Magnus Norman upsets Kafelnikov in quarters
COMMACK (USA), Aug 28 — Unseeded Swede Magnus Norman upset top seed and world No 3 Yevgeny Kafelnikov of Russia 3-6, 6-3, 6-1, here yesterday to reach the ATP Hamlet Cup semifinals.

Chandigarh boy wins U-14 title
CHENNAI, Aug 28 — Maharashtra’s Megha Vakaria quelled the challenge of unseeded Preeti Rao 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 to claim the girls singles (U-16) title in the AITA-Mini/Sub-junior Tennis Tournament here today.

Statue of Bubka unveiled
KIEV, Aug 28 — Donetsk town hall officials have inaugurated a bronze statue in tribute to their six-time world champion pole vaulter Sergei Bubka, the Itar-Tass news agency reported yesterday.

Amritinder shoots two under par
KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 28 — Indian professional Amritinder Singh shot two under par 70 while his three other compatriots in the fray returned over par cards as S. Africa’s Nico Van Rensburg and Simon Yates of Scotland smashed the course record to top the leaderboard on the third day of the $ 200,000 Volvo Golf Masters here today.

Top teams for Subroto Cup
NEW DELHI, Aug 28 — Thirty-two schools in the junior and 24 in sub-junior section will vie for top honours in the prestigious Subroto Cup football tournament, starting here on September 1.

Heyns sets world mark
SYDNEY, Aug 28 — South African swimming sensation Penny Heyns set her fifth world record in under a week when she lowered her own 50 metres breaststroke mark in a special time trial at the Pan Pacific championships today.

India ‘B’ held by Zimbabwe
NEW DELHI, Aug 27 — India B were held to a 1-1 draw by Zimbabwe national team in the first match of the two-Test series amidst poor umpiring at Harare, Zimbabwe.

India finish fifth

Aussies beat India by 41 runs

COLOMBO, Aug 28 (PTI) — Opener Sadagopan Ramesh and all-rounder Robin Singh struck half-centuries but in vain after a miserable batting collapse as India crashed to a 41-run defeat against World Cup champions Australia to be on the verge of elimination in the AIWA Cup triangular one-day cricket tournament here today.

Stunned by skipper Sachin Tendulkar’s withdrawal after his back injury flared up once again, India were left reeling at 44 for five before eventually being bowled out for a respectable 211 with three balls to spare — India were also docked one over for slow over rate — chasing a stiff 252 for eight made by Australia on being asked to bat first by Ajay Jadeja.

Left-hander Ramesh (71 — 123b, 4x4) and Robin Singh (75 — 105b, 4x4, 1x6) compiled a fine partnership of 123 which only helped them prevent total embarrassment as India lost their third straight league match at the SSC ground.

With no points to their credit, India will have to beat Sri Lanka (two points) by a huge margin in the final league tie tomorrow to surpass their net run rate if they are to make the final against Australia, who completed their fourth straight win in a display of great motivation despite already making the summit round with a match to spare.

In-form opener Adam Gilchrist top-scored with 77 and hit up 110 runs for the second wicket with the promoted Andrew Symonds (45) before Ricky Ponting (32) and Darren Lehmann (28) made useful contributions to help their team cross the 250-run mark despite a late fightback by Indian bowlers.

India went into the match after suffering a major blow when Tendulkar, who experienced back stiffness at the nets yesterday, was ruled out of the crunch tie as he felt severe pain this morning.

Penalised one over by match referee Cammie Smith for slow over rate, India suffered a stunning batting collapse against the pace duo of Jason Gillespie and Glenn McGrath that ended the match as a contest long before Ramesh and Robin Singh showed character to re-build the innings and help improve the net run rate.

Gillespie, who snapped up four for 26 in his career-best effort, and the lanky McGrath who took two for 55, had half the batsmen gone in no time as India were in real danger of folding up quickly.

Ganguly, who began with a couple of fours, edged a lifter from McGrath to Shane Warne at second slip and Amay Khurasia, who had made 12 runs off 13 balls, committed harakiri as he lashed out at Gillespie to be bowled off the inner edge.

Australia:
M Waugh c R Dravid b J Srinath 18
Gilchrist c Srinath b N Chopra 77
Symonds c Dravid b Srinath 45
Ponting c sub (Shukla) b V Prasad 32
Lehmann run out 28
S Waugh c and b R Singh 6
Bevan b Prasad 7
Moody not out 14
Warne c sub (Shukla) b A Kumble 4
Gillespie not out 2

Extras (b 1, lb 10, w 5, nb 3) 19

Total (for eight wkts/50 overs) 252

Fall of wickets: 1/40, 2/150, 3/152, 4/200, 5/213, 6/227, 7/234, 8/244.

Bowling: Javagal Srinath 10-1-43-2, Venkatesh Prasad 10-0-29-2, Nikhil Chopra 10-0-62-1, Anil Kumble 9-0-48-1, Robin Singh 8-0-41-1, Saurav Ganguly 3-0-18-0.

India:

Ganguly c Warne b McGrath 8
Ramesh c M Waugh b
A Symonds 71
Khurasiya b J Gillespie 12
Dravid c A Gilchrist b Gillespie 0
Jadeja lbw b McGrath 0
Kambli c Gilchrist b Gillespie 3
Singh c Symonds b D Lehmann 75
Chopra run out 5
Srinath c Gilchrist b Gillespie 15
Kumble b Lehmann 4
Prasad not out 0

Extras (lb 4, nb 4, w 10) 18

Total (all out in 48.3 overs) 211

Fall of wickets: 1/8, 2/31, 3/31, 4/32, 5/44, 6/167, 7/173, 8/198, 9/211.

Bowling: Glenn McGrath 10-0-55-2, Jason Gillespie 9-1-26-4, Tom Moody 10-4-28-0, Andrew Symonds 7-0-32-1, Michael Bevan 5-0-21-0, Shane Warne 7-0-41-0, Darren Lehmann 0.3-0-4-2.

Greene wins 200 m with ease

SEVILLE, Aug 28 (Reuters) — Maurice Greene became the first man to complete the world 100-200 metres double then promised to go for another at next year’s Sydney Olympics.

Barring injuries or sudden loss of form, the American world 100 metres record holder is now on course to meet the current Olympic 200 metres champion and record holder Michael Johnson at the millennium games

After winning the 100 metres on Sunday in the second fastest time ever, Greene dominated the 200 metres final from start to finish to win in 19.90 seconds yesterday.

Greene had already drawn level with Nigerian Francis Obikwelu in the lane outside him after 50 metres and never looked in danger of losing the race.

The American came into the home straight a few strides ahead of the rest of the field and held off a late spurt from Brazilian Claudinei Quirino Da Silva, who grabbed second place in 20.00. Obikwelu was third in 20.11.

After his victory lap Greene, who also won the 100 metres world title two years ago, hugged compatriot and clubmate Inger Miller who just a few minutes earlier had won the women’s 200 metres final in 21.77.

Carl Lewis, the most prominent sprinter of the last two decades, completed the 100-200 metres double at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles but was never able to achieve the feat at a world championships.

“The 200 metres gold is more valuable at this time because I’ve done the 100 metres before and my body has had a lot of stress and I am very tired,’’ Greene said.

“To come out here and perform the way I did in the 200 metres is just great. I’ve done a lot here. After I saw Inger win I knew I had to come out here and do it for the group”.

Asked if he would be going for the double in the 2000 metres Sydney games, Greene said: “Of course....Once I set my mind on something, I go for it 100 per cent.’’

Greene’s path to the double was made easier by the withdrawal from the championships of his training partner Ato Boldon from Trinidad, who won the title at the 1997 Athens championships and was expected to be his main rival.

Namibian Frank Fredericks, the 1993 champion who finished second in Athens, also pulled out of the final because of injury problems.

Greene also believes he can beat Johnson’s 200 metres world record of 19.32 set at the 1996 Atlanta Games. Johnson added the 400 metres world record to his collection on Thursday.

AFP adds: China won their first medals of the championships as Liu Hongyu and Wang Yan finished first and second in the women’s 20-kilometre walk.

Wang became the first ever champion at the event, which has replaced women’s 10 km walk, as she led her team-mate into the stadium by just a stride to clock 1 hour 30 minutes 50 seconds.

Wang finished two seconds behind for silver, and Kerry Saxby-Junna, Australia’s stalwart walker, finally won her first world championship medal as she was placed third in 1:31:18.

Wang admitted that without the disqualification of Olga Kardopoltseva of Belarus for lifting she would have had problems getting a medal.

Saxby-Junna only moved into the bronze medal position in the final kilometre, when Natalya Fedoskina, of Russia, was disqualified, and left the course in tears.

There was also a high drop-out rate, as seven of the 50 starters failed to finish, including Italy’s 1997 10 km world champion, Annarita Sidoti.

Romania’s Gabriela Szabo retained the woman’s 5000 metres title, finishing in 14 minutes 41.82 seconds. Morocco’s Zahra Ouaziz (14:43.15) took the silver and Ethiopia’s Ayelech Worku (14:44.22) the bronze.

Hurdler Engquist wins 100 m semis

SEVILLE, Aug 28 (AP) — Ludmila Engquist was overcome by her remarkable run last evening at the world championships.

The Swedish hurdler, a cancer patient, shook with tears after winning her 100-metres semifinal in 12.50 seconds, the fastest time Engquist has run in two years and the second-best clocking by anyone this season.

Running in lane four, Engquist was fast out of the blocks and never challenged for the victory. She pumped her fists as she crossed the finish line, then looked at the scoreboard and put her face in her hands.

“I have never cried after a race before. And this was the semifinals!” Engquist said, her voice cracking. “I collapsed into tears when I saw the time. It was too much.”

Glory Alozie of Nigeria was second in 12.61 while American Gail Devers, the world champion in 1993 and 1995, won the other semifinal in 12.70 seconds.

Engquist was diagnosed with breast cancer in March, and had mastectomy the next month. Her doctors suggested she wait six weeks before exercising, but Engquist began doing squats beside her hospital bed just 24 hours after surgery. She was using small weights after five days to build arm strength.

Engquist undergoes her fifth of six debilitating chemotherapy treatments on Thursday.

The two-time world titlist and reigning Olympic champion returned to competition on July 30, stating her goal was to be among the top eight hurdlers at the world championships.

“Anything can happen now,” her husband and manager, Johan, said last evening. “Her goal had been to make the final, and now that she’s in the final, she will go for it.”

Engquist last posted 12.50 seconds in winning the gold medal at the 1997 world championships, in Athens, Greece.

“I think 12.44 or 12.45 will win the gold and I don’t know if I can get there,” Engquist said. “Of course, after yesterday, my ambition was to run 12.60 and I did 12.50. I just don’t know how. I don’t know anything anymore.”

She has won each of her three qualifying heats in Seville to establish herself as a strong contender - along with Devers - to take the gold medal.

Magnus Norman upsets Kafelnikov in quarters

COMMACK (USA), Aug 28 (AFP) — Unseeded Swede Magnus Norman upset top seed and world No 3 Yevgeny Kafelnikov of Russia 3-6, 6-3, 6-1, here yesterday to reach the ATP Hamlet Cup semifinals.

Dictating the tempo of the game in the first set, two-time Hamlet Cup winner Kafelnikov was up a break in the second set before a series of unforced errors put Norman back into the match.

Norman will next face Australia’s Jason Stoltenberg, who received a walkover when Swede Thomas Johansson withdrew from his quarterfinal match due to a viral infection affecting the lining and the muscles of his heart.

Spain’s Alex Corretja and Czech Daniel Vacek will meet in the other semifinal.

Corretja rallied from a break down in third set to beat Sweden’s Thomas Enqvist 7-6 (10/8), 2-6, 7-6 (7/1) in two hours and 36 minutes. Vacek beat compatriot Bohdan Ulihrach 6-2, 6-3.

Kafelnikov’s serve deteriorated so much that he lost his serve and his temper after missing eight consecutive first serves. Norman, whose three 1999 titles in Orlando, Stuttgart and Umag all came on clay, took charge by breaking Kafelnikov to open the third set and again in the fifth game.

Kafelnikov remains confident about his chances at the US Open, which begins on Monday in New York. “No problem at all,” Kafelnikov said. Corretja, a wild card entrant ranked 13th, slammed 16 aces to beat Enqvist.

BROOKLINE (AP): Unseeded Sjeng Schalken of the Netherlands upset second-seeded Marcelo Rios of Chile 7-5, 6-0 in the quarterfinals of the US Pro Championships at Longwood Cricket Club.

In the semifinals, Schalken, who beat Rios in the 1997 championship match at Longwood, will face Marat Safin of Russia, who defeated David Prinosil of Germany 6-4, 6-2.

The other will have top-seeded Greg Rusedski of the UK, a 7-5, 6-3 winner over No 8 Jonas Bjorkman of Sweden, against unseeded Arnaud Clement of France, who beat fifth-seeded countryman Sebastian Grosjean 1-6, 6-4, 6-3.

Rios, ranked No 1 in the world for six weeks in 1998 and 10th in the current ATP rankings, broke Schalken’s service to take a 2-0 lead in the first set Friday night’s quarterfinals match. But Rios claimed he never felt good.

Schalken held service in the third game and finally broke Rios to even the set 4-4. He held in a love game and then broke Rios to take the opening set.

Schalken easily took the second set as Rios double-faulted five times.

Rusedski, known for his powerful serve, changed his focus to his return game.

Bjorkman broke Rusedski in the opening game of the match, but Rusedski fought back to take a 5-4 lead in the first set.

Rusedski took a 4-1 lead in the second set before Bjorkman challenged. Playing his best tennis of the night, he closed the gap to 4-3 on serve. Rusedski again broke back for a 5-3 lead, and then served out for the match.

Clement and Grosjean train together.

Grosjean used effective groundstrokes in taking the first set and seemed headed for a sure win. Clement broke Grosjean in the ninth game of the second set with a powerful forehand. He then served out to take the set and had full control thereafter.

The sixth-seeded Safin took over his match after a two-hour rain delay, leading Prinosil 3-2. He controlled the action from the baseline, dominating with nine aces and 21 of 26 points off his first serve.

NEW HAVEN (AFP): Americans Lindsay Davenport and Venus Williams reached the final of the WTA international after contrasting victories here last night.

Davenport struggled to gain control over unseeded Romanian Ruxandra Dragomir but took a 4-6, 6-2, 6-0 victory, while Williams assured herself a career-high No 3 ranking by beating Monica Seles 6-1, 6-3.

Top-seeded Davenport failed to find any rhythm in the opening set against an opponent who had warmed up by winning the third set of her quarterfinal match with eighth seed Sandrine Testud, winning 5-7, 6-4, 7-5 after the match had been suspended overnight after two sets.

While the Romanian caught Davenport with several dropshots and well placed passes, Davenport floundered. She failed to deliver on her first serve, and often made wild errors when under no real pressure.

Dragomir led 2-1 and 30-0 on the American’s serve in the second set before Davenport managed to dig her heels in and turn the match around against a rapidly tiring opponent.

Williams simply overpowered Seles, jumping to a 4-0 lead with fierce groundstokes and volleys that gave Seles no chance to gaining.

Serving well and winning two of her three service games in the first set with aces, she was ready to exploit Seles’ weak second serve, gaining two breaks with winning returns.

Seles briefly threatened to stage a comeback in second set, holding a break point at 1-3, but she returned a cannonball service from Williams wide.

Chandigarh boy wins U-14 title

CHENNAI, Aug 28 (PTI) — Maharashtra’s Megha Vakaria quelled the challenge of unseeded Preeti Rao 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 to claim the girls singles (U-16) title in the AITA-Mini/Sub-junior Tennis Tournament here today.

The boys under-14 title went to fourth-seed Chatwinder Singh of Chandigarh, who outlasted top-seed Vikrant Sane of Maharashtra 2-6, 7-6 (7/1), 7-5 in a final that lasted nearly three hours.

In the girls (U-14), tiny Sanna Bhambri’s (fourth seed-Delhi) game came unstuck against top seed Isha Lakhani of Maharashtra, who secured the title downing Bhambri 6-1, 6-1.

In the Megha-Preeti Rao match, top seeded megha found the range of her strokes in the crucial eighth game of the third set to beat Preeti, who impressed a good crowd with some fantastic running shots.

After they shared a set apiece, Preeti was leading 4-2 in the decider and had a chance to go up 5-3 but found her serve going awry in the eighth game. She sent down a string of double faults to be 15-40 down, but managed to force the game to deuce four times, before two backhand winners from Megha got her the break (4-4).

Megha then served out a love game. Preeti, who expended a lot of energy running down the shots, was 30-40 down on serve in the ninth game and Megha clinched the point and match drilling a forehand winner.

The boys’ singles (U-16) final between second seed C.S. Mohanty (Delhi) and seventh seed Vivek Jhaveri (Maharashtra) will be held later in the evening.

Statue of Bubka unveiled

KIEV, Aug 28 (AFP) — Donetsk town hall officials have inaugurated a bronze statue in tribute to their six-time world champion pole vaulter Sergei Bubka, the Itar-Tass news agency reported yesterday.

The news comes day after Bubka, who is not competing in the seventh World Championships, finally surrendered the title he has held since the inaugural World Championships in 1983 to Maksim Tarasov.

Bubka, 35 and also a former Olympic champion, was the only athlete to win world titles in each of the first six championships in an event he dominated, first with the Soviet Union and later with Ukraine.

The legendary athlete was joined by his family in his home town for the ceremony. The new statue is opposite the city’s Lokomotiv football stadium.

Thousands packed into the square to pay tribute to their most famous citizen.

“I guess, I just added a ‘bronze’ to my collection,” joked the Ukrainian.

“I wished I could have been in Seville to compete but you haven’t seen the last of me. I’ll be back next year.”

The life size statue of Bubka, holding a pole, stands on a column measuring precisely 6.14 metres — his current world record.

Amritinder shoots two under par

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 28 (UNI) — Indian professional Amritinder Singh shot two under par 70 while his three other compatriots in the fray returned over par cards as S. Africa’s Nico Van Rensburg and Simon Yates of Scotland smashed the course record to top the leaderboard on the third day of the $ 200,000 Volvo Golf Masters here today.

Chandigarh’s Amritinder Singh with a total of five under par 213 (71,72,70) moved up by four slots, from 27th to 23rd place in the penultimate round.

Calcutta’s Firoz Ali who was lying 20th at the end of the second round had a poor day today as he shot three over par 75 and with a total of one under par 215 (70,70,75) and slipped to 32nd place.

Arjun Singh and Indrajit Bhalotia, both from Calcutta, also had a tough round and slipped further down the leaderboard.

Arjun, who was at 35th slot yesterday went down by 15 places as he shot two over par 74 to aggregate two over par 218 (72,72,74).

Indrajit had a one over par 73 to total two over par 218 (72,73,73) to share the joint 51st place with Arjun Singh.

Van Rensburg fired an eight under par 64 to take the lead on 14 under par 202, while Yates carded a 63 and lies two stroke behind.

Top teams for Subroto Cup

NEW DELHI, Aug 28 (PTI) — Thirty-two schools in the junior and 24 in sub-junior section will vie for top honours in the prestigious Subroto Cup football tournament, starting here on September 1.

Top teams from the states besides SAIL, SAI, Army boys and NCC, which qualified via zonal and state-level events, have confirmed their participation in the annual tournament to be played at the Ambedkar Stadium here, Sq Ldr S.K. Singh, Secretary, Subroto Mukherjee Sports Education Society, told reporters here last night.

The organisers have also invited champion school teams from SAARC countries — Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Confirmation from them is still awaited.

In the junior section - for 15 to 17-years-olds — the teams including defending champions Mamata School, Delhi, have been divided into eight groups for the qualifying league, the group topper making it to the knock-out quarterfinals, starting on September 11.

The semifinals will be played on September 19 and 20 and the final is slated for September 29.

In the sub-junior section – (11-14 year) also, the teams have been divided into eight groups for the league phase. The quarterfinals will be played from September 23, the semis on 26th and the final on September 28.

Besides the rolling trophies for the winners and runners-up in each section, a fairplay trophy for sub-junior group will be awarded in the memory of Lt Sundeep Lumba.

Five outstanding players from the junior group will be awarded a scholarship of Rs 2,500 while in the sub-junior group six scholarship of Rs 2,500 each will be given.

The society will also select 30 outstanding players in the junior section and 16 in sub-junior, and recommend them to NIS, Patiala for government scholarship, the Secretary said.

Meanwhile, the organisers have announced strict measures to ensure that the teams adhere to age group limitations, following allegations of cheating against some teams last year, Air Marshal D.C. Dhyani, Vice-Chairman of the society said.

A special vigilance team which also includes doctors will be set up to probe any such complaints, he added.

Heyns sets world mark

SYDNEY, Aug 28 (Reuters) — South African swimming sensation Penny Heyns set her fifth world record in under a week when she lowered her own 50 metres breaststroke mark in a special time trial at the Pan Pacific championships today.

But Australia dual Olympic champion Kieren Perkins failed to qualify for the final of the 1,500 metres freestyle, blaming a bug for a lacklustre performance in the heats. The performance cast serious doubt on the 26-year-old’s dream of competing at next year’s Sydney Olympics.

Heyns had already broken three world records this week, in the heats of the 100 metres breaststroke and in the semifinals and finals of the 200 metres.

Today, she was out alone again — literally — as she took to the water for a crack at the world mark of 30.95 seconds she set in New York last August. Pushing firmly and smoothly through the Sydney Olympic Pool, Heyns hit the wall in 30.83, slicing 0.12 seconds from her record.

The 50 metres is not an Olympic event and is not raced at the Pan Pacific championships but the time is approved by world governing body FINA as a world record. FINA gave Heyns permission for the time trial.

Heyns (24) has now broken eight world records in the space of six weeks. It was also the 11th world record of the Sydney meet, which has seen new marks set on all seven days.

Perkins, the veteran of the host team, had to beat fellow Australian Craig Stevens in his 1,500 metres heat to be guaranteed a place in tomorrow’s final.

But struggling visibly throughout the race, he could only manage a time of 15 minutes 28.43 seconds, well outside his own world record of 14:41.66.

Stevens hit the wall in 15:23.34, behind the powerful young American Chris Thompson, who was the fastest qualifier in 15:11.52.

Australia’s 19-year-old world champion Grant Hackett cruised through heat two to qualify second-fastest in 15:12.64, ahead of South Africa’s Ryk Neethling in 15:22.85.

Hackett has had a poor meet in the Sydney Olympic pool because of a flu-like virus and has had to play second fiddle on the Australian team to record-breaking youngster Ian Thorpe.

But he was sufficiently comfortable in Saturday’s heats to switch to doggy-paddle at the 1,100 metres mark to have a good look at the overhead timeboard.

Perkins has now one last chance to regain the form and speed which saw him come from behind to grab his second Olympic gold at the 1996 Atlanta games.

If he cannot beat Stevens at next May’s Australian National Champion-ships, he will not make Australia’s team for the Sydney Olympics.

India ‘B’ held by Zimbabwe

NEW DELHI, Aug 27 (PTI) — India B were held to a 1-1 draw by Zimbabwe national team in the first match of the two-Test series amidst poor umpiring at Harare, Zimbabwe.

The Indian team, led by international Rajesh Chouhan on a twin African tour of Zimbabwe and Kenya, went into lead in the 14th minute via Parminder Singh after the spadework by halfback Baljit Singh Chandi in the match played on Tuesday.

The hosts levelled before the end of the first half through a penalty corner conversion by Mike, according to information reaching here today.

The Indians could have won the match but were denied a penalty stroke by the umpire when a Zimbabwean defender stopped the ball with his body on the goalline.

India finish fifth

CHENNAI, Aug 28 (PTI) — India’s Ashok Kumar and Sandeep Syal played superbly to return sub-par scores, but their effort was not sufficient to improve India’s position from its fifth spot at the International Junior Golf Championship, which ended at the north course in New Seoul (Korea) yesterday.

Sandeep Syal’s three under par 72 was the third round’s best two scores, while Ashok Kumar carded a two under par 72 today, according to a press release from the Indian Golf Union (IGU).