S P O R T S

India banking on Sachin to level series

Nagpur, October 25 India are banking on their fit-again talisman Sachin Tendulkar to boost their struggling batting line-up and overwhelm Australia in a must-win third cricket Test beginning here tomorrow. Sachin Tendulkar gestures during a practice session at the VCA Stadium in Nagpur on Monday. The third Test between India and Australia begins on Tuesday. — PTI photo

Ganguly unhappy with pitch
Nagpur, October 25
The pitch at the VCA ground may have lost much of its grass in a matter of a few hours but skipper Sourav Ganguly is still far from happy, saying that the curator has not kept the home team’s strength in mind.

It’s like Aussie wicket: Gilchrist
Nagpur, October 25
The green tinge on the wicket prepared for the third Test has pleasantly surprised the Australians but stand-in captain Adam Gilchrist is not "jumping and cheering" as yet and would rather wait to see how it behaves actually.

Harbhajan ill, may miss Test
Nagpur, October 25
A sudden bout of fever has made off-spinner Harbhajan Singh a doubtful starter for the third Test against Australia, beginning here tomorrow. The viral infection forced the bowler to skip the practice session today and he may not play in the crucial Test if the fever persists, team management sources said.

Loyalty winning over combat effectiveness?
Wonders never cease. The Australians are walking and not because their cars have run out of fuel. The Indians are not whining even though they have invariably been at the receiving end all season.

Anil Kumble bowls during a practice session on the eve of the third Test in Nagpur on Monday. — Reuters

	Tendulkar ready for challenge October 25, 2004
	Sachin fit for Nagpur Test October 24, 2004
	Pathan may be fit for Mumbai Test October 23, 2004
	Brett Lee not in scheme of things, says Ponting October 22, 2004
	Decision on Sachin’s fitness by Oct 24 October 21, 2004
	Tendulkar begins batting practice October 20, 2004
	Rain plays spoilsport as Test ends in a draw October 19, 2004
	Martyn’s ton throws match wide open October 18, 2004
	Kumble, Kaif help India grab initiative October 17, 2004
	Sehwag’s ton gives India the edge October 16, 2004

A dog chases the ball after escaping onto the ground at the start of the second Test between Ireland and Australia during the International Rules football series in Dublin, Ireland, on Sunday. International rules football is an annual series between the codes of Australian rules football and Gaelic football. — AP/PTI

India lose to Russia
Mallorca, October 25
Vishwanathan Anand gave India an early lead but his effort went in vain as India suffered a 1.5-2.5 defeat against top seed and defending champions Russia in the ninth round of the 36th Chess Olympiad here at the Gran Casino.

Punjab eye semis berth
New Delhi, October 25
Punjab are already looking ahead to a semifinal match-up with Manipur, though they have another hurdle to cross in Group D before making that grade in the 59th National Football Championship for the Santosh Trophy.

JCT Academy triumph
Nabha, October 25
SN College, Banga, thrashed Union Club, Ambala, 6-0 while favourites JCT Academy defeated Muslim Club, Malerkotla, 4-2 on the second day of the 29th All-India Gurdarshan Memorial Football Tournament at the Ripudaman college grounds here today.

Upset victories for Navjot, Heena
Sangrur, October 25 Navjot Singh of Amritsar caused a major upset in the boys singles pre-quarterfinals when he defeated seeded Gurbax Singh of Ludhiana in two straight games in the Riceta Panjab Junior Badminton Championships in progress at Dhuri. Navjot Singh won 15-6, 15-8.

HCA to host Vinoo Mankad Trophy
Rohtak, October 25
Haryana will host the North Zone one day cricket tournament for the Vinoo mankad Trophy from October 28 to November 5. The under-19 tourney will be conducted by Haryana Cricket Association at Rohtak and Gurgaon.

Ludhiana eves win basketball title
Phagwara, October 25
Defending champions Ludhiana in women’s section and Punjab Armed Police in men’s section retained titles in Gian Singh Sandhran Memorial Punjab Annual Basketball League here last night.

Central Range bag shooting trophy
Nahan, October 25
Central Range of Himachal Police today picked up allround best performance shooting trophy in the 44th H.P. Police rifle, rivolver and pistol Shooting Competition.

Sirsa clinch double 
Rohtak, October 25
Sirsa clinched team titles in men’s and women’s categories in the 38th Haryana State Table Tennis Championship being held at Government College for Women here.

Medical student wins medals in shooting
Patiala, October 25
Nikhil Singh, a first year MBBS student of Government Medical College here, won the gold medal in rapid fire pistol besides two bronze medals in air pistol and free pistol events in the 48th National Shooting Championship held at the BSF Range, Indore, recently.

Ace shuttler Pullela Gopichand shares a light moment with tennis player Sania Mirza during the opening of the Asian Satellite badminton tournament in Hyderabad on Monday. — PTI

India banking on Sachin to level series

Nagpur, October 25
India are banking on their fit-again talisman Sachin Tendulkar to boost their struggling batting line-up and overwhelm Australia in a must-win third cricket Test beginning here tomorrow.

Tendulkar's mere presence in the playing eleven should give the hosts, whose batting is yet to click barring Virender Sehwag's knock of 155 in the drawn second Test at Chennai, a lot to cheer about.

With Australia having taken a 1-0 lead in the four-Test series, another win by the visitors will help them clinch their first ever series victory on Indian soil in 35 years, which makes it imperative for India to deliver the goods before it is too late.

The hosts are expecting the master batsman, who enjoys a terrific record here at Vidarbha Cricket Association ground, to inspire them to a win.

Tendulkar has scores of 176, 179 and an unbeaten 201 in three of the four Tests he has played here.

But Tendulkar, 30 short of completing 9500 Test runs, said he was not thinking about his past records on this ground.

"It's all gone in history books. I will start from zero," said the 31-year-old adding he was looking forward to resume action after a more than two-month injury lay-off.

The return of Tendulkar would mean that Mohammad Kaif would have to be left out from the playing eleven.

Captain Sourav Ganguly indicated that there could be a change in the opening combination as well, suggesting that Aakash Chopra was also in contention.

"Both Yuvraj and Chopra are in fray, the choice will be made by the selectors," he said.

The middle order has failed to click so far, thanks to the indifferent form of VVS Laxman, Rahul Dravid and captain Sourav Ganguly, resulting in the hosts being unable to take full advantage of the situations set up by the efforts of spinners Anil Kumble (13 wickets at Chennai) and Harbhajan Singh (11 at Bangalore).

India are also expecting that the toss of the coin would go in their favour and end Ganguly's woeful luck in home Tests (he lost his 11th toss at home in Chennai and second in as many Tests in this series).

The tinge of grass on the wicket will no doubt enthuse the battery of Australian pace bowlers, particularly Glenn McGrath, who would be playing his 100th Test match.

Injury to pace spearhead Irfan Pathan, ruled out of the Test due to a side strain, could see Ajit Agarkar, with his good record against Australia to back his claims against injury-prone left armer Ashish Nehra, sharing the new ball with Zaheer Khan.

Kumble, who has drawn level with Kapil Dev by taking his 79th wicket in his 12th Test against Aussies at Chennai, and Harbhajan may have to wait till the third day to gain some assistance from the pitch here.

The Aussies, who are expected to retain the same eleven that did duty for them at Bangalore and Chennai, would also look to consolidate on the sort of blazing century stands provided by openers Justin Langer and Matthew Hayden in Chennai.

However, Hayden, who scored over 550 runs in the 2001 series in India, has failed so far to build on good starts while Langer too has looked vulnerable in the initial part of his innings against the swinging ball.

Martyn has shown his ability to cope with the Indian spin aces along with Simon Katich and the twinkle-footed talented newcomer Michael Clarke. Gilchrist has played a few cameos and overall the Australian batting has looked more solid than on their previous tour.— PTI 

Ganguly unhappy with pitch

Nagpur, October 25
The pitch at the VCA ground may have lost much of its grass in a matter of a few hours but skipper Sourav Ganguly is still far from happy, saying that the curator has not kept the home team’s strength in mind.

Curator Kishore Pradhan had surprisingly prepared a green-top track for the crucial third Test against Australia beginning here tomorrow but later trimmed the grass to bare minimum following a request from Ganguly.

But a glum-looking Ganguly said today the curator had not heeded to his request to prepare a wicket to suit the Indian spinners.

“I made the request to shave off the grass from the wicket from Kolkata on October 20. Obviously, our strength is our spinners. But at the end of the day the pitch is up to him (curator). I can only make a request,” Ganguly told a press conference after his team’s net session.

“We will play on what he gives. I don’t think he has done much work (of trimming of the grass).”

The green-top wicket prepared for the match had come in for a lot of debate and today, too, the mower was seen to be working on the pitch even as the two teams practised on either side of it.

Ganguly, however, said the wicket should help the batsmen and pace bowlers and then take spin slowly as the match progressed. “It has a bit of grass covering on it. It’s going to be a good wicket for everybody — the quicks, the batters and it will take spin as the Test goes on.

“Obviously, the curator here has his own ideas. He feels this pitch will turn also. We are going by what he says,” the Indian captain said, adding that the wicket looked pretty dry underneath the grassy surface it sported. — PTI 

It’s like Aussie wicket: Gilchrist

Nagpur, October 25
The green tinge on the wicket prepared for the third Test has pleasantly surprised the Australians but stand-in captain Adam Gilchrist is not "jumping and cheering" as yet and would rather wait to see how it behaves actually.

"It looks like an Australian wicket which is a bit of a surprise. But it's difficult to judge what it's going to do. We are not jumping and cheering. We don't know how it's going to play," Gilchrist told reporters here today on the eve of the match.

"We will have to make adjustments in our game plan as we have come here expecting traditional sub-continent wickets," the flamboyant left-hander said.

Asked to comment on news reports that the Indians had sought the grass covering on the pitch to be shaved off, Gilchrist said he would not be surprised if the reports were true.

"It's not a surprise to hear this news if it's true as Indians like to have dusty, spinning wickets. Their whole game is based around that.

"In Australia we like fast and bouncy tracks, but I am not sure we came across those in the last summer (during India's visit Down Under). I guess you are disappointed if you lose a little bit of home uniqueness," he said.

The wicketkeeper-batsman said though the Aussies held the 1-0 advantage in the series, it could dissipate easily in these conditions and his team was aware of this.

"As Sourav Ganguly said there's lot of cricket still to be played. With 10 days cricket left we know how quickly a game can change in one day. We witnessed it in Chennai on day one (when Australia lost their last 10 wickets for 99 runs after an opening stand of 132)." Gilchrist also said that the team would keep its fast bowling options open by including Brett Lee in their final 12.

"Lee is definitely an option," Gilchrist said adding that the only change to their 12 named in Bangalore and Chennai was Lee coming in for Nathan Hauritz. — PTI

Harbhajan ill, may miss Test

Nagpur, October 25
A sudden bout of fever has made off-spinner Harbhajan Singh a doubtful starter for the third Test against Australia, beginning here tomorrow. The viral infection forced the bowler to skip the practice session today and he may not play in the crucial Test if the fever persists, team management sources said.

“He has a viral infection and we will take a decision on whether to field him in the Test after seeing his condition tomorrow,” the sources said. “But we are hopeful that he will recover in time.”

The illness to Harbhajan came as a blow to the hosts who need to win the match to have a chance of claiming the series, which the Australians are leading 1-0 at the moment.

The bowler, nicknamed ‘Turbanator’ for his success against the Australians, has so far claimed 15 wickets in the first two Tests of the series. — PTI

Loyalty winning over combat effectiveness?
R Mohan

Wonders never cease. The Australians are walking and not because their cars have run out of fuel. The Indians are not whining even though they have invariably been at the receiving end all season.

Another first of sorts is an Indian Test ground is threatening to roll out a sporting pitch and not one of those designer spin horrors. Anyway, Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh have been spinning a right royal web around the Aussies on all kinds of surfaces.

It's raining oranges in Nagpur. The Jaffas will be bowled down the pitch by the likes of Glenn McGrath who will become one of the few specialist fast bowlers to have played in 100 Tests. Australia's Test domination has been predicated upon his durability as well as that of the showboat leggie Shane Warne. In that sense at least little has changed.

It's not only about Jaffas and oranges in Vidarbha orchards. Its is also about lemons if we are to listen to our Hindi commentators' pronunciation of Lehmann's Christian name. 'Darren Lemon,' they keep saying which might just about offer proof of how language is no barrier when it comes to cricket.

Of course, there is a national debate going on about whether Parthiv Patel is a wicket-keeper or a lemon. He dropped so many at Chepauk that it did seem he would have had considerable difficulty in catching a cold even in all the rainy weather that disrupted India's plans for a Test that was so fascinatingly poised.

Tot up the cost of four catches, 20 byes and five penalty runs of five each on two occasions and you might just arrive at the difference between victory in four days and a draw in Chennai. Patel reprieving Hayden on nil in the second innings with Australia not yet off the mark may really have been most crucial to the plot.

Continued faith in Patel is an extension of the principle that esprit de corps that Ganguly has assiduously built up is even greater than selection judgment. This blind faith in a chosen few has sometimes led to loyalty winning over combat effectiveness.

It is Ganguly's and Team India's belief that any new player would disrupt the camaraderie and reduce their ability to operate as a single entity. That is why they seem extra keen not to allow even a talented young wicket-keeper batsman like Dinesh Karthik break into the charmed circle.

Patel is also such a baby-faced charmer that in his case all is forgiven. He has had a couple of horrendous Test matches as 'keeper, in Pakistan and at home, and unless he shows remarkable improvement when standing up to the stumps he could end up as Indian cricket's biggest lemon.

He has enhanced his utility value as a batsman most recently. But then everyone in Indian cricket ends up projecting his batting as a smoke screen for their relative failure at their specialist tasks.

In the case of the wicket-keeper, a compromise becomes too dangerous because he is the key to the team's performance, particularly so when spin bowling is rampant. Patel has received wide support, from Ganguly and the selectors as well as Ian Healy who worked with him Down Under and who now believes that if Patel comes through this rough patch India will have a champion performer for 10 years. No one doubts Patel's long term potential. He simply has to pick up on his basic craft.—UNI 

India lose to Russia

Mallorca, October 25
Vishwanathan Anand gave India an early lead but his effort went in vain as India suffered a 1.5-2.5 defeat against top seed and defending champions Russia in the ninth round of the 36th Chess Olympiad here at the Gran Casino.

Anand crashed through the defences of Grand Master Alexander Morozevich while Krishnan Sasikiran also did well in getting an easy draw as black against Russian champion Peter Svidler.

Surya Shekhar Ganguly was outdone by Vadim Zvjaginsev while Harikrishna missed out on a simple winning manoeuvre against Alexey Dreev before he was eventually tamed. — PTI

Punjab eye semis berth
M.S. Unnikrishnan

New Delhi, October 25
Punjab are already looking ahead to a semifinal match-up with Manipur, though they have another hurdle to cross in Group D before making that grade in the 59th National Football Championship for the Santosh Trophy.

Punjab, who scored a stunning 5-1 victory against fancied Goa in their opening quarterfinal league match yesterday, are confident of putting it across Tamil Nadu in their second league match at the Ambedkar Stadium here tomorrow at 3 pm.

Punjab just need to draw against Tamil Nadu to qualify for the semifinal, but Tamil Nadu will have to beat Punjab by at least five goals to sent the form book topsy-turvy.

Punjab have been in devastating form, and it was thus not surprising to see their coach Parminder Singh in a relaxed mood on the eve of the tie against Tamil Nadu.

Parminder, a former India captain and a member of the Asian all-star team, was a member of the Punjab team four out of the six times when they lifted the title, and three times out of five when they were runners-up. Punjab last won the Santosh Trophy in 1988 at Quilon, when they stunned hosts Kerala in the tie-breaker.

Ten years later, Punjab made their last appearance in the final at Guwahati when they lost to Bengal by a lone goal. Ever since, the Punjab team have been hovering on the periphery, struggling to make even the last four grade.

But this time, they are fielding a young and enterprising team, who believe in team work, and scoring goals, instead of playing to the gallery and squandering their chances.

Goa learnt a bitter lesson when Punjab knocked in five goals, and conceded only one. That was the only goal conceded by Punjab custodian Kameshwar Singh in four matches. Punjab have bulged their goal tally to 20 and no other team have created such an impact.

Former champions — 29 times, no less — Bengal will meet Uttar Pradesh in an inconsequential Group A match at 1 p m.

Bengal’s hopes went up in smoke when Services inflicted a 2-1 defeat in their first group match. Services will clash against last year’s runners up Kerala in a repeat of the 58th edition at Imphal, in the first semifinal on October 28 while Manipur will await the Group D toppers in the second semifinal to be played on October 29.

Meanwhile, in quarterfinal league matches of academic interest today, Karnataka trounced Sikkim 6-1 in Group B while Railways edged past hosts Delhi 2-1. Delhi, who lost to Services 1-2, put up another fine display against Railways, but failed to convert their chances, barring one.

Kasif Jamal put Railways in the lead in the 50th minute while Sunil Chetri pulled off the equaliser for Delhi in the 71st minute. Gaurav Dutta slotted home the match winner for Railways in the 75th minute.

SK Dayanand scored three goals, though not in a sequence, to star in Karnataka’s victory against Sikkim. J. Murali, M. Satish Kumar and A. Xavier Vijaykumar scored the other three goals. Sisil Karthak got the consolation goal for Sikkim.

JCT Academy triumph
Our Sports Reporter

Nabha, October 25
SN College, Banga, thrashed Union Club, Ambala, 6-0 while favourites JCT Academy defeated Muslim Club, Malerkotla, 4-2 on the second day of the 29th All-India Gurdarshan Memorial Football Tournament at the Ripudaman college grounds here today.

In the first quarter of the match between the Banga students and the Ambala team, the former created enough openings for their strikers to make inroads into the rival territory. About 25 minutes into the match, the students struck when right-out Jatinder floated the ball to an unmarked Mandeep Singh, who headed the ball home.

Thereafter, the Banga team slammed five more goals through Narinder Singh, Palwinder Singh, Mandeep Singh and Harpreet Singh. Harpreet came in as a substitute in the dying minutes of the match and scored two goals.

The contest between JCT Academy and Muslim Club, Malerkotla, turned out to be an exciting affair. JCT opened the scoring through Hardeep Singh, who flicked the ball home in a goalmouth melee.

The Malerkotla team was quick to shoot in the equaliser but soon JCT went into the lead when Kulwinder’s 20-yard shot found the net. Once again Muslim Cub managed to equalise through Amarinder Singh but minutes later Yadvinder Singh settled the issue in JCT’s favour.

JCT banged home their fourth goal through Parminder Singh, whose hard angular drive beat the goalkeeper.

In the last match of the day, Football Academy, Hoshiarpur, rode on medio Asim’s second-half goal to beat Patiala Police by a solitary goal. 

Upset victories for Navjot, Heena
Our Sports Reporter

Sangrur, October 25
Navjot Singh of Amritsar caused a major upset in the boys singles pre-quarterfinals when he defeated seeded Gurbax Singh of Ludhiana in two straight games in the Riceta Panjab Junior Badminton Championships in progress at Dhuri. Navjot Singh won 15-6, 15-8.

Heena of Jalandhar caused another upset in the girls singles quarterfinal when she defeated second seed Komal of Patiala 11-7, 11-8 in two well-contested games.

Top seed Navdeep Singh and second seed Avish Makol, both from Jalandhar, entered the quarterfinals in boys singles. Navdeep had no difficulty in disposing of Anand Tewari of Ludhiana 15-7, 15-7 in just 15 minutes. But Avish was fully extended by Vikram. Avish managed to won 15-12, 8-15, 15, 7.

HCA to host Vinoo Mankad Trophy
Our Sports Reporter

Rohtak, October 25
Haryana will host the North Zone one day cricket tournament for the Vinoo mankad Trophy from October 28 to November 5. The under-19 tourney will be conducted by Haryana Cricket Association (HCA) at Rohtak and Gurgaon.

Gurgaon will host the matches to be played between Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir (October 28), Punjab and Haryana (October 30), Punjab and Delhi (November 1), Delhi and Kashmir (November 3) and Delhi and Haryana (November 5).

At Rohtak, Haryana will take on Himachal Pradesh on October 28 whereas Delhi versus Himachal Pradesh tie is to be held at the same venue on October 30.

Haryana-J&K (November 1), Punjab-Himachal Pradesh (November 3) and Himachal-J&K (November 5) ties are also to be held at Rohtak.

The only Ranji Trophy match to be hosted by Haryana this session will be held at Gurgaon from November 25 to 28.

Haryana will also host the following other matches recognised by the Board of Control for Cricket in India:

C.K. Naidu (Under-22) Tournament: Haryana vs Punjab (December 22 to 24) at Rohtak. Haryana vs Delhi January 5 to 8 at Gurgaon.

Vijay Merchant Trophy (U-17):

— Haryana vs Punjab (November 22 to 24) at Rohtak.

— Haryana vs Delhi (December 7 to 9)

Polly Umrigar (Under-15): Haryana vs J&K (October 26 to 28) at Rohtak. Haryana vs Punjab (October 31 to November 2) at Rohtak.

The knockout matches for the Vijay Merchant Trophy to be held from January 15 to 17 (pre-quarter final) and from January 20 to 22 (quarter final) are also to be hosted by the HCA.

Ludhiana eves win basketball title
Tribune News Service

Phagwara, October 25
Defending champions Ludhiana in women’s section and Punjab Armed Police in men’s section retained titles in Gian Singh Sandhran Memorial Punjab Annual Basketball League here last night.

Ludhiana overcame a stiff resistance from Jalandhar in a nail-biting finish. Ludhiana won 72-69 after conceding 18-19 lead in the first quarter. Kamaljit, who scored 10 points in the second quarter of the first half, brought the holders back in the game with a three point lead at the breather.

Kamaljeet (23), Kiranjit (14) and Taranjit (15) were the main scorers for Ludhiana while Rajnarinder (27), Sukhwant (17) and Satwinder (16) did bulk of scoring for the losers. In the men’s section, Punjab Police were lucky to overcame spirited BSF in their last encounter. Playing without stalwart Parminder Sr, Punjab Police had conceded 20-23 in the first quarter. Punjab cops, however, fought back to take 45-39 lead at the half time.

Gagnesh Kumar (33), Amit Prasher (18), Jasjot (14) and Harwinder (10) were the chief scorers for Punjab cops, while for BSF, Mod Singh (17), Ashok Kumar (16) and Vishal (15) kept the scoreboard moving.

Snehpal Singh (Rest of Punjab) and Kamaljit Kaur (Ludhiana) were declared best players in men and women sections, respectively. Gurbhej Singh and Manda of Lodhiana Academy were given special prizes.

Mr Rajdeep Singh Gill, President, Basketball Federation of India, gave away the prizes.

Central Range bag shooting trophy
Our Correspondent

Nahan, October 25
Central Range of Himachal Police today picked up all-round best performance shooting trophy in the 44th H.P. Police rifle, revolver and pistol Shooting Competition. Mr S.R. Sharma, Superintendent of Police, Sirmour, inaugurated the competition this morning at the police firing range at Judda Ka Johar, about four K.M. from here, by firing an opening shot. Mr Kashmir Singh Rana, Inspector-General of Police and Mr R.M. Sharma, Commandant IInd IRB were the guests of honour.

Police jawans from Northern, Southern and Central Ranges and Central units participated. Head Constable Pawan Kumar from Central Range was adjudged the best shooter in the Pistol/Rivolver shooting competition while constable Anil Kumar of the same range was adjudged Best Rifle Shooter.

Both trophies for all-round best performance in the Pistol/Revolver shooting and Rifle shooting were bagged by Central Range as its shooters performed best in the 15 yards, 25 yards, 30 yards and 50 yards events of Pistol/Revolver shooting and 50 yards, 25 yards and 20 yards events of Rifle Shooting. 

Sirsa clinch double 
Our Sports Reporter

Rohtak, October 25
Sirsa clinched team titles in men’s and women’s categories in the 38th Haryana State Table Tennis Championship being held at Government College for Women here. The men’s team defeated Yamunanagar and women’s team bagged title after establishing supremacy over the hosts Rohtak.

In the finals played today, Sunil Ahuja of Sirsa defeated Anoop K.C. 11-8, 11-7, 11-5, Ganesh emerged winner after beating Gaurav Sharma 11-6, 11-5, 11-9, while Rohit defeated Harmeet 8-11, 11-6, 11-9, 11-9.

In their successful bid to claim women’s title, Monica won against Shweta 11-5, 11-8, 8-11, 6-11, 12-10, Bhawna lost to Sidhi (11-8,11-7, 9-11, 12-14, 10-12), while Neha returned triumphant against Charu 11-9, 11-6, 11-6 in the final.

The results: Sub-junior boys team championship (semi-finals) Sirsa b. Faridabad 3-1 Gurgaon b Panchkula 3-0

Final: Sirsa b Gurgaon 3-0.

Boys (under 17) team championships (semi- finals): Gurgaon b Faridabad 3-1 Sirsa b Panchkula 3-0

Final: Sirsa b Gurgaon 3-2. 

Medical student wins medals in shooting
Tribune News Service

BRIEFLY

Russian Marat Safin holds up his trophy after winning the final of the ATP Masters series tennis tournament against Argentine David Nalbandian in Madrid, Sunday, Oct. 24, 2004. Safin won his final in straight sets, 6-2, 6-4, 6-3. AP/PTI

India 11th in junior badminton
New Delhi: India thrashed Slovenia 3-0 to finish 11th in the World Junior Team Badminton Championships at Richmond, Canada. The Indians, who had lost to Hong Kong 2-3 in a thrilling six-hour encounter and lost out on a chance to finish in the top 10, needed just under two hours to blank Slovenia late on Sunday night. Saina Nehwal lost a closely contested first game before coming out triumphant 12-13 11-7 11-5 against Urska Silvester in the first singles. Top junior Anand Pawar then extended the lead with a 15-6 15-7 thrashing of Nejc Boljka before Nehwal teamed up with Aparna Balan to beat Ana Kovac and Spela Silvester 15-4 15-5 and complete a whitewash. — PTI

Dutt to head games panel
NEW DELHI: Initiating the first move for holding the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, the government on Monday named Sports Minister Sunil Dutt the chairman of the organising committee while Human Resource Development Minister Arjun Singh will head the Group of Ministers to chalk out further strategies. Monday’s meeting was chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and attended by Finance Minister P. Chidambaram, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, Lt-Governor B.L. Joshi and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Gulam Nabi Azad, among others. — UNI