Bhullar, Lahiri blow it up on final day, miss World Cup berth

Petaling Jaya (Malaysia): It turned out to be a case of so near and yet so far for Gaganjeet Bhullar and Anirban Lahiri as they shot a disastrous eight-over 80 in the final round today to miss out on a berth for the Omega Mission Hills World Cup.

The Indians, who were just a shot behind the leaders after three rounds, succumbed to nerves and saw their dreams of qualifying for the World Cup of golf crash with a quadruple bogey on the 18th hole.

Bhullar and Lahiri, who a day earlier carded a brilliant 64, were just not in the right form. They were very much in the race for top honours till the turn, despite making it two-over. They were 11-under at that stage with Singapore and the surging New Zealand team, which was 13-under. But after the turn, even as the Koreans were trying their best at nine-under and chasing India, the duo began falling apart.

The Indians dropped a bogey on 10th. The Koreans also reached 10-under with a birdie on 13th. Then the duo gave away bogeys on 16th and 17th to become eight-under, while the Koreans dropped a shot on 18th to come to nine-under.

Bhullar and Lahiri needed a birdie on 18th to force a play-off but instead they slumped to a quadruple bogey and crashed to sixth at four-under for four rounds. Bhullar's tee shot landed in thick rough on the 18th hole and Lahiri struggled to chip the ball out to safety and finally ended with an eight on the par-4 finishing hole.

The Koreans finished third and qualified for the World Cup, while Philippines and Malaysia were tied for fourth at six-under. Lam Chih Bing and Mardan Mamat will represent Singapore for the fifth time in the World Cup after finishing second behind New Zealand at the Omega Mission Hills World Cup Asian Qualifying today.

New Zealand, powered by Michael Hendry and Gareth Paddison, closed on four-under 67 highlighted by a chip-in birdie from the greenside bunker on the last hole at the Seri Selangor Golf Club. Their four-day total of 13-under 271 was matched by Lam and Mardan, who conceded in the play-off after shooting a final round 72. Koreans Kim Hyung-sung and Park Sung-joon claimed the last and final ticket to the Omega Mission Hills World Cup in China in November.

Paddison, a left-hander, who sank the bunker shot on the last, was delighted to win the qualifying after a final round of five birdies, an eagle and three bogeys. Lam and Mardan, who previously partnered in the 2002, 2005, 2006 and 2009 World Cups, were delighted to represent their country again in the two-man team showpiece staged from November 24 to 27.

Koreans Park and Kim, a three-time winner in Korea, said they were lucky to qualify for the World Cup after finishing with a bogey on the last for a 69 and a 275 total. — PTI

Asian games: India's best Final Tables

Asian Games: Vijender wins 14th gold as India record best ever medal tally

GUANGZHOU: India continued their golden run as star pugilist Vijender Singh punched his way to seal the 14th gold for India after beating Abbos Atoev of Uzbekistan in 75kg bout at the 16th Asian Games.

The ace Indian boxer started the summit clash to take a 2-0 lead in the first round and bettered it to 5-0 after the second round.

Before this bout, Olympic bronze medallist Vijender and Abbos were on an even keel as both had won one bout against each other.

While Vijender beat world champion Atoev Abbos 10-7 in the pre-quarterfinal of the Asian Boxing Championship in Zhuhai, China, Abbos recently settled scores 7-3 in the semifinal of the middleweight category of the World Boxing Championships (WBC) at Milan, Italy.

This gold made up for Vijender's ignominious exit in the recently-concluded 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games.

On Wednesday, world number one Vijender won a nail-biting 75kg semifinal bout against Mohammad Sattapour of Iran 10-7

With the addition of this gold, India's medal tally climbed to a record 14 gold, 15 silver and 33 bronze (total 62), the biggest ever medal haul in the Asian Games so far.

India's best medal haul till date was recorded in the 1982 Games in Delhi when they had won 13 gold, 19 silver and 25 bronze for an overall tally of 57.

Earlier in the day, Indian women's 4X400m relay team of Manjeet Kaur, Sini Jose, Ashwini Akkunji and Mandeep Kaur scripted history by winning the 13th gold.

The men's and women's kabaddi teams expectedly maintained their supremacy by clinching the gold.

Asian games: Indian women 4X400 relay team wins gold, Ashwini bags 2nd gold

Guangzhou: Indian women's 4X400m relay quartet lived up to expectations by defending the gold medal won in 2006 with AC Ashwini anchoring the team to glory in the Asian Games here today. Running in the third leg, Ashwini, who earlier clinched the yellow metal in the 400m hurdles, gave the Indian team a huge lead over second-placed Kazakhstan for Mandeep Kaur to maintain it till the finishing line in 3min 29.02sec.

In pic: The Indian 4x400 relay team, Manjeet Kaur, Shi Jose, Ashwini Chidananda Akkunji and Mandeep Kaur, celebrate after winning

In the first leg, India's Manjeet Kaur was running second before Sini Jose gave a slender lead for Ashwini to take over. Kazakhstan took the silver in 3:30.03 while China claimed the bronze in 3:30.89. With the gold medal here, the Indian quartet have won their second gold in two months in a multi-sporting event, having won the title in the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, though today's effort was well below 3:27.77 in the CWG.

In 2006 Asian Games, Satti Geetha, Pinki Parmanik, Chitra K Soman and Manjeet Kaur had won the gold in 3:32.95.

India win sixth Asian Games gold in men's kabaddi

Guangzhou: Barely hours after Indian women's kabaddi team made a memorable Asian Games debut by clinching the gold, their male counterparts recorded their sixth consecutive yellow metal in the quadrennial event with a comfortable victory over Iran, here today.

In pic: Indian Kabaddi team

The Indian men's team, who clinched the gold in every editionof the quadrennial event since the game's introduction in 1990, managed to prevail over Iran 37-20 at the Nansha Gymnasium here. India led 24-3 at half-time after Iran failed to secure a single lona against India's four. The Indians also got a couple of bonus points in the opening half.

However, after the crossover, Iran was the better side on display and managed to dominate the proceedings, bagging 17 points as against India's 13. But it was not enough to earn them a gold as overall India proved to be a better side with six lonas against two of their opponents and 28 outs to stamp their supremacy in the sport.

Indian women's kabaddi gets Asian Games gold

Guangzhou: The Indian women's kabaddi team completed a memorable Asian Games debut by clinching the gold medal with a comprehensive win over Thailand in the finals here today. The Indians beat Thailand 28-14 in a dominating performance to clinch the inaugural women's kabaddi gold of the Asian Games.

In pic: The Indian women Kabaddi team

The Indians led 17-7 at half-time after Thailand failed to secure a single lona against India's two. The Indian team also got a couple of bonus points in the opening half. The second half followed a similar script and India once again dominated by securing a couple of lonas and getting 20 outs to emerge triumphant.

Asian games: Pakistan's hockey gold sparks off countrywide celebrations

Karachi: Pakistan's first major hockey title in 16-years and their first Asian Games gold medal after 20 years has sparked off countrywide celebrations with former Olympians, government officials and the public singing praises for the national team players. Pakistan's Asian Games final match against Malaysia was watched by thousands of people in offices, marketplaces and parks where giant screens were installed to telecast the match.

The 2-0 victory was greeted by loud cheers, dancing and distribution of sweets in many parts of the country. The federal sports minister, Aijaz Hussain Jahrani and the President of the Pakistan Hockey Federation, Qasim Zia described the win as the life saver for hockey in the country. "We had said all along that our target is the Asian Games. After the World Cup and Commonwealth Games there was despondency but we had said we will win the Asian Games title," said Qasim Zia, a former Olympian. He also said that the Pakistani players deserved a lot of credit and praise for winning the final, while pointing out that hockey required such a major victory to boost its standing in Pakistan and also to reignite interest of the people in the national game. He said Pakistan had played well against the three other Asian giants -- India, South Korea and Malaysia and deserved to win. "We lost to India but were not humiliated and that I think was a stepping stone to this title," he said.

Jakhrani announced that the team would be given a hero's welcome when it return home on Saturday morning from China. "The players and officials who have brought this title for Pakistan will be rewarded by the government with cash awards and other facilities," he added. He said hockey needed a big title win and now Pakistan hockey is on the right path.

"The good thing is that now we have directly qualified for the 2012 London Olympics as well," he said. Former Olympians also praised the performance. "I think the foreign coach, Michel Van Den deserves credit for this massive victory because our hockey had been going downhill for years now," former captain Mansoor Ahmed said. Mansoor, who was a member of the national team that had last won the Asian Games gold medal in Beijing in 1990 and also in the team that won a last major title (1994 World Cup), said although the victory should be celebrated but the authorities should keep an eye on the Olympics as well. "We have shown that we are the best in Asia but we need to work much harder and improve a lot to also beat Australia and the European teams, who play a different level of hockey," he noted.

Former Olympian, Hasan Sardar said the PHF and management should now start grooming new players and begin to rebuild a process in Pakistan hockey. The final match that was closely followed on the streets and in tea shops on television screens saw people dancing and celebrating as soon as the final whistle was blown. "We rarely get to hear some good and positive news so it is great that our hockey team has brought us this joy and given us something to celebrate about," student Nausheen Khan said. As the congratulatory messages poured in from politicians, the President and Prime Minister, even the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said the hockey team had done the nation proud.

Vikas ends boxing gold drought in Asiad, Dinesh gets silver

Guangzhou: Teen sensation Vikas Krishan ended Indian boxing's 12-year-old gold medal drought in the Asian Games by winning the lightweight (60kg) title but Dinesh Kumar (81kg) settled for the silver after losing in the finals here today. India had not won a boxing gold at the Asiad since 1998 when the flamboyant Dingko Singh fetched the bantamweight top honours and it took a little known teenager from Haryana to break the jinx.

The 18-year-old Vikas stunned defending champion Qing Hu of China 5-4 in the lightweight 60kg final that was low on thrill as the Indian decided to play defensive. World Youth champion and a bronze-medallist at the inaugural Youth Olympics, Vikas kept a shell guard which ultimately proved impregnable for his rival. With scores tied 1-1 at the end of the first three minutes, Hu pushed Vikas out of sheer frustration in the second round and was handed a warning which cost him crucial two points.

The warning ultimately proved decisive as the two boxers could manage just one scoring punch each in the final round, which was just enough for Vikas to repeat Dingko's feat. However, Dinesh proved no match for defending champion Uzbek Elshod Rasulov and lost 4-10. The Arjuna awardee was on the backfoot from the word go as Rasulov took the attack to him with a combination of powerful bodyblows and well-timed jabs. Dinesh's attempted uppercuts could neither break Rasulov's defence nor fetch him any points.

Leading 1-0 in the opening round, Rasulov went on a rampage in the next two rounds and Dinesh found it extremely tough to keep pace with the proceedings. Olympic and World Championship bronze-medallist Vijender Singh (75kg), V Santhosh Kumar (64kg) and Manpreet Singh (91kg) are the other three Indian boxers who would be fighting for gold tomorrow. In the 2006 Asiad, India had won a couple of bronze medals and the current performance is a marked improvement from that edition as three more pugilists from the country are scheduled to fight their final bouts tomorrow.

Asian games: Pakistan win back hockey gold after 20 years

Fired-up Pakistan annexed the Asian Games men's hockey gold medal after 20 years with a convincing 2-0 win over Malaysia in the final on Thursday.

In pic: Pakistan celebrates their first goal against Malaysia

Veteran Sohail Abbas put Pakistan ahead with his team's first penalty corner in the 26th minute, before striker Rehan Butt increased the margin three minutes after half-time.

It was Pakistan's eighth Asiad hockey gold, ending a drought that stretched back to Beijing in 1990, and handed them their first major title since winning the World Cup in Sydney in 1994.

Pakistan ended the year on a high after a disappointing eight-month period in which they finished a humiliating 12th out of 12 at the World Cup in March and took sixth place at the Commonwealth Games in October.

The Pakistanis kneeled in prayer after the final whistle, before lifting their Dutch coach Michel van den Heuvel over their shoulders to loud applause from the stands.

Malaysia, often dubbed the sport's perennial under-achievers, had to settle for silver in their maiden appearance in the title clash after winning the bronze medal six times.

The entire Malaysian team, barring Sikh player Baljit Singh, shaved their heads in a practice called 'nazar' to ward off evil spirits in the final, but failed to produce the spark that won them the semi-final against India.

Amin Rahim, whose two late goals sank India, faltered in all three penalty corners his team earned in the second half.

Malaysia had gone into the final as the only unbeaten team in the competition with four wins and a draw.

Meanwhile, India returned to the Asiad podium after missing out in Doha four years ago when they defeated favourites South Korea 1-0 in the bronze medal play-off.

Tushar Khandekar netted the winner four minutes into the second session as India dominated the lacklustre Koreans through the 70-minute encounter.

India had not won an Asiad hockey medal for the first time in Doha and paid the price when they failed to qualify for the Beijing Olympics two years ago.

The Indian players were involved in a heated argument with Pakistani umpire Haider Rasool over a disputed penalty corner in the second half, which the South Koreans ultimately wasted.

India's Spanish coach Jose Brasa, whose contract is up for renewel after this match, said the bronze medal was not a just reward for his team.

"I think we were the best side in the competition, winning five of our six matches," said Brasa. "I can't say I am happy, but at least the boys will not return home empty-handed."

India, who won all their four league matches, were knocked out by a Malaysian golden goal in the semi-final.

South Korea, winners at the last two editions in Busan and Doha, were denied a hat-trick when they lost to Pakistan in a penalty shoot-out in the other semi-final.

The last time the Koreans finished fourth was in Beijing in 1990.

Asian games: Somdev creates history wins 7th Gold for India

Guangzhou: India’s young tennis ace Somdev Devvarman won the individual tennis event to get India it’s seventh gold medal on the eleventh day of the Asian games 2010. It is the first time an individual gold has been won in tennis.

Devvarman beat Dennis Istomin of Uzbekistan 6-1, 6-2 and the dominant win sealed India’s moment of glory in tennis at the Asiad after Somdev had yesterday played a major role in scripting the sixth gold medal win in the form of the doubles event victory.

Devvarman had inched closer to the historic tennis gold as the gritty Indian overcame a stunning second-set lapse to tame Tatsuma Ito and seal a place in the men’s singles summit clash in the semifinals.

India has won three bronze medals in men`s singles so far. Leander Paes had won it in 1994 in Hiroshima Games and Mahesh Bhupathi and Prahlad Srinath had won it during 1998 Games in Bangkok.

In total, Somdev won three medals at this edition of the Games as he had earlier won a bronze in team event as well.

India rounded off its tennis campaign with five medals, two more than what the country had got at the Doha Asian Games in 2006.

At Doha, Leander Paes had won two gold medals -- in men`s doubles with Mahesh Bhupathi and in mixed doubles with Sania Mirza.

Sania had won a sliver in the women`s singles.

The final match between Somdev and Istomin never rose to expected heights as the Uzbek was erratic and failed to curb his unforced errors, which helped Somdev`s cause.

The Indian broke the Uzbek twice in the opening set to take a comfortable 5-0 and served it out in the seventh game, having dropped his own in the sixth.

The second set was no different as Somdev again rode on double break after initial resistance from Istomin to seal the gold medal.

Asian Games: Somdev-Sanam win gold, Sania-Vishnu settles for silver

Guangzhou, Nov 22 (PTI)

Somdev Devvarman today became the first Indian to reach the men's singles final in the history of the Asian Games before winning the men's doubles gold with Sanam Singh but Sania Mirza and Vishnu Vardhan had to be content with a silver in the tennis competitions, here today. It was an extremely fruitful day for Somdev as he inched closer to a historic singles gold after piping Japan's Tatasuma Ito 6-2 0-6 6-3 in the semifinals to set up the summit-clash with top seed Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan. Later, he and Sanam Singh combined superbly to win first gold medal for India in the tennis event in this edition of the Games as the sixth seed pair shocked second seed Chinese Gong Maoxin and Li Zhe 6-3 6-7(4) 10-8 in the final.


Somdev Devvarman (R) and Sanam Krishan Gold medalist

However, gold eluded Sania yet again as she and Vishnu Vardhan, seeded sixth, lost the mixed doubles final 6-4 1-6 2-10 to second seed Taipei pair of Chan Yung Jan and Yang Tsung Hua. Somdev and Sanam's gold medal feat assumes significance as India landed here without star doubles pair of Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi, gold medallists of the last edition at Doha in 2006, who opted to play in World Tour Finals in London. Rohan Bopanna is also missing from the Indian line-up though he had failed to qualify for the World Tour Finals.
Sania had yesterday settled for a bronze medal in the women's singles. At Doha Games she had won silver in singles and had won a gold in mixed doubles with Paes. Somdev, a gold medalist at Commonwealth Games, continued to be India's flag bearer in the men's singles. Before him, no Indian had managed to enter men's singles final and India had won only three bronze medals in men's singles in Asian Games. Leander Paes had won it in 1994 in Hiroshima Games and Mahesh Bhupathi and Prahlad Srinath had won it during 1998 Games in Bangkok. Earlier, on the day, in the baseline slugfest that lasted almost two hours, second seed Somdev pocketed the opening set against Ito, ranked 195, with a measure of comfort but was then blown off the court by the fourth seed Ito, who clinched the second 6-0.
Things were looking difficult for the Indian world no 106 when he and his rival traded service breaks in the first four games. Somdev then staged an excellent rally under pressure by saving two break points in the fifth game. That was the turning point as Somdev regained poise and broke his rival for the third time, this time decisively, before taking the set 6-3. Istomin was too good for third-seeded Japanese opponent Go Soeda and completed a facile 6-1 6-0 victory.

Somdev sails into Asian Games final

IANS, NOV 22

Guangzhou: India's Somdev Devvarman entered the men's singles final defeating fourth-seeded Japanese Tatsuma Ito 6-2, 0-6, 6-3 in the Asian Games tennis here on Monday.

The Indian played a power-packed game from the backcourt and also rushed to the net hitting some crisp volleys.

Somdev plays top seed Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan in the final for the gold medal. Istomin outclassed third-seeded Japanese Go Soeda 6-1, 6-0.

Somdev Devvarman along with his partner Sanam are already in the men' doubles final.

Asian Games: Athletes provide the sparks as India clinch three gold medals

GUANGZHOU: The athletes provided a huge boost to the country's lacklustre campaign in the 16th Asian Games by fetching two gold medals while Ronjan Sodhi brought an end to the gold drought in shooting as India bagged as many as nine medals on an eventful ninth day of competitions on Sunday.

After a disappointing medal collection on the first week of competitions, long distance runner Preeja Sreedharan and steeple chaser Sudha Singh stole the thunder with their gold-winning feats on the track to raise hopes of a top ten finish for India on the medal table.

Ace shooter Ronjan Sodhi finally brought an end to the shooting contingent's gold drought by taking the honour in the men's double trap event.

The 31-year-old Sodhi, the world record holder shotgun shooter, made amends for his colleagues' miserable campaign and provided the first gold medal from the shooting range, which has not been too productive for the Indian shooters so far.

Kavita Raut fetched a silver in the women's 10,000m run while star tennis player Sania Mirza and grapplers Ravinder Singh (60kg Greco Roman) and Sunil Kumar Rana (66kg Greco Roman) were among those who claimed individual bronze medals.

Sodhi teamed up with Asher Noria and Vikram Bhatnagar to claim the bronze in the double trap team event while the women's archery team comprising Dola Banerjee, Deepika Kumari and Rimil Buriuly also chipped in with a bronze.

With the addition of nine more medals, India's medal tally climbed to five gold, 11 silver and 17 bronze. India had finished tenth on the medals table in the last Asian Games in Doha with a tally of 10-17-26.

Somdev Devvarman also assured India of at least a bronze medal by storming into the semifinals but Karan Rastogi went down fighting to top seed Denis Istomin in the men's singles tennis quarterfinals.

The men's hockey team also had a good day as they beat Japan 3-2 for their fourth consecutive win and finished atop the points-table in group B.

After a generally disappointing show, Sodhi turned the tide for the shooters as he clinched the top honours with a score of 186 after being second behind China's Pan Qiang at the end of the qualification stage.

Sodhi, part of the silver winning squad in the same event four years ago at Doha in Qatar, also reeled in the team bronze for India with his stupendous effort at the Guangzhou Shotgun Centre.

Sodhi shot 139 (47, 44 and 48) and was four shots behind China's Qiang going into the finals competed by six men and shot 47 in the final while the host nation shooter flopped with a 38 for an overall tally of 181.

This was the first gold from the much-heralded shooting squad after they started competing on November 13 and it was also the eighth medal hauled in by the marksmen and women who have so far won one gold, three silver and four bronze medals.

While Sodhi won the top honours in the individual, he combined with Asher Noria and Vikram Bhatnagar (16, 130) to rake in the team bronze medal with a combined aggregate of 403. Noria shot 46, 45 and 43 in the qualification while Bhatnagar came up with a sequence of 47, 40 and 43.

In the showpiece athletics event, long-distance runner Preeja Sreedharan clocked a personal best of 31:50:47 in the women's 10,000m final.

Kavita Raut, who won the bronze in the women's 10000m at the Commonwealth Games last month, walked away with the silver with a personal best timing of 31:51.44.

Later, Sudha Singh fetched India's second gold medal in track and field events and fifth overall by winning the 3000m Steeplechase event with her personal-best timing.

Sudha made up for her poor outing at last month's Commonwealth Games, clocking 9:55.67s to take the honours at the Aoti Main Stadium.

The Indian hopes of a gold medal in the women's singles tennis event were dashed when Sania Mirza settled for a bronze after losing to third seed Akgul Amanmuradova in the semifinals.

Sania lost the long-drawn-out battle, that lasted two hours and 49 minutes, against the big-serving Uzbek rival 7-6 (7), 3-6, 4-6 by committing a number of forehand errors to exit from the competition.

Indian women archers settled for a bronze in the team event after missing out on an opportunity to stun world number one South Korea in the semifinals shoot-off.

After qualifying for the semifinals with an easy 214-202 victory over North Korea, the Indian trio of Dola Banerjee, Deepika Kumari and Rimil Buriuly were leading by two points at 167-165 after 18 of the 24 arrows against South Korea.

But, the Indians failed to get over their nerves in the final six arrows (two each by the three archers) and the score was tied at 221 each in the end.

In the shoot-off, one of the South Korean trio hit the bull's eye while the other two scored 9 and 10. India could only come up with 9, 8, 9 to lose the tie.

In the bronze medal play-off against Chinese Taipei, India were trailing from the beginning and they were four points behind after 18 of the 24 arrows.

India scored 56 from the last six arrows as against 51 by their opponents to win the close contest 218-217.