Short Corner — Chandigarh

Vasudev Reddy ousts ErhardtSteady Hyderabadi Vasudeva Reddy relished on fifth seed Patrick Erhardt and polished off the blond German in a...

Vasudev Reddy ousts Erhardt
Steady Hyderabadi Vasudeva Reddy relished on fifth seed Patrick Erhardt and polished off the blond German in an hour and 20 minutes in his first-round match of the State Bank of India ITF Satellite Circuit tennis tournament today. The 6-1, 6-3 win, in which the former National champion never dropped his serve, set the German, ranked more that 500 places above the Indian, free to concentrate on his doubles.

`No excuse’
Does the Harare humiliation call for a serious rethinking into the Indian cricket team’s abilities? Well, the captain Mohammad Azharuddin and coach Anshuman Gaekwad don’t feel so. Azharuddin was candid enough to offer “no excuses” to the 61-run reversal suffered in the one-off Test against minnows Zimbabwe last weekend. But he said: “I don’t think it calls for some serious introspection based on the performance of just one game.

Kirti quits
Kirti Azad today resigned from the panel of Delhi Ranji Trophy selection committee, “disgusted with the pressures for adjustments in the selection of the team.” In a brief letter addressed to the sports secretary, Kirti Azad said: “It is difficult for me to fit into this August committee”.

Story continues below this ad

Rovers draw
Rock Rovers, Chandigarh fought back from a two-goal deficit to draw Punjab State Electricity Board, Patiala 2-1 in a close encounter in a draw-marred day in the all-India Independence Gold Cup hockey tournament today. PSEB scored two quick goals in the seventh and eighth minute, through Harbinder Singh and Savinder Singh respectively.

Pay cuts
In a development that may further heighten tension between top Australian cricketers and the country’s cricket board, the players, negotiating for a year with the board for more money, face pay cuts of up to 40,000 Australian Dollars (approx. Rs 10 lakhs) this season.

Match-fixing
Salim Malik was spared an appearance before an inquiry into accusations of match-fixing against him today when the judge was forced to take a day off. But the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is stepping up pressure for Australia’s Shane Warne to appear before the inquiry into allegations against Malik, bowler Wasim Akram and Ejaz Ahmed.