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Mission accomplished
Bradman ‘a byword for brilliance’
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Akhil’s opponent had best defence: physio
‘Beware! Indian boxers are coming’
Haryana to honour Beijing heroes on Aug 30
Davydenko sprints into 2nd round
Punjabi varsity wins MAKA trophy
YPS Mohali hold Sanawar
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Mission accomplished
Colombo, August 27 Harbhajan Singh was the most successful bowler claiming three wickets, while Munaf Patel and part time bowler Yuvraj Singh took two wickets apiece. Earlier, skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni (71), Suresh Raina (76) and Virat Kohli (54) struck half centuries before India got all out for 258 with two balls to spare. Having slumped to 81 for three, Raina and Dhoni took control of the situation and judiciously mixed cheeky singles with big shots forcing Sri Lanka skipper Mahela Jayawardene to rework his strategies. The 143-run partnership between the two took India to a position of comfort from where on the remaining batsmen only had to score at a consistent rate. Not allowing Ajantha Mendis to get into a rhythm, Raina decided to attack the bowler as he lofted his off-break to the long-off boundary. With the onus of responsibility once again falling on Dhoni, the Indian captain tried to settled down quickly as he forced a Thushara delivery past the cover boundary. Raina matched Dhoni's aggression and India raced to the 150 mark in 185 balls as the two decided to unnerve the Sri Lankan bowlers. In no time, Raina reached a well-deserved half century - his seventh - in 56 balls as he came down the track and lofted Muttiah Muralitharan to the extra cover boundary. His front-foot hit over the deep-midwicket boundary for a six of Murali was a beauty. Dhoni got to his 50 in 60 balls and it included three boundaries. Opener Virat Kohli set the pace for the pair by scoring his maiden one-day fifty and sharing an opening partnership of 44 with Gautam Gambhir after Dhoni had won his fourth straight toss of the series and decided to bat first. Kohli hit seven fours in his knock of 54 off 66 balls before becoming the first of the five victims of left-arm fast bowler Thilan Thushara who went on to take his first five-for haul in one-day cricket. The Raina-Dhoni stand raised Indian hopes of achieving a total in excess of 275 but Sri Lanka came back strongly in the latter stages of the innings to put the brakes on the Indian run rate and capture the last seven wickets for 34 runs. Thushara broke the stand by having Raina caught at long-off by Kulasekera for a well-compiled 76 scored off 78 balls, with six fours and one six. Eight runs later he sent back Dhoni for 71 made in 80 balls with four fours. India lost the momentum and were dismissed with two balls of the final over to spare. Yuvraj Singh became Chaminda Vaas's 400th wicket in one-day internationals when he was caught at short mid-wicket for a duck. Vaas, playing in his 322nd ODI, joined three other bowlers who had taken 400 wickets - Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and Muttiah Muralitharan. — Agencies Scoreboard
India Kohli b Thushara 54 Gambhir c Dilshan b Kulasekara 17 Yuvraj c Jayawardene b Vaas 0 Raina c Kulasekara b Thushara 76 Dhoni c Jayasuriya b Thushara 71 Rohit Sharma c Warnapura b Mendis 18 Badrinath c Jayawardene b Murali 6 Harbhajan run out 2 Praveen b Thushara 2 Zaheer c Warnapura Munaf Patel not out 1 Extras (b-1, lb-5, w-5) 11 Total (all out, 49.4 overs) 258 Fall of wickets: 1-44, 2-51, 3-81, 4-224, 5-232, 6-243, 7-253, 8-256, 9-257 Bowling: Vaas 9-1-40-1, Kulasekara 8-0-38-1, Thushara 8.4-0-47-5, Mendis 10-1-43-1, Muralitharan 10-0-56-1, Jayasuriya 4-0-28-0. Sri Lanka Jayasuriya c Raina b Harbhajan 60 Warnapura lbw Munaf 0 Sangakkara b Munaf 6 Jayawardene run out 16 Kapugedera lbw Yuvraj 30 Dilshan lbw Harbhajan 12 Vaas lbw b Yuvraj 17 Kulasekara st Dhoni b Harbhajan 12 Thushara c Raina b Zaheer 40 Mendis run out 2 Muralitharan not out 1 Extras: (b-4, lb-2, w-10) 16 Total (all out, 46.3 overs) 212 Fall of wickets: 1-28, 2-38, 3-74, 4-106, 5-131, 6-140, 7-157, 8-190, 9-206 Bowling: Praveen Kumar 4-0-25-0, Zaheer Khan 9.3-3-27-1, Munaf Patel 9-0-48-2, Harbhajan 10-0-40-3, Yuvraj 10-0-53-2, Rohit Sharma 4-1-13-0. Player of the match: S. Raina.
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Bradman ‘a byword for brilliance’
New Delhi, August 27 "No name in cricket conjures up such widespread awe and respect as that of Sir Donald Bradman," ICC president David Morgan said. "Even people with just a passing knowledge of the game or in countries where he never played will invariably recognise the name Bradman as a byword for brilliance. "That name says all that is best about the game and it is synonymous with cricket," he said. "Soccer has Pele and cricket has Bradman." Australians were paying tribute to their beloved son on Wednesday with skipper Ricky Ponting delivering the Bradman oration in Sydney. "Even now, 60 years after his final test match and with time to put his achievements into context, his batting average of 99.94 still seems scarcely believable, especially when one compares it to those of the many other players to have graced the game at the highest level," Morgan added. Bradman also left his stamp as captain, selector and administrator and his death in 2001 prompted an outpouring of grief in Australia with the rest of the cricket world joining in to pay their tributes.
— Reuters |
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Akhil’s opponent had best defence: physio
New Delhi, August 27 "I must say the Moldovan had the best defence among all the boxers in Beijing. He never dropped his guard during the bout," Matthews told PTI. "On the other hand, Akhil is a very fearless boxer and he plays with his guards down. But that's his style. Technically, there was no problem," he said. Matthews, who earlier worked with tennis stars Sania Mirza and Mahesh Bhupathi before being associated with the boxers, was all praise for Akhil saying he is a braveheart and he did not let the spirits of other boxers dampen after his loss. "He is a very emotional person and was really affected by the quarterfinal loss but put up a brave face to keep the spirits up in the camp. He said 'so what if I have lost, Jitender and Vijender have to accomplish the task' and he kept himself upbeat for them," he said. Matthews predicted a great 2012 Olympics for Akhil, who has come a long way from Athens, where he had lost in the first round. "He always had the confidence and he now has the required experience and that made all the difference. In 2012, he can definitely go for the gold," he said. "Things are looking upward for the Indian boxers as you can see the way Jitender (51 kg) fought. It is one of the best Olympics for any boxer," Matthews added. "Earlier, we were seventh in the Asian rankings and now we are fourth and if we had not missed these two bronze we would have been on top. India has massive talent pool in boxing," said the South African who is employed with the Mittal Champions Trust. Asked if he would be there to accompany the boxers in London Games, he said, "that's the plan so far. Let's see how things go from here." However, at the moment, he wants to take a break after a four-month toil. "It's been a hectic four months now and I want to go home," he said. Cuban coach Blas Iglesias Fernandez said Indians were never lacking in the skills at the world level but it was here low confidence to go for the kill which held them back till before Beijing. "They were always at par with other boxers in the world in technique but they lacked confidence. Psychology was the difference between the Athens and the Beijing lot," he said. "Akhil, Jitender and Vijender were ready for anything in the ring and after this (bronze) medal their confidence will be further boosted. "Even the semifinal bout between Vijender and the Cuban boxer (Emelio Correa Bayeaux) was anyone's game. So breaking the barrier was important," he said. |
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‘Beware! Indian boxers are coming’
Akhil Kumar's fearlessness, Jitender Kumar's grit and Vijender Singh's technical prowess has forced the International Boxing Association to sit up and acknowledge India's growing stature in the sport, says coach Gurbax Singh Sandhu.
Indian boxing had its best ever Olympic outing in Beijing, getting its first medallist in Vijender, who clinched a bronze in the middle weight category at the Games. Besides, Akhil and Jitender contributed to the overall success story with their quarterfinal appearances after beating some higher-ranked opponents. "AIBA President Ching-Kuo Wu said 'Beware! the Indian boxers are coming'. He met our boxers, lauded their performance and said if we continue this way, we will storm the world," Sandhu said. "I think it augurs well for Indian boxing and we can look forward to having more of our boys qualifying for the 2012 Olympics in London and certainly more medals," he said. Sandhu has had a long on-an-off stint with Indian boxing and he says the hard work finally paid off in Beijing. "We have done a lot of hard work. These boys put their heart and soul into preparing for these games and the results are there for everyone to see. We may have won just one bronze medal but the overall impact of our performance would be far reaching," he said. Sandhu said though he is satisfied with the performance, Akhil missing out on a medal remains a low-point of the campaign. "That hurt the most. He fought so bravely but couldn't win a medal. Jitender, on the other hand, was undone by that chin injury. He had 11 stitches during his quarterfinal bout but still put up a good fight," Sandhu said. Sandhu said to ensure that the sport continues to grow in the country, it was important to provide a steady inflow of money, good support staff and international exposure. "We cannot afford to rest on this performance. It is easy to go into a slumber from here and if that happens we would once again be back to square one," he said. "These boys have done a lot of hard work to bring Indian boxing where it is. And it is very important to take things forward from here to make India a force in boxing," he added. Indian Boxing Federation Secretary General P K Muralidharan Raja echoed the view. "Boxing is team sport, it is competed individually but it is a coordinated effort that ultimately brings results. The talent comes from National Championships and it is very important that we organise these properly. The base has to be strengthened," he said. "You don't find very rich people competing in boxing. You only have middle class boys taking up this sport so it is very important that they are supported continuously," he added.
— PTI |
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Beeline for Bhiwani boxers
Bhiwani, August 27 They came in an open jeep which was followed by a long caravan of vehicles belonging mainly to INLD supporters. On the outskirts of the town, they were shifted to a makeshift chariot which is normally used in marriage processions. The boxers were garlanded and the procession was headed by brass bands and drummers. A large crowd joined the procession which passed through the main markets. They were first taken to Devi Lal Bhawan where they were felicitated. Later, the Haryana Boxing Association held a reception in their honour at the local Bhim Stadium. |
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Haryana to honour Beijing heroes on Aug 30
Chandigarh, August 27 An official spokesman said here today that Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda would give them cash awards and to one coach. Haryana minister of state for sports Kiran Choudhry would preside over the function. Abhinav Bindra would be honoured with an award of Rs 25 lakh. Bhiwani boxer Vijender Singh would be given Rs 50 lakh, Akhil Kumar and Jitender Kumar would be given Rs 25 lakh each. Delhi wrestler Sushil Kumar would be given Rs 25 lakh. Saina Nehwal and Yogeshwar Dutt would get Rs 25 lakh each. Jagdish Singh, boxing coach at Bhiwani, would also be given Rs 25 lakh. |
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Davydenko sprints into 2nd round
The Russian has not won back-to-back matches since winning a low-key claycourt tournament in Warsaw in June but seemed to have found his groove to dispatch Sela. The 27-year-old's only stutter was when he was broken while serving for the match at 5-2 up in the third set but quickly regained his focus to end his 76th-ranked opponent's challenge in the next game. Davydenko will take on Argentina's Agustin Calleri for a place in round three. Former champion Svetlana Kuznetsova recovered from a slow start to beat Romanian teenager Sorana Cirstea 7-6 6-1 to reach the third round on Wednesday. World number 53 Cirstea, in her first U.S. Open, had the 2004 champion worried when she broke in the sixth game to take a 4-2 lead. But the Russian third seed broke straight back, won the tiebreak 7-3 and then ripped through the second set to seal a third-round clash with Slovenian 28th seed Katarina Srebotnik or Austrian Yvonne Meusburger. Women’s singles second round results on Wednesday: Men’s singles first round results on Wednesday:
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Punjabi varsity wins MAKA trophy
Patiala, August 27 The second place has been bagged by GNDU, Amritsar, while the third spot has gone to Delhi University. The trophy, considered to be the symbol of supremacy in all-India inter-university sport, will be given away by the President Pratibha DeviSingh Patil on August 29 at the Ashoka Hall in Rashtrapati Bhawan on the occasion of the National Sports Day. The university will be represented by vice-chancellor Dr Jaspal Singh and director (sports) Raj Kumar Sharma. They will be accompanied by ace cyclist Abhishek Rana and international handballer Sarup Kaur. Punjabi University pulled the rug from under the feet of 19-time winner and hot contender Guru Nanak Dev University by a staggering margin of 1000 points. For 2006-07, Punjabi University won top positions in cycling (both men and women), canoeing (men), kayaking (women), football (men), handball (women), air rifle shooting (women), rowing (women), yachting (men and women). University sportspersons won a total of 103 individual gold, 47 silver and 44 bronze medals. |
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YPS Mohali hold Sanawar
Sanawar, August 27 The hosts had gone up in the very fifth minute through left forward Parul, but the YPS goalkeeper frustrated all their other attempts to increase the tally. Sunderjit levelled the score for Mohali in the 20th minute of the second half. |
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New York, August 27
