Ahmed held sway on and off the field
HYDERABAD, Oct 28 — Ghulam Ahmed, a towering cricketer and sagacious administrator who held sway on and off the field for over four decades, died here this morning after a prolonged illness.

IOA yet to decide on disciplines
PATIALA, Oct 28 — With just about 40 days left for the opening of the 13th Asian Games scheduled to be held at Bangkok the Indian Olympic Association is yet to decide not only on the disciplines in which the Indians will be fielding their contingents for the games but also the criteria to be adopted for selection in "measurable" events.

Durand Cup: Mahindras storm into final
NEW DELHI, Oct 28 — Mahindra and Mahindra, Mumbai defeated Air-India via the tie-breaker 3-1 to storm into the final of Durand Cup Football Tournament here today.

Remya establishes new record
CHANDIGARH, Oct 28 — V. Remya of Calicut University with a timing of 10:20.94 established a new record in 800 metres free style for women on the second day of the All-India Inter-University Aquatic Championship for men and women on the Panjab University campus here today.

Thumping 175-run win for Delhi
NEW DELHI, Oct 28 — Vijaya Dahiya played a captain’s knock of 102 while Virendra Sehwag consolidated with a fine 71 followed by a superb bowling spell of four for 17 to spur Delhi to a thumping 175-run victory over Services in their second Ranji Trophy one-day match here today.

Dinesh Mongia stars in Punjab win
AMRITSAR, Oct 28 — Dinesh Mongia’s brilliant knock of 80 off 94 balls helped Punjab defeat lowly-placed Jammu and Kashmir by 66 runs in the limited overs Ranji Trophy match at the Gandhi grounds here today.

Dhanraj, Mukesh, Subbaiah axed
NEW DELHI, Oct 28 — Star forwards Dhanraj Pillay, Mukesh Kumar and goalkeeper A.B. Subbaiah do not figure in the 16-member Indian team for the four nation pre-Asian Games hockey tourney to be held at Bangkok from November 1 to 7.

Pawan Kapoor for USA
CHANDIGARH, Oct 28 — Pawan Kapoor of CITCO has left for the USA to take part in the $ 50,000 US Satellite Tennis Championship from October 28 to November 22.

Colourful start to Punjab sport fest
LUDHIANA, Oct 28 — Tejinder Kaur clinched the first gold medal for Jalandhar when she clocked 2.23.9 sec to win the 800m race on the opening day of the Punjab State Sports Festival for junior girls at the Guru Nanak Stadium here today.

Haryana beat HP UNA, Oct 28 — Haryana defeated Himachal Pradesh by 48 runs in the one-day Ranji Cricket match here today.

Sachin powers India into semis

DHAKA, Oct 28 (PTI) — Sachin Tendulkar hit up a dazzling 141 and followed it up with wily haul of four for 38 to lead India to an emphatic 44-run victory against Australia and a place in the semifinals of the Wills International Cup Cricket Tournament here tonight.

Chasing a huge victory target of 308, Australia were cruising merrily at 145 for one when left-arm spinner Sunil Joshi struck two vital blows to break the momentum.

That set the stage for Tendulkar to get once again into the act, as he has done innumerable times before mostly with the bat, to send the Australians hurling from a comfortable 167 for two to a shocking 263 all out with 11 balls to spare.

Australia were looking set to upset the Indian applecart with Mark Waugh (74) and Ricky Ponting (41) putting on 94 runs for the second wicket before the Indian bowlers struck. Joshi (2/57) provided the breakthrough by castling Ponting in the 26th over and then got Waugh out, stumped by Nayan Mongia.

Two quick dismissals shook the Aussies as they crumbled to the pressure of mounting runrate and accurate bowling by the Indians specially Tendulkar and speedster Srinath (2/36).

Earlier, batting maestro Tendulkar continued with his dashing form against Australia compiling another century, third straight against the Kangroos and 19th of his career.

Tendulkar, who saw his opening partner Saurav Ganguly (1) and skipper Azharuddin (0) returning back to the pavilion with score reading eight, combined well with Rahul Dravid (48) to put India back on the road to safety.

India:
Ganguly c Gilchrist b Kasprowicz 1
Tendulkar run out 141
Azharuddin lbw Fleming 0
Dravid run out 48
Jadeja run out 71
R Singh c Gilchrist b Kasprowicz 3
Agarkar b Kasprowicz 10
Joshi run out 3
Srinath not out 5
Mongia not out 0
Extras (lb-8, w-10, nb-7) 25
Total (for eight wkts in 50 overs) 307
Fall of wickets: 1-7, 2-8, 3-148, 4-280, 5-286, 6-292, 7-301, 8-305.
Bowling: Fleming 10-1-45-1, Kasprowicz 9-0-71-3, Julian 10-0-39-0,S Waugh 3-0-23-0, Brad Young 8-0-64-0, Mark Waugh 6-0-27-0, Lehmann 4-0-30-0.
Australia:
Gilchrist b Srinath 25
M Waugh c Mongia b Joshi 74
Ponting b Joshi 41
Julien c Dravid b Srinath 20
Lehmann lbw Agarkar 27
S Waugh c and b Tendulkar 7
Bevan b Tendulkar 8
Martyn c Jadeja b Tendulkar 24
Young c Dravid b Tendulkar 18
Kasprowicz run out 7
Fleming not out 2
Extras (lb-3, w-5, nb-2) 10
Total (all out in 48.1 overs) 263
Fall of wickets: 1-51, 2-145, 3-167, 4-172, 5-194, 6-210, 7-217, 8-247, 9-257.
Bowling: Srinath 9-0-36-2, Agarkar 10-0-61-1, Kumble 9-0-44-0, Joshi 8-0-57-2, Robin Singh 3-0-24-0, Tendulkar 9.1-0-38-4.

Lightning kills football team

KINSHASA, Oct 28 (Reuters) — Lightning killed all 11 members of a football team during a match in the Democratic Republic of Congo while leaving the opposing team untouched, a Kinshasa newspaper said today.

"Lightning killed at a stroke 11 young people aged between 20 and 35 years during a football match," said a report in the daily L’Avenir.

Thirty other persons had received burns at the weekend match, said the report which was sourced to the Congo Press Agency. It said: "The athletes from (the home team) Basanga curiously came out of this catastrophe unscathed."

The two teams in the match, in eastern Kasai province, were drawing 1-1 when the lightning struck, the paper said. "The exact nature of the lightning has divided the population in this region known for its use of fetishes in football," it added.

There was no official confirmation of the report as a rebel war affects much of the east of the country.

Heavy storms since the weekend were reported to have washed away shanty homes in parts of the capital Kinshasa, killing a boy in one district.

Daniel, Jeev among key contestants
From Our Sports Reporter

NEW DELHI, Oct 28 - Two former champions, Daniel Chopra (inaugural year), and Vivek Bhandari (last year), Jyoti Randhawa (runner-up-play-off) and champion-to-be Jeev Milkha Singh are among key contestants for the Honda-Siel-AGC Golf Championship, which tees-off tomorrow at the Army Club (AGC) course.

All four leading stars, creditable performers abroad, expressed their sanguine hope that they had set their sight on securing a lion’s share of the Rs 28-lakh prize money.

The four young and enthusiastic pros were, however, dissimilar in their assertion. If Bhandari, usually a player of a few words, wore the optimism of retaining the title, Chopra, now a Swedish citizen, was happy-go-lucky about the outcome as he shrugged his shoulders in his typical style.

Randhawa displayed his devil-may-care spirit for gaining the title that he last won in play-off in 1996. Jeev was calm and placid. He seemed keen to translate the ‘Army course’ into ‘home track’ to provide a befitting gift to his father, Milkha, a legendary figure, who had begun his athletics career with the Army.

Bhandari said accurate putting was helping him for his indifferent shots that he was making. "If I strike the ball better as also putt as consistently as I have been doing, I should have the field day in the championship", said Bhandari.

Chopra said that he was a much improved player now and "I should perform well since I do not find much difference between courses in Europe and the Army course I am confident of doing well", asserted Chopra.

Randhawa pinned his faith in recent performances. "I am motivated to win the title that I narrowly lost in 1996", said Jyoti.

Speaking about his recent improvements in hitting the ball low and straight, Jeev said that he was learning the art and subleties of playing consistently on all four days of the competitions. "I normally play well for three days but falter on one day and that has caused me concern on many occasions", said Jeev, adding: "My endeavour will be to play steadily all four days".

While all these pros are nurturing a hope of winning the title, there are some experienced observers who feel that caddy-turned-professionals, like, Vijay Kumar, Feroz Ali, Shiv Prakash and Ali Sher may prove a dark horses of the competition.

The 6623-yard par-72 course has been rendered more challenging than last year. There are new greens on 3rd and 8th holes. All pros have been appreciative of the course though some pros feel that greens are slower than they encounter abroad.

The winner gets Rs 4,66,000, while the runner-up Rs 3,11,000.

Parnita maintains lead
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Oct 28 — The second day of the sixth Punjab Amateur Ladies Golf Championship saw little change of fortunes with Parnita Garewal extending her lead over her rivals Parnita had a bad start dropping four shots in the first six holes. But then she went on to display her class and steadied to complete the round with 4 over 76.

The best performance of the day came form Shruti Khanna who after three birdies on the 7th, 11th and 16th holes was level par on the last hole only to make a disastrous triple bogey on the 18th to card a 3 over 75. She also lifted the prize for the Closest - to - the - Pin for the second day running.

Irina Brar continued her sterling performance and still lies second, six shots behind Parnita Garewal for the gross and leads the stakes for the nett prize. Shruti Khanna and Urvashi Sethi Sodhi are now joint third two shots behind Irina Brar.

The score for the various prizes after second day:-

Max India Cup (Gross)

Parnita Garewal (147), Irina Brar (153), Shruti Khanna & Urvashi Sethi Sodhi (155 each).

Max Silver Salver (0 to 9 H'cap):

Gross — Parnita Garewal (147) Irina Brar (153) Shruti Khanna & Urvashi Sethi Sodhi (155).

Nett — Irina Brar (141) Parnita Garewal (153) Shruti Khanna & Urvashi Sethi Sodhi (147).

Max Challenge Bowl (10-18 H'cap):

Gross — Dimple Minocha (176) Tanya Garewal (184) Jasmeet Sawhney (184).

Nett — Dimple Minocha (150) Jasmeet Sawhney (156) Tanya Garewal (162).

Max Bronze Plate (19-29 H'cap):

Gross — Harinder Sandhu (193) Neelu Chopra (197) Dalbir Sahi (197).

Nett — Neha Majithia (150) Neelu Chopra (151) Nirmal M. Singh (154).

Max Thirties Trophy 30-36 H'cap):

Gross — Madhu Oberoi (223) Darshi Narang (229) Biba N. Singh (235).

Nett — Madhu Oberoi (159) Darshi Narang (159) Biba N. Singh (175).

Senior Ladies (0-29 H'cap):

Gross — Harinder Sandhu (193), Dalbir Sahi (197), Nirmal M. Singh (204).

Nett — Nirmal M. Singh (154) Vijay Wadhawan (154) Harinder Sandhu (155).

Max Junior Shield:

Gross — Parnita Garewal (147), Irina Brar (153), Guneet Raikhy (164).

Nett — Nirmal M. Singh (154) Vijay Wadhawan (154) Harinder Sandhu (155).

Max Junior Shield:

Gross — Parnita Garewal (147), Irina Brar (153), Guneet Raikhy (164).

Nett — Irina Brar (141) Parnita Garewal (145) Guneet Raikhy (148).

Hutchison Max Sub Juniors Trophy:

Gross — Irina Brar (153) Sonavi Chopra (199) Neha Majithia (206).

Nett — Irina Brar (141) Neha Majithia (150) Sonavi Chopra (159).

Best gross score of the day: Shruti Khanna (75)

Best nett score of the day: Neha Majithia (72).

Closest - to - the - pin: Shruti Khanna.

Ahmed held sway on and off the field

HYDERABAD, Oct 28 (PTI) — Ghulam Ahmed, a towering cricketer and sagacious administrator who held sway on and off the field for over four decades, died here this morning after a prolonged illness.

Ahmed (76) is survived by a son and two daughters.

The tall lanky off-spinner from Hyderabad earned the title "symphony in motion" for his precision like bowling and was part of the formidable spin trio of Vinoo Mankad and Subbash Gupte and responsible for registering the first Test victory for India against Nigel Howard’s England in 1952 at (then) Madras.

The world class off-spinner, who played for India between 1948 and 1959, was a master of flight with astute variation of length and direction, claiming 68 wickets in space of 22 Tests during his decade long on-field exploits.

Ahmed, a graduate from the Madras University, made his debut against the touring West Indies team at Calcutta in 1948 and as coincidence would have it, led the Indian team against the Caribbeans before hanging up his boots in 1958.

Off the field, Ghulam proved to be equally successful as administrator and rose to be first secretary and then a vice-president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in 1986.

Ahmed also had distinction of being the chairman of the selection committee which picked up the World Cup winning team in 1983.

After a highly successful career in domestic cricket, Ghulam Ahmed shot into prominence in the fifth and final Test against England at Madras in 1952, in which he claimed four wickets for 77 runs, giving India its first-ever Test win. India won the Test by an innings.

In his Test wicket haul of 68, Ahmed once took 10 wickets in a match and twice bagged five-wickets in an innings.

Leading India against New Zealand (1955) and West Indies (1958), Ahmed has the record of posting 106 runs for the last wicket with Hemu Adhikari at Delhi in 1952 and Abdul Hafeez Kardar’s Pakistan, contributing 50 runs to the partnership.

Making his Ranji trophy debut in 1939, Ahmed claimed 178 wickets for Hyderabad during his two-decade-long career.

After retiring as a player, Ahmed gave the Moin-ud-Dowla Tournament a prestigious place among domestic cricket tournaments and was associated with the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) and the BCCI in various capacities till 1986.

Off the field, Ahmed's astute administrative skills drew acclaim from one and all.

When the touring Indian team plunged into a crisis in West Indies after skipper Nari Contractor was hit by a Charlie Griffith delivery, he handled the situation ably. It was his first foreign assignment as manager.

Ahmed had two stints as national selector and was associated with the BCCI as its joint secretary (1970), secretary (1975-80) and vice-president in 1986.

He was also chairman of the national selection committee between 1982 and 1984.

Back home, he guided HCA after his retirement from first class cricket in 1958 till 1975 as secretary and president.

The Hyderabad cricket fraternity described Ghulam Ahmed as a thorough gentleman on and off the field with pleasing manners, charm, grace and courtesy.

IOA yet to decide on disciplines
From Our Sports Reporter

PATIALA, Oct 28 — With just about 40 days left for the opening of the 13th Asian Games scheduled to be held at Bangkok the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) is yet to decide not only on the disciplines in which the Indians will be fielding their contingents for the games but also the criteria to be adopted for selection in "measurable" events.

The Indian Amateur Boxing Federation, (IABF), amidst all this prevailing confusion, seems to have made things a bit easier for the IOA by selecting six boxers for the Asian Games. The selection of the six pugilists and other office bearers to accompany the boxing squad was made after two days of trials held at NIS here. With this the IABF becomes the second federation following in the steps of the Indian Weightlifting Federation (IWF) to have selected its squad for the Asian Games. The IWF had announced its five-member women's squad and two-member men's squad after trials at the NIS here on October 1 and 14. The IOA, by all means, has to submit the list of its participants by name to the Bangkok Asian Games Organising Committee (BAGOC) by November 6.

ACE pugilist Jitendera Kumar of Railways who won a silver medal in the Kuala Lumpur Commonwealth Games well spearhead India's challenge in the Asian Games. The other pugilists are Dingko Singh (SSCB-bantamweight), Rajesh Basnet (W Bengal-flyweight), Rama Anand (SSCB-feather weight), Gurcharan Singh (SSCB-lightweight), and Harpal Singh (Punjab-super heavyweight).

Strangely the name of boxer Birju Shah remains mirred in controversy. Shah, who won a bronze in the 1994 Victoria Commonwealth Games and in the previous Asian Games held in 1994 in Hiroshima, midway left the training camp at the NIS prior to the Commonwealth games citing "medical" reasons and never reported back after that Shah, at present, is working with Tata at Jamshedpur and nothing has been heard about him so plans.

Meanwhile, according to IABF sources, all the six Bangkok bound boxers will tour South Africa for a training-cum-competition programme. While the IABF has asked their South African counterparts that the competition should be held from November 7 to 24, the South Africans have suggested a shorter stint — a nineday one — between November 9 to 17.

Meanwhile top IOA sources reveal that after the general body and executive meeting of the IOA held recently at Delhi, the name of Mr GS Mandher, president of the Indian Wrestling Federation, has been nominated as the chef-de-mission for the Asian Games. Mr Asotosh Sharma of Jammu and Kashmir and Mr Ajay Sarnayak of Karnataka have been nominated as the two deputy chef-de-missions to accompany the squad.

Durand Cup: Mahindras storm into final

NEW DELHI, Oct 28 (PTI) — Mahindra and Mahindra, Mumbai defeated Air-India via the tie-breaker 3-1 to storm into the final of Durand Cup Football Tournament here today.

After the regulation and extra time of the all-Mumbai clash ended goal-less, the tie-breaker was resorted to.

In the penalty shootout, Shamsi Reza, Mohammed Shakil and Ashok Sahi scored for Mahindras while only Taposh Ghosh could find the target for Air-India.

Mahindras will meet the winners of the second semifinal between East Bengal and Mohun Bagan, to be played tomorrow, in the finals on Saturday.
The first semifinal today was a drab affair with both sides playing a defensive game.

Mahindras failed to capitalise on the 13 flagkicks they earned during the match, while Air-India were guilty of squandering three good chances.

Mahindras enter the finals for the second time. Earlier they finished runners-up to East Bengal in 1990.

Remya establishes new record
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Oct 28 — V. Remya of Calicut University with a timing of 10:20.94 established a new record in 800 metres free style for women on the second day of the All-India Inter-University Aquatic Championship for men and women on the Panjab University campus here today.

The previous record stood in the name of Sumisha.S of Calicut who had clocked 10:25.17 way back in 1996.

The results:

800 m free style (women)- final: V.Remya (Calicut) 10:20.94 1, S. Sumisha (Calicut) 10:31.19 2, S. Cyriac (M.G.U) 10:54.40 3.

100 m Butterfly (men)-final:

Millind Kopikare (I.I.T Bombay) 1:05.47 1, A. Rameshan (Calicut) 1:05.54 2, J. Romesh (Madras) 1:06.35 3.

100 m Butterfly stroke (women)-final:

Tashina Singh (Bangalore) 1:11.46 1, M. Usha (Calicut) 1:12.18 2, Rakhi Mehra (Delhi) 1:14.28 3.

200 m free style (men)-final:

Advit Pandit (Madras) 2:11.59 1, Jaspreet Singh (Punjabi) 2:11.93 2, K. Rajesh (Calicut) 2:12.59 3.

100 m breast stroke (women):

Sumy Cyriac (M.G.U) 1:25.57 1, Radhika Nair (Kerala) 1:28.54 2, Rakhi Mehra (Delhi) 1:29.56 3.

4 x 100 m free style relay (men)-final:

Mumbai University 4:06.95 first, Calicut University 4:10.59 second, Madras University 4:12.86 third.

4 x 100 m free style relay (women)-final:

Calicut University 4:34.75 first, M.G.U 4:48.18 second, Kerala University 4:50.26 third.

Waterpolo (men): Punjabi University, 17 (Harminder Singh-6, Sukhjit Singh-4, Jaspal Singh-2, Gurprem Singh-2, Parminderpal Singh-1, Navdeep Singh-1, Ashwani Kumar-1) beat Kurukshetra University-3 (Devinder-2, Vinod-1).

Thumping 175-run win for Delhi

NEW DELHI, Oct 28 (PTI) — Vijaya Dahiya played a captain’s knock of 102 while Virendra Sehwag consolidated with a fine 71 followed by a superb bowling spell of four for 17 to spur Delhi to a thumping 175-run victory over Services in their second Ranji Trophy one-day match here today.

Formidable Delhi, winning the toss and electing to bat notched up a big 275 for nine off 50 overs on the batsman-friendly pitch at the Ferozshah Kotla Stadium.

Dahiya, who played 122 deliveries and dispatched three of them to the boundary in his 190-minute stay and Sewhag (71-7x4, 1x6, 62balls, 82 minutes) knitted together a 120-run stand for the third wicket after Delhi were 28 for two after 10.5 overs. Sandeep Angurala with 42 and Rahul Sanghvi 22 not out were the other main contributors for the hosts.

Medium pacer JP Pandey (4/29) and left-arm spinner Arun Sharma (2/51) were the most successful Services bowlers.

In reply, Services, hardly put up a fight barring skipper Chinmoy Sharma, who made a quick 20 off 25 balls with the help of three fours and a six, Narender Singh (18) and Pankaj Maitrey (19).

Scoreboard
Delhi: Ashu Dhani c r k Singh b S Mishra 9, Vijay Dahiya c A Sharma b C Sharma 102, Mithun Manhas b Pandey 0, Virender Sehwag c S Singh b Pandey 71, Sumeet Dogra lbw b Pandey 4, Rajneesh Chopra c S Singh b A Sharma 6, Sandeep Angurala c Nadkarni b A Sharma 42, Rahul Sanghvi not out 22, Amit Bhandari c and b Pandey 4, Aashish Malhotra run out 1. Extras (lb-5 w-5 nb-4) 14.
Total (for nine wickets in 50 overs) 275.
Fall of wickets: 1/22, 2/28, 3/148, 4/159, 5/174, 6/230, 7/250, 8/264, 9/275
Bowling: J P Pandey 10-1-29-4, S Mishra 10-2-51-1, C Sharma 9-0-57-1, R K Singh 8-0-63-0, Arun Sharma 10-0-51-2, P Maitrey 8-0-19-0.

Dinesh Mongia stars in Punjab win

AMRITSAR, Oct 28 (UNI) — Dinesh Mongia’s brilliant knock of 80 off 94 balls helped Punjab defeat lowly-placed Jammu and Kashmir by 66 runs in the limited overs Ranji Trophy match at the Gandhi grounds here today.

Electing to bat first, the hosts scored 241 for the loss of nine wickets in stipulated 50 overs. In reply, Jammu and Kashmir were all out for 175 in 46.2 overs.

It was the fifth wicket partnership of 103 runs between Mongia and Reetinder Sodhi (47) which came to Punjab’s rescue after they had lost skipper Vikram Rathore, Navjot Sidhu, Pankaj Dharmani and Sandeep Sharma with just 46 runs on the board.

Mongia’s 80 runs came off 94 balls and was studded with eight hits to the fence, while Sodhi scored his runs off 69 balls.

The other main scorer for the hosts was Harvinder Singh who hit a quickfire 33 off 25 balls in the last few overs of the innings.

For the visitors, medium pacer Vijay Sharma bowled impressively claiming four wickets for 32 runs including the prized scalp of Sidhu. Spinner Sanjay Sharma took three for 55 runs.

The only bright spot in the Jammu and Kashmir innings was a 67-run fourth wicket stand between Kawaljit Singh (32) and Ashwani Gupta (39). Four of their batsmen were run out while trying to take quick singles.

Punjab leg spinner Tajinder Singh took two wickets and also accounted for two run-outs .

Off-spinner Harbhajan Singh whose bowling action has been questioned by the International Cricket Council (ICC) bowled well but could manage only one wicket.

Scoreboard
Punjab:
Vikram Rathore c Vivek Sharma b Surinder 13, Sandeep Sharma c Ashwani Gupta b Vijay Sharma 8, N S Sidhu lbw b Vijay Sharma 3, Pankaj Dharmani c Vivek Sharma b Rajkumar 4, Dinesh Mongia b Vijay Sharma 80, Reetinder Sodhi c Surinder b Sanjay Sharma 47, Sanjay Mahajan b Sanjay Sharma 4, Tajinder Singh b Vijay Sharma 10, Navdeep Singh c Kawaljit b Sanjay Sharma 14, Harvinder Singh not out 33, H Singh not out 1,
Extras 24.
Total (for nine wickets in fifty overs) 241.
Fall of wickets: 1-11, 2-19, 3-33, 4-46, 5-149, 6-168, 7-187, 8-190.
Bowling: Vijay Sharma 10-1-33-4, Rajkumar 9-0 -32-1, Surinder Singh 6-0-22-1, Ashwani Gupta 10-0-50-0, Sanjay Sharma 10-0-55-3, Pardeep Bali 5-0-37-0.

Dhanraj, Mukesh, Subbaiah axed

NEW DELHI, Oct 28 (UNI) — Star forwards Dhanraj Pillay, Mukesh Kumar and goalkeeper A.B. Subbaiah do not figure in the 16-member Indian team for the four nation pre-Asian Games hockey tourney to be held at Bangkok from November 1 to 7.

Former Olympian Mervyn Fernandes and international M.R. Negi will accompany the team as coaches.

The team was selected at Bangalore after the conclusion of the training camp there. Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) has yet to decide about the captain of the team.

The team:

Goalkeepers: A. Ballal, Jagdish Ponappa.

Full backs: Anil Aldrin, Rajnish Mishra.

Half backs: Baljit Singh Saini, Thirumalvalavan, Nausher Singh, Sandeep Somesh, Ravinder Singh.

Forwards: Gagan Ajit Singh, Rajesh Chauhan, Sameer Dad, Kamal Horo, Mohd Riaz and Sabu Varkey.

Coaches: Mervyn Fernandes, M.R. Negi.

Manager: K. Suoho.

Pawan Kapoor for USA
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Oct 28 — Pawan Kapoor of CITCO has left for the USA to take part in the $ 50,000 US Satellite Tennis Championship from October 28 to November 22.

Pawan Kapoor, the only player from the region to get ATP ranking, has got confirmed entry to participate in the tournament from the United States Tennis Association as well as from the International Tennis Federation. This is Pawan’s second participation in the US Satellite Championship.

According to CITCO Managing Director Satish Chandra, who was instrumental in organising the trip, the other sponsors of the tour are Castle Films, Ace Sports and Selection Buildings.

The trip will give Pawan a chance to play top level foreign players which is essential for every good player. He will also have the opportunity to earn ATP points from this prestigious championship.

Colourful start to Punjab sport fest
From Our Sports Reporter

LUDHIANA, Oct 28 — Tejinder Kaur clinched the first gold medal for Jalandhar when she clocked 2.23.9 sec to win the 800m race on the opening day of the Punjab State Sports Festival for junior girls at the Guru Nanak Stadium here today. Iqbal Kaur of Hoshiarpur took 2.25.7 sec to finish second while Amritsar girl Naginder Kaur with a timing of 2.26.9 sec stood third.

In table tennis, hosts Ludhiana demolished Sangrur 3-0. In the first match Shveta Bhardwaj outplayed Rajni 21-13, 21-11 while in the second match Nitika thrashed Sneh 21-5, 21-4. In doubles, Nitika teaming with Jyoti got the better of Rajni and Sneh 21-18, 21-15.

In athletics, Satwant Kaur of Amritsar with a throw of 9.60m won the gold in shot put in the under-16 category. Satwant was closely followed by silver medallist, local girl Simarpaul Kaur who threw the iron ball to a distance of 9.55m. Avtar Gurpreet Kaur of Patiala had to contend with a bronze with a throw of 8.43m.

Earlier, Col Raminder Singh, Director Sports, Punjab, inaugurated the three-day festival. He took the salute from the participants at an impressive march-past. After the formal inauguration, the Director informed the gathering about the various schemes of the Sports Department and urged the players to take advantage of these schemes. He said the opening and closing ceremony of 2000 National Games would be held at Ludhiana. Col Raminder Singh further said that the synthetic track at the local Guru Nanak Stadium and the Astro Turf at Olympian Surjit Singh Stadium, Jalandhar, would be changed before the National Games. Mrs Chanchal Surjit Singh, Joint Director, Sports, Punjab, was also present at the inaugural function. A cultural programme was also presented on the occasion. Gymnasts from Patiala presented an excellent acrobatic show.

Haryana beat HP
From Our Correspondent

UNA, Oct 28 — Haryana defeated Himachal Pradesh by 48 runs in the one-day Ranji Cricket match here today.

The 55 run seventh wicket partnership between Amarjit Kaypee and Dhanraj Singh helped Haryana to win. Himachal won the toss and asked Haryana to bat. Haryana scored 150 runs in 47.4 overs. Himachal scored only 102 in 50 overs and were all out.

Score Board:
Haryana
Parinder Sharma b Rahul Pauta 12, Vijay Yadav b Rahul Pauta 12, Jatinder c and b Rahul Pauta 5, Amarjit Kaypee not out 60, Safia Khan c&b Saugram Singh 0 Sanjay Dalal c Jaswant b Rahul Pauta 6 Pradeep Jain b Rahul Pauta 1, Dhan Raj Singh c Sangram b Nishchal 20, Pankaj Jakhar lbw Nishchal Gour 8, Vaneet Jain b Jaswant 0, Sonu Sharma c Arun Verma b Nishchal 1. Extras 32. Total 150 in 47.4 overs.

Bowling: Parveen Sharma 5-0-17-0, Rahul Pauta 10-1-28-5, Saugram Singh 3-1-14-1, Rakeshwar 7-1-18-0, Nishant 2-0-4-0, Jawant 10-0-35-1, Nishchal Gour 6.4-0-22-3.

Himachal: 102 all out in 50 overs.

Nishchal Gour b Pankaj 31, Ajay Manu b Dhanraj 3, Rajiv Nayar n.o. 48, Richi Kapoor c&b Pradeep 3 Rahual Pauta c&b Pradeep 0, Arun Verma b Pradeep 1, Rakeshwar b Vineet 0, Jaswant c Vijay b Vineet Jain 8, Nischal b Vineet Jain 1, Parveen lbw Sonu Sharma 0, Sangram Singh b Sonu Sharma 12.

Extra: 6 Total 102 in 50 overs.

Bowling: Vineet 10-3-16-3, Dhanraj Singh 5-1-14-1, Sonu Sharma 10-4-10-2, Pradeep Jain 10-1-20-3, Pankaj Thakur 9-2-20-1, Parinder Sharma 2-0-10-0, Sanjay Dalal 4-0-11-0.

Haryana, Punjab in semis

ROHTAK, Oct 28 (FOC) — Haryana, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh and National Handball Academy, Bhilai, entered the semifinals of the 21st National Junior Handball Championship for boys being played at Chhotturam Stadium here.

Hosts Haryana defeated Sports Authority of India (SAI) West, by a margin of 31-26 in the quarterfinal match here this morning. In other matches Punjab won easily against Maharashtra by 36-19 while Madhya Pradesh got past Andhra Pradesh by a difference of 11 goals. In the fourth match National Handball Academy drubbed Jammu and Kashmir by 26-6.

Haryana now face Madhya Pradesh and Punjab will play against National Handball Academy in the semifinals.

Postal soccer results

KURUKSHETRA, Oct 28 (FOC) — Last year's champions Tamil Nadu entered the semifinals of the 12th All-India Postal Football Tournament defeating Jammu and Kashmir by four goals to nil at Kurukshetra University grounds here today.

Last year's third position holders Kerala are also out of this pool.

In another match, West Bengal and Karnataka played a goal-less draw. In another match Tarun Rai of West Bengal scored four goals including hat-trick against North-East.

The results: Tamil Nadu beat Rajasthan 4-0, West Bengal drew with Karnataka 0-0, Orissa beat Maharashtra 1-0, Kerala drew with Uttar Pradesh 1-1, West Bengal beat North-East 7-2 and Tamil Nadu beat Jammu and Kashmir 4-0.

Punjab 365 for 7

PATIALA, Oct 28 (FOSR)— Skipper Sanjay Kumar (134) and south paw Yuvraj Singh (106) sent the Jammu and Kashmir bowlers on a leather hunt as Punjab rattled up an impressive 365 for 7 declared on day one of the Cooch Behar Trophy match at Dhruv Pandove Cricket Stadium here today.

Scores: Punjab 365 for 7 (Sanjay Kumar 134, Yuvraj Singh 106, Ankur Sondhi 29 not out, Shrandeep 33, Inderjeet 5 for 90, Abhijeet 2 for 100).

Chamba enter semis

CHAMBA, Oct 28 (FOC) — Chamba reached semifinal by beating Nahan by nine wickets in one-sided match of the Himachal Pradesh state under-16 cricket championship.

Chamba won the toss and put Nahan in to bat. Nahan were in trouble when they lost four quick wickets. However, it was Vivek and Neeraj who played with responsibility. Nahan players made 100 in the first innings.

Fine bowling by off-spinner Sachin got him six wickets.

Chamba started well and were all out for 130 getting a lead of 30 runs.

In second innings, no batsman from Nahan could reach double figure and were all out for 58 runs. Sachin and Umesh got four wickets each. Chamba reached the target by losing one wicket.

Scores Nahan (Ist innings ): 100 all out Neeraj 24, Vivek 26, Sachin 6 for 31, Umesh 2 for 30.

Chamba (Ist innings) 130 all out: Abishek 26, Sushant 20, Parshant 16, Ritesh 4 for 60.

Nahan (2nd innings) 59 all out (Sachin 4 for 22, Umesh 4 for 16.

Chamba (2nd innings): 59 for one (Sushant 15 not out).

Chamba will play Kangra in the semifinal.

AG Punjab lose

CHANDIGARH, Oct 28 (FOC) — On the second day of the All-India Audit and Accounts (North Zone) Volleyball Tournament, two semifinal matches were played. In the first match between Accountant General Punjab and Accountant General Himachal, Accountant General Punjab lost 13-15, 15-5, 15-12 and 15-3.

In the second semifinal Accountant General, Uttar Pradesh, beat Accountant General (Audit) Delhi by 16-14, 15-4, 15-8.

Kabaddi title for MDU

PATIALA, Oct 28 (FOSR) — MDU, Rohtak, annexed the north zone inter-university kabaddi title beating hosts Punjabi University 42-39 at the campus grounds here today.

Kurukshetra University clinched the third spot beating Panjab University, Chandigarh, who were plain unlucky in the league stage as they failed to win even a single match.

All the four universities who reached the league stage have qualified for the All-India Inter-University Kabaddi Championships slated to be held at Ranchi in the first week of November.

Final league results:

MDU beat Punjabi University 42-39, Kurukshetra University beat Panjab University 57-45, Punjabi University beat Kurukshetra University 70-44 . MDU beat Panjab University 42-32, Punjabi University beat Panjab University 58-31. MDU beat Kurukshetra University 49-32.