The Tribune...Sports

	S P O R T	Friday, July 17, 1998
weather n spotlight today's calendar

Popat sets up title clash with Choudhary
CHENNAI, July 16 — The Indian challenge in the men’s singles event ended today as Nikhil Kanetkar and Sachin Ratti were consumed by Malaysian shuttlers in the semifinals of the Indian Oil Servo Asian Satellite Badminton Tournament...

Spain aiming for semifinal spot
LA CORUNA (Spain), July 16 — French Open champion Carlos Moya believes Spain have the firepower to push past Switzerland at the weekend and reach their first Davis Cup semifinal in 11 years...

Easy win for Punjab
CHENNAI, July 16 — Punjab scored an emphatic 3-0 win against Karnataka to start their campaign in style in the 76th MCC Murugappa Gold Cup Hockey Tournament for the IHF-Independence Cup ...

Tahir Zaman axed
ISLAMABAD July 16 — Pakistan hockey chiefs have made sweeping changes by axing veteran stars, including skipper Tahir Zaman and Shahbaz (sr)...

Heavyweight boxing champion George Foreman bites into heavyweight boxing champion Larry Holme's book "Against the odds", during a news conference in New York on Wednesday. Foreman and Holmes announced their upcoming fight on January 23, 1999, 13 days after Foreman's 50th birthday — AP/PTI.
Soccer fans may miss next World Cup on TV
GENEVA, July 16 — Fans of the world’s number one sport may miss out on the next World Cup on television because the rights may be bought up by pay-TV companies...

TN 'keeper Paul 'tampered pitch'
NEW DELHI, July 11 (PTI) — Tamil Nadu wicketkeeper Reuben Paul has been accused of ‘pitch tampering’ and Delhi captain Ajay Sharma criticised for not acceding to the umpires’ plea to continue with the game in their abandoned Ranji Trophy tie at Chennai in February this year...
Symcox haul puts SA on top
CHESTER-LE-STREET (England) July 16— Veteran off spinner Pat Symcox claimed his first five-wicket haul for his country to help South Africa bowl Durham out for 286 and secure a first innings lead of 76 runs on the second day of the three-day match at Riverside yesterday...
BCCI decision step in right direction
Chandigarh, July 16 — The decision of the Board of Control for Cricket in India to select probables for the next World Cup, scheduled to be held in England next year, is a step in the right direction says Abhijit Chatterjee...
What happened to Ronaldo?
PARIS, July 16 — Mystery behind Brazilian star striker Ronaldo’s illness and the controversy regarding his appearance in the World Cup final against France has taken a new turn with football authorities accusing each other of sacrificing the world’s most priced player...
National open marathon on August 8
CHANDIGARH, July 16 — The fourth prize-money National Open Travancore Marathon and Track Meet will be held at the University Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala), on August 8...
Japan denies visas to foreign coaches
NEW DELHI, July 61 — The Japanese embassy has thrown a spanner in the works of Amateur Athletic Federation of India (AAFI) plans by denying visas to all five foreign officials named to accompany the Indian squad for the 12th Asian Track and Field Meet in Fukuoka...
PSB hockey stars honoured
CHANDIGARH, July 16 — In recognition of the outstanding contribution of Olympian Baljit Singh Saini, Baljit Singh Chandi and Sandip Singh, both internationals, the Punjab & Sind bank has decided to honour them with out-of-turn promotion...
Patiala badminton
PATIALA, July 16 — The Patiala District Masters Badminton Association will organise the Punjab State Masters Badminton Championships at Patiala...

Popat sets up title clash with Choudhary
CHENNAI, July 16 (PTI) — The Indian challenge in the men’s singles event ended today as Nikhil Kanetkar and Sachin Ratti were consumed by Malaysian shuttlers in the semifinals of the Indian Oil Servo Asian Satellite Badminton Tournament at the Jawaharlal Nehru multi-purpose indoor stadium here.
Fifth seed Kanetkar gave some anxious moments to fourth seeded Yeoh Key Bin before the latter won the hard-fought duel 17-16 15-7, while eighth seeded Ratti lost to number 2 seed Leo Tusen Seng 12-15 10-15, making way for an all-Malaysian final tomorrow.
Earlier, national champion Aparna Popat and fourth seeded Neelima Choudhary stormed into the women’s singles final in style defeating their opponents in the all-Indian semifinals.
Top seeded Popat was stretched by unseeded and former national champion P.V.V Lakshmi in the second game before she won the match 11-4 13-11, while Neelima upset no.2 seeded Manjusha Kanwar 7-11 11-6 11-5.

Malaysia, the only foreign nation to remain in the final stages of the tournament, was successful in the men’s doubles semifinals also when the country’s top seeded pair and last year’s Asian junior champions Chan Chong Mong and Gers Gan took just 17 minutes to trounce the Indian duo of George Thomas and Marcose Bristow 15-4 15-6.
Earlier, Choudhary, down a game, came back strongly to outsmart Kanwar in 43 minutes.
Popat took exactly 30 minutes to dismiss former national champion Lakshmi, who had beaten third seeded Ch. Deepti in the pre-quarters 11-4, 13-11.
Choudhary, initially looked a bit shaky as Kanwar raced to a 6-0 lead in the first game and eventually won it 11-7. However, she turned the heat on Kanwar in the second, taking a sizeable 6-1 lead, before clinching the game 11-6.
The decider appeared heading for a tame finish as Choudhary raced to a massive 8-0 lead. Capitalising on the numerous unforced errors committed by Kanwar, she further advanced it to 10-2.
But, she was made to struggle a bit to the end as Kanwar forced six service breaks and earned five points before the game and the match were taken by her rival.
Kanetkar, a product of the BPL Prakash Academy, gave a stiff fight to Yeoh right from the start of the first game. Though Yeoh took a 10-7 lead, Kanetkar hit some good winners to bring parity.
From then on, both players matched each other for points. A see-saw battle ensued before the Malaysian clinched the issue at 17-16 after some close rallies.

However, in the second game, Yeoh ran up to a sizeable 10-2 lead and scored at will despite Kanetkar’s best efforts to close the gap. The sheer pace of Yeoh and his mixture of smashes and placements assured him the final berth.
In the other men’s semifinal, Lee initially trailed junior national champion Ratti, who upset third seeded Abin Shyam Gupta in the quarter-finals. The Malaysians’ speed again came in handy as Lee managed to reduce it to 7-8 and then took four points in a row, on his way to a 15-12 win.
In the second game, Lee outclassed Ratti and raced to a 9-0 lead. Though the Punjab player staged a late rally to narrow the lead, he could not prevent his opponent from winning the match.
Earlier, in the all-Indian women’s doubles semifinals, Manjusha, teaming up with Archana Deodhar, scored a convincing 15-11, 15-5 win over Pooja Parekh and Neelima Choudhary while Lakshmi and Madhumitha Bhist faced few problems defeating Krante Sane and Sim Sim Silaria 15-1, 15-5.

Spain aiming for semifinal spot
LA CORUNA (Spain), July 16 (Reuters) — French Open champion Carlos Moya believes Spain have the firepower to push past Switzerland at the weekend and reach their first Davis Cup semifinal in 11 years.
Spain, with five of the world’s 20 players, will start favourites in the tie which will be played in front of a parochial home crowd at La Coruna on their favourite clay first surface.
Seven Spanish names pop-up in the men’s world rankings before the first Swiss name appears at number 42, that of Marc Rosset.
World number four Moya will play tomorrow’s opening match of the tie against Ivo Heuberger, who is ranked 140 places below him in the world order.
The Swiss number two’s biggest claim to fame to date has been winning the Wolfburg Challenger tournament in February.
A bigger obstacle to Spain’s ambitions is Rosset.
Rosset, 27, rose to a career high ranking of nine in the world 1995 but has slumped in the rankings after some poor Grand Slam performances. However, he is still capable of rising to the occasion in the Davis Cup, in which he has represented his country for eight years.
On the opening day he faces Alex Corretja, who won the Swiss Open title on Sunday. The pair have met five times in the past with Corretja winning four of the encounters.
Corretja, like Moya, is expected to thrive on the slower surface in La Coruna but he expressed concerns about complacency.

Easy win for Punjab
CHENNAI, July 16 (PTI) — Punjab scored an emphatic 3-0 win against Karnataka to start their campaign in style in the 76th MCC Murugappa Gold Cup Hockey Tournament for the IHF-Independence Cup at the Radhakrishnan Stadium here today.
Gursevak Singh, Harbhajan Singh and Baljit Singh Dhillon struck for the Punjab team.
In other two league matches, Air- India, Mumbai and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) were locked two-all in a group ‘A’ clash, while Mumbai XI beat Services 3-1 in group ‘C’.
In the Mumbai-Services match, Mumbai went into lead through international Gavin Ferreira. Horo equalised at the break. But India captain Dhanraj Pillai and Ravi Nayakar settled the issue for Mumbai in the second half.
In the match between Air-India and CRPF, the former scored through Kishore Kumar and Ravinder Kumar, while Kujur and Mukesh Kumar netted for CRPF.
The Punjab XI-Karnataka encounter was the most authoritative. Karnataka fielded mostly services players, as their regulars, employed with Bharat Petroleum, assisted Mumbai.
Fielding an all-international XI including four Olympians, Punjab could have scored three more goals, but their forwards missed sitters — Baljit Singh (twice) and Gursevak Singh being the culprits.

However, the Punjab had to wait for 15 minutes to draw first blood as Baljit Singh Bhullar and Gursevak worked in tandem. The latter dribbled past defender S. Bhengara and Thanu Nanjappa inside the circle and then flicked in past the onrushing goal keeper P.U. Bopanna.
Karnataka could have found the equaliser six minutes before the break, but international Harpreet retrieved Prakash Cholake’s feeble shot, which was rolling towards the goal.
Crossing over, Punjab were more thrustful but failed to convert their chances into goals. Karnataka could make few inroads into the rival area, as Punjab defenders, spearheaded by Olympian Pargat Singh, kept their citadel intact.
In the 37th minute, Karnataka harried the Punjab goalkeeper Sarabjit Kumar, a junior India player, who excelled in saving two successive shots from Syril Ekka and A.K. Kavin.
Punjab increased their lead in the ninth minute of the second half, following a penalty corner. They managed to get three more penalty corners, but converted only the eighth and last through Dhillon, a minute before the final hooter.

Soccer fans may miss next World Cup on TV
GENEVA, July 16 (Reuters) — Fans of the world’s number one sport may miss out on the next World Cup on television because the rights may be bought up by pay—TV companies, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) has warned.
The Geneva-based EBU said yesterday the chances of everyone being able to watch the next tournaments would be reduced because of FIFA’s sale of the worldwide television rights for the 2002 and 2006 World Cups to the German sports marketing and media group Kirch for 2.8 billion Swiss Francs " World Cup is a unique, perfect example of an event for the man on the street and should be available as a whole—all matches should be accessible on free-to-air channels," EBU Secretary-General Jean-Bernard Munch said in a statement.
"In 2002, many matches will only be seen by those who can afford pay TV channels. This will spoil the excitement of the World Cup."
The EBU said this year’s World Cup was the top television event ever, with a worldwide total audience of 37 billion viewers.
Television rights for France 1998 were sold by FIFA long ago to the mainly public broadcasters which are members of the EBU ignoring potential revenue from satellite, pay-per-view and cable viewers.
The EBU had bought the rights to the three World Cups from 1990 to 1998.
But in a change of policy, the world soccer body recently invited bids for the world television rights to the next two World Cups.
"FIFA had up to now always negotiated television rights with us. We are for public service and we don’t have that much money," said EBU spokesman Jean-Pierre Julien.
"But FIFA apparently were tempted more by money than by the desire to promote their sport."

TN 'keeper Paul 'tampered pitch'
NEW DELHI, July 11 (PTI) — Tamil Nadu wicketkeeper Reuben Paul has been accused of ‘pitch tampering’ and Delhi captain Ajay Sharma criticised for not acceding to the umpires’ plea to continue with the game in their abandoned Ranji Trophy tie at Chennai in February this year.
The cricket board-appointed four-member (C.D. Gopinath, T.A. Shekar, Chetan Chauhan and Kirti Azad) fact-finding committee has stated that "the failure of the umpires and match referee to act sternly and stubbornly" has brought "disrepute" to the game.
The committee report would be tabled at the board working committee meeting slated for August 20 and 21 at New Delhi, according to board sources.
The sources said: "The players would get a minimum ban of one year each from all domestic and international games and the umpires (D.K. Kar and P.S. Godbole) and match referee P.R. Punjabi also face some action’.
The sources said the Tamil Nadu and Delhi associations, both permanent members of the working committee, would not participate in the discussions on the issue.
Reuben Paul when contacted denied the accusations and said he had not been involved in the incident while Ajay Sharma said he was not aware of the report.
Referring to the board having already scratched the teams from the 1997-98 Ranji Trophy competition, Ajay Sharma said when contacted in Delhi: "I have done nothing wrong".
During a break in a local league match in which he was playing, Paul said in Chennai: "I am not guilty and I am being punished for something I was not involved with".
He said "Neither I nor my team members were aware of such an incident during the change of a ball".

"I am innocent and such accusations against me are far from the truth," Paul added.
The board would seek legal opinion before going to the working committee, sources said.
In the final hour on the third day on February 16, the good length area at one end of the pitch at M.A. Chidambaram Stadium was found tampered with and Delhi, batting in their second innings, refused to continue on the "damaged wicket."
As instructed by BCCI Secretary J.Y. Lele the damaged area was repaired the same evening in the presence of Punjabi, Kar, Godbole and V.V. Kumar, BCCI technical committee member and chairman, Tamil Nadu Selection Committee.
The Delhi team management submitted a protest letter on February 17 demanding that the match be awarded to them saying it was a deliberate act by the Tamil Nadu players.
The umpires failed to persuade the teams to continue to play and finally abandoned the match.
The committee which met at Chennai on May 24 failed to arrive at any decision. Later, Gopinath and Azad at Chennai and Shekar and Chauhan at New Delhi met on June 11.
At Chennai, all players and officials barring C.K. Vasanthkumar and Vasanth Saravanan were questioned while in Delhi, Ajay Sharma, coach Maninder Singh Jaggi and Sunil Kumar Khanna gave evidence. On June 12, all four committee members assembled in New Delhi and their report was handed over to Sharad Diwadkar, convenor for the meetings.
Ajay Sharma said the question of his refusal to continue did not arise "when the umpires themselves did not enter the field on the fourth day" and asked why would they (umpires) have stopped play if the wicket was not damaged in the first place.

Tahir Zaman, Shahbaz (sr) axed
ISLAMABAD July 16 (PTI) — Pakistan hockey chiefs have made sweeping changes by axing veteran stars, including skipper Tahir Zaman and Shahbaz (sr), in the aftermath of their team’s debacle in the May World Cup at Utrecht, The Netherlands.
The PHF selection committee which met at Lahore yesterday decided to drop five stars of the team, blaming them for the country’s failure to defend its title and the poor fifth place finish.
PHF chief Akhtar Rasool, who presided over the meeting, was himself subject to criticism as Islahuddin, manager at Utrecht blamed him for Pakistan’s poor show and demanded his resignation.
Shahbaz (jr), Rahim Khan and Naveed Alam have also been dropped and the committee has finalised a list of 34 players, mostly promising juniors, with a view to building up a strong side for the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
Teams for the coming Common Wealth Games, Champions Trophy and Bangkok Asian Games will also be picked from the shortlisted players, the PHFannounced.

Though selection committee Chairman, Zafarullah Zamali, could not attend the meeting, his approval was obtained over the phone.
Rasool then discussed the selection with the other two selectors, Tariq Aziz and former international Hanif Khan and the newly appointed team manager Zakauddin.
Justifying the axing of top stars, PHF secretary Mudassar Asghar said: "look at the performance of these stars in the World Cup where they failed miserably and team finished a poor fifth." The decision to drop them was also to build a younger team.
A selection committee member was also quoted by the media as saying it was a "wise decision", to save the future of Pakistan hockey and put it back on the road to progress.
"It will take time but you cannot depend on those players who are past their prime in the game," Asghar said.
Incidentally, Shahbaz (sr) was brought back into the team after a two-year exile just before Pakistan played a eight-match home-and-away Test series against India early this year. He was instrumental in Pakistan winning the series 3-2.
Meanwhile, Ayaz Mahmood, who had been sacked as national coach along with Islahuddin after the Utrecht debacle, has demanded the resignation of Rasool charging that he was equally responsible for the poor show.
A leading newspaper quoted Mahmood as saying: "President of the PHF along with the selection committee should step down, as they are responsible for the national team’s dismal performance in the World Cup hockey.
"If the manager and coach could be indicted for the poor performance, then the PHF President should also quit as the team was chosen by him and the selection committee," he said.
Squarely blaming Rasool for the selection of ageing players he said, "I literally begged Akhtar Rasool not to induct old hats like Shahbaz (sr) and Tahir Zaman, but it was all in vain as he turned a deaf ear."
Frequent changing of the team manager and coach was one of the reasons behind the continuous decline of Pakistan hockey, Mahmood said, and criticised the PHF’s decision to change the manager and coach after every defeat, especially when "players are not picked on manager and coach’s recommendation."
Mahmood said now that the federation has entrusted the job of manager to Zakauddin and that of coach to Shahnaz Sheikh, they should be given a long enough tenure with written agreement to manage the team till the 2000 Olympics.

Symcox haul puts SA on top
CHESTER-LE-STREET (England) July 16 (Reuters) — Veteran off spinner Pat Symcox claimed his first five-wicket haul for his country to help South Africa bowl Durham out for 286 and secure a first innings lead of 76 runs on the second day of the three-day match at Riverside yesterday.
Symcox (38) claimed four of the last five wickets to fall in an attacking spell of seven overs that saw Durham slump from 230 for five to 286 all out. His five for 60 represented just his fifth five wicket return in 20 years of first class cricket.
The home side bounced back in the final hour of play with Melvyn Betts grabbing two quick wickets to send the tourists stumbling to 49 for four but, with an overall lead of 125 and six wickets still intact, they remain in control of the match.
The third morning will see Hansie Cronje resume on 11 with opener Gerhardus Liebenberg on 25.
Replying to South Africa’s daunting total of 362 for three declared, 18-year-old Michael Gough and Johnathan Lewis resumed Durham’s innings on 10 without loss in the morning and took their opening stand to 58 before Lewis (29) drove a loosener from Brian McMillan to mid off.
Symcox deceived Nick Speak with his second ball to claim the only other wicket in the morning session as Gough displayed admirable technique and temperament to reach lunch on 34 not out.
Four wickets fell in an attritional afternoon session beginning with an edge from Jimmy Daley (25) to wicket-keeper Mark Boucher off the bowling of Steve Elworthy.
Gough’s stubborn defiance finally came to an end after three hours and 17 minutes at the crease during which he faced 144 balls for his 39. A misunderstanding with captain David Boon, resulting in a run out by Jonty Rhodes, succeeded where South Africa’s bowlers had failed.
Boucher held another catch to dismiss Paul Collingwood (12) before Symcox finished the innings courtesy two catches by Liebenberg at short leg — the first dismissed Boon for 31 — and a good tumbling effort from Daryll Cullinan at slip which ended the innings.
South Africa’s second innings was quickly undermined by the rapid and impressive Betts who bowled Gary Kirsten for five and then had Jonty Rhodes (1) caught off a top-edged hook at fine leg.
Stephen Harmison bowled Daryll Cullinan for one when the first innings double-centurion played across a straight ball and Brian McMillan (5) was trapped lbw by off spinner Nick Phillip shortly before the close.

BCCI decision step in right direction
By Abhijit Chatterjee
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, July 16 — The decision of the Board of Control for Cricket in India to select probables for the next World Cup, scheduled to be held in England next year, is a step in the right direction. That the BCCI is serious in drawing up training plans for the selected probables is clear from the fact that cricket consultant Bobby Simpson of Australia will conduct the first camp for the probables from August 21 to September 5 next. He has been contracted by the BCCI as consultant till the 1999 World Cup.
England in any case holds happy memories for India because it was there that Kapil's Devils won the World Cup in 1983. One lesson which the national selectors must review before they sit down to select the probables on August 8 is the type of players they are looking for the India squad.
One must remember that in the 1983 World Cup campaign India were served by a number of bits and pieces players who could bat as well as the ball. Leading this brigade was the skipper, Kapil Dev, himself, who while not belting attacks out of the ground could do his own bit with the ball even when his team was defending small totals. Therefore, the national selectors must try their utmost to spot and nurture these bits and pieces players who usefulness in English conditions can never be belittled. In any case the conditions in England in May and June are just right for the medium pacers. Thus the national selectors must induct the maximum possible number of medium pacers in the list of probables.

The one thing which the board must do is to offer firm contracts to the probables selected for national duty. The board must remember that the Indian cricketers are how professionals and therefore, the board must guarantee them a minimum payment as long as they are under contract with the board. The board can offer two types of contracts. To the "near certains" the board can offer a more lucrative contract while players on the fringe of national selection can be offered somewhat less. But the board must ensure while offering the contract that players inducted into the national squad do not play in unauthorised tournaments and masala matches. While not denying that there is a lot of money to be picked up from playing in such matches the call of national duty must take the top-most priority.
Currently Indian cricket is on a high. And the board must do its utmost to keep up the morale of the team. Out of five tournaments that India have played this year it has won four , a creditable performance indeed. For the statistically minded India have played 25 one-day matches in all this year, won 16, lost seven while two were drawn.If India keep up the tempo there is no reason why India should not do well in next year's World Cup.
The beginning of the year saw India winning the Independence Cup tournament in Bangladesh where it successfully chased a plus 300 total to upset the applecart of Pakistan in the final. Although lndia lost to Australia in the three-nation tournament hosted by it in March-April, it made amends by beating Australia in the final of the Sharjah Cup. Then it outplayed Bangladesh and Kenya, both of whom have qualified for the 1999 World Cup, in a three-nation tournament held in India before outplaying Sri Lanka, the current world champions, to win the Sri Lanka Independence Cup.
This year the national selectors have tried out as many as 27 players in the various one-day internationals. Of course a number of junior players were tried out in the tournament involving India, Kenya and Bangladesh but the experience gained by players like Jatin Paranjpe of Nikhil Chopra will stand them in good stead in the future. Also, with so many one-day tournaments coming up in the future in the run-up for the World Cup it would not be a bad idea to pick up say a core group of 22 players (one can call them group A) and another 10 players (one can call them group B) for the 1999 World Cup.

What happened to Ronaldo?
PARIS, July 16 (PTI) — Mystery behind Brazilian star striker Ronaldo’s illness and the controversy regarding his appearance in the World Cup final against France has taken a new turn with football authorities accusing each other of sacrificing the world’s most priced player.
While wide-ranging speculations continue over the mental and physical health of the player, media back home in Brazil has blown the issue out of proportion castigating the former champions’ loss in general and Ronaldo’s illness in particular.
"What happened?" is the common question that Brazilian newspapers were raising ever since the soccer crazy nation was stunned by the defeat and it has been the Ronaldo, who is made the centre of controversy.
The 21-year-old striker, who said he feared for his life when he suffered a fit prior to Sunday’s World Cup final, yesterday displayed a rare bout of ill-temper when tracked down by television reporters in Brasilia and the dressing room mystery still remained to be answered.
"How long are you going to chase me? What kind of life is this?" Ronaldo shouted at a cameraman from his car.
As the world waited for the final to start, Brazilian coach Mario Zagallo pulled a nerve out of Ronaldo’s fans when he announced the starting line-up without the striker’s name.

While Zagallo had hard time convincing team members of Ronaldo’s exclusion, the striker was receiving treatment in a hospital and "what went on in the Brazilian dressing room in the hour before kickoff" resulted in Ronaldo being asked to join the squad at the Stade de France.
He appeared at the stadium shortly before the kickoff and was off-colour during the entire encounter dominated by the French - Brazil showing just a few glimpses of its world famous silken style in the second half.
The final tie took the toll out of Ronaldo, who at such a young age was loaded with the entire nation’s hope of winning the record fifth World Cup title. The responsibility was so immense that the two-time FIFA footballer of the year suffered nausea and thought that he almost swallowed his tongue.
"We lost the World Cup, but we won another cup: my life," Ronaldo said after the final.
The controversy blew out of proportion as his team-mates gave a different version about his illness.
There was a pandemonium on Sunday afternoon at the hotel where Brazil were camping, when some Brazilian players thought Ronaldo was dead because of convulsion.
He was immediately rushed to the hospital at Seine-Saint-Denis and various tests including scanning was conducted. The much-wanted striker came to the stadium only at 8.10, half an hour before the match ceremony began.
Nearly 80,000 spectators at Stade de France and millions of television viewers were shell-shocked to watch mediocre performance given by Brazil as hosts France drubbed the defending champions by a 3-0 margin, normally not possible to achieve against the team having the world’s best players.
The director of the Paris hospital last evening called for a Press conference to clarify the issue but he refused to talk specifically about Ronaldo’s health or what kind of problems he developed on that fateful evening.
Inter Milan chief Massimo Moratti is leading the band of officials who are accusing the Brazilian football authorities of risking Ronaldo’s life by asking him to play in the final.
Moratti blasted the Brazilian team management of causing immense mental and physical trauma to the star player.
"The Brazilian football federation behaved in an absurd manner. They made a grave error by putting him in the squad.For the kind of illness he suffered, Ronaldo should have been rested at least for a month," Moratti said.
Inter-Milan has invested heavily on Ronaldo and any injury the player might have carried, would mean disaster for the club.
In fact, Ronaldo’s team-mates also strongly protested his inclusion in the team because of his health, but Zagallo, under some external pressure, was forced to include Ronaldo in the starting lineup.

Some reports say that it was pressure from the sponsors which compelled Zagallo to put unwell Ronaldo on the field.
"The decision brought angry reactions from the other players, most of them decided not to play their usual game in protest," Fernando Eichenberg, a Brazilian journalist who covered his national team since their arrival in May, said.
Brazilian media reports claimed that Ronaldo’s girlfriend Susannah Werner broke with him during the World Cup and both agreed not to talk to the Press about their decision. This incident shocked Ronaldo, who was already under immense pressure to perform well.
Roberto Carlos, room-mate of Ronaldo in France, added strength to this view saying it was strange but Ronaldo’s ailment was emotional. "I hope he has a good rest in Brazil".
Hotel authorities in Chateau De La Grande Romanie, near Paris, where the Brazilian team was staying confirmed that pandemonium did occur on the floor occupied by Brazil. "There was general alarm with yells and shouts which woke up all the players," a hotel official was quoted as saying.
He claimed that many players shouted that Ronaldo was dead. When the team left the hotel for the match there was complete silence and we knew something was drastically wrong with the team spirit which was reflected in the field, the official said.

National open marathon on August 8
By Our Sports Reporter
CHANDIGARH, July 16 — The fourth prize-money National Open Travancore Marathon and Track Meet will be held at the University Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala), on August 8.
This was stated by a spokesman for the Chandigarh Amateur Athletic Association (CAAA) here today. The marathon winner will pocket a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh while the runner-up will get a cash award of Rs 50,000 and the third place holder will receive a cash prize of Rs 25,000. The fourth, fifth and sixth place holders will get cash prizes of Rs 7,500, 5,000 and 3,000 respectively, while the seventh to 10th place holders, will get Rs 1,000 each.
The marathon will start at 8 a.m. and finished at the University Stadium, a spokesman said. Participants who complete the full marathon, which should take around 3 hours 30 minutes, will be awarded prize-money.
The spokesman said the amount would be given in compliance with the rules of the Amateur Athletic Federation of India (AAFI).
The marathon was open to all men above 21 years and participants should report at the University Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram, on August 7 at 3 p.m. to collect the chest number and instruction sheet. Last date for receipt of duly completed forms is July 31.
The spokesman added that no runner above 40 years would be allowed to participate in the race.
Besides this, the prize-money track events will be held on the same day at 2.30 p.m. also at the University Stadium. The invitation 100m winner will get a cash prize of Rs 50,000 while the runners-up and third place holders would pocket cash prizes of Rs 25,000 and Rs 10,000, respectively.
Thereafter the invitation 1500m men and women race would also be organised at the same venue. The winners will be awarded cash prizes of Rs 50,000 each while the runners-up and third position holders would get prizes of Rs 25,000 and Rs 10,000 respectively.
In addition to the prize-money, a trophy and track suit would be awarded to all first three positions holders.

Japan denies visas to foreign coaches
NEW DELHI, July 61 (PTI) — The Japanese embassy has thrown a spanner in the works of Amateur Athletic Federation of India (AAFI) plans by denying visas to all five foreign officials named to accompany the Indian squad for the 12th Asian Track and Field Meet in Fukuoka.
Coaches Aleksei Ivano, Gueorgui Tchernychev and Masseur Gennadi Kossarev (all Russian), sprint coach Valery Moshkovsky and team doctor Yuri Boyko (both Ukraine) have not been issued Visas and could not accompany the contingent which left here today for the July 19 to 22 meet in Japan.
"We submitted the relevant papers as early as June 1 and also provided supporting papers sent by the Japanese Athletic Federation. But the authorities here say they have to get clearance from their foreign ministry," AAFI Secretary Lalit K. Bhanot said.
"The embassy has been dragging its feet. Each day, they keep asking us to come the next day," Bhanot said adding that foreign coaches not travelling would be a setback for the team looking to improve on its 1995 showing in Jakarta where India managed only one gold, one silver and three bronze.
Meanwhile, Veteran P.T. Usha promised to do "my maximum". Usha, suffering from a groin pain after stretching fully in the Chennai Federation Cup meet, said she had recovered.
Chief coach Bahadur Prasad said in all events — sprints, throws and middle distance — the performance of Indian athletes had been going up.
"In training they have all come up with excellent efforts and I am quite confident of our returning with good results. We are looking mainly for peak performances, as a medal will depend on the kind of opposition our athletes will have," the former Asian shot put champion said.
He predicted that Usha would "do her life best" going by the form she was in. Sprinter Rajeev Balakrishnan, who clocked 10.43 seconds to improve on his own national 100 mark in the Chennai meet in July, should also do better than that, he added.
The team assembled at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here after arriving from the SAI south centre in Bangalore, where they had been training after the Federation Cup.
The "double periodisation" - of peaking twice for meets -has started to produce results with competition level at the domestic meets also going up, he said.
On the visa issue, Bhanot said even if the clearance came tomorrow the AAFI could manage to send the foreign coaches to the Fukuoka meet.
The Indian squad, comprising 16 men and women athletes each, will reach Fukuoka via Tokyo

PSB hockey stars honoured
By Our Sports Reporter
CHANDIGARH, July 16 — In recognition of the outstanding contribution of Olympian Baljit Singh Saini, Baljit Singh Chandi and Sandip Singh, both internationals, for the Punjab and Sind Bank hockey team and their impressive record while playing for the country in international tournaments, the bank has decided to honour them with out-of-turn promotion. Baljit Singh Saini has been promoted from JMGS-I to Manager, MMGS-II; Baljit Singh Chandi and Sandip Singh from clerical to officer JMGS-I.
All three players were recruited in the bank under the sports quota and ever since they have been playing a key role in the bank's hockey team which has put up sterling performances in various hockey tournaments at the national level.
Mr S.S. Kohli, Chairman and Managing Director of the bank, congratulated them on their elevation and said the bank was fully committed to the promotion of hockey in the country.

Patiala badminton
From Our Sports Reporter
PATIALA, July 16 — The Patiala District Masters Badminton Association will organise the Punjab State Masters Badminton Championships at Patiala in the second week of October, according to Dr Naresh Raj, Senior Vice-President of the association.
Board and lodging arrangements for all participants would be made by the organisers. There would be attractive prizes for the winners. Prior to this meet, the association would hold a district-level meet in the second week of September.