Sunday, August 23, 1998
today's calendar
|
S P O R T | Sunday, August 23, 1998 |
|
| weather n
spotlight today's calendar |
|||
|
BCCI to route team through
IOA India,
Australia to clash |
 |
 Leander Paes studies the ball as it comes to him during his quarter-final round singles match with Goran Ivanisevic of Croatia. — AP/PTI Goran ends Paes' dream run NEW HAVEN, Aug 22 — Giant-killer Leander Paes’ dream run in the Pilot Pen International Tennis Championship ended when he lost to eight seeded Goran Ivanisevic of Croatia yesterday. |
|
Parnita pips Anjali to bag
crown |
|||||
|
||||||
BCCI to route team through IOA CALCUTTA, Aug 22 (PTI) — In a significant climbdown from its earlier stand, the cricket board has finally decided to route the team’s entry for next month’s Commonwealth Games through the Indian Olympic Association (IOA). The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has received a communication from the International Cricket Council (ICC), the sports apex body, to route the names of the Indian cricket team through the IOA only. "We have received a communication from the ICC yesterday to send the names of the Indian cricket team through the IOA," board secretary Jaywant Lele told reporters here today. The BCCI’s decision to send the team under the IOA banner brings an end to the ongoing war of words between the two sports organisations regarding the formalities for entering the team for the Commonwealth Games scheduled to be held in Kuala Lumpur. Lele said the team would be selected in Chennai on September 4 and the list of names would be forwarded to the IOA on the same day. Lele, who was in the city in connection with the logo-releasing function for the nine-nation Wills International Cup to be held in Dhaka in October, said a "formidable team" would be selected for the Commonwealth Games. The board secretary said selecting the team was the prerogative of the BCCI and it was up to the national selectors to choose the team for the Commonwealth Games and the Sahara Cup series against Pakistan in Toronto. The BCCI had been put under pressure from various quarters to select the best team for the Commonwealth Games to enhance the country’s medal hopes. The BCCI’s working committee meeting in New Delhi, considering its contractual obligation for the annual Sahara Cup meet, had decided to send "formidable teams" for both Commonwealth Games (September 9 to 21) and Sahara Cup series against arch rivals Pakistan (September 12 to 20). Asked whether the Indian cricket team would stay with the rest of the Indian contingent at the games village, the BCCI secretary said the cricketers would form part of the Indian contingent and there was no question of separate arrangements for them. "The cricketers would live with the other Indian sportsmen at the games. They would also take part in the marchpast wearing national blazers," Lele explained. On IOA's fears that India could end up in being disqualified from the cricket event for delaying to name the squad, Lele said it was not possible to select the team earlier since the camp for World Cup probables was underway at Chennai. He said India's cricket consultant Bobby Simpson was at the camp which would focus on various factors to improve the standard of Indian cricket ahead of the next World Cup in England. The Indian selectors have also been asked to be at the camp in the last three or four days before selecting the team. Peeved by the BCCI's delay
in selecting the squad in keeping with the Commonwealth
Games deadline, the IOA had said on Thursday that Indian
cricket board's delay could be a ruse to get deliberately
disqualified from the games and then send a strong team
to the Sahara Cup series in Toronto. |
India, Australia to clash in opener CALCUTTA, Aug 22 (PTI) — India will open their campaign against Australia in the International Cricket Council’s fund-raising mega event - Wills International Cup - to be held in Dhaka from October 24 to November 2. A victory against Australia in the October 28 quarter final could pit India against either arch rivals Pakistan or West Indies in the semifinals of the first-ever knockout limited overs tournament. All the nine Test-playing nations will feature in the ITC-sponsored mega event to be held under floodlights at the Bangabandhu National Stadium in Dhaka which will be hosting an event of such magnitude for the first time. The logo of the high-profile meet and the fixtures were released at a city hotel today in presence of top officials. New Zealand and Zimbabwe will feature in a pre-quarter final on the inaugural day of the championship on October 24. Addressing a Press conference at the logo premier, ICC president Jagmohan Dalmiya said the world body had organised such a knock-out championship for the first time to generate funds for its development programmes. ICC’s chief executive David Richards, who was also present, said some of the countries had made certain adjustments to their programmes to take part in the meet. He said Pakistan had agreed to reschedule their cricket calendar while Zimbabwe had also agreed to postpone the home series against West Indies. Mr Richards said all matches would be official one-dayers and the playing conditions of the tournament would be finalised soon. He said hosts Bangladesh would play two exhibition matches during the tournament. While the first one has been slated for October 26 against either New Zealand or Zimbabwe, the date and opponent of the second match has not yet been finalised. Fixtures of the Wills International Cup: Oct. 24 pqf: New Zealand v
Zimbabwe. Oct. 25 qf: England v South Africa. Oct 26 qf:
Sri Lanka v Winner of (NZ v Zim). Oct 28 qf: Australia v
India. Oct 29 qf: Pakistan v West Indies. Oct 30 sf:
Winners of (Eng v SA) v SL v NZ v Zim). Oct 31 sf:
Winners of (Aus v Ind) v (Pak v WI) Nov 1 final, Nov 2
reserve day for final. |
Goran ends Paes' dream run NEW HAVEN, Aug 22 (AFP) — Giant-killer Leander Paes’ dream run in the Pilot Pen International Tennis Championship ended when he lost to eight seeded Goran Ivanisevic of Croatia in straight sets in the quarterfinals here yesterday. Paes, was unable to follow up his victory over top seed Pete Sampras in the third round and went down 6-2 6-4 to the big-serving three-time Wimbledon finalist. Dutchman Richard Krajicek held off eight match points to outlast Britain’s Tim Henman and reach the semifinals with a dramatic 5-7 6-2 7-6 (18-16) win, defending champion Yevgeny Kafelnikov beat Czech Bohdan Uliharch 4-6 6-3 6-3 and Karol Kuchera (Slovakia) ended the run of Frenchman Guiillaume Raoux 3-6 6-3 6-1. Paes, exactly 100 on the ATP computer list and sure to climb several rungs after his superb show here, ended a week in which he fought through two qualifying rounds and beat Swiss Marc Rosset, former French Open champion Sergi Bruguera as well as Sampras in straight sets. In his eagerness to attack the Croatian, the Indian Davis Cup star, who recently won his first ATP singles title at the Hall of Fame, Newport, last month often over-hit the ball. "I was a little tired after playing singles and doubles yesterday," Paes admitted. "But I really think the difference between us was Goran’s serve versus mine. He serves a lot better than I did. My plan was just to get the serve back and then let my speed take over." "But I struggled to get the serve back, and couldn’t get into a groove of chipping and charging and playing my style of tennis," the Indian star added. Sixth-seeded Henman earned no less than eight match points, and it was not until the Dutchman held his fourth match point that Henman made the fatal error. The Briton placed a weak forehand wide to end the two hours and 18 minute battle. "I played a good match and I don’t think I’ve played a closer one in my career," Henman said. "I’ve no regrets. I’d want to change a couple of things. But you can’t always hit the shots the way you’d like. But I feel very happy with my game going into the US Open." Krajicek and Henman treated the crowd to a feast of tennis that culminated in a nail-biting 22-minute, 34-point tiebreaker, the longest on the ATP tour this year. "We didn’t give each other an inch in the third set. He’s a good player and I’m very happy to beat him." Fourth seeded Krajicek will face seventh-seeded Karol Kucera of Slovakia in one semifinal while Kafelnikov, who overcame Czech Bohdan Uliharch 4-6 6-3 6-3, will face Ivanisevic in the other. Henman had won both prior career meetings with Krajicek in England. "It was nice only five or six persons were shouting his name instead of the whole stadium," said Krajicek. As the tension built, both players double-faulted in the tiebreaker. Henman hit one on his fifth match point, and one from Krajicek gave Henman a seventh point. Both players had already earned chances in the final set. Leading 3-2 Henman was denied a break with a fine forehand pass from Krajicek, and at 3-3 Krajicek netted a return on break point. Then at 4-3 Henman led 40-0 on Krajicek’s serve. But the Dutchman escaped and held another break point of his own at 4-4 but he again netted a return. Kafelnikov struggled to dominate Uliharch in a match riddled with unforced errors from both players. He served four double-faults in the opening game, and saved break points on his first two service games of the second set before breaking to lead 3-1. Gaining a 3-0 lead in the deciding set then gave him the momentum to claim victory. Roux like Paes failed to follow up a big victory after ousting Patrick Rafter in the third round, but pointed out that one upset win didn’t mean he could now beat everyone. "I am not going to
beat everybody. I had in my mind that Kucera is better
than me on the tour. His ranking is better and I had to
be 100 per cent in my legs and in my mind to win. I tried
to, but it was not enough," he said. |
Parnita pips Anjali to bag crown CHENNAI, Aug 22 (PTI) — Chandigarh’s Parnita Garewal won the Southern India Ladies Open title in a dramatic finish to bag the first of the all-India zonal tournaments conducted under USLTA regulations, at the Cosmopolitan Golf Links here today. The Lily Thomas Cup, symbol of supremacy among handicapped golfers, went to under-13 Miyali Talwar of Delhi, but the open event witnessed a nail-biting finish and the winner was decided on the 18th hole, that too on the last shot of the tournament. The Chandigarh teenager beat Delhi’s Anjali Chopra in a neck and neck fight by a stroke to claim the title with a four round aggregate of 12 over 300. Both Parnita and Chopra were tied after the 15th hole. While Anjali landed her second shot on the apron, Parnita was uphill to the flag. Anjali chipped in about two foot from the cup but needed two more shots, thereby going one over the par four. On the other hand, Parnita, the number one amateur in the country, kept her cool and parred the hole for the cup. Parnita, who putted before Anjali took her chance, had her putt kissing the lip of the cup and roll down, forcing her to take one more try. Parnita, who said she had played her best golf today with minimum mistakes, carded a two over for the day to take the title with Chopra ending at 301. She said Anjali played "much better" than her and was "rather a tough opponent". Miyali (14-handicap-274), who beat local golfer Sumi Nanaiya by a stroke, finished at 301. Earlier, the last day’s play was delayed due to lightning. Both Garewal and Chopra, starting from the first nine, commenced with a bogey in the first and the third but played superbly to claim three birdies on the 2nd, 6th and 7th for a one-under score. Though Parnita went one over on the third, she played the other eight holes to par but a bogey each on 11th and 14th enabled Anjali to catch up with the leader. Parnita’s birdie on the 15th helped gave her a one-stroke advantage, but Anjali, who drove to perfection and then managed to be close to the pin in her second shot, birdied the 16th to be on level terms with Parnita. Both players seemed to be under tremendous pressure playing the next two holes but Parnita stood up to her top billing to win the cup and put herself in contention for the Bangkok Asian Games. The fourth Junior Handicap Trophy went to Delhi’s Praggya Mishra (339) and Priyanka Dey finished runner-up with 339. Delhi’s Shalini Mallick was the winner in the 0-12 handicap gold medal while Aruna Vijay Singh (TN) was the first day medal winner and defending champion (open) Urvashi Sethi-Sodhi was content with winning the second day Stableford prize. Anjali Chopra claimed the
best gross prize for any day with a one under 71 today
and Miyali received the best nett prize. |
Federation Cup: Vasco raring to go against Dempo MARGAO, Aug 22 (PTI) — Goaded by the success of winning the kbl West Zone title, Vasco Sports Club are all keyed up to face last year’s semifinalist Dempo Sports Club in the pre-quarterfinals match of the Kalyani Black Label Federation Football Tournament at Nehru Stadium, Fatorda, here tomorrow. A young and talented side, Vasco, does not have famed players in their ranks. They have qualified for the kbl pre-quarterfinals by defeating Air-India by a solitary goal in the finals of the West Zone qualifying round. Earlier, they beat Renegrade Daman (3-0) and immaculate group of Ahmedabad (2-0). For Vasco, striker Premanand Gadekar, awarded man of the match against Renegrade and Air-India, is the most thrustful player in the attack. He could cause all sort of trouble to rival defence along with Mohammed Hassan if given good support by their medios Tony Okafor, Mathew d’Costa, Gregory Clarke and Luis Nickson. In the defence they have Seby Dias, Teotinio Fernandes, Elvis Pereira and Francis Baruah. Vasco coach, Bob Bootland said his boys are in right frame of mind after their success in the qualifying round. "Although we do not have any famed players in our team, we have players who are young, talented and promising. Most of them are playing for the first time in the Federation Cup and are eager to give their best", he said. "Our first aim is to qualify for the quarterfinals. We have better advantage over our rival as we have played more matches and they are yet to play a single match. We also have better crowd support", Bootland said. Dempo, who have benefitted the most among the Goan teams in the transfer of players this season, have roped in players mostly from the defunct Sesa Goa team. They have a well balanced side and a good bench strength too. Dempo have seasoned players like Tejinder Kumar, Sanaton Singh, Francis Silveira, Stanley Colaco, Christopher Kem, Joao Soares and Itocha Singh, who can unsettle any rival defence. Dempo’s main strength is their midfield led by Tejinder Kumar and roving Sanaton Singh along with Arokinath Robin and Santan Colaco. Dempo, who have not played any match in major tournaments this season, would be playing their first match tomorrow. Though they have played here in the friendly Edward Memorial Tournament last month, they are yet to prove their potential as their defence in the absence of Stanley Colaco and Christopher Kem looks shaky when under pressure. Striker Marcus Carvalho, who played for Churhill Brothers last season is back in the team. He along with Francis Silveira have been practising hard to get to their old form. If they strike to their rhythm, the rival defence would have a harrowing time. The Dempo defence is led by Brazilian new recruit Rodrigo Rodrigues, Itocha Singh, Stanley Colaco, Christopher Kem or Joao Soares. Vikrant Sharma will be playing under the bar. With both teams knowing each other’s strength and weakness, the match is going to be a close and interesting contest. Teams: Vasco: Richard Sanchez, Joaquim Palha, Seby Dias, Teotonio Fernandes, Elvis Pereira, Gregory Clarke, Leandro Almeida, Alex Alvares, Francis Baruah, Luis Nickson, Tony Okafor, Mohamed Hassan and Premanand Gadekar. Dempo: Vikrant
Sharma, Joao Soares, Surmani Singh, Rodrigo Rodrigues,
Stanley Colaco, Christopher Kem, Itocha Singh, Tejinder
Kumar, Xavier Colaco, Robin Arokinath, Braj Mohan,
Sanaton Singh, Santan Colaco, Marcus Carvalho, Michael
d’Sa and Francis Silveira. |
SAI coaches sore at
discrimination CHANDIGARH, Aug 22 — Coaches of the Sports Authority of India posted in local institutions are up in arms against the discriminatory attitude of the Sports Department of the Chandigarh Administration. At a function organised under the aegis of the Chandigarh Sports Council in the PGI today, coaches of SAI who have contributed immensely to the development of various disciplines were completely ignored. Some of the coaches who hardly had a hand in bringing laurels to the union territory were given cash awards along with certain players who never represented Chandigarh. In 1994, SAI coaches were given awards for their achievements but the practice was discontinued for unknown reasons. At today's function where Lt-Gen (Retd) BKN Chhibber, was the chief guest, as many as 17 wrestlers were invited to receive cash awards ranging between Rs 2000 and 5000. Surprisingly 11 of them belong to the Shivalik Public School training centre but their coaches namely RS Kundu and Janardhan Singh were not even invited to the function. Instead Darshan Lal and BS Beniwal were chosen for the cash awards who reportedly had little to do with the training of these wrestlers. In badminton, three of the four players picked for the awards belong to the Panjab University training centre but the SAI coach was ignored. In basketball, the SAI
Sports Hostel for Girls, Sector 18, has always been in
the forefront of producing national champions. The centre
has played a major role in coaching the Panjab University
teams in hockey, volleyball, athletics and basketball.
Panjab University have been inter-university champions in
basketball for the past three years and SAI coach MM
Malhan had a major hand in polishing the skills of the
players. Panjab University have also won the All-India
Hockey Championship besides finishing second in
volleyball and athletics in all-India inter-varsity
competitions. |
Asian youth soccer: odds favour India BANGALORE, Aug 22 (PTI) — Odds favour India who enjoy the advantage of playing before home crowd when they take on arch-rivals Pakistan in the Asian Youth Football Qualifying Championship here tomorrow. Both teams are tied with six points each from two outings, but India enjoy the upper hand, already having beaten a tough Kyrgyzstan with a convincing 3-0 margin. Pakistan, after their easy outings against the Maldives and Bhutan, are still to face India and Kyrgyzstan. The only apprehension in the Indian quarters is that the three-day gap since their splendid match against Krygyzstan should not lead to a loss of tempo. "Pakistan play good defence and jersey 10 (Zulfikar Ali) and 11 (Khuda Bux) are to be marked well. The boys are in high spirits. We will go all out", said Indian coach Mohammad Habeeb. Nitin Pradhan, Noel A Wilson and Ramesh Rawat who suffered minor injuries in their last match, were now fully fit, the coach, who is likely to field the same line up with Murali probably replacing Chandan Das in the first eleven, said. Murali had brilliantly marked Krygyzstan’s forward Ivano Sergey and can do the same when it comes to guarding against Pakistan captain Zulfikar Ali or Khuda Bux. Four Indian players - Prabhjot Singh, Farreq Hyder, Noel Wilson and Nitin Pradhan - will be going into the match with yellow cards received in their previous encounters. "I watched the Indians playing against Kyrgyzstan and they are a good side. However, our boys too can deliver goods, they mark and defend well. We had two months’ coaching camp at Lahore before coming", said Pakistani coach Zafar Iqbal. In the other, rather
inconsequential, encounter tomorrow, Bhutan will take on
the Maldives. Both the teams are yet to open their
account. |
It's do or die for PSEB today MUMBAI, Aug 22 (PTI) — It will be a do-or-die situation for Air-India Football Club, Mumbai and Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB) when the two clash in the play-off match to book a pre-quarter final berth in the third Kalyani Black Label Federation Cup Football Tournament at the Cooperage here tomorrow. Air-India’s four star players - mid-fielders Ratan Singh and Taposh Ghosh and striker Ajay Acharya and goalkeeper Partho Das - are sidelined, further making their team’s hopes of recording a win that much more difficult. Air-India coach, Bimal Ghosh, told PTI today that Ratan Singh, who was injured while practicing yesterday, needed five stitches on his left knee and is ruled out of action, while Partho Das is suffering from knee injury. Ajay Acharya and Taposh Ghosh have received two yellow cards each and would face a one match suspension. However, Air-India hold a slight psychological advantage as they had beaten the Punjab outfit 5-2 in the Durand Cup a couple of years ago. "Though the PSEB team has no big names in their ranks, they consistently perform well especially when they play in north India. "I think it will be a very good match and the winner will go to Bangalore to play in the pre-quarter finals against Indian Telephone Industries (ITI) on August 27," Ghosh said. Air-India have the "tried and trusted" forward line consisting of Anthony Fernades, international Godfrey Periera, Mitin Shetty, Abbas Ali Rizvi or Malvin Vaz while the midfield is made up of Khambiton Singh, Dennis George, Sujit Tigga, Khalid Jameel or Khogen Singh. Their main worry is their unpredictable defence which looked suspect in their earlier matches. The defence revolves around Henry Piccard, Sandeep Kharat, Radhakrishna Dube, Subir Sinha and Devdas Sen (formerly from Eastern Railway), who has been cleared by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) to play for Air-India. The two goalkeepers would be the temperamental Mohammed Yousuf Ansari and Sham Sawant. The PSEB team have a few seasoned players like Sandeep Saini, skipper Gurdesh Kumar and mid-fielder Madan Lal while the rest of the team comprises mostly youngsters from north India. On Monday, Salgaocar will take on State Bank of Travancore, Thiruvananthapuram, in the pre-quarter finals at the same ground. Salgaocar coach Leo Paul, who was upset with the uneven condition of the ground, hit out at the organisers by saying: "We will have to play on this ground which is very bad. The unevenness of the ground could be very risky for the players". Their mid-fielder Shabbir Mandal is already out of action with a twisted ankle. Salgaocar’s forward line comprises international Bruno Coutino, Satish Kumar, Jude Odega or Dennis Gabrial while the midfield is made up of Venkatesh, Habib, Falvetto and Prahalad Rawat. Rock Periera, Francis Quello, Derrick Periera and Kaleendra Singh will do duty in the defence while Man Singh and J. Siddqui are the first and second goalkeepers, respectively. The bankmen have a couple of quality players in striker Shaji, defender G.J. Jacob and goalkeeper Feroz among others. The winners of the Salgaocar-State Bank of Travancore tie will take on the winners of the Calcutta giants Mohun Bagan and Kerala outfit F.C. Kochin (to be played in Calcutta on August 27) in the quarterfinals at Mumbai on August 31. The semifinals will be at Siliguri (September 5) and Calcutta (September 6) while the final is slated for September 13 in Calcutta. E. Bengal
favourites Despite beginning as underdogs, the local outfit would seek to exploit home advantage and vociferous crowd support to try and upset the applecart of their fancied opponents, who finished second best to Salgaocar Sports Club in the tournament last year. The local football buffs here are pinning their hopes on Jorba Durga reproducing some of the magic they displayed in the east zone qualifiers where they humbled another Calcutta team Tollygunge Agragami by a solitary goal in the final last month. However, Jorba Durga face
an uphill task as the star-studded red and gold brigade
have a formidable forwardline spearheaded by the
nimble-footed Baichung Bhutia, the lanky Raman Vijayan
and Dipendu Biswas. Biswas has been in fine fettle and
has been among the goals this season. |
Testud stretches Hingis MONTREAL, Aug 22 (Reuters) — World number one Martina Hingis was pushed to three sets by Sandrine Testud of France before reaching the semifinals of the Canadian Open women’s tennis tournament yesterday. Hingis, looking to end a three-month title drought, battled from the baseline for nearly two hours before pulling out a hard-fought 7-6 (7-3) 3-6 6-4 win over 14th-seeded Testud. In the semifinals, Hingis will take on fifth seed and three-time defending champion Monica Seles, who ousted Anke Huber of Germany 6-3 6-4. The other semifinal pits second-seeded Wimbledon champion Jana Novotna against third seed and French Open champion Arantxa Sanchez Vicario. Novotna bounced back in a big way to record a 2-6 6-1 6-1 quarterfinal victory over Spain’s Magui Serna, who had upset Steffi Graf in the previous round. Sanchez Vicario took out fellow Spaniard and Fed Cup teammate Conchita Martinez, the sixth seed, 6-3 6-4. Because of weather postponements, both Sanchez Vicario and Martinez had to play two matches yesterday with the third seed needing three sets to get past 11th seed Nathalie Tauziat of France, while Martinez breezed to a 6-0 6-3 third-round win over 15th seed Anna Kournikova. Testud also had to complete a third-round match yesterday — a 7-6 (7-4) 4-6 6-1 upset of ninth seed Irina Spirlea of Romania — leaving Hingis expecting a fatigued quarterfinal opponent. "I thought she might be a little more tired," Hingis said of Testud. "After I won the first set in a tie-break, I thought she might just give up, but she hung in there and served unbelieveably." The Swiss teenager had all she could handle from Testud. She finally ended the contest by scoring her lone service break of the match in the final game with a desperation backhand winner down the line after squandering six break points earlier in the match. Seles had never lost a set in eight meetings with Huber, including a 6-2 6-4 victory over the 21st-ranked German in last year’s final and she kept the streak alive. Huber led 4-2 in the second set but Seles quickly turned things around, reeling off the final four games. "It was a very
hard-paced match," Seles said. "I was a little
lucky that Anke was a little off with her game when she
served at 4-2 (in the second set)." |
What yardstick for awards? CHANDIGARH, Aug 22 — The list of outstanding sportsmen and women honoured with cash prizes by the Chandigarh Sports Council at a function today makes very interesting reading.The council , in all, honoured 169 players for their performances in 1995-96 while 177 players were given awards for their performances in various meets in 1996-97. It is a different matter that quite a few players were not present personally to accept the award. Besides the players the coaches in various disciplines were also honoured. Only the Chandigarh Sports Council can say what parameters were fixed by it while doling out the cash awards to the boys and girls. While there were very few claimants in events like athletics, badminton or football there were long lists of award winners in events which have very little following. While going through the list it was extremely surprising to see that as many as 44 players were honoured for their performance in baseball, a discipline which is not an Olympic discipline and has hardly any following . These baseball players were honoured for their performances in the Junior National Baseball Championship held at Bharatpur in February, 1996, for the team standing first, the Sub-Junior National Baseball Championship held in Chandigarh in March, 1996, and more interesting for the team standing second in the same Bharatpur championship. Surely, this should be one of the rarest cases in sporting history where two teams from the same unit took the first as well as the second spot in the same meet. There was a time when Chandigarh was justifiably proud of its performance of its gymnasts. But in today's function only two gymnasts figured in the list of award winners. The Sports Council would do well to find out why the standard in this game is slipping. Similarly in athletics for which there is hardly any facilities in the union territory only six players could claim the cash awards. Now let us come to cricket, again a sports in which the union territory has done extremely well in the past. This year the council could spot only five cricketers for the award. But out of them there was one cricketer who has never played for Chandigarh. While the rules of the Board of Control for Cricket in India permits a cricketer from Chandigarh to turn out for either Punjab or Haryana as Chandigarh does not have direct affiliation with the board, this player has never played either for Punjab or Haryana but plays for some other state. What was the yardstick which was followed while giving him the cash award? In certain cases coaches who had nothing to do with the training of the boys or girls were given cash awards while the actual claimant was left high and dry. This was particularly so in individual games. The council would do well to enquire into this. To make the awards more
meaningful the Chandigarh Sports Council must devise a
more foolproof method. For one , games should be graded
into various categories. Let us not club say athletics or
hockey with a sport like baseball. Similarly, softball
cannot be equated with tennis . Secondly, the cash awards
for various meets must be fixed for example on the number
of teams taking part in the championship.The boys and
girls do deserve the awards but let us not give awards on
the basis of influence certain sport officials and
coaches have on the council. |
UT sportspersons honoured CHANDIGARH, Aug 22 — As many as 346 Chandigarh sports persons who brought laurels to Chandigarh in inter national, national and inter-varsity competitions were given cash awards by the Chandigarh Administration at the PGI auditorium here this morning. A total amount of Rs 8.60.100 was given in cash to 169 sportsmen and women for 1995-96 and to 177 sports-persons for 1996-97. The major share went to the judokas (Rs 89,000) followed by the powerlifters and grapplers Rs 82,000 and Rs 63,000, respectively. Two city handballers Kunal and Sher Singh who represented India in the sixth Commonwealth Handball Championship in Bangladesh in 1995 had bagged top honours, got Rs 15,000 each. City powerlifter Mewa Ram who donned India colours in the Asian Powerlifting Championship at Kazakistan in May 1996, got a cash award of Rs 4,000. City judoka Yashpal Solanki who finished second in the fourth Commonwealth Judo Championship received an award of Rs 15,000. City sportspersons bagged 130 gold, 93 silver and 199 bronze medals in 1995-96 and 1996-97. The parents of some sportspersons told mediapersons that some of the boys and girls who were honoured did not hail from the city. A coach reportedly misbehaved with a scribe during the function. Some of the coaches who followed the sportsmen to receive the cash awards were not from their respective disciplines. Lt-Gen B.K.N. Chhibber,
Governor of Punjab, and Administrator, UT, Chandigarh,
gave away the cash awards. Mr Jagdish Sagar, Advisor, and
President Chandigarh Sports Council and Mr R.K. Rao,
Director Sports-cum-Secretary, Chandigarh Sports Council,
and Prof B.K. Sharma, Director, PGI were also present. |
GMSSS-37 record victory CHANDIGARH, Aug 22 — Government Model Senior Secondary School, Sector 37, routed Government High School, Sector 26, 6-0 on the opening day of the Chandigarh Cadet Football Tournament (under 14) for the St John's Trophy at the Sector 17 football stadium here today. Right striker Rajesh scored the first hat-trick of the tournament when he netted three goals in a row in the sixth, 10th and 15th minute. Sunny (2) and Rajinder were the other scorers. In another match, Guru Harkrishan Public School, Sector 40, ousted Jawahar Navodya Vidyalaya, Sector 25, 3-0. Left striker Jaswinder Sodhi scored two goals in the 11th and 20th minute while right-winger Kamaljit scored in the dying minutes to complete the tally. St Joseph's High School, Sector 9, got a walkover against Sarvhitkari, School, Sector 44, while Government Senior Secondary School, Sector 15, beat Shishu Niketan Model Senior Secondary School, Sector 22, 4-3 via the tie-breaker. DAV Senior Secondary School, Sector 8, lost to Bloom Model School, Sector21, by a solitary goal scored by Manu Jindal through a penalty kick. Other results: Government
Model High School, Sector 38 beat Moti Ram Arya Senior
Secondary School, Sector 27, 4-0, Government Model Senior
Secondary School, Sector 22, beat Sanjay Public School
Sector 44, 2-1, New Public School, Sector 18, beat
Government High School, Sector 37, 4-3 via the
tie-breaker. |
Punjab rural soccer results CHANDIGARH, Aug 22 — Sherpur, Mehna, Gogron, Maili and Mehmdowal village teams entered the second round of the 18th Punjab Rural Junior Soccer. Tournament being held at Nangal Khilarian village, 20 km from Hoshiarpur, yesterday. In the opening match, Sherpur beat Middle School, Nangal, while Mehna defeated Sasoli with an identical score 4-3 via tie breaker. In another match, Gogron edged out traditional rivals Khanpur by a solitary goal and Maili ousted Bhullewal Gujran also by a solitary first half goal.Mehmdowal got a walk over against Sardullapur. In all 48 teams are taking
part in the 12 day tournament being organised by the
Youth Sports Club in collaboration with Sports
Department, Punjab, and Nehru Yuvak Kendra, Hoshiarpur. |
Jeev misses cut in European Open NEW DELHI, Aug 22 (PTI) — Top Indian pro Jeev Milkha Singh showed great improvement over his poor opening round of 83 to strike a three-over par 75 but still failed to make the cut in the European Open Golf Tournament at the K. Club in Dublin yesterday. The 27-year-old golfer from Chandigarh, first from the subcontinent to play on the PGA European Tour, returned a two round card of 13-over 157, missing the cut by seven strokes, according to information reaching here today. Two-time winner Bernhard Langer of Germany shot a superb seven-under 65 for a half-way total of six-under 138 to move into joint lead with Spaniard Jose Rivero, who carded a 66. They were being followed closely by overnight leader Swede Mathias Gronberg (139 - 86, 71) with Americans Craig Hainline (71, 69) and Gary Nicklaus (74, 66) two strokes behind at 140. Europe’s no. 1 player
for the last five years, Colin Montgomerie surprisingly
missed the cut, returning a card of eight over 152. |
Gymkhana CC win by one run CHANDIGARH, Aug 22 — An all-round performance by Punjab Ranji trophy player Munish Arora, who hit a superb unbeaten 70 off 68 balls and captured two for 11 enabled Gymkhana Cricket Club, Mohali, to beat Tari Cricket Club in a nail-biting quarterfinal match by narrow margin of one run in the Bathany Cup Cricket Tournament being held here today. Batting first, Gymkhana CC thrived mainly on the batting of Arora, and put up a total of 110 runs for the loss of seven wickets in the allotted 20 overs. Tari CC bowlers Baljit Rana and Jatinder Kumar claimed two wickets each. Chasing the total Tari were given a good start by Gurpreet Singh who made 18 runs in the first few overs. But the middle order crumbled against the pace of Arora and Hemant. In last over, the team required six runs but they fell short by a run. Brief scores: Gymkhana CC,
Mohali 110 for 7 in 20 overs (Munish Arora 70 n.o.,
Baljit Rana 2 for 25, Jatinder Kumar 2 for 22) Tari CC
109 for 7 in 20 overs (Bhupinder Singh 26, Gurdeep Rana
25. Gurpreet 18, Munish Arora 2 for 11, Hemant 2 for 25).
|
 |
 |
 |
| Nation
| Punjab | Haryana | Himachal Pradesh | Jammu & Kashmir | | Chandigarh | Editorial | Business | Stocks | | Mailbag | Spotlight | World | 50 years of Independence | Weather | | Search | Subscribe | Archive | Suggestion | Home | E-mail | |
