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Hosts Portugal aim to end Greece’s dream run
Greeks ready to ‘invade’ Lisbon Sharapova outplays Serena to win title
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Kasprowicz fires Aussies to big win
Pitch draws flak
Hospitality bowls over Pak golf team
Joga wins 8-km marathon Landge WFI secy-general
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Hosts Portugal aim to end Greece’s dream run
Lisbon, July 3 The Greeks, who had never won a game at either the Euros or the World Cup, beat the host 2-1 in Porto three weeks ago for the biggest opening game upset in the 44-year history of the European Championship. Now they are in the final, it doesn’t look so embarrassing. Otto Rehhagel’s team, which started out a 100-1 shot for the title, went on to draw with Spain, knock defending champion France out in the quarterfinals, and then beat the championship’s hottest team, the Czech Republic, in the semis. It’s a little like Denmark’s triumph in 1992. Having failed to qualify, the Danes only entered the championship because Yugoslavia was thrown out, and they went on to beat favourites Germany in the final. The Greek players say Euro 2004 all seems like a dream. It could be a recurring nightmare for the Portuguese tomorrow. The same host team that lost in Porto will try to wipe away the memories of that defeat and impose its quality play on a Greek side that relies heavily on strong defence and teamwork. It didn’t work in Porto but it must in Lisbon.
“We’re working on correcting what went wrong last time,” said FC Porto midfielder Nuno Maniche, whose stunning 22-metre strike in the 2-1 semifinal victory over the Netherlands put the team into its first final. “We’ll need to be patient and disciplined. They close down well, they’re very organised. Patience is the key.” The Greeks want an action replay of their opening game performance but warn they have become a stronger team as the tournament has progressed. “The final is a completely different match,” said Greek defender Traianos Dellas, the AS Roma player whose silver goal seconds from the end of the semifinal against the Czech Republic earned his team a first-ever place in the final. The final is the first in a major championship to have two overseas coaches facing each other. Portugal’s coach, Luiz Felipe Scolari, is Brazilian and Rehhagel is German. Both teams are in their first final, and a Portuguese triumph will complete a remarkable double for Scolari. He guided Brazil to its fifth World Cup victory two years ago and hopes to become the first coach to win both the world and European titles with two different teams. But his talented team has to find a way to unravel a Greek defensive system that has proved unshakable at this championship. Dellas and Georgios “Giourkas” Seitaridis have been the stars of a well-organised back four, and the only man missing from the side will be Inter Milan’s Georgios Karagounis, who has set some kind of a record by getting booked in every game he has played, and serves his second suspension of the championship. Unless they change their tactics for the final, Rehhagel’s men will do everything to stifle Portugal’s attacking stars, probably by constantly putting two defenders on Cristiano Ronaldo and Luis Figo whenever they have the ball.
—AP |
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Midfielder Rui Costa to quit
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Greeks ready to ‘invade’ Lisbon Athens, July 3 The government said it had arranged for more than 2,500 seats on Olympic Airlines charter flights and would provide fans with tickets for the final. “Greeks prepare for an ‘invasion’ to Lisbon,” said the daily To
Vima. “By airplane, bus and cars, 25,000 Greeks in the grand final,” the daily Ta Nea wrote. Even Prime Minister Costas
Caramanlis, a self-proclaimed soccer fan, is planning to attend tomorrow’s final at the Stadium of Light.
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Sharapova
outplays Serena to win title
London, July 3 She is the second youngest Wimbledon winner in the Open era behind Martina Hingis who was 16 when she won in 1997 and the first Russian to win. Sharapova outplayed, outthought and over-powered odds-on favourite Williams, who was bidding to become the first three-in-a-row womens' champion at Wimbledon since Steffi Graf in 1993. And she ended a Williams family dynasty that dated back to 2000 when older sister Venus won the first of her two titles. The Russian sunk to her knees and buried her face in her hands after Williams netted a forehand on match point. Sharapova won the toss and chose to serve in her first appearance in a Grand Slam final. At 17 years and two months she was the youngest Wimbledon finalist since Hingis who was 16 years and nine months when she won in 1997. Williams was playing her seventh Grand Slam final, winning six of them — two Wimbledons, two US, one French and one Australian. But it was the first time since the 1999 US Open final that she was playing someone other than sister Venus in a Grand Slam championship match. There was an immediate talking point as Sharapova headed off to the dressing rooms near the end of the warmup. But after returning to the court, she made a confident start with three first serves that Williams failed to control. Sharapova took the first game but Williams comfortably levelled with a love game on her own service. Williams turned on the power in the third game but Sharapova more than matched her hitting back from 0-30 down to maintain her lead. The Russian earned the first break point of the match in the fourth game and with Williams bothered by the gusting wind, she grabbed the opportunity as the American hit long. Sharapova made it three games in a row to lead 4-1 with Williams looking out of sorts and surprised by the youthful self-assurance coming from the other side of the net. Williams saved three further break points in the next game, but could do nothing on the fourth as Sharapova belted a backhand cross-court shot past her off a weak second serve. Serving for the set, Sharapova first staved off three break points before converting her fourth set point when Williams netted a forehand return. Williams again tried to regain control at the start of the second but she was sent sprawling on her back after a long, bruising rally at break point against the Russian in the second game. Sharapova levelled at 1-1 and games went with serve until the sixth game when Williams finally broke the Russian's serve after a stroke of luck when she broke a string returning a serve but the ball swiveled over the net for a winner. But instead of powering ahead, Williams dropped her own serve to 15 as Sharapova clenched her fist and glared over the net. The Russian levelled at 4-4 and then in a crucial ninth game she converted her fourth break point as Williams first slipped and then pushed a forehand wide. Serving for the match, Sharapova got to 40-15, Williams saved the first match point but netted the second to complete the upset in the 1hr 13mins final.
— AFP |
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Roddick sets up title clash with Federer
London, July 3 The 22-year-old Swiss player was up two sets and 4-3 yesterday evening when play was finally abandoned after a frustrating day of unsettled weather.
And he needed just a further 29 minutes and a tie-break to put Grosjean out of his misery on the resumption. "I am very pleased. It is tough to stop at such a moment of the match," he said. "I am very relieved. Things were looking good, but he could have turned it around - a new day, new conditions. "I had to come back in the tie-breaker and luckily for me I was able to turn it around." Federer had looked near his imperious best against the talented Grosjean for most of Friday's action playing an array of stunning shots between the showers to repel the Frenchman's attacks. He had looked set to wrap up the match in three sets when yet another drenching brought proceedings to a premature and disappointing end. With the womens' final between Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova set to be the focal point of the day, Federer and Grosjean came out to cool and gusty conditions in front of a half-full Centre Court. Grosjean came into the semifinal with a 2-1 career winning career record over Federer and had yet to drop a set in the tournament. But Federer was on a 22-match unbeaten streak on grass and had looked at near his very best as he beat Australia's Lleyton Hewitt in four sets in a top quality quarter-final. Grosjean comfortably held his opening serve to level the set at 4-4 but with the sun finally peeking out from behind the clouds he had to save two match points at 4-5 down on both occasions with first serve winners. Two bad mishits and a double fault gave Grosjean a break point in the following game and he grabbed it with a deep forehand return which Federer hit long on the half-volley. The Frenchman was unable to follow up on his own serve, but took a 4-0 lead in tie-break only for Federer to storm back. Grosjean saved a third match point on the Federer serve at 6-5, but he could do nothing about it three points later when Federer hit a powerful return and followed up with a winning smash at the net.
— AFP
Andy Roddick reached his first Wimbledon final on Saturday with a hard-fought 6-4, 4-6, 7-5, 7-5 victory over Mario Ancic in a semi-final played over two days and littered with rain interruptions. The American second seed and U.S. Open champion eventually made his explosive serve count against the dogged Croatian and will face champion Roger Federer in the final on Sunday. "I'm so happy to be playing a Wimbledon final," said the 21-year-old. "It's amazing. I never thought I'd be playing professional tennis let alone the final of Wimbledon. "I'm excited about playing Roger, he's the best and I want to go up and match up against him and it's going to be great." Roddick, who lost to Federer in the semi-finals here last year, was a set and 4-3 up when the contest was abandoned because of rain on Friday. But 20-year-old Ancic, ranked 63rd in the world, broke him immediately upon their return to action on Saturday and followed that by holding serve and then breaking again to win the second set. The turning point of the match, which was moved from Centre Court to court one because of the weather, came in the second match of the third set when Roddick looked like he was going to lose a third service game in a row. But he held his nerve, saved five break points and, after a couple more rain interruptions, sealed his place in the final on his third match point.
— Reuters
Defending champions Martina Navratilova and Leander Paes crashed out in the third round of the mixed doubles at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships here. The ninth-seed pair lost to sixth-seed Cara Black and Wayne Black of Zimbabwe 6-7 (7/9), 7-6 (7/5), 11-13 in a match that finally finished yesterday after spanning three days because of rain.
— PTI |
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Players fit and raring to go: Wright Chennai, July 3 He said, "Pakistan and Sri Lanka will be looking to upstage us, especially Pakistan, in the wake of their home series defeat (to India)." Asked about India's strategy in the six-nation tournament due to take place in the Sri Lankan cities of Colombo and Dambulla from July 16 to August 1, he said the strengths of the teams were well-known and remarked, "We are putting together every bit of information." The former New Zealand cricket captain said it was good to open the season with an exclusive fitness camp, which had put all players back in shape. "The return of Harbhajan is important to us. He was looking good this morning. The best thing about him is that he is a fighter", he said. Wright also lauded the alteration in left-arm pacer Zaheer Khan's action. "He's an important player and adds dimension to our game. We are looking forward to a big season for him," he said. Left-arm pacer Zaheer Khan has been working with former Australin pacer Dennis Lillee and a biomechanics expert, David John, at the MRF Pace Foundation in Chennai for a week now. Answering to the oft-repeated question about Parthiv Patel being made the permanent wicketkeeper and Rahul Dravid given much-needed rest from keeping, he said, "It's been tough on Dravid, but in the end, it's not a problem." Asked whether Parthiv was not a good enough batsman for one-dayers, he said, "Parthiv is not lacking anything. Dravid is being persisted with as a wicketkeeper only because he has been doing well, and we are winning matches.” Former England opener Geoff Boycott has also arrived today and will be attending the camp for a couple of days to give tips on batting technique. The camp for 20 probables, the second after the recent physical fitness camp in Bangalore, will go on till July 8, and the final team for Colombo will be announced on July 7. The team will leave from here on July 13. Bangladesh and non-Test and non-ODI status nations Hong Kong and United Arab Emirates complete the six-team line-up along with India, Pakistan and the hosts Sri Lanka. The players will attend two training sessions each day and eight practice wickets have been laid at the ground by the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA). |
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Harbhajan
celebrates birthday Chennai, July 3 Talking to mediapersons this evening “Bhajji’ said, “I am happy to be back in the camp and in the Indian team after my injury and surgery.” He said, "I am hundred per cent sure to perform well in Sri Lanka." Praising coach John Wright and skipper Saurav Ganguly he said, “I got all the support from them and I needed it. They wanted me to come back to the team. It has certainly boosted my morale.” Incidentally, Harbhajan is one of Saurav’s favourites in the team. He said, “I have been waiting for a break and I have to work hard and deliver.’ Asked whether his target was to achieve 500 wickets, he said, “I have taken 150 wickets and now I will try to achieve 200.” He said his last year was not a good one because of his injuries but he hoped that his 25th year in life would be a lucky one. Harbhajan said, “I am confident to practise well in the camp and perform my best during the Asia Cup.”
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Kasprowicz fires Aussies to big win
Darwin (Australia), July 3 Right-arm seamer Kasprowicz took seven for 39 from 17.4 overs as Sri Lanka, chasing a daunting target of 312 in a low-scoring game, were bowled out for 162. Mahela Jayawardene and Thilan Samaraweera put on 79 for the fourth wicket before the last seven batsmen tumbled for only 53 runs. Scoreboard Australia (first innings): 207 Sri Lanka (first innings): 97 Australia (second innings): 201 Sri Lanka (second innings) Atapattu c Warne b
Jayasuriya lbw McGrath 16 Sangakkara run out 0 Jayawardene b McGrath 44 Samaraweera c Gilchrist
Dilshan c Gilchrist
Arnold c Gilchrist
Chandana b Kasprowicz 17 Vaas not out 10 Zoysa c Gilchristb Kasprowicz 1 Malinga c
Gilchrist
Extras (nb-4, w-2, lb-1) 7 Total
(all out, 65.4 overs) 162. Fall of wickets: 1-23 2-23 3-30 4-109 5-113 6-132 7-141 8-152 9-162. Bowling:
McGrath 16-9-24-2 (w-1, nb-1), Gillespie 13-2-37-0 (w-1), Kasprowicz 17.4-3-39-7 (nb-3), Warne 19-2-61-0.
— Reuters |
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Pitch draws flak DARWIN:
The Australian and Sri Lankan teams blasted the state of the drop-in pitch after Australia wrapped up a quickfire 149-run first cricket Test victory inside three days at Marrara Oval here on Saturday. This was only the second Test match staged in Darwin where a pre-prepared pitch is dropped in to enable Test cricket to be played at the tropical city’s main ground, which is primarily used for Australian Rules football matches. “If a Test finishes like that with the quality of batsmen in both teams, the pitch is probably not up to Test standard,” Australian skipper Adam Gilchrist said after the win.
— AFP
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Hospitality bowls over Pak golf team Naldehra (Shimla), July 3 As the delegation consisted of golfers and not politicians, there was no political rhetoric — just a reflection on the historic moment that brought together the two warring nations after the 1971 conflict. The 14-member Pakistan golf team is here to play the Lahore-Shimla Goodwill Golf Tournament, beginning tomorrow. “It is a very historic moment for both India and Pakistan, as players from both nations have got together to play a goodwill match which we hope will go a long way in improving relations between the two neighbours,” remarked Lt-Gen Mohammad Tariq (retd), President, Pakistan Golf Federation. General Tariq, who was involved in the 1971 Indo-Pak war and has been a witness to much hostility and hatred between the two nations, is here this time on a mission of friendship and goodwill. “Agar aap ek kadam uthain to hame das kadam udhane chahiye, tabhi dono deshon mein wahi purana pyar mohabbat ka jazba laut payega” said an emotional General Tariq. “The amount of love and affection that people of India have showered on us during the past two days makes us feel both nations are one, with not even an iota of hatred or hostility,” he said. His sentiments were echoed by other team members, who have been completely bowled over by Indian hospitality. A majority of the team members are accompanied by their spouses. While some of the spouses watched the practice match, others went around shopping and visiting places of historical importance. Though we are here to win the trophy, what is far more important for all of us is to take forward this spirit of friendship and love between the two nations, they said. “Though the ball has already been set rolling to improve relations between India and Pakistan, we hope goodwill gestures like this golf tournament will further help in strengthening ties between the two neighbours,” said Javaid Nasrullah, captain of the Pakistani team. “The endeavour of people from both sides should now be to keep organising such events, be it in the field of sports, art or culture,” he stressed. The Pakistan team then played a practice match with the Indian team to familiarise itself with the layout of the golf course here.The area around the golf course has been spruced up with flags and banners, carrying goodwill messages. The trophy for the Lahore-Shimla Goodwill Golf Tournament, too, bears a message of peace and harmony as it shows a dove atop a chalet holding a globe with a golf ball on it. The trophy has been made out of six kg of pure silver and five kg of wood. The trophy is two feet high. “The wings of the dove have been portrayed as hands entwined in friendship, which is precisely the purpose behind holding this tournament,” informed Yatish Sood, owner of Chalets Naldehra, who has sponsored the trophy. It will be a running trophy and the Indian team will go to Lahore in December for the tournament, which will be held twice a year. |
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Joga wins 8-km marathon Amritsar, July 3 He said Sunil Dutt, Union Sports Minister, had assured him about the project during his recent visit to New Delhi. He said Amritsar Municipal Corporation would provide the land for the stadium. Joga Singh, silver medalist of the Asian Cross Country, won the first place in the 8-km marathon, while Rajesh Kumar, an inter-university champion, and Lovely came second and third, respectively. In the 6-km race (u-17) Parminder Singh of Sports College Jalandhar came first, Alkinder Singh of Army second and Onkar Singh of Sangrur was third. In the 4-km race (14) Navdeep Singh of Amritsar was adjudged first while Gurpreet Singh and Hardip Singh came second and third, respectively. |
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Landge WFI
secy-general Karnal, July 3 This decision was taken after Mr Malik was unanimously authorised to nominate them following Delhi High Court restraining former WFI secretary general Kartar Singh and treasurer Prem Nath from
interfering in the functioning of the federation headed by Mr Malik. Addressing media persons after the executive and special general body meeting, Mr Malik said: ‘’Kartar Singh and Prem Nath cease to be part the WFI on account of their own act of omission and commission. On the same account. these officials have become persona non-grata in the WFI.’’ Mr Malik disclosed that representatives of 23 affiliated units out of 30 participated in the special general body meeting.
— UNI |
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ALCOCHETE: Portuguese midfielder Rui Costa said on Saturday he would end his international career after the Euro 2004 final against Greece.
Anju falls short