Rana, Pandit strike second gold

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 15 (UNI) — Bang on target, ace marksman Jaspal Rana led from the front in his favourite event, and along with veteran shooter Ashok Pandit brought the centre fire pistol pairs gold for India at the Commonwealth Games shooting competitions at Langkawi today.

This was India’s second gold at the 16th edition of the ‘friendly games’, the first coming from Mansher Singh and Manavjit Singh in the trap pairs shooting event on Sunday.

The women shooters this morning, however, disappointed. Sushma Rana, Jaspal’s sister, and Shilpi Singh finished sixth in the air pistol pairs and Roopa Unnikrishnan and Anjali Vedpathak ended seventh in the sport rifle three position pairs.

It was a good performance from Rana, who is the holder of the title, though not his best as he has tallied 590 elsewhere. He shot 587 which despite a poor 567 by Pandit gave the Indians a total of 1,154, four more than the Canadians who won silver.

Rana, who looked in absolutely terrific form after winning his badge matches, a warm-up to the main event, here tallied 290 in precision shooting and 297 in rapid this morning.

He had string scores of 50, 48, 48, 47 and 50 in precision and 49, 49, 50, 50, 50 and 49 in rapid which was the best among the 28 shooters from 14 countries on show.

The next best effort was Canadian John Rochon’s 578 which clearly explains the class of the Indian shooter, who had won the centre fire individual and pairs golds at the Victoria Games in 1994.

Pandit had won two successive gold medals in centre fire — in Auckland, 1990, and along with Rana the last time. He had 283 in precision and 284 in rapid with string scores of 48, 46, 47, 47, 48, 47 and 46, 48, 49, 47, 49, 45 respectively.

But it was the performance of Rana, whose skills and nerves helped him, that got India the gold and Pandit’s third in a row.

Coming after some bad performances in the world championships last month, it has been a creditable performance by the Indian shooters Mansher and Manavjit and Rana and Pandit.

The silver today went to Canadian shooters John Rochon and Metodi Igorov who had 1,150 and the bronze was taken by Australians Bruce Quick and M. Giustiniano who tallied 1,149.

But the women shooters from India continued to show that they have a long way to go to catch up with the rest of the world.

Roopa Unnikrishnan, who narrowly missed a bronze on Sunday losing in a shootoff in smallbore sport rifle prone pairs, and Anjali Vedpathak could manage only the seventh place in sports rifle three-positions today.

With scores of 200 in prone, 173 in standing position and 183 on kneel, Roopa totalled only 556 and Anjali with 193, 176 and 181 in the three positions logged 550. The event was won by Canadian shooters Christina Ashcroft, claiming her second gold, and Sharon Bowes who had a total of 1,133, a huge 27 points ahead of the Indian duo.

Val Martin and Donne Potgieter of South Africa took the silver with 1,115 and Scots Shirley McIntosh and Janis Thomson, the bronze with 1,112.

Shilpi Singh and Sushma Rana, who had not done too well in the badge matches, continued with their indifferent form tallying 733 in air pistol pairs as compared to 748 by gold winners Annemarie Forder and Christine Trefry of Australia.

Shilpi shot 96, 93, 92, 94 for 375 and Sushma got 89, 93, 87 and 89 for a poor 358. Sri Lankan shooters Hemantha Wijesinghe and Ruwini Abeymanne with 734 inched out the Indians for the fifth spot. Tania Corrigan and Jocelyn Lees shot 747 for the silver while the bronze went to Kamisah Abd Jalal and Suriani Othman who got 743.

Humiliating loss for India

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 15 (PTI) — Indian cricketers, weighed down by Australian captain Steve Waugh’s brilliant unbeaten century, gave a pathetic display of batsmanship to suffer a humiliating 145-run defeat in their last pool-B match and crash out of the Commonwealth Games cricket at the PSNL Ground here today.

Put in to bat after Indian skipper Ajay Jadeja won the toss, the Australians recovered from early jitters to post a formidable 255 for five in the allotted 50 overs thanks to the efforts of their captain who unleashed a flurry of strokes to wrest the initiative from the Indians.

The Australian bowlers then produced an inspired spell to bundle out India for a paltry 110 in 37.4 overs, left arm spinner Brad Young being the most successful bowler with figures of 8.4-2-23-4, and take their team to the semifinals of the championships making their Games debut.

The Indians had only themselves to blame for the debacle as they allowed the Aussies to wriggle out of a tight corner with captain Steve Waugh (100 not out) and all-rounder Tom Moody (76 not out) performing the salvage operation with a rollicking 171-run sixth wicket partnership which shattered India’s hopes of a berth in the semifinals.

While Australia topped the group to set a semifinal match against their trans-Tasman rivals New Zealand, the Indian woes were full when young batsman Amay Khurasia had to be hospitalised after collapsing due to a heatstroke while fielding in the morning.

It was Steve Waugh’s masterly, unbeaten innings which tilted the balance in Australia’s favour after they were reduced to a sorry 84 for five. But the Indians failed to go for the kill with an ill-directed attack in the later stages.

Later none of the Indian batsmen could survive for long on a track lending support to spinners as wickets fell at regular intervals much to the embarrassment of a large number of spectators of Indian origin.

Captain Jadeja was the highest scorer for India with 26 while opener Gagan Khoda managed 20. Sachin Tendulkar, who dropped to number four, once again failed to get going and went for just 11, his third cheap dismissal here.
Put under pressure after Australia rattled up a score of over 250, the Indians seemed to be in a hurry to take off but plunged into trouble instead with M.S.K. Prasad, who opened the innings with Khoda, being run-out for just one.

India could never really recover from the early jolt with the formidable Aussie bowlers concentrating on a good line and length and were also rewarded by their injudicious batting.

The wicket of Tendulkar virtually sealed the fate of the Indians who were gasping at 49 for four at that stage. Though Jadeja and Robin Singh provided a semblance of a fightback, it proved too brief.

Indians had gone into the crunch tie amidst rumours that Tendulkar and three other key players had booked seats on a flight to Toronto to join the Indian team playing there in the Sahara Cup series against arch-foes Pakistan.

Australia:
M. Waugh c Sanghvi b Mohanty26, Gilchrist b Mohanty 12, Ponting lbw b Mohanty 13, Bevan c Laxman b Kumble 2, S.Waugh not out 100, Lehman c Laxman b Kumble 9, Moody not out 76.
Extras (b-1, lb-8, w-4, nb-4) 17.
Total (for 5 wkts in 50 overs) 255.
Fall of wickets: 1/27, 2/53, 3/56, 4/62, 5/84.
Bowling: Mohanty 10-1-49-3, Robin Singh 10-0-54-0, Kumble 10-0-43-2, Singh 8-0-51-0, Sanghvi 4-0-15-0, Tendulkar 4-0-24-0, Laxman 4-0-10-0.

India:
Prasad run out 1, Khoda c Moody b Kasprowicz 20, Laxman c Waugh b Moody 4, Tendulkar c Gilchrist b Fleming 11, Jadeja c Fleming b Young 26, Robin Singh c M. Waugh b Young 14, Kumble c Moody b Robertson 0, Sanghvi c Fleming b Young 16, Mohanty c Moody b Young 0, Harbhajan Singh not out 0, Khurasia did not bat.
Extras (lb-4, w-8, nb-4) 10.
Total (all out in 37.4 overs) 110.
Fall of wickets: 1/3, 2/17, 3/45, 4/49, 5/80, 6/81, 7/104, 8/110, 9/110.
Bowling: Fleming 6-0-18-1, Kasprowicz 7-1-20-1, Moody 7-0-15-1, Robertson 9-1-30-1, Young 8.4-2-23-4.

Kiwis beat Pakistan
A fine team effort saw New Zealand storm into the semifinals of the Commonwealth Games cricket competition, beating Pakistan by 81 runs in their group D league match at the Kilat Club Ground today.

Pakistan were bundled out for a paltry 134 runs in 42.5 overs after the Kiwis notched up a challenging 215 for eight in their allotted 50 overs. The New Zealand win set up a semifinal clash with traditional rivals Australia.

Captian Stephen Fleming led from the front, topscoring with a fluent 66 off 99 deliveries. Fleming, a century maker in the last game against Scotland, laced his knock with two sixes and two boundaries.

Opening bowler Shaoib Akhtar took 4 for 47 and Arshad Khan picked up 3 for 43 but the Pakistani bowlers never really posed any problem for the Kiwis on a batsmen-friendly pitch.

Indian shuttlers in upbeat mood

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 15 (UNI) — Expectations of more medals have gone up in the badminton camp after the men won a surprise silver and the women a bronze in the team championships yesterday, India making their presence felt in the Commonwealth Games sixteen long years after the late Syed Modi won the gold at Brisbane in 1982.

Badminton legend Prakash Padukone, who won India’s first medal from the sport, a gold at Edmonton, Canada, in 1978, is hopeful of his wards doing well as the individual event begins tomorrow. He praised the players for yesterday’s medal intake, saying that their hard work paid off.

A lot of hard work is still left for the shuttlers, particularly India’s number one player Pullela Gopi Chand who is going to run into world number five Ong Ewe Hock if the Malaysian topseed does not give the individuals a skip because of an injury.

Gopi Chand, who has had no challenge in the team championships will play Scotland’s doubles player Craig Robertson in the second round and there should be no problem there. All the Indian players have first round byes.

Ong, a player known to perform to the galleries, unnecessarily made a flamboyant attempt to reach the shuttle in his match against Gopi Chand in the superleague on Sunday, slipped and pulled a hamstring. He retired from that match, giving India their only victory as Malaysia hammered India 4-1 on way to gold.

Ong has said he would consult the team doctor before deciding whether to play in the singles. "This is my biggest setback. May be I will try for the first five points and see what happens", the star said.

Gopi Chand is a player who should be ranked in the 20’s in the world. He is currently ranked 67 which is because he has had a six month layoff following a knee injury. Even if a slightly unfit Ong decides to play, the Hyderabadi, who works for Indian Oil, should win.

In the 1994 National Games in Pune, Gopi hurt his knee badly and if not for an operation by Dr Rajagopal of Delhi his career would have been cut short.

Indian number two Nikhil Kanetkar has an easy second round match against Moloki Mothala of Botswana, a team India walloped in their pool matches.

In the third round he will meet Darren Hall of England, a player ranked 33 in the world and who was convincingly beaten by Gopi in their team encounter. Kanetkar who has played convincingly should on present form be able to even beat him.

Abhinshyam Gupta, the Indian number three who was largely responsible for India’s victory against England yesterday morning with a heroic fightback, is in trouble as he faces world number eight and Malaysian number two Yong Hock Kin in the prequarters.

The 19-year-old Gupta, in the second round, will meet the winner of the match between Dennis Constantin of Mauritius and Sheldon Caldeira of Trinidad and Tobago.

India’s top women’s player and world number 28, Aparna Popat, will cruise into the quarters where she is expected to meet New Zealand’s Li Feng, world number 16. Li, a former Chinese player, now has a Kiwi citizenship and is a tough player.

Aparna faces Samoan A Wilson in the first round and then will run into England number three Rebecca Pantanney whom Manjusha Kanwar had easily beaten in the team championships.

The other women’s players Neelima Chaudhary, Manjusha Kanwar and P.V.V. Lakshmi meet their first tough opponents in the third round. Neelima’s third round opponent will be the top seed here Kelly Morgan, world number ten.

The Welsh player has not lost a match here and had beaten Aparna Popat in the pool matches. In the first round Neelima faces Scotland’s Gillian Martim who should be no problem.

Manjusha, who began with an easy game against Mauritian Amrita Sawaram, will clash with second seed Julia Mann of England in the third round and the Indian should be able to beat her given her current form.

Lakshmi, who will be playing her first singles match here, is pitted against Fijian, G. Agnes.

There is not much expected from the doubles combinations whose weaknesses have been exposed very clearly in the team championships.

Markos Bristow and George Thomas and Jaseel Ismail and Vincent Lobo have first round byes and so also the women’s pairs of Manjusha-Archana and Madhumita-Lakhsmi.

In mixed doubles, Bristow and Archana play against Antonio Garguilo and Nicole Gordon of New Zealand while Lobo and Madhumita are up against Mar Leadbeater and Sarah Le Moigne of Guernsey.

India cannot afford to be complacent

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 15 (PTI) — India, seeking a berth in the semifinals, should face little resistance when they take on lowly Trinidad and Tobago in a pool-A league match of the Commonwealth Games men’s hockey tomorrow.

India, who have given a much better account of themselves after suffering a 2-5 defeat against the formidable Australia in the lung-opener would be looking to post their third straight win with a handy margin ahead of the vital clash against New Zealand.

With group favourites Australia suffering a reverse against South Africa yesterday, India cannot afford to be complacent as both New Zealand and South Africa could also come into reckoning for last four berths.

But Australia’s defeat against South Africa yesterday has left India with the chance of topping their group provided they achieve the simple task of beating both the Caribbeans and the Kiwis with good margins.

While Trinidad and Tobago should not pose much problems, the Kiwis should prove a tough nut to crack as seen in recent performances by them.

But Indian players showed dynamism in beating South Africa 2-1 and overcoming Wales 6-3 and that determination should help them in clinching a last four spot.

India, who finished a poor ninth in the recent World Cup at Utrecht, have got an fine opportunity to redeem themselves and a medal here is not beyond them.

The Indians put up a far improved performance against Wales with their forwards combining well but the defence still has to shed its lethargy and remains a source of worry for coach M.K. Kaushik.

India have thrived on all-out attack here after learning a hard lesson as their over-defensive approach led to the debacle against Australia.

Goalkeeper A.B. Subbaiah, who was recalled for this event after being controversially axed for the World Cup, has not looked very sharp here and was substituted by Jude Menezes in the second half yesterday.

But captain and centreforward Dhanraj Pillay has looked his old self after the row over his fitness at Utrecht and the Indian camp would be hoping that he would deliver the goods in the next two matches.

Mercurial right winger Mukesh Kumar, Mohammed Riaz and Prabhakaran and Baljit Singh Dhillon have also been quite impressive by combining well upfront.

With Trinidad and Tobago hardly a force to reckon with, India should be aiming more at the number of goals they can pump in ahead of their crucial match against New Zealand on September 17.

Aussie domination of pool continues

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 15 (Reuters) — Australia’s swimming stars again turned the Commonwealth Games pool green and gold today by winning all five gold medals at stake.

But outside the coolness of the pool, the tropical heat beating down on the first games in Asia took a growing toll.

Indian cricketer Amay Khurasia was in hospital with heat exhaustion after collapsing on the field, and two team officials and a fan were in hospital with dengue fever.

Tempers also frayed as Ghana unsuccessfully lodged the first protest of the boxing tournament and a South African fighter was carried out on a stretcher in another bout.

The heat casualties, forecast before the Games started, were an ominous sign, with athletics starting tomorrow.

Australia grabbed five more swimming gold medals and one each in cycling and shooting to widen their medals table lead.

The Australian swimming juggernaut has hardly paused since the Games began and it was again unstoppable as all the gold went to Australia.

The evening began with Ian Thorpe taking his third gold by winning the men’s 400 freestyle. Then, Petria Thomas took the women’s 100 m butterfly and teenager Simon Cowley won his second gold by taking the men’s 200 m breaststroke.

While the Australian domination of the pool continued for fourth day, golden girl Susan O’Neill was denied her expected fifth gold of the games in one of her speciality events — the women’s 100 butterfly — by compatriot Thomas.
Canadian Gold came in shooting, synchronised swimming and cycling, taking their total to eight gold — three ahead of third placed England.

Helen Denman won the women’s 100 metres breaststroke and Australia completed their sweep of the night’s swimming by taking the men’s 4x100 m freestyle relay from Canada and England.

For Thorpe, who swam the third leg, it was a fourth gold and for Michael Klim, the lead-off swimmer, a third.

Australia’s other gold came when cyclist Anna Wilson took the women’s 28 km road individual time trial and Annemarie Forder and Christine Trefry won the women’s air pistol pairs.

Off the field the Australians did not fare so well. An Australian team official and a fan joined a New Zealand team doctor in hospital with dengue fever.

Medal tally
KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 15 (Reuters) — Medal standings on the fourth day of competitions at the 16th Commonwealth Games today:
Gold Silver Bronze
Australia 25 16 17
Canada 8 7 12
England 5 11 8
Malaysia 2 4 2
India 2 1 1
New Zealand 1 4 2
South Africa 1 1 2
Cyprus 1 0 0
Northern Ireland 1 0 0
Bermuda 0 1 0
Fiji 0 1 0
Scotland 0 0 3
Wales 0 0 1
NB: Two bronze awarded in women’s and men’s team badminton.

Sprinters set to blaze tracks

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 15 (PTI) — Rivalry between sprint aces Ato Boldon of Trinidad and Tobago and Namibian Frank Fredericks will be revived at the Commonwealth Games when the two take to the tracks in the men’s 100 metres heats as athletics — the centre-piece of any multi-sport celebration — get underway here tomorrow.

Contest between world 200m champion Boldon and two-time Olympic sprint silver medallist Fredericks, who had announced his withdrawal two days before the start of the Games but changed his mind later on, should provide the much needed excitement at the tracks events which were dogged by withdrawals due to injuries.

World champions in their respective fields — high-hurdler Colin Jackson of Wales, triple jumper Jonathan Edwards (England) and woman quartermiler Cathy Freeman of Australia, besides Olympic champion and world 100m record holder Donovan Bailey of Canada and world 200m silver winner Susanthika Jayasinghe of Sri Lanka - will be very much missed.

While the 23-year-old Boldon, after twice clocking 9.86 seconds this season, is ready to scorch the tracks, the 1995 world 200m champion Fredericks will go all out to upstage the Trinidadan who ended his dreams of winning a share of the IAAF golden league million dollar bonus by beating him in Monaco.

The English duo of Dwain Chambers, fresh from his World Cup bronze winning effort at Johannesburg in a personal best of 10.03, and Darren Campbell will add further excitement to the men’s sprint, the showpiece of any athletics competition.

Barbadian Obadele Thompson is another big name to watch out for in the 100m following his scorching run into a slight head-wind and to the gold in 9.87 at the Johannesburg World Cup last week, only three hundredths of a second off the world mark.

"Thompson is a great runner. I’ve seen him running and he could be the one I should be wary of," Boldon said after arriving here. "He has beaten me twice and he will be more confident after his Johannesburg triumph. But I will be ready for any challenge," Boldon said.

In the 200m, defending champion Fredericks looks a clear favourite after Boldon announced that he would compete in only the 100m.

Fredericks, who was denied a gold in Atlanta Games by two world record runs by Bailey and American Michael Johnson, will have to fend off the challenge of up and coming Thompson, but should find it easy as Thompson yet to prove his class in the longer sprint.

Two Englishmen, John Rgis and Julian Golding with personal bests of 19.87 and 20.38, will have to give their best to come anyway near the favourites.

The women’s field, however, may not provide much excitement with major names missing from the lineup. Defending sprint champion Mary Onyali of Nigeria and Freeman in 200m are both not there and the stage is set for a new games champion.

Two-time Commonwealth decathlon gold medallist Michael Smith of Canada is pinned as the only sure medal hope for the North Americans. She has the chance to take the spotlight by completing a hat trick of gold and join the three-member elite club.

Indian w'lifters face stiff challenge

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 15 (PTI) — Indian ironmen looking to maintain their traditional excellence at the Commonwealth Games face stiff rivalry in their quest for a clutch of medals in the weightlifting competition which begins tomorrow.

India, who have entered a seven-member squad here, will be seen in action tomorrow in two lower weight categories with railwayman A.K. Pandiyan and Dharmaraj Wilson of the Services taking part in the 56 kg class and 21-year-old Murugeswaran Arun and Ganapathy Gnanasekharan pitted in the 62 kg class.

In the 69 kg category, Indian hopes rest on 23-year-old G. Vadivelu, Commonwealth Championship silver medallist earlier this year, and Sandeep Kumar Sharma, who was fifth in the 59 kg class at Victoria four years ago and has since moved up into the higher weight class.

The brightest medal chances in the four-day event, however, revolve around the experienced Satish Rai in the 77 kg class. The 27-year-old Karnataka lifter was a silver medallist at Victoria in the 70 kg class and has remained a consistent performer for the past few years.

With Australia, who have imported many East European weightlifters into their country, and Canada mounting stiff challenge India cannot aspire to come anywhere near their dream effort at the 1990 Auckland Games, where they swept 12 gold, seven silver and five bronze medals.

But coach Ajay Kumar Sirohi and manager Suresh Sehgal felt each weightlifter should garner at least one medal and that they would strive to at least better the haul of 11 medals -three gold, seven silver and one bronze - in the last Games.

In Victoria, India did well thanks to herculean efforts from the diminutive duo of Badathala Adisekhar and V. Murugesan with R. Chandrasekhar chipping in despite enduring an injury.

"We have been training well since reaching here and all weightlifters are in fine condition. Food has also not been a problem," the coach said.

Strong contenders Nigeria have pulled out of the fray, but hosts Malaysia will be among the strong challengers.

The overall standard in the Games have drastically gone up over the years. "It is like in most other disciplines. But the Indian weightlifters have to keep pace with it," Sehgal added.

Sachin, 3 others ‘to join’ team in Toronto

MUMBAI, Sept 15 (PTI) — Cricket board president Raj Singh Dungarpur today said Sachin Tendulkar, Commonwealth Games skipper Ajay Jadeja, leg spinner Anil Kumble and all-rounder Robin Singh would be re-inforcing the Indian team in Toronto for its last two ties in the five-match Sahara Cup series against Pakistan.

Dungarpur said: "I spoke to the Indian team captain Mohammed Azharuddin and coach Anshuman Gaekwad over telephone tonight and they asked for the replacements. Both our batting and bowling seemed a bit weak and hence we have decided to send these four players to Toronto tomorrow night".

"The decision to send the players to Toronto was taken tonight and none of the BCCI officials, including its secretary Jaywant Lele, were aware of it," he said.

The series in Toronto is interestingly poised with both teams winning a game each and are level 1-1.

The speculation that the quartet would leave for Toronto in case India got knocked out at the league stage in the Kuala Lumpur Games was confirmed by the BCCI chief’s statement.

Lele, had, earlier in the day reiterated that the four would not be travelling to Toronto and the entire Games cricket squad would return to India.

Indian eves face daunting task

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 15 (PTI) — Riding on the crest of three successive victories, India face their toughest opponent when they face title favourites Australia in their pool-A league match in the Commonwealth Games women’s hockey here tomorrow.

India, seeking to secure a semifinal berth, have given a good account of themselves so far but the wins had come mainly against rivals with no big reputation to protect.

Both India and Australia have so far collected full six points from three matches and tomorrow’s match promises to be exciting, though the Aussies start as clear favourites. The world champions have toyed with all rivals having already scored as many as 30 times without conceding a single goal.

India have also not faced much resistance since launching their campaign against Jamaica with a 4-0 victory. They routed Trinidad and Tobago 7-1 and then pulverised host Malaysia 6-1 in their last match yesterday.

India would be depending on key centre forward Pritam Rani Thakran, who has slammed in eight goals to emerge as a major name in the championship. Captain Sita Gussain, Nidhi Khullar and Kamla Dalal have been working as a close-knit unit and with seasoned halfback Manjinder Kaur, who suffered a cheek bone injury in the opening match, in fine fettle India can hope to play their hearts out.

Coach Gurdayal Singh Bhangu has been satisfied with the performances so far. "But tomorrow is the most important match. We will play the way we have been playing. We are prepared to fight’’, he said.

Teenager Thorpe new pool star

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 15 (Reuters) — Sydney schoolboy Ian Thorpe emerged as the brightest star in the Commonwealth Games constellation today as he helped Australia to their second clean sweep of the swimming gold medals in four days.

Shrugging off fatigue from a packed programme, the 15-year-old raced the second-fastest time ever to see off team rival Grant Hackett in the 400 metres freestyle — the event he won at the World Championships in Perth in January.

Yet another Australian, Daniel Kowalski, claimed bronze as double Olympic champion Danyon Loader of New Zealand was relegated to the rank of also-ran.

Little more than an hour later, Thorpe joined his team mates in the 4x100 freestyle and swam a supremely languid leg to extend Australia’s lead and win another gold medal. Australia has now won 17 gold in 20 races.

The victories brought Thorpe’s games gold tally to four. In the men’s 200 freestyle he almost broke the oldest record in men’s swimming and in the 4x200 freestyle relay he shared in a superb world record.

But Thorpe was not the only Aussie hero of the night as just two of the 12 medals on offer in the individual races went to non-Australians.

Defending champion Petria Thomas beat pre-race favourite Susie O’Neill in the 100 butterfly, denying the Aussie swim queen her fifth gold of the Games.

Pugilist Gurcharan bows out

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 15 (PTI) — India looked in danger of returning from the ring empty-handed after lightheavy prospect Gurcharan Singh bowed out in the quarterfinal stage in the Commonwealth Games boxing competition today.

The 20-year-old Gurcharan Singh went down 7-11 on points to Canadian rival Troy Amos Ross to become the third Indian pugilist to stumble ahead of the semifinal medal-round.

Only middleweight Jitender Kumar, who reached the last eight stage yesterday with an impressive 13-3 points victory over Francis Partsoh of Western Samoa, was left in contention out of the four boxers India had entered here.

Gurcharan Singh, SAF Games gold medallist in 1995, who had outboxed Enroy Toney of St Vincent in his opening bout on September 13 found the going tough against his crafty rival and though he landed quite a few punches himself could not really match his Amoss Ross.

India, who had won a lone lightly medal through Birju Sah in the Victoria Games four years back, had their hopes dimmed as bantamweight N.G. Dingko Singh lost in the second round and the 24-year-old featherweight prospect Gurmeet Singh was a first round casualty after running into Australian gold medal contender James Swan.

Fredericks arrives in Kuala Lumpur

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 15 (Reuters) — Frankie Fredericks flew into the Commonwealth Games today and a Namibian official said Africa’s fastest man was set to run in the much anticipated 100 metres sprint showdown.

"As far as I know, he will run the 100 metres," Namibian Olympic committee boss Gerhard Roux told Reuters on the eve of the 100 metres heats tomorrow.

Fredericks arrived in Kuala Lumpur at dawn on the same flight from Johannesburg as fellow sprinter and Barbadian rival Obadele Thompson, who won the World Cup 100 metres at the weekend with the second fastest time of the year.

Fredericks won the 200 metres in Johannesburg but has refused to say whether he will go head-to-head with Thompson and Trinidad’s Ato Boldon for the Commonwealth 100 metres gold.

Games organisers have released start lists showing that the Namibian is in tomorrow’s heats. The final is on Thursday.

Fredericks, world and Olympic silver medallist at both sprint distances, pulled out of the Commonwealth Games last week because Prime Minister Hage Geingob suggested a Namibian boxer with a minor world title was the nation’s best sportsman because Fredericks had never won a gold medal.

Delicate negotiations with team officials saved the situation and saw Fredericks back in the green, blue, white and red of the young Southern African nation.

Khurasia collapses while fielding

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 15 (Reuters) — Indian cricketer Amay Khurasia collapsed while fielding in the Commonwealth Games league match against Australia today and was carried off on a stretcher suffering from heat exhaustion.

But Indian coach Krishnamachari Srikkanth said Khurasia should be well enough to bat, although he may go in lower down the order to give more time for recovery.

"Hopefully, he will bat", Srikkanth told Reuters.

Khurasia slumped to the ground after nearly three hours of the match against Australia in the tropical heat of Kuala Lumpur which will decide who will go through to the semi-final of cricket's Games debut.

The heat and humidity of the Malaysian capital had been a major worry of many of the 4,000 athletes at the Games whose sports require stamina.

2000 sportspersons for Special Olympics
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Sept 15 — Defying all odds of their mental disabilities, over 2,000 sportspersons will take part in the third Special Olympics National Games, scheduled to be held here from September 25 to 29.These sportspersons will be accompanied by 600 coaches and delegates.Winning or losing is not so important in these games. More important is the fact that these sportspersons, defying all odds in a society which hardly gives them any special privileges , will be competing against each other, each trying to improve upon his or her own abilities.

The sportspersons who will be taking part in the games , being organised jointly by the North-West Zone Special Olympic Society, Chandigarh, Union Ministry for Social Welfare, New Delhi, and the Union Territory Administration, Chandigarh, have won gold medals in state-level tournaments conducted earlier in their respective states. While admitting that it was humanly not possible for all mentally handicapped persons to take part in one single national meet, Dr G. Vajralingam, Secretary, Sports, Chandigarh Administration and Chairman of the Organising Committee, said the meet would help society to get to know the abilities of these mentally handicapped sportspersons.

Speaking to mediapersons parents of some mentally handicapped persons said that by participating in such meets they had enabled their children to gain in confidence and self-belief. But they also bemoaned the fact that the Administration had not made any special facilities available for the mentally handicapped.

Briefing the press on the arrangements made for the Special Olympics, the organising secretary of the games, Ms Promila Chandra Mohan, said athletes from Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Delhi, Goa, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Chandigarh, who together comprise what is known as the North West Zone, Orissa, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Pondicherry, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal would take part. Also, 10 sportspersons each from Nepal, the Philippines and Taiwan would participate in the Chandigarh meet. These foreign sportspersons will also be accompanied by coaches from their countries.

The sportspersons will take part in athletics, aquatics, basketball, badminton, cycling, cricket, football, team handball, roller skating, table tennis and volleyball.

Another very important feature of these games will be the participation of older Special Olympic athletes as officials. About 15 mentally disabled persons have been trained during the past one year to perform various functions such as timers, measurers and volunteers at the various venues of the Special Olympics National Games.

After the meet over 300 sportspersons who win gold medals will be invited to attend selection trials for the 1999 Special Olympics World Games. These World Games, held every four years, will be held at Raleigh, North Carolina, USA, from June 26 to July 4 next. India can send 92 sportspersons for the World Games.

DAVC, GCW retain titles
By Our Sports Reporter

CHANDIGARH, Sept 15 — Defending champions DAV College, Sector-10, Chandigarh, and Government College for Women, Ludhiana, maintained their supremacy to retain the title, with 84 and 110 points, respectively in the Panjab University Inter-College Swimming Championship for men and women which ended at the Panjab University here today.

DAV College, Hoshiarpur and Government College, Ludhiana, finished second and third, with 69 and 17 points, respectively in the men's section while in the women's section, Government College for Girls, Sector 11, Chandigarh finished runners-up with 39 points and MCM DAV College, Sector 36, Chandigarh bagged third place with 21 points.

Three new more records were created on the concluding day in which two of them were set by Aseem Parmar of DAV College, Hoshiarpur — in 400 m freestyle (5: 9.22 sec) and 200 m backstroke (2: 38.97 sec).

The water-polo title went to DAV College, Hoshiarpur, while DAV College, Chandigarh, were runners-up and Government College, Hoshiarpur took the third place.

The results are: Men section: 50 m freestyle: Aseem Parmar (DAVC, Hsp) 1, Naveen Dalal (DAVC, Chd) 2, Dinesh Dahiya (DAVC, Chd) 3. Time 0:28.30 sec.; 100m butterfly stroke: Madhav Sund (GC Ldh) 1, Aseem Parmar (DAVC, Hsp) 2, Tarun Negi (DAVC, Chd) 3. Time 1:07.70 sec. 200m back stroke: Madhav Sund (GC Ldh) 1, Rahul Kalia (GC, Hsp) 2, Sudhir Kumar (DAVC, Chd) 3. Time 2:38.21 sec (NMR). Old record 2:43.55 held by Giani of DAVC, Chd. 400m individual medlay: Dinesh Dahiya (DAVC, Chd) 1, Tarun Negi (EAVC, Chd) 2, Aseem Parmar (DAVC, Hsp) 3. Time 6:01.78 sec. 400m freestyle: Aseem Parmar (DAVC, Hosp) 1, Anwar Masih (DAVC, Hsp) 2, Rahul Kalia (GC, Hsp) 3. Time 5:09.22 sec. (NMR) old record was his own name in 1996-97 with a timing of 5:09.40 sec.

100m breaststroke: Naveen Dalal (DAVC, Chd) 1, Dinesh Dahiya (DAVC, Chd) 2, Anwar Masih (DAVC, Hsp) 3. Time 1:21.28 sec; 200m individual medlay: Aseem Parmar (DAVC, Hsp) 1, Madhav Sund (GC, Ldh) 2, Dinesh Dahiya (DAVC, Chd) 3. Time 2:38.97 sec. (NMR) old record was held by Giani of DAV College with a timing of 2:40.05 sec. held in 1995-96.

4x200m freestyle relay: DAV College, Chandigarh 1, DAV College, Hoshiarpur 2, Government College, Ludhiana 3. Time 10:39.05 sec

Ganguly to play today

TORONTO, Sept 15 (PTI) — The Indian squad will have to wait till the weekend for the four-man reinforcements to reach here but the welcome news on the eve of the third of the five-match Sahara Cup tournament against Pakistan was the return of their first match hero Saurav Ganguly.

Despite denial by the Indian board secretary Jaywant Lele earlier in the day, it was confirmed in the evening that Sachin Tendulkar, Ajay Jadeja, Anil Kumble and Robin Singh, part of the team that got knocked out of the inaugural cricket tournament of the Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur, would be joining the Indian squad in time for the last two matches.

Meanwhile, doubts about Ganguly were cleared by the player himself saying "I will play on Wednesday".

Troubled by a right hamstring pull, which forced him to withdraw twice from the middle and seek medical treatment in the dressing room on Saturday during the opening game of the series, Ganguly sat out of the Sunday game as a precautionary measure.

Ganguly has a history of cramps developing but it has less to do with his physical fitness and more to the excessive sweat which his body generates. He never starts an innings till he has had a salt tablet and he needs them regularly to stop being deydrated, by way of excessive sweating.

He has been replenishing himself with liquid for the past 48 hours and the fact that there was no practice yesterday meant a bigger rest for him.

Man-of-the-match for the fifth time at this venue, albeit a year apart between the two Sahara Cups, Ganguly underplayed his individual achievement and said more importantly, "India could make a winning start."

If that is a bad news for Pakistan, it is somewhat compensated by Saqlain Mushtaq’s return to their fold. The off-spinner finds himself freed from his county duties with Surrey and is in Toronto, possibly a sure fixture in all remaining games.

Pakistan would be further encouraged to include him since the Indian spinners had a good purchase from the wicket on Sunday. It should be more tomorrow since the third game is scheduled at the first pitch, used on Saturday, and where the bounce and pace was inconsistent.

With his quickish off-breaks, Saqlain would be more than a handful on the track. How, India would miss Anil Kumble on that pitch?

Faced with a depleted bating strength, Mohd Azharuddin has no option but to play rookie batsman Jatin Paranjpe in the final XI. Sairaj Bahutule, Jyoti Yadav and Sanjay Raul are likely candidates for the bench and it appears the only sensible course of action to follow.

Two batsmen, one in each team, Rahul Dravid and Ijaz Ahmed, are at a critical juncture of their one-day career. While Dravid is looking to get it off the ground, Ijaz’s inconsistency and poor form over the past few months have put him at the crossroad. Ijaz has further confessed to be under pressure because of match-fixing allegations levelled against him.

In the bowling department, these surely are different times as far a pace attacks go. Imagine such a cream of fast bowling talent emerging from the sub-continent of all places.

India has a trio of impressive new-ball operators, Javagal Srinath, Ajit Agarkar and Venkatesh Prasad while Pakistan too feels comfortable with the presence of Aaqib Javed, Azhar Mahmood and the nastiest of them all, Mohammad Zahid.
Teams (likely):
Pakistan: Saeed Anwar, Aamir Sohail, Shahid Afridi, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Yousuf Youhanna, Salim Malik, Moin Khan, Saqlain Mushtaq, Aaquib Javed, Mohammad Zahid and Azhar Mahmood.
India: Navjot Sidhu, Saurav Ganguly, Mohd Azharuddin, Rahul Dravid, Hrishikesh Kanitkar, Jatin Parnjpe, Nayan Mongia, Javagal Srinath, Venkatesh Prasad, Ajit Agarkar and Sunil Joshi.

IAAF may alter schedule for Jones

JOHANNESBURG, Sept 15 (AFP) — The International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF) will consider changing the 1999 Seville world championships schedule to allow Marion Jones attempt to win a historic four gold medals.

"We will look at the schedule like we did for Atlanta for Michael Johnson," IAAF President Primo Nebiolo said in an interview. "Some change is possible."

Johnson became the first man to win gold at 200 and 400 metres in the same Olympics after the IAAF revised the 1996 Atlanta Games schedule.

No athlete has won four titles at a world championship.

Jones’s manager Charles Wells has requested similar treatment for Jones, who in the past year has become the sport’s top attraction.

"I’ve already presented my case," Wells said. "I don’t think there will be a problem."

Jones, winner of gold medals in the 100 and 200 metres and a silver in the long jump at last weekend’s world cup, wants to compete in those events plus the 4x100 metres relay in next August’s world championships.

Civil services tennis
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Sept 15 — In the All-India Civil Services Tennis Tournament held at Salt Lake Stadium, Calcutta, from September 8 to 13, it was for the first time over that players from the Haryana or Punjab civil services teams had reached the finals of this event.

Sunil Bajaj, Excise Inspector, Panchkula, representing Haryana and Dr Jasjit Singh, Chief Medical Officer, Punjab Raj Bhavan, representing Punjab reached the final of the open men's doubles. In the final they went down fighting to Anand Swarup and Krishnamurthy of Andhra Pradesh 6-4, 6-3.

Punjab Athletics Championship
By Our Sports Reporter

CHANDIGARH, Sept 15 — The senior Punjab State Athletics Championship for men and women and under-22 men and women will be held at Ferozepore City on October 2 and 3.

According to Mr Ishar Singh Deol, secretary of the Punjab Amateur Athletic Association (PAAA) more than 300 sportsmen and women from all over Punjab will take part.

The Punjab men's and women's contingents for the forthcoming All-India Inter-State Athletic meet will also be selected during the state meet.
The selected athletes will also attend a 21-day coaching-cum-training camp at Jalandhar before going for the national meet.