The Malaysian Insider :: Sports
The Malaysian Insider :: Sports |
| Raw emotion characterises Shanghai wins Posted: 25 Jul 2011 05:33 PM PDT  Cesar Cielo is overcome, having just beaten a drugs ban to swim. — Reuters pic Teenager Ye Shiwen, backed by a deafening roar from a passionate home crowd, also won China's first swimming gold at this year's event after producing a storming freestyle lap in the women's 200 metres individual medley. Ye provided plenty of excitement as she eclipsed Olympic champion Stephanie Rice of Australia, who finished fourth. Dale Oen and Cielo overcame personal anguish to win the men's 100 breaststroke and 50 butterfly respectively. The 26-year-old Dale Oen has been struggling to cope after the "shocking" attacks in Oslo on Friday plunged his compatriots into national mourning. The Norwegian, less expressive than he was on Sunday, said he was still dealing with what happened at home when a mass shooting and bombing killed at least 90 people. "I try to imagine what it is like at home but it's hard," Dale Oen told reporters. "Though it's three to four days ago it's still shocking." Cielo almost did not compete in Shanghai after escaping a possible doping ban and he burst into tears at the end of the race and again on the podium. "I'm so glad I can be here to swim," said Cielo, who was only cleared to swim here last Thursday. "I'm an emotional man. My career is a great passion and the gold means a lot to me. "There were some hard times but thanks to the help from my team I have got through it and will learn to become much stronger," added Cielo. Close call American Michael Phelps, who has received the loudest cheers outside of the local swimmers whenever he has stepped on the pool deck, almost disappointed as he came within a whisker of failing to qualify for the 200 freestyle final. Phelps, trailing in fifth place with less than 50 metres to go, was forced into turbo-charge to overtake two swimmers and finish third in his semi-final and sneak into tomorrow's final with the fifth fastest time overall. The final will be stacked full of talent, with Phelps, 2009 world champion and world record holder Paul Biedermann of Germany, 400 freestyle champion Park Tae-hwan of South Korea, American Ryan Lochte and top qualifier Yannick Agnel of France looking for bragging rights ahead of the 2012 London Olympics. "I feel fine and am excited about the race tomorrow," said Biedermann. "It's going to be tough. All the people here are swimming for the Olympics next year." American Dana Vollmer claimed her first world individual title by winning the 100 butterfly. Vollmer had only previously won a gold as a member of the 4x200 freestyle relay in Melbourne in 2007. "I feel so excited . . . absolutely awesome," she said. — Reuters Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by Used Car Search. |
| James Anderson paves way for England test victory Posted: 25 Jul 2011 04:47 PM PDT LONDON, July 26 — England produced a disciplined and determined bowling display at Lord's yesterday to dismiss the world's most talented batting lineup for the second time and win their 100th test against India by 196 runs.  James Anderson (left) celebrates with teammates after dismissing India's Suresh Raina. — Reuters pic The trio have accumulated more than 35,000 test runs between them for the world's top-ranked side, with Tendulkar holding the world record of 14,738. Captain Andrew Strauss preferred to praise the overall contribution of Anderson, Chris Tremlett, Stuart Broad and Graeme Swann rather than dwell on individuals. "I think over the two innings it was as close to the perfect bowling performance as we have had in the last two years," Strauss said. "That's saying a lot because we have bowled exceptionally well quite consistently." Spectators queued throughout the early hours of the morning for the last day of the 2,000th test with 20,000 tickets available for the last rites of a consistently engrossing match. More than 25,000 people crammed into the game's world headquarters in addition to the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) members with support equally divided for England and India. "I think it was a great atmosphere," Strauss said. "You expect Indians to have a lot of support over here and it was fantastic. I think there was a lot of support for us as well. "That added to the mix, we all appreciate playing test matches in front of full houses. It makes you feel that you are doing something important, it makes you feel that every wicket you take, every run you score is appreciated by someone. "The more crowds we have over the course of the summer the better not just for us but for the future of test cricket." As it had been in the World Cup final in Mumbai on April 2, the stage was set for the greatest batsman of modern times to complete 100 international centuries. Once again, though, Tendulkar failed to deliver, extending instead his mystifyingly mediocre record at Lord's. Tendulkar made 18 in Mumbai, albeit in a winning cause, and 34 in the first innings at Lord's on Saturday. Still feeling the effects of a virus that kept him off the field for most of Sunday, he was all but strokeless yesterday, labouring for 85 minutes for 12 runs. He survived an appeal for lbw on 11 when the ball looked to have hit straight in front of the stumps and was dropped on 12 by Strauss at first slip, the second lapse by the England skipper who also dropped Dravid in India's first innings. "He (Tendulkar) felt weak after the first innings," said India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni. "He's much better now but I wouldn't say he's 100 per cent." By the time Tendulkar had arrived at the crease, India were already rocking after Dravid was out lbw to Anderson having added just one to his overnight total. Laxman batted calmly to reach his 53rd test half-century with eight boundaries but he gifted his wicket to Anderson, playing a loose shot that was caught by Ian Bell at mid-wicket. His dismissal brought Tendulkar to the crease, with a standing ovation from a packed Lord's crowd. Gautam Gambhir was out lbw to Graeme Swann and at lunch India were a precarious 142 for four and when Tendulkar failed to fire after the interval the writing was on the wall for India despite a fighting 78 from Suresh Raina. Zaheer missed With three tests remaining in the series followed by five one-day matches and a tour of Australia to follow this year, Tendulkar will assuredly reach a landmark unlikely to be equalled. But at the age of 38, it will not now come at Lord's where his test average is 21.66 compared with an overall 56.68. Strauss said before the match that he thought England were ready to assume the mantle of world test champions. They will overtake India in the rankings if they win the series by at least a two-match margin. "To be the No 1 side in the world you have to grab opportunities," he said yesterday. "I think we did that very well in this game. But it's the first match in a four-match series so we can't get carried away. "I think we just demonstrated that when we play well we're a match for anyone. We have got to make sure we play well again." Dhoni, who hit an unbeaten 91 in the World Cup final against Sri Lanka and who has yet to lose a test series as captain, said the loss of his leading strike bowler Zaheer Khan with a hamstring injury on the opening day had been crucial. "It became quite tough for us to manage the bowlers after losing Zaheer," he said. "It was very difficult for us to manoeuvre with three bowlers. We didn't have too many options." Dhoni said the uneven bounce yesterday had troubled his batsmen while he had also been forced to change his batting order. Dravid opened the batting in place of Gambhir, who had suffered a painful blow on his elbow while fielding, and Tendulkar came in at No 5 instead of four. "It was tough for the batsmen and most of them were batting in different slots. I think that also added pressure," he said. The teams have only three days off before the second test begins at Trent Bridge in Nottingham on Friday. The third is scheduled for Edgbaston and the series concludes at the Oval. — Reuters Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by Used Car Search. |
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