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India’s
Tour of England Warm-up game: Day 2
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Zaheer taunts Strauss ahead of Lord’s Test
HI prunes probables
Youth boxers to take part in Olympics
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India’s Tour of England Warm-up game: Day 2
Somerset, July 16 India lost opener Gautam Gambhir early as he nicked one to Jos Buttler behind the stumps off Charles Willoughby in the fifth over of the innings. Gambhir made 21 in quick time, hitting no less than five fours, before throwing jsi wicket away. The first over of the Indian innings alone yielded 13 runs. Young opener Abhinav Mukund (18) and Rahul Dravid (0) were at the crease at the break. Somerset had declared their first innings at a mammoth score of 425 for three. With rain washing away the entire morning session, Somerset, who resumed at 329 for two, lost overnight batsman Arul Suppiah for 156 after adding just 36 runs in the afternoon. Suppiah guided a Sreesanth delivery into the hands of the lone slip fielder, Rahul Dravid after batting for 344 minutes and having faced 256 balls during which he hit 15 fours and a six. Somerset threw their bat to great advantage and added 96 runs off just 21 overs today. Earlier, Indian bowlers came a cropper as Somerset rode on Arul Suppiah's unbeaten century and an equally fluent knock from England skipper Andrew Strauss. Zaheer could consider himself unlucky that a leg-before shout against Strauss wasn't upheld, with the batsman on 20. The rest of the bowlers had a lot to play for and in that sense, S Sreesanth, Munaf Patel and Amit Mishra would be disappointed, never mind the bland nature of the pitch, the small ground and the lightning quick outfield. Mishra, who got the wicket of Strauss, had to leave the field after he was struck in his bowling hand by a fierce back-drive from Suppiah. The blow was hard enough for Mishra not to finish his 15th over and leave the field with the physio in attendance. Reports later indicated that there was no fracture. MSD aggressive, Strauss not, says Vaughan
London: He does not quite know which way the series would go, but former England skipper Michael Vaughan is quite sure that Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni would be pushing more aggressively for a win than his ‘defensive’ rival Andrew Strauss in the Tests starting July 21. Heaping praise on Dhoni, Vaughan said the Indian captain not only gets the best out of his players, but maneuvers his field to give the opposition a chance to play aggressive cricket. "Dhoni has been exceptional. He is a positive cricketer and he thrives on the leadership qualities that he has as a captain. He seems to get the best out of all his players. He is quite an aggressive captain," Vaughan was quoted as saying by the 'Daily Telegraph'. "He is not scared to make moves and maneuvers his field to give the opposition a chance to play aggressive cricket as well. That will be the challenge in this series," he added. In comparison, Vaughan said Strauss is the one who would first like to make sure that the game is safe before trying to attack.
— PTI |
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Zaheer taunts Strauss ahead of Lord’s Test
London, July 16 Zaheer believes that Strauss sent the wrong message to his team by heading down to Taunton to try and put his problem with left-arm fast bowlers behind him. "The fact that Andrew Strauss is here playing in this practice game says it all. There is definitely that element of doubt in his mind and he has now given me that edge, going into the series," The Daily Mirror quoted Zaheer, as saying. "A guy who wants to come and face a particular bowler, who he knows is troubling him, is in itself a sign. I feel that as a captain it is not a positive move for someone who is going to lead England. He has shown the opponent exactly what he is thinking," he added. Zaheer knows all about Strauss' weakness against left-arm fast bowlers, having got him out four times out of six, in the 2007 series.
— ANI |
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NADA conducts raid at Bhopal SAI center
New Delhi, July7 16 A NADA team, headed by Manpal Singh, began the raid at 8:00 am, checked the rooms of the trainees at the Centre for banned substances and took random urine samples from them. "NADA deputed a team of officers today from Delhi and Bhopal, headed by Manpal Singh, including two technical officers of NADA and two lady Doping Control Officers, to conduct surprise check at SAI Bhopal," NADA director general Rahul Bhatnagar said in a statement. "The team reached the SAI centre at 8:00 am and checked rooms of sportspersons for banned substances and also took urine sample on a random basis," the statement said. Twenty five urine samples - wushu (5 men, 5 women), boxing (5 women), judo (5 women), hockey (3 women), watersport (2 women) - were also taken on a random basis and will be sent to National Dope Testing Laboratory for testing," Bhatnagar said. The team checked 38 rooms (10 women and 28 men) of sportspersons at the hostels. Samples of food supplements and other medicines found in seven rooms were sealed and brought for testing. NADA said it would continue its drive against doping in sports in the country and surprise checks will be carried out at other centers also, where athletes are training. NADA teams conducted surprise raids at the National Institute of Sports, Patiala on July 9 and at the Bangalore SAI Centre two days later. On both occasions, the NADA team took samples from the trainees and brought medicines and food supplements for testing. The country was hit by one of its worst doping scandals with eight track and field athletes, including Asian Games double gold medallist Ashwini Akkunji, returning positive for banned anabolic substances. Ashwini's Commonwealth and Asian Games gold-winning relay team-mates Mandeep Kaur and Sini Jose, other top quarter-milers Jauna Murmu, Tiana Mary Thomas and Priyanka Panwar, long jumper Hari Krishnan Muralidharan and shot putter Sonia tested positive for anabolic steroids. — PTI
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Government mum on Randhir’s re-election
New Delhi, July 16 A number of former sportspersons, including Olympians who preferred to remain unnamed, said Randhir’s unanimous re-election to OCA’s key post was a shot in the arm for Indian sports, as his presence in the OCA will enable India to have smooth sailing in many matters not only at the Asian level, but also at world level. Surprisingly, neither the Sports Ministry nor the Punjab Government has bothered to congratulate him, whatever may be the realpolitik of Indian sports. A former Olympian said it was Randhir’s commendable work as the OCA secretary-general during the past 20 years that got him elected unopposed for a sixth term. Another former Olympian said Randhir’s election should have come as sweet music for Sports Minister Ajay Maken, who has been harping on the need to have sportsmen at the helm of sports administration, to run the wheels of administration smoothly, and to have a better co-ordination between the sports federations and the ministry. Randhir is an Asian Games gold medallist in trap shooting (1978, Bangkok). He had also represented the country in shooting in half-a-dozen Asian Games and five Olympics. “Had he been from Haryana or Gujarat, the State Government would have feted and felicitated Randhir for his unique record in sports administration,” noted a former Olympian. A senior member of a popular sports federation wondered what would be Maken’s reaction at the election of Union Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh as the president of the Mumbai Cricket Association, defeating former Indian captain Dilip Vengsarkar. “Maken has been saying that the Board of Control for Cricket India (BCCI) should also fall into the ambit of the proposed Sports Legislation on tenure and age limit, if it wanted to send teams on the country’s banner, else it would not be allowed to represent the country. So how come he has not commented on a politician getting elected as the MCA president defeating a top cricketer?” asked a veteran sportsman. “Obviously, in a democracy, nobody can prevent anybody from getting elected into a sports body, if the election was held fair and square. No legislation can prevent such a thing from happening,” he maintained.
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Punjab footballer to train with Coventry City
Chandigarh, July 16 Coventry City, who are known as the Sky Blues, play out of their newly built stadium Ricoh Arena with a capacity of 32,000. Anwar, who is the highest paid player ever in Indian football, has been the lynchpin of India’s defence over the past four years. He has been a part of the side that won the Nehru Cup, successfully negotiated through the AFC Qualifying stages, won the SAARC Cup and also played heavyweights like Australia in the Asian Cup. Anwar has also played for various top Indian clubs, including JCT, Dempo and presently Mohun Bagan. Surprisingly left out of the Indian squad by his former boss at Dempo, Armando Colaco, Anwar has been working harder than before to stay in shape and keep his game at the highest level. Talking to The Tribune, he said, “This is a big opportunity for me. I really want to make the most of it and get to learn as much as I can at Coventry City. They are playing in a division that is next only to the best league in world football.” He added, “It is a dream come true and I really hope I can learn from this and do better for my country and Mohun Bagan too.” Coventry City, who have had players like Craig Bellamy and Robbie Keane playing for them, are equally excited to have the star defender from India. Coventry Associate Director Alan Malik said, “We are thrilled by the fact that we will have him here. Alongside the opportunity to train with the first team, Anwar also has the chance of being able to play for Coventry City in a few friendly games, depending on his performance during training sessions. We are definitely looking forward to it.” Coventry City Football Club Asia secretary Jasbir Sandhu said, “It is a big moment for the entire Asian community. This is something that all of us wanted, and after so long, this dream is turning into reality. I wish Anwar the best for his time with Coventry City and I wish to see many more such events in future.”
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Sandwich, July 16 No fewer than 42 players began the day within five shots of the lead shared by Darren Clarke of Northern Ireland and American Lucas Glover at four under par. By the time home favourite Rory McIlroy teed at off at 1135GMT, the only player under par for the day was American veteran Tom Watson, who continued to charm the large galleries, braving the wild weather that was forecast to last most of the day. The 61-year-old tapped in a birdie at the seventh and then sank a 25-foot par putt at the eighth as he reached turn in a remarkable one-under for his round and firmly in contention to lift the Claret Jug for the sixth time. Big-hitting compatriot Gary Woodland also had the measure of the conditions early on, playing the brutal outward nine in two-under-par before the conditions beat him back and he carded consecutive bogeys at the 12th and 13th. With jagging crosswinds making even the most routine-looking shots treacherous, it was a morning for battening down the hatches and trying to stay in contention with birdies like gold-dust and pars a job well done. — Reuters
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HI prunes probables
New Delhi, July 16 The selections trials were witnessed by Hockey India selectors Col. Balbir Singh, B.P. Govinda, Thoiba Singh and A.B. Subbaiah, besides Government observer Dilip Tirkey. According to Hockey India, the 48 shortlisted players would be the core for future tournaments. The second phase of the camp will begin at the SAI Centre from August 8, till the departure of the team for the Asian Championship on August 28. The final 18 players will be selected at the end of the second phase of the camp. The first six finishers in the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games will participate in the inaugural Asian Championship. They are: India, Pakistan, Malaysia, South Korea, Japan and hosts China. The probables: Goalkeepers: Bharat Chhetri, Adrian D’Souza, P.R. Sreejesh and Kamaldeep Singh; Defenders: Rupinder Pal Singh, Sandeep Singh, William Xalxo, V.R. Raghunath, Harpreet Singh, Gurjinder Singh and Diwakar Ram; Mid-fielders: Sardar Singh, Gurbaj Singh, Vikram Pillay, Arjun Halappa, Vikas Sharma, Vikram Kanth, Bharat Chikara, Danish Mujtaba, Prabodh Tirkey, Vikas Pillay, Birender Lakra Jr., Ravi Pal, Ignace Tirkey, Manjit Kullu, Kothajit, Manpreet Singh and Ajitesh Roy; Forwards: Rajpal Singh, S.V. Sunil, Tushar Khandker, Amar Aiyamma, Mandip Antil, Shivendra Singh, Bikas Toppo, Sarvanjit Singh, Roshan Minz, Nithin Thimmaiah, Prabhdeep Singh, Banmali Xess, Akashdeep Singh, Gurvinder Singh Chandi, Pradhan Somanna, Prabhjot Singh, Yuvraj Valmiki, Dharamvir Singh, Chinglinsana and Ramandeep Singh.
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Youth boxers to take part in Olympics
New Delhi, July 16 Squad: K Sagar, T Chand, R Poonia (Light Fly Weight: 49kg); B Vankala, B Subba (Fly Weight: 52kg); A Kumar, Mohd Hussamuddin (Bantam Weight: 56kg); G Nambala (Bantam Weight: 56kg); R Tokas, R Shrestha, L Bhoj (Light Weight: 60kg); D Tanwar, S Gulati (Light Welter Weight: 64kg); G Singh (Welter Weight: 69kg); A Beniwal, S Singh (Middle Weight: 75kg). — PTI
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