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Stakes raised as Rafter fails to bolster Hewitt triumph BARCELONS, Dec 9: The Davis Cup winds of change smiled on Spain here in Catalonia as Australia were dealt a blow that only the hardened shell of .........more Pak ready to play India anywhere including Sharjah KARACHI, Dec 9: In an evident shift from its earlier stand, Pakistan today relented and agreed to play against India at "any venue" including the ......more GHSS Mubarak Mandi loses in Inter-school Handball Excelsior Sports Correspondent JAMMU, Dec 9: Government Girls Higher Secondary School, Mubarak Mandi lost both the finals in under-19 ....more Players’ Forum lauds efforts of Hockey, Cricket teams Excelsior Sports Correspondent JAMMU, Dec 9: The Jammu and Kashmir Players’ Association, a platform of the . ...more |
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60th
Senior National Excelsior Sports Correspondent JAMMU, Dec 9: Experienced Indian Air Lines (AI) turned the tables against aggressive Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) ....more Gill appoints Narinder Excelsior Sports Correspondent JAMMU, Dec 9: The Indian Hockey Federation president, K P S Gill has....more BSF Jammu enters final of State Basketball Champ Excelsior Sports Correspondent JAMMU, Dec 9: The Border Security Force (BSF) today outplayed Ist Guards 73-46 (ht 48-30) to find berth in the final of the 11th State Basketball ...more 10th State Billiards Excelsior Sports Correspondent JAMMU, Dec 9: All the four seeded players, namely Kamal Rohmetra, Gautam Lakra, Sanjeev Kumar and Vishal Abrol are taking part in the senior ....more |
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Stakes raised as Rafter fails to bolster Hewitt triumph BARCELONS, Dec 9: The Davis Cup winds of change smiled on Spain here in Catalonia as Australia were dealt a blow that only the hardened shell of tennis players bent on revenge could be sure to overcome. Lleyton Hewitt, who threw off the memory of two singles losses in last year’s Davis Cup final to give Australia the opening point of this year’s final against Spain, had to watch in anguish as pat rafter conceded his rubber as his teammate fell victim to cramp. Hewitt beat Albert Costa in a tough five-setter 3-6 6-1 2-6 6-4 6-4 lasting more than four hours to prove that he had finally exorcised the ghosts of Davis Cup past. But his joy lasted only temporarily as Juan Carlos Ferrero had the noisy Spanish crowd in fuller voice than ever as he ousted Rafter 6-7 (4/7) 7-6 (7/2) 6-2 3-1. Rafter, who missed last year’s win over France in nice through injury, would have given anything to survive that final hour in his match - but at 1-3 down in the third set against Ferrero and in severe discomfort from cramp, he was forced to concede the tie. That ensured today’s doubles rubber between Alex Corretja and Juan Balcells of Spain and Aussie Tandem Mark Woodforde and Sandon Stolle takes on new dimensions as the spaniards would have been firmly on the ropes had rafter won his opener. He won the first set on the tiebreak, roaring back from 0-4 down to win seven points on a roll. But 20-year-old Ferrero showed he is a quick learner by taking the second tiebreaker and he then swept through the third set as rafter began to fade away. "I started getting cramp towards the end of the third set in my calf, thigh and wrist," explained Rafter. "I don’t know why it happened. I was feeling pretty good. "At the last change of ends newc (coach John Newcombe) and I decided that if it got worse I should give it up and save myself for tomorrow." Rafter smacked down 14 aces and looked in excellent form early on but a break point tally of one out of 17 opportunities which came his way told a frustrating story which only got worse. Ferriero, despite offering condolences to the ill-fated Rafter, was only too glad to embrace his win. "I got a lot of confidence by winning the second tiebreak. I don’t know what happened to pat - I heard it was some cramp or a pulled muscle, but I came up with the victory in the end." Rafter’s retirement means today’s doubles encounter takes on a slightly rosier pallor for the spaniards, a change in fortune that Spain captain Javier Duarte is only too glad to exploit. "The doubles game is the key, because if we win that we will only be one win away from winning the Davis Cup," said Duarte. "So the pressure is on the Australians." (AFP) |
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Pak ready to play India anywhere including Sharjah KARACHI, Dec 9: In an evident shift from its earlier stand, Pakistan today relented and agreed to play against India at "any venue" including the Sharjah Tournament in April 2001, media reports said. "The News" quoted an unidentified Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) official as saying that Pakistan had decided to stick to their policy of not mixing sports with politics and would be going to Sharjah as per their commitment with the Cricketers’ Benefit Fund Series (CBFS). The official said Pakistan was willing to play India at any venue. "That’s is why we’ve also agreed to play India in either Malaysia or Dhaka in a triangular series if it comes through." Earlier, Pakistan had threatened not to play in any tournament involving India following Indian Government’s refusal to allow its team to tour Pakistan this winter. The tri-nation Sharjah Tournament, also featuring Sri Lanka, will be held from April 4 to 14 with Majid Khan and Sarfraz Nawaz as the beneficiaries from Pakistan. The PCB official also welcomed the move by the Emirates Cricket Board and the CBFS to appoint a committee to probe into allegations that Sharjah was the hub of match-fixing and betting. Abdurrehman Bukhatir, who presides over ECB and CBFS, announced setting up of the committee two days ago, stating that the step had been taken to get Sharjah’s name cleared once and for all. (PTI) |
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GHSS Mubarak Mandi loses in Inter-school Handball Excelsior Sports Correspondent JAMMU, Dec 9: Government Girls Higher Secondary School, Mubarak Mandi lost both the finals in under-19 and under-17 year groups to the Presentation Convent High School in the Inter-school Handball Tournament of Jammu district, here today. Principal, Higher Secondary School, Mubarak Mandi, Mrs Inder Mohni, was special guest on the occasion. The matches were officiated by Inder Kumar, Sanjay Jamwal, Manorama Sharma, Urmil Samyal and Kuldip Kour. Tournament was conducted under the supervision of Mr R C Vaid. |
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Players’ Forum lauds efforts of Hockey, Cricket teams Excelsior Sports Correspondent JAMMU, Dec 9: The Jammu and Kashmir Players’ Association, a platform of the players, has lauded the achievements of Hockey and Cricket teams of J&K for creating history of qualifying pools in the respective games. In a handout issued here today, the Forum convener, Chandan Singh Chouhan said that the contribution of two outstanding players in both these achievements cannot be ruled out. In cricket, they named Kanwaljeet Singh as star and in Hockey young Mandeep Singh’s name is in the forefront. Players’ Forum further complimented the J&K Hockey Association for honouring their team through Minsiter for Sports, Mr S S Slathia in the field. |
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60th Senior National
Hockey Champ Excelsior Sports Correspondent JAMMU, Dec 9: Experienced Indian Air Lines (AI) turned the tables against aggressive Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) that too in the last five minutes of the game in the super league round of the 60th Senior National Hockey Championship being played at K K Hakhu Stadium, here today. After having a neck to neck fight in the first half both sides failed to open their account even in the first 25 minutes after the breather. However, IOC forward line had changed their strategy and remained in the IA’s half most of the time and remained busy in making attacks after attacks. Seeing the opponent in the attacking mood, experienced Air India concentrated on defence and allowed their forwards to reach their goal area, just to foil their attempts inside the circle. After allowing them for nearly 15 minutes to play the game their way, Air India forward line ultimately broke the IOC defence to reach the goal area. And in the very first attempt they got a penalty stroke which T Kullu very cleanly converted into the goal. After taking lead, Air India forwards never looked back and added their second field goal in the last 70th minute through Kamlesh Kumar. In another match of Pool-B, Punjab and Sindh Bank (PSB) thrashed Hyderabad by seven goals to nil in a one sided match. Sudhakar remained in the limelight by scoring three goals in the 31st, 48th and 58th minutes of the match, whereas, Chandan Singh and Anand Ratna Kumar scored two goals each. In Pool-A league match, Railways defeated Karnataka by three goals to one. From Railways, Briznev Singh, Lalit Ekka and international player S Barla were the scorers in the 21st, 55th and 69th minutes of the match respectively. From Karnataka, Arsonb Halappa converted a penalty corner into a goal in the 6th minute. The CRPF playing its first league match in Pool-A, trounced last year’s runners-up Tamil Nadu 3-0. in the first half CRPF was leading by a goal scored by Riyo Kumar in the 8th minute. And the reaming two goals came after the breather through V Hemrun and Arunjoy Singh in the 37th and 55th minutes of the match. |
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Gill appoints Narinder Batra as selector Excelsior Sports Correspondent JAMMU, Dec 9: The Indian Hockey Federation president, K P S Gill has appointed Narinder Batra, president of J&K Hockey Association, as a national selector. Batra replaced Jude Felix, who was holding the post of a selector and at the same time leading the Karnataka team. The action took place after some players and officials of other teams raised objections and lodged a complaint with the Federation president against Felix. And responding to the complaint, Gill immediately replaced Felix with Batra, said the spokesman of Jammu and Kashmir Hockey Association, Tandon. When asked about the credentials of Batra for this prestigious post, the spokesman said that Batra has played nine national championships, so he has the ability to shoulder such responsibilities. He further said that it was an honour for the State that someone from J&K has been named for the prestigious post for the first time. |
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BSF Jammu enters final of State Basketball Champ Excelsior Sports Correspondent JAMMU, Dec 9: The Border Security Force (BSF) today outplayed Ist Guards 73-46 (ht 48-30) to find berth in the final of the 11th State Basketball Championship being played at BSF Sports Complex, here. S Joy made it a a one sided affair with his highest 25 points contribution. While’s Sher Singh and Anoop Singh added 19 points each to the total. For Guards, Davinder scored highest 15 points, followed by Girdher and Ravinder with 11 and eight points respectively. In another match of the day, BSF Kashmir beat Mech 82-52 (ht 36-26). Satvinder contributed 32 points for the winners, while’s Ramashver was highest scorer from Mech. In the third match which was played in the evening session, BSF Kashmir outplayed Udhampur district 40-27 (26-13). Kewal Singh (16) and Bansi Lal (12) were the main scorers from BSF Kashmir. For Udhampur Wasim showed a good performance. |
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10th State Billiards and
Snooker Champ Excelsior Sports Correspondent JAMMU, Dec 9: All the four seeded players, namely Kamal Rohmetra, Gautam Lakra, Sanjeev Kumar and Vishal Abrol are taking part in the senior Billiards league rounds of the 10th State Billiards and Snooker Championship beginning from tomorrow. In the Billiards senior group, 16 probables are taking part, while’s in junior group there are ten contestants. In the junior group, Jyoti Anand and Sohail Khalid are the top seeded players. When asked about the low participation in Billiards as compare to Snooker, Mr Sanjeev Gupta, general secretary of the J&K Billiards and Snooker Association said, "Billiards is a long duration game which required a lot of patience, which the young generation lacked. Whereas, Snooker is a fast game and somehow related with the Pool". Pool is a fast growing game in the State, that is why the participation was higher in Snooker as compare to the Billiards, he elaborated. Speaking on the lack of women’s participation in these two events at the district and State level, Mr Gupta informed that two years back two female cueists had came forward and took part in the State Championship. But, in the last two championships no body turned up from the fair sex, he added. He disclosed that taking into account growing popularity of the Pool game in the state, the J&K Billiards and Snooker Association has decided to hold Pool competitions by next year. |
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