Disappointing show by J&K in Junior National Carrom

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, Oct 15: Failing to strike even a single point in both boys and girls team events, the J&K junior teams have completed the formality of taking part in the 31st Junior National and Inter-State Carrom Championship that started at Chandigarh yesterday.

According to the reports reaching here, playing against Andhra Pradesh in Zone-I, J&K boys lost all their three encounters in the team event 3-0. In their respective ties, Mohd Salim Mir lost to SRK Reddy 0-25, 0-25, whileas Nadeem Ahmed was beaten by D Sudhakar again 0-25, 0-25,

Same was the story in the girls section, wherein J&K lost to Maharashtra in similar fashion 0-3. Tazeem Khan surrendered to Komal Kajrolkar 0-25, 0-25, Rabia Sofi lost to Anjali Sangam 0-25, 0-25 and Shaila was shown way out by Ashmita Kanukale 0-25, 0-25.

This championship, wherein almost all the States are taking part, is being held at St Stephen’s School, Chandigarh.

Krishna Club wins opening tie in Diwali Cup Cricket

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, Oct 15: Krishna Cricket Club (KCC) defeated Khan Cricket Club by seven runs in the inaugural match of Diwali Cup Cricket Tournament at Medical College grounds, here today.

Batting first, KCC made 116 runs in the allotted 20 overs for the loss of six wickets, which, in reply, Khan Club could not chase and lost all the wickets for 109 runs in 20 overs. Earlier, the tournament was declared open by Madam Shahzadi, president, J&K Sports and Cultural Society.

CHESS World Championship
Humpy wins, Anand settles for a draw in quarter-finals

HYDERABAD, Oct 15: Defending champion Viswanathan Anand drew with Vladimir Malakhov of Russia while 16-year-old Grandmaster Koneru Humpy scored a thrilling victory against Li Ruofan of China in first round games in the quarter-finals of the second World Chess Cup here today.

Anand, playing black, could not capitalise on the positional advantage in his reply to the catalan opening and was down by a pawn by the 11th move. With the material being equal, the two players settled for a draw after 24 moves.

Humpy survived tremendous pressure on the queenside but took control of the ‘C’ file and played superbly to swing the game her way and win in 38 moves.

"In tomorrow’s final round I would look for a draw while my opponent likes to play for a win," said Humpy.

Humpy, who is in excellent form, has won five of the six matches she played in the tournament and her only draw came game against China’s Pin Wang.

Giant-killer S Meenakshi, playing the English opening, held defending champion Xu Yuhua (China) to a draw after a marathon game that lasted 58 moves.

In the other first round matches Irina Krush (USA) lost to Svetlana Matveeva (Russia), while Pin Wang drew with Antoneta Stefanova (Bulgaria). In the men’s section, Ye Jiangchuan (China) lost to Rustam Kasimdzhanov (Uzbekistan) while Nigel Short (England) drew with Alexi Dreev (Russia) and Alexander Beliavsky (Slovakia) beat Sergei Rublevsky (Russia)

In a queen pawn opening, Humpy decided to give up a chance to castle in order to gain positional advantage. She brought her out her king and took complete control of the ‘C’ file to baffle her Chinese opponent.

Despite having a protected king, Ruofan could not take advantge of the double bishop combination as humpy had a more powerful knight-bishop combination.

Slowly, Humpy penetrated into the rival fort and played a masterly 32nd move which fetched her victory.

Anand’s game oscillated from one extreme to the other as the two players appeared to have misread the other’s game plan. Anand said he was preparing for a grunfield defence but Malakhov played something else.

"I am not very unhappy about the draw," Anand said after the game. He was down by a pawn and tried to take positional advantage in a game where both had equal chances.

Though the Russian’s flank was wide open, Anand had no white bishop and the game was heading towards nowhere when the two called for a truce.

Results:- (quarterfinals - 1st round)

Men: Vladimir Maslkhov (Rus) drew with Viswanathan Anand (Ind), Ye Jiangchuan (Chi) lost to Rustam Kasimdzhanov (Uzb), Nigel Short (Eng) drew Alexi Dreev (Rus), Alexander Beliavsky (Slo) bt Sergei Rublevsky (Rus).

Women: Irina Krush (USA) lost to Svetlana Matveeva (Rus), Koneru Humpy (Ind) bt Li Ruofan (Chi), Pin Wang (Chi) drew with Antoanota Stefanova (Bul), S Meenakshi (Ind) drew Xu Yuhua (Chi). (PTI)

No retiring now, says Pillay

NEW DELHI, Oct 15: Star striker Dhanraj Pillay, often in news for his on-field brilliance and off-field antics, put to rest speculation that he may hang up his boots after a considerably successful Asian Games outing saying he would continue to be in action.

The 34-year-old Pillay, who played a key role in India defeating Pakistan in the semis and eventually earning a silver medal, replied in the negative when asked if retirement was in his mind.

"No. No," the veteran striker of four Asian Games replied to a barrage of questions regarding his retirement plans on his arrival here late last night.

Pillay’s celebrity status was evident as the controversial forward was singled out by fans and reporters alike even as the other team members including captain Dilip Tirkey quietly walked away to the waiting team bus.

On India’s performance in the games, Pillay felt the gold medal was very much in India’s grasp but blamed the missed chances in the final for the defending champions settling for a silver.

"Gold was in our hands but it slipped out, we got the chances but we missed them," he said while obliging autograph seekers.

"Last time I was the captain when we beat Korea in the final in Bangkok and this time too all of us tried our best. We are all very sad that we missed the gold," he said.

Despite the team being unable to repeat their 1998 title triumph, coach Rajinder Singh said he was totally satisfied with the performance of the team.

"The way we came back after being 0-3 down in the final was superb," Rajinder Singh said.

"Also luck played a big part in Korea’s win," he said but refused to comment on some debatable umpiring decisions in the final which India lost 3-4.

"We had planned to attack against the Koreans in the first half but it did not work out," he said.

Rajinder Singh also brushed aside doubts on discipline in the team in the wake of Pillay accusing some younger teammates of deliberately not giving passes to him in a Champions Trophy match recently, saying "there are no problems absolutely. Neither here nor in the earlier tournaments."

"I don’t have any complaints. I am totally satisfied with the team. We are looking forward to future assignments."

Rajinder, who took over from Cedric D’souza after the Kuala Lumpur World Cup Fiasco, was also not ready to pinpoint any individual brilliance and instead gave credit to team effort.

Rajinder, who took over from Cedric D’souza after the Kuala Lumpur World Cup fiasco, was not ready to pinpoint any individual brilliance and gave credit to team effort.

The unassuming Tirkey also echoed the coach saying "every member of the Indian team gave 100 per cent but the best laid plans failed to work out in the end."

"The Korea had more pace and control," the fullback said assessing the final.

Forward Gagan Ajit Singh, a DSP with Punjab Police, said "he was happy to beat Pakistan in the semi-final."

"We played superbly in the second half. But were done in by last minute hiccups," said Gagan who slotted India’s winner against Pakistan in the semi and the second goal in the final.

"Purana Badla Lena Tha Wo Le Liya (it was an old score that we had to settle and we did it)," said Daljit Singh about the sweet win over Pakistan. "They beat us for the bronze in the Champions Trophy and we gave one back to them."

"In the final we did not settle in the first half and also the umpiring was bad’’.

"The infringement by Jugraj Singh did not deserve a penalty corner award," he said.

Team manager H S Dhillon said India’s performance in the first half of the final against Korea was the "worst ever he has seen and second half the best ever."

Their performance notwithstanding, the players were accorded a lukewarm reception, in stark contrast to the tennis players who were pleasantly surprised to see colourful banners and cheerleaders welcome them at the airport.

The women’s hockey team, who also arrived in the same flight, looked a dejected lot and captain Suraj Lata Devi was so upset that she did not even talk to the reporters.

Gold medallists at Manchester Commonwealth Games, Indian team put up a dismal show at Busan to finish win-less and last in the four-team competition. (PTI)

Indians, Caribbeans practice in warm weather

CHENNAI, Oct 15: As cloudy skies, which made the air cool by bringing rain for three days, gave way to warm weather again, the Carl Hooper-led West Indian squad and the Indian team led by skipper Sourav Ganguly sweated it out at the nets today amid tight security ahead of the second test to be played here from October 17.

The Indians, who gathered here in batches, trooped out to the nets in the afternoon and John Wright put them through their paces.

Earlier, in a brief chat at the airport on his arrival from Mumbai, Wright warned his wards not to get complacent. "That (complacency) is one thing we should be guarded against. Windies are capable of bouncing back," he said.

At the second net, Sachin Tendulkar practiced solo with the help of two local players and was apparently working on facing the rising delivery from good-length spot, asking the boys to throw the ball from a distance of about 15 yards. He then joined teammates for a round of fielding and catching practice after stretching out.

Skipper Ganguly asked the ball to be hit high and was taking the catches. He was also seen ironing out a few aspects of his batting.

The West Indies, who are down 0-1 in the three-test series are hoping to level against India here. (UNI)

Cheema to aspire for Olympic gold now

CHANDIGARH, Oct 15: Palwinder Singh Cheema, who won a bronze medal in wrestling in the just-concluded 14th Asian Games in Busan, has now his eyes set on winning a gold medal in the 2004 Athens Olympic Games.

Talking to UNI on phone, Cheema who returned to the country on October 12, said by winning a bronze medal in the Asian Games in Busan he now had gained the confidence that he would certainly win some more medals in some forthcoming international events.

He said though he regretted that he could not win a gold in the Asian Games he was happy that he had won a medal for the country after a gap of 12 years.

Before this, Subash Verma had won a medal in the Asian Games in 1990.

The Manchester Commonwealth Games champion Cheema, who will turn 20 on November 11, said the presence of Olympic medal winners in most of the categories in wrestling made the task difficult for the Indian team.

He said he had to play seven bouts during his run-up to the bronze.

Meanwhile, his father, Mr Sukhchain Singh, who is also Palwinder’s coach, said he was proud of his son and by winning a medal in wrestling his son had done the entire country proud.

He also expressed the hope that his son would win a gold in wrestling in the 2004 Olympic Games.

Mrs Harjinder Kaur, Cheema’s mother, also echoed the same sentiments, saying she was happy that her son had done the country proud. "But my dreams will completely materialise only when Palwinder wins a gold medal in the Olympic Games," she added.

Palwinder’s grandfather, Rustame Hind Kesar Singh, and father, Sukhchain Singh, were also great wrestlers.

Palwinder has been adopted by Sahara India for next two years. (UNI)

ICC urges Tauqir Zia to reconsider resignation

LONDON, Oct 15: Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Tauqir Zia is being urged to reconsider his decision to resign by the International Cricket Council (ICC).

In a statement today, ICC president Malcolm Gray said: "I urge General Zia to reconsider his decision. He has the knowledge, capabilities and experience to lead Pakistan cricket.

"The game in Pakistan is going through an enormously complex and difficult period on and off the field".

"Throughout this time General Zia has been a powerful and persuasive advocate for the cause of Pakistan cricket."

Zia submitted his resignation to Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf after the team lost the second test against Australia inside two days on Saturday.

Pakistan made only 112 runs in two innings in the match in Sharjah — the fourth worst in test history.

The humiliating defeat comes at a turbulent time for Pakistan cricket. Their eight-wicket defeat by Sri Lanka in the opening match of the recent Champions Trophy is under investigation by the ICC’s Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU).

Off the field, Pakistan have also suffered as a result of security concerns after the suicide bombing outside the touring New Zealand team’s hotel in Karachi in May. Since then teams, including Australia, have refused to tour Pakistan.

"It would be a significant blow to the game if he were lost to the sport," added Gray. "Given the issues that remain in Pakistan cricket at this time, it is essential that there is stability in the leadership of the PCB".

"I hope that General Musharraf will refuse to accept the resignation in the interests of the game in Pakistan." (AGENCIES)

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