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THE TRIBUNE SPECIALS
50 YEARS OF INDEPENDENCE

TERCENTENARY CELEBRATIONS
S P O R T S


Beijing ’08

‘More smog, the better’
One-eyed shooter aims gold
Do you know?
Judo mum aims for third gold
The Power of Eight
Tight security

Bolt keen to do a Lewis
Beijing, August 5
Everybody knows that Usain Bolt is going to run in the 100 m at the Olympics - except the world record holder himself. Bolt's coach Glen Mills told Reuters on Sunday the Jamaican would definitely run both his preferred 200 m and the distance he covered in 9.72 seconds in May.
Current world record holder in the 100m sprint, Jamaica's Usain Bolt, sits behind the shoes he will be running in as he poses for a picture in front of the National Stadium, also known as the Bird's Nest, ahead of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games Current world record holder in the 100m sprint, Jamaica's Usain Bolt, sits behind the shoes he will be running in as he poses for a picture in front of the National Stadium, also known as the Bird's Nest, ahead of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games on Tuesday. — Reuters photo

Ping pong losing sheen in China
Beijing, August 5
China still dominates the world at table tennis and its supremacy is unlikely to be challenged at the Olympics but the seeds of a decline may already have been sown in the parks and playgrounds of Beijing. For many Chinese like 72-year-old retiree Xu Tianwu, table tennis is more than a game.


PICK OF THE DAY
Young girls wearing traditional costumes pose for a photo in front of a logo of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games in Shanghai
Young girls wearing traditional costumes pose for a photo in front of a logo of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games in Shanghai on Tuesday.
— AFP

EARLIER STORIES



Federer hopes to turn it around
Beijing, August 5
Roger Federer today said he is anticipating a "dream Olympics" that will help turn around his disappointing season by winning one of the few titles to elude him. "For me, it is really important over the next couple of weeks, starting here at the Olympics, going on to the US Open," he told AFP in an interview.

A family affair for France’s canoeist
Beijing, August 5
French canoeist Tony Estanguet, paddling for a third successive gold medal in Beijing, had to overcome a reluctance to defeat his big brother before he could go on to become an Olympic champion. His brother Patrice won a bronze medal in 1996 and now coaches Tony, who will carry the French flag at the opening ceremony on Friday.

Tony Estanguet
Tony Estanguet


Dancers perform a dragon dance on the Great Wall in Badaling, 78 km north of Beijing
Dancers perform a dragon dance on the Great Wall in Badaling, 78 km north of Beijing, on Tuesday. — AFP

3 days to go, Beijing still hazy
Beijing, August 5
The haze blanketing Beijing lifted slightly today although the sun was obscured by grey skies three days before the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games. Organisers want clean and crisp skies for the Games and have closed factories and pulled half the capital's 3.3 million cars off the roads to achieve their objective.

Lifter Monica Devi fails dope test, withdrawn from Beijing
New Delhi, August 5
Weightlifter Monica Devi was today withdrawn from the Indian squad for Beijing Olympic Games hours before she was to board the flight to the Chinese capital for failing a dope test hours, sources said.

3rd Test: Lanka mull changes
Colombo, August 5
The drubbing in the second Test at Galle has forced the Sri Lankan selectors to explore changes in the fast bowling department with old war horses Chaminda Vaas and Nuwan Kulasekara in the scanner for their average performance in the match.

Kirsten to rush home
New Delhi, August 5
The Indian cricket team will be without coach Gary Kirsten in the third and final Test against Sri Lanka in Colombo as the South African will go home to attend to his critically ill mother.

Champions Trophy
Venues will be ready by August 20: PCB
Lahore, August 5
A top Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) official has said Lahore and Rawalpindi will be ready in 15 days to host the next month's Champions Trophy matches. PCB's chief operating officer Shafqat Naghmi told 'The News' yesterday that "all the essential development work" at the Gaddafi Stadium here and the Rawalpindi Stadium would be completed by August 20.

IPL
‘Lankan board didn’t get participation fee’
Colombo, August 5
Indian Premier League chairman and commissioner Lalit Modi's contention that cricket boards allowing their players to take part in the IPL were entitled for participation fee has been questioned by the Sri Lanka Cricket.

Team keen to keep up fighting spirit: Bhutia
Hyderabad, August 5
Taking a firm aim at lifting the AFC Challenge Cup, India captain Baichung Bhutia today said his team was determined to keep up their never-say-die attitude to emerge triumphant in the prestigious tournament.





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Beijing ’08

‘More smog, the better’

Australian shooter Russell Mark is a rarity among the competitors at the Beijing Games - the more smog and pollution the better for the former Olympic double trap champion. Mark, 44, said the hazy conditions that have blanketed the Chinese capital are perfect for his sport and he hopes the skies never clear. ''The more the better for an old guy like me,'' he told a news conference today. ''It looks better than it was when I was here a few months ago but to be honest, for us, the smog actually helps.'' Mark is already one of Australia's most successful shooters. He won a gold medal in the double trap at Atlanta in 1996 and silver in Sydney four years ago and is hoping the conditions in the Chinese capital will help him win another medal. ''I can actually see those little orange disks a lot better in the sky than with a perfect white background,'' he said. ''So, as many cars as they want to get on the road the day I compete, I'd be quite happy about.'' The Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) have gone to extraordinary lengths to help their athletes cope with the pollution.

One-eyed shooter aims gold

Blinded in one eye by cancer from the age of two, French shooter Veronique Girardet did not have any aspirations for the Olympics. The 42-year-old's first love was clay-pigeon shooting, where she was a four-time world champion. Seven years ago, at the ripe age of 35, she ''had a sudden urge to change'' and switched to skeet with Olympic success her one and only goal. ''Since I was a young girl, I always dreamed of being world champion,'' she said. ''Had clay-pigeon been an Olympic sport, I would have had Olympic dreams too, now I'm trying to make up for lost time.'' Girardet, who won the world skeet title in 2005, has overcome the handicap and speaks freely of her missing eye. ''Shooting is more a matter of concentration than a matter of sight. It would be more difficult should I shoot at still targets,'' she said. ''I'm a just a little bit disturbed when skeets come from the left. ''But otherwise, I'm more disturbed in everyday life because I don't have the peripheral vision.'' Girardet was introduced to shooting by her late father when she was 16. ''He gave me strength and convinced me I could make it.”

Do you know?

Wilma Glodean RudolphWilma Glodean Rudolph was an American athlete and in the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, Italy, she became the first American woman to win three gold medals in track and field during a single Olympic Games, despite running on a sprained ankle. A track and field champion, she elevated women’s track to a major presence in the United States. The powerful sprinter emerged from the 1960 Rome Olympics as “The Tennessee Tornado,” the fastest woman on earth. The Italians nicknamed her “La Gazzella Nera” (the Black Gazelle); to the French she was “La Perle Noire” (The Black Pearl). By the time she was 16, she earned a berth on the US Olympic track and field team and came home from the 1956 Melbourne Games with an Olympic bronze medal in the 4x100m relay. At the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, she won three Olympic titles; the 100 m, 200 m and the 4x100 m relay.

Judo mum aims for third gold


One of the most feared judo champions of her time, Japan's
Ryoko Tani has put family matters on hold to compete for a record third consecutive gold at the Beijing Olympics. The first woman judoka to successfully defend an Olympic title, Tani will spearhead a team with lofty expectations.

Ryoko Tani

The Power of Eight

Eight is considered lucky because the Chinese character 'ba' sounds similar to the word for luck or 'fa'. Because of this, the Games opening ceremony has been slated to start at 8 pm on the eighth day of the eighth month of the year 2008.

Tight security

Beijing, August 5
That the security was going to be stifling was expected, but that it will start from the Indira Gandhi International airport itself was hardly anticipated. The Indians travelling to Beijing got the taste of it at IGI airport when the Air China flight was delayed by over 90 minutes because the Chinese security officials checked everybody's bag before allowing them to get into the plane.

This despite the fact that passengers had been thoroughly checked at the airport before allowing them to get into the bus for the plane. — UNI

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Bolt keen to do a Lewis

Beijing, August 5
Everybody knows that Usain Bolt is going to run in the 100 m at the Olympics - except the world record holder himself. Bolt's coach Glen Mills told Reuters on Sunday the Jamaican would definitely run both his preferred 200 m and the distance he covered in 9.72 seconds in May.

That set up a 100 m showdown with compatriot Asafa Powell and world champion Tyson Gay from the USA in what is now the most eagerly-awaited event in the athletics programme.

Bolt, however, seemed less certain when asked about it a media conference today.

''I still have to decide,'' he said.

When it was pointed out that Mills had already said he would run both, he said: ''Well it seems like I'm doubling then.

''I thought I was 80 per cent sure I would be doubling, now I'm 100 per cent.''

It would have been hard for Bolt, world championship silver medallist over 200m, to turn down the chance to become the first man since Carl Lewis in 1984 to win both sprints, having blasted into the 100m reckoning with his world record run in New York after only a handful of outings over the distance.

''Yes, I'm good at the 100,'' he said.

''But the 200 is closer to my heart and the 100 is a factor of me not wanting to do the 400 m really,'' added the 1.96m 21-year-old who looks ideally built for the one-lap race.

''The training for the 400 is too hard. I'm not lazy - though I used to be.'' Mills has not always agreed with that assessment but Bolt said the pair had a great relationship.

Describing Mills as like a ''second father'', Bolt said the 100 m mystery was the first ''miscommunication'' he had had with him.

His claim of ignorance, however, began to look a little thin when he was presented with a customised pair of golden Puma spikes inscribed ''Beijing 100m'' — Reuters

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Ping pong losing sheen in China

Beijing, August 5
China still dominates the world at table tennis and its supremacy is unlikely to be challenged at the Olympics but the seeds of a decline may already have been sown in the parks and playgrounds of Beijing.

For many Chinese like 72-year-old retiree Xu Tianwu, table tennis is more than a game.

It is the national sport that brought glory to China from as early as the 1950s and even played a major role in international relations during the ping pong diplomacy period of the 1970s.

National team members are lionised, and former stars like Olympic and world champion Deng Yaping are household names.

"The reason so many Chinese consider our table tennis players to be heroes is because they brought honour and glory to China," said Xu.

"For me, ping pong keeps me happy and healthy," he said as he played his daily three-hour stint at one of the tables found in every Beijing park.

"I hope I'll still be playing when I am 80." However, not far from the park where Xu plays his daily ping pong marathon, others are enjoying a different, more edgy experience in the Dongdan open-air basketball ground just east of central Tiananmen Square.

"Basketball lights up my life, it's the only fun for me and I play as much as I can," said Zhao Chao, 18, who says he puts in at least an hour on the court each day.

Image matters to younger Chinese - and table tennis is seen more and more as the game of an older generation who had no other leisure choices.

The British-born game was imported into China in the early 20th century and became so popular that many Chinese believe that it is their own invention along with gunpowder and printing.

"Ping pong expresses the dexterity, speed and agility of the Chinese," said Xu.

Easy to learn and cheap to play, the sport gained a wide following after the founding of communist China in 1949. It brought China its first taste of international sporting glory with a world title in 1959.

Under late strongman Mao Zedong - who launched the 1950s slogan "Develop a sports movement, strengthen the physical condition of the people" - table tennis was the diplomatic tool for a rapprochement with Washington.

In 1971, Mao invited the US table tennis team to China for a series of friendly matches that ended a lengthy period of enmity and set the wheels in motion for the 1979 normalisation of US-China ties.

At the Beijing Olympics, table tennis, with four gold medals almost assured, is also the sport that could help the host nation dominate the medal standings for the first time ahead of the United States.

Even though Chinese basketball superstar Yao Ming is likely to get widespread media attention, Pierre Justo, head of media and research at CSM Media Research/TNS Sport, says it is too early to write ping pong's epitaph.

Table tennis has to face up to some serious challenges, including the younger generation's growing affluence and their taste for other sports.

"But table tennis is still a major sport because unlike football and basketball, it touches every single Chinese person," he said. — AFP

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Federer hopes to turn it around

Roger Federer of Switzerland attends a training session at the Olympics Green Tennis court in Beijing
Roger Federer of Switzerland attends a training session at the Olympics Green Tennis court in Beijing on Tuesday. — AFP photo

Beijing, August 5
Roger Federer today said he is anticipating a "dream Olympics" that will help turn around his disappointing season by winning one of the few titles to elude him.

"For me, it is really important over the next couple of weeks, starting here at the Olympics, going on to the US Open," he told AFP in an interview.

"I still have plenty of tournaments to do well in, and I hope I can start here at the Olympics and fulfil my dream to win gold."

After failing to overcome arch-rival Rafael Nadal at the French Open, he then fell to the Spaniard in an epic five-set Wimbledon final before going out in the early rounds in Toronto and Cincinnati.

But he is feeling lucky in China, where he will carry the flag for Switzerland at the Olympics opening ceremony.

"I've had a lot of luck in China," said the Swiss ace, whose 27th birthday coincides with Friday's opening ceremony on August 8.

"I know eight is the lucky number here, maybe because my birthday and everything that has also brought me luck here in China, who knows."

Eight is considered lucky because the Chinese character 'ba' sounds similar to the word for luck, or 'fa'.

Because of this, the Games opening ceremony has been slated to start at 8 pm on the eighth day of the eighth month of the year 2008.

"I hope being able to carry the flag for Switzerland, which is a great honour for me, starting with that, and then hopefully performing well, it's going to be a dream Olympics for me," Federer added.

The Swiss star flew into Beijing last night on a chartered flight from Cincinnati, where he lost to Croat Ivo Karlovic in the third round last week.

Federer finished fourth at his first Games in Sydney eight years ago then headed to Athens as the top seed in 2004 but got a shock when Czech player Tomas Berdych knocked him out in the second round.

This time he is doing things differently to give himself an edge over Nadal and his other challengers.

"I'm here a few days earlier than in previous Olympics," said Federer.

"For our purposes, usually we're there 2-3 days ahead but now, we have 7-8 days, so actually that's a lot of practice. And I had a good flight in from the States, which is a long trip, but I feel fine." — AFP

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A family affair for France’s canoeist

Beijing, August 5
French canoeist Tony Estanguet, paddling for a third successive gold medal in Beijing, had to overcome a reluctance to defeat his big brother before he could go on to become an Olympic champion.

His brother Patrice won a bronze medal in 1996 and now coaches Tony, who will carry the French flag at the opening ceremony on Friday.

''When I saw him win his bronze medal on television, I really wanted to work hard to feel the same emotions myself,'' he said.

The two brothers became rivals and it took a while for Tony to find the confidence to beat his older brother.

''It was not easy finding my way. Until 2000 I felt he was better than me. To beat him was like a sacrilege,'' he said.

''Now of course, I share every one of my medals with him.''

No French athlete has won three Olympic golds in succession but Estanguet says he wants to make the most of his third Games rather than getting too narrowly focused on his event.

''I don't want to live these Games with my eyes shut just to make sure my 90 seconds race will be a success,'' the 30-year-old Estanguet said.

''Thirty seconds before the start, I want to take a chance to look at the stands and the scenery to keep memories and tell my family about them later,'' added Estanguet, who comes from the region of Pau in southwest France, a rugby union stronghold.

The sport really was a family affair for the single kneeling canoe (C1) Olympic champion who started competing in a club led by his father Henri, with whom he paddled in a two-seat canoe as a child.

Father Henri won medals at the world championships in the late 1970s and his skills helped to inspire Tony.

Father and son often capsized in the Gave, the whirling river that rushes from the Pyrenees down to Pau, but the passion for the sport never left the young Tony. — Reuters

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3 days to go, Beijing still hazy

A cyclist from the U.S. team arrives wearing a mask at Beijing airport to participate in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games
A cyclist from the U.S. team arrives wearing a mask at Beijing airport to participate in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games on Tuesday. — Reuters
photo

Beijing, August 5
The haze blanketing Beijing lifted slightly today although the sun was obscured by grey skies three days before the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games. Organisers want clean and crisp skies for the Games and have closed factories and pulled half the capital's 3.3 million cars off the roads to achieve their objective.

They are holding in reserve further plans to reduce the number of cars on the roads and shut more factories, if projections show unacceptable conditions in coming days.

The pollution index for today was between 90 and 110, moderating from 95 to 115 overnight. China regards an index level of less than 100 to be a ''blue sky day''.

Many athletes pouring into Beijing ahead of the Games appeared to be more struck by the heat than the pollution.

''The humidity's quite fun, it's like rowing through a steam room,'' said British rower Olivia Whitlam.

Renata Ribeiro, a Brazilian beach volleyball player from Rio de Janeiro, thought fears about pollution were overstated.

''We'd been told it was absolutely terrible so we were prepared for much worse. It's actually not that heavy today. We're breathing fine,'' she said.

However, for athletes of endurance events the smog could pose a major problem and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has said it might reschedule events if the pollution was too bad.

The local Games organisers, the BOCOG, have pledged to finish the Games on August 24 so most observers believe the IOC would switch the men's marathon, due to take place on the final day, to another Chinese city if the air quality was deemed too poor.

The IOC has not said what it regards as an acceptable pollution level for the marathon.

Beijing would be cloudy and hot through Thursday, the China Meteorological Administration said.

A sparkling weekend in Beijing had brightened hopes that the anti-pollution measures were working but Monday was muggy and smoggy. — Reuters

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Lifter Monica Devi fails dope test, withdrawn from Beijing

New Delhi, August 5
Weightlifter Monica Devi was today withdrawn from the Indian squad for Beijing Olympic Games hours before she was to board the flight to the Chinese capital for failing a dope test hours, sources said.

Monica tested positive for an anabolic salt in a test conducted on June 29, the sources said.

Monica (69kg), who comes from Manipur, was the sole lifter from India to have been selected for the Beijing Games.

In the pre-Olymic trial conducted by Indian Weightlifting Federation in July, P Sailja of Andhra Pradesh had performed better than Monica but the latter was chosen ahead of her for the Beijing Games.

However, earlier in April this year, Monica had done better in the Asian Championship in Japan. — PTI

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3rd Test: Lanka mull changes

Colombo, August 5
The drubbing in the second Test at Galle has forced the Sri Lankan selectors to explore changes in the fast bowling department with old war horses Chaminda Vaas and Nuwan Kulasekara in the scanner for their average performance in the match.

It remains to be seen whether the selectors drop opener Michael Vandort in the third Test beginning here on Friday after his poor showing in the first two matches.

After seeing India's Ishant Sharma exploding with three wickets in the second Test that added to the Sri Lankan woes as they were capitulating under the spin pressure, the Islanders are also looking for a young fast bowling option.

The 25-year-old uncapped pace bowler Dammika Prasad who troubled the Indian batsmen in the practice game against Lanka Board XI could be one of the options, according to sources.

The axe may fall on Kulasekara, who failed to extract pace in the first two Tests though did manage to force Indian openers to be watchful against him in the initial overs of the previous matches.

Kulasekara was averaging between 114 and 125 kms in the matches against India.

Prasad, capped thrice in one day internationals in 2006, has since suffered a number of injuries before touring England and Zimbabwe with Sri Lanka 'A' last year.

"The selectors are discussing changes in the pace department and whether to continue with Michael Vandort," a source said.

Sri Lankan captain Mahela Jayawadene did feel the absence of an effective pacer in his side during the second Test after seeing Ishant Sharma extract pace of around 135-140 kms.

"That's something for us to discuss. We felt that in these kind of conditions, usually the medium-pacers are effective as well. Ishant is an exceptional bowler with his height and everything. He creates a bit of bounce on this kind of wicket. We just need to make a smart choice," the Sri Lankan captain had said after the Galle loss.

"We will have a chat with the selectors. We have a few options in our squad. We will see what we can come up with," the dejected Jayawardene had said after squandering the advantage of winning the first Test by an innings and 239 runs at Colombo.

In the event of Dilhara Fernando getting fit before the third Test, he will be in the reckoning for a call up.

The selectors are in a quandary on whether to drop the most successful pace bowler Chaminda Vaas, seeing the 34-year-old slow down considerably in the Galle Test though he got some wickets.

Even as Jayawardene feels Vandort has played consistently in the last six months and getting runs, the selectors are not sure of retaining him for the third Test as well.

The Lankan captain is of the view that there could be a problem in the long run if one keeps "chopping and changing" in the opening batting department.

The 27-year-old Thilan Thushara is also a new fast bowling prospect for the third Test having shown steady improvement.

He made his Test debut against West Indies in 2003, but failed to make the Test or ODI squad for the England tour later in the year.

Thushara is also a hard striker of the ball and can fill in the problem of a highly vulnerable Sri Lankan tail. — PTI

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Kirsten to rush home

New Delhi, August 5
The Indian cricket team will be without coach Gary Kirsten in the third and final Test against Sri Lanka in Colombo as the South African will go home to attend to his critically ill mother.

"Kirsten will not be available for the third Test match as he will be leaving from Colombo for South Africa tonight. There will not be any replacement in his absence," BCCI secretary Niranjan Shah said in a statement today.

"Kirsten, coach, Indian team, has been granted leave to go to South Africa to be with his mother as she is critically ill," Shah added.

The third match of the series starts August 8 and the series is tied 1-1 after India won the Galle Test.

Meanwhile, BCCI sources in Colombo told PTI that Kirsten rushed back home as his mother had been diagnosed with cancer but he might join the team for the one-dayers.

"Efforts would be made to get him back in time for the one-dayers (that start August 24)," the source added. — PTI

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Champions Trophy
Venues will be ready by August 20: PCB

Lahore, August 5
A top Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) official has said Lahore and Rawalpindi will be ready in 15 days to host the next month's Champions Trophy matches.

PCB's chief operating officer Shafqat Naghmi told 'The News' yesterday that "all the essential development work" at the Gaddafi Stadium here and the Rawalpindi Stadium would be completed by August 20.

He rejected speculation that Pakistan would not be able to make the grounds available for Champions Trophy matches because of delays in construction work.

"When we had given the contracts for the two stadiums in Lahore and Rawalpindi, the project was divided into two phases," Naghmi said.

"The initial phase was aimed at having the grounds ready for Champions Trophy matches, while the second phase was mostly additional work that could be completed after the tournament," he said.

"The first phase is almost complete while the next phase would be carried out before we host India for a full series," he added referring to India's tour of Pakistan to play three Tests and five one-day internationals. The tour is to start from the first week of January.

According to Naghmi, the Pindi stadium is almost ready with two floors built to house spectator enclosures, players' dressing rooms, media rooms and commentary boxes.

"Some air-conditioning units will be fixed in the second phase at the stadium," said Naghmi.

Pakistan are to host the Champions Trophy matches in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi from September 12 to 28 and are spending about Rs 500 million to improve the facilities at the three venues. — UNI

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IPL
‘Lankan board didn’t get participation fee’

Colombo, August 5
Indian Premier League chairman and commissioner Lalit Modi's contention that cricket boards allowing their players to take part in the IPL were entitled for participation fee has been questioned by the Sri Lanka Cricket.

"As far as Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) is concerned, it has not received any participation fee in the recently concluded Indian Premier League," a board official said here.

"We do not know about other boards, but SLC has not got any fee for allowing its players to play in the IPL" the official said.

In a letter to the island players late last month, Sri Lanka Cricket chairman Arjuna Ranatunga said, "By permitting our national players to participate in the IPL, it is private individuals who earn a percentage of the players' earning while Sri Lanka cricket gets no financial benefits whatsoever."

Modi, in an recent interview, had reportedly asserted that boards were getting a fee for permitting their players to participate.

Modi was asked whether the entry of another Twenty20 league backed by the BCCI, after the Indian Premier League (IPL), added to the anxiety expressed by some boards that all the money generated by these two tournaments is flowing only towards the BCCI, the players and their agents, and not to the respective boards who release the players. "Absolutely not true," said Modi.

Directed at the forthcoming Champions League, the IPL boss was asked as to how a national board allowing its players to play in the tournament benefit.

"The board gets a participation fee; the clubs get a participation fee. They get a share, which includes the participation fee. I can't specify an amount at this stage but I believe this will run into millions of dollars," Modi was quoted as saying.

The cash-starved SLC recently paid off its financial liabilities with banks through sale of television rights.

Its financial liabilities with banks, including pending overdrafts over Rs 600 million had been settled with payments received from the sale of TV rights for the ongoing India tour of Sri Lanka. — PTI

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Team keen to keep up fighting spirit: Bhutia

Hyderabad, August 5
Taking a firm aim at lifting the AFC Challenge Cup, India captain Baichung Bhutia today said his team was determined to keep up their never-say-die attitude to emerge triumphant in the prestigious tournament.

Baichung said what had stood out for his team in this event has been its "great character" to fight till the end in the three matches they played so far and will have to keep it up in the semifinal and the final to emerge winners.

India take on Myanmar while DPR Korea play Tajikistan in the semifinals on Thursday of Asia's second tier inter-nation competition whose winners qualify for the 2011 AFC Asian Cup.

"We have shown great character and team spirit in the three matches. Nobody gave up till the end. We have to keep up that never-say-die attitude as this is such an important tournament. I don't need to say this, every player knows it," said Bhutia who scored a brace against formidable Turkmenistan on Sunday to see India through to the semifinals.

"We might not have played beautiful football under the conditions (of the ground) but we played effective football. I think that is important, it is not necessary that we play beautiful football all the time," he told PTI.

Baichung said from now onwards any of the four semifinalists can win the tournament and India can't take Myanmar lightly on Thursday.

"Myanmar are a good team, they are technically good and they play a hard game. So, we can't take them lightly. We want to win but it will not be easy," he said.

Asked about the difficulties in playing on slushy surfaces, Baichung said he was used to those conditions but felt scared of his teammates as most of them are not used to playing under such conditions.

"I was used to playing in such conditions in Kolkata but other players are not used to it. I was scared of them especially youngsters Gouramangi Singh and Anwar Ali, but fortunately everybody came through and there was no injury," said the 32-year-old Arjuna Awardee.

On his personal achievement, the Sikkimese Sniper said winning the AFC Challenge Cup would be one of is cherished achievements in his 13-year-old international career.

"I won't say it would be the best achievement. As for me, winning any tournament for the country is a big thing. But yes, winning this tournament would be one of the high points in my career," he said.

Baichung was all praise for his "best friend" Renedy Singh for his consistency and fine form in the match against Turkmenistan by sending several crosses from the left and feeding Baichung for the second goal in that match.

"Renedy has been very consistent performer for India throughout his international career. He has been a disciplined player and he will always maintain a certain standard in his play and give his best," he said.

The spectator attendance has been disappointing so far in the tournament, but Baichung hopes that since India has reached the last four stage, crowd presence will increase from here.

"There has not been much crowd so far but we can't do anything for that. But I hope the spectator attendance will increase in the semifinals and final," he said.

Most of the matches were earlier scheduled to be held at Lal Bahadur Stadium which is at the centre of the city but due to poor ground conditions there, the main venue was shifted to Gachibowli Stadium, more than 20 km from the city. — PTI

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