15 (NNN) : The diplomatic background of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Shaharyar Khan played a big role in breaking the impasse over the issue and salvaging the Indian team's tour to Pakistan, according to a report.
'The News' has confirmed from PCB and Government sources that the Indian government agreed to clear the doubts over the tour after direct contacts at the top level on Friday.
"Shaharyar sought the help of President Pervaz Musharraf, Minister for Foreign Affairs Mahmood Kasuri and other government officials in salvaging the tour," one source confirmed.
He said that Shaharyar, who has been a former foreign secretary and also high commissioner in India, gave a detailed briefing on what would be the fallout if India didn't tour Pakistan as scheduled.
"He briefed them on the possible fallouts, problems, public pressures and gave them input on the background of the sudden reluctance of the Indians to tour Pakistan," the source disclosed.
He said Shaharyar was in constant touch on the phone with the top officials who in turn got in touch with the Indian government dignitaries at the highest level and moved to salvage what is being seen as a very important tour.
Shaharyar had also gone to India with the Pakistan team in 1999 as manager and sources said this had helped him brief the President and Foreign minister on what would be the mood like in India over the possible cancellation of the tour and how the people in both countries viewed cricket relations.
The source said it was after top level contacts that the Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee got down to the business of consulting his cabinet members and taking a decision on saing the tour.
Cricketers in Pak hail India tour go-ahead Karachi, Feb.
15 (NNN) : Officials of Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and the Pakistan cricket community are euphoric about the Indian government's go-ahead to the Indian team's tour.
With a bumper 450 million rupees and improving relations between the two countries at stake, the Indian government finally ended 48 hours of suspense by reiterating that India would tour Pakistan in March-April as scheduled.
The tour itinerary should be announced sometime next week soon after the Indian security delegation in Pakistan returns home on Monday after their final wrap up meeting with the PCB Chairman Shaharyar Khan.
Also scheduled to attend this important meeting in which final security arrangements and other organisational details would be finalised is the Indian High Commissioner Shiv Shanker Menon and Federal Interior Ministry Secretary Tasneem Noorani.
Shaharyar said that he was delighted with the Indian government's announcement and stated people in both countries could now prepare for a feast of cricket and further improvement in Indo-Pak relations.
"I have been emphasising the fact that if India played in Pakistan it would have a very positive effect on relations and despite the reservations and fears of some people I am confident the series would give the peace process a big push forward." Shaharyar said the PCB had decided to ask the Pakistan government to take up the issue of the tour at the foreign secretaries talks between the two countries to be held on Monday if the tour had not been given a final go-ahead.
"But quietly we were always confident that India would come.
Because of the presence of their delegation in the country and the fact that we have already completed a lot of arrangements and sponsorship signings for the tour." Shaharyar said the security aspects of the tour would be laid great emphasis on and efforts would be made to ensure the visitors don't have any reason for concern.
"This tour is the most important cricket series in Pakistan cricket history and I think everyone would have been hugely disappointed and become despondent if the series had not been held on schedule," he added.
A survey by a leading media organisation in India has shown that 77 per cent of the Indian people felt that India should play in Pakistan.
Shaharyar made it clear that the PCB would be willing to sit down and discuss any concerns the Indian delegation might have about the venues for the series.
"We want this series to be played in a friendly atmosphere and we will try to be flexible," he said.
India is due to play three tests and five One-day Internationals.
Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq said he was very happy to know the Indians were coming.
"I was very concerned and upset after learning about the media reports that the Indians might not come.
Because our players and even our people have been eagerly looking forward to this tour." Inzamam said it was the dream of every Pakistani player to play against India and had no doubt the series would be well contested and an exciting one.
"I think cricket would be the winner and we will try to play the series in the best possible spirit and in a positive manner." Former chief executive of the Pakistan board, Arif Ali Khan Abbasi hailed the Indian Government's reconfirmation of the tour and said now lot of complex problems would be avoided in the future between the two cricket boards.
"If India had not come it would have been a big problem for both boards and the International cricket council as both are due to play against each other in other tournaments also," he added.
East strike back on second day DHARAMSALA, Feb 15 (Agencies) :East Zone reduced South to 93 for three in the first innings on the second day of the Duleep Trophy league cricket match here today.
After being restricted to 388, East swung the momentum back in their favour by scalping first Rowland Barrington and Sridharan Sriram and then the prize wicket of South skipper Sadagopan Ramesh.
Y Venugopalarao on 10 and MSK Prasad on two were at the crease at close.
Earlier, resuming at 229 for four, East lost its overnight pair of Shiv Sunder Das and Rajeev Kumar early.
Das fell to N P Singh for 120 while Kumar was out cheaply for 18.
A defiant knock of 84 by Laxmi Ratan Shukla then boosted East to a respectable total.
Utpal Chatterjee (25) and Debashish Mohanty (26) lent valuable support as the tail frustrated South.
The last three wickets fetched 105 runs for East.
Seamer N P Singh took four for 66 while left-arm spinner Sunil Joshi claimed three for 112.
R Ramkumar finished with two for 78.
South made a disastrous start when Barrington (15) fell at 52 and Sriram (2) was run out four runs later.
The crucial blow, however, came towards stumps when Test opening batsman Ramesh fell after scoring a stroke-filled 57.
CJI-XI beat SCBA-XI by 51 runs NEW DELHI, Feb 15 (Agencies) :Justice M B Lokur's all-round performance helped Chief Justice of India XI beat President, Supreme Court Bar Association XI by 51 runs in a limited-over cricket match at the Karnail Singh Stadium here today.
The CJI XI, batting first, piled on 146 for nine in 22 overs with Justice Mukul Mudgal (37), Justice C K Mahajan (28) and Justice Lokur (27) making valuable contributions.
Justice Mahajan's knock included the only six of the match which he hit off Union Law Minister Arun Jaitley over long-on.
Chasing 147 for a win, the SCBA XI looked never in the hunt as they lost wickets at regular intervals.
Only three batsmen, Ashok Bhan (26), Jaitley (14 not out) and opener former Law Minister Shanti Bhushan (13) could cross the double figure as the Lawyers XI were bowled out for 95 in 18.4 overs.
Justice Lokur was the wrecker-in-chief for the CJI XI, consisting of judges of the Supreme Court and the Delhi High Court, with figures of five for 15.
He was declared man of the match.
Among those who failed to open their account were Justice Santosh N Hegde and Justice R S Sodhi for the CJI-XI and SCBA captain M N Krishnamani and P P Malhotra.
Fitness was a "worry" for both the teams as five batsmen retired hurt.
Justice B D Ahmed's feilding was appreciated by the spectators as he saved several boundaries.
Later, Jaitley gave away the trophy to CJI-XI captain Chief Justice V N Khare.
SCBA-XI captain and SCBA President M N Krishnamani received a trophy from Justice Khare.
Very Very Special day for Laxman HYDERABAD, Feb 15 (Agencies) :Star cricketer VVS Laxman will start a new innings in his life when he marries computer science student Sailaja here tonight.
Ceremonies began at the Vangipurapu family house at Srinagar colony this morning amidst chanting of vedic hymns for 'Snatakam', a customary ritual where Sailaja would be formally proposed by her brother and other elders to Laxman.
The rituals would culminate with the marriage 'muhurat', at 00.55 am, at the majestic Jewel Gardens in Secunderabad.
The function would be a family affair open for relatives while the couple will host a party for friends, celebrities and other guests at a function to be held tomorrow.
A galaxy of sportstars, officials, industrialists, film personalities and politicians are expected to attend the reception.
Some of the cricket stars are likely to arrive today from Lucknow, where they attended Sahara TV boss Subrato Roy's younger son's marriage.
The 29-year-old Hyderabadi, who drew lavish praise with his superb performances in the recent tour of Australia, became India's top scorer in Test cricket when he scored 281 in Kolkata in 2001.
India who's who attends business tycoon's son wedding LUCKNOW, Feb 15 (Agencies) :Who's who of the country, including top politicians, film stars and sports icons, today attended the wedding of the younger son of the Sahara Group Chairman Subrato Roy here.
Vice-president Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani, several Union Ministers, well-known cricket and hockey players and leading media personalities attended the wedding of Seemanto Roy.
Several Chief Ministers, including Rabri Devi (Bihar) and Chandrababu Naidu (Andhra Pradesh) and Mulayam Singh Yadav (Uttar Pradesh), blessed the couple.
Governors of several states, including Madan Lal Khurana of Rajasthan, also attended the ceremony.
Star batsman Sachin Tendulkar accompanied by his wife was also present on the occasion.
The sprawling Sahara Sahar, the venue of the wedding ceremony, was beautifully decorated.
Several cultural programmes were held to mark the occasion.
On Febuary 10, Subrato Roy's elder son wedding was held on the same venue which was attended among others by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
Special visa and ticket arrangement for Indo-Pak series ISLAMABAD, Feb 15 (Agencies) :Tickets would be available in advance and special arrangements would be made at the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi for the issuance of visas to those who would like to come from India to watch the forthcoming Indo-Pak cricket series.
Spectators, media and all those who want to come to Pakistan to watch the match would get the tickets in advance, Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Shaharyar Khan told reporters in Lahore after a wrap-up meeting with the three-member BCCI team which visited Pakistan to access the security and other arrangements for the event.
Both the governments have decided that a special arrangements would be made at the Pakistan High Commission to issue visas to those who would like to watch the series, he said, adding this arrangement would be besides the normal procedure.
No change in Sena's opposition to Pak tour MUMBAI, Feb 15 (Agencies) :Shiv Sena, which has consistently opposed cricketing relationships between India and Pakistan, today said its stance opposing the Pakistan tour continues despite the Centre's clearance of the same.
"Despite a clearance from the Centre to the tour, Shiv Sena is firm on its stance," Sena Working President Uddhav Thackeray told newsmen today adding: "what is the need for the tour?" Uddhav said Sena Supremo, Bal Thackeray, has already made clear the Sena's opposition to the Pak tour, and there is no change in it.
He also expressed concern about security of the team in Pakistan.
Bal Thackeray had on February 12 appealed to Indian cricketers to mull over their proposed tour of Pakistan in light of growing infiltration of terrorists from the neighbouring country.
"Where is the need to go to Pakistan when our jawans are being killed on the border and nefarious activities are going on?", Thackeray had said.
Six Indian wrestlers qualify for Athens NEW DELHI, Feb 15 (Agencies) : Palwinder Singh Cheema (Punjab, 120 kg), Yogesh Dutt (Haryana, 55 kg), Ramesh Kumar (Haryana, 66 kg) and Ajay Chauhan (Uttar Pradesh, 84 kg) have qualified for the Athens Olympics, a press release by the Wrestling Federation of India president M S Malik, said in Chandigarh on Sunday.
Cheema and Yogesh have also stormed into the final rounds in their respective category and they are in line for gold medals.
Malik said that Sujit Mann and Sushil Kumar had already qualified for the 2004 Olympics, bringing the total number of qualifiers to six in freestyle category.
Malik, who is also Director General of Police, Haryana, is confident that more wrestlers in the Greeco-Roman would qualify for Athens.
Even a few women wrestlers would also qualify for the August Olympics, he said.
Congratulting the Indian wrestlers who are participating in the Pre-Olympic Tournament in Sofia (the capital of Bulgaria), Haryana Olympic Association president Abhey Singh Chautala announced that the Indian wrestlers who would qualify for the Athens Olympics would be provided Indian diet during training abroad and competitions in Athens.
The HOA and Haryana Government would bear all expenses of the wrestlers who compete in the 2004 Olympics, he said.
Govt orders fool-proof security; fans to get visas ISLAMABAD, Feb 15 (Agencies) :The Pakistan federal government today issued orders to provinces to provide "fool-proof" security to the Indian cricket team during its tour to the country next month and also decided to issue visas liberally to Indian fans.
Considering the importance of Indian visit, after a gap of 15 years, Prime Minister Zafarullah Khan Jamali has asked the Governors and Chief Ministers of the provinces where the matches would be held to head the Adhoc committees to oversee the security and administrative arrangements for the Indian team, government run news agency said quoting officials close to him.
Jamali has directed all relevant ministries and organisations to make fool-proof security arrangement for the Indian cricketers, it said.
The Prime Minister also ordered the Foreign and Interior Ministries to make adequate arrangements to provide visas to cricket fans from across the border, the agency said.
In order to ensure round-the-clock assistance to the arrangement committees, Jamali asked the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to set up a control room at its local headquarters for the duration of the tour.
These control rooms would cope with all kinds of emergencies, officials said.
Jamali also directed the PCB to ensure that no "free loaders" be permitted into the stadiums.
Singh Babu hockey tournament from Feb 17 LUCKNOW, Feb 15 (Agencies) :The The All India K D Singh Babu Invitational hockey tournament would begin here from February 17.
Eighteen teams, including Punjab Police, Air India, BSF and Namdhari XI, will vie for honours at the Dhyanchand astro-turf Stadium, organising secretary R P Singh told reporters here today.
The teams have been divided into four pools and the tournament would be played on a league-cum-knock-out basis, he said.
The winners will receive a purse of Rs 40,000 while the runners-up would go home richer by Rs 25,000, Singh said.
My best will be at Athens: Ramaala He is so laid back that it seems he's just awakened from a nap.
His running looks equally relaxed, until you look at his timings.
Then you know this is a guy who's in a hurry, especially when there's a finish line a couple miles away.
Hendrik Ramaala won the title at the Standard Chartered Mumbai International Marathon, which was a much-expected result.
But he finished bit later than expected, clocking 2:15:48 seconds.
"I struggled to keep my pace as there were lot of people around," he said, explaining why he fell short of the timing he had hoped for.
This is the first marathon win for Ramaala, and he seems satisfied with the outcome.
"I am happy with myself as to how I performed at the Mumbai Marathon.
The conditions were tiring and the humidity levels were very high.
But I survived and I won as well.
"It was a very different route; there were two bridges going up and up [the Peddar Road Flyover] and it does no good to my hamstring and calves.
It causes a lot of pain," he said.
The 'veteran' of nine marathons started as one of the favorites when the high profile list of long distance runners braced the Mumbai roads on Sunday.
On the eve of the event he had said the wining time would be "around 2:10- 2:12".
"Today it took me around 66 minutes half way." He is very modest, accepting the fact that he is the best.
"It has been great run; there were few runners who were trying to chase me but at the uphill [referring to Peddar Road fly over] I just went ahead and they could not meet me.
Also, the people were very supportive, everyone came to cheer us early in the morning which is a good thing." Ramaala, one of the burgeoning second wave of runners from South Africa, out-legged plenty of his more harried competitors in 2002.
The highlight of the year came early when he won the World's Best 10,000 metres in Puerto Rico in February, though he sees himself primarily as a marathoner.
As a child growing up outside of Petersburg, he concentrated on soccer, and helped his father in his small general store.
"Things did not work out.
I was not going anywhere and hence I started running," he says, explaining how he took to distance running.
He moved to Johannesburg when he was 18, just as apartheid was coming to an end in the early 90's.
"Things were opening up for all the citizens of South Africa; people started to dream bigger dreams than our older brothers and sisters.
We saw there were more possibilities for us.
"Initially there were smaller things happening and events were more local.
But post the 1990s things started changing.
We have adjusted well.
There has been good infrastructure, good coaching facilities and school sport has improved." The inclusion of South Africa in the 1992 Olympic Games, and Elana Meyer's silver medal in the 10,000, further raised those hopes, and also Ramaala's dreams.
Realizing he was "going nowhere" in soccer, he started jogging and hooked up with the running group at Witwatersrand University where he was studying law.
"The coach said I was not fit for soccer.
I used to hit the ball really hard and I was always placed on the left front." By 1993 he'd become one of his country's top runners, clocking 14:23 for the 5,000 metres on the track.
Two years later he broke through, making the national team and placing 35th at the World Cross Country Championships in Durban.
He increased his training from a modest 100 kms a week, and placed 17th in the World Track Championships' 10,000 metres.
Failing to advance to the final in the 1996 Olympic 10,000 metres, he began thinking about the marathon.
"Talent and dedication are the key elements in making of a world class athlete," he says.
Ramaala regards Haile Gebrasalessie as the most feared athlete.
"He has made himself as a legend and he has been there on the top.
" So what does he think about the grueling 42.195 kms race? "Marathon is a pain; it is very tough and I realized it later after I took part in marathons in the last four years.
I have participated in nine marathons since 2002- 2004," he says.
In spite of his sub-par running, Ramaala still feels he can be among the world's best marathoners.
"In my mind, I can see myself running as fast as anyone.
If I didn't think I could do that, I shouldn't even bother running.
In South Africa now there are now no limits on what someone can achieve.
That's how I feel about my running.
"I have made it on the South African team for the Olympics at Athens; a medal is the next thing on mind.
I have not performed to my best and I feel my best will be in the coming Olympics at Athens." 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.
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