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Federer shines, Serbs dominate
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Thakur stars in India’s win
I wasn’t comfortable with Chappell: Sehwag
National Games
Sirmur polo cup
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Federer shines, Serbs dominate
The world number two, who is seeking to equal Pete Sampras’s Grand Slam-title record, romped through the first set but was made to work hard by the world number 35, who squandered several break opportunities throughout the match. Earlier in the day, super Serbs Ana Ivanovic, Jelena Jankovic and Novak Djokovic locked in their second round spots while Andy Roddick scorched a sacrificial Swede. World number one Jankovic muscled her way past Austria’s Yvonne Meusburger 6-1, 6-3 at a sun-baked Melbourne Park while Ivanovic, runner-up here 12 months ago, squeaked past German Julia Goerges 7-5, 6-3 in a less-than-convincing performance. “I don’t expect myself to step on the court and play perfect tennis from very first moment,” Ivanovic told reporters, putting on a brave face. Djokovic stamped his name on the trophy 12 months ago and opened his defence with a win over a spirited Andrea Stoppini 6-2, 6-3, 7-5. Swede Bjorn Rehnquist may think twice before attempting to qualify again after the pummeling the 31-year-old received at the hands of a ruthless Roddick. The American seventh seed smashed the Swede 6-0, 6-2, 6-2. He will next face Xavier Malisse after the Belgian beat Michael Llodra 7-6, 6-1, 6-1. Jankovic was comfortable with her game after her victory although she had suffered a little with the heat. “I feel fit and ready to play. Conditions are quite tough out there. It’s very warm. One problem that I had was my feet were burning.” She tackles Belgian Kirsten Flipkens next.
— Reuters |
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Sania Mirza survived a late onslaught from world number 61 Marta Domachowhska to set up a second-round clash with Russian 10th seed Nadia Petrova in the women’s singles here on Monday. The unseeded Indian battled past the Pole 6-1, 6-4 in the first round. Nadia beat Kazakhstan Yaroslava Shvedova 6-3, 7-6 (3) in her opening round match. Sania, playing her first singles match of the season after a long injury-lay off, was happy with her comeback match. “It was a great way to begin after such a long break. I’ve not played a match in almost six months now. I’m just happy to have come through,” she said after the match. Sania raced away with the first set in just 25 minutes, breaking the Polish player thrice. The Indian led 2-0 in the second set before Marta stepped on the gas, winning four games on the trot, breaking Sania in the third and fifth games. From a comfortable 2-0, Sania found herself trailing 2-4 in no time. Under pressure, the 22-year-old Hyderabadi got her act together and went on to win the next four games to seal the issue. Sania broke Marta in the eighth and 10th games in the process. Sania had lost to Marta in 2003 in their first meeting and now the head-to-head record stands at 1-1. — PTI
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Thakur stars in India’s win
Mar del Plata (Argentina), January 19 The veteran Indian Oil striker sounded the boards on the 18th and 41st minutes, while Matias Paredes reduced the margin for Argentina in the 65th minute with a penalty corner deflection. It was, however, the hosts who looked more attacking of the two sides as they forced their first penalty corner as early as in the fourth minute but Indian goalkeeper Baljit Singh foiled Juan Ignacio Gilardi's drag-flick. India soon settled down with controlled midfield play from VS Vinaya and Gurbaj Singh constantly setting up forwards Rajpal Singh, Tushar Khandker and Prabhjot Singh. India could have taken the lead in the seventh minute when Rajpal sent a sizzling cross to Thakur, whose deflection was well taken by Argentina goalkeeper Juan Manuel Vivaldi and off the rebound, Thakur shot wide. Argentina attempted numerous forays with rapid interchanges and overheads but they were superbly checked by deep defender and old India warhorse Dilip Tirkey. However, on one occasion, Mario Almada managed to get past Tirkey but Baljit dived to his right to bring off a spectacular save. India finally took the lead in the 18th minute when Rajpal intercepted in the centre to set up Khandker. The wily Jhansi lad then pushed to the overlapping Prabhjot who dodged past two Argentine defenders releasing to Thakur who did not make any mistake this time. Argentina soon had a couple of chances to restore parity from penalty corners but on both occasions, Baljit foiled Pedro Ibarra's flicks. India nearly scored another goal in the 28th minute after the forwards combined to open Argentina's defence seams but custodian Vivaldi checked Thakur's deflection. India earned their first penalty corner three minutes later after Gilardi had body-checked Shivendra Singh. The opportunity, however, went abegging as skipper Sandeep Singh could not beat Vivaldi with his power-packed drag-flick. Argentina picked up the match-pace in the second half and created spaces from their midfield where Lucas Rey and Tomas Argento fed accurately to the wings. The hosts earned another penalty corner in the 37th minute after a soft giveaway by Rajpal. India was lucky to survive after Gilardi's go at the goal was stopped on the line by Khandker. India found the mark again in the 41st minute after Sandeep Singh sent an accurate slapshot into the Argentine circle where it was not controlled by Facundo Callioni. The ever-ready Deepak Thakur seized the opportunity and pushed it past bewildered Vivaldi. Thakur again led a sortie, which resulted in another penalty corner for India, The well-executed flick by Sandeep was saved on the line by Matias Vila to India's disappointment. India conceded two more soft penalty corners as Sandeep Singh was found wanting in his defensive tackles. Argentina, however, could not capitalise as Baljit again stood out. The uninterrupted attacks continued on India and Argentina finally reduced the margin when Paredes converted a penalty corner to make it 2-1. The second Test will be played here tomorrow.
— PTI |
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I wasn’t comfortable with Chappell: Sehwag
The former South African batting star, Kirsten "doesn't force things on you", Sehwag said in a freewheeling interview to PTI. Comparing the two coaches, Sehwag indicated that Chappell had tried to get him to change his batting style. "He had his view on my front-foot play, my footwork." "The thing with him (Chappell) was that whatever you shared with him, it was promptly disclosed to media and selectors. He talked and that hurt the trust," Sehwag said. Excerpts from the interview: Q: You cut your teeth under Sourav Ganguly. He was the one who made you an opener? A: Yes, it was in Sri Lanka. I hit gold in the third match with that blistering century off 69 balls (against New Zealand). A lot of youngsters, including me, came to the fore under Dada. Remember, when he took over world cricket was reeling under the impact of match-fixing. He always backed us. For instance, when I was Man of the Match against Australia early in my career, he assured me that I would play in at least next 30 one-day matches. Even when he promoted me as an opener, he told me to bat without worry as he wouldn't touch me for the next 30-35 games. When your captains backs you in this manner, your confidence is sky-high. He was also an extremely aggressive captain. Q. And Mahendra Singh Dhoni? A. In many ways he is doing what Ganguly used to do. He is also aggressive. But he also knows how to be defensive if a game is to be saved. The thing with Dhoni is that he gives all of us a lot of space. He doesn't want to control everyone. The optional practice rule has really gained ground under him. Now it's not mandatory to turn up for practice everyday. There is so much of travelling, so many matches. He knows the importance of rest and allows everyone their own recovery period. Q. I remember you recently said that the dressing room atmosphere now is the best ever and coach Gary Kirsten should take a lot of credit for it. A. He is the best coach I have ever seen. He doesn't force things on you. His basic premise is: you all are international cricketers and you know how to succeed and how important it is to succeed. So I won't thrust myself on you. But whenever you need me, for practice, throwing balls, sharing ideas, worries, I am always there. During Test matches, there are days when he doesn't force you to follow you a similar routine in warm ups. If he senses a day when it can be an easy one for the lads, he allows you to do no warm ups. When an intense day is ahead, we all come together to bring that required intensity. Q. And Greg Chappell wasn't quite like that? He also tried to change your batting style? A. He had his view on my front-foot play, my footwork. The thing with him was that whatever you shared with him, it was promptly disclosed to media and selectors. He talked and that hurt the trust. I wasn't comfortable with him. Q. He made you visit psychologists. The most uncomplicated of batting stylist was made to curb his instincts? A. I never went alone to psychologist Rudi Webster. In a session with Webster, we all had our chunk of time. I am one who believes that if you open up your thoughts to someone you trust, you feel lighter and thus better. But I found out that Webster couldn't keep things confidential. Q. After you were in doldrums, your career was revived in Australia in 2007-08. The century in Adelaide Test must be very special to you? A. Yes it is. It was a knock when I was determined to spend time at the crease. In the first two hours on the final day, I made only 27 runs in the first session. In the afternoon, Tendulkar kept telling me that we had to keep going. Or Australians could use the final 30-35 overs to chase down the target. It was very, very special. — PTI
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‘Nobody scared of Mendis’
Lahore, January 19 ''Nobody's scared of him (Mendis) There is no reason why we can't handle him. We are playing a variety of spinners from shorter distance to counter Mendis,'' he said. The 23-year-old right-arm bowler has an unusual grip that helps him bowl a variety of deliveries, including a faster one. He has already collected 55 wickets from just 21 one-dayers.
— UNI |
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National Games
New Delhi, January 19 The Games were scheduled to be held from February 15 to 28 at Ranchi, Jamshedpur and Dhandbad, but the IOA felt that work on the infrastructure would not be completed to hold the Games on time. The Games were originally slated to be held in early 2007, but got postponed as first the state government could not raise the resources and then the state fell into political uncertainty. “The National Games need Rs 1,000 crore - Rs 900 crore for establishment of infrastructure and Rs 100 crore for the conduct of the Games - but apparently, the state could not raise such a huge amount in time”, said chairman of the National Games steering committee Ashok Kumar Mattoo, who is also the treasurer of the IOA. Mattoo said the IOA thought it prudent to give three more months to the Jharkhand Government to complete the construction work, and be ready in every sense to hold the games. According to sources, the burden of the expenses were to be shared by the state government and the Central government, “but the Centre apparently gave no money to the state”. IOA secretary-general Raja Randhir Singh said there were sponsors ready to back the Games, provided the infrastructure was put in place. The National Games, in fact, are coursing on a familiar path as the previous Games were also held after several postponements. Assam, which hosted the 33rd edition, had to keep the Games on hold many times due to insurgency and the slow work on infrastructure before the Games were held in 2006. Kerala and Goa have been allotted the 35th and 36th editions, respectively, but Matto said “Now that Jharkhand has gone beyond the schedule, we will have no option, but to reschedule the next two editions of the games as well”. |
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Sirmur polo cup
Jaipur, January 19 The tournament played on the 14-goal level is at par with global standards of the game. An annual event for last seven years, it would see international players Like Manupal Godara - the most handicap player of the country, Col Tarsem Singh - plus two handicap player and Capt Vishal Chouhan - the popular Indian forward and Vishal Singh, all famous polo stars in action. Rajesh Dingre, chief operating officer, VodafoneEssar told reporters in a press conference this afternoon that four teams would participate in the tournament. The teams were Cavalary Black, RPC-ASC, Jaipur Warriors and Aravali crusaders. Simran Shergill, a noted woman polo player would be playing in the RPC team (Rajasthan Polo Club). One of the oldest and most prestigious sporting events, the Simur Cup has become an annual tradition in the state, which has given the famous Jodhpuri dress to the polo world. |
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Melbourne, January 19
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