Thursday, October 28, 1999
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S P O R T | Thursday, October 28, 1999 |
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Indians ecstatic as Rana marches
into semis TASHKENT, Oct 27 — India’s Narendra Rana marched confidently into the semifinals of the lightweight category with a 12-7 verdict over his Tajik rival at the Asian Boxing Championships here today.
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Delhi crush Services by an innings Golf
to be made ‘more popular’ in Punjab Punjab
rout HP by 196 runs
Haryana salvage a draw Haryana
fail to drive home advantage HP
girl in World XI |
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Indians ecstatic as Rana marches
TASHKENT, Oct 27 (PTI) — India’s Narendra Rana marched confidently into the semifinals of the lightweight category with a 12-7 verdict over his Tajik rival at the Asian Boxing Championships here today. Rana overwhelmed Donier Hatamov of Tajikistan in one-sided encounter in the 60 kg class to revive the spirits of the Indian contingent which touched a low after Ramanand’s loss yesterday. Rana was in complete control of the bout from the very beginning. In fact, he stunned the Tajik boxer in the first few seconds by unleashing a ferocious combination of punches. At the end of the first round Rana was already two points ahead. The second round was a continuation of the story as Rana outsmarted the Tajik tactically with a sudden barrage of punches before withdrawing into his defensive mould. Rana led by three points at the end of this round. The next round provided more excitement when a savage uppercut by the Indian caught Hatamov on the chin. Stunned by the blow Hatamov attempted to stall the proceedings and barely managed to survive till the bell. Rana had moved ahead to an insurmountable lead of five points which made him to relax a bit in the fourth round. As the Indian allowed his guard to slip marginally, Hatamov struck some telling blows, but the contest had already been decided in Rana’s favour. National coach Gurbux Singh Sandhu was all praise for Rana’s effort. “The Tajik boxer is a southpaw which is very rare in India. Rana’s performance in that context was remarkable,” Sandhu said. Rana himself was very pleased with his showing. The Services man has displayed considerable improvement of late as shown by his SAF Games gold where he beat Commonwealth Games silver medallist Asgar Ali Shah of Pakistan in the final. “I think I got the most favourable draw of all the boxers and that is certainly in my favour,” a modest Rana said. Hatamov flustered him with some provocative gestures at the hotel before the bout. Rana though kept his cool and answered him in the ring. Rana next comes up against Larry Semillano of the Philippines in the semifinals. Semillano won 9-4 against Park Kwon-Nyon of South Korea. “He does not appear to be anything special. The boxers in my category are weak here so this is my best chance for Olympic qualification,” Rana said. In other action today, Asian Games gold medallist Wiagviset Phongsit of Thailand, in the lightweight category, overcame Uzbekistan’s Nabiev Djurabek with a slender 5-4 margin in a classic encounter. In front of a noisy home crowd Djurabek almost pulled off a major upset when the referee counted the Thai down in the third round. However, the Thai made it through with his experience and carried himself in to the semis. In the 48 kg category,
world championship bronze medallist Dilshod Yarbekov of
Uzbekistan made it to the semis with a narrow 5-4 win
over Indonesian Lapaene Masara. |
Delhi crush Services by an innings NEW DELHI, Oct 27 (PTI) — Medium pacer Amit Bhandari claimed five wickets as title contenders Delhi crushed Services by an innings and 45 runs on the fourth and final day of their North Zone Ranji Trophy league match here today. Needing 303 runs to make Delhi bat again, the Services were bowled out for 258, 16 minutes after lunch today. Overnight batsmen Sarabjit Singh and G S Thapa came good with a sixth wicket stand worth 54 runs but once they were out, none of the remaining batsmen stayed at the crease for long. Singh, who was eight short of 50 when play resumed today, completed his half-century off 147 balls. Off-spinner Virendra Sehwag ended his resistance as he was caught at mid-wicket by Delhi skipper Ajay Sharma while attempting a drive. He top scored for Services with 59 that included eight boundaries. Bhandari then removed Thapa (40) as he nicked a thick edge to wicketkeeper Vijay Dahiya. On a roll, Bhandari claimed his fifth victim — the second of the day — when he clean bowled last man C D Thompson (27). India discard off-spinner Raghul Sanghvi clean bowled a belligerent M V Rao (21), who cracked three successive boundaries off Bhandari. In the absence of skipper Chinmaya Sharma — the mainstay of the Services batting who was refused leave by his unit — left-arm spinner Arun Sharma, seamer J P Pandey and leg-spinner Sanjay Sirsat, Services was not expected to give more than a light workout to the former champions. Services, however, were able to postpone an imminent defeat which stared them in face on the penultimate day as middle order batsman Abu Eric and Sarabjit Singh played sensibly to sustain the onslaught of seaming duo Ashish Nehra and Bhandari. Bhandari bowled exceptionally well, particularly in the second innings, returning a match haul of 7/97. Nehra was quick, though not very successful in the second innings. His match haul was 6/59, including 5/25 in the first innings. Among the batsmen, Mithun Manhas, whose unbeaten 125 was the highlight of Delhi’s first innings, Ashu Dani and Virendra Sehwag impressed. Services batsmen, on the other hand, put up a poor show as they failed miserably in both the innings on a batsman’s wicket. Scoreboard (Services Ist innings): 141. (Delhi Ist innings): 444/8 decl. (Services IInd innings): Narender Singh b A Nehra 0, Swapan c Dani b Bhandari 19, Pankaj c V Sehwag b Bhandari 4, Abu Eric b Bhandari 39, Sanjay c & b Angurala 9, Sarabjeet c A Sharma b Sehwag 59, Thapa c Dahiya b Bhandari 40, Thompson b Bhandari 27, Rao b Sanghvi 21, Javed lbw Chopra 4, Kulkarni not out 5, Extras: (9b, 10lb, 12nb) 31. Total (all out in 111.2 overs): 258. Fall of wickets: 1/0, 2/15, 3/30, 4/50, 5/110, 6/164, 7/216, 8/239, 9/244. Bowling: A Nehra
19-9-34-1, A Bhandari 29.2-8-75-5, R Sanghvi 29-15-40-1,
S Angurala 19-3-55-1, N Chopra 8-2-20-1, A Sharma
2-1-2-0, V Sehwag 5-2-13-1. |
Holyfield defends Tyson HOUSTON, Oct 27, (Reuters) — Evander Holyfield, who lost a piece of his ear in a Mike Tyson meltdown two years ago, defended his beleaguered nemesis for hitting Orlin Norris after the bell last Saturday. “As a fighter we always somehow try to get the last blow at the end of the bell because it sends a message back to that person,” Holyfield said yesterday. When somebody hits you after the bell you gotta go sit back down for that whole minute, and you’re thinking how hard he hits. That’s the reason why a guy likes to get that last shot. “It’s not that someone fouls you to get you out of there, it’s that last shot gets you thinking,” said Holyfield, here training for his November 13 Las Vegas rematch against Lennox Lewis for the undisputed heavyweight title. Besides, Holyfield said, Norris looked like he could have continued instead of refusing to leave his stool for the second round, saying he had twisted his right knee when Tyson’s late punch dropped him to the canvas. The referee had ruled that Tyson’s late hit in Las Vegas was not intentional and took two points from him, and the Nevada State Athletic Commission declared the scheduled 10-round fight a “no contest” after Norris refused to answer the bell for the second round. The commission this week is scheduled to rule, after reviewing tape of the fight, whether Tyson threw the punch late on purpose and should be disqualified. Many ringsiders do not believe the commission will overrule the referee. Meanwhile, Tyson’s purse of about $ 10 million has been withheld. Norris received his $ 800,000 cheque. “(Tyson) hurt the guy with the shot but I don’t think it was a devastating shot,” said Holyfield, who will defend his World Boxing Association and International Boxing Federation heavyweight titles against Lewis, champion of the World Boxing Council. “It surprised the guy and he fell. When the guy got up he wasn’t wobbly or anything like that, his eyes weren’t rolled back up in his head or anything like that,” said Holyfield, who’s career is testimony that he would have to be carried out on a stretcher to concede anything in the ring. “There used to be a rule that, shoot, you can’t lose on a disqualification. You gotta get up, and people used to get up and fight. They changed the rules. I still think shoot you can’t lose on a disqualification. You got to get up and fight.” Holyfield said he believed that Norris was told by his cornermen to stay on his stool as an easy payday. “It’s kinda sad. If he was a champion, you know, shoot, you’re not giving up your belts. This guy not one time was hollering that he can’t go on,” Holyfield said. Holyfield, however, may not have had the benefit of repeated replays of the punch, which clearly showed that Norris fell awkwardly with much of his weight on a twisted knee. And a ringside doctor examined Norris and said his knee definitely had been injured. But, of course, the question still remains why would Tyson risk fouling the light-hitting Norris, who was as much as a 12-1 underdog. In addition, the fight was crucial to Tyson’s bid to reestablish himself as a drawing card once again in an effort to climb out of some $ 20 million in debt. “I think the respect may not be there,” on Tyson’s part, Holyfield said. Tyson got frustrated
because “people are not fighting him back so he
really has to work to win,” added Holyfield, who has
not had cosmetic surgery to repair top of his right ear
that Tyson bit off in their rematch. Holyfield has
indicated that he sees the ear as a badge of a warrior. |
Punjab rout HP by 196 runs SAS NAGAR,Oct 27--Himachal Pradesh opened their campaign in the national cricket championship on a dismal note crashing to a 196-run defeat to the hosts Punjab in the North Zone Ranji Trophy four-day league match at the Punjab Cricket Association stadium here today. Defeat for the visitors was, in fact, a foregone conclusion after Himachal Pradesh had conceded a 225-run first innings lead to Punjab.They fared no better in their second innings and were bundled out for 205 before the lunch break on the last day of the match today. Himachal, resuming at their overnight score of 127 for five, could not make a good start and lost two wickets at the overnight score. Off-spinner Sarandeep Singh struck twice in the second over of the day. He first dismissed Ajay Mannu, having him caught by Amit Sharma at short leg. Next batsman Jaswant Rai survived just one ball and edged a Sarandeep Singh delivery to Pankaj Dharmani as the visitors slumped to 127 for seven. Himachal skipper Rajiv Nayyar, however,resumed in the same manner as yesterday. Showing solid defence and application he kept on defying the Punjab bowling attack. In between, he played some good strokes to keep the scoreboard moving. Rajiv and Arun Verma added 47 runs for the eighth-wicket partnership before the latter was scalped by Reetinder Sodhi. Rodhi struck immediately thereafter castling Shakti Singh.Himachal innings folded as Rajiv played a Navdeep delivery into the hands of Rathore. For Punjab, Navdeep, Sarandeep and Reetinder claimed three wickets apiece, but Navdeep, who conceded just 29 runs in his 20.1 overs, was outstanding. Punjab, who got eight points from the match, now clash with the Services from October 30, while Himachal Pradesh now travel Chamba to renew battle against Jammu and Kashmir on the same day. Scoreboard Punjab (1st innings): 354 HP (1st innings): 129 Punjab (2nd innings): 176 for 6 decl. HP (2nd innings): Panta c sub (Sanjay) b Sandeep Sharma 8, Gaur lbw b Sodhi 37, Nayyar c Vikram b Navdeep 85, Sangram c Mongia b Navdeep 21, Yashwinder c Amit b Navdeep 0, Ajay Rai lbw b Sarandeep 15, Ajay Mannu c Amit b Sarandeep 0, Jaswant c Pankaj b Sarandeep 0, Arun c Pankaj b Sodhi 17, Shakti b Sodhi 2, Parveen not out 8. Extras (nb-9, w-2, lb-1) 12 Total 205 Fall of wickets: 1/9, 2/55,3/95, 4/95, 5/127, 6/127, 7/127, 8/ 174 9/176. Bowling: Sandeep
Sharma 17-3-47-1, Reetinder Sodhi 15-4-40-3, Sarandeep
Singh 20-4-48-3, Navdeep Singh 20.1-10-29-3, Sandeep
Singh 11-1-40-0. |
No quick clues expected for tragic flight MINA (USA), Oct 27 (AP) — Investigators began gathering the remains of golfer Payne Stewart and five others from the area around a 3-metre crater in a soggy pasture, hoping to determine whether a sudden loss in cabin pressure doomed their Learjet. Dressed in heavy overalls against a cold wind, members of the National Transportation Safety Board spent all day yesterday at the crash site, picking through the wreckage not only for the victims but for identifiable pieces of the shattered aircraft. Investigators cautioned that there will be no quick explanation for why no one was conscious at the controls for four hours on Monday, when the jet flew 2,250 kilometres across the country before running out of fuel and slamming nose-first into the ground. The plane had no flight data recorder that could yield information on the aircraft and its performance. It had a cockpit voice recorder, but it consisted of a 30-minute loop that usually records over itself. And Stewart and the others on the plane presumably were already unconscious or dead by the last half-hour of the flight. The cockpit recorder had not been found as of last night. Most of the plane’s debris is embedded in mud and soil within a 3-metre-deep, 9-metre-wide crater said Bob Francis, vice chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board. “It looks like the aircraft was pretty much vertical when it hit the ground,” Francis said. “The ground is soft, and it went in fairly deep. It’s going to be a challenge, with the wreckage and sorting out what’s there.” Investigators searched around the edge of the crater yesterday and plan to search inside it this morning. They were sending tissue samples from the victims to a medical examiner’s lab to test for such substances as carbon monoxide. But Brad Randall, a state medical examiner, said toxicology tests may be worthless in attempting to verify one possible theory for the accident — that the victims suffered oxygen deprivation because of a sudden decompression of the aircraft. If a plane loses cabin pressure, pilots are supposed to put on oxygen masks and quickly descend to 3,600 metres or lower. There was no evidence suggesting the pilots of Stewart’s jet made any effort to do so, but Francis declined to speculate what that could mean. On Monday, air traffic controllers were unable to raise anyone aboard the plane by radio soon after it took off from Orlando, Florida. Fighter pilots who chased it were unable to see into the plane because its windows were frosted over, indicating the temperature inside was well below freezing. Francis confirmed that the crew of one of the fighter jets made a videotape of the Learjet. “It appears that the video was taken through a heads-up display on the aircraft, and the quality is probably not going to be good enough to help us,” he said. Officials said the air temperature at the altitude the jet was flying would have been well below freezing. Together, the evidence raised suspicions that the plane had experienced a catastrophic loss of cabin pressure. Four years ago, federal regulators ordered that valves that regulate pressure on Learjets be replaced to “prevent rapid decompression of the airplane.” The Federal Aviation Administration gave owners 18 months to comply. James Watkins, president of Sunjet Aviation Inc., which operated the jet, told The Washington Post for a story in today’s editions that the aircraft’s maintenance log books showed that the new valves had been installed. The FAA also limited planes to an altitude of 12,300 m until the valves were replaced because of the possibility they could fail. In the plane’s last radio transmission above Gainesville, Florida, the pilot was instructed to climb to 11,700 m. The 23-year-old, eight-passenger plane had logged more than 10,000 hours of flight time but had no history of serious mechanical problems, according to the FAA. Stewart, 42, with his
knickers and tam-o’-shanter hat, was one of the
world’s most recognisable golfers. He won 18
tournaments, including two U.S. Open titles. |
Honda Masters golf from today NEW DELHI, Oct 27 — Defending champion Jyoti Randhawa is clubbed with title-aspirant Gerry Norquist (USA) and Shiv Prakash (tee-time 7.57 am) on the opening day for the $ 200,000 third Hero Honda Masters at the Delhi Golf Club (DGC) course tomorrow. Jeev Milkha Singh, another strong hopeful for the title, is clubbed with South Africa’s Christopher Williams and Feroz Ali. The three 4-some group will tee-off at 8.24 am. S.S.P Chowrasia, who caused many surprises last year at Calcutta in Indian Open, is yet another Indian who may display his prowess. He is grouped with Dominique Boulet (Hong Kong) and Juman. Gaurav Ghei, Basad Ali, Vivek Bhandari, Arjun Singh, Arjun Atawal, Uttam Mundy, Ali Sher and veteran Rohtas Singh are some other prominent Indian pros, who are capable of finishing among top six. Daniel Chopra (Sweden), who had graduated in professional golf from this course, will also lay his claims for the title. When he is in his belligerent mood, he can play an unblemished round. But when he falters in his concentration, he can cause concern to himself needlessly. Harmeet Kahlon, who finished well at Faridabad, did not play in Pro-Am today. He said that he did not have to familiarise on the course and hence there was no need for him to tire himself out. He is a young pro capable of causing surprises. This will be his first major competition after turning pro. Nine amateurs are in the fray. Among them is Ashok Malik. Always a fine sport, he should be able to fire good score. Five-time national champion Vikramjit Singh, who turned pro last year after crossing half-century mark in age, is another player, whose performance will be watched with interest. Last year he did not play to his potential in pro competitions. The challenge from foreign players is low on quantity but there are quite a few/quality players. Any one of them can wrest initiative from India’s leading lights. A galaxy of participants suggests that there will be an absorbing contest for the next four days on a course, which is tough and challenging. Many, who played today in Pro-Am, were spontaneous in saying that it was an excellent course to play. The response for the
competition from among club member-golfers and public is
fantastic. Full house on the last two days after the
‘cut’ is expected. Naturally, spectators will
reserve a big roar for an Indian leader. But, those, who
are aware of Delhi crowd, feel that an equally good
‘gallery’ will be provided to any foreign
player who gives a fine display of strokes and putting. |
Haryana salvage a draw PATIALA, Oct 27 — A rejuvenated Haryana salvaged a draw against Punjab in the inter-state Cooch Behar Cricket Tournament league match at the Dhruv Pandove stadium here today. After being bundled out for 218 in the morning, Haryana, as expected, were asked to follow on a wicket which was breaking up fast. But directionless bowling by the hosts and sloppy ground fielding enabled the visitors to manage to draw the three-day encounter. Punjab won the match by virtue of its massive 182-run first innings lead with hosts speedster Amit Unniyal taking a five wicket haul conceding 43 runs. Punjab have now 13 points in their kitty while Haryana have six from two matches each. Punjab now face contenders Delhi from October 30 to November 1 at the Dhruv Pandove Stadium here. Brief scores: Punjab (Ist innings): 400 for 7 declared. Haryana : (Ist innings): 218 all out. Haryana: (2nd innings):
217 for 4 (Maninder Singh 61, Parveen Sharma 56, Satish
Ohlan 52 Gagandeep 2 for 20, Yuvraj 1 for 22, Sanjay
Dhull 1 for 77.) |
Haryana fail to drive home advantage FARIDABAD, Oct 27 (PTI) — Former champions Haryana squandered a chance to score full points as the Jammu and Kashmir batsmen put up a defiant fight and salvaged a draw in their North Zone Ranji Trophy league match here today. Forced to follow-on, J and K, five for one wicket overnight, batted through the day to score 155 for five, frustrating the Haryana bowlers before the captains of the two teams decided to call off play with no result in sight. Haryana earned five points by virtue of its first innings lead while J and K got three points. Haryana scored 469 runs in their first innings and then dismissed J and K for 242 to force them to follow on. The hosts were in sight of a win yesterday when Vinnet Jain struck an early blow, having opener Ranjit Bali caught by Pankaj Thakur on a duck. But nightwatchman Vijay Sharma, who came in after Bali’s, dismissal, remained not out after compiling a patient 58 and held on to one end as the hosts ran out of ideas. Scoreboard Haryana (1st innings) 469. J and K (1st innings) 242. J and K (2nd innings): Ranjeet Bali c Thakur b Vineet 0, Amitpal Singh lbw b Jakhar 35, Vijay Kumar not out 58, Kanwaljeet Singh b Jakhar 25, Ashwani Gupta b Thakur 13, Shashi Kumar not out 9, Extras (b-4, lb-6, nb-5) 15. Total (for 4 wkts, 94 overs, 383m) 155. Fall of wickets: 1-4, 2-58, 3-114, 4-133. Bowling:
Vineet Jain 13-4-25-1, Manish Skalkar 9.2-4-22-0, Pankaj
Thakur 28-11-44-1, Parinder Sharma 5-1-10-0, Sanjay
Jakhar 31-18-39-2, Sanjay Dalal 8.4-6-5-0. |
Parnita maintains lead CHANDIGARH, Oct 27 — Playing consistent golf with a 5 over par 77 round Parnita Garewal (144) took the lead in the gold division of the seventh Punjab Open Amateur Ladies Golf Championship at the Chandigarh Golf Club today. Gurneet Raikhy (155) dropped a stroke behind after playing a disastrous 7 over in the front nine and then made an equally fantastic recovery with a one under par back nine to finish 6 over 78 for the day. However it was Irina Brar’s (157) turn today to pip Parnita Garewal for the day’s best gross prize as she also played an identical round to Parnita’s, a 5 over 77. And their scores were the same in the last 9,6 and 3 holes. Parnita’s bogey on the 18th cost her the prize. The competition grows more fierce now and will be virtually a match play-off as the three leaders will be teeing off together tomorrow. In the silver division veteran Taran Simran Singh displayed her experience to lead by 5 strokes over Harinder Sandhu. Overnight leader Sheena Sekhon lay a stroke behind. In the bronze division Vijay Wadhawan continued to lead over improved Ritu Lumba by four strokes and Nirmal Milkha Singh was third. In the seniors (above 50) Taran Simran Singh and Harinder Sandhu and Vinay Wadhawan were leading. In the junior section Gurnet Raikhy and Irina Brar led with Mina Johl lying third. In the subjunior Kirat Grewal led by 11 strokes over Sruthi Reddy and Harsharan Kaur lay third. The scores after second day’s play: Gold division: Gross — Parnita Garewal (154), Guneet Raikhy (155), Irina Brar (157); Nett — Guneet Raikhy (145), Parnita Garewal (150), Irina Brar (151) Silver division: Gross — Taran Simran Singh (190), Harinder Sandhu (195), Sheena Sekhon (196); Nett — Taran Simran Singh (154), Harinder Sandhu (157), Pikka P. Singh (158). Bronze division: Gross — Vijay Wadhawan (198), Ritu Lumba (202), Nirmal Milkha Singh (208); Nett — Ritu Lumba (148), Vijay Wadhawan (148), Rajinder Kaur (151). Seniors (Above 50): Gross — Taran Simran Singh (190), Harinder Sandhu (195), Vijay Wadhawan (198); Nett — Vijay Wadhawan & Ritu Lumba (148), Nirmal Milkha Singh (152). Juniors (below 18): Gross — Guneet Raikhy (155), Irina Brar (157), Mina Johl (223); Nett — Guneet Raikhy (145), Irina Brar & Mina Johl (151). Sub juniors (Below 14
yrs): Gross — Kirat Grewal (224), Sruthi Reddy
(235), Harsharan Kaur (237); Nett — Kirat Grewal
(152), Sruthi Reddy (163), Harsharan Kaur (165). |
Golf to be made ‘more
popular’ in Punjab CHANDIGARH,Oct 27 — “Golf would be made more popular in the state of Punjab”, disclosed Mr SK Sharma, president of the Punjab Golf Association during a press conference here last evening. The association would hold the 2nd PGA cup state golf championship for men and women on December 1 and 2 this year at the RCF Golf course, Kapurthala. As the 2000 National games have been allotted to Punjab with golf making its debut in these games, the Punjab Olympic Association has asked the PGA to select probables for the National Games. Col (Retd) B.S. Kahlon, secretary PGA said that the two-day meet would have participants in seniors (above 18), juniors and sub Juniors in both boys and girls sections. The seniors will further have two categories — with handicap seven and handicap eight to 12 in order to identify the best talent and exposing the young golfers to more competition. The juniors and sub juniors will have the age groups 15-17 years, 13 to 14 years and 11 to 12 years and the participation in these categories will be allowed on the IGU-approved handicap. The prizes from first to third position holders would be awarded on gross score only. Though an individual can take part in one category only, for the overall championship the participant with the best score in any category will be eligible to claim the championship. A minimum of eight probables would be selected in each section in preparation for the National Games, but the final list will be further pruned. A one-day PGA
Invitational Inter club Golf tournament will be conducted
on November 24 at Ranjitgarh Golf Club, PAP Academy,
Phillaur where nearly 13 clubs from Punjab, Haryana and
Chandigarh are expected to take part. |
HP girl in World XI CHANDIGARH, Oct 27 — Sita Gussain, of Nahan (Sirmour district), Himachal Pradesh, could not have asked for more. She got the proud distinction of being the only Indian woman hockey player to be chosen from entire Asia for the World XI team by the Federation Internationa de Hockey (FIH). Twentysix-year-old Sita, a former captain of Indian women’s hockey team will have this rare opportunity to play FIH’s 75th anniversary celebrations match as a member of the World XI versus the world champions, Australia, scheduled for October 27 at Alexandria. The team recently announced by FIH President Juan Angel Calzedo after a rigorous selection procedure during the four-nation hockey tournament held at Australia early this year, was selected by experts Shirqi Virgee of Canada and Slocombe of Britain. In this 16-member team, the top women players of the world like Britta Becker and Natasha Keller of West Germany will also participate. Before leaving for this historic tournament, Sita said she would leave no stone unturned in preserving India’s glory in the world of hockey. Sita whose elder sister Sudesh and younger Gita also remained associated with hockey belongs to a middle class family. At present she is working with Northern Railway and is posted at DRME office, Ambala Cantt. Sita’s track record shows that after joining SAI’s Sports Training Centre hostel at Sector 18, Chandigarh, her game really took off and from then onwards, there has been no stopping her. Sita was one of the senior members of Indian team that won the silver medal at the 1998 Bangkok Asian Games, where Pritam Thakran was the captain. Sita’s other achievements at the international level include, silver medal at the six-nation Hockey in 1994 held at Uzbekistan, gold medal in the four-nation hockey tournament at Delhi in 1996, bronze medal in the first Asian Junior Championship held at Malaysia, and at Third Women’s Asia Cup at Japan in 1993, Fourth position in the World Cup qualifying tournament at Harare in 1997, besides many other representations at the international level. The achievements at the domestic front has been magnificent. Recently Sita took part in the test matches held at New Zealand and in March next year will take part the Pre-qualifying Hockey in the UK for the Sydney Olympics. Sita missed the
prestigious Arjuna Award this year as only the
captain’s name was recommended. But that did not
deter this determined damsel, who with her superb play,
has taken the hockey world by storm. |
H
SGGSC-26 triumph CHANDIGARH, Oct 27 (BOSR) — The SGGS College, sector 26, Chandigarh downed GN College, Killianwali by 39-24 in the Panjab University Inter college Handball Championship (men) at the PU grounds here today. In another match, PU Campus, Chandigarh outplayed Government College, Hoshiarpur by 35-15. Dist volleyball championship PATIALA, Oct 27 (FOSR) — The Patiala district volleyball championships (men and women) will be held at the local Polo Grounds on November 1 and 2, according to a press note of the district volleyball association. Entries close on October 30. Hamirpur lads dominate KANGRA Oct 27 (FOSR) — The day belonged to Hamirpur Polytechnic in the Himachal Pradesh Polytechnic Sports championship held in the Polytechnic College here when they notched up wins in football, basketball, table tennis and volleyball. In the basketball, Hamirpur defeated the hosts by 41 points to 26 with Pawan Kumar scoring 16 points, Alok of Kangra polytechnic, despite a fine performance of 16 points, could not save his team from the defeat. In another match Polytechnic Rohru beat Sundernagar Polytechnic by 34:21, with Mandeep scoring 19 points. In table tennis for
girls Hamirpur Polytechnic defeated Polytechnic
Sundernagar by three-two margin in a well-contested
match. |
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