We will do well in
Windies if we stay
fit: Ganguly

KOLKATA, Mar 31: Repeated injuries to key team members during crucial assignments playing at the back of his mind, Indian skipper Saurav .....more

Vishwanathan among
32 players to participate
in FIDE Grand Prix

DUBAI, Mar 31: India’s Vishwanathan Anand will lead a star cast for the FIDE World Grand Prix, to be held in Dubai Chess Club from April three. .........more

Intensive coaching
to select women’s
hockey team begins

PATIALA, Mar 31: Dronachayra awardee Gurdial Singh Bango has taken over the reigns to coach the country’s women’s hockey team for the .......more

Indian team to
receive tight security

GEORGETOWN, Guyana, Mar 31: India’s cricket team will receive tight security in Guyana, officials today said ahead of the first test against West Indies next month. ...more

Ishfaq shines in J&K’s
easy win over Haryana

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, Mar 31: Star performer of the Jammu and Kashmir Police, Ishfaq Ahmed, today led the host J&K attack making three goals in an easy 5-0 .......more

Railway Patri Club wins Jammu
Distt Tug of War Championship

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, Mar 31: Railway Patri Club lifted the winners trophy in the Jammu District Tug of War Championship organised by the Jammu and Kashmir ......more

KCC wins DPS Memorial cricket tournament

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, Mar 31: Khour Cricket Club won the Dharam Pal Singh Memorial Cricket Tournament by defeating Pallanwala Cricket Club in the final of the tournament.

After winning the toss and electing to bat first Khour Cricket Club scored 168 runs in the stipulated 25 overs. In reply Pallanwala Cricket Club got bowled out.........more

We will do well in Windies if we stay fit: Ganguly

KOLKATA, Mar 31: Repeated injuries to key team members during crucial assignments playing at the back of his mind, Indian skipper Saurav Ganguly today said the squad would do well in the coming West Indies trip if the cricketers stayed fit.

"If we stay fit we will do well," Ganguly told reporters at his residence hours before leaving the city for the two-month tour of the West Indies.

"I don’t know what others say. But I feel that we have been badly affected by injuries in the past," Ganguly said.

Fitness has been a major concern for the Indian side in recent times.

Even in the just-concluded one-day series against Zimbabwe, which India won 3-2, three of the team’s mainstays — Sachin Tendulkar, Javagal Srinath and Virender Sehwag - had to stay out after sustaining injuries. Star leggie Anil Kumble also missed the last three games due to the same reason.

To buttress his point, Ganguly referred to the Sri Lanka tour last year when a number of players broke down before and during the three-test series which the visitors lost 1-2.

He said India had won the second test at Candy despite having eight of their players in the injured list. "I had to bowl 30 overs such was the situation," he said.

In this context, Ganguly expressed happiness with the appointment of South Africa’s Adrian Le Roux as the side’s physical trainer.

"It’s good for the team. The game nowadays involves frequent tours. So the players need to have a high level of fitness. Some amount of regular physical training under an expert can keep them fresh," he said. (PTI)

Vishwanathan among 32 players to participate in FIDE Grand Prix

DUBAI, Mar 31: India’s Vishwanathan Anand will lead a star cast for the FIDE World Grand Prix, to be held in Dubai Chess Club from April three.

Elite Grandmasters of the world would be participating in a knockout match among 32 players, FIDE commerce committee president Martoim Tarsov was quoted by Khaleej Times as saying.

The FIDE World Grand Prix consists of five Super Grandmaster events spread over various continents.

The event will then move on to Moscow, Bangalore, Duboronik with the final leg in Rio.

Tarsov said Gary Kasparov and V Ladimit Kramnik were invited to these global events, but Kramnik was unable to participate due to his contractual agreement with BGN organisation, while Kasparov had opted out of the initial event.

Tarsov said efforts were underway to make the event one of the strongest tournaments of the world. (UNI)

Intensive coaching to select women’s hockey team begins

PATIALA, Mar 31: Dronachayra awardee Gurdial Singh Bango has taken over the reigns to coach the country’s women’s hockey team for the coming Commonwealth and Asian Games later this year.

Already 28 girls have reported at the Netaji Subhash National Institute of Sports (NSNIS) here and 16 out of these would be finally picked up to take on the challenge at the Women’s World Cup in Australia in December this year, Mr Bango told UNI here.

The team would be selected after intensive coaching and training, he added.

The Indian team, he said, would play three qualifying matches against the United States, either in India or in Manchester(England) to enter the main pool of the World Cup.

He said the Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) had prepared a very tight schedule for intensive training with just one-week break after each camp.

Expressing high hopes for the team’s best performance, Bango said he was "positively" looking forward to the Sports Authority of India (SAI) for providing full backing and support for upgrading the morale of the players.

"We are also looking forward towards the media to boost and encourage the players," he added.

"Our focus is to improve the game knowledge and fitness of players," Mr Bungo said. "Our players have quite good skills and this an asset which the most European lack."

He said if the skills were used intelligently and the girls overcame the psychological barriers, inferiority complex, they would definitely win the World Cup.

Mr Bango attributed the poor performance of Indian hockey to the lack of modern infrastrucutre. "We hardly have any good clubs, or proper facilities at school and college levels. The players having acquired the habit of playing on grass, find it very tough to mould themselves while playing on astroturfs."

He lamented that no effort had ever been made for any research and development department on hockey equipment. He also regretted that neither the Union Sports Ministry nor any of the State Governments had taken any initiative in this regard.

He pointed out that no effort had been made to manufacture shoes for playing on astroturf. These shoes were imported and were out of reach for our players because of very high costs, he added.

Mr Bango said that Indian players were still using the wooden hockey sticks whereas others were using the composite sticks made of fibre and other material, which were more superior.

He bemoaned that conditioner halls and gyms in the country were not of global standards. (UNI)

Indian team to receive tight security

GEORGETOWN, Guyana, Mar 31: India’s cricket team will receive tight security in Guyana, officials today said ahead of the first test against West Indies next month.

Guyana cricket board official Conrad Plummer said that India, who will play five-test series and as many one dayers during their two-month Caribbean tour, will have armed police escorts during their visit to Guyana.

Practice Venues will be guarded while more than 130 police ranks will be present on each day of the first test, which starts on April 11, at the Georgetown Cricket Club.

The Indian team are receiving the extra security measures following the crowd disorder that occurred during South Africa’s first test in Georgetown last year, Guyana Cricket Board president Chetram Singh said.

"I have been assured that a better police presence will be provided this year," Singh said.

Plummer added: "there will be zero tolerance with regards to spectators going onto the field of play for whatever reason." (AGENCIES)

Ishfaq shines in J&K’s easy win over Haryana

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, Mar 31: Star performer of the Jammu and Kashmir Police, Ishfaq Ahmed, today led the host J&K attack making three goals in an easy 5-0 victory over the guests Haryana in the opening league match of the 11th North-Zone under-21 Football Championship which began at GGM Science College grounds, here today.

Ishfaq netted two consecutive goals in the first half helping J&K to take an unbeatable 3-0 lead. While the remaining two goals came after the breather.

Ishfaq’s first goal came in the very sixth minute from the left flank on a calculated pass from the centre of the circle. It was followed by Ishfaq’s second goal that too came in similar conditions in the 22nd minute.

However, Haryana boys made some good moves on small passes, but failed to give them the finishing touch. All the times they brought the ball right upto the circle, but their half hearted attempts either went out of the goal or got foiled by the alert goal-keeper, Vikramjeet Singh.

Haryana boys who were trying hard at reducing the margin conceded another goal in the 45th minute. Adil Qadir was the man who added third goal in J&K’s tally, seconds before the first half breather.

After the drinks, J&K forward line kept Haryana custodian Mukesh Pajwal busy and the latter saved many goal-bound balls. Even then, J&K managed two more goals in the second half bringing the total to five goals.

Again Ishfaq made his first scoring fourth goal in the 70th minute, followed by another goal in the 82nd minute through Sheikh Rizwan, who caught the approaching goal-keeper out of his place and kicked the ball right into the net without any mistake.

Jaiprakash Pandit of Bihar was centre-referee in the opening match, while B R Yadav of Madhya Pradesh and V Subramanium were assistant referees. U B Singh was reserved referee.

This championship will be played on league cum knockout basis, followed by the semi-finals to be played after the league round is over on April 5.

Earlier, Minister for Sports, Harbans Singh, declared open the 10-day long championship. In his address, he said that the football has been the most favourite game of the people in Jammu and Kashmir, especially in Valley because of the moderate climatic condition prevailing in the State.

Later, expressing his gratitude to the State Sports Council, the president of the J&K host Jammu and Kashmir Football Association, S A Hamid said that this mega event has became possible after the Council released the full grant in favour of the association.

Prominent among others present on the occasion were Messrs S M Gill, MLC, Sheikh Fazal Ahmed, Secretary, State Sports Council, and Principal GGM Science College.

A healthy crowd turned up to the venue to see the young J&K footballers fighting against Haryana. The venue was well maintained by the oganisers, Jammu and Kashmir Football Association, who have made special sitting arrangements for the visiting spectators all around the field.

Meanwhile, the selection committee comprised of Nazir Ahmed, Bashir Malik, Mohan Lal, R K Kohli and Shiv Paul Sharma, is expecting good similar results from the well balanced team in the rest of the matches too.

Tomorrow’s fixture: Delhi will be playing against Himachal Pradesh in Pool-B match at 4 pm.