Gopichand out to repeat All-England heroics at World Championships

SEVILLE, May 27: Spanish eyes will be on rising Indian badminton star Pullela Gopichand when the World Championships get underway here this week. Gopichand left the badminton world abuzz in March when he defeated Denmark’s then world number one Peter Gade and China’s..........more

ICC support welcome in telecast rights case: CBI

NEW DELHI, May 27: CBI today said it would welcome any support from International Cricket Council (ICC) into the investigations into the cricket.........more

Indians field a full
strength test side
against Zimbabwe A

MUTARE (ZIMBABWE), May 27: Indian preparations for their first series victory on foreign soil in 15 years will be put.......more

Sasikiran draws first game

LAUSANNE (SWITZERLAND), May 27: Playing for the third place, grandmaster Krishnan Sasikiran drew the first ......more

Sher-e-Kashmir Cup Cricket Tournament
Kulbhushan Handa Cricket Club, Vishal Club enter final

Excelsior Correspondent

JAMMU, May 27: Vishal Cricket Club defeated the KCC by 9 wickets while Kulbhushan ....more

Cantt Cricket Club
defeats Ajat Club,
enters final

Excelsior Correspondent

JAMMU, May 27: Cantt Cricket Club today entered the final of the First Rajesh Memorial ......more

Friendly hockey
match played

Excelsior Correspondent

KATHUA, May 27: On the eve of martyrs day of Sikh Guru Arjun Dev, Dashmesh Hockey ....more

Waqar unhappy at sub-standard English County opposition

LEICESTER, ENGLAND, May 27: Pakistan captain Waqar Younis is unhappy that English county sides have fielded ..more

Gopichand out to repeat All-England heroics at World Championships

SEVILLE, May 27: Spanish eyes will be on rising Indian badminton star Pullela Gopichand when the World Championships get underway here this week.

Gopichand left the badminton world abuzz in March when he defeated Denmark’s then world number one Peter Gade and China’s Olympic Champion Ji Xinpeng in a rollercoaster ride to the coveted All-England Championships.

The 27-year-old’s triumph in the prestigious tournament was the first there by an Indian for 21 years and marked the late blossoming of Gopichand as a force in the men’s game.

But whether ‘Gopi’ can conjure up another magical run at the San Pablo stadium remains to be seen, and he has not played a competitive match since the All Englands through fear of injury.

Despite acknowledging some ring rust, Gopichand remains optimistic of his chances in Seville, where he will also take part with India in the Sudirman Cup mixed team World Championships which start tomorrow.

"I have not had any bad losses for the last one year and I hope to carry this form into the championships," said Gopichand.

Lying in wait for him are a trio of vanquished opponents out to make a point.

Foremost among them is Gade. The silky-smooth blonde star is desperate to atone for defeat at the all Englands, and is still smarting after losing his world number one ranking to Malaysia’s Roslin Hashim, the top seed here.

As well as seeking revenge from Gopichand, Gade will also be looking to dump his tag as a choker.

He wilted in front of his home crowd at the 1999 World Championships in Copenhagen, and collapsed in the semi-finals of the Olympics last year when he had been tipped to take the gold medal.

"Sure, I’ve had disappointments in the past couple of seasons, but they are behind me now," Gade said. "There is no point dwelling on them. All I am focussed on is this tournament," he added.

The man who pipped gade to gold glory in Sydney, Ji Xinpeng, is seeded 11 for the men’s singles.

Ji has been a patchy performer since the Olympics and became another of Gopichand’s all England conquests in March along with Chen Hong, the Indian’s victim in the final in Birmingham.

Another threat to Gopichand’s world title ambitions is likely to come from Indonesia’s youthful star, Taufik ‘Babyface’ Hidayat. The sublimely gifted third-seeded shuttler beat Gopichand in straight games in their last meeting at the Asian Championships in November last year.

In the women’s singles Gade’s girlfriend and reigning world champion Camilla Martin will start as favourite amid a Phalanx of Chinese pretenders led by Zhou Mi.

Second-seed Zhou has beaten Martin on the last two occasions they have met and will be confident of making it a hat-trick here. (AFP)

ICC support welcome in telecast rights case: CBI

NEW DELHI, May 27: CBI today said it would welcome any support from International Cricket Council (ICC) into the investigations into the cricket telecast rights case and other matters arising out of the match-fixing scandal.

"We are always in touch with the Anti-Corruption Branch of ICC in this regard and look forward to any support from them which is very crucial to our investigation into the telecast rights case and other matters arising out of the match-fixing scandal," CBI Director P C Sharma told PTI here.

CBI on November eight registered five cases against some Doordarshan officials for allegedly cheating the Prasar Bharti of crores of rupees in award of telecast rights for cricket matches.

The five cases relate to alleged bunglings in telecast rights for 1997 Independence Cup, ICC Knock-out Tournament in 1998 played in Dhaka and the World Cup in 1999.

The CBI alleged that some officials of Doordarshan had entered into a criminal conspiracy with the Bangalore-based Worldtel and Delhi-based Stracon India and dishonestly enhanced the bid for the telecast of the tournament.

Referring to the alleged nexus between betting syndicates and underworld, Sharma said "we are still looking into whether there is any link between match-fixing syndicate and organised crime syndicate in the country and abroad."

Former Director of CBI R K Raghavan had sought help from other State Police Departments and Central Intelligence Agencies in this matter.

Asked to comment on the recent report on match-fixing by Sir Paul Condon, head of anti-corruption unit, Sharma said "it is gratifying to know that ICC has appreciated the investigation done by the CBI in the match-fixing scandal."

The ICC report on match-fixing, unveiled in London on May 23, voiced grave concern over corrupt practices in international cricket and pledged its support to CBI in probing the links between organised crime and match-fixers.

The CBI on May four last year registered a Preliminary Enquiry (PE) on instruction from the Union Sports Ministry. The agency later submitted a 164-page report to the then Sports Minister S S Dhindsa on October 31.

The CBI hopes that the ICC’s efforts would lead to further probe into the role of nine foreign players, who were not investigated by the agency. (PTI)

Indians field a full strength test side against Zimbabwe A

MUTARE (ZIMBABWE), May 27: Indian preparations for their first series victory on foreign soil in 15 years will be put to test when they take on Zimbabwe A in their tour opening three-day match here tomorrow.

This being the only match before the first test starting in Bulawayo on June 7, the Indians left nothing to chance and fieled a full strength test eleven against an equally strong Zimbabwean side which boasts of nine

A measure of their seriousness was evident in the way the Indians took to practice within hours of arriving in Harare on Friday and captain Saurav Ganguly today took the unusual step of announcing the final eleven a day in advance. The team included three medium pacers to exploit the windy and bouncy conditions prevailing here.

"These pitches suit the seamers. So we will go in with three fast bowlers," he said.

Harbhajan singh included in the team to bowl alongside Javagal Srinath, Zaheer Khan and Ajit Agarkar. There was no experimentation in the batting order with the normal test line of Shiv Sunder Das, Sadgopan Ramesh, V V S Laxman, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Ganguly and Samir Dighe being fielded.

On the other hand the Zimbabweans baffled the Indians by including two schoolboys - Tetindu Taibu and H Masakadza - in their final eleven.

Taibu is a wicket-keeper who toured England recently with Zimbabwe A side recently is widely tipped to take over from Andy Flower once the former captain retires.

Masakadza is an opener who caught the eye of the selectors by becoming the youngest centurion in the domestic national competition.

Led by Gavin Rennie, the side includes the likes of Craig Wishart, Craig Evans, Dirk Viljoen, Travis Friend, Bryan Strang, Brian Murphy, D Mutendera and Dion Ebrahim all of whom have represented Zimbabwe one time or the other. Strang, who too was not considered against the Bangladeshis, looks set to return to the national side as his fellow pacemen were found wanting in bowling within the stumps. Strang has the knack to make the batsmen play all the time and will be closely watchetors.

Friend missed the series against Bangladesh due to an injury sustained on the tour to Australia and if he performs well and is fully fit, he too can be picked up for the test.

The venue, surrounded by hills and overhead trees, has a lovely setting but the pitch is flat and should help the batsmen, according to Kish Gokal, Manager of the home side. (PTI)

Sasikiran draws first game

LAUSANNE (SWITZERLAND), May 27: Playing for the third place, grandmaster Krishnan Sasikiran drew the first game against international master Andrei Volokitin of Ukraine in the Olymic Young Masters Knockout Chess Tournament here.

In the fight for the coveted title, the first game between GM Etienne Bacrot of France and GM Bruzon Lazarov of Cuba also ended in a draw after a tense struggle.

Double GM-norm holder IM P Harikrishna, already smarting under defeat at the hands of L Aronian in tie-break game of the previous round, failed yet again as he lost to Chinese GM Bu Xiangzhi in the first game playoff for the 7-8 place.

After losing in the semi-final to Bacrot, Sasikiran employed the Sicilian Nazdorf variation with black pieces and faced the classical structure. Volokitin, who has had a tremendous run in the first half of the tournament, ventured into wild complications in the middlegame by going for a kingside attack.

Sasikiran’s counter-attack came in the form of tremendous piece play on both flanks. A strike in the centre by Volokitin transformed the game into a rook and pawn ending wherein Sasikiran had a better placed rook and an extra pawn but Volokitin’s passed queen knight pawn compensated for the minor material deficit.

Sasikiran then readied himself to give back the pawn at the cost of the passer but with a result not in sight, the draw was soon agreed to. In the return match tomorrow, Sasikiran will have the advantage of white pieces.

Harikrishna wanted to get into the intricacies of the semislav defence with black pieces but Xiangzhi was obviously not game for a tactical battle.

The transposition to the exchange variation of the queen’s gambit declined was a natural choice and Xiangzhi got a slight advantage in the middlegame.

Harikrishna traded on thin ice once he allowed white pawns to roll on the king side and his counterplay bid on either flank of the board did not get the desired position.

Xiangzhi, on the contrary, played imaginatively and continued exerting pressure on the vulnerable king side with all his pieces. Harikrishna confined himself to the uphill defensive task but consistent attack on the king side cost him a pawn.

The queens got traded but Xiangzhi managed to penetrate the seventh rank with his rook and as his king made a foray along the king rook file to force checkmate, Harikrishna called it a day.

GM Ruslan Ponomariov of Ukraine drew with GM Levon Aronian of Armenia in the first game for the 5th place. The off-beat opening choice in the ruy lopez apparently surprised Ponomariov and the pieces got exchanged at regular intervals and truce was the natural result.

Playing white, Bacrot did not get much against the solid play of Lazaro in the queens gambit declined. The opposite side castling by Bacrot did not enthuse life in the game as a couple of minor pieces got exchanged early in the middlegame. Bacrot had to contend himself with a draw after 73 moves. (PTI)

Sher-e-Kashmir Cup Cricket Tournament
Kulbhushan Handa Cricket Club, Vishal Club enter final

Excelsior Correspondent

JAMMU, May 27: Vishal Cricket Club defeated the KCC by 9 wickets while Kulbhushan Handa Cricket Club (KHCC) beat Jammu Cricket Club (JCC) by 57 runs in the semi-finals of the Sher-e-Kashmir Cup Cricket Tournament.

In first semi-final, KCC after winning the toss decided to bat first. All the players of the KCC were sent back to pavilion in 15.2 overs when the total score on the board was 60.

The strong and tight bowling display by the bowlers of the Vishal Cricket Club forced the batsmen of the KCC to leave the ground after regular intervals of time.

Only two batsmen—Raman and Surinder of the KCC reached the double figure mark as they contributed 19 and 13 runs respectively in the total of 60 runs. All other batsmen could not even reached the double figure mark.

Thus, KCC by playing 15.2 overs out of 20 stipulated overs managed to score only 60 runs by losing all wickets. Last three players of the KCC were sent back to pavilion without making even a single score. 12 runs were added in the total of KCC through extras from Vishal Cricket Club side.

For Vishal Cricket Club, Surinder bowled marvelous and disastrous bowling spell and clinched four wickets in 4 overs at the cost of 15 runs. He was followed by David and Ajay Bhatti, who chipped in with 2 wickets each for 11 and 13 runs in 4 and 3.2 overs. David clinched one wicket.

With eyes on target of 61 runs, the openers of Vishal Cricket Club— Rajesh Gill and Rohit Matto— from the very beginning of the match maintained attacking performance and continued to beat bowlers of KCC wide and near.

The first and lone wicket of the Vishal Cricket Club fell when the total score on the board was 24. After Rajesh Gill was sent back to pavilion who contributed 4 runs, Rakesh Koul joined Rohit Matto in lofting the bowlers of KCC and chased the intended target in 10 overs and won the match by 9 wickets.

Rohit Matto contributed 32 runs in 24 balls while Rakesh Koul scored 14 runs by facing 24 balls.

The only wicket for KCC was clinched by Shashi.

Rakesh Koul of Vishal Cricket Club was declared man of the match for his overall performance with the bat and the ball.

In second match of the day, Kulbhushan Honda Cricket Club (KHCC) defeated the Jammu Cricket Club (JCC) by 57 runs.

Elected to bat first after winning the toss, Kulbhushan Honda Cricket Club (KHCC) made a total of 147 runs by losing 8 wickets in 20 overs match. Openers of the KHCC ( Ashwani and Akshay) played sensible cricket and made a partnership of 63 runs. Both the players contributed 50 and 30 runs respectively in the total of 147.

They were followed by Shafeeq, Rajinder and Sanjay, who contributed 19, 13 and 11 runs respectively.

For JCC, Vijay Sharma clinched two wickets while Jagtar and Ravi Sharma claimed one wicket each.

Chasing the target of 148 runs, all the players of JCC players were sent back to pavilion when the total score on the board was 91 runs. Bhaskar, Arun, Mosin and Raj Kumar played brilliant cricket and contributed 11, 20, 15 and 15 runs respectively.

For KHCC, Inderjeet clinched three wickets, Shahid took 2 wickets and Pranab, Ashwani and Sandeep chipped in with one wicket each.

Ashwani of KHCC was declared man of the match.

According to Manager of KHCC Mr Deepak Handa, it was all due to the efforts of whole KHCC team that Ranji players studded Jammu Cricket Club was defeated.

Final of the Tournament will be played between Vishal and Kulbhushan Honda Cricket Club on May 29.

Players for Man of the Series are Ashwani, Raman, Sameer and Shashi. The organising committee comprised off Dr Mustafa Kamal, Chairman, Tariq Veeri, president, Aftab Ahmed Ghani, vice-president, Mujeeb, general secretary, Imran Ahmed Ganai, secretary and Tejinder Singh, Manager.