Monday, December 13, 1999
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S P O R T | Monday, December 13, 1999 |
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 ADELAIDE : India's Ganguly drives during the third day's play in their cricket test against Australia in Adelaide on Sunday. — AP/PTI |
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Alshammar sets 2nd record in 2
days LISBON, Dec 12 — Sweden’s Therese Alshammar broke her second world record in as many days, shattering another long-standing Chinese mark at the European Short-Course Championships. IOC approves reforms with
ease
JCT clash with Bagan today Army,
Rly shooters in limelight
IA, Western Rly in title
clash DLF
golfers dominate
Mahindras, ITI play goalless draw |
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Aussies tighten grip on first Test ADELAIDE, Dec 12 (PTI) — Umpiring errors and Australia’s superior all-round strengths enabled them to take a stranglehold on the first cricket Test against India here today after attaining an overall lead of 227 runs with eight second innings wickets in hand. Sachin Tendulkar led a determined Indian effort to come close to Australia’s first innings total of 441 but his innings was terminated by a bad umpiring decision when he had established ascendancy over the home bowlers. He was ruled caught at short leg when the ball had come off his pad. The Indian skipper, who top scored with 61 and Sourav Ganguly, who made 60, had batted fluently during a 108-run partnership after India resumed at 123 for four on the third day of the Test. Despite uncharacteristic resistance by the Indian tail, the visitor’s innings ended at 285, conceding a lead of 156 to the Australians. The home side then made 71 for two in the second knock at draw of stumps. The huge first innings deficit notwithstanding, the Indian bowlers turned in an excellent performance when the Australians batted for the second time, snapping up the dangerous opening batsman Michael Slater for a duck and getting Justin Langer for 38 just before the close. With the umpires turning down several close leg-before appeals as well as one for a clear catch behind the stumps, the Australians did not suffer any further damage and are comfortably placed. At stumps, Greg Blewett was batting on 26 with Mark Waugh who is yet to open his account. The Australian strategy would be to pile up a lead of around 450 runs on the fourth day tomorrow giving their bowlers enough time to get the Indians out on a wicket that already has a few rough patches to help Shane Warne who took four for 92 in the first innings. Warne’s magic apart it was the determined resistance put up by the Indian late order that impressed most. MSK Prasad, Javagal Srinath, Ajit Agarkar and Anil Kumble all entered into double digits and not only swelled the total but also ate into precious time much to home captain Steve Waugh’s irritation. Indeed after Ganguly had fallen to Warne, the final four wickets could add 56 important runs and strutted their defiance for 110 minutes. Waugh had done his best to see it didn’t come to this as he bowled his two main executioners, Glenn McGrath (30 overs - 2/49) and Shane Warne (42) for 72 of the 113.4 overs of the Indian innings. The attacking fields and aggressive bowling by the hosts could not quite displace the visitors with the speed they wanted. First Tendulkar and Ganguly held up for better part of the morning and then the tail wagged. India could have looked even better if Australian umpire Daryl Harper had not ruled an easy pick off pads at short leg, by Justin Langer on the bowling of Warne, as legitimate and given Tendulkar out. Tendulkar, on 12 overnight, was at his majestic best and produced a masterly display of immaculate footwork and strokeplay till his innings was cut short wrongly. He weathered McGrath’s short-pitched stuff with minimum of fuss but was quick as leopard to twice punch him past extra cover and point fence. His awesome repertoire of strokes was never more evident than when he first ondrove, then flicked and finally produced a ripper of a cover drive against Michael Kasprowicz off successive deliveries. A firm push for three down the ground raised yet another half century for the little master who needed 159 minutes and 118 balls to produce a personal nugget with six fours. His partner Ganguly was no less a picture of solidity and serenity. He started by picking easy runs against Damien Fleming and looked so much at home that the bowler was pulled out after just three overs from the Cathedral end. It brought Warne into the picture but he too appeared an easy fodder to the Bengal batsman. Warne’s attempt to bowl into roughs with a packed offside field did not deter the batsman to go for his trademark strokes. When Warne pitched wide and turned, Ganguly went for his square drives and if the ball turned sharply into him, Ganguly would make room and square cut. Twice when Warne pitched further up, Ganguly essayed the most classical of off-drives. For once India looked to be on top. The first hour of the play produced 67 runs from 15 overs and the 200 of the innings was up after 288 minutes and 69 overs. Ganguly rammed a powerful hit through a crowded offside against Fleming to reach his half century, in 114 minutes off 90 balls, that included eight boundaries. The century stand between Tendulkar and Ganguly was further cause for celebration in the dressing room. It arrived in 110 minutes and 159 balls. But when everything pointed to an Indian summer, umpire Harper had his say. Warne pitched one on the leg stump and as Tendulkar went for a flick, the ball beat his bat and tossed up gently to Langer off his pads. Even as Tendulkar was turning to take afresh his guard, Harper had raised his finger. India took the lunch at 223 for five with Ganguly on 58 and wicketkeeper MSK Prasad on two. SCOREBOARD Australia (first innings) : 441 India (first innings): D. Gandhi c Kasprowicz b McGrath 4 S. Ramesh run out 2 Laxman c S. Waugh b McGrath 41 Dravid c Langer b Warne 35 Tendulkar c Langer b Warne 61 Ganguly st Gilchrist b Warne 60 M.S.K. Prasad b Warne 14 A. Agarkar b Fleming 19 J. Srinath c S. Waugh b Fleming 11 A. Kumble not out 17 V. Prasad lbw b Fleming 0 Extras (lb-1, w-2, nb-19) 21 Total (all out in 113.4 overs) 285 Fall of wickets: 1-7, 2-9, 3-90, 4-107, 5-215, 6-229, 7-240, 8-266, 9-266. Bowling: McGrath 30-13-49-2, Fleming 24.4-7-70-3, Kasprowicz 11-2-62-0, Warne 42-12-92-4, Blewett 6-1-11-0. Australia (second innings) : M. Slater c Ganguly b Srinath 0 G. Blewett batting 26 J. Langer c Gandhi b Kumble 38 M. Waugh batting 0 Extras (b-3, lb-3, nb-1) 7 Total (for 2 wkts in 28 overs) 71 Fall of wickets: 1-1, 2-65. Bowling: Srinath
8-1-23-1, Agarkar 5-2-11-0, Prasad 7-2-14-0, Kumble
8-3-11-1. |
Indian team seeks Gavaskar’s advice ADELAIDE, Dec 12 (AFP) — The touring Indians have called on Sunil Gavaskar to correct their batting technique as Australia went for the kill in the first cricket Test here today. Gavaskar was requested by team coach Kapil Dev to speak to the players on the nuances of playing genuine fast bowling after the Indians were bundled out for 285 in their first innings. Gavaskar, the first batsman to score 10,000 runs in Test history and with a record 34 centuries under his belt, willingly acceded to Kapil’s request. “I will talk to any player who needs my advice,” said Gavaskar, who is here as a television commentator. Gavaskar’s first words of wisdom went to opening batsman Devang Gandhi, who was dismissed for four yesterday awkwardly fending off a rising ball from paceman Glenn McGrath. “I told Devang his stance was very square-on,” Gavaskar said. “He is a good player. I am confident he will do well on this tour.” Ironically, India’s
problems in the first innings were caused by leg-spinner
Shane Warne, who finished with four for 92.
Gavaskar flays Sachin’s captaincy ADELAIDE, Dec 12 (PTI) — Batting legend Sunil Gavaskar has criticised Sachin Tendulkar’s captaincy in the first cricket Test against Australia and said he was baffled by the Indian skipper delaying the introduction of Anil Kumble after lunch on the opening day yesterday. “I was confused by Sachin Tendulkar’s decision after lunch when I thought he would have started the session with Anil Kumble bowling and a couple of close fielders in front of the batsmen,” Gavaskar wrote in the ‘Australian’ today. “Kumble should have been brought on while Steve Waugh and Ricky Ponting were still coming to terms with the pitch and the bounce, and having two fielders close in when they were beginning their innings could have produced better results for India than we see now,” he wrote. “With two relatively new batsmen at the crease, that would have put extra pressure on because there’s nothing like having a couple of close catchers in front of you to put doubts in your mind when batting.” “I would have
thought the Indians would come out (after lunch) and try
and pressure them with their best bowlers and close
catchers.” |
Alshammar sets 2nd record in 2 days LISBON, Dec 12 (Reuters) — Sweden’s Therese Alshammar broke her second world record in as many days, shattering another long-standing Chinese mark at the European Short-Course Championships. Alshammer, who had broken the 100 metres freestyle short-course record on Friday, eclipsed a second formidable time belonging to China’s former world champion Le Jingyi in yesterday’s 50 freestyle. The 22-year-old Swede, who carved 0.21 seconds from Le’s 100 freestyle time with an astonishing 52.80 on Friday, sliced 0.14 seconds from the 50 mark when she scooped her second individual gold medal of the championships in 24.09. Le, standard-bearer of the Chinese team who ruled the women’s swimming world earlier in the decade before its image was tarnished by steroid offences, had set both records at the inaugural World Short-Course Championships in Palma De Mallorca in December 1993. Alshammar was unfazed by a technical fault, which triggered the false-start hooter and prompted organisers to drop the rope slung across the pool to stop the swimmers and bring them back for a second start after they had swum 15 metres down the 25-metre Jamor pool. After the afflicted mechanism had been removed from the starting-block on lane one there was no more holding Alshammar, who has made staggering progress since winning a 50 freestyle silver medal at the European Long-Course Championships in Turkey in August. “That was a bit annoying but I pulled through and I’m really happy now. I wouldn’t like to change anything,’’ Alshammar said. “Perhaps my first start was a bit better. I was more focused and I had more adrenalin pumping. But I wasn’t nervous for the second start. I was just warmed up and ready to swim.’’ Having shaved 0.01
seconds from the European record of absent Dutchwoman
Inge De Bruijn with a time of 24.27 in the semifinals,
she raised the tempo in the final to touch in 24.09, the
best part of a second ahead of fellow Swede Anna-Karin
Kammerling and Britain’s Sue Rolph, who shared
silvers with matching times of 24.90. |
IOC approves reforms with ease LAUSANNE, Dec 11 (AP) — The International Olympic Committee yesterday approved with surprising ease new rules on age limits and terms of office, central elements of a reform package designed to restructure the organisation and prevent further corruption scandals. IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch opened the assembly by urging the members to set aside personal interests and approve the 50 recommendations to help restore the 105-year-old organisation’s credibility and prestige following the Olympic bribery scandal. In a stunning display of unity on one of the most controversial issues, the 93 delegates voted unanimously to give up their lifetime terms and approve the introduction of an eight-year term of office. After eight years, the members can seek re-election by their peers. Many members had been expected to resist — or at least raise questions about — the new terms, but not a single objection was raised from the floor. The assembly also approved a new election procedure for members, including the creation of a selection panel to screen candidates. The lowering of the age limit from 80 to 70 - which will apply to new members only - provoked the most debate but still passed with only eight votes against. Existing members can still serve until the age of 80. The delegates also approved the introduction of a 12-year term limit for IOC presidents — one eight-year term and the possibility of a second term of four years. The other reforms enacted in the morning session were: The IOC will have a maximum of 115 members — 15 active athletes, 15 presidents of international federations, 15 presidents of national Olympic committees or continental associations, and seven individual members. The executive board will be expanded from 11 to 15 members. “It’s too early to claim victory, but things are going very well,” Mr Samaranch said. The most contentious issue —whether to ban member visits to bid cities — is scheduled to be debated at the end of the session today. But the quick approval of structural reforms was as a major triumph for Mr Samaranch, who had put his leadership on the line by asking the members to curtail some of their perks and privileges. “We gave him a vote of confidence of 86-2 nine months ago,” Israeli member Alex Gilady said. “That means we must follow the route that he and the IOC 2000 (reform commission) believe we should go. Otherwise, we would make a mockery of ourselves.” Prof John Macaloon, an Olympic historian at the University of Chicago and an outside member of the reform panel, said the changes were unprecedented. “In terms of institutional reform, there has not been a single day like this in the history of the IOC,” he said. The reforms were prompted by the bribery scandal that erupted a year ago surrounding Salt Lake City’s winning bid for the 2002 Winter Games. Ten IOC members were expelled or forced to resign for their conduct in the affair. In the opening speeches, no one mentioned Salt Lake by name, referring only to the “crisis” or “events.” “This crisis has affected many of you,” Mr Samaranch said. “You have faced harsh criticism, very often unfair. You have gone through undeserved suffering and pain. Myself, as president, I have suffered too. We have all suffered.” “But, believe me, there is no alternative. We had to work very hard to solve this crisis. And now we are very close to succeeding.” Former US Secretary of
State Henry Kissinger, who served as an outside member of
the IOC 2000 commission which drafted the reforms, said
the panel would have made the same proposals whether the
scandal had occurred or not. |
JCT clash with Bagan today LUDHIANA, Dec 12 — After an early setback in the opening tie against Salgaocar in New Delhi, 1997 champions JCT Phagwara will be firing on all cylinders against IFA Shield winners Mohun Bagan in their second home tie of the National Football League at Guru Nanak Stadium here tomorrow. The return of stopper back Deepak Mondal, wing back Daljit Singh and linkman Hardip Sangha, who did duty in the Asia Cup qualifiers at Abu Dhabi, is expected to give the much-needed confidence to the Phagwara outfit, who, despite their absence, managed to reach the semifinals of the Durand Cup where they eventually lost to East Bengal by a 1-3 margin. JCT, since the maiden title triumph in 1997, have undergone a sea-change. Foreign recruits and big names in Indian football no longer constitute the roster but coach Sukhwinder Singh, who incidentally is also the national coach, has the uncanny knack of converting a bunch of talented youngsters into a winning combination. Among them is the Hardip trio — Sangha, Saini and Gill — who on their day can upset any team. Hardeep Gill, in fact, scored the only goal for JCT against East Bengal in the Durand Cup semifinals. Midfielder Hardip Saini was picked among the five most promising players in the Durand Cup. Besides, JCT also have promising youngsters like Prabhjot Singh, formerly of Tata Football Academy, and new recruit Jaswant Singh, who earlier played for the BSF. In fact Prabhjot is expected to be back in action after a long lay-off following an injury. Jaswant, son of former international GS Parmar, has put up an impressive performance this season. The JCT defence comprising Tarsem Lal, Deepak Mondal, Kuldeep and Daljit is also dependable. However, the Phagwara outfit badly need a striker of Bhutia’s class. Though the midfielders and forwards do manage to create chances, yet the conversion rate is unsatisfactory as was evident in the Durand Cup. Mohun Bagan, on the other hand, are back to their winning ways after setbacks in the Durand Cup and the Super Cup. In their opening away match here on December 10, they managed to carve out an unimpressive 1-0 win over debutants BSF. What has really been worrying coach Subrata Bhattacharya is the absence of key players, including striker Chima Okerie, who is suspended, defender Sammy Omollo, who is nursing an injury, as also regular goalkeeper Hemanta Dora and Lolendra Singh. The return of midfielder Basudeb Mondal and striker Dipendu Biswas from the Asia Cup qualifiers also did not have much of an impact as the glamour outfit’s game hinged on mediocrity in the opening tie against BSF. However, Mohun Bagan’s hopes rest on Nigerian recruit Stephan Abarowei, who incidentally was with JCT till last year, striker Abdul Khalique, who has been scoring regularly, and Kasif Jamal. In fact it was Stephan’s late inclusion which turned the tide against BSF in the opener. The duo displayed good understanding in the IFA Shield final as well as against BSF here. In the National Football League last year, JCT drew with Mohun Bagan 0-0 in the opening home tie in New Delhi but won 2-1 in the away match at Calcutta. The two teams really give their best when confronting each other. The trend was set in the seventies with stalwarts like Inder Singh and Subrata Bhattacharya assisting the two teams in all major national tournaments. The two will again be present here tomorrow, though in a different capacities, to see their disciples in action. Meanwhile a good crowd
is expected to turn up for the tie tomorrow since the
Punjab Government has declared it a holiday on account of
Guru Teg Bahadur’s martyrdom day. Entry to the
stadium is free. The kick-off is at 2.30 p.m. |
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LONDON, Dec 12 (Reuters) — Britain’s number one tennis player Tim Henman married his sweetheart Lucy Heald, just a week after the country’s number two player Greg Rusedski tied the knot. Unlike Rusedski’s lavish, celebrity-studded wedding, the world number 12 and his bride opted for a low-key ceremony yesterday at a village church in Hampshire, southern England. Nevertheless, after the private service they were greeted outside the 12th-century church by hundreds of journalists and fans lined up to watch their car drive by. Henman and his television-producer Bride, both 25, met in 1996 when Heald was involved in a sports documentary about the tennis player. Henman insisted the wedding ceremony be kept intimate. The pair even turned down large cash offers from British magazines who wanted to feature the ceremony in upcoming issues. Henman earlier said that he and on-court rival Rusedski — who married childhood sweetheart Lucy Connor last week —had few options when they could marry because they both compete from January to November. After the wedding,
Henman and his bride left for a one-week honeymoon to a
secret location. |
Army, Rly shooters in
limelight PHILLAUR, Dec 12 — Army and Railways shooters shared the honours claiming three and two gold medals, respectively, out of seven decided on the eighth day of the 43rd National Shooting Championship here today. Navy and Maharashtra bagged one gold each. Two more national records were rewritten today. Railway’s Vishwajit Shinde with a score of 1124 points created a new national record in the 50 m rifle three position (ISSF) individual event. The previous record was established by J Banerjee (1112) during the Kanpur edition of national meet in the year 1994 and was equalled in 1996 by Vishwajit Shinde himself. The second national record was put to shade in the 50 m rifle 3 position (ISSF) junior men category. Manoj Kumar of Navy shot 1124 on his way to record-breaking performance, thus improving upon the existing record of 1105 points set by Ramlal Kumete in 1993 at Ahmedabad. Army’s gold-winning streak at the shooting range extended today as their marksmen bagged three more gold medals. In the 50 m rifle 3 position (ISSF) men, Army trio of T C Palangappa (1144), Ashok Kumar (1107) and A P Subbiah (1159) aggregated 3410 to clinch gold. In the same event (individual), A P Subbiah of the Army collected 1252 points to finish on the top while in the junior men’s category, Army team consisting of Sudhir Paul (1094), Binash Thapa (1081) and Rakesh Kumar (1053) accumulated 3228 points to pocket gold. In the junior men section of 50 m rifle 3 P (ISSF), Vinod Loima K of Maharashtra logged 1014 points for the gold while three points behind was silver medalist Bhuvaneshwar Singh Rathore of Himachal Pradesh (1011).
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Punjab, Andhra, UP enter semis CHANDIGARH, Dec 12 — Defending champions Tamil Nadu, runners-up Punjab, Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh entered semi-finals in boys section in the 27th National Youth Basketball Championship for boys and girls at Chittorgarh on the third day today. According to a fax message received from Dr S. Subramanian, former Director, NIS Patiala and chief national coach, defending champions Madhya Pradesh and runners-up Maharashtra along with Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh have qualified for semi-finals in girls section.. In the quarter-finals, Punjab defeated Kerala 64-53 after leading 31-27 at the breather. Pawandeep (12), Manpreet (14), Prabhjot (10) were the main scorers for Punjab while Jopal (20) and Vipan (eight) were the main scorers for Kerala. Earlier, Punjab defeated hosts Rajasthan in a closely-contested pool match to head the table. Defending champions Tamil Nadu survived some anxious moments as Haryana extended them to five minutes of extra time in the first quarter-final of the boys section after the teams were level at 62 points each at the end of the regulation period. Though Haryana boys made several mistakes in the extra time but still they lost by a single point at 72-73. Uttar Pradesh boys defeated Gujarat 65-57 after leading 38-35 at the half time. In the fourth quarter-final, AP defeated Maharashtra by a big margin. In the semi-finals, Punjab will play Andhra Pradesh while UP will take on Tamil Nadu. In the girls section, defending champions MP defeated Chandigarh 43-27 after leading 25-17 at the breather. Maharashtra girls shocked Karnataka. The pre-tournament favourite Kerala girls were defeated by Andhra Pradesh girls. Tamil Nadu defeated Uttar Pradesh in the last quarter-final. Punjab girls were
unlucky not to make it to the last eight round as they
were placed in a tough pool. They defeated Pondicherry
52-22 but lost to UP by 47-34. |
IA, Western Rly in title
clash NABHA, (Patiala), Dec 12 — The stage is set for the climax of the 24th Liberals Hockey tournament as title aspirants Indian Airlines and fancied Western Railway, Mumbai, will cross swords in tomorrow’s final. In today’s semi-final matches the star-studded Indian Airlines downed a fighting Central Railway 2-1 in an pulsating encounter, while the other semi-final saw Western Railway, Mumbai, breaking the stranglehold of RCF, Kapurthala, beating them on strokes (5.3). In the first semi-final, Indian Airlines profited immensely from the script repeatedly prepared by their centre half Olympian Mohammad Riaz, who for most part of the match played like a wizard, planning and executing moves with clinical precision. On the other hand the Central Railway team complicated their own attack through a series of needless and complex formations, with none of their moves sharp enough to split open the rival defence. However, it were the railmen who shocked the Arilines when, off a penalty corner, left-in Haseeb Hussain hit a rasping drive past a shell-shocked Airlines goal tender olympian Ashish Ballal. This goal was enough to let the airmen slip into a comfortable groove and go all out for the equaliser, which came when Virender Singh neatly trapped a Brojen Singh pass from the right flank to slot home the equaliser. As the Airlines lads mounted pressure, the railmen started committing errors and at one stage, during the fag end of the first half, they had a spate of penalty corners, five of them to be precise, but Ashish Balal stood like a rock. Minutes into the second half, an infringement by the railmen saw the umpire awarding the Airlines penalty corner, which was converted in directly when Virender Singh deflected a Mohammad Riaz hit into the net. Towards the end of the enthralling match the railmen went all out in their endeavour to restore parity but they failed to find the equaliser giving Indian Airlines a 2-1 win and alongwith it a place in the final. In the days other match to decide the fate of the second finalist, it were the better equipped Western Railway, Mumbai, boys who showed skill and stamina in equal measure to outwith RCF, Kapurthala, 5-3 via the tie breaker. Interestingly this match had also to be decided through the tie-breaker. The Mumbai team was relentless in their attack, in which Deepak Gupta and Mukhtiar Singh stole the show, even as the lack of fluency in the RCF team’s attack was all too discerniable. In the first half itself, Western Railway confirmed their authority as Deepak Kumar stunned the rival defence with a superb reverse flick and centre forward. Shanta Kumar let his team surge ahead through a brilliant backhander which found the roof of the netting. Taking advantage of Mumbai team’s complacency, RCF hit back when their right in Altom Barla flummoxed the custodian with a blinder of a shot taken off a penalty corner and Anil Ekka equalised through a solo effort which culminated in Ekka sounding the board off a stinging carpet drive from the top of the circle. With the regulation time ending in a stalemate for both teams, the tie-breaker rule was applied in which RCF missed three stroked, the villians for RCF being Jogeshwar, Satwant and Jagmohan, while for Western Railway it was only Mukhtiar Singh who flunked as his scoop sailed high and wide over the woodwork.
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DLF golfers dominate NEW DELHI, Dec 12 — DLF Golf and Country Club golfers dominated the inaugural DLF Golf and Country Club on Sunday. The star performer was junior Anubhav Kumar, who sweeped the top prize in all four divisions in the junior category — longest drive, closest to the pin, bunker blast and putting. The 15-year-old, who is a regular at the DLF Academy, drove 181 yards, needed 20 putts to complete the nine holes, came 10 ft 9 in close to the flag from the bunker and hit a pitching wedge to 23 feet to come closest to the pin. In the men’s section, Rajiv Singh of the DLF hit an awesome drive of 282 yards that left his nearest rival, WS Lee, second by 45 yards. Arun Khanna (DLF) came four feet close to the pin on a green situated 65 yards from the tee area to beat Atul Dheer who hit the ball to four feet ten inches. In the bunker blast, Romi Malhotra exploded out of the sand trap brilliantly to be six feet eight inches off the cup. SG Park of Classic Golf Resort showed his prowess with the putter when he required just 15 putts on the fast DLF green to beat back the challenge of WS Lee by three strokes. In the ladies section,
there was high drama on the putting green as Ms BG Kim
(DLF) and Ms S N Park (Classic Golf Resort) completed the
nine holes in identical 19 putts. On the countback over
last three holes. Ms B G Kim was declared winner. Ms
Park, however, was peerless in longrest drive as she hit
the ball to 181 yards for the first prize. DLF’s Ms
K S Hong was the most accurate of all ladies as she won
both the bunker blast and closest to the pin prize. |
Pele ‘sportsman of century’ PARIS, Dec 12 (AFP) — Former Brazilian soccer star Pele was yesterday named ‘sportsman of the century’ by the respected French daily sports newspaper L’ Equipe. Former world heavyweight
boxing champion Muhammad Ali was number two on L’
Equipe’s list of 100 champions of the century with
athletics star Carl Lewis third. |
Mahindras, ITI play goalless draw MUMBAI, Dec 12 (PTI) — Local outfit Mahindra and Mahindra Football Club were held to a goalless draw by Indian Telephone Industries (ITI), Bangalore, in a National Football League encounter at the Cooperage here today. In a dull and drab match, the Karnataka champions proved quite a handful for the local team despite Mahindras’ repeated forays into the rivals’ territory. The first 20 minutes of play was confined to the mid-field before Mahindras medio Satish Minz made the first good move in the 23rd minute. However, his try off mid-fielder Aqeel Ansari’s forward pass was punched over by ITI custodian N Balaji. In the 36th minute, Ansari shot over following a flag kick with only Balaji to beat. Four minutes later, Mahindras winger Manjeet Singh’s left footer was again well saved by Balaji. Five minutes after the break, ITI got their first look at the rival citadel but their Nigerian winger Loolo Nwike’s header off striker Onyaka Okafor’s free kick just missed the mark. In the 78th minute ITI got a gilt-edged chance on a platter but their winger R C Prakash shot wide off substitute Khogen Singh’s pass with only the goalkeeper to beat. ITI’s Balaji again came up with a good save in the 87th minute when he punched over mid-fielder Khalid Siddiqui left footer. The ball hit the cross bar and went back to play before one of ITI defenders cleared the ball. Balaji, who shone under the bar, again intercepted Siddiqui’s pile driver in the very next minute. With just a minute to go for the final hooter Mahindra’s substitute winger Nitin Pradhan failed to head home another substitute Abhay Kumar, who came in for minz in the 55th minute, lob from the left flank in front of an open goal. As many as three players were booked for rough play. ITI skipper Sunil Kumar and Onyaka Okafor were shown the yellow card while Mahindra’s Khalid Siddiqui was the third player to be shown the yellow card in the match. Churchill post 5-0 win MARGAO: Goa’s league champions Churchill Brothers opened their league engagement on a bright note scoring an emphatic 5-0 win over depleted Dempo in the 4th National Football League here today. Churchill Bros, Who led 1-0 at half time, scored through Francis Silveira in the 25th minute. The first goal was a self goal. Francis Silveira, who was at his best, cut-passed defender Sameer Naik on the right and send a goal bound shot. Defender Teotonio Fernandes in a haste to clear the ball to safety, shot the ball into their own goal. After the change of
ends, Churchill Bros continued their dominance and went
into the lead in the 50th minute when Francis lobbed the
ball over the keeper Mansingh from the top of the box on
the left who had advanced forward into the net off a pass
from Somatai Shaiza. Ten minutes later Francis again
found the net through a pass from Rocky Baretto which
came to him from Mario Soares. |
North Zone in driver’s seat GUWAHATI, Dec 12 (PTI) — Raja Ali struck an unbeaten 122 even as Central Zone were on the verge of conceding a first innings lead at 328 for seven on the penultimate day of their Duleep Trophy cricket semi-final against North Zone here today. Resuming at 149 for three in reply to North Zone’s mammoth total of 543, Raja Ali led a spirited fightback but did not get much support from the other end as wickets tumbled at regular intervals. Scoreboard North Zone 1st innings 543 Central Zone (1st innings) (overnight 149 for 3), Sanjay Bangar b Robin Singh Jr 0, Jyoti Yadav c Dharmani b R. S. Sodhi 70, Abbas Ali c Rathore b Robin Singh 31, Manoj Mudgal lbw R.S. Sodhi 27, Raja Ali batting 122, Gyanendra Pandey c Sodhi b Chopra 2, Saurav Shukla c Dharmani b Robin Singh 7, Mohd Saif lbw b Dinesh Mongia 35, Preetam Gandhey retd hurt 3, A.W. Zaidi batting 12. Extras (lb-11; b-2; nb-5; w-1) 19. Total (for 7 wkts, 155.3 overs) 328. Fall of wickets: 1/0; 2/48; 3/111; 4/185; 5/188; 6/199; 7/290. Bowling: Robin Singh Jr
32. 3-11-56-3, Shakti Singh 25-8-77-0, Nikhil Chopra
36-13-56-1, Navdip Singh 28-8-48-0, R.S. Sodhi
24-11-46-2, Viren Sehwag 3-0-13-0, Dinesh Mongia
7-0-19-1. WZ in final CALCUTTA: West Zone assured themselves of a berth in the Duleep Trophy cricket final by virtue of their first innings lead as they bundled out East Zone for 255 on the penultimate day of their semi-final match here today. East Zone suffered a big setback when overnight batsman Saba Karim returned to the pavilion without adding to his score and none of the tailenders could hang around for long against a formidable bowling attack. Scoreboard West Zone (1st innings) 600 for 8 declared East Zone (1st innings) (overnight 208 for five): S S Das (run out) 30, N Haldipur (run out) 59, R Gavaskar lbw b Khan 1, R R Parida c Patel b Mhambrey 14, S Karim c Muzumdar b Khan 60, T Rehman lbw b Mehta 4, S Singh (not out) 51, U Chatterjee c Kulkarni b Siddique 17, S Satpathy (run out) 2, J Zaman c Khan b Kulkarni 0, A Barik b Siddique 0, Extras (b-1, lb-6, nb-9, w-1) 17. Total (all out in 85.2 overs) 255. Fall of wickets: 1/83, 2/84, 3/110, 4/122, 5/155, 6/213, 7/243, 8/254, 9/254. Bowling: Paras Mhambrey 11-2-40-1, Zaheer Khan 16-1-66-2, Iqbal Siddique 15.2-5-39-2, Nilesh Kulkarni 29-9-71-1, Bhavin Mehta 14-5-32-1. West Zone (2nd innings): W Jaffer (batting) 75, C Williams b Satpathy 41, A Kale (batting) 55, Extras (nb-2, w-1) 3. Total (for one wkt in 74 overs) 174. Fall of wickets: 1/71. Bowling: Javed Zaman
9-3-13-0, Ajay Barik 6-0-22-0, Utpal Chatterjee
14-4-24-0, Sanjay Satpathy 14-3-44-1, Sukhwinder Singh
10-3-29-0, Rohan Gavaskar 9-3-15-0, Nikhil Haldipur
6-1-14-0, Tariqur Rehman 6-0-13-0. |
H
Basketball trials CHANDIGARH, Dec 12 (TNS) — Trials to select Punjab boys and girls teams for the fourth All-India invitation basketball prize money tournament will be held at Khemka Basketball Stadium in Kot Kapura on December 14 at 2 p.m. Players born on or after January 1,1979, can participate in the trials. They must bring their date of birth certificates and report to Mr Darshan Singh Sandhu, joint secretary, Punjab Basketball Association, at the venue of the trials. Two teams each from boys and girls sections will be selected for the tournament. Eight states — Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Rajasthan, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir besides one team from Canada are participating in the tournament. The hosts Punjab have also confirmed their participation. The teams will be divided in two pools. According to Mr Teja Singh Dhaliwal, secretary, Punjab Basketball Association, this is the first tournament for youth where winning teams will get cash prize money. An organising committee headed by Mr Mohammed Mustafa, Deputy Inspector-General, Faridkot Range, has been set up with Mr A. Venu Prasad, Deputy Commissioner of Faridkot and Mr Arun Oran, SSP, Faridkot, reviewing all arrangements to make the tournament a success. The family of late Mr Nachhattar Singh Gill, a former MLA, is also extending full support for the successful conduct of the tournament, Mr Dhaliwal added. Football meet SHIMLA, Dec 12 (TNS) — The annual Tikka Joginder Sen Memorial All-India Invitation Football Tournament is being held at Junga, near here, from December 16 to 18. According to Mr Prithvi Vikram Sen, organising secretary, teams from Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and Himachal have been invited to this prestigious tournament. Last year’s winners Delhi and runners-up have already confirmed their participation. S M Sharma clinches tennis title Chandigarh, Dec 12 (BOSR) — SM Sharma, Deputy Inspector-General Police (Pb), bagged tennis singles title in the first All India Police Lawn Tennis Tournament held at Shillong club tennis courts, Shillong (Meghalaya) on December 8. Sharma downed BNS Reddy of Karnataka with a 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 victory in the finals. The Chief Minister of Meghalaya, Mr BB Lyngdoh, gave away the prizes. Soccer tourney Chandigarh, Dec 12 (BOSR) — The 2nd Lala Rai Bahadur Banarsi Dass Memorial Football Tournament will be held from December 25 to 28 at BD High School football ground, Ambala Cantt, according to Mr Paramjit Singh, Secretary District Football Association, Ambala. In the four-day meet, teams from Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh are expected to take part. Entries close with Mr Jog Raj, Organising Secretary, 6340, Ahluwalia Building, Ambala Cantt on December 20. Rakesh sparkles LUDHIANA, Dec 12 (FOSR) — Riat Club and Shiva Club recorded victories in the 7th Veera Devi Memorial Cricket Tournament here today. In the first match, Riat Club defeated Hero Club by four wickets. Brief scores: Hero Club 87 all out in 22 overs (Sukhdev 22, Rakesh Saini 4 for 17, Jatinder 3 for 13). Riat Club 90 for 6 in 16 overs (Rakesh Saini 28 n.o., Davinder Singh 2 for 13, Sanjeev 2 for 23, Davinderji 2 for 24). In the second match, Vaneet (46) and Surinder (31) helped Shiva Club to beat MCC XI by 23 runs. Brief scores: Shiva Club 139 for 9 (Vaneet 46, Surinder 31, Harmeet 3 for 10, Rakesh 2 for 19 and Vicky 2 for 24). MCC XI 116 for 9 (Harpaul 50, Baldev 2 for 15, Rajesh 2 for 18). DAVC, Chd, clinch softball crown Chandigarh, Dec 12 (BOSR) — DAV College, Chandigarh, won Panjab University Inter-College Softball (men) Championship while Panjab University Campus, Chandigarh, Arya College, Ludhiana and GGD SD College, Chandigarh, finished second, third and fourth, respectively. In the league matches played here today, PU Campus, Chandigarh, got the better of GGD SD College, Chandigarh, by 12-1 and DAV College, Chandigarh, outplayed Arya College, Ludhiana, by 7-1. In the volleyball
‘B’ division (women) championship, Dev Samaj
College of Education, Sector 36, Chandigarh, emerged
winners while Government College, Karamsar, secured
second position. Dev Samaj College of Education,
Chandigarh blanked Govt College, Karamsar by 3-0. |
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