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Ballack out of first tie
Ecuador eye upset win over Poland
Cisse breaks leg, to miss World Cup
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Rooney cleared to play: reports
Hindi song to ‘inspire’ England
DD to show select matches
IOA authorised to conduct 2010 games: Fennell
Henin sets up clash with Kuznetsova
Saina enters second round
Sehwag fined, Lara let off
Haryana karate team wins 12 gold
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Ballack out of first tie
Berlin, June 8 Ballack, who also missed the final match of the last World Cup because of suspension, suffered a slight strain to his right calf during Germany’s 3-0 win over Colombia in a warm-up match on June 2. The 29-year-old midfielder did not believe it to be serious at the time and alarm bells only started ringing when he was unable to train with the squad on Monday. He did return to full training on Wednesday but had to drop out after just 30 minutes. “The important thing now is to look ahead,”Klinsmann said. “We want a fully fit Michael Ballack, not a 50 percent player. Fingers crossed he’ll be back training soon.” Germany’s second Group A game is against Poland in Dortmund on June 14. They wrap up the opening phase with a match against Ecuador in Berlin on June 20. Klinsmann said Ballack would be replaced in the opener by Tim Borowski or the more defensive Sebastian Kehl.
— Reuters
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Ecuador eye upset win over Poland
Bad Kissingen, June 8 “Our biggest problem has been finishing,” Osma told a news conference before training yesterday, adding that when their new coaching team took over Ecuador were scoring 1.1 goals per match. It had improved to 1.7 by the end of qualifying. “I am convinced that we are going to score at least five goals in the first round,” he said. Ecuador scored 28 goals in their 18 qualifying matches, including a 5-2 home defeat of Paraguay, the fourth South American side to reach the finals. “We are aware that you need goals to reach the next round. I don’t think, though, that we will be scoring five against each team,” he continued, adding that the team faced three very competitive matches. Ecuador begin against Poland on Friday, face Costa Rica next Wednesday and hosts Germany, the Group A favourites, on June
20. Osma felt that most teams would begin their campaigns cautiously. Poland, he said, was a team with a direct style that could create a goal-scoring chance with just three to four passes. That could leave room for Ecuador to counter. After the return from a calf injury of striker Carlos
Tenorio, Ecuador now had a full squad from which to choose. “We are physically ready. We need now to work on being mentally prepared,” he said.
— Reuters
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Cisse breaks leg, to miss World Cup
St Etienne (France), June 8 The mood in the France team, however, was clearly depressed after the news that Cisse had fractured his right leg and would miss the finals in Germany. “Everybody was in a state of shock in the locker room,” said France coach Raymond Domenech. “I even saw a few who were close to tears.” Like in 2002, when Zinedine Zidane sustained a thigh injury in a friendly five days from the finals, France suffered a vicious blow just before leaving for a World Cup. Cisse, of course, does not have as much influence on the team as Zidane but his misfortune was nevertheless painful for everybody. Domenech now has until Monday, one day before France open their World Cup campaign playing Switzerland in Stuttgart, to name a replacement. Nicolas Anelka is the favourite with Ludovic Giuly and Sidney Govou also hoping to be called up. France, whose other opponents in Group G will be South Korea and Togo, were to leave St Etienne on Thursday for their base in northern Germany, a castle turned into a luxury hotel where they hope to stay a long time. In 2002, France, who were the defending champions, were sent packing after failing to win a match and even to score a goal in the group stage. Their campaign kicked off in disastrous style when they crashed 0-1 to Senegal in the competition’s opening match. The players are confident such a fiasco will not be repeated, if only because the atmosphere in the team is so much better than four years ago, when internal squabbling marred the team’s run. There were some positive aspects in yesterday’s game, notably that Zinedine Zidane, who will retire after the World Cup, looked much more convincing than in below-par performances in France’s previous two friendlies. Another ray of hope on a sad night came from gifted midfielder Franck Ribery, who sparkled again after coming on as a late substitute, to the extent that Domenech might be tempted to include him in his starting line-up against Switzerland. France started their preparations with a laboured 1-0 win over Mexico but then stepped up a gear to beat Denmark 2-0 convincingly before finding the resources to score three goals against China despite traumatic circumstances. “We created a lot of chances and it’s nice to score three goals,” said
Domenech.
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Rooney cleared to play: reports
Baden-Baden, June 8 Rooney’s place in the England squad had been in doubt since he broke a metatarsal bone in his right foot on April 29, leaving him barely five weeks recovery time before the tournament kicks off. There was still no official confirmation from the Football Association or Manchester United late Wednesday on the outcome of the scan. But the sight of Rooney clambering up the steps of a private jet due to ferry him back to England’s camp in the Black Forest appeared to confirm that he has been passed fit to play some part in the tournament. Both the BBC and football’s governing body FIFA said Rooney had been given the all clear to participate at the World Cup. “The 20-year-old striker will be included in Sven-Goran Eriksson’s 23-man squad for the tournament,” a FIFA article said. Rooney returned to Germany at the end of a hectic day that began when he jetted to a private hospital in Manchester for the crucial X-ray, returning later in the evening for the results. After two hours inside with doctors and with his club, Manchester United saying a “definitive” result was imminent, he left the hospital for Manchester Airport, where a plane was waiting to return him to Germany. The broad grin of FA executive director David Davies as he accompanied Rooney out of hospital also suggested the player would take part in the tournament.
— AFP
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Hindi song to ‘inspire’ England
London, June 8 Sunny Kapoor, a Kismat Radio Breakfast presenter and Programme controller, has written the song — ‘Khelo Khelo Josh Me Khelo, Germany Se World Cup Lelo’ — in just a day to inspire David Beckham’s men to repeat England’s success of 1966. Music producers Devinder Sudera and Ashvinder Mann recorded the song. Kapoor said the song was an immediate hit as soon as it was played on Kismat Radio. “We are getting a very positive feedback and lot of people are downloading it from our website and we are having a lot of response from India through our website,” he said.
— PTI
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DD to show select matches
New Delhi, June 8 The opening ceremony will be telecast from 7.50 pm to 8.30 pm followed by the Germany-Costa Rica match in Munich from 9.30 pm to 11.30 pm. There will be pre and post-match analysis of every encounter shown live. The second match between Poland and Ecuador in Gelsenkirchen would be shown later that night. One hour highlights capsules of all the matches will also be shown from 4 pm to 5 pm on DD-1 the next day.
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122 to get Ranjit Singh Awards
Chandigarh, June 8 “As many as 122 sportspersons from 17 disciplines, including cricketers Yuvraj Singh and Harbhajan Singh, hockey Olympians Pargat Singh and Baljit Singh Dhillon, and shot putter Bahadur Singh, have been selected for the highest sports award of the state”, announced Rana Sodhi. Since the awards were not given since 1996, it was decided to bestow it upon 122 sportspersons in one go. To give more encouragement to the achievers, the prize amount has also been increased from Rs 20,000 to Rs 1 lakh. “We will also make sure that from now on the award will be given every year to 15 outstanding sportspersons of the state. Besides this, we are also planning to introduce separate award for handicapped players of IOA recognised games on a regular basis”, said Rana Sodhi. To give boost to sports in the state, the government has sanctioned Rs 2 crore to upgrade sports infrastructure and repair stadiums. Apart from this, 11 block-level stadiums, costing Rs 36,00,000 each, will also build to promote sports in rural areas. After declaring Rs 1 crore for Olympic gold medallist, Rs 50 lakh (silver) and Rs 25 lakh (bronze), the state government is contemplating giving a lifetime achievement award annually for which the amount would be between Rs 1 lakh and Rs 5 lakh. Mr Rana Sodhi, who was accompanied by Mr Pargat Singh, Director, Sports, Punjab, also instructed various sports associations to regularly apprise the government of the good performance of their players so that the government could honour them fittingly.
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IOA authorised to conduct 2010 games: Fennell
New Delhi, June 8 His reaction came when it was pointed out to him that there was “a clash of interest” as Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports Mani Shankar Aiyar had constituted an apex committee with overriding powers to virtually eclipse the 2010 Commonwealth Games Organising Committee, headed by IOA President Suresh Kalmadi. Mr Fennell said after the Executive Board meeting of the Organising Committee here yesterday that it was a common practice for the government of the host country to constitute its own apex committee, primarily to ensure total coordination of all the stake holders of the games and various departments of the government. Mr Kalmadi said the organisation of the games would cost around Rs 900 crore, “which the organising committee would generate on its own”, adding that whatever money accessed from the government for meeting the initial expenses of the Organising Committee would be returned to the government once the Organising Committee put in place its own revenue-generating mechanism. The IOA President said an additional Rs 300 crore would be spent for the training of Indian sportspersons in the next four years. He said this amount had been okayed even by the Sports Minister and Mr Aiyar’s initial adverse reaction to the heavy expenses for the games was on “account of some misunderstanding and communication gap”.
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Henin sets up clash with Kuznetsova Paris, June 8 Henin-Hardenne, seeded fifth, will face eighth seed Svetlana Kuznetsova in Saturday’s final after the Russian stormed back from one set down to knock out Czech teenager Nicole Vaidisova 5-7, 7-6, 6-2. Clijsters, who was celebrating her 23rd birthday on Centre Court, was simply no match for Henin-Hardenne. Meanwhile, Vaidisova’s French Open adventure ended in tears today when she choked badly in the semifinal against Kuznetsova. The 17-year-old Czech, who had knocked out world number one Amelie Mauresmo and Venus Williams on her way to the last four, controlled the match for almost two sets and served for victory at 5-4 in the second before suffering a dramatic collapse. Vaidisova had never been beyond round four of a Grand Slam event.
— Reuters
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Saina enters second round
New Delhi, June 8 Sixteen-year-old Saina, the first Indian girl to win a badminton Grand Prix, beat Yu-Chin Chien of Chinese Taipei 21-18, 21-19 in just 25 minutes to secure a second round place. World no. 20 Chetan Anand also had a easy outing against Jean Michel Lefort of France as he scored a convincing 21-14, 21-19 win to move into the pre-quarterfinal. National Champion Anup Sridhar also reached the last 16 as he carved out a 21-18, 21-1 win against Yi Lu of China. Qualifier J. B. S. Vidyadhar lost his second round match 21-13, 21-16 to Bjoern Joppien of Germany. P. Kashyap also made his exit after losing to the formidable Shoji Sato of Japan 15-21, 19-21.
— PTI
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Sehwag fined, Lara let off
St Lucia, June 8 Match referee Jeff Crowe, former New Zealand captain, fined Sehwag 20 per cent of his match fee after the player pleaded guilty in a hearing after play concluded in Antigua on Tuesday. The charge was brought by umpires Asad Rauf, Simon Taufel and Billy Doctrove. Rauf, a Pakistani, was at the receiving end of the West Indies captain’s anger when he snatched the ball and gesticulated at him during the controversial Dhoni dismissal on the fourth evening of the match. An ICC statement said Sehwag was found to have breached Clause 1.5 of the ICC Code of Conduct which relates to “the practice of celebrating a dismissal before the decision has been given.” Sehwag, it seems, has a special affinity with Match Referees. The Delhi batsman was banned for one Test for a similar offence on his debut tour of South Africa in 2001 by Mike Denness, an episode which threatened to split world cricket. Jagmohan Dalmiya, the then president of the Indian Cricket Board, reacted by getting Denness removed as Match Referee for the following Test which, however, was withdrawn of its official status by the ICC. And Virender Sehwag ultimately served the ban by sitting out of the first Test of the home series against England that followed next.
— PTI
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Haryana karate team wins 12 gold Ambala, June 8 Medal winners are Gurmail Singh, Baljinder Singh, Sonu, Shanky, Mahinder Kaur, Ashok Chauhan, Anjali, Sparsh, Shivani Vashisht, Shubham Solanki, Gaurav, Satish Kumar, Sahil Kumar, Nobel Preet Kaur, Utkarsh, Ravi Sagar, Sunil Kumar, Jitender Singh, Randeep Singh, Ashok Chauhan and Pradeep Kumar.
— TNS
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Berlin, June 8
