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| Thursday, October 19, 2000, Chandigarh, India   
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Players’ revolt ends as
board backs Miandad
Fresh recommendations on Pak players sought Indo-Pak series
in Malaysia 2002 Asia Cup
to have six teams Walsh for Australia tour |
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Fans livid over
anti-Ganguly poster
Krushmi lone seed
to be ousted Monica rallies to beat Shruti Dogra’s ton rescues
Himachal Squad for jr world
athletic meet Gaurav Ghei emerges
sole leader Kenya, B’desh teams
likely to participate Randhawa leads
rankings
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Players’ revolt ends as board backs Miandad KARACHI, Oct 18 (Reuters) — The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) threw its weight behind coach Javed Miandad today, ending a seven-player revolt that had threatened the start of next week’s internationals with England. The players were upset because of a dispute with Miandad over how to distribute prize money the team won for reaching the semifinals of the ICC Knockout Trophy this month in Kenya. But PCB chairman Tauqir Zia announced the protest had ended after he held a two-hour discussion with the seven players. Zia said that while he accepted that the players had cricketing grievances with Miandad, it was not up to them what he was paid. “The players’ argument on what should be his professional fee or if he should not have a share in prize money is weightless. It is not the players’ but the board’s discretion what contract they offer to the coach,” he told a press conference. “If the players have to revolt, they should do it against the board because it was the board that appointed him,” he said. Seven players, comprising skipper Moin Khan, Wasim Akram, Saeed Anwar, Waqar Younis, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Ijaz Ahmad and Saqlain Mushtaq had rebelled against Miandad over the money dispute. “I would support Javed Miandad as coach because I have appointed him. His words are final. He is a seasoned cricketer with a lot of experience behind him,” Zia said. Khan said: “The problem has been sorted out. What happened between the four walls and under the roof is confidential.” Miandad, a former captain who holds Pakistan’s record for Test runs, said he was upset with news of the protest and unhappy the players went to the board instead of him. “The players didn’t tell me that they were unhappy with me. I had a meeting with the PCB boss but I haven’t talked to the players.” Zia also said he was upset that dressing room problems had become public. “The team is like a family and in any family, there can be several problems. But that doesn’t mean that each time there is a trouble, the players should go to the media,” he said. “It would have avoided a needless controversy on the eve of a prestigious series against England,” Zia said. England open their first tour of Pakistan in 13 years on October 24 with the first of three one-day internationals. Miandad’s first term as coach ended in controversy when he resigned on the eve of last year’s World Cup after a verbal clash with his players in Sharjah. |
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Match-fixing charges
against Akram, others LONDON, Oct 18 (PTI) — The International Cricket Committee has asked the chairman of its Code of Conduct Commission Lord Hugh Griffiths to make recommendations whether five Pakistani cricketers, including former captain Wasim Akram, who have been fined by a judicial inquiry for a variety of misdemeanours, should face stronger punishment. Akram, Mushtaq Ahmed, Saeed Anwar, Inzamam-ul Haq and Waqar Younis — all of whom are in the team for the three one-day internationals and three-Test home series against England starting later this month — have been fined by the one-man inquiry commission headed by Justice Qayyum in match-fixing allegations in Pakistan. By passing the buck back to the eminent former British judge on the controversial issue, delegates from the 10 Testplaying nations ensured that the two-day meeting of ICC, which ended at Nairobi yesterday, remained peaceful, The Times reported today. Lord Griffiths, who in his interim report on corruption prevelant in the game has said the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) intends to act tough on the issue, has been asked to seek further information before preparing a final report. Meanwhile, chairman of the England Cricket Board Lord Maclurian today played down his differences with the PCB over corruption in the game in that country, The Times said. “I am very pleased that England are back in Pakistan and there is no question of anyone being ineligible to play against us,” Lord Maclurian was quoted by the daily as saying. “I said in advance of the meeting (ICC meeting in Nairobi) that anyone whose honesty in the past had been in doubt or who did not co-operate fully with the judicial inquiry in Pakistan should be suspended until their innocence was proved or otherwise... |
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Indo-Pak series
in Malaysia KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 18 (UNI) — The Malaysian capital might be the host of a hockey series between India and Pakistan. The choice of Kuala Lumpur as the venue of the series came up as Indian and Pakistani officials sought ways to revive the Test series, last played in 1999 after a gap of 10 years. Officials quoted by the local media here said that Malaysia would be an ideal choice for such a “lucrative” event, as “the fans there would come out in throngs to watch India and Pakistan play,” adding that such an event would also be a major promotional vehicle for World Cup 2002. The officials said that the idea is to take the Test series to least three cities in Malaysia and close it with a three-nation tournament involving Malaysia at the Bukit Jalil Hockey Stadium, venue for World Cup 2002. Both India and Pakistan would be looking for international exposure as both prepare for important assigments next year. India play in the qualifier for the 2002 World Cup in Scotland, while Pakistan will host Champions Trophy in Lahore next October. |
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2002 Asia Cup
to have six teams SHARJAH, Oct 18 (PTI) — The 2002 Asia Cup will feature six teams from the region as the Asian Cricket Council
(ACC) aims to make Asia the best cricket playing continent by the year 2005. The Development Committee of the acc, headed by former Sri Lankan captain Duleep Mendis has mapped out a number of initiatives to achieve the dream, acc sources said. Besides the four Test playing nations — India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh — two finalists of the acc tournament in 2002, will compete in the regional event. The Asian Test Championship will be held three times before 2005 with all the four Asian Test playing nations taking part, the sources said. There will be 12 teams in the biennial Youth Asia Cup, starting next year. As part of acc’s efforts to take the game to wider areas, it has also planned to have under-15 and u-17 tournaments annually. The committee, made up of four Test playing countries in Asia, has representatives from the United Arab Emirates (Mazhar Khan), Singapore (Anil Kalavar), Malaysia (P. Krishnasamy) and Nepal (J. Shah). |
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BRIDGETOWN, Oct 17 (Reuters) — West Indies confirmed that Courtney Walsh would continue his international career when the veteran fast bowler was named in the tour squad for Australia today. Fast bowlers Colin Stuart, Marlon Black and Kerry Jeremy have been selected for their first senior West Indian tour in the party of 16. West Indies play five Tests against Australia during their itinerary starting on November 7. Tour squad: Jimmy Adams (captain), Sherwin Campbell (vice-captain), Darren Ganga, Wavell Hinds, Brian Lara, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Ridley Jacobs, Courtney Browne, Courtney Walsh, Nixon McLean, Mervyn Dillon, Colin Stuart, Marlon Black, Mahendra Nagamootoo, Kerry Jeremy. |
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Fans livid over anti-Ganguly poster CALCUTTA, Oct 18 (IANS) — A poster of Indian cricket captain Sourav Ganguly garlanded with shoes and empty liquor bottles has enraged cricket lovers here, who have threatened an agitation if the police does not arrest the “offenders” within 48 hours. Admirers of Ganguly are furious that “some ignorant followers of the game” had insulted him for the country’s defeat against New Zealand in the ICC Knockout Tournament in Kenya, touted as a mini World Cup, last Sunday. The sullied poster had been hung at a street corner in the Gopalnagar-Alipore area of southern Calcutta. Two days after the defeat a prominent vernacular daily published the photograph of the sullied poster of Ganguly, along with an article asking whether the “prince of Calcutta,” as he is known here, deserved such treatment. Ever since, the city’s cricketing fraternity here has been livid at the denigration of Ganguly, whose individual brilliance had shown all through the tourney, despite the loss in the finals. Members of a Ganguly fan club lost no time in organizing a protest rally at the spot where the poster had been put up. “At this moment Bengalis are lagging behind in every sphere. Sourav is a glorious exception. The insult to him is an insult to the Bengali race. We have to build up a public opinion against such vilification,” Mr Sadananda Das, president of the Behala Club, told the rally. About 300 Ganguly fans came in trucks to attend the meeting. Thereafter, Mr Das led a delegation to the local police station where a memorandum was submitted urging the police to arrest the “culprits” within 48 hours. “Otherwise, we will launch an agitation. If need be we will put up road blocks in the Alipore and Behala areas,” he warned. Ganguly hails from the Behala area which is in turmoil over the incident. However, the local clubs of Gopalnagar-Alipore area have denied that any poster degrading Ganguly had been put up. Members of the Golden Club and Kalyan Sangha in the area have charged vernacular daily ‘Bartaman’ with falsely claiming that the photograph of the garlanded poster was taken in Gopalnagar. They said there was no question of insulting Ganguly. “If we had to garland him, it would have been with flowers despite the defeat,” a Golden Club member said. Ganguly’s father, Mr Chandi Ganguly, has been deeply hurt because of the photograph. “I don’t believe Calcuttans will insult him this way. Maharaj (Ganguly’s nick name) has given Calcutta a new identity. Besides, he played well in the final. Maybe he made a couple of mistakes as captain, but that’s part of the game. I don’t believe anybody will garland him with shoes. But even if one person has done this, I don’t think Maharaj should play cricket anymore,” Mr Chandi Ganguly was quoted as saying. Despite Ganguly’s century in the final against New Zealand, there are no two opinions among cricket connoisseurs that even though the team has vastly improved under his stewardship, the Nairobi final was not without blemish in so far as the captain’s running between the wickets and use of bowlers was concerned. |
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Tyson wins war of words with Golota AUBURN HILLS (Michigan), Oct 18 (Reuters) — It wasn’t particularly pretty but Mike Tyson won a unanimous decision in the war of words and posturing against Andrew Golota. First, there was the obligatory stare-down photo opportunity before the news conference yesterday. Tyson won that one going away when Golota, known for his nervousness before and during fights, showed up in sunglasses inside the cavernous Palace Arena, where they are scheduled, but unlikely, to go at it for 10 rounds on Friday. An ashen-faced Golota looked silly and intimidated wearing the glasses. Obviously, he didn’t want Tyson or anyone else to see his eyes when the two men stood chest-to-chest as flashbulbs fired. Then Tyson, moved even closer. Golota, at 6’-5” and 109 kg towered over the barely 5’-10’’, 104 kg Tyson. Yet it was Tyson who was the more imposing. Tyson could have been talking about that moment when he responded later to a question about his thoughts of fighting a much bigger man. “To me he’s a little boy,’’ the former undisputed heavyweight champion said. “What is he 6-5, 240 pounds? To me he’s very small.’’ Tyson appeared relaxed and often smiled as he sat through the news conference, except for what has become his obligatory racial outburst. Tyson even intimidated co-promoter Dan Goosen, who said that Golota was not going to talk while on the dais. Goosen asked Tyson to come to the microphone. But Tyson, wagging his finger in the direction of Goosen and the shy Pole, said: “No. I want to hear what he has to say.’’ Goosen capitulated, saying Tyson was correct, that it was only fair to have Golota speak. Reluctantly, Golota said: “I’ve trained for this fight hard and I will bring my best ability.’’ In mocking falsetto, apparently aimed at what he hoped Golota would be saying during the fight, Tyson burst out with: “No, no, Mike. No, no.’’ Then, Tyson said to the audience, “I’m sorry.’’ The 32-year-old Golota, who has worked hard at improving his English, which is really quite good, remains insecure in speaking it and just sat there. Later, when asked his feelings about the fight, which is generally perceived as a last chance to revive his career after a history of failure in big fights, Golota said he is, “very disappointed it’s not a fight for a title. It seems like a semifinal.’’ Both the 35-4 Golota and Tyson (48-3 and one no contest) hope a victory on Friday will lead to a title fight either against evander Holyfield, who holds a somewhat devalued World Boxing Association title, or Lennox Lewis, generally considered the undisputed champion with his World Boxing Council and International Boxing Federation championships. Once again, as he has become increasingly prone to do, Tyson, 34, twisted a question to fit his need for a racial angle. A reporter asked Tyson about his history of fouls, which infamously includes earning a disqualification against Holyfield for biting him twice. “I’ve never did anything he’s never done in the ring,’’ Tyson said referring to Golota, who once bit an opponent. “Ask him.’ “I’m asking you.’’ “Well, ask him, white boy,’’ Tyson fired back. Once again it was the questioner’s fault for addressing the man who is the main attraction in a fight for which an army of publicists are attempting to get attention. “I’m insecure about that race (expletive),’’ Tyson whined. “Ask him. Why does some white boy have some words for me? “He had to bring that negativeness out in me. Now all they’re gonna write about me is that.’’ After that time out for his racist message, Tyson and Golota got back to the issue at hand. What about the fear factor? Tyson: “I’m not afraid of anything, a knife, gun, Mafia or anything.’’ Golota: “I’m always afraid before every fight. This is boxing. I’m not afraid of him.’’ And then Golota said about his penchant for throwing low blows, which cost him two disqualifications against Riddick Bowe: “Low punches happened before but in this case it’s impossible.’’ Tyson, summoning his best street tough persona when asked how long he thought the fight would go, said: “As long as it takes to kill somebody.’’ It seems that someone quietly had gotten to Golota because at the end of the media session when he and Tyson posed for more nose-to-nose pictures, Golota was smiling and had taken off his sunglasses. But Tyson, not particularly with any grace, had already taken the news conference by unanimous decision. |
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PARIS, Oct 18 (AFP) — Real Madrid Beat Bayer Leverkusen 5-3 in a topsy-turvy European Champions League thriller to earn their place in the second phase of the competition yesterday. Defending champions Madrid, eight-time winners, thereby kept up their relentless march in an event that has been indelibly imprinted by themselves over the years. Frenchman Robert Pires scored a late goal to earn Arsenal a 1-1 draw at Lazio to earn qualification from group B and Valencia also went through after their 2-1 group C victory at Lyon. Leverkusen did well to stay in their group A match and were only a goal down with a quarter-hour left against the giants of European football. Guti put them ahead on four minutes from a cross from the right by Raul though Thomas Brdaric put the visitors on level terms with 20 minutes gone. Ivan Helguera put Madrid back in front, ulf Kirsten equalized before Guti and Raul made it 4-2 to Madrid. Paulo Rink then pulled a goal back for Leverkusen before Luis Figo converted a late penalty. Madrid coach Vicente Del Bosque said afterwards: “I’m delighted we have secured our place in the second round which was the main thing. I was also extremely happy with our style of play and the result was a fair reflection of the match. “There were errors from both sides, reflected in the scoreline but I prefer not to talk about weak points. We managed to qualify which was the main thing.” “I’m not arguing with the result but I think we missed several chances,” Daum said. Fittingly, it was a move by 56-million-dollar man Figo which essentially killed off the match. He dazzled Jorg Reeb on the edge of Leverkusen’s area with his typically high level of skill and earned a penalty when Reeb fouled him. He then sent the keeper the wrong way to seal the win. In the same group A, Spartak Moscow won 3-0 at Sporting Lisbon with an own goal by Dimas and two second half strikes from Yegor Titov. Pires snatched a priceless 1-1 draw for Arsenal against Lazio who failed to extract revenge for their Highburg defeat. |
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SAIDA (Lebanon), Oct 18 (AFP) — Japan confirmed their role as soccer Asian Cup favourites here yesterday, annihilating Uzbekistan with a record-equalling 8-1 win to clinch group C as Saudi Arabia eked out a 0-0 draw with Qatar. While Japan looked every inch champions in waiting, the defending ones Saudi Arabia looked anything but champions as they scrambled a point against one of the regions’ minnows. The draw left them third in the group but they could well finish second as they play Uzbekistan in Friday’s final group match. Qatar coach Dzemal Hadziabdic, who has guided his side to two draws thus far, put it nicely when he was asked how he would handle their final match with Japan. “We might not turn up” he said. Hat-tricks from Akinori Nishizawa — who also missed a penalty — and young strike partner Naohiro Takahara plus one apiece from Hiroaki Morishima and Hideaki Kitajima gave the 1992 Asian Cup champions their second successive romp following the 4-1 defeat of Saudi Arabia on Saturday. The win equalled the record for most goals scored by one team in the finals of the Asian Cup, Iran having beaten Yemen 8-0 in the 1976 tournament. Japan’s French coach Philippe ‘the white witch doctor’ Troussier talked about trying to find a magic potion for motivating his players on Monday. It appears that somebody delivered it early yesterday morning. “I think I have retained some magic after my spell in Africa,” he said. “We are happy and surprised and we would not like to say it was too easy but at the beginning of the tournament I was not sure whether we were ready or not but today the players showed me that we were.” “Somedays the sky is blue and sometimes it is grey — today it shone very blue,” the 45-year-old added. Uzbek coach Yury Sarkisian, who has only been in charge for three months, was left sitting in disbelief for several minutes after the final whistle and failed to show at the post-match Press conference. It was left to Troussier to express his hope that his side had not caused another managerial casualty following the dismissal of Saudi coach Milan Macala on Sunday. “It’s a pity if after every match we play a coach gets the sack,” he said. “I think the opposition chiefs should also acknowledge when the winners have deserved it and played too well for their side,” he added. Morishima started the rout just three minutes after Nishizawa had missed his penalty when he shot into an unguarded net after Shunsuke Nakamura had his shot blocked. From then on it was the Nishizawa and Takahara show as the latter’s low cross set up his partner for the second goal. Takahara got off the mark with a header in the 18th minute and added his second — Japan’s fourth — speeding on to Toshihro Hattori’s perceptive long ball and lashing it into the far corner. Five minutes later the shell-shocked Uzbek ‘keeper’ Pavel Bugalo — who had been fortunate to stay on the pitch when he was only booked for bringing down Takahara for the earlier penalty — was picking the ball out of the net again as Morishima’s cross was headed home by 24-year-old Nishizawa. The 21-year-old Takahara, who has virtually got a ratio of a goal a match for Japan, should have scored twice more before the break, but instead it was the Uzbeks who finally broke their duck as Sergei Lushan header in from a corner. Both Nishizawa and Takahara quickly sealed their hat-tricks in the second-half the former producing a spectacular diving header for number six and then an unmarked Takahara turned and shot past Bugalo into the far corner. Kitajima, who came on for Takahara just after the latter had completed his hat-trick, wrapped it up after waltzing through the Uzbek defence to round the keeper and score. While Saudi Arabia, World Cup finalists in 1994 and 1998, had the majority of possession it was Qatar who went closest to scoring with two second-half opportunities. Abdulnasser Al Obaidly hit the bar with a cracking free kick from edge of the area while Jassim Al-Tamimi made a real hash of his chance as he completely missed the ball with the goal at his mercy. |
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Kiwis gear up for SA challenge JOHANNESBURG, Oct 17 (Reuters) — New Zealand will be totally united during their forthcoming Test and one-day international series against South Africa, skipper Stephen Fleming said today. Fleming, speaking in Johannesburg, said: “We have really developed our culture a lot from our last visit.” “Last time we were split between the team and the administrators, now we’re very much one.” The New Zealanders play the first of six one-day internationals against South Africa in Potchefstroom on Friday before the three-Test series begins next month. New Zealand’s 1994 tour of South Africa was dogged by reports of disunity and ill-discipline. Following the tour Fleming, Matthew Hart and Dion Nash were suspended for three one-day internationals after admitting smoking marijuana at a cricket function. Fleming added: “We’ve developed our...appreciation of the traditions and history of the game and our respect for New Zealand cricket.” His team arrives in high spirits after winning the ICC Knockout Trophy in Kenya, their first major tournament victory, and a 2-0 Test series victory in Zimbabwe. “We are confident at the moment,” said Fleming. “We know South Africa will be a tough challenge at home but we are aware of what we have to do.” “We will try and place them under pressure and see how they react.” Allrounder Chris Cairns is still awaiting the results of a scan on an injured knee but was expected to continue playing, said coach Jeff Crowe. The first Test begins in Bloemfontein on November 17. |
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Krushmi lone seed to be ousted NEW DELHI, Oct 18 (UNI) — Maharashtra girl Krushmi Chheda was the lone seeded player to be upset on the second day of the DSCL Open National Junior Championships today as other seeded players posted straight-set victories to proceed to the pre-quarterfinals. Sixth-seeded Krushmi, playing in the sub-junior section against Delhi’s Parul Goswami, could not drive home the advantage of taking the first set, which she clinched in a tie-break, as she lost the next two to go down in the opening round. The unseeded Parul gave a wonderful example of solid tennis and determination as she won the match 6-7 (5), 6-4, 6-4 in three hours and five minutes, the longest match of the day. Parul now clashes with Shardha Lodha for a quarterfinal berth. Other seeds moving today were second-seeded Isha Lakhani, third-seed Priyanka Parekh and eighth-seeded Neha Singh. While Isha, who is from Maharashtra, moved past Mansi Jharna 6-0, 6-1, Priyanaka beat Chandigarh’s Satvika Saboo 6-2, 6-1. Neha, however, had to struggle a bit in her 7-6 (6), 6-1 victory over Nidhi Shah (Mah). All the first-round matches in the boys’ under-16 and girls’ under-14 matches were played yesterday. In the boys’ under-14 category, the other section where matches were played today, four seeded players won their encounters today. These included second-seeded Anshuman Dutta of Assam who beat Tamil Nadu’s Anant Bhaskar 6-1, 6-2 and fourth seed Ajay Selvaraj (TN) who breezed past fellow Tamil Nadu boy M Hariprasad 6-0, 6-1. Also proceeding were fifth-seeded Keshev Narsimhan of Maharashtra who defeated Haryana’s Jitin Bishnoi 6-4, 6-4 and seventh seed Tushaar Liberhan of Chandigarh who ran over Arjun Vijayaraghava (AP) 6-2, 6-3. In yesterday’s matches, eighth-seeded Nehal Advani was the lone seeded player to go out in the sub-junior boys’ section, losing to Maharashtra’s Karan Rastogi 3-6, 1-6. In the girls’ under-16 section, seventh-seeded Mansi Modi was the only seed to fall out. However, the mini-junior boys’ section saw three upsets yesterday with top-seeded Vijaysunder Prashant (TN), third-seeded R Vasudevan (TN) and eighth-seeded Somdeep Apineni (AP) crashing out. |
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Monica rallies to beat Shruti
GWALIOR, Oct 18 (PTI) — Paraguay’s Monica Acosta rallied brilliantly to shock an in-form Indian Shruti Dhawan in five sets, while top seeds Sai Jayalakshmi and the Netherlands’ Andrea Van Den Hurk moved into the quarterfinals of the ITF Women’s Circuit Tennis Tournament here today. Monica, who yesterday beat Samrita Sekhar, was down 1-4 4-2 1-4 against Shruti before she pulled off a stunning display of tennis to take the remaining two sets 4-1 4-1 for a place in the last eight. The Paraguyan now squares off against Rushmi Chakravarthi who despatched off Sheetal Gautham in straight sets. National hardcourt champion Rushmi struggled a bit in the first set before winning 5-3 4-1 4-0 against her compatriot. The top two seeds — Sai and Andrea — meanwhile kept up their forward march in contrasting styles. Former national champion Sai needed five sets to stave off the challenge of Geeta Manohar while Andrea outclassed Jyotsana Vasisth in straight sets. Sai won 4-0 3-5 4-1 2-4 4-0 for a place in the quarter-final against Sonal Phadke, while Andrea scored an easy 4-2 4-1 4-1 win against the American of Indian origin. |
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NEW DLEHI, Oct 18 (UNI) — A solid 110 by Paras Dogra and his 93-run eighth wicket partnership with Mohan Singh enabled Himachal Pradesh score 293 before being all out against Delhi on the opening day of the three-day North Zone Cooch Behar(U-19) cricket tournament here today. Electing to bat, Himachal Pradesh started poorly losing five wickets for just 74 runs, but Paras Dogra, who came after four wickets had fallen for 56 runs, batted with confidence and steadied the innings as he along with Prince Angaria added 63 runs for the sixth wicket. Angaria scored 21 runs with the help of three boundaries as he batted for 73 minutes. Paras then had another useful partnership of 40 runs with Prashant Kumar for the 7th wicket to take the score to 177. Prashant was run out when he was on 23. He hit three boundaries during his 54 minute stay at the crease. It was the 93 run stand between Paras and Mohan Singh which bolstered the Himachal innings. Brief scores: |
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Squad for jr world
athletic meet PATIALA, Oct 18 — A six-member junior Indian athletic squad, comprising four boys and two girls, will take part in the eighth IAAF Coca Cola sponsored World Junior Athletic championships slated to be held at Santiago [Chile] from October 19 to 22. Patiala based Dronacharya awardee and coach incharge of the junior national athletic squad Mr J.S. Saini will accompany the squad as chief coach. The team: Girls : Seema Antil [400m hurdles] and Sapinder Kaur [400m and 400m hurdles] Meanwhile, according to AAFI sources, the two-day South Asian Athletic Federation [SAAF] meet earlier scheduled to be held at New Delhi on October 16 and 17, has been posponed indefinately. The postponment has been necessitated because of the grim flood situation in Bangladesh. It was on the request of the Bangladesh Athletic Federation that the meet has been postponed by a few weeks. Bangladesh was one of the participating countries in the meet. Although the venue of the meet will remain the same the rescheduled dates will be announced shortly by the
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Gaurav Ghei emerges
sole leader GURGAON, Oct 18 — Gaurav Ghei, the man desperately trying to convert his top-five finishes into a title victory this season, served a notice regarding his form when he shot a four under 68 on the second day of the Rs 8-lakh HT ProGolf 2000 and took sole possesion on top of the leaderboard at DLF Golf and Country club course today. Ghei’s 68 put his two-day tally at 10-under 134 which was one stroke better than Jyoti Randhawa’s nine-under 135 Randhawa shot a two under 70 today Jaipur’s Vishal Singh displayed great consistency in form and shot his second successive four-under 68 to take the third place at eight-under 136 Arjun Atwal moved up the leaderboard after a second-round 68 and was placed fourth at five-under 139 Harmeet Kahlon and Rafiq Ali were at tied fifth place at three-under 141. Randhawa has made it a fine art of turning his bad rounds into sub-par ones. Wednesday was not different as he struggled with his game and yet managed to bring in a card of two under 70. Starting from the 10th tee, Jyoti made a bogey on the 12th but then nailed his approach shot on the par -5 14th to one feet for a birdie. On the back nine, he made a 10-footer birdie putt on the sixth, but bogied the seventh to be level par for the day. On the par-5 eighth, Randhawa reached the green in two and made an eagle to finish at two under. “Both my long as well as short game were in a bad shape today”. Vishal made two early bogies in his round-on the 11th and 13th after starting from the 10th — but was a picture of consistency thereafter. The highlight of his round was the birdie on the 12th hole which sandwiched his bogies and where he drained a superb 25-footer putt. He followed that with further birdies on 15th, 17th, fifth, sixth and eighth holes. Scores (after 36 holes) 134 Gaurav Ghei (66,68): 135 Jyoti Randhawa (65,79); 136 Vishal Singh (68,68): 139 Arjun Atwal (71,68): 141 Rafiq Ali (70,71): Harmeet Kahlon (66,75): 143 SSP Chowarasia (74,69): 144 Gurki Shergil (75,69), Shiv Prakash (71,73): 145 Basad Ali (71,74), Jumman (72,73), Sanjay Kumar (75,70), 146 Dinesh Raghuvanshi (75, 71),Ranjit Singh (74,72), Pappan (73,73), Amandeep Johl (72,74), Dinesh Kumar (75,71), PS Guleria (74,72), KPS Sekhon (73,73). Amateurs 157: Manav Jaini (79,78), 170 Aditya Singh (79,91); 178 Madan Verma (92,86). |
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Kenya, B’desh teams
likely to participate CHANDIGARH, Oct 18 — Subject to clearance by the Government of India, teams from Kenya, Bangladesh and Pakistan would participate in the 25th Liberals Hockey Tournament to be held in December, Mr Rupinder Singh Grewal, secretary, Liberals Hockey Tournament committee, announced here today. Mr Grewal, a former international himself, has recently been elected secretary of committee. According to Mr G.S. Bains, president of the committee, 32 top teams of the country, including Indian Airlines, Western Railways, Air India, Bharat Petroleum, Punjab Police, Punjab and Sind Bank, CRPF, RCF, Central Railway, Northern Railway, Air India Academy, CISF and Punjab and Sind Bank Academy, have been invited to take part. Mr Grewal said that teams from Bangladesh and Kenya have confirmed their participation while participation of Pakistan team from Lahore would depend on clearance from the government. The tournament committe has decided to award a cash prize of Rs 40,000 to the winners and Rs 25,000 for runners-up. Mr Grewal said that main attraction of the opening and closing ceremony of the tournament would be fireworks and a cultural programme. The final match would be covered live. The committee has also decided to fecilitate five members of the Indian Olympic hockey team. They are Ramandeep Singh, Baljit Singh Saini, Baljit Singh Dhillon, Gagan Ajit Singh and Sukhbir Singh Gill. |
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Randhawa leads
rankings NEW DELHI, Oct 18 — Jyoti Randhawa of Delhi maintains his lead after six events on the PGA India Tour 2000-20001 in the Mahindra Golf Rankings. Randhawa is in line for the top prize of Rs 8.5 lakh as he has built up a good lead to win the coveted Mahindra Champion Golfer of the Year award. He has collected 70 points so far. Closing in on Randhawa, with nine points separating them, is former champion Vijay Kumar of Lucknow. Randhawa takes his early season winnings to Rs 5.8 lakhs and Vijay Kumar to Rs 3.7 lakh. On the APGA Tour, Randhawa has won US $ 1.4 lakh from 13 events. Rahul Ganapathi of Mysore and V Jayachandran of Chennai continue to lead the Mahindra Rookie and Putter Rankings. |
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