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India’s take-home to take big hit
Games Village lacks facilities, says Indian chef-de-mission
glasgow tales
41 Haryana athletes in CWG squad
short takes
Young Indian batsmen showing patience
Coach credits Dhoni for Ishant’s resurrection
Rahane was the stand-out player: Swann
Real sign Rodriguez
Cook’s stocks plunge as Dhoni’s soar high
Quicks sew up sweet win on green pitch
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India’s take-home to take big hit
On the eve of the beginning of CWG 2014, a surprisingly subdued Glasgow awaits the beginning of the big show. Scotland, birthplace of golf, expects to do well at their home CWG. Indeed, home turf yields a bumper crop — that’s the thumb rule of any big event like the Commonwealth Games. Four years ago in New Delhi, India finished second at their home CWG, with 101 medals, 38 of them gold. Only Australia bettered them — but India managed to push down England and Canada. That won’t happen in the 20th CWG here at Glasgow because several disciplines in which India is quite strong have been dropped from the CWG programme. The shooting competition has been truncated, while archery and tennis have been dropped altogether. India won eight medals (3 gold, 1 silver, 4 bronze) in archery at Delhi; they won four medals (1 gold, 1 silver, 2 bronze) in tennis. The Greco Roman category of wrestling has been dropped, too — India won eight of their 19 wrestling medals at the 2010 Games in the Greco Roman category. That’s a total of 20 medals gone from the India’s 2010 total of 101. Another big loss will be caused by the cuts in shooting. In 2010, India won 30 medals, including 14 gold and 11 silver, in shooting. Seventeen of these medals were won in events that have been dropped from this edition of the event. That means if the programme had been the same in Delhi four years ago, India would have won 37 medals fewer. India, then, won’t match the tally they got in New Delhi four years ago; a much more realistic figure would be around the mark of 60, and a more realistic position on the medals table would be fourth, behind Australia, England and Canada. The largest number of India’s medals would come from shooting, followed by wrestling and boxing. Badminton, table tennis and weightlifting would contribute further to the total. India has become a power in boxing over the last six-odd years, but there are fears that the suspension of the Indian boxing association, and the consequent isolation of Indian boxers from world competitions, has damaged India’s hopes. “I’m afraid that the boxers have not really had the best possible preparation,” a boxing team official says. “The isolation from international events has harmed us very much. We won three gold at New Delhi… I don’t think we can match that number here.” The abbreviation of the events at CWG 2014 hurts India badly; it doesn’t affect England, Australia or Canada so much. India has entered around 220 athletes for these Games; the Indian Olympic Association had submitted a list of 275 to the Sports Authority of India, but the number was cut down to remove the lesser prospects. So, athletics has the biggest squad of 41; hockey has 32 men and women players, and there are 30 shooters. The other numbers are made from swimming (4), badminton (10), boxing (11), cycling (13), gymnastics (7), lawn bowls (10), squash (6), table tennis (10) and weightlifting (15). India would not figure in netball, rugby sevens and triathlon. Raj Singh, the chef-de-mission of the Indian contingent, rues the removal of several events Indians are strong in. “That’s an unfortunate thing, the removal of archery and tennis and the cutting down of shooting events,” he told The Tribune here today. “We’re not going to equal the number of medals we won in Delhi.”
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Games Village lacks facilities, says Indian chef-de-mission
Glasgow, July 22 India was criticised by some countries for the “poor hygiene” and “lack of facilities” at the Games Village in 2010 but the officials here said what has been offered in Glasgow was much below par than what one witnessed during the Delhi edition. Indian contingent chef de mission Raj Singh said that the Games Village lack space while the athletes had to satisfy with inadequate bathrooms and TV sets. He said he was not complaining but bringing out the facts, lamenting on the lack of training facilities at the Games Village and also lack in the variety of food.He said the gym for physical training of athletes was small and has limited work stations. “We were at the receiving end when we hosted the Games in 2010. But what we are getting at the Athletes Village in Glasgow is much below what India had given in 2010. Looking back in four years, I feel India had provided great facilities to the participating athletes,” he told the Indian media contingent, here today. “At the Games Village here, the bathrooms are not attached to each room and the athletes will have to share bathrooms. In Delhi, we provided attached bathrooms with each apartment,” he said. “The gym has not many work stations and enough equipments for several athlete to work out simultaneously. It lacks space. It is not much of a problem and we are managing, but it cannot be compared to what was offered in Delhi.” “Then, there are not enough television sets for athletes to relax and watch some programmes in TV sets. An entire block has just one TV set.” Talking about the food offered in Glasgow, he said, “The food lacks variety. In Delhi, we gave more than 200 dishes but here it is not enough. We are not getting the variety of food which suited us. But we are managing.” “In Delhi, we had training facilities for weightlifting and other indoor sports at Games VIllage itself but there is none here. We had a 400m training track in Delhi but not here. Basically, the entire Games Village is smaller compared to that in Delhi.” PTI
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Sachin has a ‘role’ in opening ceremony
QUEEN Elizabeth will declare the Games open, James Bond may or may not be there, but there's an Indian angle to the Opening Ceremony, too. Will Sachin Tendulkar be there? Yes he will be! There's a buzz here that the retired Indian cricketer would play a role at the ceremony, though it's uncertain exactly what it would be. Tendulkar is a Unicef ambassador, along with the likes of singer Nicole Scherzinger and cycling legend Sir Chris Hoy. Today Sir Chris revealed a tantalising preview video which shows Tendulkar with a group of children and young people. Tendulkar himself released a statement confirming his involvement with the Opening Ceremony: “I am proud to be part of the Glasgow 2014 Opening Ceremony in support of UNICEF's global appeal for children. I've witnessed how UNICEF makes such a difference to children's lives, and I hope that everyone will tune in to the Opening Ceremony to be part of a Commonwealth-wide moment that has never been done before.” The big surprise of the London Olympics Opening Ceremony was actors portraying Queen Elizabeth and Daniel Craig parachuting into the stadium. What will Tendulkar do? Not the right fit?
This bit of news won't come as a major shock to those who follow Indian sport closely: Many of the athletes have not yet received the clothing they are to wear at the Opening Ceremony tomorrow; some of the clothing that has been received doesn't fit properly; to the knowledge of this correspondent, there is at least one athlete who declares that his name has been misspelt at the back of his shirt. At the march of the athletes tomorrow, India's women participants would be wearing saris, while the men would wear trousers and black jackets, topped by pagris. “Almost all of the sportspersons have received their opening ceremony clothing,” said Raj Singh, the Indian chef-de-mission. But some of the teams have not received them. “And as always, some of the sizes are not right for the people who've been given the clothes,” a male athlete said, requesting anonymity. It's a good thing that the women are wearing saris — that removes the possibility of the officials bungling on the sari sizes. No Bonding at the Games
“The name's Roger, Roger Moore,” says the largely forgotten Bond as he chats up with the media on the eve of the Commonwealth Games. Sir Roger Moore played James Bond in seven movies in 1973-1985; his predecessor, the Scotsman Sean Connery, remains the gold standard among the Bonds of all eras; two of the Bonds who followed Sir Roger, Pierce Brosnon and Daniel Craig, have become more famous. Sir Roger will be 87 in October, but he's remarkably well preserved. He showed glimpses of humour as he chatted. Inevitably, he was asked if he'll have a role at tomorrow's opening ceremony. Daniel Craig memorably entered the 2012 London Olympics Opening Ceremony, in a simulated filmed sequence involving a Queen Elizabeth. The sequence involved parachuting off a helicopter. The Queen would declare the CWG open tomorrow, but Sir Roger ruled out any stunt for himself. “At this moment there are no plans for me to be involved,” he said. “Sadly, I'm allergic to helicopters.” |
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41 Haryana athletes in CWG squad
Hisar, July 22 In the last Games held in New Delhi in 2010, the state had 40 players in the Indian squad and they contributed 32 medals to the overall tally of 101 medals; out of the total of 38 gold medals, the Haryana athletes accounted for 15. The sports lovers from Haryana are expecting a repeat of the sparkling Delhi success at Glasgow. “Sporting icons are the biggest motivating factor for the youngsters and the recent years have seen so many of them emerging from Haryana. I hope new heroes would emerge from the Glasgow”, said Govardhan Singh, a football coach in Alakhpura village. “Importantly, girls have started coming out of their shell. Their involvement in sport has had a positive effect on their social position and education,” he said.
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Two Indian athletes pull out of the Games
Glasgow: Indian contingent suffered a jolt today with two athletes pulling out of the Commonwealth Games, starting here tomorrow. Sachin Roby, who was to take part in men's 4x400m relay, has been suffering from jaundice for the last few days and would no longer be able to participate in the event, while para-athlete Sachin Choudhary has returned home due to deteriorating condition of his ailing father. Chef de Mission Raj Singh told the Indian media contingent that Roby will be sent home if he is permitted so by the team doctors. “Roby was admitted to a local hospital here and he was diagnosed with jaundice. He was admitted to the hospital for four days,” Raj Singh said. “I have asked the team doctors if he can be sent back home in this condition. If the doctors say yes, then he will be sent home. Otherwise he will have to keep him here,” he added. “We came with six 4x400m relay runners. Now, we have five members out of which four will run. There is no need for replacement,” said Indian athletics team coach Bahadur Singh. Para-sports manager Shankar Iyer told PTI that Choudhary was a medal prospect and he might return here if his father's condition improved. “Sachin Choudhary is a medal prospect. He will return if his father's condition improves,” he said. Sardar not scared to meet Aussies in the final
Glasgow: They might have been hammered 0-8 by Australia in the final of 2010 Commonwealth Games, but Indian men's hockey team captain Sardar Singh said he doesn't fear facing the mighty 'Kookaburras' again in the summit clash of the upcoming edition of the quadrennial event in Glasgow. Reacting to legendary Australian Jamie Dwyer's recent statement that he would love to witness a India-Australia final in the Glasgow Games, Sardar said he and his colleagues are up for the challenge is it pans out that way. “Like what Jamie said, we too would like to see Australia in the final with us. While we had lost the match against Australia in the World Cup (0-4), the second half of the game cannot be overlooked as our defence made a significant comeback in restricting Australia's goal scoring spree. Our defence line-up is in perfect shape and now it is time for the forwards to deliver their best,” said the star midfielder. AIBA allows boxing coach to take ringside seats
New Delhi: Though it has been announced that the Indian boxing coaches will be at the corners of the boxers during the bouts after all, a formal decision would be taken tomorrow. The coaches had been sanctioned as punishment for the Indian boxing association for its failure to hold its internal elections. The Indian chef-de-mission, Raj Singh, today revealed that the AIBA, the international boxing association, has lifted the ban on the Indian coaches. GS Sandhu, the chief coach of the boxing team, said today: “I have been informed by the ad-hoc committee chairman Tarlochan Singh and AIBA representative and chef de mission that this problem has been resolved.” He did say, though, that the decision would be officially made and notified during the technical committee meeting on Wednesday. — Agencies |
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Young Indian batsmen showing patience
London, July 22 Six Tests matches later, the batsmen have shown great adaptation and mental attitude to transform themselves into fine Test batsmen. So rapid has their progress been that their opponents haven’t noticed the change — they are still trying to dismiss them by playing on their patience. In the first Test in South Africa, the likes of Vernon Philander, Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel tested them outside the off stump, dangling the bait on each occasion, but the Indians weren’t tempted. In New Zealand, the story was similar. Now in England, the likes of James Anderson and Stuart Broad have been left shell-shocked. The Indian batsmen ensured the opponents’ plans of bowling outside the off stump has backfired in South Africa, New Zealand and now here. One of the great aspects about the young Indian batsmen — none of whom had played Tests in England before – is that they have different gears in their batting. Pujara might be the termed as the rock, but as he showcased in the second innings at Trent Bridge, he can score at a brisk rate if required. Virat Kohli is the perfect balance; and Ajinkya Rahane showcased in his wonderful century at Lord’s that he is equally capable of counter attacking the bowling. At first it was thought the natural aggression of these players and the constant exposure to the shorter formats of the game will undo and expose them in the longer format. But because the players have showed great defensive capabilities, the opponents are now slightly anxious at bowling to their strengths. England’s Plan A, of testing the batsmen with disciplined, nagging bowling, has been foiled by India’s patience and resolute batting. This is something that many believed was impossible, for they thought the Indians were short form bullies. Cook retained, Buttler in for injured Prior
London: The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) decided to retain an under-fire Alastair Cook as the captain for the third Test at Southampton, starting July 27, despite calls for his ouster after the home team lost the second Test. The ECB selection committee decided to retain Cook as captain with one of the reasons being lack of options. Former England captains such as Ian Botham and Michael Vaughan have openly criticised his style of captaincy with some of them calling for a change of options. The only change in the squad is the inclusion of wicketkeeper-batsman Jos Buttler in place of Matt Prior, who has pulled out due to multiple injuries. But Prior's place was also under scanner as his form had gone downhill since Ashes. — PTI |
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Coach credits Dhoni for Ishant’s resurrection
New Delhi, July 22 Ishant Sharma, the 25-year-old pacer, however, turned into an overnight hero when he tore through the English defence to produce his career-best figures of 7 for 74 which helped India script a historic win at Lord’s after Ishant’s childhood coach Shravan Kumar cannot hide his joy and pride. He thanked India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni for keeping his faith in Ishant despite facing flak from critics and cricket fans alike for persisting with the Delhi speedster. “The way Dhoni handled him, the way he kept his faith in him, it helped Ishant turn into a mature bowler. I believe it’s very important that your captain keeps faith in you and Dhoni did the same,” Shravan told The Tribune. Shravan said he did speak to Ishant before he left for the England tour and told him to correct his wrist position. “He worked on his wrist position which should be very straight. He also worked on his speed because that was always his strength. He was never a bowler with line and length,” he said. Shravan blamed former bowling coach Venkatesh Prasad for the fast bowler’s slump in form. “Prasad never bowled with speed, he was always a gentle pacer. He tried to turn Ishant into a line and length bowler which led to drop in his pace. But now he has regained his pace which showed in his figures.”
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Rahane was the stand-out player: Swann
London, July 22 “Ajinkya Rahane was without a doubt the stand-out Indian player in the second Test. There is no way he could have ever batted on a wicket like this. He would have turned up on the first morning, and thought to himself ‘How do you bat on a pitch like this?’ And then he went on to get that beautiful hundred. That first innings was the difference in this Test,” said Swann. “The way he batted, he made England come up with the most ludicrous tactic I could imagine. That’s not about the bowlers or the captain, that is purely down to the batsman. For me, Rahane should have been the man-of-the-match, no doubt!” added the retired cricketer. “Ishant bowled a splendid spell, don’t get me wrong. But a few of those wickets were simply gifted to him by some really bad shots by the English batsmen. I was surprised that so many of them got out in the same way.” I predicted an India win at Lord’s: Tendulkar
New Delhi: Sachin Tendulkar said that he had predicted an India win in the second Test. “When the Test started I was in London. I watched Day 1 and told my son Arjun ‘we have an upperhand. If England bat exceptionally well in the first innings they have a chance, otherwise we are winning this Test’,” Tendulkar said. — PTI Hearing on Anderson-Jadeja spat fixed for Aug 1
London: The ICC-appointed Judicial Commissioner to investigate the altercation between James Anderson and Ravindra Jadeja today fixed August 1 as the date for conducting a detailed hearing, within 48 hours of which he would announce his decision on the incident. With this, decks have been cleared for Anderson’s participation in the third Test starting on July 27. — PTI |
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Madrid, July 22 “Real Madrid and AS Monaco have reached an agreement for the transfer of James Rodriguez that will keep him at the club for the next six seasons,” Real said in a statement. The World Cup’s Golden Boot winner with six goals will be presented at the Bernabeu later on Tuesday. No details of the fee for Rodriguez were disclosed but media reports said it was around 80 million euros Dunga succeeds Scolari as Brazil manager
Sao Paulo: Brazil named Dunga as their manager for the second time on Tuesday, two weeks after they were hammered 7-1 by Germany in the World Cup semifinals which led to the resignation of former coach Luiz Felipe Scolari. The 50-year-old Dunga, who captained Brazil to their fourth world title in 1994, was last in charge of the national team in 2010 when he was sacked for failing to take them further than the World Cup quarters in South Africa. — Reuters |
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Cook’s stocks plunge as Dhoni’s soar high
london, July 22 Cook’s poor form and questionable leadership have come under intense scrutiny with some critics suggesting he should give up his place at the top of England’s batting order and take a break from the game following Monday’s painful 95-run defeat. The England skipper has little time to rally his troops ahead of the third Test starting in Southampton on Sunday, needing to lift his underperforming senior players and without the services of injured wicketkeeper Matt Prior for the rest of the series. Cook’s malaise began with the 5-0 Ashes rout in Australia, continued when a modest Sri Lanka eked out a 1-0 series win in England earlier this summer and was amplified by being forced to eat humble pie by an average Indian attack in his own backyard. The gravity of the laTest defeat gains even more perspective when it was carried out by a notoriously poor-travelling India side that had not tasted an away Test win since beating West Indies at Kingston in 2011. England baffled the fans and pundits alike when Cook asked India to bat first at Lord’s on a greenish wicket and their pacemen proceeded to dish out a barrage of ineffective bouncers in the first session of the Test. Astute Dhoni
Cook’s lack of tactical nous at Lord’s stands in stark contrast to the way Dhoni marshalled his team so skilfully, with the Indian skipper also going into the match under considerable pressure. Regularly poor away from the sub-continent, India entered the conTest with a 15-match winless streak in overseas Tests leaving critics like Ian Chappell believing it was time for Dhoni to hand the reins over to a new driver. The 33-year-old from Ranchi, however, sniffed a rare opportunity against an English side still smarting from the Ashes rout in Australia and an aftermath that prompted wholesale changes to the composition of the Test squad. Dhoni set attacking and innovative fields, smartly rotated his bowlers and then came up with a masterstroke on the final day when he asked a reluctant Sharma to target the confidence-sapped Englishmen with a battery of bouncers. “To start with it was a bit difficult to convince him, so the last two overs when he came in, I just told him to bowl short,” Dhoni said. — Reuters |
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Quicks sew up sweet win on green pitch London, July 22 Just a week ago if someone had said that on a green Lord’s pitch, India would stun England and win handsomely, that person would have been directed to a psychiatrist. However, the Indian bowling line-up, led by the much ridiculed Ishant Sharma, managed to do just that. Sharma had been asked by captain MS Dhoni to bowl short and fast at the England batsmen; Sharma had shown a reluctance to do that. “When he first came on to bowl, I asked him to bowl short, and he turned the other way. Then I set the field for him so that he couldn’t even think of bowling up.” “It worked, and once he got Moeen’s wicket, he was eager to try that attack for a consistent period of time,” said Dhoni. “He works really hard on his fitness and on his bowling and doesn’t shy away from bowling long spells. He will have to bowl a high number of overs outside India so he will have to bowl short because he has the height. He can add this to his armoury but it is difficult to convince him.” It’s difficult to think back the last time when an Indian fast bowling attack outbowled the opposition bowlers on their own wickets. Such events are rare. There have been three instances in recent years: S Sreesanth in South Africa in 2006; then Zaheer Khan was the best bowler for India when the team won the series 1-0 in England in 2007; the next year at Perth, RP Singh, Irfan Pathan and Ishant outbowled the Australians. The Indian team and the fans cherish such performances because they’re so rare. No wonder the Lord’s win is being hailed as the best ever achieved under Dhoni. That assertion is probably true — an overseas win is the real parameter of a captain’s and a team’s success, and India haven’t won much abroad under Dhoni. That’s the reason this win seems so special.
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Congratulations to India. You’ve thoroughly deserved your fantastic win at Lords. You’ve outplayed England on a very English pitch. Well done India-Well bowled Ishant! No sympathies for Eng who need a head-master not a coach!!! Eng may have committed harakiri after lunch but India was the better side over 5 days. Deserving winners! Congratulations Ishant Sharma 7/74 answers a lot of your critics, great display of determination, mental toughness & skill. Congrats on the wonderful victory. We are very delighted & proud.
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On the eve of the beginning of CWG 2014, a surprisingly subdued Glasgow awaits the beginning of the big show.
Scotland, birthplace of golf, expects to do well at their home CWG.
Indeed, home turf yields a bumper crop — that’s the thumb rule of any big event like the Commonwealth Games.
QUEEN Elizabeth will declare the Games open, James Bond may or may not be there, but there's an Indian angle to the Opening Ceremony, too. Will Sachin Tendulkar be there? Yes he will be! There's a buzz here that the retired Indian cricketer would play a role at the ceremony, though it's uncertain exactly what it would be. Tendulkar is a Unicef ambassador, along with the likes of singer Nicole Scherzinger and cycling legend Sir Chris Hoy.
London, July 22
Horrific hour for Eng. India bullied & bounced them out. Remember Eng won the toss on the greenest pitch ever & blew it, changes needed !!
