Tennis trials

BCCI to divide teams

Diamond CC win

HP athletic meet

Rural football

Punjab boxing meet at Mohali

England close to a rare series victory

LEEDS, Aug 9 (Reuters) — England were on the verge of a rare series victory in the fifth and final Test against South Africa today.

South Africa, chasing 219, needed 34 to win after closing on 185 for eight on a gripping fourth day that saw remarkable swings of fortune.

England had collapsed in the morning, losing their last six wickets for 34 runs to be bowled out for 240. Shaun Pollock and Allan Donald each claimed five wickets.

But South Africa fared even worse in reply as Darren Gough and Angus Fraser reduced them to 27 for five immediately after lunch.

Jonty Rhodes and Brian McMillan then steadied the innings and their free-scoring partnership of 117 swung the match back in South Africa’s favour.

McMillan eventually fell to Dominic Cork for 54 and was soon followed by Rhodes, whose superb innings of 85 was ended by Gough, his 100th Test wicket.

Gough then trapped Mark Boucher lbw for his fifth wicket of the innings.But with Fraser off the field with a back injury, England skipper Alec Stewart declined to take the extra 30 minutes’ play and decided to come back to finish things off tomorrow.

Pollock was batting on 24 at close, with Donald on two.

If England can complete the victory to take the series 2-1 it will be their first triumph over a major Test-playing nation since they beat Australia in 1986/87. They last won a full series at home the year before, also against Australia.

South Africa (IInd innings) :
Kirsten c Atherton b Gough 3
Liebenberg lbw b Gough 6
Kallis lbw b Fraser 3
Cullinan c Stewart b Gough 0
Cronje c Stewart b Fraser 0
Rhodes c Flintoff b Gough 85
McMillan c Stewart b Cork 54
Pollock batting 24
Boucher lbw b Gough 4
Donald batting 2
Extras: (lb-2, nb-2) 4
Total: (for 8 wkts, 68 overs) 185
Fall of wickets: 1-9, 2-12, 3-12, 4-12, 5-27, 6-144, 7-167, 8-175.
Bowling: Gough 19-6-36-5, Fraser 20-5-50-2, Cork 17-1-50-1, Flintoff 4-0-13-0, Salisbury 8-0-34-0.

Robin Singh (jr) among probables

MUMBAI, Aug 9 (PTI) — Delhi medium-pacer Robin Singh (jr) was the surprise inclusion in the list of 22 players picked by the national cricket selectors here today for the first World Cup preparatory camp at Chennai from August 21 to September 4.

Except for the presence of 28-year-old Robin Singh (jr), now touring Holland with the India ‘A’ squad, there were no surprises in the list which comprised nine batsmen, six medium-pacers (including all-rounders), four spinners and three wicketkeepers.

Karnataka stars Javagal Srinath, now fully recovered from his side strain, which kept him out of the Indian squad from April, and Rahul Dravid and Punjab veteran Navjot Singh Sidhu were also named in the list along with Hyderabad’s V.V.S. Laxman.

The probables — Batsmen: Mohd Azharuddin, Sachin Tendulkar, Saurav Ganguly, Ajay Jadeja, Hrishikesh Kanitkar, Navjot Sidhu, V.V.S. Laxman, Gagan Khoda and Rahul Dravid. Medium-pacers (including all-rounders): Javagal Srinath, Venkatesh Prasad, Ajit Agarkar, Debashish Mohanty, Robin Singh and Robin Singh (jr). Spinners: Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh, Rahul Sanghvi and Sairaj Bahutule. Wicketkeepers: Nayan Mongia, Syed Saba Karim and M.S.K. Prasad.

Teams for the Sahara Cup series against Pakistan at Toronto and the Commonwealth Games at Kuala Lumpur, both scheduled at the same time in September, would be chosen at Chennai on September 4, it was announced by the secretary of the Indian cricket board Jaywant Lele.

The players would undergo a conditioning camp under the supervision of coach Anshuman Gaekwad with Australia’s Bob Simpson, the board’s consultant, present at Chennai to oversee the entire process.

Selection committee chairman Kishen Rungta was confident of fielding two equally strong teams for both the Sahara Cup and Commonwealth Games where cricket is to make its debut.

Rungta said the selection committee took special permission from board President Raj Singh Dungarpur to add two more players to the original scheduled limit of 20 as they did not want to leave out two deserving candidates without specifying who they were.

"Simpson had written to the board that 20 would be an ideal number but we wanted to add one more batsman and another wicketkeeper to the list and that is why we have selected 22 and not 20", Rungta explained.

Rungta, agreeing that it was only a preliminary list for next year’s World Cup, said an entire season lay ahead of the new selection committee, to be formed at next month’s board’s AGM, to add or delete some names.

About the volte-face regarding Dravid and Laxman, who the selectors felt were not ideal for one-day games, the chairman explained that they were always of the opinion that these two batsmen were class players.

"We want to see them come under the guidance of Simpson and see their improvement. He is to study all players for their strengths and weaknesses", Rungta explained.

Talking specifically on Robin Singh (jr), the chairman said that he has improved a lot since attending last season’s camp for 27 players at Bangalore where he was pacy but inaccurate.

"He had impressed the then chairman Ramakant Desai, himself a fast bowler, at Bangalore but tended to be off length. He has improved now and had a good record last season when he grabbed four wickets or more on five occasions", Rungta said.

About Sidhu’s in-and-out venture in the one-day squad Rungta said the gutsy sardar was always in contention for the World Cup.

"He is one of the three genuine openers in India. He is the best option to open after Tendulkar and Ganguly or can bat at number three. He has always been in serious contention for the World Cup. We have left him out on occasions to try out a new player," Rungta said.

Explaining the logic of picking four spinners and six medium-pacers, Rungta said two spinners each would be fielded at Toronto and Commonwealth Games and added that conditions in England, venue of the World Cup, necessitated the inclusion of a strong battery of pacemen.

Rungta said no other names were considered in serious vein during the 75-minute meeting which was also attended by Indian skipper Mohammed Azharuddin and coach Gaekwad.

Rungta denied that the promotion of Ajay Jadeja in no way reflected on the lack of depth in batting of the team.

"Jadeja is such a player who can bat at any number. It is wrong to say that the Indian batting lacks depth just because he comes on to bat at number four. In fact our batting stretches very long if one considers Robin Singh, Kanitkar, Mongia, Agarkar, Kumble and Srinath," he said.

Board secretary Lele informed that Simpson was scheduled to reach Chennai from Australia on August 20.

The board secretary also added: "We are awaiting a communication from the International Cricket Council’s match referee (Sri Lankan Ranjan Madugalle) who has gone to Malaysia," when asked more details about the Commonwealth Games.

Indians draw against fancied opponents

KOSZALIN, (Poland), Aug 9 (PTI) — Former national champion Abhijit Kunte, eyeing for his third and final GM norm, dug himself out of danger before forcing his highly rated opponent GM A. Vaulin of Russia to agree for a truce in the M.K. Cafe Cup International Chess Tournament here last night.

Defending champion GM Igor Khenkin (5.5) maintained his sole lead with an inspiring win over GM T. Markowski (4).

GMs Emil Sutonsky, Kengis and I. Novikov were one point adrift of the leader, all scoring outright wins.

IM Kunte (4) needs at least two outright wins from the remaining rounds, to earn the all important final GM norm.

Continuing his unbeaten run here, Kunte could not get any advantage out of the opening in his favourite alapin variation against the sicilian defence of Vaulin. He was in danger of losing his e5 pawn, but sacrificed a piece and gave perpetual check to the Russian’s king and drew the game.

With the tournament past its midway stage, other Indians also decided to play it safe by drawing their games even as Rahul Shetty scored a consolation win.

IM P. Konguvel (3) held GM John Van Der Wiel of Holland in a sicilian dragon playing with disadvantage of black pieces.

Konguvel equalised easily against the classical variation employed by his opponent and was even better in the final position but accepted the draw offer from the Dutch.

IM D.V. Prasad (2.5), playing black in a sicilian defence did not have much trouble against the alapin variation adopted by GM Sergei Yanowsky and drew comfortably.

Rahul Shetty (2) managed to improve his score slightly with a sharp win over K. Dabrowska of Poland in a sicilian defense with the black pieces.

Important results:

GM Igor Khenkin (5.5) beat GM T. Markowski (4)

GM Emil Sutonsky (4.5) beat GM F. Njboer (4)

GM M. Brodsky (4) drew GM M. Krasenkow (4)

GM A. Volzhin (4) drew S. Movsesian (4)

GM Kengis (4.5) beat GM Berlovich (3.5)

IM Abhijit Kunte (4) drew GM A. Vaulin (4)

GM I. Novikov (4.5) beat M. Podgaets (3.5).

500-member Punjab contingent for Games
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Aug 9 — Punjab will send a 500-member contingent for participation in the National Games to be held in Manipur from October 4 to 14 and the participation will be limited to 26 of the 27 games, Punjab Olympic Association (POA) announced here today.

The executive committee of the POA at its meeting held here today with President Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa in the chair decided not to take part in sepak-takraw event. Two coaching camps would be organised in August and September before the departure of the contingent in two batches towards the end on September.

The meeting also decided to organise the first-ever regional games of northern states to coincide with the tri-centenary celebrations of the birth of Khalsa and the diamond jubilee of the POA next year in case Punjab is not allotted the National Games 1999.

It was discussed at the meeting that despite the promises made by the sports council, many state sports associations had not received grants or received them partially. It was desired that the matter should be taken up once again with the sports department.

It was agreed that in the larger interests of the sportspersons, the sports gradation policy announced by the sports department should be reviewed in pursuance of the directions given by the Punjab and Haryana High Court. Norms laid down by the sports department for release of grant-in-aid should be made transparent and circulated to all sports associations.

It was decided that a meeting of all presidents and secretaries of all sports associations concerned would be convened shortly to decide the various details relating to preparation and participation of the various teams.The committee impressed gratitude to the state government for doubling the cash awards to medal winners in the forthcoming games.

Punjab will revive the state games as a curtain raiser and full dress rehearsal prior to the National Games proposed to be organised in 1999.

Mr Arvind Khanna, Secretary General, POA, strongly pleaded that the sportspersons, belonging to Punjab by birth and who win laurels at the national and international levels in different sports disciplines but working in different departments outside Punjab should be considered for the Maharaja Ranjit Singh Award, the highest sports award of the state. The criteria laid down for the award, which was framed long ago, should be reviewed in the present content and POA/state sports associations should be associated while finalising the recommendations for the award.

Mr Umrao Singh, Vice-President, POA proposed that the leading corporate houses and public sector units in the state should adopt specific sports disciplines for employment purposes and sponsor the state championships in such sports disciplines. Stoppage of financial aid to Deshmesh Hawks All-India Hockey Festival, Ropar; Kila-Raipur Hockey Tournament, Liberals All-India Hockey Tournament, Nabha; and Surjit Singh Memorial Hockey Tournament, should be reviewed and requisite grant released on an annual basis as was done in the part in pursuance of the decision taken by the general council of the state sports council.

Kanchan upsets Kasturi

MUMBAI, Aug 9 (PTI) — Former national champion Kanchan Basak of Petroleum Sports Control Board (PSCB) upset current national champion Kasturi Chakraborthy of Railway Sports Control Board (RSCB) 21-18 14-21 21-9 21-19 in the women’s singles second round of Rs 1.2 lakh prize money Khar Gymkhana invitation Table Tennis Tournament here today.

The second seeded Kasturi, who had lost to another unseeded player in inter-institutional tournament at Baroda last week, was found wanting even today.

Her movements were very slow and she was not getting to proper position to play her shots. She also committed too many unforced errors.

On the other hand, the unseeded Kanchan was a picture of confidence and never let her opponent settle down. She dominated to such an extent that she conceded just nine points to her rival in the third game before wrapping up the match at 21-19 in the fourth game to move into the last eight stage.

Local girl and unseeded Malika Parekh of Indian Airlines went down fighting to fifth seed B. Bhuvaneshwari of PSCB 17-21 21-19 27-25 17-21 14-21 in the pre-quarter finals.

However, other seeded players in the women’s section had easy outings.

Top seed N.R Indu of Tamil Nadu, third seed M.S. Mythili of PSCB, fourth seed Anandita Chakroborthy (Rlys), former national champion and sixth-seed Montu Ghosh (Rlys), seventh seed Arul Selvi of Bank Sports Board and eighth seed Mouma Das of Bengal all made it to the quarter-finals.

In men’s singles second round, national champion and top seed Chetan Baboor, former national champions S. Raman and S. Sriram and fourth seed Arup Basak (all PSCB) moved into third round.

However, fifth seed Ganesh Kundu of Railways fell by the wayside in the third round. Kundu’s teammate and unseeded Rohit Choudhary beat him 21-17 21-18 21-19 to move into the last 16th stage. Choudhary then went on to beat Vineet Chopra of Punjab in the pre-quarterfinals.

Results:

Women's singles (pre-quarter-finals):

Anindita Chakraborthy (Rlys) b Vishaka Vijay (PSCB) 21-13 21-17 21-19; Mouma Das (WB) b Chandrani Ganguli (WB) 21-14 21-17 22-20; b Bhuvaneshwari (PSCB) b Mallika Parekh (IA) 21-17 19-21 25-27 21-17 21-14; M. S. Mythily (PSCB) b Moumita Dutta (Rlys) 21-13 21-13 21-16; N. R. Indu (TN) b Mitu Paul (Rlys) 22-20 21-15 15-21 21-10; Kanchan Basak (PSCB) b Kasturi Chakraborthy (Rlys) 21-18 14-21 21-9 21-19; Moutu Ghosh (Rlys) b T. Pradeepa (TN) 17-21 21-14 23-21 21-13.

Men’s singles (pre-quarter-finals):

Chetan Baboor (PSCB) b Amrish Chatterjee (Rlys)) 21-10 21-14 21-13; Rohit Choudhary (Rlys) b Vineet Chopra (Pnj) 19-21 18-21 21-10 21-13 21-13; Shivaji Dutta (Rlys) b Ghandeep Bhiwandkar (Rlys) 23-25 19-21 21-15 21-12 21-18; Arup Basak (PSCB) b Souvik Dey (Bng) 21-17 21-19 21-9.

Jaspreet, Bindiya best swimmers
From Sushil Goyal

ROPAR, Aug 9 — Sangrur district team, securing 150 points, and Ropar district team, securing 95 points, won the team championships in the junior section for boys and girls, respectively, today at the Punjab State Sub Junior and Junior Swimming Championship which concluded at the Nehru Stadium swimming pool here this evening.

The Ludhiana district teams for boys and girls were runners up with 46 points and with 60 points, respectively, in the junior section.

In the sub-junior section, Ropar district team, securing 41 points, and Ludhiana district team, with 46 points, won the team championships in boys and girls sections, respectively, while Sangrur with 36 points in boys section and Patiala with 39 points in girls section were the runners up.

In the under-19 group, Jaspreet Singh of Sangrur, with 51 points, and Bindiya Sareen of Ludhiana with 48 points were declared best swimmers in the boys and girls sections, respectively.

In the under-17 group, Manmohan Singh of Sangrur with 49 points and Puneet Chechi of Ropar with 54 points were adjudged best swimmers in the boys and girls sections, respectively.

In the under-14 group, Devinder Pal Singh of Ropar with 29 points and Anisha Maheshwari of Ludhiana with 27 points were declared best swimmers in the boys and girls sections, respectively.

The following are the results:

Boys section:
Under-19 (Boys): 50 metres free style: Jaspreet Singh (Sangrur) 1, Madhav (Ludhiana) 2, Harminder Singh (Faridkot) 3. 200 metres butter fly stroke: Madhav (Ldh) 1, Kuldip Singh (Sng) 2, Pankaj Partap (Patiala) 3. 4x100 metres free style relay: Patiala 1, Sangrur 2, Hoshiarpur 3. 100 metres back stroke: Madhav (Ldh) 1, Jaspreet Singh (Sng) 2, Jasminder Singh (Pta) 3. 200 metres individual medlay: Jaspreet Singh (Sangrur) 1, Pankaj Partap (Pta) 2, Kuldip Singh (Sng) 3. 200 metres free style: Jaspreet Singh (Sng) 1, Anwar Masih (Hoshiarpur) 2, Madhav (Ldh) 3. 100 metres breast stroke: Jaspreet Singh (Sng) 1, Kuldip Singh (Sng) 2, Harminder Singh (Fdk) 3. 100 metres free style: Jaspreet Singh (Sng) 1, Madhav (Ldh) 2, Pankaj Partap (Pta) 3. 200 mtrs breast stroke: Jaspreet Singh (Sng) 1, Kuldip Singh (Sng) 2, Iqbal Singh (Pta) 3.

Under-17 (Boys): 50 metres free style: Manmohan Sohi (Sng) 1, Harsimran Singh (Ropar) 2, Puneet Pal (Amritsar) 3. 200 metres breast stroke: Puneet Rana (Ropar) 1, Gurtarn Singh (Ldh) 2, Mastan Singh (Ropar) 3. 200 metres butter fly stroke: Manmohan Singh (Sng) 1, Gaurav Dutta (Jalandhar) 2, Navdeep Singh (Sng) 3. 4x100 metres medlay relay: Ropar 1, Sangrur 2, Patiala 3. 100 metres back stroke: Harsimran Brar (Ropar) 1, Manmohan Sohi (Sng) 2, Anupam Gupta (Ldh) 3. 200 metres individual medlay: Manmohan Singh (Sng) 1, Harsimran Brar (Ropar) 2, Paramjit (Sng) 3. 100 metres breast stroke: Gurtarn Singh (Ldh) 1, Puneet Rana (Ropar) 2, Manmohan Singh (Sng) 3. 200 metres free style: Manmohan Singh (Sng) 1, Gaurav Dutta (Jal) 2, Harsimran (Ropar) 3. 100 metres free style: Manmohan (Sng) 1, Puneet Pal (Asr) 2, Harmandeep (Pta) 3.

Under-14 (Boys): 100 metres free style: Devinder Pal (Ropar) 1, Navpreet (Pta) 2. 100 metres butter fly stroke: Devinder Pal Singh (Ropar) 1, Rajwinder Singh (Sng) 2. 50 metres free style: Navpreet (Pta) 1, Devinder Pal Singh (Ropar) 2. 100 metres breast stroke: Rajbir Singh (Fdk) 1, Devinder Pal Singh (Ropar) 2. 200 metres free style: Devinder Pal Singh (Ropar) 1, Dalbir Singh (Sng) 2.

Girls sections:

Under-19 (Girls): 50 metres free style: Bindiya Sareen (Ldh) 1, Kirandeep Kaur (Ropar) 2, Harinder Kaur (Pta) 3. 100 metres back stroke" Kirandeep (Ropar) 1, Bindiya Sareen (Ldh)2, Ravinder Kaur (Sng) 3. 200 metres butterfly stroke: Bindiya Sareen (Ldh) 1, Kirandeep (Ropar) 2, Ravinder Kaur (Sng) 3. 200 metres individual medlay: Kirandeep (Ropar) 1, Bindiya Sareen (Ldh) 2, Ravinder Kaur (Sng) 3. 200 metres free style: Bindiya Sareen (Ldh) 1, Kirandeep (Ropar) 2, Ravinder Kaur (Sng) 3. 100 metres breast stroke: Bindiya Sareen (Ldh) 1, Sunita (Gurdaspur) 2, Ranjeeta Gill (Asr) 3. 100 metres free style: Kirandeep (Ropar) 1, Bindiya Sareen (Ldh) 2, Barinder (Pta) 3. 200 metres breast stroke: Bindiya Sareen (Ldh) 1, Kirandeep (Ropar) 2, Sunita (Gurdaspur) 3.

Under-17 (girls): 50 metres free style: Puneet Chechi (Ropar) 1, Rupinderjit Kaur (Sng) 2, Deepti Kanwar (Hoshiarpur) 3. 200 metres breast stroke: Rupinderjit Kaur (Sng) 1, Deepika (Pta) 2, Puneet Chechi (Ropar) 3. 200 metres butterfly: Deepti Kanwar (Hsr) 1, Puneet Chechi (Ropar) 2, Rupinderjit Kaur (Sng) 3. 4x100 metres free style relay: Patiala 1, Ludhiana 2, Hoshiarpur 3. 100 metres back stroke: Puneet Chechi (Ropar) 1, Deepti Kanwar (Hsr) 2, Rupinderjit Kaur (Sng) 3. 200 metres individual medlay: Puneet Chechi (Ropar) 1, Rupinderjit Kaur (Sng) 2, Deepti Kanwar (Hsr) 3. 100 metres breast stroke: Puneet Chechi (Ropar) 1, Rupinderjit (Sng) 2, Pooja (Gurdaspur) 3. 200 metres free style: Puneet Chechi (Ropar) 1, Rupinderjit Kaur (Sng) 2, Deepti Kanwar (Hsr) 3. 100 metres free style: Puneet Chechi (Ropar) 1, Rupinderjit Kaur (Sng) 2, Deepti Kanwar (Hsr) 3.

Under-14 (girls): 100 metres free style: Anisha Maheshwari (Ldh) 1, Sukhmandeep (Ldh) 2, Neha Bector (Pta) 3. 50 metres free style: Anisha Maheshwari (Ldh) 1, Sukhmandeep (Ldh) 2, Neha Bector (Pta) 3. 100 metres breast stroke: Neha Bector (Pta) 1, Anisha Maheshwari (Ldh) 2. 200 metres free style: Anisha Maheshwari (Ldh) 1, Neha Bector (Pta) 2, Sukhmandeep (Ldh) 3.

Mr K.S. Sidhu, Deputy Commissioner, Ropar, gave away the prizes to the winners.

Amod Dixit, Shikha annex crowns
By Our Sports Reporter

CHANDIGARH, Aug 9 — Second seed Amod Dixit struggled hard to beat Anoop K.C. by 21-12, 21-14 and 21-12 in the men's singles final encounter in the Bhavan Hawks Fourth Chandigarh Table Tennis Ranking Tournament which concluded at the Sector 23 Table Tennis Hall here this evening.

Shikha Sharma overpowered her rival and college-mate Barkha K.C. by 21-11, 13-21, 21-12 and 21-17 in most exciting final women's singles match.

Earlier in the men's singles semifinal encounter, Anoop K.C. beat Tarun Akku by 23-21, 22-20, 7-21 and 21-18 while in another semifinal tie, Amod Dixit routed Sunil Bamboo by 21-10, 21-17, 21-18.

The results: Men's Singles (Q-finals): Anoop K.C. b Harish Kumar 21-17, 21-18, 21-16, Tarun Akku b Rahul Sharma 21-7, 21-12, 19-21, 21-18, Amod Dixit b Varun Vashist 18-21, 21-15, 21-19, 21-11, Sunil Bamboo b Mandeep Singh 19-21, 21-17, 17-21, 21-17, 21-15.

Semifinals: Anoop K.C. b Tarun Akku 23-21, 22-20, 7-21, 21-18, Amod Dixit b Sunil Bamboo 21-10, 21-17, 21-18. Final: Amod Dixit b Anoop K.C. 21-12, 21-14, 21-12.

Women Singles (Q-finals): Barkha K.C. b Amarpreet Kaur 21-8, 21-10, Shallu Kapoor b N Manu K.C. 21-7, 21-10, Shikha Sharma b Anuradha Bansal 21-7, 21-8, Ruchika Gupta b Monika Bansal 21-15, 17-21, 21-11.

Semifinals: Barkha K.C. b Ruchika Gupta 21-12, 21-14, 21-19, Shikha Sharma b Shallu Kapoor 14-21, 22-20, 21-14, 21-7. Final: Shikha Sharma b Barkha K.C. 21-11, 13-21, 21-12, 21-17.

Rafter, Krajicek set up title clash

TORONTO, Aug 9 (AP) — Third-seeded Patrick Rafter continued to methodically dispatch the opposition at the Du Maurier Canadian Open, advancing to the final with a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Briton Tim Henman.

His opponent in the championship match will be fourth-seeded Richard Krajicek of The Netherlands who ended Andre Agassi’s 14-match winning streak yesterday with a 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 semifinal win.

Rafter, the world’s fifth-ranked player has advanced through the tournament with straight-set wins over fellow Aussie Mark Philippoussis, the 14th seed, fifth-seeded Jonas Bjorkman of Sweden and the seventh-seeded Henman yesterday.

"Tim looked a step slow and I wanted to take advantage of that," Rafter said. "Everything went my way and he was flat nothing went his way."

Rafter took just over an hour to beat Henman with near flawless tennis. Henman had 23 unforced errors while Rafter finished with 12. Rafter also had 29 winners to 12 for Henman and didn’t commit a single double-fault.

"He played a great match, he never let me get into it," Henman said. "It’s more him playing a very good match than me doing anything wrong."

"I think Patrick has got good chances against both (Agassi or Krajicek). He has a lot of quick on his serve and it gives him a little bit of extra time to get to the net."

The key was Rafter’s first serve percentage. Six of 10 first serves were good, which gave an aggressive Rafter the edge in attacking the net.

"He hit some really good shots to put me under pressure," Henman said. "I don’t think I was given too many opportunities."

Twice Henman was leading by two strokes on his serve, but Rafter came back to break the 23-year-old from England.

Davenport beats Seles

CARLSBAD: Lindsay Davenport used a late service break en route to winning the final three games and outlasted Monica Seles 6-4, 2-6, 7-5 in the semifinals of the $ 4,50,000 Toshiba Tennis Classic.

Davenport, seeded No. 2, was down 5-4 in the third set on Saturday when she held serve, then hit a cross-court backhand winner to break Seles’ serve and go ahead 6-5.

After Seles saved one match point, she hit a backhand wide to end the 96-minute match.

"She was on such a roll in the second set and parts of the third that I was just trying to hang in there on my service games and wait for some opportunities," Davenport said. "I got some at the end."

Davenport, a two-time titlist this year, will try to make it two in a row after winning last week at the Bank of the West Classic.

Seles, the no. 4 seed, called the loss "frustrating" because she let an overturned line call in the third set affect her.

With Seles leading 3-2, and Davenport serving at 30-30, Seles appeared to get a break point when a shot by Davenport was called out by the linesman. But chair umpire Anne Lasserre-Ullrich of France overruled the call.

Seles protested and finally persuaded Lasserre-Ullrich to call for a replay. Davenport won the replayed point and, eventually, the game to even the score at 3-3.

"It bothered me a little more than it should have," Seles admitted. "In my mind it did (make a difference) because it just bugged me more than it should have."

The third career meeting between Seles and Davenport was close throughout, although at times the play was sloppy.

Reuters: Unseeded Mary Pierce of France rallied to upset Swiss world number one Martina Hingis 3-6, 7-6, (9-7), 6-2.

The result dashed hopes for a clash between the world's top two players, since second seed and world number two Lindsay Davenport had beaten fourth-seeded Monica Sales earlier.

The 23-year-old Pierce, ranked 16th, saved three second-set match points before storming past the defending champion and top seed in a rematch of a semifinal here last year won by Hingis 6-0, 6-2.

Haryana mow down clueless
Karnataka 18-0

NEW DELHI, Aug 9 (PTI) — Ruku Vitho and Thejakhrienyi struck a brace each as spirited Nagaland thrashed Rajasthan ‘A’ 6-2 in pool ‘D’ to complete the quarterfinal line-up in the Independence Gold Cup Sub Junior (U-14) Hockey Tournament at the National Stadium here today.

Haryana mowed down a surprisingly clueless Karnataka by a whopping 18-0 margin in pool ‘C’ while holders Orissa were equally ruthless in demolishing Rajasthan ‘B’ 12-0 in the decisive pool ‘A’ clash as the final day of group matches also proved to be one-sided affairs. Uttar Pradesh ‘B’ thrashed Assam 6-0 in the other match of the day.

In the last eight tomorrow, Nagaland run into favourites Punjab, Tamil Nadu take on Uttar Pradesh ‘B’, Uttar Pradesh ‘A’ clash with Haryana and Manipur play Orissa.

In the last pool match, Nagaland boys were too good for Rajasthan ‘A’. Ruku Vitho (2), Tepuleto, Li Pokmar, Thejakhrienyi (2) came good for the winners while the Nippy Vishnu Kumar found both goals for Rajasthan ‘A’.

Damandeep Singh slotted five goals, Maharban Singh helped himself to a late hattrick and Manpreet Singh (2), Dhiraj Sharma (2), Bikramjeet, Kulbhushan, Sandeep Singh, Ranjeet Singh, Gurpreet Singh and Harsh Preet added to the goal glut against Karnataka.

Bikash Toppo scored four goals, including a hattrick as Orissa routed Rajasthan ‘B', Manoj Kiro (3), Samarjit Kerketta, Ismail Toppo, Saimon Tirkey, Rohit Dung Dung and Roshan Minz further swelling the kitty.

UP ‘B’, routed Assam through goals by Jagdeesh Yadav (2), Prem Kumar, Rishi Kumar and Mohd Hanif.

India not top-class Test team,
says Chappell

SYDNEY, Aug 9 (PTI) — Former Australian cricket captain Ian Chappell has ranked India fifth among the nine Test playing countries, saying that unless India learned to "consistently win away from home they can't rank as a top-class team."

Chappell, a top TV commentator of the game now, said despite the recent loss of the three-Test series in India. Australia were still the best Test playing nation, provided leg-spin wizard Shane Warne and paceman Glen McGrath were fit.

South Africa are placed number two, followed by Pakistan, the West Indies and India. England are ranked below India with Sri Lanka, New Zealand and Zimbabwe following in that order. Writing in the latest issue of "Inside Edge", magazine, Chappell has taken into account five factors — batting, bowling, fielding, captaincy and results — to rank the teams.

"India have been the big improvers in recent times thanks to a strong batting line-up headed by Sachin Tendulkar, the world's best batsman" he wrote.

"The consistent Rahul Dravid, the flashy Mohammad Azharuddin and a more forceful Saurav Ganguly complete an excellent middle-order, but they are still unsettled at the top," he commented.

Ian Chappell said India's pace attack was in good shape with the experienced Javagal Srinath and Venkatesh Prasad now backed by the aggressive young Ajit Agarkar.

"However, Indis still don't travel well, and until they learn to consistently win away from home they can't rank as a top-class team," he added.

Tennis trials

AMRITSAR (FOSR): Selection trials for the men's and women's tennis teams for the fifth National Games to be held in Manipur will be held at the tennis complex here on August 17, a press note issued by the Punjab State Lawn Tennis Association has said.

Prize money b'minton tournament
By Our Sports Reporter

PATIALA, Aug 9 — The Punjab Badminton Players Welfare Association (PBPWA) will organise the first Open Punjab Badminton Prize Money Tournament at the NIS here from September 3 to 5, according to a press release.

Entries closed with Mr Munish Kaushal, joint organising secretary, 1370/3, Raghomajra, Patiala by August 30.

BCCI to divide teams

MUMBAI, Aug 9 (UNI) — The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) today announced that the strength of the teams for the Sahara series against Pakistan and Commonwealth Games will be divided equally.

Both events are clashing in the second week of September.

This way BCCI avoided the big hurdle of being barred from the inaugural one-day cricket at Kuala Lumpur. The BCCI had dropped its head against the dollar-filled demand of the International Management Group that as per the contract only the best available team should be sent to Sahara. Though that could have never been a real threat since players of Pakistan contracted to play English counties are sure to miss the Toronto event of five matches.

However, the BCCI was forced to change its decision following Indian Olympic Association’s warning that the second string team will not be allowed to play. BCCI president Raj Singh Dungarpur then called a meeting to address the problem and today chairman of the selection committee Kisen Rungta announced that the 22 probables plus few others from the team currently touring Holland will form the two teams of equal strength. One team will be led by Mohammed Azharuddin and another most probably by Ajay Jadeja.

Diamond CC win
By Our Sports Reporter

CHANDIGARH, Aug 9 — Fine all round performance by Ravi (37 n.o. and two for nine) enabled Diamond Cricket Club to rout Sagar Sports Club by four wickets in the Khushi Ram Memorial League Cricket Tournament here today.

Brief scores: Sagar Sports Club 91 all out (Rahul 2 for 12, Ravi 2 for 9) Diamond CC 93 for 6 in 17.2 overs (Ravi 37 n.o., Satish 3 for 19).

In another match of the day, Victoria Cricket Club defeated Kalsi XI by 10 runs.

Brief scores: Victoria CC 112 all out (Raj Kumar 35, Sanjeev 26, Kalsi 2 for 10). Kalsi XI 102 all out (Ajay 3 for 21, Sanjay 2 for 17).

HP athletic meet
From Our Correspondent

HAMIRPUR, Aug 9 — The state-level prize money athletic meet will be held here on September 19 and 20, Mr Bhupinder Singh, Secretary, Hamirpur District Athletic Association, said here yesterday.

Competitions would be held for both men and women in the under-16, under-20 and open categories.

Only bonafide Himachalis would be eligible to take part in the meet. Their entries should be routed through their respective district athletic association.

Rural football
By Our Sports Reporter

CHANDIGARH, Aug 9 — The 18th Junior Punjab Rural Football Tournament will be organised by the Youth Sports Club at Nangal Khilarian village, in Hoshiarpur district, from August 19 to 30, Mr G.C. Bhardwaj, secretary of the club, has said.

Teams from 60 villages of the state would take part in the 12-day tournament.

Entries close on August 18 with Mr Satnam Singh, joint secretary, YSC and sarpanch of the Nangal Khilarian village or at the Sports House,
Mahilpur.

Punjab boxing meet at Mohali
By Our Sports Reporter

CHANDIGARH, Aug 9 — The Punjab State Boxing Championship will be held at Mohali in January.

This was decided at the executive committee meeting of the Punjab Amateur Boxing Association (PABA) held at Patiala recently, Mr G.S. Sarao, secretry PABA said yesterday.

Selection trials for the senior Punjab pugilists' team for the National Games, to be held in Imphal from October 4 to 14, will be held at the Polo ground gymnasium hall, Patiala, on August 29 and 30. Selected state probables should attend the first phase of the coaching camp, to be held at the trials venue from September 2. The second phase of the camp will also be held there from September 14 to 28, Mr Sarao said.

The PABA allotted the 31st Junior Punjab State Boxing Championship to Sunam for the last week of October. During the state championship, state junior pugilists will be chosen for the forthcoming Junior National Boxing Championship to be held at Nagaland in the November.

The Sub-Junior Punjab State Boxing Championship will be held at Sangrur in the first week of November and the state probables will be selected to represent Punjab in the sub-junior National Boxing Championship being held in Calcutta in December, Mr Sarao added.