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| Wednesday,
November 29, 2000, Chandigarh, India   
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Campbell, A. Flower
bolster Zimbabwe Azharuddin pleads
innocence Former Indian cricket captain Mohammad Azharuddin
(left) is accompanied by a security officer as he leaves the staff entrance of the Taj Man Singh hotel following a hearing with cricket board officials
on Tuesday. Azharuddin could face a possible life ban for alleged match-fixing.— AFP
photo McGrath sets sights
on 500-wkt mark |
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Indian Oil get
past CRPF PU down
Osmania; GND university held Chandigarh’s loss is
Punjab’s gain Akram set for 100th Test
appearance Safin, Kuerten ready for ‘duel of generations’ Model behind Lara’s
slump? Punjab eves
kho-kho champions Sukhbir to
lead Commonwealth
TT in Delhi VC opens basketball
tourney
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Campbell, A. Flower bolster Zimbabwe NAGPUR, Nov 28 (PTI) — Zimbabwe were in with a good chance to save the second cricket Test against India, having wiped off a huge first inning deficit of 227 runs for a net lead of 11 with seven wickets in hand at stumps on the penultimate day of the match here today. Forced to follow on, Zimbabwe were in dire straits, losing three wickets for only 61 but then Alistair Campbell and Andy Flower, both batting in their eighties, launched a massive salvage operation to take their side past the first innings deficit of 227. Off-spinner Sharandeep Singh was the only successful Indian bowler in Zimbabwe’s second innings, capturing all the three wickets for 76 runs while the other bowlers toiled hard on a lifeless wicket. Zimbabwe resumed their first innings at overnight score of 359 for six, still needing 51 runs to make India bat again. Grant Flower who was batting at 91 duly completed a well-deserved century but found little support from the other end as Zimbabwe folded up for 382 and were asked to follow on. Both Campbell and Flower picked out Sharandeep Singh for special treatment despite three close in fielders keeping guard. Campbell, unbeaten on 83, has so far faced 168 balls hitting 12 fours during his unfinished 228-minute vigil at the crease. Flower gave solid support to his senior partner, and in fact surpassed Campbell to remain unbeaten on 88 (188 balls, 10 fours, 2 sixes). Earlier in the day, Indian speedster Javagal Srinath set the proverbial cat amongst the pigeon, picking up three Zimbabwean wickets conceding 81 runs, after the visitors resumed at their overnight first innings score of 359 for six. However, the Indian bowlers could not disturb the overnight vigil of Grant Flower, who went on to score his sixth Test century in his 46th match. Flower, who faced 196 balls during his stay of 272 minutes struck 12 fours and four sixes, before he ran out of partners to remain unconquered on 106. Mluleki Nkala (6) and last man Henry Olonga (0), fell cheaply to Srinath, after Zimbabwean skipper Heath Streak was trapped leg-before at his overnight score of 16 by the lanky Karnataka speedster. Brian Murphy was caught by Shiv Sunder Das off Sunil Joshi even before he could open his score. SCOREBOARD India (1st innings): 609 for 6 decl Zimbabwe (1st innings): 382 all out Zimbabwe (2nd innings): G Whittall c Tendulkar
b Sharandeep 11 G Rennie c Ganguly b Sharandeep 37 S Carlisle c Tendulkar b
Sharandeep 8 A Campbell batting 83 A Flower batting 88 Extras: (lb-6, nb-3, b-2) 11 Total: (for 3 wkts) 238 Fall of
wickets: 1-24, 2-60, 3-61. Bowling: Z Khan 8-1-21-0, A Agarkar 9-1-24-0, Sharandeep Singh 25-4-76-3, S Joshi 18-3-72-0, S Tendulkar 8-2-12-0, J Srinath 8-2-25-0. |
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Azharuddin pleads
innocence NEW DELHI, Nov 28 — Former Indian captain Mohd Azharuddin has pleaded innocence, but the three-member disciplinary committee of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), which met here today, has found “sufficient evidence to establish his involvement in match-fixing”. BCCI president A.C. Muthiah said after the disciplinary committee meeting, comprising, besides the board chief, vice-presidents Kamal Morarka and Rama Prasad, and in which Inquiry Commissioner K Madhavan was also present, that the “CBI has found enough evidence to establish Azharuddin’s access with bookies to prove his involvement in match-fixing”. Mr Muthiah said none of the five players indicted in the CBI report on betting and match-fixing—Azharuddin, Manoj Prabhakar, Ajay Jadeja, Ajay Sharma and Nayan Mongia—had contradicted the report of the internal inquiry conducted by Mr Madhavan, a former joint-director of the CBI, who had probed the allegations on the betting and match-fixing following the submission of the 162-page report by the CBI a few weeks ago. All the five indicted players, and former physiotherapist of the Indian team, Dr Ali Irani, were called by the BCCI disciplinary committee to hear their views here today, because, as Mr Muthiah put
it, " we had to give an opportunity to the players to express themselves”. Mr Muthiah said the process of “internal inquiry” was now complete, and action against the guilty players will be taken after “I apprise the members of the BCCI at the special general body meeting, which has been convened in Calcutta tomorrow, about the findings of inquiry commissioner K Madhavan”. Mr Muthiah said the report will be made public “as soon as possible, may be tomorrow”, though he also put a rider, saying that “the report may or may not be made public”. Mr Muthiah said Azharuddin had pleaded his innocence before the disciplinary committee, saying: “I am an honest cricketer and I am not involved in match-fixing”, though the Madhavan probe report is learnt to have established Azhar’s involvement in match-fixing beyond doubt after conducting the inquiry based on the CBI report “point by point”. There was chaos and virtual pandemonium at the Taj Man Singh hotel as hordes of media persons-print, electronic, and the dotcom variety—had put a virtual siege at the hotel lobby and near the gates since morning. Yet, Azharuddin slipped in and out of the hotel through the service lane, without getting noticed by many, barring a couple of journalists and shutter-bugs, and giving no comment to the press. Ajay Sharma too rushed out of the hotel and hopped into his car and almost drove through the mob of television crew and journalists, without offering any comment though his exit from the hotel caused a minor fracas between the journalists and the security personnel. Only Manoj Prabhakar and Ajay Jadeja stopped to talk to the media and Prabhakar, in fact, returned to the hotel to read out the statement he had given to Mr Madhavan. Prabhakar said the “CBI report was unfair to me” as it had tried to mix up his playing and non-playing days. He said he played cricket for the country like a true patriot and it was unfotunate that “ I have to prove my honesty and integrity all over again”. He said he met the socalled bookies and punters in health clubs after he quit cricket in February, 1996 “and if anybody among them indulged in betting and match-fixing, it was not my fault”. He said if Nayan Mongia could be exonerated from his alleged role in match-fixing during the Kanpur tie in 1994 “I should have been exonerated too as I was conveyed the captain’s message through Mongia”. But Prabhakar said the fight was on and “though I have lost the battle, I have won the war”. Ajay Jadeja refused to elaborate anything, beyond making the comment that “I got one more opportunity to make my submission and defend myself”. He stood by the statement he had issued at a Press Conference a few days back in Delhi. Mr Muthiah and Mr Madhavan were unanimous in their views that the BCCI had no jurisdiction as far as the foreign players were
concerned. Mr Madhavan also gave the supplementary report to his voluminous first report. |
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Media wanted
a quote, I gave it: Morarka NEW
DELHI, Nov 28 (UNI) —The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) today disassociated itself from its vice-president Kamal Morarka’s statement that “there was more corruption in the
CBI than in cricket”. “It may be his view but has nothing to do with the
BCCI, it is purely his individual feeling. The board does not agree with it”. Mr Morarka who is also member of the disciplinary committee which met here this morning made a surprise statement as he came out of the meeting saying there is more corruption in the
CBI than in the game. When asked why he has made such a sweeping statement, Mr Morarka said: “You (media) wanted some quote from me I have given you”. Reacting to the statement,
Boca's anti-corruption commissioner K. Madhvan, himself a former joint director of the
CBI said: “It is in very bad taste and unwanted”. |
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McGrath sets sights on 500-wkt mark PERTH, Nov 28 (AFP) — Australian pace spearhead Glenn McGrath has signed on for the long haul by declaring he wants to reach the milestone of 500 Test wickets. The 30-year-old fast bowler, who destroyed the West Indies in the first Brisbane Test, should attain the 300-mark in Friday’s second Test against the tourists in Perth. But McGrath said that was only a stepping stone to his long-term career goals. McGrath wants to play at least 100 tests — he has just played his 63rd — which would also keep him in the running for the 2003 World Cup along with captain Steve Waugh, who has signalled his desire to play for another three years. McGrath’s lengthy commitment is good news for the Australian team which he has helped to make the best in the world. “I’m really enjoying it at the moment and the body feels great and I’m bowling well,” McGrath said today. “My ultimate goal is to play 100 Tests and I’d like to average about five wickets a Test at the end of my career, so that’s the aim. “I’m 202 wickets away from 500 so if I can stay fit and on the path and play for another three or four years then it’s a realistic goal.” McGrath showed he was at the peak of his powers in Brisbane last weekend when he returned match figures’ of 10-27 in the crushing innings and 126-run Test thrashing of the Windies. That moved his wicket haul to 298, leaving him behind only Dennis Lillee (355) and Shane Warne (366) on Australia’s list of all-time wicket-takers. McGrath is 16th on the all-time Test wicket-takers list, still a long way behind the ageless Courtney Walsh, (484) who is leading the West Indies’ attack in Australia. Walsh will almost certainly wait until he passes the 500-barrier before he retires but McGrath could be locked in a race with prolific Sri Lankan spinner Muttiah Muralitharan (291 from 57 Tests) to be the next bowler to reach the milestone. That’s if injury niggles continue to beset Warne and if fourth-placed Pakistani Wasim Akram (408) confirms speculation he is considering retirement as early as next year. McGrath has already made giant strides on the list by rattling up 134 wickets from his last 26 Tests. He has not missed a Test since a torn stomach muscle kept him out of six matches in 1997-98. “I don’t play the game (for records) but it’s good to do those things,” McGrath said. “You always look at other guys and see how they’ve gone, especially with guys you’ve grown up watching. “Passing Craig McDermott (291 wickets) was good in that way because I grew up watching him and respected him. “Hopefully one day people will think of you in the same light they thought of the other guys.” Both squads arrived here today with training sessions set down for tomorrow. |
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MUMBAI, Nov 28 (UNI) — Indian Oil, after being outplayed in the second half, today managed to pip Central Reserve Police Force 3-2 in pool ‘D’ of the National Hockey Championship at the Mahindra Stadium here. In the other two matches, hosts Mumbai made a final surge to beat Gujarat 7-4 to total six points while Maharashtra, the surprise packet of the pool, registered a 2-1 win over Tata Sports with a controversial goal. Indian Oil, winners of the Nehru Cup and a national debutant, scraped home with a stroke converted by Prabjot Singh after the oilmen had conceded eight short corners. It was a fast paced match with Indian Oil’s Inderjit Singh converting a timely cross from Inder Salaria in the eighth minute. In the 15th minute Hemrum controlled a one-handed swipe very well before falling down for the equaliser. CRPF then took control and Jolan Topno confirmed the dominance with a goal before the break. On resumption CRPF never looked like losers but in a flash raid goalie Avindro Singh fouled Lekhinpal and they paid very heavily for it. The game also saw many yellow cards with two players on each side sent off though all did not deserve that punishment. A defensive lapse cost Tatas the first goal against them when Santosh Musale rushed in to capitalise on a rebound in the fourth minute. Asad Khan banged in the Tata goal off the third short corner before the winner from Maharashtra’s Anthony Mark from just inside the circle. It was hotly contested by Tata players. In the first match of the day Gujarat played on par with Mumbai till the 42nd minute when the score was 3-3 after leading 2-3 at the interval. The goal scorers were Shashi Gorade, Nisar Garasia (2) and for Mumbai Sabu Varkey, Gurmeet Singh and Shayne D’Costa. Prakash gave the lead and Gagan Ajit made it 5-3 before Nisar scored his third goal. Leonard Pereira sealed with the seventh goal. BANGALORE (PTI): Hosts Karnataka were held to a 2-2 draw by Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), as Punjab and Sind Bank (PSB) started their campaign in style, drubbing Pondicherry 10-0 in pool ‘B’ encounters of the 60th National Hockey Championship here today. JAMMU: Jammu and Kashmir today played a goal-less draw with Customs and Excise in the inaugural match of the 60th Senior National Hockey Championship here today. |
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PU down
Osmania; GND university held CHANDIGARH, Nov 28 — Panjab University, Chandigarh, scored a solitary-goal win over Osmania University, Hyderabad on the opening day of the All-India Inter-zonal Inter-University Football (men) Tournament being played here today at the University grounds. Earlier, Parminder Singh, former International soccer player, inaugurated the meet. A two-minutes silence was observed before the start of the meet in the memory of the late Jarnail Singh, Arjuna awardee. In the match played between PU and Osmania University, the home side dominated the proceedings with their forward line always up against the visiting team. Gulbarg Raj was the lone scorer for the hosts who found the target in scored the 48th minute. In other matches of the day, Punjabi University, Patiala played a goalless draw with MG University, Kottayam. MD University, Rohtak went down
fighting to Kerala University, Thiruvananthapuram 0-2 with the half time score being 0-1. Rani Durgawati University, Jabalpur and Burdwan University also remained tied at 2-2. GND University, Amritsar and Calicut University, also played a goalless draw. In two other matches, LNIPE, Gwalior outplayed BA University, Bihar, 3-0 while Calcutta University, blanked Nagpur University at 2-0.
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Chandigarh’s loss is
Punjab’s gain CHANDIGARH, Nov 28 — Chandigarh’s loss became Punjab’s gain. Sabeeha Dhillon, a class XII student of Bhavan Vidyalaya, Sector 27, won the gold medal representing Punjab in the junior section of the air rifle event in the All-India Kumar Surendra Memorial Shooting Championship in progress at Phillaur (Punjab). Sabeeha scored 392 out of 400 in .177 air rifle while Raj Kumari of Infantry shot 391 and came second. Sunita was third at 389. Earlier last week in the national championship at the same venue , Sabeeha and Raj Kumari were tied at 387. Then on the basis of last card, Sabeeha was placed third. This time she was ahead of Raj Kumari. Sabeeha had won the bronze in .177 and .22 air rifle 3 position at the nationals last week and now he won this gold medal. Sabeeha had been representing the city in various nationals and despite winning the junior national title last year, she was ignored by the UT Administration which honoured after sportspersons at the Republic Day and Independence Day functions this year. She recently decided to represent Punjab as her native place was Moga in order to get better recognition. Sabeeha early this year had taken part in the Invitational Air Weapons Championship, Munich-2000 and had also gone to the Czech Republic early this year for the Plezen International Shooting Tournament. |
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Akram set for 100th Test appearance FAISALABAD, Nov 28 (Reuters) — Pace bowler Wasim Akram will make his 100th Test appearance in Faisalabad tomorrow but Pakistan will be looking to spin rather than speed to undermine England in the second Test. England held their own against the host nation’s vaunted slow bowlers in the drawn first Test in Lahore but Pakistan still believe spin holds the key to taking the lead in the three-match series. Off-spinner Arshad Khan has been added to the squad and 19-year-old wrist spinner Danish Kaneria has been brought in to replace Mushtaq Ahmed who conceded 164 runs for just one wicket in the first Test. Arshad may not play but Kaneria is expected to make his debut. He will bowl in tandem with off-spinner Saqlain Mushtaq who picked up all the eight wickets in England’s first innings of 480 for eight declared in Lahore. Shahid Afridi will be on hand to lend support. Pakistan captain Moin Khan said he would be relying on his spinners to bowl out England twice. “Players like Saqlain have the ability to do that. But we must make a respectable score to dictate terms.” Akram, Pakistan’s former captain, said his 100th appearance would be “like any other Test for me”. “But if we can win it will be a wonderful gift for me.” England will be making their first Test appearance in Faisalabad since the infamous finger-wagging tiff between then England captain Mike Gatting and Pakistan umpire Shakoor Rana in 1987. A day’s play was lost in the second Test of the three-match series while Rana sought an apology from Gatting. Relations at all levels between the two countries were affected by the row and, although Pakistan toured England twice after that in 1992 and 1996, England stayed away from Pakistan for 13 years. Current England skipper Nasser Hussain is confident his batsmen will again equip themselves well against the Pakistani spin attack. “We proved during the first Test that our batsmen can cope against the spinners. If we apply ourselves and play with as much concentration we can still put up a good show against them,” he said. “The pitch at Faisalabad looks very similar to Lahore but we have to be at our best against a talented side like Pakistan.” Yorkshire batsman Michael Vaughan has been ruled out of contention after failing a fitness test on a calf injury. Pace bowler Matthew Hoggard, who had a match return of eight for 30 in the touring team’s last warm-up match against a Pakistan Cricket Board XI, has been added to the 12 chosen for the first Test. Neither camp will name their side until tomorrow morning. Teams from: Pakistan: Saeed Anwar, Saleem Elahi, Shahid Afridi, Yousuf Youhana, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Moin Khan (captain), Wasim Akram, Abdur Razzaq, Danish Kaneria, Saqlain Mushtaq, Qaiser Abbas, Arshad Khan, Imran Nazir, Faisal Iqbal, Waqar Younis. England: Mike Atherton, Marcus Trescothick, Graham Thorpe, Nasser Hussain (captain), Graeme Hick, Alec Stewart, Craig White, Ashley Giles, Ian Salisbury, Andrew Caddick, Darren Gough, Andrew Flintoff, Matthew Hoggard. Umpires: Steve Bucknor (West Indies), Mian Mohammad Aslam (Pakistan). |
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Safin, Kuerten ready for ‘duel of generations’ LISBON, Nov 28 (AFP) — It’s being billed as ‘the duel of generations’ and the end of season Masters Cup may well prove a dream for the marketing people of the ATP tour as young guns such as Marat Safin and Gustavo Kuerten look to elbow oldies Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi firmly off centre stage. Not only is some $ 3 million prize money at stake for the elite eight-man field who have proved their merits over a gruelling season, but the end of year No. 1 spot is also at stake. That accolade looks set to go to current ATP Champions Race leader Safin, who a week ago became the first man this season to win two masters series with his success over Australian Mark Philippoussis in Paris, his other win coming in Toronto. The Russian 20-year-old currently leads Kuerten at the head of the Champions Race leaderboard and has also claimed top spot in the rankings entry system, the youngest man to do so. Amid all the froth about which system is truer indication of ability Safin has successfully managed to defuse the argument with seven titles across 2000 putting him out in front whichever way you look at it. But he will have his work cut out here as he looks to hold off Kuerten, veteran Sampras and Sweden’s Magnus Norman, who can just overhaul him with a maximum 150 rankings points at stake. In millennium year Florida’s voters can keep Al Gore and George Bush waiting outside the White House for what seems an eternity — but the aging cream of US tennis can’t keep the young guns silent any longer. Safin and Kuerten have already stormed a grand slam fortress each this year — and Lisbon could prove the final fling for elder statesmen Pete and Andre. Wimbledon champion Sampras has not played seriously since his straight-sets loss to Safin in the US Open final but he has been hard at work on Lisbon practice courts looking to claim a winner’s cheque of $ 1.5 million. Agassi comprises a whole sub plot of his own as the Las Vegan flew into Lisbon without undue fuss and will be out to show that he is over the hip flexor injury which kept him absent from Paris. Twelve months ago, Agassi achieved what then remained as one of his few sporting ambitions — ending a year as No. 1 to end six unbroken years of Sampras dominance, a record. Agassi thus became the 10th man to hold the year-end top slot in the 27 years since the rankings were introduced. The last non-American to end the year top of the heap was Sweden’s Stefan Edberg back in 1991. But Safin aims to change all that. “I’ll be 100 per cent concentrated,” he insists. “I have to be calm and be prepared in Lisbon. That’s the week you have to be 100 per cent — it’s the eight best players in the world and I’m fighting to finish the year as No. 1.” Kuerten’s task is to rain on Safin’s parade. “My expectations are high as I’m super-motivated,” says the Brazilian, who missed out on a Paris indoor final after losing his semifinal to Philippoussis. |
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BRISBANE, Nov 28 (AFP) — Brian Lara’s batting slump has been blamed on an 18-year-old English model the West Indies star has been allowed to bring with him to Australia. The 31-year-old Lara, who scored a duck and four runs in his side’s capitulation to Australia in the first Test here last weekend, refused to answer questions here today before the tourists left for Perth for the second Test starting Friday. But he was spotted with 18-year-old covergirl Lynnsey Ward at a theme park at Gold Coast here yesterday when the West Indies team took a day off. The rest of the West Indies team have been banned from bringing wives and girlfriends on tour. And West Indies team management banned questions about the side’s dismal form. Ward, named Millennium Babe by England’s Daily Star, has been by Lara’s side since the team arrived in Australia last month. She was expected to return home before Christmas. She reportedly met Lara while working as a receptionist at Durham County Cricket Club in England. Lara, who holds world records for the highest individual Test and first-class scores, has also had to cope with the pressure of being implicated by India’s Central Bureau of Investigation in match-fixing. He has refused to comment on allegations he took $ 40,000 to under-perform in two one-day games in India in 1995. “I can’t afford for any outside thing to influence my game, and I am just looking to focus on my cricket,” he said three weeks ago when he arrived in Australia for the start of the five-Test tour. Lara is now a pale shadow of the man who established two world records in 1994 — the highest Test score (375 against England in Antigua) and highest first-class total (501 not out for Warwickshire against Durham). He twice threw away his wicket in the first Test to fast bowler Glenn McGrath and, batting No 3, he will also have to face the threat of Brett Lee’s thunderbolts in Perth. Lee is poised to break Jeff Thomson’s 160.45 km/h record on Perth’s super-fast wicket. “I’m only pleased he’s on our team,” said wicket-keeper Adam Gilchrist who claimed Lee provoked a “genuine fear factor” in the West Indies batsmen. Thomson set his world record against another West Indies side at Melbourne in 1975. |
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Punjab eves
kho-kho champions SANGRUR, Nov 28 (PTI) — Punjab girls and Maharasthra boys lifted the XXII Junior National Kho-Kho Championship here yesterday.
Punjab girls won over their rivals Maharashtra by 8-7 while the Maharashtra boys prevailed over Karnataka by 18-16. In a keen contest between Punjab and Maharashtra in the girls section both teams secured four points each in the first turn. The spirited Punjab team secured four points again in the second turn while the Maharashtra team could register three points enabling Punjab girls to emerge victorious by 8-7.
Parvinder Kaur of Punjab was adjudged the best player of the championship in the girls’ section while Sanket Harkra of Maharashtra was adjudged the best player of the championship in the boys’ section. |
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Sukhbir to
lead CHANDIGARH, Nov 28 — Olympian Sukhbir Singh Gill will lead the Chandigarh hockey team in the 60th Senior National Hockey Championship being held at Jammu from November 28 to December 16. The other members of the team are Saurav Bishnoi, Ashwinder Singh, Baldev Singh, Navdeep Singh, Jatinder Kumar, Rajpal Singh, Manmohan Singh, Alpinder Singh, Santosh Kumar Singh, Jaswant Rai, Devinder Singh, Surjit Singh, Sarbjeet Singh, Yuvraj, Sanjeev, Ajit Kumar and Vikram Saini. Mr N.S. Sodhi and Mr O.P. Ahlawat will be manager and coach of the team respectively. The team which is scheduled to play the first match tomorrow left for Jammu yesterday, according to Mr Y.P. Vohra, secretary, Chandigarh Hockey Association. |
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Commonwealth
TT in Delhi NEW DELHI, Nov 28 — The NTPC 15th Commonwealth Table Tennis Championship will be held at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium here from April 14 to 20 next year. Chairman of the tournament organising committee Ajay Singh Chautala, MP, said here that the championships will be held in seven events — men’s team championships for the Home Association Cup, women’s team championship for the India Cup, men’s singles for the Singapore Cup, women’s singles for the Oceania Cup, men’s doubles for the Hong Kong Cup, women’s doubles for the Canada Cup and mixed doubles for the Gyervnsey Cup. Mr Chautala said 25 countries from the Commonwealth nations would take part in the championships. Table Tennis Federation of India president M C Chouhan said this would be perhaps the last separated championships of the Commonwealth TT Federation. |
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VC opens
basketball tourney PATIALA,
Nov 28 — The All-India and North Zone Inter-University Basketball Championships commenced at the Punjabi University sports complex here today. As many as 30 teams drawn from the northern region are taking part in the 13-day championships. Another 12 teams from the southern, western and eastern regions will join the four top teams of the northern region for the All-India Inter Zonal Championships. The championships were inaugurated by Dr Jasbir Singh
Ahluwalia, Vice-Chancellor, Punjabi University. On the occasion, Dr Ahluwalia gave away certificates and trophies to winners in the inter-college handball competition which concluded recently. Cricket tourney Brief scores:
Punjab: Ist Innings - 374 all out (Gaurav Sharma 133, Rahul Arora 124, Vishwas Bhalla 41, Rajat Bhatia 25, Bhupinder Singh 18, Abid Nabi 2 for 65, Sumit Salwal 4 for 98 and J. Hassan 1 for 26). J and K: Ist innings
— 29 for 1.
PATIALA, Nov 28 — Patiala allrounder Reetinder Sodhi has, after waiting in the wings for months, found a place in the national squad for the first three
one-dayers against Zimbabwe. Reetinder Sodhi, barely out of his teens, is not a new name. He has been noticed for his consistent performance in domestic cricket — Ranji Trophy, Duleep Trophy and Irani Trophy — and as member of India ‘A’ team against Pakistan and West Indies. He captained the National Cricket Academy
(NCA) XI against the tourists at Indore and apart from taking a couple of wickets, he scored a run-a-ball half century. A B.A.1 student of the Government Mahendra College, Sodhi gained considerably from his selection early this year to the NCA (first batch). It helped him tighten his technique and prepared him mentally for the big league. He tells you about the four-hour lecture which Sunil Gavaskar gave them and how the maestro ironed out some technical flaws in his batting. Reetinder was the ‘Allrounder of The Tournament’ at the Junior World Cup held in Colombo in December last year. He was singled out for his performance with the bat and the ball by former England great Ian Botham who said “When Sodhi is on a song, its symphony for India”. He has also received encouraging comments from David Gower, Frank Tyson, Navjot Sidhu and Ravi
Shastri. In fact, Reetinder is from the same school of cricket as his mentor Navjot Sidhu was. Like
Navjot, Sodhi is aggressive, mentally tough, skilful and has a sharp cricketing brain. Experts feel that with the selection of
Sodhi, a new dimension will be added to Indian attack. Operating from the other end will be left-arm medium pacer Zaheer Khan. As a right-arm medium pacer, Sodhi is sharp, extracts a good bounce and possesses a well-disguised
yorker. As a batsman, Sodhi is a quality opener with a brave heart.
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Jasbir umpire for
Cuttack tie CHANDIGARH, Nov 28 — Mr Jasbir Singh, former left-arm spinner who played from Punjab for nearly a decade, has been appointed umpire for the first one-day international match scheduled to be played at Cuttack on December 2.
Mr Jasbir Singh, who has been working as a Cricket Administrator at PCL, Mohali, has already donned white coat in six one-day matches.
ROHTAK, Nov 28 — Former minister and a former Ranji Trophy player Krishan Murti Hooda has urged the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to take stern action against the players involved in match-fixing.
The BCCI should not allot any benefit match for the tainted cricketers who have been indicted by the CBI and BCCI inquiry officer, Mr M.K. Madhvan, he said.
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