Daily Excelsior.........sports

Sunita and Neelam
excel as India climb to
sixth position

Dravid hits 4th ton in
a row as India take control

MUMBAI, Oct 10: Rahul Dravid accomplished a rare feat of scoring four hundreds in successive innings as India finished day two of the first cricket test against the West Indies with a firm grip on the match..........more

India beat Pakistan in Volleyball too

BUSAN: In another Indo-Pak contest, the Indian volleyball team thrashed their opponents by a 3-0 margin in a play-off for minor placings in . . ......more

India down Pak 4-3 to enter Hockey final, losers cry foul

BUSAN: In an edge of the seat encounter, defending champions India pipped arch rivals Pakistan 4-3 today to set up a title clash with hosts Korea in ........more

MS Jaganoo girls win Kabaddi trophy in rural sports

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, Oct 10: Middle School, Jaganoo claimed the girls Kabaddi title beating Higher Secondary School, Jammu in the final of the block level rural and women sports meet of district Udhampur organised by the J&K State Sports Council............more

Rural sports meet held in block Akhnoor

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, Oct 10: The J&K State Sports Council organised block level rural and women sports at Government High School, Devipur in Akhnoor.

In these competitions, students from different educational institutions took part in the events of Kabaddi, Athletics .......more

International footballer
Arun in Jammu

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, Oct 10: International soccer player and winner of gold medal in the LG Cup, Arun Malhotra is in Jammu,...........more

Sunita and Neelam excel as India climb to sixth position

BUSAN, Oct 10: Middle distance runner Sunita Rani and discus thrower Neelam Jaswant Singh established new games records as the athletes bagged three more gold medals today to propel India to the sixth position on the medals table after the 12th day of competitions in the 14th Asian Games here.

Continuing their sterling display in track and field events, the Indian athletes fetched all the four medals for the country today while the tennis players and men’s hockey team, which defeated Pakistan for only the second time in the Asian Games, also ensured silver medals by cruising into the final on a very productive day for the Indians.

With the addition of four more medals to their kitty, India have now climbed to the sixth position with a tally of 25 medals - nine gold, eight silver and eight bronze.

Sunita and Neelam were the stars of the day as they not only re-wrote the records but gave a huge boost to India’s medal hunt as the athletes made a determined bid to make amends for the meager medal collection in the first week which saw plenty of disappointments.

Sunita, a late inclusion in the athletics squad, created a new games record in the women’s 1500m run with a timing of four minute 6.03 sec while the seasoned Neelam Singh hurled the disc to a distance of 64.55m to find her way into the record books.

The unassuming Saraswati Saha also did the country proud by clinching the gold medal in the women’s 200m run, taking full advantage of the absence of hot favourite Susanthika Jayasinghe who pulled out at the last minute due to a hamstring injury.

Saha completed the race in 23.28 seconds ahead of Ni Xiaoli of China who finished second in 23.34 sec.

K M Beenamol, who had won a gold medal in the women’s 800m two days ago, added a silver medal to India’s kitty by finishing second in the 400m event with a timing of 52.04 sec. The gold in this event was won by Damayanthi Darsha of Sri Lanka in a new games record of 51.13 seconds.

The athletes have collected six gold, four silver and two bronze medals so far. The tennis players enjoyed a mixed luck as the fancied pair of Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi romped into the final of the doubles event after overcoming a spirited challenge from their South Korean opponents.

Bhupathi kept himself on course for a double as he teamed up with Manisha Malhotra to cruise into the final of the mixed doubles event also.

Vishal Uppal and Mustafa Ghouse, who had reached the semi-final stage of the doubles event, could not progress further while paes and the young Sania Mirza also bowed out in the last four stage.

Both the doubles teams have assured themselves of a bronze medal.

Ace shuttler Pullela Gopichand cruised into the pre-quarter finals of the badminton singles event which started today but teammate Abhinn Shyam Gupta had to bite the dust in the very first round as he was pitted against world champion Hendrawan of Indonesia.

India registered another victory over Pakistan when their volleyball team thrashed their opponents 3-0 in a minor placings play-off. The Indians will now play Chinese Taipei to determine the 5-6th place.

The Indian challenge ended in archery without any medal with the men’s team failing to progress beyond the quarter-final stage of the Olympic round team event today. (PTI)

Dravid hits 4th ton in a row as India take control

Dravid scored exactly hundred before retiring due to cramps and India lost their last five wicket for 56 runs to be all out in their first innings for 457.

In the 14 overs bowled in the West Indian innings, the visitors were reduced to 33 for two with Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh picking up one wicket each.

Dravid became just the third batsman in the world to score four centuries in successive innings, the others being Jack Fingleton of Australia and Alan Melville of South Africa. Sir Everton Weekes of West Indies holds the world record of five hundreds on the trot.

Dravid, who had scores of 115, 148 and 217 in the last three tests in England, faced 242 balls during his 350-minute knock which included 12 hits to the fence. While taking a second run that brought up his 14th test hundred, Dravid, who was already suffering from dehydration, developed cramps and as forced to retire.

But he had already placed India in a strong position with a 105-run partnership for the fifth wicket with V V S Laxman which brought the team back on track after the loss of two quick wickets in the morning had pegged the hosts back a bit. India lost Sachin Tendulkar and captain Sourav Ganguly early in the morning session after resuming at their overnight 278 for two.

Tendulkar failed to add anything to his yesterday’s score of 35 when he edged Mervyn Dillon to wicketkeeper Ridley Jacobs in the third over of the day to give the bowler his third wicket.

India, who had been able to add just three runs to their total by that time, suffered another blow 15 runs later when Ganguly was trapped leg before wicket by Cameron Cuffy. Ganguly scored just four runs and India lost their fourth wicket at 296.

Thereafter began the recovery act by Dravid and Laxman in a painstaking partnership which saw runs coming in a trickle for the Indians. The hot and humid weather conditions coupled with a much-improved bowling performance by the West Indians made it extremely difficult for the Indians to score.

India scored 64 runs in the morning session and took lunch at 342 for four with Dravid batting on 63 and Laxman on 24. The going became all the more difficult in the second session as the West Indians started adopting defensive tactics in a bid to frustrate the batsmen.

Leg-spinner Mahendra Nagamootoo consistently bowled outside the leg-stump to utilise the rough. The Indian batsmen were content with playing defensively before Laxman decided enough was enough and began to take on the bowler. He stepped out a few times to hit the bowler through the off-side and even succeeded in taking a boundary through the point region. But it was Nagamootoo who had the last laugh. In the last over before tea, Laxman once again stepped out but this time missed the ball and his balance to see Jacobs complete an easy stumping. Laxman made 45 off 144 balls with four fours during his 135 minute stay at the crease.

The dismissal of Laxman signalled the tea break at which point India were 401 for five with Dravid just two runs away from his milestone.

Dravid duly reached his hundred after the break but his retirement triggered a collapse and India suddenly found themselves reduced to 408 for eight.

Harbhajan Singh, Anil Kumble and Zaheer Khan returned to the pavilion without scoring, the last two off successive balls from Nagamootoo who finished the innings with figures of three from 132.

But young wicketkeeper Parthiv Patel and comeback man Javagal Srinath did well to defy the West Indian attack for close to an hour. The two added 49 runs for the last wicket before Srinath was caught behind to give West Indian captain Carl Hooper a wicket in his 100th test. Srinath scored 31 with three fours and a six while Patel remained unbeaten on 21.

The West Indies had a disastrous start with opener Chris Gayle being trapped leg before wicket by Zaheer Khan with just seven runs on the board.

Harbhajan Singh sent back the other opener Wavell Hinds, caught brilliantly by substitute Shiv Sunder Das at silly point, for seven. At stumps, Ramnaresh Sarwan was batting on 20 while night watchman Dillon was on four. (PTI)

SCOBEBOARD

India 1st innings

Bangar c Sarwan b Dillon 55

V Sehwag c Jacobs b Dillon 147

R Dravid retired out 100

S Tendulkar c Jacobs b Dillon 35

S Ganguly lbw b Cuffy 4

Laxman st Jacobs b Nagamootoo 45

P Patel not out 21

Harbhajan c Jacobs b Cuffy 0

A Kumble c Hooper b Nagamootoo 0

Zaheer Khan lbw b Nagamootoo 0

J Srinath c Jacobs b Hooper 31

Extras (lb-7, w-3, nb-9) 19

Total (all out, 163.5 overs) 457

Fall of wickets: 1-201, 2-213, 3-281, 4-296, 5-401, 6-407, 7-408, 8-408, 9-457.

Bowling: Dillon 31.2-9-54-3, Collins 28-7-76-0, Cuffy 28.4-6-88-2, Nagamootoo 47-12-132-3, Hooper 11.5-3-40-1, W Hinds 4-0-11-0, R Hinds 10-0-40-0, Gayle 2-1-3-0, Sarwan 1-0-6-0.

West Indies 1st innings:

C Gayle lbw b Zaheer Khan 7

W Hinds c sub (Das) b

Harbhajan Singh 1

R Sarwan batting 20

M Dillon batting 4

Extras (nb-1) 1

Total (for 2 wkst, 14 overs) 33

Fall of wickets: 1-7, 2-27.

Bowling: Srinath 4-1-12-0, Zaheer Khan 4-1-10-1, Harbhajan Singh 3-1-6-1, Kumble 3-1-5-0. (PTI)

India down Pak 4-3 to enter Hockey final, losers cry foul

BUSAN: In an edge of the seat encounter, defending champions India pipped arch rivals Pakistan 4-3 today to set up a title clash with hosts Korea in the men’s hockey competition at the 14th Asian Games here.

"It was a great win. We avenged our defeat in the Champions Trophy," said Indian coach Rajinder Singh after the match.

It was a fantastic contest and good display of the traditional Asian style of hockey, the coach said.

Pakistan, however, did not take the defeat sportingly and lashed out at the umpires. "The umpires did us in," said Pakistan coach Tahir Zaman.

At half time, both the teams were level 2-2. For India, Dhanraj Pillay (2), Daljit Dhillon and Gagan Ajit Singh (one each) scored. Sohail Abbas (2) and Shabbir Ahmed (one) reduced the margin for the losers.

In a fast paced encounter India dominated the play most of the time against their traditional rival. This was the third meeting between the two teams in the past 25 days.

India and Pakistan had won a match each against each other in Champions Trophy last month.

Dhanraj was the lynchpin of the Indian attack and was ably supported by Gagan Ajit and Deepak Thakur. Devesh Chauhan in the goal performed superbly and the Indian defence was tight.

Indians gave good all round display — the flanks worked, forwards attacked and defenders foiled rival attack.

The Pakistanis sorely missed Mohd. Nadeem for most of the second half as he was shown the red card. The final will be a repeat of the Bangkok Asiad final in which India had beaten Korea in the tie-breaker.

Pakistan started on aggressive note with Mohd. Nadeem leading the attack but the Indian defence, manned by skipper Dilip Tirkey and Kamal Preet Singh, held their ground and foiled the moves.

India made their first incisive move in the fifth minute with Gagan Ajit Singh rattling the Pakistan defence but the attempt did not fetch any goal.

India surged ahead a minute later when off a Jugraj Singh free hit, Dhanraj Pillay intercepted the ball near the goal and pushed it home beating the Pak goalkeepeer Qasim Mohd all ends up for 1-0 lead.

After going into the lead, the Indians suddenly became defensive and allowed their rivals to dominate the midfield and in the process conceded a penalty corner. Sohail Abbas, with his deadly drag flick, sent the ball home to draw parity (1-1) in the 11th minute.

As the game progressed tension built up and play tended to get rough. Australian umpire Murray Grieme showed yellow card to Daljit Dhillon and Saqlain Mohammad, reducing both the teams to ten players.

Jolted by this reverse, the Indians launched a furious counter-attack with Dhanraj Pillay and Gagan Ajit leading the charge. The Pakistan defence came under heavy pressure and buckled again in the 22nd minute. Pillay got a stray ball following a free hit by Jugraj Singh near the goal and promptly dispatched it home, giving no chance to Pakistani defenders to react, for a 2-1 lead. The lead was, however, shortlived as Indians conceded third penalty corner in the 27th minute and again Sohail Abbas was bang on target.

The Pakistanis now were all over the Indian half and made a few good moves but Tirkey and Kamalpreet did not yield any ground to them. And even though when there was a defensive lapse in the 26th minute when Sarwar Mohd dashed in the circle and took a powerful crack at the Indian goal Jugraj dived to clear the ball from the goalline after custodian Devesh Chauhan had been beaten. Soon after, Indian striker Deepak Thakur was shown the yellow card by umpire Grime when he retaliated against Pakistan’s goalkeeper Qasim mohd in a goalmouth scrimmage. India were reduced to nine players.

Pakistan kept up the pressure and earned another penalty corner but this time Sohail’s shot was superbly saved by goalkeeper Devesh Chauhan. India countered and created panic in the Pakistan defence, which conceded a penalty corner but Dilip Tirkey’s powerful drive was well saved by Qasim Mohd.

Four minutes before the interval both Daljit and Saqlain were allowed on the field, but still India were a player less with Thakur remaining on the bench.

In the second half, both the sides attacked each other but India had more of ball control. In the 41st minute they forced their fourth penalty corner. Jugraj Singh’s shot was saved by goal keeper Qasim Mohd but on a reboubound Daljit slammed the ball into the cage to give India the lead for the third time (3-2).

By now desperate, Pakistan launched all out attack forcing two penalty corners in as many minutes, but Devesh Chauhan fended off well. Pakistan were jolted when umpire showed Nadeem Mohd the red card in the 48th minute, forcing them to play rest of the match with ten players.

Still Pakistan did not give up and for the third time drew parity when Shabbir Mohd. Captalised on a defensive lapse and shot the ball home stunning the Indian players and supporters (3-3).

But three minutes before the final whistle, India struck for the fourth time. This time Pillay created an opening and Gagan Ajit with fluent shot sent the ball home (4-3). This was the tie winner as the Indians defended the lead for the remaining. "The boys played well and we deserved to win. It was asian hockey at its best," said coach Rajinder Singh but Pakistanis blamed umpiring for their defeat. "We were badly treated. Our goal was disallowed and we were deprived of a player for no fault of his," lamanted Pakistani coach Tahir Zaman.

Earlier Olympic silver medalists South Korea stayed on course of its third Asian Games men’s field hockey gold by defeating Malaysia 2-0 in the first semifinals.

South Korea, gold medalists in the 1986 and 1994 Asian Games, scored twice in the second half to break the Malaysian resistance after a scoreless first session.

Penalty corner conversions by Jeon Jong-Ha and Yeo Woon-Kon helped South Korea make it to the title round for the third successive time. They had lost to India in the final in 1998 at Bangkok.

Bad passing and wayward shooting by South Korea’s strikers resulted in little pressure on Malaysia in the first half, when the hosts had six shots at the rival goal.

Malaysia came close to taking the lead against the run of play in the 26th minute when Fairuz Ramli breached the Korean defence with an angular cross from the right, but Chairil Anwar failed to deflect the ball into an open goal.

South Korea took the lead on a disputed goal by Jeon on a penalty corner rebound in the 42nd minute after Shin Seok-Kyo’s drive was blocked by goalkeeper Roslan Jamaluddin.

Charging forward to get the ball at the feet of the goalkeeper, Jeon collided with defender Kuhan Shanmuganathan and flicked it into the goal amid strong protests from the Malaysian defenders.

Shanmuganathan and other Malaysian defenders surrounded Irish umpire Colin Hutchinson, pointing out Jeon’s foul, but the umpire waved them off.

Malaysian coach Paul Lissek, the former German coach, said the controversial goal ruined his team’s chances. "I don’t think the umpire himself knew what he was doing," Lissek said. "I talked to the umpire after the match and it seemed he did not know what he saw and what he did not." South Korea’s penalty corner specialist Yeo sounded the boards with a drag-flicked grounder in the 62nd minute to ensure against a Malaysian comeback. (UNI)