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Finishing with golden touch
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Silver for Jwala and Ashwini
Against Australia in final, it’s the same old story for India
SAI master plan: Inaugurate the already functional facilities
Arpinder hop-steps to bronze
Former IOA chief expresses shock
At ICC hearing, Anderson admitted to abusing Jadeja
Bolt anchors Jamaica to relay gold
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Finishing with golden touch
Derek Wong of Singapore is a world-class badminton player; he also has a fine, pragmatic bent of mind - he believes that finishing second is beneficial, too, for it teaches him that there are certain areas of his game that need to be worked on. Wong is ranked 40 in the world, against Kashyap's No. 22; Wong was the sixth seed here, against Kashyap's No. 2. But the 25-year-old is a fighter. He showed what he was capable of, the fight that he has in himself, when he struck back hard at the Indian after losing the first game. Kashyap, 27, had won the bronze medal at the 2010 CWG in Delhi; he was assured of at least a silver here, but he wanted gold, of course, at the Emirates Arena, packed with a noisy, enthusiastic crowd. Wong is quick on his feet and deft close to the net, and Kashyap possesses a powerful game. Kashyap opened up a useful, five-point lead early on and led 14-8 at one point. Wong then reeled off four points in a row with some strong smashes to make it 12-14; Kashyap allowed him only two more points in the game before he closed it 21-14 in 15 minutes. In the second, the tables were turned and Wong led 11-6 and 15-8; Kashyap's game was riddled with unforced errors. Wong seemed to be on the move, as he took the game at 21-11. The last game was contested in breathtaking fashion, and the players stayed together initially, but Wong again took four points in a row to lead 12-8. Kashyap fought back to 11-13, and took the lead, taking six of the next points to go up 18-15. And then 19-16. The Singapore lad, however, wasn't done - in a last burst, he took three points in a row to make it 19-19.
Under massive pressure, Kashyap kept his nerve to win the next two points to win the match. Kashyap became the third Indian to win the CWG, after Prakash Padukone (1978) and Syed Modi (1982). Kashyap was suitably pleased with the win. "I just kept it simple and did not want to complicate things," he later explained. "I have been losing in the quarters for a while now so this gold means a lot to me. It's the first time I won a gold in a mega-event. That's why that (shirtless) celebration!" "I have been entering the quarters of almost all major events - from World Championships to the Olympics. Winning a medal here was of paramount importance," he added. Kashyap said he'd auction his shirt to raise funds for a charity.
Childhood dream fulfilled, says Kashyap
Parupalli Kashyap said his childhood dream of bagging a yellow metal for the country has finally come true. The 27-year-old shuttler from Hyderabad said he finally broke the jinx by reaching the finals of a multi-discipline event. “I broke the jinx yesterday and I was really looking forward to the final. “This was a very important win for me. I needed this win. I came in as the second seed and I have broken my jinx,” said Kashyap. Having won the first game comfortably, Kashyap faltered in the next and the world No. 22 said he became “too tense”. “I won the first set comfortably but in the second set he showed why he reached the final. “I was becoming too tense. In my mind I believed I could win easily because I didn't think he could play such a good game, so I wasn't ready because in my mind I had already won,” Kashyap revealed. Asked about his goals in the future, Kashyap said, “I have got four or five years left in me and now I want to win big medals and big championships.” — Agencies
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Glasgow, August 3 Nonetheless, the silver medal is yet another feather in the caps of Jwala and Ashwini who had clinched the 2011 World Championship bronze and also bagged the bronze at the Asian Badminton Championship in April this year. n the women’s doubles final, Jwala and Ashwini paid the price for committing too many unforced errors as they first blew up a narrow 15-13 lead in the opening game, before wasting a four game point advantage in the second game. Ashwini was specially not in her elements as the Indian failed to connect her strokes, which saw the shuttles going wide and long, resulting in a lot of points for their Malaysian rivals. The match between the two pairs — separated by just three ranking points — was a rollercoaster ride right from the start as the Malaysian combo could only earn a narrow 11-10 lead at the first interval. Ashwini’s deceptive flicks earned India a couple of points after the breather but unforced errors by the Indian and a mistake at the net by Jwala helped Hoo and Woon drew level at 16-16. Two wide shots then helped the Malaysian pair earn a three-game point lead and they soon pocketed it to grab a 1-0 advantage. India had an early 4-1 lead in the second game but soon Hoo and Woon caught up at 5-5 and entered the break at 11-9 with Jwala finding the net. — Agencies
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Against Australia in final, it’s the same old story for India
Glasgow, August 3 Ciriello did India in today. He slammed in a hat-trick of penalty-corner goals as Australia beat India 4-0 in the men's hockey final, which was played in fast-changing, blow-hot, blow-cold weather conditions. It was the mother and father of all rains at the end. As the gold medal match between India and Australia neared its end, a massive downpour struck Glasgow. Four years ago in New Delhi, a goal-wave had hit India in the final, when Australia beat India 8-0. This time the heavens opened up and the Australians didn't rain as many goals, but their superiority over India was absolute. The final 4-0 scoreline suitably reflected the way the match went. By the time the medals ceremony was over, the players and the shivering media were drenched right to their bones as the famous Scottish rain hit Glasgow the hardest on the last day of the event. This was Australia's fifth successive gold medal in the CWG from the time the sport was included in the programme in 1998 — they remain untouchable. The Indians were not really able to challenge the Australians — the Aussie defence was very tight. They did not allow any coordinated attack from the Indians to become too dangerous or to fructify. The only time the Indians had a remote chance to score was when they earned their only penalty corner in the 24th minute — V Raghunath's powerful shot was deflected away by the man at the post, Kieran Govers. The younger of the Indians like Ramandeep Singh and Manpreet Singh, who had impressed until now, seemed to be overawed by the opposition; in any case, they played at a lower level than they had so far. Indian captain Sardar Singh, who came back after a one-match suspension that kept him out of yesterday's semifinal, could not alter India's fortunes. Critics might fault India for the tame defeat, but the fact is that Australia were vastly superior — even in the absence of at least five first-choice players who were in the team in the recent World Cup. “There was a change of eight guys coming into this from the World Cup and some young guys that really spurred the team on,” Ciriello said later. “A few of us were pretty excited after the World Cup in Holland. They pushed and carried the team as much as the older guys.” Perhaps India could be consoled by the fact that three of the four goals came through penalty-corners, and that there was only one field goal, though goalkeeper Sreejesh had to make several saves. “We made silly mistakes in defence, due to which they were able to earn the penalty corners,” Sardar Singh later told The Tribune. “They really didn't have to work hard to earn the penalty corners, and then our penalty corner defence wasn't good today.” “We didn't have great energy in the first 10-15 minutes of the match,” he said. “In our group match against Australia, after being 0-2 down, we did well to come back. But today, I think we were not aggressive enough at the start. Australia are world No. 1 and we've learnt a lot from them.” “We'll analyse our performance in the tournament, look at what we did right and wrong, and try to fix our game,” he added. “We think this was our strongest team,” Australian star Eddie Ockenden later told The Tribune. “The young guys were brilliant — we came here to win.” “We set out to suffocate India and I think we were able to do that,” he said. “A good defensive display, I think.” Ciriello was Australia's second-string drag-flicker when they smashed India 8-0 in New Delhi four years ago — he had slotted in one, while senior drag-flicker Luke Doerner had got two. This time around, it was a changed Aussie team. India have improved, and India did better this time around — but Australia are unbeatable.
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Daley retains diving title
The 20-year-old's triumph came after he picked up the silver medal with team mate James Denny in the synchronised 10-metre platform competition on Friday. "It is the worst feeling being so far in front. You just think, 'What if I do this? What if I do that?'," Daley told reporters. "I try not to think about anybody else. It is a very individual sport. You can only think once you have finished. Kylie Minogue tops the bill at closing of Games
Husband-and-wife team win badminton gold
Chris and Gabby Adcock claimed Commonwealth Games gold for England with a convincing victory over Chris Langridge and Heather Olver in the mixed doubles final. The husband-and-wife duo, ranked five in the world, lived up to their top-seed billing as they powered to a 21-9 21-12 win over their international team-mates at the Emirates Arena. The Adcocks did not relinquish their grip after imposing themselves on the second seeds early in the first game and they went on to wrap up victory in 35 minutes. The Adcocks' victory capped a superb tournament in which they were hardly troubled and did not drop a single game. The most points they conceded in any one game in their five matches was 17.For Gabby Adcock the gold added to the bronze she won in the women's doubles with Lauren Smith while both she and Chris were part of the silver-medalling England side in the team event. England men beat New Zealand to win hockey bronze
England's men beat New Zealand on penalties in a thrilling match to win hockey bronze. After falling behind in the first half, England twice took the lead before being pegged back to 3-3. New Zealand's Blair Hilton and Simon Child failed to beat England keeper George Pinner with penalties, and Ashley Jackson converted the winner. ngland's men, who lost to Australia in the semifinals, claimed their first medal since hockey made its Games debut in Kuala Lumpur in 1998. The bronze medal also ends a run of fourth-place finishes at the last CWGs, the Olympic Games and the World Cup. — Agencies Montsho fails doping test, faces provisional suspension
Former world and Commonwealth champion Amantle Montsho has failed a doping test after the women’s 400m final at Glassgow, resulting in a provisional suspension. Montsho, 31, won Commonwealth gold at Delhi 2010 and the world title in 2011. Her gold medals at Delhi and Daegu were her country’s first at a Commonwealth Games and World Championships respectively, and she also won silver at the 2013 World Championships in Moscow, losing out to Great Britain’s Christine Ohuruogu in a dramatic photo-finish, the BBC reported. However, she missed out on a medal at Glasgow as she tied up badly in the final 100m and finished behind the Jamaican trio of Stephanie McPherson, Novlene Williams-Mills and Christine Day. Montsho also revealed earlier that she would quit athletics after the Rio 2016 Olympics and was aiming to become a basketball player. A statement from the Commonwealth Games Federation read: The athlete’s A sample was found to contain methylhexaneamine, prohibited as a stimulant under class s6 of Wada’s Prohibited List. Upon receipt of the analysis of the athlete’s B sample, the court will reconvene to consider the matter further. — Agencies |
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SAI master plan: Inaugurate the already functional facilities
New Delhi, August 3 Nothing wrong there, except for the fact that the sports facilities the minister is inaugurating have been running for the last three years, and several Indian elite athletes have been making use of it. The question is, why re-inaugurate the amenities that are already is use? The needless exercise is apparently being undertaken to look good in the 100-day action plan — Prime Minister Narendra Modi had asked all his ministries and their departments to firm up a 100-day agenda to ensure more transparency and efficiency in their working. The SAI seems to have gone a step further to get into the good books of the Sports Minister and the Prime Minister. The SAI has submitted a 100-day action plan to the Sports Ministry, which includes the inauguration of a 100-bedded hostel, modern fitness centre and sports science centre at its Netaji Subhash Western Centre (NSWC) in Gandhinagar. Interestingly, the hostel was completed on November 26, 2010 at a cost of Rs 7.5 crore and the SAI was given the possession of the facility on July 20, 2011. The fitness centre was completed on the same date at a cost of Rs 1 crore, and the SAI got its possession on June 2, 2012. The Sports Science Centre was completed on December 1, 2010, costing Rs 1.25 crore, and the SAI took over the property on July 20, 2011. The contractor who has been tasked with the up-gradation and beautification of the facilities in Gandhinagar for the re-inauguration has submitted a working budget of Rs 30 lakh “to carry out the necessary painting and outside development work” of the premises, and the SAI has already approved the budget. The story of the sports facilities at Aurangabad is similar. The same facilities were built there around the same time as in Gandhinagar and the SAI got their possession about three years back. When The Tribune contacted the SAI secretary, Neeraj Kansal, for his reaction, he refused to speak on the matter, saying only DG SAI was authorised to interact with the media. It has been learnt that SAI director Jiji Thomson has circulated a note to all SAI centres, telling the officials to refrain from talking to the media. “It is hereby directed that no official, including Regional Directors, without the permission of the DG, SAI shall speak to the press on any matter relating to their official work,” the note said. With the SAI refusing to clear the air on the issue, the inexplicable exercise of re-inaugurating the already functional facilities looks even more incredible.
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Arpinder hop-steps to bronze
Glasgow, August 3 The Indian athletics team was hoping for a medal from Arpinder after he leapt a brilliant 17.17m in June and he lived up to the expectations by winning a bronze with a best jump of 16.63m at the Hampden Park which was hit by evening rain. The 21-year-old Arpinder achieved his best jump in his first attempt and he could not improve upon the mark in his subsequent five efforts. He had a series of 16.46m, 16.31m and 16.09m after his first effort while his last two attempts were foul jumps. Khotso Mokoena of South Africa won gold with a jump of 17.20m, while 2010 Delhi Games winner Tosin Oke of Nigeria settled for a silver with an effort of 16.84m. On his performance, Arpinder said, “The weather was not good. My coach was not here, so it wasn’t a very good performance. My next big championships are the Asian Games.” With Arpinder’s bronze, India bagged three medals from athletics, including one gold by Vikas Gowda in men’s discus throw. Seema Poonia had won a silver in women’s discus throw. Nobody had expected more than three medals from Indian athletics team in Glasgow Games but it was a far cry from the 12 medals, including two gold, won in 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games. Meanwhile, all the other Indians in fray in track and field events came up with disappointing performances. In the men’s javelin throw finals, Vipin Kasana and Ravinder Singh Khaira ended their campaign in disaster as both of them returned with ‘No Mark’ results. The women’s 4x400m relay team did not do any better as the quartet of M R Poovamma, Tintu Luka, Rattandeep Kaur and Anilda Thomas were disqualified in the final after dropping the baton. Rahelu, Sakina win medals in powerlifting
Indian powerlifters Rajinder Rahelu and Sakina Khatun stole the limelight on Saturday by winning a silver medal and a bronze medal, respectively, in their respective events here. Rahelu, whose legs were affected with polio, won the silver medal in the heavyweight category at the Clyde Auditorium. Rahelu picked up a total of 180.5 kg to get the silver. Sakina won the bronze in the women’s lightweight (up to 61 kg) category. Sakina lifted a total weight of 88.2 kg to finish third. There was, however, some disappointment from para powerlifter Farman Basha, who failed to finish in men’s light weight group B. Farman’s first lift of 145 kg was declared ‘no lift’ while his second attempt of 147 kg was a ‘good lift’ after which he pulled out. — PTI |
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Former IOA chief expresses shock
New Delhi, August 3 “I am waiting for full facts to emerge. All I can say is that the wrestling referee was not part of the Indian contingent,” said the Indian Olympic Association president N Ramachandran. “The arrests have embarrassed the Indian sportspersons who have done so well in these Games. These incidents are highly disturbing, shocking and not acceptable. Ramachandran should convene an emergency meeting of the IOA and take stern action against the officials if they are found guilty,” said Vijay Kumar Malhotra, IOA's former acting president. Former sprinter Ashwini Nachappa, who heads Clean Sports India, too sounded shocked. “It's disgraceful. These officials should realise they are the ambassadors of the country. The IOA has just come out of the Olympic exile and this was their first major event post international suspension; it's absolutely shameful,” said Nachappa. Rahul Mehra, a lawyer and a sports activist, took a dig at IOA, saying the same set of administrators were planning to hold the 2019 Asian Games in the country. “The whole system is corrupt and I don't know who is going to fix it. While our athletes have performed so well, have made us proud; the officials on the other hand have shamed us.”
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At ICC hearing, Anderson admitted to abusing Jadeja
London, August 3 According to a report in a cricket website, Anderson had threatened to break Jadeja’s teeth during the altercation. The matter was brought to a close earlier this week when an ICC appointed judicial commissioner exonerated both the players of the respective charges brought against them. “...he (Anderson) admitted to having continuously abused Jadeja, pushing him and acting in breach of the spirit of cricket. He also threatened to break Jadeja’s teeth, the BCCI’s counsel contended while appealing the sentence earlier handed to Jadeja by match referee David Boon,” the report said. “These were two different but overlapping cases. The BCCI counsel took part in the appeal against Jadeja’s sentence, but the case involving Anderson was pursued by the ICC’s lawyer, as is the protocol for Level 3 charges. The BCCI counsel didn’t get a chance to cross-examine Anderson during that main case but did so during the Jadeja appeal. The cross-examination was intense and aggressive and began with the BCCI counsel addressing Anderson using some of the swear words allegedly used by the player, catching him by surprise.” Chronicling the incident, the report stated that the abuse by Anderson was continuous. “The incident took place as the players were walking off for lunch on the second day of the Trent Bridge Test. Anderson had appealed for a catch at the wicket against Jadeja with the first ball of the over, after which he was seen having a word with Jadeja. Umpire Bruce Oxenford’s witness statement said he intervened and asked Anderson to stop chirping. The chirping, though, continued,” he said. Anderson reportedly even refused to acknowledge his actions as against the spirit of the game. “Anderson didn’t contest MS Dhoni’s statement as witness that he abused Jadeja again, and asked him to return to the dressing room, This is also when he is said to have threatened to break Jadeja’s teeth.” — PTI Lacked evidence to pronounce Anderson guilty: Gordon
Gordon Lewis, the ICC-appointed Judicial commissioner who heard the misconduct charges against James Anderson, said the pacer was deemed not guilty as there wasn’t enough evidence to impose sanctions, which were severe in nature. Gordon said he found the witnesses to be extremely biased in favour of their own team, and the only neutral witness — a Trent Bridge steward — said he didn’t see much. Moreover, there was neither an audio evidence to establish the abusive sledging nor a video footage of the pushing incident. Gordon said due to lack of evidence he had to rely on his thought process to arrive at the decision. — PTI |
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Bolt anchors Jamaica to relay gold
Glasgow, August 3 In a fitting end to the track and field programme at Hampden Park, Jason Livermore, 100m gold medallist Kemar Bailey-Cole and bronze medallist Nickel Ashmeade all safely negotiated their legs before the baton was passed on to the towering figure of Bolt yesterday. The 27-year-old, who has won six Olympic gold medals and eight world titles but was making his Commonwealth Games debut in Glasgow, made no mistake with his anchor run in light drizzle on a soaked track, charging through the line in a Games record of 37.58 seconds. Coming into the final stretch neck-and-neck with Danny Talbot, Bolt made fast work of dropping the English sprinter, teeth clenched, arms pumping and eyes glued on the stadium big screen, showing absolutely no let-up as he scorched through the line. Ever the showman, Bolt had earlier delighted the raucous sell-out crowd by dancing along to the Proclaimers hit song “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)”, lyrics shown on the big screen for a deafening stadium karaoke moment. Striking his trademark “lightning bolt” pose as he was introduced further raised the decibels before he got down to business. “It means a lot. Commonwealth gold is the only medal missing from my collection,” said Bolt, who did not race the 100 or 200m events after a nagging foot injury forced him out of the Jamaican national championships, which served as a trial for these Games. “I’m happy to be here and sorry I didn’t manage to run the individual events because the energy out here is wonderful.” There was, however, heartbreak for Nigerian Blessing Okagbare as her team could only claim silver behind the powerful Jamaican quartet of Kerron Stewart, Veronica Campbell-Brown, Schillonie Calvert and double Olympic 100m champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce in the women’s 4x100m relay. Okagbare had already claimed the sprint double at Hampden Park and was seeking a golden treble. But she and her teammates were outgunned by Jamaica, victorious in a new Games record of 41.83sec. — PTI
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Parupalli Kashyap, excellent and excitable, gave a shriek of joy, tore off his shirt and broke into exuberant celebration shortly after noon today. Kashyap had done what no Indian has done for 32 years - no, he didn't get into the local gaol here at Glasgow, that is the speciality of the sports officials.
Glasgow, August 3
Glasgow, August 3
Parupalli Kashyap, excellent and excitable, gave a shriek of joy, tore off his shirt and broke into exuberant celebration shortly after noon today. Kashyap had done what no Indian has done for 32 years - no, he didn't get into the local gaol here at Glasgow, that is the speciality of the sports officials. Kashyap had a greater achievement to his name, for he had become the first Indian man in 32 years to win the Commonwealth Games gold.
England's Tom Daley retained his 10-metre platform diving title with a dominant display on Saturday. Daley, who won bronze in the same event at the London 2012 Olympics, produced a stunning performance to score 516.55 points and beat second-placed Malaysian Ooi Tze Liang (433.70) by a large margin. Canadian Vincent Riendeau (429.25) was third.
Kylie Minogue is one of the star performers at the 20th Commonwealth Games in Glasgow for the star-lit closing ceremony to be held at Hampden Park Stadium. With the presence of Australian singer, host nation Scotland promises a ‘traditional Glasgow style’ in the curtains down of the event on late Sunday night. The star performer of the closing night, Kylie Minogue holds an important place as her presence marks the transfer of the Commonwealth Games to Australia, who is going to host the 21st edition of Commonwealth Games in 2018. Australia had also been host of Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games. Apart from Kylie Minogue, the closing ceremony will also see performances from Scotland’s most successful acts by Deacon Blue with twelve UK Top 40 singles, along with two UK number one albums. Scottish songwriter-singer Dougie MacLean will also be performing on the late Sunday night. The organizer are sure of the closing ceremony of 20th Commonwealth Games to be one amazing affair as more than 2,000 volunteer performers will also take part in the ceremony. It is expected that the Hampden Park Stadium will be covered with more than 160 tonnes of staging, 3,000 props and 454 flags.
Serena to meet German Kerber in Stanford final