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Sacking Nobbs a step in right direction
It was my decision to quit: Nobbs
Kaushik not losing sleep over his designation
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Cook, Clarke play straight on eve of Ashes opener
Jadeja, Raina apologise
Mumbai to open Ranji campaign vs Haryana
Committee completes report on Modi
McDowell’s season of cuts missed and titles won
Kittel wins 10th stage; Froome retains yellow jersey
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Sacking Nobbs a step in right direction
New Delhi, July 9 Ajitpal Singh, captain of India's last World Cup-winning side in 1975, said Nobbs should have been shown the door after the London Olympics debacle last year. “The sacking should have come much earlier. It is a step in the right direction. We finished 12th out of 12 teams in London which is disturbing and shameful for a hockey playing nation like India,” said Ajitpal. “He (Nobbs) has not been able to produce results. So, he doesn't deserve to get a longer run.” Ajitpal, a member of India's bronze-medal winning teams in 1968 and 1972 Munich Olympics, welcomed Hockey India's decision to induct Kaushik into the coaching staff. “Kaushik is a good coach. I would welcome his appointment. We have spent a lot on foreign coaches without desired results, so why not hand over the charge to Kaushik,” he said. “He has already proved his credentials as a coach. He coached India to gold medal in 1998 Asia Games in Bangkok,” said the Padma Shri awardee. Former India captain Zafar Iqbal seconded Ajitpal's views. “Hockey India has made the right decision. Under Nobbs the performance of our team has dropped. So why should he be retained,” Zafar said. “There is hardly any improvement to show.” Zafar also sympathised with Nobbs, saying a coach is only as good as his players. “I feel sorry for Nobbs too because maybe he did (not) have high quality players. A coach has his own limitations,” said Zafar, a member of India's last Olympic gold medal side at the 1980 Moscow Games. Like Ajitpal, Zafar too vouched for Kaushik to fill up Nobbs’ shoes. “We have to believe in Kaushik. He has a good track record as a coach. In my opinion we have tried a lot of foreign coaches, but it's time an Indian like Kaushik should be given full charge,” he said. Former national coach Joaquim Carvalho was also critical of Nobbs' performance and said the Australian has hardly done anything worthwhile to galvanise the sagging fortunes of Indian hockey. “Nobbs is not at all a good coach. A good coach is someone who makes good strategies, possesses good management and communication skills. A good coach is someone who reads the game. But India's performance has gone down drastically under him,” he said. — PTI I wasn't pushed out by Hockey India or Sports Authority of India. This (to resign) is my own decision. I love Indian hockey too much that I don't want to hurt it. But I just couldn't cope any longer with deteriorating health. So, I thought not to coach
anymore. How india fared under the Australian
Asian Champions Trophy, 2011 Olympic qualifiers, 2012 London Olympics, 2012 Champions Trophy 2012 Asian Champions Trophy, 2012 FIH Hockey World League Round 2, 2013 FIH Hockey World League India finished sixth. The poor finish saw India missing out on an opportunity to qualify for the World Cup. This defeat proved to be the proverbial last straw for
Nobbs. Nobbs 4th foreigner fired midway
Gerhard Rach (Germany).. Ric Charlesworth (Australia).. Jose Brasa (Spain).. |
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It was my decision to quit: Nobbs
New Delhi, July 9 Nobbs’ contract as the chief coach of the Indian team was terminated yesterday because of non-performance, thus becoming the fourth foreigner to be shown the door before completion of the full tenure. But the Australian mantained that he quit the job on his own terms and was not shown the door. “I wasn’t pushed out by Hockey India or Sports Authority of India. This (to resign) is my own decision,” Nobbs said. “I love Indian hockey too much. I don’t want to hurt it. But I just couldn’t cope any longer with deteriorating health. So, I thought not to coach anymore.” “My health was too difficult for me to continue. I don’t want to hurt the system. I don’t want to be selfish because it would take at least 6 months to get my health back,” he added. Nobbs’ contract was terminated almost three years before it was to expire. Roelant Oltmans, who is currently the High Performance Manager, has been given charge of the team until a new coach is appointed. Before Nobbs, Spaniard Jose Brasa, Australian Ric Charlesworth and Germany’s Gerhard Rach coached the Indian side before being shown the door due to several issues. Nobbs said he tried hard to recover his health since the start of the year but it continued to deteriorate with every passing day. “My health wasn’t too good. I had quite a bit of trouble in Holland during the first trip earlier this year. I passed out a few times from January onwards. I had noticed things were getting worse, deteriorating pretty badly,” said Brasa. “I spoke to Roelant Oltmans on the last tour to Hoalland (during last month’s FIH World League Round 3 in Rotterdam) and said I wasn’t coping well health wise. I am struggling,” Nobbs said. Even though he did not have the best of results, Nobbs’ sounded optimistic about the future of Indian hockey. —PTI
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Kaushik not losing sleep over his designation
“Assistant coach, national coach or whatever, these are purely egoistic things. How does it matter what your designation is going to be. I want to work and my name has been proposed and I am willing to contribute to Indian hockey. Let the work begin in right earnest. It does not matter what the designation is,” Kaushik says. Given the skepticism around the state of affairs and plummeting performances of India, Kaushik also refrains from discussing the game or the players too much. “It would not be right for me to comment. I may say something and Roeland Oltmans may say something else. My views may conflict with his. We will sit and listen to what he has to say,” the 58-year-old coach said. But Kaushik knows what his brief is going to be. “I think I will be dealing with the Indian aspect of coaching. Culture, style of play and giving inputs on players. I think that is required of me,” he explains, adding that the core group of the team will consist of 49 identified players. “We will try to sift players from that pool and see what the team’s requirement is,” he said. When asked how tough a task it’s going to be, Kaushik made no bones, saying, “No matter how much you work with the national team you feel it’s always less.” Kaushik, a member of the Indian team when it won the gold medal at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow and a former coach of the Indian women's national hockey team, is not ready to accept that the state of affairs in Indian hockey are at the lowest. “I don’t take that. Yes, the team has not produced results but it is not right to say that Indian hockey is at the lowest right now. There are still very talented young players around,” he said. Assistant coach, national coach or whatever, these are egoistic things. How does it matter what your designation is going to be. I want to work and contribute to Indian hockey. Let the work begin in right earnest.
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Cook, Clarke play straight on eve of Ashes opener
Nottingham, July 9 Australia skipper Clarke was more than happy to accept his team were underdogs going into the start of the five-match series on Wednesday while England leader Cook was confident his side would handle the pressure of being favourites. “We have been favourites in other series as well and I think it sits well,” Cook told a packed news conference in the pavilion. “But cricket is not played on paper and it is all about delivering on the pitch. “Australia are a very, very good side. They have some world-class players and I think there is going to be a very good standard of cricket in this series. “We've always known it's going to be one hell of a battle,” said Cook. Australia's preparations have been far from ideal, with Darren Lehmann brought in as coach to replace the sacked Mickey Arthur just over two weeks ago. “We come here as underdogs but that won't affect our performances,” Clarke said. “Darren and Mickey are two completely different people. “Personally I have enjoyed talking cricket with 'Boof' (Lehmann) who I was lucky enough to play with. We are all embracing Darren's style now." Cook said the England players could not wait to begin their defence of the Ashes. “Everyone is desperately excited to be here today after such a long build-up,” he said. “There are a lot of nerves and excitement but it's important not to blow it out of all proportion.” ROOT SURPRISEClarke expressed surprise England had opted to promote youngster Joe Root to open the batting with Cook in preference to the more experienced Nick Compton. “Joe has handled himself in every situation fantastically well,” Cook said. — Reuters We will win comfortably: david Saker
The England bowling coach David Saker thinks the Ashes will be won “comfortably”. And he should know; after all, he is an Australian. “I think psychologically we’re in a much better place, the only danger is that we’ll be too laid-back,” says Saker. “The Aussies will fight their rings off, there’s no doubt about that”, but “if we score the runs we’re capable of then we’ll win comfortably. “The players are really up for it. You just have to be around them and you pick up on that excitement, and I know quite a lot about them.” |
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New Delhi, July 9 According to a BCCI official, both cricketers spoke to the team manager M V Sridhar and expressed regret for their on-field conduct. “Raina and Jadeja have spoken to the team manager and tendered unconditional apology for their on-field behaviour. They have promised that this type of an act won't be repeated again. Both the cricketers have understood that their conduct is unbecoming of a national team cricketer,” a BCCI official said on Tuesday. The interim chief of the BCCI, Jagmohan Dalmiya, had on Monday informed the mediapersons that the BCCI had sought a manager's report into the incident. No action will be taken against the two cricketers and they will not be penalised either but since the matter has snowballed into a controversy, the board will like to keep an official document of the incident. The incident happened after Raina failed to take Sunil Narine's catch on two occasions. Jadeja, after dismissing Narine with the penultimate delivery of the 34th over, rushed towards Raina and said a few harsh things to which the left-handed batsman reacted angrily before skipper Virat Kohli intervened. But once the match got over, Jadeja and Raina walked back together. — PTI
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Mumbai to open Ranji campaign vs Haryana
Mumbai, July 9 Last year's losing finalists, Saurashtra, will open their bid in Group B against two-time champions Rajasthan at home in Rajkot on the same dates as per the Ranji programme. The season opens with the three-team NKP Salve Challenger Trophy to be played at an yet to be decided venue between Sep 26 and 29, to be followed by the Duleep Trophy in South Zone between October 3 and 17. South Zone would also host the Deodhar Trophy limited overs tournament from March 23 to 27 (day and night). Ranji Trophy league schedule: Round 1 (Oct 27-30): Haryana v Mumbai in Haryana; Punjab v Orissa in Punjab; Vidarbha v Gujarat at Nagpur; Jharkhand v Delhi in Jharkhand (all Group A); Saurashtra v Rajasthan at Rajkot; Services v Tamil Nadu at Delhi (to be hosted by Services); MP v Railways; Bengal v Baroda at Kolkata (all Group B); Hyderabad v AP in Hyderabad; Maharashtra v Tripura in Maharashtra; HP v Goa in HP (all Group C) Round 2 (Nov 7-10): Punjab v Mumbai in Punjab; Gujarat v Delhi at Ahmedabad; Karnataka v Jharkhand in Karnataka; Vidarbha v Haryana at Nagpur (all Group A); Railways v Saurashtra, to be hosted by Railways); Baroda v Uttar Pradesh in Baroda; MP v TN in MP; Rajasthan v Bengal in Rajasthan (all Group B); Assam v Hyderabad at Guwahati; Kerala v Andhra in Kerala; J& K v Goa in J&K ; Tripura v Himachal at Agartala (all Group C). Round 3 (Nov 14-17): Mumbai v Delhi at Mumbai; Karnataka v Gujarat in Karnataka; Vidarbha v Orissa at Nagpur; Haryana v Jharkhand in Haryana (all Group A); Saurashtra v UP at Rajkot; Services v Rajasthan at Delhi (to be hosted by Services); Baroda v Railways at Baroda; Bengal v Madhya Pradesh at Kolkata (all Group B); Hyderabad v Maharashtra at Hyderabad; AP v Assam in Andhra; Kerala v Tripura in Kerala; HP vs J K in HP Round 4 (Nov 21-24): Punjab v Gujarat in Punjab; Delhi v Haryana at Delhi; Vidarbha v Karnataka at Nagpur; Orissa v Jharkhand (all Group A); Bengal v Saurashtra at Kolkata; Services v MP at Delhi (to be hosted by Services) UP v TN in UP; Rajasthan v Railways in Rajasthan (all Group B); HP v Hyderabad in HP; Maharashtra v Goa in Maharashtra; AP v J&K in Andhra Tripura v Assam at Agartala (all Group C). — PTI
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Committee completes report on Modi
New Delhi, July 9 “Yes, an exhaustive report has been filed by Scindia and Jaitley. It is close to 500 pages and at this point of time, it won’t be opened. The report will be placed in front of the BCCI working committee that is scheduled to meet in Kolkata on July 28,” said a senior BCCI office-bearer . “The working committee will discuss and analyse the findings of the two-member committee and recommend appropriate measures. The ratification will be done by the BCCI AGM in September.” The BCCI official also informed that BCCI's ACSU chief Ravi Sawani has almost completed his investigations on spot-fixing scandal that rocked IPL having taken depositions from tainted cricketers S Sreesanth, Ankeet Chavan along with Siddharth Trivedi and Harmeet Singh, who were also approached by the bookies. “Sawani will submit his report and recommendations any time in the next few days,” he added.—PTI
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McDowell’s season of cuts missed and titles won
Chandigarh, July 9 The Irishman won the Europeans Tour’s French Open on Sunday and this takes his tally of wins so far this season to three. He has already won the Volvo World Match Play Championship in Bulgaria as well as the RBC Heritage on the PGA Tour. McDowell was tied alongside South African Richard Sterne going into the final round but a four-under-par 67 helped him win his ninth European Tour title. “It’s been a funny season,” he said after his win. “Inconsistent but when it’s good it’s been really good.” Jeev Milkha Singh who is in good form missed the cut at the French Open last week after he carded a five-over-par in the first round, mainly due to a stiff neck. He started the second round brilliantly with back-to-back birdies on the first two holes and was five-under for the day after 14 holes and well within the cut. However, a bogey on the 15th, followed by two pars and a disastrous triple bogey on the last saw him miss the cut by one stroke. “It was just a bad decision that led to such a big number on the last hole. However, I am playing well and look forward to another memorable week in Scotland,” said Jeev, who will head to Scotland this week as the defending champion of the Scottish Open. British Open defending champion Ernie Els and Phil Mickleson will also be playing in Scotland, as they acclimatise for the British Open.On the PGA Tour young Swede Jonas Blixt won the Greenbrier Classic on Sunday to card his second PGA Tour win. This win will also assure that he is in the field for the 2014 Masters as well as the final major championship of this season. Indian golfers had a good reason to celebrate as Delhi’s Shiv Kapur qualified for the British Open, and will make his second appearance at this major when he tees it up at Muirfield next week. He was among three players to qualify through a 36-hole Local Final Qualifying (LFQ) event held in Dunbar, Scotland last week. Shiv carded a one-under-par 69, which included an eagle on the second hole in the first round played in the morning and went on to card a brilliant 64 in the afternoon round, carding a total of seven-under-par which helped him finish second. “I wanted to qualify on a links course because that’s the proper way to do it. It was the first time I had played a links course since last year, so it was all a bit strange initially but I soon got the hang of things and played beautifully in the afternoon,” said Kapur, who made his debut at the 2006 Open Championship at Hoylake. Shiv has been working with Italian coach Alberto Binaghi and the hard work is bearing results. “I have been working with Alberto for the last few months and I had a three hour session with him in Milan earlier this week. We worked mainly on my short game and hitting shots in the wind. I think that helped a lot.” Back home, Anirban Lahiri won his second PGTI title in as many weeks, carding a five stroke victory at the PGTI - Eagleburg Open. “It’s great to win at my home course at last and I am very happy that I managed to close it out with two birdies at the end to ensure a big victory margin,” said Lahiri who moved to third place on the Rolex Rankings.
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Kittel wins 10th stage; Froome retains yellow jersey
Saint Malo, July 9 Britain’s Chris Froome held on to the yellow jersey, one minute 25 seconds ahead of Spaniard Alejandro Valverde. Froome said his Team Sky had done well in defending his position. “As long as we are aware that this isn’t going to be an easy ride now, every day that we are in yellow it’s an honour to be in this position.” Four riders, including Tour debutant and local rider Julien Simon, led for 191 of the 197 kms before being caught by the peloton as the race entered the Brittany town of Saint Malo after winding along wind-blown coastal roads. Cavendish praised Kittel, who also won the crash-marred opening stage, and said his own Omega Pharma-Quickstep team had not had a great day. — Reuters Results STAGE X
Overall leaders
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Nottingham, July 9
Chandigarh, July 9
