The Hindu : Sport Digest

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Apr 16, 2002

Sport

Sport - Sports : General

Sport Digest

CRICKET: Georgetown: ``It was a challenge to bowl to the greatest batsman in the world,'' for West Indian fast bowler Cameron Cuffy, who troubled the famed Indian batting line-up in the first Test here. ``I like this sort of challenge. But as everyone knows, (Sachin) Tendulkar is the greatest of modern batsmen. The way he played was so different from the others. You might bowl a good ball but it could go to the boundary. He is a difficult customer,'' said 31-year-old Cuffy about his experience of bowling to the Indian master. It was Tendulkar who first counter-attacked on the third day with a strokeful 79 after India was 21-2 with the dismissals of make-shift opener Deep Dasgupta and skipper Sourav Ganguly. Cuffy, the senior most West Indian bowler, rated the knocks of both Tendulkar and Dravid as outstanding but said he fancied his chances against the latter. ``Dravid batted very well, he was patient but there are times when you feel you have a chance against him,'' Cuffy said.

FOOTBALL: London: Manchester United's Holland international striker Ruud van Nistelrooy won England's Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) player of the year award at London's Grosvenor House Hotel on Sunday and said it was ``the proudest moment of my career''. Arsenal's France duo of Thierry Henry and Robert Pires was second and third respectively. Van Nistelrooy also saw off competition for the trophy from Manchester United teammates Roy Keane (Republic of Ireland) and England captain David Beckham as well as compatriot and Chelsea striker Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink. ``This is the proudest moment so far in my career. I have been voted by the players of the Premier League and that is the best league in Europe at the moment, said van Nistelrooy. ``That makes me feel proud,'' added the striker who earlier in the season became the first player to score in eight consecutive Premiership matches. Van Nistelrooy, 25, English football's leading scorer with 32 goals so far this season in all competitions, is the third United player in three years to win the award.

LONDON: A gambler who seemingly only bets on London soccer teams is £70,000 ($100,000) richer after staking £50,000 on Arsenal and Chelsea winning their FA Cup semifinals. Graham Sharpe, spokesman for bookmakers William Hill, on Sunday said the punter from Worcestershire had only ever had four bets with the company — three losing ones of at least £10,000 each all on London sides and Sunday's successful wager. ``He has won it all back and gone into profit with his fourth, a £50,000 double on Arsenal and Chelsea at odds of 7-5,'' said Sharpe. William Hill now makes Arsenal 8-13 favourites to win the Cup with Chelsea at 6-5.

TENNIS: MONTE CARLO: The French Davis Cup team is bracing itself for the return of Andre Agassi to the U.S. fold before September's semifinal. The two nations meet on clay for a place in the final and defending champions France feel sure Agassi will come out of Davis Cup retirement for the clash. ``Take my word for it — I believe Andre Agassi will return for that match,'' France's Nicolas Escude said at the Monte Carlo Masters on Sunday. ``And that is fine by me.'' France has opted to play the fixture on the Roland Garros centre court — the scene of one of Agassi's greatest triumphs. The American won the French Open in 1999 to become only the fifth man to win all four Grand Slam crowns.

MIAMI: Thomas Johansson of Sweden (253 points) leads the ATP Champions race for the week beginning April 15. ATP Champions Race: 1. T. Johansson (Swe) 253 pts, 2. T. Henman (Gbr) 197, 3. R. Federer (Sui) 191, 4. M. Safin (Rus) 188, 5. L. Hewitt (Aus) 181, 6. J. Novak (Cze) 162, 7. A. Agassi (USA) 160, 8. N. Escude (Fra) 126, 9. J. Chela (Arg) 123, 9. M. Rios (Chi) 123. Entry system: ATP: 1. L. Hewitt (Aus) 4520 points, 2. G. Kuerten (Bra) 3275, 3. J.C. Ferrero (Esp) 2720, 4. Y. Kafelnikov (Rus) 2675, 5. T. Henman (Gbr) 2545, 6. T. Haas (Ger) 2475, 7. M. Safin (Rus) 2475, 8. S. Grosjean (Fra) 2260, 9. T. Johansson (Swe) 2245, 10. A. Agassi (USA) 2195. WTA: 1. Jennifer Capriati (USA) 4803 points, 2. V. Williams (USA) 4669, 3. M. Hingis (Sui) 3657, 4. K. Clijsters (Bel) 3421, 5. L. Davenport (USA) 3350, 6. M. Seles (USA) 3314, 7. S. Williams (USA) 3271, 8. J. Henin (Bel) 3133, 9. J. Dokic (Yug) 3086, 10. A. Mauresmo (Fra) 2341.

ATHLETICS: HELSINKI: Helsinki will stage the 2005 World athletics championships after beating five other cities bidding to host the event, the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) announced here on Sunday. It is the second time the Finnish capital will host the event after staging the inaugural championships in 1983. Helsinki beat Berlin, Budapest, Rome, Moscow and Brussels in the vote which was re-opened after the IAAF took away the bi-annual event from original hosts London. In six rounds of voting in a closely fought contest, Helsinki won an absolute majority in the closing stages against one-time favourite Berlin and Budapest. Moscow was eliminated in the first round of voting, Brussels fell in the second and Rome lost out in the third.

TRIATHLON: SYDNEY: Canadian Olympic champion Simon Whitfield broke both his wrists and a collarbone during a horror smash at the opening round of the triathlon World Cup. Whitfield came to grief during the bicycle leg of the race in the Australian city of Geelong on Sunday when he was involved in a high-speed pile-up with four other competitors. The Sydney 2000 gold medallist was taken to a nearby hospital where x-rays later revealed he had suffered three separate fractures, organisers told reporters. They said Whitfield had told them he expected to be out of action for around six weeks but was still hopeful of making it back for the Commonwealth Games in Manchester in July.

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