Saturday May 11, 2013
Kaieteur News
Page 37
Teams gearing up for next KN Sports Reporter Mohamed among Sunday’s Endurance Meet those successful at WICUA exams After waiting for some form of activity, the Guyana Motor Racing & Sports Club (GMR&SC) will be staging an Endurance Meet for next Sunday, at the South Dakota Circuit, commencing from 13:00 hrs. According to a release from the Organisers, among the competitors expected to participate in the day’s activities are defending champions from the last Meet Brian Ten-Pow and Shawn Seejattan, Roshan Ali Snr, Roshan Ali Jnr, Rameez Mohammed, Kevin Deodass, Mohammed Ali Snr,, Mohamed Ali Jnr, Afraz Alli, Aaron Bethune, Syed Hassan, and Danny Persaud. Speaking with Bethune yesterday via telephone, he said he is optimistic that the day will produce some fascinating duels as teams battle for outright supremacy, while the amount of teams confirmed has increased. Bethune added that Endurance racing has been steadily growing in popularity in Guyana and the Organisers are expecting a large crowd to
Team Shawn Seejattan (with trophy) and Brian Ten-Pow (right) pose with the winning trophy presented by sponsor Roshan Ali (2nd left) in the presence of Team Owner Errol Seejattan, at the last Endurance Meet. go down to the Circuit to witness the anticipated rivalry among some of the top drivers locally. Among the major sponsors are: Ray’s One Stop Auto Sales, Vishaul Auto Toy
Store, Fullworks, B.M. Soat, Zai Auto Sales, Special Auto, Motor Trend Auto Spares, Ramchand Auto Body and Crash Truck Service and Buy Me Auto Sales. Starting time is 12:00 hrs.
Serena forced to battle her way into Madrid Open semis MADRID (Reuters) - Top seed and world number one Serena Williams was pushed all the way by unseeded Spaniard Anabel Medina Garrigues before triumphing 6-3 0-6 7-5 to make the semifinals at the Madrid Open yesterday. The defending champion at the clay event fought back from 4-2 down in the third set to see off the local favorite, who was cheered on by a partisan crowd at the Magic Box Arena. “It was definitely a battle,” Williams told a news conference. “I obviously didn’t do much in the second set, and I think I gave her a lot confidence to play better. I thought she played really well in the third.” Williams made it 26 wins
and only one defeat since the start of last year’s claycourt season, but was up against an experienced player on the surface. The 30-year-old Spaniard has the highest number of clay-court title wins with 10 among players currently on the circuit and stunned the American taking the second set to love. “I wasn’t really there,” Williams said. “I wasn’t really in it. My feet weren’t moving. I don’t know what happened. “To turn it around I got up earlier on the changeover and started doing high knees and just stretching and doing anything to try to get my intensity back up where it needed to be. “I definitely want to cut back on my unforced errors. I
had a lot today. Also, I went for a lot more today than I have been doing in my past few matches. “So I think I’m going to go back to the way I have been playing, and being more calm, and not making as many errors as I did today.” Williams will meet either seventh-seeded Italian Sara Errani or unseeded Russian Ekaterina Makarova in the last four. Williams and Maria Sharapova remain on track for a battle over the world number one ranking after both made the Madrid Open semi-finals. Russian world number two Sharapova will replace Williams on top if she betters the American’s showing in Spain. She recorded a routine 6-2 6-4 victory over Kaia Kanepi in the last eight.
GSCL competitions continue tomorrow in Linden The Georgetown Softball Cricket League\ Regal Stationery and Computer Centre\Mike’s Copy Centre- Star Party Rentals\Salod Marketing Agency and Trophy Stall competitions will continue on Sunday at the Christianburg ground in Linden. Regal XI will face MK Ogle in the second Over-35 semi-final with the winners meeting Park Rangers in the final on a date to be
announced. In the Male Open category, Regal will battle Kwakwani Strikers; the winners will clash with Speed Boat XI in the semi-final. Wolf’s Warriors have already booked their place in the final. In the female category, Regal Champs will tackle Aroaima Rusal Warriors in the first semi, while Sunrise will play All Star Conquerors for the right to meet Wiruni Warriors in the second semi-final.
Kaieteur News sports reporter Zaheer Mohamed is among several local umpires that successfully completed the West Indies Cricket Umpires Association (WICUA) Practical and Oral examinations in 2012. Nolan Hawke, Omadatt Samaroo, Delvin Austin, Dawchand Nagassar and Orin Archer are the other umpires that passed the examinations; Guyana gained one hundred percent success. Mohamed, who is also a certified West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) level one coach, said he is happy with the success. “I worked hard to pass both exams, I had all confidence that I would have made it and I would like to thank the Almighty for making it easy for me,” stated Mohamed who hails from the Essequibo River island of Wakenaam. He stated that an outreach programme caused him to take umpiring seriously. “The late Clyde Duncan, Colin Alfred and Chairman of West Indies selectors Clyde Butts conducted a few umpire and coaching sessions in Wakenaam a few years ago after which I decided to get more involved. I first started to umpire in a few friendlies, but when an association was formed in Wakenaam I was asked to officiate in competitions. I then wrote the Preliminary and Final exams and after being successful I decided to take it up as a career”, he said. The 34 year old Mohamed would like to thank all those who assisted him. “I would
Zaheer Mohamed like to show gratitude to my father Lennie Mohamed (president of the Wakenaam Cricket Umpires Association), the Sans Souci Jaguars SC, Wakenaam Cricket Committee, my colleagues at Kaieteur News, Shakira Mohamed , Dheindranauth Somwaru, Nigel Dugid, Zabeer Zakier, Eddie Nicholls, Colin Alfred, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Joseph Jeffery, Dasroy Balgobin and the Georgetown Cricket Association among others. I would also like to wish the other successful umpires well in their careers.
Gary Kirsten to quit as South Africa coach for family reasons BBC Sport - South Africa coach Gary Kirsten is to step down for family reasons when his current contract expires in August. The 45-year-old, who played 101 Tests for South Africa from 1993-2004, spent three years as coach of India, guiding them to the World Cup title in 2011. He became South Africa coach in June 2011 and a 2-0 win in England last year put them top of the Test rankings. “I have every confidence that the Proteas will continue to go from strength to strength,” Kirsten said. Kirsten, who also took
India to the top of the Test rankings, was unbeaten in seven Test series as South Africa coach, winning six, and the team lost only two of their 19 Tests during his tenure, with victories in Sri Lanka, Australia and England. His last assignment in charge of the South African team is expected to be at the Champions Trophy, which begins in the UK next month. Cricket South Africa president and board chairman Chris Nenzani said: “Gary has a young family and it is understandable that he wishes to spend more time at
home. “With the Proteas due to tour Sri Lanka in July andAugust, and Pakistan in November, and important home series coming up against India and Australia next season, it is important that we move quickly to identify his successor. “Although we are disappointed to lose him as head coach, he has put the foundations in place to carry us forward. “We will certainly endeavour to retain his services in some capacity, as his experience as player, coach and mentor is not something we want to lose in its entirety.”
GBI, RBC to host VIVA Water Cycling Classic tomorrow at Seawall Bandstand Circuit Cyclists will have another opportunity to fine tune their preparations ahead of this year’s NSC Independence 3-Stage Road Race, when the Roraima Bikers Club (RBC) in association with Guyana Beverage Inc. under their VIVA Water brand, sponsors a Cycling Classic tomorrow. The event, which will have attractive cash incentives on offer as has become a practice when the RBC brings off such events, will take place at the Seawall Bandstand Circuit pedaling off from 10:00hrs. This event will take the form of a 50 Lap contest which will provide vital exposure ahead of the 3-Stage event which will pedal off on Saturday May 18 in the Ancient County of Berbice. The Open race will see the first six finishers receiving prizes as well the first three juniors and veterans and the
first two females. That apart, there will be 15-Sprint prizes worth $1,000 each up for the taking. Representatives of Guyana Beverages Inc. will be on hand to witness the event and to assist with the presentation of prizes. Meanwhile, Managing Director of GBI, Mr. Robert Selman recently handed over the sponsorship cheque to President of RBC Brain Allen at the company’s Diamond Head Office. Selman noted that he was pleased to be associated with the club and the event which will create another opportunity for the cyclists to showcase their talent in a competitive atmosphere. Allen in turn thanked Mr. Selman on behalf of RBC for his entity’s support for the riders noting that the event will be well appreciated by the athletes.