World champion Viswanathan Anand

Viswanathan Anand
wins Corsica Masters

BASTIA (France), Nov 1: World champion Viswanathan Anand added another feather to his cap when he defeated Grandmaster Alexander Chernin . . ...more

Waugh says Kiwis
will be hard to beat

SYDNEY, Nov 1: Australia captain Steve Waugh has said New Zealand will be harder to beat than people thought in the test series which starts in Brisbane on November eight. .......more

Worried Windies arrive
for Sri Lanka tour

COLOMBO, Nov 1: Security, injuries and Muttiah Muralitharan were the main worries for West Indies as they ...more

Pitch report annoys
South African coach

BLOEMFONTEIN (South Africa), Nov 1: South African chief coach Graham Ford is sore with the authorities for not doing enough to ensure that the pitch for the first test against India, starting here on Saturday, was ........more

50th All India Police Hockey Championship
J&K, BSF among 8 teams spotted for QFs
Cristopher Ekka makes hat-trick in BSF’s 7-0 win over MP

By Sanjeev Sharma

JAMMU, Nov 1: Though a few league matches are yet to be played, the eight teams emerging to be the contenders for the second knock-out round of ....more

Second seed Sanjeev
beaten by Umar
Jyoti Anand, Manav enter Junior Billiards final

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, Nov 1: Jyoti Anand and Manav Gulati today sailed into the final of the Junior Billiards beating their opponents in the ongoing 11th State Billiards and...more

9th Junior National Korfball Championship from Nov 25

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, Nov 1: Ninth Junior National Korfball Championship, organised by the Korfball Federation of India, will be held at .. ..more

Jammu Distt Table Tennis Championship starts today

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, Nov 1: The Jammu district Table Tennis Association is holding district Championship beginning from tomorrow at......more

 
TRAPPED OUT OF NET: Madhya Pradesh goal-keeper foiling a goal attempt
by the BSF in a league match of the 50th All India Police Hockey Championship
at Jammu on Thursday. -- Excelsior/Ashok

Viswanathan Anand wins Corsica Masters

BASTIA (France), Nov 1: World champion Viswanathan Anand added another feather to his cap when he defeated Grandmaster Alexander Chernin of Hungary in the final of the Corsica Masters Rapid Chess Tournament here.

Warming up for the World Championships later this month in Moscow, anand took things easy and the victory, though sweet, did not quite come in the natural style as the Indian Stalwart has the reputation of destroying his opponents in the rapid version of the game.

The final comprising of a two-game mini-match ended in a 1-1 deadlock and Anand playing black in the tie-break only had to draw to win the title which he forced in 36 moves.

Anand drew with black in the tie-break for the second time in the tournament - the first had come against another Hungarian GM Peter Leko in the quarterfinals.

The Indian GM held on to his own in the final and with some excellent defensive manoeuvres and imaginative counterplay on the kingside forced a draw by perpetual checks.

The opening was a deviation from the Trompowski variation and a sudden frenzy of piece-trade left both the players with only heavy pieces.

Anand had one weak link in the form of a king-pawn but he nonchalantly exchanged it and subsequently the rooks too. The ensuing queen and pawn endgame in which Anand made a pawn sacrifice to force a draw.

Earlier, in the first game with normal time control of 20 minutes and 5 seconds addition after every move, anand faced the modern defence with white pieces and obtained a miniscule advantage out of the opening.

However, timely exchange of pieces helped Chernin to neutralise white’s initiative and a tactical breakthrough in the final stages of the game steered the game to a draw in 44 moves.

In the second game, Chernin failed to impress with white pieces as Anand dealt his english opening with effective ease on both flanks. The game did not have much for the spectators either as the Hungarian had to contend with a 22-move draw through repetition.

This was Anand’s last competitive outing before the World Championship and he is now expected to prepare intensely to retain the coveted crown.

An interesting entrant in this year’s World Championship is former champion Anatoly Karpov of Russia who decided against playing in this format in the past two editions. (PTI)

Waugh says Kiwis will be hard to beat

SYDNEY, Nov 1: Australia captain Steve Waugh has said New Zealand will be harder to beat than people thought in the test series which starts in Brisbane on November eight.

"The last series against New Zealand (which Australia won 3-0 in 2000), they probably should have won the tests at Eden Park and Hamilton," Waugh said today.

"We know it’s going to be hard.

"It’s not a matter of turning up and just going out there and it’s going to be an easy victory."

However, Australian bookmaker Tab Sportsbet quoted New Zealand at odds of 40-1 to win the upcoming three-test series against the world champions. (REUTERS)

Worried Windies arrive for Sri Lanka tour

COLOMBO, Nov 1: Security, injuries and Muttiah Muralitharan were the main worries for West Indies as they arrived in Sri Lanka today for their first full tour of the troubled Island.

The tourists expect off-spinner Muralitharan to be their main threat on the pitch, but security concerns are likely to dominate the build-up to the three-test series.

Sri Lanka is already in the throes of a violent campaign for elections on December 5, and bracing itself for more suicide bombings by a Tamil rebel group.

"We will get a full security briefing in the next few hours and make our plans after that," Windies manager Ricky Skerrit told reporters at the team’s tightly-guarded hotel in Colombo.

"Obviously we are concerned but we are quite satisfied with the arrangements made."

A suicide bombing, which killed five people in Colombo on Monday, has done little to ease the concerns of the tourists, who had already been wary of travelling since the September 11 attacks on the United States.

West Indies opted out of playing Sri Lanka on home turf in the 1996 World Cup after a major attack which killed 100 people.

The injury worries revolve around batsman Brian Lara, who opted to travel despite concerns over his long-standing hamstring injury.

The tourists cannot afford any more fitness scares, with middle-order anchor Shivnarine Chanderpaul ruled out of the tour with a back injury and his replacement wavell hinds expected to arrive late after undergoing surgery on a broken nose.

With captain Carl Hooper and Lara the only survivors of the previous tour — a single test in 1993 — the inexperienced Windies batting lineup could be exposed by Muralitharan’s prodigious turn.

"Muralitharan is a world class player and will be the main focus of our strategy," Hooper said.

The tourists’ bowling attack also looks green with none of the pacemen having yet played 20 tests.

After the test series, West Indies join Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe in a Triangular one-day tournament. (REUTERS)

Pitch report annoys South African coach

BLOEMFONTEIN (South Africa), Nov 1: South African chief coach Graham Ford is sore with the authorities for not doing enough to ensure that the pitch for the first test against India, starting here on Saturday, was prepared keeping the home team’s interests in mind.

Concerned that the pitch, which has a reputation of being batsmen-friendly, may help the Indians who have a strong batting line-up as well as two of the world’s best spinners in Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh, Ford called upon the groundsmen to use their ‘expert knowledge’ to prepare the pitch which did not suit the tourists so well.

Stating that there was no reason for South Africa to host their opponents on sporting tracks when other countries prepared pitches according to their choice in their home series, Ford said he would have preferred to start their test campaign on a lively pitch such as the one at Kingsmead in Durban. But the United Cricket Board of South Africa decided to have the first test in Bloemfontein.

"The International Cricket Council regulations do not allow us to prescribe to groundsman how they should prepare their pitches. Since we returned to international cricket, we have followed that regulation to the letter, but the same cannot be said for other countries. They make sure their pitches are prepared to benefit the home team," he said.

"Has South Africa ever played on a pace-friendly strip in India?" ford asked.

"UCB wants every test centre to have an equal chance of hosting a test. That is fine, but if we want to become the top test playing nation in the world, everybody - the groundsmen, the media and the administrators - will have do their bit.

"Regarding the groundsmen, they should use their expert knowledge to prepare surfaces that do not suit the Indians so well," Ford said.

Ford said he was convinced Goodyear Park groundsman Nico Pretorius would do everything in his power to prepare a pitch with pace and bounce, but admitted his team should be able to beat any opposition on any track.

"In the end, we should be able to beat any team on any su-rface and under any circumstances. We have succeeded in doing that remarkably well over the past few seasons. South Africa is the country with the best away record in the world, so we have proved that we are not intimidated by tame pitches".

Ford was not bothered by criticisms that the South African bowling attack lacks variety that the Indian team has. While the Indians have a right-arm seamer (Javagal Srinath), two left-arm fast bowlers (Ashish Nehra and Zaheer Khan), a leg-spinner (Anil Kumble) and an off-spinner (Harbhajan Singh), South Africa have a host of right-arm seamers and pace bowlers and a solitary left-arm spinner.

"People have been complaining for years about the lack of variation in the South African attack. But these same players keep on performing, thereby showing that the criticism is unfounded," Ford said.

"This apparent shortcoming is no cause for concern. India have a well balanced attack, but in the end it depends on the chosen bowlers to do their job." (PTI)

50th All India Police Hockey Championship
J&K, BSF among 8 teams spotted for QFs
Cristopher Ekka makes hat-trick in BSF’s 7-0 win over MP

By Sanjeev Sharma

JAMMU, Nov 1: Though a few league matches are yet to be played, the eight teams emerging to be the contenders for the second knock-out round of quarter-finals are clearly visible with the end of the day three competitions in the 50th All India Police Hockey Championship being played at K K Hakhu Stadium, here today.

While, Punjab Police in Pool-A and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in Pool-H have already placed in the second round of quarter-finals, the entry of other six sides of Border Security Force (BSF), Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), Delhi, Indian Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), SSB and host Jammu and Kashmir Police is certain.

Punjab being the last years winner and runners-up CRPF were given direct entry into the second round by virtue their status. Now, as per fixture already prepared, J&K will meet Delhi and BSF will be playing against SSB for semi-finals berths, whereas, reigning champion Punjab will take on ITBP and CRPF will meet CISF to defend their positions.

However, BSF, which last year lost to CRPF in a golden goal, is quite confident of reaching the final stage. "Last year we lost in the semi-finals after playing a superior game against CRPF and that too with a golden goal, but this year boys are determined to play the final", said the team coach, Kuljeet Singh while talking to EXCELSIOR soon after BSF blanked Madhya Pradesh Police 7-0 in a league encounter.

Earlier, in their second league encounter today, BSF blanked Madhya Pradesh after Cristopher Ekka gave brilliant performance converting five of the six penalty corners into the goals which included his hat-trick. The big score was the result of a brilliant display of combination among three outstanding forwards, who masterminded the conversion of all the penalty corners.

Except for the first goal scored in the 2nd minute by Peter Tirkey on a penalty corner, rest of the five goals were converted by Cristopher Ekka. Habil Topno used to push the ball into the circle where Kuljinder Singh made the ball dead for Cristopher, who hit the ball right into the goal all the times. However, Madhya Pradesh goal-keeper, after understanding the strategy, foiled two more similar attempts made by the trio.

Cristopher scored the goals in the 11th, 41st, 42nd, 48th and 54th minutes of the match.

In all, Andhra Pradesh got just two penalty corners as against 19 by BSF. Blaise Manterio and Avinash Srivastva were umpires in this match, while Manmohan Singh and Sham Lal were judges.

In another one-sided match played today, Karnataka thrashed Andhra Pradesh by five goals to one. For Karnataka, Rakesh (12th), Umesh (28th and 42nd), Rakesh (46th) and Shiva Kumar (49th) scored the goals, whereas Sai Sridhar reduced the margin for Andhra Pradesh in 66th minute.

Other two matches played in the evening generated interest among the spectators because of the close fight witnessed throughout the game. ITBP outplayed Jharkhand 2-1. From ITBP, Gopal Sharma and Bir Singh scored first two goals in the 16th and 21st minutes making it 2-0 at the end of the first half, while Joseph Gurio reduced the margin in the 55th minute for Jharkhand.

The second well contested match was between SSB and Uttar Pradesh. It was this match which had to be decided that who will play in the quarter-final against BSF. However, SSB emerged victorious beating UP 3-2 and claimed the berth in the knockout round.

Orissa also won its tie against Gujarat 2-0. J Minz and S Dungdung scored one goal each in the 12th and 68th minute respectively.

In the last match of the day, Tamil Nadu outplayed Chattisgarh 4-2. Makariyus Kujur(14th) and Sikander Kujur (53rd) sounded the board for Chattisgarh on penalty corners. From Tamil Nadu, M Devendra Kumar scored two field goals in 24th and 26th minutes, while S Murugan and R Dominic scored in 58th and 66th minutes respectively.