Jayasuriya to work on batting technique
COLOMBO, Nov 17 — Sri Lanka’s hard-hitting opening batsman Sanath Jayasuriya has said he would work on his batting technique as rival teams in the just-concluded Coca Cola Cup at Sharjah had succeeded in getting him out cheaply after studying him.

Anand to play in Israel tourney
CHENNAI, Nov 17 — Viswanathan Anand, fresh from his latest tournament victory in Tilburg (Holland), will play his last tournament for the year in Israel. The rapid chess tournament will be played in the scenic city of Haifa.

Bedi in fray for DDCA chief’s post
NEW DELHI, Nov 17 — Bishan Singh Bedi, former India captain, has filed his nomination for the post of the president of the Delhi and Districts Cricket Association for the year 1998-99.

Solitary strike lead for Parnita
NEW DELHI, Nov 17 — Unable to strike her dazzling form, young Parnita Garewal could steal a solitary stroke lead over her experienced rivals Nonita Lal Qureshi and Urvashi Sodhi on the opening day of the 31st Ladies Northern India Open Amateur Golf Championship at the Delhi Golf Club here today.

27 athletes for Asian Games
CALCUTTA, Nov 17 — The Amateur Athletic Federation of India today announced a 27-member athletics squad for the forthcoming Asian Games scheduled to be held in Bangkok from December 6 to 20.

Bengal finish on top in athletics
CALCUTTA, Nov 17 — Hosts West Bengal emerged overall champions for the first time as three meet records were re-written on the concluding day of the 38th Inter-State National Athletic Championship at the Salt Lake Stadium here today.

India, Pak register victories
NEW DELHI, Nov 17 — Hosts India today started their campaign in the Kanishka World Cup cricket for the blind on a healthy note, thrashing England by 10 wickets in the opening match at Harbaksh Stadium here.

Top professionals for Hero golf Chandigarh, HP eves in semis PSEB, NER move into semis

Harbhajan, Sidhu, Mohanty in team

MUMBAI, Nov 17 (PTI) — Veteran Punjab opening batsman Navjot Singh Sidhu and his young state off-spinning colleague Harbhajan Singh were today included by the national cricket selectors in the 15-member Indian team for the forthcoming tour of New Zealand in December-January.

Also back in favour was Orissa swing bowler Debashish Mohanty who too, like Sidhu and Harbhajan did not play in the two one-day tournaments at Dhaka and Sharjah.

The team announced here was only for the three-Test series preceding the five one-day internationals against the home team, Board of Control for Cricket in India's (BCCI) Secretary Jaywant Lele told reporters.

"The selectors would meet again during the course of the third and final Test (January 2-6 at Hamilton) to make necessary changes for the one-day internationals", Lele said.

Omitted from the 14-strong triumphant team which returned from Sharjah after clinching the Coca Cola Cup tri-nation series were Tamil Nadu all-rounder Robin Singh and Delhi off-spinner Nikhil Chopra.

Ajay Jadeja, named deputy to captain Mohammed Azharuddin, is being considered as an opener after a long gap in Tests along with Sidhu and Vangipurappu Laxman.

The team: Mohd Azharuddin (capt), Ajay Jadeja (vice-capt), Navjot Singh Sidhu, V.V.S. Laxman, Sachin Tendulkar, Saurav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, Nayan Mongia, Javagal Srinath, Ajit Agarkar, Venkatesh Prasad, Debashish Mohanty, Anil Kumble, Sunil Joshi and Harbhajan Singh.

Regarding the decision to consider Jadeja as a Test opener after a lengthy gap, selection committee chairman Ajit Wadekar said, "we felt it is better now to give him confidence to open in Tests."

By opting for Jadeja as an opener, the selectors have finally decided not to entrust the difficult job to stumper Nayan Mongia who had gallantly done it in the past.

Harbhajan Singh's inclusion was expected once he had undergone a stint, as per the instructions of the International Cricket Council (ICC), with former England off-spinner Fred Titmus in London to correct his "suspect" action.

So too was the decision to recall 35-year-old Sidhu, the senior-most member of the side, while it is on the cards that both Robin Singh and Chopra would be named as replacements for the one-day series to follow from January 9.

Wadekar justified the selection of a fourth seamer (Mohanty) by explaining that the conditions the Indians will encounter in New Zealand would be similar to what exists in England in the early part of the summer.

The team is to have a short camp in Mumbai from November 28 to December 2 before leaving from either Mumbai or Delhi on the night of December 2, Lele said.

The Indians would open the 50-day tour with a four-day match against Napier (Dec 7-10). They are to play another four-day fixture (Dec 12-15) before the Tests which are to be held at Dunedin (Dec 18-22). Wellington (Dec 26-30) and Hamilton (Jan 2-6).

Add Harbhajan Sidhu,

Lele said the team management did not request for a 16th member though coach Anshuman Gaekwad had told reporters on his arrival from Sharjah that he would request for an additional player for the tour.

"We have a reciprocal arrangement (with New Zealand cricket) for a 15-strong squad", Lele said.

The team will be accompanied by manager H.D.L. Drabu, doctor Ravinder Chadha and physio Andrew Kokinos besides Coach Gaekwad.

Wadekar said in case it was needed, Dravid will ease some pressure on Mongia by keeping wickets though the measure would be undertaken only in the two side matches.

Also considered for selection were Chopra, Gagan Khoda, Syed Saba Karim, Venkatapathy Raju, Nilesh Kulkarni, Rohan Gavaskar, Jatin Paranjpe and Wasim Jaffer, Wadekar said.

About Joshi, the chairman of selectors said that the Karnataka left-arm spinner had been bowling well. "He can bat also and is useful as an all-rounder. It is the considered opinion of the selection committee that he is the best left-arm spinner (in the land)", Wadekar said.

Itinerary:

Dec 2: departure from Mumbai or Delhi

Dec 4: arrival in New Zealand

Dec 7-10: v Central Districts at Napier

Dec 12-15: v Wellington at Wellington

Dec 18-22: first Test at Dunedin.

Dec 26-30: second Test at Wellington

Jan 2-6: third Test at Hamilton

Jan 9: first one-day international at Auckland

Jan 12: second one-day international at Hamilton

Jan 14: third one-day international at Napier

Jan 16: fourth one-day international at Christchurch

Jan 18: fifth one-day international at Wellinton.

Reserve days: Jan 10, 13, 15, 17 and 19.

More quits first class cricket

BARODA, Nov 17 (PTI) — The former India wicket-keeper Kiran More announced his retirement from first class cricket here yesterday.

More made this announcement while addressing a press conference at IPCL Sports Complex.

More had scored 5038 runs and claimed 362 victims behind the wicket — 301 catches and 61 stumping — in 151 first class matches since he made Ranji debut in 1980-81.

The Baroda born More had made his debut in the Test match at Lords against England in 1986. He had also come up good with the bat with his highest being 73 against New Zealand at Napier in 1989-90. He had claimed 130 victims (110 catches and 20 stumpings) in 49 Tests.

In the three-Test away series against England in 1986, More equalled the record of most victims in India-England Test series held by Alan Knott of England.

He created a world record of most stumpings in an innings, six stumpings in the second innings of the fourth Test against West Indies at Madras in 1987-88. His seven victims (one catch and six stumpings) in the same match is also an Indian record of most dismissals in a Test.

The former India wicket-keeper scored 2733 runs averaging 35.96 in 59 Ranji matches since debut in 1980-81. He also claimed 139 victims behind the stumps including of 114 catches and 25 stumpings and the career-best score of 181 not out against Uttar Pradesh at Baroda in 1983-84.

More has scored 479 runs at the rate of 22.80 in 16 Duleep Trophy matches since debut in 1983-84 with the highest being 113. He has also accounted for 38 victims as a keeper.

The former Indian wicket-keeper has also been accorded the honorary life membership of London's prestigious Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) recently and he is the sixth Indian to receive the MCC membership after Sunil Gavaskar, G. Vishwanath, Dilip Vengsarkar, B.S. Bedi and Vijay Hazare, all former India cricket captains.

Jayasuriya to work on batting technique

COLOMBO, Nov 17 (PTI) — Sri Lanka’s hard-hitting opening batsman Sanath Jayasuriya has said he would work on his batting technique as rival teams in the just-concluded Coca Cola Cup at Sharjah had succeeded in getting him out cheaply after studying him.

Talking to reporters on his arrival with his teammates from Sharjah, where the reigning world champions failed to make it to the finals after losing all the league matches, Jayasuriya attributed his failure to both India and Zimbabwe doing their homework well to contain him and other Sri Lankan batsmen.

The Lankan top order batsmen, including himself had to come out with new strategy to counter rival teams’ tactics, Jayasuriya said adding he was determined to ensure they lost no more matches in the run-up to next year’s World Cup in England.

The islanders returned after Sharjah tournament without the familiar red carpet welcome. The team, which arrived here without captain Arjuna Ranatunga and star batsman Aravinda de Silva, came in for severe criticism in the media for failing both at the Mini World Cup in Dhaka and in Sharjah.

Concerned by the public mood, team manager Ranjit Fernando has appealed to the people not to panic on the team’s poor performance.

Reminding the Sri Lankan cricket fans of the massive victory registered by the same team against England on tour three months ago, Fernando said The Sharjah disasters is a timely warning for Sri Lanka.

"It showed how much improvement other sides have made and how fast they are moving. The bottomline to our defeat was that we did not play good cricket," he said.

Fernando said every one including the cricketers were disappointed by the performance. "When you lose you always have accusations levelled against you. There is no reason to pass the buck," he said.

Fernando cited four reasons for the downfall of the side.

"Absence off-spinner Muthiah Muralitharan due to injury made a lot of difference as the other spinners failed to apply pressure on the opponents. Also playing back-to-back day and night matches tired the cricketers. Weak fielding and constant batting failure also contributed to the down fall."

"No one showed any consistency," he said.

In view of constant failure of the top order, the team could revert to right and left hand combination to open the innings. Either Romesh Kaluwitharana or Marvan Atapattu would pair with Jayasurya, Fernando said. Also young batsman Mahela Jayawardene would be recalled to strengthen the middle order.

Fernando also said Muralitharan, who was injured while playing at Dhaka, has not yet recovered. "He is still unable to bowl," he said. Leg spinner Upul Chandana was also complaining of breathing problems. "He is constantly short of breath and under observation," he said.

World Cup ball to be auctioned

LONDON, Nov 17 (Reuters) — The ball lashed into the Brazilian net by Emmanuel Petit to seal France’s soccer world cup victory last July is to be auctioned next month.

Top auctioneers Christie’s said yesterday that the ball would be sold by the match referee, Said Belqola of Morocco, as part of an auction of soccer memorabilia on December 10.

"The football is one which was used during the match and was the ball used when Emmanuel Petit scored France’s third goal in the final moments of the match," Christie’s said.

"At the final whistle the ball was kicked away in disappointment by a Brazilian player and was subsequently retrieved and presented to Said Belqola."

The auctioneers expect it to fetch between 12,000 and 15,000 pounds.

Anand to play in Israel tourney

CHENNAI, Nov 17 (PTI) — Viswanathan Anand, fresh from his latest tournament victory in Tilburg (Holland), will play his last tournament for the year in Israel. The rapid chess tournament will be played in the scenic city of Haifa.

The Wydra International Chess Tournament would be played from November 19 to 21 and would feature besides Anand, Peter Svidier, Boris Gelfand, Judith Polgar, Smirin, Alterman, Koshashvilli and A. Greenfield, a press release from TNQ Sponsorship, representatives for Anand, said here today.

The tournament was being held under the patronage of Zim Israel Navigation Ltd.

Bedi in fray for DDCA chief’s post
From Our Sports Reporter

NEW DELHI, Nov 17 — Bishan Singh Bedi, former India captain, has filed his nomination for the post of the president of the Delhi and Districts Cricket Association (DDCA) for the year 1998-99.

The elections of the DDCA, one of the affiliated units of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), are scheduled at Kotla on November 23.

For the office of the president, there are in all seven aspirants. K.K. Mehra, sitting incumbent is also in the fray.

The withdrawal date for nominations for several posts is scheduled for tomorrow, according to an official of the DDCA here today.

Solitary strike lead for Parnita
From Our Sports Reporter

NEW DELHI, Nov 17 — Unable to strike her dazzling form, young Parnita Garewal could steal a solitary stroke lead over her experienced rivals Nonita Lal Qureshi and Urvashi Sodhi on the opening day of the 31st Ladies Northern India Open Amateur Golf Championship at the Delhi Golf Club (DGC) here today.

Parnita shot two over 74 to occupy the leaderboard, while Nonita and Urvashi were a stroke behind tied at three over 75. Lalita Balasubramaniam and Shruti Khanna tied at four over par 76.

Shockingly, all three were wayward in their stroke-production, resulting in that they were unable to achieve even level scores.

Parnita could manage no birdie in her first nine. But she had as many as three bogeys on the 5th, the 8th and the 9th to get the score of 39. She had another bogey on the 10th. But then she regained some of her form to sink two birdies on the 13th and the 17th to get home one-under 35. Her total of two over 74 placed her on the top.

Playing on her "home" course, Nonita seemed to prove that neither "weight" nor "age" had diminished her potential. She had a bridie on the 1st, the 4th and the 7th. She then erred on the 9th. Her lone bogey gave her a two-under 34 in first nine.

This lapse had a kind of upsetting effect on Nonita who, after double-bogeying on the 10th, had as many as three more bogeys on the 14th, 15th and the 16th. She got five over 41 and the total of 75, one behind the leader Parnita.

Urvashi had two birdies and five bogeys to get the score of three over 75.

The greens might not have been as fast as they should have been, but the course was in an ideal condition. The participants, some of them set to represent India in the forthcoming Asia Games in Bangkok next month, should have performed much better than they did.

Scores: 74 Parnita Garewal, 75 Nonita Lal Qureshi and Urvashi Sodhi, 76 Lalita Balasubramaniam and Shruti Khanna, 77 Ayesha Kapoor, 79 Anjali Chopra, 81 Vandana Agarwal, 83 Charu Narain and Seema Sobti.

27 athletes for Asian Games

CALCUTTA, Nov 17 (PTI) — The Amateur Athletic Federation of India (AAFI) today announced a 27-member athletics squad for the forthcoming Asian Games scheduled to be held in Bangkok from December 6 to 20.

The team, comprising 13 men and 14 women, was picked up by the selection committee of the AAFI, which met here during the day.

Announcing the team at a Press conference, AAFI secretary Lalit Bhanot said all the foreign coaches and five Indian coaches would accompany the squad. "But we are planning to send more coaches," he said.

The following is the team :

Women : P.T. Usha (200 m, 400 m, 4x100 m relay, 4x400 m relay), Rachita Mistry (100 m, 4x100 m relay), E.B. Shyla (4x100 m relay), V. Jaya Lakshmi (4x100 m relay), Vanita Tripathy (4x100 m relay), Jyotirmoyee Sikdar (800 m, 1500 m, 4x400 m relay), K. Rosa Kutty (400 m, 800 m, 4x400 m relay), K.M. Beenamol (4x400 m relay), Jincy Phillips (4x400 m relay), Sunita Rani (1500 m, 5000 m), Neelam J. Singh (discus), Swaranjeet Kaur (discus), Harbans Kaur (shot put) and Gurmeet Kaur (javelin).

Men: Paramjeet Singh (400 m, 4x400 m relay), Jata Shankar (4x400 m relay), Lijo David (4x400 m relay), P. Ramachandran (4x400 m relay), Dinesh Rawat (4x400 m relay), Bahadur Prasad (1500 m, 5000 m), Anil Mathew (1500 m), Gulab Chand (5000 m), Shakti Singh (shot put), Bahadur Singh (shot put), Anil Kumar (discus), Ajit Bhaduria (discus) and Satbir Singh (javelin).

Mr Bhanot said P.T. Usha, who suffered a hamstring pull during her 200 m race today, was retained in the squad as the doctors felt that it was not a serious injury and she could recover on time.

But as a precautionary measure, the AAFI has named Saraswati Dey (4x100 relay) and M.K. Asha (4x400 relay) as reserves in case Usha was unable to recover fully.

He said the AAFI would organise a confirmatory trial for the athletes in New Delhi in the first week of December. "The idea is to not only assess the form of the athletes but also to provide them some competition before the Asian Games."

The AAFI secretary, however, made it clear that athletes who did not perform well in the meet could be dropped from the squad.

The coaching camp for the athletes, earlier scheduled in Jamshedpur, has been shifted to Delhi from November 24 since the conditions in Jamshedpur are not upto the mark.

He said the Indian athletics contingent would leave for Bangkok in two batches. While the first batch would leave on December 8 evening, the second batch would leave either on December 12 night or the next morning.

Bengal finish on top in athletics

CALCUTTA, Nov 17 (PTI) — Hosts West Bengal emerged overall champions for the first time as three meet records were re-written on the concluding day of the 38th Inter-State National Athletic Championship at the Salt Lake Stadium here today.

The hosts, riding on the brilliant performance of their women athletes, dislodged defending champions Karnataka to emerge as the overall champions with 121 points, heralding a new era in Bengal athletics which had never tasted such grand success.

Paramjit Kaur of Punjab and Bobby Aloysius of Tamil Nadu stole the limelight on the concluding day by setting new meet records in the women’s 10-km walk and women’s high jump event.

‘Sprint queen’ PT Usha’s hamstring injury during her 200 m race and a new meet record in the men’s 4x400 m relay by the Amateur Athletic Federation of India (AAFI) quartet comprising Lijo David Thottan, Ramachandran, Dinesh Rawat and Jata Shankar were the other highlights on the last day of the meet which saw three national records and 11 meet records fall by the wayside.

Paramjit Kaur finished well ahead of her opponents in the gruelling 10 km walk to complete the race with a new meet record timing of 52:39.0 sec, eclipsing the previous record of 52:54.5 sec of Kerala’s Asha Sebastian established in 1995.

Tamil Nadu’s Bobby Aloysius improved upon her own meet record in the women’s high jump event with an effort of 1.81 m, but it proved to be well below the Asian Games qualification target.

But their performance was partly overshadowed by the hamstring injury to P.T. Usha during her 200 m race, throwing her chances of participation in the forthcoming Asian Games in doubt.

Usha got off to a flying start and had taken a big lead over her opponents when she suddenly staggered and fell on the track just within 20 metres of the finishing line.

The hamstring pull on her right leg came as a major setback for Usha who was hoping to peak just before the Bangkok Asian Games.

Shakti Singh was adjudged the best male athlete while the honour in the women’s section went to Neelam J. Singh.

Ace middle distance runner and local favourite Jyotirmoyee Sikdar bagged her second gold medal in the championship when she outraced her opponents in the women's 1500 m with a timing of 4:13.60 sec. But the effort was not good enough to break Rosa Kutty's meet record of 4:13.0 sec.

Sahib Singh of Punjab, who set a new meet record in the men's 400 m hurdles during the meet, also picked up his second gold medal when he finished first in the 110 m hurdles with a timing of 14.19 sec.

In the men's 800 m run, Jayan Kurian of Kerala benefitted from the absence of star runners to pocket the gold with a timing of 1:53.08 sec while Ramandeep Singh of Punjab claimed the gold in the men's javelin throw event in sending the spear to a distance of 75.14 m.

Delhi's G. Vasanthi of Delhi clocked 24.67 sec to take the gold in the women's 200 m run after P.T. Usha could not complete the race owing to a hamstring pull.

Karnataka's Kishan bagged the gold in the men's 200 m run with a timing of 21.79 sec while Gamdhor Singh of Punjab won the gold in the decathlon event with 6207 points.

Punjab won the men's team championship with 72 points while the honour in the women's team championship went to hosts Bengal who secured an impressive 107 points.

Punjab picked up four of the 14 gold medals at stake on the concluding day while hosts Bengal added two more gold to their kitty. Tamil Nadu, Haryana, Bihar, Kerala, Delhi, Karnataka and AAFI won a gold medal each.

India, Pak register victories

NEW DELHI, Nov 17 (PTI) — Hosts India today started their campaign in the Kanishka World Cup cricket for the blind on a healthy note, thrashing England by 10 wickets in the opening match at Harbaksh Stadium here.

Pakistan beat Sri Lanka and Australia cruised to an easy victory over their continental rivals New Zealand in the other matches played today in the inaugural World Cup for the blind.

India, favourites in the seven-nation tournament, also featuring South Africa, overhauled England’s paltry total of 87 for nine wickets by scoring 89 without losing a wicket. India won the toss and put England in to bat.

Man-of-the-match Balaji Damor claimed three vital wickets to skittle the visitors for a paltry 87 with extras (41) being the highest contributor to the English total. Heindrick Swanepaul (25) was the only respectable scorer as other batsmen failed to reach double digits.

Replying to England’s total, Indian openers Rajesh Singh (15 no) and Anand Sharma (57 no) saw the team through. They were harsh on Gavin Griffiths (4-0-30-0) and Damien O’Connor (2-0-19-0) while Dave Samuels (4-0-6-0) was most economical.

Brief scores: England 87 for 9 in 38 overs (Heindrick Swanepaul 25; Balaji Damor 3/19) lost to India 89 for no loss in 17.2 overs (Anand Sharma 57 no).

PSEB, NER move into semis
From Our Sports Reporter

LUDHIANA, Nov 17 — Punjab State Electricity Board, Patiala, along with North Eastern Railway, Gorakhpur, Western Railway, Mumbai and South Eastern Railway, Calcutta, sailed into the semifinals of the third All-India Mohinder Partap Singh Grewal Memorial Women's Hockey Tournament at Punjab Agricultural University grounds here today.

In their last league fixture of pool 'B' NER, Gorakhpur, exhibited great depth and mobility in their game to edge out Sports Authority of India, Chandigarh 2-0.

Reena drew first blood in the 25th minute when she dribbled past a horde of defenders to push the ball neatly into the net. Stung by this reverse, Chandigarh eves combined well to make some forays into the Railway territory and in the process earned as many as seven penalty corners but failed to capitalise on them. The Railway girls had a chance to increase the lead in the 29th minute but the penalty corner hit taken by Bhagwati struck the cross bar. Reena struck again in the 64th minute to seal Chandigarh eves' fate and helped her team to enter the last four stage.

Top professionals for Hero golf
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Nov 17 — The cream of Indian professional golfers will shift their attention to improve their rankings on the Wills Sport Indian Golf Tour, when they tee-off for the prestigious Rs 8-lakh Hero Golf Chandigarh Open at the Chandigarh Golf Club here tomorrow.

The traditional and glamorous pro-am day has been slated for Sunday.

Golf enthusiasts of the region can be assured of a challenging tournament with some of the leading professionals such as Jeev Milkha Singh, the only Indian to qualify for the European PGA Tour, winner of Hero Honda Masters Jyoti Randhawa, winner of Honda-Siel PGA Championship Uttam Singh Mundy, Gaurav Ghei, Arjun Atwal, Arjun Singh, last season's Mahindra 'player of the year' Vijay Kumar, twice Indian Open champion Ali Sher as well as the current leader in the order of merit, Shiv Prakash, confirming their entries for the event.

Fresh from his Hero Honda Masters triumph, followed by a fourth place finish last week at the Thailand Open, Jyoti Randhawa, and Jeev Milkha Singh, who has now had a third second-second finish on the Omega Tour, are expected to renew their rivalry in order to win the first prize of Rs 1,33,280. Also itching for a title is Arjun Atwal, who finished fifth in the Hero Honda Masters and eighth in the Thailand Open.

Local pros are expected to make a strong challenge, led by Jeev, who lost to Jyoti in the Hero Honda Masters, and then a play-off to James Kingston after scoring 16-under at the Thailand Open. Amritinder Singh is also in good nick as demonstrated by his ninth place finish during the Thailand Open.

Vijay Kumar, fresh from his triumph during the Surya Nepal Open at Kathmandu last week, will be a formidable opponent, along with Ali Sher and Shiv Prakash, both having already won two events this season.

The 13th tournament of the Wills Sports Indian Golf Tour, is being jointly sponsored by Hero Honda Motors and Hero Cycles.

The prize money for the top 10 will be as follows: (in rupees): winner 1,33,280, runner-up 88,880; third 51,280; fourth 41,200; fifth 35,200, sixth 29,200; seventh 25,200; eighth 21,200; ninth 19,200; 10th 17,200.

Chandigarh, HP eves in semis
By Our Sports Reporter

CHANDIGARH, Nov 17 — Himachal Pradesh girls will take on hosts Chandigarh and holders Haryana will meet Punjab in the hockey semifinal (girls under 19) in the XLIVth National School Games in progress here.

In handball (boys) Madhya Pradesh and Chandigarh will clash in the semifinal while Delhi will meet Gujarat in the other boys semifinal. In girls, Chandigarh will play Haryana while Punjab girls are to take on Assam in the second semifinal.

In boys basketball, Punjab, MP, Chandigarh and Delhi moved ahead by defeating Assam, HP, Kerala and Maharashtra respectively, in the matches played today. In the girls section Maharashtra, Kerala, MP and Karnataka scored victories over Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi and Tamil Nadu to surge ahead. In the girls hockey quarterfinals played today, Himachal Pradesh girls defeated Delhi by a solitary goal scored by Kamlesh. Chandigarh demolished Rajasthan 5-0 with Mamta of SAI Sports Hostel, Sector 18, scoring three goals. Sangeeta and Eram of the same hostel contributed one goal each. In the other quarterfinal matches, holders Haryana trounced Maharashtra 7-0 with four goals coming through Meenakshi, two through Kiran Bala and one by Gurpreet. Punjab subdued Madhya Pradesh 6-2 and Preetinder, Vaneeta, Sandeep Kaur, Baljeet Kaur and Ranjeet Kaur scored one goal each for the winners.

Results: Basketball (boys) MP b HP (45-36), Punjab b Assam (54-33), Chandigarh b Kerala (50-31), Delhi b Maharashtra (55-41).

Girls: Maharashtra b Haryana (45-25), Kerala b Chandigarh (39-8), MP b Delhi (49-15), Karnataka b Tamil Nadu (44-24).

Handball- Boys quarterfinal: Madhya Pradesh b Haryana (20-13), Delhi b Uttar Pradesh (24-14), Chandigarh b Jammu & Kashmir (29-17), Gujarat b Punjab (24-19).

Girls: Haryana b MP (15-14, Chandigarh b Kerala (11-2), Punjab b Andhra Pradesh (28-4), Assam b Maharashtra (20-9).

Hockey-boys: Goa b Assam (6-2), KVS b Gujarat (1-0), Punjab drew UP (0-0), Pondicherry b J&K (1-0), Tamil Nadu b Kerala (1-0), West Bengal drew with MP (4-4), Haryana b Maharashtra (3-2), Delhi b Rajasthan (4-2).

Girls: q-final: Punjab b Madhya Pradesh (6-2), Haryana b Maharashtra (7-0), Himachal Pradesh b Delhi (1-0), Chandigarh b Rajasthan (5-0).

Kashmir to the fore

BATHINDA, Nov 17 (TNS) — By finishing the 800 metres race in 2.02 minutes, Kashmir Singh of Amritsar won the first position in the 44th Punjab School Athletic Meet which opened at the local stadium here today.

Suresh Kumar of Sangrur finished second while Parminder Singh of Sports School, Jalandhar, came third.

In the senior girls category, Tajinder Kaur of Nehru Garden Sports School, Jalandhar, with a timing of 2.25 minutes came first in the 800 metre race while Gurkiratpal Kaur of the same school finished second with a timing of 2.26 minutes. Harwinder Kaur of Patiala got the third position.

Earlier, while inaugurating the meet, Mr S.R. Ladhar Deputy Commissioner, Bathinda, said sportsmen of Punjab had achieved worldwide fame.

Mrs Saroj Ladhar gave away the medals to the winners. As many as 2500 athletes are participating in the meet.

Patiala clinch overall trophy

PATIALA, Nov (FOSR) — Host Patiala lifted the overall trophy of 10th Punjab Sub Junior, Junior and Senior Roller Skating Championships, which concluded at Rink Hall here today.

Final results:

Rink race — II (boys); 6-9: 750 m — Harmandeep 1. Rimson 2. Puneet 3. 9-12: 1000 m — Arvinder 1. Gurbinder 2. Simran 3. 12-16: 1500 m— Mandeep 1. Sukhminder 2. Sarabjeet 3. 16 and above 1500 m — Gautam Kamboj 1. Navdeep Singh 2. Ramesh 3.

Girls: 6-9 750 m — Navneet Kaur 1. Haatisha 2. Kamaljit Kaur 3. 9-12: 1000m — Heena Bharti 1. Gurpreet Kaur 2. Sukhman Aulakh 3. 12-16: 1500 m — Elamapreet 1. Navneet Kaur 2. Divya Dhanda 3. 16 and above 1500 m — Richa Chawla 1. Namrita Kala 2. Meera Nagpal 3.

Roller hockey: subjunior Patiala 1. Amritsar 2. Ludhiana 3. Junior: Patiala 1. Ludhiana 2. Sangrur 3. Senior: Patiala 1. Ropar 2. Sangrur 3.

Patiala Roller Staking Association honoured four Punjab players Simranjit Singh, Rajesh Kumar, Bhupinder Singh and Swaranjit Singh who represented India in World Cup Group-B Roller Hockey Championships held at Macau.

Mr Nirmaljit Singh, chief engineer, PWD (B and R) gave away the prizes.