Tuesday, February 16, 1999
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S P O R T | Tuesday, February 16, 1999 |
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Pak plagued by injuries |
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Pak plagued by injuries CALCUTTA, Feb 15 (PTI) — India’s strength and ability to handle pressure in crunch situations will come under severe Test when they lock horns with traditional rivals Pakistan in the inaugural match of the Asian Test Championship beginning here tomorrow. With the honours shared 1-1 in the recent Test series, both teams would be determined to prove their superiority in what promises to be a classic battle of nerves and skill. The historic Eden Gardens provides the perfect stage for the high-voltage drama to unfold and Indian captain Mohammed Azharuddin would be hoping that the ground, which has witnessed many glorious moments in Indian cricket history, would prove lucky again. But more than the luck factor, the Indians have to play to their full potential to counter Pakistan which does have the bowling resources to rock the hosts and embarrass them in front of their home crowd. The complete recovery of batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar from the back injury has served as a morale-booster for the Indians determined to launch their Asian Test Championship campaign on a triumphant note. Unlike the Indians, Pakistan have been plagued by injury problems to some of the senior players like Salim Malik, Inzamam-ul-Haq and Mushtaq Ahmed which has come as a big jolt on the eve of the crucial encounter. Leg spinner Mushtaq Ahmed has been ruled out because of a stiff neck and off-spinner Arshad Khan has already flown in from Lahore as his replacement. Veteran Salim Malik, the most experienced of the Pakistani batsmen, was down with viral fever while Inzamam struck against the roof of the bus while boarding it at the airport yesterday and hurt his neck. He was taken to a city nursing home late last night and an X-ray did not reveal any injury which should mean that the burly middle order batsman would take the field on the morrow. The Pakistan think-tank have preferred to wait till tomorrow before announcing their playing eleven, giving their injured players more time to recover and prove their fitness. The Indians were likely to retain the same team that scripted the resounding 212-run victory against Pakistan in the Delhi Test which saw leg spinner Anil Kumble hit the headlines with his monumental feat of capturing all 10 wickets in an innings. The Indians have been known to be a formidable side at home but the fact that some batsmen and bowlers, in times of crisis, have not played match-winning roles has been a little disturbing for the team management. Despite having a number of talented players in their ranks, the Indians have tended to rely too much on Tendulkar and Kumble and it was time other players contributed in a bigger way to reduce the load on the star duo. India had its moments of glory in some historic wins against Pakistan, but often the hosts have succumbed when the contests have been close and it is this aspect that would keep coach Anshuman Gaekwad a little bit worried. Though the Indians have put up a confident front, wily off spinner Saqlain Mushtaq tormented the much-vaunted Indian batting line-up in both matches of the Test series and the home team will have to be more positive in tackling him. India’s new opening combination of Sadagopan Ramesh and VVS Laxman has given a couple of decent starts but Laxman has not been able to build up his knock after getting his eye in. While left-handed Ramesh has grabbed the opportunity with both hands almost scoring a century at Delhi, Laxman is yet to come up with a substantial score. The pair has to give a solid start to ease the pressure on the middle order batsmen. For captain Azharuddin, the Eden Gardens has proved to be a happy hunting ground and he would be hoping that his ‘dream ground’ would inspire another magical knock from his bat. Local star Saurav Ganguly and the reliable Rahul Dravid have given ample display of their class in recent years but it remains to be seen how they fare in the surcharged atmosphere of the Eden Gardens. The team winning a match in the championship would be awarded 12 points while in case of drawn match no points would be awarded to either team, except for bonus points earned in batting and bowling in the first 100 overs. Security arrangements have been tightened in and around the Eden Gardens to ensure that no untoward incident takes place during the five days. The teams: India (from): Mohammed Azharuddin (capt), S Ramesh, VVS Laxman, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Saurav Ganguly, Nayan Mongia, Javagal Srinath, Anil Kumble, Venkatesh Prasad, Harbhajan Singh, Sunil Joshi, Hrishikesh Kanitkar, Laxmi Ratan Shukla. Pakistan (from): Wasim Akram (capt), Saeed Anwar, Shahid Afridi, Ijaz Ahmed, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Yousuf Youhana, Salil Malik, Moin Khan, Arshad Khan, Saqlain Mushtaq, Waqar Younis, Nadeem Khan, Azhar Mehmood, Shoaib Akhtar. Umpires: Steve Bucknor (WI) and David Orchard (SA). Third Umpire: KT Francis (Sri Lanka). Hours of play: 9.30 am to
11.30 am, 12.10 pm to 2.10 pm, and 2.30 pm to 4.30 pm. |
Lacklustre meet in the offing IMPHAL, Feb 15 (PTI) — With most of the stars deciding to take a break after the December Bangkok Asian Games campaign, the national games athletic meet beginning here tomorrow is unlikely to raise the competition to any great heights. Double Asiad gold medallist Jyotirmoyee Sikdar (Bengal), Paramjit Singh (Punjab) and fellow quartermilers Jata Shankar, Lijo David and Dinesh Rawat, distance runner Gulab Chand (UP) woman discus thrower Neelam J. Singh (Punjab) and the cream of men’s throwers have decided to opt out thus taking away all glamour from the five-day meet. There will, however, be some proven quality on view as distance runner Bahadur Prasad (Delhi) and woman Rosa Kutty (Karnataka), who claimed the 800 m silver at Bangkok, K.M. Beenamol (Kerala-400/800) and Jincy Philips (Delhi-400 m) will be taking part while short sprints should be a toss up between Amit Khanna, Vikram Singh (both Delhi) and C. Thirugnanadurai (Tamil Nadu). Ramachandran (Tamil Nadu), member of Bangkok men’s 4x400m relay silver-winning squad is here, but has decided not to run the 400 m, leaving Manoj K. Lal (Kerala) and Prabhjot Singh (Punjab) to fight it out for gold. Anil Mathew (Gujarat) will be the front-runner for the men’s 800 m title. Among women, V. Jeyalakshmi (Tamil Nadu) will be a top bet for the 100 m and 200 m. Athletic competition is one of the major events severely hit by lack of top participation in the games with the Amateur Athletic Federation of India (AAFI) also keen that prominent athletes follow the training system which will keep them in top shape for international meets. The busy opening day will witness eight medals being decided in the men’s high jump, 3000m steeple chase, 200m and women’s 200 m, 800 m, 100m hurdles, long jump and shot put. The "soft" track laid out at the Khuman Lampak stadium here has come for praise from all athletes, who compared it to the one at the Sai centre in Bangalore, which remains the favourite for training among the campers. The overall confusion regarding information also reigned in athletics with even the participants list not ready. National coach Bahadur Singh himself was not certain about participation and modifications were still being made to the athletic programme. The marathon is slated for February 17, 50 km walk for February 18, the 20 km walk and the glamour events, the 100m for men and women will come off on the final day. A total of 375 participants, including 125 women from 18 states would vie for the largest number of 192 medals in the eight-day meet. However, Maharashtra’s key female swimmer Zeba Wadia, who won three gold medals in Bangalore and men’s 100 m freestyle hopeful Shane Peddar have not come as they are busy preparing for their examinations, dimming the states’ medal hopes. The water in the pool was greenish and the Maharashtra manager Jay G. Apte complained the swimmers were unable to see the lane markings which might prove a major hindrance. Swimming Federation of India president K.N. Kapoor said due to frequent load shedding in the last few days the organisers were unable to switch on the filters leading to such a situation. Eight teams, including defending champions Maharashtra, are slated to take part in men’s waterpolo, which also begins tomorrow. Delhi, Punjab, Bihar, Manipur, Bengal, Kerala and Services are the other teams. In the women’s event, Maharashtra would strive to retain the title fighting competitors Manipur, Bengal, Kerala and Karnataka. Maharashtra has fielded strong sides with the men’s team including four players who represented the country in Bangkok Asiad — Kunal Vankudre, Vilas Deshmukh, Ranjit Shrutriya and Sailesh Bangale. Bengal, Manipur and
Services in the men’s section and Kerala and Bengal
in the women’s category are expected to give them
tough competition. |
Punjab lucky to escape with draw IMPHAL, Feb 15 (PTI) — Defending champions Kerala were held to a goalless draw by formidable Punjab while hosts Manipur edged out Maharashtra by a solitary first half goal in opening group league encounters of the fifth National Games men’s football competition here today. The Kerala-Punjab group ‘A’ tie at the Mapal Kangjeibung stadium started on a sedate note but livened up in the second session with both teams desperately looking for a goal. Punjab were lucky to escape with a draw as the woodwork came in the way of a Kerala strike seven minutes from close. Left winger KN Manoj’s firm left footer from about 20 yards foxed Punjab custodian Jasvir Singh, but then hit the cross bar and rebounded into play. Punjab also came close to scoring four minutes later, but Bachittar Singh’s lob following a Sohan Singh long pass was headed out for a corner by Siva Kumar two yards from the goalline. Manipur, cheered on by a sizeable home crowd at the Kondompokpai Stadium, played their hearts out to upset Maharashtra in the group ‘B’ encounter. Mohammad Azizur Rahman scored the only goal of the match in the 25th minute of the first half with a snap right footer following a Bonomali Singh pass. Kerala and Punjab both started on a cautious note, trying to size up their opponents in the first session, when play was mainly confined to the midfield. The two teams played some erratic soccer in the initial stages, and the first positive chance came in Punjab’s way in the 29th minute, when VS Negi’s right footer was just off-target. Punjab got another chance six minutes after but Sohan Singh failed to unleash a proper shot. With both teams pressing hard in the second session, the standard of the game improved substantially and in the 71st minute following a lob from the right, an unmarked Sohan Singh could not put his head to the ball from inside the box. Kerala had a chance seven minutes later, but Bonyface’s outstep shot dipped in and brushed past the bar. Kerala attacked mainly down the left in the first half, with speedy winger Manoj making repeated forays. They got a boost late in the second session after Afhif Saheer replaced S Arnest and created havoc in the opponent defence with his incisive runs and good ball control. But the Punjab defence managed to ward off the attacks and the match ended goalless.
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Vikramjit claims fencing gold IMPHAL, Feb 15 (PTI) — Punjab and Karnataka opened the medal count in the fifth National Games with their fencers claiming the men’s individual foil and girls epee team event gold medals on the opening day of competitions here today. Young Punjab fencer Vikramjit Singh Dhillon hoisted the first medal of the games by claiming the men’s individual foil gold, outduelling Lakshmikant of Karnataka 10-6 in the final, pushing the latter to silver standard. Punjab also claimed a second medal through Mathew Anne, who claimed the bronze along with Chittaranjan Meitei of Manipur at the Regional Institute of Medical Sciences hall. Last year’s overall champions Karnataka made a splendid start to their campaign when they cornered the girls epee team gold medal. In the summit clash,
Karnataka girls beat Madhya Pradesh 2-1. Manipur and
Punjab claimed bronze medals. |
Punjab win 2 gold in equestrian IMPHAL, Feb 15 (UNI) — Punjab proved their superiority in horse mastership claiming the first two gold that were decided in the equestrian event on the opening day of the fifth National Games here today. Punjab won the dressage team championship title with 905 points while veteran Talwinder Singh of Punjab Police aggregated 305 points to clinch the gold in the individual event. Talwinder was closely followed by compatriot Jagdish Singh with 303 points for the silver. Karnataka’s Mariba Shetty bagged 291 points for the bronze medal. In the dressage team
championship, Karnataka and debutant Assam tallied 837
and 727 points respectively to earn the silver and bronze
medals. |
Delhi, Bihar make winning start IMPHAL, Feb 15 (UNI) — Last year's runners-up Bihar and strong contenders Delhi started their campaign in men's basketball of the fifth National Games on a winning note defeating Bengal 103-58 and Manipur 83-63, respectively, at Kamal Indoor Stadium here today. In a group "A" match, Maharashtra women thrashed Karnataka 78-45 while, in the group "B" the Madhya Pradesh women had an easy sailing past hosts Manipur 53-33. The day's best match was, however, played between Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh in the men's section in group "A". Tamil Nadu, who were trailing 29-35 at half time, came from behind to wrap up the match at 63-55. In the first match of the day, Bihar did not face any difficulty in defeating a weak Bengal side. The winners opened up a comfortable lead right from the word go and led 53-31 at half time. For Bihar, skipper Jaidee Dhaliwal top scored with 27 points which included three 3-pointers. Cyril Mirao also impressed with his shooting prowess, basketting 14 points (2 three-points) for his team. Surajit Day and Amalendu Sinha caged 14 and 10 points, respectively, for Bengal. In the Delhi-Manipur encounter in group "B", the powerful Delhi men did not allow Manipur open up though the latter outwitted the winners on the speed front. At half time, Delhi led 49-28. For Delhi, Sandeep Singh alone caged 32 points, while Nitin Jagota and Vinay Sheoran scored 14 and 15 points, respectively. Both had three 3-pointers to their credit. In the women's section in group "B", Manipur was outplayed by Madhya Pradesh. The hosts made a shaky beginning which was capitalised upon by the winners. At half time Madhya Pradesh led 37-10. Though in the second half, the hosts came back strongly. The lead was too huge to bridge. Despite some handsome caging by L. Roma, Manipur had to concede the match 33-53. For Madhya Pradesh Savita Deshwal and Neelan Sahu basketted 12 and 14 points, respectively. The Tamil Nadu-Andhra Pradesh tie produced some excellent basketball while the Andhra men sprinted into the lead from the start (9-3, 15-4) and maintained it till half time (35-29). Tamil Nadu staged a spectacular comeback in the closing moments to pull off the most exciting victory of the championship so far (63-55). Vishal Kumar did the bulk of scoring for the losers (20 points) followed by Hariprasad who bagged 12 points. Sarvanan (28 points), Shreedharan (11 points) and Jayshankar (10 points) saved the day for Tamil Nadu. In group "A" match, Maharashtra riding on the shooting abilities of Pradnya Mane (17 points) and Arnika Gujar (18 points) beat Karnataka 78-45. Pavithra (10) and Prathima
(9) were the highest contributors for Karnataka. |
Delhi down AP in tennis IMPHAL, Feb 15 (PTI) — Maharashtra beat lowly Arunachal Pradesh and Delhi downed Andhra Pradesh in the inaugural group ‘A’ men’s league matches as National Games tennis competition began with team’s quarterfinal league ties here today. Delhi, comprising two top juniors carved out a facile win with Vishal Uppal downing Anjan Viplab Kumar 6-1 7-5 before Vijay Kannan sealed the tie with a surprisingly easy 6-2 6-2 win over Vasudev Reddy. Maharashtra also had it easy against their northeastern rivals Arunachal Pradesh. Mustafa Ghouse wrapped up the first singles against Duggan Atte 6-0, 6-0 before Vijaytendra Laad inflicted a similar defeat on Anand Lamcham in the lopsided contest at the Officers Club here today. Anjan Viplab Kumar of Andhra Pradesh went down to Vishal Uppal after putting up a brave fight in the second set. But Vasudev Reddy failed to counter Vijay Kannan’s powerful smashes and clever placings to lose tamely. In group ‘B’, Tamil Nadu breezed past hosts Manipur, who failed to win a single game. Manoj Mahadevan blanked Karan Gome and Vinod Sridhar thrashed Meghan Singh. Despite the ties being settled, both Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur wanted the final doubles rubber to be played as they contended that they rarely got a chance to play against good opposition. In doubles,
Maharashtra’s Asif Ismail and Gaurav Natekar
defeated Namcham and S. Paul 6-0 6-0 to make it 3-0. |
Maharashtra eves trounce Delhi IMPHAL, Feb 15 (UNI) — Formidable Maharashtra began their quest for the women’s hockey gold in style as they blanked Delhi 4-0 in a lopsided encounter in the fifth National Games here today. Although the Delhi girls were expected to put up a tough fight in this inaugural match in the newly-constructed hockey stadium, Maharashtra were far superior and comprehensively outclassed their opponents in all departments of the game. So dominating were the Maharashtra girls that they pumped in as many as three goals in the first half and another after the lemon break to complete the tally. But they had to wait for 21 minutes before they scored their first goal although they had forced three penalty corners in the first ten minutes. Captain Shivani scored the first goal while Nadia Sayeed (28th minute) and Ashwini (34th minute) scored the other two in the second half Shivani completed the tally when she scored the fourth goal. After the break, Delhi tried to regroup and forced two penalty corners, but their finishing was too weak and the forwardline literally non-existing as they became too defensive.
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Tough fight likely in men's archery IMPHAL, Feb 15 (PTI) — The men’s archery event at the fifth National Games is likely to witness a tough fight with all 16 competing states fielding strong teams. But the battle for the top honours in the women’s event is expected to be limited to Bihar and West Bengal with just eight states participating. Skaljang Dorjee
(Himachal), Rajesh Hansdak (Orissa) and Satyadev Prasad
(Uttar Pradesh) who reached the pre quarter finals at the
Bangkok Asian Games would be in the fray in the
men’s section, beginning tomorrow. |
Tennis team leaves for Seoul NEW DELHI, Feb 15 (PTI) — A full-strength Indian Davis Cup team spearheaded by Leander Paes left for Seoul early this morning for its first round Asia-Oceania zonal tie against South Korea from February 19 to 21. India number one Paes, Mahesh Bhupathi, Prahlad Srinath and Syed Fazaluddin will contest against formidable Asian Games champions Korea with the five-match rubber expected to be evenly-poised. Former Davis Cupper Jaideep Mekherjea is the non-playing captain with Enrico Piperno as coach and Dr Vece Paes as team doctor. The Indians had a very short workout yesterday with Srinath and Fazaluddin stroking at the DLTA, but Paes and Bhupathi preferred to stay indoors after their hectic schedule for the past few weeks. The top doubles combination of Paes and Bhupathi, after reaching the first grand slam final at the Australian Open last month, failed to defend their Dubai Open title. India will depend on Paes, now ranked 86 after his triumph at the Calcutta ATP Challenger, and Bhupathi (258) who have had crucial practice of singles competition. The players will get four days to acclimatise to the cold conditions in Korea which will be the host’s advantage. For India, winning the doubles tie in the five-match rubber will be crucial to move ahead. The zonal competition will be held on hard court surface. Winners of this tie will meet New Zealand. The Kiwis beat China last week to win their first-round in the Asia-Oceania zonal competition. India beat South Korea 3-2 at home when they last met in a Davis Cup rubber. Korea’s Chang-Wie Jong defeated Paes and after India went 2-1 up winning the second singles and the doubles ties. The Korean beat Ramesh Krishnan to help his team level 2-2. It was then left to Paes who won a thrilling second reverse singles to put India into the World Group and himself on the international scene. India have been dominating since then. They beat Korea in the final of the ATF Asia Cup here in 1997 and though the two teams did not meet in the 1998 edition, the hosts retained the title with a fantastic win over Uzbekistan who eliminated Korea in the semifinals. Korea, however, turned the
tables in the Bangkok Asian Games when they beat India in
the semifinals before going on to win the gold. The
Indians were, however, playing without Paes who was
nursing a bone spur on left ankle in Orlando, Florida. |
Give fitness proof, Kambli, Agarkar told MUMBAI, Feb 15 (PTI) — The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) would insist on fitness certificates from Mumbai stars Vinod Kambli and Ajit Agarkar before considering them while pruning the 30-member World Cup probables list to 19. Announcing this here today, the BCCI secretary, Mr Jaywant Lele, said that it was imperative for the two players to produce medical proof that they were fully fit before the selectors meet to prune down the list in time to meet the February 28 deadline. Mr Lele said the selectors will meet on February 27 at a venue yet to be decided and not on February 19 at Calcutta as was announced by the BCCI Executive Secretary, Mr Sharad Diwadkar. According to Mumbai Cricket Association sources, Agarkar, who suffered a stress fracture prior to the Indian squad’s departure for New Zealand in December, had started practising seriously and is expected to produce the requisite certificate. But a big question mark lies over the fitness of Kambli who has started playing in domestic tournaments with a cast around his ankle. Kambli was out of action for nearly seven months after an ankle injury sustained while fielding as a substitute in the triangular series tie against Zimbabwe at Cuttack last April. Mumbai coach Ashok Mankad had been quoted in an interview to have said that Kambli is not yet fully fit and is unable to run sideways or to stop and start running again. Both Agarkar and Kambli
have been named in the 30-member preliminary list. |
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poised for 1st innings lead NEW DELHI, Feb 15 (PTI) - Sluggish Delhi batsmen looked set for a first innings lead as they defended Tamil Nadu’s attack well to be 184 for four at close on the second day of the four-day super league Ranji Trophy cricket match here today. Delhi skipper Ajay Sharma (51 batting - 185b, 5x4) put on 96 runs for the fourth wicket with Aakash Malhotra (53). The hosts, after dismissing the visitors for 239 with Ashish Nehra picking up his sixth wicket of the innings, were 55 runs behind on the first innings with six wickets in hand, and with pitch not helping the bowlers, Delhi should take first innings lead and assure themselves at least five points. TN speedster S. Mahesh scalped opener Devender Sharma (3) when the batsman edged an outswinger to R.C. Vasant in second slip and Delhi were one for seven. Ashu Dani (41) and Aakash Chopra (14) compiled 46 runs for the second wicket before Chopra was trapped plumb before the wicket by Robin Singh. A well-set Dani threw away his wicket when he came out to slog right-arm off-spinner Subbiah but missed the line of the delivery and wicketkeeper T.R. Arasu stumped him cleanly. Ajay Sharma and Malhotra batted with patience not allowing the TN bowlers much needed breakthrough as they went for tea at 133 for three. Tamil Nadu (1st innings): (overnight 235 for nine) R C Vasant Kumar run out 5 Anand George c Arun Singh b Nehra 17 W V Raman c A Sharma b Nehra 0 S Sarath b Nehra 100 Hemang Badani c D Sharma b Arun Singh 52 Robin Singh lbw b Nehra 8 S Vasanth Saravanan b Chopra 24 T R Arasu lbw b Bhandari 15 S Mahesh lbw b Nehra 0 K Kumaran not out 0 P Subbiah b Nehra 4. Extras (b-2,
lb-6, w-1, nb-5) 14 |
Bhardwaj's ton helps Karnataka take lead BANGALORE, Feb 15 (PTI) — A superb unbeaten century by Vijay R Bhardwaj (120 batting) helped Karnataka reach a formidable total of 297 for four in their first innings, thus gaining a lead of 91 runs over Haryana on the second day of the Ranji Trophy super league cricket match here today. Karnataka added 243 runs to their overnight score of 54 for one in reply to Haryana’s first innings of 206. An unbeaten 109-run fifth wicket partnership between Vijay R Bhardwaj (120-151m, 121b, 8x4) and Tilak Naidu (42) was the highlight of the day. Earlier, A. Vijay and Bhardwaj added 102 runs for the fourth wicket. A Vijay (47), who tried to pull over mid wicket region, was caught by P Thakur off Dhanraj. Bhardwaj started off well with a cover drive off Dhanraj and went on to complete his century with a boundary off Vineet, bowling with the new ball. He was lucky to survive a run out, thanks to Parender Sharma at covers deciding not to go for a direct hit. Vijay pushed to covers and started to the other end but Tilak Naidu, who was at the other end, did not even move out of the crease. Vijay Bhardwaj has to his credit 10 centuries in Ranji trophy and three this season. Haryana captain Jadeja decided to go for the new ball in the 93rd over when Karnataka were 250 for four. (Scoreboard) |
Baskaran confident of better show NEW DELHI, Feb 15 (PTI) — Buoyed by the convincing win at Chennai, the Indian hockey team left here today for Lahore for the second leg of the nine-match series against arch-rivals Pakistan. "The victory at Chennai was what the doctor ordered. They are mentally strong now," coach Vasudevan Baskaran told PTI just before leaving for the airport. After coming here, the players got to see tapes of the matches they had played in the first three matches in Delhi, Bhopal and Hyderabad, all which they had lost, and identified the mistakes they had made, Baskaran said. "Hopefully, they will not repeat those mistakes in Pakistan in the remaining five matches in the battle for the Pepsi Cup," he said. Baskaran, who led India to its last Olympic gold medal win at Moscow in 1980, said there was no undue pressure on the team regarding the series in Pakistan. "I am confident they will put up a better show there than they did here," Baskaran added. The team has two changes, with forward Brojen Singh and half back Nausher Singh, just returned from the Al Akbhar tournament in Cairo, are the new faces in the team from which Ramandeep Singh, L Prabhakaran, Daljit Dhillon and Sameer Dad have been dropped due to injuries sustained by them. Baskaran and the team called on Indian Hockey Federation president KPS Gill before departure Pakistan lead the nine-test two-leg series 3-1. The team: Jagdish Ponnappa (IA), BC Poonacha, Dilip Tirkey, Lazarus Barla (both IA), Anil Aldrin (captain-AI), Baljit Saini (PSB), Mohd Riaz (IA), Thirumalvalavan (TN), Shanmugam (Kar), Nausher Singh (PSB), SS Gill, Ravinder Singh (IA) Gagan Ajit Singh, Rajesh Chauhan (both AI), Baljit Singh Dhillon (Pun Pol), Kamal Horo (Ser), Brojen Singh (IA), Gurusewak Singh. The itinerary for the Pakistan leg: Lahore (Feb 16 and 24), Karachi (Feb 18) Peshawar (Feb 20) and Rawalpindi (Feb 22).
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Tessa prevails over Ayesha NEW DELHI, Feb 15 — Reputations stayed intact as all leading players moved into quarterfinal of the 82nd All-India Ladies Amateur Golf Championship at the Delhi Golf Club (DGC) here today. Tessa Covell was the only one to bring out her best to prevail over promising Ayesha Kapur in the play-off on the 19th, while the other seven had comparatively easy going. Chandigarh's Irina Brar, a talented and fully focussed youngster, did well to beat an experienced Renuka Philip. The Irina-Renuka match was absorbing throughout. Irina displayed her grit and determination to stay calm as she gained a decisive three strokes lead. The Tessa-Ayesha match was the best of the day. Both players were evenly matched. Ayesha had her chances to forge ahead but she could not avail of the opportunity. When Tessa won the 19th, she heaved a sigh of relief. "I am lucky that I moved up", said Tessa, adding: "This was one of the toughest matches I have won." Defending champion Parnita Garewal had little difficulty in outplaying R. Srinivasan, while another title-aspirant Shruti Khanna defeated S.Ratia. Nonita Lal Qureshi registered an easy victory over Priyanka Dey. Results: Vandana Agarwal b Mayali Talwar 5 and 4. Tessa Covell b Ayesha Kapur — 19th hole. Urvashi Sodhi b Sonia Baman 7 and 6. Nonita Lal Qureshi b Priyanka Dey 8 and 7. Shruti Khanna b S.Ratia 6 and 5. Parnita Garewal b R.Srinivasan 6 and 5. Irina Brar b Renuka Philip 3 and 1. Anjali Chopra b Champika Syal 6 and 5. In the Vikramaditya contest, Bala Bhalla had to battle hard before she snatched a victory over Asha Sehgal on the 19th. Similarly Lila Khanna faced many ups and down before snatching a win against Chandra Dutt on the 18th (1 up). Results:- Mata Bhalla b
Asha Sehtal on 19th hole. Madhu R.K. Singh b Sonal
Chauhan 5 and 3, Lila Khanna b Chandra Dutt 1 up. Rani
Chadha b Sheela Sangwan 3 and 2. Suman Sokund b K.
Yamamoto 3 and 2. Amita Nath b Madhur Khanna 2 up, Rani
Raj Chopra b Nalini Sharma 3 and 2. Rohini Majithia b
Vennu Sandhu on 18th hole. |
Rathore bolsters Punjab HYDERABAD, Feb 15 (PTI) — Punjab, bolstered by a defiant knock of 99 by skipper Vikram Rathore, were 25-run short of taking a vital first innings lead against Hyderabad with five wickets in hand on the second day of the four-day Ranji Trophy super league match here today. At stumps, Punjab, replying to Hyderabad's first innings knock of 260 all out in 103.3 overs, were 236 for five in 75 overs. Sanjay Kumar (0) and Harminder Singh Jugnu (31) were at the crease. Scoreboard |
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Manwinder to lead CHANDIGARH, Feb 15 (BOSR) — Manwinder Singh of Shivalik Public School, Sector 41, will lead Chandigarh team in the XXIst National Sub Junior Football Championship for M. Iqbal Hussain Trophy (under 16) being held at Delhi. Chandigarh will play its first match against Orissa on February 16, according to Mr Rakesh Bakshi, Secretary, Chandigarh Football Association. The other members of the team are: Bir Singh, Mohit, Ravinder, Rajinder, Gurpreet Singh, Amrinder Singh, Vinay Antil, Ram Bilas, Anil Rawat, Kartik, Manish, Dalip Virk, Pradeep, Kalarjeet, Deepak, Rohit, Varun Khosla, Sandeep Heer. Mr Arun Kumar and Mr IP Negi (SAI Coach) will accompany the team as manager and coach, respectively. Munish Arora excels CHANDIGARH, Feb 15 (BOSR) — Fine performance by Munish Arora (48 and 3 for 20) and Girish Bhanot (3 for 15) enabled Godrej Cricket Club to beat PGI XI by 16 runs in the Amartex Cup League Cricket Tournament at Sector 5, Panchkula Cricket Ground, here yesterday. Brief scores: Godrej CC — 173 for 9 in 25 overs (Munish Arora 48, Gurinder Saini 33, Vaneet Chawla 30, Anil Chaudhary 4 for 37, Rajiv Dutta 2 for 33). PGI XI: — 157 for 9 in 25 overs (Rajinder Singh 53, Amit Bhardwaj 36, Anil Chaudhary 32, Munish Arora 3 for 20, Girish Bhanot 3 for 15, Vinod Binta 2 for 44). In another match a fine bowling by Arpinder Bedi (3 for 7) enabled JAL XI to rout Coaching Centre, Panchkula, by 136 runs. Brief Scores: JAL XI: 189 for 8 in 25 overs (Munish 57, TP Singh 32, Harish 2 for 28). Coaching Centre, Panchkula: 53 all out. Arpinder Bedi 3 for 7, Hemant Bassi 3 for 12, Vishal 3 for 10). All round show by Parminder CHANDIGARH, Fe. 15 (TNS) — Parminder's all round performance (69 and 3 for 24) went in vain as Sonnet Cricket Club lost to Sports Club, Jalandhar by 50 runs in the inaugural Suneel Kapur Memorial Invitation Cup Cricket Tournament at Jalandhar. Jalandhar were propped up by useful contributions from Vishal Gupta (47) and Janak Raj (32): Parminder scalped 3 wickets for 24 runs. The Sonnet Club lost wickets at regular intervals. Only Parminder (69) stood firm. Rajesh (2 for 13) and Tejinder (2 for 6) were the successful bowlers for the winning team. Parminder for his all found efforts was declared the Man of the Match. The tournament, organised by A.R.I. Sports Society Jalandhar, carries a cash award of Rs. 31,000/- for the winners and Rs.21,000/- for the runners up. Parveen best athlete CHANDIGARH, Feb 15 (TNS) — Parveen of BA III was declared the best athlete in the annual sports day function of MDSD Girls College, Ambala City, on Saturday. Mrs Kiran Angra, Principal of the college, welcomed the chief guest and encouraged the students to devote more time for such activities. Handball trials CHANDIGARH, Feb 15 (BOSR) — Chandigarh Handball Association will hold trials to select the UT women senior handball Team on February 18 at the DAV Senior Secondary School, Sector 8 here. The selected team will take part in the 27th Senior National Women Handball Championship to be held at Ropar (Punjab) from March 8 to 14, according to Mr Ravinder Talwar, secretary of the association. Bridge tourney results CHANDIGARH, Feb 15 (BOSR) — The All India Inter Zonal Ordinance and Ordinance Erquipment Factories Bridge Tournament began here today at the Kendriya Vidyalaya, OCF Estate, Sector 29. The tournament was inaugurated by Mr DK Bhagat, IOFS, General Manager, OCF, Chandigarh. The results: Duplicate event: Winner-Ordinance Factory, Kanpur (SP Sharma, Captain, NG Ghosh, P. Chakraborty, VK Roy, SR Sarkar, SG Sabha) Runners-up — Opto Electronics, Dehradun (VK Sharma — captain, DK Acharya, JK Bajaj, VK Gupta, SS Rawat, Yashpal). Board-A: Match progressive events: Winners — SAF Kanpur (SC Bhowmic, SK Biswas, SN Singh, MD Chamoli) runners-up — OFC Kanpur & OLF Dehradun (SR Sarkar, SG Saha UK Gupta, Yashpal). Pairs events: Winners: OLF, Dehradun (VK Sharma, DK Acharya) runners-up: of Kanpur (SK Sarkar, SG Saha) Individual championship (SN Singh-SAF, Kanpur). Inaugural deal: SP Sharma P. Chakraborty (OF, Kanpur) 1, MD Chamoli, N. Chakrborty (SAF, Kanpur) 2. BBMB clinch kabaddi crown NANGAL, Feb 15 (FOC) — Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) won the three-day third Central Power Sector Kabaddi Tournament here today. BBMB which was represented among others by Jasbir Singh an international player, and four national, players, defeated Naptha Jhakri Power Corporation (NJPC) by a convincing margin of 36 points in the finals, score being 45-09 in favour of the BBMB. National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) remained third. Surjit Singh of BBMB was chosen as the Player of the Tournament while Bhupinder Singh (BBMB) and Mohan Lal (NJPC) were adjudicated as first and second best raiders. Retd. Maj Gen RR Oberoi,
chairman of BBMB, distributed prizes among the winners. |
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