The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

No tit for tat, Ponting tells Aussie fans

Melbourne, October 22
Andrew Symonds may have been racially abused in India but Australia captain Ricky Ponting does not believe in a tit-for-tat policy and he urged the fans here to treat the Indian team with respect when they tour Down Under later in the summer.

"I'd like to see the Australian fans and public treat the Indian team the same way they would any other team," Ponting said on his arrival from India where his team won the seven-match ODI series 4-2 before losing the lone Twenty20 match to the hosts.

"I don't think they should be treated any differently because of what's happened over there," he was quoted in "The Age" today.

Ponting made it clear that he was hurt by the monkey chants hurled at Symonds by the hostile Indian fans and he also had a veiled warning for Team India players like S Sreesanth, whose frequent run-in with the Australians was one of the highlights of the ill-tempered series.

"As far as I'm concerned this whole racism stuff is completely unacceptable in any walk of life, let alone on a sporting field," Ponting said, adding "I'm sure that at different times Sreesanth and a few of the guys will cop a hard time from the Australian fans.

"That will generally happen at some stage to most teams that tour here, but I just hope - I'll keep my fingers crossed - there's no racial stuff comes up at all through the summer," he said.

He also said that Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his teammates should be embarrassed by the Indian fans' treatment of Symonds.

"I imagine they would be. They should be. I would be in Australia," he said.

The Australian skipper, however, has full trust in Cricket Australia and the Board of Control for Cricket in India and said they would definitely chalk up a strategy to prevent a repeat of the incident.

"We're not there for a while, but we don't want to see that happen to another team either" he said. — PTI

Chawla replaces Kartik for Challenger

Mumbai, October 22
Leg-spinner Piyush Chawla has been inducted into the India Green cricket team for the October 25-28 NKP Salve Challenger Series to be held at Ahmedabad.

“Murali Kartik has been given rest. His place will be taken by Chawla,” said selection panel chief Dilip Vengsarkar today.

Chawla suffered an ankle injury during India’s triumphant campaign in the Twenty20 World Cup in South Africa last month.

He missed the subsequent seven-match ODI series against Australia as well as the one-off Twenty20 international held here. — PTI

South Africa vow to bounce back

South Africa’s Herschelle Gibbs and Shaun Pollock (right) play football during a practice session at the Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad on Monday. — AFP photo

Faisalabad, October 22
South African coach Mickey Arthur said today the team was confident of bouncing back in the one-day series against Pakistan after losing the second match last week.

"Lifting the team after the loss is not difficult at all and it will not be an issue," said Arthur ahead of the third match here tomorrow.

South Africa are level 1-1 with Pakistan in the five-match series after the Proteas won the first by 45 runs before Pakistan clinched the second by 25 runs - both of them played in Lahore.

“We have played really well through the tour, we had a little stutter at Lahore. We have set our team really high standards and need to maintain those standards,” said Arthur whose team won the earlier Test series 1-0.

Arthur said he believed that the new-ball-change
rule after 35 overs in each innings of a one-day match would increase the run-rate.

"The scores in the last 10 overs, especially in the subcontinent, will be bigger because of the ball change," said Arthur of the rule recently introduced by the International Cricket Council.

"The ball is not reversing as much as it used to, it is a lot harder and it goes off the bat quicker. Runs are going to be a little bit more plentiful at the back end."

Arthur also said his bowlers need to be more consistent in the final overs of the innings for the rest of the tour.

"We are continually monitoring our death bowling. Sometimes it is a little bit of a lottery. We have specialists who do it for us but we need to be as consistent as we can," he said.

Pakistan will again be without pace spearhead Mohammad Asif, still suffering from a recurrence of an elbow injury which saw him miss the first two matches.

The home team have included opener Khalid Latif in their 15-man squad and dropped Mohammad Hafeez.

Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik was confident his team would carry winning momentum into the third match.

"We gave a good team spirit to win the second match and players are responsible enough to carry that momentum because the middle match is always important," said Malik.

Pakistan are likely to replace opener Yasir Hameed with out-of-form Imran Nazir.
— AFP

Afridi keen to open in ODIs

Faisalabad, October 22
Pakistan's flamboyant all-rounder Shahid Afridi said he is keen to take on his old role of opening the innings in the one-day series against South Africa.

Afridi has been sent into bat lower down the order for the last few months and opened only once against Bangladesh in the Twenty20 World Cup last month, scoring 30-odd runs.

"I have told my captain and coach that I am willing to open the innings if the team wants it. But if they feel the team requirement is I bat lower down the order I have no problems with that as well," he said.

Afridi said he was keen to open again because of the problem Pakistan was facing at this position for sometime now.

"I feel comfortable batting as an opener because it gives me the freedom of playing with the field restrictions," he said.

Afridi said he was looking forward to the Indian tour and would be available for Tests and one-dayers.

The all-rounder had skipped the Tests against South Africa saying he wanted to take a break from the game to attend to some personal and family commitments.

"The break was necessary but now I am feeling good and the Indian tour would be a big challenge for me and the team."

Afridi now is the senior most player in the side after the retirement of Inzamam-ul-Haq as he made his debut in 1996-97 ahead of Mohammad Yousuf and Shoaib Akhtar. — PTI

Groom Kaneria for ODIs: Mushtaq

Faisalabad, October 22
Pakistan's former leg-spinner Mushtaq Ahmed wants the selectors to give Danish Kaneria a fair chance in the national one-day squad.

Mushtaq, who has enjoyed great success with English county Sussex in the last five years taking over 400 wickets, spoke out in favour of Kaneria insisting he needed to be groomed for one-day cricket.

"He is a very good bowler and gives you lot of attacking options. I am surprised he is not in the team for the South Africa series," he said.

Mushtaq was the assistant coach of the team when Kaneria was included in the World Cup squad earlier this year.

The young leg-spinner, despite being Pakistan's best bowler in Test cricket with 208 wickets from 48 matches, has been ignored for the one-day team, playing just 18 matches for his country since his debut in 2000.

"I am worried that after being constantly ignored by the selectors for one-day cricket, Danish could even lose confidence in Test cricket," Mushtaq said.

He said the same thing had happened to him at some point of his career.

"I started losing confidence in myself when I was playing Test matches but was not picked in the one-day side by the selectors," he said.

"I fear if Danish is not groomed for one-day cricket, his confidence will also suffer in Test matches. After all he remains your best bowler today," Mushtaq added.

"In one-day cricket, you need a bowler like Danish - someone who can come in and take two or three wickets. He just needs to be groomed properly and given confidence," he said.

Kaneria himself has said he was extremely disappointed not to be picked for the one-day series against South Africa.

"I want to prove myself in one-day cricket as well and I just want to be given a consistent run," he said.

Mushtaq said that Danish should be played against South Africa as he would play an important role in India in Tests and one-dayers. — PTI

Charlesworth not needed: Cornelius

Hyderabad, October 22
World Cupper Charles Cornelius has said that the Indian men's hockey team is doing well under coach Joaquim Carvalho and does not need the assistance of Australian legend Ric Charlesworth.

"He cannot do wonders in one or two months' time (before the Olympic qualifiers). The fitness level of our boys is at the optimum level. The present coaching staff are doing a wonderful job. We do not need Ric at this stage," Cornelius told PTI.

Cornelius, a member of the World Cup teams which bagged a bronze and a silver in 1971 and 1973 respectively, expressed confidence that the Indian team would make the cut for the Beijing Olympics.

"Joaquim has his own inputs and has implemented them well. He, as an Indian, will have greater responsibility than a foreigner. If one goes by the boys' performance in the Asia Cup, India should be in the 2008 Olympics.

"I am not in favour of Ric's appointment. Maybe, he can work with the women's and junior teams and show the results before being allowed to handle the seniors," he said. — PTI

World boxing meet from today
8 Indians eye Olympic berths

Chicago, October 22
Eight Indian pugilists will be in action at the World Championships, starting here Tuesday, which will also offer berths for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.

The championship will be held from October 23 to November 3.

The eight-member team is hard hit by the last-minute pull out of national light welterweight champion Som Bahadur Pun due to illness.

But India still has medal hopes from Balbir (48 kg), Jitender (51 kg), S. Suresh (54 kg), A.L. Lakra (57 kg), Jai Bhagwan (60 kg), Dilbag Singh (69 kg), Vijender (75 kg) and Jasveer Singh (81 kg).

"The World Boxing Championships will not only draw attention to Chicago, it also will draw attention to the sport of boxing - a great sport that builds strength, endurance, fitness and self-confidence," said Mayor Richard Daley.

Chicago will have five eight-foot statues nicknamed K.O. Joe that will be put up around the city during the tournament to promote boxing.

"Chicago is a great sports town and a very diverse city. We look forward to hosting athletes from all over the world, and I can guarantee they'll be made to feel at home in our city," Daley added.

The World Boxing Championships will have nearly 700 boxers from more than 120 countries and the 11-day event will be the largest world boxing championships in history. — IANS

Half Marathon Run on Oct 28
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, October 22
Vodafone Delhi Half Marathon Run is being organised on October 28 by an NGO Harmony for Silver Foundation.

There will be a senior citizen's run when thousands of Silvers (sixty year and above) are expected to hit the roads.

Tina Ambani of Harmony for Silver Foundation said that harmony of senior citizens run was not about crossing the finishing line or winning prize.

It is about living life fullest. Thousands of Silvers (60 years and above) are expected to hit the city roads.

Harmony for Silvers Foundation is all set to organise the third consecutive Senior Citizens Run.

This is a social initiative involved with the concern and community interest of the senior citizens.

The number of Silvers who have registered for the run this year is around 3000.

Running alongside the 3000 odd Silvers (men and women) in 2005 and 2006 have been the czars from the sports arena and icons from the silver screen.

They include track queens P. T. Usha and Shiny Wilson, Flying Sikh Milkha Singh and hockey legend Dhanraj Pillay.

From Bollywood, they include Jaya Bachchan, Neetu Singh, Rishi Kapoor, Dimple Kapadia, Juhi Chawla and Gulshan Grover.

Cheering the Silvers on October 28 at the Central Civil Services Sports Grounds, Vinay Marg, will be a large number of celebrities and successful leaders from different walks of life.

Prominent among is the current Bollywood queen Priyanka Chopra and the entire Indian Women Hockey team led by its Captain Mamta Kharab.

The Senior Citizens Run would cover a route of four kilometers and would begin and conclude at the same point.

J&K eves follow on, salvage draw

Srinagar, October 22
Despite being asked to follow on, Jammu and Kashmir managed to salvage a draw against Delhi in the final day of the two-day match in the women's senior cricket tournament being played here today.

Resuming after overnight score of 30 for three, the home team was bundled out for just 100 runs on board in reply to Delhi's 315 for 2 declared.

The visitors asked Jammu and Kashmir to follow on. With 215 runs in deficit, the home team started their second innings cautiously in order to save the match.

In the second innings, Jammu and Kashmir women's team showed good temperament and played for time to avoid an innings defeat.

In the process, Jammu and Kashmir lost eight wickets to score 100 runs till close of play to save and draw the match.

For the home team, Satika was the highest scorer with 32 runs followed by Payal at 28. Lalita Sharma and Shashi Malik took four wickets each for the visitors.

Earlier, yesterday Delhi had won the toss and elected to bat first. Centuries by Anjum Chopra and Asha Rawat helped visitors pile up a huge score of 315 for the lost of two wickets before declaring on the first day of the match being played at the Sher-e-Kashmir cricket stadium here. — UNI

Himachal eves avoid defeat

Una, October 22
The fifth-wicket partnership between Priyanka and Anku helped Himachal Pradesh women avoid defeat after they had been reduced to 18 for four in the second innings of their three-day match against Punjab.

The two frustrated the Punjab bowlers by sharing a 15-run partnership in 40 overs and saw the final day off with defensive strokes.

Priyanka remained unbeaten on 21 off 178 balls, while Anku was not out on two off 116 balls.

Himachal Pradesh had been bundled out for 82 in 54.2 overs in the first innings. Punjab had replied with 274 for six declared, with Anurit scoring 100 and significant contributions by Gurdeep (69) and Richa (57).

In the second innings, HP were four down after 27 overs before Priyanka and Anku fought hard to save the match for the hosts. — UNI

Pargat announces six-a-side hockey
Puneet Pal Singh Gill
Tribune News Service

Bathinda, October 22
After cricket that has undergone a metamorphosis after the introduction of the Twenty-20 variety, hockey too now seems all set to also go in that direction.

Director Sports (Punjab), Pargat Singh today announced the introduction of six-a-side hockey in Punjab, that will be faster and will have a more interesting format.

Special grounds will be created. Each six-a-side ground, measuring 40 metres x 20 metres will cost around Rs 60 lakh each, which is one fifth the cost of a conventional hockey ground (around Rs 3 crore) that measures 93 metres x 55 metres approximately.

“So, in a way, we can have five, six-a-side hockey grounds at the cost of one full hockey ground. Even the maintenance is easy for such grounds,” Pargat Singh said.

Six-a-side hockey, which is a huge success in schools and colleges of Europe, is a faster and more interesting format of the game.

“So to promote this game in Punjab, we have already identified 40 pockets. These pockets are in places like Bathinda, Faridkot, Moga, Ferozepur, Gurdaspur and many more. Hockey is popular in Gurdaspur and at present, it contributes a lot to Indian hockey. Players like Prabhjot Singh, Jugraj Singh and others come from that part of the state. At one time, Punjab contributed around 35 to 40 per cent of sportspersons in Indian sports but this number has now reduced to around 3 per cent,” he said.

“We have a budget of around Rs 15 crore and so we can have 25 such grounds, which will give a huge boost to the game. Timing of matches in six-a-side format varies according to the age-group of the players. For example, a match at the sub-junior level is for 35 minutes (15-5-15) and it goes up to 20-5-20,” Pargat added.

Pargat said that cases of 170 coaches have already been approved by the state government. “I expect the appointments to be made in the next few months,” he revealed.

14 top teams for Surjit hockey
Amarjit Thind
Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, October 22
India’s top 14 hockey teams will fight for supremacy in the 24th Indian Oil Surjit Hockey Tournament, to be held here from October 26 to November 2.

AS Pannu, DC, who is also the president of the Surjit Hockey Academy, said the matches would be held for the first time under the newly installed floodlights at the Olympian Surjit Hockey Stadium here.

Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal would inaugurate the tournament at 6 pm, he added. Pannu said the matches would be played on a knockout-cum-league basis.

The participating teams are defending champions Punjab and Sind Bank (Delhi), runners-up Indian Oil (Mumbai), Indian Airlines, BSF, Punjab Police, EME, PSEB, Air India, Namdhari XI, Punjab National Bank, Sports Authority of India, Bharat Petroleum, Corps of Signals and RCF, Kapurthala.

Cash awards would be given to winners and runners-up, besides individual cash prizes, he said.

The Indian Hockey Federation has appointed Harbans Singh, international Grade I umpire, as director of the tournament.

Besides seven prominent umpires of the country, Subodh Khandekar and Ajit Chaturvedi (Railways) have been appointed as judges for this grade I hockey tournament.

The academy has also decided to start the Indian Oil Surjit Junior Boys Hockey Tournament (under 19) from this year along with this tournament.

In the junior tournament, six teams would be participating and matches would be played on a league basis. The final would be held on November 1.

The teams are Surjit Hockey Academy (Jalandhar) Maharaja Ranjit Singh Hockey (Amritsar), Sports Academy (Jarkhar), Punjab and Sind Bank (Delhi), Chandigarh Hockey Academy and RCF (Kapurthala).

The DC said due to the busy schedule, the women’s hockey event would not be held this year. “Since the dates given to us by the IHF clashed with other tournaments, the top teams in this category could not have made it,” he added.

Others present on the occasion were Jagjit Puri, LR Nayyar, Arpit Shukla and Pargat Singh.