HUNTINGTON : Former Olympic figure skater Tonya Harding performs her routine in her professional debut at the Pro Figure Skating Championships at the Huntington Civic Arena in Huntington, W.Va., on Monday. — AP/PTI

Ali wants to get back into ring NEW YORK, Oct 19 — It sounds improbable, but Muhammad Ali says he wants to get back into the ring one more time. In this week’s Newsweek magazine, the three-time heavyweight champion wrote that he was planning on getting in shape to do some sparring, despite his Parkinson’s disease that has slowed his speech and movement. Eight teams for Rovers Cup MUMBAI, Oct 19 — This year’s Rovers Cup Football Tournament, scheduled at the Cooperage ground in south Mumbai from November 1-15, will be a scaled down affair due to the financial crunch faced by its organisers.

Kournikova keen to play in Fed Cup
MOSCOW, Oct 19 — Anna Kournikova has tried to make peace with the Russian Tennis Federation and said she wanted to play for her country in the Fed Cup.

Cricket squads to be picked at Ahmedabad
MUMBAI, Oct 19 — The national and “A” squads for the forthcoming tours of Australia and the West Indies are to be picked by the selectors during the course of the third and final India-New Zealand Test to be held at Ahmedabad from October 29 to November 2, the cricket board announced yesterday.

Perryman guides Shimizu to win
TOKYO, Oct 19 — English Manager Steve Perryman celebrated a recent continental coaching honour by guiding Shimizu S-Pulse through to the quarterfinals of the Asian Cup Winners’ Cup.

Amre enjoying Boland stint
JOHANNESBURG, Oct 19 — It was a happy return to the Kingsmead cricket ground, Durban, for former India Test star Pravin Amre.

Usha, Gulab Chand star attractions
BHOPAL, Oct 19 — Veteran P.T. Usha is among the stars expected to bring alive the tracks in the 39th Open National Athletics’ Championship opening here on October 28.

Srinath, Fazaluddin upset
MUMBAI, Oct 19 — It was a day of upsets as the top two seeds were shown the door in the first round of the ITF men’s satellite circuit first leg at the Dr G.A. Ranade Tennis Centre courts here today.

• Surjit Academy boys bag title
• Punjab badminton team
• Kanpur Test live on DD
• Maradona for Libya
• Pele’s appeal

Karnataka shock New Zealand

BANGALORE, Oct 19 (PTI) — Ranji champions Karnataka inflicted a seven-wicket defeat on the New Zealanders after lethal spin bowling led by India seniors Sunil Joshi and Anil Kumble sent the visitors hurtling to their doom on the final day of the three-day cricket match here today.

Left-arm spinner Sunil Joshi captured four for 17 and skipper Kumble a brace after an early burst by prolific wicket-taker D. Ganesh (3/41) as Karnataka skittled out the Kiwis for 105 and then hit up the required 86 runs in 20.4 overs losing three wickets at the Chinnaswamy Stadium.

Vijay Bhardwaj followed up his first innings 96 by remaining unbeaten on 33 after Rahul Dravid (18) and opener Sujit Somasundar (19) had made modest contributions.

The match looked set for a draw when the visiting side began the day at 12 for none, but they were left reeling at 60 for four at lunch before Joshi ripped through the middle order where Nathan Astle’s 33 was the best effort.

The Kiwis, who suffered a demoralising defeat just three days ahead of the second test beginning at Kanpur on October 22, put up a poor display with only three batsmen managing to reach double figures. The Kiwis shuffled the batting with skipper Stephan Fleming coming at number nine.

The memorable victory was only the third instance of Ranji champions defeating a visiting side. Karnataka had beaten the West Indies under Alvin Kallicharan in 1978-79 in Ahmedabad while Mumbai had lowered the colours of Australia, led by Mark Taylor, last year at Mumbai.

There was no inkling of an exciting finish as play got under way 40 minutes behind schedule in the morning owing to overnight showers.

Karnataka, who had beaten the Caribbean side by 11 runs in 1978-79 under the stewardship of G.R. Viswanath, however, made quick inroads as barring the feeble resistance of openers Matt Horne (12) and Matthew Bell (26) none could counter the well directed bowling by the hosts.

Karnataka went into the match without India opening bowlers Javagal Srinath and Venkatesh Prasad, but Ganesh who has been striving to impress the selectors with over 60 scalps in the last Ranji season, once again provided early breakthroughs.

Ganesh struck in the first session by scalping three wickets and Joshi’s confidence was boosted once he dismissed Chris Harris off his very first ball.

Except for Astle (33) and Bell (26) none of the Kiwi batsmen could counter the Karnataka attack as the entire innings lasted just seven minutes over three hours.

SCOREBOARD

New Zealand (Ist innings): 249 for six declared

Karnataka (Ist innings): 269 for nine declared.

New Zealand (2nd innings):

Horne c Thilak Naidu b Ganesh 12, Bell c Arun Kumar b Joshi 26, Harris c A. Vijay b Joshi 0, Spearman b Ganesh 1, Cairns c Vijay b Ganesh 8, Astle c Vijay b Kumble 33, Parore lbw b Joshi 0, Penn b Kumble 1, Fleming c Vijay b Bharadwaj 4, Wiseman c Arun Kumar b Joshi 6, Drum not out 1.

Extras: (b-1, lb-12): 13

Total: (all out in 47.5 over): 105

Fall of wickets: 1/30, 2/35, 3/36, 4/48, 5/78, 6/78, 7/85, 8/96, 9/98.

Bowling: Ganesh 14-3-41-3, M.A. Khan 4-2-11-0, Bharadwaj 4-1-14-1, Kumble 10-5-9-2, Joshi 15.5-7-17-4.

Karnataka (2nd innings):

S. Somasundar c Harris b Wiseman 19, Arun Kumar c Spearman b Cairns 4, R. Dravid c Parore b Drum 18, V. Bhardawaj not out 33, T. Naidu not out 7.

Extras: (lb-1, nb-4): 5

Total: (for 3 wkts in 20.4 overs): 86

Fall of wickets: 1-5, 2-43, 3-56

Bowling: Cairns 3-1-8-1; Penn 4-0-24-0; Drum 6-3-5-1; Wiseman 6-1-33-1, Harris 1.4-0-15-0.

Pak beat Lanka by 118 runs

SHARJAH, Oct 19 (PTI) — Pakistan yesterday booked a place in the final defeating Sri Lanka by 118 runs when they skittled out the islanders for 121 in 33.4 overs after putting on 239 for eight in their allotted 50 overs in the triangular Sharjah Cup Cricket Tournament here.

Abdur Razzaq once again proved a stumbling block for Sri Lanka as Pakistan scored 239 for eight.

Razzaq, whose five-wicket burst last Friday denied Sri Lanka certain victory and forced a tie, hit an unbeaten 59 off 50 balls to help Pakistan recover from a middle-order slump.

Razzaq hit two fours and three sixes as Pakistan added 41 runs in the last five overs after struggling at 198 for seven.

Shahid Afridi, playing for the first time in the tournament, smashed five sixes and two boundaries in making 58 off 50 balls to give Pakistan a flying start.

Pakistan raced to 70 for one by the 14th over, before Sri Lanka hit back to reduce them to 137 for five in the 34th.

Afridi, who lost his opening partner Saeed Anwar in the second over, began by lofting left-arm Seamer Chaminda Vaas over long-on for six. Nuwan Zoysa dropped a skier off his own bowling to reprieve Afridi on eight, an error that proved costly for the Sri Lankans.

Afridi, who slammed one-day cricket’s fastest century off 37 balls three years ago, swung Vaas for another six and then hit two more in off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan’s first over.

A backfoot pull off Zoysa that sailed over the mid-wicket fence was Afridi’s best shot, but he fell soon after when another heave off Vaas was caught at mid-on.

Wajahatullah Wasti, who contributed just eight in a 69-run stand for the second wicket with Afridi, moved to 21 when he was stumped by wicket-keeper Romesh Kaluwitharana off leg-spinner Upul Chandana.

Kaluwitharana also got rid of Inzamam-ul Haq in similar fashion for 33, while Yousuf Youhanna offered a tame return catch to Muralitharan to open up Pakistan’s lower order.

Moin Khan helped Razzaq add 49 for the sixth wicket, but when he and skipper Wasim Akram fell quickly, Pakistan slumped to 198 for seven in the 46th over.

Pakistan:

Anwar c Jayasuriya b Zoysa 0

Afridi c Jayawardena b Vaas 58

Wasti st Kaluwitharana b Chandana 21

Inzamam-ul Haq st Kaluwitharana b Jayasuriya 33

Youhanna c & b Muralitharan 3

Moin Khan b Jayasuriya 29

Abdur Razzaq not out 59

Wasim Akram st Kaluwitharana b Jayasuriya 3

Azhar Mahmood b Vaas 16

Shoaib Malik not out 3

Extras: (lb6, w5, nb3) 14

Total (for 8 wkts in 50 overs): 239

Fall of wickets: 1-1, 2-70, 3-96, 4-105, 5-137, 6-186, 7-198, 8-233

Bowling: Vaas 9-1-38-2, Zoysa 8-0-32-1, Muralitharan 10-1-57-1, Chandana 10-0-38-1, Jayasuriya 10-0-41-3, Arnold 3-0-27-0.

SRI LANKA: 121 all out in 33.4 overs (De Silva 35, Atapattu 29; Ahmed 2/11, Malik 2/36, Afridi 2/6).

Courier, Ivanisevic advance

LYON (France), Oct 19 (AP) — American Jim Courier, seeking his first title in 18 months, beat France’s Arnaud Di Pasquale 2-6, 7-6 (7-2), 7-5 last evening in the first round of the Lyon Grand Prix.

Courier, the losing finalist to Switzerland’s Marc Rosset in 1994, will face Australia’s Mark Philippoussis in the second round.

In other first-round matches, American Chris Woodruff, seeking his second title of the season, disappointed the French crowd by dispatching Arnaud Clement 6-4, 6-2.

Croatia’s Goran Ivanisevic needed three sets to get past Gianluca Pozzi of Italy, a 15-year veteran of the men’s circuit and the oldest player in the tournament.

The 28-year-old Croatian overcame the 34-year-old Italian 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 to advance to a second-round match with Argentina’s Mariano Zabaleta.

American qualifier Richey Reneberg easily marched through to the second round when Germany’s Jens Knippschild pulled out because of lower back pains after losing the opening set 6-3.

While 1995 champion Wayne Ferreira posted a tidy 6-4, 6-3 victory over French qualifier Jerome Hanquez, any hopes 1997 champion Fabrice Santoro had of regaining his title were dashed when back problems caused his humbling 6-1, 6-1 defeat at the hands of Germany’s Rainer Schuttler in front of his home crowd.

MOSCOW: Ruxandra Dragomir of Romania produced the first upset of the cup when she defeated eighth-seeded Elena Likhovtseva 6-3, 7-5 here on Monday.

Dragomir, currently 24th on the WTA tour rankings, broke Likhovtseva in the fourth game of the first set that boosted her confidence that she could win the match here on Monday.

“I had played Elena several times and all the matches were tough. I was lucky that I won. I’m glad. She didn’t play very well at the beginning and that gave me some extra confidence,” Dragomir said.

“It’s the end of the year and I felt tired,” said Likhovtseva, currently ranked 16th on the WTA tour.

In the opening action Likhovtseva’s doubles partner Ai Sugiyama of Japan, ranked 27th in the world, overpowered Anne Kremer of Luxembourg 6-1, 3-6, 6-2.

In doubles, Elena Makarova and Lina Krasnoroutskaya of Russia defeated Conchita Martinez of Spain and Argentina’s Patricia Tarabini 7-5, 6-4.

The Kremlin Cup tournament, which marks its 10th anniversary, was hit by a number of top players’ withdrawals.

Last year’s runner-up, Monica Seles of the USA, listed fifth on the WTA rankings, pulled out from the tournament with an injury.

BRASTISLAVA (Slovakia): Lilia Osterloh of the USA sailed into the second round of Eurotel Slovak Indoor on Monday defeating Katarina Srebotnik of Slovenia 6-3, 6-3.

Osterloh, 21, who played at Stanford University, has played mostly in Challenger and Satellite tournaments.

In other matches, Adriana Gersi of the Czech Republic defeated Joannette Kruger of South Africa 7-6 (7-4), 7-5, and Olga Barabanschikova of Belarus beat Magdalena Gryzbowska of Poland 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.

The tournament, the first WTA event ever organised in Slovakia, features a total of 32 players from 17 countries.

Other top players of the tournament include Henrieta Nagyova of Slovakia, Sabine Appelmans of Belgium, Corina Morariu of the USA, Barbara Schwartz of Austria and Kim Clijsters of Belgium.

Pakistan put off team selection

SHARJAH, Oct 19 (Reuters) — Pakistan will delay naming their squad for a Test series in Australia until Thursday to give fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar a chance to prove his fitness, Pakistan’s chief selector said today.

Shoaib developed a shoulder problem after the World Cup in England and missed last month’s series of one-day internationals against West Indies in Toronto and the current Sharjah Cup.

“Shoaib is arriving today and he must prove his fitness,” chief selector Naushad Ali said on Sunday. “If he passes the fitness he will go to Australia.”

The squad, originally to have been announced on Monday, will now be named on Thursday.

Saqlain Mushtaq, who was also on the injured list and missed the Sharjah trip, is fit and will go to Australia. “He is okay and currently training in Lahore,” Naushad said.

Waqar Younis may be called up if Shoaib fails his fitness test. Waqar is in Sharjah but is not a member of the 15-man Pakistan squad for this tournament.

He was brought to Sharjah at the last minute at Naushad’s recommendation so he would be available for Australia if Shoaib were not fit.

Pakistan will fly straight to Australia from Sharjah on October 24 for a three-Test series.

Ali wants to get back into ring

NEW YORK, Oct 19 (AP) — It sounds improbable, but Muhammad Ali says he wants to get back into the ring one more time.

In this week’s Newsweek magazine, the three-time heavyweight champion wrote that he was planning on getting in shape to do some sparring, despite his Parkinson’s disease that has slowed his speech and movement.

Ali, 57, last fought professionally on December 11, 1981, a 10-round loss to Trevor Berbick. He finished with a 56-5 record and 37 knockouts.

“Now I’m fighting Parkinson’s disease. But I don’t let it stop me. I still travel, attend to my business, do interviews,” Ali wrote in a first-person remembrance for the magazine.

“And let me tell you something that’ll shock the Earth. I’m going to train and get in really good shape, lose 35 pounds (16 kg) and do an exhibition in Madison Square Garden with two or three contenders,” he wrote.

“I’ll dance for 15 rounds, and whup ‘em. I haven’t forgotten. I’ll be weighing in at 210 pounds (95 kgs). I’ll just say, ‘I am returned. Get the contract.”

Ali travels with his wife, Lonnie, who speaks on his behalf. His speech is limited by Parkinson’s, a degenerative nerve disease. His walk is a little slower, but his intellect is unaffected.

Ali’s daughter, Laila, one of his eight children, won her first professional fight on October 8 with her father in attendance. She plans on fighting again.

In the Newsweek article, Ali called his fight with Joe Frazier in 1975, the “Thrilla in Manila,” his greatest bout. He also said the greatest thing he ever did was not go to Vietnam when drafted in 1967.

Kournikova keen to play in Fed Cup

MOSCOW, Oct 19 (Reuters) — Anna Kournikova has tried to make peace with the Russian Tennis Federation and said she wanted to play for her country in the Fed Cup.

“I want to make myself available to play for Russia in Fed Cup,’’ Kournikova, 18, told a news conference yesterday.

Kournikova, who lives in the USA, has refused to play for Russia on several occasions in the past two years, each time citing injury.

She changed her mind before last month’s Fed Cup final but was left out by Russia captain Konstantin Bogorodetsky. Russia went on to lose 4-1 to the USA.

Yesterday, however, Kournikova said she held no grudges towards Bogorodetsky and her team mates and wanted to play for Russia in the Fed Cup.

“I am proud of Russia’s achievements this year and hopefully together we can win the Cup next year,’’ she said.

Cricket squads to be picked at Ahmedabad

MUMBAI, Oct 19 (PTI) — The national and “A” squads for the forthcoming tours of Australia and the West Indies are to be picked by the selectors during the course of the third and final India-New Zealand Test to be held at Ahmedabad from October 29 to November 2, the cricket board announced yesterday.

“The selection would be done either on the fourth or the final day of the Ahmedabad Test,” board’s executive secretary Sharad Diwadkar told pti here.

The India team, to be led by Sachin Tendulkar, is to leave for its 76-day tour of Australia within a week of the conclusion of the five-match limited overs series against the touring New Zealand to play a three-Test series against the hosts.

The Tests are to be held at Adelaide (December 10-14), Melbourne (December 26-30) and Sydney (January 2-6). It would then play in a triangular series against Australia and Pakistan from January 9 to February 13.

The India “A” team is to depart earlier to the Caribbean islands to play two four-day “Tests” and three limited overs “internationals” against their West Indies counterparts.

The India “A” itinerary is:

November 13-16: v Trinidad in Trinidad south; November 19-22: first “Test” in Trinidad; November 25-27: v Guyana in Guyana; November 30-December 3: second “Test” in Guyana; December 5: first one-day “international” in Guyana; December 11: second one-day “international” in Grenada; December 13: third and last one-day “international” in Greneda.

Match-fixing

Akram, 5 others found guilty?

SHARJAH, Oct 19 (AFP) — Pakistan’s cricket team was today rocked by a media report back home that six players, including captain Wasim Akram, were found guilty of wrongdoing by the judicial commission on betting and match-fixing.

Pakistani newspaper “The News” reported that Judge Malik Mohammad Qayyum had recommended Salim Malik and Mushtaq Ahmed be banned and fines imposed on Akram and three others, Ijaz Ahmed, Inzamam-ul Haq and Saeed Anwar.

The Judge is also reported to have said Akram should be stripped of the captaincy because “he was not a reliable character and the authorities need to keep a close eye on him,” the paper said.

The 175-page report of the commission is currently lying with Pakistan President Rafiq Tarrar, the patron of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), for further action.

Mr Yawar Saeed, the manager of the team playing in the ongoing three-nation Sharjah Cup here, played down the newspaper report as being “a speculative leak of the recommendations.”

“You can’t stop newspapers from publishing such reports,” he said.

“This is all speculative. We have not received any official word from either PCB or the President.”

Saeed stressed the team was in good spirits and looking forward to both the Sharjah Cup final on Friday and the upcoming tour of Australia

“I can assure you the players are not worried,” the manager said. “They are here to play cricket and that’s all there is in their minds.”

The Australia-bound squad will be picked here on Thursday. The team leaves for Perth soon after the final on Friday.

Malik is the only one among the six players who is not in contention for a place in the touring squad.

Akram was last month appointed captain for the rest of the season by Mujeeb-ur Rehman, the chief executive of PCB. The other players were also cleared to play pending the findings of the judicial commission.

Rehman, who had close links with deposed Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, has been untraced since last week’s military coup in Pakistan.

PCB affairs are now being handled by Javed Zaman, the only other member of the ad-hoc committee appointed by Sharif to run cricket in the country last July.

Eight teams for Rovers Cup

MUMBAI, Oct 19 (PTI) — This year’s Rovers Cup Football Tournament, scheduled at the Cooperage ground in south Mumbai from November 1-15, will be a scaled down affair due to the financial crunch faced by its organisers.

“Due to financial constraints the newly-elected committee members of the Western India Football Association (WIFA) have decided to hold the event as an eight-team affair instead of the usual 16 to cut down on expenses,” WIFA spokesman Pervez Ziauddin told PTI today.

“As of now only four outstation teams and Mohammedan Sporting of Dhaka are in the fray along with three local super league outfits though we had sent invitations to some other teams from outside Maharashtra,” Mr Ziauddin said.

JCT (Phagwara), FC Kochin, Salgaocar, Churchill Brothers (both Goa) are the teams from outside the state and the three local outfits which are in the eight-team draw are Mahindra and Mahindra, Air-India and Bengal Mumbai Football Club, according to the WIFA vice-president.

“The appearance of Dhaka’s Mohammedan Sporting is subject to central government’s clearance,” Mr Ziauddin said.

“We had sent invitations to Calcutta’s East Bengal and Mohun Bagan too but are yet to get any reply from them,” he said.

“Invitations sent earlier to ITI (Bangalore), Tata Football Academy (Jamshedpur), Vasco (Goa) and State Bank of Travancore have been withdrawn due to the financial crunch,” he said and added that WIFA would need only eleven days to complete the tournament.

Youhanna lifts Pakistan

SHARJAH, Oct 19 (AFP) — Yousuf Youhanna smashed an unbeaten 71 off 47 balls as Pakistan made 255 for five from 50 overs in the Sharjah Cup one-day international against the West Indies here today.

Hasan Raza hit 77 and Inzamam-ul Haq contributed 61 during a 98-run stand for the third wicket after the West Indies had restricted Pakistan to 47 for two by the 18th over.

Pakistan, already assured of a place in Friday’s final, rested captain Wasim Akram and Saeed Anwar for the last league match of the three-nation tournament.

Raja regrets snapping of cricket ties

SHARJAH, Oct 19 (PTI) — Pakistan selector and cricket commentator Rameez Raja has voiced regret over the stoppage of cricket exchanges between India and Pakistan saying line of communication between the two countries should be kept open in the field of sports.

“It is a shame that exchanges have stopped. Communication helps, it helps when you have a fight in the house, family, cricket board or wherever” said Raja.

“Sadly responsible world class players from either side are saying we should not play each other”, he said in a veiled reference to the statements made by former India captain and present coach Kapil Dev and skipper Sachin Tendulkar after the Kargil conflict.

Referring to the exclusion of paceman Waqar Younis from the current team, Raja said Younis would have to live with it, as Raja did during his time.

“These are harsh realities of life. You have to live with the fact that you are not the best now. I felt I was hard done by when I had the same treatment as a player” he told the ‘Gulf News’.

“But in hindsight, I feel I was not playing well and the selectors were right. It is hard on Waqar, but he is strong and it is not over for him” Raja said.

Perryman guides Shimizu to win

TOKYO, Oct 19 (Reuters) — English Manager Steve Perryman celebrated a recent continental coaching honour by guiding Shimizu S-Pulse through to the quarterfinals of the Asian Cup Winners’ Cup.

S-Pulse beat Shanghai Shenhua 2-0 in the second leg of their second-round tie at Shimizu yesterday to go through 2-0 on aggregate after drawing 0-0 in China two weeks ago.

Perryman, who was voted ‘manager of the month for September by the Kuala Lumpur-based Asian Football Confederation for taking S-Pulse to the top of the J.League, saw his team win with a 32nd-minute opener from striker Sotaro Yasunaga and a 54th-minute free kick from Brazilian Alessandro Dos Santos.

In next February’s quarterfinals, S-Pulse will play lucky Goldstar Cheetahs from South Korea.

S-Pulse qualified for the Cup Winners’ Cup by reaching the final of last season’s Japanese Football Association’s Emperor’s Cup. They lost 2-1 in the final to the Yokohama Flugels, who disbanded shortly after because its sponsor could no longer support the club, which then merged with the Yokohama Marinos.

Amre enjoying Boland stint

JOHANNESBURG, Oct 19 (PTI) — It was a happy return to the Kingsmead cricket ground, Durban, for former India Test star Pravin Amre.

The diminutive right-hander who braved a fiery spell by the South African pacemen to notch up a century on debut at the same ground when India visited that country nine years ago, struck an unbeaten 71 to help Boland beat Natal in a local league match at the weekend.

Amre, now playing as a professional in South Africa, struck 11 boundaries in his three-hour knock for Boland, which is based in Western Province.

Amre, who was coached by Ramakant Achrekar who also trained his one time India teammates Sachin Tendulkar and Vinod Kambli, said he was enjoying his stint with Boland and was looking forward to a good performance in South Africa.

“I am enjoying my cricket and hope to utilise my talent in helping budding young cricketers in South Africa,” Amre said in an interview after the match.

The 31-year-old Amre, who made his Test debut in the 1992-93 season, has scored 2309 runs in 11 tests at an average of 45.27 with 103 at Durban being his lone century. He also scored 513 runs from 37 limited overs internationals at an average of 19.73.

Amre, who has represented Mumbai, Railways, Rajasthan and Bengal in Ranji Trophy, has scored 5017 runs in 66 first class matches thus far.

Usha, Gulab Chand star attractions

BHOPAL, Oct 19 (UNI) — Veteran P.T. Usha is among the stars expected to bring alive the tracks in the 39th Open National Athletics’ Championship opening here on October 28.

The three-day championship will also feature nearly 40 other India internationals in a field of as many as 600 athletes. Among those taking part would be middle distance runner Gulab Chand, who has been out of action in recent days due to a heel injury.

Nearly 200 of the participants would be women, organising committee secretary Suresh Sharma told reporters here today.

He said 163 medals in 43 events would be at the stake in the championship. Records are expected to be broken when the sprinters coast down the new tracks laid out by a German firm for Rs 2.5 crore, he said.

Usha has put behind her knee injury with a string of good performances recently. She clocked 24.10s in the 200 m at the Raja Bhalendra Singh International Meet in New Delhi on Friday, and had bettered her national mark in the event at the inter-state meet in Lucknow with a timing of 23.25s.

The sprint queen’s 11.43s in the 100m at the SAF Games in Kathmandu displayed her resolve to set new standards in Indian athletics and she is expected to make another attempt here to break her national record of 11.39s set in Jakarta in 1985.

Usha would undoubtedly be the star draw in the championship.

Dr Sharma said the India internationals whose participation had been confirmed include, besides Usha: Rachita Mistry (100m), G.G. Pramila (hepathalan and long jump), Harjeet Kaur (shot put and discus), Rosa Kutty (400 and 800m), Shakti Singh (shot put), Anil Mathew (800m), Prabhjot Singh (400m), Sanjay Kumar Roy (long jump), Gulab Chand (1500m and 5000m), Jube Thomas (high jump), Sunita Rani (1500m and 5000m), Neelam J. Singh (discus), Harish Tiwari (5000m), Brahma Dube (javelin), Jetty Joseph (long jump and triple jump), Gurmeet Kaur (javelin) and Hardeep Kaur (hammer throw).

In the men’s section, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1500, 5000, 10000m races, 3000m steeple chase, 110 and 400m hurdle, 4x100m and 4x400m relay races, long jump, high jump, pole vault, triple jump, shotput, hammer, discus, javelin and 20km walk events would be held.

In women’s section 100, 200, 400, 800, 1500, 5000, 10000m races, 100 and 400m hurdle, 4x100m and 4x400m relays, long jump, high jump, pole vaule, triple jump, shotput, hammer, discus and javelin, 10km walk and pentathelon events would be organised.

Chief Minister Digvijay Singh will inaugurate the championship, being organised by the Madhya Pradesh Amateur Athletic Association. Governor Bhai Mahavir will be the chief guest in the concluding function.

Srinath, Fazaluddin upset

MUMBAI, Oct 19 (UNI) — It was a day of upsets as the top two seeds were shown the door in the first round of the ITF men’s satellite circuit first leg at the Dr G.A. Ranade Tennis Centre courts here today.

Top seed Prahlad Srinath of India was humbled in straight sets by countryman Sandeep Kirtane 6-4, 6-4, while second seed Syed Fazaluddin also of India was shown the door by Niko Karagiannis of Greece 5-7, 6-3, 6-2 in one hour and 50 minutes.

Srinath made a lot of mistakes and his game was patchy allowing Sandeep to make inroads. Another factor was that Sandeep and Srinath had been practising together for the past few days and knew each others game well.

The first set went on serve till the fourth, when Sandeep struck the first blow breaking Srinath. However, Srinath came back immediately breaking Sandeep in the very next game to level things up. The decisive break for Sandeep came in the 10th game when he broke Srinath at 30 after being down 15-30 to pocket the first set.

The second set also followed the pattern of the first set with both players trading breaks early on. Sandeep once again got the decisive break in the final game of the second set breaking Srinath at 30 and with it pocketed the set and match at 6-4, 6-4 in an hour and 20 minutes.

The second seed S. Fazaluddin was beaten by Niko Karagiannis in three sets. Fazaluddin started well winning the first set at 7-5 with a break in the eleventh game.

In the second set Fazal was broken in the sixth game to go down 3-6, while in the third set Niko broke in the fifth and seventh games to wrap up the match at 5-7, 6-3, 6-2.

The match of the day, however, was between Rohan Bopanna and Balasz Veress of Hungary. Rohan made a great comeback after being down 5-7, 3-5 with veress serving for the match. However, at this stage Rohan took his game a notch higher to reel off four games in a row to win the second set at 7-5.

In the third set, it was Rohan all the way as he raced to a 5-1 lead. Veress, however, did not give up and brought the score to 4-5 before Rohan served out for the match to notch a creditable win in two hours and nine minutes at 5-7, 7-5, 6-4.

The new national hard court tennis champion 16-year-old Sunil Kumar proved too good for N. Ranganathan winning in straight sets in one hour and 10 minutes at 6-3, 6-3.

Results:

Andrei Youzhny beat Vishal Rao 6-1, 6-4; Sridhar Vinod beat Kedar Tembe 6-1, 6-2; Reddy Vasudeva beat Kedar Shah 6-3, 4-6, 6-2; Sunil Kumar beat N. Ranganathan 6-3, 6-3; Sandeep Kirtane beat Prahlad Srinath 6-4, 6-4; Thomas Messmer beat Zbynek Mlynarik 7-6 (7-5), 3-6, 6-4; Rohan Bopanna beat Balasz Veress 5-7, 7-5, 6-4; Niko Kargiannis beat S. Fazaluddin 5-7, 6-3, 6-3; Matthis Kempe-Bergman beat Mustafa Ghouse 61-, 6-3.

Surjit Academy boys bag title
From Our Correspondent

JALANDHAR, Oct 19 — Haryana XI overpowered Rail Coach Factory, Kapurthala by 3-1 to lift the title in the women’s section of the sixth G.S. Bodhi Memorial Invitation Hockey Tournament organised by the Jyoti Womens’ Hockey Club which concluded on a colourful note at the Olympic Surjit Hockey Stadium, here yesterday. Surjit Academy, Jalandhar, emerged winners in the boys section.

Haryana opened their account in the 41st minute through international Meenakshi who converted the fourth penalty corner. For RCF the goal was scored by Seema Rani in the 37th minute. Haryana’s Gurpreet increased the lead in 48th off a rebound. In the 67th minute international Meenakshi found the target off a penalty stroke.

In the boys’ final, Sports School, Jalandhar, failed to impress the crowd. Surjit Hockey Academy, Jalandhar, played an excellent game. They earned three penalty corners in the first half but could not convert them. Sports School wasted one penalty corner. Surjit Academy opened their account in the 33rd minute through inside-right Paviteer Jeet Singh.

In the second half Maninder Singh scored the decisive goal for Surjit Academy off a penalty corner rebound in the 44th minute. The winners in both sections pocketed Rs 25,000 each, while the runners-up in both the sections got Rs 15,000 each along with trophies and other attractive prizes.

Pele’s appeal

RIO DE JANEIRO, Oct 19 (AFP) — Soccer legend Pele has hit out at juvenile delinquency by appealing to the Brazilian authorities to help deprived children.

“The upsurge in violence reflects years of a lack of attention paid to the situation of deprived children,” said Pele, who recalled he had made a similar appeal in 1969, the year he netted his 1000th goal.

Brazilian daily ‘O Dia’ today reported that the world’s greatest ever footballer had himself been the victim of an abortive armed attack in Sao Paulo earlier this month, which prompted him to launch a renewed appeal.

Maradona for Libya

TRIPOLI, Oct 19 (AFP) — Argentine football legend Diego Maradona is due here tomorrow to give a boost to Libyan football after the isolation of seven years of UN sanctions, newspapers here reported.

Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi’s son Saadi, who heads the national football federation, invited the help of the player notorious for his “Hand of God” and his cocaine habit in a bid to “develop Libyan football,” the newspapers said today.

Kanpur Test live on DD

NEW DELHI, Oct 19 (UNI) — Doordarshan will telecast live on DD-1, the second cricket Test between India and New Zealand to be played at Kanpur from October 22 to 26.

The telecast will be from 9.55am till 11am and again from 4.02 to 5.15 pm. Highlights of the first two day’s play will be telecast between, 6 am and 7 am and for the remaining days between 11pm and 12 midnight, Doordarshan said in a statement yesterday.

Punjab badminton team

JALANDHAR, Oct 19 (UNI) — The Punjab Badminton Association today announced a 10-member team which would take part at the 13th Mini National Badminton Championship to be held at Vijaywada from November 1 to 4.

Association general secretary Rajinder Kalsi today named the team members as Iqbal Singh, Mayank Behl, Akshay Bhanot, Varun Arora, Abishek Rawelly and Harsimran Kochar, (all boys), and Arti Verma, Gurpreet Kaur, Sehar Chadha and Saniya Sareen, (girls).

He said Pardeep Chadha and Kartar Singh would accompany the team as manager and coach, respectively.

Trials

HISAR, Oct 19 (FOSR) — Trials to select the Haryana team for the 22nd Junior National Handball Championship for girls to be held at Bilaspur in Himachal Pradesh from November 11 to 16 will be held here at Government College grounds on October 30, according to secretary, Haryana State Handball Association.

Girls born on or after January 2, 1980, are eligible.

Wrestling meet at Dialpur

PHAGWARA, Oct 19 (FOC) — The Babe Panjpir Hind Kesri Wrestling Tournament famous for its golden bracelet awards, will be held at Dialpur, village on October 31 and November, according to P.R. Sondhi, technical chairman of the tournament committee.

The first two prizes for the plus 85 kg category will be gold ‘karas’ weighting 51 gm and 31 gm. The third and fourth prizes will carry cash awards.