Lanka slump against Boje

COLOMBO, Aug 7 (AFP) — Left-arm spinner Nicky Boje gave South Africa the edge over Sri Lanka when he snapped three quick wickets for nine runs off 24 balls on the second day of the third and final cricket Test today.

Boje’s brilliant bowling at the Sinhalese Sports Club grounds here saw Sri Lanka slump from 122 for one to 138 for four by the close in reply to South Africa’s 279.

Boje ended the century partnership between Sanath Jayasuriya and Russel Arnold and then went on to take two further wickets to finish the day with figures of three for 21 off 10 overs.

Arnold was superbly caught by Lance Klusener at mid-on for 28 as he tried to loft Boje over the top.

Boje followed it up by having Aravinda de Silva stumped by Mark Boucher for two by a ball that turned sharply to beat the bat and then got the prize wicket of Jayasuriya, who top edged a sweep to backward square leg for Gary Kirsten to pick up a simple catch.

Jayasuriya had batted fluently for his 85 off 113 balls hitting 14 fours, and his loss could be expensive for Sri Lanka, hoping to gain a first innings lead over South Africa.

Before Boje came on the scene, Sri Lanka lost opener Marvan Atapattu for 10 when he was bowled off his pads by Nantie Hayward.

South Africa were greatly indebted once again to the batting talents of Klusener who stuck it out for 246 minutes to make a top score of 95 not out.

Klusener, who hit an unbeaten 117 in the Kandy Test, was on course for his second successive century but ran out of partners.

The big hitting left-hander struck only six fours in his disciplined knock which carried South Africa from a hopeless 117 for six to their final total of 279.

Boje (21) helped Klusener add 54 for the eighth wicket, and Paul Adams (15) frustrated the Sri Lankan bowling further with a further stand that realised 38 runs for the ninth wicket.

Chaminda Vaas dismissed Boje to finish with four wickets for 85 runs. Adams was trapped lbw by Muttiah Muralitharan who ended with three for 70.

Sri Lanka and South Africa are tied at one win each in the three-match series.

SCOREBOARD

South Africa (1st innings):

Kirsten c Ranatunga b Perera 11

McKenzie c Arnold b Perera 0

Kallis c Sangakkara b Vaas 19

Cullinan c Atapattu b Vaas 38

Rhodes b Muralitharan 21

Klusener not out 95

Boucher c Chandana b Vaas 4

Pollock b Muralitharan 33

Boje c Sangakkara b Vaas 21

Adams lbw b Muralitharan 15

Hayward c De Silva b Chandana 0

Extras: (b-2, lb-8, nb-12) 22

Total: (all out in 108.2 overs) 279

Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-23, 3-57, 4-89, 5-103, 6-117, 7-186, 8-240.

Bowling: Vaas 36-9-85-4, Perera 18-3-60-2, De Silva 5-2-16-0, Muralitharan 39-14-70-3, Chandana 4.2-0-26-1, Jayasuriya 3-0-9-0, Arnold 3-1-3-0.

Sri Lanka (Ist innings):

Atapattu b Hayward 10

Jayasuriya c Kirsten b Boje 85

Arnold c Klusener b Boje 28

De Silva st Boucher b Boje 2

Jayawardene not out 4

Vaas not out 1

Extras: (b-1, lb-1, w-1, nb-5) 8

Total: (for four wickets) 138

Fall of wickets: 1-19, 2-122, 3-130, 4-135.

Bowling: Pollock 11-4-22-0, Hayward 11-2-32-1, Kallis 8-1-38-0, Klusener 4-0-23-0, Boje 10-3-21-3.

Gurvinder lone wrestler for Olympics
From Our Sports Reporter

NEW DELHI, Aug 7 — Twentytwo-year-old Punjab Police constable Gurvinder Singh will be the sole Indian wrestling entry for the Olympic Games at Sydney. This was announced here today by Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president G.S. Mander.

Mr Mander said Gurvinder Singh would take part in the 63kg Greco-Roman event. He had secured the lone Olympic qualifying berth from Asia after finishing fourth in the Asian Championship in Seoul in May this year, as the three medallists there had already qualified for the Olympic Games through their performances in the world championships. In the last Olympic Games, India had got an Olympic berth through a wild card.

Mr Mander said WFI chief coach Randhir Singh of Haryana would accompany Gurvinder Singh to Sydney, though his personal coach is Hargobind Singh. Mr Mander also announced that a new foreign coach, Stanislav Orlo of Belarus, would join the Indian team as the chief coach of the free style wrestlers, in a month’s time.

Mr Mander said Orlo was a former coach of the erstwhile Soviet Union, and had also been the chief coach of the Belarus team, and many of his trainees had won medals at the Olympics and world championships. Mr Mander said India was preparing their wrestlers with an eye on the 2002 Asian Games. “Our aim is the Asiad”, he said.

The WFI President also disclosed that six junior wrestlers, who were involved in a bloody fracas at the national camp in NIS, Patiala, have been expelled from the camp, and further action would be initiated against them after receiving the report of the inquiry committee.

The expelled wrestlers are: Sujan Pal, Sandeep Rathi, Rajeev Tomar, Anil Choudhary, Palvinder Singh Cheema and Ranjit Kumar.

Meanwhile, Delhi will host the third Asian Junior Free Style and Greco-Roman Wrestling Championships, and the first Asian Junior Women’s Championship, at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium from August 9 to 13. Fourteen countries — Bangladesh, Chinese Taipei, Iran, Japan, Kazakhstan, Korea, Kryghstan, Nepal, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Uzbekistan and hosts India — will take part in the championships.

Mr Mander said 54 wrestlers would compete in nine weight categories in free style, and 49 in nine weight categories in Greco-Roman, and 29 in eight weight categories in the women’s free style event. India will field nine wrestlers each in the men’s section, and eight in the women’s section. Only four countries — Japan, Chinese Taipei, Thailand and hosts India — have so far confirmed their participation in the women’s section. Mr Mander said women’s wrestling was gaining popularity in the country as 17 state associations had sent in their entries for the national championship.

The first Asian junior championship was held at Almaty in Kazakhstan, where India had won two silver and three bronze medals in free style, and as many medals in Greco-Roman. The second edition was held in Tehran last year, where India had won one silver and four bronze medals in free style, and three silver and two bronze medals in Greco-Roman. Both the championships had the participation of eight countries each.

The Indian team, announced by the WFI, is: Men (free style): Naresh Kumar, Krishan Kumar, Jagbir Singh, Shokinder Tomar, Chand Ram, Jang Bahadur, Naveen J, Anil Mann and Virender.

Greco-Roman: Varinder Kumar, Mukesh Khatni, Ravinder Singh, Ravinder Patil, Bijender, Govind Pawar, Param Veer, Yogesh Doudkle and Satish Kumar.

Women (free style): Sumel, Farhat Bano, Ibemcha Devi, Sunita, Manisha Arya, Gurmeet Kaur, Kiran Sihag and Sonika Kaliraman.

Rain interrupts play

MANCHESTER, Aug 7 (AFP) — England were 63 for one when rain forced an early tea on the final day of the third Test at Old Trafford today, needing another 230 runs for victory.

Marcus Trescothick was 31 not out and England skipper Nasser Hussain batting on one. Atherton’s dreams of marking his 100th Test with a century as team-mate Alec Stewart did earlier in this match were ended when on 28 he fenced uncertainly outside his off-stump against Courtney Walsh and was caught behind for 28.

Any hopes the tourists had of further breakthrough were put on hold when rain forced the players off. Rain had already seen 90 minutes lost shortly after the lunch interval.

England were left to bat out nearly five hours after the West Indies declared with a lead of 292 runs.

An England win looked unlikely in the time available -and their highest score to win an Old Trafford Test whilst batting fourth was 142 for one against South Africa in 1951. But their opening batsmen again played soundly after an uncertain start.

The first two overs were nail-biting for England with Atherton being beaten twice by Ambrose, and Trescothick was relieved to see a ball from Walsh fly off the edge at catching height between third slip and gully to get off the mark with a fortunate boundary.

Trescothick showed no nervous reaction to his early scare and sweetly turned Walsh to the square-leg boundary to reach double figures, then confidently pulled a rising ball from Ambrose for similar reward.

His self-assurance from the one-day series and first innings here were still in evidence, and with the pitch still playing pretty well it was a good platform for Trescothick to make another mark on the international scene. Just before lunch a sweetly-timed cover-driven four off Reon King demonstrated the class of the Somerset left-hander.

After failing in the first innings of his 100th Test, Atherton was doubtless fired with a special determination to excel on his home ground.

But the local favourite was only a whisker away from a nasty lifter from Walsh in the eighth over.

Earlier, the West Indies had resumed at 381 for six and Craig White removed Franklyn Rose, trapped leg before wicket, with his 10th ball but that was England’s only success before the declaration came at 438 for seven.

SCOREBOARD

West Indies (1st innings): 157

England (1st innings): 303

West Indies (2nd innings):

Campbell c Cork b White 55

Griffith lbw b Croft 54

Hinds c Stewart b Gough 25

Lara run out 112

Adams lbw b Cork 53

Sarwan lbw b Caddick 19

Jacobs not out 42

Rose lbw b White 10

Ambrose not out 36

Extras (b-14, lb-4, w-2, nb-12) 32

Total (for 7 wkts, declared) 438

Fall of wickets: 1-96, 2-145, 3-164, 4-302, 5-335, 6-373, 7-384.

Bowling: Gough 27-5-96-1, Caddick 23-4-64-1, Cork 28-9-64-1, Croft 47-8-124-1, White 27-5-67-2, Trescothick 1-0-2-0, Vaughan 2-1-3-0.

England (2nd innings):

Atherton c Jacobs b Walsh 28

Trescothick batting 31

Hussain batting 1

Extras (lb-1, nb-2) 3

Total (for 1 wkt, 24.1 overs) 63

Fall of wicket: 1-61.

Bowling: Ambrose 11.1-2-27-0, Walsh 10-4-17-1, King 2-0-15-0, Adams 1-0-3-0.

Sahara Cup

Selection meeting put off

MUMBAI, Aug 7 (PTI) — The India-Pakistan series in Toronto next month is in danger of being cancelled for the second year in succession because of the happenings in Kashmir.

Due to the Kargil war, India, following a call from ace all-rounder Kapil Dev, refused to play in the series last year. And this year, the massacre of innocent people in the state has caused a rethink on participating in the series next month.

As a result, the selection of the Indian team for the September 9 to 17 Sahara Cup five-match series has been put off indefinitely pending clearance by the government.

“The meeting will not be held on August 10 as decided earlier. It will be held once we get government clearance which we expect to receive by the end of this week”, sources in the cricket board told PTI today.

“We are planning to hold a six-day camp prior to the scheduled departure of the squad on September 6,” they added.

There is an element of doubt over the event itself following resent assertions by Sports Minister Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa that clearance would be given only after assessing the necessity of such a trip.

“we have to review the situation keeping in mind the recent killings in Jammu and Kashmir by militants and see whether such a tour would be in the national interest,” Mr Dhindsa had told PTI last Saturday.

“When the file regarding the Indian cricket team’s visit to Toronto comes to me, I will have to see whether it would be in the national interest that India play against Pakistan at this juncture,” he had said.

Ajay Jadeja to be questioned today

NEW DELHI, Aug 7 (UNI) — The Income Tax sleuths will carry out detailed examination of Ajay Jadeja tomorrow in connection with the findings of the raids carried out at his office and residence on July 20 and 21.

This will be the second questioning of the cricketer whose preliminary statement was recorded after a six-hour grilling by the sleuths on August 3.

Jadeja’s lockers, sealed during the two-day raids, were also opened a day earlier on his return from England on August 1 after participating in an exhibition match at the Lords. The process of searches was also completed after his arrival.

Indian cricket coach Kapil Dev will also appear before the it authorities in the coming days. “We will call him at a convenient time,” the sources said. Kapil’s preliminary statement was recorded soon after the raids on July 21. Apart from Jadeja and Kapil, the investigating officers are also scheduled to grill three top bookies of the country who have been identified by the Income Tax Department as alleged violators of Income Tax provisions.

The sources said the Income Tax authorities were also considering ways to record the preliminary statements of former Delhi captain Ajay Sharma and all-rounder Nikhil Chopra at the earliest. While Chopra is likely to return from England soon, Ajay Sharma has expressed his inability to return to India before the expiry of his contract with a minor county in England in September.

Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha is expected to make a statement on the Income Tax raids in Parliament tomorrow.

The sources said the process of opening of lockers would be completed by this week. So far, 12 of the 17 lockers sealed during the raids in the northern region have been opened and scrutiny completed.

The process of analysing the large number of seized documents will take about two months before the officials decide on handing over those relating to match-fixing to the CBI. 

Should Kapil continue as coach?
By Abhijit Chatterjee
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Aug 7 — Even as the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) awaits the government’s permission to field a team in the fourth edition of the Sahara Cup at Toronto — a tournament in which India and Pakistan play a series of five one-day matches— a raging debate is on whether Kapil Dev should be allowed to continue as the coach of the national squad even as the Income Tax Department and the CBI put him under the microscope for his alleged role in match-fixing and betting.

Kapil’s former team-mate Manoj Prabhakar has alleged that Kapil had offered him Rs 25 lakh to play below par in a Singer Cup match against Pakistan at Colombo in the 1994 series. Last month the Income Tax Department had conducted simultaneous raids at his home in the national capital, his business establishments as also his properties in Chandigarh. It was following these raids that demands started surfacing for his stepping down from the post of national coach. It is a different matter that during his tenure as coach the national team was unable to pull up its game so much so that after a long period of 13 years India lost a home Test series.

An indication to the effect that Kapil might lose his job was given by the BCCI president, Mr A.C. Muthiah, himself who said recently that the working committee of the board, which was scheduled to meet at Bangalore on August 19, would look closely into the matter. At the same the BCCI president had indicated that the board might prefer to appoint a foreign coach to look after the national squad.

Kapil Dev, it may be recalled, was appointed cricket coach of the national squad at the last annual general body meeting of the board for a period of two years. This was itself a departure from normal practice as previously the national coach was appointed on a year to year basis. Most coaches, however, were given extension beyond a period of one year. As such Kapil can only be removed by the annual general body meeting of the board which by all indications is scheduled to be convened at Bangalore towards the end of September next.

However, the working committee, which is the most important sub-committee of the BCCI may recommend the removal of the national cricket coach but the decision has to be subsequently ratified by the annual general body meeting. The meetings of the working committee are chaired by the board president himself and any decision taken by the working committee is generally ratified by the general house.

The agenda for the working committee lists routine matters generally taken up by the committee at its last meeting prior to the annual general body meeting. However, the matter of the national cricket coach can be taken up under the agenda item reading “any other matter”. In case the working committee does decide to ask Kapil Dev to step down from the post of cricket coach till his name is cleared in the betting and match-fixing issue it will also have to name his successor since the Indian team will play (subject to grant of permission from the government) in the Sahara Cup at Toronto in mid-September before the general body of the board meets.

In fact, certain persons closely involved in the running of cricket in the country are of the view that not only should the working committee ask Kapil to step down but it should also direct the national selection committee that “tainted” players like Mohammad Azharuddin, Ajay Jadeja and Nikhil Chopra should not be to considered for national duty till such time their names were cleared by the CBI as well as the Income Tax Department.

Indian cricket is today in the dumps, mired in the controversy of betting and match-fixing. Somebody has to take the bull by the horns and start the work of bringing about a total renovation in Indian cricket. Maybe, the last meeting of the current working committee will show some guts and take decisions keeping an eye not on the vote bank of the cricket board but on the overall health of Indian cricket.

Sydney countdown — 35

Athletes may feign injury to avoid blood tests
By Andy O’Brien

The decision by the IOC Medical Commission to introduce random testing for the sports hormone erythropoietin (EPO) at the Sydney 2000 Olympics must be welcomed. It is an important step towards eliminating drug abuse among elite athletes, and will contribute towards cleaner competition at the Games. But it doesn’t mean the Games will be drug-free — drug cheats are constantly searching for new and better ways to gain an edge on the competition. EPO is one of many methods of cheating. Sport medicine scientists are still racing to design tests for Human Growth Hormone (HGH) and Insulin-like Growth Factor (IGF-1) just to name two.

Wine firm as sponsor

Olympic sponsors have spent millions of dollars to have their names in lights. But so far, the rewards have seemed negligible, the sponsorships tainted by bad publicity as a result of the bungling of SOCOG and the IOC corruption allegations. But, at last, one sponsor has declared that its association with the Olympics is starting to pay off.

Southcorp Wines sponsorship manager Christy McLeod said yesterday that the company was already reaping the benefit of its Games sponsorship, with sales of its most popular Lindemans range rising 27 per cent in the past year. Ms McLeod said the Lindemans range had experienced a “significant volume lift and we think that is mainly due to the Olympic sponsorship”. While it was still too early to declare the sponsorship a success, she said, the company was pleased with its progress.

Although Lindemans had spent millions to become the official wine of the Olympics and would need to spend further millions taking advantage of the sponsorship, it had been a “cost-effective” exercise because of the global reach of the Games. Lindemans sells about 1 million cases of wine a year in Australia and 4 million worldwide in 57 countries. The company is also sponsoring the Olympic teams of Britain and Canada. Lindemans is the top-selling wine in Canada.

However, it said it would not be capitalising on its image as an Australian company in the Asian market during the Games. This has left the way open for the rival Mildara Blass company, which has booked extensive advertising space throughout Asia during the Olympics. Lindemans will also erect a hospitality marquee at the Homebush Olympic site during September and expects up to 15,000 people a day will sample its wines.

Work for Olympic dole

The Australian Government has turned to scare tactics in its late attempt to solve Sydney’s Olympics labour shortage, warning 57,000 job seekers that their social security or dole benefits will be cancelled if they do not chase Games work. The threat to cancel payments is mentioned twice in a letter sent to registered job seekers in Sydney and surrounding areas.

It applies to those who fail to devote at least 50 per cent of their job-seeking to Olympics jobs or Games-related industries until October. Those industries are retail, hospitality, security, transport or cleaning. Failure to do so could result in welfare payments being cancelled. The moves are being criticised by welfare and employer groups as being “too little, too late” to address the Olympics labour shortage, with an estimated 100,000 jobs unfilled.

The Federal Government has made a last-ditch attempt to prod the unemployed into taking Olympic jobs, as Sydney approaches full employment at 4.6 per cent. The NSW Government is offering public servants the chance to take up Olympic jobs at their current full rate of pay. Public servants who want to volunteer for the Games as part of SOCOG’s program have been given five days’ leave from work, which they may combine with other leave.

SOCOG said last week it still had to sign up another 7,000 volunteers to meet its target of 47,000. Paralympics organisers must also sign up another 2,000 volunteers to meet their target. — PMG 

Third consecutive title for Venus

CARLSBAD (California), Aug 7 (AFP) — Wimbledon winner Venus Williams captured her third consecutive title and stretched her winning streak to 15 matches by defeating Monica Seles in the finals of the WTA Acura Classic here yesterday.

Third seed Williams won the matchup of US Olympic team mates 6-0, 6-7, (3/7) 6-3, taking the $ 87,000 top prize and her 12th career title at this $ 535,000 US. Open hardcourt tuneup.

The year’s final Grand Slam tournament begins on August 28 in New York. Williams has set herself up as a favorite to dethrone her sister Serena at Flushing Meadows, saying it’s possible that no one can beat her.

“In the past three tournaments, no one has been able to do it. So maybe not,” Williams said.

The 20-year-old served eight aces and 14 double faults in adding this title to her triumph last week at Stanford, California, and last month at Wimbledon, where her win streak began.

Williams has a 21-3 record in six events since returning from wrist tendinitis that sidelined her for the first four months of the season.

After being swept by Williams in the first set, Seles raced to a 5-2 lead in the second set. But Williams broke back in the ninth game and held serve into the tie-breaker.

Mistakes doomed Williams in the tie-breaker. She hit an overhead smash into the net and double faulted to fall behind 5-2, then sent a backhand long and double faulted to surrender her first set of the week.

“I was strolling and playing well,” Williams said. “But no one wants to go out 6-0 6-0. Monica pulled her game together and I lost some focus. I had some double faults in there and the sun got in my way. But I got it back.”

Williams brokes Seles in the fourth game of the third set, but squandered the edge in the seventh game after falling one point short of a 5-2 lead.

Ahead 40-0 but serving into the sun, Williams double faulted twice and sent a backhand long. Seles saved another game point with a net cord winner, saw Venus hit a backhand long and smashed a return winner to break back.

Williams answered immediately with two break points in the next game. Seles saved one with an ace but sent a forehand into the set to give Williams a 5-3 lead. Williams held serve for the title, hitting a forehand winner on her second match point.

Basketball title for Punjab cops

CHENNAI, Aug 7 (UNI) — In a repeat of the recent battle for honours in the Federation Cup, Punjab Police led by the firepower of international Parminder Singh (sr) (22 points) outran Indian Army 65-62 to win a purse of Rs 75,000 and the title in the Rs 2 lakh Prize Money National Invitation Basketball Championship at the J.J. Indoor Stadium here yesterday.

The battle of attrition was in the second half with the Army men fighting through the brilliant ball handling of Sambaji Kadam and the shooting prowess of the six foot 7 inch tall captain. Phool Singh, G.S. Thambi and M.C. Thankachan. The Army men levelled 28-28 soon after half time with another of their main shooter Sweto Francis. But the Punjab Police came up trumps through the brilliance of Parminder (sr). Gagnesh and Gurcharan Singh who showed better shooting under pressure while the Army men missed chances despite raiding the police territory time and again. Parminder (jr) foiled many a chance for the Army men.

Punjab Police built up an eight point lead (52-44) with seven minutes remaining in the match. But the Army men reduced it to five points. Again the cops led 56-49, 58-49 but the Army men reduced it to three points and later one point at 58-59 with a brilliant three pointer, two minutes remaining.

But they could not reign in Parminder (Senior) and Gagnesh Kumar who increased the lead to 64-59, with 18 seconds remaining. 

Lala Amarnath and the Patiala connection
From Ravi Dhaliwal

PATIALA Aug 7 — The call from “up”, which is irrevocable, came and Lala Amarnath, the doyen of Indian cricket, had to yield.

Lala Amarnath will be remembered as a cricketer who was aggresive, dashing and a force to reckon with. What is relatively unknown to the cricketing world is the romance this legendary figure of Indian cricket had with this city for nearly a quarter of a century, where he spent the prime of his youth, right from the day Maharaja of Patiala Bhupinder Singh brought this immensely talented youngster, brimming with exuberance, from Lahore in the fall of 1932.

Immediately on his arrival in Patiala in 1932, Lala Amarnath was employed as a `saloon-officer’, in charge of the Maharaja’s royal coaches. A year later, in 1933, the young `saloon -officer’ donned the India cap and blazed a trail of glory by scoring a superb century on debut against England at the Bombay Gymkhana. Old-timers of the city who were privileged enough to watch this innings, also saw English ladies falling over themselves not only to applaud Amarnath’s enormous effort, but also doling out expensive gifts and jewellery to the centurion.

In1942, Maharaja Yadvinder Singh promoted Lala Amarnath to the post of Director Sports of the state of Patiala, a post which he retained for a decade. Amarnath was provided a residence in the Baradari which, at present, houses a government office. It was in this house that two of the Lala’s three sons, Mohinder Amarnath and Surinder Amarnath, were born and brought up. In fact, Lala Amarnath’s three daughters, Vimla, Kamla and Promilla, were also born at Patiala. During his long stay at Patiala, Lala Amarnath played for South Punjab in the Ranji Trophy, before playing for Railways, where he joined as a Chief Welfare and Labour Inspector.

What better tribute to the Lala’s association with this city that out of the three cricket balls placed beside his body after he breathed his last, one ball had special significance as far as Patialvis are concerned. For this was the ball with which Amarnath, playing for the Railways at the Baradari gardens here in 1958, demolished South Punjab with his medium pacers, returning figures of 4-4-0-4.

Somnath, a Patiala-based retired employee of the state sports department and a close confidante of Lala Amarnath and who had the privilege to work as a game boy under the great cricketer , remembers Amarnath telling him “ There were more than 20,000 people waiting at the Bombay port, when I returned midway from the infamous 1936 England tour”. Amarnath returned from England after a disagreement with his skipper,the Maharajkumar of Vizianagram.

Old-timers in the city still remember the dazzling innings Amarnath played at the Baradari grounds here against the West Indies in 1946 while turning up for the Patiala state. After the Carribeans, led by Frank Worrel, and having in their ranks the famous three `Ws, piled up a huge total, it was left to the wizadry of Amarnath with the willow to extricate his team from the jaws of sure defeat. The stakes were high and as Somnath recalls with pride “ The Maharaja of Nalagarh Surinder Singh told Amarnath that for every run scored he would be given Rs 1, which was a princely sum those days. And if he remained unconquered, Amarnath would also be presented an imported revolver. Amarnath got Rs 223 and a revolver as he scored 223 n.o. under the most trying of circumstances”.

Lala Amarnath was Patiala’s gift to the nation. For Patialavis, in particular and Punjabis, in general, a legend has passed away.

4 sports nurseries for Haryana
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Aug 7 — The Haryana Sports Department has decided to set up four sports nurseries in popular sports disciplines of the state in kabbadi (national style), hockey, volleyball and wrestling. The aim of these nurseries would be to groom building talent.

This was stated here today by Dr. B.K. Sinha, Director Sports and Youth Welfare, Haryana.

He said that these sports nurseries would be sponsored by prominent corporation and boards of the state government. Boys and girls between 10 and 15 years of age would be admitted to these nurseries.

Mr Sinha said Kabaddi nurseries for boys has been sponsored by Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) which would be set-up at Jind. The trials to admit boys to this nursery would be conducted at 9.30 am on August 18 at Senior Secondary School, Jind.

The hockey nursery for girls has been sponsored by HARCO Bank which would start at Shahbad Markanda in Kurukshetra. The girls would be selected for this nursery at 9.30 am on August 17 at S.G.N.P. School, Shahbad, Markanda.

The Haryana State Industrial Development Corporation has sponsored the volleyball nursery which is being set-up at Bhiwani. Only boys would be a admitted to this nursery through selection trials being held on August 18 at Government Senior Secondary School, Markanda, in Bhiwani at 9.30 am.

The fourth sports nursery in wrestling has been sponsored by the Haryana Ware housing Corporation which would be established at Hisar. The boys would be admitted to this nursery through selection trials being conducted at 9.30 am on August 24 at Mahabir Stadium Hisar.

The Haryana Sports Department would provide free coaching while the sponsoring corporations and boards would provide board, lodging, sports kit and equipment facilities to the nursery players.

Bystander grabs Olympic torch

MELBOURNE, Aug 7 (Reuters) — A bystander ran into the road and snatched the Olympic torch from the relay runner carrying it through the streets of Melbourne today.

Security guards and the police immediately grabbed the man and handed the torch back to the runner, a school receptionist.

“Someone had a bit of prank,” a torch relay spokesman said. “Someone came out from the crowd, grabbed the torch and then they were grabbed. It was all over in a few seconds.”

The man was taken away by the police and may be charged, the spokesman said. A police spokesman said: “It happened so quickly that most people wouldn’t have been aware what had happened.”

Dhillon on SAI doctors’ panel
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Aug 7 — Dr Mandeep Dhillon, Associate Professor, Department of Orthopaedics, who specialises in sports injuries as well arthroscopic surgery, has been appointed as member of the medical commission of the Indian Olympic Association. He has also been appointed as a consultant to the National Institute of Sports, and as a honorary consultant to the Punjab Cricket Association. Besides this, he has been nominated to the panel of doctors of the Sports Authority of India, northern region, for consultancy regarding injuries to their athletes.

Dr Dhillon is already a member of the International Society for Arthroscopy, Knee Surgery and Sport Medicine ( ISAKOS), as well as member of the Asian Federation of Sports Medicine (AFSM). He is the author of more than 150 publications in international as well as national journals, and has written many articles on injuries in sports.

REGIONAL SPORT BRIEFS

Haryana archery from September 1

HISAR, Aug 7 (FOSR) — The Haryana State Archery Chempionship for boys and girls will be held at Panipat from September 1 to 3, according to Mr Resham Singh President, Haryana State Archery Association here today.

He said over 250 players from all over the state are likely to participate in this three-day championship.

The team for national will be selected during this championship. The National Archery Championship will be held at Patiala in September.