Punjab judokas hog the limelight
PATIALA, Sept 12 — Punjab bagged the team titles in both boys and girls section in the junior National Judo Championships which concluded at Cuttak recently, According to information received here yesterday.

Cash awards for gymnasts
CHANDIGARH, Sept 12 — The Punjab Gymnastics Association has decided to promote gymnastics from the grassroots and the allround best gymnasts in subjunior, junior and senior Punjab State Gymnastics Championships will be awarded cash prizes, according to Mr Sudhir Mittal, president of the Punjab Gymnastics Association.

PTU calendar released
JALANDHAR, Sept 12 — Punjab Technical University, Jalandhar, released its inter-college sport calendar for the 1998-99, according to Dr Gurmej Singh Dhaliwal, Director, here yesterday.

Top Haryana gymnast struggling for life
AMBALA, Sept 12 — A leading gymnast of Haryana is struggling for life in Apollo Hospital, Delhi, for the past two weeks but neither the Sports Department nor the Haryana Government has bothered to come to his rescue, his father said.

India get past SA in hockey

KAULA LUMPUR, Sept 12 (PTI) — India almost paid the penalty for early defensiveness before defeating South Africa 2-1 with all out aggression in the second half to post their first win in two outings in group ‘a’ of the men’s hockey competition at the Commonwealth Games today.

The emerging African side gave the jitters to India as they went ahead through star forward Greg Nicol in the 22nd minute as the Asian stalwarts were trailing at the break.

But coach M.K. Kaushik shifted his defensive strategy in the first half by deploying five forwards on change of ends which paid dividends as Lakshmanan Prabhakaran found the equaliser in the 59th minute through a rebound conversion.

With the Indian bench enduring agonising moments as South Africa threatened to walk away on level terms, Baljit Singh Dhillon found the last gasp winner three minutes from the final hooter, slamming in the ninth penalty corner with a powerful low hit to the goalkeeper’s right.

India, who were outplayed by gold medal favourites Australia in their opening September 9 clash almost paid dearly for their tactic of having just two players upfront.

But the Asian stalwarts struggling to regain their footing at the international level went all-out in attack with five forwards and it paid dividends as it did against the Aussies, when India had pulled two goals back.

Throughout the first half, the Indians struggled to get into their rhythm as winger Mukesh Kumar and spearhead Dhanraj Pillay, the lone men upfront, came unstuck against the sturdy defence of the South Africans, who had held strong New Zealand to a 3-all draw in the opening match.

The South Africans, who attacked mainly through the left flank, found the lead off a freehit when Greg Nicol, who had produced a hat-trick against the Kiwis, put the ball past goalkeeper A.B. Subbaiah.

But the Indians were galvanised in the second half as they took a firm grip on the proceedings and Pillay made amends for his mistakes in the first half by leading the assault and also paved the way for the equaliser.

Off a combined counter attack, half-back Mohammed Riaz and Pillay combined to pierce the stubborn South African defence. Pillay beat a host of defenders showing delectable footwork and sent the ball towards Mukesh Kumar, who could not trap it.

But Prabhakaran who was lurking inside the box, deflected into the goal much to the delight of his team-mates. The Indians continued to press forward till Dhillon found the winner from the ninth and last penalty corner to all-round relief.

"We could not capitalise on the chances that came our way. But our performance has shown some improvement," Kaushik said after the match. He singled out South African custodian Brian Myburgh, who had a brilliant day by pulling off many saves.

"We cannot blame our players for not being able to score. Brian played very well today," he added.

Indian weightlifting squad confident

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 12 (PTI) — With strong contenders Nigeria absent from the fray, the seven-member Indian weightlifting team is confident of a medal from each weight lifter and a rich haul at the Commonwealth Games.

"I am confident that each of the weight lifters will get a medal. It may not be gold, but some medal at least," manager of the weightlifting team Suresh Sehgal said.

Sehgal said the absence of Nigeria from the Games would favour the Indians to a great extent as the Nigerians were expected to pick up a few medals.

"We have been training ever since we came here and all the lifters are fully fit. Food has not been a problem," he said.

Canada and hosts Malaysia would be the main challengers for India, seeking to improve upon their performance four years ago in Victoria, where they managed only 11 medals — three gold, seven silver and one bronze.

The Indians are, however, unlikely to repeat their dream performance at the 1990 Auckland Commonwealth Games, where they reaped a rich harvest of 12 gold, seven silver and five bronze medals.

The weightlifting events start on September 16 with the 56-kg and 62-kg categories, where the Indians expect K. Pandian of the Railways and Dharmaraj Wilson of the services to pick up medals.

Murugeswaran Arun and Ganapathy Gnanasekharan would take part in the 62-kg category while G. Vadivelu, Satish Rai and Sandeep Kumar will take part in the 77-kg category.

"The standard of the other Commonwealth countries has also gone up like in most of the other disciplines. But the Indian weight lifters have to remain focussed", Sehgal said.

Indian cricketers draw crowds

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 12 (PTI) — Following are some sidelights from the 16th Commonwealth Games:

Journalists covering cricket, making its debut in the Commonwealth Games, have been having a tough time covering it.

The Press box at the TNB Sports Ground, where India played their first match against Antigua, was located in the midwicket region making it difficult for the scribes to follow the line of the ball.

With the official scorer operating from another place, the journalists could not get statistical details immediately. The innings score sheets sent to the main press centre were not always correct.

* * *

Indian cricketers drew much attention among the spectators during the opening ceremony yesterday as their contingent marched into the stadium amidst rousing cheers.

The bright traditional saffron turbans were enough to arouse the crowd to loud cheers.

* * *

The Games village was bustling with activity as competitors from all participating countries arrived well ahead of yesterday’s official opening ceremony.

But then like medals, it is the towels which are much in demand as most of them have lost or misplaced the multi-coloured striped bath towels given to them by the organisers.

The suspicion is that some of them have stashed the towels in their bags as souvenirs and the officials are having a trying time meeting their requests.

"It has become a collector’s item. Everyone seems to want them," said an exasperated official.

* * *

The rain has fortunately not been a major irritant in the smooth running of the Games. While some of the cricket matches had to be abandoned, none of the other events have been disrupted in a big way. Some of the athletes, apparently aware of the sudden weather changes here, have come armed with plastic raincoats.

* * *

Malaysia’s chances of hosting the Olympics depend a great deal on the success of the Commonwealth Games, according to Juan Antonio Samaranch, International Olympic Committee President.

Samaranch, who was among the dignitaries at the opening ceremony, has advised Malaysia to bid for the Asian Games first before aiming at Olympics. The IOC chief, who toured various Games venues, was impressed with what he saw.

* * *

Police officers on duty at the entrance of the residential zone may appear to have an easy job of just observing the whereabouts of athletes and officials.

But the task involves six hours of strict vigilance and keeping a sharp eye for anything uncharacteristic or any suspicious-looking character trying to sneak in.

"There has been no problem so far but we are continuing our close watch," said a police official.

The recent political turmoil in the country is one of the main reasons for the vigil in this otherwise peaceful country.

Cricket makes relaxed debut

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 12 (PTI) — Cricket stars Steve Waugh and Sachin Tendulkar and former greats such as Viv Richards and Alvin Kallicharan walk about with no autograph-seekers stalking them here in the Malaysian capital.

Not that the popular cricketing figures are moving around the Malaysian capital with hoods covering their faces, only cricket is not the most eagerly watched sport in the country hosting the Commonwealth Games.

Away from more cricket-mad fans, the players are a relaxed lot - quite happy not to be burdened with the pressures of performing in front of fanatic crowds.

In fact, only a handful of spectators are to be seen at the cricket grounds, mostly the volunteers or mediapersons from the countries playing the match and, perhaps, a dozen or two expatriates, still attached to their cricketing moorings.

"No problem", says Mark Waugh. "absence of a large crowd does not disappoint us. Instead, it helps us focus more on the game."

Nor do the players seem to mind the lack of five-star hospitality — something they are habituated to.

The cricketers appear to have adjusted well to the spartan Games village. One could spot Sri Lankan spinner Upul Chandana taking a stroll in the international zone with a sandwich in one hand and a can of soft drink on the other, admiring the spectacular scene at the sports complex at Bukit Jalil from the heights of a rooftop restaurant.

The youngsters were mostly excited about the march-past last evening during the opening ceremony — the first time cricketers walked hand-in-hand with other athletes at a sporting event of such magnitude.

"Oh, the experience was fabulous," gushed Pakistani medium pacer, Shahid Nazir. "What a spectacular show and we were lucky to take part in it," he said, indicating yesterday’s excitement was yet to wear off.

The inclusion of cricket in the Games has given a great boost to the sport, said former West Indies skipper Kallicharan, adding that it would benefit the countries on its fringes, such as Kenya, Bangladesh, Malaysia and Northern Ireland.

Irish manager Alfie Linehan could not agree more with him. His team had the mighty South Africans precariously placed at 57 for five while chasing a revised target of 131 runs in a rain-marred match that saw the Proteas finally manage a four-wicket win.

"We did have them on the hook and some will say we let them off the hook. But then, one has to be realistic to understand what we did was more than we could have dreamt of doing," Linehan says.

The rain has been spoilsport here - robbing India and arch-rivals Pakistan of wins in their respective opening matches. However, the sky clears up as soon as it bursts into showers.

The grounds are smaller, so much so that a modest heave by South African opener Herschelle Gibbs during their match against Northern Ireland saw the ball disappear into the rose garden of a house nearby.

The locals’ unfamiliarity with the game is giving the scribes some trying moments. The scorers prefer to sit in a well-guarded enclosure and the scores are brought to the mediapersons by volunteers.

And errors follow.

During the Australia-Canada match, Aussie wicket-keeper Adam Gilchrist was shown as having taken a wicket, in just one of the faux pas that have added to the prevailing confusion.

"The volunteers appointed at the venues do not understand the game," laments local journalist Pretam Singh.

Be that as it may, the players are enjoying themselves, the sparse crowd is savouring its moments of big-time cricket and the game, on its debut, is literally having a ball.

Ace marksman Rana leads medal hunt

KUALA LUMPUR, Sep 12 (UNI) — Indian shooters, buoyed by the victory of ace shooter Jaspal Rana in the badge matches of the centre fire pistol and air pistol events at the 16th Commonwealth Games, go into the championship at the Langkawi tomorrow in a hyped up mode.

Although the badge matches are a warmup to the main event, they give an indication of the shape of things to come. Rana, the flagbearer of the Indian contingent, won his badge matches with ease and looked right on target for the gold.

However, the performance of other shooters, except Bhanwarlal Dhaka who finished second in his event, was not particularly inspiring. But that has egged them on to train harder during the two days of rest at Langkawi, a resort town 40 minutes away by air from the Malaysian capital.

Veteran Ashok Pandit, whose Commonwealth Games record in centre fire was bettered by Rana in the badge match, Sushma Rana, Satendra Kumar, Anjali Vedpathak and Silpi Singh all finished lower down but Rana’s morale boosting performance could help them give their best.

Rana won the centre fire pistol individual and pairs gold medals and Mansher Singh claimed the trap gold at the last Games in Victoria, Canada, four years ago. Mansher has only recently finished a 20-day stint with ace shooting coach Marcello Dradi in Italy which the Indian shooter admits has helped understand the competition even better.

On Wednesday, the ace shooter gave ample indications of being in top form when he won the first badge event in centre fire in the individual and pairs events. Rana shot 584 to improve on Pandit’s Commonwealth record of 581. Rana, whose performance in other championships is higher, shot 294 in precision and 290 in rapid for a total of 584. Pandit had taken the sixth slot with a score of 572.

On the same day in other badge events, India’s Anjali Vedpathak finished eighth in the individual smallbore sports rifle three positions category with a score of 561. Scotland’s Shirley Macintosh with 567 had shot the best.

On Thursday, Rana virtaully raised the medal hopes for the country by winning the badge match. In the individual air pistol event., the young Arjuna awardee had shot 582, once again better than the Commonwealth Games record of 580 by Australia B Sandstorm. Another Indian competitor in the air pistol, Satendra Kumar, finished sixth with 571.

The shooters, after two days of warm-up matches, rested yesterday and today for the main events tomorrow.

Whether the 16-member shooting contingent can do better than the three gold, two silver and two bronze medals it won at Victoria four years ago, will depend on how the others perform in the main competitions.

Dingko Singh outpoints Ghanian

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 12 (PTI) — Bantamweight N.G. Dingko Singh gave a flying start to India’s medal hopes by scoring an upset win over Alfred Tetteh of Ghana in the opening round of the Commonwealth Games boxing competition today.

The 19-year-old Dingko Singh was unfazed against his superior African rival as he outpointed him 11-8 to set up a second round match-up with Uganda’s Adbu Tebazalwa, who secured a third round RSC (referee stopped contest) over Noah Lopez of New Zealand.

Dingko Singh, declared best boxer in the National Championship, showed his prowess in good measure as the gold medal winner in last year’s Kings Cup to gain the favourable verdict from the judges on the first day of boxing events.

The Services pugilist showed fine temperament and consistency to score vital points against Tetteh. Featherweight Gurmeet Singh, middleweight Jitender Kumar and Gurcharan Singh (lightheavy) complete the four-member team India have entered here.

Indian coach Gurbux Singh Sandhu was pleased with the performance of his teenage ward.

India had reaped a lone bronze medal through lightfly Birju Sah in Victoria four years ago.

Indian eves storm into semis

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 12 (PTI) — India thrashed tough rivals Scotland by an impressive 4-1 margin to register their third straight victory in group ‘B’ to storm into the women’s team event semifinals in style at the badminton competition in the Commonwealth Games today.

Young national champion Aparna Popat gave India a flying start by upstaging experienced Anne Gibson 13-11, 11-9 as the Indian eves proved their superiority to sweep to victory in all three singles and the first doubles for a 4-0 lead before losing the final doubles after the tie had been truly settled.

Aparna Popat, the world junior runner-up ranked 28 in the IBF ranking, gave another display of her abilities with a fighting display over Anne Gibson. The Indian wrested the first game on extended points before clinching the close second game to shut out the match.

Neelima Choudhary rallied splendidly to down Martin Gillian 7-11, 11-8, 11-9 before former national champion Manjusha Kanwar had the measure of Elanor Middlemiss 11-6, 11-1 to clinch the tie in India’s favour.

Veteran Madhumita Bisht and P.V.V. Lakshmi then breezed past Kirsteen Mcewan and Alexis Blanchflower 15-1, 15-6 but Manjusha with her long-standing partner Archana Deodhar met with a reverse as they went down 10-15, 4-15 against Sandra and Elinor Middlemiss in the inconsequential final doubles rubber.

Indian women, who began with a facile 4-1 win over Wales, had blanked Sri Lanka 5-0 before today’s win.

Seven-wkt win for Australia

KAULA LUMPUR, Sept 12 (AP) — Damien Fleming’s haul of five wickets and opener Adam Gilchrist’s 43 runs propelled favorites Australia to a 7-wicket victory on Saturday over Antigua in a preliminary match of the Commonwealth Games.

Chasing a required run rate of only 1.47 an over, Australia scored 101 runs in 17.5 overs in reply to Antigua’s 99 all out in 30.1 overs.

Fleming set up the victory when he cut through the top order for 5-24 off nine overs.

Australia never appeared in trouble even when Sylvester Joseph took diving catches in the slips to help dismiss the top three batsmen — Mark Waugh, Ricky Ponting and Michael Bevan — with 46 runs on board. Those were the only wickets, two taken by Curtly Ambrose and one by Winston Benjamin, that Antigua managed as Gilchrist and captain Steve Waugh produced a 55-run partnership.

Gilchrist’s 57-ball innings contained three fours. Steve Waugh scored 25 in 33 balls and hit two boundaries.

"We saw this as the danger match of the tournament for us,’’ Steve Waugh said. "When they have got five quick bowlers in the side and one is Ambrose, one of the greatest quick bowlers ever, it is always going to be hard.’’

He admitted the match proved easier than expected because of Fleming’s early dominance.

Producing variations of swings, Fleming twice took two wickets in a row. The young Antiguan side was no match for the Australians, who have fielded virtually a regular Test side in the 16-nation competition cricket’s debut at the Commonwealth Games.

Reeling at 62 for eight, Antigua produced a late recovery with a 36-run partnership by No. 9 and No. 10 batsmen Ambrose and Hamish Anthony, who took the score to 98 for nine. Just as Jntigua appeared to be progressing well, Benjamin tried a foolhardy pull off Tom Moody, giving a high catch to Gavin Robertson. He made 17 including one six.

Before that, Antiguan wickets fell so regularly that the Ambrose-Anthony partnership was the biggest and Eldine Baptiste was the highest scorer at 22, including two sixes and two fours.

Antigua lost their first wicket, Wilden Cornwall, in the second over. In the fifth over, Fleming took out former West Indian batsman Richie Richardson, who was caught by Ricky Ponting at silly point. In the next ball he had Joseph leg before wicket.

In the sixth over, Hayden Walsh (15) tried to pull Fleming, but ballooned the ball to square leg, where Brad Young took a catch leaping backward. With the next ball, Fleming trapped the new man, Ridley Jacobs, leg before with the ball striking low just above the ankle.

Fleming recently overcame shoulder problems to return to the Australian side and play in India earlier this year.

Kumble, Mohanty star in India’s win

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 12 (UNI) — India retaliated with vengeance after being bowled out for 157, making mincemeat of Canada by grabbing a 112-run victory over them in a pool-B match in Commonwealth cricket today.
In a pool-A match, Pakistan whipped Kenya by 159 runs getting them all out for 60.

The Canadians were skittled out by Anil Kumble (four for 13) and Debasish Mohanty (three for 13) for 45 runs at the Victoria Institute pitch here.

India, who are a depleted team in the Commonwealth Games under Ajay Jadeja, next play Steve Waugh’s Australia on September 15.

Sachin Tendulkar, whose appearance here at the games has been appreciated by one and all particularly as several other top cricketers have stayed away, disappointed the crowd once again making only two runs.

India’s Amay Khurasia, however, played the sheet anchor with an innings of 83 off 136 balls which included two boundaries and three sixes.

With the wicket soft and the ball taking unpredictable turns, the Indian batsmen had a torrid time. And when the 50 overs were finally over they were shocked to find themselves in a sticky situation of 157 for nine.

India had a disappointing opening match on Tuesday when they were forced to split points with Antigua after rain washed out play during the Indian innings.

Today, besides Khurasia, only Gagan Khoda (18) and Rahul Sanghvi (22) could get into double figures, as the wicket played extremely funny.

The Indians struck back with vengeance through their bowlers.

Debasish Mohanty scalped the top three batsmen when the total was only 16 after which Anil Kumble, the vice-captain, ran through the middle order. Rahul Sanghvi snapped two wickets for three runs and the Indians were home with their first full points.

The Canadians were all out for 45 in just 23.5 overs and the relieved Indians were thankful to be able to take an early bus back to the Games village.

Sachin most recognised Indian star

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 12 (PTI) — The cricketers in the Indian contingent are finding their stay at the sprawling Commonwealth Games village quite comfortable, according to coach and former national captain Krishnamachari Srikkanth.

Sachin Tendulkar has drawn much interest among the athletes from cricket playing nations who have no difficulty in identifying the Indian superstar who reciprocates every greeting.

The cricketers, taking part in such multi-disciplinary meets for the first time, were closely knit together and seldom ventured out of their apartments on their own.

"The arrangements are okay and we are quite comfortable at the village," cricket coach K. Srikkanth said.

The cricketers go in batches for their meals at the huge dining hall wearing casuals and look quite relaxed in the midst of thousands of well-known athletes from 70 Commonwealth countries.

The organisers have taken care to meet all the requirements of the athletes during their stay at the village with various kinds of food available to suit each palate.

Indian shuttlers in last four

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 12 (PTI) — Indian men and women shuttlers trounced Scottish counterparts to reach the semifinals and seal at least bronze medals in team events on a bright day for India at the Commonwealth Games here today.

National champions Pullela Gopichand and Aparna Popat provided the perfect launch for the Indian men’s and women’s teams to go on and rout their Scottish rivals 5-0 and 4-1 respectively in the last group ties to decide semifinal placings in the badminton competition.

With there being no bronze-medal play-offs, both teams are assured of at least bronze medals.

Aparna, the young Mumbai-born, Bangalore-based lass, scored a vital 13-11, 11-9 win over experienced Scottish number one Anne Gibson to propel her team into the last four.

Hingis, Davenport to clash for crown

NEW YORK, Sept 12 (AP) — Lindsay Davenport used power and poise to reach her first Grand Slam final. Martina Hingis took advantage of an opponent’s third-set collapse to join her there.

Second-seeded Davenport clapped her left hand on her racket in celebration after a 6-4, 6-4 victory over an error-ridden Venus Williams in an all-American semifinal yesterday at the US Open.

Davenport was 0-3 in previous Grand Slam semis, including the US Open a year ago when she lost to Hingis.

Davenport needed just 72 minutes to win over Williams, who lost beads from her hair on the court and then lost her touch.

Novotna was leading 4-1 in the final set, just six points from winning the match and dethroning Hingis as No. 1 in the world, when her game collapsed. She missed several easy shots and won just four of the final 22 points.

After her 50th unforced error settled into the net on match point, Novotna stood with hands on hips at the baseline in disbelief. She had 20 unforced errors in the final set. One more than Hingis had made in the entire match.

"I made mistakes for different reasons," said Novotna, who has talked repeatedly of how the Wimbledon victory boosted her confidence. "I can’t explain it. You never know why it happens."

Hingis’ 76-week reign as No. 1 had been in danger. If she had lost, either Novotna or Davenport could have replaced her as No. 1 by winning the US Open.

"I was fighting for my No. 1 spot. She didn’t miss anything in the first set," Hingis said. "Because we’re doubles partners, I know her weaknesses and she knows mine. I lost some stupid games."

Hingis had lost in the semifinals of the previous two Grand Slam tournaments, losing to Monica Seles at the French Open and to Novotna at Wimbledon. She thought of those losses during the changeover before her third-set rally began.

"I was down 4-1 and sitting in the chair, saying. No way I will lose again in the semis. At least I’ve got to make the final," Hingis said.

Hingis didn’t play like the world’s top player in the first set, spraying balls long and wide while losing four straight service games. Frustrated by her poor play, Hingis slammed her racket into the net after losing one point and pounded the ball into the court after another.

But the Swiss Miss dominated in the second set, winning 12 points in a row midway through the set as she began coming to the net more and dictating play.

Hingis’ wildness returned in the third set, and Novotna took advantage with breaks in the first and fifth games to go up 4-1. The third-seeded Novotna made several acrobatic shoetop volleys and delicate drop shots as she took the lead.

The score was 30-30 in the next game, putting Novotna just six points from victory, when the collapse began. Included in the Czech’s misses was an easy forehand volley she hit about 10 feet (three meters) long.

In the third set, I was up 4-1. From that moment on, I missed too many approaches, too many volleys," Novotna said. "You have to continue playing well. I was missing too many balls."

Novotna began the summer with a reputation as a choker, a top player burdened by past failures.

Her biggest collapse was in the 1993 Wimbledon final, when she led Steffi Graf 4-1 in the third set and blew an easy volley that would have given her a 5-1 lead. After Novotna lost, she cried on the Duchess of Kent’s shoulder.

At the 1995 French Open, Novotna lost to Chanda Rubin after having a match point and a 5-0 lead in the third set.

That reputation seemed to be receding into history after her Wimbledon championship. But now the semifinals of the 1998 US Open will be added to her list of failures.

"I was down two service breaks, but I knew I would be playing with the wind," Hingis said, "and I saw Jana wasn’t in the best shape and I was just trying to get the ball in the game."

Reuters: Sandon Stolle and Cyril Suk saved two match points in the second set tiebreaker and went on to beat Mark Knowles and Daniel Nestor 4-6 7-6 6-2 to win the US Open men’s doubles championship yesterday.

The 15th-seeded team of Stolle and Suk were down 5-6 and 7-8 in the tiebreaker against the sixth seeds. Knowles missed reflex backhand volley on the first match point and stolle fired an ace to save the second.

"Today we just hung in there. We just got a bit lucky today," said Stolle.

Stolle, 28, is the son of three-time US Open doubles champion Fred Stolle, making the Australian family the first to have a father and son win the US title.

"It’s just a dream come true for me," said Stolle.

Suk, 31, also has family ties to a former Grand Slam doubles champion. Older Sister Helena Sukova, who has recently retired, won nine major women’s doubles crowns. The Czech brother and sister also teamed up to win three Grand Slam mixed doubles titles together.

Marion Jones races to world record

JOHANNESBURG, Sept 12 (AP) — American Marion Jones raced to victory yesterday in the women’s 200-metre sprint, leading from the start to finish to set a new World Cup record with a time of 21.62 seconds.

Sprinter Obadele Thompson of Barbados also set a new World Cup record, winning the men’s 100 m in 9.87 seconds, just off the world mark of 9.84. Seun Ogunkoya of Nigeria was second at 9.92, with Britain’s Dwain Chambers third at 10.03.

Jones’ performance gave the American star the third-fastest time ever in the women’s 200m, keeping her undefeated this year in women sprints and long jump competition. Only Florence Griffith-Joyner of the USA, holder of the world record at 21.34, has run faster than Jones in the women’s 200m.

The winning time was a personal best for Jones, which was the goal she set coming into the World Cup, her first race at high altitude. But after the race, Jones said she felt hindered by the thin air at Johannesburg stadium because she had not adjusted to the city’s 1,650-m altitude.

"The altitude made me feel a little sluggish,’’ she admitted. "To run 21.62 today felt unbelievable.’’

Despite her concerns about sluggishness, Jones said she wasn’t surprised by her speedy time.

I’m looking forward to the 100 m. Any time I step on to the track, I feel capable of setting a record,’’ she said.

The World Cup is the only competition which brings together athletes from the USA, Africa, Europe, the Americas, Oceania, Asia, and two European national squads to compete for team honours. Britain and Germany compete in the men’s field, while Germany and Russia round out the women’s competition.

After the first day’s events, Africa topped the men’s standings with 39 points, followed by the Americas with 36 and the USA with 31. In the women’s field, Europe led with 43, Russia stood at 38 and the USA had 36.

In the women’s 400-m hurdles, Nezha Bidouane of Morocco sped by world record-holder and race favourite Kim Batten of the USA in the final strides to win.

Bidouane’s time of 52.96 seconds set a new World Cup record in getting the win for the Africas' team. Batten, the pre-race favourite, clipped the last hurdle with her foot and faded to third in 53.17.

Africa got another win from Kenyan Daniel Komen in the men’s 5,000m. He finished in 13:46.57.

World record-holder John Godina of the USA won the men’s shot put with a heave of 21.48m. Aleksandr Bagach of the Ukraine finished second at 20.45m, and Germany’s Oliveri-Sven Buder was third at 20.42 m.

Svetlana Masterkova of Russia, Olympic gold medalist at Atlanta, ran to victory in the women’s 1,500m in 4:09.41.

Germany’s Nils Schumann claimed victory in the men’s 800, with a time of 1 minute, 48.66 seconds. Mark Everett of the USA was second at 1:48.73, with Cuba’s Norberto Tellez third at 1:48.92.

Germany also won the women’s 4 x 400m relay, with the American team in second and Russia in third. The winning foursome of Anke Feller, Uta Rohlander, Ulrike Urbansky and Grit Breur finished in 3:24.2.

In the women’s field events, the European team took first in both the triple jump and high jump. Monica Iagar-Dinescu cleared 1.98 m to win the high jump, while Olga Vasdeki won the triple jump with a leap of 14.64 m.

Cuba’s Ivan Pedroso leaped 8.37 m to win the men’s long jump, while Joanna Stone of Australia claimed victory for Oceania in the women’s javelin with a throw of 69.85 m.

PTI adds: Distance runner Gulab Chand, the lone Indian to be entered in an individual event for Asia at the World Cup athletic meet in Johannesburg, had a poor outing as he failed to finish his race in the men's 5000 m run.

Gulab Chand, who clinched the silver medal at the July Fukuoka Asian championship by becoming only the third Indian to cover the distance under 14 minutes, was the only runner who did not finish the event.

The eight-man race was won by Kenyan world champion Daniel Komen of the African team in a pedestrian 13 minutes 46.57 seconds.

With P.T. Usha having pulled out, Saraswati Dey, Rachita Minstry and E.B. Shyla along with another runner are to be nominated by the Asian athletic body officials will run in the women's 4x100m relay in the three-day meet.

Mohun Bagan lift Federation Cup

CALCUTTA, Sept 12 (PTI) — National league champions Mohun Bagan today won the KBL Federation Cup Football Tournament, outclassing city rivals East Bengal 2-1 at the Salt Lake Stadium here.

Bagan slotted in two goals in the first 20 minutes through creative medio Amit Das and mercurial striker I.M. Vijayan, while Carlton Chapman pulled one back for East Bengal in the 85th minute.

The men in green and maroon, who could have won by a bigger margin, dominated the proceedings throughout the match and held sway in the midfield, and were helped by defensive lapses of the East Bengal on a number of occasions.

The match, however, never rose to great heights with the ball moving very slow owing to a slushy ground, which also resulted in mispasses aplenty.

Bagan’s first goal came in the 10th minute when Amit Das’s rising shot deflected into the net after hitting an East Bengal defender, with a helpless custodian Kalyan Chowbey looking on.

Vijayan then found the second goal through a header from a cross by Reajul Mustafa in the 20th minute and Chowbey rushed out and failed to judge the flight.

Trailing by two goals for 65 minutes, Carlton Chapman scored East Bengal’s lone goal to raise the hopes of several thousand supporters, who came braving inclement weather.

Chapman’s goal in the 85th minute came through a powerful shot after Baichung’s push from inside the box was deflected by Bagan substitute custodian Dinesh.

East Bengal began with gusto and their star striker Baichung Bhutia nearly scored in the sixth minute, but his power-packed shot was brilliantly saved by a flying Bagan custodian Hemanta Dora at the expense of a flag-kick.

Bagan bounced back into life immediately after the scare and controlled the game throughout except for the last few minutes.

While East Bengal’s defence buckled under the pressure of veteran Nigerian Chima Okerie, Vijayan and Amit Das, Samuel Omollo did a commendable job for the winners in the defence.

Bagan could have found their third goal in the first minute of the second half, but for a goal line save of Chima’s shot by an East Bengal defender even as Kalyan Chowbey, who had left his position in haste, looked on.

Again in the 60th minute East Bengal had a providential escape as Vijayan’s powerful left-footer hit the cross bar. The speedy Khemtang Paite’s shot from the rebound was saved by a diving Chowbey.

East Bengal found some confidence in the second half after Dipendu Biswas replaced Raman Vijayan, who could do precious little during his presence in the field.

An injured Hemanta Dora, the Bagan custodian, had to be replaced by Dinesh in the 70th minute, after suffering a head injury when an advancing Dipendu ran into him.

India need to take early lead
By Geoffrey Boycott

WHEN India plays Pakistan in cricket, winning is more important than life itself. It shouldn’t be that way, but it is. The players will give everything to win because they all know that losing is so painful to their respective countrymen. Last year India trounced Pakistan in the Sahara Cup and recently their one-day form would make them favourites, but not with half the team going to the Commonwealth Games.

The loss of Tendulkar is a huge blow. He is dominant force — inspirational and in the runs. No team can feel confident or happy to be taking on their natural enemy knowing the number one batsman in the world is batting somewhere else thousands of miles away. Add to that, Jadeja who has been a revelation batting high up the order and you can grasp how delighted the Pakistanis are with the news. Runs have always been difficult to come by in Toronto. It is a club ground with early morning dew that brings about late starts and difficulties for the early batsmen. Sometimes batting can be a bit of lottery with runs hard to make so to lose two of your best batsmen is a big handicap.

It won’t be easy for some of the newcomers with little experience of batting and bowling on tricky pitches. Spin bowlers like Kanitkar and in particular Bahutule and Rahul may find that the ball will turn but the boundaries are short. Mis-hits can go for six which can be frustrating and make it impossible to set fields. Batsmen Yadav and Paranjape may find that the ball does not come on to the bat like the true pitches in India. The ability to manoeuvre the ball around and play it late into the gaps will be priceless. There will be little time to get used to the conditions as the grass, net practices are poor.

Fortunately for India, there is an old betting scandal that has surfaced again regarding some current Pakistani players. Betting, bribing and match-fixing stories never seem to go away. Nobody comes forward with hard evidence, yet players are made guilty by innuendo and hearsay. Ex-players air their private grievances in public blaming current players-telling stories and getting even with old enemies. Committee men and politicians "jump on the band wagon" to "curry flavour" with the media and the public hoping to put themselves in a favourable light. It is this constant bickering and infighting inside the committees and inside the team that destroys Pakistan cricket and may help India.

Waqar is injured while Wasim is trying to win the county championship with Lancashire and Saqlain will miss this weekend’s matches. Other than that they have sent their best team. Pakistan mean business and are exceptionally talented. New coach Javed Miandad will stir them up. Javed is a tough wily experienced player and he knows the best way to quieten all the squabbling back home is for Pakistan to defeat India. But even he can’t be sure what effect this latest match-fixing publicity has had on his players so it is vital that India are positive and play well early in the Sahara Cup to take advantage of any uncertainty in the opposition camp.

— International Management Group.

Punjab judokas hog the limelight
From Our Sports Reporter

PATIALA, Sept 12 — Punjab bagged the team titles in both boys and girls section in the junior (under-18) National Judo Championships which concluded at Cuttak recently, According to information received here yesterday.

In the individual events Punjab boys — Navjot Chana, Ajay Dhir and Rakesh Kumar got the gold while Shiv Kumar bagged the silver.

Mandeep Kumar and Renu Deepak won the bronze medal in their respective weight categories.

The Punjab eves won a total of five gold medals with Priyanka Sharma, Manpreet Kaur, Neeru, Rajneesh Dadwal and Sandeep Kumar giving a fine performance. In all the 15-member Punjab contingent won 11 medals.

Cash awards for gymnasts
By Our Sports Reporter

CHANDIGARH, Sept 12 — The Punjab Gymnastics Association has decided to promote gymnastics from the grassroots and the allround best gymnasts in subjunior, junior and senior Punjab State Gymnastics Championships will be awarded cash prizes, according to Mr Sudhir Mittal, president of the Punjab Gymnastics Association. At the recently concluded sub junior Punjab Gymnastics Championship at Patiala cash awards of Rs 1,000, Rs 500 and Rs 250 were awarded to winner of the first three positions respectively.

Cash awards will also be given to the top three junior gymnasts in boys and girls sections, respectively, in the Junior Punjab Gymnastics Championship to be held at Ludhiana in November.

Awards of Rs 10,000, Rs 7,000 and Rs 5000 will also be given to the first three position holders in the senior Punjab State Gymnastics Championship being held at Gurdaspur in January.

PTU calendar released
From Our Sports Reporter

JALANDHAR, Sept 12 — Punjab Technical University, Jalandhar, released its inter-college sport calendar for the 1998-99, according to Dr Gurmej Singh Dhaliwal, Director (sports), here yesterday. In the men's section, badminton would be held in the first week of October at REC, Jalandhar while the table tennis meet would be held in second week of October at Sliet, Longowal.

Football would be held at SBS CET, Ferozepore, in the fourth week of October. Cricket would be held at REC Jalandhar in the first week of November while lawn tennis is slated for the second week of January. Hockey is scheduled for the fourth week of January at BCET, Gurdaspur and BBSBCET, Fatehgarh Sahib.

Basketball and volleyball will be held in the second and third week of February at REC, Jalandhar, and GS CET, Bathinda, respectively. Kabaddi (national style) is slated for the fourth week of February at GNDEC, Ludhiana.

The inter-college (women) badminton is scheduled for the first week of October and table tennis in the second week of the same month at REC, Jalandhar, and Sliet, Longowal. Lawn tennis will be held at BCET, Gurdaspur in the second week of January, while volleyball is slated for the third week of February at GZS CET, Bathinda.

The atheletic competitions (men and women) would be held in second week of March at Punjab Technical University, Jalandhar.

Top Haryana gymnast struggling for life

AMBALA, Sept 12 (PTI) — A leading gymnast of Haryana is struggling for life in Apollo Hospital, Delhi, for the past two weeks but neither the Sports Department nor the Haryana Government has bothered to come to his rescue, his father said.

The gymnast, Lachman Singh, belongs to Bhiwani district and was selected for the National Games to be held in Manipur next month. Lachman Singh sustained serious injuries on his neck when he was doing practice in the gymnasium hall in Ambala Cantt. He was admitted to district hospital but later was shifted to Appolo Hospital, Delhi.

His father, a class IV employee in the Electricity Department, says Appolo Hospital authorities are demanding a huge amount for the treatment which he could not afford.

Sports lovers of Ambala collected Rs 54,000 from various shopkeepers for the help of their colleague. His father said this amount will not suffice and has urged the Chief Minister for financial help which will boost the morale of the Haryana sports persons.