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April 8, 2001, Chandigarh, India   
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Soccer World Cup qualifier Davis Cup: India take 2-1
lead Sweden, Netherlands edge towards semis BCCI team may visit city next
week |
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Laxman, Mark Waugh
head averages
Zimbabwe beat Bangladesh S. Africa 210 for
7 Railways take 158-run
lead Orissa all out for 280 runs BSF, CISF in final
of Beighton Cup Punjab to honour
medallists Punjab SAI
coaches’ plea Inter-jail
meet concludes Selection trials on April 11, 12
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Soccer World Cup qualifier Bangalore, April 7 India face a tough task, for they have been drawn against the top billing UAE team, currently ranked sixth in the Asian region as against their 21st ranking. Unlike their rivals the UAE, India have little international exposure, but the side is brimming with confidence and is expected to pump in all its resources to etch a mark for themselves in the opener. The Indian team, currently involved in a training camp for about two weeks at the Sports Auhtority of India (South Centre) on the city’s outskirts, has named their star striker, Baichung Bhutia the skipper. In the absence of Tapan Gosh and Hardip Singh, who are on the injured list, India would have to bank upon Bhutia and F.C. Cochin mainstay I.M. Vijayan. The home team would be heavily depending upon their skipper who is fresh from international experience after having played for London’s Bury FC in the last two seasons. Vijayan too has international exposure, though it has proved to be expensive. After playing for a Bangladeshi club, he failed to produce an International Transfer Certificate for which he was slapped a fine of Rs 50,000 fine by the All-India Football Federation disciplinary committee. India are also looking for an impressive performance by their another star striker, R.C. Prakash, who had touched peak form in the National Football League, accounting for 13 goals. The team is pinning their high hopes on the defenders, Mahesh Gwali, Deepak Kumar, Mandal and striker, D’Cunha Alvito Rolando Correia. Bhutia’s return to the side, no doubt, has sharpened the forwared line, but India’s loss to the UAE 3-1, in the Asian Cup qualifier in Abu Dhabi still haunts the hosts. Going by the performance track record of India vis a vis the UAE, the latter have a clear advantage. India so far have not qualified for the World Cup main draw, barring once in 1950, which unfortunately the team could not participate in Mexico. In the 1998 pre-World Cup qualifying rounds played at Qatar, India beat the Philippines, 2-0, drew with Sri Lanka 1-1 and lost to Qatar by a big margin of 0-6. The performance of India even during the earlier Asian Zone group qualifying rounds has also been unimpressive. However, Indian coach, Sukvinder Singh, who has been reappointed to train the team after the Millennium Cup fiasco, exudes confidence over the team’s good performance and their chances of qualifying for the World Cup. India should draw inspiration from their Abu Dhabi tie against the UAE in which they has shot into the lead, despite the loss. That experience should certainly enthuse confidence in Indian team of turning the verdict in their favour. Also, India have the advantage of the support of the home crowd as the city is known to have a sizeable football loving crowd. The confidence of the UAE team is certainly on a higher scale, as they had qualified for the World Cup main draw in 1990 inspite of loss in the league stage. The UAE’s midfielders, Jumaa brothers — Abdul Salam (captain) and Abdul Rahim, would be cynosure of all eyes. The visiting team have at least five key players of the Al Wehda Football Club, who are the reigning champions in Federation Cup and Asian league. The UAE also bank upon star performers, Kazim Ali and Fahad Massaood, rated as the best defender who attacks from right. In the midfield, Abdul Rahim Jumaa and Hayder Allo Ali are highly regarded for their immaculate ball control and flawless passes. The UAE is being trained by French coach Hanri Lauis Michel, rated as one amongst the best. Michel was the coach for the French team which won the last World Cup. Thus, the side has the advantage of drawing from the rich experience of Michel, who has been lending his services to the team for a year now. Whatever may be the result, the India-UAE tie would prove to be a soccer feast for the fans of the game. India is scheduled to play Yemen on April 15 and Brunei on May 20 in the other qualifying rounds here. Teams: (from) India: Varinder Singh, Prasanto Dora, Mahesh Gawli, Deepak Kumar Mondal, Khangemblam Ratan Singh, Jo Paul Dhanesh, Koolothvalappil, Sebastiao Roberto Fernandes, Khalid Ahmed Jamil, Dias Alberto Jules Chlaudio, D’Chunha Alvito Rolando Correia, Noel Wilson, Renedy Singh, Ravi Chikkanna Prakash, I M Vijayan, S.Venaktatesh, Baichung Bhutia, Rajendra Prasad Singh, Irrungbam Surkumar Singh, Abdul Hakim and Balaji. UAE: Mutaz Abdula Mohammed, Subait Khater Fayel, Humaid Husain, Fahad Ali Musabbah Ali, Sultan Fashed Saeed, Fahed Masoud Ali Masoud, Abdul Salam Jumaa Anbar, Abdul Raheem Jumaa Anbar, Haidar Alo Ali Mohameda, Yaser Salem Sleh Ali, Kazim Ali Abdulla Mohd, Jumma Rashed Humaid, Jaleel Abdul Rahman Mohd, Saeed Hassan Salim AJ Kas, Mohamed Ibrahim Hussain, Mohamed Omar M.Ahmed, Eaisal Khalil Sebait Mubarak, Muammed Gassim Juma, Adel Mohamed Abdulla, Saeed Jumaa Waleed Saeed and Mohamed Rabee Salim
Abdula. PTI Bangalore, April 7 The federation general secretary, Mr Alberto Colaco, said here, if the team defeats uae, each player would be given Rs 15,000 apart from Rs 25,000 fee. He said if the team emerges victorious over Yemen and Brunei, which they play here on April 15 and May 20 respectively, each player would get an additional sum. Twentyone players have been named for the current home-away series. Meanwhile, Indian coach, Sukvinder Singh said, any changes in the team would be decided later in consultation with the federation.
PTI |
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Davis Cup: India take 2-1 lead Tokyo, April 7 It took a marathon three hours for India’s golden pair to end the Japanese challenge 6-4 3-6 2-6 6-2 6-3. The best-of-five rubber was tied 1-1 on the opening day yesterday with Paes and Suzuki winning their singles matches against Yaoki Ishii and Bhupathi respectively. India’s chances of making it a 16 win in a row against Japan now rest on the crucial reverse singles matches tomorrow. The winner of this rubber will advance to a July play-off where a win will ensure a place in the 2002 world elite world group. The humdinger today saw fortune tilting on either sides on quite a number of occassions. India won the first set comfortably but seemed to have lost concentration as they conceded the next to a charged up Suzuki/Shimada tandem 3-6. The following set saw the Japanese duo rallying and making the Indians run all over the court. Suzuki, especially troubled the Indians most with his powerful volleys which helped Japan take the set 6-2. But just then the Indians took a bathroom break, not just to refresh themselves but to break the menacing Japanese rhythm as they came back to finish the unaccomplished task with comparative ease. Paes, with an overall Davis Cup record (singles and doubles) of 51-25 behind him, was picture of sheer grit and determination in the fourth and fifth as he inspired Bhupathi to squash the Japanese challenge and win 6-2 and 6-3. “It was a titanic struggle,” a beaming non-playing Indian captain Ramesh Krishnan said of the three-and-a-half hour five-set marathon. Krishnan attributed the victory to “the experience of Paes and Bhupathi which stood them in good stead, besides they showed good understanding as they breezed past the first set.” Their showing is bound to breathe new life among tennis enthusiasts back home who were disappointed to see the stars split following a misunderstanding. The pair, who became the world number one doubles pair in 1999 when they reached the finals of all the four Grand Slams, made up before Sydney Olympics but victory has eluded them ever since. Paes and Bhupathi had won the doubles title of the Japan Open here at the same venue — Ariake Coliseum — in October last year. Japan are now left with the enormous task of winning both the reverse singles tomorrow if they are to rewrite history. Suzuki, is undoubtedly going great guns and can be expected to put up an inspired performance against Paes, who would be playing his 51st singles, in a match which promises all the trappings of a thriller. With Bhupathi looking rusty - he is playing the singles first time in the past two years after sustaining a shoulder injury — India’s hopes rest solely on Paes who has done it for his country so many times in the past. A win here would be especially sweet for the Indian spearhead as he made his debut against the same country eleven years ago.
PTI |
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Sweden, Netherlands edge towards semis Paris, April 7 Elsewhere in the tournament Brazil and Australia are tied at 1-1 while France have a 2-0 lead over Switzerland. Sweden’s Thomas Johansson got Sweden off on the right foot in Malmo but had to graft for an eventual win against Russian Olympic champion Yevgeny Kafelnikov 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (12/10), 3-6, 6-2. Compatriot Magnus Norman took up where Johansson left off, making up for a hard-fought first set win against Mikhail Youzhny to eventually win 7-6 (11/9), 6-4, 6-2. Sweden now hold a 2-0 advantage over a Russian team deprived of Marat
Safin, who is suffering from a back injury. The Dutch also had injury worries but despite losing Richard Krajicek (elbow) and Sjeng
Schalken, who could be fit for the doubles rubber, they swept past Germany 2-0 in Den Bosch. Jan Siemerink took early hold of his match against Nicolas Kiefer to come out 6-3, 7-6 (8/6), 3-6, 6-3 winner, with compatriot Raemon Sluiter outclassing David Prinosil 6-1, 6-3, 7-6 (7/3). Australia’s Lleyton Hewitt made light work of Fernando Meligeni with a 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 victory on the clay courts at
Florianopolis. Patrick Rafter had retired in the fourth set with an elbow problem in his match agaist Gustavo
Kuerten. A five hour and 46 minutes marathon in Switzerland saw France’s Arnaud Clement beat Marc Rosset 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (7/4), 6-7 (6/8), 15-13 to give France a 1-0 lead. That was increased to 2-0 when compatriot Nicolas Escude upped the tempo in the last two sets to finally beat Swiss Roger Federer 6-4, 6-7 (1/7), 6-3, 6-4.
AFP |
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BCCI team may visit city next
week Chandigarh, April 7 The BCCI team is to examine the cricketing facilities available in the Union Territory of Chandigarh and report back to the board which will then decide whether Chandigarh can be granted direct affiliation to the board. The decision to send the team to Chandigarh, as also Pondicherry, was taken at the annual general body meeting of the BCCI held at Chennai in September last. This came after repeated pleas from the Union Territory of Chandigarh seeking direct affiliation with the board. This affiliation will enable cricketers from Chandigarh to directly play in all tournaments conducted by the board, including the National Cricket Championship for the Ranji Trophy. The BCCI appointed a three-member team consisting of former Test player Shivlal Yadav who is now a senior functionary of the Hyderabad Cricket Association, Mr Ratnakar Shetty, joint secretary of the Mumbai Cricket Association, and Mr Sharad Dhiwadkar, executive secretary of the BCCI, to undertake the study trips to Chandigarh and Pondicherry. But for some reason or the other the trip of the team got repeatedly postponed. But now it is learnt that the team will arrive here sometime next week, according to available indications. Currently, players from Chandigarh are technically allowed to turn out for either Punjab or Haryana in all tournaments conducted by the board. But with both states developing their own cricketing infrastructure over the years fewer and fewer players from Chandigarh are able to grab a place in the teams of either states. Earlier, it were players from the Union Territory who played in large numbers for both the states. Only direct affiliation will enable players from Chandigarh to play the game regularly at the highest level. And it must be remembered that Chandigarh has produced a number of players who have done the country proud at the international level. When in Chandigarh, the BCCI fact-finding team will examine whether the UT Cricket Association, which is seeking direct affiliation, has a registered constitution, its financial position as also the cricketing facilities available in Chandigarh. The team will also see whether the association has its headquarters in Chandigarh as also its jurisdiction. The UT Cricket Association is a registered body under the societies act and has a regular office at the Sector 16 Cricket Stadium, the main centre for cricketing activities in Chandigarh. In the past three years the Chandigarh Administration has also developed the DAV School, Sector 8, as a centre where a turf wicket and top class practice facilities exist. The Administration has also agreed to re-lay the main pitch at the Sector 16 Cricket Stadium. So there is no dearth of facilities. Besides the Sector 16 Cricket Stadium (which is a recognised international cricket venue), a number of other facilities also exist in the Union Territory where a large number of youngsters turn out every day to be trained in the finer aspects of the game. Also, a number of schools and colleges have good cricketing facilities for their students. Also, the accounts of the association is audited on an annual basis. Therefore, on these counts the UT Cricket Association should have no difficulty to prove its bona fides. |
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Laxman, Mark Waugh
head averages New Delhi, April 7 Laxman’s average of 58.50 — he aggregated 291 from five innings — was however far below that of Mark Waugh (138), Michael Bevan (109) and Matthew Hayden (75.75), the top three in the series. Maestro, Sachin Tendulkar had an aggregate of 280 runs at an average of 56. Virendra
Sehwag, who played in only one match, the first one-dayer in Bangalore, scored 58. However, the Australians, who conceded as many as 32 wickets to Harbhajan Singh in the Test series, seemed to have adjusted to the off-spinner whose mere four wickets cost 237 runs for an average of 59.25, the poorest among the mainline Indian bowlers. Javagal Srinath, playing in one-day internationals for the first time after the 1999 World Cup, was the most successful of Indian bowlers claiming nine wickets at 26.55 runs apiece.
PTI |
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Zimbabwe beat Bangladesh
Harare, April 7 The match was won and lost when Bangladesh slumped to a total of 151 for eight after winning the toss and electing to bat on a pitch that offered bounce and significant movement off the seam. Zimbabwe replied with 155 for three in 43.1 overs. Andy Flower was 40 not out, with Grant Flower on 32 in an unbroken fourth-wicket stand of 66. Bangladesh dwindled to 49 for six in the 24th over before Akram Khan, who scored 35, his side’s top score, and Mushfiqur Rahman rescued them from ignominy with a stand of 58, a record for Bangladesh’s seventh wicket. Left-arm seamer Bryan Strang took two for 25, the best of the Zimbabwean bowling figures. Akram Khan, who scored 35, and Mushfiqur Rahman, with 31, put on 64 runs for the seventh wicket, bettering Bangladesh’s previous best of 48. Bangladesh, who are on their first tour as a Test-playing team, struggled to cope with the Zimbabwean seamers after winning the toss. Javed Omar was the first wicket to fall in the fourth over, driving left-armer Bryan Strang to Heath Streak at extra cover. SCOREBOARD Bangladesh: Omar c streak b Strang 3 Al-Shariar c A. Flower b Streak 7 Bashar run out (Whittall) 0 Islam c G. Flower b Strang 2 Khan b Blignaut 35 Rahman c Whittall b Mutendera 19 Mashud b Mutendera 0 Rahman c Streak b Blignaut 31 Rafique not out 22 Sharif not out 13 Extras:
(lb-3 nb-2 w-14) 19 Total: (for 8 wickets, 50 overs) 151 Fall of wickets: 1-6, 2-7, 3-14, 4-15, 5-47, 6-49, 7-113, 8-114. Bowling:
Streak 10-1-27-1, Strang 10-3-25-2, Blignaut 10-1-24-2, Mutendera 10-1-45-2, Viljoen 5-0-12-0, G. Flower 5-0-15-0. Zimbabwe: Campbell b Mohammed
Sharif 5 Whittall c Javed Omar b Mushfiqur Rahman 26 Carlisle c Khaled Mashud b Mohammad Rafique 40 Flower not out 40 Flower not out 32 Extras: (lb-7 nb-1 w-4) 12 Total:
(for 3 wickets, 43.1 overs) 155 Fall of wickets: 1/15 2/73 3/89 Bowling: Manjural Islam 10-1-33-0, Mohammed Sharif 10-1-31-1 (nb-1 w-3), Mushfiqur Rahman 10-2-20-1, Mohammad Rafique 8-1-24-1, Naimur Rahman 5-0-36-0 (w-1), Habibul Bashar 0.1-0-4-0.
Reuters
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S. Africa 210 for 7
St. John’s, April 7 Opener Herschelle Gibbs battled to keep the tourists alive with a brilliant, aggressive 85 but no other batsman was able to offer meaningful support against McGarrell’s teasing flight and turn. Neil McKenzie shared a stand of 67 for the fourth wicket, the best of the innings, as the tourists recovered from 53 for three to 120 for three but a bottom-edged cut shot against McGarrell was well taken behind by Ridley Jacobs and McKenzie departed for 35. Lance Klusener’s miserable tour continued with a seven-ball duck when he missed a pull shot and was plumb lbw while Mark Boucher (1) lasted just 14 balls before lofting a drive to Chris Gayle at mid on. South Africa (1st innings): Kirsten c Dillon b McGarrell 8 Gibbs c Jacobs b Hooper 85 Kallis b Dillon 5 Cullinan c Lara b Ramnarine 4 McKenzie c Jacobs b McGarrell 35 Klusener lbw b McGarrell 0 Boucher c Gayle b McGarrell 1 Pollock batting 36 Boje batting 28 Extras (b-2, lb-4, nb-2) 8 Total (for 7 wkts in 98 overs) 210 Fall of wickets: 1-29, 2-35, 3-53, 4-120, 5-126, 6-136, 7-148. Bowling:
Walsh 21-10-34-0, Dillon 16-3-46-1, McGarrell 34-15-57-4, Ramnarine 17-6-36-1, Hooper 10-2-31-1.
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Railways take 158-run
lead Chandigarh, April 7 The Punjab team sorely missed the services of the experienced Harbhajan Singh and Sarandeep Singh. If only these bowlers were around today’s story could well have been different. However, it were the Punjab medium paces who disappointed their captain. The two Punjab spinners, Babloo Kumar and Reetinder Sodhi, who were underbowled yesterday, bowled well in tandem today to keep the Railway batsmen in check. They accounted for the four wickets that fell in the morning today. Resuming at the overnight score of 203 for three, the Railways batsmen Sanjay Bangar and Abhey Sharma started off cautiously and added 38 runs in the first hour of play. Abhey scored a fluent 50 before left arm spinner Babloo Kumar derailed the smooth running of the visitors as he had Sanjay Bangar caught by the wicketkeeper. The ball hit the pad and kissed the glove of the batsmen before landing in the hands of Vikram Rathore. Bangar scored a well-compiled 89 off 298 balls which contained eight hits to the fence. At the same score of 241, the Railways team landed in further trouble as Abhey responded late to a call for a sharp single by new man Raja Ali. Reetinder Sodhi sent an accurate throw to the wicketkeeper which found the batsman short of the crease. Abhey Sharma’s knock of 53 came off 103 balls and included 10 sweetly timed hits to the fence. Ali too did not last long as with the addition of just one run to the total he was caught by Ravneet Ricky at silly point off Babloo Kumar. Raja Ali, who has scored 689 runs this season, could score just one run today. From a comfortable position of 241 for three at one stage the Railway team were struggling at a miserable 242 for six within a space of 25 deliveries. However, S. Khanolkar broke the shackles imposed by the Punjab bowlers as he struck eight neatly timed boundaries. All the Punjab bowlers were treated with utter disdain as Khanolkar sent the bowlers on a leather hunt. His 81-ball innings for 48 runs tilted the balance once again towards the Railway team. The miseries of the Punjab team did not end here. Their bowlers failed to make any impact. Instead of wrapping up the tail, they allowed the Railway tail to wage a grim battle and post the 400 of the innings. First K. Parida and Zakir Hussain added 43 runs for the ninth wicket and later Harvinder Singh was involved in a 48-run partnership for the last wicket with K. Parida. Harvinder contributed 27 while Parida remained unbeaten on 36. The Railways innings finally folded up for 407 runs, just 12 minutes before the scheduled time. The Punjab openers Ravneet Ricky (2) and Munish Sharma (0) saw the day through without being separated. The Punjab batsmen have an uphill task on hand tomorrow if they hope to make a match of it. SCOREBOARD Punjab (Ist innings): 249 all out Railways (Ist innings):
Amit Pagnis c sub (A. Kakaria) b Vineet 27; Sanjay Bangar c V. Rathore b Babloo 89; Tejinder Singh c Babloo b Sodhi 26; Yere Goud lbw 25; Abhey Sharma run out 53; Raja Ali c Ricky b Babloo 1; S. Khanolkar c Dharmani b Sawal 48; Santosh Sahu c Vineet b Babloo 21; K. Parida not out 36; Zakir Hussain c Munish b Vineet 30; Harinder b Gagandeep 27. Extras ( byes 7, leg byes 4, no balls 10, wide 3) 24. Total (in 170.5 overs): 407. Fall in wickets: 1-46, 2-98, 3-154, 4-241, 5-241, 6-242, 7-310, 8-316, 9-359. Bowling: Gagandeep 34.5-9-84-1; Vineet Sharma 34-5-113-2; Babloo Kumar 32-16-48-3; Sanjay Mahajan 6-4-7-0; Sandeep Sawal 30-11-68-1. Punjab (2nd Innings): Ravneet Ricky batting 2; Munish Sharma batting 0. Extras: (byes 4) 4; Total (in 3 overs) for no loss 6. Bowling:
Harvinder Singh 2-1-1-0; Tejinder Singh 1-0-1-0. |
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Orissa all out for 280 runs Baroda, April 7 Scoreboard: Baroda (1st innings): 568. Orissa (1st innings): (overnight 4 for no loss) S.S. Das c Patel b Buch 54; Suresh Kumar b I. Pathan (Sr) 0; R.R. Parida c Mongia b Bhoite 94; S. Raul st Mongia b Buch 8; P. Mullick st Mongia b Buch 5; P. Jaychandran c Martin b V. Patel 48; G. Gopal c Williams b Buch 15; S. Sathpathy b Bhoite 30; D. Mohanty lbw b Bhoite 4; J. Das lbw b R. Patel 2; A. Barik not out 5. Extras: (b-9, lb-2, nb-3, wb-1) 15 Total:
(all out in 66.5 overs) 280 Fall of wickets: 1-4, 2-120, 3-132, 4-138, 5-182, 6-203, 7-230, 8-250, 9-275. Bowling: R. Patel 20.5-3-82-2, I. Pathan (Sr) 8-1-29-1, I. Pathan (Jr) 9-1-30-0, V. Buch 22-3-96-4, A. Bhoite 7-1-32-3. Baroda (2nd innings): S. Parab batting 46; C. Williams c Parida b Raul 11; H. Jadhav batting 8. Extras: (lb-1, nb-3) 4 Total: (for 1 wckt in 24 overs) 69 Fall of wickets: 1-46.
PTI
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BSF, CISF in final of Beighton Cup Kolkata, April 7 Centre forward Shushil Kuzur scored the match winner in around mid-way through the second half. Earlier, in the first semifinal, CISF outplayed local challenger Calcutta State Electric Suppy Corporation (CESC) by two second half goals. The final will be held on April 9. CISF, who were ousted from the semifinal in this tournament two years ago, captured its berth in the final when their right half Sushil Kumar and skipper G.V. Xaxa scored a goal each in the second half of the match. Xaxa, the only hat-trick scorer in the tournament so far, was initially off-colour, but geared up in the second half after seeing the first half end goal-less. After displaying fine form in the quarter final league where they maintained an all win record, the bankmen today failed to live up to the expectation. Though they forced as many as six penalty corners, they failed to cash in on any of those chances. On four ocassions the chances were wasted for poor shooting while rival keeper Jasjit Singh came to the team’s rescue twice. Although psb had some territorial advantage in the first session BSF came through in the second half and scored the lone goal of the match in the 52nd minute through forrward Sushil Kujur.
UNI
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Punjab to honour
medallists Chandigarh, April 7 He said the Punjab Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, would be the chief guest while the Union Minister of Chemicals and Fertilisers, Mr Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, will preside over the function. Colonel Raminder Singh said a separate function to confer the Maharaja Ranjit Singh Award upon coaches of the above said tournaments would be organised separately sometime in May or June this year where cash incentives would also be disbursed.
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Punjab SAI
coaches’ plea Ludhiana, April 7 Mr Ranjit Singh, general secretary, of the association said as per a notification of the Ministry of Human Resource Development, it was decided to treat the coaches as teachers and it was also clarified that the coaches would be given all benefits as granted to the teachers from time to time. He lamented that the department was not following the rule as they were placed in the pay scale of Rs 5,600-9,000 while the teachers were in the pay scale of Rs 6,500- 10,500. Mr Singh said the seniority of the coaches had not been determined by SAI after taking coaches of the National Institute of Sports, Patiala, into its fold. There was a lot of confusion regarding the seniority of these coaches which affected their promotions, he added. |
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Inter-jail
meet concludes Patiala, April 7 Mediamen covering the meet had a harrowing time with none of the jail officials present knowing exactly where the results were being prepared and even the timings of events were not known to them. This despite the presence of a couple of coaches of the Punjab Sports Department who were roped in by the organisers in an effort to conduct the proceedings smoothly. Results were indeed hard to come by and the liaison between the jail authorities and the media was almost non-existent, to say the least. However, the participants, who had converged on the venue from all over the state, were a bouyed lot and tried hard to make the event a lively affair as a result of which some pulsating contests in volleyball and kabaddi were witnessed. For the records, in athletics prison inmates of Patiala Central Jail stood first with a haul of three gold and two silver medals. In the employees section, District Jail, Kapurthala with six gold medals to their credit were placed first. Other results: Volleyball (prisoners) — Ludhiana Central Jail —1. Sangrur Central Jail-2. (Employees): Ludhiana-1, Patiala-2. Kabaddi (employees): Amritsar-1, Ferozepore-2. (Prisoners): Ludhiana-1, Bathinda-2. |
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Selection trials on April 11, 12 Chandigarh, April 7 The academy has produced outstanding players like Sunil Kumar who recently donned national colours by representing the Indian junior team in the Asian Youth Volleyball Championship. Sukhbir Gill and Chanderpal, both products of this academy, were in the Indian hockey team. He said the age group identified was 15 to 19 years for volleyball while for hockey it was 17 years. Preference will be given to players who have achieved positions at the national or state level. The academy will provide free board, lodging, sports kit and expert training by coaches of the Sports Authority of India. |
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