IOC members who face expulsion (from left) : Augustin Arroyo of Ecuador; Jean-Claude Ganga of Congo; Zein El Abdin Ahmed Abdel Gadir of Sudan; Lamine Keita of Mali; Charles Mukora of Kenya and Sergio Santader of Chile — AP/PTI

6 IOC members face expulsion LAUSANNE (Switzerland), Jan 25 — Olympic leaders have recommended the expulsions of six IOC members in an unprecedented purge linked to a major corruption scandal.

Akram keen to lead Pak to series win
GWALIOR, Jan 25 — There are several wishes left unfulfilled in the heart of Pakistani skipper Wasim Akram who feels that it will be a dream come true if he leads Pakistan to a series win like his mentor Imran Khan did in 1986-1987.

Bhupathi knocked out of mixed doubles
MELBOURNE, Jan 25 — Mahesh Bhupathi and his Croatian partner Mirjana Lucic were knocked out of the mixed doubles event of the Australian Open today.

Morale-boosting win for Anand
WIJK AAN ZEE, Jan 25 — Vishwanathan Anand found his winning style once again, scoring a win over Jan Timman of the Netherlands in the seventh game of the annual Hoogovens International Chess Tournament.

Good day for Indians at Ubeda
UBEDA (Spain), Jan 25 — Grandmaster norm holder Abhijit Kunte scored a quick win over Denmark’s Bjerring Kai as the Indians enjoyed a good fifth round at the Ciudad de Ubeda International Chess Tournament here.

Agassi, Kournikova crash out
MELBOURNE, Jan 25 — The Australian Open lost two of its brightest stars today when former champion Andre Agassi crashed back to earth and Russian teenager Anna Kournikova’s lucky run came to an end.

‘Australian of Year’ award for Taylor
SYDNEY, Jan 25 — Mark Taylor, who started the year with his Test place in question and completed it by leading his team to Ashes victory over England, received the 1998 ‘Australian of the Year’ award from Prime Minister John Howard today.

Punjab confident of doing well
CHANDIGARH, Jan 25 — Punjab is gearing up to participate in the National Games, scheduled to be held at Imphal (Manipur) from February 14 to 25 and the Punjab Olympic Association is confident that Punjab will claim the maximum number of medals.

Mixed luck for jrs in squash
MUMBAI, Jan 25 — Indian junior squash players met with mixed luck on the opening round, with three of them crossing the first hurdle, in the ninth Asian Junior Championships at Kuala Lumpur today.

Sidhu stars in North Zone win
JAMSHEDPUR, Jan 25 — An unbeaten 86 by S Sharat went in vain as South lost by 42 runs against holders North Zone in the limited overs Deodhar Trophy Tournament at Keenan Stadium here today.

Malik slams 122 as tie ends in draw

GWALIOR, Jan 25 (PTI) — Veteran Salim Malik struck a workmanlike 122 for Pakistan’s second century of the tour-opener and India ‘A’ lost their way in their second knock before the three-day tie ended in a draw here today.

Malik, coming into the tour embroiled in controversy over betting and match-fixing, put those worries behind and thrived on lethargic fielding by the Indians, including a life when on 94, to crack 122 as Pakistan made 272 in their second innings before being all out midway through the post-lunch session.

Left-handed opener Sadagopan Ramesh then struck a confidence-boosting half-century (56) ahead of the first Test in Chennai, where he and India ‘A’ skipper V V S Laxman (11) are expected to open the innings. But the top-order including Ramesh, failed to show application as they were reduced to 111 for five when play was called off with 10 of the 15 mandatory overs yet to be bowled.

The 34-year-old Malik followed up on Yousuf Youhana’s first innings knock of 124 with an equally valuable century (122 - 225b, 18x4, 1x6, 278 m) and raised 148 runs for the sixth wicket with Inzamam-ul Haq to help the visitors recover from an embarrassing 23 for five yesterday.

Haq, who was denied a century when skipper Wasim Akram applied declaration with the batsman on 98 in the first knock, again failed to reach a century.

Both Haq and Malik played punishing shots off medium-pacer D Ganesh and slow bowlers off-spinner Harbhajan Singh and left-armer Rahul Sanghvi, apart from pleasing cuts to ensure that the visitors were not pushed onto the backfoot in their tour-opener.

Pakistan, at 171 for six at lunch, did not declare once Malik completed his century by carting Sanghvi, who had dropped an easy return catch in a forgettable showing, over long-on for a six.

Medium-pacers D Ganesh, who finally removed Malik and struck twice in three balls to hasten Pakistan innings to a close, and 17-year-old Bengal all-rounder Laxmi Ratan Shukla stole the bowling honours with four wickets each.

Karnataka paceman Ganesh, looking for a return to the national side reaped rewards for a more disciplined effort in the second innings to return figures of four for 78 off 25 overs (6/145 in the match).

Shukla, who triggered the collapse with Ganesh yesterday, struck in the very first over he bowled as Inzamam-ul Haq played on, going for a wild drive without moving his feet, and ended up with an impressive haul of 19-8-38-4. He had a match haul of six for 127.

The spinners were hardly impressive on the hard wicket and came in for severe punishment from both Haq and Malik and Harbhajan, looking for a more benign pitch at Chepauk, and Sanghvi had one wicket apiece

The Pakistan team, with four of the India ‘A’ members included for the first Test, travel to Chennai via Delhi.

SCOREBOARD:
Pakistan: (first innings) 334 for 6 declared.
India: (first innings) 276 all out.
Pakistan: (second innings) Saeed Anwar c Saba Karim b Dodda Ganesh 4, Wasti b Laxmi Ratan Shukla 0, Moin Khan c Laxman b Ganesh 2, Yousaf Youhana c Narih b Shukla 0, Inzamam-ul-Haq b Shukla 96, Mushtaq Ahmad c Karim b Shukla 8, Salim Malik c Gandhi b Ganesh 122, Akram c Kotak b Sanghvi 6, Mushtaq b Harbhjan 14, Waqar Younis lbw Ganesh 0, Shoiab Akhtar not out 2.

Extra: (lb 5, nb 13, b, w) 18.

Total: 272 all out in 83 overs.

Fall of wickets: 1/5, 2/6, 3/8, 4/23, 6/171, 7/198, 8/258, 9/258.

Bowling: Dodda Ganesh 25-7-78-4, Laxmi Ratan Shukla 19-8-38-4, Harbhajan Singh 21-4-72-1, Rahul Sanghvi 18-3-79-1.

India 'A’ (second innings): Ramesh c Naveed Queraishi b Mushtaq Ahmad 56, Laxman c Moin Khan b Waqar Younis 11, Gandhi c Moin Khan b Wasim Akram 4, Amay Khurasia c Moin Khan b Akhtar 9, Jacob Martin not out 20, Sitangshu lbw Saqlain Mushtaq 1, Saba Karim not out 0.

Extras: (lb 1, nb 8, b 1, w 0) 10.

Total: 111 for five in 30 overs.

Fall of wickets: 1/30, 2/50, 3/70, 4/96, 5/103.

Bowling: Waqar Younis 8-0-40-1, Shoiab Akhtar 6-1-19-1, Wasim Akram 5-1-16-1, Mushtaq Ahmad 7-0-26-1, Saqlain Mushtaq 4-1—8-1.

Sachin, Malleswari to get Padma Shri

NEW DELHI, Jan 25 (PTI) — Ace cricketer Sachin Tendulkar and former world weightlifting champion Karnam Malleswari are the two sportspersons to be honoured with the Padma Shri in this year’s Republic Day awards.

The awards, to be presented to them by President K R Narayanan at a later date, are in recognition of the services rendered by the two champions in their respective disciplines.

For 25-year-old Tendulkar, this honour comes as a climax to an outstanding year of achievements on the field and recognition of it.

An Arjuna awardee much earlier, Tendulkar was the recipient of the ‘Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award’, the highest honour the government can bestow on a sportsperson, last year.

Fast developing into a one-man army, on whose performances depend the fortunes of the Indian cricket team, Tendulkar achieved the distinction of becoming the scorer of highest number of runs, 1,894 in a calendar year in one-day cricket last year, at the rate of 80.87 per outing.

During the same period, he became the first batsman in the world to cross the 20-century mark in the shorter version of the game.

In just six Tests last year, Tendulkar scored three centuries to have a career aggregate of 17 ‘tons’. The highlight of his scintillating performances last year was his demolition of the dreaded Australian leg spinner Shane Warne who later confessed that the little Indian gave him ‘nightmares’.

For the record, in 64 Tests, Tendulkar has scored 4,820 runs at an average of 54.77 with the help of 20 half-centuries besides the 17 hundreds.

In 211 one-day internationals, he has hit up 7,801 runs for an average of 42.40. The 204 innings he played include 43 fifties and 21 centuries - the 143 he hit in the Sharjah Cup semi-final against Australia last year being the highest.

World champion in her category in 1994 and ’95, Malleswari was the Asian champion in 1997.

Also a recipient of the Arjuna and Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Awards, Malleswari opened India’s medal account in the Bangkok Asian Games last month by winning a silver.

Contacted on phone at her home in Yamunanagar (Haryana), Malleswari told PTI that she considered the honour as a recognition of the toil she had put in over the years.

Akram keen to lead Pak to series win

GWALIOR, Jan 25(UNI) — There are several wishes left unfulfilled in the heart of Pakistani skipper Wasim Akram who feels that it will be a dream come true if he leads Pakistan to a series win like his mentor Imran Khan did in 1986-1987.

"I think it will be a dream of any Pakistani to defeat India in their den and for that matter India will also love to do the same in our case. Truly speaking, both want to win against each other,’’ the highest wicket-taker in the one-day internationals told UNI while waiting for his turn to bat in the second innings against India ‘A’ in the three-day contest here today.

Asked to give reason why do Indo-Pak matches arouse national passion to feverish pitch, Akram said, "It has something to do with traditional conditioning in which we grew up and you with your own, but it is the spectators on both the sides who watch the game on the lines of national prestige and do not enjoy the spirit of the game. It is a simple arithmetic of performance. Someday we win, and they lose and next day vice versa. Victory cannot be a habit.’’

The 32-year old all rounder said a win in the Test matches or a relatively better display than the hosts here would motivate the team’s morale, which has dampened as a result of reverses the team faced during home series last year, and prepare his side for the 1999 World Cup.

Akram said, "Not only victory against India, but winning the millennium’s last World Cup is also my ambition.’’

About the tour, he said the common concern was to revive the Indo-Pak series and for that both the governments decided cricket should go on. "Earlier the tour was put in jeopardy, but we were in a positive frame of mind and left the country as ambassadors of goodwill to make cricket the ultimate winner. And one ambition of us got fulfilled.’’

"The Pakistani players receive a lot of fan mail from India and people ask us why do we not play in India. It was the high time to make their dream true and win hearts among the millions of Indians who have convictional love for sports at positive showing of play to establish cricket fraternity,’’ Akram said adding that the sports contacts can do much to cast off some of the inherited prejudices plaguing relations between both the countries.

About aiming at Kapil Dev’s world record of 434 wickets, the eighth bowler in the tests history to take 350 wickets felt that he would be honoured even if he reached near the milestone.

Akram, who has recently been reinstated as captain, stepped down from the captaincy in 1998 when allegations of match-fixing had surfaced after a one-day tournament in Sharjah and vowed never to lead the team again.

He clarified that "allegations put me in the worst time of my life, but I am proud of my family members, friends and fans who stood by me and gave enough courage to fight till the finish. So I accepted the responsibility to lead the team from the front.’’

On his band of merry men, Akram rated them as a better lot than one which toured India in 1987 under Imran Khan’s captaincy with a series win, but at the same time he admitted that fielding is still (their) grey area. "We have to tighten our fielding and sew a harmonious thread in all departments of the game to sign 1999 off in style.’’

"I have told my boys to forget all that happened, just concentrate on the game, give hundred per cent and enjoy cricket,’’ he said adding that people on each side should also enjoy cricket in its rightful and noble spirit.

6 IOC members face expulsion

LAUSANNE (Switzerland), Jan 25 (AP) — Olympic leaders have recommended the expulsions of six IOC members in an unprecedented purge linked to the biggest corruption scandal in the history of the games.

The embattled President of the International Olympic Committee yesterday said the action was aimed at ending "the ugliest chapter in the history" of the world's biggest sports event, which in the last two decades has also become a billion-dollar business.

As a third member resigned in the scandal, IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch said three other members remained under investigation, while a fourth was warned about his actions by the ruling executive board.

"The members violated their Olympic oath and betrayed the confidence put in them by the Olympic family," Mr Samaranch said.

"These actions were inappropriate and against the policy of our organisation."

One member, Mr Jean-Claude Ganga of the Republic of Congo, received $ 226,000 from Salt Lake in cash, medical and travel expenses, gifts and entertainment, according to the IOC report.

Mr Samaranch announced the action at the end of a two-day emergency meeting to deal with a spiralling crisis that started with allegations of bribery in Salt Lake City's winning bid for the 2002 Winter Olympics.

He said those games would stay in Salt Lake and Sydney would keep the 2000 summer Olympics, even though the investigation has spread to Australia.

Bhupathi knocked out of mixed doubles

MELBOURNE, Jan 25 (UNI) — Mahesh Bhupathi and his Croatian partner Mirjana Lucic were knocked out of the mixed doubles event of the Australian Open today.

Bhupathi-Lucic, seeded fourth, lost 6-7 (3-7), 6-2, 7-6 (7-1) to Americans Donald Johnson and Kimberly Po in their second-round match.

Bhupathi-Lucic, runners-up at Wimbledon last year and quarter-finalists at the US Open, appeared to have got the upper hand after winning the first set tie-breaker comfortably. But the first game of the second set, which Bhupathi served, saw them lose all initiative. Bhupathi made three errors at the net and then double-faulted at breakpoint.

Lucic appeared to be playing better than yesterday but clearly something was missing in Bhupathi’s game as the pair tried in vain to regroup.

After losing the second set easily, Bhupathi as broken once again, in the fifth game of the third set in the end game. He had an argument with the umpire about a call and hit the ball hard and high, far out of court two, and was promptly given a code of conduct violation warning. To be fair to Bhupathi, there was some problem with the electronic let-calling machine, several seemingly good serves being called let throughout the match.

Bhupathi tried to pump himself up and he and Lucic broke Po to make it 4-all. However, they lost their chance to win when they allowed Po to hold serve in the 12th game, after she had double-faulted twice.

Still there was some satisfaction. Bhupathi-Lucic earned about Rs 160,000 for their two days’ work here.

Bhupathi now has to pick himself up for his and Leander Paes’s doubles quarter-final against American Jonathan Stark and Richey Reneberg.

Morale-boosting win for Anand

WIJK AAN ZEE, Jan 25 (UNI) — Vishwanathan Anand found his winning style once again, scoring a win over Jan Timman of the Netherlands in the seventh game of the annual Hoogovens International Chess Tournament.

Meanwhile Garry Kasparov continued to be the centre of all attention as he scored another fine win, his sixth in succession, over Alexy Shirov, to remain as the sole leader of the tournament.

Kasparov leads with 6.5 points while Anand is at 5.5 points and Vladimir Kramnik who drew with Rustam Kasimdhzanov is third at 4.5 points. There are six more rounds left in the 14-man tournament which has 20,000 guilders as prize. In the daily prize for the best game selected by the spectators, Anand once again emerged ahead of Kasparov. It was the third award for Anand, while Kasparov despite his six wins has got only one.

So high has the standard of the play of Kasparov and Anand been, that the tournament performance rating of Kasparov at this is stage is an unprecedented 3068 while Anand’s has been 2865. FIDE ratings show Kasparov at 2812 and Anand at 2784.

Anand has white pieces but surprisingly he failed to derive a clear advantage from that. But as the game progressed in ruy lopez (Berlin variation), Anand slowly but surely made his position stronger. Timman lapsed into a couple of crucial errors in the middle game and Anand walked away with a win. Despite the sedate opening, his middle game and finish impressed the spectators who awarded him 500-guilder best game prize.

Kasparov, who was due to meet Shirov in a match for the world title last year, defeated the Russian-born player who now lives in Spain with a preparation that seemed to have been specifically for Shirov. The Sicilian-najdorf, an area where Kasparov is especially strong was seen in the game where Kasparov had black.

Kasparov had a novelty on the 12th move from a game that previously been played between Shirov and Salov, where the latter had black. Shirov followed lines which were employed in the game which was being followed thus far. Kasparov expected all this and he simplified by exchanging queens and despite a sacrifice by Shirov, Kasparov was too strong and duly won in 49 moves.

Topalov held Kramnik to a draw and Ivanchuk played out a draw in another game.

Results of the seventh round: Shirov (Esp) 3 lost to Kasparov (Rus) 6.5, Anand (India) 5.5 beat Tamman (Neth) 3, Topalov (Bul) 3.5 drew with Ivanchuk (Ukr) 4, Piket (Neth) 3 drew with Van Wely (Neth) 3.5, Sokolov (Bosnia) 2.5 drew with Svidler (Rus) 4, Kasimdzhanov (Uzb) 2 drew with Kramnik (Rus) 4.5, Reinderman (Neth) 1.5 drew with Yermolinsky (US) 2.5.

Good day for Indians at Ubeda

UBEDA (Spain), Jan 25 (PTI) — Grandmaster norm holder Abhijit Kunte scored a quick win over Denmark’s Bjerring Kai as the Indians enjoyed a good fifth round at the Ciudad de Ubeda International Chess Tournament here.

Former national champion, Kunte outclassed his opponent in just 32 moves of trampowsky attack to take his tally to 3.5 as all of the Indians except IWM Vijayalakshmi Subburaman and IM V. Saravanan grabbed full points yesterday.

Russian GM Konstantin Landa (4.5) maintained his lead by holding second-seeded compatriot Alexey Dreev in a slav defence game. Half-a-point behind were a bunch of players including Dreev, GM Bagutrov and IM Gaprindasvilli.

Top Indian junior IM K. Sasikiran (3.5) was awarded the match as his opponent S. Kovasavich (2.5) of Yugoslavia failed to turn up in the stipulated one hour.

Former national "A" champion P. Konguvel, IM R.B. Ramesh and IM norm holder C.S. Gokhale (all with three points) registered easy wins against William Pascal, A. Zair and IM Formanek (USA) respectively, while IWM Mrunalini Kunte and Pallavi Shah won their second consecutive game to their tally to two points.

D.V. Prasad (3) capitalised on a blunder by Vijayalakshmi (2) to score full point. Prasad played his pet queens gambit accepted variation against Vijayalakshmi and was in a disadvantageous position when the latter committed a mistake under time pressure and was forced to resign.

Saravanan (2) lost to GM Minasian Ava in a double edged position where he was an exchange up. Saravanan could not stop his opponent’s pawn from queening and resigned.

Other important results:

Konstantin Landa (Rus) 4.5 drew with a Dreev (Rus) 4, Baguturov (Geo) 4 drew with Garcia S (Cuba) 4, S Tiriakov (Rus) 4 beat a Barsov (Uzb) 3, A Grischuk (Ukr) 4 drew with Gaprindashvilli (Geo) 4, K. Asrian (Arm) 4 beat A Summerscale (Eng) 3, A Kunte (Ind) 3.5 beat Bjerring Kai (Den).

Agassi, Kournikova crash out

MELBOURNE, Jan 25 (Reuters) — The Australian Open lost two of its brightest stars today when former champion Andre Agassi crashed back to earth and Russian teenager Anna Kournikova’s lucky run came to an end.

Seventh seed Mary Pierce moved ruthlessly through the fourth round, teaching Kournikova a tennis lesson with a 6-0 6-4 win on Melbourne Park’s centre court.

Vincent Spadea — described by Agassi last year as a journeyman — scored his biggest career win to advance to the quarterfinals with a 6-1 7-5 6-7 6-3 win over the fifth seed.

Spadea’s win over bookmakers’ favourite and 1995 champion Agassi leaves only three seeded players in the men’s singles.

On the women’s side, former champions Steffi Graf and Monica Seles shone brightly to set up a quarter-final that rekindles one of the great rivalries of modern tennis.

Pierce, the 1995 Open champion, was in similarly bright form to set up a quarter-final against world number two and defending champion Martina Hingis, whom she has beaten five times in their nine previous meetings.

Hingis battled the heat and a determined 16th seed Amanda Coetzer of South Africa on an outside court before emerging a 6-3 6-7 6-1 winner.

Pierce was never in distress against 12th seed Kournikova, a 1997 Wimbledon semifinalist who twice received courtside treatment for a right shoulder injury during the second set.

Spadea, who beat Agassi the last time they played in Cincinnati last year, looked like a mirror-image of his older rival. They both have two-fisted backhands, play mostly from the baseline, and take the ball early, trying to move opponents around. Spadea had the edge in every department, and Agassi seemed out of sorts all the way.

"I guess it’s the biggest accomplishment to date,’’ said Spadea, who admitted Agassi had been a role model for him.

No. 7-ranked Slovakian Karol Kucera is the highest ranked player still in the draw while Russian No. 10 Yevgeny Kafelnikov, the 1996 French Open Champion, is the only man left with a Grand Slam title.

Spadea will play Germany’s Tommy Haas in the quarters after his 6-2, 6-3, 7-5 win over Fabrice Santoro.

American No. 15 seed Todd Martin will meet the winner of Monday night’s match between Kafelnikov and Andrei Pavel in the quarters. Martin beat Zimbabwe’s Wayne Black 7-6 (7-3), 6-4, 6-4 in their fourth-round match.

While the men’s draw lost some shine, the women’s competition set up some up some sparkling quarterfinal clashes, including Tuesday’s battle between No.1 Lindsay Davenport and No. 5 Venus Williams.

Four-time winners Steffi Graf and Monica Seles stayed fresh for their sentimental quarterfinal showdown by winning fourth round matches with ridiculous ease.

No. 7 Mary Pierce set up a meeting with No. 2 Martina Hingis by ending Anna Kournikova’s misery 6-0, 6-4 a Monday night.

Kournikova needed shoulder treatment after losing the opening nine games and then won her first service game after the stoppage and added two breaks. But her powder-puff serve, which yielded 68 double faults in the opening three rounds and a further five Monday, let her down again in the 10th game as Pierce broke for the sixth time in the match.

Seles and Graf, former No.1 players, had virtual training sessions on centre court. They both won in 47 minutes, and left plenty in the tank for their 15th career clash on Wednesday.

No.2-ranked Hingis got a tough workout from South African Amanda Coetzer before winning 6-3, 6-7 (4-7), 6-1. Hingis struggled with the heat and took a 10-minute break, allowed under the rules, when the temperature topped 28° C (82°F).

BCCI headquarters to remain in Mumbai

MUMBAI, Jan 25 (PTI) — Indian Cricket Board (BCCI) headquarters would not be shifted to Calcutta from here, its executive secretary Sharad Diwadkar today said.

The board officials, who wanted to shift the office after it was ransacked on January 18 by alleged Shiv Sena activists protesting the tour of Pakistan cricket team to India, have intimated him that the office would not be shifted, Diwadkar told PTI here.

After the attack, Maharashtra Chief Minister Manohar Joshi had requested the BCCI President Rajsingh Dungarpur not to shift the office from Mumbai. Following this, the officials decided to retain it here, Diwadkar added.

On January 22, Diwadkar had got official instructions to shift the office to Calcutta.

‘Australian of Year’ award for Taylor

SYDNEY, Jan 25 (Reuters) — Mark Taylor, who started the year with his Test place in question and completed it by leading his team to Ashes victory over England, received the 1998 ‘Australian of the Year’ award from Prime Minister John Howard today.

Taylor, captain of his country since 1994 and veteran of more than 100 Tests, is now contemplating retirement from the international arena.

Punjab confident of doing well
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Jan 25 — Punjab is gearing up to participate in the National Games, scheduled to be held at Imphal (Manipur) from February 14 to 25 and the Punjab Olympic Association (POA) is confident that Punjab will claim the maximum number of medals.

Mr Arvind Khanna, Secretary-General, POA, disclosed here today that Punjab had been declared eligible to participate in all the events being held during the national games. Punjab would participated in 26 sports disciplines out of 27 events. There would be no participation from the state in sepak takraw.

Mr Khanna disclosed that Punjab's contingent would be the second biggest after the host, Manipur. The total strength of the contingent would be 510, including 286 men and 152 women competitions, while 59 men and 22 women officials would accompany the squad.

Brig K.S. Brar and Mr Raman Kalia would be the Administrator and Public Relation Officer, respectively, of the contingent.

Mr Khanna disclosed that for the first time Punjab would field its women's team in football, shooting and wrestling .

At present all sports associations were engaged in conducting coaching camps to prepare the teams for the games. The coaching camps were being held at Amritsar, Chandigarh, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Patiala, Sangrur and Phagwara.

The following are the venues of various camps: archery (Patiala), athletics (Jalandhar), badminton (Jalandhar), basketball (men) (Ludhiana), basketball (women) (Ludhiana) boxing (Sangrur), equestrian (Jalandhar), fencing (Patiala), football (Phagwara, Jalandhar), gymnastics (men) (Jalandhar), gymnastics (women) Gurdaspur (Ludhiana), handball (Ludhiana), hockey (Jalandhar), hockey (women) (Kapurthala), judo (Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur), kabaddi (Faridkot), Kho-kho (Patiala), rifle shooting (Chandigarh), rowing (Chandigarh), swimming (Jalandhar), table tennis (Jalandhar), volleyball (Jalandhar/Ludhiana), weightlifting (Jalandhar/Patiala) and wrestling (Jalandhar).

Mixed luck for jrs in squash

MUMBAI, Jan 25 (PTI) — Indian junior squash players met with mixed luck on the opening round, with three of them crossing the first hurdle, in the ninth Asian Junior Championships at Kuala Lumpur today.

Chennai based Joshna Chinappa impressed the most with a 9-2, 9-3, 9-5 victory over Francis Ho of Hong Kong in just 20 minutes in the junior girls individual event, according to information received here.

The 14-year-old Joshna will now take on joint-third seed Daphine Ting of Malaysia in the next round.

Mumbai girl Rhea Bandhare followed Joshna into the second round with an 9-1, 9-3, 9-0 win over Sri Lanka’s Rasani Lankage.

After the match, tournament referee Leslie Pnampalam spoke to the Indian coach Rajiv Reddy as Reha had printed her name at the back of her T-shirt which was a violation of the dress code.

In the boys individual event, Mumbai based Abhijit Kukreja recorded a fine 3-9, 9-6, 9-7, 9-2 win over local lad V.K. Kumaraseran in the second round. He will now meet Asian junior champion Mansoor Zaman of Pakistan in the next round.

However, the other Indians seen in action, Vaidehi Reddy and Pia Abraham in the girls section, and joint ninth seed Parth Doshi and Anshul Manchanda failed to cross the first hurdle.

Sidhu stars in North Zone win

JAMSHEDPUR, Jan 25 (PTI) — An unbeaten 86 by S Sharat went in vain as South lost by 42 runs against holders North Zone in the limited overs Deodhar Trophy Tournament at Keenan Stadium here today.

Chasing a victory target of 277, South could manage only 234 for nine in their allotted 50 overs.

South were never really in the chase with wickets falling at regular intervals after opener Daniel Manohar (20) and Arun Kumar (23) put on 38 runs for the opening partnership. The side appeared to be in deep trouble when they lost five top order batsmen for only 80 and despite a fight back by the later batsmen, South fell well short of the target.

S Sriram (20) and Sharat added 45 runs for the sixth wicket, while the seventh-wicket partnership between skipper M.S.K.Prasad and Sharat added 43 runs. Sharat’s faced 123 balls to score 86 in 166 minutes which included five boundaries.

Earlier, electing to bat first after winning the toss, North Zone opener Ashu Dani and skipper Vikram Rathore gave a solid start helping their side to score 276 for nine.

While the opening partnership fetched 90 runs, Dani notched up 39, with five hits to fence.

Navjot Singh Sidhu, who walked in after Dani’s dismissal, stitched a 64-run third-wicket partnership with Pankaj Dharmani (26) which was followed by a 57-run fifth-wicket partnership with Mithun Minhas (26).

Sidhu’s 83 came off 90 balls with four boundaries and two sixes. D Vasu took three for 54, while H Ramakishen bagged two wickets.

Brief scores: North Zone 276 for nine (N S Sidhu 83) South Zone 234 for nine (S Sharat 86 not out).

UT Commissionerate lift hockey title

CHANDIGARH, Jan 25 (TNS) — Chandigarh Commissionerate won the hockey title in the All-India Central Revenue Sports Meet which concluded at Chennai on Saturday. In the final, Chandigarh beat Mumbai Customs in the tie-breaker 5-4 after the two teams were locked in a 1-1 draw at the end of stipulated period.

In the semifinals, Chandigarh beat Income Tax, Chennai 3-1 after trailing 0-1. Kulwant Rai (31st minute) and Munish Sharma (45th and 62nd minutes) scored for the winners.

In veterans' table tennis, Subash Batra won the singles defeating his opponent from East Zone 21-12, 21-15. In the doubles, Subash Batra and Virat Chaudhary were the winners. Anil Bhatti won a silver in the veteran singles in badminton, Mr Gurdsihpal Singh, Sport Officer of the Commissionerate, said in a press note, here today.

West dethrone South

CHANDIGARH, Jan 25 (BOSR) — West Zone dethroned South Zone by nine wickets on the second day of the 29th, FCI Inter-Zonal Cricket Tournament at PCA Stadium, SAS Nagar today.

In another match at the cricket stadium, Sector 16, Headquarters outplayed North East Zone by eight wickets.

Brief scores: Ist match:-SZ-110 all out in 37.4 overs. (K. Ravi 43, Arvind 13, S. Parob 3 for 29, Rohan 2 for 22,). WZ-114 for one in 17.4 overs. (Abhishek 64, Santosh 45, K. Rai 1 for 36).

Second match: NEZ-151 for 9 in 40 overs. (D. Roy 40, RM Gohain 28, Jagjit Singh 28, D. Singh 28, G. Ali 5, S. Chopra 4 for 30, Balkrishan 3 for 32, Amit one for 42). HQ-152 for 2 in 30.4 overs (Sanjeev Kohli 50, Ajay Madan 38, Ajay Arora 36, Ashwani 10, Gohain 2 for 34).

Gold for Kuljinder

CHANDIGARH, Jan 25 (BOSR) — Kuljinder Singh of GND University, Amritsar in under 71 kg category, Tarsem Lal of Punjabi University, Patiala in the under 65 kg category and Gurpreet Kaur of Panjab University, Chandigarh in below 44 kg were the gold medal winners on the third day of the All-India Inter-University Judo Championship here today.

Results: Below 44 kg Women: Gurpreet Kaur (PUC) 1, Pooja (Delhi) 2, Neelam (KU) and Pooja (GND Varsity, Asr) 3.

Men: Below 55 kg: Kulbahadur Thapa (Pbi Patiala) 1, Mandeep Singh (PUC) 2, Surinderpal Singh (GND Varsity, Asr) and Sandeep (MDU) 3.

Below 65 kg: Men: Tarsem Lal (Pbi, Patiala) 1, Chander Shekhar (PUC) 2, Anil Chauhan (LNIPE, Gwalior) and Sandeep (MDU) 3.

Below 71 kg: Kuljinder Singh (GND Varsity, Asr) 1, Deepak (LNIPE, Gwalior) 2, Harpreet Singh (PUC) and Dinesh (MDU) 3.

TCC triumph

CHANDIGARH, (BOSR): TC Club defeated IC Club by seven wickets in the Bathany Cup Cricket Tournament at the CRPF ground here on Monday. IC club were allout in 25 overs while TC Club made 122 for three wickets in 19.2 overs. Anil Kapoor scored 48 not out for the winners.

Women's handball at Anandpur Sahib

CHANDIGARH, Jan 25 (BOSR) — The 27th Senior National Womens, Handball Championship has been allotted to Punjab Handball Association and it will be conducted at Anandpur Sahib from March 8 to 12, as per a communication received today by Mr Ravinder Talwar, secretary of the Chandigarh Handball Association.

The organisers will provide free board and lodging facilities to the players.

Trials

HISAR, Jan 25 (FOSR) — Trials to select the Haryana team for the Subjunior National Handball Championship to be held at Jammu from February 5 to 10 will be held at Government College grounds here on January 27 at 12 noon, according to Mr Ram Mehar Singh Malik (50) secretary of the Haryana State Handball Association.

Boys born on January 2, 1983 and after are eligible to take part.

Randhir, Kavita adjudged best

HISAR, Jan 25 (FOSR) — Randhir Singh and Kavita were adjudged the best athletes among boys and girls sections respectively in the 32nd annual athletic meet of the local CRM Jat College, which concluded here last evening. Mr Subhash Sharma, Principal, Dayanand College, gave away the prizes.

GND varsity eves are champs

AMRITSAR, Jan 25 (FOSR) — Hosts Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, won the All-India Inter-University Softball (women) Championship for the year 1998-99 which concluded here today. Panjab University Chandigarh remained runners-up and DAVV University Indore were third in this championship.

Host Guru Nanak Dev University beat DAVV University Indore 9-5 Panjab University beat Amravati University 10-0 in an another match.

Men's section: DAVV University won the All-India Inter-University Softball (men) Championship. Guru Nanak Dev University remained runners-up and Osmania University were third.