Special Olympics from Sept 25
CHANDIGARH, Aug 8 — Fifty athletes from Nepal, the Phillipines and Taiwan have confirmed their participation in the Special Olympics National Games to be held here from September 25 to 29.
Schofield shines with 8-wicket haul
LONDON, Aug 8 — Lancashire legspinner Chris Schofield stamped his mark on the English Country Championship after completing an eight-wicket match haul in his side's victory over Gloucestershire at Old Trafford.
Amit, Shruti lift TT titles
CHANDIGARH, Aug 8 — Third seed Shruti Akku, a student of ninth class of the Sector 26 Sacred Heart School clinched the junior girls singles title, shocking the reigning champion and top seeded Ruchika Gupta, a student of Government Model Senior Secondary School, Sector 19, by 21-15, 21-12 in the final of the Bhavan Hawks Fourth Chandigarh Ranking Table Tennis Tounament here this evening.
Jaspreet, Puneet steal the show
ROPAR, Aug 8 — Jaspreet Singh of Sangrur in the 400 meters individual medlay (under-19) event and Puneet Chechi of Ropar in the 100 meter butter fly stroke and 100 meters individual medlay (under-17) events stole the limelight at the Punjab State-Sub-Junior and Junior Swimming Championship for boys and girls at the Nehru Stadium swimming pool here.
Arjun Singh wins Wills Masters
GURGAON, Aug 8 — Trailing on first three days, Arjun Singh played a consistent final round of three under 69 to overtake the leader Vivek Bhandari with an aggregate of 284 to win Rs 2,49,900 and Wills Masters at the Classic Golf Resort here today.
Kunte keeps GM norm hopes alive
KOSZALIN (Poland), Aug 8 — Former national champion Abhijit Kunte held GM A.Kharitinov of Russia easily to keep chances alive for a third and final GM norm after the fifth round of the M.K. Cafe Cup International Chess here yesterday.

Polish soccer on brink of isolation

Baboor, Indu crowned champs

Troussier tipped to become Japan coach

Pierce triumphs as Venus retires

Aussie officials briefed on security

Jeev leapfrogs to second position

Atwal moves up to 4th position

Hussain props up England

LEEDS, Aug 8 (Reuters) — Nasser Hussain’s determined 55 not out helped England take command of the fifth Test against South Africa at Headingley today as the home side reached 141 for two at tea on the third day, an overall lead of 119.

Hussain looked precarious, at best, in the morning session but grew steadily in confidence throughout the afternoon to reach his half century from 164 balls in nearly three and a half hours with seven fours.

In partnership with his captain, Alec Stewart, Hussain added an unbroken 60 for England’s third wicket making light of an unpredictable, patchy wicket that never allowed for comfortable batting.

Stewart’s unbeaten 35 at tea came from just 58 balls and contained seven fours. Although he enjoyed some luck, he made most of it for himself with a positive, aggressive approach.

He was at the centre of a potentially pivotal over, the 43rd of the innings, soon after his arrival at the crease when he had just two runs.

He off-drove Pollock for a boundary, was dropped by Jacques Kallis at second slip off the next ball, which also went for four, and then clipped the third ball behind square leg for another boundary.

Opener Mark Butcher was the only casualty of the afternoon session when he fell to the persevering Shaun Pollock for 37 from 107 deliveries with five fours in two hours and 17 minutes.

Having beaten the bat more than any other bowler, Pollock finally found the edge and Brian McMillan held the catch at first slip.

Earlier Allan Donald trapped Mike Atherton lbw with the first ball of the morning but England’s new-found resolve saw them battle their way to 67 for one by lunch with Butcher dominating while Hussain struggled.

A second successive capacity crowd of 16,000 cheered loudly for every single and were positively raucous for the boundaries but the tension of match, with the outcome of the series depending on it, was reflected by the almost eerie silence between deliveries.

England (1st innings): 230
South Africa (1st innings): 252
England (2nd innings):

Butcher c McMillan b Pollock 37
Atherton lbw b Donald 1
Hussain batting 55
Stewart batting 35
Extras (b-4, lb-1, w-1, nb-7) 13
Total (for 2 wkts, 61 overs) 141

Fall of wickets: 1-2, 2-81.

Bowling: Pollock 15-5-35-1, Donald 14-3-34-1, McMillan 11-0-22-0, Ntini 5-1-24-0, Kallis 11-5-16-0, Cullinan 1-0-1-0, Cronje 4-1-4-0.

Agassi prevails over Sampras

TORONTO, Aug 8 (Reuters) — Red-hot Andre Agassi won his 14th match in a row when he knocked Pete Sampras out of the world number one ranking with a 6-7, (5-7), 6-1, 6-2 victory in quarter-final action at the Canadian Open last night.

After an exciting, up-tempo first set, the top-seeded Sampras tired and eighth-seeded Agassi totally dominated the second and third sets.

"The first set was very high level of tennis," Sampras said, "but it seemed by the middle of the second set I started feeling a little fatigue in my legs".

In tonight’s semifinal, Agassi will play sixth-seeded Richard Krajicek of the Netherlands. Krajicek, the 1996 Wimbledon champion, defeated fourth-seeded Yevgeny Kafelnikov of Russia 6-4, 6-4 on a day when all the remaining players had to play two matches due to a complete rainout of Thursday’s schedule.

The other semifinal will be between third-seeded Patrick Rafter of Australia and seventh-seeded Tim Henman of Britain.

Rafter advanced with a 6-3, 6-2 quarterfinal victory over fifth-seeded Jonas Bjorkman of Sweden while Henman ousted Czech Daniel Vacek 6-3, 7-5, 6-3.

Earlier yesterday, Sampras had beaten German Tommy Haas 7-6, (7-5), 6-2 while Agassi got past 10-seeded Goran Ivanisevic of Croatia 2-6, 7-5, 6-3.

Serving against Agassi at 0-1 in the second set, Sampras sent a strong signal he was losing his energy when he double-faulted on the last three points to lose his serve.

"It looked to me at the end of the (first set) tiebreaker that he was slowing down a bit," Agassi said. "He definitely tapered off at 2-0 in the second set and when we got to the third it was obvious there had been a lot of tennis played today."

As a result of loss, Sampras will lose his top ranking to second-ranked Marcelo Rios of Chile in the new ATP Tour rankings that come out next Monday.

"What counts most is the ranking at the end of the year," said Sampras. "But what it really boils down to is that I didn’t do well at the US Open last year (a fourth-round loss), so if I do well or win this year that will be important."

Rafter was one player who was happy Thursday’s play was washed out. "I felt very fatigued coming off my first match and a day’s rest did me a lot of good," he said.

Rafter beat compatriot Mark Philippoussis 6-3, 6-3 in a third round match Friday morning.

Henman admitted his legs were a little heavy in the third set against Vacek. He had beaten Spaniard Albert Costa 7-6, (7-2), 6-2 early Friday.

Axe falls on Greenidge

DHAKA, Aug 8 (PTI) — Disagreements between the Bangladesh Cricket Board and national coach Gordon Greenidge came into the open today with the West Indies batting ace relieved from his post with Malaysia-bound Commonwealth squad.

The former Caribbean Test opener, who has been coaching Bangladesh team since guiding the country to ICC Trophy win last year, had to swallow the bitter pill for accusing the board of putting restrictions on his style of working.

Cricket watchers, however, say axe fell on Greenidge, the director of coaching, apparently due to his differences with the cricket board officials over the preparations for next year’s World Cup in England and structuring of domestic cricket.

Greenidge will be replaced by manager Gazi Ashraf Hossain Lipu, a former skipper, while board vice-president Tanveer Haider, will accompany the team as tour manager, sources said.

Refusing to be drawn into a controversy, board president Saber Hossain Chowdhury said Greenidge’s axing was a decision of the board.

He, however, said the appointment of manager and coach had been made on a temporary basis only for the Malaysia tour.

This is for the first time since Greenidge, coaching the Bangladesh team for about two years, has been dropped from the national side for a big cricketing event or for an away tour.

The board president said the selection committee would name the national team for the Commonwealth Games in a few days time. The captain, however, would be appointed in the next board meeting on August 21.

The decision to this effect was taken at an emergency meeting of the executive committee of the board last night. After a long time, the board formed a three-member selection committee headed by former player Enayat Hossain Siraj. He replaced Lutfur Rahman, who held the post for two decades.

Greenidge became the but of the board officials’ ire after the team’s dismal performance in the recent month-long tour of England. The West Indian gave an interview to a local English daily and board general secretary Syed Ashraful Huq’s reported comments about him triggered a controversy, much to the discomfiture of the board.

In his recent interview to ‘Daily Star’, Greenidge said: "... I think as director of coaching, I am given no autonomy. None whatsoever. I have not been consulted about anything to do with cricket because when I ask for information, I don’t get that. Its happening since my arrival. If I do not ask for they do not give. I can not ask. They did not consult me about this tour of England. We go to England and we have to sit down for our practice dates. We had to call for assistance because no practice was organised for us..."

Asked whether Gordon’s axing had any connection with his published interview, Chowdhury said: "we have developed some communication gap among ourselves and this will also be discussed in the meeting."

Speaking about the measures that would be taken by the BCB to resolve the misunderstanding with Greenidge, the board president said: "We’ll talk to Gordon (Greenidge) and Lipu when we (the board) meet again on August 21. We will then decide the future." He added that Lipu had been assigned with the task for the time being and there was no other purpose behind greenidge’s exclusion from the coming tour.

"I think, things will be all right when we talk to each other face to face. Until then no one from the board, other than general secretary and myself will talk to the media," Chowdhury said.

The BCB is holding the August 21 meeting to review the performance of the national squad in Coca Cola triangular series in India and also of their U.K. tour.

Meanwhile, BCB general secretary Syed Ashraful Haq on his arrival from England yesterday said he had been misquoted about his comments about Greenidge in the local newspaper.

He claimed that he had only said this was the first time Greenidge had taken charge of coaching of a national side and that way he is "new to the job."

He said: "Anyway if Greenidge is hurt by my comments, if necessary I will apologise to sort out the matter in the greater interest of the Bangladesh’s cricket.

Haq said it was he who contacted the West Indian and requested him to come to Bangladesh to coach the national side. "I hope that in the coming BCB executive committee meeting there would be no further misunderstanding over the matter."

Parminder puts PSEB in final
By Amardeep Bhattal
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Aug 8 — A brace by right-half Parminder Singh who scored once in each half enabled super league champions Punjab State Electricity Board to edge out a fighting City Club, Delhi 2-0 in the second semifinal of the North Zone Kalyani Black Label Federation Cup Football Tournament at the Sector 17 Football Stadium here today.

The winners will now meet JCT Phagwara in the Final on August 10 after tomorrow's rest day.

Much was expected of today's clash between the two top outfits of north India and the large crowd which assembled to witness the key encounter did not go home disappointed. Both the teams played fast and attacking soccer but PSEB held an edge through robust tackling and quick counter attacks. While stopper back Manpreet once again did a commendable job keeping the marauding City Club forwards at bay through intelligent tackling, Parminder playing in the right-half position proved to be a constant threat for the Delhi team. He was ably supported by the hard-working Kuldip Singh on the right wing.

City Club, on the other hand, also had a fair share of the exchanges and with a little more luck could have caused a major upset in the tournament.

The match was temporarily halted midway through the second half when a fracas broke out as the Delhi players felt that the referee had erred in not awarding them a penalty for what they felt was a handball inside the box by a rival defender. However, better sense prevailed and the match resumed after a brief interruption.

City Club commenced the proceedings on a promising note. The match was hardly seven minutes old when the PSEB citadel came under serious threat following a move by midfielder Sharafat Khan. From the top of the box, Sharafat fed a through pass to an unmarked Vimal Thapa. Standing with his back to the goal inside the box, Vimal displayed sharp reflexes and attempted a back volley but the alert Jatinder Singh under the PSEB bar managed to punch the ball over the horizontal.

Special Olympics from Sept 25
By Our Sports Reporter

CHANDIGARH, Aug 8 — Fifty athletes from Nepal, the Phillipines and Taiwan have confirmed their participation in the Special Olympics National Games to be held here from September 25 to 29.

According to Mrs Promila Chandra Mohan, organising secretary of the meet, more than 4,000 participants from all over the country are expected to participate. Participation from seven other countries is also expected.

The Special Olympics Movement for the mentally handicapped people, she says, was started by Eunice Kennedy Shriver, a sister of President John F. Kennedy of the USA, in 1963 with financial support from the Joseph P. Kennedy Jr Foundation.

Mrs Promila Chandra Mohan said Panjab University has not only readjusted its annual calendar to help the organising committee to accommodate participants in the hostels and also in hostels of Government Colleges here, but also permitted the organising committee to conduct the meet on the university campus.

The events to be held during the Games are: aquatics, athletics, basketball, badminton, cycling, cricket, football, handball, volleyball, table tennis and roller skating.

The President, Mr K.R. Narayanan, has been requested to inaugurate the Games while the Minister for Social Welfare, Mrs Maneka Gandhi, is expected to be the chief guest at the closing ceremony.

She further said the Ministry of Social Welfare has given a grant-in-aid to North-West Zone Special Olympics Society of Rs 30 lakh to meet various expenses on the conduct of the meet.

Mr Jagdish Sagar, Adviser to the Administrator of Chandigarh, is the Chairman of the organising committee. He has released a grant of Rs 10 lakh for the meet besides extending full support to the organising committee.

The organisers have worked out an initial budget of Rs 71 lakh for the conduct of the meet. To meet the deficit of Rs 31 lakh, the organising committee, has decided to raise sponsorships, souvenirs besides accepting donations.

Mrs Mohan further said that to popularise the concept of the Special Olympics, the organising committee has decided to put up mascots of the Games at five important locations in the city.

Schofield shines with 8-wicket haul

LONDON, Aug 8 (Reuters) — Lancashire legspinner Chris Schofield stamped his mark on the English Country Championship after completing an eight-wicket match haul in his side's victory over Gloucestershire at Old Trafford.

Schofield (19) picked up four second innings victims yesterday as his side won by an innings and 35 runs, prompting former Australia Test spinner Peter Sleep to predict he would be an England player within two years.

"He has a lot of talent and the potential to go right to the top", said Sleep, a coach with the county side. "He is improving in every match but of course at the moment we need to nurse him."

Schofield, playing in only his second county game, took four for 60 in Gloucestershire's second innings of 193.

West Indies off-spinner Carl Hooper and former England paceman Martin McCague sent Hampshire crashing to a 292-run defeat at Canterbury against Kent.

Hooper finished with the remarkable figures of 21-14-29-4 as Hampshire were bundled out for 153 in their second innings. McCague took four for 40.

Ian Blackwell, the Derbyshire slow left arm bowler, profited from the conditions at The Oval where Surrey built up a big lead on the second day.

His four for 58 in Surrey's second innings of 148 for seven game him nine wickets in the match for 173.

The championship leaders, who did not enforce the follow-on after bowling out Derbyshire for 139, lead by 342 runs with two days to play.

Middlesex, dismissed for 297 in reply to Warwickshire's 46 at Lord's, followed on but an opening stand of 130 by Justin Langer (55) and David Goodchild (73) carried them 157 for two in their second innings, with one day remaining.

Essex, set 400 to beat Glamorgan, reached 41 for two.

Steve James hit 147, his fourth century of the season, in Glamorgan's second innings total of 371 for five declared.

Nottinghamshire captain Paul Johnson made 139, his second century since he was sacked as captain, against Worcestershire who closed on 29 for two chasing 276 for victory.

Scores at the close of play in four-day English County Championship cricket matches yesterday:

Day two:

At The Oval: Surrey 333 (A. Brown 132; I. Blackwell 5-115) and 148-7. Derbyshire 139.

Day three:

At Leicester: Leicestershire beat Somerset by an innings and 85 runs. Somerset 74 (J. Ormond 6-33) and 112 (V. Wells 3-12), Leicestershire 271 (D. Maddy 107, B. Smith 67; A. Caddick 7-96), Leicestershire 22 points. Somerset 4.

At Chelmsford: Glamorgan 288 (A. Dale 73, W. Law 68; P. Such 5-110, N. Williams 4-42) and 371-5 declared (S. James 147, A. Dale 82), Essex 260 (P. Grayson 59, R. Irani 51) and 41-2.

At Canterbury: Kent beat Hampshire by 292 runs. Kent 391 (D. Headley 81, D. Patel 58 not out. D. Fulton 54, M. Fleming 51, A. Morris 4-68) and 227. Hampshire 173 (R. Smith 72, C. Hooper 4-14) and 153.

At Old Trafford: Lancashire beat Gloucestershire by an innings and 35 runs. Lancashire 386. (G. Chapple 69. G. Yates 55) Gloucestershire 158 (C. Schofield 4-56, G. Yates 4-64) and 193.

At Lord's Warwickshire 466 (B. Lara 226, N. Smith 61, R. Johnson 4-60). Middlesex 297 (P. Weekes 89, O. Shah 52, T. Munton 7-66) and 157-2 (D. Goodchild 73, J. Langer 55).

At Eastbourne: Sussex beat Durham by an innings and 81 runs. Sussex 460, (M. Bevan 95, W. Khan 91, J. Kirtley 59, C. Adams 56, S. Harmison 4-94, J. Wood 4-107). Durham 198 (M. Speight 60 not out).

At Kidderminster: Nottinghamshire 164 and 401 (P. Johnson 139; R. Champan 6-105). Worcestershire 289 (T. Moddy 112; P. Franks 6-63) and 29-2.

Amit, Shruti lift TT titles
By Our Sports Reporter

CHANDIGARH, Aug 8 — Third seed Shruti Akku, a student of ninth class of the Sector 26 Sacred Heart School clinched the junior girls singles title, shocking the reigning champion and top seeded Ruchika Gupta, a student of Government Model Senior Secondary School, Sector 19, by 21-15, 21-12 in the final of the Bhavan Hawks Fourth Chandigarh Ranking Table Tennis Tounament here this evening.

In the semifinals, Shruti Akku, defeated Manu K.C. of the Sector 35 Government Model Senior Secondary School by 21-19, 21-16 while in another semifinal, current junior champion Ruchika Gupta (GMSSS-19) defeated Anuradha Bansal by 21-19, 21-12.

Boys junior singles title went to Amit Aggarwal (NPS-18) who ousted Gaurav Bhatia, a student of Pt Mohan Lal SD Public School-32 by 26-24, 21-19, 24-23 in a well contested final match.

In the sub-junior boys final encounter, Varun Kassal a student of Ajit Karam Singh International Public School-41, beat Ramit Singla of Shishu Niketan Senior Model Secondary School, Sector 21-D, to claim the title by 15-21, 21-10, 21-19 while in sub-junior girls singles final, Ruchi Gautam overpowered Ramanpreet Kaur 21-15, 21-12 to retain the title.

The results are:

Sub-Junior Boys Singles:- (quarter finals) - Varun Kassal b Varun Bhatla 21-19, 21-14, Rachit Goyal b Sajal Kaushal 21-14, 16-21, 25-23, Aditya Puri b Ravi Sharma 21-14, 21-13, Ramit Singla b Abhishek Chauhan 21-9, 21-11.

Semi Finals:- Varun Kassal (AKSIPS-41) b Rachit Goyal (BVB-27) 16-21, 21-14, 21-16, Ramit Singla (Shishu Niketan-22) b Aditya Puri (Manav Mangal-21) by 17-21, 21-17, 21-19. Finals:- Varun Kassal (AKSIPS-41) b Ramit Singla (Shishu Niketan-22) 15-21, 21-10, 21-19.

Sub-Junior Girls Singles (quarter finals):- Ruchi Gautam b Komal 21-7, 21-12, Ketki b Tarunpreet Kaur 18-21, 21-9, 21-12, Megha Kassal b Gagandeep Kaur 20-22, 21-19, 21-18, Ramanpreet Kaur b Nadia Saini 21-9, 21-13; Semi Finals:- Ruchi Gautam (DAVP-8) b Ketki (GMSSS-22) 21-12, 21-16, Ramanpreet Kaur (AKSIPS-41) b Megha Kassal (AKSIPS-41) by 21-12, 21-13;  Finals:- Ruchi Gautam (DAV Public School-8) b Ramanpreet Kaur (Ajit Karam Singh Int. Public School, Sec 41) by 21-15, 24-22.

Junior boys singles:- (Quarter finals)- Amit Aggarwal b Harpreet Singh 22-20, 23-21, Sumit Grover b Karan Mahajan 11-21, 21-19, 21-13, Gaurav Bhatia b Inderpreet Singh 21-18, 21-13, Rahul Sharma b Ramit Singla 22-20, 21-15; (Semi finals):- Amit Aggarwal (NPS-18) b Sumit Grover (Shishu Niketan-22) 17-21, 21-17, 21-16, Gaurav Bhatia (SDP-32) b Rahul Sharma (Saravhitkari) 21-13, 21-13, Finals:- Amit Aggarwal (NPS-18) b Gaurav Bhatia (SDP-32) 26-24, 21-19, 25-23.

 Junior girls singles: (Q-finals): Ruchika Gupta b Amarpreet 21-17, 21-19, Anuradha Bansal b Smitha Kapoor (21-17, 22-20) Shruti Akku b Ruchi Gautam 15-21, 22-20, 21-16. Manu K.C. b Pooja Soni 21-14, 14-21, 21-3.

Semi Finals:- Ruchika Gupta (GMSSS-19) b Anuradha Bansal (GMSSS-19) 21-19, 21-12, Shruti Akku (Sacred Heart-26) b Manu K.C. (GMSSS-35) 21-19, 21-16; Finals:- Shruti Akku (Sacred Heart-26) b Ruchika Gupta (GMSSS-19) 21-15, 21-12.

Jaspreet, Puneet steal the show
From Our Correspondent

ROPAR, Aug 8 — All-India inter-varsity gold medallist and two times best swimmer of Punjab in junior section, Jaspreet Singh of Sangrur in the 400 meters individual medlay (under-19) event and three times best swimmer in the girls junior section of the state Puneet Chechi of Ropar in the 100 meter butter fly stroke and 100 meters individual medlay (under-17) events stole the limelight on the penultimate day at the Punjab State-Sub-Junior and Junior Swimming Championship for boys and girls at the Nehru Stadium swimming pool here.

In this championship several new records have been created, but these will not be considered as the local swimming pool has not required length.

Many members, who had created new records here, are unhappy as they lost chance to improve their own previous records or set by other swimmers.

The following are the results:

Boys section: (under-19 group): 400 meters individual medlay - Jaspreet Singh (Sangrur) 1, Kuldeep Singh (Sangrur) 2, Pankaj Partap (Patiala) 3. 100 meters butterfly: Madhav (Ludhiana) 1, Jaspreet Singh (Sng) 2, Kuldip Singh (Sng) 3.

200 meters back stroke: Jaspreet Singh (Sng) 1, Madhav (Ldh) 2, Jaswinder Singh (Pta) 3.

4x100 meters medlay relay: Sangrur 1, Ludhiana 2, Hoshiarpur 3.

Under-17 (boys): 400 meters individual medlay: Manmohan Singh (Sng) 1, Harsimran Brar (Ropar) 2, Gaurav Dutta (Jalandhar) 3.

100 meters butterfly: Manmohan Singh (Sng) 1, Gaurav Dutta (Jal) 2, Navdeep Singh (Sng) 3.

200 meters back stroke: Manmohan Singh (Sng) 1, Ajay Pal Singh (Ldh) 2, Anupam Gupta (Ldh) 3.

4x100 meters free style relay: Sangrur 1, Patiala 2, Ropar 3.

Girls section:

Under-19 (Girls): 400 meters individual medlay: Kirandeep Kaur (Ropar) 1, Bindiya Sareen (Ldh) 2. 100 meters butter fly: Bindiya Sareen (Ldh) 1, Kirandeep (Ropar) 2, Ravinder Kaur (Sng) 3. 200 meters back stroke: Abhipsha Thakur (Ldh) 1, Kirandeep Kaur (Ropar) 2, Bindiya Sareen (Ldh) 3.

Under-17 (Girls): 100 meters butterfly stroke: Puneet Chechi (Ropar) 1, Deepti Kanwar (Hoshiarpur) 2, Ramandeep (Pta) 3. 100 meters individual medlay: Puneet Chechi (Ropar) 1, Rupinderjit Kaur (Sng) 2, Deepti Kanwar (Hsr) 3. 200 meters back stroke: Puneet Chechi (Ropar) 1, Deepti Kanwar (Hsp) 2, Rupinderjit Kaur (Sng) 3. 400 meters medlay relay: Patiala 1, Sangrur 2, Hoshiarpur 3.

Under-14 (Girls): 4x50 meters medlay relay: Patiala 1, Sangrur 2, Ludhiana 3. 100 meters back stroke: Harpreet Kaur (Hsp) 1, Neha Bector (Patiala) 2, Anisha Maheshwari (Ldh) 3. 200 meters individual medlay: Anisha Maheshwari (Ldh) 1, Sukhmandeep (Ldh) 2, Neha Bector (Pta) 3. 4x50 meters free style: Patiala 1, Ludhiana 2, Sangrur 3.

Arjun Singh wins Wills Masters
From Our Sports Reporter

GURGAON, Aug 8 — Trailing on first three days, Arjun Singh played a consistent final round of three under 69 to overtake the leader Vivek Bhandari with an aggregate of 284 to win Rs 2,49,900 and Wills Masters at the Classic Golf Resort here today.

Young Vivek Bhandari, who had raised visions of victory on three preceding days, seemed to wilt under pressure of the final round. He could fire two over 74. This gave him a runner-birth with an aggregate of 287. He bagged Rs 1,66,650.

Feroz Ali and never-say-die Gaurav Ghei were tied for the third spot with an aggregate of 290.

Two players, Bhandari and Arjun Singh, were dissimilar in their style, play and temperament. Unlike Bhandari who, with a two-stroke advantage, was tense and wayward in his strokes, Arjun Singh was calm, composed and relaxed. He looked a seasoned campaigner.

Unconcerned about a two-stroke deficit, Arjun Singh played first eight holes par and then earned a birdie on the ninth to be out in one under 35.

Encouraged by this display, Arjun Singh went on to play a faultless back nine. Without feltering, he had birdies on the 14th and 15th to be in home in two under 34. That gave him the score of three under and an aggregate of 284.

Bhandari, in contrast, was battling on the course. After a birdie on the second, he ran into trouble bogeying on the fourth, fifth and sixth. This saw him finish two over 38. In the back nine, he had two birdies and two bogeys. This gave him the score of 36 and an aggregate of 74. He had to rest content with the runner-up position.

Ghei, who was playing a stiff back, was placed joint third along with Lassic Indian Open champion Feroz Ali. Vijay Kumar (292) was placed fifth while Indrajit Bhalotia (293) was sixth.

Amit Luthra, tall and heavily built, won the amateur title. He tallied two-under 286 after a one-under 71 final round. Harmeet Singh Kahlon could not stroke his dazzling form and could finish 10 strokes behind the champion for the runner-up berth. In a strong field of amateurs, young Sivin Kwatra did well in finishing fifth.

Kunte keeps GM norm hopes alive

KOSZALIN (Poland), Aug 8 (PTI) — Former national champion Abhijit Kunte held GM A.Kharitinov of Russia easily to keep chances alive for a third and final GM norm after the fifth round of the M.K. Cafe Cup International Chess here yesterday.

Defending champion GM Igor Khenkin maintained the lead with 4.5 points after a draw against fellow-GM F. Njboer with black in a caro kann defence game. Njboer and GM T. Markowski were close behind with four points each.

Continuing his unbeaten run, Kunte (3.5 points) with black employed the queens Indian defence, equalised early, and split the point in just 17 moves to be joint third overall.

IM D.V. Prasad (2) scored a fluent win over M. Symancki of Poland and IM P. Konguvel (2.5) drew with IM E. Prokopchuk (2.5) of Russia. But Rahul Shetty (1) continued to struggle as he lost to V. Syrtalanov of Russia on time in a drawn position.

Prasad, former National ‘’ champion, beat local rival Symancki in stule. In a Frence defence game, Prasad with white pieces had a positional bind and later made an elegant rook sacrifice leading to a mating attack.

Konguvel played the velimisovic attack against Prokopchuk and had good attacking chances, but allowed strong counterplay and later had to defend a pawn down ending to draw the game.

Rahul Shetty held winning chances against his Russian opponent, but later lost on time in a drawn position.

Important results (fifth round): GM I. Khenkin (4.5) drew GM F Njboer (4); GM M Krmsenkov (3.5) drew GM B Volzinov (3.5); GM T Markowski (4) beat GM A Beliavsky (3); GM E Sutowsky (3.5) drew M Brodski (3.5); GM A Kharitnov (3.5) drew IM Abhijit Kunte (3.5); IM P Konguvel (2.5) drew IM E Prokopchuk (2.5).

Polish soccer on brink of isolation

WARSAW, Aug 8 (Reuters) — Polish soccer stood on the brink of international isolation as a crisis between the government and the Polish Football Federation (PZPN) remained unresolved.

FIFA and, by implication, UEFA have threatened to ban Poland’s international team and leading clubs from their competitions unless the crisis, which has been rumbling along since May, is settled.

That means Poland would be expelled from the qualifiying round of the European 2000 Championships which start next month, and that LKS Lodz, Wisla Krakow, Polonia Warsaw and Polish Cup winners Amica Wronki would all be booted out of UEFA’s competitions for the coming season. They are all due to play qualifying round matches next week.

Sports Minister Jacek Debski, in a letter to FIFA president Joseph Blatter and UEFA president Lennart Johansson, attempted to head off the ban by insisting talks had not broken down.

But attempts to resolve the crisis seemed in trouble when only one sacked official showed up for a conciliatory meeting with Debski.

Polish champions Lodz, due to play Manchester United in the preliminary round of the Champions’ League next Wednesday, could lose up to $ 35 million if the ban goes ahead, a senior LKS official said yesterday.

The Polish Sports Minister sacked officials from PZPN in May for alleged "incompetence and corruption".

Baboor, Indu crowned champs

VADODARA, Aug 8 (UNI) — Chetan Baboor and N R Indu yesterday crowned themselves men's and women's champions of the 28th All-India Inter-Institutional Table Tennis Championship at the IPCL complex, here. Both the winners overcame resurgent rivals in the finals stretched to five games each.

Indu, the Banks Sports Board's lynchpin, after being down by one game to two against Petroleum Sports Control Board's top player M.S. Mythili, made a last minute surge in the fourth and fifth game to win at 18-21, 21-10, 19-21, 21-16, 21-18.

Baboor, now rated as country's number one player and representing PSCB, prevailed over his stylish Tamilian colleague S. Raman 21-18, 18-21, 21-15, 17-21, 21-13.

In the morning semifinals the men's champion made easy access to the finals when he beat the subdued unseeded Nupur Santra in straight games. In contrast Indu was never allowed to dominate completely the teenaged Bengali star Poulami Ghatak who took her to five games with some daring shots. Unfortunately the little girl lacked the cunning guile to win the game which comes with experience alone.

Baboor took home Rs 20,000 and Raman Rs 10,000. The winner in the women's got Rs 15,000 and the vanquished Rs 7,500.

Mythili had beaten Arul Selvi on her way to finals while Raman, who will miss the Khar Gymkhana event in Mumbai, had supported a better rated Arup Basak in three games.

Troussier tipped to become Japan coach

TOKYO, Aug 8 (AFP) — French coach Philippe Troussier is favourite to become Japan’s national coach since negotiations with Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger have become deadlocked, it was reported here.

The Football Association of Japan has almost reached an agreement with Troussier (44) and is expected to decide at the next board of directors meeting on September 10, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported yesterday.

Troussier, known as the white magician, has worked with national teams and clubs in South Africa, Ivory Coast, Morocco, Nigeria and Burkina Faso after leading a French third division club till 1988.

The Frenchman took no-hopers Burkina Faso to fourth place in the African Nations Cup this year and became the coach of South Africa just three months before the finals in France.

South Africa drew with Denmark and Saudi Arabia to earn two points in the preliminary round, but failed to reach the last 16, forcing Troussier to quit his job.

The Japanese association had originally tried to get Wenger, who led London club Arsenal to the premier league and FA Cup double last season.

But Wenger, 48, has one more year to go in his contract with Arsenal and has set his sights on winning the European Champions league. Wenger recommended Troussier to the association as a replacement, Yomiuri said.

Japan, who lost all three of their matches at their first World Cup finals in France, desperately want to avoid being the first host nation to fail to reach the last 16 in 2002.

Pierce triumphs as Venus retires

CARLSBAD (California), Aug 8 (Reuters) — Mary Pierce of France defeated third-seeded Venus Williams 2-6 7-6 (7-3) 4-0 when the American teenager retired with an injured left knee at the $ 450,000 Toshiba Tennis Classic.

"I think if I wasn’t hurt I would’ve won that match," Williams said of her first career matchup with Pierce. "I did what I could but couldn’t go on. On a better day, it probably would’ve been a mark on the chalkboard for me."

Pierce earned a spot in the semifinals against world number one Martina Hingis of Switzerland. She holds a 4-3 career edge over the top seed and defending champion.

"I’m looking forward to it," the unseeded, 16th-ranked Pierce said. "Every match against her is a challenge. We bring the best out of each other and that’s what it’s all about."

In the other semifinal pairing, fourth seed and two-time runner-up Monica Seles overcame painful back spasms and AI Sugiyama of Japan 6-4 6-3.
She will face second seed American Lindsay Davenport next, a 6-4 6-3 winner over Wimbledon runner-up Nathalie Tauziat of France.

Seles’s back spasms began after she sat for eight hours cheering her U.S. teammates at the Fed Cup on July 26 and 27 in Spain and had a difficult 18-hour return flight.

Aussie officials briefed on security

ISLAMABAD, Aug 8 (PTI) — A two-member Australian delegation visited Peshawar, the capital of north west frontier province, to discuss with the Pakistan officials about the security arrangements for the cricket Test match scheduled in October between the two countries.

Australia, who is to play second Test in Peshawar, had expressed reservations about playing there saying that safety of players was at risk sans proper security measures.

Team manager Steve Bernard and Australian Cricket board (ACB) operations manager Richard Watson held talks with the NWFP government officials, seeking guarantee for players’ safety.

The NWFP authorities assured the Australian officials that there would be no problem with regard to law and order, media reports quoting an unnamed Pakistani official, said.

Chief executive of Pakistan Cricket Board Majid Khan later joined the crucial parleys aimed at removing fear of the ACB officials about the safety of their players in Peshawar.

Australia expressed security fears after an unruly section of crowd lobbed projectiles, stones and bottles at Australian players during a one-day international against South Africa in 1995 at the Arbab Niaz Stadium in Peshawar.

Australia had requested the PCB and urged it to shift the venue to Lahore.

Jeev leapfrogs to second position
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Aug 8 — Chiranjeev Milkha Singh, the ace Indian golfer, staged a remarkable comeback, leapfrogging to the joint second position along with three others on the penultimate day of the £ 700,o00 German Open currently in progress in Berlin today, according to the information reaching here.

Jeev, who was in sizzling form, fired five-under today. He launched his campaign shooting three-over on the opening day to finish at the 88th position, but he raised the standard of his game and fired four-under the next day.

The final will be played tomorrow.

Atwal moves up to 4th position

TAWAU (Malaysia), Aug 8 (PTI) — India’s Arjun Atwal fired six under par 66 to leapfrog the leaderboard standings to fourth position after the penultimate round at the Sabah Masters Golf Tournament here.

Atwal made only six pars in his round but fired eight birdies and an eagle to move from joint 16th position to fourth with an aggregate of six under 210.

Atwal’s score was one away from the course record set earlier in the day by Thailand’s Prayad Marksaeng. The Thai golfer, who has had tremendous season last year, was tied for the ninth position with two under par 214.

Scot Simon Yates overcame searing heat and the intimidating presence of South African Des Terblanche to move into the third round lead with a massive 11 under par 205.

Yates fired five under par 67 to pass overnight leader and defending champion Terblanche, who returned a 70 today.

The South African lies a stroke behind Yates on 206 while South Korea’s Choi Kyung-Ju carded a 69 and is four strokes behind Yates.

The Scot reached the turn level with Terblanche and then took the lead for the first time with a birdie on the 10th and moved two ahead with birdie on the 13th.

Terblanche pulled one back with a birdie on the 17 before both players made three at the par-four last.