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Golfers annex silver
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Johnson gets boxing bronze Women’s hockey: Korea down India
Kaushik: IHF top brass
should quit
2011 World Cup: Final in Mumbai
Kiwis rally behind McCullam
Majumdar, Mota bolster Mumbai
NBA team on talent hunt
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Golfers annex silver
Doha, December 11 Braving early morning drizzle and cloudy skies, India rode on the consistent performance of Gaganjeet Bhullar and Chiragh Kumar to total 849 points and pipped Chinese Taipei (850) by the whisker to take the second place on the podium. Korea, who made a clean sweep of all four golds on offer from the golf competitions, aggregated 836 to finish at the top. Japan, one of the strongest teams in Asian Games golf, ended up fourth with 857, as none of their players broke par on final day. The men’s silver was India’s second golf team medal in history following the gold in 1982. Lakshman Singh (gold in 1982), Rajiv Mohta (silver in 1982) and Shiv Kapur (gold in 2002) are the only individual medallists from India in golf at Asian Games. The individual gold went to Kim Kyung Tae of Korea, who shot a final round of 70 and a total of 12-under 276. He was followed by young Pan Cheng Tsung (Taipei) for silver with a total of 11-under 277 and he missed a bridie on last hole, which could have tied him for first. Michael Eric Bibat (70) gave Philippines the bronze after tying for third. He totalled nine-under 279, but won the bronze on countback over Choo Tze Huang (Singapore) and Kim DO Hoon Sr. Choo shot 70 and Kim shot 72 on final day. India were lying fourth after three days, but made a big leap on the final day when scoring conditions were at their toughest. Bhullar’s individual four rounds were 70, 70, 70 and 73, the last round being the only time he went over par. He placed tied seventh. Chiragh Kumar (72) rose to tied ninth on a tough final day with rounds of 71, 71, 71 and 72 for a total of three-under 285 in tied 11th place. Anirban Lahiri (69, 73, 72, 72) was two-under 286 and tied 14th, while Joseph Chakola (73, 70, 70, 77) scored two-over 290 and was tied 18th. “It was a great game, but I could have been at least four or five shots better, I had a couple of poor strokes,” said an honest Bhullar. “I messed up some of the easiest holes. I shot a 73 but had five-under for four days. I made a bogey on ninth. But overall it was a good game, but the opponents (Taipei and Japan) were not so strong today.”
— PTI
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Sania, Lee-Hesh stay on course for podium finish
Doha, December 11 The fourth seeded Sania gave ample display of her class and her improving form by making short work of Thailand’s Suchanun Viratrasert with a clinical 6-3, 6-2 victory at the Khalifa International stadium. The 19-year-old Sania broke her Thai opponent in the first, seventh and ninth games to wrap up the first set in 32 minutes and continued with the same intensity in the second set to clinch the match in just a little more than an hour. The Hyderabadi girl will now take on top seed and the upcoming Chinese star Li Na in the semifinals tomorrow. “I felt good. I was hitting the ball well and I was confident. My fitness has been my weakness in the past. I have been working on it for the past five months. The work has paid off here,” Sania said after the match. The top-seeded Paes and Bhupathi, who have shared a troubled off-court relationship for long, put up a clinical display to oust Pakistan’s Aisam Qureshi and Aqeel Khan 6-2, 6-4 scoreline in the men’s doubles quarterfinal. Playing under heavy overcast conditions, the Indians showed that their on-field chemistry was still not much affected by the recent spat as they combined well to send the Pakistanis packing in an hour and eight minutes. “As long as we play at our level, we can win the gold. we know how tough it is, but our game plan was to play the ball to Aqeel and Paes and I did just that,” Bhupathi said. Bhupathi appeared upset when persistently asked about his relationship with Paes. “One loss (in the team event) does not break our years of partnership. We always play well together, and the next match will be tough, and we will have to practice,” he said. Paes said it was a tough match but he and Bhupathi got a good start and maintained the tempo. “It was tough because one of them was talented and one was not. We started off very well and sustained that tempo right through to win the match,” he said. However, the Indians had some disappointment in store when the fourth seeded duo of Rohan Bopanna and Mustafa Ghouse lost to the seventh Korean pair of Jung Woong Sun and Kim Sun Young 6-7 (2-7), 1-6 in another quarterfinal encounter. The Indians paid the price for making a number of service mistakes which allowed their opponents to clinch the contest in one hour and 10 minutes. “It was disappointing. It was a close match in the first set and it led to a tie-break. We didn’t start well in the second set and we let it go easily,” Bopanna said. “We made a lot of service mistakes in the second set and that did not help us at all”, Ghouse said.
— PTI
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Geetika wins silver in wrestling Doha, December 11 The 21-year-old Geetika, who made it to the final of the women's freestyle 63 kg category, had to be content with a silver medal as she lost the final bout against Japan's Kaori Icho 0-5 at the Aspire Hall. Geetika could not get a single classification or technical point in the summit showdown unlike his Japanese opponent who bagged eight technical points and five classification points. Alka Tomar had her moment of glory in the event as she took home the bronze medal by defeating China's Su Lihui 3-1 in the 55 kg category bronze medal match. Alka managed five technical points and three classification points while her Chinese opponent had five techinical and one classification point to her credit. With two more additions, India's medal haul from the wrestling mat has gone up two one silver and two bronze with two more days of the competition remaining. Vinayak Dalvi had won a bronze in men's Greco-Roman section. India, however, missed out on another bronze medal when Sonia lost to Kyrgystan's Iana Panova who carved out a 3-0 victory. Earlier in the morning session, Geetika got the better of Mongolia's Odonchimeg Badrakh in the semi-final with a comfortable 3-0 victory. It was Geetika who was the pick of the Indian grapplers on show as she secured two technical points and three classification points to tame Badrakh in the semi-final. Geetika had prevailed over Korea's Kim Hee Jeong 3-1 in a quarter final bout in the morning session of compititions. Two other grapplers Neha and Alka Tomar lost their first bouts in the women's freestyle 48 kg and 55 kg categories. But Alka won her two other bouts for a bronze medal round. Neha made a spirited effort but could not counter her Chinese opponent Li Xiaomei to go down 1-3 in the preliminary round. "The Chinese girl was very good and fast. I tried but I lost. I came for a medal, I tried my best, but I am sad by this early loss", Neha said.
— PTI
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Doha, December 11 Johnson, the lone Indian boxer on show on the last day of competition, was trailing against Mukhtarkhan Dildabekov when he decided to retire in the fourth round. The two losing semifinalists are awarded bronze medals. Punia, Vinayak
win bronze
Woman discus thrower Krishna Punia and Vinayak Dalvi got bronze medals at the Asian Games here today. Punia, who created a personal best of 61.53m, finished behind Chinese grapplers gold medallist Song Aimin, who also created her personal best of 63.52m, and silver medallist Ma Xuejun (62.43). Vinayak Dalvi provided India with an unexpected bronze medal in the men’s Greco-Roman wrestling event of the Asian Games, by winning his last bout in the 55 kg category here. The Indian beat Kyrgyzstan’s Rinat Usupjanov 3-1 with 11 technical points as against eight by his rival in the bronze-medal bout late last night. Jaisha wins bronze in 5000m
India’s O.P.V Jaisha won the bronze medal in the women’s 5,000 metre race at the Asian Games today. The 23-year-old Kerala-born distance runner completed the gruelling race in 15 minutes and 41.91 seconds. Squash: Ritwik, Joshna in quarters
Ritwik Bhattacharya began with a bang but Joshna Chinappa fumbled and faltered before edging out her opponent to book their quarterfinal berths in the squash competition of the 15th Asian Games here today. In a lop-sided affair, Ritwik took just 16 minutes to decimate his Sri Lankan opponent Eranga Nuwan Alwis 3-0, dropping just four points in the entire match. SAF Games gold medallist Joshna has been practising in Egypt before the Asian Games but the lithe Chennai player didn’t look convincing against Korean Eun Chan Ahn, who is ranked 63 rungs lower. She won 3-1.
Dola misses out on medal
India’s quest for its maiden Asian Games archery medal ended in heartbreak after star archer Dola Banerjee first failed to make it to the final and then lost the bronze medal clash against China’s Zhao Ling at the Lusail Range here today. Cue sports: Thakur bows out
Sumit Thakur was overwhelmed 11-1 by Wu Chia Ching of Chinese Taipei in the pre-quarterfinals of the men’s nine-ball pool event to bring to an end India’s disappointing campaign in Asian Games cue sports here. Handball: India finish 12th
India finished a poor 12th in men’s handball event after waging a grim battle before going down to China 33-34 in the last placement match in the Asian Games here today.
— PTI, UNI
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Women’s hockey: Korea down India Doha, December 11 The match was rendered inconsequential as Japan and China had already finished first and second after their league assignment and Korea and India were assured of the third and fourth place having already won three matches and lost two apiece. The first two teams will play for the gold and third and fourth placed teams will battle for the bronze on Wednesday. Realising that the real test is on December 13, the two teams played at a leisurely pace but still produced some thrilling moments. For the Koreans, who were levelled 1-1 at half time, Park Young Soon scored a hat-trick converting penalty corners in the 20th, 61st minute and a stroke in 66th minute. For India, Surinder Kaur (31st) and Saba Anjum (52nd) were the scorers. The Koreans earned 11 penalty corners and three led to the goals while the Indians failed to make use of four penalty corners that came their way. Both the teams tested their bench strength as all the players were given a chance prior to the big match. The two teams even replaced their goalkeepers in the second session. In a match played at half pace, the teams did not exert much but indulged in testing each others strength and weakness. But still the match had its good moments as the forwards displayed flashes of their aggression. The Koreans took the lead in the 20th minute through Park Young Soon, who found the target off a penalty corner. The Indian retaliated and after several incisive moves managed the equaliser in the 31st minute through Surinder Kaur. The Indians surprised the Koreans by taking the lead in the 52nd minute through Saba Anjum but could not hold on to it for long as the Koreans scored two goals in a five-minute blitz.
— UNI
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Kaushik: IHF top brass
should quit
Chandigarh, December 11 This sums up the reaction of Olympians, former internationals, coaches, umpires and administrators of the sport to India’s failure to make it to the medal round in the Asian Games at Doha yesterday. “I feel humiliated and ashamed,” remarked Colonel Haripal Kaushik (retd), Olympian and a former member of the Selection Committee of the IHF. Talking to The Tribune over the telephone, he said: “What could be more stunning than this shock ouster from the Asian Games hockey. I have been saying for a long time that defeats breed defeats and we have been witnessing decline of our once national sport for the past 12 years. “Let all the present office-bearers of the Indian Hockey Federation be banned from holding any office in the governing body of the sport. Fresh elections should be conducted from amongst those who feel concerned for the sport. Even the existing office-bearers of the affiliated units of the IHF are also barred from contesting elections,” suggests Col Kaushik who not only represented Sikh Regiment Centre and Services in the 50s and 60s but also donned national colours with aplomb in the Olympics. Col Kaushik comes from Khusropur, a village which is not far off from Sansarpur, once a nursery of Indian hockey. He suggested that India should withdraw from all international tournaments till a properly selected and trained team leaves the shores of the country for any international engagement. Players are either born or are nurtured. Since we do not have any born hockey players, we have to nurture them scientifically, selecting them at a young age. Medical tests to ensure their suitability to the game and training on scientific methods are perhaps the only way to arrest the present slide in hockey. Col Kaushik said that the game of passing blame should end. The players could not be blamed for the present mess. “During my tenure as a national selector I was stunned when a coach pointed out after an international tournament that a particular player did not know how to hit a ball. Why was he finding fault with the players after the event. Why did he not do it at the time of selection of the team,” he said. “Further, how a secretary of IHF could be a member of the Selection Committee. He can at best be a convener of the committee who should not interfere in the selections. But here, it is just one-man show. The secretary is everything,” rues Col Kaushik. Among others who criticised the IHF were Mukhbain Singh, Gurinder Singh and Hardeep Singh Grewal.
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2011 World Cup: Final in Mumbai New Delhi, December 11 The two semi-finals of the mega event would be held at the Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, Sri Lanka, and the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, Pakistan, it was announced here today after a meeting of the representatives of the joint hosts of the tournament. The meeting, held at the of the Indian Cricket Board President Sharad Pawar, also decided that the inaugural function of the tournament will be hosted by Bangladesh which would also conduct the opening tie at the Sher-E-Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka. The meeting was convened to sort out issues related to the staging of the cricketing extravaganza. Apart from Pawar, others who attended the meeting were Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman Dr Nasim Ashraf, CEO of Sri Lanka Cricket Duleep Mendis, CEO of Bangladesh Cricket Board Mehboob Rehman, former BCCI president Inderjit Singh Bindra, secretary Niranjan Shah, joint secretary M.P. Pandove and Chief Administrative Officer Ratnakar Shetty. The meeting had been called at the behest of Pawar after Pakistan was said to be unhappy with an earlier agreement according to which India were to host the final. — PTI
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Kiwis rally behind McCullam
Christchurch, December 11 McCullum has been pilloried in the media Test for running out Muralitharan when the careless tailender left his crease while the ball was in play to congratulate Kumar Sangakkara on scoring a century. The dismissal sparked an ethical debate, with the Sri Lankans and several commentators saying it breached the spirit of the game. The authoritative Cricinfo website called it “unsporting”. McCullum said he was shocked by the widespread adverse reaction to what was a legitimate dismissal that ended Sri Lanka’s second innings and left New Zealand a 119-run target to win, which they achieved for the loss of five wickets. “I didn’t expect the repercussions from it, it’s been pretty hard to swallow,” McCullum said. “I never thought it the wrong thing to do, the rules are there and you can’t reward stupidity,” McCullum said. New Zealand Cricket chief executive Martin Snedden said South African umpire Brian Jerling could have approached captain Stephen Fleming and asked if they wanted to proceed with the dismissal but he did not.
— AFP
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Majumdar, Mota bolster Mumbai
Mohali, December 11 On a day when, thankfully, there were no interruptions from the weather, Mumbai, chasing Punjab’s score of 353, were moving along nicely. At close on the penultimate day’s play of the Ranji Trophy Super League Elite Group B match, Mumbai were 272 for six. While Dharmani ploughed a virtually lonely furrow, diminutive Mazumdar was fortunate to have the support from all-rounder Wilkin Mota. Mota played his part well and notched up a valuable 74. He combined with skipper and played his role in rescuing his team from a precarious situation when, at one stage, they had lost five wickets with less than 150 on the board. It was this 133-run stand for the sixth wicket between Mota and Mazumdar which has left the contest evenly matched. Mazumdar was a picture of confidence throughout the day. He kept his composure even when wickets were falling at the other end and looked determined to come good. For Punjab, debutant Amanpreet Singh impressed with a nippy spell. The lanky Amanpreet, who this year played for India under-19 team in the World Cup, bowled well and kept the batsmen under check. He combined his outswinging deliveries with good lift which had the batsmen in trouble. It was this delivery which caused the downfall of a well set Rohit Sharma and Ramesh Powar. Amardeep was well rewarded for his persistence and ended with three wickets in his kitty. A circumspect Mazumdar has already spent a marathon 330 minutes at the wickets. He will be required to bat with similar application and composure if his side has to take the crucial first innings lead. Scoreboard
Punjab (1st innings) 353 Mumbai (1st innings) Kukreja c Dharmani Mane c Gupta Thakkar c Kaul b Uniyal 5 Mazumdar batting 86 Rohit c Ricky Powar c Dharami Mota c Dharmani Extras (nb-6, w-2, lb-12) 20 Total (6 wkts, 98.1 overs) 272 Fall of wickets: 1-39, 2-56, 3-85, 4-135, 5-139, 6-272. Bowling:
Gagandeep 23-6-49-0, Uniyal 21-4-58-1, Malhotra 20.1-1-62-2, Amanpreet 23-6-54-3, Rajesh 7-1-25-0, Mongia 4-1-12-0.
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NBA team on talent hunt
Chandigarh, December 11 A three-member team had already visited Mumbai, Chennai and other major cities to evaluate the infrastructure. The team is now in Punjab. Today, it visited a rural sports meet at Jarkhar village. It has held detailed brain storming sessions with the top brass of the Basketball Federation of India. On Saturday, it interacted with Mr Rajdeep Singh Gill,Mr Teja Singh Dhaliwal and other senior members of the basketball fraternity. Among the team are Mr Mark Eronson, who is specialist in evaluation of infrastructure and Mr Brooks Mark, who is expert in human resource development in sports and Mr Akash Jain, who is expert in marketing the game. Mr Jain, born and brought up in Detroit and now settled in New York, is engaged with NBA and his main assignment is to promote the game outside US and Europe. The present team will be joined by another five-member team in Delhi shortly. “At Delhi, we are supposed to meet senior officials of the Sports Ministry of India and also the Minister concerned,” said Mr Jain. “We are trying to analyse the available infrastructure for a long term collaboration with the basketball authorities concerned to promote the game in this country,” said Mr Jain. We would also visit the National Institute of Sports tomorrow, he added. Major sports channels are keen to see the development of games like basketball and football in India where cricket has become a sort of religion. With the improvement of standard, any other game can become as popular as cricket. More over, the games like basketball have lot of thrill and speed required to excite sports fans. Mr Jain said the Basketball Federation of India had extended full cooperation to get the infrastructure evaluated. “At the moment we are collecting information with regard to the basketball-related activity in India and soon we will be able to reach to some conclusion that what kind of coordination is possible with India's Basketball Federation,” he added. Mr Rajdeep Singh Gill, President of the Basketball Federation of India, said that there was lot of talent available in India. However, to attain the physical standards and skills compared to the players of America is a huge task. “We would do our best to make basketball a popular game as it is in the US. We need sponsors for it,” he added.
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