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Legend Leslie Claudius no more Hockey mourns the death of gentle giant
HIL to start on January 14
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All-round show by Yuvraj helps India win by five wickets
Moody is Sunrisers’ coach; VVS, Chikka mentors
Future of Indian bowling is bleak: Akram
After HC rap, Gopichand hearing postponed
Chelsea rout Leeds to boost Benitez
Make sports code a law or take over federations: Patel
IOC warns of legal action against IOA
Punjab Police beat PSEB, BSF crush Hawks Ropar
India beat China 4-0 in Asian CT
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Legend Leslie Claudius no more
Kolkata, December 20 Noticing the young man's rapt attention, Carr threw a hockey stick and asked him to come and play; the rest, as they say, is history. Leslie Walter Claudius is no more but his three gold medals and one silver at the Olympic Games is something that will inspire generations but will be hard to match. He was small in size but lion-hearted in effort wielding the stick from the right-half. Having got a hockey stick from the fellow Anglo-Indian Carr, Claudius, then an accomplished left-half in football, went on to make a mark in the stick game as he cemented his place in the side after the 1948 London Games. "I was speechless, as Dickie who was my hero. I stammered 'Yes sir, yes sir' and found myself with a hockey stick for the first time in my life. It seems I played well and he liked my style and I was asked to stay back. I discovered hockey came naturally to me and my game kept on getting better and better," Claudius had told in an interview earlier. Born in Bilaspur in 1927 to a middle class Anglo-Indian family, Claudius took an early interest in sport so as to land him a job. He took up football and soon became an accomplished player and as he had hoped he got a job in the Bengal Nagpur Railways (BNR) security force at Kolkata at the young age of 18 and later was transferred to Kharagpur. Kharagpur, in fact, wrote his destiny. After switching to hockey on 'Sir' Carr's insistence, Claudius joined the Port Commissionaire in 1947 as a centre-half. His performance at the Aga Khan Tournament at Mumbai in 1948 won him wide acclaim and the selectors for the national hockey team to the 1948 London Olympics immediately asked the 21-year-old to present himself for the trials.Even though he had a fractured thumb, Claudius sailed through the trials and landed at London later that year. It was just the beginning in his long illustrious career as he won two more Olympic golds in Helsinki 1952 and Melbourne 1956. His three-Olympic gold medal was a world record before Udham Singh joined him in the list after getting the 1964 Toyo Games gold. Claudius narrowly missed to hold the record alone when his captained side missed the Rome Olympics gold by a solitary goal in 1960. He returned a heartbroken man, more so after his team lost to Pakistan -- that was for the first time they went down to the arch-rivals rivals, something that led to his quitting of international hockey subsequently. Claudius however continued to play for Bengal and the Customs — which he joined in 1949 — for another five years at the national level. Meanwhile, he got married and had four sons -- with one of them, Bobby, representing India in the 1978 World Cup in Mexico as many saw him to carry his father's legacy. But fate had something else in store. Bobby died in a road accident shortly after returning from Mexico as Claudius was shattered. "Bobby was even better than me in hockey," Claudius once said. Claudius lived with his son Brandon —a widower — in second storey flat on the McLeod Street, a locality largely populated by Anglo-Indians. — PTI
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Hockey mourns the death of gentle giant Kolkata, December 20 Olympian Dhanraj Pillay described Leslie Claudius as the "God of Indian hockey" while the hockey fraternity mourned the death of three-time Olympic gold medallist. "For me, he was the hockey God. It's difficult to imagine Indian hockey without him. He was not only a fine player but what stood him apart was his good nature," the former India captain and four-time Olympian said. "He was a very good human being and always soft-spoken, a quality through which he was always approachable. He never had any arrogance and encouraged the youngsters," the 44-year-old added. "He's a legend as nobody could play the game like he did. I always met him whenever I came down to Kolkata. For every hockey player, he was a source of inspiration," Pillay paid glowing tributes to the man whose name is taken in the same breath as Dhyan Chand and Balbir Singh Senior. Star of 1970's and member of the World champion team Ashok Kumar recalled,"It was only a month ago, I visited Kolkata with other former Olympians as there was a friendly against BHA. We went to see him at the hospital. He was full of energy. He had promised to take us to his club, Calcutta Customs, one evening. He was very hopeful of getting over the phase and he was responding well to the treatment as well." Claudius's teammate at the 1948 Olympics, Keshav Dutt fondly remembered their great on-field rivalry while pitted against each other for Calcutta Port Trust and Mohun Bagan and great camaraderie while donning national colours. "I first met him before the Partition in Bombay. I don't really remember the occasion but it was a brief meeting. Later on, we went on to play together at the Calcutta Port Trust. I was there for one year and he had joined before me. He went on to become my rival when I joined Mohun Bagan. But we became good friends off the field, an association that lasted till his death." Dutt is shocked that just when there were reports of him recovering comes this shock. "It's really a shock news for me especially when the morning newspapers said he's getting better. I was very glad to read the papers this morning. "I wanted to meet him but when I called to inquire about his health this afternoon, I heard about the news. He was not only a very talented players but was always cheerful. I knew him for the longest period. It's really a sad day for me." Another Olympic gold medallist and who played alongside Caludius briefly, Gurbux Singh said,"After I came to Kolkata, I joined Customs in 1957, where I first had the chance to meet Leslie. I'm lucky enough to have played with him or against him at all levels." Gurbux recollected Claudius' amazing ability to dribble past number of players at will. "A frail figure, he was not muscular built and quite an unassuming character. A simpleton. But my respect for him grew, the more I got to know about him. But one would be amazed to see his dribbling skills, agility on the field. He was a crowd puller and was regularly appreciated." Gurbux recollected that Claudius had great anticipation skills. "His greatest asset was his uncanny anticipation. He also distributed the ball well and went ahead with the forwards. Along with K D Singh Babu, Keshav Dutt, Udham Singh, Balbir Singh Senior, they had taken the legacy of Dhyan Chand forward." "The Indian hockey was at its peak at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics. It was our best ever team. At the club-level he was in the centre half while I played in the right flank, but for Bengal he was right half while I was right full back." Gurbux recalled Caludius as a man with a soft-spoken nature. "We were became very good friend both on and off the field. Everybody would admire him for his soft-spoken attitude. Even while he was the captain, he never raised his voice and always sported a smiling face." "I got a chance to lead him at the Customs when we jointly won the Beighton Cup along with Mohun Bagan in 1965. Indian hockey has so many legends, right from Dhyan Chand and Leslie is one of them." Gurbux feels that Caludius used to get sad whenever he thought about the 1960 Rome Olympics final loss to Pakistan. "The 1960 final loss to Pakistan was a sad moment. He was heartbroken having missed a fourth gold. We were unlucky. It was our first loss to Pakistan. He held all the important positions, right from being captain to coach and later selector. He always backed youngsters." — PTI
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HIL to start on January 14
New Delhi, December 20 The league will feature 34 matches in 28 days and will be played in five franchisee cities — Delhi, Jalandhar, Lucknow, Mumbai and Ranchi. The opening ceremony will be held on January 14 at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium in Delhi just before the first match in which Delhi Waveriders will face Jaypee Punjab Warriors, featuring Australian hockey star Jamie Dwyer. Jalandhar will host the second match at Surjit Singh Hockey Stadium where the home team Jaypee Punjab Warriors will face Ranchi Rhinos January 16. On the same day, Mumbai Magicians will later play their first match in New Delhi against Delhi Waveriders. Uttar Pradesh Wizards will commence their contest against Jaypee Punjab Warriors in Jalandhar January 17. — PTI
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All-round show by Yuvraj helps India win by five wickets
Pune, December 20 Yuvraj took three for 19 from his four overs to restrict England to a manageable 157 for six and then blasted 38 off 21 balls to set up an easy chase as the home team reached the target with 13 balls to spare. After the humiliation in the Test series, Indian team saw a change in fortune in the shortest format to take a 1-0 lead in the two-match series. The turning point during India's chase was the eighth over when Yuvraj launched into inexperienced left-arm spinner Danny Briggs hitting him for 18 runs which included two huge sixes over the deep mid-wicket region and a boundary. Yuvraj also got another six in the 10th over bowled by Luke Wright before being dismissed trying to hit a fourth six. Such was the impact of Yuvraj's innings, the other Indian batsmen didn't need to do anything special in order to reach the target. Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Suresh Raina chipped in with useful contributions of 24 not out and 26 respectively. Dhoni hit Stuart Meaker for successive boundaries and then took a double to finish with flourish. Credit should also be given to openers Gautam Gambhir and Ajinkya Rahane as they helped the hosts race to 41 within the first four overs taking full advantage of the Powerplay. While Gambhir hit three boundaries in his 16 while Rahane hit two sixes in his 19. Although they didn't score many but they set the momentum. Indo-Pak matches to have early starts The one-day international matches of the much-anticipated cricket series between India and Pakistan beginning next week will have early starts, the BCCI announced today. The second and third ODI in Kolkata (January 3) and Delhi (January 6) would start from 12 noon. — PTI SCOREBOARD India |
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Moody is Sunrisers’ coach; VVS, Chikka mentors
Hyderabad, December 20 The new owners, Sun TV Network, officially renamed Deccan Chargers as Sunrisers today, and also unveiled the new logo of the team, which is depicting an eagle soaring high and looking at rising sun. "I am happy and excited about being the mentor and probably the strategic analyst for the team. We have people like Tom Moody, VVS Laxman, Dale Steyn and Sangakkara. With the grace of sun god, we hope to shine brighter. We are confident of making a big impact," Srikkanth said. Sun group took over the cash-strapped Hyderabad franchise earlier this year for a whopping Rs 425.2 crores after the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) terminated the contract of the Deccan Chargers. Srikkanth said majority members of the previous team have been retained and some more would be picked up when the auction takes place next month. "We are keen on having players like Ambati Rayudu, Smith, who have been released by Pune, and the Pakistani players if they are available," he said. Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara would continue to play a role as captain of the new franchise. Moody, who did not have much success during his coaching stint with Kings XI Punjab team, is confident of a good show in the next edition of the tournament. "We are confident that the team will be successful in the forthcoming season of IPL 2013. We are keenly looking forward to it and our game will stand testimony to the competition we will give to other teams," he said. The team would operate from both Chennai, where Sun Group is headquartered, and also Hyderabad, the Sunrisers CEO K Shanmugam said. — PT I |
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Future of Indian bowling is bleak: Akram
New Delhi, December 20 Apart from Pragyan Ojha (20 wickets) and Ravichandran Ashwin (12), no Indian bowler bagged more than five wickets in the series, which India lost 1-2. "To be very honest, the future of Indian bowling looks bleak. Zaheer Khan looked average in the three Tests and then got dropped. Ishant Sharma was okay in patches but after five years at the international level you have to be more consistent. "I am afraid he is going the Mohammad Sami way - a wasted talent. Umesh Yadav seems to be injury prone and the selectors don't pick Varun Aaron," Akram told espanstar.com. Akram said time has come that the Indian selectors pick youngsters, who have potential to be successful at international level. "It's time that India look for new faces or tell the present bunch to shape up or ship out. I will suggest a certain Shami Ahmed to get a look in. The Bengal pacer is just 22 years old but has tremendous potential. Having worked with him for Kolkata Knight Riders from 2011 season, I believe bowlers like him are the forward for Team India," the KKR consultant said. Akram also said that the England's support staff was better equipped than its Indian counterpart. "The lack of planning in the Indian team was pretty visible even on the television screens and that reflected on the bowling front as well. It seemed the bowlers were going through the motion rather than planning their wickets. “England's team director Andy Flower, bowling coach Mushtaq Ahmad and batting coach Graham Gooch were all in sync unlike the Indian backroom staff," said Pakistan all rounder Wasim Akram. — PTI |
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After HC rap, Gopichand hearing postponed
Lucknow, December 20 Responding to the plea filed by Mumbai shuttler Prajakta Sawant, the court had termed it "ethically" wrong for Gopichand, being the national coach, to run a training academy that could influence selection of the national team. Sawant had in her November plea alleged mental harassment after being disallowed participation in the camp held in Gopichand’s academy. A top Badminton Association of India (BAI) official told IANS that the affidavit that they were supposed to submit Wednesday has been prepared but the hearing got postponed. “I do not think it will happen till January 3. It will happen only after the winter vacations. One of the judges has gone on leave so the hearing has to be held later,” said the BAI official. No date has been fixed by the court yet. BAI officials refused to comment on what answers have been given by them in response to what the court had asked for, saying that they will get into trouble if the matter is leaked. “I can’t comment on anything. This is a legal matter where courts are involved. If anything goes out then we will be in trouble and we will be held accountable,” said the BAI official. However, a highly placed source told IANS that they have backed Gopichand in the affidavit. — PTI |
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BAI for stringent policy after Saina fiasco
Lucknow, December 20 Saina courted controversy yesterday when she retired from her women's singles first round match, citing knee injury, when she was on the verge of winning. It rubbed the BAI officials the wrong way and they are planning to come up with a stringent law in the near future. They will also be holding a meeting on December 23 to discuss the entire issue. “We need to put some mechanism in place so that it doesn't happen again. We have to safeguard the interest of BAI as well as the players. The president will be here on December 22 and we will be discussing this issue in detail and come up with a policy after getting clearance from the commission," a senior BAI official said. "After Senior Nationals, we had circulated a dos and don'ts list to the players but we have to make it more stringent so that such incident doesn't happen again. "It is important to have a mechanism to ensure the fitness of players before considering them for tournament and also after they recover from injury, they would need to prove their match fitness," the official added. Asked if any action would be taken against Saina, BAI vice-president, T P S Puri said: "It is a fact that Saina was carrying an injury and she was reluctant to participate in the Super Series Final as she was injured but she had to play because of BWF norms. So it could be a genuine case." Saina third in world rankings
Saina Nehwal has retained her third place in the latest world badminton rankings. Saina had a chance of equalling her best-ever ranking of No.2 and finishing the largely successful year on a high but some of the results in the recent tournaments she participated did not go in her favour. Meanwhile, another rising star from Hyderabad, PV Sindhu dropped a place to be ranked 24th on the ranking chart. Reigning Olympic champion Li Xuerui replaced compatriot and current World Champion Wang Yihan as the World No.1. In the men's singles, London Olympics quarter-finalist Parupalli Kashyap held on to his 20th position. Kashyap, Sindhu sound early warning for title in Syed Modi
Parupalli Kashyap stormed into the quaterfinals of the men's singles while the reigning national champion Sayali Gokhale saw her campaign fell apart in the women's competition as the Indian shuttlers endured a mixed day in the Syed Modi International India Open GP. Kashyap defeated Thailand's Parinyawat Thongnuam 21-16 21-17 in the USD 120,000 Gold Championship at the BBD UP Academy. PV Sindhu breezed into the pre-quarters of the women's singles when the world ranked 23rd trounced the unseeded Australian Victoria Na 21-9, 21-9 in just 18 min. Sayali Gokhale lost 21-15, 21-11 to the fifth seed Aprilla Yuswandari of Indonesia. Gurusaidutt beat Malaysia's Mohammad Arif, seventh seed, Abdul Latif 21-10, 21-16 in the men's singles. — PTI Nabi voted AIFF Player of the Year
New Delhi: Syed Rahim Nabi has been voted the All India Football Federation (AIFF) Player of the Year. Nabi was chosen the winner after being voted by I-League Club coaches. AIFF general secretary Kushal Das lauded Nabi on his achievements. "Nabi is a versatile player. His commitment as a player is exemplary. He is a deserving recipient of the award." National coach Wim Koevermans said: "I congratulate Rahim Nabi on being chosen the winner by the various I-League club coaches. I wish him all the best for the future and wish him a speedy recovery." Nabi suffered a head injury after being hit by a stone hurled from a gallery packed with Mohun Bagan supporters during the club'a match against East Bengal.The 27-year-old joins a list of illustrious players who have won the award since 1992. — Reuters |
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Chelsea rout Leeds to boost Benitez
Leeds, currently mid-table in the Championship, sensed a quarter-final shock when they took a 38th-minute lead thanks to a 15th goal of the season from Argentinian striker Luciano Becchio, who slid the ball home from 12 yards as he met a Jerome Thomas cross to round-off a length of the field move. But defender Tom Lees missed a great chance to double the advantage in first-half stoppage-time, heading over from an El Hadji-Diouf cross as the Yorkshire club attempted to emulate their neighbours Bradford City, who booked their semi-final place with a stunning upset over Arsenal. Chelsea refused to go the same way as their Premier League rivals, moving through the gears to score five second-half goals to make it through to the last four in January in some style. Ribery gets 2-match league cup ban
Bayern Munich's French winger Franck Ribery was banned for two German Cup matches on Thursday after being sent off against Augsburg and will miss the quarter-final at home to holders Borussia Dortmund. Ribery was shown a straight red card on Tuesday for an altercation with Augsburg's South Korea midfielder Koo Ja-Cheol early in the second-half of Bayern's 2-0 win. The sports court of the German Football Federation (DFB) has banned the French star for the quarter-final against Dortmund at Munich's Allianz Arena on February 26 or 27, as well as April's semi-final, should Bayern advance. "We do not see a solution to avoid the minimum sentence of a two-match suspension for such a gesture," said Bayern boss, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge on the club's website after Ribery made contact with Koo's face during the incident. Meanwhile, defending champions Atletico Madrid of Spain were on Thursday drawn to play Russian side Rubin Kazan in the knock out stages of the Europa League. Last year's Champions League winners, Chelsea, meanwhile, were drawn to play Czech side Sparta Prague after the Blues failed to progress through the group stages of the tournament. — PTI |
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Make sports code a law or take over federations: Patel
New Delhi, December 20 Soon after being elected to the top seat for his second term, Patel said it will always be difficult to find answers to the conundrum until and unless the Parliament passes an act. "Unless the government passes an act, there will always be some grey area. The parliament should pass an act, make it a law. Or else the government should take over all the sports federation," Patel said. The AIFF conducted its elections against the backdrop of the Delhi High Court's order to follow the government's Sports Code while holding the polls. "We followed the constitution of AIFF. We kept in mind the spirit of the sports code. We are in tune with sports code's age and number of terms (criterion). The union minister said it will be difficult to follow the code unless the AIFF's constitution is amended. "We have not been violative of the code. We did not get any direct order from the court. The government's has norms which may overlap,” he said. — PTI
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IOC warns of legal action against IOA
New Delhi, December 20 IOC director-general Christophe De Kepper, in a letter to IOC member in India Randhir Singh, has requested him to “take all necessary measures, and if appropriate, any legal action at national level against these individuals in order to protect all assets and properties of the suspended Indian Olympic Association”. Copies of the letter have been sent to Prof. Vijay Kumar Malhotra, who was the acting president before the new office-bearers of the IOA took charge on December 5 after the elections, and the Olympic Council of Asia. The letter observed that the IOC was “extremely concerned” with the ongoing situation of the IOA and the “misappropriation of responsibilities and properties by a number of illegitimate individuals claiming to represent the suspended IOA whereas the IOC has already made it clear that the so-called elections were null and void, and are not recognized by the IOC”. The letter cautioned that the “illegal actions” of the present IOA office-bearers “obviously violate all IOC directives” and decisions are “aggravating” the situations of the suspended IOA. “All individuals involved (directly or by complicity) will be held responsible and the IOC will reserve the right to take any action against them”, the letter stated. |
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Punjab Police beat PSEB, BSF crush Hawks Ropar
Patiala, December 20 Punjab Police Jalandhar claimed their second league match defeating PSEB Patiala 2-1. They had to work hard with their first goal coming in the eight minute by Varun Kumar, who converted a penalty stroke. PSEB fought tooth and nail and managed to get an equalizer 1-1 in 36th minute through Manvir Singh. The policemen clinched the match with a 40th minute goal by Jaskaran.
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India beat China 4-0 in Asian CT Doha, December 20 India maintained the lead till the break and came back strong in the second half, raiding the rival citadel quite often. Raghunath made it 3-0 for India in 52nd minute when he scored on a low flick. Bimal Lakra completed the scoreline for India the next minute when he deflected a pass from Rupinder. — PTI
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On an afternoon in Kharagpur, a frail diminutive teenager was watching a practice game between BNR players when former India captain Dicky Carr, who was leading one of the two sides found his team was a player short.
Noticing the young man's rapt attention, Carr threw a hockey stick and asked him to come and play; the rest, as they say, is history.
Leeds, December 20
