HYDERABAD, July 7: Thailand is seeking the support of India for inclusion of kabaddi in South East Asian (SEA) Games. Secretary general of Amateur Kabbadi Association Meervat Phummaphuti told mediapersons here today that since.............more

Tendulkar has lot to offer
to Indian cricket: Kapil

BANGALORE, July 7: Describing Sachin Tendulkar as the best batsman of modern times, legendary all-rounder Kapil Dev today said the player stll had a lot to offer to Indian cricket. ..........more

India to take on
aggressive Aussies

ROTTERDAM, July 7: In a repeat of the 1997 final at Milton Keynes, defending champions India will clash with Australia in the semi-final of the...........more

Archana, Praveen for
sport climbing World Cup

BANGALORE, July 7: A two-member Indian team, comprising bangalore-based Archana B S and Praveen C M, will be competing in the sport climbing World Cup to be held in Chamonix, .......more

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

SRINAGAR, July 7: Appreciating the working of in-charge Secretary, Manoj Pant, President, J&K State Sports Council, Chief Minister Mufti Mohammed...........more

Habib Sports Club wins
Volleyball tourney

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, July 7: Habib Sports Club Surankot won the Volleyball tournament beating Baba Sports Club Thanamandi...........more

Inter-district Handball
tourney begins at Leh

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

LEH, July 7: Inter-district Handball (boys under-19) tournament of Kashmir division started at Polo Ground here............more

Essay competition held

Excelsior Correspondent

Srinagar, July 7: An on-the-spot essay competition among the wards of Auxiliary Police personnel was held at Aux Police..........more

Thailand seeks Indian support for
Kabaddi’s inclusion in SEA Games

HYDERABAD, July 7: Thailand is seeking the support of India for inclusion of kabaddi in South East Asian (SEA) Games. Secretary general of Amateur Kabbadi Association Meervat Phummaphuti told mediapersons here today that since ‘Wushu and other Chinese games are included in SEA Games, we now wish that Kabbadi, the popular game of South Asia be also included. All we need is India’s support as this game was originated from this land." talking about the set up of Kabaddi in Thailand, he said, ‘we are having our national championships since 1998. There are 40 teams in thailand with equal number of coaches. The team is picked from these teams. This is the first time our women team has come out for the international event," he said. As the team consisted mainly university players, they are fit and good players, he added. Thailand: Wassana Sasuphap (Cap), Ganita Thakairach, Supanee Kongkoed, Pakawan Suksatit, Phantiwa Phonchoo, Sutarat Thonghun, Jiraporn Kongsabai, Nisakonr Pisalratanakun, Sopit Hemkratok, Marisa Samchai. While Mr Somprach Phonchoo will be the coach, Mrs Wantanee Phonchoo will function as manager. The technical official are Mrs Tipawan Srimuk, secretary general of AKAT and Mr Meeravat Phummaphuti. (UNI)

Tendulkar has lot to offer to Indian cricket: Kapil

BANGALORE, July 7: Describing Sachin Tendulkar as the best batsman of modern times, legendary all-rounder Kapil Dev today said the player stll had a lot to offer to Indian cricket.

"I have fond memories of Sachin. I have witnessed his evolution from a 16-year-old boy to undoubtedly the best batsman in modern times. I personally think that he has lot to offer to Indian cricket and wish him the very best," the former India captain said.

Kapil Dev, who was here for the announcement of Hero Indian Sports Academy (HISA) awards ceremony to be held in the city on Saturday, said the current pool of cricketers was adequate to take on even the best team in the world.

In a statement here, Kapil also offered comments on each of the four cricketers — Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble and Tendulkar — all of whom have been nominated for the HISA awards in cricket. The four have been nominated for the ‘Indian sportsman of the year award’ out of six contestants at HISA.

Kapil said that although there had been some good individual performances last year, overall the team could have done better.

"It is nice to see a good mix of individual performance in different departments of the game. This means that the team is evenly balanced. Unfortunately, this did not result in overall team’s performance."

Pointing out that Sehwag was at his swashbuckling best when he reached his highest individual score of 309 against Pakistan at Multan in March last year, Kapil said the explosive batsman’s quick reflexes and strength had been a revelation.

He said Dravid and Kumble were the backbone of Indian batting and bowling respectively. "Dravid is truly the mainstay of Indian batting attack".

"It seems Anil (Kumble) is getting younger by the day which is a good sign for Indian team. His record has been consistent over the years and last year he took 74 wickets in 12 Tests with two 10 wicket hauls and six five-wicket hauls. I personally congratulated him for his rare feat when he became the highest Indian wicket taker of all time". (PTI)

India ready to take on aggressive Aussies

ROTTERDAM, July 7: In a repeat of the 1997 final at Milton Keynes, defending champions India will clash with Australia in the semi-final of the Rabobank junior World Cup hockey tournament for men here tomorrow.

In the other semi-final, Spain, the top ranked team in the championship, are set to clash with Argentina, runners-up to India in 2001 at Hobart.

The India-Australia tie should be an intriguing affair, apart from being a clash of styles that should make for a top class contest, at least on paper.

While India coach Harendra Singh said the outcome tomorrow would depend on the day’s form, his Australian counterpart Mark Hager preferred to hedge his bet, saying the encounter would be close.

But neither coach was prepared to commit on the result and understandably so. The Indians have been typically unpredictable in their performance that has swung from sublime, as against the Netherlands whom them beat 4-1, to mediocre during their 1-0 win versus England last night that clinched them the semi-final berth.

In contrast, the Australians, ranked third, have been sustaining a high level of performance except during their shock 1-3 defeat to Argentina yesterday which could be put down to slackness due to the fact that they had already qualified for the semi-final.

However, the Indian camp would have surely looked closely at two other matches that stretched Australia. Pakistan lost 2-3 to the Aussies, while unheralded but talented Malaysia held them to a 3-3 draw. In both these games, the Australian defence was put to test and there were moments when they looked as vulnerable as the next team.

Hager admitted that he was concerned about the sudden lapses in concentration, but was confident that his team would tighten up.

"We need to play consistently against teams like India and Pakistan. On Friday, we would be very focussed which was not the case when we took on Argentina. Also, a couple of our key players would have recovered fully from their niggles. So, we hope to be on pace for the semi-final against India," Hager told PTI.

On his part, Harendra put up a bold front saying if India play to their potential, then they can go all the way to win the World Cup for the second consecutive time.

"Our aim is to retain the World Cup and I feel we have the ability to do so. It is a question of playing to our potential and converting the scoring chances. In the last two games, against Korea and England, we were under pressure to win to qualify for the semi-finals. As such, our players were a bit cramped," said Harendra.

Pressure did get to the Indian team, especially yesterday when they struggled to beat a side that was definitely inferior to them in all departments of the game. But in their anxiety to score and also prevent conceding a goal, the Indians committed far too many errors, which luckily for them, went unpunished.

India cannot expect such largesse from the aggressive Australians who would be seeking to get on top from the start. In this context, the Indian deep defence, that has not exactly been a picture of confidence, can expect some difficult times on the morrow.

The Aussie forwards have been swift in their approach, marked by one-touch moves, and execution with first-time hits to goal from any position or angle, something that the Indian forwards have not done.

If the Indians largely depend on full-back Sandeep Singh for goals, then the Australians have looked more versatile with all the forwards capable of scoring from open play besides boasting of more than one player capable of converting penalty corners.

"Yes, Sandeep is our trump card and there is nothing wrong in playing to our strength," said Harendra while admitting that the Indian forwards have been guilty of individual play that also underlined lack of co-ordination.

Overall, the Australians would be starting out as odds-on favourites, but if the Indians play freely, like they did against the Dutch, then they have as much a chance to make it to the final. The contest could boil down to test of character and the team that blinks first will lose. (PTI)

Archana, Praveen for sport climbing World Cup

BANGALORE, July 7: A two-member Indian team, comprising bangalore-based Archana B S and Praveen C M, will be competing in the sport climbing World Cup to be held in Chamonix, France, on July 13.

The duo had been practising here for the past few months.

With the competition expected to be stiff with some 30 to 40 countries taking part, the 24-year old Archana and 20-year old Praveen would nevertheless make an attempt to leave a mark at the top level.

Most of the world champions are in the 30-32 age group; so, the two-some have time to catch up, says coach Keerthi K Pais.

Archana, in fact, secured silver in the Asia Cup held at Uttarkashi last year; she lost the top spot by just 0.06 seconds, said Pais.

Praveen, on the otherhand, has been winning the nationals since 2002; at Uttarkashi, he finished sixth.

Talent in this sport was available in abundance in India but it lacked corporate support, Pais said. (PTI)

Pant made Secy; Sidharth, Rouf joint secy
* Mufti asks coaches to keep distance from sports associations

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

SRINAGAR, July 7: Appreciating the working of in-charge Secretary, Manoj Pant, President, J&K State Sports Council, Chief Minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed today made the former permanent Secretary of the J&K State Sports Council for full four-year term starting from April this year.

Chairing the 51st meeting of the Sports Council, which was also attended by vice-president, Sports Minister, Haji Nisar Ali and MoS Sports, Yogesh Sawhney, the Mufti straightway told the Sports Council coaches to maintain distance from the sports association and try not to be their office bearers in any case.

While asking the coaches to mend their ways while dealing with Associations, Chief Minister asked those employees working with two Sports and other Government Departments to take permission from their concerned department for being office bearers of an association within a time period of three months otherwise action will be initiated accordingly.

The meeting which lasted for one-hour at Amar Singh Club, here witnessed Chief Minister, in the capacity of Sports Council president nominate senior and experienced members, Sidharth Sharma as joint secretary Jammu and Abdul Rouf as joint secretary for Kashmir.

Meanwhile, international wrestler, Dushyant Sharma, who is also president of J&K Wrestling Association asked for approval to the scheduled 51st Cadet Nationals in Jammu in coming September-October. "Chief Minister was kind enough to listen to my request and at the same time issued necessary directions to his official approving the event to be held in Jammu," informed Dushyant.

Earlier, speaking to the members, Chief Minister called for proper maintenance and upkeep of sports facilities in Jammu and Kashmir and asked the concerned officials to organise national events in different sports disciplines in the State.

When told that the State is facing deficiency of coaches in various disciplines, the Chief Minister issued instructions that the talented and aspiring youth be selected for training as coaches with Sports Council bearing their training expenses.

He said the selection made in a transparent basis considering merit of the candidates should be taken up immediately after identifying the disciplines where the coaches are required.

Mufti Sayeed asked for proper watch and ward of sports facilities at district level and said that local sports clubs and the district administration should jointly ensure this.

Commissioner/Secretary Higher Education, P K Tripathi was also present in the meeting in the capacity of treasurer.