Mohali, October 18
There’s no place like home. That’s precisely what the players of the Indian team seem to be saying in a collective voice of relief and approval. This ODI series is only two matches old but something resembling the old swagger already seems to be making its way back into the bodies and minds of the Indian players.

The recent debacle in England looks like a distant, fading memory that no one in the team really wants to dwell upon. So far there have been no signs of injuries, no signs of the disconcerting bounce (that was a constant feature on the English pitches), nor fatigue, ennui or the dreary cold English weather and no signs of an impending defeat anywhere on the horizon.

The players seem to have recovered miraculously from their strains and pains and are willing to dive all over the place. The mysterious concussion that Gautam Gambhir suffered with his fall in England seems to have vanished without a trace, MS Dhoni is living up to his image of a ‘flat-track bully’ and Suresh Raina is really hitting them hard once again. A complete transformation of this playing unit is being witnessed. This is what a few days at home can do.

As the action now shifts to Mohali, most fans are of the opinion that a 5-0 rout of this English team seems to be on the cards. There is a bit of regret though as no player from the region is likely to feature in the match on Thursday. Harbhajan Singh is out and so too is Yuvraj, both for different reasons though.

Yuvi is recovering from an injury while an underperforming Harbhajan has been overlooked by the selectors. The replacement spinners (R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja) have done a splendid job to ensure that Bhajji is not being missed at all. Jalandhar leggie Rahul Sharma is in the squad but the Indians are likely to stick with their winning XI (unless some injury crops up).

Both teams flew in here from New Delhi this evening on a chartered flight and will be hitting the nets tomorrow. The curator at the PCA Stadium, Daljit Singh (as always), is pretty thrilled with the look of the wicket he has prepared. The outfield is also superb and one feels like getting the dive in just by looking at the perfectly-manicured grass.

Dew might have a role to play but that is only if England can stay in the match long enough for it to really come into the picture. In the two matches so far they have been done and dusted much before the dew has set in.

Two separate balls at both ends has meant that the Indian pacers have looked nippy and fresh. Umesh Yadav and R Vinay Kumar have not let Dhoni down and Praveen Kumar can be relied upon to deliver in most scenarios. Kohli has belted another hundred and only the openers need to fire to make it a perfect combination.

Skipper Dhoni’s winning touch is back and the nature of his post-match comments suggest that he’s a fairly contented man who seems to be saying, “there’s no place like home”.

Patiala, October 18
It was a proud moment for ace discus thrower Krishna Poonia when she crossed the ‘A’ standard of 62 metres for Olympic qualification and won gold at Halloween Throws Meet at Portland, US. Poonia, who became the first Indian women to win a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games at New Delhi, gave her best performance of the season to clear this distance.

Notably, Poonia has been training at Concordia University at Oregon, for past three-and-a-half months and had been bettering her performance ever since. Just few days back, she came up with a throw of 61.12 m during Fling Throw Meet and achieved the ‘B’ standard qualification. She registered four marks of over 60m but had to be content with B standard only but she went all out to cross 62m in her last attempt at Halloween Meet and made a mark for herself.

Talking to The Tribune over phone today morning, Poonia expressed her delight with her throw. “Though I had qualified for the Olympics by achieving the B qualification standard four days back, I knew I could do better,” she said. “I had been undergoing rigorous training to prove that I could recover from any injury. My knee has healed properly and after this performance, I have certainly become more confident,” she added.

Giving the credit of her success to her husband and coach Virender Poonia, she said he had been her biggest support all these years. “Like every athlete, there were a lot of ups and downs in my career but he always motivated me to keep going. He is really supportive, not only as a husband but as a coach also and I certainly owe my success to him,” she added.

About her future training, coach Virender Poonia said that Krishna would be in the US for some more time and would be back to India in the second week of November. “As of now, she is concentrating on improving her throw and the way things are going, I am sure she would be able to cross her personal best of 63.39m very shortly and reach up to 65m. Once she does that, she sure will make India proud in the Olympics,” he added.

Back home, nine-year-old son Lakhsya is really excited about his mom’s achievement. “I am really proud of my mom. All my teachers and classmates congratulated me when she qualified for Olympics and I just hope she wins a medal at the Olympics also,” he says with a smile.

New Delhi, October 18
The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) has “outrightly rejected” the revised draft National Sports Development Bill, prepared by the Sports Ministry, describing it as “cruel”.

The IOA castigated the Government for its attempt to strangulate the autonomy of the National Sports Federations (NSFs) and “hijack the Olympic movement in the country”. “This is a more Draconian bill, which if passed, will shackle the IOA, NSFs and will hit at the very root of the autonomy of the Olympic Charter. We will never be a party to it,” said IOA acting president Vijay Kumar Malhotra.

He said he was surprised at the so-called revision of the proposed bill and felt it was a “sheer waste of time, energy and money”. “The revised draft is a part of the malicious and sinister campaign launched against the IOA and NSFs by the Sports Minister. We are going to oppose it tooth and nail,” Malhotra stressed.

Reacting strongly, Malhotra said he could not even call the draft “old wine in new bottle”. “It is a charade and if Sports Minister Ajay Maken thinks he can bulldoze his way through, he is sadly mistaken,” the IOA chief warned. “Dropping one paragraph and a few lines from the earlier draft and attempts to placate the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India), does not make it a revised bill,” Malhotra lashed out at the minister in a statement.

Malhotra said he was surprised at Maken’s “obsession” to destroy the Olympic movement in the country. “I don’t know what he is trying to achieve and whom he is trying to impress. There is nothing new in this redrafted bill and I don’t know on what basis the Sports Minister expects us to accept it,” Malhotra argued.

He said the most shocking part of the bill was that the major stakeholders like IOA and NSFs were never taken into confidence before preparing the draft.

“There were no discussions between the Sports Ministry and the federations. The IOA and the NSFs were never asked to put forth their views, objections and reservations. The ministry did not even ask us why we are protesting or what changes we want,” Malhotra elaborated.

He said the International Olympic Committee (IOC) had already warned India that the country may not be allowed to take part in the London Olympics next year, if the IOA and the NSFs were forced to surrender their autonomy. He said the IOA will soon come with a “comprehensive and befitting reply to expose Maken’s ill-intended plans and campaigns”. 

Greater Noida, October 18
The Buddh International Circuit was today unveiled amid much fanfare ahead of the widely-anticipated inaugural Indian Grand Prix and was described as "one of the best in the world" by the country's first F1 driver Narain Karthikeyan. "I have raced on all the major F1 tracks across the globe and I rate this track as one of the best in the world," said Karthikeyan.

There has been much speculation about the readiness and preparation of the track for the October 30 showpiece, but all that was put to rest when the 5.4km long racetrack, Jaypee's Buddh International Circuit, was formally opened in the presence of Manoj Gaur, chairman of Jaypee Group, Vicky Chandhok, president of the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (FMSCI) and Karthikeyan.

The track got its name from spiritual leader Gautam Buddha, founder of Buddhism. Incidentally, the track is located in the Gautam Buddh Nagar District. Spread over 875 acres, the fastest lap time on the track is expected to be under 1 minute 27 seconds with average speeds crossing 210 kmph. There will be a total of sixty laps in the race.

"It's the greatest sporting infrastructure created by a private company and it also conforms to the latest set of FIA guidelines," said Gaur. Asked about the security measures that would be put in place during the event, Gaur said, "Security has been beefed up at all levels. We have made no compromise on that front."

One of the questions that the organisers would be asking themselves is how to maintain the track once the race is over. "Circuit needs to be utilised properly and definitely national racing events will be held on this track after the race. That is how budding Indian racers will come up. Around $400 million has been invested in this whole project," said Chandhok. — PTI

Jalandhar, October 18
Jalandhar proved its mettle as a hockey hub on Day Two of the 8th All-India Balwant Singh Kapur School Hockey Tournament as holders Government Model School, Jalandhar, defeated Government School, Jharkhar, 3-0 here today. The matches are being held at the Olympian Surjit Hockey Stadium, Burlton Park.

In the other two matches of the day, Birsa Munda Vidyapeeth, Rourkela, thrashed Spring Dale Senior School, Amritsar, 9-1, while BRC, Danapur, beat Government Raj School, Sangrur, by 4-1.

In the first match, Model School, Jalandhar and Jharkhar displayed a slow game and both the teams failed to open their accounts till half-time. However, the second half of the game saw the Jalandhar boys taking the lead and making the game a one-sided affair. It was in the 45th minute that Harmanpreet Singh of Jalandhar scored a field goal 1-0.

Lovepreet Singh netted the ball in the 60th minute, followed by another goal ten minutes later, again off the stick of Harmanpreet Singh. Yesterday, the Jalandhar boys defeated Satguru Pratap Singh School, Bhaini Sahib, Ludhiana, 4-2 in the inaugural match. 

BRIEFLY

India beat New Zealand 5-4
Rockingham: Comeback Kid SV Sunil and new sensation Yuvraj Walmiki combined well to help India men's hockey team overcome a fighting New Zealand 5-4 in the second international friendly here today. India took a three-goal lead within the first 22 minutes of the play. But because of their poor defence, they allowed the Kiwis to stage comeback and equalise early in the second half here at Hellswood Sports Complex in Mundrah. — PTI

Members of the England team arriving at the Chandigarh airport on Tuesday. Tribune Photo: Manoj Mahajan

Nehra picked for T20
NEW DELHI: Ashish Nehra has been included in the Delhi Twenty20 team for the Twenty20 Tournament to be played in Lahli (Rohtak), from October 20 to 25. Farman Ahmed has been included in place of Shikhar Dhawan while Joginder Singh has been included in the place of Sumit Narwal. Nehra replaces Manoj Chauhan, who had been originally picked for the contest. The team: Mithun Manhas (capt), Farman Ahmed, Ashish Nehra, Chetan Sharma, Unmukt Chand, Rajat Bhatia, Yogesh Nagar, Rahul Yadav, Pawan Negi, Puneet Mehra, Pradeep Sangwan, Ishant Sharma, Shawez Khan, Jagrit Anand and Joginder Singh. — TNS

Bayern talent hunt begins
NEW DELHI: The hunt to unearth the best u-16 football players in India began today with the launch of the FC Bayern Youth Cup scouting programme, at the Nehru Stadium here. The best among the selected will go on to represent the country at the FC Bayern Youth Cup, which will be held days after the Champions League finals at Allianz Arena, Munich, in May. The scouting programme is an initiative taken by Adidas in association with Audi and Bayern Munich, to promote the game in the country and provide a window of opportunity to the young players at the international level. Film actor John Abraham and Baichung Bhutia, along with Bayern Munich coaches Werner Kern and Sebastian Dremmler, were present at the talent scouting. — TNS

India-WI ODIs from Nov 29
New Delhi: India will play the first one-dayer of their five-match ODI series against West Indies on November 29 in Cuttack, the BCCI said today. The visitors, who will start their campaign against India with the Test series from November 6 at Delhi's Ferozeshah Kotla Stadium, will take on MS Dhoni's men in the first ODI at Cuttack's Baramati stadium on November 29. The Caribbean team will then move to Vishakhapatnam for the second one-dayer on December 2, followed by Ahmedabad on December 5 and Indore on December 8 before culminating its two month-long trip at Chennai on December 11, BCCI secretary Sanjay Jagdale said in a release. — PTI

CA hunt for new coach
Sydney: Cricket Australia (CA) Tuesday launched a global hunt for a new coach with officials pledging to think "outside the square" in their search. CA launched the search after appointing former rugby union international Pat Howard as general manager for team performance last week. The position was recommended by the Argus Review earlier this year. The recommendations were made after the Test team's humiliating 1-3 Ashes series defeat at home to England. The new coach will replace Tim Nielsen, who quit after the recent tour of Sri Lanka. — IANS

Squash: Ghosal exits
New Delhi: India's Saurav Ghosal waged a grim battle before losing in straight games against Australian Cameron Pilley in the first round of the $147,000 Qatar Classic Squash Open in Doha. Ghosal, world ranked 26th, lost 6-11, 10-12, 7-11 to Pilley, ranked 17th in the PSA charts, in 54 minutes at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complexm last night. The Indian hopes now hung on the qualifier Siddharth Suchde, who registered an upset victory over Egyptian Ali Anwar Reda to book a pre-quarterfinal date with sixth seed France's Gregory Gaultier in the sixth PSA World Series event of the year. — PTI

Somdev crashes out
Stockholm: India's Somdev Devvarman has crashed out of the men's singles event at the 600,000 Euro Stockholm Open tennis going down fighting in straight sets in the opening round. The 84th-ranked Somdev went down fighting 6-7(4), 4-6 to wild card Tommy Haas of Germany, who is playing his first tournament since the US Open last month. — IANS