Special athletes leave for Amritsar

Excelsior Correspondent

JAMMU, June 21: A 40-member State contingent of special athletes (mentally and intellectually challenged) alongwith 12 coaches left for Amritsar (Punjab) to participate in National Coaching Camp for BOCCE slated to be held from June 28.

Inspector General of Police, Jammu Zone, K Rajendra flagged off the contingent.

Speaking on the occasion, K Rajendra lauded the efforts of Special Olympics Bharat, J&K Chapter, for making an excellent beginning for these special children.

Chairman of Special Olympics Bharat, J&K Chapter, Ram Sahai, Dr Ashvini Jojra, State President, besides other members were also present during the flagging off ceremony.

The contingent left under the leadership of Mahesh Kinth, Area Director and Secretary of Special Olympics Bharat, J&K Chapter.

CCA, MCC seal emphatic wins

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, June 21: Chattisgarh Cricket Association (CCA) thrashed UP Cricket Association (UPCA) by five wickets in the ongoing All India Master Gufran Memorial Twenty20 Cricket Tournament being played at Sports Stadium.

Batting first, UPCA bowled out for 76 runs with Deepak and Rakesh top scoring with 17 and 15 runs respectively.

For CCA, Salman grabbed four wickets whereas Suraj Yadav took two.

In reply, CCA did the needful in just 10 overs losing five wickets in the process.

Pankaj and Vikas scored 27 and 20 runs respectively. For UPCA, Shivam and Pandey shared two wickets apiece.

In the second match, Mohammedan Cricket Club (MCC), Reasi got the better of YCC Kishtwar by 8 wickets.

YCC made 154/5. Arshad and Shabir contributed 64 and 40 runs respectively.

Chasing 155 to win, MCC romped home in 15 overs for the loss of just two wickets.

Nikhil was the main architect behind the win who played an unbeaten crafty knock of 65 runs studded with 11 fours and two sixes.

For YCC, Arif and Rashid took a wicket each. The match was officiated by Ayaz Bangroo and Surinder Singh.

Sumit clinches State Chess title

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, June 21: Sumit Grover emerged as the State champion surpassing defending champion Ritwan Sauntra on the second and final day of the State Chess Championship which concluded at Mahajan Hall today.

Sumit secured six points while Rajinder Wazir, Ritwan Sauntra and Imtiaz Lone garnered five points each.

These four players have also been selected for the Nationals slated to be held in Kolkata.

Baldev Raj, general secretary of All J&K Chess Association distributed prizes among the winner and runner-up players.

Atul Kumar Gupta, President and Parminder Kumar, joint secretary were also present on the occasion.

Final Results (Round 6):

Sumit Grover beat Imtiaz Lone, Ritwan Sauntra beat Zulfikar Ali, Rajinder Wazir beat Ajit Kumar, Khalid Amin beat Bharat Grover, Sunil Kumar beat Rohit Bhardwaj, Ajit Singh beat Asim Billah, Mahim Singh beat Assem Salhotra, Zuhaib Hassan beat Jabar Jung Singh, Pranav Sharma beat Harish Puri, Sarvagya Gupta beat Danish Pathania, Chetan Gandotra beat Aditi Sharma, Abhishek Nayal beat Agrim Pandotra, Rajat Bhardwaj beat Amit Langar, Sukhjinder Singh beat Sachin Suri, Arvindu beat Gourav Gupta, Sarvesh Langer beat Sachin, Danish Beig beat Vandit Gandotra, Kuljeet Singh beat Pragam Jot Singh and Jagmeet Singh beat Surinder.

AOCC wins inaugural tie

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

UDHAMPUR, June 21: AOC Chargers (AOCC) overcame the challenge of Shri Viveka Nanda Cricket Club (SVNCC) by 12 runs in the inaugural match of the 1st District Cricket Open tournament which commenced at Subhash Stadium here today.

AOCC won the toss and chose to bat first. They accumulated 183 runs in their allotted quota of overs.

In reply, SVNCC were all out for 171 runs. Sanjay Kumar, who scored a magnificent knock of 80 runs and followed it up with two wickets was adjudged man of the match.

Earlier, the tournament was inaugurated by SSP Udhampur, Surinder Gupta.

Others present on the occasion included Ashok Kumar, Assistant Director, Youth Services and Sports, Ashwani Khajuria, Councilor, DCC Convener, Ajay Sharma and Ashok Singh.

Total 16 teams from various clubs of Udhampur district are participating in the tournament.

Rehmat lifts Trintha Kesari title

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, June 21: Rehmat Ali defeated Prince in a tough bout to lift 5th Trintha Kesari title.

The vishal dangal was organised by the Trintha Dangal Committee in association with J&K Indian Style Wrestling Association under the supervision of Shiv Kumar Sharma, president of J&K Indian Style Wrestling Association.

Total 43 bouts were played. In other bouts, Gani beat Goga, Raju beat Sainf Ali, Bir Singh beat Liaket Ali, Suneet Singh beat Sanjay, Teg Ali beat Anand, Kirpal Singh beat Akram and Manah beat Nasib Singh.

SDPO Reasi, Abdul Rashid was the chief guest on the occasion while Shiv Kumar Sharma presided over the function.

Danshabad prevails upon Darhal Eleven

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

RAJOURI, June 21: Danshabad trounced Darhal Eleven by 81 runs in a one sided contest today in the ongoing Rajouri District Level Cricket Tournament being played at Sports Stadium.

Batting first, Danshabad accumulated 198/6 in the allotted 30 overs, Asif Mustafa top scoring with 50.

Alyas Wani and Naseem Malik contributed 30 and 29 runs respectively.

For Darhal Eleven, Tahir Mehmood and Ismail Malik snared one and two wickets respectively.

Chasing 199 to win, Darhal Eleven skittled out for 117 runs in 25.1 overs.

Imran Shah was the top scorer with 28 followed by Nadeem (14) and Ismail Malik (10).

For Danshabad, Mehmood was the pick of the bowlers with three wickets while Muzammil and Zubaid Malik scalped two and one wicket respectively.

Asif Mustafa was declared man of the match. The umpires in the match were Vijay Kumar and Sarfraz Din.

The scorers were Anwar Choudhary and Nazir Ahmed.

Pakistan lift Twenty20 World Cup

LONDON, June 21: An outcast in international cricket, Pakistan were crowned the Twenty20 World Cup champions after they spanked continental rivals Sri Lanka by eight wickets in a lop-sided final here tonight.

Younus Khan and his men gave their terror-stricken countrymen something to cheer about as they first confined Sri Lanka to 138 for six and then went on to chase down the target in 18.4 overs to put behind the heartbreak of losing the crown to arch-rivals India in the 2007 edition of the tournament.

Chasing 139, Pakistan got off to a flying start with Kamran Akmal (37 off 28 balls) taking the Lankan attack by the scruff of its neck and then Shahid Afridi (54 not out) went ballistic as the side cruised to 139 for two.

This was a memorable win for a nation which has been shunned by the visiting teams because of the volatile security situation there, resulting in their virtual isolation in international cricket.

Earlier, Kumar Sangakkara (64 not out) played a captain’s knock and added 68 invaluable runs with Angelo Mathews (35 not out) to put on board a competitive 138 for six wickets after his decision to bat first on Lord’s lively track had boomeranged.

Sangakkara’s knock came after comeback Pakistani pacer Abdul Razzaq (3/20) had mowed the Lankan top order, leaving them reeling at 26 for four inside four overs and then gasping for breath at 70 for six inside 13 overs.

With Akmal on song, Pakistan got just the right start they needed with the opening stand yielding 48 runs in seven overs.

Akmal threw his bat at everything hurled at him and twice his slog-sweeps landed in the stands before Sanath Jayasuriya removed him with his first delivery.

Other opener Shazaib Hasan (19) too joined him in the hut shortly but Afridi and Shoaib Malik (24 not out) kept up the good work to complete the formalities.

Earlier, Sangakkara waged a grim battle to help Sri Lanka survive a spectacular top order collapse and post a modest 138 for six.

Sangakkara felt the team would be better off defending a total but was left to rue the decision as Razzaq, plying his trade in the ‘rebel’ Indian Cricket League (ICL) till the other day, scythed through the top order to leave the Lankans gasping for breath at 32 for four inside six overs.

Tillakaratne Dilshan, the leading scorer of the tournament, played an awkward scoop off Mohammad Aamer in the first over to return with a duck against his name and was soon joined by scoreless teammate Jehan Mubarak, who miscued Abdul Razzaq to give Shazaib Hasan his second catch of the match.

A lot was expected of Sanath Jayasuriya (17) but all the Lankan old war horse managed was a six and four off Razzaq’s successive deliveries before bottom-edging the fifth ball onto his stumps, leaving his team reeling at 26 for three inside four overs.

That their nightmare was not over yet was evident when Mahela Jayawardene (1) actually guided a Razzaq delivery to Misbah-ul Haq in the lone slip to leave the Lankans in dire strait.

Sangakkara hit Aamer for back-to-back fours and then meted out the same treatment to Shahid Afridi to prove there was no demon in the pitch but another setback was just round the corner.

Chamara Silva (14) had added 35 runs with his skipper before a fluffed pull off Umar Gul brought his peril, leaving the Lankas sans their top half with the score reading a mere 67.

SCOREBOARD

Sri Lanka:

T Dilshan c Shahzaib Hasan b Mohammad Aamer 0

S Jayasuriya b Abdul Razzaq 17

J Mubarak c Shahzaib Hasan b Abdul Razzaq 0

K Sangakkara not out 64

M Jayawardene c Misbah-ul-Haq b Abdul Razzaq 1

C Silva c Saeed Ajmal b Umar Gul 14

I Udana b Shahid Afridi 1

A Mathews not out 35

Extras (LB-3, WD-2, NB-1) 6

Total (for 6 wickets in 20 overs) 138

Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-2, 3-26, 4-32, 5-67, 6-70.

Bowling: Mohammad Aamer 4-1-30-1, Abdul Razzaq 3-0-20-3, Shahid Afridi 4-0-20-1, Saeed Ajmal 4-0-28-0, Shoaib Malik 1-0-8-0, Umar Gul 4-0-29-1.

Pakistan:

Kamran Akmal st Sangakkara b Jayasuriya 37

Shahzaib Hasan c Jayasuriya b Muralitharan 19

Shahid Afridi not out 54

Shoaib Malik not out 24

Extras (LB-2, W-2, NB-1) 5

Total (For 2 wickets in 18.4 overs) 139

Fall of wickets: 1-48 2-63

Bowling: Mathews 2-0-17-0; Udana 4-0-44-0; Malinga 3.4-0-14-0; Muralitharan 3-0-20-1; Mendis 4-0-34-0; Jayasuriya 2-0-8-1. (PTI)

Saina first Indian to win Super Series

NEW DELHI, June 21: Ace woman shuttler Saina Nehwal today scripted history by becoming the first Indian to win a Super Series tournament after she clinched the Indonesian Open title with a stunning victory over higher ranked Chinese Lin Wang in Jakarta.

Saina clinched her maiden Super Series title beating Wang 12-21 21-18 21-9 in an edge-of-the-seat thriller that lasted 49 minutes.

Her triumph today is the best ever performance by any Indian woman and at par with All England Championship titles won by Prakash Padukone and her current coach Pullela Gopichand.

In the thrilling final, world number eight Saina came from behind to outsmart world number three Wang and avenge her last week’s Singapore Open Super Series loss to the same rival.

Saina took time to get into the groove as she struggled to gauge the gameplan of Wang in the first game. Wang opened a 4-9 lead and rode on her smashes and better net play o pocket the first game as Saina was left to do the catchup act.

But the Indian ace rallied her way back in the second game. Saina levelled the score at 5-5 and then moved together with her Chinese rival till 17-17 before surging ahead to pocket the second game 21-18.

In the decider, Saina was in her attacking best besides displaying better nerves in crucial moments.

After moving neck and neck till 7-7, Saina went berserk by engaging her rival in soft dribble and net play to widen the gap at 15-9 before reeling off six straight points to seal her place in history.

Hailing Saina’s victory as an important milestone in Indian badminton, Badminton Association of India announced a cash prize of Rs 2 lakh as a recognition of her feat.

"It is a big moment in Indian badminton. We are proud of her achievement. We are announcing a cash reward of Rs two lakhs as an acknowledgment of Saina’s hard work and achievement," BAI president V K Verma said.

"It is a moment to cherish for Indian sports. Saina has put up a lot of hard work but I will also want to thank the Sports Ministry for their support and financial help," he added. (PTI)

It is a dream come true for me: Saina

NEW DELHI, June 21: Moments after pulling off the biggest title victory of her career, Saina Nehwal said the trumph at the Indonesian Super Series was a "dream come true" but she never expected it to come at such an early age.

World number eight Saina beat number third ranked Chinese Lin Wang 12-21 21-18 21-9 in a 49-minute hard-fought summit showdown in Jakarta.

"It is a dream come true for me, it couldn’t have been better. I am elated, excited and shocked as well. I always wanted to win a Super series but I have never thought I will win it at such an early age," she said.

"I was playing well all these months but losing close matches against top ranked players so it was a litte difficult to believe that I have actually won. It took time for the realisation to sink in," she said from Jakarta.

In the Pullela Gopichand Badminton Academy in Hyderabad, Saina put in umpteen hours as part of her strict daily training regime and the 20-year-old player says she is happy that her hard work has finally paid off.

"I have always believed in working hard and have given my everything in training and during the matches and so I feel extremely happy and proud of my achievement," she said.

The Hyderabadi girl, who won the Chinese Taipei Grand Prix Gold tournament in September last year, ranked the Indonesian Open title win as her best ever performance till date. (PTI)

Saina’s win will help her perform in World
Championship: Gopi

NEW DELHI, June 21: National Coach Pullela Gopichand today lauded Saina Nehwal for becoming the first Indian to win the Indonesian Super Series badminton title at Jakarta and felt the win will help her perform better in the World Championship in Hyderabad in August.

World number eight Saina beat third-ranked Lin Wang 12-21 21-18 21-9 in a gruelling final today.

"It is a great day for Indian badminton and a huge win for Saina. The way she has played through out the tournament, it reflects the hard work she has put up in all these years.

"It will give her a lot of confidence and help her perform even better in the World Championship and also give impetus to India’s preparation of the important tournament in Hyderabad in August," he added.

Reflecting on the match, Gopichand said, "She played aggressive badminton and grabbed her chances and also played better in the nets today. She has been very patient."

"Saina always likes players whom she has played against before, it is very typical of her and since she had played her last week, she was very comfortable with Wang," he added.

Gopichand said it was important to have patience and give her time so that she can come up with some stunning performances.

"Many people ask why she is not winning enough tournaments. We have to realise that she is just 19 years old. We need to give her time to go ahead", Gopichand said.

"The greatest quality of Saina is that every time she takes the courts, she makes sure of giving her 100 per cent," he said.

Saina’s father Harvir Singh said he really felt very proud with her daughter’s achievement.

"My happiness knows no bounds. She has not only made me proud but by her feat she has also made India proud. I feel this win will boost her morale and she will put more hard work to her game to bring more laurels for the country," he said. (PTI)_

Indian colts humiliate Poland in junior WC

SINGAPORE, June 20: India produced a dominant performance to thrash Poland 4-0 and finish ninth in the Men’s Junior Hockey World Cup here today.

Amir Khan (17th min), Jaykaran (35th min), Danish Mujtaba (46th min) and Birender Lakra (58th min) found the target for India.

The Indians were leading 2-0 at half-time.

In a dull, placid game, India held the upper hand throughout and could have scored at least a couple of goals more.

However, the traditional ineptness in penalty corner conversion was all too evident as the men in blue could utilise only one of the six that came their way.

The match was off to a slow start with both teams preferring to play it safe.

Apart from a couple of penalty corners, the Indians failed to create any clear cut chances in the intial stages before Khan scored from open play.

In the 25th minute, Diwakar Ram found himself in the clear after receiving a pass from Mandip Antil. However, the sturdy defender failed to score with only the goalkeeper to beat.

Jaykaran doubled the lead on the stroke of halftime, firing in off the rebound after the Polish custodian blocked a powerful dragflick from Diwakar.

There was virtually no change in the script in the second half with India enjoying the better of the ball possession, but showed no urgency to attack with pace.

Poland’s attacks were few and far between but Bratkowski could have reduced the margin in the 43rd minute. But he failed to cash in on a half chance.

The Indian colts continued to pile on the pressure and grabbed the third goal when Mujtaba scored, giving the finishing touches to a speedy counter attack that began from the Indian penalty circle.

Lakra then scored from a field effort to round off the tally.

The Indians piled on the pressure in the final minutes and missed several sitters but the Poles held on to avert any further setbacks.(UNI)

Darren Bravo gets maiden ODI call

PORT-OF-SPAIN, June 21: Left-hand batsman Darren Bravo will be eyeing ODI debut after fine performance in domestic circuit earned him a berth in the 13-member West Indies squad for the first two encounters of the upcoming four-match cricket series against India commencing June 26.

Bravo, brother of West Indies all-rounder Dwayne, scored 605 runs with an average of 43.21 for Trinidad & Tobago in the domestic four-day competition.

The 20-year-old cricketer was also part of West Indies team that participated in 2008 Under-19 World Cup in Malaysia.

All-rounder David Bernard, who last played an ODI in 2003 but was part of the Twenty20 World Cup squad, also got a call to replace paceman Fidel Edwards who is nursing a back injury.

Besides, left-hand batsman Narsingh Deonarine, who was the leading run-scorer in the domestic competition, made a return to the national squad after two years.

Those who were there during the country’s last ODI assignment in England but faced the axe from selectors include Lendl Simmons, Dale Richards, Kieron Pollard and Darren Sammy.

First two ODIs will be held on June 26 and 28 in Kingston.

Squad: Chris Gayle ©, Denesh Ramdin (wk), Lionel Baker, Darren Bravo, Dwayne Bravo, Sulieman Benn, David Bernard, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Narsingh Deonarine, Runako Morton, Ravi Rampaul, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Jerome Taylor. (PTI)