The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

No kicks in athletics

New Delhi, December 29
Indian athletics continued to remain laggards at the international stage returning once again empty handed at the biggest stage of all — the Olympic Games in Beijing and failing to join the success story that other sports scripted this year.

Beijing Olympics raised the bar in all the track and field events but for the 16-member Indian contingent it was a performance not even worth remembering.

True, nobody gave them more than an outside chance to win a medal but it was disappointing to see most of the Indian athletes bringing up the rear in their respective events.

The Indians topped the medals tally in the Asian Indoor Athletics Championships in Doha in February ahead of China and did well in the three Asian Grand Prix events in June.

They re-wrote three national records during the year including the one broken by Surendra Singh, who erased Bahadur Singh's 16-year-old 3000m mark from record books.

But all these count for little as Indians failed to make their presence felt at the Chinese capital. Despite a good build-up to the Beijing Games with a training-cum-competition tour to England and a couple of athletes training abroad on sponsorship money, they were beaten by shooters, boxers and wrestlers in the race to bring glory to the country.

In fact, it seemed Indian athletics was stuck in a time warp while their counterparts in other parts of the world imbibed the Olympic motto of ‘Swifter, Higher, Stronger’.

If there was one athlete, the nation had pinned some hope of winning a medal in Beijing, it was Anju Bobby George. But the lanky long jumper, the bronze medallist at the 2003 World Athletics Championships in Paris, had a nightmarish Beijing sojourn where all three of her jumps in the qualification round were declared fouls.

It was hardly a surprise considering that Anju's career graph has been on the decline for the past three years. Since winning the silver in the World Athletics final in Monaco in 2005, Anju has not won a medal in any major event.

From a high of 6.83m at the Athens Olympics where she finished seventh, she came down to 6.75m in Monaco and since then she had 6.54m, 6.65 and 6.55m as her best for 2006, 2007 and 2008.

She won gold in all the three Asian Grand Prix but her season's best of 6.55m was nowhere near the medal bracket in the Olympics. Another athlete on which the nation had pinned its hopes, discus thrower Vikas Gowda was also eliminated in the qualifying round after failing to reach anywhere near his personal best and national record of 64.96m, which he achieved in May last year in Salinas.

Gowda, who had a similar experience four years ago at the Athens Olympics, hurled the discus to 60.69m to finish 11th in Group A and 22nd overall.

Indians were also expecting a good show from the women's 4X400m relay team. No one expected a medal but hopes were high that they would at least make the final as they had done in Athens four years ago, eventually finishing seventh.

The Indian quartet clocked a fabulous 3:28.29 at the second leg of the Asian GP at Korat in Thailand, the second best after their national record 3:26.89 in Athens.

But this time, Satti Geetha, Manjeet Kaur, Chitra Soman and Mandeep Kaur clocked 3:28.83s to finish a disappointing seventh in the eight-team qualifying heat.

Another national record holder, triple jumper Renjith Maheswary finished a dismal 35th in a 37-athlete field. His best leap of 15.77 was way below his personal best of 17.04m, which he had recorded in Guwahati last year to become the first Indian to reach the 17m mark.

G Prameela, JJ Shobha and Susmita Singha Roy finished 27th, 30th and 33rd, respectively, in women’s heptathlon. Mandeep Kaur finished sixth in the seven-runner 400m women's heat. Preeja Sreedharan, who created a national record of 32:04.41s in London, was 25th among 29 runners.

Surendra Singh ended 26th among 35 runners in 10,000m with a poor 28:13.97 seconds. Discus throwers Krishna Poonia and Harwant Kaur also failed to qualify for the finals.

At the continental level, though, India had something to cheer about with fine shows in the three legs of the Asian Grand Prix in Bangkok (June 23), Korat (June 26) and Hanoi (June 30).

India won five gold in Bangkok, another five in Korat and seven gold in Hanoi. Before that the Indians began the year topping the medal charts in the third Asian Indoor Athletics Championships in Doha in February with five gold, nine silver and three bronze ahead of China and Kazakhstan.

India then dominated the South Asian Athletics Meet in March in Kochi winning 57 medals including 24 gold, ahead of Sri Lanka and Pakistan. The most prestigious international event in the country this year — the second Asian All Star prize money meet — held in Bhopal in September.

The meet received lukewarm response from the top athletes of Asia and was marred by intermittent rain. In the absence of top athletes, including those from China, India won 30 of the 54 medals on offer with nine gold, seven silver and 14 bronze.

But the third international event in the AFI calendar — Junior South Asian meet — proposed to be held in Pune did not see light of the day.

On the domestic front, the Athletics Federation of India tried to bring some glamour and incentive factor to attract youngsters to the sport. It planned to start a cricket-style grading system classifying athletes into three categories with those into Grade A, who would be made up of top 50 in IAAF rankings or Asian Games medallist, getting at least five lakh fee a year.

AFI also conducted four national meets -- Federation Cup National Senior Athletics Championships in Bhopal, National Inter State Senior Athletics Championships in Madurai, National Jumps and Combined Events in Bangalore and National Open Athletics Championships in Kochi.

Indian Grand Prix’s first leg was held in February at NIS Patiala but the other two legs — both proposed to be held in Coimbatore when the calendar was announced early in the year — were dropped.

Surendra re-wrote two national records — in men's 3000m (7:50.30) and 10,000m (28:02.89) while Preeja Sreedharan set a new record (32:04.41) in women's 10,000m. Services athlete Basant Bahadur Rana scripted a new national record (4::10:42) in men's 5km walk but he belonged to Nepal.

Early in the year, the AFI was pulled up by IAAF for allowing two dope-tainted athletes — Jasmine Joseph and Bharat Reddy — to take part in the All India Universities meet in Chidambaram in December 2007. Shahnawaz Khan, who won gold in hammer throw at the Federation Cup in Bhopal early in the year, tested positive for anabolic steroids. — PTI

Ranji Q-finals
Mumbai beat Himachal, enter semis

Ahmedabad, December 29
Ajit Agarkar found his lost touch by taking five wickets and helping Mumbai advance to the Ranji Trophy semifinals after a nine-wicket victory over Himachal Pradesh at the Sardar Patel Stadium, Motera, here today.

Himachal added 87 runs to yesterday's total before getting all out for 287, giving Mumbai a target of 43 runs to win on the final day. Agarkar polished off the Himachal tail to complete his five-wicket haul.

Mumbai reached the target in less than a hour's time, losing one wicket -- of Ajinkya Rahane (17) who opened the innings with Vinayak Samant instead of skipper Wasim Jaffer -- in the process.

Sarandeep, highest scorer for Himachal in the first innings, was the first to go after scoring 18, caught by Rohit Sharma off Agarkar.

The Mumbai pacer struck again in the same over dismissing Vishal Bhatia leg before for a duck. Himachal lost all hopes when Paras Dogra, who scored a brilliant 82 yesterday, was caught behind by Samant to become Agarkar's fifth victim. Dogra’s 90, the highest for Himachal, was studded with 14 boundaries and two sixes.

Scoreboard

Himachal 1st innings: 250

Mumbai 1st innings: 495

Himachal Pradesh 2nd innings: (overnight 56 for 5):

B Thakar c Samant b Agarkar 4

Sangram lbw Agarkar 58

Indulkar c Jaffar b Powar 24

Sharma c (sub) b Nayar 8

Dogra c Samant b Agarkar 90

Mannu c R Powar b Bahutule 6

S Singh c Rohit b Agarkar 18

Bhatia lbw Agarkar 0

Thakur run out 17

Malik not out 26

J Mehta c & b Powar 14

Extras: (b-0, lb-6, nb-16) 22

Total: (all out in 68.4 overs) 287

FoWs: 1-04, 2-61, 3-82, 4-151, 5-188, 6-219, 7-219, 8-224, 9-265, 10-287.

Bowling: A Agarkar 18-4-78-5, D Kulkarni 19-3-90-0, A Nayar 9-0-21-1, R Shaikh 5-0-18-0, R Powar 10.4-0-42-2, S Bahutule 7-0-82-1.

Mumbai 2nd innings:

Samant not out 24

Rahanel b Thakar 17

Nayar not out 2

Extras: 0

Total: (1 wicket, 13.4 overs) 43

Fall of wickets: 1-26.

Bowling: P Dogra 4-0-11-0, Sangram Singh 4-0-10-0, Bhavin Thakar 3.4-0-18-1, A Mannu 2-0-4-0.

UP set up semis clash with TN

Vadodara: Uttar Pradesh comfortably booked a semifinal berth in the Ranji Trophy tournament courtesy a first innings lead over Gujarat in the drawn quarterfinal here today.

Resuming at 289 for eight, Uttar Pradesh finished their second innings at 375 and with a healthy first innings 188-run lead, they set Gujarat an improbable 564-run target in 56 overs.

In reply, the hosts managed 106 runs for loss of three wickets and match ended in a draw thus sending last-year's runners-up into the last-four stage. UP will clash with Tamil Nadu next week for a place in the final.

Earlier, overnight unbeaten batsmen Praveen Gupta and Mohd Amir Khan continued to play aggressively and added 125 runs for the ninth wicket for UP. Left-hander Gupta played a stylish knock of 74 runs, studded with three sixes and nine fours while Khan hit 56 runs helping himself with 11 fours.

Off-break bowler Monish Parmar claimed five wickets to emerge as the most successful bowler for Gujarat as the hosts bundled out the visitors in 31.1 overs. Chasing 564, Gujarat had a shaky start, losing two wickets — Priyank Panchal and Niraj Patel — when the scoreboard was reading just 10.

Opener Modi, who was playing the last match of his Ranji and first class cricket career, stood like a rock and struck an unbeaten 57 runs off 148 balls, containing nine fours. Modi and Bhavi Thakkar (31 not out ) stitched an unbeaten 54 runs for the fourth wicket.

Scoreboard

Uttar Pradesh 1st innings: 305

Gujarat 1st innings: 117

Uttar Pradesh 2nd innings:

(Overnight 289 for 8)

M A Khan not out 56

P Gupta c S Patel b N Patel 74

I Patel c S Patel b M Parmar 12

Extras: (b 5, lb 6, w 1) 12

Total: (all out, 146.1 overs) 375

Fall of wickets: 1/15, 2/78, 3//131, 4/162, 5/179,6/209, 7/210 , 8/229 , 9/354 , 10/375.

Bowling: S Trivedi 6-4-9-0, A Makda 24-0-59-2, Amit Singh 35-14-83-1, M Parmar 46.1-14-113-5, T Patel 22-6-69-1, P Patel 7-3-15-0, S Patel 1-0-5-0, N Patel 3-0-11-1.

Gujarat 2nd innings:

N Modi not out 57

P Panchal b Bhuvnesh 2

N Patel b Bhuvnesh 1

Parthiv c Bhuvnesh b Imitiaz 14

Bhavik not out 31

Extra: (nb-1) 1

Total: (3 wickets, 47 overs) 106

Fall of wickets: 1/2, 2/10, 3/52.

Bowling: P Kumar 9-3-34-0, Bhuvnesh 9-3-12-2, I Ahmed 12-4-27-1, Piyush Chawla 12-5-21-0, P Gupta 5-1-12-0.

TN beat Bengal

Bangalore: S Badrinath struck an unbeaten 93 to guide Tamil Nadu to an eight-wicket victory over Bengal and take his side to Ranji Trophy semi-finals on the fourth and final day here today.

After conceding a first innings lead of 39, Tamil Nadu bounced back by bundling out Bengal for 187 before notching up the victory target of 227 though losing two wickets in the process today.

Resuming at 134 for four, Bengal lost six wickets by adding only 53 runs today with Tamil Nadu medium pacer L Balaji turning out to be the wrecker-in-chief with an impressive bowling figures of 20-10-24-6.

Tamil Nadu's victory chase went off smoothly. Openers Abhinav Mukund (31) and M Vijay (73) put on 84 runs in 18.5 overs, scoring at a fast pace. Vijay hit 12 fours and a six in his 87-ball knock. Then Badrinath hit a brilliant unbeaten 92 to take Tamil Nadu home in the company of skipper Dinesh Karthik (16 not out) who scored the winning boundary. Badrinath’s 116-ball innings included 12 fours and two sixes.

Brief scores:

Bengal: 345 and 187 (L R Shukla 47, Manoj Tiwary 42; Balaji 6/24, R Ashwin 2/93)

Tamil Nadu: 306 and 227 for two (Badrinath 93 not out, M Vijay 73, A Mukund 31; S S Sarkar 1/36, R R Bose 1/50).

Pujara, Kotak steer Saurashtra into semis

Mumbai: Rising batsman Cheteshwar Pujara cracked a superb unbeaten century to steer Saurashtra into the Ranji Trophy semifinals with a five-wicket victory over Karnataka on the fourth and final day of the quarterfinal tie here today.

Chasing a stiff target of 325 set by their rivals, Saurashtra romped home by making 327 for five in the last session of play at the Brabourne Stadium. Pujara remained unconquered on 112 in 224 balls with 15 hits to the fence after forging crucial and successive partnerships with three left handers -- veteran Sitanshu Kotak, who made 87, all rounder Ravindra Jadeja (55) and captain Jaydev Shah (55 not out) -- to guide his side home.

The 20-year-old right-handed batsman, who has been in roaring form in the domestic championship this season with a tally of over 750 runs before this tie, put on a vital stand of 163 runs for the fourth wicket with Kotak, who struck 12 fours in his 147-ball stay.

Their stand rescued Saurashtra, who trailed Karnataka by 116 runs in the first innings, from a precarious position of 13 for three in the morning and helped them turn the match around in fine style. After Kotak's fall at 176, Pujara had another left hander for company in Jadeja, who had already made his mark by taking nine wickets in the match, and the duo stitched together a stand of 77 runs in only 78 balls to put Saurashtra on the path to victory.

Pujara and the belligerent Shah, who struck nine fours and a six in his 43-ball unbeaten cameo, then piloted their side home with an unfinished stand of 74 runs. Saurashtra will meet West Zone rivals Mumbai in the semi final in Chennai from January 4-7. — PTI

Scoreboard

Karnataka (1st innings): 305

Saurashtra (1st innings): 189

Karnataka (2nd innings): 208

Saurashtra (2nd innings)

(overnight 10-2):

C Pathak c Naidu b Vinay 0

B Chauhan c Akhil b Vinay 6

K Makwana c Naidu b Vinay 0

S Kotak c and b Raghu 87

C Pujara not out 112

R Jadeja c Gautam b Raghu 55

J Shah not out 55

Extras: (b 4, lb 8) 12

Total: (5 wkts, 79 overs) 327

Fall of wickets: 1-4, 2-4, 3-13, 4-176, 5-253.

Bowling: Vinay 20-1-84-3, Aravind 11-4-34-0, Aiyappa 7-1-37-0, Joshi 27-6-84-0, Akhil 3-1-10-0, Raghu 11-1-66-2.

SA close in on series win

Melbourne, December 29
Australia appeared close to being knocked off its number one Test side's place after South Africa battered them on the fourth day of the second Test in which the visitors need another 153 runs to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.

Australia, in their second innings, was bowled out for 247 despite Ricky Ponting's heroics, leaving the Proteas to chase 183 runs for victory. South Africa was 30 for no loss at the end of fourth day’s play with captain Graeme Smith (25) and Neil McKenzie (3) in the middle.

Ponting, who hit a brilliant 101 in the first innings, fell short of his second hundred in the match when he was out at the score of 99. Mitchell Johnson was the second highest scorer in the Australian innings.

It turned out to be a memorable outing for South African pacer Dale Steyn who came up with his second successive five-wicket haul of the match today. Steyn had also contributed 76 runs in South Africa's first innings. — PTI

Scoreboard

Australia (Ist innings): 394

South Africa (Ist innings): 459

Australia (IInd innings):

Hayden c Duminy b Steyn 23

Katich c Boucher b Steyn 15

Ponting c Smith b Morkel 99

M Hussey c Amla b Morkel 2

Clarke c McKenzie b Steyn 29

Symonds c Kallis b Steyn 0

Haddin c Kallis b Ntini 10

Lee b Kallis 8

Johnson not out 43

Hauritz b Kallis 3

Siddle c Boucher b Steyn 6

Extras (b 1, lb 3, nb 5) 9

Total (all out, in 84.2 overs) 247

FoWs: 1/37, 2/40, 3/49, 4/145, 5/145, 6/165, 7/180, 8/212, 9/231.

Bowling: Steyn 20.2-3-67-5, Ntini 14-1-26-1, Morkel 15-2-46-2, Harris 21-1-47-0, Kallis 14-1-57-2.

South Africa (IInd innings):

Smith batting 25

McKenzie batting 3

Extras (nb 2) 2

Total: (no loss, 6 overs) 30

Bowling: Lee 3-0-17-0, Siddle 3-1-13-0.