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Brazil feel the weight of expectations in the opener
Ravinder faces tough road to CWG
‘Change evident in Indian hockey’
IOA likely to miss July 1 deadline to bid for 2019 Asiad
NZ in control despite losing early wickets
SHORT PASSES
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What was to be a soccer celebration is in danger of being hijacked by off-field issues as a growing furore surrounding FIFA over alleged vote-buying for the 2022 World Cup stews and anger over domestic political corruption broils throughout Brazil. The gloom is a far cry from what was envisioned when Brazil was selected as host nation in 2007. But if any country can perform a feat of spiritual alchemy using soccer as its tool, Brazil can. And for all the FIFA and protest dramas, billions of people around the world will tune in as eagerly as ever once the action begins. The home of what Pele termed "the beautiful game" is likely to respond like few others could, if its yellow-shirted heroes can carry all before them. A joyous festival of soccer would indeed be testament to the power of soccer if the sport shrugs off the unseemly smog enveloping the lead-up to this tournament. Ghosts of 1950 The hosts are favorites to clinch a record-extending sixth World Cup crown come the July 13 final at Rio's Maracana stadium, and certainly it would be a triumph to finally exorcise the ghosts of 1950. Sixty-four years ago the tournament was held with a round robin format and the Brazilians needed a draw to win the title in front of 200,000 fans at the Maracana. However, they were beaten 2-1 by Uruguay in a national tragedy known as "the Maracanazo". While there will be some 100,000 fewer people in the rebuilt Maracana for the 2014 tournament, expectation will be no less weighty. That does not bother their wily coach Luiz Felipe Scolari, who led Brazil to their fifth triumph 12 years ago. "Every day I am more and more certain we are going to win the World Cup," he said, allowing no room for failure. Brazil have their script — one involving locals suspending their anger at the eye-watering cost of the tournament held with a backdrop of rising inflation, urban gridlock and soaring crime — but there are no shortage of other teams and players lining up to take their place in the pantheon of soccer giants. Argentina's Lionel Messi tops the list. Considered by most to be the world's best footballer, the Barcelona phenomenon has never hit the heights at a World Cup. But a triumphant World Cup in their biggest rival's backyard could elevate the 5ft 7in forward, four times World Player of the Year, to the level of the similarly diminutive but much-revered World Cup-winning Maradona in his homeland. Formidable Germans The formidable Germans have their minds set on a slice of history for themselves. No non-South American team has triumphed in these parts, but Joachim Loew's stylish squad have observers lining up to say that spell is ready to be broken. Another European powerhouse is not ready to relinquish its grip on the World Cup, however, and champions Spain will also be a formidable force. Vicente del Bosque led La Roja to victory in Johannesburg four years ago and to the European title in 2012, and his side is still packed with some of the best passers in the game. — Reuters
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Brazil feel the weight of expectations in the opener Sao Paulo, June 11 When the Brazilians face Croatia in the opening match of this year's World Cup on Thursday 64 years after that tumultuous loss, the pressure to win will be just as huge. Defeat by Croatia at the Corinthians arena would not mark the end of Brazil's World Cup chances. It would, however, deflate a nation of 200 million people who expect the home team not only to win this match but every one of their games over the next month. Nothing except a sixth world title will suffice. The omens are good for a positive result against Croatia as no host nation has ever lost their opening match in the World Cup. Brazil are favourites not just because of their great World Cup record but also because Luiz Felipe Scolari's team have won 15 of their last 16 games, including five in a row to win last year's Confederations Cup. Scolari has no injury doubts and barring any late surprises the team that lines up against Croatia is expected to be the same one that beat Spain in the final 12 months ago. Julio Cesar will be in goal, hoping to bury the ghosts of 2010 when his error against the Netherlands led to Brazil's elimination in the quarterfinals. Thiago Silva and David Luiz will be in the heart of the defence, with Marcelo and Dani Alves on the flanks. Paulinho, Luiz Gustavo and Oscar will form a three-man midfield, with Neymar and Hulk working between them and centre forward Fred. Brazil's hopes rest with Neymar, the 22-year old Barcelona forward who seems to rise to the occasion when wearing a yellow shirt. Missing top players Croatia, meanwhile, are missing some of their top players. Banned centre back Josip Simunic and long-term casualty Ivan Strinic were written off before Niko Kovac named his squad, left back Danijel Pranjic was ruled out of the opening fixture with an ankle sprain and Gordon Schildenfeld is doubtful with a hamstring problem. That means Kovac will probably field Sime Vrsaljko on the left and the inconsistent Dejan Lovren could be deployed alongside the tried and tested Vedran Corluka in the middle. Corluka acknowledged his partnership with Lovren had malfunctioned in the past but hoped it would be a different story in Sao Paulo. “We've only played together a few times and I can't say that it worked to perfection,” Corluka told reporters. “But there is a first time for everything I hope we will click at crunch time and this is certainly it. I have a positive stage fright because this is a big match on the biggest stage. Every child who's ever kicked a ball dreams of playing in the World Cup and here we are in the opening game against Brazil.” Captain Darijo Srna will fill his usual right back slot while Luka Modric and Ivan Rakitic are to pull the strings in the centre of midfield behind a three-pronged forward line of Ivan Perisic, Mateo Kovacic and Ivica Olic. The robust Nikica Jelavic will probably be preferred to Brazilian-born striker Eduardo da Silva as a lone striker. The match kicks off at 5pm local time in the Corinthians arena on the outskirts of South America’s biggest city. — Reuters 1:30 AM (Friday)
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Ravinder faces tough road to CWG
PATIALA, JUNE 11
Having entered India’s core group for the 2014 Commonwealth and Asian Games after winning gold medal in the Senior National Athletics Championship last year, Khaira finally made the cut to the CWG after a throw of 78.02m in the recently concluded national inter-state meet at Lucknow. Though he fell short of the 80m mark, which he had been throwing during camp, he had no trouble exceeding the CWG qualification mark of 77.29m. But, the athlete is now running from pillar to post to find a sponsor who can help him train abroad so that he can adapt to the weather conditions in Glasgow. Moreover, even as the athlete has turned 28, he is still waiting for a job offer from the Punjab government in order to meet his financial needs. Even though he has met senior Shiromani Akali Dal leaders for a job and has been time and again assured of one, the athlete is still to be recruited by any of the departments. Moreover, since he is already overage for being recruited in other sports departments of the country, his only hope lies with the Punjab government. Khaira, whose father Hardeep Singh Khaira is a physical education teacher and has played an instrumental role in his sporting career, took up volleyball initially and competed in state and national championships. But angered by the political interference in the selection criteria for the team games, Ravinder opted for an individual sport and started training for javelin around year 2005. Still finding his feet in the game, he moved to Australia in 2008 for better training facilities and a secure future. While he was doing his diploma in Automotives, he worked part-time as a taxi driver to provide for his sports training. Despite hardships, he went on to win the Victorian Javelin Throw Championship twice in Australia and won bronze medal in Australia's Hunter Track Classic in 2013 which provided him ample recognition. But that was not enough and he wanted money to continue his sporting career which led him back to India. Even though the athlete has proved his mettle, becoming one of the few male athletes from Punjab to make it to the CWG, he is unhappy that the state government has not provided him with a job offer. "Despite winning medals, I am still waiting for a good job opportunity because only when I will be mentally at peace and feel secure about my future, I can give my hundred percent. I just hope that the Punjab government recognises my potential and helps me out," said Ravinder Singh. Five from Punjab Ravinder is one of the five athletes from Punjab who have already qualified for CWG. The other four athletes are: discuss thrower Harwant Kaur, 400m runner Ratanbir Kaur, javelin thrower Devinder Singh and triple jumper Arpinder Singh. In total, 40 athletes have already qualified, which includes 21 men and 19 women.
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‘Change evident in Indian hockey’
"India needs to work on the structure. The country has one billion people. If they can develop hockey talent the world should look out." Charlesworth feels India should focus on improving their world ranking, as that would inspire confidence in the players and the fans. "India should look to climb up the rankings, and they can do so if they stick to a plan. Compared to the time when I was in India, the administration there is well-settled." he added. Charlesworth says India needs to be patient as the benefits will come only from a long-drawn program. "It's got to be long-term planning. Let's not look at one, two or three years. Let's look at 10 or 15 years for transformation of Indian hockey. If the country sticks to a plan, it should happen," he added. — PTI HI forms panel to review India's performance in WC New Delhi: Hockey India today constituted a strong 11-member committee to evaluate India's pathetic performance in the ongoing World Cup at The Hague, Netherlands. India will not be able to improve or retain their eight position of the 2010 World Cup. The committee -- named as Team, Coaching and High Performance Evaluation Committee -- will consists of nine former players, a representative from the Sports Authority of India besides HI secretary general Narinder Batra as the chairman.
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IOA likely to miss July 1 deadline to bid for 2019 Asiad
New Delhi, June 11 The IOA has a mountain to climb within the next 20 days if it has to submit its bid to the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA), which has set a July 1 deadline for the interested countries to send their bid to host the 18th edition of the Games. The original host city, Hanoi, pulled out in April, citing economic pressure. The IOA has been asked by the Sports Ministry to submit a formal proposal before getting it passed by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) and the Union Cabinet. “No notification has been issued till date for the IOA General Body Meeting which will take the decision on whether to submit a formal bid for the Games. The Sports Ministry has asked for a proposal but how could you submit a document when the draft is still not ready?” a senior IOA official told The Tribune. “Moreover, the IOA secretary Rajeev Mehta is not present in the country and would only return later in June. The relationship between the IOA president N Ramachandran and Mehta has also gone sour after the president denied Mehta’s comments that India would bid for the Asian Games. The matter has not been discussed between the two at all. The decision has to be taken by the IOA office-bearers, not just any individual. I don’t think we would be able to meet the July 1 deadline,” added the official. Indonesia has expressed its willingness to step in as a replacement for Hanoi and a final decision on the host city will be taken on September 20 during the Incheon Asian Games. However, the official informed that India can enter the fray later and submit its bid even if the deadline has passed. “The decision on the host city would be taken in September only. India can submit the bid at a later date after getting necessary permissions from the new government,” the official said. In case the IOA goes ahead with its decision to bid for the Games, it would only look to keep its role limited to organising the event and offer its expertise on technical-related issues. But there’s a key question – is Ramachandran willing to take up the matter? Recently, Ramachandran had stated that his main priority during his tenure at the IOA was to make the association financially independent, to free it from its dependence on the government for funding athletes.
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NZ in control despite losing early wickets
Kingston, June 11 Tom Latham was on eight, while nightwatchman Ish Sodhi was four not out after Peter Fulton's poor run continued when he was caught for a second ball duck while Kane Williamson was bowled for two having failed to play a shot to Kemar Roach. Fulton made one in the first innings in Kingston and has accumulated just 63 runs in his 10 innings since he scored 61 in the first test against West Indies in Dunedin last December. New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum had decided not to enforce the follow on after Tim Southee wrapped up the hosts' innings for 262, leaving West Indies 246 runs behind the visitors' first innings 508 for seven declared. Southee and debutant off-spinner Mark Craig had proved to be the chief destroyers in West Indies innings with Southee taking 4-19 from 16.2 overs, nine of which were maidens. — Reuters
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Mascot
The World Cup is made of 18 carat gold, and was introduced in 1974. It is 36.8cm high and weighs 6.1kg. It depicts two human figures holding up the earth. The original trophy, introduced in 1930, was called Victory, to be renamed in honour of former FIFA president Jules Rimet. Brazil won the trophy outright in 1970, and a new trophy was commissioned. The Jules Rimet Trophy was stolen in 1983 and never recovered.
RIO DE JANEIRO, June 11
The Hague, June 11
