S P O R T

India ready for task ahead: Bhaskaran
NEW DELHI, Aug 13 — Coach of the Sydney-bound hockey team V. Bhaskaran has said a strategy to get the better of all the countries in the India’s pool at the Olympics is firmly in place.

Evander Holyfield, connects with John Ruiz during their WBA Heavyweight title, on Saturday night, in Las Vegas.  — AP/PTI

Holyfield beats Ruiz to win WBA title LAS VEGAS, Aug 13 — Evander Holyfield showed his age yesterday but still came on strong in the final five rounds to capture a close but unanimous decision over unheralded John Ruiz to win the vacant World Boxing Association heavyweight title.

Jyoti finishes joint seventh
KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 13 — Indian champion Jyoti Randhawa shot one under par 71 last round to finish joint seventh as Sweden’s Stephen Lindskog emerged surprise winner in the $ 250,000 Volvo Masters Golf here today.

Henman, Enqvist in Cincinnati final
MASON (Ohio), Aug 13 — Tim Henman Blanked French Open champion Gustavo Kuerten in a third-set tie-breaker to set up a Sunday final against Thomas Enqvist of Sweden at the Tennis Masters Series-Cincinnati.

India ready for task ahead: Bhaskaran

NEW DELHI, Aug 13 (UNI) — Coach of the Sydney-bound hockey team V. Bhaskaran has said a strategy to get the better of all the countries in the India’s pool at the Olympics is firmly in place.

India has played its pool rivals Australia, Korea, Argentina, Spain and Poland in the past and know their game well, he said.

“We will take each match as it comes and have some surprises for tough customers like Korea and Australia,’’ Bhaskaran said in an interview to rediff.Com in which he talked about strengths of the team.

He said the first match against Argentina would be most important one and if the team does not make mistakes and win it would do a world of good to the morale of the players.

“Though Australia can be tough to beat on its home ground we know their game and have some surprises for them,’’ the coach said.

Another hard nut Korea, which specialises in fast passes, the team has a gameplan to counter them, he said.

Against Spain, who beat India 3-5 in January, the team would have to patient as they do not give away many scoring chances, Bhaskaran said.

“Poland too cannot be written-off and team will have to take an early lead as they rely more on defence,’’ the coach said.

“But at each tournament every team comes with a new strategy so I am preparing for different things,’’ he said. Bhaskaran, who had been with the team for nine months, said that such a short time was not ideal enough to prepare for Olympics but expressed satisfaction over what he had achieved in these months.

“The training schedules have been going on well and there is a lot of inter-relation among the boys.’’ the coach said.

At the camps in Bangalore fitness was the thrust area and the efforts have paid dividends, he said.

“A lot of time was spent on endurance, set pieces and psychology sessions,’’ Bhaskaran said.

He said the team’s strengths were good counter attacks. “Samir Dad, Senthil, Baljit Singh Saini, Mukesh Kumar, Baljit Singh Dhillon are fast and they can beat some of the top guys in attack,’’ Bhaskaran said.

He said that the Indian mid-field was best in the world. “Mohammad Riaz, Ramandeep Singh and Thirumalvalam have played together in the past and understanding between them is good,’’ Bhaskaran said. “Tirkey is hitting penalty corners well and in the defence Dirkey Tirkey, Lazarus Barla, Dinesh Nayak are shaping well,’’ he said.

Goalkeepers Jude Menezes and Edward Aloysious have improved and faring well, the coach said.

Though Bhaskaran had, a few months back, dismissed the idea of bringing in foreign experts the Indian Hockey Federation roped in Ranjit Singh from Spain. 

Holyfield beats Ruiz to win WBA title

LAS VEGAS, Aug 13 (Reuters) — Evander Holyfield showed his age yesterday but still came on strong in the final five rounds to capture a close but unanimous decision over unheralded John Ruiz to win the vacant World Boxing Association heavyweight title.

Holyfield became the aggressor during rounds eight through 12 to take the decision by scores of 114-113 on two judges’ cards and 116-112 on the other judge’s card in a fight many observers thought Ruiz had won. The victory by the 37-year-old Holyfield made him the only fighter ever to claim a world heavyweight title for the fourth time.

Holyfield improved to 37-4-1. Ruiz dropped to 36-4.

The championship, however, has a hollow feel since the title was declared vacant by the WBA after it stripped Lennox Lewis of the crown for not making a mandatory defence against Ruiz. Lewis had unified the heavyweight titles by beating Holyfield last November.

Holyfield, a 4-1 favourite, assisted Ruiz’s upset attempt by acting his age during much of the first seven rounds. Holyfield, who turns 38 in two months, was sluggish and his combinations inaccurate and infrequent.

But Ruiz, (28) looked to have punched himself out as Holyfield scored in the later rounds. Two of the three judges had the former undisputed champion winning the final four rounds, and one had him winning five of the last six.

“The guy was awkward,” Holyfield said in defence of his lackluster performance. “Some guys are awkward. You never knew which way they are gonna punch. They lead with their head.”

Holyfield hurt Ruiz with a big right in the third round but never went in for the knockout. In the fourth, he failed to follow up on his advantage and never put any pressure on Ruiz.

At the end of the bout Ruiz had a lump under his left eye and a cut which he sustained in the sixth round over his right eye. He also had bled from the nose.

Ruiz insisted he had clearly won the fight. “I basically controlled the fight. I was the aggressor,’’ said Ruiz, who also complained about the rough treatment handed out by Holyfield in the later rounds.

“He threw everything at me, including elbows, heads, he threw it out there,” said Ruiz. “I’m surprised he didn’t throw a knee.”

Jyoti finishes joint seventh

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 13 (UNI) — Indian champion Jyoti Randhawa shot one under par 71 last round to finish joint seventh as Sweden’s Stephen Lindskog emerged surprise winner in the $ 250,000 Volvo Masters Golf here today.

Jyoti Randhawa, who last month became the only second Indian to qualify for the British Open, started the Volvo Open in a grand style with a five under par 67 first round. He, however, could not sustain that form and the next three rounds of 70,72,71 let him down.

Jyoti who was placed seventh yesterday retained his place this afternoon also for a total eight under 280 to share the seventh slot with American Andrew Pitts. The 28-year-old Indian earned a cheque of $ 6875 for his efforts.

Delhi-based professional Digvijay Singh gave a creditable performance on the last day, firing three under par 69 to total two under 286 (71, 73, 73, 69) and climbed up 22 places-from yesterday’s 43 to end up at 21st-which fetched him a cheque of $ 2775. Calcutta’s Arjun Atwal had a par 72 last round and was placed joint 29 with a tournament total of par 288 (71, 72, 73, 72). Atwal got $ 2150 cheque.

Atwal’s city mate Indrajit Bhalotia had a disastrous last round. He shot six over par 78 to end up 11 over par 299. He was 65th in the field of 67.Bhalotia took home a cheque of $ 625. Sweden’s Lindskog survived a three way play off at the Kota Permai Golf and Country Club.

The 32-year-old Lindskog holed a seven footer at the second extra hole to pip overnight leader Anthony Kang of Korea and Shinichi Akiba (Japan) to the $ 40,375 winning cheque. It was Lindskog’s first victory on the Davidoff tour after winning the 1999 qualifying school. He carded a final round 71 for a 10-under-par 278 total. Starting the final rond five strokes behind Kang, who had led the event for three rounds, the towering Lindskog cruised into contention with a front nine 34 but looked to have blown his title hopes when he stumbled with a double bogey six at the 16th after driving into water. During the second round, the Swede also ran up a six.

But with the laid-back Kang dropping numerous shots-with three successive bogeys from the seventh and two more at the 16th and 17th holes for a disappointing 76, Lindskog forced his way into his first career play-off. The little-known Akiba, playing in the second last group with Lindskog, made it a thrilling three-way battle for the crown with a final day 70. He could have wrapped up an unlikely victory at the first play-off hole at the par five 18th when he missed a glorious birdie chance from six feet after Lindskog and Kang had both parred. At the second extra hole, Kang bogeyed with a poor approach while Akiba could only par.

Serena rallies to beat Hingis

MANAHATTAN BEACH (California), Aug 13 (Reuters) —When hard-hitting Serena Williams turned up the heat, world No 1 and top-seed Martina Hingis wilted and lost her third successive match to the resourceful American.

Williams took a giant step in her defence of the Los Angeles Open title, rallying past Hingis 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 on Saturday to book a spot in the finals of the $ 535,000 event.

The last hurdle for Williams will come in the form of world No 2 Lindsay Davenport, who advanced to Sunday’s final with a 6-4, 6-4 win over 18-year-old Russian Elena Dementiena.

“Tomorrow is going to be tough, a completely different challenge,’’ said Davenport, who trails her career series with Williams 2-4. “I’m almost the underdog, losing to her three times in a row. I’m going to have to go for it a little bit more.’’

Williams said she looked forward to meeting her US Olympic teammate with a title on the line.

“I like playing Lindsay a lot. I know her game really well,” said Williams. “She plays the game most California girls play — hitting hard, very flat, and deep serves.’’

Williams was not satisfied with her play against Hingis.

“I’m not happy with the way I played,” said Williams, who blasted 37 winners — 25 more than Hingis — to go along with 37 unforced errors against the Swiss star in a one-hour, 55-minute tussle.

The fifth-seeded Williams hasn’t been happy with her explosive serve this week and it let her down again on Saturday.

“I didn’t serve well at all,” said Williams, who had seven aces and six double faults. “Usually, if I’m serving bad my whole game is down. But today, I played the No 1 player and I did not serve well, but I was able to come up with the win. That’s most important.’’

Hingis has been working out under hot, humid conditions at her home in Saddler, Florida, and the five-time Grand Slam winner showed surprising strength early in the match before tiring in the steamy weather.

“I could have won the first set 6-1,” said Hingis, who matched fire with fire against the powerful Williams, playing inside the baseline for much of the first set.

But in the second set, Hingis, who lost to Williams here in last year’s semifinals and in the 1999 US Open final, retreated to her customary behind-the-baseline mode of attack.

“I had the strategy the way I had to play her but I couldn’t pull it through the whole match,” she said. “I made a mistake there.

“I kind of had her easily (in the first set) then I tried something different and it wasn’t working anymore maybe because I got tired a little bit,” added Hingis, who made 21 of her 23 unforced errors in the last two sets.

Hingis showed a lack of confidence in her new power style. “I probably still couldn’t believe that I could pull it through all the way,” she said.

After some early jitters, Williams settled down and began to find the mark with her punishing ground strokes.

“Down 1-4 in the first set, I was thinking that’s not your game plan,” said Williams. “I stopped hitting the ball so hard and started moving the ball around a little more.”

In the third set, Williams held a 4-3 lead as the two stayed on serve. Williams got the critical break in the next game when Hingis sprayed a crosscut backhand wide after blowing two game points. The American served out the victory on third match point when Hingis smacked a backhand into the net. 

Henman, Enqvist in Cincinnati final

MASON (Ohio), Aug 13 (Reuters) — Tim Henman Blanked French Open champion Gustavo Kuerten in a third-set tie-breaker to set up a Sunday final against Thomas Enqvist of Sweden at the Tennis Masters Series-Cincinnati.

The 15th-seeded Henman of Britain was unstoppable once the two-hour, 36-minute semifinal against the fourth-seeded Brazilian reached the decisive tie-breaker to finish off for a 6-7 (11-13), 6-4, 7-6 (7-0) win.

“To come to a third-set breaker and win it 7-0 is a good feeling,’’ said Henman, who advanced to his third final of the season. The Briton has four career titles but has lost the last six finals he has played since winning in Basel two years ago.

Seventh seed Enqvist claimed an easy 6-2, 6-2 win over Arnaud Clement of France.

Enqvist, forced to retire in a third-round match last week in Toronto with a right ankle injury, showed no weakness against Clement, who never held a breakpoint against the Swede despite reaching the semifinals without the loss of a set.

In Henman, the Swede will face a red-hot and relaxed foe.

Henman, enjoying a brilliant tournament that has included an upset victory over Grand Slam king Pete Sampras, noted that his run of success has come without the usual large British media contingent that follows him around the world.

“It is kind of ironic that they aren’t here since they watch me play so much,’’ laughed Henman, who imagined most of the British reporters were on summer holidays. “Besides for my coach (David Felgate), the press watch me play the most.

“But it’s kind of nice for me to be able to come to the USA and be slightly less of an interest and highlight. Seeing how I’m doing, perhaps I should recommend they stay away a little more often.’’

Besides reaching his third final of the year, Henman took great satisfaction in defeating Sampras in straight sets on Thursday after losing their six previous encounters.

The serve-and-volleying Briton was particularly pleased that he never dropped serve against Kuerten, despite facing six break points.

After a long match against a tough opponent, Henman was thrilled to take the final tie-breaker without losing a point.

As for Kuerten, he was suffering from a blister on the ring finger of his right hand and contemplated forfeiting the match after having difficulty during practice.

Kuerten, who won his second French Open Crown in June, struggled all week to reach the semifinals.

First, he overcame nauseousness during his second-round match when a long rain delay gave him a chance to recuperate, and he barely survived his quarterfinal against Todd Martin on Friday in a match that also went to a third-set tie-breaker.

Nevertheless, except for the time Kuerten lost his serve in the fifth game of the second set, when his bandaged finger needed to retaped, he was able to compete at a high level. But season’s points leader Kuerten was unable to take advantage of any of the six break point opportunities he had. 

Aussie eves hockey team

SYDNEY, Aug 13 (Reuters) — Rechelle Hawkes has the chance to become only the second Australian woman after swimmer Dawn Fraser to win gold at three Olympics after being named to the country’s hockey team.

Coach Ric Charlesworth named nine Atlanta gold medallists in his team for the Sydney games, which start on September 15.

Hawkes, 33, was in the Australian teams which won gold at Atlanta in 1996 and Seoul in 1988.

“We have three people who can flick and three who can hit in this team so we have got a fair bit of flexibility there,’’ Charlesworth said.

The Australian team is: Kate Allen, Alyson Annan, Lisa Carruthers, Renita Garard, Juliet Haslam, Rechelle Hawkes, Nikki Hudson, Rachel Imison, Clover Maitland, Claire Mitchell-Taverner, Jenny Morris, Alison Peek, Katrina Powell, Angela Skirving, Kate Starre, Julie Towers. 

Sydney countdown — 41

Stephie Graf poised to repeat namesake’s 
gold medal feat
By Andy O’Brien

In Melbourne to preview a National Gallery of Victoria exhibition based on the 1956 Olympics, Clarke said he was astounded by the amount of money spent on Olympic television rights. “The money that’s wasted . . . when you realise that one-third of the television rights goes to the IOC,” he said, adding that the money should be used to encourage young people to play sport. Drawing a sharp contrast between the 1956 and 2000 Olympics, Clarke reminisced about the “beautiful simplicity” of the games in Melbourne 44 years ago. “Forget the 2000 mob, we were better off then,” he said. “We had one doctor and one physio and that was enough – now they’ve got 92 medical staff for the Australian team.” But despite his criticism of the changed Olympic ethos, Clarke said the event was still worthy. He had been to around eight Olympic Games since lighting the cauldron in 1956 and had tickets to several events in Sydney.

Volley of song to say thanks

Thanks for having us, Bondi – now how about a beach concert to farewell the Olympic beach volleyball stadium? ‘A’ Thank you to Bondi show could be staged in the controversial stadium after the games finish on October 1.

Promoters have suggested to Olympic organisers and the local Waverley Council that a “Demolition Concert” and a farewell show be held at the 10,000-seat beach monster, which is now officially completed and was handed over to the Sydney Organising Committee yesterday. Workers are still sifting sand, smoothing out the playing field and rigging up scoreboards and electronic equipment. The best views of the volleyball – and the beach – are available from the back row of seats. But the local council and the residents want the stadium demolished as soon as possible.

The handover cannot come soon enough for the OCA, which has weathered a storm of controversy since the decision to build the $13 million stadium –showcasing Bondi to the world, but restricting public access to the beach. Protesting residents buried themselves in sand in front of bulldozers –sparking claims of selfishness and lack of Olympic spirit – but surfers say the stadium construction has created some of the best rips ever seen at the beach. Council officials yesterday warned of king tides during the Olympics, saying waves could smash into the stadium and practice courts.

Samaranch’s successor?

IOC Vice-President Australia’s Kevan Gosper will pursue his ambition to be President of the International Olympics Committee despite the controversy over his daughter’s involvement in the lighting of the Olympic torch. Gosper says he would still go for the top job if he believed he had sufficient support after the Sydney Games. “My focus is absolutely on a successful games, and we’ll get one. After that’s over and all the dust has settled, if I think I have the support I’ll go for it,” Gosper said. This despite being ordered by the IOC President, Mr Juan Antonio Samaranch, to stay away from some torch celebrations after the public outcry following his daughter, Sophie, being the first Australian to carry the torch.

Despite intense lobbying from Sydney Games officials in the hours before the torch was lit, Australia’s most senior Olympic official let his daughter move ahead of a Sydney schoolgirl, Yianna Souleles, who had been promised the honour of being the first Australian runner. Under the weight of the public outcry, Gosper apologised for his lack of judgment. But that lack was viewed in Olympic circles as killing off any chance he had of becoming President, with Mr Samaranch saying: “He made a big mistake.” In a recent interview with Sky TV, Gosper identified senior IOC members Mr Dick Pound and Dr Jacques Rogge as his main rivals. “I have to think I’m the best person to be the President if I run for it, in the same way as, even though I got run out of the semifinal in the 400m individual event in Melbourne (in1956), at that point I believed I was the best in the world.”

Gosper said he would not be involved in organising another Olympic Games. “I’ve found being on an organising committee the toughest call that I’ve been involved in, and that includes being an Olympic athlete,” he said. — PMG

Pankaj Advani wins; Jaswinder loses

BANGALORE, Aug 13 (PTI) — India’s youngest cueist Pankaj Advani had a fine start against Sri Lankan Tavinne de Croos, winning 4-0 on the opening day of the World under-21 Snooker Championship here today.

Top seed Robert Murphy of Ireland too had a good start with a 4-0 win against Khor Tat Siong (Malaysia), while Jaswinder Singh was tamed by Alistor Wilson (Northern Ireland) 2-4.

The talented, Advani was consistent as he had breaks of 52 and 51 in the best of seven frames in the first match of the group ‘A’ league.

Advani played the game to a plan and did not allow the opponent to recoup at any stage. He snatched the first frame 82-15 and finished the second in a whisker 104-0, which he managed to clear in three visits (2, 3 & 5). He went three up 65-12 and wrapped the last frame 70-14.

Robert Murphy got a 112 points break in the second frame against Malaysia’s Khor Tat Siong 4-0 (49-26, 85-7, 112-0, 100-9).

Murphy’s 112 points is the highest break for the day.

India’s Jaswinder Singh went down to Alistor Wilson 2-4, 44-73, 37-70, 37-64, 80-44, 62-18 and 48-70.

Results: Robert Murphy (Rep. of Ireland) b Khor Tat Siong (Malaysia) 4-0 (49-26, 85-07, 112-0, 100-09); Alistor Wilson (N. Ireland) b Jaswinder Singh (India) 4-2 (73-44, 70-37, 64-37, 44-80, 18-62, 70-48); Brendan O’Donoghue (Rep. of Ireland) b Pasi Jantti (Finland) 4-0 (60-19, 65-31, 55-18, 92-32); Gernit Bij de Leji (Netherlands) b Seinai Warnakula (Sri Lanka) 4-0 (67-30, 84-0, 83-18, 92-07); Rorry Mc Carreil (N. Ireland) b Chris Calabress (Australia) 4-3 (58-72, 56-42, 55-27, 17-86, 35-63, 77-09, 89-0); Kevin Tang (Singapore) b Ngoh Min Choon (Malaysia) 4-0 (73-43, 79-14, 64-13, 73-02); Kobkit Palajin (Thailand) b Ahmes Aly Abdelaal (Egypt) 4-0 (54-12, 90-31, 58-32, 78-17); Arnuparp Putrakul (Thailand) b Imranim S.I.E. Sumit (Egupt) 4-1 (37-60, 73-34, 77-32, 82-33, 72-09); Pankaj Advani (India) b Tavinne de Croos (Sri Lanka) 4-0 (82-15), 104-0, 65-12, 70-14).

Triumphant Ramesh among leaders

AMSTERDAM, Aug 13 (PTI) — International master R.B. Ramesh won a hard-fought victory over Konings of the Netherlands to be among the leaders with two points at the Lost Boys International Open Chess Tournament which also saw compatriots Sunderarajan Kidambi and T.S. Ravi score facile wins.

Im V. Saravanan let Grandmaster Vadim Milov off the hook from an advantageous position to lose the game in the second round yesterday. P. Konguvel was another unfortunate Indian to suffer defeat against a Grandmaster.

Saravanan faced the Sicilian Paulsen variation with white and played agressively right from the start by advancing his Kingside pawns. Milov countered by offering a centre pawn in return for Double Bishop Advantage in an open position.

Though Saravanan looked to be cruising smoothly towards consolidating his material advantage, Milov opened the Whites’ King position himself and used his bishop pair wisely to record a win to leave Saravanan on 1.0 point.

Konguvel faced the ‘G3’ system against his pet Grunfeld defence from GM Paul Van Der Sterren. Paul managed to maintain consistent pressure on the black’s position on the Queenside throughout the early middlegame.

The Indian made a slight error with ‘E6’ to allow Sterren to enter the 7th rank with his Rook and decide the game in his favour in 35 moves.

Ramesh continued his good run trying a new idea in the Kings Indian Petrosian system and couldn’t solve the opening problems successfully. Ramesh then sacrificed a pawn for activating his pieces and in the ensuing complications konings faltered to allow Ramesh win his Queen for a Rook and with it the game in 40 moves.

T.S. Ravi and Kidambi recovered from their first round loss to post comfortable victories over their rivals.

Ravi faced a mixture of Evans Gambit and Guico Piano opening from Hoeven of Netherlands. He won two pawns in the opening and consolidated his position without any difficulty though his opponent had the Bishop pair as compensation.

Ravi gave back a pawn at the right time and scored a methodical victory in 50 moves.

For Kidambi, it was a quick victory with his favourite Gligoric variation against J. Jens. Kidambi sacrificed an exchange to open the position in his favour and won the game comfortably to move to 1.0 point.

Hockey: India may play Holland

NEW DELHI, Aug 13 (PTI) — India are exploring possibilities to rope in world champions Holland for a friendly match during their training-cum-practice tour of Australia at Murwillinbah ahead of their Sydney Olympic Games hockey campaign.

“We have already lined up matches against national teams of England and Canada and will pursue the matter with the Dutch team after we reach there,” Indian Hockey Federation (IHG) sources said here.

Asian Games gold medallists are currently attending the final camp before leaving for Down Under on August 17. The team practiced at the National Stadium sans captain-designate Ramandeep Singh, four senior players and chief coach V Baskaran.

The Indian team, after a morale boosting win over hosts Australia in a pre-olympic hockey tournament earlier this year, is to undergo streneous session at Murwillinbah where it would also play three exhibition matches against local teams.

India, grouped with Australia, Spain, Korea, Poland and Argentina are hoping to at least make it to the semifinal stage.

Edwards pulls out of trials

LONDON, Aug 13 (Reuters) — World triple jump record holder Jonathan Edwards has pulled out of the British Olympic trials, a UK Athletics spokesman has said.

Edwards, who won his event at the golden league meeting in Zurich on Friday night, has an ankle injury and cannot compete today, the BBC reported.

Edwards, who is expected to have a scan on Monday, told the BBC: “A doctor has told me there’s no way I can jump tomorrow.

“That’s it, full stop. I won’t be competing. I feel awful about it but I’ve been told I mustn’t take any risks until the real extent of the problem is known.

“Really, I don’t know how bad it is. But I have to have a scan as quickly as possible. I just feel frustrated. But there is no point constantly worrying about it.’’

The 1995 world champion remained likely to be picked for the British team — provided he can prove his fitness. 

Ex-BCCI chief’s residence raided

MUMBAI, Aug 13 (PTI) — The residence of a former cricket board (BCCI) president was raided by Income Tax authorities and “substantial amount” of jewellery seized and a bank locker sealed.

According to IT officials, who carried out the searches last week, “this was part of a follow-up exercise as we had recovered some documents which gave us a clue”. “We have not yet assessed the jewellery nor searched the locker,” the official said adding that this was the second time the board president’s premises was searched after the countrywide raids carried out last month on cricketers, their relatives, board officials and those connected with the game.

St Francis students steal show
From Our Correspondent

AMRITSAR, Aug 13 — The students of St Francis school stole the show by clinching most of the gold medals on the second day of the fourth open district roller skating, here today.

Kanwar Yuvraj Singh, Keerti Randhawa, Tanveer Minhas and Govindeep Singh bagged four gold medals each in different events.

The results : Rink Race 1 (Under-6 (boys): 1 Bharat Vohra 2 Ankit Kundra 3 Yuvraj Mahajan; 6-8 (boys): 1 Tanveer Minhas 2 Ujjwal Mehra 3 Jasman Singh; 8-10 (boys): 1 Govindeep Singh 2 Gurmehar Singh 3 Jaap Karan Singh; 10-12 (boys): 1 Kanwar Yuvraj Singh 2 Sushant Bansal 3 Chaksu Jain; 12-14 (boys): 1 Shubhkaran Singh 2 Bikramjit Singh 3 Arundeep Sidhu and Parambeer Ghuman (joint) above-14 (boys): Gurinder Bath 2 Anil Kumar 3 Mukesh Kumar; under 6: (girls): 1 Janki Bhrany 2 Shreya Tuli 3 Alisha Monga; 6-8 girls: 1 Keerti 2 Gursakhi Lugani 3 Abhra Arora; 8-10 girls: 1 Karmika 2 Shipra Nayyar 3 Niyati Kapoor; 10-12 girls: 1 Sahiba 2 Richa 3 Prabhleen Dua; 12-14 girls: 1 Ira Dhawan 2 Kangan Mahajan 3 Samriti Singh; above-14 girls: 1 Hind Sandhu 2 Anuradha Vashisht 3 Shivani Sharma.

Rink race II: U-6 (boys): 1 Bharat Vohra, 2 Ankit Kundra; 6-8 (boys) 1 Tanveer Minhas, 2 Ujjwal Mehra; 6-8 (girls): 1 Keerti Randhawa, 2 Gursakhi Lugani; 8-10 (boys): 1 Govindeep Singh, 2 Jaap Karan Singh; 8-10 (girls) 1 Shipra Nayyar, 2 Karmika; 10-12 (boys): 1 Kanwar Yuvraj, 2 Sushant Bansal; 10-12 (girls): 1 Sahiba, 2 Richa; 12-14 (boys): 1 Shubkaran Singh, 2 Bikramjit Singh; 12-14 (girls): 1 Ira Dhawan, 2 Kangan Mahajan; above-14 (boys): 1 Gurminder Bath, Ashutosh Rampal; above-14 (girls): 1 Hina Sandhu, 2 Samriti Bhushan.

Road race: under-6 (boys): 1 Bharat Vohra, 2 Ankit Kundra; 6-8 (boys): 1 Tanveer Minhas, 2 Kanwardeep Singh; 6-8 (girls): Keerti Randhawa, 2 Abhra Arora; 8-10 (boys): 1 Govindeep Singh, 2 Japkaran Singh; 8-10 (girls): 1 Shipra Nayyar, 2 Karmika; 10-12 (boys): 1 Kanwar Yuvraj, 2 Sushant Bansal; 10-12 (girls): 1 Richa, 2 Gurinder Kaur; 12-14 (boys): 1 Shubkaran Singh, 2 Bikramjit; 12-14 (girls): 1 Kangan Mahajan and Ira Dhawan, 2 Samriti Singh; above-14 (boys): 1 Gurminder Bath, 2 Ashutosh; above-14 (girls): 1 Hina Sandhu; 2 Simriti Bhushan.

REGIONAL SPORT BRIEFS

Rai school swimmers overall champs

CHANDIGARH, Aug 13 (TNS) — Moti Lal Nehru Sports School Rai emerged the overall champion in men and women sections in the 34th Haryana State Swimming Championship which concluded at the Swimming pool of War Heroes Memorial Stadium, Ambala Cantt, today.

Rajinder Singh of Bhiwani and Kirandeep Kaur of Panchkula clinched the title of best swimmers. Kirandeep also set a new record in women 100m free style event.

The results:

100m breast stroke men; 1, Rajinder Bhiwani 3, Gulzar Mehta Ambala 2, Anil Hisar 3.

100m breast stroke women: Kirandeep Kaur Panchkula 1, Rupali MNS Rai 2, Anshul MNS Rai 3.

100m breast stroke boys group 1: Jagdish Hisar 1, Vijay MNS Rai, 2 Vinod Jind 3.

100m breast stroke boys group 2: Parveen Kumar Sirsa 1, Ajay Rai, 2 Sandeep Rai 3.

100m breast stroke girls group II. Vasundhra Singh Gurgaon 1, Ritu MNS Rai 2, Preeti MNS Rai 3.

100m breast stroke boys gourp III:- Pankaj Chauhan Panchkula 1, Aaditya Rai 2, Ram Phal Jind 3.

100m breast stroke girls group III:- Surbhi MNS Rai 1, Anuradha Gurgaon 2, Monika MNS Rai 3.

200m Ind. medlay men Rajinder Bhiwani 1, Gulzar Mehta Ambala 2, Joginder Gurgaon 3.

Cricket trials

BATALA, Aug 13 (FOC) — The trials to select the Gurdaspur district under-19 cricket team will be held on August 20 at S.L. Bawa DAV College grounds. The team will take part in the Punjab state inter-district tournament for Dhruv Pandove Memorial Cricket Trophy organised by the Punjab Cricket Association, according to the president, Gurdaspur District Cricket Association.

Players born on or after September 1, 1981 will be eligible for the trials.