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| Dravid milks you, says Waqar NEW DELHI, Apr 20: He has taken nearly 800 wickets in international cricket, but Waqar Younis would not like to bowl to Rahul Dravid, who is "a teaser" and who "just milks you"..........more PCB sets
up medical ISLAMABAD, Apr 20: The Pakistan Cricket Board today appointed a four-member medical committee to probe into the spate of injuries to its players, especially during the India series, and asked......more Sachin,
Lara are in MUMBAI, Apr 20: Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar today said Indian batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar and West Indies skipper Brian Lara were.............more Sack
Shahryar, LAHORE, Apr 19: Unleashing a barrage on the ad-hoc running of the board, former test players have demanded resignation.........more |
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Inter-Area Acquatic meet concludes Excelsior Correspondent JAMMU, Apr 20: Western Air Command Inter Area Aquatic Championship2004-2005, which was earlier inaugurated by Group Captain S K Bhattacharya.......more KOLKATA, Apr 20: Indian cricket skipper Sourav Ganguly today had a surprise visitor when West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadev Bhattacharjee came calling at his residence to........more Pak,
Malaysia register KARACHI, Apr 20: Hosts Pakistan and Malaysia registered thumping wins on the opening day of the ten-nation Junior Asia Cup Hockey Tournament here today........more England
pip India LONDON, Apr 20: Despite India’s 3-2 series victory over Pakistan in the Samsung Cup one-dayers, England edged out the Sourav......more |
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NEW DELHI, Apr 20: He has taken nearly 800 wickets in international cricket, but Waqar Younis would not like to bowl to Rahul Dravid, who is "a teaser" and who "just milks you". Only days ago Waqar announced his retirement from international cricket and one of his few regrets is that he played just four test matches against India. His failure against the arch-rivals in the World Cup semi-final at Bangalore in 1996 is one of the lows of his career. One of the greatest fast bowlers in the history of the game, Waqar took a test wicket every 43.4 balls giving him the best strike rate amongst the top bowlers. In 87 tests, he has a tally of 373 wickets and in 262 one-dayers he took 416, giving him a fabulous record in both versions of the game. Looking back on his 15-year-long international career during a free-wheeling interview to PTI here, the 32-year-old Waqar said that he was in contention to play against India in the recent series but was not picked up by the selectors. But that did not hasten his decision to retire because "one should go when one is running in and not jogging". "Bonding" is a word he repeatedly used to describe the Indian team that beat Pakistan recently. "Look at the incident of the declaration when Sachin Tendulkar was on 194. It would have been a huge issue in Pakistan or England. Sachin did not like it, but he came out saying please do not make an issue of it. This brings out the bonding between cricketers." "The Indian dressing room", said Waqar, "was excellent. You win matches from the dressing room. The way you behave in the dressing room is the way you play out in the middle." The Indian batting, he acknowledged, is definitely a top line-up because even Yuvraj Singh who is "as dangerous as others" has to work hard to get into the team. "India’s top six are all capable of making big runs, not 105 or 110 but 280 or 300. India has the batting which can always put 600 runs on the board." Of Dravid, Waqar said that he is one of the few batsmen in the world who are technically very correct. "His feet movement, his body, his elbow are all text book. He is a top player but I will not call him great at the moment," he said. "I would rather bowl to Virender Sehwag than to Dravid because Dravid is a teaser. He just milks you. If Sehwag and Dravid go into a bad patch, there are more chances of Dravid coming back because he is technically more sound," said the former Pakistani captain. Even Tendulkar gives the bowler a little more chance. "If I continuously bowl four or five good balls to him I will probably create a chance but Dravid has such a good temperament also. He does not not mind even if you bowl 20 balls in a good area. He will still block you," he said. As for the Pakistani team, Waqar said its bowling against India was a "big let down" and he had no idea why there was no sting in it. Shoaib Akthar, Mohammad Sami and Shabbir Ahmed all have great potential but seemed like going through motions, probably because of pressure of playing against India. "There have got to be some problems with our bowlers now. We have to put our brain behind the bowling. I think they are not putting their brain behind bowling. They are not really thinking what they are doing," he said. Waqar said that the Pakistani bowlers bowled well in patches but were not consistent enough nor did they bowl well in tandem. "If you have to swing, you have to release the ball with timing just as the batsmen has to time his shot. (Umar) gul swung it so nicely in Lahore because his wrist position and action were just going right for him. I would say the same for Balaji and Irfan. You see the seam coming off their hands". Did he think that shoaib has an attitudinal problem? "I do not really know. It will be very harsh of me to say anything like this because he is my team fellow. But definitely the Cricket Board should look into it. There is something wrong but I cannot say what," he replied. Waqar said the recent Indo-Pak series had created a lot of friendship which was really required. "The bonding was very important. Both the teams behaved really well on the field and the crowd behaviour was just excellent. Pakistan and Indian cricket is much better than the ashes or any series in the world." "During this series cricket intensity from the Pakistani side was missing which was not good for the game. They were not the Pakistani side which I knew. They did not have aggression. They murdered New Zealand and South Africa but it is probably tension when you play against India," he said. Speaking of Pakistan’s inexperienced batting line up, Waqar said that either Yousuf Youhana or skipper Inzamam-ul Haq should have batted at No 3 to give the youngsters a little protection. When reminded that Pakistani cricket had always been plagued by infighting, Waqar said, "not all the time. At odd times we used to have problems. When you live together more than you live with your family you are bound to fight, you are bound to have arguments." About differences with another Pakistani great Wasim Akram with whom he formed a formidable bowling combination, Waqar said "we never took to the field any differences. Even if there were differences these were healthy." Analysing Indian players, Waqar said that Sehwag had a great eye and that is why he picked up balls from even Shoaib bowling at 100 miles per hour and hit them over extra covers without even moving his feet. He should not change his game but has to improve his defence failing which the bowlers will "sort him out". About Irfan Pathan and L Balaji, two of India’s bowling finds in the just-concluded series, he said they were very good bowlers who wanted to learn. "They are nice guys also and I have spoken to them. But please do not overdo them. Indians have made such mistakes in the past. When Ajit Agarkar had done 20 matches everyone in India thought another Kapil Dev had arrived. Kapil Dev comes once in a century." Both Pathan and Balaji were putting their heart and soul in their bowling. "They are bowlers who bowl with their hearts and deserve their success." He candidly admitted that he was not made for World Cup cricket. He had missed the 1992 cup because of back injury, had not done well in the 1996 cup semi-final against India in the semi-final, had played only one game against Bangladesh in the 1999 cup which Pakistan had lost and had not done well aginst India in the 2003 cup in South Africa. Recalling the 2003 match against India, Waqar said that his team’s 270-plus should have been pretty good for a pressure game but Tendulkar won it for India in the first 10 overs. Asked about the pressure on players during India-Pakistan matches, Waqar said that there is always tension in international cricket and sometimes one cannot sleep at night. "But with India there is a little bit extra pressure because the nation is expecting a lot from you." Looking back on the changes in the game, the former Pakistani great said that one-day cricket had changed everything and test cricket was now being played like the shorter version. "The wickets have gone flatter and they are not friendly to bowlers." He favoured certain standards for pitches as well as for umpires. "They should have younger people as umpires and their age limit should be 50," he said. Asked if he would accept the job of Pakistan’s bowling coach, Waqar said nobody had spoken to him from the Pakistan Cricket Board in this regard. "If they ask me to do this job they will have to accept my terms and conditions. I do not want to hear two months later or six months later that I have been sacked. But I will definitely think about it as I would like to give something back to cricket, may be as a coach." (PTI) |
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PCB
sets up medical commission to probe ISLAMABAD, Apr 20: The Pakistan Cricket Board today appointed a four-member medical committee to probe into the spate of injuries to its players, especially during the India series, and asked the concerned cricketers to appear before the panel by this week. The Commission would examine tearaway paceman Shoaib Akhtar, wicket keeper Moin Khan, all-rounder Abdul Razzaq and fast bowlers Shabbir Ahmed and Umar Gul. "The commission has not been constituted to find a scapegoat. It has been constituted to find why so many players got injured, and what can be done in future to prevent so many injuries," PCB Chief Executive Rameez Raja said in a statement here. Although he warned that strict action would be taken if any one was found guilty of feigning injury, Raja said the inquiry would also help answer accusations that the cricketers faked injuries. "The other objective is to help the players get their names cleared from the general perception that they faked their injuries, if they were genuinely injured. "I must make myself very clear that if it was proved that some players did fake their injuries, they will be taken to task." Shoaib, who is currently shooting for a commercial in Mumbai, has been asked to appear before the commission on Sunday. PCB spokesman Sami-ul Hassan told PTI that Shoaib has been informed to appear before the commission by the afternoon on April 25. Others are expected to appear before that. The commission, announced by Board chief Shaharyar Khan, has formally been constituted with four medical specialists including Pakistan team doctor Riaz Ahmed. The other members of the commission are Dr Abdul Wajid (Orthopedic Surgeon, Aga Khan Hospital), Dr Naseer Ahmed (former head of Orthopedic Department, King Edward Medical College), and Dr Sohail Saleem (member, PCB panel of doctors). Shoaib pulled half way through the series deciding third test against India at Rawalpindi after hurting his back and wrist. The medical team will examine injuries to Moin Khan (groin), Razzaq (side strain), Ahmed (shin) and Gul (back). (PTI) |
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Sachin, Lara are in different class: Akhtar MUMBAI, Apr 20: Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar today said Indian batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar and West Indies skipper Brian Lara were in a different class and rated both as great batsmen of this era. Akhtar, who is here to shoot for a commercial along with Tendulkar for a motorbike company, told reporters that he considers Sachin in a different class as his record of nearly 70 centuries in both form of the game (one-day and tests) speaks for itself and called Lara his favourite batsman. "It is very difficult to compare two batsmen of different styles. To me both are great and the only comparison I can think of is that I have bowled enough to Sachin in my seven years of international cricket but I am yet to bowl a ball to Lara in any form of cricket," he said. "It so happens that when I am bowling, Lara has never come to bat and when he is batting in the middle I have not got a chance to bowl. However, I admire his batting as he is so elegant and solid. He makes batting look very easy and his stamina and will power to stay in the middle is amazing," Shoaib, who refused to answer any controversial or questions pertaining to his future plans, said. Asked about his trip to India, Akhtar said "I came here yesterday morning on the invitation of TVS Motors to shoot for victor bike. Basically it is Sachin’s act and I am just a part of it". "I would also like to take this opportunity to do some social service like visiting a cancer hospital and playing cricket with the boys of an orphanage," he said. "I would like to think that I am an Ambassador of my country to India. It is not that we in Pakistan get opportunites to do social work everyday though there are a lot to be done", Akhtar said. When asked about the constant struggle between him and Aussie paceman Brett Lee to be the fastest bowler in the world, Akhtar, said "like I told you before that I don’t believe in comparing two batsmen of different styles. I don’t think it is fair to compare two bowlers with totally different actions". When asked to compare the modelling scene in Pakistan to India, Akhtar said "the modelling scene in India is definetly bigger in India than in Pakistan and I personally like to come to Mumbai when ever I can as I love this city. "Infact Mumbai is my second home and god willing I would like to come here quite often", he added with a big smile. When asked whether the recently concluded series against India, which was termed as the friendship series, lived up to the expectations, Akhtar said "certainly. The hospitality our people showed to the Indian spectators had to be seen to be believed. The taxi drivers refused to charge their passengers once they learnt they were from india and this had never happened before". "I think the series was a big success and winning and losing was not the ultimate goal and a team which played better won the series in the end", he added. "Infact the politicians from both countries were shy to come forward and hold talks, now cricket has set the motion for them to not only hold talks but also extend their hands in friendship because every Pakistani and Indian wants both the countries to friends", the Rawalpindi Express said. (PTI) |
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Sack Shahryar, bring Tauqir or Imran:Former players LAHORE, Apr 19: Unleashing a barrage on the ad-hoc running of the board, former test players have demanded resignation of the PCB chief Shahryar Khan and CEO Rameez Raja and urged president Pervez Musharraf to bring back Tauqir Zia or Imran Khan at the helm of affairs. Alleging that the Board is plagued by irregularities and corruption, the Nascent Former Test Cricketers Association (FTCA) has urged President Musharraf, also the patron of the Board, to replace both Shahryar and Raja. "Tauqir (Zia) should be reinstated with a new team or Mr Imran Khan should be made the PCB head," the FTCA said. They have also written a letter to PCB chief Shahryar Khan. Asking him to step down owing the respnsibility. "Do not pass on the buck to others i.e the cricketers, coach etc. The responsibility is clearly yours and your management’s," FTCA convener Ijaz Butt said in the letter yesterday. The Association rued that the PCB chief had promised transparency in the Board’s operation but he himself appointed a close of friend as a marketing consultant. "The consultant was paid millions of rupees for doing nothing because most of the contracts were signed by Chief Executive Rameez Raja," alleged the FTCA. The Association also alleged that the contract with Ten Sports was honoured because PCB Chief Executive Rameez Raja was an employee of the TV channel. Saying that Rameez was wearing a number of hats at the same time, it alleged, "...He is fleecing the pcb through his friends and relatives." The FTCA also alleged that rameez gave 2000 tickets of rs 1500 denomination to a friend for the fourth and fifth ODIs at Lahore and his friend sold them for Rs 2500 each, making two million rupees in the process. Opining that Shahryar’s predecessor Tauqir Zia was far better than him, FTCA has demanded full details of the ticket sales in the one-day series. (UNI) |
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Inter-Area Acquatic meet concludes Excelsior Correspondent JAMMU, Apr 20: Western Air Command Inter Area Aquatic Championship 2004-2005, which was earlier inaugurated by Group Captain S K Bhattacharya, Station Commander Air Force Station Jammu on April 17, concluded at Air Force Station Swimming Pool today. In the four day long aquatic championship, various swimming competitions comprising 50 meters, 100 meters, 200 meters and 400 meters in free style, butterfly and Back Stroke categories were held. A total of 40 swimmers from Jammu area, Ambala, Nal area, Bhatinda area, Halwara Area, Sarsawa area, Hindon area and Adampur area participated in this aquatic championship, the objective of which was to select Western Area Command Aquatic team for the forthcoming Air Force Aquatic Championship. On the successful conclusion of the championship, Chief Guest Group Captain S K Bhattacharya, Station Commander Air Force Station Jammu in his brief speech emphasized upon character building of personnel through sports activities. March past and swim past marked the closing ceremony. |
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KOLKATA, Apr 20: Indian cricket skipper Sourav Ganguly today had a surprise visitor when West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadev Bhattacharjee came calling at his residence to congratulate him for leading India to victory in both the test and one-day series in Pakistan. Taking time off from electioneering, Bhattacharjee went to Ganguly’s residence at Behala in the evening from the State Secretariat and spent a long time chatting with the cricketer and his family members. "Of course the victory of the team is most important. But your stellar role in moulding the side into such a well-knit fighting unit has to be acknowledged," Bhattacharjee told Ganguly. "It’s basically a team effort. I’m proud to lead such a team. I am confident that we will be able to continue our good show in the coming days," Ganguly replied. Bhattacharjee, an avid cricket fan, had earlier effusively praised Ganguly and his other team members after the victory in the series deciding Rawalpindi test. The State Governor, Viren J Shah, had yesterday visited Ganguly’s residence for an informal get-together. They had a tete-a-tete on various aspects of team India’s sterling performance in Pakistan. Shah congratulated ganguly for the spectacular success of the side, while the latter highly praised the hospitality the team got in Pakistan. The others present at the get-together were filmmaker Mrinal Sen and singers Ruma Guha Thakurta and Nirmala Misra. (PTI) |
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Pak, Malaysia register
thumping wins in KARACHI, Apr 20: Hosts Pakistan and Malaysia registered thumping wins on the opening day of the ten-nation Junior Asia Cup Hockey Tournament here today. Penalty corner specialist Imran WWrsi scored four goals including the first hat-trick of the tournament in Pakistan’s 9-0 demolition of Singapore in Group A while Malaysia downed Sri Lanka 6-0 in Group B at the Pakistan Hockey Club. Fast rising China secured a come from behind 2-2 against Bangladesh in Group B. Defending world champions India, placed in Group B, will open their campaign in the tournament with a match against China tomorrow. The event serves as the regional qualifying tournament from where three top teams will get berths in next year’s Junior World Cup in Amstelveen, Netherlands. Pakistan vs Singapore match saw the hosts opening through Wasri in the 14th minute but squandered as many as six golden chances to score in the first half. Pakistan led 4-0 by the first half with one more goal from Warsi and one each from Tariq Aziz and Yasir Islam. The hosts got as many as a dozen penalty corners but poor stopping at the circle spoiled four of them and could manage only two goals from the short corners. "We need to do better on penalty corners in the tough matches, especially against South Korea and India," said Pakistan coach Asif Bajwa in his post match comments. Pakistan were on the rampage in the second half, scoring five in the period with warsi hitting two more in 57th and 65th minute. Tariq Aziz, Akhtar Ali and Kashif Yaqoob completed the rout as Singapore failed to stop the rushing Pakistanis. In the opening match of the day, China came from a 0-2 defecit to earn a hard fought 2-2 draw against Bangladesh. Mamunur Rehman and Ashraful Islam gave Bangladesh a 2-0 lead in the first half but China showed remarkable resilience in the second period and drew level with goals from Ao Laixang and Ji Mi in the 42nd and 54th minute. Abdul Jalil scored twice in Malaysia’s 6-0 win over Sri Lanka. In the final group a match, Japan beat Chinese Taipei 7-1. Malaysia take on Bangladesh, Japan meet defending Asian Junior Champions South Korea and Pakistan play Chinese Taipei tomorrow. (PTI) |
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England pip India in ICC ODI ranking LONDON, Apr 20: Despite India’s 3-2 series victory over Pakistan in the Samsung Cup one-dayers, England edged out the Sourav Ganguly led side, courtesy their win over West Indies in the first one-dayer and moved up to the fifth spot in the latest ICC ODI Championship table. India had pipped arch-rival Pakistan to claim a joint fifth spot along with England with 107 points but the later with a two-wicket victory at the Goeorgetown pushed India to the sixth spot, according to an ICC release here. Australia continue to be at the top with a massive 135 points followed by a distant South Africa (113) while Sri Lanka and New Zealand are in a joint third spot with 109 points. Lanka must win all five of the one-day international matches in Zimbabwe to improve their rating and go into the first match in Bulawayo tomorrow. If Lanka wins all of its matches its rating will improve to 110 while a 4-1 series win will cause its rating to drop below New Zealand. Zimbabwe is currently ninth in the official ODI table, a long way adrift of the top eight with a rating of 64. It only needs to win one match in the home series to improve its rating. The ICC ODI Championship table: (on 18 April 2004) Position Team Rating 1 Australia 135 2 South Africa 113 3 Sri Lanka 109 4 New Zealand 109 5 England 108 6 India 107 7 Pakistan 106 8 West Indies 100 9 Zimbabwe 64 10 Kenya 28 11 Bangladesh 3 (UNI) Ankita dazzles again as India take 1-0 lead over Korea NEW DELHI, Apr 20: Bouyed by her maiden victory on debut, Ankita Bhambri came out with yet another stunning performance of power and precision to give India a flying start for the second consecutive day overcoming stiff resistance from Korean Kyung-Mi Chang 6-1, 4-6, 6-2 in the Asia-Oceania Group I Federation Cup here today. Thanks to her blistering strokes and fluent court coverage, ankita set the points beautifully as she outwitted her opponent when it came to end game and crucial points in the first singles which lasted for more than two hours at the centre court of the R K Khanna stadium. Ankita began the first set with a bang and broke Chang in the second game to take an early 2-0 lead. She broke her Korean rival in the sixth game again to consolidate the lead 5-1 and held her serve to claim the set 6-1. Chang initially looked listless but slowly came back into the game playing percentage tennis as Ankita drove herself for the kill. The local girl pushed herself a little too much for the winners and, in the process, committed umpteen unforced errors in the second set. Leading 4-2 after having broken Chang in the fifth game, all Ankita needed was to play a waiting game. But she squandered the advantage and had a momentary loss of concentration in the later part of the second set. Sensing opportunity, Chang took the winds out of the sails of Ankita and made her play more shots and kept the points long. Chang eventually broke her in the eighth and tenth game to win the set 6-4 and draw parity 1-1. When it seemed that the match would go down to the aires, Ankita psyched herself up and lifted her game two notches up as she mesmerised Chang with rare aggression and timing that was hardly seen at the Dlta Courts here. Hitting incredible forehand winners and backhand passing shots, Ankita stepped up the gas as she threw herself into the net for volleys and broke Chang in the first, third and fifth games. The Korean broke one back in the fourth but could not redeem herself for the second time in the match as a rejuvenated Ankita looked unassailable and clinched the deciding set 6-2. India’s top seed Sania Mirza takes on Mi-Ra-Jeon in the second singles in the evening. But Ankita, ranked 510, upset his plans with some brave tennis. "I did not know how she plays, they changed the nomination," she said without fuss. Today’s display was much better from Ankita since it came against a better player and higher ranked one at that. A string of unforced errors from the 22-year-old Kyung gave Ankita the break in the very second game. The indian played a couple of strong points to force another break in the sixth and to pocket the first set in 23 minutes. The contest began to hot up in the second set with Kyung finding her range. Ankita broke her in the fifth but failed to hold on to the advantage and dropped the eighth game. Kyung, with four USD 10,000 titles under her belt, began to mix things up but the local girl missed three break points in the ninth and lost focus to concede the second set which lasted 53 minutes. Ankita then began strongly in the decider taking a 3-0 lead in the decider and did not look back from there on. Lee said probably the fact that Kyung was playing in her first Fed Cup match proved to be her undoing. From the moment she saved six break points to hold serve in the first game, Sania was up against a formidable opponent. The 410 ranked Hyderabad girl had the shots in her armoury but was looking for a winner from every stroke. Jeon, a runner-up to Martina Hingis at the Junior Wimbledon Championships, looked less aggressive but more effective. Her retrieves were breathtaking to say the least and kept working on her opponent’s inconsistent play. (PTI) Sasikiran starts on a winning note DUBAI, Apr 20: Grandmaster Krishnan Sasikiran led the Indian charge at the Dubai International Chess championship here scoring an easy victory over Bouaziz slim of Tunisia. GMS Surya Shekhar Ganguly and P Harikrishna also scored full points while the fourth Indian GM R B Ramesh had to be content with a draw. Among the other Indians in the fray, IMS Rahul Shetty, S Satyapragyan and D V Prasad and final im norm aspirant Abhijeet Gupta also began on a positive note with easy victories but WGM Aarthie Ramaswamy and young Parimarjan Negi tasted defeat against stronger opponents. Second seed Sasikiran was stretched by slim but the African could not stop the Indian from garnering full points. In a queens gambit accepted variation as black, Sasikiran went for early attack on the queenside and gained excellent position. Slim found himself at sea and ended up losing a piece vide a tactical sequence of moves. "I got a good position in the opening and even though he drifted into an inferior position, he gave stiff resistance. My Knights held ideal outposts and a pretty combination gave me the piece," Sasikiran said after the game. Top seed grandmaster Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu of Romania scored a fluent victory over nabil saleh of UAE. In a Caro- Kann Panov attack, Nabil blundered after the opening moves and had to resign on the 15th move itself when faced with an irresistible attack against his king. In other matches, Harikrishna faced some tough resistance from former world under-10 champion Safarali Eltaj of Azerbaijan. Safrali penetrated into white’s camp with imaginative play and Harikrishna had to sacrifice an exchange for two pawns to tilt the balance in his favour. In the endgame, however, Safarali failed to come up with the best possible defence and was gradually outplayed. "We reached a critical position in the queen less ending where I thought I had to go for the sacrifice and it proved right in the end thanks to my two bishops," Harikrishna said analysing his game. Former Asian junior champion Deepan Chakravarthy also kept his cool in the endgame to hold GM Karen Asrian of Armenia. (PTI) Top golfers to vie for top honours CHANDIGARH, Apr 20: Top golfers of the country will vie for the top honours in the Rs ten lakh prize money Hero Golf Chandigarh Open to be played at the spacious 18-hole Chandigarh Golf Course here from tomorrow. The winner will be richer by Rs 1,62,000 from the tournament being managed by Delhi-based Tiger Sports Marketing. A thrilling affair is expected for order of merit supremacy between Vijay Kumar of Lucknow and Ashok Kumar of Delhi. Vijay inched ahead of Ashok with a semi-final efforts at the last week’s SRF All-India Matchplay Championship. Vijay’s earnings now tallies Rs 7,90 lakh, a mere Rs 7868 behind his rival. Local professional golfer Harmeet Kahlon will defend his title. The field is also studded with leading golfers namely four-time order of merit winner Mukesh Kumar, SFR all-India matchplay champion Digviay Singh, Kolkata’s talented golfer Shiv Shankar Prasad Chowrasia, two-time honda Siel PGA Golf winner, Arun Singh, Uttam Singh Mundi, thrice hero golf Chandigarh Open Amritinder Singh of Chandigarh, SRF all-India matchplay runner-up Jumman and seasoned campaigners Gaurav Ghei, Ali Sher and Feroz Ali. UNI) Shoaib to skip ODI series, medical committee announced LAHORE, Apr 20: Piqued Pakistani pacer Shoaib Akhtar has decided to skip the one-day series against Sri Lanka in Malaysia next month. Hurt by vitriolic criticism and allegation that he feigned injury in the all-important Rawalpindi test against India, the tearaway pacer has decided not to make himself available for the tour. The pacer was not physically or mentally fit for the tour, a family member was quoted as saying in the local media. "Shoaib is mentally so upset that he might even not participate in any international cricket for a couple of months," he said. The pacer was being made a scapegoat for the team’s debacle against India, the report said. Earlier, talking about the team composition for the series, chief selector Wasim Bari had announced that the board had been exploited by the star players and hence a decision was taken to prefer youngsters over some of the senior members for the tour. Meanwhile in Islamabad today, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief executive Rameez Raja announced a four-member medical committee to probe into the injuries sustained by five Pakistani players during the series against India. He also made it clear that Shoaib was not being made the victim of any witchhunt in the wake of the series defeat to India. "The commission has not been constituted to find a scapegoat. It has been constituted to find why so many players got injured, and what can be done in future to prevent so many injuries," he said. Saying the move would "...Help the players get their names cleared from the general perception that they faked their injuries, if they were genuinely injured", Raja added,"I must make myself very clear that if it was proved that some players did fake their injuries, they will be taken to task." The four-member medical committe, comprising Pakistan team doctor Riaz Ahmed, Dr Abdul Wajid, Dr Naseer Ahmed and Dr Sohail Saleem will look into the injuries sustained by five Pakistani players-Shoaib Akhtar, Moin Khan, Abdul Razzak, Shabbir Ahmed and Umar Gul. (UNI) |
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