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India seal the deal
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World Series Boxing
Saina Nehwal crashes out
Sports School Jalandhar in semis
Hockey logjam continues
Haryana Games begin in Gurgaon
Nayanika shocks Snehadevi
Omkar wins bronze; men, women bag silver
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India seal the deal
Mohali, October 20 England had set India 299 to win and captain MS Dhoni pumped his fist in the direction of the pavilion as he thumped the winning boundary off the second ball of the final over. India had won the match by five wickets and dejection was writ large over England skipper Alastair Cook’s face. England had their share of culprits who wilted under pressure to hand the game to India. Pace bowler Jade Dernbach was guilty of trying too many variations and was made to look silly at times. Craig Keiswetter gave more than ample proof of the fact that he is not a natural wicket-keeper at all. Alastair Cook too failed to galvanise the side when the heat was turned on by India. And England also paid the price of once again not picking their best XI. These mistakes added up and resulted in their undoing. India were given a rollicking start by Parthiv Patel and Ajinkya Rahane. Patel fell after scoring 38 but Rahane carried on and missed a deserving ton by just nine runs (91 from 104 balls). Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli did their bit with polished knocks in the middle and in the end, it was left to Dhoni (35 not out) and Jadeja (26 not out) to come out and carry the team with some sensible mix of big shots and aggressive running.
Craig Keiswetter belted two sixes in his cavalier knock of 36 but his opening partner Cook missed the line of a Vinay Kumar delivery to be trapped in front after scoring just three. But Jonathan Trott - both reviled and eulogised for his style of batting in the past - took up the challenge to play the role of sheet anchor (but sheet anchor with a difference) this time around. Cook seemed certain he did not want to get bogged down. Quite early in his knock, Trott made room on the off side to hammer boundaries to the long-off fence and when Keiswetter fell after a bright start, Kevin Pietersen stepped in to make amends for his earlier two average knocks in the series. Pietersen looked dominating, assured and ominous (such is his presence on the field) and raced to 64 from 61 balls with 9 fours when he was ruled leg-before to Jadeja. It was difficult to tell if KP was more dejected than surprised at the decision but he took his time to drag himself from the field. It was a promising knock that was beginning to assume threatening proportions but it met a premature end. Trott missed the chance to record his fourth ODI ton as he remained unbeaten with 98 from 116 balls that contained eight boundaries. Off the penultimate ball of the innings, Trott tried a cute little deft touch to fine-leg but the ball was fielded well in that region and Trott could manage just a single as he was left stranded at the non-striking end just two runs shy of his ton. Samit Patel scored 70 off 43 balls, with nine fours and two sixes, and it was Patel’s six off the last ball of the innings that took the England total to 298.
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Akhil joins Mumbai Fighters
Tribune News Service
Patiala, October 20 His “open guarded” boxing style and a winner’s attitude has won the hearts of an whole nation. A 2005 Arjuna awardee, Akhil’s biggest achievement was his Bantamweight (54 kg) gold at 2006 Commonwealth Games. Udit Sheth, Team Principal of Mumbai Fighters and MD-CEO of TransStadia said, “We are excited to have Akhil Kumar as a Fighter. He is a strong and experienced boxer with tremendous will-power. Not only is he an icon but a leader from whom our team can learn. In 2005, he was awarded the Arjuna Award and this speaks volumes of his potential. We welcome him to Team Fighters and wish him the very best. We are confident he will perform well at the highest level.” Brig PK Muralidharan Raja, IABF general secretary, said, “This is one of the best signings Mumbai Fighters could have done for their team. Akhil’s open guarded style of boxing is suitable for pro boxing and it will be a great plus point in the World Series of Boxing too. He has the right attitude and upcoming boxers could not have had asked for a better example to look up to than Akhil. His experience is immense and he could easily be a team-leader and mentor for all the Mumbai Fighters’ boxers. Congrats to the Fighters team.” Akhil Kumar, on joining Mumbai Fighters, said, “Boxing the pro way was always something that excited me and joining the Fighters will help me do that to a great extent. Being with them won’t only help me train and get in better shape, but also help me to keep an eye on my ultimate aim of qualifying for me is the London Olympic Games. At the same time, India’s participation in WSB is going to change the boxing scenario in the country and I want to be a part of the historic moment and give back to the sport which has given me so much.”
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New Delhi, October 20 However, Jwala Gutta and V Diju kept India's tri-colour fluttering after notching up a 21-16, 21-19 victory over Chris Adcock and Imogen Bankier of England in the second round of the mixed doubles category. Fourth seed Saina lost 19-21, 13-21 to the unseeded Tai in a women's singles match that lasted for 36 minutes at the Odense Sports Park. Jwala and Diju, who beat eighth seeds Michael Fuchs and Birgit Michels 15-21, 24-22, 23-21 in a 56-minute match, held their nerves to stave off the challenge. — PTI
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Sports School Jalandhar in semis
Jalandhar, October 20 Sports School, Jalandhar defeated Gurmukh Singh Uttam Singh, Khadoor Sahib by three goals to one. They dominated the proceedings right from the word go and went ahead in the 14th minute when Lovepreet Singh scored a field goal. In the 28th minute, the Khadoor Sahib boys earned an equaliser through Jugraj Singh (1-1). In the 58th minute, Komalpreet Singh scored, which was followed by another goal in the 68th minute when Lovepreet again beat the goalkeeper. In the second match of the day, Government Senior Secondary School, Jharkar edged out V.S. Agriculture School, Delhi by 6-0.
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Hockey logjam continues
New Delhi, October 20 The logjam has resulted following the International Hockey Federation’s (FIH) ultimatum to the ministry that if a single body was not formed by November 1 -- the FIH wants HI to be the sole body -- the country will be banned from participating in FIH-sanctioned events, including the London Olympics. The FIH had informed the ministry that it did not support the broad agreement arrived at between the IHF and HI for a working arrangement, which, it felt was against the Olympic Charter of one association for one sport. As a follow-up to the meeting with the ministry, HI has given an 11-page reply to Shankar Lal, Under-Secretary in the ministry, on October 18. In the letter, HI secretary-general Narinder Batra wanted to know why it was derecognised in August 2010 and then recognition restored. The ministry withdrew recognition when Vidya Stokes was elected the new president, in violation of the Government guidelines on age and tenure limits. The ministry then asked the IHF whether it accepted the guidelines and the latter replied in the affirmative. But IHF later went to court, challenging the ministry’s authority to implement the guidelines and HI contended that it “failed to understand and wants to know why it was recognised when the IHF has given only ‘bogus’ acceptance and challenges the authority of the ministry implement the guidelines”. Moreover, the ministry, in an affidavit filed in the Delhi High Court in February 2011, had stated, “the guidelines of 2001 are now superseded by the National Sports Development Code (NSCI) 2011”. HI also said it wanted to know whether IHF had applied for annual recognition or not, as demanded by the ministry, which had to be complied with by December 15, 2010. “If not, then how are the they (IHF) recognised, and is the Government itself not in violation of its own NSCI 2011 or NSCI 2011 is not valid and if NSCI is not valid, then age/tenure clause is not applicable and if age tenure is not applicable, then why was HI de-recognised?” HI asked. It also alleged that IHF had “sold the national game of hockey” to a private business house (Nimbus) for an annual payment. “Therefore, IHF is no longer in control of hockey,” stressed HI. One of the clauses in the players’ agreement states that “you will not, at any time during the term, play hockey or otherwise participate in or promote or endorse any hockey match or event taking place in India which is not sanctioned by the IHF”. Which means that those supposed to be playing for India will be banned, as presently HI has the right to select the Indian team for international outings, including the Olympics. So, the top Indian players will miss out the Olympic qualifiers, to be held in Delhi in February and the National camp, to be held from December 11, if they sign the contract formulated by Nimbus, which will be organising the World Hockey Series under the aegis of the IHF later this year. HI wondered whether the Government accepted a private business house as a National Sports Federation for hockey."Will a private business houses now decide who will play for India and whether Indian players will now require NOC from Nimbus and not their employers, who are all public sector undertakings owned by the Government of India?” HI also wanted the ministry to clarify why it still entertained IHF as an NSF “when it has sold itself to a private business house”. HI asserted that there were only three “genuine persons of old IHF, namely K.P.S. Gill, R.K. Shetty and Dinesh Reddy”, and the rest were all bogus and imaginary people “who will always say yes to them”. HI claimed that over 90 per cent of the State unit members had shifted allegiance to HI from IHF, making the existence of IHF tenuous.
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Haryana Games begin in Gurgaon
Gurgaon, October 20 Dharamvir, the captain of the Gurgaon team, administered the oath to the participants. A souvenir and a technical handbook of the Games published by the Haryana Olympic Association were also released. The Chief Minister announced a grant of Rs 31 lakh for the Haryana Olympic Association (HOA) for promotion of the Games. Hooda maintained that to promote sports in Haryana, 12 sports academies for different Games had been set up in the state and sports stadiums were being constructed at village, block and district level. He further stated that in order to groom the budding players from a young age, the government was providing monthly scholarships to sportspersons in the age-group of 8-19 years.
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Nayanika shocks Snehadevi
New Delhi, October 20 Second-seed Simran Kaur Sethi of Delhi shut the door on Pranjala Yadlapalli 6-1, 6-4 while Tarranum Handa and Teertha Iska completed the list of semi-finalists. Tarranum proved to be too big a challenge for Haryana’s Renu Sharma as she strolled into the next round with a 6-0, 6-1 win, while Teertha defeated Andrita Deb 6-2, 6-1. In the under-16 boys’ singles, there were no major upsets as Fatehdeep Singh led the charge with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Rajasthan’s Gagan Sharma in the quarter-final. Fatehdeep will be joined by third seed Jude Raymond, Deepak Vishwakarma and fifth seed Karan Salwan. While Andhra boy Jude overcame a one-set deficit to beat I.B. Akshay 3-6, 6-3, 6-3, Deepak and Karan registered comfortable victories. In the under-14 boys’ singles, top two seeds Sachin Kumar and Vishu Prasad, both from Delhi, remained on course for a clash in the final. Sachin defeated Gaurang 7-5, 6-2, while Vishu thrashed Kushan Nath 6-3, 6-2. Nayanika carried her good form in the under-14 girls’ singles as well where she trounced Himani Mor 6-4, 6-2. Akshara Iska, however, caused the major upset in the category as she ended third seed Bhjiyani Devanshi’s campaign with a 6-4, 6-4 win. Top seed Pranjala Yadlapalli and Vanshika Sawhney will be the other two semi-finalists in the under-14 singles.
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Omkar wins bronze; men, women bag silver
New Delhi, October 20 Omkar shot a score of 581 with a series of 97, 96, 95, 97, 99, 97 to qualify for the finals at fourth place. In the finals, Omkar shot 100.8 to climb up one spot for a podium finish. Vijay Kumar finished eighth with a total of 678.1 (579+99.1) while another Indian Om Prakash was 12th with a score of 574 in a strong field of 56 shooters. — PTI |
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Earlier, the England batsmen warmed up to the occasion in style when they posted their best score of the series so far and looked assured and determined to stay in the series. Almost everything went according to plan for the England team initially with captain Alastair Cook calling correctly, opting to bat first, and the batsmen putting some solid runs on the board. It was only the captain himself, who missed out on the run-scoring party.
Abu Dhabi: