India had a spotless record with six wins in six games. The Indian team comprising Krishnan Sasikiran and Surya Sekhar Ganguly and World No. 2 woman Koneru Humpy and Dronavalli Harika won all their matches to secure 12 points, with two points being given for each win.
With this gold medal, India completed a chess double at Asian Games and Asian Indoor Games. The Indian team had won the gold medal at Doha Asian Games last December. Sasikiran and Humpy have been part of both teams.
India's stars were Sasikiran and Harika. Sasi won five of his six games and lost only one to 22-year-old Bu Xianghi of China. Among the women, Harika totalled five points with four wins and two draws and was the only unbeaten Indian player.
Humpy had four wins, one draw and one unexpected loss to Catherine Perena of the Philippines. Ganguly totalled 3.5 points from six games with three wins, one draw and two losses.
The top four scorers in both men's and women's section advance to the semi-finals of the individual competition and Indians have Harika in the last four among women, while Sasikiran will be the country's big hope among men.
The team competition was mixed with two men and two women and India won each of their matches Friday, the first day of the Games, and then added two more wins over Kazhakhstan (2.5-1.5) and Indonesia (3.5-0.5) Saturday.
Sunday, October 28, 2007
The Indian chess participants an unblemished record and earned their country the first gold medal of the second Asian Indoor Games here Saturday.
Bordeaux rallies to beat Valenciennes
Bordeaux rallied to beat Valenciennes 2-1 on Saturday with goals from Jussie and David Bellion and moved into third place in the French league.
Second-place Nancy wasted a chance to go first, drawing at bottom-side Metz 0-0.
Valenciennes opened the scoring with an own goal from Souleymane Diawara who deflected in a shot from Algeria international Yacine Bezzaz in the 34th minute.
Bordeaux leveled in the 37th after Brazilian forward Jussie converted a penalty kick.
David Bellion got his eighth goal this season to give the victory to Bordeaux, connecting with a corner kick in the 45th.
"The team showed its moral strength. It immediately reacted after conceding an unlucky goal," Bordeaux coach Laurent Blanc said.
Bordeaux has 22 points from 12 games while Valenciennes dropped to ninth place with 18 points.
Lyon leads the league with 25 points from 11 games and visits Paris Saint-Germain on Sunday.
Nancy, which has 24 points, had the best chances against Metz but lacked the finishing touch to convert them.
Metz goalkeeper Christophe Marichez stopped a low header from Andre Luiz in the 16th minute off a free kick from Benjamin Gavanon.
Gavanon chested the ball down in the 28th before shooting straight into Marichez's arms.
Nancy nearly scored in the 83rd after a poor clearance but Puygrenier's diagonal shot went wide.
In Saturday's other games, it was: Sochaux 2, Marseille 1; Lorient 0, Nice 0; Saint-Etienne 0, Auxerre 0; Lille 0, Strasbourg 3; and Monaco 0, Caen 0.
Sochaux edged Marseille to grab its first win at home this season and move away from the relegation zone.
Badrinath, GauthamGambhir blaze to glory
The second day of the Challenger Series belonged to Subramaniam Badrinath (82 not out) and Gautam Gambhir (73). Both played elegantly to help India Red post a commanding 303 for 7 against India Green today, and thereby help their side to an 88-run win. India Red won with a bonus point and have already qualified for the finals. That leaves the two teams meeting tomorrow— Green and Blue — to decide on the other finalist. If India Blue wins tomorrow’s encounter they will qualify, or else it will boil down to the net run rate.
Both Gambhir and Badrinath seemed to be competing against each other. Interestingly Badrinath was drafted into the Indian team in place of Gambhir during the Australia series after the southpaw got injured. Now, Badrinath would like to retain his spot, while Gambhir would want to get his berth back when the selectors meet here tomorrow to pick the squad for the Pakistan series. And both, with equally good performances, have made the task of the five wise men a bit difficult.
Gambhir was more cautious to begin with, and then slowly started to attack the bowlers, just playing according to the situation to set the platform for a big total. During his 74-ball innings, Gambhir showed his class— playing shots on all sides of the wicket through his seven boundaries.
But just when he looked set for a century, an ambitious shot brought an end to his knock. Piyush Chawla, in his second over, tossed up on the middle and off, and the batsman, looking to hit over mid-wicket, guided the ball to Manoj Tiwary.
Badrinath, batting at No. 5, seemed to be continuing from his 41-run knock yesterday — middling the ball from the start and ensuring that the team didn’t lose the initiative given by Gambhir. He was though, a shade slower than Gambhir to reach the
50-mark. The Tamil Nadu player took 62 deliveries to Gambhir’s 58 but made up for it soon after, racing to 82 from 79 balls, including seven boundaries and a last ball six off Munaf Patel to take the total past 300.
In the initial part of his innings, Badrinath was playing second fiddle to the more attacking Virat Kohli (40 off 45 balls). The duo put on 85 runs for the fifth wicket before 18-year-old Delhi batsman was stumped by Parthiv Patel off Iqbal Abdulla. Kohli hit two huge sixes and a boundary. Later Paresh Patel played a cameo 12-ball 22 to give impetus to the scoring rate.
India Green, in reply, never looked in contention as they lost wickets at regular intervals even as the required run-rate kept mounting. Only Tiwary looked capable of guiding the ship with a steady 65 but lack of support from the other end didn’t help.
Selection is purely on merit: DILIP VENGSARKAR
Chief selector Dilip Vengsarkar may be drawing criticism for being too harsh to Rahul Dravid by dropping him from the squad for the first two ODIs against Pakistan, but the man on the hot seat insisted that he picked the team "purely on merit".
"You cannot make everybody happy. Every time you have to pick the best combination, a winning combination. If we pick somebody, we are asked, 'Why did you pick him?' If we drop somebody, we are asked, 'Why did you drop him?' (But) it's how you take it.
"We pick a player on his form and fitness. And purely on merit. You watch cricket and you know how well the person is batting, whether he is in form or not,"
"When you pick a player it means you believe in him,unless he proves you wrong. But that is very rare," he said, adding "you can't put numbers to it.
For instance, say that if the player does not perform for five games, he is out. You cannot do that."
Asked if it was difficult to drop a senior player, Vengsarkar said, "there is nothing like senior, junior or middle-aged guys. Just because someone is a youngster, he won't be getting half-volleys in international cricket. Everyone has to be picked on merit, form and fitness."
On who would take the place of Rahul Dravid, who was a regular in the middle order, Vengsarkar said, "at this stage Yuvraj Singh, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Gautam Gambhir are there and waiting in the wings are Manoj Tiwary, Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma. So we have a lot of options".
World trap shooter Manavjit Singh won the individual gold and also helped India clinch the team gold at the 2007 Asian Clay Shooting Championship in a
Manavjit won the gold in a tiebreaker, beating Khaled of Kuwait, while two other teammates, Zorawar Singh and Anwer Sultan also grabbed the gold Friday,
"In the qualifying round, Khaled was leading with 120/125 points and Manavjit was at the second place with 118 points.
"In the finals, Manavjit shot 20 and Khaled 18. In the tie shoot, Manav won the gold and Khaled the silver medal. The bronze medal went to Singapore," it said.
India won the team gold with a total of 354/375 points.
NRAI also announced in a meeting held in Manila Saturday that the Asian Clay Shooting Federation will organize the next championship in Jaipur in February 2008.
DENIS WATSON leads Charles Schwab Cup
Denis Watson shot a 4-under 68 on Saturday to take a one-stroke lead over defending champion Jim Thorpe and Brad Bryant into the final round of the Champion Tour's season-ending Charles Schwab Championship.
He trailed by two strokes after 13 holes and went into No 18 a shot behind Thorpe, the 2003 and 2006 winner.
But Thorpe made a double bogey on the 412-yard, par-4 final hole to finish with a 69.
Watson had a 15-under 201 total.
Bryant, one of four players in contention for the Charles Schwab Cup race for a $1 million (euro700,000 million) annuity, matched his best round of the tournament, a 67 to close the gap behind Watson.
Bryant, who trails Loren Roberts in the Cup race by 697 points, can become just the second player to win both the season-finale and the Cup championship in the same season and needs to win on Sunday to have a chance. He will need some help.
At 6-under 210, Roberts was tied for 18th place. Jay Haas, 165 points behind Roberts, shot a 71 to reach 7 under.
Napoli beats Juventus
Maurizio Domizzi scored twice from the penalty spot on Saturday to lead Napoli over Juventus 3-1 in the Italian first division.
Walter Gargano got Napoli's other goal in the 50th, four minutes after Alessandro Del Piero put Juventus ahead 1-0.
Also on Saturday, Alessandro Rosina scored to help Torino beat Cagliari 2-0 for only its second victory in the league.
Inter Milan leads the Serie A with 20 points, followed by Juventus with 17, Fiorentina with 16, AS Roma with 15 and Napoli with 14. Torino has 11 points, three more than Cagliari.
On Sunday, Inter can extend its lead at sixth-place Palermo, while Fiorentina travels to Genoa and Roma faces a stern test at AC Milan.
Napoli conceded four goals in a 4-4 draw with AS Roma last week but it was much tighter at the back against Juventus, with a strong performance by Paolo Cannavaro - brother of Italy and Real Madrid defender Fabio Cannavaro.
"We closed down the space well," Napoli coach Eddy Reja said. "Despite playing with three forwards they had little freedom."
Sachin to be Test captain: Sources
Sachin Tendulkar has agreed to be captain for the next two test series against Pakistan and Australia, sources said.
Sachin's captaincy has been finalised but an announcement is likely only after November 8.
A debate has been raging for quite some time now, as to whether there should be different captains for the test and one day teams.
While M S Dhoni has been appreciated for the way he has captained the Twenty20 and one day teams, it really was a two horse race between Dhoni and Sachin for the test captaincy.
The 2007 India-Pakistan tennis series will be held in Pakistan next month, All India Tennis Association (AITA) announced here Saturday.
The six-day series will comprise two men's singles, one women's singles, one men's doubles and one mixed doubles match starting Nov 12. The AITA, however, did not name the venue.
The Indian team will comprise three boys - Aditya Madkekar, Vivek Shokeen and Ashutosh Singh - and two girls - Parija Maloo and Sonal Phadke.
Former India Davis Cupper Akhtar Ali is the team coach.
Dravid dropped, Sehwag recalled to play Pakistan
The national selectors are meeting tomorrow to pick the squad for the first two games of the ODI home series against Pakistan starting next month, but large-scale changes may be ruled out.
The selectors will spend some time on the question mark over former India captain Rahul Dravid, who finished the recent home ODI series against Australia — India lost 2-4 — with an average of 10.2. But it is believed that they will finally fall back on the age-old cricketing logic of ‘form being temporary and class permanent’.
It means that Dravid will stay as part of India’s Big 3 — along with Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly. It also means that Dilip Vengsarkar and Co will have to turn a blind eye to the creditable batting performances they have been watching during the Challenger series in Ahmedabad.
Moving on, Gautam Gambhir, after his Man-of-the-Match performance against Australia in the T20 game and his 73 from 74 balls today for India Reds, seems certain to be redrafted in the side though that’s where the selectors will find themselves in a spot.
Before today, S Badrinath, who replaced the injured Gambhir during the Australia series, was expected to be the weak link but his fine showing for India Red today — 82 from 79 balls — has changed things. .
Adding another twist to the selection muddle is the return of Suresh Raina, who scored 92 from 100 balls in the only Challenger game he has played. And in case former opener Virender Sehwag happens to be among the runs for India Blues tomorrow, the selectors’ job will only get tougher.
Besides, Harbhajan Singh and Murali Kartik had come up with match-winning performances in India’s last two games at Mumbai against Australia — the seventh ODI and the Twenty20 game. And the pacers Zaheer Khan, RP Singh and S Sreesanth are automatic picks while Irfan Pathan has cemented his place as an all-rounder. But it’s learnt that UP’s bits-and-pieces player Praveen Kumar, who has now taken nine wickets from two games, will figure in the discussions tomorrow.
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Is this F1 season over?
Kimi Raikkonen may have to wait days and even weeks before the Ferrari driver can be absolutely certain that he is Formula One champion.
Even as the Finn celebrated a stunning victory against the odds in Sunday's Brazilian season-ender at Interlagos, rivals McLaren were preparing an appeal that could cast a cloud over his first title.
McLaren said on Sunday night it was ready to appeal a stewards' decision at the Brazilian Grand Prix, keeping alive Briton Lewis Hamilton's F1 title dream.
The team made the decision following the stewards' decision not to punish the BMW Sauber and Williams teams for using allegedly irregular fuel during Sunday's race, won by Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen to claim the drivers' title. McLaren's decision to appeal now leaves the results of the drivers' world championship in a state of uncertainty.
If the FIA's International Court of Appeal overturns the stewards' decision and, more crucially, disqualifies the Williams and BMW Sauber drivers, then Hamilton will be elevated from seventh to fourth - giving him enough points to beat Raikkonen for the world championship.
McLaren officials notified the FIA of their intention to appeal the race stewards ' decision not to penalise BMW Sauber and Williams within an hour of the announcement, which had appeared to seal the championship for the Finn. The stewards ' decision also meant the original race result was confirmed and that Raikkonen was confirmed as champion.
He won the race and Hamilton, the 22-year-old British rookie who went into the final race with a four-point lead after leading the championship for six months, finished seventh.
That outcome left Raikkonen one point ahead of Hamilton for the season crown, denying the British racer a world championship in his rookie campaign.
Brazilian Grand Prix stewards' decided not to take action against BMW Sauber and Williams despite a report from the FIA technical delegate that stated temperatures of fuel samples taken from both cars of each team were outside the regulations.
McLaren have a week to decide whether to proceed but even then it is unlikely that they will be able to overturn Kimi's title.
Article 168 of the FIA's international sporting code makes clear that it remains up to the stewards to decide whether to move a driver up in the race classification. Drivers have been stripped of points in the past but allowed to keep their placing.
Raikkonen has seen it all before, hailed as a winner of the halted 2003 Brazilian Grand Prix only to have the victory taken away days later when it emerged that the timekeepers were wrong.
Upcoming Indian matches
Date | Time | Teams | Stadium | City | Match |
November 6, Tuesday | 09:00 IST | India v Pakistan | Nehru Stadium | Guwahati | First ODI |
November 9, Friday | 14:30 IST | India v Pakistan | Punjab CA Stadium | Mohali, Chandigarh | Second ODI |
November 11, Sunday | 09:00 IST | India v Pakistan | Green Park | Kanpur | Third ODI |
November 15, Thursday | 14:30 IST | India v Pakistan | Captain Roop Singh Stadium | Gwalior | Fourth ODI |
November 18, Sunday | 14:30 IST | India v Pakistan | Sawai Mansingh Stadium | Jaipur | Fifth ODI |
November 22 - 26 | 09:30 IST | India v Pakistan | Feroz Shah Kotla | Delhi | First Test |
November 30 - December 4 | 09:30 IST | India v Pakistan | Eden Gardens | Kolkata | Second Test |
December 8 - December 12 | 09:30 IST | India v Pakistan | M Chinnaswamy Stadium | Bangalore | Third Test |
Chawla replaces Kartik for Challenger Series
Leg-spinner Piyush Chawla has been inducted into the India Green team for the October 25-28 NKP Salve Challenger Series to be held at Ahmedabad.
"Murali Kartik has been given a rest. His place will be taken up by Piyush Chawla," said selection panel chief Dilip Vengsarkar on Monday.
Chawla suffered an ankle injury during India's triumphant campaign in the Twenty20 World Championship in South Africa last month and missed the subsequent seven-match ODI series against Australia as well as the one-off Twenty20 International.
The injury to Chawla opened up a place for Kartik who, on his recall to the national team after 20-month banishment, grabbed the chance with both hands and bowled splendidly.
The left-arm spinner from Railways appears a certainty when the team for the ODI series against Pakistan commencing at Guwahati on November 5 is picked in Ahmedabad on October 27.
Dravid hails world champ Anand
Former Indian captain Rahul Dravid hailed the "Anand effect" at a function organised to felicitate the world chess champion here on Monday.
"Winning one World Championship in itself is phenomenal…he has come back to win another. It shows his determination, drive and mental strength. That in itself is a fantastic feat," Dravid said at the function.
"He has shown the way for others in the country. He is the first world champion in India. When you have someone to follow it becomes easy. But he had no one. He has done it on his own," Dravid said, showering praise on the Chennai-born 37-year-old World Champion.
"What I see here today is an Anand effect," he added.
Dravid, who was an hour late because of a delayed flight, told the gathering that when the All India Chess Federation President N Srinivasan invited him for the function he readily accepted because he wanted to meet the champion.
"I have followed his achievement with great pride. He is an inspiration not only for me, but for all Indians."
"He has been a fantastic role model for sportsmen...for all Indians. He has gone about with dignity, even after being a double world champion, which should be a lesson for all Indians," Dravid said.
Dravid also requested Anand to write a book on chess, which would not only be cherished by people who follow the game but also by people who want to succeed in life.
"You have been a huge inspiration to all of us," he said.
Nadal confirms for Chennai Open
World number two Rafael Nadal Images has confirmed his participation for the ATP Chennai Open, to be held at the SDAT Stadium, Nungambakkam from December 31, 2007 to January 6, 2008.
The Chennai Open has attracted a strong Spanish presence, with former French Open champion Carlos Moya Images an eternal favourite in the South Indian city. This will be Nadal's third appearance in the last five years in Chennai, though the Mallorcan has failed to win a title there.
"It feels great to be coming back to Chennai," Nadal said in a statement. "I like the crowd and their enthusiasm and support and they always push you to give your best.
"I lost in the semi-finals last time and I hope to win my first Chennai Open title this year. I had some injuries this year but Iam confident that I would make a good start to the New Year and improve my performance, playing in this tournament."
Nadal started his Chennai Open journey in 2004 (then Tata Open) as a young 16-year old. He lost to Frenchman Thierry Ascione in the first round but made his mark with his first career title, partnering with Spanish compatriot Tommy Robredo to win the doubles title.
Last year Nadal looked a little rusty before eventual winner Xavier Malisse of Belgium defeated him in the semi-final.
Tournament Director, Fernando Soler said, "Rafa is a special player and his confirmation at such an early stage re-affirms the popularity and importance Chennai Open has gathered in the ATP men's tour.
India's biggest haul at Military World Games
India came up with its biggest ever medal haul at the Military World Games, finishing with two gold, one silver and seven bronze medals in the fourth edition of the event which ended here Sunday.
However, a large majority of the 196 Indian athletes in 14 events did not get close to the top three places, and the men accounted for all the medals in the seven-day event.
It is noteworthy that India was able to make a mark with a haul of 10 medals in only their second time of entering the Games.
In the last edition in Catania (Italy), India had grabbed a lone bronze medal through boxer Kehanand Beliwal.
As has been the history in the games, Russia (38 gold, 26 silver and 27 bronze), China (35-21-11) and Germany (5-10-13) proved to be supreme finishing as top three medal winners in the Games, while India finished at 19th spot amongst the 48 countries of the 103 getting into the medal bracket.
The Games move to Brazil in 2011.
This time too, Indian boxers were the most impressive as they accounted for a gold and four bronze medals.
India's first gold medal was won by the sailors in the event held in Mumbai through R Mahesh and Giridhar Yadav in the Military Class race.
Jitender Singh got the first games medal for India in the 400m Hurdles event, and Manipuri boxer, P Narjit Singh, completed the tally with a superb golden effort in the bantamweight category.
Shooters Vijay Kumar, C K Choudhary, Pemba Tamana and Hambir Singh, all from the Army Marksmanship Unit in Mhow, claimed the silver medal in the 25m Centre Fire Pistol Team category and Chatholi Hamza won a 1500m bronze dashing the hopes of current Asian champion Mohammud Othman Shaween of Saudi Arabia.
Strains and tension of competing against higher ranked athletes did not deter Jitender as he survived a tight race to finish third ahead of Konstantinos Anastasiou of Greece, who was breathing down his neck.
Jitender's last ditch effort helped him win the bronze behind top notch runners Edress Hawsawi of Saudi Arabia and Jesus Salas of Brazil.
As for Hamza, it was definitely a superb effort since he raced against well-known Kenyans and Shaween. The Indian was bunched with Gideon Gathimba and Shadrack Korir, bronze medallist in the recent Osaka World Championships, and Shaween.
The best ever series in Test history
My stint as India coach may have begun with a home series against Zimbabwe, and everyone knew what was next. A few months later, with 15 straight Test wins under their belt, the Aussies were coming to conquer their 'final frontier'.
Shoulder surgery had ruled out Anil Kumble, which was a big blow during the Tests. Sourav Ganguly took me to a net during the Delhi Test versus Zimbabwe game to have a look at this kid called Harbhajan Singh. Bhajji was quiet and shy during those days, but he turned the ball a mile and it was obvious to see he was a special talent.
We got a group together for a 26-day conditioning camp in Chennai, and I was then struck by the self-belief of the boys. They appreciated just how tough the Australians were, but they were convinced that they could beat anyone at home, and that conviction was pretty unshakeable. Every minute of the camp was planned, we worked our backsides off during training under the intense Chennai sun, Anil coming along to stand at the nets and to help the spinners we had gathered there.
t was obvious Anil would have more useful things to tell them about spin bowling than a former New Zealand opening batsman. During indoor sessions, we discussed the Australian batsmen, formulated strategies and lived. It was a camp everyone enjoyed. Later, we could even boast that in Chennai when preparing for the Aussies, we had lived on fresh air, fruit juice and cricket.
We watched Australia's warm-up games against India 'A' and Mumbai and were gratified to see both the sides running the Aussies close. Well, they ran them closer than we did in the first Test anyway, which we lost in three days. But the game was a lot closer than its margin suggests.
McGrath and Gillespie bowled superbly to dismiss us for 173, but we had the Aussies at 99-5 before Gilchrist and Hayden launched their offensive. To compound my misery after the heavy defeat, I was congratulated in the hotel foyer for the Australian win. An Indian fan mistook me for a member of the Australian contingent, not exactly the show of faith I needed.
Nalbandian stuns Federer in Madrid
David Nalbandian announced his return from nearly 18 months of indifferent results as he stunned top seed Roger Federer 1-6, 6-3, 6-3 on Sunday to win the Madrid Masters.
The upset win from the world number 25, who once stood among the elite, prevented a Swiss defence of the title he lifted here a year ago.
He became the second this season to defeat the top three players in the world - Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic in the same event. Djokovic did it as he won Montreal as well.
Nalbandian last won a title in May, 2006, on clay in Estoril. He lost the Madrid final in 2004 to Marat Safin.
After spending a year without a coach, the Argentine hooked up with Hernan Gumy and has been lifted his game since the summer.
Nalbandian had lost four matches against Federer since beating the Swiss for the Masters Cup title in Shanghai two years ago.
Sachin's ODI retirement not far off: Nadkarni
The time when Sachin Tendulkar quits one-day cricket is "not far off" as he has "indirectly" hinted at that, says Bapu Nadkarni, even though the legendary left-arm spinner backed him to play international cricket for two more years.
"He has actually come out with a statement, saying that 'my body is not the same' and that 'I am still trying to pull out (of that situation) as far as possible'. But the time (of his retirement) is not far off. He has already given it to you indirectly," Nadkarni told IANS here.
Nadkarni, 74, was referring to one of Tendulkar's television interviews in which he had admitted that he was feeling that it was difficult to recover for one-day internationals when compared to five-day Test matches.
Talking about the "big three" of Indian cricket - Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly - Nadkarni said that they still had steam to play international cricket.
"We have to keep them for some time, as long as they are fit enough to play. They should play for at least two more years. Obviously, they have to perform. One odd (unsatisfactory) performance here and there you have to concede. Even (Don) Bradman failed... everybody fails. People in the press should understand this," he said.
"They forget overnight all the performance put in by these gentlemen over the years. So if one series they fail, what's so bad? It's a game of cricket... unless, of course, you find them absolutely dull on the field, which is not accepted in present day cricket."
He particularly defended Rahul Dravid, who had a poor ODI series against Australia, a series that India lost 4-2 last week.
"A question in front of us is Dravid's. He is failing... it's okay, nothing wrong in it. I won't bother about it, as it's a small thing. What about the others? Are they playing consistently? They are not, and that's the problem and that has let us down in the series. This is the point for us to ponder," said the cricketer,who holds the world-record for bowling 23 successive maiden overs in Test cricket.
Sania Mirza slips to 32nd in WTA rankings
Slipping two places, Indian tennis star Sania Mirza was 32nd in the latest WTA Tour rankings released Monday. The 20-year-old, who has had to cut short her engagements because of a stomach muscle injury, however managed to stay in top-20 in the doubles, ranked 19th.
Sania will not be seen in action till the Hopman Cup, were she has earned a direct entry. The tournament begins Dec 30.
Belgian Justine Henin, who won her ninth WTA title in Zurich last week, continued her rule with Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova way behind in second and Serbia's Jelena Jankovic in the third spot. Jankovic's compatriot Ana Ivanovic was fourth followed by Russian Maria Sharapova at the fifth position.
In the ATP men's doubles rankings, Leander Paes was positioned at 17th and Mahesh Bhupathi at the 21st place.
Dhoni highest individual taxpayer in Jharkhand
India's cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who rules the hearts of millions of cricket fans, has also become the darling of the income tax department as he has emerged as the highest individual tax payer in Jharkhand.
According to sources in the income tax department, till Sep this year Dhoni has paid Rs.7.3 million as advance tax.
"Dhoni has emerged as highest tax payer in the current financial year. We expect that he will pay Rs.40 million as tax in fiscal 2007-2008," said an income tax official.
Dhoni is followed by two businessmen of West Singhbhum district.
This year, the income tax department has set a target to collect Rs.5.03 billion in taxes from the state.
According to official sources, the highest corporate taxpayer in the state is public sector unit Central Coalfield Ltd, which has recently been accorded "miniratna" status by the central government.
Jharkhand is meanwhile gearing up to welcome Dhoni home. He is likely to arrive in Ranchi on Wednesday.
McGrath asks Sreesanth to back antics with wickets
"You want your fast bowler to be aggressive. Giving blokes send-offs or sledging when you talk back I don't agree with, but that's up to the officials to sort out. At the end of the day you've got to be able to back it up," he said on the young Indian speedster.
"You can talk the talk but if you can't go out there and perform then you're not going to be around for very long."
Sreesanth has taken India by storm with his aggressive bowling but opinion is divided on his antics.
Right from his celebratory dance after hitting South African fast bowler Andre Nel for a huge six last year to Mammooty-like walks on the ground, he has provided much amusement to spectators. But it has come at a price.
Sreesanth has been censored on numerous occasions and even fined a few times.During the recently completed one-day international series in India, which Australia won 4-2, Sreesanth had some run-ins with burly Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds. And the fast bowler will be on the firing line when India tours Australia later this year.
McGrath warned the Indian medium pace not to get too carried away with his theatrics unless he can back it up out in the middle.
The last time India toured Australia in 2003-04, the Test series was drawn 1-1 although the home team was without McGrath (injured) and leg-spinner Shane Warne (suspended).
While both bowlers are also missing for this tour after retiring at the end of last season, McGrath believes India is still in for a torrid time at the hands of an Australian team about to enter a rebuilding phase.
"I think it's going to be an interesting and exciting time for Australian cricket with the young guys putting their hands up," said McGrath.
Hockey needs India to thrive: Charlesworth
Australian legend Ric Charlesworth believes "hockey needs India doing well to survive and thrive" and feels privileged to play a part in the renaissance of the eight-time Olympic champions.
The newly-appointed Technical Adviser of Indian hockey said the country is a minefield of talented players, who can be groomed to become world beaters again.
"India has now failed to perform for so long that the game [which I have always loved] is lesser, because we are missing the artistry and aesthetics that stamped the first part of the 20th century.
"Equally, hockey needs India doing well to survive and thrive worldwide. I believe India has the raw materials in skilled, clever and talented people to be outstanding again as a hockey nation. In hockey to play a part in the renaissance is a great challenge and I am privileged to have this opportunity," Charlesworth said.
Charlesworth, who till recently was working with the New Zealand images Cricket as a High Performance manager, said the first challenge after being "on the ground" in December would be to know the functioning of Indian hockey.
"Everyday will bring a new challenge...the immediate one will be to discover how hockey works in India...to watch, learn and listen and to construct with Indians a better way forward," said the former Australia hockey captain.
"I have one or two commitments [for a couple of weeks] that I have already agreed to before this assignment. After that I will be practically full time except for the occasional speaking engagement," he added.
The Aussie great said the deal with India is a result of years of negotiations, which could have been even longer without International Hockey Federation's 'Promoting Indian hockey' programme.
"Over some months and following considerable discussion it has been developed. Such things are seldom quick or easy and without FIH's programme for India it may have taken longer. The first contacts were back in 2002 and then after Athens," he said.
On the Indian men's team Asia Cup winning feat, Charlesworth said though the result could not be undermined, but the side needs more exposure.
"I still haven't seen the final game but the result was encouraging. Of course often in hockey the result can deceive but Korea are a quality team. Overall though we haven't played enough games this year, we need more exposure."
Sunday, October 14, 2007
IAAF investigating sanctions against Jones
The world governing athletics body is investigating what sanctions it can take against former triple Olympic champion Marion Jones after she admitted taking steroids before the 2000 Sydney Games. "What will happen with regards to the money? With regards to the medals? What will happen to the relays? These are good questions," International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) general secretary Pierre Weiss said on Saturday. American Jones has returned the five medals she won in Sydney after confessing she had used the designer steroid tetrahydrogestrinone (THG), which was undetectable at the time. Speaking on the eve of the world road running championships, Weiss told reporters: "We are investigating the case, we have asked the US federation to make a report. We don't have the report yet, it will be complex." "We are really sad about what happened. She was the queen of our sport. And we have lost our queen." |
Karthikeyan to start 11th in second A1 GP race
Narain Karthikeyan will stand a good chance of winning morale-boosting points for Team India when he revs up from the 11th spot on the starting grid for Sunday's Feature Race in the second A1 GP race of the season.
In the qualification for Feature Race, Karthikeyan clocked 1:45.918 to finish 11th, with 1.269 seconds separating him from the Dutch car that won the pole position.
Accordingly, the Team India driver will start 11th on the starting grid for Sunday's Feature Race and 12th in Sprint.
Team India Chief Operating Officer Yohan Setna said that the team was banking on Karthikeyan's vast experience to win points in the Feature Race on Sunday.
"We are happy with today's result and it's not as bad as it looks," Setna said.
"Sprint being a short race, you actually have little scope to improve on your position. But in Feature, we stand good chance," he said.
"The weather promises to be fine tomorrow and race craft would come into play in the Feature Race. Narain has vast experience and he can pace it well. Strategy would play an important role and Narain's experience would count a lot tomorrow," he said.
The Indian team won a point at Zandvoort, the Netherlands after finishing 10th in the Sprint race.
Harika at second spot
Women GM and top seed D Harika kept herself in contention for the gold medal after beating compatriot Eesha Karavade in the ninth round of the World Junior Girls Chess Championship on Saturday.
The win helped Harika move to 7.5 points out of a possible 9 and she remained a half point behind Russian leader Vera Nebolsina.
Going by the points, it seems either Harika or Nebolsina will walk away with the title.
No other Indian girl was in medal contention after the defeat of Soumya Swaminathan and Mary Ann Gomes.
Sandeep shines in German League
Drag-flicker Sandeep Singh is making waves in the highly-competitive German League and has so far scored ten goals for his club Frankenthal.
Sandeep, who did not figure in the Asia Cup after falling in the bathroom and sustaining a minor injury, has completely recovered and is looking forward for a comeback to the Indian team.
"I have been training hard to earn my place in the Indian team and I am hopeful that my recent performance will help me," Sandeep said.
Armaan's historic win in Japan
Promising Indian driver Armaan Ebrahim on Sunday nailed a commanding win in the Grand Race of the Formula Renault V6 Asia Championship at the Autopolis circuit in Japan.
The circuit which had Formula 1 racing in it a decade ago is a drivers circuit with its fast and winding uphill and downhill corners.
The V6 Renault made its debut in Autopolis this year and Armaan goes down in the record books as the first winner of the Grand race in the V6 in Japan.
The 18-year-old Indian, who dominated the official practice session, started from 6th place and had his work cut out. A brilliant start saw him move into second place by lap one and Armaan started to close the gap on pole sitter James Winslow.
By lap 4 Armaan was on James's gearbox and by lap 5, he put the pressure on James to such an extent that the Englishman spun. Armaan took the lead and started to pull away with Karl Reindlinger from Australia behind him followed by Earl Bamber from New Zealand.
But James's managed to get back on track and was politely let ahead by his team mate Earl Bamber. In the meantime Armaan steadily pulled away from Karl and opened up more than 10 seconds of a lead. Armaan settled down and conserved the car, not wanting a repeat of the sprint race while James managed to pass Karl who was suffering with lack of rear grip, to finish second.
Armaan said it was a great win on a festival day.
"Firstly, I would like to wish everybody, Eid Mubarak. It was a great win and it was even better to win on a festive note," he said.
Champs all the way! (Australia )
Australia on Sunday relied on an all-round display to clinch the One-day series with a 18-run victory over India in the sixth One-dayer which saw the hosts frittering away a solid start and running out of steam in the slog overs.
After scoring a mammoth 317 for eight built around Andrew Symonds rollicking unbeaten 107, the Australians held their nerve to restrict the home team to 299 for seven and take an invincible 4-1 lead in the seven-match series.
The trusted opening pair of Sachin Tendulkar (72) and Sourav Ganguly (86) provided the foundation for the chase with a 140-run stand, but the Indians lost the plot in the middle overs to allow the asking rate to climb beyond manageable limits. (AFP Photo)
Tight security for Military Games
HYDERABAD: Players from America and its allied countries will be treated as special category from security point of view at the Fourth Military World Games beginning here from Sunday.
This additional security coverage to sportspersons from these countries, including those taking took part in the Iraq war, is being provided against the backdrop of increased threat perception due to recent terror strikes in the country by some religious fundamentalist organisations.
“Despite the threat perception, no country withdrew from the Games and teams from all the 107 countries which confirmed their participation earlier are coming here,” Cyberabad Police Commissioner S. Prabhakar Reddy said here.
With over 10,000 police personnel, including the Cyberabad police force, every inch of all the venues for the games, accommodation buildings and the routes has been screened. Even airborne security coverage is being provided using four military helicopters that would keep tab on the games festival.
The National Security Guards will assist the police and the military officials in this regard.
The IML and IIIT Guest Houses at Gachibowli are earmarked for ‘Safe Houses’ to shift the VVIPs in case of any emergency.
Claiming that ‘world-class’ security measures are being put in place, Mr. Reddy said no person would be allowed to get inside the venue without security screening. Entry is strictly by invitation and no one can walk into the venues during any time of the games festival. Except mobile phone, no spectator would be allowed to bring any article, even water bottles.
“They objects you bring along would have to be dumped outside if you want to go inside. We wouldn’t guarantee safety of those items,” the Commissioner said. Unlike other functions, there would be no relaxations with regard to timings for entry into the venues.
The spectators would not be allowed if they are late even by one minute for the ‘last time for parking and last time for seating.’
Road opening parties, posting of armed guards on roof top, installation of surveillance cameras at strategic places, checking by anti-sabotage teams and sniffer dogs would be used extensively as part of the security arrangements.
Military World Games from today
HYDERABAD: The stage is set for the start of the fourth Military World Games which is the biggest ever sports event (in terms of participating countries) to be held in Hyderabad. The week long meet gets under way from Sunday, Oct. 14.
That this mega event will be held in Hyderabad is a matter of pride for all those concerned with the event and for the residents of the twin cities in general.
Germany with 207 participants has sent the largest contingent while China is in second place with a total of 200 participants. Host India is in third place with 196 participants.
Large gatheringA total of 4588 players, along with officials from 103 countries are going to take part in a meet that will probably see the largest gathering of nations after the Olympic Games.
It is not just the participants who are present in Hyderabad in large numbers. Even the numbers of support staff is staggering. It is clear that the state government is sparing no effort to make this a grand show.
Including civilian and military volunteers, security personnel from the Andhra Pradesh State Police and home guards, it is estimated that a total of about 35,000 persons will be involved with the conduct of the Games in some way or the other.
India’s best chancesIndia’s best chances are likely to be in shooting where there are several international medallists including Vijay Kumar who has to his credit medals at the Commonwealth and Asian levels and Pemba Tamang, a Commonwealth medallist.
Young Hambir Singh is also spoken of very highly by the experts.
In some of the other sports a few upsets by Indian players cannot be ruled out, particularly in boxing. Home crowd support usually has a morale-boosting effect and this was seen when the football team was under pressure against Brazil and Qatar.
Although the team lost both matches it did put up a good fight.
A smattering of Olympic medal winners are in the fray. These include Jossinet Frederique of Germany (2004 Olympic Games silver medallist in Judo), Kovago Zoltan of Hungary (2004 Olympic Games silver medallist in discuss), Rajmond Debeuec of Slovenia (2000 Olympic Games shooting gold medallist), Pecha Peter of Slovenia (2004 Olympic Games, bronze medallist, wrestling ) and Urska Zolnir of Slovenia (2004 Olympic Games bronze medallist in judo).
1074 medals at stakeAmong the teams to watch out for will be Russia which had won the largest number of medals (33 gold, 39 silver and 36 bronze) in the previous edition and China which was the second placed outfit with 31 gold, 16 silver and 13 bronze.
This meet will see competitions for a total of 1074 medals (341 gold, 341 silver and 392 bronze).
To get the Games off to a colourful start the organisers have planned an attractive opening ceremony replete with sky divers parachuting into the arena, helicopters doing a fly-past and a march past by teams dressed in their smart uniforms.
Considering that all this is likely to be done with the precision one normally associates with military ceremonies this opening extravaganza is likely to be a memorable show.
Dubai to help boost golf in India
developing the game as a successful recreational sport, while also contributing to the elite junior development of India's best junior golfers," stated Mohammad Juma Bu Amim, vice-chairman and CEO of 'golf in DUBAI.'
"The Foundation has a mandate to grow junior golf at the grass roots level and nurture the youth's development in the game," Bu Amim continued.
The Shaikh Maktoum Golf Foundation was set up in 2006 in memory of the late Shaikh Maktoum Bin Rashid Al Maktoum.
The president of the Indian Golf Union, General J.J. Singh, was very excited about the strong support received from 'golf in DUBAI'.
general Singh remarked: "The support of Shaikh Maktoum Golf Foundation has been very well received by the Indian Golf Union, ensuring the continued success of the programme.
"It will help us realise our expansion plans to take the game of golf to every corner of the country and rural areas that have been inaccessible so far."
They include: (1) the development and distribution of specialty student manuals and 'Golf in Schools' programmmes;
(2) support with equipment that nurtures aspiring junior golfers who show promise and seek entrance to a golf club; and
(3) support for the IGU's Camp of Excellence, that will allow for exchanges with the UGA's Junior Development Program in the UAE.
'golf in DUBAI', in co-operation with the India Golf Union and the Women's Golf Association of India, will bring the best players in the game, both men and women, to India through the staging of world-class events with the European Tour sanctioning bodies (European Tour / Ladies European Tour).
'golf in DUBAI' is backed by Dubal (Dubai Aluminum) as the main partner and National Bank of Dubai, Emaar, Jumeirah Hotels, Emirates airline, BMW, Jumeirah Golf Estates, Gulf News, Omega and CNN as partners in its drive to showcase the emirate's vibrant golfing scene to a worldwide audience.
Indian boxers likely to put up a good show
HYDERABAD: The Indian pugilists are expected to put a good performance and, perhaps, bag a medal or two in the fourth the Military World Games as the team has six reigning National champions.
The confidence of the brains-trust is based on the intensive preparations the boxers had for the last six months at the Army Sports Institute (Pune) under the watchful guidance of chief coach Louis Enrique of Cuba.
The boxers lined up for one of the final practice sessions at the Artillery Centre rings in the foreground of the historic Golconda Fort on Saturday. “They have talent and we have focussed on training them to win medals,” said Enrique.
The Indian camp suffered a setback when Commonwealth gold medallist Som Bahadur Pun (64 kg) was put out of the Games after being hospitalised with viral fever.
The six National champions Sanjay Kolte, H.K. Belewal, Narjit Singh, A.Lakra, Thoi Thoi Singh and Manpreet Singh are confidence personified despite the huge challenge they will face in the Games, said to be the toughest after the Olympics. “No doubt a lot depends on the draw. But we are ready for the challenge,” says Capt. Manoj Kumar, manager of the team.
Enrique, who has been with these boxers for three years now, seems to be confident of getting the best from his boys.
“We are also looking at these Games as a preparatory event for the next month’s World Championship.
This should give me a fair idea of where exactly our boxers stand and what are the areas of concern,” he said in a chat with The Hindu.
Enrique picked Manpreet Singh for special mention and after a one-to-one training session said that he should be the biggest medal prospect from India in the Olympics.
“We should perform well in these Games because there will be a plenty of crowd support,” he pointed out.
One more Chak De moment in Indian sports in the form Viswanathan Anand.
In the season of celebrating the Power of Blue, the apprehensions were probably genuine. A Made-in-India guy who learnt chess from his mother and went on to script the mother of all triumphs — twice. Even in the ecstasy of an Indian sporting high, would he get the accolades a King deserves?
It had taken hockey coach Joaquim Carvalho to protest bitterly for India to realise that another set of our boys in blue hadn’t got their due for being Asia’s best. Thus the fear: A day after cueist Pankaj Advani, another world champion, refused a government award to protest the law of unequal returns that govern India’s evaluation of sporting excellence, would Viswanathan Anand’s conquest remain just another news flash?
Given that chess is officially played in 161 countries, he is our only global icon. Multi-lingual, suave and intelligent, he is also the emblem of India that is young and hot at 60.
By being the world’s number one chess player, by challenging Garry Kasparov at the World Trade Centre, by consistently doing well at pilgrimage spots like Linares and Wijk aan Zee, by winning a hattrick of chess Oscars, this self-effacing GM has sparked a silent revolution in Indian chess.
On Sunday morning, Anand continued the trend of the sports pages giving us more good news than usual from the day India turned 60.
On August 29, NP Pradeep turned us Syrian killers in the Nehru Cup. On September 9, the men’s hockey team served up a magnificent seven to conquer Asia. Two days later, Delhi chess prodigy Tania Sachdev became Asian champion.
At Flushing Meadows, Leander Paes went within a match of the mixed doubles crown, while Sania Mirza broke into the top-30. And Jeev Milkha Singh keeps reminding us that he is a worthy son of a worthy father.
Symonds todays man of the match special seals the series
In his latest newspaper column, Andrew Symonds spoke of his annoyance at certain Indian cricketers and also at the manner in which he was heckled in Vadodara. In Nagpur, he channelised his ire to hit the Indians where it hurt most, and a glorious 82-ball century inspired the victory that gave Australia the series with a match to spare. Just for good measure, he added a nearly immaculate spell of off-spin bowling as Australia staved off a 140-run partnership between Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly, and a thrilling late flourish from Robin Uthappa to clinch an 18-run triumph.
Adam Gilchrist and Ricky Ponting had established the perfect platform with a dazzling 96-run partnership, and with Brad Haddin and James Hopes providing invaluable support, Symonds combined brute power and masterly timing to utterly destroy the Indian attack.
Hopes cut and drove superbly as the pair added 90 from just 9.4 overs to wrest control. But there was never any doubt as to who was the main man, with Symonds providing a lesson in late-overs batsmanship. Murali Kartik had been outstanding in his first spell, giving away just 15 from his first seven overs, but even he was a helpless bystander as Symonds clubbed one over the roof of the temporary stand at midwicket before coolly lofting over long-on for six more.
He followed up with a late cut, just to show that he could do finesse as well, and it was with the deftest of dabs off Irfan Pathan that he got to three figures, and his coiled-spring-unleashed celebrations left no one in any doubt as to how much it meant after the events of the past few days.
Robin Uthappa's improvisation towards the end kept India in the hunt © Getty Images
When it was India's turn to tilt at a 318-run windmill, Tendulkar and Ganguly reeled off a 26th century stand, giving India hope of a first successful run-chase against Australia in nearly a decade. The turning point was undoubtedly Tendulkar's dismissal after a magnificent 72, smartly stumped by Gilchrist off Hopes.
Brad Hogg's left-arm variations then fetched him four wickets, and when Rahul Dravid holed out to long-on, India's chances appeared non-existent, with 100 needed from 57 balls. But Uthappa laced some stunning drives and lofted with Twenty20 panache as he and Dhoni rattled off 72 from just 46 balls, leaving India 28 to get from the last two overs.
The door was ajar, but Mitchell Johnson, five-wicket hero in Vadodara, soon plunged the ground into darkness, with an ice-cool maiden over that saw both batsmen miscue attempted lofts. Uthappa's 28-ball 44 ended with a superb tumbling catch by Hopes, while Dhoni's attempt to maim the man on the moon ended up in Ponting's safe hands. The capacity crowd, so buoyant moments earlier, was stunned into silence.
They had cheered themselves hoarse for three hours. After the embarrassing display in Vadodara, it was Ganguly who was the first to announce intent, with a sliced drive off Johnson, and a quite glorious extra-cover drive off Brett Lee. Lee came in for quite some stick, with Tendulkar taking three consecutive fours off him. It mattered little to the capacity crowd that one was a top edge and the other off the bat's outer.
Both men played some lovely shots through the covers, and Tendulkar produced one trademark stroke down the ground as India more than kept up with the asking rate. When Ganguly charged down the pitch to heave Nathan Bracken for six, Ponting sensed that it was time to slow things down. On came Symonds, and down went the rate, with neither batsman able to pierce the field.
They had more success against Hogg, though, with Tendulkar getting to his 50 courtesy a huge six over midwicket. Ganguly wasn't far behind either, lofting Hogg over long-on, and after the embarrassment of the previous game, it was clear that India weren't about to exit the series quietly.
Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly got India off to a strong start © Getty Images
Tendulkar's exit slowed Ganguly down, and it was left to Pathan to inject some momentum with some clean hits down the ground. But when he cut Hogg to point, the rot set in. Ganguly, who was again in sight of an elusive century, fell to a catch in the deep, while Yuvraj Singh was cleaned up by a full toss that struck him flush on the pad.
India's spin element had dragged them back into the game after Ponting and Gilchrist had unleashed mayhem. Michael Clarke, opening in place of the injured Matthew Hayden, was snaffled by Mahendra Singh Dhoni down the leg side in the first over, but India's new-ball pairing of Sreesanth and Zaheer came in for a real hammering as the pair carried on in the same vein as they had finished in Vadodara.
Ponting set the tone by glancing the first ball he faced for four, and when he then crunched Zaheer over midwicket for six, it was clear that circumspection would have little role to play in the Australian approach.
At the other end, Gilchrist cut and drove Sreesanth for fours, but was then reprieved as Dravid failed to hold on to a chance high to his left at gully.
Gilchrist was on 16 at the time, and he soon made India pay with three fours in a Sreesanth over. Dhoni was forced to turn to Pathan and he nearly provided the breakthrough, squaring up Ponting, only to see the edge go through where slip would have been.
Harbhajan was on as early as the 13th over and Gilchrist was on to him immediately, driving and cutting for fours, but Harbhajan had his moment in the next over, when Ponting's prod at one that straightened was superbly pouched by Dravid at slip.
Gilchrist got to his half-century in just 46 balls, but then slammed the next straight to cover, and after a couple of fine sweeps, Brad Hodge's wretched tour continued, with Dravid taking the catch at slip off Kartik's bowling.
Then came the key moment. Had Sreesanth latched on to a difficult chance running in from deep square-leg when Symonds had made just two, Australia's plight would have been immeasurably worse. Instead, as they had in the rain-affected series opener at Bangalore, Symonds and Haddin lifted Australia towards a huge total, after a cautious phase against Kartik and Tendulkar.
After his initial success, Harbhajan went for plenty, with Symonds using his feet beautifully to counter the turn. The partnership was worth 75 when Haddin miscued Sreesanth to mid-off, but that would be the last moment of cheer for India in the field. Hopes came in, and India's sank, with Symonds jubilant at having dealt the most painful blows of all.
Symonds ready to move on following abuse
Australia's Andrew Symonds says he is ready to move on after suffering racist abuse from spectators during Thursday's fifth one-day international against India in Baroda.
The big all-rounder was subjected to monkey noises while he was fielding.
"You have to be pretty thick-skinned to survive in the Australian dressing room, let alone out on the paddock," Symonds was quoted as saying in Australian newspapers on Sunday.
"I am a pretty liberal sort of bloke but racism is a big issue in world sport, not just cricket.
"It is a sensitive issue and guys have been made an example of in the past, but what do you do in this instance if it's coming from the crowd? Life goes on."
Australia captain Ricky Ponting [Images], meanwhile, has called for the International Cricket Council to take action.
"I know the match referee knows about it, if the ICC [Images] gets it in the report they have to do something," he said. "Racism is unacceptable anywhere in the world, you don't expect it to happen when you step out on the field.
"We did not expect it and we do not expect it to happen again."
Abusings will not stop my acheivment says Symonds
Australia's Andrew Symonds says he is ready to move on after suffering racist abuse from spectators during Thursday's fifth one-day international against India in Baroda.
The big all-rounder was subjected to monkey noises while he was fielding.
"You have to be pretty thick-skinned to survive in the Australian dressing room, let alone out on the paddock," Symonds was quoted as saying in Australian newspapers on Sunday.
"I am a pretty liberal sort of bloke but racism is a big issue in world sport, not just cricket.
"It is a sensitive issue and guys have been made an example of in the past, but what do you do in this instance if it's coming from the crowd? Life goes on."
Australia captain Ricky Ponting [Images], meanwhile, has called for the International Cricket Council to take action.
"I know the match referee knows about it, if the ICC [Images] gets it in the report they have to do something," he said. "Racism is unacceptable anywhere in the world, you don't expect it to happen when you step out on the field.
"We did not expect it and we do not expect it to happen again."
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Tendulkar, Bhutia raise a racket
It was a festival of sports, as cricket and football joined hands to promote a game of tennis at the Sunfeast Open in Kolkata on Tuesday.
Former India cricket captain Sachin Tendulkar and current India football captain Baichung Bhutia lent their support to the event by lifting a tennis racquet and treating the fans to an unusual evening.
I am proud I was the only undefeated player'
It is always a pleasure to interview Vishwanathan Anand. Very rarely you come across such a warm and down-to-earth person, nay world champion!
Only a few months ago he took the world No 1 ranking; now he has the World crown. He had won it six years ago, but the latest triumph, in a tournament that featured eight of the world's top-ranked players, is certainly remarkable. But, then, Anand has a habit of conquering heights.
From Mexico, where the World Chess Championship was held, Anand and his wife Aruna have returned to Spain, where they live.
In an exclusive chat over telephone, Anand speaks to Shobha Warrier about the championship, Mexico, and the gift Aruna expects from him.
First, congratulations on winning the World Chess Championship.
Thanks a lot.
Sania-Schnyder lose in Moscow QF
Sania Mirza's challenge at the Kremlin Cup in Moscow ended after she bowed out of the doubles event as well on Thursday.
The Indian ace and her Swiss partner Patty Schnyder failed to make the most of opportunities and went down 3-6, 7-5, 7-10 to Cara Black of Zimbabwe and Liezel Huber of the United States in the quarter-finals.
Black-Huber saved nine of the 12 break points they faced in the one hour 33-minute contest to snatch a semi-final berth.
Sania had lost 3-6, 4-6 to Argentina's Gisela Dulko in the singles first round.
In Vienna, second seeds Leander Paes and Martin Damm face the American pair of Mardy Fish and Robby Ginepri in the quarter-finals on Thursday.