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| Some basis in cash-to-play cricket scandal: Ganguly ADELAIDE, Nov 22: Indian captain Sourav Ganguly said today there must be some basis to allegations that Abhijit Kale offered bribes to selectors to get picked for the India ‘A’ team.............more Ganguly
says hosts have ADELAIDE (AUSTRALIA), Nov 22: Indian cricket captain Sourav Ganguly said today his team’s recent poor performance against Australia - three consecutive one-day losses - will give the hosts a mental edge over India in its four-test series.........more Kartik a
doubtful starter AHMEDABAD, Nov 22: Left arm spinner Murali Kartik is a doubtful starter for the first of the three-test match series between India ‘A’ and Sri Lanka ‘A’, beginning at here tomorrow, as he is running a high temperature.......more Kale
appears before PUNE, Nov 22: Tainted batsman Abhijit Kale, at the centre of a bribery scandal, today appeared before the Maharashtra Cricket Association’s three-member inquiry committee and claimed "total innocence" in the matter..........more |
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Kuldeep, Rashu to clash in final of Junior Snooker Excelsior Correspondent JAMMU, Nov 22: Kuldeep Sharma and Rashu today cruised into the final of the Junior Snooker by defeating their respective opponents in the ongoing......more KC Public
School excels Excelsior Sports Correspondent JAMMU, Nov 22: Students of KC Public School Jammu have brought laurels to the school and the State by excelling......more Cadets of
First J&K Excelsior Correspondent JAMMU, Nov 22: Cadets of 1- J&K Armed Squadron NCC performed well in the recently held.....more J&K
team for U-17 Girls Excelsior Sports Correspondent JAMMU, Nov 22: Jammu and Kashmir team for Under-17 Girls National Football Championship to be held at Ooty from......more |
Some basis in cash-to-play cricket scandal: Ganguly ADELAIDE, Nov 22: Indian captain Sourav Ganguly said today there must be some basis to allegations that Abhijit Kale offered bribes to selectors to get picked for the India ‘A’ team. India’s cricket chiefs yesterday ordered an investigation into the allegations. Two selectors, Kiran More and Pranob Roy, reported to the BCCI on Thursday that batsman Kale offered them both Rs 10 lakh each earlier this month if he was named in the country’s ‘A’ team. The BCCI has since suspended Kale while it investigates the allegations, which have been denied by Kale. "When I got to know the story yesterday I found it a little bit hard to believe that somebody would pay so much money just to be a part of the Indian side," Ganguly told reporters here on the Indian team’s arrival today. "Abhijit’s a consistent performer in first-class cricket in India, he’s scored loads of runs, so I was a little surprised when I heard the story. "But now I have heard ... That he has been banned by the BCCI, so there must be some truth to this story. "If it is true it’s pretty shameful." Kale, 30, a right hand batsman, represented India in a one-day international in Bangladesh in April but was ignored for the recent home series against Australia and New Zealand. Ganguly said he had no first-hand knowledge about the incident and had only heard about it in the media. Indian coach John Wright said he doubted the controversy would affect the touring side in Australia. "That story has developed since we left the country and really it will run its course," Wright said. "We really have no knowledge of it whatsoever, so it will not be unsettling to the touring party at all." The scandal is the biggest to hit indian cricket since the match-fixing saga in 2000 which led to life bans on former captain Mohammad Azharuddin and ex-test player Ajay Sharma. Kale faces a life ban if found guilty. (AFP) |
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Ganguly says hosts have edge in test series ADELAIDE (AUSTRALIA), Nov 22: Indian cricket captain Sourav Ganguly said today his team’s recent poor performance against Australia - three consecutive one-day losses - will give the hosts a mental edge over India in its four-test series. Australian one-day captain Ricky Ponting said after his side’s tri-series final win in India on Tuesday that his players had a psychological hold over the Indians. Ganguly, who arrived with his teammates in adelaide today, agreed the Indians had a mental barrier to overcome. "Yes, honestly we’ve lost to them three times now in the last two months in one-day cricket and we accept that they’re a good side and they’re playing good cricket," he said. "That’s why it’s more of a challenge to raise our game and perform at par with them in Australia. We know they are going to be a tough side at home, they win overseas as well and them playing at home will be even tougher." He said he doubted his side’s inexperienced pace bowling attack will struggle on the bouncy Australian pitches. India’s most experienced pace bowlers will be Zaheer Khan (26 tests) and Ashish Nehra (13 tests), but Ganguly said both players had proved their ability at international level. "They were inexperienced in the world cup and to be honest they were on par with the best in the world, if you go through the records," Ganguly said. "Even before the world cup, we went to New Zealand and the fast bowlers took wickets." Ganguly added his team had a core of experienced batsmen who had toured Australia before, and that India’s once poor overseas record had improved. "We struggled a bit in the mid-90s, but we’ve started to play well in the past few years, whether it’s in England, the West Indies or the world cup," he said. India plays victoria state in a three-day warm up game in Melbourne starting Tuesday. The first test in Brisbane starts on December 4 with other tests scheduled for Adelaide (starting Dec 12), Melbourne (dec 26) and Sydney (Jan 2). India will also take part in a one-day series in January and early February involving Australia and Zimbabwe. (AP) |
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Kartik a doubtful starter against Lanka "A" today AHMEDABAD, Nov 22: Left arm spinner Murali Kartik is a doubtful starter for the first of the three-test match series between India ‘A’ and Sri Lanka ‘A’, beginning at here tomorrow, as he is running a high temperature. Kartik, who conceded only 30 runs and grabbed the vital wicket of Australian skipper Ricky Ponting in the TVS Cup triangular series final on November 18, did not practice at the nets today due to fever. "Unfortunately, he (Kartik) is down with Flu and is unlikely to play tomorrow. Only a miraculous recovery will enable him to play", india `A’ coach Sandeep Patil told reporters after the net practice. Patil said the series would give the experienced players an opportunity to prove their mettle and catch the attention of selectors. "It is an exellent opportunity...Especially for Mohammad Kaif and Hemang Badani to get some practice for the longer version of the game", he said. Apart from Kaif, India A skipper Shiv Sundar Das will also strive to impress with the bat to regain the opener’s slot, which has evaded him for over a year now since India’s tour to West Indies last year. "It’s a new challenge and this is a very important series as also the first first-class match for me of the season. I hope to score a lot of runs", Das said. (PTI) |
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Kale appears before MCA’s inquiry committee PUNE, Nov 22: Tainted batsman Abhijit Kale, at the centre of a bribery scandal, today appeared before the Maharashtra Cricket Association’s three-member inquiry committee and claimed "total innocence" in the matter. After a two-hour hearing before the inquiry committee, Kale told reporters that he was "totally innocent" and denied offering any money to national selectors. "I have nothing to do with these allegations. I will seek legal opinion over the matter," Kale said after deposing before the committee. Asked whether he was made a sacrifical goat by the Cricket Board, Kale said "I am going to seek legal opinion so I can’t say anything without consulting my lawyer." The MCA appointed the committee after written reports about Kale offering Rs 10 each to them were submitted by the two selectors - Pranab Roy (east zone) and Kiran More (west zone) - to the BCCI President. The BCCI had yesterday suspended Kale, a prolific scorer in the domestic circuit, and had also appointed D V Subba Rao as the Commissioner of Inquiry into the bribery scandal. The Commissioner has been asked to submit his report to the Board’s Disciplinary Committee within 15 days. Earlier, Kale arrived at the MCA office with the members of the committee — S K Sathe (test umpire), T K Handu and S Mandale (both all India panel umpire) for the hearing. Later, when reporters contacted Handu as to what transpired at the hearing, he said "Abhijit gave his version saying that he was totally innocent and that he has not done anything as has been alleged against him." He said the committee would shortly submit the report to the Managing Committee of MCA and it was for the association to decide the course of action. (PTI) |
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Kuldeep, Rashu to clash in final of Junior Snooker Excelsior Correspondent JAMMU, Nov 22: Kuldeep Sharma and Rashu today cruised into the final of the Junior Snooker by defeating their respective opponents in the ongoing 13th State Billiards and Snooker Championship being played at Snooker Hall of MA Stadium, here. In the first semi-final, Kuldeep Sharma defeated Sumesh Turki by 3-1. The first frame saw both the cueists mustering fast points but Sumesh Turki succeeded in surpassing Kuldeep in clinching some quick points and won the frame with a margin of four points. Kuldeep, however, staged come back in the second frame and shattered the hopes of Turki to repeat the performance. To equalise the score, Kuldeep won the second frame with a margin of 10 points. After winning the second frame, Kuldeep didnot look behind and even won next two frames that too by huge margins. In the last two frames, the performance of Sumesh Turki was far from satisfaction which cost him entry in the final. The second semi-final match was a nail-biting contest between Rashu and Ishuk with both the cueists played brilliant snooker. Such was the tough match that none of the cueists could win the frame in succession. While Rashu won the first frame with a margin of 12 points, Ishuk clinched another with 30 point margin. In the third frame, Rashu restricted Ishuk at two points and himself continued to add points to his kitty, resulting into his winning the third frame by 56 points. But Rashu could not repeat his performance in the fourth frame which he lost by 20 points. The final frame witnessed nail-biting contest with both playing excellent snooker but at last Rashu succeeded in defeating Ishuk with final score 58-50. Both Kuldeep and Rashu will clash in the final to lift the Junior Snooker title. Meanwhile, record 73 entries received in the Senior Snooker due to the initiatives of J&K Billiards and Snooker Association. |
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KC Public School excels in ESPN Star Sports Quiz Excelsior Sports Correspondent JAMMU, Nov 22: Students of KC Public School Jammu have brought laurels to the school and the State by excelling in the ESPN Star Sports Quiz-2003 conducted at Delhi by Star Plus. The participants contested this quiz quite intelligently. The quiz started with written qualifying round in which 2500 students from all over the country took part. Only 108 schools were selected for zonal rounds to be held at Delhi. KC Public School was one among the 27 schools from North Zone selected for the zonal rounds. The main contest was between KC Public School from Jammu and schools from Dehradun and Delhi and the team of KC Public School was declared runners-up. It was a good interactive learning experience for the boys—Sahil Dhir and Shivang Mahajan, both of Class IX. Their performance was highly appreciated by the organisers. |
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Cadets of First J&K
Armed Sqn NCC excel Excelsior Correspondent JAMMU, Nov 22: Cadets of 1- J&K Armed Squadron NCC performed well in the recently held National Integration Camp at Mysore, Karnataka. Out of a contingent of 24 cadets (16 boys and 8 girls) of J&K Directorate, four were of 1 J&K Armed Squadran NCC Science College, Jammu. The performance these four cadets helped J&K Directorate in winning the top rank among all the other 13 participating directorates of different states. The cadets of J&K won first prize in extempore, declamation and third in Vivekananda poster appraisal contest. All these prizes were won by Sgt Ravi Kant Kotwal of 1 J&K Armed Squadron NCC Science College Jammu. Two cadets of 1 J&K Armed Squadron—SUO Sanjay Kumar Kotwal and JUO Daya Singh made it to the special guard of honour. SUO Sanjay Kotwal was also made the 2IC of the camp. Some of the other prizes won for the J&K Directorate were first prize in group song, second prize in Kodava Cultuer Quiz by JUO Smiksha Verma of 2nd Girls Battalion NCC and second prize in eassy competition by JUO Shallu Abrol of 2nd Girls Battalion NCC. The J&K Cadets won a great appraisal of all the ANO’s of different directorates and officers commanding the camp. Dr N D Wani, Principal of GGM Science College lauded keen interest and hard efforts put in by the ANO Lt D C Raina and his cadets for bringing the name of the institution at the top in the domain of national map of NCC and asked them to keep it up. |
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J&K team for U-17 Girls
National Football Excelsior Sports Correspondent JAMMU, Nov 22: Jammu and Kashmir team for Under-17 Girls National Football Championship to be held at Ooty from November 28 to December 10 has been announced today after the completion of coaching camp at Parade Ground, here. According to Mr Shiv Pal Sharma, resident secretary of Jammu wing of Jammu and Kashmir Football Association, the team is leaving tomorrow. The members of the team included captain Monika Bharti, Shehnaz Akhtar, Mehak Mahajan, Heena Sharma, Rekha, Rekha Devi, Shalini, Sonia, Renu Kesar, Sonali Mahajan, Sonia Gupta, Kimmy Jamwal, Vaishali Sharma, Pooja Chib, Heetasha, Sakshi, Deepmala Gupta, Keshav Sharma, Parveen Kour, Tina Gupta, Arti Mahajan, Isha and Pooja Rani. The coaching camp was conducted by Iqbal Singh. Inter-School Athletic meet of Udhampur district begins Excelsior Sports Correspondent UDHAMPUR, Nov 22: Inter-School Athletic meet for boys and girls under the age group of 14, 17 and 19 years of Udhampur district began today at Sports Stadium. The meet is being organised by Department of Youth Services and Sports Udhampur. District Youth Services and Sports Officer Udhampur Ashok Kumar declared open the meet in presence of large number of students and their parents. Results of first day:— 400 mtrs Girls Final Under-14 years: Radha Devi of Amba Kids Pathal—gold, Anchal Devi of Girls HS Chenani-silver and Sunita Rani of Girls HS Sattani—bronze. 400 mtrs Girls Under-17 years final: Reeta Devi of HS Sein Brhmna—gold, Asha Devi of Girls HS Udhampur—silver and Nisha Devi of HS Sattani—bronze. 800 mtr Under-14 years girls final: Radha of HSS Jaganoo—gold, Sonali of Bharti Vidya Mandir—silver and Asha of HS Girls—bronze. 800 mtrs Under 17-years girls final: Anita Devi of Bharti Vidya Mandir—gold, Rajani of Amba Kids Panthal—silver and Pooja of HS Sattani—bronze. 1500 mtrs Under-14 years final: Rita Devi of Amba Kids Panthal—gold, Naresh of National Academy Udhampur-silver and Ruchika of Brham Rishi Bhawan—bronze. 1500 mts Under-17 years final: Sunita of HSS Jaganoo—gold, Shallu of Bharti Vidya Mandir—silver and Pooja Devi of HSS GIrls Udhampur—bronze. The jump and throw events for girls under all groups will be conducted on November 24. Digiana XI to clash with Khalsa Club in final Excelsior Sports Correspondent JAMMU, Nov 22: Digiana XI to clash with Khalsa Club Gole Gujaral in the final of the Guru Teg Bahadur Hockey Tournament on November 25. In the first semi-final of the Tournament, Digiana XI defeated Zorawar Club Satwari by 4-1. The half time score was 2-0. Due to the strong defence and attacking show of Digianma XI Zorawar Club could score only one goal. For Digiana XI, Amarjeet Singh scored first goal in the 13th minute of the game through penalty corner. Gurmeet Singh, Rakesh and Kaku Singh scored one goal each in the 18th, 37th and 56th minute of the match. The lone goal from Zorawar Club’s side was scored by Anup Singh in the 43rd minute of the match. Digiana XI received four penalty corners and its players managed to convert only one into goal but Zorawar Club despite receiving five penalty corners could not convert even one into goal. In the second semi-final, Khalsa Club defeated Stadium XI by eight goals to nil. PRabhjyot, Omkar and Rajinder Singh scored two goals each while Surinder Pal and Parvinder Singh scored one goal each. The match was officiated by P D Singh, Amarjeet Singh, Jasbir Singh, Hermenon Singh, Vijay Vaid. NZ Cricket Tourney of Deaf and Dumb from Nov 25 Excelsior Sports Correspondent JAMMU, Nov 22: North Zone Cricket Tournament of Deaf and Dumb players is being held from November 25 to November 30 at Chandigarh. The teams from Punjab, Haryana, Uttaranchal, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir are participating in it. It is for the first time that Jammu and Kashmir team is taking part in such games that too on its own resources. The team is: Bhupinder Singh (captain), Arfan Ali (vice-captain), Vikram Singh Phwar, Mohd Nadeem, Mohd Sadiq, Anil Sharma, Karamat Ali, Amit Singh Slathia, Rajesh Kumar, Amit Kumar, Rakesh Kumar Chowdhary, Kamal Kapoor, Rajesh Sharma and Arvind Kumar. The team is accompanied by Sports-cum-Press Secretary of the Deaf and Dumb Association Kamal Nain Bhan, who is also the coach of the team. The teams in Pool-A are Punjab, Haryana and Uttaranchal while teams in Pool-B are Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir. Jammu and Kashmir team’s 1 match would be against Uttar Pradesh on November 26 and second on November 27 with Delhi. World Billiards
Championship HYDERABAD, Nov 22: In a high voltage battle of wits, Ashok Shandilya (India) went down fighting to a highly elegant Lee Lagan of England in the semifinals of the World Billiards Championship here today. The best of nine games semifinals stretched to its full extreme, with the two cueists matching each other point by point during a two hour battle for a place in the final. With the two players taking an alternate frame each, tension and anxiety mounted which was palpable in the room and the two players played under enormous pressure in the decider after being level at 4-4. A relieved Lagan, after winning the game said, "I was under tremendous pressure particularly in the last frame. But I got a good chance and made best use of it." Sandilya on the other hand said his opponent played a better game. "I missed out one canon and it cost me the match. He got the final chance after being level at 4-4 which made all the difference," Sandliya said. Lagan, who said that he was under immense pressure in the decider, had stuck to top table play to safely and surely pick up the points and only played long when the bulk line crossing warning was sounded by referee. Leaving nothing to chance, Lagan picked up an unfinished break of 152 to win the ninth frame and the match enabling his entry into the finals to be played tomorrow. A packed hall witnessed quality billiards at the solitary table laid for the first semifinals, with Ashok fumbling at 46 and the Englishman winning the first frame with a convincing break of 87. Sandilya bounced back to take second and the two players took turns in winning frames until they were level at four all. While the Indian had a century break of 102 in the fourth, Lagan went for a start to finish 152 in the decider to clinch the issue. "The match took quite interesting turns as we were level at 2-2 and I went down 2-3 but my efforts and nice placements on the table got me the match," Lagan, who ousted U Aung Son Oo of Myanmar in the quarterfinals, said. Geet Sethi will be sorting it out with Paul Bennet in the other semifinals to be held later in the day. Result: Ashok Shandilya (ind) lost to Lee Lagan (Eng) 46-150 151-59 46-153 151-90 151-2 86-151 15-151 150-10 0-152. (PTI) |
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