Dupuis, Ogorodov sail
into final
AHMEDABAD, Dec 25 — Anthony Dupuis of France and Oleg Ogorodov of Uzbekistan stormed into the men’s singles final of the Bharat Petroleum ATP Challenger Tennis Championships with contrasting wins at the Ageta Synthetic Courts here today.

Ramakrishna wins chess crown HYDERABAD, Dec 25 — J. Ramakrishna of Andhra Pradesh won the 3rd Global Trust Bank FIDE rated All India Open Chess Tournament with a thrilling victory over international master Lanka Ravi of Nevyeli Lignite Corporation.

Pankaj Thakur routs Services
NEW DELHI, Dec 25 — Off spinner Pankaj Thakur claimed four wickets as Haryana defeated Services by 24 runs in their last North Zone one day Ranji Trophy match at Harbaksh Singh stadium here today.

Feroz emerges sole leader
MUMBAI, Dec 25 — Classic Indian Open champion Feroz Ali was the sole leader at the end of the third day of the Rs 5 lakh BPGC Open Golf Championship, being played at the Bombay Presidency Golf Club today.

Rs 5 lakh award for hockey team
NEW DELHI, Dec 25 — The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation has announced a cash award of Rs 5 lakhs for the Indian hockey team in a gesture of appreciation of its gold medal-winning performance at the Bangkok Asian Games.

Himachal spikers humble Haryana
CHINSURAH (WB), Dec 25 — Reigning champions Kerala and last year’s losing finalists Punjab got past their first hurdles in contrasting styles in men’s group league matches of the 47th Senior National Volleyball Championships here today.

• Punjab Police, BSF in title clash
• Asiad winners to be honoured
• MDU pugilists bag team title
• Punjab make winning start
• GND University beaten

India keen to reverse overseas Test record

WELLINGTON, Dec 25 (PTI) — Desperate for a Test series win abroad, India will hope to surmount a spirited New Zealand on a sporting Basin Reserve pitch in the second Test to get under way here tomorrow.

After weather forced the first Test at Dunedin into a no show, both teams have reached here without much chance to size up the opposition and this clash will be crucial and could well decide the outcome of the series.

The Indian team management will have to decide on an opening partner for veteran Navjot Sidhu and finalise the bowling department, likely to comprise Javagal Srinath and Prasad with spinners Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh to sent down the slow stuff.

Indians have had a satisfying nets session at this picturesque venue and will hope weather stays good throughout the duration of the Test. They will also be wary of their record at this venue, which stands at 1-2 with India losing the last time they played here in 1980-81.

Coach Anshuman Gaekwad was quite concerned with the line and length his bowlers had to maintain to reap dividends and felt variations cannot be at the cost of accuracy.

India have often struggled to get their act together in Test matches abroad, the loss to minnows Zimbabwe at Harare in the last Test match they played in October still rankling.

The New Zealand camp has gained a lot in self-confidence under the training of former Aussie stumper Steve Rixon and with both skipper and classy left-hander Stephen Fleming and medium-pacer Simon Doull both fit for action, India will have to ensure they get off to a good start.

The most crucial decision facing the Indian team is the choice of opener to partner Sidhu. Vice-captain Ajay Jadeja is the frontrunner, but classy Hyderabad bat VVS Laxman has also come into strong contention.

Gaekwad said the latter also stood a strong chance. "Laxman had a very good knock in Dunedin and he looked a part of the team," the coach said.

Batting has often been a major letdown for India despite the strength of the line-up, led by Sachin Tendulkar, on paper. The opening pair will have to click and set the scene for skipper Azharuddin, Tendulkar and Saurav Ganguly to build on with Rahul Dravid expected to play the sheet anchor role at number three as usual.

The Kiwis are worried about Fleming’s groin problem which makes quick movement very painful. Though the lanky batsman took little part in their nets yesterday, he is certain to play with team physio Mark Harrison saying that the condition was owing to over-use and was not game-threatening.

The hosts have also been boosted by paceman Doull passing a fitness Test after recovering from a calf injury. He will team up with pacemen Chris Cairns, Dion Nash and Geoff Allott.

Teams:

India (from): Mohd Azharuddin (captain), Navjot Sidhu, VVS Laxman, Ajay Jadeja, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Saurav Ganguly, Nayan Mongia, Anil Kumble, Javagal Srinath, Venkatesh Prasad, Robin Singh Jr, Harbhajan Singh.

New Zealand (from) Stephen Fleming (captain), Matt Horne, Matthew Bell, Nathan Astle, Craig McMillan, Chris Cairns, Adam Parore, Dion Nash, Daniel Vettori, Simon Doull, Geoff Allott, Paul Wiseman.

Govt to look into betting charges

NEW DELHI, Dec 25 (UNI) — The government today promised to look into allegations of match fixing and betting in Indian cricket.

"I am calling for the relevant details from the concerned authorities to examine the matter further," Union Minister of State for Human Resource Development, Uma Bharati said here.

"If need be, I will institute an enquiry into the matter in consultation with the cricket control board of India," she said in response to a letter from the CPI leader Gurudas Dasgupta.

On Monday, Mr Dasgupta demanded an "impartial and effective inquiry" into the allegations levelled many months ago by former Test cricketer Manoj Prabhakar.

In his letter to the HRD Ministry, he said the government should do something to remove "the stigma of suspicion that may affect cricket and the good name of the country".

His missive followed revelations earlier this month that Australian cricketers Shane Warne and Mark Waugh had received money from an Indian bookmaker during Australia’s tour of Sri Lanka in 1994.

Warne and Waugh were fined by the Australian Cricket Board (ACB) in 1995 but the story broke this month.

On Wednesday, ACB chief executive Malcolm Speed announced an independent Australian inquiry into gambling in cricket. The inquiry, to be held in private, will begin hearings from January 12.

The Justice Chandrachud committee, which conducted a probe in India earlier this year, had found as wrong the charges levelled by Manoj Prabhakar. But cricket’s biggest scandal is yet to die out.

In Pakistan, the inquiry under judge Malik Mohammed Qayyum is far from over. The Lahore-based judge is still hearing from many past and present cricketers.

Dingko will have to qualify
From Ravi Dhaliwal

PATIALA, Dec 25 — Ace boxer Dingko Singh, with an Asian Games gold medal under his belt in the bantamweight (54 kg) category, may still be savouring his Asiad victory. But his hopes of landing a medal in the 2000 Sydney Olympics have received a severe jolt.

Despite winning a gold in the Bangkok Asiad, Dingko Singh will have to qualify for the Olympics through a set of three qualifying tournaments, according to information received by the IABF from the World Boxing Federation. This decision of the World Boxing Federation is unprecedented.

According to top IABF sources, there will be three qualifying events for Asia, which has been allotted 68 out of a total 312 slots for the Olympics. And every boxer who wants to compete in the Olympics will have to go through the qualifying system.

For Asia there will be three qualifying tournaments. The first event will be the Asian Championship, known to be as tough as the Asian Games Championships, which will be held at Tashkent (Uzbekistan) from October 3 to 10, 1999. The second qualifier will be the Seoul Cup to be held at Seoul from January 25 to February 1, 2000. The third event will be the Kings Cup at Bangkok to be held from June 1 to 7, 2000. Incidentally, it was at the last edition of the Kings Cup held at Bangkok that Dingko Singh was declared the best boxer.

Although there will be three qualifying events, each boxer will get only two chances to qualify for Sydney. Each national federation, however, can field 12 boxers, one each in the 12 weight categories in all the three tournaments.

Interestingly, it will be only the gold and silver medallists in the three qualifiers in the 48 kg, 51 kg, 54 kg and 57 kg categories who will be making the grade. The bronze medallists will be kept as standbyes for wild card entries. Dingkos' weight category is the 54 kg bantamweight category. Prior to the Commonwealth Games, Dingko participated in the 51 kg category but for the Asian Games and Commonwealth Games Dingko made a jump from 51 kg to 54 kg class.

According to sources, Asia will be fielding seven boxers each in the 48 kg, 51 kg, 54 kg and 57 kg categories, six boxers each in the 60 kg ,63.5 kg, 67 kg, 71 kg, 75 kg and 81 kg classes. Only two boxers will be fielded in the 91 kg and over 91 kg categories.

Like the Indian hockey team which has gained a direct entry into the main draw of the Olympics, Dingko Singh, after winning the Asian Games gold, had hoped for a direct entry in the bantamweight class. But the decision of the World Boxing Federation means that Dingko Singh, who yesterday was promoted as Chief Petty Officer from a Junior Commissioned Officer in the Indian Navy, comes as a dampner on the hopes of the young Manipuri boxer who after his win at Bangkok was widely quoted as saying that winning the gold in the Sydney Olympics was his next target.

SA bracing up for onslaught

DURBAN, Dec 25 (AFP) — South Africa’s cricketers are braced for an onslaught from the wounded West Indies when the third Test starts at Kingsmead on Saturday.

"We expect them to come at us very hard," said South African coach Bob Woolmer, whose team holds a 2-0 lead in the five-match series.

"The last thing we will do is underestimate them. We will not be fooled by our position in the series. We played the better cricket in the first two Tests, but the wins were not achieved easily. It was very tough cricket."

Although veteran West Indies fast bowlers Courtney Walsh and Curtly Ambrose have been outstanding, the batsmen have yet to come to terms with the South African pace attack spearheaded by Allan Donald and Shaun Pollock.

World record holder and captain Brian Lara, vice-captain Carl Hooper and Shivnarine Chanderpaul have all made centuries in provincial games but have not shown their best form in the Test matches.

The Kingsmead pitch is expected to provide much better batting conditions than Johannesburg or Port Elizabeth. Errol Stewart, captain of the local Kwazulu-Natal team, says the pitches for the two most recent provincial matches were "absolute beauties."

The West Indies are expected to juggle their batting resources, with a possible move up the order to number three for left-hander Chanderpaul, who made 182 against South Africa ‘A’ at Pietermaritzburg earlier in the week.

Opener Philo Wallace is expected to return after recovering from glandular fever, while reserve wicketkeeper Junior Murray may get a game as a batsman.

South Africa’s only decision will be whether to use off-spinner Pat Symcox or left-armer Paul Adams, with Symcox’s gritty batting and steady bowling expected to get the nod.

The South African team only assembled at midday yesterday after six of the players were involved in day-night provincial matches on Wednesday.

Gary Kirsten and Herschelle Gibbs, who both failed in Port Elizabeth, had a confidence boost when they made fifties for Western Province against Gauteng in Cape Town.

Woolmer said he was not worried by late arrival of many of his players. "We normally only get together two days before a game," he said. "We will be well prepared."

Lara said he is demanding a better performance from the tourists. "We have two great fast bowlers who are performing well but cricket requires a team effort from all 11 players."

The squads:

South Africa (from): Hansie Cronje (capt), Gary Kirsten, Herschelle Gibbs, Jacques Kallis, Daryll Cullinan, Jonty Rhodes, Shaun Pollock, Mark Boucher, Pat Symcox, Allan Donald, David Terbrugge and Paul Adams.

West Indies (from): Brian Lara (capt) Clayton Lambert, Philo Wallace, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Carl Hooper, Stuart Williams, Junior Murray, Ridley Jacobs, Rawl Lewis, Nikon Mclean, Curtly Ambrose, Courtney Walsh, Franklyn Rose, Floyd Reifer, Darren Ganga and Mervyn Dillon.

Dupuis, Ogorodov sail into final

AHMEDABAD, Dec 25 (PTI) — Anthony Dupuis of France and Oleg Ogorodov of Uzbekistan stormed into the men’s singles final of the Bharat Petroleum ATP Challenger Tennis Championships with contrasting wins at the Ageta Synthetic Courts here today.

While Dupuis defeated Eyal Ran of Israel 6-4, 6-0 in the first semi-final, Ogorodov dropped a set before rallying to beat 483-ranked Masuda Kentaro of Japan 6-2, 3-6, 7-5.

Ran, who has given solid performances here earlier, was a little off colour today.

Ran went neck and neck with his opponent till 4-4, making Dupuis toil for each point, but then fumbled at the crucial juncture and the Frenchman took full advantage to take the set 6-4.

In the second set, Ran was running around in circles as the Frenchman completely dominated the proceedings.

The result was plain after Dupuis took a 4-0 lead and the Frenchman easily wrapped up the set to enter tomorrow’s final against Ogorodov.

The tall Ogorodov, the favourite here, found the going getting tougher against his nippy Japanese rival Musuda Kentro as the game progressed.

When Ogorodov won the first set 6-2, it looked like curtains for Masuda. But the latter put up a valiant fight and turned the tables on his grunting opponent in the next.

Masuda subtly changed the pace of the game. With his slow serves, deft placement down the line and sudden charges to the net he caught the Uzbek on the wrong foot numerous times.

The second set went with serve till 3-3. Then Masuda turned the tide in his favour with a break in the seventh game.

Orogodov earned a caution from the chair umpire for racquet abuse as Masuda won the next two games to take the set 6-3.

Masuda went full blast in the third set, lunging and running to retrieve and throw back every shot at his rival, and worked his way to a 4-0 lead.

Ogorodov, through sheer hard work, restored parity at 4-4. After Masuda had made it 4-5 in his favour, the Uzbek asserted his class, taking the next two games to win the set 7-5.

Results:

Men’s singles semifinals: Antony Dupuis b Eyal Ran 6-4, 6-0; Oleg Ogorodov b Masuda Kentaro 6-2, 3-6, 7-5.

Begin planning for Sydney: Kaushik

NEW DELHI, Dec 25 (PTI) — Indian hockey team's preparations for the 2000 Sydney Olympics must start forthwith and proper planning should go into moulding the eight-time Olympic gold medallists as a winning unit in Australia, chief coach M.K. Kaushik today said.

"After a long time we have directly qualified for Olympics. We must being planning now without resting on our laurels," Kaushik, who guided India to their first Asian Games gold medal in 32 years at Bangkok, told PTI here.

"This time we don't have to go through qualifiers. We should make a fitness programme in consultation with SAI's science department, plan tactics and make an in-depth study of the opposition before planning exposure trips strictly to suit our programme," Kaushik, a member of the 1980 Moscow Games squad which won India's eighth and last Olympic gold, said.

"The fitness level of our players needs to go up by at least 50 per cent and though we came up with penalty corner variations at the Asian Games, we still need to do a lot in both defending and taking penalty corners," he said summing up India's Asiad campaign and looking ahead.

Asked whether the IHF top brass had spoken to him on extending his tenure, Kaushik said he has not heard anything from President KPS Gill or secretary K. Jothikumaran.

The Indian team's next campaign beings with the nine Test series against Pakistan to be held from February 2 to 25.

Kaushik criticised the IHF for lack of planning and said even the programme for the Indo-Pak series was drawn up without having even a word with him. "The IHF officials feel upset when I come out with my views, but they should also realise that the chief coach should be gathering information from them and not from the media," he said.

The Gurgaon-based Haryana government Deputy Director of Sports said the IHF's written intimations for camps always arrived late leading to problems in getting leave.

"The IHF needs to react to things and plan better and ensure that the link between coaching and administration is strengthened", Kaushik, who took over before the Kuala Lumpur Commonwealth Games in September, said.

The coach, who said most of the team should remain the same in the run up to the Olympics, barring any dire need for changes. But quality replacements were at a premium, he added.

On India's success at Bangkok, Kaushik said after the disastrous campaign in Kuala Lumpur, where India even lost to Malaysia to go out of medal reckoning, the players were really motivated to prove themselves.

The Indian team had the benefit of viewing videotapes of matches involving South Korea and Pakistan at the Lahore Champions Trophy last month. "We planned tactics, for penalty corners in particulars."

On custodian Ashish Ballal's brilliant stops in the final shoot-out against Korea, he said: "Tie-breaker in the Australia-Korea match was analysed closely and both Ballal and Subbiah were made to watch them again and again to plan tactics."

Asked whether India were better off without exposure trips prior to major tournaments as seen this time, Kaushik said such trips should be undertaken only if they suited our training. "Most of the team do not play their top players to avoid exposing them and if we win, we give a wrong impression about our own strength," he said.

In fact, he was not even in favour of India taking part in the pre-Asian tournament in Bangkok, he added.

Asked why prominent team members like Ballal and skipper Dhanraj Pillay were so critical about the IHF officialdom despite the joy of victory, the coach said their complaints were genuine to a great extent.

"Most of the players are either with Indian Airlines as flight pursers or with Railways or Customs. These jobs provide good allowances which they can get only when on duty. They lose them when they join the camp and when the IHF do not honour their commitment to pay the players, they do get upset.

"Some of the top players give up the chance to play in lucrative European or other Asian leagues, and when the IHF does not pay the players their due, the motivation level of the players also goes down. It is the coaches who face the music because of this, not the IHF officials."

The IHF presented players with drafts of Rs 1 lakh each for the Asiad win, but is yet to clarify whether they will be paid for the coming Indo-Pak nine Test series.

Kaushik expressed the hope that all employers of the players would emulate Punjab Police by promoting players from their institutions. "All should be promoted to the officer's grade. It is important to keep the morale high and assure them that there would be suitable reward for winning."

Ramakrishna wins chess crown

HYDERABAD, Dec 25 (PTI) — J. Ramakrishna of Andhra Pradesh won the 3rd Global Trust Bank FIDE rated All India Open Chess Tournament with a thrilling victory over international master (IM) Lanka Ravi of Nevyeli Lignite Corporation.

C.S. Gokhale of Indian Airlines who scored 9.5 points secured second spot on account of lesser progressive tie break while N.K. Mishra took third place with 9 points.

All three editions of this tournament were won by players from the host state. The previous winners are J. Venkataraman (elder brother of Ramakrishna) and PDS Girinath.

The game between top-seed Lanka Ravi and Ramakrishna was a scintillating affair with the former holding the advantage of white pieces in the crucial last round. In response to Ravi’s queen pawn opening, Ramakrishna played benoni defence.

Over the next few moves Ravi steadily increased his advantage and it appeared as if black was going downhill. But to Ravi’s dismay, Ramakrishna made a piece sacrifice for just two pawns to complicate the game.

Surprisingly the steadfast Ravi consumed too much time to unravel the position and voluntarily created weaknesses in his camp. Further he blundered in capturing a central pawn with his queen. With time running out for both the players it was now or never for Ramakrishna and he did not fail to exhibit his class. Following a stunning pawn thrust to the seventh rank Ramakrishna penetrated with his queen to win the game on the 35th move.

The tie between Chennai’s teenage sensation Preetam Sharma and CS Gokhale was a see-saw battle. Gokhale played the +q3+ system against Preetam’s Dutch defence and wrested the initiative early in the opening.

However, he blundered an exchange on the 25th move. After stubbornly defending for another 20 moves, he won back the exchange. Preetam continued to make mistakes in an rook and pawn ending and lost on the 68th move.

N.K. Mishra of Tata Steel adopted taimonv system of Sicilian defence against Visweswaran’s king pawn opening. Visweswaran sacrificed a centre pawn to grab the initiative and launched a powerful attack on the opponent’s king.

But in the ensuing time pressure situation, he faltered by moving the wrong rook to the +el+ square. Mishra utilised this inaccuracy to win a piece and the game in 40 moves.

Results of final round: C.S. Gokhale 9.5 b Preetam Sharma 8.5; Lanka Ravi 8 lost to J. Ramakrishna 9.5; K. Visweswaran 8 lost to Mishra Neeraj Kumar 9; K. Murugan 8 drew T.S. Ravi 8; Sandeepan Chanda 8 drew Sheety Rahul 8; P. Mitrakanth 8.5 b Gurpreetpal Singh 7.5; Sahu Sekhar Chandra 8 drew Sareen Vishal 8; PDS Girinath 7.5 lost to Ravi Bhave 8.5; S. Vijayalakshmi 8.5 b Balasubramaniam 7.5; Sriram Jha 8.5 b S. Roy Chowdhary 7.5; Wajih Nasair 7.5 drew D.K. Sharma 7.5; Jayant Suresh Gokhale 7.5 drew M.R. Venkatesh 7.5; K.V.S. Sudhakar 7.5 drew S.K. Rathore 7.5.

N. Sanjay 8 b Dilip Das 7; R.K. Mishra 7.5 drew S.K. Sinha 7.5; Rajput Deepak 8 b S.K. Sinha 7; J. Venkataramana 8 b Arindam Mukherjee 7; T.J. Suresh Kumar 7.5 drew Harsha Bondade 7.5; Y. Sameer Kumar 7 lost to Saritha Reddy 8; K. Jitendra Choudhary 7.5 b R. Rajeshwara Rao 6.5; A. Kumar 6.5 lost to G.B. Joshi 7.5; S. Meenakashi 7 drew Arvind Shastry 7; M. Rajendra 7 drew Goswami Vadant 7; Amardeep S. Bartakke 7.5 b M.Y. Raju 6.5.

Swayan Baran De 7.5 b G. Soumya 6.5; K.N. Gopal 7.5 b Sujoy Bhattacharya 6.5; Sunil Rangarajan 7.5 b L.V. Shivakumar 6.5; Pradeep M. Paranjpe 6.5 lost Kunte Muranlini 7; R.M. Dongre 7 b Govindlal Sharma 6; Boricha Ketan 7 b CH Gopi Krishna 6.

Pankaj Thakur routs Services

NEW DELHI, Dec 25 (UNI) — Off spinner Pankaj Thakur claimed four wickets as Haryana defeated Services by 24 runs in their last North Zone one day Ranji Trophy match at Harbaksh Singh stadium here today.

Due to heavy fog and poor visibility,the match started two hours late and was curtailed to 41 overs each.

Nitin Goel making his debut as Haryana captain,won the toss and opted to bat.

Haryana scored 173 for 9 in 41 overs and in reply Services were all out for 149 in 37.4 overs.

Nitin Goel (27 3x4, 51 balls), Shafiq Khan (33 4x4, 50b), Dhanraj Singh (31 2x6 1x4, 36b) Jasbir Singh,19 and Sonu Sharma (16 3x4, 11b) were the main run getters for Haryana.

For Services only opener Sarabjit Singh (59 7x4, 90 b) and captain Chinmaya Sharma (34 2x4, 44b) could face Haryana’s confidently.

Scoreboard

Haryana: Nitin Goel st. Sarabjit Singh b Chinmaya Sharma 27, Parinder Sharma c Sanjay Verma b Syed Javed 05, Jatinder Singh c C.D. Thomson b Sanjeev Mishra 08, Shafiq Khan b Arun Sharma 33, Rajesh Puri c A. Nadkarni b Chinmaya Sharma 01, Dhanraj Singh c A. Nadkarni b Arun Sharma 31, Sanjay Dalal b Syed Javed 06, Jasbir Singh not out 19 Pankaj Thakur c and b J.P. Pandey 11 Vineet Jain run out 04, Sonu Sharma not out 16.

Extras: (lb2,w 8,nb2) 12

Total: (in 41 overs) 173 for 9.

Fall of wickets: 1/16,2/42,3/60,4/74,5/92,6/119,7/121,8/144,9/148.

Bowling: J.P. Pandey 8-0-34-1, Syed Javed 8-0-38-2, Sanjeev Mishra 6-1-20-1, Chinmaya Sharma 8-1-27-2, Arun Sharma 8-1-33-2, Pankaj Maitrey 3-0-19-0.

Services
Narinder Singh l.b.w Vineet Jain 02, Sarabjit Singh c Shafiq Khan b Vineet Jain 59, Pankaj Maitrey c Rajesh Puri b Pankaj Thakur 12, Sanjay Verma st. Jasbir Singh b Dhanraj 02, Chinmaya Sharma run out 32, C.D. Thomson b Pankaj Thakur 0, Amit Nadkarni b Pankaj Thakur 07, Syed Javed b Sonu Sharma 0, J.P. Pandey l.b.w Sanjay Dalal 03, Sanjeev Mishra c. Rajesh Puri b Pankaj Thakur 10, Arun Sharma not out 01.

Extras: (lb 6,w 3) 19.

Total: (in 37.4 overs) 149 all out.

Fall of wickets: 1/6,2/36,3/42,4/121,5/123,6/124,7/124,8/133,9/146.

Bowling: Vineet Jain:7-1-14-2, Dhanraj Singh 9-2-16-1, Pankaj Thakur 6.4-0-31-4, Sonu Sharma 7-0-40-1, Sanjay Dalal 5-0-21-1, Parinder Sharma 3-0-21-0.

Feroz emerges sole leader

MUMBAI, Dec 25 (PTI) — Classic Indian Open champion Feroz Ali was the sole leader at the end of the third day of the Rs 5 lakh BPGC Open Golf Championship, being played at the Bombay Presidency Golf Club today.

Feroz, playing in the leader group along with defending champion Mukesh Kumar, tallied a one-under 69 to aggregate five-under 205. Mukesh was one stroke behind the leader at four-under 206 with a level-par 70 round.

Moving up ahead with four-under 66 rounds were twice Honda-Siel PGA Champion Uttam Singh Mundy of Calcutta and Lucknow’s Sanjay Kumar, winner of this week’s colour plus open, who were in joint third place at three-under 207 for the tournament.

Another consistent round by Feroz, his third successive sub-par round in the tournament, gave him the one-stroke advantage as Mukesh played solid golf, but failed to convert it into a low score.

Feroz was two-under at the turn with birdies on the 3rd and 4th holes, but made bogies on the 11th, 14th and 17th, missing his chip-putts from the side of the greens on all three occasions.

"I am hitting the ball so pure that it is a disgrace I am finishing with such scores. Like yesterday, today also I missed umpteen number of small putts within eight feet, otherwise I could have had a much better score", said Feroz, who had finished 24th in the Omega Asian PGA Tour Order of Merit this season.

Mukesh, on the other hand, played well but just could not get the birdies. He had two bogies during the round, which were offset with two birdies.

"I am happy with the way I played today and with a little more luck, I could have returned with an under-par card. However, I am still hopeful of retaining my title for the third time here as Feroz leads by just one stroke, which is a negligible lead in golf", said the Mhow-based pro.

Uttam Singh Mundy was four-under at the turn after making an eagle on 4th the hole and birdies on 1st and 8th. On the par-4, 318-yard 12th, Mundy drove the green and was left with a five-feet putt for an eagle.

He missed that and though he finished with a birdie, the Calcuttan lost his rhythm a bit and made bogies on 13th and 15th holes. A 2-on, 2-putt gave him another birdie on 18th.

Sanjay Kumar, who has been having a good year despite missing the cut in last week’s Mahindra invitational, could not keep up the momentum on the back nine after finishing his outwards journey at four-under.

He three-putted the 13th hole for his only bogey, but made up for his mistake on the 18th hole, where he two-putted for a birdie after reaching the green in two.

Also coming in with good round was Chandigarh’s hero golf winner Amritinder Singh.

Scores (after 54 holes):

205-Feroz Ali (68+68+69); 206-Mukesh Kumar (67+69+70); 207-Uttam Singh Mundy (70+71+66); Sanjay Kumar (71+70+66), 208-Pappan (69+68+71), Mohd Islam (70+71+67), 209-Rafiq Ali (71+67+71); Yusuf Ali (70+71+68); 211-SSP Chowrasia (72+70+69); Basad Ali (69+74+68); 212-Ali Sher (70+71+71); Amritinder Singh (74+71+67).

Amateurs: 236-Amit Nigam (78+80+78); 241-Rohit Goyal (81+79+81); 252-Lalit Goenka (87+83+82).

Rs 5 lakh award for hockey team

NEW DELHI, Dec 25 (PTI) — The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has announced a cash award of Rs 5 lakhs for the Indian hockey team in a gesture of appreciation of its gold medal-winning performance at the Bangkok Asian Games.

Announcing the award while receiving captain Dhanraj Pillay at the ONGC office here last evening, Jauhari Lal, Director (Personnel) of ONGC, said a cheque for the amount will be presented to the team at a formal function next month, a release said today.

India won its second hockey gold in Asian Games after a gap of 32 years at Bangkok beating South Korea 5-3 via tie-breaker in the final recently.

Himachal spikers humble Haryana

CHINSURAH (WB), Dec 25 (PTI) — Reigning champions Kerala and last year’s losing finalists Punjab got past their first hurdles in contrasting styles in men’s group league matches of the 47th Senior National Volleyball Championships here today.

In group A, formidable Kerala had to engage in a 106-minute struggle with Uttar Pradesh before carving out a 15-9 15-12 8-15 15-5 win, while Punjab breezed past Madhya Pradesh 15-3 15-3 15-4 in straight sets in group B.

Also in group A, Services crushed Andhra Pradesh 15-12, 15-10, 15-5, while Karnataka overcame initial jitters to beat Delhi 7-15 15-6 15-8 15-13 in a group B encounter.

In a men’s group C encounter, Himachal Pradesh humbled Haryana 15-12 15-7 15-5.

In women’s category, defending champions Railways blanked Rajasthan 15-0 15-2 15-2 and Andhra Pradesh snuffed out Orissa 15-3 15-4 15-7 in group A matches.

In group C, Himachal Pradesh eves chalked out an easy 15-12 15-7 15-5 victory over Haryana and Punjab drubbed Haryana 15-3 15-0 15-5.

MDU pugilists bag team title
From Our Sports Reporter

ROHTAK, Dec 25 — The hosts M.D. University, Rohtak, bagged the team championship as their boxers clinched six gold medals on concluding day of the All-India Inter University Boxing Championship here today. On a windy Christmas afternoon their pugilists left their opponents dazed with solid blows to emerge victors in featherweight, light weight, light welter weight, weltre weight, light middle weight and heavy weight categories.

The boxers of Punjabi University, Patiala, won gold medals in fly weight, middle weight and light heavy weight categories besides winning silver medal in welter weight category, Parminder Singh of Kurukshetra University won the gold medal in super heavy weight category as his opponent from Meerut University was outclassed. MD University won the team championship for third successive year securing 18.5 points followed by Punjabi University, Patiala (12.5) and Kurukshetra University 7.5 points. Lt Gen (retd) O.P. Kaushik, Vice-Chancellor, MD University gave away the trophy to the winners.

The results (final)
Light fly weight: G. Durga Prasad (Osmania Uni) gold, Anand Kumar (PU Chd) silver, Ajay Kimta (Nagpur) bronze, Mahesh Mawana (GND Uni) bronze.

Fly weight: Ranjit Singh (Pbi. Uni. Patiala) gold, Naveen Dabas (Delhi Uni) silver, M.A. Bagi (Osmania Uni) bronze, Jadhav Vikas (Pune Uni) bronze.

Bantam weight: Ravinder Singh (Kumaon Uni) gold, Mohammad Zahid (Calcutta Uni) silver, Satnam Singh (GND Uni) bronze, Kulwant Phogat (Delhi Uni) bronze.

Feather weight: Jitender Singh (MDU Rohtak) gold, B. Giridhar (Osmania Uni) silver, Vikram Tyagi (Kuk) bronze, M. Sanjeeva Rao (Kakatia) bronze.

Light weight: Subodh Kumar (MDU Rohtak) gold, Arun Kumar (JMI Delhi) silver, Jagdeep Singh (PU Chd) bronze, Naveen Kumar (Allahabad Uni) bronze.

Light welter weight: Davinder Gill (MDU Rohtak) gold, Rohtash Kumar (Kuk) silver, Brijesh Kumar (Allahabad Uni) bronze, Vikram Singh (Pbi Uni Patiala) bronze.

Welter weight: Ram Rattan (MDU Rohtak) gold, Arvinder Singh (Pbi Uni Patiala) silver, Vikky Sharma (PU Chd) bronze, Paramjit Singh (GND Uni Asr) bronze.

Light middle weight: Durjai Shastri (MDU Rohtak) gold, Anuj Chauhan (Kuk) silver, Mohammad Ali (MLSU Udaipur) bronze, Jagtar Singh (Pbi Uni Patiala) bronze.

Middle weight: Balbir Singh) Pbi Patiala) gold, K. Sunder (Madras Uni) silver, K. Gopi (Andhra Uni) bronze, Darshan Singh (Delhi Uni) bronze.

Light heavy weight: Paramjit Singh (Pbi Uni Patiala) gold, Bhagat Singh (HAU Hissar) silver, Vinod Kumar (MDU Rohtak) bronze, Neeraj Sharma (Rajasthan Uni) bronze.

Heavy weight: Vikram Gautam (MDU Rohtak) gold, Shwetank Pathak (Rajasthan Uni) silver, Akib Safwan (Osmania Uni) bronze, Bhagwant Singh (Pbi Uni) bronze.

Super heavy weight: Parmender (Kuk) gold, Rajinder (Meerut Uni) silver, Aman Avasthi (PU Chd) bronze, Virendra (Gorakhpur Uni) bronze.

GND University beaten

HYDERABAD, Dec 25 (PTI) — Osmania University beat defending champions DAV University, Indore, by 11 runs to enter the final of the All India Inter-University Women's Cricket Championship here today.

Dhruva of Osmania University played a vital role by taking six wickets for 18 to take the team into finals.

In the other semi-final, Delhi University defeated GND University Amritsar, by five wickets to set up a title clash with Osmania University tomorrow.

Osmania University: 138 all out (Sabita Rani 64) b DAV University, Indore, 127 all out (Bhavana 38, Dhruva 6/18.

GND University: 165 for 8 (Gulshan 84, Reema 2/30) lost to Delhi University — 165 for 3 (Rakahi Mehra 26).

Punjab Police, BSF in title clash
From Our Correspondent

YAMMUNAGAR, Dec 25 — Punjab Police Jalandhar will meet Border Security Force Jalandhar in final of 32nd All Indian Ballarpur Industries Football Tournament, at Thapar Ground, here tomorrow.

Today, in the first semifinal, BSF defeated Punjab State Electricity Board, Hoshiarpur by 2-1. Jaswant Singh of BSF scored the Ist goal in 18th minute whereas G. Paul scored the 2nd goal in 37th minute. From PSEB Dhanwant Singh scored the lone goal to reduce the margin.

In second semifinal Punjab Police defeated Jammu & Kashmir Bank by 1-0. Naresh Kumar of Punjab Police scored the goal in the 43rd minute.

Asiad winners to be honoured
By Our Sports Reporter

CHANDIGARH, Dec 24 — The Punjab Amateur Athletic Association will honour the athletes who have won medals at the just concluded Asian Games at Bangkok, according to Mr IS Deol, Secretary of the association.

The athletes who are going to be honoured are Sunita Rani, Gurmeet Kaur, Jyoti Sikdar, Neelam Singh and Paramjeet Singh (all medalists). Mr Deol has also requested the State and National governments to suitably reward these athletes for bringing glory to India.

Punjab make winning start
From Our Sports Reporter

JALANDHAR, Dec 25 — Hosts Punjab today started their campaign in the junior national and inter-state table tennis championship on a happy note winning all the matches on the opening day.

Manish Bhardwaj and Shikha Ghai of Punjab won in the boys and girls sections respectively, in the championship being organised by Punjab Table Tennis Association. Over 350 players from country are participating in the championship.

Results: Group A — PSCBA b Orissa 3-0, Maharashtra b Haryana 3-0. Group B — Bengal b HP 3-0, Tamil Nadu b J and K 3-0, Andhra Pradesh b Kerala 3-0, AP b HP 3-0. Group C — Meghalaya b UP 3-1, Maharashtra b Pondichroy 3-2, Karnataka b MP 3-1, Punjab b Delhi 3-1.

Girls (team championship): Group A — Bihar b Kerala 3-0, Bengal b Orissa 3-0, Karnataka b Bihar 3-0, Kerala b Orissa 3-0. Group B — UP b J and K 3-0, Maharashtra b Chandigarh 3-0, PSCBA b J and K 3-0. Group C — Punjab b HP 3-0, AP b Gujarat 3-0.

BSF, RCF to clash in final

FATEHGARH SAHIB, Dec 25 (FOS) — On the fourth day of Baba Zorawar Singh Baba Fateh Singh Memorial Saheedi Football Tournament BSF Jalandhar, and RCF Kapurthala, entered into the final to be played on December 27. The RCF is the defending champion.

The first semifinal between RCF and Fine Switch Gear Phagwara was played on a fast pace. RCF men dominated the match and Manjinder Singh scored the first hat-trick of the tournament by scoring three goals — the first in 10th minute, 2nd in 30th minute and 3rd in 88th minute. The Phagwara team failed to score any goal.

In the second semi-final BSF Jalandhar, beat PSEB Hoshiarpur, in a tie breaker by 3-2 as both the teams played 1-1 during the full time. The play was mostly confined to midfield and both the teams avoided taking any risks. For BSF Suraj Bhan scored the self goal as he tried to stop the ball and the ball after hitting him went into the net. So PSEB got the benefit and were one up upto interval.

But Suraj Bhan did not disappoint the crowd and his teams-mates and after the breather he scored the equaliser for his team in 60th minute. At full time both the team were 1-1 and in tie-breaker BSF won it.

Deepak, Honey in pre-quarters

CHANDIGARH, Dec 25 (BOSR) — Deepak Goel, Honey Bhalla and Lalit stormed into the prequarter finals of the snooker event of the Haryana State Billiards & Snooker Championship being played here at Canon Ball, Sector 37, and YMCA, Sector 11, Chandigarh.

In the junior snooker, Amit Swamy fought hard to overcome the challenge of Akshay before sailing into the finals.

In the billiards event Rakesh Gupta entered the semifinal by beating Sanjay Kaushal in a tough encounter while in another match, B Khurana created a flutter when he upset the out-of-form Sanjeev Verma.

Ludhiana athletics

LUDHIANA, Dec 25 (FOSR) — The two-day Ludhiana district athletic championship for men and women as well as boys and girls will be held at the Guru Nanak Stadium on December 28 and 29, according to Mr O.S. Nagi, secretary, Ludhiana District Amateur Athletic Association. Entries close on December 27 with Mr Prem Singh of the Railways.

PU move into final

CHANDIGARH, Dec 25 (BOSR) — Panjab University, Chandigarh, moved into the final of the PU Inter College Tennis tournament today. In the semifinal, PU outclassed Punjab Engineering College, Chandigarh by 3-0.

Results: JP Singh b Vaibhav 6-2, 6-0. Gagandeep b Nakul 6-0, 6-4. Gagandeep & JP Singh b Nakul & Tarun, 6-3, 7-6 (7-3).

Panjab University will now meet DAV College, Sector 10, who had earlier advanced into the final, tomorrow.