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| Wednesday, December 20, 2000, Chandigarh, India   
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Aussies make it 13th win in
row
My
proudest moment,
says Gilchrist Indian women suffer shock
defeat |
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China beat Japan; India
lose FC Kochin rally
to hold Vasco Central Zone sail into Deodhar
final Bharat Petroleum beat Punjab
cops PU, Pbi varsity
enter last eight Punjab, Haryana
skaters excel Surgeon happy
with Ingle’s progress Akram in squad
for NZ tour BCCI panel
meeting on December 22 Coach quits in
protest
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Aussies make it 13th win in row ADELAIDE, Dec 19 (AFP) — Australia defeated the West Indies by five wickets in the third cricket Test at Adelaide Oval here today to wrap up the five-Test series 3-0 and retain the Frank Worrell Trophy. Set a victory target of 130 after bundling out the tourists for a paltry second innings 141, the home country finished with 130 for five to extend to 13 their world record of consecutive Test wins. They were guided home by Damien Martyn (34 not out) and acting captain Adam Gilchrist (10) after Justin Langer had been dismissed for 48. Australia, resuming with 98 for four — needing another 32 runs — on the fifth and final day, had few palpitations as they completed their mission. Australia’s win followed massives triumphs in Brisbane (by an innings and 126 runs) and Perth (an innings and 27 runs). The win was a special triumph for stand-in captain Adam Gilchrist, the first wicketkeeper to lead Australia in a Test for 32 years. Gilchrist is deputising for the injured Steve Waugh, out with a buttock muscle strain. There were times during the game when Australia were in a spot of bother, but Gilchrist commanded superbly under pressure as his team regained the ascendancy. The West Indies, despite a much-improved performance in Adelaide, have now lost 16 of their past 18 away games. The most heartening feature for the Windies here was that champion batsman Brian Lara at last found his best Test form, with knocks of 182 and 39. But the rest of the tourists’ batting remained below par, with no other player topping 50 in either innings. The next best contribution came from skipper Jimmy Adams, who hit a patient 49 in just over three hours in the first innings. Australia’s match-winner was veteran 36-year-old off-spinner Colin Miller, who captured five scalps in each innings for a match return of 10-113 — the first time he has captured 10 wickets in a Test. It was Miller — the Man of the Match — who put Australia firmly on the victory path yesterday when he mesmerised the Windies’ batsmen as they faltered disastrously on a wearing pitch. Miller, despite his advanced years, now looks certain to be a member of the Australian squad to tour India early next year and to travel to England for the Ashes series soon after. Scoreboard West Indies (1st innings): 391 Australia (1st innings): 403 West Indies (2nd innings): 141 Australia (2nd innings): Hayden c Jacobs b Walsh 14 Slater c Jacobs b Dillon 1 Langer c Jacobs b Dillon 48 Waugh c Jacobs b Dillon 5 Ponting lbw Walsh 11 Martyn not out 34 Gilchrist not out 10 Extras: (b-3, lb-1, nb-3) 7 Total: (for 5 wkts in 43 overs) 130 Fall of wickets: 1-8, 2-22, 3-27, 4-48, 5-111. Bowling: C. Walsh 14-4-39-2, M. Dillon 12-3-42-3, M. Samuels 6-1-17-0, N. McLean 5-1-9-0, J. Adams 3-0-7-0, M. Black 3-0-12-0.
My proudest moment, says Gilchrist ADELAIDE, Dec 19 (AFP) — Australia’s acting captain Adam Gilchrist paid tribute to his teammates for their support and commitment after his side beat the West Indies by five wickets in the third cricket Test at Adelaide Oval here today.
The home country took only 38 minutes on the fifth day to hit the 32 extra runs they needed to wrap up the game, retain the Frank Worrell Trophy by establishing a 3-0 lead in the five-match series and extend their world record of successive Test wins to 13. While Australia were celebrating yet another high moment in the greatest sequence of success in the 123-year history of Tests, the once mighty Windies were reflecting on their 16th defeat in their past 18 away games — one of the worst runs in the sport. Gilchrist, who was deputising for the injured Steve Waugh said: “I am absolutely thrilled — it’s the proudest moment of my cricket career.
“It is not necessarily a load off my mind. I believe in this team. We all believe in each other.
“It was a really terrific win. It was a harder Test than any we have had this summer.
“We were up against it from the time I lost the toss, but the guys never lost direction or spirit. The belief was always there. That is one of the strengths of our team.” Gilchrist, the first Australian wicketkeeper for 32 years to captain his country, said the closeness of the game indicated how well Australia had played in the previous two Tests in Brisbane and Perth, both won by innings margins. |
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Indian women suffer shock
defeat NEW DELHI, Dec 19 — Indian eves suffered a shock 1-2 defeat at the hands of Thailand in the inaugural tie of the Asia Cup Women’s Tennis Tournament at the R.K. Khanna stadium here today. It was a good day for Thailand, as their men too fought back from a match down to subdue China 2-1. India had pinned a lot of hope on Manisha Malhotra in the opening singles, but she faltered after a promising start to suffer a 3-6, 3-6 defeat at the hands of Napaporn Tongsalee in one hour and nine minutes. Manisha was expected to coast home freely, but after taking a 3-1 lead, she lapsed into errors, and failed to regain her touch. The Thai national champion hung on tenaciously to thwart the effort of the Indian girl, who was seeded second behind Sai Jayalakshmi. With her steady return, and some searing down-the-line shots, 20-year-old Tongsalee broke Manisha in the sixth and eighth games of the first set, and the seventh and ninth games of the second set, to put India in arrears. Tongsalee, who seemed to thrive on her favourite synthetic surface, just did not allow Manisha to get on with her serve and volley sort of game on the slow court, to make a mockery of the rankings, as Manisha is ranked 385 in the women’s circuit, compared to Tongsalee’s roof-breaking standing of 962. In the second singles tie, top seed Sai Jayalakshmi seemed yet to get over from her loss to Suchanan Viratprasert at Jaipur in September this year, as she could not do a thing right from the outset, and fought on laboriously before crashing to a 3-6, 2-6 defeat in just over one hour. She was broken in the fifth and ninth games of the first set, and sixth and eighth games of the second set, to lose to the lower-ranked Viratprasert for the second time this year. However, Sai made some amends in the doubles, as she teamed up with Rushmi Chakravarti to beat Orawan Lamangthong and Napaporn Tongsalee in the doubles in straight sets at 6-2, 6-4 to salvage some of the hosts’s honour. The doubles victory may stand India in good stead, if a countback of matches and games won and lost are required to determine the finalists. India need to beat China tomorrow to ensure a smooth passage into the final. Indian non-playing captain Nandan Bal was disappointed with the result and he blamed the ranking for some of India’s troubles. He said Manisha’s ranking dipped in the last few days, and as a result she had to be put behind Sai, as the second seed. Had the order been reversed, perhaps, India would have split the singles honours. In the men’s contest, Thailand suffered a setback when Attapol Rittiwattanapong was beaten by China number two Yu Zhang 6-1, 6-2 but top seed and Davis Cup star Danai Udomchoke brought the Thais back into focus when he won over Ben-Qiang Zhui in an easy way. When Udomchoke was leading 6-4 and 2-0, Ben-Qiang fell and injured himself. He retired hurt, after he was rushed to hospital for treatment. Later, Supparat Chukawan partnered Danai Udomchoke to beat Yu Zhang and Yu Wang in the doubles at 6-4, 6-1. |
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NEW DELHI, Dec 19 (UNI) — There was no end to India’s woes as the hosts crashed to their fourth successive defeat going down to Malaysia 46-66 while China continued their victory spree overpowering Japan 79-74 to record their fourth straight win in the 15th Asian championship for junior women at Talkatora Stadium here today. In other two matches runners-up Chinese Taipei and DPR Korea posted imposing victories over their rivals Hong Kong (111-31) and Sri Lanka (132-31), respectively. In a pool A match, India gave tough fight to Malaysia in the initial 15 minutes despite missing many chances. The score was tied at 16 and 18 in the 12th and 14th minutes, respectively. After that, the Malaysians with their speed and better conversion overpowered India. At the half time the score was 36-21 in favour of Malaysia. But in the second half, Malaysia raced ahead after scoring 30 points where as India could manage only 25 points. After the match, the coach of the Indian team said: “We played well but Malaysia with better execution took away the match. India missed at least 25 throws in penalty chances. Had those been converted, we would have been the winners.” For India Sofi Sam (9) and Poonam Singh (9) were top scorers whereas G.B.Fong (19) and Lim Yen Hong (12) were for Malaysia. In another pool A match strong contenders Japan went down fighting to defending champions China. In the keenly-contested match, China overpowered Japan 79-74 in extra time. In the match of the tournament so far, China and Japan were tied at 71 in the stipulated time. At the breather the teams were 35-31, in favour of China. Both the teams were neck-and-neck through out the match. Japan with speed and agility some times beat the Chinese who were perfect in execution. Just 16 seconds before the final whistle, Japanese scored a field goal (3 points) to equalise the score at 71. But in the extra time of five minutes, China with clinical precision overpowered Japan by scoring eight points against three of thier rivals. In a lop-sided match of group ‘B’, Chinese Taipei grounded Hong Kong 111-31. At the breather the score was 57-13. Taipei with superior display scored at will amassing more than 50 points in each session. For Chinese Taipei Liu Hui Ling (23), Sun Chieh Ping (16) and Tsai Pei Chen (10) were the top scorers where as Cheung Y.Shan (8) and Liu C.Shan (6) top scored for Hong Kong. In another pool A match, DPR Korea, with better performance, beat Sri Lanka scoring more than 96 points. At the breather the score was 53-16. |
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FC Kochin rally
to hold Vasco
MARGAO, Dec 19 (PTI) — F.C. Kochin rallied from behind to hold Vasco to a 1-1 draw in a keenly contested match of the 5th edition of the National Football league here yesterday. Vasco, who held more of the exchanges, shot into the lead in the 19th minute through Rustam Zabirov. FC Kochin fought in the second half to restore parity in the 74th minute through I.M. Vijayan. Vasco, who beat Zee Churchill 1-0 in their earlier match, played offensive and had more scoring opportunity. But they were unlucky once when woodwork came to the rival rescue as substitute Daniel Coalco’s rasping shot hit the cross bar. FC Kochin who beat Salgaocar 3-2 earlier, failed to play a cohesive game in the first half but found their rhythm in the second after keeper was pushed in front and Dinesh Nair played under the ball. This added more thrust in the attack. Kochin made the first move in the 14th minute when defender Joe Paul had a crack at the goal, but was saved by keeper Ramos. Ramos again came to his team rescue in the second half when he saved a close try from Cole who was a constant threat to the rival defence. Vasco who held the edge in the midfield shot into the lead in the 19th minute through defensive lapse when Rustam Zabirov snatched the ball from defender Suresh and after entering the box took a crack at the goal. The ball hit keeper Sunday Seah and went underneath his leg. Vasco could have increased the lead at the stroke of half time but Ravi Babu who was unmarked inside the box in haste shot out off a cross from Riston Rodrigues.
SBT hold Churchill
Inept shooting by Zee Churchill Brothers strikers proved their undoing as they were held to a goal-less draw by State Bank of Travancore. Zee Churchill Bros, who lost to Vasco 0-1 due to poor finishing by their strikers, were once again found wanting as they lacks after gaining several scoring chances. Silveira, could have opened the account in the fifth minute when he was put through by Edson Crasto inside the box but his shot was blocked by SBT keeper Feroz Sherief, charging out to foil him.
East Bengal lose
BANGALORE: Local outfit Indian Telephone Industries (ITI) shocked Kingfisher East Bengal 1-0 here on Tuesday. An off-colour Calcutta outfit, who had a sizzling start to the league campaign defeating Manaksia Tollygunge Agragami at home, tasted their first defeat in the tournament, where they were twice runners-up in the past. Encouraged by the boisterous home crowd, ITI surged ahead in the eighth minute itself thanks to a superb goal by R. Rawath off a neat pass from their Nigerian import George Ekeh. It was ITI’s maiden victory in the league, after their goal-less draw in the first encounter against State Bank of Travancore (SBT). Thereafter, there was plenty of goalmouth action but neither side capitalised on the chances, as ITI kept up the pressure over the visitors throughout the encounter.
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Central Zone sail into Deodhar final KANPUR, Dec 19 (UNI) — Fine batting by openers Amay Khurasia and J.P. Yadav helped Central Zone beat West Zone by eight wickets today and enter the finals of the Deodhar Trophy. Khurasia brilliant 86 and Yaday’s 101 overshadowed fine knocks of West Zone skipper Hrishikesh Kanitkar (122) and Jacob Martin (102 not out) in the second semifinal. It was a day for batsmen at the Green Park today. West Zone scored 270 runs for four wickets to which the Central Zone responded in an equally befitting manner, achieving the target to win in 40.4 overs at the loss of just two wickets. Central Zone will now take on South Zone in the final that will be played at the K.D. Singh Babu Stadium in Lucknow from Thursday. South Zone defeated North Zone in the first semifinal on the same ground here on Sunday. Yadav, who bagged one wicket and scored 101, was adjudged Man of the Match. After West Zone set a 271 run target, opening pair of Khurasia and Yadav began on a agressive note and put up 158 runs on the board for the first wicket. Both were scoring at nine runs per over as against the asking rate of 5.5. It took Khurasia and Yadav just 10.5 overs to post 100 runs on the board. Khurasia completed his half century off mere 27 deliveries with one six and nine fours while Yadav took 36 balls and eight fours to achieve this milestone. West Zone achieved their first breakthrough in the form of Khurasia who was on the individual score of 86 runs. He was caught by Martin at short mid-wicket off Rakesh Patel’s delivery. Test star Mohammad Kaif replaced Khurasia. Kaif kept up the tempo and provided good support to Yadav who at this stage was batting with 63 runs. Yadav and Kaif added 83 runs to take the team nearer to the victory. The Central Zone lost Yadav in 31st over when the Central Zone score was 241. He was caught by Moris at deep mid-wicket off Kanitkar’s delivery. West Zone captain Kanitkar won the toss and elected to bat first but both his openers, C. Willaims (5) and Waseem Jafar (7) failed to rise to the occasion and returned to the pavillion only after putting 16 runs on the board in eight overs. In such a miserable situation, Kanitkar took charge and played a captain’s knock to enable his team put a solid challenge before the hosts. Kanitkar, in assocation with Martin, went for quick scoring and the pair succeeded in keeping the scoreboard moving. Kanitkar hit his half century in 48 deliveries with the help of nine boundaries. After achieving the half century mark, the West Zone skipper stepped up the scoring. His next 50 came off just 37 deliveries with three fours and two sixers. Kanitkar took just 85 deliveries for his century. Martin supported his captain well, giving him the maximum possible strike and the two had a solid 184-run third wicket stand. West Zone 200 came in 38.3 overs. At this juncture Kanitkar, on 122 lost his concentration and was bowled out by Yadav. SCOREBOARD West Zone: W. Jaffar run out 7, C. Williams b Srivastava 5, H. Kanitkar b J.P. Yadav 122, J. Martin not out 102, R. Morris c Khurasia b Srivastava 16, I. Siddiqui not out 6. Extras
(lb-6, w-6): 12 Total (for 4 wkts in 50 overs): 270 Fall of wickets: 1-11, 2-16, 3-200, 4-242. Bowling:
S. Bangar 9-0-51-0, J.P. Yadav 10-0-65-1, M. Kartik 10-0-39-0, M. Kaif 2-0-16-0, T. Singh 10-0-58-0. Central Zone:
J.P. Yadav c Morris b Kanitkar 101, A. Khurasia not out 51, G. Khoda not out 16 Extras
(lb-3, nb-10, w-7): 20 Total (for 2 wkts in 40.4 overs) 274 Fall of wickets: 1-158 2-241. Bowling:
I. Siddiqui 6-3-35-0, P. Mhambrey 3-0-32-0, S. Saxena 3-0-22-0, H. Kanitkar 10-0-64-1, R. Morris 4-0-34-0, R. Patel 6-0-43-1, N. Patel 5.4-0-31-0, J. Martin 3-0-10-0.
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Bharat Petroleum beat Punjab
cops LUDHIANA, Dec 19 — Star-studded Punjab Police lost the opening match to the Bharat Petroleum to 3-4 today in the 4th All India Ramesh Chander Memorial FARMTAC Cup underway here at PAU ground today. In fact, Bharat Petroleum reduced the police team to non-entity in the first half by establishing a 2-0 lead. Even after the lemon break, it were oilmen who increased the tally to 3-0. However, stung by the increasing lead, the policemen changed their strategy and staged a comeback scoring three goals in a row in the 45th, 51th and 67th minute to restore parity. However, in the 67th minute, oilmen earned a penalty stroke and utilised the opportunity to defeat the Punjab Police. Police team having three Olympians, including captain of the Indian team Ramandeep Singh and Gaganajit Singh and Baljit Singh Dhillon in its ranks missed a number of opportunities to score. For Bharat Petroleum Amar and Olympian Gagan Ajit Singh fired the first two goals in 17th and 25th minute respectively. In second half, Anurag Raghuvanshi converted a penalty corner in 38th minute. Baljit Singh Dhillon of PP struck two goals with the help of a penalty stroke and a penalty corner in the 45th and 46th minute respectively. Gurjant Singh scored third goal for PP in 67th minute. In 68th minute, M.K. Prakash of BP took the tally to 4-3 by converting a penalty corner into a goal. Policemen got six penalty corners and a penalty strokes while BP got two penalty corner and a penalty stroke. In the afternoon session, Border Security Force (BSF) and Punjab and Sind Bank (PSB) failed to clinch the issue in a regulated time. Both teams ended the match with a 1-1 score. PSB got eight penalty corners but could not convert any. BSF got three penalty corners, which went in vain. In the first half Habil of BSF struck first goal in 17th minute. In second half, Olympian Baljit Singh Saini of PSB equalised the score to scoring a goal in 36th minute. In the under-15 boys section, Escorts Ramesh Chander Hockey Academy (ERCHA), Jalandhar, beat Amritsar XI in a one-sided match by 4-0. The ERCHA got nine penalty corners but they could not be converted. In first half, Onkar Singh scored first goal in 25th minute. In second half, Varinder struck second goal in 38th minute. Harpreet Singh fired third goal in 51st minute. In 53rd minute, Varinder converted a penalty corner in the goal. |
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PU, Pbi varsity
enter last eight CHANDIGARH, Dec 19 —Hosts Panjab University and MD University, Rohtak, made it to the last eight of the All-India Inter-varsity Hockey Tournament for women played here at the university campus grounds. The other teams to sail into the quarterfinals are Delhi University, Kerala University, Ranchi University, Kurukshetra University, Punjabi University and GND University. Today, MD University was pitted against LNIPE, Gwalior and national star Roohi Dhillon, playing for the Rohtak varsity did well when she converted a penalty corner in the third minute of the match for 1-0 lead. Then it was Kavita who scored a field goal in the seventh minute to make it 2-0. The third goal was scored in 34th minute of the match. The
looser could not open their account. The home team too proved to be too good for their opponents, Gujarat, University who were beaten 4-1. Dimple Thakur was the star of the host team, scoring two goals — in the 18th (through penalty corner) and 24th minutes (field goal) of the match. The first half score was 2-0. In the second half, Santoshi Patil of Gujarat scored a field goal in 50th minutes to reduce the margin to 1-2 but Anu converted a penalty corner in 61st minute. And Sangeeta Kadiyan scored a field goal in 67th minute for a comfortable 4-1 score. In other matches of the day, Ranchi University outplayed Mumbai University, 2-0 with half time score of 1-0, while Delhi University won by a solitary goal against Madras University. The goal was scored in the first half of the match. Tomorrow, at 1 pm, Kurukshetra University will play Ranchi University and Punjabi University, Patiala will clash with MD University. At 2.30 pm, Delhi University will play GND University while Panjab University will cross swords with Kerala University. |
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Punjab, Haryana
skaters excel FARIDABAD, Dec 19 — Teams from Punjab and Haryana won the National Roller Skating Hockey Championship in men and women sections, respectively. They also won the junior titles in this event. However, Gujarat and Karnataka emerged overall champions in artistic and speed categories of the 38th National Roller Skating Tournament at DAV Public School (Sector-14) grounds here last evening. In the final Punjab boys emerged winners in senior and junior (boys) categories of the roller hockey. Haryana claimed four gold medals winning senior girls, junior girls, sub-junior girls and sub-junior boys titles in roller hockey. In seniors (boys) section Punjab defeated Chandigarh by 3-2. Haryana boys got bronze medal in this event. Haryana girls won the seniors category beating Jammu and Kashmir in the finals. Andhra Pradesh managed third spot. Haryana also won the junior and sub-junior girl titles. Haryana outplayed Punjab in juniors and Delhi in sub-juniors category. Jammu and Kashmir girls claimed bronze in both junior and sub-juniors. In sub-junior (boys) category of roller hockey, Haryana beat Madhya Pradesh to win gold medal. Punjab got third place. Participants from Gujarat and Karnataka excelled in artistic and speed roller racing and managed maximum number of medals. Khusboo Saini of Haryana, a student of DAV Public School (Sector-14) remained one of the best skators in rink racing getting two gold medals. The Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Mr Ramesh Bais and Mr Ajay Chautala, MP, gave away prizes to winners. |
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Surgeon happy
with Ingle’s progress LONDON, Dec 19 (AFP) — The neurosurgeon who operated on the critically-ill boxer Paul Ingle, has declared himself “very pleased” with the featherweight’s progress. Robert Battersby, consultant at Sheffield’s Royal Hallamshire hospital, removed a blood clot from Ingle’s brain following Saturday’s International Boxing Federation (IBF) featherweight title fight with South Africa’s Mbulelo Botile. Ingle, (28,) appears to be out of danger, though the possibility of long-term damage remains. Battersby said at a news conference yesterday: “I am very pleased with his progress. He has been making movements today which I hope means he does not have too serious underlying physical problems. “I cannot comment yet on his mental injuries at this stage. We have dealt with the life-threatening situation but treating a head injury is not just taking out a blood clot. “He is now perhaps in certainly a difficult phase and I cannot predict quite how he is going to be.” |
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Akram in squad
for NZ tour ISLAMABAD, Dec 19 (PTI) — Squashing further speculation about veteran all-rounder Wasim Akram’s career, the Pakistan Cricket Board has finally decided to retain the former skipper in the team for the New Zealand tour starting in February. Wasim’s role in the team and his performance came in for intense deliberations at the Advisory Council meeting held in Lahore last week, and only after a thorough discussion it was decided that the former captain must be given one more chance in New Zealand. |
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BCCI panel
meeting on December 22 MUMBAI, Dec 19 (PTI) — The Indian cricket board’s (BCCI) Programme and Fixture Committee would meet here on December 22 to finalise the itinerary for the Australian tour of India in February next year. The meeting is also likely to discuss changes, if any, in the England under-19 itinerary, a board source said here today. The meeting would be attended by its chairman Kamal Morarka, M.P. Pandov, Venkata Rao, B.N. Singh, G.K. Kelkar, A.N. Mate, Jyothi Bajpai, Kishore Rungta and convenor and BCCI secretary Jaywant Lele, the source added. The “core” group of the BCCI will meet the following day here to discuss the action to be taken on the reply sent by the president of the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) Inderjit Bindra to the show cause notice issued by the board and media statements made by BCCI vice-president Morarka recently, the source said. |
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Coach quits in
protest HAMIRPUR, Dec 19 — Bhupinder Singh Thakur, an athletic coach credited with producing scores of state level and national level athletes from interiors of Himachal Pradesh particularly Hamirpur has resigned under protest. He was given a contractual job of a coach at Rs 4000 per month by the HP State Sports Council for two years on June 26, 2000. Recently, he was issued a show cause notice for allegedly violating the terms and conditions laid down in the agreement signed between him and the council. He is working at the local Government college these days. In his resignation letter sent to the Director, Youth Welfare and Sports, he alleged that he was working as per the condition laid down in the agreement and had committed no offence as mentioned in the show cause notice. |
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