Geneva, June 16
Turkey staged one of the greatest comebacks in a major tournament, scoring three times in the last 15 minutes to beat Czech Republic 3-2 to reach the quarter-finals of Euro 2008.

Fatih Terim's side looked down and out with 62 minutes gone as they trailed to goals from Jan Koller and Jaroslav Plasil.

But two uncharacteristic errors from Petr Cech, one of the world's top keepers, allowed the Turks to mount their comeback yesterday.

Arda Turan scored at Cech's near post after 75 minutes before Turkey captain
Nihat Kahveci equalised with three minutes to play after the keeper fumbled a routine cross.

Nihat swept the ball into the empty net to equalise as several Czech players fell to the ground in despair.

Suddenly, with penalties looking a certainty, another mistake at the back allowed Nihat through and he lashed in the winner from 25 metres off the underside of
the bar.

More drama followed when Turkey keeper Volkan Demirel was sent off in stoppage time for an off-the-ball push on Koller.

Midfielder Tuncay Sanli went in goal for the closing stages but Turkey held on to seal a meeting with Croatia in the last eight in Vienna on Friday.

Volkan and Mehmet Aurelio, who picked up his second booking of the tournament, will be suspended though.

''I congratulate my team for their great performance,'' said Terim. ''It rained once again and we had to sweat once again.”

The game marked the end of 35-year-old Koller's Czech career and the team's all-time leading scorer looked shattered as he walked off the field for the last time.

Nothing could have been further from his mind when he nodded his side in front in the 34th minute with his 55th goal in his 90th appearance.

A bad miss after 60 minutes, just before the second goal, will haunt him even though Plasil made it 2-0 two minutes later when he swept in a low cross.

Turkey ended with six points in Group A, three ahead of the Czechs, who were eliminated along with co-hosts Switzerland.

Czech coach Karel Brueckner looked every one of his 68 years when he sat in stunned disbelief in front of reporters after his last match in charge before retiring.

''To lose such a game is incredible, even with four minutes to go we were winning 2-1,'' he said. — Reuters

Innsbruck, June 16
Czech Republic leave Euro 2008 feeling shell-shocked and bemused at how they let a quarter-final place slip through their fingers in a final few minutes of madness.

Leading 2-0 with 15 minutes to go, they had a last-eight place firmly within their grasp on Sunday before Turkey stunned them with three quick goals that left their dreams in tatters and their coach lost for an explanation.

"The third goal marked a total collapse, which I cannot explain. I will not forget this for a very long time," Karel Brueckner told a news conference after what was his last match in charge before retiring.

The absence of injured playmaker Tomas Rosicky had already knocked the team before the championship had even started.

But the Czechs refused to dwell on it and took comfort from the fact that in Petr Cech they had one of the world's best goalkeepers.

All the more shocking, then, that the man who had saved them on so many other occasions should make a rare blunder that handed Turkey an equaliser three minutes from time and gave them the momentum to score another to send the Czechs home.

"I am going to be upset about this for a long time, especially because it was my mistake that decided the match," newspaper Blesk quoted Cech as saying after he inexplicably dropped the ball at Nihat Kahveci's feet.

Living up to the pulsating performances that took them to the semi-finals of Euro 2004 was always going to be hard when the core of the magical midfield - Pavel Nedved, Karel Poborsky and Vladimir Smicer - had all retired.

Some fans, and several newspaper columnists, would argue the writing was already on the wall for a disappointing showing this time round after an up-and-down qualifying campaign.

The fact that Milan Baros, winner of the golden boot four years ago, had forgotten how to locate the back of the net left Brueckner relying on 35-year-old Jan Koller as the lone striker.

The tall Koller was ineffective in the lucky 1-0 win over co-hosts Switzerland in the first Group A match, prompting Brueckner to make the surprise move of reinstating Baros in the starting XI for the match against Portugal.

Although they lost that match 3-1, they were buoyed by an improved performance that showed the beginnings of a coherent attack, thanks to an injection of pace from Baros and some creative thinking from midfielder Marek Matejovsky.

Brueckner brought back Koller for the final match and he paid his coach back with his 55th goal in 90 appearances, but along with defensive midfielder Tomas Galasek, the striker has hung up his international boots on a heart-breaking note. — Reuters

Basel, June 16
Switzerland notched their first win at a European Championship finals when it least mattered when they beat the second string of already-qualified Portugal 2-0 in their final Group A game on Sunday.

Hakan Yakin scored both goals, firing home in the 71st minute when he was set up by fellow striker Eren Derdiyok and then converting an 83rd-minute penalty to give retiring coach Koebi Kuhn something to smile about after a disappointing tournament for the co-hosts.

"I think we owed it to Koebi Kuhn and the crowd to get a win and we showed today we could do it. I think it was a worthy send off for the coach," said Yakin.

"We wanted to achieve something at this European Championship on home soil.
We are still very disappointed about the two defeats but this has helped us
recover a little."

The commitment shown by Portugal's reserves, looking to force their way into Luiz Felipe Scolari's plans for the quarter-finals, and the eliminated Swiss belied the fact that the result would not alter the standings.

The Swiss had the first real scare in the 18th minute when a free kick by Nani from outside the box was touched on by central defender Pepe and goalkeeper Pascal Zuberbuehler reacted quickly to turn the ball upwards on to the bar.

Goalkeeper Ricardo, one of only three first-choice Portugal players to start the match, tipped a shot from Gokhan Inler over his bar and close to halftime dived to his left to push out a header by Yakin.

Helder Postiga should have scored when Nani robbed Inler on the left and crossed from deep but the striker's shot was blocked by Philippe Senderos on the line.

Postiga also had the ball in the net but was unlucky to be ruled offside, while Nani hit a post in the 53rd minute when he ran on to Rau Meireles's fine through-ball
from deep.

Yakin broke the deadlock when Derdiyok's telling pass eluded Pepe and left him to shoot under Ricardo.

He put the game beyond doubt from the spot after Meira brought down Swiss substitute Tranquillo Barnetta.

Scolari was not overly concerned by the defeat and was just happy to get through the match without any injury worries.

"What we had to do was win the first two matches," he said. "We still don't know our opponent (the runners-up from Group B) but anyway I'll have the full squad available, there are no injuries." — Reuters

Vevey (Switzerland), June 16
France’s wait on the fitness of captain Patrick Vieira, with their Euro 2008 hopes hanging by a thread, brings back memories of their 2002 World Cup nightmare.

Vieira, who sustained a thigh injury in training for a warm-up game, has not
played since and faces a struggle to be fit for Tuesday’s Group C decider against Italy in Zurich.

France, needing to beat the world champions to stand a chance of reaching the quarterfinals, have looked short of midfield inspiration in a dull 0-0 draw with Romania and a 4-1 thrashing by the Dutch, and badly need Vieira’s skills.

It was all very similar six years ago at the 2002 World Cup finals in Japan and South Korea. France, then the reigning world and European champions, made a dismal start and were left needing to beat Denmark by two goals or more in their final group game to reach the second round.

Playmaker Zinedine Zidane had suffered a thigh injury in a friendly with South Korea a few days before the start of the finals and missed the opening two games.

He came in for the last group match but was obviously not fully fit. France lost 2-0 and went home. Is history about to repeat itself?

“We missed Pat a lot in our first two games,” playmaker Franck Ribery told
reporters. “He wants to play. Mentally, he’s ready but the question is whether his thigh is okay.”

Coach Raymond Domenech said he would not do what 2002 coach Roger Lemerre did with Zidane by fielding a below-par Vieira.

“He will only play if he’s 100 percent fit,” said Domenech, who knows he will face criticism for having kept Vieira in his squad if the France captain were to leave the tournament without having played.

Domenech had brought Mathieu Flamini as a potential late replacement if Vieira were ruled out before their first game.

However, France can turn to another scenario than their traumatic 2002 experience for inspiration and that is the 2006 World Cup, at which they recovered from a sluggish start to go all the way to the final.

“It’s a possibility,” goalkeeper Gregory Coupet told reporters when asked whether he thought that could happen again. “Going through would make us proud and it would make us stronger. We would probably be able to step up a few gears.” — Reuters

Lausanne, June 16
Romania always thought their best chance of a win in Group C would be against Netherlands and on Tuesday they can seal a quarterfinal place at Euro 2008 with a victory over the already-qualified Dutch.

A draw in Berne and a stalemate between World Cup winners Italy and runners-up France in the other group game would also be enough for Romania to secure a quarterfinal with Spain.

The Dutch have already won the group with six points, followed by Romania on two with France and Italy on one apiece.

“The fact we have qualified already is nice but we still want to perform at our best,” said Dutch coach Marco van Basten.

But Romania are confident they can beat Netherlands, having won 1-0 in Constanta last October after drawing 0-0 in Rotterdam in March to reach Euro 2008 as qualifying group winners.

Having started with a goalless draw against France, Romania have achieved their goal so far and can finish the job against a Dutch side certain to feature changes after winning the group with superb 3-0 and 4-1 victories over Italy and France.

Romanian journalists turned up at the Netherlands’ training session in Lausanne on Sunday with flags and team shirts bearing the plea ‘Let us win’ on the front in Dutch. It was not clear if Netherlands coach Marco van Basten had seen them.

At his news conference, the Dutchman hinted he would take no risks with defender Andre Ooijer and midfielder Nigel de Jong, who have been booked and would be banned for their quarterfinal with Russia or Sweden if they got another yellow card.

They will be replaced by John Heitinga and Demy de Zeeuw, respectively, and there could also be a few other changes.

Ooijer reaffirmed the Dutch desire to continue their hot streak, saying: “We just have to start like we did in the two previous matches and if we could beat Romania and go through with nine points from three games that would be fantastic.”

However, the Dutch are unlikely to have reassured France and Italy, both of whom they would rather avoid in semifinals if the teams get that far in the tournament.

Romania coach Victor Piturca is expected to stick with the more attacking formation he used against Italy but must make at least two changes to the team which started that game. — Reuters

New Delhi, June 16
With all the modern technology at their command, umpires can still be human and fallible when their decisions go off the mark, which can make or mar a match or a player's reputation.

With this in mind, doubtful decisions of the umpires would be put on review on a trial basis during the upcoming three-Test series between Indian and Sri Lanka starting on July 23 July.

The review of umpire's decision would enable a player to request the on-field umpires to reconsider their decision.

A player can request for the review of a decision taken by the on-field umpires regarding every dismissal, except "timed out".

The player concerned would have to make a "T" sign with both forearms at head height as a signal to the umpires.

Board of Control for Cricket India secretary Niranjan Shah said in a statement here today that the Board had agreed to put the system on trial in India-Lanka series.

For reviews concerning potential dismissals, the player should indicate `out' by raising his finger above his head and indicate `not out' by crossing his hands in a horizontal position side to side in front and above his waist three times.

Where the decision is a reversal of the on-field umpire's previous call, he should make the 'revoke last signal' indication immediately prior to the above.

Each team will be allowed three "unsuccessful" review requests per innings. If a review results in the umpire reversing his original decision, then the request has been "successful" and does not count for "the innings limit".

If the umpire's decision is unchanged, the review is "unsuccessful". After three unsuccessful requests by one team, no further review requests would be allowed by that team during the innings.

If following a review, an umpire upholds the decision of `out' but for a different mode of dismissal from that for which the original decision was given, then the request will still be regarded as "unsuccessful".

The television umpire can use "slow motion, super slow motion and ultra motion" replays from all available cameras, sound from the stump microphones with the replays at normal speed and slow motion and hawk-eye for ball tracking purposes, but not for predicting the potential future trajectory of the ball.

Bridgetown (Barbados), June 16
Australia won the third and final test against West Indies on Monday by 87 runs to complete a 2-0 series victory.

West Indies put up a brave fight on the fifth day before finally being dismissed
for 387.

Resuming on 235 for three, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Dwayne Bravo made good progress before both were dismissed just before lunch with the score on 303.

After lunch, Jerome Taylor made a spirited 31, his highest score in tests and then injured Sewnarine Chattergoon hobbled out to bat with a runner in a bid to keep the chase hope alive.

But after Mitchell Johnson got Taylor caught behind and then Brett Lee did the same for Chattergoon, Ricky Ponting's side were sure of their victory.

Xavier Marshall rode his luck to hit 85 as West Indies benefited from some sloppy Australian fielding to keep its faint hopes alive in the third and final cricket Test.

West Indies, set an improbable 475 for victory over five sessions, closed the fourth day at 235 for 3, still trailing by 239.

Australia, leading the three-match series 1-0, is still favored to complete the victory on Monday’s fifth and final day at Kensington Oval.

Marshall benefited from three missed chances to lash 12 fours and a six off 146 balls in his highest first-class score.

Scoreboard

Australia 1st Innings: 251

West Indies 1st Innings: 216

Australia second innings: 439

West Indies 2nd Innings

Gayle c Lee b Clark 26

Marshall c Jaques b Casson 85

Sarwan lbw b Clarke 43

Chanderpaul lbw b Clark 50

Bravo c Jaques b Casson 69

Ramdin lbw b Clark 8

Taylor c Haddin b Johnson 31

Chattergoon c Haddin b Lee 13

Benn c Hussey b Casson 13

Powell c Haddin b Lee 6

Edwards not out 5

Extras: (b 10, lb 8, w 8, nb 12) 38

Total: (all out; 105.4 ovrs) 387

Fall of wickets:1-64, 2-159, 3-181, 4-303, 5-303, 6-345, 7-351, 8-375, 9-375, 10-387.

Bowling: Lee 25.4-3-109-2, Clark 24-8-58-3, Johnson 12-0-72-1, Casson 25-3-86-3, Clarke 17-1-38-1, Symonds 2-0 6-0

Player of the match: Katich.

Player of the series: Chanderpaul. — AP

Shoaib's legal counsel said the fast bowler would appeal against the punishment as he was not happy with the ruling. — PTI

Jalandhar, June 16
Nearly a month after hosting Indian Premier League (IPL) matches, Punjab Cricket Association, Mohali, president, I S Bindra faces fresh trouble.

Director Sports Punjab, Pargat Singh has raised the issue of the alleged illegal possession of the stadium land once again.

An affidavit in this regard has been submitted by Pargat Singh in the court of the SDM, Mohali.

Through the affidavit, Pargat Singh has demanded an approximate amount of Rs 600 crore plus the eviction of the land.

He said that the Punjab Sports Council has put usage charges to the tune of Rs 150 crore, damages of Rs 50 crore and recovery charges of Rs 10.30 lakhs on the PCA Mohali as the latter has been using it without having a legal lease deed.

Talking to The Tribune, Pargat said that Bindra acquired the stadium land through fake lease deed and that now he was legally responsible to return the money as well as evict the land too.

“Being member secretary of Punjab Sports Council I have been directed to pursue a case against PCA, Mohali. Moreover the authorities concerned never got any land transfer done and neither any approval was passed. Now we are waiting for the court decision in this case,” he said.

He added that the council considers the lease deed as fake. The former Olympian also demanded rights over the recently concluded IPL matches.

The PCA, Mohali, reportedly earned a handsome amount of Rs 310 crore from Kings XI Punjab owner Preity Zinta.

The Sports department lawyer, Dr Surya Prakash, too maintained that as no lease deed was ever signed.

Therefore, the stadium land is liable to be returned back to the Punjab Sports department. The next hearing of the case is scheduled for July 14 in the court of the SDM, Mohali.

Jalandhar, June 16
Holders Punjab in Boys section and holders Chattisgarh in girls section qualified for the knock out on the second day of the ongoing 35th Sub-Junior National Basketball Championship for boys and girls being held at Kapurthala here today.

The other teams which joined Punjab and Chattisgarh in girls section include Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Manipur in boys section and Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala in Girls section.

In boys section pool D, Tamil Nadu build-up a lead of 17 points (26-09) against Kerala at the end second quarter.

In the girls section pool E, Rajasthan eves took a lead of one point (12-11) at the end of first quarter.

Punjab through their substitutes in the second quarter wiped out the deficit, but also took lead of nine points (27-18) and in the third quarter they consolidated their lead by 16 points (36-20) and wrapped the game by 47-34 points.

Results: Boys Section:
Pool A: J&K beat Himachal Pradesh by 36-34, Punjab beat Himachal Pradesh by 39-10, Pool B: Haryana beat Uttra Khand by 30-18, Jharkhand beat Chattisgarh by 36- 35, Pool C: Tripura beat Gujrat by 34-23, Rajasthan beat Gujrat by 59-06, Rajasthan beat Karnataka by 45-18, Pool D: Tamil Nadu beat Madya Pradesh by 53-46, MP beat Chandigarh by 52-11, Tamil Nadu beat Kerala by 38-32, Kerala beat Chandigarh by 46-13, Pool E: UP beat Maharastra by 56-33, Andhra Pradesh beat Orissa by 26-22, Pool F: Delhi beat West Bengal by 62-22, Manipur beat Mizoram by 38-31, Manipur beat West Bengal by 54-44.

Girls Section:
Pool A: Chattisgarh beat Gujrat by 80-05, Pool B: UP beat Delhi by 66-03, Delhi beat J&K by 59-04, Pool C: Karnataka beat Haryana by 37-28, Pool D: Andhra Pradesh beat Manipur by 45-18, Andhra Pradesh beat Maharashtra 43-26, Pool E: West Bengal beat MP by 38-24, Punjab beat Rajasthan 47-24, MP beat Rajasthan by 29-18, Punjab beat West Bengal by 49-34, Pool F: Jharkhand beat Kerala by 35-60, Kerala beat Uttra Khand by 39-04, Tamil Nadu beat Uttra Khand by 56-09.

The camp would continue up to July 10. Renowned coaches Raminder Singh and Daniel Mesih would hone the skills of the riders during the camp.

Dr Karamjit Singh, chairman, Kirpal Sagar Academy, have lauded the achievement
of the students.

BRIEFLY

Yuvraj’s role reversal at Euro 2008
Basel, Switzerland: Team India batsman Yuvraj Singh presented the ‘Man of the Match’ trophy to host team’s player Hakan Yakin, after the match between Switzerland and Portugal in the ongoing Euro 2008 football tournament here. Yuvraj

Singh was the chief  guest at the presentation party of yesterday’s match. Portugal, who had already qualified for the quarterfinals, lost their final Group A match 2-0 to the already-eliminated Switzerland. Team India vice-captain Yuvraj went to Basel from Dhaka immediately after the tri-series final match against Pakistan which India lost by 25-runs on June 14. India is among a few select countries that have been asked to send a celebrity to represent the country at the prestigious footballing event. — UNI

Yuvraj Singh hands over the Man of the match trophy to Swiss forward Hakan Yakin after the Euro 2008 Group A match between Switzerland and Portugal on Sunday at Jakob-Park stadium in Basel. — AFP photo

Pak hockey federation secretary sacked
KARACHI: Amid reports that Pakistan Hockey Federation is set to undergo a major shake-up, the federal sports ministry on Monday sacked secretary Khalid Mahmood just two months before the Beijing Olympics. The ministry, through a notification, appointed former Olympian Asif Bajwa as the interim secretary of the federation. There were also rumours that the PHF president Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali had also resigned later in the day. The Pakistan team is presently on a preparatory tour of Europe for the Olympics and lost two matches to Belgium. — PTI

Spain divided over quarterfinal rivals
NEUSTIFT: Spain’s players were divided on Monday over who they would like to face in the quarterfinals of Euro 2008. Luis Aragones’ side, already assured of top spot in Group D, could play either Romania, France or Italy in the last eight. “All three are difficult, but from what I’ve seen so far the way France play would suit us best,” third choice goalkeeper Andres Palop told a news conference. Centre-back Raul Albiol, who is set to play in Wednesday’s final group game against already-eliminated Greece, said it would be unwise to underestimate Romania even though they did not have the track record of the other two possible opponents. — Reuters

Sania advances in Ordina Open
NEW DELHI: Indian ace Sania Mirza shocked fifth seed Flavia Pennetta in straight sets to advance to the second round of the $175,000 Ordina Open in Netherlands on Monday. Sania shrugged off her disappointing first match loss at DFS Classic last week and went all out against her Italian opponent to register a convincing 6-4, 6-3 win in one hour and 12 minutes in the first round. Both the players offered chances to each other as the match witnessed lot of breaks. Sania broke Pennetta, who is world number 23, four times in the first set and dropped her serve thrice. In the second set, the Indian raced to a 5-1 lead after breaking Pennetta in the second, fourth and sixth games. — PTI

Ranatunga praises Dhoni’s captaincy
MUMBAI: Praising the captaincy skills of Mahendra Singh Dhoni, former Sri Lankan skipper Arjuna Ranatunga said India are the favourites for the upcoming Asia Cup. “India has has lot of young talented players including its one-day captain M S Dhoni,” Ranatunga told mediapersons here on Monday. “Dhoni has crossed my imagination, he has done extremely well,” he added. Ranatunga, however, warned that the Asia Cup will be a well contested tournament and winning the title will not be too easy for the ‘Men in Blue’. “The forthcoming Asia Cup would be tough as all the three main contestants India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan are well poised,” the 1996 World Cup winning captain said. — UNI

Chopra signs off tied 36th
SAN DIEGO: Indian-born Swede Daniel Chopra turned in his first sub-par card of the week, a one-under 70 in the final round, to sign off tied 36th in the $6.8 million US Open golf championship here. The event has been pushed to a fifth day with overnight leader American Tiger Woods (73) and his compatriot Recco Mediate (71) locked at one-under 283 after the final round. The two Americans will battle it out in what should be a pulsating 18-hole playoff at the Torrey Pines Golf Course today. Meanwhile, Chopra ended his campaign with a four-round total of nine-over 293.
— PTI