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Ferrer gives in to Rafa terror
Ministry just shrunk the grants for sports bodies
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For Dravid, Viru’s batting is a joy forever
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Ferrer gives in to Rafa terror
Paris, June 4 World No 1 Nadal, chasing a record-extending ninth Roland Garros title, had no answer to the fifth seed's pace on court Suzanne Lenglen in the first set. But Ferrer, one of three men who have beaten the claycourt machine on his favourite surface this year, ran out of steam in the second, which he narrowly lost before Nadal devoured him. Nadal won 10 games in a row — and 13 of the last 14 — to wrap it up on his first match point, setting up a meeting with either local favourite Gael Monfils or Wimbledon champion Andy Murray of Britain. Petkovic, Halep set up surprise semifinal duel
'Twisted soul' Andrea Petkovic joyously planted a kiss on her racket frame after she battled through drizzle and swirling winds on Wednesday to set up an unlikely French Open semi-final showdown with Romanian Simona Halep. The 28th seeded German came close to turning her back on tennis a year ago after being hobbled by back, ankle and knee injuries but 12 months on she was getting up close and personal with her racket after blowing Italy's Sara Errani off court with a 6-2 6-2 win. “I never kissed my racket before in my life. I don't know what happened to me. I was just overwhelmed by emotion. I had no boy to kiss, so I kissed my racket,” laughed the bubbly 26-year-old after reaching her first grand slam semi-final. After becoming the first German woman to reach the last four in Paris since Steffi Graf in 1999, a player who is influenced by the writings of a number of philosophers said she would now “like to call Freud and ask him what he thinks about... my twisted soul.” Such a thought is unlikely to trouble Halep, who will be more interested in concentrating on Petkovic's tennis skills after she too reached her first major semi-final with an equally scrappy 6-2 6-2 win over 2009 champion Svetlana Kuznetsova. “It was a perfect day for me,” said Halep, who is bidding to become the first Romanian woman to win the claycourt major since her manager Virginia Ruzici achieved the feat in 1978. — Reuters
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Ministry just shrunk the grants for sports bodies
New Delhi, June 4 The Sports Ministry's decision to cut down on grants to hold various national championships has made it tough for the federations of sports like rowing, gymnastics, taekwondo, basketball and many others to conduct the games on a meagre budget. Hitherto, every NSF used to get Rs 6 lakh for conducting sub-junior nationals, Rs 4 lakh for junior nationals and Rs 2 lakh for senior nationals. But, in a decision, which was taken at a time when the electoral battle was in full swing and the model code of conduct was in force, the Jitendra Singh-led Sports Ministry decided to change the allotment to Rs 2 lakh each for all three championships from April. In effect, this reduces the budget of organising the sub-junior, junior and senior championships from Rs 12 lakh to Rs 6 lakh. There are federations like hockey, football, tennis, golf and shooting that have a strong financial backing thanks to their long list of sponsors. However, there are federations like cycling, fencing, judo, kabaddi, volleyball, yachting and weightlifting, among others, that have been left to fight a battle for survival with no money at hand. The Rowing Federation of India (RFI) is one such NSF. It has been left with no other option but to ask each athlete to cough up Rs 250 per day if he/she has to participate in the week-long sub-junior national championships in Kolkata next month. This means every sub-junior rower will have to pay Rs 1,750 to the federation for the meet. A number of NSFs have approached the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) to take up the matter with the new BJP-led regime. The IOA has assured the NSFs that it will raise their grievance with the new Sports Minister, Sarbananda Sonowal. “There are federations which completely rely on government funds. Even the amount of Rs 6 lakh was not enough to hold the national championships. The amount of Rs 2 lakh fixed by the UPA government before demitting office is too little. We would like to assure the NSFs that the IOA will definitely take up this matter with the new Sports Minister and a solution would be worked out soon,” IOA secretary general Rajeev Mehta told The Tribune. “We would request the Sports Ministry to fix the amount around Rs 20-25 lakh each for the sub-junior, junior and senior national championships. We understand that this kind of money is needed by an NSF to hold the championships and identify the talent that will represent India in international events,” Mehta added.
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Punjabi University puts itself ahead of the country
Patiala, June 4 The root of the problem lies in the fresh guidelines of the central government's Sports Ministry regarding calculation of marks for the coveted Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (MAKA) Trophy, which is presented to the best sports university of the country. Four Punjabi University archers — Trisha Deb, Madhu Vaidwan, Kanwalpreet Singh and Supriya — had qualified for the forthcoming World Cup, scheduled to be held in Antalya, Turkey, from June 8, beating many top Indian archers. However, the university authorities have barred these archers from participating in the World Cup. Their rationale is that participation in the World Cup by these four archers would not give the university any marks for the MAKA Trophy. The university authorities, thus, want these players to join the World University Archery Championship camp that gets underway here tomorrow, so they could take part in that event, which begins on July 2. No Asian Games trials
However, in case they go for the World University Archery Championship, they will have to miss the selection trials for the 2014 Asian Games, being organised by the Archery Association of India, which will certainly be the biggest disappointment of their careers. This means that the university is putting its interest (for the MAKA Trophy) above the archers' and the country's interest. Punjabi University's Director Sports, Dr Rajkumar Sharma, has asked the four to immediately return to the university to join the World University Archery Championship preparatory camp. He said the Sports Ministry had decided that no points would be given to the universities if their players win medals in the Olympics, Asian Games and Commonwealth Games. Bizzare point
“Therefore, these tournaments are not our priority now. In fact, the ministry has decided that the points for the nationals championships would also be given only if the players compete from the Association of Indian University teams,” he said. “So, our main focus is the World University Games and the Commonwealth University Games. I cannot allow them to go to the World Cup and miss our camp.” What about the fact that the Asian Games and the World Cup are much bigger, tougher and more prestigious events than the World University Archery Championship? Would not success in the Asian Games and the World Cup prove more decisive in determining the course of the athletes' careers? Dr Sharma said that this is for the Sports Ministry to consider. “We are going by what is important for us. Had the tournament not clashed with the archery championship, I would have sent them,” he added. Extremely upset with the decision, one of the four archers, requesting anonymity, said that they could not sacrifice their careers for the university's gains. Can’t quit top tournaments
“We have always been grateful to the university for giving us free admission and equipment but they cannot deny the fact that it is due to our contribution that the university is being adjudged as the best sports university every year. Till the last year, the points of all international tournaments were included and therefore we were allowed to play but now if the rules have changed, the university cannot ask us to just quit important tournaments that will actually shape our future,” she added. Another archer said that the Archery Association of India could penalise them for ditching them at the last movement. “Our visas are ready and just four days are left for the World Cup to begin. How can the university now ask us to back off and ruin our future? It is based on these international tournaments that we are offered jobs in various departments and if we skip them, who will recruit us?” she said. |
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Not happy with the results but okay with team’s showing, says Oltmans
The Hague, June 4 After conceding match-winners to Belgium and England in the closing stages of successive matches, the Indian defence will need to raise its game several notches against Spain, who won a penalty shootout against India for the fifth position when they met last in the 2013 World League semis. Financial woes have forced the Spanish hockey team to opt out of some big-league events over the past two years, but the crux of the team is still there and could again be troublesome for the Indian defenders. Santi Frexia and seasoned Eduard Tubau would be major threat to the wobbly Indian defence. India's technical director, Roelant Oltmans, feels the high-quality individuals in the Spanish team could pose problems for his team. “We've not played Spain often in recent times, but they have several high-quality players in their ranks,” said Oltmans. “We'll have to perform well as a team to overcome this rival.” Oltmans said it was disappointing to have lost two matches due to late goals, but the Indian team has “played quite well.” Oltmans said there were clear signs of the team's rising performance graph, and it should be visible more in the World Cup itself. “We're disappointed with the result, but not at the level of performance by the boys. In due course, it should lead to better results.” While India have no points from two outings, Spain have just one from a 1-1 draw against England following which they were beaten 3-0 by defending champions Australia. Spanish coach Salvador Indurain says his team has not lost hope of making the semifinals. “We'll now play every match as a final. The Indians are complicated rivals. India are ranked higher than us and it's not going to be easy for us,” said Indurain. “We know how the Indians play and they've improved a lot. We're not as strong as we used to be a few years ago, although we have several senior players,” he added. Eight players in Spain's team have played more than 100 internationals. Tubau's 269-match experience makes him the most experienced, followed by Ramon Alegre (256 matches) and David Alegre (219 matches). Captain Frexia, the star strikers of many internationals for Spain, has featured in 179 matches, while goalkeeper Quico Cortes has 162 international caps against his name. Others who have played over 100 games are Roc Olava and Miquel Delas. Indian captain Sardar Singh has 182 caps, while others with more than 100 appearances are Gurbaj Singh, V R Raghunath and S V Sunil. Coach Indurain would prefer Spain going into the contest as the underdogs, since that could take the pressure away from his players. “We have some fine players in the team, but the entire unit needs to focus on competing. They should not let other factors distract them.” — PTI
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For Dravid, Viru’s batting is a joy forever
New Delhi, June 4 “When you think of Viru, you think of the joy he brought to the players who played with him and millions of fans. He redefined in a lot of ways, for me at least, the way opening batsmen have been perceived,” said Dravid. Indian discard Sehwag, 35, had an average IPL season with Kings XI Punjab, but the Delhi dasher showed his firepower with a 58-ball 122 in the second qualifier against Chennai Super Kings to impress his fans and ‘save’ his young son from embarrassment at school. Himself a perfectionist, Dravid said he likes Sehwag’s technique. “The very fact that he has a high backlift, a still head and a beautiful bat flow allows him to get a full face of the bat on each ball,” said Dravid. “And even if you watch in defense, a lot of times he’s got a really good defense because he’s able to bring the full face of the bat, there’s no half measures there. Even if his feet don’t get to the pitch of the ball, the bat comes straight down the line of the ball.” — PTI
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Into the limelight from the shadows
Belgium have emerged from the shadows of their more glamorous neighbours Netherlands and are now the fifth favourite to win the World Cup in Brazil. With a squad boasting of some of the best young players in Europe and what looks like an easy draw in the group stages, Belgium have been tipped as one of the teams to watch in the later stages of the mega event. The likes of Eden Hazard and Romelu Lukaku make the Red Devils a match for anyone and at the time of the draw, in October last year, Belgium were the fifth ranked side in the world after dropping only four points in qualifying. They have slipped to 12th since then, but after a stellar qualifying tournament and with Manchester United starlet Adnan Januzaj now in their ranks, Belgium will not be daunted by the task at hand. They have possibly the best goalkeeper in Europe in Thibaut Courtois of Atletico Madrid. At the back are the Manchester City and Arsenal captains, Vincent Kompany and Thomas Vermaelen, plus Toby Alderweireld of Atletico and Tottenham Hotspur’s Jan Vertonghen. In midfield there’s Hazard of Chelsea, Januzaj and Marouane Fellaini. Up front is Romelu Lukaku. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg for coach Marc Wilmots. This exceptionally talented group of players has great potential and has not been scarred by failure at previous tournaments — partly because their predecessors didn’t qualify. They have plenty of goodwill on their side. Former World Cup winner, Marcel Desailly, has tipped them to reach the final. Belgium undoubtedly have a ‘Golden Generation’ on their hands. But things do not always go according to plan. Despite remaining unbeaten in qualification, Belgium have not overcome many heavyweight opponents. Last year they lost to both Colombia and Japan and drew 0-0 with France in friendlies and in March drew with Ivory Coast. The Red Devils should win a weak group featuring Algeria, Russia and South Korea. Unfortunately they will then have to play one of the teams from Group B, Germany, Portugal, Ghana or USA. Beyond that, they are likely to encounter Argentina or France, but a place in the last four is not out of the question. — Agencies Four-star Brazil stroll against Panama
Portugal fret over Ronaldo’s fitness Florham Park (USA): Portugal are gearing up for the World Cup in New Jersey, fretting over the fitness of Cristiano Ronaldo. With the World Cup looming, the FIFA Ballon d’Or winner had some bad news about his recent aches and pains. Ronaldo has a “muscle injury on the back of his left thigh as well as left-leg patellar tendinitis,” the Portuguese Football Association said on Tuesday. — Agencies
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Paris, June 4
The Hague, June 4
Goiania (Brazil): World Cup hosts Brazil strolled to a 4-0 win over Panama in their penultimate warm-up, with goals from Neymar (in pic), Daniel Alves, Hulk and Willian securing the win which barely satisfied their coach. After a tentative opening, the Selecao easily saw off limited opponents as Neymar, with his 31st international goal, set the ball rolling, rifling in a free-kick for the opener on the half hour.
Vincent Kompany
Eden Hazard
Thibaut Courtois
Romelu Lukaku
The cunning Mr. Wilmots 
