NAIROBI, Oct 6: India and Australia meet in a crucial ICC Knock-out Cricket Tournament here tomorrow with a score to settle. Australia white-washed India during their tour down under earlier this year, and have generally dominated their duels in the last one year........more

Confident IHF starts
preparing itself
for 2008 Olympics

NEW DELHI, Oct 6: Having learnt its lesson from the disappointing performance in the just concluded Sydney Olympic Games, the Indian Hockey Federation is preparing itself for the 2008 Games.....more

PCA not to be given
any international
this season

MUMBAI, Oct 6: The Cricket Board’s (BCCI) general body unanimously decided last month-end not.....more

11-member Indian
Badminton team taking
part in Dutch Open

HYDERABAD, Oct 6: An eleven-member Indian badminton team, seven men and three....more

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, Oct 6: Host Jammu Frontier lifted the best team trophy in the VIIth Inter-Frontier Border Security Force (BSF) Golf............more

Sports Council to tighten
grip on Associations

By Sanjeev Sharma

JAMMU, Oct 6: The State Sports Council has decided to tighten its grip..........more

Ram Khajuria
becomes first sport
climbing judge from J&K

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, Oct 6: Mr Ram Khajuria has become first person from Jammu and ........more

17-member climbing
team to participate
in North-zone meet

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, Oct 6: Seventeen members Jammu and Kashmir team including seven......more

India-Australia match promises to be a thriller

NAIROBI, Oct 6: India and Australia meet in a crucial ICC Knock-out Cricket Tournament here tomorrow with a score to settle.

Australia white-washed India during their tour down under earlier this year, and have generally dominated their duels in the last one year.

But the Indians had sent Australia packing within 24 hours of the their arrival in the inaugural edition of the tournament in Dhaka in 1998 when batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar almost single-handedly led his team to a memorable victory.

That defeat still rankles the Australians who will pull out all stops tomorrow to avenge that humiliating first round exit. And Saurav Ganguly and his men would just as much like to repeat that performance.

From India’s point of view, the important question is whether Ganguly and Tendulkar - arguably the best opening pair in recent times - should expose themselves to the formidable pace attack of Glenn McGrath, Brett Lee and Jason Gillepsie, especially since the middle-order, largely consisting of newcomers and comeback men, does not look to have the depth to cope with an early collapse.

But the Indian think-tank comprising coach Anshuman Gaekwad, captain, vice-captain and some senior players seem to have decided in favour of continuing with the Ganguly-Sachin pair at the top thus ruling out any intention of going on the defensive against the world champions.

The Indians also seem to have decided to continue with three-man pace attack of newcomer Zaheer Khan, Venkatesh Prasad and Ajit Agarkar, which performed quite well against Kenya in the opening match on Tuesday.

And with the pitch not offering much help to spinners, left-arm spinner Sunil Joshi will once again have to be left out. "The pitch is not spinning much, so there is no point in looking to strengthen the bowling attack," Ganguly said.

"We discussed Sunil but these are short boundaries and we are afraid to experiment with spinners because they could be hit to good effect," he added.

For the slot of fifth bowler, there is a toss-up between the trusted Robin Singh and Tamil Nadu batsman S Sriram, who can also roll over his wrists as a left-arm spinner.

Ganguly also hinted that he may opt to bat first if he wins the toss tomorrow.

"As evident in the first three games, the help to fast bowlers in the initial stages is not that great. So we can’t be closed to the idea of batting first on winning the toss," he said.

The Indian captain hoped the team will carry on the good work in the field. "Unlike in Australia, where the grounds are big and the fielding is demanding, here we can choose our men well. We have identified the sharp fielders in the side, and youngsters like Zaheer and Yuvraj have a good arm."

Ganguly wondered whether the Australians were in as crakling a form as they were last year.

"They could not beat South Africa either at home or in an away series, so the pressure is on them," he said.

However, Australian skipper Steve Waugh showed no signs of being under pressure and had no doubts as to who will start favourites in tomorrow’s game.

"Obviously, we are favourites," he asserted.

Waugh sounded a warning to the Indian camp saying he will field the three fast bowlers in tomorrow’s match.

"Indians do not look much confident to me against pace and it makes sense to make the best use of our ammunition in this department," he said.

"I thought these wickets would favour spin but I am happy to see it helping fast bowlers. I like the conditions."

McGrath, who has been Tendulkar’s nemesis many a time, said he was looking forward to yet another interesting duel with the master batsman.

"When he came down to Australia, I had an upper hand and I would like to retain that advantage," he said.

Fast bowling sensation Brett Lee echoed similar sentiments, saying he gets fired up at the sight of Tendulkar.

"You actually lift a couple of yards in pace," Lee, who hopes to bowl beyond 160kmph, said.

Teams (from):

India - Sourav Ganguly (Captain), Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Vinod Kambli, Robin Singh, Yuvraj Singh, Vijay Dahiya, Ajit Agarkar, Anil Kumble, Zaheer Khan, Venkatesh Prasad and S Sriram.

Australia - Steve Waugh (Captain), Adam Gilchrist, Mark Waugh, Ricky Ponting, Michael Bevan, Andrew Symonds, Ian Harvey, Shane Lee, Damian Martyn, Brett Lee, Jason Gillespie, Glenn McGrath, Mark Higgs and Brad Young.

Umpires - David Shepherd (England) and Steve Bucknor (West Indies). (PTI)

Confident IHF starts preparing itself for 2008 Olympics

NEW DELHI, Oct 6: Having learnt its lesson from the disappointing performance in the just concluded Sydney Olympic Games, the Indian Hockey Federation is preparing itself for the 2008 Games.

"We have to ensure that all concerned - players, officials and administrators - get over the disappointment of Sydney and return to training for the 2008 Olympic Games," IHF president K P S Gill told PTI here today.

"I am not a believer in luck - good or bad. We have to consolidate the gains that we made in Sydney and remove the defects that still remain," he said.

Gill said "where we lost out was not in training but at playing atleast four matches in peak condition. We have played only two and a half at that level".

According to him, the team suffered from five major failings before going to Australia.

They were: conceding a goal in the very first or second minute; allowing an equaliser to be scored in the dying minutes; poor goal keeping; poor execution of penalty corners and killer instinct in the rival 25 yards area.

Gill said the team improved in atleast three areas namely not allowing a goal to be scored in the opening minutes, goal keeping and conversion of penalty corners.

He said the defence of penalty corners was excellent at Sydney with the Indian team saving 91 per cent of the shots taken against it.

More than a psychologist, the IHF chief saw the need for an expert with science background for attending to the needs of players’ in special circumstances like in case of rain, what type of stick to use and what shirts and shoes to wear so that they play well with minimum of discomfort.

"You need a psychologist only when you are not able to play in peak form over a sustained period of time," he said.

Gill said earlier the team had a mindset that did not think of a gold medal. "Now they have it because they have begun to have confidence in themselves once again."

Whatever the result at Sydney, Gill said "the greatest gain has been the realisation, not only in India but in the whole hockey playing world, that we have an excellent team".

He did not rule out the dropping of some players who were getting on in years and some others who had slowed down, and referring to some good players in the junior team, added "we are in a very happy situation with replacements there".

There, however, will be no change in the coach and V Baskaran will continue in that post, the IHF chief said.

About the appointment of a foreign coach, he said, he was awaiting a panel of names from the International Hockey Federation and "once we receive it, we will pick one person".

Gill clarified that the foreign coach will assist the Indian coach and not replace him.

Reiterating 2008 Olympic Games were the ultimate target, Gill said IHF’s immediate objective was the World Cup qualifier to be held in Scotland in July next year.

He said it would be cold and raining in Scotland at that time of the year and "we should be able to match those conditions in India till February". (PTI)

PCA not to be given any international this season

MUMBAI, Oct 6: The Cricket Board’s (BCCI) general body unanimously decided last month-end not to allot any internationals in the forthcoming season to Punjab Cricket Association (PCA), according to board sources.

"It was a unanimous decision taken by the general body at Chennai (on September 29). They (PCA officials) have given a 99-page chargesheet to the CBI about the board and other units even as they are part of us and take part in the meetings. It has angered everyone in the board," the sources told PTI.

PCA president Inderjit Singh Bindra, himself a former Board chief, had hit out at some top BCCI officials at the height of the match-fixing scandal in April and May and is among those who have talked to CBI officials probing the scam.

PCA’s modern stadium at Mohali is, thus, unlikely to host any match against Zimbabwe or Australia, the two countries who are to visit India this season.

Zimbabwe are to visit in November-December and Australia are scheduled to be here for a test and one-day international series in February-March.

The Board is to finalise the complete schedule of the tour by Zimbabwe next week in Mumbai. (PTI)

11-member Indian Badminton team taking
part in Dutch Open

HYDERABAD, Oct 6: An eleven-member Indian badminton team, seven men and three women, and a coach would be taking part in the German and Dutch Open from October 10 to 22.

Olympian P Gopichand, and Aparna Popat were heading the men and women team while the coach would be U Bhaskar baby, a Sports Authority of India SAI coach from Vijayawada.

Badminton Association of India BAI joint secretary Punnaiah Choudary said here the Indian team which would take part in the Asian Badminton Confederation ABC Championship to be held at Jakarta-Indonesia from November one to five would have Sanjeev Sachdeva.

Five Andhra Pradesh shuttlers figure in the Indian team to take part in the World Junior Championship to be held at Guangihou in China from November three to 12.

Following is the team taking part in the German, Dutch and ABC Championship:

Men: P Gopichand, Nikhel Kanetkar, Sidhartha Jain, Chetan Anand, Abhin Shyam Gupta, Sachin Ratti, and Abhishek Bakshi .

Women : Aparna Popat, B R Meenakshi and Parul Priyadarshini. Junior team boys: S D S Krishna AI, Anup Sirdhar AI, Vaurav Singh AI , Ajit Pathak AI, Nishad Dravid Maha and P. Sunil AP.

Girls: Parul Priyadarsini IR, G Jwala AP, Shruthi S. Kurien AP, T Murgunde AI.

Sandhu adjudged as best golfer
Jammu Frontier lifts BSF Golf Championship trophy

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, Oct 6: Host Jammu Frontier lifted the best team trophy in the VIIth Inter-Frontier Border Security Force (BSF) Golf Championship which concluded at BSF Golf ground, Paloura camp, here today.

Deputy Commandant, D S Sandhu of Jammu Frontier, who was leading right from the beginning, was adjudged as best golfer in gross and net score.

A S Aulakh, IPS, IG BSF Punjab and Jammu Frontiers bagged the runners-up trophy for gross score, while in the same event, maximum parts D S Sandhu bagged the trophy.

In other trophies, maximum birdies went to P J Rao, Commandant, BSF Academy, Tekanpur. Longest drive to M S Deo, Deputy Commandant, TC&M Frontier, while nearest pin to Mr Balbir Singh, Additional DIG BSF, Punjab Frontier.

Constable Balwinder Singh of Punjab Frontier Golf course was adjudged as best coach.

The Jammu team which won the best team trophy was consisted of A S Aulakh, IG, Punjab and Jammu Frontier and D S Sandhu, Deputy Commandant, Jammu Frontier.

S Basumatry, DIG BSF, Tripura and Mr M S Deo, Commandant 68 Bn BSF, TC&M Frontier were part of the runners-up team.