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India’s tour of west indies
Rusty Serena sees off Rezai
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Business of soccer: A costly gambit
ICL owners await full disclosure of BCCI actions
HI, IHF agree on merger ‘in principle’
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India’s tour of west indies Kingston, June 21 Earlier, Suresh Raina and Harbhajan Singh rescued India after a top-order collapse but the visitors were still bowled out for a modest 246 in their first innings. Lendl Simmons was the lone West Indian wicket to fall in the post tea session. Adrian Barath was at the crease on 26 at close of play and giving him company was Ramnaresh Sarwan (2). Ishant Sharma turned out to be the lone successful bowler for India with figures of one for eight. Earlier, captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni's decision to bat first at a two-paced Sabina Park pitch misfired as India suffered a top-order collapse before Raina (82) and Harbhajan (70) joined hands to resurrect the innings with a belligerent 144-run seventh wicket stand. Raina and Harbhajan took the attack to the opposition during their 168-ball partnership to rescue India's sinking ship after they were reduced to 85 for six at one stage. The glorious seventh-wicket stand between the duo was the only silver lining in India's innings as the visitors lost their last four wickets for a mere 15 runs. For West Indies, the pace duo of Fidel Edwards (4 for 56) and Ravi Rampaul (3 for 59) shared seven wickets between them but it was young leg-spinner Devendra Bishoo (3 for 75), who impressed the most with his three-wicket haul and two outstanding catches. Sent into bowl, Rampaul gave a dream start to the home team removing both the Indian openers — debutant Abhinav Mukund (11) and Murali Vijay (8) — within the first 12 overs. Then it was Bishoo's turn to stun the visitors with the prized wickets of VVS Laxman (12) and Rahul Dravid (40) on either side of the lunch. As if this was not enough, Bishoo also claimed the vital wicket of India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who was out for his fifth duck in Test cricket, to register three scalps for 11 runs off his first 20 deliveries in the match. But that was all the young leg-spinner could manage on the day before he was taken to cleaners by Raina and Harbhajan, who scored a mammoth 60 runs off Bishoo's next seven overs. Raina alone scored 40 runs off Bishoo with eight fours before he once again made his presence felt in the match but this time on the field. After India had recovered to be 231 for six in the final session, Bishoo came up with a stunning catch to break the dangerous-looking stand between Raina and Harbhajan. He ran from the deep and dived full length to his left to catch Harbhajan's mistimed hook off Edwards. — PTI |
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London, June 21 She was still teary-eyed when she gave a televised interview at courtside. "It's been so hard, I never dreamt I would be here right now," the American, who is bidding to become the first player since Steffi Graf in 1993 to win three consecutive Wimbledon singles title, said. "I just wanted to win just one match here seeing as I'm not playing doubles, it was just a really big win for. It's been so hard and a disaster year for me, but I've been praying and I have my family here and I just love tennis," added Williams who suffered life-threatening blood clots on her lungs in February. It was only her third competitive match since last year's final victory over Vera Zvonareva, two weeks after which she cut her foot open in a Munich restaurant and needed 18 stitches and then surgery to repair a partially severed tendon. As welcome backs go it was a tough one against an opponent who was once ranked 15 in the world but who has slipped after her own off-court problems this year. Williams had to contend with all sorts of distractions in a nine-minute opening service game. A high-pitched alarm went off somewhere in the roof structure, rain drops fell, she was foot-faulted twice and her forehand misfired on several occasions as Rezai broke serve. Luckily the looming clouds moved away and despite trailing 0-2 the former world number one soon swaggered back into the old routine and reeled off the next five games with effortless power. Rezai, who came close to beating Williams in their only previous encounter, refused to be intimidated and hit back to break Serena's serve in the sixth game of the second set to level the match. — Reuters
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London, June 21 Playing with her left knee taped up, Mirza, 24, gave Razzano a close run on a breezy Court 9 at the All England Club, where she enjoyed plenty of Indian support. In the first set, Mirza broke twice for a 3-0 lead but Razzano broke back immediately and took the next game to love as the Indian played herself into trouble with unforced errors. Mirza, the world number 60, served for the set a 5-4 up but yelled in fury as two attempted drop shots went wrong and Razzano broke, before going on to take the tie break. In the second set, again Mirza took an early lead and this time held it, breaking again to take the second set 6-2. The deciding set went with serve until Razzano broke for 4-3 then held serve before breaking her opponent to take the match. Mirza may have better luck in the women's doubles, where she and Russia's Elena Vesnina are seeded fourth. French number six Razzano now faces either Danish world number one Caroline Wozniacki or Spain's Arantxa Parra Santonja in the second round. Razzano, the world number 96, played through the French Open wearing a black ribbon in memory of her fiance and coach Stephane Vidal, who died from a brain tumour in May. — AFP
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Namdharis play the numbers game
Chandigarh, June 21 The reason was none of the above. What made Haryana, or for that matter many other sides, click this time were Indian hockey’s men in white — the Namdharis. Five Haryana players - Sardara Singh, Harpal Singh, Sher Singh, Gurmel Singh and Karamjit Singh — come from the Namdhari team or academy. They played a crucial part in Haryana winning a National title for the first time. But their contribution to the Senior Nationals in not limited to one team only. There were two Namdhari players in the Punjab team - Harpreet Singh and Gurvinder Singh. There were five others who played for Combined Universities - Nanak Singh, Manpreet Singh, Gurvinder Singh Junior, Dhyan Singh and Harvinder Singh. Additionally, Gurbhej Singh for Railways and Ajmer Singh for Air-India are also Namdhari products. But while they dominate the hockey scene in the country, they have not been given the same recognition when it comes to the selection of the National team. Didar Singh, former Olympian and head coach of the Namdharis, says “We have worked extremely hard to ensure that our boys reach this level and while we are clearly doing our bit for the sport, we somehow feel that the same has not been felt by the people at the helm of affairs as our numbers in the National camp too have dwindled. “We don’t say that take us directly in the team, but I guess to be included in the camp is not unrealistic thinking,” Didar Singh adds. Based at Bhaini Sahib Gurdwara near Ludhiana, the sect’s headquarters, the team has its own astro-turf and trains its budding stars there. They have nurseries at Guri Hari Singh Maha Vidyalaya - about 30km from Sirsa (Haryana) and they pick the best of the lot from there to train at their headquarters in Punjab.
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Business of soccer: A costly gambit
New Delhi, June 21 That two prominent business houses — Mahindras and JCT — who had a rich legacy in the game, had to disband their I-League clubs within the span of one year, shows an ominous trend, which will have a cascading effect in the long run for Indian soccer, unless remedial measures are taken now. Mahindra United, I-League champions in 2005-06, shut shop a few months ago while JCT, champions of the inaugural I-League, downed the shutters yesterday. With JCT’s exit, the sole representation from North India in the I-League has also vanished, which does not bode well for the health of the game. The ambitious I-League was started in 1996-97 to inject a high degree of professionalism in Indian soccer, as each team were allowed to recruit four foreign players. The league took off well, and JCT, then the most powerful team with a clutch of talented players in their ranks, like Baichung Bhutia, I.M. Vijayan and Jo Paul Ancheri, swept away all opposition to ascend the throne. The league also attracted big sponsorships in the first three years when international giants like Philips and Coca-Cola backed the event. But when the All-India Football Federation (AIFF) failed to market the league the manner in which the sponsors wanted, to get them mileage for the huge sums they spent, they pulled out. However, AIFF, under the then powerful Union Minister Priyaranjan Dasmunshi, roped in the cash-rich Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) to sponsor the event. But when Dasmunshi fell ill, ONGC too pulled out as they also did not get any return for the crores they invested over the years, leaving the league in the lurch. The method of playing the league matches on home-and-away basis of the participating teams got them little mileage, and the electronic media gave it a pass, as some of the matches were held at remote venues. That a media-savvy city like Delhi was kept out of the I-League radar — though Delhi got to host some matches in the first edition as the ‘neutral’ venue for JCT — spoke eloquently about the shoddy manner in which the event was conducted. The advent of the league also tragically sounded the death-knell of many prominent tournaments, including the popular DCM in Delhi, which in turn dried up the many sources of income for the clubs. The first big closure was that of FC Kochin, which was launched with much fanfare. For the first five years, the Kochi outfit made a good impression, but found the going tough as managing the club needed enormous funds, which the NRIs and some resourceful individuals who pitched in with their money for starting the club, could not sustain for long, with zero return. As expected, FC Kochin folded up sooner than later, but another club took its place - Viva Kerala. The advent of Mumbai FC and Chirag United also gave a shot in the arm for the I-League, but the shutting down of Mahindra United came as a shocker, though soon, another club was born - Pune FC. The AIFF also started its own club, Indian Arrows, and thankfully found a sponsor when the federation was finding it difficult to keep the club going on its own. Those clubs who now rule the roost in Indian soccer are either promoted by big industrial houses or backed by a clutch of sponsors. The three leading Goan clubs - current I-League champions Salgaocar, former champions Dempo and Churchill Brothers - are run by family business as the names indicate. Kolkata giants Mohun Bagan and East Bengal saw the writing on the wall quite early, and as a survival ploy, roped in UB Group as the main sponsors, though they had to make major compromises. Mohun Bagan had to prefix ‘McDowell’ to their name while East Bengal changed their name to ‘Kingfisher’ East Bengal. Though liquor and cigarette advertisements are banned from sports events, the UB Group has used surrogate methods to keep their brands floating. Bagan and East Bengal also got together a clutch of other sponsors like Steel Authority of India and Reebok, to keep their soccer wheels well oiled, which has helped them survive the roller-coaster ride so far. The cost of running a club is so mind-boggling that the first prize of Rs 50 lakh, awarded to the champion I-League club, looks like peanuts. Though the second and third-placed teams also get substantial amounts — Rs 28 and 20 lakh each - the amount would not be sufficient to recruit even one decent foreign player. Spreading the I-League wealth evenly has also not happened as the sweepstakes have been mostly dominated by the big boys — Dempo, Salgaocar, East Bengal and Mohun Bagan. In fact, the I-League requires more corporate participation and involvement from the stakeholders to take it to the next level. Most of the sponsors and other stakeholders in the league feel that one of the main reasons that it is not reaching out to millions in the country is the lack of live feed. Unless broadcasters are involved at a national level and matches get a media blitz, the I-League will only continue to limp, forcing more teams to follow the exit routes of Mahindra and JCT. “Unless the I-League is marketed in an organised manner, its reach will be limited,” opined Priti Srivastava, vice-president, Reliance Industries. Another hindrance for the conduct of the league has been the lack of grounds at AIFF and the State Football Associations’ disposal. The Delhi Soccer Association has to now fork out Rs 5000 per day, from the previous Rs 500, to hold a match at the Ambedkar Stadium, owned by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi. Despite all odds, DSA, run with meager resources, has been regularly conducting the Delhi League and the Institutional League. The local clubs also deserve praise, as despite a severe cash crunch, they have been holding on, by the skin of their teeth. Who knows, the folding up of JCT may give birth to another top club in North India, as telecom giant Sunil Mittal had once evinced to become a big player in Indian soccer. It’s time he stepped in to fill the vacuum.
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Southampton, June 20 Rain, which robbed the first Test ever staged at the Rose Bowl of 155 overs on the first three days, had the final say when a downpour during the tea interval on the fifth day brought this match to a premature close. Bad weather meant 369 overs were lost in the series as a whole, equivalent to 26-and-a-half hours' playing time. Sri Lanka were 334 for five in their second innings in reply to England's first innings 377 for eight declared, a lead of 141, having lost just two wickets on the last day. One of those was Sangakkara, out shortly before tea for 119 when the left-hander's square cut off James Anderson was caught by substitute Adam Rouse at backward point. His exit ended a fifth-wicket stand of 141 with Samaraweera, who was left stranded on 87 not out. Sangakkara had managed just 65 runs in five previous innings this series but showed his class with a 25th Test century. — AFP
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ICL owners await full disclosure of BCCI actions
Mumbai, June 21 "Essel Sports Pvt. Ltd. - Promoters of the Indian Cricket League - ICL has received lot of queries on the recent disclosures made by a former member of the BCCI, openly admitting to having initiated various actions against the ICL operations," Himanshu Mody, Head, Group Finance and Strategy of Essel Group, was quoted as saying in a media release. — PTI
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HI, IHF agree on merger ‘in principle’ New Delhi, June 21 The Sports Ministry had proposed a merger plan and had asked both HI and IHF to furnish their views on it, while also warning of stern action against both the bodies if they fail to do so. HI had already replied agreeing to most of the Ministry proposal while the IHF had sought time till today to give their views. The IHF today submitted its reply to the Ministry proposal and its president R K Shetty said it has agreed to most of the merger provisions. A meeting was to be held between HI and IHF today but did not happen. Some IHF office bearers though had a meeting with Ministry officials. "We had sought time till today to give reply to the Ministry proposal. We have submitted our reply today. We have in principle agreed that there should be a unified body," Shetty told PTI. "We were to have a meeting with HI today but it could not be held as they had some prior engagements. But we had a meeting with Ministry officials. The Ministry gave us a lot of confidence on the merger issue. It's a positive step," he said. A Ministry source said that the response from the IHF was a positive one and merger issue could be settled in a week's time. "IHF has submitted their reply. It was a positive response from the IHF. We are hoping that the merger issue would be sorted out in a week's time," the source said. In the merger proposal, the Ministry has asked HI to increase its executive board strength and include all the current IHF office bearers in it. The ministry has asked HI to make former IHF president KPS Gill as the life-time patron of the merged body and also appoint an IHF office-bearer as a senior vice-president. — PTI
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Chelsea to spend record amount for Villas-Boas
Dilip Sardesai award for best Indian player against WI Spanish League on ESPN STAR Sports in India
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Kingston, June 21
An emotional Serena Williams survived a stern test of her form and fitness to begin her Wimbledon defence with a 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 victory over tenacious Frenchwoman Aravane Rezai.
In reply, West Indies were 34 for one at stumps yesterday, trailing India by 212 runs.
Ross Taylor named new Black Caps skipper
Fabregas holidays with mystery brunette