Sports World: September 2011

Sunday 4 September 2011

Sports Minister Ajay Maken continues to pitch for Sports Development Bill

SRIPERUMBUDUR: Making it clear that he would not give up on the National Sports bill, Sports Minister Ajay Maken today once again strongly pitched for it, saying the Commonwealth Games scam would not have taken place had the legislation been passed earlier.

The National Sports Development Bill, which seeks to rein in sports bodies and possibly bring the cash-rich BCCI under the government's grip, was rejected by the Cabinet with several ministers raising objections to certain clauses.

"I think we have already delayed (the bill). Had we got this bill earlier, there would not have been a Commonwealth Games scam," Maken told reporters here on the sidelines of a function at the Rajiv Gandhi National Institute of Youth Development, which is under his ministry.

"Had the Bill been brought earlier, most of the people who are in Tihar jail would not have been office bearers of Indian Olympic Association (IOA)", he added.

Maken was apparently referring to jailed Congress MP Suresh Kalmadi and some other officials who were sacked from the CWG Organising Committee following alleged irregularities in the conduct of the games in October last.

The Bill, which seeks to bring in transparency and accountability in the functioning of national sports bodies under the purview of the RTI, ran into rough weather with ministers like ICC President Sharad Pawar, Mumbai Cricket Association chief Vilasrao Deshmukh and J&K Cricket Association head Farooq Abdullah opposing it.

The Ministers at the Cabinet meeting on last Tuesday felt that the bill was trying to control rather than facilitate the development of sports and had raised objections on the age and tenure restrictions of those heading the sports federations.

However, Maken today yet again pointed out that the Centre's intention was not to interfere with the functioning of the BCCI but there should be more transparency in its operations involving public money.

Sports Minister Ajay Maken continues to pitch for Sports Development Bill

"Had the Bill been brought earlier, most of the people who are in Tihar jail would not have been office bearers of Indian Olympic Association (IOA)", he added.

Dhoni bats for sports academy

Patna, Sept. 2: India's cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni wishes to set up a sports academy in Bihar.

In an email communication to the Bihar government, the Jharkhand cricketer has asked for land to set up the academy in sports-starved Bihar. The missive is, however, silent on the amount of land required to set up the academy.

The letter written by Dhoni has been sent to deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi, who has in turn forwarded it to sports minister Sukhda Pandey.

Pandey confirmed that the Indian skipper has expressed interest. "Yes, we have received a letter from Team India captain Dhoni which was forwarded by deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi a few days ago," she said.

The minister said the government was serious over the project and the sports department will correspond with Dhoni.

Pandey, however, clarified that the letter was brief ' of three lines only ' and doesn't explain how the cricketer intends setting up the academy. "We will seek a detailed project report from Dhoni and based on that, a decision would be taken," said Pandey.

The Bihar government has been keen to get the state on the sporting map. On August 30, on the occasion of Khel Diwas, chief minister Nitish Kumar had announced that his government had decided to open a sports academy in the state on the pattern of the Netaji Institute of Sports at Patiala, besides constructing a hockey stadium at Rajendra Nagar in Patna.

Dhoni's interest in Bihar comes months after he rejected an offer made by the Delhi government to set up a sports academy in the national capital. In April, soon after the World Cup victory, the Jharkhand government had promised the cricketer five acres of land for an academy, but even after four months, little progress has been made. "Things are under process," said Ranchi deputy commissioner K.K. Soan.

Dhoni has made it clear that his proposed academy in Jharkhand will not focus on cricket alone, but also on training youths in other sporting disciplines. "It would be an academy with a holistic approach, honing sporting talent from every field," he had said in June.

Bihar deputy chief minister Modi said his government was serious about the project. "We will have a high-level discussion after which a team comprising senior officials will meet Dhoni seeking directions for setting up the academy," he said.

Modi informed that the email was routed through BJP MP Anurag Thakur, who is also president of the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association.

Dhoni's interest to set up an academy in Bihar is seen as a big feat for Bihar which has been lagging behind in sports. After the creation of Jharkhand in November 2000, the mineral-rich state attracted sports talent from unified Bihar. The apathy in Bihar can be gauged from the fact that the state has no stadium of repute while the lone Moin-ul-Haq Stadium, where a few World Cup cricket matches were played, is crying for attention.

The stadium was constructed in 1969-70 over an area of 30 acres. A portion of the stadium is being utilised by the Cricket Academy of Bihar, headed by former Ranji player Amikar Dayal. A few months ago, the Bihar State Sports Authority directed the academy to vacate the land. But the same plot was again allotted to Dayal for running the academy.

One of Dhoni's close associates and his former coach, Chanchal Bhattacharjee, said Jharkhand may love to delay things but Bihar doesn't. "Nitish knows how to grasp the opportunity and he certainly would be the first one to set up the academy," he said.

Ballack set for Stamford Bridge return with Bayer Leverkusen

London: Former Chelsea midfielder Michael Ballack is set to make a comeback at Stamford Bridge when his Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen faces Chelsea on September 13.

Bayer Leverkusen and Chelsea are in Group E of the Champions League.

The last Ballack played for Chelsea was when he limped off the Wembley pitch after a dreadful challenge in the 2010 FA Cup final against Portsmouth.

“I never had the chance to say goodbye officially, because after that last game we were still talking about a new contract and I thought we would come together,” a leading daily quoted Ballack, as saying.
“Before, when I came here, I was a talent with a little bit of experience but nothing more,” he added.

Dhoni questions Dravid`s controversial dismissal

Chester-Le-Street: Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni questioned the third umpire`s controversial decision to rule Rahul Dravid out even though television replays did not show any edge off the bat during his side`s first ODI against England.

"There are quite a few things (about that dismissal). There was no mark on the Hot Spot, no visual deflection and the umpire had given not out. The benefit of doubt in such cases go to the batsman," Dhoni said at the post-match press conference after the match was abandoned due to heavy rain.

"I still don`t know how exactly he was given out. Whether it was off snickometer; whether snicko is allowed to be used; whether it was an audio technician or a third umpire who gave him out. There are any number of fair questions to be asked; why should not the benefit of doubt go to a batsman?" Dhoni asked.

Dhoni was worried at the ever-growing list of injured players in the Indian camp after Sachin Tendulkar and Rohit Sharma joined the casualty list on Saturday.

"We could do with 15 more players, initially I said what could have gone wrong did go wrong. But it has only increased since then," stated Dhoni.

While Tendulkar has an inflamed right toe, Rohit got his right index finger fractured during the Indian innings.

"Coming from India and performing here straightaway can be difficult. We are fighting with whatever resources we`ve got. May be increasing the strength of the team can be the key. We could look at travelling with 18 players if needed," he said.

Dhoni confirmed that the team would be asking for Rohit`s replacement straightaway as the right-handed batsman is definitely out for the rest of the series.

"Rohit would be visiting a specialist and it`s almost certain he would not play any further in this series. Tendulkar will also see a specialist. It`s an old injury which has flared up. He had practice with us last evening but this morning it flared up," Dhoni informed.

He said India would have won the match had England got only to 20 overs to play and with 164 to win. England were 27 for two in 7.2 overs when rain interrupted and match abandoned later.

"A lot has happened in this series. This alone (abandonment) was left. It could have been difficult for them to get close to 130 runs in 12 overs. It was a difficult target to achieve as we had bowled well in the first seven overs," he said.

The Indian captain was all praise for his top order batsmen for posting 274 for seven in their allotted 50 overs.

"They (the openers) batted well. What was important was to see off new ball. It initially swings at this time of the year. What we wanted was stable partnership. They were careful initial but then nicely built up their innings. After Rahane was out, Parthiv made sure he had some partnership so that lower order batsmen could come and score runs."

"It was important knock for them. If you think, these players will be playing in next 3-4 years time. They did it against a good bowling attack and when the most experienced players in your side were missing. It`s a big learning experience for them and it would help them in future."

Dhoni, however, said that his side did not quite capitalize on the fine start of the top order.

"We were a few runs short because we lost Rohit. We wanted to cash in on the slog overs, get as many runs as possible without taking too many risks."

Japan hold India 1-1 with last-minute equaliser

Ordos (China): India squandered a golden opportunity to pick up full points and conceded a last-minute goal to draw 1-1 with Japan in their second match at the inaugural Asian Champions Trophy hockey tournament on Sunday.

After the power-packed 5-0 win over China in their tournament opener yesterday, the match against Japan turned out to be anti-climax for the Indians.

For India Gurwinder Singh Chandi (22nd minute) scored his second goal of the tournament while Naoto Shiokawa equalised for Japan in the 69th minute.

India now have four points from two matches while the Japanese, who had lost their opening encounter 2-3 against South Korea, have one in their kitty.

India will next play South Korea on Tuesday after a rest day on Monday.

Against Japan today, the Indians did all the hard work and should have won by a larger margin but for the errors committed by the forward line.

However, it was Japan which started strongly with three forwards raiding the Indian defence but young Rupinder Pal Singh and V Raghunath held firm.

Upfront, the India forwards did well but lacked cohesion. They attacked in groups of four-five players both from the middle as well as from the flanks, but lacked co-ordination inside the Japanese striking circle.

For the first 15 minutes, neither side could make much headway as both the teams tried to wrest control on the midfield.

India`s first scoring chance came in the 16th minute but an unmarked Gurwinder lost control of the ball inside the Japanese circle.

From there on, the Indians kept attacking looking desperately to open the scoring and finally succeeded in the 22nd minute through Gurwinder.

Gurwinder scored from a rebound after Roshan Minz`s initial shot was blocked by Japanese goalkeeper Katsuya Takase.

A few minutes later, India got their first penalty corner of the match but it went abegging as Ravi Pal failed to trap the ball.

The Indians were also done in by their tendency tendency to hang onto the ball for long, giving the Japanese the chance to fall back.

Just a minute before the breather, India earned their second penalty corner but to no use as Ravi Pal once again faltered in trapping the ball cleanly.

After the change of ends, Japan looked a completely different side as they came out all guns blazing in search of the equaliser and forced as many as three saves from the Indian defenders.

In the 47th minute, Rupinder Pal Singh came up with a fine save and then cleared for Yuvraj Walmiki, who sent a fantastic through ball for Roshan Minz inside the Japanese striking circle.

But Minz`s shot went wide with only Japanese goalkeeper Takase to beat.

Soon after, the Indians were down to 10 men as Rupinder was shown a yellow card for an infringement.

But to everyone`s astonishment, India went on the defensive midway through the second half, which inspired Japan to launch a full-blown offence on the rival citadel.

India custodian PR Sreejesh also came to his side`s rescue on more than one occasion. He played his part by bringing off two brilliant saves to ensure India`s 1-0 lead.

The consistent pressure on the rival defence saw Japan earn their first penalty corner of the match in the 59th minute but once again an in-form Sreejesh came to India`s rescue by keeping out the powerful flick.

India then launched a counter-attack which led to their third penalty corner but Rupinder Pal Singh`s powerful flick was saved by a Takase.

A brilliant Takase was yet again in the thick of things when he denied Danish Mujtaba in the 63rd minute.

Sreejesh was equally upto the task pulling off two more brilliant saves from Japan`s two successive penalty corners in the 66th and 67th.

Japan`s consistent pressure finally paid off when Shiokawa scored the equaliser from almost zero angle just a minute before the hooter.

Rain plays spoilsport in the first ODI

Vineet Ramakrishnan/Zeenews Sports Bureau

The first ODI of the Natwest series between India and England has been abandoned due to rain.

Much to the dismay of Indian fans and probably the Indian players rain played spoilsport as India were evidently ahead in the match.

Praveen Kumar had provided India a good start with the ball as he scalped Captain Alastair Cook and Craig Kieswetter.

With 27 on board and both the openers gone, England were on the backfoot with Jonathan Trott (14*) and Ian Bell (2*) in the middle when heavy downpour stopped play.

In the first innings, Powered by a well compiled 95 by Parthiv Patel, India finished with 275 for 8 against England in the first ODI of the Natwest series at Chester-le-Street.

Parthiv and Rahane (40) had given India a good start which was carried forward by Virat Kohli (55) in the middle and ended by captain MS Dhoni (33) and Suresh Raina (38).

For England Stuart Broad and Tim Bresnan picked up two wickets each.

With the kind of start the openers had provided India would have liked to finish their innings with 10 to 15 more and England would have been happy to have restricted the visitors under 280.

The Twenty20 alliance for India once again proved to be good as both Rahane and Patel looked positive right from the onset. Parthiv Patel’s innings was a delight to watch as the southpaw displayed his full array of strokes all around the ground and was not afraid to tackle the short pitch deliveries with brave pulls and hooks against the quickies.

Even Ajinkya Rahane who had impressed during his Twenty20 debut matched Parthiv run to run in his ODI debut as well. Rahane looked technically sound and also smacked some hefty blows over the top.

Stuart Broad though came back well to pick up Rahane off a short delivery. Immediately after, in a very dubious decision Broad also scalped Rahul Dravid for just two runs.

In yet another controversial decision, which included Hot Spot technology and Rahul Dravid, the Hot-Spot failed to register any edge when Dravid seemed to have edged Stuart Broad to keeper Prior.

Third Umpire Marais Erasmus went with the noise and the original decision of on-field umpire Billy Doctrove was overturned.

Virat Kohli, who replaced Dravid continued his good form in the One day format with yet another breezy half century. He along with Parthiv put on a healthy 100 run partnership in the middle overs to maintain the run-rate set by the openers.

England captain Alastair Cook's persistence with short pitch delivery failed to provide any dividend later on as both Parthiv and Kohli looked at ease playing the hook and pull.

Another main feature of the partnership was good running between the wickets.

By 35th over India were close to 200 and a final score of 300 was looking gettable but a rare lapse in concentration led to the demise of Parthiv Patel just five runs short of a maiden century.

The southpaw, in a bid to whack a wide delivery outside off-stump ended up edging it to Prior on 95.

Rohit Sharma, who came in next was retied hurt first ball after a rising delivery from Broad hit his fingers.

It was later confirmed that the talented middle order batsman had fractured his fingers and will be mising the rest of the tour.

Another injury, and another SOS will be send to India for a replacement for Sharma. Hopefully, selectors would be able to find a fit player.

Raina walked in next to a familiar territory of limited overs format and immediately he looked at ease and started middling the ball confidently.

His knock of 38 included two massive sixes, one over long-off and other over square leg but he was undone by a well disguised slower bouncer by Jade Dernbach.

Captain MS Dhoni wielded his bat a bit to push India past the 250-run mark but Bresnan ensured that Dhoni won’t be around to finish off the innings on a high.

Bolt fires Jamaican relay team to world record

Dargu (South Korea): Usain Bolt anchored Jamaica to a world record time of 37.04 seconds in the final of the 4x100 metres relay at the world championships on Sunday.

The quartet of Nesta Carter, Michael Frater, Yohan Blake and Bolt bettered the mark of 37.10 seconds which the Jamaican team ran to win gold at the Beijing Olympics in 2008 to retain their world title.

It was the only world record set at the 13th world championships.

France finished second to win the silver medal in 38.20 seconds with Saint Kitts and Nevis claiming bronze in 38.49.

The American team failed to finish after their third-leg runner Darvis Patton clipped a British athlete and fell over before attempting to pass the baton to Walter Dix.

The British quartet also failed to finish.

Williams overwhelms Azarenka early at US Open

New York: If anyone still harbored any doubts about whether Serena Williams is back at her best, she put on a pretty persuasive performance during the first 17 minutes of her third-round match Saturday at the U.S. Open.

That`s how long Williams needed to build a 5-0 lead en route to a 6-1, 7-6 (5) victory at Flushing Meadows over one of the best players the women`s field had to offer: fourth-seeded Victoria Azarenka, a Wimbledon semifinalist two months ago.

Listen to Azarenka describe how it felt to stand across the net from Williams during her superb start:

"What`s it like? It`s painful," said Azarenka, who won eight points in those opening five games. "To have somebody just going at you like that, it`s a little bit painful."

Eventually, though, Azarenka straightened her own play out enough to make things interesting in the second set. She erased four match points, broke when Williams served for the match at 5-3, and left Williams saying she wasn`t pleased.

"She won the first set very easily, and it was a little bit too easy, so then she got tested — and she needed to be tested," said Williams` mother, Oracene Price.

Williams passed the test, and showed off her fitness, which is much improved from when she lost in the fourth round at Wimbledon. At the end of one point, she did the splits. On another, she raced all the way over to the blue sign near the stands to smack a forehand winner.

She and Azarenka described the level of play as being worthy of a Grand Slam semifinal, rather than the Week 1 matchup that it was. But they wound up being drawn to meet this early because Williams is seeded only 28th, a reflection of her lower-than-usual ranking as a result of nearly a year`s absence from the tour because of a series of health scares.

The 29-year-old American already owns 13 major championships, including three at the U.S. Open, which is why, when she was asked how she can play so well now, Williams replied: "I mean, I was a pretty good player before. So just trying to get back into that rhythm and feel it again."

In the fourth round, Williams will face former No. 1 Ana Ivanovic of Serbia, the 2008 French Open champion, who is seeded 16th.

"It`s exciting, at least for me. I think she`s the hottest player out there at the moment. She`s been playing so well lately. It is going to be a good challenge," Ivanovic said after ending Sloane Stephens` surprising run by beating the 18-year-old American 6-3, 6-4 in Arthur Ashe Stadium on Saturday night.

Ivanovic acknowledged that Williams will be the "favorite, that`s for sure" but also said: "I know I can give her a tough match. She beat me in the past, but maybe I can go for revenge on Monday."

Her victory over Stephens was followed Saturday by top-seeded Novak Djokovic against two-time U.S. Open semifinalist Nikolay Davydenko.

The woman who`s seeded No. 1, Caroline Wozniacki, eliminated Vania King of the United States 6-2, 6-4, and will continue her bid for a first Grand Slam title against 15th-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova, owner of two major trophies.

Also into the fourth round with victories Saturday were 2010 French Open champion Francesca Schiavone of Italy, who got past Chanelle Scheepers of South Africa 5-7, 7-6 (5), 6-3; No. 17 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia, who beat 2008 U.S. Open runner-up Jelena Jankovic of Serbia 6-4, 6-4; and No. 10 Andrea Petkovic of Germany, who defeated No. 18 Roberta Vinci of Italy 6-4, 6-0 to reach the fourth round at Flushing Meadows for the second year in a row.

"Grand Slams are very stressful," Petkovic observed. "I think any player that you ask — and if he answers honestly — it`s a lot of stress."

That, as much as anything, could explain why so many players have been quitting during matches because of injury or illness: No. 9 Tomas Berdych (shoulder) and No. 31 Marcel Granollers (abdominal muscle) did so Saturday, raising the total retirements in men`s and women`s singles to a record 14 by the third round.
Never before had more than 12 players stopped during a match throughout the course of any entire Grand Slam tournament in the Open era.

"For me, it is shocking to see so many retirements. I have never retired in my whole life, except once when I played against (James) Blake in Paris, but I didn`t even walk onto the court. For me it doesn`t matter how bad I`m feeling, I will be out there and giving it a try, because you never know what`s gonna happen," 16-time major champion Roger Federer said.

"Look, every player feels different," he added. "It`s unfortunate it happens."

Federer moved into the fourth round for the 30th consecutive Grand Slam tournament by overcoming what he called "tricky wind" and a second-set blip to defeat No. 27 Marin Cilic of Croatia 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, 6-2.

The 6-foot-6 Cilic caused some problems with his wingspan, and when he hit a big forehand that Federer couldn`t get back, they were tied at a set apiece.

In the third, with Cilic facing a break point while serving at 4-all, he was warned by the chair umpire for a time violation. Cilic promptly double-faulted, handing Federer a 5-4 lead and momentum.

"Did he double-fault because of the time violation? Maybe. I don`t think so," Federer said. "It came a bit out of nowhere."

He`s won at least one Grand Slam title each of the past eight seasons, but that streak is in danger of ending in 2011. Next up as he pursues a sixth trophy at the U.S. Open is a fourth-round match against 36th-ranked Juan Monaco of Argentina, who beat Federer`s pal, Tommy Haas, 6-7 (3), 6-3, 6-2, 6-3.

Also advancing Saturday were No. 8 Mardy Fish, the top-seeded American, who has yet to drop a set after beating Kevin Anderson of South Africa 6-4, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (3); No. 20 Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia; No. 22 Alexandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine; and 2003 French Open champion and U.S. Open runner-up Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain. Tipsarevic (Berdych`s opponent) and Ferrero (Granollers`) play each other next.

On Monday, Fish faces a potentially difficult match against No. 11 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga — the 2008 Australian Open runner-up who beat No. 19 Fernando Verdasco 6-3, 7-5, 6-4 — and so was pleased to finish off Anderson in three sets.

"I`ll be physically fine in two days," Fish said. "But, you know, I`m 29. I don`t wake up in the morning feeling like I`m 20."