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IHF ruining Indian hockey: Rajinder
Xalco ruled out
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Sanjeev sets new record
Manavjit in finals
Opportunity for VRV, Chawla
Dalmiya interrogated by Mumbai police
Asif wrecks Sri Lanka
French Open to offer equal prize money
Harpreet declared best judge
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IHF ruining Indian hockey: Rajinder
Jalandhar, April 4 “The federation is a mere puppet in the hands of the secretary,” alleged the former coach and added that the IHF was not serious in improving hockey because of the vested interests in the federation. “This very fact made it very difficult for me to function in such an environment,” he alleged. Elaborating on his allegations, he said the selection of the coaches was done in very arbitrary manner and the choice of the selectors was hardly considered. Many times the selectors were not even present at meetings and the team was announced only after the meeting between the IHF President K.P.S. Gill and secretary Jyothikumaran. The bad selections have resulted in poor performances, alleged the former coach. “The secretary deliberated manipulated bad performances by the team so as to make the coach’s position weak,” he alleged. On the selection of the new coach V. Bhaskaran, who had also been dropped as the coach of the team in 2000, Rajinder said the appointment was out of political reasons. The new appointment is out of the own interests of Jyothikumaran as Bhaskaran belongs to the lobby opposing Jyothikumaran in the Tamil Nadu Hockey Federation. To maintain his position in the IHF, Jyothikumaran needs
to be nominated again as the secretary of the Tamil Nadu Hockey Federation. The Tamil Nadu Hockey Federation is divided and a compromise has been reached with the group belonging to Bhaskaran, wherein he has been nominated as the new coach of the team, Rajinder said. Rajinder Singh added that Jyothikumaran had asked him to step down as the coach before the Commonwealth Games and take up the position of the coach for the under-21 team, when the Premiere Hockey League was going on in Chandigarh. Rajinder said he did not resign then as K.P.S. Gill stopped him from doing so. He said he had decided not to go for the Gurgaon hockey camp because of the IHF’s history of humiliating the coaches. |
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Xalco ruled out
Gurgaon, April 4 Xalco, who has been carrying a niggle for quite some time, aggravated it further during the Commonwealth Games and now requires a month’s break to heal it up. “It was a minor niggle which got aggravated during the Commonwealth Games. It is likely to take a month to heal up completely,”
Xalco told PTI. New coach V Bhaskaran said that the full back had informed him about his
unavailability. “He informed me about his injury in the afternoon today and sought to skip the tour,” Bhaskaran said. However, the coach expressed satisfaction over the way the preparation camp took off here today. “We had two practice sessions and it was interesting working with the players,” he said. Vikram Pillay and Shivendra Singh were yet to join the team. “They are expected to join tonight or tomorrow,” Bhaskaran said.
— PTI |
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From Badal to medal podium in Melbourne
Bathinda, April 4 In an interview with The Tribune, shooter Avneet Kaur Sidhu talked at length about her journey from Dashmesh Girls College, Badal, to the medal podium at Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, and her dreams for future. “My first brush with shooting came when I stepped into Dashmesh College, where ex-CM Parkash Singh Badal had once called noted shooters like Anjali Bhagwat for presenting a demo to the students. Initially I took it up as a hobby, but later realised that I had all the ability and talent to bring up my score without struggling hard for it.” Interestingly, this sharp shooter was not at all into sports prior to shooting. She revealed: “I was very studious and was never attracted to any sport before shooting, which I started enjoying soon after picking up the rifle.” One could sense an air of nostalgia when she was queried on her journey from a small Punjab village to bringing laurels for her country at international arena. “It is like a dream come true for me. An incredible feeling that can’t be expressed in words,” she averred. Her splendid run at Commonwealth has only boosted her hunger for success. “I won’t rest on my laurels and would do all it takes to make my country proud in the forthcoming Asian Games and Olympics.” On her team-mates, she said: “Anjali has always been my favourite and today it feels very inspiring to be named among the shooters whom I once admired.” Though Avneet struck gold in her fourth international event, she tasted success at national level way back in 2002-03 by winning the All-India Inter-varsity Shooting Championship. She repeated her feat next year too. On being asked as to how she prepared herself for Commonwealth, she said: “Besides being technically sound, I already had international exposure at three major events including Asian Airgun Shooting Championship at Bangkok last year. The only area where I needed to work on was mental preparedness and our Hungarian Coach Lazlo helped me out in it.” On how helpful are foreign coaches, she said Lazlo made her feel positive all the time and never let her morale go down. “He was the first person to tell me that I could shoot 400/400, which I did in trials.” On competition, she felt that Indian shooters needed to be mentally tough as that’s where their foreign counterparts had an edge over them. “Earlier, Indian shooters weren’t participating in many international events, but the scenario has changed in the last couple of years. Today I’ve got enough exposure and what I need is experience.” On her bid for Olympics, she said she would only be focusing on 10m air rifle event for securing a quota place. Though she had also started .22 sports rifle, it would take more time for her to gain proficiency in it. Unfortunately Avneet hasn’t received any support from the state government during her career. But, she didn’t forget to thank those who backed her throughout her career including her family members, college staff and her first coach Veerpal Kaur. Terming the future of shooting in India as bright, Avneet said the country had the best hopes for an Olympic medal from shooting and 27 medals in Commonwealth Games by shooters justify these expectations. She said a lot of people were now showing interest in shooting and were keen to make a career in it. “Believe in your dreams, capabilities and above all God,” is her message for aspiring shooters. |
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Sanjeev sets new record
Jagadhri, April 4 Sanjeev Rajput, returned home after creating a national record in the 50 metre rifle 3 position in the ISSF World Cup which concluded on April 2 in Guangzhou, China. On Friday he would be participating in a national shooting competition in Jalandhar and then on April 25 he would be aiming for the gold in the ISSF World Cup in Brazil. A gold in Brazil would ensure him a berth in the Beijing Olympics. Till date, only Gagan Narang has qualified for the Beijing Olympics. “Shooting is a rich men’s game.” “I took to the game three years after joining the Navy and have won many medals during my four years of shooting career,” informed Sanjeev. He is a Petty Officer in the Navy. But like any other sportsperson, his aim is to first get selected for Olympics and then win a medal. “I am practicing hard,” said Sanjeev and quickly added, “Luck plays an important role in the career of sportspersons.” He is all thanks to his Hungarian coach Laszlo Szucsak. Sanjeev’s father Krishan Lal Rajput earns his livelihood by selling food items on roadside in Jagadhri. “We are so happy that Sanjeev has done the country proud,” said his father. “Tomorrow, my son would be taking his breakfast with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New Delhi. It is a rare honour,” said his mother, Usha Rani. Sanjeev, who won three gold and one silver during the 2004 SAF Games in Islamabad could not win a medal in the just concluded World Cup. He managed to achieve a world rank of 13th in his event. “I also broke the national record (1165 points out of 1200) which was held by Gagan Narang (1163 points),” said Sanjeev. Sanjeev had joined the Navy after completing his Class XII from the local SD Public School. |
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Manavjit in finals
New Delhi, April 4 Manavjit shot two rounds of 24 to each to be seventh on the day one of the competition. Massimo Fabbrizi of Italy and Janne Kirvesmaki were bang on target without missing a single opportunity to card cent per cent scores. Matthew Wallace of USA and Michael Mittermayr of Austria went off the target in their first qualification rounds to score 49 each while David Kostelecky of Czech Republic and Manuel Silva of Portugal tied with Manavjit despite their perfect second round scores. Among the Indians, Birendeep Sodhi began well with an impressive 25 but his firing went awry in the second round following which he finished a distant 25th with 47 points.
— PTI |
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Opportunity for VRV, Chawla
Chandigarh, April 4 Good performance here should do a world of good for those performing good in view of the ensuing West Indies tour next month and the subsequent Champions Trophy to be played in India in October. India has been clubbed along with Pakistan, and Holland in Group A, while Group B comprises Sri Lanka, Ireland and UAE. Ever since they caught attention in the Challenger Trophy in Mohali, the spotlight has been on V.R.V Singh, Piyush Chawla and Robin Uthappa. New ball bowler S. Sreesanth, now doing duty for the country, was spotted during the Challenger Trophy. Leg-spinner Piyush Chawla got the break in the Mumbai Test against England, while Chandigarh speedster V.R.V Singh came close to being selected to the Indian team during the ongoing series against England before being let down by fitness. India A selection also marks the return of former India one-day player Reetinder Sodhi from the wilderness first due to forced absence because of shoulder injury and then indifferent form. The 25-year-old all-rounder forced him back in the reckoning due to sheer performance in the domestic circuit this season. Though he did reasonably well in the Ranji Trophy Championship, he was at his best during the last month’s Deodhar Trophy championship. His impressive show was instrumental in North Zone winning the Deodhar Trophy. Reetinder had scores of 84 vs Central Zone, 57 not out vs South Zone, 108 not out vs East Zones. The Patiala all-rounder showed that he was close to regaining the form which once made him a natural choice for the national squad. Reetinder emerged the highest scorer from North Zone. He also bowled well, providing crucial breakthroughs to his team. Robin Uthappa, 20, was the other player to impress in the Challenger Series. The Karnataka opener, who revealed that he was a clean striker of the ball and was ideally suited to one-dayers, has already With the team for the West Indies tour slated to be announced in the month-end, the performance of those doing well in Abu Dhabi will be keenly watched. India ‘A’ squad:
Venugopal Rao (capt), Robin Uthappa, Shikhar Dhawan, Vidyut Sivaramakrishnan, S Badrinath, Abhishek Jhunjhunwala, Rohit Sharma, Dinesh Kaarthick, Rajendra Jadeja, S S Paul, Reetinder Singh Sodhi, R P Singh, V.R.V Singh and Piyush Chawla. |
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Dalmiya interrogated by Mumbai police
Kolkata, April 4 Dalmiya along with Kishore Rungta and Jyoti Bajpai, both former BCCI treasurers, were summoned to Bhabani Bhavan, the headquarters of the West Bengal CID, for questioning by the EOW team. The interrogation continued for almost two hours after which the EOW officials left for an Indian Overseas Bank branch in South Kolkata’s Bhawanipur area, where the accounts of PILCOM (Pakistan, India, Lanka Committee) for 1996 World Cup cricket had been maintained. Emerging from the session, Dalmiya refused to comment anything saying: “It is a legal matter, I will speak only to my lawyer.” EOW team leader Sudhir Mahare said the process of interrogating the former BCCI officials would continue as another team from Mumbai is scheduled to join them tomorrow. Asked whether the EOW team was satisfied with the first round of interrogations, he said, “We can’t say anything at this stage, the matter is sub-judice.” The interrogation was being done as per the directive of the Mumbai High Court, which had granted interim relief to Dalmiya and others against arrest after they moved court following a FIR filed by BCCI against them with the Mumbai Police for alleged misappropriation of fund under various sections of the IPC.
— PTI |
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Aussies whitewash Proteas
Johannesburg, April 4 Lee remained unbeaten on 24 as Australia closed on 294-8 in its second innings. Had Lee been dismissed, the Australians would have been in trouble with batsman Justin Langer unable to bat effectively after taking a blow to the head from fast bowler Makhaya Ntini in the first innings. “I was nervous coming out to bat for the final session, scared even, because Makhaya was outstanding and the guys were bowling really fast,” Lee said. Needing 44 to win after resuming on 248-6, Australia faced the new ball. Shaun Pollock struck, trapping Damien Martyn lbw for 101. “Martyn’s century on that wicket cannot be underestimated,” Australian captain Ricky Ponting said. “Our bowling was fantastic in the series, but the batting was also important on some difficult wickets.” After Martyn’s departure, a nervous-looking Stuart Clark tried to prod his way to the target and, frustrated, attempted a full-blooded pull too many against Ntini and was caught by Mark Boucher for 10. With just 17 runs needed, Langer was willing to defy doctor's orders and padded up in case Michael Kasprowicz or Lee fell. South Africa captain Jacques Kallis — standing in for Graeme Smith, who missed the match with an injured finger — said the players were disappointed by their loss, but pleased with the fight. “We knew we had to strike early, and we managed that,” Kallis said. “But Australia played as aggressively as they have all series, and in the end they deserved to win.” Ntini finished with a total of 10-178 — the third time he has taken 10 wickets in a match. But Lee’s match figures of 6-114 and his innings of 64 and 24 not out made him man of the match. Clark’s series haul of 20 wickets at 15.84 won him the man-of-the-series award. Scoreboard SA (1st innings) 303 Australia
(1st innings) 270 SA (2nd innings) 258 Australia (2nd innings) Hayden c De Villiers
b Ntini 0 Hussey lbw Boje 89 Ponting c Boucher b Kallis 20 Martyn lbw Pollock 101 Symonds c Boucher
b Kallis 29 Gilchrist c Boucher b Ntini 0 Warne c Boucher b Ntini 3 Lee not out 24 Clark c Boucher b Ntini 10 Kasprowicz not out 7 Extras
(b-1, lb-9, nb-1) 11 Total (8 wkts) 294 Fall of wickets:
1-0, 2-33, 3-198, 4-228, 5-229, 6-237, 7-258, 8-275. Bowling: Ntini 26-4-78-4, Nel 2-1-4-0, Pollock 25.4-3-81-1, Kallis 18-6-44-2, Boje 19-5-65-1, De Villiers 1-0-12-0.
— AP |
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Asif wrecks Sri Lanka
Colombo, April 4 Pakistan, replying to Sri Lanka’s 279 all out, lost their way after a solid start and were dismissed for 170 in just 52.4 overs after the tea interval. Asif hit back during two long spells of sustained hostility in the final session of a day. Superbly exploiting a difficult pitch offering extravagant seam movement and increasing variations in bounce, Asif claimed five for 27 in 12 overs. The 23-year-old’s haul followed a career-best six for 44 in the first innings to give him match figures of 11 for 71. Asif ripped through the top order, bowling Upul Tharanga (12), Kumar Sangakkara (16) and Thilan Samaraweera (four). Sri Lanka’s woes deepened as Mahela Jayawardene (15), struggling after being hit painful in the ribs, had his off stump knocked flat by a delivery from Abdul Razzaq that nipped back sharply. All rounder Farveez Maharoof (one) went lbw and Tillakaratne Dilshan (11) edged to wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal to give Asif his second five-wicket haul of the match. Tailenders Nuwan Kulasekera (six) and Malinga Bandara (four) were dismissed by Razzaq, who finished with three for 20 when bad light stopped play four overs early. Earlier, Sri Lanka’s ace offspinner Muttiah Muralitharan grabbed five wickets to dismiss Pakistan for 170 runs in its first innings. Muralitharan’s performance gave Sri Lanka a comfortable 109-run first innings lead after being dismissed for 279 in their first innings.
— Reuters, AP |
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Jayasuriya’s Test career ends in pain
Kandy, April 4 Jayasuriya, 36, needed several stitches on his right thumb that was split while catching Pakistani opener Imran Farhat in the gully region on the second morning of the Test. The former Sri Lankan captain announced last week he will retire from Test cricket after the second Test, but will continue to play one-day internationals. The Kandy Test was his 102nd match in which he made 14 in the first innings. He scored 6,613 runs with 14 centuries and a best of 340 against India in Colombo in 1997. He also claimed 92 Test wickets. Jayasuriya, who is Sri Lanka’s highest run-getter in both forms of the game, has scored 10,625 runs in 357 one-day internationals with 19 hundreds and 273 wickets.
— AFP |
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French Open to offer equal prize money
Paris, April 4 Each champion will receive $1.13 million, the French Tennis Federation said yesterday. “We’re following the evolution of tennis in general a little bit,” said Stephane
Simean, the federation official in charge of setting the prizes. “On the women’s side, there has been a very positive change, with the arrival of many new stars,” Simean said. “Once upon a time, there were only three or four dominant women — now, there are 10 to 15 who can vie for a Grand Slam.” Total prize money for the May 28-June 11 tournament will be $17.21 million, the federation said. The decision leaves Wimbledon as the only one of the four Grand Slam tournaments which still pays the men’s winner more than the women’s champion. The US and Australian Opens have offered equal prize money for years. Wimbledon will announce prize money for this summer’s tournament later this month. Overall, excluding mixed doubles and other prize winners, men will still take home more money at the French Open: $8.09 million compared to $7.41 million for women. “We look objectively at the criteria, and there is still not the same density (of talent) on the women’s side that there is on the men’s side,” Simean said. “For the moment, we are focusing on just the winners.” Larry Scott, CEO of the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour, applauded the move toward equal prize money for the women’s winner. However, he thinks there should be parity for the remaining players. — AP |
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Harpreet declared best judge
Patiala, April 4 Harpreet Singh is the first ever official from Punjab to have been given this honour in the past 38 years. He was awarded a scroll and a trophy by the Goa Minister for Sports and Youth Affairs, Mrs Sheela Kakodkar, at a ceremony held at Calangute after the conclusion of the junior nationals. More than 50 referees-cum-judges had officiated in the meet which saw the ‘best judge’ being declared on the basis of maximum points garnered through a computer. Harpreet Singh is employed at the government multipurpose senior secondary boxing hall as a coach. |
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