India wasted talented Aaron in England, says Akram

New Delhi, Sep 15   Former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram feels that India wasted young express fast bowler Varun Aaron by not playing him in the One-Day Internationals against England. "It is foolish to fly in a deserving youngster and then ask him to carry drinks to the field or bowl at the nets. India have done just that with Varun Aaron. The young bowler has been wasted in England," Akram wrote in his column in Mobile ESPN.
"I had congratulated the Indian selectors when they picked Aaron as Ishant Sharma's replacement. The young boy was the right choice as he had done well on the Emerging Players' tour in Australia and deserved to be part of the Indian dressing room on a difficult tour of England. But the Indian team management made a mess by not blooding Aaron in conditions that were tailor-made for the quickie," said Akram.
The legendary fast bowler said had he been the captain he would have rather blooded Aaron in England because the seaming conditions are ideal for him.
"It will be silly to give Aaron a start on Indian wickets. On placid tracks where he will get little support, two bad matches in the start of his career can destroy him. In my book, Aaron has a future and India can ill afford to ruin him because the current pace attack is not in good shape and the future doesn't look bright. I was expecting to see Aaron play the ODIs. This raises questions about the communication between the selectors and the team management," he said.
Akram also said that Ajinkya Rahane and Parthiv Patel have done well for themselves.
"I would like to see them playing for India in home conditions. Having done quite well on difficult English wickets, both deserve an opportunity when England tour India after the Champions League T20. Rahane and Patel should not be used as plug-in players. Ironically, players who have done well for India in the England series are turning out to be the substitutes! Ravindra Jadeja is another case in point," he said.

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Kolkata football coaches lament lack of infrastructure

Kolkata, Sep 15    The coaches of city based I-League teams Thursday criticised the newly laid artificial grass at the Salt Lake Stadium and regretted that lack of football infrastructure in the country was retarding the growth of the game.
"I am really surprised. How can anyone lay such grass at an important stadium like that? Because of unfamiliarity with the pitch, the players are vulnerable to injuries. It is very unfortunate that there is no other ground in the city where high level matches can be played," said Nasir Ahemed, one of the coaches of the Mohammedan Sporting club.
East Bengal manager Sapan Bal also rued the lack of infrastructure and said the players often had to skip practice because of non-availability of grounds.
"Leave aside the clubs, even the All India Football Federation (AIFF) does not have a ground of its own, though they continue to control the games. But there is nothing to be done. Like bad roads and power failure, we are now accustomed to such things," said Bal.
Prayag United's coach Sanjay Sen said the turf at the Salt Lake Stadium was a cause of concern for him and the players.
"When it was being laid, we thought it would be good for the game. But it seems it has done more harm than good. Players often complain about injuries. But we have nothing to do. As a coach, it's my duty to take the team out and play - no matter what."
The coaches who addressed the media before the start of the main round of the Federation Cup Saturday conceded that the scheduling of the matches was physically taxing for the players.
The champion club of the Federation Cup gets a chance to compete in the continental level in Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Cup.

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England eye clean sweep against India in one-dayer

We're going to have to play at the top of our game to try to win, and finish the summer on a high as a one-day team: Alastair Cook.
England captain Alastair Cook is hoping to complete a miserable tour for India on Friday by wrapping up a 3-0 one-day series victory over the tourists.
India are yet to taste victory over England this summer, having been whitewashed 4-0 in the Test series and trailing 2-0 ahead of Friday’s final one-dayer in Cardiff.
However India came agonisingly close to pipping England at Lord’s last weekend, and Cook remains wary of the threat posed by the wounded tourists heading into the match.
“The last two games have been very close, and have shown what a talented side India are,” Cook said.
“We’re going to have to play at the top of our game to try to win, and finish the summer on a high as a one-day team.”
Cook however is satisfied with England’s form in his first season in charge as skipper of the limited overs side, which also included a 3-2 series win over Sri Lanka.
“It’s been a good start, and I’m very happy with the way the lads have taken to me as captain and bought into the ideas,” Cook said.
“I’m very happy with winning both series. We know how tough it’s going to be in the next two months or so (in a return series in India), but this side has always responded well to challenges.”
Cook also believes England’s one-day squad can improve.
“We are a very young side trying to make progress,” he said. “The exciting thing is I don’t think we’ve played as well as we can.
“We have been put under pressure in this series, but have still won the games. That is very encouraging.
Meanwhile Cook paid tribute to India batsman Rahul Dravid, who will be playing his 344th and final one-day game.
“He’s scored 10,000 runs in both forms of the game. He’s managed to adapt his game to every surface,” Cook said. “He is an all-time great.”

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We just saw the ugly side of cricket: Dhoni

“We just saw the ugly side of cricket. Whichever team has the upper hand, doesn't want to play. Whichever team is not on winning side, will stick around and even play football. That's what people do and that's what both sides did.”
LONDON: Embattled Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni has termed England’s fourth ODI and subsequent series win as the “ugly side of cricket” where the side with the “upperhand didn’t want to play.”
Sunday’s tie, courtesy of the D/L method, gave England the five-match series after the first game was washed out and the hosts won the next two.
India had set England a formidable target of 281 before rain interruptions forced a tie with the hosts at the Duckworth-Lewis par score of 270 for eight.
“We just saw the ugly side of cricket. Whichever team has the upper hand, doesn’t want to play. Whichever team is not on winning side, will stick around and even play football. That’s what people do and that’s what both sides did,” Dhoni said after the match.
“If you have a day game, you need different guidelines and principles to follow. If you put it under lights, it doesn’t look nice,” he said.
Dhoni said some of the Indian players were confused about the result.
“Some of the guys were confused. Some thought we had won it. Most of us thought it was a passing shower and we would be able to get back on the field,” said Dhoni.
“Once inside the dressing room, we saw the final sheet of paper. After looking at it, it was apparent it was a tie and none of the side had won the game,” he added.
Expressing his frustration with the interruptions, which robbed his side of a win in the series, Dhoni said, “This is not the first time. We were close to winning the first game also. But as I said, you can’t control the weather.”

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BCCI not bothered by Lorgat’s comments

Lorgat said that many people who had turned up to see the World champions were left disappointed.

NEW DELHI: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has refused to clarify its position after the ICC blamed the board for the Indian team’s absence from the ICC Awards.
“Lorgat can say whatever he wants to. We don’t want to comment on it,” CAO of the BCCI, Ratnakar Shetty told Times of India.
BCCI secretary and president-elect N Srinivasan too took the no comments route. “The board has nothing to say on this,” he stressed.
According to the Indian team manager, Shivlal Yadav, he had been informed too late about the event and by then the players already had other plans.
“By then, the players had already left. Some had gone shopping while some others sight-seeing as this was their final day in London,” he said.
However, ICC chief Haroon Lorgat dismissed this claim and said that the Indian team had been invited months before.
“It was quite disappointing that the Indian team did not attend. I know for a fact that my team had invited it a few months earlier. We probably have confirmation of their attendance. In fact, the date was scheduled around their availability in London,” Lorgat said.
“We sent the invitations through the BCCI. Perhaps the question should be asked to the BCCI,” he added.
Lorgat said that many people who had turned up to see the World champions were left disappointed and the Indian team’s behaviour was quite unexpected.
“It’s a great shame. It’s very disappointing that not long ago they were the No. 1 Test team in the World. They won the World Cup in such style. And many fans and people had come specifically to seem them.
“The Spirit of Cricket Award went to MS Dhoni for the wonderful leadership he showed by recalling Ian Bell. It was a deserving award and quite a shame that he was not there to accept it,” Lorgat added.

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New Zealand to host Champions Trophy

NEW DELHI: New Zealand on Tuesday was named host of the men's Champions Trophy, a week after the field hockey tournament was moved out of India due to a tussle over who runs the sport in the country.

New Zealand, ranked seventh in the world, will now replace ninth-ranked India in the December 3 to 11 event to be held in Auckland, the International Hockey Federation (FIH) said in a statement.

"It is always tough to move an event out of any country, but I have to say that the silver lining is the bid from New Zealand," said FIH president Leandro Negre.

"New Zealand will put on a first-rate Champions Trophy and has been extremely flexible and professional given the tough circumstances and tight timeline."

India will also lose its place in the eight-nation competition -- the second biggest in hockey after the World Cup.

India have, however, been invited to participate as a top-seeded team in the Champions Challenge tournament -- contested by teams not playing in the Champions Trophy -- to be held in South Africa in November, the FIH said.

Hockey New Zealand chief executive Hilary Poole said they were confident of successfully staging the Champions Trophy.

"We have been overwhelmed how quickly our key partners have come together to offer support to ensure this is a truly fantastic event," the FIH statement quoted Poole as saying.

In July, the FIH voiced concerns over a settlement between two rival bodies, Hockey India (HI) and the Indian Hockey Federation (IHF), which agreed to form a joint executive board to run the game.

The FIH said last week there could be only one governing body for the sport in any country.

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Cornered Maken announces Rs.1.5 lakh for each Indian hockey team player

 New Delhi, Sep 14 : With controversy surrounding the prize money given to the Indian hockey team for winning the Asian Champions Trophy gained momentum, a cornered Sports Minister Ajay Maken on Wednesday clarified that players of the winning side will automatically get a cash reward of Rs. 1.5 lakh each.
"Today, I have called all of you to clarify a small thing that I think has unnecessarily snowballed into a big controversy. There is a government scheme of the Sports Ministry, which provides for cash awards to various medal winners in international events. And this is a scheme, which is there in existence even before I took over as Sports Minister. And, a number of times in Parliament, I have made a mention of this scheme," Maken told media persons here.
Maken said the government has distributed 48.14 crore rupees in cash awards to different players who have won gold, silver or bronze in international events through this scheme
"And in the past three years, through this scheme, we have distributed 48.14 crore rupees cash awards to different players who have won gold, silver or bronze in international events. And this 48.14 crore rupees does not include cricket," he added.
Maken said that there are four different categories under this scheme on the basis of which the cash awards are given to different players
"In this scheme, we have four different categories on the basis of which the cash awards are given to different players. The first is Asian and Commonwealth Games, then the Olympic Games, World Championship and the fourth one is Asian and Commonwealth Championship. Our hockey team, which has made all of us proud after winning the Asian Championship, falls under the fourth category," said Maken.
Maken said the Indian hockey team has already won Rs. 1.5 lakh each under this scheme.
"And for all these categories, we have different sets of awards. Like for the Olympic Games, an individual winning a gold medal gets Rs. 50 lakh, and a team winning a gold medal gets Rs. 25 lakh for each player. Similarly for Asian and Commonwealth Games, an individual winning a gold medal gets Rs. 20 lakh, and anyone in the team gets Rs. 10 lakh. Similarly for the World Championship, the individual gold medallist gets Rs. 10 lakh and team individuals get Rs. 5 lakh when the team wins," said Maken.
"Similarly in this case, we already have in place a scheme by way of which in Asian and Commonwealth Championship, which our present hockey team has most recently won. We already have a scheme for which an individual winning a gold medal gets Rs. 3 lakh and a team if it wins any individual of the team gets Rs. 1.5 lakh each. So, through this scheme automatically, our team, which has won the Asian Championship, got Rs. 1.5 lakh each per player," he added.
The Government of Punjab had earlier in the day announced a cash award of Rs. 25 lakh for members of the victorious Indian hockey team.
The Indian hockey team had earlier rejected Hockey India''s cash reward, saying the paltry amount of Rs. 25,000 each was not proper recognition of their achievement.
The players were offered the reward during a felicitation ceremony at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium last evening, but they outrightly rejected it. The team felt insulted on being offered the meagre cash reward.
India defeated Pakistan 4-2 in the Asian Champions Trophy finals on Sunday in Ordos, China.

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Indian players reject Hockey India cash award

New Delhi, Sep 14 : Indian players have rejected the Rs. 25,000 cash award given to them by Hockey India (HI) for winning the inaugural edition of the Asian Champions Trophy in Ordos, China, saying it was inadequate.
Indian captain Rajpal Singh said that it was disappointing and such awards won't attact youngsters to take up the national sport. After rejecting the cash reward, Rajpal Singh had told a TV news channel that his team was disappointed by the hollow claims of Sports Minister Ajay Maken to revive the sport in the country.
"The federation has failed to meet our expectations. This is not the way to treat the national players. The money should be better not just for the motivation of the current crop of players but for the future generations who'd like to take up the national sport," Rajpal said.
A top HI official told IANS on condition of anonymity that the cash-strapped federation did its best to award the players.
"We have no funds. We agree Rs. 25,000 is too small. But what can we do, we have no funds. We don't have enough sponsors," the official said.
Another senior player, Gurbaz Singh, said that players have outrightly rejected the cash award as it was a pittance.
"We were offered Rs 25,000 each by HI secretary general Narinder Batra as reward for winning the Asian Champions Trophy but we all refused to take it because it a very small reward considering our achievement," he said.
Gurbaz said such awards will not encourage the players.
"We did not expect such a small amount as reward, considering the fact that hockey is our national game. If such things continue, there will be a day when there will be very few youngsters interested in playing hockey. They would rather opt for cricket or any other individual sport," he said.
India won the Asian Champions Trophy by defeating arch-rivals Pakistan 4-2 via shoot out in the final.

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Dhoni, Bindra granted honorary Lt.Colonel rank in Territorial Army

New Delhi, Sep. 13  : President Pratibha Devisingh Patil has granted the honorary rank of lieutenant colonel in the territorial army to Indian cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and ace shooter Abhinav Bindra.
The honour has been bestowed on Dhoni and Bindra for their outstanding contribution in the field of cricket and shooting respectively, and to their commitment to the army on various occasions.

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22 athletes get Rs.6.85 crore to train for London Olympics

New Delhi, Sep 13 The sports ministry Tuesday said that it has allocated Rs. 6.85 crores from National Sports Development Fund to 22 sportspersons under Operation Excellence 2012 for the London Olympics.
The biggest beneficiary is double trap shooter Ronjan Sodhi, who has been granted Rs. 97.37 lakhs. Among other shooters, former world champion Manavjit Singh Sandhu hs received Rs. 91.95 lakhs while Mansher Singh has been allocated Rs. 47.25 lakhs.
India's top ranked tennis player Somdev Devvarman has received Rs. 39.60 lakhs while Sania Mirza, Mahesh Bhupathi, Rohan Bopanna, Yuki Bhambri, Sanam Singh and 1992 Atlanta Olympics bronze medallist Leander Paes have received Rs. 36.96 lakhs each.
The assistance sanctioned is towards extensive training abroad, engagement of personal coaches both foreign and Indian, competitions and exposure abroad, scientific back-up in terms of sports psychologists, physiotherapists and masseurs.
List of sportspersons: Ronjan Sodhi (shooting): Rs. 97.37 lakhs Manavjit Singh Sandhu (shooting): Rs. 91.95 lakhs Mansher Singh (shooting): Rs. 47.25 lakhs Krishna Poonia (discus): Rs. 24.20 lakhs Om Prakash Karhana (shot put): Rs. 48.10 lakhs Vikas Gowda (discus): Rs. 24.51 lakhs Somdev Devvarman (tennis): Rs. 39.60 lakhs Sania Mirza (tennis): Rs. 36.96 lakhs Mahesh Bhupathi (tennis): Rs. 36.96 lakhs Rohan Bopanna (tennis): Rs. 36.96 lakhs Yuki Bhambri (tennis): Rs. 36.96 lakhs Sanam Singh (tennis): Rs. 36.96 lakhs Leander Paes (tennis): Rs. 36.96 lakhs Ashish Kumar, Rakesh Patra, Alok Ranajan, Iqrar Hasan (gymnasts-men) Rs. 56.83 lakhs Dipa Karmarkar, B Aruna, Rucha Divekar, Roma Jogalekar, Meenakshi (gymnasts-women: Rs. 33.08 lakhs.

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Royal Wahingdoh qualify for main phase of Federation Cup

Kolkata, Sep 13 Royal Wahingdoh defeated ONGC 3-1 here Tuesday to qualify for the main phase of the Federation Cup football tournament.
Jackie Chand Singh scored a brace for Wahingdoh (35th and 50th minute) after Bhawar Beekay had them into the lead as early as the 10th minute. Joel Sequera reduced the margin for ONGC.
With the victory, Wahingdoh ended their engagements on 9 points winning all their three matches.
Wahingdoh now travel to Pune where they have been clubbed with McDowell Mohun Bagan, Churchill Brothers and Shillong Lajong Football Club in Group A. They play their first match against McDowell Mohun Bagan Sep 17.
Carlton Chapman, the Royal Wahingdoh coach praised his boys after the qualification.
"The boys played some wonderful football. We deserve to be in the main phase," he said. "The boys are a talented lot and it would be a learning experience for us in the main phase."
In another match, United Sikkim Football Club defeated Southern Samity 1-0 -- Daniel Bidemi scoring the winner for USFC. Courtesy the victory, USFC finished their engagements on 6 points while Southern Samity stayed on 3 points.

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Sania cracks top 10 in doubles, slips 17 ranks in singles

New Delhi, Sep 12  India's Sania Mirza Monday cracked the top-10 in the women's doubles tennis rankings. Her singles rankings, however, slipped 17 places to 81.
The top Indian women's player, who is nursing a knee injury, climbed a rung to the 10th position in the new Women's Tennis Association (WTA) doubles rankings.
Her doubles partner Elena Vesnina of Russia also moved up a place to 11th position.
"Woke up to find out I cracked the top 10 in the world... thanks each and everyone of u for the support and love all these years," Sania wrote on her twitter account.
"Needed some good news to lift up spirits after this silly knee injury... hope to recover soon...."
India's experienced doubles player Mahesh Bhupathi congratulated Sania for her achievement and exhorted her to maintain her ranking.
"Welcome @MirzaSania to the top-10 club. That's a big effort. Now stay there for a while please. :)," Bhupathi tweeted.
Sania and Elena had crashed out of the US Open doubles in the third round last week. The two came together at the Qatar Open this year and went on to win the titles at Indian Wells and Charleston before reaching the French Open final.
Sania won her third doubles title Citi Open women's doubles title partnering Yaroslava Shvedova of Kazakhstan last month as Vesnina decided to take the week off.
Sania and Elena are placed four in Race to WTA Championships rankings. Sania's injury may prevent them from participating in the year-end event.
The 24-year-old Hyderabadi, who had entered the US Open with a singles rankings of 64, spiralled down after her first round defeat in the tournament's singles event, losing in three sets to her former doubles partner Shahar Peer of Israel.

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Auckland Aces cricket team arrives in India for T20 contest

Hyderabad, Sep. 13 : The Auckland Aces cricket team arrived here on Monday to take part in the upcoming Champions League T20 tournament.
Members of the team interacted with mediapersons and stated that they are well prepared to face some of the best teams in the game of cricket.
"We have had really good preparation coming to this tournament. I had been in Brisbane for a week and a half in anticipation of this tournament. We have got a few guys coming in from England to play cricket. They have been playing good cricket at the moment, so they are in good form right now. And we have got some guys playing overseas as well. So in the run back, we can get really good scores. We have got lots of international experience in our squad and we are really looking forward to playing in Kolkata and some cities where we played before. They have got some really good players as well. Every team in this competition is hot in the fast hand," said Daryl Tuffey, cricketer of Auckland Aces.
Paul Strang, coach of the Auckland Aces said that it was not easy to beat Indian teams especially when they have spinners like Amit Mishra.
"If you are breaking into the Indian team, I think you have got to be a good player. Making a step to be a successful international bowler is a different story and it takes many years. You don''t have a (Amit) Mishra to have a couple of good years. People work on how to play them and how we bounce them back will show how good we really are," said Strang.
The tournament would begin from September 23 and would continue in the month of October.
The tournament will see 10 teams from various countries contesting with each other in the T20 format.

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Asian hockey champions India return to Delhi

New Delhi, Sep. 13 : The Indian hockey team arrived here late on Monday after its resounding victory against Pakistan in the final of the inaugural Asian Champions Trophy in Ordos city of China''s Inner Mongolia province.
Captain Rajpal Singh said the team''s morale was high throughout the tournament which gave them a positive approach to the game.
"We were confident from the beginning of the tournament. We had a very good start, when we defeated China 5-0, and Korea after that. The main thing about this tournament was that we did not lose a single match. We took the confidence we gained to the final and benefited by it," said Singh.
Singh added that the team needed to continue focusing on their game and evolve a more aggressive technique. He said that now the main goal was to qualify for the Olympics.
Michael Nobbs, the coach of the Indian squad, said that the performance by the young players had made the team proud. He said that the final was a good game, played between two good teams.
He also said that it is now upto the youth of the country to revive interest in hockey.
"We''ve set (hockey) in place, thanks to Hockey India, Mr. Batra. We''ve set in place the growth of Indian hockey through our youth, and to build the depth of our youth of India, to take us through to, hopefully, this Olympics and the next Olympics after that," he said.
India defeated Pakistan 4-2 in the final of the Champions Trophy on Sunday (September 11) in the Chinese city of Ordos. The match went down to a penalty shootout, where two crucial saves by goalkeeper S Sreejesh sealed the game for India.

Continue Reading... Tags: Hockey, India, New Delhi, Rajpal Singh