Sunday's Indo-Pak hockey tie a sellout

Published>Sat, Oct 09 10 07:47 PM

New Delhi, Oct 9 (IANS) India take on traditional rivals Pakistan in a men's hockey match of the Commonwealth Games here Sunday and a sellout crowd is expected at the 12,000-seat Major Dhyan Chand Stadium.

There is palpable sense of excitement and expectation ahead of another clash between the sub-continental neighbours who always send the heartbeat galloping with their vintage brand of hockey marked by individual skills.

For the fans, it is a treat never to be missed going by the unprecedented demand for tickets and, of course, 'passes'. With a capacity crowd expected, the security has been considerably beefed up.

Historically, the context or the occasion was never a consideration or a factor when the two met on a sports field, nor the track record in terms of number of wins and losses.

For each meeting, the slate was wiped clean for a fresh chapter in the sub-continental sporting ethos and it will be no different on Sunday.

The last time the two teams met at this venue was in March this year during the World Cup when India won 4-1 and the home fans are hoping for a similar result.

Pakistan team coach Michel van den Heuvel wouldn't risk a comment but merely said it would be an 'interesting' match while making an obvious admission that the crowd would be fully behind India.

Likewise, Jose Brasa, the Indian coach, said he would not look beyond the late Saturday game against Scotland that the hosts need to win to remain in contention for a semi-final spot.

Either way, everything points to a close encounter that would put to test the character of both teams who would be under pressure of high expectations from both sides of the border.

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Athletes, officials heap praise on Kadarpur shooting range

Sat, Oct 09 10 07:37 PM

Gurgaon, Oct 9 (PTI) The Commonwealth Games participants and foreign officials were all praise for the state-of-the-art Kadarpur Range, which is hosting the full bore shooting events of the multi-discipline sporting extravaganza. "The facilities here are wonderful and a range like this doesn''t exist (anywhere else). It has left most ranges in the world behind, it is really fantastic," Tony Waymouth, manager of the New Zealand full bore shooting team, said. Forty two shooters from 21 countries are taking part in the full bore shooting competitions. "This range is fantastic and a world leader to other countries," New Zealander Graeme Hudson, President of Commonwealth Shooting Federation, said. David Daniel of England went a step further and said the facility is the best full bore range in the world while Wales Manager Martin Watkins termed it as "excellent." India is participating for the first time in full bore shooting competitions in the Commonwealth Games. The Sports Manager of Kadarpur Shooting Range, T S Dhillon IG (retd) said, "It (Kadarpur) is the first range of its kind in the world where electronic targets are being used and the shooter is not required to move -- instead, the targets move." Dhillon also said it has computerised auto-scoring facility which "brings complete transparency to the game." PTI CORR ARP

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Gagan Narang: A world champ in the making

Published>Sat, Oct 09 10 07:28 PM

New Delhi, Oct 9 (IANS) Gagan Narang had taken to shooting as a pastime, not in pursuit of excellence. Now, after winning four golds at the Commonwealth Games and with at least two more expected, he is well on his way to be the world's best.

With four gold medals, all with Games records, and two events to go, the genial 27-year-old Hyderabadi, who is an MBA graduate, is the new shooting sensation.

The handsome Air-India executive's successful journey to a world of fame can largely be attributed to his strong mental make-up which helps him keep his cool and high levels of concentration whenever the going gets tough, say those who know him well.

The eligible bachelor from Begumpet in Hyderabad is not a revelation here at the Games - although he hit the headlines here - he had been around for quite some years.

He has been there and there about at the top, his guns blazing and he was as well known in shooting circles as Abhinav Bindra, the country's lone individual Olympic gold medallist. A gold at the World Cup finals (2008), two World Cup golds (2009, 2006), three World Cup bronze (2008, 09, 10), and bronze in the World Championship (2010), are a testimony to his immense talent and determination to excel.

In fact, more than the medals and the records, it was Narang's victory over Bindra in the 10m air rifle event, where he equalled his own world record, that stands out. Unfortunately, his record will not be ratified as Commonwealth Games are not part of the elite sporting events whose records are recognised.

Call it destiny or what you will, the MBA graduate failed to come good where it mattered. He missed the qualification mark by a whisker at the Beijing Olympics, where he was favourite. Bindra made the final and the rest is history.

Narang had another heartbreak when he was not chosen for the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna for the third successive year and the distraught shooter nearly pulled out of the Commonwealth Games in disgust. But the fighter in Narang persuaded him to let his guns talk and how well they roared at the ranges.

'I don't talk about my inner feelings and my satisfaction. I have, and will always let my gun do the talking,' he said.

And in the Games, Narang is a strong contender for finishing as the best athlete and win the coveted David Dixon award.

Narang, who is currently ranked World No. 3, is expected to win gold in both the remaining categories. And once he wins the award, it would be the second straight time that an Indian shooter will bag it.

In Melbourne four years ago, pistol shooter Samresh Jung won the award, introduced in 2002, by winning five gold to earn the nick name Goldfinger.

Right from the day one of the shooting competition at the Karni Singh Shooting Range, Narang looked determined to come out of the shadow of Olympic champion Abhinav Bindra.

Though he is yet to win a World Championship gold or an Olympic medal, Bindra firmly feels that Narang has it in him to get them all.

'He is outstanding, one of the best in the world. I am sure he will win many more international tournaments, the World Championship and an Olympic gold medal,' said Bindra.

Gagan, a double world record holder, remains modest and says that he still has a lot to learn from Bindra.

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India restrict Australia to 285/5 in Bangalore Test

Published>Sat, Oct 09 10 07:17 PM

Bangalore, Oct 9 (IANS) India did well to restrict a defiant Australia to 285 for five wickets at the end of day one in the second and final cricket Test at the M. Chinnaswamy Cricket Stadium here Saturday.

When stumps were drawn prior to the schedule time due to bad light and cloudy sky by the two umpires, Australian middle order batsman Marcus North (34) and wicket-keeper Tim Paine (8) were at the crease, having put up a 29-run partnership.

Though Indian bowlers could not breach the defence of openers Shane Watson (57) and Simon Katich (34) in the first session when the pair scored a breezy 95 in 27 overs, spinners Harbhajan Singh and Pragyan Ojha succeed in the post-lunch session to snap them and Michael Clarke (14) with 132 runs on the board.

Australian skipper Ricky Ponting (77) and southpaw Mike Hussey (34), however, steadied the first innings till tea session with a fourth-wicket partnership of 58 runs to post 189 runs for the loss of three wickets.

Speedster Zaheer Khan then had Hussey caught by Virender Sehwag in the first over of the post-tea session with the score at 198.

With the help of North, Ponting tried to accelerate the score before he was caught plumb by Suresh Raina's spin, hitting 12 fours after putting up a 66-run partnership for the fifth wicket.

Paine, who joined North at the fall of Ponting, played safe till the end of the day.

The visitors scored 95 runs in 27 overs in the first session, 94 in 30 overs during the post-lunch session and 96 in 28.5 overs in the final session.

Earlier, Australia won the toss and elected to bat under an overcast sky and in windy conditions.

Zaheer started the bowling attack with the new ball, followed by Kerala speedstar S.Sreesanth, who came in place of injured pacer Ishant Sharma.

Gujarat youngster Cheteshwar Pujara made his Test debut when he was included in the 11-member India team. He reaplced Mohali hero V.V.S. Laxman, who missed the second Test with a back spasm.

In the Australian line-up, Peter George took the place of seamer Doug Bollinger.

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Hauritz hits back at critics, vows to deliver

Published>Sat, Oct 09 10 12:41 PM

Sydney, Oct 9 (ANI): Spinner Nathan Hauritz, who struggled in the first Test at Mohali and was overlooked by skipper Ricky Ponting, has vowed to hit back at his critics.

Ponting had said that he sidelined Hauritz during the nail biting final stages of the Mohali Test against India, and gave chances to part timers Marcus North and Shane Watson instead, in a bid to do something different in his quest for victory.

"I just want them to know that I'm the spinner, I'm the guy that's here to win the Ashes, the guy to win the next Test against India," Nathan told his critics.

"Ever since I've played my first Test I don't think anybody has wanted me in the side - fans and that," The Sydney Morning Herald quoted Hauritz, as saying.

"I could take 10 wickets in a match, and there'll still be someone saying they don't want me to be a part of it. They want someone else, whether it's [Jason] Krezja, Bryce McGain, now it's Steve Smith.

"There's always another spinner that can take my spot. I think you have to evolve with it, just accept it's a part of your life. There's always someone out there that thinks there's someone better. I've got great backing from teammates, the captain, selectors," he said.

"I'm the spinner, I'm here to do a job, and here to do a job in the Ashes. I've had a bad few overs, it didn't go well, but I'm going to front up again on Saturday," Hauritz added.

Hauritz hopes that skipper Ponting will show confidence and allow him to bowl in Bangalore.

"That last session I desperately wanted the ball, but my bowling in the morning, a couple of overs there probably didn't give me the right to get the ball. We had a Test match to win, and Ponting goes to what he thinks. We were just all trying to swing the momentum back in our favour," Hauritz said.

"I have no doubts that I'm the person to do the job. Just for that period of the game, rhythm wasn't good, I couldn't land the ball where I wanted to, and it cost me a chance to bowl in the afternoon," he added. (ANI)

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Ponting wants Hauritz to bowl like Harbhajan

Published>Sat, Oct 09 10 12:37 PM

Sydney, Oct 9 (ANI): Australia's skipper Ricky Ponting wants his ace off spinner Nathan Hauritz to bowl more like Indian rival Harbhajan Singh.

Ponting had sidelined Hauritz during the nail biting final stages of the Mohali Test against India, and gave chances to part timers Marcus North and Shane Watson instead, in a bid to do something different in his quest for victory.

Hauritz revealed that he was directed to bowl with angles mirroring Harbhajan in the first Test in Mohali, and that because it didn't work, he wanted to revert to his traditional style today in Bangalore.

Ponting said he had asked Hauritz to change because his traditional plans weren't working.

"I'm the one who asked him to try some different things, and they're things I asked him to work on about 18 months ago," The Sydney Morning Herald quoted him, as saying.

"When he first came back into the side in South Africa, I worked with him long and hard, trying to get him to create different angles for a batter, and that's talking through a batsman's eyes and what I've always found hard about facing off-spinners," he said.

"If you look at angles Nathan creates and the shape of the ball compared to what Harbhajan does, it's chalk and cheese. What I was trying to get him to do by bowling wider at the crease was to get the ball into the rough areas a bit more," Ponting said.

"From where he was bowling from, it was almost impossible for him to land the ball in the footmarks. I think it's important we keep trying to work with him on those things. You have to have more than one string in your bow now in international cricket, particularly if you're an off-spinner," he added.

Hauritz is not entirely convinced with his skipper. "Cricket is supposed to be a very simple game and I tried to make it more complicated," he said. (ANI)

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PCB lifts ban on Rana

Sat, Oct 09 10 12:35 PM

Lahore, Oct 9 (PTI) Pakistan Cricket Board today lifted a one-year ban imposed on all-rounder Rana Naved ul Hasan, paving the way for his return to the national team. The cricket board also reduced the fine to rupees 10 lakh from 20 lakh. Hasan was one of the seven Pakistani cricketers, who were banned by the PCB after their disastrous Australian tour early this year. Except for Hasan, PCB had lifted bans imposed on all other players. Hasan had appealed against the ban appeared before an appellate tribunal, to hear his appeal. "I take everything positively and I consider myself very lucky. I will make every effort to return to the Pakistani side," Hasan said. He met with the PCB chairman Ijaz Butt last month in which he apologised for his conduct and behaviour on the Australian tour that eventually led to his ban and fine of two million Pakistani rupees. The all-rounder, who has not played cricket in the last six months sue to ban, said he played in domestic cricket to get back to the national side. "There is a crisis in the Pakistani team and I will make every effort when the selectors choose players again. I hope they will select me. The board accepted my plea. and I hope to play in a domestic T20 tournament coming up," he said.

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