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THE TRIBUNE SPECIALS
50 YEARS OF INDEPENDENCE

TERCENTENARY CELEBRATIONS
S P O R T S

monday is som’s day
Wins Gold in Men’s doubles with Sanam Singh
Enters Singles final as well
Sania-Vardhan settle for Silver

Guangzhou, November 22
Star tennis player Somdev Devvarman took centre stage by fetching a gold medal in doubles event and also becoming the first Indian to reach the final in men's singles as India bagged three medals on the tenth day of competitions in the 16th Asian Games here today.
Somdev Devvarman returns a forehand against Tatsuma Ito of Japan during the men's singles semifinal in Guangzhou Somdev Devvarman returns a forehand against Tatsuma Ito of Japan during the men's singles semifinal in Guangzhou on Monday. Devvarman won 6-2, 0-6, 6-3 over Ito. — AFP



EARLIER STORIES

Sania settles for Bronze
November
22, 2010
Singh on Song
November
21, 2010
Bajrang lifts India
November
20, 2010
Double delight for Indian rowers
November
19, 2010
Sandhyarani saves the day for India
November
18, 2010
Ashish Kumar, Khade create history
November
17, 2010
harbhajan is two good
November
16, 2010
Advani opens gold account
November
15, 2010
Narang wins silver, Bindra disappoints
November
14, 2010

Indian women make winning start in kabaddi
Guangzhou, November 22
India swamped Bangladesh 34-20 in their opening encounter as women's kabaddi made its Asian Games debut here today. Women's kabaddi has made its debut here, 20 years after the South Asian sport was included – but only with the men's competition – in the Beijing Games.
Indian players hold Shahnaj Maleka of Bangladesh (in red jersey) during their group B Round 1 match in Guangzhou on Monday. India won 34-20. — AFP
Indian players hold Shahnaj Maleka of Bangladesh (in red jersey) during their group B Round 1 match in Guangzhou

Men secure bronze in archery
Guangzhou, November 22
The Indian trio of Jayanta Talukdar, Rahul Banerjee and Mangal Singh Champia fought through challenging conditions to clinch the men's team bronze after beating Chinese Taipei in the Archery competition of the Asian Games here today.
Mangal Singh Champia releases an arrow in the bronze medal match against Taiwan during the men's team archery match on Monday. South Korea defeated China to take the gold medal and India won the bronze. — AFP

Mangal Singh Champia releases an arrow in the bronze medal match against Taiwan during the men's team archery match

Athletes draw blank
After opening their track and field campaign in a spectacular fashion with two gold and a silver yesterday, Indian athletes came a cropper today as they failed to collect a single medal on the second day of the competitions here. Medal prospects Mandeep Kaur and Manjeet Kaur finished disappointing fourth and fifth with below-par performances in women's 400m final at the Aoti Main Stadium.

Women boxers in action during the 42nd Haryana Police Games in Madhuban (Karnal)
Women boxers in action during the 42nd Haryana Police Games in Madhuban (Karnal) on on Monday. Tribune photo: Ravi Kumar

New Zealand in India
3rd Test: Day 3
Dravid tightens India’s grip
Nagpur, November 22
Rahul Dravid is going to be a vital cog in the Indian batting line-up when they travel to South Africa next month. This is something we knew all along, didn't we? But the point is-and Dravid will himself agree-that he needed this real big knock to get him in the groove, so to speak.

‘I will like to be reborn like Viru’
Nagpur, November 22
While Rahul Dravid was pleased to get a big innings together here, he also said that he would like his runs to come at a faster pace. "I would like to be reborn like Viru one day. I spent time in the middle and that's very good for my confidence going into the series against South Africa. But that one out there will be different.

McKay: I apologise to Indian fans
Nagpur, November 22
Thirty-year-old Kiwi paceman Andy McKay, who is making his Test debut here understands that he disappointed a lot of Indian fans by removing Sachin Tendulkar in his first over today. Sachin was in line to get his 50th Test hundred but was denied by a good one from McKay.

Clarke doubtful for 1st Ashes Test
Brisbane, November 22
Australian vice-captain Michael Clarke missed training due a back injury today, casting doubt over his fitness for the first Ashes Test. Clarke has been troubled by a degenerative back condition for most of his test career and Australian team physiotherapist Alex Kountouris has confirmed he is no certainty to play in the first test which starts Thursday at Brisbane's Gabba ground.

Adopt anti-corruption code domestically, ICC to Boards
Dubai, November 22
The International Cricket Council has asked all its member boards to introduce anti-corruption code in their domestic events by April 1 next year. The decision came after Pakistan Cricket Board proposed adoption of an anti-corruption code in their domestic cricket during the meeting with the ICC Executive Board.

Medal Tally





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monday is som’s day
Wins Gold in Men’s doubles with Sanam Singh
Enters Singles final as well
Sania-Vardhan settle for Silver


6th Gold in Asiad

Somdev Devvarman (R) and Sanam Krishan Singh of India celebrate their win over Gong Maoxin and Li Ze of China in the final of the men’s doubles tennis event in the 16th Asian Games in Guangzhou
Somdev Devvarman (R) and Sanam Krishan Singh of India celebrate their win over Gong Maoxin and Li Ze of China in the final of the men’s doubles tennis event in the 16th Asian Games in Guangzhou on Monday. — AFP

Guangzhou, November 22
Star tennis player Somdev Devvarman took centre stage by fetching a gold medal in doubles event and also becoming the first Indian to reach the final in men's singles as India bagged three medals on the tenth day of competitions in the 16th Asian Games here today.

Somdev teamed up with Sanam Singh to clinch the title in the men's doubles event and inched closer to a historic singles gold by moving into the final on what turned out to be a fruitful day for him.

Sania Mirza and Vishnu Vardhan had to be content with a silver in mixed doubles while the men's archery team comprising Rahul Banerjee, Mangal Singh Champia and Jayanta Talukdar bagged a bronze in the team event.

With the addition of three more medals, India's medal tally climbed to six gold, 12 silver and 18 bronze. The day clearly belonged to Somdev as he pipped Japan's Tatasuma Ito 6-2 0-6 6-3 in the semifinals to set up the summit-clash with top seed Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan.

Later, he and Sanam Singh combined superbly to win first gold medal for India in the tennis event in this edition of the Games as the sixth seed pair shocked second seed Chinese Gong Maoxin and Li Zhe 6-3 6-7(4) 10-8 in the final.

However, gold eluded Sania yet again as she and Vishnu Vardhan, seeded sixth, lost the mixed doubles final 6-4 1-6 2-10 to second seed Taipei pair of Chan Yung Jan and Yang Tsung Hua.

Somdev and Sanam's gold medal feat assumes significance as India landed here without star doubles pair of Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi, gold medallists of the last edition at Doha in 2006, who opted to play in World Tour Finals in London. Rohan Bopanna is also missing from the Indian line-up though he had failed to qualify for the World Tour Finals.

Before Somdev, no Indian had managed to enter men's singles final and India had won only three bronze medals in men's singles in Asian Games. Leander Paes had won it in 1994 in Hiroshima Games and Mahesh Bhupathi and Prahlad Srinath had won it during 1998 Games in Bangkok.

In the baseline slugfest, that lasted almost two hours, second seed Somdev pocketed the opening set against Ito, ranked 195, with a measure of comfort but was then blown off the court by the fourth seed Ito, who clinched the second 6-0. Things were looking difficult for the Indian world no.

106 when he and his rival traded service breaks in the first four games. Somdev then staged an excellent rally under pressure by saving two break points in the fifth game and eventually tilted the scale in his favour. — PTI

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Indian women make winning start in kabaddi

Guangzhou, November 22
India swamped Bangladesh 34-20 in their opening encounter as women's kabaddi made its Asian Games debut here today. Women's kabaddi has made its debut here, 20 years after the South Asian sport was included – but only with the men's competition – in the Beijing Games.

The Indian squad, led by Tejeswini Bai, was the dominant outfit in both raiding and defending against their South Asian neighbours but Bangladesh too had their moments. The Indians began in storming fashion by raiding their rival area with Tejeswani, Smita Kumar, Pooja Sharma Deepika Joseph in full flight and secured two Lonas by dismissing all the rival players off the court to earn two extra points.

"Our girls were very fast and agile. Our raiders were good. Everybody played well," said team's coach Vijay Kumar, adding all the team members wanted to grab the gold medal as the men had done in 1990. "They want to start with gold, just as the men did it in 1990 and have not looked back after that," he said. Bangladesh, who were overwhelmed in the first half, came back well in the second with good efforts put in by Sharmin Rima, Dolly Shafaly, Hena and Rupali Akhtar. — PTI

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Men secure bronze in archery

Guangzhou, November 22
The Indian trio of Jayanta Talukdar, Rahul Banerjee and Mangal Singh Champia fought through challenging conditions to clinch the men's team bronze after beating Chinese Taipei in the Archery competition of the Asian Games here today. Like women, the Indian men defeated Chinese Taipei but with a more comprehensive 220-216 margin as compared to the women's 218-217 victory in the bronze medal play-off.

Incidentally, both men and women lost to world's top archers from South Korea in the semifinals before clinching the bronze medal. The Indians scored 28 and 29 for a total of 57 in the first set of six arrows, 56 (29 and 27) in the second set and flagged a bit to get 53 (26 and 27) in the third and 54 in the fourth and last set (27 and 27). They shot a total of eight 10s and bulls eyes.

Taipei started off badly scoring only 52 in the first set (27 and 25), did the same as their rivals in the second scoring 58 (28 and 28) before outperforming the Indians in the third with 58 (28 and a fabulous 30). But Taipei could score only 50 (26 and 24) in the last when they needed 54 to tie with the Indians and force a shoot-off.

In the semis, India were beaten by South Korea 222-216 before the latter went on to grab the gold by outsmarting hosts China 222-218. "It was a close one. We were not tense after losing to Korea in the semi finals as we knew we will be able to pull it off," said Talukdar about the bronze play-off with Taipei. Banerjee blamed the wind for the misses and said the archer who could hold his own in these difficult conditions emerged on top. "The wind was too heavy. Anyone who could keep calm could pull it off," he said.

Champia saw an upswing in the Indian display here compared to Doha four years ago when only one team bronze was won. "There is definitely an improvement in our performance in Asian Games as we have already got two medals (both bronze) ahead of the (two-day) individual events commencing tomorrow," he said. — PTI

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Athletes draw blank

After opening their track and field campaign in a spectacular fashion with two gold and a silver yesterday, Indian athletes came a cropper today as they failed to collect a single medal on the second day of the competitions here. Medal prospects Mandeep Kaur and Manjeet Kaur finished disappointing fourth and fifth with below-par performances in women's 400m final at the Aoti Main Stadium.

One-lap racer Mandeep Kaur, the leading timer in Asia this season and drawn on the outside lane seven, led the field till the back stretch before flagging behind to finish fourth in 52.99 secs. Defending champion Olga Tereshkova of Kazakhstan left the entire bunch behind at the final stretch and crossed the finish line in 51.97secs, her season's best.

Japan's Asami Chiba improved upon her bronze in 2006 Asian Games in Doha by bagging the silver in 52.68 while the bronze went to another Kazakh Marina Maslyonko (52.70). National record holder Manjeet, gold medallist in 2002 at Busan and silver medallist four years later in Doha, finished a poor fifth in 53.27, two seconds below her personal best.

In women's hammer throw, national record holder Hardeep Kaur started with a foul attempt before attaining her best effort of the day, 60.54m in her third attempt, to finish fourth.

The Indian's effort was 2.40m less than bronze medallist Yuka Murofushi of Japan. It was an improvement on the police officer's 2006 performance where she had finished sixth. China made a 1-2 with defending champion and Beijing Olympics bronze medallist Zhang Wenxiu taking the gold with 72.84m and Wang Zheng (68.17m) grabbing the silver. — PTI

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New Zealand in India
3rd Test: Day 3
Dravid tightens India’s grip
Sunil Narula
Tribune News Service

Rahul Dravid raises his bat as he celebrates his century against New Zealand in Nagpur
Rahul Dravid raises his bat as he celebrates his century against New Zealand in Nagpur on Monday. Dravid scored a brilliant 191. — AFP

Nagpur, November 22
Rahul Dravid is going to be a vital cog in the Indian batting line-up when they travel to South Africa next month. This is something we knew all along, didn't we? But the point is-and Dravid will himself agree-that he needed this real big knock to get him in the groove, so to speak. This is the kind of innings that the Indian team will need from Dravid in South Africa if they are to keep their number one Test ranking intact.

Yes, some senior Indian batsmen (including Dravid) will be travelling to SA early to get accustomed to the bouncy wickets there. But, what still remains the real thing is getting real runs out in the middle. And, Dravid did that in ample measure at the Jamtha Stadium here today.

At close of play on the third day, New Zealand had reached 24 for 1, still 349 runs behind. India had declared their first innings at 566 for 8. It was a marathon innings by Dravid. In all, 'the wall' spent 573 minutes at the crease and fell just nine runs short of his double-century (191). And, when he was dismissed, Dravid looked distinctly unhappy with himself for having played an improper shot. That speaks a little about his insatiable desire for runs.

Nagpur is a special place for Dravid. His wife hails from this city. And, it proved a lucky venue for Dravid today. He had scored a century in the first Test of this series in Ahmedabad as well but, that one was a slow and scratchy effort. Here, Dravid looked completely in control. Flawless, right behind the ball, waiting for the loose one, ready to drill it to the boundary.

Alongwith captain Dhoni, Dravid added 193 runs for the sixth wicket. Dhoni was just two short of his century (98) when he was deceived by a flighted ball from Vettori. But, the Indian skipper flayed his bat to good effect to smash 12 fours and a six.

Let's face it, Dhoni is not the most attractive batsman to watch. Technically he is not sound, relies mostly on muscle power and uses his willow more like a sword. But, he is very effective and gets the job done. Almost invariably during his innings, Dhoni gives a chance. He gave one today as well. But, Tim McIntosh spilled the skier. Dhoni was on 42 at that time.

Earlier, when play began this morning, there was just one thing in focus: Sachin's upcoming 50th Test century. However, it all turned out to be an anti-climax. Tendulkar fell in the second over of the day giving debutant Andy McKay his first Test wicket. He could add just four runs to his overnite score and was dismissed for 61. Laxman was surprised by Martin's pace, Raina looked lost and clueless. And, suddenly, India had lost three quick wickets.

Dhoni joined Dravid at this stage and a long 193-run partnership ensued that took the game away from the visitors.

Harbhajan came in all geared up to go for his third Test century in a row. But, this time around the Kiwis were better prepared and the fielder was in the right place when Bhajji top-edged an attempted sixer. But not to be kept out of the game for too long, Bhajji returned later in the day to jolt the Kiwis by trapping opener McIntosh in front of the stumps.

India look firmly in control of the game now and the Kiwi batsmen will have to come up with a Herculean effort to save this one. It looks extremely unlikely at this stage and this venue's reputation of producing a result everytime is likely to stay intact.

Scoreboard

New Zealand 1st innings: 193

India 1st innings (overnight 292-2):

Dravid c Guptill b Williamson 191

Tendulkar c Hopkins b McKay 61

Laxman b Martin 12

Raina c sub b Vettori 3

Dhoni c & b Vettori 98

Harbhajan c McCullum b Martin 20

Ishant not out 7

Sreesanth not out 0

Extras: (b-12, lb-5, w-4, nb-1) 22

Total: (8 wkts, decl, 165 ovrs) 566

Bowling: Martin 28-4-82-2, Southee 29-5-94-1, McKay 31-5-120-1, Vettori 58-7-178-3, Williamson 11-0-45-1, Guptill 7-0-27-0, Taylor 1-0-3-0.

New Zealand 2nd innings:

McIntosh lbw b Harbhajan 8

McCullum not out 15

Hopkins not out 1

Extras: 0

Total: (1 wkt, 11 overs) 24

Bowling: Sreesanth 3-1-13-0, Ishant 2-2-0-0, Ojha 3-1-2-0, Harbhajan 3-0-9-1.

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‘I will like to be reborn like Viru’
Sunil Narula
Tribune News Service

Nagpur, November 22
While Rahul Dravid was pleased to get a big innings together here, he also said that he would like his runs to come at a faster pace. "I would like to be reborn like Viru one day. I spent time in the middle and that's very good for my confidence going into the series against South Africa. But that one out there will be different.

The pitches will be bouncy and all that. But I will take this one. Surely feels nice. Whenever I get a big score it surely does take time," said Rahul after the third day's play here.

There has been some talk of the senior batsmen getting on in years but Rahul has no complaints on that front. "I accept it as part and parcel of the game. When you are 23-24 you will have different questions asked of you. When you are 36-37, those questions will be different," he said.

"I do not think much about that. I do my preparation before every game. Some days you click. Other days you don't. But, I'm not complaining. There is pressure. But I can only control things that are in my control," he said.

"I guess all credit here must go to our bowlers. We are in a winning position because of them," said Rahul.

Rahul Dravid is just one catch away from becoming the first player in Test cricket to complete 200 catches (other than wicket-keepers, that is) and that one could be coming soon. "My fingers have taken a lot of pounding. But it will come. Sooner or later," said Rahul.

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McKay: I apologise to Indian fans
Tribune News Service

Nagpur, November 22
Thirty-year-old Kiwi paceman Andy McKay, who is making his Test debut here understands that he disappointed a lot of Indian fans by removing Sachin Tendulkar in his first over today. Sachin was in line to get his 50th Test hundred but was denied by a good one from McKay.

"I apologize to the Indian fans. But, yes, it is fantastic that my first Test wicket is that of Tendulkar. It would have been nice if I had picked up another couple of wickets. But this one is special," said the man from Wellington.

"This is a daunting task for me bowling to such a formidable line-up. But, I had played a couple of one-dayers before so that helped me," he said.

"I wasn't surprised when I was given the new ball in the morning. I just wanted to bowl fast at Sachin and the one that got him really came out well and bounced as well," said McKay.

He also praised Dravid's effort saying the Kiwi bowlers could have bowled better. "He played mostly in the 'vee'. And was prepared to wait for the lose one, which we gave him. We did not stick to our lines and he played very well," said McKay. And, McKay feels the Kiwis can save this. He surely is an optimistic guy.

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Clarke doubtful for 1st Ashes Test

Brisbane, November 22
Australian vice-captain Michael Clarke missed training due a back injury today, casting doubt over his fitness for the first Ashes Test. Clarke has been troubled by a degenerative back condition for most of his test career and Australian team physiotherapist Alex Kountouris has confirmed he is no certainty to play in the first test which starts Thursday at Brisbane's Gabba ground.

Clarke was unable to play for NSW in the most recent round of Sheffield Shield after aggravating the injury in an earlier match. Kountouris said Clarke's absence from training Monday was planned and his condition was being closely watched. — AP

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Adopt anti-corruption code domestically, ICC to Boards

Dubai, November 22
The International Cricket Council has asked all its member boards to introduce anti-corruption code in their domestic events by April 1 next year. The decision came after Pakistan Cricket Board proposed adoption of an anti-corruption code in their domestic cricket during the meeting with the ICC Executive Board.

The Board had met via teleconference to receive an update on the progress being made by the Pakistan Cricket Board in implementing the steps to preserve the integrity of cricket. The ICC said the Board expressed satisfaction at the progress of the work being undertaken by the Pakistan Task Team (PTT) and the PCB. ICC President Sharad Pawar said, "The PCB and PTT should be commended for their excellent work and everyone involved deserves special praise for the outstanding progress made since our last Board meeting. — PTI

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 guangzhou bits

Men qualify for rugby quarters
Despite suffering heavy defeats in all three league matches, the Indian men's rugby team today qualified for the quarterfinals of the Asian Games as only nine teams are in the fray. India, who were thrashed 43-5 by Korea in the opening pool B match yesterday, were today drubbed 61-0 by China and 42-12 by sub-continental rivals Sri Lanka to finish at the bottom of the group. Yet, they qualified for the quarter finals and will play the winners of pool B at the University Town stadium tomorrow.

Women chess players win
Indian women drubbed Mongolia to climb to the joint top position while their male counterparts slipped to the fourth spot with a shocking defeat at the hands of lower-rated Philippines after the fifth round of the chess competitions in the Asian Games here today. The women's quartet of Harika Dronavalli, Tania Sachdev, Meenakshi Subbaraman and Nisha Mohota, undefeated so far in the competition, did not have to sweat much as they beat Mongolia by a 3.5-0.5 margin.

Mary Kom, Kavita in semis
Five-time world champion M C Mary Kom (51kg) and Kavita Goyat (75kg) assured India of at least two bronze medals in women's boxing by advancing to the semifinals with contrasting wins at the Asian Games, here today. Mary Kom, a Khel Ratna awardee and nicknamed 'Magnificent Mary' for her unprecedented five world titles, out-slugged Chieh Meng Ping of Chinese Taipei 16-2. She will face China's Cancan Ren, who defeated Nepal's Sanju Lama 10-0.

Indians flop in road race
Indian cyclists continued to cut a sorry figure at the Asian Games with the duo of Sombir and Atul Yadav finishing 27th and 32nd respectively in the men's Individual Road Race here today. In the 180km race, comprising nine laps of 20km each, Sombir clocked 4:15:15.42 and managed an average speed of 42.310. Atul was further down after clocking 4:15:59.39 at an average speed of 42.189.

Squash team make good start
Spearheaded by Saurav Ghosal and Joshna Chinappa, Indian men's and women's racqueters came out with a heartening performance to end the day on an unbeaten note in the squash team events of the Asian Games, here today. Indian men blanked Japan 3-0 in their opening encounter of the day and then went on to secure their third straight preliminary league victory in the event, thrashing Saudi Arabia with an identical scoreline.

Santosh assures boxing medal
Pugilist Santosh Kumar assured India of at least a bronze medal after advancing to the semi-finals of the 64-kg category with a hard-fought victory over Mangolia's Tuvshinbat Byamba here today. Confusion prevailed after the scores were tied 3-3 at the end of third and final round, but Santosh was declared winner on the decision of judges. Santhosh started on a positive note taking a 1-0 lead after the end of first round before Byamba made a strong fightback in the following rounds.

Women spikers crash out
Indian women spikers suffered their third successive defeat in the Asian Games, going down 0-3 to Chinese Taipei in their last preliminary Group B match at the Guangwai Gymnasium here today. The Indian eves lost 36-75 (12-25 12-25 12-25) to the Taiwanese team in one hour and four minutes to draw curtains on their campaign here.

Singh in canoe single 200m final
India's Jamesboy Singh reached the finals of the Men's Canoe Single 200m of the Asian Games here today. The Indian clocked 44.004 in Heat 1 to finish third at the International Rowing Centre here. Another Indian Bhupender Singh Pundir advanced to the semifinals of the Men's Kayak Single 1000m competition. The 22-year-old Indian clocked 3:57.275 in Heat 2 to finish fifth and reach the last four stage here.

Roller skating team
A 15-member team will represent India in roller skating in the 16th Asian Games in China. The Roller Skating Federation of India selected artistic and speed skating teams after extensive trials and coaching camps. The event will make its Asiad debut in China. The team: Speed skating (men and women): Raja Prateek, Aradhya Akash and Ingale Vikram Rajendra; Varsha Puranik, Hasthanthar Anand Pragna, Srishty and Kanika Bhalla Manjitsingh. Artistic skating: Yama Anup Kumar and Chitikela Akhil; Shah Aashna Rajan and Avani Bharat Kumar Panchal. Coaches: Rao Kukkikatte Srikantha and Desai Sapna Pankaj. Managers: Pushpendra Kumar Singh and Naresh Sharma. — Agencies

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