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England in India 2nd
ODI: preview
Red Bull retain constructors’ crown
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Ex-bankers turn hockey promoters
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England in India 2nd
ODI: preview
New Delhi, October 16 Though the hosts will again look to the spinners to tangle up the English batsmen at the Kotla pitch, which was expected to play low and slow, captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni may not risk playing three spinners. The pacers will be the backbone of the attack to begin with, taking into the consideration the dew factor, as the nights are getting nippy in Delhi, despite the day temperature keeping at an uncomfortable level. England captain Alastair Cook now knows that the only way to get on top of the hosts is to master the spinners and cash-in on his pace attack - a tall order in Indian conditions. There may be a shuffling of the batting order though, as Parthiv Patel and Ajinkya Rahane had not got a big start-up in the first ODI and this will play in Dhoni’s mind when he picks the XI. Delhi boy Gautam Gambhir, who knows the vagaries of the Kotla wicket like the lines on his palm, may be promoted to open, though Dhoni has said the young players should be given sufficient breather to settle down in a particular slot. If he sticks to that line, then the Parthiv-Rahane duo will yet again open the batting. The Kotla wicket looked bald, but for a tinge of green, which makes it clear that toss will be vital and the quick bowlers will have their way too, where England can score over the hosts. But in Praveen Kumar, Vinay Kumar and the tall Umesh Yadav, India have mean purveyors of the new ball - balls, in fact. Yadav had excelled with his pace at Hyderabad, picking up two crucial wickets for 32 runs in a five-over spell. Dhoni has been harping on “team play” to win matches, as the hosts would have to do well in batting, bowling and fielding to win matches consistently. The team have shown an improved display in all three departments and they hope to play as a whole and not in parts. At the practice session today, they thrust on all three departments in the belief that the bowlers can do their job well only if the batsmen put on a substantial total. Dhoni is taking his batting very seriously, and he was happy that he could hoist those “helicopter shots” once again, like the days of yore. India will be looking at the middle overs, when the spinners will come on, to shackle the visitors, though one defeat cannot undermine England’s strength, who have proven players in all slots. The captain winning the toss can dictate the course of the match but the youthful hosts are prepared to tackle any eventuality. In his heart, Dhoni may be happy that some veterans are not in the team, which will afford him the flexibility of fielding the players in line with the demands of the situation. The big win at Hyderabad has boosted the confidence of the team so much that Dhoni chose to send Virat Kohli to address the media briefing. Kohli, a local boy, talked much sense as he admitted that it was imperative for the players to fit into an expected mould to play their roles as required by the team, to decimate the opposition. He said the usual things about the Kotla wicket: “Always on the slower side, might not generate too much bounce, but better than before…,” etc., etc. He said the big win in the first ODI had injected a big dose of confidence in the team and this was the kind of start the home team wanted in the five-match series after their demoralising tour of England. He said the team’s strategy would be to play on their strength — spin — though the youthful team have players for all denominations. “This will be an exciting series for India, particularly for the youngsters,” he noted. Kohli said India had played well in ODIs in England. “We gave a good fight to England in the ODI series, though we could not cross the line.”
Match starts 2.30 pm |
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Red Bull retain constructors’ crown
The 24-year-old German, who clinched back-to-back drivers' title in Japan last weekend, took the lead from McLaren's Lewis Hamilton on the opening lap and never looked back despite a safety car period bunching up the field. With three races remaining, and a maximum 129 points to be won, Red Bull have an insurmountable 140-point lead over McLaren. Vettel's 20th Formula One victory left him three off seven times champion and compatriot Michael Schumacher's 2004 record of 13 wins in a single season with Ferrari. "Yes, yes, yes. Ten wins my friends," whooped Vettel over the radio after taking the chequered flag and giving his trademark finger-in-the-air salute. "I was very happy with how the race went today, I had the feeling we got everything out of the car," he grinned. "After last weekend with the drivers' championship and this week the constructors' it's fantastic," said the German, who added a final touch to the celebrations with the fastest race lap right at the end. Hamilton finished runner-up, 12 seconds behind the sport's youngest double champion, with Australian Mark Webber third for Red Bull and just 0.4 adrift. Hamilton, who had started on pole position for the first time since Canada in June last year, had appeared almost downcast on Saturday but allowed himself a smile on his first podium appearance for six races. "It was a good weekend for me compared to what has happened in the past. So I'm happy," declared the Briton, who has been a regular in front of the stewards and in the headlines this season for driving controversies. Jenson Button, the 2009 champion, who won in Japan for McLaren, finished fourth after dropping from third to sixth at the start with Ferrari's Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa fifth and sixth, respectively. After predictions of a flurry of pitstops and heavy tyre degradation, the leaders made just two trips to the pits on an afternoon short on thrills at the little-used circuit 320km south of Seoul. Mercedes's Schumacher retired on lap 17 after his car was speared in the rear by Vitaly Petrov's Renault into turn three. The Russian nursed his car back to the garage and called it a day. The collision brought out the safety car for three laps while marshals collected the debris from a collision that Alonso narrowly avoided.
— Reuters |
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Mary Kom strikes gold
Patiala, October 16 In the most anticipated bout of the day, five-time world champion MC Mary Kom (51kg) took on Arafura Games gold medallist Pinki Jangra of Haryana in the summit clash of the fly weight division. While Mary was looking to avenge her 2009 National Championship loss to Pinki, the Haryana girl was hoping to add weight to her tag of being a giant killer. This time though she was up against a more aggressive and determined Mary. Both the boxers started cautiously, measuring each other before making a move. The score was level at 1 all after the opening round. But with the beginning of the second round the World Champion, with her calculative approach of counter attack, started to increase the margin. She managed to win the second and third round with a slender lead of one point. (3:2, 4:3). In the final round she switched gears and became more offensive at the same time maintaining a steady defence. The 28-year-old went on to reclaim the national title after a three year span with a total score of 13:9. It was an impressive victory for the champion who displayed great maturity and skill to overpower Pinki. Youth World Champion Sarjubala Devi of Manipur capped of a brilliant performance claiming the National Crown in the light fly weight division. Up against local girl and National Games silver medallist Krishna Thapa, Sarjubala was down a six point deficit after the first three rounds of play. But in the final round the 18-year-old made a stunning recovery, she launched an offensive onslaught to which Thapa had no reply. The feisty boxer, with her lightning fast combinations, scored 14 points as opposed to Krishna’s 6. In the end she went on to claim her maiden senior national title with a 36:34 victory. In the feather weight division bronze medallist at the Women’s Youth World Championship, Pwilao Basumatary of Assam had to settle for a silver medal finish after losing to Mandakini Chann of AIP. Chann, a silver medallist at the 2011 National Games, gave a brilliant performance, dominating the bout throughout. In the end she won with a score of 21:11. In the light weight category, Neetu Chahal of Haryana powered through to clinch the yellow metal as she beat Preeti Beniwal of the IABF team. Neetu, a bronze medallist at the 2011 Asian Cup boxing tournament and a National Games gold medal winner, registered a 12:5 victory to win her second National Championship gold medal. 2010 Asian games bronze medallist Kavita Goyat of Delhi successfully defended her title taking the gold in the middle weight division. The 23-year-old boxer defeated Pooja from Haryana 16:11 on points. Haryana bagged the overall title with 3 gold medals, 2 silver and 2 bronze. Manipur came in second with 2 gold medals, a silver and a bronze while Railways finished third with two gold and three bronze medals. |
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Robin brace fires Arsenal to win
Manchester, October 16 Arsenal went ahead with less than 30 seconds on the clock when Gervinho surged down the left and crossed for Van Persie who shot into the bottom corner. The hosts then dominated with a confidence they have struggled to find this season before letting Sunderland into the game when Mikel Arteta conceded a free kick that Seb Larsson struck beautifully over the wall to equalise against his former club on 31 minutes. Arsenal had goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny to thank when his point-blank save denied an unmarked Lee Cattermole's header shortly before halftime and they had to wait until eight minutes from time for Van Persie to snatch the victory. The Dutchman more than matched the quality of Larsson's free kick with one of his own that curled over the wall and into the goal to lift Arsenal up to 10th in the league with only their third victory in eight games. Defeat leaves Sunderland just above the relegation zone in 17th and turns up the heat on already under-fire manager Steve Bruce. Earlier in the day, West Bromwich Albion claimed the Midlands bragging rights with a 2-0 win at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers. The hosts took an early lead through Chris Brunt, whose first-time shot flew into the roof of the net in the eighth minute after he was set up by Billy Jones. Wolves had chances to level in an open game with Roger Johnson heading wide midway through the second half but West Brom secured the points when substitute Peter Odemwingie drove a low shot into the bottom corner on 75 minutes. Victory propelled Roy Hodgson's side out of the relegation zone to 12th in the table, while Wolves hover one point above the drop area in 16th. Newcastle United will be looking to maintain their unbeaten start to the season at home to Tottenham Hotspur later in the day.
— Reuters |
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Untouchable David is champion
A birdie on the very first hole of the day, an eagle on the third and another birdie on the 5th and that was it. Chiragh never found the searing putter that had kept him ahead of the tournament for 50 holes, and despite his best efforts, Gleeson proved to be too far ahead. The Aussie finished with a last round of four-under 68 (aggregate 20-under 268), as opposed to Chiragh’s two-under 70 (aggregate 271). Chiragh’s response to the challenge thrown down to him couldn’t have gotten off to a worse start. Going behind by two strokes straightaway, he then bogeyed the second hole to go three behind and by the end of the front nine, Gleeson had marched to a five-stroke lead. Chiragh oscillated between good and the indifferent, with birdies on the 4th, 11th, 14th and last holes negated by bogeys on the second and 13th, just not good enough to catch up to Gleeson, whose plan, after he got the lead, was to play safe golf and not drop strokes, which he managed with some difficulty, but no real alarms. Chiragh’s birdies however did give him enough breathing space to get away from Scotland’s Ross Bain and Lu Wei-chih of Chinese Taipei, who shot identical 67s to share third place on 272. Gleeson, who missed five consecutive cuts earlier this year, also recorded the lowest winning score on the Indian Open. The shot of the day, which essentially ended the tournament for all the others, was the eagle on the 3rd, where the Australian chipped in from 140 yards. “Once I made that eagle I started playing more conservatively,” Gleeson admitted after the win. “It is unbelievable to win again. My victories have been sporadic and hopefully this win will change that,” said Gleeson, who bagged $198,125 and ended a three-year title drought. “I’m not disappointed about finishing second,” said Chiragh. “This is a great result for me considering this is my National Open. If someone had told me prior to the event that I would finish second I would’ve taken it. I played well but David just ran away with it. He made an amazing start and kept up the momentum till the end. He did not give me an opportunity to put any kind of pressure on him.” Leading scores: 268 - David Gleeson (Aus) 68-66-66-68; 271- Chiragh Kumar (Ind) 64-67-70-70; 272- Ross Bain (Sco) 65-72-68-67, Lu Wei-chih (Tpe) 71-68-66-67; 274- C Nirat (Tha) 69-67-71-67; 275 - B Runagkit (Tha) 70-73-66-66; 276 - Himmat Rai (Ind) 69-70-69-68, SSP Chowrasia (Ind) 69-70-68-69; 277- Siddikur (Ban) 70-70-69-68, D Kataoka (Jpn) 72-66-69-70, Adilson da Silva (Bra) 68-71-68-70; 279- Lin Wen-hong (Tpe) 65-77-71-66, Manav Jaini (Ind) 71-74-67-67, M Both (Aus) 71-73-65-70; 280 - E Molinari (Ita) 71-70-70-69, Anirban Lahiri (Ind) 73-69-69-69, Z Moe (Myn) 65-74-70-71; 281- R Gibson (Can) 70-70-72-69, P Karmis (RSA) 72-70-69-70, H Gupta (Ind) 72-66-71-72. |
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Messi gets double, treble for Higuain
Madrid, October 16 Messi, the insatiable World Player of the Year, scored in each half at the Nou Camp to take his goal tally to 10 in the league this season as Barca cruised past toothless Racing to make it 17 points from seven games. Real Madrid are a point back in second place after Messi's Argentina teammate Higuain recorded his second consecutive La Liga treble. Having scored three against Espanyol, he then repeated the feat against Chile on international duty last week. "I'm very pleased. After having to wait so long to play, now I'm enjoying myself a lot," the 23-year-old told Spanish television, referring to the back injury that kept him out for much of last season when he lost his place to Karim Benzema. "I wasn't playing a few weeks ago and I'm just making the most of my opportunities," Higuain added after his second-half hat-trick against Betis took his tally of league goals to eight this season. Barca made a poor start against Racing and lost defender Gerard Pique to a hamstring injury early on but Messi soon settled them down. The Argentine combined with Andres Iniesta snaked his way towards goal, fooling the visiting keeper before slotting the ball into an empty net from a tight angle in the 11th minute. Midfield playmaker Xavi rose to head the second like a classic number nine in the 28th minute. Messi sealed victory by firing in after Iniesta's shot came back off the post in the 68th minute. Barca have now scored 21 goals.
— Reuters |
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Ex-bankers turn hockey promoters
Chandigarh, October 16 While Harbhajan Singh Kapur retired as Chrainmen-cum-Managing Director of Allahabad Bank, Manmohan Singh Kapur retired as Chairman-cum-Managing Director of Vijay Bank. To perpetuate the memory of their parents - Balwant Singh and Mata Parkash Kaur - who, themselves were ardent hockey lovers, Kapur brothers have been running for the past eight years an all-India tournament for under-17 players at Olympian Surjit Singh Hockey Stadium at Jalandhar. The tournament is named after Balwant Singh Kapur where the winners get Mata Parkash Kaur Cup besides the cash award. “Our endeavour is just to promote hockey at the grassroot level. We are totally apolitical, do not seek any sponsors or advertisers for conducting this event where the winning team carries home a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh while the runners-up team earns Rs 60,000. Third and fourth placed teams, too, get Rs 30,000 and Rs 20,000. Besides, five best players of the tournament - goalkeeper, fullback, half back, forward and top scorer, too, get a cash prize of Rs 5000 each,” says Manmohan Singh Kapur. “There are more than one reasons for chosing Jalandhar as the venue for this annual event. Besides being their home town, Jalandhar has been for a long nursery of Indian hockey as it has produced several Olympians and international players. Since there are a number of tournaments for seniors, including Surjit Hockey, but there are not many prize money tournaments for boys, especially those belonging to under-17 category,” adds Mohinder Singh Kapur. “To make sure that the matches are conducted strictly according to the FIH rules, some stars of yesteryears, including Olympians Ajit Pal Singh, Varinder Singh, Rajinder Singh, Gundeep Kumar and others have been involved in the organising committee,” adds Manmohan Singh Kapur. The eighth edition of the tournament starts Monday. 15 top u-17 teams of the country are scheduled to vie for honours in the coming edition. |
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Sebastian Vettel won the Korean Grand Prix on Sunday to secure Red Bull's second successive Formula One constructors' championship with his 10th victory of the season.
Yeongam, October 16
New Delhi, October 16
