South
Asian Athletic Championship on March 4
KOCHI,
Jan 21:
Big time sports events will return to Kerala when
the curtain goes up for the first South Asian
Athletics Championship, scheduled to be held in
this city on March 4 and 5.
This will be the
first time that the state will host an
international athletics event.
About 235 athletes
from eight countries — India (65), Sri Lanka
(60), Pakistan (40), Maldives Island (25),
Bangladesh (15), Nepal (10), Afghanistan (5) and
Bhutan (5) — will be seen in action.
The event will be
organised jointly by the Kerala Sports Council
and the Kerala State Athletic Association.
Competitions in 18
events in men’s section and 14 in the
women’s section will be held. (PTI)
Force
India programme to produce Indian F1 drivers
NEW
DELHI, Jan 21: After fluttering the
tri-colour on the Formula 1 grid, Force India has
now set about the task of unearthing homegrown
Michael Schumachers and Lewis Hamiltons with a
new driver programme.
The first concrete
step was taken when the Motorsports Association
of India (MAI) collaborated with continental
motorsports bodies to form the Autosport Academy
Asia in Johor Baru, Malaysia.
While MAI would
identify the budding drivers who can make it big,
Force India would do everything else to groom
them for the big league of Formula One.
"The MAI will
identify deserving young Indian drivers who will
be supported by Force India to undergo a driver
training course at the Academy," Vijay
Mallya, Chairman and Managing Director of the
Formula One team told.
"Drivers who
show exceptional abilities will then be further
supported by Force India to race in selected
European championships," said Mallya, also
the MAI chairman.
With Mallya, along
with the MOL family, taking over the Spyker team
and renaming it Force India, many expected to see
an Indian driver — either Narain Karthikeyan
or Karun Chandhok — behind the wheels.
But while
Karthikeyan veered to A1 GP, Chandhok felt he
needed another season in the GP2 series before
taking the F1 plunge.
Force India
subsequently unveiled an impressive driving
line-up comprising Giancarlo Fisichella, Adrian
Sutil and Viantonio Liuzzie, the last being the
test driver.
Mallya said the
basic idea behind the new programme was to
produce Indian F1 drivers.
"The
principal objective is to identify, train and
eventually prepare an Indian driver for the Force
India F1 team to compete in the FIA Formula One
world championship," he said.
The academy in
Malaysia, based at the Johar Circuit, will be
affiliated to the French Motorsport Federation
(FFSA), which runs a driver training programme in
formula campus single seater racing cars at their
facility in Le Mans.
The Asia academy
will have two driver courses which will assess if
the youngster is good enough for F1.
To motivate the
drivers, two prizes would be up for grabs at the
academy.
The first prize
winners will get a drive in the newly upgraded
long course in Le Mans where there will be a Euro
60,000 subsidy from the FIA — to be
allocated from the McLaren fine — and the
second one would come in the form of a Euro
30,000 subsidy.
And in case any
Indian makes it to Le Mans, Force India would
offer its help to the driver. (PTI)
Delhi’s
Mallan wins ‘Classic Mr North India’
title
MOHALI,
Jan 21: Delhi
body builders made a clean sweep by winning all
the top three positions in the ‘Classic Mr
North India’ competition in Northern India
Body Building championship.
Varinder Mallan of
Delhi was adjudged ‘Classical Mr North
India’ in the over-all championship. He was
followed by Davinder Singh and Ashish Kumar, both
of Delhi.
Rajesh Arora of
Punjab, who was the winner in the +75 kg class,
emerged the over all champion in the ‘junior
Mr North India’ section.
The event was
organised by the Chandigarh Body Building
Association under the supervision of the Indian
Body Building Federation and the North India Body
Building Association here.
IBBF general
secretary Suresh Kadam, Mr Universe Prem Chand
Degra and Mr World Rama Kant were present on the
occasion.
In Master Mr North
India events, in plus 40yrs, Ram Saroop of Punjab
was first, in disable category Sham Singh of
Punjab was on top.
In senior Mr
Northern India, below 55 kg, Bhisham Sharma of
Delhi beat others, in below 60 kg, Neeraj Kumar
of Haryana, in below 65 kg, Ashok Singh of Delhi,
in below 70 kg, Jagjit Singh of Delhi, in below
75 kg, Ashish Kumar of Delhi, in below 80 kg
Varinder Mallan of Delhi, in below 85 kg, Ravi
Yadav of Haryana, in below 90 kg, Davinder Singh
of Delhi, in above 90 kg Gaurav Rana of
Chandigarh stood first.
Punjab dominated
the junior Mr Northern India events.
In below 55 kg,
the first prize went to Sandeep of Haryana, in
below 60 kg to Hunny of Punjab, in below 65 kg to
Atul Trehen of Punjab below 70 kg, to Lakhvir
Singh of Chandigarh, below 75 kg, Narendar of
Haryana, plus 75 kg, Rajesh Arora of Punjab.
(UNI)
Ponting
backs young Tait, dilemma
continues over spin or pace
PERTH,
Jan 21: Despite
going wicketless in the Perth Test, fast bowler
Shaun Tait has received support from his captain
as Ricky Ponting admitted his assessment of the
WACA pitch went wrong.
Ponting also said
Tait is still in with a good chance of making it
to the playing XI at Adelaide although the past
record suggests that a spinner will be more
useful in such conditions.
A lot was said
about Tait’s pace and the wicket at WACA but
ponting used Tait for only 21 overs in two
innings in the third Test, which Australia lost
to India by 72 runs.
It was the
team’s first Test loss since the 2005 Ashes
against England.
The Aussie captain
dismissed the conventional idea of spin being an
essential weapon in Adelaide, despite Shane Warne
being Australia’s most successful bowler at
the venue.
"I’m not
sure spin has had as much of an influence as it
has done there, in the last few
years,’’ Ponting said.
"They relaid
the wicket there four or five years ago and it
holds together a lot better now than it ever did.
"Having said
that, South Australia usually play two
spinners,’’ he added. (PTI)
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