WWE
bouts are real, not manipulated, says
Khali
NEW DELHI, May 7: India’s
first-ever World Wrestling Entertainment
champion, Daleep Singh Rana, popularly
known as Khali, today claimed their
bitterly fought bouts were all real and
not stage managed as perceived by the
masses.
The 7.3
feet tall Khali, currently taking a break
after his around three-year stint in the
WWE, rubbished the notion that
performance of the wrestlers was
manipulated by media during broadcast.
"Everything
whatever you see out there is real.
Sometimes wrestlers receive serious
injuries, and even die on the ring. There
is no way of manipulation by media,"
Khali said.
Khali was
surprised to see his popularity in India
where cricket and bollywood actors draw
much of the fanfare.
"I
didn’t expect such fanfare in India,
where, I thought only cricket and film
stars enjoy publicity," he said.
He fondly
recalled meeting Sachin Tendulkar in
Mumbai and revealed that the master
batsman invited him for an Indian Premier
League match.
Khali, who
has a "very busy schedule in
India", said "I am interested
to visit the ground at least once. I will
surely try to find some time."
Khali
believes the country had great prospect
in the wrestling at the highest level and
offered his help the aspirants.
"India
has plenty of talents. If they are
imparted with proper training, the
country will surely produce scores of
wrestlers, better than me. I want more
and more Indians to participate in the
game," Khali said.
"In
order to help the talented Indian
wrestlers, I am always ready to talk to
them and answer their queries," he
said.
On his
journey to becoming the WWE champion in
2007, Khali said it was not an easy one.
Khali, who worked as a labourer in
Shimla, was spotted by a top Punjab cop
to train him in wrestling.
"I
watched wrestling for the first time on
television while in Punjab, after which I
started working seriously to become a
good wrestler.
"I
left India for US with Rs 2,000 only in
hand, where I have gone through some very
difficult times before entering into
wrestling," Khali said. (PTI)
Harbhajan
wants ‘one more chance’
NEW DELHI, May 7: Faced with
the possibility of being banned for a few
matches by the BCCI, the beleaguered
Harbhajan Singh has appealed to the
cricket board to give him "one final
chance" before taking disciplinary
action against him.
The
27-year-old off-spinner, who has already
been banned by the IPL organisers for
rest of the tournament for slapping his
India teammate S Sreesanth, has written a
fresh letter to the BCCI just two days
ahead of the disciplinary hearing to be
conducted by the board-appointed
Commissioner Sudhir Nanavati in
Ahmedabad.
In his
letter, Harbhajan said he had apologised
to Sreesanth after the incident in Mohali
and was willing to do it again in public,
‘NDTV’ reported today.
"Along
with accepting my most sincere and
heartfelt apologies over this incident, I
would like to appeal to the board’s
sense of fairplay and ask for one final
chance before taking any disciplinary
action against me over this
incident," he said in the letter.
Although
the IPL governing council has already
penalised him, the BCCI will also punish
him separately for the level 4 offence as
per the ICC players’ code of
conduct. A level 4 offence leads to a
maximum punishment of a life ban or a
minimum ban of five tests or 10 one-day
internationals.
When
contacted, BCCI Secretary Niranjan Shah
said Harbhajan has been writing a number
of letters and it was not proper for him
to divulge the contents.
"The
inquiry is going on. We are waiting for
the report," Shah said.
Despite
the IPL organisers punishing his for the
offence, the BCCI will also take
disciplinary action against the
controversial spinner who has a history
of breaching code of conducts.
A top BCCI
source said that the board would take
disciplinary action against Harbhajan as
such incident should not have happened on
the cricket field.
With the
BCCI determined to crack the whip there
was widespread speculation that Harbhajan
could be handed out a 10-match ODI ban
and also fined for the offence.
Nanavati
said the footage of the incident did not
indicate that there was any provocation
for Harbhajan to behave in such a manner.
"I
will have to talk to some more people
like (Kings XI Punjab captain) Yuvraj
Singh, (Mumbai Indians coach) Lal Chand
Rajput or Mohali the team manager to find
out if there was any provocation,"
he said.
If
Nanavati finds that there was no
provocation, he could recommend a more
severe punishment for the troubled
spinner which means that the quantum of
the ban could be higher.
Nanavati
had yesterday said that he was shocked
after seeing the video footage of the
incident and will submit his inquiry
report on the matter to board President
Sharad Pawar on Monday.
"What
I saw was shocking but it has made my job
easier. It will also help me in my
further investigation. I have also
summoned them (Harbhajan and Sreesanth).
They have been told to come either on
Friday or Saturday. Harbhajan will be
coming on Friday. Sreesanth is yet to
confirm a date," the Ahmedabad
lawyer said. (PTI)
Sehwag
hopes his top order continues to fire
NEW DELHI, May 7: Delhi Daredevils
skipper Virender Sehwag reckons his top
order’s cracking form in the IPL so
far will give his side an edge over
Chennai Super Kings when the two teams
lock horns here tomorrow.
Sehwag’s
top three has been in fine nick with
himself and his opening partner Gautam
Gambhir, second and third respectively,
in top rungetter’s list and Rajat
Bhatia doing a fine job.
"In
Twenty20, whenever the top order fires
the team has the chance to win. This is
for all teams and fortunately my team has
been doing well in that department,"
Sehwag told reporters at the match eve
press conference here today.
"Our
top order had done well in four out of
six matches so far and I am looking ahead
at least one of the top three fires in
the remaining matches," he said.
Daredevils
had beaten MS Dhoni’s boys
comprehensively at their own backyard
less than a week ago but Sehwag said his
side could lower their guards at their
own peril.
"Super
Kings have struggled with their
combination (after departure of Matthew
Hayden and Michael Hussey), they were
scoring more than 200 initially but could
not maintain that form," the Delhi
captain said.
"They
are struggling now but no team is weak. I
have said it earlier, any player can turn
a match singlehandedly; it is a short
game," the Delhi icon player said.
Sehwag was
not worried of his middle order coming
into pressure in a few occasions
especially in the last match against
Mumbai Indians which the Delhi team lost.
"Only
twice they had failed and this happens in
Twenty20 cricket. There is nothing to
worry. If we are fielding tomorrow, we
will try to restrict them to a low
score," Sehwag said.
Sehwag
said the bowlers will have a tough time
tomorrow due to heat while refusing to
find fault at the schedule of the
tournament.
"At
1600 hrs in Delhi, the temperature will
be high and the bowlers will find it
tough to bowl.
"As
for the schedule, it is true you have
just two days between two matches but
international cricketers are used to
this. When India toured Australia
recently we reached a venue a day before
the match," said Sehwag.
Sehwag the
team management was trying to rotate the
players to get every player to get a
chance but difficult to ask a player to
rest for a match.
"Only
eight domestic and four foreign players
are allowed in a match and it is
difficult to ask a player to sit out a
match. But, I have to tell the reasons
and the requirements of the team and they
understand," he said.
Sehwag
said his side was not missing much the
absence of kiwi left-arm spinner Daniel
Vettori who left the team to join
national team in England.
"Our
team has Shoaib Malik and myself as slow
bowlers and I think we can manage that
department," said Sehwag.
He said
his team’s playing XI will only be
known tomorrow.
"We
will have a team meeting tomorrow and
decide on the composition at that
time." (PTI)
Dhoni,
Ganguly, Dravid to vie for
cricketer of the year award
KOLKATA, May 7: India’s one
day captain M S Dhoni and two of his
predecessors Sourav Ganguly and Rahul
Dravid are among the nominees for castrol
cricketer of the year award for 2007.
The
awardee would be selected at a function
in Karachi on June 30, sources said here.
Ganguly
expressed happinees at his nomination.
"I’ve
heard about that. It’s a boost for
me. I hope it changes the furtune of my
team Kolkata Knight Riders in their
remaining eight games of the Indian
Premier League," the talismanic left
hander said. (PTI)
Natasha
excels in Athletic Meet
Excelsior
Sports Correspondent
JAMMU, May 7: Natasha of Law
School stamped her authority by claiming
all three titles of throwing events today
in the ongoing Inter-Department Athletic
Meet at Jammu University.
In shot
put, Natasha secured first position
followed by Nilza Angmo and Sukhmeet Kour
of Physical Education Department who
finished second and third respectively.
Natasha
again bagged top honours in javelin throw
while Nilza Angmo (Physical Education
Deptt) and Anu Anthal (Sociology Deptt)
had to be content with second and third
positions respectively.
In discus
throw, Natasha finished first whereas
Nilza Angmo (Physical Education Deptt)
and Sumriti Sharma (Sociology Deptt)
stood second and third respectively.
In track
and field events, Sukhmeet Kour of
Physical Education Department secured
first position while Suman Sharma
(Physical Education Deptt) and Surbhi
Gupta (Law Department) bagged second and
third positions respectively.
In 200mts
race, Surbhi Gupta (Law Deptt) finished
first while Priya Choudhary (Hindi Deptt)
and Suman Sharma (Physical Education
Deptt) fetched second and third positions
respectively.
The meet
was conducted by Ravish Vaid, Harish,
Gurbachan Singh and Gourav Sharma under
the supervision of Dr Brij Beloria, I/c
BPEd, MPEd and Romesh Sharma, PTI Campus.
MCA
Deptt drub Statistics Deptt
Excelsior
Sports Correspondent
JAMMU, May 7: MCA Department
outdid Statistics Department by two
wickets in the ongoing Inter-Department
Cricket tournament being played at New
University Campus Ground today.
Batting
first after winning the toss, Statistics
Department accumulated 139 runs in 18
overs.
Rahul (38)
and Jagmohan (46) were the main
contributors. For MCA Department, Vikas
grabbed two wickets while Arun and Sahil
chipped in with one scalp each.
Chasing
140 to win, MCA Department overhauled the
target in 16.4 overs losing seven wickets
in the process.
Ashish
played a fine knock of 32 runs equally
well supported by Vikas (20) and Sahil
(40).
For
Statistics Department, Ankit and Imran
took two wickets whereas Vikas snared
one.
The match
was officiated by Vijay Kumar and
Ashwani.
Inter
Zonal Tournament concludes
Excelsior
Sports Correspondent
UDHAMPUR, May 7: The two-days long
Inter Zonal level tournament of Chenani
Zone for U/14 and U/17 boys concluded at
Higher Secondary School (HSS) Chenani
today.
In U/14
volleyball, MS Mada got the better of H S
Dhanas to clinch the title while the U/17
title went to H S Dhanas who defeated
hosts HSS Chenani.
M S
Chullyar cruised past HSS Sudhmahadev in
the final to clinch U/14 kabaddi title.
In U/17
kabaddi, hosts HSS Chenani had no
difficulty whatsoever in dispatching HS
Dhanas by 33-18.
Master
Rakesh Kumar was declared the best Raider
of the tournament.
The
matches were officiated by Pawan Sharma,
Romesh Chander, Som Dev Khajuria,
Parshotam Sharma and Bikram Singh.
Babu Ram,
Principal, HSS Chenani was the chief
guest on the concluding day who gave away
winner and runner-up trophies to the
teams.
Total 150
students drawn from nine institutions of
Chenani Zone participated in the
competition organised by the Department
of Youth Services and Sports.
GBHSS
Pampore wins Baseball Championship
Excelsior
Sports Correspondent
SRINAGAR, May 7: The 4th District
Pulwama Baseball Championship concluded
at Sports Ground, Chandhara Pulwama
today.
In boys
final, Government Boys Higher Secondary
School overwhelmed Government Boys Higher
Secondary School Lathapora by 10-4
points.
Sameer
Ahmad was adjudged the best picker while
Ishfaq Nabi and Ashiq Rasool were
declared best catcher and fielder
respectively.
Government
Girls Higher Secondary School Pampore
thrashed Government Girls Higher
Secondary School Lathapora by 12-9 points
in a pulsating contest to emerge
victorious.
Symeana
was declared the best picker whereas
Rafiq and Sama Bashir were adjudged best
catcher and fielder respectively.
Fayaz
Ahmad,Secretary, District Baseball
Association, Pulwama distributed was
present during the prize distribution
function.
The
championship was organised by the
District Baseball Association, Pulwama
under the auspices of J&K Baseball
Association.
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