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Tri-series called off
Lalu welcomes BCCI’s move to recognise BCI
Pak seek face-saving win
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Anand shines, Harikrishna falters
Boxing team announced
Taekwondo coach booked for rape
JCT FA hold JCT Mills
Sunam stadium gets facelift
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Tri-series called off
Colombo, August 16 South Africa had decided to withdraw after Monday’s blast in the city which claimed seven lives but then ICC intervention forced them to stay back till another assessment of the security scenario by an independent agency. With the Proteas leaving the tourney in lurch, India and Sri Lanka will now play three one-dayers on August 18, 20 and 22. Sri Lanka Cricket spokesman Samantha Algama told UNI, “It is final that South Africa has pulled out and this will now be a three-match bi-series between India and Sri Lanka.” “We had requested the BCCI for five ODIs but they agreed for just three,” he said adding, “the matches will be played on Friday, Sunday and Tuesday at the Sinhalese Sports Club (SSC) grounds.” Even as frantic negotiations and parley were on, India and Sri Lanka were ready to lock horns earlier in the day, but the rain gods had rendered the outfield at R. Premadasa stadium unplayable. The match was postponed for tomorrow. Kuala Lumpur to host tri-series MELBOURNE: Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur will host all matches of a cricket tri-series involving Australia, India and the West Indies from September 12 to 24, Cricket Australia confirmed today. The venue and itinerary for the day-and-night event to be played in the run-up to the Champions Trophy was finalised after a group of Cricket Australia and Australian Cricket Association delegates examined the facilities at the Kinrara Oval. They will further assess the city’s security and logistical arrangements in the lead-up to the event. Singapore was the other venue which was being considered but CA confirmed the seven games would be played in Kuala Lumpur, which last hosted one-day internationals when cricket was played at the Commonwealth Games in 1998. “It is exciting to bring the game to newer cricketing frontiers and to showcase some of the best players in the world,” CA chief executive James Sutherland said in a statement. “Our colleagues in Malaysia have enthusiastically embraced the concept of this tournament,” he added. “This tournament is a fantastic opportunity for Australia to play cricket against world-class opposition in the run-up to the ICC Champions Trophy,” Sutherland said. Malaysian Cricket Association president Tunku Imran said they were hosting such elite teams for the first time. Three teams will play a double-round robin league and the top two finishers will advance to the final. Itinerary: September 12 - Australia v West Indies; September 14 - India v West Indies; September 16 - Australia v India; September 18 - Australia v West Indies; September 20 - India v West Indies; September 22 - Australia v India; September 24 - Final. — UNI, PTI |
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Lalu welcomes BCCI’s move to recognise BCI
Patna, August 16 The BCI was virtually made non-functional after the formation of Jharkhand in 2000.The headquarter of BCI was then located in Jamshedpur, which was part of undivided Bihar before 2000. Sources in the BCI disclosed that then BCI secretary Amitabah Chowdhury had used his clout with former BCCI president Jagmohan Dalmiya to get separate recognition for Jharkhand Cricket Association and the issue of separate recognition for Bihar, following the bifurcation of the state, was put on hold for the past six years. The defunct BCI being headed by Lalu Prasad and another body of Bihar Cricket Association headed by former Indian cricketer Kirti Azad had been voicing for the restoration of pre-2000 status-quo of BCI for long. Talking to the media here today, Lalu claimed that the restoration of the status-quo would help budding cricketers from both Bihar and Jharkhand to play for the national team with proper patronage from the BCI. “We will produce more Dhonis now,” Lalu remarked. It was learnt that after the restoration of the status-quo, the present BCI would be headed by Lalu Prasad, following which elections would be held within three months to choose the new body. Sources in the BCI said going by the restoration formula, while Bihar would elect the president, Jharkhand would elect the secretary in the new body. Sources further stated that the restoration of the BCI, which was originally formed in 1935, would automatically make the existing Jharkhand Cricket Association null and void. A spokesman of the BCI said, “The decision at the BCCI meeting in Chennai today was a setback for the Dalmiya lobby and also demonstrated Lalu’s present clout with the BCCI Chief Sharad Pawar.” BCCI income has doubled: ShahChennai: The BCCI’s income has more than doubled to Rs 430 crore from Rs 210 crore, board Secretary Niranjan Shah and treasurer N Srinivasan revealed today. Addressing a press conference after the conclusion of the two-day special general body meeting here, the BCCI functionaries said this came to light after the board approved the accounts for 2005-06. They said most of the revenue came from media rights to the tune of Rs 341 crore. The board derived most of its income for 2005-06 from the England tour. Mr Shah and Mr Srinivasan said the surplus from tours earning had gone up from Rs 40 crore to Rs 60 crore. Mr Shah and Mr Srinivasan said the BCCI had also decided to fund all future programmes of women’s cricket in India. — UNI
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London, August 16 But the climax to the current series between England and Pakistan, which gets under way at the south London venue tomorrow, departs from the familiar formula in that it is the tourists, not the hosts, who are set to make changes. England, 2-0 up in the four-match series after victories by an innings and 120 runs and 167 runs at Old Trafford and Headingley, respectively, are set to field an unaltered side, having won a Test campaign for the first time since last year’s Ashes success. Pakistan, in the ongoing absence of Shoaib Malik, are set to try their fourth opening partnership in as many matches, with Mohammad Hafeez, out of Test cricket for nearly three years and one of the several late additions to the squad, in line to partner Imran Farhat at the top of the innings. There is no denying the quality of a middle-order which reads Younis Khan, Mohammad Yousuf and Inzamam-ul-Haq. But so fallible have Pakistan’s various opening combinations proved against an England attack missing Ashes stars Andrew Flintoff and Simon Jones, as well as the guiding hand of Ashes-winning captain Michael Vaughan, that Hafeez — who made 180 against Australia A last month and can also bowl off-spin — is now going to get his chance to prove he can succeed where the likes of Salman Butt, Taufeeq Umar and Kamran Akmal have failed. However, Pakistan fans will rightly point out that when it comes to bowling injuries, their side has been the harder hit. — AFP
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Kolkata, August 16 With a number of world-cuppers in their ranks, the Saudis proved their superiority over the Indians despite a slippery ground condition due to a steady drizzle throughout the match. The winners scored all the goals in the first half of the match. The Baichung Bhutia-led Indians, however, were a gallant loser to the much stronger outfit as they staged a remarkable fightback in the second half and came very near to scoring on a number of occasions taking advantage of the favourable home conditions, but poor markmanship let them down. Manjit Singh was outstanding in the front for the home side as he time and again troubled the Saudi defence with his repeated attempts. Saudi Arabia, which had won the AFC Cup three times in 1984, 1988 and 1996, have thus scored their second straight wins after handing out a 4-0 drubbing to Yemen in their first match earlier to now head the four-team group-A. India's Cup campaign so far has been disastrous as they slumped to their third consecutive defeat almost ensuring their elimination from the group level as only two teams would make it to the final round. India had earlier suffered a humiliating 0-6 defeat at the hands of formidable Japan which was followed by a 0-3 defeat to Yemen at New Delhi. India climb
two places
New Delhi: A third place finish at the Vancouver Whitecaps Nations Cup in Canada resulted in India climbing two places up to 128th in the latest FIFA world rankings. India beat the Chinese Under-23 side 2-1 to claim third place in the four-team competition, which was Bob Houghton's first assignment as national coach. With a series of AFC Asian Cup matches lined up, the Englishman, who has previously been in charge of the national teams of China, Saudi Arabia and Uzbekistan, will aim at pushing India up the ranking table. An Indian U-20 team is also playing in the ongoing South Asian Games in Colombo, Sri Lanka with all eyes on the Indian performance at the Doha Asian Games in December. India ranks 26th in the AFC family, but it’s an embarrassing situation is that it is no longer the top team in South Asia. That honour goes to tiny Maldives who is ranked 126th in the FIFA charts. Despite falling four spots in the latest rankings, Australia is still the highest placed Asian team at number 37 ahead of Iran (45), Japan (48) and Korea (52). Qatar has had a massive 12 spot jump to number 64 while Saudi Arabia has gained six places to be at 75. The top end of the overall rankings shows little change with Brazil leading ahead of world champions Italy and Argentina. Losing finalists France and England round off the top five.
— PTI
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Montreal, August 16 Sania, who had earlier made a first-round exit in the singles competition of the WTA tier I event, and Marta squandered a good start and Tathiana and Meilen were quick to capitalise and come from behind to seal the match. The over-two-hour-long match started off well for the Indo-Polish pair, who broke their opponents thrice on way to winning the first set with ease. The second set, however, proved to be the turning point as Sania and Marta lowered their guard, which allowed Tathiana and Meilen to make a remarkable recovery. The Indo-Polish pair wasted three break points and their serve also let them down as Tathiana and Meilen broke them thrice to take the match into the third set, which was a hard-fought affair. — UNI
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Anand shines, Harikrishna falters
Mainz (Germany), August 16 The Indian lost three and drew one match in the first four rounds of his eight-game clash with the German, while his senior Viswanathan Anand scored a 35-5 score against 40 opponents in a simultaneous display in the main section of the tournament. Grandmaster Vlastimil Hort of Germany took the early lead against GM Lajos Portisch of Hungary in the seniors match, while it was a 2-2 deadlock in the eves match being played between Alexandra Kostenuik of Russia and German Elizabeth Paehtz. Chess 960, in which the position of the pieces is randomly changed before the start of the game, certainly did not suit Harikrishna as he might have liked, even as the Indian could draw some solace from the fact that he had better positions in two of the four games played on the opening day. However, as it turned out, Harikrishna ended on the losing side in the first two games itself, giving his opponent a vital lead in the eight-game match and a draw in the third was followed by another loss for the Indian to round up the day. Anand started his campaign here with a fine display in the simultaneous exhibition scoring 35 points against 40 players. Anand had it easy against most of his opponents, including the Mayor of Mainz, but was held to a draw by Finnish rock star Rocker Burton. — PTI
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New Delhi, August 16 The squad includes seasoned pugilists, including Olympians Akhil Kumar and Vijender, Harpreet Singh and Varghese Johnson, Indian Amateur Boxing Federation today announced. Team: Sanjay Kumar Kole (48 kg-SSCB), H K Belwal (51 kg-SSCB), Akhil Kumar (54 kg-RSPB), A Lalit Lakra (42 kg-SSCB), Jai Bhagwan (42 kg-RSPB), Som Bahadur Pun (42 kg-SSCB), Vijender (44 kg-RSPB), Dinesh Kumar (44 kg-Haryana), Harpreet Singh (44 kg-RSPB) and Varghese Johnson (46 kg-SSCB). — PTI
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Taekwondo coach booked for rape
Chandigarh, August 16 The victim, whose identity has not been revealed by the Gurgaon police, today lodged an FIR against the three accused at Sector 5 Police Station in Gurgaon. She has stated in her complaint that she had been raped by her coach Subhash Yogi and his two brothers, Dharam Pal and Pratap, several times since July 22, Gurgaon SP Hanif Qureshi told UNI on the phone. The coach had his two brothers were booked under Section 376 of the IPC and further investigations into the matter were on, the police added. — UNI
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Chandigarh, August 16 International Parveen Kumar put the defending champions ahead in the 15th minute and later consolidated the lead with a brilliant header in the 33rd minute to make it 2-0 in favour of the mill men. Undeterred by the setback, the fighting JCT academy lads pulled one back seven minutes from half time through Balraj Singh. The equaliser for JCT academy was scored by Sunil in the 70th minute, much to the relief of his team-mates. — TNS
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Sangrur, August 16 This is becoming possible with the laying of a new cinder in the track at the renovated Shaheed Udham Singh Stadium.The stadium also boasts of a recently installed system to clear rain water quickly. The foundation of this stadium was laid in1935 and the athletes used to run on grass till 1994, when the cinder track was laid. It is after a gap of 12 years that new cinder has been laid. The stadium has a 400 m eight-lane track of international standard. Many noteworthy athletes like Sunita Rani (Asian gold medalist), Prabhsharan (Gold medalist in Junior Asian Games), Sagardeep (4x100 m Asian Games Champion), Pritpal (triple jump), Rajinder Kaur (hammer throw) and many state and inter-varsity champions have trained at this stadium. The junior girls athletic squad of Sunam is the best in Punjab. — OSR
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National karate
referee Ambala, August 16 He was appointed kumite referee and kata judge at the national level. He was appointed national judge for the 20th national AIAKF tournament held recently in Bangalore. He cleared a tough examination comprising theory as well as practical fro the appointment.
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