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SL Tour of India 2nd Test
WFI asked to shell out $4 lakh for failiure to host Asian junior c’ship
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English Premier League
Cricket Prize Money Tournament in a village!
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SL Tour of India 2nd Test
Kanpur, November 22 "You feel as gingerly as a bride's father on the eve of his daughter's marriage. It's basically a thankless job and you are out to please everyone. Knives will be out the moment pitch misbehaves," Kumar philosophically summed up the situation he finds himself in. "And even when you deliver a good strip, nobody would come and pat you on your back. But then that is a curator's life and we cannot complaint," he added. The diminutive pitch doctor is all the more edgy because of the debate on Test cricket being on its deathbed and how placid track was only expediting the end. The first Test in Ahmedabad, a yawn-fest on an unresponsive shirtfront, has only added to his pressure and Kumar cannot help being restless. "It's a tough job. You lose sleep till you hand over the ground to the match officials. And even then, you wait with bated breath to see how things unfold," he said. Nearly 1600 runs were scored in Ahmedabad, including seven tons — a sub-continental record — while the hapless bowlers toiled over five days for a meagre collection of 21 wickets. Lankans practice amid tight security Amid heavy security presence, Sri Lankan cricketers today sweated it out at the nets to prepare for the second cricket Test against India starting here on November 24. The entire team marched into the ground at around 9:30 am and exercised for a while before practising at the nets. The drawn first Test's double-centurion Mahela Jayawardene, Tillakaratne Dilshan and skipper Kumar Sangakkara did some batting practice with local bowlers. Star off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan and Ajantha Mendis later bowled for a while. Tight security arrangements had been made for the practice session with a number of policemen stationed at the stadium. There was a breach of security at the stadium yesterday when a man carrying a gun had entered the premises hours after the two teams landed in the city. The opening match of the series in Ahmedabad had ended in a draw. Ojha confident of performance if played
Amidst rumours that he is likely to make his Test debut in the second match against Sri Lanka in place of an unimpressive Amit Mishra, left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha said he would like to make the most out of the opportunity if given. Speculations were rife that Ojha will replace leg-spinner Amit Mishra in the playing eleven for the second match of the three-Test series starting Thursday in Kanpur after Indian tweakers pale show in the drawn first Test at Motera in Ahmedabad. "If I get a chance it will be the biggest moment in my life, I cannot ask for more. No matter what, I will give my best to perform well for the country if given an opportunity. But at the moment I am keeping my fingers crossed," Ojha told PTI from Kanpur. Ticket sales slow
With few takers for the free passes on offer and just 10 per cent of the total tickets sold so far, the second cricket Test between India and Sri Lanka starting Tuesday has so far failed to enthuse the fans here. — PTI |
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WFI asked to shell out $4 lakh for failiure to host Asian junior c’ship
Bathinda, November 22 “ There had been a lot of negative publicity going around in the wake of dope results. We did not expect government support as well as help from small sponsors. Without them we could not have held the event. So we have told the Asian federation that we are not in a position to hold it. It has accepted our request,” remarked a senior IWF official. IWF sources disclosed that apart from reasons relating to government support and sponsorship, the hosts, in this case the Maharashtra Weightlifting Association, an affiliate of the WFI, withdrew, leaving the body with no option except to ask for shifting the junior Asian meet out of India. In an e-mail sent to the WFI, the Asian body has said it was imposing the fine for “not hosting the event which was in contravention of the contract signed by the WFI and the Asian body.” A WFI official said efforts were made by the Federation to convince Ali Moradi, secretary general of the Asian body but to no avail. He added that the Federation officials tried to impress upon Moradi that the Indian’s did not want to host the Asian meet because many of their lifters were facing dope charges and they did not want any more controversies at this stage. Meanwhile, an official from Goyang (Korea), where the World championships are currently being held, stated that the International body had decided to take action against the Indian body and that punishment “will not be lenient.” On the other hand the Indian officials are hoping to get a light punishment, which means a fine and not a ban, so that it can field its lifters in the New Delhi Commonwealth Games. The executive board of the International body is still waiting for the B sample of an Indian lifter, which has been sent to the WADA lab in Cologne before it finally spells out the punishment.
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Brasa’s ‘total hockey’ gaining ground
New Delhi, November 22 The Indian team will be leaving tonight for a week’s training in Madrid till November 30, ahead of the Champions Challenge Tournament in Argentina, from December 6 to 13. The team will also get a week’s time to acclimatise in Argentia before their pool matches, featuring Belgium, China and New Zealand, in the eight-nation tournament. If they win the tournament, they will qualify for the Champions Trophy, to be held in Germany in July next year. The team looked trim, coherent, confident and disciplined. Rajpal Singh said they were going to play in the Champions Challenge as a team, and not to find faults in the team. He said whatever short coming were there in the team will be corrected along the way, though their main objective in Argentina would be to win matches. Rajpal said at the coaching camp in Pune, the team management put thrust on build up and counter attack. “We don't think of our weak points, as that would demoralise the team. But we have been working on preventing our tendency to concede goals in the final moments”, he added. Brasa said his idea of ‘total hockey’, with a blend of European defence and speedy Asian attack, was taking root among the Indian players, who were determined to regain the lost glory of He said it was indeed a problem with Indian team of running out of stamina and conceding goals in the last few minutes of the game, but he was working to set right the last-gasp guffa. He said though the players were fit and ready, he had no intention of playing all of them for full 70 minutes. “We will play some of them for five-ten minutes. The coaching camp was excellent. The players are working hard, suffering a lot; they are very much motivated,” he added. Hockey India adviser Anupam Gulati said the team, on return from Argentina, would train at the National Stadium, which was expected to be ready by then. India, who hosted the World Cup for the first time in 1981 in Bombay, was sparing no effort to make the 2010 World Cup in March in Delhi an event to remember, with the Indian team expected “to put up a decent performance”. Gulati said after the World Cup draw was finalised by December 15, a four-nation tournament will be held at the National Stadium in Delhi from Januay 17 to 21 next year, which will be a test event for the stadium as well as the Indian team for the World Cup. The idea is to then excell in the Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games in China in November, as the first two finishers in the Asiad will gain direct entry for the 2012 London Olympic Games.
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English Premier League
London, November 22 Goals by Florent Malouda and Essien put injury-hit Chelsea 3-0 up inside the first 22 minutes before Joe Cole scored his first goal in 13 months in the second half. The result meant that Chelsea has won all seven home games and hasn't conceded a goal at Stamford Bridge since the opening game of the season against Hull. "It was an easy game because we played very well," Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti said. "After 20 minutes it was 3-0 and afterwards we maintained control of the game." Darren Bent scored Sunderland's 71st-minute winner in a surprise victory over Arsenal, which had won six of its previous seven league games but was left on 25 points from 12 games. "It's a big setback because you do not prepare yourself to drop points in a situation like that," Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said. — AP |
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Cricket Prize Money Tournament in a village!
Ghulal (Ludhiana), November 22 If you are thinking of kabaddi, hockey, football or volleyball, you got it wrong. It is cricket. Shaheed Bhagat Singh Naujawan Sabha and Village Panchayat of Ghulal joined hands to organize a unique Cricket-10 Prize Money Tournament at the Shaheed Bhagat Singh Stadium of the village. And their maiden venture attracted teams from 17 villages, all well versed in the modern version of instant cricket. Since today was the last day of the four-day tournament, first of its kind in rural Punjab, final was played in fading light aggravated by thickening smog. Teams to reach the last four stage by this afternoon were the hosts Ghulal, Masudran, Bharaudi and Mahdoodhan. Other teams came from Rampur, Dhamaut, Samrala, Madhpur, Rayeen, Harrian, Kum Kalan, Morinda and Ralle. Each participant village had to pay Rs 350 as entry fee. The matches were restricted to 10-overs a side and were played on knockout basis. Members of the Shaheed Bhagat Singh Naujawan Sabha and Village Naujawan Cricket Club with support from the Village Panchayat not only leveled the playfield of the village stadium but also organized a matting wicket for the competition. To give a feel of instant cricket tournaments in big cities, members of the organizing committee took turns in doing running commentary on the game. “We had an overwhelming response from the village to our proposal for our novel experiment. Normally, it is prize money Kabaddi tournament or rural sports that gets overwhelming support we got for our venture,” says Ranjit Singh Mangat, one of the organizers of the tournament. Members of the organizing committee accepted donations from the villagers not only for the prize money but also to meet expenses towards meeting expenses on the conduct of the tournament. Only neutral umpires were deputed to supervise the conduct of the matches. “There has been not even a single dispute,” says Ranjit Singh Mangat. “Elated at the success of our maiden event, we now plan to organize a bigger tournament next time. Now we have a stadium for game of cricket, we hope to attract teams from some bigger towns also.” The prize money for winners is Rs 7100 while the runners-up team will get Rs 5100.
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Ghulal (Ludhiana), November 22
