Daily Excelsior.........sports

Indians looking to make
most of warm-up game

POTCHEFSTROOM, (South africa), Dec 6: Their batting in disarray, India’s four-day warm-up game against rest of South Africa line-up here tomorrow would afford the likes of Virender Sehwag and Sourav Ganguly the only chance to find their groove before .....more

India bag 2 bronze to
take tally to 12

DOHA, Dec 6: The new Asian Games rules sprung a pleasant surprise for India as Pistol Shooter Vijay Kumar bagged a bronze in spite of finishing fourth while the Rowing duo of Bijender Singh and Kiran Yalamanchi won ........more

Indian eves buried under
Chinese wall in Handball

DOHA, Dec 6: Anita Kumari’s heroics went in vain as the Indian eves kicked off their campaign in the Handball competition with a sound 20-56 thrashing at the hands of China in a preliminary league group A match of the 15th ...more

Indian duo rows to
bronze medal glory
at Asian Games

DOHA, Dec 6: Indian Rowing duo of Kiran Yalamanchi and Bijender Singh showed tremendous grit as they edged out their rivals from Kazakhstan to bag the bronze medal in Men’s Lightweight Double Sculls event of the Asian Games here today. ......more

Kamal, Ishan, Vishal enter Senior Billiards semis

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, Dec 6: Kamal Rohmetra, Ishan Choudhary and Vishal Abrol advanced into the semifinals in Senior Billiards in the ongoing 16th J&K State Billiards and Snooker Championship being .......more

Channelize human resource
potential to fit in global
competition: Babu Singh

Excelsior Correspondent

Jammu, Dec 6: Minister for Youth Services and Sports Babu Singh has underlined the need .....more

Ist Christmas Gold
Cup Football
Tournament from today

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, Dec 6: All J&K Christian Welfare Association under the aegis of J&K Football Association is going to conduct "1st Christmas ......more

Ganguly must believe in
his abilities: Wessels

POTCHEFSTROOM, (South Africa), Dec 6: Reinstated Indian batsman Sourav Ganguly has been asked to back himself against South African quicks by his coach — though in this case it is not Greg Chappell. Kepler Wessels, coach of the Indian left-hander at Northamptonshire, has some well-meaning ....more

Indians looking to make most of warm-up game

Sehwag averaged just 9.66 in the three matches of the ODI series which India lost by an embarrassing 4-0 margin, raising questions one more time on his temperament and commitment.

As for Ganguly, it would provide him an opportunity to come to terms with the conditions and impress the team management ahead of the three-match test series, beginning at Johannesburg on December 15, as only one warm-up game has been scheduled for the tests.

The ideal scenario for the Indians would be to win the toss and bat big at the Sedgars Park to ensure they go into the tests with some of their confidence restored.

The batsmen, under weather because of their prolonged poor form, would have to occupy the crease where hours logged in the middle would stand them in good stead.

This would serve two purposes — batsmen would get time to work out the methods to deal with bouncy tracks which in turn would mean less workload for their fast bowlers in hot and sultry conditions.

Sachin Tendulkar has confirmed that the hit he received in his left forearm in Centurion last Sunday is no longer a worry. He, along with Sehwag, Wasim Jaffer, VVS Laxman and of course Ganguly would be expected to focus fiercely on their batting over the next four days.

Rahul Dravid’s injury-induced absence might allow Gautam Ghambir or Dinesh Kaarthick an early opportunity to stake claims though it is unlikely either of them would get a look-in in the first test.

It is surprising that despite a batting as fragile as of the Indians on this tour, the batting order for the first test is more or less settled.

It is as much a reflection on the runs Indian batsmen have scored in the past season as it is an acceptance that the options in batting are limited.

India would take heart from the fact that the pitch at Sedgars Park is suited for batting though there is still the issue of coming to terms with one of the fastest bowling attacks in South Africa pressed against them.

Mornantau Hayward is one of the fastest operators with a cricket ball in the country while Mornie Morkel, younger brother of Albie, is a rising star who is tipped to make the national grade soon.

Garnett Kruger is another fast bowler who has been knocking at the doors of selectors for the past two seasons.

Hayward has played in 16 tests for South Africa and is an extremely aggressive fast bowler who likes digging the ball in and raising it to the chin level for batsmen.

Mornie is a fast bowler in similar mode and likes to hustle the batsmen. Kruger is 29 but he toured Australia with the South African team last year and has been an impressive performer on the domestic scene for the last two years.

Indians might look to give Zaheer Khan a break in the game and allow him to rest given the workload that is ahead of the left-arm paceman in the series. In that scenario, Punjab fast bowler VRV Singh could come in and make an impression.

Munaf Patel, nursing a sole left ankle, is also likely to make it to the eleven although there has been no official confirmation.

Off-colour Irfan Pathan is also expected to be included in the line-up to help him rediscover his form.

As for spinners, Anil Kumble could be rested to allow out of form Harbhajan Singh to find his winning ways. (PTI)

India bag 2 bronze to take tally to 12

Vijay Kumar finished fourth in the Men’s 25m Rapid Fire Pistol event with a total of 775.3 just behind China’s third-place finisher Guohui Liu, who managed a total of 776.5.

But the new games rule that one country cannot sweep all three medals in the same event fetched 21-year-old Kumar the unexpected bronze.

China’s formidable Zhongsheng Liu grabbed the coveted gold medal in the event while the silver went to compatriot Penghui Zhang.

However, much-touted Markswoman Anjali Bhagwat sunk without a trace once again by ending up at the rear in her event — 50-metre Air Rifle 3-position.

Kumar’s bronze took the Indian medals tally to 12, comprising two gold, five silver and as many bronzes, which gave them the seventh place on the table.

In Rowing, Yalamanchi and Bijender clocked 3 minutes 26.01 seconds to finish ahead of fourth-placed Kazakhstan in the Men’s Lightweight Double Sculls event. The gold medal went to Japan and Thailand bagged the silver.

The Indian pair exhibited a power-packed performance in the first 500m to be placed second at the half-way stage, but they lost the fight for the silver to the fast-finishing Thai pair of T Ruthtanaphol and T Anupong.

However, India missed the bronze in Men’s Doubles Sculls event as Amol Kumar Mehrolia and Bajranglal Takhar finished fourth with a timing of 3:25.90.

India were were poised to win a few more medals before the end of the day’s events in Men’s Kabaddi, where they are favourites to win the final against arch-rivals Pakistan.

India’s rising star Saina Nehwal stormed into the pre-quarterfinals of the Women’s Badminton singles event with a 21-10 21-6 victory over Sri Lanka’s Nadeesha Dura.

Settling into her groove quickly, Saina was consistent in her stroke selection as she launched a confident start to her campaign.

The 16-year-old Hyderabad girl, who reached the final of the World Junior Championships recently, was never really tested as she closed out the first round clash in just 14 minutes.

Dominating her opponent throughout, Saina led 13-6 and 17-8 before claiming the first game in just eight minutes.

Keeping up the momentum, the Indian girl was in no mood to allow complacency set in as she was equally impressive in the second game to wrap up the lopsided encounter.

Following her easy first round outing, Saina will now take on the challenge of Japan’s Erik Hirose in the pre-quarterfinals.

In the men’s Doubles section, the combination of V Diju and J B Vidyadhar too displayed good form in their opening outing as they accounted for Wai Ho Hui and Wai Hong Wong (Hong Kong) in straight games 21-13 21-10.

In the round of 16, Diju and Vidyadhar will take on the Korean challenge of Jung Jae Sung and young Dae Lee.

In Swimming, Indians continued to disappoint with none of them managing to qualify for the finals of their respective events.

India’s best known swimmer Rehan Poncha put up a dismal show in the men’s 200m Individual Medley, finishing a poor seventh in the heats with a timing of 2:13.14.

"It was not a good day for me. The competition is very stiff at the Asian Level and we have to keep working harder", he said.

Ankur Poseria was also a flop in the men’s 100m Freestyle taking fifth place in the heats with a timing of 53.22sec while another Indian in the fray — Virdhaval Khade —finished fourth in the same event in another heat clocking 52.12 sec.

Shikha Tandon encountered a similar fate finishing seventh in the women’s 100m Freestyle heat with a timing of 1:00.68. (PTI)

Indian eves buried under Chinese wall in Handball

Speed and precision made all the difference as China, who led 29-11 at first half, maintained their strong grip over the Indians and won the match with consummate ease at the Al-Gharrafa Indoor Hall.

Anita netted 13 goals and emerged as top scorer but her teammates let her down in the match.

Indian goalkeeper Amita Kumari had a nightmare outing today, failing to save a single goal as against the 29 she conceded, while Priyanka, the other goalkeeper fared slightly better.

India play Kazakhstan in their next match on day after tomorrow. (UNI)

Indian duo rows to bronze medal glory at Asian Games

Japanese duo of Takahiro Suda and Hideki Omoto walked away with the gold with a timing of 3:19.29s, while the Thai pair of Ruthanaphol Theppiubal and Anupong Thain finished with the silver at 3:19.92s. The Indian duo timed 3:26.01 to win the bronze, pipping Kazakh Rowers Ivan Kharitonov and Artyom Issupov (3:30.88).

It was a neck-and-neck battle for the bronze between the Indian and Kazakh pairs. The Kiran-bijender Bair took 1:38.54s for the first 500m but breathing down their neck were the Kazakhs who timed 1:38.99.

The Indians, however, kept pushing hard in the final 500m and that made all the difference as Kiran and Bijender timed 1:47.47s, ahead of their rivals who needed 1:51.89s for the second half of the race. (UNI)

Kamal, Ishan, Vishal enter Senior Billiards semis

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

In the matches played today, Kamal Rohmetra outclassed Ajay Pal Singh by 291-219 while Vishal Abrol thrashed Avish Sharma by 339-195 in a one sided contest.

In another match, Ishan Choudhary beat Vidit Gawri by 345-282 without facing any difficulty. The semifinals will be played tomorrow.

The officials in the match were Rakesh, Surjit Singh and Shanker Dass.

The Tournament is being organised by the J&K Billiards and Snooker Association and sponsored by J&K State Sports Council.

However, the Junior Billiards matches shall commence from tomorrow.

Channelize human resource potential to fit in
global competition: Babu Singh

Excelsior Correspondent

Jammu, Dec 6: Minister for Youth Services and Sports Babu Singh has underlined the need to develop human resource in such a way so that potential of rural youth is channelised in right perspective to fit in present global competition.

Minister was addressing meeting of State Advisory Committee on youth programme held at MA Stadium today. He said that our State is rich in human resource and the need is to harness it properly.

He further said that the Act for registration of Youth Clubs and Mahila Mandals will be simplified to facilitate early registration. He said steps to empower General Manager District Industrial Centres to register youth clubs and Mahlia Mandals will be initiated after consulting the Chief Minister.

The Minister urged for promotion of rural sports with active involvement of rural youth. He said for youth development centres resource persons would be trained from the existing lot of lecturers and master grade teachers for their deployment at block level for the benefit of rural youth.

Later, he was briefed about the aims and objectives of Nehru Youth Kendra Sangathan (NYK) an Autonomous Organization. He was told the Organization has its centres in all the 14 districts of the state with objective to involve rural youth in nation building activities, to develop their values and skills so that they become productive responsible citizens of modern India, to work towards promoting and environment where all provided equal opportunities to serve the nation etc. He was requested for recommendation of establishment of NYKs in newly created districts with proper funding.

Ist Christmas Gold Cup Football Tournament from today

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, Dec 6: All J&K Christian Welfare Association under the aegis of J&K Football Association is going to conduct "1st Christmas Gold Cup Football Tournament" from December 7-17 at Mini Stadium, Parade Ground.

S M Gill, President, All J&K Christian Welfare Association while briefing the media persons said that "total 16 teams would participate in the football tournament including teams from RCF Kapurthala and JCT Academy, Phagwara.

Both these teams will get direct entry into the quarterfinal of the tournament while Jammu Sports, Vijay Club, Young Star and Young Heroes, four prominent football clubs of Jammu also will get bye in the above said tournament.

Babu Singh, Minister of State for Youth Services and Sports will be the chief guest on the opening day, who will declare open the tournament.

"The final of the tournament will be telecast live on DD Sports" he said.

Besides S M Gill, Shiv Pal Sharma, R.K. Kohli, Ashok Sharma, David Don, Feastus Sotra and Yousuf Don were also present on the occasion.

Ganguly must believe in his abilities: Wessels

Kepler Wessels, coach of the Indian left-hander at Northamptonshire, has some well-meaning advice for his county protege, the foremost among them being the value of self-belief.

"Sourav must be prepared for some really, realy hard go at him by the South African fast bowlers and it is his ability to hold his ground which would count the most," said Wessels who was instrumental in enrolling Ganguly in Northants this summer. The former South African captain feels that a batsman can easily lose his bearing when confronted with incisive fast bowling and in these dire moments, only unshakable belief will hold him in good stead. Wessels wants Ganguly to practice as hard as he can in the intervening nine days before the start of the first test, for he feels it could become an issue with the former Indian captain. "When he came to England for the grind of county cricket, he took some time to get used to the conditions. He didn’t adjust immediately so it could again be an issue with him in South Africa. The earlier he gets used to it the better for things could unroll quickly," said Wessels, always intense and nearly always precise.

Ganguly was an outright failure in county circuit and since then his form has been patchy at best. But he has the ability and the record — also in no small measure the willpower — to ride over the present storm.

Wessels, a left-hander like Ganguly during his playing days, said the former Indian skipper would be making a mistake if he goes to the crease with a pre-meditated plan.

"That would be a huge mistake. Sourav would have to decide on his feet in the middle. He can’t go with a set mindset that he would pull or hook short-pitched delivery. He would have to make instant decisions and be really decisive in his foot movement." Before he left home, Ganguly had expressed confidence in his ability to handle South African quicks, stating that the attack he had faced on previous visits, comprising of bowlers such as Allan Donald, Lance Klusener and Brian McMillan, was far more lethal than the present one.

Wessels too said that the present South African attack pales in comparison to former quicks and is hence surprised how the Indian batsmen have come a cropper on the present tour.

"The attack previously was probably more vicious but Indian batsmen had then appeared in better control than the ones who are striding out in the middle on this tour," he said.(PTI)