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SPORT topstories CHELSEA TAKE ON WEST HAM Striker Didier Drogba has warned Chelsea’s title rivals that he is determined to satisfy his voracious appetite for success by firing the Blues back to Premier League glory. Carlo Ancelotti’s side can reclaim pole position with a home win over West Ham United on Saturday. SATURDAY’S FIXTURES: Tottenham Hotspur vs Blackburn Rovers, Birmingham City vs Everton, Bolton Wanderers vs Wigan Athletic, Burnley vs Wolverhampton Wanderers, Chelsea vs West Ham United, Stoke City vs Aston Villa, Hull City vs Arsenal
Rafa tipped to become Madrid boss: Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez is reported to become Real Madrid’s new boss after club’s Champions League defeat at the hands of Lyon and a possible sacking of Manuel Pellegrini. Benitez is the frontrunner on a shortlist that also includes Jose Mourinho and Carlo Ancelotti. Rooney takes it easy: Manchester United ace striker Wayne Rooney has curbed his training regime to avoid a burn-out ahead of the 2010 World Cup. Rooney always plays a five-a-side at the Carrington training ground with the same vigour as a Champions League final. Drogba gets award: Ivory Coast captain Didier Drogba was named African Footballer of the Year on Thursday, beating Cameroon’s Samuel Eto’o and Ghana’s Michael Essien for the 2009 award. It is the second time Chelsea striker Drogba, who celebrated his 32nd birthday on Thursday, has won the award after his previous success in 2006. Nesta could miss rest of the season: AC Milan defender Alessandro Nesta could miss the rest of the season after discovering on Friday he has ripped a tendon in his right knee. “In the next few days we’ll consider whether I should have an operation or not,” he told reporters. Cook puts Eng on top: Alastair Cook scored an unbeaten 158 on his debut as Test captain and Kevin Pietersen hit 99 to help England reach an imposing 374 for three at stumps on Day One of the first Test against Bangladesh in Chittagong.
ALL RESULTS: Atlanta 105 Washington 99, Orlando 111 Chicago 82, Portland 110 Golden State 105
on the tube 20:25 Chelsea vs West Ham (L) 22:55 Hull City vs Arsenal (L)
16:20 Bahrain GP Q (L) 20:25 Birmingham vs Everton (L)
18:00 All England Badminton (L) 23:00 Bayern vs SC Freiburg (L)
09:00 Banglasesh vs England (L) 18:30 Jaya He
Rajpal & Co lose only to hear boos
While defending champs Germany are eyeing a hat-trick of World Cup triumphs, the men from Down Under are striving to be third time lucky C RAJSHEKHAR RAO
New Delhi
Will Germany win a third consecutive title or will it be third time lucky for Australia who are vying for their second World Cup title? Though the odds seem pretty even, Germany are the only team in the championship to have improved with each match, seeming to produce something new in each outing. The Aussies were considered favourites going into this championship, largely because of their recent Champions Trophy triumph. But the Germans have sounded a warning by remaining unbeaten. If Australia’s goal-scoring skills were exemplified with a 12-0 drubbing of South Africa, Germany’s all-round skills have come to the fore time and again. “We came into the championship hoping to play the finals, now we are looking at winning the title,” said Aussie coach Ric Charlesworth, who is on the brink of becoming only the second man in the history to win both as a player
Jamie Dwyer, Aus skipper
Maximilian Muller, Ger skipper
The Germans are a young side, but they can be a tough team to beat…It will be the Australian attack versus the German defence.”
Consistency is the key to our success. We have done well so far, but performances till the semifinals have no bearing on the final.”
(1986) and a coach. “We have a different set of players, different strategies, different coach. I watched the last two finals as a spectator, but am confident this time will be different. I would not like to take credit for the performance though,” said Charlesworth. Australia were the pick of the teams before they were made to fight hard for a 2-1 victory over The Netherlands in the semifinals. On the other hand, Germany — held to two draws in the league — thrashed England 4-1 to ensure a place in the final. German captain Maximillian Muller
fancied his team’s chances even though only three members of the team here were part of their triumph at home four years ago. “Consistency is the key to our success. We have done well so far, but performances till the semifinals have no bearing on the final,” said Muller, who would be deriving confidence from the way young guns like Florian Fuchs have grabbed their opportunities. Australian captain Jamie Dwyer was cautious though confident because of the presence of prolific goal-scorers like ace drag flicker Luke Doerner and the mercurial Glenn Turner, apart from himself. “The Germans are a young side, but they can be a tough team to beat. The final will be a different ball game, but essentially, it will be the Australian attack versus the German defence,” Dwyer summed up the prospects of the final.
finalpreview
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
Roger Federer and former tennis greats Pete Sampras, Martina Navratilova and Steffi Graf will play in exhibition matches on Friday to raise money for victims of the Haiti earthquake. Moya scrapes through: Carlos Moya scraped through 7-6 7-6 against American qualifier Tim Smyczek in the first round of the Indian Wells ATP tournament on Thursday. American Mardy Fish beat Germany’s Michael Berrer 1-6 6-1 6-3 in an evening match. Chambers fastest in 60m: British European champion Dwain Chambers showed he was the man to beat in the men’s 60 metres, clocking a fast 6.59 seconds in his opening race of the IAAF world indoor championships in Doha on Friday. Vonn wins third straight WC: Lindsey Vonn of the United States skied through more pain on Friday to win the women’s overall World Cup title for the third year running. Vonn ignored a bruised right knee after crashing in Thursday’s giant slalom to win the final super-G and make sure of the overall title with one race left in the season. Hoy to lead Great Britain: Chris Hoy and Victoria Pendleton will spearhead Britain’s challenge at the Track Cycling World Championships in Copenhagen later this month. British Cycling on Friday named a 19-rider team for the March 24-28 event as they aim to make up for last year’s disappointing haul of two gold medals. Magic rout Bulls: The Orlando Magic stormed to a season-high seventh consecutive win with a 111-82 rout of the Chicago Bulls on Thursday.
www.dnaindia.com epaper.dnaindia.com
While Germany’s (left) all-round skills have come to the fore, Australia have impressed one and all with their goal-scoring spree throughout the World Cup —VIPIN PAWAR.DNA
PCB announces squad sans skipper: The
Federer, Sampras to play for charity:
Virender Sehwag has signed a deal with English county Northamptonshire to play in the Twenty20 championship this summer. Sehwag has played for Leicestershire in the past
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BANGALORE MARCH 13 2010
Sehwag to play T20s for Northants
AUSSOME ATTACK vs GERMAN TANKS
BRIEF SCORES: England 374/3 in 90 overs (Cook 158*, Pietersen 99) vs Bangladesh
Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Friday named its team for the World Twenty20 Championship but delayed naming the 15-man squad’s leader despite including former captain Shahid Afridi. The PCB, however, said it would announce the captain in a couple of days. Waugh warns Aus team: Former skipper Steve Waugh has warned that Australia are not match-hardened heading into this year’s home Ashes series because of a lack of competition from rival teams, reports said on Friday. Mitch denies head-butt charges: Mitchell Johnson has refused to accept the charge that he head-butted New Zealand batsman Scott Styris during the first one-day international of the Chappell-Hadlee series played at Napier. Vettori slams batsmen: New Zealand cricket captain Daniel Vettori has slammed his batsmen for their soft dismissals which handed Australia the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy on a platter. Australia secured a 3-1 series win on Thursday. Woods hires Bush’s secretary: Tiger Woods has hired former US President George W Bush’s press secretary Ari Fleischer as an adviser amid reports that he is eying next month’s Masters to make his much-awaited comeback to golf.
NEWSMAKER
LIVE THE GAME
ROAD TO FINAL
Germany ■ Drew with Korea 2-2 ■ Beat Canada 6-0 ■ Beat Argentina 4-3 ■ Drew with the Netherlands 2-2 ■ Beat Germany 5-2 ■ SF: Beat England 4-1
Australia ■ Lost to England 2-3 ■ Beat India 5-2 ■ Beat South Africa 12-0 ■ Beat Spain 2-0 ■ Beat Pakistan 2-1 ■ SF: Beat the Netherlands 2-1
HEAD TO HEAD IN WORLD CUPS Played: 4 Germany Won: 3 Australia Won: 1 Germany Goals: 9 Australia Goals: 9
IN WC FINALS Played: 2 (Germany lead 2-0) 2002 (Kuala Lumpur): Germany bt Australia 2-1 2006 (Germany): Germany bt Australia 4-3
PUNTER POINT: Germany 8/5, Australia 1/2
India finish eighth after going down 2-4 to Argentina; Prabhjot earns crowd wrath
Prabhjot Singh argues with the crowd after India’s loss to Argentina in New Delhi on Friday —VIPIN PAWAR.DNA
C RAJSHEKHAR RAO. New Delhi
The spectators at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium had run out of patience. Instead of the usual cheers for Indian players, there were boos as they left the turf after going down tamely to Argentina in the play-off for seventh place in the FIH Hero Honda World Cup. The 2-4 loss against a team ranked two slots lower than the home side’s world ranking of 12 was not taken well by the team either, disappointment writ larger on the usually jovial coach Jose Brasa’s face. “We are very sorry to have lost. We failed to score when we were dominating, while Argentina
A day in the life of Saina Nehwal The champion shuttler shares her pre-match routine which includes a nap and a banana DEV S SUKUMAR.
Saina for charity
Birmingham
Beyond the glamour of the fivestar receptions, state honours and television interviews, Saina Nehwal braces. It’s early yet, just 8am on a bitterly cold morning in Birmingham, and she will have to wait until evening to take on her opponent for a place in the All England semifinal. No Indian has been there since 2001, when her coach Pullela Gopichand pulled off a stirring victory. She’s been in Super Series quarterfinals before, and although she won’t admit it, this is big. This is the 100th year of the All England. All the top players talk of how special this one is. A lot of the game is in the waiting. The match will probably take an hour-and-a-half at most; the rest of the time is spent in preparing and not allowing the mind to get too far ahead. It’s about doing the small things right. Right now, Saina’s headed back to the hotel from her practice session at the NIA, which is built next to a picturesque waterway. A few geese are playing around in the water and Saina stops to
Saina Nehwal flanked by her father Harvir Singh (right) and physio Kiran in Birmingham on Saturday —DEV SUKUMAR.DNA
Saina Nehwal confirmed that she would be an Indian ambassador for a charity foundation named ‘Solibad: Badminton Without Borders’. The foundation, an initiative of French photojournalist Raphael Sachetat, will raise money for orphanages in Bali and Kuala Lumpur, besides arranging for aid in Haiti. It will raise money through auction and lottery of the playing equipment of shuttlers.
watch. She will head to the team hotel, have her breakfast, sleep for an hour and a half, have lunch, watch a movie for an hour; head to yet another practice session at 2pm, and return to the hotel for rest, before she finally makes her way to the stadium an hour before the match. “Earlier, it was a problem if I had a whole day left for the match,” she says. “But now, I’m fine with whatever time it is. When I enter the court again in the evening, I can’t be just 30 per cent prepared, and leave the rest to whatever’s going to happen. I
time,” Saina says. “If I’m resting, I’ll sleep for 1-1/2 hrs. I’ll have lunch three hours before the match, and a banana just before.” She will be playing Julianne Schenk. The German policewoman is a physically tough specimen; she is fast and powerful, and has beaten Saina a couple of times. Schenk will be in a similar state of readiness. She has had a busy fortnight, having come to the All England from the German Open, but after her second round she promised she’d give it everything in the quarters. It might be a long match.
have to be prepared for everything. It’s important to ensure that because it’s so cold here, I’m properly warmed up. Also, I’ve played these girls before, and you need to read their game again and again.” When a match is due, all top players go into a shell. Any small detail left unattended can hurt them. The mind has to be finely balanced; it cannot be too excited or too lethargic; it cannot be allowed to wander around, nor can it dwell on a particular thing all day, for then mental fatigue will set in. “Everything should be on
AT THE HOOTER SEVENTH PLACE PLAYOFF: Argentina 4 (Argento 28, Vila 43, 45, Callioni 46) bt India 2 (Sandeep 42pen, Shivendra 49), HT: 1-0 NINTH PLACE PLAYOFF: New Zealand 4 (Inglis 40, Hayward 42, 49, 70) South Africa 4 (Ross 4, Jones 45, Paton 51, Hammond 57), HT 0-1, New Zealand win in penalty shootout 5-4
were very good with their counter attacks,” Brasa said after India’s eighth-place finish. The Indians failed to take inspiration from the famous names in the stands that included a number of former players as well as Bollywood beauty Priyanka Chopra.
Miffed MCA to showcause DYP
Decision taken by managing committee DNA CORRESPONDENT. Mumbai
The Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) has sent out a strong message to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Indian Premier League (IPL) and the DY Patil Stadium management after being denied passes for the matches. Even as the IPL was unveiling its third edition, the MCA took a decision to boycott the championship unless they are taken on board in matters relating to IPL matches in Mumbai. At its managing committee meeting, the MCA decided to send a showcause notice to the DY Patil club asking why its affiliation to the association should not be cancelled. The MCA felt that the stadium management should have consulted its parent body before signing up an agreement with the IPL and the Deccan Chargers. DY Patil is to host four more IPL matches — two
Chargers home games, the third place play-off and the final on April 25. The MCA also decided to write to the BCCI to make it mandatory that the association is kept in the loop about any matches hosted in the city. “The IPL is a BCCI tournament and we have a right to be part of its activities in Mumbai. We should be taken on board,” an MCA member told DNA. “We’re answerable to so many cricketers in Mumbai. The previous practice of issuing 20 per cent passes to the association should be continued. MCA president Sharad Pawar was not present at the meeting but members said the former BCCI president is aware of the decision. Pawar and MCA officials did not attend the opening ceremony. Pawar, the IPL officials and the DY Patil management officials could not be reached for comment.
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