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Damani wins 2nd snooker tourney Pg 16
Mary Kom eyes gold at Olympics, Asiad Pg 17
GOA, THURSDAY, 3 JUNE, 2010 www.oheraldo.in
In BrIef E Bengal eye Booth as chief coach East Bengal are considering to hire David Booth as a chief coach, club secretary Kalyan Majumder said. Club coach Phillip de Riders will have to leave since the Asian Football Confederation, the supreme soccer body of Asia, in a directive has advised that all I-League teams in India are required to have A licensed coaches from 201011 session onwards.
Football probables for Asian Games The All India Football Federation has announced 24 probables for the Asian Games 2010 to be organised in November in China. Probables: Defenders: Vishal Kumar, Ravinder Kumar (Karnataka), Abhishek Das (West Bengal), Inderpreet Singh (Punjab), Deepak Devrani (Chandigarh), Raju Eknath Gaikwad (WIFA), Souvik Ghosh (West Bengal), Lalrozama Fanai (Mizoram), Prathmesh Premnath Maulingkar (Goa). Midfielders: Akshay Vimal Kumar Mall (Gujarat), Subodh Kumar (Jharkhand), O Milan Singh (Jharkhand), Shilton D’Silva (WIFA), Jewel Raja Sheikh (IFA), Bikramjit Singh (Chandigarh), Lalrindika Ralte (Mizoram), Tirthankar Sarkar (West Bengal), Kh Jibon Singh (Manipur). Forwards: Mandeep (Haryana), Jagtar Singh (Punjab), Malsawmfela (Mizoram). Goalkeepers: Ravi Kumar (TFA), Gurpreet Singh Sandhu (Punjab) and Jagroop Singh (Punjab).
Paul, Gourmangi for overseas trials National football team goalkeeper Subrata Paul left the country on Tuesday for Canada for a trials session with the Vancouver Whitecaps while defender Gouramangi Singh will head to Australia on Thursday to try his luck with new A-League side Melbourne Heart FC. Paul will attend a 10-day trials with Vancouver Whitecaps FC, which will make their Major League Soccer (MLS) debut from next season (2011). If the star goalkeeper impresses the Vancouver Whitecaps FC management he can join mid-season. The club plays in the second division this season. Paul could not sign a contract with the AIFF on Tuesday for the preparation of next January's Asian Cup in Doha. Gouramangi, Churchill Brothers' defender, is leaving for Australia on Thursday evening for trial with Melbourne Heart FC from June 7-19. The club will make their ALeague debut this season which starts in August.
Fabregas not for sale Arsenal says it has “no intention” of selling captain Cesc Fabregas to Barcelona, rejecting a formal offer from the Spanish champion for the midfielder. Arsenal said in a statement Wednesday that Fabregas is “a highly valued member of the team and part of our future plans.” It stressed that the Spain midfielder is under contract until 2015 and that it expects Barcelona to “respect our position.” Barcelona club director general Joan Oliver said the club had made a written offer to Arsenal on Tuesday at the start of the official transfer window. Oliver said “everybody knows that Cesc wants to sign for Barcelona and that we also want him to come here.”
Laxman practising on gravel pitch Leaving no stone unturned in his preparation for next month's Sri Lanka tour, stylish batsman VVS Laxman is practising on gravel wickets to fine-tune his technique against spinners. The elegant stroke player said playing spinners well would be crucial to the team's success in Sri Lanka and he was not taking any chance. "For the last two weeks, I am practising hard for the coming Sri Lanka tour. I am playing on the gravel pitches to finetune my technique as Sri Lanka has some quality spinners in Ajantha Mendis and Muttiah Muralitharan," said the middle order batsman today. "They also have some other good slow bowlers like Rangana Herath. I want to do well and start the season on a high," he said.
India seek revenge PTI HARARE, JUNE 2
Back in their elements after the opening match debacle, a confident India will have a score to settle when they take on hosts Zimbabwe for the second time in the ongoing cricket tri-series here tomorrow. Zimbabwe had spoiled Suresh Raina's captaincy debut when they inflicted a stunning sixwicket defeat on India in the tournament opener in Bulawayo but the visitors were quick to recover as they thumped Sri Lanka in their second outing to bounce back. At the halfway stage, all three teams have one win and a defeat against their names and India will go all out for a win tomorrow at the Harare Sports Club to put one foot in the June 9 final of the tournament. For India, their batting has been the biggest strength so far as they posted 285 in the first match and chased down 242 with consummate ease in the second tie with 6.3 overs to spare. B a t t i n g m a i n s t a y Ro h i t Sharma has been in the form of his life as he slammed consecutive centuries to anchor the Indian innings in both the matches.
All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja and vice-captain Virat Kohli have also sizzled with the bat. The team, however, has not been served well by its openers. Both Dinesh Karthik and Murali Vijay could not give starts that India is so used to when Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir open the innings. Raina, on his part, looked in good nick in both the matches but the team is yet to get a big knock from the skipper. The last time they met Zimbabwe, it was India's inexperienced pacers which let them down. But in the match against Sri Lanka, the young guns put up a better bowling performance with Ashok Dinda and U m e s h Ya d a v looking better bowlers. The spinners, however, have done a decent job with Amit Mishra and Ojha doing well and Ravindra Jadeja chipping in. Zimbabwe, meanwhile, will require something extraordinary tomorrow to pull off a repeat performance against the mighty Indians. Their high-flying campaign has already been brought down to earth by Sri Lanka last night when the hosts were skittled out for a paltry 118 in 24.5 overs in a rain-curtained match.
Australia's Samatha Stosur celebrates victory. (Right) US Serena Williams leaves the court after losing her women's quarter-final.
Stosur sends Serena packing AP PARIS, JUNE 2
Early on, Serena W illiams knocked dirt from her shoes by angrily whacking them with her racket, as if punishing the clay that keeps tripping her up at the French Open. The top-ranked Williams stumbled in the quarterfinals
Oz to field separate teams for Tests, T20 UNI MELBOURNE, JUNE 2
With the shortest version of the game increasing in popularity, CA chief executive James Sutherland has revealed that Australia may field separate Test and Twenty20 teams in the near future. ''While hosting Tests here, Australia could have its Twenty20 team touring somewhere else. ''As more Twenty20 cricket is played there are clearly opportunities for players to choose to be specialists,'' Sutherland said during a keynote speech at a major Cricket Australia (CA) seminar on the Gold Coast yes-
terday. ''It is difficult not to see a generation of players coming through with an eye to becoming Twenty20 specialists.” ''Taking it through to its natural extension, if you have a specialist team then why can't you have a specialist Twenty20 team and a specialist Test team (playing) at the same time?'' he added. Bringing up the example of rugby, Sutherland said, ''In rugby union, for example, the ARU has a sevens team and a Wallabies team.''
The trend of employing specialists has already caught on in the Australian side with several T20 stars featuring in the side which reached the final of the r e c e n t Wo r l d T 2 0 i n t h e Caribbean. Pacers Shaun Tait and Dirk Nannes, who have retired from first-class cricket, and opening batsman David Warner are some of the Australian cricketers who are solely employed in Twenty20 cricket. Australia's T20 vice-captain Cameron White and all-rounder David Hussey, are also limited overs specialists.
Lalit Modi, suspended Indian Premier League (IPL) chairman, has accused N Srinivasan, secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), of harassing him by issuing show cause notices on flimsy grounds. Replying to the second show cause notice, Modi said the board secretary appears to be keen on defending England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) chief Giles Clarke than protecting his interests as the board vice-president.
Wednesday, squandering a match point and losing to Australian spoiler Samantha Stosur, 6-2, 6-7 (2), 8-6. A 12-time Grand Slam champion, Williams won her only French Open title in 2002 and hasn’t been to the semifinals since 2003. The upset was the second in
a row for the No. 7-seeded Stosur, and the third in as many days at Roland Garros. Stosur ended four-time champion Justine Henin’s Roland Garros winning streak at 24 matches in the fourth round. It was Williams’ first Grand Slam loss since her meltdown in the semi-finals of the U.S.
Currently lying at fifth place after the first selection tournament in Bangalore, eight-time world champion Geet Sethi said that he cannot be written off as yet and that he has the capability to sparkle when it matters the most and turn the tide in his favour.
The charge sheet was slapped on Modi on complaints made by Clarke, who said the suspended IPL chairman was trying to create a parallel league in England and splitting world cricket. Modi said: "I am pained that instead of standing up for me and advising Mr Clarke to desist from making patently irresponsible, unfounded and motivated allegations against me, you have chosen to issue a show cause notice to me." "Considering my contribution to the IPL over the past 3 years and my firm and unyielding stand against rebel/unofficial
cricket... the least that was expected, in the circumstances, was that the elementary courtesy of seeking my response or comment, be extended to me. Instead, you have, hastily, chosen to issue a show cause notice to me." "What is even more unfortunate is that (like Mr. Clarke) the show cause notice makes allegations which go beyond those made by Mr.Clarke. The show cause notice makes various assumptions and presumptions which are totally misconceived and baseless," he said.
Geet maintained that all the nine players vying for the two billiard places at the 2010 Asian Games are quite competitive and it would be a big challenge for him to win one of the two qualifying spots. “The picture, though, would be clear only after the third selection tournament,” he added as he interacted with the press here today. Speaking on his form, Geet said that it is fine and that he has been practicing very hard, but hastened to add that he has to translate his form during the matches, which will decide his fate.
When questioned whether the shorter version (100-break format) allows the lesser known players some advantage, Geet disagreed and said that whatever be the format, it is the one who is more competent who always wins and cited the example of Pankaj Advani who has been able to triumph in all the formats. “However, the shorter version opens up the field much more since most of the players are unable to survive in a longer format,” he said and added that the tournament is still wide open and that anybody could win. Speaking on the prospects of India at the Asian Games, Geet said that India is the top seed in billiards and will definitely grab two medals, but the colour of the medals will depend on the performance of the players who get selected. “In snooker too, India has been winning medals, and hopefully this time around we will improve our performance and bring home more medals,” he informed and said that in 9-ball
and 8-ball pool tournaments, the aim is to win a medal, which has eluded India previously. Commenting on the scenario of the sports in the country, Geet was all praise for the younger generation of players who, he said, are bettering the records/benchmarks set by the previous generation, which augurs well for the growth of the sport. When queried as to what should be done to attract the middle-class to the sport, as currently it is dubbed as rich man’s sport, Geet said that the sport should be transformed from the current club sport to entertainment sport and a family should be able to enjoy it for a minimal fee. “Ten years ago, cue sports had been able to establish as an entertainment sport and there were more than 2 lakh tables all over the country,” he informed and lamented the interference of the government, which was responsible for its downfall, since it thought that it was more of a betting industry and levied taxes due to which
n Geet Sethi advised that the BCCI, for at least once, should keep aside the commercial aspect aside and start thinking for the honour of the country. Photo: Rozario Estibeiro
from a service break down in the second set, also reached the semifinals in 2007 and 2008, then lost each time. The other semi-final will be between No. 5 Elena Dementieva and No. 17 Francesca Schiavone, the first Italian woman to reach the final four at Roland Garros since 1954.
AGENCIES LAHORE, JUNE 2
Spain's Rafael Nadal serves during his men's quarter-final against compatriot Nicolas Almagro.
Nadal in title contention lDjokovic follows Federer, Serena AP PARIS, JUNE 2
Four-time champion Rafael Nadal is back in the French Open semifinals. The second-seeded Nadal beat No. 19 Nicolas Almagro 76 (2), 7-6 (3), 6-4 Wednesday in an all-Spanish quarterfinal. Nadal has yet to drop a set in the tournament. Last year, his 31-match winning streak at Roland Garros ended with a fourth-round loss to Robin Soderling, who upset Roger Federer on Tuesday. Nadal improved to 7-0 against Almagro.
Don’t write me off, pleads Geet Sethi HERALD CORRESPONDENT MERCES, JUNE 2
Open last September against Kim Clijsters. This time she directed any anger only at herself—and her shoes. Stosur, a semi-finalist for the second year in a row, will play Thursday against No. 4 Jelena Jankovic, who beat unseeded Yaroslava Shvedova 7-5, 6-4. Jankovic, who rallied three times
PCB appoints Butt as vice-captain Pakistan on Wednesday appointed opener Salman Butt as vice captain for the upcoming tours of Sri Lanka and England after he lost the Test captaincy to Shahid Afridi. "Butt has been appointed vice captain for the Asia Cup in Sri Lanka and for the tour of England," a Pakistan Cricket Board spokesman said. The 25-yearold will be deputy to Afridi who was last week appointed captain for the two tours. But once Afridi, who has not played a Test since 2006, made himself available for the longer version of the game Butt was pushed to the deputy's spot. But once Afridi, who has not played a Test since 2006, made himself available for the longer version of the game Butt was pushed to the deputy's spot. Pakistan take on hosts and defending champions Sri Lanka, India and Bangladesh in the Asia Cup from June 15-24 before their tour of England. Pakistan play two Twenty20 and two Tests against Australia before taking on England in four Tests, five one-day and two Twenty20 matches.
BCCI issuing notices on flimsy grounds: Modi AGENCIES MUMBAI, JUNE 2
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the tables are now priced at Rs 25,000. “However, we have been taking up the issue with the government and trying to sort out the differences,” he added. On what keeps him going, as he enters the 36th year in competitive sports, Geet said that it is his addiction to the sport, which he said is getting deeper the longer he plays. The decision of the BCCI not to send the cricket team to Asian Games means that India will lose a sure chance to win a medal, and it has received a lot of flak from certain quarters. The issue was posed to Geet,who pointed out that it’s a loss to the country as India had a sure shot chance to win the gold. He further advised that the BCCI, for at least once, should keep aside the commercial aspect aside and start thinking for the honour of the country. Geet opined that it is always an honour to represent one’s country, be it at Asian, Olympic or any other game, and that to win a medal is always a dream.
Austrian Jurgen Melzer produced a dramatic fightback from two sets down to send third seed Novak Djokovic spinning out of the French Open on Wednesday. Melzer, playing in the quarter-finals of a grand slam for the first time, looked down and out before an incredible revival earned him a 3-6 2-6 6-2 7-6 64 victory. The 22nd seed had never clawed back a two-set deficit before but he suddenly burst into life and eventually wore down Djokovic in a match lasting four hours and 15 minutes to earn the dubious prize of a semi-final against Rafael Nadal. Djokovic was too consistent in the first two sets but Melzer lifted his game brilliantly to take the third set. The Austrian snatched the fourth on a tiebreak and broke once in the ninth game of the decider before serving out for victory on his third match point.
Force India sues Lotus AGENCIES LONDON, JUNE 2
The Vijay Mallya-owned Force India Formula One team has sued F1 rival Lotus in UK, accusing it of copying their VJM03 wind tunnel model. "The Force India F1 Team confirms it has instigated UK civil proceedings against 1Malaysia Ra c i n g Te a m S D N B H D ( a Malaysian company), 1Malaysia Racing Team (UK) Limited (Lotus Racing's parent companies), Michael Gascoyne and Aerolab SRL," the Silverstone-based team said. The F1 team, of which Mallya is the Chairman, alleged that Lotus, when it used the Aerolab and Fondtech facilities, utilised Force India's intellectual property, including components and tyres exclusively licensed by Bridgestone, on its wind tunnel model design for the current Lotus T127 chassis. Force India said these are serious claims and it "would not be taking such action if it could not provide supportive evidence." Force India believes Aerolab copied the team's wind tunnel - a tool used in aerodynamic research - design model and passed it on to Lotus. Incidentally, Lotus technical boss Gascoyne worked with Force India in the past before he was shown the door.