S P O R T

Jean Driscoll of Champaign (left) and Franz Nietlispach of Switzerland (right) crosses the finish line to win their women's and men's wheelchair division of the 104th Boston Marathon respectively, in Boston on Monday. Driscoll has won an unprecedented wheelchair victories — AP/PTI photo

Mumbai start favourites
MUMBAI, April 18 — A needle contest is on the cards as 33-time champions Mumbai take on two times champions Hyderabad in the final of the Ranji Trophy, India’s premier domestic tournament, beginning at the Wankhede Stadium here tomorrow.

Azhar denies allegations
MUMBAI, April 18 — Former India captain Mohammad Azharuddin today denied as “false and baseless” a news magazine report linking him with bookies but the magazine that carried the story said it stood by it.

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Mumbai start favourites

MUMBAI, April 18 (UNI) — A needle contest is on the cards as 33-time champions Mumbai take on two times champions Hyderabad in the final of the Ranji Trophy, India’s premier domestic tournament, beginning at the Wankhede Stadium here tomorrow.

Mumbai will begin as the favourites as they have been on a winning streak having won their last five matches outright. They will also have the home advantage. However, Hyderabad cannot be taken lightly with their batsmen, especially VVS Laxman, being in terrific form. To back him, Mohammad Azharuddin and Vanka Pratap have also had a good season with the bat.

The wicket had some grass on it this morning and it is not likely that it will be cut considering home side’s pace attack. Their bowling strength lies in the spin department with India discard Venkatpathy Raju and off-spinner Kanwaljit Singh bowling well.

Mumbai also have Sachin Tendulkar in their ranks. The premier batsman strikes terror in even the best bowling teams the world round and Hyderabad bowling attack is definitely a far cry from that.

Mumbai coach Ashok Mankad gave an indication of the composition of the team after net practice today, saying that they will be going in with four seamers, while the toss up for the spinner, who will also be the stock bowler, will be between the two left armers Nilesh Kulkarni and Rajesh Pawar. Ramesh Powar will be sitting out this match since the Hyderabad batsmen play the off spinners well, he added.

‘Kaka’, as Mankad is fondly called, was extremely happy over the change of attitude in the Mumbai players after the debacle of last season when Mumbai failed to qualify for the next stage for only the second time in their illustrious history in Ranji Trophy.

He said last year a lot of Mumbai players were thinking of playing for India, now this year they have realised that they have a lesser chance of wearing the India cap, therefore they are giving their best for Mumbai.

Dighe said that in a five-day game ‘’you never know what will happen when. We will take it session by session. We are considering playing four seamers, however, the final decision will be taken on the morrow of the match.’’

On the presence of Sachin and Kambli in the team, Dighe said it is a great motivation for the rest. “Sachin is so engrossed in the game when standing in slips, it is an inspiration for us”, Dighe added.

On their opponents Hyderabad, Dighe said “Though Tamil Nadu had more all-round strength, you cannot underestimate Hyderabad. Any team who can score over 700 runs has to be a good team. They have good batsmen. However, we are here to win”.

Hyderabad will be banking on their batsmen coming good with VVS Laxman going through a purple patch, having just scored 300-plus in the semifinal against Karnataka. Mohammad Azharuddin also had a hundred in the semifinal and over here he will be looking to add one.

With all the match-fixing and betting accusations flying thick and fast, Azharuddin would like to silence his critics the way he knows best that is with the bat, by scoring heavily.

Azhar denies allegations

MUMBAI, April 18 (PTI) — Former India captain Mohammad Azharuddin today denied as “false and baseless” a news magazine report linking him with bookies but the magazine that carried the story said it stood by it.

In a statement here, Azharuddin said “No bookie has ever approached me or any other player to the best of my knowledge,” denying the charges levelled against him and three other past and present India players of having hobnobbed with bookies by the ‘Outlook’ magazine.

Asked for his reaction in New Delhi, Vinod Mehta, Editor-in-Chief of ‘Outlook” said: “We would not have published such a story unless we were sure of the facts”. He stood by the story, Mehta added.

Soon after his arrival here, Azharuddin, who will lead Hyderabad in the Ranji Trophy final against Mumbai starting tomorrow, said “I am a dedicated player and the game of cricket is my love and passion. My advice to such magazines is to stop maligning me which they have been doing for the last number of years for no reason and (with) no base. It is high time they stopped vitiating the atmosphere and they should not create chaos in the minds of the public”.

Azharuddin also pointed out some ‘factual errors’ in the “outlook” report, besides vehemently denying that he had been gifted with a Mercedes Benz SL 500 car by a well-wisher.

“I say a car is not a toy that one can carry in his pocket or bag and bring it to India. The Editor of the magazine should know by this time that there is a government organisation called the Customs Department and one has to pay a duty called Customs Duty when you bring an imported car to India”, he said.

Pointing out some more inaccuracies in the report, Azharuddin said one of these pertained to the dates of the Titan Cup match which was in the year 1996 and not in November 1997.

“The Outlook magazine alleges that the crime branch tapped bookmakers’ phones in Mumbai in November 1997 and recorded players’ conversations during the Titan Cup match. Let me make the records correct that the Titan Cup match was in the year 1996. That means that the crime branch allegedly recorded the conversations one year after the match. These are self-contradictory statements in itself”, he said.

He also denied that the players were paid for the dinners they attended in Sharjah.

“Regarding paid dinners, the only dinner that I attended during the Sharjah tour was the CBFS (Cricketers Benefit Fund Series) official function dinner”, he stated.

Azharuddin said former Cricket board chief Raj Singh Dungarpur had said recently on Star TV that a lot of complaints had been received by the board during his (Dungarpur’s) three-year term which had been investigated thoroughly and not a grain of truth had been found in these allegations.

Hudson confirms reports

DURBAN, April 18 (PTI) — Former opener Andrew Hudson has confirmed reports that the South African team was offered $ 250,000 to throw a match against India in 1996.

“Hansie (Cronje) was approached by an unnamed person in Bombay who had offered him a huge amount of money to throw the match,” Hudson told the Gulf Times in an interview.

Hudson was reacting to former wicketkeeper Dave Richardson’s statement in local media yesterday that the South African team was offered money to throw its last match — which was converted from an exhibition tie to a full one-day international — against India in 1996.

“We were each offered 20,000 dollars, so the amount of $ 250,000 seems to be correct,” he said.

Richardson had said the offer was rejected only after three team meetings and in the end it was Hudson who swung the players’ thinking.

“It’s bigger than you think. This could open a whole can of worms. We can’t have anything to do with this offer,” Richardson had quoted Hudson as saying.

Hudson, who now plays for the Kwazulu-Natal team, said Cronje was reluctant about the offer and told the players it (throwing the match for money) was not the right thing to do.

“Hansie broached the offer during the meeting. He did not want it to be seen as if he was taking the decision. The person offering him the money saw Hansie as the representative of the team,” Hudson said.

Hudson said he was not surprised by the offer as there were lot of betting activities going on in the Indian subcontinent.

“I’m not being derogatory about the Indians but what goes around there is unbelievable. I believe, we took the right decision at the time,” he said.

Meanwhile, a prominent black journalist, Mathatha Tseudu has condemned the racial-based reactions that the match-fixing scandal in evoking in South Africa wondering if the anti-India reaction of the whites would have been the same had the charges been made by the Scotland Yard.

“Why did South Africa think that the Indian justice system, through its police force and the courts, could cook up a storm around this one man if there was no evidence?” Tseudu, Deputy Editor of Star newspaper, wrote in his weekly column.

“....The question begs to be asked: Was this because this was just lousy Indian accusing an Afrikaner and therefore white South Africa’s glamour boy that led to the reaction?”

“We saw Deputy Foreign Minister Aziz Pahad holding meetings with the Indian High Commissioner in Pretoria, Harsh Bhasin, ostensibly to seek clarity, but essentially to say, `Hey you, explain yourself’. Why did the government, as in the Department of Foreign Affairs, involve itself in what was a criminal investigation even before the Interpol was asked to help?” he wrote.

Chawla reached India from SA

NEW DELHI, April 18 (UNI) —Delhi police today said investigations have proved that bookie Sanjay Chawla, prime accused in the match-fixing case involving South African cricket captain Hansie Cronje, had reached India from South Africa in the first week of February, barely a few days before the Proteas started their cricket tour.

The police said Sanjay alias Sanjeev Chawla had left South Africa on February 1 for Mauritius en route to India. He reached Mumbai on February 2. The cricket tour of the South Africans started on February 24 with the first Test in Mumbai.

The Delhi police is investigating the match-fixing scandal, one of the biggest to hit the cricketing world, in which two Indian bookies — Sanjay and Rajesh Kalra — and Cronje with team-mates Herschelle Gibbs, Nicky Boje and Pieter Strydom are involved.

Music baron Kishen Kumar is also being interrogated in the case. He is at present in 14-day judicial custody on charges of FERA violations filed against him by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). Kishen Kumar, who had been taking treatment at various hospitals in the capital citing heart pain, was today termed ‘fit’ by a team of doctors of the All India Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and was sent to Tihar Jail.

Sanjay Chawla is the London-based bookie who allegedly had talked to Cronje to fix matches of the Pepsi one-day international series against India which the hosts won 3-2.

Regarding reports that police had widened its investigation net and was probing the involvement of nine alleged bookies in connection with match-fixing and betting during the India-South Africa matches, Joint Commissioner of Police (crime) K.K.Paul told UNI that he did not have any such information.

The police have also asked the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to provide names and details of people who accompanied the South African team during the tour to India. Queries have also been made about the locations and place of the team’s stay.

PTI adds: Sports Minister Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa today termed Indian cricket team’s recent performances as unsatisfactory.

In a written reply to Amar Roy Pradhan in the Lok Sabha, Mr Dhindsa said: “The performance of the Indian cricket team during their Australian tour in January-February period was unsatisfactory”.

The Indians lost all three Tests against Australia in December last year and won just one limited overs match in a triangular one-day tournament Down Under which also featured Pakistan.

India then lost the home Test series 0-2 to South Africa — their first loss at home in 13 years. A narrow 3-2 win in one-day series against the Proteas salvaged some pride but the Indian team surrendered again in Sharjah finishing last in a triangular contest also involving South Africa and Pakistan.

Hockey squad aims for Olympic gold
From M.S. Unnikrishnan

NEW DELHI, April 18 — The Indian hockey squad, which returned to Delhi after winning the four-nation tournament in Perth (Australia), were given a warm and enthusiastic welcome by the Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) and the Sports Authority of India (SAI) here today.

While the IHF accorded the team a colourful reception at the airport, and then hosted them to refreshments at the airport hotel, the SAI organised a luncheon felicitation function at the Nehru Stadium in which all the big shots of the Sports Ministry, and the SAI, including the Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports, Mr Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, were present.

Everyone present talked in “glowing” terms about the team’s triumph in Perth, which is considered very significant, coming as it does barely 150 days before the Sydney Olympic Games.But before going overboard about the “triumph” at Perth, it’s only apt that people concerned with the team’s Olympic preparation make a realistic appraisal of their real potential and the results they have achieved. And IHF president KPS Gill was very balanced in his views when he observed that “I was not dismayed when they were losing, and I am not overjoyed when they are winning”.

He said when the team left for Perth, their brief was to “train well, and play well. The final result did not come as a surprise”. India beat European champions Germany 3-2 to lift the title, but more than the title-triumph what impressed the team management was the “overall quality” of the team’s performance. And this is the first time the team had combined so well, after the gold medal triumph in the Asian Games at Bangkok.

The IHF president said no effort would be spared to give the best of training facilities to the squad in their quest for the Olympic gold. He disclosed that the final 25 or 30 days’ preparation of the team will be held at Murwillumbha Twede Valley, in New South Wales, about 800 km from Sydney.

“My aim is to make the team work harder in the coming 150 days.(Coaches) Baskaran and Ranjit Singh have worked very hard to shape the team. I am also grateful to the ONGC, the SAI and the Sports Ministry for all the good support they have given us, and I want them to extend the same amount of support for the next 150 days to realise our dream of reclaiming the Olympic gold,” elaborated the IHF chief. “And we will have to work hard, beyond the Olympics too”, he cautioned.

Mr Dhindsa wished the hockey squad all success in their Olympic preparation, as “I am sure you will get stronger and achieve your goal, as you go along. The whole country is behind you, and we will provide whatever facility you require for your Olympic preparation. From the Government and the SAI, you can expect all the support”.

Chief coach Vasudevan Baskaran attributed the team’s success to peak physical fitness and “strong will power of the players”. He said Dr Alexander had helped increase the fitness level of the players, and the “fitness coach” provided by the SAI, Ramesh, has worked real wonders with the team. But the boys are now “scared of Ramesh” due to the strict physical training regimen he has worked out for the team.

Baskaran said the success at Perth was due to the hard work put in by the team from the four-nation tournament at Spain, to the Azlan Shah Cup in Malaysia and then the Asia Cup. “We plan to continue the hard work schedule in the coming four months, to strike gold at Sydney”, explained the former Indian Olympic captain.

SAI Director-General D.K.Mittal, and Executive Director (team’s wing) Major O.P.Bhatia, have promised to provide optimum training facilities to the hockey squad.

Kafelnikov, Henman enter 2nd round

MONTE CARLO, April 18 (AFP) — Top-seeded Yevgeny Kafelnikov put an end to his recurring Monte Carlo nightmare when he beat his friend and doubles partner Daniel Vacek in the first round of the $ 2.95 million Masters Series event here today.

The Russian former world No 1 had lost his first match here three times in the previous four years - but he made no mistake in downing his Czech opponent 6-3, 6-3.

It was Kafelnikov’s 14th win in 18 meetings with Vacek and he was always in command after recovering from a slow start that saw him trail 1-3 in the first set.

Magnus Norman of Sweden, seeded third, and Tim Henman of Britain, the seventh seed, also won their first-round matches early on the second day of the clay court event.

Norman recovered from a sluggish start to beat Spanish qualifier Albert Portas 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 while Henman, who often struggles on clay, beat Switzerland’s former Olympic champion Marc Rosset 6-3, 6-2 in one hour 16 minutes. In another early match, Morocco’s Karim Alami advanced with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Sweden’s Thomas Johansson in just 68 minutes.

Three of the four seeded players in action on a rain-interrupted opening day tumbled out on Monday.

Czech clay court specialist Slava Dosedel beat 10th-seeded Greg Rusedski of Britain 6-4, 6-7 (3/7), 6-1, while South African Wayne Ferreira upset 14th-seeded Australian Mark Philippoussis 6-4, 7-5.

Armenia’s Sargis Sargsian led 11th-seeded Younes El Aynaoui 7-6 (7/1), 4-2 when the Moroccan quit with an injury.

Eighth-seeded Frenchman Cedric Pioline, the eighth seed, did advance, downing Magnus Larsson of Sweden 6-2, 6-2.

HILTON HEAD ISLAND (Reuters): American Erika De Lone scored an easy 6-3, 6-3 victory over Maureen Drake of Canada at the women’s Hilton Head Island tournament on Monday to earn a shot at red-hot Monica Seles.

The 70th-ranked De Lone will face Seles, the third seed, in Tuesday night’s feature match. Seles had a first-round bye after winning the WTA tournament at Amelia Island, Florida, on Sunday.

“It’s exciting to play against a player as great as Monica Seles,” said De Lone, a 27-year-old who attended Harvard for one year. “I’ve lost to Monica twice, but I haven’t played her since 1995, and I’m playing better now.”

In another first-round match, American Tara Snyder rallied from 1-4 and 3-5 deficits to defeat Tina Pisnik of Slovenia 7-6, (7-1) 6-3. Snyder, ranked 80th, earned a berth in the second round against sixth seed Anna Kournikova of Russia. Kournikova was runner-up last year in this event.

Top seed Mary Pierce of France and second seed Conchita Martinez of Spain will not play their opening matches until Wednesday at the earliest. The top eight seeds all received first-round byes.

BUDAPEST (AP): Third-seeded Karina Habsudova of Slovakia advanced to the second round beating unseeded Frenchwoman Amelie Cocheteux in the first round of the $ 100,000 Budapest Ladies Open clay court tournament.

Habsudova, ranking 50th on the WTA list, defeated Coachteux, ranked 72nd in the world, 6-3, 6-3.

In the first upset of the tournament, unseeded Yugoslavian Sandra Nachuk rallied from a set down to defeat eight-seed Patricia Wartusch of Austria, 5-7, 6-3, 6-3.

Only five matches were played on the first day of the tournament on Monday.

In other matches, Maria Antonia Sanchez-Lorenzo of Spain defeated Maria Vento from Venezuela 6-4, 7-5.

Two matches had tie-breaker sets, Olga Barabanshikova from Belarus beat Sandra Kleinova of the Czech Republic, 6-2, 6-7 (5), 6-4, and Australian Alicia Molik downed Germany’s Jana Kandarr 7-6 (2), 5-7, 6-2.

SA turn to ACB for help

BRISBANE, April 18 (AFP) — South African cricket officals have turned to Australia to help prevent another bookmaking scandal damaging the international game.

South Africa’s United Cricket Board (UCB) Managing Director Ali Bacher has contacted the Australian Cricket Board (ACB) to discuss the procedures they introduced following the fallout from the Shane Warne-Mark Waugh controversy in 1998.

South African cricket is reeling from last week’s admission by former captain Hansie Cronje that he accepted money in exchange for information on matches.

A judge is yet to be appointed for a judicial inquiry into Cronje’s actions in Johannesburg but his career appears over after he was left out of a 16-man squad to play in Australia in August.

But two of the players implicated by Indian police in the match-fixing ring with Cronje — Nicky Boje and Herschelle Gibbs — were named in the squad.

Although New Delhi police last week filed charges against Boje and Gibbs — who have denied allegations of match-fixing the UCB offered them new two-year contracts today.

The Australian Associated Press said the UCB will insert new clauses in players’ contracts after consultations with the ACB about its reaction to the Warne-Waugh affair.

The two senior Australian players admitted taking money from a bookmaker in exchange for information about pitch and weather conditions while touring Sri Lanka in 1994.

The controversy remained secret until late 1998, prompting the ACB to instigate an independent inquiry.

That inquiry led to an education programme in Australian cricket, including contractual obligations, codes of conduct and mandatory reporting of any suspicious happenings.

The ACB have labelled it “the most comprehensive and pro-active” programme in the game.

Meanwhile, the ACB today welcomed the decision by the International Cricket Council (ICC) to hold a special meeting in London early next month.

The ACB Chief Executive, Mr Malcolm Speed, and the Chairman, Mr Denis Rogers, will attend the meeting, which will include the nine Test-playing nations along with associate members Kenya, Bangladesh and Denmark.

“The allegations that have emerged in South Africa and India concerning corruption in cricket need a strong response from the international cricket community,” Mr Speed said.

“This action by the ICC is a welcome initiative.”

The long international season for some Australian players ends tomorrow when they return to Sydney after the three-match one-day series in South Africa.

The South Africans are due in Melbourne in August for a return one-day series.

Digvijay leads on first day

GURGAON, April 18 (UNI) — Digvijay Singh fired a superb five-under 67 to take lead on the opening day of the Rs 12-lakh J. Hampstead Open golf tournament, being played at the par-72, 7070-yard, DLF Golf and Country Club here today.

Jointly placed second at three-under 69, were Amit Dube, Amateur Ashok Kumar, Uttam Singh Mundy, Shiv Prakash, SSP Chowrasia and G.S. Sethi.

Digvijay Singh is high on confidence after winning the BPGC Open in Mumbai a little less than a month ago. Eager to add to his first title in his Rookie year, the Meerut based golfer posted birdies on the third, fifth, sixth and seventh on an error free front-nine to sit pretty at four-under before making the turn. Three-putting from 12 feet, for his only bogey of the day on the 14th, the golfer posted birdies on the 15th and 18th to finish at five-under 67 for the day. “I missed birdie chances on the first, fourth, eighth, 10th and 17th holes, each not more than six to eight feet in distance’’ said Digvijay.

Amit Dubey finally did justice to the enormous talent his game boasts of returning with a card of three-under 69. Starting on the 10th, Dubey, had dropped shots on the 14th and 18th, with his birdies coming on the 12th, 15th and 17th, on the front-nine. On his back-nine, the Noida based golfer birdied the first and third where he sank in a superb 20 feet putt.

Country’s No 1 amateur golfer Ashok Kumar, gave yet another display of his prodigious talent. Teeing off from the 10th, the 17-year old, had a dream front-nine, birding the 12th and 14th and sinking a fine eagie with a well placed driver, six-iron combination to sit pretty at four-under. Losing his touch a bit on the back-nine, Ashok bogeyed the first, seventh and eighth with a face saving eagle on the sixth, handing him a score of three-under 69.

Shiv Prakash used all his experience to tally birdies on the 11th, 14th, 17th, and 6th, interspersed by a bogey on the fourth. The fourth ranked professional on the tour recently recorded his first victory of the season at the Eicher Central India Open 2000 in Mhow, in March 2000.

Uttam Singh Mundy, winner of two Honda-Siel PGA Championships hit the ball long and well to return with birdies on the 11th, 15th and 18th, 3rd and 6th. Mundy dropped shots on the 2nd and 12th. SSP Chowrasia carded birdies on the 1st, 6th, 9th, 13th, 16th and 18th, with bogeys on the 3rd, 4th and 15th, while G.S. Sethi carded bogeys on the first and third, with birdies on the 7th, 10th, 16th, 17th and 18th.

Ashok Kumar led the amateur field with a three-under 67 while Manav Das, Jaideep Patwardhan and Simarjeet Singh were joint second at two-over 74.

8-member team for Asian wrestling meet
From Our Sports Reporter

PATIALA, April 18 — The Indian Wrestling Federation (IWF) has selected an eight-member squad to participate in the Asian Wrestling Championships (free style) slated to be held at Guilin (China) from April 26 to 28. The squad was selected yesterday.

The chief coach of the squad Randhir Singh said although the competition in the championship would be stiff even then the Indians stand a fair chance of picking up medals in at least three weight categories — 54 kg, 85 kg and 130 kg. The Indians will be heavily banking upon Sujit Mann, Kirpa Shanker, Anuj Kumar and Palwinder Cheema to come up with something extra after a lacklustre performance by the Indians in the Bangkok Asian Games.

The Asian championships assumes all the more importance for the Indians as it is also the last pre-Olympic qualification tourney. Despite taking part in three pre-Olympic qualification championships, no Indian matman has qualified for the Sydney Olympics.

This time around, a re-organisation of the weight categories, which has seen the elimination of the 48 kg and 52 kg categories, will be another disadvantage, as the Indians have had better wrestlers in the lower weight categories in recent years.

Randhir Singh felt that Kirpa Shanker and Sujit Mann had the best chance of winning medals and the coach also expected local lad Palwinder Cheema to channelise his immense talent to pick up a medal in the 130 kg category.

Traditionally Iran and Mongolia have dominated the Asian scene with China, Japan and South Korea doing particularly well in the lower weight categories. The erstwhile soviet Republics like Kazaksthan Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan have improved in the past few years so the Indians wrestlers will have a tough task on hand.

The squad: Kirpa Shanker (54 kg), Rakesh Kumar (58 kg), Mukesh Kumar (63 kg) Sujeet Mann (69 kg), Bijinder Kumar (76 kg), Anuj Kumar (85 kg), Anil Mann (97 kg) and Palwinder Cheema (130 kg).

Jaitley for code of conduct for cricketers

NEW DELHI, April 18 (PTI) — Information and Broadcasting Minister and president of the Delhi and District Cricket Association Arun Jaitley yesterday urged the BCCI to make a code of conduct for its players and officials.

“The cricket board will have to make a code of conduct for its players and officials and whatever they know should be passed on to the police,” Mr Jaitley told Star TV news channel here.

Mr Jaitley said the International Cricket Council (ICC) can also direct its affiliated organisations in the cricket-playing nations to provide all information (regarding betting or match-fixing) to the police.

BCCI president A.C. Muthaiah told the channel that he favoured making public the Chandrachud committee report on betting and match-fixing though this depended on the board members.

SA team meeting to be probed

JOHANNESBURG, April 18 (AFP) — A 1996 team meeting at which South African players were allegedly offered $250,000 to lose a game against India will be investigated by the United Cricket Board of South Africa (UCB), its chief said today.

Several players who were on the 1996-97 tour of India have confirmed an offer was conveyed to the team by the captain, Hansie Cronje, who was sacked last week after admitting that he took money from an Indian businessman before South Africa’s recent tour of India.

“I will be asking each and every one of our contracted players who were on the 1996-97 tour to tell me exactly what happened,” said UCB managing director Ali Bacher.

Six of the players who have signed new two-year contracts with the UCB were on the tour — Gary Kirsten, Nicky Boje, Daryll Cullinan, Herschelle Gibbs, Lance Klusener and Jonty Rhodes.

Cronje revealed the offer in a newspaper interview in 1998. He claimed he had not taken the offer seriously but had raised it a team meeting.

Kerala favourites against Goa

THRISSUR, April 18 (PTI) — A keen tussle is on the cards when hosts Kerala take on last years’ runners-up Goa in the first semifinal of the Santosh Trophy national football championship here tomorrow.

Kerala had progressed to the last four with superlative performances while Goa struggled to make it to the semifinals. Considering this, Kerala could be considered favourites and if they maintain the same tempo, they could move into the final.

Holders Bengal will take on Maharashtra in the other semi-final on April 20.

Three-times winners Kerala, who had emerged leaders in the group ‘X’ quarterfinal league, had an impressive first match win when they crushed Services 5-2, which included a brilliant hat-trick by striker Ashif Saheer.

Ramandeep, Baljeet promoted
From Our Sports Reporter

NEW DELHI, April 18 — Indian hockey captain Ramandeep Singh, and forward Baljeet Singh Saini, have been promoted to the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) by the Punjab Police. This good news was conveyed to Ramandeep Singh by Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) president K.P.S.Gill at a reception hosted by the Sports Authority of India (SAI) to felicitate the Indian team, which returned from Australia today after winning the four-nation tournament in Perth.

As Ramandeep walked into the VIP lounge of the Nehru Stadium, the IHF chief informed the Indian captain that “your letter of promotion has been issued”.

Ramandeep told The Tribune that after the Indian team returned with the gold medal from the Asian Games at Bangkok, he and Baljeet had been “verbally assured” that they would be promoted to the rank of DSP.

Punjab Police beat Tigers Club
From Our Sports Reporter

PATIALA, April 18 — Fancied Punjab Police, Jalandhar downed Tigers Club, Patiala 3-0 on day two of the All-India Manjit Gill Memorial Football Tournament played at the polo grounds here today.

Only one match was played today as BSF, another much touted outfit, played truant which enabled Union Club, Ambala to secure a semifinal place in the tournament. BSF had confirmed their entry but did not turn up at the venue.

Punjab police carried too much armoury shocked their opponents as early as the first minute of the match when striker Paldeep Singh lobbed a ball over the goalkeeper’s head to make it 1-0. After a sluggish first half, the cops strung a series of good moves and Tigers Club, a scratch combination made up of local boys, wilted under sustained pressure. The cops proved their dominance by scoring two more goals in the second session to make it 3-0. The scorers for Punjab Police were Vijay and Sunil, both of whom scored with deft placements.

In a match played late yesterday evening, the youngsters of Mehar Football Academy, Kurali created the first flutter of the tournament when they managed to overcome the stiff challenge of holders Manjit Football Club, Patiala.

Railways set new meet record

NEW DELHI, April 18 (UNI) — Railways set up a new meet record in the men’s 1500 metres team time trial event of the National Cycling Championship here today.

In the women’s and boys section, Manipur riders won the gold in 1500 m team time trial events.

Railway quartet — Saurav Dixit, Rakesh Kumar, Fulbirth and Ch Premjit Singh — clocked 1:45.79 seconds to erase the seven-year old record of 1:47.50 set by Punjab.

Services’ team of Jorawar Singh, Sukhvinder Singh, Pramjeet Singh and Jagvir Singh claimed the silver with a timing of 1:49.08 seconds. Kerala took the bronze. There team of M.Vishnuchand, S.V.Ramesh, Ajesh T.Thomas and Anil Kumar K timed 1:50.67 seconds for the third place.

Punjab handball team
From Our Sports Reporter

LUDHIANA, April 18 — The following players will represent Punjab in the inter-zone handball championship to be held at Pondicherry from April 21 to 23, according to S.S. Channy, President, Punjab Handball Association. The players are — Karamjit Singh, Raman Gurang, Jaskaran Singh, Pawan Kumar, Baljit Singh, Kulwinder Singh, Lachhman Singh, Palwinder Singh, Navin Kumar, Sukhdev Singh, Tarsem Singh, Mukhtiar Singh, Vijay Kumar, Jagdeep Singh, Rajesh Kumar and S. Raja Rao. Kewal Singh and Gursewak Singh will accompany the team as coaches.