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| Sunday,
April 15, 2001, Chandigarh, India   
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India to clash with Yemen sans Ancheri Indians sail into second round of Common
wealth TT Aranxta halts losing streak against Hingis
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Russell, Gilchrist
in title clash Gopi focusing on Spain
meet
Abhinav ready for Atlanta ‘This is only the beginning’ Samaranch for cordial ties between NOCs, govt Lawyer named to probe charges against Lara IWF gets go-ahead for camps Navin gets Air Force chief’s card for sports performance Tollygung
hold Vasco Sekar, Rao advance Punjab cops move
into final N Rly enter final
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India to clash with Yemen sans Ancheri Bangalore, April 14 Unable to play the full match against UAE last Sunday, Ancheri
was harnessing a low abdomen pain. Though, the team management had been stating that Ancheri was recovering, coach Sukhvinder Singh today said that he may not play the match. Sukhvinder said Ancheri had the problem since his FC Kochin days. He managed to play in the last match but with the problem persisting he might not take to the field tomorrow. “Except for Ancheri, the team has no more injury problem,” he added. Stating that the tie against Yemen was an important one, Sukhvinder hoped that the team, which had a good start in the group by scoring a 1-0 victory against UAE, would continue its good run against Yemen. “It is not a joke to score five goals in qualifying matches,” he said, adding that Yemen is a good side and India cannot take any chance. Indian team, nevertheless, is brimming with confidence after a memorable win over highly-rated UAE and have set eyes on entering the second phase of the Asian Zone qualifying round for the first time in their sporting history. The task at hand is no doubt difficult, but is not impossible for India, which scored a stunning 1-0 win over the UAE last Sunday. After tomorrow’s match at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium here, Indians would set out to play away engagements against the UAE on April 26, Yemen on May 4 and Brunei on May 12, before returning here to clash with Brunei on May 20. Yemen, who are ranked below India in the FIFA rankings, are no pushovers and, in fact, are flying high after whipping Brunei 5-0 in their opener, to head group 8 on goal difference. An upbeat India, who functioned as a cohesive unit in their first match, thanks to the guidance of chief coach Sukhvinder Singh and skipper Baichung Bhutia, seem to have the edge now, with the morale-boosting win against the UAE. But the 52-year-old coach and the Sikkim star, who is the first Indian to play in the European league, cautioned against complacency and warned that no team could be taken for granted in international matches. Coach Sukhvinder said: “We have taken a small step (by beating the UAE). India need to top group 8 to enter the second phase. Only after five steps (five matches) can we afford to relax. The responsibility on our shoulders has gone up”. A beaming Bhutia also sounded caution. “Only one game is over. The tournament is still open. We should keep up the spirit and momentum”, he said emphasising the need for the players to keep their confidence and morale high. Meanwhile, the Yemen national team arrived here yesterday with Brazilian coach Luciano De Abroue from Kuala Lumpur, where they were training after beating Brunei on April 7. De Brouse said he was not aware of India’s strengths and weaknesses and only knew that “India beat the UAE, which is a strong team, and so, it must be a good side.” But he warned against taking his side lightly. “Ours is a young and physically strong team. Yemen’s capital is 2,700 metres above the sea level and it should give us great advantage in endurance”, the coach said. For Indians, a note of worry is the groin injury of Jo Paul Ancheri while the rest of the team is said to have no fitness problems. Yemen is without one of their leading midfielders, Assad Hammed Hussein, who was hurt in an accident before the squad left for Brunei.
PTI |
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Indians sail into second round of New Delhi, April 14 In their first encounter, India thrashed Northern Ireland 4-0 in the men’s team title chase to move up the ladder. As if to take a leaf out of the men’s book, Indian women too crowned themselves with glory when they outlasted strong Canada 4-3 in a match that lasted exactly four hours with lady luck playing hide and seek with both the teams. But ultimately, it was left to Mauma Das of India to pull themselves into the next round when in the seventh and last match of the encounter, she overpowered Roussy Marie Christine to provide India the much-needed boost. On paper or otherwise, Indian women seemed no match for the fit and strong Canadian team but the Indian women made good use of their limited resources and in the end, victory kissed their feet. The match not only left the players of the two sides utterly exhausted, it tired out the spectators too who saw almost every match going the full distance in this tie. Only the doubles tie was a smooth affair. In men’s team championship. Soumaydeep Roy began the battle for India when he took on Jonny Cowan of Northern Ireland in the best of seven format. Both players played close to the table and resorted to attack on both sides. Both missed at times yet none of them fell back to the defence. Setting the trend at 6-3, Roy went on leading in the first game with scores 12-9 first and then 15-9. Though Cowan tried to stem the tide with some good forehand shots, he failed to catch up with Roy who won the first game at 21-15. But it was different Cowan in the second who dictated terms to Roy whose game suddenly fell in pieces. Roy tried to steady, yet there was no stopping Cowan as he won the second game at 21-10. But Roy led from the start in the third game and kept the pressure lid on. As a result, Cowan was rattled. Roy led 18-10 at one stage. Though Cowan tried to inch closer, Roy was in full flow as he put the contest beyond Cowan at 21-14. His final scoreline read 21-15, 10-21, 21-14. In the next match Chetan Baboor took on Daryl Strong of Northern Ireland. However, Strong proved stronger for Chetan in the first game in which both players matched each other stroke for stroke. Both served close to the net and both made full use of forehands, jabs and flicks in abundance. The result? The score moved from 8-8 to 15-15 and then 19-19 and 20-20. It was here that Chetan showed that he had developed nerves of steel over the years. Not allowing his concentration to lapse, Chetan unleashed blistering forehand one after another. The game ended when Strong netted a Chetan forehand as the Indian won 22-20. The first game victory was a booster for Chetan who went on an allround attack against Strong in the second. While Chetan was all over, nothing seemed to work for Strong in the second game as the latter grew from weak to weaker as the game progressed. Chetan ended Strong’s ordeal at 21-7 to put India 2-0 ahead in the match. The third match was a battle of nerves between two left handers - S. Raman of India amd Andrew Dannison of Northern Ireland. Fortunately for India Raman is in terrific form at the moment. For Dannison it was difficult to check the Indian storm. Raman raced first to 4-1 lead and then to 8-2. Raman made it 11-3 and led formidably 16-9. By now Dannison had realised he stood no chance against the Indian captain who was in punitive mood. Raman won the first game 21-9. Dannison’s woes did not end in the second in which Raman maintained the tempo of attack on both flanks of the table. Not only this, so much was Dannison out of touch that he often failed to read Raman’s serice time and again. Raman led 6-4, 14-8 and 17-9. He ultimately finished the contest at 21-12. For the doubles tie, India fielded Chetan Baboor and Raman to take on Jonny Cowan and Dannison. But the Indian pair of Chetan and Raman was too good for the rival pair. The Indian pair first of all led 5-2 and then increased the lead to 8-2. By their constant attack, they increased the lead to 13-8 and then to 18-12. With everything going the Indian way, Chetan and Raman won the first game at 21-13. The second game took the same route with Indian pair thrashing the Irish pair time and again with powerful strokes. Chetan and Raman led throughout with leads of 10-8, 12-8 and 20-14. They ultimately won the second game of the doubles encounter 21-15 to give India an impressive 4-0 victory over Northern Ireland. The first round encounter between India and Canada in the women’s team championship was a story of fluctuating fortunes. None had thought when the match began that it would consume four hours. But the match dragged on like never before and in the end it was pint-sized Mauma Das who gave India a very hard-fought 4-3 victory over fighting fit Canada whose players failed to rise to the occasion. So many times, they took the lead but failed to consolidate the gains. Throughout it was a story of Canada taking the lead and then India neutralising it till it reached 3-3. It was here that India dealt the death blow for Canada when Mauma Das stood between victory and Canada and helped the hosts win the crucial first round tie. Indian women, it must be admitted, fought every inch for the victory and even though they had limited resources. Of the three girls, M.S. Mythili looked the weaker of the lot, yet she too contributed to the ultimate victory for India. One of course feels sad for Canadian girls for whom the victory seemed so near and yet too far. Yet full credit to their grit and determination they showed in the match. They looked specimen of perfect physical fitness. Particulary, tall Cada Petra was a graceful player to watch. Of the three that Canada fielded Chiu Wennin of Chinese origin looked the weaker link, others were well groomed and trained as well. India, however, did not begin on an auspicious note when Mauma Das went down to Cada Petra of Canada 17-21, 21-15, 19-21 to give Canada the early 1-0 lead. But Poulami Ghatak restored parity when she beat Chiu Wennin 21-17, 24-22 (1-1). India again trailed 1-2 in the match when M.S. Mythili went down to Roussy Marie Christine 17-21, 18-21. But Mauma and Ghatak brought India back into the contention when they played together in the doubles to down Petra and Marie 22-20, 21-17. Canada again shot ahead in the match (3-2) when in the first reverse singles, Ghatak lost to Petra 17-21, 21-19, 17-21. But Mythili rose to the occasion for India when in a contest between two weak players, she beat Wennin 21-19, 16-21, 21-19 to make it 3-3. Now it was Mauma Das who battled out against Roussy Marie in three well-contesting games to ultimately win 21-14, 18-21, 21-10 to give India a great victory. |
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Aranxta halts losing streak against Hingis Amelia Island (Florida), April 14 Seventh-seeded Spaniard Aranxta Sanchez-Vicario snapped a 15-match losing streak to the Swiss star with a 6-2, 6-4 upset here yesterday in a quarterfinal match at a $565,000 WTA clay court tournament. “I approached the match thinking I had to be more aggressive,” said Sanchez-Vicario. “I took some chances and probably surprised her.” Hingis was making her debut here at a French Open tuneup event that every other WTA No 1 in the past two decades has won. Hingis’ appearance here was also her first at an event without her mother, Melanie Molitor, since her 1999 Wimbledon first-round crash out at the hands of Jelena Dokic, then of Australia. Sanchez booked a semifinal date against sixth seed Amelie Mauresmo of France, who advanced by walkover when Russian third seed Elena Dementieva defaulted with a torn left foot muscle.
AFP
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Russell, Gilchrist
in title clash Mumbai, April 14 In hard fought semi-final matches today, four times world champion Russell beat fourth seed David Causier of England 1539-1425, after leading 797-503 at the breather while Gilchrist, who was trailing by ten points till the last 15 minutes, managed to get the better of world number six Robby Foldvari of Australia 832-751. Gilchrist, who led 492-390 after the first session, had to really pull out all the tricks in his bag with time running out. A well made 87 break in the later stages of the match saw Gilchrist take a narrow lead over Foldvari 751-741 before he missed a red pot. However, Foldvari too missed a simple canon soon after and with just ten minutes to go for the final hooter Gilchrist came up with an unfinished break of 91 which saved the day for him. Gilchrist, who had breaks of 64, 182, 59 and 102 in the first session, told reporters after the match that “it was a close call”. “The break of 87 at the end of the second session probably saved the day for me and I think Foldvari really fought well giving nothing away”, he added. In the first semi-final, Russell had a big break of 389 in second session, the highest so far in the championship, in his 27th visit to the table was the turning point of the match. Apart from the 389 break, Russell also had breaks of 107, 93, 117, 157, 87 and 102 while Causier’s highest break was a well made 252. He also had breaks of 51, 102, 86, 117 and 133 unfinished in his score of 1425. Results (semi-finals): Mike Russell (Eng) b David Causier (Eng) 1539-1425; Peter Gilchirst (Eng) b Robby Foldvari (Aus) 832-751.
PTI |
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Gopi focusing on Spain meet Chennai, April 14 “The All-England Open win is most satisfying and, in fact, it has just sunk in. But six to seven more titles if I am able to win at the end of my career, that would be most satisfying,” Gopichand said in a brief talk with UNI. Gopichand, for whom the accolades continue to flow long after his return from London with badminton’s most prestigious competition, was here for felicitations by a private trust. Gopi, who broke into the top 10 in the world with a string of consistent performances including victories over Olympic champion Ji Xinpeng of China, Taufik Hidayat of Indonesia, Ong Ewe Hock of Malaysia etc, is right now focussing on the world championships to be played in Spain from May 28 to June 10 and then the Grand Prix finals in August. “I am hopeful of winning,” he says. Asked about the help he would render for the development of sports in his home state of Andhra Pradesh he said: “I will do as much as I can. I can set up an academy for badminton. Developing this sport is very important as it has caught on in my state.” “But right now I am into playing 100 per cent. So I can’t say when exactly I will take up the task of setting up an academy,” Gopichand said. “I have not seen Prakash sir playing in his days”, Gopichand said in reply to a query how he would compare his style of play with that of the Karnataka maestro who had won the All-England Open before him. But the game itself has changed much since Prakash’s playing days, Gopichand averred. “The game is now all power and speed”, he said. The league system was fine to develop the game, but in a big country like India there were not enough players taking to badminton, Gopichand opined when asked if the introduction of a professional league would tap talents.
UNI |
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Abhinav ready for Atlanta Chandigarh, April 14 Bindra has done exceptionally well in the European circuit this year after failing at the Sydney Olympics. In the last two months he has won 16 medals and titles. He won six gold medals and lifted three trophies in a row. For someone who doesn’t have a coach, Abhinav has had a remarkable career since he took to the sport seriously nearly four years back. A joint world record of 596 in the Junior World Cup at munich in 2000 was the first of many landmarks which were to come to the young lad. He’s been national champion in both the senior and junior categories since 1998 and a bronze medallist at the Asian Shooting Championship in Langkawi, malaysia. Abhinav had a disappointing outing at the Sydney Games by his standards, where he finished joint 11th. Champions learn from their mistakes, and Abhinav has done just that. The recent performance of Abhinav in the European circuit clearly shows that he’s ready to take the big leap and take on the best in the world, now with more confidence than ever. Even without much governmental support the 18-year-old has been constantly fighting it out to prove himself to be the best. Only the feeling of pride for the nation has been propelling this ace shooter to excel as there are no monetary gains or profits attached to his achievments. Even after so many laurels the shooting wizard has to bear most of the shooting expenses, which is a huge sum, on his own. Unperturbed by all this irresponsible and apathetic behaviour of the government and the business houses, Abhinav is now facing the stiff competition of the World Cup at Atlanta. In the last two months whenever the sharp shooter has aimed at glory he has made Indian tricolor go up every time. |
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‘This is only the beginning’ Hyderabad, April 14 Promising not to be complacent, the Hyderabad batsman, propelled to the top league after his 281 in the memorable Kolkata Test, says, “This success of mine is only a base on which I have to build up a career”. Laxman, who topped the batting averages for India in both the Test and one-day series, says batting at his natural No 3 position made all the difference. “I was not very comfortable while opening the innings. I always had the feeling that I was trying to do something which I’m not really made for,” the 27-year-old stylish batsman from Hyderabad told PTI in an interview. Before this series, Laxman was tried as an opener without much success except for that brilliant 167 in the third Test against Australia in Sydney during India’s tour Down Under in 1999-2000. But accepting his failures gracefully and consistently learning from his mistakes is what has characterised Laxman and kept him going. His hard work paid off when he was able to score prolifically in the one-dayers too capping it with his maiden century. “I am very happy with the century but I would have been happier had we won (the fifth one-dayer and the series). It was a difficult wicket to bat and I proved that I had the one-day stuff in me,” he said. Laxman had struggled in the one-dayers scoring just 86 runs from the 13 earlier matches and admitted having his past failures at the back of his mind while going to bat against the Aussies. “I tried to push it (the failures) back and work for a better score,” said Laxman who aggregated 281 runs in the five match series at an average of 56.20. The maturing of Laxman has not come a minute too early for the Indian team which depended too heavily on Sachin Tendulkar. And it involved deep commitment, lot of hard work and immense ‘doggedness from the youngster who was dubbed king of domestic cricket’ with a shade of malice. Big scores in domestic cricket had almost become a habit for the shy and lanky Laxman, who had absolutely no idea of competitive cricket till he was selected for a coaching camp as a 11-year-old boy. He timed his arrival in the big league to perfection and against a side which many believed was invincible carrying as it was a world record winning streak of 16 Test matches. It was not only the batting order but many other things too that played a role in Laxman’s blossoming as the new Mr Dependable of Indian team. “The computer analysis of every ball we played during the post-match session helped me a lot to know my strengths and weaknesses,” he said while crediting coach John Wright with giving the right advice and keeping his faith in him. “His assurance by telling me how good a player I was had given me the right confidence much needed by me at that time.” And of course, there was the insipiration from his parents and other family members. Laxman greatly cherishes the three dictums of ‘self-belief, fearlessness and positive approach’ inculcated in him by his father. All those teachings have kept him in good stead and his tidy and compact drawing room is now full of momentoes, flowers and bouquets among photographs of Sai Baba and Lord Ganesha. Laxman, in his early days worshipped Sunil Gavaskar, Mohammed Azharuddin and Vivian Richards, all batsmen of very different styles. “I liked Gavaskar for his
temperament and patience, Azharuddin for his wristy play and Richards for his domination.”
PTI |
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Samaranch for cordial ties between NOCs, govt New Delhi, April 14 ‘His Excellency’ Samaranch took the reigns of the IOC at a critical time, on the eve of the Moscow Olympic Games in 1980, when the Olympic movement was threatened with a vertical split, with the USSR and their allies grouping on one side and the USA and their supporters on the other, following the Soviet intervention in Afghanistan. The US-inspired boycott of the Moscow Olympics had virtually wrecked the Olympic movement, but Mr Samaranch, with his shrewd and diplomatic moves, diffused the explosive situation to bring the Olympic movement back on rails, and when the Sydney games came around, he had completed 20 years uninterruptedly as the head of the IOC. Perhaps, Mr Samaranch would have continued as IOC chief for some more time, but for the Salt Lake bidding scandal, in which many senior IOC members had been implicated of taking bribes, in cash and kind, for favouring the allotment of the Winter Games. But the octogenarian diplomat-turned-IOC top gun asserted that when he relinquishes office three months from now, he would have only soft and sweet memories. Indian Olympic Association (IOA) president Suresh Kalmadi paid the finest tribute to Mr Samaranch at a function here to award the ‘Olympic Order’ posthumously to veteran Hindi sports journalist Sushil Jain, who died in Delhi a few months ago, when he said “Samaranch, in the very special Spanish tradition, took the bull by the horns” to bring it into order.” Mr Kalmadi said “from Moscow to Sydney” it was a great journey, and thanked Mr Samaranch for strengthening the Olympic movement with his vision and shrewd business acumen. “You made the Olympic Games a very profitable venture”, Mr Kalmadi told the IOC chief. The IOA president said the emphasis Mr Samaranch gave an furthering the growth of the Olympic movement, had brought in rich dividends. “You will always remain in our hearts and we will always look towards you for guidance”, said Mr Kalmadi, adding that “you will be a special guest for the Afro-Asian Games (to be held in New Delhi in November this year)”. Mr Samaranch termed his long tenure in the IOC as “happy and eventful,” and added that he would have no regrets whatsoever when he demits office on July 16 this year as he felt that the “unity in the Olympic movement” was his “biggest achievement”. Mr Samaranch is now on a 200-nation thanks-giving tour, before laying down office. He predicted that the Afro-Asian Games in Delhi “would be a great success” and hoped that “may be one day, you (India) will organise the Olympic Games”. Meanwhile, the presence of Mr Samaranch in Delhi intensified the lobbying for the lone slot available for India in the IOC, after the superannuation of Ashwani Kumar as an IOC member on completion of 70 years of age, last December. Former IOA president B. Sivanthi Adityan, who flew down to Delhi from Chennai to receive the IOC chief, and IOA Secretary-General Randhir Singh, are in the fray for the coveted post, though according to sources, the candidate backed by Ashwani Kumar stands a better chance of clinching the coveted post. The supporters of Adityan reason that since the veteran sports administrator is 64 years old, he should be allowed to become the IOC member, as he could remain an IOC member for just one four-year tenure while the much younger Randhir Singh can afford to wait for his turn to come. But the supporters of Randhir Singh say the five-time Olympian shooter has the best credentials to occupy the post, as he is not only young and dynamic, but is also the Secretary-Generals both in the IOA and the Olympic Council of Asia. Whether Mr Samaranch was suitably impressed by the credentials of the Indian candidates, or had made up his mind on either of the candidate, he did not disclose, leaving the supporters of the two candidates to indulge in a wild guesses. |
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Lawyer named to probe charges against Lara Bridgetown (Barbados), April 14 West Indies Cricket Board President Pat Rosseau said Barbadian lawyer and former Attorney-General of Bermuda, Elliott Mottley would investigate allegations that Lara profited from betting on the West Indies games, supplied information to bookmakers and received bribes to throw matches. “While the allegations are unsubstantiated, Lara has not yet been officially cleared on the matter,” Mr Rosseau told reporters in Antigua, where the WICB is based. “Lara has advised the WICB of his complete support for the initiative being taken to officially clear his name and has reiterated that the allegations are without foundation,” he said. Lara could not be reached for comment. The Indian Central Bureau of Investigation report, made public last year, named five Indian and nine foreign cricketers, including Lara, as having indulged in betting, underperforming and providing information to bookmakers on team strategy during matches for large sums of money. In the report, bookmaker Mukhesh Gupta claimed he paid Lara about $20,000 to underperform in the two one-day matches between India and the West Indies in 1994. According to London’s Telegraph newspaper, the report also alleged that Lara was involved in throwing a match during the 1996 World Cup in India, when the West Indies lost by 73 runs to Kenya and was bowled out on a good batting pitch for 93. A South African businessman also has alleged that Lara placed winning bets on a 1993 match and supplied information to a bookmaker during a triangular series in South Africa also involving Pakistan. WICB President Rosseau said lawyer Justin Simon had represented the WICB at an International Cricket Council meeting in Australia this year about the allegations against Lara, but no new evidence had been presented to substantiate them.
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IWF gets go-ahead for camps Patiala, April 14 A few weeks earlier, the SAI Executive Director (Teams), Major O.P. Bhatia had asked the IWF, which is run by a two member ad-hoc body, to first set its house in order before SAI could take any decision relating to camps. The internal wranglings in the IWF had led SAI to take such a step as a result of which top Indian weightlifters had to sit idle ever since the Senior National Weightlifting Championships concluded in January this year. However, sources reveal that keeping in view the fact that Indian weightlifters are scheduled to compete in nearly half a dozen international competitions in the near future, SAI has given the go-ahead for the
camps, despite stiff resistance from a section of the IWF. The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) has already taken cognisance of the infighting among the IWF and has summoned both the members of the ad-hoc committee — Mr Balbir Bhatia and Mr R.R. Singh — to appear before its Disputes and Affiliation committee at New Delhi next week. Interestingly, SAI has sanctioned the proposal of holding the camps even as the former IWF secretary, Mr Gopal Khanra, has objected to it, saying that the ad-hoc committee has no right to forward any proposal to the SAI. He has filed a writ petition in the Kolkata High Court challenging the very composition of the ad-hoc committee. However, sources disclose that the ED (Teams), keeping in mind the best interests of Indian weightlifters, brushed aside the recommendations of Mr Khanra and acted on the proposal submitted by Mr Bhatia to clear the camps. With this decision, the
uncertainty over the ongoing national women’s weightlifting camp being held at the NIS here has blown over. The camp is being held in preparation for the senior Asian championships to be held at Shenju (S. Korea) from July 17 to 22 and the senior World Weightlifting Championships to be held at Thesalonebe (Greece) in July. Out of the 22 lifters selected for this camp,18 have already joined while four others, including Sydney Olympic bronze medalist K. Malleswari, have yet to report. |
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Navin gets Air Force chief’s card for sports performance Chandigarh, April 14 Son of former national badminton champion Wg Cdr Satish Bhatia, Navin has won the Air Force badminton singles title three times and doubles title four times. Besides badminton, Navin was instrumental in the Western Air Command clinching the Air Force Squash title in July last year. |
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Tollygung
hold Vasco
Margao, April 14 A lacklustre match, which was played at a tardy pace, never reached any great height with two sides dishing out a pedestrian variety of soccer in which Vasco had an edge. The play was restricted to midfield for the major part of both the halves. With this drawn match Vasco moved to 25 points from 18 outings with five wins, 10 draws and three defeats and remained on same sixth place. While Tollygung took their tally to 22 points from 19 outings four wins, 10 draws and five defeats one more than Vasco. Vasco came with good move in the very third minute of the play but Tollygung’s goalkeeper Hemant Dora brought off a
beautiful save of a try from Kashimov Avazbek, who was fed from the right flank by Vishant Pednekar.
UNI |
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Sekar, Rao advance Chandigarh, April 14 Four matches were played today. The local challenge ended when Satvika Saboo went down fighting to Moica Mileta of Slovakia in straight sets. Simmer Bhuller another player from of India was beaten in straight sets by Karen Paterson of Great Britain. Results: Samrita Sekar (Ind) b Debble Carr (Aus) 6-2, 6-1; Karen Paterson (GBR) b S Bhuller (Ind) 6-0, 6-0; Preeti Rao (Ind) b Rati Kumar (Ind) 6-3, 6-2; Moica Mileta (Slo) b Satvika Saboo (Ind) 6-2, 6-0. |
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Punjab cops move into final
Bangalore, April 14 Parbhdeep Singh scored a superb goal for the policemen two minutes before the final whistle to ground Indian Airlines after the two teams were locked 2-2. In an exciting semi-final encounter, it was the Airlines who shot into the lead in the sixth minute when Altaf-ur-Rahman converted a penalty corner. But, the side failed to capitalise on a couple of chances that came their way after that. Punjab Police’s equaliser came in the 34th minute with captain Baljeet Singh Senior making no mistake with a penalty stroke. At half-time, the teams were locked 1-1. In the action-packed second half, Daljeet Singh scored a beautiful goal to increase the lead for policemen 2-1 in the 54th minute. But six minutes later, captain Mukesh Kumar struck in a wonderful fashion to restore parity 2-2. However, it was Parbhdeep’s goal in the 68th minute that sealed the fate of Indian Airlines. In the title clash on Monday, Punjab Police will meet the winner of the second semi-final match between IHF Juniors and the BPCL to be played tomorrow.
PTI |
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N Rly enter final Ludhiana, April 14 The winners played very offensive games right from the beginning. Northern Railways got three penalty corners before the breather but they could not make use of these. Right-out Neha Singh opened the account by striking a field goal on a cross pass of left-out Bindu. Kiran Bala increased the lead by 2-0 in 29th minute by scoring a field goal following a pass from
Surinder Kaur. After the lemon break, right-half Sunita Dalal sounded the board (3-0) in the 55th minute. Soon after in the 59th minute, Neha Singh took the ball from the middle of the ground and passed on the ball to Binu. Binu cashed the golden chance and struck a fine field goal (4-0). Just five minutes before the final hooter, Kiran Bala completed the tally (5-0) by scoring a field goal. In another league match, Central Railway and Rail Coach Factory (RCF) drew by 1-1. Both teams could not open their account in the first half of the game. After the breather, right-out Geeta Kapoor captain of Central Railways, scored a field goal.
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