sport 쐽 THE STRAITS TIMES WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18 2009 PAGE B13
SPORTSWORLD
Chef de mission Lee Wung Yew will try to get
to know the Asian Youth Games athletes on a
more personal level. ST PHOTO: ALBERT SIM
Lee to serve
inspiration
and warmth
SINCE his appointment as Singapore’s
chef de mission for the Asian Youth
Games, national shooter Lee Wung Yew
has been the butt of jokes.
He has been bombarded by SMSes and
facebook messages about his new posi-
tion. One friend remarked: “So, what’s
your new dish?”
While he might not be cooking up a
storm, this chef will serve up encourage-
ment and warmth.
“I hope to engage all the athletes and
make each of them feel appreciated,” said
the 42-year-old physical education teach-
er at Innova Junior College. “I’ll try to get
to know them on a more personal level.”
While Lee has been the unofficial mas-
cot of the Games, he will share the spot-
light with the real deal tomorrow when
the public will get their first peek of the
mascot.
Senior Parliamentary Secretary (Com-
munity Development, Youth and Sports;
and Transport) Teo Ser Luck will unveil it
at Velocity @ Novena Square.
Readers who can think of an original
name not longer than five words for the
mascot stand to win prizes.
The name-the-mascot contest is run
jointly by The Straits Times and the AYG
organising committee (Saygoc).
There is no limit to the number of en-
tries you can submit, but all entries must
be on the official contest coupon.
Photocopies of the contest form will
not be accepted.
The reader who submits the winning
entry will receive a cash prize, a limit-
ed-edition AYG mascot plush toy, two
tickets to the opening ceremony, $100
worth of 100 Plus products and premi-
ums, and an all-access pass to the inaugu-
ral Games.
Ten other lucky winners will get an
AYG mascot plush toy, two tickets to the
opening ceremony and football final, and
$100 worth of 100 Plus products and pre-
miums.
The contest closes on March 27. Win-
ners will be announced on April 15.
LIN XINYI
Sheff Utd players want to sue over Tevez affair
LONDON: Hopes that the Carlos Tevez af-
fair had reached a conclusion were
dashed on Monday when Sheffield Unit-
ed’s players said that they would take le-
gal action against West Ham for loss of
wages and bonuses.
In an unprecedented move in English
football, about 20 of the squad who
played for Sheffield at the time of their
relegation from the Premier League two
years ago are seeking compensation of be-
tween £4 million (S$8.6 million) and £5
million in total.
The move comes after West Ham
agreed to pay about £25 million in com-
pensation to Sheffield in an out-of-court
settlement to end the wrangle over the eli-
gibility of the Argentina forward to play
for West Ham during the 2006-07 sea-
son.
Tevez went on to score the winning
goal against Manchester United to ensure
India chase rare series win
WELLINGTON: New Zealand claimed an
early victory ahead of the opening cricket
Test against India when they kicked out a
proposal to delay the start by an hour,
but it remains to be seen whether they
will have similar success on the field.
Indian broadcasters had made a
last-minute request to change the start-
ing time for the first Test, which begins
at Seddon Park in Hamilton today, in the
hope of attracting more television view-
ers at home.
However, the request was dismissed
by New Zealand cricket officials.
Each of their recent five one-day
matches was interrupted by heavy rain,
and delayed starts during the Tests would
likely increase the chances of them being
cut short by foul weather.
India easily won the one-day series
3-1, with the other match washed out.
And, while everything points to a Test
series win for the visitors, the record
books suggest otherwise.
Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports Vivian Balakrishnan (centre) at the Asian Youth Games chefs-de-mission welcome dinner
yesterday. On his right is Kamrul Ahsan, Bangladesh’s High Commissioner to Singapore. ST PHOTO: ALBERT SIM
OVER $3M RAISED
AYG organisers have
exceeded target
for private sponsorship
BY LIN XINYI
DESPITE the economic downturn, organ-
isers of the inaugural Asian Youth Games
have reason to cheer.
With 15 weeks to go before the mul-
ti-sport event, they have hit their target
of garnering at least $3 million in pri-
vate-sector sponsorship.
That figure has been exceeded, with
deals coming either in cash or in kind,
such as 500,000 servings of the isotonic
drink 100 Plus from Fraser and Neave.
Singapore Asian Youth Games Organis-
ing Committee co-chairman Oon Jin Teik
is confident that more companies will
step forward before the AYG.
The funds raised will offset the costs
of the $15 million event, with the Govern-
ment bearing the remainder of the costs.
Oon also revealed yesterday that the
budget had been cut because of the eco-
nomic downturn. It is understood the
original figure was over $30 million.
“The AYG budget is the result of a mas-
sive slashing down,” he said at the Grand
Copthorne Waterfront Hotel during an
Players said to have contacted lawyer
PHIL Jagielka and Matthew Kilgallon, of
Sheffield United past and present, are
believed to be among the players to have
contacted Chris Farnell, a lawyer from IPS
Law in Manchester, which has taken up the
case.
Jagielka, for example, might have suffered
no loss in wages because he moved to
Everton soon after relegation. But he would
expect to have been paid a bonus for helping
Sheffield United to stay up. A Premier
West Ham’s Premiership survival.
That result, coupled with Sheffield’s
1-2 loss to Wigan, saw Sheffield relegat-
ed.
India have not won a Test series in
New Zealand for over 40 years, and have
not managed to win a Test there since
1976.
However, the current Indian team hold
a huge advantage over the New Zealand-
ers in terms of quality and experience.
And they will go into the first Test at
full strength, with stalwarts Sachin Ten-
dulkar, Rahul Dravid and V.V.S. Laxman
passed fit.
“They are the kind of guys who have
performed everywhere, and it’s not just
their batting,” India’s captain Mahendra
Singh Dhoni said yesterday.
“It helps you a lot as a skipper when
you look around and you see guys that
have played more than 100 Test match-
es.”
New Zealand finished the one-day se-
ries on a high by winning the last game to
go into the Tests with some momentum.
But captain Daniel Vettori conceded
the Indians had a powerful batting
AYG chefs-de-mission welcome dinner
for 55 delegates from 40 National Olym-
pic Committees.
“Every lined item was looked at.”
The use of existing facilities, and new
media over traditional media to broadcast
the Games, and mobilising 5,000 volun-
teers, are some measures taken to ensure
a cost-effective Games.
Oon, who is also the Singapore Sports
Council’s chief executive officer, added
that the cost-cutting warranted a tweak
in expectations on service levels for the
June 29-July 7 event.
This point would be relayed to the
head of each country’s delegation during
the AYG chefs-de-mission meeting – a
two-day event starting today.
Minister for Community Develop-
ment, Youth and Sports Vivian
Balakrishnan, the guest of honour at yes-
terday’s dinner, stressed that Singapore
would deliver a historic show, but one
that demonstrates frugality.
“I believe that we have a special duty
to ensure we utilise resources in a way
that is sensitive to the difficulties other
people are facing all over the world,” he
said.
He added that the same prudence will
be applied to the $1.87 billion Sports Hub,
which has been hit by funding woes.
“While I’m confident that we’ll build a
League player would expect a bonus of about
£100,000 to £150,000 for doing that.
Kilgallon, in contrast, remained at the
club and would probably have had his wage
cut by half — the rule of thumb for many
contracts.
Players in the top flight usually earn in
excess of £20,000 a week, whereas they
might expect up to £12,000 a week in the
Coca-Cola Championship.
THE TIMES, LONDON
West Ham were fined £5.5 million in
April 2007 for breach of league rules over
the Tevez transfer but escaped any point
deduction.
Virender Sehwag, considered the world’s most
destructive batsman, has been toying with the
New Zealand attack. PHOTO: ASSOCIATED PRESS
line-up that would take some stopping.
And he expected all his batsmen to per-
form.
“If you look at the Indian top order,
it’s very impressive through their weight
of games and their weight of runs,” Vet-
tori said.
“We’re going to need a lot of guys
within our team, not just one or two step-
ping up, to give ourselves a chance.”
REUTERS
쏆
“When times are tough, you
see who are the die-hards, who
are the people who truly
believe in sports,”
DR VIVIAN Balakrishnan, on the Asian
Youth Games sponsors
Sports Hub, I’m flexible on time,” he
said, without revealing the project’s tar-
geted completion date.
“My main interest is to make sure that
I don’t overspend taxpayers’ dollars be-
cause we are over-hasty in trying to rush
through a project when the climate is not
suitable.”
He also lauded the organisations that
stepped forward after sensing the AYG’s
brand-building and marketing opportuni-
ties. “When times are tough, you see who
are the die-hards, who are the people
who truly believe in sports,” he said.
Angela Soo, NTUC FairPrice coopera-
tive’s head of corporate communications,
said that their $500,000 AYG cash spon-
sorship would be worthwhile.
She said: “This will help associate the
brand with youths, and will enable Fair-
Price to be a household name among the
future generation.”
linxinyi@sph.com.sg
But the dispute could escalate. Wigan
Athletic and Fulham have pledged to con-
tinue their fight for compensation, after
missing out on prize money that they
would have received had West Ham fin-
ished below them.
Neil Warnock, who was manager of
Sheffield at the time, has sought legal ad-
vice about a claim.
He maintains that he would still be
manager of his hometown club had they
not been relegated. Instead, he resigned
and departed to Crystal Palace.
“Sheffield United players are quite
right to take legal action,” Warnock said.
“No one has suffered more than me. We
deserved to stay up and, if everyone had
played by the same rules, we would have
done.”
West Ham said on Monday they are
confident of fighting off any action.
THE TIMES, LONDON
Champions Trophy in S. Africa
DUBAI: The International Cricket Council
(ICC) on Monday named South Africa as
the new hosts of the biennial Champions
Trophy this year.
The elite eight-nation event was
moved out of Pakistan after South Africa
refused to tour that country over security
reasons. Australia, England and New Zea-
land too have voiced concerns over play-
ing in the troubled country.
The March 3 attack on the Sri Lankan
team bus in Lahore has further set back
any chance of Pakistan hosting an event
in the near future.
The ICC said: “With the need to mini-
mise risk and create certainty around the
event, the meeting agreed to recommend
that Cricket South Africa be sought as the
alternative host, with Wanderers and Cen-
turion as the venues, provided agreement
on the financial arrangements can be
reached.
“Originally planned for Pakistan, the
venue for the event had to be shifted due
to security concerns.”
Spanish team out
of Tour de France
PARIS:
organisers say 20 teams will
competeTour de France
at this year’s cycling
race, with the former Saunier
Duval-Scott team excluded.
The Spanish team now called
Fuji-Servetto quit last year
when rider Riccardo Ricco
tested positive for the
blood-booster CERA after
winning two stages.
Seven-time champion Lance
Armstrong is returning with the
Astana team after 31/2 years of
retirement. The Tour starts on
July 4 in Monaco.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Federer, Murray
set for showdown
INDIAN WELLS (California):
Roger Federer and Andy Murray
took a step closer to a possible
semi-final tennis showdown
with routine third-round
victories at the BNP Paribas
Open on Monday. Federer
defeated Ivo Karlovic 7-6 (7-4),
6-3 and Murray overpowered
Paul-Henri Mathieu 6-3, 6-2.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Aussie gives up
place for love
PERTH: Adam Voges will tie the
knot next month, forcing him to
give up his place in the
Australian cricket team for their
series in South Africa.
His wedding to fiancee Kristy
Siddons had been planned for
April 5, the same day of the
second limited-overs
international between South
Africa and Australia. He will
rejoin the squad in South Africa
for three more matches.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Nets player nabbed
for hurling monitor
DENVER: New Jersey Nets
basketball forward Sean
Williams was arrested on
Monday at a Denver cellphone
store on accusations that he got
into an argument with a clerk
and threw a computer monitor.
He did not play in the 96-121
loss to the Denver Nuggets.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Cop shoots ’keeper
dead by accident
BAGHDAD: Victory celebrations
at a football match in Iraq ended
abruptly when a fan accidentally
shot the winning goalkeeper to
death, the police in Babil
province said on Monday.
Two teams representing the
Shiite villages of Sinjar and
Enana faced off on Saturday,
with Sinjar winning 2-1. During
celebrations, an off-duty police
officer fired his pistol into the
air but lost control of it, the
police said.
NEW YORK TIMES
The ICC’s president David Morgan
said: “The board has made a sensible deci-
sion that will give the event every chance
of success. We now have clarity on the
subject and we can make firm plans for
what is going to be a great spectacle of
one-day cricket.”
Also vying to host the event were Aus-
tralia, Sri Lanka and the United Arab
Emirates.
Australia will defend the title they won
in India in 2006. England, India, New Zea-
land, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka
and West Indies are the other competing
teams.
Monday’s meeting also unanimously
agreed that the dates for next year’s
World Twenty20 tournament in the West
Indies would be between April 30 and
May 16.
The tournament will take place in St
Lucia, Guyana, Barbados and St Kitts,
which will also stage the women’s tourna-
ment at the same time.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE