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Farhat makes Indian bowlers sweat
Hameed, Gul, Kamal doubtful
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PM may not visit Pak during series
Pawar backs Dungarpur
Ten Sports moves SC
Sri Lankan bowler Chaminda Vaas celebrates the dismissal of New Zealand’s Chris Cairns during the fifth and final match of the one-day series at McLean Park in Napier on Sunday. — AFP
photo
Ljubicic wins Chennai Open
Deepak Thakur (left) rejoices with team-mate Rajpal Singh after scoring a goal for Chandigarh Dynamos against Sher-e-Jallandhar during a Tier I match of the
PHL at the Sector 42 Hockey Stadium in Chandigarh on Sunday. Dynamos won 2-0.
— Tribune photo by Pradeep Tewari
Tenth National Football League kicks off tomorrow
New event in athletics calendar
Europe clinch Royal Trophy
Maruti to showcase rally cars
Centre of Excellence in last eight
Indo-Pak hockey series from Feb 15
GND varsity honours Harcharan Singh
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Farhat makes Indian bowlers sweat
Lahore, January 8 Farhat staked a strong claim for a place in the side for the first Test against India by blazing his way to a superb 107 to lead the home team’s run chase against the visitors. Left-handed Farhat, who had notched a ton against India in the second Test of the last series between the arch-rivals on their last visit in 2004, cut the Indian pace attack to ribbons with his audacious drives, cuts and pulls as the home team made 212 for four in reply to India’s 414 for 7 declared at stumps. Farhat, who struck 16 fours and a six in his 162-ball innings, and captain Hasan Raza, who also made mincemeat of the wayward Indian attack in making a 62-ball 75 (10 fours and a six), added 160 runs for the third wicket in 172 balls after joining forces at a difficult 26 for 2. Both used their punitive blade to punish the Indian bowlers who pitched short repeatedly on a good batting track to plunder runs at will. The two batsmen carried the total from 26 to 186 before Raza edged Irfan Pathan to wicketkeeper Mahendra Singh Dhoni and then a little while later Farhat, too, departed caught trying to cut Harbhajan Singh who found it difficult to grip the ball in the extremely cold conditions. Farhat’s blistering knock obviously has helped him stake a claim in the Test team especially with the reported indisposition due to typhoid of regular opener Yasir Hameed. He was dropped on 95 by Yuvraj Singh off Irfan Pathan. Earlier, India declared at lunch after their batsmen ran up a huge total and then sent back Bazid Khan and Mohammad Wasim cheaply with the new ball, Ajit Agarkar and Pathan being the successful bowlers before Farhat and Raza got involved in the rollicking stand to tear apart the attack, especially left-armers Zaheer Khan and Rudra Pratap Singh. The two batsmen raised the 100-run stand for the third wicket in only 78 minutes and off 101 balls before the tea interval itself and continued in the same vein in the last session, too, before getting out to attacking shots. The Indians, 298 for four overnight, declared their first innings closed at lunch at 414 for seven, which included V.V.S. Laxman (54) and Yuvraj Singh (59), who retired to give batting practice to the lower-order batsmen. Scoreboard India
(1st innings) Gambhir c Anjum b Irshad 53 Jaffer c Zulqarnain b Gul 58 Dravid c Raza b Farhat 63 Tendulkar c Zulqarnain
b Arafat 74 Laxman retd 54 Yuvraj retd 59 Dhoni c sub b Irshad 22 Pathan not out 8 Agarkar not out 4 Extras
(b-5, lb-4, nb-10) 19 Total (7 wkts dec, 104 overs) 414 Fall of wickets:
1-81, 2-153, 3-220, 4-279, 5-357, 6-390, 7-402. Bowling: Gul 19-3-58-1, Anjum 15-3-62-0, Arafat 24-3-83-1, Irshad 19-2-79-2, Farhat 8-0-36-1, Amjad 19-1-87-0. Pakistan A
(1st innings) Farhat c Zaheer b Harbhajan 107 Bazid c Laxman b Agarkar 6 Waseem lbw Pathan 1 Raza c Dhoni b Pathan 75 Iqbal not out 13 Kamal not out 4 Extras
(lb-3, nb-3) 6 Total (4 wickets, 48 overs) 212 Fall of wickets:
1-14, 2-26, 3-186, 4-198. Bowling: Pathan 13-3-61-2, Agarkar 9-2-28-1, R.P. Singh 6-0-33-0, Zaheer 7-0-43-0, Harbhajan 13-1-44-1. — PTI |
Hameed, Gul, Kamal doubtful
Karachi:
Pakistan are unlikely to name opener Yasir Hameed, paceman Umar Gul and middle-order batsman Asim Kamal as they announce on Monday the 15-man squad for the first Test against India starting at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium on Friday.
Yasir is down with typhoid and will resume training at Lahore for the second Test after Id-ul-Azha, while Umar Gul is expected to miss out as the selectors are certain to persist with the four-man pace attack of Shoaib Akhtar, Mohammad Sami, Rana Naved-ul-Hasan and Mohammad Asif. Left-handed Asim Kamal, who averages 37.77 in 12 Tests, is likely to be left
out because of “poor recent form” — PTI
Twenty20 match Lahore:
The Pakistan Cricket Board plans to hold a Twenty20 match between India and Pakistan to raise more funds for the victims of the earthquake which struck in October. “We would like to organise a Twenty20 match against the Indian team and we would discuss it with the officials of Board of Control for Cricket in India,” PCB President Shaharyar Khan told reporters here on Sunday. Shaharyar said he would discuss the proposal with his Indian counterpart Sharad Pawar when he would come to attend the International Cricket Council meeting in Karachi on Wednesday.
— PTI
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PM may not visit Pak during series
New Delhi/Islamabad, January 8 “There are no plans for the Prime Minister to visit Pakistan for any of the matches,” External Affairs Ministry spokesman Navtej Sarna told reporters in response to questions to media reports from Islamabad suggesting an invitation by Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf to Dr Manmohan Singh to watch a match of the Indo-Pak series had been sent and accepted. Sources in the Prime Minister’s Office also said Dr Manmohan Singh was unlikely to visit Pakistan to watch any match of the series. Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson Tasnim Aslam told PTI in Islamabad that an invitation to Dr Manmohan Singh to visit Pakistan was already pending and it was up to him to decide whether he could time his visit to watch one of the India-Pakistan cricket matches. —
PTI |
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Pawar backs Dungarpur
Nashik, January 8 Mr Dungarpur, who was reported by a TV channel as describing Ganguly as “the laziest and possibly the worst fielder” on Friday, yesterday did a volte-face, terming the former captain as a “tremendous batsman”. “After this controversy, I spoke to Dungarpur and he informed me that the channels were using clips which were three-four months old. He told me that he had not made any remarks about Ganguly during the current Pakistan tour,” Mr Pawar, who is here for the NCP state convention, told reporters. “Nowadays, TV channels who have cricketers as anchors begin to worry what would happen to them if the player concerned is not included in the team,” he said hinting that it could be a tactic of the private channels. Mr Pawar said Mr Dungarpur told him that he had been the team manager on five occasions and would never do something which would hurt the team. “I believe Dungarpur. He has no financial interest like the news channels. Those creating such controversies should also consider national interests before commencing such a campaign,” Pawar, also the Union Agriculture Minister, said.
— PTI |
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Ten Sports moves SC
New Delhi, January 8 The petition filed by Taj Television Ltd, owner of Ten Sports, has termed the guideline as arbitrary without the authority of the law. The sports channel has challenged the Bombay High Court order refusing it any relief by which it has been compelled to share the live feed of the series commencing from January 13. Prasar
Bharti has already filed a caveat to pre-empt Ten Sport from taking any
ex-parte interim order against the high court order. The petition is
listed for hearing tomorrow. — PTI |
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Lanka taste victory at last
Napier, January 8 Vaas took the vital wicket of New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming for a duck in the game's first over, then returned to take three wickets in his last two overs, to cut the hosts' series-winning margin to 4-1. An innings of 112 by New Zealand's new batting hope, Peter Fulton, seemed likely to give the home team a convincing win and complete a sweep of a series which was postponed after massive tsunami that struck Sri Lanka on December 26, 2004. The tall right-hander followed half-centuries in the second and fourth matches of the interrupted series with a century from 120 balls to cement his place in New Zealand's middle order and to provide his team with a winning chance. He confidently guided New Zealand's run chase after Sri Lanka made 273-6 batting first after winning the toss and the home team lost Fleming and Vincent inside the first two overs. Fulton combined in partnerships of 108 with Nathan Astle (47) and 78 with Hamish Marshall (35), coming to the wicket with New Zealand 13-2 and leaving 180 minutes later when they were 224-5 and within 50 runs of victory. The innings disintegrated on his departure, however, as Vaas bowled a brilliant second spell to remove Chris Cairns (28), Daniel Vettori (2) and James Franklin (3) and to give Sri Lanka victory with 10 balls to spare. Vaas finished with four wickets for 48 runs from nine overs and was well supported by Ruchira Perera who took three wickets for 56 runs in his first one-day appearance in seven years. Earlier, Marvan
Atapattu and Kumara Sangakkara made half-centuries to guide Sri Lanka to its highest limited-overs total in New Zealand. Sangakkara's innings of 58 from 79 balls was laced with seven boundaries and established a momentum which propelled Sri Lanka to a record score. Atapattu carried that momentum into the latter part of the innings, mixing orthodox and inventive strokeplay to reach 69 before falling to the first ball of the final over. The pair shared a mid-innings partnership of 49 but built larger and more important partnerships on either side of their fourth-wicket stand.
Sangakkara put on 80 with Thilakaratne Dilshan (43) for the third wicket while Atapattu kept Sri Lanka's score moving briskly in a 55-run fifth-wicket stand with Mahela Jayawardene (30). Scoreboard Sri Lanka Tharanga c Fulton
b Martin 11 Mubarak c Martin b Bond 26 Sangakkara c Fulton b Astle 58 Dilshan c McCullum b Martin 43 Atapattu b Bond 69 Jayawardene c Astle
b Martin 30 Arnold not out 15 Vaas not out 1 Extras (lb-2, w-5, nb-13) 20 Total
( 6 wkts, 50 overs) 273 Fall of wickets: 1-44, 2-49, 3-129, 4-178, 5-233, 6-272. Bowling:
Franklin 10-0-56-0, Bond 10-1-53-2, Martin 10-0-62-3, Vettori 10-0-44-0, Cairns 7-0-44-0, Astle 3-0-12-1. New Zealand Vincent c Mubarak b Perera 5 Fleming lbw Vaas 0 Astle c Fernando
b Bandara 47 Fulton run out 112 Marshall c and b Perera 35 Cairns lbw Vaas 28 McCullum c Atapattu
b Perera 2 Vettori b Vaas 3 Franklin b Vaas 2 Bond not out 2 Martin b Fernando 0 Extras
(lb-10, w-3, nb-4) 17 Total (all out, 48.2 overs) 253 Fall of wickets:
1-3, 2-13, 3-121, 4-199, 5-224, 6-231, 7-237, 8-249, 9-252. Bowling:
Vaas 9-0-48-4, Perera 10-0-56-3, Fernando 5.2-0-36-1, Muralitharan 10-1-36-0, Dilshan 4-0-20-0, Bandara 10-0-47-1.
— AP Melbourne:
Sanath Jayasuriya has been ruled out of Sri Lanka’s side for the
coming triangular one-day series with Australia and South Africa.
Jayasuriya slipped in the shower on his side’s tour of New Zealand and
dislocated his right shoulder. He missed the last three matches of the
New Zealand series and has been replaced by Michael Vandort, who made
his last international appearance three years ago in a Test against
Bangladesh. Sri Lanka open the triangular series with a match against
Australia at Melbourne’s Docklands Stadium on January 13. —
Reuters
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Ljubicic wins Chennai Open
Chennai, January 8 Ljubicic, who led his country to its maiden Davis Cup win last year, started the new season on a winning note to become the sixth top seed to win the title at the 11- year-old tournament. Defending champion and crowd favourite
Moya, seeded third, drifted in the tie-breaker to surrender the initiative. He was outplayed in the second set by world number nine
Ljubicic, a replacement for the injured Spaniard Rafael Nadal. — PTI Rohan-Prakash lose in final
Chennai, January 8 Mertinak and Pala took the first set with aplomb, dropping just two games, but trailed 0-5 in the second set. However, the Slovak and the Czech combined brilliantly, capitalising on the numerous unforced errors of the Indian duo to break Prakash once and Rohan twice to draw level 5-5. They went 6-5 up and held serve in the 12th game to wrap up the hour-and-nine-minute-long battle in style. The win was the new pair’s first ATP doubles title, as they had come together for the first time here. They were presented the winner’s purse of $ 16,000. Prakash and Rohan got the runners-up prize of $ 9,300. Earlier, top seed Ivan Ljubicic of Croatia overcame Kristof Vliegen of Belgium in a three setter to set up a title clash with defending champion Carlos Moya of Spain at the Chennai Open today. In the second semifinal, which was suspended late last night due to rain, Ljubicic scored 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (6) win after play resumed at noon. Unseeded Vliegen had shocked fourth seed and former champion Paradorn Srichaphan of Thailand in the quarterfinal. Third seeded Moya had yesterday made his third final appearance with a hard fought 6-4, 6-7 (5), 7-6 (3) win over second seeded Radek Stepanek (Czech) in the first semifinal. World No.9 Ljubicic, who entered as a wild card top seed after the last minute withdrawal of Rafael Nadal of Spain, was leading 3-1 in the first set when a spell of rain forced the play to be called off shortly before midnight last night. —
UNI, PTI |
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Dynamos tame Shers
Chandigarh, January 8 The Dynamos captain, Rajpal Singh, was adjudged the player of the match. The well-coordinated Dynamos, coached by NS Sodhi, were too good for
Sher-e-Jallandhar, who had lost their first match against Maratha Warriors yesterday. Dynamos took the lead when forward Deepak Thakur latched on to a pass from Inderjit Chadha to score a goal in the 31st minute. The Dynamos defenders played a key role in keeping at bay
Sher-e-Jallandhar forwards Prabhjot Singh and Gagan Ajit Singh. The match was playing before a 15,000-strong Sunday crowd, which mainly supported Chandigarh Dynamos. In the 65th minute, it was once again Inderjit Chadha who initiated a move and gave a pass to Tejbir, who gave the ball to skipper Rajpal Singh to make it 2-0. Chandigarh Dynamos got one penalty corner, while
Sher-e-Jallandhar got two penalty corners but all went abegging. The points table at the end of the first leg has Maratha Warriors at the top with six points from two matches, followed by the Dynamos who secured three points from today’s match. Hyderabad Sultans also have three points from the two matches they have played. Bangalore Lions have one point, while
Sher-e-Jallandhar are yet to open their account after two matches. The next Tier I tie will be played on January 12 between
Sher-e-Jallandhar and Hyderabad Sultans. Silver-goal win for Veerans
Chennai Veerans edged past newcomers Orissa Steelers by a solitary silver goal in extra time of a Tier II match. A lacklustre display in regulation time saw both teams failing to score. In the 77th minute, Raghunath scored the match-winner for the
Veerans, sending a waist-high drag-flick which could not be intercepted by rival custodian Gurpreet Singh. In another Tier II match, Imphal Rangers registered a narrow 3-2 victory over Lucknow
Nawabs. Led by T. Brojen Singh, Rangers capitalised on the chances that came their way. After a barren first quarter, Rangers gained the lead in the 21st minute through M. Chittaranjan who scored off from the right flank but Sanjay Yadav of Nawabs restored parity in the very next
minute. Nawabs took the lead in the 31st minute through Arvind Yadav. In the 41st minute, Jayanta Singh of Rangers converted their sixth penalty corner to score the equaliser. In the 54th minute, Brojen Singh scored the match-winner. |
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Tenth National Football League kicks off tomorrow
Chandigarh, January 8 The league has been divided into two phases. While 40 matches will be played in the first phase from January 10 to February 9, the second phase is scheduled to kick off on March 10, 2006, with matches at Kolkata and Ludhiana. As in the previous edition, the winners will carry home a hefty purse of Rs 40 lakh while the runners-up will be richer by Rs 22 lakh. The team finishing third will receive Rs 16 lakh while the fourth position will fetch Rs 9 lakh. Cash prizes of Rs 5 lakh and Rs 3 lakh will be awarded to teams finishing fifth and sixth, respectively. Winners of round-robin league matches will get Rs 30,000 while the top scorer of the tournament is assured of Rs 50,000. The team winning the Fair Play trophy will receive a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh. Unlike the previous edition that featured India’s top 12 clubs, the high-profile league this time has been restricted to 10 clubs. They are Mohun Bagan, East Bengal, Mohammedan Sporting (all Kolkata); Dempo Sports Club, Fransa Pax Club, Salgaocar Sports Club, Sporting Clube de Goa (all Goa); Air-India and Mahindra United (Mumbai); and Punjab’s JCT Mills, Phagwara. Of these, Air-India, Mumbai, and Mohammedan Sporting, Kolkata, have joined the fray by finishing on top in the second division last season. The four bottom-placed teams who were relegated at the end of the previous edition were State Bank of Travancore, Thiruvananthapuram, Tollygunge Agragami, Kolkata, and Goa’s Vasco Sports Club and Churchill Brothers. Goa’s Dempo Sports Club, out to defend not only the title but also their reputation, have an onerous task in the beginning itself. Midfielder Riston Rodrigues, Jose Colaco and wingback Valeriano Rebello have been sidelined due to injuries. In fact the trio are scheduled to undergo arthroscopic surgery under famous orthopaedic surgeon Dr Anant Joshi. Dempo, who hit the headlines in 2004 by clinching the Federation Cup and losing star Brazilian Cristiano Junior on the pitch at Bangalore’s Sri Kanteerava Stadium, emerged from the shadows to take the NFL scene by storm last season. The Goan outfit won 14 out of 22 matches and lost only three to emerge undisputed champions for the first time. Last year’s runners-up Sporting Clube de Goa, who came close to winning the title last season thanks to a superlative performance by Dudu Omagbemi, will also be keen to put up a better show. In the ninth edition, Sporting Clube had also won 14 out of 22 matches but had lost five and ultimately finished two points behind Dempo who had accumulated 47 points Former champions East Bengal, who were among the front-runners last season, have witnessed a dramatic change in their fortunes ever since. Coach Subhas Bhowmick’s arrest by the CBI on December 2 on corruption charges and his subsequent replacement by Bikash Panji as interim coach for the Durand Cup caused ripples on the ‘maidan’ but what added to the red and gold brigade’s misery was their shocking exit from the Durand Cup last month. However, the NFL is an altogether different ball game and with stalwarts like Indian skipper Baichung Bhutia, Mike Okoro, IM Vijayan and Alvito D’Cunha in their ranks, East Bengal under the watchful eyes of new Belgian coach Philippe de Ridder, are expected to start off on a rousing note. De Ridder, who took charge on December 15 for two years, has coached many European and Latin American sides. Glamour outfit Mohun Bagan, who escaped relegation last season by the skin of their teeth, have also been in turmoil after coach Amal Dutta put in his papers on December 6 in protest against the executive committee’s decision to appoint a goalkeeping coach and a physical instructor. Former junior India coach Jahar Das, a prolific scorer with Port Commissioner and Mohun Bagan in the 70s, took over as coach the same day but his spat with Togolese world cupper Gley Yao Rodrigue saw the latter being relieved in a huff on December 7. In fact Rodrigue had stormed the ‘maidan’ with back-to-back winning goals against East Bengal, helping Mohun Bagan win the CFL Premier Division title in 2005. Goalkeeper Subrata Pal also earned the management’s wrath following the 1-4 defeat at the hands of East Bengal in the IFA Shield in November and was issued a show-cause notice. Punjab’s JCT Mills, the only team from north India playing in the National Football League since its inception in 1996, who finished seventh in the previous edition, have undergone a major overhaul. The management has roped in well-known players like India goalkeeper Kalyan Chaubey, formerly of Fransa, Sunil Chhetri and Rennedy Singh, formerly of Mohun Bagan, Parveen Kumar of Punjab Police and star Brazilian striker Marcos Pereira, who was with Churchill Brothers. In fact the attack has been considerably sharpened and JCT’s first major achievement this season was the 2-1 defeat of East Bengal in the Durand Cup with goals through Rennedy Singh and Parveen Kumar. Incidentally, Rennedy had described his goal as the best in his career. Parveen proved his prowess with a hat-trick against HAL in a previous match. JCT have also requisitioned the services of Brazilian trainer Robson to improve the players’ fitness. New entrants Air-India and Mohammedan Sporting are not unknown outfits in the NFL. They have played in the league previously but got relegated to the second division through which they have again emerged to book their slots. Air-India have recruited dashing forward Ratan Singh for the coming season. Mahindra United, Mumbai, Fransa Pax Club and Salgaocar SC (both Goa) and Kolkata’s Mohammedan Sporting have also gone all out to recruit the best talent and it remains to be seen whether foreigners, who have joined their ranks, will overshadow local players as seen in the preceding years. |
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New event in athletics calendar
New Delhi, January 8 AFI secretary Lalit Kumar Bhanot said in all 24 athletics competitions will be held this year, and the AFI Salwan Competition in Throws has been upgraded to international level. The event has been included in the International Amateur Athletics Federation calendar. Mr Bhanot said the competitions have been scheduled keeping in mind the various international competitions to be held this year, which include the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, the Asian Games in Doha, the Asian Junior and World Junior Athletics Championships. The AFI will also hold the second and third legs of the Asian Grand Prix at Bangalore and Pune, respectively. The AFI secretary said specific slots have also been earmarked for district, state and departmental athletic meets. The athletic meets will begin with the 1st National Endurance Meet in Delhi on January 31 while Delhi will also host the 1st National Athletics Circuit for seniors on February 15, Federation Cup from February 24 to 27, AFI International Throws event, National Combined events, Delhi Marathon and Salwan Marathon. Patiala will host the second National Athletics Circuit for seniors on February 19, while the National Open
Athletics meet will be held at Jamshedpur from October 5 to 8. |
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Europe clinch Royal Trophy
Bangkok, January 8 The Spaniard, who now has a unique hat-trick of Ryder Cup, Seve Trophy and Royal Trophy wins as skipper, could have been forgiven for preparing his victory speech overnight but Asia’s inexperienced line-up had other ideas, picking up five singles wins out of eight. It was left to Ulsterman Graeme McDowell and the cool-headed Irishman Paul McGinley, responsible for the winning putt in the 2002 Ryder Cup win over the US, to stem the tide of home victories on the treacherous Amata Spring Country Club course. Their wins over Indian Jyoti Randhawa and China’s Zhang Lian-Wei left Europe needing a point to finish the job but it did not arrive until the final rubber where Sweden’s in-form Henrik Stenson demolished Thai Thongchai Jaidee 5&4. Jaidee had the chance to prolong the match before the 14th but his putt for a win there narrowly missed from 12 feet. Europe, who have won the last two Ryder Cups and defend against the US at the K-Club in Ireland in September, have traditionally struggled in matchplay singles. They famously lost the 1999 Ryder Cup in Brookline, Boston, when a storming final-day singles comeback from a Tiger Woods-inspired US wrested
the trophy from Mark James’s team. It was almost a Bangkok repeat with Yasuharu Imano (Japan), Arjun Atwal (India), Thaworn Wiratchant (Thailand), SK Ho (South Korea) and Keiichiro Fukabori (Japan) all winning their singles against more illustrious European competitors including Ryder Cup skipper Ian Woosnam and Nick Faldo. — Reuters |
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Maruti to showcase rally cars
Chandigarh, January 8 Swift is Suzuki Motor Corporation’s international rally car which won accolades at the Junior World Rally Championship (JWRC) last year. Maruti will also use the Expo to demonstrate its newly acquired strength in design and styling. About 25 Indian design engineers from the company had worked with their Japanese counterparts in Suzuki to design and style the Swift, a first for a car company in India. A special enclosure will be set up at the Maruti pavilion to encourage visitors to freely design their own car on a computer using unique software. Formula Suzuki Hayabusa is the top-of-the-category track racing car model in Suzuki’s range. The car has been a leading player in motorsport activity in Japan and in the rest of Asia in the past few years. Maruti is importing both vehicles from Japan to showcase them to Indian audiences as part of its high-profile participation in the Auto Expo. Acknowledged as pioneers for developing motorsport vehicles in
India, it will also showcase various vehicles that have participated in national and international motorsport events. The company, which organises India’s flagship motor sport event Raid De Himalaya and other popular events like Rally Desert Storm and Autocross, is using the expo to demonstrate its contribution to motor sport. Another major crowd-puller will be the rally version of the Baleno, fresh from its participation in the Indian National Rally Championship (INRC). This vehicle, while retaining the engine and gear box of a normal Baleno, is equipped with interesting additional features to build strength for the rally circuit. Baleno, which first entered the rally circuit in India in 2001, swept all the podium positions at the INRC in 2004. The single-seater Formula Hayabusa racing car is powered by a 1299 cc petrol engine that belts out a maximum output of 173 bhp. In fact, the engine and transmission of this track racing car is the same as the one used in Suzuki’s Hayabusa GSX 130R motor cycle, the fastest bike in
the world. Swift has been the most successful car launch in India, with more than 25,000 customers booking the car within a fortnight of its launch in May last year. Popular for its attractive and stylish looks, the Swift in its rally avatar is also expected to pull crowds at the Expo. |
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Centre of Excellence in last eight
Nabha, January 8 With this emphatic victory over the Bangalore sappers, the Patiala lads have made it to the last eight and will play either Punjab and Sind Bank or BSF, Jalandhar, in
quarterfinals. Other teams that made it to the quarterfinal stage today were SRC, Ramgarh, who defeated Northern Railway 5-3, EME, Jalandhar, who downed Artillery Centre 2-1 and Corps of Signals who came from behind to beat Air Force 2-1. Meanwhile, a controversy engulfed the tournament during the match played between SRC, Ramgarh, and Northern Railway over the kind of sticks used during penalty strokes, which was later sorted out with the intervention of technical committee officials and tournament director Gurcharn Singh. |
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Indo-Pak hockey series from Feb 15
Chandigarh, January 7 Indian Hockey Federation Secretary-General Jyothikumaran said today that three Tests would be played in India and the remaining in Pakistan. The Tests in India will be played at Jalandhar (February 15), Chandigarh (February 17) and New Delhi
(February 19). The teams would then cross over to Pakistan to play at Rawalpindi (February 21), Faisalabad (February 23) and Lahore (February 25). — UNI |
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GND varsity honours Harcharan Singh
Amritsar, January 8 Gen S.F. Rodrigues (retd), Governor of Punjab and Chancellor of Guru Nanak Dev University, presented a gold medal to him for his remarkable service to sports. A veteran of two Olympics, three World Cups and two Asian Games, Col Harcharan Singh also had a stint as the chief coach of the Indian team in 1999. He was acclaimed as the world’s fastest left-winger during the 1970s. Acknowledging his distinguished services, the Army bestowed upon him the Vishisht Seva Medal, while the Indian Government honoured him with the Arjuna Award. Gymnasium inaugurated
Gen S.F. Rodrigues (retd) today inaugurated the indoor multipurpose gymnasium, built at a cost of Rs 2 crore on the university campus. Dr. S.P. Singh, Vice-Chancellor, said indoor games like volleyball, basketball, gymnastics, yoga, wrestling, tennis and badminton could be played in the gymnasium. The double-storeyed building of the gymnasium has a covered area of 35,000 sq ft. |
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Lahore, January 8
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Amritsar, January 8
