New Delhi, June 14
Indian Olympic Association president Suresh Kalmadi today reiterated his lament that Union Sports Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar was not “cooperating” with the IOA and sports federations in releasing funds for the training of athletes and sending them for competitions abroad.

Kalmadi said a high-level IOA delegation led by him would meet Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh to plead with him to release funds for the training of sportspersons.

He said if the present impasse continued, India would host the 2010 Commonwealth Games without winning many medals.

He said the Executive Council meeting noted with “great concern” that there had been no response from the Sports Ministry regarding the proposal submitted by the IOA for the sanction of Rs 1,536 crore for the preparation of the Indian teams from 2006-10.

He said the IOA had formulated the proposal for training programmes of various national teams after several meetings with the IOA Sports Commission, headed by K.P. Singh Deo.

Kalmadi said the situation was “so grave that unless the Sports Ministry acts quickly and sanctions the funds, the performance of the teams can be affected.”

When asked why the IOA could not sort out its problems with minister Mani Shankar Aiyar, Kalmadi said, “I won’t answer that question.”

He said the planned meeting with the Prime Minister was not to seek Aiyar’s ouster from the ministry, but for the release of funds.

IOA secretary-general Raja Randhir Singh said 40 Indian sportspersons had qualified for the Afro-Asian Games and they would compete under the banner of the Olympic Council of Asia.

Randhir said it was gratifying to note that nine shooters have qualified for the 2008 Beijing Olympics and six more were expected to qualify for the mega event.

Kalmadi stated that the Executive Council meeting also took exception to the dropping of events from the priority list by the ministry.

“In spite of repeated requests by the Indian Olympic Association to include all 17 disciplines finalised for the Commonwealth Games, the Sports Ministry has unilaterally dropped hockey from the list. This will certainly affect the preparation of teams for the forthcoming games,” he said.

Kalmadi said it was ironic that while the FIH was funding the preparation of the Indian team and had allotted the 2009 World Cup to India, the Sports Ministry had dropped hockey from the priority list.

He said national sports federations were also facing “major problems” with the ministry not releasing funds for the participation of teams in international competitions as the ministry has been insisting on “utilisation certificates” for funds granted 15 years ago.

He said the ministry has also not been clearing proposals for training and competitions despite the same having been included in the Long-Term Development Programme (LTDP).

He said the ministry should utilise the international-standard infrastructure at Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Pune, Imphal and Guwahati for holding national coaching camps, and these centres should also be equipped with sports science facilities.

Kingston, June 14
Two days after the police closed the three-month investigation into Bob Woolmer’s death, the Jamaican government has announced the appointment of a committee to “review” the high-profile probe.

National Security Minister Peter Phillips has appointed former president of the Court of Appeal, Justice Ian Forte, to carry out a review of the circumstances surrounding the investigation which treated the case as murder but failed to establish it, according to newspaper reports here today.

“This review, according to Dr Phillips, would ‘assess the appropriateness of the techniques and the standards of professionalism employed by police investigators, as well as medical and other professional personnel,’” The Jamaican Gleaner said.

Phillips, who made the announcement in Parliament yesterday, said the exercise would be completed within six weeks and a report was to be submitted to him no later than July 31.

Incidentally, the Pakistan Cricket Board had a day earlier demanded a review of the Jamaican police investigation.

Pakistan coach Woolmer died under mysterious circumstances in his hotel room in Kingston on March 18, a day after the team’s humiliating loss to Ireland.

After carrying on the murder probe for three months, Commissioner of Police Lucius Thomas told a press conference on Tuesday that Woolmer died of natural causes and the case was being closed.

The commissioner admitted that the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) might have acted too hastily in concluding that Woolmer was murdered.

Phillips, however, commended the JCF for seeking further opinions from international experts in relation to the local findings in the death of Woolmer.

“It is not anyone else who suggested that they wanted to give an opinion, it is the JCF, as part of their own investigations, that sought other opinions in the relevant areas and they are to be commended for it,” he said.

He also praised the police for “treating the matter in the most open and transparent fashion possible.”

Phillips said the circumstances of the case brought into focus the need for the most up-to-date forensic capabilities possible. 

Karachi: After the BCCI, it is the turn of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to be snubbed by a candidate for the coach’s post.

Former Australian coach Steve Rixon has pulled out of the race for the Pakistan job, leaving Dav Whatmore as the front-runner.

Karachi, June 14
Miffed with pathologist Ere Seshaiah for continuing to insist that Bob Woolmer was murdered, the Pakistan Cricket Board today called on the Jamaica police to initiate an internal inquiry into the “mess” caused by his autopsy report.

A senior PCB official said Seshaiah’s statement was a disappointment.

“We do not want to comment on it as we want this matter closed now. It has already caused enough heartbreak and trauma. But yes, we would expect the Jamaican authorities to hold an internal inquiry into this mess up,” the PCB director (cricket operations) Zakir Khan said.

Khan maintained that the PCB would not initiate legal action against the Jamaica police or Seshaiah but would want the Jamaican authorities to analyse their handling of the case.

“It would be good if they took a look at what went wrong and held an inquiry. Because this entire episode was a source of pressure for us,” he said.

London, June 14
After the successful takeover of French steel company Arcelor, world’s richest Indian Laxmi Mittal is eyeing another grand acquisition —this time in the field of sports.

Mittal has emerged as a contender to buy English Premiership football club Birmingham City after making an initial inquiry, The Daily Telegraph reported.

Fiftysix-year-old Mittal, at £19.25 billion twice as rich as Roman Abramovich, the Russian millionaire owner of Chelsea, was yet to follow up on his preliminary inquiry, the newspaper said.

Besides Mittal, a London-based NRI, another unnamed business magnate from the East was also said to be interested in the club.

David Sullivan and David and Ralph Gold, owners of Birmingham, are looking to sell the club and would be glad to finish with a speedy handover. — PTI

Bangalore, June 14
The secret of Australia’s continued success on the cricket field lay in the fact that the players treated themselves as the second best team in the world, captain Ricky Ponting said today.

When preparing for a match or a tournament, the team considered itself the number two team, which needed to get better, Ponting said.

According to the two-time World Cup winning skipper, “We must never be happy with what we have achieved and try as hard as anybody else.”

The Australian team did not set itself any targets when it went out on the field as they did not want to put any restrictions on themselves regarding the total.

“We never restrict ourselves because when you put restrictions on yourself, you cannot achieve great things,” the Tasmanian said.

The trials and tribulations in Indian cricket did not escape Ponting’s attention.

“I don’t really know....India is playing under a lot of mental pressure. We must learn how to cope with it.”

The respect Ponting had for Sachin Tendulkar also came through, as the Mumbai batsman was described as one of the all-time greats.

“He is the best batsman I have seen and I am trying to be as good as him.” Ponting was speaking at a function announcing a scheme through which every run that he will score in one-day internationals throughout the year will help get underprivileged children to school.

The initiative was aimed at strengthening primary education and making a contribution to society, Ponting who shared his cricketing tips with 80 children at an NGO, said.

The Australian skipper said he hoped to score a lot of runs to ensure that underprivileged children get a decent education.

“As a youngster, I was given several opportunities and I never took anyone for granted and I am sure these kids would do the same,” he said.

Giving a feedback on his interaction with Indian kids in the past two days, he said “There is no doubt that when I go back, I will remember their smiling faces.”

Ponting said he had never seen children enjoy cricket as much as they did in India.

In Australia, he and his wife were involved in charity causes related to cancer patients.

Answering some of the questions put up by the children, Ponting said batting was a tougher proposition than bowling.

“I think it is easier to be a bowler, because one mistake by a batsman and his game is over.” He also played with the kids and had them in peals of laughter when he said, “I think some of you were very quick for me.” — PTI

Bangalore, June 14
The four-day skill camp for Ireland-bound Team India players gained momentum, with Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Sourav Ganguly, Piyush Chawla, Rudra Pratap Singh, Yuvraj Singh and Ramesh Powar joining the camp at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) here today.

Due to the strike by the ground staff of Indian, the six players could not join the camp, which began yesterday.

The players, in two sessions, practiced customary yoga and had match simulation practice, including fielding, batting and bowling.

Zaheer Khan, still recovering from his groin injury, did not bowl.

Chester-le-Street, June 14
West Indies hope fast bowler Fidel Edwards can carry on from where he left off at Old Trafford as they look to restore some pride in the final Test against England.

Although, 2-0 down in the four-match contest, West Indies will be aiming to build on their improved showing in a 60-run third Test defeat when the series finale starts at Riverside here tomorrow.

Old Trafford saw the return to Test cricket of Edwards, whose extra pace gave West Indies a physical threat they’d otherwise lacked so far this series.

Often erratic, Edwards has an indifferent record of 67 wickets in 26 Tests at an expensive average of nearly 44 apiece.

But the 25-year-old Barbados round-arm paceman bowled better in Manchester than match figures of four for 148 in 32.1 overs would suggest.

“The timing was right for Fidel in that Test match,” David Moore, the West Indies coach explained yesterday.

“He came in and bowled on a wicket that was hard and had a lot of bounce. He’d been short of top-quality cricket, so he needed some time to find his feet,” added Moore.

However, the Australian stressed Edwards’s pace was part of an overall bowling strategy.

“If Fidel is making them jump around a bit, we need someone down the other end to be putting pressure on as well.

Corey Collymore is very much an unsung player for us. He’s our top wicket-taker, he just keeps chipping away with a very good economy rate.”

At Old Trafford, medium-pacer Darren Sammy’s second innings figures of seven for 66 were the second-best by a West Indian on Test debut.

However, the 23-year-old all-rounder sustained a groin injury while batting on the last day and is now doubtful for the series climax.

West Indies’ batting was bolstered last time out by a defiant second innings 116 not out from Shivnarine Chanderpaul, their first century of the series, who’d missed the record innings and 283 run defeat in the second Test at Headingley with a knee injury.

Moore said other players needed to follow Chanderpaul’s lead if West Indies were to achieve what be only a third win in 39 Tests.

“We’ve got players who are getting good starts and not going on, from getting 40 or 50 to 80 or 100.”

Stand-in skipper Daren Ganga, leading the side after Ramnaresh Sarwan’s tour-ending shoulder injury at Headingley, would relish a fifty after being lbw for five and nought to revived fast bowler Stephen Harmison at Old Trafford.

Karachi, June 14
The Indian cueist duo of Yasin Merchant and Alok Kumar recorded contrasting victories to reach the quarterfinals of the 23rd Asian Snooker Championship here today.

Merchant looked in prime form as he comprehensibly beat Mohsin Aziz of Qatar 5-2 in the pre-quarterfinals.

Compatriot Alok Kumar, however, had to toil for each frame as he managed to edge out Chan Hon Kwon of Hong Kong 5-4 after a close battle.

Pakistan’s experienced cueists Mohammad Yousuf and Saleh Muhammad crashed out of the event.

The hosts are now pinning their hopes on young Khurrum Agha and national champion Naveen Perwani. — PTI