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I’m sorry, won’t do it again: Sarita
‘Sarita can’t participate in Worlds’
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Sharath fishes out six medals for a record haul by an Indian
GCA wants probe into Kapil’s firm
Younis Khan wants to play in World Cup
Chennai take on Mumbai
Taijul's 8-wkt haul sets up Bangla win
SA football captain shot dead
Sevilla go joint top, Atletico win
Federer looking to wrestle top spot from Novak
Pallikal powers into semis
Punjab juniors pushing Indian hockey towards better future
ICC backs action against chuckers
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I’m sorry, won’t do it again: Sarita
New Delhi, October 27 In a desperate move to get her suspension revoked before the World Championships in Jeju Islands, South Korea, from November 13, Sarita has written a letter to the AIBA, saying that she deeply regrets her emotional outburst at the medal-presentation ceremony after losing a controversial semifinal to South Korea's Jina Park. The Manipuri boxer had refused to wear her medal during the ceremony and, in a dramatic move, hung it around the neck of the silver medallist Park. “At the outset, let me tender my sincere apology for the incidents on September 30 and October 1. I do accept that the incidents should not have happened and I deeply regret the incidents with a pledge that it will never happen again. I request your good office to lift the sanction so that I can continue the game I live for and love the most,” Sarita wrote in her letter to the AIBA. “Realising my mistakes, I had immediately tendered an apology letter to the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) and the Organising Committee of the Asian Games 2014 and accepted the bronze medal,” she said. Sarita insisted that her actions on the podium were not planned and “was just an expression of deep emotional feeling”. She also tried to protect her husband, Thoiba Singh, and the three ringside coaches — Gurbax Singh Sandhu, BI Fernandez and Sagar Mal Dhayal — who have also been suspended by the AIBA. “I would like to state that my conduct during the medal ceremony was not premeditated. I hold myself responsible for my actions, and I was not acting on anyone's instruction,” she said. “I would like to mention that my husband was unaware of the presence of the AIBA technical delegate and perceived everyone present as Asian Games organisers. My action did not prompt anyone else to act in a similar manner during the event. The coaches did not influence me in any manner,” she explained. The newly-formed Boxing India (BI) also threw its weight behind Sarita and urged the AIBA to consider her unconditional apology. BI president Sandeep Jojodia termed the “unfortunate episode” as a one-off incident. “Sarita Devi's suspension is obviously unfortunate because she is a very promising boxer and she has been doing very well,” said Jajodia. “We have decided that Boxing India will appeal to the AIBA to revoke her suspension. We hope that we will be able to convince the AIBA that it was a very spontaneous emotional outburst by the lady and she is sorry about it. It is a one-off incident; she is not a habitual offender. So, this should be considered and her suspension should be revoked,” he added.
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‘Sarita can’t participate in Worlds’
The Ministry, Indian Olympic Association (IOA) and the BI officials met here to discuss the issue and assured all possible help to Sarita and the coaches, namely Gurbax Singh Sandhu, BI Fernandez and Sagar Mal Dhayal. “The sports secretary has asked BI to prepare the replies of Sarita Devi and the coaches to present a collective stand to the AIBA. The objective of this exercise is to persuade the AIBA to revoke the suspension of the player and the coaches,” said Sudhir Setia, the Sports Authority of India executive director (Teams). “Boxing India is helping the player and the coaches to file their replies; it will be filed by Monday night,” he added. Setia, however, added that the replies should not be misconstrued as appeals to the AIBA since there is no provision of protesting against a provisional ban. Till the time the ban is not revoked, both the player and the coaches will not be able to participate in the World Championship, scheduled in South Korea from November 13-25. Sources in the AIBA, though, have already ruled out any possibility of Sarita competing in the World Championships. “The AIBA has refused to accept her entry. They have already cancelled her registration. So the question of her participation does not arise,” an official said. The world body is likely to discuss the Sarita issue, provided they receive the report from the disciplinary commission, when the AIBA Congress meets in Jeju Islands, South Korea, on November 12.
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Sharath fishes out six medals for a record haul by an Indian
New delhi, October 27 “London 2012 Paralympian swimmer Sharath Gayakwad made history at the 2014 Asian Para Games in Incheon, South Korea, by winning six medals for India. In doing so, Sharath created a new Indian record for winning the most medals at a multi-discipline event, previously held by PT Usha (5 medals at the 1986 Asian Games),” a release stated. Sharath began his campaign by winning a silver medal in the 200m individual medley event. He followed it up by winning bronze medals in the 100m butterfly, 100m breaststroke, 100m backstroke, and the 50m freestyle. Finally, Sharath, along with teammates Prasanta Karmakar, Swapnil Patil and Niranjan Mukundan, won another bronze medal in the 4x100m medley relay. Sharath's unique feat saw him win medals on all days of the competition. An excited Sharath said, “I'm extremely happy about my performance at the Games. For the past six months, I, along with the other swimmers, have trained hard for this competition, and it feels great when the hard work pays off. I would like to thank my parents for their constant support, John (Christopher) sir for years of guidance and encouragement, GoSports Foundation for their support, and all others who have helped me so far, including Speedo, and my fellow swimmers at the pool.” Coach John Christopher was equally delighted. “Sharath has performed exceptionally well. I'm extremely proud of his performance, more so because he has overcome a serious shoulder injury to achieve these results. With GoSports Foundation's support, he is being mentored by Rahul Dravid, whose advice has helped Sharath immensely. “I'm also delighted with the performance of Niranjan Mukundan, who was part of the medal winning relay team, and finished 4th in the 200m IM. Both Sharath and Niranjan have been very committed and we have trained sincerely for the Asian Games. I'm happy that we have the results to show for our efforts,” he added. — PTI Know Sharath Gayakwad
I'm extremely happy about my performance at the Games. For the past six months, I, along with the other swimmers, have trained hard for this competition, and it feels great when the hard work pays off. I’d like to thank my parents and
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GCA wants probe into Kapil’s firm
Panji, October 27 Speaking to reporters after the GCA managing committee meeting, the association's senior vice-president Shekhar Salkar said that in the invoice presented by Dev's company, its address listed is the same as the GCA headquarters in Porvorim, located near Panaji. Repeated attempts to reach out to Kapil or any official from Dev Musco were futile. “First of all the contract was awarded to the company without the approval of the managing committee. No one really knows how the contract was awarded or what other bids were received,” Salkar said, adding that the Rs 4 crore plus spent on installing the floodlights some years back was significantly more than the cost incurred by the state government to install floodlights at another stadium last year. Salkar said that the service tax and commercial tax department, which function under the finance ministry, had been asked to probe the company's dealings with the GCA. Kapil is the director of Dev Musco Lighting Pvt. Ltd, which is a sports lighting company based in Noida. “How can a company providing a service list the GCA's headquarters address as its own on the invoice,” Salkar asked. The GCA is currently seeing an internal feud between two camps —one led by Salkar and the other by the association's president Vindo Phadke. The government has already launched a probe into the affairs of the association after the Salkar faction alleged corrupt practices by Phadke. — IANS
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Younis Khan wants to play in World Cup
karachi, October 27 Younis, who scored twin centuries in the Dubai Test, said he was ready to play in the World Cup if the selectors showed faith in him. “I feel that the selectors should not take into consideration age, position or colour while selecting teams. No matter what age a batsman is, if he is in form and has the match fitness, he should be selected to play in ODIs,” Younis said. “The idea should be to play the players in form. Age should not be a bar. If any player can serve Pakistan cricket in the World Cup he should be considered for selection. It is about playing the right combination for a match or event,” Younis said. Younis, who has become the highest Test century-maker for Pakistan with 26 hundreds after the Dubai Test, said he was ready to play in ODIs. “I have not given up hope of playing in the World Cup. I will just try to carry on my form in the second Test against Australia and than we have three Tests against New Zealand. I will give it my best shot the rest is up to the selectors,” he said. — Agencies
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Mumbai, on the other hand, are struggling to find their rhythm and are third from the bottom in the points table with a win and two losses, the most recent being a 0-2 defeat against NorthEast United on home turf. Plagued by injuries, Mumbai could be boosted by the return of star striker Nicolas Anelka and defender Syed Rahim Nabi. While Anelka missed the first three matches owing to a suspension, Nabi had been nursing an injury sustained in the tournament opener. If French import Anelka plays tomorrow and manages to hit the stride, Chennai's defence, which Delhi penetrated with ease in the previous match, would be in for another massive test and it would be interesting to see how the likes of Mikael Silvestre tie him down. Chennai, managed by Italian World Cup winner Marco Materazzi, do not lack in attacking firepower either. Brazilian signing Elano Blumer, the youngest marquee player in the ISL who has played for Manchester City, has been a prolific contributer to the team's cause, scoring in every match so far. But Mumbai have their own man in form in midfielder Andre Moritz, the joint leading scorer of the tournament along with Elano. However, unlike Elano, all his three goals have come in one match — against Pune City FC. He did not play the full 90 minutes against NorthEast United owing to a niggle but is expected to be back to full fitness tomorrow. — PTI Live on Star Sports, 7pm
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Taijul's 8-wkt haul sets up Bangla win
Dhaka, October 27 Chasing 101, Bangladesh got off to a terrible start, losing their top three batsmen before they could put a run on the board. Bangladesh would have struggled further had Zimbabwe held on to catches offered by Mahmudullah (28) and all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan (15) early on. The duo made the visitors pay by adding a 46 runs for the fourth wicket. The partnership paved the way for the tense win. — Reuters Brief scores
Bangladesh: 254 (Mushfiqur 64, Mahmudullah 63, Mominul 53, Panyangara 5/59) and 101/7 (Chigumbura 4/21) bt |
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SA football captain shot dead
Johannesburg, October 27 At an emotional news conference on Monday, Meyiwa’s colleagues paid tribute to the 27-year-old, who was hit by a single round in the chest on Sunday night as he confronted two intruders at the home of actress and singer Kelly Khumalo. Meyiwa, who was shot in Vosloorus township southeast of Johannesburg, was dead on arrival at hospital, police said. His death highlighted the problem of gun violence in South Africa only days after Paralympic sprinter Oscar Pistorius was jailed for five years for shooting dead his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp last year. This weekend’s Johannesburg derby between Soweto giants Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates — the club Meyiwa joined as a 13-year-old and ended up leading - was postponed as a mark of respect. The derby is usually played in front of 90,000 fans. “Don’t think such a good man as Senzo can go and vanish. His spirit will live,” said Shakes Mashaba, coach of the Bafana Bafana national side, tears streaming down his cheeks and his voice quavering with emotion. “He would always be the leader.” Even though South Africa’s murder rate has been gradually dropping, it remains one of the world’s most violent countries, with police recording more than 17,000 murders last year, or 31 per 100,000 people — seven times the rate in the United States. Zuma condemns shooting
In the Pistorius trial, his lawyers cited in his defence his fears that an intruder was in the house. He was sentenced to five years in jail culpable homicide, but state prosecutors — who had sought a murder conviction — said on Monday they would appeal both the conviction and the sentence. “We mourn the death of this young footballer and team leader whose life has been taken away at the prime of his career,” President Jacob Zuma said in a statement. “The law enforcement authorities must leave no stone unturned in finding his killers and bring them to justice. Words cannot express the nation’s shock at this loss.” Meyiwa captained South Africa in their last four matches in the African Nations Cup qualifiers without conceding a goal and played on Saturday when Pirates — nicknamed the Bucanneers — advanced to the semifinals of the South African League Cup. Pirates chairman Irvin Khoza said the club, which was founded in 1937 by the children of migrant workers drawn to Johannesburg’s gold mines, was devastated by the killing. “We had a session in the morning with the players at which we were soul-searching,” Khoza said. “A lot of sobbing and crying. It was uncontrollable.” ‘Inject them with ebola’
Police said two men entered Khumalo’s house on Sunday evening where Meyiwa was in a party of seven in the house. A third assailant waited outside the house and all three fled immediately after the shooting. The lead investigator, Norman Taioe, said the robbers stole one cellphone and denied rumours of an organised murder. “We do not have any evidence that this was a contract killing or a hit on Meyiwa,” Taioe said. Earlier a state security official said Meyiwa was shot while trying to protect Khumalo but Taioe said there was no evidence to support this. “Senzo was walking towards the door when this thing happened. He wasn’t necessarily trying to protect somebody,” Taioe said. “He was about to leave. Maybe the suspects thought he was attacking them.”. The killing has heightened the anger and indignation of South Africans fed up with often senseless violent crime. One DJ on Five FM, a popular nationwide radio station, urged police to catch the killers and “inject them with Ebola”. Phiyega also announced a special task team to investigate the murder, along with a reward of 250,000 rand (£14,275) for information leading to the arrest of his killers. — Reuters |
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Sevilla go joint top, Atletico win
Madrid, October 27 Villarreal seemed set to take all three points when substitute Luciano Vietto clipped home Cani’s pass to open the scoring 11 minutes from time. However, Suarez slotted home a loose ball inside the area two minutes from time and Bacca converted from the penalty spot deep into stoppage time after Giovani Dos Santos had upended Benoit Tremoulinas. Victories for Sevilla and Atletico leave the top five separated by just two points. Higuain scores hat-trick
Milan: Gonzalo Higuain burst into life by scoring a hat-trick in the final half hour, his first league goals of the season, to help Rafael Benitez’s erratic Napoli thrash Verona 6-2 in Serie A on Sunday. Troubled Inter Milan scrambled a 1-0 win at Cesena thanks to a controversial first-half penalty and sending-off and leaders Juventus put their European problems behind them with a comfortable 2-0 win at home to a tame Palermo. Elsewhere, thirty-seven-year old Antonio Di Natale scored his fifth goal of the season, an exquisite curled effort, and Cyril Thereau was also on target in Udinese’s 2-0 home win over Atalanta which left them joint third with Sampdoria on 16 points. Ex-Germany forward Miroslav Klose gave Lazio a 2-1 win over Torino in Rome, his first goal of the season, and Fernando Torres started on the bench, coming on in the 80th minute, in AC Milan’s 1-1 draw at home to Fiorentina. — Reuters Van Gaal unhappy with ‘stupid’ Van Persie
London: Louis van Gaal labelled compatriot Robin van Persie “stupid” after his celebrations in scoring a dramatic late equaliser for Manchester United in their 1-1 draw at home to Premier League leaders Chelsea saw the experienced Dutch striker booked. While van Gaal was obviously relieved to have secured what he felt was a deserved point, he was not so impressed with his star forward’s response in celebrating the dramatic goal. “You have seen a stupid reaction after the goal,” said van Gaal. “You can be excited but you don’t have to pull your shirt off. Then you have a yellow card, that is not so smart. But yes, we deserved a point. You know that, Jose Mourinho knows that also.” |
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Federer looking to wrestle top spot from Novak
Paris, October 27 The 17-time Grand Slam winner won his 82nd career tournament and sixth title at Basel on Sunday, extending his winning streak to 12 matches and his record for the year to a Tour best of 66 wins and 10 defeats. Djokovic has been absent in recent weeks after his wife gave birth to their first child, while his lead over Federer has been slashed to fewer than 500 points, with 2,500 up for grabs at Paris and the season-ending World Tour Finals in London. Thiem to face Wawrinka
Dominic Thiem beat Alexandr Dolgopolov 6-2, 4-6, 6-0 in 87 minutes. The 21-year-old Thiem will next face third seed Stan Wawrinka, whom he beat for his first Top 10 win at the Mutua Madrid Open in May. — Agencies |
Chennai, October 27 The world No. 12 ran away with the first game. After a mild setback in the second game, Pallikal won the next two comfortably. “I am delighted to reach the semis for the second consecutive time in the JSW Challenger Circuit. I have been working on certain aspects of my game and its very rewarding to achieve positive results after all the hard work. Also, it feels great to play at home, in front of all these kids because at the end of the day, they aspire to be like one of us,” said Pallikal, who will take on Siyoli Waters of South Africa in the last four. While the centre court witnessed Pallikal in action, the other court at the Indian Squash Academy witnessed a hard fought encounter between Birgit Coufal and Cheyna Tucker. Coufal ended up winning 12-10 4-11 5-11 11-5 11-7. Coufal will face Japan’s Misaki Kobayashi, who beat compatriot Satomi Watanabe 11-3 11-5 11-2. In the men’s draw, top seed Karim Ali Fathi cruised into the semis with a 11-9 11-9 11-6 win over the seventh seed Hannan Tarmidi of Malaysia. India’s Harinder Pal Sandhu continued his winning ways by overcoming Welshman Joel Makin 11-5 11-6 12-10. Ravi Dixit beat Kevin Moran of Scotland 7-11 11-5 2-11 11-6 11-6. — PTI
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Punjab juniors pushing Indian hockey towards better future
Chandigarh, October 27 He took the empty seat and the room at the Surjit hockey academy’s hostel in Jalandhar filled up with lively banter. The eight Punjab players, who were part of the Indian junior team that won the Sultan of Johor Cup recently, were in the city on Saturday for an informal felicitation ceremony organised by Pargat Singh, president of Hockey Punjab. For seven of them it was a sort of homecoming. Harmanpreet Singh, Varun Kumar, Gurinder Singh, Simranjeet Singh, Parvinder Singh, Jarmanpreet Singh and Harjeet are all former trainees of the academy. Santa Singh is a trainee of the Namdhari academy in Sri Bhaini Sahib. It is no secret that Punjab has again become a dominant force in Indian hockey. Punjab has won the junior national title three years in a row. Around 20 players from Punjab are currently part of the senior and junior India teams and most of them have become indispensable. The current team is no exception. Varun and Harmanpreet were rock solid in defence. Both drag-flickers, Varun scored three goals, while Harmanpreet was the top scorer with nine goals and was named the best player of the tournament. Up front, Parvinder scored three of the best field goals of the tournament. Simranjeet, though scored only one goal, stood out for his crafty stickwork. The midfield was controlled by Gurinder on the left, Harjeet in the middle and Jarmanpreet on the right. All three proved irreplaceable and were the least substituted players. Double the promise
Harjeet, who, along with Jarmanpreet, was part of the team that won the title last year, was named the most promising player for the second year in a row. But this time the title win was extra sweet. “Last year, I was the junior-most. They were all two-three years senior to me so I was never as comfortable as I was this time,” said Harjeet. These players are of the same batch. Except for Harmanpreet and Parvinder, who came to Jalandhar from Malwa School academy, Ludhiana, only three years ago, the others were together at Surjit academy for over six years. “It’s rare to have so many players from a single batch get into the national team,” said Avtar Singh, coach at the academy. “These boys are lucky. It makes it so much easier to cope with the new environment and the pressure. The support and understanding is already there.” The closeness is palpable. It also, to a level, helps explain how this raw team, which underwent only three training camps before going to Malaysia, achieved such a big feat. For six of these boys, this was their first major tournament. Not many expected them to defend the title. Last year’s team was the clear favourite. Many were part of the senior team as well; players like Manpreet Singh, Ramandeep Singh and Kothajit Singh were already known names. That makes this current victory extra special, and it was made possible by the team’s discipline in carrying out the tactics set by coach Harendra Singh and High Performance Director Roelant Oltmans. The speed with which the team rotated the ball and kept possession was unprecedented in Indian hockey. It was a quintessential show of teamwork as every player executed his duties to perfection, more so off the ball than with it. “The coaches emphasised on small details like passing and receiving,” said Harjeet. “We were told to pass only to the right of a player and receive on our right,” Gurinder elaborated. The idea was to eliminate common mistakes like missed passes and decrease the threat of turnovers. For long, the Indian teams have been susceptible to counter-attacks. It’s a small detail but made a big difference — the Indians were very rarely caught out of position. It’s very basic, but it’s easier said than done, especially in a final. England, vastly more experienced than India, was the favoured team. But India’s tactics didn’t waver. They held on even under extreme pressure near the end. They showed great resolve, discipline and aptitude. Instilling discipline
At the hostel, Avtar and Jaspreet Jassi, physical trainer at the academy, walked in and the boys went quiet. “This is just the beginning and you need to work much harder from here on,” Avtar told the boys, with a few specific suggestions. Jarmanpreet needs to work on his one-on-one skills to get into goal-scoring positions. Harmanpreet has to improve his movement with the ball. Simranjeet, who underwent a knee surgery last year, must improve his fitness level. “We have always tried to instill discipline and mutual respect into our trainees,” Avtar added. “When we joined in 2006, hockey in Punjab was plagued by indiscipline; the seniors misbehaved with the juniors. Back then everybody wanted to be a star and indulged in individualistic play,” added Avtar. Hockey was played at a much slower pace and selfishness didn’t compromise the team to the extent it does now. Losing the ball in the midfield almost always leads to a counter attack and a try at your goal. “The first batches were prone to it. As the game changed, they found it hard to eradicate these bad habits. To be honest, even we were still coping with the changes in the game. But even so, many of our trainees like Manpreet and Akashdeep Singh have made it to the national team.” Avtar, Jaspreet and Gurdev Singh, the senior coach at the academy, admit that it’s a process and they keep learning from each batch. “This group (Harjeet and Co) received better training than their seniors. Our training methods have improved as we understand the changing demands of the game. The players are getting more exposure, learning from their seniors. They are more receptive and adaptive. The game has become incredibly fast and compact and the younger kids are starting to understand that mastering the basic skills and teamwork is much more effective than just trying to dodge every opponent player.” The system, which was put in place in 2006 when Pargat Singh was the Director Sports, has found its stride. The current players have already raised the bar set by their predecessors. But the coaching staff at Surjit academy is confident that the future will only be better. |
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ICC backs action against chuckers Dubai, October 27 Under the ICC rules bowlers are permitted to straighten their bowling arm up to 15 degrees, which has been established as the point at which any straightening will become visible to the naked eye. ICC chief executive David Richardson said rules must be followed. "The principle has always been to make sure that we try and stick to the law which says that you must bowl the ball and not throw it," Richardson told reporters at ICC headquarters in Dubai. Richardson said the majority of stakeholders do not agree on bending the rule to allow off-spinners like Ajmal to bowl the doosra, a controversial delivery which turns the other way than a normal off-spin. "We had that debate that should we allow a change in the law, to allow them to straighten their arm to bowl the doosra, there were arguments but majority said 'no' and said stick to the law. — Agencies
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Injured Shami out, Dhawal gets call-up for SL series