Thursday, December 17, 1998
today's calendar
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S P O R T | Thursday, December 17, 1998 |
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Venues for Indo-Pak series finalised |
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Airlines
Gold Cup for BSF |
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Bhupathi-Nirupama duo wins bronze BANGKOK, Dec 16 (PTI) — The Indian women’s hockey team reached the Asian Games final after 16 years by edging out Japan on superior goal difference while the mixed doubles tennis pair of Mahesh Bhupathi and Nirupama Vaidyanathan won a bronze on the eleventh day today. The women’s hockey squad drew with Japan 1-1 in their last round-robin tie to make the title-clash against defending champions South Korea on Friday. India, who were put 1-0 ahead by Kamla Dalal in the fourth minute, allowed Japan to draw level two minutes from the end through Keiko Muira but the deadlocked match was enough to skyrocket them into the gold medal-deciding contest. The Indian women, who won the title in 1982, ended up with a plus 15 goal difference as compared to Japan’s plus 8. The women’s fine performance, which has assured India of at least a silver, came in the wake of men’s tennis spearhead Mahesh Bhupathi’s shock 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 quarter-final win over top seed Oleg Ogorodov which put him into the men’s singles medal round. However, Bhupathi and Nirupama could not progress further in the mixed doubles event and lost in the semi-finals 4-6, 3-6 to Kim Dong-Hyun and Choi Ju-Yeon of South Korea and settled for the bronze. Billiards ace Geet Sethi, the firm favourite to lift the title despite the contest being played on the 150-up format, and his partner Ashok Shandilya commenced the Indian campaign to reap gold medals on a sound note by reaching the doubles semifinals along with their compatriots Devendra Joshi and B. Bhaskar. Reigning world pro champion Sethi and Shandilya trounced Udon Khaimuk and Suriya Suwannasingh of Tamiland 3-0 in the best-of-five-frame quarter-final clash while Joshi and Bhaskar were equally ruthless in swamping Malaysia’s Thye-Hong Lee and Chin-Jay Ooi by an identical margin. India expect to come away with both the singles and doubles golds in the event. The freestyle grapplers had mixed luck with Mukesh Kumar still in contention for a medal by winning two and losing one bout in the 63 kg class while his compatriot Kripa Shankar Patel crashed out of the 54 kg weight category by losing his second and third bouts after gaining a bye in the first round. The men’s archery team of Satyadev Prasad, Rajesh Hasdak, Skalzang Dorji and Mangal Singh qualified for the team elimination round, slated for tomorrow, and have drawn Chinese Taipei as their pre-quarter-final opponents. But the trio of Prasad, Hasdak and Dorji had a glorious morning, the first two knocking out the defending champion Vadim Shikarev (Uzbekistan) and 70m world record holder Hiroshi Yamamoto (Japan) in the first round, before coming a cropper against less fancied opponents in the afternoon to be eliminated in the individual events. Twenty-year-old Meerut based Prasad stunned 1994 Hiroshima Games gold winner Shikarev 156-154 but could not sustain his form and was beaten 165-155 by Wu Tsung Yi of Chinese Taipei in the next round. Hasdak shocked world record holder Yamamoto by two points (160-158) by hitting the bull’s eye on six occasions only to stumble in his next round clash against another Japanese Wattana Haraguchi 149-152. Shalzang Dorji beat Hironobu Suegushi of Japan by a narrow margin (163-161). He too had no answer to his next round opponent Fang Huo of China and lost 159-161. The Chinese had knocked out Mangal Singh 166-145 in the first round. The Indians, who have reaped a rich medal harvest of one gold, one silver and five bronze medals in the first three days of athletics, were gearing up for more tomorrow when the competition resumes after today’s rest day.
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India meet Japan in semis today BANGKOK, Dec 16 (UNI) — Expectations of an India-Pakistan final in Asian Games’ men’s hockey competition here have heightened after a semifinal match-up tomorrow was avoided between the sub-continental rivals. On Monday, India upset defending champions South Korea for a perfect record in pool B while Pakistan topped pool A with three wins and a draw. In the semifinals tomorrow, Pakistan meet South Korea, after which India will cross swords with Japan. India, following their morale-boosting win against South Korea in their concluding league fixture, are expected to overwhelm the Japanese. India’s showing up to now has been quite excellent, though in patches they have tended to slacken as they did against the Koreans in the second-half. But, man-to-man, India look a far superior outfit than Japan, but then, one has to reckon with the 1966 champions’ inconsistency that has often confounded even their staunchest supporters. However, indications are that India will pull through on the basis of their collective strength, and especially since all the players seem to be in good form. In the run-up to the semifinals, the Indian forwardline has shown a rare understanding and sharpness, though it was not much in evidence at the finish. But the ability to break through even the tightest of defences like that of South Korea must be viewed as a positive sign. Skipper and centre-forward Dhanraj Pillay and left-winger Baljit Singh Dhillon have had an outstanding tournament so far. Much of India’s chances revolve around this explosive combination. However, right-winger Mukesh Kumar and inside-right Sabu Varkey have been distinctly off-colour, and should they also click on the morrow, then it should provide for a smooth sailing for the Indians. India’s deep defence has also performed capably with full-backs Dilip Tirkey and Anil Aldrin looking solid and confident. Similarly, the half-line also has performed adequately, giving the Indian team a balanced look. Thus, Japan should not be too difficult a challenge and it will be no surprise if the high-flying Indians sweep to a big victory. The other semi-final is an intriguing affair. Korea, for instance, will be very confident following their 4-3 win against Pakistan at the Champions Trophy in Lahore recently. But Pakistan appear as confident of putting it across to set up a meeting with India in the final. Pakistan, a shock 1-1 draw with Japan in the league notwithstanding, have a fairly strong line-up. They have brought a relatively young side with a sprinkling of experience. However, their performance has not matched the collective talent and it will require a very concerted effort from them to put it past the Koreans. If Pakistan and India make it to the final, then it will be their first title clash since 1990 when the former won 3-2. Their previous meeting was in the 1982 Delhi Asiad when Pakistan triumphed 7-1. The lovers of sub-continental hockey are fervently hoping the two Asian giants meet for the gold medal. It would be befitting should India claim the gold they last won in 1966.
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India's quest for gold begins BANGKOK, Dec 16 (PTI) — The Indian quest for a golden double in billiards began in right earnest today with both their pairs making the semifinal grade to keep themselves in line for a one-two medal sweep in the billiards doubles event in style at the Asian Games billiards and snooker competition today. World professional billiards champion Geet Sethi showed glimpses of his top table virtuosity with two century breaks as the top seeded Indian pair of Sethi and Ashok Shandilya trounced the Thai duo of Udon Khaimuk and Suriya Suwannasingh 3-0 in the best of five frames clash to set up a last four clash against Reynaldo Grandea and Ricardo Ancaja of Philippines. Second seeds and India’s number two pair of Devendra Joshi and Balachandra Baskar were equally ruthless in defeating Malaysia’s Thye-Hong Lee and Chin-Kay Ooi by a similar margin to enter a semifinal clash against Praput Chaithanasakun and Mongkhon Kanfaklang of Thailand. Indian hopes finally soared at the Muong Thong Thani complex hall in their favourite green baize sport as they moved up without much ado. Sethi and Shandilya, the world number 8 pro billiardier, clinched their quarterfinal 3-0 with scores of 150-43 151-0 152-0. The Indians took the first frame 150-43 before blanking their opponents in the next two frames. Shandilya neatly set up the scene for Sethi with a white pot and the latter reeled off a break of 147 to kill the second frame and then produced another gem of a 122-break with Sethi’s renowned top table game sinking their opponents. Joshi and Bhaskar also won their quarterfinal without conceding a frame. They won 151-112 151-41 150-60 with the Bangalore-based Baskar coming up with a neat break of 76 in the final frame to end the clash in style against Thye-Hong and Chin-Kay. Sethi and Shandilya will meet the Filipino pair which beat Malaysia’s Loon-Hong Moh and Kam-Beng-Ewin Lean 3-1 while Praput and Mongkhon had the better of Taiwan’s Hsia Hui-Kai and Hsu Hong-Ming 3-0.
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Jyotirmoyee in line for grand double BANGKOK, Dec 16 (PTI) — Jyotirmoyee Sikdar will seek to become the first Indian in 20 years to win the women's 800m and crown herself with a glorious middle distance double in leading a splendid showing as the Asian Games athletics championship resumes tomorrow after a day's break. But her team-mate and senior athletics citizen of the contingent, P.T. Usha, will have to roll back the years for a final medal from an arena which she had made it her own in the 1980s. The athletes have painted a rosy picture this time and have already claimed the majority of medals won by the jumbo-sized Indian contingent in the games. Their performance in the first three days, during the course of which they have reaped a handy harvest of one gold, one silver and seven bronze medals, has given rise to hopes for many more medals at the Thammasat University Stadium. Jyoti Sikdar finally revealed her class at the continental level in an authoritative 1,500m win for India's first gold and looks good to complete the middle distance double tomorrow by adding the 800m title. She would be the first Indian woman in 20 years to win the 800m title at the games if she achieves her dream tomorrow. Geeta Zutshi was the last to win the two-lap race in 1978 at this very 'city of angles' before India drew a blank at New Delhi, Seoul, Beijing and Hiroshima. A victory for the 29-year-old Bengal runner will also help India wipe out their agony over Shiny Wilson's disqualification for cutting lanes in the 1986 Seoul Games when she was odds-on favourite and also finished streets ahead of eventual gold medallist Lim Chun Ae of South Korea. But the 34-year-old Usha, plagued by hamstring injury and resultant lack of peak fitness, is desperate to come good in the 200 metres and end her Asian Games saga on a memorable note. The erstwhile queen of Asian athletics struggled to sixth place in the 400 metres and then could not produce the final burst in the 4x100m relay where India finished fourth. Usha confirmed that she would be running the 200 metres, in which she landed the bronze medal at the July Asian meet in Fukuoka. The absence of controversial Sri Lankan sprinter Susanthika Jayasinghe, world championship silver medallist at Athens, should boost the Indian veteran's hopes for a medal. The Sri Lankan favourite withdrew from the 100 metres final suddenly citing an injury and has flown home. Usha felt pain in her injured right hamstring and had opted to withdraw from the sprint relay final last evening, but her team-mates reportedly insisted on her being part of the squad. The first two rounds of the 200m are slated for tomorrow and the final is on December 18. Pint-sized Railway athlete Gulab Chand, who won the 10,000m bronze, is aiming for a higher placing in the 5,000m. The Allahabad-based Chand, who had problems with food and could not attack in the final stages of the longer race, said: "I am feeling much stronger now, and God willing I should produce something special." Of the six finals tomorrow, Indians will figure in two. Anil Kumar and Ajit Bhaduria (men's discuss) and Sikdar and Rosa Kutty (women's 800m) will tackle finals while Usha (200m heats and semifinals), Gulab Chand and Bahadar Prasad (5000m semifinals) will seek to move into the final round. Lekha Thomas, a last minute inclusion keen to justify her presence here, will compete in the triple jump slated for December 18, on a day when young Sunita Rani will look to add to her surprise 1500m bronze when she joins the field in the women's 5000m final. Satvir Singh and Jagdish Bishnoi (men's javelin) and the 4x400m relay quartet besides the 5000m final is slated for December 19, the final day of track and field events. India have so far been among the medals in all events they have competed, barring the women's quarter-mile and sprint relay, and look good for many more from the nine finals they are expected to figure in. The performance has already put behind the meagre haul of a lone silver and two bronze medals at Hiroshima and a similarly sparse haul of four silver and two bronze at Beijing in 1990.
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All eyes on Dingko for gold BANGKOK, Dec 16 (PTI) — Bantamweight pugilist N.G. Dingko Singh will seek to herald India's first Asian Games boxing gold medal in 16 years when he steps into the ring against world number five Timur Tulyakov of Uzbekistan in the keenly awaited final at the Muong Thong Thani complex tomorrow. The 20-year-old Dingko Singh who waltzed into the summit clash with facile wins in the previous rounds, including a stunning points decision over overwhelming favourite Sontaya Wongprates in the semifinal, will have to produce his very best against the efficient Uzbek boxer who has also had a smooth run. "Dingko showed his class in the semifinal and followed our strategy to attach early, which got him the points that finally mattered," said Indian boxing coach Gurbux Singh Sandhu. He was confident the Manipur lad was capable of emulating his heavyweight counterpart Kaur Singh, who landed India's last gold medal at the 1982 New Delhi games. The boxer when asked to comment on his title clash said: "I will talk only after the final." The Navy pugilist has a huge point to prove with the officialdom, after the government scratched his name from the list submitted by the Indian Amateur Boxing Association. He was very depressed on hearing the decision but the federation's decision to bring him along has paid rich dividends in boosting the boxer's confidence as well as India's medal count. Dingko Singh has exhibited splendid boxing skills here, downing Hongtao Wei of China 12-6 on points in the first round before earning a referee-stopped contest verdict in the fifth and final round against Cambodian Vireak Svay to enter the medal round. In a thrilling semifinal bout, he pummelled his Thai rival and world championship silver medallist Wongprates in the early round to log points which enabled him to clinch an 18-14 points decision in his favour. The local crowd in this boxing crazy country felt their boxer had been wronged and resorted to throwing projectiles into the ring. But an apology from the Thailand boxing manager has set at rest the issue even while highlighting the need for better crowd control at the venue. The 23-year-old Tulyakov is fifth in the world. The 1995 Asian champion is here with a lot of experience behind him, but Sandhu said Dingko would have to go on the offensive at the outset as his opponent was strong and had a powerful right of which the Indian should be wary of. "We have a good chance. His rating is lower than the Thai's. But he is fitter and technically sound," Sandhu said of Tulyakov. Interestingly, the Uzbek had briefly turned a professional fighter in the US before returning to the amateur fold. The international body reportedly has relaxed its stand on not admitting any pugilist fighting professionally.
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Indian eves storm into hockey final BANGKOK, Dec 16 (PTI) — Staying on course despite numerous hurdles India entered the final of the Asian Games women’s hockey tournament after a gap of 16 years when they settled for a 1-1 draw with Japan in the last league match here today. The only time they were in the final earlier was in the 1982 New Delhi Games where Indian women bagged the gold on the discipline’s debut. They ended up with the bronze four years later at Seoul and finished fourth at Hiroshima in 1994. Indian women did not make the trip to Beijing Asian Games in 1990. All India needed in the last round-robin match today with Japan was a draw, which earned them the right to challenge defending champions South Korea on Friday. India did what was needed, thanks to a fourth-minute goal by Kamla Dalal. The equaliser by Japan’s Keiko Muira two minutes from the end only put them on par with India but the former champions prevailed because of their better goal difference. India had scored 24 goals and conceded nine for tally of plus 15 against Japan’s plus eight from 16 for and eight against. The Indian girls could easily have won by a big margin due to their superiority. In the first match of the day, Korea had beaten China 3-2 after trailing 0-2 and showing initial reluctance to force the pace, to emerge at the top of the table with a clean slate. Considering the form they have displayed in this tournament so far, there was no doubting the Indians’ superiority, and, as if to confirm that, they shot into the lead before the game was five minutes old. The Indian women were all over the Japanese circle and when defender Magumi Suzuki miscleared a Pritam Rani shot, the ball gently rolled to Kamla Dalal who took her sweet time to put it in. After establishing that early lead, the Indians strangely seemed to be unable to force the pace. By the break, each side had forced three penalty corners, all in vain. The Indians stepped up pressure after the change of ends and Jyoti Kullu, off Kamla Dalal, was blocked by custodian Kumi Mateui. Indian girls made a hash of their fourth and last penalty corner, nine minutes from the end, as Nidhi Khullar drove out. That set the stage for the Japanese to mount pressure on the Indian defence. Chinese umpire Zhang Jun, in a seemingly harsh mood, awarded as many as four penalty corners against India in a matter of six minutes. The Japanese struck pay dirt with the last as Keiko Miura found the target.
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Indian campaign ends BANGKOK, Dec 16 (UNI) — Veteran Skaljang Dorji and Rajesh Hasdak put up a great fight, but lost narrowly as India ended their campaign without a medal in the archery competition at the 13th Asian Games here today. In the pre-quarterfinals, Skaljang Dorji lost to China’s Tang Hua by just two points,159-161, and Rajesh Hasdak went down to Wataru Haraguchi by three points, 149-152. Another Indian who made the pre-quarterfinal round was Satyadev Singh and he was beaten by Wu Tsung Yi of Chinese Taipei 165-155. In the earlier round, Mangal Singh made his exit losing to Tang Hua of China 145-166. Skaljang Dorji, Rajesh Hasdak and Satyadev Prasad had raised the vision of medals for India with good showing in the first round. Dorji arrowed out Hironobu Suegushi of Japan by a point, 162-161, for a place in the pre-quarters. The Indian fired seven ten pointers and five nine pointers as against his rival’s three ten pointers and 11 nine pointers. Satyadev Prasad overcame a stiff challenge from Kazahkstan’s Vadim Shikarev ousting him by just 2 points. Meerut-based Prasad fired two ten pointers and nine pointers while his rival had five ten pointers and six nine pointers. Rajesh Hasdak edged out Hiroshi Yamamoto of Japan 160-158. The Indian shot six ten pointers and five nine pointers for his score of 160 and Hiroshi also had the identical number of ten and nine pointers but Hasdak missed on other points to lose the tie. Debutant Mangal Singh could not withstand the pressure and missed several targets to lose by 21 points to Tang Hua. The youngster who was picked up for the games on the basis of his performance in the trials, could hit only three ten pointers and five nine pointers in his score of 144 while Tang Hua had seven ten pointers and ten nine pointers in his tally of 166. In the pre-quarterfinal, Skaljang Dorji ran into Tang Hua who had beaten Mangal Singh. Dorji looked like taking revenge of Mangal’s defeat but faltered and missed some good ten pointers and that cost him the match. The Indian hit all the 18 arrows for points but had only four ten pointers and ten nine pointers. Tang Hua shot five ten pointers and eighth nine pointers in his two point victory over Dorji (161-159) Rajesh Hasdak also waged a grim battle before bowing out 149-152 to Watara Haragochi of Japan. In his 18 arrow round, Hasdak could fire only two ten pointers and seven nine pointers in his total of 149. Like Dorji, he also fumbled and lost some good points. Haragochi had only one ten pointer and eight nine pointers but he managed to garner other points for a 152-149 win. Sartya Dev Prasad managed to hit all the 18 arrows for points but was no match to his rival Wu Tsung Ji and lost by ten points (155-162). The Chinese hit the bull’s eye (ten pointers) for seven times and shot equal number of nine pointers. Satya Dev had one ten pointer and eleven nine pointers.
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Bhupathi enters singles semis BANGKOK, Dec 16 (PTI) — Mahesh Bhupathi made up for the absence of star campaigner and doubles partner Leander Paes by knocking out top seed Oleg Ogorodov of Vzbekistan to storm into the men’s singles semifinal to keep alive Indian gold hopes from the Asian Games tennis burning bright, but his quest for a possible double were scuttled when he lost the mixed doubles semifinal partnering Nirupama Vaidyanathan. The 24-year-old Bhupathi made mockery of his world ranking and seeding by scoring a fighting 6-3 3-6 7-5 win over the 214-ranked Uzbek as he had done at the New Delhi Asia Cup. India can now look forward to one-two sweep as eighth seed Prahlad Srinath will strive to clinch a summit clash berth when the India number three meets fifth ranked Yoon Yon-Il of South Korea in the first semifinal tomorrow. The seventh seeded Bhupathi takes on sixth ranked Satoshi Iwabuchi who outplayed third seed Korean Hyung Taek-Lee 6-4 7-5 in the other semifinal clash on December 18. But India had to face defeat in the mixed-doubles campaign when favourites Bhupathi and Nirupama were stopped by unseeded pair of Kim Dong Hyun and Choic Ju-Yeon of South Korea 6-4 6-3, which dimmed the victory of Bhupathi achieved earlier in the day. India have already ensured at least four bronze medals from tennis courts, including one in the men’s team and the mixed doubles. The 372-ranked Bhupathi, as he had done last month against Ogorodov, ranked 214 in the world, claimed the first set comfortably but his opponent came back strongly to force the decider before the Indian captain raised his game to wrap up the match.
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Iran, Kuwait to clash for gold BANGKOK, Dec 16 (AP) — Iran gained a berth in the Asian Games soccer final with a 1-0 victory today over a Chinese side weakened by the absence of their star striker and coach. For the gold medal, Iran face Kuwait winners of today’s second semifinal, against Thailand before a packed Ratchamongkala Stadium. The Chinese exhibited more control at midfield than in their previous 2-1 defeat against Iran in a group decider last Friday. The defeat leaves the Chinese still unavenged for the Iranian victory that kept China out of the World Cup finals The first half ended scoreless, with the Chinese containing Bayern Munich striker Ali Daei, at one point bringing him down twice deep in their territory in the space of 30 seconds. Daei drew a yellow card in the 18th minute, eliciting boos to the referee from Iranian fans who were constantly in action, beating tambourines and dancing. In the second half, Daei showed why he is considered such a threat after scoring eight goals leading up to the semifinals. In the fourth minute, he played a 15-metre free kick directly at the feet of Sayed Ali Mosavi-Hasanzadeh, who shot at point blank range on Chinese goalie Jiang Jin. The ball bounced straight back at Mosavi and he launched it again, this time beating Jiang. It was his fifth goal of the tournament. Chinese striker Yang Chen struggled to equalise, threatening numerous times but never finding the mark. China’s English coach, Bobby Houghton, watched from the stands, among the capacity crowd of ardent Thai fans awaiting the subsequent semifinal against Kuwait. He was suspended for one match for using abusive language at referees and a soccer official. Kuwait brought Tailand’s fairytale run in the Asian Games to an end today when they beat them 3-0 in their semifinal clash. Dubbed the ‘miracle’ team by their fanatical supporters after they beat South Korea in the quarter-finals with only nine men, Thailand discovered they were mere mortals after all. Kuwait stunned the hosts in the first minute with a lightning strike that caught the Thai defence cold. In the opening action of the highly charged match, Nohayr Al Shammari floated a long ball to Husain, lurking in the right side of the box. Al Khodhari rose above a single defender to head past a totally out of position Chaiyong Khumpiam in the Thai goal. The 70,000 strong crowd, hoping to see Thailand reach their first ever Asian Games final, were stunned into a brief moment of silence. Nine minutes into the second half the Gulf Cup champions struck again with what was the fatal blow. Farj Laheeh, who has suffered from a goal drought during Kuwait’s last two matches of their campaign to the final, brought it to an end when he got behind the defence to head home a perfectly floated cross. Khaled Shzdah scored Kuwait’s third in the 89th minute.
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Pak clinch sliver in Kabaddi BANGKOK, Dec 16 (UNI) — The script was no different for the third time in a row at the medal ceremony for kabaddi in the Asian Games with India, Pakistan and Bangladesh today receiving the gold, silver and bronze respectively in the event. India retained the gold with an all win-record in six matches. They defeated Sri Lanka 76-13 and Japan 59-25 in their last two matches yesterday. Pakistan settled behind the reigning champions defeating Japan 24-7 while Bangladesh drew with Sri Lanka 24-24 to finish third. Led by Viswajit Palit, the 10-member Indian team shouted "Bharat Mata Ki Jai’’ as they received the gold, the second in the current edition of the games, to the tune of the national anthem at the medal ceremony. India won all their matches with convincing margins and had completed their league assignments yesterday. Middle distance runner Jyotirmoyee Sikdar had fetched the first gold for the country in the 13th Asian Games in the women’s 1500 metres. The effort of the kabaddi team pushed India further ahead in the medal table.
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Murder bid by volunteer BANGKOK, Dec 16 (PTI) — A drunken volunteer working at the Asian Games’ windsurfing venue tried to shoot his boss but failed to fire during a party on Monday, a Thai daily reported today. Bunnag Luang-On aimed a pistol at his boss but failed to fire during a party held to celebrate Thailand’s winning of two gold medals on Sunday, the daily ‘Thai Rath’ said. Bunnag’s colleagues snatched the pistol and handed him over to the police, it said. According to the daily, Mr Bunnag, who is a rescue officer for Thai city of Pattaya, told the police that he was frustrated as organisers paid him less (3,000 baht) than what was announced earlier (4,500 baht) for the 15-day windsurfing event. Bangkok Asian Games organising committee (BAGOC) officials and the Governor of Chonburi Province were hosting the party on the beach resort of Pattaya to honour two Thai gold medalists when the incident occurred, reports Kyodo. About 4,800 volunteers
have been recruited by BAGOC for the ongoing 13th Asian
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Gill elected Vice-President BANGKOK, Dec 16 (UNI) — Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) chief K.P.S. Gill was yesterday elected Vice-President of the Asian Hockey Federation (AHF) but lost the race for the President to incumbent Sultan Azlan Shah of Malaysia. Azlan Shah defeated, Mr Gill 24-8 in the elections held here, according to sources. P. Algendra of Malaysia was re-elected Secretary-General of AHF. He defeated Col Mudasar Asghar of Pakistan. Besides Mr Gill, other Vice-Presidents are M. Ueda (Japan), Shin Bae Jae (South Korea), Akhtar Rasool (Pakistan), Phisit (Thailand) and Ms Annbel Ess (Singapore). Japan’s Fumio Ogura was re-elected Treasurer. Indian Women’s Hockey
Federation President Vidya Stokes is one of the 10
Council members of the AHF. |
Venues for Indo-Pak series finalised NEW DELHI, Dec 16 (PTI) — The venues for the forthcoming India-Pakistan full series, comprising three Tests and five one-day Internationals, were finalised here last night by the Cricket Boards of the two countries. "We (Indian and Pak Cricket Boards) have finalised the venues for the tour which are to be cleared by the Government before they can be released", Indian Board (BCCI) Secretary Jaywant Lele told PTI today. "The process will be over in a couple of days", he added. Lele and Raj Singh Dungarpur, the Indian Board President, finalised details of the tour with Pakistan board’s (PCB) Chairman Khalid Mahmood and chief executive Majid Khan. Pakistan are scheduled to visit India to play Tests for the first time since 1986-87. The two arch-rivals have not clashed in a Test match since India’s Pak tour in 1989-90. The PCB representatives were here to discuss the venues during the series scheduled to begin mid-January, security measures and other aspects of the tour with their BCCI counterparts. The decision to send the two top officials to New Delhi was taken at the PCB Executive Council meeting held in Rawalpindi last week after the Pakistani Government had cleared the tour. The tour details were chalked out in the face of the threat given by Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray that the Pakistani cricket team would not be allowed to play in India. However, Prime Minister
Atal Behari Vajpayee has assured full security to the
Pakistani team and said that the tour was on. |
Northern Railway lift hockey title KAPURTHALA, Dec 16 — Rail Coach Factory, Kapurthala, lost to Northern Railway, Delhi by 0-2 in a ding-dong battle in the final of the 59th All India Railway (men's) Hockey Championship which concluded, here today. Northern Railway scored the first goal in a fraction of a second at the outset through Rakesh who deflected Parveen's hit into the goalmouth. RCF took time to settle down and inside-left Walter Lakra gave a fine pass to centre-forward Anil Ekka in the 10th minute but he hit the ball over the goalpost. Anil Ekka, had another open chance to get the equaliser but he again hit the ball over the goalpost. Northern Railway swung into the attack once more and B. Singh increased the lead to 2-0 with a field goal in the 25th minute. After the breather, RCF forwards were in fine fettle and kept the NR defence constantly busy. RCF played a pitched game and tried their best to reduce the margin but NR defenders were cautious enough to keep their side away from the damage. In the 50th minute RCF's outside-left after receiving a good cross from the centre, sent a shot from the top of the "D" but to his dismay, it missed the target by inches. RCF's inside-left Bhupinder Singh wasted an open chance, by driving the ball wide when the NR goalkeeper was out of position in the 63rd minute. RCF earned two penalty corners in the 65th and 68th minutes but failed to convert. NR had an opportunity to further increase the lead in the dying minutes but centre-half Promod Kumar could not avail the chance. Western Railway, Mumbai defeated South Central Railway, Secunderabad, by 2-0. Mr V.P. Ojha, General Manager, Rail Coach Factory, was the guest of honour. Mrs Sushma Ojha, gave away the prizes.
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Airlines Gold Cup for BSF CALCUTTA, Dec 16 (PTI) — Border Security Force, Jalandhar, won the 14th All-Airlines Gold Cup Football Tournament humbling local rivals Tollygunge Agragami 2-0 in a colourless final at the Salt Lake Stadium here today. The visitors drew first blood in the 23rd minute through Gouranga Pal and then consolidated their position a minute before the final whistle when man of the tournament Abhay Mahato found the target. Pal emerged the tournament’s top scorer with three goals when he tapped home an Abhay Mahato centre from the right to put BSF in the lead. Tollygunge deep defender Abhijit Dalal was partly to blame for the goal as he failed to intercept Mahato’s centre properly and landed the ball at Pal’s feet. Custodian Rajnarayan Mukherjee, who had flung himself on the ground, remained a helpless spectator as the ball rolled into the net. Following a Raghbir Singh cross from the right, Mahato scored the second goal for BSF with a snap header which went in off Mujherjee’s hands. The match, witnessed by a handful of spectators, was a dull affair shorn of speed and crisp movements particularly in the first half, though BSF dominated the exchanges. The second half was lively in patches as Tollygunge desperately pressed for the equaliser, but were unlucky as Dipankar Biswas and Gourav Sengupta muffed up gilt-edged opportunities. BSF medio Sane Lama, the architect of most of BSF’s moves, was adjudged ‘man of the match’.
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CBSE football results CHANDIGARH, Dec 16 (BOSR) — The first CBSE North East Zone Football Tournament for Boys got underway last evening at DAV Senior Secondary School, Sector 8, Chandigarh. Ten teams drawn from all over the zone are taking part, including DAV Senior Secondary School, Sector 8, SD Public School, Sector 32, Laxman Public School, New Delhi, St Amtul's Public School, Nainital, Bokaro Ispat Vidyalaya, Dashmesh Public School, Faridkot, Himalaya Public School, Karnal, SGTB, Amritsar, Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan, New Delhi and Translam Academy, Meerut. Results: DAV SS School, Sector 8 b Laxman Public School, New Delhi, 2-0: SD Public School, Sector 32, drew with Bokaro Ispat Vidyalaya 1-1: Himalaya Public School, Karnal b SGTB, Amritsar, 6-2. The tournament was inaugurated by Mr DS Mangat, DPI Colleges and Schools, Chandigarh Administration. UT shooting team CHANDIGARH, Dec 16 (BOSR) — The Chandigarh Rifle Association has selected a 24-member squad comprising 16 men and eight women to represent Chandigarh in the VIIIth All-India GV Mavlankar Shooting Championships to be held at Asansol (West Bengal) from December 27 to January 4 next year. Men: Holinder Singh (Captain), Parminder Singh, Balwinder Singh, Rajinder Singla Pavittar S. Bajwa, Sanumukh Singh, Ajay Kumar, Deepak Singh, Manish Jain, Gurinder Singh, Muneet Inder Singh, Amanjot Sachdeva, Paramjit Singh, Manjit Singh, Arjun Pratap and Sanjeev, Manager — Daleep Singh Chandel. Women: Tamanna, Milipreet Mangat, Gunjan Pannu, Tripta Kumari, Preeti Sharma Maninder Kaur, Ritu Bajaj and Aarti Mehta, Manager — Mrs Ranjit Mehta. The team will also attend a coaching camp at the Patiali Rao shooting ranges, Sector 25, from December 16 to 25. GCG eves register victory CHANDIGARH, Dec 16 (BOSR) — MCM DAV College for Women and Government College for Girls, Sector 11, surged ahead in the Panjab University Inter-College Hockey Tournament for women being played here on the PU Campus today. MCM DAV College got the better of Khalsa College for Women, Sidhwan Khurd by 4-0. Dimpal scored two goals in 13th and 25th minutes of the match while Bharti and Suman scored one each in 10th and 31st minutes for the winners. In another match, Government College for Girls, Sector 11, demolished Khalsa College for Women, Ludhiana by 5-1. Mamta Rani scored two goals while Gurpreet, Archana and Amit Kaur scored one each for the winners. Harpreet Kaur was the lone scorer for the losers. Dhillon placed second CHANDIGARH, Dec 16 (TNS) — Local Golfer Prince Dhillon fired a level par 72 on the second day of the East India Junior/Sub-Junior Golf Championships being played at the Royal Calcutta Golf Club course. With today’s showing Prince Dhillon had a total of 148 (76+72) over two rounds. He was two strokes behind the leader, local lad Shankar Das, who had a total of 146 (73+73). Another Chandigarh lad, Saahir Singh, had a total of 154 (76+78), two strokes ahead of Sandy Lehal, also of Chandigarh. Carrom trials CHANDIGARH (TNS): Trials to select the Chandigarh contingent for the National Games in carrom (boys and girls under-19) will be held at St Stephen's School, Sector 45, here on December 20 at 10 a.m., according to a press note issued here. The games will be held at Akola (Maharashtra) from January 12 to 15. SBP win title KHANNA, Dec 16 (UNI) — State Bank of Patiala won the 23rd Diamond Cricket Association Championship, at the Naresh Chandra Stadium here defeating Punjab State Electricity Board by 36 runs. Brief scores: State Bank
of Patiala 238 (Pushp Rana 69, Rakesh Saini 71, Tejinder
Singh 30 and Munish Bali 22). |
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