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world championships
Controversy hits Punjab shooting championship
Shastri instilled confidence in team, says Raina
Patka row: FIBA’s technical, legal panels to look into the issue
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PSPCL hold JCT
Serena blasts through
SAI shifts women’s camp to Delhi
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world championships
Copenhagen, August 28
Japanese 13th seed Sayaka Takahashi gave a tough fight to seventh-seeded Saina and was almost on her way to the last eight before Saina found her legs just in time to recover from a game down and win 14-21, 21-18, 21-12 in an one hour and five minutes. Sayaka looked in sublime touch as she easily clinched the first game. World No.7 Saina looked down and out trailing 8-13 in the second but slowly started getting back into rhythm when the danger of being ousted from the tournament hit her. The 24-year-old finally levelled the game at 18-all and held on to the next three points to push the match into the decider. It was equal till 7-all in the third game but after that the Olympic bronze medallist found her rhythm and form to crush her opponent in a matter of minutes and take a 2-0 lead in career meetings over the Japanese. Saina will be up against World No.1 and top seed Li Xuerui of China next and the reigning Olympic champion has a 7-2 career advantage over the Hyderabadi.
Tough for Sindhu Sindhu played a tight first game but her World No.5 opponent managed to take away the game from 18-all. It was again extremely close in the second game but Yeon's deceptive shots made sure she had two match points to close out the match. However, the World No.12 Indian put her height to optimum use to win the next four points and take the game and push the match into the decider.
The decider also turned into another unbelievably close contest. But some excellent smashing and net play by the 19-year-old Indian saw her reach match point at 20-17. Some brilliant cross-court sliced smashes by the South Korean saw her level the encounter at 20-all. Yeon saved two more match points and surprised Sindhu to go ahead to match point. But Sindhu showed the nerves of steel to save that one last match point and take the marathon encounter by winning the next three points. Meanwhile, Attri and Reddy's journey came to an end when they lost to South Korean second seeds Yong Dae Lee and Yeon Seong Yoo. The World No.1 pair needed only 37 minutes to move past the Indian combine 21-12, 21-17. Srikanth played well but was up against Chinese second seed Chen Long in their first ever match. The World No.2 needed only 36 minutes to beat the rising Indian player 21-12, 21-10. — IANS
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Controversy hits Punjab shooting championship
Jalandhar, August 28
Shooters from the Shaheed Bhagat Singh Club, Patiala, accused that the Patiala Rifle Shooting Association gave them ammunition for only 20 rounds to fire in, but getting them to sign for 40 rounds. They said that they actually fired only 20 rounds but the results that are displayed are for 40 rounds. “According to the rules of the International Shooting Sports Federation (ISSF), which govern all the shooting championships in the world, each player has to be given at least 40 rounds to qualify for a state level championship. But the Patiala District Association gave us only 20 rounds to fire,” alleged a shooter from Patiala. G.S. Bhullar, secretary of the Patiala Rifle Shooting Association, said that the shooters were selected on the basis of their performance in 20 rounds only. “As the Punjab Government has not provided us adequate shooting infrastructure till date at Patiala, we are forced to cut down some expenses to keep the show running in our district,” he said. “Since the score is given in percentage, the number of rounds is not mentioned on record.” The shooters from the Shaheed Bhagat Singh Club have demanded a probe against the Patiala Rifle Shooting Association. Around 550 shooters from various districts flocked the PAP shooting range, though the organisers had only 35 shooting pulleys and could not handle so many shooters. The organisers have decided to extend the event by three hours tomorrow as many shooters have not been able to get a single chance to show their talent. Some aspiring shooters, however, have already left the city, sources said. The Punjab State Rifle Shooting Association (PRSA) recorded the participation of 550 players on the third day today. But as no daily schedule was made, many shooters were clueless about when their event would take place. Many of them were found wandering, waiting for their turn since the first day of the event. “We are stuck here for the last four days but till date our turn has not come,” said a shooter from Ludhiana. “We do not even have extra clothing and are staying in the Police Lines here. Most of the players belonging to the upper strata of society come and leave within half an hour after participation, but we’re stuck here.” He also informed that though the PRSA charged Rs 350 to Rs 500 per event from the shooters in various categories, many of the shooters have gone away without actually participating in the event. Deep Sidhu, the PRSA secretary, said that to ensure all shooters got an opportunity, the association has extended the time of the event by three hours on the concluding day. “We are happy to see such an overwhelming response in the event and will try to provide much better facilities in our future events,” said Sidhu.
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Shastri instilled confidence in team, says Raina
CARDIFF, AUGUST 28
After BCCI’s appointment of Shastri as the Team Director there have been conflicting statements over who remains in charge — Shastri, Fletcher or captain MS Dhoni — but Raina said the team environment was “very good” and that Shastri's appointment was already proving beneficial. “There is a different comfort level when you talk to a former Indian player; you can be free and honest. All the other coaches have been very supportive as well but Ravi Shastri set the tone for us and instilled confidence in the team,” Raina said. Raina's knock one of the best overseas: Gavaskar Indian batting legend Sunil Gavaskar lavished parises on Suresh Raina's match-winning knock in the second ODI against England and rated the left-hander's hundred as one of the best ODI innings overseas. “You have got to rate it as one of the best innings. You can't call it the top innings overseas. It's got to be Kapil Dev's 175 against Zimbabwe in the Prudential Cup in 1983, when India were 5 down for 17 on a pitch that was a lot more greener than any of the present pitches. So Raina's will be one of the top innings that was played by an Indian in overseas consitions," Gavaskar said in an exclusive chat with a reputed TV news channel. Cook blasts ‘so-called friend’ Graeme Swann Alastair Cook numbers Graeme Swann as only a ‘so-called friend’ after his former team-mate’s assertion that England would be better off without his captaincy at the World Cup. “I don’t think it's that helpful — especially from a so-called friend,” said Cook. “He’s entitled to his opinion,” added Cook. “(But) it's not ideal for me, especially when you get through the summer I’ve had.” He has not contacted Swann — but has left open the possibility that a call could come in the opposite direction. “The phone is always open the other way,” said Cook, before repeating he will not be deflected from his intention to lead England Down Under next winter.” — Agencies
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Patka row: FIBA’s technical, legal panels to look into the issue
Chandigarh, August 28 Concluding that the issue requires further analysis, the Central Board has referred it to the FIBA's technical and legal commissions for further study and to come up with options to resolve it. A new Central Board will be elected during the World Congress and will meet for the first time on September 13 in Madrid. The controversy over headgear broke out recently in Doha when a Sikh player Anmol Singh was not allowed to play in a basketball match because he was wearing a "Patka" (under-turban). He was told to remove the under-turban because the rules do not allow it. Earlier at an international basketball meet, two other Sikh players — Amritpal Singh and Amjyot Singh — were also not allowed to play because of the same issue. Following this, the Basketball Federation of India had taken up the issue with the FIBA (Asia), which referred it to the FIBA. Besides, the BFI also sent its representative Roopam Sharma to attend the FIBA's Central Board meeting in Spain. In its submission to the Central Board, the BFI had explained that for a Sikh player, wearing an under-turban was a part of his faith, just like it was for women in certain Arab countries to keep their heads covered while participating in sports. The BFI has told the FIBA that it would not tolerate the humiliation being meted out to the Sikh players in the international basketball tournaments and had even threatened to withdraw the team from Doha basketball championship. However, the FIBA (Asia) had given assurance to discuss the issue at the appropriate level and to find a solution.
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PSPCL hold JCT
Hoshiarpur, August 28 In the other Round 1 matches, Punjab Police beat BSF 1-0, Rail Coach Factory, Kapurthala, drew 1-1 with United Punjab Football Club, Mahilpur, and Patiala's Dalbir Football Academy played out a goalless draw with CRPF. In today's match, the young lads of JCT academy were raring to go out and win in their home ground. JCT started the match in style and created dangerous moves early on. Mid-fielders Gagandeep and Shamsher Singh proved handful for PSPCL defence but poor finishing let JCT down. In the 11th minute Haominlen Jsy scored a brilliant goal and the striker could have doubled the lead in the 13th minute after being put through by Jot Masih but could not beat PSPCL goalkeeper Gurpreet. The miss proved costly as five minutes later, forward Gurpreet Singh equalised for PSPCL. The home team dominated the second half and created many scoring opportunities through substitute Robert and Sukhwinder, who replaced Gagandeep. In the dying minutes, JCT got a golden chance, but Robert was apparently pulled down a PSPCL defender. JCT protested, asking for a penalty, but referee Jatinder Singh played the game on.
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Serena blasts through NEW YORK, August 28
Williams, dressed in a pink leopard-print dress, had more trouble with the gusty conditions than with her opponent, committing three double faults in her opening service game. But the 17-times grand slam champion would eventually gain enough control of her serve and groundstrokes blasting 25 winners past an overwhelmed King, who could manage just five. Next up for the top seed in her quest for a third straight US Open title and sixth overall, is American Varvara Lepchenko, who was a 6-4 6-0 winner over Germany’s Mona Barthel. Ivanovic stunned Pliskova, 22, took advantage of a slew of miscues from the eighth-seeded Serb during an 80-minute match in Louis Armstrong Stadium to clinch her most successful grand slam appearance. Ivanovic, 26, double-faulted seven times and committed 29 unforced errors as she had trouble handling the heavy, flat groundstrokes from the Czech. Stan loses temper, wins tie The day got off to an explosive start with Chinese doubles specialist Peng Shuai upsetting fourth-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland 6-3 6-4 and finished under the floodlights in the early morning hours with Wawrinka losing his cool and snapping at the rowdy crowd before escaping with a testy win. Two former champions, fifth seed Maria Sharapova and 19th-seeded Venus Williams delighted their centre court audiences by flashing a little of their fashion style along with some on-court flair. Williams tamed 78th-ranked Timea Bacsinszky of Switzerland 6-1 6-4 to reach the third round for the first time in four years. Sharapova lost the first set to 95th-ranked Alexandra Dulgheru of Romania, but the five-times grand slam winner recovered to register a 4-6 6-3 6-2 victory and leave her fans smiling. — Reuters Victories for Paes, Sania
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SAI shifts women’s camp to Delhi
Chandigarh, August 28 Hockey India secretary general Narinder Batra confirmed that the camp has been shifted to New Delhi. “SAI has given the permission to move the training camp to New Delhi,” Batra told The Tribune. Mohammad Alam, a hockey coach at NIS, said that experts from Mumbai have been called to repair the turf. India coach Neil Hawgood and captain Ritu Rani had gone on record saying the turf was worn out and the players could get hurt, days after the HI High Performance Director Roelant Oltmans had written a letter to the sports ministry about the “dangerous” pitch. SAI DG Jiji Thomson had yesterday called it a ‘minor problem’, adding that the turf would be repaired in a few days. He had offered HI to shift the camp to any of the 12 venues in north India, including the one at Shilaroo in Himachal Pradesh. But Batra had refused that option, citing medical issues as Shilaroo is a high-altitude centre. “Shilaroo being a high-altitude centre, at least 10 days are needed for acclimatisation both before and after the training camp. Also in case of a medical emergency, Shimla is the nearest station,” Hawgood had told The Tribune on Wednesday. However, a source has revealed that HI had been given a short notice to find another venue, being told to shift the training camp on late Wednesday evening. HI had then approached the Punjab Sports Department to allow the team to practise at the International Hockey Stadium in Mohali. “We preferred Mohali and had suggested it to SAI. But now SAI tells us that camp has been shifted to New Delhi,” Batra said.
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“Ravi Shastri gave us a lot of confidence. He came in the team meeting and said a few words to the team which were very inspiring. He was also sitting with me in the bus when we were on our way to the stadium and he told me, ‘khadoos khelna hai’ (play a stubborn game),” Raina said.
Dhyan Chand remembered on 109th birth anniversary