• Amarjit re-elected CPFI president
• Soccer tourney
  put off
• Tarun overpowers Sanjay

• Rohan Kapoor bags a double
• Sports scribe Ashok Patnaik dead
• Hockey trials

BCCI completely bypasses IOA

NEW DELHI, Aug 19 (UNI, PTI) — Completely undermining the authority of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA), the apex sports body of the country, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) today announced that the team to Commonwealth Games would be sent through the ICC.

"The IOA has nothing to do with the Indian cricket team’s participation in the Games. We have been given permission to select the team as late as possible," BCCI secretary J.Y. Lele told reporters here today.

"The country has enough wealth of cricketing talent and we will select two formidable teams — one for the Commonwealth Games and the other for the five-match Sahara Cup series in Toronto against Pakistan," Mr Lele said.

He said the names of the players for the games would be sent by the BCCI to SUKOM, the organisers, and not through IOA, virtually reducing the body to a naught.

The IOA had repeatedly stated that entries for every participating team in the games had to go through it. Today’s decision by the board completely bypassed this norm. "Cricket is an exception and is being introduced for the first time in the games," Lele said justifying the BCCI’s decision.

Lele said the teams would be picked up either on August 29 or September 4 after the completion of the conditioning camp of the probables in preparation for next year’s World Cup in England, now being held in Chennai.

He said the ICC was in touch with SUKOM on the issue dismissing apprehensions of IOA regarding the possibility of SUKOM not accepting late entries.

Declaring that there would not be any future dialogue between the BCCI and IOA over sending the cricket team, Lele said ‘it is clearly a matter between ICC, the BCCI and SUKOM.’

When asked that in all multi-discipline games all teams went only under the banner of the national Olympic association, the BCCI Secretary would only say that ICC had clarified that they were not obliged to do so.

"Cricket is an exception. It was included in Kuala Lumpur only to popularise the game. It was ICC which nominated these countries," Lele added.

Asked about the series of correspondence between IOA and the BCCI which amounted to an acknowledgement of IOA’s role in sending all Indian squads, Lele would only say "IOA will have no role to play."

Asked whether the cricket team would stay in the Games village, he said rules and regulations and financial obligations would be clear "in a day or two".

Lele clarified that players will not sport the "Wills" logo as they are obliged by contract to do in international matches, and will wear only the manufacturer’s logo as per the games regulations. "We will also not be paying any match fee to the players," he added.

Asked about the BCCI’s stand on dope testing, an issue on which Lele had sought clarifications from IOA a few days back, Lele said "ICC has spoken to SUKOM. Though there might be drug tests, the report will go to ICC which will decide."

Questioned further, he said dope testing in effect will not be applicable to cricket. Neither the players nor administrators were "aware about the substances banned. Some may have taken cortizone," he added.

The IOA President Suresh Kalmadi said he would wait till he saw the contents of the BCCI Secretary's statement before reacting.

The IOA office-bearers would hold a meeting here tomorrow and decide on the future course of action to be taken on the issue, Mr Kalmadi told PTI.

The ongoing war of attrition between the two sports bodies took a dramatic turn with IOA insisting that no team could take part in the games without its clearance.

IOA Secretary General Randhir Singh told UNI that he had a telephonic conversation with the officials of the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) and they made it clear that the rule clearly stated that it was the prerogative of the respective National Olympic Committees (NOC) to clear and forward the entries of each participating team. "The rule cannot be flouted. They (BCCI) will have to go through the IOA", Randhir Singh asserted.

Asked what would happen if the BCCI refused to follow this rule, he said without elaborating, "the consequences will follow".

The IOA has no right to say anything on the issue. The ICC and SUKOM, the organisers of the games in Malaysia, were in touch", BCCI Secretary J.Y. Lele had said earlier today.

Though the BCCI is not affiliated to IOA, but this is perhaps for the first time that any sports body has challenged IOA's authority and decided to participate in a multi-discipline event bypassing it completely.

Tendulkar invited to meet Bradman

MUMBAI, Aug 19 (PTI) — Sachin Tendulkar has been provided with the unique and rare honour of meeting Sir Don Bradman in Adelaide later this month on the occasion of the legendary Australian batsman’s 90th birthday celebrations on August 27.

Confirming news reports that he has been extended an invitation to attend the celebrations by the South Australian Cricket Association (SACA), the Indian maestro told PTI: "Yes. The invitation has gone to Worldtel. Sir Don Bradman is going to give me some of his time. It’s a great honour".

Television company Worldtel, owned by Indian-born and US-based Mark Mascarenhas, handles the Indian star’s business interests.

Sir Don, who has gone on record to state that Tendulkar’s style of batting reminded him of his own, would not attend his birthday celebrations, including a grand dinner for 1,300 guests, as the Australian sports icon wants to be with his family on the occasion, according to the reports.

The only hitch for Tendulkar, who returned home last night from the Arabian Gulf after playing a series of matches for Mohammed Azharuddin XI against Rashid Latif XI, is the fact that the date clashes with the August 21-September 4 training camp at Chennai.

"Worldtel are going to ask for permission from the Indian board", Tendulkar said when asked whether he has sought the green signal from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to go to Adelaide midway through the camp.

Tendulkar also said he was very happy to have been bestowed with the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award, the highest government recognition for achievement in sports in India, for the year 1997.

Tendulkar, who has installed himself as the world’s best batsman, will receive a cheque for Rs 1 lakh, a scroll of honour and a plaque from President K.R. Narayanan at Rashtrapati Bhavan on August 29.

The Indian ace, who is already the joint record holder for most number of one-day centuries and became the second youngest India captain in 1996, is the fifth recipient of the award instituted in 1991-92 and is the first cricketer.

Chess maestro Viswanathan Anand was the first awardee followed by former world professional billiards champion Geet Sethi (1992-93), sailors Homi D Motivala and Pushpendra K. Garg (1993-94), top woman weightlifter Karnam Malleswari (1994-95) and tennis star Leander Paes (1996-97).

Sasikiran maintains second place

HAMPSTED, Aug 19 — Indian IM K. Sasikiran maintained his second position and an unbeaten record after registering a win and draw in the eighth and ninth rounds of the Hampstead International Grandmasters Chess Tournament yesterday.

The Indian teenager, looking for a gm norm, beat Danny Kopec (2400) in the eighth round and then returned to hold Boris Kreiman (2455) in 22 moves in the ninth to tally 6.5 points after the two rounds played yesterday.

Swedish IM tiger Hillarp Persson maintained the lead with seven points, defeating Miroslave Houska and then playing a short eight-move draw with Angus Dunnington. It was a strange game as Hillarp could have extended his lead by beating the lowly-placed Dunnington but the two agreed for a quick draw.

Sasikiran now needs five points from his remaining six games to make the gm norm. He has drawn five of his nine games, some against much weaker opponents and that has left him with a huge task ahead of him.

Kreiman, who drew with Peter Szekely in the eighth round and then was held by Sasikiran, has a chance to join Hillarp at the top as he is yet to play his game against Ippolito.

Sasikiran’s game against Kopec went into adjournment and on resumption Kopec, who was badly placed, resigned. It was Sasikiran’s fourth win in nine games.

Playing white against Kreiman, the Indian employed the torre attack but was unable to convert his advantage into a win and had to sign the truce in 22 moves.

India’s Arpi Shah drew with joint leader Karl in a marathon 78-move game in the eighth round of the international master section of the Hampstead tournament. She has 2.5 points from eight games.

Simon Knott and Karl Mah are leading with six points each followed by Richard Palliser (5.5) and Thomas Bree (4.5), who lost to Arpi Shah earlier in the tournament.

Leadings points in gm tournament:

Hillarp Persson (7); Sasikiran (6.5); Kreiman (6/8, one game in hand); Kaugman (5.5); Plaskett (5.5/8, one game in hand); Szekely and Dearing (5 each).

Facile victory for Pravin Thipsay

TEHRAN, Aug 19 (PTI) — Grandmaster Pravin Thipsay posted a facile 19-move verdict over Abdullah Al Rakib of Bangladesh for his second win in a row while gm Bidyendu Barua and IM V Saravanan held their gm opponents in the fourth round of the inaugural Asian Chess Championship here.

Thipsay, who has nicely recovered from losses in the first two rounds, cashed in on a blunder by Rakib, who simply overlooked his rook getting trapped in just 19 moves. Playing with white pieces, the Bangladesh player immediately resigned. The win should help Thipsay recoup to make a bid for title.

Top seed Dao Thien Hai of Vietnam jumped into joint lead with Rustam Kasimdzhanov of Uzbekistan.

Kasimdzhanov maintained the lead despite being held to a 25-move draw by Barua on the top board. Barua with two wins employing black and having tallied three points, is second. In a paulsen variation in the sicilian defence, the Uzbek seemed content with the half point.

Dao Thien Hai scored a win with black pieces against Quatar’s Al Modiakhi, who is having a bad time with only two points in four rounds.

Miandad to enforce strict discipline

ISLAMABAD, Aug 19 (PTI) — Newly-appointed Pakistan cricket coach, Javed Miandad, himself infamous for his on-field behaviour during his playing days, has warned that players indulging in acts of indiscipline would be immediately packed off and has indicated that he may once again wield the willow.

The 41-year-old Miandad, whose controversial career came to an end with the 1996 Wills Cup, was given the team’s charge two days back by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) which has also said he can play if required.

Miandad, who is in London now has told a leading newspaper here over phone that he would enforce strict discipline among the players and that any player breaking the code of conduct would be sent back home.

"Believe me I will do it because if the players can’t discipline themselves, they have no business to be in the team and represent the country," Minandad told the dawn.

Ironically Miandad’s name has been linked with several controversies and cricket fans around the world may not have forgotten the scene of the Pakistani master batsman charging towards Australian speedster Dennis Lillie with a raised bat. On another occasion Miandad retaliated to the antics of an Indian wicketkeeper by jumping on the wicket like an ape-man.

Miandad, however said that he would be strictly monitoring off-the-field activities of the players and promised severest punishment, including recommending life ban, on any player if found indulging in such activities like betting and match-fixing.

Pakistan cricket has recently been embroiled in betting and match-fixing controversies and an investigation is already on.

"I have played cricket at the highest level, therefore, I don’t need any evidence. I can figure out from the attitude of the player if he has reached any agreement with any bookie," Miandad said, adding that he would immediately recommend to the authorities even a life ban on the culprit.

The veteran of 124 Test matches and 233 one-day internationals, said off-the-field activities "distract the player’s mind and it is precisely here where he loses his confidence, composure and concentration and this act of his has direct impact on the overall performance of the team which often takes a nosedive".

Miandad, however, lauded the quality of the present team and said it would be a challenge for him to draw out the best out of them.

The master batsman said: "If I have to retain respect and command over my fans and deliver what is expected of me, I have to extract the best out of my players and I would start by ordering them to mend their ways or pack their bags.

"These players are the best in the world but unfortunately they have not been handled properly.

"The earlier coaches also had the kind of power I have now, but they failed to exercise their authority. But I am a different person with different ideas and priorities."

The former skipper said when he was offered the job, he had laid down certain conditions and one of the terms was "authority and full backing of the board".

Miandad, who has been appointed coach for an indefinite period, said his main target is next year’s World Cup in England but the forthcoming series against Australia, Zimbabwe, India and the ICC Trophy in Dhaka are equally important.

When asked how he would handle certain players in the present team who had revolted against his captaincy in 1992, Miandad said, "I have forgotten everything. I am sure with the passage of time they must have realised the mistake."

Commenting on the board’s directive that he can play if required, Miandad said that it was not a bad idea.

"I have always believed that I can perform. I am fit and if a situation arose when my services were required with the willow, I wouldn’t hesitate to take a fresh guard."

Miandad, who played his last first class match over four years ago, said he could still bat.

"It is in my blood, at times you feel very uncomfortable when the batsman struggle on a tricky wicket. Now I have been provided with an opportunity to tell the batsman you stay out and I will tell you how to bat on this wicket."

Parnita falters on 18th

CHENNAI, Aug 19 (PTI) — Parnita Garewal faltered badly on the 18th hole to surrender the initiative to defending champion and local golfer Urvashi Sethi Sodhi, who led the field with four-over par 76 at the end of the first round in the Avt South India Ladies Amateur Open Golf here today.

Urvashi was being followed by Sri Lankan Anouk Chanmugam, Garewal and Shalini Mallick (Del), all with an identical 77, and third-placed Lalitha Balasubramaniam (78).

Anjali Chopra, Shruti Khanna and Nonita Lal Qureshi (all Delhi) were joint fourth with seven over 79.

With the picturesque cosmopolitan links providing the best of facilities even with the fairways behaving soft, most of the golfers including runners-up Vandana Agarwal found the going tough mainly due to their own inhibitions to go for perfect strokeplay.

It was a slip between the cup and the lip for Garewal, who would be the youngest golfer at 18 plus to become a professional any time.

With all golfers teeing off from the tenth hole, Garewal was on right course till the 17th hole, leading with a two over par score. But she met her waterloo on the final hole where she three-putted, missing an easy two-foot putt from the cup. However, Garewal was confident of bringing the best out of her in the remaining three rounds.

Rupa Srinivasan, a promising junior golfer from the city, was the best amongst the Indian juniors, as she returned a card of 81 like Vandana Agarwal to be joint fifth.

City's Sumi Nanaiya, a 16-handicapper, took the top spot with a nett of 68 in the first round for the handicap event for the Lilly Thomas Trophy. She was followed by Aruna Vijay Singh (Cal-17), Mayali Talwar (Del-24) and Shalini Mallick (8), all with 69.

South 'A' (Urvashi, Lalitha and Sowmya) and North-B (Parnita, Anjali Chopra and Shruti Khanna) were in top two positions with a tally of 154 and 156, respectively in the Inter-Zonal Championship.

In the inter club event, Delhi 'B', comprising Shalini Mallick, Mayali Talwar and Mandira Bhalla were leading the table with a cumulative net of 138 and Cosmos 'A' were behind them.

Chandigarh's Parnita finished the homeward journey with a stroke over par score of 37. She went one over in the 10th and 16th and parred all other holes besides achieving a birdie in the 16th. However, she was totally at a loss after going out of bounds on the road in the 18th.

She went for a "safety stroke" in her third shot but failed. Once she was placed just about two-foot from the cup Garewal was forced to take one extra shot to finish the hole in 7 strokes — a three over.

150 hurt in gallery collapse

CALCUTTA, Aug 19 (PTI) — Over 150 people were injured, some seriously, when part of a gallery at Mohammedan Sporting ground collapsed due to overcrowding today, Deputy Commissioner of Police (hq) Nazrul Islam said.

The eastern side gallery, where nearly 10,000 spectators had gathered to watch the Calcutta super division league tie between Mohammedan Sporting club and Peerless, collapsed at 3.40 p.m., just 20 minutes after the match began, Islam said.

Irate supporters set the gallery and the press box on fire and ransacked the club office, he said, adding Rapid Action Force personnel had rushed to the spot.

Eyewitnesses said RAF personnel lathicharged the irate supporters.

Meanwhile, police and fire brigade personnel were engaged in rescue work.

Police personnel present at the spot said the situation could have got worse had the two Mohammedan Sporting players, Aslam Parvez and Pratap Senapati, not opened the exit gate soon after the incident.

The game was suspended after the incident. Several lensmen were assaulted by the mob, Islam said.

The injured were admitted to various hospitals here.

Fire brigade sources said one of their officers was manhandled by the mob that prevented the fire fighters from discharging their duties. Later, with adequate police protection they entered the ground and put out the fire.

The gallery was burnt down, they said, adding 10 fire tenders doused the fire in the two-hour operation.

Sports Minister Subhas Chakraborty, who rushed to the ground, said a joint inquiry would be conducted by the Sports, PWD and Home departments.

Meanwhile, Indian Football Association (IFA) in an emergency meeting decided no more matches would be played at the ground till it was declared safe by the PWD Department and Calcutta Municipal Corporation.

Johansson ousts Carlos Moya

INDIANAPOLIS, Aug 19 (Reuters) — Sweden’s Thomas Johansson, with the help of 18 aces, came back from dropping a first-set tiebreak to eliminate Spain’s Carlos Moya 6-7 (5-7) 6-0 6-1 in the second round at the RCA Championships yesterday.

Moya, the French Open champion and second seed here, simply crumbled after losing the first set.

The disgusted Moya tossed his racket in frustration after losing in one hour, 41 minutes, and refused to come to the post-match news conference.

Moya won the first three games of the match, but began to lose his way as he dropped serve in the fifth game on a double-fault.

Top seeded world No. 1 Marcelo Rios was untroubled on the hardcourt, earning a 6-4 6-4 win into the third round.

The Chilean made up for a poor performance a week ago, when he lost his first match after taking back the No.1 ranking from Pete Sampras.

Rios said he is still building up his game for the US Open, which starts on August 31. "I think I’m playing only half of my tennis right now," he said.

Italian Gianluca Pozzi beat compatriot Andrea Gaudenzi 7-6 (7-4) 6-1.

Former world No 1 Thomas Muster defeated American qualifier Paul Goldstein 6-2 6-2 while Wayne Ferreira of South Africa easily handled Canadian Daniel Nestor 6-4 7-6 (7-4).

Easy win for Steffi Graf

MONTREAL, Aug 19 (AP) — At a time when brash teenagers are attracting much of the spotlight in women’s tennis, Steffi Graf proved yesterday in the Du Maurier Canadian Open Tennis tournament that she isn’t finished yet.

Graf (29), hampered by injuries last year, showed flashes of brilliance in her second-round match against Spain’s Virginia Ruano-Pascual, needing only 41 minutes for 6-0, 6-1 victory.

"I was surprised that I was feeling that good because I’ve been training hard for the past 10 days," Graf said.

"I cut down on practice because I’ve been feeling a bit tired. But today I was going for it and hitting the balls. I was really going for my forehand and my serve, and things have been holding up physically for me since June."

Graf, winner of 21 grand slam singles titles and at one time the world’s top-ranked player for 374 weeks, missed seven months after undergoing left knee surgery just over a year ago.

The German has also battled ankle and shoulder injuries, and has played in only eight tournaments this year.

"There were serious doubts if I could do it and come back," she said. "It took me a lot of time to get used to all the injuries, and during that period there were times when I wasn’t quite sure that I could hang on."

Hockey trials
By Our Sports Reporter

CHANDIGARH, Aug 19 — Trials to select the Chandigarh women's probables for the forthcoming National Games to be staged at Imphal (Manipur) from October 4 to 14 will be held at the Sector 42 Hockey Stadium here on August 21 at 4.30 p.m., according to a press note of the Chandigarh Women's Hockey Association.

The selected probables will undergo a coaching camp before they leave for the National Games.

Paes upsets Rosset

NEW DELHI Aug 19 (PTI) — India number one Leander Paes stunned seasoned Marc Rosset of Switzerland in straight sets to reach the second round of the Pilot Pen Tennis Tournament at New Haven last night.

Paes, gaining a strong footing in singles after clinching his first ATP title by winning the Hall of Fame title in Newport, Rhode Island recently, dumped the 15th seeded Swiss 6-3, 6-0, according to results provided by Reuters.

His doubles partner Mahesh Bhupathi, however, lost 2-6, 6-3, 4-6 to Ivo Heuberger in the second round of the qualifiers.

It was a creditable win for Paes, who has touched exactly 100 in the ranking in his determined bid to move up the ladder.

Rosset, a former top 10 players known for his booming serves but struggling of late, was the second seed apart from 14th seeded Frenchman Nicolas Escude, to fall by the wayside.

In doubles, Paes and Bhupathi, top seeds and defending champions, have received a first round bye and will meet the winners of the match between Wayne Arthurs/Peter Tramacchi and Daniel Orsanic/Jan Siemerink in the second round.

School sports meet results
From Our Sports Reporter

PATIALA, Aug 19 — Government Model Pheel Khana Senior Secondary School dominated the proceedings in the Patiala Zonal-2 hot weather sports meet which started here today.

The results:

Table tennis (Boys) under-14: Pheel Khana School 1, Aurobindo Public School 2.

Boys (under-17): Pheel Khana School 1, Green Well Public School 2.

Table tennis (girls) under-14: Pheel Khana School 1, Aurobindo Public School 2.

Girls (under-17): Pheel Khana 1, Aurobindo Public School 2.

Volleyeball (girls) under-19: Pheel Khana School 1, Government Secondary School, Kalyan 2.

Badminton (boys) under-14: Pheel Khana 1, Government Middle School, Kheri Gujran 2.

Basketball (boys) under-19: YPS 1, Pheel Khana School 2

Kho kho (girls) under-19: S.D. Secondary School 1, Pheel Khana School 2.

Amarjit re-elected CPFI president
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Aug 19 — Mr Amarjit Singh has been re-elected president and Mr Raghuvendra Singh (Rajasthan) general secretary of Cycle Polo Federation of India (CPFI) at a general body meeting of the federation held at Patiala today, according to a press note issued by the CPFI Mr Kamaljit Singh (Delhi) has been elected treasurer.

Representatives from 15 states, Air Force and NCC participated in the election.

The members of the executive committee are Mr D.P. Thakre (Vidharbha), Mr A Sathvanaravana (Andhra), and Sq Leader S.K. Singh (Air force).

Soccer tourney put off
By Our Sports Reporter

CHANDIGARH, Aug 19 — The Chandigarh Cadet Football Tournament (under 14 years) for St John's Trophy scheduled to be held at the Sector 23 Government Senior Model Secondary School here today has been postponed due to inclement weather. It will now be held from August 21 at the same venue, according to a press note of the Chandigarh Football Association.

Tarun overpowers Sanjay
By Our Sports Reporter

CHANDIGARH, Aug 19 — Tarun Kumar overpowered Sanjay Saluja in the most convincing fashion 2-1/ (37-48, 37-27, 63-9) in the inaugural S. Jaswant Singh Bhullar Memorial Prize-money Snooker Tournament being held here today.

Krishan Kumar scored a convicing in 36-28, 17-51, 40-30 victory over Rahail Kashyap, while Manav Dhawan defeated Rajan Sharma 35-25 and 56-6.

Other results are:- Mohit Bajaj b Pardeep Kinger 47-27, 59-14, Rajiv Bhardwaj b Bhupinder 43-16, 61-48, Dinesh Kukreja b Rajesh Jain 33-24, 54-18, G.S. Gulati b Shivan 49-48, 88-27, Harpreet Singh b Vivek 57-25, 52-58, 55-47.

Rohan Kapoor bags a double
From Our Sports Reporter

JALANDHAR, Aug 19 — Punjab champion Rohan Kapoor won a double in the district badminton championships in progress at Raizada Hans Raj Stadium here today.

Top seed Rohan Kapoor defeated his younger brother Rohit Kapoor 17-14, 15-12 in the boy's singles under-19 event.

Rohan and his partner Rittin Khanna beat Harmandeep and Ramanjit Singh in the boy's doubles under-19 in a neck-and-neck encounter.

In the boy's singles under-16 event the top seed proved his worth and won the title by defeating second seed Ramnik Singh 15-9, 15-2.

Sahil Arora won boy's singles under-13 title as he defeated Varun Arora 15-5, 15-4.

Ramesh Dhaul will meet Gurcharan Kochar in the final of veterans singles. Ramesh defeated Ashok Mittal 15-2, 15-2 in the semi-final whereas Gurcharan Kochar got walkover from D.K. Bhardwaj. In the veteran's doubles, Ramesh and his partner Arvinder Kohli will face Ashok Mittal and M. Lal for the title tomorrow.

Results

Boy's singles under 13 (final) Sahil Arora b Varun Arora 15-5, 15-4.

Boy's singles under-16 (final) Rohit Kapoor b Ramnik Singh 15-9, 15-2.

Boy's singles under-19 (final) Rohan Kapoor b Rohit Kapoor 17-4, 15-12.

Boy's doubles under-19 (final) Rohan Kapoor and Rittin b Harmandeep and Ramanjit 15-14, 1`5-9.

Women's singles (semi-finals) Sapna b Sandhya 13-10, 11-5, Sumeet Kalra b Gurpreet Kalra 11-9, 11-9.

Sports scribe Ashok Patnaik dead

BHUBANESWAR, Aug 19 (PTI) — Sports journalist Dr Ashok Patnaik passed away at the Government Hospital at Puri after a brief illness, according to information received here today.

He was 40. He is survived by his wife, a son and a daughter.

After being admitted to the hospital at Ranpur, he was rushed to Puri when his condition deteriorated. But doctors at the government hospital pronounced him dead on arrival yesterday.

Patnaik began his career with the Oriya daily 'Sambad' and had joined another newspaper 'Samaya' some time ago.