Windies beat Pak by 30 runs

DHAKA, Oct 29 (PTI) — Left-arm spinner Keith Arthurton (4-31) struck vital blows to break the backbone of Pakistan batting as West Indies scored a fine 30-run win in the last quarter-final of the Wills International Cup Cricket Tournament here tonight.

Arthurton claimed the crucial wickets of top-scorer Ijaz Ahmed (51), seasoned Salim Malik (15), Wasim Akram (10) and Azhar Mahmood (20) as Pakistan, chasing a victory target of 290, slumped to 259 for nine in 50 overs at the Bangabandhu National Stadium.

Pakistan never looked in control of the match as they kept losing wickets at regular intervals in the wake of fine performance by West Indies bowlers led by Arthurton and Mervyn Dillon (2-46).

World champions Sri Lanka will take on South Africa in the first semifinal tomorrow while West Indies will meet India in the second on Saturday.

Earlier, electing to bat, West Indies piled up an imposing 289 for nine in 50 overs thanks to a swashbuckling 79 off 58 balls by opener Philo Wallace and vital contributions from Shivnarine Chanderpaul (49), Arthurton (33) and Phil Simmons (21).

But the target proved too much for Pakistan, which took field without opener Saeed Anwar and middle-order batsman Inzamam-ul-Haq.

West Indian skipper Brian Lara could not have dreamt of a better start when he decided to bat first as his openers Wallace and Stuart Williams scored 34 runs off just four overs

Williams smashed one-day cricket’s most successful bowler Wasim Akram for 14 runs in the first over of the innings and Wallace maintained the tempo by taking 13 runs in the next over off Azhar Mahmood.

West Indies took full advantage of the wayward Pakistani bowling in the initial overs treating the bowlers with disdain. Wicketkeeper Moin Khan injured his knee and was replaced by skipper Aamir Sohail.

The Pakistani skipper had to don the keeper’s gloves for a while as the Caribbean openers went for big shots. West Indies reached 50 in just 48 balls for the loss of Williams (14) when he was trapped lbw by Azhar Mahmood.

Left-handed batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul started where Wallace left off giving West Indies just the support needed to keep up the momentum.

Wallace recorded the fastest half-century of the tournament, off just 37 balls, for his second one-day 50 in 21 appearances. The previous fastest 50 was scored by South African Daryll Cullinan, in 40 balls.

PAKISTAN:
Afridi lbw b Dillion 4
Elahi run out 46
Mahmood b Arthurton 20
Sohail b Hooper 12
Ahmed b Arthurton 51
Sarfaraz c Dillon b McLean 14
Malik lbw b Arthurton 15
W. Akram c Jacobs b Arthurton 10
Khan c Lewis b Dillon 25
Mushtaq not out 23
A. Khan not out 14
Extras: (lb-12, w-8, nb-5) 25
Total: (for 9 wkts in 50 overs) 259
Fall of wickets: 1-27, 2-70, 3-90, 4-100, 5-143, 6-177, 7-180, 8-194, 9-221.
Bowling: McLean 10-0-59-1, Dillon 10-0-46-2, Hooper 10-0-47-1, Arthurton 10-0-31-4, Lewis 4-0-20-0, Simmons 5-0-35-0, Chanderpaul 1-0-9-0.

WEST INDIES:
Wallace run out 79
Williams lbw b Mahmood 14
Chanderpaul st Moin Khan b Arshad Khan 49
Lara c Mushtaq b Arshad Khan 16
Hooper c & b Malik 13
Arthurton c Moin Khan b Akram 33
Simmons b Akram 21
Jacobs lbw b Akram 0
Lewis not out 20
Mclean c Ijaz Ahmed b Malik 7
Dillon not out 5
Extras (w-15 nb-6 lb-11) 32
Total (for nine, 50 overs) 289
Fall of wickets: 1-34, 2-143, 3-166, 4-189, 5-204, 6-250, 7-250, 8-268, 9-277.
Bowling: Wasim Akram 10-0-55-3, Azhar Mahmood 5-0-39-1, Saqlain Mushtaq 7-0-44-0, Arshad Khan 10-1-43-2, Shahid Afridi 9-0-48-0, Salim Malik 9-0-49-2.

Lanka clash with SA in semis today

DHAKA, Oct 29 (UNI) World champions Sri Lanka take on first Commonwealth gold medallist South Africa in the first semifinals of the Wills International Cup, to be dominated by titans of the willow at the Bangabandhu Stadium tomorrow.

Barring sickness or injury, the two sides are likely to field the same elevens which decimated New Zealand and England in their opening ties, respectively.

Both sides are perfectly balanced and skipper Arjuna Ranatunga and Hansie Cronje, vary of each other’s strength, were not ready to make any predictions.

Cronje said the Sri Lankans had a very good batting line-up but their bowling was just adequate, particularly on this wicket. "Any side batting first will have to pile up a big score like India did yesterday," the South African captain said.

"Of course, getting rid of Sanath Jayasuriya will a big start," he added.

Ranatunga expected the springboks "to fight every inch". They (South Africa) always make up for any deficiencies. Cronje himself leads by example, the Sri Lankan skipper said.

He said: "Batting will decide the fate of the match. The fielders will also have to give their best to help the bowlers with nothing there in the wicket to help them."

Teams:

Sri Lanka: A Ranatunga (captain), Arvinda De Souza (vice-captain), R K Aluwitharana (wicketkeeper), S Jayasuriya, Roshan Mahanama, Upal Chandana, Kumara Dharmasena, Chaminda Vaas, N Zoysa, Muthiah Muralitharan and Maravan Attapattu.

South Africa: H Cronje (captain), Mark Boucher (wicketkeeper), Daryl Cullinan, M Rindell, Jacques Kallis, Jhonty Rhodes, David Crookes, A Bekenstein, Pat Symcox, A Dawson and N Boje.

Anand maintains lead despite draw

TILBURG, Oct 29 (UNI) — Vishwanathan Anand maintained his lead in the Tilburg Grandmasters Chess Tournament despite being held to a draw by Peter Leko (Hungary) in the fifth round last evening.

Anand, who has 3.5 points, is closely followed by Mathew Sadler and Michael Adams (both England), Vesselin Topalov (Bulgaria) and Loek Van Wely (Netherlands) with 3 points each.

The Indian GM employed the Spanish opening, a novelty which he seldom uses these days, against his Hungarian opponent. Anand went for a new variation early on the 11th move but it did not quite work and he offered a draw.

Leko, who saw some advantage in his white pieces, however, declined the offer only to return the offer a few moves later which was accepted by Anand. Anand used less than 40 minutes for his 25 moves while Leko spent 90 minutes.

Sadler, who came close to beating Van Wely before drawing their fifth round game, could have caught up with Anand with a win.

In what was expected to be a tough clash, Topalov drew with Vladimir Kramnik (Russia) in 46 moves. Kramnik adopted the dour petroff defence, a reliable but unattractive defence, against the Bulgarian GM who was playing with white pieces.

In the sixth round today Anand will face Adams, who scored a fine win over Peter Svidler (Russia) in the fifth round. The English GM, who had lost to compatriot Mathew Sadler earlier on, crushed Svidler with some excellent positional play.

The Russian Grandmaster played the najdorf variation of sicilian defence, but was outplayed in the middle game. Though both players had equal material, Adam’s queen, rook and bishop were highly mobile and placed in an attacking mode. Svilder resigned after 44 moves.

In the Sadler-Van Wely match, the English grandmaster came close to recording a good win, but the Dutchman held on and got a draw and half-a-point. Playing black in a queen’s gambit accepted, Sadler had a queen, rook and two pawns to Van Wely’s rook, bishop and two pawns. The queen against two minor pieces should have earned full points for Sadler but Van Wely defended well.

Jeoren Piket (Netherlands) landed his first win routing the out-of-form Joel Lautier (France) in just 23 moves of a nimzo India game in which the French player had black pieces. It was Lautier’s third loss in five games.

Results (fifth round): V Anand (India) 3.5 points drew with P. Leko (Hungary) 2.5, V Topalov (Bulgaria) 3 drew with V Kramnik (Russia) 2.5, M Adams (England) 3 beat P Svidler (Russia) 2, Van Wely (Netherlands) 3 drew with M Sadler (England) 3, J Piket (Netherlands) 2.5 beat J Lautier (France) 1 and Viktor Korchnoi (Switzerland) 1.5 drew with Vadim Zviaginsev (Russia) 2.5 points.

Today’s games: V Anand vs M Adams, J Lautier vs V Zviaginsev, M Sadler vs V Korchnoi, P Svidler vs Van Wely, v Kramnik vs P Leko and J Piket vs V Topalov.

Warne moves closer to comeback

MELBOURNE, Oct 29 (Reuters) — Australian leg-spinner Shane Warne moved a step closer to making his first-class comeback when he practised with Victoria’s Sheffield Shield team.

Under the guidance of wrist spin coach Terry Jenner, Warne bowled around seven overs during the practice session yesterday, slowly building up to near full pace.

Jenner said Warne would not be ready for Victoria’s next Sheffield Shield match against New South Wales but would be considered for a one-day match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on November 8.

"He would need to be pleased with that effort," Jenner said after watching Warne practise.

"The last over was terrific because he bowled the leg-stump line that we know he is capable of.

"It was somewhat slower than what he has bowled before but this is to only Test his shoulder and not see how well he can bowl."

Warne underwent surgery on his right shoulder in May and is hoping to be back in time for the forthcoming Ashes series against England.

He scored an unbeaten century last weekend playing for St Kilda in the Melbourne district competition but did not bowl.

Warne said he desperately wants to play again but doesn’t want to risk further injury.

"I won’t be doing anything that is going to ruch it," Warne said.

Urvashi moves to 2nd spot
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Oct 29 — Parnita maintained the lead on the third day of the Punjab Open Amateur Ladies Golf Championship for the Max India Cup here today.

For the second spot there was competition with Urvashi Sethi Sodhi of Madras and Delhi girl Shruti Khanna moving into second and third position. Young Irina Brar dropped to fourth place. But just a stroke separated them all.

Both local girls had lacklustre rounds today with Parnita having no birdies and dropping shots on the first, fourth, 12th and 16th holes and making a double bogey on the 17th. Irina began well, playing the first nine just two over par, but then dropped five shots in the back nine. Shruti Khanna playing with the leaders had a ding dong round, dropping shots just as soon as saving pars, but three birdies on the ninth, 13th and 18th saw her bring in a creditable round of 76.

It was Urvashi Sethi Sodhi however who played steady golf, despite dropping shots on the opening two holes. A birdie on the sixth and only two bogeys thereafter saw her finish with the best gross (75) of the day.

The position for the various prizes after the third round.

The scores after the third day's play:

Max India Cup: Parnita Grewal (224), Urvashi Sethi Sodhi (230), Shruti Khanna (231).

Max Silver Salver: (0 to 9 handicap): Gross — Parnita Garewal (224), Urvashi Sodhi (230), Shruti Khanna (231). Nett — Irina Brar (214), Urvashi Sodhi (Nonita Lall and Parnita (221).

Max Challenge Bowl (10 to 19 H'cap): Gross — Dimple Minocha (271), Tanya Grewal (271), Jasmeet Sawhney (273). Nett — Jasmeet Sawhney & Dimple Minocha (231), Tanya Garewal (231).

Max Bronze Plate (20 to 29 H' cap): Gross — Harinder Sandhu (242), Neelu Chopra (298), Sonavi Chopra (300). Nett — Nirmal M. Singh (226), Neha Majithia (227), Neelu Chopra (229).

Max thirties trophy (30 to 36 H'cap): Gross — Madhu Oberoi (338), Darshi Narang (344), Gunwant Kaur (379). Nett — Darshi Narang (239), Madhu Oberoi (242), Gunwant Kaur (274).

Max Senior Ladies (0 to 29 H'cap): Gross — Harinder Sandhu (292), Nirmal M. Singh (301), Dalbir Sahi (301). Nett — Nirmal M. Singh (226), Vijay Wadhawan (230), Harinder Sandhu (235).

Max Junior Shield (0 to 29 H'cap): Gross — Parnita Garewal (224), Irina Brar (232), Guneet Raikhy (249). Nett — Irina Brar (214), Parnita Garewal (221), Vanee Raikhy (225).

Hutchison Max Subjuniors Trophy (0 to 29 H'cap): Gross — Irina Brar (232), Sonavi Chopra (300), Neha Majithia (311). Nett: Irina Brar (214), Neha Majithia (227), Sonavi Chopra (240).

Best Gross of the Day — Urvashi Sethi Sodhi (75).

Best Nett of the Day — Nirmal Milkha Singh (72).

Closest to the Pin — Ayesha Kapoor.

Mussoorie billiards from Nov 3

NEW DELHI, Oct 29 (PTI) — World professional billiards champion Geet Sethi and former Asian champion Yasin Merchant will vie for top honours along with five foreign stars in the S. Chand-Jaypee International Snooker Tournament in Mussoorie from November 3 to 9.

Yasin Merchant, fresh from the NSCI, Mumbai Open Tournament triumph is drawn in group 'A' along with Paput Sakum (Thailand), Rishab Thukral and Dharmendar Lilee. Thukral is known for his awesome potting capability to upset any of the top stars.

Geet Sethi, who won the world billiards title this year in Ahmedabad, is in group 'B' along with United Arab Emirates' number one M E Joker. The other two in the fray are Manan Chandra and Siddarth Rao.

The 1995 world snooker championship winner from Thailand Sakchal Sim Ngam heads the group 'C' clash. National snooker champion Ashok Shandilya joins him along with Rafat Habib (Pakistan) and Sidharth Anand.

Rohtas fires three under 69
From Our Sports Reporter

NEW DELHI, Oct 29 — A warhorse of many stiff battles, 47-year-old Rohtas Singh shot three under 69 and was the sole leader among 112 on the opening day of the four-day fifth Honda-Siel-AGC-PGA Golf Championship at the Army Golf Club (AGC) course here today.

Hitting the ball low and straight, chipping consistently and putting accurately, Rohtas Singh had as many as seven birdies. He, however, had four bogeys as well.

Indrajit Bhalotia, Uttam Singh Mundy, Amandeep Johl and Chini Ali were all tied a stroke behind the leader at two under-70 on the course which played superbly throughout.

There were as many as five who were one-under 71. They were Shiv Prakash, Amritinder Singh, Jyoti Randhawa, Manohar Dike and Pappan.

Jeev Mikha Singh, a title aspirant, Ali Sher, twice Indian Open champion in 1991 and 1993, Vijay Kumar and Vishal Singh played a level par round of 72.

Some favourites, like Daniel Chopra, Vivek Bhandari (defending champion) could not come on terms with themselves and were trailing. But judging from the closeness of scores, alteration in positions is well on card in the next three days.

Winner of more than 100 tournaments since he began his pro career in 1968, Rohtas was confidence-personified even when he had a bogey. His philosophy was that he should play his best and he did that to his complete satisfaction.

"As I teed on the first hole, I somehow felt that it was my day and I played without any pressure on me", said Rohtas Singh, adding: "The course is a delight and I feel at home on it".

Bhalotia, Mundy, Johl and Ali were also consistent in their shots. Bhalotia, however, thought that he played a bad tee shot on the 17th and prevented him from achieving three under when it was within his grasp.

Johl, who had four birdies-- two in each half-and two bogeys, was happy with his over-all display. "But had I not missed two birdies, I would have been a sole leader", said Johl.

As usual, Jeev was unable to translate near birdies into birdies. But his level par round was satisfactory.

Basad Ali had fever despite taking a dose of crocin. He played a round of one-over 73. There were nine others on this score.

Leading scorers: Rohtas Singh 69, Indrajit Bhalotia, Uttam Singh Mundy, Amandeep Johl and Chini Ali 70; Shiv Prakash, Amritinder Singh, Jyoti Randhawa, Manohar Dike and Pappa - 71.

Jeev Milkha Singh, Ali Sher, Vijay Kumar and Vishal Singh 72.

Vikram Rana and Simranjit Singh were tied five over 77, while Amit Ahuja and Shiraz Kalra had the card of six over 78 among amateurs.

E. Bengal down Bagan, enter final

NEW DELHI, Oct 29 (PTI) — Calcutta super division league champions East Bengal beat traditional rivals Mohun Bagan 2-0 to storm into the final of the Durand Cup Football Tournament at the Ambedkar Stadium here today.

Striker Bijen Singh and Ghanian Emmanuel Opoku scored once in either half to book East Bengal’s 22nd entry into the summit clash of the tournament on Saturday where they meet Mahindra and Mahindra, Mumbai, in a repeat final of 1990.

East Bengal, who have won this second oldest soccer tournament in the world 14 times, overwhelmed Mohun Bagan in all aspects to snatch a much-deserved victory.

It was a 29th minute defensive lapse that paved the way for the red and yellow brigade to take the lead. Bagan right stopper Satyabrata Bhoumik’s ploy of blocking Bijen Singh and leaving the ball for inexperienced goalkeeper Sandeep Nandy to collect proved costly.

Bijen shook himself free and beat the bemused Nandy to the ball and sent a deft right footer perfectly into the net. Sandeep was playing his first match here in the absence of first choice V Dinesh, who was out due to two yellow cards.

Opoku, who marshalled the midfield today to great effect sealed the fate of Mohun Bagan to consolidate the lead with a powerful 30-yard right foot drive in the 71st minute. He blasted on a loose ball from the right flank taking the Bagan defence once again by surprise.

Mohun Bagan came close twice but veteran Nigerian striker Chima Okerie’s shots were well collected by East Bengal custodian Kalyan Chowbey.

The East Bengal attack was lively as forward Dipendu Biswas joined the team after being released from the Asian Games preparatory camp at Bangalore by coach Syed Nayeemuddin.

He combined well with Bijen Singh to make inroads into the Bagan defence but the latter muffed three good chances in the first half before coming out with the first goal.

Bagan had to play the last 10 minutes with 10 men as defender Arindam Sarkar had to leave the field after receiving his second booking in the match.
For the traditionally emotional clash for the respective fans, East Bengal missed star striker Baichung Bhutia, Raman Vijayan, Carlton Chapman and Franky Barreto while Bagan seemed to suffer more in the final analysis due to the absence of IM Vijayan, Jo Paul Ancheri and goalkeeper Hemanta Dora.

The all-Bengal encounter also was a robust affair and referee Ravi Sankar also showed three yellow cards to Bagan’s Soumitra Chakraborty and East Bengal’s Dipendu and Jackson Agyapong. Ghanian Jackson will miss the final as he received his second booking today.

Bagan came very near to equalising in the first half injury time when Chima’s powerpacked shot was palmed down by Chaubey. Chima was tightly marked by Jackson throughout.

The Bagan striker again managed to test the East Bengal custodian at the fag end of the game. But his weak leader off a Khenthang Paite pass was collected by Choubey.

East Bengal, who were scoring their third straight win over arch rivals Bagan in the last 20 days, also avenged their defeat in the 1994 finals against the maroon and green outfit.

Rathore's ton puts Punjab on top

AMRITSAR, Oct 29 (UNI) — Riding on skipper Vikram Rathore's brilliant century, hosts Punjab were comfortably placed at 247 for two in their first innings on the opening day of their four-day league encounter against Jammu and Kashmir at the Gandhi Grounds here today.

Rathore's knock of 146 contained 16 fours and two sixes and came in 353 minutes. The Punjab skipper achieved another milestone in his domestic cricketing career when on 17 he surpassed the 4000 run mark in Ranji Trophy, the only player from this border state to do so.

In his Ranji career spanning 55 matches, Rathore has hit 13 tons and an equal number of half-centuries with 254 being his highest against Jammu and Kashmir at the Gandhi Grounds here two years back.

It was the second wicket stand of 145 runs between Rathore and Reetinder Sodhi which was the highlight of the Punjab innings, after they had lost Indian Test opener Navjot Sidhu (47) just prior to the lunch-break at the score of 97. At draw of stumps Sodhi who adopted a rather over-cautious approach was batting on 45 and keeping him company was Pankaj Dharmani on two.

Electing to bat first after winning the toss, Rathore and Sidhu had no problem in negotiating the weak Jammu and Kashmir attack, though the rate of scoring was rather slow considering the experience and batting ability of the two Punjab openers both of whom have even opened for the country.

Sidhu was out in the last over before lunch when he tried to pull a delivery from spinner Pardeep Bali to the fence and was clean bowled.

Thereafter, Rathore and Sodhi, the former Indian under-19 captain took charge and with the help of singles and occasional boundaries kept the scoreboard moving. Between lunch and tea the hosts did not lose any wicket.

Skipper Rathore fell in the third last over of the day when he edged an out-swinger from Surinder Singh into the hands of Bali in the gully.

Sidhu too achieved a milestone in his Ranji career when at his personal score of 26 today he surpassed the 3,000 run mark. He has so far hit nine centuries and 16 half-centuries in 38 Ranji Trophy matches, with 259 against Himachal Pradesh being his highest.

Punjab (Ist innings): Vikram Rathore c Bali b Surinder 146, N S Sidhu b Bali 47, Reetinder Sodhi batting 45, Pankaj Dharmani batting 2.

Extras (nb-1, wides-1, lb-1, byes-4) 7.
Total (for the loss of two wickets) 247.
Fall of wickets: 1-97, 2-242.
Bowling: Vijay Sharma 10-0-53-0, Raj Kumar 7-2-14-0, Surinder Singh 22-6-51-1, Ashwani Gupta 8-0-29-0, Sanjay Sharma 25-3-52-0, Pardeep Bali 18-6-43-1.

New swimming record by Jaspreet
By Our Sports Reporter

CHANDIGARH, Oct 29 — A new record in 200 metres individual medley for men was established by Jaspreet Singh of Punjabi University, Patiala, who clocked 2:26.53 on the third day of the All-India Inter University Aquatic Championship under way at the Panjab University swimming pool here today.

In the quarterfinal matches of waterpolo for men Mumbai University got the better of Amravati University, Amravati, by 6-1, Calcutta University humbled Punjabi University, Patiala, by 10-5, Kerala University drubbed hosts Panjab University by 10-4 and Pune University blanked Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar by 10-0.

Swimming results:

200 metre individual medley — men — final: Jaspreet Singh (Punjabi) 1, time 2:26.53 (new record); Adavit Pandit (Madras) 2, A. Rameshan (Calicut) 3.

200 metre individual medley — women — (final): Rakhi Mehra (Delhi) time 2:41.56; Sumy Cyriac (MGU Kottayam) 2, V. Remya (Calicut) 3.

200 metre breast stroke — men — (final): Raju Kumar V.N. (Calicut) 1, time 2:49.35; Amit B Jadhav (Karnataka) 2, Manish Jaiswal (Pune) 3.

200 metre breast stroke — women — (final): Sumy Cyriac (MGU Kottayam) 1, time 3:08.06, Radhika Nair (Kerala) 2, Biji Verghese (Calicut) 3.

4x200 metre, free style relay — men — (final): Calicut University 1, time 9:14.63 (A. Rameshan, T. Palekan, PS Sujith, K. Rajesh). Kerala University 2, (S. Jayan, Kamal Kumar, Saratchandran, Shibu) Madras University 3, (A. Pandit, Madan Kumar, Ghanatham, S. Arun).

4x200 metre free style — women — (final): Calicut University 1, time 10:11.64; (Usha, Rajitha, Remya, J. Thomas) Kerala University 2, (Prameela, Radhika, Anisha, Sheeja); MGU, Kottayam 3, (Sumy Cyriac, T. Joseph, R. Kurien, Sumy).

Services in driver’s seat against Delhi

NEW DELHI, Oct 29 (PTI) — A fine unbeaten 90 by skipper Chinmaya Sharma helped Services to a comfortable position against Delhi at close on the first day of the four-day North Zone Ranji Trophy league match at the Ferozshah Kotla ground here today.

included 11 hits to the fence and a six, and his 87-run fifth wicket stand with C D Thomson (29) rescued Services from a precarious 107 for four to reach 270 for seven in their first innings at the end of the day.

Sharma adopted well to the conditions and looked set to see the day through with Amit Nadkarni (33) but Delhi medium pacer Amit Bhandari struck two vital blows in his first over with the new ball to reduce them to 261 for seven.

At stumps Sharma was batting on 90 along with J P Yadav (2).

For Delhi, Bhandari claimed three wickets for 50 while Robin Singh (jr) and Ashish Nehra took two each giving away 59 and 43 runs, respectively.

Earlier put in to bat, Services’ top three batsmen — Sanjay Verma (25), Narender Singh (31) and Sarabjit Singh (34) made a good start but were out when they looked set for a big score as Services slumped to 107 for four.
Services:
Verma lbw b Robin Singh 25, Singh c Dani b Bhandari 31, Singh b Robin Singh 34, Maitrey c A Sharma b Nehra 1, Sharma batting 90, Thomson c Sehwag b Nehra 29, Bhandari c Sanghvi b Bhandari 33, Sirsat b Bhandari 0, Pandey batting 2, Extras (b-8, lb-5, nb-12) 25.
Total (for 7 wckts, 90 overs) 270.
Fall of wickets: 1-68, 2-78, 3-106, 4-107, 5-194, 6-260, 7-261.
Bowling: Robin Singh 20-6-59-2, Nehra 18-6-43-2, Bhandari 17-2-50-3, Angurala 10-2-27-0, Sanghvi 17-5-47-0, Sehwag 8-0-31-0.

Amritsar eves to the fore
From Our Sports Reporter

LUDHIANA, Oct 29 — Amritsar girls drubbed Jalandhar 3-0 to win the gold in table tennis on the second day of the Punjab Sports Festival for girls under-16 and under-19 at Guru Nanak Stadium here today.

Shelly of Amritsar quelled a strong challenge from Anu before romping home 21-18, 21-15 while Shikha was superior than Tejinder whom she outplayed by 21-14, 21-8. In the third match Shikha and Sneh combined well to outclass Anu and Tejinder 21-14, 21-15 to make a clean sweep for the third position.

Hosts Ludhiana beat Ropar 3-1.

In gymnastics (u-19), Gurdaspur amassed 134.55 points to bag the team championship. Patiala got the second place with 123.78 points while Ludhiana stood third with 87.11 points.

Samita Sharma of Gurdaspur secured 28.90 points to be adjudged the allround best gymnast. Sukhvir Kaur also from Gurdaspur followed her with 27.70 sec while Rohika of Gurdaspur collected 26.80 points to finish third.

In track and field events, Tejinder Kaur of Jalandhar who won the first gold of this meet yesterday in 800 m race gave another sterling performance today by adding another gold medal to her kitty. In 400m, Tejinder took 1.02.29 sec to win the gold. In 200 m, another Jalandhar girl Kuljit Kaur timed 27.28 sec to earn the first position.

In Judo, Priyanka of Jalandhar grabbed the gold in the under-36 kg category. The second place went to Babita of Ludhiana while Renu of Patiala finished third.

Punjab police steal the show

CALCUTTA, Oct 29 (PTI) — Punjab Police emerged the overall champions in the men’s section while Central Reserve Police Force took the honour in the women’s category as four meet records tumbled on the concluding day of the 47th All India Police Athletic Championship at the Salt Lake Stadium here today.

The strong Punjab Police contingent accumulated 137.5 points to emerge overall champions in the men’s section while CRPF had to be content with the second position with 119 points in the four-day meet which saw as many as 16 meet records fall by the wayside.

But the CRPF contingent took the honour in the women’s category with a tally of 140 points followed by Punjab Police who managed 114 points.

Geetha Manral of CRPF set a new meet record in the women’s 800 m event with a timing of 2:08.76 sec, eclipsing the previous mark of 2:12.40 sec established by Inderjeet Kaur of Punjab Police.

Another CRPF athlete BRH Prasad created a new meet record in the men’s hammer throw event with a throw of 66.16m, shattering the earlier record of 64.37 m established by RS Bal in 1989.

The two other records were set by Deepinder Kaur in the 100 m hurdles (14.59 sec) and the CRPF relay quartet which finished the women’s 4x100 metre event with a timing of 47.91 sec.

Ajay Raj Singh of Punjab Police was adjudged the best male athlete while Geetha Manral was named the best female athlete of the championship.

MP win junior handball title
From Our Correspondent

ROHTAK, Oct 29 — Madhya Pradesh won the 21st National Junior Handball (boys) Championship which concluded at the Chhotu Ram Stadium here today.

In a nail-biting finish the boys from Madhya Pradesh prevailed over Punjab and took away the trophy by a narrow margin of one point. Madhya Pradesh scored 18 goals while the runner-up Punjab managed 17 goals in a thrilling final which lasted over one and a half hour. Earlier, before reaching the final Madhya Pradesh defeated the host Haryana by a margin of 24-17, while Punjab beat National Handball Academy, Bhilai, by a margin of 22-16, in the semifinals yesterday.

National Handball Academy, however, managed the third slot when they outclassed Haryana by a margin of 29-18. In the match played for the third and fourth positions this morning, Sports Authority of India (West) took the sixth spot when they beat Maharashtra by a margin of 25-21.

As many as 20 teams from all over the country took part in this five-day tournament.

Rai school in limelight

CHANDIGARH, Oct 29 (BOSR) — Udhey Sidhu of Yadavindra Public School, SAS Nagar, secured the first position in the shot put event for boys while Motilal Nehru School of Sports, Rai (Sonepat) dominated the proceedings by winning four out of six events conducted on the opening day of the IPSC Athletic Meet at YPS, SAS Nagar today. The meet was inaugurated by 'Flying Sikh' Milkha Singh in the morning.

Sandeep Rathee of MNS, Rai won the 800 metres with a timing of 2:09.06 while Amit Chillar of the same school got the first position in long jump by covering distance of 6.78 m. In the girls section Nidhi Hooda of MNS, Rai bagged the first position in javelin throw with distance of 23.74 m, while Anjana Dhaka also of MNS, Rai won the 1500 metres by clocking 5:27.09. Pooja Pallavi of BBV Pillani got the first position in long jump with a distance of 4.67 m.

The results: Boys: 800 metres: Sandeep Rathee (MNS, Rai) 1, Time 2:09.06; Prabhjit Gill (Lawrence Sanawar) 2; Shiv Sapra — DS, Dehradun 3.

Long jump: Amit Chillar (MNS, Rai) 1, distance 6.78 m; Atul Pandey Doon School Dehradun 2, Dharamender Singh (PPS, Nabha) 3. Shot put: Udhey Sidhu (YPS, SAS Nagar) 1, Distance 11.78 m; Pradeep Ahlawat (MNS Rai) 2; Jaspal Singh (YPS, SAS Nagar) 3.

Women: 1500 metres: Anjana Dhaka (MNS, Rai) 1, Time 5:27.09; Laxmi Jhangra (Lawrence, Sanawar) 2; Divya Sharda (PPS, Nabha) 3.

Long jump: Pooja Pallavi (BBV Pillani) 1, Distance: 4.67 m; Anu Sheokand (MNS, Rai) 2; Namrata Sagar (MGD, Jaipur) 3.

Javelin throw: Nidhi Hooda (MNS, Rai) 1, Distance 23.74 m; Sukhmani Brar (Lawrence, Sanawar) 2, Priyanka Singh (Welham, Dehradun) 3.

Amit, Manu lift TT titles

CHANDIGARH, Oct 29 (BOSR) — Amit Aggarwal of New Public School, Sector 18 and Manu KC of Government Model School, Sector 35 lifted the junior boys and girls singles titles in the 3rd Ranking Table Tennis Tournament in progress at the Sector 23 TT Hall today.

Amit ousted Rahul Sharma of Sarvhitkari School, Sector 40 in straight sets at 21-17, 23-21 while Manu KC faced little difficulty in getting the better of her school mate Samitha Kapoor at 21-17, 21-16. In the women's section, all the four seeds, Ruchika, Shaloo, Shikha and Barkha KC advanced to the last four by demolishing their opponents easily. In the men's section Sunil, Anoop KC, Harish and Amod reached the semifinals.

Results: Boys semifinal: Amit Aggarwal — (NPS-18) b Sumit Grover (Shishu-22) 21-17, 21-15; Rahul Sharma (SS-40) b Gaurav 21-17, 21-11. Final: Amit b Rahul 21-17, 23-21.

Girls semifinal: Samitha Kapoor b Ruchika Gupta, 12-21, 21-16, 21-13. Manu KC b Shruti Akku, 21-14, 20-22, 21-19.

Final: Manu KC b Samitha Kapoor, 21-17, 21-16.

Women: q-final: Ruchika b Monika 23-21, 19-21, 21-19; Shaloo Kapoor b Ruchi Gautam, 21-10, 21-11; Shikha Sharma b Amarpreet Kaur 21-14, 21-15. Barkha KC b Ruchi Pandoh, 21-10, 21-15. Men q-final: Sunil Bhamboo b Mandeep Walia, 13-21, 21-10, 21-15, 17-21, 21-19; Anoop KC b Rahul Sharma 21-16, 21-18, 21-14. Harish Kumar b Amit Aggarwal 21-7, 21-8, 21-12; Amod Dixit b Harpreet Singh 21-11, 21-14, 21-8.

Cops, PSB maintain clean record

CHANDIGARH, Oct 29 (TNS) — Defending champions Punjab Police and runners-up Punjab and Sind Bank continue to maintain a clean record in the league of the second Dr Sadhu Singh Hamdard Memorial All-India Hockey Tournament at Surjit Singh Memorial Stadium at Jalandhar.

Yesterday, Punjab Police trounced Northern Railways 7-0 for their biggest win of the tournament. In their first league encounter, Punjab cops had thrashed Corps of Signals 6-0. Harinder Singh (31st, 34th and 55th minute), Sarbjit Singh (21st minute), Kuljinder Singh (23rd minute), Surjit Singh (28th minute) and Manpreet Singh (50th minute) were the scorers for Punjab Police.

Bharat Petroleum overcame a stiff resistance to defeat Corps of Signals by a solitary second half goal scored by Olympian Ravi Nayakar in the 55th minute in another league encounter.

A goal by skipper Sandeep Ghuman helped Punjab and Sind Bank to register full points in their match against Central Industrial Security Force. In yet another league encounter, Border Security Force also posted an exciting solitary goal win over Central Industrial Security Force.

Rifle shooting meet results

KULU, Oct 29 (FOC) — First annual district rifle shooting championship was held here on Sunday in which as many as 47 shooters participated. Niraj Mohi bagged the first prize in senior men's events while Rajesh Khullar stood first among the juniors. Shivani Singh won the first prize in the women events. Others who bagged the prizes among seniors, juniors and women section, were Brijender Singh (second), Shakti Singh (third), Chetan Sharma (second), Vikram (third) and Sneh Lata (second).

Mr Karan Singh, Minister of State for Primary Education, and Mr S.Z.H Zaidi, Superintendent of Police and president of the association, were also present at the SSB firing range.

Railway wrestling

KAPURTHALA, Oct 29 (FOC) — In the free style wrestling event (54 kg), Bijender Singh of Diesel Component Works, Patiala and Manoj Kumar of Northern Railway, Delhi, qualified for the final on the second day of the 40th All-India Railway Wrestling Championship at Maharaja Ranjit Singh Stadium, Rail Coach Factory, here today.

In 63 kg free style, Virender Singh of South Eastern Railway, Calcutta, and Talukedar Yadav of North Eastern Railway, Gorakhpur, and in greco Roman, Ranbir Singh of Northern Railway, Delhi, and Ravinder Patil of Central Railway, Mumbai, qualified for the finals.

In 76 kg free style Murari Yadav of Eastern Railway, Calcutta, and Dalip Singh of Central Railway will be seen in action in the final of this category.

Karnataka, Delhi in last 4

KURUKSHETRA, Oct 29 (FOC) — Karnataka and Delhi stormed into the semifinals of the 12th All-India Postal Football Tournament at Kurukshetra University here today. Karnataka defeated North East by 8-1 and Delhi drew Uttar Pradesh 1-1.

For Karnataka Kadiravan scored six goals while for Uttar Pradesh Naseem scored the goal for his team in the 13th minute of the game. Similarly, for Delhi, Sushil Kumar scored a goal in the second half of the game.

Earlier, Tamil Nadu entered the semifinals of the tourney yesterday. However, the lone goal against Haryana was scored by Francis Barreto of Maharashtra in the 60th minute.

The other results of the day are as follows: Tamil Nadu beat Jammu and Kashmir 4-0, Haryana beat Himachal Pradesh 9-0, Rajasthan beat Jammu and Kashmir 4-0, Karnataka beat North East 8-1, Maharashtra beat Haryana 1-0 and Delhi drew with Uttar Pradesh by 1-1.

Yogender to lead

HISAR, Oct 29 (FOSR)— Yogender, a student of College of Agriculture, will lead Haryana Agricultural University (HAU) team in the North Zone All India Inter-Varsity Football Championship to be held at Punjabi University Patiala from November 2, according to Mr R T Sharma, secretary, sports council, HAU, here today.

The following are the other team members: Mandeep, Ravi, Kadian, Prem, Kulwant, Bazia, Sanjay, Surya Dev, Sanjeev Jaibhagwan, Dharmvir, Kuldeep, Shrichand, Satyawan, Rajesh, Malik, Vinod Kumar and Bhanu. Mr Sushil Kumar will accompany the team as manager cum coach.

Cricket tourney

CHANDIGARH, Oct 29 (BOSR) — Shiromani Sant Khalsa International Foundation is organising the fourth Gursagar Cricket Tournament at Gursagar Cricket Stadium from November 6 to 16, according to a press note of the foundation. This tournament is dedicated to the third centenary of the Khalsa emergence. The last date for submission of entries is November 3.

SAS Nagar soccer

CHANDIGARH (TNS): Panjab University, Patiala Police, Chandigarh XI and Ropar Police moved into the semifinals of the 11th Mohali Football Tournament currently underway at SAS Nagar, near here, on Thursday. The semifinals will be played on Friday.