1. SUNDAY TIMES OF INDIA, BENGALURU
FEBRUARY 21, 201622 TIMES SPORT
New Delhi: World football’s
governing body FIFA’s inspec-
tion team gave a wake-up call
totheAllIndiaFootballFeder-
ation (AIFF) on Saturday, ask-
ing for major renovation to all
the six provisional venues for
next year’s U-17 FIFA World
CuptobeheldinIndia.
“The FIFA delegation is ve-
ry satisfied with the planning
until now. However, we have
seen nothing yet. All the stadi-
ums need major renovations
to make them ready for the
World Cup. The deadline for
the construction to finish is
October 2016. The state and
central government need to
put planning into motion,
start working and putting ev-
erythinginplace,”FIFA’shead
of eventsJaimeYarzasaid.
After inspecting stadia in
Kochi, Goa, Mumbai, Kolkata
and Guwahati, the inspection
team ended its tour with Del-
hi’s Jawaharlal Nehru Stadi-
um. The stadia have to be
match-readybyJunenextyear
inordertohost‘testgames’.
Javier Ceppi, tournament
director, local organizing
committee, highlighted the
problem of ‘jugaad’ culture in
the country and called for the
need of having a planned,
streamlined process. “There
is no room for jugaad. This
culture has to change. You
don’t have to run at the last
minute. The last 16 months
has been about changing the
culture.Wearehappywiththe
progress that has been made.
Now, implementation, which
istherealpart,needstostart.”
Talking about Delhi’s JLN
stadium, Yarza said: “We
haven’t done the whole in-
spection yet. We need to see a
lot of things. I think it’s a fan-
tastic building with a lot of po-
tential.Iamnotsayingit’sbad
orworseovertheothers.Itdef-
initelyrequiresrenovation.”
Asked if the Ambedkar
Stadium was ever considered
as one of the venues, Ceppi
said: “Ambedkar Stadium
would require massive reno-
vation to make it compliant
withWorldCupstandards.”
While Kolkata may get to
hostthefinalof theU-17World
Cup, Delhi’s chances of host-
ing even a semifinal match
seemtobeslim.
AsperCeppi,FIFAalready
has other venues in mind in
caseanyof thesixprovisional
venues fail to meet the Octo-
berdeadline.“Wehavevisited
Chennai, Pune, Bengaluru
and Ahemdabad. There are
many centres and state gov-
ernments who would be hap-
pytostepup,”hesaid.
FIFA team
recommends
renovation
of venues
Rohan.Puri@timesgroup.com
REGD. NO. CPMG/KA/BG-GPO-31/2003-05, RNI NO.
50523/91. Published for the proprietors, Bennett, Coleman &
Co. Ltd., by R J Prakashan at S&B Towers, 40/1 M.G. Road,
Bengaluru - 560 001 (Phones: Office: EPABX - 080-42200000,
Editorial: 080- 42200209 / 42200211, Fax : 080-42200100,
Editorial Fax: 42200202) and printed by him at No.9/10/11-A,
4th Main, Bommasandra Industrial Area, Hosur Road,
Bengaluru 560 099 (Ph : 080-42200500). Regd office: Dr.
D.N. Road, Mumbai - 400 001. Editor (Bengaluru Market):
Rohit Saran - responsible for selection of news under PRB
Act. © All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part
without written permission is prohibited. NO. 6 VOL 25
Hyderabad: HS Prannoy, sa-
viour of the hosts for the last
two days, could not repeat the
magic as his team bowed out
of the tie much before his ar-
rival, losing 1-3 to Indonesia
in the semifinals of the Bad-
minton Asia Team Cham-
pionships at the Gachibowli
Indoor Stadium here on Sat-
urday.With this loss Indian
men bagged the bronze med-
al,theirfirstinthreedecades.
ThoughKidambiSrikanth
gave a solid start to his team,
the hosts lost the next three
ties and crashed out of the
tournament. After winning
the first game without much
difficulty against in-form
Tommy Sugiarto, Srikanth
was unlucky to lose the close-
ly-fought second game. How-
ever, the top ranked Indian
shifted gears in the decider
and played an attacking game
tooustTommy21-14,23-25,21-9.
The doubles pair of Manu
Attri and Sumeeth Reddy
proved no match for Moham-
mad Ahsan and Hendra Setia-
wan going down 11-21, 10-21. In
thesecondsingles,worldNo.25
Ajay Jayaram tried hard but
lost to Anthony Ginting 15-21,
20-22. Though Ginting is
rankednineplacesbelowJaya-
ram, the Indonesian is regard-
ed as one of the fast rising
youngsters in the world. Gint-
ingwasluckyasarounddozen
netchordswentinhisfavour.
With Indonesia leading
2-1, the onus was on India’s
second-best pair of Akshay
Dewalkar and Pranaav Cho-
pra to bring the hosts back in-
tothecontest.Thoughranked
24placesbehindAnggaPrata-
ma and Ricky Karanda, the
Indians had beaten them at
last month’s Syed Modi
Grand Prix. On Saturday too,
the duo played quite well be-
fore losing 13-21, 21-18, 15-21.
With their loss the Indian
campaigncametoanend.
Results (Semifinals): Men: Indonesia bt
India 3-1(Tommy Sugiarto lost to K Srikanth
14-21, 25-23, 9-21; Mohammad Ahsan/Hen-
dra Setiawan bt Manu Attri/Sumeeth Reddy
21-11, 21-10; Antony Ginting bt Ajay Jayaram
21-15,22-20;AnggaPratama/RickyKaranda
Suwardi bt Akshay Dewalkar/Pranaav Cho-
pra 21-13,18-21, 21-15). Women: Thailand bt
Japan3-0;ChinabtSKorea3-0.
Indonesia knock out
Indian men in semis
Manne.Ratnakar
@timesgroup.com
Zurich: Former FIFA presi-
dent Sepp Blatter has in-
sisted that
the vote to
host the 2022
FIFA World
Cup was not
fixed, saying
that "you can-
notbuyaWorldCup."
The 79-year-old Swiss
said that former French
president Nicolas Sarkozy
had asked Michel Platini to
vote against the US bid to
host the 2022 World Cup. The
quadrennial event was even-
tuallyallottedtoQatar.
"You cannot buy a World
Cup,itwillgoattheendwhere
the higher political influen-
cesare,"Blatterwasquotedas
saying by the BBC on Satur-
day. "For 2022, Platini at least
had the courtesy to phone me
and say, 'now we have had a
meeting with the head of
stateandif theheadof stateis
asking me to support France
for different reasons then I
will'. He said 'my vote will not
befortheAmericans'.
"I knew then there would
be a problem. We tried but it
was too late," he added. Blat-
ter has once again claimed
that he is innocent as he
awaits the judgement of a
corruption appeal against
hiseight-yearban.
"I have killed nobody, I
havenotrobbedabank,Ihave
not taken any money from
anywhere and I was even
treating well all my ex-girlf-
riends. It's true. They defend
me.OneIwasmarriedtoonly
forafewmonthsandsheisre-
allydefendingme,"hesaid.
Football's world govern-
ing body will elect a succes-
sor to the Swiss on February
26.PrinceAlibinal-Hussein,
SheikhSalmanbinEbrahim
al-Khalifa, Gianni Infanti-
no, Tokyo Sexwale and Je-
rome Champagne are the
fivecandidateswhowilllock
horns to succeed the 79-year-
oldBlatter. AGENCIES
You cannot buy a
World Cup: Blatter
FIFA SCANDAL
Ranchi: Kalinga Lancers
moved into the final of the
Hockey India League, de-
feating Ranchi Rays in the
penalty shootout 4-2 in the
semifinals here on Saturday.
Both teams were locked 2-2
at the end of regulation
time. Lancer now face Pun-
jab Warriors for the title.
Earlier in the day, Warriors
moved into their third con-
secutive final defeating Del-
hiWaveriders3-1.
The match left the specta-
tors in shock as Lancers did
the impossible against their
most successful opposition
in the fourth edition of the
league.WhileskipperMoritz
Fuerste, Adam Dixon, Lalit
Upadhyay and Aran Zalew-
ski scored in the shootout for
Lancers, Simranjeet Singh
and Manpreet netted for
Rays. Ashley Jackson and
Barry Middleton missed the
target for the defending
champions.WhileGurjinder
Singh and Fuerste found the
net during regulation time,,
Trent Mitton and Timothy
DeavinequalizedforRays.
Warriorsreachthirdcon-
secutivefinal: Earlier,Ar-
maanQureshiandSimonOr-
chardscoredforPunjabWar-
riors while Rupinder Pal
Singh netted for Delhi Wa-
veriders. Beginning on the
front foot, the Waveriders
gave their opposition little
time to settle in their stride
astheprolificRupinderdrew
firstbloodfortheDelhioutfit
off their first penalty corner.
Warriors English recruit
Mark Gleghorne moved up
themidfieldbeforepassingit
for young Armaan Qureshi
to unleash a sublime reverse
flick from the centre of the
inner circle past a diving De-
von Manchester under the
Waveridersbar.
Lancers to take on
Warriors for title
Sam.Chakraborty
@timesgroup.comS
o the end nears for the
fourth edition of the
Coal India Hockey In-
diaLeague.
Kalinga Lancers have
made their maiden final
while Jaypee Punjab War-
riors got the better of Delhi
Waveriders to reach their
thirdconsecutivefinal.
Itshowstheconsistency
of the side and the bril-
liance with which coach
Barry Dancer has handled
his team. Losing in the
shootouts is always tragic
and JPW have suffered that
twice now. Dancer and his
boys would be hoping to
avoidathirdheartbreak.For
that, however, the team will
have to do better than it did
inthesemifinals.
Warriors as much won
the game as Delhi Waverid-
ers lost it. Delhi Waveriders
had its chances, it did not
utilise them. That gave Jay-
pee Punjab Warriors the
opening. Now Dancer’s team
will have to get together and
reform their strategy. Every
team has some stars, Mark
Knowles is one for Warriors.
He was the difference be-
tween the two sides in the
semis. If Kalinga Lancers
can pin down the Australian
legend,half thebattlewillbe
won. Mark Knowles is every-
where, in the attack, mid-
field and defence. His all-
round capabilities are les-
son for everyone. Marking
him will force others out of
their comfort zone. Marking
SV Sunil will equally impor-
tant to close down the at-
tacksfromright.
All is not over for Delhi
Waveriders, though. The
teamhavefinishedonthepo-
dium in every edition so far,
they can do it again by win-
ningthebronzeplayoff.
Coach Cedric D'Souza
has pointed out he will tar-
get that. The competition is
not over yet, there is one
more game to go even for the
losingsemifinalists.
Waveriders need to get
their act back. When Rupin-
der Pal Singh scores, the
team goes on to win. When
he is off-colour, the team los-
es. Rupinder's defending has
beenimpeccablethroughout
the tournament but his scor-
ing has helped his team win
games. He is their strength,
andtheirweakness.
If he is on target and the
forwards do their job, it
won't be difficult for Delhi
Waveriders to enjoy the dis-
tinction of being on podium
every single time. I feel for
Ranchi Rays who lost in the
semis. But they fought hard
in the last five minutes to
evenoutandthenstretchthe
contesttotie-break.
Teams will go for final thrust
Roelant Oltmans
HOCKEY
London: English FA Cup
holders Arsenal were left
frustrated in their efforts to
warm-up for Tuesday's
Champions League meeting
withBarcelonawithawinas
their fifth round meeting
with Hull City ended goal-
lessattheEmiratesStadium
on Sarurday. An outstand-
ingdisplaybyHullgoalkeep-
er Eldin Jakupovic meant
Steve Bruce's under-
strength side retain hope of
avenging their 2014 FA Cup
final defeat by Arsenal and
so preventing Arsene Wen-
ger's side becoming the first
team to win the competition
three years in succession
sincethe1880s.
The draw also ensured
the strength of Wenger's be-
lief that replays are an inte-
gral part of the FA Cup will
be tested just days after he
spoke out in support of such
matches. Veteran French
manager Wenger, in charge
of Arsenal since 1996, made
his remarks this week fol-
lowing reports the Football
Association (FA) were con-
sidering ditching replays in
the competition to ease the
fixture schedule, a proposal
that drew support from Hull
bossBruce.
SUAREZ,NEYMARSCORE
Luis Suarez and Neymar
scoredagaintoleadBarcelo-
na to a 2-1 victory at Las Pal-
mas on Saturday, extending
the defending champions'
clubrecordto32gameswith-
out a loss and increasing
their overnight lead of the
SpanishPrimeraLiga.
Suarez struck just six
minutes into the match on
theCanaryIslands,andNey-
mar re-established the vis-
itors' advantage before half-
time after Las Palmas Wil-
lianJosehadmadeit1-1.
Barcelona increased the
gaptoninepointsbeforesec-
ond-place Atletico Madrid
host fourth-place Villarreal
on Sunday, when Real Ma-
drid visits Malaga trailing
thepacesetterby10.
BOLOGNAHOLDJUVE
Juventus missed a golden
chance to move four points
clear in the Italian Serie A
and will not be able to level
the record of consecutive
victories after they were
held to a goalless draw at Bo-
lognaonFriday.
Massimiliano Allegri's
team beat Napoli last week-
end to move top and was
seeking a 16th consecutive
win, which would have left it
one behind Inter Milan's re-
cordsetin2006-07.
Victory would also have
given Juventus a significant
advantage ahead of Napoli's
match against AC Milan on
Monday. Instead, Napoli can
move a point ahead of Ju-
ventuswithawin.
Results: English FA Cup (fifth round):
Arsenal:0drewHull:0.Readin:3(McShane
59,Hector72,Piazon90+4)btWestBrom:
1(Fletcher54);Watford:1(Wootton53-og)
btLeeds:0.
Spanish Primera Liga: On Saturday:
Las Palmas:1(William Jose10) lost to Bar-
celona: 2 (Suarez 6, Neymar 39). On Fri-
day: Levante: 3 (Morales 10, Rossi 43-pen,
Verdu81)btGetafe:0.
German Bundesliga: Bayern Munich: 3
(Mueller 49, 71, Lewandowski 84) bt Darm-
stadt: 1 (Wagner 26); Borussia Moenchen-
gladbach:1(Dahoud9)btCologne:0;Hertha
Berlin: 1 (Kalou 60) drew with Wolfsburg: 1
(Schaefer 53); Hoffenheim: 3 (Amiri 13, Uth
68,76)btMainz:2(Cordoba11,Jairo78);In-
golstadt: 2 (Huebner12, Hintersser 90-pen)
btWerderBremen:0.
Italian Serie A: On Friday: Bologna: 0
drewwithJuventus:0
MUELLERPOWERSBAYERN
Bayern Munich's Thomas
Muellerscoredtwice,includ-
ing a 71st- minute bicycle
kick, to given the German
Bundesliga leaders a 3-1 vic-
tory over Darmstadt 98 on
Saturday and lift them 11
points clear at the top of the
table. Mueller scored both
goals in the second half as
Bayern, who face Juventus
in the Champions League
round of 16 next week, had to
battle from a goal down agai-
nst the promoted club. Bun-
desliga top scorer Robert Le-
wandowski, in fine form, co-
mpleted Bayern's run
in the 84th minute with his
22ndgoalof thecampaign.
Gunners Are Held To A Goalless Draw, Barcelona Edge Past Las Palmas
HULL FRUSTRATE ARSENAL
ON TARGET: Barcelona's Luis Suarez (left) celebrates with Neymar after scoring a goal as teammate Lionel Messi looks on
Reuters
FOOTBALL
FINE FORM: Tommy Sugiarto
AFP
Hosts Settle For
Bronze, Their First
In Three Decades
ASIAN BADMINTON