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India-SL-b’desh:
B’desh vs Sri Lanka Sri Lanka’s Mahela Jayawardene (R) play a shot as Bangladesh’s wicketkeeper Mushfiqur Rahim watches in Dhaka on Friday. — Reuters
Boycott reminiscent of 1975 Chandigarh camp
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Kings XI Cup
The captains with the trophy on Friday. Tribune photo: Pravesh Chauhan
Hockey India
Election
Olympian Surjit Singh Randhawa remembered
JCT take on Pune FC
Pbi varsity, KU win
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India-SL-b’desh:
B’desh vs Sri Lanka
Dhaka, January 8 Jayawardene, who joined the squad after Tillakaratne Dilshan suffered a groin injury, clubbed 13 fours for his 12th one-day century. Tharanga and Jayawardene shared 215 runs in the opening stand. Thisara Perera, Suraj Randiv and Nuwan Kulasakera grabbed two wickets apiece to dent Bangladesh. Skipper Shakib Al Hasan top-scored with 47 while Roqibul Hasan and Imrul Kayes chipped in with 43 and 42 respectively. Bangladesh took their batting powerplay in the 43rd over with 199 runs for four wickets on the board but added only 32 runs and lost five wickets in the next five overs. Sri Lanka will face India in their next match on Sunday. In-form Sri opener Tillakaratne Dilshan almost certain to play Sunday's final league match against India, Sri Lankan team manager Brendon Kuruppu said today. Talking to reporters after the Lankans crushed Bangladesh by nine wickets tonight, Kuruppu said Dilshan has almost recovered from his groin injury and is set to play on Sunday. "We could have even considered him playing today (against Bangladesh) but we held him back. He has a very good chance of playing against India," Kuruppu told reporters after Sri Lanka beat Bangladesh by nine wickets today. Dilshan, who had a hugely successful 2009 in all formats of the game, suffered a groin strain during his match-winning knock of 104 in the tournament opener against Bangladesh on January 4. — Agencies Scoreboard Bangladesh Tamim lbw b Randiv 21 (22) Imrul lbw b Perera 42 (54) Ashraful run out 13 (14) Raqibul c Randiv b Perera 43 (71) Shakib c Tharanga b Thushara 47 (75) Mushfiqur c Bandara b Randiv 32 (22) Mahmudullah not out 24 (24) Naeem b Kulasekara 5 (3) Razzak run out 1 (1) Rubel c Sangakkara b Kulasekara 0 (4) Rasel not out 7 (10) Extras (b 1, w 13) 14 Total (9 wickets; 50 overs) 249 Fall of wickets: 1-44, 2-73, 3-88, 4-165, 5-199, 6-211, 7-223, 8-227, 9-231. Bowling: Kulasekara 10-1-48-2, Thushara 9-0-67-1, Randiv 10-1-40-2, Perera 10-0-32-2, Bandara 10-0-44-0, Samaraweera 1-0-17-0. Sri Lanka Tharanga not out 118 (126) Jayawardene c Rahim b Naeem 108 (117) Sangakkara not out 17 (14) Extras (lb 1, w 8) 9 Total (1 wicket; 42.5 overs) 252 Fall of wickets: 1-215. Bowling: Rasel 6-0-37-0, Rubel 8-0-59-0, Naeem 5-0-35-1, Shakib 8-2-27-0, Mahmudullah 2-0-16-0, Razzak 8-0-41-0, Ashraful 5-0-29-0, Iqbal 0.5-0-7-0.
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Boycott reminiscent of 1975 Chandigarh camp
Chandigarh, January 8 The provocation for the 1975 team was infighting in the Indian Hockey Federation. The then President, Ashwani Kumar, had quit and there were rival bodies, each one claiming itself to be the genuine body administering the control of the game in the country. Fortunately, this infighting did not create any problem or hurdle in the training of the team as it was with the Punjab government. Giani Zail Singh, the then Chief Minister of Punjab had constituted a small group of experts to prepare a blue print for the training of the team. The group comprised three-times Olympic gold medallist Balbir Singh Senior, coach Gurcharan Singh Bodhi, and the then Director of the PGI, Dr P.N. Chhuttani. DR Chhuttani had named the Deputy Medical Superintendent of Nehru Hospital, Dr Rajinder Kalra, as medical officer attached with the camp. All physical fitness and medical tests on players were conducted at the PGI while Dr SS Gill of the Department of Physical Education of Panjab University was named physical trainer of the team. The issue of poor fiscal health of players had also come up then as the team had only a few players who held the rank of a gazetted officer. They included Harcharan Singh, Ajit Pal and HJS Chimni. But the provocation to boycott was infighting in the IHF. The team wanted to go under the banner of the Indian Olympic Association. And interestingly, the team rode the victory podium by winning the only World Cup for the nation. Ultimately, the IHF led by Dr MAM Ramaswamy, was recognised by the IOA as well as the FIH and a tournament was organised at Chennai to celebrate Kuala Lumpur’s gold medal success and to felicitate the then FIH chief, Rene Frank. Boycotts did not leave India alone. In the subsequent 1978 World Cup, some senior players, including Surjit Singh, Baldev Singh and Virinder Singh, walked out of the national camp at Patiala in protest against certain remarks made by the then Chairman of the Selection Committee against players belonging to a particular community. In the subsequent tournament, fourth World Cup, played at Buenos Aires, finally when Indian team participated, it was without Surjit Singh while both Virinder Singh and Baldev Singh agreed to return after series of hectic parleys had taken place involving these three senior players, then Union Minister of State for Sports, Dhana Singh Gulshan - father of present Faridkot MP Paramjit Kaur Gulshan - and the Indian Hockey Federation. Gopal Bhengra and Gurdishpal Singh of Chandigarh were announced as replacements for Baldev and Surjit Singh. When Baldev returned, Gurdishpal was dropped. The team did not perform well and ended without a medal. So Indian hockey is used to such upheavals on the eve of major competitions. |
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Sodhi to lead KXIP Blue
Amit Khanna Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, January 8 KXIP Red, Blue, Green, Yellow and Sliver will fight among themselves over the next five days with the top teams making it to the final to be played at the home the PCA stadium in Mohali. Former India allrounder Reetendra Singh Sodhi has been entrusted with responsibility of leading the Blue team while Uday Kaul, Vikramjeet Malik, Bipul Sharma and Tanmay Srivastava will captain Red, Green, Yellow and Sliver outfits respectively. “It is a golden opportunity just before the beginning of the IPL season to perform and make it to the Kings XI squad. The boys are eager to put in their best foot forward and win the cup,” averred Sodhi. Addressing the media here today, Col. Arvinder Singh, Senior Vice President and Head of Cricket Operations, KXIP, said, “KXIP Cup last year was a huge success in mining local talent and has now encouraged us to do it all over again this year. We expect this tournament to be as exciting and intense as last year and will provide young cricketers a platform to showcase their talent. We wish the players all the luck.” The schedule of the matches is as follows: Jan 9: Red vs Blue, Green vs Yellow; Jan 10: Red vs Silver, Green vs Blue; Jan 11: Red vs Green, Yellow vs Silver; Jan 12: Red vs Yellow, Blue vs Silver; Jan 13: Blue vs Yellow, Green vs Silver; Jan 14: Final.
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Hockey India
Election New Delhi, January 8 In a communication addressed to International Hockey Federation (FIH) vice-president Antonio Von Ondarza, with copies to the IOA president and secretary-general, election officer S K Mendiratta and government observers Ajit Pal Singh and Zafar Iqbal, the Ministry said “once the election process is set into motion, the present office-bearers of Hockey India should be at arms length distance from the election process and should have no role in the conduct of the elections”. The Government fiat thus rules out any possibility of incumbent president of the ad hoc Hockey India S K Mattoo and treasurer Narinder Batra from contesting the election. Similarly, IOA top bosses, including president Suresh Kalmadi would not be allowed to contest either. “The same (rule) would apply to IOA because the foundation board of Hockey India was constituted by IOA by invoking its extraordinary powers”, the Ministry noted. The Ministry said the Government observers’ election “will also follow the same principle and only observe the conduct of the elections”. The denial of affiliation to Hockey Punjab and some other State associations, who had followed the HI and IOA guidelines to merge into one single unit in their respective states, had kicked up a major row, which led to the FIH seeking clarifications from HI about the election process. The Government also made it clear that there should not be any ambiguity about the election process, and every aspect should be clearly marked. “There should be a clear schedule marking each stage of the election, viz. last date for receipt of nominations, scrutiny of nominations, publication of list of valid nominations, withdrawal of nominations, publications of final list of valid nominations and conduct of elections”, the Ministry stated. The Government has also directed Hockey India to finalise the composition of the electoral college “immediately and not later than January 1, 2010”. It has also asked HI president to appoint an independent returning officer “immediately”. Thus there will be a seven-day gap between the issue of election notice and last date for receipt of nominations; one-day screening of nominations and publication of valid list of nominaitons on the same day; three days for withdrawal of candidature; one day for publication of the list of candidates and five days for holding the elections. And the elections to all posts of the office-bearers must be held simultaneously. “The above mentioned intervals are essential to ensure a fair and transparent elections. The whole nation has the right to know about who are the voters and who are the contestants who will determine the future of this great sport in India”, the Ministry explained. The Government asserted that the “above mentioned principles are the critical minimum principles in the eyes of the Government for giving the country a credible body at the national level for the promotion and development of hockey in India, which is also popularly perceived as the national game (of the country)”. The Ministry has requested Antonio Ondarza to “come to Delhi for a few days” to see the election process for himself. The Ministry has also directed Hockey India to complete the affiliation of State units to the apex body at the “earliest”. |
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Olympian Surjit Singh Randhawa remembered
Jalandhar, January 8 It was a moment to remember the iconic figure who brought laurels to the country and worked untiringly for the causes of the players. His charisma on the turf as the world penalty expert and full back and as a humble human being earned him fans and friends across the globe. Olympian Surjit Singh died in a car accident on January 7, 1984 on his way back from Gurdaspur after meeting experts for a ‘Benefit Match’. The match was to be held between India and Pakistan. Ram Partap a close friend of Randhawa, who was travelling along with him when the accident took place said, “The hockey world lost a pioneer and I lost my dear friend - a man of strength and principles, who earned fame everywhere”, he added. His fans held a match on the day of his bhog ceremony and the rest is history. “After that day we never looked back. This is a tribute to the man who became synonymous to Hockey within a short duration”, he maintained. Earlier President of Surjit Hockey Society cum Deputy Commissioner Jalandhar Ajeet Singh Pannu handed over a cheque of Rs 2 Lakh to his family sent by Deputy Chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal. On this occasion, sports kits were also distributed to the budding hockey players of the area. Honorary Secretary of Surjit Hockey tournament, Iqbal Singh Sandhu said that despite being a hockey player of repute he was attached to his roots. “It was always a charm meeting him. All I remember about him is his personal touch, which makes us remember him till date.” The Olympian during his stint as a hockey player participated in the Fifth World Cup Hockey Tournament, the 1974 and 1978 Asian Games. In the 1976 Montreal Olympic Games he was acclaimed as one of the best full backs in the world. In 1973, he was included in the World Hockey XI and a year after he was a member of the All-Star Hockey XI. He was also the top scorer — both in the Esanda International hockey Tournament at Perth and the 1978 Asian Games. |
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JCT take on Pune FC
Ludhiana, January 8 The players of Pune FC were seen shivering with cold during their practice session and did not stretch themselves much. JCT coach Parminder Singh, though admitted the chill factor, but preferred to downplay it. Concern was evident in the JCT camp during the session, as the host was playing without their goal machine, Baljit Sahni, who met with an accident in Goa recently and is still recuperating with multiple injuries. Further, the injuries of Sunil Kumar, Amandep Singh, Jagpreet Singh has rubbed salt on the wounds of the host, which is struggling to convert opportunities into goals. Coach Perminder Singh, while acknowledging the importance of these players said, "The team was playing well even in the absence of four of their key players, but the only concern was that we could not convert the opportunities into goals." He admitted that Baljit Sahni's absence has created a vacuum. “As he was a great finisher and his services would be missed in the I- League,” said JCT coach. On the other hand, Pune FC, which is playing with four foreigners, would definitely try to improve their standings. Pune FC is placed at 11th spot after playing eight I- league encounters, out of which six ended in a draw, while, lost two matches. The play will start at 2pm.
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Pbi varsity, KU win
Patiala, January 8 In other super league match, Kurukshetra University outplayed MDU, Rohtak by 37-35. Vinod registered ten goals against his name, while Naveesh scored eight goals for the winning team. Punjabi University, Patiala defeated University of Delhi by 22-12. In the women section, Punjabi University defeated Kurukshetra University by 25-16. From Punjabi University, Rajwant Kaur scored eight goals, whereas Inderjeet Kaur and Ramanjeet Kaur scored seven goals each. In another encounter, Kurukshetra University defeated Panjab University, by 27-24. |
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Upul Tharanga and Mahela Jayawardene struck centuries as Sri Lanka romped to a nine-wicket victory over Bangladesh in the tri-series one-day tournament in Dhaka on Friday.
Roddick to miss 2010 Davis Cup