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The eighth wonder
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Russians 1-2-3 in singles
Oz, Dutch in semis; Pak hopes vanish
Romero completes a rare feat
Messi wins praise ahead of Brazil test
Zou captures glory on floor
China’s Lin wins gold
And this too
Elsewhere...
Harbhajan Singh (L), Virender Sehwag (C) and Yuvraj Singh take part in a warm up game during a practice session at the Rangiri Dambulla International Cricket stadium in Dambulla on Sunday. — AFP
Openers key against Mendis: Dhoni
We need to be consistent: Mahela
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Beijing, August 17 Afterwards, he said he just wanted to hug his mum. There was more sprint delight for Jamaica, with a clean sweep of the medals in the women's 100 metres to go with compatriot Usain Bolt's dazzling world record display in the men's race. Shelly-Ann Fraser grinned and punched the air as she crossed the finish line then leapt and danced for joy. The U.S. team said they had lodged an appeal over the race, saying their sprinters believed there had been a false start, but Games' organisers rejected the appeal. Africa had a good day with Ethiopia's Kenenisa Bekele triumphing in the men's 10,000 metres and Cameroon's Francoise Mbango Etone winning gold in the women's triple jump. Despite Phelps' heroics, the U.S. team have all but lost the battle with China to top the medals table. With wins in badminton, diving, gymnastics, rowing, shooting, table tennis and wrestling, the hosts reached 35 golds to the Americans' 19, already three ahead of their Athens haul with seven days of competition to go. In 2004, the USA topped the table with 36 golds. Nobody doubted it was Phelps's day, though. The swimmer hugged his team mates after a world record-breaking 4x100 metres medley relay win, a relatively comfortable race compared to two finger-tip finishes. The win gave him his eighth gold at these Games, one more than Spitz in 1972, and his 14th in all, five more than anyone in the Olympics' 112-year history. The 23-year-old, who as a child in Baltimore had a screaming fit at his first swimming lesson because he did not want to get his face wet, showed that he was human after all. "The first thing I'd like to do to my mum is just hug her, said Phelps, whose parents separated when he was young. "I've literally seen her for about 30 seconds this whole time." Phelps overcame attention deficit disorder as a child. In Beijing he again showed his strength of character to withstand intense pressure. After his exploits, he said he wanted to lie down in his own bed for five minutes "and just relax". Sunday, day nine, was the busiest of the Aug. 8-24 Games, with 34 golds on offer. It began with a triumph for Romania in one of the Games' most gruelling events, 38-year-old Constantina Tomescu claiming a surprise win in the women's marathon. In the evening, it was the turn of the Jamaican sprinters again, Fraser's exuberant celebration recalling that of Bolt's. It was the first clean sweep in the women's 100 metres. Remarkably these were island's first sprint golds, although three recent 100 metres champions were Jamaican-born -- Linford Christie, Donovan Bailey, and the now disgraced Ben Johnson. The Water Cube saw more excitement in the evening as China's "diving diva" Guo Jingjing retained her three-metre springboard crown to become the most prolific women's diving medallist in history. She now plans to retire, with four Olympic golds. As China extended their lead at the top of the medals table, it has also been a fantastic weekend for the London 2012 hosts. Britain have scored eight gold medals in two days in cycling, rowing, sailing and the pool, taking them to third place in the medals table with 11 golds. The British press was already dubbing it "the great haul of China". In the highest-profile doping case of the Games, Greece's defending women's 400 metres hurdles champion Fani Halkia failed a drug test hours before she was to compete. The furious chief of Greece's Olympic Committee told Reuters the "golden girl" of the Athens Games should have stayed home instead of dragging the country's name through the mud. "If you want to commit suicide it is up to you, but you do not have the right to kill your country," Minos Kyriakou said. There was a terrible sense of deja vu for U.S. shooter Matt Emmons, who threw away gold for a second successive Games with a misfire on his final shot. After shooting at the wrong target in Athens, a nervous Emmons this time squandered a huge lead on his final shot when he pulled the trigger by mistake while lining up. That error let China's Qiu Jian take gold in the men's 50m rifle three-positions. Emmons finished fourth. "I didn't feel my trigger shaking but I guess it was," he said.
— Reuters
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Beijing, August 17 Eight gold medals! For god's sake that is a number not more than half a dozen countries are likely to show for their presence in Beijing this fortnight. Now everyone, right down to the man on the street, wants a piece of Phelps. And, it is available, too. Not just in the form of Speedo caps, but also his autographs, which rose in worth from $ 25 last week to $ 500 after his seventh gold to $ 1,000 after the eighth. Phelps' only rival in the first 10 days of the Games has been the spectacular August 8 Opening Ceremony. And maybe in the years to come, those who watched both will always be divided in their loyalties. No heart-breaks. No ‘so-close-and-yet-so-far’ stories. Phelps had his eight gold and the crowd its moment. And, the pool area was a sea of flashes from pocket cameras all over the stands. This was Phelps’ moment. After missing out on Mark Spitz’s 1972 record of seven gold at Athens - Phelps had only six gold and two bronze then - he had scored a perfect eight, a la Nadia Comaneci style. Going back 16 years, Phelps, was first introduced to serious swimming around the age of seven to create an outlet for his Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). There will now be studies over his long torso and short legs and an incredibly long reach and then that amazing power-to-weight ratio coupled with a mind that even the strongest can only aspire for. To be called the ‘greatest’ in a sport that has already seen Mark Spitz, Matt Biondi and Ian Thorpe is indeed great praise, but to be able to come back from an Olympic Games with a 100 percent record, when every action - including your personal life - is a subject of intense scrutiny, is indeed mind-boggling. For Phelps’ generation has technology to push them like never before. The Speedo LZR bodysuit's corset-like grip allows swimmers to get the best body position in water and it also reduces the drag. Then there is that small matter of swimming pools these days having 10 lanes, which allow for the two outside lanes to be left empty. It reduces turbulence, for that it what it creates when arms and legs move in a manner resembling a propeller underwater. — IANS
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I’m confident, not complacent, says Akhil
Beijing, August 17 For someone who has beaten the world champion in his previous round, tomorrow's quarterfinal bout against the relatively unheralded Veaceslav Gojan of Moldova should ideally be a cakewalk. Akhil, however, refuses to lower his guard and says underestimating opponents can often be fatal. "You never underestimate an opponent, much like you never get overawed by his reputation," the bantam weight (54kg) boxer, who is just one win away from an Olympic medal, told PTI here today. "A number of great players have bitten the dust just because they took it for granted. The Russian world champion (Sergey Vodopyanov) made the same mistake and underestimated me. See who reached the quarterfinals.” "It's a cardinal sin in any sport and I'm not going to step into the ring thinking he would serve it on a platter," the Haryana boxer said. Even before he boarded the flight to Beijing, Akhil has been insisting that he would not settle for anything less than gold. Asked if that was arrogance, Akhil said he is aware of the fine line that separates confidence from complacency. "I'm not complacent at all. I'm just confident, confident of my ability. I want to be the first Indian boxer to have an Olympic medal dangling from his neck and that just cannot happen if I am not confident enough.” "Tomorrow is my medal bout, it's too big an occasion to get complacent. And I'm confident because I know I'm not complacent," Akhil said. The 27-year-old has not faced Gojan before but the boxer says he has seen enough recordings of the Moldovan. "I'm thankful to Doordarshan, they provided me some recordings. I'm consulting my coaches and formulating a strategy. All I can say is that I would not turn up under-prepared tomorrow," he asserted. Though overwhelmed by the deluge of wishes flowing from all quarters, Akhil is hurt by the way boxers are treated back home and he pleaded all to provide financial security to pugilists. "I'm not sure if I would be read and listened to if something untoward happens in tomorrow's bout. But I know people would listen to me today. So I don't want to take a chance and urge all to provide security to the boxers.” "I work with the Railways but if I buy a pair of boxing shoes, I've to worry how to meet my monthly expenditure.”
— PTI
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Beijing, August 17 Gagan, who had also just failed to qualify for the 10m Air Rifle event before losing on countback, faltered in kneeling and eventually finished an unlucky 13th with his personal best total of 1168. Compatriot Sanjeev Rajput aggregated 1163 (395 in prone, 380 in standing and 387 in kneeling) to finish 26th in the qualifying round. Gagan was impressive in prone, firing 98, 99, 98 and 99 to tally 394 and though did better in standing, which accounted for 389, he was right in the mix at fourth place with one foot in the final. A mundane kneeling performance, however, threw his campaign in complete disarray. He began with a dismal 94 and went one less in the second series and the writing was clear on the wall by that time. Though he tried to put himself back on the track firing 97 and 100 in the last two series, it was a little too late. Meanwhile, Surendra Singh’s hopes of a top 10 finish went up in smoke as the Indian long distance runner finished the energy sapping 10,000m race at the 26th place in the Beijing Olympics here tonight. Surendra, who has been eyeing a top 10 finish, was not at his best and his timing of 28:13.97 was good enough just for the 26th place among the 35 runners who finished the race. — PTI
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Russians 1-2-3 in singles
Beijing, August 17 The world number seven recovered from an error-strewn first set to win 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 making up for her disappointment in losing the 2000 final to Venus
Williams. Dementieva clenched her fists in celebration and then wiped away tears of joy after stopping the in-form Safina for the first time in four attempts this year. Russia had already been guaranteed the first tennis podium sweep in 100 years when Vera
Zvonareva, a late call-up for the injured Maria Sharapova, clinched the bronze medal play-off against China's Li Na 6-0, 7-5. The singles final got off to a bad-tempered start with neither player able to hold serve and frustrations growing on both sides of the
net. Safina screamed at herself before finally holding at 2-2 and then breaking at 3-2, prompting shrieks and angry racquet swipes from Dementieva as she went a set
down. Dementieva recovered to take the advantage in the second set before Safina broke back at 2-4. Dementieva crucially held off a break point at 5-5 before levelling at one set each when Safina's backhand slice drifted
wide. Safina was furious at herself when she was broken early in the decider, swiping the ball into the crowd. She broke back only to be broken again at 2-1 and this time took out her anger on her racquet. Despite being broken again, Dementieva regained her two-game advantage when Safina hit a backhand into the net and the statuesque blonde closed it out on her first match point with a forehand winner. Russia currently dominates women's tennis with five of the top 10 players and three of the last four Fed Cup titles. French Open runner-up Safina had won all three meetings this year and came into the final on a 15-match winning streak. The women's singles was hit by the withdrawal of
Sharapova, Ana Ivanovic and Lindsay Davenport. Athens 2004 winner Justine Henin announced her shock retirement in May.
— AFP |
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Oz, Dutch in semis; Pak hopes vanish
Beijing, August 17 In pool A, world champion Germany pipped Spain 1-0 to throw it open, Spain have nine points, Germany have eight and Korea and New Zealand are on seven points each. All the teams have to play one more match each. The all-important goal for Germany was scored by Moritz Fuerste in the 34th minute. In pool B, Australia will play Britain and Holland face Pakistan in their last league encounters but the results will have no bearing on this pool's semifinal standings. In a fast-paced match, both teams failed to score till the 55th minute and it was the last 15 minutes which saw the game come alive. Holland took the lead through their penalty corner expert Taeke Taekema in the 55th minute but in a space of six minutes Australia not only equalised but took the lead also. Eddie Ockenden hit home to draw parity in the 58th minute and in the 61st minute Luke Doerner converted a penalty corner to give his side the lead. However, Holland drew parity in injury time through Taekema who converted a penalty corner for his second goal. In other matches, a tentative Pakistan survived some anxious moments before overcoming South Africa 3-1 to record their second win while New Zealand recovered from a 0-2 deficit to hold China to a 2-2 draw. In the morning session, trailing 0-1 till the 46th minute, Asian champion South Korea staged a fine rally to overpower Belgium 3-1 and kept themselves in the reckoning for a semifinal berth. In a pool 'B' match, a equaliser in the dying moments enabled Britain survive a scare as they drew 1-1 with lowly Canada. Desperately needing a win, after having lost two of the three matches they have played so far, Pakistan swung into attack right from the start and took the lead in the ninth minute through Mohd Javed who deflected a free hit into the goal (1-0). The lead lasted just 22 minutes before Austin Smith equalised for the African champions and the two teams went into the break at 1-1. However, the green shirts dominated the second session in which they scored two more goals through Shakeel Abbasi and Mohd Saqlain. Shakeel's goal came in the 44th minute when he converted a stroke which was awarded by the umpire when a defender used his body to block a goal bound shot. Ten minutes before the final whistle, Saqlain scored the third goal of the match which was marred by two yellow cards and an injury to Pakistan player Waqas Akbar who was hit on the head in an off the ball incident. Pakistan with six points from four matches are out of contention.
— UNI |
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Romero completes a rare feat
Beijing, August 17 England's Romero dominated an all-British track cycling individual pursuit final to leave Wendy Houvenaghel of Northern Ireland with the silver medal after posting a winning time of 3:28.32 seconds for the three-kilometre event. Lesya Kalitovska of the Ukraine defeated New Zealand's Alison Shanks to win the bronze medal. Romero's was the first Olympic gold medal for Britain in the event, and came a day after team-mate Bradley Wiggins successfully defended his individual pursuit crown in the men's four-kilometre race. Romero's win, five months after her maiden world title, meant Britain have now claimed an impressive four golds from five of what will ultimately be 10 track finals. British riders have also now won eight of the 15 medals up for grabs so far. Romero, who won an Olympic rowing silver four years ago in the women's quadruple sculls, followed in the footsteps of Roswitha Krause of the former East Germany.
— AFP |
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Messi wins praise ahead of Brazil test
Beijing, August 17 The influential 21-year-old, considered by many to be the best player in the business, was instrumental in helping his side come through a tough test against the Netherlands 2-1 in their
quarter-final. Messi, who almost didn't play here with his club wanting him back in Spain in time for the Champions League third qualifying round matches, scored the first goal and set up the second for Angel di Maria. “He is one of the best football players in the world,” said Argentina coach Sergio
Batista. “The whole team had a great performance in the match. We won the game because of the endeavour of the team." Even Dutch coach Foppe De Haan was full of praise, and tipped Argentina to beat Brazil on Tuesday. “I like
Messi, even though he’s on the other team,” he said. “When he gets the ball he is unbelievable. Argentina are better than Brazil, they have a modern passing game.” Like Argentina, Brazil needed extra-time to beat Cameroon 2-0 with Rafael Sobis chipping the goalkeeper to break the deadlock. Real Madrid’s Marcelo made it safe with the second goal four minutes later after lead-up work by AC Milan's Ronaldinho and substitute Thiago
Neves. Brazil have won the World Cup five times but have never managed Olympic gold, something they are desperate to put right.
— AFP |
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Beijing, August 17 Hypolito and Dragulescu were expected battle it out for the top prize, as between them they had won five world titles on the apparatus. But Dragulescu was the first to trip up during a forward twisting somersault and grimaced as he banged into the floor mat. The judges took four minutes to deliver their verdict and when the score of 14.850 flashed up, the Romanian knew he medal hopes were over. Hypolito had high hopes of becoming the first Brazilian to win an Olympic gymnastics title and for the first 60 seconds of his routine, he seemed poised to put the South American country on top of the podium. — Reuters
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China’s Lin wins gold
Beijing, August 17 Lin, a superstar in China, collapsed on the ground before saluting to the crowd with a Chinese flag wrapped around his shoulders. A soldier in the People’s Liberation Army, Lin raced over to the crowd where he was grabbed and hugged. With girlfriend and world number one shuttler Xie Xingfang, who lost her gold medal match the day before, watching from the stands, Lin oozed confidence and skill throughout the match. The loss was heartbreak for Lee and for Malaysia which had been counting on their champion to deliver the country’s first-ever Olympic gold in any sport. But with the weight of a nation of his shoulders, Lee made a series of costly errors in the first game as Lin, with a packed Chinese crowd screaming their support, produced brilliant badminton.
— AFP |
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Andrunache bid for record gold haul thwarted
Romania's Georgeta Andrunache made a vain bid on Sunday to become the most successful Olympic rower of all time and now plans to get married after years of dedication to her sport. She completed the pair and eights double in both Athens and Sydney. In Beijing, she landed the pairs gold on Saturday but had to be satisfied with bronze in the eights behind the USA and the Netherlands. But the 32-year-old boasts an impressive haul of five Olympic gold medals, putting her on a par with compatriot Elisabeta Lipa and Britain's Steve Redgrave. Afterwards, she was heartbroken. In floods of tears, her head bowed, she refused to talk to reporters. After her victory in the pairs on Saturday, Andrunache said "Now my boyfriend will understand why I didn't spend so much time with him last year." She dedicated the gold medal to him. Now, with his patience rewarded, they are going to get married next month. Chang ‘took fertility drugs’ Taiwan baseball player Chang Tai-shan, who failed a dope test before the Beijing Olympics, had been taking fertility medication, Chang told an International Baseball Federation (IBAF) hearing on Sunday. The infielder was suspended after testing positive for a banned substance. He apologised to the baseball federation at his hearing. ''Chang told the hearing he had been married for more than nine years and had been unable to reproduce, so in 2007 he saw a doctor, who diagnosed him with infertility, and he began to accept medication,'' Taiwan's Olympic Committee delegation said in a statement. ''Chang said the results of this doping had severely hurt his personal image and the reputation of the Chinese Taipei (Taiwan) team, and he deeply apologises,'' the statement said.
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— Federer about Nadal
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Sachin’s absence may be blessing in disguise
Ashis Ray
Dambulla, August 17 India have, sadly, surrendered the gold medal by losing the Test series. They can now only compete for lesser laurels. Of course, a one-day series in the circumstances was always going to be a chance to fine tune a young side before the Champions Trophy. Indeed, the jury’s out on the future of one-day cricket, which at the best of times was more entertainment for the masses rather than a serious determination of cricketing skills, as the dragon of Twenty20 threatens to replace it. Grooming a team for the 2011 World Cup is the correct way forward, regardless of whether India accomplish success in the short term. Fresher and younger legs have markedly improved India’s catching and fielding, as compared to the Dad’s Army exhibition until last summer. Indeed, there’s enough promise among the relative newcomers; in time, they will, overall, deliver no worse than the senior lot who have been sidelined. Sachin Tendulkar’s elbow injury is most unfortunate. But this enables India to test their ability without him, which may actually prove to be a blessing in disguise. Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir are at present a settled opening pair and disturbing this partnership to accommodate Tendulkar would have been agonising. A middle order of Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, Rohit Sharma and captain Mahendra Dhoni is also worth persevering with. An in-form Irfan Pathan is an ideal number seven, for he can act as a fifth specialist bowler in addition to being able to bat. His bowling of late, though, has been disappointing. If this persists, then India may have to switch to selecting a seventh batsman in S. Badrinath or Virat Kohli. In Sri Lanka, there’s always a temptation to opt for two spinners - in this case Harbhajan Singh and Pragyan Ojha. Who, then, will partner Zaheer Khan? With Ishant Sharma being receiving a much deserved rest, it’s a tough choice between Munaf Patel and Rudra Pratap Singh. But the spin guru, Muttiah Muralitharan and his brilliant disciple, Mendis are again the road block, with the return of the potentially explosive Sanath Jayasuriya augmenting India’s concerns. The latter with a hundred and the mesmeric Mendis with six for 13 between them rather upstaged India in last month’s Asia Cup final. Therefore, India have no alternative to attempting a calculated attack against the wrist spinner. And not allowing Jayasuriya to free his arms. Dhoni’s dream run as skipper deserted him in Bangladesh and the Asia Cup. Sehwag doubtful Indian opener Virender Sehwag is doubtful for tomorrow’s five-match series opener against Sri Lanka as the explosive opener sustained an ankle injury today. Sehwag, who sustained the injury during practice today, might make way for his Delhi teammate Virat Kohli. Sehwag was seen limping out of ground after the practice session. Indian team management sources said a final call on the chances of Sehwag playing will be taken tomorrow. “If the swelling in his ankle subsides, why not play him?,” a team management official said. The left-handed Kohli, if selected, will make his debut for India. — PTI
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Openers key against Mendis: Dhoni
Dambulla, August 17 Dhoni admitted that the addition of Mendis in the Sri Lankan attack has made life tough for Indian batsmen but insisted that the key to handle him effectively lies in playing against him on consistent basis. "It is difficult to make out from the video footages about his bowling. The more you play the more comfortable you will get.” "You have to take chances against him in the sense you got to make sure when he bowls a loose delivery you get the most out of it so that you can put pressure on the bowler. Of course inputs from Sehwag and Gambhir they would really help," he said at a press conference. The Indian skipper said the Indian team was looking forward to a good start by openers. "In any form of cricket whether in Test cricket or one dayers, the start is very important. But it does not mean the entire pressure is on the openers to always give you a good start. Sehwag is sort of a player who takes a bit of risk.”
— PTI |
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We need to be consistent: Mahela
Dambulla (Sri Lanka), August 17 "We need to be very consistent. After the World Cup, we lacked a bit of consistency. Probably lack of form and a few personal changes, but no excuses," Jayawardene told reporters ahead of the first ODI. "We didn't consistently maintain our standards. In the Asia Cup, we managed to turn things around. We were very consistent with the bat, ball and in the field. That's the toughest thing for most of the international teams, to consistently be in that competitive level. We need to do the hard work that we have done," he added. Jayawardene said the Indians were a talented lot so his team's strategy would surround their strengths and weaknesses. "They have got lot of talent and they play a different game. As a team, they have their strengths and weakness. That's the area that we need to focus and execute our game plan," he said. Asked about the bowling combination, Jayawardene said Ajantha Mendis would be their trump card but also emphasised the role of batsmen in the shorter version of the game.
— PTI |
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A custom-built facility in an afforested region is the setting of India’s first two (of five) one-day internationals against Sri Lanka. With talk of next month’s Champions Trophy being shifted to this country from Pakistan (because of its political uncertainty), the series beginning tomorrow could, in fact, become an opportunity for the Indians to get more accustomed to this island’s conditions -not to mention the bogeyman, Ajantha Mendis - before engaging in a major tournament here.
That's what I expected and hoped for many years ago when I got to number one, that if ever somebody were to take it away from me, he would have to play an incredible tennis schedule, win the biggest tournaments, dominate the game basically, and then like this he can take number one.
