|
|
India need
to SHARJAH, Oct 21: Having received a rude shock when they lost to Sri Lanka by five wickets in the opening encounter yesterday, India would be looking to get their act together against Zimbabwe tomorrow in their next match of the Triangular one-day cricket series here today........more CHESS National B Chess Champ JAMSHEDPUR, Oct 21: International Master Tejas Bakre of Indian Airlines drew with Sriram Jha of LIC to keep up his one point lead after the 11th round of Tata Steel 38th National B Chess Championship here today.........more Decision on India’s Pak SHARJAH, Oct 21 : Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary J Y Lele has said a .........more Asian Cup TT Champ MUMBAI, Oct 21: India’s up and coming Soumyadeep Roy failed to emulate his senior partner and .......more |
|
Billiards in senior category from
today Kamal Rohmetra to clash with Sanjeev in senior snooker final Excelsior Sports Correspondent JAMMU, Oct 21: Kamal Rohmetra and Sanjeev Gupta today entered into the final of senior snooker in the ............more Krishan,
Arshad enter Excelsior Sports Correspondent JAMMU, Oct 21: Krishan Sharma and Arshad Khan today entered into the final of the Jammu Open Squash ............more IInd
Martyrs Memorial Jammu Open Tourney Excelsior Sports Correspondent JAMMU, Oct 21: Alpha Club and Jammu and Kashmir Police today claimed berths in the finals of the IInd .........more Distt
Volleyball Excelsior Sports Correspondent KATHUA, Oct 21: District Kathua Volleyball Association is organising District Volleyball.....more |
 |
|
|
India need to change game plan SHARJAH, Oct 21: Having received a rude shock when they lost to Sri Lanka by five wickets in the opening encounter yesterday, India would be looking to get their act together against Zimbabwe tomorrow in their next match of the Triangular one-day cricket series here today. India, who feel they were done in by the heavy dew on the outfield during the latter part of the game against Sri Lanka, are banking as much on their strength as on the tiredness of their opponensts. Zimbabwe would be playing for the second consecutive day tomorrow and that suits Saurav Ganguly and his men just fine. The Indian batsmen need to change their approach on this wicket, where the ball does not quite come on to the bat and going for the big hits can be risky. Batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar has shown the way with his uncharacteristic hundred against Sri Lanka yesterday, in which he hit just three fours and a six. This is exactly the approach to take and the Indians, especially Ganguly, would do well to rely on working the singles and twos rather than opt for going over the top. Ganguly would be hoping to win the toss again, but this time for a different reason. For once, the Indians would like to bat second. As was evident in yesterday’s game against Sri Lanka, the ball does not come on to the bat and the outfield is sluggish in the afternoon. But once dew starts falling, the ball comes nicely on to the bat and the outfield is also quicker. Besides, Ganguly believes his bowlers could not do much with so much dew falling yesterday. India also need to urgently do something about the numerous run-outs. As many as four batsmen, including Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid, were run-out against Sri Lanka, which cost them dearly. Tendulkar and Dravid have now been run out in two successive innings and Ganguly must check this malaise before it spreads. India’s bowling appears thin and Ganguly is toying with the idea of playing Sunil Joshi in place of Ajit Agarkar. Joshi, a left-arm spinner from Karnataka, has better chances of success against the Zimbabweans who play pace better than spin. Otherwise India would be starting with the same line-up as the one that played against Sri Lanka yesterday. On the other hand Heath Streak and his men realise a win against India tomorrow would immensely increase their chances of qualifying for the finals. If India were to lose this game also, they would go in to the next week’s final phase of league matches with no wins. In contrast, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe would have at least a couple of points against their names. Zimbabwe will be strengthened by the return of Alistair Campbell, who was served one-match suspension during the ICC Knock-out Tournament in Nairobi for showing his dissent on being adjudged leg before wicket against New Zealand. "I wasn’t out, that’s one. Then if I was around, our team could have gone on to beat New Zealand," said the elegant middle order batsman. (PTI) |
|
CHESS
National B Chess Champ JAMSHEDPUR, Oct 21: International Master Tejas Bakre of Indian Airlines drew with Sriram Jha of LIC to keep up his one point lead after the 11th round of Tata Steel 38th National B Chess Championship here today. IM K Murugan of Tamil Nadu almost assured himself of a place in the next national a outplaying seasoned K V Shantharam of bank sports board. With this win Murugan joined three others - Sriram Jha, Saptarishi Roy Chowdhury and Lanka Ravi - on 8.5 points. Seven players are on 8 points followed by a bunch of 22 hopefuls on 7.5 points. Players with 9.5 points are expected to make it to the top 12 slots. The day was marred by draws in spite of many hard fought games. As a result, only 5 out of top 15 tables came in with decisive results. To start the proceedings Tejas and Jha played only 5 moves in a symmetrical robatsch opening before signing the truce treaty. Lanka Ravi of PSCB decided to carry on against Roy Chowdhury in a semi slav defense game. As his draw offer was declined, a comparatively inexperienced Roy Chowdhury relented under pressure and handed Lanka a decisive advantage in the middle game. Lanka played precise attacking moves and caught Roy Chowdhury’s queen off guard at the edge of the board. However some defensive resources came to Roy Chowdhury’s rescue as Lanka failed to deliver the knock out punch. As the game entered the crucial fourth hour Lanka found himself struggling against the clock and let Row Chowdhury off the hook with a timely piece sacrifice that netted him two pawns and two pieces against Lanka’s queen. The draw was soon agreed to. Murugan displayed fine positional sense against Shantharam. Playing white against an irregular opening setup that bore some resemblance to the queens gambit declined, Murugan gained initiative on the king side and soon won an exchange. Shantharam could not really make it a fight thereon and sustained a lost battle before calling it a day after 35 moves. IM Neelotpal Das (GNCA) wriggled out of a mess to hold N Sanjay (CRSB). Playing black against the queen pawn, Neelotpal got a backward pawn on the queenside and Sanjay enjoyed a commanding position in the middle game. The minor pieces got traded at regular intervals and Sanjay got a firm bind on the queenside along with a complete control of the vital C file. But in time pressure Sanjay decided to play it safe and drew the game. IM Atanu Lahiri came back strongly after yesterday’s loss to demolish Pankaj Joshi of Maharashtra. Joshi played some unusual moves in the fianchetto variation of the kings Indian defense and repented soon as Lahiri got an overwhelming attack on the king side. In a befitting finale Lahiri sacrificed a piece and delivered checkmate. K Visweshwaran of Tamil Nadu came to limelight dashing the hopes of veteran IM V Koshy of PSCB in a game of fluctuating fortunes. Koshy employed his favourite pirc defense with black pieces and achieved a double edged position out of the openin-G. Visweshwaran went for a direct attack on the queenside and lost a pawn. In mutual time pressure Koshy returned the favours and eventually blundered to get mated. (PTI) |
|
Decision on India’s Pak tour by Nov 15: Lele SHARJAH, Oct 21 : Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary J Y Lele has said a decision was likely by November 15 on India’s proposed tour of Pakistan in January next year for which the Board has already applied to the Government. "We applied for the Pakistan tour in the second week of this month and a response is awaited by November 15," Lele told UNI during the India-Sri Lanka first league match in the Tri-series here last night. Lele put November 15 as the cut-off point by which time, he felt, the Government should communicate its decision to the Board. "We can intimate the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) only after getting a response from the government," he said. The ‘Kargil war’ last year and worsening political relations between India and Pakistan with New Delhi accusing Islamabad of fomenting cross-border terrorism have cast a shadow on the cricketing ties between the two neighbours. Massacre of over a hundred Amarnath pilgrims earlier this year by Pak-trained militants prompted the Indian Government to refuse permission to the national side to play Pakistan in Toronto (Canada) for the annual Sahara Cup in September. The low ebb of the current ties also raises question mark over the Indian team’s proposed tour of Pakistan for three tests and five one-day internationals. Lele said the board is very keen on the tour as "I am sure they (PCB) will give us a fine treatment and there will be no security concerns. "Also, if Pakistan can tour India under similar tense political ties, why can’t we?" asked Lele. Regarding reports that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which is inquring into match-fixing allegations, has named some cricketers as suspects, Lele said: "Once it is officially communicated, the board will take action as per its recently formulated code of conduct which includes a life ban on players found guilty (of match-fixing). But first we will have to see what sort of charges are levelled against them by the investigating agency." According to Indian website rediff.Com, CBI has named five cricketers and a former physiotherapist of the Indian team in its inquiry into match-fixing. The cricketers named are Manoj Prabhakar, Mohammad Azharuddin, Ajay Jadeja, Nayan Mongia and Ajay Sharma. Besides, Ali Irani, who was the team physio for nearly a decade, has also been named. The CBI has highlighted the close connection between Sharma and Irani and their contacts with bookies. The agency reportedly referred to Manoj Prabhakar as a match-fixer who, it said, set the ball rolling along with azharuddin. Azharuddin later roped in Ajay Jadeja and Nayan Mongia. Azhar, Jadeja and Mongia were left out of the Indian team before the ICC Tournament in Nairobi in the wake of allegations against them. "The report should come as soon as possible to clear the cloud of suspicion and it will help the board to move forward. We will take appropriate action," he said. Though off-shore venues like Sharjah, Singapore and Toronto came under attack in the midst of the match-fixing scandal enveloping the cricketing world, lele saw no harm in continuing to play at these places. These places were dubbed by some as the epicentre of match-fixing and betting. The BCCI secretary said India’s contract for tournaments in Sharjah expires in April 2001 when they play the tri-series with Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Asked if the contract would be renewed, he said,"why not. There is no harm in playing." Lele refused to react to Kapil Dev’s letter to BCCI president A C Muthiah while resigning as coach last month in which he charged that the board was being run in a very unprofessional manner. "Kapil is an icon of Indian cricket. He can kill anybody and get away with it," he said. In his letter, Kapil had a swipe at the board secretary as he wrote in the post script that "Lele will have to find a new whipping boy now." (UNI) |
|
Asian
Cup TT Champ MUMBAI, Oct 21: India’s up and coming Soumyadeep Roy failed to emulate his senior partner and national number one Chetan Baboor when he failed to qualify for the quarter-finals of the men’s section in the 15th Asian Cup Table Tennis Championship here today. Roy was thrashed 21-12, 21-15 by his group a rival Cheung Yuk, the top seed in the tournament with a world ranking of 32, in his third round-robin clash and went out of the reckoning for a spot in the last eight by suffering his third straight defeat. The Calcutta-based youngster had lost to Caixiao Li of Singapore, the fifth seed with a world ranking of 276, and Yoon Yae Yung of South Korea by identical 0-2 margins in his first two matches yesterday. He still has to play his last league match, an inconsequential one for him, against Indonesia’s Budiono to complete his league engagements at the Andheri Sports Complex. Third seed Baboor, ranked 84th in the world, had romped into the last eight last night by topping Pool C with an all-win record. The former national champion’s victims included fourth seed Yanagida Toshinori of Japan, globally rated 248th, Hao Shuai of China and Kim Joo Sang of Korea. But two more Indians, Mouma Das and Poulomi Ghatak who are ranked seventh and eighth in the women’s singles with world rankings of 214 and 246 respectively, failed to qualify for the quarter-finals from their respective pools in the US $ 25,000 prize money tournament. (PTI) |
|
Billiards in senior
category from today Excelsior Sports Correspondent JAMMU, Oct 21: Kamal Rohmetra and Sanjeev Gupta today entered into the final of senior snooker in the on-going 10th District Jammu and Kashmir Billiards and Snooker Championship being played at M A Stadium, here. The billiards in senior snooker will start from tomorrow. The last year’s billiards and snooker champion Kamal Rohmetra today played gusty performance and won the match by 4-1 in best of five frames. It was only the brilliant efforts of the Kamal that landed him in the final of the senior snooker. Though the Kamal won the first set with scores 52-41, yet Abrol did not lose patience and played marvelously and won the second set with scores 51-30. In the last three sets, last year’s double title holder Kamal pounched on every opportunities and continued to add scores in his account thus registered spectacular victory over the opponent with scores 91-14, 67-44, 56-31. Kamal clinched the third set with break of 38 points. Kamal will clash with second semi-final match winner Sanjeev Gupta in the final later on. In the second semi-final, Sanjeev Gupta who from the begining of the Championship maintained lead today trounced Arun Gulati by 4-1 with scores 55-40, 35-45, 60-52, 75-65. Meanwhile, in the junior billiards, Sohail Khalid outplayed Banu Pathania and entered into the final. Sohail scores 300 points while Pathania claimed only 175 points and suffered defeat in the semi-final. Sohail Khalid will take on Jyoti Anand in the junior Billiards final. Messrs Raveez Ahmed and Surjeet Singh Balloria were acted as markers. |
|
Krishan, Arshad enter Jammu Open Squash final Excelsior Sports Correspondent JAMMU, Oct 21: Krishan Sharma and Arshad Khan today entered into the final of the Jammu Open Squash Championship being played at Jammu Club sports complex, here. Arshad Khan defeated Nitin Wazir in easy straight sets of 9-2, 9-2, 9-6. While, in the second semi-final, Krishan Sharma had a close contest against Lt. Vishal Singh in the five sets game. Although, Krishan won the first set 9-4, but lost two consecutive games of 6-9, 9-10 to go down 2-1. However, he maintained his patience and never lost the temper to recover in the remaining two sets. In the forth set, Krishan made confident shots and also succeeded in dropping the ball beyond Vishal’s reach and equal the score 2-2. In the deciding set, Krishan gave little chance to Vishal to fight back and easily won the set 9-1. The final score: 9-4, 6-9, 9-10, 9-4, 9-1. The final will be played on October 24 at 5 pm at the same venue. |
|
IInd Martyrs Memorial
Jammu Open Tourney Excelsior Sports Correspondent JAMMU, Oct 21: Alpha Club and Jammu and Kashmir Police today claimed berths in the finals of the IInd Martyrs Memorial Jammu Open Basketball Tournament. Now, they will meet each other for the title clash tomorrow at University of Jammu courts at 4 pm. In the interesting semi-finals, played in morning and evening sessions, the Jammu and Kashmir Police defeated Air Force, while Alpha Club downed fighting Royal Club to pave way for the finals. In the morning semi-final, Alpha Club defeated host Royal Club 85-75 with first half score of 23-46. It was a game of two tall mens, who played pivotal role on either side. In the first half, a superb display of techniques by tall man Vikram Singh, who was assisted by Nishant Dev, Azad Singh, Rakesh Sharma and Sumit Singh helped Royal Club to take sufficient lead of 23 points. But, they could not maintain the tempo and started giving away points on regular intervals. With six minutes to go, the back bone of Royal Club—the tall man Azad Singh committed his fifth personnel foul and was asked to leave the court. As soon as he left the court, another tall man dominated the court. This time it was six feet and six inches Vikram Singh, who was looking virtually unstoppable and gather point after point for Alpha Club. Even three consecutive three pointers by Rakesh could not help Royal Club, who found themselves trailing 75-80 when the final hooter blew. Suresh Pal, Gajinder, Shoorvir and Sandeep chipped in well for the winners. In the second semi-final, played in the evening session, J&K Police outplayed Air Force, Jammu 66-46. Policemen had an easy time against the Airmen when they had managed comfortable lead of 35-14. Anyway, Air Force lost in the semis, but they won many hearts for their discipline and fare play. Rajesh Bhagat, Amit Bharati, Vikas Mahajan played well for the winners, while A K Singh and Amit did well for the Air Force. In the final, Mr R R Swain, Senior Superintendent of Police, Jammu and Rt. R K Mahajan, District president Rotary International will be the chief guests, said Mr Bharat Sharma, organising secretary of the tournament. |
|
Distt Volleyball Champ from Oct 28 Excelsior Sports Correspondent KATHUA, Oct 21: District Kathua Volleyball Association is organising District Volleyball Championship on October 28 to 29 at Volleyball grounds, Government High School, Gurha Mundian. During this championship, the district team will be selected for the forthcoming J&K State Volleyball Championship to be held in the month of December. In the district championship, teams from far flung areas of Bani, Basohli and Billawar are taking part in addition to the teams from Kathua and Hiranagar tehsils. The championship is being held under the auspices of J&K Volleyball Association. |
|
| home | state | national | business | editorial | advertisement | sports |
