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Kenya lose another player on tour to South Africa CAPE TOWN, Oct 22: Kenya suffered a further blow on their difficult tour of South Africa when seam bowler Joseph Angara was forced to withdraw from ......more
Rafter
confident he’ll SYDNEY, Oct 22: Australia’s injured Pat Rafter told today Australian media that he would be fit for the upcoming Masters Cup to be held in Sydney in November this year...........more India
tour is impossible LONDON, Oct 22: England’s cricket tour of India cannot possibly go ahead in view of the Afghanistan conflict, former test star Ian Botham has said. ...more Kenya
lose another CAPE TOWN, Oct 22: Kenya suffered a further blow on their difficult tour of South Africa when seam bowler Joseph Angara was forced to withdraw from ...more |
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More expenses on
administration, less on sports By Sanjeev Sharma JAMMU, Oct 22: Jammu and Kashmir Sports Society, popularly known as State Sports Council, which was formed for planning all round .....more Distt Jammu Gymnastics Excelsior Sports Correspondent JAMMU, Oct 22: Sahil Sahi bagged first place in Floor Exercise and Vaulting Horse in the Mini boys section on the opening day of the District Gymnastic Championship, being organised by the Jammu and Kashmir Gymnastic Association at Indoor halls of the M A Stadium, here today......more Saidpur Volleyball Club wins Distt Kathua Champ Excelsior Sports Correspondent KATHUA, Oct 22: Saidpur Club lifted the District Kathua Volleyball Championship (under-19) beating Volleyball Club, Gurah Mundian in the final which played at Government High School, Gurah Mundian, near here. ...more J&K
loses a winable Excelsior Sports Correspondent JAMMU, Oct 22: Although Jammu and Kashmir boys displayed a good show of ball and bat, but poor match temperament and slow innings at the.......more |
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Kenya lose another player on tour to South Africa CAPE TOWN, Oct 22: Kenya suffered a further blow on their difficult tour of South Africa when seam bowler Joseph Angara was forced to withdraw from the team late on Sunday due to the news that his mother had died. Angara, who earned the man of the match award after Kenya’s surprise 70-run win over India last Tuesday, was due to leave early Monday, the day the tourists are playing South Africa at Newlands. Captain Maurice Odumbe and Sandeep Gupta are already both set to miss the match due to suspension and injury respectively. Odumbe had to serve a two-match suspension for publicly criticising an umpire and will only be eligible for Kenya’s final match against India in Paarl on Wednesday. The tourists have been forced to recall batsman Hitesh Modi, who is on a working holiday in South Africa, to the squad. Without the three missing players Kenya were down to 11 squad members before the inclusion of Modi. "This is a crisis, we’re battling for players," Kenyan coach Sandeep Patil said. Kenya will be forced into the remaining two matches one bowler short as Modi is a middle-order batsman. (REUTERS) |
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Rafter confident he’ll be fit for Masters SYDNEY, Oct 22: Australia’s injured Pat Rafter told today Australian media that he would be fit for the upcoming Masters Cup to be held in Sydney in November this year. Last week the two time U S Open winner pulled out of the Stuttgart Masters series along with two other tournaments due to an ongoing shoulder injury. Nevertheless, Rafter was upbeat about his chances in the masters. "The shoulder is pretty good mate," Rafter told reporters in a teleconference. "I’m really happy with it, at this stage it just needs to recover a bit more that’s all". Despite being injured, Rafter has qualified along with Australian Lleyton Hewitt for the US 3.7 million Masters Cup due to his ATP ranking. It will be the first time since 1970 that Australia will have two player in the annual season-ending tournament. Although Rafter, the current world number four, has been plagued by shoulder injuries over the last couple of years he has enjoyed a relatively good run so far in 2001. "This year has been a very solid year for me," Rafter said. "Every tournament that I have played I’ve been very consistent in". Rafter said he was also looking forward to the upcoming Davis Cup tie against France. "We’re really looking forward to upsetting the apple cart when they get here as well," Rafter said. The Masters and the Davis Cup will be the last two tournaments Rafter plays before he takes a break from the game at the end of the year. "I need to take a break away from the game and see how much I miss it and if I do miss it I’d love to come back", Rafter said. (REUTERS) |
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India tour is impossible says Botham LONDON, Oct 22: England’s cricket tour of India cannot possibly go ahead in view of the Afghanistan conflict, former test star Ian Botham has said. England captain Nasser Hussain and his team-mates are to meet with British High Commissioner in India tomorrow to discuss whether the tour can be completed safely. Members of the England squad have already aired their concerns about the three-match test series - and now Botham has chipped in with his views. He feels there has been too much unrest following the us air strikes on Afghanistan, even in the Indian sub-continent, for the players’ safety to be assured. "I personally think it’s impossible that it can go ahead. There’s too much going on in the world at the moment and India is too close to the centre of the problems," Botham told BBC Radio five live yesterday. "When you’ve got a stadium with 60,000 people there, the England team is a target for someone who wants to make a point. "Don’t get me wrong, I love India, it’s a beautiful country and I have got a lot of friends out there, but under the present circumstances I wouldn’t want to go out there and play," he said. "I have to say I really would feel a little uneasy about it and I don’t see any point in prolonging the agony. "The players’ minds will be elsewhere and something must happen whether it’s to postpone it or move it to a neutral venue, but there were problems in Islamabad on Saturday and that’s just too close," he added. (AFP) |
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Kenya lose another player on tour to South Africa CAPE TOWN, Oct 22: Kenya suffered a further blow on their difficult tour of South Africa when seam bowler Joseph Angara was forced to withdraw from the team late on Sunday due to the news that his mother had died. Angara, who earned the man of the match award after Kenya’s surprise 70-run win over India last Tuesday, was due to leave early Monday, the day the tourists are playing South Africa at Newlands. Captain Maurice Odumbe and Sandeep Gupta are already both set to miss the match due to suspension and injury respectively. Odumbe had to serve a two-match suspension for publicly criticising an umpire and will only be eligible for Kenya’s final match against India in Paarl on Wednesday. The tourists have been forced to recall batsman Hitesh Modi, who is on a working holiday in South Africa, to the squad. Without the three missing players Kenya were down to 11 squad members before the inclusion of Modi. "This is a crisis, we’re battling for players," Kenyan coach Sandeep Patil said. Kenya will be forced into the remaining two matches one bowler short as Modi is a middle-order batsman. (REUTERS) |
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More expenses on
administration, less on sports By Sanjeev Sharma JAMMU, Oct 22: Jammu and Kashmir Sports Society, popularly known as State Sports Council, which was formed for planning all round development of the sports and games in Jammu and Kashmir, has failed to achieve its objective due to inadequate supervision, planning and monitoring of various schemes and infrastructural deficiencies since its inception in 1961. The Council has failed to check the financial irregularities worth crores of rupees in absence of the annual statement of accounts including balance sheets during all these years. It only prepared Receipt and Payment accounts upto 1996-97. Consequently, its financial position was not ascertainable nor could accountability of the investments made by the Government in it be ensured. Not only this, but a lot more has been detected by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India in its audit report for the year ended March 31, 2000. The Council has forfeited its basic purpose by spending more on administrative expenditure and less on sports activities. Percentage of expenditure on sports activities decreased from 72 per cent in 1996 to 39 per cent in 1999-2000, while administrative expenses increased from 28 per cent to 61 per cent during the same period indicating decline in the expenditure on sports activities. When approached by the auditors, no reasons for decline in sports activities/ increase in administrative expenses were intimated. Further, the Council had also employed 30 daily wagers to work as chowkidars, sweepers, groundmen during the period from 1996-97 to 1999-2000 (March 2000) in violation of the State Government orders banning employment of daily wagers which resulted in irregular expenditure of Rs 11.54 lakh on wages. In absence of the financial statements and balance sheets, the funds worth crores withdrawn by the council employees and associations lying unadjusted. The Council, which is following the rules and procedures applicable to State Government, had yet to prepare its accounting manual. System for watching adjustment of advances disbursed to various officials for executing developmental works was not in existence in the Society (Council). Advances aggregating Rs 86.49 lakh paid during 1985-86 to 1999-2000 to various officials were lying unadjusted as of July 2000. Of this, Rs 4.02 lakh were outstanding against ten officials who had retired, died or were transferred from the Council. Further, out of Rs 75.53 lakh advanced during the period from 1995-96 to 1999-2000, Rs 41.42 lakh had been debited to final head of account instead of the personal accounts of the persons concerned so as to watch recovery thereof. Test-check of records of MA Stadium revealed that out of admission and registration charges of Rs 13.18 lakh realised during 1995-96 to 1999-2000 (February 2000), Rs 3.42 lakh were irregularly appropriated for meeting day to day contingent expenditure. Besides, receipts of Rs 9.76 lakh were remitted in the bank after delays ranging from 5-24 month during 1996-97 and 1997-98 which resulted in loss of Rs 52,000 by way of interest. The Council, in June 1997, paid Rs 1.71 lakh to the vice-president of the Council as travel expenses for ‘self’ and his three family members for witnessing 4th National Games-1997 at Bangalore, which is not provided in rules. The Council, however, in anticipation of acquisition of land, had purchased (1988-89) fencing material for fencing of playing fields at Wathora and Bahipora at a cost of Rs 9.92 lakh which had not been utilised, resulting into idle investment of the said amount. Besides this, grants aggregating Rs 91.92 lakh were disbursed to various sports associations during 1995-96 to 1999-2000 even though their recognition not renewed as required under rules. The Council had recognised 38 sports associations upto 1988-89. Though recognition of none of the these associations had been renewed thereafter, but grants aggregating Rs 91.92 lakh were paid to them during the period covered under the review. It was also observed that 23 of these associations had irregularly been paid Rs 27.42 lakh as grant during the period from 1995-96 to 1998-99 without obtaining audited statements of accounts and utilisation certificates of grants disbursed in previous years indicating that proper system of watching utilisation of grants was not followed by the Council. Due to the lack of monitoring and follow-up action, construction and development of 24 stadia and play fields taken up by the Council at a cost of Rs 3.20 crore between 1977 and 1999, were lying incomplete. While paucity of funds stated to be the reason for non-completion, it was seen that out of Rs 36 lakh received during 1998-99 by the Council from the Government for six ongoing development works of stadia/play fields, Rs 34.20 lakh were diverted to non-plan sector for meeting administrative expenses. A few cases of defective planning were found in the report. The Council, without ascertaining the technical feasibility of the site, developed Gani Memorial Stadium at Rajouri Kadal in Srinagar under the Srinagar Core Area Development Project. An expenditure of Rs 76.52 lakh was incurred upto March 1994. Due to subsequent diversion of the drains of the adjoining localities to the play field, which was located as lower level, it remained submerged making it unusable. Thus, improper planning and defective selection of site rendered the expenditure of Rs 85.08 lakh unfruitful besides, denying facilities to the sportspersons. As also wrong selection of a play field at Bemina in Srinagar rendered expenditure of Rs 38.79 lakh unfruitful, the report mentioned. Similar unfruitful expenditure of Rs 42.98 lakh were incurred at a stadium in Doda. The project, which was entrusted to PWD in 1975 could not be completed as a result the expenditure of Rs 42.98 lakh incurred on the project was rendered unfruitful besides, the envisaged facilities were not made available to the rural youth of the hill district. In another attempt to make a stadia at non-feasible site, the Council developed a play field at Shopian at a cost of Rs 16.83 lakh between 1985 and 1992. The side, being prone to floods, was washed away in the floods of 1992 and 1996 rendering the expenditure thereon wasteful. In addition, 20 works of Director Youth Services and Sports, like stadia at R S Pura, Youth Hostel, Srinagar, Billiards Hall, Jammu and other school play fields, involving expenditure of Rs 1.67 crore taken up by the Council during 1987-88 to 1999-2000 were also lying incomplete even after incurring an expenditure of Rs 1.67 crore thereon. No reasons for non-completion of these works were available on record. It was, however, seen that the Council had diverted Rs 29.85 lakh from deposits for meeting administrative expenses. No assets register had been maintained by the Council as a result of which the assets acquired by the Council from time to time and their maintenance/utilisation could not be verified. Test-check of records revealed that physical verification of sports articles was conducted between May 1998 and July 1998 after a gap of six years at seven centres out of 19. The CAG report pointed out that with a view to keeping sports associations free from official influence, it was decided (December 1989) by the Council that no Society/Government official shall hold any office in any sports association without proper permission of the Council/Government. It was, however, seen that 76 Government officials held posts in various capacities in different sports associations without seeking requisite permission. Besides, 15 persons had held more than one post in 30 associations in violation of the instructions (April 1997) of the Council. |
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Distt Jammu Gymnastics
Champ begins Excelsior Sports Correspondent JAMMU, Oct 22: Sahil Sahi bagged first place in Floor Exercise and Vaulting Horse in the Mini boys section on the opening day of the District Gymnastic Championship, being organised by the Jammu and Kashmir Gymnastic Association at Indoor halls of the M A Stadium, here today. Second place in the same age group went to Vikas Bakaya, while Sumit Mahajan finished third. In Mini-girls section, first place in the all round final was secured by Tejpal Kour, while Jasleen Kour remained at number two position. Third place went to Ruhi. Bobby Bakaya claimed first place in the overall round final of Floor Exercise, Vaulting Horse and Parallel Bars in the Sub-junior boys section. In the same group, Kuldeep Gupta bagged second place, while Honey Mehra and Lalit Rathore shared third place. In the Sub-junior girls group, first position in all round finals of Floor Exercise, Balancing Beam and Vaulting Horse was bagged by Shuchi Malhotra, while Ravia Sagoch and Mitali Dogra remained at number two and three position respectively. Today’s competitions were officiated under the overall supervision of S P Singh and Krupali Singh, Gymnastics coaches of the J&K State Sports Council. Earlier, general secretary of the Jammu and Kashmir Women Cricket Association, Shambu Nath Sharma, who was the chief guest, declared open the championship. Around 130 gymnasts in four age groups of Mini, Sub-juniors, Juniors and senior (both boys and girls) are taking part in this championship, said Ajit Singh Wazir, general secretary of the J&K Gymnastic Association. |
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Saidpur Volleyball Club wins Distt Kathua Champ Excelsior Sports Correspondent KATHUA, Oct 22: Saidpur Club lifted the District Kathua Volleyball Championship (under-19) beating Volleyball Club, Gurah Mundian in the final which played at Government High School, Gurah Mundian, near here. In the keenly contested final, Gurah Mundian had won the first set. However, in the rest of the game, Saidpur Club dominated the court and won three consecutive sets making it 3-1 win. The score: 20-15, 25-14, 25-22, 25-23. Harmohan Singh, managing director, Andotra Cement Industries, Kathua, was the chief guest in the final, who gave away trophies to the winners and runners-up. He also honoured the spikers, who took part in the Junior Nationals, with cash prizes of Rs 500 each player. Mr M L Toofan, president, Volleyball Club, Gurah Mundian, presented vote of thanks. Among others present on the occasion were Messrs S D Singh, vice-president, Volleyball Association of J&K, R S Wazir, Dy CMO, Kathua, Satish Sharma, president, Volleyball Association, Kathua and Des Raj Sharma, sarpanch. Earlier, two-day competitions were declared open by Satish Sharma, president, District Volleyball Association, Kathua. In all, 12 teams including two from far flung area of Billawar tehsil participated in this championship. |
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J&K loses a winable match from Punjab Excelsior Sports Correspondent JAMMU, Oct 22: Although Jammu and Kashmir boys displayed a good show of ball and bat, but poor match temperament and slow innings at the middle order cost the host a 38 runs defeat in the hands of guests Punjab in the one day tie of the North-Zone under-19 Cricket Tournament at M A Stadium, here today. At one point of time, J&K was confidently approaching right towards their target of 201 runs in the allotted 50 overs, but a bit slow game played by Mayank Goswami, who came at number five position ( 5 off 29 balls), lost the grip made over the tempo of the match, which ultimately led to a defeat. However, Nadeem made an attempt to decrease the required run-rate with his couple of brilliant shots, but his innings reduced by Vipul Sharma, who took a brilliant catch on his own delivery. Nadeem contributed 13 runs off just seven balls. Earlier, Jammu and Kashmir, chasing a run-rate of four runs per over, made a good start and at one stage they were playing at 93 for three in 21.6 overs, but suddenly innings slowed down and only seven runs were added in 13 overs bringing the score to 100 for four in 34 overs. However, Shammi played magnificent innings of unbeaten 51 runs off 53 balls hitting one six and four boundaries. Vimarsh Kaw, who though played slow innings, gave a good opening making 44 runs with the help of four boundaries. Earlier, J&K bowlers, especially Anees and Mahul, put Punjab under tremendous pressure taking five wickets for 32 runs in 13.5 overs. But lack of experience and practice again troubled J&K bowlers when they were unable to break the 145 runs sixth wicket partnership between Gourav Gupta and Chandan Madan. Gourav remained unbeaten at 63, while Chandan scored 70 runs to the total. Seven Punjab batsmen were unable to reach the double figure mark. |
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