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Dippenaar sets up SA win
Germany, Australia clash for title today
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FIH project to revive Indian hockey on anvil
De Nooijer wins top hockey award
Mahesh-Ancic enter final of Beijing Open
Sunfeast
Open
Golfers miss World Cup berth
Bihar eliminate Pondicherry
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Rain comes to India’s rescue
Kuala Lumpur, September 16 The Indians were set a revised target of 170 in 29 overs after rain interrupted play when they were 16 for no loss after five overs. The game swung heavily in favour of Australia after the resumption as Mitchell Johnson cut a swathe through the Indian top order, claiming four wickets in eight balls. The Indians, who were robbed of a possible victory in their rain-hit opening match against the West Indies after the Duckworth/Lewis method was applied, were then saved by the heavy showers. The teams were awarded two points each since the match was declared a “no result”. Australia top the table with seven points, followed by the West Indies who have five points and India with two from two matches each. The world champions take on the West Indies in the next match on Monday. The 24-year old Johnson claimed skipper Rahul Dravid (6) and Irfan Pathan off successive deliveries in the sixth over. Dravid was caught in the cover region when he slashed at a wide delivery before Pathan’s timber was rattled by an express ball. Johnson then lured Tendulkar (12) into a tentative drive for a catch behind and then snared Yuvraj Singh (0) for a regulation catch in the slip cordon. It gave the left-arm pacer his best career figures, 4-11. Tendulkar, who announced his return to international cricket in style with an unbeaten 141 against the Caribbeans, was also to be blamed for the run-out of Virender Sehwag (8) when he turned back his partner a bit late on a third run. Earlier, India’s slow bowlers helped the team overcome an opening onslaught from hard-hitting Shane Watson and restrict Australia to 244. Watson, promoted up the order, slammed a 74-ball 79 to help the three-time world champions get off to a flier after captain Ricky Ponting elected to bat in the day-night encounter at the Kinrara Oval. But India staged a dramatic comeback with Harbhajan Singh and Virender Sehwag spinning a web around the Aussie middle-order batsmen, eventually bowling them out with four balls remaining in the allotted 50 overs. Harbhajan picked two for 26 and Sehwag, although wicketless, was equally effective to return with figures of none for 43 and also effected a smart run-out off his own bowling. Munaf Patel symbolised India’s turnaround in fortunes as he, after conceding 39 runs in the first seven overs, finished with three for 53. The Australian innings was based on Watson’s blistering innings and Michael Clarke’s efficient 64. While Watson faded after an explosive start, Clarke was instrumental in guiding the team past the 200 mark. Watson, dropped on 13, struck 10 fours and two sixes in his cavalier innings while Clarke paced his knock beautifully with five fours and a six to register his second successive fifty-plus score. Watson got a reprieve when Harbhajan Singh failed to hold on to his top edge off Ajit Agarkar in the seventh over of the innings. The right-hander made sure the Indians repented their mistake as he took a heavy toll on the seamers. Agarkar (2-50) was guilty of not bowling to the field and was swatted for a six over midwicket and then a four by Phil Jaques (25) in the seventh over which cost 14 runs. Patel surprisingly lacked pace and was at the receiving end of Watson’s power and suffered a treatment similar to that of his new-ball partner. Irfan Pathan showed no signs of rediscovering his lost rhythm and failed to provide any respite for the Indians. His went for 32 runs in his four overs, and was thrashed four boundaries by Watson in his last over. Australia seemed set for a huge total when they crossed 150 in 25.1 overs but the momentum swung suddenly with the introduction of the slow bowlers. Watson fell to a sharp low catch by Suresh Raina, while playing an on drive on the move to Harbhajan. The Punjab offie then had Mark Cosgrove when the left-hander turned his blade for a simple catch to Rahul Dravid at first slip. The Aussies found the shackles difficult to break and could add only 34 runs between 32nd and 41st overs when the 200 came up. Scoreboard Australia Jaques c Sehwag b Patel 25 Watson c Raina b Harbhajan 79 Ponting c Tendulkar b Pathan 19 Martyn c Dhoni b RP Singh 4 Clarke c Raina b Patel 64 Cosgrove c Dravid b Harbhajan 4 Haddin run out 18 Hogg c Dhoni b Agarkar 12 Johnson c Dhoni b Agarkar 1 Clark c RP Singh b Patel 7 McGrath not out 1 Extras: (b-1, lb-4, w-5) 10 Total: (all out, 49.2 overs) 244 Fall of wickets: 1-64, 2-92, 3-113, 4-157, 5-167, 6-200, 7-230, 8-232, 9-243. Bowling: Agarkar 8.2-0-50-2, Patel 10-1-53-3, RP Singh 7-1-35-1, Pathan 4-0-32-1, Harbhajan 10-0-26-2, Sehwag 10-0-43-0. India Dravid c Martyn b Johnson 6 Tendulkar c Haddin b Johnson 12 Pathan b Johnson 0 Sehwag run out 8 Yuvraj c Hogg b Johnson 0 Raina not out 1 Extras: (w-7, nb-1) 8 Total (5 wkts, 8 overs) 35 Fall of wickets: 1-20, 2-20, 3-34, 4-34, 5-35. Bowling: McGrath 3-1-10-0, Johnson 4-0-11-4, Clark 1 -0-14-0. — PTI
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Bloemfontein, September 16 South Africa were 33 for three in reply to underdog Zimbabwe’s 201 for seven when Duminy joined Boeta Dippenaar, who was playing in his 100th one-day international in this, the first of three one-day internationals. The left-handed Duminy, who missed selection for next month’s Champions Trophy in India, batted with style and confidence from the start of his innings while Dippenaar showed his experience in a fluent, solid innings. Together they put on 121 for the fourth wicket before Duminy charged down the pitch to off-spinner Stuart Matsikenyeri and was stumped for 60, made off 70 balls. Dippenaar went on to make 85 not out as South Africa won with 6.1 overs to spare. There was no place for Duminy in South Africa’s squad for the Champions Trophy, named last week to meet an International Cricket Council debut. He was one of four men added for the series against Zimbabwe to cover for injured players, including regular captain Graeme Smith. It was his first international match in more than two years. He played five times in 2004 with a highest score of 22. South Africa had been expected to crush the young Zimbabwe team but Vusi Sibanda, who batted with increasing confidence after a shaky start, made a half-century to enable the tourists to post a respectable total. Sibanda made 51 off 78 balls against accurate but largely unthreatening bowling. Justice Chibabhaba (37) and Hamilton Masakadza (34) also made useful contributions as Zimbabwe reached 137 for two in the 33rd over before losing wickets in trying to force the pace. Stand-in captain Jacques Kallis and fellow pace bowlers Charl Langeveldt and Andre Nel each captured two wickets for South Africa, who were playing their first one-day international in more than six months. Kallis captained South Africa for the first time in a one-day international, with Smith still recovering from an ankle injury which kept him out of a recent tour of Sri Lanka. — AFP
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Germany, Australia clash for title today
Monchengladbach, September 16 Germany, the team with the most consistent record in men’s hockey World Cup and who have never finished below 5th in 10 appearances, would also enjoy crowd support in their quest to bag their second title on the trot. “It will be emotion-charged final on Sunday,” was how German coach Bernhard Peters, who would be switching to football at the end of the tournament, described. “We will be counting on the crowd support to lift us against Australia who are a tough side to beat,” he said. His counterpart, Barry Dancer said his team was brimming with confidence and as such it did not matter who they were playing in the final. “We have the confidence and like I said earlier, this bunch of players are eager to add the World Cup to their showcase. I expect a close match,” he said. Memories of the 2002 World Cup final are still fresh in the minds of the two coaches. On a warm and humid evening in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Germany upset Australia 2-1 with a late goal by Oliver Domke. The Aussies had enjoyed a good run until then, especially in the semifinals when they destroyed the Netherlands 4-1, but in the final, the Aussies cracked under pressure at the fag end of an absorbing contest. The Germans displayed their resilience and character in the semifinals against Spain whom they beat in the tie-breaker last night after the teams were locked 2-2 despite extra-time. During regulation play, Bjoern Emmerling (19th) and Moritz Fuerste (45th) scored for Germany while the Spanish reply came from Santiago Freixa (27th) and Alex Fabregas (46th). In the tie-breaker, Christopher Zeller, Timo Wess and Phillip Zeller converted for Germany while only Eduard Tubau was successful for Spain. “We were mentally tougher than the Spaniards and this win is definitely a boost for our players going into the final,” said Peters. Australia, for long, have suffered from big match nerves, something that Dancer admitted to. “Against Korea last night, we were a bit nervous, but settled down in the second-half,” he said. In the final, though, the Australians would need to be at the top of their game from the start as the Germans, boasting of a sharp forward-line of Christopher Zeller and Matthias Witthaus and backed by tight defence could prove to be a handful. Zeller has six goals to his credit in the tournament and his acceleration combined with ball control have often spread terror in the rival defence, and with the crafty Witthaus backing him up, the combination is at once deadly and explosive. By the same token, Australia have Jamie Dwyer and Nathan Eglington up front with the experienced Troy Elder prompting them from the midfield. Dwyer, whose golden goal earned Australia their only Olympic gold medal in 2004 at Athens, is sheer dynamite with his speed and amazing stick-work, and surely, he will be receiving close attention from the German defenders. Both Dancer and Peters felt that the team that will handle the pressure better would emerge winners and in this department, the Germans appear the stronger side. However, Peters made a pointed reference to his team’s 4-3 win against the Aussies the last time they met at the 2006 Champions Trophy in Terrassa. “We are ready this time too,” he warned. Korean complaint rejected
The Korean complaint about the legitimacy of the two penalty-corner goals that Australia scored against them in the semifinal of the hockey World Cup came to nothing with the tournament director ruling that there was no provision in the rules to contest the umpires’ decision. “There is no provision in the rules to protest umpiring decisions, though the Koreans did express their concern in relation to the two decisions,” Tournament Director Ken Read said. The Koreans had pointed out to Read with the help of television replays that the ball was stopped inside the circle in clear breach of rules and as such, the goals were not legitimate. “Officially, I cannot comment on the two decisions. However, the umpires’ manager and I do carry out analysis and assessment of each umpire after the match,” Read said here today. In view of the two controversial goals that umpire Christian Blasch (Germany) allowed, Read said he intends to submit a few recommendations to the FIH to reposition the engaged umpire to the top of the circle during penalty-corner situations and also extend the brief of the video umpire to intervene.
— PTI
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India’s cup of woes overflows
Monchengladbach, September 16 India now run the risk of finishing with a wooden spoon for the second time in the history of the tournament as they meet South Africa in the 11-12 positions play-off match tomorrow.
Coach Vasudevan Baskaran’s men, who had the game under control in the first half to go 1-0 up at the lemon break, failed miserably in the second half to surrender meekly to their South American rivals.
After gaining an early lead through a Arjun Halappa (4th) goal, the Indians messed it up to allow the Argentines to come back into the match.
Matias Vila (40th, 61st) and Matias Paredes (51st) converted penalty corners to wreak havoc for India, which could not be prevented by Rajpal Singh’s (55th) successful attempt.
The only time the Indians had finished at the bottom of the table was in 1986 under Mohammed Shahid’s captaincy.
After starting strongly with an early by Arjun Halappa who got a touch to Shivendra Singh’s attempt, the Indians faded from the contest while missing a couple of sitters.
Argentina equalised when Vila scored from a penalty corner. Soon after, Parades made it 2-1 for the South Americans, from a 51st minute penalty corner.
The Indians showed some spark at this stage by equalising a few minutes later as Rajpal Singh made amends for his earlier lapses with a deflection off Halappa pass.
However, Argentina clinched the issue a few minutes from close with Vila converting a penalty corner.
The Indians fielded a revamped team without leading forwards Gagan Ajit Singh and Tejbir Singh and skipper Dilip Tirkey not in the starting eleven. England beat Pak, finish fifth
Martin Jones scored the match-winner in the 67th minute as England beat Pakistan 1-0 today to claim the fifth place in the World Cup. The Netherlands overcame New Zealand 3-0 to finish seventh.
Two goals by Roderick Weushtof (34th, 49th) and Taeke Taekema’s 40th minute conversion were the highlights of the Dutch victory.
Meanwhile, Japan thrashed South Africa 5-2 to ensure that they didn’t finish last in the World Cup.
Japan will take on Argentina in the ninth-place match tomorrow.
For the winners, the scorers were Kazuo Yoshida (7th minute), Akira Ito (25th), Toshiaki Fukuda (47th and 67th) and Mitsuru (61st). For South Africa, both goals were scored by Ian Symons (37th and 58th).
— PTI, UNI
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FIH project to revive Indian hockey on anvil
Monchengladbach, September 16 The project, to be headed by former FIH Executive Board member Bob Davidzon, would aim to get Indian hockey back on track following its noticeable decline as a hockey power, Rogge told the media on the sidelines of the hockey World Cup here. FIH President Els van Breda Vriesman said the intention was to help India find its winning ways again. “Our intention is to help Indian hockey that has been on the decline and we will be working in close cooperation with the Indian Hockey Confederation (IHC). The project was jointly devised by the FIH and the IHC and the funding has been provided by Olympic Solidarity,” she said. The project includes “restructuring” of the confederation and incorporating modern techniques of administration. “We will not impose anything on the IHC because, it is their federation and their game. The revival of the team might be much quicker, but the project itself would be over a four-year period,” she said. The first six months would be taken up by a detailed study of the hockey structure in India. “We hope to implement our plans over the next one year and the results will take a few years,” she said. — PTI
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De Nooijer wins top hockey award
The wily schemer and forward was adjudged the best hockey player in the world in 2006. He had previously won the award in 2003 and 2005. The Young Player of the Year award went to Germany’s Christopher Zeller. International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge gave away the awards at a function here today.
— PTI
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Team work was missing: Baljit
Chandigarh, September 16 Baljit, who captained the team in the 2002 World Cup at Kuala Lumpur and the Champions Challenge Tournament in Malaysia in 2001, was of the view that it was the need of the hour for the Indian Hockey Federation as well as the top players to introspect as the federation and the players were equally responsible for the fiasco. “Conducting a two-and-a-half-month-long camp before the big event was a wrong step. As the fitness level of our players is not up to the mark, training for such a long period might have proved tiresome for them. In the World Cup matches, it seemed that all our players were exhausted and were playing without dedication and motivation. On the other hand, the other countries send their teams to big events after one or two-week-long camps, which is the right thing to do”, viewed Baljit, who had represented the country in the Olympics in 1996, 2000 and 2004. Not playing as a unit was the other flaw on the part of players. “The coach and the captain should work on this aspect immediately”, said Baljit. Blaming the wrong policies of the IHF, Baljit rued, “It is also a matter of concern that the standard of Indian hockey has not been improving for the past three decades and we have finished among the bottom-placed teams in several World Cups. This is attributed to the failure of the IHF in promoting the game at the grassroots level”. Baljit said it was necessary to raise the fitness level of the players to get good results. “Contemporary hockey has become more or less a power game, which requires speed and stamina, and here we lack. The players should be provided with high-quality diet and requisite ultra modern exercise equipments to raise physical fitness and energy level as well. The IHF should develop the game at the grassroots level and also start some tournaments at the junior level to unearth talent”. About the gameplan, Baljit was of the view that India should not eschew the Asian style hockey and should stick to the 5-3-2-1 combination, which was the key to India’s success in their heyday.
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Sandeep discharged from PGI
Chandigarh, September 16 “It is a great relief to be discharged. I am looking forward to staging a comeback in the Indian team. I want to forget the incident like a bad dream,” said an elated Sandeep. Sandeep has been shifted to Haryana MLAs’ Hostel in Sector 3. “I will stay here for at least two weeks as I have to go to the PGI daily for check-up. After that, I will go to my home at Shahbad before leaving for Holland for further treatment in the first week of October,” he said. The Indian Hockey Federation and ESPN will bear all expenses of his treatment in Holland. Confined to a wheelchair at present, Sandeep said doctors has assured him that he would be back on his feet within two weeks. “If everything goes well, I will join the preparatory camp in November for the Doha Asian Games,” he said. Dr Mandeep Singh Dhillon, Senior Orthopaedician at the PGI, who has been treating Sandeep, said it would take a couple of weeks for him to walk. “We don’t want to put any pressure on his spine as any hurry can make the case complicated. We will review his condition time to time”, the doctor said. Recalling the nightmarish incident, which shattered his hopes of playing in the hockey World Cup at Monchengladbach, Sandeep said it was a freak accident: “Initially, I thought it was a blast. After a few minutes, I realised I had been hit by a bullet.” grilled Even though he ruled out any foul play, Sandeep said the erring RPF ASI should give an explanation about the matter. Commenting on the dreadful performance of the Indian team in the World Cup, Sandeep said, “Lack of willpower has spelled India’s doom. The other shortcoming which cost the team dear was conceding last- minutes goals.” Expressing satisfaction over his treatment at the PGI, Sandeep thanked the governments of Punjab and Haryana and the PGI staff for their support.
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Mahesh-Ancic enter final of Beijing Open
Beijing, September 16 The Indo-Croat duo did not allow their rivals to settle down and dominated the match throughout with some excellent passing shots and powerful serves to score a 6-1, 6-2 victory. In the final tomorrow, Bhupathi and Ancic will meet Michael Berrer of Germany and Kenneth Carlsen of Denmark. They beat Yu Xinyuan and Zeng Shaoxuan of China 6-3, 6-4.
— PTI
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Sunfeast Open
Kolkata, September 16 Brenda, a former world top 10 player known for her lightning fast serves, went down 6-0, 3-6, 6-7 (7-9) to the Mumbaikar after a 99-minute duel at the Netaji Indoor stadium. The Netherlands player, with seven singles and nine doubles WTA titles under her belt, started on a high note as she fired six aces to run away with the opening set in only 15 minutes, but the reverse served as a wake-up call to the Indian. Bhambri, ranked 691 compared to her opponent’s standing of 301 in the WTA list, upped the ante in the second set sending in delightful service returns to break Brenda in the third, seventh and ninth games to take the set and draw level. Though Brenda broke back in the fourth, an indicator of Bhambri’s upward performance graph was the fact that she won four back-to-back games from 2-3 down to clinch the set in half an hour. The deciding third set went down to the wire, as Bhambri demolished her rival in the fourth, but was broken back in the seventh. The set finally rolled into the tie-break which the Indian won to show the door to her fancied rival. In other qualifying matches, India’s Rushmi Chakraborty beat compatriot Sonal Phadke 6-4, 6-4, while Tara Iyer upset the higher ranked Isha Lakhani 6-4, 6-2 to march into the second round. Ragini Vimal went down 1-6, 0-6 to German girl Sabien Lisicki while Sandhya Nagraj got the better of Archana Venkatram 6-3, 6-2. Sania to face qualifier
A possible mouth-watering clash between Indian ace Sania Mirza and world No. 9 Martina Hingis of Switzerland in the Sunfeast Open will have to wait till the semifinal stage. Sania, seeded fifth, has got an easy opening round outing against a qualifier while top-seeded Hingis would be up against world No. 84 Melinda Czink of Hungary, as per the draw of lots for the main tournament, which begins on Monday. Czink, who had taken the fizz out of the Sunfeast Open last year by conquering crowd favourite Sania in the second round, has been in good form of late and could pose a few problems for title favourite Hingis. Sania, whose ranking has plummeted to 70 after a series of lacklustre shows, would face the winner of the first round battle between Russian Galina Voskoboeva and Sandra Kloesel of Germany if she gets past the first round. Among other Indians, 194-ranked Shikha Uberoi, who has got a wild card, face 132-ranked Czech girl Hana Sromova in the first round. The other wild-card entrant, US-born player of Indian origin Sunitha Rao, has a tough opener as she would be up against seventh seed Nicole Pratt of Australia.
— PTI
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Kuala Lumpur, September 16 It was Singapore and Italy booked their spots to Barbados. Singapore’s Mardan Mamat and Lam Chih Bing, who led since the second round, scored a one-under-par 70 in the foursomes format and finished on top with a four-day total of 13-under-par 271. It will be their third World Cup appearance together. Emanuele Canonica and in-form Francesco Molinari of Italy, who finished even-par in the final round, ended their campaign seven strokes behind the Singaporean duo. Unable to get going, the Indians had nothing going for them. Their birdies refused to fall and even their iron play was not good enough. It was also heartbreak for Malaysians Iain Steel, who is ranked 36th on the Asian Tour’s Order of Merit, and Danny Chia, as they shot a 75 and ended in tied fifth position with Hong Kong’s James Stewart and David Freeman (70). Despite the mounting pressure, Mardan and Lam remained steady in the opening stages of the final round with an outward 36. They stumbled on the 10th hole with a bogey but bounced back with a birdie on the 13th. Thanks to a lengthy 20-foot putt by Lam at the 14th hole followed by a third consecutive birdie on the next hole, the Singapore duo extended their lead before dropping a shot on the 17th. They narrowly missed a 20-foot birdie putt at the par four 18th hole. Despite having to use borrowed clubs on Wednesday, Molinari and Canonica enjoyed a good spell as they carded three birdies against an equal number of bogeys in the final round. Jeev tied 19th
SAPPORO: Jeev Milkha Singh slipped from a position of contention to a modest tied 19th after the third round of the 100 million yen ANA Open on the Japan Tour. Jeev shot one-over 72 with three birdies and four bogeys. Overnight leader Tomohiro Kondo (73) was sharing top spot with Yoshinobu Tsukada (68) at eight-under 205.
— PTI
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Bihar eliminate Pondicherry
Gurgaon, September 16 Bihar dominated the proceedings while Pondicherry were content defending and it took the winners 60 minutes to break the deadlock. The winners were good in parts, combining well and attacking through short passes, even as they enjoyed bulk of the ball possession. However, they were awfully blunt upfront with most of the moves ending up inside the rival box courtesy an unimaginative forward line. If Bihar were bad, Pondicherry were worse as the union territory team played without any purpose. Bihar will be severely tested when they take on Haryana on September 18 for a place in the pre-quarterfinal knockout phase. Pondicherry crashed out of the tourney after their second successive defeat today.
— UNI
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Monchengladbach, September 16
