The Star Online: Sports
The Star Online: Sports |
- World Twenty20 to get under way in Sri Lanka
- Kwong Beng stays with Rashid and is out of two tournaments
- Jazeman enters triathlon to keep track of fitness before British F3 final
| World Twenty20 to get under way in Sri Lanka Posted: 17 Sep 2012 04:29 PM PDT HAMBANTOTA, Sri Lanka - Hosts Sri Lanka open cricket's World Twenty20 against Zimbabwe Tuesday, kicking off the country's biggest ever sports event - and just three years after the end of a bloody civil war. Mahela Jayawardene's men will take the field in Hambantota, the southeastern home town of President Mahinda Rajapakse, with hopes high they can end a 16-year wait for their second global title in front of their cricket-obsessed fans. The match, at 7:30 pm (1400 GMT), starts a three-week cricket fiesta involving 12 teams in coastal Hambantota, hill town Pallekele and the capital Colombo, where the fourth World Twenty20 champions will be crowned on October 7. The tournament offers the "Teardrop Island" the chance to showcase its lush landscapes, beaches and temples, and turn the page on the 37-year ethnic conflict that claimed up to 100,000 lives. In 2009, Rajapakse's government declared victory over the Tamil Tiger rebels, a group notorious for suicide bombings. The brutal final offensive prompted a UN Human Rights Council resolution against Sri Lanka earlier this year. "The T20 World Cup programme will provide an excellent platform to endorse the new Sri Lanka brand during the next three weeks," said Nivard Cabraal, the central bank governor. "I am confident that this trend will continue in the future, and those so-called international calls for (war crimes) investigation will fade away," he told AFP. Sri Lanka start the tournament as marginal favourites, although predictions are notoriously difficult in cricket's shortest format, which has revolutionised the sport and divided opinion since its introduction in 2003. Home advantage will help the hosts, who have a well-balanced side including the newly crowned cricketer of the year, wicketkeeper-batsman Kumar Sangakkara. Sri Lanka won the 50-over World Cup in 1996 and have reached the tournament's two most recent finals, along with the 2009 World Twenty20 title match which they lost to Pakistan. "Lots of people have asked us why we have choked in the finals," skipper Jayawardene said. "I'd rather be in that situation than being knocked out in earlier rounds." Defending champions England arrive with a youthful squad shorn of star batsman Kevin Pietersen, who is in international exile after a sequence of bust-ups with team management. South Africa, the number one Test team, are seeking their first ever limited-overs world title, while the powerful West Indies would be a popular winner. The World Twenty20 is the one major trophy to elude Australia. India, schooled in Twenty20 cricket in the lucrative Indian Premier League, won the inaugural event in 2007, while mercurial Pakistan will hope to reprise their 2009 title run. The teams have been divided into four pools of three for the preliminary league, with the top two from each advancing to the Super Eights round. If the seedings go to plan, fans can expect exciting cricket in the Super Eights - a week-long race to the semis and final. England, the West Indies, Sri Lanka and New Zealand are seeded to meet in group one of the Super Eights, with the top two teams making it to the semi-finals. Group two is already being billed as the "Group of Death", with arch-rivals India and Pakistan seeded to face Australia and South Africa. - AFP |
| Kwong Beng stays with Rashid and is out of two tournaments Posted: 17 Sep 2012 04:50 PM PDT KUALA LUMPUR: Back-up men's singles shuttler Chan Kwong Beng's request to train under Hendrawan in a bid to revive his flagging career has been shot down. And to add insult to injury, the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) have dropped Kwong Beng from two Grand Prix Gold tournaments in Indonesia and Taiwan for speaking up. The tournament in Indonesia is from Sept 25-30 while the one in Taiwan is from Oct 2-7. Prior to the BAM's coaching and training (CNT) committee meeting on Sept 7, Kwong Beng had spoken of his aspiration to come out of the rut, hoping that a change of coach would do the trick. He had discussed the matter with national singles coach Rashid Sidek and Hendrawan and both had agreed to the switch. However, the proposal was shot down at the CNT. Yesterday, Rashid said BAM had retained Kwong Beng despite his drop in form over the last two years. In fact, at last week's China Masters, he lost 14-21, 14-21 to China's Chen Yuekun in the second round of the qualifying tournament. Rashid said that the 24-year-old Kwong Beng, who has yet to win even a Satellite title since 2005, had been given another chance to revive his career. "He will continue to be under my care with Liew Daren and Chong Wei Feng. They will continue to train with Lee Chong Wei. I will be sending Kwong Beng for the Super Series in Denmark and France," said Rashid. "I have reminded him that the change should start from within. I hope to see better commitment from him in training from now on." While Rashid and Tey Seu Bock are expected to handle the elite team, the heavy responsibility of producing the future stars will fall on Hendrawan under the Project 2016 squad. Hendrawan will be answerable to a project manager. Tomorrow, the BAM exco will announce the project managers for the 2016 and 2020 programmes and former international Kwan Yoke Meng and Wong Ah Jit of the National Sports Institute (NSI) are tipped for the jobs. |
| Jazeman enters triathlon to keep track of fitness before British F3 final Posted: 17 Sep 2012 04:41 PM PDT PETALING JAYA: The word 'rest' does not exist in Jazeman Jaafar's (pic) lexicon as he counts down the days to the season finale of the British F3 International Series in Donington Park at the end of this month. The 19-year-old, who currently leads the championship standings, entered a triathlon race over the weekend just to check his fitness level and was pleased with how things turned out. "The race (HSBC Triahtlon) was held at Eton Dorney, the site of the rowing events for the London Olympics last month, and attracted hundreds of participants. "I finished eighth in my age-group. The open water swim was a bit cold and I struggled with a headwind in the cycling event. Overall, it was a tough but good outing," said Jazeman, who is based in London. It may still be two weeks before the final round but Jazeman said the need to keep in shape is the reason why he takes up outdoor sports like the triathlon. "I swim, play badminton and cycle besides going to the gym. I did my first triathlon last year and it certainly is a humbling experience," he said. "My training regime, which is about the same for any athlete, is almost brutal, I have to watch what I eat and drink. But you need to have an edge when you're racing against others who are just as dedicated to winning," said Jazeman, who regained the British F3 championship lead with a win and two second placings at the historic Silverstone Circuit a week ago. Jazeman is now three races away from becoming the first Asian to win the title with the final round at Donington Park on Sept 29-30. He has 282 points while Fortec driver Felix Serraless of Puerto Rico is second with 276. Jazeman's Carlin team-mate Jack Harvey is third (259). The Malaysian ace is hoping everything will favour him during the race weekend. "I have to step up to the challenge for the last three races. I'm confident of my chances if we set up the car well," he said. |
| You are subscribed to email updates from The Star Online: Sports To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
0 ulasan:
Catat Ulasan