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‘Fennell’s concerns will be met’
Gill gives Rs 3 lakh to Makkhan Singh’s widow
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Renault fixed Singapore GP
Ponting makes it 5-0
Punjab Basketball League from today
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‘Fennell’s concerns will be met’
New Delhi, September 16 Around 8,000 athletes and officials from 71 Commonwealth Games Association (CGF) countries would converge in Delhi for the games, which will be held in 17 sports - archery, aquatics, athletics, badminton, boxing, cycling, gymnastics, hockey, lawn bowls, netball, rugby 7s, shooting, squash, table tennis, tennis, weightlifting and wrestling. Kalmadi, scotching media speculation about the games getting botched up, following CGF president Mike Fennell’s strongly-worded letter, said it was “all set to go” for the 2010 Games in Delhi, spread over a dozen venues in Delhi. Kalmadi shared the dais with Randhir Singh, and other big wigs of the organising committee like Tarlochan Singh, Lalit Bhanot, V.K.Verma, Digvijay Singh and A.K.Matto, though all of them sported gloomy looks. He said the Government, Sports Minister Dr. M.S.Gill, the Organising Committee and the Delhi Government, headed by Sheila Dikshit, were fully involved in the organisation of the games. “We are all working as a team to deliver”, he noted. He said India could organise the 1982 Asian Games successfully only because the Congress Government, headed by Indira Gandhi, was at helm with Rajiv Gandhi taking direct control of the preparation of the Games. “We have an experienced team,” Kalmadi asserted. “And we have the experience of organising the Afro Asian Games (2003, Hyderabad) and many other international events. Our technical staff is well organised”, he added. Kalmadi said at the advise of the CGF, “we have taken the necessary steps to ensure that there is no slip-up”. He said Mike Fennell was very experienced and he would not be satisfied till the finishing works were done. “We respect his views. But the Games will be held on time. And it will be a great Games”, Kalmadi summed up. He said there was complete transparency in the Organising Committee and “I get wake-up calls from the media. It’s a learning experience”. Randhir Singh admitted that there were problems on the organisational front. “But we will address these problems to make the games a grand success”, Randhir added. But a top source said Mike Fennell’s concern was not so much about the completion of the stadiums, but the non-performance of the organising committee, which was Kalmadi-centric, and has 25 sub-committees. The source said construction of stadiums was not Kalmadi's concern. Nine stadiums are being constructed under the supervision of the Sports Ministry, with funding via the Sports Authority of India to the Central Public Works Department. Some other stadiums, like the Thyagraj Nagar complex, Shivaji Stadium and Talkatora indoor stadium are being constructed under the aegis of the Delhi Government and the New Delhi Municipal Corporation. The Delhi Government is also responsible for creating other infrastructure in Delhi “and Kalmadi cannot take credit for the construction of the stadiums and the Games Village”. The source said the Committee was yet to finalise details about how they were planning to host nearly 10,000 athletes and 5,000 officials from 71 countries. “The organising committee has a staff strength of over 500, and they want to add 200 more”, the source pointed out. |
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Gill gives Rs 3 lakh to Makkhan Singh’s widow
New Delhi, September 16 The cash incentive will be a one-tine lumpsum assistance, sanctioned by Dr Gill, using his discretionary powers, from the National Welfare Fund for Sportspersons. The cheque was presented to Salinder Kaur at a simple function at Dr Gill’s chamber at Shastri Bhawan, where Olympian Gurbhachan Singh Randhawa was also present. Makkhan Singh’s family has been in dire straights ever since his death. When their plight was brought to Dr Gill’s notice by the athlete’s contemporary Gurbachan Singh Randhawa, the Minister readily agreed to help the widow with financial assistance. Dr Gill advised Salinder Kaur to utilise the money judiciously as her 27-year-old younger son was presently jobless while the elder son was also not gainfully employed. Dr Gill also promised to find some viable employment for the younger son. Dr Gill told The Tribune that he would also request the Punjab Deputy Chief Minister and the Sports Minister to give some financial assistance to Makkhan Singh’s widow so that the family could come out their current plight. Dr Gill said he had personally seen Makkhan Singh take on Milkha Singh on equal terms in the 1956 National Games held at Patiala and was impressed with his performance. Ever since Dr Gill took over, he had been taking special interest to help out the family of former Indian sports greats, who had fallen on lean and indigent days. |
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Renault fixed Singapore GP
London, September 16 The two men were due to appear before the governing FIA in Paris on Monday to face charges, unprecedented even in a sport often mired in controversy, that the team ordered Brazilian Nelson Piquet to crash deliberately to help Spanish team mate Fernando Alonso win. Renault said in a statement they would not dispute the allegations. “It (Renault) also wishes to state that its managing director, Flavio Briatore, and its executive director of engineering, Pat Symonds, have left the team,” it added. Italian Briatore led the team to two Formula One constructors’ and drivers’ championships with Alonso in 2005 and 2006 after also winning titles with Benetton and Michael Schumacher in 1994 and 1995. A business partner of Formula One's commercial supremo Bernie Ecclestone, with the two co-owning English Championship (second division) soccer club Queen’s Park Rangers, Briatore is also Alonso’s manager. A familiar face in celebrity magazines, with a jet-setting lifestyle, the perma-tanned nightclub owner is also a leading figure in the Formula One Teams' Association (FOTA) that threatened a breakaway series until recently. While Briatore focused on business and the bigger picture, Symonds effectively ran the race strategy side and his departure will be a major blow for the team. No replacements for either man were named. International Automobile Federation (FIA) president Max Mosley had already said he considered the case to be more serious than the 2007 spying controversy that cost McLaren a $100 million fine and loss of all their constructors' points. The FIA's world motor sport council can impose various penalties for fraudulent conduct, including permanently excluding a team from the championship. Piquet, 24, was dropped by Renault in August after failing to score a point in 10 races and has testified to the FIA that he was told when and where to crash during the night race. In a statement subsequently leaked to the media, he told FIA investigators he met Symonds and Briatore before the Sept. 28 race in the team boss's office. — Reuters
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Big clubs win easy
London, September 16 Cristiano Ronaldo struck the first for Real, who will host this season’s final, and the £80 million new boy helped them recover from a nasty bout of nerves by adding a second free kick late in the Group C opener on Tuesday. Manchester United squeezed a 1-0 win at Besiktas in Group B with a Paul Scholes header and Juventus were held 1-1 at home by Girondins Bordeaux in Group A. A goal from striker Nicolas Anelka, beautifully taken after his first effort was beaten away, gave Chelsea a 1-0 home win over Porto in Group D while two goals from Filippo Inzaghi kept AC Milan on Real's heels with a 2-1 win at Olympique Marseille. Bayern Munich took control in Group A with a 3-0 win at Maccabi Haifa. VfL Wolfsburg had a Grafite hat-trick to thank for a 3-1 home win over CSKA Moscow in Group B. APOEL Nicosia, like Wolfsburg and Zurich playing their first match in the Champions League, had an encouraging goalless draw at Atletico Madrid in Group D. — Reuters
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Nottingham, September 16 Set a seemingly challenging 300, master batsman Ponting’s 126 - his best ODI score against England, surpassing the 119 he made at Melbourne in 2002 - took Australia to within sight of victory. They still needed 39 off 36 balls after Stuart Broad had struck twice in the 44th over, Callum Ferguson plumb lbw and Ponting driving to Owais Shah at long-off. But Cameron White and Mitchell Johnson, who ended the match with a six off Ryan Sidebottom saw them home with 10 balls to spare. England’s batting had repeatedly failed this series. But here they made 299, and still it wasn’t enough. Former Ireland batsman Eoin Morgan top-scored with 58 - his best for his adopted country. But Ponting, who shared a third-wicket stand of 133 with vice-captain Michael Clarke showed how hundreds, not fifties, win games. Ponting was soon into his stride and struck a huge straight six off left-arm quick Sidebottom. — AFP
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Punjab Basketball League from today
Chandigarh, September 16 Amritsar, Jalandhar, Kapurthala, Ludhiana, and Rest of Punjab will be playing in the women’s section, says Rajdeep Singh Gill, President, Punjab Basketball Association. The prize money, he says, will be Rs three lakh. In all there will be 45 matches in men’s section and 30 matches in women’s section to be played during the three-phase league. According to Teja Singh Dhaliwal, Secretary, Punjab Basketball Association, the second leg of the league will be held at Gurdial Singh Bhayia Arjuna Awardee memorial Basketball Stadium at Gure village in Ludhiana from October 13 to 16. The third and final part of the league will be held at Sujapur village in Ludhiana from October 29 to November 1. |
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Chairman of the 2010 Commonwealth Games Organising Committee Suresh Kalmadi asserted here today that the mega event would be held in Delhi as scheduled, from October 3 to 14.
New Delhi, September 16
UEFA Champions League
