From the publishers of THE HINDU
VOL.27 :: NO.09 :: Feb. 28 - Mar. 05, 2004
Published Weekly
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From the publishers of THE HINDU VOL.27 :: NO.09 :: Feb. 28 - Mar. 05, 2004 |
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The Sportstar Published Weekly |
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News Update
Group Sites |
THERE is everything to commend and nothing to detract from the merits of the victory that the Indian women achieved in the Asia Cup hockey championship in New Delhi last fortnight.
India-Pakistan: why we need to remember this is just sportCricket will not heal wounds. But perhaps it can play a minor role. Perhaps this experiment can only work if we remember it is just cricket, that no nation is a lesser one for losing, or a superior one for winning, writes ROHIT BRIJNATH.
ON the cricketing canvas, this is a rivalry sprinkled with brush strokes of bright, bold colours, created by men of great heart and skill. ONE-DAYERS/SOME THRILLING ENCOUNTERS Sentiments rule high AN India-Pakistan clash sets off tremendous excitement and the expectations of the fans of both the countries are high. Pakistan, India & Australia EVEN as it is tour show business as usual, it is pertinent to reflect upon how Pakistan preyed upon the already under-Aussiege minds of Sourav & Co. 
The `A' factor works wonders for the hostENGLISH cricket is struggling to recapture its lost pride. Those ancient days of English cricketers touring India in a bid to educate the natives about the intricacies of the willow game, seem just memories trapped in grainy black and white pictures. 
Relying more on score sheetsEven today no selection of a senior or junior team is complete without numbers. Ironically, those who were victims of selectorial games during their time are now playing the same games as selectors.
Pakistan has a lot to gainThe tour is a bonanza for Pakistan in more than one way. It provides a great opportunity to the government to demonstrate to the rest of the world that Pakistan is certainly not about people merrily firing from kalashnikovs and scientists proliferating nuclear secrets. It is no small gain considering the kind of bad publicity Pakistan has got since the twin-towers in New York came down, writes MURALIDHAR REDDY.
It will be a series to watchIf the BCCI had sent a players' rep to Pakistan, half of all the speculation would have been over as the players would have also been able to concentrate on their games in Australia without worrying about the Pakistan tour.
`This particular team will do very well'KRISHNAMACHARI SRIKKANTH, the last Indian captain to lead a Test side in Pakistan, spoke about the eventful tour of 1989 — India managed to draw all the four Tests — apart from sharing his views on India's coming campaign. 
Just 20, but a captain in waitingIn his chat with The Sportstar, Taibu talks about his rise as a cricketer, what the black community expects from him and aspects about batting and wicket-keeping. 
The coach has a surprise agendaINDIA is fortunate to have in Stephen Constantine a fabulously qualified national coach, armed with such soccer education that it is a wonder why he does not find favour with England club managements.
The pressure will be thereA TOUR of Pakistan can be really challenging, for various reasons. Now that India embarks on its first Test tour to Pakistan since 1989-90, The Sportstar presents the views of some the cricketers who have had the experience of playing in Pakis tan.
The tour should pave a new road to constructive friendshipThe passion for hockey when Pakistan held the whip hand in the mid-80s was unbelievable. Every stadium reported full house when the national team came on to the field.
THE following is a progress report of the Indian and Australian players after the recently concluded Tests and VB tri-series in Australia.
Warne's tour of reckoningSRI LANKA, in naming six spinners of different types and actions, have signalled how they expect the wickets in Sri Lanka would play in the coming one-day series and Tests against Australia.
IS there any way in which sportsmen making a political statement have the slightest influence over events?
Comeback dreams: different shadesWhen you're not scoring runs or picking wickets, insecurity could easily creep in; you begin overanalysing your approach. Jealousy tears away at your innards but it is tinged with a surge of guilt; you are confused and taken aback by the intensity of your emotion.
Indian forwards fail to seize chancesAS the means to preparing the team for the tough pre-Olympic qualifier at Madrid early next month, the significance of the three-Test Naval Tata hockey series for India against the Olympic champion, the Netherlands, at Hyderabad needs no reiteration. 
Keeping the Dutch tradition aliveTAEKE TAEKEMA, the new star on the Dutch horizon, is not bothered about the high expectations and the big challenges ahead as he is determined to continue to be a vital link in the great tradition of his country producing outstanding short-corner ... WOMEN'S ASIA CUP Exorcising the ghost after five years It was celebration time. Lap of honour, group photographs, media interviews and much more.
HENDRIK RAMAALA is a late entrant to marathon running, shifting allegiance after trying out soccer. Allegations of discrimination INDIAN energy and enterprise came to the fore in the Standard Chartered Mumbai International Marathon 2004. Indresh Dhiraj, a five-feet-something farmer from Noida, ran for fun and walked away with the `Best Indian Performer' incentive in the ...
Javier SotomayorTHE gold chain and bracelets, red Mercedes Benz and the 12-man salsa band suggest a mover and shaker of Havana nightlife, not the world's record-holding high jumper that Javier Sotomayor is known to be. Standing at a bar rather than leaping to ... 
Mark WaughFORMER Australian Test cricketer Mark Waugh has announced that he will retire from first-class cricket at the end of this season. The announcement came at the Sydney Cricket ground, the venue of some of his most memorable innings. Mark and his ... Laxman's New Partnership 
Swati Ghate & Tejas BakreSWATI GHATE has become India's seventh Woman Grandmaster and the first from Maharashtra when she earned the final norm in the Gibtele.com tournament held in Gibraltar. After a bad time last year and also coming close to getting the final norm on ... 
Sachin TendulkarSACHIN TENDULKAR may have had some forgettable moments in the recent Australian tour, particularly in the department he is famous for: batting. But the hugely talented Indian is a huge draw in this land of Bradman. The University of Melbourne ... Agassi & Roddick AMERICAN tennis stars Andre Agassi and Andy Roddick have criticised the ATP for not taking a leadership role in the drugs furore engulfing the sport. "The ATP needs to do something because... they've literally removed themselves from the problem ...
EVERYTHING may look fine when you are winning. But not for the professionally trained eyes, that probe a player's game and dissect it to reach the problem areas, for analysis and correction.
Bye-Bye BatesI have always rather liked the aggressive old bruiser. Indeed, I must say that on the only couple of occasions I was honoured by a mention on his choleric page, it was in favourable fashion. Once when he said that perhaps I should mount one of my investigations, once when, flaying those journalists who'd criticised the indifferent English of the Italian manager, Claudio Ranieri, he castigated their own lack of knowledge of foreign languages, but made me an exception.
REAL MADRID coach Carlos Queiroz said Manchester United's Ruud van Nistelrooy or Arsenal's Thierry Henry would be his choice if the club adds another star player to its glittering lineup this summer. "If I had to pick, my preferences would be Van ... Checking hooliganism HOOLIGANS from England, Germany and the Netherlands are being targeted as the main threats to this year's Euro championship in Portugal. "We are getting ready, preventively, so that (hooligans) don't come. Second, if they do come, the security ... EURO FFLAVOUR 
Move to Real has helped me — BeckhamDAVID BECKHAM says his move to Real Madrid has given him a "new lease of life." The England captain, who transferred from Manchester United last summer, said a shift from the right side of midfield to the centre of the pitch has improved his ... 
Solskjaer back from surgeryOLE GUNNAR SOLSKJAER is on the verge of making his return to first-team action for Manchester United after finally making his way back from knee surgery in September. Solskjaer logged 60 minutes for the club in a reserve team victory over Aston ... 
Stoichkov to train juniorsFORMER Bulgarian soccer star Hristo Stoichkov has started work with FC Barcelona where he will help train the team's junior players. Barcelona said Stoichkov had taken up his new role several days ago. It declined to give the length of ...
Creditable show by JiwajiIT was Jiwaji's finest moment in inter-varsity tennis. From being among those who just make up the numbers, the university from Gwalior turned out to be a serious contender and went on to bag the South-West Zone title and finish runner-up in the ... BAIDYABATI 
Maiden title for ChandigarhCHANDIGARH quelled the challenge from Karnataka in one of the most closely contested matches and became only the seventh State in the long history of the National junior volleyball tournament to lift the crown. It was Chandigarh's maiden title. ... 
Vandana keeps her coolTHE amateur ladies golf circuit is passing through a nascent stage. Golf courses up north are chock-a-block with teenage girls all talking golf jargon like seasoned players. The conversation during the Navision 87th All-India ladies amateur ...
AN 18-year-old basketball player suffered partial paralysis after being mobbed by fans celebrating his game-ending slam-dunk, the Arizona Republic newspaper has reported. Senior forward Joe Kay, a straight-A student with a sports ... A special start for Boston Marathon FOR the first time in its 108-year history, the Boston Marathon will feature a special start for elite women's runners, race officials announced. For the first time in the event's history, a female open division champion will cross the finish ... 
Harrington slips to 11th spotPADRAIG HARRINGTON may be Europe's top golfer but the Irishman is not good enough to even make the world's top 10. Instead, six Americans, two South Africans, a Fijian and a Canadian fill the first 10 places, reported The Independent. ... 
Thorpe not to aim for Spitz's recordAUSTRALIAN Ian Thorpe has virtually given up hope of winning seven gold medals at this year's Athens Olympics and is planning to limit himself to six events. Thorpe has not finalised his programme for Athens but says he is no longer thinking ... |
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