SYDNEY, Oct 4: Two more competitors failed drug tests in the last two days of the Sydney Olympics.......more

Sri Lanka trounce West
Indies in a no-contest

NAIROBI, Oct 4: A sparkling century by opener Avishka Gunawardena and Mahela Jayawardena’s....more

Kiefer reaches
quarter-finals with
win over Stoltenberg

HONG KONG, Oct 4: German third seed Nicolas Kiefer broke Ausralian Jason Stoltenberg twice in.....more

Hero Golf-2000 begins

CHANDIGARH, Oct 4: Golfer top ranking three on last season’s "order of merit" Mukesh Kumar ....more

Rehmat Ali of Punjab
takes home ‘Mali’

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, Oct 4: Rehmat Ali of Punjab has won the ‘Mali’ (main prize) in the wrestling competitions ......more

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

SRINAGAR, Sept 4: Jammu and Kashmir would organise coaching in water sports to train sports persons who would represent the country in the next Olympics at Greece. The coaching would be rigorous and for full four years...........more

2nd Martyrs’ Memorial
Jammu Open Basketball
Tourney from Oct 18

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, Sept 4: Second Martyrs’ Memorial Jammu Open Basketball Tournament organised by the Royal Club will be played at University of Jammu courts from October 18 to 22..........more

National Hockey
Championship
Trophy from Oct 9

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

SRINAGAR, Oct 4: National Sports Club which is affiliated with the J&K Hockey Association is organising 7th National Hockey Championship Trophy from October 9 to 22 at Bakshi Stadium, here.......more

The Chief Minister awarding Gold Medal to the all round best athlete/sportsman of the Kyaking and Canoeing champion held at Srinagar today.

2 more Olympic athletes fail drug tests in Sydney

SYDNEY, Oct 4: Two more competitors failed drug tests in the last two days of the Sydney Olympics, news reports today said.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) will not reveal their names or sports, but claims their respective delegations and international federations have been told.

Australia’s ABC radio reported that the pair had left Australia when the results were received and so were not available for an immediate hearing.

If their positive tests are upheld, the number of athletes failing in-competition tests at the games would rise to nine. (DPA)

Sri Lanka trounce West Indies in a no-contest

NAIROBI, Oct 4: A sparkling century by opener Avishka Gunawardena and Mahela Jayawardena’s solid 72 gave Sri Lanka a ruthless grip over the match even before the West Indies started their reply, and the Islanders completed the formality with a 108-run win in the second match of the ICC Knock-out Cup Cricket Tournament here today.

Gunawardena hit his maiden one-day ton scoring 132 and added 160 runs for the third wicket with eye-catching Jayawardena as Sri Lanka rattled up 287 for six wickets, to set a daunting asking rate of 5.76 runs per over.

The West Indies batsmen were never up to the task losing wickets at regular intervals and looked to submit meekly to the Sri Lankan bowlers before being bowled out for 179 in 46.4 overs.

The match was as good as sewn up for the Lankans and the West Indies playing with four rookies, never put up much of a resistance but for Laurie Williams’ 41 and Mahendra Nagamottoo’s 33 to show for record.

Former skipper Brain Lara again failed with the bat making only five runs while others just succumbed to the pressure of huge target.

Sri Lanka now meets Pakistan in the second round match on October 8 while the Caribbeans pack their bags to go home.

The presence of Muttiah Muralitharan and Darrell Hair was expected to stir things up, but no one really played any role still Sri Lanka notched up an easy win.

Apart from the real on-field action, another contest was on the cards between Muralitharan and Hair.

Muralitharan, because he is so much of a mystery to teams outside the sub-continent and Hair because he doesn’t think the Sri Lankan off-spinner has a fair action.

In the event, Muralitharan went wicketless, though had a remarkable figure of only nine runs from his 10 overs, and Hair behaved impeccably.

West Indies did start aggressively with opener Courtney Browne (15) and Sherwin Campbell hitting some boundaries but once browne left for a catch behind the stumps, West Indies lost three wickets in a Jiffy including that of Lara.

Campbell was foolishly run out going for a single which did not exist and Lara himself edged left-arm medium fast Nuwan Zoysa behind the stumps.

The combine of Zoysa and wicketkeeper Romesh Kaluwitharana cleaned up three top order West Indian batsmen.

The eventual folding up of Caribbean innings was delayed because of a rearguard seventh wicket stand between Nagamottoo and Laurie Williams but both departed within a run of each other to hasten the end of the match.

The seventh wicket pair realised 73 runs and delayed the inevitable.

Sri Lankas batting had earlier turned the screws on the West Indies.

Led by a swashbuckling century by their left-handed Gunawardene, the Lankans rattled up a tall score and dictated the terms from then on. (PTI)

SCORECARD:

Sri Lanka:

Sanath Jayasuriya c Browne b Dillon 2

Avishka Gunawardene b McLean 132

Marvan Atapattu b Dillon 2

Mahela Jayawardene c Browne b Williams 72

K Sangkakka run out 2

Russel Arnold b McLean 41

Rumesh Kaluwitharana not out 16

Chaminda Vaas not out 7

Extras (lb-4, nb-1, w-8) 13

Total (for six wickets, 50 overs) 287

Fall of wickets: 1-8, 2-10,

3-170, 4-177, 5-250, 6-274

Bowling:

Marvan Dillon 10-2-46-2, Mixon McLean 10-0-56-2, Kerry Jeremy 8-0-54-1, Laurie Williams 10-0-59-0, Mrlon Samuels 6-0-30-0, Mahendra Nagamotoo 6-0-38-0.

West Indies:

S Campbell run out (Arnold) 20

C Browne c Kaluwitharana b Zoyza 15

B Lara c Kaluwitharana b Zoyza 5

W Hinds c Jayawardena b W’Masinghe 20

S Joseph c Kaluwitharana b Zoyza 0

M Samuels c b Wickremasinghe 19

L Williams c W’Masinghe b Jayasuriya 41

M Nagamootoo run out 33

N McLean b Arnold 8

M Dillon c Vaas b Jayasuriya 6

K Jeremy not out 4

Extras (lb-5 w-1 nb-2) 8

Total (all out, 46.4 overs) 179

all of wickets:1/34 2/37 3/41 4/41 5/76 6/85 7/159 8/160 9/170

owling: Vaas 8-1-36-0, Zoyza 7-0-34-3, Wickremasinghe 6-0-37-0, Muralitharan 10-4-9-0, Jayasuriya 10-1-30-1, Arnold 5.4-0-28-1.

Result: Sri Lanka won by 108 runs. (UNI)

Kiefer reaches quarter-finals with win over Stoltenberg

HONG KONG, Oct 4: German third seed Nicolas Kiefer broke Ausralian Jason Stoltenberg twice in the closing stages to book a quarter-final place in the 375,000-dollar Salem Open tonight as seeds continued their perfect showing this week.

Kiefer advanced 6-3, 6-2 in just 70 minutes over the Australian veteran, playing his first match in a month since the US Open.

So far, all eight seeds made it into the second round and the two who have played so far also took wins.

Joining Kiefer as a day 3 winner on the outdoor hardcourts of Victoria Park was number 5 Nicolas Lapentti, who eliminated American qualifier Kevin Kim 6-1, 3-6, 6-2.

Lapentti, who finished in the ranking top ten a year ago, has slumped this season, his highlight coming as he and his younger brother Giovanni led Ecuador to a post-Wimbledon Davis Cup upset of Britain which sent the hosts packing into the lower zonal reaches of the worldwide competition.

"I’ve been away from the game for a month," said Lapentti. "I didn’t know what to expect as I’ve never played him."

The South American said that his confidence ebbed and flowed in the afternoon heat and humidity.

"I was confident at the start but it was a totally different story in the second set. He raised his game and I had to fight it out."

Kiefer broke Stoltenberg in the sixth game of the first set to clinch that set in their night-time meeting.

The German got off to a break in the second set but lost it in the second game. Kiefer recovered as the Aussie led 40-0 in the fifth game.

Stoltenberg put himself into strife with a double-fault for a break point Kiefer took quick advantage for another break and followed up with another break of the challenger.

The German swept to victory on the first of three match points in the eighth game of the second and next faces Lapentti Friday.

Second seed Tim Henman was playing a second-rounder against Mariano Zabaleta, a swing-serving Argentine who has beaten the brit three of the four times they have met. (DPA)

Hero Golf-2000 begins

CHANDIGARH, Oct 4: Golfer top ranking three on last season’s "order of merit" Mukesh Kumar, Feroz Ali and Vijay Kumar- joined by Gaurav Ghei, led the field at a score of three under 69 on the opening day of the Rs ten lakh Hero Golf-2000 Chandigarh Open, the sixth leg of the Wills Sports golf tour at the Chandigarh Golf Club here today.

The inaugural tee-off for the event was performed by the club captain, Brig. Santokh Singh.

Vishal Singh occupied the fifth spot at two under 70. Defending champion Amritinder Singh at one under 71 was placed at joint-sixth spot while Jeev Milkha Singh sat at joint 18th position at one-over 73.

Last season’s "player of the year" award winner Mukesh, after starting on the first tee, carded birdie on the second and third when he pocketed a 15 feet putt, 12th, 16th, a graciously accepted 14 footer and 17th, with a double bogey on the fifth denying Hikm the sole lead. Mukesh, after jointly occupying the lead with Jyoti Randhawa after the third round of the Hondo-Seil Nike event, slipped on the final day to finish joint fifth.

Feroz Ali, who finished joint-third at the just concluded Honda Siel-Nike event in Delhi, started on ist tee and proceeded to return four birdies, these coming on the 4th, 12th, 13th and 16th, where he chipped-in from 30 feet. His only bogey of the day occurred on the 6th thanks to his 3-wood tee shot striking a tree and placing his ball on the ist fairway. Feroz’s 5-wood, 3-wood, 3-wood combination from there saw him miss a chip-putt to go one-over for the hole. "The course is in excellent condition and my game is shaping up well", said the second ranked golfer on last season’s order of merit. "The secret of playing well on this course is to keep the ball straight and in the center of the fairway", he added.

Vijay Kumar was at his confident best today. The leading prize money winner for the past three seasons, after starting on the 10th, birdied the 13th and 18th on his front-nine following it up with three more birdies on the 2nd, a 15 feet putt, 6th and 9th. What would have been a blemish free card was spoilt by an unfortunate double bogey on the 5th. Vijay hacked out to eventually three-putt from a distance of 10 feet on the green.

"I changed my swing this week and that has helped immensely. Till last week, I was not completing my swing", said the Lucknowite who after leading the field on the opening day, went on to finish joint-eighth at last week’s Honda Siel-Nike event.

Gaurav Ghei birdied the 2nd, 3rd, 13th and 16th holes with his 3-wood tee shot on the 7th hitting the tree in the center of the fairway to eventually hand him a bogey on that hole. "I putted really well today, with a 35 feet uphill birdie putt on the 3rd, 1 20 feet putt on the 13th and a 15 footer on the 16th", said the Delhiite. (UNI)

J&K to organise water sports coaching

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

SRINAGAR, Sept 4: Jammu and Kashmir would organise coaching in water sports to train sports persons who would represent the country in the next Olympics at Greece. The coaching would be rigorous and for full four years.

Stating this at the prize distribution function held at the conclusion of the 2nd All India Inter University Kayaking and Coaching Championship here today, the Chief Minister, Dr Farooq Abdullah said that the coaching would be held next year some time in May. He said various Universities would be invited to send their promising students for undergoing training so that the best national teams for water sports are selected to participate at the next Olympics. He said good trainers would be made available even from outside the country to produce sports persons of the international standard. He said the sports persons picked up for the national team would be imparted training for full four years. The training programme would be round the year, affair, he said, adding during summer the coaching would be held at Srinagar and during winter at Mansar in Jammu.

Referring to the dismal performance of the country at the just concluded Olympics in Sydney, Dr Abdullah said that we ought to concentrate on few sports instead of sending our squads in every game. He said he would suggest the Central Government to take up only few games as national sports and concentrate on their development so that the teams we send to international competitions bring laurels to the country.

The Chief Minister asked the participating Universities to take advantage of the snow skiing courses offered at Gulmarg and send their students there.

Later, Dr Abdullah gave away prizes to the winning teams. The Kashmir University lifted the championship with overall 152 points and 6 gold medals. The Barkatullah University (Bhopal) came second with 112 points and the Kerala Univerity finished third with 107 points.

The concluding function was attended among others by the Minister for Industries and Commerce, Dr Mustafa Kamal, president All India Association of Kayaking and Canoeing Mr Avinash Kohli and Vice Chancellor Kashmir University, Prof M Y Qadri.

On this occasion, students of the participating universities gave their observations and said they had found Kashmir more peaceful and secure than media reports suggest. They underscored the need for similar sports events here so that misconceptions created by media reports about the place would go.

The Chief Minister asked the visiting students to extend their stay and arranged for their visit to Vaishno Devi Shrine with a night halt at Patnitop on their way back to their respective places. The students greeted the announcement with cheers.