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Indian shooters clinch another silver medal BUSAN, Oct 3: The Indian shooters scooped up another silver medal to take their tally to two but pistol king Japsal Rana returned with a...........more India take on hosts in men’s hockey today BUSAN, Oct 3: Defending champions India will look to maintain their winning run in men’s hockey competition of the 14th Asian Games when they take.........more Dingko
Singh crashes BUSAN, Oct 3: Dingko Singh’s hopes of retaining the gold medal in Bantam Weight category were shattered as he suffered a crushing defeat at .........more ICC’s
relations sour SYDNEY, Oct 3: The International Cricket Council shows a lack of respect for international cricketers, Federation of International Cricketers Association (FICA) chief executive Tim May said here today. .........more |
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Young Star meets Young Sports in Sub-Jr Handball final today Excelsior Sports Correspondent JAMMU, Oct 3: Young Star and Young Sports have sailed into the final of the Jammu district Sub-junior Handball Tournament after they topped their respective pools in the league round, here today. Now, they will meet each other for the title clash tomorrow at 4 pm at Mini-Stadium, Parade ground, here. Final in the Mini-girls section, wherein .........more Sampras
hangs up LONDON, Oct 3: Pete Sampras will not play tennis again thisyear, the winner of a record 14 Grand Slam titles said yesterday. Sampras, who won his fifth US Open singles crown last month, has ........more Focus of Indian tour to regain past glory: Hooper BANGALORE, Oct 3: Captain Carl Hooper today said he intended to revive the fortunes of the West Indies side and take it back to its past glory on its current tour of India. "Our aim will be to turn a potentially good side into a very good ..........more |
Indian shooters clinch another silver medal BUSAN, Oct 3: The Indian shooters scooped up another silver medal to take their tally to two but pistol king Japsal Rana returned with a disappointing performance to further diminish India’s medal prospects in the shooting event of the 14th Asian Games here today. The trio of Nanavjit Singh, Mansher Singh and Anwer Sultan brought some cheer for the country by securing the silver medal in the men’s trap team event with a total of 340 on a day which saw below par performances by the Indian shooters at the Changwon international shooting range. Though they failed to upset the applecart of the strong Chinese shooters, the Indian trio displayed superb skill and concentration to make it to the medal podium by winning the second medal from the shooting ranges. The coveted gold medal was expectedly claimed by the Chinese team comprising Yongiie Zhang, Hui Li and Lixin Huang who finished with 353 points while the Philipines team of Jethro Dionisio, Eric Ang and Jaime Recio took the bronze medal with a total of 331 points. But Jaspal Rana, one of the country’s main medal hopes, put up a rather lacklustre display in the men’s 10 m air pistol event finishing much too low on the final position list on day which saw the strong chinese shooters rule the roost again. In the team event, the Indian quartet of Rana, Samaresh Jung and Ved Prakash had to be content with the eighth position finishing with a total of 1714 points falling well short of expectations. Mansher Singh and Manavjit Singh also did reasonably well in the men’s trap individual event finishing in the fourth and fifth position respectively. While Mansher managed 137 points his partner Manavjit had one point less than him. The gold medal in the trap individual event was claimed by China’s Hui Li who logged 143 points while compatriot Yongiie Zhang (142) and Jethro Dionisio (139) took the silver and bronze medals respectively. In the women’s 10 m air pistol team event, the Indian trio of Shweta Choudhury, Shilpi Singh and Sheila Kanungo took the sixth position with an aggregate of 1198 and could have done slightly better had Kanungo been a little more consistent. The Chinese trio of Luna Tao, Jie Ren and Ying Chen secured the gold medal in the women’s 10 m air pistol event with a new Asian Games record of 1156 points while the Kazakhstan and South Korean teams took the silver and bronze medals respectively.(PTI) |
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India take on hosts in men’s hockey today BUSAN, Oct 3: Defending champions India will look to maintain their winning run in men’s hockey competition of the 14th Asian Games when they take on a strong South Korea in their final league match here tomorrow. Though, the Group A match has lost some of its importance as both teams have already assured themselves of semi-final berths, the rubber will decide who avoids meeting Pakistan, currently leading Group B, in the semis. The winner of tomorrow’s match will meet the second-placed team in Group B, in all probability Malaysia. If the match ends in a draw, Korea will top Group A on better goal average leaving India and Pakistan to fight it out for a place in the final. India would be more keen to avoid locking horns with arch-rivals Pakistan who beat them for the bronze medal in the recent Champions Trophy in Cologne. But for that they will have to counter challenge from the spirited hosts, keen to avenge their loss at the hands of India in the final of the Bangkok Asian Games in 1998. South Korean coach Jeon Jae-Hong minced no words saying "we are looking to settle scores at the earliest opportunity." "It’s the gold medal that we are chasing but first getting even with India will be a good idea," he said. With India also wanting to avenge their 2-4 loss to Korea in Champions Trophy, the match must provide a few sparks tomorrow. But India, who will probably be without Prabhjot Singh, due to an injury sustained during the match against Hong Kong, will have to go all out to counter the Koreans on their home soil. The doctors have ruled out any fracture and Prabhjot should be available for the semi-final, team manager h s Dhillon said. Though the Indians won their second match against Japan 3-0, Prabhjot’s non-availability definitely affected the rhythm of the team and a different plan will have to be adopted for tomorrow, coach Rajinder Singh said. Daljit Singh, who was brought in place of Prabhjot, did well to score a goal against Japan but his performance was not consistent. Rajinder Singh, was however, satisfied with the way the team has progressed so far. "I think, I can say, I am satisfied with the team’s performance. They have fought well and have got the goals," he said. Dilip Tirkey has performed well as a captain, the coach said adding "the defence had worked well in the previous two matches". Rajinder Singh admitted South Korea were a "good" and "strong" team. "They had beaten US 2-4 in Cologne recently. My team had clicked well against Japan yesterday despite close marking. The players are in shape and should perform well tomorrow." Korean coach said though his side was confident of winning they would not take India lightly as "India is a strong team with lots of youngsters. "We will be playing positive hockey and my boys have the responsibility to prove themselves before the home crowd," he said. Recent statistics show India have an upper hand as they have won twice against Korea in four-nation tournaments and lost once in Champions Trophy while drawing in Amstelvein. (PTI) |
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Dingko Singh crashes out in first round BUSAN, Oct 3: Dingko Singh’s hopes of retaining the gold medal in Bantam Weight category were shattered as he suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of his North Korean opponent in the very first round of the boxing event of the 14th Asian Games here today. Billed as a gold medal prospect before the team set out for Busan, Dingko seemed totally clueless against his North Korean challenger Phyong Chol Choe who registered an emphatic 26-6 victory. Dingko’s first round exit has come as a big setback for the five-member Indian team which was hoping to return home with a couple of medals from this event. The North Korean turned on the heat straightaway with a flurry of punches to unsettle Dingko and the Indian could never really recover from the early assaults conceding one point after another till the very end. "I knew it was going to be difficult, but I din’t think I will lose by such a margin. I am surprised myself," Dingko said after the bout. Dingko, who had won the coveted gold medal in the last Asian Games in Bangkok, said he had hoped to restrict the margin of defeat to 15 points but it did not happen. "He is a very experienced boxer and made good use of his experience today. He was much superior than me and it was always going to be difficult to get past him," Dingko said. The Indian boxer was left trying to block the barrage of punches that was being flung at him and could not initiate counter attacks since his North Korean opponent did not give open spaces to score points. "I am disappointed by the way I lost. But it is a good learning experience. I should take it in that spirit," a dejected Dingko said. With Dingko’s premature exit, the task of collecting medals for the country will rest on Commonwealth Games gold winner Mohammad Ali Qamar, Som Bahadur Pun, Jitender Kumar and Harpal Singh who will feature in their preliminary bouts from tomorrow. (PTI) |
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ICC’s relations sour with players union SYDNEY, Oct 3: The International Cricket Council shows a lack of respect for international cricketers, Federation of International Cricketers Association (FICA) chief executive Tim May said here today. May said the ICC’s lack of respect comes over their refusal to accept greater player representation within its organisation. Cricket’s world governing body on Tuesday rejected moves to recognise a players’ association, raising fears of a prolonged battle to settle contracts ahead of next year’s World Cup in South Africa. May said the decision would only inflame the ICC’s testy relationship with players. "The ICC has again demonstrated a complete lack of respect for international players and their interests and as a result, FICA will be proposing a course of action for players to approve in order to address this matter," May said. "The ICC has refused the players’ demand that they be able to provide direct input into discussions regarding matters of paramount concern to the players, such as legal issues, privacy issues and matters of safety." ICC president Malcolm Gray told reporters in Colombo that five of the 10 test-playing boards were not in favour of a players’ association. Gray declined to name the five countries, but ICC sources said India, Pakistan, Zimbabwe, Bangladesh and the West Indies were against recognising a players’ body. Players from these five countries do not have their own association, thereby making them ineligible to join FICA. (AFP) |
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Young Star meets Young Sports in Sub-Jr Handball final today Excelsior Sports Correspondent JAMMU, Oct 3: Young Star and Young Sports have sailed into the final of the Jammu district Sub-junior Handball Tournament after they topped their respective pools in the league round, here today. Now, they will meet each other for the title clash tomorrow at 4 pm at Mini-Stadium, Parade ground, here. Final in the Mini-girls section, wherein only two teams have send entries, will also be played tomorrow. Earlier, in the first semi-final, Young Star defeated Vikram Club by a margin of two points (10-8 ht 4-3). Ankush Dogra was highest scorer with three points from the winners, while Sahil Samnotra and Sahil Gupta contributed two points each. From Vikram Club, Sunny was maximum scorer with three points, followed by Bankush Langer, two. In the second semi-finals, Young Sports Club outplayed Pissu Club 22-6 (11-6). Vikas was top scorer with nine points, while Gaurav and Deepak contributed eight and two points respectively. From Pissu Club, Paramjeet topped the scorer board with three points, while Romesh and Anirudh added two each. The results of the last league round matches played in the morning session: Young Sports beat Vikram Club 11-8 (9-4); Young Star beat Pissu Club 17-15 (9-7); Young Sports beat Rehari Club 16-11 (9-2) and Pissu Club beat Bombay Sports Club 14-10 (7-6). Today’s matches were officiated by Sanjeev Jamwal, Bachan Dogra, Dev Raj and Sudesh Sharma. In all, six teams representing different clubs participated in the boys group. |
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Sampras hangs up racket for the year LONDON, Oct 3: Pete Sampras will not play tennis again thisyear, the winner of a record 14 Grand Slam titles said yesterday. Sampras, who won his fifth US Open singles crown last month, has withdrawn from all the remaining ATP tournaments in which he was entered in 2002. The move fans rumours that the 31-year-old is ready to hang up his racket for good. "Since winning the US Open on September 8, I have been taking some time to revolt where I want to go from here," Sampras said. "I’m therefore not sufficiently prepared to compete in the upcoming tournaments in Madrid, Basel and Paris." Sampras, who has not played since winning the US Open, had been scheduled to play at the Madrid Masters series from October 14-20, the Swiss indoors in Basel from October 21-27 and the Paris masters from October 28-November 3. Organisers at the Swiss indoors said earlier yesterday that the 31-year-old had pulled out of their event. Sampras told the championships of his decision to withdraw through a phone call from his management company, the Swiss tournament said. "The message we got was that he would not be playing here, and probably would not be playing in the European Indoor season at all," Juerg Vogel told. "We have had a phone call from his agents but nothing on paper yet. We do need confirmation on paper before we can start offering his place in the draw to the next highest-ranked player. "But we certainly felt that it was our obligation to give full notice to the public that Pete Sampras would not be playing here this year". "Tis baby is due at the start of december and the impression we got was that he would not be playing this year...Probably not in the Masters Cup season-ender in Shanghai in November." Last month, having defied the odds, age, fatigue and an army of critics to claim an unprecedented 14th career Grand Slam title with an emotional victory over Andre Agassi at the U S Open final, Sampras hinted that his most unlikely victory could well be the storybook ending to a brilliant career. "I’m going to have to weigh it up over the next couple months to see where I’m at," Sampras said at the time. "I still want to play, I love to play". "But to beat a rival like andre in a major tournament at the U S Open...A storybook ending, it might be a nice way to stop. "I’ll see where I’m at in the next couple of months, where my hearts at and my mind". "I feel like all the hard work has paid off. All the adversity this year, I got through it and that means more to me than anything". "I really don’t know where I’m going to go from here. I’m going to take some time to enjoy this and reflect a bit." Sampras’s management company — the William Morris agency —were not immediately contactable for comment on Wednesday. (AGENCIES) |
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Focus of Indian tour to regain past glory: Hooper BANGALORE, Oct 3: Captain Carl Hooper today said he intended to revive the fortunes of the West Indies side and take it back to its past glory on its current tour of India. "Our aim will be to turn a potentially good side into a very good side. We hope to take such steps in India," Hooper told reporters here. Hooper conceded the task at hand was not easy as there were quite a few players who were touring India for the first time but said the opportunity would give them good exposure. "We are in the learning curve". Hooper said he did not feel extra pressure in reviving the fortunes of his side as he he had good support staff in coach Roger Harper and manager Ricky Skerritt. "Also, we have some key cricketers. That makes my job easier," he said. "We would like to have success but it’s slow in coming. But we are improving and we are going to get better". West Indians kick off their India campaign with a three-day game against the Mohammed Kaif led Board President’s XI at M Chinnaswamy Stadium here tomorrow. They will play three tests and seven one dayers during their nearly two-month tour. Meanwhile, Hooper is set for a personal milestone — the first test at Mumbai beginning on October nine would be his 100th — and he let it be known that he was keen to come out with a big score. "Obviously, it’s an important milestone. I have not gone for record and the stuff like that but I am happy to reach that milestone. It’s just a coincidence that I played my first test in India and will be playing the 100th in india. I hope to celebrate it in a big way," he said. He replied in the negative when asked if West Indies were going to "mark" players like Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag. When suggested to pick young players in the side to look out for, Hooper named Darren Powell and Jermaine Lawson, both of whom were impressive in nets as well as games they played. "We expect them to play an important role on this tour". Asked if just two spinners will be enough for the Indian tour, he said both Mahendra Nagamootoo and Gareth Breese want to do well, adding, "we are sure they will be able to do the job in India". Coach Roger Harper said the Caribbeans are excited about the fact that they would be playing against a competitive team (in the three-day game beginning tomorrow) prior to the first test. Harper said from young players’ perspective, they would have liked more warm-up games but pointed out the international itinerary was now always compact and one should be ready to get into any fixture straightaway. (PTI) |
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De Silva retires from test cricket COLOMBO, Oct 3: Sri Lanka’s leading run-getter, Aravinda De Silva, retired from test cricket today but said he was available to play one-dayers until next year’s World Cup. The 36-year-old, Sri Lanka’s most successful batsmen in both test and one-day cricket, told chairman of selectors Guy De Alwis he should not be considered for the coming test series in South Africa, officials said. "Aravinda has bowed out of tests but wants to keep playing one-day internationals till the World Cup," an official of the Sri Lankan Cricket Board said. De Silva scored 6,361 runs from 93 tests at an average of 42.97. He hit 20 hundreds, including a double century against Bangladesh in his last test innings here in July. The hero of Sri Lanka’s World Cup triumph in 1996, the stylish stroke player was the world’s third-highest scorer in one-day internationals with 8,803 runs from 288 matches. Only Indian batsmen Sachin Tendulkar (11,544 runs) and Mohammad Azharuddin (9,387) scored more runs than De Silva in the shorter version of the game. De Silva is currently in England to play a charity indoor match for the rest of the world against England. Sidelined by the selectors for 18 months, De Silva returned for the recent tour of england 12 kilograms lighter and helped Sri Lanka reach the final of the just-concluded Champions Trophy at home. De Silva is expected to be picked for a one-day series in Australia in December and the World Cup to be played in South Africa in February-March next year. (AFP) |
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Pakistan offers shifting of Asia Cup ISLAMABAD, Oct 3: Pakistan Cricket Board has said it was willing to forego its chance of staging next year’s Asia Cup Cricket Tournament in Lahore if India confirmed its participation in the event. PCB chairman Lt Gen Tauqir Zia said he had offered to move the tournament to be held in September next year from Lahore to Bangladesh if India confirmed its participation in writing. PCB sources here said the offer was made since India was not willing to tour Pakistan in recent times. "I have proposed to move the competition to Bangladesh but only if the Board of Control for Cricket in India submits its Government’s approval in writing to the Asian Cricket Council," Zia said in a statement issued yesterday. The offer was made when Zia met BCCI president Jagmohan Dalmiya during ICC’s executive board meeting in Colombo on Monday and Tuesday. "Dalmiya conveyed to me that he had verbal permission from New Delhi to play Pakistan in any multi-lateral tournaments on neutral venues. But I have asked for written permission before formally agreeing to shift the tournament," Zia said. (PTI) BUSAN, Oct. 3: India paid the price for a few defensive lapses to go down 0-2 to strong contenders China in their last Group C league match at Yangsan today. However, the Indians are still contention for a place in the quarter-final provided they finish among the two best second-placed teams from the six groups. Despite putting up a spirited display, the Indians could not counter their speedy Chinese opponents and conceded both the goals in the opening session itself to suffer their first defeat in three matches. They had earlier defeated Bangladesh and Turkmenistan. Both the goals were scored by Yu Yyu. While the first goal came off a penalty in the 17th minute of the contest, Tyu displayed superb opportunism to slam in the second goal just one minute before the lemon break to the delight of his teammates who got vociferous support from a sizeable group of Chinese spectators. With this victory, China have romped into the quarter-finals as the top team from Group-C having won all their three league matches. India will have to wait for all the other group matches to end to know their fate in the 24-team championship. Apart from the top teams from all the six groups, the two best second placed teams will qualify to the quarter-finals and the Indians will be hoping to make it to the last eight stage on that ticket. Unlike the first two matches, the Indians appeared far more purposeful in the first session and managed to keep the fancied Chinese on tenterhooks with some imaginative movements down the flanks but it were their opponents who drew first blood. The first goal came off a penalty and Tyu just placed the ball to the left of a diving Rajat Ghosh Dasdidar to give his team the lead. The penalty was awarded after defender Sameer Naiak tripped Tyu inside the box. The referee had no hesitation in pointing to the dreaded spot, despite mild protests from the Indians. Despite trailing by a goal, the Indians played an attacking game and came close to the Chinese goalmouth on a few occasions but without much luck. The nimble-footed tyu consolidated the position for his team at the stroke of interval as he slammed in from close following a goalmouth melee giving no chance at all to custodian Ghosh Dasdidar. The Chinese enjoyed territorial advantage in the second session but could not increase their margin as the Indians, knowing the importance of losing by a narrow margin to strengthen their quarter-final chances, tightened their defence and did reasonably well to keep their rivals on a tight leash. The Indians got a few giltedged opportunities during the contest but poor finishing prevented them from scoring the goal. With star striker Baichung Bhutia tightly marked right through the game, the Indian forward line did not look very menacing as neither Bijen Singh nor Abhishek Yadav could penetrate the defence. The Indians got an easy opportunity to score midway through the opening session but Bhutia, fed by a measured pass from medio Jo Paul Ancheri, failed to control his volley with only the goalkeeper at his mercy. (PTI) |
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