr Askoe
Bhattacharya, a CPM minister, gave a call to the people to launch an agitation against the injustice done to Sourav. The Tollygunge Film Artistes Forum, led by Bengali thespian Soumitra Chatterjee, and including members like Ranjit Mallick and Madhavi Mukherjee, took to the streets in protest against the selectors’ decision. Several organisations also began a signature campaign today for registering their protest.
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Pawar may take up issue with selectors
New Delhi, December 15 A day after the unceremonious dropping of Ganguly, top cricket board officials claimed that they were themselves surprised by the decision of the selectors but were quick to allay apprehensions that he was dropped for reasons other than cricket. The BCCI also hinted that President Sharad Pawar may have a discussion with the selectors on the issue which has not only led to protests in Ganguly’s home city but has been described as “unfair and illogical” by former Test cricketers. Denying any hand of the senior board officials in the removal of Ganguly, Punjab Cricket Association President I.S. Bindra said Pawar got to know the news from the television. “He was surprised and a bit shocked over the way in which it was done,” Bindra said. The PCA chief added that Pawar might hold a discussion with the selection committee on the issue. “He may take up the issue with selection committee.” Pawar also categorically denied that the removal of former skipper from the squad for the third Test against Sri Lanka was dictated by the board. “Selection of players is the sole discretion of the selection committee and we have nothing to do in that,” Pawar said.
— PTI |
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Ranbir flays selectors’ decision
Chandigarh, December15 Mr Mahindra, who is in Chandigarh for attending the Haryana Vidhan Sabha session, said the former India captain had played fairly well in Delhi and was involved in two crucial partnerships. “It appears that the Selection Committee of the BCCI does not have a uniform standard for judging the players”, he said. Mr Mahindra, however, did not give any clear-cut answer when asked whether Ganguly’s exclusion was an act of vendetta by the board for his being considered close to former BCCI chief Jagmohan Dalmiya. — TNS |
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Akmal powers Pak to big win
Karachi, December 15 England, chasing a massive victory target of 354, were bowled out for 188 in 42 overs on way to a record-equalling defeat which left them 1-2 down in the series. They also lost to the West Indies by 165 runs in 1992-93. Pakistan’s victory charge was started by wicketkeeper Akmal, who followed up his 102 in the second match at Lahore with a sparkling 109. The opener’s third one-day hundred, made from only 111 balls and including 12 fours, powered Pakistan to a mammoth 353 for six before a sellout crowd despite stringent security measures. England are the first non-Asian team to play at the venue for five years due to security concerns. England never recovered after Shoaib Akhtar ran out Matt Prior for two and in the next over seamer Rana Naved had Marcus Trescothick and Vikram Solanki caught in the slips for 32 and a duck. Scoreboard Pakistan Butt c Flintoff b Plunkett 29 Akmal c Plunkett b Collingwood 109 Younis c Jones b Plunkett 0 Yousuf run out 68 Afridi run out 31 Haq b Flintoff 45 Razzaq not out 51 Malik not out 1 Extras:
(b-5, lb-1, w-13) 19 Total: (6 wkts, 50 overs) 353 Fall of wickets:
1-74, 2-84, 3-188, 4-234, 5-272, 6-350. Bowling: Flintoff 10-1-57-1, Anderson 10-0-72-0, Harmison 8-0-62-0, Plunkett 7-0-61-2, Collingwood 8-0-58-1, Blackwell 5-0-25-0, Solanki 2-0-12-0. England Trescothick c Haq b Naved 22 Prior run out 2 Strauss lbw Sami 23 Solanki c Younis b Naved 0 Flintoff b Arafat 36 Collingwood c Butt b Malik 19 Jones c Arafat b Afridi 14 Blackwell c Sami b Afridi 14 Bell not out 37 Plunkett b Malik 7 Harmison c Afridi b Malik 1 Extras:
(lb-7 nb-1 w-5) 13 Total: (all out, 42 overs) 188 Fall of wickets:
1-22, 2-40, 3-40, 4-79, 5-101, 6-122, 7-140, 8-145, 9-186. Bowling:
Shoaib 5-1-23-0, Naved 7-1-31-2, Sami 5-1-18-1, Arafat 5-0-31-1, Afridi 10-0-42-2, Malik 9-1-29-3, Razzaq 1-0-7-0.
— Reuters |
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SA tough to beat: Hayden
Perth, December 15 Hayden, who has made four centuries and an unbeaten 87 in his past five Tests, says that he rates the South African attack as equal if not better than the 1993-94 line-up led by fast bowler Allan Donald and swing specialist Fanie de Villiers. South Africa’s Makhaya Ntini and Shaun Pollock are rated among the world’s top seven bowlers by the International Cricket Council, while Hayden also rates Andre Nel highly. Hayden said England allrounder Andrew Flintoff was the only other bowler apart from Nel who could go around the wicket and still swing the ball away to left-handed batsmen. Australian captain Ricky Ponting today said fast bowler Nathan Bracken would start the Test ahead of Stuart Clark. Bracken performed well in his last Test appearance, helping Australia defeat the West Indies at the Gabba, and Clark will be 12th man in Perth. Ponting said he expected conditions in Perth to resemble those in Brisbane and that gave Bracken the edge over Clark, who has recently established himself in the national one-day team. Ponting said he expected South Africa to gamble on the fitness of star all-rounder Jacques Kallis, who has an elbow injury, when it finalises its team on Friday morning. South African captain Graeme Smith, meanwhile, says he is trying to stay out of the sledging controversy involving the teams. Smith, who upset the Australian players four years ago by complaining about their on-field verbal taunts, said today that his players were expecting to be abused by the crowd during the three-Test series.
— AP |
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ICC to review super sub rule
Karachi, December 15 Under the rule, which came into effect in September, teams name a 12th man before the toss who can then replace one player during the match. ICC President Ehsan Mani told reporters today that the meeting would be discussing the rule in detail. “We will review it and see if it needs to be amended or finished,” he said. Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq called yesterday for the rule to be scrapped, saying it benefited only the team winning the toss.
— Reuters |
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Army XI stun JCT
New Delhi, December 15 In an evenly contested but uninspiring match, the two teams failed to score in regulation time and extra time and had to settle the issue through tie-breaker. The Army men, who made it to the semifinal without recording a single win but topping the group on the toss of the coin, were again lucky to scrape into the final. In the shootout, Harish Sharma’s penalty was saved by Army custodian after four JCT players — Sunil Chhetri, Parveen Kumar, Jaswinder Singh and Daljit Singh — converted their penalties, while all five Army men — Nguernilal, Vijay Thapa, Thirunavukarsu, Birendra Bodra and Raghu Kumar — found the target. The Bangalore side, which made it to the quarterfinal stage of the tournament as a qualifier, will now play Sporting Club de Goa in the final on Saturday.
— UNI |
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Korea, China share honours
Ludhiana, December 15 In the 2 km individual pursuit for junior women, Jing Chen of China finished well ahead of others to win the gold with a timing of 2.33.955 sec. Hee Jung Son of South Korea clocked 2.42.500 sec for the silver medal while her compatriot Seon Ha Ha (2.40.327 sec) finished at the third spot. China added another gold medal to their kitty when Yong Li Liu clocked 3.56.475 sec to win the 3 km individual pursuit for elite women. South Korea's Song Hee Han won the silver medal with timing of 4.01.290 sec, while the bronze was bagged by Sun Eun Gu, also of South Korea, who clocked 4.05.170 sec. Korean cyclists won two gold medals in the men's section. In the 3 km individual pursuit for junior men, Hyeok Hwang bagged top honours clocking 3.32.733 sec, while Kazakhstan's Berik Kupeshov clocked 3.36.310 sec for the silver medal. Hossein Nateghi (3.34.830 sec) finished third. In the 4 km individual pursuit for elite men, S. Korea's Sun Jae Jang pedalled to glory. He took 4.42.918 sec to win the gold and Kazakhstan's Alexey Lyalko clocked 4.55.001 sec to finish runner-up. Hyun Wook Joo of South Korea clocked 4.63.261 sec and had to be content with the bronze medal. |
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Cricket probables
Mohali, December 15 “Three one-day matches will be held between two teams of probables on January 7, 8 and 9 to assess their performance. The final 15 will be selected on January 10 by the selection panel on the basis of performance in the matches”, said Mr M.P. Pandove, Honorary Joint Secretary, BCCI. |
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Balwant hockey from today
Chandigarh, December 15 According to Mr Harbhajan Singh, president of the organising
committee, the tournament will be played on league-cum-knockout basis and the winners will be awarded a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh. The cash prize for the runners-up is Rs 60,000 while the team finishing third will be awarded Rs 40,000. Twelve top teams, including Malaysia XI, will be grouped in four pools. Two teams from each pool will qualify for the quarterfinals. The inaugural match will be played between Lyallpur Khalsa School, Jalandhar, and Raj Senior Secondary School, Sangrur. Eminent scholar Kirpal Singh Kapur will inaugurate the tournament, according to a press note issued by the organising secretary. |
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Inter-college athletics meet begins
Amritsar, December 15 Results:
800m (men) - Satnam Singh, LKC, Jalandhar, 1:54.65, Daljit Singh, LKC Jalandhar, 1:55.20, Parneet Singh, DAV, Jalandhar 2:00.41; 5000m (men) - Tejinder Singh, LKC, Jalandhar, 15:50.60, Kulwinder Singh, DAV, Jalandhar, 16:9.69, Angrej Singh, Sports College, Jalandhar, 16:15.06; long jump (men) - Shamsherpreet Singh, LKC, Jalandhar, 7.09m, Sukhpal Singh, DAV, Jalandhar, 6.82m, Dalvir Singh, LKC, Jalandhar 6.54m; pole vault (men)-Sukhpreet Singh Sports College, Jalandhar 3.70m, Gagandeep Singh, LKC, Jalandhar, 2.90m, Akashdeep Singh, LKC, Jalandhar, 2.90m; shot put (men) - Jagroop Singh, DAV, Jalandhar, 16.62m, Gurpreet Singh, LKC, Jalandhar, 15.20m, Rajinder Singh, DAV, Jalandhar, 14.51m; javelin throw (men) - Gurinder Pal Singh, Khalsa College, Amritsar 61.20m, Gurjeet Singh, GND Kalan, 59.62, Manjit Singh, Sports College, Jalandhar 55.05; 800m (women) - Amandeep, BBKDAV (W), Amritsar, 2:30.18, Amanpreet Kaur, HMV, Jalandhar, 2:32.97, Mamta Rani, HMV, Jalandhar, 2:35.63; shot put (women)-Dalbir Kaur, BBKDAV (W), Amritsar 9.72, Ramandeep Kaur HMV, Jalandhar 9.24, Hardish, HMV, Jalandhar 8.14. |
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In video: (
Thousands of fans of Sourav Ganguly here today put up road blockades and organised sit-ins in protest against the exclusion of the former Indian captain from the Test squad.
They raised slogans against coach Greg Chappell, captain Rahul Dravid and
Selection Committee Chairman Kiran More and burnt their effigies.
Chennai, December 15
