Tumultuous welcome for SA squad JOHANNESBURG, June 20 — A huge crowd turned out at Johannesburg airport today to welcome back South Africa after their elimination in the semifinals of the World Cup. Not the end of road for SA: Ali Bacher LONDON, June 20 — South Africa’a cricket boss Ali Bacher yesterday said the defeat of his country in the World Cup does not mean ‘‘end of the road for the team.’’

Pakistan's opening batsman Wajahatullah Wasti is out by a diving catch at second slip by Australia's Mark Waugh in the Cricket World Cup final at Lords in London 20 June 1999.

Anti-Azhar mood too strong
NEW DELHI, June 20 — Ajay Jadeja should be made the cricket captain replacing Mohd Azharuddin whose poor captaincy was the prime reason behind India’s inconsistent World Cup campaign, is the overwhelming response of an opinion poll.

Pak fans swarm around Lord’s
LONDON, June 20 — Hundreds of Pakistani fans swarmed around Lord’s ahead of the World Cup final against Australia today, blowing whistles and setting off fireworks, but that was as near to the pitch as most of them would get.

Sampras, power to dominate
LONDON, June 20 — Pete Sampras and power tennis are expected to dominate the two weeks of Wimbledon but the balance of power has shifted from the men to the women’s game.

ICC bars Lanka board officials from meet
COLOMBO, June 20 — The present crisis in the Sri Lankan Cricket Control Board has spilled over to the International Cricket Council (ICC) with the cricket’s world governing body declining to permit the newly-nominated interim board officials to attend its next week’s all-important annual conference.

Zvereva rallies to clinch crown
EASTBOURNE (England), June 20 — Natasha Zvereva lost the first nine games before scoring a 0-6, 7-5, 6-3 over Nathalie Tauziat yesterday to win Eastbourne grasscourt championship.

Graf ‘needs help’ in mixed doubles
LONDON, June 20 — John McEnroe, playing at Wimbledon for the last time, said his mixed doubles partner Steffi Graf was one of the goddesses of the game but she "obviously needs help."

Gopichand storms into semis
GUWAHATI, June 20 — Top seed P. Gopichand stormed into the semi-finals of the Oil India Grand Prix '99 when he defeated Sushant Saxena of Uttar Pradesh in the quarter-finals which went into late last night at the Kanaklata Indoor Stadium.

Sion vents anger on IOC
SION, Switzerland, June 20 — Sion vented its anger and disappointment on the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as the shock of losing the 2006 Winter Games to Turin began to wear off.

TN thrash Assam; Chandigarh lose
BANGALORE, June 20 — Tamil Nadu recorded a resounding 16-0 victory against Assam while Punjab and Sindh Bank continued their winning spree with a 1-0 win against Chandigarh in the Junior National Hockey Championship here today.

Australia lift World Cup

THE LORD'S June 20 (PTI) — Australia overwhelmed Pakistan by registering a crushing eight-wicket victory to script their second World Cup triumph after a most one-sided final in the 24-year history of the championship today.

Giving an incredible bowling performance inspired by leg spin wizard Shane Warne’s magical haul of four for 33, the super-charged Aussies simply wiped out the Pakistani batsmen for a paltry 132 in 39 overs, the lowest in a World Cup final.

Openers Adam Gilchrist (54 off 36 balls) and Mark Waugh (37 not out) then launched a whirlwind chase to complete a professional job of meeting the low target by coasting to 133 for two in 20.1 overs in front of a spellbound audience.

Left-hander Darren Lehman hit off-spinner Saqlain Mushtaq for the winning boundary to set off scenes of jubilation among the Aussie players and their supporters.

The 1987 champions emulated the West Indies by claiming the World Cup for the second time and the indefatigable Aussie skipper Steve Waugh completed a dream personal double as well after being a key figure when his team won their maiden title.

The clash of the titans never rose to any heights once the Australian bowlers made severe dents after Pakistan skipper Wasim Akram won the toss and elected to bat.

The moment Lehmann hit the winning boundary, Mark Waugh grabbed the stumps as souvenir and hugged his partner. The Aussie team erupted in joy with Steve Waugh hugging Warne and others before coming out into the balcony to acknowledge the greetings of their fans waving kangaroos.

The 29-year-old Warne capped his grand deeds in the last two matches that knocked out South Africa, and gave no chance for the pathetic Pakistan batsmen to stage any recovery.

The blonde spinner joined Kiwi paceman Geoff Allott as the highest wicket taker in a single World Cup finishing with 20 scalps and also completed 200 wickets in his 125th one-dayer.

Pakistan’s hopes for a decent total to give its formidable bowling attack a chance were dashed as Australia triggered a stunning collapse that saw the last eight wickets tumble for just 64 runs.

Australia, playing their fourth World Cup final showed great determination as pace spearhead Glenn McGrath captured two for 13 in his parsimonious nine-over spell.

Veteran Tom Moody, who alongwith Steve Waugh was part of the Aussie team that lifted the trophy in 1987, chipped in with two crucial wickets (2/17) and Damien Fleming clinched the prize scalp of in-form opener Saeed Anwar (15).

Pakistan batsmen, after their nine-wicket win over New Zealand in the semifinal, were guilty of throwing away their wickets when cautious batting was demanded of them.

The 25 extras were the highest contribution to the innings with Ijaz Ahmed’s 22 the best among the Pakistan batsmen. Pakistan fans who had packed into the stadium and were celebrating outside it, were stunned into silence.

Needing 133 for victory but aware of the pitfalls in chasing low totals, Aussie openers Mark Waugh and Adam Gilchrist made a rollicking start to pile up 75 runs in only 10 overs.

Left-hander Gilchrist, searching for runs, came good with a vengeance as he flayed young fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar and took on Wasim Akram for powerful hits to the fence.

The elegant Mark Waugh astutely rotated the strike and Gilchrist went after the bowling with relish. Gilchrist cut and drove Akram and then cut Akhtar for a stunning six over third man region.

Gilchrist’s 54 came off only 36 balls and was studded with eight fours and the six. Off-spinner Saqlain Mushtaq claimed his wicket off his very first ball when the left-hander pulled to Inzamam at midwicket.

Ricky Ponting, who hit 24 off only 27 balls, with Mark Waugh brought Australia to the doorstep of victory before Lehmann (13 not out) joined Waugh to complete the triumph.

The Pakistan bowlers, disheartened after the abject batting surrender, dished out a moderate fare and the Aussie batsmen waded into it with relish on a pitch that had rolled out to be a beauty.

Warne, who captured four for 29 in the semifinal against South Africa, came right on top of a wobbling Pakistan batting when he bowled Ijaz Ahmed with a low leg break that spun from outside the leg stump and knocked back the off-stump.

Backed by the brilliant and aggressive fielding, the Aussie bowlers never loosened their grip and the frustrated lower order batsmen played indiscreet shots to hasten their own doom.

Expectedly electing to bat in the final, delayed by 30 minutes due to showers in the morning. Pakistan made a confident start as Anwar cracked paceman Glenn McGrath through the cover off the very third ball and hit Fleming for two fours through midwicket and cover in the fourth over that went for 14 runs.

But the lanky McGranth struck the very next over when Wasti, beaten time and again by the bounce and movement timely guided a rising ball and Mark Waugh at second slip leaped to his right to complete an acrobatic catch.

Pakistan suffered their biggest blow when Anwar left three balls later, Fleming making an excellent comeback. Bowling round the wicket, he forced Anwar to push at a widish ball that swung in, nicked the inside edge and richocheted off his pads on to the stumps.

Razzaq (17 off 51 balls) and Ijaz (22-46B) initiated some recovery and Australia seemed to have lost a major chance, when McGranth grassed the simple chance at long-on.

But Razzaq paid the penalty for his penchant for strokes against tight bowling on a hard pitch that offered appreciable bounce and movement thanks to the morning rain. McGrath and Fleming, and later third seamer Paul Reiffel, bowled with discipline and made the batsmen play and miss many times.

Razzaq failed to check his drive and Steve Waugh took the catch inches off the ground.

Warne, who was the bowling hero capturing four for 29 in the semifinal against South Africa, then took over to rule out any Pakistan recovery.

Mark Waugh completed 1000 runs in the World Cup as he reached 33 to emulate Pakistan’s Javed Miandad (1083), India’s Sachin Tendulkar (1059) and West Indian Viv Richards (1013).

Gilchrist easily played his best knock in the tournament to ensure Australia did not get bogged down and the run rate was going at 7.5 when he fell playing an aggressive shot off Saqlain Mushtaq.

But Ponting once again showed his fine temperament with a brisk 24 off only 27 balls. He hooked and then cracked a full toss through mid-on for successive fours off Shoaib Akhtar and when he was dismissed edging Akram to Moin Khan, Australia were left requiring only 21 runs for victory.

The 23-year-old Akhtar, one of the major stars of the World Cup, was a totally subdued man and his four overs went for 37 runs.

Once Lehmann brought off the winning runs, Australia had completed victory with as many as 19.5 overs left.

International cricket council president Jagmohan Dalmiya gave away the glittering trophy to Steve Waugh.

Warne struck in his very second over when he crashed through Ijaz Ahmed’s defences as the batsman chose to tackle a low legbreak off his backfoot to leave Pakistan gasping at 77 for four in the 24th over.

The innovative Moin Khan, who has been his team’s saviour throughout this tournament, was promoted up the order to prop up the flailing innings, but fell victim to the blonde leg spinner next.

The wicketkeeper tried a half glide to a leg break, only to guide it into the hands of an ecstatic, but unbelieving Adam Gilchrist.

It also helped Warne to reach a personal milestone of 200 one-day wickets in his 125th tie.

The Pakistan innings lost all direction when Inzamam-ul Haq, struggling to get into his rhythm, was adjudged caught behind off Paul Reiffel to make it 106 for six.

Boosted by his success, Warne brought in more variation into his attack and promptly struck again by trapping the explosive Shahid Afridi leg before.

Afridi completely misread a flipper trying to sweep, and umpire Steve Bucknor had no hesitation in ruling him out.

Skipper Wasim Akram hoisted Warne for a six over mid-on, but Moody, who returned for his second spell, struck by having Azhar Mehmood caught and bowled.

A desperate Akram hit Warne straight to Steve Waugh at short mid-on before McGrath ended the innings when Ponting leaped a long way from the third slip to catch Saqlain Mushtaq.

Scoreboard
Pakistan:
Saeed Anwar b Fleming 15
Wasti c M Waugh b McGrath 1
Razzaq c S Waugh b Moody 17
Ijaz Ahmed b Warne 22
Inzamam c Gilchrist b Reiffel 15
Moin Khan c Gilchrist b Warne 6
Shahid Afridi lbw b Warne 13
Azhar Mahmood c and b Moody 8
Wasim Akram c S Waugh b Warne 8
Mushtaq c Ponting b McGrath 0
Shoaib Akhtar not out 1
Extras (lb-10, w-13, nb-2) 25
Total: 132 all out in 39 overs
Fall in wickets: 1-21, 2-21, 3-68, 4-77, 5-91, 6-104, 7-113, 8-129, 9-129.
Bowling: McGrath 9-3-13-2, Fleming 6-0-30-1, Reiffel 10-1-29-1, Moody 5-0-17-2, Warne 9-1-33-4.

Australia:
M Waugh not out 37
A Gilchrist c Inzamam b Saqlain 54
R Pointing c Moin Khan b Akram 24
D Lehmann not out 13
Extras (lb-1, w-1, nb-3) 5
Total (for 2 wkts, 20.1 overs) 133
Fall of wickets: 1-75, 2-112.
Bowling: Akram 8-1-41-1, Shoaib 4-0-37-0, Razzaq 2-0-13-0, Mahmood 2.1-0-20-0, Saqlain 4-0-21-1.

Residents celebrate Pak defeat
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH June 20 — The impressive victory of Australia over Pakistan, arch rival of India, in the World Cup final, saw the city residents going mad with joy, celebrating the event with cheers and bursting crackers till late in the night today.

It was a dream come true for a majority of residents, who in their hearts, had been praying for Pakistan's defeat right from the beginning of the tie at around 3 p.m., mainly due to India's inability to register its entry into the final."It is a good news for me, even though I was not expecting such a poor show on part of the Pakistani guys," said a jubilant Suresh Khosla, a Sector 20 resident, while ruing that India could not make it to the final due to its defeat at the hands of Zimbabwe. He said he was going to celebrate the Aussies' victory by distributing sweets among his friends and neighbours.

An excited Amar Singh, a resident of Phase XI SAS Nagar, said that he had been waiting for Pakistani team embracing defeat. "I was sure that our traditional rivals would not be able to take on Aussies and my speculation proved right when the latter emerged victorious after crushing the former," he said.Hailing the victory of Australia over Pakistan, Dr Promilla Kakkar, a Sector 16 resident, said the countrymen were longing for Australia's victory as India was already in conflict with Pakistan in the Kargil sector. She said Indians would not have liked to see its rival as a winner. "I enjoyed watching Pakistani team playing under pressure right from the word go," said an elated Dr Kakkar. She cancelled all her engagements to watch the match on TV till the result of the clash between the two teams arrived late in the night.

Mr Rana of Sector 21 said he never expected that Pakistanis would give in so easily and hand over the victory on a platter to the Aussies. "But, what happened was a good thing to be enjoyed by Indians, who were upset over the misdemeanour of Pakistan in the Kargil sector," he said.The residents gave a vent to their feelings by bursting crackers. Scenes of persons letting off fireworks were witnessed in Sectors 35, 36, 16, 15 and on the Sector 10 'Gheri Route', where youths were seen enjoying the moment with beer. Similar scenes were witnessed in several restaurants and hotels where the match was being shown on giant screens.

Tumultuous welcome for SA squad

JOHANNESBURG, June 20 (Reuters) — A huge crowd turned out at Johannesburg airport today to welcome back South Africa after their elimination in the semifinals of the World Cup.

The arrivals hall of the international airport was crammed with about 4,000 supporters who crowded around the exit to customs, causing long delays.

The team, knocked out of the competition in an extraordinary semifinal against Australia on Thursday, were eventually brought out on to a balcony above the crowd, where captain Hansie Cronje was greeted by loud cheering and applause.

Many fans waved banners with slogans like "Don’t worry Hansie, you did your best", "We still love you, boys" and "You deserved to be in the final, Hansie".

Only seven players arrived in Johannesburg including Cronje and coach, Bob Woolmer, as many squad members decided to stay in Europe for a holiday.

No public address system was available so Cronje was forced to shout a message of thanks to the crowd who cheered and clapped every sentence.

"We’d just like to thank you all for coming out here today," Cronje said, "and we’re sorry we didn’t make it into the final ."

Cronje then brought Woolmer forward to thank him for his contribution. Woolmer’s tenure as national team coach ended after the World Cup.

"I will sit down and discuss my future with (United Cricket Board Managing Director) Dr Ali Bacher when all the dust has settled," Woolmer said later. "But for the moment I want a long rest and there’s a book to write."

Despite the welcome, the team were clearly still suffering from the effects of the tied semifinal that could so easily have ended with them playing Pakistan in the final.

"It’s been a hard three days," opening batsman Herschelle Gibbs said. "I think we’re all still battling to come to terms with it. That’s what’s going to be the biggest challenge now."

The South Africans were favourites going into the tournament and won their opening group. But they then lost twice to Australia in succession, the second time off a run out in the final over of the semifinal.

Despite promises by harassed airport officials, the team did not leave the building through the departure hall but slipped out of a side entrance.

When it was announced that the team had already left, many young children were left in tears after not seeing their heroes.

Not the end of road for SA: Ali Bacher

LONDON, June 20 (UNI) — South Africa’a cricket boss Ali Bacher yesterday said the defeat of his country in the World Cup does not mean ‘‘end of the road for the team.’’

‘‘Sun rises everyday and sets the same day’’ Ali Bacher said while urging the South African players not to lose heart. ‘‘You have a bright future ahead and let us make a resolve to win the Cup in the year 2003 when it will be hosted in South Africa.’’

Ali Bacher gave a pep talk to the players amidst reports that there is a ‘‘funereal like’’ atmosphere in the South African camp. ‘‘The whole country is proud of you, you played superbly. Three top teams of the world — Pakistan, Australia and South Africa — were in the semis and some had to lose. Unfortunately we lost.’’

Reacting to the reported statement of skipper Hansie Cronje that he may not be around for the next World Cup, Ali Bacher said: ‘‘I will see to it that he is around. He has been a magnificent leader and led the team admirably’’.

He made it clear that his board will not hold any particular player responsible for the defeat. ‘‘It is all part of the game’’, he said, adding ‘‘you just can’t pinpoint a finger and say Donald cost us the match. The same Donald has also given us so many victories.’’

Ali Bacher said he understood the feeling of the players. ‘‘It was yet another case of so near yet so far, but one has to realise that victory or defeat are part of the competition.’’

He said cricket fans in South Africa will never forget the contribution made by this team. ‘‘You have raised the game to great heights and one defeat should not make you so despondent.’’

Meanwhile, Allan Donald, describing his batting in the last over against Australia, said ‘’batting out there was like waiting for your plane to crash.’’

He said after ‘‘we crashed out it was a feeling as some one had died in the dressing room’’, adding that ‘‘skipper Hansie Cronje made it clear to everybody that there should be no pointing of fingers, no accusations. We just can’t keep sulking.’’

Donald disclosed that: ‘‘When I sat down in the evening after the game, I thought may be I had missed my last chance to play in the World Cup final. But I don’t know, it is the wrong time to make decisions like that .’’

It was like someone had died: Donald

LONDON, June 20 (PTI) — Allan Donald, whose dreadful mix-up with Lance Klusener and resultant run out cost South Africa a place in the World Cup final, said the atmosphere in the dressing room later was "like someone close had died".

"It was a moment of madness, total confusion. I don’t know. It is just a devastating way to go out of the World Cup," the fast bowler said after his run out enabled Australia force a tie and clinch a final spot thanks to their better standing in the Super Six.

The 33-year-old fast bowler said he was prepared to take the blame for South Africa’s ouster. "In the changing room afterwards, I took the responsibility. But Lance felt it was his fault. (Skipper) Hansie Cronje said no one was to blame, we all had to take responsibility.

"He said there should be no pointing of fingers, no sulking, the mood in the room was so sombre, it was like someone close had died."

Donald, who was part of the 1992 and 1996 teams whose campaigns also ended in heartbreak after playing like champions appreciated Australian skipper Steve Waugh’s kind words after the match.

"Steve came in and said couldn’t believe what had happened. You know, it is the first time I’ve heard him say he felt for South Africa, so we must have been unlucky. I’ve never been so nervous in my life as I was then. It felt like we were flying with one wheel missing and just waiting for the crash landing...and it happened," he said.

Anti-Azhar mood too strong

NEW DELHI, June 20 (PTI) — Ajay Jadeja should be made the cricket captain replacing Mohd Azharuddin whose poor captaincy was the prime reason behind India’s inconsistent World Cup campaign, is the overwhelming response of an opinion poll.

A whopping 81 per cent of 1200 respondents favour the dashing Jadeja to take over the mantle from the dour Azhar who did not find even a single soul to back him as skipper of the one-day team, according to the poll commissioned by the newsmagazine Week.

Fiftythree per cent wanted Jadeja to lead India in the Tests also, compared to mere three per cent favouring Azhar.

Surprisingly, master batsman Sachin Tendulkar is rated a distant second to Jadeja with only 10 per cent wanting him as the captain for the one-dayers and 17 per cent plumping for him as the leader of the Test side, reveals the poll conducted by the market research agency, TN SOFRES Mode.

Post-World Cup, the anti-Azhar mood is so strong that 33 per cent want him to be stripped of his captaincy, while 46 per cent say he should be dropped from the team altogether.

Even in his home town Hyderabad, 36 per cent suggest Azhar be sacked as captain and 33 per cent say he be axed from the team.

The outcome of the poll, to be published in the forthcoming issue of the weekly, discloses 48 per cent held him responsible for India’s failure to make it to the semifinals with 74 per cent citing his appalling captaincy as the main reason.

Coach Anshuman Gaekwad fared better with 56 per cent saying he should not be sacked against 40 per cent who favour his removal.

More than 50 per cent wanted Kapil Dev to succeed Gaekwad as coach, while Sunil Gavaskar was the choice of 23 per cent. Only six per cent prefer former Australian captain Bobby Simpson, currently attached to the team as a consultant.

According to the poll conducted in Delhi, Mumbai, Calcutta, Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad, Jadeja was rated by 28 per cent as the hero of the World Cup squad. Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar got identical support of 26 per cent each.

While Azhar (48 per cent) was identified as the "main villain" of India’s World Cup show, young medium pacer Ajit Agarkar, whose wayward bowling in the first two matches led to his being sidelined in the rest of the ties, came a poor second (15 per cent).

The cricketers did not play properly was the opinion of 69 per cent in identifying causes behind India’s premature exit from the mega event. Fiftyone per cent attributed it to media overkill and 48 per cent blamed poor selection policy.

However, 52 per cent opposed the idea of scrapping the selection committee though 40 per cent approved the idea.

Interestingly, 38 per cent thought constant comparison with the champion team of 1983 cost the present squad dear.

Against 27 per cent who rated the points system as fair, an overwhelming 70 per cent felt India were done in by the rule that allowed teams to carry forward to second round points accrued against fellow qualifiers in the preliminary stage.

Pak fans swarm around Lord’s

LONDON, June 20 (Reuters) — Hundreds of Pakistani fans swarmed around Lord’s ahead of the World Cup final against Australia today, blowing whistles and setting off fireworks, but that was as near to the pitch as most of them would get.

A Sunday morning snooze was not an option for the residents of the expensive flats around the world’s most famous cricket ground as the six-week tournament reached its climax.

Despite the occasional rain shower, Pakistani fans were intent on enjoying themselves, watched by police on horseback.

The atmosphere was boisterous but friendly. One elderly Englishman sporting a grey moustache, blazer and striped tie, stood in astonishment taking in the scene.

If he was a member of the Marylebone Cricket Club, the famous institution based at Lord’s, he would certainly have had a better chance of seeing the game than the fans who had followed Pakistan around Britain over the past six weeks.

Many of the fans did not have tickets for the sold-out game. One man arriving in a taxi was asked by two persons if he had tickets to sell before he had even got out of the cab outside the 30,000-capacity ground.

One Pakistani fan stood at the media entrance reading the accreditation tags of the reporters entering the ground.

One journalist called Peter Entered Lord’s. Seconds later the fan shouted: "Oh, Peter, you remember me, don’t you?"

Inside the ground there were no large groups of either set of supporters. Chanting and drum-beating, a feature of other games were not to be heard.

Organisers have been widely criticised for not holding back tickets to sell after the semifinals to the fans of the winning teams. The game was sold out months ago.

The atmosphere was a model of British reserve. The entrance of the teams was greeted by police applause.

About 100 Pakistan fans were perched on the roof of a block of high rise flats just outside the ground waving flags and trying to get a glimpse of the game.

World Cup chiefs had warned fans on Friday they would be thrown out of the final if they let off fireworks.

Exuberant Pakistani fans celebrated their team’s defeat of New Zealand in Wednesday’s semifinal at Old Trafford by lighting fireworks during and after the game.

The semifinal was held up just before the finish by a pitch invasion of Pakistani fans.

Champions Trophy for Australia
Pakistan ousted

BRISBANE, June 20 (AFP) — Australia won their seventh men’s Champions Trophy with two spectacular goals from Stephen Davies in a 3-1 win over South Korea in the final here today.

Davies enhanced his reputation as one of field hockey’s great forwards by scoring in the 24th and 52nd minutes and five overall in the tournament as the Australians surged to victory.

Australia, so often a bridesmaid in the past, never lost their grip on the final, building up a 2-0 lead by half-time as the Koreans’ high-intensity game lost its way during the second half.

It was Australia’s first triumph in the annual top-six ranked tournament since they lifted the trophy in Kuala Lumpur six years ago.

Australia had finished top of the preliminary rounds ahead of the Koreans, who were the great improvers of the 12-day tournament.

Inspired by Troy Elder and Davies, Australia were always the more potent in attack, with Daniel Sproule negating the impact of tournament’s leading scorer Song Seung Tae.

But Song shook off the shackles to score Korea’s only goal and his seventh of the tournament.

Elder was involved in the leadup to the opening goal passing across the circle for Stephen Davies to find the unguarded net with a lunging shot in the 24th minute.

The Australians took a grip two minutes before half-time when Jay Stacy and Craig Victory combined for Elder to score at the second attempt.

Lim Jong Chun saved Stacy’s shot with his legs, but Elder prodded home the ball off Lim’s trailing leg in a crowded goalmouth.

South Korea’s first penalty corner of the final came 14 minutes into the second half, but Yeo Woon Kon’s hit was over the bar.

Davies scored his second goal of the final and fifth of the tournament when he took the ball under pressure to the right of the Korean goal and beat the goalkeeper with a flick into the left-hand corner for a 3-0 lead after 52 minutes.

World and Olympic champions Netherlands won the playoff for third place beating Spain 5-2.

In a play-off for placing in the next edition of Champions Trophy, England beat Pakistan to keep themselves in the event, ejecting Pakistan from it for the first time in over two decades.

James Wallis scored the golden goal to see England through after both the teams were tied 3-3 in the regulation time.

Wallis pounced in the ninth minute of extra time for his second goal to hand England a 4-3 victory and fifth place, their highest placing, in the top-six ranked tournament.

England will hold on to their spot for the next trophy in Amstelveen, Netherlands, in May, but three-time winners Pakistanis will miss out having been in every Champions Trophy from the outset in 1978.

The Pakistanis slumped to the ground in despair after Wallis fired home a rebound when birthday boy Russell Garcia’s penalty corner drive slammed off a post back into the goal circle.

Under the ‘golden goal’ the first scorer in extra time automatically wins the match.

"That was an absolutely crucial win for us," said England’s Australian coach Barry Dancer. "We have to play this level of opposition consistently and breaking into the top-four is our objective over the next two to three years.

"A loss today would have been quite devastating in terms of our preparation for next year’s Sydney Olympics and beyond."

Captain William Waugh said it was a great credit to his team to fight back from 2-0 down to Pakistan after 21 minutes to eventually take the match.

"To have the balls and actually go 3-2 up was disappointing not to have won it in regulation time. But having said that last September we lost on a golden goal to the Australians at the Commonwealth Games, it made us even more determined to be on the right side of it this time," said Waugh.

Pakistan coach Shahnaz Sheikh said it was a situation where one team had to lose, but his players had paid for playing in patches.

"We have to play more consistently, and I hope this is a good lesson for the players and the management," Shahnaz said.

Sohail Abbas had forced the match into extra time with his second goal off a penalty corner in the 49th minute.

Dancer said there have been moves to get a great Britain team in the next Champions Trophy.

"The Great Britain hockey board has approached the FIH (world federation) to have that opportunity. It would be commonsense for that to happen," said Dancer.

Sampras, power to dominate

LONDON, June 20 (Reuters) — Pete Sampras and power tennis are expected to dominate the two weeks of Wimbledon but the balance of power has shifted from the men to the women’s game.

Top seed and defending champion Sampras is hot favourite to win a record sixth men’s singles title in the last championships of the millennium, which would take him past perhaps the greatest Wimbledon exponent of the modern era, Bjorn Borg.

Sampras’s game is seen at its best on the grass courts of the All-England Club and of the American’s rivals only Dutchman Richard Krajicek has the huge serve and Mimbledon battle honours — he won in 1996 — to stand comparison.

Second seed Pat Rafter, the US Open champion, has never progressed beyond the fourth round at Wimbledon and third seed Yevgeny Kafelnikov of Russia, winner of the Australian Open in January, has only once reached the last eight.

Andre Agassi, seeded fourth, is once again the hottest property in men’s tennis after his extraordinary victory at the French Open but a nagging hip injury means he will be short of match practice when the championships open tomorrow.

Agassi, champion in 1992, operates outside the normal rule of tennis but only Borg and Rod Laver have won on the clay of Roland Garros and Wimbledon’s grass in the same year and it would be a monumental achievement for the American to join them.

The fast grass surface means power servers like Goran Ivanisevic, a finalist three times in the past seven years, can sweep more gifted opponents aside and this dominance has led to a string of less than enticing men’s singles finals.

The emergence of British hopes Tim Henman and Greg Rusedski has injected much-needed passion into the event over the past three years and sixth seed Henman, knocked out by Sampras in the 1998 semifinals, has as good a chance as anyone this year.

Sampras plays Australian Scott Draper in the opening match on centre court tomorrow while Rusedski is also in action on the main showcourt against another Australian, Jason Stoltenberg.

Kafelnikov plays the third match on number one court against Magnus Larsson of Sweden after Henman takes on Arnaud Di Pasquale of France in the opener.

The final appearance of Boris Becker on the courts where he became the youngest men’s champion in Wimbledon history in 1985 will add romance to the men’s event but, for the second year running, the women’s draw is where fans should look for excitement, intense rivalry and flowing tennis.

Top seed Martina Hingis, the Australian Open winner, will be under the microscope after her tantrums in the French Open final against Steffi Graf which turned her one-set 2-0 lead into an ignominious defeat by the German.

Graf has won Wimbledon seven times and, now fully recovered in mind and body, there is no reason why the crowd’s sweetheart can’t win it one more time at the age of 30. She will play the second match on number one court tomorrow against Ludmila Cervanova of Slovakia.

Power is also a hot topic in the women’s game where the smash-and-grunt old-timers like fourth seed Monica Seles have been overshadowed by the Williams sisters and Mary Pierce.

Serena Williams has dropped out of Wimbledon because of influenza but the huge forehands of her older sister Venus will be at their most potent on the grass and the sixth seed could well go further than the last eight she reached in 1998.

Jana Novotna will always be remembered for her tears in defeat in 1993 and in victory last July, but a nasty leg injury will make it very hard for her to retain her title. Williams is second on centre court tomorrow, playing Miriam Oremans.

Graf, like Becker, may decide that this will be her last Wimbledon after saying farewell to Roland Garros earlier this month. As a final flourish she has decided to play mixed doubles with 40-year-old John McEnroe.

McEnroe is as excited as a little kid ahead of his first mixed doubles title tilt for 21 years. "I’m flattered to be given this opportunity to play. She is one of the goddesses of modern tennis, one of the greatest athletes this sport has seen — and she wants to play with me! let’s go out and win it, Steffi."

ICC bars Lanka board officials
from meet

COLOMBO, June 20 (PTI) — The present crisis in the Sri Lankan Cricket Control Board has spilled over to the International Cricket Council (ICC) with the cricket’s world governing body declining to permit the newly-nominated interim board officials to attend its next week’s all-important annual conference.

Board officials here confirmed reports that ICC chief executive Dave Richards has written to the Lankan board chief executive Dhammika Ranatunga asking him to obtain a directive from the court about who should represent Sri Lanka in the ICC annual conference beginning in England on June 23.

Richards wrote the letter to Ranatunga after holding a brief meeting with him in London on Friday along with the new vice-president of the board S. Skanda Kumar, who was nominated to attend the meeting.

In view of the ICC ruling, the officials said, Skanda Kumar did not attend last night’s ICC dinner.

Skanda Kumar, a former secretary of the board, was one of the five nominees of the interim board appointed by the Sri Lankan Sports Ministry to run the affairs of the board following a stay order given by the Colombo district court against recently-elected president Thilanga Sumathipala and other office bearers.

The stay order was given in response to petitions challenging their "controversial" elections to the Sri Lankan board. The crisis further deepened when the legality of the interim board itself was challenged in court here on Friday.

The appointment of the committee was questioned by seven elected members of the board who were not covered by the court’s stay order. The seven men filed the petition even though they have been included in the new committee. These seven men reportedly sent a fax to the ICC informing it about their legal petition.

Citing all this confusion, Richards informed Ranatunga that in view of the claims and counter claims, it would be appropriate for the board to obtain a court’s ruling about who should be authorised to be represented in the ICC conference followed by executive board meeting.

Richards also wanted a court directive to know with whom the ICC should deal with.

Sumathipala, who is one of the directors of the ICC, was also filing an appeal here to challenge the stay order of the Colombo court.

With the new directive from the ICC followed by a spate of court cases and injunctions confusion reigns supreme in the cricket board which was already disgraced by the humiliating exit of the Sri Lanka cricket team from the preliminary rounds of the World Cup.

Zvereva rallies to clinch crown

EASTBOURNE (England), June 20 (AP) — Natasha Zvereva lost the first nine games before scoring a 0-6, 7-5, 6-3 over Nathalie Tauziat yesterday to win Eastbourne grasscourt championship.

In a summer that is becoming known for its comeback matches, the sixth seed from Belarus won her first title since 1994.

In the semifinals she staged another comeback, saving three match points against Amanda Coetzer in the longest match on the WTA tour this season while Tauziat came back from 5-1 down in the third to beat Anna Kournikova.

With Zvereva exhausted after having endured a three-and-a-half hour marathon Friday, it was expected that she might struggle to offer any real competition for Tauziat. So it was little surprise that the third seeded Frenchwoman tied up the opening set in just 16 minutes, conceding only eight points.

Zvereva looked sluggish and failed to find her range, while her French opponent serve and volleyed to perfection.

But just as spectators were doubting whether Zvereva could even last 30 minutes and were recalling her French Open final of 1988 when she lost 6-0, 6-0 to Steffi Graf, she hauled herself into the match and finally began to put some weight into her shots.

Tauziat offered her a window of opportunity by double-faulting to give Zvereva a break point, and she promptly broke for 3-1. Cutting her errors dramatically, while Tauziat began to miss the mark with some of her volleys, Zvereva finally started to compete on equal terms.

Although Tauziat served for victory at 5-4, Zvereva not only levelled at 5-5, but broke her again for the set.

In the decider, there were five consecutive breaks of serve, ending with Zvereva leading 5-3 and able to serve out for the match.

Graf ‘needs help’ in mixed doubles

LONDON, June 20 (Reuters) — John McEnroe, playing at Wimbledon for the last time, said his mixed doubles partner Steffi Graf was one of the goddesses of the game but she "obviously needs help."

McEnroe, now 40, has not played at Wimbledon since 1992, and he last entered a mixed doubles in 1978, but the great left-hander has decided to make one last appearance in the final championships of the millennium.

Graf, 30, the newly-crowned French Open singles champions, will be his partner.

"I have a sense that something magical will happen at the final Wimbledon of the century," McEnroe wrote in the Sunday Telegraph newspaper.

"For a start, I’m back, better watch out ... the partnership of John McEnroe and Steffi Graf might stir a little bit of interest. Obviously the girl needs help, I’ll see what I can do.

"I’m flattered to be given this opportunity to play. She is some of the goddesses of modern tennis, one of the greatest athletes this sport has seen — and she wants to play with me! Let’s go out and win it Steffi."

McEnroe won the men’s singles three times at Wimbledon and won a men’s doubles title there in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. He won the mixed doubles title at the French Open in 1977.

Gopichand storms into semis

GUWAHATI, June 20 (UNI) — Top seed P. Gopichand stormed into the semi-finals of the Oil India Grand Prix '99 when he defeated Sushant Saxena of Uttar Pradesh in the quarter-finals which went into late last night at the Kanaklata Indoor Stadium.

The India No. 1 Gopichand had little problem in despatching Sushant who, however, managed to pick up six points in both the game which lasted less than an hour.

Meanwhile, local girl Oli Deka caused a major upset when she outmatched number two P.V.V. Laksmi of Andhra Pradesh to enter into the semi-final which will be played later today.

In other quarter-final matches in men's section Ajit Wijetilake of Karnataka cruised into the semis defeating Mangarish Palekar of Railways 15-8, 15-5 while Nikhil Kanitkar of Maharashtra beat his compatriot Vijay Lamcy 15-5, 15-2.

Second seed Abhinshyam Gupta of Air India romped into the semis beating Sidharth Jain 17-15, 15-7.

Sion vents anger on IOC

SION, Switzerland, June 20 (Reuters) — Sion vented its anger and disappointment on the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as the shock of losing the 2006 Winter Games to Turin began to wear off.

The mood ranged from helpless resignation to bitter accusation as the crowd of 5,000 people, who had crammed into Place De La Planta expecting to celebrate a victory, filtered into the cobblestoned sidestreets of the medieval city yesterday.

Some just shook their heads after IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch announced the result in Seoul, believing the recent scandals that have rocked the Olympic movement and ensuing reforms had changed nothing within the IOC.

Others made it clear that they no longer welcomed the Swiss-based Olympic organisation, whose headquarters is just 100 kms from Sion.

"Maybe it’s time they (the IOC) went somewhere else," declared a hotel owner, having already removed the Sion candidature flag from the front of her building.

"It’s not logical. We’re about winter sports much more than Turin. We don’t understand. Nobody knows the reason and I doubt we ever will. We are disgusted."

"The evaluation report said we had the best bid and we had the best presentation, so how do you explain this," said another angry Sion resident, drowning his sorrows in a glass of beer.

People cried openly once the news had sunk in. A Swiss broadcaster could be heard on a big screen declaring the vote "a scandal...unfair and the IOC has lost all credibility after making a choice like that."

On Friday evening, thousands of people happily wandered the city’s streets, faces painted in Swiss red and white colours. Midnight fireworks display, bathing the Alps in a colourful glow, concluded the first part of the celebrations.

Sion were the favourites and in the hour leading up to the final announcement, the city’s cafes and bars filled with people discussing what it would be like to host an Olympics.

Sharing the public’s anger were members of the Swiss government and Sion bid committee.

"It is very hard.... you have to wonder if (our) country has any political and international importance any more....," said Swiss vice president and Sion bid president Adolf Ogi.

"We seemed to have the best candidacy, the best presentation. And now this happens."

Swiss Economic Minister Pascal Couchepin was stunned by Turin’s massive margin of victory, 53 to 36.

"In that circle decisions aren’t made according to objective criteria," said Couchepin. "Considering the quality of our dossier, the difference in votes was grotesque ... ridiculous."

TN thrash Assam; Chandigarh lose

BANGALORE, June 20 (PTI) — Tamil Nadu recorded a resounding 16-0 victory against Assam while Punjab and Sindh Bank (PSB) continued their winning spree with a 1-0 win against Chandigarh in the Junior National Hockey Championship here today.

In the totally one-sided pool ‘E’ match, Tamil Nadu’s l Anandan netted six goals, Vinoth Kumar (four), Rajkumar and Ratha Kumar (two each) while Mohammed Nawaz and Gopinath scored once each. However, Tamil Nadu’s penalty conversion was poor with as many as 16 going waste.

In a pool ‘C’ match, PSB overpowered Chandigarh who were faced with a do-or-die situation. Chandigarh had only a win against Madhya Pradesh (6-0) and a loss against Orissa (2-6). With this defeat, Chandigarh has lost the chance of making the quarter-final stage. The winners will take on Orissa tomorrow.

Bank’s Parminder Singh scored the lone goal off a pass from Kanwalpreet Singh in the 15th minute. Chandigarh had as many as seven penalty corners, but failed to convert any. Every time they found the opening in the rival defence area, the forwards fumbled. With frustration setting in, Chandigarh players started arguing with umpire Gunashekar for most of the calls which resulted in skipper Navdeep Singh warming the bench for five minutes.

In pool ‘D’ Kerala beat Maharastra 3-2.

Maharastra opened the account through Vikas Jadhav but Kerala’s Praveen Kumar put his team ahead with two goals in a span of three minutes (2-1).

After the breather, Jayesh made it 3-1. Maharastra’s Shakti Takhur pulled one back for his team in the 46th minute as the side ended up on the losing side 3-2.

In another pool ‘C’ match, Orissa crushed Madhya Pradesh 6-0. Pratap K. Naik scored two goals while Severan Barla, Johnson Ekka, Albert S. Tete and Tarcius Kullu scored one each for the winners.

In the other encounters in pool ‘E’ and pool ‘B’, Delhi outclassed Madhya Bharat 6-3 and Bhopal beat Himachal Pradesh 2-1, respectively.

Chess title for Raja Singh

PATIALA, June 20 (FOSR) — Fourth seed Raja Singh established his supremacy by drawing his last game against top seed Moti Ram, thereby winning the men's title in the Punjab State "B" Chess Tournament which concluded at the local Dhudial School here today.

Raja Singh, who till yesterday was not in the reckoning for the top spot, never let his opponent dominate till the champion floundered in the middle game. Against a disadvantageous position, Raja Singh, in a rook pawn ending offered a draw to Raja Singh which was gleefully accepted by the latter. Both players shared half point each.

Second seed Vinod Sharma defeated Arvinder Preet Singh, clinching the issue in 40 moves to take his tally to six points.

Local youngster Anuj Gupta beat overnight leader Chetan Bansal in a marathon match lasting 59 moves. Anuj Gupta also finished with six points.

In the three way tie, Raja Singh was declared the winner going by the progressive scoring system, while Vinod Sharma and Anuj Gupta had to be contend with the second and third position each.

12 selected

PATIALA, June 20 (FOSR) — Twelve players have been selected for the Punjab State "A" Chess Tournament after the conclusion of the Punjab State "B" Chess Tournament here today.

The Punjab State Chess "B" Tournament was also considered as a selection tournament for picking the Punjab "A" team. The selected players are: Raja Singh, Vinod Sharma, Moti Ram, Anuj Gupta, P.N. Aggarwal, Chetan Bansal, Ravinder Aery, V.P. Sharma, Manu Chopra, Arvinder Preet Singh, Sushil Jain and Harkanwal Singh.

Patiala defeat Chandigarh

PATIALA, June 20 (FOSR) — Patiala beat Chandigarh by five wickets in the one-day Katoch Shield Cricket Tournament league match played at Dhruv Pandove Stadium here today.

Chasing Chandigarh's 273 all out, the hosts were required to make 137 for 5 in 25 overs due to rain. Patiala opener's Reetinder Sodhi (72 n.o.) and Gaganinder Garry (31) gave their team a good start, before Garry was out to a dubious decision. Despite some fine bowling by Yuvraj Singh (3 for 29) the hosts' middle order kept its nerves as the team romped home to a convincing 5-wicket win.

After the completion of both the two day and one-day league fixtures of the Katoch Shield, Patiala batsman and Indian 'A' cricketer Reetinder Sodhi finished the tournament with 573 runs compiled in 7 innings, being not out twice, and thereby averaging a stupendous 114.6.

Scores: Chandigarh : 273 for 9 in 50 overs (Harminder Kakoo 72, Dinesh Mongia 65, Amit Uniyal 47 n.o., Ranjeev Sharma 4 for 45, A. Kakria 2 for 52)

Patiala: 142 for 5 in 25 overs R. Sodhi 72 n.o., G. Garry 31, Yuvraj Singh 3 for 29.

Mukerjee honoured DK Mukerjee

CHANDIGARH, June 20 (BOSR) — The Chandigarh Badminton Association showed its indebtedness to Mr DK Mukerjee known as the "Godfather" of Badminton in Chandigarh by honouring him during its annual general meeting held here today.

Mr Mukerjee, who is now 70, has contributed his better part of life for the cause and upliftment of badminton. Besides his organising ability, Mr Mukerjee has also helped in moulding the game of the players, some of whom made their mark at the international level.

Today he was presented with a pure silver plate studded with four "gold ginnies" worth Rs 15000 for his exemplary contribution to the game.

Mr Mukerjee always looked much young as regard his age. Till last year he used to be a regular at the badminton courts. Unfortunately he remained unwell during the past one year.

When the elections for the next four years were in progress, Mr Mukerjee requested the house expressing his unability to further continue as secretary of the CBA, But the full house decided to elevate him to the post of Chairman of the association.

Mr MC Sethi, the President, said it was the desire to have continued guidance from the person who was the founder of CBA. Mr TPS Puri, the new Secretary, also admitted, not occupying the real place which Mr Mukerjee enjoyed in the world of badminton in Chandigarh and India.

Ramesh in final

CHANDIGARH, June 20 (BOSR) — Ramesh Singh of Chandigarh will take on Pramod Sharma of Delhi in the final of the light fly weight of the senior section in the 11th Senior and second Subjunior North Zone Boxing Championship in progress at the Yavanika Vatika, Sector 5, Panchkula. In the semifinals, Ramesh Singh knocked out Sanjeev Kshatriya by 3-0 on points while Pramod Sharma edged past Devender Singh of Pepsu by 3-0 on points.

In the subjunior section, in the 12 to 13 years group, Paramjit Singh of Chandigarh will face Azad of Haryana (30 to 33 kg) while Abhishek Kumar of Uttar Pradesh will vie with Apurav Kumar of Haryana in the other final in 39 to 42 kg section.

Results (quarterfinals): Bantam-weight (51-54 kg): Ashok Kumar (Haryana) b Sunil Kumar (Pepsu) RSC (OC) IInd round; Sumit Aggarwal (J&K) b Hom Dutt (Haryana) on points; Sukhdeep (HP) w/o Pawan (Punjab);

Featherweight (54-57 kg) — Devender Singh (Chd) b Lalit (Delhi) with points; Lightweight (57-60 kg): Shashi Kant (Haryana) w/o Ramesh (J&K); light welter weight (60-63.5 kg); Naveen Paudwal (UP) b Sanjay (Pepsu) with points; Tara Chand (Haryana) b Dharmendu (Haryana) RSC Ist round; welter weight (63.5-67 kg): Vikki Sharma (Punjab) b Sanjay Kumar (UP) with points.

Subjunior (semifinals): (15-16 years 48-58 kg) Aman Kumar (Chd) b Vivek Kumar (UP) (W.P.); 51-54 Kg; Umrinder Pal (Pepsu) lost to Varun Sethi (Punjab) on points; 54-57 kg; Bachitrya (Haryana) b Rajesh (UP) W.P.; 16-17 years - Virender Yadav (KRC) b Hari Om (Delhi) (W.P.); Abhishek (UP) b Nitin (Punjab) W.P.

Dharamvir (Haryana) b Dharmender (Rajasthan) W.P.: Anil Kumar (Pepsu) on points; Balwant Singh (KRC) b Ashok Kumar (J&K) RSC OC IInd round; Harvinder (Pb) b Sunil Kumar (Chd) W.P.; Rajeev Kumar (Chd) b Parvinder (Pb) W.P.; Parveen Sharma (Haryana) b Yogender Hooda (J&K) W.P.