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SL Tour of India
Ranji trophy |
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Foreign coaches for shooters: NRAI
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SL Tour of India
Kanpur, November 23 But asked if the Delhi dasher needs to tone down his cavalier attitude in the second Test starting tomorrow, Dhoni replied in the negative. “You don’t really want to tell a player like him what to do. That is how he plays the game and is known for. He is more of an aggressor and is not the kind of guy who would stick to the wicket for one-and-half days. He is always looking to get on with game,” Dhoni explained. Conveying the think-tank’s unconditional support for Sehwag’s brand of batsmanship, Dhoni said, “We want him to play his natural game. He is a very experienced player and we don’t need him to tell anything.” India probably can afford to let Sehwag play his natural game since the other opener, Gambhir, has evolved into a complete batsman, who can shelve his natural aggression and graft for hours, something he displayed in the drawn first Test in Ahmedabad. “He is a great character. He has been consistently in good form over the past one-and-half years and whenever the team needed, he delivered. Once he sets himself well, he goes for big innings,” added the captain. Dhoni was his usual coy self when asked about team combination. “It has always been an issue in the media but you have to wait till tomorrow,” he said. Asked how he rated S Sreesanth in the nets, Dhoni said the Kerala speedster was impressive but also sprang in defence of Ishant Sharma that revealed little about his preference if it comes to chose one between them. Prasad out, Mendis in reckoning
Sangakkara today ruled pacer Dammika Prasad out of the second Test and said Ajantha Mendis is very much in his scheme of things. “Dilshan broke his nose but is perfectly fine now. Dammika strained his hamstring and is recovering well. (But we are) not considering him at this moment,” Sangakkara said. “Ajantha is always in the reckoning. With the confidence and balance our team has, we can play three spinners if we want to. Or we can also replace Dammika Prasad with another fast bowler. We have quite a few combinations on mind and it would take a concrete shape by the evening,” he said. Karthik relieved, Dhoni stays fit
Stumper Dinesh Karthik, who was flown in as a last minute back-up for injured Mahendra Singh Dhoni, was on Monday relieved from his duties and asked to return to play Ranji Trophy after the India skipper declared himself fit for the second Test against Sri Lanka starting tomorrow. Dhoni today said that his finger injury, which he sustained during the drawn first Test at Ahmedabad, has healed and accordingly Karthik was relieved to lead Tamil Nadu in their Ranji Trophy Super League match against Himachal Pradesh in Dharmasala tomorrow.
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Ranji trophy
Chandigarh, November 23 Though they were beaten comprehensively by an innings margin last week at Amritsar, the captain sounded upbeat about the future ahead. “We are playing on the home turf and will look to exploit the conditions to our advantage. We have chalked out a plan for the opposition and the players are eager to put the debacle at Amritsar behind them very quickly,” said Dharmani. There is not much to choose when it comes to Punjab’s weaker link so far. While it was their batsmen who let them down against Tamil Nadu, their bowlers failed to provide the knockout punch against Hyderabad and were found wanting. The trio of Gony, Harmeet Bansal and Love failed to take last five wickets in helping conditions to beat Hyderabad. “Bowling is our strength. We will play three pacers and a spinner in the form of leg spinner Sharma. The conditions should suit our fast bowlers. Gony, Bansal and Love all are fit and rearing to go,” added Dharmani. On the other side, Gujarat already having a win and nine points from three matches under their belt will not be any pushovers. They are lying second on the table with Mumbai at the moment, and an outright win here will bring them in the reckoning for the top spot. The match begins at 9 am.
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Foreign coaches for shooters: NRAI
Patiala, November 23 Speaking to The Tribune, Digvijay Singh, who was recently in Patiala for the 53rd National Shooting Championship Competition (NSCC) in Shotgun Events said, “NRAI will lay special emphasis on helping the upcoming shooters, who have potential of bagging medals in world shooting championships and Olympics, by increasing foreign exposure to them.” He further said that proposal in this regard is expected to see light of the day soon. “We aim at providing excellent technical coaching by foreign coaches to the Indian shooters in near future. We have already taken up the matter with the Union government and have requested the union sports ministry to also arrange more foreign trips for the Indian shooters”, revealed Digvijay, while adding that union sports ministry is also keen to ensure that top Indian shooters get best coaching from foreign coaches. Asserting that shooting is one sport, where India can produce world champions, Digvijay Singh said that at present NRAI has an Italian coach but they are trying to rope in a few more foreign coaches. “Though shooting has tremendously benefited from the likes of Abhinav Bindra and RVS Rathore but still a lot needs to be done to popularize the sport. Keeping this in view, we have also drafted a proposal regarding the provision of atleast one air pistol range in public schools across the country”, said Digvijay Singh. He added that NRAI has tied up with union government to help all schools to set up a range of their own.
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‘London Olympics are the real aim’
Chandigarh, November 23 Boxer Akhil Kumar, Commonwealth Games gold medallist and wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt, Olympic quarterfinalist, are training hard to hit the ground running as the countdown to the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi reaches pitch fever. “Its been very, very frustrating. The wrist injury hampered my performance in the World Championship in Milan, and what’s even more frustrating is that I have had to sit out a major part of this year. I am yearning to be back in the ring, to throw some punches, cut through the air....I just want to feel that rush of blood, which every sportsmen craves for,” said Akhil while speaking to The Tribune over the phone from Durban, where he and Dutt are undergoing a rehabilitation programme. Dutt, who has been out for over a year with a knee injury, echoes his sentiments. “There is only one thing a sportsperson hates more than sitting out, and that is to lose. You see your peers, your rivals competing, while you sit idle, waiting for the injury to heal. Obviously, the recovery time is important, but for people like us, who are involved in such high-intensity sports, to be tied down is almost punishment-like.” Their rehabilitation programme, which has been taken care of by their respective federations, and the Mittal Trust, is going on expected lines, and both the players expect to return to India by early December. “Thanks to Manisha Malhotra of the Mittal Trust, we have been taken care of, really well. I really feel we could not have enjoyed these facilities to train or recuperate in India, so a big thanks to them and the boxing federation also,” says Akhil. He further adds, “I hope to return fitter and stronger and give my all for the 2010 Commonwealth Games. But obviously, the bigger aim is and will be the 2012 London Olympics.” Dutt also agrees that although the 2010 Games are a very prestigious event, the ultimate goal for everybody will be the Olympics. “We got two medals in high-intensity sports at the Bejing Olympics, and that has raised the hopes of the entire nation. We will go all out to win glory and add to India’s medal tally. This does not mean that we are in any way ignoring the 2010 CWG, but Olympics, well its definitely a different league.” |
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Federer ready for revenge over Murray
London, November 23 The Swiss star was eliminated from the tournament as a result of that loss - ending his two-year reign as Tour Finals champion. It was not the first time that Murray had upset Federer - the Scot holds a 6-3 career winning record against arguably the greatest player of all time, although the Wimbledon and French Open champion won their last meeting in Cincinnati. Federer has a chance to get his own back on Murray for that Shanghai loss by beating the British number one when they meet again in their Group A clash at the O2 Arena. “Obviously I expect a difficult match. It’s always fun playing your fellow rivals. I think Andy has been one of the guys I played the most,” Federer said. “From Shanghai last year, I remember I was not going into the match with the highest of hopes. I knew I had only a little bit left in the tank because I was sick two days before. I was injured two or three weeks before. So I kind of just said to myself, You know what, I’ll play aggressive and see what happens.” “I was playing incredible for a set. I almost got a victory. But I thought it was a very exciting match to be a part of. It was unfortunate for me not to come through. But I still think the match was great. I hope we can live up to the expectations and play another good one.” Federer is likely to need a significant improvement on his erratic win against Spain’s Fernando Verdasco yesterday. While Murray looked good in his 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 victory over US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro, Federer looked ill at ease as he dropped the first set before eventually finding some rhythm to win 4-6, 7-5, 6-1. “I just felt that sort of at the beginning of the second set, I was starting to return better. The whole first set I was struggling to really put normal returns into play,” Federer said. — AFP
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Patiala, November 23
