S P O R T

Kiwis beat Australia
AUCKLAND, March 3 — Australia lost to New Zealand by seven wickets in a limited overs international today, bringing to an end their record winning streak of 13 one-day matches.

Crucial tie for Punjab
SAS Nagar, March 3 — With their backs to the wall, Punjab are expected to go all out in their third Ranji Trophy super league match against lowly Bihar at the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium here tomorrow.

Mumbai eye direct entry into last 4
MUMBAI, March 3 — Former champions Mumbai, who did not even qualify for the second stage last year, are eyeing a direct berth in the semi-finals of the Ranji Trophy championship on the eve of their four-day Super League clash against Rajasthan at the Wankhede Stadium.

Dempo SC seek to avenge defeat against BSF
MARGAO, March 3 — Dempo will go all out to avenge the defeat suffered by it in the away match when they lock horns with Border Security Force, Jalandhar, in the return match in the fourth edition of the National Football League to be held here tomorrow.

PSEB assured of berth in semis
JALANDHAR, March 3 — Last year’s runners-up Punjab State Electricity Board, Hoshiarpur, and Sporting Club De-Goa from pool-A assured themselves of a berth in the semifinals of the second All-India Shri Guru Gobind Singh Prize Money Football Tournament currently under way at Guru Gobind Singh Stadium here.

REGIONAL SPORT BRIEFS

• Aruna, Darshana adjudged best
  
  
  
  
  

Kirsten, Boje put SA on top

BANGALORE, March 3 (PTI) — South Africa gained full control of the second and final cricket Test by taking a vital 96-run first innings lead with seven wickets in hand as India stared at their first home Test series defeat in 13 years at close of play on the second day here today.

Indian spinners, barring leg spinner Anil Kumble, failed to vindicate the faith reposed in them as South Africa coasted to 254 for three wickets in their first innings in reply to India’s paltry 158 at the Chinnaswamy Stadium.

The spin-dominated Indian attack held no terrors for the visitors who, resuming on 11 for one, added 243 runs for the loss of just two wickets today with the home bowling looking jaded and clueless about regaining lost ground.

Opener Gary Kirsten cracked 79 in yet another anchoring effort and raised a huge 161-run partnership with fellow left-hander Nicky Boje, who top-scored with 85 after coming in as nightwatchman yesterday to put the bowling in perspective.

The listless bowlers were further ground into the dust in the final session as Daryll Cullinan, batting with an aggressive 46, and Jacques Kallis (21 batting) put on a breezy 68 runs for the unbroken fourth wicket stand in a determined effort to raise a huge score.

Skipper Sachin Tendulkar turned to his spinners, but had to give up hope as both left-arm spinner Murali Kartik and off-spinner Nikhil Chopra came in for rough treatment.

Kumble ploughed a lone furrow, accounting for all the wickets to fall in returning figures of three for 64 from as many as 36 overs.

Only two wickets fell today after as many as 11 fell on the opening day as South Africa dominated the day, sending the Indians on a leather hunt.

Indian hopes of gaining an early breakthrough were belied as Boje, playing in only his second test, batted superbly and with Kirsten lifted the South African innings to strength.

The 26-year-old Boje, who came at the fall of opener Herschelle Gibbs yesterday, took the score to 103 for one at lunch along with Kirsten and had stretched it to 171 before India tasted their first success a few minutes before tea.

The Free State player showed excellent temperament and application in his stay of around three-and-a-half hours when he faced 198 balls and hit nine fours.

The batsman, who thrived after Kumble failed to hold on to a return catch when he was on 35, was eventually bowled off-stump by a straighter delivery from the leg-spinner.

Kirsten, fresh from cracking his career-best 275 against England at Durban in the just-ended Test series, went past the 4000-run mark when he reached 59 — his second half-century of the series — before Kumble sent back the opener after tea.

South Africa, 185 for two at tea after moving past India’s total, lost Kirsten when he was caught by Wasim Jaffer placed in the close catching position.

The visitors rubbed salt into India’s wounds as Cullinan, who missed the first Test due to a left hamstring injury, and Kallis added quick runs. Cullinan, who had Boje as runner in the final minutes after his injury flared up, hit a rapid 46 off 67 balls (115 min) with four fours and a towering straight six off Kumble.

Tendulkar made frequent changes in bowling and fielding, which was scrappy, but to no avail.

The second wicket partnership between Kirsten and Boje lifted South Africa today as Kumble’s dropped catch proved quite expensive and the move to induct three spinners did not pay any dividends despite help from the brownish track.

Boje improved upon Aussie Bruce Yardley’s ground record for a nightwatchman of 47 he made in the 1979-80 series as he and Kirsten set up South Africa’s third highest partnership against India.

Kirsten himself was involved in the other two stands 236 with Andrew Hudson for the opening wicket and 212 with Cullinan for the second wicket in 1996-97.

Javagal Srinath, the only regular paceman included as India sought to offset the four-wicket defeat in the first Test at Mumbai, did test the batsmen during the day as he came on for various spells.

But he could not maintain any sustained pressure, bowling a poor length and line which rendered Kumble’s tight bowling purposeless. Kartik, playing in his second test, was given the treatment whenever he erred in line and length while Chopra also went for runs to be taken off the attack quickly.

The Indian fielders wore a dejected look as South African batsmen, considered suspect against spin, seemed to thrive on the Indian attack on a track which helped slow turn.

Kallis was batting on 21 (141 min, 111 b, 1 x 4) to be the ideal foil to Cullinan’s aggressive approach as South Africa reached the perfect position to build up a huge score and then pile the pressure on the brittle host batting.

Kumble, who surpassed Bishan Singh Bedi as India’s second highest Test wicket-taker, scalped his 25th wicket at the Chinnaswamy Stadium when he dismissed Kirsten. Kapil Dev holds the stadium record with 27 wickets.

In a desperate attempt to effect a breakthrough, Tendulkar, who is stepping down as skipper after this Test, himself bowled a few overs and brought on Saurav Ganguly for a brief while. But barring Kumble, none of the Indian bowlers had any impact on the rival batsmen.

Earlier, Boje, overnight four not out, reached his maiden Test fifty off 112 balls with five fours as South Africa raised a healthy 92 runs in the morning session.

Having lost the first Test within three days, India will have to recover if they are to avert a huge defeat within the distance continuing their string of reverses.

SCOREBOARD

India (First innings): 158

South Africa (First innings):

Kirsten c Jaffer b Kumble 79

Gibbs lbw b Kumble 4

Nicky Boje b Kumble 85

Kallis batting 21

Cullinan batting 46

Extras (b-16, nb3) 19

Total (for three wickets in 99 overs) 254

Fall of wickets: 1/10, 2/172, 3/186.

Bowling: Javagal Srinath 17-3-35-0, Anil Kumble 36-9-64-3, Nikhil Chopra 13-1-45-0, Murali Kartik 22-1-61-0, Sachin Tendulkar 5-2-15-0, Saurav Ganguly 6-1-18-0.

Kirsten crosses 4000-run mark

BANGALORE, March 3 (PTI) — Opener Gary Kirsten today became the first South African to cross the 4000-run mark in Test cricket.

The 32-year-old player needed 58 runs to reach the figure prior to the ongoing Test at the Chinnaswamy Stadium here.

Kirsten scored a single off offie Nikhil Chopra to reach the personal milestone in his 60th Test. He was eventually scalped by Anil Kumble at 79.

Prior to the Mumbai Test, where he scored 50 and 20 in his two innings, Kirsten had an average of 41.63 in 58 Tests.

Kirsten, who made his debut in 1993-94 against Australia, is also an occasional right-arm off-break bowler.

His highest Test score is 275, made against England at Durban in the just-ended series in South Africa. He has 10 centuries and 21 half-centuries, including the one in the first innings here, to his credit.

Kiwis beat Australia

AUCKLAND, March 3 (Reuters) — Australia lost to New Zealand by seven wickets in a limited overs international today, bringing to an end their record winning streak of 13 one-day matches.

The Australians took a tactical risk with a radical re-jig of their usual batting order and the result was an error-filled innings of 191 all out in 46.2 overs.

New Zealand piled on 24 runs in the first two overs of their innings and then settled in for a steady chase of a manageable target. They reached 194 for three in the 41st over.

Australia won the series 4-1. The Australian record was for wins in completed one-day matches after the first match of the six-match series was abandoned.

Australian captain Steve Waugh’s decision to promote middle order batsmen ahead of his usual upper order backfired although it gave Damien Martyn a chance to prove himself as an opener.

Martyn rose to the challenge, carrying his bat and making his highest one-day total of 116.

New Zealand’s strongest performance came from wicketkeeper Chris Nevin, making only his second appearance for his country, who hit a confident 74.

Selectors called up Nevin a week ago to replace Adam Parore, dropped after the national side’s poor showing in the first four one-dayers.

SCOREBOARD

AUSTRALIA:

Hayden c Twose b Cairns 0

Martyn not out 116

S. Waugh c Fleming b Cairns 1

Bevan c Fleming b Doull 2

M. Waugh run out 14

Gilchrist c Cairns b Harris 22

Symonds run out 6

S. Lee lbw b Vettori 0

Warne c Nevin b Cairns 7

B. Lee c Fleming b Wiseman 3

McGrath c Nevin b Styris 11

Extras (lb-3 w-6) 9

Total (all out, 46.2 overs) 191

Fall of wickets: 1-2, 2-8, 3-22, 4-86, 5-125, 6-140, 7-143, 8-155, 9-160.

Bowling: Cairns 9-1-33-3 (w-3), Doull 5-1-26-1 (w-1), Vettori 10-0-39-1, Styris 3.2-0-10-1, Harris 7-0-31-1, Astle 2-0-15-0, Wiseman 10-0-34-1 (w-2).

NEW ZEALAND:

Nevin lbw b Symonds 74

Astle b McGrath 12

Sinclair c S.Lee b Warne 19

Fleming not out 60

Twose not out 13

Extras (b-5 lb-3 w-5 nb-3) 16

Total (for three wickets, 41 overs) 194

Fall of wickets: 1-12, 2-66, 3-166.

Bowling: McGrath 6-1-29-1, B.Lee 8-0-39-0 (nb-2 w-1), Warne 10-1-25-1 (nb-1 w-1), M. Waugh 5-0-24-0, Bevan 6-0-37-0 (w-2), S. Lee 3-1-8-0, Symonds 2-0-6-1, Hayden 1-0-18-0 (w-1).

Crucial tie for Punjab
By Gopal Sharma
Tribune News Service

SAS Nagar, March 3 — With their backs to the wall, Punjab are expected to go all out in their third Ranji Trophy super league match against lowly Bihar at the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium here tomorrow.

The tie is of great importance to the hosts if they have to keep their chances for the knock-out stage alive. With just eight points in their kitty from two matches they can ill afford to settle for anything less than an outright victory and all eight points at stake.

Punjab’s campaign during the super league phase has, in fact, been found to be lacking in vigour and enthusiasm. In the first super league match here against Hyderabad they took first innings lead but after that they were thwarted by a determined Mohammed Azharuddin, while in the second match Baroda did not have to strain much snatching five points out of possible eight from the hosts in the match in which the hosts bowling attack was exposed by the likes of Jacob Martin, who scored an impressive century, and Ajit Bhoite, who notched up a scintillating half century.

The match, however, is of little consequence to Bihar who have managed three points from as many matches they have played so far. This is the last match of the visitors during the current championship and they by virtue of being placed at the bottom in the group are out of the race.

They were handed a huge innings defeat by Baroda in the first match. They drew their second match against Hyderabad conceding the first innings lead to them. Railways, their rivals in their previous match, notched up an impressive outright victory in just three days.

Baroda having 18 points from three matches are at the top of table. They are followed by Hyderabad who have 11 points from two matches.

Punjab, according Mr Bhupinder Singh Senior, manager of the team, have been decided to bolster the seam attack in view of the grass on the track. Seamer Sandeep Sharma had been blooded into the squad in place of left-arm spinner Navdeep Singh. This was the only change effected into the team that played against Baroda in the last match.

The match is being played on the track on which the match against Hyderabad was played.

For Punjab to make a match of it Sandeep and off-spinners Harbhajan Singh and Sarandeep Singh, among the bowlers, will have to come up with an improved display and get breakthroughs for the team. Among the batsmen, skipper Vikram Rathore, Dinesh Mongia and Reetinder Sodhi will be expected to do the bulk of scoring.

The visitors will depend heavily on the likes of Nikhlesh Ranjan, R Kumar, both openers, Amit Hashmi and skipper Sunil Kumar to put enough runs on the board, while Dheeraj Kumar, K Sharan and Shahid Khan will be expected to be among the wickets in order to enable salvage pride at this stage of the national championship.

Teams( from):

Punjab: Vikram Rathore (captain), Ravneet Ricky, Reetinder Sodhi, Harbhajan Singh, Yuveraj Singh, Harminder Jugnu, Sandeep Sharma, Gagandeep Singh, Pankaj Dharmani, Dinesh Mongia, Sarandeep Singh and Sandeep Sawal (12th man).

Bihar: Sunil Kumar (captain), Nikhlesh Ranjan, Javed Khan, Amir Hashmi, Rajiv Kumar, M S Doni, Manish Kumar, Anil Kumar, Kunjan Sharan, Deeraj Kumar, Vikas Kumar, Sanjeev Gupta and Shaheed Khan.

Umpires: Mr Narendra Menon and Mr Sanjeev Rao (both Indore). Match referee: Mr Bhagirath Thakur (Ahmedabad).

Mumbai eye direct entry into last 4

MUMBAI, March 3 (PTI) — Former champions Mumbai, who did not even qualify for the second stage last year, are eyeing a direct berth in the semi-finals of the Ranji Trophy championship on the eve of their four-day Super League clash against Rajasthan at the Wankhede Stadium.

Mumbai, after their comprehensive wins by an innings and 74 runs over holders Karnataka and by 310 runs over Delhi in their opening two clashes, are sitting pretty with 16 points in group a and have to play Bengal in Calcutta later to round off their Super League engagements.

Their opponents Rajasthan, on the other hand, are hoping for the best from their last league clash against the 33-time champions who seem to be a determined lot this season after suffering the humiliation of finishing fourth in the West Zone league last season.

The visitors have only eight points in their kitty.

Even without their pace spearhead Paras Mhambrey, who is yet to recover fully from a freak leg injury sustained at home, the hosts seem to carry enough firepower to quell the none-too-experienced Rajasthan batting line-up on the Wankhede Stadium track which is sure to assist the bowlers.

India discard Abey Kuruvilla, whose place was in doubt at the beginning of the season, has come back in style with a spate of wickets in the preliminary league and the Super League.

Sriram Kannan, Santosh Saxena and Amit Dani are the other medium-pacers who would be fighting for two spots while the spin support will come in the form of left-arm tweakers Nilesh Kulkarni and Rajesh Pawar.

The Rajasthan bowlers, most of them raw barring former Delhi bowler Sanjeev Sharma and P. Krishna Kumar, may find the Mumbai batting too strong for their liking on a pitch which is expected to help strokeplayers from either side.

The home team’s batting revolves mainly around the two left-handers, Vinod Kambli and Jatin Paranjpe, both of whom have been in good nick in the Super League.

The lack of touch shown by another key middle-order batsman, Amol Muzumdar must, however, be worrying Mumbai a bit.

Dempo SC seek to avenge defeat against BSF

MARGAO, March 3 (PTI) — Dempo will go all out to avenge the defeat suffered by it in the away match when they lock horns with Border Security Force, Jalandhar, in the return match in the fourth edition of the National Football League to be held here tomorrow.

The sword of relegation hangs over both Dempo and BSF who are at the bottom of the table with nine points each. BSF have played 18 matches, one match more than Dempo.

ITI, the other team who is above them with five points from 18 matches, is also fighting to escape relegation.

Dempo, whose best performance here was against East Bengal whom they beat 1-0, would require another all round performance tomorrow if they are to collect full points.

Dempo midfield, which lacked cohesion in earlier matches, looked more thrustful in the first half of the last match with the induction of Mathew D’Costa in place of ageing Mohammed Reza.

D’Costa, along with Behzad Amri, Eusebio D’Souza, Johnny D’Souza and Edwin Fernandes will have to give better performances to keep the attack moving.

The good news for Dempo is that their defender Soltanabadi who missed the last match due to match suspension is back in the side to strengthen the defence.

Dempo’s main worry is their finishing ability which has been their downfall and a lot will depend on striker Ahmadi Seied to fetch them goals along with Kannan Priolkar.

BSF, who have beaten Dempo 1-0 at home, cannot be taken lightly as they have given a tough time to all the top teams.

BSF have drawn with Churchill and F C Kochi and lost to Salgaokar and Mohun Bagan, conceding goals in the dying minutes.

They can upset any team as they have proved against Mahindras whom they beat 2-0. BSF players like Sane Lama, Prasanto Das, J Ouseph, Gurjit Atwal and D S Negi, who can trouble the rival defence and also score goals.

BSF medio Vijay Kumar and striker Gurjit Atwal are down with injuries and are doubtful starters.

Their main source of inspiration is keeper Bibhas Saha who has played well under the bar.

BSF coach, Sham Kumar said that tomorrow’s match was very crucial for them and a win was a must if they were to avoid relegation.

“We have beaten them at home and are confident that we will beat them tomorrow also as we will go all out,” he said.

“Ours is a team without any fame or foreign players, although our boys lack experience to hold nerves especially when under pressure in the latter stage of the match which have resulted in our defeats,” Kumar said.

“A win in tomorrow’s match will give a morale boost to our boys to play our remaining three matches,” he said.

Dempo manager Custodio Almeida said: “We are in a must-win situation and our boys should capitalise the home advantage and win tomorrow.”

“A win tomorrow will help our boys gain confidence to play the remaining matches and come out victors and avoid relegation,” he added.

CALCUTTA (UNI): An absorbing tussle is on the card as two former champions Calcutta giant Mohun Bagan and JCT Mills of Punjab lock horns in the second leg of the 4th Coca Cola National Football League at Salt Lake Stadium here tomorrow.

“For Mohun Bagan a win is a must for regaining the title,’’ coach Subrata Bhattacharjee said today after a practice session.’’ We can not afford anything but a win at this juncture, since in the first leg we had lost 1-2 at the hands of millmen of Phagwara,’’ the coach added.

Winners of the 1998 edition of the league, Bagan are now standing atop the league chart with 38 points from 18 matches — three points ahead of the second leader Churchill Brothers of Goa who also played 18 matches.

Champions of the inaugural 1997 edition and currently holding number three spot in the run, JCT Mills have the reputation of turning the applecart, and might find a difficult situation in the away match tomorrow minus Daljit Singh here. Daljit was booked for second time while playing against champions Salgaokar at Margao in the last match. The Margao match was also a terrific blow for JCT who lost by a penalty goal.

The millmen are now far behind from the league leader Bagan. They have so far collected 30 points from 18 matches with eight wins, six draws, three defeats, scored 18 goals and conceded 12 goals.

Coach Sukvinder Singh after two practice sessions yesterday and today was a worried man while looking at his main defender Probjot Singh, now nursing an injury. “Unless we win against Mohun Bagan, we will stand no chance. We must also win tomorrow as we did in the first leg home match against Calcutta giants.’’

However barring Probjot, other defenders Dipak Mondol, along with Ranjit Singh and Kuldip Singh are expected to do well. Mid-fielder Hardip Sangha known for his powerful punch might create some furore among the local fans. But the coach feels the trio of Hardip-Saini-Gill will play a crucial role in the scoreline for millmen.

On the other hand the foreign trio Barreto-Igor-Stephen has become a threat to any defence line in the country. Their combination in fact was inspiring in the last few matches which took Mohun Bagan ahead of rivals in the title race like Churchill Brothers and JCT.

If Brazilian Jose Barreto, Uzbek recruit Igor Shkvirin and Nigerian Stephen Abarowi’s combination succeeded, the millmen would have a tough time tomorrow.

Another foreigner Sammy Omolo not only holds fort of local side like the Chinese wall but also at times scores for the team. His header during flag kick is formidable as he did 1-0 win versus Mahindra and Mahindra in Mumbai recently.

PSEB assured of berth in semis
From Our Sports Reporter

JALANDHAR, March 3 — Last year’s runners-up Punjab State Electricity Board, Hoshiarpur, and Sporting Club De-Goa from pool-A assured themselves of a berth in the semifinals of the second All-India Shri Guru Gobind Singh Prize Money Football Tournament currently under way at Guru Gobind Singh Stadium here.

On the fourth day today, Jamshedpur Sporting Association, Jamshedpur, played a 2-2 draw against Punjab Armed Police, Jalandhar, played a 2-2 draw against Punjab Armed Police, Jalandhar, in pool-B while in another league match Sporting Club De-Goa and Jammu and Kashmir Bank also played a goal-less draw. All the four teams shared one point each in their league encounters.

The Jamshedpur team opened their account in the seventh minute when Chander Mohan moved in tandem with P S Roa from the centre line. He dribbled past the rival defence and gave the ball to Sukhlal in the goal area, who moved to his right before sending the ball past the goalkeeper.

After changing ends, PAP exhibited better skill which bore fruit in the 68th minute. The goal scorer was Bachittar Singh. They consolidated the lead in the 75th minute when substitute Balbir Singh found the target with a powerful kick. It was again Suklal for Jamshedpur who scored a brilliant goal to equalise a minute before the final hooter.

Sporting Club De-Goa and J and K bank did not impress the spectators. The second half had very few exciting moments.

Boxer shot dead

MOSCOW, March 3 (Reuters) — European junior boxing champion Sergei Latushko was gunned down in front of a stadium outside Moscow, the police said today.

“Latushko was shot eight times in the head and chest as he walked out of the red banner stadium and died shortly afterwards,’’ said a duty police officer in Ramenskoye, a small town some 40 km southeast of Moscow.

Yesterday’s murder of the 18-year-old was the latest in a series of violent crimes against high-profile sports figures in Russian cities.

Last month, Russian athletics champion Natalia Gorelova was badly beaten outside her Moscow apartment building. In December, the car of world figure skating champion Maria Butyrskaya was blown up in front of her home in central Moscow.

East Bengal take on ITI today

BANGALORE, March 3 (UNI) — Needing at least two wins to avoid relegation, local league champions Indian Telephone Industries will go flat out to exploit the home advantage and hope for a win against East Bengal of Calcutta in the National Football League here tomorrow.

East Bengal, placed seventh with 24 points, are also eager to earn full points to improve their standing. But they have been faced with injuries to important players. However, manager P M Saha expressed confidence that the boys would put up a good show despite most of the players not being fully fit.

ITI, who have 13 points from 18 matches, have four matches remaining in the 12-team league being played on home and away basis. Placed 10th in the table, ITI need to garner maximum points to gain entry into the league next year.

“We have to do well and I am confident my boys will rise to the occasion”, ITI coach A D Nagendran said. “The team has no injury problems and the boys are fit.” He felt that return of Naushad Pari, who had to sit out in the previous match because of two yellow cards, will strengthen the attack.

East Bengal, who suffered a shocking defeat at the hands of Tollygunje in the previous match, are here without the services of Suleman Moosa of Ghana, Raman Vijayan and Amit Das, all injured. Even they will be missing Jackson as he received his second yellow card in the previous match.

East Bengal will be hoping for good performances from Immanuel Opaco and Brown from Ghana and Osiaco Perera from Brazil to earn full points. “We want to improve our standing by winning the remaining matches. We dropped points in crucial matches in the earlier encounters”, Mr Saha added.

Wills Open golf from March 16

NEW DELHI, March 3 (PTI) — The Wills Indian Open, the most prestigious tournament in the Indian golf calendar, will for the first time be shifted from its usual venue this year and held at the Classic Golf Resort course at Gurgaon from March 16 to 19.

The tournament, offering a massive prize money of $ 300,000 (approx. Rs 1.33 crore), is being taken out of the Delhi Golf Club course on its return to Delhi after being held in Calcutta for the last four years.

A classy field of 156 from over 20 countries, including around 50 Indian golfers led by defending champion Arjun Atwal of Calcutta, will be playing at the picturesque par-72 course designed by legendary Australian golfer Jack Nicklaus.

The Indian Open, which will be the fourth event in this year’s Asian Professional Golf Association calendar, will include 75 APGA Tour players besides 36 invitees and 30 from the Indian PGA Order of Merit, Rishi Narain, representative of event managers IMG, told a press conference today.

Yeh Wei-Tze, the Taiwanese player who head the APGA Tour Order of Merit and is fresh from winning the Malaysian Open, South Africa’s James Kingston, Kyi Hla Han, the 39-year-old Myanmarese who won the Davidoff Tour Order of Merit and was voted APGA Players’ Player of the Year last year will lead the fray this year.

Thailand’s Prayad Marksaeng, joint runner-up last year in the Indian Open held in Calcutta and winner of the recent Philippines Open, former champion Ali Sher (1991 and 1993), Feroze Ali (1998), Wills Masters winner Gaurav Ghei, Lucknow’s Vijay Kumar, twice Wills Sports Golf Tour winner and Hero Honda Masters champion Jyoti Randhawa will play.

The Indian Open will offer a winner’s purse of $ 50,010 (approx Rs 22.15 lakh) with the runner-up picking up $ 33,000 (approx Rs 14.62 lakh).

Asked when the Indian Golf Union-run event, considered the national pro championship, was shifted out of Delhi Golf Club, ITC’s gold consultant said the tournament was being held at the Royal Calcutta Golf course for the last four years only to give time for the Classic course to mature.

Atwal, aiming to defend his title, said the Classic course was relatively easier than Calcutta where he landed the major title. The 7114-yard, 18-hole course is expected to offer its own challenges.

Being a fresh course — only two years old — with grass brought from abroad, it was expected to play pretty fast but reading the line of putting will be an additional challenge, course general manager Col S.K. Bhattacharya said.

The cut will be applied at 65 players and tied scores.

The pro-am event will be held on March 15 where 60 teams will vie for honours.

Ronjon Sodhi grabs silver

NEW DELHI, March 3 (UNI) — Teenager Ronjon Sodhi’s silver medal performance was the only saving grace for the hosts as the other Indian shooters gave lacklustre display while Italy and Kuwait grabbed gold medals in the clay pigeon trap events of World Cup Shooting Championship at Dr Karni Singh Range here today.

There were seven Indians in the fray but the hosts ended the day with only one medal — a silver in the double trap junior men’s section.

Though Ronjon Sodhi, a silver in trap junior men’s category, he was way behind the gold medal winner, Penna Francesco of Italy who shot 130 out of 150.

Francesco had three rounds of 42, 43, 45. Sodhi totalled 115 points for the second place. The Indian started with a round of 40 and then declined to 38 in the next and 37 in the last.

Korea’s Park Soon Kap took the bronze with 105 points (31, 42, 32) while India’s entry Faraz Shamshad finished poor fourth with dismal 36 points (11, 15, 10).

Italy won the double trap team gold with a total of 411 out of 550. Kuwait took the silver in 388 points and bronze was claimed by Australia (378 points).

India were fourth with 377 points while UAE were last with 369 points.

In the individual double trap men event, Kuwait’s Al Deehani Fehaid shot 184 out of 200 to bag the gold. Fehaid shot a total of 139 in his first three rounds — 48, 43, 48 — and then fired 45 out of 50 in the final round to take the first slot.

Italy’s Marini Luca with 183 points was second for silver. The Italian paid the price for his rather indifferent showing in the first round in which he shot 45 out of 50. He again shot 45 in the second and 48 in the third for first three round score of 138. In the final round he gave stiff competition to Fehaid but could not get past the Kuwaiti, hitting only 45 targets to end at 183.

Luca’s compatriot Bernasconi Emanuele took the bronze with 182 points. Emanuele had a better final round of 46 but his earlier three rounds of 44, 45, 47 cost him dearly.

Russia’s Mossine Vassile came fourth with 181 (47, 44, 45, 45) while India’s Rajyavarthan Singh Rathore was placed fifth with 180. Rathore who was sixth in the semifinal round with 135 points (41, 45, 49) improved his position by one place with a last round score of 45.

Italy’s Cenci Mirco was sixth with 178 (47, 47, 43, 41).

Two other Indians in the double trap individual event-Gaurav Sondhi and Morrad Ali Khan-were placed 14 and 18, respectively, in the field of 28 shooters. Gaurav Sondhi fired 125 out of 150 and Khan hit 117 targets. Sondhi three round scores were 39,42,44 while Khan had 41,3640 to show on his scorebook.

Italian team of Bernasconi Emanuele (136),Cenci Mirco (137) and Marini Luca (138) totalled 411 points to pick the gold.

Kuwaiti trio of Al Deehani Fehaid (139), Al Mutairi Mashfi (127) and Al Daihani Mohammad (122) aggregated 388 which fetched them a silver and Australia’s Bentley Craig (130), Walsh Ross (115) and Bret Hall (133) were 10 points behind Kuwaitis with 378 for a bronze.

Indian team of Rajya Vardhan Singh Rathore (135) Gaurav Sondhi (125) and Moraad Ali Khan (112) were fourth with 377.

UAE’s Al Maktoum Ahmed (128) Al Shamsay Saif (113) amd Al Qama Ali (128) with a total of 369 were fifth.

Lara taking break from cricket

BRIDGETOWN (Barbados), March 3 (Reuters) — Brian Lara has announced he is taking a break from the game “with immediate effect” one week after resigning as captain of West Indies.

“I have come to the conclusion that it is essential for personal reasons that I take a break from cricket, for a short period with immediate effect,” he said in a statement yesterday.

During this time, I intend with the assistance of the appropriate professionals, to rebuild all facets of my game so as to sustain the remainder of my cricketing career.

Lara’s decision seemed to rule him out of Zimbabwe’s tour of the Caribbean, starting tomorrow, as well as the subsequent series against Pakistan, who arrive at the beginning of April.

“I regret any disappointment that my decision will cause West Indies cricket fans, but ask for your patience,” Lara said.

“I would also like to thank the West Indies Cricket Board for their support at this difficult time.”

Lara, 30, quit as captain a week ago following the disastrous tour of New Zealand where West Indies lost both Tests and all five one-day internationals.

In his resignation letter then he talked of the “devastating failure that has engulfed West Indies cricket”.

Roger Harper was subsequently appointed coach, rather than Viv Richards whom Lara supported, and there were reports in the Caribbean Lara wanted to take a three-month break from the game.

He was named in a 20-man squad invited to a seven-day training camp starting this weekend but newspaper reports said he had previously organised a party to celebrate carnival at his home in Trinidad over the next few days.

Leander pips qualifier

MUMBAI, March 3 (PTI) — Indian Davis Cupper and top seed Leander Paes pipped American qualifier Tom Chicoine 6-2, 4-6, 6-1 to enter the men’s singles final of the ATP Tennis Challenger Tournament here today.

Paes, who is ranked 133 in the world, will now take another qualifier, Dennis Van Scheppingen of the Netherlands in the final tomorrow.

Scheppingen rallied magnificently, after dropping the first set 4-6, to sideline unseeded Florian Allgauer of Italy 4-6, 7-5, 6-4 in one hour 40 minutes in the first semifinal.

Paes played fine serve and volley game. He broke the American in the sixth to lead 4-2 and then with another break in the eighth game he won the set at 6-2 in 30 minutes.

In the second game, Chicoine came back firing on all cylinders. He tested the Indian’s serve in the first and third game but failed to break him. However, with some powerful passing and cross court shots he managed to break Paes in the fifth game.

Paes forced a break back point in the sixth but the American managed to get out of the tight situation and won the set at 6-4 in 42 minutes.

Top cricketers for Yashpal benefit tie

BANGALORE, March 3 (PTI) — Top Indian cricketers led by Sachin Tendulkar are expected to take part in a benefit match for former Test batsman and member of India's 1983 World Cup winning squad, Yashpal Sharma, on April 26 at SAS Nagar.

The cricket board announced the award of the tie, a day-night affair, to Sharma here today.

Sharma, who played 37 Tests and 42 one-dayers had turned a qualified first class umpire on retirement from the game and is doing television commentary in the ongoing India-South Africa Test series.

REGIONAL SPORT BRIEFS

Aruna, Darshana adjudged best

HISAR, March 3 — Aruna, a student of BA final, and Darshana, a student of plus two, were declared the best athletes in the 42nd annual athletic meet of local Fatehchand College for Women which concluded here yesterday. Both the athletes secured equal points. Mr O.P. Indora, Additional Deputy Commissioner, gave away the prizes.