S P O R T S

Leander’s day, Roger’s night
Melbourne, January 31
Swiss great Roger Federer won his fourth Australian Open and 16th Grand Slam title to deny Andy Murray's quest for British tennis history today. Federer's remarkable level of consistency continued when he mastered the Scottish fifth seed in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (13/11) in two hours 41 minutes on Rod Laver Arena. The world number one clinched victory in a gripping tie-breaker, 13 points to 11, when Murray frittered five set points and the Swiss claimed it on his third match point.

Roger Federer poses with the winner’s trophy in Melbourne on Sunday. Federer defeated Andy Murray 6-3, 6-4, 7-6. — AFP

Khusropur, a real match for Sansarpur
Khusropur, January 31
If Sansarpur has been known as undivided India’s first and foremost hockey nursery, its immediate neighbour, Khusropur, too, has no less distinctive hockey history. Situated on the southern periphery of Jalandhar Cantonment and to the east of Sansarpur, about 1.5 km away, this village of 2000 has not only produced seven hockey Olympians, two of whom played for Canada, but also a large number of national and international players.

Mashresha wins Chandigarh Marathon
Chandigarh, January 31
Ethiopian and Kenyan athletes continued to dominate the long distance races bagging the first positions in the full and half marathon events in the first Chandigarh Marathon held today. Ehiopia’s Mashresha improved his own record as he completed the 42 km marathon in from 2:10:51 as compared to the Mumbai Marathon 2010, which he finished in 2:12:34. Another Ethiopian, Ronald, bagged second place as he clocked 2:13:16 while India’s Ashish Chauhan came third with the timing of 2:13:36. In the half marathon (21km) Kenya’s Boniface completed the race in 58 minutes followed by Tesafeye of Ethiopia who clocked 59 minutes while India’s Pramod got third place clocking one hour and 3 minutes.

A participant runs during the Chandigarh Marathon on Sunday. Over 3,000 people participated in the marathon. Tribune photos: Pradeep Tewari

Leander’s day, Roger’s night

"I had great support back home, I'm sorry I couldn't do it for you tonight," Murray said as his voice cracked with emotion and he choked back tears. "I can cry like Roger, it's just a shame that I can't play like him," he joked. Federer has now won 16 Grand Slams in the span of 27 majors and has lost only six finals in that time. He became the fifth man in history to win four Australian Open titles with the last man to do so American Andre Agassi in 2003. — AFP

Paes-Black pair clinches mixed doubles title

Leander Paes equalled the record for most Grand Slam title triumphs by an Indian as the veteran and his Zimbabwean partner Cara Black clinched the Australian Open mixed doubles Championship with a straight-set win here today. Top seeds and favourites, the 36-year-old Paes and the 30-year-old Black beat 10th seeds Ekaterina Makarova of Russia and Jaroslav Levinsky of Czechoslovakia 7-5 6-3 in just about one and a half hour.

The triumph gave the Indian his 11th overall and fifth mixed doubles title. With this, Paes has equalled one-time doubles' partner Mahesh Bhupathi's tally. The last couple of times they reached a Grand Slam final, Paes and Black ended up on the losing side and eager to make amends for that, they were dominant from the word go today. They broke their rivals as early as in the third game and save for a couple of breaks lost on Black's serve, the Indo-Zimbabwean pair seemed hardly troubled by Makarova and Levinsky, who committed far too many unforced errors.

Black, whose net game and serve were the weak links for the top seeds, raised her game when it mattered after getting some pep talk from Paes. Having lost her serve twice, Black held it in the all-important 12th game before Paes smashed a winner to clinch the opener 7-5.

‘If Federer can continue improving, why not me’

Leander Paes (R) and Cara Black during their match on Sunday. — AFP

His 11th Grand Slam title has only whetted Leander Paes' appetite for success and the Indian ace today said he remains a "student of tennis" who draws inspiration from Roger Federer and strives for perfection.

"21st Grand Slam final, 11th win. The beauty of continually putting the hard work day in and day out in the gym or on the track when you're not feeling great, these are the things you play for," Paes said.

Paes equalled Mahesh Bhupathi's record for most Grand Slam titles by an Indian.

Khusropur, a real match for Sansarpur
Prabhjot Singh
Tribune News Service

Khusropur, January 31
If Sansarpur has been known as undivided India’s first and foremost hockey nursery, its immediate neighbour, Khusropur, too, has no less distinctive hockey history.

Situated on the southern periphery of Jalandhar Cantonment and to the east of Sansarpur, about 1.5 km away, this village of 2000 has not only produced seven hockey Olympians, two of whom played for Canada, but also a large number of national and international players.

And starting tomorrow, the Khusropur Sports Club will be playing host to the 14th Invitation Hockey Tournament that carries a cash prize of Rs 31000 for the winners and Rs 21000 for the runners-up team.

Arjuna awardee and Olympian Haripal Kaushik, one of the most prominent hockey player the village has produced since the British introduced hockey here more than 90 years ago, says that the village’s special bondage with the armed forces is reflected in the list of the participating teams in the tournament. Signals, EME, Artillery XI, Madras Regiment, besides Border Security Force, Khusropur XI, Sansarpur XI, Punjab and Sind Bank Academy and Mehli XI have confirmed their participation.

Colonel Haripal Kaushik played for the country in the 1956, 1960 and 1964 Olympic games. He has been associated with the Indian Hockey Federation in various capacities, including a national selector and a member of the coaching panel also.

Gurmail Singh Rai and his wife Rajbir Kaur are one of hockey couples the game has. While Gurmail was a member of the 1980 Olympic champion Indian team, Rajbir Kaur played a stellar role in helping India win the 1982 Asian games gold medal.

Amarjit Singh Rana, also a member of the 1980 Olympic gold medallist team, belongs to this village. He later migrated to Canada and lives there now. Rajwinder Singh, who settled down in Europe after representing the country in the 1971 World Cup, too, is a Khusropurian.

Jagdev Singh, burly fullback of Punjab police, who represented the country in Barcelona Olympic games, is also from this village. Harbhajan Singh (1984) and Ranjit Singh (1988) represented Canada in the Olympic games.

Piara Singh, Gurdev Singh and Avtar Singh either represented the country or were in national camps.

This unique village has another distinction. It has been a regular feeding channel to defence forces. Now it has a Brigadier, six Colonels and Lieutenant Colonels, 14 Majors/Captains, 15 Junior Commissioned Officers and 100 other ranks - a tremendous contribution indeed. The village has a winner each of the prestigious Military Cross, Vir Chakra, Order of British Empire and mention in dispatches.

Colonel Haripal Kaushik, who has been following the progress of fellow villagers, says that Honorary Captain Narang Singh was perhaps the first outstanding player from the village to make a mark. He participated early in the 20th century in the Punjab Native Infantry Hockey Tournament.

“There used to be a joint Sansarpur-Khusropur Hockey Club in 1900s. It continued till the number of players rose manifold and both the villages then opted for separate hockey clubs. Some of the outstanding pre-partition hockey players of Khusropur were Jaswant Singh, Ishar Singh, Atma Singh, Pandit Mathura Das, Faqir Chand, Pandit Ram Parkash Natha, Gurpartap Singh, Gurdial Singh, Brigadier Sarup Singh, Chanan Singh and Ratan Singh.

“The village has now a stadium, 10-kanal of land for which was given by Colonel Kehar Singh and rightly it has been named after him. Other contributors were Baba Sham Singh and Ram Singh and the rest was the village common land. The Army authorities provided the engineering support for leveling the playfield. It was in 1995 that Khusropur Sports Club came into being,” adds Colonel Kaushik.

Later, Edward Alosiyus, a former goalkeeper of India, settled in the village and started coaching youngsters with a missionary spirit. He continued his good work till he was transferred to Hyderabad, his hometown.

SA arrive in Nagpur

The Graeme Smith-led squad will have net practise tomorrow followed by a press briefing in the evening.

Dravid ‘big blow’ but can beat SA: Gambhir

Chennai: Injured Rahul Dravid's absence from next month's Test series against South Africa came was a "big blow" for the team, but India are a confident lot after starting the year on a winning note against Bangladesh, said opener Gautam Gambhir here today. "Rahul Dravid has been the wall of Indian middle order batting and his absence against a quality team such as South Africa will be a big blow," said Gambhir, a brand ambassador of MRF, after flagging off the Formula 1600 race in the MRF Challenge series.

"But we have begun 2010 well (by winning against Bangladesh). The players would want to carry the momentum against South Africa. Moreover, injuries are part and parcel of sports, and it gives other players an opportunity to prove their mettle against a tough opposition," he said.

Morkel hopes to strike early

Johannesburg: Unlikely to get much help from the dusty Indian tracks, South African pacer Morne Morkel says he would have to strike early to unsettle the formidable batting of the hosts. Before leaving for the tour yesterday, the 25-year-old told the Afrikaans weekly 'Rapport' that Indian pitches did not have the same bounce as those in South Africa. "We will have to use the new ball well. India's bowlers are very good in their circumstances and the pitches are regularly fantastic to bat on." Morkel said. — PTI

Mashresha wins Chandigarh Marathon
Sanjay Bumbroo
Tribune News Service

Running commentary: Ethiopian runner Mazea during the Chandigarh Marathon on Sunday. Mazea won the Women’s section of the full marathon.

Chandigarh, January 31
Ethiopian and Kenyan athletes continued to dominate the long distance races bagging the first positions in the full and half marathon events in the first Chandigarh Marathon held today. Ehiopia’s Mashresha improved his own record as he completed the 42 km marathon in from 2:10:51 as compared to the Mumbai Marathon 2010, which he finished in 2:12:34. Another Ethiopian, Ronald, bagged second place as he clocked 2:13:16 while India’s Ashish Chauhan came third with the timing of 2:13:36.

In the half marathon (21km) Kenya’s Boniface completed the race in 58 minutes followed by Tesafeye of Ethiopia who clocked 59 minutes while India’s Pramod got third place clocking one hour and 3 minutes.

Flying Sikh, Milkha Singh kicked off the Full Marathon at 6.30 am in presence of cricketer Dinesh Mongia, UT home secretary Ram Niwas, finance secretary Sanjay Kumar and other senior officials of Chandigarh Administration. As many as 100 participants took part in the Full Marathon while in the half marathon about 305 people participated. Athletes from Kenya, Ethopia, England Poland and Germany participated in both events.

The 5 km Dream Run was the centre of attraction as more than 3,000 people participated in the run, which was flagged off by Adviser to the Administrator Pradip Mehra. Bollywood actress, Poonam Dhillon and comedian Jaspal Bhatti were among those present at the flag off ceremony.

Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs and Water Resources Pawan Kumar Bansal gave away the prizes to the winners of the Full and Half Marathon. Speaking on the occasion, the home secretary announced that the marathon in the city would be an annual affair and announced the date for second edition of the Chandigarh Marathon as February 6, 2011.