England, Germany win at last
LONDON, Oct 15 — Their coaches under pressure after poor results, powerhouses England and Germany have survived early scares to score much needed victories over soccer minnows Luxembourg and Moldova in the European Championship.

Tyson not sure of getting licence PHOENIX, Oct 15 — Former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson said he isn't confident he'll get back his boxing licence. His doubts, however, aren't keeping him from preparing for a possible fight this year.

Azhar retained skipper
AHMEDABAD, Oct 15 — The national cricket selectors today expectedly retained Mohammed Azharuddin as India’s captain for the two forthcoming back-to-back limited overs tournaments at Dhaka and Sharjah.

Tendulkar, Ganguly pull out
AHMEDABAD, Oct 15 — Megastar Sachin Tendulkar and his one-day opening partner Saurav Ganguly are the latest in the list of big names who have expressed inability to play in the N.K.P. Salve (Challenger) Trophy Cricket Tournament.

SBT, Mahindras to clash in final
NEW DELHI, Oct 15 — State Bank of Travancore, Thiruvananthapuram and Mahindra and Mahindra, Mumbai will vie for Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Cup in the fourth Chief Minister’s All-India Football Tournament here tomorrow.

Weightlifters for Asian Games
PATIALA, Oct 15 — Indian Weightlifting Federation has selected a five-member women squad for the 13th Asian Games scheduled to be held at Bangkok from December 6 to 20. N. Kunjarani (48 kgs) and Karnam Malleshwari (63 kgs) have already found berths for the games after selection trials held at the NIS on October 1.

IHF names 24 probables for Cairo meet
NEW DELHI, Oct 15 — The Indian Hockey Federation today named 24 probables for the six-nation Akhbar-el-Youm International Hockey Tournament to be held in Cairo from November 13 to 20.

Indian boys thrash Vietnam 3-0
CHANDIGARH, Oct 15 — India thrashed Vietnam by three goals to nil today in a league match of the 27th Asian School Football Championship being played at Cheju (Korea), according to reports reaching here.

India 5th in Asian jr volleyball
CHENNAI, Oct 15 — Indian men’s team finished fifth among 12 in the Asian Junior Volleyball Championship which ended in Teheran today.

• Jayalaxmi, Rushmi to meet in final
• Ashok, Irina Brar maintain lead
• Sonal, Sunil move into semifinal
• Vijay, Bhoop card two under 70

Taylor, Langer in big stand

PESHAWAR, Oct 15 (Reuters, AP) — Skipper Mark Taylor, who slammed an unbeaten 112 enabled Australia to score 224 for one at close on the first day of the second Test match against Pakistan here today.

Australia lost its opener Michael Slater at two when he was caught at gully by Azhar Mahmood on Akhtar's fourth over of the day.

Skipper Mark Taylor was dropped by Saeed Anwar at short extra cover, off Mushtaq Ahmed's ball when on 18.

Left-handed Justin Langer, who played some attractive square cuts off Azhar Manhood, looked in good form and remained not out on 97.

The teams broke for lunch when the tourists were 78 for one.

Pakistan's attack has been weakened during this Test as left-arm fast bowler Wasim Akram is down with Flu.

Australia were a comfortable 167 for one at tea.

Langer, playing in his 10th Test, reached his fourth fifty as he hit Mohammad Zahid for four past mid-wicket. He had hit six fours in 103 minutes and faced 68 balls.

Later Taylor reached his 37th Test fifty in 191 minutes with seven fours.

Akhtar was quick and accurate in his opening first five overs where he gave away only five runs and was rewarded with Slater's wicket. However, Zahid bowled a number of no balls, three in succession in his third over.

Pakistan made four changes from the team which lost by an innings and 99 runs in the opening Test at Rawalpindi. Akram made way for Zahid while off-spinner Saqlain Mushtaq was replaced by Akhtar. Yousuf Youhanna and Ijaz Ahmed were included in the side in place of Muhammad Hussain and Muhammad Wasim.

Australia made only one change from the team which recorded its first victory on Pakistani soil in Rawalpindi after 39 years. Darren Lehmann, who has not fully recovered from his groin injury, was replaced by middle-order batsman Ricky Ponting.

AUSTRALIA (Ist innings):
Taylor not out 112
Slater c Azhar Mahmood b
Shoaib Akhtar 2
Langer not out 97
Extras (LB-3, W-1, NB-9) 13
Total (for one) 224
Fall of wickets: 1-16.
Bowling: Shoaib Akhtar 17-5-56-1, Mohamma Zahid 13-0-55-0, Mushtaq Ahmed 19-1-61-0, Azhar Mahmood 8-1-27-0, Aamir Sohail 12-3-22-0.

Tyson not sure of getting licence

PHOENIX, Oct 15 (AP) — Former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson said he isn't confident he'll get back his boxing licence. His doubts, however, aren't keeping him from preparing for a possible fight this year.

For the past two weeks, Tyson has been training in a gym near downtown Phoenix awaiting a Nevada State Athletic Commission decision whether to allow him to resume boxing. Other states have been honouring the licence revocation.

"I don't think they are going to give me back my licence, to be honest", Tyson said after a workout yesterday. "I'm not sure of anything, especially anything nice happening to me".

"Some of the great fighters and great trainers and many of these great people in boxing can't even get their names in the paper unless they mention my name".

His licence was suspended after he bit Evander Holyfield's ears during a June 1997 heavyweight championship fight.

Many in the industry questioned weather Tyson's mental state was sufficiently stable for him to remain in boxing.

Tyson signed autographs for a small group of people yesterday before entering the gym with his entourage for a few hours of training.

The five-member Nevada commission will hold a hearing on Tyson's revoked licence on Monday. The commissioners are expected to cast their final votes that day as well, said Mr Marc Ratner, The commission's executive director.

"There certainly has been no prejudice whatsoever," Mr Ratner said, declining comment on what Tyson said yesterday. "He will have a fair and equitable hearing".

Tyson, 31, ignored questions seeking his comment on Tuesday's release of a psychiatric report by the commission which concluded he suffered from a "constellation of neurobehavioral deficits" but was mentally fit to return to the ring.

Nevertheless, Tyson said "I feel great" and called Phoenix extremely positive. "I don't want to be any place else".

Mr Stacy McKinley, one of Tyson's trainers, said he suggested Tyson work out in Phoenix, selecting Madison Square Garden gym two blocks away from the Governor's office.

"It's an old, throwback-type of gym that Mike was brought up in. It's not a fancy-type gym", McKinley said.

Tyson has been training five or six days a week.

"I think he'll be here for a couple of months. He likes the town, he likes the gym and the people are kind to him", Mr McKinley said. "He is in good shape. He'll be ready for his fight".

Mr Richard Rodriguez, who runs the gym, said it was an honour to have Tyson and doesn't care about the former champ's past. "We are all human and we all make mistakes", he said.

Mr Rodriguez said he's trying to secure Tyson's permission to rename the gym Mike Tyson's Youth Centre".

Sampras battles to stay on top

VIENNA, Oct 15 (Reuters) — Top seed Pete Sampras grafted his way back from a set down to beat qualifier Jeff Tarango 5-7 6-1 6-3 in the second round of the CA-Trophy last night.

Battling to hold on to his number one status until the end of the year, Sampras said he had not played his best tennis against his fellow American but had pushed himself to victory.

"In a match where you are not playing well, you just find a way," he said.

Sampras, who obtained a wild card from Boris Becker to play in the tournament, failed to find his rhythm in the first set. Games went with serve until Tarango broke at 5-5 before closing out the set.

In the second set, Sampras moved up a gear and took control with a powerful serving display.

He broke Tarango’s serve twice in the final set and clinched victory on his fourth match point to secure a meeting with either Britain’s Tim Henman or Sweden’s Thomas Enqvist in the third round.

Sampras (27) said he was in good physical and mental condition to keep up a gruelling playing schedule and maintain his world supremacy.

"I feel like this next month is very important, so I’m going to fight very hard," he said. "It’s a tough stretch. I’ve never done this before, played so many weeks in a row."

"I certainly hope I can dig deep and get through this."

If he manages to cling to the top spot until the end of December, the American will become the first player to hold the number one position for six consecutive years.

But he is under pressure from Australia’s Pat Rafter and Chile’s Marcelo Rios. World number two Rafter edged past Zimbabwe’s Byron Black 6-3 7-6.

The US Open champion needed just one break to take the first set comfortably but struggled in the second.

Black broke Rafter’s serve to go 2-0 up but the Australian kept his cool and broke back before pulling away in the tie break.

Rafter said he had adjusted to the pressure of being world number two and that taking the top spot was a matter of confidence more than anything else.

"If I keep believing, then the impossible can happen," he said.

French Open champion and world number four Carlos Moya did not enjoy the same good fortune, slumping out in the first round to unfancied Czech Bohdan Ulihrach 7-6 6-4.

Dutchman Richard Krajicek was another seed to make an early exit, despite hammering down 27 aces in a two and a half hour marathon. He lost 6-7 (1/7) 7-6 (7/5) 4-6 to Frenchman Cedric Pioline in a tight, serve dominated match.

Krajicek was the third seed to crash out, following seventh seed Yevgeny Kafelnikov’s loss to Britain’s Greg Rusedski on Tuesday.

ZURICH: Lindsay Davenport began her reign as world number one with a workmanlike 6-4 6-2 win over Julie Halard-Decugis to reach the European Indoor Championship quarterfinals on Tuesday.

Davenport needed just 58 minutes to eliminate Halard-Decugis, extending her remarkable five-year run on Swiss courts to 14 victories.

The American, who officially took over top spot in the women’s rankings on Monday from injured Swiss teenager Martina Hingis, has not lost a match in Switzerland since 1992 when she crashed out in the first round of the European Championships.

Davenport, then 16, returned the next year to claim her first professional title and retained her crown in 1994.

The US Open champion was back last year and once again left with the European title.

"It was hard to play being number one, it adds a little more pressure," said Davenport, winner of five tournaments this season. "I didn’t play great tennis last night."

Spain’s Conchita Martinez became the first seed to fall, losing 6-2 7-6 to Irina Spirlea.

After meekly surrendering the first set, third-seeded Martinez looked poised for a comeback when she led 5-2 in the second.

But the Spaniard was unable to close out the set, losing it 7-0 in a tiebreak.

France’s Mary Pierce, the seventh seed and world number 11, battled her way into the quarterfinals with a 7-6 6-1 win over South African Joanette Kruger.

Pierce, apparently injury-free after going through much of the season with a string of nagging ailments, struggled early on but recovered to take the opening set tiebreak 8-6.

With her boyfriend, Baltimore Orioles all-star second baseman Roberto Alomar watching, Pierce took the last bit of fight out of Kruger when she broke the South African to go up 3-1 in the second.

"If I had lost that first set it would have given her confidence and I think it would have been a tough match," said Pierce, twice a winner this season despite playing in just 12 tournaments. "My goal right now is to stay healthy."

Sixth-seeded South African Amanda Coetzer reached the last eight of the first time in three attempts with a tidy 6-3 6-1 win over Romania’s Ruxandra Dragomir.

Pollock doubtful for Bangladesh tourney

DURBAN, Oct 15 (Reuters) — Shaun Pollock may miss the Wills International Cup One-Day Tournament in Bangladesh later this month because of a mystery back injury.

Kwazulu-Natal fitness adviser Andrew Shedlock said yesterday a fitness test to confirm the South African paceman’s participation in a limited overs match against Free State was scrapped after Pollock had struggled through "a few exercises".

Pollock visited a specialist for the third time in two weeks for Tests which, it is hoped, will finally shed light on the nature and extent of the injury.

Mr Shedlock said he considered it unwise to keep Pollock in the South African squad for the Dhaka tournament starting on October 24. It involves all nine Test playing countries.

"Considering the five Tests we will play against the West Indies this summer, not to mention all the one-day internationals, I think Pollock should stay at home and rest instead of going to Bangladesh," Shedlock said.

Pollock sustained what was termed a minor back strain in a match last month. When he underwent a scan no major damage was revealed.

Another visit to a different specialist yielded similarly reassuring but vague results.

Shedlock hopes the problem will be diagnosed when the latest in-depth test results are available.

James Bond-style car for Olympics ?

SYDNEY, Oct 15 (AFP) — Sydney Olympic organisers are considering buying a James Bond-style car to ferry VIPs around during the 2000 games.

The purpose-built, high-security car from BMW can be started by remote control to check for booby traps, has bullet-proof armouring, a fire extinguisher that runs the length of the car, and, in case all else fails, a multi-layered glass passenger cabin that can be sealed off with its own oxygen supply.

"James Bond may be a fictional character but his car is almost here," BMW Corporate Affairs Manager John Kananghinis said today.

The key point is the three-tonne car looks exactly like the two-tonne 7-series model.

"There’s not much point in having a high security limousine that everybody knows is a high-security limousine," Mr Kananghinis said.

BMW has put a sales proposal to the Sydney Olympics organising committee who declined to comment for security reasons.

The car would cost the Sydney games organisers 600,000 Australian dollars (Rs 1.50 crore) because of tax-exemptions, although a private buyer would have to pay 940,000 Australian dollars.

England, Germany win at last

LONDON, Oct 15 (AP) — Their coaches under pressure after poor results, powerhouses England and Germany have survived early scares to score much needed victories over soccer minnows Luxembourg and Moldova in the European Championship.

Conceding an early penalty, England yesterday scored a 3-0 win over a Luxembourg team which had lost its previous 11 games while Germany won 3-1 at Moldova after letting in an early goal.

World Cup winners France also had a tough time breaking down the Andorra defence before winning 2-0 at Saint-Etienne. When the French basked in the glory of their World Cup triumph, they would have expected to have beaten Andorra something like 7-0.

Luxembourg’s Dany Theis had the chance to embarrass England in the sixth minute with the score at 0-0 but fired over the top from the penalty spot in the the 8,200 capacity Josy Barthel Stadium.

Worse for Theis was that his handball gave England the penalty kick that allowed Alan Shearer to fire his team’s second goal, which was sandwiched by strikes from Michael Owen and Gareth Southgate.

After a loss to Sweden and a dour home 0-0 tie with Bulgaria, Glenn Hoddle’s team at least stays in contention for the finals and, although his players were again booed off the field by their own fans, his job is safe at least until March when England plays again in group 5.

Sweden joined Poland on six points in group 5 by winning 1-0 at Bulgaria through Henrik Larsson’s second half strike.

Beaten by Turkey on Saturday, Germany appeared headed for more trouble when they fell behind to Moldova after only six minutes at Kishinev.

But two goals by Ulf Kirsten and one by AC Milan’s Oliver Bierhoff turned it into a 3-1 win but Eric Ribbech’s team still has three points to make up on Turkey and Finland.

The Turks had a great chance to open up a big lead but were beaten 3-1 at home by the Finns and both teams have six points.

Right back Vincent Candela and Youri Djorkaeff scored the second half goals that eased the French nerves at Saint-Etienne.

France move up to second in group 4 behind Ukraine, which has a maximum nine points from three games after beating Armenia 2-0. Russia tumbled to its third loss in a row, 1-0 in Iceland, and still doesn’t have a point.

Liverpool’s Patrik Berger fired home two free kicks and Lazio’s Pavel Nedved also hit the target as the Czech Republic, runner up at the last Europeans in 1996, romped to a 4-0 half time lead against Estonia. The Czechs triumphed 4-1 to stay top of group 9 with a maximum nine points from three games.

Latvia stayed top of group 2 despite a 1-0 loss at Slovenia. Greece moved up to second after a 3-0 victory over Georgia while Norway hit back to salvage a 2-2 tie after surprisingly falling two goals behind at home to Albania.

After their upset loss to Cyprus which led to the departure of long time coach Javier Clemente, Spain gained a 2-1 win over Israel under newcomer Jose Antonio Camacho to climb off the bottom of group 6. Austria jumped to the top above Israel by crushing San Marino 4-1.

Two goals by Joao Pinto sparked Portugal to a 3-0 win at Slovakia to end the home team’s perfect start to the group 7 campaign and move his team up to second behind Romania, which was held to a 1-1 tie by Hungary in Budapest.

Ireland crushed Malta 5-0 with two goals from 18-year-old striker Robbie Keane, who became the youngest Irish scorer since John Giles in 1959.

The Irish top the group on goal difference from world cup semifinalists Croatia who came from behind to beat Macedonia 3-2.

Azhar retained skipper

AHMEDABAD, Oct 15 (PTI) — The national cricket selectors today expectedly retained Mohammed Azharuddin as India’s captain for the two forthcoming back-to-back limited overs tournaments at Dhaka and Sharjah.

"It was just a formality," selection committee chairman Ajit Wadekar told reporters after the meeting and the decision was taken in a very short time with there being only one candidate for the hot seat in Indian cricket, according to cricket board Secretary Jaywant Lele.

The selectors’ choice was hardly surprising considering Azhar’s success rate as captain since taking over from Sachin Tendulkar at the beginning of this year and notwithstanding the humiliating 1-4 defeat against Pakistan in the Sahara Cup series at Toronto and the shock defeat in the one-off test against Zimbabwe at Harare.

India have won five out of eight one-day tournaments or series since January — their losses coming in the tri-series in April at home, the Commonwealth Games and the Toronto series in September when the team was split into two.

The Dhaka nine-nation Wills Cup Tournament is to be held from October 24 to November 1 with India taking on Australia on October 28 in their opening knock-out encounter.

The tri-nation Coca Cola Cup tournament at Sharjah, featuring India, Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka, begins on November 6.

The Indian team for the two tournaments is to be chosen here on October 18, the last day of the N.K.P. Salve (Challenger) Trophy Tournament, Lele added.

Tendulkar, Ganguly pull out

AHMEDABAD, Oct 15 (PTI) — Megastar Sachin Tendulkar and his one-day opening partner Saurav Ganguly are the latest in the list of big names who have expressed inability to play in the N.K.P. Salve (Challenger) Trophy Cricket Tournament.

Tendulkar has been granted permission by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to take some much-needed rest from constant cricket and Ganguly has cited hamstring problem as the reason to skip the four-day tournament from today.

Tendulkar was to play under Ganguly’s captaincy for India ‘B’ and board secretary Lele said he is to be replaced by Delhi’s Mithun Minhas.

However, efforts are still on to persuade the master batsman to turn out at least for the final, scheduled for October 18, if India ‘B’ qualifies for it, it was learnt.

No replacement, as yet, has been summoned for Ganguly.

Already the tournament, billed as the selection trial for choosing the Indian team for the October 24-November 1 Dhaka nine-nation tournament and November 6 to 13 Coca Cola Cup tri-nation tournament at Sharjah, has been hit hard by the withdrawal of India skipper Mohammed Azharuddin. He has been replaced by Jyoti Yadav.

Also absent from the fray at least till the final are two other key members of the national team — Javagal Srinath and Anil Kumble who have been rested by the selectors.

SBT, Mahindras to clash in final

NEW DELHI, Oct 15 (PTI) — State Bank of Travancore (SBT), Thiruvananthapuram and Mahindra and Mahindra, Mumbai will vie for Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Cup in the fourth Chief Minister’s All-India Football Tournament here tomorrow.

SBT stormed into the final beating a strong Indian Telephone Industries (ITI), Bangalore, toppers from group ‘A’ 2-1 while Mahindra’s had to strive hard to edge a fighting local favourites CM’s Delhi Blues XI by a solitary second half goal at Ambedkar Stadium here today.

The Mumbai side forged ahead in the 52nd minute through Manjit Singh off a corner kick keenly lobbed by Satish Minz. A competing Delhi Blues put in their best for an equaliser but Mahindras played defensive to deny them any chances.

After leading 1-0 at halftime, SBT contained telecom men for much of the second half but Peter brought parity in the 76th minute. Kerala bankmen struck back in the very next minute through Sylvester Earnest to take the winning lead.

It was a brilliant brace by striker Earnest, that helped bankmen to pip ITI in the first semifinal clash of the day. In the best-ever performance by the bankmen in their footballing history, Earnest netted in the 13th and 77th minute to award his side first ever final outside Kerala.

SBT are the former Kerala Club champions and a quarter-finalist in Rovers Cup, Federation Cup and the just-concluded Revenue Cup at Chennai besides being the inter-bank champions.

The first goal was a brothers affair for SBT. Ignatious, brother of Earnest, paved way for the opener chipping in a inch-perfect cross from the left flank and Earnest made no mistake in tapping it perfectly beating an advancing ITI custodian Francis.

Bankmen could not increase the lead despite some good chances created by VP Shaji and Shabeer Ali along with their hero Earnest.

Suresh Babu and RC Prakash, the lone entrant into Asiad football probables from Karnataka gave a testing time for bank international goal keeper Feroz Sherif who punched off dangerous moves by the rivals in the box.

But substitute Peter, who replaced E Abraham after the breather, succeeded in beating Sherif at all ends to send a right footer bang home. He capitalise on a 76th-minute free kick extended to him by Suresh Babu following a mistake by Earnest who fouled a beamy Prakash just out side the 16-yard box.

Their joy could not last long as formidable Kerala side took full advantage of the centreline move to take an unassailable lead. Earnest and M Lanel Thomas pierced the ITI defence beating a line of defenders through a 1-2-1 tackle.

Earnest banged on to the minus slipped by Lanel to put his side ahead of ITI 2-1. ITI again got a fine opportunity as Peter fired in to an open net but substitute Dipu Krishnan staged a goalline save by heading the danger away conceding a corner.

The Mahindra-Delhi blues encounter gained momentum in the second half. Bhupinder Takkur was all in the court to save the day for his side in front of a supporting home crowd.

But he missed twice, failing to convert the two nice crosses by Mahesh and Bupinder. Later Dharam Pal missed by a whisker in the dying minutes off a captain Bhupinder’s corner.

Weightlifters for Asian Games
From Ravi Dhaliwal

PATIALA, Oct 15 — Indian Weightlifting Federation (IWF) has selected a five-member women squad for the 13th Asian Games scheduled to be held at Bangkok from December 6 to 20. N. Kunjarani (48 kgs) and Karnam Malleshwari (63 kgs) have already found berths for the games after selection trials held at the NIS on October 1.

The IWF has now selected three more women — Sanamacha Chanu (53 kgs), Pratima Kumari (58 kgs) and Ujwala Manh (75 kgs) — after trials held here today. The weightlifters have been selected by a committee comprising chief coach and Dronacharya awardee P.S. Sandhu, secretary of the IWF, Mr Gopal Khanra; vice-president of the IWF, Mr D.S. Virk; the Indian Olympic Association and government nominee, Mr Balbir Singh Bhatia; and the chief coach of the men's squad, Mr A. K. Sirodhi.

Romi Devi (75 kgs) was unlucky as she failed to find a place in the Bangkok-bound squad despite having qualified.

The IWF has also selected two women lifters for the world senior weightlifting championships slated to be held at Lahiti (Finland) from November 10 to 17. These lifters are Romi Devi, a bronze medalist in the world junior weightlifting championships held in May this year in Bulgaria, who has been selected in the 75 kgs, and Krishna Kumari, the younger sister of K Malleshwari selected in the 58 kgs category.

In the men's section, where the Indian lifters did extremely well in the recently-concluded Commonwealth Games out of the seven lifters who went to Kuala Lumpur, only two have found a place for the Bangkok Asian Games after today's trials. They are A Pandyan (56 kgs) and Sateesh Rai (77 kgs). While Sateesh Rai had done India proud by winning one gold and two silvers, A Pandyan had also pocketed a gold and two silvers.

The camp for both the women and the men lifters will continue till their departure for the Asian Games.

Jayalaxmi, Rushmi to meet in final

AHMEDABAD, Oct 15 (PTI) — Sai Jayalaxmi defeated Shruti Dhawan 6-2 6-2 while Rushmi Chakravarty beat Awan Wongkamalasai of Thailand 5-7 7-6 (7-2) 6-1 to set up a title clash in the final of UN Mehta Memorial First Leg ITF Women’s Tennis Circuit Tournament at AGETA courts here today.

In the first semifinal Sai Jayalaxmi seemed to be in control of her game from the first serve while Shruti seemed to be going through the motions.

Despite playing the first match early in the morning under pleasant climatic conditions due to overnight heavy shower that lashed this city, Shruti could not contain Sai Jayalaxmi who conceded just two games in the first set.

Shruti gave a slightly improved performance in the second set but Jayalaxmi made a breakthrough when it mattered and wrapped up the match in just one hour and seven minutes.

After the match Jayalaxmi told reporters that she was not very happy with her performance and was capable of playing much better. Shruti attributed her failure to her serves and a little fatigue.

In the other semifinal, Rushmi staged a fine rally to oust Orawan Wongkamalasai. The Thai girl began with a flourish winning the first set at 7-5. Rushmi then swung into action despite being down 1-4. She steadied her game, exploited her rival’s weak backhand and began to get her serves right. The game went into tie-breaker after Rushmi broke her rival in second and fourth games. She won 7-6 (7-2).

The Thai girl’s game totally disintegrated in the third set. Her serves let her down while Rushmi, although showing signs of fatigue, latched on fully knowing that this was the time for her to zero in and finish her rival.

Orawan seemed to be having stomach trouble and could not get her first serves going. She had literally given up.

Rushmi then just maintained her cool and completed the victory formalities in two hours and 15 minutes.

Ashok, Irina Brar maintain lead
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Oct 15 — Ashok Kumar of Delhi and Irina Brar of Chandigarh maintained their lead in the under-18 boys’ and girls’ sections, respectively, on the penultimate day of the St Xavier’s Northern India Junior and Subjunior Golf Championship at the Chandigarh Golf Club here today.

Ashok returned a grand one-over card of 73 today, his best in the tournament so far, to finish with a three-day aggregate of 228. He was five strokes ahead of his nearest rival Shiv Kapoor of Delhi, who had a card of 74. Local boy Sandy Lehal repeated his card of 77 for a three-day aggregate of 236 to be in the third place.

Irina Brar kept up her good performance returning a card of 82 today. Yet to turn 15, Irina had a two-day aggregate of 166. This score was five strokes better than Guneet Raikhy, another Chandigarh girl, who had a card of 83 today. Jasmeet Sawhney with 172 was placed third.

In the under-15 boys' category Chiragh Kumar had a card of 80 today. And with Prince Dhillon returning a plus-14 card, Chiragh overtook Prince Dhillon by just one stroke with a total of 254 points. Mohammed Wazir had a total three-day score of 259.

In the boys' under-13 category Aditya Singh led with a score of 258. He was followed by Roger Hilton (260) and Vikram Nandrajog (261).

In the under-10 section Richard Hilton led with a score of 187. Montek Mayal (192) and Rohan Malhotra (198) followed in that order.

The Flying Sikh Milkha Singh will be the chief guest at the prize distribution function to be held at the Golf Club tomorrow.

IHF names 24 probables for Cairo meet

NEW DELHI, Oct 15 (PTI) — The Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) today named 24 probables for the six-nation Akhbar-el-Youm International Hockey Tournament to be held in Cairo from November 13 to 20.

The probables, picked from among the juniors who could not make to the 29-member probables for the Bangkok Asian Games, will undergo training at a camp in Chennai from October 23 to November 7, an IHF press note said here.

Probables:

Goalkeepers: Teja Singh (PSB), Ambuj Shrivastava (Railways), B. C. Poonacha (Central Excise).

Full-backs: Bikramjeet Singh (PSB), Dinesh Naik (TN), Saurabh Bishnoi (Mumbai), Anurag Raghuvanshi (Air India Academy), Ronad Kiran (Karnataka).

Halfbacks: Paramjeet Singh (Ct of Excellence), Bimal Lakra (Orissa), Rameo Albeque (Mumbai), Radhakrishnan (TN), Baljit Singh Chandi (PSB), Natarajan (TN), Anwar Khan (Railways).

Forwards: Suresh (Customs), Sendhil (TN), Gursevak Singh (PSB), Cyprian Aind (Services), Paul Kirubakaran (TN), Gurjant Singh (Ct. of Excellence), Harbhajan Singh (BSF), Mukesh Kumar (CRPF), Bipin Fernandes (Ct. of Excellence).

Coaches: C.R. Kumar, Harinder Singh, and V. Prabhakaran.

Sonal, Sunil move into semifinal

NEW DELHI, Oct 15 (UNI) — Girls under-16 top seed Sonal Phadke of Maharashtra and boys under-16 second seed Sunil Kumar of Chandigarh were among the favourites moving into the semifinal of the DSCL National Tennis Championships here today.

Falling by the wayside were boys under-14 second seed Vikrant Sane of Maharashtra and boys under-16 third seed Vinod K Sewa of West Bengal.

Tamil Nadu’s Avinash Reddy staged a fine battle to down Sane 7-6 (7-6), 6-7 (6-7), 6-4 in the best match of the day while Sewa went down tamely 2-6, 4-6 in the quarterfinal to Benjamin Xavier of Tamil Nadu.

Second seed Sunil Kumar moved into the boys under-16 semifinal after beating West Bengal’s Harshit Sharma 6-4, 6-0 and will face Xavier in the semis. The girls under-16 favourite Sonal Phadke moved ahead eliminating Andhra player Y Lakshmi Reddy 6-1, 4-6, 6-1.

In other boys under-16 quarterfinals, Yogendra Naik (AP) beat Ashutosh Singh (Delhi) 7-5, 6-2 and Anant Sitaram (AP) beat state-mate P Ravi Krishna 6-3, 7-5.

Shreen Yusuf (Karnataka) beat Megha Vakaria (Maharashtra) 6-3,

6-2, Lisa Pereira (Maharashtra) beat c Nandita (TN) 6-7 (4-7), 6-0, 6-3 and Geeta Manohar (AP) beat T Yamini (TN) 6-3, 6-0.

In boys under-14 quarterfinals, third seed Nishank Mishra of Delhi beat local boy Nikhil V Murali 6-3,

6-2, Dhrub Kumar (West Bengal) beat Devender Singh Bhusari (Gujarat)

6-2, 6-3 and Amanjot Singh (Chandigarh) beat Rohan Gujjar (Maharashtra) 2-6, 6-2, 6-1.

Vijay, Bhoop card two under 70
From Our Sports Reporter

FARIDABAD, Oct 15 — Vijay Kumar and Bhoop Singh, both of Lucknow, were the best among 74 professionals as they carded two under 70 on the opening day of the four-day Royal Challenge Aravalli Open here today.

Chandigarh’s rookie pro Gursimran Sethi was in his element as he demonstrated his skill and ability in carding one under 71 when many seasoned campaigners found going rough and tough on a very challenging course.

"I enjoyed every minute of playing on this nine-hole course and I am optimistic of performing well as I gain experience", said Gursimran.

Bhoop Singh was all smile in returning the card as good as his senior pro Vijay Kumar’s. "I drew inspiration from Vijay and I am so delighted that I am level with him", said Bhoop Singh.

Ali Sher, up in clouds one day and down in the dump the following, played one of the worst games of this illustrious golfing career. He carded eight over 80 to his surprise as also bewilderment of many of his ardent admirers.

"I did nothing right today", said Ali Sher, adding: "I often got into rough and my putting once again let me down".

Shiv Prakash, another established pro, returned the card of four over 76, while Basad Ali and Feroz Ali had fired two over 74.

All professionals and nine amateurs, who teed-off today, were unanimous in their opinion that the course looked simple but was, in effect, difficult to fire impressive scores.

Vikramjit Singh, who turned pro recently, chose to skip the tournament.

India 5th in Asian jr volleyball

CHENNAI, Oct 15 (PTI) — Indian men’s team finished fifth among 12 in the Asian Junior Volleyball Championship which ended in Teheran today.

According to K. Murugan, executive Vice-President, Volleyball Federation of India, the team had defeated strong Australia 3-1 to clinch the fifth spot. India dropped the first set 11-15 but came back strongly to take the second without yielding a point. Though Indian men faced some spirited challenge in the third, they managed to win 15-10 for a 2-1 lead.

With attacking players Yawar Ali, Shankar Ganesh (both Andhra Pradesh) and Kumar (TN) maintaining the tempo with effective blocks and smashes, India reeled off points in quick time for a 15-6 fourth set win and to take the match.

Final standings: 1 Iran, 2 Chinese Taipei, 3 Korea, 4 China, 5 India, 6 Australia, 7 Pakistan, 8 Japan, 9 Qatar, 10 U.A.E., 11 Kazakhistan, and 12 Sri Lanka.

Indian boys thrash Vietnam 3-0
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Oct 15 — India thrashed Vietnam by three goals to nil today in a league match of the 27th Asian School Football Championship being played at Cheju (Korea), according to reports reaching here.

The Indian lads were in full cry right from the word go. They dominated the proceedings with the forwards raiding the rival territory several times. In the fifth minute Duleswar sent a cross to Tridip, who took a powerful header but the ball struck the cross bar. In the 16th minute Duleswar dribbled past two defenders and was about to take a shot in the penalty area but a Vietnam defender tackled him from behind and as a result a penalty kick was awarded to India. Duleswar Rabha converted it and at the breather India were leading 1-0.

After the lemon break India mounted more pressure. In the 60th minute, Lanunzira Josep sent a through pass to Duleswar Rabha who scored the second goal for India with a solo effort. In the 75th minute Manmeet replaced Padum Rabha and in the 81st minute Mukand Yadav sent a through pass to right-winger Manmeet who after dribbling past one defender sent the ball into the net.

This is the second victory for India in this championship.

In other matches, China beat Brunei 3-1, and Thailand drubbed Malaysia 10-1.

Babita, Arjun Prasad allround champions

LUDHIANA, Oct 15 (FOSR) — Babita, a student of RS Model Senior Secondary School, Ludhiana, secured 26.30 points and Arjun Prasad of Coaching Centre, Khanna, collected 27.85 points and were declared allround champions among sub-junior girls and boys, respectively, in the Ludhiana District Gymanstics Championship which began at the multipurpose hall of Gurunanak Stadium here today.

In the sub-junior girls section RS Model Senior Secondary School, garnered 87.40 points to lift the team title while Coaching Centre with 84.15 points won team championship in the sub-junior boys section.

Earlier, Mr V.K. Mehta, Principal, Arya College, inaugurated the championship in which about 125 gymnasts were taking part.

Today's results:

Team championship: (girls U-12) RS Model Sr Sec School (Ldh) 87.40 pts-1, Govt Sr Sec School (Gobindnagar) 70.00 pts-2, Nav Bharti Club (Ldh) 31.70 pts-3.

Individual allround champion: Babita — RS Model Sr Sec School (Ldh) 26.30 pts-1, Amanpreet — RS Model Sr Secondary School (Ldh) 23.10 pts-2, Rekha — Govt Sr Sec School (Gobindnagar) 20.80 pts-3.

Team championship (boys U-14): Coaching Centre (Khanna) 84.15 pts-1, Coaching Centre (Ldh) 70.30 pts-2, Khalsa Sr Sec School (Khanna) 46.70 pts-3.

Individual allround champion: Arjun Prasad (Coaching Centre, Khanna) 27.85 pts-1, Vivek Sinha (Coaching Centre, Ldh): 23.90 pts-2, Amandeep Singh (Coaching Centre, Khanna): 17.70 pts-3.

Football team for Asian school meet

CHANDIGARH, Oct 15 (TNS) — The School Games Federation of India has fielded a team in the Asian School Football Championship currently under way at Cheju (Korea).

The championship will conclude on October 14.

The following are the team members: Kanai Yadav, Safir Ahmed, Suman Kumar Dayal, Konthoujam Sanaton Singh, Raju Kumar Basumatary, Loitowgam Kanla Kanta Singh, Jaideep Singh, Mukand Yadav, Rong Hang Singh, Lanunzira Josep, Tridip Khound, Rabha Duleswar, Rabha Padum, Amardeep Singh, Manmeet Singh, and Kakaty Lakheswar.

SGFI sponsors team for gymnastics meet

CHANDIGARH, Oct 15 (TNS) — The School Games Federation of India has sponsored a team for the 11th World Gymnasiade being held at Shanghai from October 12 to 19.

The expenditure on the board and lodging is being met either by the players themselves or by their state units, according to Mr B.D. Gandhi, secretary-general of the SGFI.

The following have left for Shanghai for taking part in the World Gymnasiade: Sharavari Bhagyaravi, Salont Vijay Kumar, Pavan Mukand Bhoir, Manvendra Mukund Bhoir, Krishan Kumar, Sukhbir Singh Brar and Prameet Bhargava.

Mr C.L Negi is the head of the delegation while Ashok Kumar Sharma, Rajender Sharma and Ramdayal Omkar Sharma are the coaches.

Varsity kabaddi

PATIALA, Oct 15 (FOSR) — Punjabi University, Patiala, will hold North Zone inter university kabaddi (men) national style championship from October 22 to 29. In this championships 19 universities are expected to participate, according to a university Press note here today.

Delhi Cantt team finishes on top

CHANDIGARH, Oct 15 (BOSR) — Kendriya Vidyalaya No. 1 Hostel team, Delhi Cantt of North Zone bagged the first position in the under-16 boys cricket tournament in the KVS Sports meet which concluded here today. KV No. 1 Ferozepore Cantt, Chandigarh region (North Zone) secured the second position and KV Sagar, Bhopal region took the third position.

Mr JD Kalra, Assistant Commissioner, Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan Chandigarh region, welcomed the guests and presented a report of the Inter-KV Sports Tournament, which is a part of the KVS national sports meet-98.

At the closing function at KV AFS high grounds, Group Captain SS Nannar, Commanding Officer, and Mrs Harjinder were the chief guests.

The boys under-19 cricket awards ceremony was performed at KV 3 BRD, AFS, Chandigarh. KV, Picket Hyderabad region of south zone won the first position while KV Delhi Cantt Hostel team got the second and KV, GCF, Jabalpur region of central zone stood third. Air Commodre Aggarwal, AOC 3 BRD and Mrs Aggarwal were the chief guests.

Children at both the places presented a colourful cultural programme on the occasion.

DAV Sr Sec School-8 enter final

CHANDIGARH, Oct 15 — DAV Senior Secondary School, Sector 8, moved into the finals of the Shivalik Trophy Cricket Tournament being played here at Cricket Stadium, Sector 16. In the semifinals, they subdued Govt Sr Sec School, Sector 27, by 110 runs. The winner of tomorrow’s semifinal between Sanjay Public School and GSSS, Sector 27, will play the final slated for October 17.

Earlier in the quarterfinal, Sanjay Public School beat Shivalik Public School by five wickets.

Brief scores: (semifinal): DAV-8: 162 for 4 in 25 overs (Gaurav Mehta 66 n.o., Ashish Sharma 40, Lakshay 29). GSS-27: 52 for all out in 17.3 overs (Naresh 20, Sandeep 11, Jagmeet Sekhon 6 for 6 with a hattrick), Manpratap 3 for 12).

Q-final: Shivalik Public School: 107 all out in 25 overs (Nitin 23, Ketan 29, Vikram Sharma 4 for 18, Kamalpreet 2 for 17). Sanjay Public School: 108 for 5 in 16.2 overs (Sanjay 26 n.o., Raynold 20 n.o., Pardeep 19, Ketan 3 for 30).