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Wednesday,
December 26, 2001, Chandigarh, India  
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South Africa may be forced to continue with
Ntini Lee treated unfairly,
says Waugh New Zealand face selection
blues Kasparov shuns world
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Mumbai defeat
Saurashtra
Railways, Haryana wrestlers
excel ICF beaten in Liberals hockey Dinesh’s team wins
Pro-Am Merger may give sports a fillip UP gymnasts clinch
title BSF Golf Club
wins tourney
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South Africa may be forced to continue with Ntini Melbourne, December 25 South Africa clearly missed the strike-power of a fit Donald in the opening Adelaide Test lost by 246 runs last week, but the 35-year-old Test warhorse continues to be dogged by injury. Team physiotherapist Craig Smith has revealed that what was initially thought to be no more than a sore foot, the legacy of Donald using new boots during the first tour match, was a recurrence of the more serious left heel injury which has plagued him in recent years. Donald left the field against New South Wales in Sydney last weekend after bowling two overs in the second innings. He later bowled two more ineffective overs to finish with 0-27 and overall 1-191 on tour. The selectors had hoped Donald would provide the inspiration and spark South Africa’s struggling bowlers. Donald’s fitness concerns may force the tourists to stick with Makhaya Ntini, who was sparingly used by Pollock in Adelaide Test amid indications that he would stand down for the Melbourne Test. Ntini has taken 11 wickets in his last nine Tests. South Africa’s other worry is the form of Klusener. Klusener is struggling to hold down his number six position as a batsman, and his bowling is also under scrutiny. “That will be a discussion point,” Pollock said after the NSW game. “We’re aware that Lance is in the side as a batter that’s how the number six position is decided and that’s something we have to go back and discuss.” Since the beginning of 2000, Klusener has only taken 18 wickets in 15 Tests, scoring 473 runs at 24.89 runs per innings. He was out for a duck twice against NSW and seemed to have little idea about the spin bowling of Stuart MacGill. On current form, Klusener deserves to bat below Mark Boucher and even Pollock for South Africa, rather than at No. 6 where he made 22 and 18 in Adelaide without being convincing. Another problem for the visitors is that Steve Elworthy sustained an injury to his left side during the match against the NSW and although he bowled well, he may not be fit to stake his claim to the Test pace attack. To compound South Africa’s problems, Pollock has had to defend himself at claims of using his negative tactics in the drawn match against a NSW team missing eight of their regulars, including four players in the Australian Test squad. Pollock’s tactics were also queried by his uncle and senior Test selector Graeme Pollock during the fourth day of the Adelaide Test, when the match slipped away from South Africa. The tourists will also have to find a way to redress their poor record against tormenting legspinner Shane Warne. Warne was named Man-of-the-Match in the Adelaide Test with eight match wickets and has taken 72 wickets against South Africa in 13 Tests.
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Lee treated unfairly,
says Waugh Melbourne, December 25 Lee, who made his debut here two years ago taking 5-47 against India, has been criticised for his over-use of short-pitched balls against tailend batsmen and his form has dropped off. Lee’s first year in cricket was dynamic but an injury a year ago appeared to undermine his confidence. He came back for the Ashes tour of England but with only nine wickets at an average of 55. Against New Zealand in Perth he was fined and warned for his ill-tempered farewell to dismissed batsman Shane Bond. Then in the first Test against South Africa in Adelaide earlier this month he was roundly criticised for his barrage of short-pitched balls at Makhaya Ntini and Nantie Hayward. On top of that is an ongoing problem with no-balls which cost him two wickets in Adelaide, while his bowling is becoming more erratic. Waugh said Lee was unfairly treated by the press for his display in the first Test. “Once something happens on the field it’s going to be written about, but it should probably stop after 20 or 30 articles — you don’t need to crucify him,” Waugh said. “He’s going through a downtime — but I wouldn’t like to see him have a sticker placed on him because he bowled four short balls to the tailenders.” Waugh admitted Lee’s current struggle could be traced back to the elbow surgery he underwent at the end of last season. “He’s come back from a serious elbow injury — it was reconstructive surgery on his arm. It’s the same as Shane Warne when he came back from major surgery — it took him 12 months to get back to where he was.
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New Zealand face selection blues Wellington, December 25 Captain Stephen Fleming said it was one of the more difficult sides to finalise after he named two changes from the side that scripted an innings and 52 run win in Hamilton. He said Matthew Horne would open in a reshuffled batting order after the loss of Nathan Astle with a broken right hand. Lou Vincent will drop to No 3 while the out-of-sorts Mathew Sinclair will drop to No 5 or 6. In the bowling line-up, paceman Chris Drum replaced Chris Martin for his second Test and the unenviable task of bowling into the Wellington wind. Fleming said choosing the batting lineup was a tough task, with the options including dropping Vincent to No 5 or even putting Horne there so as not to disrupt the rest of the order. Sinclair instead made way, a clear signal he probably would have missed selection if it were not for Astle’s mishap. “It was very difficult. There are so many different combinations but we’ve come up with one that can offer some consistency throughout,” Fleming said. “Lou did a great job for us opening but maybe No 3 is another challenge. He is very excited about it, and it’s same order as when the top three go back to play for Auckland.” Vincent was a revelation in his Test debut against Australia in Perth, scoring 104 and 54, opening the batting. His next innings saw him dismissed first ball against Bangladesh when attempting a rash pull shot. Hamilton century-maker Mark Richardson will have his sixth change of opening partner in the past year with the in-form Horne who averages 30.92 from 29 Tests. His last three first-class scores have been 178, 49 and 127. Sinclair’s demotion puts more pressure on him to perform. Since his double of 204 not out and 50 not out against Pakistan in Christchurch in March he has scored 114 runs from seven Test innings at an average of 16.3. “He’s got an opportunity through Nathan’s injury to press his claim for later on in the year,” Fleming said. “There’s a lot of cricket after this that will lead to England series.” Bangladesh made just one change to their side, with all-rounder Hasibul Hossain coming in for 16-year-old Mohammad Sharif as a fourth seam bowler. Hossain’s better batting saw him get the nod for his fifth Test. Coach Trevor Chappell said he had mentioned little of the first Test after a stern team talk on the day it finished. He said his players would feel more at home on the slower Basin reserve surface, which was bathed in some sunshine today. Teams: New Zealand: Stephen Fleming (captain), Mark Richardson, Matthew Horne, Lou Vincent, Craig McMillan, Mathew Sinclair, Chris Cairns, Adam Parore, Daniel Vettori, Shane Bond, Chris Drum. Bangladesh: Khaled Masud (captain), Javed Omar, Mohammad Al Sahariar, Habibul Bashar, Aminul Islam, Mohammad Ashraful, Sanuar Hossain, Khaled Mahmud, Hasibul Hossain, Monjural Islam, Masrafe-bin-Mortaza. Umpires: Daryl Harper (Aus), Brent Bowden (NZ).
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Kasparov shuns world body Moscow, December 25 Confused? So are many long-suffering chess fans. The sport, once memorably described as mind-tennis, has had two world “champions” since 1993 when Kasparov, the 13th FIDE (World Chess Federation) title-holder, set up a rival organisation to run a world championship series more to his liking. Several rule changes later, the “official” world championship, under the controversial aegis of FIDE president Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, has become a knockout competition played under a foreshortened time control that many Grandmasters regard as a travesty of classic play. Kasparov slipped from the heights in November last year when he lost a 15-game match in London against world-ranked number two Vladimir Kramnik. Who then, among the many claimants, rules the roost in the troubled world of chess? “Kasparov is still the world’s best player, no one seriously doubts that,” argues Stuart Conquest, an English Grandmaster who took part in the FIDE competition this month. “He has dominated chess in 2001, much as he did in previous years. It was possible, after the London match, to argue that he was no longer the best, but since then he has had a tremendous year,” Conquest noted. The “beast of Baku”, who has cast a massive shadow since he seized the world title in 1985 after two titanic struggles against Anatoly Karpov, won nine of the 10 tournaments he competed in this year, and tied for first place with Kramnik in the tenth. He has been loudly proclaiming his desire for a rematch with the former pupil who remains the only player ever to beat him in a full series of classic games, but Kramnik has been studiously avoiding committing himself to a defence of his “title”, Their encounter earlier this month for 20 games involving a variety of different time controls (classic, rapid-play and blitz), staged in parallel with the FIDE tournament in what appeared suspiciously like a spoiler, was won by Kasparov in a 10-game blitz finale. He raised his arms in triumph at the result, but few believe that Kasparov, who attributed last year’s defeat to “personal problems,” will have been satisfied. Kramnik has his supporters, among them the Dutch GM Lok Van Wely, who believed that “with the new FIDE time control, it makes it more difficult to have a legitimate champion. I still consider Kramnik world champion right now”. The FIDE tournament’s knockout format also devalues the world championship as an indicator of true worth, favouring upsets by allowing stronger players little chance to catch up after slips or surprises. So where does this leave the two Ukrainians, Vassily Ivanchuk, sixth in the Elo world rankings, and Ruslan Ponomariov, 21st, who are to meet in Moscow, or possibly Kiev, next month to determine who holds the “official” crown? Whoever wins will no doubt regard himself as no less “legitimate” than did India’s Viswanathan Anand, the previous title-holder, or his predecessor the little-known Alexander Khalifman. Conquest, who like many GMs regards full match play as the only serious test of a champion, believed the situation might be eased if the FIDE competition was called something other than “world championship”: “Knockout championship” would be more accurate, in his view.
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Mumbai defeat Saurashtra Mumbai, December 25 At the Bombay gymkhana ground Mumbai, batting first, powered to 338 runs for eight wickets and then restricted Saurashtra to 213 for nine off 50 overs. This was Saurashtra’s third defeat in as many matches while for Mumbai, the second successive win. Mumbai opener Robin Morris took a century of 111 runs and with his partner Wasim Jaffer tore the feeble visitors’ attack for an opening stand of 193 off the same number of balls. The other Mumbai batsmen were not not required to do much except swing their bats which helped off spinner Neeraj Odedara to capture five wickets for 56 from his quota of ten overs. Morris, who does not not find berth in the longer version of the game regularly, slammed four sixes and elven fours off just 92 balls. Jaffer matched his ferocity by making 81 off 81 balls with eight fours. Saurashtra were given a brave start by Sujith Somsunder, top scorer with 48, with 40 runs coming off boundaries but flamboyant opener Altaf Merchant scored a duck getting out to a mid-on catch off Ajit Agarkar. After Somsunder’s exit Prakash Bhat and Pratik Mehta took 23 overs for 80 runs stand. Bhat made 50 off 81 balls and Mehta 41 off 88 balls they were followed by the remaining batsmen not not reaching double figures and giving leg spinner inflated analysis of four for 15 off five overs. Brief scores: Mumbai 338 for eight off 50 overs (R Morris 111, W Jaffer 81, S Dighe 31, A Muzumdar 25, Bhavin Thakkar 24, N Odedara 5-56 ) Saurashtra 213 for nine off 50 overs (P Bhat 50, S Somsunder 48, P Mehta 41, K More 4-15, A Agarkar 2-24).
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Railways, Haryana wrestlers excel Nidani (Jind), December 25 Railways won gold medals in men’s free style finals of 54kg, 63kg and 76kg weight categories. Hosts Haryana, who put up an impressive show picking up two gold medals in 56kg and 68kg free style category in the women’s section, also claimed the gold in men’s 76kg Greco-Roman style. Punjab wrestlers won the finals of men’s Greco-Roman 63kg and 97kg weight groups. The three remaining gold medals were claimed by Uttar Pradesh (97kg men’s free style), Bengal (men’s 54kg Greco-Roman) and National Capital Region (women’s 46 kg free style). Results (all finals): Men (free style): 54 kg Kripa Shankar (Rlys) b Joginder Singh (Ben) 8-1. 63 kg — Shokender Tomar (Rlys) b Ombir Singh (Pb) 4-3. 76 kg — Sujit Mann (Rlys) b Ashish (Del) Technical fall (10-0). 97 kg — Bhagat Singh (UP) b Rakesh Patel (MP) 3-2. Greco Roman:- Anil Kumar (Ben) b Joginder Singh (Chd) (10-8). 63 kg — Gurvinder Singh (Pb) b Sukhdeep (U’chal) (9-0). 76 kg — Sanjay (Har) b Govind Pawar (Rlys) 4-0. 97 kg — Satish (Pb) b Harinder Singh (U’chal) 3-0. Women (free style):- 46 kg Nirmal (NCR) b Rita (Har) 4-0. 56 kg — Sunita (Har) b Manju Shekhawat (NCR) 3-0. 68 kg — Geetika Jakhar (Har) b Kiran Sihag (Del) 7-1.
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ICF beaten in Liberals hockey Patiala, December 25 The Centre of Excellence boys played to a well knit pattern with their spearhead being Sydney Olympian Deepak Thakur. However, the junior World Cup hero was bottled up by the Chennai defence and he lacked support from his wingers. Deepak, however, was instrumental in getting his team the all-important penalty stroke. The resultant stroke was converted by right in Gurvinder Singh who pushed the ball to the right of the goal keeper. In the second match, SBI, Bhopal, and Eastern Railway,
Kolkata, were deadlocked 2-2 at the end of regulation time. For the
railmen, their goalkeeper S.K. Ghala, despite playing well throughout the regulation period, fumbled when it came to the crucial penalty shoot out. His inept handling of the situation enabled the Bhopal bankmen to notch up a well deserved 6-3 win. In other matches, Northern Railway quelled a spirited challenge put up by the young Thapar Academy, Sansarpur and beat them by the odd goal in two while Police Lines,
Jagraon, had a comparatively easy outing in brushing aside the challenge of Lucknow XI 4-1. |
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Dinesh’s team wins
Pro-Am New Delhi, December 25 Professional Gursimran Sethi’s team of S.B. Anand, Sahara Airlines CEO U K Bose and Balkar Singh, took the second place with 76 points. Sethi shot a one-over 78. Dinesh Kumar received a cash prize of Rs 5,000 while Sethi collected Rs 3,000. Sheeraz Kalra, whose team claimed the third place, got Rs 2,000. While Dinesh shot an eminently forgettable round of 81, his team-mate, 21-handicapper Bhargava, contributed 44 points, which included 23 stableford points. Lt-Gen Nambiar supplemented his handicap of 19 with 15 stableford points. Bhargava and Nambiar carried Dinesh’s team through. UK Bose and Balkar Singh with 28 points each helped Sethi’s team win the second place. Sudhir Garg with 23 points and A.K. Verma with 20 points took the first and second positions to post the best individual scores. Shalini Malik won the ‘nearest to the pin’ contest. Former Indian cricket captain Kapil Dev put on a surprise performance with a round of two-over 74. And he played off the championships tees, unlike many other amateurs. Simarjeet Singh emerged the winner in the ‘longest drive’ contest with a 269-yard hit on the 13th hole. The professional event, with Rs 6 lakh at stake as prize money, gets underway tomorrow. Seventy professionals and eight amateurs are in the fray. The highlight of the event will be the presence of Arjun Atwal, Jyoti Randhawa and Vivek Bhandari, who have been clubbed together as the star three-ball group. |
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Merger may give sports a fillip Chandigarh, December 25 The present Secretary Education, Schools, Punjab, Mr RS Sandhu when asked, said the move will certainly help in better functioning and co-ordination at all levels and sports could get the desired momentum. He said sportspersons, once groomed at grassroot level, could always get the better opportunity to perform at the senior level also. He said once a sportsperson of a school shows talent, then a long-term planning for the talented sportspersons could be devised. Then after sometime, the performance analysis of that very player can be made so as to groom him at higher level. Then the gradual improvement could absorb the same sportspersons under different schemes thus initiated. At present Punjab Sports Department has around 220 coaches and more than 90 coaches are there on deputation from SAI. Several years back, all the coaches were with Education Department only and some were transferred to Punjab Sports Department while rest opted to be with the Education Department. At present, Sport Department was involved in taking care of various sports wings and academies, state women sports festival, issuing gradation sports certificates for admission to various institutions and other related sports events like sending teams for rural national games. Sources said the above move will benefit school sports as the sports infrastructure already in custody of Sports Department could now be used regularly. |
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UP gymnasts clinch title Ambala, December 25 West Bengal stood second while Andhra Pradesh finished third in the championship. Mr B.S Ojha, president, All-India Gymnastics Federation, while addressing the gymnasts said the federation had granted an amount of Rs 12.50 lakh for the Ambala gymnasium. President of the Haryana Olympic Association Abhay Singh Chautala who laid the foundation stone of a multipurpose sports hall at War Heroes Memorial Stadium here said the Haryana Government had been providing every opportunity to players to improve their skill. PTI |
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BSF Golf Club
wins tourney Hoshiarpur, December 25 Mandip Singh Gill, PRTC Golf Club, Jahan Khelan, won the first prize in net score of tournament. Mr Iqbal Singh Sidhu, Deputy Commissioner, Hoshiarpur, Major-General O.P. Parmar (retd), Col. A.S. Jatana NCC Group Commander Jalandhar and many other senior officers of Jalandhar and Hoshiarpur participated. |
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Sasikiran wins
chess title Kozhikode, December 25 |
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