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Salman Butt refuses to step down
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Dhoni loses top spot, Sehwag rises in ODI rankings
Batsmen failed to apply, says Dhoni
Saina conferred Khel Ratna
Sutil grabs another career-best 5th spot in Belgian GP
Haryana-ONGC hockey match marks National Sports Day
Centre Stage
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Salman Butt refuses to step down
London, August 29
Asked whether he would consider quitting the job, which was given to him only last month, Butt merely said, "why?" "These are just allegations, anyone can say anything about anyone, that doesn't make them true," he fumed in a brief post-match press conference with team manager Yawar Saeed by his side. Butt insisted that his team gave its 100 per cent in the series but couldn't get the results. "Definitely we have given our best, it's just that the conditions have been difficult for the batsmen," said Butt. "Every person has given 100 per cent, but not every time can you achieve what you want," he added. Saeed, on the other hand, was left to deal with queries on whether the two Twenty20 Internationals and the five-match ODI series against England starting September 5 is still on given the circumstances. "As far as I'm concerned the one-day series is on," he responded. Saeed said the dressing room mood has been affected by the allegations, especially of young pacer Mohammad Amir, who was ironically named Man of the Series along with England batsman Jonathan Trott. "Mohammad Amir is a young bowler who has done very well in his career. He is disappointed to have been involved in these allegations," he added. Meanwhile, unconfirmed reports stated that Pakistani players' passports have been confiscated by the police.
— PTI
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Dhoni loses top spot, Sehwag rises in ODI rankings
Sri Lanka, sixth before the series, are just behind India, and in front of South Africa, who drop to fourth, when the ratings are calculated beyond the decimal point. New Zealand drop to sixth from fourth as Australia, at the top, and England, in fifth spot, remain unchanged. In individual rankings, Tillakaratne Dilshan broke into the top five of the batting chart. Dilshan's match-winning effort of 110 in the final against India last night was enough to earn him a three-place boost in the rankings and he now sits in fourth position, level with Hashim Amla of South Africa. Amla's team-mate AB de Villiers has benefited from Dhoni's slip with the 26-year-old from Pretoria taking over at the top of the rankings. The other main mover upwards in the top 10 is Sehwag, who was declared Man-of-the-Series in Sri Lanka. The hard-hitting opener was the series' top-scorer with 268 at an average of 67 and that effort has moved him up eight places on the rankings to eighth place. Sachin Tendulkar, who was rested from the tri-series, lost four places and now sits in 10th position. A player loses half a per cent of his rating for every ODI he misses. In the list for bowlers, India pacer Praveen Kumar has gained five places to break into the top 10 for the first time in his career. The 23-year-old took nine wickets in the Sri Lanka tri-series at an average of 23.66 and now sits in 10th position in the ladder, level with Pakistan's Shahid Afridi. —PTI
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Batsmen failed to apply, says Dhoni
Dambulla, August 28 Most of our batsmen got the start but did not spend enough time in the middle. If we had batsmen to bat all the overs the match would have been a close one," Dhoni said while addressing the post-match press conference. "But credit to Sri Lanka they batted and bowled well. They played better cricket than us today," added Dhoni whose sequence of four consecutive series triumphs on Sri Lankan soil ended with his side's 74-run loss today. The younger batsmen in the team failed to perform but Dhoni saw positives from the series, saying they must have learnt a lot from the tournament. "It is a learning curve for the youngsters. Most of them have not played on such conditions often. I am sure they must have learnt a lot from this tournament. That is the positive aspect from this tournament for the team," he said. Sri Lankan captain Kumar Sangakkara said his side batted and bowled well today. "It was an all-round performance today. We batted and bowled well. (Tillakaratne) Dilshan and (Thisara) Perera were outstanding," he said. Man-of-the-Match Dilshan said he was happy to have helped his side win with a big score. "I have been doing well in the series. The only thing was that I was not being able to convert on the starts. I got a hundred today and that helped for the team cause. I am happy," he said. Asked about Sri Lanka Cricket docking his entire match fee after the Suraj Randiv no-ball incident against India in a league match, Dilshan said he wanted to forget it. "I don't want any controversy. I want to forget it," said Dilshan. — PTI
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New Delhi, August 29 Saina's achievements in the past one year made her an automatic choice for the prestigious award - highest sporting honour in the country. An Arjuna awardee last year, Saina rose to number two in world rankings and also completed a hat-trick of international titles, including back-to-back Super Series victories in Singapore and Indonesia in June. Former Indian hockey skipper Sandeep Singh and women's cricket captain Jhulan Goswami were among the 15 sportspersons who received the Arjuna Award from President Pratibha Patil at Rashtrapati Bhawan. Boxer Dinesh Kumar, swimmer Rehan Poncha, world's second youngest Grandmaster Parimarjan Negi and Olympian wrestler Rajiv Tomar also received the Arjuna award for their achievements in the last one year. Women hockey player Jasjeet Kaur Handa also missed the ceremony as she is now in Argentina for the FIH World Cup. No male cricketer got the honour, while Deepak Mondal was the lone footballer and Rajeev Tomar was the lone wrestler to get Arjuna award. Others to get the award were Sanjeev Rajput (shooting), Kapil Dev (volleyball), Rehan Poncha (swimming), Dinesh Kumar (kabaddi), Rajesh Chaudhary (yachting) and Jagseer Singh (para-Olympian). Sandeep was in a superb form during India's recent hockey tour of Europe, while seasoned pace-woman Jhulan is currently heading the bowling list of International Cricket Council's ODI Women's Rankings.Dronacharya Award, the top recognition for coaches in the country, was conferred on five, including L Ibomcha Singh (boxing), Ajay Kumar Bansal (hockey), AK Kutty (athletics), Captain Chandrup (wrestling) and Subhash B Aggarwal (billiards and snooker). The Arjuna and Dronacharya awardees got statuettes, citations and cash prize of Rs 5 lakh each. — PTI
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Sutil grabs another career-best 5th spot in Belgian GP
Spa-Francorchamps, August 29 Starting eighth on the gird, Sutil improved his positions by three slots to grab 10 valuable points. The German had finished fifth at Malaysian Grand Prix also in the early part of the season. He was just over nine seconds behind the winner Lewis Hamilton of McLaren. Red Bull's Mark Webber finished second while Robert Kubica of Ranault and Felipe Massa of Ferrari were third and fourth. Sutil's team-mate Vitantonia Liuzzi finished just outside points bracket at 11th after starting at 12th. Last year also Force India had done exceedingly well at the Spa circuit when Giancarlo Fisichella earned the first ever pole for the outfit and finished second. Rain showers splashed the track intermittently, there was a collision between Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel and McLaren's Jenson Button and twice safety car was deployed in the race. — PTI
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Haryana-ONGC hockey match marks National Sports Day
Gurgaon, August 29 |
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Centre Stage
Looking for its first-ever gold in track and field since 1958 and a medal in swimming, India had, two years ago, embarked upon an ambitious scheme for preparation of its teams for the 2010 Commonwealth Games by selecting 1140 sportspersons from 17 disciplines in which competitions will be held during the fortnight-long Games. Though there is no visible challenge to Australian supremacy in the games, England, Canada, India, Jamaica and South Africa have been improving their tally with every edition of the Games. Jamaica for example, has now athletes like Usain Bolt, a running marvel. It will be the misfortune of Indian spectators that they won’t be able to see the fastest man in action during the October mega event. So India’s major challenge comes from both England and Canada, who have traditionally given company to Australia in the elite top-three group. After Leander Paes gave India its first individual medal in Olympics in Atlanta in 1996, Indian sportspersons have been improving their performance with every international outing. In Beijing, Abhinav Bindra not only gave the country its first-ever individual Olympic gold medal but also saw boxer Vijender Singh and wrestler Sushil Kumar claim individual bronze medals. Saina Nehwal (badminton) and Sania Mirza (tennis) have been doing their bit to keep the sports flag of Indian sportswomen flying high. Only last week, Tejaswini Sawant became the first ever-Indian woman shooter to win a gold medal at the World Championship. Besides Abhinav, Mansher, Gagan and other top shooters, Tejaswani, who in partnership with Avneet Sidhu of Punjab, won a team gold in the last edition of the games in Melbourne, is among medal prospects in the Delhi Games also. A special outlay of Rs 678 crore was approved in June, 2008, to prepare the national contingent for the prestigious event for maximising the medal tally that till 2006, in the past 10 participations, had the previous best of 30 gold, 22 silver and 17 bronze medals at Manchester in 2002. Though Australia has been undisputed leader of the Commonwealth, India, as hosts, hope to get past both England and Canada, for a possible number two position. Pre-Games expectations are for over 100 medals, including 45 to 55 gold medals from a total of 829 medals at stake of which 256 will be gold. Never before India focused so much on preparation of its teams for a major international sporting event. Through a comprehensive and intensive training and exposure programme, both in India and abroad, the government promises its elite sportspersons, both men and women, a fully scientific coaching plan with medical back up facilities. Top coaches, both from within the country and abroad, have been engaged to oversee the training programme. As of today, 838 Indian athletes - 492 men and 353 women - are still in the coaching camps, both in India and abroad, training under watchful eyes of 157 Indian and 23 foreign coaches. Besides, there are 78 persons in the support staff of these coaching camps. In all 176 camps have been planned under the special scheme. Indian players had 150 visits abroad as a part of preparation for the Games. In the last edition of the games held in Melbourne, India had finished fourth with 22 gold, 17 silver and 10 bronze, far from the country’s ever best at Manchester in 2002. India, admittedly, is nowhere near Australia in the swimming events. India is yet to win its first swimming medal in the Commonwealth Games. India’s game-wise tally at Melbourne 2006
Game
Gold
Silver
Bronze
Athletics
x
2
1
Badminton
x
x
2
Boxing
1
2
2
Hockey
x
1
x
Shooting
16
7
3
Table Tennes
2 x 1
Weightlifting
3
5
1
Total
22
17
10 |
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Any other country would have taken full mileage of the host-city advantage, giving their sportspersons a thorough exposure to the infrastructure and other facilities, ahead of the games. But India has totally messed up the preparations for the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games, giving athletes little exposure to the facilities, primarily on account of incompletion of stadiums. All the work on the stadiums were to be completed by August 31, but now the deadline has been extended to September 15.
With just about a month remaining for the Games (October 3-14), Delhi is far from ready to host the mega event, robbing the sportspersons of a chance to familiarise with the stadiums, tracks, weather, etc. Secretary-general of the Organising Committee Lalit Bhanot made observed the other day that most of the sportspersons were reluctant to train in the polluted Delhi where humid and sultry conditions are prevailing these days. He explained that the athletes were happy training in the clean environment of Patiala, Balawadi (Pune) and Bangalore instead of uprooting the coaching camps to Delhi. Not only the stadiums are not ready, much work needs to be completed in the installation of overlays, synthetic tracks and other such facilities to make the stadiums fully ready. Now, the hosts would not have any advantage as athletes are likely to move in only by the middle of September, when the Games Village would be thrown open to the foreign and Indian athletes. The week-long incessant rains have only complicated matters further as the shoddy workmanship was exposed in most of the stadiums. Only the hockey players were somewhat lucky as they got exposure to the synthetic turf and other facilities at the Dhyan Chand National Stadium during the World Cup Championship in February-March this year. Athletes of other sports disciplines were given a brief exposure to the conditions during the test events, though most of the events were conducted in a slip-shod manner. India are expected to make their best-ever medal haul in the Delhi Commonwealth Games, but now even the players themselves are not sure of how they would fare in the games. Four hundred and nintyfive Indian sportspersons are expected to compete for 829 medals, with shooters likely to dominate. India will field 36 shooters for the 120 medals at stake, and they hope to better the medals tally at the 2006 games in Melbourne (Australia). Shooters had picked up 16 of the 22 gold medals won by India at Melbourne, with Samresh Jung alone accounting for five gold, one silver and one bronze medals, to be adjudged the best athlete. India also hope to make a decent medal haul in wrestling and archery, which would be introduced in the Commonwealth Games for the first time. Beijing Olympic games bronze medallists Sushil Kumar (wrestling) and Vijender Singh (boxing), gold medallist Abhinav Bindra (shooting) and Saina Nehwal (badminton) are some of the top names listed to figure in the Indian medal hunt. Though India will field 142 athletes for the 126 medals at offer in athletics, the hosts have never done well in track and field events, and here too, they are expected to pick up some medals in the throw events and women's relay. Hockey (men and women) is another sport where the hosts are desperate to make a podium finish. The government has not spared any effort in giving best coaching and foreign exposure to the sportspersons. Now it's up to the sportspersons to deliver. |
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Vijender working on endurance, course speed
After becoming the first boxer from India to win an Olympic medal, Vijender Singh has emerged as one of the biggest sports icon of the country. He is responsible for sudden rise in the popularity of the game not only in India but amongst the Indian community living abroad.
With just a few days left for the 2010 Commonwealth Games, Vijender is once again all set to repeat his success history but this time with a gold medal. Talking about his preparation for the Commonwealth Games, Vijender said, “The preparations are going on quite well. The final trials for selecting the Indian squad for the Commonwealth Games have just concluded and I am satisfied with my performance.” “We are following a rigorous training schedule. All our coaches and officials are giving us good support and looking after us well. I am paying more attention on my foot work, endurance and of course speed is primary concern,” he further added. “I am very confident that they will do well. Our boxing graph is going up all the time and the rest of the world is now scared to face Indian boxers,” he signs off. |
With the Commonwealth Games approaching fast, Indian pugilists are gearing up to put a fantastic show at the home grounds. Suronjoy Singh, who gave India its first Asian Championship gold after a gap of 15 years, is confident of his win at the Commonwealth Games. Talking to The Tribune after the completion of the three-day trials for the upcoming Games at NIS, Patiala, Suronjoy said he did well during the trials and was now focusing on winning a gold medal in the Games. “I have been practising for this event since one year. Now is the time to put our practice to test. Gold medal is the only thing I am looking at because I really don’t want anyone else to defeat us in our home ground and take away the top medal,” he said. Discussing his practice sessions, he said “I am also trying to rectify the mistakes I committed in past. “I am watching the video footage of my earlier bouts and trying to analyse my mistakes with the help of my coaches and teammates. I am also studying the technique of the boxers from various countries in detail, so as to prepare myself better viv-a-vis opponent's fighting techniques..” Praising his coaches, he said, “The best part was that they were working harder than us.” — GKT
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Alka Tomer wrestling with boys
Alka Tomer from Uttar Pradesh is another gold medal hope of the nation. An Arjuna awardee, Tomar represents the 59-kg category. She comes from a wrestling family, which includes two elder brothers. Alka started wrestling at 11 and won a bronze at the Doha Asian Games in 2006 and another one in the same year at the Senior Wrestling Championship in Guangzhou in China. She is the only girl from India having won a gold medal at the Senior Wrestling Championship. Due to an injury, Alka kept out of the boxing scene in 2007-08 but returned with a bang winning gold medals in the 2009 Commonwealth Championship and bronze medal in Asian Championship. Her will and determination has made her one of the toughest Indian women wrestler. Talking about her training, she said she was currently training with her elder brother to enhance her power and improve her technique. She said, “Boys certainly have more power and training with him provides me an opportunity to apply more power. Also, I am focusing on improving my personal favourite techniques in order to avoid any mistakes.” She further said she, with the help of her coaches, was also viewing the videos of rival players. “I don’t want to settle for anything less than gold medal.” — GKT
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Geeta wary of Canadian challengers
With the sports fraternity eyeing wrestling as one of the favourite games as far as medals are concerned, the girls too are on a high. Geeta from Haryana, who recently won a gold medal in the Commonwealth Championship held at Jalandhar, is being considered as one of the biggest bets in the upcoming Commonwealth Games. Geeta, 21, is in her final year of BA at Bhiwani Government Girls College and is currently representing India in the 55-kg-weight category. Having won gold medals three times in a row during the Asian Cadet Championships held at Taiwan, Kazakistan and Japan from 2003 to 2005, Geeta has proved her mettle when she reached the quarter-final of the World Wrestling Championship that was held in Denmark in 2009. Throwing light on her practice sessions, she said Indian team had been working day and night for this competition and would certainly give their best performance ever. “Our coaches are working on improving the skills of each and every player and ensuring that all players are in their best form,” she added. About her preparation, she said she was working on her fitness and improving her techniques. “Canada is our closest rival and I am also studying their techniques in order to ensure that there are no mistakes from my side. I am hopeful that I will win a gold medal and so will the other members because the girls are performing at their level best,” she added. — GKT
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Dambulla, August 28
Spa-Francorchamps, August 29
Butt is among the seven Pakistani cricketers whose names have come up in a tabloid sting which led to the arrest of a bookie, Mazhar Majeed, last night. Pakistan lost the four-Test series against England 1-3 after going down by an innings and 225 runs in the fourth and final match at Lord's here today.
Dubai, August 29
Will India break into the elite top-three group of the Commonwealth by asserting its sporting prowess in the biggest sporting event being ever organised by it in New Delhi from October 3.
New York: