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Blasts take toll on Indo-Pak sporting ties
Shiv Kapur watches his tee shot on the fifth hole during a practice round for the British Open Championship at the Royal Liverpool Golf Club in Hoylake on Tuesday. — Reuters
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Sania Mirza returns a volley to Alexandra Stevenson of the US during the Western & Southern Financial Group Women’s Open in Cincinnati on Tuesday. |
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Delhi to host women’s world boxing meet
India A struggle
Indian colts beat England
HPCA plans academies in all districts
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Blasts take toll on Indo-Pak sporting ties
New Delhi, July 19 The Indo-Pak Peace Cup Snooker Championships, slated for September, and the Indo-Pak Kabaddi series scheduled to begin tomorrow in Jalandhar were cancelled owing to The snooker team event was slated to be held from September 4 to 10 at Phulwari in Pragati Maidan but the Billiards and Snooker Federation of India and their Pakistan counterparts mutually decided to call off the competition. “Under such tense circumstances, we decided with mutual consent to postpone the event because it is not possible for us to give security to all their team members,” BSFI Secretary R.R. Tandon told PTI. President of Pakistan Billiards and Snooker Federation Ali Asghar Valika said in his response to BSFI’s correspondence: Due to present situation it may be better if the series could be held after the Asian Games (in Doha in December). Tandon said players would have preferred the event to be held as scheduled because it would have been a good practice for them ahead of the Games. “We had all the arrangements in place right from booking the venue and hotel rooms,” he said. The Pakistan team included former world champion Saleh Mohammad, national championship finalist Imran Shahzad, Khurram Hussain Agha and Naveen Kumar Parwani while Indian team comprised Pankaj Advani, Yaseen Merchant and Manan Chandra among others. General Secretary of the Jammu and Kashmir Amateur Kabaddi Association Kuldeep Gupta said the bilateral kabaddi series was cancelled since they could not get clearance from the government. Jammu, which was to host the second tie of the five-match series, got a communication to this effect from the Indian Amateur Kabaddi
Association. “The series has been cancelled in view of the clearance not being given by the Government of India in the aftermath of Mumbai blasts,” Gupta told PTI. The third match was to be played at Delhi, fourth at Haryana and the fifth and last at Jaipur.
— PTI
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Kapur holds the flag for India
Hoylake, July 19 Kapur knows that this is a tremendous opportunity to showcase his skills and make up for what has been a poor run of form of late. “I’m playing the best players in the world and it’s an opportunity to showcase what I have and show that I can stack up against the best,” said the Indian. “The last few months have been a lean patch for me. But the game is feeling good again. I’ve got this week, next week in Germany and the World Golf Championship Bridgestone Invitational coming up over the next month and it will be an exciting time,” he told PTI. “One of my goals this week is to play four rounds. But the key is to go out there and play well, especially on a golf course like this. If I play well, a lot can happen. It’ll be nice to be somewhere in contention,” said Kapur, who joins compatriots Gaurav Ghei, Arjun Atwal and Jyoti Randhawa as the only Indians to play at The Open. The only one to make the cut so far is Jyoti Randhawa, who is also the only Indian to have played here more than once. He played three times and played the weekend once. As the stage is set for the tee off, Kapur hopes to follow in those footsteps and hopefully do even better. “I have watched the British Open all my life on TV and I don’t think I will realise what it is all about until I step onto the first tee,” Kapur gushed. “Even during the practice rounds, the atmosphere here is great but I think the real deal only comes on Thursday, Friday and through the weekend. I think experiencing that will be magic,” says Kapur, who played nine holes on Monday and was all set for a full 18 holes this afternoon. The Majors is what it is all about, say the pros. And the last time Kapur turned up at a Major was in 2004 and he kept waiting and in the end all he managed was almost 5,000 hits at the driving range and then flew back as he failed to get in despite being the first alternative at the US Open. He was then still an amateur and had come through Local and Sectional qualifiers. “A couple of players were said to be injured but there were no withdrawals and I stayed as first alternative, when the first round began.” A disappointed Kapur flew back the next day. This year he is in there with a confirmed place, one that he earned by finishing third at the International Final qualifiers in Singapore in April. Kapur admits to feeling like a celebrity. But he is not letting the occasion or the awe of the setting to get to him. The 24-year-old Delhi golfer, who studied in Purdue University and won the Asian Games gold medal as an amateur, has enjoyed a meteoric rise on the Asian Tour since turning professional 18 months ago. “It’s great being here,” said Kapur. “The whole town is buzzing with the Open. People make you feel like you’re a movie celebrity and all the kids want your autograph, which is good. But after a while, you need to keep your eye on the game. I think this is all part of being here and it’s awesome.” On the Asian Tour last year Kapur established himself as one of the region’s brightest talents, winning the season-ending Volvo Masters of Asia in Thailand en route to finishing fourth on the Order of Merit in his rookie season. This year, he has continued to sparkle with three top-15s and has impressed the likes of former US Masters champion Fred Couples, who said Kapur reminded him of Justin Leonard. Last week, the young Indian played in all four rounds of the Barclays Scottish Open. “He’s got his future ahead of him. I like his temperament. He hits the ball really solid. He’s not long, he’s not short. He’s like Justin Leonard. I like the way he plays and I think he will do really well (in his career),” said Couples, who played with Kapur at the Johnnie Walker Classic in Perth earlier this year. Achanta to referee at British Open
Just in case you thought Kapur is the only Indian in the thick of action at the British Open, well there is one more, Ishwar Achanta. The 40-year-old Bangalorean whose business is shipping is here as a referee. He represents the Indian Golf Union and has been doing duty at the British Open for past three years. The Indian Golf Union sent Achanta to a refereeing course in Scotland, 2002. And since then he has made tremendous strides and is now a regular at the Open as one of the referees. Achanta has also refereed at the Australian Open.
— PTI
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Sania sails into second round
New Delhi, July 19 The 19-year old Indian was leading 6-1, 2-0 when the local girl, a lucky loser, threw in the towel. The Hyderabadi girl, world No. 40, next faces Emma Laine of Finland. The 66th ranked Laine scored a minor upset, ousting Sybille Bammer of Austria (44) 6-3, 6-1.
— PTI
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Delhi to host women’s world boxing meet
New Delhi, July 19 The November 17 to 24 competition was scheduled to be held in Hyderabad but following a request by some of the nations, the Amateur International Boxing Association asked India to consider their proposal. The Indian Amateur Boxing Federation agreed to the request after taking into account the logistics involved. Sources in the federation said the countries were apprehensive of travelling to Hyderabad as there are no direct international flights to the city. Also, they were keen to visit the national capital for its historic and cosmopolitan value. As many as 35 countries, including defending champions Russia, Italy, Canada and North Korea are expected to feature in the event. The Indian pugilists, who were initially undergoing training in Mumbai, have shifted their camp to Kolkata in the wake of heavy rains in the western metropolis. The Indian contingent is slated to leave for Hungary on August 9 to take part in a training-cum-competition.
— PTI
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India A struggle
Melbourne, July 19 The Indians were still 140 runs behind in their first innings when play was called off early due to bad light. Australia A, who declared their first innings at a huge 461 for 4 in the morning, ensured they did not lose the grip on the match by pulling the rug from under the feet of the Indian batsmen. It were the speedsters who did the maximum damage with Shane Watson picking 3 for 39, Mitchell Johnson 2-39 and Shaun Tait 2-43. Robin Uthappa stood tall among the ruins, making a strokeful 50 in 57 balls with four boundaries before being caught and bowled by Watson. His partners at the other end kept losing their wickets at regular intervals to leave India at a shaky 115 for 4. It was then left to S. Badrinath (59) and Rohit Sharma (41) to steady the ship somewhat. Rohit’s 59-ball innings had six boundaries but both the batsmen failed to capitalise on their good work. Earlier, the hosts milked the Indian bowling, adding 100 runs to their overnight score of 361 for 2 in the 23 overs before declaring their innings. Phil
Jaques, on 199 overnight, went on to make 240 off 331 balls with 21 fours before being trapped leg before by Venugopala
Rao. The other overnight batsman Travis Birt (130) also completed his century before being run out by a throw from
R.P. Singh.
— PTI
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Indian colts beat England
London, July 19 Three half century knocks by skipper Tanmay Srivastav (64), Uday Kaul (62) and Virat Kohli (64 n.o) helped India put on a challenging 249 for four on board in 50 overs after electing to bat in the first of three day and night encounters at the county ground. The bowlers followed up the good job and folded up the hosts for just 186 in 38.3 overs. An effective spin-pace combination of Vijaykumar Yo Mahesh (3-35) and Shahbaz Nadeem(2-29) found the English batsmen on murky waters. The Indian team had a fine day in the outfield as well as three batters fell short of their crease. India lost two wickets with 33 runs on the board but Kaul and captain Srivastava batted with patience and forged a crucial 104-run partnership for the third wicket. Both the batsmen scored five boundaries each. After the fall of Kaul, Kohli provided the late charge with a strokeful 64 runs from 61 balls, which included six boundaries. For the hosts Mark Nelson and Moeen Ali picked two wickets each. Mahesh was the pick of the Indian bowlers claiming three wickets in 8.3 overs while left-arm spinner Nadeem picked up two, giving away 29 runs. The duo triggered a middle order collapse after England scored a decent opening stand of 54 runs by M Ali (27) and skipper Varun Chopra (55). Delhi’s Ishant Sharma got the vital breakthrough when he took Ali’s wicket. Chopra was involved in another 54-run stand for the second wicket with Mark Nelson (26) but wickets kept falling there after. Once Chopra fell to Parveez Aziz, Mahesh and Nadeem ran through the middle order and two run outs late down the order ensured victory for India. Brief scores: India u-19: 249 for four in 50 overs (Srivastava 64, Kaul 62, Kohli 64, Nelson 2/61); England u-19: 186 all out in 38.3 overs (Chopra 55, Mahesh 3/35, Nadeem 2/29).
— PTI
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HPCA plans academies in all districts
Chandigarh, July 19 The HPCA has also started the system of registering players to play for the state. Only registered players will be allowed to play at district-level coaching centres. Besides 12 coaches at district level, 24 coaches will train the budding cricketers at block-level and in the interiors of HP. The HPCA will deploy NIS-trained coaches, former Ranji Trophy players, u-22 players and PTIs (having cricket background and knowledge) to give training to the players. “We would even welcome the current Ranji Trophy players who are ready to play and impart training at block level centres,” Mr Anurag Thakur, President, HPCA, said today. Yoginder Puri and Rajdeep Kalsi, Level-3 qualified BCCI coaches will train the district-level coaches at the HPCA Cricket Stadium, Dharamshala. While Kalsi is the coach of Ranji Trophy team for the past three years, Yoginder Puri was incharge of the residential cricket academy at Una, for the last five years. They will also train district-level and block level coaches at the different district heads. The district-level coaches will be appointed as assistant coaches with the senior coaches during the state-level camps for different age groups. That will give them an opportunity to learn from their senior counterparts. Best performing coaches at the district or block level will be sent for Level-1 coaching course of BCCI, said Mr Thakur. Only HPCA registered players will get training at the district and block levels.
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