Pakistan register worst-ever WC performance, finish last

Published>Thu, Mar 11 10 07:47 PM

Pakistan registered their worst-ever performance in the hockey World Cup as a resilient Canada pushed the Asian team to last place in the mega event with a golden goal victory here.

Scott Tupper converted a penalty corner in the 83rd minute to hand the Pan American side a 3-2 win in the extra time and an 11th place finish in the 12-team tournament. This is the first time that Pakistan have finished in the last position in a World Cup. Their worst-ever performance before today was the 11th spot finish in the 1986 edition of the tournament in London.

Canada, meanwhile, finished 11th for the third time after 1978 and 1990. Connor Grimes (12th minute), Mark Pearson (58th) and Tupper (83rd) contributed in Canada's cause with a goal each while Rehan Butt (4th) and Akhtar Ali (46th) sounded the board for Pakistan.

The 11-12th classification match between Pakistan and Canada was fought keenly with both the sides finishing the regulation 70 minutes locked at 2-2.

There was hardly any difference between the two sides and even the additional time of 15 minutes (7.30 min in each half) failed to decide the winner, which dragged the encounter into tie-break.

Pakistan scored the first goal of the match as early as in the fourth minute of the game when Butt deflected home a powerful reverse stick shot by Shakeel Abbasi. Shocked by the early goal, the Canadians went hard for the equaliser and got two scoring chances within seven minutes.

But on first occasion Sukhwinder Gabbar Singh's powerful shot clashed against the left post of Pakistan goal and Connor Grimes' reverse stick shot from narrow angle was easily kept away by custodian Salman Akbar.

However, Canada's persistent pressure resulted in the equaliser in the 12th minute when Grimes deflected the ball into the bottom right corner of Pakistan goal after receiving a hard cross from Rob Short.

After levelling the scoreline, Canada continued to attack the Pakistan goal and earned two penalty corners in the last 11 minutes of the match but failed to convert any to go into the breather 1-1.

After the change of ends, Pakistan came all out all guns blazing and managed to secure back-to-back short corners but Sohail Abbas disappointed on both the occasion. Scott Tupper got a golden opportunity to put Canada ahead but a brilliant Akbar denied him in the Pakistan goal. Canada goalkeeper Dave Carter then made two great saves, first clearing an Abbas dragflick from Pakistan's third penalty corner and then padded away Waseem Ahmed's powerful shot from top of the circle.

Akhtar Ali, however, gave Pakistan the lead in the 46th minute when he beautifully volleyed the ball into Canada goal from a Muhammad Zubair's deflected cross from the right. Pakistan's joy was shortlived as Mark Pearson scored the equaliser for Canada 12 minutes from the hooter after video umpire was brought into action.

From there on, the ball traversed up and down the field as both teams went for the winner but failed to bring extra time into action in the first classification match of the tournament.

The opening half of the extra time was dull affair as both the teams preferring to play safe.

Source: Web Search

Pakistan register worst-ever WC performance, finish last

Published>Thu, Mar 11 10 07:47 PM

Pakistan registered their worst-ever performance in the hockey World Cup as a resilient Canada pushed the Asian team to last place in the mega event with a golden goal victory here.

Scott Tupper converted a penalty corner in the 83rd minute to hand the Pan American side a 3-2 win in the extra time and an 11th place finish in the 12-team tournament. This is the first time that Pakistan have finished in the last position in a World Cup. Their worst-ever performance before today was the 11th spot finish in the 1986 edition of the tournament in London.

Canada, meanwhile, finished 11th for the third time after 1978 and 1990. Connor Grimes (12th minute), Mark Pearson (58th) and Tupper (83rd) contributed in Canada's cause with a goal each while Rehan Butt (4th) and Akhtar Ali (46th) sounded the board for Pakistan.

The 11-12th classification match between Pakistan and Canada was fought keenly with both the sides finishing the regulation 70 minutes locked at 2-2.

There was hardly any difference between the two sides and even the additional time of 15 minutes (7.30 min in each half) failed to decide the winner, which dragged the encounter into tie-break.

Pakistan scored the first goal of the match as early as in the fourth minute of the game when Butt deflected home a powerful reverse stick shot by Shakeel Abbasi. Shocked by the early goal, the Canadians went hard for the equaliser and got two scoring chances within seven minutes.

But on first occasion Sukhwinder Gabbar Singh's powerful shot clashed against the left post of Pakistan goal and Connor Grimes' reverse stick shot from narrow angle was easily kept away by custodian Salman Akbar.

However, Canada's persistent pressure resulted in the equaliser in the 12th minute when Grimes deflected the ball into the bottom right corner of Pakistan goal after receiving a hard cross from Rob Short.

After levelling the scoreline, Canada continued to attack the Pakistan goal and earned two penalty corners in the last 11 minutes of the match but failed to convert any to go into the breather 1-1.

After the change of ends, Pakistan came all out all guns blazing and managed to secure back-to-back short corners but Sohail Abbas disappointed on both the occasion. Scott Tupper got a golden opportunity to put Canada ahead but a brilliant Akbar denied him in the Pakistan goal. Canada goalkeeper Dave Carter then made two great saves, first clearing an Abbas dragflick from Pakistan's third penalty corner and then padded away Waseem Ahmed's powerful shot from top of the circle.

Akhtar Ali, however, gave Pakistan the lead in the 46th minute when he beautifully volleyed the ball into Canada goal from a Muhammad Zubair's deflected cross from the right. Pakistan's joy was shortlived as Mark Pearson scored the equaliser for Canada 12 minutes from the hooter after video umpire was brought into action.

From there on, the ball traversed up and down the field as both teams went for the winner but failed to bring extra time into action in the first classification match of the tournament.

The opening half of the extra time was dull affair as both the teams preferring to play safe.

Source: Web Search

Ghoshal-Dipika win mixed doubles title

Published Thu, Mar 11 10 07:27 PM

Chennai, Mar 11 (PTI) Saurav Ghosal and Dipika Palikal did India proud by winning the Mixed Doubles title in the Chennai Open Squash tournament here today. In a match that witnessed a replete of ''let calls'', the Indian duo maintained their focus to the optimum and scored a deserving 11-8 11-4 win over highly rated top seeds Egyptian Mohd Ali Anwar Reda and Australian Rachael Grinham in half-an-hour. The match was closely fought and the Indian duo raised their bar to greater levels mainly in the closing stages of both games. The rivals were matching each other in the initial stages and duo of Ghoshal and Dipika combined well and held their nerve in the closing to clinch the issue at home. After winning the first game in a hard way, Ghoshal and Dipika were classy in their approach and execution of shots and dead drops for winners in the second game, which they won without much resistance from the opponents. Earlier in the day, Ghoshal and Harinder Pal Sandhu finished in third position in a strong field of higher rated PSA ranked players in the men''s doubles. Joshna Chinappa and Palikal showed immense grit and determination to claim the bronze medal in women''s doubles when they came from behind to beat the best of Jaclyn Hawakes (NZ) and Samantha Teran (Mexico) 11-7 6-11, 11-6 in 38 minutes. .

Source: Web Search

Ghoshal-Dipika win mixed doubles title

Published Thu, Mar 11 10 07:27 PM

Chennai, Mar 11 (PTI) Saurav Ghosal and Dipika Palikal did India proud by winning the Mixed Doubles title in the Chennai Open Squash tournament here today. In a match that witnessed a replete of ''let calls'', the Indian duo maintained their focus to the optimum and scored a deserving 11-8 11-4 win over highly rated top seeds Egyptian Mohd Ali Anwar Reda and Australian Rachael Grinham in half-an-hour. The match was closely fought and the Indian duo raised their bar to greater levels mainly in the closing stages of both games. The rivals were matching each other in the initial stages and duo of Ghoshal and Dipika combined well and held their nerve in the closing to clinch the issue at home. After winning the first game in a hard way, Ghoshal and Dipika were classy in their approach and execution of shots and dead drops for winners in the second game, which they won without much resistance from the opponents. Earlier in the day, Ghoshal and Harinder Pal Sandhu finished in third position in a strong field of higher rated PSA ranked players in the men''s doubles. Joshna Chinappa and Palikal showed immense grit and determination to claim the bronze medal in women''s doubles when they came from behind to beat the best of Jaclyn Hawakes (NZ) and Samantha Teran (Mexico) 11-7 6-11, 11-6 in 38 minutes. .

Source: Web Search

Manipur beats Uttarkhand 20-0

Published Thu, Mar 11 10 07:13 PM

Imphal, Mar 11 (PTI) Hosts Manipur beat Uttarkhand 20-0 in the 18th Senior Women''s National Football Championship 2010 played at the Mapal Kangjeibung ground here today. L Naobi Chanu (5), Th Tababi (5), N Geetarani Chanu (3) Sh Rani Devi (1), L Asharani Devi (2), J Premeshwari Devi (2), Y Kamala Devi (1) and Ibeyaima Devi (1) sounded the scoreboard for Manipur. In another match, West Bengal defeated Maharashtra 4-0 at the Khuman Lampak main stadium. The scorers for West Bengal were Kalpana Roy (2), Puja Karmaker (1) and Nausaba Alam (1). In another encounter, Orissa beat Karnataka 6-1. The scorers were Supriya Routrey (1), Sasmita Mallick (3), Stradhanjali Smatroy (1), Pinki Bompal Magar (1) while the reducer for Karnataka was scored by Amoolya. Tamil Nadu defeated Meghalaya 11-0. S Vasanthi (4), S Jeyalksmi (4) and R Kalpana (3) scored for the team.

Source: Web Search

Manipur beats Uttarkhand 20-0

Published Thu, Mar 11 10 07:13 PM

Imphal, Mar 11 (PTI) Hosts Manipur beat Uttarkhand 20-0 in the 18th Senior Women''s National Football Championship 2010 played at the Mapal Kangjeibung ground here today. L Naobi Chanu (5), Th Tababi (5), N Geetarani Chanu (3) Sh Rani Devi (1), L Asharani Devi (2), J Premeshwari Devi (2), Y Kamala Devi (1) and Ibeyaima Devi (1) sounded the scoreboard for Manipur. In another match, West Bengal defeated Maharashtra 4-0 at the Khuman Lampak main stadium. The scorers for West Bengal were Kalpana Roy (2), Puja Karmaker (1) and Nausaba Alam (1). In another encounter, Orissa beat Karnataka 6-1. The scorers were Supriya Routrey (1), Sasmita Mallick (3), Stradhanjali Smatroy (1), Pinki Bompal Magar (1) while the reducer for Karnataka was scored by Amoolya. Tamil Nadu defeated Meghalaya 11-0. S Vasanthi (4), S Jeyalksmi (4) and R Kalpana (3) scored for the team.

Source: Web Search

Lyon dump Real Madrid out of Champions League

Published>Thu, Mar 11 10 04:27 AM

Big-spending Real Madrid failed to qualify for the Champions League quarter-finals for the sixth straight season when Olympique Lyon dumped the Spaniards out 2-1 on aggregate on Wednesday.

Real's dream of winning a 10th European title at their Bernabeu stadium in May was shattered by Miralem Pjanic's 75th-minute strike, which secured a 1-1 draw for visiting Lyon in the last 16 second leg after Cristiano Ronaldo's goal in the sixth minute.

"You can say it's a great achievement. We escaped the worst possible scenario in first half... Hats off to the players who gave all they had tonight. We played a superb second half and I think we deserved it," Lyon coach Claude Puel told TFI channel.

Real president Florentino Perez spent close to a quarter of a billion euros ($340 million) in the summer in a bid to end the club's Champions League drought and their latest failure raises fresh questions about the future of coach Manuel Pellegrini.

Real went top of La Liga ahead of champions Barcelona on goal difference at the weekend but the domestic league is now their only chance of silverware this season.

Real midfielder and captain Guti said the club's exit from the competition was even more painful this year given that the final was in their own stadium and criticised some of his team mates for selfish play.

"We have to be more of a team and not play so much as individuals," he told Spanish television.

"We didn't come out and perform as we should have done," he added. "It's a shame and now we have to think about the league which is all we have left. All these years have been painful and this one too, much more."

A fired-up Real started the match strongly, winning the ball immediately from the Lyon kickoff, and goalkeeper Hugo Lloris has to sprint off his line to deny Kaka.

The rampant home side were ahead soon after.

Guti lofted the ball to Ronaldo, set to lead Portugal's attack at this summer's World Cup, and the competition's top scorer this season took his tally to seven with a low finish that flew between Lloris's legs.

Gonzalo Higuain came desperately close to a second in the 26th when he rounded Lloris and had the empty goal in his sights but his angled shot bounced away off the inside of the post.

Two minutes later the Argentina striker picked up a loose ball in the area and fired a shot toward the bottom corner but Lloris palmed the ball away with a superb fingertip save.

Real were far less dominant after the break and Lyon began to create chances of their own.

Substitute Maxime Gonalons headed narrowly over, Sidney Govou miscued an effort into the crowd from a good position and striker Lisandro Lopez stung the hands of goalkeeper Iker Casillas from distance.

Pjanic stunned the home fans when he picked up a loose ball in the Real area with 15 minutes left and hammered in a volley.

As Real poured forward and gaps opened up in their defence, Lopez and Cesar Delgado were both clean through on goal but failed to finish.

Tempers frayed at the end, substitute Raul and Lyon captain Cris clashing, and the final whistle was greeted with a mixture of stunned silence and subdued whistling from the Real fans and wild euphoria from the Lyon faithful high up in the stands.

Source: Web Search