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Federer makes it five in a row
Ganguly keen to carry on
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Dubai to welcome ‘Legends of Lords’
CA hints at life beyond Symonds
After Phelps, Natalie takes charge
Baljeet brings cheers to Chandigarh
Sandhya walks to gold
Anand draws again
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Federer makes it five in a row
New York, September 9 While Murray's hopes of ending Britain's 72-year wait for a men's grand slam champion were dashed, Federer clutched major trophy number 13. Once Murray had dumped a weary backhand into the net, Federer celebrated his first grand slam win of 2008 by sinking to his knees, rolling over on to his back and covering his eyes with his hands. ''One thing for sure, I'm not going to stop at 13. That would be terrible,'' a beaming Federer, who now trails Pete Sampras's overall record by just one, said courtside. The triumph breathed new life into what had been a frustrating season for the Swiss master. It started with a bout of glandular fever and continued with a semi-final loss at the Australian Open before morale-sapping final defeats at the French Open and Wimbledon. He also lost his number one status.
Yesterday's victory finally eased those painful memories. ''It definitely feels great. This is a very special moment in my career,'' world number two Federer said after sealing his 34th successive match win at Flushing Meadows. ''I had a couple of tough grand slams this year, finishing in semi-finals and two finals, one epic at Wimbledon,'' said Federer, who was beaten at the French and Wimbledon finals by Rafael Nadal. His run in New York after previously stringing together five straight Wimbledon titles from 2003 to 2007 made him the only player to have won five in a row at two different slams. While Federer can let out a sigh of relief for rescuing his season, a rather scruffy looking Murray can look forward to a close shave for the first time in two weeks. The superstitious Scot had stopped shaving during his six-match winning run at Flushing Meadows and a razor is likely to be on top of his duty free shopping list after he picked up the biggest cheque of his career, a cool $1 million. Although he fell one match short of adding the men's title to the junior crown he won four years ago, Murray conceded he had been outwitted in every department. ''I came up against, in my opinion, the best player ever to play the game. I got the better of him the last two times we played. He definitely set the record straight today'', Murray said. Bad weather forced the men's final into the third Monday of the tournament for the first time since 1987. While that was good news for Federer, who walked on court having enjoyed an almost 50 hours of rest, Murray was back in the Arthur Ashe Stadium less than 24 hours after beating Nadal. It took Federer 20 minutes to take advantage of his fresher pair of legs. He sent Murray on the run in the sixth game of the opening set, and three successive errors from the 21-year-old handed the second seed the break. A gusting wind swirling around the arena only added to Murray's woes and in just 27 minutes the first set had flashed by, a backhand sailing wide to hand Federer another break. Federer capitalised on his advantage to charge 2-0 ahead in the second set but Murray suddenly found his range and started sprinkling Federer's territory with winners to level at 2-2. That galvanised the Briton and he had Federer running scared when he went up 0-40 on the Swiss's serve in the fifth game. However, Federer was fortunate not to be broken when, trailing 15-40, one of his shots landed long. The linesman failed to call it out and Murray, lacking conviction, opted not to halt the lengthy rally to challenge the point using Hawkeye technology. Murray produced the error to give Federer a second chance and the 27-year-old Swiss duly held serve. Displaying the tennis that has become his hallmark - but unsighted for much of this year - Federer conjured a dazzling array of backhand, forehand and volley winners to claim four successive points and break Murray again for the set. A cry of ''We love you Roger'' echoed around the Ashe arena and Federer responded by lifting his game in the third set. A weary Murray managed to win only three points as the Swiss stormed 5-0 up before the Scot rallied briefly to foil Federer's first attempt at serving out for the championship. One game later, though, he ran out of puff.
— Reuters |
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Ganguly keen to carry on
London, September 9 Selectors snubbed Ganguly, ignoring him while picking the Rest of India squad for the Irani Trophy, thus putting a question mark over his fate. The left-hander, however, made it clear that he is not throwing in the towel. The former captain seemed to have come to terms with his ODI exclusion but insisted he was in no mood to hang up his boots as far as Test and Twenty20 cricket are concerned. "I would like to think I have a couple of years left," Ganguly said when asked if he would miss cricket once he quits the game. "But I won't say I'll miss touring. I'll miss the cricket we play the satisfaction you get from scoring a century or from winning a Test," the left-hander told 'The Sun' today. Asked if he missed not being part of the one-day squad anymore, Ganguly, here on a promotional campaign, said, "At the present moment I'm playing Test cricket and Twenty20 in the Indian Premier League. "I miss the one-day game but the older players understand we won't be playing in the 2011 World Cup. So now it is time for the young players to get match experience," said the former captain who made a stunning comeback to the Indian side after being dropped following his soured relation with the then coach Greg Chappell. Insisting that he was not playing the game for any financial reasons, Ganguly said age was not an issue with him and he would continue playing both the Test and Twenty20 versions of the game. "With so much money involved in the IPL you still have to live up to the expectations. It doesn't matter what age you are you have to perform. "So I will finish both IPL and Test cricket at the same at this stage of my career I am not playing for financial gain, it's all about the performance." he said. "You want to finish with reputation in tact, not with people questioning your ability," he added. Dwelling on IPL, Ganguly envisaged an international league and said, "IPL is like a movie show three hours of big names and even teams owned by movie stars. My team is owned by Bollywood star Shahrukh Khan! "But I fear the ICC will interfere with the IPL and try and control it more. With so much cricket involved, the future could be an international league."
— PTI |
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Dubai to welcome ‘Legends of Lords’
Twenty-five years after they made history, all 14 squad members, and the team management of India’s victorious cricket World Cup winning team of 1983, have confirmed they will continue their global silver anniversary celebrations at a star-studded event in Dubai’s latest landmark.
Channel 2 Group on Tuesday announced that they would be bringing the ‘Legends of Lords’ to Dubai at the end of October for a couple of days of activity, concluding in a glittering gala dinner ceremony on the evening of October 23, at Dubai’s latest landmark, The Atlantis Dubai. The event is being organised by Grandstand Arabia, a joint venture company of Channel 2 Group Corporation and The Media Factory. Speaking at the private launch Channel 2 Group’s chairman Ajay Sethi thanked Kapil Dev and Sunil Gavaskar for attending and was under no illusions that this would be a night to remember. ”To be able to bring such a prestigious event as this to the UAE is a huge privilege for me personally and the Channel 2 Group as a whole. The whole team made India proud 25 years ago, and I am sure that we in Dubai will be proud of the celebrations we have in store for them next month,” he said. The captain of that victorious team, Kapil Dev, was in Dubai to personally launch the event with another of the country’s greatest players, Sunil Gavaskar. “Our victory 25 years ago was a huge moment for us as players and as a nation as a whole,” said Kapil Dev during an exclusive launch event. “It gives me great pride to see that our efforts are still remembered today by people of all ages and I can speak for the whole team when I say that we are really looking to continue our silver anniversary celebrations in a city as vibrant as Dubai,” he added. Sunil Gavaskar also said how much he was looking forward to catching up with old friends and explained just how unique this event is. It goes down as one of the great sporting achievements of the modern era. When the Indian cricket team arrived in England at the beginning of June for the 1983 Cricket World Cup, no one gave them a chance. When they left a couple of weeks later they were household names, sporting idols, national heroes - World Champions. 14 men came together to defy all odds to pull off one of the great sporting campaigns of all time, and write themselves into the games history books. Their progress through the tournament was one thing. Their victory over the invincible West Indian team in the final is the stuff of legends. Any Indian cricket fan of a certain age will remember where they were on June 25, 1983 and any cricket fan will tell you it was the day that Indian one-day cricket came of age. Now 25 years on, the significance and impact of those achievements are still as poignant as ever. In an unprecedented move, all 14 legends of that World Cup winning squad will be under one roof in Dubai on October 23 for a night of reflection, remembrance and celebration as we revitalise the legend of 83 with the legends of the game. ‘Legends of Lords’ will be one of the biggest sporting celebrations ever hosted in Dubai with all 14 members of the victorious squad - Sunil Gavaskar, Krish Srikkanth, Mohinder Amaranth, Madan Lal Sharma, Sandeep Patil, Kapil Dev (captain), Kirti Azad, Roger Binny, Yashpal Sharma, Syed Kirmani, Balwinder Singh Sandhu, Ravi Shastri, Sunil Valson, Dilip Vengsarkar - and team manager P.R. Man Singh, all together again under one roof to share their thoughts, memories and anecdotes about the tournament that has been described as “India’s greatest sporting achievement, and one that defined its cricket.”
— PMG |
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CA hints at life beyond Symonds
Melbourne, September 9 In a clear indication that Cricket Australia is looking at life beyond Symonds, the CA chief executive said Symonds may have well be "lost to the team" but asserted there are plenty of quality players who can fill the void. "It would be a great loss but, at the same time, one of the great things Australian cricket is lucky to have is exciting young talent that is knocking on the door, waiting on the fringes," Sutherland told ABC Radio. Symonds' absence would provide a gilt-edged opportunity to players like Shane Watson, Sutherland said. "People like Shane Watson may well get the opportunity they've yearned for so long in his absence." Symonds' career hit the crossroad after he was sent home for preferring a fishing trip to a compulsory team meeting, an incident that gave rise to questions about his commitment to the baggy green.
— PTI |
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After Phelps, Natalie takes charge
Beijing, September 9 When the referee sent a ready message, the South African swimmer pulled herself on to the deck again, wobbled a little and jumped in. A new world record was made, a Paralympic gold was won, but she was also an Olympian. "For me, it was really a challenge and tough journey before the Olympic Games, but I had tried my best today and had a really good race," said the 24-year-old amputee, who had competed in the gruelling 10-km open-water swim at last month's Olympics, finishing 16th among 25 able-bodied competitors. Seeing her coach coming, she left the crowds of more than 100 journalists, buried her head into his shoulders, with tears welling up in her bloodshot eyes. "The Paralympic is not so easy as you thought. Everybody is competitive and tonight it was very close. But I still made it as I worked hard and tried my best," said the African. She clocked one minute 06.74 seconds in the S9 women's 100m butterfly on Sunday night, chopping 0.05 seconds off the previous mark she set in 2006. As the world and Paralympic record holder in each of the five Paralympic events she is competing in at the Water Cube, it might be easy for her to repeat the "superfish" Michael Phelps' epic glory. But her painful journey to fulfil an Olympic dream was perhaps the toughest among all the sports. Born in Cape Town, Du Toit was an up-and-coming swimmer who has been competing internationally since the age of 14. After the swim talent failed to qualify for the Sydney Olympics, her life took a tragic turn in 2001. Riding her semi-automatic motorbike back to school after a training session in the morning, Natalie was hit by a car and sustained massive injuries to her left leg. In February, her left leg was finally amputated at the knee. Three months later, before she had started walking again, the girl with her indomitable spirit was back in the pool. It seems that she belonged to the water and only swimming could make her feel whole again. "I keep working hard along the ways here. I've seen a lot of ups and downs. But I am not a negativist. I know I have to see that in a good light way," said Du Toit.
— Xinhua |
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Baljeet brings cheers to Chandigarh
Bathinda, September 9 In welterweight 69 kg category, after being 4-4 in the first round, Dharminder of Tripura hit Ranjeet Singh of Punjab with power-packed punches in the second round and leapt to a 7-1 lead. Eventually, the Punjab boxer lost 17-15. In another bout, Baghel of Punjab lost to the wallops of Sandeep from Haryana. In another bout of the heavy 91 kg category, Vinod Kumar of Mizoram and Sumit Rangi of Haryana, despite being exhausted, attacked each other relentlessly and drew rapturous applause from the few spectators present. Managing a gap of one point, Vinod grabbed the bout. Results: Middle 75 kg: Gagendra Singh (MP) bt Ganesh P (Ker) 17-17 (40-37); Sudhir Malik (Aip) bt R Pradesh Kumar (Pond) RSCOC; Manjeet (Har) bt John Lal (Miz) 19-5; Light heavy 81 kg: Gurprem Singh (Jha) bt Javed Ali (Utk) RSCH; Jasveer Singh (RSPB) bt Kaptan Singh (WB) RSCOS; Vikash Singh (Tri) bt Navin Kumar (CISF) RSCOC; Sunil Ola (MP) bt RG Manjunath (Kar) RSCOC; Parmod Kumar (Har) bt Ajay Singh (Aip) 30-5; Parminder Singh (Pun) bt Sunil Panwar (Chd) 28-13; Digvijay Mehta (HP) bt Piyush S Yadav (Mah) 20-15. Heavy 91 kg: Anup Dayanand (Mah) bt Belim Taufik (Guj) 19-13; Vinod Kumar (Miz) bt Sumit Rangi (Har) 16-15; Sandeep Rathi (Skm) bt Vishnu Dutt (BSF) walkover. Light welter 84kg: SB Tamang (AR) bt Anil Kumar (Nag) 15-11; Sandep (Har) bt Baghel Singh (Pun) 24-15; SOM BDR Pun (SSCB) bt K Narayana Swami (Pond) RSCOC; Manij Kumar (RSPB) bt Dalbir Singh (Del) 17-6; Vijay Thapa (Meg) bt D Kannan (Ker) 15-11; Vinod Kumar (JK) bt G Satya Raju (Jha) walkover; Devanshu K (UP) bt Suman Negi (Chd) 20-7; S Prem Kumar (Kar) bt Faiz Ahmad (MP) 16-5. Welter 69 kg: Jagat (Aip) bt Jitendra Mann (Del) 24-13; Vijay (Har) bt Anil Kumar Burman (WB) RSECH; Dharminder (Tri) bt Ranjeet Singh (Pun) 17-15; Dilbagh Singh (RSPB) bt Chhote Singh (AP) retired; Ajit Pal Singh (Jha) bt Bhogal Navjot Singh (Guj) RSCOC; Venkatesh (Kar) bt Hari Krishan (Ar) 20-14; Jai Singh Patil (SSCB) bt Mahindra Siromani (UP) SSCOC. |
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Sandhya walks to gold
Kochi, September 9 Anisha K Vijayan and Kulvinder Kaur, both of police, bagged the silver and bronze, covering 13.22 m and 12.92 m respectively. In another golden moment for hosts Kerala today, V.S. Sandhya walked to the first position in the women's 20000m walk with a time of 1:51:37.30, ahead of Supriya Adak of Railways who timed 1:53:11.90 to bag the silver and Anita Kumari of Rajasthan who got the bronze with a time of 2:02:07.90. In women's 400m, S Geetha of Railways ran away with the gold with a timing of 54.15 while K Mrudula and K Sowjanya, both from Andhra Pradesh, got the silver and bronze at 55.29 and 55.44. In men's 400m, Bibin Mathew of Railways did an encore, bagging the gold with 46.81.
— UNI |
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Anand draws again
Bilbao (Spain), September 9 Anand, who has managed five draws and a loss so far here, had a difficult time with black against Ivanchuk as the Ukrainian did not take many chances despite playing with white. Anand and Ivanchuk along with Teimour Radjabov of Azerbaijan continued to be tied fourth on 5 points each. Levon Aronian of Armenia, with 6 points, remained sole third. — PTI |
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