Graf wins in Advanta meet
VILLANOVA, (Pennsylvania), Nov 12 — Finally playing without pain, Steffi Graf is one match away from a berth in the season-ending Chase Championships. "To be able to play through continuously without a break would be welcomed,’’ said Graf, who beat Mary Joe Fernandez 6-3, 7-6, (7-4) in a first-round match yesterday at the Advanta Championships.

Zimbabwe inspired after victory

SHARJAH, Nov 12 (PTI) — Jolted by the abject surrender of its batsmen against Zimbabwe in the final league tie last night, India will have a job to accomplish when it takes on the inspired African opponent in the final of the Coca Cola Cup Triangular Cricket Tournament here tomorrow.

India, who arrived here as the favourite and looked on course to completing an all-win record in the round robin, lost its way last night as Zimbabwe fought tooth and nail to convert an otherwise inconsequential match into a thrilling affair for a morale-boosting win ahead of the summit clash.

In and out paceman Henry Olonga, playing in his first tie here, rattled the Indian top order with raw pace to set up a 13-run win, and the exemplary Zimbabwean fielding has forced reassessment of the team which came here as a dark horse.

Batting, barring Sachin Tendulkar’s enterprising unbeaten 118 against Zimbabwe in India’s second league match, has been a laborious affair here on wickets where the ball has not really come on to encourage free stroke-making.

The change in character of the usually placid Sharjah track has been a major challenge and Indian chances of sealing a win would depend much on how its batting clicks.

Zimbabwe, expected to be also ran, stunned World Cup champion Sri Lanka with two victories.

India will be out in full strength tomorrow with the return of skipper Mohd Azharuddin, Paceman Javagal Srinath and leg spinner Anil Kumble, who had taken a much-needed rest yesterday.

Azharuddin and wicketkeeper Nayan Mongia had also come up with fine half-centuries when India beat Sri Lanka in the inaugural match. But the team management would be(keen to remove desperation that creeps into the middle order once the openers make an early exit. A deficiency which would have to be dealt with as the World Cup is hardly six months away.

The bowling, however, has looked quite impressive. Srinath and young Ajit Agarkar, who has showed signs of emerging as a useful all-rounder here, have produced impressive spells.

Nikhil Chopra, the off-spinner who made it only because young Harbhajan Singh was excluded following questions raised over his bowling action, has done himself no harm with economical and productive spells alongwith left-arm spinner Sunil Joshi.

Zimbabwe captain Alistair Campbell would be hoping his batsmen shake off their indifferent approach and play to potential. The stylish left-handed opener himself made an unbeaten 83 yesterday after dropping to number six.

But he faces a problem of plenty in choosing his pacemen. Eddo Brandes and Heath Streak are the first choice, but Olongo after his four-wicket burst which included the prize scalp of Tendulkar, has staked strong claims which will be hard to ignore.

India will be playing its 40th one-day tie — a world record for appearances in a single calendar,year. Zimbabwe will be making their 23rd appearance to emerge the third joint highest in the list.

The winner will claim $ 40,000 and the losing finalist will collect $ 30,000.

The teams:

India (from): Mohd Azharuddin (Capt), Saurav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar, Ajay Jadeja, Robin Singh, Nayan Mongia, Nikhyl Chopra, Ajit Agarkar, Anil Kumble, Javagal Srinath, Sunil Joshi, V.V.S. Laxman, Rahul Dravid, Venkatesh Prasad.

Zimbabwe (from): Alistair Campbell (Capt), Grant Flower, Murray Goodwin, Andy Flower, Neil Johnson, Gavin Rennie, Andrew Whittal, Craig Wishart, Paul Strang, Eddo Brandes, Heath Streak, Adam Huckle, Henry Olonga, Mpulelo Mbangwa.

Pakistani players to declare assets

KARACHI, Nov 12 (AFP) — A Pakistan judicial commission probing match-fixing allegations yesterday decided to order prominent cricketers to declare their assets in the ongoing inquiry.

Formal orders to cricketers to submit details of their assets to the commission will be issued in the next few days, Pakistan Cricket Board’s legal advisor, Ali Sibtain Fazli, told AFP.

The one-man commission headed by High Court Judge Malik Mohammad Qayyum decided to call for a declaration of assets after hearing former cricketers Imran Khan, Majid Khan and Javed Miandad in Lahore.

Fazli, who attended the proceedings, said a list of cricketers who would be asked to make the declaration was yet to be finalised.

Former captain Imran Khan, now active in national politics, gave his statement at an open sitting while Majid Khan and national team coach Miandad testified in camera.

Majid Khan gave a written statement and a few press clippings to the commission. He also supplied the commission with a few scorecards of matches suspected to have been fixed, sources said.

Imran was quoted as telling the commission that match fixing existed in Pakistan cricket but there was no solid evidence to nail down wrong-doers.

Malik, Wasim and Ijaz were implicated in an interim report of a Pakistan Cricket Board probe committee in September.

Sources said the inquiry commission could ask the Federal Investigating Authority (FIA) to investigate the assets if it was considered necessary by the Judge.

Any player whose assets were found to be more than his known sources of income would be questioned by the commission, Fazli said.

More than 30 current and former players have so far appeared before the commission set up by the government in September. Among them were Akram, current captain Aamir Sohail, Malik and Ijaz Ahmed.

Sources said Imran Khan told the commission that Sharjah and Mumbai were the dens of match-fixing and betting, but no concrete proof was available. He replied in the affirmative when asked whether any player ever confessed to him his involvement in match-fixing.

"Ata-ur-Rehman told me he took money from Wasim Akram on bowling badly in a one-day match against New Zealand in 1993-94 at Christchurch," the former captain said.

Imran denied knowing any bookie personally.

Australian spinners Shane Warne and Tim May and later Mark Waugh alleged Malik offered them bribes to perform poorly during the 1994-95 tour of Pakistan.

Malik was absolved of the charges by a former Supreme Court Judge when the Australians opted not to come to Pakistan for cross-examination in 1995.

Majid Khan, Chief Executive of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), has called for any player found guilty of match-fixing or bribery to be banned for life and his assets seized.

Majid submitted a confidential statement today to the judicial commission.

Ali Fazli said he would not comment on whether Majid had accepted that there was match-fixing and bribery. But the material he had submitted was "quite helpful".

He said Majid had suggested to Mr Justice Malik Mohammad Qayyum, to ban the guilty for life and seize their assets

"He has offered to provide details of payments made by cricket board to players over a period of time," said Fazli.

The judicial commission has been directed to submit its report by November 30. "We are well on course to meet the deadline," said Fazli.

Adams ruled out of tour

SOWETO (South Africa), Nov 12 (Reuters) — West Indies’ stay in South Africa got off to a faltering start yesterday when middle order batsman Jimmy Adams was ruled out of the tour and rain cut short the opening fixture against a Gauteng X1.

Adams sliced open a finger on his right hand with a bread knife during the team’s flight to South Africa on Monday.

The wound was stitched but when Adams visited a doctor it was discovered he had severed two tendons.

"He will be out for six weeks," team manager Clive Lloyd said. "We will wait to see about a replacement. The Selection Committee and West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) must now make a decision."

Lloyd said a replacement may be called from the ‘A’ team currently playing in Bangladesh.

A thunderstorm washed out the game in the largest of the country’s townships — but not before West Indies skipper Brian Lara had delighted the crowd of several thousand mainly black spectators with an aggressive 65 as the West Indies made 258 for seven in 47 overs.

A band trumpeted a lively welcome to the visitors before the start of play at the Soweto Oval in the middle of the sprawling township where 22 years ago a school boycott sparked the massive black revolt against apartheid.

The start of the tour had been delayed by a dispute over pay and conditions between the players and the cricket board.

Lara hit 10 boundaries in his 60-ball innings. Carl Hooper was the next highest with an unbeaten 60 off 70 balls.

The visitor’s next match is against Griqualand West, starting in Kimberley on Saturday.

Meanwhile, former South African wicketkeeper Dave Richardson has suggested the row which had threatened the West Indies tour could prompt the formation of an international body aimed at looking after players’ interests.

Richardson, who now represents the 21 players contracted to the United Cricket Board of South Africa (UCBSA), said: "In this increasingly professional age, players’ associations and players’ committees are becoming essential in all Test-playing countries.

"Maybe the time has even come for an international players association, under the auspices of the ICC, to be set up to ensure some kind of international standard.

"I don’t think we can go as far as to have standardised contracts for tours. But guidelines and basic necessities ought to be established."

Former international Craig Matthews, who acted as vice-captain to Hansie Cronje for two years and was involved in the first negotiations between the UCBSA and the players’ committee, believed the crisis stemmed from mistrust.

"Threatened strike action shows the power the players can have although it’s an extreme measure and a great shame that it came to that," he said. "Both sides must now work as hard as they can at re-establishing some sort of trust."

In a column in a Cape Town newspaper former South African captain and all-rounder Eddie Barlow, said it was the responsibility of the West Indies Cricket Board to ensure that the players were happy.

Graf wins in Advanta meet

VILLANOVA, (Pennsylvania), Nov 12 (AP) — Finally playing without pain, Steffi Graf is one match away from a berth in the season-ending Chase Championships.

"To be able to play through continuously without a break would be welcomed,’’ said Graf, who beat Mary Joe Fernandez 6-3, 7-6, (7-4) in a first-round match yesterday at the Advanta Championships.

When Irina Spirlea lost to fifth-seeded Monica Seles 6-3, 6-4 in a second-round match last night, it opened the way for Graf to qualify for the elite 16-player tournament in New York next week.

Graf currently is 17th, but would pass Spirlea in the year-long points race by beating Elena Likhovtseva today.

Last weekend, Graf returned from wrist surgery to capture Leipzig’s Sparkassen Cup International in her native Germany.

"I just have been feeling so much better, and I hope I can shake the injuries that have slowed my season,’’ she said.

Graf’s victory at Leipzig made her the top money winner in women’s tennis with about $ 20.5 million in career earnings, surpassing the $ 20.3 million by Martina Navratilova.

In earlier matches yesterday, third-seeded Jana Novotna, the 1996 winner and 1998 Wimbledon champion, was upset by Natasha Zvereva of Belarus 6-4, 6-4 and fourth-seeded Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario of Spain was beaten by South Africa’s Amanda Coetzer 6-4, 6-1. Sanchez-Vicario had won 14 of their previous 17 meetings.

Seles, Novotna, Sanchez-Vicario, Zvereva and Coetzer have already qualified for the Chase Championships.

Graf, the 1995 Advanta winner, had little trouble in the first set, then won the second after Fernandez rallied for a 4-3 lead. Graf relied on a strong backhand to hold off Fernandez 7-4 in the tiebreaker.

Graf is 16-0 against Fernandez, dropping only two sets in 12 years.

"I felt it was really close,’’ Graf said. I broke her a few times, but she kept coming back. I knew that I couldn’t make a lot of mistakes.’’

Said Fernandez, who has played in only eight tournaments this season because of a wrist injury. I felt that I could have won the second set. I think she is playing well. She has endured so much. I know how tough it is to come back.

BSF overpower Russia XI
From Amardeep Bhattal
Tribune News Service

JALANDHAR, Nov 12 — Battlelines for the semifinals of the 15th Indian Oil Surjit Memorial Hockey Torunament were drawn on expected lines on the concluding day of the league fixtures at the Olympian Surjit Hockey Stadium here today.

In the last league match of pool 'A', Border Security Force overpowered Russia XI 3-2 to garner three points. With today's victory, BSF's tally went up to 12 points from four victories. The security men not only topped the pool but also achieved the unique distinction of being the only team to have maintained a clean slate in the tournament by winning all their matches. Russia XI finished last in this pool having lost all their ties.

In the semifinals to be played tomorrow, BSF will clash with Indian Airlines while Punjab Police will take on Punjab and Sind Bank to decide the finalists of the tournament.

The superiority of BSF was never in doubt today. However, the Russians, drawn mainly from IDEL-ICL, a well-known club sponsored by a computer-manufacturing firm which finished fourth in the Russina league, put up plucky resistance, especially in the second half. Aided by two internationals, namely Ivanov Iqor and Garifzianov Ilchat and four junior-level players who were members of the Russian team which won the national junior championship in Moscow, the visitors almost snatched a point with a late second-half resurgence. Nevertheless, despite successive defeats, the Russians trained by Serguei Tchernov gained in experience by playing against some of the top Indian outfits.

BSF, on the other hand, having already qualified for the semifinals and needing only a draw to top the pool, initially seemed to be on course for a big win with a 3-0 lead till lemon time. However, the Russians rallied to narrow down the margin and, in fact, with a little more luck, could have romped home with some of their prestige intact.

BSF were off to a slow start but as the tie gained momentum, the security men found their rhythm. It was in the 12th minute that inside-left Bismabir Singh found the target for BSF. Bisambir, in fact, provided the finishing touches to a move initiated by inside-right Peter Tirkey.

Six minutes later, Linus Ekka latched on to the ball on top of the 'D' and with a rasping hit, beat the Russian custodian hands down to make it 2-0 for BSF.

The match also tended to get rough at times. Midway through the first half, skipper Biktimirov Azat of Russia XI was shown the green card for rough play.

Three minutes before half-time, inside-right Peter Tirkey raced down the middle and with a solo effort sounded the boards making it 3-0 in favour of BSF. This goal, in fact, led to acrimonious exchanges amongst the Russians and the goalkeeper was observed throwing down his stick in disgust.

In the second half, the Russians were a transformed side. After successfully thwarting a move by Shinu Herenz and Bismabir Singh, the visitors tasted success in the 47th minute following a penalty corner. Off the resultant push, the ball came to promising forward Tchernikov Alexandre who made no mistake in hitting home (1-3).

Thereafter, Russia XI forced penalty corners in quick succession in the 59th, 66th and 67th minutes and off the last, skipper Biktimirov Azat sounded the boards much to the delight of his team-mates (2-3).

In the dying minutes, the Russians mounted tremendous pressure and forced two more penalty corners but the equaliser eluded them.

Tomorrow's fixtures: (semifinals)

BSF v Indian Airlines — 1 p.m.

Punjab Police v Punjab and Sind Bank — 2.30 p.m.

Randhawa emerges leader

BANGKOK, Nov 12 (PTI) — India’s Jyoti Randhawa continued his recent run of form by firing a flawless seven under par 65 to take a one shot lead after the opening round of Omega Tour’s Thailand Open here today.

Randhawa, fresh from his recent triumph at the Honda-Siel Masters at the Army Gold Club, New Delhi, sunk seven birdies to stay a stroke ahead of American Andrew Pitts, who posted one birdie less with another bogey-free round at the Thana City Gold and Country Club.

Thailand’s in-form amateur Thongchai Jaidee shares third spot on five under par with Craig Kamps of South Africa, one ahead of compatriot Boonchu Ruangkit (68), joint fifth with Clay Devers (USA) and Scott Rowe of Hong Kong.

Of the seven other Indians, Jeev Milkha Singh, who fired a three-under 69, was placed joint eighth, and Amandeep Johl (70), who struck his professional career’s first hole-in-one today, was 36th followed two places behind by Amritinder Singh with an identical score.

Gaurav Ghei, who carded par 72, was 47th while Arjun Atwal (74 - 72nd) and Kanwar Sekhon (76) was placed way down at 106th position.

Depleted Bagan humble Sporting

Calcutta, Nov 12 (PTI) — Formidable East Bengal and Mohun Bagan overcame their depleted strength to fashion victories over their opponents in quarterfinal group league matches of the 104th IFA Shield Tournament today.

While Calcutta league champions East Bengal edged out Tollygunge Agragami by a solitary goal in a hard fought group a tie, Federation Cup winners Mohun Bagan scored once in each half to humble Mohammedan Sporting 2-0 in a group B exchange.

Both East Bengal and Mohun Bagan had to fall back on their bench strength with a number of their players busy in preparatory camps for the forthcoming Asian Games.

In-form striker Dipendu Biswas scored the winner for East Bengal in the 36th minute from a Sreekanta Dutta pass in the lacklustre match at the Kanchanjungha Stadium in Siliguri.

Tollygunge dominated the exchanges in the first half, but East Bengal raised their game by a notch in the second session, but lack of finishing proved their undoing.

In the day’s other match at the Salt Lake Stadium, Bagan shot into the lead in the 38th minute, when their Nigerian veteran Chima Okerie chest-trapped an Amit Das centre from the right and essayed a pass to Nazimul Haque who tapped home.

Bagan increased their lead three minutes after the lemon break with Chima placing in another Amit Das pass.

Chima could have further consolidated his team’s position had he not muffed up a penalty in the 66th minute. The penalty was awarded after sporting defender Amitava Ghosh tripped the onrushing Nigerian striker inside the box.

Sporting started off well, trying to make inroads into the Bagan half for the first few minutes of the game. But Bagan medios soon took charge of the proceedings, with Soumitra Chakraborty and Amit Das putting up a spectacular performance.

In the 20th minute, Khemtang Paite, who had a good day, took a long ranger, which was smartly blocked by Sporting's veteran goalkeeper Shanti Mazumdar.

As Bagan tightened the screws, gaps began to appear in the Sporting defence. In the 36th minute Chima fed Khemtang Paite, whose shot from the top of the box hit the cross piece. On the rebound, Chima's shot was narrowly off-target.

Two minutes later, Nazimul struck and Bagan went into half time with a 1-0 lead.

The sporting players launched the proceedings in the second session with enthusiasm, but their vigour ebbed as Chima found the mark in the 48th minute.

Towards the middle of the sessions, Paite crossed to Chima inside the box, and as the Nigeiran was about to unleash a shot, in deperation Ghosh brought him down. Referee Kalidas Mukherjee pointed to the dreaded spot, but Chima's right footer landed straight into Maumdar's hands.

Nine minutes from close, Paite, receiving a ball from Soumitra, dodged past a defender, and tried to place it into the net, but Mazumdar rushed out and collected it.

India subdue Kuwait, finish 11th

CALCUTTA, Nov 12 (PTI) — Hosts India played a disciplined game to subdue Kuwait 94-77 and take the 11th position in the 15th Asian Basketball Confederation Championship for junior men at the Netaji Indoor Stadium here today.

The Indians, who had finished 13th in the last edition of the championship held in Malaysia in 1996, exploited their height advantage to the hilt to tame the Kuwaitis in a keenly contested 11th-12th placement match.

The home team raced to a 53-43 lead at half time but seemed to lose their rhythm to some extent in the second session allowing their opponents to reduce the margin.

But the Indian hoopsters tightened up their game towards the end and took control of most of the defensive and offensive rebounds to check the Kuwait upsurge in the second half.

The Indians relied on the shooting skills of Mahipal Singh who showed very good form to secure 27 points, including four three-pointers, while Ranjeet Singh was equally impressive by scoring 24 points for his team.

Captain S. Robinson, who had been very consistent right through the championship, was the other notable scorer with 22 points.

Hasan Saqer was the pick of the Kuwaiti players as he garnered 33 points, including one three-pointer. Boftein Taher (16) was the other notable performer for Kuwait taking part in the 15-team championship for the first time.

South Korea, who failed to qualify for the quarter- finals, whipped Hong Kong 103-64 in a rather one-sided contest to take the ninth position in the championship. The Koreans had finished fourth in the last edition of the championship.

Leading by a comfortable 54-27 at the interval, the South Korean hoopsters maintained their dominance in the second session as well to frustrate their opponents in the 9th-10th placement match.

Kim Dong Woo was the highest scorer for the Koreans with 26 points, including as many as five three-pointers, while Jung Sun Kyu was the other notable contributor with 16 points which contained two three-pointers.

For Hong Kong, Yeung Tsz Kwong (15) and Wong Chi Wai (12) were the main scorers.

Lebanon, who caused one of the biggest upsets in the championship by stunning defending champions China in a preliminary group league match, defeated Pakistan 73-45 to take the 13th in the championship.

Stage set for school sports extravaganza
By Our Sports Reporter

CHANDIGARH, Nov 12 — The XLIVth National School Games — 1998 for boys and girls will begin on November 14 with nearly 2300 participants in basketball and handball (under 17) and hockey (under 19) vying for top honours. This six-day biggest school sports extravaganza is being organised by the Education Department, Chandigarh Administration in collaboration with UT Sports Department and School Games Federation of India, according to Mr D.S. Mangat, Organising Secretary of the games.

Competitions in basketball (boys & girls) would be held at Sports Complex, Sector 7, DAV Sr Sec School, Sec 8, GGSSS-Sec 8, Police Lines, Sec 26, New Public School, Sec 18; in hockey (boys and girls) at Sports Complex, Sec 7, hockey ground, Sec 18, SPS-41, GMSS School 35, Sports Complex Sec 42, DAV Sr Sec School Sec 8, in handball (boys and girls) at GGSS School-8, DAV Sr Sec School, Sec 8 and Govt High School, Sec 7.

The teams will be received and guided by the reception committees set up at the Railway Station and inter state bus terminus. A medical van will be available round the clock at the control room set up at Government Girls Sr Sec School, Sector 8, Chandigarh (Phone 782585).

The Governor of Punjab and Administrator of Chandigarh, Lt General BKN Chhibber (Retd) will inaugurate the games on November 14 at the Sports Complex, Sector 42 at 11 a.m.

Nidhi, Gauri sail into second round
By Our Sports Reporter

CHANDIGARH, Nov 12 — Nidhi and Gauri of Haryana and Vidhu Vatrana and Arti Verma of Punjab sailed into the second round of the 4th Tara Chand Memorial Prize Money Invitational Badminton Tournament at the Sector 7 Community Centre today.

Nazma of Punjab had to face few tense moments before overcoming the challenge of Pallavi of Chandigarh in the women singles while Geeta Aggarwal of Chandigarh were extended by Namrata Singh of Punjab in the same event.

Vikas Mahajan of Chandigarh beat Chanchal of Punjab while Surinder of Haryana ousted Mohd Bashir of Punjab in a one-sided match of the men singles.

Results: Men singles; 1st round: Satvinder (Har) b Kapil (Del), 15-17, 15-3, 15-9. Vikas (Chd) b Chanchal (Pb) 15-2, 15-8; Rajat (Chd) w/o Vijay (Del) Surinder (Har) b Mohd Bashir (Pb), 15-1, 15-1. Ram Lakhan (Pb) b Vivek (Har) 15-2, 15-6; Manish (HP) b Sukhvinder (Har) 15-6, 4-15, 15-8.

Girls singles; U-16: Navita (HP) b Rashmi (Har) 11-9, 11-5; Shehnaz (Pb) b Arti (Har) 11-4, 11-3; Nidhi (Har) b Monika (Har), 11-1, 11-1; Gauri (Har) b Amita (Har) 11-7, 11-1; Vidhu Vatrana (Pb) b Meenu (Har) 11-0, 11-3; Aarti Verma (Pb) b Chanchal (Har) 11-3, 11-5. Doubles; Roma and Chanchal (Har) b Rashmi and Arti (Har) 15-7, 11-15, 15-7; Nidhi and Gauri (Har) b Amita and Meenu (Har) 15-3, 15-5.

Women's singles: Preetika (Har) b Monika (Har) 11-0, 11-5; Parul (Del) b Manisha 11-2, 11-1; Yogita (Pb) b Himanshi (Har) 11-7, 11-1; Karishma (Del) b Samritha (Har) 11-9, 11-0; Geeta Aggarwal (Chd) b Namrata Singh (Pb) 11-4, 12-10; Nazma (Pb) b Pallavi (Chd) 12-10, 11-0.

Boys singles; IInd round; Ramneek (Pb) b Nishant (HP), 15-0, 15-9; Arvind (Har) b Vipin (HP), 15-6, 15-1; Ramkaran (Har) b Jaskaran (Pb), 15-1, 15-5; Dilpreet (Pb) b Vikrant (Har), 15-9, 15-4; Yogesh (HP) b Amit (Har), 15-5, 15-9; Umesh (Har) b Piyush (Har), 15-4, 15-0.

Fazaluddin moves into semifinals

CALCUTTA, Nov 12 (PTI) — Fourth seed Syed Fazaluddin of India overcame some anxious moments before quelling Danai Udomchoke of Thailand in a thrilling three-setter to move into the semifinals of the singles event in the ITF Futures tennis circuit meet at the South Club here today.

Top seed Oleg Ogorodov of Uzbekistan and second seed Vadim Kutsenko, also of Uzbekistan, thrashed their quarterfinal opponents without much difficulty to romp into the semifinals.

Ogorodov spanked India's Sandeep Kirtane 6-0, 6-1 in a ridiculously lop-sided encounter which lasted about half an hour. Kutsenko also did not have to sweat much to brush aside the challenge of compatriot Abduhamid Makhramov with a facile 6-1, 6-3 victory.

The Calcutta-based Fazaluddin struggled a little bit before knocking out the spirited challenge of Danai Udomchoke with a hard-fought 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 verdict.

Fazaluddin played some excellent all round game to win the first set 6-4, but in the second set he looked a bit tired and seemed to lose his concentration often.

Udomchoke took full advantage of his Indian rival’s concentration lapses to race to a 4-1 lead in the second set which he eventually won 6-3.

The final set went with the serves. At 3-3 Fazaluddin put in that extra bit of effort to take a 5-3 lead, but his Thai opponent fought back brilliantly to level the score 5-5.

In the end it was Fazaluddin's perseverance and better array of shots which helped him to wrap up the deciding set 7-5.

Fazaluddin will now take on top seed Oleg Ogorodov in the semi-finals tomorrow.

Services defeat Himachal

New Delhi, Nov 12 (PTI) — Services won their North Zone one-day match against Himachal by 37 runs, thanks to 84-run knock by wicketkeeper-batsman Sarabjit Singh an impressive bowling performance by Sanjeev Mishra at Harbax Singh Stadium here today.

Put in to bat by Himachal Pradesh, Services were 165 all out in 46.4 overs and then bowled out visitors for paltry 128 runs in 40 overs. Services have four points while Himachal, despite their stunning win over Punjab in first match, have just two points from four matches.

Chasing a modest total, Himachal started well putting on 25 runs for the first wicket before Ajay Mannu (10) was caught behind off Sanjeev Mishra. Himachal received further shocks when they lost three wickets in quick succession to be 38-4.

Sanjeev Mishra was the chief wrecker of Himachal batting order as he went on to claim three wickets for 26 runs.

Himachal kept losing their wickets at regular intervals and after being 100-6 in 35th over, the last four were batsmen out adding just 28 runs.

Earlier, Services started their innings on disastrous note losing two wickets with just 11 runs on board. But, opener Sarabjit Singh and Sanjay Verma (13) salvaged some pride by adding 62 runs for third wicket,

Scoreboard

Services: S Singh st A Verma b J Rai 84, Narinder Singh run out 0, P Maitrey c A Verma b P Sharma 4, S Verma c R Nayyar b N Gaur 13, C D Thompson c V Sharma b A Kumar 3, A Nadkarni run out 12, Dinesh Chaughan c A Verma b J Rai 11, Syed Javed st A Kumar b J Rai 0, M V Rao b P Sharma 2, Sanjeev Mishra not out 3, Arun Sharma lbw B P Sharma 1.

Extras: (b-3, lb-9, w-14, nb-6) 32.

Total (in 46.4 overs) 165.

Fall of wickets: 1/2, 2/11, 3/73, 4/82, 5/135, 6/147, 7/147, 8/156, 9/158, 10/165.

Bowling: Rahul Panta 3-0-8-0, Praveen Sharma 9.4-1-36-3, Sangram Singh 5-1-17-0, Jaswant Raj 9-0-32-3, Nischal Gaur 10-2-20-1, Aseem Kumar 10-0-40-1.

Himachal: A Mannu c S Singh b S Mishra 10, N Gaur b M V Rao 14, R Nayyar lbw b S Mishra 5, V Sharma b S Mishra 0, Chetan st S Singh b P Maitrey 13, J Rai b C D Thompson 19, S Singh b S Javed 10, Arun Verma b A Sharma 10, R Panta not out 19, A Kumar lbw b S Javed 0, P Sharma lbw P Maitrey 0.

Extras: (b-2, lb-5, w-17, nb-4) 28

Total (in 40 overs) 128.

Fall of wickets: 1/25, 2/37, 3/38, 4/38, 5/79, 6/79, 7/100, 8/114, 9/114.

Bowling: M V Rao 8-0-19-1, S Mishra 10-4-26-3, A Sharma 8-4-10-1, S Javed 3-0-21-2, P Maitrey 8-1-32-2, C D Thompson 3-0-13-1.

Exciting win for BMFC

CALCUTTA, Nov 12 (PTI) — Formidable Bengal Mumbai Football Club (BMFC) played an inspired game to defeat Royal Thai Air Dorce 3-2 in an exciting Group-B quarter-final league match of the 104th IFA shield football tournament at the Salt Lake Stadium here yesterday.

The Mumbai League champions, who drew 1-1 with Mohammedan Sporting in their tournament opener, went ahead in the 19th minute when Abdul Latif Seriki failed to connect a Sheikh Sanjib minus from the left and Thai medio Choliathid Kruttiang put the ball into his own goal while attempting to clear it.

Stung by the reverse, the Thai team launched waves of attack on the rival half and were rewarded in the 25th minute when Kruttiang, making up for his costly lapse, drove home a rebound after Worawit Tawornwun’s shot had hit the crosspiece.

The airmen continued their onslaught and went 2-1 up in the 32nd minute through a penalty kick after BMFC defender Sanjay Dawal tripped Tawornwun inside the box, Songserm Maperm slammed home scoring the goal.

But BMFC drew level three minutes later as a booming 30-yard free kick from skipper Alok Das sent the ball in just under the crossbar off Thai custodian Bancha Nunant’s hands.

The Mumbai team got the winner 10 minutes from the final whistle as Das again scored with a free kick, from 25 yards,

Veterans win 33 medals

NEW DELHI, Nov 12 (PTI) — Indian veterans claimed a haul of eight gold, 10 silver and 15 bronze medals in the Asian Pacific Masters Games held in Queensland, Australia from November 6 to 8.

Women athletes claimed five gold, five silver and eight bronze medals while the men accounted for three, five and seven respectively, according to a release from the Veterans Amateur Athletic Federation of India here.

S C Despande won one gold and three silver medals in the men’s 70 plus age-group while in women, Anita Kulkarni (40 plus) took a gold and two silver, Lydia D’souza (30 plus) and Saraswati Jaiswal (40 plus) won a gold, silver and bronze each.

Punjab upset Delhi

NEW DELHI, Nov 12 (PTI) — Gritty Punjab bowled out a strong Delhi batting line-up for less than 200 runs, scoring a 36-run victory over the hosts in the North-Zone one-day match at the Ferozeshah Kotla ground here today.

International Harbhajan Singh scalped two wickets in one over and had helped in two run outs on his own bowling to reduce Delhi from 127-3 to 131-5 before the hosts succumbed to mounting pressure and were bowled out for 198.

Both Delhi and Punjab have five points from four matches.

Electing to bat, Punjab rode on fine knocks by Sandeep Sharma (69) and Pankaj Dharmani (95) before being bundled out for 234 in the 50th over.

Chasing a challenging total, Delhi received two early blows when opener and skipper Vijay Dahiya (0) was caught behind off Harvinder Singh and new man Rajneesh Chopra also departed without scoring to make it 13-2. Ajay Sharma (5) was trapped plumb by Reetinder Sodhi and Delhi slumped to 20-3.

Opener Ashu Dani (72) and Mithun Manhas (58) steadied the innings with a 107-run fourth wicket stand but both wasted too many overs and the asking rate kept on mounting.

Manhas departed trying for a straight drive off Harbhajan Singh giving a return catch. The remaining batsmen could not handle the pressure and after Dani's dismissal, the writing was clear on the wall.

Brief scores:

Punjab — 234 all out in 49.4 overs (Sandeep Sharma 69, Dharmani 95 Bhandari 2/30, Sehwag 2/35).

Delhi — 198 all out in 45.5 overs (Dani 72, Manhas 58 Harbhajan 2/23, Sandeep Sharma 2/43).

PU squad annexes soccer title

CHANDIGARH, Nov 12 (FOSR) — Panjab University men football team won the North Zone Inter University Football Championship which concluded at Punjabi University, Patiala, yesterday. GND University, Amritsar, got second position, Kumaon University third and Punjabi University, Patiala, fourth position.

The PU team will participate in the All-India Inter University Inter Zonal Football (Men) Championship scheduled to start at Algappa University, Karaikudi (TN) from tomorrow.

DAVC-10, PU campus triumph

CHANDIGARH, Nov 12 (BOSR) — DAV College, Sector 10, and Panjab University Campus, Chandigarh, won their respective matches in the National Panasonic Inter College Cricket Tournament for Kapil Dev Trophy here today.

Brief scores: DAV-10; 243 for 8 in 35 overs; (Jaspreet Singh 70, Kamal Walia 50, Vikram Minhas 43, Avtar Singh 2 for 41) SGGS College; 116 all out in 26.4 overs; (Sumeet 21, Harish Thakur 3 for 25, Dhiraj Khanna 3 for 32, Vikram 2 for 8).

PU campus: 168 for 6 in 35 overs; (Gautam 50, Jasminder Singh 47, Jagjit Saini 2 for 17) SD College; 166 all out in 34.3 overs (Harsh 31, Ravinder Nain 25, Prabhjot 20, Gulraz Khan 22, Nitin 4 for 27, Amit Denra 2 for 38).

Athletic squad

HISAR, Nov 12 (FOSR) — Olympian and Arjun awardee Shakti Singh of Bhiwani will lead the Haryana contingent in the Senior Inter-State Athletic Championship to be held at Calcutta from November 15 to 17, according to Mr H.S. Bhadu, hony general secretary of the Haryana State Amateur Athletic Association here today.

The following are the other team members: (Men: Anil Kumar, Virender Punia, Dharampal Singh, Jagjit Singh, Rai Singh, Sahib Singh, (all from Bhiwani), Virender Singh, Manoj Kumar, Shamsher Singh (all from Sonepat), Sudhir Nandal (Rohtak), Shish Pal Ashok Kumar (Hisar), Prabhjot Singh (Kurukshetra), Rajesh and Rakesh Kumar (Haryana Police), Chander Pal Rathi, (Faridabad), and Mohinder Singh (Mohindergarh).

Women: Sugan Yadav and Poonam (Bhiwani), Saroj and Poolwati (Jhajjar).

Haryana yoga

HISAR, Nov 12 (BOSR) — Haryana State Yoga Association has finalised all arrangements for 14th Haryana State Yoga Championship which will be inaugurated by Mr Jaswant Singh, Animal Husbandry Minister, Haryana, on November 14.

Mr Dharamvir, president of the association said here that about 600 participants from all districts and HAU, GJU, MDU and KVS (Haryana region) are expected to take part in this Championship.

Free board and lodging for the officials and the participants will be provided. Veteran men and women group competitions will be conducted on the concluding day.

Northern Region golf from today

NEW DELHI, Nov 12 (FOSR) — The two-day Northern Region Johnnie Walker International Golf Championship, open to amateurs, will commence at the Delhi Golf Club (DGC) course tomorrow. The contest will conclude on Saturday.

The western region final will be held at Bombay and Southern at Banglore on Nov 21 and 22. The eastern contest has already been staged at Calcutta.

The inter-region contest will be held at Royal Calcutta Golf Club on December 5 and 6.

The champion team will be 'guests' for the British Open (1999) at Carnoustie (Scotland).

The competition began in 1994.

GMSSS-23 win

CHANDIGARH, Nov 12 (BOSR) — Government Model Senior Secondary School, Sector 23, defeated Government Model Senior Secondary School, Sector 40, by 86 runs in the UT Inter School Cricket Tournament at the Sector 19 Govt. Sr. Secondary School today.