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Eriksson faces KOBE (Japan), May 26: England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson was facing the disastrous possibility that David Beckham could be ruled out of the opening two games in the World Cup finals. . ......more Blatter
and accuser SEOUL, May 26: Beleaguered FIFA president Sepp Blatter and the man who has accused him of possible corruption - FIFA general . ......more Golden oldie Navratilova sets new record MADRID, May 26: Tennis great Martina Navratilova created history here yesterday by becoming the oldest woman. .........more Football World Cup YOKOHAMA, May 26: Portugal came out happy with a World Cup tuneup victory. Other teams were looking at flaws that. ....more |
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Introduce Wrestling at By Sanjeev Sharma JAMMU, May 26: Strongly advocating the case of State wrestlers by asking the Sports Authority of India (SAI) to introduce the game in its training centre at Udhampur, the president of the Jammu and Kashmir Indian Style .....more Day-night Cricket Tourney Excelsior Sports Correspondent JAMMU, May 26: A splendid knock of 103 (2x6, 15x4) runs off just 55 deliveries by Neeraj guided Vig Cricket Club (VCC) to big 123 runs victory .........more India-West
Indies ODIs KINGSTON (Jamaica), May 26: With the first two one-day internationals having......more |
Eriksson faces Beckham nightmare KOBE (Japan), May 26: England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson was facing the disastrous possibility that David Beckham could be ruled out of the opening two games in the World Cup finals. Eriksson is still clinging to the hope that Beckham will be able to start the opener against Sweden next weekend, insisting that "if you believe hard enough, it will happen". However, he issued his captain with a stark warning that he cannot afford to give him any special treatment in the battle to prove his fitness from a fractured foot. Beckham’s recovery programme is thought to be behind schedule, with Eriksson having disclosed how the midfielder suffered a slight setback on Thursday due to overwork. It will not be until Beckham has a further scan next week that there is any clear indication whether he has a realistic chance of being fit to face the Swedes or Argentina. But however positive Eriksson remains on the surface, he still discussed the possibility of his captain being ruled out of the World Cup if he is not fit for the group stage of the tournament. (AFP) |
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Blatter and accuser Zen Ruffinen call uneasy 48-hr truce SEOUL, May 26: Beleaguered FIFA president Sepp Blatter and the man who has accused him of possible corruption - FIFA general secretary Michel Zen-Ruffinen - declared an uneasy 48-hour truce here today. The two antagonists agreed to keep their bitter battle out of the public spotlight until the special FIFA congress on Tuesday here to discuss the finances of football’s world governing body. "We both agreed we would make no public comments before the congress," said Zen Ruffinen. Blatter is standing for re-election at the normal FIFA congress on Wednesday in the Korean capital but the result of Tuesday’s congress is expected to prove vital if the 66-year-old is to serve another four years. He is being opposed by FIFA vice-president and president of the African Football Federation (CAF) Issa Hayatou. Blatter is fighting for his political life after Zen-Ruffinen delivered the most explosive document ever submitted to a FIFA ruling executive committee earlier this month in Zurich. (AFP) |
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Golden oldie Navratilova sets new record MADRID, May 26: Tennis great Martina Navratilova created history here yesterday by becoming the oldest woman at 45 to win on the WTA circuit. The veteran Americ, 1956, notched up her 166th career doubles title alongside Natasha Zvereva, this pair defeating Spain’s Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario and Rossana Neffa De Los Rios of Paraguay 6-2 6-3. The previous record holder was her former doubles partner Billie Jean King, whose singles win at a tournament in Birmingham in 1983 came five months shy of her 40th birthday. Navratilova, who keeps in shape playing ice hockey, retired from tennis in 1994 with 18 Grand Slam singles titles, 31 doubles and seven mixed doubles to her name, placing her second in the all time list behind Margaret Smith Court. She returned to the circuit in 2000 and last year reached the quarter finals of the Wimbledon doubles with Sanchez-Vicario. Asked about her competitive ambitions this season, the holder of nine Wimbledon singles titles said this week: "I’m simply looking to enjoy myself and win a few matches." (AFP) |
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Football
World Cup YOKOHAMA, May 26: Portugal came out happy with a World Cup tuneup victory. Other teams were looking at flaws that needed fixing. China, a newcomer that has warned its fans not to expect too much, was the only World Cup squad that lost in six warmup matches yesterday. Its 0-2 loss to Portugal followed two other defeats in the last week - 2-0 to Uruguay and 1-0 to Dutch Club PSV Eindhoven But four-time champion Brazil found shortcomings even in drubbing non-qualifier Malaysia 4-0 and winning the hearts of Malaysian spectators. Sweden was unhappy with its attack in a 1-1 draw with fellow World Cup qualifier Japan. Ireland suffered another blow to its midfield when Jason McAteer hurt his knee in a 2-1 victory over Japanese Club side Sanfrecce Hiroshima. Midfielder Roy Keane, kicked off Ireland’s team after out spoken criticism of training facilities, said in England there was no chance he would return, despite efforts by Prime Minister Bertie Ahern and others to persuade him. Keane, who was called a "disruptive influence" by coach Mick McCarthy, said he did not feel guilty about leaving the team without its top star. The deadline has passed for replacing him on the 23-man roster. Off the field, organisers had a security worry after a man posing as a reporter for the British newspaper Sunday mirror tricked South Korea’s organising committee into issuing credentials that would allow him into World Cup matches. Police said a special task force was trying to find the man. South Korea also was trying to contain an outbreak of foot-and-mouth livestock disease, and has asked World Cup teams and visitors not to bring in meat products. Turkey’s team was allowed to bring in 170 kilograms of cheese yesterday only after submitting a certificate saying the product was made with pasteurised milk, said Choi Il-Soo, a quarantine official. In its match yesterday in Macau, Portugal sent in Figo, the FIFA player of the year, for the last 15 minutes as he continued his recovery from an ankle injury. "I feel well and I get better everyday," he said. "The pain is lessening, I’m more confident and the tendon is stronger." Overall, said coach Antonio Oliveira, "we won, we tried out several tactical choices, and the team looked good physically.’’ With a second-half front-line pair up between Pedro Pauleta and Nuno Gomes, each striker scored once. Portugal has advanced to the World Cup finals for the first time in 16 years, and figo has said it is "setting out with expectations sky-high." It faces Poland, the United States and co-host South Korea in the first round’s Group D. Midfielders Armando Teixeira "petit" and Paulo Sousa were hurt, but both were expected to recover in time for World Cup play. Spain struggled with field conditions in a 1-0 victory over a Korean Club, and Uruguay drew 1-1 with a Japanese Club. Despite playing against the home team, Brazil found most of the 60,000 Malaysian spectators in Kuala Lumpur backing it with cheers and green and yellow jerseys and banners. Coach Luiz Felipe Scolari said he was satisfied overall, but "the 3 R’s need to do more to win the ball in the midfield to put pressure on our opponents. I want more participation from them." The famous front line of Ronaldo, Rivaldo and Ronaldinho didn’t deliver a goal until the 51st minute, when Ronaldo scored from a pass from Ronaldinho. "I still need to work on my fitness," said Ronaldo, who has had a long comeback from a knee reconstruction. Substitutions in the 61st minute led to quick goals by Juninho, Denilson and Edilson. Brazil opens play June 3 agai-nst Turkey in Group C, which also includes China and Costa Rica. Against Sweden, the faster Japanese players often were the first to the ball in the early going. "We didn’t play well in first half," said Lars Lagerback, one of Sweden’s two coaches. "But Japan played very well. Our team worked very hard, but we had problems with the positions in defence. "In the second half, our defence got much better. We also had good goal scoring chances. But overall our attacking game was not so good." Marcus allback scored for Sweden in the 20th minute, but Japan gained the draw with Swedish defender Johan Mjallby’s own goal in the 63rd. (AP) |
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Introduce Wrestling at SAI
Centre: Shiv By Sanjeev Sharma JAMMU, May 26: Strongly advocating the case of State wrestlers by asking the Sports Authority of India (SAI) to introduce the game in its training centre at Udhampur, the president of the Jammu and Kashmir Indian Style Wrestling Association, Shiv Kumar Sharma has demanded introduction of sports as a subject at the Primary level. Holding firm belief that Wrestling is in the blood of every young ruralrite in Jammu and Kashmir, the staunch promoter of the traditional game of the nation, suggested for developing ‘Mud Akharas’ in each and every rural educational institution. Organising atleast five North-India level ‘Dangals’ annually at different places of Jammu, Udhampur and Kathua in addition to the annual calendar of activities of the association, this promoter of game has criticised the ‘self-styled’ associations for the lethargy and asked the governing body (State Sports Council) to pull them up. Treasurer in the highest body in the country, the Indian Style Wrestling Association of India, Shiv Kumar Sharma was talking to EXCELSIOR in an exclusive interview, here. Mr Sharma said that if the game of wrestling is introduced at the SAI Training Centre, Udhampur, there will be flood of admission seekers in the only sports institution of the State. "As and when given speacialised exclusive coaching alongwith studies, the well build and self motivated youth, especially from Udhampur district, will certainly bring results for the Jammu and Kashmir State", said confident Sharma. Besides the introduction of Wrestling in the SAI Centre, he asked the Department of Youth Services and Sports to made the Wrestling event compulsory in every school, atleast upto the primary level. Since the J&K Indian Style Wrestling Association has been recognised by the Council in the recent past, it should also appoint some wrestling coaches. "A few more wrestling coaches are required urgently and if Council finds it difficult to have permanent instructors, it could pick-up some senior wrestlers by paying some honorarium’, Mr Sharma suggested. He opined that the State Sports Council should expand its network in rural areas, and work on the development of traditional games, instead of holding tournaments in the cities. The Council should direct the respective associations to go to the rural areas where real fans and talent are waiting for them, he said. Making it a point that some associations have become "self-styled and participating in the nationals without taking the Council into confidence", Mr Sharma asked the governing body (Council) to use the powers vested with it and pull up such violators. The non-supporting elements in such associations were not only denying the players of their dues, but also involving themselves in mal-practices by giving participation certificates to their near and dear ones, who in turn ‘utilise’ them seeking admissions to professional courses. After its establishment in 1986, the Indian Style Wrestling Association has won a silver medal in the 1998 senior nationals held at Pune through noted pahalwan (wrestler) Balkar Singh. The State association has had organised Federation Cup and Rustam-e-Hind competitions at Jammu, wherein State Government also helped. For not being given due attention during all these years, the Indian style Wrestling remained limited to India as a result there is no Asian or world level body to hold competitions in the discipline. Furthermore, the national level body has been unable to hold competitions in the junior and sub-junior groups thereby restricting the wrestlers to take part only in the senior groups. "However, now, the present body at the national level of which I am treasurer is exploring the possibilities of framing a body within Asian countries involving Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Pakistan, so the things should start functioning at the world level", he disclosed." . |
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Day-night Cricket Tourney Excelsior Sports Correspondent JAMMU, May 26: A splendid knock of 103 (2x6, 15x4) runs off just 55 deliveries by Neeraj guided Vig Cricket Club (VCC) to big 123 runs victory over Mahant Manjeet Singh Cricket Club (MMSCC) in the ongoing Day-night Cricket Tournament underway at Green Field grounds, here today. Earlier, VCC won the toss and opted to bat first. Though it lost first wicket of Deepak rather cheaply, yet VCC batsmen picked up the run-rate, especially in the middle to finally set a challenging target of 237 runs in the given 20 overs for the loss of seven wicket. In reply, MMSCC could manage a score of 113 losing nine wickets in complete 20 overs. Neeraj, who opened the innings with Deepak, sat the scoreboard moving even as he lost three partners on the other end. However, he got encouraging support from Rohit, who made 35 runs off 16 balls with the help of a six and six fours. The other good scorers were Vijay and Vivek, who contributed fast 22 and 17 runs respectively to the total. From MMSCC, Vicky was the most successful bowler with two wickets, while Irvan, Sanju, Travinder and Gagan shared one wicket each. Batting second, MMSCC made slow start and as their innings proceeded, they started losing wickets too. In complete 20 overs they could make 113 runs for nine wickets. Vicky was the highest scorer with 38 including nine boundaries. Other batsman, who reached the double figure mark was Adil with 13 runs in his account. From VCC, Vivek and Gourav shared two wickets each, while Rohit, Jony and Surjeet took one each. Later, Neeraj was declared man of the match for his century. Vidhu Pal and Tahir were umpires in this match, while, Daanish and Sajjad maintained the score. |
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India-West Indies ODIs KINGSTON (Jamaica), May 26: With the first two one-day internationals having to be abandoned due to rains, the cash-strapped West Indies Cricket Board was left mulling over the losses in revenues. WICB, which had high hopes of replenishing its coffers from the limited overs games, is busy working out the formalities to refund the money to the paying public for the Kingston Games. "I guess the only good thing for the board is that these one-day internationals have been insured. So I would say legal formality and paper work aside, the games have been pretty well covered by us," said Darren Millens, marketing manager of WICB. But even though the insurance company would pay the money, the cricket officials would have to go through the painfully long process of refunding money to ticket-holders which could take a few days since both the games were sold out affairs. "I would say the money to be refunded to ticket-holders would be approximately $300,000," said Millens. The proposal to have the two matches rescheduled at some other Caribbean island was not a practical one because of the logistics involved in moving hundreds of tons of television equipment in a short span of time. The sponsors also stand to lose a tidy amount because of the clause which binds them to pay the TV network irrespective of the match being washed out. However, for someone like home team skipper Carl Hooper, who complained of being completely drained out after the five-match test series, rains have come as a welcome break and he can now replenish his energy and spend some time with his family. The Indians were also trying to re-focus their energies on the remaining three one-dayers. As coach John Wright said, there was little time to dwell on the negatives and the team was rather looking at matters which could still be salvaged from the so-far disastrous tour. Boosted with the arrival of five one-day specialists, India were hoping to clinch the one-dayers to make up for their disappointing 1-2 loss in the test series. The team management had spent a great deal of time in the last few days to strike the right balance between youth and experience and to field an eleven which could quell the challenge of the home team. But with rains playing spoilsport, they never got an opportunity to execute their plans. It is now learnt that even Trinidad, where the last two matches are to be played on June 1 and 2, was experiencing rains. "Yes, it had rained in trinidad but the weather forecast is bright and sunny for the last two games and we hope it would come true," said Millens. The third match of the series is scheduled at Kensington Oval, Barbados on Wednesday. The Indian team is scheduled to leave for Barbados by an afternoon flight tomorrow. (PTI) |
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Portugal happy, others find flaws in tuneup matches YOKOHAMA, May 26: Portugal came out happy with a World Cup tuneup victory. Other teams were looking at flaws that needed fixing. China, a newcomer that has warned its fans not to expect too much, was the only World Cup squad that lost in six warmup matches yesterday. Its 0-2 loss to Portugal followed two other defeats in the last week - 2-0 to Uruguay and 1-0 to Dutch Club PSV Eindhoven But four-time champion Brazil found shortcomings even in drubbing non-qualifier Malaysia 4-0 and winning the hearts of Malaysian spectators. Sweden was unhappy with its attack in a 1-1 draw with fellow World Cup qualifier Japan. Ireland suffered another blow to its midfield when Jason McAteer hurt his knee in a 2-1 victory over Japanese Club side Sanfrecce Hiroshima. Midfielder Roy Keane, kicked off Ireland’s team after out spoken criticism of training facilities, said in England there was no chance he would return, despite efforts by Prime Minister Bertie Ahern and others to persuade him. Keane, who was called a "disruptive influence" by coach Mick McCarthy, said he did not feel guilty about leaving the team without its top star. The deadline has passed for replacing him on the 23-man roster. Off the field, organisers had a security worry after a man posing as a reporter for the British newspaper Sunday mirror tricked South Korea’s organising committee into issuing credentials that would allow him into World Cup matches. Police said a special task force was trying to find the man. South Korea also was trying to contain an outbreak of foot-and-mouth livestock disease, and has asked World Cup teams and visitors not to bring in meat products. Turkey’s team was allowed to bring in 170 kilograms of cheese yesterday only after submitting a certificate saying the product was made with pasteurised milk, said Choi Il-Soo, a quarantine official. In its match yesterday in Macau, Portugal sent in Figo, the FIFA player of the year, for the last 15 minutes as he continued his recovery from an ankle injury. "I feel well and I get better everyday," he said. "The pain is lessening, I’m more confident and the tendon is stronger." Overall, said coach Antonio Oliveira, "we won, we tried out several tactical choices, and the team looked good physically.’’ With a second-half front-line pair up between Pedro Pauleta and Nuno Gomes, each striker scored once. Portugal has advanced to the World Cup finals for the first time in 16 years, and figo has said it is "setting out with expectations sky-high." It faces Poland, the United States and co-host South Korea in the first round’s Group D. Midfielders Armando Teixeira "petit" and Paulo Sousa were hurt, but both were expected to recover in time for World Cup play. Spain struggled with field conditions in a 1-0 victory over a Korean Club, and Uruguay drew 1-1 with a Japanese Club. Despite playing against the home team, Brazil found most of the 60,000 Malaysian spectators in Kuala Lumpur backing it with cheers and green and yellow jerseys and banners. Coach Luiz Felipe Scolari said he was satisfied overall, but "the 3 R’s need to do more to win the ball in the midfield to put pressure on our opponents. I want more participation from them." The famous front line of Ronaldo, Rivaldo and Ronaldinho didn’t deliver a goal until the 51st minute, when Ronaldo scored from a pass from Ronaldinho. "I still need to work on my fitness," said Ronaldo, who has had a long comeback from a knee reconstruction. Substitutions in the 61st minute led to quick goals by Juninho, Denilson and Edilson. Brazil opens play June 3 agai-nst Turkey in Group C, which also includes China and Costa Rica. Against Sweden, the faster Japanese players often were the first to the ball in the early going. "We didn’t play well in first half," said Lars Lagerback, one of Sweden’s two coaches. "But Japan played very well. Our team worked very hard, but we had problems with the positions in defence. "In the second half, our defence got much better. We also had good goal scoring chances. But overall our attacking game was not so good." Marcus allback scored for Sweden in the 20th minute, but Japan gained the draw with Swedish defender Johan Mjallby’s own goal in the 63rd. (AP) KOLKATA, May 26: Rabindranth Tagore and not the national soccer team will bring the Indian touch to World Cup football as a Bengali dance troupe has been invited to perform at the Seoul Fringe festival during the tournament beginning May 31. The ‘Sruti performing troupe’ of city-based artiste Sruti Bandyopadhyay, the only Indian group selected, will present dances set to the tune of Tagore’s songs and recite his poems before an international audience of soccer fans at the downtown Mapo in Seoul during the World Cup. "We got an invitation from the Korean Ministry of Culture and the Korean Culture and Arts Foundation for the Fringe festival, which will be held concurrently with the World Cup from May 25 to June 15," Bandyopadhyay told PTI here today. Busy rehearsing before flying out to Seoul on May 28, the Manipuri dancer and her troupe will perform at the theatre zero auditorium and Mapo Cultural Centre on May 31 and from June 4 to 6, she said. Asked if the audience would appreciate Tagore sans translation, Bandyopadhyay, who has developed her own dance idiom, said "the fringe festival is for off beat productions. Our dance idiom `Mukta Nritya’ gives scope for the artists to translate the literature into body language". Bandyopadhyay, still marveling at the opportunity to be associated with the soccer show, however, would not be as fortunate as Indian referee K Shankar from Chennai. "We will have little chance to watch the matches as we will remain busy with our shows, which will be mostly staged during afternoon and evening hours". Detailing her scheduled performances, Bandyopadhyay said "we will stage dance forms of two Tagore songs besides recitation of his poems `Banshi’ (flute) and `Prithibi’ (earth)". The dances would be to the tunes of ‘Bajao Re Mohono Banshi’ and ‘Bojre Tomar Baje Banshi’. Besides these programmes, which would be aired by Korean broadcasting station MBC, the 10-member troupe would also conduct a workshop on ‘Indian ethnic dance forms’ at the world ethnic dance institute of the Korean National University of Arts, she said. The troupe may also have to stage a bilingual theatre version of Gitanjali as per requests of the Korean Tagore Society and Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, she said. Bandyopadhyay, a disciple of Manipuri dance exponent Guru Bipin Singh, had earlier performed in Korea in 1994 "but this time it is going to be different because of the World Cup". Not a die hard fan of any soccer team, the dancer would look for opportunities to see the matches live amid her busy schedule, she added. (PTI) Scouts and Guides Purskar Testing camp enters third day Excelsior Correspondent JAMMU, May 26: The Scouts and Guides Rajya Purskar Testing camp, organised by the Bharat Scouts and Guides, J&K at its headquarters entered the third day today. The Chief Education Officer, Jammu, Mr V K Sethi and District Chief Commissioner, Bharat Scouts and Guides visited the testing camp and meet the 52 Scouts and Guides, drawn from five districts, taking part in the camp. |
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