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India beat Bangladesh to clinch series
Lanka’s NZ tour put on hold
after tsunami
Shoaib puts Aussies on the backfoot
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Kallis defies England
Stracon drags Prasar Bharti to court
Australia pay tribute to 1868
Aboriginal team
Zaheer, Irfan in Baroda team
France drub India in first Test
Pak Olympians for PHL
YEARENDER: SHOOTING
Sandeep wins 2 gold in archery
RCF, PSB Academy
enter last eight
PSB Academy win hockey tourney
Chandigarh men, women win Delhi, TN women win Two-month ban for Paul
Amritsar Coaching
Centre enter semi-finals
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India beat Bangladesh to clinch series
Dhaka, December 27 Sachin Tendulkar (47) and Virender Sehwag (70) set the platform with a 106-run opening stand before captain Sourav Ganguly (55) and Rahul Dravid (60) consolidated the position with another near-hundred association. Yuvraj then completed the domination with one of the quickest half centuries, his sizzling knock containing eight fours and three sixes. The Bangladesh bowling, which had successfully defended a modest total for the team’s first-ever home win in their 100th one-dayer yesterday, was torn to shreds as the Indians, smarting under the shock 15-run defeat, played with a vigour and aggression they had not shown before in the series. Mashrafe Mortaza, who has been the most impressive bowler for the hosts in the series, went for 60 runs without taking a wicket while medium pacer Mushfiqur Rahman was the worst sufferer with figures of 6-0-52-0. In the circumstances, veteran Khaled Mahmud returned with respectable figures of 3-62 in the day-night contest which saw India win the toss and elect to bat. Tendulkar was impressive in the way he took the initiative while Sehwag took time to settle down. Their blistering partnership was only bettered by the stinging attack by Yuvraj and Mohammad Kaif (24 n.o.) in the final overs, the duo adding 93 runs off just 49 balls. After the shock defeat yesterday, the Indians fielded a full-strength team with only Irfan Pathan sitting out with a back injury suffered in the first one-dayer in Chittagong. The lethargy and tentativeness of the Indians was replaced by vigour and aggression, and the result was explosive. Tendulkar started the juggernaut, unleashing fluent strokes on both sides of the wicket and soon it became a deluge of boundaries. The 100 came in the 13th over, the second fifty off just 16 balls as both batsmen tore apart the Bangladesh bowling. Sehwag reached his half century in 36 balls with eight fours and a six. The Delhi batsman was severe on Mushfiqur Rahman, whose two overs cost 30 runs and was immediately replaced. Tendulkar, however, fell while attempting to glance Khaled Mahmud down the third, only to be caught behind. His 47 came off 42 balls and was studded with nine fours. Mahmud gave Bangladesh their second breakthrough when Sehwag mistimed a heave and Mohammad Ashraful took a well-judged catch at deep midwicket. But the tempo had been set by then and the next pair of Ganguly and Dravid only had to rotate the strike to maintain it. Dravid played with patience but Ganguly now and then opened his shoulders as when he hoisted Aftab Ahmed and Mushfiqur Rahman over the on-side fence. Dravid was dropped on 32 by Ashraful when he tried to reverse sweep Rajin Saleh. Saleh, however, struck in his fourth over when Ganguly skied a simple catch to Mahmud at long off, bringing an end to the productive partnership for the third wicket which was worth 98 runs off 80 balls. Dravid struck two consecutive fours off Saleh to reach his half century but was out soon after when his off drive fell straight into the hands of Mortaza at cover. Yuvraj turned the heat on the hosts as he plundered sixes and fours while Kaif was content to leave the strike to him. The left-hander fell with three balls remaining when he was caught at long on. India Sehwag c Ashraful b Mahmud 70 Tendulkar c Mashud b Mahmud 47 Ganguly c Mahmud b Saleh 55 Dravid c Mortaza b Rafique 60 Yuvraj c Aftab b Mahmud 69 Kaif not out 29 Dhoni not out 7 Extras
(lb-4, w-7) 11 Total (5 wkts, 50 overs) 348 Fall of wickets:
1-106, 2-125, 3-223, 4-247, 5-340. Bowling: Mortaza 10-0-60-0, Hossain 6-0-53-0, Rahman 6-0-52-0, Mahmud 10-0-62-3, Rafique 10-1-63-1, Ahmed 2-0-16-0, Saleh 6-0-38-1. Bangladesh Iqbal c Dhoni b Agarkar 10 Saleh st Dhoni b Tendulkar 82 Rafique c Dravid b Zaheer 4 Bashar c Dhoni b Agarkar 2 Ashraful run out 32 Ahmed c Dhoni b Harbhajan 9 Mashud lbw Tendulkar 10 Mahmud c Sharma b Tendulkar 14 Rahman not out 27 Mortaza st Dhoni b Tendulkar 39 Hossain not out 1 Extras
(w-17, nb-4, b-0, lb-10) 31 Total: (9 wickets, 50 overs) 257 Fall of wickets:
1-31, 2-32, 3-41, 4-101, 5-138, 6-163, 7-164, 8-198, 9-246. Bowling:
Tendulkar 9-2-45-4, Yuvraj 6-0-25-0, Sehwag 6-1-32-0, Ganguly 5-0-25-0, Zaheer 6-1-15-1, Agarkar 7-0-32-2, Harbhajan 8-0-49-1, Sharma 3-0-20-0.
— PTI |
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Lanka’s NZ tour put on hold
after tsunami
Colombo, December 27 It said all matches, whether international or domestic, would be postponed in recognition of a five-day period of national mourning in Sri Lanka. “Sri Lanka Cricket has reached an agreement with New Zealand Cricket to reschedule the rest of the one-day internationals and Test matches and the revised dates will be notified later,” the board said in a statement after an emergency meeting in Colombo. Sri Lankan players and team officials met earlier today to discuss the tour after the world’s biggest earthquake in 40 years killed more than 15,500 persons across southern Asia. None of the Sri Lankan players had lost family members but the mothers of two unidentified players had been injured, team manager Brendon Kuruppu said. “You cannot really assess the situation right now, it’s something you cannot really imagine,” he told reporters in the New Zealand city of Napier. “Cricket is not the thing on our minds right at the moment,” Kuruppu added. Sri Lanka played New Zealand in the first of the five scheduled one-day international matches yesterday. New Zealand won the match in Auckland by seven wickets with the second scheduled for Napier on Wednesday.
— Reuters |
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Shoaib puts Aussies on the backfoot
Melbourne, December 27 A week after they surrendered for 72 and handed Australia a monumental 491-run victory in the first Test, the Pakistanis bounced back emphatically to have Ricky Ponting’s team under pressure after two days’ play. Shoaib Akhtar claimed the wickets of Matthew Hayden (9), Ponting (7) and Darren Lehmann (11), along with an outfield catch to send Michael Clarke on his way for 20, to have the Australians in a spot of bother at 171 for five. But Pakistan’s efforts to gain a sizeable innings lead were being thwarted by Damien Martyn and Adam Gilchrist, who put on an unbroken sixth-wicket stand of 32 runs before bad light ended play. At stumps, Australia were 203 for five, trailing Pakistan’s 341 by 138 runs with Martyn on 67 and Gilchrist 26. Cricket’s fastest bowler, with a point to prove after just six wickets at an average of 67.66 runs in the last tour here in 1999, earlier worked up a head of steam off his long run to have the Australian batsmen on the back foot. Only Martyn and Justin Langer prospered against the pace assault, Martyn backing up his unbeaten Perth 100 with a determined 126-ball innings, while Langer continued his prolific scoring Australian summer with a half-century. Shoaib, forever the showman, spiced up the rain-plagued day with a confrontation with Langer before tea. Shoaib launched a fiery eighth over at the little Australian left-hander just before one of the several rain interruptions, with Langer taking exception when Shoaib appeared to spit in his direction. The Pakistani spearhead then hurled down two bouncers and the pair exchanged words and fierce looks as Shoaib advanced down the pitch to within a few metres of Langer, who was the man of the match with scores of 191 and 97 in the Perth Test. Langer was out two balls after reaching 50 when he top-edged a sweep off leg-spinner Danish Kaneria and skied a catch to Imran Farhat at backward square leg. Shoaib continued to have the better of Matthew Hayden, claiming him for the third time in the series when the opener sliced a cut straight to Shoaib Malik at backward point. Ponting followed four overs later when he pulled Shoaib to the waiting Malik at deep backward square leg. Lehmann made another unconvincing effort with 11 before he spooned a catch to Yasir Hameed off a Shoaib lifter. Michael Clarke had a few flutters before he holed out to Shoaib at long on off Kaneria for 20, making way for the entry of Gilchrist. Pakistan dawdled to their first innings total of 341 shortly before lunch after resuming at 318 for six. The tourists added just 23 runs off 17.3 overs in the morning session. Test cricket’s leading wicket-taker Shane Warne took two of the four wickets to fall to increase his Test tally to 558. He finished on 3-103 off 28.3 overs. Abdul Razzaq highlighted Pakistan’s snail-paced scoring rate, finishing four not out off 76 balls after he was marooned on one for 40 minutes and 32 balls. Scoreboard Pakistan (1st Innings): Butt run out 70 Farhat c Ponting b Hameed lbw Gillespie 2 Younis c Gilchrist Youhana st Gilchrist b Warne 111 Malik c Ponting b Gillespie 6 Razzaq not out 4 Akmal c Gillespie b McGrath 24 Sami lbw Warne 12 Shoaib st Gilchrist b Warne 0 Kaneria run out 0 Extras:
(4-lb,1-w) 5 Total (all out, 107.3 overs) 341 Fall of wickets:
1-85, 2-93, 3-94, 4-286, 5-298, 6-301, 7-326, 8-341, 9-341. Bowling:
McGrath 28-12-54-1, Gillespie 26-7-77-3, Kasprowicz 20-6-66-1, Warne 28.3-2-103-3, Clarke 3-0-24-0, Lehmann 2-0-13-0. Australia (1st innings): Langer c Farhat b Kaneria 50 Hayden c Malik b Shoaib 9 Ponting c Malik b Shoaib 7 Martyn batting 67 Lehmann c Yasir b Shoaib 11 Clarke c Shoaib b Kaneria 20 Gilchrist batting 26 Extras
(nb-13) 13 Total (5 wkts, 54 overs) 203 Fall of wickets:
1-13, 2-32, 3-122, 4-135, 5-171. Bowling: Shoaib 13-0-56-3, Sami 13-2-50-0, Razzaq 7-0-27-0, Kaneria 21-2-70-2.
—AFP |
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Kallis defies England
Durban, December 27 Kallis was unbeaten on 51 as South Africa reached 139 for six at lunch, level with England’s first innings total. England, who took the field without left-arm spinner Ashley Giles, who was still suffering from a back spasm, concentrated on short-pitched bowling on a pitch described by England coach Duncan Fletcher as two-paced. The tactic was effective, with runs being scored at a trickle while Andrew Flintoff, Steve Harmison and Simon Jones each picked up a wicket. Martin van Jaarsveld was bowled off an inside edge by Flintoff for one, Hashim Amla also scored only a single before being caught behind off a Harmison ball which climbed steeply to deflect off his glove and AB de Villiers was caught at midwicket off Jones for 14. The scoring was painfully slow for the first hour and when Amla was out, two wickets had fallen while only 20 runs were added to South Africa’s overnight 70 for three. De Villiers helped lift the tempo, however, while Kallis batted with increasing authority. After De Villiers was out, Shaun Pollock also looked to pick up the scoring rate. Kallis reached his half-century off 97 balls with six fours. The tall Harmison was England’s most dangerous bowler and had figures of three for 40 at lunch. Scoreboard England (1st innings): 139 South Africa (1st innings): Smith c Flintoff b Harmison 9 Gibbs b Hoggard 15 Rudolph c Thorpe b Harmison 32 Kallis batting 51 van Jaarsveld b Flintoff 1 Amla c G. Jones b Harmison 1 De Villiers c Thorpe b S. Jones 14 Pollock batting 11 Extras:
(lb-2, nb-3) 5 Total: (6 wkts, 53 overs) 139 Fall of wickets:
1-17, 2-48, 3-70, 4-80, 5-90, 6-118. Bowling: Hoggard 15-6-33-1, Harmison 15-2-40-3, Flintoff 13-4-31-1, S. Jones 10-1-33-1.
— AFP |
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Stracon drags Prasar Bharti to court
New Delhi, December 27 Seeking reply to Stracon’s application by January 11 next, Vacation Judge Justice R.C. Chopra said the encashment of the bank guarantees by Prasar Bharti would be subject to the final outcome of the case. The court also gave liberty to Stracon and Trans World International to withdraw the 20 per cent of the remaining consideration of the contract amount deposited in the court. However, the court refused to pass any order on the private television company’s plea that Prasar Bharti should deposit the amount back in the bank. Prasar Bharti had granted to Stracon the exlusive global marketing rights, multimedia rights and other rights relating to the telecast or broadcast of cricketing events conducted in India by the BCCI for four years till September, 2004. The contract for nine series was without any dispute till uncertainty prevailed for the last two series involving Pakistan and Australia. Stracon submitted that since the last two series were not held, it had claimed reduction in the amount payable to Prasar Bharti and the dispute was referred for arbitration. The final accounts were not settled by the due date after the arbitration award, the television company submitted, claiming that there were no more instalments required to be paid by it. It approached the court, contending the Prasar Bharti could not have encashed the bank guarantee as more than $ 12.3 million was deposited by it in the court.
— PTI |
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Australia pay tribute to 1868
Aboriginal team
Melbourne, December 27 Chappell, who played 75 Tests from 1964-65 to 1979-80 and is now a commentator, told the crowd at the Melbourne Cricket Ground that this was a special and long-awaited occasion. ‘’I’m delighted this recognition ceremony is going on,’’ the 61-year-old Chappell said. CA said in a statement: ‘’The 14-member touring party will be assigned individual player numbers. ‘’This follows the tradition of presenting player numbers to Australian debutants in Test and one-day international cricket,’’ the statement added. Australia’s first female Aboriginal to be selected for the national side, Faith Thomas, and Len Clarke, a descendant of 1868 team member Johnny Cuzens, attended the ceremony on behalf of the players and relatives of the team. CA chairman Bob Merriman said: ‘’The 1868 Aboriginal tour of England marks an important event in Australia’s sporting and cricket history as the first cricket team to tour England. ‘’The courage and optimism of the 1868 team to undertake and participate in such a lengthy tour, under the conditions of that era, is an inspiring journey.’’ The 1868 team included 13 Australian Aborigines and English captain-coach Charles Lawrence. It was the first Australia team to tour England. The team’s five-month tour included 47 games, winning 14, losing 14 and drawing 19 matches.
— Reuters |
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Zaheer, Irfan in Baroda team
Vadodara, December 27 With the inclusion of the two pacemen in the 15-member squad, Baroda, currently second in the group behind Punjab, with 12 points from five matches, have a fair chance to make it to the Ranji Trophy semifinals. The selection committee of the Baroda Cricket Association (BCA), headed by secretary Kiran More, on Monday announced the 15-member squad to be led by former India player Jacob Martin. The squad: Jacob Martin (capt), Connor Williams, Milap Mewada (wk), Hrishikesh Parab, Kiran Powar, Yusuf Pathan, Rajesh Pawar, Irfan Pathan(Sr), Rakesh Patel, Satyajit Parab, Sekhar Joshi, Sudeep Kale, Vishwanath Parmar and Irfan Pathan (Jr) and Zaheer Khan.
— UNI |
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France drub India in first Test
New Delhi, December 27
They are on a learning mission to India in preparation of the Euro Championship, and their learning curve seems to have taken a sharp turn during their fortnight-long tour of the country. They asked for no quarters and gave none while decimating the Indian team, now gearing up for the Premier Hockey League starting in Hyderabad on January 13. France scored three goals in 30 minutes to stun the Indian team, packed with Olympians and emerging stars. The goodly crowd started chanting anti-IHF slogans, targeting its president K.P.S. Gill in particular, and their ire was somewhat doused only when Sandeep Singh scored a consolation goal, off India’s very first penalty corner, a minute before the interval. Though India earned three more penalty corners after resumption, Sandeep Singh’s scoops were all too predictable for the French players to adopt quick-counter-tactics and nullify his moves. France attacked with speed and precision, and their trapping and passing were something to be admired. Their forays into the Indian goal area knotted up the defence, marshalled by captain Dilip Tirkey. Tirkey also earned a temporary suspension for a dangerous tackle, and overall, the performance of the Indian team left much to be desired. France forged ahead in the ninth minute when Nicolas Gaillard, charging in from the left, blasted home with a first-time attempt to convert roving forward Gerome Branquard’s minus pass from the left of the goalmouth into a goal (1-0). France muffed their first penalty corner in the 20th minute, but added the second goal five minutes later when captain Antoine Moreau scored off a defence-splitting through pass from Sebastian Jeanjean, with Indian custodian Devesh Chauhan charging out in vain. And five minutes later came the visitors’ third goal, which was shot home by Sebastian Jeanjean, following fine approach works by Thomas Raisin and Antoine Moreau (3-0). IHF secretary general K. Jyotikumaran sat in contemplative silence as the spectators mouthed expletives. As the first half was winding up on a triumphant note for the visitors, India earned their first penalty corner seconds before the break and Sandeep Singh’s hard shot hit the board like a bullet (1-3). But Sandeep Singh could not replicate his feat in subsequent attempts as the second half went goalless, and the Indian players, with coach Jagbir Singh et al in toe, made a hasty retreat into the confines of the dressing room after the match. The Indian players cut pathetic figures, with no meaningful tactics coming from their sticks. Deepak Thakur roamed around up front without any apparent aim, and not much work to do while Arjun Halappa, Tushar Khandekar and Vivek Gupta were effectively tackled and foiled by the quick-footed, fast-acting French defence. The second Test will be played at the Shivaji Stadium tomorrow. Today’s win was a sweet revenge for France, who lost to Indian Airlines, packed with a virtual India team, 1-2 in an exhibition match yesterday. The visitors came to Delhi after winning two matches each in Mumbai and Hyderabad. |
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Pak Olympians for PHL
Islamabad, December 25 The Olympians — Ahmad Alam, Zeeshan Asrhaf, Muhammad Saqlain, Muhammad Sawar, Ali Raza, Dilawar Hussain, Kashif Jawwad and Mudassar Ali Khan — will be taking part in the league starting in Hyderabad from January 13, a PHF spokesman was quoted as saying in Daily Times. The month-long event has the blessings of the International Hockey Federation and renowned players from various countries are to appear in the event. “During discussions with the India hockey officials, the PHF accepted the request and the players were given the green light to feature in the event,” he said. He also said the organisers have assured “handsome fees” to the players for their participation in the tournament, which will be telecast live on a private sports channel.
— PTI |
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Rathore provided the only silver lining
Biju Babu Cyriac
New Delhi, December 27 As the focus of the nation turned on Indian shooters following Rathore’s achievement at the Markopoulo Olympic Shooting Centre, a few heartbreaking failures by some of the pre-Games favourites escaped the wrath of critics. Two medal prospects — rifle shooters Anjali Vedpathak Bhagwat and Abhinav Bindra — ended their campaign in contrasting styles, with the Mumbai woman crashing out in the first round and Bindra missing a medal by a slender margin in a nerve-wracking final in the men’s 10m air rifle competition. But as Rathore himself put it during a felicitation function organised on his return to the Capital, with some more luck, it would have been a windfall for the country. Representing the country at the world’s biggest sporting stage were a record number of eight shooters — Abhinav Bindra, Anjali Vedpathak Bhagwat, Deepali Deshpande, Gagan Narang, Manavjit Singh Sandhu, Mansher Singh, Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore and Suma Shirur. The shooters, especially Rathore, deliberately avoided media glare in the run-up to the Games and in the end, it was the media which got the biggest reason to celebrate. Rathore’s climb to the pinnacle came as a result of some meticulous planning and unwavering support from the Army, which played its part to perfection in making the Rajasthani’s life comfortable. The world number 2 ranked shooter himself admitted later that he got more determined by disturbing comments from his own countrymen about an Indian’s chances in the Olympics. That in general shows the people’s attitude towards lesser known sporting mortals who make news only when they are caught for doping or when they commit suicide out of penury. At the start of the year, Rathore was already breathing down the top shooters’ neck with his gold medal win at the Manchester Commonwealth Games and bronze finish at the 2003 World Championship. He further raised the bar by winning the gold in the Sydney World Cup in March and then focused on finetuning his technique. The 34-year-old further boosted his confidence by winning the Asian title and then beating eventual Olympic gold medallist Ahmed Al Maktoum at the Czech Masters. For Anjali, all the hard work came to a nought when she crashed out in the first round of the women’s 10m air rifle, scoring a poor 393 out of a possible 400. No one could really explain the shocking below par performance of Anjali who had won the Champion of Champions title in 2003, winning the World Cup finals, in which only the world champion and the best performers of the season can compete. Anjali, who finished a dismal 20th in her pet event — the 10m air rifle — after being touted as a bright hope, put up another below par performance to finish joint 13th, with a tally of 575 points in a field of 32 in the women’s 50 metre rifle three-position. The second Indian in the fray, Deepali Deshpande, was 19th with 572 points. The warning signals on Anjali’s alarming dip in form came through the different World Cups as she failed to win a medal in 10m air rifle. Her best show was the bronze she won in rifle three position in the Sydney World Cup. In Bindra’s case, it was so near yet so far. The youngster, who was training in the USA and India, disappointed in the final, finishing seventh. He qualifyied for the final in third place with a score of 597, but could not handle the pressure and shot poorly in the title round. Bindra had begun the year with a bang, winning the gold medal in the World Cup in Munich, Germany, in January. The year also saw Suma Shirur, who was all along in Anjali’s shadow, etching her own name in the history books, equalling the world record with a perfect 400 in the Asian Shooting Championship in Malyasia in February. Suma shot 400 out of 400 in the qualifying round, which made her only the sixth shooter to achieve the feat. Though Suma did better than Anjali by reaching the final, she failed to repeat her feat in Athens and finished eighth among eight finalists. Among the other shooters who went to Athens, Manavjit Singh and Mansher Singh ended in 19th and 21st place, respectively, in the men’s trap event. As the Olympics year came to an end, the National Shotgun Shooting Championship held in Delhi announced the huge spurt in the popularity of the sport and the arrival of a new kid on the block. A product of Army’s Infantry Kids, 19-year-old Allan Daniel Peoples stunned the pundits when he won both the senior and junior skeet titles at the Dr Karni Singh Shooting Range. The Meerut boy humbled experienced marksmen, including defending champion Naveen Jindal, who was relegated to fifth place. Summing up 2004 is the easiest thing to do. As national coach Sunny Thomas put it, the year will be a turning point in the history of Indian shooting. Rest assured that with better facilities and training, India will be able to produce worthy successors to Rathore. — PTI
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Sandeep wins 2 gold in archery
Chandigarh, December 27 Meanwhile, Manipur boys and girls walked away with the team titles. The boys team comprising M Sommi Singh, S Subhash Chandra and K Nikon Mangan together collected 1,848 points out of 2,160. In the women’s section, the team of L Geetanjali Devi, Manaboya Devi and P Binita Devi secured, 1,802 points. Earlier, Sandeep Kamboj beat his rival M Sommi Singh of Manipur in the 40 metres event by six points. In the 30 metres section, Sandeep was closely followed by K King Singh of Services Sports Control Board (SSCB) who stood at 316/360. In overall placings, Sandeep, however, got 6343/720 while Anup Rabba of Assam was 12 points behind. Archers from Assam were awarded the runners-up trophy. Their archers Anup, Dwimalu and Uttam Swargiery contributed 1,846 points to finish second. Results: Indian round: boys: 40 metres: Sandeep Kamboj (Punjab) 1, 326/360; M Sommi Singh (Manipur) 2, 320/360; Subhash Chandra (Manipur) 3, 318/360. 30 metres: Sandeep Kamboj (Pb) 1, 317/360, K King Singh (SSCB) 2, 316/360; Anup Rabha (Assam) 3, 314/360. Overall: Sandeep Kamboj (Pb) 1, 643/720; Anup Rabha (Assam) 2, 631/720; K Shiv Shankar (AP) 3, 628/720. Team championship: Manipur (M Sommi Singh, S Subhash Chandra, K. Nikon Mangan)1, 1848/2160; Assam (Anup Dwimalu, Uttar) 2, 1846/2160; SSCB (K King Singh, Vikash Gurun and Thakur Dineshwar Singh) 3, 1826/2160. Girls: Indian Round: 40 metres; L Geetanjali Devi (Mpr) 1, 325/360; P Bina Devi (Mpr) 2, 311/360; Sanika Boro (Asm) 3, 309/360. 30 metres: L Geetanjali Devi (Mpr) 1, 325/360, Sanika Boro (Asm) 2, 304/360; Bimala (West Bengal) 3, 300/360. Overall: L Geetanjali Devi (Mpr) 1, 650/720; Sanika Boro (Asm) 2, 613/720; Bimala (WB 3, 608/720. Team championship: Manipur (L. Geetanjali, K Manoboya Devi and P Binita Devi) 1, 1802/2160; Assam (Sanika, Kamini and Bandana) 2, 1793/2160; UP (Indu Bala, Jyoti and Shrutiva) 3, 1712/2160. |
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RCF, PSB Academy
enter last eight
Nabha, December 27 Both RCF and PSB Academy booked quarterfinal berths and now the former square off with EME, Jalandhar, while the latter take on SC Railway, Secunderabad, for a spot in the last four. The other team to march into the last eight were holders Punjab Police, who downed Karnal Hawks 2-0 and now meet Northern Railway tomorrow. RCF stunned their rivals in the very first minute of the match when striker Roop Singh ran in unchecked in the striking circle. After getting past two defenders, Roop Singh neatly slipped the ball home between the goalkeeper’s legs. The Rourkela boys tried hard in the first half to score the equaliser. Strikers Leonid Billing and S.Kujur, fed by centre-half Sunil Kerketta, worked up some good moves upfront. However, all their hard work came to nought mainly due to the perseverance shown by RCF goalkeeper Kuljinder Singh, who brought off a series of superb saves. RCF started the second half on an aggressive note when Roop Singh, in tandem with right-out S.Barla, repeatedly raided the rival citadel. Off one such move, Roop Singh was bodily blocked by SAIL defender M.Tirkey. The resultant penalty corner was converted in an indirect manner by Vijay Kumar who, before tapping the ball home, drew out the goalkeeper. Down by two goals, SAIL changed their strategy and started attacking from the wings and using this ploy, they managed to create some space for their strikers. However, all their good work failed to get translated into goals because of the agility shown by Kuljinder Singh who stood like a rock under the RCF bar. Roop Singh was once again in the thick of things when he scored his team’s third and his second goal. It turned out to be a spectacular effort as he lost his balance but still managed to reverse flick the ball into the netting. BSF seemed to be out of depth in their match against the youngsters of PSB Academy, who started the match in style when they scored in the first few seconds of the contest. Tasarvjit Singh was brought down in the striking circle and the penalty stroke was converted by the player himself. Minutes later, striker J.P. Singh was dangerously felled by the over-defensive BSF players and the stroke that followed was neatly converted by Jatinder Pal Singh. Down by two goals, BSF lost control of the match, which enabled their rivals to pump in two more through Tasarvjit and J.P. Singh. All these efforts came in the first half and the second half turned out to be a dull and drab affair with PSB closing out the contest with a 4-0 verdict. |
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PSB Academy win hockey tourney
Moga, December 27 Major Singh of Punjab and Sind Bank equalised by scoring a field goal. In the 30th minute, Gurpreet Singh of Punjab and Sind Bank converted a penalty corner to put his team up 2-1. Soon after the start of the second half, Major Singh struck again to give his team an invincible 3-1 lead. The Additional ADGP of Haryana, Mr Gurjot Singh Malhi, gave away the trophy and prize money to the winning team. The DIG, Mr H.S. Randhawa, and president of the Golden Hockey Club, Moga, Mr Gurcharan Singh Gill, were also present. |
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Chandigarh
men, women win Chandigarh, December 27 In the men’s section, Chandigarh prevailed over Kerala 6-2. Sunder Lal, captain of the team, scored two home runs while another international player, Vijay, added two more runs for the victory of the Chandigarh team. In the women’s section, Chandigarh routed Indian Oil Corporation, finishing the match in the second innings, scoring 13-0. In another league match of the men’s section, Madhya Pradesh defeated West Bengal in a one-sided contest, with a score of 17-0. Delhi women also won their league match, defeating Jammu and Kashmir 16-0. Results: men’s section — Chandigarh b Kerala 6-2, Madhya Pradesh b West Bengal 17-0, Karnataka b Rajasthan 4-2, Himachal Pradesh b Uttar Pradesh 13-3, Andhra Pradesh b Uttaranchal 10-0; women’s section — Delhi b Jammu and Kashmir 16-0, Punjab b Rajasthan 10-0, Chandigarh b Indian Oil Corporation 13-0, Maharashtra b Chhattisgarh 12-0, Kerala b Pondicherry 11-0.
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Delhi, TN women win Ludhiana, December 27 The match between Delhi and Kerala proved to be an exciting affair, with the latter giving a tough fight to Delhi. Shilpa of Delhi played the sheetanchor’s role, netting 23 points, while Poonam and Divya contributed 18 and 16 points, respectively. Current champions Tamil Nadu thrashed Karnataka 105-75 to register their second win in a row while Karnataka lost both their super league matches. For the winners, Sukeshwaran topscored with 22 points. Orissa women had a dismal day as they went down rather tamely 14-58 to Karnataka. In another Pool ‘B’ match (women), Tamil Nadu recorded a facile 50-24 win over Madhya Pradesh. In the men’s section, Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand and Maharashtra won their respective matches. Andhra Pradesh men defeated Rajasthan 72-57, Jharkhand overwhelmed Himachal Pradesh 70-24 and Maharashtra drubbed Manipur 74-27. Second day’s results: (men)- Andhra Pradesh beat Rajasthan 72-57; West Bengal beat Jammu and Kashmir 48-34; Uttar Pradesh beat Delhi 63-61; Chhattisgarh beat Pondicherry 84-55; Mahrashtra beat Manipur 74-27 and Jharkhand beat Himachal Pradesh 70-24; (women)- Tamil Nadu beat Madhya Pradesh 50-24; Delhi beat Kerala 84-67; Karnataka beat Orissa 58-14; Uttar Pradesh beat Gujarat 52-28; Assam beat Rajasthan 49-27.
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Two-month ban for Paul
New Delhi, December 27 All-India Football Federation (AIFF) disciplinary committee chairman Hardev Jadeja said it was evident to the committee that Paul had gone for the man and not the ball. “Paul had admitted that there was body contact, but he had not wanted to injure Cristiano, and we accepted his submission. Obviously he had not wanted to kill him, but it was a very rough move and Paul should consider himself lucky to get away so lightly.” he said. “He will remain suspended from January 1 to February 28,” Mr Jadeja added. Clarifying the stance of the committee, he said Paul would have also been fined “very heavily” if he was an established player with a huge bank balance. — UNI
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Amritsar Coaching Centre enter semi-finals Patiala, December 27 Brief scores: Mix XI, Chandigarh: 97 all out (Mohit 34, Karan 10 n.o, Rohit Sharma 2 for 4, Nishan Singh 2 for 8 and Shiv Love 2 for 9). Amritsar Coaching Centre: 98 for 3 (Lawan Gill 42 n.o, Anish Sen 10, Kohinoor Kalia 2 for 25 and Bhupinder Singh 1 for 26). In another match, Panchkula District Cricket Association (PDCA) downed MES, Patiala, by 84 runs. Scores: PDCA XI: 196 for 9 (Karan Goel 68, Paran Nanda 54, Shubham 11, Vipul Ahuja 5 for 37, Tejas Saha 2 for 17 and Amay Sood 1 for 29). MES, Patiala: 112 for 8 (Sukhwinder Singh 25, Karan Kalia 10, A.Mehta 10 n.o, Ashish 2 for 12, Shubham 1 for 16, Shivam 1 for 16, Karan 1 for 15 and Naman 1 for 9).
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