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Dravid and Laxman ADELAIDE, Dec 14: Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman joined forces to torment Australia yet again with a monumental 303-run partnership as India staged a fabulous fightback in the ............more CISF women clinch team gold in National Shooting HYDERABAD, Dec 14: Powered by the presence of Anjali Bhagwat, CISF women clinched the Air Rifle team title in the National Shooting Championship here today...............more PSPB,
Railways, TN, MANESAR (Gurgaon), Dec 14: Defending champion PSPB blanked Punjab 3-0 while strong contenders Railways, Tamil Nadu and Bengal chalked out contrasting victories to complete the semi-final line up in the.............more Dravid’s
was a By Ravi Shastri India’s performance on the third day of the second Test must force a rethink in Australia’s strategy for this series. It should be clear to anybody by now that .............more |
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CM inaugurates swimming pool at Amar Singh Club Excelsior Sports Correspondent JAMMU, Dec 14: Chief Minister, Mufti Mohammed Sayeed today inaugurated the all weather centrally heated indoor swimming pool and Health Club..............more Khalsa
Club in final of Excelsior Sports Correspondent JAMMU, Dec 14: Khalsa Club, Gole Gujral today sailed into the final of the ongoing State Heros Cup Hockey Tournament, beating Ranjit Club 2-0 at K K Hakhu Stadium, here...........more District
Chess meet begins Excelsior Sports Correspondent JAMMU, Dec 14: Jammu district chess championship today started on a positive note with youngest seven-year......more J&K Govt, WGFI all out to make National Winter Games a success SRINAGAR, Dec 14: Jammu and Kashmir Government with the support of Winter Games Federation of India (WGFI) is ......more |
Dravid and Laxman script Indian fightback ADELAIDE, Dec 14: Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman joined forces to torment Australia yet again with a monumental 303-run partnership as India staged a fabulous fightback in the second cricket Test here today. After two days of Australian domination, Dravid and Laxman (148) brought back memories of their epic association at the Eden Gardens two years ago to not only script a stunning recovery but throw the match wide open. The pair, who came together yesterday with the visitors reeling at 85 for four, set the Adelaide Oval ablaze with some amazing shots during their Marathon partnership which shattered Australian hopes of taking a huge first innings lead. Dravid was batting on 199 and Anil Kumble on one as India reached 477 for seven at stumps on the third day, still 79 runs behind Australia’s total of 556. It was Dravid’s 16th test ton and first down under while Laxman’s century was the sixth of his career and third against the world champions. The duo bettered the previous record for the highest fifth wicket stand in Adelaide which had belonged to Australia’s Steve Waugh and Ricky Ponting who put on 239 against the Indians in 1999-2000. It was Dravid and Laxman who authored India’s revival in the last Test series between the two teams in 2001. The duo had then recorded 376 runs for the fifth wicket partnership in Kolkata as India, following on, went on to win the Test and eventually clinch the three-match series 2-1. By the time Laxman departed at the stroke of tea, caught behind by Adam Gilchrist off Andy Bichel, their association had consumed 563 balls and spanned 357 minutes. Laxman earned an early reprieve on 65 when Ricky Ponting, diving to his right, grassed him in the slip cordon. That turned out to be a costly miss for Australia as the Batsman and his partner proceeded to bat them out of the match. Dravid brought up his century with a mistimed hook off Jason Gillespie that sailed over the fine-leg fence. His hundred came off 223 balls and included 10 boundaries and a six. Laxman then notched up his sixth career hundred, and third against Australia, that needed 209 balls and included 12 fours. Resuming at 180 for four, Dravid and Laxman extended their association to 200 which came after a 258-minute vigil and from 405 balls. Waugh, realising the batsmen-friendly nature of the Adelaide Oval track, tried to stifle the run flow by resorting to a leg-side attack. Leg-spinner Stuart MacGill came around the stumps but Laxman responded brilliantly with a demonstration of batting foot work. The sub-continental artistry was on display as the right hander stepped outside the line and drove MacGill through the cover region. When the bowler reverted to over the wicket, he promptly clipped him to the square leg fence. The captain then brought himself on and almost produced a wicket when a Laxman pull shot ballooned up but fell in no man’s land in the deep. India’s scoring rate was not as frenetic as the Australians but runs came at a steady pace of over 3.5 an over which declined a bit only towards the end of the day when the batsmen tried to consolidate their position and preserve the wickets for tomorrow. It was also unlike the Aussies when their shoulders drooped and misfielding became a common recurrence. Even their 38-year old captain was a symbol of weariness as he let balls pass through with a tired approach. The hosts also suffered a blow when right arm fast bowler injured his left shoulder while making a diving stop near the ropes. He was taken to hospital immediately and his chances of bowling again in the match remained doubtful. Dravid and Laxman built their innings brick by brick, playing with caution against a carefully set field. Having started the day on 43 to Laxman’s 55, Dravid picked up his pace sufficiently to be the first one to reach the three figure mark and with a stirring hooked six off Jason Gillespie over fine leg. Laxman did not take long to reach his own coveted mark, flicking Stuart MacGill for a single as the double hundred for the stand was realized too. The second new ball seemed to have little effect and a stunning cover drive by Laxman off Bichel brought the 300 on the Indian board. But Laxman fell to the very next ball, an extravagant slash ending in a simple nick to Adam Gilchrist. Bichel was rewarded for his efforts and finished the day with four for 114. India lost two wickets to the unorthodox left-arm spin of Simon Katich in the final session as Australia tried to work their way through the Indian lower order. Parthiv Patel (31), after batting handsomely for 65 minutes, drove a catch to extra cover region and then Ajit Agarkar pulled a catch into the midwicket region. Dravid, unbeaten on 193 at this stage, started to shield Anil Kumble from fast bowlers in a bid to stretch the Indian innings. Dravid has so far batted for eight hours and 41 minutes during which he faced 385 balls and hit 19 fours and a six. (PTI) SCOREBOARD Australia 1st innings 556 India 1st innings A Chopra c and b Bichel 27 V Sehwag c Hayden b Bichel 47 R Dravid batting 199 S Tendulkar c Gilchrist b Bichel 1 S Ganguly run out 2 Laxman c Gilchrist b Bichel 148 P Patel c Ponting b Katich 31 A Agarkar c MacGill b Katich 11 A Kumble batting 1 Extras (b-4, b-2, w-2, nb-2) 10 Total (for 7 wickets in 143 overs) 477 Fall of wickets: 1-66, 2-81, 3-83, 4-85, 5-388, 6-447, 7-469. Bowling: Jason Gillespie 34-12-87-0, Brad Williams 23-7-72-0, Andy Bichel 26-3-114-4, Stuart MacGill 35-7-121-0, Simon Katich 15-3-58-2, Steve Waugh 9-2-15-0, Ricky Ponting 1-0-4-0. (PTI) |
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CISF women clinch team gold in National Shooting HYDERABAD, Dec 14: Powered by the presence of Anjali Bhagwat, CISF women clinched the Air Rifle team title in the National Shooting Championship here today. The combination of Anjali, Kuheli Ganguly and Leena Shirodhkar clinched the gold, aggregating 1184 points. Railways and Maharashtra finished second and third respectively, scoring 1181 and 1176 points. In the individual championship (air rifle), Maharashtra’s Deepali Deshpande took the gold, with a tally of 497.2 points, followed by Suma Shirur (Railways 496.7) and Pournima (Railways 495.9). In the air rifle junior women event, Punjab’s Chentanpreet Nilon pocketed the gold aggregating 392, the silver and bronze going to Pooja Reddy (AP 390) and Arti Ghorpade (Mah 389) respectively. Pune, represented by Chentapreet Nilon, Sabeeha Dhillon and Navdeep Dhillon annexed the junior women team title, with a tally of 1168 points. Maharashtra and Chandigarh took the second and third positions, scoring 1158 and 1126 points respectively. Navin Jindal (Chht) set a new national mark in the men skeet event, scoring 144 out of 150 to strike gold. Baba Bedi (Chht) and H S Bedi (Delhi) took silver and bronze respectively, scoring 142 and 138 points respectively. (UNI) |
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PSPB, Railways, TN, Bengal reach semi-finals of TT MANESAR (Gurgaon), Dec 14: Defending champion PSPB blanked Punjab 3-0 while strong contenders Railways, Tamil Nadu and Bengal chalked out contrasting victories to complete the semi-final line up in the men’s team section of the 65th Senior National and inter State Table Tennis Championship here today. Railways and Tamil Nadu outplayed their rivals Chattisgarh and Gujarat respectively by identical 3-1 margin while bengal had to wage a stiff battle to overpower Andhra Pradesh 3-2. It was a easy match for Petroleum Sports Promotion Board as their paddlers won their matches without facing any difficulty. Sharath Kamal outplayed Vineet 11-3, 11-7, 11-8 while S Roy thrashed Janakraj 11-4, 11-2, 11-5 and S Raman beat Vikas 11-9, 5-11, 11-6, 11-5. In the first match, Railway’s Ranabir Das overcame stiff resistance from Chhattisgarh’s Vijay Baiswade 11-5, 11-7, 8-11, 10-12, 11-6 and later had an easy fight against Vinay Baiswade Tgo win 11-6, 11-8, 11-9. P Bose lost to Vinay 6-11, 8-11, 8-11 while a Das beat A Santosh 11-7, 11-6, 11-7. Tamil Nadu’s K Srivastava beat Gujarat’s Jignesh 4-11, 11-9, 11-7, 11-9 while Rajesh lost to Pathik 9-11, 5-11, 6-11. G Vinod beat Hardik 11-7, 5-11, 11-7, 11-8 and R Rajesh beat Jignesh 11-3, 13-11, 16-14, 11-3. Bengal’s Amit Mukherjee beat Andhra’s Chandrachud 16-14, 16-4, 18-20, 7-11, 11-6 while Sourav Sengupta lost to Jitendra 9-11, 11-5, 10-12, 11-9, 9-11. Santanu beat Somnath Ghosh 9-11, 11-9, 13-11, 9-11, 5-11. Sourav came back strongly to win the deciding match against V Chandra 11-5, 11-3, 11-6. In the ninth to 16th position deciding matches, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Delhi blanked Pondicherry, Karnataka and Jammu and Kashmir 3-0 respectively while Maharashtra B beat Assam 3-1. (UNI) |
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Dravid’s was a fantastic effort By Ravi Shastri India’s performance on the third day of the second Test must force a rethink in Australia’s strategy for this series. It should be clear to anybody by now that this India team is not willing to wave the right flag of surrender so easily. Agreed, the Adelaide track was lifeless and conditions ideal for batting, but how the Australian bowlers suffered must cause some consternation amongst the Australian selectors. I don’t need to say this, but no praise is too high for Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman. Their triple century partnership was a tremendous effort and even if it does not save India the follow on, they have a reasonable chance of saving this Test match. There are still two days remaining for the game to get over so India’s players will have to retain their concentration and commitment over the next two days. Dravid and and Laxman are two very dissimilar batsmen, but the outcome of their partnership was happiness for the Indian dressing room and the supporters all over the world. It not only restored India’s self respect, but also put the team on course for a first innings lead. Against Australia, that is a major achievement of sorts. I was extremely pleased with Laxman’s innings. He has an abundance of natural talent and Laxman needed to do was to set his sights on bigger scores. Being out of the World Cup squad must have hurt, but Laxman appears to have learnt the lessons the hard way. Dravid’s was a fantastic effort. He batted all day, which takes some doing and is one run away from a double hundred. I know a thing or two of what it takes to reach such a landmark against Australia and I can safely say that this must be one of the finest innings played by Dravid. It can’t be easy batting for more than day against any side. This is Dravid’s second double hundred in less than 12 months, which shows his growing maturity as a batsman. In spite of losing only three wickets in the day, the Indian team is not yet out of the woods, so there is little reason for the remaining batsmen to throw their wickets. As far as the Test is concerned, India must aim to grab the first innings lead here too, as they did at Brisbane. The Adelaide wicket has played very true so far, but there are still two days remaining in the match and anything can happen from here. India just can’t afford to relax. (TCM) |
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CM inaugurates swimming pool at Amar Singh Club Excelsior Sports Correspondent JAMMU, Dec 14: Chief Minister, Mufti Mohammed Sayeed today inaugurated the all weather centrally heated indoor swimming pool and Health Club at Amar Singh Club, here today. The newly raised portion where swimming pool is located, is also a complete health club fitted with latest exercising and relaxing gadgets. Another added feature is the sports cafeteria to serve healthy and energy food to the members. Soon after the inauguration of pool and health club, the Chief Minister spoke to the winners of annual sports meet and members in the jam-packed auditorum of the club. He later distributed prizes among them. The Chief Minister said that the clubs are an important part of the urban life and serve as a place for diversion from the day-to-day work. He said it makes one more fresh and perform better. Referring to the Amar Singh Club, Mufti Sayeed said that it has undergone a sea change since he visited the club in February last. He said now it has a most modern swimming pool, change room, reception, gymnasium, plant room, jacuzzi, chilled showers, rain showers, sauna bath, steam and massage rooms and café. He said these facilities would not only be an attraction for the members of the club and their families only but also a major attraction for the tourists as well. The Chief Minister said that certain guidelines should be formulated for regulating admission to the club membership. He said the fee should not be the only criterion but the background, aptitude, image and character of a person applying for the membership too should be taken into account. The Chief Minister released a booklet brought out by the club on the occasion. He appreciated the management of the Club for completing the health club and swimming pool within a short span and hoped that the members will avail the added facilitiesl. Giving brief note of the Club activities, vice-president Amar Singh Club, Anil Goswami informed that the total cost incurred on the project was Rs 90 lakh of which Rs 25 lakh was grant in aid extended by the Chief Minister. He thanked the Chief Minister for his gesture and requested him for some more space to the club and also grand of some funds for other projects being initiated by the Club. The secretary, Siddharth Sharma welcomed the chief guest and other distinguished gathering and presented brief note of the Club activities. He had all priase for the architect of swimming pool and health club, Anil Wali and interior designer, Haribansh Lakra. Earlier, Siddharth Sharma and vice-president, Anil Goswami and memebrs executive committee of the Club took the Chief Minister to the pool site and health club. Those given away the prizes by the chief guest included Gautam Lakra, Jaideep Manocha, Kamal Rohmetra and Vishal Abrol (all Billiards and Snooker), Arun Sharma, Vinod Sharma, K S Ulfat and Aman Rathore (all Bridge), Beepkaran Singh and Deep Jyoti Singh, Rajeev Gabgotra and S K Sharma (all Table Tennis). |
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Khalsa Club in final of State Heros Cup Hockey Excelsior Sports Correspondent JAMMU, Dec 14: Khalsa Club, Gole Gujral today sailed into the final of the ongoing State Heros Cup Hockey Tournament, beating Ranjit Club 2-0 at K K Hakhu Stadium, here. Despite total domination throughout the match, Khalsa Club could make just two goals, the reason being the defensive approach of Ranjit Club. In the first half, Ranjit Club failed on both attack and defence with their forwards and defence line-up remained scattered. However, they managed to foil the goal attempts of Khalsa Club, especially as and when latter tried to convert the penalty corners. Khalsa Club got eight penalty corners but they failed to convert any of those into goal. Both the goals for winners were scored by center-forward Karanjeet Singh in the 22nd and 57th minute. In the first goal, Surinder Pal Singh from right half position while for second goal, Karanjeet was extended a timely pass by Omkar Singh. Second semi-final will be played between Zorawar Club and Akali Kour Singh Club. Today’s semi-final was officiated by Joginder Singh, Vijay Vaid and Harmanan Singh. This tournament is being organised by J&K Hockey Association. |
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District Chess meet
begins Excelsior Sports Correspondent JAMMU, Dec 14: Jammu district chess championship today started on a positive note with youngest seven-year Agrim Pandotra fighting against players like 59 year old Dr Suresh Chander at Government SRML Higher Secondary School, here. This championship is being organised by Jammu District Chess Association under the presidentship of M L Vidayarthi. Veteran in the game, Master Chela Ram is the chief tournament director, who is being assisted by Sushil Sawhney. Earlier, the competitions were inaugurated by J&K Chess Association vice-president, Dr S S Dua. In brief address, he stressed the need for fair play and dedication towards game. Senior Chess player, S P Sharma was also present on the occasion. Secretary, Jammu District Chess Association, Bharat Grover informed that it was for the first time that such a good number of participants (34) have turned-up for the district meet including the youngest Agrim Pandotra, Aditi Pandotra and the eldest one, Dr Suresh Chander Gupta, who is serving with Regional Research Laboratory, Jammu. Participation by a handicapped player, Lalit Ganotra and two girls was also something different to watch in this championship, he added. The opening day results: Sumit Grover bt Dr Devinder; Kulwinder Singh bt Kamal Singh, Manohar Lal Jogi bt Anuj Gupta; Dr S C Gupta bt Daljeet Singh; Sandeep Manhas bt Lalit Ganotra; Manik Choudhary bt Ashwani Gupta; Ashok Safaya bt Kulveer Singh; Ram Singh bt Rakesh Sadhotra; Harvinder Singh bt Ajay Soodan; Arvindu bt Sushil Kumar; Pallavi Khare bt Bhupesh Jamwal; Retwan bt Ashwani Khare; Reshav Gupta bt Agrim Pandotra; Aditi Sharma bt Ishan Verma. |
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J&K Govt, WGFI all out to make National Winter Games a success SRINAGAR, Dec 14: Jammu and Kashmir Government with the support of Winter Games Federation of India (WGFI) is making all out effort to make the National Winter Games, to be held at Gulmarg next month, a grand success. "Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed is very keen to make it a grand success. Winter Games Federation of India will extend technical support to the State in organising the Games," WGFI president N Kumar told PTI today. Kumar, however, said the major factors to the success of the week-long games would lie with the State Government, which is handling the administrative part, and the weather. Asked if the first edition of the Games held at Gulmarg in 1998 was a fiasco, Kumar said there might have been some administrative lapses but the weather was also to be blamed as there was too little snow to hold all the events. "Last time the security was too tight and there might have been other administrative lapses as well. Weather was also not too good to support the Games properly. But this time, all out efforts are being made to make the Games successful," he added. However, sources in the Winter Games Association of Jammu and Kashmir, the State affiliate of WGFI, raised doubts over the successful staging of the Games. "Jammu and Kashmir tourism, which has no technical knowhow of organising sports events of this magnitude, has been given the responsibility for organising the games. It is as good as telling an illiterate to teach children how to write," the sources said. The sources said the last edition of the Games held at Gulmarg cost a huge Rs 16 crore and the organisers were seeking more funds this time. "Rs 16 crore is already a huge amount for the national Winter Games. If the organisation is handed over to technical people with past experience of handling such events, the expenses could be further reduced," they added. "Besides, the Games got very bad press for organisational fiasco where the arrangements were lacking and only selected media were allowed to cover the event." However, Kumar said the State Government would bear the costs of the event with some assistance from the Centre and some private sponsors. "I believe the State Government is trying to get some help from Centre and making efforts to rope in sponsors too," he said. On the events to be held during the week-long Games, Kumar said ice hockey and track racing were certainties but there was a question mark over staging of figure skating. The other events to be contested are Downhill Racing, Slalom, Giant Slalom, Cross Country over 10 km, 15 km and Relay, and Biathelon. The WGFI president said besides providing a boost to the tourism, the Games will provide much needed exposure to athletes of Jammu and Kashmir. (PTI) Qazi flags off Tug of War contingent Excelsior Sports Correspondent JAMMU, Dec 14: A 24 member contingent of Jammu and Kashmir today left for Ranchi in Jharkhand for participating in 2-day Tug of war junior National Championship The Minister for PHE, Irrigation and Flood control Qazi Mohammad Afzal flagged off the State team at Railway station here this after noon. The Minister interacted with the players and said that they should work hard and bring laurels to the State in sports. Medal winners in State Championship Vikram
Sharma S/o Mr Sat Pal Sharma, who won silver medal in
below 100 kg. |
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