SINGAPORE, May 23: Plans by football superstar Baichung Bhutia to play in Singapore’s s-league have hit a stumbling...........more

Mark Waugh

Mark Waugh’s case
should be resolved
soon: ACB chief

Sydney, May 23: Australian Cricket Board chief Malcolm Speed today welcomed the.......more

ICC’s anti-corruption
unit pledges to make
cricket clean

LONDON, May 23: Voicing grave concern over corrupt practices in international........more

Hingis named top seed
for French Open

PARIS, May 23: World number one Martina Hingis has been named top seed for next......more

Excelsior Correspondent

JAMMU, May 23: Government MAM College in a simple but impressive function gave away prizes to the students, who excelled.....more

Semi-finals position cleared in CRPF Inter-Bn Handball

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, May 23: With the entry of 136, 50, and 39 Battalions in the last four stage, the semi-finals position has been cleared in the 4th CRPF Inter-Bn......more

Sher-e-Kashmir Cup day-night Cricket
JCC enters semis in style

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, May 23: Jammu Cricket Club(JCC) late yesternight thrashed Rajan Cricket Club to enter the semi-finals of the 2nd Sher-e-Kashmir Cup....more

Laxmi Club beats
Gymkhana, sails
into quarterfinals

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, May 23: Laxmi Cricket Club today reached the quarter-finals of the Ist Rajesh Memorial Cricket Tournament beating.....more

Winners of the Kabaddi final in the inter-school competitions of Satwari zone posing with the officials at Jammu.

Bury raises fee hurdle as Bhutia eyes Singapore

SINGAPORE, May 23: Plans by football superstar Baichung Bhutia to play in Singapore’s s-league have hit a stumbling block with his english club bury demanding a hefty transfer fee.

At least five clubs are lining up to bid for Bhutia, India’s only Europe-based professional, when he arrives in Singapore at the end of the week.

But they say the size of the transfer fee indicated by bury may rule them out.

Bury chairman Terry Robinson, without disclosing exact figures, said if Bhutia was to transfer to another english club the fee would be between US $144,000 and 216,000, the today newspaper reported.

"Even if bury and Bhutia agreed on a mutual separation, or if he forgoes one year’s wages, his (Singapore) buyers will still have to pay a fee," Robinson said.

The 25-year-old Bhutia is arguably India’s best footballer and has had trials with Aston Villa and Fulham, but the cost of getting him to Singapore looked daunting to R Vengadasalam the coach of S-league side woodlands.

"I don’t think any S-league Club can spare that kind of money," he said.

Dolphins Club manager Dilwat Singh said: "we are not in the position to pay a hefty transfer fee, but we are still hoping to talk to him when he arrives.

Bhutia, who is idolised in India, has had only limited appearances with Bury’s first-team since signing with the second division outfit in 1999. (AFP)

Mark Waugh’s case should be resolved soon: ACB chief

Sydney, May 23: Australian Cricket Board chief Malcolm Speed today welcomed the International Cricket Council’s report into match-fixing and called for resolving allegations that Mark Waugh received money from a bookmaker eight years ago, at the earliest.

"The unsubstantiated claim by Indian bookie Mukesh Gupta that he paid Waugh almost $40,000 for match information at a tournament in Hong Kong in 1993 remains unresolved.

Mark Waugh has repeatedly denied the allegation.

"Our position is it’s very important we resolve this issue one way or the other. It needs to be resolved either by Gupta giving evidence and being tested or alternatively we need at some stage to be able to say `that’s the end of the matter’ so mark can be exonerated," Speed, who takes over from Malcolm Gray as the next ICC chief later this year, said.

"But at this stage, if you read the report, we’re not at that stage. It is of concern to Australian cricket, it must be and will be resolved at some stage, hopefully sooner rather than later," he added.

Speed said he would again be speaking with the Australian team about the dangers of cricket corruption before they fly out to england on the weekend. "They need to be very careful to be sure they’re not touched in any way by corruption. If they are contacted by anyone then they need to report it to the team manager or the captain or someone else in authority and get it in writing as soon as possible".

Commenting on the report by ACU head Sir Paul Condon as "an important step in the ongoing fight against corruption in cricket", he said, "I think it is a valuable document in that it’s the first time we’ve had an independent source, an independent inquiry, and gone right through the issue of corruption across the cricketing world".

ACB, Speed said, will also consider the recommendations in the ICC report governing the use of mobile phones during matches and of access to players".

Speed said ACB was likely to continue its policy of not participating in any tournaments which were not run by either ICC or the test-playing nations. (PTI)

ICC’s anti-corruption unit pledges to make cricket clean

LONDON, May 23: Voicing grave concern over corrupt practices in international cricket, an official report into match-fixing and betting, unveiled today, has pledged its support to India’s Central Bureau of Investigation in probing the links between organised crime and match-fixing.

The 36-page report of Sir Paul Condon, head of ICC’s anti-corruption unit, posted on the apex cricket body’s website, contains a programme to control corruption in cricket which includes support to CBI in investigating criminal offences linked to the contract for TV rights and associate matters.

The report outlined condon’s "ambition and intention" to control and reduce corruption in cricket "to an absolute minimum," before the 2003 World Cup in South Africa.

For this, the report envisages a six-point programme, to be worked on for the next 12 months, which includes supporting the inquires arising from the CBI report to a conclusion, and starting new investigations into allegations of corruption uncovered in recent months.

While lauding the role of CBI in eradicating malpractices in the game, the report terms the Indian betting industry as "the engine room which has powered and driven cricket corruption".

The report says it will make a "disturbing reading" for cricket lovers as corrupt practices and deliberate under-performance had permeated all aspects of the game but hoped that the recommendations included in it will provide a credible deterrent to would-be defaulters as also their detection and punishment.

"Corrupt practices are now deeply ingrained in the operating culture of cricket and in some cases may be linked to major criminals," it says while recommending that ICC chief executive and the executive board be held accountable for their performance in combating malpractice.

The report says ICC in its present state is a "loose and fragile alliance" that is unlikely to succeed as a governing body. "It must become a modern, regulatory body with the power to lead and direct international cricket," it says adding that ICC should also review its policies on drug abuse within the game.

Prominent among the 24 recommendations is the restriction on the use of mobile telephones during international matches by players and others with insider information.

Welcoming the recommendations which have already been endorsed by ICC’s code of conduct commission headed by Lord Hugh Griffiths, ICC President Malcolm Gray said the world body was determined to protect the long-term health of the sport. "In deciding to make these reports public our aim is to make this process as transparent as possible. We want followers of the game to have no doubt that ICC is treating this issue with utmost importance, and taking real steps to eradicate it," Gray said.

Analysing the possible reasons for the spread of corrupt practices in the game, the report says lesser pay packets compared to some of the other sports and uncertain playing careers have made the cricketers more prone to match-fixing offers.

Reduced stakes in terms of national pride as a result of the increase in the number of matches, particularly one-day internationals, and lack of a framework to deal with corruption are the other reasons cited by the report for the spread of the malice.

Despite exemplary punishments meted out to some of the biggest stars, the reports says "some players and others are still acting dishonestly and to the orders of bookmakers", and singled out the ICC Knock-out Tournament in Nairobi last year and the recent series between Pakistan and New Zealand as being under cloud of suspicion.

Terming it a world-wide phenomenon, the report says "the blame for the spread of cricket corruption is a shared responsibility and must not be unfairly laid upon the Indian sub-continent".

The report also dwells on the vulnerability of a match to fixing saying the ‘soft matches’ or ‘dead rubbers’ like the last match of a series which has already been won by a side are more prone to the dictates of bookmakers. So are matches at neutral venues which are treated by some players with ‘indifference and opportunity to maximise the receipt of gifts or indulge in under-performance for betting purposes’.

The report wonders at the different aspects of the matches that are vulnerable to manipulation and fixing. Even seemingly innocuous things like players being placed in unfamiliar fielding positions and individual batsmen scoring fewer runs than their opposite numbers in the team that batted first are subject of bets, it says.

The report traces the history of match-fixing to the ‘friendly’ matches in 1970s where county and club teams reached an arrangement on the result without the transaction of money. Betting grew in volume dramatically in the 1980s and 1990s as a result of the increase in the number of matches and live television coverage.

ICC and the cricket boards of various countries did not do much to rein in corruption and in some cases even encouraged the malpractices. When they did respond to the problem, it was a patchwork of criminal, judicial, disciplinary and informal measures.

"No single inquiry had the jurisdiction to investigate beyond its own country, players and officials. Nevertheless, a disturbing picture gradually emerged of the extent of corruption and opportunities were missed to share information and concerns," the report says. (PTI)

Hingis named top seed for French Open

PARIS, May 23: World number one Martina Hingis has been named top seed for next week’s French Open, the only Grand Slam Tournament she has never won, organisers said today.

The Swiss tops the seedings ahead of three Americans, Venus Williams, Lindsay Davenport and Jennifer Capriati, in line with the current WTA rankings.

In-form Amelie Mauresmo, who has won four titles this season and lost only three matches, is seeded fifth and should be France’s best chance of victory following the withdrawal of defending champion Mary Pierce because of injury.

The absence of Pierce allowed Yugoslav Jelena Dokic, who beat Mauresmo in last week’s Rome final, to be seeded 16th.

None of the top five seeds have previously won the French Open.

Seedings: 1-Martina Hingis (Switzerland) 2-Venus Williams (US) 3-Lindsay Davenport (US) 4-Jennifer Capriati (US) 5-Amelie Mauresmo (France) 6-Monica Seles (US) 7-Serena Williams (US) 8-Elena Dementieva (Russia) 9-Conchita Martinez (Spain) 10-Nathalie Tauziat (France) 11-Amanda Coetzer (South Africa) 12-Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario (Spain) 13-Kim Clijsters (Belgium) 14-Magdalena Maleeva (Bulgaria) 15-Justine Henin (Belgium) 16-Jelena Dokic (Yugoslavia) (REUTERS)

MAM College holds prize distribution function

Excelsior Correspondent

JAMMU, May 23: Government MAM College in a simple but impressive function gave away prizes to the students, who excelled in academic, sports, NCC, NSS and other activities held during the session 2000-2001.

The annual function, which held in the lawns of the college, was attended by the staff members and the selected students.

The outstanding students were given away mementos, while the sports persons, who represented the Inter-University competitions, were also presented with trek suits by the eminent educationist and former Principal of the college, Prof R S Didwal, who was chief guest.

In his address to the students, the chief guest highlighted the role of youth in the nation building and hoped that in the years ahead the MAM college will maintain its highest traditions. He asked the students to remain cautious from the students leaders, who are playing in the hands of some political forces and ruining the career of the students. Prof Didwal was quite upset over the disturbed sessions for the last two years due to the strikes.

Dr M M Sahni, Principal of the college, who presided over the annual function, highlighted the achievements of the college in different facets like sports, academics, NSS, NCC and other co-curricular activities.

He informed the during the session, around 56 students represented the college in various sports events in the Inter-University, while’s a second year student, Varun Dev Singh represented India in the Junior Asian Handball Championship held at Tehran.

The Principal said that the NCC cadets from the college participated in the Republic Day and other prestigious events. In NCC, under-officer, Rupinder Singh of this college was adjudged as the best cadet for the year 2001.

Mr R C Thakur, Physical Director of the College and Assistant Physical Director, Mr Mahesh Sharma were also present.