Schedule gives Jones chance to win 5 gold
SYDNEY, May 3 — Sydney Olympics organisers have left the way open for American sprint star Marion Jones and other leading athletes to chase multiple glory at next year’s games.

Zimbabwe's sinews shine
GUWAHATI, May 3 — Zimbabwe is the strongest team in the 12-nation World Cup ’99, though for a different reason-physique.

India, Pak to play in triangular series
NAIROBI, May 3 — Arch rivals India and Pakistan are to take part in a triangular series with Kenya soon after the World Cup Cricket Tournament.

Yevgeny Kafelnikov is world No 1
PARIS, May 3 — Yevgeny Kafelnikov was today confirmed as the first Russian to be ranked number one in the world — despite the fact he hasn’t won a match in six weeks.

Hendry leads Williams in snooker final
SHEFFIELD (England) May 3 — Stephen Hendry held a 10-6 lead over Mark Williams at the end of play last night in the final of the Snooker World Championship to move within eight frames of a record-breaking seventh world title.

FIFA team inspects World Cup sites
SEOUL, May 3 — An eight-member FIFA delegation today began an inspection tour of sites for the 2002 World Cup finals to assess South Korea’s preparedness, football officials said.

Robertson champ; Jeev finishes joint 23rd
NEW DELHI, May 3 — India’s Jeev Milkha Singh stumbled in the crucial final round but managed an even-par 72 to finish joint 23rd in the Fiat and Fila Open Golf Championship in Turin, Italy.

Nikita outsmarts Harsimran

NEW DELHI, May 3 (PTI) — Unseeded Nikita Bhardwaj outgunned eighth seed Harsimran Kaur in straight sets to set the pace for the third leg of ITF Women’s Futures Tennis Circuit on the opening day here today.

The 16-year-old Nikita was not bothered by the scorching heat conditions, under which her opponent from Chandigarh had started to wilt, and scored an easy 6-2 6-4 victory.

Anna Nefedova of Russia, the only foreign player on the Indian circuit, looked tired under the hot sun but after a slight struggle, beat Radhika Mandke 6-4 7-5 to move into the second round at JLTA courts here.

In the only doubles match played today, Nefedova in tandem with India’s Simi Rani, defeated Oindrilla Mujumder and Sandhya Kanury 6-2 6-3 to reach the quarterfinals.

Nefedova-Rani will now clash with third-seeded pair of Venkatraman sisters — Archana and Arati — for a place in the semifinals.

With the top six seeds receiving first round bye and seventh seed Tara Kanbargimath’s match not scheduled for the day, the attraction centered on the Harsimran-Nikita clash.

Nikita opened up a 4-2 lead in the first set with a break in the sixth game and then broke Harsimran again a game later to pocket the set 6-2.

After trading breaks early on in the second, both went with serves till 4-4.

Nikita held her serve in the ninth and then smashed a crosscourt winner to canter home 6-2, 6-4 in one hour and 15 minutes.

Coming here with not-so-inspiring performances from first two legs, the 16-year-old Nefedova demonstrated a few sparks of brilliance in her shots which caught Radhika Mandke on the wrong foot.

Attempting to pick deep returns on her weak backhand, the left-handed Radhika tried to slice the ball but could not get it past the net. The Russian, who looked tired in the stifling heat, bided for her time after losing a comfortable 4-1 lead in the first set.

Radhika broke Nefedova in the seventh game and after holding her own in the eighth for 4-4, Nefedova changed her gears with some great crosscourt passing winners. Radhika was broken at love in the tenth as the Indian found Nefedova’s returns too hot to handle.

In the second set, Nefedova was well on course earning a break in second game but dropped her own in the third as both players treaded with caution then on. After levelling 5-5, Nefedova won her 11th game before earning a matchpoint on Radhika’s serve.

The Indian fumbled with her first serve netting it and then served a very weak one. Nefedova pounced on it and smashed a long crosscourt return which Radhika failed to reach. The Russian will meet the winner of the match between seventh seed Tara Kambargimath and Geeta Manohar in the second round.

In other first round action, Sumitra Rao beat Vishnu Pritam 6-4 1-6 6-2 in one hour and 50 minutes while Sonal Phadke had an easy 6-2 6-1 triumph over Kalpita Raje in 45 minutes.

Sumitra Rao faces a tough second round tie against top seed Radhika Tulpule of Maharashtra.

The 17-year-old girl from Pune who won the Mumbai leg in style beating Sai Jayalakshmi, is in great form and is waiting for her first match here after receiving first round bye.

Sonal Phadke runs into the third seed Rushmi Chakravarthy in second round. In another match, Sandhya Kanury overcame stiff challenge from Stuti Smit to win 6-1 7-6 (7/2). Her second round opponent will be fifth seed Sheetal Gautham.

Former junior national champion Janaki Krishnamoorthy brushed aside Sricharanya Thiagarajan 6-1 6-2 in 55 minutes to set up a second round clash with Arati Venkatraman.

Nandini Perumal had a tough time against Simi Rani before winning 7-5 7-6 (7/4) in just over an hour. She meets Bangalore winner Shruti Dhawan tomorrow. Archana Venkatraman defeated Padma Pritham Mahalingam 6-0 6-1 in 40 minutes and will face today’s upset winning Nikita in the second round.

Gujarat’s Karishma Patel needed just 55 minutes to beat her six-foot opponent, Oindrila Mujumder of Orissa, 6-1 6-2 for a place in last 16 against second seed Sai Jayalakshmi.

Results — singles (first round): Sumitra Rao bt Vishnu Pritham Mahalingam 6-4 1-6 6-2; Anna Nefedova bt Radhika Mandke 6-4 7-5; Sonal Phadke bt Kalpita Raje 6-2 6-1; Sandhya Kanury bt Stuti Smit 6-1, 7-6 (7/2); Janaki Krishnamoorthy bt Sricharanya Thiagarajan 6-1 6-2; Nandini Perumal bt Simi Rani 7-5 7-6 (7/4); Nikita Bhardwaj bt Harsimran Kaur 6-2 6-4; Archana Venkatraman bt Padma Pritham Mahalingam 6-0 6-1; Karishma Patel bt Oindrila Majumder 6-1 6-2.

Doubles (first round): Anna Nefedova/Simi Rani bt Oindrila Majumder/Sandhya Kanury 6-2 6-3.

Williams defeats injured Pierce

HAMBURG, May 3 (Reuters) — American Venus Williams destroyed an injured Mary Pierce 6-0, 6-3 in a one-sided final of the Hamburg grand prix yesterday.

Pierce, who received treatment for back pain after going 5-0 down in the first set and again after losing the first game of the second set, was never in contention.

Williams, the second seed, relied on her trademark, powerful game to subdue the struggling Frenchwoman in just 63 minutes.

Pierce, the fourth seed, did not win a game until Williams netted a forehand to give her the fourth game of the second set.

Pierce managed to win two more service games before Williams earned three match points on her own serve.

She wasted the first by hitting a forehand wide but a return long by Pierce on the second gave her victory on a sunny day in the northern German city.

It was Williams’s third title this year after Oklahoma City and Key Biscayne. She will move up two places to fifth in the new WTA rankings to be released today.

Pierce was content after entering at the last minute as a replacement for Steffi Graf, who pulled out with a foot injury.

PRAGUE: Slovak Dominik Hrbaty powered his way past his Czech friend and training partner Slava Dosedel 6-2, 6-2 on Sunday to win the Czech Open clay court title.

The fifth-seeded Hrbaty, who took advantage of the first round exits of top seed Yevgeny Kafelnikov and Goran Ivanisevic, used a blistering serve to hand the unseeded Dosedel his second straight loss in the final before a home crowd.

Hrbaty, who helped the Slovak Davis Cup team beat holders Sweden last month, took just 55 minutes to clinch his second career title. He won San Marino last year.

The 29-year-old Dosedel, who hails from Martina Hingis’s Czech home club in Prerov, has not been able to add to his three tour titles since his win in Amsterdam in 1997.

The trophy ceremony was one of the rare times the Slovak national anthem has been played in Prague since the peaceful split of Czechoslovakia in 1993, but the premature cut off of the recording drew a wry smile from the 21-year-old Hrbaty.

ATLANTA: Austrian qualifier Stefan Koubek capped his surprising run at the AT&T challenge by playing "a perfect match" on Sunday night to claim his first career title on the ATP tour.

The 22-year-old dismantled fifth seed Sebastien Grosjean of France 6-1, 6-2 in 56 minutes to become the first qualifier and lowest-ranked player ever to win this clay court event.

"Today, it was just a perfect match. I was hitting winners all over the place and he didn’t have a chance," said the Austrian, whose ranking will move from 97th in the world to 67.

"I feel like I can keep on playing like this forever," gushed Koubek, who also claimed fourth seed Michael Chang and eight seed Magnus Larsson among his seeded scalps this week.

Koubek, who had to win three qualifying matches to get into the main draw here, had just three match victories on ATP tour prior to his five wins this week.

The 40th-ranked Grosjean, who reached the Lipton Championships final this year and was also gunning for his first tour title, figured to give Koubek a tougher time following his impressive win over Jim Courier.

But the Frenchman was never in the match. He managed just one break point against Koubek for the match, which he failed to convert.

ROME (AP): Martina Hingis heads the field in the Italian Open women’s tournament, which begins play on Monday.

The 18-year-old Swiss player might be on to something, particularly as she tries to defend her title in the clay-court tournament and prepare for the French Open, the only grand slam played on the slow surface.

Her half of the draw includes three other teen stars the Williams sisters, third-seeded Venus and sixth-seeded Serena, and ninth-seeded Anna Kournikova of Russia.

Venus Williams is coming off her first clay-court victory on Sunday in Hamburg Germany. Serena Williams upset Hingis in Key Biscayne, Florida.

The top eight seeds had first-round byes in the $ 1 million tournament.

Meeting the Press on Sunday, Hingis noted that most of the young stars who have added so much to the popularity of women’s tennis were grouped with her.

In contrast, second-seeded Spanish star Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario’s half of the draw includes such tour veterans as Spain’s Conchita Martinez, Belarus’ Natasha Zvereva and Pierce.

Hingis skipped the Hamburg tournament to prepare for her Italian title defence.

"I’m very fresh. I have big expectations", she said.

Powell's World Cup dream comes true

KINGSTON (Jamaica), April 3 (Reuters) — The childhood dreams of Ricardo Powell have come true earlier than even he could have hoped with his late call-up to the West Indies World Cup squad.

The little known 20-year-old Jamaican all-rounder was the surprise choice after the shock decision by Carl Hooper to pull out of the squad and quit international cricket.

And he is determined to make the most of his chance.

"I am just eager to go out there and do my best," said Powell, an industrial arts student.

"I know it is going to be a big challenge for me. I have never played in England and I don't know the conditions but I will have to make use of the opportunity and do the best I can."

An attractive right-hand batsman with an aggressive, no-nonsense approach, Powell, who also bowls off-breaks and is an outstanding fielder, earns his trip to the World Cup after just six first class games.

After making his first-class debut last year against Barbados at Sabina Park, he impressed the regional selectors by scoring 246 runs at an average of 61.50 in Jamaica's last three Busta Cup games earlier this year.

It included an explosive, near run-a-ball, unbeaten century against eventual champions Barbados at Kensington Oval in Bridgetown. He was rewarded with a place in a West Indies Board XI and West Indies A teams against the touring Australians, but failed to make an impact.

Powell says it has been his dream to play for West Indies and foresees no problems in fitting into the squad.

"I have been around the (West Indies) players quite a new times and I always feel comfortable," he said.

"I rally around them, they rally around me and I don't think I will have a problem."

"I'm young, and the selectors obviously believe that I'm one of the promising young players in the region. Hooper is a great batsman, bowler and fielder, so it's hard to fill that gap. But once I play to the best of my ability, I believe I can make a good impression."

Powell, who holds the record for the highest score in rural schoolboy cricket -- 306 not out for Holmwood Technical High against Bellefield High two years ago -- also hopes it will not be long before he has the opportunity to play Test cricket.

"Once I condition my mind, I think I am capable of doing well at this level in the one-day and Test arena. There are a few adjustments one has to make. But once you have batting ability it should not be very difficult to adjust when playing in Tests," he said.

Sydney Olympics

Schedule gives Jones chance to
win 5 gold

SYDNEY, May 3 (Reuters) — Sydney Olympics organisers have left the way open for American sprint star Marion Jones and other leading athletes to chase multiple glory at next year’s games.

The track and field programme, released yesterday as part of the detailed full competition schedule, should encourage top athletes contesting more than one event.

Jones, the 100 metres world champion, is aiming to win up to an unprecedented five gold medals in track and field at the 2000 Olympics. She is likely to contest the 100 and 200 metres, the long jump and two relays.

The detailed event-by-event programme, the biggest in Olympic history with athletes competing for a total of 300 gold medals in 28 sports, was released by the Sydney organising committee (SOCOG) yesterday.

Mr Bob Elphinston, SOCOG’s general manager for sport, said it had studied the athletics programmes from the 1992 Barcelona and the 1996 Atlanta Games, where the schedule was reshuffled to help US sprint sensation Michael Johnson achieve the 200-400 metre double.

The Sydney programme has spread Jones’s events throughout the track and field competition of the games which run from September 15 to October 1.

The 100m is on the opening two days of the athletics, and the 200m on days five and six. The final of the women’s long jump is on day seven, and the relay finals on the last day of the athletics programme.

Mr Elphinston told Reuters today: "We didn’t specifically try to address the needs of Marion Jones individually, but we looked at athletes in general who would want to compete in a number of events."

He said they were "conscious" of the needs of leading athletes.

"In turn, it allows Marion Jones to maximise her opportunities," Mr Elphinston said. "That’s what everyone wants to see, the best competing in their events."

The International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF) is the only ruling body yet to sign off on its schedule, but SOCOG said it did not expect that to cause any problems.

Jones will be trying to become the first woman in the sport to win five gold medals in one summer games. Fanny Blankers-Koen of the Netherlands is the only woman to win four gold medals in track and field at one games, in London in 1948.

Mr Elphinston said he was unaware of any concerns on the part of the IAAF over the scheduling of the men’s 100m final, which comes only a few hours after the 1,500 metres freestyle swimming final on September 23.

The Sydney Morning Herald reported today IAAF president Primo Nebiolo was angry local attention might be diverted from the 100m final and was considering changing the athletics schedule to avoid a clash.

The 1,500m could see an Australian clash between world champion Grant Hackett and double Olympic gold medallist Kieren Perkins, which would make it the most intriguing match-up of the games for local television spectators.

"We have had no advice from the IAAF in that respect," said Mr Elphinston. "I wouldn’t be too concerned about that," he said. "We’ve been looking for comment from IAAF for some time and would be looking for their support."

Mr Elphinston said they had based their programmes on what IAAF had used at previous world championships and Olympic Games, having consulted fully IOC and ruling sports federations.

When Pak came back to lift World Cup

LONDON, May 3 (AFP) — Sport, like life, is a mercilessly fickle business.

Ask Imran Khan, the man who held the 1992 cricket World Cup aloft, ask Kepler Wessels, the man who did not.

Pakistan’s triumph was, to a large extent, based on three key ingredients— a late return to top form, rain, and a controversial rain rule.

That rule made a farce of several games and cruelly washed out the chances of South Africa reaching the final in their debut appearance in the competition.

Imran Khan’s volatile, unpredictable but hugely talented side looked certain to be eliminated from the nine-team competition, held in Australia and New Zealand and the first to feature coloured clothing, after an appalling start which saw them win just one of their first five games.

Somehow, however, he managed to turn the team’s fortunes around. They won the next three and scraped into the semifinals ahead of Australia by one point.

That crucial single point had been gifted to them earlier by the Adelaide storm clouds, bowled out for 74 by England, Pakistan were saved from defeat when the umpires were forced to call off the game as rain pelted the ground.

They then found their form just in time to beat New Zealand by four wickets in the semifinals and then dispatched England by 22 runs in the final, Wasim Akram and Mushtaq Ahmed claiming three wickets apiece.

By then, the despondent South Africans, who had beaten Pakistan in the first round, were on their way home, cheated of chance to win their semifinal against England.

With previous rules favouring sides batting second in rain-affected matches, the organisers had devised a complicated system for revising run targets — without realising they had created a monster hugely in favour of sides batting first.

On March 22 in Sydney, South Africa, chasing England’s 252 for six off 45 overs, had just moved into top gear and needed 22 off 13 balls for victory when the rain forced the players off.

Twelve minutes were lost and the South Africa target was revised to 22 off seven balls. But by the time the players had got back into their positions, more time had elapsed and a new target was announced — 22 runs off a single delivery.

Thus a thrilling contest was reduced to farce, at the same time destroying South African dreams following 21 years of apartheid-induced isolation.

For many, however, mercurial Pakistan proved deserving winners despite their good fortune.

The side was packed deep with outrageous talent besides Imran Khan, pace bowler Wasim Akram and leg spinner Mushtaq Ahmed.

Zimbabwe's sinews shine

GUWAHATI, May 3 (UNI) — Zimbabwe is the strongest team in the 12-nation World Cup ’99, though for a different reason-physique.

The minnows of cricket have ordered seven extra extra large and eight extra large shirts for their 15-man squad.

As far as the players are concerned, Scotland’s Iain Philip is the oldest, who will be 42 on June 9. Pakistan takes credit for bringing the youngest in, Shahid Afridi, who is just 19.

For Arjuna Ranatunga, captain of defending champions Sri Lanka, this will be the fifth World Cup appearance. He made his World Cup debut in 1983 at the age of 20.

The fastest bowler in the tournament will be Pakistan’s Shoaib Akhtar with a speed of 96 MPH. Allan Donald (South Africa) follows second with 93 MPH and England’s Darren Gough third with 92.5 MPH.

A ball coming at such speed gives the batsmen only 0.39 seconds to decide the shot.

The matches, will be watched by more than half a million people in the stadia. It offers a record prize money of $ 10,00,000 for the winner, with the winning trophy valued at £ 27,000 and weighing 11 kg.

During the tournament, over 75 tonnes of grass will be mowed at the 21 match venues. More than 2,500 hours will be spent for this purpose.

Over nine miles of advertising boards are being produced and erected around the country. The competing teams will be provided with close to 10,000 items of clothing.

Also more than 2,500 square metres of material will be used to produce the team strips for the various countries.

With 42 matches being played in the biggest ever World Cup, the umpires will say the word ‘over’ more than 4,000 times. More than 4,200 overs will be bowled during the entire series.

To officiate these matches. The ICC has empanelled 12 umpires, they are David Shepherd and Peter Willey from England, Srinivas Venkataraghavan from India, Steve Dunne and Doug Cowie from New Zealand, Javed Akhtar from Pakistan, Rudi Koerizen and Dave Orchard from South Africa, K.T. Francis from Sri Lanka, Steve Bucknor from the West Indies, Ian Robinson from Zimbabwe and Darrel Hair from Australia.

Regarding media, the official photographic agency, Allsport, will take over 60,000 shots, for which they will use more than 5,000 feet of film.

Host broadcasters Sky and BBC will have 42 commentators for the matches, which will be broadcasted in around 120 countries to a cumulative audience of two billion.

Sky and BBC are producing 336 hours of match broadcast between them and will use 160 miles of cable and eight mobile studios for the purpose.

India, Pak to play in triangular series

NAIROBI, May 3 (IANS) — Arch rivals India and Pakistan are to take part in a triangular series with Kenya soon after the World Cup Cricket Tournament.

"We expect the triangular series to take place between the last week of August and the first week of September. The series is definitely on. It’s only a question of fixing dates," said Sharad Ghai, executive committee member of the Kenya Cricket Association (KCA).

The KCA has already started negotiations with prospective sponsors. A major international sports channel has been approached for live telecast of the matches.

The KCA and Media Plus, a Nairobi-based sports marketing firm which is organising the tournament, have also received clearance from the Kenyan Government to host the tournament. The organisers have also requested the government to provide security for the tournament since there are a lot of Indian and Pakistani supporters in Kenya.

Pakistan last toured Kenya in 1996 during the KCA centenary. That tournament also featured South Africa and Sri Lanka. It was during that series that the Pakistani star Shahid Afridi blossomed when he scored a century off only 37 balls, including 11 sixes and six fours.

India’s last tour of Nairobi was in 1992 when they defeated Kenya by 92 runs. Skipper Mohammed Azharuddin then scored a quickfire century. On both occasions, the Kenyan team’s coach was former India Test star Hanumant Singh. Kenya’s present coach is former West Indies skipper Alvin Kallicharan, who replaced Roger Binny, who had to leave the assignment suddenly because of "urgent business reasons".

A couple of weeks ago, the Kenyan vice-captain and promising all-rounder Maurice Odumbe, had cast aspersions on Kallicharan’s coaching capabilities and praised the former Indian coaches, Hanumant Singh and Sandeep Patil as well as Binny, who, he said, had "worked hard to mould the Kenyan team into a force to reckon with."

He later apologised, but the KCA nevertheless imposed a fine of 75,000 shillings which he paid up. Odumbe has finally been included in Kenya’s World Cup squad, being led by veteran leg-spinner Asif Karim. Kenya are grouped with England, India, South Africa Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe in this year’s World Cup.

Yevgeny Kafelnikov is world No 1

PARIS, May 3 (AFP, DPA) — Yevgeny Kafelnikov was today confirmed as the first Russian to be ranked number one in the world — despite the fact he hasn’t won a match in six weeks.

Kafelnikov, who became the 16th number one since the ATP Tour introduced its rankings system, overhauled American Pete Sampras — who was inactive last week — despite losing his first match in the Czech Open in Prague.

The Russian is not playing this week after withdrawing from the tournament in Hamburg because of viral infection.

HAMBURG: Yevgeny Kafelni-kov’s rise is a surprise because he was never regarded as a serious contender when the year started.

Just over five months ago Kafelnikov considered himself not even good enough to be among the eight leading players competing at the ATP Tour world championships.

"I don’t deserve to be here,’’ he said.

That tournament marked the end of a mediocre year for the Russian on the tennis courts, after which he dropped out of the year-ending top-10 to number 11 for the first time since an 11th-place finish in 1994.

However, at the same time Kafelnikov was also a happy man because he had got married in June to his girlfriend Masha, who on October 23 gave birth to their first child, daughter Aleysa.

This fact should lead him to play less and be more selective about his tournaments because, now that the baby is there, Masha can no longer accompany him around the world. Kafelnikov had played the most matches on tour in four of the last five years.

With his private life settled, he also hired a new coach in the form of Larry Stefanki — who had previously trained such difficult characters as Kohn McEnroe and Marcelo Rios — to help him regain the form which saw him win the French Open and reach a career-high number 3 ranking in 1996.

Kafelnikov returned to Australia in January for the first time in three years, and did so with a bang by winning his second career Grand Slam title at the Australian Open.

Kafelnikov was the underdog in the final against then in-form Stefan Enqvist, at a tournament in which several players like Rios or Patrick Rafter had the chance to snatch the world number 1 position from Pete Sampras, who decided to stay home due to burnout.

"Thank you, Pete. This is a wonderful feeling. Thanks for letting me do this,’’ said Kafelnikov at the trophy presentation. In the belief that he won only because the Floridian wasn’t there.

Kafelnikov had not played in Australia the previous two years. In 1997 he suffered a fractured finger in a gym accident in the run-up. He missed last year’s edition because of a skiing accident in December 1997.

He attributed the 1999 triumph to the fact that he has matured: "I am definitely not the Yevgeny that I was three or four years ago. I have a lot more experience, not only on the court but in my private life.’’

"You cannot buy those things. Go into the pharmacy and ask for such experience. The older you get the more experience you have. That’s human nature,’’ he said.

Suddenly a contender for the top spot, Kafelnikov kept up the momentum and moved within 58 points of Sampras in mid-February after his second 1999 title and 19th overall in Rotterdam.

"This is my dream. I had this dream since I was a young boy. It is a big honour,’’ said Kafelnikov, confidently looking forward to assuming the top spot.

"Every time I step on court I think I am going to win because I am playing the best tennis of my life. Even though I know I am challenging for number one I put no pressure on myself. I know it will happen some time this year,’’ he said.

However, poor results at subsequent tournaments — such as first-round elimination in Monte Carlo and Prague — prevented him becoming number 1 until early May. And he has only achieved this now because Sampras has taken another week off, thereby forfeiting a large number of points he had earned at the equivalent stage last year.

Despite the vagaries of the ranking system, Kafelnikov is undoubtedly a worthy holder of the top position and his fans can look forward to seeing him back at his best when the French Open begins in Paris in late May.

Lara issues warning

LONDON, May 3 (AFP) — West Indies captain Brian Lara today warned his team’s World Cup rivals that he would be back to his dynamic best by the time the tournament starts later this month. The West Indies superstar has been sidelined with a wrist injury and was not able to play in the one-day matches against Australia at the end of recent Test series in the Caribbean.

Lara said he had been told he would be ready to start West Indies’ first World Cup match against Pakistan on May 16.

"The wrist is fine now," said Lara at a news conference at Gatwick airport. "I’ve been told just to rest for two weeks and then I will be ready for the first game and I am desperate to get on with it."

Lara believes the West Indies World Cup squad is capable of lifting the trophy they last won in 1979. "We will have to play well because there are a lot of good teams out here and that is why we have beefed up our bowling attack," he said.

"But what we do have is a lot of experience with guys who have played county cricket here, and I hope that we will be in the final on June 20."

Lara and manager Clive Lloyd are intent on creating the team spirit which saw them fight back to a Test series draw with Australia after a dismal series defeat in South Africa.

"In the past, the West Indies have relied on individual flair, but now you will see a very different team," Lara said.

"This is a huge event of great importance, and we will be looking to have a whole team atmosphere rather than looking to at one or two people to perform."

"If we can win here we might see the game take off again back home. It has been a difficult couple of years, and if you look at our recent past, it is not a great surprise why the game has suffered," the West Indies skipper added.

Lara believes that the main threat to glory comes form "inconsistent teams" such as Pakistan and England, as well as pre-tournament favourites South Africa.

"South Africa are the main threat because they are a great one-day side," he said.

"But I would have to play that the inconsistent teams like Pakistan and England are the ones I am most worried about, because you don’t have to be the best team to win the World Cup, you just have to be the best on that day."

Hendry leads Williams in snooker final

SHEFFIELD (England) May 3 (Reuters) — Stephen Hendry held a 10-6 lead over Mark Williams at the end of play last night in the final of the Snooker World Championship to move within eight frames of a record-breaking seventh world title.

Hendry's last world title success came three years ago but the 30-year-old Scot has proved over the last two weeks that he is still a big force.

Williams has yet to show the sort of form which enabled him to beat Ronnie O'Sullivan 17-10 in the semifinals, and his hopes of becoming the first Welshman to win the title since 1979 are fading fast in this best-of-35-frame final.

Hendry won the first two frames with breaks of 62 and 98. He won a scrappy third frame to edge further ahead and after trailing 56-4 in the fourth frame, he compiled a 77 break to establish a 4-0 lead at the mid-session interval.

Williams got off the mark in the fifth frame before Hendry regained his four-frame advantage with a break of 86. But Williams ended the afternoon on a high note, winning the last two frames of the session.

Hendry came from behind to win the opening frame of the evening with a break of 77, and he went further in front with a 76 break in the next frame. The first century of the match came in the 12th frame when Hendry produced a 132 clearance.

Williams missed several good potting chances while in front, allowing Hendry to maintain his advantage.

Hendry won the last two frames of the evening, finishing with a break of 92, to move closer to the £ 230,000 first prize.

FIFA team inspects World Cup sites

SEOUL, May 3 (AFP) — An eight-member FIFA delegation today began an inspection tour of sites for the 2002 World Cup finals to assess South Korea’s preparedness, football officials said.

The team, led by FIFA Vice-President, Antonio Matarrese, arrived in Seoul yesterday and is scheduled to fly on Thursday to Japan, co-host of the event.

"The team will inspect several sites, and discuss overall issues such as ticketing, accommodation and transportation," a football official said.

Further details were not available, but news reports said high on the agenda would be discussions over the establishment of a FIFA headquarters to be used during the finals.

FIFA is also expected to finalise the number of stadiums and venues for the World Cup finals by May 15, the Korea Herald said. Ten cities had been earmarked as venues, but doubts remain as to the viability of that plan.

The visit is the second by a FIFA team since last year amid reports that the crisis-hit country may not be in a position to host all planned events.

Meanwhile, Yonhap news agency reported South Korea has not given up trying to persuade North Korea to co-host some of the finals aimed at helping the communist state come out of its isolation.

Robertson champ; Jeev finishes
joint 23rd

NEW DELHI, May 3 (PTI) — India’s Jeev Milkha Singh stumbled in the crucial final round but managed an even-par 72 to finish joint 23rd in the Fiat and Fila Open Golf Championship in Turin, Italy.

The Chandigarh-based golfer failed to maintain his superb form of the previous two rounds, in which he fired 69 and 68 after his opening round 71, and was sharing the 23rd position with five others at the 6,947-yard, par-72 Circolo golf course yesterday, according to information reaching here today.

Jeev, the lone Indian in the highly-competitive European PGA Tour, finished at nine-under 279.

The 27-year-old son of the legendary quartermiler Milkha Singh, had a dream start to the new EPGA season when he finished third in the Alfred Dunhil Championship in South Africa and then bettered it with his best result thus far - a joint second position in the South African PGA Championship.

Britain’s Dean Robertson clinched his maiden title with a superb four-under-par 68 in the final round for a four-round aggregate of 17-under-par 271.

Robertson (70, 65, 68, 68) upstaged a quality field which included U.S. Masters champion Jose Maria Olazabal, U.S. Open champion Lee Janzen and Seve Ballesteros of Spain, to edge past Ireland’s Padraig Harrington (68, 66, 68, 70) by one stroke.

Olan Abel (71, 69, 70, 66 - 276) finished joint 13th, Seve Ballesteros (70, 71, 69, 67) was placed 17th while Janzen (72, 68, 73, 74) finished a poor joint 66th.