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central contract system ISLAMABAD, Oct 16: In a sign of major change after his resignation was rejected by President ........more India
eyeing to CHENNAI, Oct 16: Hoping to end their 23-year drought against the West Indies at home, India have decided not to disturb their playing eleven in the second.........more Sunita
Rani stripped of BUSAN, Oct 16: Indian long-distance runner Sunita Rani was stripped of her Asian Games medals today after failing to pass doping tests, the organising committee said.......more Reluctant
India afraid of SHARJAH, Oct 16: Pakistan marked 50 years of test cricket today with a bitter attack on.......more |
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Salil wins Poonch TT title for 4th consecutive time Excelsior Sports Correspondent POONCH, Oct 16: It was for the fourth time in a row that Salil Raina entered the Men’s singles final and successfully lifted the title in the District Poonch Table Tennis Championship.........more Inter-college Weightlifting, Chess events rescheduled Excelsior Sports Correspondent JAMMU, Oct 16: The annual inter-college competitions which were to begin today, have been rescheduled....more Himayun
lifts Junior Billiards title Excelsior Sports Correspondent SRINAGAR, Oct 16: Narinder Singh Oberoi and his junior Umar Himayun shined in Billiards in the ongoing 11th District Srinagar..............more |
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| Ian’s
97 creates no difference as J&K suffers innings
defeat .... J&K Judokas win nine medals in public school nationals... |
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PCB to introduce central contract system ISLAMABAD, Oct 16: In a sign of major change after his resignation was rejected by President Pervez Musharraf, the chairman of Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), Lt Gen Tauqir Zia has hinted at a central contract system for the players based on performance rather then seniority. The central contracts are to be issued to the players before they embark on the twin tours of Zimbabwe and South Africa on November 1 and the major change is that these contracts would be based on performance rather then on basis of seniority, ‘The News’ reports. "Basically the central contracts which would be for a period of 12 months would be financially a big boost for those players who perform consistently in matches," a source was reported as saying to the daily. "But the players who don’t perform will not get the same match and tour fees compared to those who perform and their seniority would not be a consideration. But there is a cushion being provided in these contracts under which the contractual players are guaranteed monthly salaries," the source added. According to him Lt General Tauqir Zia had decided to do away with the old system where players were paid their match and tour fees on basis of seniority. "Under the old system players got paid handsome match and tour fees regardless of whether they performed or not," the source reportedly disclosed. An example being that if Wasim Akram ended up doing nothing he was still paid the highest match fees which increased by the percentage of matches he has played besides the tour fees. For example Wasim who has played 343 one-day internationals is placed in the senior most pay bracket which has a match fees of Rs 50,000 per match. Wasim’s basic match fee is then divided by 343 percentage besides the tour fees. And this system has worked on same basis for other players given their seniority level. Another decision to be announced by the board is the schedule of the Pakistan team prior to the World Cup in South Africa. "At first the programme was that after completing the tour of South Africa on January 7, 2003 the team would stay back in South Africa and attend a training camp for the World Cup." "But now the decision is that the team will return home after completing the series on January 7 and the boys will then assemble in Johannesburg on January 24 after which a short conditioning camp would be held until the start of the World Cup on February 8," the News adds the source as saying. (UNI) |
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India eyeing to clinch the series CHENNAI, Oct 16: Hoping to end their 23-year drought against the West Indies at home, India have decided not to disturb their playing eleven in the second cricket test starting here tomorrow and will field the same side that won the first match in Mumbai by a record margin. Ruling out any changes in the squad that won the first test within four days, Indian captain Saurav Ganguly said his team was playing positive cricket and there was no need to change it. This is the first time in many years that an Indian captain has announced the playing eleven a day before the match and it shows the confidence Ganguly is exuding now. A win here will give india their first home series win against the Caribbeans since 1976 when the Alvin Kalicharan-led team had been vanquished. West Indies captain Carl Hooper, on the other hand, has already announced that there would be changes in his side but he did not specify them even today. "Selection is at the discretion of the chairman of the selection committee Vivian Richards. I am happy he has been watching the matches," Hooper said. Hooper has been also harping on the fact that his side had registered a comeback victory against India during the home series earlier this year and there was no reason why it could not happen again. "We are confident of beating the Indians. We have beaten them on earlier occasions," Hooper said in an apparent reference to his side’s comeback 2-1 victory at home early this year. Ganguly, just two victories away from former captain Mohd Azharuddin’s record 14 test wins, also did not lose sight of the Carribeans’ fighting capabilities, saying the visitors were in a "do-or-die" situation and would go all out into the match. But the Indian skipper said he was not thinking much about earning the tag of India’s most successful captain and wasn’t trying to reach the milestone in this series itself. "It is too early to think about a 3-0 result. I am not going to retire. This is not by last series," he said. "We will take game by game at a time. We played well at Mumbai. We hope to play positive here also and maintain our winning streak." Maintaining that winning streak may not prove easy for India, who have not lost a home series since 1987 barring a loss to South Africa in 2000, as they will also have to surmount the virgin track at the Chepauk, which Ganguly said would assist spinners. "The wicket looks good - hard and bouncy - more than the Mumbai pitch. It may turn later," he said but added it would be a folly to predict the exact behaviour. "It takes more than six months to read the true nature." It was the kind of pitch where both seamers and spinners would have to put up a collective performance, Ganguly said. On Javagal Srinath’s performance, Ganguly, who was instrumental in the Karnataka speedster reversing his retirement decision, reiterated the veteran speedster had lot more cricket in him. "We have to give him some more games." Picking out Zaheer Khan for special praise, Ganguly said his spell in Mumbai proved to be the key for India’s win. Hooper said he did not see much change between the Mumbai wicket and the turf here. "The wicket is dry and has no grass," he said while conceding that spinners would again play an important role in the outcome of the match. The form of Shivnarine Chanderpaul should come as a relief to hooper as the batsman negotiated India’s spin duo Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh with ease to stand tall among ruins in Mumbai test with a solid 54 and an unbeaten 36. But as much as their batting West Indies are worried about containing the formidable Indian batting line-up that has got a much needed shot in the arm with Virender Sehwag and Sanjay Bangar coming in as openers. If the combination clicks again the WeIt indies may find it difficult to rein in the flow of runs. Ganguly said though his openers had shown great character, they were yet to face pressure situations. "They have opened together five to six times but are yet to play in real pressure situations. We will have to wait and see." On picking 17-year-old Parthiv Patel ahead of Ajay Ratra, Ganguly said the team was looking for a wicket-keeper who could contribute with the bat also but added no one could take his place in the team for granted. "Patel did a fantastic job in the first test. It is not easy to get into the national test side at the age of 17," he said. Ganguly was not too worried about the side’s fielding in the first test though they dropped a couple of chances. "After all we dropped just two catches. Containing the batsmen from scoring is more important which we did." Richards though was really concerned by the number of chances the West Indians spilled. "It is one area we have to pay a lot more attention. Sehwag, who went on to make 141, was dropped when in 70s and Sachin Tendulkar also got a reprieve". Hooper replied in the negative when asked whether his comments that the players would have to fight to keep their places would not put them under pressure. "I don’t think it will put them under pressure. It is important that the team clicks well." The weather is also likely to play an important role with rains threatening to spoil the game any time. It rained last week here and given the hot and humid conditions, one should not be too surprised to see rains gods intervene. (PTI) |
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Sunita Rani stripped of Asian Games medals BUSAN, Oct 16: Indian long-distance runner Sunita Rani was stripped of her Asian Games medals today after failing to pass doping tests, the organising committee said. Rani had tested positive for nandrolone, a steroid which assists muscle-building, in urine samples taken after winning the gold medal in the women’s 1,500 metres in a record-breaking performance on Thursday and the bronze in the 5,000 metres on Saturday. A second test on ‘B’ sample taken from her yesterday showed the same results, said Lim Chae-Sup, an official at the Asian Games’ Doping Control Centre. The Olympic Council of Asia subsequently decided to strip rani of the medals and delete her records, Lim said. Nandrolone is on the International Olympic Committee’s banned list. It was the first positive doping test at the Asian Games in Busan which ended on Monday. Earlier, a Lebanese bodybuilder was stripped of a bronze medal for refusing to take the required doping test after the competition. India slipped to eighth position in the overall standings, while Taiwan moved up one place to seventh. Rani’s time of 4 minutes, 6.03 seconds was an Asian record in the 1,500 metres. The previous record of 4:12.48 was set by China’s Qu Yunxia in Hiroshima, Japan, in 1994. Rani won bronze in the 5,000 metres in 15:18.77. She was one of six runners who bettered the previous games record of 15:54.45, set by Indonesia’s Sutono in Bangkok in 1998. In the 1998 Asian Games in Bangkok, Rani won silver in the 5,000 metres and bronze in the 1,500 metres. (AP) |
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Reluctant India afraid of losing: Pak manager SHARJAH, Oct 16: Pakistan marked 50 years of test cricket today with a bitter attack on arch-rivals India for severing cricketing ties with them. It was against India that Pakistan played its first test match on October 16, 1952 at New Delhi, but the two neighbours have not faced each other since May, 2000 due to the Indian Government’s refusal in protest over Pakistani support to militancy in Kashmir. "India is afraid of losing to us on the cricket field," said Pakistani team manager Khawaja Mohammad Nasir on the sidelines of the test series against Australia here. "There can be no other reason. India lost to pakistan in Sharjah, Australia and Bangladesh and suddenly decided to stop playing us. "The Indian nation is emotional about losing to Pakistan at cricket. They are willing to face us in other sports like hockey, but do not want to play cricket. "India’s constant refusal is playing havoc with the game in Asia. It’s only a game and should not be a matter of life and death as India makes it out to be," Nasir, a retired Brigadier of the Pakistan Army, said. India is scheduled to play a test series in Pakistan next April, but the tour is likely to fall through given the border tensions between the two neighbours. Pakistan captain Waqar Younis said it was unfortunate his country’s golden jubilee series had to be played at neutral venues in Sri Lanka and Sharjah after Australia declined to tour Pakistan for security concerns. "It would have been a grand affair had the series been played at home as scheduled," Waqar said. (AFP) |
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Salil wins Poonch TT title for 4th consecutive time Excelsior Sports Correspondent POONCH, Oct 16: It was for the fourth time in a row that Salil Raina entered the Men’s singles final and successfully lifted the title in the District Poonch Table Tennis Championship played at Degree College premises here under the banner of District Table Tennis Association. It was same opponent, Sandeep Luthra, whom Salil defeated in a tough battle which lasted for complete five sets. No doubt, Salil had won first two sets rather easily, but he was given a tough fight by Sandeep in the rest of sets. The remaining three sets ended in deuce in favour of Salil. The score: 11-7, 11-8, 12-14, 14-16, 16-14. In Men’s doubles final again Salil Raina emerged victorious pairing with Sandeep Luthra. They down Salim Bandey and Jagjit Singh 11-8, 10-12, 12-10, 14-12. Junior boys singles title went to Manmeet Singh, who defeated Gaganpreet Singh 9-11, 10-12, 11-8, 11-9, 12-10. This was Manmeet’s second title. Earlier, he claimed the Sub-junior boys trophy. Manmeet was later declared as best player of the tournament for winning two titles and reaching upto quarter-finals in the Men’s singles. In the finals and prize distribution function, Dr Kamal Saini, SSP, Poonch, was the chief guest, who gave away winners and runners-up trophies. In his brief address, Dr Saini appreciated the organisers for proving the young talent opportunity to perform and excel. While showering praise on the budding players, he promised a multi-purpose indoor hall to be constructed by the Police in the town and asked the organisers to identify the suitable piece of land for the same. The chief guest also presented mementos to the guests of honour including Prof Nikhat Qureshi, Principal, Degree College, Poonch, Imtiaz Ali Bandey, Ajit Singh Jeet, P V Dewan, PP Luthra, Rajinder Singh (DYSS officer). Kuljeet Singh, Narinder Singh (PET), Panky Dutta and Samandeep Singh were also presented mementos. Later, Mr Ajit Singh Jeet, president, District TT Association, presented vote of thanks. He had all praise for the Principal, Degree College for extending infrastructure for the competitions. In all, over 70 players in different age groups took part in this tournament. |
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Inter-college Weightlifting, Chess events rescheduled Excelsior Sports Correspondent JAMMU, Oct 16: The annual inter-college competitions which were to begin today, have been rescheduled for the last week of October due to the ‘Black Day’ being observed by the college students. Competitions in Chess, which were scheduled to start today, have been postponed for October 22. Now, the five-day event will start from October 22 to October 26 at the Gymnasium hall of the University of Jammu. The two-day Men’s Weightlifting events, scheduled for October 18 and 19, will now take place on October 28 and 29 at MA Stadium, here. Men Gymnastics competitions, which were to start today itself, have also been postponed for November 1, followed by the Women competitions on November 2nd at M A Stadium. However, the inter-college cricket competitions in women section have not been touched and shall start tomorrow as per the already drawn fixture by the Department of Physical Education, University of Jammu. When asked why these competitions were rescheduled, the Assistant Director, Physical Education, M M Sharma said that the decision in this regard was taken after physical directors from Udhampur and Jammu college approached and asked for postponement of the competitions falling during the ‘Black Days’. So, a meeting took place wherein it was unanimously decided to reschedule the competitions in four events, he added. |
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Himayun lifts Junior
Billiards title Excelsior Sports Correspondent SRINAGAR, Oct 16: Narinder Singh Oberoi and his junior Umar Himayun shined in Billiards in the ongoing 11th District Srinagar Billiards and Snooker Championship being played here today. Narinder emerged victorious in the senior Billiards final when he defeated Mohd Nasir Khan 192-178. In the junior boys final, Umar Himayun lifted the winners trophy beating Umar Jan by a narrow margin of ten points with final score on board 177-167. Both the matches were supervised by joint secretary, J&K Billiards and Snooker Association, Mushtaq Ahmed. Earlier, in the senior Snooker competitions, Umar Farooq, Waseem Raja and Younis Kuchay reached the semi-finals stage beating their rivals in the quarter-finals encounter took place in the morning session. In the first quarter-final, Umar had a straight sets victory over Sajad Sultan 46-22, 54-40, 55-27. It was not an easy going for Waseem Raja, who defeated Sameer Bashir 3-2 (57-44, 19-48, 48-59, 63-35, 62-50). Younis too found it difficult to break Owais, who brought interest in the final stretching the game to complete five frames. The score: 14-65, 57-21, 59-42, 19-67, 65-29. |
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Ian’s 97 creates no
difference as J&K suffers Excelsior Sports Correspondent JAMMU, Oct 16: Although skipper Ian Dev Singh hit unbeaten 97 in the second innings, yet Jammu and Kashmir suffered a big defeat of an innings and 54 runs at the hands of Punjab in a league tie in the North-Zone under-15 Cricket Tournament played at Patiala. Earlier, batting first, J&K lost all the wickets for 161 runs with the help of brilliant 71 runs innings played by Aditya. In reply to J&K’s modest total, Punjab batsmen built a big score and declared the innings at 423 for seven despite the fact that they were initially struggling at 82 for four. In the second innings, J&K batting line-up collapsed albeit Ian was playing confidently at the other end and bowled out for 203 runs, thereby losing the match by an innings and 54 runs. Now, in the second league match, J&K will meet Haryana in Haryana tomorrow. |
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J&K Judokas win nine medals in public school nationals Excelsior Sports Correspondent JAMMU, Oct 16: Jammu and Kashmir Judokas won as many as nine medals in the just concluded 4th Public School National Judo Championship held at Faridabad from October 11 to October 13. The 15-member team, which was accompanied by Suraj Bhan as coach and Sanjay Gupta as manager, won two gold, two silver and five bronze medals in different weight groups. In addition, Sanjay Khajuria was declared as best Judoka in this meet and selected for the India camp. Bhanu Partap and Manish Balwal have also been selected for India camp to be held at Goa in May next. Medal winners included Sanjay Khajuria, gold (50 kg), Bhanu Partap, gold (55 kg), Sumit Gupta, bronze (below 45 kg), Sunny Sambyal, silver (below 55 kg), Sumit Gupta, bronze (below 45 kg), Arun Charak, bronze (below 66 kg), Raj Kumar, bronze (73 kg), Manish Balwal, bronze (above 73 kg), Suresh Singh, bronze (40 kg). All these Judokas practices under the State Sports Council coaches namely Suraj Bhan, Arshi Nad, Vikas Dogra, Jugal Kishore and Ritika Slathia. Kapil calls Saurav ‘captain perfect’ KOLKATA, Oct 16: Wisden’s Indian cricketer of the century Kapil Dev today heaped praise on the current national team captain Saurav Ganguly saying that he had the potentiality to lead the side to another World Cup victory. "Saurav is doing so well. He always wants to win and that is good for the team. He is one captain we can be proud of. He is putting the team together. He does get carried away at times, but that is permissible as long as he does not open his shirt," Kapil added with a laugh, while talking to mediapersons here today. Asked what was the one thing he would like to tell the captain "my magic words would be— never give up." Kapil said, "unlike other captains who used to play and then sit in his own retiring room, Saurav is a worker. He is making the team work harder. He is team man and leader on the field. Obviously impressed with the team’s performance during the England tour and then the Champion’s Trophy in Sri Lanka, Kapil said that the team was playing as a unit and was enjoying their game. "They are a hungry lot and that is a good sign," he said. Asked whether Srinath’s inclusion was a good decision considering the fact that Zaheer, Nehra and Agarkar were meeting the demands, Kapil said, "that only Saurav can answer. He doesn’t want to lose and will do everything to prevent it. If he wants something, we must give him time and be patient." To another question, Kapil said that it would be unjustified to compare the trophy winning side of 1983 with the current one. "We won, they are aspiring to win. When you win, your faults tend to get covered up. Nevertheless, the team under Saurav is blossoming, but the one-day affair is a battle that has to be settled on that day. One cannot predict." (UNI) HYDERABAD, Oct 16: Defending champion Viswanathan Anand moved into the semi-finals of the World Cup Chess Tournament with a facile victory over Vladimir Malakhov of Russia here today. Anand, who had settled for a draw in the first game of the quarter-finals yesterday, defeated his opponent in the second today to win by a 1.5-0.5 margin. It was a tactical game involving the Sicilian defence in dragon variation and anand outplayed Malakhov in an advantageous endagame with very active pieces. "It is nice that the draw did not take place which would have forced another tie-breaker. The moment my two-way attack met with a little challenge, I knew that I would be going for a result and not for the draw," he said. Anand’s board had all the trappings of a strategic play imbibed with deception and blitzkrieg moves where the two players tried to lure each other into a trap. "I tried to provoke him by laying some dubious looking moves which he promptly turned down and created a situation where we were equal on material though there was a little edge for me," Anand said. It was, however in the endgame that the Indian master showed his class by a two-pronged strategy which saw him placing his pieces in very active positions and immobilising his opponents’ pieces. "Though we were more are less equally placed at the endgame which could have resulted in a draw, I had a slight advantage of an active rook which clinched the deal," Anand said. Anand kept his opponent’s passed ‘E’ pawn checked throughout and launched his tirade bringing even his king into play. The former world champion also succeeded in immobilising his opponent’s rook on the ‘H’ file and pushed his ‘A’ pawn forward which paved the way for his resounding victory. When the opponent was unable to control the passed ‘A’ pawn which was threatening to become queen, the Russian resigned. In another quarter-final match, Rustam Kasimdzhanov of Uzbekistan drew with Ye Jiang Chun to enter into semi-finals. Kasimdzhanov had defeated Chun in the first game. Koneru Humpy, who had won her first game yesterday, lost Li Ruofan of China in the second game today and the two would play the tie breaker. Nigel short of England and Alexander Dreev of Russia also drew their matches to go into the tie-breaker. (PTI) CHENNAI, Oct 16: Although he may not be reaching this milestone immediately, there is another reason for Indian captain Saurav Ganguly to press for a win in addition to going 2-0 up in the series in the second test against West Indies beginning here tomorrow. Saurav requires two more wins to equal former captain Mohammed Azharuddin’s feat of 14 test wins as skipper. Mohd Azharuddin’s 14 wins as captain included 13 at home and one in Sri Lanka. However, asked if he was hoping to win the second and third tests in a row in the current home series against West Indies and equal Azharuddin’s record, Saurav, smilingly quipped "this is not going to be my last series." "Records are meant to be broken. Somebody else will come and do better. The important thing is to keep winning," he opined. (UNI) |
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