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Advani inaugurates Afro-Asian Games HYDERABAD, Oct 24: More than five decades after lighting the first Asian Games torch in New Delhi, India today gave birth to another sporting extravaganza, as the Afro-Asian Games was inaugurated here today by Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani. ...........more Indo-Pak final at World Snooker Championship NEW DELHI, Oct 24: It would be yet another India-Pakistan encounter when national champion Pankaj Advani takes on second seed Saleh Mohammad in the final of the World Snooker Championship being played at Jiangmen in China. ............more India
suffer defeat HYDERABAD, Oct 24: Pietie Coetzee snuffed the life out of the Indians with a fine hat-trick as the hosts suffered a 1-3 loss against South Africa in a Pool A match in women’s hockey event of the Afro-Asian Games here today. Pietie’s onslaught ensured a berth for South...........more Excelsior Sports Correspondent JAMMU, Oct 24: Jammu and Kashmir Table Tennis Association has postponed the 25th State championship due to some inevitable ...............more |
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Kamal crowned with Excelsior Sports Correspondent JAMMU, Oct 24: Kamal Rohmetra has been crowned with double title that too consecutive sixth time in the 13th Jammu District Billiards and Snooker ........more Ankush’s
ton helps Excelsior Sports Correspondent JAMMU, Oct 24: Brilliant 106 runs knock coming off 102 deliveries and studded with 18 boundaries by Ankush Gupta( Law Departments) today ...........more By Ravi Shastri The most beneficial outcome of the truncated first one-day match of the TVS Cup was the return to form of Sachin Tendulkar. One could see that his feet ..........more Hockey
tourney Excelsior Sports Correspondent JAMMU, Oct 24: District Rajouri Hockey Association is holding three different tournaments in senior, junior and sub-junior groups from November .......more |
Advani inaugurates Afro-Asian Games HYDERABAD, Oct 24: More than five decades after lighting the first Asian Games torch in New Delhi, India today gave birth to another sporting extravaganza, as the Afro-Asian Games was inaugurated here today by Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani. The colourful inaugural ceremony also signalled India’s renewed endeavour to host the Commonwealth Games and Olympics. The grand opening of the jinxed games, which was postponed a number of times for various reasons before finally seeing the light of the day at the G M C Balayogi Stadium, showcased the rich cultural heritage of the hosts and both the continents — Asia and Africa — before 30,000 strong crowd, including tennis star Leander Paes and film star Sanjay Dutt, who thronged the venue to watch the extravaganza. For the hosts, it was a moment to remember since it were they who staged the first edition of the Asian Games 51 years back in Delhi. The Asian Games went from strength to strength and the 14th and last edition at Busan, South Korea last year saw a staggering 6700 athletes participating from all the 44 countries affiliated to the Olympic Council of Asia. Though the Afro-Asian Games will have more number of countries in fray — 93 from Asia and Africa — it will have only eight disciplines with just over 2000 athletes fighting for glory and honour in the next nine days with powerhouses China and Japan from Asia and Kenya and Nigeria from Africa likely to dominate. There was no individual March past for the countries who came in batches of two with African athletes leading with their continent’s flag. The Indians, hoping to make a significant impact in the competitions after some creditable performances at the global level in recent times, got a rousing ovation as they walked into the stadium at the end of the joint march past by the Asian athletes. When special guest on the occasion, L K Advani declared the 1st Afro-Asian Games open, it was welcomed by a thunderous cheer by the large gathering. Shooter Anjali Bhagwat took the oath on behalf of the athletes which was followed by some spectacular fireworks and lazer and space cannon shows. Around 12,000 school and college students came up with some exciting presentation depicting the vast, vibrant and distinct culture of the countries of Asia and Africa. The highlights of the evening were the the tribal dance of ‘Umojas’ (professional tribal dancers from Africa), the spiritual chanting of Chinese monks, and above all the prayers for peace and unity in the world by thousands of children who had toiled hard for the last 20 days to make the inaugural a dazzling affair. While Umojas’ dance highlighted the spirit of unity and brotherhood, the children showed their presentations for world peace. With the theme song for the Afro-Asian Games in the background, Sheroo the Lion, the official mascot was escorted to the ground by a thousand children to the lasting applause of the spectators. The opening showcased the rich cultural heritage and the glorious past of the hosts as well as that of Asia and Africa. It included the epic story on the life of emperor Ashoka to the link between populace of both the continents through the freedom struggle of many countries in the region. The organisers also left no stone unturned to make the occasion a grand affair after some initial hiccups in the run-up to the Games with many Bollywood personalities performing before a packed house. Pop singer Shankar Mahadevan came up with the theme song, Bollywood heartthrobs Urmila Matondkar, Mahima Chaudhury and Simran enthralled the audience with catchy dance numbers highlighting the cultural diversity of the country. As the ceremony unfolded, it was unquestionably the moment that crystallised the hopes and aspirations of the organisers who had strived hard through the last ten years, ever since they were allowed by the International Olympics Committee (IOC) to host the games. The Afro-Asian Games will now offer them the perfect platform to score over their rivals Canada in the race for the 2010 Commonwealth Games, which will be decided just over a fortnight from now. A successful effort here will also make India’s case strong to bid for mega events in future that include the Asian Games in 2014 and the Olympics in 2016. It will also provide Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, the chief architect of the games, a chance to get a step closer to realise his dreams of turning Hyderabad, the city with the best sporting infrastructure in the world by the year 2010. (PTI) |
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Indo-Pak final at World Snooker Championship NEW DELHI, Oct 24: It would be yet another India-Pakistan encounter when national champion Pankaj Advani takes on second seed Saleh Mohammad in the final of the World Snooker Championship being played at Jiangmen in China. In the semifinals played today, Advani thrashed fifth seed Vrendan O’Donoghue of Ireland 8-3 while Mohammad got the better of Northern Ireland’s Mark Allen 8-5 to fix a final date, according to information received here. If the Bangalore-based Advani manages to win the 21-frame final tomorrow he will become only the second Indian to do so in the history of the game. India had the pride of winning this coveted title in 1984 when O B Agarwal defeated T Parson of Wales at Dublin in Ireland. No Indian had since then entered the last four stage of the championship. Advani, just 19, playing his first ever World Championship, will however, not have a chance to become the youngest champion, a record held by Jimmy White of England. White was 17-year-old when he won the title in 1980. Advani, country’s youngest national champion played a cautious game from the beginning as he opted for safe play against his experienced opponent. The Indian went into the break with a 4-3 lead and then clinched the issue by winning four frames on the trot in the second session to enter his maiden final. The extent of cautiousness the two players employed was clear from the fact that the entire match did not have a notable break in the 80-18 63-23 46-65 74-5 28-50 93-7 65-73 68-1 66-57 63-17 93-15 scoreline. "Pankaj has displayed tremendous maturity in reaching the final, considering that it is his maiden entry into the World Championship," the elated Indian team coach Michael Ferreira told PTI from Jiangmen. "It was a very solid match by Pankaj... But tomorrow is the ultimate test. "I told only one thing to Pankaj. Forget the world title, forget that it is a India-Pakistan tie. Just go out and enjoy the game.’’ Expressing happiness on the performance of the entire team, Ferreira said the success here would surely attract more youngsters towards the game. |
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India suffer defeat against S Africa HYDERABAD, Oct 24: Pietie Coetzee snuffed the life out of the Indians with a fine hat-trick as the hosts suffered a 1-3 loss against South Africa in a Pool A match in women’s hockey event of the Afro-Asian Games here today. Pietie’s onslaught ensured a berth for South Africa in the semifinals where as India would now have to at least force a draw in their last match against Kazakhstan to be in the hunt for a place in the last four. "It was really a disappointing performance by the girls. We conceded two goals in the first half but in that 35 minutes India’s performance was quite good. But it was indeed a poor show in the second," chief coach M K Kaushik said afterwards. (PTI) |
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Excelsior Sports Correspondent JAMMU, Oct 24: Jammu and Kashmir Table Tennis Association has postponed the 25th State championship due to some inevitable circumstances. Scheduled to start from November 2, the championship shall now start from November 7 at the same venue, informed Sheetal Gandotra, organising secretary. |
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Kamal crowned with double title 6th time in a row Excelsior Sports Correspondent JAMMU, Oct 24: Kamal Rohmetra has been crowned with double title that too consecutive sixth time in the 13th Jammu District Billiards and Snooker Championship that concluded today at Billiards, here. With already a senior Snooker title to his credit beating first-timer, Jaideep Manocha 4-1, Kamal outplayed Sohail Khalid, who also had made a maiden entry into the final. Kamal, who opened his account with a 42 break, never looked back and steadily added points to take a lead of 119 points when the two-hour long final came to an end with score on board 471-352. Kamal, who was leading by 100 points at the end of the first hour play, further took the lead to near 150. However, he witnessed a fast game from Sohail in the fag end and finally the gap was reduced to 119 points. In the near month long championship, starting from October 1, Nishant Azad has created history in junior group, winning both Billiards and Snooker titles. In Snooker, Nishant beat Sumesh Turki while in the Billiards final he outplayed Kuldeep Sharma (Choudhary). In today’s senior Billiards final, Manoj Pant, Secretary, State Sports Council was the chief guest. He first witnessed the final and later himself played Billiards with Siddharth Sharma, president, J&K Billiards and Snooker Association (JKBSA). Soon after presenting prizes to the winners and runners-up, Pant congratulated the organising committee of the JKBSA for the successful conduct of the competitions. He recalled another successful venture of the Association when they held Nationals at Jammu in December last. Earlier, Siddharth Sharma gave a brief note of the championships. He highlighted the problems being faced by the markers, the officials in the game. Siddharth asked the Secretary for technical grade for the markers and to make Rakesh Kumar permanent, who is working on the consolidated basis. He disclosed that the State Championships will be held in the last week of November. Siddharth also suggested that three Billiards table, spared at the time Nationals in Jammu, be shifted to districts of Poonch, Udhampur and Kathua, so that the game also spreads to these districts. Prominent among others present on the occasion were Joint Secretary, B K Magotra, Som Raj Gupta, member Sports Council, Ajit Singh, Sports Officer, Ajay Sharma, general secretary TT Association, Saleem Bandey, president, district Poonch Billiards and Snooker Association and a host of senior and junior players and their parents. |
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Ankush’s ton helps Law and Science win by 123 runs Excelsior Sports Correspondent JAMMU, Oct 24: Brilliant 106 runs knock coming off 102 deliveries and studded with 18 boundaries by Ankush Gupta( Law Departments) today guided Post Graduate (PG) Law and Science to a big 123 runs victory over Degree College, Poonch in the ongoing inter-college Cricket tournament, here. Batting first after winning the toss, PG Law and Science set a target of 274 runs in the allotted 40 overs for the loss of eight wickets. In reply, Poonch College bowled out for 151 runs. For PG Law and Science, Ajay Pal Singh also played well and contributed 49 runs off 43 balls with the help of five hits to the fence. Ankush Wazir and Shamsher Singh added 42 and 27 runs respectively. Rajeev, Sandeep and Imran shared two wickets each while Farooq and Javed added one each. Batting second, Degree College, Poonch lost all the wickets for 151 runs. Rafaquat was top scorer with 39 runs including five fours while Rajeev added 34 runs with the help of four boundaries. Kulbushan claimed five wickets for 17 runs in seven overs while Ajay Pal Singh and Gourav bagged one each for PG Law & Science. |
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By Ravi Shastri The most beneficial outcome of the truncated first one-day match of the TVS Cup was the return to form of Sachin Tendulkar. One could see that his feet were moving again, the ball finding the sweet spot of the bat repeatedly. He was untroubled by any of the bowlers, nor hassled by the fall of wickets at the other end. Tendulkar’s form remains crucial for the side. He is still the player opponents fear most, whatever the other arguments. For my money, Tendulkar in fine fettle, enhances the prospects of a win considerably. What he does in this one-day series also has a bearing on the tour to Australia, so runs from his bat is good news. There were useful knocks from Sehwag and Laxman too, but neither of them could take advantage of a good start. Laxman, in particular, looks to be approaching the form which got him double and triple first class hundreds a few seasons ago, but is is important that he converts a good start into a big innings. He has been out of the one-day side for a while and may be trying to prove a thing or tow, but nothing speaks louder than runs. Batting at number 3, he has the time and the opportunity to make these runs. From New Zealand’s point of view, there was very little to shout home about though Fleming will be delighted at the return of Chris Cairns. It was good to see him bowl — and get a wicket - for Cairns’ presence gives the team depth and the captain options in batting and bowling. Fleming’s concern will be the other bowlers who may find that, unlike in the Tests, the Indian batsmen are ready to take risk and play aggressively in the one-dayers. Even in a rain-ruined game, it was clear that Vettori and Co will have to adapt quickly to be as irksome as they were in the Tests. Sharing points in the first match means that both India and New Zealand will have some catching up to do. In a sense Chennai was unusual for it is unlikely that there will be rain in the other venues. The loss of one point each here could mean a lot to both these teams. World Cup champions Australia begin their campaign without four regular bowlers. But their batting remains intact, and led by Matthew Hayden, has been in robust form. It would be interesting to see if the Indian and new Zealand bowlers can stop this juggernaut. If they can, this tournament could have many twists and turns.(TCM) |
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Hockey tourney begins at Rajouri Excelsior Sports Correspondent JAMMU, Oct 24: District Rajouri Hockey Association is holding three different tournaments in senior, junior and sub-junior groups from November 3 at sports stadium, Nowshera. Tournaments have been named as 12th S Saroop Singh Memorial, 11th Sham Memorial and 11th War Hero Memorial Hockey tournaments. Entries are invited from the interested clubs and same can be submitted to the association office bearers. 16-member team named for Jr National Hockey Excelsior Sports Correspondent JAMMU, Oct 24: Jammu and Kashmir Hockey Association has selected a 16-member team for the forthcoming Junior (U-21) National Hockey Championship to be held at Raipur, Chattisgarh from October 27 to November 7. The selected team included: Jagjeet Singh (captain), Indpal Singh, Jogeshwar Singh, Dupinder Singh, Amarjeet Singh, Vijay Kumar, Amandeep Singh, Inderjeet Singh, Manjeet Singh, Sunil Kumar, Omkar Singh, Kamal Kishore Singh, Pawandeep Singh, Parvinder Singh, Pravjot Singh and Ritesh Singh. Standbys: Jasminder Singh, Sunny Kumar and Sartaj Singh. Joginder Singh is accompanying the team as coach. Excelsior Sports Correspondent JAMMU, Oct 23: Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA) is holding fortnight long open trials for selection of Ranji probables of Jammu Province for the cricket season ahead. Trials shall be commencing from October 27 and continue upto November 10 at hostel ground, GGM Science College, here, said Rahul Bharti, vice-chairman, JKCA, Jammu wing here today. Selection shall be conducted by senior selectors Sant Singh and Ashok Dutta. Merit of the players, attending the trials, shall be adjudged on the basis of their overall performance during the course of 15 days camp, he added. The timing of the camp will be between 2.30 pm to 5.30 pm. |
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