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| India look to
make the maximum against Kenya PORT ELIZABETH, Oct 16: The way they inflicted a 10-wicket defeat on Kenya in the previous game, tomorrow’s match against the same opponents here in the Triangular one-day series should be no more than a practice game for the Indians who are on a high after two convincing victories in the tournament.............more Zimbabwe considered HARARE, Oct 16: Zimbabwe’s players considered striking before their final match in the one-day series against England after a series of rows with the Zimbabwe Cricket Union, according to a source close to the team...................more Sri Lanka name two COLOMBO, Oct 16: Uncapped pacemen Prabath Nissanka and Charitha Buddika have been included..........more Hingis and Kournikova LONDON, Oct 16: Anna Kournikova and Martina Hingis might be the dream team on the doubles .......more |
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Jammu distt maintain lead in State Athletic Champ Excelsior Sports Correspondent JAMMU, Oct 16: Jammu district athletes maintained their lead in the medals tally leaving behind professional team.......more Drabu
made patron-in-chief of JKCA By Sanjeev Sharma JAMMU, Oct 16: Mehboob Iqbal, the outgoing general secretary of the Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association.....more Jammu
girls bag Excelsior Sports Correspondent JAMMU, Oct 16: Jammu district girls lifted the winners trophy in the under-17 year group......more Fayaz bags
Caddies Excelsior Correspondent SRINAGAR, Oct 16: The breath taking Royal Springs Golf Course in Srinagar witnessed a competition with difference......more |
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India look to make the maximum against Kenya PORT ELIZABETH, Oct 16: The way they inflicted a 10-wicket defeat on Kenya in the previous game, tomorrow’s match against the same opponents here in the Triangular one-day series should be no more than a practice game for the Indians who are on a high after two convincing victories in the tournament. Despite a marked improvement in their performance against South Africa on Sunday, the Kenyans would need something close to a miracle to upstage India tomorrow. And though captain Sourav Ganguly sounded the customary "we are not taking them lightly", the fact remains that the Indians would take this opportunity to give their reserve players the much needed match practice ahead of sterner battles against South Africa. Ganguly has already confirmed that Punjab all-rounder Reetinder Singh Sodhi and Railways paceman Harvinder Singh would be given a chance tomorrow. Indications were that Shiv Sunder Das and Venkatesh Prasad, two players who have not quite performed according to expectations, may also be afforded another opportunity. Except for Virender Sehwag, who, Ganguly yesterday said, would be rested after two good shows in the tournament, it was not yet decided who would be the others to be left out of tomorrow’s match. Ganguly has ruled out either Sachin Tendulkar or himself sitting out to give opportunity to others. Yuvraj Singh, who is still to fully recover from a viral fever, and Javagal Srinath and Ajit Agarkar are the likely candidates to be rested though a final decision was yet to be taken. With the trio of Ganguly, Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid, all of whom are in good nick, playing tomorrow, the Indians should not have much worries in their batting department. Sodhi is no novice with the bat and wicketkeeper Deep Dasgupta has also shown good skill and temperament as a batsman. The last two matches have proved the effectiveness of Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh on these pitches. They are certain to play tomorrow and would be the greatest headache to the Kenyans. Harvinder Singh has a nice action and brisk pace and he would be out to make an impression to cement his place in the side. During his short international career, Harvinder has been slightly inconsistent and it is this tag that the young fast bowler would be keen to do away with. Even with the changes, the odds are heavily tilted in favour of India and while it would be too much to expect Kenya to pull off a victory tomorrow, they would do well to put up a competitive display and further improve on their performance. The Indians once again have an opportunity to pick up a bonus point though Ganguly said he was mainly concerned with winning the match. "We have played some good cricket in the last few weeks. But it would be too early to predict anything in this game," he said. The Kenyans have shown some talent in their batting, especially in their previous game where three of their players scored half centuries. Captain Maurice Odumbe and Steve Tikolo, two of the most experienced campaigners, are solid batsmen and it was good to see Ravindu Shah and Thomas Odoyo also display attacking batting against the high class pace bowling of the South Africans. The Kenyans have lost early wickets in all their matches so far and this is one area they will have to work upon. Bowling is another area of concern for the Kenyans. Their spinners like Collins Obuya and Brijal Patel have done far better than the medium-pacers and it would not be surprising if they go into tomorrow’s game with a predominantly spin attack. Kenya’s relatively good performance against South Africa has raised the interest in tomorrow’s day-night match with more than 5000 tickets having already been sold - a marked improvement from the last match between the two teams at Bloemfontein where the spectators could literally be counted on fingers. Port Elizabeth is reputedly a sports-friendly city and spectators turn out in large numbers for any contest - a reason why it has been given a chance to host a semi-final of the 2003 World Cup. The wicket has a bit of grass on it but the Indians were more concerned about the bumpy outfield at the St George’s Park. The outfield really looks rough and it would not be to the liking of the fielders standing in the deep. (PTI) |
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Zimbabwe considered strike over unpaid wages - source HARARE, Oct 16: Zimbabwe’s players considered striking before their final match in the one-day series against England after a series of rows with the Zimbabwe Cricket Union, according to a source close to the team. The source told Reuters the players had not been paid for six weeks and had not received new contracts. He added the imposition of racial quotas was also dividing the squad. No officials from the Zimbabwean Cricket Union (ZCU) could be contacted for comment on Tuesday. President Peter Chingoka and chief executive David Ellman-Brown are both overseas. The source said the players believed the union should be in a position to pay them following India’s two-test tour earlier this year. According to a ZCU policy document released this year, the national team should include at least three black players and four in the squad. The document said by January the quota should increase to four black team players and five in a squad of 15, with six in the starting line-up by September 2004. Zimbabwe fielded two black players as they lost the final one-dayer to England to lose the series by a 5-0 whitewash. Their leading black player, Henry Olonga, missed most of the series through injury. Signs of unhappiness within the squad emerged in June when Heath Streak gave up the captaincy and went on strike on the morning of the first one-day international against the West Indies, citing differences of opinion over selection. Zimbabwe have lost their last 12 one-dayers in a row. They have also lost their last two test series, to West Indies and South Africa. (REUTERS) |
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Sri Lanka name two new pacemen for Sharjah COLOMBO, Oct 16: Uncapped pacemen Prabath Nissanka and Charitha Buddika have been included in a 15-man Sri Lanka squad for a Triangular one-day Tournament in Sharjah this month. Pakistan and Zimbabwe are the other two teams in the tournament scheduled to start on October 26. Sri Lanka - Sanath Jayasuriya (captain), Marvan Atapattu, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Russel Arnold, Romesh Kaluwitharana, Avishka Gunawardena, Chamara Silva, Chaminda Vaas, Dilhara Fernando, Prabath Nissanka, Dulip Liyanage, Charitha Buddhika, Muttiah Muralitharan, Kumar Dharmasena. (REUTERS) |
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Hingis and Kournikova ready to forget 2001 LONDON, Oct 16: Anna Kournikova and Martina Hingis might be the dream team on the doubles circuit but as individuals their season on the women’s tour has been nothing short of a nightmare. The pair teamed up to win the doubles title at the Kremlin Cup earlier this month but both will want to put all other memories of 2001 behind them as quickly as possible. While Kournikova is struggling to win her first singles match since returning from a lengthy injury layoff, hingis has had a totally miserable year which culminated with the loss of her world number ranking to American Jennifer Capriati yesterday. To complete the gloomy picture, Hingis underwent surgery for damaged ligaments on Sunday after twisting her ankle during her semifinal against Lindsay Davenport at the Filderstadt Grand Prix the previous day, bringing her season to a premature end. As the 21-year-old Swiss limped out of Filderstadt, the physical pain was probably more bearable than the realisation that the power game of the tour had finally left her behind. Hingis, who has gone 11 slams without victory, looks totally overwhelmed by the brute force of the Williams sisters and other big women’s hitters who pounce on her hopelessly weak serves. But she will not find many sympathisers among her peers, as the subject of rankings irritated many who wondered how Hingis could retain her number one status without a Grand Slam win in more than two years and without a tournament title since two in February. "I’ve been number one for so long," said Hingis, the winner of five Grand Slams, after her semifinal defeat to Serena Williams at last month’s U S Open. "The ranking has been this way. I felt like I deserved it. I was proud of that." Having first captured the number one spot in March 1997, Hingis topped the rankings for 73 consecutive weeks since may last year and for 209 weeks in total. But Hingis now looks a shadow of the teenager who dominated the tour in the late 1990s. As a 16-year-old, Hingis won three of the four Grand Slam titles in 1997, losing only the french open final to surprise champion Iva Majoli of Croatia. But since winning her last Grand Slam at the 1999 Australian open, she has watched the likes of Davenport, Capriati and the Williams sisters capture nine of the last 11 major titles. In fact every time she stepped on court against the power hitters over the past year, she was considered the underdog despite being the world’s top player. Even her victories over both Williams sisters at this year’s Australian Open in January were considered a surprise. While Hingis countered the strength of the heavy hitters with a steely mindset and an ability to outwit opponents on court at the beginning of her career, she will have to go back to the drawing board if she is to become a major force once again. For Kournikova, getting rid of the notion that she is more interested in her glamorous image than her tennis career might prove to be an uphill task. Having started the year as world number eight, she has slipped down the rankings to 24th after being sidelined for much of the year with a foot injury. Although she returned to action last month in leipzig, her appearances in three WTA tournaments all ended in first-round defeats. With her game floundering, Kournikova reached a new low last week when she served 25 double faults in losing to Luxembourg’s Anne Kremer in Filderstadt. "Right now it is difficult for me to set goals for myself. All I can do is wait and hope things get better," said Kournikova, who has yet to win a singles title on the tour, after her loss to Kremer. But her defeat to lowly-ranked players such as compatriot Galina Fokina, who was 251 in the world when she recorded her first ever win on the WTA tour against Kournikova at the Kremlin Cup two weeks ago, will do little to stem the flow of criticism thrown her way. While the 20-year-old Russian spent almost nine months away from the tour, Kournikova launched a keep fit video to satisfy her legion of male admirers and also made numerous personal appearances for her sponsors. Britain’s daily express newspaper said on Monday that Kournikova could embark on a new career as a bond girl. The paper, which put Kournikova’s earnings from sponsors last year at more than 12 million, said she was having talks with producers about a role in the new James Bond film. With the season almost over, it is perhaps a good time for Hingis and Kournikova to re-evaluate their priorities before they become yesterday’s news as far as tennis fans are concerned. (REUTERS) |
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Jammu distt maintain lead in State Athletic Champ Excelsior Sports Correspondent JAMMU, Oct 16: Jammu district athletes maintained their lead in the medals tally leaving behind professional team of Jammu and Kashmir Police in the ongoing J&K State Athletic Championship being held at M A Stadium, here on the second day today. Although, three top injured athletes of Jammu district unable to show their performance on the tracks, even than Jammu district maintained supremacy over other districts as far as medals are concerned, equipped an office bearer of the Jammu District Athletic Association. Injured Nirmal Singh, a LLB student of the University of Jammu, however, played a crucial role in snatching the gold in the 4x100 meters relay for Jammu district. Last year, Nirmal Singh played for Jammu and Kashmir Police helping latter in winning the overall trophy. Other results of the day 5000 meters Men: Vikram Singh of J&K Police, Ist; Riyaz Ahmed of J&K Police, 2nd and Subash Chander of Jammu, third. 5000 meters 18 year boys: Showkat Ahmed of Srinagar, Ist; Bharat Bhushan of Jammu, 2nd and Manohar Lal of Jammu, third. Long-Jump Men: Kewal Saini of J&K Police, Ist; Chandan Singh of Jammu, 2nd and Harvinder Singh of Jammu, third. Long-Jump 18 years boys: Pardeep Majotra of Jammu, Ist; Altaf Ahmed of Srinagar, 2nd and Ishfaq of Srinagar, third. 200 meters Men: Nirmal Singh of Jammu, Ist; Jaspal Singh of J&K Police, 2nd and Gurmeet Singh of J&K Police and Shiv Jyoti of Kathua were declared joint winner of third place. 200 meters 18 years boys: Pankaj Kumar of Jammu, Ist; Adil Shafi of Srinagar, 2nd and Neeraj Sharma of Jammu, third. 200 meters 18 years girls: Sameena of Jammu, Ist; Nafeesa of Srinagar, 2nd and Vishinder Kaur of Badgam, third. 200 meters U-16 year girls: Mahnaz of Srinagar, Ist; Monica of Jammu, 2nd and Anu Rani of Kathua and Sonia Sharma of Jammu were declared joint winners of third place. Javelin-Throw Men: Rajinder Kumar of J&K Police, Ist; Mohinder Pal Singh of Jammu, 2nd and Sajjad Haider of J&K Police, third. Javelin 18 year boys: Ajay Dabgotra of Jammu, Ist; Ravinder Singh of Jammu, 2nd and Yash Pal of Kathua, third. Javelin U-16 year boys: Robin Kumar of Jammu, Ist; Mumtaz Afzal of Srinagar, 2nd and Mohd Sajjad of Srinagar, third. Javelin 18 year girls: Neenu Narainia of Jammu, Ist and Suman of Kathua, 2nd. Javelin U-16 girls: Neeru Devi of Jammu, Ist; Parveen of Srinagar, 2nd and Bhavneet Kour of Jammu, third. Discus U-16 girls: Mamta of Jammu, Ist; Deepika of Jammu, 2nd and Parveen of Srinagar, third. Long-Jump U-18 girls: Sameena of Jammu, Ist; Santosh of Jammu, 2nd and Reema of Jammu, third. Long-Jump U-16 girls: Bhavneet Kour of Jammu, Ist; Neelu of Jammu, 2nd and Deepika of Jammu, third. Long-Jump U-16 boys: Talib Hussain of Jammu, Ist; Parshotam Kumar of Jammu, 2nd and Naseeb Ahmed of Kathua, third. Discus U-16 boys: Balram Sharma of Jammu, Ist; Naresh Kumar of Udhampur, 2nd and Manzoor of Baramulla, third. 200 meters U-16 boys: Naseeb Ahmed of Kathua, Ist; Kundan Lal of Jammu, 2nd and Talib Hussain of Jammu, third. 800 meters Men: Rakesh of J&K Police, Ist; Tufail Ramzan of Srinagar, 2nd and Dev Raj of Jammu, third. 800 meters 18 years boys: Bharat Bhushan of Jammu, Ist; Gulzar Ahmed of Srinagar, 2nd and Baljeet Singh of Udhampur, third. 800 meters U-16 boys: Zahoor Ahmed of Srinagar, Ist; Vipan of Jammu, 2nd and Ashok Kumar of Udhampur, third. 800 meters 18 years girls: Karishma Mani of Jammu, Ist; Samari of Srinagar, 2nd and Muddasar of Srinagar, third. 800 meters U-16 girls: Deepika of Jammu, Ist; Heena of Jammu, 2nd and Mandeep Kaur of Jammu, third. 4x100 meters Men Relay: Jammu, Ist; J&K Police, 2nd and Kathua, third. 4x100 meters 18 years boys Relay: Jammu, Ist; district Srinagar, 2nd and district Badgam finished third. |
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Drabu made patron-in-chief
of JKCA By Sanjeev Sharma JAMMU, Oct 16: Mehboob Iqbal, the outgoing general secretary of the Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA), has been assigned the new job to head two selection committees (senior and junior) of the association. The four-member committee in each in group (senior and junior) will select the State teams for the forthcoming North-Zone cricket Tournaments. The selection committee members for the senior section are A Q Khan, Mohd Ashraf Bhat, Tilak Singh and Virender Malhotra. Whileas, in junior section, the committee members are Shiban Lal, Mohd Amin Shah, Vinod Bakshi and Sudershan Bali. Besides the head of the selection committees, Mehboob Iqbal, in recognition to his services, was later asked by the Chief Minister to accompany him in Board meetings and in his absence attend the Board’s meeting, informed the insiders. However, the house unanimously resolved to appoint S D A Drabu, the losing candidate for the post of chairman, as chief patron of the Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association. While, addressing the JKCA members after his unanimous election as president, Dr Farooq appreciated Mehboob Iqbal’s services towards sports and asked him to continue with the same spirit and dedication. Some of the members, who were unhappy over the things happening in the general house meeting, said that it was for the first time that majority of Kashmir people joined hands with Jammu people for the amendments in the JKCA constitution, which they termed as the only solution of the age old differences and gap between the two regions. "But, the stay order taken by the outgoing treasurer, Ashutosh Sharma spoiled the things at the last moment", said one of the members on the condition of anonymity. The stay order prevented the members from making any change in the constitution and new body was once again elected on the old pattern of just for a year. According to some senior members, the one year time is a meagre period for any elected body to show the performance and achieve any goal. However, the new president, Chief Minister, Dr Farooq Abdullah has directed the working committee to set-up a committee for seeking the advise of the affiliated clubs with regard to the amendments in the JKCA constitution. The committee has to submit its report within three months from the date of election to the president. Afterwards, the same report will be sent to the BCCI of their opinions and approval. Earlier, the election, through ballot paper was held only for the post of chairman between Ajatshatru Singh and SDA Drabu, which former won by a majority vote. Smelling the defeat and majority of members with the Ajatshatru, the other group led by SDA Drabu left the election meeting. Ajatshatru Singh got 37 votes, while SDA Drabu bagged only one vote. It was followed by the election to the post of general secretary. Dr S G Sarwar proposed the name of Abdul Rouf which was seconded by Pran Malhotra. No other nomination was received and Abdul Rouf won the election unopposed. For the office of the treasurer, Ashok Singh proposed the name of Mir Manzoor Gazanfar which was seconded by Deedar Singh. Again no other nomination was received and Manzoor was declared elected unopposed. |
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Jammu girls bag U-17 trophy in Inter-district Volleyball Excelsior Sports Correspondent JAMMU, Oct 16: Jammu district girls lifted the winners trophy in the under-17 year group after they topped the points tally winning maximum number of matches in the ongoing Divisional level Inter-district Volleyball Tournament being held at Youth Hostel, here today. District Doda remained at number two position with four points, while Poonch, with two points, finished third. Jammu district girls have also made it into the final in the under-19 group, while boys found berth in the under-17 category. Earlier, in the semi-finals of the under-19 year girls, Jammu defeated Kathua 25-16, 25-14, 25-15, while, Poonch outplayed Doda 25-18, 25-16, 25-15. In the under-17 boys semi-finals, Jammu trounced Udhampur 25-16, 25-15, 25-19 and Rajouri beat Kathua 25-23, 25-19, 25-14 to reach the final. In boys under-19 year group, Rajouri, Udhampur, Kathua and Jammu reached the semi-finals. Today’s results Girls U-19: Jammu beat Rajouri 25-6, 25-10; Jammu beat Kathua 25-16, 25-14, 25-15. Boys U-19: Udhampur beat Poonch 25-23, 25-22, 19-17; Rajouri beat Udhampur 25-19, 25-17, 25-22; Girls U-17: Doda beat Rajouri 25-21, 25-16; Poonch beat Rajouri 25-23, 27-25. |
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Fayaz bags Caddies Gold Tournament Excelsior Correspondent SRINAGAR, Oct 16: The breath taking Royal Springs Golf Course in Srinagar witnessed a competition with difference, not between professional Golfers but the Caddies. In all, 34 Caddies from Gulmarg Golf Club and Kashmir Golf Club participated. Fayaz Ahmad Langoo bagged the first prize of Rs 10,000 while second prize of Rs 7000 went to Ghulam Hassan. Ghulam Nabi Bhat won 3rd prize of Rs 6000. In addition each participant was given a cash prize of Rs 2500 as consolation prizes. The competition was organised on the instructions of the president of the Kashmir Golf Club, Dr Farooq Abdullah yesterday. Chief Minister, Dr Farooq Abdullah gave away the prizes to Caddies for their distinction in the game at simple but impressive function. The Chief Minister complimented Caddies for their performance in the game. He said sports including Golf and related to environment and natural infrastructure would be given full support by the government. Present on the occasion included Industries and Commerce Minister, Dr Mustafa Kamal, Secretary, Kashmir Golf Club, Mian Mohammad Afzal, Secretary J&K State Sports Council, Sheikh Fazal Ahmed and prominent citizens including Dr Manzoor Ahmad, Mr Vikram and Mian Ghulam Mohi-ud-Din. |
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