SPORT

Sunil's job is tough: Nandan
By Arvind Katyal

CHANDIGARH, Jan 31 — ''Ideally, men should be six-foot tall while women five-feet-six-inch, if they play competitive tennis," said Nandan Bal, a former national tennis champion. Nandan is now the Head of the Deccan Gymkhana Club at Pune. He is accompanying its trainees at the ITF tournament in progress at the CLTA courts in Sector 10.

He also said, ''Indian women tennis players have come of age. Particularly, in the past three years, the standard of their game has improved a lot."

Nandan took to coaching youngsters about a decade ago and initially worked at the Batra Tennis Academy. At the Deccan Gymkhana Club, nearly 150 trainees practice under his watchful eyes.

On sponsorship for players, he said the Maharashtra State Lawn Tennis Association (MSLTA) had been doing a good job by bearing more than 50 per cent of the expenses of some top players of the state, whenever they played in tournaments in the country or abroad. He said rest of the expenses were normally borne by different sponsors.

Nandan was ranked below 200 at the peak of his career. He praised the facilities at the CLTA courts and the motivation-level of the trainees. He said he was happy at the success of Chandigarh boys. Recently, city boy Sunil Kumar won the national title, Akshay Vishal Rao became the under-18 national champion, Amanjot Singh became the under-16 national champion and Tushar Liberhan was selected for the Asia Cup.

Regarding the inclusion of Sunil Kumar in the Davis Cup team which will play against Lebanon on February 4 at Lucknow, Nandan, who is also a national selector said, ''The idea was to provide exposure to junior players, for which Sunil was included as the fourth player and Mustafa Ghouse was kept as the first reserve."

He said ''Sunil will now have a different role, as instead of the chair umpire calling "advantage Sunil", he will say "advantage India'', increasing his responsibilities immensely."

On the question of India's chances at the Lucknow Davis Cup, Nandan hoped it would be a smooth sail for India. If India wins this tie, the next one will be against the winner of the Korea-Japan match. Nandan said if Korea won, the tie would be held in India giving us the home advantage. He said even if Japan got through, India would have a psychological advantage, as we have never lost to them.

He also welcomed the appointment of Ramesh Krishnan as the non-playing captain of India. He said the absence of Mahesh Bhupathi would be felt strongly. He said, however, the doubles combination could be shuffled between Leander, P. Srinath and S. Fazaluudin as the need be.

Nandan, captain of the Federation Cup (women) team said, ''The performance of Nirupama Vaidyanathan, who is now ranked below 150 in the world, is a big achievement for India. Unfortunately, she did not get the amount of publicity which the men got." Nirupama, a native of Coimbatore, has been playing on the international circuit for quite some time.

Bal said only former players should be made coaches as they understood the struggles of the players better.

He also said under his training programme, trainees were taught about injuries, their prevention and psychological aspects of the game. Nandan said another important part was to teach the players how to walk, move and behave on the court, maintaining cool temperament all the time. The thrust was on increasing the confidence level of the players.

On the question of Europeans being able to perform well at a younger age compared to Indians, he said, "The physique and the maturity level of Indians are different from the Europeans. We reach the peak form at a later age than them."

He said the physical training his trainees received was good and they are capable of playing any number of matches under the most stressful conditions.

His trainees include Nitin Kartene, Sandeep Kartane, Rohan Bopanna, Kedar Tembe, Vikrant Sane, Radhika Tulpule, Radhika Mandke and Liza Pareira.

About Radhika, who is the top seed here, Nandan said she had become mentally more tough after taking part in the Junior Australian Open recently.

At Pune, Nandan has hired a few other coaches as well and the club has five Plexi Cushion courts.

He said the most players got good jobs in the corporate sector and the public sector enterprises.

Nandan said the present Indian players over the age of 15 were shaping up very well, promising a bright future.

7,000 to run in marathon
By Our Sports Reporter

CHANDIGARH, Jan 31 — Lieut-Gen (retd) JFR Jacob, Administrator of Chandigarh, will flag off the first Servo Chandigarh Marathon which will be organised by the National Adventure Club of India in collaboration with the Indian Oil Corporation on February 6, at Cricket Stadium in Sector 16.

The marathon, which will be held as part of the eight-day National Adventure Festival, has been divided into men's and women's sections. Prominent Indian and foreign athletes will compete in the marathon. The marathon for men will be of 42.195 km, whereas, that for women will be of 21 km. These athletes will pass through various sector of the city. Both marathons will be open to the general public and the entry forms are available at Cricket Stadium which will have to be submitted there only by February 5.

Apart from this, there will also be a 10-km Millennium Run and another 10-km marathon for veterans, boys and girls. There will also be a 3-kms run for fun in the non-competitive section which will be open to all age groups.

The 42.195-km full marathon will pass through the dividing roads of Sectors 23 and 22; 22 and 35; 35 and 34; 43 and 44; 52 and 51; 61, 62 and 63. It will turn towards the road dividing 63 and 64, before moving on towards the road dividing Sectors 50 and 49, 45 and 46, 33 and 32.

The athletes will take a turn from the intersections of Sector 30 and 32 and continue on the road dividing Sectors 29 and 31. The marathon will move from the Tribune round-about to the transport crossing. It will then move towards Mani Majra and Sector 18 of Panchkula. It will pass through the road dividing Sectors 7 and 8 of Panchkula and continue till the general bus stand of Panchkula. It will pass by the city centre and move towards Sector 6 before returning to Chandigarh, passing by the Red Bishop tourist complex in Sector 2 of Panchkula. After reaching the Grain Market roundabout in Sector 26 of Chandigarh, it will move on towards Sector 7, then the road dividing Sukhna Lake and Sector 5 and continue till the roundabout of Sectors 1 and 4. From here, it will move on towards Sector 3 and turn towards the road dividing Sector 10 and 11. From here, it will continue on the road between Sectors 15 and 16 and move on towards Cricket Stadium.

The half marathon for women will also begin from Cricket Stadium and pass through roads dividing Sectors 23 and 22; 22 and 35; 35 and 34; 43 and 44; 52 and 51; 61and 62; 62 and 69; 63 and 68; 63 and 64; 50 and 49; 45 and 46; 33 and 32; 20 and 30; 19 and 27; 19 and 7; 7 and 8; 8 and 9; 9 and 17; 16 and 17; and terminate at Cricket Stadium.

The marathon will be flagged off at 12.15 pm from Cricket Stadium and will probably reach the crossings of Sectors 34, 35 43 and 44 by 12.27 pm, the PCA stadium, SAS Nagar, by 12.43 p.m, Tribune Chowk by 1.05 pm, Transport Chowk by 1.13 p.m, cactus Garden in Panchkula by 1.34 p.m, the Red Bishop tourist complex by 1.41 p.m, roundabout of Sectors 26, 7, 19 and 27 by 2.06 p.m, Sukhna Lake by 2.15 pm and General Hospital by 2.29 pm.

As many as 7,000 participants are likely to compete in these marathons. Refreshment booths and sponging points will also be established for the convenience of runners. The prizes to the winners will be given away by the Chief Minister of Haryana, Mr Om Parkash Chautala, and President of the Haryana Olympic Association, Mr Abhey Singh Chautala, the same evening.

Inter-college volleyball: GGS College for Women, Chandigarh, beat Government College for Girls, Sector 11, 3-0, in the Panjab University Inter-College Volleyball (women) Tournament at the PU grounds today.

In another match of the day, SMS Karamjot College for Women, Miani, defeated Government College, Hoshiarpur, 3-0.

ADMINISTRATION

Encroachments outside hotels removed
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Jan 31 — The enforcement staff of the Municipal Corporation removed encroachments from outside three hotels — Sunbeam, Piccadily and Pankaj — in Sector 22 here today.

The area encroached by the hoteliers by erecting iron railings, hedges and iron angles was cleared in an operation that lasted more than two hours. A large posse of police was present to prevent any untoward incident.

It may be recalled that the decision to remove such encroachments within 15 days was taken in a meeting of the house held on January 17.

ASI to take up temple repair
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Jan 31 — Repair and conservation work at the Patiala Temple, adjoining the Mansa Devi shrine, is being resumed by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). The work, which began in October last year, had been suspended after the funds ran out.

ASI officials say the work is expected to resume next month and would be over by March. The temple management, which has approached the ASI for the purpose, has released Rs 1.68 lakh. The cost of the repair work is estimated to be about Rs 4 lakh.

The Patiala Temple was built in 1840 by the Maharaja of Patiala, Karam Singh, to pay obeisance to Goddess Mansa after conquering the surrounding hilly regions. It has been constructed in the North Indian style, with small pyramidical roofs over the three entrances. The tower is unique in construction, with miniature shikhara shaped attachments. The location of the temple offers a good view of the surrounding area.

Over the years, a large number of peepal trees have cropped up in the towers of the temple. Though the shoots were pruned time and again, the roots remained embedded in the structure, resulting in cracks and leakages.

The repair work involves taking out the masonry, removing the the roots and grouting the gaps with cement. The miniature shikharas would be reset using Lakhori bricks and composite mortar as per the original design.

Meanwhile, repair of the Mansa Devi shrine will also be taken up after work on the temple is complete. The estimate for this project has reportedly been approved and funds will be made available by the Mansa Devi Trust.

The shrine, built by Maharaja of Mani Majra, Gurpal Singh, in 1811-1815, shows influence of Islamic architecture in its construction. It has a dome over the main deity, which is surrounded by small domes, with minarets and paintings on walls and ceilings.

SDM assumes additional charge
Tribune News Service

SAS NAGAR, Jan 31 — The Sub-divisional Magistrate (SDM), Mr O.P. Popli, today assumed the additional charge of the Administrator of the local municipal council after the Punjab Government amended its earlier notification through which it had appointed the Deputy Director (regional), Local Government Department, Ludhiana, Dr Karamjit Singh Sra.

The government had issued the notification as the term of the council had expired on January 21. Mr Popli, who took the charge in the evening, met the former municipal councillors and listened to their grievances. Some of the councillors complained to the administrator that the Executive Officer (EO) was not usually available in his office causing a lot of inconvenience to the public.

Inordinate delay in public works like issuing of birth and death certificates and backward class certificates was also brought to the notice of the new administrator. Mr Popli said he would implement the announcement made by Mr Sra to improve the sanitation in the town. Better coordination with the Punjab Urban Planning and Development Authority (PUDA) in implementing various development schemes would be achieved.

It may be pertinent to mention that when Mr Sra was to take over as the Administrator on January 21 there were rumours that the SDM had been given the additional charge of the administrator. Sources in the local Government Department said the government amended it 10-day-old notification after councillors of the expired municipal council and representatives of the local welfare association met the Local Government Minister seeking appointment of Mr Popli as the Administrator.

HUDA Estate Officer takes charge
Tribune News Service

PANCHKULA, Jan 31 — Mr S.K. Sharma, who took charge as the Estate Officer at the office of the Haryana Urban Development Authority here today, said that he sees no problem in handling the issues of completion of houses and litigation.

Speaking on his new assignment, Mr Sharma, who was earlier working as Assistant Estate Officer in Chandigarh, said that it was different in the sense that Chandigarh was already developed and had fewer problems while Panchkula was a new township with various problems and plenty of litigations.

He said the department would be required to submit a daily report of work undertaken during the day. Further, he would work towards strengthening the follow-up action in the various drives organised by HUDA for the removal of encroachments from time to time.

Mr Sharma said he would go through various rules and guidelines of HUDA and then decide on the matter of hedges and other problems faced by the residents in the township.

Besides the regular darbars which are held in the township, he said he would encourage the public to come forward and inform him of difficulties faced by them. “I have told my staff to dispose of pending cases as early as possible and have no files pending, which may cause unnecessary harassment and delay to the public,” he added.

Pensionary benefits on retirement day
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Jan 31 — All retiring employees of the Chandigarh police will be handed over their pensionary benefits on the day of retirement.

This is one of the major welfare activities undertaken by the force in the past few months. Before, one of the outstanding demands of the employees, that of confirmation of service, was carried out by the department. Presently, it took more than one month before the benefits of service could be claimed.

Mr Ajay Kashyap, SSP, HQ, said a system had been evolved whereby a list of all the retiring employees would be drawn up six months in advance. The entire benefits like the EPFand the GPF would be handed over to the retiree at the time he put in his papers.

ASI Santokh Singh, who retired today, would be handed over his benefits tomorrow, he added.

However, the scheme would not cover the deputationists from Punjab and Haryana.

Today, the Departmental Promotion Committee (DPC), headed by Mr Kashyap, confirmed the services of 814 constables who were recruited in 1991. In all, 877 constables were considered for promotion and 63 were found unfit due to indifferent service record.

With this, the total number of confirmations went up to 1,471. As many as four DPCs had been held, thereby conforming employees who had not been confirmed for the past 10 to 15 years.

The confirmation of 300 constables recruited during 1992-95 would be done by the second week of February, he added.