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Bravo double sinks Iran
Double delight for Spain
Anti-World Cup Islamists wreak havoc
Learn from defeat, says Kapil
Twenty20 tourney in Sept next year
Srinath yet to make debut as match referee
Hockey
World Cup
Abohar kids emulate Budhia
Anand clinches title in style
Aiyar denies rift with Kalmadi
Shooters misfire
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Gelsenkirchen, June 12 The Czechs took control of the match early on when tall striker Jan Koller headed in a right wing cross from close range in only the fifth minute of the Group E fixture. Rosicky made it two with an unstoppable, swerving shot into the top corner in the 36th minute and added his second in the 76th, weaving his way through the defence before lifting the ball over U.S. keeper Kasey Keller. The only setback for the Czechs came just before halftime when Koller was carried off on a stretcher with a hamstring injury. A superb long-range goal from Tomas Rosicky and an early header from Jan Koller gave the Czech Republic a 2-0 lead against the United States at half-time. Koller headed in a cross from Zdenek Grygera after five minutes at the Arena AufSchalke in Gelsenkirchen. The Czechs continued to look more dangerous in attack and reaped their reward in the 36th minute with Rosicky's swerving strike from 25 metres out. The United States' best chance to equalise came in the 28th minute when captain Claudio Reyna's strike hit the right post of Petr Cech's goal and just before the break scorer Koller was taken off with a hamstring injury. — Reuters |
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Pauleta does it for Portugal
Cologne, June 12 Luis Felipe Scolari’s side, missing influential midfielder Deco through
injury, were quick out of the blocks with Pauleta near to scoring in the opening
seconds with an angled shot from the left. The Paris Saint Germain striker did
not have to wait long before making up for that miss when Luis Figo left
Angola defender Jamba for dead with Pauleta tapping in his skipper’s
cross from close range in the fourth minute. It was the striker’s
47th goal in 83 international appearances. Portugal were pacy in midfield with some clever trickery from Cristiano Ronaldo, who picked up the first booking of the game, causing Angola trouble. But just as a rout was in the offing, the Africans, having been all at sea, began to find their rhythm. Star striker Akwa produced an adventurous bicycle kick and then Portugal keeper Ricardo had to be at full stretch to keep out a shot from Andre. Just before the break Angola keeper Joao Ricardo produced an equally fine save to deny the omnipresent Ronaldo to keep the 750-1 underdogs well and truly in it. Angola coach Luis Oliveiro Goncalves swopped the tireless Akwa for fellow forward Pedro Mantorros on the hour mark, with Scolari bringing on Costinha for Ronaldo. Angola’s
Ricardo, who is unattached, did his job prospects no harm at all with
another deft intervention to contain a Tiago shot from the edge of the
area. And hard as Portugal tried they were unable to drive home their
advantage despite Figo’s valuable contribution in midfield. Suggestions
that the survivor of Portugal’s so-called golden generation was past
it are clearly wide of the mark on the evidence of the 34-year-old Inter
Milan veteran’s showing. Angola next meet Mexico on Friday with
Portugal facing Iran 24 hours later.
— AFP
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Three cheers for Aussies
Kaiserslautern, June 12 A disputed goal from Shunsuke Nakamura had given Japan the lead in the 26th minute, his cross floating over goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer, who seemed to have been impeded by Atsushi Yanagisawa as he came to punch the ball away. Egyptian referee Esam Abd El Fatah waved away furious protests from Australia. But Cahill levelled in the 84th minute when a long throw was missed by goalkeeper Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi and he drilled the ball in from eight metres. Substitute Cahill made it 2-1 five minutes later with a long-range drive going in off the post. To
complete Japan’s misery, substitute John Aloisi added a third goal in
injury time. The Socceroos, playing in the finals for the first time since 1974, had hustled and bustled against a side content to pack the midfield. Kawaguchi
made fine saves from Mark Viduka and Marco Bresciano but with Harry
Kewell clearly not fully recovered from a groin injury, they lacked the
killer instinct until Cahill’s equaliser. Japan Football Association president Saburo Kawabuchi had stirred up controversy before the game, suggesting the Socceroos may play rough, a theory midfielder Bresciano did little to disprove when he felled Hidetoshi Nakata on the edge of his own box after 28 seconds. Luke Wilkshire also gave Alex an early close-up of the pitch but the Aussies soon settled, captain Viduka forcing a fine double-save from Kawaguchi at his near post. Viduka, who belies his burly frame with neat footwork, proved a handful in the early exchanges, feeding well off Vince Grella as Japan were pinned back. Japan, who reached the last 16 as co-hosts in 2002, were forced to rely on the counter-attack. From one such break Takashi Fukunishi fired over, then a nice turn from Naohiro Takahara was let down with an inaccurate finish. Bresciano
tested Kawaguchi again and, after Nakamura’s goal, the ineffective
Kewell blazed narrowly over. Hiddink threw on attacking midfielder
Cahill and strikers Joshua Kennedy and Aloisi in a bold move after the
break and it reaped a stunning dividend.
— Reuters
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Time for France to make amends
Stuttgart, June 12 Chastened by the Asian nightmare when they became the first defending champions to crash out of the group stages without scoring a single goal, Les Bleus are determined to get their 2006 campaign off to a flying start. Anxious
not to see history repeating itself, Raymond Domenech has gone to great
lengths to ensure his men are fitter and fresher than Roger Lemerre’s
jaded class of 2002. Preparations have included a team-building
expedition on an alpine glacier and they have another mountain to climb
in Kobi Kuhn’s young and efficient Swiss side which held Italy to a
1-1 draw in a warm-up. The two countries know each other well, having crossed swords in qualifying matches, with France pinching the group on the last day and Switzerland joining them after surviving an explosive playoff with Turkey. Domenech has at his disposal a potent mix of experience in the guise of the talismanic Zinedine Zidane, for whom this represents a final curtain call before retirement, Patrick Vieira, whom he tips as being one of the leading lights of this World Cup, Claude Makelele and potential match-winner Thierry Henry. But it was rumoured in the French media that Domenech was set to draft in Marseille midfielder Frank Ribery, whose searing pace and commitment have earned him a huge fan club. Introduced
late in that game in only his third appearance for France, he was at the
heart of France’s last-gasp warm-up win against China at Saint
Etienne. “Amongst ourselves we talk about letting him off the leash
like a dog,” said Makelele. Henry, Arsenal’s record goal-scorer,
marshals the attack but Ribery’s inclusion in place of David Trezeguet
would represent a major tactical shake-up. France’s options have
been reduced by Djibril Cisse’s broken leg. Despite the pressure, Domenech appeared relaxed ahead of the Group G match, which will be followed by tests against 2002 semifinalists South Korea and chaos-hit Togo. “Perhaps
this will worry you but I don’t have any particular concerns,” he
told reporters. “I know that we’re going well. I don’t see why I
should be worried when the players show a collective wish that this
World Cup passes off well. “We want to show our true side against
the Swiss, the South Koreans and the Togolese, and I hope against other
teams.” But the former France under-21 coach sounded a cautionary note. “There’s
still room for improvement in defence, in recovering the ball and in
ball control between the players. We’re far from being perfect. “Everything
can improve and I hope we’ll have plenty of time to improve.” Switzerland
are the third youngest side at the World Cup, prompting coach Kuhn to
warn: “This tournament may come a bit too early for us.” Alexander
Frei, who comes off an injury-hit season with French club Rennes, heads
the Swiss frontline and he will be hoping to stick around longer than he
did at Euro 2004 when he was sent home early for spitting. Frei took
his international goal tally to 25 with a double in Switzerland’s 4-1
win, also against China, in their final friendly.
— AFP
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Korea keen to do an encore
Leverkusen, June 12 Conspiracy theorists and sceptics had a field day four years ago as legendary Dutch coach Guus Hiddink plotted the overthrow of European footballing nobility. South Korea beat Portugal, Italy and Spain on their way to the semifinals, where they were dumped by a Michael Ballack goal for eventual runners-up Germany. The
European aristocrats were hit by send-offs and disallowed goals leading
to accusations that dark forces were at work to ease the host nations’
passage to the latter stages. South Korea are back for their sixth
straight World Cup with another Dutch believer in the philosophy of
total football at the helm — former Holland coach Dick Advocaat —
and 10 Seoul survivors from four years ago, including will o the wisp
attacker Park Ji-Sung, who has added a new dimension to his game since
joining Manchester United. Five members of the squad — Park, Seol
Ki-Hyeon, Ahn Jung-Hwan, Song Chung-Gug and Lee Eul-Yong — have scored
in the World Cup finals, a fact that will not have gone unnoticed by
group opponents Togo, 1998 winners France and Switzerland. A 3-1 loss to Ghana in their final warm-up match last Sunday had the vultures circling overhead but the Koreans are determined that there will be no early feast for the scavengers. They have been emboldened by news that everything was not well in the Togo camp, with the ongoing bonus dispute leading to a walkout by respected coach Otto Pfister, and sense the Sparrowhawks are ripe for the taking in the Group G opener in Frankfurt tomorrow. It
is a must-win fixture for South Korea and Advocaat is planning an
attacking line-up, with Song and Spurs Lee Young-Pyo deployed as wing
backs, Park in the centre of a three-man midfield and wingers Lee
Chun-Soo and Seol providing the ammunition for striker Ahn, who made the
whole of Italy cry with his golden goal winner four years ago.
— AFP
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Bravo double sinks Iran
Nuremberg, June 12 Iran were the livelier team at the start and came close to scoring in the 12th minute when Ali Karimi crossed to Vahid Hashemian and his downward header forced a sharp low save from goalkeeper Oswaldo Sanchez. Sanchez had only rejoined the team a day earlier after flying back to Mexico last week for his father's funeral. The Mexicans quickly upped the tempo and went in front in the 28th minute when Pavel Pardo floated a ball for Guillermo Franco in the penalty area and he nodded it on for Bravo to tap in. Iran levelled after 36 minutes when Mehdi Mahdavikia's corner caused havoc and defender Yahya Golmohammadi slammed in the loose ball. Mexico coach Ricardo Lavolpe brought on midfielder Zinha at halftime in place of striker Guillermo Franco to give Jared Borgetti more space up front. Borgetti, however, limped off seven minutes later. Mexico gained control of the midfield, pushing for a second goal, but a packed Iranian defence gave keeper Ebrahim Mirzapour little to do. Even striker Ali Daei, 37, who became his country's oldest World Cup player, often had to move back to help out. Mexico
finally broke through when Zinha pounced on a mix-up in the defence in
the 76th minute to feed Bravo for his second goal of the game. Zinha
made sure of victory with a thumping header from a cross by Mario Mendez
in the 79th minute. — Reuters
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Double delight for Spain
Madrid, June 12 Nadal’s 1-6, 6-1, 6-4, 7-6 win over Roger Federer at Roland Garros earned
the 20-year-old his second consecutive French Open crown and extended his
winning streak on clay to 60 matches. Formula One world champion Alonso led the field from start to finish to claim his first win at Silverstone, making it three wins in three for the Spaniard, who now leads the driver standings by 23 points from Michael Schumacher. With
Spain having to wait until Wednesday before playing their opening game
of Group H against Ukraine in Germany, the media hoped the success of
the “Invincible” Nadal and “Uncatchable” Alonso would provide
the squad with inspiration. “A country that is capable of producing
two champions of the level of Nadal and Alonso... should one day in the
near future be able to produce a national team capable of being world
champions,'' said a leader in sports daily Sport today. “Let us hope
the national team was watching their triumphs.” Sports daily AS
looked to make different comparisons, asking the question what Nadal and
Alonso would have been like if they had been footballers. “I could
imagine Alonso as a forward; fast, cool in front of goal and always
alert to the half-chance. Nadal would be a midfielder, covering a lot of
ground, winning headers, competing for the tackles, and urging the team
forward,” said the paper. Sports daily Marca reported from Germany, saying that Nadal in particular had a number of followers in the Spain camp. With
Barcelona having won the Champions League and Sevilla the UEFA Cup last
month, Alonso’s and Nadal’s victories meant “Spanish sport
continues in a state of fiesta. “Now let us hope the same happens in
Germany with football.”
— Reuters
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Anti-World Cup Islamists wreak havoc Mogadishu, June 12 The gunmen loyal to the Joint Islamic Courts (JIC), cut electricity, cleared cinema halls and warned residents against watching the football tournament in areas they control, forcing a violent protest late on Saturday in which two persons were killed, residents said. The JIC deputy chairman AbdulKadir Ali Omar said the Islamic tribunals would crackdown on halls that defy the order to show western films and video, including the World Cup. "This is war against all people who show films that promote pornography, drug dealing and all forms of evil," Omar told AFP. "We shall not even allow the showing of the World Cup because they corrupt the morals of our children whom we endeavour to teach the Islamic way of life." — AFP
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No respite for Windies
St Lucia, June 12 As usual, India banked on Anil Kumble to provide breakthroughs and he didn't disappoint, capturing the first wicket in each of the first two sessions. After lunch, he surprised Dwayne Bravo, who against his natural instincts had played rather sedately, with a ball that turned and jumped to present Rahul Dravid at slip with a straight forward catch. Before drinks in this session, the diminutive Denesh Ramdin had also made his exit snicking to the wicket keeper off Munaf Patel. A short, sharp shower during the intermission delayed resumption by only about five minutes. But the Indian bowlers had to toil on an unhelpful track, in high humidity and sometimes a burning sun. But their perseverance was rewarded by a combination of diligence and West Indian frailty. Imposing a follow on is important, because this could further demoralise the home side. In 1971, when India won a series for the one and only time in the Caribbean, Ajit Wadekar did just this in the rain-affected 1st test at Kingston (which was unlikely to produce a result) and Garry Sobers' team were sufficiently shocked to immediately surrender the next test at Port of Spain. It was still an excellent batting pitch; and India's limited attack looked a little threadbare, with only Kumble and Patel really seeming test class to start with. Irfan Pathan's struggle was particularly noticeable. He appeared apprehensive, but was not lacking in determination. Admittedly, the ball rarely swings in the Caribbean, but he has acquired sufficient experience in the last three years not to run from pillar to post every time he is short of rhythm; that, too, in the middle of a tour, when too much experimentation is inadvisable. But reverse swing came to the Baroda medium pacer's rescue. As the Indian fielders worked assiduously to retain a shine on one side of the ball, Pathan brought one back to Shivnarine Chanderpaul with an outswing action to trap the left-hander leg before. This Guyanese batsman has time and again treated the Indian bowling as meat and drink. He was threatening to do so again - having crisply found the boundary in the arc between point and mid-off - when his effort was nipped in the bud. This was preceded by the dismissal of Chris Gayle, always tentative against spin. Having played Kumble with great respect, he suddenly pulled - short arm - a short-pitched delivery from him to midwicket for a six. But the smiling sorcerer that Karnataka wrist spinner is, he juggled the ball from hand to hand and ran up to fizz one through flatter. It took the outside edge and Mahendra Dhoni did the rest. At the luncheon recess, West Indies were 139 for five; the 389 to avert a follow on looked a monumental ask. Scoreboard
India (1st inn.) 588 for 8 decl West Indies (1st innings) Gayle c Dhoni b Kumble 46 Ganga lbw Patel 16 Sarwan lbw Patel 0 Lara lbw Kumble 7 Chanderpaul lbw Pathan 30 Bravo c Dravid b Kumble 25 Ramdin c Dhoni b Patel 30 Bradshaw not out 9 Taylor not out 3 Extras (b-5, lb-2, nb-8) 15 Total (7 wkts; 68 overs) 181 Fall of
wickets:1-36, 2-36, 3-55, 4-106, 5-106, 6-167, 7-178. Bowling: Pathan 11-2-43-1, Patel 16-4-47-3, Kumble 22-7-51-3, VRV Singh 10-3-23-0, Sehwag 9-3-10-0.
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Jalandhar, June 12 Kapil, who was here on a promotional visit, said although the Indian team had been performing well, it was important that it analysed its weaknesses that caused the 4-1 defeat to West Indies. "The introspection is necessary for improvement particularly in view of the World Cup. The Indian squad should also concentrate on Sri Lankan and South African tours going to be held before the World Cup," he said. To a question, Kapil said it was indeed a welcoming sign that bowlers were getting credit for their match winning efforts. "The scene was not so favourable in my playing days," he said. Kapil was all for experiments in the batting order, provided they were "boosting the all-round skills of the players." — PTI
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Twenty20 tourney in Sept next year
Durban, June 12 Cricket South Africa’s Chief Executive Officer Gerald Majola confirmed the
dates after a meeting with ICC’s tournament manager Campbell Jameson and its
commercial manager Warren Deutron. However, the venues are yet to be decided. “We
have agreed that the tournament will take place in three cities but we
have yet to decide where,” Majola was quoted as saying in the local
media. “We will approach it in the same manner as we did the World
Cup in 2003 in South Africa. The ICC sponsors will get preferential
treatment in the stadiums where the games will be played.”
— PTI
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Srinath yet to make debut as match referee
Dubai, June 12 The ICC has also left out Jeff Crowe, who is currently officiating in the India-West Indies Test series, Chris Broad, Alan Hurst and Roshan Mahanama, according to the list. Srinath, a former India paceman, was appointed as a part- time referee in April this year. The
appointments cover Ireland’s inaugural ODI against England at Stormont
tomorrow, the five-match ODI series between England and Sri Lanka that
begins on Saturday and Pakistan’s tour of England beginning on July
13. — PTI
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India to take on Germany in opener
New Delhi, June 12 The Indian men will meet hosts and strong contenders for the title Germany in their first outing of the World Cup, to be played from September 6 to 17 at Monchengladbach. However, they will have some relief as they will take on a relatively less challenging England, South Africa and Korea before locking horns with world No. 2 the Netherlands in their last league tie. In the women’s World Cup, to be played at Madrid, Spain, from September 27 to October 8, the Indian eves have a tough start as they run into favourites the Netherlands in their very first outing. The women have a more difficult schedule in the round-robin stages as they have to play Olympic champions Germany, England, Spain and China. Schedule: Men’s World Cup (Group matches): September 6: India vs Germany; September 7: India vs England; September 9: India vs South Africa; September 11: India vs Korea; September 12: India vs Netherlands. Women’s World Cup (Group matches): September 27: India vs Netherlands; September 28: India vs Germany; October 1: India vs England; October 3: India vs Spain; October 4: India vs China. — PTI
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Abohar kids emulate Budhia
Abohar, June 12 The run was flagged off at 5 am from Killianwali village, 10 km from here on the defence road, by prominent villagers, including sarpanch Shailender Singh Shalu. The run ended at the historic Tuti Gandh Gurdwara, Muktsar, where Roopinder and Harinder paid obeisance. Balkar Singh, a farm worker who has been a special police officer (SPO) with the Punjab police, said he had encouraged the brothers to practise hard for the gruelling run. They had earlier completed a 40-km trial run from the village up to Malout in less than three and a half hours.
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Anand clinches title in style
Leon, June 12 World number two Anand won second of the four games in the final and drew the remaining matches to successfully defend his title and win it for an overall sixth time as Topalov struggled to keep pace with him. The
first game was a draw, while in the next Anand proved better and in rest
of the games Topalov’s attacking bid was thwarted in style by Anand. The victory margin (2.5-1.5) for Anand could have been more had the Indian ace converted a near-winning position in the final-round game, but the fact that a draw was enough for him to win the title, led to the drawn result. In
the last edition of the event, Anand had come from behind to beat Rustam
Kasimdzhanov in the final but this time round he had a smooth sailing
which did a world of good to his confidence as the Indian stalwart was
clearly seen struggling in the last two events he played — Mtel
Masters and Chess Olympiad. As a matter of fact, Anand survived an ouster threat here also in the semifinals as he lost the first tiebreak game against Lazaro Bruzon of Cuba. However, subsequent strikes led Anand to the final. It
was the second game of the match that turned the tide in Anand’s
favour. Playing black, Topalov employed the Berlin defence but never
achieved a level position as Anand deployed his pieces in perfect
fashion in the typical queen-less endgame. The exchange of minor
pieces also failed to bring much relief for Topalov as Anand’s rooks
created havoc and knocked down pawns in a heap.
— PTI
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Aiyar denies rift with Kalmadi
New Delhi, June 12 Mr Aiyar, who heads the all-powerful Apex Committee for supervision of
various activities related to the 2010 Commonwealth Games, asserted that all
minor differences which he may have had with the games’ Organising Committee
chief Suresh Kalmadi had been sorted out. “I have no differences with
Kalmadi,” the minister told mediapersons on the sidelines of a meeting
of Empowered Sub-committee on Panchayati Raj here.
— UNI |
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Shooters misfire
New Delhi, June 12 Compatriot Vikram Bhatnagar finished 33rd with a score of 128 (46,42,40)
while Vikram Chopra finished 51st with 110 (38,36,36). Amardeep Singh Rai
finished 85th in the men’s skeet event after totalling 105 (18,21,21,21,24),
while Baba Bedi finished 89th with 103 (21,20,19,21,22).
— UNI
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