Jeet
Raj passes away
Excelsior Sports
Correspondent
JAMMU,
Jan 3:
Jeet Raj (Jeeta) former pugilist who represented
J&K State in many national championships died
today at his residence, Hari Nagar after
prolonged illness.
He was 40 and was
survived by his wife and a son. Jeet Raj has
attended the prestigious World Boxing
Championship camp at Bangalore in 1990.
He also bagged
bronze medal in Bantom weight category in sub
junior national boxing championship held in 1986
at Bombay along with Anil Badera (Light Fly
Weight) and Gurvinder Singh (Feather Weight).
A silver medalist
in North Zone Boxing Championship in 1993-94 at
Chandigarh, Jeet Raj reached quarterfinals of
national boxing championship thrice.
Age
catching up with Bucknor:Ex-players
NEW DELHI, Jan 3: Steve Bucknor’s
horrendous decisions against India in the second
cricket Test in Sydney today evoked calls for the
61-year-old West Indian umpire’s immediate
retirement from officiating in international
matches.
Bucknor, the
oldest ICC umpire in the world, has been
India’s bugbear in recent years but his
three decisions which cost India hugely stood
out.
The Australians
were reeling at 134 for 6 before Bucknor gave a
new lease of life to their innings by adjudging
Andrew Symonds not out at 30 before the
all-rounder went on to score an unbeaten knock of
162.
Bucknor also
surprised today by deciding against referring a
close stumping appeal against Symonds to the
third umpire. Television replays suggested
Symonds was outside the crease when the bails
were dislodged.
Asserting that
Bucknor is no longer competent enough to stand in
international matches, former players felt the
Jamaican was past his prime and his poor track
record particularly against India has given rise
to "skepticism".
"The quality
of umpiring in the second cricket Test was very
poor. Since Bucknor has repeatedly made mistakes
against India, he should not have been deputed
for such an important series," former India
captain K Srikanth said.
Srikanth said poor
umpiring can drastically change the course of the
match as was evident on the opening day of the
second Test against Australia when the hosts
recovered from 134 for 6 to 376 for 7 courtesy
some umpiring shockers.
"If it
happens so often, Bucknor should be dropped from
the ICC’s elite panel. He should not be
deputed for matches involving India,"
Srikanth said.
Another former
cricketer Abbas Ali Baig was highly critical of
the veteran umpire and said it was high time that
he called it quits.
"I think
there is an age limit for umpires. He is 61 and
why should he continue? Why make an exception for
him?" Baig asked.
Baig said umpires
were human and it was natural for them to make
occasional mistakes but if it happens
consistently with one team then it puts a
question mark on his ability.
"It is not
possible for umpires to be 100 per cent correct
every time. There will be occasional mistakes but
what is more surprising that India is always at
the receiving end," he said.
Baig also said
that the ICC should take the captain’s
report on umpires more seriously and also
periodically evaluate the performance of its
elite panel umpires.
"I don’t
think the captain’s report is even read. No
action is ever taken if the umpire has performed
below par," he said.
Baig felt that if
cricketers could be fined for breaching the ICC
code of conduct, similar financial penalties
should be imposed on umpires if their performance
is not upto the mark.
"Why not
punish the umpires if there are glaring errors.
If the ICC can deduct match fees from the
players, it should also do the same thing for
umpires. They are also accountable," Baig
observed.
He was also in
favour of making use of technology to minimise
umpiring errors in international matches.
"Since technology is there, why not make use
of it? It will be good for both the teams."
(PTI)
Murray
survives scare against Schuttler
DOHA, Jan 2: Andy Murray, the
20-year-old Briton who hopes to climb up the top
10 during 2008, was forced to endure a worrying
40 minutes and to dig deep into his armoury
before reaching the quarterfinals of the Qatar
Open.
Murray won 1-6 6-0
6-1 against Rainer Schuttler, who only managed to
get into the tournament on a wild card, but who
for one set played as well as he had while
winning the title here back in 1999.
The former world
number four from Germany hit the ball hard and
flat and won so many of the aggressive exchanges
that eventually Murray felt the need to change
his tactics.
He did that by
introducing more slice as well as topspin in the
rallies and sometimes bringing Schuttler forward.
Eventually he got completely on top, delivering
some thunderous serves as he did so.
"He played
really well and sometimes at this level you can
get outplayed for a while," Murray said.
"But once I
got a break early in the second set I felt more
relaxed."
So much so, that
from moments of tension when it seemed schuttler
might pressurise the Murray serve enough to break
it for a third time, the third seed worked up an
impressive momentum, taking nine games in a row.
There was just one
moment, when Schuttler got Murray at break point
down in the fifth game of the final set, that it
seemed he might swing the match back his way. But
Murray produced three fine first serves and
scotched the threat.
He next plays
thomas Johansson, the former Australian Open
champion from Sweden, who won 6-3 7-5 against
another German, Michael Berrer, whose improvement
has brought him close to the top 50 for the first
time.
The winner is
likely to play the top-seeded Nikolay Davydenko,
who won well for the second day in a row,
overcoming another former titleholder, Fabrice
Santoro, 6-3 6-3.
The Russian struck
the ball well, despite the mixtures with which
the Frenchman tried to disrupt his rhythm, and
has so far dropped only nine games in four sets.
(AGENCIES)
Uthappa
backs Dravid to come out of form slump
NEW DELHI, Jan 3: Former skipper Rahul
Dravid may not have set the stage on fire Down
Under, but swashbucking batsman Robin Uthappa is
confident that it will not be long before the
veteran comes out of the lean patch.
Embattling poor
form, India’s most dependable batsman is
under fire from all quarters. A poor run in a
one-day series at home against Australia saw the
wall being dropped from the subsequent series
against Pakistan.
Backing the 2004
Padma Shri awardee, Uthappa said, "Rahul is
one of the great player India has ever seen. It
will not be long before he comes out of the slump
in form.’’
On India’s
chances in the grueling series in Australia, the
22-year-old Uthappa saod, "they (Indian
team) must have got used to the condition by now.
It’s allready showing the way Laxman and
Dravid stick to the task. Laxman scored a 100 and
Dravid also chiped in with a half century, so
thinks are improving.’’
India suffered a
ignominious defeat in the first Test at
Melbourne, thanks to a collapse of the famed
Indian batting line-up.
When quized if he
is missing the action Down Under, Uthappa
promptly said, "I do at times, but I am
preparing myself to play in the ODI’s and
the Twenty20.’’
When asked about
his gameplan in the tri series featuring India,
Australia and Sri Lanka, Uthappa said, "I
will look to play my natural game, which is a
attacking one, and will like to keep things
simple.
"I will try
to win as many matches for the country and with
time may be able to break into the Test squad.
But that will depend upon the
selectors.’’
Uthappa was in the
town for the launch of a special edition of
Bolero Suv Car by Mahindra and Mahindra
(M&M). He was presented the first car by
M&M.
Giving the keys to
the hard hitting batsman, Vivek Nayar, vice
president, Auto Sector M&M, said Uthappa is a
role model for the younger generation and one of
Indian cricket’s leading stars today. He
epitomizes the true spirit of I.E. To ‘take
on anything’.’’ (UNI)
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