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China Town
Global Punch |
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Wright ready to work with Ganguly Chelsea begin with win Bhullar wins to top PGTI order of merit India lose to Holland in first hockey Test
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China Town
Hyderabad, August 15 Second seed Chen muscled his way past former champion Taufik Hidayat of Indonesia, routing the fourth seed 21-16 21-6 in 39 minutes in an awesome display of power and precision. The women's final will also have a Chinese winner after twice former champion and sixth seed Xie Xingfang overcame eighth-seed Pi Hongyan, a Chinese-born French player, 21-18 21-8. Xie will face seventh seed Lu Lan, who upset compatriot and world number two Wang Lin 21-18 21-19 in the other semi-final. Lin, 25, praised Kuncoro and was happy China will be the winner on Sunday. “Sony was playing tactfully, not allowing me to finish off quickly,” he told reporters, adding: “It does not matter who wins, China is assured of the gold medal.” Fifth seed Lin, world champion in 2006 and 2007, was subdued early on but steadily took control by drawing Kuncoro to the net to finish off points. However, Kuncoro bounced back in the second game when he kept Lin off the net and engaged him in longer rallies to force errors. Lin displayed his class in the decider to edge clear of the tiring Kuncoro, who hit wide twice in a row to end the contest. Hidayat, the 2004 Olympic champion, countered the 23-year-old Chen's power initially with his crafty approach, staying level until 14-all in the opening game. But the taller Chen took charge, hammering powerful smashes to the Indonesian's forehand and body to take the first game. Chen, 23, was unstoppable in the next game as he raced ahead 8-0, forcing errors even from the famed backhand of the 2005 world champion. He hit three down-the-line smashes to reach match point before Hidayat pushed a backhand wide to bow out. Taufik said, “Had I been younger, I’d have beaten him.” Chen said, “I played better. Taufik is good at the net, so I tried to avoid him there and restricted his movements.” — Reuters
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Wright ready to work with Ganguly Chennai, August 15 “We worked well together. It was a good combination. I have no qualms about working again with Sourav Ganguly,” Wright, who was the Indian team’s coach during Ganguly’s captaincy,” Wright, who is here as New Zealand ‘A’ assistant coach for the Buchi Babu tournament, told reporters. Wright, who is tipped to become KKR coach, recalled the "exciting" stint with Team India under Ganguly. “Working here is always so exciting since there are always speculations, which keeps you rather busy and it is also part of the excitement,” Wright quipped. “Sourav and myself are strong individuals and we had great times being in the same boat. He was the first captain from Bengal and I was the first foreign coach for India and we had known we have to win matches. He did his things his way. I would challenge him. Sometimes, we did not know why to agree. “He did things differently but we had great trust in our relationship. I was so proud at the way he fought back after being dropped. It is always nice to see that your players are doing well, when you are out of the job and being away in your own country," said the former New Zealand
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Chelsea begin with win
London, August 15 New signing Stephen Hunt, booed throughout by Chelsea fans because of a tackle that left goalkeeper Petr Cech with a fractured skull in 2006 when the Irishman played for Reading, shot Hull in front just before the half hour mark. Hull, who survived their first season in the top flight by the skin of their teeth in May, enjoyed their lead for just nine minutes before Ivory Coast striker Drogba curled a free kick past Myhill. Chelsea improved after the break but were frustrated until Drogba popped up to clinch the points. — Reuters |
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Global Punch
Chandigarh, August 15
Vijender does some chin ups, Akhil dodges a tennis ball, Dinesh punches, rather cuts through the air, Jitender hops and punches an imaginary figure, with some vengeance though and Nanao and Suranjoy are putting in the rounds….so where does one begin from with such frantic action enveloping the air?Sandhu, probably sensing the naivety of ‘lesser mortals’, says, “It is hard to imagine anyone putting in such hard work in this weather, but these boys, and I mean absolutely everyone of them, is honest and committed to the core. They don’t do it for it makes good news, they do it for they believe that boxing has made their lives different from others…maybe a tad special too. They know that the world championships are very, very tough. But instead of sinking under the burden of failures, they have trained harder than ever. Rest will be decided in the ring.”
Akhil who exactly a year ago had defeated the then world champion at the Beijing Games sheds some more light on the task at hand. “Indian boxing is looking up. We have been consistent in the past year, and many boys have come up with good results, but the Championship is not like anything else. If Olympics are tough , then this is probably toughest. All the boys have been training hard, and will give it their best shot. We are just cautious, but not at all negative.” Akhil, who made a country of a billion realise that boxing could be entertaining, adds, “I am not setting any goals. I had said even before the Olympics that I don’t consider silver or bronze as medals. For me there is just one medal…gold. And I know all other boys are also motivated for the same, but before a tournament as tough as this, let’s not create unnecessary pressure for ourselves.” The rock star looks could fool you, but one look at him during the training session and Vijender becomes the quintessential boy-next-door who fought, and that too very hard, his way to fame. “I am training with just one goal, to be in the best possible shape for the championship. Everything else, in a competition as tough as this will be decided on the day.” And isn’t it tough to find time for training in a packed schedule? “No. My schedule is packed because I train. Not because of some ad shoot or TV programme. I don’t squeeze in the training. I squeeze all other stuff in. Training and my boxing top the list, and will remain so. I will never forget that I am a firstly, secondly and even thirdly a boxer….everything else is below and after boxing.” Nanao Singh, silver medalist at the Asian Boxing Championship is another one in the spotlight. He is probably the most unassuming of the lot, and therefore its hard to get him talking. But even then, the ambition inside the diminutive Manipuri does almost out of compulsion throws up a line or two. “I fight to win. There is obviously a lot of tough competition in the Championship, but when I fight, I fight for the top, to win.”
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Bhullar wins to top PGTI order of merit Gaganjeet Bhullar is going great guns. This 21-year-old Kapurthala lad fired a three-under 69 card for the third successive day to clinch the PGTI Players Championship with a final tally of 13 under 275 on the par-72 Eagleton Golf Resort greens in Bangalore today. Finishing three strokes behind the leader is Bangalore-based amateur Ahbishek Jha. Being an amateur Abhishek is not entitled to the runner up prize money, which went to Raju Ali Mollah, who had an overall score of eight under 280. This was Bhullar's fourth PGTI triumph in five outings. And today's prize money of Rs 4,84,950 catapulted him to the top slot in the overall PGTI order of merit with total earnings of Rs 16,67,800 from just five events this year. He dethroned Mukesh Kumar from the top slot. Bhullar appeared a confident man as he got into action on Saturday morning. His positive frame of mind saw him birdying the second hole converting a seven-foot putt. Another two birdies on the fourth and seventh saw the Kapurthala boy taking the turn at three under 33. He began his back nine with a birdie on the 10th. But then he bogeyed the 15th where he had a difficult fourth shot from under a tree. “My final round was a lot like the third round. I hit it close to the pins through the day. The third shot with a sand wedge on the par five fourth hole was special. It landed just two feet short of the pin. I was relaxed since morning and did not feel any real pressure. Since Raju and Ali Sher were not attacking the pins it became easier for me to close the game,” said a beaming Bhullar. Jeev makes cut in final Major
Jeev Milkha Singh battled to a one over par 73 to share the 48th spot at three over par 147 as Tiger Woods remained on top of the leaderboard at seven under 137 at the midway stage of the US PGA Championship on the par-72 Hazeline National greens at Chaska in Minnesota (USA) on Friday. Vijay Singh, the Fijian of Indian origin, kept up his bid for a third US PGA Championship title carding a par 72 to move into tied second place at 141, four strokes behind Tiger Woods. |
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India lose to Holland in first hockey Test
Amstelveen, August 15 The Dutch toyed with the Indians in the opening half, pumping in five goals at the Wagener Stadium here late last night before the visitors made a failed comeback bid with three goals. For Holland, Timme Hoyng (second minute), Teun de Nooijer (fourth), Taeke Taekema (17th and 25th) and Rogier Hoffman (32nd minute) were the goal-getters, while Sardar Singh (40th) and Prabhjot Singh (60th and 69th minute) scored the consolations for India. Holland began crisply and shook the Indian defence with two early strikes within the first four minutes of the match. Floris Evers intercepted a short pass from Teun de Nooijer before setting up Hoyng to give Holland the lead. —
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