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Shers have the last roar
Flashback Hockey
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Liberals Hockey
Munaf Patel set to return for second Test
Shoaib, Asif may still face ban
BCCI treasurer misquoted me, says Pal
Punjab eves in semis
Paes to skip Chennai Open
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Shers have the last roar
Jalandhar, December 24 Both teams, playing with several internationals, were evenly matched and displayed good skills. While the combination of Olympians Gagan Ajit Singh, Baljit Dhillon and Baljit Saini exhibited good team work for the winners, drag-flicker Jugraj Singh and Gagandeep Singh also played well for the police team Amid attacks and counter-attacks, Punjab Police’s Jugraj singh got the first opportunity to score on a penalty corner shortly before half-time and he made no mistake to put the
cops ahead. In the second half, Sher-e-Jalandhar also earned a penalty corner in the 58th minute and Olympian Baljit Singh Dhillon availed of the opportunity to draw level (1-1) with his flawless conversion. With both teams level at 1-1 after regulation time, the game went into extra time. The golden goal in the match came in the fifth minute of extra time through Gagan Ajit’s stick. Gagan intercepted a pass from Baljit Singh Saini and made no mistake in guiding the ball
into the goal. Besides the trophy, the winning team also got Rs 1 lakh, while the runners-up team got a cash prize of Rs 50,000. Jugraj was declared the best player of the tournament and received Rs 10,000. Additional Director General of Police, Rajan Gupta and Punjab Kesari (Delhi) Editor Ashwani Minna gave away the trophies and prizes.
— UNI
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Decline and fall of the national sport
Indian hockey lay buried under the burning sands of Doha’s Al-Rayyan Stadium - it finally “died” on December 10, succumbing to malignant autocracy of the country’s sports mandarins. The “death” of the one-time superpower came unwept and unsung after deliberate neglect of talent, ineptness of the powers that be and public apathy to the gradual downslide of the national sport. After all this, no wonder Indian hockey was begging for euthanasia and the mercy killer was China, which delivered the lethal blow on December 5. The 2-3 loss to China in the Asian Games league proved the last nail in the coffin. And the final rites were performed on December 10 when the team failed to qualify for the semifinals of the Asiad for the first time in the history of the quadrennial event. This failure was due to a 1-1 draw with South Korea in a must-win last league match. The victories against lower-rated teams, including Malaysia, in the classification match were no solace to India who thus authored their worst-ever Asian Games performance that followed the 11th-place finish at the World Cup in September. India will now have to qualify for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. The year started on a disastrous note with India losing the six-Test series against Pakistan. It was followed by another debacle in March at the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne with India finishing sixth. Just before start of the games, the Indian team suffered a setback when defender Harpal Singh had to opt out due to sudden illness. As usual, the Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) scurried around for a scapegoat and found one in coach Rajinder Singh (Jr) who was sacked and Vasudevan Baskaran was recalled from the wilderness to take charge of the team. The team finished third in the four-nation tourney held at Monchengladbagh, Germany, and Baskaran had a ready excuse: “I had little time with the team.” India managed a bronze in the Azlan Shah tournament at Kuala Lumpur and there was lot of big talk about hockey’s revival. Tragedy hit India just before the World Cup when drag-flicker Sandeep Singh was injured in a freak incident and had to be left out of the team. India put up a miserable show in the World Cup, finishing 11th in the 12-nation tournament. Prior to this, India also lost to Pakistan in the South Asian Games final. The IHF axed six players but India’s Asian Games campaign was marred by the controversial omission of midfielder Viren Rasquinha at the very last moment. His absence considerably weakened the half-line while also upsetting the balance of the team. And the Al-Rayyan stadium proved to be the last resting place for Indian hockey. Baskaran was at a loss of words to explain the debacle in Doha. “It was just one bad game against China that did us in. The boys had an off-day. The Chinese made just three moves against us and scored off them,” he said. The coach stood by his team and said the results did not reflect the quality of the players. “I think, we had as many as a dozen scoring chances against China. We dominated the game but just could not score as many times as we should have,” he said. On the domestic circuit, Bangalore Lions won the second Premier Hockey League at Chandigarh, while Punjab and Sind Bank emerged winners in the National Championship, defeating Delhi 3-1 in the final at Jalandhar. The women did slightly better as they managed a bronze in Doha, beating formidable South Korea 1-0, but their showing at the World Cup was also dismal as they finished 11th out of 12 teams. They will also have to struggle to qualify for the Beijing Olympics. Though some hockey Olympians and fans took out a procession demanding dissolution of the IHF, there has been general public apathy towards the game. Unlike cricket, where a defeat is termed as a “national shame”, hockey sadly evokes no such reaction. The IHF officials, aware that the public is just not bothered about the game, feel secure and are least concerned. In such a bleak scenario, 2006 will go down as a black year for Indian hockey. — UNI
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Sansarpur boys win opener
Ravi Dhaliwal
Nabha, December 24 In another match, Punjabi University, Patiala, rode on a brace by striker Virender Singh to defeat ITBP, Jalandhar, 2-0. The university lads, playing with as many as 10 players drawn from the Centre of Excellence, Patiala, played with a lot of punch and proficiency to down Jalandhar. The Sansarpur team started off on the wrong note when it let an unmarked J&K attacker Surinder Singh enter the striking circle without much challenge, only to see him sounding the board. The Sansarpur boys shuffled their pack and brought centre-half Gurpreet Singh into the forward line, a move that paid dividends almost immediately. Gurpreet darted in towards the 25-yard line and collected a superb pass from the left flank sent in by Lovejit Singh. Gurpreet skilfully made his way into the danger area and once he was there he let go a rasping carpet drive, which brooked no resistance from the J&K Police goaltender. However, their joy was shortlived when their rivals managed to make it 2-1 through the collective efforts of left-in Iqbal Singh and center-half Gurjit Singh. Iqbal collected a stray ball from near the left post and sent in a measured pass to Gurjit, who, on seeing the Sansarpar goalkeeper A. Nelson a wee bit out of position, took a shot at the goal. However, the goalkeeper managed to stretch his left leg and an unmarked Satwant Singh neatly sent the resultant deflection home. With just seconds remaining for the half-time whistle, midfielder Varun Bagga struck when he swept home an accurate shot besides the fumbling police goalkeeper to enable his team to equalise. The second half remained a barren affair and with both the outfits locked 2-2 at the end of regulation time, the tie- breaker was resorted to, which saw the Thapar academy boys converting all their five shots, while the J&K team managed to score just four goals.
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Munaf Patel set to return for second Test
Patel missed the last three one-day internationals and the first Test in Johannesburg after injuring his ankle in the second one-dayer in Durban on November 23. He bowled in a match for the first time since hurting his ankle in a drawn two-day practice game against a KwaZulu-Natal Invitation XI in Durban on Saturday, taking two for 25 from eight overs. India coach Greg Chappell said he had been heartened by Patel’s performance. “He’s one of our top bowlers, so if he’s fit he’ll play,” Chappell told Reuters today. “He seems to have pulled up all right, so it looks promising.” India will also consider selecting Gautam Gambhir to strengthen their top order. Gambhir was not in the team who won the first test by 123 runs in Johannesburg last Monday. But after top-scoring with 79 in the practice match, Gambhir seems an appropriate replacement for the struggling Wasim Jaffer. South African captain Graeme Smith acknowledged his team was feeling the heat. “Our performance at home is something we really pride ourselves on, so not performing in a home Test is always going to create pressure,” Smith told a news conference. “The public are quite demanding, which shows that they care. They want results.” Smith said he wanted an improved performance from spearhead Makhaya Ntini, who looked lacklustre in the first Test despite taking six wickets. “He (Ntini) would probably say that he wasn’t at his best at the Wanderers,” Smith said. “He’s also a guy who needs to bowl a lot, and in one-day cricket he doesn’t really get overs under his belt. But towards the end of our bowling in Johannesburg he was starting to hit his straps. “He’s a professional and he’s come back from an ordinary Test a few times, and there’s no doubt in my mind that he will bounce back.” Smith said South Africa were likely to replace Herschelle Gibbs with AB de Villiers at the top of their batting order with Gibbs moving to number
six. — Reuters
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Lara in no mood to quit
Melbourne, December 24 The 37-year-old batsman, however, might consider quitting one-day cricket after the World Cup in his homeland in March-April next. “I cut back on one-day cricket a couple of months ago because Test cricket is what I really love,” said the West Indies skipper. “Test cricket is the true test of your ability and that’s the one game I’d love to play a bit longer. (Quitting one-day cricket) is looking that way. Since taking over the captaincy again, it has had an effect on me mentally and physically,” said Lara, who is holidaying in Australia. “I’m not sure how much one-day cricket I’ll be playing after the World Cup. Hopefully, we can win it and that would be a great way to go out,” said the batting ace, who has scored 11,953 runs at an average of 52.88 in Tests. “I don’t know if I’ll get to 40 but I want to play as long as I can. My enthusiasm is still there. I know I still have some Tests ahead of me - and hopefully more big innings,” he was quoted as saying in Sunday Telegraph. His innumerable milestones notwithstanding, Lara said he still felt “unfulfilled” and was willing to give up all his records to be a part of a winning team like Australia. “I would give up any runs, any record just to be a part of the current Australian cricket team or the West Indies team of the 1970s and 1980s,” said Lara. Lara also talked about his frustration at leading the West Indies during a decade of decline. “Unfortunately, my career has been through the declining years of West Indies cricket and it’s given me great sadness. There is a sense of unfulfilment,” he said. “It’s been a great honour to achieve individual things for West Indies but it’s all about how the team does, and that concerns me more. “It’s tremendous what this Australian team has done. It was a great effort for them to come to the West Indies in 1995 and win the series. Mark Taylor started it all and they’ve reaped the benefits of that win for the next 11 years. “I just want to see the West Indies turn that corner and I want to be instrumental in doing it. I don’t have the luxury of a Shane Warne to help us to be on top of the world. But I’d love to be able to sit back in an armchair watching a West Indian team that is as great as this Australian team.” While Ricky Ponting has won 76 of 108 Tests, Lara has won just 32 of his 130 Tests matches. He has won one series in seven attempts against Australia, and that was in his maiden campaign of 1992-93. The left-hander plundered 448 runs against Pakistan, hitting two tons (122 and 216) to finish the three-Test series with an average of 89.60. On the retirement decisions of Australian greats Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath, Lara said: “I want to speak to Shane and Glenn before I say anything publicly. But I was surprised, I didn’t see it coming. Australian cricket will miss them. Shane and Glenn are as good as anyone I have played against.”
— PTI
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Shoaib, Asif may still face ban
Lahore, December 24 “According to the WADA code, they can apply for provisional suspension,” barrister Shahid Hamid told AFP, quashing suggestions the pair were now in the clear. Hamid headed the three-member Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) tribunal which last month banned Shoaib for two years and Asif for one year, after the new-ball pair tested positive for the banned steroid nandrolone. Both bans were overturned by a committee headed by a retired High Court Judge earlier this month, which ruled the pair had not been fully educated about doping matters. As a result, the PCB insisted the doping case was closed and that any action by WADA or the ICC would not stop the pacemen from playing. Shoaib and Asif were included in their preliminary squad for next month’s tour of South Africa. However, Hamid said Pakistan was obliged to follow WADA rules. — AFP
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BCCI treasurer misquoted me, says Pal
Kolkata, December 24 Accusing BCCI treasurer N. Srinivasan of having ‘twisted’ his comments, Pal said it was a ‘strategy of the board’ to put pressure on Dalmiya so that he put in his papers. “I never said Dalmiya is not the CAB president. Srinivasan has misquoted me. He has twisted whatever I said,” Pal told PTI, referring to the BCCI treasurer’s media briefing after yesterday’s board working committee meeting in Mumbai. Srinivasan yesterday claimed that Pal had told the Working Committee that Dalmiya “no longer functions as its (CAB’s) president and an emergency meeting on December 27 will take steps to implement the board’s decision”. Giving his version of events, Pal said “BCCI asked me whether the CAB was taking steps in sync with BCCI SGM’s decision on December 16 to expel Dalmiya for life”. “I said, yes we are considering the matter with all seriousness. And we have convened a working committee meeting on December 27 to discuss it,” he said. — PTI
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Punjab eves in semis
Chandigarh, December 24 Punjab girls defeated Madhya Pradesh in the quarterfinal by 33 runs after they won the toss and elected to bat. Punjab eves mustered 133 runs. Renu (51) and Moksha (22) top scored for Punjab. MP girls, however, managed just 100 runs in 20 overs. In another quarterfinal, Andhra Pradesh girls defeated Chandigarh. Chandigarh girls, after winning the toss and electing to bat, set a target of 109 for Andhra Pradesh, which they achieved in
17.2 overs. In the quarterfinal clash between Maharashtra and Jammu & Kashmir, the toss was won by Maharashtra and they chose to field. Jammu & Kashmir could score just 36 runs and Maharashtra achieved the target in
just 8.4 overs. In the match between Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, the former won the toss and elected to bat. They set a target of 79 runs in 16.2 overs. U.P. achieved the target in just 16.4 overs after losing two wickets.
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Paes to skip Chennai Open
Chennai, December 24 “I had no option but to accede to my partner’s decision to play in the Doha Open,” Paes, who had won the 2006 US Open Doubles title with Damm, told PTI today. This would be the only second time that Paes would be missing the Chennai event in the past 12 years, the previous occasion being in 2004 due to injury. Paes, who had won four doubles titles here, including three in a row with Mahesh Bhupathi from 1997, said his mind would still be in Chennai where he grew up to be a star. “It is not more prize money alone. I just want to maintain the partnership with Damm and looking for more accomplishment with him in 2007 with whom I started the last season here. “Maybe there is more prize money (at Doha), but it comes only with your performance and my aim is only to improve upon my performance in 2006 partnering Damm.” Paes, winner of four Grand Slam doubles titles, including three with Bhupathi, said he also wanted to promote Indian tennis in the Asian region. “Of course, Doha has a large number of Indian expatriates. I consider it as yet another opportunity for me, along with Damm, to win the doubles title in Doha and take off from there for a memorable 2007 season,” Paes said. Paes and Damm came together at the Chennai Open last year as the top-seeded pair but lost in the quarterfinals. But they went on to win two ATP titles, including the US Open in September. Paes, whose best performance in singles at the Chennai Open was his semifinal loss to Patrick Rafter in 1998, said: “I cannot forget Chennai, my home turf, and my friends. I am sure with Rafael Nadal and David Nalbandian coming to play here this time the tournament’s calibre has gone up.” Paes, who won the gold for India in the recent Doha Asian Games partnering Bhupathi, said he was enthused by the support of the Indian expatriates. He hoped that the Doha crowd would support him this time also like they did in the Asian Games. He, however, reiterated that he would combine with Bhupathi to play for India. “I always enjoyed playing with Mahesh for our country and I will continue.”
— PTI
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Durban, December 24
