Injury ‘can limit’ Sachin’s career
NEW DELHI, Sept 18 — Master batsman Sachin Tendulkar will recover enough to return to action in a month’s time, but his persistent back problem had the potential to limit his performance, a doctor attending on him has said.

• Stage set for BCCI AGM
• Gaekwad’s comments on players’ performance

Jeev jumps 45 places to be joint 17th
NEW DELHI, Sept 18 — India’s Jeev Milkha Singh fired a superb four-under 67 in the second round to leapfrog 45 places to joint 17th at the halfway stage in the Lancome Trophy golf tournament in Paris.

Rohan, Meeta emerge b’minton champs
PATIALA, Sept 18 — Rohan Kapoor is the new Punjab men’s singles champion. In an all-Jalandhar final, Rohan, prevailed over Sandeep Singh Kohli in three gruelling games to win the coveted individual tital on the final day of the Punjab State Senior Badminton Championship at the NIS Courts here this evening.

Jaideep to lead PATIALA, Sept 18 — Jaideep Kohli of Jalandhar will lead the Punjab squad which will participate in the North Zone Badminton Championship to be held at Jammu from September 23 to 25.

Sandeep, Lakhbir help Patiala win
PATIALA, Sept 18 — A fluent knock of 55 runs by Sandeep Kohli and skipper Lakhbir Singh’s all round performance (25 and 3 for 21) enabled Patiala to carve out an emphatic five-wicket win over Minor Districts XI in the one-day Katoch Shield match played at the Dhruv Pandove Stadium here today.

Sangrur win team championship
ROPAR, Sept 18 — Sangrur won the team championships in the under-19 boys and girls sections with 59 points and 35 points, respectively, and in under-17 and under-14 boys sections with 63 points and 49 points, respectively, at the Punjab State School Swimming Championship for boys and girls which concluded at the Nehru Stadium Swimming Pool here this evening.

Injury ‘can limit’ Sachin’s career

NEW DELHI, Sept 18 (PTI) — Master batsman Sachin Tendulkar will recover enough to return to action in a month’s time, but his persistent back problem had the potential to limit his performance, a doctor attending on him has said.

“I think it would be a nuisance to him and probably restrict him. I guess in that sense it would probably limit his career,” Peter Barnes, specialist at the Australian Cricket Academy in Adelaide where Tendulkar is currently undergoing treatment and rehabilitation, has said.

“The injury has the potential to limit his performance. But he is such a great bat that he can probably bat with one leg and still make runs,” the doctor said and put the issue in perspective by saying Tendulkar had indeed managed the problem pretty well for the last six months.

Dr Barnes said Tendulkar was suffering from spondylolysis, which basically meant “there is some bony defect on either side of the spine down in the bottom half of the back”.

The condition had been there much before it surfaced in January this year during the Chennai first Test against Pakistan, Dr Barnes told a Press meet in Adelaide on September 14.

His comments formed part of the feature on Tendulkar’s treatment telecast in the “Inside Cricket” programme of “Star Sports” last night.

Specialists at the academy have chalked out a “prevention programme” for six to eight weeks, “but usually around the 3-4 week mark, he should be at a stage where he can manage a reasonable workload,” Dr Barnes said.

The doctors have diagnosed that Tendulkar had defects in the lower vertebrae and inflamed scar tissue had formed in the lower back region. The process of trying to reduce the inflammation with physiotherapy and “mobilisation” of the spine was on to “stabilise” the problem area.

Asked how long it would take for Tendulkar to return to the crease, Dr Barnes said “probably three or four weeks”. Each individual responded to the treatment in a different way, but the world’s best batsman should be back in a month’s time.

Tendulkar said the academy doctors had explained to him what exactly the problem was and that he was happy with the measures being taken to rectify it.

“I feel more satisfied because they have given me the exact programme for the coming 3-4 weeks which is very important. I feel it is now upto me to get back in action and overcome this problem,” the star batsman said.

Tendulkar, whose back condition has gradually aggravated by the amount of cricket he has been playing since emerging on the international scene as a 15-year-old a decade ago, said he felt back stiffness off and on.

“I don’t feel it (pain or stiffness) every morning, but sometimes I wake up and all of a sudden I realise I am stiff. It’s not a kind of problem where I am suffering throughout. It come and it goes on its own, without my doing anything,” he explained.

The 26-year-old batsman first experienced severe back pain during his marathon knock of 136 against Pakistan in the first Test at Chennai.

He played in the second Test in New Delhi wearing a waist belt and also endured pain to play the two Asian Test series matches that followed immediately.

Tendulkar travelled to London to receive treatment from orthopaedic specialist Dr Ken Kennedy and missed two one-day triangular series in India and Sharjah before the World Cup.

Experts had attributed aggravation of the problem to playing constantly under highly humid conditions in the sub-continent and also to Tendulkar using a heavy bat.

The back problem flared up on August 18 during the short camp in Chennai prior to India’s tour of Sri Lanka for the triangular one-day tournament.

Tendulkar did manage to make the trip, but was forced to skip a match and braved excruciating pain to crack a superb century in the final league tie against Sri Lanka. The knock helped India win the match, but the hosts made the final against the Australian on better net run rate.

It was after the Sri Lankan trip that he decided to take a break immediately after the September 2 to 8 Singapore tournament to seek expert advise.

Tendulkar, who has also decided to skip the four-nation tournament in Nairobi to be held from September 25 to October 3, will remain in Adelaide for a few days and also follow the exercises prescribed by specialists there.

He has already said he would cut out on some of the unending series of one-day tournaments to rest his back and ensure his career was not affected in the long run.

Mukesh tenders apology

HYDERABAD, Sept 18 (PTI) — Veteran right winger Mukesh Kumar has tendered an apology to the Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) and his employers Indian Airlines for leaving for the Malaysian league despite being selected in the squad that is currently touring Australia.

The Olympian, one of the “super six” who were axed since they guided India to gold in the Bangkok Asian Games last December and the first to be recalled into the national side, has contended that he was not aware of his selection when he left to play in the league but has apologised for not taking prior permission to play in Malaysia.

Mukesh Kumar, who returned to Hyderabad midway through the league engagements in Kuala Lumpur, has contended that he was not aware of being named in the Indian squad prior to his departure for Malaysia, but has accepted the blame for the confusion around his non-availability for the trip.

“I had informed Indian Airlines Sports Control Board secretary M.S. Balakrishnan orally before leaving for Malaysia as I was accompanying my brother Suresh Kumar... but there was a communication gap between myself, IA and the IHF, and I was unaware of my selection in the Indian team,” he has said in the letter faxed to the IHF and IA.

“I apologise to the IHF as well as IA for not taking prior permission...,” he has said blaming lack of written communication for the whole problem.

The Hyderabad association secretary Satyanarayana, told PTI that no action could be taken on Mukesh Kumar as he was not registered with the state body, but action would be taken against his brother.

When contacted, IA secretary Balakrishnan confirmed receiving the apology letter from Mukesh Kumar and said the player should have completed the formalities before leaving for Malaysia.

Asked whether IA would take any action against Mukesh, he said he would talk to the player and if he is convincing the issue might be settled there.

Balakrishnan said the episode need not necessarily come in the way of Mukesh Kumar being considered for India in the future as he had a wealth of experience.

Stage set for BCCI AGM
By Abhijit Chatterjee
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Sept 18 — With former Maharashtra Chief Minister Manohar Joshi having decided to contest for the post of the President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) (AGM) against Mr A.S. Muthiah at the annual general body meeting of the board, scheduled to be held at Jaipur on September 21 and 22, the stage has been set for an acrimonious meeting.

With the current incumbent, Mr Raj Singh Dungarpur, having completed three years in office he will have to step down but at the Jaipur meeting he will, till the time of election, have a vote which might just tilt the balance in favour of one group or the other.

Mr Joshi, who earlier has been the Vice-President of the BCCI , was initially reluctant to contest but agreed after a number of requests came from South Zone members. As per the convention of the board it is South Zone’s turn to elect the President of the BCCI. Mr Muthiah, who currently is one of the five Vice-Presidents of the board, will have a tough fight on hand with polarisation of forces within the board already taking place. Son of Mr M.A.Chidbaram, a former President and Treasurer of the board, Mr Muthiah has also been involved in the BCCI affairs for a long time.

What has led to the polarisation among the 30 affiliated units of the BCCI is the autocratic functioning of the association. A number of affiliated units are of the view that they have very little say in the functioning of the board as it is being run by “remote control” by a single individual.

In recent days the functioning of the board has come in for sharp criticism for more than one reason. One issue which raised a number of questions, is the way the BCCI finalised television rights without taking the member-units into confidence. Also, India’s dismal performance in the World Cup will also come into sharp focus at the Jaipur meeting. Certain members are also of the view that the BCCI is asking the players to play too many inconsequential matches in far off places.

In case, the group which is backing Mr Joshi is able to garner substantial support it is but natural that a contest will be witnessed for all the posts for which elections will be held — President, five Vice-Presidents, a Secretary, a Joint Secretary and a Treasurer. Together with this there are likely to be major changes in the various committees, including the senior and junior selection committees and the finance committee.

According to sources, the group backing Mr Joshi might not go in for wholesale changes in the office-bearers but persons openly affiliated with the ruling group will have a tough fight on hand. There are indications that certain units affiliated with the ruling group might join hands with Mr Joshi as they are fed up with the functioning of the board.

In the present committee Mr C.K.Khanna of Delhi is the Vice-President from north zone but in case the opposition group can have its say then it is quite likely that Mr Khanna will be replaced. Also, Madan Lal , a member of the senior selection committee, may face the axe as a number of smaller units are not happy with his functioning. Madan Lal’s functioning came in for sharp criticism when there was a mix-up in the players selected to represent India “A” in the Los Angeles tournament.

One person who may benefit from the polarisation of groups within the board is the current Secretary of the BCCI, Mr J.Y. Lele. Although nobody is satisfied by the way he has been functioning there are indications that in case the opposition is able to push Mr Joshi’s candidature then it might not oppose the re-election of Mr Lele for one more term.

Over the next couple of days a lot of floor crossing is likely to be seen as each individual unit assesses its equation with one group or the other.

Jeev jumps 45 places to be joint 17th

NEW DELHI, Sept 18 (PTI) — India’s Jeev Milkha Singh fired a superb four-under 67 in the second round to leapfrog 45 places to joint 17th at the halfway stage in the Lancome Trophy golf tournament in Paris.

The top Indian professional, who was languishing at the 62nd spot overnight with a one-over card, showed tremendous improvement under bright sunshine in the French capital to share the 17th position with nine others at three-under 139 yesterday.

The 27-year-old son of legendary quartermiler Milkha Singh, struck superb form in the second round to be seven shots adrift of the pace at the 6,903-yard, par-71 Saini-Nom-la-Breteche Golf Club course, according to information received here today.

Defending champion Miguel Angel Jimenez of Spain shot into a three-shot second-round lead over England’s Gary Evans at 10-under 132 for 36 holes. The prominent member of the European team for the Ryder Cup clash against the Americans stormed into the lead with a superb seven-under 64 which included eight birdies.

Jaideep to lead
Tribune News Service

PATIALA, Sept 18 — Jaideep Kohli of Jalandhar will lead the Punjab squad which will participate in the North Zone Badminton Championship to be held at Jammu from September 23 to 25. The team was announced by former international star Davinder Ahuja who is the chairman of the selection committee.

Mr Brahm Mohindra, president of the Patiala District Badminton Association, and Mr Rajinder Kalsi, secretary of the Punjab Badminton Association, were also present when the newsmen were briefed about the selection of players for the North Zone meet.

Davinder Ahuja clarified that there would be no camp, for there was hardly any time left. Ahuja emphasised that performance mainly in the Punjab championships along with points earned in the ranking tournaments formed the basis of selection. Ranking tournaments are held in October, November and December.

The Punjab squad: Men: Rohan Kapoor (Jal), Jaideep Kohli (Jal), Mohd. Saleem (Sang), Chanderdeep (Pta), A. Sekhri (Ldh), Munish Arora (Pta), Navdeep Singh (Pta).

Women: Meeta Bhandari (Pta), Yosita Kaushal (Pta), Nancy Tandon (Pta), Nazma Parveen (Ldh), Reserve: Sumit Kalra.

Boys: Dilpreet Singh (Ldh), Iqbal Singh (Ldh), Harinder Singh (Pta), Touseef Ahmad (Sang), Reserve: Ranbir.

Girls: Sumit Kalra (Jal), Nazma Parveen (Ldh), Vidhu Vatrana (Pta), Shehnaz (Sang).

Zambia reach soccer final six years after the tragedy

JOHANNESBURG, Sept 18 (Reuters) — Zambia beat South Africa 1-0 after extra time to reach tomorrow’s soccer final of the All Africa Games where they will face Cameroon.

The goal by substitute Bernard Makufi in the 106th minute earned a poignant victory, six years after a tragic plane crash destroyed the heart of the national soccer side.

Eighteen team members died with 12 other passengers and crew when a Zambian military plane taking them to a Soccer World Cup qualifier in Senegal crashed shortly after refuelling in Gabon.

The dead included six of the players in the Zambian team who beat Italy 4-0 in the 1988 Olympic Games — Zambia’s finest football achievement — and wiped out one of the continent’s most promising teams.

Makufi’s back post header came in front of a 40,000 crowd at the Orlando Stadium in Soweto, who had to endure poor South African finishing in a scrappy match.

Zambia face an uphill task to beat the physically strong Cameroonians, whom they lost to 0-2 in the opening rounds.

Zambia will also be without team captain Moses Sichone for tomorrow’s game after he left South Africa for a trial with German side Cologne.

Cameroon cruised to a 1-0 semifinal victory over Uganda with a 19th minute goal by Parfait Mbida.

After nine days of competition, South Africa led the medals table after another successful day in the pool.

The host country has 61 golds, followed by Nigeria with 48 and Egypt with 46.

South Africa won four of the five medals on offer on the final day in the pool to finish with 30 gold, 21 silver and three bronze.

Mandy Loots led the way as she took her individual gold haul to six, with victories in the 200 metres butterfly and 200 metres backstroke.

Loots, who set games records in five of her six events, said: “All of the races were really amazing, although my last event, the backstroke, felt long”.

“It was the only event I didn’t set a games record in but I think I was just a bit tired.”

South Africa swimming coach Wayne Riddin said the team was hoping to make a clean sweep of the golds but was hampered by not having a full strength team for the games.

“It was a bit of a tall order to go for a full house. Coming from the Pan Pacific championships up to altitude and doing so well I think we proved that we are one of the best swimming countries in the world,” said Riddin.

“We are smaller than the likes of Australia and the USA but in a few years time they’re going to be following our lead.”

Zimbabwe took second place in the swimming medals table with one gold, five silver and eight bronze. Algeria were third with one gold, four silver and five bronze.

On the track, world champion Gete Wami won Ethiopia’s third athletics gold.

The diminutive Wami, one of only two world champions competing — Kenyan steeplechaser Chris Koskei is the other, clocked an impressive altitude time of 32 minutes 08.15 seconds to beat team-mate Merima Hashim by eight seconds. Kenyan Leah Malot was third in 32:36.02.

South African victories in the men’s pole vault and the women’s heptathlon put the hosts’ haul of athletic golds at nine, followed by Nigeria’s six.

In other events, Egypt won the men’s freestyle wrestling under 85kg and under 130kg class. Nigeria’s Ibo Oziti took gold in the 69kg class and South Africa’s Tjonkie Van Rensburg the 58kg category.

Cote d’Ivoire beat South Africa 2-0 to win the men’s team tennis, Nigeria took a clean sweep in the table tennis mixed doubles while Nigeria and Egypt ran up victories in Taekwondo.

AFP adds: South Africa’s Maralize Fouche braved a painful ankle injury to claim the heptathlon gold medal after two gruelling days. Fouche, who was forced to withdraw from the national team for Seville, blocked her mind off from the pain to finish third in the 800m which brought the heptathlon to a close.

She finished with 5631 points, ahead of Nigerians Pat Itanyi (5565) and Oluchi Elechi (5537).

“I was in pain in the high jump and the javelin throw,” said Fouche whose Africa record is 5963 points. “I couldn’t get my technique right.”

“Although I’m thrilled to win, it doesn’t make up for the disappointment of missing out on worlds. I wanted to compete there to get the multi-event on the map in South Africa.”

Earlier in the evening South Africa’s Okkert Brits claimed an easy pole vault gold, but the quality performance for South Africa was produced by women’s hammer thrower Elmarie Knoetzen.

Knoetzen broke the national record by a massive four metres when she hurled the hammer 58.74 metres to claim the silver medal behind Africa record holder Caroline Fournier of Mauritius, who touched down at 58.83 metres.

Defending champion Brits floated to an easy gold medal against weak opposition.

He cleared 5.40 metres after his team-mate Riaan Botha, who has been out of action for most of the season with an injury, no-heighted at 5.30 metres.

The silver medal went to Tunisia’s Mohamed Bdioui at 4.80 metres.

Rohan, Meeta emerge b’minton champs
From Harbans Singh Virdi
Tribune News Service

PATIALA, Sept 18 — Rohan Kapoor is the new Punjab men’s singles champion. In an all-Jalandhar final, Rohan, prevailed over Sandeep Singh Kohli in three gruelling games to win the coveted individual tital on the final day of the Punjab State Senior Badminton Championship at the NIS Courts here this evening. Rohan was seeded third while Jaideep was second seeded.

The match started on a grand scale with the two players Jaideep and Rohan trying to measure each other’s strength. The result a 4-4 deadlock initially. But as the game progressed Jaideep started dictating the terms. He forced Rohan to the baseline with deep high-tosses that left Rohan guessing whether the ‘bird’ was in or out. Many times he let the shuttle fall in, due to misjudgement. This encouraged Jaideep who played with his tail up. He led 11-6 first and then 13-10. The first game ordeal ended when Rohan hit a forehand long. Jaideep won the first game 15-10.

But the second game saw a different Rohan who led 7-5. Jaideep tried to stem the tide against him by levelling the score at 7-7. But by that time Rohan had realised that if extended full length, Jaideep game appeared cracking. So without losing heart, Rohan again shot ahead 9-7 by matching his opponent stroke for stroke. This time of the match produced keen tussle for supremacy. Pressing home the advantage of early lead, Rohan smashed his way to victory in the second game (15-12).

With the match levelled, the third game witnessed fierce contest between the two players who fought for domination. But Rohan was now able to establish a rhythm which was difficult to break for Jaideep, who tried his best check the onslaught of Rohan. The third seed was hitting the bird now in all corners. Rohan led 14-6 in the decider and the writing was on the wall. Withoug waiting much, Rohan executed a drop shot to end the contest at 15-6 and thus crowned himself as the new men’s singles champion of Punjab.

There was no upset on the women’s singles front, where Meeta Bhandari retained the title in two games. Meeta, who is a daughter of badminton coach P.K. Bhandari and is these days working with Pepsi, gave no chance to the third seed Yogita Kaushal and finished the contest without much ado. Fourth seed Meeta was in full control against Yogita who seeded out of sorts on this particular day. Meeta led 5-1 first and then 6-2. But there was a temporary phase in which Yogita reduced the lead to 5-6. This happened because Meeta was shaky near the net and lost a number of points while attempting drop shots. But by playing brilliant all-round game, Meeta soon took control of the proceeding and established a comfortable lead. She won the first game 11-8 when Yogita hit the bird on the sidelines.

But the second game saw a pitched battle between the two players in which both matched each other. Thus, the score moved from 6-6 to 9-9. At 10-10 it appeared that Yogita may pull off an upset. Earlier, at 10-9, Meeta had surrendered a match point. This had emboldened Yogita who was hitting with full ferocity. However, Meeta kept her cool and steadily took that vital slender lead which is enough to rattle the rival. When Meeta earned the second match point she waited no more. She forced Yogita to hit a smash long to win the second well-contested game 13-11 to retain the women’s singles title. This was her second title 8th day.

Earlier in the morning, Nancy Tandon and Meeta Bhandari beat Yogita Kaushal and Sumit Kalra 15-10, 15-8 to win the women’s doubles title.

Results (all finals):

Men’s singles: Rohan Kapoor (Jal) b Jaideep Singh Kohli 10-15, 15-12, 15-6.

Women’s singles: Meeta Bhandari (Pat) b Yogita Kaushal (Pat) 11-8, 13-11.

Women’s doubles: Nancy Tandon and Meeta Bhandari b Yogita Kaushal and Sumit Kalra 15-10, 15-8.

Men’s doubles: Munish and Navdeep (Pat) b Chanderdeep (Pat) and Amandeep Sekri (Ldh) 13-15, 15-10, 15-9.

Gaekwad’s comments on players’ performance

CALCUTTA, Sept 18 (UNI) — Md. Azharuddin does not spend much time with his team mates outside the field, vice-captain Ajay Jadeja does not give any suggestion unless asked for, speed star Javagal Srinath has got a tendency to bowl short, Saurav Ganguly gives excuses if he cannot perform up to the expectation. These are some of the comments of coach of the Indian cricket team Anshuman Gaekwad in his report submitted to the Indian cricket board after returning from the World Cup cricket tour last year.

According to a news report appearing here today, Gaekwad favoured a psychiatrist to better their performance on the field.

Following are the detailed comments of the coach on each of the team member’s performance in the disappointing last World Cup tour of Indian team to England which was submitted to the board.

Md. Azharuddin: Perhaps one of the fittest players in the team. He used to keep himself fit through extra workout. He did not seem to be fully self-confident regarding his batting. Though he said he did not lose his touch he has done well as the skipper. He could not bat the way he used to. He used to mingle and spend time with everybody inside the field. But he should have spent more time with his players off the field. Captaincy against Pakistan was superb but he could not maintain the continuity against Australia.

Ajay Jadeja: As a cricketer he is “brilliant”. His involvement with the game is unparallel. He likes to move on his own and sometimes he over reacts. He has an old knee injury which he can get rid of with proper treatment. He batted and fielded really well in adverse condition. But he was much less vocal as the vice-captain. He should involve himself more in guiding the team. He does not want to say anything unless he is asked for. He should change this attitude.

Sachin Tendulkar: Nothing much to comment about him. He has tremendous responsibility. As a batsman he was not in his usual self. May be he was mentally disturbed. But he did not let it spread among his teammates. He himself offered to put Ramesh as a opener in the group matches and said he would open in the super Six stage. This sort of attitude helps to enhance the team spirit. He has got all the quality to lead a team. He wants to lead from the front. He is being troubled by his backache and should take care of this problem. He is the fittest cricketer to lead a team according to the situation.

Saurav Ganguly: He batted very well during the entire World Cup. During Sachin’s absence he laid the foundation for a big total. He had continuity in his performance. He should keep in mind about batting according to the situation. At time when he should speed up the run rate, he batted slow. Regarding fielding and bowling he does not put same effort as he put during batting. He will have to work hard for his fitness as even a small injury also creates problem for him. Mentally he would have to be stronger. He finds excuses if he can not perform up to the expectation. He is not willing to take the blame on his shoulder always.

Rahul Dravid: Very hard working cricketer who does not want to keep even a minor defect in his fitness. His fielding has improved a lot. He has a positive mentality and batted like a champion. He inspired other team mates with his performance due to which India could cross 250-mark in most of the matches. He is a very good team man and ideal as the number three batsman. The good thing of his character is that he admits his fault and ever ready to rectify his fault. As a cricketer he is tough and ready to work more.

Robin Singh: One of the fittest and the most industrious cricketer of the team. A terrific team man. He is ready to do any sacrifice for the team and always tries to achieve either in batting, bowling or fielding. On his day, he alone can force a win. Though he batted very well against adverse conditions, it did not came into limelight as India lost those matches. He also bowled well. He is an ideal allrounder and an asset to any team. He could have been utilised more as a bowler.

Sadgopan Ramesh: An attentive cricketer and ready to learn who could make himslef known in limited opportunities. In spite of laying foundation for a big innings, could not play a big innings himself as after becoming set he was out while trying a bad shot. He would have to work more for fitness and fielding. A talented cricketer but he would have to try more.

Nayan Mongia: A cricketer who thinks. He did very good keeping till he received an injury on the palm of his left hand. Perhaps he is the best wicket keeper in the world at this moment. He is totally professional about his practice. He, however, disappointed in batting. He got himself out in many matches while taking a bad shot. He would have to correct this thing for the betterment of the team’s performance.

Anil Kumble: He is tough, sincere and a teamman. He does not bother about minor injuries and always ready to give his best. He did not bowl badly. But could not bowl effectively when the team was in need of some wickets. As he conceded more runs, he looked more in a hurry trying to bring extra pace in his bowling. He put himself in a problem. Though it is not usual with Kumble, it happened quite a few times.

Venkatesh Prasad: He maintains a routine regarding his practice and fitness. He has a tendency to be perfect. He listens to suggstions and tries to implement it. He has a positive mentality and spend extra time to amend his mistakes. During the whole world Cup he bowled well continuously. He did not get many wickets as the luck was not in his favour. He has improved a lot in his fielding and showed eagerness in batting as well.

Javagal Srinath: He does extra workout at the gymnasium to increase the power of his muscle. He also follows a strict schedule of his own to keep himself fit and so that he does not get hurt again. He bowls according to his own plan. Considering his experience.

He lacked continuity in his performance. He has a tendency to bowl short. He would have to work extra if he wants to follow his target.

Debashish Mohanty: A hard working cricketer who does lots of workout at the net. He is sincere to implement whatever advice is given to him. Though he conceded runs he bagged wickets when it was needed. He utilised the England weather beautifully. Sometime he loses control on himself and creates problem for himself while trying to generate extra pace in his bowling.

Ajit Agarkar: He is ambitious and always wants to do well both in batting and bowling. He works hard to keep himself fit. But it would be difficult for him to avoid injury unless he improves upon his health. He is a promising all rounder.

Nikhil Chopra: He is hard working, interested and wants to improve. He does not go for any excuse and always ready to help on and off the field. He is an ideal teamman. Though he bowled well against Kenya, he could not be given more chances considering the opponents and smaller area of the fields. Moreover if he was included, one of the medium pacers would have to be kept in the sideline which was not possible in England.

Amay Khuresia: He got injury at the very beginning so he was on rest for quite some time. He was not that attentive at the net towards the end as he was at the beginning. He gave more attention in batting. Because of an old injury in the shoulder he could not bowl at the net. He would have to give extra attention if he is to survive at the international cricket.

Sandeep, Lakhbir help Patiala win
From Our Sports Reporter

PATIALA, Sept 18 — A fluent knock of 55 runs by Sandeep Kohli and skipper Lakhbir Singh’s all round performance (25 and 3 for 21) enabled Patiala to carve out an emphatic five-wicket win over Minor Districts XI in the one-day Katoch Shield match played at the Dhruv Pandove Stadium here today.

Minor Districts XI: 185 for 8 in 50 overs (Parveen 55 n.o. Navdeep 40, Reetinder Sodhi 5 for 35, Lakhbir Singh 3 for 24).

Patiala: 187 for 5 in 43 overs (Sandeep Kohli 55, Lakhbir Singh 25, R. Sodhi 20, Navdeep Singh 2 for 38, Bhupinder Sr 2 for 29)

AMRITSAR: Fine batting and bowling by Tarun Gupta and Ravneet Ricky, respectively, helped Amritsar beat Ludhiana by 63 runs in the one day Punjab Katoch Shield cricket championship match played at Gandhi Ground here on Saturday.

Ludhiana won the toss and put Amritsar in to bat first. Amritsar were all out for 166 in 40 overs. In reply Ludhiana could only make 103 all out.

Brief scores:

Amritsar: 166 all out (Tarun Gupta 15, Munish Sharma 35; Bharti Vij 3 for 20, Rakesh Saini 2 for 19.

Ludhiana: 103 all out (Rakesh Saini 32; Ravneet Ricky 3 for 10, Sandeep Sawal 2 for 20.

CHANDIGARH (TNS): Chandigarh beat Jalandhar by eight runs in the Katoch Shield one day match at the PCA Stadium at SAS Nagar on Saturday.

Brief scores:

Chandigarh 148 all out in 45 overs Munish Arora — 80; Ishan 3 for 18, Vivek Mahajan 3 for 26).

Jalandhar — 140 all out in 47.2 overs. Arminder Singh 24, Vivek Mahajan — 21; Sahil Bhatia — 3 for 29, Madan Lal — 2 for 15, Yuvraj Singh — 2 for 21.

Sangrur win team championship
From Sushil Goyal
Tribune News Service

ROPAR, Sept 18 — Sangrur won the team championships in the under-19 boys and girls sections with 59 points and 35 points, respectively, and in under-17 and under-14 boys sections with 63 points and 49 points, respectively, at the Punjab State School Swimming Championship for boys and girls which concluded at the Nehru Stadium Swimming Pool here this evening.

In the under-19 boys section Amritsar (37 points) were runners up while Patiala (21) finished third. In the under-19 girls section Gurdaspur (19) and Ropar (18) secured second and third positions, respectively.

The results:

Under-19 (boys): 400 metres free style — Puneet Pal (Asr) 1, Pawanjit (Sang) 2, Rajinder Kumar (Hpr) 3. 200 metres butterfly — Sukhwant Singh (Asr) 1, Gurinderpal Singh (Ludh) 2, Abhishek Chaudhary (Ropar) 3, 200 metres breast stroke — Shyam Singh Gogi (Sng) 1, Pawanjit (Sng) 2, Pankaj Rajoria (Pta) 3. 100 metres free style — Puneet Pal Singh (Asr) 1, Vikram Singh (Jal) 2, Rajinder Kumar (Hsr) 3.

Under 19 (girls): 400 metres free style — Sukriti Khanna (Ldh) 1, Kanwaljit Kaur (Asr) 2, Meenu Sharma (Asr) 3. 200 metres butter fly Jasmin (Sng) 1, Neetu (Gurd) 2. 200 metres breast stroke — Rita (Gds) 1, Deep Shikha (Pta) 2, Meenu (Gurd) 3. 100 metres free style Sukriti Khanna (Ldh) 1, Meetinder Kaur (Jal) 2, Meenu Sharma (Asr) 3.

Under 17 (boys): 400 metres free style — Dalbir Singh (Sng) 1, Rajwinder Singh (Sng) 2, Rohit Dhir (Asr) 3. 4x100 metres medley relay Sangrur 1, Ludhiana 2, Hoshiarpur 3. 200 metres butter fly — Devinder Pal Singh (Rpr) 1, Pavneet Singh (Asr) 2, Suraj (Asr) 3. 200 metres breast stroke — Manraj Singh (Sng) 1, Arvind Puri (Ldh) 2, Jasdeep (Pta) 3. 100 metres free style — Amitinder Sidhu (Pta) 1, Upinderjit Bawa (Pta) 2, Suraj (Asr) 3.

Under 17 (girls: 4x100 metres medley relay — Patiala 1. 200 metres butter fly — Samriti Gill (Ldh) 1, Pooja (Gds) 2. 200 metres breast stroke — Pooja (Gds) 1, Tania Aggarwal (Pta) 2, Samriti Gill (Ldh) 3. 100 metres free style — Neha Bector (Pta) 1, Harnet Chawla (Jal) 2, Neha (Sng) 3.

Under-14 (boys): 100 metres free style — Navpreet Sidhu (Pta) 1, Pardeep Kumar (Sng) 2, Sagar Sethi (Pta) 3. 4x100 metres medley relay — Sangrur 1, Patiala 2, Hoshiarpur 3. 200 metres butter fly — Mridul (Ldh) 1, Karanbir Singh (Ldh) 2, Sandeep Dhir (Asr) 3. 200 metres breast stroke — Pritpal Singh (Hsr) 1, Harpreet Singh (Sng) 2. Raj Bhupinder Singh (Pta) 3.

Under-14 (girls): 100 metres free style — Sukhmandeep (Ldh) 1, Gurbinder Kaur (Hsr) 2, Navchetan (Pta) 3. 4x100 metres medley relay — Hoshiarpur 1, Ludhiana 2, Amritsar 3. 200 metres butter fly — Jazbat Kaur (Hsr) 1, Isha Sood (Ldh) 2, Gurbinder Kaur (Hsr) 3. 200 metres breast stroke — Vibha Babar (Ldh) 1, Reeti Parmar (Hsr) 2, Kanwal Preet (Hsr) 3.

Under-11 (boys): 50 metres free style — Harshit Narang (Pta) 1, Preet Apinder Singh Grewal (Ldh) 2, Mubarak Sandhu (Pta) 3. 4x50 metres medley relay — Ludhiana 1, Patiala 2, Sangrur 3.

Under-11 (girls): 50 metres free style — Amanjot Kaur Sandhu (Pta) 1, Lajdeep Kaur (Pta) 2, Poonam (Gds) 3.

Vijay to lead
From Our Correspondent

KANGRA, Sept 18 — Kangra district cricket team to participate in the Kailash Mahajan H.P. Inter-district Cricket Championship was announced here today.

According to chairman of the selection committee Mr Arvind Sharma, the team is: Vijay Sharma (captain), Rajesh, Vivek, Inderjit, Prince (Dharamsala), Hitesh, Parvinder (Indora), Sachin, Sanjeev (Nurpur), Gurdeep (Palampur), Varun (Dehra), Vishal, Anoop and Narinder from Kangra.

Coaching camp for the team will start here on September 21.

Reserve members of the team are: Rajeshwar (Jawali), Vishwanath (Palampur), Rahul (Nagrota), Neeraj, Kusagar and Ankit (Kangra).

Cricket trials
From Our Correspondent

KANGRA, Sept 18 — Trails for the selection of the under-19 Kangra District Cricket Team will be held here tomorrow, Kangra District Cricket Association spokesman Bimal Bassi disclosed it here today.

Nawanshahr lift volleyball title
From Our Correspondent

NAWANSHAHR, Sept 18 — The Punjab State School Games in the volleyball and table tennis, under-14 boys and girls category, concluded here at JSFH Khalsa High School today. Nawanshahr defeated Ropar in the boys volleyball final and Ludhiana defeated Jalandhar in a keenly contested match in the girls section.

Amritsar defeated Patiala in the table tennis boys final match and in the girls section Ropar defeated Amritsar to win the championship. Mrs Gurjit Kaur, District Education Officer, presided over the prize distribution function and gave away the prizes.

India - Lanka match called off
From Our Sports Reporter

LUDHIANA, Sept 18 — Cricket match between India Seniors and Sri Lanka Seniors to be organised by the Ludhiana District Cricket Association (LDCA) here at the Punjab Agriculture University ground on September 21 has been cancelled.

Mr Vinod Chitkara, general secretary, LDCA, said principal organiser M/s Radiant Sports and Entertainment Ltd, New Delhi, had given a list of players which said players like Mohinder Amarnath, Dilip Vengsarkar, Navjot Sidhu, Rajesh Chauhan and K. Srikkanth of India and Roshan Mahanama of Sri Lanka would play in this match. The organisers had also assured the LDCA that one famous film star would also accompany the team visiting Ludhiana but they now had backed out, forcing the association to call off the match since these players and the film star were not coming to participate in this match.

The money collected through donor cards for the purpose of this match would be refunded, he informed.

Chadha physio

CHANDIGARH, Sept 18 (PTI) — Ravinder Chadha has been appointed as physio-doctor of the Indian cricket team for its tour of Kenya for the four-nation cricket tournament. Chadha said here that he received a fax today informing him of his appointment by secretary of the cricket board J.Y.Lele.