SPORTS SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2013 Injury-free Lorenzo ready for title tilt

MISANO: Defending champion Jorge Lorenzo said he was back to as I will use the time to have more physiotherapy on my shoulder,” full health going into this weekend’s San Marino MotoGP, as the added Marquez, who has finished on the podium at every race bar Spaniard prepares himself for another run at the title. Lorenzo, June’s Italian MotoGP, where he crashed out while running in sec- who suffered a broken collarbone at Assen in June, twice under- ond. Meanwhile Pedrosa, who is second overall and trails Honda went surgery following his initial heavy crash in the Netherlands teammate Marquez by 30 points, is eager to cut the gap at the top and a subsequent accident in Germany two weeks later. after finishing a frustrating third at the British MotoGP. However, the two-time world champion said his injuries had “I was slightly disappointed after Silverstone, as we knew we finally healed and that he was back in proper physical shape. “I feel had the speed and race pace to challenge for victory,” said strong again like I was at Montmelo and Mugello before the Pedrosa. “Anyway, we must learn from the mistakes and move on. crash,” said Lorenzo, referring to consecutive wins in Italy and Misano is quite a tricky track and the grip level is always a chal- Catalonia before his fall in the Netherlands. “Misano is a track I lenge, but I enjoy riding there. “I’ve had good results in the past, enjoy a lot and also the Yamaha is comfortable there. My next goal even if last year we experienced a nightmare on race day. This year is to fight for the victory once more and think race by race, improv- we arrive confident and looking to reduce the points to Marc in ing our pace step by step,” added the Spaniard, who has won the the championship.” last two races at Misano. Seven-time champion Valentino Rossi’s return to his home cir- Lorenzo halted leader Marc Marquez’s four-race winning streak cuit will be greeted with the usual fanfare, as the Italian seeks to when he triumphed at Silverstone a fortnight ago, but he is still 39 go one better than last year’s runner-up finish at the World Circuit points adrift of his rookie compatriot in the riders’ standings with Marco Simoncelli, renamed in honour of Rossi’s close friend who six races remaining. Having seen title rivals Lorenzo and Dani died following a crash at the 2011 Malaysian MotoGP. Pedrosa both struck down by injuries this season, Marquez himself “Misano is next and it is my home Grand Prix and an important dislocated his shoulder at Silverstone but the 20-year-old was con- weekend. I like the track, I always go fast there, especially with the fident it would not hamper him at Misano. “I’m already feeling Yamaha and last year also I was able to do a very good race.” A much better since my accident in Silverstone, so hopefully I’ll be winner at Misano in 2008 and 2009, Rossi is fourth overall in this almost 100 per cent by this weekend,” said Marquez, who finished year’s standings, 38 points in arrears of third-placed Lorenzo. “In MISANO: Jorge Lorenzo of Spain rides his Yamaha during the a commendable second in Britain despite the setback. the past I was always on the podium with Yamaha. We will arrive qualifying practice of the San Marino Moto Grand Prix yester- “I will arrive in Italy for the race weekend a little later than usual very strong and we will try to do our best,” said the Italian. — AFP day at the Misano world circuit. — AFP War-weary Afghans India’s Sreesanth and Chavan banned for life for spot-fixing revel in soccer victory NEW DELHI: players Shantakumaran Chennai Super Kings team principal Gurunath Meiyappan, KABUL: Afghans welcomed home their national soccer team with exuberance Sreesanth and were banned for life by the son-in-law of BCCI president Narainswamy Srinivasan, and joy, a day after the squad won the war-weary country its first international Board of Control for in India yesterday for being spent two weeks in jail for being in touch with illegal book- championship in the sport. President Hamid Karzai greeted the team Thursday involved in spot-fixing in this year’s . ies before receiving bail, while Royals co-owner Raj Kundra at the Kabul airport, hugging the players and posing with them and their Former player , a bookie, was banned for five conceded to betting on matches but was not arrested. gleaming trophy for the cameras. The athletes then headed to Ghazi Stadium, years, and Royals pace bowler Siddharth Trivedi was Meiyappan and Kundra were cleared of their charges by where they were met by thousands of rambunctious fans who screamed in banned for one year for failing to report an approach by a two-member BCCI judicial panel which was subsequently happiness and jostled - at times dangerously - to get close to their heroes. bookies. Harmeet Singh was let off due to lack of evidence declared “illegal and unconstitutional” for not being Afghanistan beat India 2-0 in the South Asian Football Federation after it was reported that he too had been approached by formed in line with the BCCI’s own rules by the Bombay Championship on Wednesday. The win brought rare unity to this ethnically illegal bookies. No decision was made on Royals spinner High Court. The BCCI has contested the order and the case divided nation, where the former Taleban government once used sports stadi- , who was arrested with Sreesanth and Chavan is before the Supreme Court. Several bookies and some ums to stage executions and where bombings are still part of daily life. The in May. Unlike the latter two, Chandila had been mainly in other former domestic-level players were also alleged to be reaction indicated that Afghan society had healed in some ways since the U.S. police custody since then until he was granted bail on part of the spot-fixing racket which came to light within a ousted the Islamist movement in 2001. For hours after the win, Afghans Monday, and hadn’t been available to talk to anti-corrup- year of a similar controversy of lesser proportions. danced in the streets, honked car horns and fired guns in celebration. Some tion officer Ravi Sawani, who led the BCCI investigation. Last year, little-known allrounder TP Sudhindra was painted their bodies the green, black and red colors of the national flag. On The BCCI made the decisions “after considering the evi- handed a life ban after he was filmed in a sting operation Thursday morning, many greeted one another with “Congratulations!” while dence on record and hearing each of the players in per- by India TV, agreeing to bowl a no-ball at a predetermined shouts of “Long live Afghanistan!” were still echoing across the capital by the son,” it said in a statement. The players were still subject to time in a local game in the central Indian city of evening. Afghan television networks devoted heavy airtime to the players’ an investigation by Indian police. Indore. Another uncapped player, Shalabh Srivastava, was return, interspersed with performances of patriotic songs. Sreesanth, who played 27 tests and 53 one-dayers for given a five-year ban for agreeing to spot-fixing in the IPL “I am proud of the Afghan team - they made the greatest victory in the India to 2011, Chandila and Chavan, alleged to be the main even though he did not go on to do so. Three others - Afghan history, and I am proud to be Afghan,” said Shukria Barakzai, an accused, were said to be part of an elaborate plan in which Mohnish Mishra, Amit Yadav and Abhinav Bali - received Afghan parliamentarian and one of the relatively few women in this strict bowlers gave away more than a specified number of runs one-year bans for “loose talk and unsubstantiated brag- Muslim nation who went out in public to celebrate. The celebrations stretched per over in return for money from illegal bookies. Their ging” after they were shown on TV claiming to negotiate well beyond Kabul. Even in Kandahar, a deeply conservative city in the arrest led to the questioning of two prominent IPL officials. their IPL contracts illegally. — AP Taleban-riddled south, Afghans of all ages hit the streets in pride, according to photos posted by the government there. The revelers piled into cars, waving national flags as they drove through streets crowded with fellow fans. Indian cricketer Javid Faisal, the spokesman for the Kandahar provincial governor, tweeted Shanthakumaran in what might have been only half-jest: “I will not post any casualty reports for Sreesanth 24 hours as I am celebrating the championship of Afghanistan.” A spokesman for the Taleban, who are engaged in an insurgency to topple the US-backed government, did not answer his phone on Wednesday or Thursday. Afghans began playing soccer about 90 years ago, and the country’s national federa- tion was founded in 1922. Afghanistan joined FIFA in 1948. The country also was a founding member of the Asian Football Confederation in 1954. From the 1950s through the ‘70s, soccer gained a strong following in Afghanistan, but it nearly disappeared during the Soviet occupation from 1979-89 and the civil war that followed from 1992-96. When the Taleban ruled from 1996-2001, they severely restricted sports, and public outpourings of joy like this week’s would have been unimaginable. But after the American-led invasion ousted the Taleban from power, soccer and other sports here were reborn, offering new opportunities for national pride. Still, Afghans have strug- gled on many levels as fighting has continued between foreign and Afghan troops and the Taleban insurgents. Moments of national unity are especially welcome amid growing uncertainty over what will happen to the country after US-led troops finish their withdrawal next year. During Taleban rule, Afghans were forbidden from watching television, as the militants deemed it an unnec- essary diversion from religion. On Thursday, Afghan television networks broadcast the return of the soccer team live. —AP