Friday, November 6, 1998
today's calendar
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S P O R T | Friday, November 6, 1998 |
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A keen contest on the cards |
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Graf toils to win against Sugiyama |
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Windies tour to SA in
jeopardy
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A keen contest on the cards SHARJAH, Nov 5 (PTI) — Stung by their semifinal exit in the Dhaka Mini-World Cup knockout tournament, India will have much at stake when they take on World Cup champions Sri Lanka in the opening fixture of the Coca Cola Trophy triangular cricket tournament here tomorrow. India, holding the psychological advantage of having beaten the islanders in the July triangular series in Colombo, will seek to re-establish their batting strength with star Sachin Tendulkar back at his favourite desert venue again. Tendulkar rocked the Australians to single-handedly ensure a dramatic title win for India in the April tournament at the Sharjah Stadium and his fellow batsmen, including skipper Mohd Azharuddin will be eager to rally around him. Azharuddin, who will play his 302nd one-dayer tomorrow, has not been among runs of late and the motivation could be the fact that he is just 94 runs short of former West Indian opener Desmond Haynes’s world record tally of 8,648 runs. But their task will be cut out here as Zimbabwe, the third team, will also be no pushover after their win in the third and final one-dayer and in the one-off Test over India at home. The teams will play each other twice in the league stage. India have retained the same team that did duty in Dhaka, but will have some thinking to do on top order batsman Rahul Dravid’s role. Dravid, back in favour for the shorter version of the game, struggled to get going in the semifinal against the West Indies and will be under pressure to shake off his defensive approach, ill-suited for one-dayers. Sri Lanka have suffered a major setback in the absence through injury of their bowling spearhead Muttiah Muralitharan after the off-spinner was put out due to a shoulder injury suffered while fielding against South Africa in Dhaka. Murali broke down during nets ahead of the team’s arrival here, but has been brought as the 15th member and could be included in case Sri Lanka reach the November 13 final and he recovers by the time. The Indian team management struck a positive note after the squad went through nets on match eve. "of course, we want to make up for the losses and start on a winning note," said coach Anshuman Gaekwad. Both India and Sri Lanka are fine-tuning their sides in preparation for next year’s World Cup in England. "We can only improve with whatever combination we are trying out before the World Cup. We are serious about this tournament and look forward to give off our best," he added. Azharuddin, who tallied just one run in two games in Dhaka, was determined to come good here with a big knock and said the team was firm in its purpose. "Of course, we have come here to win and this tournament will be a launch pad for our World Cup campaign," he said. Sri Lankan captain Arjuna Ranatunga was as optimistic as his Indian counterpart, but commented in his inimitable style: "fortunately, each team has to play the other twice. So we can afford to lose one and win the second," he said. Ranatunga was hopeful that Muralitharan would respond to treatment and be fit to play at least the last couple of games here. "We had a bad run in Dhaka, but we hope to start winning and gear ourselves up for the World Cup," he said. Sri Lankan manager Ranjit Fernando did not feel that Muralitharan’s absence would be a major setback, stating that he had much faith in the pace combination of Chaminda Vaas and Nuwan Zoysa. The islanders might blood a new off-spinner Thilan Samaraweera who has taken Murali’s place in the side. Zimbabwe, under the captaincy of star left-hander Alistair Campbell, will be no easy opposition and both Indian and Sri Lankan management acknowledge that. The team arrived early today and were expected to have their nets late in the evening. Zimbabwe meet Sri Lanka in their opening tie on November 7. Zimbabwe lost to New Zealand in the first match at Dhaka, but Gaekwad warned that they cannot be taken lightly. "They have been improving with every tournament," he said while Fernando warned they were a team of "great potential". "They are proving to be a pretty useful side. In one-dayers, no one can be discounted," added Ranatunga. Former India stumper Naren Tamhane, ex-Indian allrounder Roger Binny and Anshuman Gaekwad will be the beneficiaries. Team: India (from): Azharuddin (capt), Saurav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Ajay Jadeja, Robin Singh, Nayan Mongia, Anil Kumble, Javagal Srinath, Ajit Agarkar, Sunil Joshi, Venkatesh Prasad, V V S Laxman and Nikhil Chopra. Sri Lanka (from): Arjuna Ranatunga (capt), Sanath Jayasuriya, Romesh Kaluwitharana, Marvan Atapattu, Aravinda De Silva, Roshan Mahanama, Kumara Dharmasena, Chaminda Vaas, Upul Chandana, Nuwan Zoysa, Promodaya Wickremasinghe, Hashan Tillekeratne, Avishka Gunawardene and Thilan Samaraweera.
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Harbhajan gets clean chit MUMBAI, Nov 5 (PTI) — The blossoming career of young off-spinner Harbhajan Singh, under a cloud recently, got a shot-in-the-arm when former England Test tweaker Fred Titmus gave his bowling action a clean chit in London recently. Ex-England off-spinner Titmus felt there was nothing wrong with the delivery style of the 18-year-old Punjab bowler in total contrast to the "throwing panel" of the International Cricket Council (ICC) which had termed it as "suspect" and recommended that corrective measures be taken at the earliest. "Fred felt and told me that there is nothing illegal about Harbhajan’s action. He only recommended some changes to improve the youngster’s bowling", former Mumbai off-spinner and Indian board’s (BCCI) executive secretary Sharad Diwadkar, who had accompanied Harbhajan to London, told PTI here today. The duo returned home last night. "Fred told Harbhajan not to allow his head to fall to his side at the instant of delivery so that there is very little gap between the head and his bowling arm. He also told the bowler to land his left foot in front and not wide. The suggestions were well taken", Mr Diwadkar said. "Both Fred and I felt Harbhajan needed to curtail his run-up, but the bowler feels more comfortable with his present run-up", the BCCI official said. "The two-day stint was held indoors at Middlesex and Harbhajan’s new style of bowling has been videotaped. Fred’s report and the videotape would be sent soon to all the members of the ICC panel", Mr Diwadkar said and added he expected Titmus’ view about the legality of Harbhajan’s action to be included in the report. The younster’s bowling came under the scrutiny of two ICC match referees — South Africa’s Peter Van Der Merwe and Sri Lanka’s Ranjan Madugalle — last season when Harbhajan made his international debut at home. The reports of the match referees prompted ICC's "throwing panel", chaired by West Indian Clyde Walcott, to review video footages of the matches featuring the young Indian bowler. The panel decided that corrective action needed to be taken by the Indian board and a letter to this effect was written to the BCCI which, in turn, directed its selection committee not to consider Harbhajan for the tours to Dhaka (nine-nation Wills Cup) and Sharjah (the tri-nation tournament to start tomorrow). The BCCI also accepted the ICC’s suggestion and sent the youngster to Titmus for taking corrective measures on his "suspect" action. Board secretary Jaywant Lele has already stated that Harbhajan is free to be picked for India now. The bowler is to play for the Board President’s XI against the visiting West Indies A in a three-day match here from November 18.
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Windies' board fires Lara, Hooper ST. JOHN’S (Antigua), Nov 5 (AP) — The West Indies Cricket Board has fired Brian Lara as team captain and Carl Hooper as his deputy, taking a tough stand against a revolt by players about fees for an imminent three-month tour of South Africa. Pat Rousseau, the board’s president, said yesterday the two would not take part in the South Africa tour and that selectors would meet on November 13 to replace them. The tour is scheduled to start on November 10 with a one-day international. Only seven of the team’s 16 players arrived in Johannesburg yesterday. The rest, including former captain Courtney Walsh and paceman Curtley Ambrose defied the board’s directive to travel to South Africa on Tuesday. Rousseau said senior players still in England would have 10 per cent of their tour fee deducted and junior players 5 per cent if they went on to play in Africa. Rousseau said the players’ move "has dealt a serious blow to West Indies cricket and the public." There was no immediate response from the players, who were represented at the Antigua meeting by David Holford, the newly appointed chief executive officer of the West Indian Players’ Association and himself a former West Indies allrounder, and association secretary Roland Holder, a West Indies batsman. Walsh, who is president of the association, said in a telephone call from his London hotel that the association would be issuing a statement, probably from its Barbados headquarters. In a statement on Tuesday, the WICB implied that the dissent was limited to Lara, a controversial but brilliant batsman who pulled out of the team two days before its departure for the 1996 Australia tour and abandoned the team following the third Test match on a 1995 tour of England, and Hooper, who also quit the England tour. But it has become clear that many more top players are involved, enough that a pullout would hurt the West Indian’s chances against the tough South Africans, who beat them in Sunday’s final of the Wills International Cup in Bangladesh. The board also has a tougher task because it is not negotiating with individuals but with the players’ association, which recently got a large cash contribution from the board, an office from the Barbados Government and on June 1 appointed its first executive officer. The association could be looking for an opportunity to show its mettle. Neither side will discuss details of fees. But the Barbados Nation newspaper yesterday said the players want to be paid above their tour fee for one-day internationals and for a one-week training camp to be held before the November 10 start of the South Africa tour, increased meal allowances and some guarantee of security in Johannesburg, where two Pakistani players were mugged while on tour last year. The Nation quoted unnamed Caribbean sources as saying that players were upset that they would be paid less for the South African tour than their 1996-1997 Australia tour, which also was a five-Test series. The Nation said those who had played in less than 15 Test matches would be paid about $ 16,000 for South Africa, compared to $ 22,000 to $ 25,000 for the Australia tour and senior players $ 50,000 to $ 60,000 compared to $ 60,000 to $ 70,000 for Australia. Still, the West Indians are believed to be the highest paid cricketers in the world, after the Australians. The last major revolt by the West Indians came in 1978, when the then-poorly paid islanders snubbed the regional team and signed a contract with Australian magnate Kerry Packer’s world series cricket. When that was disbanded, the West Indians negotiated substantially better contracts with the board and began a 15-year winning streak that had many thinking they were invincible. JOHANNESBURG (PTI): South African coloured cricket fans have expressed their shock and disappointment that Brian Lara and other top West Indian players will not play in the series against South Africa. Supporters of the West Indians here said the absence of Lara, Hooper and Adams would reduce the standard of the visiting team. Jimmy Adams, former skipper Courtney Walsh, speedster Curtley Ambrose and four others were fined after the nine flew to London hoping to negotiate the pay deal with the board. "Without Lara and company there will be very little interest in the forthcoming series," said Nelson Raju, a sports administrator in Durban. "The situation would be like an Indian side at this stage playing without Sachin Tendulkar. We are disappointed and really hope the West Indian board would reverse its decision so that South Africans, especially people of colour, will be able to see these players and learn from them," he said. Meanwhile, Dr Ali Bacher, managing director of the South African Cricket Board, said he would not be able to mediate in the dispute. "It’s not in our interest to intervene," he said. Reports from the West Indies said Lara and Hooper have been termed as "mercenaries". Tony Becca of The Gleaner (Jamaica), was reported as saying "Lara and Hooper are being seen as greedy." "The people believe they have agreed to go on tour and should not have pulled out of it at the last minute even if they had any grievances with the board." "There’s an
anti-Lara and anti-Hooper feeling among the people at the
moment which is very sad for the game. They are holding
the board to ransom by asking for more money. They have
gone too far by pulling out at this late hour," he
said. |
Healy aiming for 400-wkt mark BRISBANE, Nov 5 (AP) — World record holder Ian Healy wants to stay on as Australia’s wicketkeeper for "another four or five years." Healy passed fellow Australian Rod Marsh’s record of 355 dismissals in the recent first Test against Pakistan and moved his tally to 362 ahead of the coming five-Test Ashes series against England. Although 34, Healy said he had no plans of handing over the gloves to likely heir Adam Gilchrist. "I’m keeping really consistently," said Healy, who is looking to push his tally towards 400 against England and then the West Indies. "It’s a great feeling to know you are going into a game at top of your form and I’m able to do that game in and game out now. I’ve never kept better. I don’t think age is a factor unless you lose enthusiasm or form." Healy is averaging close
to 10 Tests a season and 3 to 4 dismissals a Test. |
Windies tour to SA in jeopardy JOHANNESBURG, Nov 5 (AFP) — The West Indian cricket tour of South Africa appeared in greater jeopardy today when the seven players already in South Africa told management they wished to leave. The players said they wanted to join other members of the squad who remained in London when a dispute arose between the players and the West Indies board. A source close to the team said the new demand by the players was made at a meeting with manager Clive Llyod this morning. United Cricket Board president Raymond White and managing director Ali Bacher are due to meet Llyod later today. Today’s scheduled practice and press conference were cancelled. West Indies captain Brian Lara and vice-captain Carl Hooper were fined and dropped from the team at a meeting of the West Indies board in Antigua yesterday after a pay dispute.
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Anand wins Tilburg chess crown TILBURG, Nov 5 (PTI) — Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand added one more feather to his cap by winning the title at the third Tilburg International Chess Tournament with a swift 17-move draw against Russia’s Peter Svidler in the final round here yesterday. India’s Anand (7.5) became the sole winner of this title and has taken his this year’s success to phenomenal heights — winning four events from five he entered in. The world number two Anand remained unbeaten throughout this category-18 tournament — winning four and drawing seven games - where two other players also returned undefeated. Young Hungarian Peter Leko, who had reduced Anand’s one-point lead to half by winning the penultimate round, needed to win his final game to finish on par with the Indian. Leko, who displayed rapid strides during the past one year and had been in sparkling form here, could not pierce Dutch GM Loek van Wely’s defence and finished on seven points to take the second spot. Vadim Zviaginsev of Russia, Vladimir Kramnik and Mathew Sadler of England finished joint third with six points each. After narrowly losing to Anatoly Karpov in the fide world title match, Anand, who received a purse of 25,000 guilders (equivalent to Rs 5 lakhs) as prize money, won tournaments in Wijk aan Zee, Linares, Madrid and now Tilburg. His only below par performance came in the Dortmund tournament, where he failed to score a single win and finished low down the order. Anand also won a speed chess tournament in Frankfurt this year. Anand, playing with black pieces, opted for Caro-Kann defence and gave Peter Svidler no hope. The Indian wrapped up the game under one hour offering a draw which Svidler accepted immediately. The Leko-Van Wely match, however, held the key to Anand’s title hopes. Leko, playing black in a Grunfled defence game, tried hard to break into the Dutch GM’s defence but Van Wely denied him any such liberties. Leko settled for number two spot after agreeing to split point in a 28-move game, but the result was a fine achievement for the young Hungarian. In the final round only Vadim Zviaginsev of Russia scored a win beating Jeroen Piket, a joint winner here in 1996. He beat Piket in a game following an English opening in 26 moves. Kramnik, one of the joint winners last year, recovered in the last rounds to stage a comeback and finish third after being in the lower order in the standings for most part of the tournament. In the final round he drew with Mattew Sadler in just 19 moves. In other games, Michael Adams of England drew with Joel Lautier of France and Viktor Korchnoi, the Russina-born Swiss drew with Bulgaria’s Vasselin Topalov. Final positions: 1 - V.
Anand (7.5 - India), 2 - P. Leko (7 - Hungary), 3-5 - V.
Kramnik (Russia), M. Sadler (England), V. Zviaginsev
(Russia) — 6 points each, 6-7 - M. Adams (England),
J.Piketen (Holland) 5.5 points each, 8-9 - P. Svidler
(Russia), Loek van Wely (Holland) — 5 each, 10-11 -
J. Lautier (Holland), V. Topalov (Bulgaria) — 4.5
points each, 12 - V. Korchnoi (3.5) Switzerland. |
Graf toils to win against Sugiyama LEIPZIG (Germany), Nov 5 (AP) — In the second match of her latest comeback, Steffi Graf overcame a slow start and beat sixth-seeded A I Sugiyama 6-4, 6-3 to reach the quarterfinals of the Leipzig Open. Graf, a four-time winner of the tournament who is unseeded this time because of her low ranking, yesterday had trouble finding her timing and clearly showed the lack of match practice early on against the quick Japanese. But the former No 1 picked up her game late in the first set and went on to post a workmanlike victory. "I expected a tough match. She’s been playing good tennis in recent months. I played her a few months ago and lost in three close sets", Graf said. "I knew she would be aggressive". In the quarterfinals, Graf will meet 19-year-old Frenchwoman Anne-Gaelle Sidot, who upset top-seeded Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario, the reigning French Open champion and Graf’s old rival. Sidot, a qualifier ranked
no. 74 in the world, beat the Spaniard 6-1, 4-6, 6-2. LEIPZIG, Nov 5 (AFP) — Former world number one Steffi Graf announced today that she had decided to continue her tennis career. Earlier this year the 29-year-old admitted a series of injuries had forced her to consider quitting the sport. But after winning her first match following a two-month injury lay-off on Tuesday, Graf said she had abandoned the idea of retirement. "Tennis is my life. I have need of the fabulous emotions playing tennis gives me. No more talk about retirement. I will play in 1999," said the German, who has won 104 tournaments and 21 Grand Slam events. "I am a fighter. I don’t want to give in because of an injury," added Graf, who yesterday reached the quarter-final of the $ 450,000 WTA indoor tournament here by beating sixth-seeded AI Sugiyama of Japan.
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Team selection postponed MUMBAI, Nov 5 (PTI) — The selection of the Indian skipper and 15-member team for the 50-day tour of New Zealand in December-January has been put off by two days from November 15 at the request of coach Anshuman Gaekwad. "Gaekwad has some personal problem to attend to and has requested the postponement", board secretary Jaywant Lele said here today. The selectors will first meet here on November 17 to choose the captain and then sit with him and Gaekwad to finalise the other 14 team members. The selected team members are to undergo a brief conditioning camp from November 20 in Mumbai before leaving for the antipodes on December 2. The team is to play three Tests — at Dunedin, Wellington and Hamilton — from December 18-January 6, five one-day internationals from January 9-18, at Auckland, Hamilton, Napier, Christchurch and Wellington against the hosts, besides two first-class matches at the beginning of the visit at Napier and Wellington.
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Aussies move closer to berth in final LAHORE, Nov 5 (AFP) — Australia moved closer to a place in the final of the 20th Champions Trophy men’s hockey tournament today with a 3-1 victory over Spain while South Korea held Germany to a 3-3 draw. The finalists will be decided tomorrow when Australia line up against Olympic champions Holland who are currently top of the six-nations league with nine points from four matches. Australia have eight points. Pakistan can get through on better goal average if they beat Germany and Australia lose. Australia scored through Vivian Taylor, Scot Webster and skipper Jay Stacy while Xavier Arnau got Spain’s consolation. Australia took lead in the 12th minute when Taylor smashed home the first penalty corner. Spanish goalie Ramon Jefresa had stopped two tries from stacy and Adams Commens but he was down when Taylor’s hit beat him. Australia added a second in the 30th minute when Ben Taylor dodged three defenders and hit a cross to Webster who prodded the ball in the net. Two minutes later Spain pulled one back when Arnau scored an indirect goal off Spain’s second penalty corner. In the second session Arnau was expelled for five minutes after he pushed an Australian player. Stacy scored Australia’s third goal in the 48th minute when he took a fine pass from Daniel and scored with a first time. AP: Germany clinched its first point in the Champions Trophy hockey tournament after holding a spirited South Koreans to a 3-3 draw. However, a draw might not be enough for the South Koreans to qualify for Sunday’s final. It now has five points after four games. It meets Spain tomorrow. Despite the draw, it was a disappointing performance by Germany. Who have lost to Holland, Spain and Australia in previous matches. Germany’s at the bottom of the ranking with just one point. Germany plays Pakistan tomorrow. Song Seong Tac scored twice for South Korea and Kim Jeong Chul’s scored the third goal before half-time. For Germany, Frank Gemmrig scored two goals, which included a 59th minute equaliser off a penalty stroke. Christian Kurtz was their other scorer. South Korea looked for a possible win in the final seconds of the game, but German goalkeeper and captain Christopher Reitz saved a strong deflection from unmarked South Korea forward Kang Keon Wook. Seong Tac, with a red scarf tightened around his head, moved swiftly from time to time and in the second half was just off the target from the top of the striking circle. The Germans lodged several challenges against the decisions of Pakistan umpire Faiz Mohammad Faizi’s in the second-half. Seong Tac put South Korea 3-2 ahead in the 51st minute when he smartly grabbed an opportunity. But Benjamin Kopp managed to win a penalty stroke for Germany in the 59th minute which was duly converted by Gemmring.
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India win hockey tournament BANGKOK, Nov 5 (AFP) — India beat Bangladesh 2-0 with both goals scored in the first half to win a four-nations men’s hockey tournament here today. India scored from Mohammed Riaz in the 23rd minute while Kamal Horo assisted in the 25th minute. In the contest for third place Uzbekistan beat Thailand 2-1 after drawing 1-1 at half time. Uzbekistan scored from Lael Aslive in the 24th minute and A. Melekesov in the 55th minute. Thailand scored from T. Thipkongka in the 27th minute.
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Shruti claims maiden title NEW DELHI, Nov 5 (UNI) — Displaying superb stroke play, unseeded Shruti Dhawan capped her giant-killing campaign with a brilliant win as she stunned top-seed and favourite Sai Jailakshmi 7-5, 6-3 to claim her maiden title, the ITF Women’s Circuit Masters Tennis Tournament here today. Local favourite Shruti Dhawan, who started the masters with an upset win over third seed Montika Anuchan, ousted Shakini Thakur in the quarterfinals, shunted out second-seed Rushmi Chakravarthi in the semifinal, scalped top-seed Sai Jailakshmi in a 85-minute final this morning to earn a cheque of $ 800 plus five ITF ranking points. This was the first time that Shruti has beaten Jailakshmi, the Tamil Nadu girl, and won all her three previous matches against Shruti. The final was off to an explosive start, with 21 year old Sai Jailakshmi, winner of the Pune and Indore leg of the tournament, taking a 3-0 lead, breaking her rival in the first and third games. It looked as if the final
was going to be a one sided affair before Shruti got her
act together and staged a remarkable fightback to upset
all calculations. Playing in her fourth successive final in this circuit, the Tamil Nadu player looked fatigued and tired as is Shruti started playing aggressively and made her run around. The Delhi girl involved Jailakshmi in long rallies and then made the "kill" giving no chance to her rival. With fine angular shots and good back-hand cross-court returns Shruti left Jailakshmi stranded many a time. Shruti broke Jailakshmi in the fourth and eighth game to draw parity (4-4). In the eighth game, Jailakshmi looked very tentative and threw away several points. She committed two double faults and paid the penalty. However, the top-seed managed to break Shruti for the third time in the ninth game in which the local favourite double-faulted at 30-40. But a tired-looking Jailakshmi could not hold on to her own 10th serve and lost it. The players having broken each other thrice became tense but young Shruti kept her cool and hold on to her 11th game but that was not the case with Jailakshmi, who cracked under pressure and double-faulted thrice in her 12th game to lose the set at 5-7. In the second set also, it was Jailakshmi who took the early lead when she broke Shruti in the third game but again, like in the first, frittered away the advantage. Shruti kept her nerves while her rival looked edgy and tentative. The top-seed even started arguing with the umpire, disputing a line call. The local girl played freely as she had nothing to lose while Jailakshmi had a lot at stake. In the third game in which she was broken, Shruti committed two double-faults. She, however, steadied her game with some good strokes and returns. Jailakshmi kept playing from the baseline which did not help her much because when ever she came to the net she earned points. Shruti broke a
tired-looking Jailakshmi in the sixth game to draw parity
(3-3). Trailing 3-5, Jailakshmi threw in the towel as Shruti with angular shots bewildered her. Jailakshmi sent the ball into the net and then twice returned wide and it was all over for her. The Tamil Nadu girl earned $ 500 and four points for finishing second. Shruti fully capitalised
on Jailakshmi’s tentative display, which was
surprising, because the Tamil Nadu player is very
experienced and had a good success rate this season. |
Vijay Kannan demolishes Mankad KANNUR, Nov 5 (PTI) — Eighteen-year-old Vijay Kannan, Indian Davis Cup reserve, breezed past countryman Harsh Mankad in a one-sided quarterfinal of ITF Satellite Masters International Tennis Tournament at the Municipal Stadium here today. Kannan demolished his opponent 6-1 6-1 in under 56 minutes, en route to the semifinal where he will meet second seeded Prahlad Srinath, who got a walkover from Gerhard Fahlke, who withdrew due to a shoulder injury. Mankad, a former junior national champion, who knocked out third seed Danai Udomchoke in the pre-quarterfinal, failed to produce another fine performance and could rarely time his shots well, hitting a number of easy returns into the net. It hardly took 20 minutes for Kannan, an AITA product, who trains at its academy in Delhi, to wrap up the first set with three break points in the first, third and seventh games, giving an indication of things in the one-sided affair. Mankad was in trouble in the second set also with his inaccurate first serves and was frequently caught in the wrong position. Kannan broke Mankad in the second and fourth games to clinch the set and the match. An overjoyed Kannan said:
"I played a solid game. I was very confident and did
not give him any points. I attacked his forehand by
feeding low returns.’ |
Coaching Centre 'A', 'B' move into
final CHANDIGARH, Nov 5 — Coaching Centre 'A' and 'B' moved into the final of the boys event team championship on the opening day of the 11th Chandigarh State Table Tennis Championship at the Sector 23 TT hall today. In girls team championship, Bhavan Hawk 'A' reached the final by defeating Manav Mangal School, Sec. 21, by 3-1. In the first semi final of boys Coaching Centre 'A' outplayed Red Club by 3-0, Harpreet Singh of CC-'A' had to face a tough resistance from Mani Kant before beating him 19-21, 21-10, 21-8. Karan Mahajan defeated Aditya Puri at 21-15, 21-12, to give his side 2-0 lead. In the decider, Amit Aggarwal beat Sajal Kaushal by 24-22, 21-14. In the second semi-final CC- 'B' got the better of Chandigarh Club by 3-0. Rahul Sharma downed Ramit Singla 21-19, 21-19. Gaurav Bharia was extended to three games by Varun Kassal before former could win at 18-21, 21-17, 21-11. Sumit Grover then clinched the winning battle for CC. 'B' by ousting Punit Bansal of Chd Club at 21-9, 21-17. The results: Coaching Centre — A b Red Club 3-0, Harpreet Singh b Mani Kant 19-21, 21-10, 21-8, Karan Mahajan b Aditya Puri 21-15, 21-12, Amit Aggarwal b Sajal Kaushal 24-22, 21-14. Coaching Centre 'B' b Chandigarh Club 3-0, Rahul Sharma b Ramit Singla 21-19, 21-19, Gaurav Bhatia b Varun Kassal 18-21, 21-17, 21-11, Sumit Grover b Punit Bansal 21-9, 21-17. Girls (Team championship) quarterfinal: Manav Mangal b Bhavan Hawk 3-0, Amar Preet b Mahima Sharma 21-10, 21-7, Ruchi Gautam b Sahila Saini 21-13, 21-12, Amar Preet & Ruchi b Sahila & Mahima 21-10, 21-16. Bhavan Hawk & b Sacret Heat — 26 3-0, Ruchika Gupta b Shakun 21-6, 21-11, Monika Bansal b Guramrit 21-4, 21-7, Pooja & Ruchika b Mrigya & Shakun 21-2, 21-8. Coaching Centre — A b Chandigarh T.T. Club 3-0, Shruti Akku b Nancy Gautam 21-8, 21-9, Manu K.C. b Gurpreet Kaur 21-0, 21-0, Samitha & Monu b Nancy & Neha 21-9, 21-5. Talent Hawk b Stay Club Taranpreet lost to Gagandeep 9-21, 14-21, Ramanpreet Kaur b Mega Kassal 14-21, 21-15, 21-22. Ramanpreet & Tarunpreet b Gagandeep & Mega 12-21, 22-22, 21-17, Ramanpreet b Gagandeep 21-16, 26-14. Semifinal: Bhavan Hawk b Manav Mangal — 21, 3-1, Anuradha Bansal b Amarpreet 17-21, 22-20, 21-14, Ruchika Gupta b Ruchi Gautam 21-17, 21-12, Anuradha & Monu host to Amarpreet & Ruchi 21-19, 14-21, 19-21, Ruchika b Amanpreet 21-15, 21-10.
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3 national marks established CALCUTTA, Nov 5 (PTI) — The strong Railway contingent emerged overall champions with 311 points as three national and one meet record fell by the wayside on the concluding day of the 38th Open National Athletic Championship at the Salt Lake Stadium here today. Sahib Singh of Police and G.G. Promila of Railway stole the limelight on the last day of the three-day meet setting national records in the men’s 400 m hurdles and heptathlon events respectively on a day which saw the formidable Railway athletes claiming the bulk of the gold medals on offer. Sahib Singh, who had made headlines with a meet record in the recent all-India police meet here, put in a sterling performance to set a new national record in 400 m hurdles with a timing of 50.43 sec, eclipsing Rajeev Balakrishnan’s previous record of 51.37 set in the Hiroshima Asian Games in 1994. Promila improved upon her own national record in the heptathlon event with 5705 points with none of the other competitors coming anywhere near her tally. Her previous best was 5541 points established in Chennai in 1998. The AAFI relay quartet, comprising the four top quarter-milers in the meet — Paramjet Singh, Ramachandran, Jatashankar and Lijo David Thottan — set a new national record in the 4x400 m relay with a timing of 3:04.91 sec erasing the previous best of 3:06.09 sec. The railways won both the men’s and women’s team championships with 154 and 157 points in the three-day meet which saw as many as eight national records tumble. Amit Khanna of FCI emerged the fastest man of the meet by claiming the gold in the glamorous 100m event which was re-run today after much controversy. The race, which was held on the opening day, was re-run following the jury’s ruling that Anil Kumar, who had finished first on that day, had taken a false start. Khanna, one of the athletes who had lodged a protest with the AAFI’s technical committee, had no problem in claiming the gold with a timing of 10.64 sec while Ajay Raj Singh of Police had to be content with the silver clocking 10.81 sec. Anil Kumar did not take part in the race claiming to be ill. Middle distance runner Sunita Rani of Railways, who created a new national record in the women’s 5000 m run yesterday, picked up her second gold medal in the meet when she took the honour in the women’s 1500 m run with a timing of 4:18.24 sec. In the men’s 200 m run, police sprinter Ajay Raj Singh bagged the gold clocking 21.46 sec while Vinitha Tripathi of Bihar took the gold in the women’s 200 m with a timing of 23.81 sec. Manoj Lal of the Railways added one more gold medal in the Railways kitty by outrunning his rivals in the men's 800m run which turned out to be a thrilling race. With Lal and his Railway teammate Anil Mathew going neck and neck till the very end, it requited a brilliant late burst at the home stretch by Lal to take the gold with a timing of 1:49.74 sec. Mathew finished a close second with a timing of 1:49.92 sec. In the men's triple jump event, Prem Chand Singh of Police leaped to a distance of 15.63 m to pocket the gold while Sudhir Nandyal of Railways won the gruelling men's 20 km walk clocking 1:33.26 sec. Tamil Nadu's long distance runner Shankar kept his reputation by bagging the coveted gold medal in the men's 10,000 m run with a timing of 30:11.6 sec. Anil Kumar of Steel Plant came a close second clocking 30:12.6 sec.
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Curtain goes up on Surjit hockey
today CHANDIGARH, Nov 5 — The curtain will go up on the 15th edition of the Indian Oil Surjit Singh Hockey Tournament, here tomorrow. The top ranking teams of the country, including last year's champions Punjab Police and runners-up Punjab and Sind Bank besides two foreign outfits, namely Russia XI and Allied Bank of Pakistan will vie for honours in this prestigious tournament, according to Mr Som Parkash, Deputy Commissioner. The teams have been divided into two pools. Punjab Police, Air-India (Mumbai), Russia XI, Border Security Force (BSF) and Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB) comprise group 'A' while Allied Bank of Pakistan, Indian Airlines Punjab and Sind Bank, Rail Coach Factory and Army-XI have been placed in pool-'B'. According to Mr Iqbal Singh Sandhu, joint organising secretary, work is going on round-the-clock for successful conduct of the tournament. The tournament started in the memory of the late Olympian, Surjit Singh in 1984, attracted 24 top teams in the maiden edition. Adequate seating arrangements have been made for spectators who are expected to turn out in large numbers to witness the competition. The final of the tournament will be telecast live on November 14 on the national hookup by Doordarshan, while the semifinals will be telecast live on the regional network on November 12. All-India Radio, Jalandhar, will also broadcast a running commentary of the final.
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Norquist, Jeev star performers NEW DELHI, Nov 5 — Gerry Norquist (USA) and Jeev Milkha Singh were star performers among 112 on the opening day of the four-day Hero Honda Masters (Omega Tour) here today. Norquist found his form and swing at an appropriate moment on his favourite course as he fired seven-under 65 to lead the pack while Jeev was five under 67. Four golfers — Mike Cunning (USA), Anthont Kang (Korea), Fran Quinn (USA) and Gaurav Ghei were a stroke behind Jeev and three behind Noroquist at four-under 68. Three more players — Sanjay Kumar, Jyoti Randhawa and Scott Taylor (USA) — were three-under 69. As many as nine were two under 70 and another nine one-under 71. The fact that as many as 27 golfers finished sub-par round spoke not only of the serence course but of the razor-sharp competition that was in the offing on the next three days. For Norquist, this was the lowest round of the year. The 36-year-old American carded an eagle on the 1st 527-yard five-par — Six birdies and only a solitary bogey on the 6th for his seven-under 65. Norquist was planning to return home from Taiwan. But he changed his mind at the last moment as he had refreshing memories about the Delhi course. His decision proved a blessing in disguise for him as he struck a purple patch. "The swing, that had caused me worry all this year, had returned. I putted superbly and my iron play was good", said Norquist. Starting from 10th tee, Norquist drained consecutive birdies on the 11th, 12th, 13th and 14th to reach the turn with a four-under 32. On the back nine, he moved to six under after holing a 12-foot eagle putt on the first. He had another birdie on the 4th. He dropped a stroke on the 6th as he pushed his tee-shot into bushed right of the fairway. He, however, made amends as he fired a six iron from 180 yards to within four feet for a birdie on the last 9th. Jeev was also in his belligerent mood. He carded six birdies and one bogey over to 6757-yard course. Also starting from the 10th tee, he was one under 35. Then, on the 4th, he managed a birdie after being in a bunker. That provided him a lot of confidence. He now had three more birdies to get the card card of five under 67. I hit the ball precisely. I will have to play with all the application and determination to make this course a favourite one for me in the next three days." Jeev was candid in saying that playing in the group with Mike Cunning was one of the major reasons for his attaining his form. "Cunning, who ended four-under 68, should have actually finished seven or eight under", said Jeev. Leading scores:- 65— Gerry Norquist (USA) 67— Jeev Milka Singh (India) 68: Mike Cunning (USA), Anthony Kang (Korea), Fran Quinn (USA) and Gaurav Ghei (India). 69: Sanjay Kumar (India. Jyoti Randhawa (India), Scott Taylor. 70—USA, Craig Camps (RSA), James Kingston (RSA), Grant Dodd (Aus), Jumman (India), Leith Wastle (Aus), Yoshito Nishimoto (Japan), Justin Copper (Aus), Indrajit Bhalotia (India), Carlos Espionosa (Mexico).
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District athletic meet results CHANDIGARH, Nov 5 — Lakhbir Singh of Kharar won the 110 metres race in the under 20 event of the boys in the Ropar District Athletic Championship organised by State Bank of Patiala, YPS Mohali branch. Charanjit Kaur of Sohana village won the pride of place in 100 metre. Results: 100 mts: 1. Gurjit Singh, 2. Hem Raj, 3. Satwinder Singh. 1500 mts: 1. Kanwaljit Singh (Morinda), 2. Baldip Singh (Sukhumajra), 3. Nirmal Singh (Morinda). 10000 mts: 1. Satnam Singh (Kharar), 2. Kanwaljit Singh (Mohali), 3. Jatinder Singh (Mohali). Long jump: 1. Satinder Singh (Mohali), 2. Amandip Singh (Kharar), 3. Joginder Gupta (Mohali). Disc throw: 1. Gagandip (Mohali), 2. Malkiat Singh (Mohali), 3. Rajiv Kumar (Mohali). Under 20 years (boys): 1500 mts: 1. Manmohan (Mohali), 2. Harsimran (Mohali), 3. Harvinder Singh (Kharar). 100 mts: 1. Lakhbir Singh (Kharar), 2. Gurdip Singh (Mohali), 3. Raghbir Singh (Mohali). Long jump: 1. Jatinder Singh (Kharar), 2. Tirath Singh (Jhanjauri) 3 Amandip Singh (Kharar) High Jump: 1 Rakesh Kumar (Kharar) 2 Dhiraj Singh (Jhanjauri) 3 Amardip Singh (Kharar) Under 20 years (Girls) 1500 Mts: 1 Jaswinder Kaur (Kharar) 2 Rachna (Kharar) 3 Daya Verma (Kharar) 100 Mts: 1 Charanjit Kaur (Sohana) 2 Sandeep Kaur (Mohali) 3 Manjit Kaur (Sohana) Long Jump: 1 Deep Sharma (Mohali) 2 Sandip Kaur (Sohana) 3 Charanjit Kaur (Sohana) Under 16 years (Boys) 1500 Mts: 1 Vikas Kumar (Mohali) 2 Narinder Singh (Kharar) 3 Harpreet Singh (Morinda) 100 Mts: 1 Lakhbir Singh (Mohali) 2 Hardip Singh (Mohali) 3 Amrinder Singh (Kharar) High Jump: 1 Harminder Singh (Mohali) 2 Narinder Kumar (Jhanjauri) 3 Davinder Pal Singh (Kharar) Long Jump: 1 Davinder Pal Singh (Kharar) 2 Risayat Ali (Jhanjauri) 3 Gurmit Singh (Jhanjauri) Under 16 years (Girls) 1500 Mts: 1 Karamjit Kaur (Kharar) 2 Paramjit Kaur (Kharar) 3 Amandip Kaur (Ropar) High Jump: 1 Karamjit Kaur (Sohana) 2 Anu Bala (Jhanjauri) 3 Ranjit Kaur (Sohana) Long Jump: 1 Karamjit Kaur (Sohana) 2 Amarjit Kaur (Mohali) 3 Ranjit Kaur (Sohana)
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School soccer, kho-kho at Jabalpur CHANDIGARH, Nov 5 (TNS) — The Directorate of Public Instruction, Madhya Pradesh Government, will hold the 44th National School Games in the disciplines of football, kho-kho (under-19) and kabaddi (under-17) both for boys and girls, at Jabalpur from December 15 to 20, according to Mr B D Gandhi, Secretary-General, School Games Federation of India. The players studying up to Class XII are eligible for participation in the game for under-19. Similarly, the players who are studying up to class X are eligible to take part in under-17 games. All the players must be under 19 and under 17 as on December 31, 1998. A player can take part in one age-group during a sports calendar year, Mr Gandhi added. During the course of the games at Jabalpur probables in the discipline of football will be selected for the Asian School Football Tournament scheduled in Sri Lanka in 1999. Hence all the states/units have been requested to send their teams for these games so that no budding player is deprived of the opportunity of representing the country. Similarly, the games in the discipline of softball, baseball, weight-lifting, chess (under-19) and 20th Sub-Junior Games in the discipline of handball (under-14) will be held at Indore from January 4 to 9,1999. All the states/UTs and other units of the federation have been requested to confirm their entries to the Director of Public Instruction, Madhya Pradesh Government, for participation in these games. West Air Command, MC enter semis CHANDIGARH, Nov 5 (BOSR) — Hosts Western Air Command vanquished Eastern Air Command by a solitary goal 1-0 to enter the semi final of pool A on the Air Force Hockey Championship at the Sector 42 turf hockey stadium, today. South Western Air Command drubbed Training Command by 2-1 thus making its entry into the semifinal of the pool B. In the third match of the day Maintenance Command drew with Central Air Command, 1-1, but by virtue of better points, got the birth in the last four of the pool A. Air Head Quarter too joined SWAC in pool B semifinal by dethroning South Air Command, 2-0. Baldev Singh Brar, former international, playing for WAC, converted the lone goal in 60th minute through a penalty stroke. Kuldip Singh scored the first field goal for SWAC in the 8th minute but Anil Yadav of TC equalised by converting a penalty corner in the 18th minute. In the second half, Inderpal Singh scored the winning goal in the 55th minute of the match. In the third match, CAC got the first breakthrough when Sujijha converted a penalty corner in 11th minute of the game but yesterday's hero Mehboob Khan of MC dribbled his way to a fine field goal in the 32nd minute of the match thus equalising the match. The final point wise tally of semifinalists; Pool A; (Western AC 7 pts.; Maintenance Command 5 pts; Pool B, (South WAC 5 pts, Air Hqtrs. 4 pts.) Handball trials CHANDIGARH, Nov 5 (BOSR) — Chandigarh Handball Association will conduct selection trials on November 7 for city junior girls team which will participate in the 21st Junior National Handball Championship (Girls) to be held at Agra (UP) from November 20 to 24, according to Mr Ravinder Talwar, hony. secretary of the association. The girls born on or after Jan 1, 1979, are eligible and they should contact Ravinder Singh, handball coach, on Nov 7 at 2.30 p.m. along with original birth certificates. Punjab Zone win CHANDIGARH, Nov 5 (BOSR) — Punjab Zone comprising Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, J&K and HP scored an impressive 83-run win over Maharashtra Zone in the inaugural match of the All-India Invitational Revenue Cricket Championship at Calcutta, according to a fax message received here. A fine knock of 75 run by skipper Rakesh Jolly and by Monish Aggarwal enabled Punjab Zone to pile up 233 for 7 in 35 overs. In reply, Maharashtra were all out for 150 in 33 overs. Rakesh Jolly and Kamal Chaudhary each claimed three wickets of Maharashtra Zone. GGD SD College score win CHANDIGARH, Nov 5 (BOSR) — Goswami Ganesh Dutta College, Chandigarh and Govt. College, Ludhiana, won by narrow margins in the Panjab University Inter Zonal basketball Tournament for Men at PU grounds here today. GGD SD College defeated DAV College, Hoshiarpur, by 52-51, at the half time SD College team was losing by 23-29. In the second match, PU Campus went down fighting to Govt. College, Ludhiana 62-64. At the half time score was 30-28 in favour of GC Ludhiana. In other league matches of the day, Govt. College, Ludhiana, subdued DAV College Hoshiarpur, by 55-38 while GGD SD College, Chandigarh got the better of PU Campus, Chandigarh, at 63-44. PAU record win in football PATIALA, Nov 5 (FOSR) — MDU, Rohtak, walloped Dr Ambedkar University, Agra, 8-0 while PAU, Ludhiana, downed Thapar University, Patiala, 3-0 in the North Zone- Inter-University Football Championships at the campus grounds here today. In another match, Meerut, University managed to scrape past Jammu University 1-0 to move into the next round of the tournament. Meanwhile, Gurbinder Singh Jolly will lead the Punjabi University football team in the meet. The other players are: Yadvinder Singh, Bawa Singh, Bhupinder Singh, Gurinder Singh, Dharminder Singh, Hardev Singh, Rajinder Singh, Hari Mohan Singh, Sandeep Sharma, Principal Singh, Rakesh Kumar, Vipin Singh, Mandeep Singh, Shahdap Khan, Kashmir Singh, Nishan Singh and Ijaz Ahmed. The coach of the team will be Dalbir Singh Randhawa while the manager will be Harpreet Singh. Punjabi University have
been seeded straight into the quarterfinals and will be
playing their first match on November 7. |
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