S P O R T

Indian Airlines striker Brozen Singh ditches Western Railway, Mumbai goalkeeper Sanjay Rathi to hit a goal in the semifinal to the 62nd All India Obedulla Khan Gold Cup Hockey tournament in Bhopal on Tuesday — PTI photo

Dingko storms into semifinals
BANGKOK, April 4 — Asian Games gold medal winner NG Dingko Singh stormed into the bantam weight semifinals while his compatriot Narender Rana fell by the wayside in the light weight category in the King’s Cup boxing tournament here today.

Delhi to host 2006 Asiad?
CHANDIGARH, April 4 — The 2006 Asian Games will, in all probability be allotted to India, according to all indications available here. If allotted, it will be the third Asian Games to be hosted by India. The country had organised the inaugural edition of the games way back in 1951 and then the highly successful 1982 Asian Games.

Korea have ‘an equal chance’
NEW DELHI, April 4 — In the absence of Mahesh Bhupathi, the South Korean team feel that they have an equal chance of winning the Asian Zone Group I second round Davis Cup tie against India, to be played at the R K Khanna Stadium here from April 7 to 9.

REGIONAL SPORT BRIEFS

• HOA meeting
  
  
  
  
  

Dingko storms into semifinals

BANGKOK, April 4 (UNI) — Asian Games gold medal winner NG Dingko Singh stormed into the bantam weight semifinals while his compatriot Narender Rana fell by the wayside in the light weight category in the King’s Cup boxing tournament here today.

Now there are three Indian pugilists - H. Srinivas Rao (fly wt), K. Sanjit Singh (light welter) and Dingko Singh (bantam) — are in the semis of this tournament which is also the last qualifying event for the Sydney Olympics.

The 23-year-old Navy official, Dingko Singh was undoubtedly the star attraction of the afternoon. The way he outboxed Mongolia’s Bymbabayr proved that his winning the King Cup in 1997 and Asian gold here in 1998 were no fluke.

Dingko looked confident from the very start and the way he punched his rival, the short-statured Manipuri turned the bout virtually into a no-contest.

The Indian opened the score, using his darting lefthand to good effect. It was his powerful left hook that did the damage, 90 seconds, into the first round, connecting Bymbabayr’s nose. The referee finished the eight count with the Mongolian back in the ring and a bleeding nose.

The second round started with Dingko clearly looking for a knockout and he managed that as the referee stopped the contest to prevent the Mongolian getting more punishment.

“I always go into the ring in a positive frame of mind, and this time I was very determined to win,” Dingko told UNI after his victory.

Though the win came as no surprise, coach Gurbax Singh looked relieved. “Dingko is just marvellous, that is all I can say. His opponent is a good boxer, but was no match for Dingko today,” he said.

However, there was no such luck for other Indian Narender Rana in the light category.

Pitted against Asheri Mohamed (Iran) it was evident from the very start that Rana was going to face a heavy weather.

Though Rana got a couple of powerful blows, he was tentative in his approach and as the Iranian did not allow him to dominate. Rana managed to keep Asheri at bay in the first round but in the second he became a punching bag for his rival.

The Iranian took control of the proceedings as Rana ran for the cover but Asheri landed two solid punches on the Indian’s face.

Rana recovered in the final round and put up a good fight but it was too late and he lost 2-12.

Later coach Sandhu said: “I am a bit surprised by the margin because Rana did not box badly,” but he admitted that Rana lost to a better boxer.

Interestingly, tomorrow all the three Indians will be facing Iranians in the semifinals.

“Basically it is going to be a contest between our technique and theirs. We do have some plans”, coach Sandhu said while disclosing his tactics.

Delhi to host 2006 Asiad?
By Abhijit Chatterjee
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, April 4 — The 2006 Asian Games will, in all probability be allotted to India, according to all indications available here. If allotted, it will be the third Asian Games to be hosted by India. The country had organised the inaugural edition of the games way back in 1951 and then the highly successful 1982 Asian Games. Both games were organised in the national capital and this year’s bid by the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) also mentions the name of New Delhi as the host city. As per the rules of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) games like the Olympics or the Asian or the Afro-Asian are not allotted to any country but to a single city.

A final decision on the allotment of the 2006 Asian Games will be taken at this year’s annual meeting of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) which is scheduled to meet at Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia, sometime in early November next after the conclusion of the Sydney Olympic Games.

The Olympic Council of Asia has received bids from six countries, including Malaysia, Hong Kong, whose candidature has been sponsored by China, Oman, Qatar besides India. But it is learnt that in case the Asian body allots the games to India the other bidding nations will withdraw their bids.

The Indian Olympic Association has decided to send a high-powered delegation for the November meeting. Besides the President of the Indian Olympic Association, Mr Suresh Kalmadi, and the Secretary-General, Mr Randhir Singh, the delegation will also include the Union Minister for Sports, Mr Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, who is also the President of the Punjab Olympic Association. As per rules and conventions the government of the host nation has to give a guarantee that the necessary help will be rendered to the nation’s Olympic association for the conduct of the games.

But why does the IOA want to hold the Asian Games for the third time in the national capital? As it is, the facilities created for the 1982 Asian Games are not being used at all and a number of sports facilities in New Delhi are in a state of decay. More important, given the state of affairs in the national capital, including the chaotic traffic, holding of the Asian Games for the third time will pose herculean problems for the organisers.

It would be much better if the Indian Olympic Association were to take the games to cities like Chennai, Calcutta or even Pune, where excellent sporting facilities exist. The first two cities have successfully hosted the SAF Games while Pune has come to be known as the sports capital of India with the sporting infrastructure built for the National Games. Another city which could also host the games is the high tech-city of Hyderabad which is scheduled to hold the 2001 National Games after the first National Games of the new millennium are held in Punjab.

As it is, New Delhi is scheduled to hold the first edition of the Afro-Asian Games next year. Let the Indian Olympic Association spread the message of sports by taking the 2006 Asian Games to some other city.

Korea have ‘an equal chance’
From Our Sports Reporter

NEW DELHI, April 4 — In the absence of Mahesh Bhupathi, the South Korean team feel that they have an equal chance of winning the Asian Zone Group I second round Davis Cup tie against India, to be played at the R K Khanna Stadium here from April 7 to 9.

South Korean team’s non-playing captain Joo Won-Hong said here yesterday that though the hosts enjoy a definite advantage of home conditions, they too have come well-prepared for the tie, though they are not very comfortable on grass.

Joo Won-Hong, who was the lead player when South Korea upset India 4-1 at Baruch in Gujarat in 1988, said his team’s chances depend on the second singles, and the doubles. “We don’t fancy our chances against Leander Paes, but we will target on the second singles player, and the doubles”, the non-playing captain of Korea said, during their first practice session at the National Sports Club of India (NSCI) courts in the afternoon here yesterday.

The Koreans, who arrived in Delhi on Sunday night, had a week-long practice session on grass courts at Johor Baro in Malaysia.Joo said the week-long session helped the players get a better grip on the grass, as there are no grass courts in Korea, and they play mostly on hard courts. Joo said since the Koreans had whipped India 4-1 under 38 degree heat in Baruch, the hot Delhi weather would be no problem for them. But they genuinely fear Leander, and he, they feel, may eventually make or mar their chances.

“We will leave Leander alone, and try to attack the other player in the doubles”, Joo said about their game plan. The good news for the Koreans is that after the brief stint in Malaysia, their No 1 player, Lee Hyung-Taik, is “looking very good on grass”. The Koreans, the Bangkok Asian Games team gold medallists, too do not have much option when it comes to selecting the doubles team, as their top two players, Lee Hyung-Taik and Yoon Young-Il, the Asiad men’s individual gold medallist, will have to bear all the work load, as the other two players, Chung Hee-Sung and Lee Seung-Hoon, are comparatively inexperienced.

The visitors hope that if they are able to share the first day’s honours in the singles, then they can go all out to wrest the doubles, and one of the reverse singles matches.

They concede that Leander is far too good for their liking, though Young-Il had beaten Leander in the Hiroshima Asian Games, and Prahlad Srinath at the Bangkok Asian Games, in 1998. What would eventually matter is how well the Koreans adapt themselves on the grass surface. The Korean coach, Kim Bong-Soo, who has played against Indian non-playing captain Ramesh Krishnan in Davis Cup, said over the next three days, they would try to gain as much practice on the NSCI courts as possible, so that they are well-tuned for the contest.

Both Ramesh Krishnan and Leander Paes voiced the opinion that the Koreans were “dangerous” customers, and they will not give up till the last point is decided. The Indians had practice sessions in the morning and evening, and with the arrival of Leander, there is a new “thrust” to their work-outs.

US stars devoting time to juniors

MIAMI, April 4 (Reuters) — The current crop of ageing American tennis stars, after being snubbed by their illustrious predecessors, are taking an active interest in the upcoming players who hope to follow in their rather large footsteps.

Andre Agassi, Pete Sampras and Jim Courier, all multiple Grand Slam champions who have held the world No.1 ranking, are devoting time to encourage and train with some of the top American junior prospects as they make their way toward the big time.

Courier, who turns 30 this summer, regularly invites ATP tour hopefuls to his Orlando home, where they get free advice and a practice partner with fairly impressive credentials. Now headquartered back in Southern California, the 28-year-old Sampras provides a similar service to top juniors in the Los Angeles area.

Current world No. 1 Agassi has noted in the past that the veterans on tour when he first emerged barely gave him the time of day, much less words of encouragement.

“I think the only really nice comment I got was from (Mats) Wilander,” Agassi said last week in Miami. “I played him one time when I was 15. He gave me some credit.

“The first time I played (Jimmy) Connors, I beat him, and he didn’t give me credit.

(John) McEnroe said something about my hair. (Ivan) Lendl wasn’t too positive either.’’

While Agassi, who celebrates his 30th birthday later this month, may have forgotten just how outlandish he looked when he hit the tour in the mid 1980s, he well remembers the sting of being snubbed by tennis heroes.

Trying to set a different example, Agassi had kind words for Andy Roddick after beating the reigning Australian Open junior champion 6-2 6-3 in the second round in Miami.

“I like his game. I think his game can really develop,’’ Agassi said of the 17-year-old Roddick, considered the best American junior to emerge in years.

Roddick has been recruited as a practice partner by U.S. Davis Cup captain McEnroe for the upcoming quarterfinal tie against the Czech Republic in Los Angeles, where Agassi has promised to show him a good time.

Roddick was overjoyed by the attention paid to him by Agassi, as well as for the chance to compete against the reigning French, U.S. and Australian Open champion.

When Connors and McEnroe were in the twilight of their brilliant careers, there was great concern over the future of American tennis. Then, as if from nowhere, Sampras, Agassi, Courier and Chang burst onto the scene and began scooping up major titles, beginning with Chang at the 1989 French open and Sampras at the u.S. Open the following year.

Between them, the American quartet owns 23 Grand Slam titles with Sampras and Agassi likely to add to the haul.

Courier doesn’t see a crop of American juniors with that kind of impact on the game turning up any time soon, if ever.

“The chances of a class like ours coming out are probably pretty slim for the immediate future,’’ Courier said.

“We’ve had probably six to seven guys roughly within two or three years of the same age of each other who have been in Grand Slam finals or won Grand Slams,’’ he said, including 1999 U.S. Open runner-up Todd Martin and former Wimbledon finalist Malivai Washington in the group.

Sampras concurs with Courier’s assessment but is still happy to assist his would-be successors.

“Certainly after our generation of players, American tennis is a little thin,’’ said the 12-time Grand Slam winner. “But it might be 10 or 20 years before you might see a group of guys like what we just have in today’s game.

Jumman leads in SRF Open

NEW DELHI, April 4 (UNI) — Jumman, the feisty old campaigner from Lucknow, shot a bogey-free round of six-under 66 to take the honours on the opening day of the Rs 8.5 lakh 26th SRF Open Golf Championship here today.

At the 6,779-yard, par 72 course, Jumman opened up a two-stroke lead over local golfer Shamim Khan and Calcutta’s Feroz Ali, who were tied for second place at four-under 68. In tied fourth place at three-under 69 were defending champion Vijay Kumar, reigning will Indian Open champion Jyoti Randhawa and Mohammed Maqbool of Delhi.

A late entry into the tournament and playing here on a sponsor’s exemption, Jumman fired the best round of his career. Runner-up twice on the Wills Sport Indian Golf Tour, the 33-year-old started from the 10th tee to be three-under after 15 holes. Thereafter, the portly golfer essayed an explosive finish as he finished with a hat-trick of birdies after nearly missing a hole-in-one by the four inches on the par-3 seventh.

“I haven’t been playing that well this year and have been struggling with my putter. Even today, my putting was up to the mark,” said Jumman who shot a hole-in-one on the 12th hole during the 1997 Hero Honda Masters here.

Feroz Ali, the 1998 will Indian Open champion, overcame his horrendous run of form with a four-under 68. The winner of this year’s Colour Plus Open and Wills Western Open looked elated after the round, which he completed in just 24 putts. Feroz made three birdies and two bogies in his first six holes and then played too pars till making a birdie on the 14th and finishing with an eagle on the 18th where he chipped-in with his sandwedge third shot.

Shamim Khan, who seems to have a strange chemistry with the SRF Open and had shot into prominence last year with a seven-under on the first day, rekindled the old magic today. The 22-year-old, who is sponsored by Hero Puch, fired seven birdies but luck deserted him on the 15th hole when his tee shot got caught in a bush and he ended with a double bogey.

Scores (after 18 holes): 66 Jumman; 68 Shamim Khan, Feroz Ali; 69 Vijay Kumar, Jyoti Randhawa, Mohammed Maqbool; 70 Shiv Prakash, Gaurav Ghei, Arjun Atwal, Ali Sher, Rafiq Ali; 71 Dinesh Raghuvanshi, Ajay Gupta, Gast Ram; 72 Sanjay Kumar, Mohd Khokhan, Ikramuddin Shah, Mohd Islam Ams; 69 Ashok Kumar; 73 Shiv Kapur; 74 Ashok Malik; 77 Suleman Sli.

Punjab defeat Pondy, enter pre-quarters

CHALAKUDY (Kerala), April 4 (PTI) — Former champion Punjab maintained a clean slate, defeating Pondicherry 2-0 in a cluster-IV match to move into the pre-quarter finals of the Santosh Trophy National Football Championship here today.

Striker Jaswinder Singh struck both the goals in the 11th and 69th minute for Punjab, who took it easy by fielding their second string.

With this win in their last league match, Punjab topped the three-team league with six points. Tripura came second with three points while Pondicherry lost both their matches.

Punjab will take on the Railways in the pre-quarter finals to be played on April 6.

Punjab dominated proceedings and could have won by a bigger margin had their strikers, especially Jaswinder Singh and substitute Sukhjit Singh, been on target.

Punjab could have taken an early lead in the 10th minute but Pondy goalkeeper Gnanamoorthy showed alacrity in collecting the ball in his second attempt.

The Jaswinder-Jatinder Singh duo toyed with the Pondicherry defence but undid their good work with poor marksmanship. However, Punjab did get the lead when Jaswinder Singh bulged the net with a right footer from the left-flank.

Punjab were unlucky not to have consolidated their lead in the 40th minute, when the horizontal came to Pondicherry’s rescue.

A few minutes later, medio Ouseph had the ball inside the Pondy penalty area but drove in haste over the bar.

On changing ends, Punjab had a couple of chances in 10 minutes, but they squandered it either driving over or straight to Gnanamoorthy.

Punjab finally succeeded in scoring a goal in the 69th minute through Jaswinder Singh who sneaked in past the defence and headed home a floater from Bhupinder Singh.

Karnataka take on Jammu and Kashmir while Uttar Pradesh meet Madhya Pradesh tomorrow.

200 goals but no smiles for Batistuta

MILAN, April 4 (AFP) — Gabriel Batistuta clocked up his 200th goal for Fiorentina last weekend, but the Argentinean star had little to celebrate after the latest bout of turmoil at the Serie A Club.

Saturday’s 2-2 draw with Bologna summed up Batistuta’s nine-year history with the Tuscan club — he scored two goals but there was little to show for it at the end of the day.

Batistuta is deservedly rated as one of the world’s best centre-forwards and has been courted in the past by the likes of Manchester United and Real Madrid.

But while other clubs have won league titles and European Cups, Batistuta’s 200 goals for Fiorentina have brought him just one Italian Cup, in 1996, and the Italian Super Cup before the start of the following season.

Under club President Vittorio Cecchi Gori, Fiorentina have never put together a truly winning team, either on the pitch or in the boardroom — the latest upset being a row between the movie mogul and his Director General, and former playmaker, Giancarlo Antognoni.

Batistuta, whom fans worship as “Batigol” and the “Lion King”, has criticised the club on both counts in recent seasons, often threatening during the summer break not to return.

But the man who stuck by his club when they were relegated in 1993 has always come back — albeit a little richer.

In the summer of 1997, he fell out with Cecchi Gori over his contract and said he wasn’t returning. They made up. Before the 1998 World Cup he told reporters: “Fiorentina are a great team, but the club certainly isn’t.”

United coach Sir Alex Ferguson thought he’d finally got his man, before Batistuta was once again persuaded to stay on.

Fiorentina started the 1998-99 season in style as Batistuta hit 18 goals in 19 games to send them soaring to the top of the table.

But it all came tumbling down when Batistuta suffered a serious injury in February 1999. There was no replacement for him up front and when he returned, he only scored three more goals that season.

Coach Giovanni Trapattoni persuaded him to stay on for a crack at the European Champions League — a hope which all but evaporated with last month’s 3-1 defeat to United at Old Trafford.

The subsequent 3-3 home draw with Bordeaux, which saw the team whistled off the pitch by the home fans and Trapattoni’s announcement that he was quitting at the end of the season, saw the team sink to new lows.

“If we play like that against Perugia on Saturday, we won’t even qualify for the Intertoto tournament,” snapped Batistuta, adding: “And we’d prove that we deserved to be knocked out of the Champions League.

“It’s a shame, because on other occasions we’ve proved that we deserved to be there,” said the skipper, whose match winner against Arsenal at Wembley has been one of the highlights of the competition.

At 31, with a near-empty trophy cupboard and his team now mid-table, Batistuta could be forgiven for having a few regrets that he stayed in Tuscany, rather than move to a top club in Italy’s grimy industrial north.

“There’s always the hope of playing again in the Champions League, but for me it’s going to be difficult,” he said. “I’ ve got a contract here.

“What’s more to the point is that I’d like to carry on enjoying my football for as long as possible and to score a lot more goals,” he said.

“Even though,” he admitted, “every so often I have a few regrets at having spent my career at Fiorentina, especially when things happen as they did to antognoni, because you think you’ve put together a project and then you realise that it’s only a ‘virtual’ one.”

Batistuta was back on target against Bologna on Saturday. But he left the stadium unhappy after the latest dust-up between Cecchi Gori and Antognoni.

“I’m going home sad,” he said after notching his double century. “It’s difficult to play in conditions like these. My sacrifice has served no purpose, not even for the future.”

“What do I want?,” he asked reporters. “A club that’s professional.”

Steve Waugh cleared for SA tour

SYDNEY, April 4 (Reuters) — Steve Waugh will lead the Australian cricket team on its brief tour of South Africa later this month after being cleared of serious injury during the third and final Test against New Zealand.

The Australian captain was forced to retire hurt yesterday after being struck on the left wrist while batting against the Kiwis in Australia’s second innings.

Waugh had x-rays on his injured wrist today before returning to Australia but was found to have suffered no broken bones.

Asked if he was going to South Africa, he confirmed he would lead the Australians in the one-day series in South Africa starting on April 12.

Australia won the third and final Test with New Zealand by six wickets yesterday to complete a 3-0 series clean sweep.

That victory extended their winning streak in Tests to 10 matches, just one shy of the world record of 11 set by the West Indies in the mid-1980s.

Australia are scheduled to play South Africa this year in six one-day matches, three in Africa this month and three in Australia in August.

But they will have to wait until they host the West Indies in a five-Test series later this year to attempt to break the Test-win record.

Waugh, whose 12 wins from 17 matches as captain is the best rate of any skipper in the game’s history, said he was already relishing the challenge.

“I think we’re on the verge of something special. I believe this is only the beginning — we can play better than that,’’ Waugh told reporters.

Skipper’s selection on April 23

MUMBAI, April 4 (PTI) — The Indian cricket team captain for the Asian Cup limited overs cricket tournament at Dhaka from May 27 to June 4 will be named on the last day of the Ranji Trophy final (April 23).

Cricket board Executive Secretary Sharad Diwadkar told PTI here today that selectors who are scheduled to watch the five-day Ranji Trophy final from April 19 to 23 will pick the skipper on the final day.

Former champions Mumbai and current champions Karnataka are already in the semi-finals to be played from April 11 to 15 while Hyderabad and Tamil Nadu will fill the last two remaining semi-final berths.

India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and the hosts Bangladesh are the four teams in the fray for the Asia Cup.

National Civil Services Golf today
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, April 4 — Seventyone golfers from all over the country will vie for honours in the first National Civil Servants Golf Tournament to be held at the Chandigarh Golf Club here tomorrow.

Rajiv Mehta, a police officer from Shillong, with a handicap of just five is considered the favourite. Close on his heels with a handicap of seven is Balkar Singh of the Railway followed by H.K. Sinha, an IAS officer form Chennai, with a handicap of eight.

The titles at stake are : Gross score winner and runner-up, Nett score winner and runner-up both in individual and team sections.

Seen in action during the one-day competition will be golfers from UP, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Mumbai, Chennai, Shillong, Jammu and Kashmir, Delhi, HP, Rajasthan, Punjab and Haryana.

The tournament will be teed off at 7 a.m. tomorrow. The Chandigarh Golf Association has made all arrangements for the smooth conduct of the tournament. Attractive prize will be given to all the position holders. All the participants will get golf utility items.

Kunte goes down to Ibragimov

GUNTUR, April 4 (UNI) — A Grandmasterr Ibragimov of Russia bounced back after yesterday's defeat with a thumping victory over G.M. Elect Abhijit Kunte of India in the second round of Chalapathi GM Chess Tournament here today.

Ibragimov's victory came in just 24 moves from a benoni defence. Abhijit opted for a rare development of his queen bishop to steer the game into irregular lines.

However, the experienced Russian G.M. found himself comfortable even in this irregular situation and utilised blacks. Lack of development to gain the initiative with Kunte further missing chances to stay by playing the customary b4. Ibragimov snatched a pawn and soon the game when Kunte resigned when faced with a loss of further material.

K. Sasikiran recovered from his shocking loss yesterday, when he held travel wary GM Leonid Yurtaev to a draw. The Indian chose the classical variation of the Karokann defence for which Yurtaev followed theoretically. The visiting GM, who arrived only this morning tried to trap the young Indian on the 17th move, but in vain. Not wanting to take further risk in a complicated position, Yurtaev agreed to split the point on the rival's proposal.

International Master (IM) Saravanan scored a facile victory over GM Pravin Thipsay on the white side of the Sicilian defence. Saravanan employed his favourite closed Sicilian set-up to gain a small edge in the opening stage itself.

Thipsay then sacrificed a pawn for an active play on king side. However, Saravanan defended precisely to hold the material advantage. In acute time pressure Thipsay blundered a piece on the 30th move and resigned immediately.

International Master (IM) D.V. Prasad, who was playing his first game today, held GM Dibyendu Barua to a draw in 30 moves. Facing Barua's pet petroff defence, Prasad introduced a novelty - d5- on his 12th move to increase whites space advantage. The resourceful Barua dissipated the tension by forcing the exchange of minor pieces. Soon, the game ended in a draw by repetition of moves.

IWM Humpy put up a stubborn resistance before going down to Alexander Fominyh of Russia. Starting with bogo Indian defence the position became closed right after the opening moves and the players reverted to manoeuvring their pieces to the best squares. As the time pressure approached G.M. Was able to break open the position on the queen side enabling him to target the weak pawn on the 'C' file. On the 43rd Humpy blundered 'b5' pawn which lead to loss of material.

Bangladeshi I.M. Ziaur Rehman was no match for the top seeded Andrey Shariazdanov. The talented young Russian played methodically to gain an advance from the black side of an English opening. In an attempt to create some counterplay, Rehman decided to sacrifice a pawn which however, turned out to be a fatal error. Shariazdanov utilised the passed pawn on the D file to register a facile victory.

In a clash between G.M. Norm holders, G.B. Prakash had to bring out all his experience in obtaining a draw from the west Bengal youngster Sandipan Chanda. Harbouring an advantage on the white side of semislav defence, Prakash overlooked the loss of a pawn. However, with stubborn play and 'never gave up' attitude Prakash exchanged queens and led the game into a drawish in a rook and opposite coloured bishop end game.

The following are the results of second round. Yurtaev Leonid (0.5) drew K. Sasikiran (0.5), Ziaur Rehman (0) lost Andrey Shariyazdanov (2), G.B. Prakash(1) drew Sandipan Chanda (1.5), V. Saravanan (2) beat Pravin Thipsay (0.5), Alexander Fominyh (1.5) beat K. Humpy (0), Ildaribragimov (1) beat Abhijit Kunte (0.5), D.V. Prasad (0.5) drew D. Barua (1.5).

REGIONAL SPORT BRIEFS

HOA meeting

CHANDIGARH, April 4 (TNS) — The President of the Haryana Olympic Association, Mr Abhey Singh Chautala, has convened a meeting of the Executive Committee of the association at Sahara Resorts on the Panchkula-Kalka road on April 14 to discuss the sports policy which the state government proposes to frame and the measures for the promotion of sports in Haryana.

Mr Chautala has also convened a meeting of the general body of the association on April 15 at Red Bishop, Panchkula, to discuss these issues.