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Australia tighten grip on third Test
Kumble will be key player in 4th innings Injured Zaheer out;
Bangar, Yuvraj in No revolt by Indian
cricketers, says Yadav Mongia fashions India ‘A’ win |
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SA pile up 658 Railways storm into semis Punjab-Mumbai tie ends in tame draw Sandeep helps HP salvage draw Punjab cops, IOB in semis Amritsar eves stun Ludhiana
Haywards hold Bagan All eyes on ‘golden girl’
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Australia tighten grip on third Test
Melbourne, December 28 Seeking to level the series after the shock defeat at Adelaide, Australia first took a lead of 192 by notching up 558 of which Ponting made 257, his second double century of the series and third of the year. Batting for 11 overs of the day, Virender Sehwag, whose magnificent 195 had propelled India to 366 in the first innings, as well as Aakash Chopra fell early to leave their side vulnerable. The Indians were precariously placed at 27 for two and face a Herculean task of saving the match with two days left on a Melbourne Cricket Ground track which was expected to deteriorate. Rahul Dravid (6) and captain Saurav Ganguly (6) survived some anxious moments to remain unbeaten at stumps with India still trailing by 165 runs on a day which saw the world champions maintaining their stranglehold. Ponting, who had scored 242 in the second Test at Adelaide, plundered runs at will against the modest Indian bowling attack to join Don Bradman as the only players in the history of Test cricket to score three double centuries in a calendar year. The Australian vice-captain is also now leading run scorer for 2003 with 1472 runs from 11 Tests at a staggering average of 98.13. He needs only nine more runs from a possible Australian second innings here to move past third-placed Michael Vaughan (1,480 in 2002) in the all-time leading runs scorers in a calendar year. Viv Richards heads the list with 1,710 runs in 1976 followed by Sunil Gavaskar on 1,555 in 1979. Anil Kumble toiled hard for his six for 176 from a marathon 51 overs. Ajit Agarkar was the other productive bowler for India with three for 115. But the day’s other highlight after Ponting’s virtuoso knock was Australian captain Steve Waugh coming in twice to bat in the same innings in his final Test at the MCG. Waugh was struck on the left elbow by Agarkar off the second ball he faced and had to retire for treatment. But he came out at the fall of Simon Katich (29) to another standing ovation at the venue where he made his Test debut 18 years ago against the same opposition. Waugh’s farewell knock in front of a Sunday crowd of the Boxing Day Test though was a scratchy 19. He survived two confident shouts for leg before wicket before umpire David Shepherd ruled him out the third time he padded up to Kumble. Ponting meanwhile showed immaculate concentration in his near 10-hour knock that consumed 458 balls and contained 25 fours. His stay at the crease began in the first session yesterday and finished in the final session today when he was stumped off Kumble. Ponting shared two crucial partnerships with Damien Martyn (31) and Simon Katich (29) that left the hosts as firm favourites to win the Test. First, the Tasmanian extended his overnight partnership with Martyn to 78 runs before the latter snicked Ajit Agarkar to wicketkeeper Parthiv Patel. He then added another 64 with Katich for the fifth wicket. Waugh could have been out to the first ball he faced from Kumble but umpire David Shepherd rejected the shout and the Australian captain stayed for 63 balls more before a similar appeal was withheld. Kumble then had Brett Lee (8) caught at silly point and Ponting stumped long way down after the batsman had given a charge in order to wrest the strike. Kumble thus had three wickets in the final session which yielded 78 runs. It was his second successive five-wicket haul following his 5 for 154 in the second Test at Adelaide. Sachin Tendulkar tried to make up for his batting failure with the ball and induced a simple return catch from Nathan Bracken. Stuart MacGill was out leg before to Agarkar off the very first ball he faced. Zaheer Khan bowled only eight overs in the morning in two spells but looked clearly in discomfort. But even before their relief at finally bowling out the hosts could sink in, the tourists lost both the openers in the last one hour of play. Aakash Chopra (4) was unlucky to be given caught out behind the stumps when the ball from Nathan Bracken had brushed his pads while Virender Sehwag (11) was brilliantly caught at square leg by Brad Williams off Brett Lee. Interestingly, captain Saurav Ganguly came in to bat at number four instead of Sachin Tendulkar who was out for first ball in the first innings on Friday. SCOREBOARD India (first innings): 366 Australia (first innings overnight 317-3): Langer c Tendulkar b Agarkar 14 Hayden lbw b Kumble 136 Ponting st Patel b Kumble 257 Gilchrist c Nehra b Kumble 14 Martyn c Patel b Agarkar 31 Waugh lbw b Kumble 19 Katich c Chopra b Kumble 29 Lee c Laxman b Kumble 8 Bracken c & b Tendulkar 1 Williams not out 10 MacGill lbw b Agarkar 0 Extras: (b-4 lb-8 w-5
Total: (all out, 151.2 overs) 558 Fall of wickets: 1/30, 2/264, 3/295, 4/373, 5/437, 6/502, 7/535, 8/542, 9/555. Bowling:
Ajit Agarkar 33.2-5-115-3, Zaheer Khan 25-4-103-0, Ashish Nehra 29-3-90-0, Anil Kumble 51-8-176-6, Sachin Tendulkar 13-0-57-1. India (second innings): Chopra c Gilchrist b Bracken 4 Sehwag c Williams b Lee 11 Dravid batting 6 Ganguly batting 6 Extras:
0 Total: (2 wkts in 11 overs) 27 Fall of wicket:
1/5, 2/19. Bowling: Brett Lee 6-1-20-1, Nathan Bracken 5-2-7-1. — UNI |
Kumble will be key player in 4th innings Defeat is certainly staring at India at the end of the third day. The onus is on the Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly and his ever-reliable deputy Rahul Dravid to save the Test. This partnership on Monday morning would decide whether India will draw this Test and keep alive hopes of winning the series. It’s rather unfortunate to see India succumb under pressure despite being in a commanding position on the first day. The adage of “old habits die-hard” seems to have come true as India have faltered once again. Is it the resilient nature of the hosts or the complacency of the touring side? Only the result of the Test match will give the true picture. Sehwag played a blinder of an innings in the first innings to set up a great stage for other batsmen to seize the opportunity. But on the contrary, the Indians, at the end of the third day, have played themselves into a precarious position and struggling to save the match. Except for the daring knock of Sehwag on the opening day, nothing much has gone the Indian way. The early collapse of the later order for a paltry sum followed by great batting by the most revered batsman at the moment, Ricky Ponting, snatched the initiatives, which the Indians held by the end of the first day. A fully fit and steaming Zaheer Khan is a major requirement in India’s pursuit to win this series. In a crucial game like this, the Indian spearhead didn’t appear fully fit although he tried his best. Hamstring damage is such a bane for a fast bowler that it annoys the bowler at the back of his mind with a constant apprehension of a recurrence. I sincerely hope Zaheer will hit the purple patch again before it is too late. If the Indian batters put up a decent total, I am sure Zaheer and company will make the most of the opportunity. Sachin’s dismissal down the leg side has raised too many eyebrows concerning his form. I strongly feel that his poor scores have a lot to do with the luck factor than anything to do with his form. A scratchy innings complied with few chances or with unsure footwork can call for lack of form. But a dubious leg before decision and an equally freaky dismissal cannot be attributed to loss of form or change in technique. It’s only fair to wait and watch for him score in time to come. Sehwag’s knock came at the right time and it will have a huge bearing on his career. The stunningly dominating knock was simply described as a “leaf out of Richards book” by none other than legendary GR Vishvanath. He also added that such knocks should win matches for the team. But to India’s misfortune, another run-machine exists in the opposite side — Ricky Ponting. The Aussie has the ability to negate the Sehwag effect. Twenty Test centuries at the age of 28 speaks volume of the ability of this diminutive batsman. Equally phenomenal is his rate of scoring. When none of the other Australian batsmen looked settled, Ricky simply pulverised the Indian attack to put the Australians back in the driver’s seat. Skipper Waugh has never seemed comfortable since the time he announced his retirement. It is great to see that while Waugh is struggling to make his last series personally a memorable one, his teammates are working hard to gift him Border-Gavaskar trophy as a parting gift. Selectors reluctantly picked Anil Kumble for the arduous tour Down Under. It only proves that the voice of the team has more credibility and faith than that of the selectors. Anil has once again stood tall to deliver under extreme conditions. His two five-wicket haul in successive Tests suggest that Anil would be a key player in the fourth innings of this match, provided the Indian batsmen do justice in the second innings. The selection for the one-day team is already in progress. With Yuvraj Singh and Mohd Kaif being automatic choice, the slots for another batsman and a bowler remain open. Considering the performance in the on going India A tournaments, Gautam Gambhir and Amit Bhandari should claim their stake. But then, one problem will still remain unresolved. Will Rahul Dravid continue to keep the wicket or not ? — Chivach Media |
Injured Zaheer out; Bangar, Yuvraj in
Kolkata, December 28 With two main strike bowlers — Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh — ruled out due to injury, rookie pacers Irfan Pathan and Laxmipathy Balaji have been retained in the squad for the tournament, beginning at Melbourne on January 9, Cricket Board secretary S.K. Nair announced here today. The selection committee headed by Syed Kirmani finalised the team after a deliberation of more than two hours during which they also took the opinion of coach John Wright and skipper Saurav Ganguly in Australia through teleconferencing. Nair said Zaheer Khan has been left out as according to a report by team physio Andrew Leipus he would be out of action for 4 to 6 weeks due to a left hamstring injury. Off-spinner Harbhajan Singh has already been ruled out of the current Test series and tri-series involving Zimbabwe apart from Australia due to an index finger injury. Both Pathan and Balaji are now doing duty for the Test side Down Under. Openers Aakash Chopra and Sadagoppan Ramesh and wicketkeeper-batsman Deep Dasgupta will return from Australia after the Test series. The team: Sourav Ganguly (captain), Rahul Dravid (vice captain), Sachin Tendulkar, Virendra Sehwag, V.V.S. Laxman, Yuvraj Singh, Mohd. Kaif, Parthiv Patel, Ajit Agarkar, Anil Kumble, Murali Kartik, Irfan Pathan, Ashis Nehra, L. Balaji, Sanjay Bangar and Hemang Badani. Nair said though not included in the team, both Zaheer and Harbhajan will stay back in Australia to remain under the observation of Leipus. He said the committee picked up a 16-member
squad in view of the long span of the tournament.
— PTI |
Zaheer ruled out for
Sydney Test
Kolkata, December 28 Mr S.K. Nair, BCCI secretary, told UNI here today that Zaheer Khan was nursing a left hamstring injury, which would take four to six weeks to heal. ‘’Khan is undergoing a rehab programme along with spinner Harbhajan Singh under physio Andrew Leipus and hence has not been included in India’s ODI squad as well,’’ Mr Nair said. Khan would, however, stay back in Australia for the rehab programme. Mr Nair said: ‘’According to report from Andrew Leipus from Australia Zaheer Khan will not be able to take part in any form of action after this Test which automatically puts him out of the final Test in Sydney and the first part of the ODI series.’’ ‘’It is up to the team management to decide whether Irfan Pathan or L. Balaji will replace Zaheer for the final Test. They have their options in hand and the choice is up to them, ‘’ he said when asked if any decision had been taken regarding Zaheer’s replacement. —
UNI |
No revolt by Indian
cricketers, says Yadav
Melbourne, December 28 “It’s all rubbish,’’ Yadav told Reuters at Melbourne Cricket Ground during the third day’s play of the third Test against Australia. “There is no truth in it.’’ The chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) expressed optimism yesterday that the Indian team’s tour to Pakistan would not be derailed following security concerns after the suicide bomb attempt on President Pervez Musharraf in Rawalpindi. “What happened on Thursday is of grave concern to everyone and bad for the country. But I remain optimistic that if the SAARC conference goes ahead on schedule then the Indian tour will also be held as planned,’’ Mr Shaharyar Khan told a news conference in Karachi. Reports in the Indian newspaper Mid-day said yesterday the Indian players currently touring Australia had taken a unanimous decision not to tour Pakistan in February 2004 in view of security threats in Pakistan.
— Reuters |
Butler corners Pak with 6-wkt haul
Wellington, December 28 Butler, 22, took his last five wickets for just 12 runs as Pakistan folded to be all out at tea for 196 on the third day, in reply to New Zealand’s first innings 366. At stumps New Zealand in their second innings were 75 for three for an overall lead of 245 with two days remaining. Playing in only his seventh Test, Butler produced a withering spell with the second new ball as Pakistan lost their last six wickets for 28 runs, and their last four wickets for only two runs. Pakistan had started the day with intentions of batting their way to safety and from a slow start had reached the comparatively comfortable total of 134 for four at lunch. Yousuf Youhana, who struggled early in his innings, gained in confidence in the after lunch session and moved to 60 in 246 minutes at the crease before popping a simple catch to Stephen Fleming off Daniel Vettori and Pakistan were 168 for five. Enter Butler. Charging into the northerly wind, he bowled Abdur Razzaq for 26 in his first over back to make it 171 for six. Scoreboard New Zealand (1st innings) 366 Pakistan (first innings) Farhat c Hart b Oram 20 Umar c Oram b Tuffey 16 Hameed b Butler 3 Youhana c Fleming
Inzamam lbw b Oram 34 Razzaq b Butler 26 Moin c Vettori b Butler 19 Sami c Hart b Butler 4 Shoaib Akhtar b Butler 0 Shabbir Ahmed not out 0 Kaneria lbw b Butler 0 Extras
:14 Total (all out, 90 overs) 196 FoW: 1-27, 2-30, 3-60, 4-113, 5-168, 6-171, 7-194, 8-195, 9-196 Bowling: D. Tuffey 24-9-46-1, I. Butler 20-6-46-6, J. Oram 22-5-49-2, D. Vettori 22-6-47-1, S. Styris 2-1-1-0 New Zealand (2nd innings): Richardson not out 35 Vincent lbw b Akhtar 4 Fleming lbw b Kaneria 24 Jones c Moin b Shoaib 7 Tuffey not out 0 Extras
(lb-3 nb-1 w-1) 5 Total (3 wickets, 36 overs) 75 FoW: 1-8, 2-43, 3-73 Bowling: Akhtar 9-3-12-2 Ahmed 9-2-11-0, Sami 4-1-12-0, Kaneria 9-2-18-1, Razzaq 5-1-19-0.
— Reuters |
SA pile up 658
Durban, December 28 At stumps on the third day, the West Indies were 18 without loss in their second innings, a deficit of 376. Scoreboard West Indies (1st innings): 264 South Africa (1st innings): Smith c Sarwan b
Gibbs b Sanford 142 Rudolph c Ganga
Kallis c Sarwan b Dillon 177 Kirsten c Drakes
McKenzie c Jacobs
Boucher lbw b Drakes 12 Pollock not out 38 Hall c sub b Sarwan
32 Ntini c Lara b Sanford 0 Extras (lb-9, nb-23, w-6) 38 Total (9 wkts
decl. in 166.2) 658 Fall of wickets: 1-38, 2-99, 3-267, 4-516, 5-562, 6-572, 7-599, 8-649, 9-658 Bowling: Dillon 33-5-111-1, Edwards 25-1-115-1, Sanford 38.2-4-170-3, Sarwan 21-2-65-2, Drakes 30-3-113-2, Hinds 13-2-50-0, Ganga 6-1-25-0. West Indies (2nd innings): Hinds batting
7 Ganga batting 4 Extras (lb-6, nb-1) 7 Total (for no loss ) 18 Bowling: Pollock 5-4-2-0, Ntini 5-1-10-0.
— AFP |
Punjab-Mumbai tie ends in tame draw Chandigarh, December 28 In fact, Punjab's chances of making any further progress in the group had taken a beating after they had made a mess while chasing Mumbai's modest total of 224 yesterday. With five frontline batsmen back in the pavilion and 52 on the board, it was really a matter of time before the innings folded. Punjab's innings came to an end immediately after the lunch break today at 153. Left-arm seamer Amit Uniyal was the only batsman to make some contribution. He was unbeaten on 56 when the innings ended. In the absence of regular Mumbai seamers Avishkar Salvi and the paceman Munaf Patel, inexperienced frontline bowlers Swapnil Hazare and Usman Malvi acquitted themselves well. They bowled an impeccable line and length. Maintaining relentless pressure they choked the rival batsmen for runs, inducing errors in the process. Punjab must have felt the absence of their main batsmen and skipper Dinesh Mongia and one-day batsman Yuvraj Singh. Both are part of the India "A" squad currently playing in Kenstar Asia Cup in Kolkata. In their absence none of the other batsmen could stay at the wicket as Uniyal and wicketkeeper Chandan Madan (33) were the highest scorers from the side. Resuming from the overnight score of 70 for five, Punjab suffered an immediate jolt when the last of the recognised batsmen Samrat Sharma was caught behind off Hazare. Uniyal and Madan were then involved in the most fruitful stand of the innings which helped in only delaying the inevitable. Madan contributed 33 before being scalped by off-spinner Ramesh Powar.
Uniyal hit five fours and the lone six from the side in his unbeaten half century which helped Punjab get past the 100-run mark. Mumbai, in their second innings, were 181 for four at close. Opener Vinayak Mane played an entertaining knock of 60 runs off 84 balls. After this last league match, Mumbai have sailed into the semifinal with 22 points, while it is the end of the road for the hosts. They logged 11 points from seven matches. Mumbai (1st innings): 224 Punjab (1st innings):
Ricky b Usman 7, Munish c & b Hazare 18, Kakkar lbw Usman 4, Dharmani c Samant b Hazare 15, Sodhi c Jaffer b Hazare 0, Samrat c Samant b Hazare 11, Madan c Jaffer b Powar 33, Uniyal not out 56, Gagandeep b Hazare 1, Navdeep c Samant b Malvi 4, Vineet b Malvi 1 Extras: (lb 2, nb 1): 3 Total:
( all out in 61 overs): 153 Fall of wickets: 1-11, 2-23, 3-45, 4-45, 5-52, 6-70, 7-124, 8-135, 9-151. Bowling: Usman Malvi 22-8-55-4, Swapnil Hazare 21-9-45-5, Robin Morris 7-1-13-0, Ramesh Powar 7-2-24-1, Vinod Kambli 2-0-12-0, Nilesh Kulkarni 2-0-2-0. Mumbai (2nd innings): Mane run out 60, Morris lbw Gagandeep 1, Thakkar c & b Gagandeep 50, Powar c Uniyal b Navdeep 36, Mazumdar not out 11, Samant not out 13. Extras:
(b 2, lb 4, nb 4): 10 Total: ( 4 wkts in 47 overs): 181 FoW: 1-3, 2-103, 3-152, 4-154 Bowling: Gagandeep 17-1-78-2, Reetinder Sodhi 4-0-20-0, Amit Uniyal 8-2-20-0, Navdeep Singh 17-2-53-1, Ravneet Ricky 1-0-4-0. |
Sandeep helps HP salvage draw
Kolhapur, December 28 The huge first innings total by the hosts and some fine bowling by Mandar Dalavi were in vain as the visitors managed to garner some pride from the match. Asked to follow-on by Maharashtra, Himachal resumed on the penultimate day from their overnight score of 137 for one with opening bat Sandeep Sharma (64) and one-drop all-rounder Sangram Singh (26) taking up the challenge and with some fine batting display taking the score to 237 before Sangram Singh looking good for his 70 was caught by D. Mohan of the bowling of
Khadikar. Scoreboard: Maharashtra (Ist innings): 564 all out Himachal Pradesh
(Ist innings): 219 all out Himachal Pradesh (IInd innings): Anil Sharma c Khirid b Dalavi 30, Sandeep c Jadhav b Dalavi 135, Sangram c Mohan b Khadikar 70, Bisla c Siddiqui b Dalavi 83, Ajay Mannu b Siddiqui 22, Panta c Satbhai b Dalavi 01, Amit c Khirid b Khadikar 17, Vishal lbw Dalavi 04, Ashok b Dalavi 00, Mallik c Kulkrani b Dalavi 01,
S.P. Singh not out 00, Extras: 29 Total: all out in 130.1 overs 392 Fall of wickets: 1/88, 2/237, 3/262, 4/308, 5/309, 6/349. 7/358, 8/391, 9/391, 10/392. Bowling: I. Siddiqui 14-2-52-1, C. Kulkarni 12-3-33-0, M. Dalavi 44.1-17-93-7, R. Khirid 8-2-38-0, Khadikar 35-6-109-2, H. Kanitkar 12-1-37-0, N. Godbole 3-1-8-0, D. Mohan 2-0-3-0, Maharashtra
(IInd innings): Godbole not out 01, Mohan not out 01, Total: (without loss in one over): 2 Bowling: A.
Thakur: 1-0-2-0. — UNI |
Punjab cops, IOB in semis Nabha, December 28 With the completion of today’s programme, the decks have been cleared for the semifinals in which Punjab Police will square off against Vajra Corps, who downed CISF 5-3 while BSF, Jalandhar, who got the better of Rock Rovers, Chandigarh 2-1, cross swords with IOB. Punjab cops, powered by a five forward frontline, dashed the hopes of Indian Navy by putting in a cohesive performance in the first half of the match, although the second half saw them playing subdued hockey as they seemed to be more content on riding to the last four stage by virtue of defending their slender solitary goal lead earned in the first half. The frequency of the cops’ incursions in the first half should have secured them a better scoreline but some poor finishing let them down. As they gained momentum, the rival citadel fell when skipper Jagbir Singh gave a deft pass to right-in Sarabjit Singh who in turn put centre forward Avtar Singh on the move. After side stepping his way past a defender, Avtar drew out the onrushing goalkeeper before slotting the ball home to put his side 1-0 up. The second half saw the cops dishing out some defensive hockey even as they hung on tenaciously to the one-goal lead. Towards the fag end the Navy men did come up with some good moves but all their good work was nipped in the bud by the cops’ defence in which goalkeeper Paramjit Singh stood out for some fine blocks. IOB, Chennai, who made a fine debut yesterday when they downed Corps of Signals, one again put on a memorable performance to outclass ITBP, Jalandhar 5-3. The security men started strongly and opened the scoring through nippy winger Kulwinder Singh. However, this advantage was soon nullified by IOB when K. Padmanabhan scored an opportunistic goal. The Chennai bankmen soon went into the lead through T. Senthil and as it seemed they would cruise into the last four stage, ITBP fired in a goal through B. Subash. The tie breaker saw IOB putting it across their rivals by posting a 5-3 verdict. |
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Amritsar eves stun Ludhiana Sangrur, December 28 In the boys section Sangrur retained the title, when they thrashed Jalandhar easily. The Ludhiana-Amritsar final in the girls section was easily the best match of the tournament. The match which lasted about two hours, was well contested. Amritsar won 25-16, 16-25, 25-22, 18-25, 16-14. Ludhiana who were favourite to win the tournament started on a bad note losing the first game rather tamely at 16-25. But they came back in their own in the second game winning 25-16. The third game was closely fought with both the teams trying to take lead. They were tied 21-21 but after that Amritsar girls took four points in a row to make it 24-21. Ludhiana reduced the margin by one point. A thundering smash by Amritsar smasher Sukhdeep sealed the fate of Ludhiana, who were now trailing by 1-2. Ludhiana girls once again fought back in the fourth game winning it rather easily 25-18. The final game saw good volleyball from both the teams. Their powerful smashes and lifts from difficult angles enthralled the huge holiday crowd. It was a close affair till the end when both the teams were level at 12-12. It was once again Sukhdeep and Navjot who helped their team to snatch the final game 16-14. Meenu, Sukhdeep and Navjot excelled for Amritsar while Jagdeep and Rajwinder played an excellent game for Ludhiana. Sangrur got third place defeating Gurdaspur. The boys final was a tame affair with Sangrur spikers thrashing Jalandhar with ease. Sangrur won the match 25-17, 25-14, 25-12 in 30 minutes. Major Singh, Jagjit Singh, Nitesh Kumar, Gagan and International Gauravpreet Singh played on excellent game for Sangrur while Manjit Singh and Gurpreet Singh played well for Jalandhar. Mr M.S. Bhullar, former DGP, gave away the prizes to the winners. |
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Vikas, Mayank steal the show Chandigarh, December 28 Earlier in the men is apparatus championship qualifying round, in floor
exercise, Abhinav of UP at 9.10 point was leading. He was followed by Vikas of UP with 9.0 points. In Roman Rings, Lalit Kumar of Punjab with 9.35 points was in lead. In parallel bar, Mayank of UP with 9.15 points was ahead. In vaulting horse, again Mayank of UP with 9.15 points was in lead . In Horizontal bar and Pommel horse both , it was Vikas who stayed ahead. Earlier fancied Vikas Pandey of Uttar Pradesh took lead with 330 points to qualify for the all round individual championship in the men is artistic event. Meanwhile, during the executive committee meeting of the GFI, it was decided to open new centres of excellence at various places in the country. The centres were proposed to be set up at Patiala, Gurdaspur, Chandigarh, Ambala, Hyerbadad, Agartala and Kolkata. The GFI has also decided to hold the second Central South Asia Gymnastics meet at Surat in 2004, then the fourth Asian artistic both senior and junior Gymnastics championship at Hyderabad in 2005. The disciplines of trampoline, aerobics, and acrobatics have been brought under the ambit of the GFI. Results:
Men: (all round individual championship): Vikas Pandey 330 U.P 52.75 1, Mayank 332 U.P 52.10; 2, M.Shinoj 312 SSCB 50.80 3, Deepesh 334 U.P 50.70 4, Saraf Raj Ahmed 304 I.R 49.80 5, Ramesh Behara 310 SSCB 49.50 6, Krishen 245 Har 49.05 7 Raja Ray 315 I.R, 48.90 8, Lalit Kumar 351 Pun 48.90 9, B.N. Shiva Kumar 201 A.P 48.55 10, Sudip Jana 302 I.R 48.45 11. Results men team championship: Uttar Pradesh 255.80 1, Services Sports Control Board 246.35 2, Indian Railways 245.05 3. |
Haywards hold Bagan Margao, December 28 Both teams played an attacking game creating scoring opportunities. Barreto created panic in the rival defence whenever he moved up and gave his team the lead in the 12th minute when he shot home from the top of the box a deflection which came to him via Leonard. But the Goans who stretched their famed rivals in both the half, restored parity three minutes latter when Dudu Omagbemi capitalised on a defensive error when defender Sanjeev Maria and Rishi Kapur let go a cross from Francis Andrade and Dudu made no mistake in nodding home. Bagan defence looked jittery after conceding the goal and Dudu had a glorious chance to put his team up but he headed wide off a long lob by Vincent Pires. Thereafter, keeper Prasanta Dora made a save when he blocked a Jotin shot after Dudu set him on the right. Haywards midfield played in unison as they kept their strikers busy and went ahead in the 32nd minute off a free kick.
— PTI |
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All eyes on ‘golden girl’ Chandigarh, December 28 Rajni, a Punjab Police employee, said her aim was to represent India at the international level. With the passage of time, I will certianly do something for my country, affirmed Rajni. It was at Government Victoria Girls Senior Secondary School, Patiala, where she honed her skills. She practiced under the able guidance of many coaches. She was influenced by her younger sister, Suman, a regular gymnastics trainee and Rajni took to gymnastics at the age of 12. Daughter of a PRTC employee at Patiala, Rajni’s initial success came in 1996 in the Punjab State Gymnastics Championship at Patiala. There she won one silver and three bronze medals in various artistic events which included hoops, rope and ribbon. The “rubber girl” of Patiala once saw Uzbekistan gymnast Alexandria at the South Asian Gymnastics Meet at Patiala in 1999 and began admiring her. “The international meet was real exposure for her as she got to learn many off-game things like when to warm-up and eat, besides the kind of diet she should take. “In a gymnast, there should be a will to perform to one’s optimum capacity in front of large public,” said Rajni. She was now coached by Ms Kalpana Debnath at the NIS, Patiala. Rajni’s other previous achievements included a gold medal in the National School Games at Pune in 1996. She won one gold and two silver medals at the 1998 National School Games at Surat. At the Udaipur Senior Nationals and Federation Cup in Delhi, she won a bronze medal each. Rajni said the sport did not get much patronage in India, though we had good coaches, who needed advanced training. She said the Gymnastics Federation of India was paying due attention to its talented players. |
UP inflict 90-run defeat on Kerala Palakkad, December 28 The loss also saw Kerala, who finished last in the eight-team group 'A' with only 2 points, being relegated to the "Plate division". Resuming the fourth and final day at 32 for one, Kerala lost wickets at regular intervals and were in dire straits at lunch with 121 for 6.
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Cricket trials Sangrur, December 28 |
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