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S P O R T | ![]() Saturday, September 11, 1999 |
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Todd Martin, Pioline reach semis NEW YORK, Sept 10 Todd Martin didnt need smelling salts this time. That doesnt mean the Americans 6-3, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 victory in the US Open quarterfinals over lightly regarded longshot Slava Dosedel was easy last night. Bhupathi-Sugiyama win
crown |
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![]() NEW YORK : Mahesh Bhupathi (left) and Ai Sugiyama, of Japan, show off their trophy after defeating Kimberly Po and Donald Johnson, 6-4, 6-4 in their mixed doubles finals match at the U.S. Open tennis tournament in New York on Thursday. AP/PTI
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Steve, Gillespie hurt in collision Lay
more stress on domestic cricket Mukeshs
career in jeopardy Jeev
opens with four-under 68 Double
for Sumit, Dilpreet India-Lanka
tie at Ludhiana Firoz
wins Color Plus title Kanetkar
moves into semis |
Todd Martin, Pioline reach semis NEW YORK, Sept 10 (AP) Todd Martin didnt need smelling salts this time. That doesnt mean the Americans 6-3, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 victory in the US Open quarterfinals over lightly regarded longshot Slava Dosedel was easy last night. Dosedel, a Czech ranked No 95 in the world before the US Open, gave Martin a battle, stretching the match to four sets and avoiding two match points before going down. Martin seemed only slightly less exhausted than he did on Tuesday night when he was hooked up to an IV to recover from a five-set marathon against Greg Rusedski. He dropped the first two sets in that one and trailed 1-4 in the third before winning 20 of the last 21 points to capture the match. He needed smelling salts to get through and had serious questions about how he would perform two nights later. Dosedel, playing with a smiley face stenciled on his racket, made it tough for Martin again, holding serve most of the night and making the No 7 player in the world work for the victory. Martin managed just three service breaks, but that was all he needed to survive Dosedels bid for the upset. Meanwhile, Martins serve was nearly flawless, yielding just one break point in the match. He had 22 aces and won the match with a forehand shot that kissed the line out of Dosedel reach. That put him in tomorrows semifinals against Cedric Pioline of France, who wore down Gustavo Kuerten, beating the Brazilian 4-5, 7-6 (8-6), 7-6 (16-14), 7-6 (10-8). For tie-breakers, few matches compare to the Pioline-Kuerten affair that stretched nearly three hours and a half. After dropping the first set, the persistent Pioline won in overtime in each of the next three to oust Kuerten. On one sequence, Kuerten launched what he thought would be a winner deep in the corner, only to have Pioline whip a forehand down the line to win the point. The animated Kuerten was so impressed with the shot that he strolled around the net to congratulate Pioline, who had stumbled and rolled on his back after making the shot. Pioline hasnt lost a tie-breaker this year on the hardcourts of the National Tennis Center, and his sweep of Kuerten gave him a 6-0 record in extended sets. Martin was impressed with the early match and looked forward to meeting Pioline for a chance to reach his first Grand Slam final. The Williams sisters
Venus and Serena continued their winning
ways yesterday, defeating Mary Joe Fernandez and Monica
Seles 6-3, 6-3 to advance to the semifinals of the
womens doubles. They will next play Frances
Mary Pierce and Austrias Barbara Schett for a spot
in the final.
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Bhupathi-Sugiyama win crown NEW YORK, Sept 10 (AFP) Japans Ai Sugiyama and Indias Mahesh Bhupathi teamed up to lift the first title at the 1999 US Open Tennis Championships with a victory in the mixed doubles final. The pair defeated Americans Kimberly Po and Donald Johnson 6-4, 6-4 last night. Sugiyama claimed her first Grand Slam crown, while Bhupathi added to the French Open mixed doubles title he won in 1997 with another Japanese player, Rika Hiraki. Japanese girls are lucky for me, said Bhupathi, who is also still in the hunt for the mens doubles title with partner Leander Paes. The two are trying to get their third mens doubles Grand Slam title of the year after winning at Roland Garros and Wimbledon. He said Sugiyama and Paes were the total opposite as tennis players, with the Japanese woman preferring to stay back and let him take care of the net. Ai played really well from the back today, Bhupathi said. She stayed back and ripped a lot of balls. Those guys kept coming at us, but she kept passing and lobbing them. I feel very
comfortable playing with him, Sugiyama said.
Hes great, especially at the net. Hes
everywhere. |
Aussies head for a certain defeat KANDY, Sept 10 (Reuters) Australia were heading for their first Test defeat by Sri Lanka today after being reduced to 89 for six in their second innings and losing captain Steve Waugh and Jason Gillespie in a freak fielding accident. At close of play on the second day of the first Test Australia had a meagre lead of 43 runs and effectively only two wickets in hand. Ricky Ponting, who saved Australia from disaster in the first innings with his knock of 96, was 22 not out at the close. Colin Miller was yet to score. Waugh and paceman Gillespie were taken by helicopter to hospital in Colombo after they collided while going for the same catch before lunch. Waugh broke his nose while Gillespie fractured the tibia in his right leg and will be flown home. Australia (1st
innings): 188 Australia (2nd
innings): |
Steve, Gillespie hurt in collision COLOMBO, Sept 10 (PTI) Australian fast bowler Jason Gillespie and skipper Steve Waugh were rushed to Colombo by a defence helicopter for surgery after suffering fractures in a severe on-field collision on the second day of the first cricket Test against Sri Lanka in Kandy today. In one of the worst accidents in international cricket, Gillespie broke his right tibia (the bigger bone between ankle and knee) and Waugh fractured his nose as both tried to catch a mishit by Mahala Jayawardene. Both were removed from the field and later flown here from Kandy, about 70 km away, and admitted to the private Navaloka hospital, owned by the family of former board chief Upali Dharmadasa, for emergency surgeries. Gillespies tour was over as hospital sources said the bowler will have to have his leg in a cast after the surgery and team sources said he would shortly be flown back home for rest and recovery. Steve Waugh was left with a broken nose and is also expected to be operated upon immediately, but the 34-year-old is expected to recover in a few days to be able to stay back and lead the side in the remaining two Tests. Waugh and Gillespie collided heavily as the both rushed in to take a miscued shot by Jayawardene in a repeat of the nightmarish collision suffered by former paceman Jeff Thomson will a fellow fielder that resulted in his suffering a severe back injury in the 70s. The former paceman was present in Kandy as a television commentator. It was a major setback for the Aussies, fighting to stave off defeat, while it was a big blow for Gillespie as he had just returned to the side after recovering from an injury that had forced him to miss the World Cup in England earlier this year. The collision during the
afternoon session at the Asgiriya stadium saw Steve Waugh
leave the field profusely bleeding from the nose while
Gillespie was stretched out writhing in pain. |
Lay more stress on domestic
cricket CHANDIGARH, Sept 10 When the powers that control and run the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) meet later this month at Jaipur for the annual general body meeting of the board, they should give some time to discuss the suggestion made by Indian captain Sachin Tendulkar that senior players should guide and help the newcomers. Speaking at Mumbai shortly after returning from Singapore, where India lost to the West Indies in the final of the three-nation tournament, Sachin, who has now lost two tournaments on the trot after taking over as captain of the national squad for the second time, said: The seniors will have to take the responsibility to help the youngsters and they in turn should play around the seniors. That is going to help Indian cricket. Sachin must have been speaking after seeing the heroics of the West Indies youngster Ricardo Powell, who almost singlehandedly took his team to victory. Powell, only 20 years old, showed maturity far beyond his years and this must have been learnt from the seniors of the squad. Sachin is not the first person to make such a suggestion. Time and again many persons have cried themselves hoarse, saying that the BCCI should stress more on national tournaments, like the Ranji Trophy and the Duleep Trophy. But unfortunately, given the play-pack-travel-play syndrome of the Indian cricket team in recent years, members of the national squad have hardly turned out for their respective states for the Ranji Trophy or for their zones in the Duleep Trophy. The board members should realise that if Ranji Trophy or Duleep Trophy is neglected it is Indian cricket which will suffer in the long run. Therefore, while electing themselves to board posts and as managers and selectors of various teams at the Jaipur meeting they should give a thought to the cricket structure in the country. For one, the board might examine the question of curtailing its international commitments and instead give more stress on domestic tournaments. The BCCI must not forget that world champions Australia lay a lot of stress on their Sheffield Shield matches and even when the national team is playing players who do not find a place in the final 11of an international match are released to play for their states if a match is billed around that time. The job of the 12th man is given to some local cricketer who obviously gains some experience from the seniors. In England too, the same procedure is adopted. Such an experiment can also be carried out in India given the fact that air travel has made it possible for a player to move about much more easily. In recent years Ranji Trophy or Duleep Trophy, in the absence of top players , has lost its lustre. Not more than a handful of spectators turn up to see the league matches or even the knockout matches of the National Cricket Championship. What type of inspiration will a player get if his efforts are not acknowledged. If the stars turn out for their respective states it might help to bring back the spectators to the cricket stadium as also give a big boost to the game. One remembers that it was in the mid-eighties that Kapil Dev, Ashok Malhotra and Chetan Sharma once released from a national camp to go home to rest headed straight for Faridabad where their state Haryana was involved in a crucial Ranji Trophy match. All the three players played for the state, ensured a victory and then joined the flight to Australia. Such a commitment to the state is definitely missing today. While talking of domestic cricket the board must ensure that national selectors, both of the senior squad as well as of the junior squad, must watch as many first class matches as possible so that a faux pas like the one involving Ashish Nehra and Mithun Manhas does not occur again. Such incidents, which obviously occurred because the Chairman of the national selection committee, Ajit Wadekar, had no clue of the players picked, not only leave a bad taste in the mouth but also demoralises the players. Ideally, national
selectors belonging to a particular zone should be asked
to see matches of a different zone so that a fair and
exact assessment of the players can be made . With so
much money in its coffers the BCCI should not grudge the
expenses involved in such an experiment. |
Mukeshs career in jeopardy CHENNAI, Sept 10 (PTI) Veteran right winger Mukesh Kumars international career looks virtually over with both the hockey federation (IHF) and his employers Indian Airlines taking exception to his playing in the Malaysian league instead of joining the ongoing camp for Indias Australian tour later this month. IHF vice-president and Indian Airlines Sports Control Board (IAC) Secretary, M.S. Balakrishnan, today told PTI that the Olympian had not obtained permission from IA or the IHF for playing in the Malaysian league. The IA management has not taken this kindly as greed is getting the better of such players, he said. Balakrishnan said the matter is not closed and the management is chalking out its course of action. Saying that Mukesh may not be picked to play for India in the future, he said IAC had appealed to the IHF to recall Mukesh from Malaysia but IHF has sought our concurrence for it. We are working out our plan of action, he added. The 29-year-old Mukesh Kumar was the first player among the super six to be drafted into the national team after being controversially axed after the Asian Games victory in Bangkok last December Dhanraj Pillay, Sabu Varkey, Ashish Ballal, Sandeep Somesh and A.B. Subbaiah are the others. But Mukesh Kumar, who had opted out of the Indian tour of South Africa last month citing domestic reasons, left for Malaysia despite being named in the 18-member squad for the double leg four-nation tournament be to played in Sydney and Canberra from September 16 to 26. IHF Secretary K. Jyothikumaran disclosed it has written to the Malaysian Federation (MHF) stating that Indian Airlines, an IHF affiliate, wanted to recall both Mukesh and his brother and defender Suresh Kumar and that the club to which they have been contracted to play should get permission from the IAC. He confirmed that Mukesh had not informed IHF that he would not assist India in its tour of Australia. He said the team was announced on August 24 and Mukesh left Hyderabad for Malaysia only on September 1 with Suresh. Jyothikumaran said registration of overseas players was a serious matter and that the MHF should not have allowed the players to continue in their league once the IHF had written to them that concurrence should be obtained from the IAC. The onus was on the player to obtain the no objection certificate from both the employer and the IHF, he said. Saying there was no precedence of any Indian player going to play abroad without clearance, the IHF secretary said its President, K.P.S. Gill, who is the council member in both Asian and International Federations, would address the matter in its meetings for permanent solution to such issues. He said, S. Satgunam, the MHF secretary, had in a letter apologised for the slip given by the players to their employers and has requested that the matter be closed for cordial relations between IHF and MHF. Mukesh, who had played
for Yayasan Negri Sembilan for two seasons in 1995 and
1996, has signed with the same club along with his
brother. The Malaysian league commenced on September 4. |
India clash with Windies today TORONTO, Sept 10 (PTI) Stand-in skipper Sourav Ganguly today said he expected his young Indian team to give its best in the three-match series against the West Indies in the Toronto Cricket Festival which begins here tomorrow. I hope the boys
will leave the disappointment of Colombo and Singapore
behind and put up their best, said a tired Ganguly,
who along with team members reached here late in the
afternoon from Singapore. |
Jeev opens with four-under 68 NEW DELHI, Sept 10 Indias Jeev Milkha Singh began the euro 1-million Victor Chandler British Master in stunning fashion by returning a four-under 68 card on the opening, day at the 6,973-yard, par-72 Woburn Golf and Country Club at Woburn, England. According to information reaching here, the Hero Honda-sponsored Jeev was placed tied for the seventh spot just three shots off the leader Stephen Allen of Australia, who returned a card of seven-under 65. The 27-year-old Chandigarh pro, who missed the cut by one stroke in last weeks Canon European Masters in Crans Montana, began in inauspicious fashion by making a bogey on his very first hole. Starting from the 10th Jeev failed to exploit the 502-yard, par-5 hole, but that proved to be his only mistake of the day. The lone Indian on the
European PGA Tour levelled his score on the par-4 12th
and another birdie on the par-5 18th saw him taking the
turn at one-under. Jeev was in exceptional form on his
back nine as he made birdies on the par-4 Ist and 3rd,
before adding another on the 207-yard par-3 5th. |
Double for Sumit, Dilpreet SANGRUR, Sept 10 Sumit Kalra and Dilpreet Singh each won a double in the Punjab Junior Badminton Championships which concluded here. Top seed in the boys section, Dilpreet Singh staged a remarkable recovery to become the new Punjab Champion. He defeated Iqbal Singh 4-15, 15-11, 15-3 in the final. This victory is fitting reward for the hard work. Dilpreet had been dominating the junior circuit this year. After losing the first game without any fight Dilpreet fought back in the next two games. Dilpreet made all the mistakes in the first game and it took Iqbal only 8 minutes to win the game. But the remaining two games saw a different Dilpreet. He often caught Iqbal on the wrong foot and forced him to make errors. Later Dilpreet joined Iqbal Singh to win the doubles crown defeating spirited Touseef and Harinder 15-7, 4-15, 15-4 in a well fought match, which lasted more than an hour. Girls final between Sumit Kalra of Jalandhar and Nazma of Ludhiana was a tame affair. Nazma was no match for energetic Sumit, who moved very well in the court. Sumit dominated the match throughout and was never challenged by the former champion. Sumit won her second
title when pairing with Vidhu Matrana of Patiala,
defeated Nazma and Sandaya 15-7, 15-10. |
India-Lanka tie at Ludhiana LUDHIANA, Sept 10 Indias former star batsmen Sunil Gavaskar, K. Srikkanth, Dilip Vengsarkar and all-rounders Mohinder Amarnath and Roger Binny will be seen in action during and India-Sri Lanka all stars cricket match to be staged here at Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) on September 22. Sri Lanka XI led by Roshan Mahanama will play five matches against India XI led by Navjot Sidhu. Four other matches will be conducted at Delhi on September 15, 16, 17 and 20. The fifth match at PAU is being organised by the Ludhiana District Cricket Association (LDCA). The 45 overs a side match will be telecast live by the Doordarshan, according to Mr Vinod Chitkara General Secretary, LDCA. The teams: India XI: Navjot Sidhu (C), Sunil Gavaskar, Parveen Amre, Rajesh Chauhan, Vijay Yadav, Kiran More, Roger Binny, Narender Hirwani, K. Srikkanth, Dilip Vengsarkar, Mohinder Amarnath, L. Sivaramakrishnan, Salil Ankola, Raju Kulkarni and Chetan Sharma. Sri Lanka XI: Roshan
Mahanama (C), Duleep Mendis, Kumara Dharmasena, Sanjeev
Ranatunga, Sidath Wettimuny, Romesh Ratnayake, Amal
Silva, Brenden Karuppu, R. Madurusinghe, D.S. Desilva,
Vikram Singhe, Ashantia De Mel, Don Anurasiri and Ashok
Silva. |
Firoz wins Color Plus title CHENNAI, Sept 10 (PTI) Former Indian Open winner Firoz Ali fired a superb four under 66 in the final round to tie with the leader and then beat Chandigarhs Amritinder Singh in an exciting playoff to clinch the Color Plus Open Golf Championship at the Cosmopolitan golf links here today. With the top six golfers remaining close to each other at the end of yesterdays third round, a close finish was on the cards. There was to be a three way tie but Calcuttas Basad Ali blundered with a two-foot putt on the last and 18th hole. Firoz Ali and Amritinder were tied at 276 and in the play off from the first hole both were in the centre of the fairway after their tee shot. Firoz was on the green with his second shot while Amritinder went over the green, requiring a good chip-putt to sink the ball but his chip landed a foot from the hole. Basad took a gamble and
went for the kill and claimed the title. |
Kanetkar moves into semis BANGALORE, Sept 10 (PTI) Indias Nikhil Kanetkar moved into the semi-final of the US Open Grand Prix Badminton Championships at Orange Country, California, beating Michael Edge of England 15-7, 15-8. Kanetkar dominated play at the net and also caught the Englishman on the wrong foot with attacking shots, reports received by the Badminton Association of India (BAI) said here today. The hard-hitting Edge could not come to terms with Kanetkars deceptive play and caved in meekly, the BAI said in a press note. Meanwhile, Indias Sachin Ratti and Manjusha Kanwar stormed into the finals of the mens and womens singles, respectively, in the New Zealand International Championships being played at Wellington. Former junior national champion Ratti upset tournaments second seed Geoff Bellingham of New Zealand 12-15 15-8 15-0, while Kanwar recorded a 11-0 9-11 11-2 victory over another Kiwi Nicole Gordon. However, disappointment was in store for India as Abhinn Shyam Gupta and B.R. Meenakshi, junior national champion, bowed out of the tournament. Gupta, who lost the Australian international finals to local star Rio Suryana recently, again lost to him but the latter had to fight for nearly 95 minutes before prevailing 15-7, 13-15, 15-11. Meenakshi was routed
4-11 0-11 by Rhona Robertson of New Zeland, the note
said. |
Amanjot in title clash with Mathew CHENNAI, Sept 10 (PTI) Top seed Amanjot Singh of Chandigarh beat Rohan Kranti (AP) 6-2 6-4 to set up a final clash with second seeded Jaco T Mathew in the under-16 boys singles of the AITA Mini/Sub Junior Tennis Championship here. The unseeded Kranti, who
beat fourth seed Rohan Gajjar (Mah) and seventh seed
Dhrub Kumar (WB) en route to the last four, found Amanjot
Singh a difficult customer to beat. |
H
Sidhu heads ASAI CHANDIGARH, Sept 10 (TNS) The following have been elected office-bearers of the Adventure Sports Association of India (ASAI): patron Er S.S. Virdi; chairman - Mr Satish Chandra; president - Mr Harpreet Singh Sidhu; senior vice-president - Dr J.P.S. Sidhu; vice-presidents - Dr R.S. Brar and Mr Jaspal Singh; general secretary - Mr P.S. Brar; administrative officer - Mr Shavinder Singh; joint secretaries - Mr Bhalinder Singh, Mr Jasbir Singh and Mr Balbir Singh; finance secretary - Mr Kamljeet Saini; and executive committee members - Mr Gurdial Singh, Mr Shamsher Singh, Mr Kuldeep Singh, Mr Makhan Singh, Mr Onkar Singh, Mr Harjinder Singh and Dr Suneel Sharma. Mr Sidhu said that the ASAI would organise various water sports courses in Sukhna Lake here. An Inter-state trekking expedition would also be organised at Dalhousie (H.P.) in October. Play washed out PATIALA, Sept 10 (FOSR) Heavy showers on the eve of the match ensured that not a ball could be bowled in the Katoch one-day match between Patiala and Chandigarh at the Dhruv Pandove Stadium here today. The match had been re-scheduled and will be played tomorrow. The Patiala team which is being led by Ranji Trophy cricketer Lakhbir Singh is not in full strength as five of the teams key players, including Pankaj Dharmani and Reetinder Sodhi, will not be available for the rest of the matches. Pankaj Dharmani and three other SBOP cricketers will be busy playing in the inter-bank cricket tournament, while Reetinder Sodhi will be busy playing in the Moin-ud-Dowla Cricket Tournament to be held at Hyderabad. Handball trials PATIALA, Sept 10 (FOSR) Trials to select Patiala district junior boys and girls handball teams will be held on September 11 at 3.00 p.m. at the local Polo Grounds. Players born after January 1, 1980, will be eligible to take part in the trials. Selected teams will take part in Punjab State (Junior) Handball Championship to be held at Kheri Mania village here from September 26 to 28, according to officials of the association. Double for Manish Chandigarh, Sep. 10 (BOSR) Manish Srivastava clinched a double crown in the YMCA Open Billiards and Snooker Championship which concluded here this evening. Manish won the title in the open snooker and open billiards events. The other titles in the handicap billiards and handicap snooker events were bagged by Anil Sharma and Bhupinder, respectively. Manish claimed the open snooker title winning the final league match against Anil Sharma. Manish displayed scintillating potting to overpower Anil and won 67-9, 72-6, 57-36. Sonepat, Bhiwani shuttlers dominate ROHTAK, Sept 10 (FOSR) Players from Bhiwani and Sonepat districts dominated proceedings in the mens singles category on second day of the Haryana State Badminton Championship here today. Arvind, Umesh, Ajay Rathi and Ram Karan of Sonepat district beat their opponents today without much effort. Satvinder, Mitesh, Sukhvinder and Surinder of Bhiwani also moved into the next round. Most of the seeded players moved into the next round. Kapil (Rohtak) was beaten by Umesh (Sonepat) 12-15, 11-15. Rain, for the second day in succession, forced the organisers to reschedule several matches. The results: Mens single: Arvind (Sonepat) b Kalicharan (Jind) 15-3, 15-1; Satvinder (Bhiwani) b Neeraj Ahuja (Panchkula) 15-11, 7-15, 15-7; Umesh (Sonepat) b Kapil (Rohtak) 15-12, 15-11; Mitesh (Bhiwani) b Tarun Sharma (Ambala) 15-3, 15-3; Ajay Rathee (Sonepat) b Vivek Sanghi (Rohtak) 15-4, 15-1; Arun Sain (Faridabad) b Balpreet (Karnal) 15-0, 15-0; Sukhwinder (Bhiwani) b Pankaj Gupta (Faridabad) 15-6, 15-10; Surender (Bhiwani) b Ramnik Singh (Karnal) 15-3, 15-4; Ram Karan (Sonepat) b Pawan (Rohtak) 15-4, 15-3; Rajesh (Ambala) b Avnish Jain (Faridabad) 15-5, 14-17, 15-4. Boys Single (U-16)
3rd round: Tarun (Sonepat) b Manoj (Bhiwani) 15-12,
15-17; Rohit (Bhiwani) b Yadvinder (Ambala) 15-3, 15-2;
Ashish (Bhiwani) b Vivek Singh (Karnal) 15-2, 15-12. Ricky stars in Amritsar win AMRITSAR, Sept 10 (FOSR) Amritsar beat Minor Districts by 120 runs in the Katoch Shield inter-district championship one-day match played at Gandhi Ground here today. Amritsar won the toss and elected to bat first. Captain Ravneet Ricky and Munish Sharma put up 84 runs in 18 overs for the first wicket. Later Davinder Matto joined Ricky, who made 102. Davinder Matto made 74 runs, hitting five sixes and five fours. Brief scores: Amritsar: 292 for 6 Ravneet Ricky 102. Davinder Matto 74 n.o. Navdeep 3 for 51. Minor Districts: 172 all
out Sakeet Bhatia 46; Tajinder Pal 2 for 11, Sandeep
Sawal 2 for 25, S.P. Singh 2 for 26, Harvidner Singh 2
for 37. |
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