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Boxers break India’s losing streak
Sandhu: He plays like a shrewd fox
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World record, yes. Blind? Not exactly
Uzbek gymnast Luiza provisionally banned on doping charges
Result overturned after angry crowd erupts
Mystery woman identified!
India keen to impress on Olympic return
Radwanska out, Murray registers win
Kim does a high-five
India left with work to do: Gambhir
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Boxers break India’s losing streak
Late on Saturday night, as India slept, the ExCel boxing arena came alive with cries of support for India - Vijender Kumar, the superstar boxer and Olympics medallist, was entering the ring.
And Vijender did put up a performance worthy of his stature as he scored a comfortable points victory over Kazakhstan's Danabek Sukhanov to enter the pre-quarterfinals of the middleweight (75kg) boxing competition. Vijender outscored Sukhonov by two points in two rounds and one in the third for a 14-10 victory. He did exactly that, perfectly executing his strategy against the Kazakh. It was up to Sukhanov to go out and grab the points. Vijender was cagey in the first round, trying to size up his opponent; and when he spotted an opening, he went in to score. The score of 5-4 in the first round may suggest it was close, but it wasn't. Vijender was in control. The second round too was won by Vijender by only one point and again, he was never under threat. He was a bit more aggressive in this round but scored and conceded fewer points. Sukhanov trailed by two points going into the third and final round, and his only hope lay in either putting down the Indian on the mat, or at least comfortably outscoring him. The Kazakh, thus, went for his opponent with aggressive intent, and played right into his hands. Vijender thus picked up points comfortably to sail into the next round, scheduled for August 2. His opponent in the quarterfinals would be Terrell Gausha of the United States. Gausha hammered Andranik Hukobyan of Armenia in his pre-quarterfinal round, and the unequal contest was stopped by the referee. Vijender's confidence is soaring with the win. "I knew he's a tough opponent... I went in with a specific strategy and was able to put it into effect," he said. Vijender also said that he's determined to take home at least a silver this time, to go along with the bronze that he'd won in Beijing four years ago. Vijender strong win helped lift the pall of gloom that had descended on the Indian boxing camp earlier on Saturday when Shiva Thapa, the 18-year-old bantamweight (56kg) fighter, lost to Mexico's Oscar Valdez Fierro of Mexico in the round of 32. Men's lightweight (60kg) fighter Jai Bhagwan added to the good news on Sunday afternoon when he gave Andrique Allisop of Seychelles a thrashing. Allisop, young and allow at 19, was completely outclassed by the Indian boxer. Jai Bhagwan won 18-8 overall, taking the three rounds 7-3, 7-3 and 4-2. Jai Bhagwan's next bout would be much tougher. He takes on Gani Zhailauov of Kazakhstan in the pre-quarterfinals on August 2. |
Sandhu: He plays like a shrewd fox
Chandigarh July 29 Into his first bout of Olympic campaign, Vijender was exuding confidence. His body language more than positive, he did betray of his celebrity status. Inside the ring, he showed what stuff he is made. Once the job is done, the ferocious fox transforms into his charming best. As the referee raises his hand confirming victory, the trademark kiss of his right fist makes an appearance. He gives a two-fingered salute twice to his fellow boxers cheering him from sidelines and then bows with hands folded to thanks everyone sitting inside the arena. Vijender, the champion, now makes a move. Smile intact and hands waving in acknowledgement. "The remarkable thing about the bout was how tactfully he handled the situation. Of course, he was favourite to win but the Kazakh boxer was not that bad. He gave him a tough fight. Vijender started a bit cautiously but got lead (5-4) early and then played safe from long range. The second round began with aggression and then Vijender waited for his moments. He did not rush into things but waited for his opportunity to strike. The second round score (4-3) gave him a two point overall lead and we knew that Danabek Sukhanov will play the catch-up game. Vijender knew he will try to get aggressive and that's where the opportunity lay in counter-attack. After the third round the score was 14-10, handing him a comfortable victory,” coach Gurbax Singh Sandhu said after bout on Sunday. The highlight of Vijender's bout a combination of left-right and then a hook, perfect copy book blows, in the second round to snatch three-point lead and stay cool after that. In one fell swoop, the issue was clinched without any fuss. After that it was always a catch-up game for the Kazakh boxer. How it panned out
Round 1 Vijender starts of cautiously. Scores an early lead and plays long range game, staying away from harm's way. The score 5-4. Round 2 Both begin aggressively, Vijender steals the show with 3 points in one fell swoop. A combination of left-right and then a mighty hook. Three points in kitty. Vijender backs off with 4-3 lead. Round 3 Vijender has the upper hand, plays the waiting game. Danabek charges in to score and Vijender latches on to counter attack. The final score 14-10 |
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Below-par women archers hit rock bottom
London, July 29 On Sunday morning, on another day of mild sunshine and largely still air, ideal for archery, the Indian women exited the Olympic Games team competition in the pre-quarterfinals. They lost by one point to Denmark, ranked 15th in the world; the Indian trio of Deepika Kumari, Laishram Bombayla Devi and Chekrovolu Swuro is ranked second. It's quite inexplicable, and the Indian team management is unable to offer any explanation as they survey the wreckage of their hopes. India did win the first and last sets, by margins of one and four points, respectively. The Denmark team of Carina Christiansen, Louise Laursen and Maja Jager won the second and third sets, by five and one points. Their five-point margin in the second proved decisive. The other fact that proved decisive was Deepika's form. She is ranked No. 1 in the world individually - she was the engine that drives the Indian team. But on Sunday morning, she was the straggler along with Swuro, while Bombayla Devi kept the team afloat. In four sets of three arrows each, Deepika shot 25, 24, 24 and 29 points, for an aggregate of 102 out a maximum possible of 120; Bombayla Devi aggregated 108. The scores of the two best archers count, and Swuro's performance didn't count. The Olympics 12-arrow record is 114. Deepika scored a poor 7 with her first arrow of the day, settling down into a rut from which escape proved impossible. In the second and third sets, she had one perfect 10 each - but those efforts were ruined by one 6 she had in each set. She shot 9, 10, 10 with her three arrows in the fourth and last set - but it proved too little, too late. The Danes had a five-point lead going into the last set, and the Indian women could make up only four points. The Danes were consistent all through. The Indians floundered in the first three sets before shining in the fourth. Overall, India shot three perfect 10s among their six 10s; Denmark had one perfect 10 in their five 10s. But India also shot two 6s and one 7 (both by Deepika), while the worst the Danes had was one single 7. Bombayla Devi later said that the defeat was very discouraging; she also made a passing reference to the "bad luck" that, according to her, afflicted the team. "We wanted eights," she added. "And we were getting them, there was no problem with that... but when my partner hit the 6s, we were in trouble." Both she and Swuro said that the wind was a problem. "Yes, it was," Swuro said. "It was shifting, and it was pushing the arrows." The wind blows without prejudice, though, and it pushes alike the arrows of the Koreans and Chinese and Danes and Indians. India's score was the third best in the pre-quarterfinals - which didn't feature the top four teams, who all got a bye to the quarterfinals. Thus India were third-best among the bottom eight teams - hardly the form and performance of potential medallists. Thus evaporated Indian hopes at the Lord's cricket ground on Sunday. Both men and women would want a better show in the individual competition. But after Deepika's capitulation on Sunday, and considering their low individual positions after Friday's ranking round, India must not expect
much. — Rohit Mahajan |
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Saina begins Olympic bid on strong note
London, July 29 The world number five Indian was too good for the 65th ranked Swiss as she took just 22 minutes to complete a 21-9, 21-4 victory at the Wembley arena here. Sabrina, who had qualified for the Games by reaching the quarter finals of the 2012 European Championship in Karlskrona, Sweden, could not provide any resistance to Saina, who launched her campaign on a dominating note. The 22-year-old Indian, who came into the tournament after winning the Thailand Grand Prix Gold and Indonesian Super Series Premium last month, took 12 minutes to wrap up the first match, before sealing the issue in her favour by winning the second game in just 10 minutes. Such was the domination of the Indian that Sabrina was reduced to a bystander as the Indian kept lapping up her points in quick succession.
— PTI |
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CHINESE GUO FOR GOLD
London, July 29 Guo finished with 488.1 points, with France's Celine Goberville claiming silver in a shootoff with Ukraine's Olena Kostevych after both finished on 486.6. Guo threw her hands over her face in disbelief after scoring a 10.8 - just shy of the maximum 10.9 - to overhaul Goberville, who held a 0.5 advantage going into the 10th and decisive round. The25-year-old Frenchwoman was only able to muster a disappointing 8.8 with her final effort. "I just focused on doing my best with the final shot," an elated Guo said after winning China's second shooting gold of the Games. "It means I'm the best. I am so excited. I was just focusing on the competition and not on the others." The 28-year-old Chinese had topped the qualifying with a score of 388 out of 400 from her 40 shots to reach the eight-woman final at the Royal Artillery Barracks in south east London, but began the final nervously. In front of a packed crowd in the indoor shooting range, the Chinese fired a woeful 8 to open the door to her European counterparts, who both finished with 387 in qualifying. Kostevych, the 2004 Athens Games gold medallist, then took advantage after the first round with a 10.1 and she shared the lead with Guo and Goberville after the second. Guo and Goberville then exchanged the lead, with the Chinese struggling to replicate the Frenchwoman's consistency. Goberville reeled off five scores of 10.1 or better to take a 0.5 point advantage into the final round, only to produce her worst shot of the day, an 8.8, to surrender the lead. "The last shot - it was a mistake, I cannot explain it," Goberville said after winning France's first medal of the London Games. "I was already very stressed... I had difficulty realising where I was, what was happening. "After the last shot I was pretty disappointed but I knew I had a medal. I was disappointed that I had gone from first to second with my last shot but then I had to concentrate on the shootoff." Guo's victory followed countrywoman Yi Siling's triumph on Saturday when she won the first gold in 10m air rifle.
— Reuters |
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World record, yes. Blind? Not exactly
A day after setting the first world records of Games, Im Dong-hyun led South Korea to a bronze medal in the team event Saturday and somehow managed to leave behind more questions than answers about exactly how impaired his eyesight is. At one moment, Im described himself as farsighted and said the colors in the target -- almost 77 yards away -- appeared "blurry, not bad ... like a drop of paint in the water." A moment later, he said he didn't need glasses to drive or read, unless he was tired, describing his problem as "old man's eyes."
— Reuters |
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UNFAIR GAME
London, July 29 The Uzbek, scheduled to compete in artistic gymnastics, was banned a day after Albanian weightlifter Hysen Pulaku was thrown out following a positive test for an anabolic steroid. The 20-year-old Galiulina, who also competed at the 2008 Games, will now have to wait for the testing of a second sample. Should that also come in positive, she would be barred from competing in London and could face a maximum two-year ban as a first-time doping offender. Serbia upset Hungary Hungary in a thrilling early water polo group match on Sunday, powering to a 14-10 victory and signalling to the Hungarians that they a have a huge battle on their hands to win a fourth consecutive Olympic gold medal. In a match fought out with the intensity of a final, the two favourites matched each other goal-for-goal in the first half, before European champions Serbia took command with a prolific third-quarter performance. The defeat ended water polo super power Hungary's unbeaten run of 17 games at the Olympics. They last lost a match 12 years ago in the group stages in Sydney. The high-scoring match witnessed a stadium packed with 5,000 fans. — Agencies
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I could’ve been beaten by 16-yr-old Ye: Lochte
London, July 29 China's Ye Shiwen devastated her opponents in the women's 400 individual medley on Saturday, unleashing a sprint finish in her last two lengths that would, respectively, have beaten Phelps and Lochte, two of the world's fastest men. The 16-year-old covered the penultimate length of freestyle in 29.75 seconds, faster than record holder Phelps did in the men's final, then the last in 28.93, which was quicker than Lochte did when he claimed gold in the men's race. "We were all talking about it at dinner last night, it's pretty impressive," Lochte said after recording second-fastest time in the heats of the men's 200 freestyle. "She's fast. If she was there with me, maybe she would have beaten me." It would certainly be a close call. Lochte's finishing time over the 400 metres was more than 23 seconds ahead of Ye, but she swam her last 100 in 58.68, compared to Lochte's 58.65."It was a heck of a swim," US team coach Gregg Troy, also Lochte's personal coach, said.
— Reuters |
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New Zealand go one up against Australia
London, July 29 Australia is a three-time Olympic champion, but its last gold medal performance was at home during the 2000 Sydney Olympics. New Zealand, meanwhile, is improving after failing to win a single match at the 2008 Beijing Games.New Zealand had the ball in the Australian net in just the second minute, but the umpire had already blown for a short corner for an earlier offense. From the corner, Finlayson hammered in the rebound for her 18th international goal. Australia should have equalized before the break but first veteran Megan Rivers hit the post with a low hard shot and then Emily Smith could only shoot straight at New Zealand goalkeeper Bianca Russell when all alone in the circle just before half time. Australia threw everything into attack in the second half but could not break down the stubborn Kiwi defense and could have gone further behind had it not been for a great low save by goalkeeper Toni Cronk to turn away a Charlotte Harrison backhand shot. "We created a lot of chances in the first half," said New Zealand captain Kayla Sharland. "We scouted them a lot, we watched a lot of video footage of them," she added. "We knew our gameplan two months ago, we knew what we needed to do. We wanted to have a good start and get on a roll, I'm just very happy for the group." The match was the first Olympic hockey match ever played on a bright blue pitch that is intended to make the fast-moving ball easier to follow for players, fans and television viewers. Group B also features one of the tournament favorites, Argentina, along with Germany, South Africa and the United States. Defending champion the Netherlands is in Group A with Belgium, China, Britain, Japan and South Korea. — Reuters |
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Result overturned after angry crowd erupts
London, July 29 After a close encounter in quarter-final of the men's-66kg category between Japan's Ebinuma Masashi and South Korea's Cho Jun-Ho, the referee and judges on mat raised their blue flags to indicate Cho had won. The arena at ExCel Centre erupted in derision with disgusted Japanese coach looking utterly flabbergasted. The result was referred to a reviewing commission and they ruled that Masashi should be the winner. Nicolas Messner, spokesman for International Judo Federation (IJF), said it was first time the referee and judges had been overruled on a flag decision.
— Reuters |
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olympics diary
Child's play Malaysia's Nur Suryani Mohd Taibi is alone with her gun at the shooting range as she competes in the women's 10m air rifle event, but she doesn't feel she is. As well might she, for she's not really alone - she's carrying a baby, due in the first week of September. Nur Suryani didn't do too badly in her event on Saturday, though she was never in contention for a medal. She finished 34th in a field of 56, with 392 points out of a possible 400. She told reporters that she found she was pregnant only after she had qualified for the Olympics, and never contemplated giving London 2012 a miss. "I never thought of staying at home. My husband told me, 'It is your dream to take part in the Olympic Games. Go and make your dream come true'," she said. Crowds rule The crowd at the Olympics judo arena erupted in anger on Sunday when it thought the referees had given a wrong decision - and it turned out that the crowd was right. When Japan's Ebinuma Masashi took on South Korea's Cho Jun-Ho in the quarterfinal in the men's -66kg category, the contest was close. But the audience knew that the winner was Masashi and gave voice to its disgust when Cho was declared winner. In an unprecedented decision, a review was done and justice was served. Business as usual? The Olympics seem to have made the Brits only mildly interested, the demand for hotel rooms isn't high and business in the East London markets isn’t booming. But one category of people who seem to be in business is that of crooks. Their preferred mode of operation involves impersonating police officers. Now the Metropolitan Police has announced the arrest of three more of these con artists. "There have been a number of incidents where criminals have impersonated police officers," said a police officer. "They try to take money off unsuspecting tourists."
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India keen to impress on Olympic return
London, July 29 Eight-time Olympic gold medallists India, currently ranked 10th in world hockey, are confronted with the aggressive world number three Dutch, whose robust European tactics can be quite a handful. London evokes fond memories as it was the city in which independent India scripted its maiden sporting success story by winning the Olympic hockey title in 1948. Winners of the 1996 and 2000 Olympic titles, the Dutch are the only team after India to have won successive gold medals. India won Olympic titles in a row between 1928 and 1956, but are now striving to earn their first semifinal berth in 32 years since the gold medal in the boycott-hit 1980 Olympics. World champions Australia start as the title favourites in men's hockey with reigning Olympic champions Germany rated as the other formidable contender. Australia won the last major encounter between these two teams, in the 2010 World Cup final in New Delhi. Despite losing several of their established stars in recent years, the Netherlands are still considered just a notch behind Australia and Germany. Indian captain Bharat Chetri said his team has worked hard and was aware of the significance of the return to London.
— PTI |
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Radwanska out, Murray registers win
Poland's Radwanska, playing under the Centre Court roof due to sporadic heavy rain showers which prevented play on the outside courts for most of the afternoon, crashed out 7-5 6-7 6-4 to world number 24 Julia Goerges. “I played pretty aggressive and served well," said the German. Murray, back on Centre Court three weeks to day after losing the Wimbledon final against Federer, made a strong start with a 6-3 6-3 win over Wawrinka. — Reuters
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London, July 29 A gold medal victory in the women's skeet on Sunday put Rhode into the record books as the first American to medal in five consecutive Olympics and at just 33-years-old, competing in a sport that has seen winners in their 60s, could easily take part in five more Games before putting away her shotgun. With gold from London, Atlanta and Athens, a silver from Beijing and a bronze in Sydney, Rhode may be entering Phelps like territory but there will be no long of television appearances to schedule or massive endorsement deals when she returns home. — Reuters
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India left with work to do: Gambhir
Colombo, July 29 "We didn't bowl well in the last 10 overs. You look to restrict the last 10 to 60 or 70, 95 was too many", Gambhir, who scored 102 off 101 balls to guide India to a five-wicket win while chasing 287, said. Gambhir said it was not good that two unsettled batsmen, Angelo Mathews and Jeewan Mendis, scored heavily off the last 10 overs. Gambhir said if India were to win, one of the top-three in the batting order have to perform well. "Luckily and fortunately it was my turn today, one had to bat through so others can play around him," Gambhir said. Gambhir said the wicket got better in the second part of the match and it was an important win in the context of the series. On Rohit Sharma's first-ball dismissal, Gambhir said everyone must back him despite his poor run in the series. "Rohit Sharma is one of the best talents that India has ever had," Gambhir said. Gambhir lauded Suresh Raina's contribution to the win. "Getting 65 today was brilliant and he played the role that he had been picked for," he said. Losing captain Mahela Jayawardene was expectedly disappointed. "The loss was disappointing. There were certain situations in which we did well," he said. Jayawardene said when India were 180 for 4, there was an opportunity which the Lankans missed. he said crucial fielding lapses and losing Kumar Sangakkara to injury in the field were contributory factors. Sangakkara will be out of action for four to six weeks. He suffered a fracture in his right hand having been struck by a ball from Ashok Dinda.
— PTI |
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Hamilton wins Hungarian GP
Budapest, July 29 Double world champion Sebastian Vettel finished fourth for Red Bull, maintaining his record of having never won a race in July. Hamilton, fastest in both practice sessions on Friday as well as qualifying, started on pole and only briefly relinquished his lead for two pit stops as he give McLaren their fifth win in the last six races at the Hungaroring.The 2008 world champion was threatened by Grosjean early in the race and had Raikkonen on his tail.
— Reuters |
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Right from the beginning, it was clear that Vijender didn't want an ugly scrap. He knew he was the superior pugilist in the ring... but he also knew that his opponent in the blue corner could be dangerous. Vijender simply wanted to score enough points to cruise into the next round, without sustaining serious damage.
London, July 29
The woman who gatecrashed into the Indian contingent on the during the opening ceremony on Friday night has been identified as a member of the all-volunteers cast. "She made it into the opening ceremony. She obviously should not have been there," Sebastian Coe, the London Olympic Games chief, said on Sunday. "I can now confirm that she was a cast member. She was slightly over-excited." The young woman was much more than that - she was downright cheeky as she grinned and waved during the parade. And, let's face it, she also possessed an admirable audacity which might seem unpardonable only to the most strait-laced conservatives. It was a fun occasion — and good luck to anyone who managed to sneak. If blame must really, really be apportioned, perhaps the organisers should get it.
London, July 29
