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MONDAY 8 SEPTEMBER
2008 |
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sports
Asom
to face Manipur in opener :
Asom is placed in cluster VI
in the 31st Sub-Junior National
Football Championship for Mir
Iqbal Hussain Trophy which will
get under way at Mahilpur in
Punjab from September 20. The
All India Football Federation
recently released the fixture
of the tournament where Asom
is placed in cluster VI along
with Manipur, Chandigarh and
Karnata. Asom will start its
campaign on September 21 with
the match against Manipur. It
may be mentioned here that each
team in the cluster would get
three matches to earn the next
round berth in the competition
and only the winner of the group
would advance to the next round.
Meanwhile, apart from Asom and
Manipur, four more teams from
the North East—Mizoram,
Meghalaya, Nagaland and Tripura—
would also take part in the
championship. Mizoram and Nagaland
are placed in cluster II and
IV while Tripura and Meghalaya
are in the cluster VIII and
III respectively.
The schedule of the different
clusters where the teams from
the North East are featured:
Cluster II -September 20/Uttar
Pradesh vs Madhya Pradesh, September
22/Madhya Pradesh vs Mizoram,
September 24/Mizoram vs Uttar
Pradesh. Cluster III- September
20/Maharashtra vs Meghalaya,
September 22 / Meghalaya vs
Kerala, September 24/Kerala
vs Maharahstra. Cluster IV-September
20/Punjab vs Pondicherry, September
22/ Pondicherry vs Nagaland,
September 24 /Nagaland vs Punjab.
Cluster VI : September 21/ Karnataka
vs Chandigarh, September 21/
Assam vs Manipur, September
23/ Karnataka vs Assam, September
23/Chandigarh vs Manipur, September
25/ Manipur vs Karnataka,September
25/ Assam vs Chandigarh. Cluster
VIII : September 21/ Goa vs
Tripura, September 23/Tripura
vs Haryana, September 25/ Haryana
vs Goa.
Soccer
matches deferred:
Poor ground conditions forced
Gauhati Sports Association to
defer the Super Division and
‘A’ Division Soccer
League for a few more days.
As per the earlier schedule,
the second phase of the Super
Division Soccer League and remaining
matches of the ‘A’
Division League were supposed
to get under way from Sunday.
Sipher
Club in semis:
Sipher Club of Aizwal entered
into the semifinal of the sixth
CEM’s Cup Soccer Tournament
defeating Darogajan Dimasa Sporting
Club 3-2 in the semifinal held
at DSA ground, Haflong on Sunday.
Nicky and Malsawnthanga, Racy
Lalremuawia and J Lalhruaithonga
scored the goals for the winning
side while Stepen Rengma and
Mangkai Singson reduced two
for Darogajan Dimasa Sporting
Club . The second semifinal
of the tournament would be held
between United Kurseong Football
Club, Kurseong and Avalanche
Club, Kokrajhar on Monday.
Friendship
Cup soccer semis today:
Borosikna Club will meet Morning
Club while Dalbari Club will
face Tiwa Autonomous in two-semi
finals of the Friendship Club
Soccer Tournament scheduled
to be held on Monday. Meanwhile,
on Sunday, two matches were
held where Morning Club beat
Boragihar Y Sangha 3-2 while
Tiwa Autonomous registered a
win against Rana Club.
Western
Railway in semis:
Western Railway entered into
the semifinal of the mens event
in the All India Railway Basketball
Championship held at Maligaon
on Sunday. In the quarterfinal,
Western Railway defeated Rail
Coach Factory by 60- 44 points.n.
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Mahindra United lift Durand
Cup title
New Delhi, Sept
7: Refereeing error, comebacks,
late goal, the final of the
Osian’s 121st Durand Cup
had all the ingredients for
a potboiler as Mahindra United
pipped Churchill Brothers 3-2
through an extra-time goal to
clinch the title at the Ambedkar
Stadium here today.
In the process they also avenged
last year’s 0-1 final
loss to the same opposition
and earn their first Durand
title since 2001 and their third
overall with Vijender Singh,
India’s first Olympic
medal winner in boxing, witnessing
the proceedings as chief guest.
K Thoi Singh, who replaced Izumi
Arata in the 97th minute, put
the finishing touches a couple
of minutes later, when he got
to the end of a cross from K
Ajayan and placed his left-footer
past Churchill Brothers’
goalkeeper Arindam Bhattacharya.
However, the Goan side has every
reason to feel aggrieved after
a blunder from referee A Arjunan
saw Edeh Chidi score his second
goal of the match. He took his
tournament’s tally to
five and grabbed the award for
highest scorer.
The game was poised 1-1 after
Chidi’s 20th minute header
had negated Robert Lalthlamuana’s
strike eight minutes earlier.
Mahindra United were awarded
a free-kick in the 32nd minute
and Douhou Pierre, the Ivorian
who was instrumental in setting
up the equaliser from another
set piece, played it short for
Chidi to place his left-footer
to the far corner.
Churchill Brothers were busy
setting up the wall when Arjunan
blew the whistle for the free-kick
to be taken. Despite protests
from the Goan team, the referee
awarded the goal to Mahindra
United.
Churchill Brothers never seemed
to recover from that blow despite
Okolie Odafa producing a late
turn around. The Nigerian had
earlier found himself in front
of goal but couldn't keep his
shot on target from a Robert
cross in the 71st minute. But
three minutes before close,
Odafa set up Churchill Brothers’
equalizer.
Receiving a ball from Ogba Kalu,
Odafa twisted and turned inside
the box before sending a cross
to the far post where substitute
Savio Monteiro’s header
hit the underside of the crossbar
and went in. Odafa came close
to score second time but saw
his header brilliantly saved
by Mahindra United custodian
Subhasish Roy Chowdhury in the
last minute of second half extra-time.
Earlier, in a move that could
be termed audacious, Churchill
Brothers’ coach Emeka
Ezeugo decided to field left
full-back Robert as a striker.
But the experiment was spot
on with the diminutive Manipuri
sneaking in from behind to control
Kalu’s free-kick and volleying
home. He got another chance
to corner glory in the 25th
minute but saw his shot saved
by Subhasish.
Mahindra United, who ought to
have gone ahead had Izumi Arata
managed to finish off skipper
K Ajayan’s through five
minutes after kick-off, took
time to get over the shock and
then hit back through Chidi.
Pierre floated one inside the
box and the Nigerian did well
to out-jump the defenders and
bury his header to the far post.
Winners of the tournament Mahindra
got Rs eight lakhs, while the
runners-up Churchill Brothers
were given Rs six lakhs. (PTI)
Emeka
blames Gourmangi, Govin for
defeat
New Delhi, Sept 7: Churchill
Brothers coach Emeka Euzego
lashed out at defenders Gourmangi
Singh and Govin Singh for their
2-3 defeat against Mahindra
United in the final of the Osian’s
121st Durand Cup, saying the
duo failed to show their worth.
“We gifted three goals,
they (Mahindra United) didn’t
have to sweat for it,”
said Emeka after the final which
ended in extra time with K Thoi
Singh scoring the winner in
the 97th minute.
“We have two central defenders
who are in the national team.
We thought they would make a
difference but they didn’t.
They allowed people to go and
score,” said the Nigerian
about Gourmangi and Govin. The
Goan coach even questioned the
duo's place in the Indian team
and refused to blame the refereeing
for their defeat.
“There’s no point
blaming the referee for Mahindra
United’s second goal.
I told them yesterday that (Edeh)
Chidi was the dangerman. The
defenders should have been marking
him but they didn’t.
“They didn’t do
any pre-season with me and the
result is for all to see. I
am very disappointed. They are
not fit to play for the national
team,” said the coach
who had recently singled out
skipper Okolie Odafa for criticism.
(PTI) |
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Akhil needed slice
of luck to strike gold at Beijing:
Coach
Bathinda
(Punjab), Sept 7: Akhil Kumar’s
perilously low guard may have
been blamed for his heart-breaking
defeat at the Olympics but coach
Jaidev Bisht says the bantam
weight pugilist was simply unlucky
and would definitely make amends
with a medal at London 2012.
“Akhil is the most dedicated
boxer that we have right now.
The guy sometimes wakes up night
to train and always comes across
as a resolute person hungry
for a medal, that too a gold
medal,” Bisht, who along
with chief coach Gurbax Singh
Sandhu and Cuban Blas Iglesias
Fernandez, formed the three-member
Indian coaching team in Beijing
said.
“It is just his luck,
I would say, that was not been
with him during that Olympic
loss. I was very hurt when he
lost in the quarterfinal, a
bout he should have won,”
he added, referring to Akhil’s
loss to unheralded Moldovan
Veaceslav Gojan after beating
World Champion Sergey Vodopyanov
in the previous round.
Akhil would be 31 by the time
London 2012 come around but
Bisht says the Haryana lad would
be more than a handful despite
his age due to the sheer determination
and focus that he takes into
the ring.
“He is just peaking and
we will not let him go that
easily. He will be there in
London, we will make it happen
no matter what,” he asserted.
Akhil himself was lavish in
his praise for Bisht, who has
been in relative obscurity despite
being with the senior team for
almost 10 years.
“He is one of the finest
coaches that we have in India
right now. Sandhu sir is the
most experienced and Jaidev
sir is second to him only. I
have been with him in three
international tournaments and
got gold all three times,”
Akhil told PTI referring to
the golds he won in a 2001 international
tournament in Russia, the Afro-Asian
Games and first Asian Olympic
qualifier. Asked about bronze
medallist Vijender Singh, and
the other quarterfinalist Jitender
Kumar, Bisht said, “Vijender
is technically very sound. He
is a world class boxer. Slightly
immature but he will learn and
grow from here. Same goes for
Jitender. He is still very young
and would mature but Akhil is
the best. He is mentally and
physically at his peak,”
he said.
Bisht hoped that the euphoria
around India’s power-packed
Olympic performance would translate
into something concrete for
boxing in India.
“Right now, these guys
are stars because of the media
hype but the important thing
is whether we can sustain this
momentum. I think it is a golden
opportunity for us to make boxing
a popular sport, we shouldn’t
miss it,” he said.
A footballer before his temper
prompted somebody to suggest
that he take up boxing, the
former national champion said
recognition may have eluded
him through his career as coach
but he would continue to groom
youngsters.
“There are coaches like
the Bhiwani one (Jagdish Singh)
who claim that these boys were
made by him. Well if he has,
than he deserves credit for
it but anyone who understands
the sport knows exactly when
these boys started giving results.
They came to the national camps
at very young ages and started
peaking only after training
there,” he said. (PTI) |
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Argentina
draw with leader Paraguay;
Uruguay get key win
Buenos Aires/Bogota, Sept
7: The South American qualifiers
towards the 2010 Football
World Cup in South Africa
was wide open after the seventh
round.
After the conclusion of the
seventh round on Saturday,
Paraguay leads with 14 points,
followed by Argentina on 12
and Uruguay on 11. Colombia
and Chile have 10 points,
although Chile have a game
in hand, against Brazil on
Sunday. Perennial football
giant Brazil trails in sixth
place with nine points and
is in danger of failing to
qualify for the World Cup.
Uruguay beat Colombia 1-0
in Bogota to climb to third
place, while Ecuador defeated
lowly Bolivia 3-1 to recover
from a poor start in the qualifiers,
and Peru scored it first victory
in seven games with a 1-0
win against Venezuela.
On a cold, rainy afternoon
in Buenos Aires, Argentina
and Paraguay played what hometown
coach Alfio Basile described
as “a strange game.”
Paraguay’s coach Gerardo
Martino — an Argentine
— attempted to explain
the result by suggesting that
his men “were afraid
to win” the match. Argentina
had the first clear chance,
when a free kick executed
by ace Juan Roman Riquelme
hit the crossbar in the eighth
minute.
However, a gross mistake in
the 13th minute by defender
Gabriel Heinze dramatically
changed the course of the
game. Heinze failed to head
the ball clear, collided with
Argentine keeper Roberto Abbondanzieri
and finally scored an own
goal. Abbondanzieri, with
a knee injury, had to be replaced
by Juan Pablo Carrizo. A disciplined
Paraguay squad controlled
play until the break. However,
Basile fielded substitute
striker Sergio Aguero, who
was very active throughout
the second half and changed
the pace of the match. Aguero
capitalised on a great pass
from Lionel Messi in the 62nd
minute to make it 1-1, but
he missed at least two good
chances to put Argentina ahead.
(DPA)
Hamilton
wins rain-splashed Belgian
GP
Spa-Francorchamps (Belgium),
Sept 7: Lewis Hamilton won
the Belgian Grand Prix in
a rain-splashed finale today
to extend his lead in the
championship standings after
race leader Kimi Raikkonen
spun off during the penultimate
lap.
Hamilton again proved he was
the top wet-weather driver,
holding his cool in the last
few laps when a sudden shower
turned the Grand Prix into
chaos and held off Ferrari’s
Felipe Massa by 14.4 seconds.
BMW Sauber’s Nick Heidfeld
was third.
Hamilton now holds an eight-point
edge over Massa, 80 to 72,
going into the last five races.
Raikkonen, who overtook the
pole-sitting Hamilton early
and led most of the way, is
far back with 57 points, turning
the rest of the championship
into a two-way race between
Hamilton and Massa.
It long looked like Raikkonen
would win his fourth straight
Belgian GP but the low-flung
leaden clouds over the wooded
circuit suddenly released
a huge shower in the last
three of 44 laps.
With most cars having switched
to dry tires at the final
pit stop, that was enough
to decide the race. “I
was praying: rain, rain, rain,”
Hamilton said. “I wanted
the rain to come,” realizing
it was his best shot at victory.
The two riders almost crashed
into each other, but after
some spectacular maneuvers
Hamilton appeared from the
Source hairpin in front. The
British driver soon lost the
lead again, however, when
he had to veer off the track
to avoid a slower car in front
of him. But Raikkonen, in
turn, spun on the slippery
surface to put Hamilton back
in front.
Raikkonen was then forced
to take risks, resulting in
a crash into the side railings.
Heidfeld had switched to wet-weather
tires, letting him make up
much ground with a late surge.
Hamilton enjoyed the advantage
of his pole position for just
one lap. While he got to the
opening Source hairpin first,
Raikkonen was already making
a move behind him.
Having started in fourth,
he went way wide in the hairpin
but immediately challenged
teammate Massa on the first
long straight and got into
the slipstream of the championship
leader with a daring move.
One lap later, he used the
same long straight to let
his Ferrari engine do the
talking, and when Hamilton’s
McLaren could not respond,
the Finn was in front on his
favorite circuit.
Hamilton’s teammate
Heikki Kovailanen, meanwhile,
slipped from third to 11th
in the start. His comeback
was effectively stopped when
he drove into Mark Webber
on lap 10 and was penalized
with a drive through the pit
lane, putting him back in
15th place.
Hamilton hung in tight but
ended up in some traffic after
his first pit stop, which
dropped him 5.6 seconds back
of the surging Raikkonen.
At halfway, Raikkonen led
by 5.5 seconds over Hamilton
and 11.2 over Massa. Alonso,
in fourth place, was already
32 seconds back.
Hamilton started closing in
after the second pit stop,
and with 15 laps left the
Briton could see the red Ferrari
less than two seconds in front
of him. Hamilton came to within
a second with four laps to
go, but made an error in the
chicane close to the finish
line to drop him back to two
seconds behind. Then came
the rain and deliverance for
Hamilton. (AP)
Donadoni,
Zola on four-man Hammers shortlist
LONDON, Sept 7: Gianfranco
Zola and Roberto Donadoni
appear the frontrunners to
take over from Alan Curbishley
as manager of West Ham, but
the club insisted on Sunday
there were no clear favourites
as they confirmed a four-man
shortlist.
Former Italy international
Zola and former Italy coach
Donadoni have already impressed
in talks with Hammers director
Mike Lee, however he has not
yet ruled out Slaven Bilic
or Michael Laudrup. Bilic,
the coach of Croatia, has
yet to have direct talks with
the club while former Danish
international Michael Laudrup,
the coach of Spanish side
Getafe in 2007-2008, will
be interviewed on Monday.
Lee made it clear that West
Ham would not wait until January
for Bilic, though he did not
rule out him staying as Croatia
coach on a part-time basis
for the October matches.
Lee told BBC Radio Five Live:
“There’s no favourite
at the moment, we have set
up a proper selection process.”
“We have been surprised
and pleased by the number
of applications we have had
and we are moving towards
a short shortlist and ideally
have a manager in place in
time for the West Brom match
next week.” “Slaven
Bilic could potentially be
on that shortlist but it depends
very much upon his availability.
If for whatever reason he
was not available until January
in terms of working with us
I’m afraid that will
rule him out.”
“We have a very strong
shortlist and it’s going
to be a tough decision with
some exciting candidates.”
“From the meetings that
have taken place so far the
two that have really shone
have been Donadoni and Zola.”
West Ham are resigned to waiting
until after Croatia's match
against England on Wednesday
before they can speak to Bilic,
but would welcome the chance
to talk beforehand and have
been in discussions with his
representatives. The fact
Zola and Donadoni are Italians
could increase their chances
given that West Ham's director
of football Gianluca Nani
is a compatriot, and that
they would be much happier
with the continental-style
working relationship than
Alan Curbishley was. West
Ham’s selection process
has already ruled out Gerard
Houllier and the former Scotland
midfielder John Collins, plus
former Ajax boss Martin Olsen.
(Agencies)
Fabio
Capello puts pressure on Croatia
BARCELONA, Sept 7: Fabio Capello
has warned Croatia that England
have no intention of playing
for a draw in Wednesday’s
crucial World Cup qualifier.
After Capello’s side
made heavy weather of beating
Andorra 2-0 in their opening
qualifier on Saturday, the
England coach could be forgiven
for employing a safety-first
approach in Zagreb this week.
England lacked guile and movement
during a woeful first half
at the Olympic Stadium in
Barcelona, and although they
improved marginally in the
second half, it was hardly
a display to have Croatia
quaking in their boots.
But Joe Cole’s second
half double-strike eventually
saw off the part-timers and
Capello was keen to accentuate
the positive ahead of a fixture
that will shape England’s
World Cup destiny. The Italian
believes Croatia’s reputation
as one of Europe’s rising
forces guarantees they will
go for the win, which should
open up spaces that England
can exploit.
“I will be very happy
if Croatia play like Andorra.
But I don’t think that
is going to happen,”
Capello said. “Croatia
are at home have to go forward
and try to score goals. The
game will be different, not
like this. I think we have
to play to win, always.”
Whether Capello finds room
for Cole in his starting line-up
remains to be seen. For the
second successive match Cole
spared Capello’s blushes,
but the Chelsea winger’s
lack of tactical acumen in
the second half infuriated
his manager. Cole was stationed
just behind Emile Heskey and
Wayne Rooney when he came
off the bench and wreaked
havoc from that position with
two clinical finishes.
But he and Rooney dropped
too deep after that and, with
Heskey isolated, England went
back to sleep.
That kind of indiscipline
will be punished by Croatia
and Capello said: “Yes,
I have got to think about
Joe. He is very good for himself
at the moment and very good
for us.” “But
I have to decide what the
first 11 will be against Croatia.
It will be another game -
and it will a different sort
of game.”
“When we started the
second half, the two of them
(Cole and Rooney) played near
Emile Heskey. But when we
went 2-0 up, they both then
started to come back into
midfield.”
“I was asking them to
go forward again because Heskey
was all on his own. That is
what I was trying to transmit
to them.” There was
early optimism when Theo Walcott
surged clear and crossed towards
Jermain Defoe, only for Koldo
to smother the loose ball.
Walcott threatened again as
he ran onto Rooney’s
pass and chipped his shot
over from a tight angle.
Although Frank Lampard flashed
a powerful low strike midway
through the half, the first
signs of discontent from England’s
fans were heard as passes
went astray with alarming
regularity.
It had taken Steve McClaren’s
England 54 minutes to score
against Andorra. At least
Capello avoided the ignominy
of breaking that record as
Cole struck in the 48th minute.
Lampard floated in a free-kick
that deflected off Lescott
to Cole and the substitute
lashed his volley past Koldo.
Cole had given England the
dynamism they lacked in the
first half and he scored again
in the 55th minute.
Rooney provided the assist
with a perfect pass and Cole
ran through to clip his shot
into the net. While Capello
tried to be upbeat, the fact
remained that his side couldn’t
even equal the 3-0 win by
McClaren’s men against
the same opponents 18 months
ago. Andorra coach David Rodrigo
was scathing about England
under Capello and insisted
Croatia were favourites to
win the group.
“He can try to manage
Andorra and I will do it with
England and I’m sure
I will beat Andorra more than
2-0,” Rodrigo said.
“I’m in love with
Croatia. They play good offensive
football and know how to use
the ball. They are the favourites
to win the group for me.”
(Agencies)
City
can’t be serious about
Ronaldo bid, says Gill
LONDON, Sept 7: Manchester
United chief executive David
Gill said he would treat suggestions
that Manchester City could
table a 135 million pound
bid for Cristiano Ronaldo
“with a pinch of salt”.
Ronaldo heads into the new
English Premier league season
still being closely followed
by Real Madrid, who tried
but failed during the summer
to secure the Portuguese international’s
signature. But now cross-city
rivals Manchester City have
entered the fray.
Sulaiman Al-Fahim, the billionaire
businessman at the centre
of the club’s takeover
by the Abu Dhabi United Group,
said he wants to build a “dream
team” which can compete
in the Champions League within
the coming three years.
And he added they could be
willing to make a world record
bid of 135 million pounds
(210 million dollars) for
the United star. Gill, speaking
to BBC radio’s Five
Live show on Sunday, admitted
that any club would get excited
about such a sizeable bid
for one player.
But, while highlighting the
fact that United manager Alex
Ferguson was the subject of
complaints to the Premier
League during his pursuit
of new signing Dimitar Berbatov,
Gill said he needed convincing
about the authenticity of
City’s ambitions. “It
was an interesting comment,
I think it’s a fan’s-type
comment,” said Gill.
“It’s interesting
when Alex (Ferguson) mentioned
the Dimitar Berbatov signing
in advance that complaints
were made to the Premier League.”
“He (Al-Fahim) mentioned
(Fernando) Torres and (Cesc)
Fabregas in the same article
so I think we will treat that
with a pinch of salt.”
“I have never met the
gentleman. That is a fantastic
amount of money and would
turn the industry upside down
so I can’t believe he
is serious at those sorts
of levels.”
“Ultimately we would
discuss any offer with Alex
and the owners, as that sort
of money is very large for
one person. But we are not
in the market to sell our
best players.” Gill
also insisted the club stayed
“entirely within the
rules” during their
pursuit of Berbatov.
Tottenham chairman Daniel
Levy has called for a change
in transfer rules, and initially
complained to the Premier
League about United’s
approach for the player. Gill
however has rejected allegations
that United did anything wrong.
He added: “We are very
comfortable with how the whole
thing went. There were allegations
made, we are comfortable that
how we approached it was entirely
correct and within the rules.”(Agencies)
Aussies
stun mighty Dutch
EINDHOVEN, Sept 7: Australia
warmed up for their final
round of World Cup qualifiers
in style on Saturday by stunning
the Netherlands 2-1 in a friendly
international.
The Socceroos, who face a
tricky trip to Uzbekistan
on Wednesday in their opening
game of the deciding Asian
qualifying round for the 2010
World Cup, fell behind to
a sixth-minute volley from
Klas-Jan Huntelaar.
But Harry Kewell levelled
on the stroke of half-time
from the penalty spot after
the Dutch had seen goalkeeper
Maarten Stekelenburg red-carded.
Australia made sure of victory
when Josh Kennedy hit the
winner in the 76th minute.
The defeat was a setback for
the Dutch and their new coach
Bert van Marwijk, who succeeded
Marco van Basten, ahead of
their first Group qualifier
against Macedonia in Skopje
on Wednesday. (Agencies)
Federer
set for Monday US Open final
New York, Sept 7: Roger Federer
moved within one victory of
his fifth consecutive US Open
title, firing 20 aces to overpower
Serbian third seed Novak Djokovic
6-3, 5-7, 7-5, 6-2.
But the Swiss superstar will
have to wait until tomorrow
to try and capture his 13th
Grand Slam title and move
within one of the all-time
record total of Pete Sampras.
In a rematch of last year’s
final, second seed Federer
stretched his US Open win
streak to 33 matches but rain
stopped the other semi-final
between world number one Rafael
Nadal and British sixth seed
Andy Murray.
The 21-year-old Scotsman led
6-2, 7-6 (7/5), 2-3 when his
first Slam semi-final was
halted until this afternoon,
pushing the men's final to
tomorrow afternoon, the first
time since 1987 that the Grand
Slam event will end late.
“Winning here at the
Open would mean a hell of
a lot to me,” Federer
said.
“At the moment the focus
is to defend my title and
get my fifth. The Pete thing
is very much alive and everything
is possible, but I would like
to focus on the five in a
row right now.” Olympic
champion Nadal defeated Federer
in this year’s French
Open and Wimbledon finals
and the Spanish left-hander
replaced him atop the rankings
last month, ending a Federer
reign of 237 weeks.
“If I win it’s
great and I’m back in
the race and things aren’t
so bad like everyone is saying,”
Federer said. “A win
would be huge.” By reaching
his 17th Slam final, Federer
matched Rod Laver for third
on the all-time list, one
behind Sampras and two shy
of Ivan Lendl’s record.
Federer is trying to become
the first man to win two Slam
events five times in a row,
having turned the trick last
year at Wimbledon, and would
be the first man since Bill
Tilden in 1924 to win the
US title five times in a row.
Federer connected on 76 percent
of his first saves and pulled
out an ace when he desperately
needed it on several key points.
“My serve got me out
of trouble a few times,”
Federer said. “It has
been hard all week to break
against the wind. It makes
quite a difference in how
you construct points. I’ve
concentrated quite a bit on
my serve and it has helped.”
At times, Federer looked and
felt like the dominating figure
he has been for the past five
years.
“I had moments where
I thought, ‘This is
how I normally play on hardcourts.’
I had moments where I thought,
‘This is how I want
to play all the time,’”
said Federer. Federer breezed
through the opening set in
only 25 minutes.
“The way I played the
first set was a key moment,”
Federer said. “He was
looking a little tired. I
think I broke his will as
well when I got the third
set. All of a sudden I was
playing my best with the lead.
I knew I could get it in four.”
Australian Open champion Djokovic,
21, would have replaced Federer,
27, as world number two had
he won the US Open.
“He was playing good.
He deserved to win,”
Djokovic said. “I was
a little disappointed that
I wasn’t able to give
him a challenge. I was just
unlucky to lose that third
set and it was more or less
routine for him in the fourth.”
Djokovic netted a forehand
to give Federer a break chance
in the 11th game of the third
set and sent a backhand volley
long to hand Federer a 6-5
lead. Federer made a miraculous
leaping forehand save of a
Djokovic overhead smash on
the next point and held to
claim the set. “In the
important moments he served
it out really well. He didn’t
give me a chance because he
served well,” Djokovic
said. “I knew the third
set was crucial. If it went
my way I had a bigger chance
to get the victory.”
Djokovic surrendered a break
in the fifth game of the fourth
set, sent a backhand volley
wide to give away another
in the seventh, and saw Federer
hit a winner to hold and end
matters after two hours and
45 minutes. (AFP)
CBI
launches probe into Monika
allegations
New Delhi, Sept 7: The CBI
has launched an enquiry into
allegations by weightlifter
Monika Devi that she was barred
from taking part in the Beijing
Games because of deliberate
lapses on part of the Indian
Olympic Association (IOA).
The CBI registered the Preliminary
Enquiry (PE) against “unknown
persons” after a request
was made by the Manipur Government
to Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh for a thorough probe
into the entire incident.
While during the PE, the CBI
will summon records of IOA,
Sports Authority of India
(SAI) and the statement of
Monika in front of the one-man
commission set up by the Sports
Ministry, it cannot go in
for questioning of any individual
till the case was converted
into a regular case.
Monika, in her deposition
before the T S Krishnamurthy
Commission, had alleged that
the actions of SAI as “unreasonable
and malafide” and also
that she failed to go to Beijing
Olympics because of the “deliberate
lapse” on the part of
the IOA.
The weightlifter hailing from
Manipur, in her petition had
blamed the SAI for the whole
controversy which led to her
withdrawal from the Indian
Olympic contingent just hours
before her scheduled departure
to Beijing.
“If the report (dope
test) was at all positive,
why did the SAI not inform
the Indian Weightlifting Federation
(IWF) 48-72 hours prior to
the departure as required
under the provisions of WADA?”
she questioned. Monika said
the SAI, being an institution,
ought to have acted reasonably
and fairly and the sports
body’s “ill treatment”
to her was “highly condemnable”.
“The actions of SAI
were unreasonable, malafide
as a result of which my reputation
and career had been damaged
for which SAI is to be blamed,”
she told Krishnamurthy in
her written submission. The
weightlifter said a day after
the news of her dope test
report being found positive
was published by media, the
IWF on August 6 had received
a letter from SAI which stated
that out of the four tests
conducted during the training
period on June 6, June 29,
July 15 and July 28, the report
of the test conducted on June
6 was found to be positive
without mentioning the name
of any prohibited drug. The
CBI would be examining all
the test reports during its
probe before deciding on whether
the case could be converted
into a regular case or not.
(PTI)
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CA
to pay Symonds even if he
misses Indian tour:
Cricket Australia (CA) has
decided to fully back Andrew
Symonds and regardless of
whether he tours India, the
all-rounder will get his contract
payment and also the fees
for the games he will not
play. Symonds missed the ODI
series against Bangladesh
after being sent home by team
management for breaching discipline.
He is unlikely to tour India
as he has been put under rehabilitation
by CA for his repeated acts
of indiscipline. Symonds though
will get $200,000 over the
next 10 weeks. The significant
show of faith from CA came
as a source within the Australian
camp revealed that Symonds
was not ready to walk away
from the game that has made
him a millionaire. CA’s
governing body is prepared
to pay him his CA retainer,
plus match payments for games
he won’t play, in a
move that will cost the organisation
a six-figure sum, according
to a report in The Sunday
Mail. CA spokesman Peter Young
confirmed Symonds would receive
his full wage during his time
out of the game. “He’s
a contracted player and because
he’s going through a
rehabilitation programme at
the moment, he will be paid
in full,” Young said.
“We’re treating
this the same way as if a
player was injured. Andrew
will still get his retainer
payment.” Australian
players are paid $17,850 for
a test abroad. Australia will
play four tests in India.
Symonds, under his CA deal,
is entitled to earn $71,400
without setting foot on the
sub-continent. (IANS)
Team
is not settled for the India
tour: Hussey
Two weeks before Australia
depart for the what they call
as the toughest challenge
in world cricket — tour
to India — Michael Hussey
said the team is yet to settle
after injuries to key players
and the controversy surrounding
Andrew Symonds. Hussey hoped
that senior players like captain
Ricky Ponting and Matthew
Hayden, who are recovering
from injuries, would be fit
in time for the challenge.
He said they have also not
given up hope on Andrew Symonds
joining the squad. Australia’s
preparation for the tour has
not been ideal with important
members of the team nursing
injuries. Skipper Ricky Ponting
and Matthew Hayden missed
the ODI series against Bangladesh
as they recover from wrist
and Achilles problem. Lee
took time off to deal with
his marriage break-up while
Symonds’ banishment
has raised serious doubts
over his availability for
the Indian tour. (IANS)
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