London, August 22
England set Australia a world record 546 on Saturday to win the fifth and final Ashes test after Jonathan Trott (119) scored a century on his test debut. At the close of the third day, Australia had reached 80 for no wicket with six sessions remaining. They need at least a draw to retain the Ashes after squaring the series 1-1 in the fourth test at Headingley.

West Indies recorded the highest fourth innings winning total six years ago when they reached 418 for seven against Australia at St John's in Antigua. Trott, who was run out for 41 in the first innings, became the first England player since Graham Thorpe in 1993 to score an Ashes century on debut. Andrew Strauss and Trott took the overnight total of 58 for three to 157 before the England captain was caught at slip off Marcus North for 75 shortly before lunch. It was Strauss's second half-century of the match. Trott showed admirable composure on a pitch which held few terrors after 15 wickets had tumbled for 243 on Friday.

He drove the ball handsomely through the off-side reaching his 50 in the morning session from 89 balls. After Matt Prior had run himself out for four, Andrew Flintoff came to the wicket to a standing ovation in his last test innings. He struck four quick boundaries but was caught at long-off for 22 trying to hit North out of the ground. North, who took over the off-spinning duties after Australia omitted specialist Nathan Hauritz, took four for 98 from 30 overs.

Graeme Swann entertained the capacity crowd with nine boundaries in his 63 from 55 balls while Trott patiently acquired runs at the other end. — Reuters

Scoreboard

England (1st innings) 332

Australia (1st innings) 160

England (2nd innings)

Strauss c Clarke b North 75

Cook c Clarke b North 9

Bell c Katich b Johnson 4

Collingwood c Katich b Johnson 1

Trott c North b Clark 119

Prior run out 4

Flintoff c Siddle b North 22

Broad c Ponting b North 29

Swann c Haddin b Hilfenhaus 63

Anderson not out 15

Extras: (b-1, lb-15, w-7, nb-9) 32

Total: (nine wickets dec; 95 overs) 373

Fall of wickets: 1-27, 2-34, 3-39, 4-157, 5-168, 6-200, 7-243, 8-333, 9-373.

Bowling: B en 11-1-58-1, Siddle 17-3-69-0, North 30-4-98-4, Johnson 17-1-60-2, Katich 5-2-9-0, Clark 12-2-43-1, Clarke 3-0-20-0.

Australia (2nd innings)

Watson batting 31

Katich batting 42

Extras: (lb-1, nb-2, b-4) 7

Total: (no wicket; 20 overs) 80

Bowling: Anderson 4-1-13-0, Flintoff 3-0-14-0, Harmison 5-1-24-0, Swann 5-0-19-0, Broad 3-1-5-0.

Chandigarh, August 22
“If Haryana is the home for sports, Bhiwani is its factory” believes Vijender Singh, India’s Olympics hero. And his statement doesn’t seem too off the mark if one goes by the award tally that the district added up during the recent Bhima Awards. Bhiwani dominated the awards function held at Haryana Raj Bhavan, as it bagged two of the six Bhim Awards. Even in the cash prize category, nine out of the 21 awards were pocketed by Bhiwani players.

The two Bhim Awardees, Sunil Kumar (Boxing) and Sukhbir Singh (Paralympics), a physically challenged, but national player excelled in their respective fields, that too with consistency, which in turn has brought name and fame to the area.

The other nine players, who were awarded with cash prizes for their outstanding performances included Vijender, bronze medal winner in Olympics (Boxing) and Jitender, another Olympian (Boxing).

Rest of the seven awardees hailing from different disciplines included Sukhbir Singh (Kabaddi), Vikas Kumar (Kabaddi), Kumari Babita (Wrestling), Sunil (Wrestling), Paramjeet (Wrestling), Manjeet Singh (Boxing) and Dilbag Singh (Boxing).

It is important to take note of the fact that a huge chunk of Rs 16.17 lakh out of the total prize money of Rs 36.67 lakh was pocketed by Bhiwani players.

Sharing his views, Sukhbir Singh said, “It hardly matters, I am physically challenged. I have guts to do the things according to my wishes and I am doing them. I started my game on the village level and then played inter university, but now I am sure that the day will come, when the whole country will be proud of me, not just Bhiwani.”

Jitender, an Olympics participant chipped in, “ Bhiwani is my hometown and everybody wants his own land to get name and fame. The people of Bhiwani, just like the people of the entire state are keen on sports, that is why the district has been doing well.”

Echoing the same views, Vijender, said, “Bhiwani leads because of its good sports infrastructure, together with the supportive attitude of the sports department. I am proud of being a native of Bhiwani and will try further to achieve my goals.” 

New Delhi, August 22
Sri Lanka rode on a remarkable three-goal spell by MNM Issadeen to upstage Lebanon 4-3 in an exciting match of the Nehru Cup International Football Tournament at the Ambedkar Stadium here tonight.

The contest was filled with speed, goals, blatant fouls, two red cards, one penalty goal and plenty of thrills and spills as Sri Lanka fought back to take full points off Lebanon. Lanka thus did a good turn for hosts India, as Lebanon had upset the defending champions in the opening match. Had Lebanon won, India would have been in a perilous position.

Lebanon, Syria and Sri Lanka have scored a win each to rake in three points each while India and Krygyzstan lost their opening contests. India need to win their next three matches with convincing margins for gaining a place in the challenge round. India meet Krygyzstan in their second match tomorrow, which will be a litmus test for them.

The Sri Lanka vs Lebanon tie was fast-paced from the start, as the Lankas were not intimidated by the speed of the Lebanese. Though Sri Lanka’s M Asmeer was injured in the very first minute while going for a tackle, the Island players never let up their aggression, and stunned Lebanon with a seventh-minute goal.

The irrepressible E.B.Channa ran down the right flank, crossed the ball into the box, which was dispatched into an empty net by Issadeen with custodian Lary Mehanna out of position. But the lead lasted barely a minute, as in a quick counter attack, Mohmoud El Ali took the ball to the edge of the box, and his cross was headed in by Akram Moghrabi.

Sri Lanka also unleashed a few dangerous moves, and Channa and Issadeen had some close calls at the Lebanese goal. Lebanon suffered a mortal blow when their tall defender and goal-scorer Akram Moghrabi was red-carded for elbowing down Lankan defender Hussein Amine, though it was the latter who first did the fowling act.

Even with just 10 men, Lebanon proved a handful, and they forged ahead seconds before half time. Mohamad Korhani took a free kick, goalie Asanka Viraj misjudged the flight, and Ali Al Saad knocked in the ball.

Though Lebanon made three substitutions in the second half, they could not really make up for being one-man short. Sri Lanka exploited this chink in their armour to mount tremendous pressure on the rival goal with their speed and thrust.The trio of Issadeen, captain Chathura Maduranga and Channa gave no respite to the Lebanon defence.

And after missing a sure goal in the 34th minute when Maduranga's shot hit the post and Chathura Gunaratne drove the rebound into the custodian, who pushed it forward, Maduranga made amends a minute later. 

Chandigarh, August 22
Human emotion has rarely known any bounds. Men and women have done the unthinkable, often in that one moment when ability gets a turbo charge and transcends into the realm of the unexplained.

Sukhbir Tokas of Bhagwi village, about 12 km from Charkhi Dadri in Haryana, knows all about these anecdotes of courage. For a man hit by polio during his childhood, he has somehow kept his conviction to look ahead. As he received the Bhim Award from the Haryana Governor, suddenly it seemed that for the man himself, and his family too, life had come a full circle.

“It has been a struggle, but when you get respect for your feats, it all seems worth the effort. I started swimming in the village pond, and then kept on at Kurukshetra University. I led the KU team at an All-India Inter University meet. That was when I started to believe that I could really make a difference by sticking to this sport,” says Sukhbir, father of two. He holds an MPhil degree and is employed with his village high school as a teacher.

But after winning many laurels, Sukhbir still has a dream - the dream of conquering the English Channel. But economics are not on his side. He says: “The one thing missing, and which still stands out as my dream is to cross the English Channel. I have complete belief in my ability that I can do it. But it costs around Rs 4-5 lakh, and that is where the problem begins. Even if I decide to somehow put in that money on my own and succeed in my endeavour, the thought of spending so much when I have a family to take care of sends a chill down my spine.

“If I can get a sponsor for the English Channel challenge, I can assure one and all that I will repay the faith put in me. I have kept my faith in the authorities all through, so I just hope they do the same for me.”

So how does it feel to be honoured by the state? “To be among the best was special. I wanted to speak to the CM to ask him for a promotion at my school, but he left before I could even get close to him. Nothing against that though, as he has a state to run. I guess to catch him I just need to keep winning awards. So it means more hard work,” he adds with an affable smile.

Dehradun, August 22
It will be after a gap of two decades that a team from Dehradun will participate in the 31st All-India Sikkim Governor’s Gold Cup Football Tournament, one of the top football tournaments where the country’s top teams would compete. It would be another opportunity for Dehradun footballers to rub shoulders with the best and regain the lost glory.

Dehradun has produced legendary footballers for the country. The success of the city’s teams in the 1960s and 1970s catapulted Dehradun to being among the premier football centres in the country. The dazzling performance of the Gorkha Brigade and the Gorkha Military School brought laurels to the city.

Legendary players from Dehradun namely Shyam Thapa, Ram Bahadur, Amar Bahadur, Chandan Singh Rana, Rattan Thapa and Ranjit Thapa brought name and fame not only for themselves but for Dehradun football. But since then, the game has declined in the valley as it has no official patronage.

Hope was rekindled with the formation of the separate state of Uttarakhand in November 2000 among football lovers that its own state government would do something concrete to bring back the old glory of football. But after nearly 10 years, nothing much has happened.

The history of soccer in Doon can be traced way back to the mid-18th century when this game was introduced by the British troops stationed at Chakrata and Dehradun. The Dehradun Brigade football team became a formidable side in British India. Football gained so much popularity here after 1911 that when the Prince of Wales (later Edward VIII) came here to inaugurate the Royal Indian Military College (now known as the Rashtriya Indian Military Academy) in 1922, one of his engagements was to felicitate the Army football team.

The Prince also presented the Gorkha Brigade Football Cup to the 9th Gorkhas team, which they had won a few days earlier. The year 1937 saw the formation of the Dehradun District Sports Association (DDSA) that started hosting a district football league in which local football clubs, central government institutes and Army teams participated.

The overall standard of football at the school level was also outstanding with public schools like the St Joseph’s Academy, The Doon School, St Georges College, Mussoorie, promoting the game. In the 70s, Gorkha trainings centres and the Gorkha brigades were moved out of Doon valley. It was major loss for the game as Gorkha troops were the ones patronising the game.

Efforts are on by Vijay Cantt Club, one of the oldest club of Dehradun, to revive the game besides Sports College and the Dehradun District football Association.

Vijay Cantt. club came into being in 1950s. For the past five years, the club has been organising free summer camps at Mahandra Ground to tap Doon’s football talent. The endeavour undertaken by the club has received an encouraging response from the young football enthusiasts.

One of the students Anirudh Thapa began playing football in 2006 at the camp. He got admission in St Stephen’s School, Chandigarh, on sports quota last year. Many girls who trained at the camp got selected for the national camp. One of them, Raksha Pawar, is leading the U 14 Indian team.

“We started coaching girls in 2006 and the response has been good. The number of girls has increased over the years with 17 girls having played the nationals in various categories,” said Buddiman Thapa, secretary of Vijay Cantt.

Anita Rawat and Jyoti Kumari both played in the u-13 national team in 2007. Anita was the highest goal scorer for the team with six goals that included a hat-trick against Punjab.

“Dehradun was a paradise for football lovers in early 1960’s and 70’s. The attraction of playing against the highly-skilled army teams in the famous Nemi Das Football League of Dehradun brought team from far off place like Calcutta to Dehradun,” said Narsingh Gurung, who was a part of the services team in the 1966 and 1969.

“Those glorious years are unmatched, bringing them to life again is difficult. But, standard of city football could be raised to that level again as it was when the army teams use to play here,” said Narsingh Gurung.

l Soccer started in Dehradun valley around the mid-18th century