Friday, April 9, 1999
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S P O R T | Friday, April 9, 1999 |
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Pak defeat India by 116 runs SHARJAH, April 8 — Indian batting plumbed the depths yet again against Pakistan as they caved in to an embarrassing 116-run defeat after a shocking lack of effort in the Coca Cola Triseries Limited Overs Cricket Tournament league tie here tonight. Indian challenge ends as Paes loses CHENNAI, April 8 — Karol Kucera of Slovakia and Andrew Ilie of Australia became the latest seeds to fall by the wayside in the ATP Gold Flake Open here on a evening when the Indian hopes ended in the singles with Leander Paes being beaten by Zimbabwe’s Byron Black in a pre-quarter final match.
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Australia win final Test, square
series
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Ghana stun holders Argentina LAGOS, April 8 — Holders Argentina slumped to a 1-0 defeat against Ghana in soccer’s World Youth Championships yesterday while hosts Nigeria overcame Germany 2-0 for their first victory. New Fed
Cup format from next year Pak
deny Germany place in final Kournikova,
Pierce advance
Depleted Karnataka face Punjab
today Digvijay
surges ahead Hyderabad
start favourites |
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Pak defeat India by 116 runs SHARJAH, April 8 (PTI) — Indian batting plumbed the depths yet again against Pakistan as they caved in to an embarrassing 116-run defeat after a shocking lack of effort in the Coca Cola Triseries Limited Overs Cricket Tournament league tie here tonight. Hardly showing any signs of a fightback after three huge defeats in a row against their arch-rivals in the just-ended triseries at home, the Indian attack was treated with disdain as 'man of the match' Inzamam-ul-Haq struck a sparkling 107 to propel Pakistan to 279 for eight wickets in 50 overs. In reply India lost their way early on before crawling to 163 for six wickets in 50 overs in front of stunned fans as Pakistan completed their second convincing win. More than the fourth straight defeat by a huge margin in the space of a month, it was the meek surrender of the Indian batsmen which stood out with Rahul Dravid and Robin Singh being the major culprits as they plodded on showing no intention of keeping up a game fight. Sorely missing injured bating maestro Sachin Tendulkar, feeble Indian hopes of chasing an asking rate of 5.6 an over vanished at the outset as they were left reeling at 47 for four wickets by a Pakistan team brimming with confidence that showed no mood to concede any quarter. The Indian team was faced with further trouble with five of the players going down with viral fever today. Amay Khurasia, Ajit Agarkar, Nayan Mongia, Nikhil Chopra and Vinod Kambli were all ill and the Indian team management has already sent an appeal for at least three replacements. Openers S Ramesh (10) and Saurav Ganguly (26) struggled against the pace of Wasim Akram and Shoaib Akhtar and on their dismissals, third seamer Azhar Mehmood piled on the agony by firing out out-of-form skipper Mohammed Azharuddin (1) and Ajay Jadeja (0) off successive balls to be on a hat-trick. India, who lost at home by margins of over 100-runs and by seven wickets to Pakistan, would have crashed to a bigger defeat but for Sunil Joshi making a breezy 38 not out with the half-fit Mongia (22 n.o) towards the fag end. Inzamam-ul Haq (107 -115 b, 6x4, 3x6) and Yousuf Youhana raised a racy 140 runs for the fourth wicket after India gained early initiative by removing Saeed Anwar (4), Ijaz Ahmed (38 off 34 balls) and Shahid Afridi (28). Pakistan batsmen plundered 92 runs in the slog overs to pile up a huge total for the second day running. The Indian reply in the face of Shoaib Akhtar’s express pace and Akram’s guile never really took off. Ganguly showed some assurance, but Ramesh had no clue and tamely swung Akhtar to Akram at midwicket and Ganguly was adjudged leg before padding up to off-spinner Saqlain Mushtaq Any hopes of a revival vanished when Azharuddin was caught behind off Mehmood after facing just seven balls and the emerging all-rounder trapped Ajay Jadeja first ball with a sharp in-cutter plumb in front. Both Rahul Dravid, who ambled to 28 off 79 balls, and Robin Singh (26 off 60 b) rarely played a convincing stroke as the score moved at snail’s pace and the result was clear long before the match ended. A beleaguered India meet England tomorrow. PAKISTAN: Bowling: Srinath 10-1-44-1 (1NB, 1W), Prasad 10-0-69-3 (1NB), Kumble 10-0-31-1, Singh 8-0-43-0, Joshi 9-0-58-0, Ganguly 3-0-20-0. INDIA |
Indian challenge ends as Paes loses CHENNAI, April 8 (PTI) — Karol Kucera of Slovakia and Andrew Ilie of Australia became the latest seeds to fall by the wayside in the ATP Gold Flake Open here on a evening when the Indian hopes ended in the singles with Leander Paes being beaten by Zimbabwe’s Byron Black in a pre-quarter final match. Indian ace Paes posed little problems for fourth seed Black, losing 3-6 2-6 despite a capacity crowd egging him on for a comeback. Black, who came here with a win over Mark Philippoussis of Australia in a Davis Cup tie under his belt, now awaits the winner of Richard Fromberg-Lars Burgsmuller match for his quarterfinal tie. The 1997 champion Mikael Tillstrom of Sweden started the upset of seeded players today with a well-composed 7-5 6-4 6-2 win over world number 10 and second seed Kucera on the centre court to book a last eight berth against John Van Luttom of the Netherlands, who overcame Jonathan Stark (USA) 7-6 (14-12) 0-6, 7-6 (8-6). Tillstrom, who finished runners-up to Patrick Rafter of Australia last year, kept his reputation intact ousting a highly ranked opponent, who looked fatigued by the humid conditions. In a late night match on an outside court, temperamental Andrew Ilie lost a spectacular battle to Vincenzo Santopadre of Italy 2-6 7-5 3-6 as the tournament lost the fourth seeded player, two other going down in first round itself. Left-hander Santopadre, however, created the major upset ousting the in-form Romanian-born Ilie and awaits the winner of the clash between Dutchman Peter Wessels and Sargis Sargsian of Armenia. Germany’s seventh seed Rainer Schuttler booked his quarter-final berth with a easy 6-1 6-2 win over wild card entrant Andreas Vinciguerra of Sweden. In the Paes-Black match, throughout the match Paes never got on against the humidity-loving Zimbabwean, who maintained consistency and exhibited superb ground strokes and passing forehands. The
Indian’s forehand returns and backhand shots found
the net quite a few times and his serves lacked the much
needed venom. |
Ghana stun holders Argentina LAGOS, April 8 (Reuters) — Holders Argentina slumped to a 1-0 defeat against Ghana in soccer’s World Youth Championships yesterday while hosts Nigeria overcame Germany 2-0 for their first victory. Mexico became the first team to guarantee a second-round place by beating Australia 3-1, Croatia hammered Kazakhstan 5-1 and Ireland and Paraguay both won for the first time, beating Saudi Arabia and Costa Rica respectively. The organisers suffered something of an off-day, with four of the six matches taking place in empty stadiums and a mammoth traffic jam forming near the stadium in Lagos after the police blocked off a key flyover. A late goal by Peter Ofari-Quaye gave Ghana victory in the group B game in Kaduna against the South Americans, who have won the last two World Youth Championships. Ofari-Quaye, Ghana’s most dangerous player and scorer of their goal in their opening 1-1 draw with Croatia, broke through the Argentine defence in the 77th minute and scored with a left foot shot. This put Ghana at top in Group-B with four points from two games, with Croatia and Argentina both on three. Argentine coach Jose Peckerman, whose team had the better of the first half, blamed a loss of concentration for the defeat. Croatia handed Kazakhstan their second straight defeat of the championship. Kazakhstan’s Ali Aliyec put the ball in his own net while Yerlan Urazayev grabbed their only goal of the tournament. The hosts played before a half-full stadium here, fans apparently staying away in protest at their 1-1 draw with Costa Rica on Saturday. Second-half goals by Ganiyu Shittu and Hashimu Garba downed the Germans, who were without Enrico Kern, their hat-trick hero against Paraguay on Sunday. Paraguay overcame Costa Rica 3-1 in an absorbing match, goals by Roque Santa Cruz, Nelson Vera and Nelson Cuevas putting them level on three points with Germany and one behind Nigeria in Group-A. Costa Rica have one point. "Their win was well deserved. We are a bit sad about the chances we missed ... but we realised the Nigerian team had more chances," said German coach Bernd Stober. Mexico’s win in Group-C, thanks to goals from Rafael Marquez, Juan Rodriguez and Daniel Osorno made them the only team with maximum points from two games. Mile Sterjovski pulled Australia level at halftime and Jason Culina missed a second-half penalty. Mexico coach Jesus Lopez described the game as poor and blamed the blistering afternoon heat for it. A spectacular long-range goal by Stephan McPhail and a Damien Duff effort gave Ireland their 2-0 win over Saudi Arabia, who missed a second-half penalty and had a first-half goal disallowed. The ball bounced down
from the crossbar and appeared to cross the line but the
referee waved play on. The result pulled Ireland level
with Australia on three points and left Saudi Arabia with
two straight defeats. |
Beijing submits bid for 2008 Olympics BEIJING, April 8 (Reuters) — Beijing has formally bid for the 2008 Olympic Games, ending years of debate after China’s failure to secure the 2000 games, state media said today. The official Xinhua News Agency said Beijing mayor Liu Qi and Chinese Olympic Committee President Wu Shaozu presented the bid to International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Juan Antonio Samaranch in Lausanne yesterday. Beijing unveiled its bid for the games in November and won the unanimous support of the 75-member Chinese Olympic Committee in January. The decision to fight for the games ended years of high-level Chinese debate over whether to submit a new bid after Beijing lost out to Sydney in 1993 for the right to host the 2000 Olympics. Beijing’s bid then was beset by political controversy after members of the US Congress complained about China’s human rights record and Beijing’s serious air pollution. The new bid will face
tough competition from Buenos Aires, Paris, Toronto,
Kuala Lumpur, Istanbul, Osaka and Seville. The host will
be announced after an IOC meeting in June 2001. |
New Fed Cup format from next year LONDON, April 8 (DPA) — The Federation Cup women's team tennis event will feature 13 teams from next year instead of eight and will marketed by the ISL company on a five-year deal, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) has said. An ITF press statement yesterday said ISL held the rights to market the event as well as sell sponsorship and television rights. No details were released, but ISL is said to have come up with 'a significant financial offer' which 'ensures the long-term future of the event'. The ITF Executive Federation Cup Director Deborah Evans said: "We believe that this move will put the Federation Cup on a stronger commercial footing." The format change apparently comes by demand of ISL after the current scheme — five rubbers over a weekend per tie in three rounds with a total eight teams — had made the women's equivalent of the Davis Cup drop in popularity and income. In the new format, the first week of action will see 12 nations playing in three round-robin events in three different countries. The host countries will be the losing 1999 semifinalists and the losing finalist. The three winners then
play out the new champion along with the 1999 champion,
who is automatically qualified for the final four event
which it will also host. |
Pak deny Germany place in final KUALA LUMPUR, April 8 (AP) — Pakistan denied Germany a place in the final with a 4-2 win in the ninth Sultan Azlan Cup Tournament at Malaysia's National Hockey Stadium. Germany, who needed a draw to qualify for the final, lost out as Pakistan scored a pair of goals in each half to stay at the top of the preliminary round of the six-nation meet. Sohail Abbas scored the first goal in the 18th minute when he blasted in Pakistan's opening penalty corner. Muhammad Sarwar added the second goal for Pakistan the following minute to give the team a 2-0 lead at half-time. Recharged during the interval, Germany reduced the deficit through a penalty corner conversion by Bjorn Michel in the 39th minute. But Sohail was again on target when he converted Pakistan's third penalty corner in the 43rd minute to emerge the leading scorer of the tournament with 11 goals so far. Michel was in his element again when he scored another penalty corner in the 47th minute before Pakistan sealed the game with a goal by Mohammed Shahbaz in the 65th minute. Pakistan have won all of their matches so far, with earlier victories over Canada (6-3). South Korea (6-2), New Zealand (5-2) and Malaysia (5-1). Germany won their first three matches against South Korea (4-3), New Zealand (3-0) and Malaysia (4-3), but lost to Canada 1-2. Pakistan's coach, Shahnaz Sheikh, said his team was not worried about the opponents they would play in the final. "We are ready to
face anyone here", he said. |
Kournikova, Pierce advance AMELIA ISLAND (Florida), April 8 (Reuters) — Jennifer Capriati squandered opportunities last night to lose 6-3, 6-3 to Russian Anna Kournikova at the Bausch & Lomb Championships. Ninth seed Kournikova rallied from a break down in both sets and capitalised on the 23-year-old's unforced errors on critical points to advance to the round of 16. "I had more than my share of chances," said Capriati, ranked 81st in the world. "I was in there with her. Anna played well on a lot of balls, but I ended-up making the errors. That's still from a lack of playing matches. I felt like I was rushing my own game. She wasn't doing anything." "If I had taken my time and been more relaxed, it might have been different." Kournikova, who now advances to face top-seeded Lindsay Davenport, trailed 3-2 in the first set and 2-0 in the second, but rallied both times on the clay surface to win the next four games and regain control of the match. Capriati was ranked as high as sixth in the world in 1991, reaching the Wimbledon and US Open semifinals as a 15-year-old but she suffered from burnout by 1993 and was later arrested for drug possession, forcing her off the women's tour for two years. Kournikova, a resident of Miami, was content to let Capriati self-destruct in their first meeting. "She has no rhythm, she plays a strange game," Kournikova said. "It's difficult to play a player like that. You never know what to expect. She could hit winners from the baseline and miss easy shots. On the important points, she missed." "May be she's not prepared mentally. She tried to rush a lot and I tried to be patient. That's why I won." Kournikova, who lost to top-ranked Martina Hingis in the final last week at Hilton Head, will face Davenport for the first time since losing 7-5, 6-3 to her last year in the Bausch & Lomb quarterfinals. Davenport had the day off after winning her second-round match on Tuesday. Besides Kournikova, defending champion and fourth seed Mary Pierce of France cruised to a 6-0, 6-0 victory over Romania's Catalina Cristea. Fifth-seeded Amanda Coetzer of South Africa and 10th-seeded Chanda Rubin of the USA also advanced with straight-set victories. But 13th-seed Lisa Raymond and 16th seed Iva Majoli of Croatia faded in the third set of their matches. Raymond won only six points in the deciding set as the 25-years-old American was eliminated by Colombia's Fabiola Zuluaga 6-2, 5-7, 6-0. Majoli, the 1997 French Open champion, fell 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 to Argentina's Ines Gorrochategui. OEIRAS (PORTUGAL), (AP): Unseeded Hungarian Rita Kuti Kis upset women's top seed Anke Huber from the Estoril Open today, beating the German 7-6 (11-9), 6-1. The 24-year-old Huber consistently committed errors and repeatedly lost her temper, throwing her racket to the ground. Huber lost her first service game and slumped to 1-5 in the first set. She briefly rallied but then surrendered a 5-1 lead in the tie-break and collapsed in the second set. Huber joins Yevgeny Kafelnikov, the top seed in the men's draw who was eliminated with a first-round defeat on Tuesday. In the men's singles, Spaniard Feliz Mantilla, seeded sixth, chalked up a 6-3, 6-2 second-round victory over Andrei Medvedev of Ukraine, who won the tournament in 1993. Number 3 seed Marcelo
Rios of Chile and No. 5 seed Gustavo Kuerten of Brazil
were to play their first-round matches. |
Australia win final Test, square series ST JOHN'S (ANTIGUA), April 8 (Reuters) — A defiant 56 by opener Adrian Griffith failed to deny Australia a comprehensive 176-run win over West Indies in the fourth and final Test today to square the series 2-2. West Indies, facing a huge victory target of 388, never looked capable of withstanding the Australian attack and were dismissed for 211. Griffith, forced to retire yesterday after being struck on the elbow by fast bowler Glenn McGrath, was the only batsman to show the necessary determination before he was out after facing 218 deliveries. Resuming at 105 for four, West Indies were in deeper trouble when Jimmy Adams, their main hope of holding out for a draw, was dismissed without addition of any run to his overnight score. Colin Miller, selected ahead of leg-spinner Shane Warne, utilised his off-spin to have Adams smartly stumped by Ian Healy for 18. Griffith and Ridley Jacobs added 40 to see off Australia's mainstream attack and it was occasional bowler Greg Blewett who made the next breakthrough, trapping Jacobs lbw for 16 for his second wicket of the innings. Nehemiah Perry made a breezy 26 in a 39-run partnership with Griffith for the seventh wicket but then leg-spinner Stuart MacGill stepped in with three wickets to end any hopes that the West Indies harboured of holding out for a draw. MacGill had Perry caught by Michael Slater at midwicket, bowled Curtly Ambrose for four and then finally reached Griffith's defence to trap him leg-before. Fast-bowler Glenn McGrath wrapped up the innings with his 30th wicket of the series when he had Corey Collymore caught off the shoulder of his bat by MacGill for six. Australia's only setback of the day came off the field when McGrath was fined 30 per cent of his match fee for bringing the game into disrepute over an incident at the end of fourth day's play. McGrath was severely reprimanded by match referee Raman Subba Row for spitting on the pitch after bowling the last ball of the day. It was accepted McGrath did not spit at West Indies opener Griffith, as the home team had complained, but Subba Row said spitting of any sort would not be condoned. Scoreboard: |
An awesome
batting
display PAKISTAN gave an outstanding batting display to dismissively put the English medium pace attack to the sword. A bowling squad picked for the World Cup in England with favourable seaming pitches, had no variety or penetration to bother the in-form Pakistanis on a flat, grassless surface. Even when the brilliant Anwar went early, it didn't stem the flow of runs. This team is on the crest of a wave. They expect to win, and losing never enters their head. Whatever the England bowlers threw up Afridi, Ijaz and Inzamam disdainfully smashed them to all parts. It was an awesome display of confident power-batting. Ijaz can sometimes scuttle around at the beginning of an innings but not this one. He is an uncomplicated player who will never be aesthetic but he is strong square of the wickets and hits fantastically to the leg side. When he does hit they are big sixes. England's performance was below standard. The players have not been involved in competitive cricket since mid-February, when they lost the Benson & Hedges to Australia in Melbourne. A week's net in Lahore and a few practice matches were not enough to combat a rampant opposition. There is no substitute for being in the heat of the battle. England came into this match under-prepared and it showed! The fielding left a bit to be desired with two catches going down and some mis-fielding. They are no outstanding athletes so they can't afford anything below best because their best makes them only an average fielding side. It wasn't all doom and gloom as Hick and Hollioake took good catches. Hick batted nicely but the big plus was Andy Flintoff-a big lad who is a surprise to most England supporters. He excelled with his county Lancashire, was picked for one Test match against South Africa, made a pair and was never to be talked about again all season. Suddenly he thrilled the selectors with his A-team batting in Zimbabwe this winter and got selected for Sharjah and the World Cup. Now he know why with the match almost lost, he took the bowling by the scruff of its neck and walloped it. Afridi got the treatment he usually dishes out to others. Target balls got smashed for big sixes and mishits went for fours. I think he could out-hit Afridi in a contest! It would be exciting to watch them batting together. Akhtar and Saqlain were match-winners. With three early wickets, Shoaib Akhtar put the skids under England. What a revelation he has been in such at short time. Imran Khan used to use the youthful Wasim Akram as a wicket-taking bowler. Now Wasim is captain and not quite as fast as he used to be — but much wiser — he gives Shoaib the ball to bowl fast and get wickets regardless of the runs he gives away and it works. The captain transmits his confidence to Shoaib and the fast bowler repays him with match-winning bowling. Saqlain is just a class act. He has flight, loop, skill plus that magical top spinner and a fierce competitive spirit. The more I watch
Pakistan, the more I feel you would be a brave man to
back against them for the World Cup. — PMG |
Depleted Karnataka face Punjab today AMRITSAR, April 8 (UNI) — A full strength Punjab, comprising former Test players Navjot Singh Sidhu, Vikram Rathore and Harbhajan Singh, will take on the depleted squad of defending champions Karnataka in the five-day Ranji Trophy semifinals beginning here tomorrow. Karnataka, despite having performed well in the current Ranji season, look an inferior side, at least on paper, because they will be without the services of five of their star players. The missing players are Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble, Sunil Joshi, Srinath and Venkatesh Prasad, who are currently playing in the Sharjah tournament. Punjab skipper Vikram Rathore, while describing Karnataka as a strong and well balanced side, acknowledged the fact that the absence of their top players would give them an edge. They will be without their class spinners Kumble and Joshi who would have been a threat on a wicket which is expected to provide help to the spinners as the game progresses, he added. In the absence of Kumble and Joshi, the Karnataka bowling would depend on medium pacer Doda Ganesh. However, Ganesh would be up against Sidhu and Rathore, one of the best opening pairs in domestic cricket, both of whom have also opened for India. The Karnataka spin attack would be in the hands of the inexperienced Anand Ktti and Anand Yalveiji, while on the other hand the hosts would have the services of their spin trio of Harbhajan, Navdeep and Sarndeep all of whom have been amongst wickets in the current Ranji season. Rathore and Punjab coach Bhupinder Singh (sr) acknowledged the fact that their spin attack was superior to their opponents. Punjab too have their problems as one of the front line bowlers Harvinder Singh has been ruled out of the game due to a back problem. Harbhajan, who was hit on the right knee during net practice yesterday, is yet to recover but coach Bhupinder said that his injury was minor and he would be fit for tomorrow's game. Former India under-19 captain Reetinder Sodhi too has not yet fully recovered from the knee injury that kept him out of the quarterfinal match against Tamil Nadu. Even if Reetinder Sodhi is fully fit to play tomorrow, Punjab may go in with the same side that played the quarterfinal match. In case coach Bhupinder decides to include Sodhi then he will replace Amit Sharma. Karnataka are yet to finalise their final line-up. Their batting would depend on Test discard and skipper Sujit Somasunder and openers Arun Kumar and Vijay Bhardwaj who have been amongst the runs this season. The last time that the two sides met was in the last Ranjit season when Karnataka beat Punjab at Bangalore. But the Gandhi Ground here has been lucky for the hosts and the last time they lost here was in the 1989-90 they were beaten by Delhi in a Ranji league match.
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Digvijay surges ahead CHANDIGARH, April 8 — Digvijay Singh opened his lead by another stroke over his nearest rival Harmeet Kahlon on the third day of the Bharat Petroleum Samarvir Sahi Open Golf Tournament at the Chandigarh Golf Club today. Digvijay Singh had a roller coaster round today. Starting with a bogey, birdie, bogey, he steadied up very well in the middle and with two birdies on the 11th and 13th he was well on his way to another par round. But a disastrous triple bogey on the dog-leg 15th wiped out his hard work and saw him finish with a 3 over par 75. Harmeet Kahlon had a lacklustre round today making six bogies till the 15th hole. He then shot back with birdies on the 16th and 17th to bring in a card of 4 over 76. Sheeraz Kalra, the runner-up of the just concluded All India Amateur Open, moved in one the leaders as he played a steady golf once more demonstrating the virtue of consistency, to bring in a 1 over 73 card which might very well have been a par round but for the missed shot putt for birdie on the 18th hole. The best card of the day belong to Aman Behl who played a par round of 72. The 18th hole also proved disastrous for Aman Behl who double bogeyed to spoil what would have been a sub par round. The leaders into the fourth day are as under: Digvijay Singh (216), Harmeet Kahlon (221), Sheeraz Kalra (222), Anitya Chand (223), Jaiveer Singh (230), Sandeep Syal (230), Aman Behl & Saurabh Bahuguna (231), Shiv Kapoor, Vinod Kumar, Sandeep Verma (232). The final 18 holes will
be played tomorrow at 7.30 a.m. |
Hyderabad start favourites HYDERABAD, April 8 (PTI) — Former champions Hyderabad, fresh from their emphatic 438-run win over Delhi in the quarterfinals, start favourites when they take on Madhya Pradesh in the Ranji Trophy semifinals here tomorrow. Hyderabad and Madhya Pradesh earlier met on two occasions and both times Hyderabad reigned supreme. At Nagpur in 1950-51, Hyderabad scored a three-wicket victory. Later in the 1997-98 super league tie at Bhilai, they gained first innings lead in a drawn encounter. Wills Trophy champions Madhya Pradesh, who began their super-league campaign on a sour note by conceding lead to defending champions Karnataka, bounced back with a win over Saurashtra. In the final super league encounter, Madhya Pradesh scored a thumping innings win over Haryana to take their points tally to 22, one more than Hyderabad, and gain entry into the semifinals directly. "Madhya Pradesh is a very competitive side. Even though we have advanced to this stage without much difficulty, we have to pool in all our resources to cross this last hurdle before taking a shot at the title", Hyderabad coach M.L. Jaisimha said. "Though the boys are in a jubilant mood, especially after their emphatic win over Delhi, they are equally cautious as Madhya Pradesh is a good side. However, I feel the toss will once again play a crucial role", he said. He felt too much dependence on medium pacer Narenderpal Singh, off-spinner Kanwaljit Singh and left-arm spinner Venkatpathy Raju was not good for the team. "We are trying to work out a strategy to wriggle out of this situation and give respite to our main bowlers by including an extra bowler", the coach added. Test discard VVS Laxman, who could not play to his potential due to back injury and had to resort to a runner against Delhi in both the innings, is now fully fit and will open the innings along with Arvind Shetty, Jaisimha said. He hoped the two batsmen would give Hyderabad a good start. The middle order, ably lead by former skipper M.V. Sridhar who played a pivotal role against Baroda and Delhi, has Nanda Kishore, Venka Pratap and P. Vinay Kumar. Jaisimha was all praise for veteran office Kanwaljit Singh for his excellent performance against Delhi. "We have a reasonably good all-round side. However, we miss the services of left-handed batsman Amay Khurasia who is on national duty. But still we have enough batting strength to counter the bowling attack of Hyderabad", Madhya Pradesh manager Gulrez Ali said. "Our openers J.P.
Yadav and C.P. Sahu are in good form. Devender, Bundela,
Abbas Ali and Harminder Sodi will open the bowling while
the spin department will be in the hands of left-arm
spinner Manish Majithia and Sunil Lahore, Test discards
leg spinner Narendra Hirwani and off-spinner Rajesh
Chauhan". |
H
Kabaddi meet concludes PATIALA, April 8 (FOSR) — PSEB just managed to scrape past a fighting Punjab to clinch the title in the men's section of the 12 National Circle-Style Kabaddi Championships which concluded at Dirbha, near here, today. Chandigarh by virtue of their 32-29 victory over Himachal Pradesh took the third place. In the women's section Punjab pipped Pepsu 23-17 to win the title while Haryana beat Delhi 29-22 to clinch the third spot. Balwinder Gandhi of Punjab and Jagjit Fauji of PSEB were declared as the best raider and the best stopper respectively. The prizes were distributed by the Agriculture Minister Mr Gurdev Singh Badal. Earlier an exhibition match was played between an Indian team and Canada in which the former won 37-33. Badminton titles PATIALA, April 8 (FOSR) — Mr G.S. Shah of the Punjab and Sind Bank successfully paired with Anil Chowdhury to lift both the under-35 years and over-35 years titles and then combined with Vinod Kapur in the above-45 years event to make a clean sweep of all the three titles at stake in the Patiala district Bestavision Inter-Club Badminton Championships which concluded at the NIS badminton hall, here. Results: Below-35 years: G.S. Shah and Anil Chowdhury beat Rakesh and Yash 15-8, 15-6, above-35 years G.S. Shah, and Anil Chowdhury beat Vinod Vatrana and K.K. Gudiala 15-19, 15-11, above-45 years: G.S. Shah and Vinod Kapur beat J.P. Singh and S.K. Bharaj 15-6, 15-4. PSEB win TT championship PATIALA, April 8 (FOSR) — PSEB paddlers annexed the title in the 26th All India Inter Electricity Board Table Tennis Tournament, which concluded at Kakinada (AP) yesterday, according to information received here today. The PSEB squad comprising Pankaj Sharma, Vikas Mahajan, Ajay Sharma and Gagan Bahri did their team proud by blanking out Tamil Nadu 3-0 in the finals. Earlier, in the semifinals PSEB beat Mumbai Suburban Electrical Company 3-1. Vikas Mahajan also stood first in the individual events for men while the PSEB pair of Pankaj Sharma and Vikas Mahajan clinched the doubles title in the individual events. Tennis trials AMRITSAR, April 8 (TNS) — The All-India Tennis Association is organising the north zone coaching camp at the DLTA complex within the R.K. Khanna Tennis Stadium, New Delhi, from April 25 to May 1. Ramesh Krishnan, former captain of India's Davis Cup team, will be conducting this camp for junior players in the under-14 and under-16 age groups. Trials for selecting promising players for this camp will be held on April 11 at 3 p.m. at the Punjab State Tennis Complex, Ram Bagh Gardens, here. Coaches' clinic CHANDIGARH, April 8 (BOSR) — All-India national badminton coaches clinic will begin tomorrow at the Sector 42 sports complex, here. The three-day seminar is being organised by the Badminton Coaches Welfare Association of India (BCWAI). The clinic will be
declared open by Mr Devender Singh, vice-president of BAI
at 10.30 a.m. while Mr Rajinder Kalsi, treasurer, BAI
will preside. |
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