Kadhe, Avlani, Passi to lead challenge
MUMBAI, May 17 (UNI): Pune's Arjun Kadhe and Bombay boys Karan Avlani and Vishal Passi will lead a strong boys under-14 field in the Vazirani All India Ranking Championship Series 2007 tennis tournament that will be held at Nerul near here from May 21 to 25.
Challenging the top three seeds will be a strong contingent from Andhra Pradesh that includes No.
4 Srikar, Abhishek Alla and P.
Others in the fray are Maharashtra's fifth seed Parth Shah and No.
6 Saurabh Patil.
Top seed Madhuri Patere, No.
2 Riddhi Hegde and third seed Shruti Archita will feature in the girls under-14 where 11-year-old pocket dynamo Sneha Devi Reddy will once again be the dark horse.
While the Maharashtra State Ranking boys' under-12 will feature No.
1 Rohan Bhatia and third seed Nikhil Passi, the girls to watch out for in the same category are top seed Sneha Devi Reddy and No.
2 Bharati Bylapudi.
The tournament includes under-14 singles and doubles for boys and girls.
Concurrently, the Maharashtra State Ranking tournament will be held for the under-8, under-10 and under-12.
The tournament is being held under the auspices of the All India Tennis Association (AITA) and the Maharashtra State Lawn Tennis Association (MSLTA).
Following are the seedings: Boys U-14: 1.
Arjun Kadhe (Mah), 2.
Karan Avlani (Mah), 3.
Vishal Passi (Mah), 4.
Srikar Alla (AP), 5.
Parth Shah (Mah), 6.
Saurabh Patil (Mah), 7.
Rohan Bhatia (Mah), 8.
Prabhav (AP), 9.
Abhishek Alla (AP), 10.
Karan Shah (Kar).
Rohan Bhatia, 2.
Nikhil Passi, 4.
Varun Pathare, 5.
Ajinkya Bachhav, 6.
Madhuri Patere (Mah), 2.
Riddhi Hegde (Mah), 3.
Shruti Archita (Mah), 4.
Sukhmani Wadhwa (Mah), 5.
Gauri Baindoor (Mah), 6.
Samanauz Dashti (Mah), 7.
Srushti Bhande (Mah), 8.
Bhargavi Thakker (Mah), 9.
Saloni Rane (Mah), 10.
Sneha Devi Reddy (Mah), 11.
Bharati Bylapudi (Mah).
Sneha Devi Reddy, 2.
Bharati Bylapudi, 3.
Kavita Mishra, 4.
Taylor favours expanded criket grounds for ever contests SYDNEY, May 17 (UNI): A day after many of the world's leading players publicly issued a vote of no-confidence against ICC's governance of the game, former Australian captain Mark Taylor has called for the expansion of playing fields in order to strike a balance between the bat and ball contest.
Taylor, who is also a member of the ICC's newly constituted cricket committee, said that the shrinking size of playing fields and discolouration of the white ball in ODIs will be two of many issues discussed by the 13-member committee in its meeting next month.
"We seem to have gone the other way with ropes and the standardisation of grounds.
We're making the boundaries shorter and yet the players are faster and fitter than during my time in the game and are hitting the ball further.
I'm not so sure that's good for the bowlers," Taylor was quoted by 'The Australian' as saying.
Taylor's remarks came after the game's governng body had brought in boundaries over recent years to standardise the playing fields and offer players a safety zone between the rope and the fence which had swung the game heavily in favour of batsmen.
ICC standards for boundaries during one-day matches are playing arenas of 110 metres long and 130 metres wide.
The left-hander, who is a member of the Cricket Australia (CA) board, also expressed concerns about the state of white balls used in the modern day ODIs.
"One thing we're all trying to get right is the white ball in one-day cricket.
That is something I'm sure will spark a lot of debate," he said.
"There has already been quite a bit of chat in cricket circles about whether we should use a new ball from each end or change the ball at a given time during the innings just to make it easier for people to see." Dravid's men eager to assert dominance by sweeping the Tests CHITTAGONG, May 17 (UNI): Team India skipper Rahul Dravid commences the two Test series tomorrow with 'promises' of maintaining the clean slate and asserting India's unflinching domination over Bangladesh in the longer version of the game.
The last time India played against Bangladesh under Sourav Ganguly, the team was riding the crest of success, and the visitors walloped the hosts within four days in both the Tests.
This time India is more a side in transition having coped with unfavourable times under Greg Chappell and now rebuilding on their strengths under stop-gap cricket manager Ravi Shastri.
India has done well in the Tests in recent past.
In South Africa they proved themselves.
But Dravid has come here to assert himself as a full fledged captain in the face of raging controversies and carrying on the Indian dominance with"promises to keep and miles to go before I sleep." It was evident when Dravid said,"We are a good Test team.
We have done well against them.
We are aware of their improvements.
But we expect to do well in the two Tests." "We are looking at another clean sweep.
We have a good team and we are looking at good victories," Dravid said.
India and Bangladesh have no comparison on paper.
While India is on the fourth spot of the ICC Test rankings with 107 points, just one behind Pakistan, Bangladesh are the bottom rungers.
The hosts have only one win to show from the 48 Tests they played so far.
So there is no comparison, but there is a point or two to prove.
The issue is how convincing the wins are after the two ODIs where they were pushed hard.
And how effectively Dravid handles his stars who are back in the eleven.
With the return of the Test masters, if we may say so, after they were rested from the ODIs in Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, alongwith V V S Laxman, Anil Kumble and Wasim Jaffer, the batting line looks robust indeed.
While Ganguly and Tendulkar looked in the groove right from day one, Laxman looked comfortable yesterday after initial rustiness.
If the clues from the net are to be taken into consideration then Dinesh Kaarthick will open with Jaffer, as India probes about for a steady opening partnership.
With the third to fifth spots going to Dravid, Laxman and Yuvraj Singh, Sourav Ganguly, the highest run getter in South Africa, will come in sixth.
Now the dilemma would be whether to go in with six batsmen or with seven.
The position of M S Dhoni, who recently became the man-of-the-series in the ODIs, thus hangs in balance.
Anil Kumble and one of the Pawars, Rajesh and Romesh, are sure starters with the wicket assisting the spinners but the question is whether Dravid would go in with three pacers or two.
Zaheer Khan and V R V Singh are sure starters to begin with.
In contrast Bangladesh does not have anything to lose and everything to gain.
Habibul Bashar, who has been the mainstay of their Test batting line-up, said,"We are going into the match with memories of a close battle with Australia in the last Test we played." Well the last Test Bangladesh played was 13 months ago.
So getting the team into the Test groove would be quite a task for the Bangladesh side.
Shahriar Nafees and Javed Omar who have done reasonably well as openers will continue to open the innings.
The good thing is Ashraful and Emanuel are back training.
If Sakib-al-Hasan makes his debut, then the last batting slot would be up for grabs between Tushar and Rajen Saleh.
Syed Rasel and Khaled Masud along with Mashrafe will lead the bowling attack.
The pitch itself looks bald and flat.
The team that will win the toss will have a ball batting on a flat track that has even bounce.
The wicket is, however, expected to break up with time and take spin with low bounce, says Belal, the Chittagong Divisional Stadium curator.
Bashar has said,"We have been away from the Tests for sometime but we hope to do well as we have memories of a fightback and we have been able to at least push India a little in the ODIs.
We promise to push harder." More than anything else for Bangladesh it will be a test of character, of where they have reached in the format of cricket that experts call the purest form.
With rain threats always a factor in this time of the year in the port city, the Met office says unpredictability is the watchword.
However, if the script falls in place India will cast a coup over Pakistan and move up to the third spot in the ICC Test rankings if they sweep the Test series 2-0, beginning with the first Test tomorrow.
Teams: India: Rahul Dravid (captain), Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, V V S Laxman, Yuvraj Singh, M S Dhoni, Dinesh Kaarthick, Zaheer Khan, Munaf Patel, R P Singh, Anil Kumble, Rajesh Pawar, Romesh Pawar, Wasim Jaffer, V R V Singh.Bangladesh: Habibul Bashar (captain), Mohammed Ashraful, Emanuel Haque (jr), Javed Omar, Khaled Masud, Mashrafe Mortaza, Mehrab Hossain (jr), Md Rafique, Rajen Saleh, Sakib-al-Hasan, Shahdat Hossain, Shahriar Nafees, Syed Rasel.Umpires: Daryl Harper and Billy Doctrove Third Umpire: Enamul Haque Moni Reserve Umpire: Jahangir Alam Match Referee: Rohsan Mahanama.
Whatmore prescribes positive attitude for Team India CHITTAGONG, May 17 (UNI): After a successful initial discussionwith Indian cricket manager Ravi Shastri on taking up the job ofcoaching Rahul Dravid's boys, Dav Whatmore said the need of thehour in the Indian dressing room is positive attitude and afeeling of reassurance.
Talking to UNI, Whatmore, who is largely tipped to take over as the coach of India, said,"I had a short discussion with Ravi Shastri about taking up the job of coaching India and I have said in the affirmative." "The discussion was basically to know how interested I am and we both were satisfied," Dav added without willing to divulge the details of the discussion.
Asked what he thinks the Indian team needed at this present moment, he said,"I will not give out to the public what the Indian team needs at this moment before talking to the BCCI.
It should be between the employer and the employee.
But I think what we need is positive attitude and a reassurance among the boys." On how would he handle the stars of the Indian team,"It's a question of man-management and how far one wants to take ones career forward and I have to deal with them individually if and when the time comes.
Ravi Shastri has already said that the boys have a few years' cricket in them....so lets see." Asked how would he like to compare the era of John Wright to that of Greg Chappell when India has hit the rock bottom, he said, "I am not the type to compare and contrast others and their achievements and failures.
All I can say I am ready for the challenge if the opportunity comes.
I am as much ready to sink my teeth into problems and find out a solution as the BCCI would want me to." Dav, who played for Victoria state and learnt coaching for four years in the Victoria Institute for Sports, when asked on his transition into such a successful coach, said,"That is what made the difference in my coaching.
I have learnt a lot in those four years and the education has really helped me become whatever I am today." On to something he has always been guarded in replying, Whatmore, when quizzed on the Pakistan cricket Board offer, said,"Lets not talk about it.
Lets say nothing happened.
Pakistan would be an interesting proposition, but as of now I am still the Bangladesh coach." The six-member Indian selection committee, led by BCCI President Sharad Pawar and Secretary Niranjan Shah, is reportedly due to arrive here on May 19 to hold talks with Whatmore and finalise the deal.
Rain threatens to disrupt first Test CHITTAGONG , May 17 (Agencies): Inclement weather, which led to abandonment of the third and final one-dayer, may also disrupt the first cricket Test between India and Bangladesh with the meteriological office here predicting scattered rains over the next 48 hours.
The sunny weather since yesterday gave way to cloudy sky and a short spell of rains this afternnon, making the organisers a trifle worried about the match at the Bir Srestha Shahid Ruhul Amin stadium.
However, locals said the weather in Chittagong was unpredictable.
"Hours of strong sunshine may suddenly be followed by a gloomy sky and rains, and vice-versa".
If the weather predicitons come true, the first two days' play could be affected.
Hurricane Akash, which did not hit Chittagong with its full fury on Tuesday, nevertheless led to rains that made the ground condition soggy and forced the organisers to cancel the match without a ball being bowled.
Major financial cut for hockey in last three years NEW DELHI, May 17 (Agencies): Sports Ministry's decision to drop hockey from the priority list might have caught everyone by surprise, but the government's grant to the federation has been steadily cut over last three years.
Indian Hockey Federation received Rs.
194.21 lakh in 2004-05 but there was a drastic cut the following year and the federation got only Rs.
96.46 lakh from the government purse for promotion of the game in the country.
The amount went down further to Rs.
92.09 lakh in the last financial year (2006-07).
The information was revealed by Sports Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar who gave details of the financial assistance provided to sports federations while answering a question in Rajya Sabha today.
The government supplements the efforts of the national sports federations by providing assistance for training and participation or coaching of teams abroad, and procurement of equipments.
Hockey is not alone as some important sports federations have heavily lost on government funding in the last three years.
The weightlifting federation, which faced two international bans in two years for doping offences, has been the worst hit.
79.88 lakh in 2004-05, and Rs.
51.41 in 2005-06, the grant has come down to a meagre Rs.
3.28 lakh in the last financial year (2006-07).
Athletics, the mother of all sports, was also not spared.
In fact, the Athletics Federation of India took the biggest hit with the grants coming down from Rs.
227.95 lakh in 2005-06 to Rs.
86.83 lakh last season, a fall of Rs.
The case with All India Football Federation, which has also been dropped from the priority category, is not different.
The AIFF got Rs.
119.36 lakh in 2004-05 but could manage only 70.37 the next season.
It further went down to 30.55 lakh in the last year.
All India Tennis Association got 136.87 lakh in 2004-05 while the grant came down to 90.07 lakh in 2006-07.
The assistance to shooting which got India bulk of the medals in Commonwealth Games and Asian Games was increased from Rs.
218.37 lakh 2004-05 to Rs.
433 lakh next year but fell to Rs.
373.19 lakh in 2006-07.
But the picture is rosy for some other federations like Table Tennis Federation of India and Archery Association of India.
On the back of some commendable international performance, TTFI's grants have been rising steadily.
Form 116.78 lakh in 2004-05, the grants have gone up to 178.75 lakh in 2006-07.
Archery's purse was got a hike to 96.48 lakh last year, from 58.95 lakh in 2004-05.
Sasikiran in joint lead at Mtel chess SOFIA (BULGARIA), May 17 (Agencies): Grandmaster Krishnan Sasikiran delivered a vital blow to English GM Michael Adams in the sixth round to jump in joint lead in the third Mtel Masters Chess tournament now in progress here.
Playing white, Sasikiran punished Adams for his errors in the middle game and romped home quickly on a day that saw decisive games and the leaders on the receiving end.
Sasikiran used his white pieces effectively in a Queen's Indian defence game and won in 34 moves.
Apart from Adams who was sole second before the start of sixth round, tournament leader Grandmaster Shakhriyar Mamedyarov suffered defeat at the hands of tailender Gata Kamsky of United States while former world champion Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria continued his winning ways to down Liviu-dieter Nisipeanu of Romania.
As things stand, Sasikiran and Mamedyarov share the lead on 3.5 points out of a possible six while Adams is now sharing the third spot on 3 points with Topalov.
Nisipeanu and Kamsky are now at the bottom on 2.5 points each.
Sasikiran opted for an age-old variation in the opening and the players blitzed out the opening moves in quick time.
It was a typical case of nothing falling right for Adams as he went for some unwarranted complication in an opening he is vastly experienced in and Sasikiran was on top after the 17th move itself.
In the very next move, Adams made another inaccuracy by going for an exchange sacrifice and for the remainder of the game, kept looking for the elusive compensation.
With clinical maturity, Sasikiran thwarted all counterplay and coasted to a fine victory.
SFC holds Default Review Committee meet KT NEWS SERVICE JAMMU,May 17: In pursuance of the announcement of the Finance Minister about one time settlement scheme 07 for the loans of J&K State Finance Corporation, the Corporation held its Default Review Committee (DRC) meeting under the chairmanship of Managing Director, which was attended by R.C.
Raina, Assistant Manager, SIDBI, K.K.
Mudgil, secretary general COSIDICI and M.Y.
Shoru, Joint Director, Industries and Commerce Department, Srinagar.
The DRC approved 29 cases which included 13 industrial cases, 14 transport cases and 2 hotel cases.
An amount of Rs 191.06 lakhs on account of interest was waived off in these cases.
Such meetings shall be held at regular intervals to clear the case of those of the eligible constituents who approach the Corporation for settlement of their accounts.
This needs to mention here that the scheme, following the announcement by Finance Minister was tabled before Board of Directors of the Corporation.
The scheme was approved by Board in January, 2007 and is unforce for one year from April 1, 2007.
Dr Jerath bags Bharatendu Harishchandra award KT NEWS SERVICE JAMMU,May 17: Prestigious Bharatendu Harishchandra Awards for original writing in broadcasting, telecasting and journalism for the year 2004-05 have been declared by the Ministry of I & B, Government of India.
The top most award has been bestowed upon Dr.
Ashok Jeratha a literary celebrity and eminent broadcaster of this region.
Jerath, a recipient of several national awards, awarded twice by Central Hindi Directorate, recipient of most prestigious Indira Gandhi Rajbhasha Puruskar, awarded twice by J&K Cultural Academy, national scholarship holder of Sahitya Akademi, recently has been honoured with the lifetime achievement award bestowed upon him by J&K Cultural Academy.
Besides reputed national organizations like Himotkarsh, Himachal Pradesh Juvenile Literatures Society, Calcuta, Bal Sahitya Sansthan, Kanpur, Sanskriti Sanstha, Mathura, Punjabi Sahit Sabha, Jalandhar, Janta Sansar, Punjab, Premnath Memorial award for amateur journalism, Heritage India and Panorma also awarded him for his contribution in regional culture.
He has been declared twice as 'Man of the year' by American Bibliographic Society.
Jerath is a prolific writer, author of 39 books, an acclaimed art historian and critic.
He has been bestowed upon two projects on Himalayan studies by Integrated Himalayan Study Centre, an Institute of excellence (run under the aegis of UGC) which published his work on Heritage of Shimla and around.
Recently retired from the active service as Director (NFAG) from AIR, at present Dr Jerath is running an institute of Creative writing, Mass Communication and Himalayan Studies at Dharamshala affiliated with Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan being run under the aegis of ALFA (Association of Literatures Folkorists and Artists.
MAS students visit Sainik School Nagrota KT NEWS SERVICE JAMMU,May 17: With an aim to inspire the young students of the remotest areas of Jammu and Kashmir to seek admission in Sainik School Nagrota, which is a feeder institution of the armed forces, a trip to this premier institution was organized is being run by the army under Operation Sadbhavana.
The MAS contingent along with the organizing personnel from a Dogra Battalion was flagged off by Brigadier Gurdeep Singh, Commander Krishana Gahti Brigade on the morning of May 9 and later received at Sainik School Nagrota by Cdr Sanjay Nirmal, Headmaster.
They were accommodated in the hostels alongwith cadets of the school.
ON the next day, a complete campus roundup was organized which included visits to the classrooms.
Library, laboratories, IT Cell, Maths lab and Art Gallery.
The students were also shown round the electric bakery, modernized cook-house etc.
They further had fruitful and motivating interaction with the other cadets of the school.
Later, Group Captian VT Parnaik, Principal, Sainik School Nagrota formally addressed the visiting students, staff of MAS and the organizing team of army personnel.
He also interacted with the young boys.
The contingent also interacted with Headmaster Commander Sanjay Nirmal.
About us | Advertise | Other Publications | Subscriptions | Weather | Letters | Send Mail Disclaimer: Information is being made available at this site purely as a measure of public facilitation.
While every effort has been made to ensure that the information hosted on this website is accurate CHAIRMAN: VED BHASIN Kashmir Times Group of Publications Edited, printed and published by Prabodh Jamwal Editor-in-Chief, The Kashmir Times, Residency Road, Jammu, J&K, INDIA.
Executive Editor: Anuradha Bhasin Jamwal E-Mail: vbhasin@sancharnet.in, jmt_prabodh@sancharnet.in