Motorcycle expedition to motivate youth to join Army

Excelsior Correspondent

JAMMU, Sept 29 : A 14 member motor cycle expedition team led by Captain Rupinder Singh of Bravest of the Brave was flagged off by GOC Gurj Division from Gurj Stadium, Mamun Cantonment on 20 September 2008. The motor cycle team further flagged off by Brig MS Koshal, Deputy GOC, Tiger Division from Satwari Cantonment Jammu. The expedition, which is a part of 43rd Raising Day celebrations of the battalion, will be flagged off in on October 1, 2008.

The aim of the expedition is to interact with war widows and wards of ‘Operation VIJAY’ martyrs, and to look after their well being. The expedition team is carrying sufficient publicity material related to recruitment of the youths in the Armed Forces as Commissioned Officer and Personal below Officer Rank. The team will motivate the young students of the far flung areas for joining Army to serve the nation with pride and dignity.

The Motorcycle expedition will be covered in three phases. In first phase, it will visit families of martyrs and ex-servicemen hailing from border district of Punjab. In second phase, rough terrain of Himachal Pradesh including remote villages of Shimla district will be covered. Finally in the third phase, the team will move towards the villages of ‘Operation VIJAY’ martyrs and ex-servicemen of Jammu district before terminating the expedition in Mamun Cantonment.

J&K Cycling Association elects office bearers

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, Sept 29: The Jammu and Kashmir Cycling Association has unanimously elected its office bearers and executive members.

Rangil Singh has been elected as its Patron-in-chief while Ravinder Singh as President.

Kiran Wattal has been nominated as senior vice president while Ashutosh Sharma and Mushtaq Ahmed were elected as vice presidents for Jammu and Kashmir respectively.

Om Parkash elected as general secretary whereas Ravi Salgotra as treasurer.

P D Singh (Jammu) and Riaz Ahmed were elected as joint secretaries. The executive members of the association included Masood Ahmed, Prof H S Chib, Dr Nirmolak Singh, Ravinder Singh, Nirmal Singh, Ashok Gupta, Vikas Gupta and Akhtar Hussain.

Chappell predicts Ponting blitzkrieg in test series

MELBOURNE, Sept 29: Ricky Ponting’s barren run in India is all set to end in the upcoming four-test series, asserts Australia’s assistant coach Greg Chappell, who feels Anil Kumble’s men should be wary of the Aussie captain’s resolve.

"I can see a steely glint in his eye and I always worry when I see that in good players because that means there are a few runs around the corner," Chappell, a former India coach, was quoted as saying by ‘The Sydney Morning Herald’.

"If I was the Indian team and I wanted to worry about something, I would worry about that. The only discussion we have had about it, in fact he (Ponting) was the one that initiated and made the comment that basically what he has to do is trust his method," he added.

Ponting has more than 10,000 test runs under his belt but has always struggled on the turning tracks of India, averaging little over 12 there.

Even in the ongoing tour, the feisty right-hander has not made a very good start, scoring just five runs in a practice game in Jaipur against an attack that comprised Ranji-level bowlers.

Chappell, however, foresees Ponting doing well in the test series starting October 9 in Bangalore provided the Aussie skipper continues to believe in himself.

"If he trusts his method and applies it here, I have no doubt that he will be successful. I think there have probably been a few occasions in India where he has got away from that method and that has perhaps been part of the issue when it comes to performance in India," he said. (PTI)

Raj finishes first in Cross-Country

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, Sept 29: Raj Singh Narania of MAM College bagged top honours in men section in Inter-Collegiate Cross Country which began at Jammu University today.

Shinda Kumar of same college secured second position followed by Mukesh Sharma of GDC Kathua who stood third.

The women competitions would commence tomorrow. Athletes from various colleges affiliated with the University of Jammu are participating in the sporting event being organised by the Department of Physical Education.

Yoga Championship on Oct 4

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, Sept 29: The district Udhampur Yoga championship will be held on October 4. Interested students desirous to take part in the championship are directed to report Yoga coach Surinder Kumar on or before October 1.

They should bring their Date of Birth Certificate alongwith entry fee of Rs 25.

Indian squad for first test tomorrow

MUMBAI, Sept 29: The Indian squad for the first test against Australia is to be chosen on October 1 in Mumbai.

The newly appointed five-man senior selection committee is to meet at the BCCI headquarters here at 12 noon on Wednesday to choose the squad for the opening test, a media release issued by BCCI Secretary N Srinivasan said.

The opening match of the four-test series for the Border-Gavaskar trophy is scheduled at Bangalore from October 9-13 with the remaining matches to be played at Mohali, Delhi and Nagpur.

It is the first meeting of the newly appointed paid selection panel with former India captain K Srikkanth at the helm.

The other members of the panel, appointed at the board’s AGM here on September 27, are Yashpal Sharma, Narendra Hirwani, Raja Venkat and Surendra Bhave.

The release did not say whether the choosen captain, expected to be Anil Kumble, and coach Gary Kirsten would be present at the meeting, but sources in the board said the selectors could consult with them for inputs by holding a teleconference.

The reason, they gave, was that the camp for the probables ahead of the much-awaited series has already got under way in Bangalore. (PTI)

ICL recruits 4 overseas, one domestic
player for new season

NEW DELHI, Sept 29: The Indian Cricket League has further strenghtened its players base, roping in four overseas and a domestic cricketer for its new season starting October 10.

The international players, who have joined the rebel league, include three Pakistani and a Bangladeshi cricketer.

All-rounder Tahir Mughal, Shahid Yousuf and HafeezK khaleel were the Pakistani domestic recruits to have joined the Inzamam-ul Haq-led Lahore Badshahs, while 22-year-old top-order batsman Nazimuddin will turn out for Twenty20 league’s new team Dhaka Warriors.

The most notable among the new recruits is former India international Madan Lal’s son, Kunal who will play for Ahmedabad Rockets.

Apart from the players, the ICL has also recruited former Pakistan test player Nadeem Khan as an assistant coach for the Lahore Badshahs’ side.

Kunal, the 24-year-old left-arm medium pacer who has represented Delhi at the first-class level, adds to the list of second generation Indian cricketers to have choosen ICL platform to showcase their talent.

Kunal is presently debuting at the ICL 20-20 domestic tournament and has already given a good account of himself by consistently performing for the Ahmedabad Rockets. (PTI)

Akhtar awaiting visa for Toronto

KARACHI, Sept 29: Pakistan’s controversial fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar will have to wait for his visa to play in the four-nation tournament in Toronto next month as the cricket board has still not been able to get the clearance for him.

Shoaib’s name was sent in a shortlist of players for the four-nation tournament starting from October 10 but the board was unable to obtain a visa for him.

"He was in England playing for Surrey and we didn’t have his passport. So he has to wait. We will now send his name in the second list most probably," one board official said.

Shoaib will also know by next week from the Lahore High Court whether he can play in Pakistan and for Pakistan without paying a fine of seven million rupees imposed on him by the appellate tribunal of the board.

The tribunal had reduced his five year ban to 18 months but instead enforced the seven million rupees fine which the fast bowler has not paid as yet.

The board has sought clear directives from the High Court if the pacer can play without clearing the fine first. The court has asked Shoaib to appear in person in court at the next hearing.

Meanwhile, the selectors and board have made some changes to the list of probables adding the name of senior batsman Mohammad Yousuf and dropping young Ahmed Shahzad after he was found guilty of violating the team code in Nairobi with the Pakistan academy team touring there.

A national selector confirmed Yousuf’s name included in the list of players for whom visas were being obtained because they wanted to see how he performed in the national T20 championship beginning from October 4 in Lahore.

"He has been talking about the selectors being unjust with him and not considering him for T20 cricket. So we want to see how he performs in the national event," he said.

Yousuf, who has played in 79 tests and 269 one-day internationals has only once been picked in Pakistan’s t20 team in 2006 and was overlooked for last year’s World Cup in South Africa where Pakistan reached the final losing to India.

The selectors are due to announce a 15-member squad for the Toronto event which also features Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe and Canada during the national T20 championship from October 4 to 8 in Lahore.

Yousuf recently criticised the selectors for ignoring him for Twenty20 cricket claiming his experience would be a boost for the team even in this form of the game. (PTI)

Sania moves up, Bhupathi drops in tennis ranking

NEW DELHI, Sept 29: Out-of-action Saina Mirza jumped one place in the WTA singles ranking, while ace doubles player Mahesh Bhupathi dropped a rung in the ATP doubles ranking issued today.

Sania, who is recuperating from a wrist injury, occupies the 91st position with 380 points. She also managed to hold on to her 44th spot in the doubles chart.

But all was not well with Bhuapathi (2860 points) as a series of disappointing outing at the circuit saw him drop to 12th position.

Estranged partner Leander Paes (2960), however, managed to hold on to his eighth spot in the doubles ranking.

Paes and his new partner Lukas Dlouhy of the Czech Republic won their first ATP title together in the USD 576,000 Thailand Open yesterday. (PTI)

Haryana women blank Himachal in Chadha Cup

CHANDIGARH, Sept 29: Haryana defeated Himachal Pradesh 2-0 in the Chadha Cup (women) in the All India North Zone Inter-State Badminton championships at Raizada Hansraj stadium, in Jalandhar.

In the first singles match, yesterday Kannu defeated Aarjoo by 21-10, 21-15 and later she partnered Pallavi to outplay Asrjoo and Shruti 21-9, 21-8.

In the Narang Cup for junior boys, Haryana blanked Rajasthan by 2-0. Akshit gave Haryana a winning start as he defeated Nazish Khan 21-13, 21-19. In partnership with Gaurav, Akshit beat Rajasthan pair of Gaurav Partap and Nittish 21-14, 21-10.

Punjab Financial Commissioner (D) R S Sandhu inaugurated the tournament. Rajinder Kalsi hony Secretary Punjab Badminton Association Secretary Rajinder Singh kalsi welcomed the chief guest.

As many as 150 participants from Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pardesh, Chandigarh, Rajasthan and Delhi are participating in the meet.

Results: Narang Cup (junior boys): Himachal Pardesh bt Jammu and Kashmir 2-0 (Nipur bt Maninder Singh 21-8, 21-16, Ashish and Anuj bt D.S Subam and Aman 21-10,21-9).

Haryana bt Rajasthan 2-0 (Akshit bt Nazish Khan 21-13, 21-19, Gaurav and Akshit bt Gaurav Partap and Nittish 21-14,21-10).

Delhi bt Chandigarh 2-1 (Kaustav Das bt Tushar Badechha 21-11, 21-18, Parteek and Puneet lost to Tushar and Maheep 13-21, 27-25,14-21, Ashish Sharma bt Maheep 21-14,18-21, 21-6).

Shafi Qureshi Cup (junior girls): Jammu and Kashmir bt Chandigarh 2-1 (Sulakhani lost to Nisha 9-21,16-21, Diksha and Akanksha bt Nisha and Chetna 19-21, 21-16, 21-19, Diksha bt Anubhi 19-21, 21-14, 21-18).

Himachal Pardesh bt Rajasthan 2-0 (Aurzoo bt Umaa Mehnot 21-4, 21-11, Aurzoo and S.Patil bt Umaa and Shivani 21-11, 21-8). Delhi bt Punjab 2-0 (Nippin Tiwari bt Staffi Kala 21-14, 21-12, Shradha and Nidhi (Dli) bt Staffi and Neelam 21-14, 21-11). (UNI)

Shah makes cut ahead of Bopara for India tour

LONDON, Sept 29: Owais Shah today got the nod ahead of all rounder Ravi Bopara in England’s 15-member squad for the two-match away Test cricket series against India in December.

Shah was included in place of Michael Vaughan, who is taking a break from Test cricket owing to his poor form after stepping down as the captain in August.

Shah, who scored 88 and 38 in Mumbai in 2006, was brought in to strengthen the batting while uncapped Graeme Swann was picked ahead of Adil Rashid and Samit Patel to provide the perfect balance to their slow bowling department, being headed by Monty Panesar.

"Our decision to pick Owais Shah was based on the fact that he is an excellent player of spin who played a superb innings in India on his Test debut two years ago. It’s a further opportunity for him to build on his success with the one-day side this year," Chief Selector Geoff Miller said in a statement.

Matt Prior got a recall in as the reverse wicket-keeper for his impressive performance this season in county cricket.

"Matt Prior has enjoyed an impressive domestic season with Sussex and having re-established himself in the England one-day side, he will now compete with Tim Ambrose for the position of Test wicketkeeper," he said.

"Matt remains our first choice keeper in the ODIs, but Tim will join the one-day squad in India as reserve wicketkeeper for the duration of the one-day series," he added. (PTI)

Gilchrist replaces Laxman as Deccan Chargers captain

NEW DELHI, Sept 29: VVS Laxman, who led the Deccan Chargers in the inaugural Indian Premier League season, was today replaced by former Australia vice-captain Adam Gilchrist to "re-unite the outstanding talent" of the team which ended at the bottom despite its star-studded line-up.

Laxman had drawn criticism from his team team member Shahid Afridi who said Twenty20 cricket was not the forte of the Indian batsman after the team managed only two wins from their 14 matches with the likes of Andrew Symonds, Herschelle Gibbs, Scott Styris and Rohit Sharma in its ranks.

"Adam Gilchrist commands respect within the team and right around the cricket world. He has redefined the role of wicketkeeper/batsman in modern cricket," said Tim Wright, Chief Executive of Deccan Chargers in a statement issued here.

"I am confident Adam Gilchrist will unite Deccan Chargers’ outstanding talent. Four members of our squad were on the India tour of Sri Lanka, more than any other IPL team, and the quality of our overseas players is well known. These players will play for Gilchrist," he added.

Gilchrist, who averaged 47.60 runs in 96 Test Matches and 35.89 runs in 287 One-Day Internationals, helped Australia win the World Cup three times.

The wicketkeeper-batsman holds the world Test record for number of sixes hit (100) and has claimed 472 dismissals behind the stumps.

Adam Gilchrist said "It’s a tremendous thrill and honour to become captain of the Deccan Chargers. I look forward to working hard with everybody towards making the team successful." (PTI)