Saturday, April 3, 1999
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S P O R T | Saturday, April 3, 1999 |
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Paes, Fazaluddin give India 2-0 lead CALCUTTA, April 2 — Star performer Leander Paes and debutant Syed Fazaluddin registered facile straight sets victories over their Chinese opponents to give India a 2-0 lead on the opening day of the Davis Cup Asia-Oceania group-1 tie here today. Full-strength Indian team for final CHANDIGARH, April 2 — The days of experimentation are over. The national selectors of the Board of Control for Cricket in India have decided to field a full strength team against Pakistan in the final of the three-nation triangular series to be played at the Chinnaswamy Stadium at Bangalore on April 4. |
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Hingis trails yet survives
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Wisden seeks Dalmiya's resignation Lalith
shocks Luthra Santosh
Trophy: Bengal to meet Goa in final Hyderabad
pile up mammoth total Dinesh's
ton puts Punjab on top
UT contingent for veterans' meet Vijay
Kumar claims SRF Open title |
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Paes, Fazaluddin give India 2-0 lead CALCUTTA, April 2 (PTI) — Star performer Leander Paes and debutant Syed Fazaluddin registered facile straight sets victories over their Chinese opponents to give India a 2-0 lead on the opening day of the Davis Cup Asia-Oceania group-1 tie here today. The flamboyant Paes displayed an attacking brand of tennis to brush aside Chinese number two player Zhang Yu with an easy 6-4, 6-2, 6-3 verdict while local lad Fazaluddin showed no nerves on debut as he whipped China’s top player Zhu Ben-Qiang 7-6 (7-3), 6-3, 6-4. With a comfortable 2-0 lead, the crack doubles duo of Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi, who opted out of singles as he was recovering from a hamstring injury, would be keen to seal the fate of the Chinese by clinching the doubles rubber tomorrow. Playing in front of his home crowd, Paes was tentative in the early stages of the contest but toned up his game by several notches from the second set onwards before running out an easy victor in just 86 minutes at the South Club grass courts. Playing his patent serve and volley game, Paes failed to hold his serve in the sixth game but fought back brilliantly to break his Chinese opponent in the seventh and ninth games to wrap up the first set in 35 minutes. Failing to hold serve in the sixth game served as a wake up call for Paes as he suddenly raised his game by firing in a barrage of aces and making some crisp baseline returns, completely unsettling the diminutive Chinese. Playing with a great deal of authority, the ace Indian Davis cupper took tight control by breaking Zhang in the very first game of the second set and again in the seventh game to clinch the set in just 26 minutes. There was no respite for the Chinese in the third set as well as the local star showed no signs of relaxing. He maintained the tempo unleashing some rasping backhand returns and crisp volleys to earn one point after another. Paes broke Zhang in the third and ninth games to wrap up the set 6-3 in 25 minutes and give his team the much needed lead. This helped ease the pressure on debutant Fazaluddin playing his first singles match. But Fazaluddin did not seem to be under any pressure at all and played a disciplined game to script a comfortable victory and put the Indians in the driver’s seat at the end of the day. Fazaluddin, also playing before his home crowd like Paes, was stretched only in the first set but he tilted the scales in his favour in the tie-breaker. The second and third sets turned out to be fairly one-sided affairs. Both Fazal and Zhu Ben-Qiang held on to their serves to take the score to 6-6 but the Indian fired in a couple of aces and produced some brilliant returns in the tie-breaker to clinch the set. After the tough first set, there was no looking back for the local lad who broke the Chinese in the fourth game after being on deuce for some time to wrap up the second set 6-3 and consolidate his position. With the pressure building up on him, Qiang made a number of unforced errors which compounded his misery. Fazaluddin broke the Chinese in the seventh game and held on to his serves to win the third set much to the delight of the large turnout at the South Club. The two Chinese players, who were more used to playing on hard surfaces, found it difficult to counter the Indians who were more comfortable on the grass court while the hot and humid conditions also favoured the hosts. Fazal fired in as many as 14 aces while his Chinese opponent could manage only five during the contest which lasted for nearly one hour and 50 minutes. Having lost both their singles matches, the Chinese doubles pair of Zhu Ben-Qiang and Zhang Yu would be under considerable pressure in the doubles match tomorrow to prevent the hosts from taking an invincible 3-0 lead. UNI adds: India’s non-playing captain Jaydeep Mukherjea hailed both Leander Paes and Syed Fazaluddin for giving India a comfortable 2-0 lead in their Davis Cup tie against China today and said he was very proud of their creditable performance under a tough condition. "I am very proud of both of them as they have been able to overcome not only a determined Chinese opposition but also a tremendously hot and humid weather condition to remain on top at the end of the day, a beaming Mukherjea told newsmen after the matches. Replying to questions, India’s non-playing captain said he was confident about Leander’s performance since Leander was a seasoned and experienced Davis cupper. Though both the players performed very well Fazaluddin’s win was more creditable since he had been playing for the first time for his country in singles and that too before his home crowd. About his strategy for
tomorrow’s doubles match and whether an injured
Mahesh would be asked to play with Leander, Mukherjea
said he had not yet decided. "Keeping in mind
Mahesh’s injury and today’s wonderful
performance of Fazal, I would take the final decision
tonight itself after considering the pros and cons"
he said. |
Full-strength Indian team for final CHANDIGARH, April 2 — The days of experimentation are over. The national selectors of the Board of Control for Cricket in India have decided to field a full strength team against Pakistan in the final of the three-nation triangular series to be played at the Chinnaswamy Stadium at Bangalore on April 4. This was but expected. The youngsters were fielded in the match against Pakistan yesterday when it was clear that India had qualified for the final. This was indeed a welcome step. If they were played against a formidable side like Pakistan how could the national selectors find out about the players if they were tested under fire? It goes to the credit of these youngsters that most of them performed fairly well in yesterday's match in the face of the Pakistanis who were at full strength. One must remember that there is very little time at the hands of the national selectors, who are scheduled to name the squad for the World Cup on April 4 itself, the day the final of the triangular series is to be played. The national selectors, who could not meet yesterday during the last league match between India and Pakistan at the PCA Stadium at SAS Nagar as all of them were not present, finalised the team after a tele-conference today. The Indian skipper Mohammad Azharuddin, who missed the return leg matches between Sri Lanka as also against Pakistan, will return to lead the squad, having recovered from the shoulder injury. So also has Sadagoppan Ramesh, who was injured during the match between India and Sri Lanka at Pune. The bowling attack will also be at full strength with the inclusion of Javagal Srinath and Anil Kumble who will join Venkatesh Prasad (who played yesterday) and Ajit Agarkar, who among the reserves in the match against Pakistan. But missing from the squad is Sachin Tendulkar who is yet to recover from his back injury. In fact it would be prudent on the part of the board not to force him to play until he recovers fully because India will need his services the most in the coming World Cup. Those dropped from the squad which played yesterday at the PCA Stadium against Pakistan are Virender Sehwag, Vinod Kambli, Saba Karim (wicketkeeper), Hrisikesh Kanitkar and Laxmi Rattan Shukla. One thing which is debatable is the dropping of Vinod Kambli from the squad. As it is he is returning to international cricket after a long lay-off and one though that he should have been played in as many matches as possible. Or have the selectors already decided that he is not to go to the World Cup? The following is the team: Mohammad Azharuddin, Saurav Ganguly, Sadagoppan Ramesh, Rahul Dravid, Ajay Jadeja, Nayan Mongia, Robin Singh, Anil Kumble, Ajit Agarkar, Javagal Srinath, Venkatesh Prasad, Nikhil Chopra, Amaiya Khurasia and Gyanender Pandey.
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Interpret rules fairly What a farce is this overs rule when Pakistan can take four hours and 30 minutes to bowl 50 overs and then only be penalised three overs. Admittedly Ganguly having to be helped off the field took seven minutes and two balls changes took three minutes each but that only adds up to 13 minutes. Pakistan took an extra 57 minutes past the scheduled allotted time so if you deduct the 13 minutes they should be penalised 44 minutes. At four minutes per over that works out at a shopping eleven overs. The match refree let them get away with murder. The punishment did not fit the crime. Only when teams are properly made to suffer for bowling their overs slowly will they improve. While they can get away with it they will carry on not giving a damn. If Pakistan carry on like this then the World Cup chances diminish because I can't see the organisers standing for it. Certainly our English media will 'kick-up' such a fuss against Pakistan. They will not sit tamely by and let it happen. The match referees and umpires will get some stick as well and the pressure will be enormous. It is not fair on the other teams. If there are rules they should be interpreted fairly. Umpires and match referees are fond of telling us that the ICC makes the rules, they only interpret them. The rules are clear but on Thursday I felt they were not interpreted properly. As for the Prince of Calcutta getting hit in the ribs, he had a chest pad on which should have protected his ribs and the side of his chest facing the bowlers. Most of the time he was bating the chest pad slipped around to protect his back! How ludicrous! It is unprofessional not to have equipment that does the job by staying in place. When I played my chest pad was more important to me than my helmet. With my eyes watching the short balls I could duck and weave my head but if a fast delivery rises sharply and nips back at me then it is bound to hit me in the ribs. With a good chest protector you can let the ball hit you with confidence. The best bit of cricket came with Saqlain bowling to Khurasia. The best off-spinner in the world against a talented big hitting new comer. Saqlain teased him with a flighted one and when Khurasia went down the pitch to whack it he couldn't get there. He was done in the flight and when the batsman tried a last minute adjustment for the turn, the ball pitched and seamed into him. He's not the first and won't be the last to be mesmerised by a very talented young bowler. In all my years playing and watching cricket I've never seen anyone bowl a top spinner or fizzer that seams out. I've seen off spinners bowl an arm ball and sometimes make the ball swerve a little out in the air and then spin back the other way-but never seam out. He's a magician with that ball Sunil Gavaskar says Saqlain perfected it with a tennis ball as a kid. The depleted Indian team,
despite a super bowling performance from Venky Prasad,
were outplayed by a better and more experienced team.
Sadly the over-rate by India was nearly as bad as
Pakistans and they were eight overs behind the clock.
— (PMG) |
Hingis trails yet survives HILTON HEAD (South Carolina), April 2 (AFP) — Top seed Martina Hingis got off to a slow start but picked up the pace to post a 7-5, 6-1 victory over Conchita Martinez yesterday in the third round of the Family Circle Cup. Seeking her first title in two months Hingis fell behind the 10th-seed Spaniard, 2-4, in the first set before winning 11 of the next 13 games. "I played terrible in the beginning," Hingis said. "I was not really into it and I got myself down. But I picked up my game especially in the second set. I started making more winners. I was making some shots I would miss before and it was a big chance". Defending champion and fifth seed Amanda Coetzer of South Africa couldn't get her game going, falling 6-2, 6-3 to Henrieta Nagyova of Slovakia. Last year, Coetzer won the biggest title of her career here and became the lowest seed, at No four, to win the event. Second-seeded Monica Seles followed Coetzer out of the tournament, falling to Russian Elena Likhovtseva, 7-6 (7-4), 6-2. They got a late start on their match after rain interrupted the last day match between third-seeded Czech Jana Novotna and Italian Silvia Farina. Novotna shrugged off the
disruption quickly winning the two games she needed to
complete a 5-7, 7-5, 6-3 victory over Farina. Hingis
improved to 7-2 lifetime against Martinez, earning her
first win on clay over the Spaniard in three tries. |
Wisden seeks Dalmiya's resignation LONDON, April 2 (PTI) — The cricketing world’s Bible, ‘Wisden’, has called for resignation of Mr Jagmohan Dalmiya, president of the International Cricket Council (ICC), alleging that he had almost split world cricket and taking him to task over damage done by the match-fixing scandal. The 1999 edition of the ‘Wisden Cricketers Almanack’ which hit the stands here yesterday lambasted the ICC for what it called dithering over the labyrinthine issue of match-fixing saying the ‘crisis was not merely the worst in 20 years, but had done more damage than anything since bodyline’. Attempts to contact Mr Dalmiya in Calcutta resulted in his office replying: "He has no comment to make". Arguing for ‘full scale inquiry by the ICC into the betting affair’, Wisden said match-fixing was eating away at cricket’s most valuable assets, its reputation of fair play. Wisden alleged that there was a case to be made against Mr Dalmiya, although he was not in authority in 1995, when the ICC had decided to take no action on hearing that Australian spinning Wizard Shane Warne and star batsman Mark Waugh had taken money from an Indian bookie. Wisden said ICC had only moved to set up an inquiry after strong demands had been made over a period of a full year. It claimed the ‘ICC had missed the point as the poison is in the barrel, and it is likely to seep out again and again in the years ahead’. British media has described the call by Wisden for Mr Dalmiya’s resignation as ‘unjustified’. The Times said the cricketing Bible’s suggestion was ‘contentious’. Media reports said though the cricketers almanac hit the stands on all fools day, ‘there remained something reassuring about Wisden, but that is not to say peace and harmony reign on every page’. Wisden charged that though Dalmiya had managed to head the ICC he had ‘given the game no leadership whatsoever’. It also heavily criticised the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) by alleging the ‘spectre of apartheid in English club cricket’ and this was described by British media as the ‘controversial passage in the book’. Wisden said in countless places where Asian cricketers dominated like Essex, Asian clubs were unable to arrange fixtures with white clubs and had to settle for setting up parallel cricketing groups to match each other. However, ECB took exception to such charges, with its spokesman Richard Peel saying "current evidence did not suggest that a system of discrimination operated with the game in the United Kingdom". But, whatever, the controversies generated by the latest issue, Wisden continues to be a wealth of statistics and erudite features and light hearted items like a match getting delayed as a magpie was found to have stolen the keys to a motorised roller. CALCUTTA: International Cricket Council president Jagmohan Dalmiya, whose resignation has been demanded by the Wisden, has come in for praise from past cricketers like former Australian captains Ian Chappell and Richie Benaud and ex-England opener Geoffrey Boycott. Chappell, Benaud and Boycott have paid tributes to Mr Dalmiya for his "vision and administrative skills". "In the last 15 years, Mr Dalmiya is the only man with some brains to head the ICC. He has ideas and a will to carry them out," former England opener and now a commentator Boycott had said in a recent Press meet here. Chappell said: "One of Mr Dalmiya’s greatest strengths as an administrator is his willingness to utilise the knowledge of the cricketers who have played the game at the highest level". "He has the vision for the game’s progress that I haven’t heard enunciated by any other so-called leader among cricket officials," Chappell added. The Indian cricket board secretary J.Y. Lele viewed Wisden Editor Matthew Engel’s attack on Mr Dalmiya as a "gimmick and publicity stunt". "Dalmiya is respected the world over for his administrative and marketing acumen and needs no certificate from Matthew Engel," Lele said when contacted over the telephone. Former Australian captain Richie Benaud said in his column that Mr Dalmiya was "an interesting administrator, one who had the vision for the future of the game and who was not bound by the more boring aspects of tradition. "I would like to see him offering more ideas for the game as we move into the 21st century," he observed. Noted cricket writer, Christopher Martin Jenkins said in his column that "one cannot help an unworthy suspicion that the criticism of Dalmiya has something to do with ICC’s failure to take up the Wisden’s idea of a world championship of test cricket. On this, the administrators are right to be cautious." Wisden cricket magazine
had floated the idea of a world Test championship over a
protracted four-year period, which has not been accepted
by the ICC. The ICC was contemplating a much shorter
version. |
Lalith shocks Luthra CHANDIGARH, April 2 — Seeded players fell by the wayside on another day of upsets as the 98th Amateur Golf Championship of India entered the semi-final stage at the Chandigarh Golf Club here today. Diminutive Lalith Kumara of Sri Lanka added his name to the list of the giant slayers upsetting Amit Luthra in the quarter-finals. This leaves Digvijay Singh as the only surviving top seed in the championship, who had a comparatively easier match against Sandeep Syal, who nonetheless played an excellent round with two birdies and nine pars till he lost the match on the 18th. Lalith Kumara was one down on the third hole but he rallied to birdie the 4th and stay level till Amit Luthra birdied the 8th hole and lead one up at the turn. After halving the 10th Lalith Kumara made a stupendous charge winning four holes in a row chapped with a birdie on the 14th. Amit made a bid to get back into the match by winning the 15th hole but young Lalith Kumara scored again on the 16th to seal the match. Shiv Kapoor, fresh from his thrilling win over Harmeet Kahlon yesterday, continued to play excellent, golf to comfortably win his match from Aman Behl. He fired four birdies in the first half and was four up at the turn. Aman Behl made an effort to stay afloat by winning the 10th and halving the next four holes but it was all over when Shiv Kapoor won the 15th with a super round of one under par. After the round Shiv Kapoor expressed his happiness with his ball striking and good putting and was eagerly looking forward to his match tomorrow with Shiraz Kalra. Shiraz Kalra also advanced to the semi-finals beating Manav Dass in an exciting match that had to decided in a play-off at the 19th hole. After being one-up at the turn Shiraz three-putted the 14th hole and then was leading again after the 16th when Manav Dass rallied to birdie the 17th bringing the match square. In the 1st playoff hole however Shiraz Kalra made a neat up and down from the green side bunker to win the match. The results
(quarter-finals): Shiv Kapoor b Aman Bhal, Shiraz Kalra b
Manav Dass, Lalith Kumara b Amit Luthra, Digvijay Singh b
Sandeep Syal. |
Santosh Trophy CHENNAI, April 2 (PTI) — Defending champions Bengal earned the right to play Goa in the final of the Santosh Trophy National Football Championship on April 4 when they defeated a fighting Kerala 3-1 in the semifinal here today. Bengal took the lead in 12th minute through star striker Baichung Bhutia while Kerala’s talented Ashif Saheer found the equaliser in the 26th. Raman Vijayan netted the second in the 37th and Carlton Chapman made it three-one during injury time. All the goals were scored in the first session. A good crowd had gathered to cheer underdogs Kerala who gave a good fight to Bengal. Though the young players matched the cream of talent from Bengal in attack, the defence let them down at crucial stages and Bengal strikers led by Bhutia made full use of these lapses. Both teams shared honours in the first 10 minutes with their rallies. Bengal in their inimitable style tried to hustle Kerala’s custodian Nelson, but did not succeed. Bengal medio Basudev Mondal created good openings for the trio of Bhutia, Raman Vijayan and Khemtang Paite. In the 12th minute, Basudev chested down the long pass, sped down the left flank and lobbed to Bhutia. With Kerala defender A.S. Firoz looking on helplessly, Bhutia’s right-footer went inside the netting through the outstretched hands of Nelson. Surprised by the goal, Kerala applied pressure by switching flanks constantly and were able to get the equaliser through Asif Saheer. Following a free-kick from the left by Dhanesh, C.V. Sunny deceived a defender and the ball was received by Saheer who quickly chipped over Bengal goalkeeper Prasanta Dora as he was about to collect the ball. Kerala almost conceded another goal, a few minutes later, but Nelson fisted away a shot from Khemtang Paite. Bengal excelled in ball possession and Kerala found it difficult to match their speed. Raman Vijayan’s shot off a pass from Falguni Dutta was saved in the nick of time by Firoz. But seconds later, Firoz was the culprit as Kerala conceded the vital lead to Bengal. Defender Jiju Jacob miskicked trying a long clearance which went straight to Bhutia who relayed to Raman Vijayan. Jacob was in a position to tackle but Firoz darted in only to miss the ball. Vijayan coolly slotted the ball in. After Kerala failed to equalise again with C.V. Sunny missing a sitter off a move by Saheer and Najeeb, Bengal increased the lead during injury time. Following a flag-kick by Basudev Mondal, Chapman scored a straight forward goal. Crossing over, Kerala a enjoyed the territorial advantage for about 15 minutes though in between Bengal did make a few attempts at the Kerala goal. Bengal were unlucky not to get their fourth goal when Champman's shot hit the upright. In the 80th minute, Kerala
had a chance to reduce the margin. But Sheer's feeble
shot was gathered by Prasanta Dora. Both continued to
attack in the final minutes, but were unable to score. |
Hyderabad pile up mammoth total HYDERABAD, April 2 (PTI) — A superb century by Test discard V V S Laxman (193) helped Hyderabad to set a mammoth target of 685 for Delhi to win the match on the penultimate day of the Ranji Trophy quarterfinal match here today. Hyderabad, who made 440 all out in their first innings, scored 404 for nine declared in 112.3 overs after resuming at their overnight score of 187 for six. At stumps, Delhi were 122 for three in 34 overs with Pankaj Joshi (39 batting) and Vijay Dahiya (23 batting) at the crease. The hosts had added 217 runs to their overnight tally before they declared their innings 45 minutes before tea. The highlight of the Hyderabad innings was a 98-run partnership between Laxman and skipper Venkatapathy Raju (44) for the seventh wicket. Laxman, who scored his third consecutive century in the Ranji championship, (219 against Baroda and 110 against Delhi in the first innings of the match) took 243 balls for his 193 runs that was studded with 27 boundaries and two huge sixes. After the exit of Raju, run out for 44, Laxman and N P Singh (39) added 88 runs for the eighth wicket before Singh was caught by Devender Sharma off left-arm spinner Rahul Sanghvi, who also bowled Laxman seven short of his double century. Sanghvi (3 for 111) and Amit Bhandari (3 for 79) were then successful bowlers for Delhi. Delhi began disastrously losing Akash Chopra when the score was zero. Ashu Dani (47) and Pankaj Joshi (39 batting) added 76 for the second wicket before Dani was caught by N P Singh off the bowling of Kanwaljit Singh. Scoreboard |
Dinesh's ton puts Punjab on top AMRITSAR, April 2 — Dinesh Mongia cracked an unbeaten century to enable Punjab to dominate the fourth day's proceedings to take the total to 411 for 7 thus registering an overall lead of 494 runs in their quarterfinal Ranji Trophy match against Tamil Nadu at Gandhi Grounds here today. Punjab, overnight 109 for three, began the proceedings through Pankaj Dharmani and Dinesh Mongia. Both were involved in a fruitful partnership of 77 runs, with Dinesh dominating the stand, executing powerful drives both on the backfoot and on the onside. Dharmani departed with his individual score one short of a well deserved 50 as he was well taken by T. Kumaran at mid-wicket off the bowling of Subbiah with the Punjab total on 153 for three. Dinesh found Amit Sharma a good partner and they added 105 runs for the fourth wicket. Mongia who hit his second major knock today was at his best. The score of 207 not out came during the 1996-97 season against Services at Delhi. His marathon innings of 160 today in 432 minutes with 14 fours and two sixes showed his class. Later, Dinesh added another 79 runs with Harbhajan Jugnu for the fifth wicket, and Jugnu scored 50 to dominate the stand with seven fours and one six off S. Mahesh over the mid wicket. While Sarandeep and Harbhajan perished in quick succession, Mongia continued to frustrate Tamil Nadu bowlers to remain unbeaten with 160 and giving him company was Navdeep at 18. Scoreboard Extras 15 |
UT
contingent
for veterans' meet CHANDIGARH, April 2 — The Veterans' Amateur Athletic Association of Chandigarh has selected a strong contingent of men and women all above 40 years to represent UT in the XXI National Veterans Athletic Championship to be held at Jawahar Lal Nehru Stadium, New Delhi from April 16 to 18, according to a press note of the association. The team was selected on the basis of the performance of the athletes in the Ist north zone Veterans Athletic which meet concluded last month here. Kulwinder Singh will be the captain of the team. The athletes are: CP Verma, SS Passi, Surinder Singh, Dharam Singh, Dharamvir Sharma, Nachhatar Singh, Gauri Shankar, Ghumand Singh, Rati Ram, Rattan Singh, Jagjit Singh I and J. Singh II, Dilbagh Singh, Sada Ram, Teja Singh, Jatinder Marwaha, GS Pallah, R. Chander, Jasmer Singh, Jagjit Singh, Hardip Singh, Kirpal Sigh, Karnatak Singh, Amar Singh, Karnail Singh, Kanwarjit Singh, Tarlochan Singh, Sukhwinder Singh, K. Singh, Dharam Singh, Shamsher Singh, Kartar Singh, Banta Singh, Tarlok Singh, Kulwinder Singh, Jagdish Kumar, GS Sahota, Rajinder Singh, Harchand Singh, Behl Singh, Ajmer Singh, Janak Singh, Nauhar Chand, Gurdial Saini, Amrik Singh, Gurmail Singh, Navjot Singh, JS Grewal, ML Juneja, RS Bhullar, Karamjit Kaur, Bhupinder Banta Singh, Krishna Chopra, Parminder Kaur, SK Walia, Kiran Bala, Bimla Saini, Nirmal Saini, Chanchal Chopra, Nazar Singh and Tanjit Rai Mauji. Mrs Bhupinder Banta Singh
and Krishna Chopra are taking part in the above 70 years
category while four men — Dharamvir Sharma, Banta
Singh, Tarlok Singh and Gurmail Singh are representing
the above 80 section. |
Vijay Kumar claims SRF Open title NEW DELHI, April 2 — Vijay Kumar played consistently to fire two under 70 to get a tally of 11 under 277. He claimed the SRF Open Golf Championship title at the Delhi Golf Club (DGC) course here today. One of the most determined players on the Indian circuit, Vijay Kumar earned an award of Rs 1,28,282 of the total prize money of Rs 7.70 lakh. Vivek Bhandari, who had an aggregate of nine under 279, was the runner-up. He earned Rs 85,547. Calcutta’s young SSP Chowrasia, a stroke behind Bhandari at 280, was third. His collection was Rs 49,357. Veteran Basad Ali recorded a hole-in-one on par-37th hole. This was the fourth time he had achieved this unique distinction. He last got hole-in-one at the Wills Masters at Bangalore in 1996-97. Vijay Kumar bogeyed the first. But then got going as he missed achieving an eagle on the next hole. The ball came to rest barely six inches from the pin. Two 10 feet putts resulted in birdies on the 8th and the 13th to help him achieve two under 70 and this stupendous display saw him stay leader after four days absorbing play by several renowned pros. While saying that he did play well on the whole, Vijay Kumar emphasised that it was time he improved his chipping. Vivek Bhandari fired as many as five birdies on the 2nd, the 7th, the 15th, the 17th and the 8th where he got a 35-foot putt. He, however, carded bogeys on the 9th and the 14th holes. "I played well within myself on my home course", said Bhandari. Shiv Shankar Prasad
Chowrasia staged a remarkable comeback to win the third
spot. He got birdies on the 4th and the 8th. He however
bogeyed on the 7th to stay one under at the halfway mark.
He had two birdies and two bogeys in back nine to get a
card of one under 71 and jump to third position. Sanjeev Talwar, with an aggregate of 305 and a fourth day’s card of one under-71, became the champion among amateurs. Kapil Dev played one over 73 today. This gave him runner-up berth among amateurs. Sanjay Kumar (327) was third. Sanjeev Talwar’s
four-day tally was 75,82,77 and 71, while Kapil
Dev’s scores were 80,75,80,73. |
Dingko blamed for 'indiscipline' SHIMLA, April 2 — The National Boxing Federation has taken strong note of Dingko Singh not taking part in the boxing championship which was held at Vishakhapatnam from March 25 to 30. This was stated here today by Mr Rajesh Bhandari, secretary of the Indian Amateur Boxing Federation, on his return here from the championship. He said this act of his amounted to "indiscipline". Mr Bhandari said that the federation had selected 60 boxers and 7 coaches for the camp which would begin at Patiala on April 15. The coaching camp would be shifted in May. Two boxers, Sunil Rait and Shiv Ram Chaudhary, have been selected from Himachal Pradesh. He said the federation had started preparations for the Sydney Olympics scheduled in 2000. Indian boxers will participate in the Asian Boxing Championship at Tashkent from October 3 to 10. The federation has decided
to send boxers to Cuba in June for training and
competition before the Asian Boxing Championship. Those
who win the gold will qualify for the Olympics, he added. |
Veteran India-Pak match at Patiala PATIALA, April 2 — The Patiala Cricket Association will host a match between veteran teams of Pakistan and India here on April 5, according to the honorary secretary of the association. A number of former
Pakistan and Indian cricket stars will be seen in action
during the one-day tie. |
Punjab fencing body meeting PATIALA, April 2 — The executive committee and general body meeting of the Punjab Fencing Association will be held on April 4 here, according to Mr Brahm Mohindra, President of the association. Issues like conducting the
State Fencing Championships and participation of the
Punjab team in next year's National Games will be
discussed. |
H
Hardeep corners glory CHANDIGARH, April 2 (BOSR) — Hardeep Singh, a student of local DAV College, Sector 10, has done the city proud by winning the prestigious Junior Mr India title in the Junior National Body-building Championship which concluded on March 28 at Guntur (AP), according to a press note of the Chandigarh Amateur Body Building Association. Hardeep earlier won Mr Junior North India, Mr Panjab University, and Mr Chandigarh title. ACKFI clarifies CHANDIGARH, April 2 (BOSR) — The Amateur Circle Kabaddi Federation of India (ACKFI) which is affiliated with the Asian Amateur Circle Kabaddi Federation and the World Kabaddi Federation, through its secretary, Prof JP Sharma, has termed reports about the 'kabaddi meet' in Sangrur as totally false. In a signed press note, Mr Sharma said no such association existed and the ACKFI was the only recognised body whose players had recently participated in the international tournament held in Pakistan. Moreover, it is registered body since 1978 and has so far organised 12 national meets and has also fielded its players in various international tournaments. Top stars for athletic meet SANGRUR,
April 2 — Top athletes of the country have confirmed
their participation in the fourth All-India Athletic Meet
being held at the War Hero's Stadium on April 7 according
to Mr Baldev Singh, the athletics coach. This competition
is held every year in memory of the athletes killed in
the train accident in 1995. |
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