DHAKA : A group of Bangladeshi girls rehearsing a dance number for the opening ceremony of the Wills Mini World Cup Cricket at Dhaka stadium on Tuesday. AP/PTI

Bangladesh to host Asia
Cup in March
DHAKA, Oct 14 — Bangladesh will host the eighth Asia Cup cricket in Dhaka next year, a cricket board official today said.

Philippoussis ends Davis
Cup rift
SYDNEY, Oct 14 — Mark Philippoussis has resolved his long-running rift with Australia’s Davis Cup coaches and agreed to rejoin the team in 1999, Tennis Australia president Geoff Pollard announced today.

Tyson hearing set for October 19 LAS VEGAS, Oct 13 — The hearing on reinstatement of Mike Tyson’s Nevada boxing licence was set for October 19 after a psychiatric evaluation of the former world heavyweight champion was delivered minutes before a deadline yesterday.

Mahesh Bhupathi crashes out SINGAPORE, Oct 14 — India’s Mahesh Bhupathi today crashed out in the first round of the $ 700,000 Heineken Singapore Open Tennis Tournament losing to sixth seed Mikael Tillstrom of Sweden here today.

IHF names 29 probables for Asian Games
NEW DELHI, Oct 14 — The Indian Hockey Federation today named 29 probables for the December Bangkok Asian Games and the pre-games Four-Nation Hockey Tournament.

Shruti, Rushmi prove giant killers
AHMEDABAD, Oct 14 — Shruti Dhawan and Rushmi Chakravarty proved to be giant killers as they ousted the top two seeds Archana Venkatraman and Anna Eugenia Nefedova in the quarter-finals of U.T. Mehta memorial first leg ITF women’s tennis circuit at the Ageta Courts here today.

Ashok surges ahead in Northern India golf
CHANDIGARH, Oct 14 — Ashok Kumar of Delhi surged into the lead in the under-18 section of the St Xavier's Northern India Junior and Subjunior Golf Championship today with a two-day aggregate score of 155. He had a card of 75 today with two birdies.

Sandeep shocks 6th seed German Nigri
MUMBAI, Oct 14 — Unseeded Sandeep Kirtane of India shocked sixth seed Timo Nigri of Germany 6-3 6-1 on way to the men’s singles quarter-finals in the evening session of the Indian ITF Satellite Tennis Circuit at the MSLTA Courts here today.

Tisco humble Punjab cops, lift title
GIDDERBAHA, Oct 14 — Tisco (Bihar) men's team registered an emphatic 62-55 win against the mighty Punjab Police in the final of the first Raja Porus All-India Basketball Tournament at Baba Ganga Ram Municipal Stadium here late last night. The winner also pocketed Rs 1 lakh as prize money.

Mukesh's team wins Pro-Am championship
FARIDABAD, Oct 14 — Mukesh Kumar’s team won the Royal Challenge Aravalli Pro-Am Golf Championship here today. Three amateurs in the team were Abhay Singh, Ashok Bhatia and H K Babbar.

Chance for discards to prove worth

AHMEDABAD, Oct 14 (PTI) — Aspirants for places in the national squad, including discards, get a golden opportunity to push forward their claims for recognition when the NKP Salve (Challenger) Trophy Day-Night Cricket Tournament commences at the Sardar Patel Gujarat Stadium here tomorrow.

Tomorrow’s match — scheduled to start at 3.30 p.m. features India, to be led by Nayan Mongia in the absence of Mohammed Azharuddin who has opted out of the tournament for personal reasons, and the Ajay Jadeja-led India "A" team.

India and India "B", with Saurav Ganguly at the helm and Sachin Tendulkar in their ranks, cross swords on October 16 before the round-robin stage ends with the match between India "A" and India "B" on October 17.

The top two teams in the round-robin stage would meet in the final, scheduled for October 18.

The tournament has assumed added importance as the squad for the Dhaka nine-nation Wills Trophy tournament beginning on October 24 and the tri-nation Coca Cola Cup Tournament at Sharjah, commencing on November 6, is to be named on the last day.

The national skipper for the tournaments at Dhaka and Sharjah is to be chosen here tomorrow.

The tournament is also one of the important events in the run-up to next May’s World Cup and an outstanding display by the fringe players would stand them in very good stead.

The Indian squad is without a number of national stalwarts either through absence, like Azhar, Javagal Srinath and Anil Kumble, or by virtue of being placed in one of the other two teams like Tendulkar, Jadeja and Ganguly.

Srinath and Kumble have been rested for the league stage and would do duty for India team only if they enter the final.

The inclusion of regular one-day international openers Ganguly and Tendulkar in the India "B" team has given a fine chance for discards V.V.S. Laxman and Sujith Somasunder in the role of openers for the India squad.

It is a God-sent opportunity for these two players to press their claims strongly for the third opener’s slot especially as Navjot Singh Sidhu seems to have played his last one-day international going by the fact that he has not been named in any of the three teams.

Hyderabad’s Laxman has been in and out of the national squad by not doing enough justice to his talent at the international level.

Karnataka’s Somasunder, who had represented India in two one-day internationals in 1996-97 season under Tendulkar’s captaincy before going out of the limelight, has forced his way back to national stage with good show in domestic cricket.

Some consistent display here might well see him get the nod as the third opener in the Indian team for Dhaka and Sharjah.

All-rounder Hrishikesh Kanitkar, named in India team, has his own personal battle to fight and get back into national team while another interesting tussle to watch would feature leg-spinners Sairaj Bahutule (India) and Anantha Padmanabhan (India "B").

The tournament offers a good chance to Karnataka pacemen Venkatesh Prasad, dumped by the selectors for the Zimbabwe tour after the Sahara Cup series in Toronto, and Doda Ganesh who faded away after touring the West Indies last year. Both of them are in India "A".

The India squad’s batting has been considerably weakened by the absence of stalwarts Tendulkar, Ganguly, Azharuddin and Jadeja so that an enormous burden has been placed on the shoulders of Rahul Dravid to give it the requisite meat.

Young pacemen Ajit Agarkar, who has been a bit wayward of late, and Debashish Mohanty — with back-up support from the experienced Robin Singh - give the India "A" new-ball attack an edge over the other two teams. Rahul Sanghvi, Harbhajan Singh and Sairaj Bahutule are the spinners.

Rajasthan opener Gagan Khoda gets one more chance to boost his rating. He has to perform well and support his skipper Jadeja along with middle-order batsmen Nikhil Haldipur, Amol Muzumdar and Jatin Paranjpe if India "A" are to do well in the tournament.

India B’s batting would revolve mainly around stalwarts Ganguly and Tendulkar with Amay Khurasia, Rohan Gavaskar, Devang Gandhi and Vanka Pratap to prop up the middle.

The attack looks a bit weak with Robin Singh jr, N. Madhukar, (pace), Sanjay Raul, Nilesh Kulkarni and Anantha Padmanabhan (spin) manning it.

The city experienced unseasonal showers on Monday evening but the square has been under covers and is unaffected. Still, the hot and humid weather would make things a bit of a problem for the team fielding first.

Teams:
India: Nayan Mongia (capt), V.V.S. Laxman, Sujit Somasunder, Jyoti Yadav, Rahul Dravid, Hrishikesh Kanitkar, Robin Singh, Ajit Agarkar, Debashish Mohanty, Rahul Sanghvi, Harbhajan Singh, Sairaj Bahutule.

India "A": Ajay Jadeja (capt.), Saba Karim, Gagan Khoda, Nikhil Haldipur, Amol Muzumdar, Jatin Paranjpe, B.K. Venkatesh Prasad, Doda Ganesh, Nikhil Chopra, Sunil Joshi, Jacob Martin, G. Pandey.

India "B": Saurav Ganguly (capt.), M.S.K. Prasad, Sachin Tendulkar, Rohan Gavaskar, Devang Gandhi, Sanjay Raul, Amay Khurasia, Vanka Pratap, N. Madhukar, Robin Singh jr, A. Padmanabhan, Nilesh Kulkarni.

Umpires for tournament: K.S. Giridharan, K. Parthasarathy, Dr Sekhar Choudhary and K. Hariharan.

Tournament referee: R.S. Rathore.

Hours of play: 3.30 to 7.00 p.m. and 7.45 p.m. to 11.15 p.m.

Younis admits rift over betting

LAHORE, Oct 14 (Reuters) — Fast Bowler Waqar Younis told a judge probing charges of betting and match-fixing in Pakistan cricket that two Test players retired from the game because they were convinced matches were rigged.

"Younis admitted that Rashid Latif and Basit Ali retired from international cricket (in 1994-95 in South Africa after they had a clash with Salim Malik on match-fixing," Ali Sibtain Fazli, the lawyer for the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) quoted Waqar Younis as telling judicial commission head justice Malik Mohammad Qayyum.

" Younis said he knew about the rift between the players and claimed to have tried to play the role of a mediator. But Rashid (Latif) and Basit (Ali) refused to play alongside Salim Malik," Fazli told Reuters.

"Rashid and Basit were convinced Salim Malik had sold out to the bookies," he quoted Younis as saying in his testimony.

Latif was Malik’s vice-captain on the tour and had announced his retirement along with Basit in Johannesburg. They reversed their decision three months later.

An interim report released by the PCB recommended that Malik, Ijaz Ahmed and Wasim Akram should not be selected until the investigations were completed.

The trio has been named in the Pakistan team for the second Test starting at Peshawar tomorrow.

Latif has been directed to appear before the commission on Saturday. Justice Qayyum has also summoned Pakistan Cricket Board senior officials Khalid Mahmood and Majid Khan.

Fazli said two bookies, Raja Aftab Iqbal and Raja Zafar Ali (Jojo), also appeared before the commission.

"Raja Aftab admitted having placed bets on Pakistan’s cricket team but denied that he personally knew any Pakistan player. He also rejected claims that he offered bribes to any Pakistan team player."

"But Raja Zafar Ali, who is Raja Aftab’s real brother, denied that he nor any of his family members have ever placed bets. He has been issued a notice under Section 476 CrPC by Justice Qayyum and has been instructed to appear again on Saturday," Fazli said.

The PCB lawyer said Younis was examined in detail about the corruption in the Pakistan cricket team. "He denied having any knowledge about it," he said.

"He also dismissed accusations of his teammate Aqib Javed that he returned a car to the bookie which was gifted to him after playing a role in fixing a match in the Singer Cup game in Colombo (Sri Lanka) in 1994," said Fazli.

Aussies look to seal historic triumph

PESHAWAR, Oct 14 (AFP) — Australia go into the second Test against Pakistan here tomorrow looking to pull off a historic series triumph and hold a major psychological edge in their battle.

Australia easily won the first Test in Rawalpindi by an innings and 99-runs. Pakistan have been hit by injuries and many players have their minds on an embarrassing match-fixing inquiry.

No Australian side has won a Test series in Pakistan since Richie Benaud’s team won 2-0 here in 1959-60. But Mark Taylor’s team is confident.

"It is one of the biggest challenges but we are prepared for that. It will be great to win a series in the sub-continent," said the Australian skipper.

Taylor said Australia’s tour to India earlier this year, where they lost the 2-1, had been an important rehearsal for visiting Pakistan.

"It's a big advantage to be 1-0 up but we will do the same things all over again," Taylor said.

Left-hand batsman Darren Lehmann will have to sit out the match with a groin injury, having scored 98 in the first Test and followed it with centuries in each innings in the tour game against Rawalpindi.

The pitch at the Arbab Niaz Stadium in Peshawar has not been used this season so could be an unknown factor.

But Taylor said: "It looks hard and reminds me of a good Sydney wicket. I would have loved to play Lehmann here."

The tourists have left out off-spinner Gavin Robertson and with Lehmann ruled out they have 12 players to decide from. Tasmanian Ricky Ponting will replace Lehmann.

Both teams are likely to play three seamers and one spinner.

The home team are countering off-field problems caused by accusations of attempted match fixing and injuries to three key players.

Pace bowler Wasim Akram is down with a sore throat and flu while leg-spinner Mushtaq Ahmed is struggling with a knee problem.

To add to Pakistan’s woes, paceman Shoaib Akhter twisted his ankle during net practice today.

Mohammad Naveed, who took a century off the Australians in Rawalpindi, and left arm spinner Shakil Ahmed, who took 10 wickets in the match, have been added to the Pakistan squad.

Pakistan coach Javed Miandad and captain Aamir Sohail gave no clue about the team to be announced for the Test.

Local boy Arshad Khan who bowls off-spin and one-day specialist Shahid Afridi who bowls fast leg-spin are in the squad of 16 and one may get the spinner’s place.

"We have learnt from our mistakes in the first Test and will do our best to come back with a win here," Sohail said.

Pakistan have won both the Tests played here by an innings. They beat Sri Lanka by an innings and 40 runs in 1995-96 and the West Indies by an innings and nine runs in the last season.

"That may be an advantage but here we have the Australians who are one of the best sides in the world, it all depends on the start you get," a pensive Sohail said.

Pakistan will miss off-spinner Saqlain Mushtaq who flew to England to see his ailing father. Pacer Waqar Younis was ruled out for the whole series with an elbow injury.

A tight security was seen around the Australians after fears of terrorism from across the Afghanistan border. Special commandos were guarding the tourists.

Australians objected to playing in Peshawar due to security concerns and the venue was only cleared only after a post tour inspection by the two of the Australian board’s officials.

"Security looks good and we have no fears," Taylor said.

Teams:
Pakistan (from): Aamir Sohail (captain), Saeed Anwar, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Salim Malik, Yousaf Youhanna, Ijaz Ahmed, Wasim Akram, Moin Khan, Azhar Mahmood, Mushtaq Ahmed, Shoaib Akhtar, Mohammad Zahid, Arshad Khan, Shahid Afridi, Shakeel Ahmed, Mohammad Naveed.

Australia (from): Mark Taylor (captain), Michael Slater, Justin Langer, Mark Waugh, Steve Waugh, Ricky Ponting, Ian Healy, Stuart MacGill, Glenn McGrath, Colin Miller, Michael Kasprowicz, Damien Fleming.

Umpires: Steve Bucknor (West Indies) and Mohammad Nazir Jr.

Tyson hearing set for October 19

LAS VEGAS, Oct 13 (Reuters) — The hearing on reinstatement of Mike Tyson’s Nevada boxing licence was set for October 19 after a psychiatric evaluation of the former world heavyweight champion was delivered minutes before a deadline yesterday.

The hearing will begin at 9 a.m. (9.30 p.m. IST) on October 19, Nevada State Athletic Commission Executive Director Marc Ratner said. "It will be an interesting hearing," said Ratner.

Tyson’s licence was revoked in July 1997 for unsportsmanlike conduct: biting Evander Holyfield on both ears during their world title bout in Las Vegas a month earlier.

The commission ordered the psychological evaluation during a hearing last month and said it had to be submitted by the close of business yesterday to give the five panel members time to study it.

The evaluation, prepared by Massachusetts General Hospital after testing at the Boston facility last month, was not turned in until two minutes before the 5 p.m. deadline.

Tyson’s attorneys had waited for a ruling from the Nevada Supreme Court on whether the contents of the evaluation had to be made public. The ruling, delivered yesterday afternoon, refused to block a Nevada lower court order last week that the contents had to be made public under the state’s public records law.

Attorneys for Tyson had gone to both district court and the Supreme Court in order to keep private the contents of the evaluation, some of which, according to Tyson attorney Jim Jimmerson, are "unflattering."

However, Jimmerson maintained an upbeat attitude about the report.

"It (the evaluation) was very positive. We’re very pleased. I think it demonstrates there won’t be a repeat of that incident in the ring. There were some unflattering aspects, but more positive aspects.

"Mr Tyson is cautiously optimistic and hopeful."

However, at least two members of the Nevada State Athletic Commission - chairman Elias Ghanem and James Nave -have said that a positive evaluation will not automatically result in Tyson having his licence reinstated.

Both expressed concern about allegations that Tyson struck two middle-aged men in August after a minor automobile accident in Maryland.

Mr Ghanem also expressed dismay after reading an interview with Tyson in the current issue of "Playboy" magazine.

Mr Ghanem’s reaction was "Oh, my God. Oh, my God" after reading the interview, which quoted Tyson as describing himself as "a hateful individual," saying "I always do my best to be cool, (but) I know I’m going to blow one day" and admitting "I’m just really angry these days. Really, really angry."

If Tyson’s licence is reinstated at the October 19 hearing, it is believed he could fight as soon as late November, most likely at the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. It was at the MGM Grand that Tyson bit Holyfield. The hotel has not hosted a fight card in the 15 months since.

Philippoussis ends Davis Cup rift

SYDNEY, Oct 14 (Reuters) — Mark Philippoussis has resolved his long-running rift with Australia’s Davis Cup coaches and agreed to rejoin the team in 1999, Tennis Australia president Geoff Pollard announced today.

U.S. Open finalist Philippoussis refused to play for Australia this year after falling out with the team’s coaching staff, John Newcombe and Tony Roche.

But Pollard told a news conference the matter had been closed and Philippoussis was available again.

Australia will play Zimbabwe in Harare in the first round of next year’s Davis Cup after beating Uzbekistan 5-0 to qualify for the world group. The squad will be announced shortly after next January’s Australian Open.

Australia were knocked out of the world group this season after losing to Zimbabwe in Mildura in April.

Philippoussis refused to play in the tie after accusing Roche and Newcombe of not helping him when his form slumped last year on learning his father had cancer.

Recent attempts to lure Philippoussis back to the fold failed when he pulled out of last month’s tie with Uzbekistan after accusing Roche of showing bias towards fellow Australian Patrick Rafter by sitting with his entourage during the U.S. Open final showdown between the pair.

Pollard said Philippoussis had finally agreed to rejoin the team after he had discussed the matter with him at this month’s Grand Slam Cup in Germany.

Newcome had also send a fax to Philippoussis telling him he wanted to end the dispute.

Mahesh Bhupathi crashes out

SINGAPORE, Oct 14 (PTI) — India’s Mahesh Bhupathi today crashed out in the first round of the $ 700,000 Heineken Singapore Open Tennis Tournament losing to sixth seed Mikael Tillstrom of Sweden here today.

The Indian Davis Cup star, who received a wild card, lost 6-1 6-3 in straight sets.

Bhupathi, however, reached the second round of the doubles tournament along with partner Leander Paes, beating Mark Keil and T.J. Middleton of the USA 7-6 (7/4) 6-4 in the first round yesterday.

The world number three pair, who are defending their title here, have come into the tournament after winning the Shanghai Open doubles title on Sunday.

The second seeds will play the pair of Thomas Ketola of Finland and Laurence Tieleman of Italy in the second round.

Bangladesh to host Asia Cup in March

DHAKA, Oct 14 (AFP) — Bangladesh will host the eighth Asia Cup cricket in Dhaka next year, a cricket board official today said.

The tournament will be from March 20 to April 3, 1999 at the Bangabandhu National Stadium, said Syed Ashraful Huq, general secretary of the board.

India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and World Cup champions Sri Lanka will take part.

Bangladesh clinched the Asian Cricket Council trophy yesterday in Nepal with an easy eight-wicket win over Malaysia. It is also preparing to host the ICC mini world cup from October 24 to November 1 with nine Test-playing nations participating.

IHF names 29 probables for Asian Games

NEW DELHI, Oct 14 (PTI) — The Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) today named 29 probables for the December Bangkok Asian Games and the pre-games Four-Nation Hockey Tournament.

The Asian Games probables will undergo training at a coaching camp at Sai centre, Bangalore from October 22 before the final team is selected, an IHF press note said here today.

The Indian team for pre-Asian Games Hockey Tournament in Bangkok will also be selected after the camp.

The probables:
Goal keepers: A.B. Subbaiah (IA), Jagdish Ponnappa (IA), Jude Menezes (Mumbai), Ashish Ballal (IA).

Backs: Dilip Tirkey (IA), Lazarus Barla (IA), Cornelius D’Costa (AI), Cheops D’Costa (Mumbai), Rajnish Mishra (IA), Anil Aldrin (Mumbai).

Half backs: Mohammed Riaz (IA), Baljit Singh Saini (PSB), Ramandeep Singh (Punjab), S.S. Gill (Customs), Thirumal Valavan (T.N.), Nausher Singh (Railways), Sandeep Somesh (Mumbai).

Forwards: Mukesh Kumar (IA), Dhanraj Pillay (Mumbai), Sabu Varkey (Mumbai), Baljit Singh Dhillon (Punjab), L. Prabhakar (T.N.), Gagan Ajit Singh (AI), Kamal Horo (Services), Rajesh Chauhan (AI), Daljit Singh (Punjab), Sameer Dad (IA), Rajiv Mishra (Railways), Ravinder Singh (IA).

Chief coach M.K. Kaushik.

Assistant coach: M.R. Negi.

Shruti, Rushmi prove giant killers

AHMEDABAD, Oct 14 (PTI) — Shruti Dhawan and Rushmi Chakravarty proved to be giant killers as they ousted the top two seeds Archana Venkatraman and Anna Eugenia Nefedova in the quarter-finals of U.T. Mehta memorial first leg ITF women’s tennis circuit at the Ageta Courts here today.

Dhawan, seeded eighth here, was in terrific form as she hit winners when it mattered most. She played with a strategy and kept her rival Archana pinned most of the time to the baseline. Nothing seemed to be going right for the top seed as her game disintegrated as the match progressed.

Dhawan was rushing to the net and kept on the attack. She made Archana move around the court with ease. Her deft placements and doublehanded crosscourt shots proved to be lethal as Archana stood watching the ball zoom past her.

Shruti finally won with a straight 6-2 6-3 scoreline and will now meet Sai Jayalaxmi Jayaram in first semifinals.

In other match, Rushmi Chakravarty seeeded sixth was in crackling form as she totally outclassed second seed Anna Eugenia Nefedova of Russia.

Although the Russian girl managed to win three games she was never in the contention as Rushmi held the whiphand all the time.

Rushmi’s fine cross court returns and down the line shots baffled the Russian who tried in vain to salvage some point but all her efforts were an exercise in futility. Rushmi won 6-3, 6-1.

In the other quarter-finals, Sai Jayalaxmi did not have to sweat much against Arathi Venkatraman as she coasted to a straight 6-3 6-1 victory. Arati put up some fight in the first set as she managed to win three games but Sai was in mood to relent and did not give any freedom to her rival. She took the first set at 6-3 and then was more aggressive in the second as she wrapped it up with a 6-1 verdict.

In an all-Thailand affair Orawan Wongkamalasai seeded fourth had to give out her best against a fighting Montika Anuchan seeded seventh. It was a battle of baseline as both traded long rallies, but Orawan did rush to the net time and again and secured crucial points.

Results:
Quarter-finals: Shruti Dhawan b Archana Venkatraman 6-2 6-3; Sai Jayalaxmi b Arthi Venkatraman 6-3 6-1; Orawan Wongkamalasai b Montika Anuchan 6-4 6-3; Rushmi Chakravarty b Anna Eugenia Nefedova 6-3 6-1.

Ashok surges ahead in Northern India golf
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Oct 14 — Ashok Kumar of Delhi surged into the lead in the under-18 section of the St Xavier's Northern India Junior and Subjunior Golf Championship today with a two-day aggregate score of 155. He had a card of 75 today with two birdies.

Just one-stroke behind the leader was Sundeep Syal who returned the best one-over card of 73 for a two-day score of 156. Syal had four birdies today. It was close competition in this category with third-placed Raghav Jaggi having a score of 157.

In the boys' under-15 category Prince Dhillon from St John's School maintained the lead returning a card of 83 for a two-day score of 169. This was four strokes better than his nearest rival Lakhan Singh. One stroke behind Lakhan was Chirag Kumar.

In the under-13 category Roger Hilton of Dehra Dun was leading with 174, followed by Aditya Singh (175) and Vikram Nandra Jog (178).

In the boy’s under-10 category, Montek Mayal was leading with 94, followed by Richard Hilton (99) and Rohan Malhotra (101).

Competition in the girls’ section started today and it was Irina Brar who returned the best card of 84. Two strokes behind Irina was Jasmeet Sawhney (86) followed by Guneet Rekhi (88).

In the girls’ under-15 section Sharon of Chandigarh returned a card of 119 followed by Japneet Goraya (129) and Jaskeerat Kaur (130).

The weather conditions were excellent when play commenced with course playing true. But as the day progressed it became warm, especially for the under-13 and under-10 competition.

Sandeep shocks 6th seed German Nigri

MUMBAI, Oct 14 (PTI) — Unseeded Sandeep Kirtane of India shocked sixth seed Timo Nigri of Germany 6-3 6-1 on way to the men’s singles quarter-finals in the evening session of the Indian ITF Satellite Tennis Circuit at the MSLTA Courts here today.

In the morning, Indian Davis Cupper and second seed Prahlad Srinath (ranked 541 in the world), had made it to the last eight stage with a convincing 6-2 6-0 victory over his compatriot Vinod Sridhar while the remaining four Indians in the fray had crashed out.

Top seed and world number 423, the highest ranked player in the tournament, had also met his "waterloo" at the hands of world number 1077 and unseeded Danai Udomchoke of Thailand in three sets in pre-quarter-finals stage.

In the doubles first round the Indian pairs of Rohan Bopanna and Vijyendra Laad went down fighting to Ondrej Chvapil of Czhech Republic and Andrew Ford of Britain 6-4 6-7 (5-7) 4-6 while Basapparaju Keerthi and Viplav lost 4-6 2-6 to Niko Karagiannis of Greece and Federico Rovai of Sweden.

Other four Indians who were seen in action in the morning session failed to cross the second hurdle with only former national champion Vasudeva Reddy putting up some resistence.

Former Davis cupper, Nitin Kirtane, went down without a fight to third seeded Federico Rovai of Sweden 6-0 6-3 in just 50 minutes while Reddy, who ousted Germany’s fifth seeded patrick Erhardt in the first round yesterday, went down fighting to unseeded Zolton Boroczky of Hungary 6-7 (7-9) 5-7 in two hours eight minutes.

Local lad and qualifier Vijendra Laad was blanked out 0-6 0-6 in just 36 minutes by fourth seeded Johan Hede of Sweden while another Qualifier Saurav Panja fought hard before going down 3-6 6-3 1-6 to eighth seed Marian Leysek of Slovakia in other pre-quarter-final matches.

Gerhard Fahlke of Germany was the lone qualifier to make it to the last eight stage when he upset seventh seeded Niko Karagiannis of Greece 6-3 7-6 (8-6) in one hour 39 minutes.

Reddy dropped his serve in the fourth game of the first set to trail 1-3 but came back strongly with a break in the seventh game to narrow the margin to 3-4 and then held his own to level the score at four-all.

Both the players held their serves forcing the tie-break, which was a close affair with both fighting tooth and nail for supremacy. Reddy committed a couple of unforced errors at the fag end of the set to lose the tie-break 7-9.

In the second set the Indian dropped his serve in the third and seventh games but fought back well to break his rival in the fourth and eighth games. However, when he lost his serve in the eleventh game it was curtains for the Indian.

Calcutta-based Panja had a good match even though he lost out to a better player in the end. He lost the first set pretty easily at 6-3 after failing to hold his serve in the second and sixth games.

However, in the second he showed his fighting qualities when he broke Leysek twice in the first four games after dropping his own the same number of times before breaking his opponent in the eighth game to lead 5-3. He served out the set without any difficulty.

The third and the deciding set was a disaster for the Indian and he could win just one game in set.

Top seeded Andy won the first set easily with breaks in sixth and eight games.

Results (men's singles) pre-quarterfinals: Federico Royal (Swe) b Nitin Kirante (Ind) 6-0 6-3, John Hede (Swe) Vijendra Laad (Ind) 6-0 6-0, Gerhard Fahlke (Ger) b Niko Karagiannnis (Gre) 6-3 7-6 (9-7) 7-5, Danai Udomhoke (Tha) b Andy Fahlke (Ger) 2-6 6-0 6-3 Prahlad Srinath (Ind) b Vinod Sridhar (Ind) 6-2 6-0.

Tisco humble Punjab cops, lift title
From Chander Parkash
Tribune News Service

GIDDERBAHA, Oct 14 — Tisco (Bihar) men's team registered an emphatic 62-55 win against the mighty Punjab Police in the final of the first Raja Porus All-India Basketball Tournament at Baba Ganga Ram Municipal Stadium here late last night. The winner also pocketed Rs 1 lakh as prize money.

The Punjab Police players dominated of the court and scored six points consecutively and did not allow the Tisco cages to score any point in the first 30 minutes. Mohammed Islaudin of Tisco collected the first two points for his team.

With the early lead, Punjab Police kept their opponents confused through repeated attacks and added more points to their kitty. The Tisco cagers who tried their best to reduce the margin could not do so as they lacked coordination and missed many good chances.

At one stage in the first half, the score was 24-16. later the Tisco cagers started displaying their skills and secured 10 points for their team while Punjab Police could add only five points. To frustrate the attempt of international Shahid Qureshi, of Tisco, Punjab Police cagers pulled his leg when the score was 29-25.

Despite repeated efforts, Tisco could not draw level with Punjab Police and at the end of first half, the score was 33-26. The repeated objections raised by the Tisco cagers against the physical assaults being made on them by the Punjab Police cagers were not entertained by the umpire Milan Dass.

Tisco, who had won the sympathy of the spectators, jumped back into game in the second half.

Mohammed Islauddin of Tisco earned the lead for his team through some quick attacks.

Tisco, after taking a slender lead matched Punjab Police point by point and the score at the end of second half was 49-49 and both the teams were given five minutes more.

When the match was tied, the police had a tough time in controlling the crowd which entered the court to congratulate the Tisco players.

In the extended five-minute period Tisco started dictating terms and Shahid Qureshi displaying fine shooting skill scored seven consecutive points for his team and earned victory over the Punjab cops by 62-55.

In the women's section, Central Railway won the first prize of Rs 1 lakh by defeating Eastern Railway, Calcutta, by 57-51. Though it was a tough contest, some good chances missed by Central Railway cost them dear and they lost the match even though they were leading for a considerable period.

In the men's section, BSF stood third and in the women's section Southern Railway finished third.

Mr Sukhbir Singh Badal, Union Industry Minister gave away the prizes and trophies.

The runners-up in the men's and women's sections got Rs 75,000 each a cash prize while teams finishing third got Rs 50,000 each.

Mr Badal said he would extend monetary help for providing indoor facilities at the Baba Ganga Ram Municipal Stadium from his discretionary fund.

Mukesh's team wins Pro-Am championship
From Our Sports Reporter

FARIDABAD, Oct 14 — Mukesh Kumar’s team won the Royal Challenge Aravalli Pro-Am Golf Championship here today. Three amateurs in the team were Abhay Singh, Ashok Bhatia and H K Babbar.

Ali Sher’s team (Rattan Sahgal, S S Dugal and Nareshwar Dayal) was the runner-up. Ali Sher got Rs 5000. Vijay Kumar’s team (Sukhdev Singh, Ajay Johl and S Kothari) was third. Vijay Kumar earned Rs 3,000.

The competition was held on a stableford basis. Fourteen four-ball teams took part in the tournament.

Mukesh Kumar was quick to admit that the course was in a much better condition than it was last year. He said it was extremely challenging course and all professionals had to concentrate before making any shot. His views were endorsed by other professionals including Ali Sher, Rohtas Singh and Basad Ali.

Constructed on 67-acre land, the nine-hole course will soon become an 18-hole one. Ultra-modern equipment for the maintenance of the course has already been bought for the upkeep of fairways, greens and putting areas. "We are scheduled to buy more equipment to make the course of the international standard and class", said chief patron of the club, Mr S K Misra.

While some of the leading professionals are unavailable as they are engaged in playing abroad, the field is still very impressive and tough competition is expected for the next four days.

Leading caddy-turned-professionals are all keyed up to win the title on the course which, with water-bodies, hazards and bunkers, is very tough.

In the pro-am contest today, some of the pros returned very impressive sub-par cards.

Inter-college volleyball

CHANDIGARH, Oct 14 (BOSR) — MCM DAV College for Women, Chandigarh, and Government College, Karamsar, today won the Panjab University inter-college volleyball (A) and (B) division championships, respectively, at PU campus grounds.

The results of (A) division matches;

MCM DAV College for Women, Chd b Khalsa College for Women, Ludhiana by 3-0, at 15-6, 15-9, 15-5. SMS Karamjot College for Women, Miani b Govt College for Girls, Sector 11, Chd by 3-0 at 15-3, 15-13, 15-7.

The result of (B) division match; Govt College, Karamsar b Dev Samaj College of Education Chandigarh by 3-0, at 15-2, 15-1, 15-0.

SPS - 41 declared winners

CHANDIGARH, Oct 14 (BOSR) — Shivalik Public School, Sector 41 were declared the winners on the basis spin coin against Vivek High School, Sector 38 in the Shivalik Trophy Cricket Tournament being played here today. Both the teams scored 130 runs for nine wickets in stipulated 25 overs.

Brief scores: SPS - 41; (Hardeep 39, Amanpreet 17, Harjeet 14, Dhruv 2 for 10, Nikhil 2 for 20).

VHS 38; (Satjiv 28, Munish 26, Dilawar 20, Ketan 3 for 23, Harjeet 2 for 13, Bhupinder 2 for 18, Sahil 2 for 23.

Tomorrow's fixtures; Sanjay Public School v/s Shivalik Public School-41 at 9 am; DAV Sr. Sec. School-Sec-8 v/s GMSSS- Sec 27 at 12 noon at Cricket Stadium, Sector 16.

Amritsar reach semifinals

AMRITSAR, Oct 14 (FOSR) — Amritsar under-19 team reached the semifinal of Dhruv Pandov Cricket Tournament played at Gandhi Grounds here today. Amritsar beat Faridkot by virtue of first innings lead of 168 run.

Faridkot batsman Varun scored a fine 95. He played sheet-anchor's role for his team but other batsmen failed.

For Amritsar off-spinner Sarandeep Singh bowled well and took 5 wickets for 52 runs.

Amritsar : 331 all out.

Faridkot : 163 all out (Varun 95, Sarandeep 5 for 52, Pankaj Bahl 2 for 32 and Varun Mishra 1 for 4).

Inter-university kabaddi

SHIMLA, Oct 14 (FOSR) — The All India Inter-University Women Kabaddi Championship is starting tomorrow in the HP University campus. The championship based on league-cum-knock out basis will now have teams from eight universities.

There will be four teams each from two zones i.e. North East and South West Zone, according to the AIU observer, Mr S M Arora.

In the opening match HP University will face Bombay University and GND University will face Calicut. The championship will end on October 17.

Cricket trials

CHANDIGARH (BOSR): Trials to select the Panchkula district cricket team (under-16) will be held on October 17 at the cricket stadium, Sector 5, Panchkula, at 9 a.m. The selected players will participate in the Haryana State (under-16) Cricket Championship for the Rajinder Goel Trophy to be held later this month. Players born on or after September 1, 1982 are eligible.

Postal soccer

KURUKSHETRA, Oct 14 (FOSR) — The Haryana Postal Circle will host the 12th All-India Postal Football Championship at Kurukshetra University here from October 27 to 31.

According to Mr Vivek Kaul, Director, Postal Services, Haryana Circle, 200 players from all over the country are expected to participate in the championship.

B’ball academy at Gidderbaha likely

GIDDERBAHA, Oct 14 (TNS) — Mr Manpreet Singh Badal, MLA and patron, Raja Porus Sports Club, said the local Baba Ganga Ram Municipal Stadium was likely to be converted into a basketball academy.

Talking to TNS, he said the club was considering aspects in this regard and the proposal could get through by April next year.

He said the best talent of Punjab and neighbouring states would be picked by coaches after fair selection and the players would be trained at the academy.

He said that he had been holding talks with internationals to utilise their services in setting up the academy.