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| Track will help the bowlers: Atapattu NEW DELHI, Dec 9: Sri Lankan captain Marvan Atapattu today sought to put pressure on India ahead of the crucial second cricket Test, saying the grassy track at the Ferozeshah Kotla ground will suit his pace bowlers. .......more Top Asian
cueists for MUMBAI, Dec 9: Top Asian cueists, including current Asian champion Jin Long of China and former continental winner Yasin Merchant, would take part in the Reid and Taylor ...........more Inzamam
fears England LAHORE (Pakistan), Dec 9: Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul Haq said his confident team would be wary of an England comeback in the five-match one-day international series which starts here tomorrow......more India wins
bid to host KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 9: India today won the bid to stage the 2009 world badminton championship, paving the way for the country to host its first-ever world championship in an ....more |
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Kathua boys, Jammu girls emerge State champions Excelsior Sports Correspondent JAMMU, Dec 9: District Kathua has become State Volleyball champion for the third time after they defeated Jammu district 3-1 .......more MAM,
Commerce Excelsior Sports Correspondent JAMMU, Dec 9: Government MAM College, ASCOMS and SPMR College of Commerce......more Agarwal
elected president Excelsior Sports Correspondent JAMMU, Dec 9: An IPS officer of the J&K Police, Navin Agarwal today elected as president of the Jammu and Kashmir Tug-of-War Association while Sheikh ...........more Evershine,
Star Club Excelsior Sports Correspondent JAMMU, Dec 9: Evershine Cricket Club and Star Cricket Club won their respective matches to sail into the semi-finals of the ......more |
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Track will help the bowlers: Atapattu NEW DELHI, Dec 9: Sri Lankan captain Marvan Atapattu today sought to put pressure on India ahead of the crucial second cricket Test, saying the grassy track at the Ferozeshah Kotla ground will suit his pace bowlers. Atapattu said his pacemen were quite capable of exploiting the conditions and singled out the experienced Chaminda Vaas as the key man in his bowling attack. "This wicket is different from that of Chennai. The Chennai wicket was prepared for a one-day game against South Africa, which was not played. But this wicket has some grass in the middle and hopefully it will help the bowlers," Atapattu said on the eve of the match. The Lankan captain expressed happiness over the fact that their pace spearhead Vaas is in good form. "It’s good for the team. Vaas bowling well is good news for us and we hope he continues to do so," he said Atapattu declined to reveal anything on the final xi but expressed his happiness over the prospect of the wicket helping the bowlers. "The final xi will depend on how the wicket looks in the morning," he said. Atapattu played down the promotion of Kumara Sangakkara to the opening slot in the first Test in Chennai indicating that the wicketkeeper-batsman might go back to his usual position of number three. "Sangakkara is our usual no 3 batsman. It’s just that I was not not available for the first hour and he came in to open in the first Test. It’s as simple as that," Atapattu said. Sri Lankan coach Tom Moody stressed the need of bouncing back in the Test series after their debacle in the one-day series against the hosts recently. "After losing the one-day series 6-1, it is important to bounce back. Any side would like to do that. It’s nice that we started off well in chennai and we need to improve upon that," Moody said. Earlier, the islanders concentrated on a lot of batting practice as around 20 local pacers bowled ceaselessly at the batters, while their own speedsters wilfully bent their backs and looked in good rhythm. The second-highest wicket taker in Test cricket and star off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan looked in ominous form as he bowled at a single stump for nearly half-an-hour. The tweaker tested his repertorie of varied deliveries with perfection while sticking to a consistent length. The whole team, unlike yesterday, did not spent much time on fielding practices and stayed focussed on batting and bowling on the eve of the second Test. (PTI) |
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Top Asian cueists for snooker doubles tourney MUMBAI, Dec 9: Top Asian cueists, including current Asian champion Jin Long of China and former continental winner Yasin Merchant, would take part in the Reid and Taylor Bombay Gymkhana Instant Snooker Tournament, to be held here from December 13-17. Long would be partnering the current world snooker youth runner-up and his compatriot Tian Pengfei in the Rs 6.25-lakh prize money tournament, it was announced at a media conference last night. The other foreigners who have entered the tournament to be played on a unique time limit format at the Bombay Gymkhana are Ko Kit Palajin, Nitiwat Kanjanasri (both Thailand), Saleh Mohamma, Mohd Yousuf (both Pakistan), Mohd Joker and Mohd Shehab (UAE). Giving details of the tournament, in which two players form a team and there is a time limit of 20 minutes for a frame to be completed and 30 seconds for a shot to be attempted by the cueists, tournament’s conceiver Gulam Vahanvati said he expected exciting matches in the format. Merchant, winner of the Asian title twice in 1989 and 2001 and the 2002 Asian Games gold medallist, would be partnered by 200 IBSF world champion Pankaj Advani. Among other Indians to be seen in action would be seven-time world pro billiards champion Geet Sethi, current world billiards runner-up Devendra Joshi and former world IBSF under 21 quarter-finalist Aditya Mehta. Speaking about the format, Merchant said, "we are on the threshold of one of the most exciting concepts, and knowing the strength of the field, I expect a very stiff contest". Sethi too welcomed the format, in which players visit the table alternately and the total point accumulation, rather than frames, decides the winner, and suggested that the Indian cue federation patent it. The nine-team event would be a league-cum-knock-out event. Four of these (with the highest score) would reach the semi finals to be played over 9 frames. The top two teams would contest the 13-frame final on Dec 17 and the winning pair would be richer by Rs 2.16 lakh. The participating teams are: Team A: Jin Long and Tian Pengfei (China); B: Mohd Joker and Mohd Shehab (UAE); C: Saleh Mohammad and Mohd Yousuf (Pakistan); D: Kobkit Palajin and Nitiwat Kanjanasri (Thailand). Team E: Alok Kumar and Manan Chandra (India); F: Pankaj Advani and Yasin Merchant (India); G: Devendra Joshi and Aditya Mehta (India); H: Neeraj Kumar and Rupesh Shah (India); I; Geet Sethi and Omar Balsara. (PTI) |
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Inzamam fears England comeback
against LAHORE (Pakistan), Dec 9: Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul Haq said his confident team would be wary of an England comeback in the five-match one-day international series which starts here tomorrow. "Our win in the tests has given us confidence, but I still think England is a very dangerous team and can stage a comeback in the one-dayers," said Inzamam, whose side won the preceding Test series 2-0 last week. Inzamam, under whom Pakistan have won their last seven limited-overs internationals, said the outcome of the one-dayers was not a foregone conclusion despite the Test result. "It is nice to think that we have been winning, but on the other hand it is tough to switch from Tests to one-day cricket. We won’t take it lightly," said Inzamam, under whom Pakistan have won 37 of 59 matches. Pakistan came back from a 2-0 deficit to beat India 4-2 before routing the West Indies 3-0 early this year. Pakistan will be boosted by the return of vice captain Younis Khan and allrounder Abdul Razzaq. Younis missed Pakistan’s innings and 100-run win in the last Test here due to his brother’s death, while Razzaq missed the whole series due to an elbow injury. Pakistan, however, will miss one-day specialist Shahid Afridi who was banned for a Tests and two one-day internationals for damaging the pitch during the second test at Faisalabad. Inzamam said a decision on all-rounder Shoaib Malik will be made after he returns on Friday from Australia, where he has undergone new treatment on his bowling action after it was reported during the first Test against England. England need to lift themselves from both the Test series defeat and from captain Michael Vaughan’s absence with a knee injury. Currently ranked six in the world, England also must beat Pakistan to get direct entry to the biennial Champions Trophy in India next year. The tourists’ build-up to the series has not been auspicious, losing a warm-up game against Pakistan ‘A’ by a single wicket on Wednesday. Marcus Trescothick, who will lead the side in Vaughan’s absence, said England can beat Pakistan if they play well. "Pakistan are a good side and got lot of experience. Obviously playing at home they are a great side over here," said the left-handed opener, who has previously led England in five one-dayers, winning three of them. "It’s going to be a tough challenge to beat them. We can beat them if we play well." A sell-out crowd of 25,000 is expected to watch the first match, with proceeds from ticket sales going to victims of the South Asian earthquake. Pakistan is also using two neutral umpires, instead of the prevalent one neutral and one home umpire, for the first time in one-day cricket. (AFP) |
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Kathua boys, Jammu girls emerge State champions Excelsior Sports Correspondent JAMMU, Dec 9: District Kathua has become State Volleyball champion for the third time after they defeated Jammu district 3-1 in an interesting final in the 18th edition of the State (Junior U-19) Volleyball Championship which came to an end today at Mini-Stadium Parade, here today. Leading by two sets 25-17, 25-17, Kathua boys faced a tough resistance from Jammu in the third set with skipper Naresh Singh hitting some power-packed spikes which Jammu blockers unable to hold. It was a morale boosting win in the third set 25-19 for Jammu boys, who suddenly started playing a good game. However, the comparatively better side of Kathua fought like brave soldiers and shattered the dreams of Jammu boys by taking away the fourth set which was once tied at 18-18. Kathua captain Anil Sharma enthralled the audience with his skill to find gap in the opponent defence. The score: 25-17, 25-17, 19-25, 25-21. Later, talking to EXCELSIOR, Kathua coach, a PET of the Department of Youth Services and Sports, Mohinder Sharma said," last year we had lost to SAI Centre Udhampur, but this time boys had practiced a lot and were confident enough to take home the championship this time". The strength of Kathua team was their better combination, which the coach said was result of their routine practice at Government High School, Gurah Mundian. Representing Kathua district, almost all the players belong to Gurah Mundian in Hiranagar. The losers, Jammu boys were of the views that they were lacking coordination within the team. Jammu team was comprised of two players from border village of Pallanwala in Akhnoor while rest practices at MA Stadium under the guidance of State Sports Council coach, Onkar Singh. The teams: Kathua: Anil Sharma, Jyoti Sharma, Vishal Sharma, Mukesh Sharma, Avinash Dogra, Vivek Sharma, Roshan Sharma, Anil Sharma, Ganesh Sharma, Pankaj Sharma and Parveen Sharma. Jammu: Naresh Singh, Lalit Kumar, Bhushan Kumar, Sachin Radhey, Ramnik Singh, Sushil Kumar, Zorawar Singh, Sukhwinder Singh and Satish Sharma. Meanwhile, the championship trophy in girls section was retained by Jammu district beating Poonch in straight sets 25-18, 25-15, 25-14. In the boys final and prize distribution function, Secretary State Sports Council and Director Youth Services and Sports, Manoj Pant was chief guest. Among others present were Joint Secretary of the Sports Council, Siddharh Sharma, president, Volleyball Association of J&K, Raj Daluja and a host of other guests. |
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MAM, Commerce College win in basketball Excelsior Sports Correspondent JAMMU, Dec 9: Government MAM College, ASCOMS and SPMR College of Commerce won their respective matches on the opening day of the inter-college basketball tournament started today at University of Jammu courts, here today. In the first match of the day, MAM College defeated Law School 55-20, including fine contributions from Kuldeep Kumar (14) and Mohit Jamwal (18). The ASCOMS made it a one-sided contest against Degree College Udhampur winning the match 46-03. Abhinav added maximum 15 points in ASCOMS total. In the third match, Government SPMR College of Commerce outplayed Government College for Engineering and Technology (GCET) in a close contest 68-46. Tushar (29), Varinder (14) and Joginder (4) were main contributors to Commerce College score while Poojam (18) and Arjun (12) remained top scorers from GCET. Today’s matches were officiated by Mohd Shafi, Ravinder Khajuria and Manoj Kumar. This tournament is being held under the supervision of senior basketball coach of the JU, Aman Sharma. |
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Agarwal elected president of J&K Tug-of-War Association Excelsior Sports Correspondent JAMMU, Dec 9: An IPS officer of the J&K Police, Navin Agarwal today elected as president of the Jammu and Kashmir Tug-of-War Association while Sheikh Mohammed Safi made general secretary in an election meeting held here under the chairmanship of Prithvi Raj Sharma. Mohd Maqbool Wani was elected treasurer while Prithvi Raj Sharma was nominated senior vice-president of the Association. The outgoing president, Shiv Kumar Sharma was nominated as patron-in-chief. Others who were assigned different positions included Inderjeet Khajuria, G M Bhat, Mohd Majid Malik, Tabasum (vice-presidents), Bansi Lal Tidyal (joint secretary Jammu), G M Wani (joint secretary Kashmir), Hartej Singh (chairman technical committee), Sudhir Kumar (deputy chairman technical committee), Prem Choudhary (chairman selection committee). |
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Evershine, Star Club enter semis of Mulkh Raj cricket Excelsior Sports Correspondent JAMMU, Dec 9: Evershine Cricket Club and Star Cricket Club won their respective matches to sail into the semi-finals of the 3rd Mulkh Raj memorial cricket tournament being organised by Ramnik Cricket Club here today. In the first quarterfinal, Evershine Club defeated NIWS XI by 32 runs. Earlier, Evershine made 154 runs for the loss of nine wickets in 20 overs, which, in reply NIWS lost all their wickets in 18 overs. Vijay Dogra was declared man of the match for his 67-run brilliant innings for Evershine. In the second quarterfinal, Vishal Club outplayed Star Club by five wickets. Vishal Club chased the target of 128 runs in 19.4 overs with five wickets in hand. Earlier, Star Club bowled out for 127 runs in 19 overs of the 20 overs. Chandan was declared man of the match for his 41 runs contribution for the winners, Vishal Club. |
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