Tuesday, October 5, 1999
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S P O R T | Tuesday, October 5, 1999 |
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Air-India clinch hockey title CHANDIGARH, Oct 4— Star-studded Air-India, Mumbai, regained the winners trophy after a gap of five years,edging out Border Security Force 3-2 in an action-packed final of the 29th All-India Gurmit Memorial Hockey Tournament at the Sector 42 hockey stadium here today. Rusedski, Serena champions MUNICH, Oct 4 — Greg Rusedski proved he is a powerhouse on an indoor court with his first title of the year while Serena Williams whipped her elder sister Venus for the first time ever to join the Briton as a champion in the Grand Slam Cup yesterday. |
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 MUNICH : Serena Williams of the USA lifts up the winners cup after her final match against her sister Venus Williams at the International Tennis Grand Slam Cup in Munich's Olympic hall on Sunday. — AP/PTI |
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India pip Maldives for
bronze Rest
of India lift trophy Chance
for aspirants to impress Gurdev
misses gold by a whisker Sai,
Rushmi triumph 100
golfers for Northern India tournament A
dream start by Jayasuriya Aravinda
included in one-day squad |
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Air-India clinch hockey
title CHANDIGARH, Oct 4— Star-studded Air-India, Mumbai, regained the winners trophy after a gap of five years,edging out Border Security Force 3-2 in an action-packed final of the 29th All-India Gurmit Memorial Hockey Tournament at the Sector 42 hockey stadium here today. The winners led by a solitary goal at half time. Just when it seemed that Border Security Force were on the victory course after having maintained a 2-1 lead till the 62nd minute,Air-India rallied superbly to wipe out the deficit and then to clinch the issue through Deepak Thakur’s reverse hit from the top of the ‘D’ in the dying minutes. For BSF it was indeed a story of being so near and yet so far. A contentious penalty stroke for Air-India a minute before the breather which drew vehement protests from the BSF players, especially goalkeeper Sarabjit Kumar, put the security men in arrears but a second-half resurgence saw them surging ahead 2-1. However their joy proved to be shortlived as Air-India came from behind to shatter their dream of lifting the second title within a fortnight after their title win in the Baba Farid Gold Cup at Faridkot on September 23. BSF had been declared joint winners with Punjab State Electricity Board way back in 1981 after which they have never been able to enter the final of this ‘A’ grade tournament. BSF displayed early dominance with Habil Topno,Marinus Lakra, skipper Harbhajan Singh and Peter Tirkey combining in unison. However, Peter Tirkey was soon out with a facial injury making Air-India’s job easier. Midway through the first half,a counter attack by Air-India through Inder Salaria, skipper Rajesh Chauhan and Deepak Thakur saw BK Kuller making a timely save. BSF, too, had a good chance in the 28th minute when Harbhajan’s cross from the right was well connected by Shinu Hereng but he failed to hit the ball despite a clear view of the goal. A subsequent move by Narinder and Hereng brought out the best in goalkeeper Edgar Mascarenas who cleared the ball out of danger zone. It was a minute before the breather that Air-India took the lead. An infringement by full back Naiman Kuller of BSF on the goal-line prompted international umpire Shakeel Qureshi to point to the dreaded spot which drew protests from the BSF players. However, Qureshi stood his ground and international Gagan Ajit Singh calmly put the ball in to put Air-India in the lead. The second half saw BSF coming back strongly and within a minute of resumption of play, Marinus Lakra sounded the boards off a rebound after Habil Topno’s unsuccessful attempt (1-1). In the 44th minute,BSF were 2-1 up when Sushil Kumar successfully converted a penalty stroke which was awarded following a body infringement by a rival defender. Air-India did not lose heart despite the setback. With only seven minutes to go for the hooter, the Mumbai outfit restored parity following a penalty corner. Off the subsequent push, the ball came to Olympian Gavin Farreira who quickly despatched an angular hit into the ‘D’. The ever-agile Gagan Ajit standing inside danger zone lunged forward to direct the goalwards and team-mate Edward Irana provided the finishing touches (2-2). And with only four minutes remaining for the proceedings to end, international Deepak Thakur settled the issue after latching on to the ball on the ‘D’ top and despatching a hard hit which sailed in sending a wave of joy in the Air-India camp. Air-India had last won the title in 1994 and had finished runners-up in 1995. GK Bopanna of Air-India was adjudged the best goalkeeper while N.Kuller of BSF was adjudged the best full-back. The best half back award went to Jitender Kumar of CHA XI while Navdeep also of CHA XI was declared the best forward. Indo-Tibetan Border Police won the fair-play trophy. Mr Sarabjit Singh, DGP, Punjab, who was the chief guest gave away the prizes. Teams : Air-India : Edgar Mascarenas, Cornelius D’Costa, Anil Aldrin, Inder Salaria, Gavin Farreira, Surinder Kundu, Deepak Thakur, Alex D’Souza, Gagan Ajit Singh, Rajesh Chauhan, Edward Irana, Davinder Kumar, Harpreet Singh, M.Vishwanath, Devinderpal Singh and GK Bopanna. BSF : Sarabjit Kumar, Naiman Kuller, Habil Topno, Iqbaljit Singh,Kuljinder Singh, Satnam Singh, Shinu Hereng,BK Kuller,Brinder Guria, Marinus Lakra, Amrit Lakra, Jasjit Singh, Harbhajan Singh, Peter Tirkey , Sushil Kumar and Narinder Singh. Umpires :Shakeel Qureshi
and Satinder Sharma. |
Rest of India lift trophy BANGALORE, Oct 4 (PTI) — The rest of India lifted the Irani Trophy drubbing defending champions Karnataka by an innings and 60 runs on the penultimate day of their five-day season-opener here today. Resuming at 41 for 3 at lunch, Karnataka batsmen fell to the attacking bowling of Tamil Nadu medium pacer T Kumaran, who claimed six wickets conceding 39 runs. Resuming at 298 for six, Rest’s batsmen could not handle the bowling of Srinath, who trapped overnight batsmen Sitanshu Kotak (118) and Harvinder Sodhi (55), respectively. The Karnataka star then polished off the tail, bowling K N Ananthapadmnabhan for 10 and had Kumaran snapped up by Sujith Somasundar for four. But, by then, the visitors had already taken a vital 151 run lead, which ultimately proved decisive. Starting with a 151-run deficit, Karnataka were never in the hunt as wickets fell like nine-pins. H S Sodhi, who took two wickets in the first innings, struck early, dismissing top three batsmen — J Arun Kumar (6), Sujith Somasundar (14) and V S Tilak Naidu (1) as the hosts went for lunch at a distressing 41 for three. However, Karnataka batsmen failed to weather the storm as Kumaran came back strongly and kept up the tempo in his second spell to return enviable figures of 8.5-2-21-6. Kumaran took his first wicket of Karnataka’s second innings in his seventh over when A Vijay (15) was caught behind by skipper Nayan Mongia immediately after lunch. In his ninth over, Kumaran trapped K Sriram for just three with the second delivery and then had Anand Yalvigi caught by Hemang Badani for a duck with the fourth. Wicket-keeper Somashekar Shiruguppi, who topscored with 42 in the hosts’ first knock, fell for just seven with Kumaran taking the catch off H S Sodhi. Sodhi finished with four wickets for 41 runs. Kumaran, in his eleventh over, dismissed D Ganesh (0) and in his fifteenth, had Srinath adjudged leg before. Incidentally, Srinath put on 31 runs for the tenth wicket with Anand Katti, who remained unbeaten on eight. Scoreboard Karnataka (2nd
innings): |
Chance for aspirants to impress JODHPUR, Oct 4 (PTI) — A clutch of India hopefuls in the Board President’s XI will strain themselves to impress the selectors when they take on a visiting New Zealand team keen to grab vital practice ahead of the first cricket Test in their three-day tie that begins here tomorrow. The Kiwis, who got to play for just three hours in their rain-hit tour opener against India “A” at Pune and were left struggling at 135 for six wickets in the short period, will be looking for a full work out in the only other outing they have before the first Test starting on October 10. The Board XI, led by Maharashtra left-hander Hrishikesh Kanitkar, will have a clutch of players keen to impress with young Punjab off-spinner Harbhajan Singh and his statemate Vikram Rathore and Rajasthan’s Gagan Khoda, the two openers in the side, hoping to attract the attention of the selectors who meet in Mumbai on October 6 to name the squad for Mohali. But skipper Kanitkar himself has not been able to shine at the international level, while left-arm spinner Rahul Sanghvi and Harbhajan Singh fight for places with Sunil Joshi and Nikhil Chopra who have been impressive of late. The 19-year-old Harbhajan Singh did not make an impact in the two Tests against Pakistan and the Asian Test Championship that followed early this year though he had a decent outing on a bowler-friendly track in the five-match series between India ‘A’ and Australian ‘A’ in Los Angeles. Kanitkar and Delhi left-arm paceman Ashish Nehra were part of the side that drew Sri Lanka in the Asian meet in Colombo in February. Both the tried and discarded Punjab opener Vikram Rathore and Rajasthan’s Gagan Khoda, who was tried out in a couple of one-dayers, will be among those holding some hopes to be picked to partner Sadagopan Ramesh as India opener. Much attention will also be focussed on talented Madhya Pradesh batsman Jaiprakash Yadav, who is yet to get a good look in higher grade of cricket despite being very consistent at the domestic level. New Zealand, who struggled against Delhi paceman Amit Bhandari in Pune and were found wanting in playing slow bowlers, will be hoping that their batsmen do vastly better here. Barring middle-order bat Nathan Astle, who was unbeaten on 29, none really dominated in Pune and leading batsmen in openers Matt Horne and Matthew Bell besides skipper Stephen Fleming and Craig McMillan will all look for a longer tenure in the middle. With the weather in Northern India also proving fickle, Fleming would be praying there in no more rain trouble and his team, back after a long rest following their Test series triumph in England, gets a full workout. Among bowlers, left-arm spinner Daniel Vettori and off-spinner Paul Wiseman can look forward to sharpening their skills and against batsmen traditionally comfortable against spin. Pacemen Dion Nash, Chris Cairns and left-armer Shayne O’Conner, who did not get to bowl in Pune, will also be eager to familiarise themselves bowling in pitches where they have to toil, though with winter about to set in, some movement could be gained in the first hour of play. The teams: Board President’s XI: (from) Hrishikesh Kanitkar (capt-Mah), Vikram Rathore (Pun), Gagan Khoda (Raj), Sameer Dighe (wk-Mum), Rajeev Nayyar (HP), Virendra Sehwag (Del), Devendra Bundela (MP), P Malik (Ori), Harbhajan Singh (Pun), Rahul Sanghvi (Del), Ashish Nehra (Del), Ashish Winston Zaidi (UP), Sanjay Bangar (Rly), Jaiprakash Yadav (MP). New Zealand: Stephen Fleming (capt), Matthew Bell, Matt Horne, Craig McMillan, Nathan Astle, Chris Cairns, Adam Parore (wk), Dion Nash (v-capt), Chris Drum, Chris Harris, Shayne O’Conner, Andrew Penn, Craig Spearman, Danel Vettori and Paul Wiseman. Umpires: K Parthasarathy
(Hyderabad) and Sudhir Asnani (Madhya Pradesh). |
We are moving ahead: Jadeja MUMBAI, Oct 4 (PTI) — India’s stand-in skipper Ajay Jadeja today said it was team effort that helped the squad reach the final of the four-nation cricket tournament at Nairobi, which India lost by 26 runs against South Africa after a clean slate in the league phase. A tired-looking Jadeja, who arrived here this morning along with his teammates and the out-going coach Anshuman Gaekwad, said the young Indian side had done extremely well though it was disappointing to lose the final and added “we probably could have won that as well if the outfield, which was uneven, was better”. “None of us could consolidate our innings after getting set in the final and I think we fell short by 30 odd runs in the end,” he added. “Just because we have not been the best fielding side in the past does not mean we can’t improve and our fielding in this tournament proved that. The boys really worked hard on their fielding and the difference was there for all to see and I can only say that we are moving ahead,” Jadeja said. “In fact as a captain I had very little to do as the boys complimented each other very well. I would just toss the ball to the bowlers and the bowlers would do the job to perfection backed by some superb fielding,” the Haryana star under whose captaincy, India had defeated South Africa, Kenya and Zimbabwe convincingly in the league phase. Jadeja, who refused to name any notable performer in the side, said: “I would not like to pinpoint who has done well or who has not done well. Everybody says Vijay Bharadwaj has done very well in the tournament and I would like to wish him all the best for the future”. “I thoroughly enjoyed leading the side as the boys improved with every match and gave 100 per cent to the team,” he added. When queried about Gaekwad’s successor, Kapil Dev who will take over the coaching assignment during the home series against the Kiwis, Jadeja said “Kapil Dev is something special for me as all my life I have played cricket with him”. “Kapil, who is one of the most respected cricketers in the country, will help the boys with his immense experience and we are all looking forward to it,” he added. Gaekwad, who took over the coaching assignment from Madan Lal a couple of years ago, said he enjoyed every minute of it. “I have no regrets whatsoever and I think the team will certainly benefit with Kapil Dev’s appointment as the coach. The boys played extremely well at Nairobi and I am not unduly worried about the loss in the final as I know that each one of them had put in 100 percent,” he added. “Winning and losing is part of the game and I am happy with the overall improvement in fielding and bowling departments,” Gaekwad said. Rahul Dravid, who was presented the Ceat International Cricketer of the World Cup award for India during the tournament at Nairobi, said he was happy to win the trophy. The stylish Karnataka
batsman had garnered 23 points for his batting
performance in the World Cup. |
India pip Maldives for bronze KATHMANDU, Oct 4 (PTI) — Reigning champions India warded off a spirited Maldives challenge to carve out a 3-1 victory and claim the bronze in the 8th SAF Games Football Championship at the Dashrath Stadium here today. The hard-working Sabir Pasha and striker Raman Vijayan struck a goal each in the last four minutes of the proceedings to save the day for the Indians after both the teams were locked 1-1 at the interval in a fast-paced play-off encounter. The Indians still licking the wounds after the shocking defeat against Bangladesh in the semi-final were pushed on the defensive with the Maldivians forging ahead as early as the sixth minute. But they restored parity 10 minutes later with mercurial striker IM Vijayan producing another brilliant effort. Cheered by vociferous crowds, Maldives left the Indians in a daze. Striker AG Mausam gave them the lead with a solo effort, capitalising on a defensive lapse. Mausam broke through the defence with deft footwork to place the ball in with none of the defenders in position to foil the move. Undaunted by the early reversal, the Indians kept attacking and the strategy paid dividends as Vijayan neutralised the lead ten minutes later by heading home a freekick by captain Jo Paul Ancheri. Both teams played their hearts out in the second session but the goal remained elusive till the 86th minute of the proceedings before the experienced Sabir Pasha found the target to put the Indians ahead much to the delight of his teammates. With barely a minute for the long whistle, the Indians hit the last nail in the Maldivian coffin with striker Raman Vijayan doing the damage. The goal was the result of a fast counter attack which saw medico Hardeep Sangha dart down he left flank and cross to Raman Vijayan who controlled the ball well and placed it to the left of the goalkeeper. The Indians could have
won by a bigger margin had their forwards not frittered
away a few scoring opportunities that came their way,
particularly in the opening session. |
Gurdev misses gold by a whisker SINGAPORE, Oct 4 (UNI) — Even as China completed another successful domination of the Asian Junior Athletics Championships. India added five more silver and one bronze to their tally as the four-day meet came to an end at the National Stadium here today. The Chinese defended their overall title with 17 gold, 12 silver and three bronze medals, while Japan and Qatar finished behind in that order as the curtain was rung down on the championships. For India, a gold medal remained elusive even as it bagged seven silver and four bronze. However, the Chinese domination this time was somewhat lesser than previous years. In the last championships, China had 23 gold and Japan five. For India, a gold medal came as close as 0.73 seconds in the Men’s 10 km walk, but a gritty Chinese held on, and Indian Gurdev Singh despite a great finish ended with a silver. In a sterling display of courage China’s walker 17-year-old Wang Shigang won a well-deserved gold. Though their event was held in the morning, the heat affected all the walkers and Wang was shaky as he entered the home stretch. There was a time when it seemed he might simply fall and not finish the event. But he carried on, swaying from one side to other. Meanwhile India’s Gurdev Singh was closing in on him rapidly in the last 50-70 metres, yet Wang just about held on and collapsed as he crossed the finish, less than a second ahead of the Indian. Wang timed 44 minutes, 55.0 sec, while Gurdev Singh was timed in 44:55.73s. The winner later had to be taken to hospital. In the men’s 10,000m N Gojen Singh gave India another silver. Gojen who came sixth in the 5,000m finish behind Makhid Al Otabi. The winner clocked 30 minutes 11.05 seconds and Gojen clocked 30:30.91s and Kazushi Hara of Japan was third. Geeta Manral gave India its third silver of the day from the women’s 1,500 m. She clocked 4:25.25s as Kazhak girl, Irena Bodkoryova came first in 4:22.61. China’s Jun Liyan was third with 4:25.51s as India’s Manral beat her in the finish. India’s 4 x 100m relay team looked set for a gold, as Vinita Tripathi received the baton first, but China’s Qin Wangping ran a brilliant anchor leg. She made up almost eight metres and won the gold for China in 46.05s and India’s was second in 46.22s and Japan third in 46.46s India’s four runners were Mandeep Kaur, Kalpana Reddy, S Geetha and Tripathi. Another silver came India’s way in the 4 x 400m relay, where India once again had a chance for the gold, but poor exchanges cost them the gold. R Sukumari, S Geetha, Tripathi and Sanghamitra were the quartet. China won the gold in 3:39.50s while India was second in 3:41.62s and Japan third in 3:42.55s. Kuldeep Singh Mann, among the front runners for a gold, managed only the third place in men’s shot put with a best of 16.88m, with Gholoum Ahmed of Kuwait coming first with 17.87m and Wei Cong of China second with 17.58m. For India, Vinita Tripathi with three silver (200m and two relays) and S Geetha with one bronze and two silver (400m and the two relays) were the most successful. Qin Wangping, the latest sprinting sensation from China made it a treble when she made up a ten-metre deficit to anchor her 4 x 100m relay team to a great win. Qin had earlier won the 100m and 200m. The Chinese team of Liu Li, Zhu Jianhong, Cui Lin and Qin clocked 46.05 while the Indians who led the race till the last leg were second in 46.22. The Japanese team of Kazuya Kitamura, the 100m champion, Yuta Kanno, Shingo Suetsugu and Yusuke Omae, the 100m bronze medalist, was too good for the rest and won in 39.86 secs. Saudi Arabia took silver (40.18) with Thailand was third (40.63). The Japanese team of Sato Mitsuhiro, Naohiro Kwakita, Shinji Itabashi and Hisatoshi Hotta won the 4x400m in a new meet record time of three minutes 07.38 sec, way ahead of second-placed Saudi Arabia (3:09.66). He did record of 3:07.99 also belonged to Japan. Qatar’s Ahmed Musa
took decathlon gold with a record-setting 7,387 points
while China’s Wen Cao was second on 7.292. Malik
Tobias of Malaysia was third with 6,868 and it was
Malaysia’s only medal of the meet. |
Sai, Rushmi triumph NEW DELHI, Oct 4 (PTI) — Top seed Sai Jayalakshmi and Rushmi Chakravarthy smoothly sailed into the second round of women’s singles while four seeded players were shown the exit door in under-18 events on the opening day of National Open Tennis Tournament here today. Favourite Sai brushed aside Delhi’s wildcard Vishika Chhetri 6-3 6-0 in just over an hour in the first round in the top half, while Rushmi thrashed Simmi Rani of Chandigarh 6-0 6-0 in the bottom half of the draw. The US-based Khushchehr Italia of Maharashtra caused the first upset of the day when she beat fifth seeded compatriot Nona Wagh 6-4, 6-1 in the girl’s under-18 singles’ first round clash. Wagh, who was having trouble controlling her shots, just managed to hang on in the first set and the big-serving Italia ran through the second set as Nona played without any plan. Rising junior star Sania Mirza of Andhra Pradesh, played a tough match against fourth seed Lisa Pereira of Maharashtra before prevailing 7-5 7-5 for an upset win in the bottom half of U-18 girl’s singles. Sania Mirza, national U-16 champion, now faces Gujarat’s Karishma Patel in the second round. Patel defeated Megha Vakharia (Mah) 7-5, 6-3 in her opening round tie. With the organisers running behind schedule — qualifiers are yet to be spotted in all the four categories — men’s singles could not be started while eight women’s first round matches were completed today. Others to move into the second round were former junior national champion Janaki Kirshnamurthy. The seasoned Maharashtra player took little time to get into her groove before dispatching Delhi’s Shalini Thakur 7-5 6-1. Karnataka veteran Archana Venkatraman also had an easy opening round against Jasleen Randhawa of Punjab. Archana outslogged Randhawa 6-2 6-2 to move into next round. She will face Andhra Pradesh’s Geeta Manohar in the second round. Geeta beat Nandini Perumal 6-1, 6-3. In the bottom half of the draw, sixth seed Karishma Patel spanked Sonal Phadke 7-5, 6-0, while Lisa Pareira made amends for her U-18 first round defeat to Italia and thrashed M. Vishnu Preetham of Tamil Nadu 6-0, 6-1. In other U-18 girls
matches, top seed Sheetal Gautham defeated V. Kameshwari
(AP) 6-0, 6-2 while seventh seed T. Yamini was far too
good for Haryana’s Isha Chopra 6-4 6-2. |
100 golfers for Northern
India tournament CHANDIGARH, Oct 4 — More than 100 golfers will take part in the St. Xavier’s Northern India Junior/Subjunior Golf Championship to be held at Chandigarh Golf Club from October 5 to 8. A categorised tournament in the Indian Golf Union (IGU) calendar, the championship is being held for the second year in succession. Participants will be contesting in different categories — under-18, under-15, under-13 and under-11. Two crystal trophies presented by St Xaviers are at stake for the best junior boy golfer and the best junior girl golfer in the championship. Prizes in all categories will be won on the basis of gross scores only. There are three prizes to be won in each category. Under-18, under - 15 and under -13 boys will play 72 holes and girls and under-11 boys will play 54 holes. Boys and girls above the age of 13 will be picking up their own bags as they are not allowed caddies as per I.G.U. requirement. A rules clinic is being held for all participants. The defending champion in the boys section, Ashok Kumar, was all set to play this tournament but a last minute selection to play a tournament in China lead to withdrawal of his entry. Irina Brar, the
defending champion in the girls category, is in full form
having played a round of two under par in the Aman Nat
Memorial Tournament to lift the trophy with the best
gross score in the tournament. |
A dream start by Jayasuriya COLOMBO, Oct 4 (AFP) — Sri Lanka were left singing in the rain here today when a heavy downpour handed them their first-ever Test series victory over Australia on the fifth day of the third and final Test. The cloudburst left sections of the outfield completely unplayable, and after light rain began to fall at the Sinhalese Sports Club, umpires were left with no option but to abandon the test - giving Sri Lanka a 1-0 series victory. Sri Lanka finished on 61 for 4 wickets in reply to Australia’s 342. Only nine hours play took place out of a possible 30 in the Test. Sri Lanka won the first Test played at Kandy inside three days by six wickets, and then drew the rain-affected second at Galle with Australia on the brink of defeat. Today’s result also gave new skipper Sanath Jayasuriya a dream start to his captaincy career, following the decision to sack Arjuna Ranatunga after the islanders’ World Cup debacle. The Test series win gave Sri Lanka a clean sweep against the tourists. They beat the Australians in the Aiwa Cup tri-nations one-day tournament earlier in the tour. Australian skipper Steven Waugh tried to make the best out of the one-day world champions humiliating defeats both in the one-day series and the three-Test series. “It is good for the game when all cricket playing countries become strong,” Waugh said of Sri Lanka’s victory in the Test series. “At the top level Sri Lanka has become a very good side.” Sri Lanka’s decision to bring in fresh faces at all levels of the national team have paid dividends. A new captain, a new coach and a new management laid the foundations for the win. “It was a new strategy to play youngsters in the one-day series and get experienced players like Ranatunga and De Silva for the Test series,” Jayasuriya said. Both Ranatunga and De Silva were out of the one-day matches but brought back for the Tests. The series win was Sri Lanka’s fifth over a Test-playing country. They have now beaten Australia, India, New Zealand, Pakistan and Zimbabwe. They have also scored one-off Test victories against England. Ricky Ponting won the
‘man of the match’ award for his unbeaten
century and he also took the
‘man-of-the-series’ award. |
Aravinda included in one-day squad COLOMBO, Oct 4 (Reuters) — Aravinda de Silva was included in Sri Lanka’s 15-member squad for a triangular one-day tournament in Sharjah later this month, the cricket board said today. De Silva was dropped for a triangular one-day tournament last month which featured Australia, India and Sri Lanka. The right-handed batsman was included after some good performances in the three-Test series against Australia which Sri Lanka won 1-0. Sanath Jayasuriya will retain the captaincy, while Mahela Jayawardene was named his deputy. The one-day tournament, which includes Pakistan and West Indies, runs from October 11 to 23. Sri Lanka squad: Sanath
Jayasuriya (captain), Mahela Jayawardene, Aravinda de
Silva, Marvan Atapattu, Russel Arnold, Upul Chandana,
Romesh Kaluwitharana, Suresh Perera, Chaminda Vaas,
Muttiah Muralitharan, Indika Gallage, Pramodya
Wickramasinghe, Chamara Silva, Indika de Seram, Nuwan
Zoysa. |
Rusedski, Serena champions MUNICH, Oct 4 (AFP) — Greg Rusedski proved he is a powerhouse on an indoor court with his first title of the year while Serena Williams whipped her elder sister Venus for the first time ever to join the Briton as a champion in the Grand Slam Cup yesterday. Rusedski earned Britain’s first-ever title at the elite event for top performers at the year’s majors as he overcame late nerves to beat home hope Tommy Haas 6-4, 6-3, 6-7 (5/7), 7-6 (7/5). The world number six — the man they call The Joker for his constant grin — claimed the biggest prize of his career. Rusedski has now re-established himself as the man to stop on fast indoor surfaces. He will be tested next week at Basel, where British rival Tim Henman is defending champion. While serving for victory with a 5-3 lead in the fourth, Rusedski seemed to catch a case of the shakes. He vollyed carelessly low into the net to yield three break chances for the young German. Haas took advantage with a break for 4-5. Rusedski finally claimed victory in the tiebreaker, when he slowed himself down and deliberately played his game at the tight moments. Rusedski stayed dominant with his powerful serve against Haas, 11th in the world. The Briton claimed his second career victory against the 21-year-old German in two hours, 46 minutes. Serena Williams blew through the first set against her 19-year-old sister to whom she lost the first three times the pair played. Their only other meeting
for a title came in Miami last March, with Venus taking
three sets to get through in the family feud. |
H
Gymnastics meet from Oct 22 CHANDIGARH, Oct 4 (BOSR) — Chandigarh Gymnastics Association has decided to hold this year’s Chandigarh state gymnastics championship for sub juniors, juniors and seniors for both boys and girls from October 22 to 24 at Shivalik Public School, Sector 41. This was disclosed by Mr D.V. Bhatia, president of the CGA. The UT sub-junior team for the national sub-junior gymnastics championship to be held from November 10 to14 at Jodhpur (Rajasthan) would also be selected during this meet. Besides, the selection for the junior and senior national gymnastics championships would be made in this three-day championship. Dharmani slams 191 PATIALA, Oct 4 (FOSR) — Patiala piled up a formidable 397 in a crucial Katoch Shield league match against Amritsar being played at Dhruve Pandove Cricket Stadium here today. Pankaj Dharmani proved to be a nightmare for the feeble Amritsar attack, which could extract little from the batting wicket. He was well supported by Lakhbir Singh (70) and Sandeep Kohli (50). Left-arm spinner Tejinder Singh with figures 4 for 118 was the most successful bowler. Brief scores: (Patiala: 397 all out in 89 overs: Pankaj Dharmani 191, Lakhbir Singh 70, Sandeep Kohli 50, Gaganinder Garry 36, Amit Kakria 25. Tejinder Singh 4 for
118, Sandeep Sawal 3 for 112. |
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