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India
Clinches Volleyball Titles
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India finished on top with 234 medals,
including 118 gold
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In athletics, India bagged 15 gold,
14 silver and 14 bronze medals
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Indian volleyball teams had to sweat
it out to beat Sri Lanka in both finals
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Pakistan footballers clinch gold at
the expense of the Sri Lankans
India
won the volleyball gold medals in the men's
and women's sections of the South Asian
Games, beating host Sri Lanka in both finals
at the Sugathadasa indoor stadium here on
Sunday. While the women won in straight
games 27-25, 25-20, 25-20, the men conceded
a game for the first time in the tournament
before emerging a 25-15, 21-25, 25-21, 25-19
winner. However, the scoreline will hardly
convey the struggle the women and men went
through. It was not only a test of skill
but also patience in the midst of the home
spectators, beating drums and blowing trumpets
while rooting for their team. The indoor
complex was fully packed and the Indian
players would have found it nerve-wracking.
The Indian judokas reaped a rich harvest
of five gold medals on the final day. Laishram
Bembem Devi (48-kg) and Anita Chanu (52-kg)
were the winners in the women's categories
while Navjot Chana (60-kg), Parvinder Singh
(66-kg) and Virender Singh (73-kg) were
the men's winners. In marathon, run early
on Sunday, India's L. Binning could manage
only a bronze. India finished with 15 gold,
14 silver and 14 bronze medals in the athletics
event. In the final competition of the Games
on Monday, India picked up a silver and
a bronze in the men's section in karate.
It was a colourful and emotional finale
to the South Asian Games 2006 as sportspersons
from eight nations parted with a message
that they would meet in Bangladesh after
two years. For India, SAG 2006 had a special
significance. It collected a record 118
gold medals bettering the earlier high of
106 gold medals in Chennai in 1995.
The
results:
Athletics:
Marathon: 1. A.M. Ajith Bandara (SL),
2:25:40; 2. B. Arjun Kumar (Nep), 2:28:10;
3. L. Binning (Ind), 2:29:16.
Karate:
Men: 50-kg: 1. V.C. Gunarathna (SL);
2. T. Mahmood (Pak); 3. R. Dhahal (Nep)
and Md. S. Osman (SL); 55-kg: 1.
Saadi Abbas (Pak); 2. Ram Limmbu (Nep),
3. D. Syngkon (Ind) and U.G. Rajakaruna
(SL); Plus-80: 1. F. Ahamad (Pak);
2. Anup Dethe (Ind); 3. M. Hossain (Ban)
and R.S. Twati (Nep).
Courtesy:
The Hindu, August 29, 2006
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India
Storms Into Volleyball Final
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India
thundered its way to the men's volleyball
final with a stunning 25-21, 25-16, 25-16
win over arch-rival Pakistan at the South
Asian Games at the Sugathadasa Indoor Stadium
here on Saturday. The Indian team has been
performing well and has not conceded a single
game do far. A reflection of its confidence-level
was seen in the way India demolished Pakistan
in the semifinals. India is the defending
champion, but Pakistan had come up trumps
in their last two meetings in recent times.
To that extent this was a grudge match,
and in a neutral setting the pressure was
a bit less. Subba Rao, Tom Joseph, Srikanth
and Kapil Dev contributed effectively. But
Tom deserves special mention for his all-round
show. Pakistan looked jaded and slowly faded
out. After the first game, when points were
traded with both teams smashing - Srikanth
and Tom in particular for India and Zafari
Iqbal and Ihsan for Pakistan - the balance
tilted in India's favour. Be it the rock-like
net blocks - where Kapil, Tom, Srikanth
and the tall Subba Rao excelled - or in
spiking, the Indians kept the scoreboard
ticking. Commendable support came from libero
Sivarajan. In the space of 67 minutes, India
had completed the job and who else but the
women Indian players led the cheers, waving
the India tricolour up in the gallery. In
the other semifinal, host Sri Lanka, dropped
the opening game before prevailing over
Bangladesh 25-27, 25-21, 25-14, 25-13. India
rounded off its shooting campaign with two
more gold medals, with Imran Khan being
the architect for the happy tidings in the
50m rifle 3 position event. In all, India
won 18 gold, 10 silver and five bronze medals.
Earlier, Pakistan took both the individual
and team golds in the 25m standard pistol
event. India's C.K. Choudhary and Ashok
Pandit had to settle for the silver and
bronze medals respectively.
Courtesy:
The Hindu, August 28, 2006
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Indian
Team Wins World Championship in Snooker
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World
billiards champion Geet Sethi staged a remarkable
fightback as India won the Seniors' event
of the IBSF World Snooker Team Championship
in San Jose, USA, with a 6-5 final black
ball victory over New Zealand on Saturday.
Sethi was 1-64 down in the last frame against
Dene O'Kane after the two teams were level
at 5-5 but his experience and composure
helped the team, which also included Devendra
Joshi and BVS Murthy, romp home victorious.
However, disappointment was in store for
India 'A' team comprising Pankaj Advani,
Manan Chandra and Yasin Merchant, as the
trio crashed to a 3-8 defeat against England
in the final of the Men's Event. India 'A'
opened up account with Advani, a former
IBSF World Snooker Champion, defeating Michael
Rhodes, but the English hit back through
David Lilley and David Craggs who won the
following four frames. Lilley had a break
of 51 in the second frame, Craggs notched
a break of 44 in the third frame, and success
for Lilley on a respotted black in the fourth
frame.
Courtesy:
The Pioneer, August 28, 2006
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to Index
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India
Storms Into Volleyball Final
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India
thundered its way to the men's volleyball
final with a stunning 25-21, 25-16, 25-16
win over arch-rival Pakistan at the South
Asian Games at the Sugathadasa Indoor Stadium
here on Saturday. The Indian team has been
performing well and has not conceded a single
game do far. A reflection of its confidence-level
was seen in the way India demolished Pakistan
in the semifinals. India is the defending
champion, but Pakistan had come up trumps
in their last two meetings in recent times.
To that extent this was a grudge match,
and in a neutral setting the pressure was
a bit less. Subba Rao, Tom Joseph, Srikanth
and Kapil Dev contributed effectively. But
Tom deserves special mention for his all-round
show. Pakistan looked jaded and slowly faded
out. After the first game, when points were
traded with both teams smashing - Srikanth
and Tom in particular for India and Zafari
Iqbal and Ihsan for Pakistan - the balance
tilted in India's favour. Be it the rock-like
net blocks - where Kapil, Tom, Srikanth
and the tall Subba Rao excelled - or in
spiking, the Indians kept the scoreboard
ticking. Commendable support came from libero
Sivarajan. In the space of 67 minutes, India
had completed the job and who else but the
women Indian players led the cheers, waving
the India tricolour up in the gallery. In
the other semifinal, host Sri Lanka, dropped
the opening game before prevailing over
Bangladesh 25-27, 25-21, 25-14, 25-13. India
rounded off its shooting campaign with two
more gold medals, with Imran Khan being
the architect for the happy tidings in the
50m rifle 3 position event. In all, India
won 18 gold, 10 silver and five bronze medals.
Earlier, Pakistan took both the individual
and team golds in the 25m standard pistol
event. India's C.K. Choudhary and Ashok
Pandit had to settle for the silver and
bronze medals respectively.
Courtesy:
The Hindu, August 28, 2006
Back
to Index
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Indian
Team Wins World Championship in Snooker
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| |
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World
billiards champion Geet Sethi staged a remarkable
fightback as India won the Seniors' event
of the IBSF World Snooker Team Championship
in San Jose, USA, with a 6-5 final black
ball victory over New Zealand on Saturday.
Sethi was 1-64 down in the last frame against
Dene O'Kane after the two teams were level
at 5-5 but his experience and composure
helped the team, which also included Devendra
Joshi and BVS Murthy, romp home victorious.
However, disappointment was in store for
India 'A' team comprising Pankaj Advani,
Manan Chandra and Yasin Merchant, as the
trio crashed to a 3-8 defeat against England
in the final of the Men's Event. India 'A'
opened up account with Advani, a former
IBSF World Snooker Champion, defeating Michael
Rhodes, but the English hit back through
David Lilley and David Craggs who won the
following four frames. Lilley had a break
of 51 in the second frame, Craggs notched
a break of 44 in the third frame, and success
for Lilley on a respotted black in the fourth
frame.
Courtesy:
The Pioneer, August 28, 2006
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to Index
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Shanthi's
Maiden 1500m International Gold
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Tamil
Nadu's S. Shanthi picked up her maiden 1500m
gold by winning the event in the South Asian
Games here on Thursday, as the track event
opened up for some early pickings by India.
The Pudukottai girl has won gold and silver
medals in the 400 and 800m events in Asia
earlier, including the Grand Prix at Bangalore
and Pune. But there was great happiness
in winning an event she generally does not
participate. The race was decided in the
last 90 metres when she seized the lead
from compatriot Sinimol Paulose and dashed
past the finish line. In the men's section,
Hamsa Chatholi beat his strong Sri Lankan
rival Wijekoon to take the gold. Wijekoon
had looked firmly in control, as he started
on a handy pace and kept the others behind.
Another Tamil Nadu lad to be in focus was
Wayne Pepin who bagged the long jump gold
with a 7.73 metre leap in his final attempt.
Courtesy:
The Hindu, August 25, 2006
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to Index
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Ace
cueist Pankaj Advani was on Wednesday conferred
with the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award,
the highest individual sporting honour in
country. The award, which carries a cash
prize of Rs. 5 lakhs, a scroll of honour
and a medal, is given to one sportsperson
in recognition of his/her spectacular and
most outstanding performance in the field
of sports. Badminton player Aparna Popat
is one of the Arjuna Award winners. The
awards, comprising a cash prize of Rs. 3
lakhs, a statuette and a scroll of honour,
is given to not more than 15 sportspersons
in recognition of outstanding achievements
at international level and for showing qualities
of leadership, sportsmanship and sense of
discipline. The Dhyan Chand Awards for lifetime
achievement in sports and games, comprising
a cash award of Rs. 3 lakhs, plaque and
a scroll of honour, are given to not more
than three sportspersons in a particular
year in recognition of their contribution
to sports by their performance and continued
contribution even after retirement from
active sports career. The Dronacharya Awards,
comprising a cash award of Rs. 3 lakhs,
a plaque and a scroll of honour, are given
to not more than five coaches for outstanding
and meritorious work on a consistent basis
to enable sportspersons to excel in international
events. The President, Dr. A.P.J. Abdul
Kalam, will present the awards at a function
in the Rashtrapati Bhavan on August 29.
Courtesy:
The Hindu, August 24, 2006
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to Index
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Indian
Shuttlers Dominate
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Indian
shuttlers today held sway to assure themselves
of nine medals, and will eye all the five
individual gold medals at stake in the South
Asian Games badminton competition when the
finals are held tomorrow. Displaying class
and agility, the Indian players grounded
their opponents to make four of the five
summit clashes an all-Indian affair at the
Sugathadasa Indoor stadium. In the men's
singles, world No. 24 Chetan Anand got past
Pakistani Zeeshan Umer 21-10, 16-21, 21-7
to set up a title encounter with compatriot
Nikhil Kanetkar. The Mumbai boy pipped Pakistan's
Wajid Ali Choudhary 21-10, 21-12 in the
other semi-final. The women's singles final
would also be an in-house show for the Indians
as Trupti Murgunde put up a sterling performance
to tame local favourite Renu Chandrika de
Silva 21-11, 21-10, while BR Meenakshi humbled
Nepal's Sumina Shreshta 21-9, 21-4 in the
pre-summit round. Indian shuttlers stretched
their awesome form into women's doubles
as Aparna Balan and BR Meenakshi broke Sri
Lankan hearts prevailing over Chandrika
and Thilini Jayasinghe, while Jwala Gutta
and Sarah Kurien showed the door to Pakistan's
Asma Butt and Uzma Butt in semi-final exchanges.
Courtesy:
The Statesman, August 18, 2006
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Manavjit
on Top in World Rankings
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Trap
shooter Manavjit Singh Sandhu's gold medal
finish at the recent World Championships
at Zagreb in Croatia helped him notch the
world number one spot in world rankings.
Abhinav Bindra, who claimed a gold in 10m
air rifle, also climbed 24 places to second
position. Olympic silver medallist Lt Col
Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore was fifth in
the rankings in double trap. Manavjit (3593
points) climbed two spots and is now ahead
of nearest Italian Erminio Frasca by more
than 1000 points. Alexey Alipov occupies
the third spot. Zhu Qinan (2886) is the
top shooter in 10 meter air rifle and is
ahead of Bindra by 274 points. Alin G Moldoveanu
of Romania is third with 2090 points. Gagan
Narang who had also enjoyed the top position
before has now dropped down to the sixth
place. Avneet Kaur Sidhu gained six places
to 11th in the women 10m Air Rifle event.
Courtesy:
The Pioneer, August 16, 2006
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to Index
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Delhi
Half Marathon: Run And Win $150,000
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Delhiites
now have a chance to share a $150,000 prize
booty. The Hutch Delhi Half Marathon 2006,
billed the world's richest and most prestigious
half marathon, will see over 25,000 participants
from all over the world on October 15, 2006
in the national Capital. The huge prize
money will surely attract the leading long
distance runners from all over the world,
including at least 40 runners from among
the world's top 100, but Indian participants
can take heart. There is a separate prize
fund for Indian athletes and the varied
levels of competition will provide a platform
to runners of all ages to participate. Also,
Delhitites will get a chance to run along
with the likes of Haile Gebrselassie of
Ethiopia, arguably the greatest long distance
runner ever and Vijay Amritraj, India's
best-known global sports ambassador. Hutchison
Essar is the title sponsor of the event
while The Times of India group is partnering
the event on all media fronts - Indiatimes
is the Internet partner, Times of India
is the print partner while Radio Mirchi
is the radio partner. The promoters of the
event, which is ratified by the IAAF and
AIMS, are Procam International. "India is
poised to host some of the biggest sporting
events in the world and the Hutch Delhi
Half Marathon provides a perfect example
of our organisational capabilities," Member
of Parliament and co-chairman of the event's
organising committee Suresh Kalmadi said
during a press conference held on Tuesday
to announce the launch of the mega-event,
the second in the series. The event had
raised over Rs 81 lakh for charity in its
inaugural year in 2005 and this time the
amount is expected to be much higher.
Courtesy:
The Times of India, August 08, 2006
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Sania
Upsets Katarina at Acura Classic
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Sania
Mirza defeated 15th seed Katarina Srebotnik
of Slovenia 6-3, 7-6 (7-4) in the second
round of the Acura Classic WTA Tour event
in San Diego, California Sania, whose ranking
has slipped to 44, scored the day's only
upset as she defeated Srebotnik. The 19-year-old
had defeated former world ranked No 11 Meghan
Shaughnessy 6-3 6-1 in the first round.
In other matches, defending champion Mary
Pierce struggled for more than two and a
half hours before finally squeezing to a
6-1, 6-7 (7-9), 7-6 (7-4) opening victory
over Sybille Bammer. Sixth-seeded Pierce
was playing for the first time in nearly
six months after suffering a right foot
ligament injury in February. Her last match
was the Paris indoor final, which she lost
to Amelie Mauresmo. The 31-year-old Pierce
survived a tougher-than-expected second-round
test in coastal heat at the golf resort
venue for the hard court tournament. Russian
fourth seed Elena Dementieva got on and
off court with efficiency in a 6-2, 6-2
thrashing of American Ashley Harkleroad
while Slovak 11th seed Daniela Hantuchova
beat Olga Savchuk of Ukraine 6-2, 6-4. Two
Serbs won through, with 14th seed Ana Ivanovic
putting out 33-year-old American Amy Frazier
6-3, 6-2, and Jelena Jankovic stopping Alana
Bondarenko of Ukraine 6-1, 7-6 (7-4). Russia's
Vera Zvonareva advanced when Chinese Shuai
Peng was unable to continue with heat exhaustion,
3-6, 7-6 (7-5). "I could see she was having
problems with the heat," said Zvonareva,
winner of two titles since June including
Cincinnati last month. "I felt fine and
wasn't' thinking about the weather. "I couldn't
tell any difference in her game, since she
goes for all of her shots and plays aggressive
on every ball." Zvonareva plays in the third
round Thursday against second-seeded Russian
compatriot Maria Sharapova, with the pair
level at two wins each. But their last meeting
came two years ago in the Los Angeles WTA
Championships, where Sharapova won in round
robin play.
Courtesy:
The Times of India, August 03, 2006
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Sania
Upsets Former World No. 11
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Sania
Mirza showed signs of her fine form with
a straight-set victory over former World
No. 11 Meghan Shaunessy in the first round
of the $1.3 million Acura Classic WTA Tour
event in San Diego, California. Sania, whose
ranking has slipped to 44, posted a crisp
6-3 6-1 over Shaugnessy, who has four career
titles to her credit, to sail into the second
round of the US hard court event on Tuesday.
The 19-year-old Indian now plays Katarina
Srebotnik of Slovakia in the second round
on Wednesday.
Courtesy:
Hindustan Times, August 02, 2006
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Fan
Power: India Hottest Spot in WC
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India
has emerged as the hottest country that
fans want to follow during the 2007 World
Cup in the West Indies, the organizers have
announced. "The top five teams for which
'Follow A Path' packages are in greatest
demand are India, Australia, England, New
Zealand and Pakistan, respectively," the
World Cup organisers said in a statement
as the first of the three-phase ticket distribution
periods ended Monday. As many as 20,000
people applied online for tickets Monday,
the last day of the three-month first phase.
This is half of the number of applications
received over the last week of the three-month
first of the three phases of ticket distribution
system, with fans from 124 countries seeking
tickets for the March 11-April 28 tournament.
"While online traffic soared, as the hours
ticked down to the 11.59 p.m. (Eastern Caribbean
Time) end of applications on July 31, staff
at official ticket centres across the nine
host venues - including Antigua and Barbuda,
Barbados, Grenada, Jamaica and Trinidad
and Tobago - reported a significant increase
in the number of fans submitting application
forms," the organisers said in a statement.
"Trinidad and Tobago's ticket centres were
inundated with submissions. The massive
response by fans there is borne out by the
fact that the twin-island republic has jumped
to third overall among countries from which
the most applications have been received,"
it said. "The top 10 are as follows: the
UK, the US, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados,
Australia, Jamaica, India, Canada, Guyana
and St. Kitts and Nevis, respectively."
World Cup commercial manager Stephen Price
said that the success of the application
stage of public ticketing indicated that
fans worldwide understood the process and
had acted accordingly. "Ever since we unveiled
the ticketing programme last November we
have stressed the fact that regardless of
whenever one applied during the May 1 to
July 31 application phase, one would have
the same chance of being allocated match
tickets," he said. "It's an overwhelming
vote of confidence in the Caribbean's ability
to host such an event and it's certainly
an indication that World Cup will be well
attended."
Courtesy:
The Times of India, August 02, 2006
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India
Re-Create '71 Magic, Clinch Test Series
in WI
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Kumble
inspired India to re-write history as they
beat Caribbeans by 49 runs after 35 years
in a tense cliffhanger at Jamaica. India
re-created 1971 magic to clinch Test series
1-0. Indian skipper Rahul Dravid was adjudged
both Man of Match and Series.Kumble turned
in with another match-winning performance,
taking 6 for 78 - including two wickets
in the last three balls of the match to
enable the tourists a series win in the
West Indies for the first time since 1971.
Ramdin gave West Indies hope with a superb
unbeaten 62, adding vital runs with the
lower order, but in the end, the target
of 269 turned out to be just a bit too much.
While both teams had a chance, India had
a slight edge over the hosts throughout
their second essay. But a dazzling knock
from Ramdin almost took away the game from
the visitors before the old-stager Kumble
struck in good time to dismiss Collins and
Collymore and give India that rare overseas
win. Earlier, after a rather torrid morning
session on third day, India could add just
43 runs to their overnight score before
being bowled out and set Windies a modest
target of 269 runs to win the Final Test
and series. On a rather uncharacteristic
batting wicket, Dravid has been the only
batsman who has been able to cope with the
change after the placid wickets in the first
three Tests. Needing ten more wickets for
that rare overseas series win, Sreesanth
struck in the very first over to dismiss
opener Chris Gayle for naught, his second
consecutive duck of the match. This brought
the magical Lara to the crease, who could
have been the big difference between victory
and defeat for India. He along with Ganga
needed to play an out of the ordinary innings,
but the lethal Sreesanth struck just after
lunch to clip Ganga for 16. In the next
over, Munaf Patel, till now overshadowed
by his partner, bowled the delivery of the
innings to bring about the end of the mighty
Lara for 11. Thereafter, Chanderpaul and
Sarwan battled for a while before the former
was trapped plum in front for 13 runs. Sarwan
and Chanderpaul stemmed the rot before Kumble
got the vital breakthrough for the visitors.
This wicket brought together the last recognised
batting pair of Sarwan and Bravo.The two
then put on a fine rearguard action as they
added 70 runs for the fifth wicket. Sarwan
brought up his 26th Test fifty with a boundary
off Sreesanth. Just when West Indies were
on the revival route with the two going
after the Indian attack, the bowler had
him caught by Dravid at slip for 51 that
came of 97 balls. Bravo followed his partner
to the pavilion in the very next over as
Kumble bowled him for a well-compiled 33
of just 45 deliveries. Kumble then picked
up his third victim of the innings when
he trapped Marlon Samuels leg before for
five runs. Having already gathered a substantial
lead, the Dravid-Kumble partnership was
the key to a Test series win in the Caribbean
after 35 long years. But that was not to
be as Collymore got the strachy Kumble early
on for just 10 runs. Needing to do something
special on the third day, Dravid too could
not stick around for long as Collymore ran
into his defence. He could just manage to
add 6 runs to his overnight score before
succumbing to Collymore. Harbhajan Singh
and S Sreesanth then added some quick runs.
The Kerala bowler made 16 off 14 balls that
included a four and a six before he was
caught at second slip by Brian Lara off
a Jerome Taylor delivery. Harbhajan made
nine before he too edged a catch to Lara
at first slip off Collymore. India had made
200 runs in their first innings and bowled
out the Windies for 103 in their first essay,
taking a 97-run lead that could prove crucial
in deciding the outcome of the match and
the series. After a batting debacle in the
first innings, the Windies struck back with
vengeance leaving India in a precarious
situation, with the Test heading for a definite
result. At stumps on the second day, India
were leading by 225 runs with Dravid batting
on 62 and Kumble 2 not out.Earlier, the
Indian openers failed miserably once again
and were back in the pavilion for just six
runs on the board. Substitute Morton held
on to a blinder at third slip off Taylor
to get rid of Jaffer for just one run. Sehwag
was then trapped leg before by the same
bowler.
Courtesy:
Hindustan Times, July 03, 2006
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Indian
Women Win ODI Series Against Ireland
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Riding
on fine half centuries by Monica Sumra and
skipper Mithali Raj, Indian eves thrashed
Ireland by 106 runs to win the rain-marred
second and final one-day international cricket
match, clean sweeping the series 2-0 today.
Sumra scored 62 and Raj hung on to make
66 to propel Indian team to an impressive
239 for four in their stipulated 50 overs
after Ireland won the toss and sent them
to bat. Former captain Anjum Chopra and
Hemlata Kala chipped in to contribute 23
and 30 runs respectively. However, the target
was revised for the hosts and reduced to
214 in 40 overs by the Duckworth-Lewis method
after rains interrupted play. Ireland scored
135 for 8 with C Beggs scoring 63 runs.
For India, Nooshin al Kadeer and Jhulan
Goswami were the pick of the bowlers returning
2-20 and 2-25 respectively. High on spirits
after a good start to their tour, the Indian
team will now travel to England to play
a one-off twenty20 match, two Tests and
five one-dayers. They will now face the
English women in a twenty20 match on August
5. The England, which won a Test series
against Australia on home soil last year,
will be looking to avenge their humiliating
ODI series loss in India last year.
Courtesy:
The Pioneer, August 01, 2006
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