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| Thursday, February 3, 2000, Chandigarh, India  
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McGrath
wrecks Pakistan
Akram not for Lanka series |
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BSF salvage 1-1 draw Punjab
win; HP held by Assam
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McGrath wrecks Pakistan MELBOURNE, Feb 2 (PTI) — In a devastating assertion of their superiority, Australia crushed Pakistan by six wickets to go one-up in the best-of-three finals of the triangular limited overs series here today. Spurred by a fine 77-run stand between Ricky Ponting and Michael Bevan, who both struck fine half-centuries, Australia coasted to 155 for four with 7.2 overs to spare after Glenn McGrath and Brett Lee claimed three wickets apiece in a superb exhibition of pace bowling to bundle out Pakistan for a paltry 154 in 47.2 after skipper Wasim Akram chose to bat first. Winning the toss proved the only positive outcome from the match for Akram as he found the Australians running all over his team in what was billed as a grudge match after the Pakistanis, thrashed in the World Cup final last June, were totally outplayed by the hosts in the three Tests this summer. McGrath burst the Pakistani bubble in his first two overs claiming Shahid Afridi, Ijaz Ahmed and Inzamamul Haq, all out for noughts, for three runs in just seven balls. Pakistan recovered to make 154 thanks mainly to some resolute batting by the lower half spearheaded by Moin Khan, who struck a brilliant 47 off just 48 balls, but the target was too little to bother the Australians. Though the hosts also started on a disastrous note losing openers Adam Gilchrist (9) and Mark Waugh (10) to express paceman Shoaib Akhtar (2/26) for just 27 runs, Ponting and Bevan quelled the spirited fightback by the Pakistani bowlers to help Australia to a comfortable victory. Ponting, playing his 100th one-dayer, struck 50 off just 70 balls while Bevan scored 54 runs as the Australian batting came up with neat performance. But it was McGrath who set the hosts on course for the easy victory when he fired out the first three Pakistani batsmen for just four runs. Pakistan never really recovered from those blows. Indeed, Pakistan looked as helpless as the Indians had in the league matches, and as the match progressed it became clear why Australia have won 22 of their last 24 games. Their record against Pakistan is still more formidable — they have now won nine of their 11 matches since winning the away Test series 1-0 in 1994. As things stand now, it appears difficult to see how Pakistan, or indeed any other team, can come to terms with the invincible men of Steve Waugh. McGrath once again stamped his position as the most potent strike bowler in recent times as he blitzed the Pakistanis. Afridi, first ball up, could not evade a short pitched delivery that gained extra height and guided it to the wicketkeeper. In his next over, McGrath removed Ijaz Ahmed to a catch in the first slip and then trapped Inzamamul Haq leg before wicket. Saeed Anwar (7) faced 20 balls and fell in the eighth over to Brett Lee, caught at first slip, to make it 12 for four and chips were down for Pakistan but for a spirited late knock by Moin Khan, who struck three fours and two sixes before holing out in the deep off Shane Warne. Yousuf Youhana was dropped at midwicket off Shane Lee but left next ball, trapped lbw after making 14 off 41 balls and Pakistan slumped to 28-5 in the 15th over. Razzaq and Mahmood stopped the slide for some time, with the latter even hitting Shane Warne for a six. But Mahmood fell to the occasional left-arm spin of Bevan driving uppishly to covers where Steve Waugh took a low catch. Brett Lee, who was preferred over Damien Fleming after skipper Steve Waugh decided to include an allrounder in the team, claimed two more wickets to send the Pakistani’s hurtling to a collapse. He sent back Razzaq (24 off 58 balls, 1 x 4) when the Australian skipper took another catch at mid-off, taking his tally of catches to 100 in his 285th match and Pakistan slumped to 78-7. Wasim Akram clouted Mark Waugh over wide long on for a six but perished immediately after, yorked by Andrew Symonds for 15. The gutsy Moin, however ploughed a lone furrow as he struck some lusty blows in his breezy knock. He hit two successive onside fours off Shane Lee in the 43rd over. He lofted the medium-pacer, in his final over, over long on for a six. He also hoisted Warne over his head for another six but then lifted the next one to long off to be out for 47. Pakistan were 147 for nine in the 46th over. But in the end it proved too little as Australia did not face much trouble in their chase. The second final will be held on Friday at Sydney. SCOREBOARD Pakistan: Anwar c Warne b B. Lee 7 Afridi c Gilchrist b McGrath 0 Ahmed c Warne b McGrath 0 Inzamam lbw b McGrath 0 Youhana lbw b S. Lee 14 Razzaq c S. Waugh b B. Lee 24 Azhar c S. Waugh b Bevan 16 Moin Khan c Martyn b Warne 47 Wasim b Symonds 15 Saqlain b B. Lee 16 Shoaib not out 3 Extras (LB-2, W-9, NB-1) 12 Total (47.2 overs) 152 Fall of wickets: 1-1, 2-4, 3-4, 4-12, 5-28, 6-59, 7-78, 8-108, 9-147, 10-154. Bowling: McGrath 9-1-17-3 (NB-1), B. Lee 8.2-2-18-3 (W-1), Warne 10-2-33-1 (W-2), S. Lee 10-1-37-1 (W-2), Symonds 7-1-24-1, Bevan 2-0-16-1 (W-4), M. Waugh 1-0-7-0. Australia: M. Waugh lbw b Shoaib 10 Gilchrist c Azhar b Shoaib 9 Ponting c Razzaq b Afridi 50 Bevan c Razzaq Saqlain 54 S. Waugh not out 19 Martyn not out 4 Extras (LB-4, NB-5) 9 Total (for four wickets, 42.4 overs) 155 Fall of wickets: 1-11, 2-27, 3-104, 4-147. Bowling: Wasim Akram
6-0-26-0 (NB-2), Shoaib Akhtar 7-1-26-2 (NB-1), Abdur
Razzaq 3.5-0-19-0, Azhar Mahmood 7-1-22-0, Ijaz Ahmed
0.5-0-2-0, Saqlain Mushtaq 10-0-27-1, Shahid Afridi
8-0-29-1 (NB-2). |
Akram warns India, Pak on fielding MELBOURNE, Feb 2 (PTI) — After the fourth straight defeat to Australia in the triangular one-day cricket series, Pakistan captain Wasim Akram today warned that India and Pakistan will be left far behind the top teams unless they improved their fielding. “Until the sub-continental teams improve their fielding, they are going to lag behind,” Akram said after his side’s six-wicket loss to the hosts in the first of the best-of-three finals of the series. “Be it Tests or one-day matches, India and Pakistan will struggle if they don’t improve themselves in the field,” he said, noting that the other sub-continental team, Sri Lanka, are better by comparison. “At the moment, Pakistan and India are nowhere near any of the top fielding sides,” he said. “Talent is important but skills like fielding can only be improved if you work hard at them.” “One way to do so would be to make our grounds softer,” he said. “On those hard surfaces a dive would keep you out of the game for a week or more. The best thing to do would be to turn our grounds with a sand base as they are in Australia. It would encourage cricketers to dive around and still not get injured.” About today’s defeat, Akram admitted psychology had something to do with it. “We seem to have a psychological problem against Australia, though I have been telling the boys to treat them as any other team.” Though winning the toss helped, “we seem to be struggling to survive the new ball”, said Akram. Both Akram and home skipper Steve Waugh were all praise for man of the match Glenn McGrath, whose haul of three for 17 set up Australia’s victory. “He must be right up there in the top three in the last 10 years,” said Akram. “His spell in the morning more or less decided the match.” But Akram said his side could pull off wins in the remaining two finals. “It is a do-or-die situation for us and Pakistan always seem to do well in such situations,” he said. Paying tributes to McGrath, Steve Waugh said, “the first 10 overs of the match set up the win for us. We generally played very tight, top cricket even though we may have dropped a couple of catches.” Waugh said the wicket
was good enough for 250 runs. “I didn’t see
anything unusual, it was a very good batting track and
only two balls bounced - one that McGrath bowled (to
Shahid Afridi) and the one of Shoaib (Akhtar) which got
Adam Gilchrist out.” |
Akram not for Lanka series KARACHI, Feb 2 (ANI) — Incumbent Pakistan captain Wasim Akram has announced that he will not play the Test and one-day series against Sri Lanka at home, after the team’s return from Australia. In a message sent from Australia, Akram told Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Lt. General (retd) Tauqir Zia that as he had made prior contractual commitments with Britain’s Channel IV Television network, he would not be available for the Sri Lanka series, slated to start from February 13 and ending on March 17. Wasim, who commentated for Channel IV during the England and New Zealand series last year after the World Cup, has also told the PCB that he would inform them about his availability for other international commitments after the series against Sri Lanka soon. Although Moin Khan is being tipped to lead the side against Sri Lanka, sources close to the panel say the move is not final since some members are also backing Aamer Sohail and Rashid Latif for the job, as they argue both players got a raw deal during the time Wasim dominated cricket matters. Moin is currently deputy to Wasim in the ongoing triangular one-day series in Australia. Pakistan will play a total of nine Tests between February and June. With Wasim opting out of the home series, it means the advisory panel would now be able to freely execute its plan to appoint a new skipper against Sri Lanka keeping in mind the next World Cup and also make some changes to the team. Meanwhile, the national cricket squad is headed for an extremely busy schedule outside Pakistan from March 20 and July 17. The Pakistan team which plays in the finals of the Carlton and United triangular series in Australia this week, return home before February 10. But after wrapping up the home series against Sri Lanka in the third week of March, they then fly off to Sharjah for another one-day tournament. And once they leave for Sharjah, they will not be returning to Pakistan until July 17 if everything goes according to their tight international schedule in next few months. In short this means the Pakistani cricketers would be away from home for nearly four months! The schedule of the Pakistan team includes playing in Sharjah from March 21 to 31. They fly off directly from there to the West Indies for three Tests and a triangular series also involving Zimbabwe. From April 1 to 19 they
take part in the triangular tournament and then between
April 22 to May 23 they play Tests in Guyana, Barbados
and Antigua besides two four-day games against the West
Indies under-23 and West Indies ‘A’ side in
Guyana and Barbados. |
BSF salvage 1-1 draw LUDHIANA, Feb 2 — Faced with the grim prospects of relegation on the commencement of the second phase, a struggling Border Security Force, Jalandhar, fought back to salvage a 1-1 draw against front-runners Churchill Brothers in the 12th round of the National Football League at Guru Nanak Stadium here today. After holding the Goa league champions goal-less till half time, BSF went into arrears midway through the second half through medio Somatai Shaiza’s opportunistic strike. However, a God-sent opportunity saw them wipe out the deficit in the 76th minute when deep defender Satinder Singh converted a penalty which was awarded when striker D.S. Negi was brought down inside the box. The award of the spot kick to BSF drew vehement protests from Mr Joaquim Alemao, chief of the Goa Football Association and president of Churchill Brothers Football Club, who while lodging a protest with Mr Alberto Colaco, chairman of the NFL organising, alleged that the referee’s “partisan role” as aimed at depriving his team of valuable points in the decisive phase. “When three referees were present to do duty here, what was the need to bring in this referee today,” asked the visibly upset GFA chief. Nevertheless, the draw today gave another valuable point to BSF whose tally has gone up to six from one victory and three draws. Churchill Brothers, however, have been relegated to the second position with 23 points behind Mohun Bagan who have accumulated 26 points after yesterday’s win over ITI at Calcutta. BSF brought in veteran Gauranga Faul in the starting line-up to bolster the attack. The security men, in fact, kept Churchill under pressure in the opening minutes, forcing two flag kicks which, however, went abegging. Churchill Brothers, though displaying better ball control, got the first good chance in the 21st minute but a misunderstanding between star striker Francis Silveira and Ukrainian Andrey Malchevsky saw the former shooting over the bar with an open goal in front of him. BSF counter-attacked through midfielder J. Joseph who after entering the box sent a back pass to striker Gurjit Atwal but Churchill defender Osumanu Husseni effected a timely clearance. BSF were again on the offensive as Atwal put Sane Lama in possession but Lama’s centre for Gauranga Paul saw the latter making a futile attempt to connect. The BSF citadel nearly fell two minutes before lemon time when Andrey Malchevsky aimed a piledriver from the top of the box but Bibhas Saha under the BSF bar dived full length to his right to punch the ball away to safety. The second half witnessed a more cohesive game by either side but Churchill Brothers had to wait till the 64th minute to forge ahead. A cross by defender Sanatan Colaco from the right saw Mykola Shevchenko taking a flick and roving medio Somatai Shaiza, who was well positioned and shot home to give his side the lead. Down by a goal, BSF hit back through J. Oseph who floated the ball dangerously in the rival box but missed the target. In the 76th minute, striker D.S. Negi who had come in place of Gauranga Paul, entered the rival box but apparently fell in a tackle and the referee after some hesitation blew the whistle for a spot kick which Satinder converted to restore parity for his team. With time running out, Churchill became desperate to gain the upper hand once again. Malchevsky, who received a good pass inside the box, turned around to shoot but only managed to send the ball high over the bar. BSF replaced medio J.
Oseph with Phboy Singh but the move failed to change the
complexion of the game and the Jalandhar outfit
eventually settled for a draw with their rivals from Goa. |
Krishnan confident of victory LUCKNOW, Feb 2 (PTI) — The Oudh Gymkhana grasscourts here are ready for the India-Lebanon Davis Cup Asia-Oceania Group I tennis tie beginning here on Friday, and have received the okay from the referee and the two teams, which practised at the venue today. The grasscourts have been approved by International Tennis Federation referee Hiro Yahata of Japan, S.K. Kaul, organising secretary (technical), told reporters. Both teams practised for 45 minutes on the match court and the captains of the two teams expressed satisfaction with the court. After the practice session, India’s non-playing captain Ramesh Krishnan said: “All the players are in good shape for the tie against the Lebanese team, which lacks experience of playing on grass.” “We will miss the services of Mahesh Bhupathi, nursing a shoulder injury in the USA. It’s a major drawback. But I am confident of winning the tie,” the former Davis Cup star and Wimbledon junior champions said. In Bhupathi’s absence, Krishnan will rely heavily on world’s top ranked doubles player Leander Paes and the Indian ace’s ability to give his best in the premier team tennis tournament. Young national hardcourt champion Sunil Kumar did not practise today as he was down with cold, but Krishnan said he would be fit tomorrow. Krishnan, on his first assignment as captain after taking over from Jaideep Mukherjea, said: “We don’t have much idea about their players but grass would be to our advantage”. Lebanon’s non-playing skipper Reymond Katoura also expressed satisfaction over the court. “This is the first time we are facing the Indians and that too on grass, which is their favourite surface”, he said, playing down his team’s chances in the five-match tie. Lucknow is hosting a Davis Cup tie after a gap of 25 years. It last hosted the India-New Zealand tie, which the hosts lost 2-3. The draw will be held
tomorrow. |
Salgaocar score 2-1 win MARGAO, Feb 2 (UNI) — A brace by medio Dharamjit Singh enabled defending champions Salgaocar (Goa) register 2-1 win over Calcutta’s East Bengal and add three valuable points to their tally to in the first match of the second phase of Coca Cola National Football League match played at Nehru Stadium here today. A brace by medio Dharamjit Singh in the 25th minute and 89th minute gave Salgaocar full points, while Willie Brawn scored for East Bengal in the 50th minute. With this win Salgaocar now move on to third place from the fifth with 20 points from 12 outings below table toppers Mohun Bagan with 25 points and another Goan Churchill Brothers with 23 points with one match less. East Bengal remained with same 14 points from an equal number of matches. Displaying scintillating soccer, Salgaocar initiated waves of attacks and could have won by a handsome margin had Salgaocar striker Joao Dos Santos not muffed up a couple of golden opportunities specially in the first half. They rattled the rivals with raids. Habib Adenkunle, Lawal and S. Venkatesh spearheaded the attack and East Bengal goal survived many close calls. On the other hand, there were hardly any incisive moves by East Bengal in the first session. Cartlon Chapman, Emmanual Opoku and Ranjan Dey looked mere passengers. Salgaocar made the first move in the very second minute when medio S. Venkatesh left footer was well saved by East Bengal’s goalkeeper Prasnata Dora off a pass from Dharamjit. In the 15th minute striker Alvito D’Cunha from the top of the box sent a volley to S. Venkatesh who headed towards Joao Santos but his bicyle kick missed the mark by inches. Three minutes later Bengal goal almost fell, Joao Santos after receiving a cross from Dharamjit Singh unleashed a shot from close range which hit the East Bengal goalkeeper Dora’s leg and went for an abortive corner. Salgaocar surged ahead in the 28th minute of the first half through medio Dharamjit Singh, the goal was the result of fine combination move. Santos from the right flank relayed to Venkatesh who in turned quickly passed on to Dharamjit whose header found the net 1-0. After this goal Salgaocar’s medio Lawal, who was injured was replaced by Jules Alberto. After change of ends East Bengal played with a renewed vigour and restored the parity through Willie Brown, whose 30 yard shot went straight into the net 1-1. Inspired by the equaliser East Bengal made a splendid attack at the Salgaocar citadel but Salgaocar defence found hard nut to crack. Both the teams had an
equal share of exchanges in the second half. Towards the
end of second half hosts stepped up the pace of the game
and finally resolved the impasse scoring the match winner
in the 89th minute through medio Dharamjit Singh. |
FC Kochin take on JCT today LUDHIANA, Feb 2 — Another high voltage contest is on the cards as India’s first professional outfits FC Kochin lock horns with JCT, Phagwara in the second phase of the National Football League at Guru Nanak Stadium here tomorrow. The two teams are in a neck-and-neck race. While JCT are slightly better placed with 17 points from four wins and five draws, FC Kochin have accumulated 14 points from three victories and five draws. The team from the south initially put up lacklustre performances. After drawing 1-1 with Tollygunge in the lung opener, they lost to Churchill Brothers 0-2. Later FC Kochi drew with Mahindras 1-1, beat SBT 1-0, drews with BSF, Mohun Bagan and JCT 0-0, 1-1, and 2-2, respectively, before suffering another defeat at the hands of ITI (1-2). It was only on January 19 that FC Kochin’s fortunes witnessed a unique turnaround when they shocked holders Salgaocar by a solitary goal at Margao. Thereafter, they beat Dempo, 1-0 but lost to East Bengal 2-3 in their last away match at Calcutta. Coached by the veteran T.K. Chathunni, F.C. Kochin were initially dependent on star striker I.M. Vijayan but the recent inclusion of two Liberians, Eugene Gray and Issac Tondo, has given the side new confidence. Grey, in fact scored the match winner against Salgaocar in the ninth round which brightened the prospects of the struggling outfit. FC Kochin also have in their ranks experienced players like Joe Pual Ancheri and medio Tajinder Kumar, formerly of JCT. Other skilful players, including Dhanesh, Gunabir Singh, Kiran Khongsai and Jeevan Moras, have also proved to be assets for the side. However, Mahesh Gawli will have to miss tomorrow’s tie following two yellow card bookings. According to coach T.K. Chathunni new Liberian recruit Sunday will do duty under the bar. JCT Phagwara, who finished fifth in the first round, beat Mohun Bagan 2-1, Tollygunge 2-0, BSF 1-0, and ITI 3-1. The mill men drew with Dempo 0-0, East Bengal 0-0, FC Kochin 2-2 (away match), SBT 0-0 and Churchill Brothers 1-1. The two setbacks were against Salgoacar (0-1) and Mahindras (1-2). With a good defence manned by stopper back Deepak Mondal, Daljit Singh and Prabhjot Singh and an alert Baljit Singh under the bar. JCT are largely dependent on the Hardip trio of Sangha, Saini and Gill. However, according to JCT’s assistant coach, Parminder Singh, international Hardip Sangha, who scored a goal against Churchill Brothers, has been ruled out for tomorrow’s tie as he is yet to recover from the injury sustained in the match against Churchill Brothers. Similarly, striker Hardip Gill is a doubtful starter tomorrow due to a hamstring injury which has caused considerable worry in the JCT camp. The kick-off is at 2.30
p.m. |
Surjit academy lift hockey
crown LUDHIANA, Feb 2 — In a battle of nerves, Surjit Hockey Academy, Jalandhar, pipped Grewal Hockey Academy, Kila Raipur 3-2 to annex the trophy in the first All India Jagtar Singh memorial hockey tournament for junior boys organised by Army Hockey Club at the astro turf stadium of Punjab Agricultural University here today. After forcing four penalty corners in the first 20 minutes of play which went abegging, Jalandhar lads opened their account in the 25th minute through Salwinder Singh off a pass from Satnam Singh. Three minutes later Salwinder Singh again struck to consolidate the lead (2-0). Kila Raipur players made some attempts to score but they failed to take any advantage of two penalty corners they earned in the 30th and 33rd minutes. After the lemon break Anmolakh Singh of Kila Raipur reduced the margin off a penalty corner rebound 2-1 in the 39th minute. This followed repeated attacks by Jalandhar boys and they cemented the lead 3-1 in the 54th minute through Pavitterjit Singh. Despite being under pressure in the closing stages, Kila Raipur boys pumped in a goal in the 69th minute through Kuljit Singh 3-2. Earlier, in the match to decide the third position, Shivalik Public School, Chandigarh, edged out Father Angel School, Delhi 6-5. The issue was resolved through penalty strokes as both the teams were locked 1-1 after the extra time. Col Raminder Singh,
Director, Sports, Punjab, gave away prizes, Padma Shree
Pargat Singh, former India captain, was present at the
prize distribution function. |
Sachin, Agarkar to miss Ranji tie MUMBAI, Feb 2 (PTI) — Sachin Tendulkar and Ajit Agarkar have both opted out of Mumbai’s Ranji Trophy Super league opener against Karnataka, scheduled at Bangalore from February 5 to 8, as they wanted to rest after the hard grind in Australia. They (Tendulkar and Agarkar) did not say anything about their availability for the Challenger Trophy. I presume they are available for this tournament,” Mumbai Cricket Association joint secretary Praveen Barve told PTI here today. “Tendulkar contacted me soon after arrival in Mumbai yesterday and said he wanted to rest and would skip the Ranji tie. Agarkar also expressed similar desire. They have been replaced in the Mumabi team by Amit Pagnis and Santosh Saxena. Sameer Dighe will lead the side,” Mr Barve said. The national selectors are to meet here tomorrow to pick the India, India ‘A’ and India ‘B’ teams for the February 10 to 13 Challenger Trophy day-night tournament at Ahmedabad. As per BCCI rules all the players are expected to take part in the event during the course of which the Board President’s team to take on the visiting South Africans, in the tour opener here from February 19 to 21, is to be chosen. Mohammad Azharuddin and
Ajay Jadeja, the former not selected and the latter not
considered on fitness grounds for the Australian tour,
are expected to be picked for the Challenger Trophy. Protesters demand BCCI revamp NEW DELHI, Feb 2 (PTI) — Former national swimming champion Nafisa Ali has demanded revamping of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for its failure in selecting the right team, which, she said, was the reason for the debacle in Australia. Social activist Nafisa Ali, along with the capital’s eunuchs today submitted a memorandum into the office Prime Minister drawing his attention to the “selection mismanagement in the BCCI”. Nafisa said being a
sportsperson herself, she decided to raise her voice for
the game which was badly mismanaged by the BCCI.
“When the government is taking a look into the
constitution of the country, why can’t it look into
what is going on in the BCCI,” Nafisa told
reporters. Lele rejects Sachin’s contention KANPUR, Feb 2 (UNI) —Indian cricket control board secretary J.Y. Lele today rejected the Indian cricket team skipper Sachin Tendulkar’s contention that Indian team’s performance during the recently concluded tour to Australia was adversely affected due to over exertion by the players. However, Mr Lele owned the board’s moral responsibility for dismal performance of the Indian squad. Talking to reporters
here, Mr Lele said there was a rest period of five days
between the Test match series and one dayers which was
enough for any team or player to retain fitness. |
Punjab win; HP held by Assam NALGONDA (AP), Feb 2 (PTI) — Defending champions Orissa were forced to share points when their preliminary league tie with Services ended in a 1-all draw in the Sub-Junior National Hockey Championship here today. By virtue of this drawn encounter, Services with a better goal average moved into the last eight of the championship. In other ties, Punjab with an emphatic 4-0 goals victory over Goa also moved into the quarter-finals. Title holders Orissa had to struggle to get past the strong defence of the Services. However, their constructive forays gave them an opening in the 29th minute which was rightly capitalised by John Kriketa to open the account. In another one-sided tie, Punjab blanked out Goa 4-0, after claiming a 2-0 lead at half-time. Results: Orissa 1 (John
Kriketa 1) drew with Services 1 (Joseph 1); Punjab 4
(Major Singh 1, Marjeet Singh 1, Joga Singh 1, Navdeep
Singh 1) b Goa 0; Gujarat 1 drew with Bihar 1; Himachal
Pradesh 1 drew with Assam 1; Delhi b Triupra 6-0: Madhya
Pradesh w/o Mizoram. |
National karate from today BHOPAL, Feb 2 (UNI) — As many as 30 international players of different ranking will participate in the four-day National Karate Championship beginning at the Tatya Tope Nagar stadium here tomorrow. Madhya Pradesh Karate Association president Surendra Singh told newsmen here yesterday that 31 events of different categories would take place in the championship organised for the first time in the state under the auspices of All India Karate-Do Federation. Of these, 27 would be individual and four team events. Last year’s champion of prestigious national open weight (men’s category) Salahuddin Ansari and other champions of their respective categories, including Zeenat Patanwala, T. Santhil, Mohan Sundaram, S. Sujata, Linza, Chandrashekhar Shetty and S. Ahmed, would be among about 600 participants. He said the Indian team for the seven-nation international karate championship to be held in Sri Lanka in May this year would be selected out of the winners of the national championship. Championship organising committee chairman Dr Mahendra Singh said more than 31 teams had confirmed their participation. They will vie for 31 gold and silver medals each and 72 bronze medals, he added. Chief national karate coach Dr Moses Thilak, who was also present, said the standard of karate in India was improving gradually. The country team had bagged one gold and silver medal each in the South Asian Federation (SAF) Games, he said adding in the Asian Games it secured the fourth place in a karate event. He said karate was
expected to be introduced for demonstration in the 2004
Olympic Games to be held in Athens. |
Chhatwinder, Karan bow out CHANDIGARH, Feb 2 — It was a day of upsets in the ITF Junior Tennis Tournament being played here at CLTA courts, Sector 10. Though two boys and an equal number of girls reached the last four stage of the respective events, local boy and under 16 national champion Amanjot Singh bowed out to unseeded Kamala Kannan also of India in three sets gruelling tie. Karan Doctor, third seed of India went down fighting to another unseeded Raian Luchic of Romania in straight sets. Chhatwinder Singh the under 14 national champion groomed at CLTA, and now with BAT Chennai gave a tough time to Kaufjun of Armenia before losing. Among girls, Radhika Tulpule, the top seed of India, was extended to three sets by Anna Schupak of Uzbekistan in the match which lasted for about two hours, before winning in three sets. Spirited Chinese girls, Shuai Peng and Xie Yan made short work of their respective opponents, Liza Pereira and Nischela Reddy of India with ease. Geeta Manohar, the sixth seed from India, played superb tennis and outplayed fourth seed Aibika Kalsarieva in a pulsating three-set thriller lasting more than one hour. Results: Boys (quarterfinals): Sofyan Kaufjun (Arm) b Chhatwinder Singh (Ind) 7-6 (3), 6-4; Raian Luchic (Rom) b Karan Doctor (Ind) 6-2, 6-2; Kamala Kannan (Ind) b Amanjot Singh (Ind) 6-7(3), 6-4, 6-4; Parantap Chaturvedi (Ind) b Shivang Mishra (Ind) 6-3, 6-3. Girls (QF): Radhika Tulpule (Ind) b Anna Schupak (Uzb) 6-7(4), 6-2, 6-1; Xie Yan Ze (Chn) b Liza Pereira (Ind) 6-1, 6-1; Geeta Manohar (Ind) b Aibika Kalasarieva (Kgz) 6-4, 2-6, 7-5; Shuai Peng (Chn) b Nischela Reddy (Ind) 6-0, 6-2. Boys doubles (
Semi-finals): Omar Behroozian (UAE) w/o Vinod (Ind) &
Harshit (Ind); K. Kannan (Ind) & P. Ravishankar (Ind)
b Ritesh D. Kawade (Ind). |
Patiala clinch fencing titles JALANDHAR, Feb 2 — Patiala proved their supremacy in the Senior Punjab Fencing Championship which concluded here yesterday at State School of Sports by winning both the men’s and women’s titles securing 42 and 33 points, respectively. Results: Foil (men’s team championship semifinals): Patiala b Amritsar 2-1; Punjab Police b Jalandhar 2-0. Final: Patiala b Punjab Police 2-1. Women’s team championship (semifinal): Patiala b Amritsar 2-1; Mansa b Jalandhar 2-1. Final: Patiala b Mansa 2-0. Foil individual men (semifinals): Mathev (Punjab Police) b Deepak (Patiala) 5-2; Vikramjeet Singh (Patiala) b Paramvir (Punjab Police) 5-2. Final: Vikramjeet Dhillon (Patiala) b Mathev (Punjab Police). Women (semifinals): Sarbjeet (Patiala) b Preeti Arora (Asr) 5-0; Sumeet (Patiala) b Jasneet (Jal). Epee (men’s team championship semifinal): Patiala b Fatehgarh Sahib 2-0; Punjab Police b Amritsar 2-1. Final: Punjab Police b Patiala 2-0. Women’s team championship (semifinals): Patiala b Muktsar 2-0; Amritsar b Jalandhar 2-1. Final: Patiala b Amritsar 2-1. Epee (individual women semifinals): Harpreet (Asr) b Suman Devi (Jal) 5-3; Sarabjeet (Patiala) b Palwinder (Jal) 5-2. Final: Sarabjeet (Patiala) b Harpreet (Asr) 5-3. Sabre (men’s team championship semifinal): Amritsar b Punjab Police 2-1; Patiala b Jalandhar 2-0. Final: Patiala b Amritsar 2-0. Individual sabre (semifinal): Manmeet (Patiala) b Hardeep (Punjab Police) 5-4; Amrinder (Patiala) b Rishipal (Punjab Police) 5-1. Final: Amrinder
(Patiala) b Manmeet (Patiala) 5-4. |
Tauziat enters last 8 TOKYO, Feb 2 (Reuters) — French No. 3 seed Nathalie Tauziat had a difficult time disposing of Cara Black of Zimbabwe today but managed to pull out a 6-3, 6-3 victory to earn a spot among the best eight at the Pan Pacific Open. World No. 6 Tauziat, coming off a dismal Australian Open where she lost in the second round, looked rusty in her match against the unseeded player. Number 8 seed Ai Sugiyama of Japan became the first seeded player to be hit by the upset bug as she played a dismal, error-filled match against Katarina Srebotnik of Slovakia, who won 6-3, 6-3. Sugiyama is the highest ranked player from Japan and moved up to the No 20 ranking in the world with her best-ever Grand Slam result when she advanced to the quarterfinals of the Australian Open last week. Number 7 seed Chanda
Rubin of the USA advanced to the second round when
Russian Tatiana Panova retired after dropping the first
set 6-0. |
Egypt storm into quarters KANO (Nigeria), Feb 2 (AFP) — Nader al-Sayed had the rare experience of collecting the ball from the back of the net as defending champions Egypt stormed into the African Nations Cup football tournament quarterfinals. Al-Sayed surrendered a 489-minute unbeaten record spanning two editions of the biennial football showcase last evening when Ismael Koudou of Burkina Faso blasted the ball past him from close range after nine minutes. Egypt fell further behind in this northern city of four million people before staging a magnificent comeback to win 4-2 and complete their group C programme with a 100 percent record. Surprise packets Senegal joined the Pharaohs in the knockout phase after drawing 2-2 with Zambia in Lagos to finish runners-up with Zambia third and Burkina Faso last. Top place means Egypt
stay in Kano for a match on Monday against the group D
runners-up while Senegal remain in Lagos to face the
group D winners the same day. BAI executive committee
meeting CHANDIGARH, Feb 2 —
Executive committee meeting of the Badminton Association
of India will be held on February 19 at Indira Gandhi
stadium, New Delhi, during the Thomas Cup matches,
according to Mr D.K. Mukerjee, executive member of the
BAI. He further told that Chandigarh will make a strong
bid for the 2000 Junior National Badminton Championship
at Chandigarh in the said meeting. Mukerjee who is also
the chairman of the Chandigarh Badminton Association,
felt that with Mr T.P.S. Puri former national badminton
coach now becoming secretary of the CBA, the city players
can look forward to a better future. |
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