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Germany, Netherlands share honours
Argentina beat New Zealand
India has special connections with South Africa
Korea on cloud 9
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World Cup Diary
Davis Cup
I am a T20 specialist: Abdulla
IPL to re-issue tender for new franchises
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Germany, Netherlands share honours
New Delhi, March 7 Korea is now keeping Asian hopes alive as it still stands a chance of getting into the semifinals. The Koreans play the Netherlands on Tuesday. In perhaps one of the best match of the tournament so far, both Germany and the Netherlands played their hearts out before a nearly empty stadium as many of the hockey players and officials of yesteryears were away attending reception of the wedding of a son of a former Indian skipper. It was a treat to watch some of the top stalwarts of the game playing crisp and vantage hockey that exhibited not only nearly perfected skills in stopping, trapping, intercepting and utilising open spaces to make room for intelligent moves but also had the small but knowledgeable Sunday audience spellbound in a rare feast that had no video referrals. Starting with exchange of penalty corners in the first five minutes, both Germany and the Netherlands did not take long to settle down on this bumpy new Poligras. Surprisingly, the only penalty corner goal of the match that gave the Netherlands the lead in the 22nd minute came from the stick of Joulie Wouter and not Taeke Taekema. Incidentally, Taeke had been substituted minutes before the award came and Joulie made up for his absence well with a superb flick. As the game was four minutes into the second half, Germany almost equalised when Philip Witte, while getting into the opponents striking circle, essayed a shot that went wider of the target. But the Germans did not have to wait for long. Defending champions got the equaliser following a perfect understanding between Christoph Menne and Oliver Corn that saw them getting the better of the Dutch defence. Equaliser that came in the 43rd minute had added extra punch to the offence of the Germans who worked out their moves more efficiently, penetrating deep into the territory of their opponents only to end up with either off mark shooting or getting their moves terminated by their opponents manning defence. Germany did get a penalty corner in the last minute but it could not break the 2-2 deadlock. |
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Argentina beat New Zealand
New Delhi, March 7 A victory against Canada will help Argentina fight for a better placing while the defeat has pushed New Zealand, who had beaten Canada and Korea, on the road to regression as their next match is against the formidable Netherlands, who have won all the three matches they have played, and meet Germany in the third match tonight. New Zealand will rue their failure to convert a penalty stroke as Ryan Archibald's hit was saved by custodian Tomas Juan Espinosa. The stroke was the result of a penalty corner as the ball had hit the foot of a defender. Twice, Blair Hilton threatened to sink the Argentine goal, with his blistering moves but both the times, the defence crowed to foil his attempt. After Korea gave a 9-2 pasting to Canada in the first match of the day, New Zealand could have hoped for a better placing in the championship had they beaten Argentina, or even played a draw. But that was not to be as the Latin Americans pulled all stops to get that elusive goal which they eventually struck through their crafty forward Facundo Callioni in the 20th minute of the second half. Off a free hit, the irrepressible Pedro Ibarra relayed the ball to the well positioned Facundo, who streched his stick to deflect the ball in. Argentina attacked with venom in the second half after being at the receivind end in most part of the first half. Ibarra played his heart out to fashion moves, though most of which were nipped by the Kiwi defenders. New Zealand tried to put pressure on the Argentine goal late in the second half, but the Latin American team came out of the ordeal unscathed. Argentina forced three penalty corners in the second half, but specialist Pedro could not get his sweep right. This was Argentina's third victory in five meetings against New Zealand in the World Cup. They had lost one and drew one against the Antipodeans who had beaten the Latin Americans for their only victory in the 2006 edition in Germany. Argentina had also beaten the Kiwis in the Azlan Shah Cup in 2008, and therefore, their win today came as no surprise. |
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India has special connections with South Africa
New Delhi, March 7 Interestingly, both South Africa and India have beaten Pakistan for their only win of the tournament. Still South Africa is at the bottom of the table because of its 0-12 defeat at the hands of Australia. Playing in their fourth World Cup, South Africa does not have an impressive record behind them. They lost 1-0 to India to finish last in the 2006 World Cup. Earlier in their pool match in the same tournament, they had held India to a draw. In 2002, they had finished 13th in a field of 16 while in 1994, when they made their debut in World Cup, they ended at 10th position. But their most sensational win has been against Pakistan yesterday. South Africans after suffering world cup’s biggest ever drubbing at the hands of Australia are keen to repair the damage to their reputation and may give India a tough time in a day of inconsequential matches as far as the qualifiers for semifinals are concerned. Both England and Australia are through. Even if Australia loses to Pakistan and Spain beats England in Mondays’ matches, Australia will sail through because of the huge goal difference it has tactfully and strategically built in the game against South Africa. Australia’s record against Pakistan is mixed though the last time they played each other, Australia ran a convincing 3-0 victor at Monchengladbach. In 1998 also Australia were winners (3-1) but in 1994 in Sydney, Pakistan had beaten them 2-1. In 1990 Lahore world Cup also, Pakistan had beaten Australia 2-1.In the 1971 World Cup; Pakistan had trounced Australia 5-2. A win for Pakistan may, however, boost their chances of finishing at number four position in pool B below Spain. But that looks quiet improbable as India also expects to win its last game against South Africa. Even if India beats South Africa by a couple of goals and Spain loses to England, the home team will still have to content with number four position thus making it eligible to play for seventh position but out of consideration for a possible Champions Trophy berth. Leave aside these academic or statistical exercises, the tournament will be remembered for more than one reasons. Two-match ban for Shivendra Singh, introduction of video referrals, South Africa’s shock win over Pakistan, emergence of penalty strikers Taeke Taekema (the Netherlands) and Luke Doerner (Australia) as top scorers and Australia’s landslide 12-0 win over South Africa are some of the salient features of this edition.
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Korea on cloud 9
New Delhi, March 7 As if the burden of starting as underdogs was not enough, Canada’s agony was further compounded by their heaviest defeat in a World Cup game. The scoring was opened in the 23rd minute when Nam Hyun Woo scored from a penalty corner. In the 35th minute, Korea furthered their advantage when Jang Jong Hyun scored after Canada conceded a penalty stroke. Both teams went in for the breather at 2-0, albeit feeling that they could have made more of the first 35 minutes. The second half started in a blaze and in the first 10 minutes saw five goals being scored. Korea struck again with Lee Nam Yong in the 38th, which was followed by two goals in quick succession in the 40th and 41st minutes by Yoon Sung Hoon and You Hyo Sik, respectively. Reeling under constant attacks and leaking goals, Canada found some solace when Phillip Wright hit the back of the net to make it 5-1. But Korea were far from done and with a full half hour’s play still to go, Jang Jong Hyoon made it 6-1 from a penalty corner in the 45th minute. A comeback was out of the question, but Canada kept going and made it 6-2 Phillip Wright scored his second goal in the 51st minute. But that was as much lee way as they could have expected and the Koreans went berserk in the final 20 minutes to make the final score read an emphatic 9-2. The last three goals came from hat-trick hero Jang Jong Hyun (61), You Hyo Sik (63) and Nam Hyon Woo (67). The win gives a boost to Korea’s chances ahead and for Canada, well the Koreans had too much pace, skill, character and goals for them, and one doubts that other teams would be any different. |
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World Cup Diary
Standard of umpiring and video referrals in the 12th World Cup Hockey Tournament here have been generating controversies. Pakistan, for example, has mixed reaction to introduction of video referrals as it has been both a beneficiary and a loser. While Pakistan benefited when the first goal scored against them by England was disallowed, they were adversely affected yesterday when a goal scored by Sohail Abbas off a penalty corner against South Africa was disallowed by the video referee.
There are a number of other decisions, especially about award or denial of penalty corners that have been altered by the video umpire. This has set in motion a serious debate whether hockey umpiring also suffers from consistency and uniform interpretation of rules and regulations of the game. While video referee upheld award of goal by a German forward who even after ducking had held his stick higher than shoulder level to deflect a rising shot into the Korean goal. Intriguingly England was denied an “awarded” goal for tapping of ball into goal coming from height that was above shoulders while Germans were beneficiary by the total contradictory interpretation of the same rule. In the same Korea-Germany match, a penalty corner awarded to Korea by using advantage rule was reversed by the video umpire thus bringing to surface inconsistency in implementation of the rules. Advantage rule may be losing its significance as the video umpire, even after being briefed by the umpire, cannot comprehend, the exact situation the game was in before electronic referral was asked. Even if comments by the team officials of both India and Pakistan are put aside, those by some of the games’ greats like Richard Charlesworth cannot be ignored. Incidentally, the Tournament Director also comes from the country of Richard Charlesworth. Richard Charlesworth who watched the game against Spain from stands felt that award of three of seven penalty corners against his team yesterday was unjustified. He also complained of inconsistency in umpiring decisions. Interestingly, he maintains he has neither anything against field umpires nor video referrals but stresses “uniformity”. Many veterans, including Olympians, want the video referral system to be studied and improved further so as not to affect the flow of the game. Since hockey is a fast game and ball runs from end to end in a matter of seconds, a few seconds delay in asking for a video referral can change the complexion of the game. A team defending a penalty corner can be in a scoring position seconds later
before the game is suddenly stopped for a video referral. Tempo built for an offensive cannot be resumed
after video referral confirms field umpire’s decision. Because of introduction of video umpire, the matches take longer to finish thus denying the teams scheduled to play subsequent matches little time for warm up. India and England got only 21 minutes for warm-up before their game on Saturday night. Other area of reservation has been the advantage rule. Some more home work needs to be done to make video umpire coherent, effective and an asset for arriving at correct decisions. Video umpire in cricket and hockey should not be compared. In cricket, it is the end of a sequence that is challenged. Here it is the flow of the game that is challenged and stopping the game affects the flow or continuity of the game. One must not forget that even electronic eye or camera too has its limitations and cannot capture the intent or imagination of a hockey player. |
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Davis Cup
Moscow, March 7 Somdev’s defeat has rendered Rohan Bopanna’s second reverse singles of the first round tie against Igor Kunitsyn inconsequential. It was first meeting between Somdev and Youzhny and the class difference between the two players was glaring. The Russian conceded just six games in the lop-sided match that lasted one hour and 55 minutes. Somdev put up a good fight in the third set but Youzhny was too good for him. Youzhny showed why he is top-15 player as he never let Somdev play his style of game from the baseline. He in fact took advantage of it. Somdev had no answer to Youzhny's solid ground-strokes and smart drop volleys. The Russian attacked Somdev's weak second serve and set up and took points at will, executing a perfect gameplan. More PTI In no time Somdev was down by two breaks - third and fifth games - and the Russian comfortably placed with a 5-2 lead. Youzhny served out the first set with a drop volley in just 31 minutes. The very Somdev, who had never bothered about the rankings of his opponents, looked helpless against Youzhny who toyed with the Indian. Such was the control and domination of the Russian over his opponent that hardly an unforced error came off Youzhny’s racquet. Whenever Somdev tried to engage Youzhny in a long rally, the Russian would come with a big stroke or a smart volley, leaving the Indian reach for the ball. Somdev’s misery grew all the more in second set as he could not get on the board
till the fifth game. And that was the only game he could win on his serve in that
set. — PTI |
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I am a T20 specialist: Abdulla
Chandigarh, March 7 Q: This is your second season with the IPL, but it is the first time you will be playing in India. How much do you think the experience will help? A: Each country offers new challenges which calls for a lot of adjustments. I know things are not going to be easy in India but I am there for the taking. Last year taught me a lot and I hope to bring the experience in use here. Q: Which one was your most memorable performance last year? A: Oh, it has to be against Mumbai Indians. Bowling the last over and winning the game for the team was pleasing. Cleaning up Duminy added to the pleasure. Q: Are you satisfied with the security arrangements here? A: Security has been a big thing this year. Back home, there was a lot of talk about it before I came here. But I have no issues as far as security is concerned. The arrangement has been great and we have been taken care of really well here. Q: Will change of captaincy bring good things to Kings XI? A: Last year was not our best one. We know we made some mistakes, but it happens. The experience of leading Sri Lanka will certainly help Sangakkara and the team. With players like Yuvi, Jayawardene, Lee and Irfan we are a tough group. Q: You played alot of T20s last year. Do you think the specialist’s tag limits you in any way? A: Yes, I am a T20 specialist but that does not limit me in any way. Back home, for my domestic side, I play in all the formats. I am waiting for an opportunity to prove myself in ODIs too. Q: How do you view your role in the Kings XI team? A: My job is to get as many wickets as I can. Besides, if i can be economical, I would be satisfied. Playing alongside world class bowlers like Lee and Irfan teaches you every moment and I am looking forward to it again. Q: What are South Africa’s chances in the World Cup 2011 given their performance in the recent series in India? A: Both the Test and the ODIs were closely fought. We are a bunch of very competetive guys and can beat any team in the world. We are certainly a serious contender for the elusive title next year. Q: How helpful IPL has been for you? A: Oh, it’s one of the greatest sporting events and it has helped me immensely to showcase my talent to the world. I owe a lot to it. |
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IPL to re-issue tender for new franchises
Mumbai, March 7 “The bids that were received were returned without being opened. New tenders would be issued on March 9 and the fresh bids are to be submitted at 10 am on March 21 at Chennai which would be opened at 11 am,” Modi told a media conference. The IPL chief said a lot of letters had been received from various interested parties pointing out that the pre-condition of bidders having a net worth of one billion dollars was not there when the first tendering process was initialised two years ago while selling the existing eight franchise teams. “The governing council decided to remove this clause from the new tender and reduce the $100 million performance deposit demanded from bidders to 10 million $ to be submitted on the 20th. It was five million $ at the first tender but the valuation has gone up now,” he said. Modi also said that 100 per cent bank guarantee demanded from the bidders when they are successful has been reduced to 10 per cent rolling back guarantee to be paid withing 48 hours which is on par with the first tendering process. “The base price of $ 225 million remains the same. The base price was not the issue,” he said. The IPL Chairman later told PTI that though he was disappointed with the cancellation of the tender it was the combined decision of the IPL governing council. “Of course I am disappointed. But it was the decision of the governing council,” he said. Sources revealed later that only three bids had been received by the IPL and one of the bidders was consumer durables major Videocon which had bid $300 million. Videocon MD Venugopal Dhoot said that though his firm had fulfilled all the conditions laid out in the tendering process he had “no grievances”. “I have no grievances though we had fulfilled all requirements. I will be there on the 21st (for submitting a new bid),” he said. Modi also said that all those who had bought the tender documents paying Rs five lakh each have the option of taking back the amount or it will be adjusted when they opt for the new tender document which is to be issued on Tuesday. —
PTI |
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The clash between two giants - defending champions Germany and the Netherlands — that ended in a pulsating 2-2 draw has extended the fight for two semifinal berths from pool A.
Argentina played a spirited game to take full points off New Zealand with a 1-0 victory in a Group A contest of the 12th Hero Honda FIH World Cup Hockey Championship at the National Stadium here tonight. The winless Argentina thus posted their first win, and have a match on hand against another bottom-scrapers Canada.
India has strong hockey bonds with South Africa. It is perhaps the only team other than the home team to have their playing kit and hockey sticks imported from India. But this will not wean any competitiveness expected of a World Cup match that the two teams are to play against each other on Monday. It will be their last pool B encounter.
Chandigarh, March 7
