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Azhar, Mongia out; Harbhajan in
MUMBAI, Oct 6 — The national cricket selectors today put a big question mark on the future of Mohammed Azharuddin when they omitted the former India captain from the team to play the first test against New Zealand at Mohali from October 10 to 14.

Agassi eases into second round
BASLE (Switzerland), Oct 6 — World number one Andre Agassi coasted to an easy first-round win at the Swiss Indoor Championships sweeping past Dutchman Jan Siemerink 6-3, 6-4.

Regional Sport Briefs
The son of former Brazilian soccer star Pele, Edson Cholbi do Nascimento, centre, sits in a courtroom during their trial in Santos on Tuesday
SANTOS, BRAZIL : The son of former Brazilian soccer star Pele, Edson Cholbi do Nascimento, centre, sits in a courtroom during their trial in Santos on Tuesday. AP/PTI

Pele’s son convicted of murder
SAO PAULO, Oct 6 — The son of Brazilian soccer legend Pele was convicted of murder early today for taking part in a street car race that resulted in the death of a passing motorcyclist.
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Harbhajan claims four for 62
JODHPUR, Oct 6 — Offie Harbhajan Singh celebrated his return to the national squad claiming four wickets for 62 runs but New Zealand rode on a second-wicket century stand between Matt Horne and Craig Spearman to reach 248 for five in reply to Board President XI’s total of 298, on the penultimate day of the three-day cricket match here today.

Axed six can be selected if fully fit: Gill
PUNE, Oct 6 — “The ascent will be totally on the juniors for the revival of hockey in the country”, asserted Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) President KPS Gill.

Pybus set to be Pak coach
KARACHI, Oct 6 — Richard Pybus, born in England and based in South Africa, looks set to be Pakistan coach for their forthcoming tour of Australia, local media reported today.

Waugh wants full series vs Lanka
COLOMBO, Oct 6 — Australian cricket captain Steve Waugh wants to play another Test series against Sri Lanka to avenge the 1-0 defeat in the just-concluded three-Test series. And he wants a full five-Test series.

Gurbaaz, Irina Brar lead
CHANDIGARH, Oct 6 — Gurbaaz Mann and Irina Brar led the field in the boys’ and girls’ divisions in the St Xaviers Northern Indian Junior/Subjunior Golf Championship at the Chandigarh Golf Club today.

IHF probables for Australian tour
PUNE, Oct 6 — The Indian Hockey Federation has apparently changed its stand on the six players axed after the Bangkok Asian Games last December.

Bombay Gold Cup revived
MUMBAI, Oct 6 — The Bombay Gold Cup Hockey Tournament, started in 1955, has been revived after a gap of five years and is to be held at the Mahindra Stadium here from October 6 to 16.

Sunil’s amazing run continues
NEW DELHI, Oct 6 — Sixteen-year-old promising Sunil Kumar of Chandigarh continued his amazing run at the DSCL National Hardcourt Tennis Championship, storming into the quarterfinals of the men’s and the boys u-18 sections, registering contrasting wins.

Final day’s play washed out
DHAKA, Oct 6 — Rain prevented a ball being bowled out the third and final day of the match between Bangladesh and West Indies today.

FIFA wants world club championship
LONDON, Oct 5 — World soccer’s governing body hopes that the FIFA club world championship will become a regular feature after next year’s inaugural tournament, a FIFA spokesman has said.

 

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Azhar, Mongia out; Harbhajan in

MUMBAI, Oct 6 (PTI) — The national cricket selectors today put a big question mark on the future of Mohammed Azharuddin when they omitted the former India captain from the team to play the first test against New Zealand at Mohali from October 10 to 14.

“Azhar’s name was discussed like all others and we unanimously felt the team chosen today was the best”, selection committee chairman Chandu Borde told reporters after the two-hour meeting, also attended by India captain Sachin Tendulkar and newly-appointed coach Kapil Dev here.

“At the moment I cannot say anything. We have to see how these (selected) players perform. We have an open mind (on the issue)”, Borde said when queried about the 36-year-old Hyderabad veteran’s future at the international level.

“We will have to see how he performs, but not in Ranji Trophy ties. But keeping the future in mind we felt this team will deliver the goods”, Borde added.

Also dropped from the 14-member squad was experienced Baroda wicket-keeper Nayan Mongia who too, like Azhar, has recovered from an injury only recently.

Mongia’s place in the squad was taken by young Andhra stumper M.S.K. Prasad whose impressive stint in the four-nation tournament at Nairobi recently gained him the berth, Borde said.

Bhavnagar-born Bengal opener Devang Gandhi and Karnataka middle-order batsman Vijay Bharadwaj are the other newcomers at Test level.

Karnataka aces Javagal Srinath and Anil Kumble, who were not part of the team which played one-day tournaments in Toronto and Nairobi, were expectedly recalled into the squad. Punjab off-spinner Harbhajan Singh also gained the nod.

The 24-year-old Bharadwaj edged out Azhar — out of contention for India’s four limited overs tournaments after the World Cup as he was recuperating from a shoulder operation he underwent in England in June — besides left-handers Hrishikesh Kanitkar and Mohammed Kaif whose names were also discussed.

The bespectacled Bharadwaj, who was the ‘Man of the tournament in Nairobi with his fine all-round show, was described by Borde as a good batsman who also bowls well.

“We don’t believe in choosing a player and discarding him after giving him just one chance. It is not right”, Borde said which indicates how difficult it would be for Azhar to squeeze his way back into the team in the near future.

“We also kept the future in view, but at the moment our priority is to win the home series against New Zealand whose confidence must be high after their 2-1 series win over England”, the Pune-based former India all-rounder said.

He also made it clear that the 28-year-old Gandhi, who has played for India A, would open the innings with southpaw Sadagopan Ramesh while Ajay Jadeja would bat only in the middle-order.

“The names of Mumbai’s Wasim Jaffer and Hyderabad’s Venkata Sai Laxman were also considered for opening the innings. We have an open mind on all the openers”, he added.

While describing Mongia as an excellent wicket-keeper, Borde said it was the unanimous view of the committee to choose Rookie Prasad as the Andhra stumper “is doing very well as he showed with his performance in Nairobi. We want to encourage him. He is also batting well”.

On the expected recall of legspin ace Kumble, after his recent indifferent performance saw him omitted for the last two one-day tournaments, Borde said the Karnataka player was “a strike bowler. On our wickets we all feel he will do justice”.

While Kumble lost his place in the one-day squad after the events in Sri Lanka and Singapore, Srinath was “rested” by the previous selection committee, headed by Ajit Wadekar, after the Lanka three-nation tournament in August-end.

The gangling bowler also showed the selectors that he was rediscovering his form after the “rest” with a six-wicket haul in the Irani Cup tie against the Rest of India at Bangalore.

About the choice of Jadeja in the middle-order, Borde said it was felt the Haryana stalwart, a failure in Tests as opener, would perform well in the middle. “He also contributes with his fine fielding”, the selection panel chairman added.

The inclusion of left-arm spinner Sunil Joshi was expected while Borde said the ability of Punjab off-spinner Harbhajan Singh to spin the ball more than Delhi’s one-day specialist Nikhil Chopra swung the pendulum in his favour.

Borde said the three Rest of India medium-pacers who impressed the selectors in the Irani Cup tie against Karnataka, Tamil Nadu’s T. Kumaran, Punjab’s Reetinder Singh Sodhi and Madhya Pradesh’s Harvinder Singh Sodhi would be called for nets with the Indian team at different centres.

The chairman said the final eleven for the first Test would be chosen by the selectors after looking at the pitch

“We (selectors, captain Tendulkar and coach Kapil Dev) will discuss and decide the eleven after a look at the pitch prepared for the Test. We are a team and want to select the playing eleven as a team”, Borde elaborated.

Borde said though the immediate concern of the selectors was to see that India wins the series against the visiting Kiwis, a lot of youngsters would be watched with the future in mind.

“The first priority is the series against New Zealand. At the same time we will be also be looking forward to spot youngsters with the Australian tour in mind. We want to watch as many players as possible”, he concluded.
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Harbhajan claims four for 62

JODHPUR, Oct 6 (PTI) — Offie Harbhajan Singh celebrated his return to the national squad claiming four wickets for 62 runs but New Zealand rode on a second-wicket century stand between Matt Horne and Craig Spearman to reach 248 for five in reply to Board President XI’s total of 298, on the penultimate day of the three-day cricket match here today.

Harbhajan, who received the news of retaining his place in the Indian Test team this afternoon, claimed Horne (86) and then was on hat-trick when he sent back Kiwi skipper Stephen Fleming (32, 72b, 3x4) and Chris Harris (0) off the third and fourth balls of the 75th over of the innings.

Fleming was caught by Vikram Rathore when the Kiwi skipper tried to cut a well pitched delivery. Next ball, Harris failed to read a straight one and was trapped leg before wicket.

But Harbhajan’s effort came a little late for the Board President’s XI as Horne and Craig Spearman had already rescued the Kiwis by taking them to safety after they lost opener Matt Bell (8) with 38 runs on the board.

Horne and Spearman added 108 runs off 32.4 overs to take the score to 146 before Harbhajan claimed both the batsmen. The young Punjab off-spinner had Spearman caught by wicket-keeper Sameer Dighe off a top edge as the batsman went for a sweep shot.

Board President’s XI (first innings)-298

New Zealand:

Horne c Zaidi b Harbhajan Singh 85 Bell b Zaidi 8 Spearman c Dighe b Harbhajan 56 Fleming c Rathore b Harbhajan 32 Mcmillan batting 44 Harris lbw b Harbhajan 0 Parore batting 5. Extras (b-4, lb-5, nb-9) 18

Total (for 5 wkts, 80 overs) 248

Fall of wickets: 1-38, 2-146, 3-179, 4-232, 5-232

Bowling: Zaidi 18-3-49-1, Nehra 11-1-35-0, Sanghvi 24-4-82-0,H Singh 22-3-62-4, Kanitkar 4-0-11-0, Sehwag 1-1-0-0.
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Pele’s son convicted of murder

SAO PAULO, Oct 6 (AP) — The son of Brazilian soccer legend Pele was convicted of murder early today for taking part in a street car race that resulted in the death of a passing motorcyclist.

Edson Cholbi do Nascimento (29), was sentenced to six years in “semi-open” prison, which means he must sleep in the prison but may leave during the day to go to work.

Nascimento and Marcilio Marcilio Jose Marinho de Melo, 25 — who also was convicted and sentenced to six years in semi-open prison — were accused of racing their cars in Santos, a port town 48 miles south-east of Sao Paulo, when they struck and killed 50-year-old retiree Pedro Simoes Neto.

Although Melo’s car was the one that hit Neto, Nascimento was found guilty for taking part in the race, which occurred in October 1992.

The pair will be free while they appeal the decision.

Prosecutor Octavio Borba de Vasconcellos began to present his case before a jury yesterday.
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Agassi eases into second round

BASLE (Switzerland), Oct 6 (Reuters) — World number one Andre Agassi coasted to an easy first-round win at the Swiss Indoor Championships sweeping past Dutchman Jan Siemerink 6-3, 6-4.

Joining the French and US Open champion in the second round yesterday was fourth seed and defending champion Tim Henman, who stormed back from a set down to beat Swiss wildcard George Bastl 5-7, 6-2, 6-2.

While the large crowd scanned the centre court for any sign of Agassi’s new girlfriend Steffi Graf, the American focused his attention on a potentially dangerous first-round opponent, disposing of the left-handed Dutchman in 61 minutes.

Siemerink gave Agassi a few awkward moments early in the match but the 29-year-old American quickly adjusted to his opponent’s tricky spins, breaking at the first opportunity to go 4-3 up and reeling off four consecutive games to take the first set.

Already one of tennis’s top returners, Agassi has been using weight-training to add another dimension to his game and he inflicted considerable damage with a punishing serve, muscling six aces past Siemerink.

But Agassi closed out the match in trademark fashion, breaking Siemerink with a cross-court return to take the set and match.

“Jan’s a tough opponent, he’s very deceiving,” said Agassi, the winner of four titles this season. “He’s a left-hander. I haven’t played a lefty for some time and he likes to come forward and make things tough.”

Henman, who beat Agassi in last year’s final, appeared headed for an early exit after dropping the opening set to his hulking Swiss opponent, ranked 113th in the world.

But the Briton, still searching for his first title of the season, quickly steadied himself with an early break in the second.

His confidence restored, the sixth-ranked Henman snuffed out any thought of a Swiss comeback when he again broke Bastl’s opening serve in the third set and took another commanding 3-0 lead.

Ukraine’s Andrei Medvedev, who lost to Agassi in the final of the French Open, came back from a set down to beat Russia’s Marat Safin 2-6, 6-4, 7-6.
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Axed six can be selected if fully fit: Gill

PUNE, Oct 6 (UNI) — “The ascent will be totally on the juniors for the revival of hockey in the country”, asserted Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) President KPS Gill.

Mr Gill while addressing media- persons at the Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex at Mahalunge-Balewadi said at present 75 junior players (under-21) have been selected after the Bangalore junior nationals and being put through their paces at Bangalore and Pune with an eye on the junior World Cup to be held in Tasmanian, Australia, in 2001, so also the 2002 World Cup and the 2004 Olympics.

Mr Gill was here to watch the probables in action at the PCMC poli-grass stadium in Pimpri before leaving for Delhi.

He said the IHF has chalked up a long term plan whereby over 5000 players in are groups will be playing the game and in the process a wide base would be created. “Unlike in the past, we have been concentrating only on a handful of 20 to 30 players to select the national side. Though in the past India could produce 10 teams of equal calibre and skill but now the stage has come it is very difficult to have the choice”, the IHF chief pointed out.

When his attention was drawn to the super six — Dhanraj Pillay, Mukesh Kumar, Sabu Virky, A Subbiah, Ashish Balal and Sandeep Somesh, the IHF boss said that they have an open mind and have no bias towards any one, but hastened to add that they should be physically fit. Mukesh was included in the selected probables. “But now since he has given an apology the matter has ended”, Mr Gill said. He along with Dhanraj and Virky are in good form and if they continue to be in perfect physical shape they could regain their places in the national team for the Sydney Olympics, he added.

Elaborating further Mr Gill disclosed that about 40 probables would be selected before finalising a perfectly fit squad for the Olympics in May next. They will then have put through a month-long rigorous camp. The Indian team will be in Sydney at least a week before the competition to get acclimatised with the artificial surface as well as the prevailing conditions.

Spelling out the various plans the former Director General of Punjab Police said that the IHF has entered an 18-member under 18 team to take part in the Mumbai Gold Cup commencing at the Mahindra and Mahindra Stadium of the Mumbai Hockey Association.

At the moment three outstanding juniors Parabjot Singh, Anwar Khan and Devesh Chavan are currently engaged with Indian Gymkhana and playing the English league. Over and above plans have also drawn up to send 20 boys each for training at Cologn in Germany and in Holland, he informed.

Regarding the recent four-national championship concluded in Australia Mr Gill reasoned that the Indian team has been badly plagued with injuries with as many as eight players being badly injured which left only nine fit players. Even then the overall performance of the team was not bad. Physical fitness has always been our problem. With the competition getting tougher and tougher strains start showing on the Indian players, he added.

It was indeed a worthy performance by the juniors team in the eight-nation junior challenge championship held at Poland from August 20 to 29. First two matches they lost but made a remarkable recovery in the final against South Korea. The other team to impress was the Egyptians, Mr Gill said.

To a query he said that three to four players would be sent to Holland or Spain to specialise in the conversion of penalty corners. The penalty corner conversion has always been a bane of India hockey after the exit of specialist Prithipal Singh.

The IHF will also launch a talent search programme for boys from 10 to 14 years of age in December. IHF executive director co-ordination and development Robert Lawrence have been put in charge, he informed.
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Pybus set to be Pak coach

KARACHI, Oct 6 (Reuters) —Richard Pybus, born in England and based in South Africa, looks set to be Pakistan coach for their forthcoming tour of Australia, local media reported today.

Pakistan need a new coach after the resignation of former Test batsman Wasim Raja on Monday, and local media said Pybus would arrive later this week to sign a contract.

Pybus had a short-term contract as assistant to Mushtaq Mohammad for the World Cup in England last May and June when Pakistan reached the final.

Pybus spoke out strongly in support of captain Wasim Akram after Pakistan came under fire from media and fans for their performance in the Lord’s final, which they lost to Australia by eight wickets after being bowled out for 132.

The news said Pybus had “finalised his terms and conditions” with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and would travel to Lahore “after which the official announcement would be made”.

It said Pybus would take over for the Australian tour starting at the end of the month, though Raja would coach at a three-team tournament with Sri Lanka and West Indies in Sharjah from October 13 to 22.

Raja, who played 57 Tests, is stepping down to continue his career as a teacher in Britain, the PCB said. He was appointed when Mushtaq’s assignment ended after the World Cup. Pakistan are expected to name their squad for Sharjah tomorrow and for Australia on October 17.

Local newspapers also said a long-awaited report from a government-appointed judicial commission investigating corruption in Pakistan cricket could be released this month.

The commission has been holding hearings since September last year and its report has already been delayed many times.
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Waugh wants full series vs Lanka

COLOMBO, Oct 6 (AP) — Australian cricket captain Steve Waugh wants to play another Test series against Sri Lanka to avenge the 1-0 defeat in the just-concluded three-Test series. And he wants a full five-Test series.

“Next time we play here, we’d like to have a full series,” Waugh told Australian cricket writers here before his team left for Zimbabwe via Hong Kong.

Australia’s tour of Sri Lanka was a big disappointment, losing a triangular one-day series and the first-ever Test series loss to the island nation. This was Australia’s first outing after winning the cricket World Cup in Britain in June where they reigned supreme.
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Gurbaaz, Irina Brar lead
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Oct 6 — Gurbaaz Mann and Irina Brar led the field in the boys’ and girls’ divisions in the St Xaviers Northern Indian Junior/Subjunior Golf Championship at the Chandigarh Golf Club today.

Gurbaaz Mann, who set the course ablaze yesterday, started his round with three back-to-back birdies and six pars thereafter for a 3 under par score at the turn. Unlike yesterday though, the back nine proved disastrous. Two double bogeys, three bogeys and just one birdie to compensate, saw him return a card of 3 over par 75, which was still the best gross for the day.

In the girls’ division Irina Brar had a convincing lead of 19 strokes over her nearest rival Guneet Raikhy after the second round.

In the ‘B’ category Mahammed Wazir played 4 over par 76 and had a lead of 17 strokes over Sagar Bhatia.

In category ‘C’ Aditya Singh played an excellent round today and had a lead of 12 strokes over Balpreet Ghuman.

In the closely-contested category ‘D’ local youngster Ajitesh Sandhu was closing in on the leader Varun Wadhwa and trailed by one stroke only.

The scores after the second days play:

Category ‘A’ (under 18): Gurbaaz Mann 142, Mohammed Wazir 148, Jassanjet S Dullet 155, Manav Jaini 155, Rajiv Kumar 159, Harinder Gupta 161, Sikander Ali 161, Sher Ali 161, SK Abbas Ali 161.

Category ‘B’ (under-15): Mohammed Wazir 148, Sagar Bhatia 165, Jaskeerat S Dullet 167, Aditya Singh (Hcap 7) 168, Karan Talwar 169, Ikjyot Singh Bahl 172, Amit Kumar Sharma 172.

Category ‘C’ (under 13) : Aditya Singh (Hcap 7) 168, Balpreet S Ghuman 180, Gaganjeet Bhullar 185, Karan Vasudeva 189, Anup Singh 190.

Category ‘D’ (under 11): Varun Wadhwa 174, Ajeetesh S Sandhu 175, Arjun Sengar 185, Raghav Wahi 185.

Girls : Irina Brar 160, Guneet Raikhy 179, Japneet Gharaya 238, Harsharan Dhaliwal 242.


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IHF probables for Australian tour

PUNE, Oct 6 (PTI) — The Indian Hockey Federation has apparently changed its stand on the six players axed after the Bangkok Asian Games last December.

IHF President, K.P. S. Gill yesterday said all the six players may be included in the Sydney Olympic squad provided they prove their fitness.

Gill, however, defended the IHF stand on retaining the present coaches.

He refuted a charge that Cedric D’Souza or for that matter M.K. Kaushik, who was the coach of the gold medal winning team at the Asian Games, were dropped. “Cedric had resigned on his own and Kaushik wanted to consult Ganesh. He is still to come to us”, Gill said.

The IHF General Secretary K. Jothi Kumaran, who was also present, said: “We have selected the best available talent in the country for this camp. This is in keeping with the forthcoming Junior World Cup, the Asian Games to be held in 2002 and the next senior World Cup in mind”.

Senior coach C.R. Kumar, assisted by Ajay Bansal of Air India Hockey Academy and Clarence Lobo of Tata Sports Club trained the boys in the camp.

Meanwhile, Gill announced the list of probables of the under-21 national camp for the Australian four to be held in November-December 1999. The list has 28 players and the camp will be held at SAI Centre, Bangalore.

The probables:

Goal keepers: Bharat Chetri (Kar), Alex David (Rly), G. Nataraj (TN), Horojit Singh (Man), Gurinderjit Singh (Pun).

Full backs: Len Aiyappa (AI), Kanwalpreet Singh (PSB), Bikramjeet Singh (PSB), Chandrashekhar Xalxo (Centre of Excellence), Amrit Kiro (CoE).

Mid fielders: Paramjit Singh (Services), Radhakrishnan (TN), Arjun Halappa (Kar), Shamsuz Zoha (UP), Bimal Lakra (IA), Sonu (Del), Vikram Pillai (Mum), Probody Tirkey (Ori), Bipin Fernandez (Kar), Krishna Reddy (AI),

Forwards: Gujrat Singh (IA), Viren Rasquinha (Mum), Inderjeet Singh (Chg), Ajit Pal Singh (Pun), M. Mandanna (Kar), Prakash Chalke (Kar) and Alphonso Vijay Savio (Mum).

Chief coach: C.R. Kumar, Assistant coach/trainer: Saju Joseph.
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Bombay Gold Cup revived

MUMBAI, Oct 6 (PTI) — The Bombay Gold Cup Hockey Tournament, started in 1955, has been revived after a gap of five years and is to be held at the Mahindra Stadium here from October 6 to 16.

Several top outstation teams, including the 1993 winners and runners-up when it was last held — Rail Coach Factory (Kapurthala) and Army XI — have confirmed their entries for the 38th edition of the tournament, it was announced at a Press conference here last night.

Bombay Hockey Association, organisers of this prestigious championship, could not hold the event from 1994 to 1998 after the Astro Turf got worn out. It was replaced only a few months ago.

BHA is hoping the event, one of the premier tournaments in the country, gives the game a shot in the arm in this metropolis.
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Sunil’s amazing run continues

NEW DELHI, Oct 6 (UNI) — Sixteen-year-old promising Sunil Kumar of Chandigarh continued his amazing run at the DSCL National Hardcourt Tennis Championship, storming into the quarterfinals of the men’s and the boys u-18 sections, registering contrasting wins.

The left-handed Sunil, who had to win six rounds to qualify for the men’s main draw and yesterday defeated Vijendra Laad (Mah) to storm into the second round, today overcame a spirited challenge by S.K. Shivshanker of Karnataka to win 6-2, 6-1 in 70 minutes. He now meets Asif Ismail (Mah) in the men’s last eight stage.

Earlier in the boys u-18 section, he prevailed over third-seeded Karan Doctor of Maharashtra 6-3, 2-6, 3-0 to set up a quarterfinal clash with Mithun Murali of Tamil Nadu. Karan had conceded the match in the third set due to an injury.

In other matches, defending champion and top-seeded Nitin Kirtane of Maharashtra also entered the last eight stage of the men’s category, winning over Yasser Arafat (AP) 6-4, 6-3. He now clashes with seventh-seeded Mustafa Ghouse of Maharashtra, the latter reaching after defeating qualifier Kedar Shah (Mah) 4-6, 6-4, 6-0 in the pre-quarters.

Also advancing to the last eight stage were third-seeded Vijay Kannan of Delhi who won over Rishi Sridhar (TN) in straight sets 6-1, 6-4. He now meets fifth-seeded Vasudeva Reddy (AP) in the quarters tomorrow. Vasudeva had today defeated wildcard-entrant Tushaar Gautam (Dli) 6-3, 6-4.

The lone seed to bow out was eighth-seeded Sanzaruz Zaman of West Bengal, who went down fighting to Asif Isamil 3-6, 3-6.

The last two quarterfinalists were fourth-seeded Saurav Panja (WB) and sixth-seeded Vishal Uppal of Delhi. Saurav had ousted Vishal Punna (AP) 7-6, 6-2 while Vishal moved past S. Ganesh of Tamil Nadu 6-4, 6-4.

In the women’s section, there were three upsets. Fifth-seeded Sheethal Gautham (Kar) was ousted by Janaki Krishnamurthy (Mah) 2-6, 2-6, sixth-seeded Karishma Patel went down fighting to Harsimran Kaur of Chandigarh 5-7, 6-2, 3-6 and seventh-seeded Tara Kanbargimath (Kar) lost to Lisa Pereira (Mah) 4-6, 6-4, 5-7.

However, the top four seeds — Sai Jayalakshmi, Rushmi Chakravorthi (both of IOC), Archana Venkatraman and Arthi Venkatraman (both Kar), alongwith the eighth-seeded Radhika Tulpule (Mah), all cruised to the quarterfinals.

Sai, who today defeated T. Yamini (TN) 6-1, 6-4, tomorrow clashes with Janaki, while Rushmi, who won over Megha Vakharia of Mahrashtra 6-4, 6-3 meets Lisa in the last eight stage.

In the boys u-18 section, apart from Sunil, other players to reach the last eight stage included top-seeded Akshay Vishal Rao (Chd), sixth-seeded Nandkumar Mukundan (TN) and seventh-seeded Kedar Shah of Maharashtra. Also reaching were Parantap Chaturvedi (Dli) and Benjamin Xavier (Mah).

But in the upsets in the section, fourth-seeded P. Ravi Krishnan (TN) was ousted by Amanjot Singh (Chd) 6-3, 3-6, 4-6 and fifth-seeded Kamala Kannan (TN) was defeated by Murali Mithun (TN) 6-4, 5-7, 3-6.

Akshay now meets Nandkumar in the quarters tomorrow while Kedar takes on Amanjot.

The girls u-18 quarterfinal list today saw six seeds, including the top three seeds. The lone upset of the day was that of sixth-seeded Geeta Manohar (AP) who was ousted by Nandita Chandrasekar of Tamil Nadu 3-6, 6-7 (5).

However, top-seeded Sheethal Gautham of Karnataka proceeded without any hiccup, winning over Reedhina Parekh (WB) 6-1, 6-2 to set up a quarterfinal clash with Italia Khushchehr of Maharashtra. The latter today won over Delhi-girl Vishika Chhetri 7-5, 6-2.

Also proceeding to the last eight stage in the category were second-seeded Sonal Phadke (Mah) who defeated Aparna Singh (MP) 6-2, 6-1, third-seeded Radhika Tulpule (Mah) who breezed past M. Sunitha (AP) 6-0, 6-0, seveth-seeded T. Yamini (TN) who won over Ankita Bhambri (Dli) 4-6, 7-6, 6-3 and eighth-seeded Harsimran Kaur (Chd) who moved past Ashel Dimi (TN) 6-2, 6-1.

In the quarterfinals tomorrow, Radhia Meets Yamini, Harsimran clashes with Karishma Patel and Sonal runs into Nandita.
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Final day’s play washed out

DHAKA, Oct 6 (Reuters) — Rain prevented a ball being bowled out the third and final day of the match between Bangladesh and West Indies today.

The game was drawn after umpires S.B. Chowdhury and Mohammad Asgar decided the pitch was unfit for play after heavy rain in the morning.“The outfield in totally wet and we cannot allow the match to proceed”, Chowdhury said.

Bangladesh, 20 behind on first innings, had reached 59 for three in their second innings yesterday when bad light stopped play.

West Indies continue their short tour with two limited overs day-night internationals against Bangladesh on Friday and Saturday.
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FIFA wants world club championship

LONDON, Oct 5 (Reuters) — World soccer’s governing body hopes that the FIFA club world championship will become a regular feature after next year’s inaugural tournament, a FIFA spokesman has said.

The championship will be held in Brazil from January 5 to 14 and feature eight teams from around the globe.

FIFA spokesman Andreas Herren confirmed that the intention was to stage the tournament regularly but that FIFA would see how things went in Brazil before making firm plans.
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Zagallo sacked

RIO DE JANEIRO, Oct 6 (Reuters) — Veteran Brazilian coach Mario Zagallo, one of the great names in international soccer, was sacked by Portuguesa yesterday after nine months at the modest Sao Paulo Club, a team spokesman said.

“The old wolf”, who led his country to World Cup victory in 1970 and runners-up spot last year in separate stints as national team coach, was fired due to poor recent results, Mario Marinho said.

He will continue to receive his salary until the end of the year.
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Ranbir College win swimming title

SANGRUR, Oct 6 (FOSR) — Govt Ranbir College won the Punjabi University Inter college swimming championships for men and women, which concluded here today. Jaspreet Singh of Ranbir College was declared best swimmer in boys section while in girls section Harinder Kour of Mohindra College, Patiala, was adjudged the best.

Results —

Men-200 metre breast stroke-1 Jaspreet Singh-GEC, Sangrur; 2. Parminder Pal Singh-GPC, Patiala; 3. Iqbal Singh-GMC, Patiala.

100 metre back stroke-1 Jaspreet Singh GRC, Sangrur, 2. Jaswinder Singh-GMC, Patiala; 3. Nirmal Singh-GRC, Sangrur.

1500 metre free style-1 Jaspreet Singh-GRC Sangrur; 2. Hamanpreet Singh-GPC, Patiala; 3. Iqbal Singh GMC, Patiala.

50 metre free style: 1. Jaspreet Singh-GRC, Sangrur; 2. Jaswinder Singh GMC, Patiala; 3. Parminder Singh GRC, Sangrur.

200 metre free style: 1 Jaspreet Singh GRC, Sangrur; 2. Parminder Pal Singh GPC, Patiala; 3. Jaswinder Singh, GMC, Patiala.

200 metre back stroke: 1. Jaspreet Singh, GRC, Sangrur; 2. Parminder Pal GPC, Patiala; 3. Harmanpreet Singh, GMC Patiala.

400 metre free style: 1. Jaspreet Singh, GRC Sangrur; 2. Harmanpal Bawa, GPC, Patiala; 3. Parminder Pal, GPC, Patiala.

100 metre Butter fly: 1. Harman Pal, GPC, Patiala; 2. Parminder, GRC, Sangrur.

Women:-

50 M, free style: 1. Harinder Kaur, GMC, Patiala; 2. Shardasagar Modi College, Patiala; 3. Ravinder Kaur-GRC, Sangrur.

200 M. breast stroke: 1. Ravinder Kaur, GRC, Sangrur; 2. Pushpa-GPC, Patiala; 3. Navdeep-GRC, Sangrur.

100 M back stroke: . Sharda, Modi College, Patiala; 2. Harindar Kaur-GPC, Patiala; 3. Navdeep-GRC, Sangrur.

200 M. free style: 1. Harinder Kaur-GMC-Patiala; 2. Ravinder Kaur-GRC-Sangrur; 3. Pushpa-GPC-Patiala.

400 M free style: 1. Harinder Kaur, GMC, Patiala; 2. Ravinder Kaur-GRC Sangrur.

DAV College win team title

CHANDIGARH,Oct 6 (BOSR) — MCM DAV College for Women, Sector 36 in the women’s section and DAV College, Hoshiarpur in the men’s section clinched the swimming team championship on the concluding day of the Panjab University Inter-College Swimming Championship here this evening at the PU swimming pool.

MCM-36 got 73 points while Government College for Women, Ludhiana with 68 points and Government College for Girls, Sector 11 with nine points finished second and third respectively.

In men’s section, DAV Hoshiarpur got 65 points while Government College, Hoshiarpur with 49 points, DAV College, Chandigarh with 43 points and Government College, Ludhiana with 40 points secured the second, third and fourth positions respectively.

The results of the final day are:

Men-200 m individual Medley : Madhav Sund( GC, Ldh) 1, (time-2:41.49 sec): Rahul Kalia (GC, Hpr) 2, Aseem Parmar( DAVC Hpr) 3.

200 m free style: Madhav Sund( GC, Ldh) 1,(time-2:18.91 sec- NR): Aseem Parmar ( DAV Hpr) 2, Ajit Sharma ( GGDSD-32, Chd) 3.

100 m breast stroke: Jasjit Singh (GC, Hpr) 1, (time 1:23.78 sec):Vijay Yadav( DAV-10)2, Narender Kumar( PEC, Chd) 3.

400 m free style: Aseem Parmar (DAVC Hpr) 1, (time-5:21.81 sec): Rahul Kalia (GC, Hpr) 2, Rohit Mehta (DAVC, Hpr) 3.

400 m individual medley: Aseem Parmar( DAVC Hpr) 1, (time- 6:26.25 sec): Vijay Yadav (DAV-10) 2, Gaurav Singh Dadwal (GC- Hpr) 3.

50 m free style: Aseem Parmar (DAVC,Hpr) 1, (time-27.93sec): Madhav Sund (GC, Ldh) 2, Rajwinder Singh (DAV-10) 3.

4X 200 M free style: DAVC, Chd 1, (time-10:46.48 sec): DAV Hpr 2, GC Hpr 3.

Women: 4x200 M free style relay: GCW, Ludhiana 1, (time: 15:54.34 sec): MCM -36, Chd 2.

200 m free style: Kirandeep Kaur (MCM-36) 1, Bindiya Sareen (GCW, Ldh) 2, Bhawna Maheshwari (GCW, Ldh) 3.

400 m free style: Bindiya Sareen (GCW,Ldh) 1, Kirandeep Kaur (MCM-36) 2, Bhawna (GCW, Ldh) 3.

100 m butterfly stroke: Kirandeep Kaur (MCM-36)1, (time-1:29.82sec): Bindiya Sareen (GCW, Ldh) 2, Bhawna (GCW,Ldh) 3.

The waterpolo finals were held up due to objections and would be conducted later.

Mr MC Sharma , Finance and Development Officer, PU gave away the prizes .

Patiala beat Faridkot

PATIALA, Oct 6 (FOSR) — Patiala beat Faridkot 2-1 in the girls under-17 section while in the boys section Amritsar downed hosts Patiala 2-1 to clinch the lawn tennis title in the 45th Punjab State School Games being played at the local polo grounds here today.

In the cricket semifinals for girls (u-19) Sangrur beat Faridkot by six wicket to enter the final while Patiala, aided by a superb 86 by Anupreet Kaur managed to enter the semifinals beating Mansa by 147 runs.

In the judo finals for boys (u-17) the results are: 60 kg: Varinder Pal Singh-1, Rajinder-2, Narinder and Bhupinder (joint third). 65 kg: Malkit-1, Vinod-2, Kirpal and Sunil (joint third). 71 kg: Sukhdev-1, Raman-2, Gurinder and Amarjit (joint third). In the boys (u-19) section the final results in judo are: 71 kg: Ranjit-1, Varinder-2, Navtej and Kuldeep (joint third). In the girls (u-17) section the results are: 61 kg: Ramanpreet-1, Shinam-2 Sarita and Kanwaljit (joint third).

Yoga meet from October 30

CHANDIGARH, Oct 6 (TNS) — The 15th Haryana State Yoga Championship will be organised by Panchkula District Yoga Association from October 30 to November 1 at Mata Mansa Devi Mandir Complex, Panchkula. More than 500 participants from all the districts, four universities and a combined central team will participate in this championship. This was disclosed by Mr Dharam Vir, president of the Haryana State Yoga Association here today.

He said free board and lodging would be provided to all the participants and officials. Competitions in various age groups — 8 to 12,12 to 18,18 to 25 (girls) 25 to 40,40 to 50 (women) and above 50 years, 8 to 14, 14 to 20, 20 to 30 (boys) 30 to 40, 40 to 50 (men) and above 50 years — will be conducted during the three-day meet.

Haryana Yoga team would participate in the National Yoga Championship being organised by Indian Yoga Federation would be selected on the basis of performance during the championship.

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