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| Sunday, January 7, 2001, Chandigarh, India    |
Australia complete clean sweep
Warne recalled for one-dayers |
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| Laxman, Kumaran slam tons Dharmi scripts easy Rest victory Sidhu’s bail allowed Unseeded Chilean upsets Henman Hingis breaks jinx, lifts Hopman Cup |
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| Becker, Barbara meet in Miami Kerala eves upset Punjab PSCB, Punjab in last eight Chandigarh player suspended Silveira puts Churchill in final CISF shock Air-India Stoliarov, Tabara in final Black brothers in final Preparations on for National Games North zone win in FCI hockey Asian school hockey: 7 countries confirm participation DU beat BHU MDU surge ahead
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| Australia complete clean sweep SYDNEY, Jan 6 (AFP) — Michael Slater put behind the disappointment of missing a first innings hundred to power Australia to a six-wicket victory in the final Test here today and with it a 5-0 series clean sweep and 15 consecutive Test wins. Man-of-the-Match Slater curbed his natural attacking tendencies when needed early as Australia chased 173 runs for victory to finish with a flourishing unbeaten 86. Slater, who can be his own worst enemy through his impetuosity, crashed 11 boundaries in his 189-minute innings to steer the Australians to a comprehensive victory and stretch a winning Test sequence that had its origins back in Harare in October 1999. “Fifteen Tests in a row is a lot when you consider that the West Indies (in 1984) won 11 and the next side is eight, so we’ve basically doubled every other side in history besides the West Indies,” said team captain Steve Waugh. “I think it’s great that we’re doing this. It’s great to be a part of this side that’s achieving these tremendous things. “We don’t want to talk about it too much, the judgment day will come later when the winning streak ends and hopefully that will continue for a bit longer yet.” Ricky Ponting hit the winning boundary off Marlon Samuels to remain 14 not out in Australia’s 174 for four. Although this was a competitive West Indian performance compared with some other tame efforts in the series it was still the 18th defeat in their last 20 Tests away from the Caribbean. Australia won the first Test by an innings and 126 runs, the second Test by an innings and 27 runs, the third Test by five wickets and the fourth Test by 352 runs. Glenn McGrath, who took 21 wickets in the series including 10 in the Brisbane opener, was named Player-of-the-Series. “I have a lot of respect for the standard of cricket that Australia play,” said West Indies skipper Jimmy Adams. “I say that not only as an opposition captain, but as a cricketer. I think what they are doing is good for world cricket, they’re lifting the bar and that’s a great achievement.” Slater, who threw away a certain century in the first innings when he lashed out at legspinner Mahendra Nagamootoo and was caught for 96, dictated the scoring and partnered Steve Waugh to a decisive 102-run fourth wicket partnership in 101 minutes to take control. “In this series it was all about trying to get the side off to a good start and it was a real nice finish to this Test match, I was thrilled with the second innings, I was very frustrated with the first innings finishing a few short of the hundred,” said Slater. Slater had scores of 54, 83, 96 and today’s 86 not out in the series for an aggregate of 373 runs at an average of 53.28. There was some apprehension in only the second over of the day when Mark Waugh was out when he hung his bat at a Nixon McLean delivery outside the off-stump and looped a catch to Adams in the gully on his overnight score of three. SCOREBOARD West Indies (1st innings): 272 Australia (1st innings): 452 West Indies (2nd innings): 352 Australia (2nd innings): Slater not out 86 Hayden lbw b Stuart 5 Langer lbw b Walsh 10 M. Waugh c Adams b McLean 3 S. Waugh lbw b Samuels 38 Ponting not out 14 Extras: (b-3, lb-7, w-1, nb-7)18 Total: (4 wkts, 44.5 overs)174 Fall of wkts: 1-5, 2-38, 3-46, 4-148. Bowling: Walsh 15-5-35-1, Stuart 7-0-40-1, Mclean 8-1-35-1, Nagamootoo 9-1-28-0, Samuels 5.5-0-26-1. |
| Warne recalled for one-dayers SYDNEY, Jan 6 (AP) — Shane Warne was recalled to Australia’s No. 1 limited-overs lineup and Jason Gillespie was ruled out when selectors announced two teams today for the upcoming cricket internationals. The Australia and the Australia A lineups were named at the close of Australia’s six-wicket win at the Sydney Cricket Ground against the West Indies in the fifth and final cricket Test today. The win gave Australia its first ever 5-0 series sweep against the West Indies in Tests and extended its world-record winning sequence to 15 Tests. The world champion Australians will play the West Indies and Zimbabwe in a triangular one-day series starting January 11. Australia A, the second-string lineup, will take on the West Indies on January 9 in Adelaide and Zimbabwe in Brisbane three days later. Warne, Australia’s leading Test wicket-taker, was named in the top team despite only having played two games since coming back from a finger injury. |
| VIJAYAWADA, Jan 6 (PTI) —South Zone posted 372 for six in their first innings with the help of centuries by their skipper VVS Laxman (179) and night watchman T. Kumaran (106) at the end of the penultimate day of the four-day Duleep Trophy Cricket match against North Zone here today. This was in reply to North’s mammoth first innings total 708 for eight declared. South resumed at their overnight score of 41 for two and looked in total command after Laxman and Kumaran added 238 run in 210 balls. Kumaran, who is making his debut in Duleep Trophy got his 106 from 219 balls with the help of 14 fours before he was trapped leg before wicket by Surendra Singh. Hemang Badani joined Laxman and the pair added 110 runs for fourth wicket before the youngster from Tamil Nadu was caught by Dinesh Mongia off Surendra Singh after scoring 44. With wickets falling from the other end, Laxman held one end up and duly completed his 100 off 152 balls with help the of 15 fours. Laxman who looked set for a double hundred tried to go after the bowling after reaching 150 and was caught by Mongia off spinner Sudhakar Ghag for 179. At close of play south were 372 for six after Dodda Ganesh was trapped leg before by Surendra Singh for six in the last over of the day while allrounder Robin Singh was batting on seven. Surendra Singh, who took four wickets for 95 runs, was the most successful North bowler while Virendra Sehwag got two 80 for runs. Laxman escaped twice from being out. When on 15 he was dropped by Sehwag off Surender Singh then again he was let off when on 47 at slps by North skipper Vikram Rathore off Singh when the South Zone score was 124 for two. Minutes before tea the third wicket partnership between Kumaran and Laxman was separated by Surendra Singh. Laxman’s 179 came off 256 balls in 356 minutes with help of 29 fours and a six. North took the new ball after 96 overs and immediately met with success accounting for the last three wickets that fell after tea. The play was stopped for 10 minutes due to bad light during the last session. SCOREBOARD North-Zone (Ist inning): 708 for 8 decl. South-Zone (Ist inning): Sriram c Rathour b Surinder 11, Ramesh c Rathour b Ghag 08, Kumaran lbw b Surinder 106, Laxman c Akash b Ghag 179, Badani lbw b Surinder 44, Ganesh lbw b Surinder 06, Robin Singh batting 07. Extras (b-2, lb-3, nb-4, w-2) 11 Total (for six wickets in 100.5 overs) 372. Fall of wickets:- 1-18, 2-41, 3-279, 4-359, 5-361, 6-372. Bowling: Surinder Singh 19.5-4-95-4, Sudhakar Ghag 21-1-80-2, Harbhajan Singh 16-0-54-0, Rahul Sanghvi 21-6-52-0, Sarandeep Singh 18-3-62-0, Dinesh Mongia 1-0-1-0, Virender Sehwag 4-2-23-0. |
| Dharmi scripts easy Rest victory MUMBAI, Jan 6 (PTI) — Off-spinner Dharmi Chand scalped seven English batsmen as the Rest of India won the three-day cricket match against England under-19 by 10 wickets with half a day to spare at the MIG Club here today. Dharmi Chand, who had taken five for 65 in the first innings, mesmerised the visitors with accurate bowling and restricted them to a paltry 155 runs off 68.2 overs in their second innings after being eleven for two overnight. Dharmi Chand, who returned with the second innings figures of seven for 65, had a match haul of 12 wickets for 130 runs. Needing just 46 runs for an outright win, Rest of India reached the target without losing any wickets with openers Arindam Das (22) and Gaganinder Singh (24) rattling off the runs in just 11.3 overs. None of the English batsmen could play the Indian spinners, in the form of Chand and skipper Kashinath Khadkikar (3-35), well. At one stage, the visitors, needing 112 runs to avoid innings defeat, were 101 for seven before tailenders Robert Ferley (33; 53b, 5x4) and Mark Wallace (9; 41b) added 16 runs for the eighth wicket. Ferley along with Justin Bishop (14; 28b, 3x4) added another 34 runs for the ninth wicket to prolong the innings before being allout for 155. The four-day England-India first Test will start at the Wankhede Stadium from January 9. SCOREBOARD England (Ist innings): 210 all out India (Ist innings): 321 for seven declared England (2nd innings): (overnight 11 for two) J. Sadler c Lazarus b D. Chand 8 G. Pratt b D. Chand 0 A. McGarry lbw b D. Chand 0 I. Bell st Patel b Khadkikar 29 K. Ali st Patel b Khadkikar 16 I. Pattison c Khadkikar b D. Chand 25 G. Muchal c Das b D. Chand 13 M. Wallace b Khadkikar 9 R. Ferley st Patel b D. Chand 33 J. Bishop c Mishra b D. Chand 14 M. Panesar not out 0 Extras: (b-3, nb-2, w-3) 8 Total: (allout in 68.2 overs) 155 Fall of wickets: 1-2, 2-6, 3-25, 4-57, 5-70, 6-88, 7-101, 8-117, 9-151. Bowling: Gagandeep Singh 6-3-9-0, Dharmi Chand 26.2-6-65-7, T. Saha 11-3-31-0, S. Lazarus 4-1-12-0, K. Khadkikar 21-10-35-3. Rest of India (2nd innings): A. Das not out 22 G. Singh not out 24 Total: (for no loss) 46 Bowling: Andrew McGarry 2-0-10-0, Justin Bishop 3-2-11-0, Monty Panesar 4-1-9-0, Robert Ferley 2.3-0-16-0. |
| Sidhu’s bail allowed PATIALA, Jan 6 (UNI) — Former Test Cricketer Navjot Singh Sidhu’s bail application in a decade-old case under Section 304 of the IPC has been accepted by the court of the Chief Judicial Magistrate here. The CJM, while accepting the bail application of Sidhu here yesterday, directed him to appear before the Punjab and Haryana High Court. The high court had issued bailable warrants against the beleagured cricketer after allowing an appeal of family members of the deceased, Gurnam Singh, against the order of a local court acquitting Sidhu and other accused in the case. The case was registered following the death of Gurnam Singh in December, 1988, during his altercation with Sidhu. | |
| Unseeded Chilean upsets Henman ADELAIDE, (Australia), Jan 6 (Reuters) — World number 10 Tim Henman admitted frustration at his upset exit from the Australian men’s hardcourt championships today, but said he still had high hopes for this month’s Australian Open. The unseeded Chilean Nicolas Massu beat Henman 3-6, 7-5, 6-2, in today’s semi-final, putting a stop to the Briton’s winning run of eight matches which began at Brighton last year. “From my point of view, I’m pretty frustrated right now because I wanted to win this tournament and maintain the winning race from Brighton,’’ Henman said. “But I think in the big picture I’ll realise in a couple of days, when I’m practising in Melbourne, that I’m in good shape.’’ “I feel like I’m hitting the ball well and I’ve given myself every opportunity to do well in the Australian Open,’’ he said. Henman will not play in any of the run-up tournaments to the Grand Slam event, preferring to practise only so he will be completely fresh. But he believes his disappointment at missing out on the Adelaide tournament will serve as good motivation. ‘There is that element of frustration that you sometimes need, it will no doubt spur me on to make sure I work hard and put in the necessary preparation,’’ he said. “I really feel very optimistic for the Australian and hopefully will have my best run ever there.’’ Henman finished in the top 10 for the second time in three years in 2000, having won two titles, Brighton and Vienna, in a career-high five finals. He made the fourth round at the Australian Open last year, his best performance in Melbourne. Dokic pips Kournikova The 17 year-old Australian edged a tight first set in a tiebreak and went on to win 7-6 (7/3) 6-3 after 80 minutes on court. The Belgrade-born Dokic, ranked number 25 in the world, was delighted to find her early season form with the Australian Open round the corner. “I am very happy right now. There are still some things to be worked on but I have gotten a few matches here which is great — some really tough ones and mentally and physically I feel really good out there.” The two teenagers produced some dazzling tennis both blasting ferocious backhands and cross court winners at will. In a topsy-turvy first set, both Dokic and Kournikova were broken three times each with the Russian double faulting six times, allowing the Australian back into the match having been 3-5 down. “I lost my concentration after two love in the first when I had a break and then she broke back. She played very well and didn’t miss anything and was forcing me the whole time,” Dokic said. After holding her serve Dokic broke the Russian beauty again to level the score at five all. The games then went with serve through to the tie break, which proved to be the turning point of the match. “I just played smart tennis, I attacked her serve and I just mixed it up. I made her play every shot and I think that was the difference in the tiebreaker. “That was the key to the match — whoever won that first set — it was going to be pretty tough to turn it around.” But the world number eight Russian showed some of her renowned grit in the second set coming from a seemingly disastrous five-one down to save four match points in the seventh game and then break the Belgrade-born Dokic in the next. However, Dokic displaying a maturity well beyond her years, served out to take the set and the match — her first victory as a professional. “I knew it was going to be tough today though. She beat Jennifer (Capriati) last night and she was going to have a lot of crowd support which is always tough. Hingis breaks jinx, lifts Hopman Cup PERTH, Jan 6 (AFP) — World number one Martina Hingis maintained a remarkable unbeaten record to lead Switzerland to a 2-1 victory over the USA in the Hopman Cup final here today. The Swiss Miss, who has never lost a singles match in the mixed team event, teamed up with former world junior champion Roger Federer to overcome Monica Seles and Jan-Michael Gambill and claim the $ 240,000 ($ 130,000) winner’s cheque in the eight-nation event. It was Switzerland’s second triumph in the 13-year-old contest — the first came nine years ago when Manuela Maleeva-Fragniere and Jakob Hlasek beat Czechoslovakia’s Helena Sukova and Karel Novacek in the final. |
| Becker, Barbara meet in Miami BERLIN, Jan 6 (AFP) — Former German tennis star Boris Becker and his estranged wife Barbara met today with their respective lawyers in a Miami restaurant, the German news channel television N24 reported. The couple, who separated on December 5, are due to appear in court on Monday for a custody battle over their two children. They lunched together in the Banker’s Club restaurant on the 14th floor of a tower, where Barbara Becker’s lawyer has her office. Barbara Becker is seeking the custody of six-year-old Noah Gabriel and one-year-old Elias Balthasar, as well as alimony and their Florida vacation home on Fisher Island, estimated to be worth three million dollars. She has not filed for divorce. |
| BANGALORE, Jan 6 (UNI) — Recording their second successive victory with ease in the superleague encounter here today, Kerala women virtually assured themselves of a quarterfinal berth in the 51st Senior National Basketball Championship for men and women. Kerala, who had started their campaign with a 74-57 win over strong Maharashtra yesterday, bounced back to beat Punjab 68-55 for their second victory in group “A”. Now, they will meet defending champions Railways in their last league encounter. Late last night, 13-time champions Railways started their title defence with a facile 56-19 win over Punjab. Now, Punjab have to win their last league encounter against Maharashtra to keep their chances alive of progressing into the knockout round. In the qualifying rounds, Delhi, Kerala, Chandigarh, Maharashtra, West Bengal and Haryana in the men’s section and Orissa, Pondicherry, Chandigarh and Andhra Pradesh in the women’s section won their respective matches. The match of the morning was between Haryana and Gujarat in group “C”, which saw a nail-biting finish. Punjab women playing their second successive match seemed to have recovered from the loss as they raced to an early lead against Kerala. But Kerala fought back superbly thanks to some brilliant basketting by Ambali Thomas, who bagged 23 points and was ably supported by Liji George with 13 points. Kerala women were good both in defence and attack and were quick in clearing the rebounds. Punjab’s efforts to come back into the match in the last quarter were in vain. For the losers, Mandeep Brar and Sarabjit scored 19 each. In the qualifying round matches, it was a ding-dong battle between Haryana and Gujarat. Haryana, who were trailing 29-33 at half-time, won the match in group “C” thanks to conversion of two free throws in the last minute of the encounter. For Haryana, Praveen Kumar excelled scoring 28 points, while Manoj Kumar made 16. Johnson Abraham was the top scorer for Gujarat with 18. In the same group, West Bengal outgunned Pondicherry 79-58. In group “E”, Delhi beat Jammu and Kashmir 55-21 and Kerala defeated Assam 79-24 for their second successive victories. The match between Kerala and Delhi would decide the group leader and they can hope to qualify for the prequarterfinal knockout. In group “D”, Maharahstra accounted for Orissa 50-29 for their second win while Chandigarh pipped Himachal Pradesh 81-61 for their first victory. Andhra Pradesh women toyed with Himachal Pradesh during their 64-27 victory in group “C”, while Chandigarh whiped Haryana 55-18 for their second win in group “D”. In group “E”, Orissa beat Gujarat 48-30, while Pondicherry defeated Goa 32-17. |
| CUTTACK, Jan 6 (UNI) — Reigning champions Petroleum Sports Control Board (PSCB) Delhi, Tamil Nadu and Punjab cruised into the quarter-finals of the women’s team event on the second day of the 62nd Senior National and Inter-State Table Tennis Championship being played at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium here today. While national champion Mouma Das-led PSCB and Punjab made it to the last eight stage from group “A”, Tamil Nadu and Delhi were through to the quarter-finals despite Delhi losing to Tamil Nadu 1-3 in their last league encounter in group ”D”. Delhi women, who ranked fifth behind Tamil Nadu in the previous team championship, surged ahead winning the first set 21-15,21-19 though skiper Ekta Bhamoari against Tamil Nadu’s Lavanya Rathnam. But they conceded the next three sets to their opponents waging a gallant fight till the end. With an all win record, Tamil Nadu topped the group, while Delhi finished second with four consecutive wins and a loss suffered in the hands of strong contender Tamil Nadu. In group “A” unseeded Punjab sealed the fate of sixth seed Rajasthan when they upset their opponents 3-2 in a keenly contest match to enter the last eight along with champions PSCB. The PSCB-Rajasthan tie would, however, decide the group topper as both PSCB and Punjab are tied winning five matches each. PSCB made sure of their entry in the quarter-finals after registering their fifth consecutive victory today by ousting Bihar 3-0. In the men’s section, defending champions PBSB and Tamil Nadu also moved into the quarter-finals from group “A” as they both recorded five consecutive victories in their league matches. Runners-up Punjab were, however, struggling to remain in the last eight stage having lost to Andhra Pradesh 0-3 and Gujarat 2-3 out of four matches they played so far in group “B’’. While Maharashtra (B) was leading the table with four consecutive wins, Gujarat and Assam gave a tough fight with three wins each to their credit. On the other hand, Bengal men and women well established in their respective groups with four consecutive wins each, while in the men’s group “C’’ they face the challenge of third seed Railways and Karnataka, the women team of the side are battling it out with eighth seeded Assam and Maharashtra (B). On the second day today, Bengal men outplayed Haryana 3-0,while their female counterparts swamped hosts Orissa in three straight matches. Delhi, ranked ninth in the men’s team event last time, are engaged in a tough fight with fourth seeded Uttar Pradesh and seventh seeded Rajasthan to qualify for the knock-out stage from group “D’’. |
| Chandigarh player suspended CUTTACK, Jan 6 (PTI) — The Table Tennis Federation of India today suspended Manish Bharadwaj, a member of the Chandigarh men’s team, for alleged misbehaviour after losing his match against Bhushan Thakur of Railways in the ongoing national and Inter-State Table Tennis Championships here last night. Chief referee Gopal Routh said Bharadwaj would not be allowed to participate in either the team or individual events of the championships. Bharadwaj lost the tie against Thakur in the group-C team championship match which the Railways won 3-0 and then acted in a manner amounting to misbehaviour, Routh said. |
| Silveira puts Churchill in final MUMBAI, Jan 6 (PTI) — Striker Francis Silveira scored a brace to help Zee Churchill Brothers beat Iran Youth team 2-1 to enter the finals of 100th Rovers Cup Football Tournament at the Cooperage here today. Silveira, who was not so impressive in the last three matches, came to his team’s rescue when they needed him most and played a perfect striker’s role to score a goal in either halves. Churchill dominated most part of the game and also took an early lead when Silveira received a pass from hard-working Ajay Kumar in the 15th minute. The lone Iranian defender could not clear Ajay’s pass which went straight to the waiting Silveira who promptly pushed the ball into the net. This goal gave the much-needed boost to Zee striker who joined the team after being sidelined from the Indian team which will take part in the forthcoming Millennium Cup Soccer Championship. Iran tried their best to equalise but failed in all their efforts and also missed easy scoring opportunities which came their way. They managed to equalise through Reza Hadadi, who hit a perfect right footer which dodged Churchill goalkeeper Edward Ansah and hit the net, seconds before referee blew the whistle signalling end of first half. The teams took break when the score was level at 1-1. In the second half also Churchill played with a positive attitude and spent most of the time in opponent’s penalty area making excellent moves. Somehow they failed to give finishing touches to these moves and were unable to increase the lead. Inacio Afonso and Ajay Kumar combined well in the 55th minute and Ajay might have scored the goal but his shot went just over the bars. On the other hand Iranians also missed an easy chance when striker Eman Mobali’s shot went inches out in the dying minutes of the game. Silveira proved sceptics wrong and scored seconds before the final whistle. Again it was tiny midfielder Ajay Kumar who fed Silveira with a brilliant pass and the lanky striker put the ball between the two bars much to his team-mates’ relief. Zee Churchill Brothers will meet the winners of the other semifinal to be played between traditional rivals Mohun Bagan and East Bengal tomorrow. |
| NEW DELHI, Jan 6 (UNI) — Striker Parteek Kumar scored an opportunistic goal to help Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) beat star studded Air-India (Mumbai) 1-0 to record their second successive win the 11th Shastri Hockey Tournament here today. Another formidable team, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) overpowered spirited UB Club (Canada) 3-2 while two Jalandhar teams — Border Security Force (BSF) and Punjab and Sind Bank (PSB)-chalked out hard fought victories over their rivals. BSF downed Sikh Regimental Centre (SRC) and PSB defeated ICF (Chennai) by identical 2-1 margins. In the first match of the day, a defensive lapse cost Air-India dear as Parteek Kumar sent the ball in the cage in the 27th minute. For the rest of the 43 minutes CISF defended the slender lead successfully to garner full points though Air-India tried hard for the equaliser but failed. BPCL with several internationals in their ranks overcame visiting UB Club Canada 3-2 after leading 2-0 at half time. BPCL took a two-goal lead in the first 10 minutes through international Amar Aiyamma and R.P. Singh. Aiyamma converted a penalty corner in the 4th minute and R.P. Singh shot home second goal six minutes later. BPCL dominated the proceedings and earned as many as seven penalty corner but could convert only one. The visitors forced only one penalty corner in the 59th minute but muffed it. Five minutes into the second half the Canadian side, comprising mostly of NRI’s, reduced the margin when Stev found the target (1-2). BPCL again increased the lead three minutes later when Navdeep Singh shot home the third goal. UB Club reduced the margin within a minute through Dharminder Singh but after that BPCL beefed up their defence and defended the lead till the end. BPCL now have four points from two outings. Title contenders PSB made heavy weather of their 2-1 win over lowly ICF (Chennai) despite dominating the game throughout. The bank men earned nine penalty corners but could convert only two. They also missed several sitters. For ICF this was their third successive defeat in as many days and they are out of contention. PSB took the lead in the 11th minute when Kamalpreet Singh scored off the first penalty corner. Three minutes later, PSB increased the lead when Satinderpal Singh scored off the second penalty corner. ICF reduced the gap three minutes before the breather through Srikanthan. The second session was dominated by the bankmen but they failed to score any more. BSF managed to earn full points beating SRC 2-1 after leading 1-0 at half time. Marinus Lakra put BSF ahead in the 14th minute and had to wait for another 33 minutes to increase the lead. C. Ekka scored off the fourth penalty corner. Vijay Kumar scored for the SRC in the 52nd minute off a penalty corner. This was SRC’s first defeat in two outing. They had drawn their first match against BPCL. |
| chennai, jan 6 (PTI) — Andrei Stoliarov of Russia survived a tough three-setter to set up a title clash with Michal Tabara of the Czech Republic in the atp Gold Flake Open here tomorrow. The unseeded Russian overcame the challenge of Tommy Robredo of Spain 4-6 6-3 6-4 in the semifinal here today. On the other hand, Tabara had an easy entry into the final, after his opponent, Kristian Pless of Denmark, conceded the match after 14 minutes in another semifinal. Pless was trailing 0-4, 15-30 when he decided that enough was enough and shook hands with Tabara, making an unfortunate exit from the championship, after entering the first ATP Tour semifinal of his career with a victory over Adrian Voinea of Romania yesterday. It was a disappointing end to Pless, who was billed as the favourite for the title considering his past performances in the tournament. “I am happy that I entered the final. I am a bit lucky today,” Tabara said. “Pless has good serves and was tough to beat on hard court. I thought I could go out and give 100 per cent,” he added. The contest lasted exactly 14 minutes, including the three-minute medical break taken by Pless at the end of the game. The start itself was not good for Pless, who tried to continue despite the injury he sustained during his quarterfinal match against Voinea yesterday. After dropping serve in the first game, he was hardly able to move. He served a double fault in the third game and Tabara passed him with a double-fisted backhand. Pless erred twice to drop serve of the second break point. After getting a three-minute treatment from the ATP Tour doctor, Pless could not even move around as Tabara held serve at love for a 4-0 lead. After playing three more points in the next game, Pless conceded.
 Black brothers in final CHENNAI, Jan 6 (PTI) — The Zimbabwean pair of Byron Black and Wayne Black moved into the doubles final of the ATP Gold Flake Open with an emphatic 6-3 6-4 win over Frantisek Cermak and Ota Fukarek of the Czech Republic in the semifinal here today. The Zimbabwean pair were expected to make it to the final and they stuck to their task quite efficiently against the Czech duo who incidentally were making their first appearance in a semi-final on the ATP Tour. Byron and Wayne were effective in both defence and attack and with excellent court coverage, they were always on top, barring the fourth game of the second set when Wayne was broken. |
| Preparations on for National Games PATIALA, Jan 6 — Even though the fate of the National Games, scheduled to be held in various cities of Punjab from March 18 to 31, hangs in the balance, work at various sites in Patiala, which is one of the venues for the games, is going on at a feverish pitch. The city will play host to the disciplines of archery, boxing, swimming, gymnastic and weightlifting while the disciplines of kho-kho and kabaddi, which were earlier allotted to Patiala and were to be held at the YPS Stadium, have been shifted to Ludhiana for a variety of reasons. Work to construct a new multipurpose pavilion at the polo grounds is going on round the clock. The polo grounds will host competitions in archery and the preliminary rounds of boxing. The pavilion will have two large dormitories, a canteen, an office besides a hall for media facilities. The construction of the pavilion, which is being built at a cost of Rs 1.25 crore, is being undertaken by the government-owned Punjab State Industrial Export Corporation (PSIEC) and the structure is expected to be handed over to the Punjab Sports Department by the last week of February. The gymnasium, located within the precincts of the polo grounds is also being given a facelift. Gymnastics and the final rounds of boxing are slated to be held in the gymnasium. Work for sound proofing the entire gymnasium is on at a hectic pace and the perennial problem of electricity has also been solved as the 236 halogen lights installed have been removed and they are now being replaced by 48 metal hay lights. The gymnasium has a sanctioned load of 300 kw and each halogen light used to consume 1 kw of electricity. With various other gadgets also consuming power there used to be a scarcity of power which meant sportspersons had to practise outside the gym notwithstanding the vagaries of the weather. After the installation of the metal hay lights, which will fully illuminate the gym, the problem of scarcity of power will be solved once and for all. Two stand-bye generator sets will also be kept just during the games in case some unforseen power problem surfaces at the venue. The NIS authorities have also braced themselves up for games and the NIS swimming pool, built to international specifications, is also being given finishing touches. The local Municipal Corporation has floated tenders for renovating the rink hall which will host the weightlifting discipline. Work, which has already been delayed due to bureaucratic hassles, is likely to commence on a war footing shortly. The district administration and the state Sports Department have made arrangements for the accommodation of the nearly 2600 sportspersons who will be assembling here at various hostels including those of Punjabi University, women’s polytechnic, National Institute of Sports, State College of Education and the Government Physical College. The district administration has made elaborate arrangements for the accommodation of VIPs and technical delegates at various government guest houses in and around the city. Meanwhile, the fate of the games will be known only after a two-member IOA team comprising its president, Mr Suresh Kalmadi and the secretary-general, Mr Randhir Singh, meet officials of the Punjab Olympic Association at Chandigarh on January 15. Games or no games, all the ongoing renovations and facelifts will prove to be a boon for sports enthusiasts of the city, who for long have been deprived of some good playing facilities. |
| North zone win in FCI hockey LUDHIANA, Jan 6 — North Zone inflicted a 9-0 defeat on Headquarters in the 30th All-India Inter-Zone FCI Hockey Tournament here today. In the second match, West Zone defeated South Zone 1-0. North Zone (NZ) played an aggressive game against South Zone (SZ). In the second minute Navbir Singh struck the first goal. Soon after Rajeev Panchal scored the second goal in the fifth minute. In the 17th minute, Amar Negi converted a penalty corner. Kuljinder made it 4-0 in the 24th minute by scoring a field goal. Four minutes before the breather, Amar Negi made use of a penalty corner and took the tally to 5-0. After the interval NZ dominated the proceedings. Sanjay capitalised on a penalty corner in the 44th minute. In quick succession, Rajiv Panchal sounded the board making it 7-0 in the 45th minute. In the 58th minute Rajiv again struck a field goal. Four minutes before the final hooter Amar Negi struck a field goal and took the tally to 9-0. In the second match West Zone played an offensive game. West Zone got 12 penalty corners but unfortunately they could not make use of the opportunities. Five minutes before the lemon break Farjan Ur Rehman scored a field goal and made it 1-0. After the breather West Zone played a very offensive game but could not improve the tally. |
| Asian school hockey: 7 countries confirm participation CHANDIGARH, Jan 6 — The participation of seven countries, including India has been confirmed for the Asian Schools Hockey Championship which is going to begin from January 18 at Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana. Giving this information, Mr Pritam Singh Chhabra, Secretary-General, School Games Federation of India said Iran had only recently given their consent. He said Poland and Japan also might come as guest countries and their confirmation was expected in another two days. Mr Chhabra said the Indian camp for 24 probables was already on at the Sector 42 hockey stadium here. He hoped that with the hosting of this meet, the best of the Indian talent would be spotted at school-level. Mr Chhabra said it was for the first time that Punjab was playing host to a meet of such a big stature and was thankful to the Chief Minister, Mr P.S. Badal, and the Education Minister, Mr Tota Singh, for taking interest in the championship. Mr Tota Singh will inaugurate the meet while Mr Badal will be the chief guest on the final day. |
| NEW DELHI, Jan 6 (UNI) — Bangalore and Delhi kept their hopes alive of making to the knock-out stage as they scored easy victories over their rivals in All-India Inter-Varsity Hockey Tournament here today. Bangalore, who finished third in the south zone, overpowered Sambalpur 3-1. Pundalik, M.D. Chinnappa and Naveeniswaran scored for the winners. Darwin Bora was the scorer for the losers. Delhi defeated Banaras Hindu University (BHU) 3-0. This was Delhi’s second win in three outings. While for BHU it was their second straight defeat. For the winners Ashish Tikku, Ajay Kumar and Rajesh scored a goal each. In another fixture Ranchi out- played Kerala 5-2 to record their first win. Jiwaji and Madurai Kamraj University split points as their match ended in a goal-less draw. Chaudhary Charan Singh University (CCSU) Meerut thrashed Shivaji University (Kolhapur) 7-2. Dinesh Kumar, Bikramjeet (two each) Sandeep Singh, Raju Kumar and Tariq Aziz (one each) were the scorers for CCSU. Ashok Jadav and Rokharo (one each) scored for Shivaji. |
| MDU surge ahead CHANDIGARH, Jan 6 — Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology, Patiala and MD University, Rohtak surged ahead in the men’s section on the opening day of the North Zone Inter-Varsity Badminton Tournament at the PU gymnasium hall, here today. TIET, Patiala, outplayed Jamia Hamdard University, Delhi 3-0. MDU, Rohtak, made short work of Kumaon University, Nainital, 3-0. In the women’s section, HP University, Shimla, overpowered Jammu University, Jammu, 2-0 while Bundelkhand University, Jhansi, defeated MJP Rohilkhand University, Bareilly,2-0. Results — Dr RML Avadh University, Faizabad b Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh 3-1; PAU, Ludhiana b Jammu University, Jammu 3-0; MDU, Rohtak b Kumaon University, Nainital 3-0; TIET, Patiala b JHU, Delhi 3-0; Dr BRA University, Agra b Roorkee University, Roorkee 3-2. |
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HONG KONG (AFP): Jelena Dokic got her Australian Open preparations off to flying start today with a hard-fought win over Anna Kournikova in the final of Hong Kong’s new year exhibition tournament.