By Our Reporter

SHILLONG: With a day to go for the I-League, Shillong Lajong FC on Thursday signed North Korean defender Minchol Son while youngster Samuel Shadap became the first player from Lajong’s youth academy to secure a contract with the senior team.

Announcing this at a press conference here, SLFC general secretary Larsing Ming Sawyan said that the team would definitely gain from the new signings in the months to come.

Son, who has been roped in to strengthen the defense, which is in a spot of bother after defenders Govin Singh, Rollingson Hungyo and Chitrasen were rendered injured recently, has previously played for FC Korea d also a part of the Korean National Football Team U-23 squad. 20-year-old Shadap on the other hand has been rewarded for his impressive performance in the North Esat Lajong Super Series and handed over a four year contract by the Club.

Shadap joined SLFC Academy at the age of 14 in 2006 and has since then been among the most promising players of the Academy.

The Reds take on Mohun Bagan on Saturday in their first encounter of the I-League this season. The match will be crucial in terms of gaining momentum going into the long season.

Stating that the team is targeting a top seven finish this year, Sawyan asserted that “win or lose, the boys would not give up until the final whistle (of the match) is blown.”

Calling on the supporters of the club to come forward and back the side, both the general secretary and the coach Desmond Bulpin informed that an email address Comments@shillonglajong .com has been opened for fans to give their suggestions to take the club forward.

Playing down the pressure of expectations in the opening encounter, Ming said, “What matters is how we end the season”, while adding that it would be great to start on a winning note against Bagan.

Lajong, placed 10th in the last season’s table, are eyeing to finish at the first half of the table this year even as Bagan are a force to reckon with considering that they ended in the fourth position last season.

SHILLONG: The countdown for flagship event of IIM Shillong, the IIM Shillong Golf Cup, has begun. Meghalaya Tourism is the title sponsor in the fifth edition of the IIM Shillong Golf Cup starting on October 6.

The event will showcase the talent of the well-known golfing celebrity like Charu Sharma as well as elite corporates representing Axis Bank, BOC India, Tata Steel, Coal India, ITC, Reliance, TCS, Mcleod Russell India, etc. The event will be ceremonially ‘Teed-Off’ by Bindo M. Lanong, Deputy Chief Minister of Meghalaya at 6:30 am on October 6, while Charles Pyngrop, Speaker of the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly will be teeing off on October 7.

The event will be graced by Chief Minister of Meghalaya Dr Mukul M Sangma during the prize distribution ceremony.

Colombo: Sri Lanka produced a clinical bowling display to beat Pakistan by 16 runs and storm into the final of the ICC World Twenty20 here on Thursday.

After managing a modest 139 for four on a slow Premadasa track, Sri Lankan duo of Lasith Malinga and Ajantha Mendis stifled the Pakistan batsmen in the final overs to restrict them to 123 for seven.

Pakistan needed 32 runs off last three overs which is considered to be quite achievable by Twenty20 standards but Mendis and Malinga held their nerves giving only five and four runs respectively of the 18th and 19th over.

Nuwan Kulasekara, who bowled the 20th over, didn’t have any pressure on him as he gave only seven runs to sent the capacity crowd into a tizzy.

Left-arm spinner Rangana Herath used the conditions to perfection as he recorded the best figures of three for 25 in four overs. Malinga gave only 19 runs in his four overs while Mendis was also impressive with figures two for 27.

Chasing a target of 140 was a tricky one on the slow Premadasa track as batsmen often got confused whether to attack or rotate the strike.

Imran Nazir was in his element as he tried to hit each and every ball out of the sight but failed to connect most of them before he dragged one off Mendis onto his stumps. Nazir made 20 with the help of three fours.

Then it was Angelo Mathews who got Sri Lanka back into the game trapping in-form Nasir Jamshed leg before and then deceived Kamran Akmal with a slower one.

Earlier, electing to bat, some scratchy batting by opener Tillekaratne Dilshan hampered Sri Lanka’s chances of putting up a big total as they managed only 139 for four in their stipulated 20 overs. While skipper Mahela Jayawardene had provided the right start with a 36-ball-42, Dilshan struggled throughout the middle overs as he managed only 35 off 42 balls.

The Lankans managed 16 runs of the final over when Thisara Perera hit a couple of fours while Angelo Mathews also managed a thickish edge.

Shahid Afridi, Mohammed Hafeez, Umar Gul and Saeed Ajmal got a wicket each but more importantly didn’t go for too many runs.

The decision to promote left-hander Jeevan Mendis above Mathews and Perrera was baffling as the former played a lot of dot balls that added to the pressure on Dilshan.

Jayawardene’s batting was a treat to watch. He perished trying to play the sweep shot one too many but till he was executing it with ease in the first 10 overs, there was no better sight. He started with a slog sweep of Hassan and then got a couple of boundaries off Ajmal — first one was a lap shot over short fine leg and then a reverse sweep. (PTI)

From Sunil Gavaskar

 There was a time way back towards the last quarter of the last century when the top dogs of the game were Australia and the West Indies, and their clashes were awaited and followed with bated breath by all those who loved the game of cricket.

After having won the first World Cup in 1975 beating Australia in the finals, the West Indies team went to Australia for a six Test series which was billed as the clash of the champions.

However the Australians were so overwhelmingly superior that the West Indies just crumbled and lost that series 5-1.

The pace duo of Lille and Thomson along with fabulous batting by Greg Chappell totally destroyed the West Indies to such an extent that they had to rethink how to get to the top again.

They played against India immediately after that series and discovered that a four pronged fast attack was the way to go and since then the West Indies have used spinners only to give a bit of rest to their quicker bowlers and to make sure that they stay on the right side of the over rate.

With more and more cricket being played and in different formats too, the fast bowlers realised that if they were to survive even a few years at the top they had to cut down on speed and so the West Indies bowlers were more likely to go full tilt in the first few overs and then focus on bowling a right line and length.

No longer was the mantra blast the batsman out, but simply to stay the course. That the ICC had also decided a few years earlier that the number of bouncers would be limited in an over handicapped them even more.

They also did not find quality batsmen and in this century they became the whipping boys of international cricket losing even to Bangladesh, who had hardly won anything beyond the subcontinent.

Today the team looks as if there is a resurgence though the glory days are still far away, they are not the hopeless side they have been the last few years. They play Australia in the semi finals of the ICC World Twenty Twenty and the old rivalry will be great to see.

The Aussies too have had their ups and downs in the last five years after dominating world cricket for a decade and more. Since their cricket is a lot more organised and the Aussies are pretty combative in nature and not laid back cool as the Windies, they have always been a threat and not taken lightly by any team.

They have not won this format of the game and so will go all out and so the Windies will have a real battle.

The opening duo of Watson and Warner are dangerous and the West Indies would do well to have Sunil Narine at them before they settle down. Hussey has been in form too, but the rest of the batsmen have struggled so the West Indies can pile on the pressure if they get early wickets. They still will have to bat well for even in their team apart from the Gayle, Charles combo and Marlon Samuels, they don’t have batsmen in form.

It may not be like the old days, but it is still a contest worth watching.

Beijing: Top two seeds Victoria Azarenka and Maria Sharapova, both bidding for their first title here, eased into the last eight in straight-set victories at the China Open on Thursday.

Belarus’ World No.1 Azarenka defeated qualifier Elena Vesnina of Russia 6-3, 6-3 to set up a quarter-final clash with Switzerland’s Romina Oprandi, while Sharapova cruised past World No.90 Polona Hercog of Slovenia 6-0, 6-2 in just one hour and a half.

Sharapova, who survived an early-exit scare with a hard-fought 7-5, 7-5 opening victory over Simona Halep of Romania, enjoyed a much easier encounter against Hercog as she was broken only once.

“I had a long first round, even though it was two sets, but today and yesterday were definitely a little bit quicker,” said Sharapova.

She will face 5th seed Angelique Kerber of Germany in the next round. (IANS)

Paris: Real Madrid and Malaga coasted to their second successive victories in the Champions League and rounded off a perfect four wins from four games for Spanish sides in this week’s matches.

Real hammered their by now traditional whipping boys Ajax 4-1 in Amsterdam on Wednesday- which included somewhat surprisingly Cristiano Ronaldo’s first ever Champions League hat-trick – while Malaga continued their impressive start to their maiden campaign with a 3-0 away win at Anderlecht.

Both Barcelona and Valencia had won their games on Tuesday with the latter side the only one not to have the full complement of six points from the two games.

Elsewhere two young players who would dream of having half the success Ronaldo has enjoyed made their own first historic mark for their clubs.

Italian Stephan El Shaarawy became AC Milan’s youngest ever Champions League scorer just weeks before he celebrates his 20th birthday with a superb individual goal in the Italian side’s fortunate 3-2 away win over ailing Russian champions Zenit St Petersburg.

Julian Draxler only turned 19 in September and he celebrated by scoring for Schalke 04 to become the youngest ever German scorer in the competition.

However, Montpellier striker Souleymane Camara put a dampener on the evening by scoring a 90th minute goal to force an unlikely 2-2 draw with the French side having been reduced to 10 men in the 52nd minute.

Schalke’s disappointment was mirrored by Bundesliga rivals Borussia Dortmund who outclassed Manchester City but found Joe Hart an obstacle to adding to a 1-0 lead and a late penalty by Mario Balotelli saw the hosts undeservedly share the spoils.

While Montpellier garnered their first point of the campaign the side they edged for the Ligue 1 title last season Paris Saint Germain failed to build on their opening win as they lost for the first time this season 1-0 away at Porto.

Real’s fifth successive win against Ajax in the past three seasons in the Champions League group stage had the Spanish champions coach Jose Mourinho in exultant mood.

“Real are back, it is the Real that beat Barcelona last season,” said Mourinho, whose side travel to Barcelona on Sunday for their first meeting of the season.

“It is the first time this season that the team has won three or four consecutive games, it is important for our objectives and our confidence.”

Both Schalke and Dortmund reflected on the three points they felt they deserved but instead had to make do with a point apiece.

“We played with too much fear,” was a typically frank admission by Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, who scored Schalke’s second goal.

Montpellier boss Rene Girard, though, felt that Schalke had got what they deserved.

“This team (Schalke) has disrespected us, starting with the coach.

“And when you don’t show respect, things like this happen.”

Dortmund’s goalscorer Marco Reus said that it was a bitter pill to swallow seeing Balotelli put away the City penalty late in the game.

“When you play like that you want to take away three points,” he said.

“That is very bitter, when you concede a penalty in the last minute. I don’t know if it should have been a penalty. We deserved to win the game.”

City manager Roberto Mancini admitted the point was not deserved and warned of consequences for the players.

“We didn’t play well. We need to run and fight for every ball. We need to fight. It’s not enough to have just a good quality.

“I know the problem and I will solve very quickly. If we don’t improve it will be difficult (to qualify) but this point could be important.” (AFP)

LONDON: England manager Roy Hodgson has publicly apologised to Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand after a private conversation about the demise of the defender’s international career was published in an an English national newspaper.

Hodgson is alleged to have told fellow passengers on a London Tube train en route to the Emirates Stadium for Arsenal’s Champions League game in midweek that he would not select Ferdinand again. And his words soon made it onto the back pages.

Hodgson did leave Ferdinand out of his squad, announced on Thursday, for World Cup qualifiers against San Marino and Poland, but admits he owes an apology to the experienced centre-back, who has won 81 caps for England.

“I have tried to speak to Rio and I am very disappointed that the story has come out like that and I apologise to him because there is no way I would ever indicate I wasn’t going to use a player in that way,” Hodgson said.

“I didn’t choose him in the squad this time and it is for the same reasons as before, we have other players. But certainly I am not suggesting it is the end of the line.

“I would never dream of telling a player it’s the end of the line or the end of the road or whatever I am supposed to have said. That is up to every player to decide for himself.”

Hodgson has yet to speak to Ferdinand despite several attempts to contact him; but he was anxious to explain the situation, adding: “All I remember was that I was talking to quite a lot of people on the Tube and one guy said ‘Is Rio in the next squad?’ and I think I might have said ‘I don’t think so’.

“I think that is about as far as I went. But I shouldn’t say that of course. It’s a mistake and I need to apologise for that.

“This is one of the hazards I suppose of travelling on Tube trains when you go up to London which is the best way for me to travel and then of course speaking to people who ask me questions rather than sitting there tight-lipped refusing to even open my mouth. I’ve paid for it.”

England squad for WC qualifiers

Goalkeepers: Fraser Forster, Joe Hart, John Ruddy Defenders: Leighton Baines, Gary Cahill, Ashley Cole, Kieran Gibbs, Phil Jagielka, Glen Johnson, Joleon Lescott, Ryan Shawcross, Kyle Walker Midfielders: Michael Carrick, Tom Cleverley, Steven Gerrard, Adam Johnson, Aaron Lennon, Frank Lampard, James Milner, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Theo Walcott Forwards: Andy Carroll, Jermain Defoe, Wayne Rooney, Daniel Welbeck. (AFP)

New Delhi: She might have been felicitated several times after fetching an Olympic bronze medal, but the achievement has not been enough to get the top Indian woman boxer M C Mary Kom the small piece of land that was promised by the government of her home state Manipur two years ago.

Mary Kom was promised the land in Manipur after her unprecedented fifth world title in 2010 but two years on, she is still waiting for the allotment papers, besides a long-pending promotion in the State Police.

This, despite the fact that Mary Kom was the only Indian boxer to win a medal at the London Olympics. In fact the promises made to her two years ago were repeated after the London achievement, only to be forgotten.

“I have been waiting and waiting for things to happen but nothing moves forward. It’s a three acre piece of land that was promised long back by the state government,” said Mary Kom, who was presented the latest model of SUV Bolero by the Mahindra Group at a felicitation function here on Thursday.

“The land has been finalised. We know where it is but the paperwork has not been done,” she added.

The 29-year-old mother-of-two, who has been hopping from one felicitation function to another after returning from London, said save from travelling most of her waking hours, nothing really has changed in her life.

“I am just enjoying the adulation. There is no major competition this year and I will start training only in the new year,” he said.

“Mary Kom is still Mary Kom attending felicitations and travelling to different cities are only changes in my life. I am still a boxer first.”

After a successful debut at the London Olympics, women’s boxing as been included in the 2014 Commonwealth Games roster and Mary Kom said she would be aiming to be in the Indian team.

“I want to be there in Glasgow. I am alway ready for a fight. If I am selected I will definitely compete,” she said.

The diminutive boxer was asked whether she wanted any of her twin sons to become a boxer.

“My kids are free to do what they want. If they want to take up boxing, it is their wish,” she said. (PTI)