Martyn leaves for India to play IPL

Published Tue, Mar 02 10 01:22 PM

Melbourne, Mar 2 (PTI) Retired Australian batsman Damien Martyn today left for India to compete in the Indian Premier League, rejecting the security fears that have been raised by some of his own former teammates. Martyn said the decision to play or skip the cash-awash tourney should be left completely on players and they should not be coerced into going one way or the other. "They should leave us to make our own decisions," Martyn was quoted as saying by ''The Herald Sun''. "It''s up to the individual whether they play in the IPL," he added. Returning to the game after two years, Martyn will play for Rajasthan Royals. His former teammates like Shane Warne, Matthew Hayden and Adam Gilchrist would soon fly to India. Martyn said he would never have decided to go, had there been any doubt about security in his mind. More PTI PM AT

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China tees up for golf explosion despite construction ban

Published>Tue, Mar 02 10 01:07 PM

Golf participation in China is set to explode despite a development ban on new courses and the extortionate cost of green fees, according to the China Golf Association (CGA).

China's first golf course was built in 1984 and although around 500 more have sprung up since, a six-year-old government ban on new development has slowed growth.

The United States, by contrast, has around 18,000 courses, while Europe has an estimated 6,000, leading some to question whether the facilities exist to support a boom in Chinese golf.

"The existing 500 courses are enough for the basic development of golf," CGA vice president Wang Liwei told Reuters.

"No matter how many course there are -- 500, 1,000 or 10,000 -- it is a sport of players. We are also taking alternate measures, such as building driving ranges in public green spaces."

Last year's decision to add golf to the Olympic programme from 2014 has helped rekindle interest in developing the sport, its inclusion seen as a key factor in the allocation of resources by the state-run sport system.

"Entering the Olympics will greatly push forward the development of golf in China," Wang added.

"The good news is that golf has already become a sport in the (quadrennial) National Games, which means it will draw greater attention and support from provincial sports authorities.

"A platform will be built through them, to popularise the sport among the youth, and to improve professional golf and marketing development.

"Golf in China will enjoy explosive growth after that."

ILLEGAL GRABS

China banned the building of new courses in 2004 because of concerns over the illegal procurement of vast tracts of farmland by some developers.

"We resolutely abide by the government policy of saving farmland," said Wang, who is also a government official. "However, there is still some wasteland or barren land that could be used to build golf courses."

Developers have always found ways around the ban by, for example, requesting permission to build a hotel with huge surrounding grounds -- which subsequently prove large enough to accommodate 18 holes.

Playing is still, however, prohibitively expensive for all but the richest Chinese -- joining a club cost an average of $53,000 in 2008, according to a KPMG report.

That makes the CGA's struggle to popularise the game among China's 1.3 billion people an uphill task, and their youth development strategy all the more important.

The CGA has not been slow to enlist the support of the wealthy clubs, foreign golf tours and sponsors who have flocked to China in recent years, including Europe's biggest bank HSBC, whose $7 million Champions tournament is the richest in Asia.

"The CGA launched a joint youth development project with HSBC in 2008," Wang said. "It has benefited 20,000 children in three years. Over 2,000 have attended the golf camps. We also have a national youth tour.

"At the provincial level, there will be more free opportunities for children to participate in golf. Clubs are also offering their spare resources for the popularisation and youth development."

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Resillient New Zealand pip gritty Canada 3-2

Published>Tue, Mar 02 10 12:46 PM

A resilient New Zealand twice came back from behind to beat a fighting Canada 3-2 in a Pool A opening match of the hockey World Cup on Sunday.

The Black Sticks, who were trailing 1-2 at the breather, made a strong comeback in the second session to start their World Cup campaign on a winning note.

Indian-origin player Priyesh Bhana (11th minute), Nicholas Haig (47th) and veteran play maker Ryan Archibald (67th) scored for New Zealand.

For Canada, who were dominant till midway of the opening session, Mark Pearson (2nd minute) and Philip Wright (20th) found the target.

Even as the hundred-odd spectators barely settled down, Pearson sounded the board with a fine field goal in the second minute following a scramble inside the striking circle.

New Zealand striker Priyesh Bhana, who made it to squad after Simon Child pulled out of the tournament due to security fears, made a fine turn inside the Canadian circle and even though his first attempt was blocked by goalkeeper Kyle Pontifex, he scored from the second attempt to restore parity in the 11th minute.

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Shivendra Singh's suspension reduced to two matches

Published>Tue, Mar 02 10 12:36 PM

New Delhi, March 2 (IANS) Indian hockey player Shivendra Singh's suspension from the ongoing Hockey World Cup has been reduced from three matches to two, International Hockey Federation officials said here Tuesday.

Shivendra had been suspended following a collision with a Pakistani player during their match Sunday.

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Final decision on Shivendra Singh to be taken today

Published>Tue, Mar 02 10 12:22 PM

New Delhi, Mar 2 (ANI): A final decision would be taken today on Indian striker Shivendra Singh, who has been suspended for three-matches of the Hockey World Cup for deliberately hitting a Pakistani player in the first match that India won at the Major Dhyan Chand National stadium on Sunday.

India's Hockey World Cup campaign received a setback on Monday after center forward Shivendra Singh, who scored the first goal for India in its match against Pakistan in the Hockey World Cup, was banned for three matches.

Singh has also been charged for launching a verbal battle and commenting on Pakistani players during the match.

The Indian frontline led by Prabhjot Singh, Shivendra Singh and Rajpal Singh spread havoc in Pakistani ranks with their fast-paced interchanges as Team India registered an emphatic 4-1 win on Sunday.

Team India has filed a petition against Singh's suspension. (ANI)

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Shivendra's ban reduced to two matches

Published>Tue, Mar 02 10 11:59 AM

FIH's three-member panel has reduced Indian hockey player Shivendra Singh's ban to two days. Shivendra will now miss matches against Australia and Spain.

India's Hockey World Cup campaign had received a setback Monday with centre forward Shivendra Singh being slapped a three-match suspension for 'deliberately hitting' Pakistan's Fareed Ahmed during the match.

"Shivendra's absence won't hurt our chances as we have enough backing', said FIH secretary general.

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Hockey gold brings more than bragging rights

Published>Tue, Mar 02 10 10:12 AM

It's time for Canadians to gloat and Americans to pay up on an Olympic men's hockey final that was made to order for friendly betting and good-natured banter on both sides of the border.

After Canada's exciting overtime 3-2 victory on Sunday, American fans are not only nursing their wounded pride. Many of them are also settling the score by sending cases of beer to colleagues, or donning Canadian hockey jerseys at work.

"If a friend of mine is keeping up his end of the bet, he should be wearing a Toronto Maple Leafs jersey to work today, which is embarrassing on several fronts," Conor Bill, managing director at Mt. Auburn Capital, in Toronto, said of his cross-border wager with a friend at a New York-based brokerage.

The Leafs, one of the weakest teams in the National Hockey League and an organization with a history of failure, are a running joke in hockey-crazed Toronto.

But if the table had been turned, Sunday's final could have proved nearly unbearable for Bill, a long-time hockey fan.

"If (Canada) lost he was going to make me wear a Team USA shirt, and the worst part of it was that I would have to go out and buy it. I would have actually had to pay for it!" said Bill.

U.S. fans may be forgiven for a false sense of confidence. Their team had a relatively easy road to the final, including an upset victory over Canada earlier in the Games. But Sidney Crosby's clinching goal for Canada in overtime is forcing them to pay up and shut up.

Americans working for Canadian firms in the United States were reminded of the outcome on Monday.

"If we had to lose to someone, I'm glad we did it to the Canadians. ... It was almost like losing a game to a brother," said Andy Busch, chief forex strategist for Canada's BMO Capital Markets in Chicago.

"Obviously we had some Canadians at the desks here this morning displaying a certain pride, with 'friendly' reminders of their superiority in the game. But overall, everybody's being a good sport about it. It was all great fun."

Even Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and U.S. President Barack Obama got into the spirit.

The only problem was that they messed up the terms of their bet, with both offices issuing media statements that the winner had to buy the beer rather than the loser.

In the end, both agreed that the loser would buy, so Obama owes Harper a case of Molson Canadian. Had the Americans won, Harper would have had to buy Obama a case of Pennsylvanian-made Yuengling beer.

Canadians will also be watching U.S. news channels closely as White House press secretary Robert Gibbs must a wear Team Canada jersey during his daily on-camera briefing after losing a bet with his Canadian counterpart.

But proving that Canadians are gracious in victory, David MacDougall, a director at Toronto-based investment firm MacDougall, MacDougall and MacTier in Toronto, will send a three-litre bottle of Molson Canadian to his sister in Montana for her birthday as a quiet reminder of who claimed hockey supremacy.

Pressurized bottles of the same brew were cracked open by Canadian gold medal winners at the Games.

"It's a great rivalry, but I have to be careful not to gloat because that always comes back to haunt you," said MacDougall. "How do you do it with some kind of style?"

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