NEW YORK, Sept 3: T een-age Australian hotshot Lleyton Hewitt has more than lived up to his .....more

Viswanathan Anand

Anand beats Khalifman to consolidate his position

SHENYANG (CHINA), Sept 3: Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand of India strengthened his position in his group with a facile win over Fide World ........more

Famous track star makes last bid for Olympic gold

KINGSTON, Sept 3: When hundreds of athletes and their coaches from around the world step into the Olympic Stadium in Sydney, Australia on September 15, there will be 39 Jamaicans among them, all in search of ........more

Kalmadi to ask IAF for
more grand prix events

PUNE, Sept 3: Indian Olympic Association (IOA) chief Suresh Kalmadi today urged the International Athletics Federation to award more grand prix.......more

Rajinder Tickoo Memorial day-night Cricket
Kashyap Club beat
BCC by 6 wkts

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, Sept 3: Kashyap Cricket Club defeated Bablu Cricket Club by six wickets in the ongoing Rajinder Tickoo Memorial ..........more

HSS Reasi beat HSS Pouni in opening Football tie

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

UDHAMPUR, Sept 3: Higher Secondary School, Reasi defeated Higher Secondary School, Pouni by two goals in the opening match of the Inter-school Football tournament in under...........more

SBI Doda organises Volleyball match

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

DODA, Sept 3: The State Bank of India (SBI) organised Volleyball and Kho-Kho matches under the community banking services at Green ......more

Sports Council for vacating indoor stadia from forces

Excelsior Correspondent

Srinagar, Sept 3: The Sports Council has decided to promote indoor games which are best suited in the present scenario of the State. .......more

Lleyton Hewitt looks for slam breakthrough

NEW YORK, Sept 3: Teen-age Australian hotshot Lleyton Hewitt has more than lived up to his potential outside of the Grand Slams, but so far, when it’s come time to back up his boasts at the majors, he has fallen short, never getting beyond the fourth round.

After trouncing Czech Jiri Novak 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 in the third round at the U.S. Open yesterday, the ponytailed 19-year-old appears ready to make a big step in a slam. The gritty all-courter will face either Thomas Enqvist or Marcelo Rios tomorrow in what promises to be a terrific test for the young Hewitt.

He will not be satisfied by merely putting up a good fight.

"I’m not looking at losing at all," said Hewitt, the no. 9 seed. "I believe I can win. I’m in the second week of a Slam and anything can happen.

"Obviously I’m going to have my work cut out for me with either of those guys. A lot of what is going to satisfy me is how well I play."

Hewitt has had a terrific year outside of the Slams, winning a tour-high four titles. But at the Australian Open in January, he carried a 13-match winning streak into his fourth round match with Magnus Norman and was thumped in straight sets.

At 1999 Roland Garros, the super-speedy Hewitt looked comfortable engaging in long end-to-end rallies on the Red Clay before being out-muscled by Albert Costa in the fourth round.

After winning the wimbledon warm-up at Queens Club over Pete Sampras, Hewitt entered the all-England Club as one of the favourites, and then was shocked by Jan-Michael Gambill in the first round. But Hewitt said he won’t change his mental approach.

"I’m taking the same mental approach that I’ve been taking all week, just taking one match at a time," he said.

Given that he stands 5-foot-10 in what is becoming a game of giants, Hewitt must use his quickness and counterpunching ability if he is to reach the top.

However, although he admires Andre Agassi, who is a similar height, Hewitt does not possess the muscular build that Agassi does nor can produce the same amount of power from the baseline, and therefore must take more risks and frequently charge the net. Hewitt is a far more accomplished net player than Agassi, but does not have his patience.

"Quite often I pick the wrong shots to come to net on or go to the wrong ball to attack off," he said. "That’s the sort of thing that comes with being mature and getting a lot of experience." (REUTERS)

Anand beats Khalifman to consolidate his position

SHENYANG (CHINA), Sept 3: Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand of India strengthened his position in his group with a facile win over Fide World Champion GM Alexander Khalifman in the second round of the Fide World Cup Chess Tournament here.

This is the third straight win for Anand over the Russian grandmaster this year. With a full one point lead in his group, Anand now seems well set to qualify for the quarter-final stage.

The day saw a few upsets with grandmasters Peter Svidler and Alexander Morozevich going down to Zhang Zhong of China and Alexei Aleksandrov of Belarus respectively.

Khalifman, who had employed his pet French defence on both his earlier losses to Anand this year, shifted to the sharper sicilian defence to the english attack opening of Anand.

The game went along expected lines till the 14th move when Anand decided to change tactics and produced a theoretical novelty after accepting a pawn sacrifice. He gained a space advantage on the kingside with well-timed breakthrough on the king knight file.

Complications arose after Khalifman decided to win back the pawn on his 23rd move and Anand gave a bishop sacrifice to initiate an attack against the centralised king.

However, the dust cleared soon and Anand seized total control on the game. Khalifman’s ploy to trade his queen for rook and two minor pieces came to nought as Anand won a rook for knight and penetrated the opposition wing with his queen. Unable to avoid further material loss, khalifman resigned on the 40th move.

Anand was once again the only winner in his group as the other two matches ended in draws.

Tissir Mohamed of Morocco held highly rated GM Pavel Tregubov of Russia when the latter missed a tactical shot from a winning position. The game lasted 58 moves.

GMs Vladislav Tkachiev of France and Boris Gelfand of Israel played a quick 17-move draw in an english opening game to keep their qualifying hopes alive.

In group c, GM Peter Svidler’s loss to Zhang Zhong came as a major surprise. Playing with white pieces, Svidler employed the extensively analysed italian game but was unable to attain any advantage from the opening. Zhong deployed his pieces in and around the centre and gained some space on the kingside.

Zhong tightened his grip and finished the game after 40 moves with an excellent manoeuvre to win an exchange.

In the other upset of the day, Morozevich lost to Aleksandrov in a kings gambit game with white pieces. The piece sacrifice variation on the fifth move gave an illusionary attack to Morozevich and Aleksandrov romped home in the ensuing endgame.

The women’s section too saw a few upsets with top seed and favourite Xie Jun of China losing to Hong Thanh Trang of Vietnam in a kings Indian defence game with white pieces. Trang appeared well-armed for the opeing as she employed the kings fianchetto and gained a miniscule advantage in the middlegame. A tactical oversight on the 24th move cost xie dearly as she lost an exchange and the game soon after.

Former world champion GM Maya Chiburdanidze of Georgia bounced back after yesterday’s loss to score a hard fought win over Ansel Laubshner. (PTI)

Famous track star makes last bid for Olympic gold

KINGSTON, Sept 3: When hundreds of athletes and their coaches from around the world step into the Olympic Stadium in Sydney, Australia on September 15, there will be 39 Jamaicans among them, all in search of their moment of glory.

But the eyes of many track and field lovers will be focused on one Jamaican athlete who is expected to wrap up a 20-year career in the sport when the Olympic torch goes out in Sydney.

Merlene Ottey has been described as the world’s most enduring athlete .. But the past year has seen her durability put to the test when newspapers in many countries broke the news that she had been tested positive for the an abolic Steroid Nandrolone while competing at a meet in Witzerland.

Over the last year the reports circulated, Jamaicans voiced their shock and disbelief and stood firmly behind their ‘sprint queen’ as many like to refer to her.

‘It has shocked me personally, it seems to be the act of someone who has suddenly been derailed,’ said Herb Mckenley, the former quarter-miler who was part of the Jamaican relay team that won the 4x400-metre event in the 1952 games in Helsinki, Finland.

As the news spread and she became the topic of discussion on all talk shows locally, most Jamaicans refused to even entertain the thought that she was guilty of any wrongdoing. People blamed the positive test on a conspi racy, erroneous analysis of her urine sample, vitamins that she might have taken - anything but the fact that she would have knowingly taken a prohibited substance to enhance her performance.

And when news came in July that the International Athletics Federation (IAAF) had cleared her of any wrongdoing, the country drew a collective sigh of relief.

‘I think this is news of significance not only to us in Jamaica but throughout the Caribbean because Merlene Ottey has become an international icon in the field of sports,’ said Prime Minister, Percival Patterson.

‘I hope that she will be able to pursue her career and leave the athletic track with the aura and the glory that she has so richly deserved,’ Patters on added. Should Ottey win a medal at the Sydney olympics, observers say this will be the crowning moment for a career that has spanned two decades and will turn the spotlight once again on the strides which this small northern caribbe an Island - population 2.5 million - has made in the arena of track and field over the last 50 years.

The impressive run started in 1948 at the London games where Arthur Wint, won the 400 metres. Herb Mckenley, one of the great quarter-milers, was second.

But Jamaica’s best showing at the Olympics came in 1952 at the Helsinki games. Wint won the 800 metres, while George Rhoden took the 400 metres Wint, Mckenley and Rhoden, along with Les Laing, formed the gold medal-winning quartet that won the 4x400 relay in Helsinki, Finland in 1952. In 1968, Lennox Miller, father of US sprint Staringer Miller, placed second in the 100 metres in Mexico city. He was third in the same event in Munich in 1972.

Then in 1976 in Montreal, Canada, Sprinter Donald quarrie took the 200 metres event after narrowly failing to beat Trinidad and Tobago’s hasley crawford in the 100 metres race.

In 1980, at the Moscow games, a young sprinter named Merlene Ottey made her debut. She placed third in the 200 metres, the first of three olympic bronze medals.

At Seoul in 1988, grace Jackson continued the emergence of the Jamaic an female sprinter by coming in second to the legendary Florence Griffith-Joyner in the 200 metres.

In 1996 at the Atlanta games Ottey placed second in both the 100 and 200 metres. Her two silver medals equalled the feat of her compatriot, Juliet Cuthbert, who was runner-up in the sprint events at the 1992 games in Barcelona, Spain. At that time, it was the best performance by a Jamaican female athlete at the Olympics.

But that was bettered by Deon Hemmings’ victory in the 400 metres hurdles event also at the Atlanta games. It was also jamaica’s first gold medal since quarrie’s win in montreal.

Jamaicans have made a relatively successful impact in field events too, with long jumper James Beckford’s silver medal effort in atlanta behind the US’ carllewis being the most notable. Since her first appearance at the Olympics in 1980 Ottey has gone on to win 14 medals at major championships, but only two of these are individual gold medals. Her many third spot placings at major meets have influenced us commentators to label her the ‘bronze queen’.

Ottey’s moment of glory came in the 1993 world championships in Stutt Gart, Germany when she led from start to finish to win the 200 metres. Many took the victory personally as they did the ups and downs of her athletic career.

‘The entire nation rejoices with you. You have brought home the gold. There never has been a more deserving victor. You deserve your moment of glory,’ Patterson wrote in a letter to Ottey then.

That year she was named ambassador at large by the government, one of several honours she has received from the country.

Earlier this year, Ottey was named the leading female athlete of the 1990s by the respected us publication, track and field news. It is a decade that has seen the sprinter dominate the grand prix circuit though never transforming that form into gold medals at the Olympic level.

And as ottey prepares to make her exit from the sporting arena a new crop of women seems poised to take over where she will be leaving off. Twenty-four-year old Peta Gaye dowdie will be competing in both the 100 metres and the 4x100 metres relay. So too will 25-year-old Tayna Lawrence, while 18-year-old Veronica Campbell will compete in the 4x100 metres relay.

But for now the moment of glory belongs to Ottey and many Jamaicans. (IPS)

Kalmadi to ask IAF for more grand prix events

PUNE, Sept 3: Indian Olympic Association (IOA) chief Suresh Kalmadi today urged the International Athletics Federation to award more grand prix events to Asia in order to raise the performance levels of Asian athletes and bring them at par to their European and American counterparts.

"I want to fill the gap that exists between European and Asian countries by staking claim with the International Athletic Federation to give more grand prix events to Asian continent to help raise the standard of athletics in Asia," Kalmadi, who was recently elected the president of the Asian Amateur Atheletics Association (AAAA), told reporters here.

Kalmadi, who defeated outgoing president Bob Hassan by a narrow margin of four votes in the election held during the Asian Track and Field Meet at Jakarta, attributed his success to the support extended to him by some of the smaller nations and the sterling performance put up by Indian athletes, who finished second to China in the meet.

Kalmadi, who is also the president of Amateur Athletic Federation of India, said his main objective was to hold more competitions, organise coaching facilities and bid for hosting more events in Asia.

"One or two meets are not going to help us. I want to have a series of grand prix meets spread over three or four countries on a circuit basis to help share the expenditure of hosting the meets among them," he said. (PTI)

Rajinder Tickoo Memorial day-night Cricket
Kashyap Club beat BCC by 6 wkts

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, Sept 3: Kashyap Cricket Club defeated Bablu Cricket Club by six wickets in the ongoing Rajinder Tickoo Memorial day-night Cricket Tournament being played here.

Earlier, after winning the toss and elected to bat first, Bablu Cricket Club scored 60 runs for the loss of seven wicket in the allotted 15 overs. Kamal was the highest scorer with 20 runs, while Rinku Contributed 12 runs.

In reply, Kashyap Club achieved the required target in 10 overs for the loss of four wickets. Manoj scored 18, while Bubbal added quickfire 16 runs off six deliveries with the help of two sixes. Bubbal was declared as man of the match for his all round performance.

In the second match, Khajuria Cricket Club beat Cobra Cricket Club by 16 runs. Batting first Khajuria Club scored 143 runs in 15 overs losing three wickets. Vicky made 41 runs in 22 balls hitting four sixes and two boundaries. Makhnu was retired hurt at 31 in 28 balls.

Batting second, Cobra Cricket Club made good efforts and added 90 runs for the second wicket wicket partnership between Bunty (40) and Gollu(45). But their exit at two successive deliveries proved costly for the Cobra Club, who could score 127 runs for the loss of nine wickets in the stipulated 15 overs.

Raja and Makhnu took three and two wickets respectively for Khajuria Club. Makhnu was later declared as man of the match.

Messrs Narinder Singh and Surinder Singh officiated the match.