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‘Why at this juncture Joaquim is being harassed?’ Henin wins 9th title of season India 20th with 10 medals |
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Xiangzhi wins, Hari finishes at bottom SA crowned rugby world champs Kang wins again Karan hits century in drawn match Anjum, Asha score tons against J-K Rural games
10 mini-stadia for Karnal district
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‘Why at this juncture Joaquim is being harassed?’ Hyderabad, October 21 On the new development in Indian hockey, Baskaran spoke exclusively to PTI. Question: How do you react to appointment of Ric Charlesworth as Technical Advisor? Answer: The role of Ric Charlesworth needs to be defined. Whether he is coming here as a Technical Adviser or any other position is secondary. For me, he is a professional man. Ric was with New Zealand Cricket. There (New Zealand) he is working at the back seat. That kind of arrangement and system is accepted by the NZC. But, when it comes to India focus is on him. Whether Ric is going to talk to the players and the coach at this juncture, I wonder how far it is going to help the players and how he is going to adapt himself with the players and the conditions in India. The mystery remains as to why Ric had not coached a men's team so far. He is going to put pressure on the entire coaching staff. I am sure about it. There will be interference when you analyse the circumstances that he is being sent to India as a part of IOC Solidarity Project by the FIH. Q: Will the coaching staff and the players be under pressure in Ric's presence? A: We have M M Sommaiya as our Technical Director and he has his own standing in the world hockey as an Olympian. Plus, the coordination between Sommaiya and Joaquim Carvalho and the other coaching staff since March this year has been taking our team on the right path leading to the Beijing Olympics. They have their coaching plans and methods. If Charlesworth is coming only in an advisory capacity, he is definitely being present during the training venues. His presence itself, I am saying this as a former coach of the team and from my experience, will put tremendous pressure on the entire coaching staff. I am sure he will not be able to achieve anything in such a short time when it comes to the qualifying event and then in the Olympics. Q: Do you still believe that it is not possible for him to achieve much? A: The job entrusted to him is not very clear. It is to be seen whether he is going to discuss coaching aspects with Sommaiya and Carvalho. These two have their own plans and schemes as to take India to the Olympics. Watching and commentating from the gallery is different from setting up a coaching plan and making the player adapt to his methods. He has been coaching the women teams and there has been discontinuity even in that, though he had never handled a men's team. Q: Do you think Ric lacks knowledge on the strength and weakness of teams? A: He might have some knowledge about the European teams. We have teams like Egypt besides England in the qualifiers. Does Ric have any inputs on the Egyptian team and how he is going to provide inputs on such teams considering that his last assignment as a coach was in Atlanta 1996 Olympics with the women's team? All coaches in the world of hockey have their inputs collated from different sources and it is available with Sommaiya, Joaquim and other coaching staff. If Ric is going to be with the Indian Junior men for about four years and then with a proven result of having these boys graduate to the senior levels, it would be the correct way. Q: Do you think it will have an adverse effect on the team? A: We have in the past witnessed the rapport between the boys and foreign coach. I understand Ric is coming in December and it has not been detailed as to what his involvement with the senior team. Our boys are talented and play the Indian brand of hockey, which the Australians have also adapted. The Aussies show aggressiveness. Perhaps, we lack only the aggressiveness but have every other aspect of the game already with us. Even to improve upon this (aggressiveness), is he going to talk and handle the players or convey his inputs to Joaquim. Q: Do you think our players will accept Ric and whether changes for the good could be brought about three months before the qualifiers? A: There has been fire in the belly of our boys as was seen in the last two tournaments. It has taken about seven months for Joaquim to steadily bring about such improvements in about seven months and the players seem to have understood their strengths and weaknesses. When a team is gelling well and looking to maintain their winning streaks, why somebody is being brought to put spokes in to the scheme of things? Players accepting him is a different thing, but will Ric be able to convince Sommaiya and Joaquim with his inputs or will Ric's inputs be thrust on the coaching staff. These are to be analysed and the Indian team management should have been consulted before someone is being thrust on them. After all, Joaquim wants to put India in the Beijing Olympics and he has been on the road of achieving his goal. Why at this juncture Joaquim is being harassed? Q: Your analysis of the camp for the qualifiers? A: Joaquim is going to start his camp in Bangalore in about a fortnight. The Indian coaching staff would have already decided on the methods to adjust to the weather conditions in Chile. By the time Ric commences his work in India in December, Joaquim would have already put in place a system with total emphasis on picking his best amongst the probables. Ric might come during the final stages of selecting the team for the qualifiers and any changes by him through his inputs will surely affect the rhythm of our players. The system in Australia and India are different. The Aussies have a set of 24 players and every one is ranked. If a fifth or sixth ranked players is injured, the 22nd players is not going to take his place. Players wait in the wings for promotion. That is their attitude and system of coaching. Q: Do we also give emphasis on fitness of players like the Aussies? A: The system of selection in India is different. The Aussies maintain their first eleven provided their players are not injured, which mean all of them are brought to the required fitness levels. In India we work differently. Even if Dilip Tirkey is not hundred per cent fit, he might be played.
— PTI
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Henin wins 9th title of season
Zurich, October 21 The Belgian has won all but four of the 13 tournaments she has took part in this year and is now unbeaten in 20 matches - her last loss coming against Marion Bartoli in the Wimbledon semifinal in July. “It’s been the best season of my career and to win my ninth title of the year is pretty amazing,” Henin said in an on-court interview. “I needed a bit of time to come into the match today as Tatiana was putting me under a lot of pressure but slowly, but surely I came back.” Golovin, the 19-year-old world number 18 who had lost her three previous meetings with Henin, made an aggressive start and was rewarded with a 3-1 lead in the opening set. Henin needed a stroke of good fortune to level after a lucky net-cord bounce gave her a chance to break back. She duly converted that break point after forcing Golovin wide and was handed a further decisive break when the French youngster hit three unforced errors to fall 4-5 behind. Golovin called for an injury time-out but it had no apparent effect on Henin’s composure with the Belgian serving out for the set and then breaking ahead at the start of the second. Golovin threatened a fightback after managing an immediate re-break but then dropped serve once more to fall 1-2 behind with what proved to be the last break of the match. “She’s absolutely the best,” said Golovin, after losing her second final against Henin in three weeks. “She’s so solid, but she has also been a great inspiration to me, and the more I play against top players like Justine the more I hope to learn,” she added.
— Reuters
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India 20th with 10 medals
Hyderabad, October 21 “Namaste India! Namaste Andhra Pradesh!” was how CISM president Brig-Gen Gianni Gola of Italy opened his address at the closing ceremony, thanking the Indian armed forces for their meticulous organisation of the biggest-ever Military World Games. India’s tally of 10 medals - two gold, a silver and seven bronze - also came in for special mention, a vast improvement from their lone bronze show at the 2003 games in Catania, Italy. India finished 20th overall. Russia topped the medal tally with 42 gold, 26 silver and 28 bronze, followed by China with 36 gold, 22 silver and 13 bronze. Before defence minister AK Antony formally declared the games closed, the Italian Brig-Gen made a special mention of the “multi-ethnic, multi-lingual, multi-cultural and multi-religious society of India which welcomed the soldiers of the world with open arms,” thanking the host country for taking pains to make the games a wonderful success. “These games will remain a landmark in the history of the Military World Games not just for the fact that more than 100 countries took part. More importantly, three world records, one each in swimming, military rifle shooting and parachuting, were created, apart from 27 CISM records, of which 17 were by women,” he said. “It’s no small credit to the host country for the excellent, truly world-class facilities for these games. I sincerely hope to see many of you in 2011 for the fifth Military World Games at Rio Janeiro, Brazil.” Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Rajashekhar Reddy thanked CISM for helping put the city of Hyderabad and the state of Andhra Pradesh on the world stage through the games. The closing ceremony began nearly 20 minutes behind schedule due to the late arrival of the defence minister from New Delhi. After the customary addresses, the lowering the games flag and handing it over to the next hosts, Brazil, and extinguishing of the games flame was followed by a song-and-dance performance by film artistes. Lancers of the 61st Cavalry, the world’s only horse-mounted regiment, were flown in especially from Jaipur to add colour to the flag handing-over ceremony. Major-Gen VK Ahluwalia, head of the Indian delegation, formally handed the CISM flag and the games torch to Brig-Gen Antonio Macado of Brazil. The military bands, Sarang display helicopter team and the sky divers of the Akash Ganga team of the Indian Air Force were again on display as the participants marched in uniform before the 38,000-capacity crowd, most of them connected with the armed forces in one way or the other.
— Agencies
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Raikkonen reigns supreme Sao Paulo, October 21 The Finn’s unexpected title triumph ended 22-year-old Briton Hamilton’s bid to become the youngest champion in his debut season with McLaren. Hamilton finished seventh, while team-mate and double world champion Fernando Alonso, in what may prove to be his last race for McLaren, was a forlorn third, 57 seconds behind the winning Ferrari. Raikkonen, the third Finnish Formula One world champion after Keke Rosberg (1982) and Mika Hakkinen (1998 and 1999), ended the season with 110 points to Hamilton and Alonso’s 109. Hamilton, who had started the race as title favourite with a four-point lead over Alonso and an advantage of seven to Raikkonen, endured a nightmare afternoon in the Interlagos sunshine. Starting on the front row, he had dropped to eighth at the end of the first lap after running wide as Alonso forced his way through and Ferrari settled into a one-two pattern with Brazilian Felipe Massa leading from pole. The Briton slowed dramatically eight laps later and plunged to 18th place, leaving him fighting a desperate rearguard battle to claw his way back into the points. Massa, who had put his Ferrari on pole and led for most of the first 50 laps, was overtaken by Raikkonen as expected during the second round of pitstops to hand the Finn the title-clinching win. Raikkonen’s triumph brought the curtain down on one of the most controversial seasons in F1 history and handed Ferrari the drivers’ title in addition to the constructors’ championship. — Reuters
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‘No ugly chantings for Indians’ Melbourne, October 21 "Am I against crowd participation? Definitely not, but there is a message I would like to give the Australian public and supporters of our team. "I don't want to see ugly chanting at the Indian players when they come to Australia later in the year," Symonds wrote in a column for the 'Daily Telegraph' today. India will play four Tests and a triangular ODI series — also involving Sri Lanka - in an over-two-month tour of Australia starting end of December. Symonds, who was reportedly subjected to another round of abuse during his side's seven-wicket loss to India in last night's Twenty20 match in Mumbai, said he was hoping that the focus would remain firmly on cricket when Dhoni's men come here. "I'm looking forward to the summer in Australia, with both Sri Lanka and India coming. I just hope the focus can be on the cricket," he said. Reflecting on the just-concluded ODI series in India, Symonds said though abusive chants from spectators "frustrated and disappointed" him but he was touched by several others, who called him to express regret over the incidents. "Given the incessant calls to my hotel room, it's clear that a large contingent of Indian cricket fans have been affected by the recent furore surrounding myself and the crowds here in India," Symonds revealed. "For the last three days, the phone in my hotel room hasn't stopped ringing. I've had doctors, bankers and local businessmen all on the other end of the line desperate to apologise for what has transpired over the past week," the big-hitting right-hander said. The Aussies won the seven-match series 4-2 but their triumph was overshadowed by the racism row that erupted after spectators directed monkey chants at the 32-year-old during the last three ODIs. Symonds said Indian cricketers were friendly to him, which helped him cope with the furore, which started during the fourth one-dayer in Vadodara. "I've also spoken to a few of the players from the Indian cricket team, who have been great in offering me a friendly word. Personally, I'm doing fine," he assured. The all-rounder hit out at the media in India for misrepresenting his comments but asserted that the negative press did not affect him much. "What started off as a bit of fun has been relentless, the media picked up on it over here and they really haven't stopped. While it's certainly been a challenging chapter of my career, it hasn't left me hurt or scarred." "I am disappointed in the way I've been portrayed in some sections of the media and I'm probably lucky that I'm not an avid newspaper reader - and I'm lucky I have the support of my team-mates. There have been times where I have been portrayed as something I'm not," he said. Symonds thanked his teammates - especially skipper Ricky Ponting - for helping him handle the tense situation. "It's very Australian that the boys rally in these times. And it's genuine. When someone is under the pump or facing an issue in this team, like I have this week, we stay tight. "We pride ourselves on staying together when things get difficult. We're lucky that we have Ricky (Ponting) as captain. He's a great leader and he sets an example the way he conducts himself as captain," he said.
— PTI
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Lucknow, October 21 The success story of RP, as he is fondly called, started during his last tour of Pakistan, which he followed in South Africa T20 World Cup last month. ''I am looking forward to take on Pakistan in the coming series,'' he told reporters after reaching here at his home ground, his first visit after Team India won the T20 WC beating the formidable Aussies. He was accorded a tumultuous welcome after reaching here from Mumbai, where he was part of the winning team of T20 match against Australia last evening. The graduate of Sports hostel at Gomtinagar, Lucknow was the toast of the cricket fans who gathered at the airport to take him to his home pitch. He was here on way to Rae Bareli, his home town, about 80 kms from here. Happy with the way he performed since last one month, first in T20 World Cup and then in one-day series against Australia, the UP's seamer expressed satisfaction over being part of the winning squad. Asked about his tenacity to bowl well at death, specially pitching his yorkers at the right spots, he said ''I had been practising it since last one year. I am happy that the yorkers were pitched well when required most.'' He admitted that the bowlers were getting swing in South Africa and the team had to work out strategies to counter Aussies in Indian conditions. The 21-year-old had made his ODI debut against Zimbabwe in 2005, while his Test match debut was against Pakistan at Faislabad, Pakistan in January 2006. Contradicting that T20 format of cricket is only for the batsmen RP said as a bowler he knew he had to keep his basics right. He said the last night victory against Aussies proved the T20 World Championship win was not a flash in the pan. Looking a bit disappointed at conceding the 50 overs one-day series to Kangaroos, R P Singh said Australians were definitely the better lot, but India was not far behind. ''...continuous cricket for last so many months may have taken a toll on players, hence the series loss...but, Team India is very much there at the highest level,'' he asserted. Hoping to be the member of Team India against visiting Pakistanis, he said to beat the neighbours would again be a tough task ahead. ''Team India has a combination of an enthusiastic lot and we would live up to the expectations of the cricket lovers against Pakistan as well,'' he underlined. The young pacer was all praise for the leadership qualities of cricket skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni describing him as a 'fine captain'. Dhoni's ability to handle pressure situation was something, which reflected on the team's recent success, he said. In reply to a question, RP said the Big Three — Sachin, Saurav and Dravid — were still the source of inspiration for the youngsters like him. ''Any player can go through a lean phase in his career, but the fact remains that the seniors have lot to offer to the Indian cricket,'' he sought to justify. Refuting the charges of sledging on the cricket field against the Kangaroos, he said ''we only responded to what came to us. We were always decent.'' On antics of S Sreesanth and his indulgence in exchange of words with Andrew Symonds or other Australian players, he said every individual had his own style, so has his colleague from Kerala. — UNI
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Xiangzhi wins, Hari finishes at bottom Bilbao (Spain), October 21 Harikrishna, who had lost to Xiangzhi in both the games on day four, could not recover on the final day and blunders led to his second double defeat in the tournament. Xiangzhi, meanwhile, did the needful, winning one and losing one against world's top rated women player Judit Polgar of Hungary to claim the title. The Chinese ended up with 21 points, which was in the end four more than Karjakin who finished second in the event. Norwegian talent Magnus Carlsen finished third on 16 points, winning one a drawing one game against former World champion Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria. The fourth place went to Polgar on 12 points, Topalov finished fifth on nine while Hari finished at the bottom of the tables tallying six points in all. For the first time in the event, Harikrishna met his nemesis in the French defence that had otherwise been serving him well with black pieces so far. It was the Winawer variation by Karjakin that helped him get a slightly better position and even though Harikrishna got his chances, the form of the Indian yet again played a defensive role. The game lasted 49 moves. In the return game, Harikrishna played white and faced the queen's gambit declined. A positional blunder by Harikrishna resulted in a won position for Karjakin and he romped home after 38 moves. Xiangzhi continued with his fine form and defeated Polgar in the first game of the final day to seal his first place with one game to spare. It was a King's Indian defence by Polgar that gave Xiangzhi a win after 67 moves. The ever competitive and mother of two Polgar, however, came back strongly in the return game to level the scores. A feat achieved only by her against Xiangzhi in the entire tournament. Carlsen defeated Topalov, whose bad run continued.
— PTI
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SA crowned rugby world champs
Paris, October 21 Full-back Percy Montgomery kicked four penalties, and 20-year-old centre Francois Steyn one, to hand the Springboks their second World Cup triumph yesterday after their victory on home soil in 1995. Despite holding their own for most of the game, England could not avenge the humiliating 36-0 loss to South Africa in the pool stage barely five weeks ago. They again showed the forward grit and determined defence that saw them record upset wins over Australia and France in the quarterfinal and semifinal, respectively, but could only notch up two penalties from outside-half Jonny Wilkinson. “It’s important for our country and everyone back home,” said South Africa coach Jake White. Skipper John Smit dedicated the win to his country. Victor Matfield was named the man of the match.
— Agencies
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Kang wins again Chandigarh, October 21 It brought down the curtains on the main event at the Chandigarh Golf Club Kang carded an impressive 32 stableford points.
Kang had won the Samarvir Sahi Golf Trophy yesterday. The team of Lt-Gen Harwant Singh and Col IP Singh emerged the Am-Am champions with a tally of 61 stableford points. In the individual 0-24 handicap category, Dr Vijay Sehgal won with 39 stableford points, while Rama Dhillon finished second with 37 stableford points.
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Karan hits century in drawn match Patiala, October 21 Punjab gained three points from the drawn match, boosting their tally in the league phase to 14 points. Punjab, who will be playing their last league match against Himachal Pradesh at Dharamsala from October 24 to 27, have virtually assured themselves of a place in the knockout stage to be played at Vishakapatnam in December. The hosts started on an optimistic note with openers Karan Goel, who batted himself back into form after a rather lean patch, and Ravi Inder Singh putting on 128 runs for the first wicket. This was the partnership which effectively knocked out any hopes the visitors might have nurtured of coming back into the contest. In the afternoon session, Sumit Sharma and Mayank Sadhana pounded Delhi’s insipid bowling attack. Sunny Sohal, too, played a belligerent knock before the umpires ended the visitors’ misery by declaring close of play. Brief scores: Punjab (1st innings) 347; Delhi (1st innings) 218; Punjab (2nd innings) 447 for 8 (Karan Goel 109, Sumit Sharma 94, Mayank Sadhana 81, Ravi Inder Singh 58, Sunny Sohal 47; Harish Gautam 4-55, Vikas Tokas 1-42).
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Anjum, Asha score tons against J-K
Srinagar, October 21 They later declared on the first day of a two-day league match against Jammu and Kashmir in the women's senior cricket tournament being played at the Sher-i-Kashmir cricket stadium. The visitors played brilliantly to amass a huge score before declaring their first innings at 315 for the loss of two wickets. For the home team, Meenu and Jyoti took one wicket each.
— UNI
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Rural games Bathinda, October 21 Giving details about the games, Rahul Tiwari, deputy commissioner, said over 1,400 sportspersons from various districts of the state would take part. Competitions in hockey, weightlifting, athletics, kabaddi, archery, kho-kho and volleyball will be held at the local stadium, Government Girls Senior Secondary School and Government Rajindra College.
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Hyderabad,
October 21
