Sri Lanka storm into final
LAHORE, March 6 — Sri Lanka edged out India to storm into the Asian Test Championship final against Pakistan while Wasim Akram claimed the first ever Test hat-trick for his country in a late burst on the third day of the last league tie here today.

Jansher Khan plans a comeback
LONDON, Mar 6 — Jansher Khan, the eight-time former world champion who has been unable to complete a match for almost a year, is planning a comeback at next month’s PIA Open in Karachi.

Courtney Walsh joins select band
PORT-OF-SPAIN, (Trinidad), March 6 — West Indies fast bowler Courtney Walsh shook off the rust, fought off the niggling injuries and yesterday became just the third person in the history of Test cricket to reach 400 wickets.

• Aussies restricted to 174 for 6

Paramjit lashes out at Milkha
PATIALA, March 6 — After having maintained a silence for months, ace quarter miler Paramjit Singh today lashed out at Milkha Singh for failing to honour his commitment of awarding Rs 2 lakh even as four months have elapsed since Paramjit eclipsed the 'Flying Sikh's 38-year-old 400 metres record during the open national athletic meet held at Calcutta, prior to the Bangkok Asiad.

Punjab force Baroda to follow on
BARODA, March 6 — Baroda fell 46 runs short of avoiding follow on against Punjab on the third day in group-A of Ranji Trophy super league and were at 162 for three in the second innings after being bowled out for 176 in the first essay.

The match has been a farce SRI LANKA easily got the bonus points necessary to take them into the final. The match as a spectacle so far, has been a farce. A depleted ordinary looking Sri Lanka competed at their best but Pakistan played as if it was a benefit match.

Delhi on road to victory
NEW DELHI, March 6 — Delhi took a firm grip on their penultimate super-league match against Railways and were just five wickets away from outright victory on the third day of the four-day Ranji Trophy tie here today.

Bihar struggling to avoid defeat
BANGALORE, March 6 — Forced to follow on, Bihar were struggling at 120 for six in their second innings after being dismissed for 227 in their first at close on the penultimate day of their Ranji Trophy cricket super league match against Karnataka here today.

Sri Lanka storm into final

LAHORE, March 6 (PTI) — Sri Lanka edged out India to storm into the Asian Test Championship final against Pakistan while Wasim Akram claimed the first ever Test hat-trick for his country in a late burst on the third day of the last league tie here today.

Opener Russel Arnold (123) struck his maiden century and with wicketkeeper Romesh Kaluwitharana, who made exactly 100, raised 143 runs for the fifth wicket to enable Sri Lanka snatch three batting points required to take their tally (11) beyond India (10) and make the summit clash to come off in Dhaka from March 12 to 16.

Sri Lanka were eventually bowled out for 328 in reply to Pakistan’s 398-run first innings effort. At stumps, Pakistan had raced to 149 for none in their second knock with Shahid Afridi, dropped five times, unbeaten with a swashbuckling 81.

Sri Lanka expectedly snatched the seven points they needed from this tie to upstage India. After taking all four bowling points yesterday without trouble, they found the batting points as they crossed the 300-run mark well under the 100-over stipulation.

The 32-year-old Akram carved a niche for himself by claiming the hat-trick, scything through the Sri Lankan batting in a four-wicket blitz in the space of 13 balls.

Akram, who has twice claimed hat-tricks in one-dayers, came on only after Sri Lanka were through to the final. He had Kaluwitharana caught behind and bowled Niroshan Bandarathilake and Pramodya Wickremasinghe off the next two balls.

Akram, sixth highest Test wicket-taker with 372 victims, emerged the 24th bowler to claim a hat-trick in Test history. His magical second and final spell read 2.2-0-9-4 and the final analysis four for 30.

At close, both Afridi was 19 short of his second Test century with first innings centurion Wajahatullah Wasti batting on 61.

Sri Lanka found their second batting point when both Arnold and Kaluwitharana took the innings past the 225-run mark in the morning.

The first wicket fell only nearing lunch when off-spinner Saqlain Mushtaq — who claimed an impressive four for 82 bowled Arnold.

Arnold’s maiden century came off 161 balls and 249 minutes and his 123 lasted just over five hours (123 — 310 m, 208 b, 20 x 4). The left-hander missed the line trying to sweep Saqlain Mushtaq, but Sri Lanka were just one run short of touching the 300-mark required to seal the final spot.

Kaluwitharana gave excellent support and executed some punishing shots before Akram had him caught behind by Moin Khan to trigger the collapse.

Pakistan, assured of a final berth going into the match then gained an upperhand in the match, which has lost some charm with both teams assured of playing in Dhaka.

Afridi struck 11 fours and a six in his aggressive knock, but was let off thrice before reaching his half-century with seven fours and a six.
Wasti, whose 133 was the highlight of Pakistan’s first innings was relatively more patient in reaching his fifty with four boundaries and a six.

Jansher Khan plans a comeback

LONDON, Mar 6 (AFP) — Jansher Khan, the eight-time former world champion who has been unable to complete a match for almost a year, is planning a comeback at next month’s PIA Open in Karachi.

Jansher, one of the greatest players of all time, has not finished a competitive match since losing in the final of the British Open to Scotland’s Peter Nicol in Birmingham last April — and this has prompted some observers to write the great Pakistani off.

The 29-year-old from Peshawar still hopes to compete despite undergoing operations on both knees and a groin injury late last year and an absence from the circuit which would certainly have forced lesser players to quit.

"The PIA Open can be a great help to him," says Jahangir Khan, the former 10-time British Open champion who was once Jansher’s greatest rival and is now the general manager of PIA’s sports division. "He will be able to find out where he stands by taking part."

Also likely to participate in the unsanctioned tournament are two Pakistanis who may be able to give Jansher useful match practice, the Pakistan Open champion Amjad Khan and the Asian Games winner Zarak Jahan Khan.

Jansher most of all wants to play as a means of testing his physical condition, although he withdrew after entering both the World Open in Doha in December and the tournament of champions in New York in January and also spoke of playing in last month’s Esso Open in Antwerp before deciding against that, too.

Jansher’s prospects of regaining the pinnacle have been hit by the indefinite postponement of this year’s British Open and loss of other tournaments from the calendar as a result of the world economic downturn.

That has reduced the opportunities to fight his way back and contributed to a fall to 34 in the rankings — which may oblige him to struggle through qualifying competitions before being able to participate in the main draws of leading tournaments.

Players are allowed one wild card per year on the PBA Tour. If, after using his, Jansher is unable to climb into the top 24 he will be left with a route back which is so physically wearisome it may no longer appeal to him.

This is the scenario which may persuade Jansher to attempt instead the occasional showdown with leading players on big occasions but leave the battle for the pinnacle to be fought between the likes of Nicol, number one for the last 14 months, Jonathan Power, the world champion from Canada, and Ahmed Barada, the leading Egyptian.

Courtney Walsh joins select band

PORT-OF-SPAIN, (Trinidad), March 6 (AP) — West Indies fast bowler Courtney Walsh shook off the rust, fought off the niggling injuries and yesterday became just the third person in the history of Test cricket to reach 400 wickets.

The 36-year-old in his 107th test and 15th year on the international circuit took three wickets on the opening day of the first Cable Wireless Test against Australia, reaching the landmark with the leg before dismissal of Ian Healy 45 minutes before the close. He joins Indian all-rounder Kapil Dev (434) and New Zealander Sir Richard Hadlee (431), both fast bowlers, as the others to achieve the feat.

When I started, I said that 200 wickets in a West Indies team would have been a good achievement,’’ said Walsh after the day’s play. But to get 400, I’m very happy with that.’’

I’m a little bit rusty because I haven’t played a lot of cricket lately,’’ said Walsh, whose career began against Australia at Perth in November, 1984.

The Jamaican had ended the disastrous tour of South Africa by limping off in the final Test at Centurion with a knee injury that put his future in doubt.

AFP adds: Walsh pumped his fists, waved his arms and did high fives with his team-mates on reaching the milestone.

The Jamaican received a standing ovation for the feat. He has said he will retire at the end of the current series so his chances of eclipsing Kapil Dev’s mark are remote.

In November, he passed Malcolm Marshall’s West Indies record Test wicket haul of 376.

Aussies restricted to 174 for 6

PORT-OF-SPAIN, March 6 (AFP) — Veteran paceman Courtney Walsh claimed his 400th Test wicket as the West Indies restricted Australia to 174 for six on a slow first day of the first cricket Test here.

Walsh bowled Australian wicketkeeper Ian Healy for 12 in the final session to take his third wicket of the day and pass the milestone.

The Australians found it hard to make runs off a tight West Indies attack yesterday and opener Matthew Elliott top-scored after facing 208 balls for his 44.

Greg Blewett, who made 43 not out from 141 balls, including three boundaries, was the other major contributor.

Shane Warne, who made a lively 15, was the other not out batsman.

The visitors won the toss and elected to bat on a cloudy morning and made a confident start before debutant Pedro Collins struck by having Michael Slater caught by Mervyn Dillon on the deep backward square-leg boundary for 23 with the score on 42.

Walsh, who returned for a second spell just before lunch after being replaced by Collins, then had Justin Langer caught by wicketkeeper Ridley Jacobs for five with just an over remaining before the interval.

Mark Waugh was the first to go after lunch, trapped leg before wicket by Walsh in his first over after the break for just two.

Australian skipper Steve Waugh, who replaced his brother, looked busy for his 14 before Dillon got him to touch a delivery to Jacobs.

Elliott fell lbw to Collins in the 68th over — the bowler injuring himself with the exhuberance of his appeal — before Walsh bowled Healy in the 80th over of the day.

Walsh finished with figures of 3-37 while Collins took 2-31 after one of the slower days of Test cricket in recent memory.

Reuters adds: Walsh, affectionately known as the "Work horse", had become the highest West Indian wicket-taker in Tests when he overtook the 376 of Malcolm Marshall on the recent disastrous tour of the South Africa.

He took 22 wickets in the Test series but could not prevent his side being whitewashed 5-0.

Punjab force Baroda to follow on

BARODA, March 6 (PTI) — Baroda fell 46 runs short of avoiding follow on against Punjab on the third day in group-A of Ranji Trophy super league and were at 162 for three in the second innings after being bowled out for 176 in the first essay.

Resuming at their overnight score of 146 for six this morning, Baroda lost the remaining wickets adding just 30 runs. Punjab had made 372 all out in their first innings.

Jacob Martin, overnight 69, added 19 more runs today before being trapped in front of the wicket by Navdeep Singh. Earlier, Singh claimed D. Mulherkar, the other not out batsman yesterday.

Kailash Chander then polished off the tail, taking the remaining two wickets immediately, to increase his wicket tally from the match to six off 97 runs.

In the second innings, the hosts lost the wickets of R.A. Swaroop (23), S. Parab (4) and Martin (19) for 81 runs, but opener C. Williams and H. Jadhav prevented further collapse and took the score to 162 for three at close of play.

Williams is batting on 70, which included eight fours and a six, while Jadhav’s watchful 38 included two fours.

Davis Cup: right decision by AITA
By Harbans Singh Virdi
Tribune News Service

INDIA has rightly chosen the lush green courts of the South Club in Calcutta to host the next Davis Cup tie against little-known China in the Asia-Oceania Group I from April 2 to 4.

Earlier reports had indicated that the tie might be played in Chennai. But Mr Ramesh Desai, Secretary of the All-India Tennis Association, consulted the two key players Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi-before deciding in favour of Calcutta, which in the past too have hosted Davis Cup matches like the India-Sweden Davis Cup tie a few years ago. As years ago. As is known to all, both Indian players, or for that matter all Indian players so far, to start with from Ramanathan Krishnan, Shyam Minotra, Vijay Anand, Anand Amrithraj, Jasjit Singh down to Bhupathi have been grass-court players. Serve and volley is their forte. A good performance is only possible if you give their desired surface which is grass surface since it gives good advantage to one who can serve accurately and powerfully.

This decision has been taken after carefully considering all aspects with Leander, Bhupathi and non-playing captain Jaideep Mukherjee for India cannot afford to lose the tie against China after the South Koreans upset the applecart of the Indians at Seogwipo City in South Korea.

To begin with India started disastrously in that tie, losing the opening day's singles to home players. Though they checked the tide by winning the doubles and also the first reverse singles through Leander, Mahesh Bhupathi felt the heat too much for him in the fifth rubber five-setter and caved in 1-6, 1-6, 1-6 even though he had won the first set in the tie-breaker. In fact, it proved too much tennis for a heavy frame that Bhupathi possesses. Now a good height does afford you a good angle to serve, to draw your opponent into the sidelines, for a good volley to follow, but a little overweight can hamper your reflexes. If one is not physically fit, it is difficult to last five sets at the international level.

After the tie Leander admitted recently that the South Koreans were more fit than the Indians and that he himself, at 25 now, was feeling hard to play the fourth or fifth set. Leander said that was one department Indians needed to improve if they were to improve upon their performance.

Besides, if good sense prevailed, both Leander and Bhupathi should have chosen grass-court tournaments. Instead, prior to the tie against China, the two will be playing on hard courts in the Indiana Wells and Lipton in Key Biscayne. However, to be fair to the Indians, the two players might not have thought that they would lose to South Koreans. And international commitments are made months in advance. Hence probably there was no choice for Leander and Bhupathi except to fulfil prior engagements.

As for China, it may be said in these columns that unlike Japan, China has hardly any player on the international circuit. So, their strength cannot be gauged. But then Chinese are Chinese and one cannot take them lightly. You never know how and when they may spring a surprise. After all, we must not forget what Chinese girls did in the long-distance running in world competitions. You have to keep your fingers crossed until their players descend on the Calcutta sail next month. Though it may be a far-distant dream, but a loss against China will sound the death knell for the Indian tennis if ever it happened.

The match has been a farce
By Geoffrey Boycott

SRI LANKA easily got the bonus points necessary to take them into the final. The match as a spectacle so far, has been a farce. A depleted ordinary looking Sri Lanka competed at their best but Pakistan played as if it was a benefit match.

Before the match started, captain Wasim Akram insisted Pakistan would try and win the match. As there are two days to go that may still be possible and now that Sri Lanka are in the final, they have nothing more to play for ... plus the Sri Lankan team are short of five top players. The real question that should have been put to Wasim was will your team prefer not play India in the final and let Sri Lanka get seven bonus points? Whatever the reply 'talk is cheap' and actions speak louder than words. What I've seen so far has been a Pakistan team committed to play well only, once India were out of the final and Sri Lanka got the bonus points required. I would never say a team is not trying because it is difficult — may be impossible — to prove.

But so far Pakistan have given a good impression of going through the motions until their final opponents were known and then dramatically raising their game. Wasim Akram didn't bowl at all in the morning session as the batsmen had an easy time against the spinners. Fielders strolled around casually waiting for Sri Lanka to get to 300 runs. When Wasim Akram finally turned his arm over, he embarrassed himself and his team mates with a devastating spell of bowling to take 4 wickets in 8 balls, including a hat-trick. He left himself open to the accusation that he deliberately didn't bowl himself in the morning while the 300 runs were being scored by Sri Lanka.

We had a similar situation on the second morning on a flat, no bounce, no pace, easy batting pitch when Pakistan were 192 for 3 and in prime position to make over 500 runs. Especially as the Sri Lankan bowling was so ordinary that school boys could have made runs. But Pakistan set about playing shots in a frenetic and frantic manner. It was so carefree and careless as to suggest that the object was to get quick runs and get out in the 100 overs so that Sri Lanka get the full four bowling bonus points. It was helter skelter boundary and wicket taking cricket. Everyone threw their bats at the ball. They even had the ludricious dismissal of Wasti. Once he had got his maiden century he lashed out at the bowling hitting quick fire runs but couldn't get out. So he farcically hit the ball to cover and attempted a non-existent run to be yards out!

In Pakistan's defence they could say we felt our best chance of winning the match was to get runs quickly and give ourselves time to bowl Sri Lanka out. They can convince themselves but they won't convince me and thousands of Indian supporters.

— PMG

Paramjit lashes out at Milkha
From Ravi Dhaliwal

PATIALA, March 6 — After having maintained a silence for months, ace quarter miler Paramjit Singh today lashed out at Milkha Singh for failing to honour his commitment of awarding Rs 2 lakh even as four months have elapsed since Paramjit eclipsed the 'Flying Sikh's 38-year-old 400 metres record during the open national athletic meet held at Calcutta, prior to the Bangkok Asiad.

During talks with this correspondent at the NIS campus, where Paramjit is attending a training camp in preparation for the Sydney Olympics, the soft spoken athlete with sadness and anger termed Milkha's decision as a "betrayal" from a man whom he regarded as his hero.

Interestingly, the Indian Tobacco Company (ITC) had also promised to pay staggering Rs 20 lakh to anybody breaking the 'Flying Sikh's, long-standing record which he set at the 1960 Rome Olympics clocking 45.60 seconds. But the tobacco firm has also gone back on its promise by stating that the award was to be considered only during the firm's contract with the AAFI. Incidentally the firm's contract with the AAFI expired way back in 1995-96, leaving Paramjit in the lurch.

Paramjit, an inspector with the CRPF, left for his native village in Hoshiarpur district this afternoon in preparation for his marriage with fellow sprinter E.B. Shyla, who was a member of the Indian athletic contingent for the Bangkok Asian Games. They are scheduled to tie the nupital knot on March 17.

Paramjit also discounted the theory propounded by the legendary Milkha that his timing at the Rome Olympiad was hand timed while Paramjit's timing at Calcutta where he clocked 45.70 seconds was timed electronically, thereby giving him a distinct advantage. It may be recalled that all hand timed races were converted to electronically timed ones by adding 0.14 seconds by the international athletic body (IAAF) and these were now universally accepted. Paramjit's contention was that Milkha had announced the reward of Rs 2 lakh only after the conversion from hand timings to electronic timings. Hence Milkha's logic that Paramjit had an advantage does not hold water.

Paramjit said that he along with his coach Harbans Singh had visited Milkha Singh at his Chandigarh residence in February where Milkha reiterated his promise. But the 26-year-old athlete said that till date no invitation had come. The quarter miler added that he felt this was the most opportune time to speak, his reasoning being that if Milkha had meant to honour his promise, he would have paid him the money by now.

Initially, Milkha had agreed to pay Rs 2 lakh but later said that he would pay Rs 1 lakh and with-hold the other Rs 1 lakh till Paramjit broke the record abroad. Knowledgeable sources say that Milkha's line of thinking was that records set in India do not merit much recognition since the dope testing mechanism is "dubious", while records created abroad in international meets are ratified only when the athlete if found "clean" by sophisticated laboratories based in London, Paris, Tokyo and Beijing which are approved by the IAAF. However, Paramjit said that he was confident of breaking the record abroad also and came very close to doing so at the Asian track and field meet held in Fukuoka where he clocked 45.95.

Sources close to Paramjit here at the NIS say that although Milkha's reluctance to pay the award money has hurt Paramjit yet the athlete is preparing for the Sydney Olympics with more application and determination.

On the other hand sources close to Milkha feel that since Milkha has owned the record for 38 long years, it has become a sort of obsession with him and now the 'Flying Sikh' is finding it difficult to part away with it.

Delhi on road to victory

NEW DELHI, March 6 (PTI) — Delhi took a firm grip on their penultimate super-league match against Railways and were just five wickets away from outright victory on the third day of the four-day Ranji Trophy tie here today.

Aakash Malhotra struck a chancy century and shared a 149-run third wicket partnership with skipper Ajay Sharma (65) as Delhi’s first innings folded at 373 — a decent 127-run lead on the Railways’ first innings total of 246.

Delhi bowlers then reduced the Railway men to 106 for 5 by close with one-full day to work towards a deserving and crucial victory.

Delhi’s first innings ended about 40 minutes after lunch as left-arm spinner Murali Karthik (5 for 55) ran through their tail after having removed dangerous looking Virender Sehwag (55) at the stroke of lunch.

Overnight batsmen Ajay Sharma (65 - 133b, 7x4, 1x6) did not last long, departing to a simple catch by Balaji Rao at square leg off Zakir Hussain.

Malhotra (111 — 248b, 15x4), riding on a few ‘lives’ provided by Railways fielders, was next to go when Yere Goud snapped him up in the covers off Dharmender Mishra.

Thereafter, only Pankaj Joshi (11) reached double figures as the tailenders departed cheaply.

Bihar struggling to avoid defeat

BANGALORE, March 6 (PTI) — Forced to follow on, Bihar were struggling at 120 for six in their second innings after being dismissed for 227 in their first at close on the penultimate day of their Ranji Trophy cricket super league match against Karnataka here today.

A career-best bowling performance by Anand Yalvigi (5 for 41) for the hosts saw Bihar, who had progressed with grit to 114 for two yesterday in reply to the hosts’ 497, being bundled out for 227 before lunch.

Rajiv Kumar (80 144 b, 198 m, 14x4) was the only batsman to put up a good fight, witnessing a virtual march past at the other end.

In the second innings, Rajiv Kumar (34) and Sunil Kumar (31), who had kindled the visitors’ hopes of avoiding an innings defeat, were both run out.

At draw of stumps, Arafi (4) and Panda (7) were at the crease.

For Karnataka, D. Ganesh and S. Joshi took two wickets each.

Brief scores:

Karnataka: 1st innings — 497. Bihar: 227 (Rajiv Kumar 80, Anand Yalvigi 5/41) and 120 for 6 34, Sunil Kumar 31; D. Ganesh 2/53, S. Joshi 2/25).

Hyderabad take lead

HYDERABAD: Hyderabad bundled out Rajashtan for 272 in their first innings to claim a 52-run lead and made 120 for three in the second innings on the third day of the four-day Ranji Trophy super league match here today.
The hosts, who had made 324 in their first innings, now have an overall lead of 172 runs. At stumps VVS Laxman (47) and Vanka Pratap (19) were at the crease.

Earlier, Hyderabad medium-pacer Narender Pal Singh added three more wickets to the three he claimed yesterday as the visitors slumped to 272 all out today, 57 minutes after lunch, from a healthy-looking last evening total of 182 for four.

Singh had claimed 37 wickets from eight matches so far in this season.

A 48-run seventh wicket partnership between Manish Singh (23) and Vijesh Bhatnagar (44) was the only highlight of the Rajasthan’s first innings today.

Brief scores: Hyderabad 324 all out and 120 for three wickets (VVS Laxman 47 batting, V. Pratap 19 batting, Krishna Kumar 2/21, Jaikumar Shamra 1/33) vs Rajasthan 272 all out (Rahul Kanwat 66, Aashish Kapoor 61, Krishna Kumar 36, Vijesh Bhatnagar 44, NP Singh 6/82, VP Raju 3/78, Kanwaljit Singh 1/69).

UT to honour sportspersons

CHANDIGARH, March 6 (TNS) — As many as 113 sportsmen and 87 sportswomen of Chandigarh will be honoured at a function at Lake Club here on March 8. Lt-Gen (Retd) BKN Chhibber, Governor of Punjab and Administrator, Chandigarh, will give away cash awards totalling Rs 5 lakh to position holders of inter-university, national and international sports meets held during the year 1997-98. Among those who will be honoured are Babita Negi and Prashant Verma in judo, and six skaters — Radhika Mehta, Eva, Vidushi Bhardwaj, Arun Wadhawan, Arvind Choudhary, and Abhishek Rattanpal who won bronze medals in roller hockey in Korea. Wrestler Sujit Mann of Chandigarh participated in the Asian Games held at Bangkok. The Chandigarh Sports Council has also decided to recognise the achievements of UT players at the recently held National Games in Imphal where Chandigarh secured the 11th position with 11 gold, 6 silvers and 10 bronze medals. As many as 18 coaches of SAI, Sports Department and the council who are working under the administrative control of the UT would also be honoured with cash awards, according to Dr JPS Sidhu, Joint Director, Sports, Chandigarh Administration.

Boxing coaching camp at Patiala

CHANDIGARH, March 6 (BOSR) — The Punjab Boxing Association will organise a 15-day coaching camp for the state team at Patiala before the Senior National Boxing Championship to be held at Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh from March 25 to 30. The selected players are: Bhim Singh, Malkiat Singh, Rakesh Kumar, Gurpreet Singh, Sohan Lal, Shashi Kapoor, Jaspal Singh, Jagdeep Singh, Rakesh, Gurmeet Singh, Sanjay Kumar, Sukhwinder Singh, Pawan Kumar, Harjang Singh, Malwinder Singh, Hemant Kumar, Jagtar Singh, Yogesh Kumar, Zorawar Singh, Balbir Singh, Shiv Partap, Harpreet Singh, Balkar Singh, Joginder Singh, Harpreet-II and Harpal Singh.

Harisar wrestling from March 11

PHAGWARA, March 6 (FOC) — Two titles for women — Bharat Kesari and Bharat Kumari — will be introduced this year during the 13th international highest cash prize wrestling tournament to be conducted at Gurdwara Harisar, Dera Mananhana, 25 km from here, in the memory of dera founder Sant Baba Hari Singh Nikiwale from March 11 to 13. Prizes totalling Rs 1 million are given to eight title winners. Mr P.R. Sondhi, international wrestling coach, and Prof Sital Singh, organising secretary of the tournament, said here today that weighing-in would be done at the dera on March 10. The bouts would be conducted as per international rules.

Coaching Centre in semis

LUDHIANA, March 6 (FOSR) — Coaching Centre defeated Unity Club by 52 runs and Double Decker XI beat APS Club by five wickets to enter the semifinals of the 6th Veera Devi Memorial Cricket Tournament at the SD Government College grounds here today. Batting first, Coaching Centre made 160 for the loss of six wickets. In reply, Unity Club were all out for 108 runs.

Best athlete

CHANDIGARH, March 6 (BOSR) — Gurdev Singh was declared the best athlete in the annual athletic meet of the Sri Guru Harkrishan Sahib Khalsa College (Panjokhra Sahib, Ambala) which concluded on the college campus last evening. The meet was inaugurated by Mr S.S. Niddar, president, management committee, while prizes were given away by Mr Faqir Chand Aggarwal, Deputy Speaker, Haryana Vidhan Sabha. Gurdev Singh stood first in 100 m, 200 m, shot put, discus throw, javelin throw and long jump. Karam Chand won th first position in 400 m while Sandeep Kharbanda stood first in high jump.

Football players suspended

CHANDIGARH, March 6 (BOSR) — The Haryana Football Association has suspended seven football players of DFA Ambala and six players of DFA Yamunanagar for taking part in a tournament as members of the Union Football Club, Ambala without seeking permission of the HFA, according to a press note of the association. The suspended players are: Deepak Gurang, Inderjeet Kaka, Rajeev Billa, Ram Kumar, Amrit Kumar, Gurpinder Singh and Sanjay Jha (all from Ambala) and Santosh, Ranvijay Singh, Sunil (Billa), Ravinder Pahari and Vinay Saxena (all from Yamunanagar). The disciplinary committee has barred these players from playing in any tournament and for any affiliated club of Haryana during their suspension period.

Medical College athletic meet

CHANDIGARH, March 6 (BOSR) — The annual athletic meet of the local Government Medical College, Chandigarh, began here today at the sports complex, Sector 46. The two day meet was declared open by Prof V.K. Kak, Director Principal of the college. The winners in the various events today were: 1500 m (boys): Geetinder Goyal; discus throw: Ashish Bhatnagar; shot put: (girls) Chetna; long jump (girls): Anuradha; 400 m (girls): Tina; 200 m: Faculty Dr (Arjun Dass; discus throw (girls) — Chetna; javelin throw (boys) — Prabhdeep Singh; discus throw (faculty women): Dr Monika Srivastava; Men: Dr Ashwani Dalal; shot put (faculty) Dr A.S. Bawa; high jump (boys) Harbir. The closing ceremony of this meet will be held tomorrow at 3 p.m.

OBC meet results

CHANDIGARH, March 6 (BOSR) — Northern Region dominated the proceedings on the penultimate day of the 6th All-India Oriental Bank of Commerce Inter-State Sports Meet here today. Region bagged the table tennis title thrashing Delhi 3-0 in the team championship final.

Basketball title for Athletic Club

CHANDIGARH, March 6 (BOSR) — Athletic Club, Sector 7 bagged the title in the Chandigarh State Basketball Championship which concluded here today at the Sports Complex, Sector 7. In the final they dethroned 12 Wing Air Force by 74-50. The main scorers for the winners were Pardeep (28), Amanpreet (10), Rakesh Verma, Sushil (8 each) and Virinder (5) while for the losers the scorers were H. Vinu (21) S.S. Koundal (13) and Vijay Rana (12). Earlier in the semifinal, Athletic Club surprised last years winners SD Club, Sector 32, 67-63 in a thrilling match. At half time Athletic Club were trailing by 29-32. The main scorers for winning side were Pardeep (27), Virinder (14) and Sushil (10) while for the losers the scorers were Dinesh (17) Nirpinderjeet (16) Harkanwaljit (13) and Amandeep (11). In the other semifinal YCC Club went down fighting to 12 Wing AF by 69-70. The scorers for the winners: H. Vinu (40) and Balak (21). For the losers the scorers were Hari Malik (22), Harjot (17).