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Before war, the verbal duel
World championship
Srikanth loses to Chen Long in Hong Kong Super Series
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Women wrestlers want camp to be shifted to Sonepat
isl:
Romeo, Slepicka strike for Goa
United Singhs win title
Talent is wasted without proper support: Radcliffe
junior state
championship
Rosberg beats Hamilton to Abu Dhabi pole
Easy win for Chelsea
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Before war, the verbal duel
Chandigarh, NOVEMBER 22 “The way the Australian team played last season over here, they were awesome (when they beat England 5-0). If they can get anywhere near that, they’ll win and win quite convincingly. I saw India play the last three Test matches in the UK and by the end of it, they were a bit of a rabble,” he said. “Historically, they’ve never played well with a bit of bounce and seam. They’re going to have their work cut out for them. They’ve got to turn things around big time otherwise they’re going to get thumped over here,” McGrath said. McGrath spoke the truth — in fact, it can be said that the Australians don’t need to resort to verbal volleys or their brand or ‘mental disintegration’. The Indians, considering their recent record outside Asia and, more relevantly, in Australia, are indeed going to find it very difficult to play out all five days in the four Test matches. India have never won a Test series in Australia – not even with the ‘golden generation’ of Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman and Anil Kumble in the Indian XI. The best they could do was draw the four-Test series 1-1 in 2003-04. India have played 40 Tests in Australia, and won five of them — losing 26. Since the start of the 1990s, India have played five Test series in Australia, and lost four of them. That involved defeat in 14 of the 20 Tests played in this period; India had just two Test wins, in 2003 and 2008. Rahul Dravid, a key performer in India’s win in 2003, says, “I think this team is like the team we were in the late 1990s and early 2000s, with a lot of young players coming through,” Dravid said recent. “You’ve got to give this young team a bit of time, you need to be patient because it happens with young teams.” “I think, scoring runs in Australia when you get the opportunity, cashing in and having a strong backfoot game are the few things not only Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara but the whole batting unit will have to work on,” he said recently. Pujara, who is seen as the likeliest replacement for Dravid, has actually got some tips from the former India No. 3. “I have spoken to Rahul Dravid about the conditions in Australia. Someone of his calibre and experience will always point out those minor issues, which otherwise may get missed,” Pujara says. Asked how he planned to play Mitchell Johnson, Australia’s No. 1 threat, Pujara says: “I want to keep things simple and concentrate on what I need to do to score runs rather than think about the opposition’s bowlers. Overall as a batsman, I need to be sure of which areas I can score runs and which deliveries I need to leave alone. That is going to be my focus instead of the bowler I am facing.” India were whitewashed 4-0 twice in a matter of months in 2011-2012, on the tours of England and Australia. This year, India have already been beaten 3-1 by England. They don’t need McGrath to remind them that a very difficult test awaits them in Australia. Team arrival: CA gets timing wrong
Melbourne: Cricket Australia’s officials were all geared up this morning to receive the Indian cricket team for the much-anticipated Test and limited-overs series here — the only problem was that they got the timing of the visitors’ arrival wrong. A miscommunication led to officials leaving in a huff after learning that the visiting team will land later in the day. The India team was expected to fly into Adelaide just after 9am (local time) today and a CA liaison officer was waiting to greet them and police were clearing a path for their smooth exit from the international arrivals hall. According to CA, a miscommunication led to their flight not even departing Singapore when they were originally expected to be landing in Adelaide ahead of a tour match starting at Glenelg on Monday. Shortly after 10 am (local time), when it became apparent the Indians were not there, police and the CA liaison officer made a swift exit, leaving fans to work it out for themselves. The Indians were expected to touch down at Adelaide in the evening and have their first training run at Glenelg on Saturday. PTI Mindgames The way the Australian team played last season over here, they were awesome (when they beat England 5-0). If they can get anywhere near that, they’ll win and win quite convincingly. I saw India play the last three Test matches in the UK and by the end of it, they were a bit of a rabble. — Glenn McGrath
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‘Anand should bide time till last round’
Sochi, November 22 While experts do not term Sunday's round as a battle of nerves, they agree that Anand has to hold his nerve to fend off any aggressive attacks by Carlsen playing white. Experts are of the view that the dice is not heavily loaded in favour of Carlsen and there is a good possibility of Anand equalising the score and going for the tie- breaker. But the equaliser is expected to happen from Anand’s side only in the final and 12th round when he plays with white pieces. In the 11th round on Sunday, Anand is expected to play it safe and settle for a draw. “Looking at the previous games Anand’s play with black pieces was not solid. It is important for him to get a good position in the opening stages of the game. Very rarely a player with black pieces has won in World Championships,” World No.26 and Indian Grandmaster P. Harikrishna said. Agreeing that Anand has not been able to breach Carlsen's defence with white pieces — except in the third round which he won — Harikrishna said the champion will be under pressure to fend off an aggressive attack by the Indian in the last round if the 11th game ends in a draw. He said the Sunday game will be tough for both players. “Anand may be looking mainly for a draw. Carlsen on his part would try to put pressure initially and if it does not work, might play for a draw. Carlsen may even prolong the game as Monday is a rest day,” Harikrishna said. According to experts Carlsen might wilt playing under pressure and cite his last round loss in the 2013 Candidates tournament. The first player to score 6.5 will be crowned World Champion.
— Agencies
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Srikanth loses to Chen Long in Hong Kong Super Series
HONG KONG, November 22 Srikanth, who broke into the top 10 on Thursday following his historic win at China Open Super Series Premier, went down 17-21 21-19 6-21 to world champion Chen in a match that lasted over an hour in Kowloon. Srikanth had lost to Chen at the BWF World Championships in August but the Indian played well to clinch the second game before losing steam in the decider. In the opening game, Chen zoomed to a 10-3 lead early on and Srikanth was left to do the catching up job. He narrowed it down to a point’s lead at 16-17. Srikanth lost a few points at the net as Chen moved to game point with a mid court smash and soon pocketed the opening game when Srikanth hit the net again. In the second game, Srikanth struggled with the length early on and missed a few points hitting out as Chen led 4-0. Srikanth clawed back at 8-8 with the help of a smash and then moved ahead when Chen found the net. Though Chen clinched the lead again with some brilliant net play, Srikanth managed to enter the interval 11-10 ahead. Srikanth played some attacking shots to extend the lead to 14-11. The experienced Chinese kept breathing down his neck but the Indian wriggled out of some tricky situations to lead 18-16. Chen erased the deficit but two erratic shots from him took Srikanth to 20-19 and the Indian grabbed the opportunity to bounce back in the contest when Chen hit long. In the decider, Chen unleashed his power-packed smashes and anticipated the shots better to dominate the rallies and lead 11-4 at the interval. Srikanth also committed too many unforced errors, hitting wide and long to hand over a massive 20-6 lead and then buried one into the net as Chen celebrated. — PTI
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Women wrestlers want camp to be shifted to Sonepat
NEW DELHI, November 22 Geeta Phogat, Babita Kumari, Geetika Jakhar, Vinesh Phogat and Lalita, who goes by her first name, have approached the WFI to shift the camp back to Sonepat before the Dave Schultz Memorial tournament in Colarado Springs, United States, from January 28 to 31, 2015, but the federation has decided against making any such move. WFI’s contention was that having both men and women at one place would lead to indiscipline. “It’s not good to have both men and women train together. It’s always better to have two different camps. Since most of the girls belong to Haryana, they would go home too often. This would create an atmosphere of indiscipline,” WFI secretary Raj Singh said. “Sonepat centre already has so many grapplers in both men’s senior and junior categories. With girls around in senior, junior and cadet categories, it would become even more difficult to accommodate them,” Singh added. The national camp had been shifted from Patiala to Sonepat and then to Lucknow within a month’s time last year in November before the Commonwealth Championships in Johannesburg. With the WFI not paying heed to their demand, the women wrestlers have approached the Sports Authority of India (SAI) to re-locate the camp. It has been learnt that some have even written to SAI officials, complaining of lack of training facilities, including the unavailability of mats, at the Lucknow centre. “The facilities are not good there as compared to Sonepat. When we used to train with the top male athletes, we used to learn a lot from them. But that’s missing now. Also, we have to spend so much time away from home at the camp. Since most of us belong to Haryana, we can visit home in a short time. It would be better if the SAI and federation hold the camp at Sonepat,” a leading woman wrestler said. WFI, however, refused to buy the argument. |
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isl: Romeo, Slepicka strike for Goa
Margao, November 22 Goa (12 points) are ahead of Mumbai City FC on goal difference. FC Pune City also have 12 points but are sixth in the standings owing to an inferior goal difference. The match started at a swift pace with the hosts getting into the dangerous positions inside the Pune box and taking an early lead when a Fernandes header put them ahead. Fernandes won a free kick on the right flank which was taken by Brazilian Andre Santos. The sprightly winger got onto the end of it and his glancing header beat goalkeeper Arindam Bhattacharya to give Goa the lead. Goa kept Bhattacharya busy after the early goal and the Indian keeper pulled off several decent saves to keep his team in the contest. — PTI ATK complains to AIFF about ruled out goal
Peeved at the assistant referee's ruling out a stoppage time goal, Atletico de Kolkata have written to the AIFF with video evidence. “We have submitted the copy of the video footage which leaves no doubt that the ball had crossed the goalline. This has not happened for the first time in the tournament... We're awaiting a response,” ATK co-owner Utsav Parekh said referring to their loss against Kerala Blasters on Friday. Television replays confirmed that Garcia's shot had indeed crossed the line and so a draw would have been a fair result. |
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United Singhs win title
Mohali, November 22 In the third place play-off earlier, California Eagles beat Vancouver Lions 66-57. California Eagles got Rs 45 lakhs and Vancouver Lions received Rs 21 lakhs. Manjot Singh Gill of Khalsa Warriors was adjudged the Best Raider of the tournament, while Sandeep Singh Sandhu of United Singhs was named the Best Stopper. The final, played in front of a vociferous crowd, saw a tense finish. The Singhs, who had only 12 wins in the league phase as compared to 17 by Khalsa, trailed almost throughout the match but sneaked ahead when it mattered the most. The scores were level at 53-53 before United inched ahead after a crucial stop by Gurvinder Kahlon in the final minutes. With only seconds remaining, the raiders held their nerves and scored important points to seal the match. Co-owner of United Singhs, Sonakshi Sinha, said she was thrilled at the success of her team. She added that she was proud of the way her team had fought back despite the rivals taking a big lead at the start. “I am sure they will go all out to successfully defend the title next year,” she said. Khalsa opened up a 7-1 lead in the opening minutes. They kept the lead, though it kept decreasing from 18-11 in the first session to 29-27 in second and then 43-42 after the third. The crowd already charged up by the contest so far, witnessed a see-saw battle in the final quarter. The two teams stayed neck and neck, with the lead changing hands throughout. Gurpreet Singh’s stop and Manjot Singh Gill raid gave Khalsa Warriors a 48-46 lead. Two consecutive stops by Karamjit Lasarha opened up a handy lead 52-48, and it seemed that the Warriors would pull away. But the gritty Singhs fought back to level the scores and then Navpreet’s raid made it 54-53. With just over a minute left on the clock, the Singhs needed a stop. And Kahlon took the responsibility. He showed presence of mind to haul a Khalsa Warrior raider out of bounds and get his team the edge. The raiders showed great composure, scoring comfortable points to make United Singhs champions of the inaugural WKL.
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Talent is wasted without proper support: Radcliffe
New Delhi, November 22 Radcliffe went on to become a running sensation and holds the world record — achieved at the London Marathon of 2003 — with a timing of 2:15:25 hours. Radcliffe, 40, is in India as the “Event Ambassador” of the Delhi Half Marathon, which will be flagged off from the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on Sunday. On her first trip to the country, Radcliffe is spending her time meeting members of India’s running community and women runners in particular. The former IAAF World Athlete of the Year is spreading the message of self-belief, motivation and encouragement among the athletes. Radcliffe knows little about the Indian athletics and the problems plaguing it. Her ignorance can be pardoned — India, with a population of 1.2 billion, has not been able to produce world-class athletes. India’s contribution to the Olympics is negligible and its ranking stands at a lowly 53rd. When asked about what ails the Indian athletics, her response was quite simple. “As an athlete, you should be clear in your mind about your goals. It’s about having the right attitude and motivation. Find the sport which you truly love and give your 100 percent to it. For me, it was athletics always and I worked hard to achieve the results,” Radcliffe said. “Then, you need to provide these athletes infrastructure, financial and training support. You need to catch them young and provide them the right kind of coaching. If you look at the top athletes in the world, they start at a young age. You can have talented athletes coming through, it’s just about supporting them.” Radcliffe was forced to pull out of the London Olympics just days before the event after suffering a career-threatening injury in her left foot. She returned to competitive circuit in September this year after undergoing a bone graft on a stress fracture. Talking about the comeback and her desire to compete at the London Marathon in April next year, Radcliffe said her return to the international circuit should not be looked as a comeback, but merely the beginning of the end — a chance to end her illustrious career on her own terms.
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Patiala fencers reign supreme
Ravi Dhaliwal Tribune News Service
Gurdaspur, November 22 In the foil event, the Patiala fencers attacked and feinted to near perfection as they ran away with the title. For the winners, Jasjot Singh, Arjun, Raghav Sharma and Ashutosh Garg held the spotlight in the foil category, while Jasmeet Singh, Lokinder Sharma and Rishabh shone in epee. The sliver medals were won by Amritsar (foil), Gurdaspur (epee) and Fatehgarh Sahib (sabre). Gurdaspur residents, who flocked to the venue in droves, learnt the finer points of fencing on a warm afternoon. Many of them, till today, never knew that modern fencing is the marital art of fighting with blades. The sport had never made an appearance in this part of the state till now and when it did, it kept the audience spell bound. The prizes were distributed by Mr Brahm Mohindra, president of the Punjab Fencing Association. Later, he held an impromptu meeting with coaches and officials who told him about the problems being faced by the players. “Many coaches apprised me of the fact that fencers had to play with outdated equipment,” Mohindra said.
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Swiss take 2-1 lead with doubles win
LILLE (France), November 22 Federer, who looked in good shape after struggling with back problems this week, will have the opportunity to claim the winning point in Sunday’s first reverse singles against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Wawrinka gave Switzerland the first point by beating Tsonga 6-1 3-6 6-3 6-2 and Gael Monfils levelled when he thrashed Federer 6-1 6-4 6-3 on Friday on the Pierre Mauroy stadium’s clay. France, who last triumphed in 2001, are looking to win the Davis Cup for the 10th time but after Saturday’s doubles the task seems almost impossible as world No. 4 Wawrinka has been playing at his best and Federer is getting better. Switzerland captain Severin Luthi had initially selected Marco Chiudinelli and Michael Lammer but unsurprisingly changed his lineup. “We wanted the best team on court and obviously the best team was with Roger and Stan,” said Luthi. Federer seemed much more at ease as he knew he could also rely on the in-form Wawrinka. “Stan has been unbelievably supportive, Severin and the coaching staff did a really good job. Now I’m gonna rest and recover,” said Federer.
— Reuters |
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Rosberg beats Hamilton to Abu Dhabi pole
Abu Dhabi, November 22 Williams drivers Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa failed to split the leading two but could still play a big part in Sunday’s season-ending ‘duel in the desert’ with their cars right behind on the second row. Hamilton, hoping to become Britain’s first multiple champion since Jackie Stewart in 1971, leads Rosberg by 17 points but the double points on offer means Sunday’s winner will take an unprecedented 50. The Briton, world champion with McLaren in 2008, was fastest in the first two phases of qualifying but a messy lap in the tense final shootout left him unable to deny Rosberg his 11th pole of the 19-race season. The pole was the team’s 18th of the campaign, with Brazilian Massa taking the one that got away, and ensured Mercedes became the first engine manufacturer to take every pole in a season since Ford in 1969. “It’s only one step, a very small step,” said Rosberg, who needs someone to get between him and Hamilton in the race to have a chance of winning the title if neither Mercedes has mechanical trouble.
— Reuters |
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Easy win for Chelsea
London, November 22 Goals from Diego Costa, who thumped the ball home after controlling it on his chest after 11 minutes for his 11th in 10 league appearances, and Eden Hazard after 25 minutes put Chelsea in control at Stamford Bridge. Champions Manchester City stayed in touch with Chelsea when they came from behind to beat Swansea City 2-1 at the Etihad Stadium with Stevan Jovetic and Yaya Toure finding the target. Bayern beat Hoffenheim 4-0
Berlin: Undefeated champions Bayern Munich continued their seemingly unstoppable charge towards the Bundesliga title, crushing Hoffenheim 4-0 on Saturday to extend their lead at the top. With second-placed VfL Wolfsburg losing 3-2 at Schalke 04, Bayern go seven points clear.
— Reuters |
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Even before the Indian team landed in Australia, the chirping from among the Australians has become more intense. The latest verbal volley comes from the non-playing squad of Australia.
Mohali, November 22
I think this team is like the team we were in the late 1990s and early 2000s, with a lot of young players coming
through. Rahul Dravid
