Downcast India need to improve show

NAPIER, Jan 11 (PTI) — Key leg-spinner Anil Kumble still remains doubtful as a downcast India desperately search for victory against New Zealand in the second one-day cricket tie to be held here tomorrow.

After their five-wicket loss in the first tie at Taupo where even slim chances of the visitors vanished after the match was curtailed due to failure of floodlights, India will have to produce a vastly improved performance if they are to down the buoyant Kiwis in yet another day-night clash.

India, demoralised after the Test series loss and 0-1 down in the five match one-day series, might once again be without Kumble, who is nursing a stiff neck and has been termed "50-50", by team doctor Ravinder Chadha.

The leg-spinner, whose absence was sorely felt as India tried in vain to stem the free-stroking New Zealand batting, will have an extensive electro-magnetic therapy this evening as part of intensive treatment to get him back in shape, Chadha said here today.

India are expected to field an unchanged side if Kumble is unable to play including Venkatesh Prasad, the pace bowler who was reprimanded by match referee Talat Ali for blocking Craig McMillan as he went for a run at Taupo.

New Zealand will also have a job on hand as skipper Stephen Fleming has bee ruled out after aggravating a groin injury in the first tie. Dion Nash will hold the reins of captaincy while opener Bryan Young will replace him in the squad and is likely to open with Matt Horne, ahead of left hander Roger Twose.

New Zealand go into tomorrow's match on a confident note as Mclean Park has remained an excellent hunting ground for them over the years. The Kiwis have 10 wins, including two over India at this happy venue for them.

The Indian camp is happy with the fine form shown by Rahul Dravid, who cracked a run-a-ball unbeaten 123 to mark his re-emergence as a one-day batsman.

Sachin Tendulkar, who began his first tie with a nought after his relentless assault on bowlers in 1998, will also be keen to put the Kiwi attack to sword, but their bowling apart from Javagal Srinath and some extent off-spinner Nikhil Chopra and Tendulkar, wore a jaded look which should be cause for concern.

The players also are a distracted lot after some of the seniors expressed reluctance to play in the forthcoming Pakistan tour at home. Board secretary Jaywant Lele had warned they would not be chosen for the World Cup if they opted out of the much-awaited tour.

Kumble was a disappointed man after the stiffness he has been carrying for some time was aggravated playing in the two back-to-back Test matches. "The last time I missed a game was the last one-dayer against Zimbabwe at Harare on September 30. Still, this is the first time I am not playing because of injury," he said.

The Indians have a job on hand without him as the Kiwi batsman led by McMillan and Horne have been in ominous form with Young, who is replacing an out-of-form Fleming, also coming in after a good run in domestic matches.

Senior players need rest
By Abhijit Chatterjee
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH: The reported reluctance of certain senior Indian cricketers to play a Test series against Pakistan at home after a gap of over 11 years must be seen in the proper perspective. The stand taken by the powers that be in Indian cricket, the Board of Control for Cricket in India, that the tour by the Pakistan team must be gone through might prove to be detrimental to Indian cricket in the long run.

One must remember that the cricket World Cup is scheduled to be held in England just about four months from now and all the cricketing nations are preparing their teams for the last World Cup of the present century. So how can India be different from say England, South Africa or Australia? The Indian team, argue their senior cricketers, cannot be different from the other cricket playing countries.

But the reason of the senior cricketers is a little different from what is actually being said. The Indian fan can forgive the losses suffered in the series against Zimbabwe or New Zealand. But if India go down to Pakistan, and that too in a home series, they will have to pay a very heavy price in terms of fan following. Also, the team will suffer a drastic fall in confidence, effecting the performance of the team in the World Cup. And one must remember that any series involving India and Pakistan takes out a lot from the players both in terms of cricketing skills and mental strain.

And as if the series against Pakistan is not enough the Board of Control for Cricket in India has agreed to play an Asian Test Championship series involving India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Bound as they are by the dictates of the President of the International Cricket Council, Mr Jagmohan Dalmia, whose brainchild the Asian Test Championship is, this tournament will virtually "drain out" the cricketers making it difficult for them to get into the one-day mould.

As it is the Indian team is having a very hard time at the hands of New Zealand, having lost the three-Test series. They have also lost the first of the five one-day internationals. The pressure on the front-rank batsmen and bowlers is tremendous and it will take quite some time for the players, specially the bowlers, get back into peak physical fitness. And in any series against Pakistan the players will have to be in peak physical form.

As has been seen in New Zealand already the bowlers are showing signs of fatigue. Anil Kumble missed the first one-day international due to a pain in the neck. Such injuries take time to heal. Also, the main bowlers, Javagal Srinath and Venkatesh Prasad, are being used like stock bowlers instead of shock bowlers. And one must remember that Srinath has returned to international cricket only last year after a long lay-off due to an injury while Prasad too has not been in the fittest frame.

What the Indian board can do is request the team management (which as per convention consists of the cricket manager, the captain and the vice-captain) in New Zealand to try out all the players now in the team (players like Debashish Mohanty, Sunil Joshi and V.V.S.Laxman) so that senior players get some rest or decide principally that the nation will have two teams, one for Test and the other for one-dayers. (Such an experiment has been carried out successfully by Australia).

The Board of Control for Cricket in India will do well to heed the request of the players and defer the series against Pakistan, as well as the Asian Test Championship for which no formal request has been made by the senior players, for the time being and get ready to field the best possible, and fittest squad, for the World Cup. And for that the best thing will be to hold a triangular series between India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, whose stakes in the 1999 World Cup is no less than any other team.

Pillay, Ballal 'rested'; Baskaran reinstated

NEW DELHI, Jan 11 (PTI) — The Indian Hockey Federation today effectively eased out six stalwarts from the Asian Games gold medal winning squad along with chief coach M.K. Kaushik for the nine-match Test series against Pakistan next month.

Dhanraj Pillay, who led the country to their first Asian Games gold medal in 32 years at Bangkok last month, fellow forwards Mukesh Kumar and Sabu Varkey, halfback Sandeep Somesh along with star goalkeeper Ashish Ballal and A.B. Subbaiah have been ‘rested’ along with Kaushik for the series.

Vasudevan Baskaran, removed after India’s poor ninth place finish at the Utrecht World Cup in June last year, has been reinstated as the coach.

Announcing a 22-member list of probables for the test series containing many fresh faces, IHF President K.P.S. Gill told a press meet here "It is not the end of the road" for the seniors and it was not a disciplinary move for remarks made by them against IHF following the Asiad triumph.

Describing the team — 10 members have been retained from the Bangkok squad — as a mixture of young and old to build the side for next year’s Sydney Olympics and the 2004 Athens Olympiad, Gill said the seniors have only been ‘rested to avoid over-exposure’.

"We want to build a good second line. We want to re-train the seniors in camps to improve fitness. They’ve definitely not played their last match for India, but ultimately selection depends on form," Gill said in reply to questions.

Gill said the camp for the Tests will be held at NIS, Patiala from January 17 to 31 and 18 players will be selected.

The Indian leg will be at Delhi (Feb 3), Bhopal (Feb 5), Hyderabad (Feb 8) and Chennai (Feb 10) with Lahore (Feb 16 and 24), Karachi (Feb 18), Peshawar (Feb 20) and Rawalpindi (Feb 22) hosting the matches in the Pakistan leg.

Another list of 36 probables was named for a six-nation tournament at Cairo from February 2 to 12. The camp will be at Patiala from January 11 to 28 under Olympian Rajinder Singh.

Justifying the en masse "resting" of the seniors for the crucial Pakistan series, Gill said it was to prevent injuries. "Look at how South African cricket board is resting main pace bowler Allan Donald to preserve him," he said.

"We can’t really go by fan-response," he said when asked whether this team could deliver the goods, considering the emotional aspect of an Indo-Pak series. Pakistan was also fielding an experimental side as in Bangkok, he said.

Asked whether Kaushik has been removed as "chief coach", Gill would only say there was no such title and his tenure had ended with the Asian Games.

Probables for Indo-Pak Test series:

Goalkeepers: Jagdish Ponnappa (IA), Nazemuddin (Bih), P.U. Boppanna (Kar). Defenders: Dilip Tirkey, Lazarus Barla (both IA), Anil Aldrin, Surinder Singh (both AI). Halfbacks: Baljit Saini (PSB), Mohd Riaz (IA), Ramandeep Singh (Pun Pol), Thirumalvalavan (TN), Shanmugam (Kar). Forwards: Ravinder Singh, Sameer Dad, Virender Singh (all IA), Gagan Ajit Singh, Rajesh Chauhan (both AI), Baljit Singh Dhillon, Daljit Dhillon (both Punj Pol), L Prabhakaran (TN), Kamal Horo (Ser), Mukhtiar Singh (Rlys).

Gill denied the players and Kaushik were being penalised for press statements and the coach was being removed for standing by the players’ demands.

He said the IHF had no differences with Kaushik and he would be meeting the coach in a day or two to discuss various issues, including preparation for Sydney Games. The final shape of the Indian team for Olympics will gain shape only by September, he added.

Gill said he would also talk to all the six seniors soon on IHF’s long-term plan.

Asked whether the IHF was contemplating disciplinary action against Ballal for his outbursts following India’s triumph in Bangkok, Gill quipped "It doesn’t matter. Here discipline is what they will do in camps. In fact, the players have denied saying anything against the IHF," he added.

Asked whether it was just a coincidence that all those who were severely criticised in Baskaran’s report following the World Cup (he had come down on their poor fitness and recommended their permanent removal from the Indian team) had been dropped, Gill said that was not the reason.

The IHF chief said both Ballal and Subbaiah were easily the best, but the second string had to be built soon. "With others also, we have problems whenever they get injured as it happened in Utrecht," he said, adding that the IHF was keen the seniors should play in the Olympics.

Asked about the IHF plans to appoint a foreign coach, Mr Gill said the international body’s (FIH) coaching committee chairman had been approached to get a panel of names from which to chose. "Money is not a major hurdle and the government also has an open mind on it," he said.

Soft drinks major, Pepsi will be sponsoring the Indian leg of the Test series with Tatas coming in as co-sponsors.

Each Test will be played till a result was achieved and a victor will emerge at the end of the series, he said, when asked whether separate trophies would be given like last year.

Asked whether there was any security threat for the series in the wake of opposition to the coming cricket tour of Pakistan, Gill said there was no problem.

"We’ll cross the bridge when we come to it," he replied when asked whether the Pakistan association (PHF) had any reservations on the security aspect.

India have a busy season ahead. The Cairo event will be followed by the six-nation event in Dubai from March 4 to 11 and the Azlan Shah Tournament in Malaysia (April 3 to 11).

Germany in June and South Africa (August 14 to 22) are scheduled to play Test series in India and the Indian team is expected to participate in the Panasonic Cup tournament in Germany to be held in August and other foreign teams may tour India in November-December.

Probables for Cairo six-nation tournament:

Goalkeepers: Ambuj Srivastava (Rlys), A.P. Girish (Mum), Devesh Chauhan (AI Academy), Murali Krishna (Hyd), Satish Kumar (CRZ School, Sonepat), Edward (AI, Mumbai).

Defenders: Anurag Raghuvanshi (AI Academy), Bikramjit Singh (PSB), Parvez Alam (UP), Dinesh Nayak (TN), Cheops D’Costa (Mum), Gurmail Singh (P&SB), Shailendra Vashishta (CRPF).

Halfbacks: Anwar Khan, Nausher Singh, Kuldeep Singh (all Rlys), Sunil Yadav (AI Academy), Bimal Lakra (Centra of Excellence), Baljit Singh Chandi (P&SB), Radhakrishnan (TN), Paramjeet Singh (Ser), Ernico Fernando (Mum), Mohd Rafiuddin (Hyd).

Forwards: Gursewak Singh, Deepak (both P&SB), Bipin Fernandez (AI), Gurjant Singh (Centre for Excellence), Harbhajan Singh (NSF), Mukesh Kumar, Tanweer Jamal, Hemram (all CRPF), Ajinder Pal Singh (Rlys), Ershad (UP), Sukhjeet Singh (Punj), Senthil (TN), Brojen Singh (IA).

Tollygunge hold Churchill Bros

CALCUTTA, Jan 11 (PTI) — Debutants Tollygunge Agragami warded off a late resurgence to hold Churchill Brothers to a 1-1 draw in a group-A match of the third National Football League at the Rabindra Sarovar Stadium here today.

The home team struck in the very first minute of the contest through Felix Abayomi but the Goans, undaunted by the early reversal, managed to restore parity with striker Cyril Barreto finding the target three minutes from the interval.

Tollygunge, who had thrashed Air-India 3-0 in their opening match, left their rivals in a daze by taking the early lead but their Goan opponents tightened the defence to prevent any further setbacks.

The first-minute goal was the result of a combined move which saw medio Bastab Roy send the ball towards striker Roshan Pereira from the right flank. The wily Sri Lankan passed the ball to an unmarked Felix who unleashed a rasping 20-yard-long ranger to find the target.

Churchill, who had finished runners up in the Goan league, played their hearts out and managed to find the equaliser just three minutes before the lemon break when Cyril Barreto’s grounder from inside the box eluded goalkeeper Rajnarayan Mukherjee.

Delhi register one-run victory

GUWAHATI, Jan 11 (PTI) — A superb knock of 133 by Jacob Martin went in vain as Delhi beat Board President’s XI by one run in a cliffhanger Wills Trophy one-dayer at the Maligaon Railway Stadium here today.

Electing to bat after winning the toss on a placid wicket, Delhi amassed a respectable 265 all out in the allotted 47 overs, thanks to a breezy 80 of 54 balls by middle order batsman Virendra Shewag.

The Board President’s XI in reply, riding on Martin’s superb century gave a fine chase but fell short of the victory target by two runs after needing 13 runs from the final over.

Earlier Shewag taking advantage of a lucid pitch easily clobbered the Board President’s bowlers to all sides of the wicket during his innings which was studded with four sixes and six fours.

Pankaj Joshi gave Sehwag good support with his 58 made of 95 balls with nine fours even as medium pacer Harvinder Singh managed to exploit the early morning conditions.

His figures of one for 41 did not justify the effect he had on the Delhi batsmen especially during the first 10 overs.

Offspinner Sanjay Raul failed to impress, giving away as many as 57 runs in his nine overs.

Brief scores:

Delhi 265 all out in 46.5 overs.

V. Shewag 80, P. Joshi 58, A. Dani 45; Ramakrishna 4/48).

Board President’s XI: 264 for six in 47 overs.

J. Martin 133, D. Manohar 43; A. Bhandari 42/3).

Punjab to clash with Rajasthan at Jaipur

MUMBAI, Jan 11 (PTI) — Delhi will take on Maharashtra in their group-B Ranji Trophy super league cricket tie at Pune from February 5 to 8.

The other three teams in group-B are Railways, Tamil Nadu and Orissa, a cricket board (BCCI) release said here today.

Railways will clash with Orissa at the RSCB grounds in their first match from February 5 to 8 while Tamil Nadu will play Delhi at Delhi from February 14 to 17.

The first two matches in group-A will be between Bengal and Baroda at Calcutta from February 5 to 8 while Rajasthan will take on Punjab at Jaipur from February 5 to 8.

Hyderabad is the other team in group-A who will play their first league match against Punjab at Hyderabad from February 14 to 17.

The first two matches in group-C would be between Haryana and Saurashtra at Rajkot and Karnataka vs Madhya Pradesh at Madhya Pradesh from February 5 to 8.

Bihar, the other team in group-C, will take on Madhya Pradesh at Jamshedpur from February 14 to 17.

Except for the 33 times champions Mumbai, all other top teams in the country have made it to the super league stage.

The following is the groupings and itinerary of Ranji Trophy super league matches:

Group-A: Rajasthan, Punjab, Hyderabad, Bengal, Baroda.

Group-B: Maharashtra, Railways, Tamil Nadu, Delhi, Orissa.

Group-C: Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Saurashtra.

Itinerary: Group-A: February 5 to 8: Bengal vs Baroda at Calcutta and Rajasthan vs Punjab at Jaipur.

February 14 to 17: Hyderabad vs Punjab at Hyderabad and Bengal vs Rajasthan at Jaipur.

February 23 to 26: Baroda vs Rajasthan at Jaipur and Bengal vs Hyderabad at Calcutta.

March 4 to 7: Baroda vs Punjab at Baroda and Hyderabad vs Rajasthan at Hyderabad.

March 13 to 16: Bengal vs Punjab at Calcutta and Baorda vs Hyderabad at Baroda.

Group-B: February 5 to 8: Delhi vs Maharashtra at Pune and Railways vs Orissa at RSCB.

February 14 to 17: Maharashtra vs Railways at RSCB and Delhi vs Tamil Nadu at Delhi.

February 23 to 26: Railways vs Tamil Nadu at Chennai and Maharashtra vs Orissa at Pune.

March 4 to 7: Delhi vs Railways at Delhi and Tamil Nadu vs Orissa at Chennai.

March 13 to 16: Maharashtra vs Tamil Nadu at Pune and Delhi vs Orissa at Cuttack.

Group-C: February 5 to 8: Haryana vs Saurashtra at Rajkot and Karnataka vs Madhya Pradesh at Madhya Pradesh.

February 14 to 17: Karnataka vs Haryana at Bangalore and Bihar vs Madhya Pradesh at Jamshedpur.

February 23 to 26: Bihar vs Haryana at Jamshedpur and Karnataka vs Saurashtra at Bangalore.

March 4 to 7: Maharashtra vs Saurashtra at Madhya Pradesh and Bihar vs Karnataka at Bangalore.

March 13 to 16: Haryana vs Madhya Pradesh at Madhya Pradesh and Bihar vs Saurashtra at Jamshedpur.

Selection trials from Jan 16
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Jan 11 — Selection trials for admission to SAI training centre at Kurukshetra and Bhiwani and its adopted schools namely Motilal Nehru School of Sports (MNSS), Rai in Sonepat district and CRZ Senior Secondary School, Sonepat, will be conducted at Kurukshetra based training centre from January 16 to 18 in various disciplines of sports.

While stating this, Mr Ram Saroop Rama, Minister of State for Sports, said that the disciplines of athletic, hockey and volleyball would be for Sports Training Centre (STC), Kurukshetra, for STC Bhiwani the disciplines would be athletic, boxing, volleyball and wrestling and for MNSS Rai the disciplines would be athletics, swimming and gymnastic. Similarly, for CRZ Senior Secondary School, Sonepat, the disciplines would be athletic, hockey and wrestling.

He said that the trials would be held for Haryana boys and girls only. Medal winners in various state, national sub-junior and junior competitions in the age group of 14-19 years would be preferred for STC Kurukshetra and Bhiwani.

Mr Rama said that test would also be conducted for children between the age of 8 to 12 years appearing for admission to Motilal Nehru School of Sports, Rai and CRZ Senior Secondary School, Sonepat.

He said that the selected sportspersons for STC Kurukshetra and Bhiwani would be provided free board and lodging sports kit, training, competition exposure, medical and accidental insurance facilities. The sportspersons selected for MNSS, Rai and CRZ, Sonepat, would be provided school fee, admission fee, tuition fee, books and stationery and school uniform in addition to all facilities provided to STC children.

Those desirous of seeking admission and are eligible should report to the Assistant Director, SAI, STC Kurukshetra, for registration purposes on January 16 morning along with original certificates of their sports achievements, certificate of their date of birth and two passport size photographs.

Mankad keeps Indian hopes alive
By Our Sports Reporters

CHANDIGARH, Jan 11 — Harsh Mankad of India, the lucky loser, who made it to the main draw after fourth seed Clements Trimmel of Austria could not make it to the tournament, kept alive Indian hopes as he ousted Todd Meringoff of the USA, 6-2, 6-2 in the first round of the main draw in the Gold Flake Aces ITF Men's Tennis Tournament being played here at the Chandigarh Club courts. The other wild card entrants from India who went down fighting to their respective rivals included Manoj Mahadevan, Shed Fazaluddin and Vijay Kannan.

The other players who sailed past who first rounds were Simon Aspelin of Sweden, Andy Ram of Israel, Artem Derepasko of Russia, Jun Kato of Switzerland and Ivo Karlovic of Croatia, Erhardt P. of Germany and third seed Jonathan Erlich of Israel. The three lucky losers who got into the main draw because three players could not make it to the tournament were Esat Tanik of Turkey, Jun Kato of Switzerland and Harsh Mankad of India.

Vijay Kannan of India played a superb game against Erlich Jonathan, of Israel, the third seed and ranked 416. He won the first set in the tie breaker at 7-6 (2), but the experienced Jonathan proved to be too good for Kannan and wrapped up the next two sets at 6-3, 6-3. The Davis cupper Syed Fazaluddin also of India braved another Israeli player Andy Ram having 605th rank, in three close sets. Syed with fine down the line paces put Andy in trouble and the Indian made it 1-1. In the third crucial set Syed missed the overhead at the tie breaker which became fatal for him and he lost the set at 6-7 (5). The scores were, 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (5) in favour of Andy. Manoj Mahadevan the wild card entrant was pitted against Germany's Patrick Erhardt.

Erhardt who lost the first set at 5-7. Later Patrick forced Manoj to commit unwanted mistakes and with speedy smashes near the side line, Patrick accounted for few good points and in the next two sets he finished these at 6-3, 6-3.

Earlier in the morning, Harsh Mankad lost tamely to the Czech player, Clements Chaupil, at 3-6, 1-6. The fine court coverage and the dominant serve proved harmful for the Mumbai player Harsh. But the day belonged to this upcoming youngster who got into the main draw as Trimmel of Austria failed to turn up. The weather at the Chandigarh Club was quite chilly, and no sunshine was experienced throughout the day.

Results: final: Qualifying round: Brunold (Switzerland), b Brukner (Austria), 6-4, 7-6 (5): Larose S. (Canada) b A. Ramakrishnan (Ind), 6-1, 6-3: VIshal Uppal (Ind) b A. Mackin (UK), 6-4, 6-1: A. Quersshi (Pakistan) b Saurav Panja (Ind), 6-2, 6-2: Chaupil (Czech) b M. Mankad (Ind) 6-3, 6-1: I. Bates (UK) b Tanik (Turkey) 6-1, 6-4: A. Serra (Italy) b S. Kato (Switz.) 7-6, (5), 6-7 (6), 6-2, B. Mahal (Canada) b A. Krusia (SLK) 6-2, 6-2. All the winners of this round got entry into the main draw.

Main draw — Ist round: Erhardt (Germany) b M. Mahadevan (Ind), 5-7, 6-3, 6-3: Harsh Mankad (Ind) b T. Meringoff (USA), 6-2, 6-2: S. Aspelin (Sweden) b D. Golovanov (Russia) 6-0, 6-3: Andy Ram (Israel) b S. Fazaluddin (Ind), 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (5): J. Erlich (Israel) b Vijay Kannan (Ind), 6-7 (2), 6-3, 6-3: Ivo Karlovic (Croatia) b J. Hernycn (Crech Rep), 6-1, 6-2: J. Kato (Switz), M. Kogan (Israel), 2-6, 7-5, 6-3: A. Derepasko (Russia) b E. Tanik (Turkey) 6-3, 7-5.

The matches will start tomorrow at 10.30 a.m.

Football trophy for BSF
From Our Correspondent

GARH SHANKAR, Jan 11 — BSF Jalandhar won the trophy in the 37th Principal Harbhajan Singh Memorial Football Tournament which concluded at Mahilpur today. In the club category BSF defeated PSEB 4-1 via the tie breaker to bag a cash prize of Rs 30,000. PSEB were awarded a cash prize of Rs 20,000.

In the college category, SGGS Khalsa College, Mahilpur, lifted the trophy, cash prize, while SN College Banga finished runners-up.

Charanjit of Mahilpur scored the winning goal against the Banga team.

In the club category final, Jaswant Singh of BSF scored a goal with a header against PSEB in the second half. Sukhbir of PSEB scored the equaliser soon after. In the tie-breaker BSF won 4-1.

Mr Kamal Chaudhry, MP, gave away the trophies. He also announced a grant of Rs 50,000 for the organisers.

International footballer G.S. Parmar of JCT, Sital Singh and Ram Kishan were honoured at the function. Satnam Singh of SN College, Banga was declared the best player of the tournament in the college category.

Amandeep shocks top seed Kohli
From Our Sports Reporter

LUDHIANA, Jan 11 — Unseeded Amandeep Sekhri of Ludhiana beat top seed Jaideep Kohli of Jalandhar 15-13, 12-15 and 15-9 and gained a berth in the men's singles semifinals of the third Punjab State Major Ranking Badminton Tournament at Shastri Hall of Guru Nanak Stadium here today.

In other quarterfinals in the men's section, Gagandeep Ratti and Rohan Kapoor both of Jalandhar and local lad Dilpreet Singh registered victories to barge into the semifinals.

In the women's doubles category, number one pair of Nancy and Vidhu (Patiala) blunted Nimrata (Jalandhar) and Saloni's (Amritsar) fightback to win 15-10, 11-15 and 15-11 and enter the final. In the second semifinal, second seeded duo of Sapna and Sheel Bhagat of Jalandhar lost to unseeded pair of Nazma and Navdeep (Patiala) 15-2, 4-15 and 3-15.

Today's results:

Women's doubles (quarterfinal): Nimrata and Saloni (Jal) b Navneet and Gurmeet (Jal) 15-8, 15-8. Men's singles (Q-final): Amandeep Sekhri (Ldh) b Jaideep Kohli (Jal) 15-13, 12-15, 15-9, Gagandeep Ratti (Jal) b Deepak Ramdev (Ldh) 15-1, 12-1, conceded. Dilpreet Singh (Ldh) b Sunil Sekhri (Ldh) 15-6, 17-14. Rohan Kapoor (Jal) b Tajinder Singh (Ldh) 15-11, 15-8.

Women's singles (Q-finals) Sapna (Jal) b Vidhu (Ptl) 11-1, 11-2. Saloni (Asr) b Navdeep (Ptl) 13-12, 8-11, 11-8. Nazma (Ldh) b Nimrata (Jal) 11, 11-1.

Men's doubles (Q-finals): Munish and Navdeep (Ptl) b Deepak and Sandeep (Ldh) 15-7, 15-10. Gurminder and Narinder (Ptl) w/o Rama Lakhan and Neeraj (Jal). Sunil and Amandeep (Ldh) b Vikas and Harinder (Ptl) 15-1, 15-10. Ranjit and Gagandeep (Jal) b Tajinder and Dilpreet Singh 13-15, 15-10, 15-10.

Women's doubles (semifinal) Nancy and Vidhu (Ptl) b Nimrata and Saloni (Jal, Asr) 15-10, 11-15, 15-11 Nazma and Navdeep (Ptl) b Sapna and Sheel Bhagat (Jal) 2-15, 15-4, 15-3.

Punjab, UP move into final
From Our Sports Reporter

PATIALA, Jan 11 — Fine performance by all rounder S.P. Singh (3 for 15 and 66 not out) put Punjab in the final by virtue of a 94-run first innings lead against Bengal in the All India Vijay Merchant Cricket Tournament semi-final tie played at the Dhruv Pandove Stadium here today.

With the weather gods finally relenting, Punjab managed to skittle out Bengal for a paltry 77 runs in its first innings. In reply, the hosts started badly being 10 for 2 at one stage, but both S.P. Singh (66 not out) and Vikramjit Sodhi (40 not out) kept the nerves well up to enable Punjab pile up 171 for 4 at the draw of stumps.

Scores:
Bengal (Ist innings): 77 all out (Rakesh Kumar 13, R. Jolly 3 for 8, S.P. Singh 3 for 15, H. Kali 2 for 35) Punjab (Ist innings): 171 for 4 (S.P. Singh 66 not out, Vikramjit Sodhi 40 n.o., Rajan Singh 40, Pinaki Mazumbar 1 for 7, Debashish 1 for 49, M. Yadav 1 for 14).

Meanwhile in the other semi-final between Haryana and Uttar Pradesh played at the DCW Grounds ensured that no play was possible on either day of the three-day fixture. Uttar Pradesh skipper Prashant Malaviya won the toss to put his team in final. U.P. will square off with Punjab in the final to be played at the Dhruv Pandove Stadium here.

Bengal in semis

CALCUTTA, Jan 11 (PTI) — Bengal rode on a rollicking 103 by in-form Devang Gandhi to script an emphatic 111-run victory over Tamil Nadu and romp into the semi-finals of the Wills Trophy limited overs cricket tournament at the Eden Gardens here today.

Put into bat, Gandhi’s scintillating century (103 off 90 balls) propelled the hosts to an imposing 282 in their allotted 50 overs while openers Nikhil Haldipur (58) and junior world cupper Laxmi Ratan Shukla (30) chipped in with cameo knocks.

Set an asking rate of 5.64 runs per over, Tamil Nadu never really recovered from paceman Shukla’s inspired opening spell (4/30) to be bundled out for 171 in 41.4 overs.

Only elegant left hander Hemang Badani stood amidst the ruins with a fighting 60 as wickets kept tumbling at regular intervals on what appeared to be a good batting track.

The lanky Shukla virtually broke the backbone of the Tamil Nadu top order as he dismissed left-handers S. Ramesh (5), W.V. Raman (34), S. Sriram (4) and S. Sarath (5) in an unchanged spell of nine overs to seal the fate of Tamil Nadu.

The visitors, chasing a stiff target, went for their shots too early and were almost out of contention for a semi-final berth within the first 20 overs when they were tottering at 90 for six.

It was a pathetic performance from Tamil Nadu. While many of their batsmen got out to poor shots, their bowlers were way off target bowling as many as 29 wides.

Tamil Nadu skipper Sarath inserted the hosts after winning the toss hoping that his medium pacers would exploit the heavy morning conditions but the move backfired totally.

The Bengal openers provided a rollicking start to the innings as they added 95 runs before Sarath broke the stand by getting rid of Shukla.

But Gandhi, who replaced Shukla, kept up the momentum as the Tamil Nadu bowlers strayed in line and length quite often and got severely punished in the process.

The hosts lost the tempo to some extent midway when left-hander Nikhil Haldipur (58), Rohan Gavaskar (4) and Saba Karim (6) perished in quick succession but Gandhi and Ajoy Das stemmed the collapse by playing watchfully for some time.

Gandhi seemed to be in no discomfort at all as he blasted the Tamil Nadu bowlers all over the park. He lifted paceman S. Mahesh for a huge six to complete his ton in style but fell soon after spooning a catch to Madanagopal at long off in trying to force the scoring rate. His 103 came off just 90 balls and contained 12 fours and two sixes.

Punjab wrestling team honoured
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Jan 11 — The Punjab wrestling team who emerged overall champions in the 45th Senior National Wrestling Championship at Nasik last month, was honoured at a function during the NRI sports meet at Jalandhar on Friday.

Three coaches, including chief coach PR Sondhi, Jagdev Singh (Faridkot) and RS Kundu (Mohali) were also honoured. Veteran wrestler Kartar Singh, who is also the president of the Punjab Wrestling Association, was honoured with a cash award of $10,000 for winning the gold medal in the World Veterans' Championship held in France in July, 1998.

Meanwhile, coaching camps in preparation for the forthcoming National Games being held in Manipur, will commence tomorrow at Jalandhar. While the men's camp will be held at the PAP complex, the women camp will be organised at KMV College, According to Kartar Singh, 48 wrestlers have been picked for the men's camp while 18 women have also been selected for coaching.

Dist badminton results

ROHTAK, Jan 11 (TNS) — Kapil and Shashi Bala won the singles titles in the men's and girls' sections, respectively, in the 9th district badminton championship which concluded here yesterday evening.

As many as 170 players in different categories participated in the three-day tournament. Mr Anand Mohan Sharan, Additional Deputy Commissioner, inaugurated the tournament and Seth Siri Kishan Dass, Urban and Development Minister, gave away the prizes to the winners.

In the men's singles final, Kapil defeated Yoginder in straight sets 15-9, 15-10. In the junior girls section Shashi Bala routed Geetanjali 11-9, 11-6, Rohit Joon defeated Piyush 15-6, 15-8 in the junior boys section.

In the junior boys doubles section, Rohit and Deepak Malik beat Navin and Nitin 15-8, 15-7.

Ashu Narang got walkover and was declared winner in the women's sections.

Results (final):

Men's doubles: Vijay and Shushank b Kapil and Sushil 17-5, 15-13.

Girls (under-12): Reena b Amita 11-8, 11-7.

Girls junior doubles: Shashi Bala and Geeta Janli beat Shugan and Karjeet.

Sun-Junior boys (under-9): Satish Kumar beat Abhishek 15-13, 15-12.

Sub-Junior boys (under 12) — Anklap Goyal b Pankaj Malik 15-11, 15-9.

Sub-junior doubles (under 9 yrs): Abhishek and Gaurv b Satish and Laxminarayan.

HOA elections "illegal"

CHANDIGARH, Jan 11 (TNS) — A former general secretary of the Haryana Olympic Association, Mr R.S. Choudhary, has described the elections of the association held here yesterday as a "deception".

In a statement issued here yesterday, Mr Choudhary alleged that the family of the former Chief Minister, Mr Bhajan Lal, conspired with the state government to conduct the elections of the HOA secretly in an "illegal and undemocratic" manner.

Hockey trials on Jan 14

CHANDIGARH, Jan 11 (TNS) — The Chandigarh Women's Hockey Association will hold trials to select the Chandigarh contingent for the National Games to be held at Manipur in the month of February '99.

The trials will be held at the hockey stadium, Sector-42, here on January 14 at 3.30 p.m. Interested players should bring two passport size photographs at the time of trials, according to Mr JPS Sidhu, secretary of the association.