• Devendra Bags First Gold at Paralympics Games
• Of Vijay Singh, Golf and his India
• India Wins Cadet Gold in Canadian Open

• Anju Leaps to Gold
• Pakistan to Honour Four Former Indian Olympians

World No. 6 long jumper Anju Bobby George would be the star attraction in the inaugural Asian All Stars Athletics Championship here tomorrow. Anju, who became India's first world championship medallist with a bronze in Paris last year, will be the highest profile Asian athlete competing. The Asian Games 2002 champion, beat Russian gold medallist Tatyana Lebedeva to win the long jump event at the Yokohama Track and Field Meet last week in Japan, after finishing sixth in Athens. Many of Asia's best athletes began arriving in Singapore today as the city-state prepared to host a unique competition for the region's elite track and field stars. Medallists from regional events such as the Asian Games, South-East Asian Games and Asian Grand Prix events will compete here. Four Athens gold medallists, including Chinese 110m hurdle sensation Liu Xiang, will also travel to Singapore for the event, however they will only be here for promotional purposes and to conduct clinics rather than compete.

Courtesy: The Indian Express, September 28, 2004

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Ace long-jumper Anju Bobby George upset Olympic champion Tatyana Lebedeva of Russia to win the gold medal in the Yokohama track and field meet in Japan on Thursday. World No. 6 Anju cleared 6.61m to pip the World No. 1, according to information received here. Lebedeva also recorded 6.61m but had to settle for the silver as the Indian had a better second jump. Yuka Sato of Japan won the bronze with 6.44m. American Grace Upshaw finished fourth with a jump of 6.43m while two-time Olympic champion Heike Drechseler, who bid farewell, finished fifth.

Courtesy: The Hindu, September 24, 2004

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India's Devendra improved his own world mark to bag the country's first gold medal in the javelin throw, category F44/46, at the Paralympic Games in Athens on Tuesday.

Courtesy: The Pioneer, September 22, 2004

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India's World Cup-winning captain Ajitpal Singh and former Olympian-turned-selectors B.P. Govinda, Aslam Sher Khan and Surinder Singh Sodhi will be felicitated during Indian hockey team's tour of Pakistan next week. Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) and its Pakistan counterpart have decided to felicitate four former players from each country during the eight-match home-and-away series. ``Pakistan Hockey Federation had sought the names and we decided to honour former Olympians Ajitpal Singh, Govinda, Aslam Sher Khan and Surinder Singh Sodhi along with the hockey side,'' IHF secretary K. Jothikumaran told UNI. Meanwhile, PHF has also forwarded the names of four former players, Mr Jothikumaran informed. ``They have sent the names of Jahangir Butt, Islahuddin Siddiqi, Akhtar Rasool and Hassan Sardar who will accompnay the Pakistan team when they arrive here for the second leg of the series,'' he added.

Courtesy: The Hindu, September 20, 2004

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Hear Tiger's first sigh. He putts to that. He's swung to his success, sending Tiger into the woods. Vijay Singh has mastered the test of nerves, ending Tiger Woods' record run of 264 weeks at the top of the golf rankings and personally netting earnings of $7,889,566 this season alone. It's his best season till date, and Singh is celebrating an emotional win. In an exclusive interview with TOI, the world's No 1 golfer and this year's 'most outstanding sportsman' talks about his private world and being the goliath of golf. Nothing is impossible in Singh's dictionary. "There's no question in my mind that hard work and dedication makes one a winner. All the great players have done it and I'm no exception. There's no substitute for practice. While watching golf on TV, Singh always goes for the underdog. Singh's winning secret: hours in the gym and sweating it out. Singh's personal icon in golf is Moe Norman. After learning the game from his father, an aeroplane technician, the now 41-year-old Fijian-golfer of Indian origin has gone on to become today's golden boy of golf. Does he feel connected to India? "I enjoy coming to India, but I've been in Europe and America for so long that my connection with India is very remote. Nonetheless, I'm looking forward to coming to Delhi in November for the BILT golf tournament." As Singh talks of the art of concentration, mastering the unexpected, and his spiritual spunk, it's obvious why the results are impressive: "I've always believed in myself. I believe the mental side of competition is very important. Now, mentally and physically, I feel as free and as good as I've ever been in my career. But I know the easy part is getting to the top - the hard part is staying up there."

Courtesy: The Times of India, September 16, 2004

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India batsman Rahul Dravid was named both Player of the Year and Test Player of the Year at the inaugural International Cricket Council (ICC) awards ceremony at Alexandra Palace here on Tuesday. In the year under consideration, from August 1 2003 to July 31 2004, 31-year-old Dravid scored 1,241 runs in nine matches at an average of 95.46. That included a Test-best 270 against Pakistan in April. In the vote taken from the ICC's voting academy, which included all 10 current Test captains, Dravid polled 82 votes. "It's unbelievable really, Dravid said on receivng his Player of the Year award, thr Sir Garfield Sobers trophy named in honour of the great West Indian all-rounder. "When you look at the names who have voted for this award it is a great honour," the elegant right-hander added. Australia batsman Matthew Hayden finished second with 53 votes with England fast bowler Stephen Harmison third with 38 and Sri Lanka off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan fourth with 30.

Courtesy: Hindustan Times, September 08, 2004

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Indian cadet boys' team has won the gold medal in the Canadian Junior open ITTF World circuit tournament in Vancouver, Canada. The India `A' team, comprising Soumyajit Sarkar, Sanil Shankar Shetty, Sushovan Das and Shubham Sharma, defeated Hong Kong-China 3-0 in the team championship final. India `B' team settled for the bronze medal. Indians had a field day in Vancouver as Soumyajit Sarkar and Sanil Shankar Shetty won doubles gold, beating Sushovan Das and Shubham Sharma. In the singles, Sarkar won silver medal, losing 9-11, 9-11, 9-11 to Canada's Qiang Shen. In the cadet girls' section, Divya Deshpande won singles bronze while Pallavi Kundu and Soumi Mondal had doubles bronze medal to their collection.

Courtesy: The Hindu, September 03, 2004

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