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

Jeev Milkha tied
23rd in Majorca

MALLORCA, Oct 20: Shifting his focus to Europe one last time this season, Jeev Milkha Singh opened with a one-over 71 in windy conditions at the Mallorca Classic.......more

Eagle-eyed Federer
sees way to victory

MADRID, Oct 20: Roger Federer’s belief in his own accuracy paid dividends on a pair of late instant replay challenges as the sharp-eyed world number one swept into the Madrid Masters quarter-finals.........more

Consistent performance
important : Vengsarkar

INDORE, Oct 20: Consistent performance and merit would be key factors for the selection of Indian squad for the forthcoming tour of South Africa and the World Cup, Chairman of BCCI’s National Selection Committee Dilip Vengsarkar said today. ...more

Woolmer suspects
pace duo took
medicines on their own

MOHALI (PUNJAB), Oct 20: Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer today sought to give a new twist to the dope scandal involving Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif, saying the pace spearheads could have bought over-the-counter products designed to help them bulk up. The two fast bowlers......more

Plans to counter Windies
to be drawn up
after Diwali: Yuvraj

NEW DELHI, Oct 20: The eight-day Diwali break for Indian cricketers will help them to be in a better frame of mind when they take on a rejuvinated West Indies in a crucial Champions Trophy match on October 26, according to Yuvraj Singh..........more

2-day Fencing
Championship concludes

Excelsior Correspondent

UDHAMPUR, Oct 20: A 2-days Open District Fencing Championship 2006-07 organized by the Reasi Amateur Fencing Association with active participation.......more

Selection trials
of BSNL Kabaddi
team on Oct 23

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, Oct 20: Trials for selection of Kabaddi team of BSNL J&K Circle are being conducted at MA Stadium on October 23 at 10 am.......more

Jammu Distt Open Billiards, Snooker
QFs position cleared
in Junior Snooker

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, Oct 20: Quarter-finals position of the Junior Snooker in the 16th Jammu District Open Billiards and Snooker Championship 2006 was.......more

Eagle-eyed Federer sees way to victory

The top seed’s 7-6 (7/5), 7-6 (10/8) third-round victory over Sweden’s Robin Soderling yesterday turned on a pair of perfect challenges upheld by the hawk-eye line calling system.

In the tight second-set tiebreaker, Federer called decisions into question and emerged spot-on with the dramatic final over-rule bringing a smile to the Federer face as it validated his match point.

The win lifted Federer the 79-5 this season as h aims for a first title here and tenth of the season.

Despite the rule in his favour, Federer remains a tennis traditionalist.

"I don’t know if it’s going to make a difference on the score in the end. Without hawk-eye I would have broken him in the first set because (a previous) call would have stood," said the Swiss.

"I would have won the first set probably easier. It turned out to be a crazy end. I thought it was really funny, especially waiting like this for the match point."

Federer credited his tiebreak performances with seeing him through to a meeting with Robby Ginepri in the quarter-finals.

"By always putting on a lot of pressure, he starts to feel it in the tie breakers. Maybe that’s why he double faulted in the first set and maybe that’s why he crumbled in the second set as well (from a 4-2 lead).

Meanwwile, Andy Roddick’s bid for a place in the season-ending Masters Cup stalled when Czech Tomas Berdych handed the American a 7-6 (9/7), 6-3 defeat.

The sixth-seeded Roddick aggravated an old ankle injury as he joined fellow Masters Cup contender Tommy Robredo in failing to make progress, the Spaniard losing to Robby Ginepri 6-3, 7-6 (7/3).

Roddick re-aggravated the right ankle injury yesterday which hampered his clay season.

Roddick later pulled out of the Lyon Tournament next week leaving a question mark over his participation in the Paris Masters, the following week.

The race to China and the eight-man season-ending tournament in Shanghai is growing tighter.

The only two men who have qualified so far are Federer and Madrid title holder, and world number two, Rafael Nadal.

Croatian Ivan Ljubicic also threw away his chance to gain points this week week in a second-round loss to British teenager Andy Murray on Wednesday.

Ljubicic also pulled out from next week’s Lyon Tournament, leaving his Masters Cup fate to his performance at the Paris Masters, the final event of the regular season.

Ginepri served for victory against Robredo leading a set and 5-4 but was broken to love. The Spaniard took it into a tiebreaker on the way to defeat in a match sealed for Ginepri by an instant replay.

Shanghai hopeful Fernando Gonzalez got a free ride as Swede Joachim Johansson pulled out before their match with a sore throat. Marat Safin continued making his way through with a win over Kristof Vliegen 6-3, 6-2. (PTI)

Consistent performance important : Vengsarkar

"Not just performance in this tournament, but consistent performance and merit will be the only criterion for the selection of the Indian team for the forthcoming South Africa tour during which the team will play five one-day internationals", Vengsarkar, popularly known as `Colonel’ told PTI on the sidelines of ongoing four-day Duleep Trophy match at Usharaje Ground here.

After the South African tour, the team will also play five one-day matches each with Sri Lanka and West Indies.

"The team will be announced on October 30 after the selectors watch the current matches being played in the Duleep Trophy and also India-Australia match at Mohali," Vengsarkar said.

"Everybody has to create his position in the team. It depends how one fits the bill", he said.

"It depends on the composition of the team. We keep trying people all the time. Nobody is indispensible", he said, emhasising the importance of consistent performance for a place in the team. (PTI)

Woolmer suspects pace duo took medicines on their own

The two fast bowlers had tested positive for banned Steroid Nandrolone and were withdrawn from the Champions Trophy Tournament on the eve of their opening match against Sri Lanka.

"We know what we’ve given to the players. Our doctors, our physiotherapists, are very strict. That’s why it came as a shock to me," Woolmer was quoted as saying by a website.

Woolmer said if the players had taken some medicines on their own, it was something to worry about.

"If anything is happening outside our sphere of influence, then I don’t know about it. That’s what will worry me," he said.

"They might have been taking a build-up powder which we didn’t know about and which you can pick off the shelves which has nandrolone in it, and there are substances like that.

"I don’t know whether they’ve picked them up off the shelves. I don’t have any answers unfortunately," he said. (PTI)

Plans to counter Windies to be drawn
up after Diwali: Yuvraj

Yuvraj, a key component of India’s one-day squad, said today that the team team management will draw up a plan for the game against West Indies only after the team re-assembled in Ahmedabad following the break.

"The break will help the players to unwind by celebrating diwali with their families before getting together for the important assignment against the Caribbeans", Yuvraj said.

"It’s good that there is a break. All the players have gone back (to their homes). We will have four days’ time before the next match and then we will draw our plans against the opponents," the 24-year-old batsman, who was here to lend support to the Child Rights and You (CRY), said.

Asked why the matches of the Champions Trophy had been low-scoring affairs so far, Yuvraj said the slow nature of the wickets was the reason behind this.

"The wickets are slow. So runs are hard to come. I think as more matches are played, the wickets will become better," he said.

Yuvraj, who was accompanied by his mother Shabnam, said he had made all preparations to celebrate Diwali at his home in Chandigarh.

"Everything is ready and I have stacked packets of crackers at home," he said.

The left-handed batsman spent some time with underprivileged children at the CRY campus and promised all possible help for their uplift. (PTI)

2-day Fencing Championship concludes

Excelsior Correspondent

UDHAMPUR, Oct 20: A 2-days Open District Fencing Championship 2006-07 organized by the Reasi Amateur Fencing Association with active participation by the J&K State Fencing Association Jammu.

Maj General Vinay Bhatnagar, General Officer Commanding, Counter Insurgency Uniform Force was the chief guest while Conservator Makerjeet Sharma and V Sidharat Kumar were the guest of honours.

During the 2-days fencing competition various rounds were played in between the players of educational institutions of Reasi and Udhampur. Under EPEE, Sanjay Kumar of Degree College Reasi won the gold medal while M Subash Chander of Chenab Fencing Club and Arun Dev Singh of Zorabar Singh Club won silver and bronze medals. Under 11 EPEE team (girls) students of Lawarance Public Higher Secondary School Reasi namely Shaheem Mir, Shamshad Bano, Shakida Kousar and Mamta Rani won gold medals.

The students of Government HSS Girls Reasi namely Reeta Devi, Pushpa Devi, Shikha and Jyoti Devi got silver and Poonam Devi, Meena Devi, Pooja Devi and Lakshmi Devi of the same school got bronze medals under group A. Under 14 SABRE Boy team Ishafq-ul-Haq, Rajat Pandoh, Razwan and Sunney Sharma of Lawarance Public HSS won gold while Rakesh Singh, Narinder Singh, Ajay Sharma and Rohit Kumar Panjotra of High School Kambla Danga won silver and Sunil Singh, Daleep Singh, Kaka Ram and Shoib Akhtar of the same school obtained bronze. Under 14 girls SABRE team group B Jyoti Devi, Reeta, Shikha Sharma and Pushpa Deviof Girls HSS won gold while Poonam Sharma, Nidhi, Arti Magotra and Arzoo Magotra of Tarabal Nitketan got silver and Lakshmi Devi, Poonam Devi, Neena Devi and Pooja Devi of HSS girls got bronze medals.

In the final round Kuldeep Kumar of Degree College Reasi won gold Tanav Sharma of Happy Model HSS Udhampur got silver and Balbir Singh of Zorabar Singh Fencing Club Reasi obtained bronze medal.

The chief guest distributed medals among the candidates.

Selection trials of BSNL Kabaddi team on Oct 23

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, Oct 20: Trials for selection of Kabaddi team of BSNL J&K Circle are being conducted at MA Stadium on October 23 at 10 am.

The selection trials will be conducted under the supervision of D R Raina, Jeet Raj Kalsi and Bodh Raj Sharma, Sports Inspector BSNL J&K Circle.

The selected teams will participate in the 6th All India BSNL Kabaddi Tournament to be held at Jaipur (Rajasthan) in November.

Jammu Distt Open Billiards, Snooker
QFs position cleared in Junior Snooker

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, Oct 20: Quarter-finals position of the Junior Snooker in the 16th Jammu District Open Billiards and Snooker Championship 2006 was cleared today.

Six cueists—Sumesh, Vidit, Ishan, Ishuk, Ankush and Sahil entered the quarter-finals by defeating their respective opponents in the third round today while names of two more cueists would be cleared on October 21.

Sumesh Turki secured berth in quarter-finals by defeating Sumit Gupta by 3-0. It was totally a one sided match as Sumit could not pose any competition to Sumesh in any stage of the match. The score was 66-24, 54-28 and 47-33.

Vidit Gowri defeated Amit Dogra by 3-0 to enter QFs. Though Amit Dogra could not won any frame yet in all the three frames he posed some challenge to Vidit. The score was 53-40, 49-46, 54-32.

Ishan Sharma beat Atul Tandon by 3-2 in a close contest. Several ups and downs were witnessed in this match with Ishan winning one frame and losing another. With two frames in their credit, both the cueists took benefit of all the opportunities coming in their ways but Ishan left behind Atul in making points and won the frame with a margin of just 2 points.

Ishuk Choudhary defeated Vikrant by 3-0. The score was 51-42, 63-6, 66-57; Ankush beat Rajesh by 3-1 (59-18, 24-52, 43-36, 75-58) and Sahil Arora beat Abhishek by 3-0 (35-22, 61-25, 57-33).

In other matches, Akhil Tandon beat Vikram Dhawan by 3-2 and Ishan Choudhary beat Sahil Gupta by 3-1. Vishal Mehra got walkover Rajan Manhas and Nikhil Kapahi got walkover Sumeshwar Singh.

According to the organisors, Junior Billiards to start from October 24 and Senior Snooker from October 26, 2006. Entries for Senior Snooker will close on October 24.