 |
|
|
Cup of Life
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Symonds sent back
Manipur holds Bengal
‘Hockey India a joke’
Mahilpur football from June 8
|
|
Safina, Kuznetsova in title clash
Paris, June 4 It was a comprehensive, if nervy victory for the 23-year-old Muscovite who is on a mission here to win her first Grand Slam tournament and silence those who say she is not worthy of being the world No.1 until she does so. “It wasn’t an easy match and I felt tight throughout,” Safina said. In another semifinal clash, Russian seventh seed Svetlana Kuznetsova struggled past Australian 30th seed Samantha Stosur 6-4, 6-7, 6-3 to book her place in the final. The 2004 U.S. Open champion bagged a scrappy opening set after breaking decisively in the seventh game. Kuznetsova, the Roland Garros 2006 runner-up, was forced to a tiebreak in the second set which her opponent took 7-5 after rallying from 5-2 down. The Russian snatched the decider’s only break in the sixth game and held serve to seal the win on her first match point when Stosur netted a forehand. —
Reuters |
|
Symonds sent back
Rugged and talented, Symonds has been a problem child of Australian cricket, having had several brushes with authority, which culminated in the most recent episode of drinking, though ironically not in excess. Cricket Australia had strictly forbidden him to consume alcohol, following problems in the past. In August 2008, he was dropped from the Australian team after missing a team meeting, because he had gone fishing. He also turned up drunk on radio, abusing the New Zealand wicket-keeper Brendon McCullum. He thereafter underwent rehabilitation. Earlier in 2008, Symonds caused a storm by accusing Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh of calling him a ‘monkey’ - a racist abuse in International Cricket Council’s code of conduct. This charge was initially upheld by match referee Mike Procter, but dismissed on appeal by a New Zealand judge. Symonds and some of his teammates accused Cricket Australia of succumbing to pressure from the Board of Control for Cricket in India. |
|
|
Santosh Trophy
Chennai, June 4 Bengal went into the lead in the 10th minute through Lalawmpuia, but a 59th minute strike by Manipur’s Subhash Singh denied the 29-time champions a deserving win. Having drawn with Tamil Nadu 1-1 earlier, Bengal will now have to win their last quarterfinal league match against holders Punjab if they have to make it to the last four stage. Lalawmpuia and Subho Kumar kept Manipur backline busy for most part of the match. In the second minute itself, Kumar struck a powerful shot from the edge of the box only to miss the target narrowly. — PTI |
|
Mumbai, June 4 Gurbux, a member of the bronze medal winning 1968 Mexico Olympics squad, termed it “a joke perpetrated on Indian hockey” and called on Sports Minister MS Gill to interfere. Former national coach Carvalho, member of the Indian squad that took part in the 1984 Los Angeles Games and an Arjuna Awardee, was scathing in his attack. “I ask one question. Will Suresh Kalmadi allow six other persons to form a body called Athletics India and give it recognition? The IOA has had long feuds with the IHF, but this time it has gone way too much,” he said. Fereira, who played in the 1996 Atlanta Games, wondered whether this was the end of the Indian Hockey Federation and termed the manner in which it was done undemocratic only to ensure India hosted the next year’s World Cup. “I don’t understand. Is it the end of IHF? I have been in hockey for several years and I don’t know most of the people on the committee. It has been done in an undemocratic manner for hosting the World Cup,” he wondered. In a hurriedly convened press conference in New Delhi yesterday, Kalmadi had announced that Hockey India was formed on May 20 with a seven member governing council led-by AK Mattoo as interim President and Vidya Stokes as Vice President. Gurbux pointed out that there was none with hockey background in the newly formed Hockey India committee and expressed concerns that such a panel would be at the helm for two or three years. — PTI
|
|
Mahilpur football from June 8
Chandigarh, June 4 The matches, that will begin at 7.30 pm, will be held under floodlights. The tournament committee members are: Gurkamal Bains, Navdeep S. Bains, Manjinder Singh, Mohammad Akbvar, Karanvir Singh, Yashpal Jassi and Ali Hasan. National-level players and those from reputed clubs such as the JCT, Phagwara and the Punjab Police have confirmed their participation in the tournament, said Bains. |
|
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Letters | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
Top seed Dinara Safina blasted her way into the French Open final for the second year in a row today by outgunning Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia 6-3, 6-3. The Russian, who lost in straight sets in last year’s final to Ana Ivanovic, will play Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia in the final.
The unavailability of Andrew Symonds, sent home on disciplinary grounds, in Australia’s side for World Twenty20 squad is major blow to their middle order and to a certain extent to their bowling, since they are deficient in the spin department.