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| Monday, January 29, 2001, Chandigarh, India   
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Agassi brushes aside
Clement in final
It will be a great
year: Capriati NFL round-up Australia beat Zimbabwe by 86
runs Yuvraj cracks maiden ton in drawn
tie Afridi’s bowling
action cleared |
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Strong reply by Indian
colts Another feather in Irina’s
cap Row over appointment of
DS They brought laurels to
school Swimmer Richa felicitated ITF meet begins
today Centre to
implement Punjab proposals Dinesh’s team
wins title
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Agassi brushes aside Clement in final MELBOURNE, Jan 28 (Reuters) — Defending champion Andre Agassi outclassed Arnaud Clement 6-4 6-2 6-2 today to win the Australian Open men’s singles title for the third time. The American became the first man since compatriot Jim Courier in 1993 to win back-to-back Australian titles when he completed a one-sided victory over Frenchman Clement in one hour 45 minutes. “This was truly a thrill and I will never forget this,” Agassi said. “You never know when the last time you’re going to be here is. And it never ceases to be overwhelming. “If this is somehow the last one I ever manage to win, which hopefully is not the case, I can honestly say that I’m truly honored and privileged. “While you don’t know if you ever can be as lucky to be up here winning again, one thing I will promise you is that I look forward to many years coming back working hard for you,” he told the crowd. Sixth seed Agassi, who won his first title at Melbourne Park in 1995, sealed the win with a backhand winner as Clement, the 15th seed, conceded defeat in his first major final. “To compete in my first Grand Slam final is something that feels unreal to me,” said Clement, reading from a prepared statement. Agassi raced through the first set in just half an hour and didn’t ease up the pressure on the Frenchman who had come from two sets down to beat his close friend Sebastien Grosjean in the semifinals. The champion outgunned Clement from the back of the court, breaking the Frenchman’s serve for the first time in the third game. Clement, the 15th seed, had few answers to Agassi’s placement and power and dropped serve again in the fifth game as the American raced to a 4-1 lead. Agassi produced a series of uncharacteristic errors in the sixth game to hand Clement three break points. The Frenchman broke back on the first of those points with a scorching forehand service return. But Agassi served out the set safely four games later then immediately put his stamp on the match when he broke Clement’s serve to love in the opening game of the second set. The flashy Frenchman’s game slowly began to disintegrate and he handed Agassi another break of serve with two double faults in the fifth game on a hot day on Melbourne Park’s centre court. Clement tried to lure Agassi into long rallies but the American commanded the match from the baseline, peeling winners off left and right. With Clement’s error count growing, Agassi then served out the set safely to love. He slammed an ace on the final point after exactly an hour on court. Clement, the first Frenchman to reach the final in Australia since Jean Borotra, one of the legendary Musketeers of French tennis, won the title in 1928, traded serves with Agassi at the start of the third set but quickly went behind again as Agassi wrapped up a comfortable victory. The last Frenchman to win a Grand Slam singles title was Yannick Noah at the 1983 French Open. Agassi “impossible” to beat:
Clement MELBOURNE, Jan 28 (Reuters) — Frenchman Arnaud Clement paid Andre Agassi the ultimate compliment after losing the Australian Open final to him today, saying the American played so well that it would have been “impossible” to beat
him. Clement was beaten 6-4 6-2 6-2 in an hour and 45 minutes but said there was nothing he could have done against a red-hot Agassi.“I wasn’t nervous at all he but he was just too strong for me,” Clement said. “I have beaten him twice before so I was determined just to play my game but he was two or three levels higher”.“For me it was impossible to beat him.”Clement, who was appearing in his first Grand Slam final, said Agassi was the best baseline player in the world.“I don’t think anyone would have beaten him from the baseline,” the Frenchman said. |
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It will be a great year: Capriati MELBOURNE, Jan 28 (AP) — Jennifer Capriati’s astounding Grand Slam breakthrough and a stunning stumble by Venus Williams at the Australian Open left the balance of power scrambled atop women’s tennis. Seldom, if ever, has the WTA Tour enjoyed such a depth of championship talent. Five players have won the past six Grand Slam titles, and that group doesn’t include top-ranked Martina Hingis. The jumble will make tournaments delightfully difficult to predict. “It’s going to be a great year,” Capriati said. She was speaking for herself, but fans are in for a treat too, especially if Capriati can sustain the brilliant play in Melbourne that resulted in her first Grand Slam title. She beat Hingis 6-4 6-3 in yesterday’s final. The victory will vault Capriati to seventh in next week’s rankings. It’s the first time she has been in the top 10 since early 1994, when she had abandoned the tour at age 17 because of drug and personal problems. Now she’s a happy, mature, confident 24-year-old who seem determined to make up for lost time. “From here on, I will always have the belief in myself that I can do anything,” she said. “I will never be afraid in any match.” Her upset victory came only 48 hours after another shocker — Williams’ 6-1 6-1 loss to Hingis. Just when it appeared the Wimbledon, US Open and Olympic champion was ready to dominate women’s tennis, she instead endured the most lopsided loss of her career. “Not everyone can win every time,” Williams said. “It’s early in the year. A lot of players have a tough time early in the year.” Serena Williams played better than her sister in the early rounds before losing to Hingis in the quarterfinals. For Hingis the victories were doubly significant, because she beat both sisters in the same tournament for the first time. In response to their overpowering strokes, she has gotten stronger herself and improved her serve. It’s two years and counting since Hingis’ fifth and most recent Grand Slam title, but she remains the most consistent player on the tour and a threat to win any event. “I proved that I can beat anybody out there,” Hingis said. “I can still smile. I have more opportunities to come.” But there will be more obstacles than ever with the inclusion of Capriati, who is capable of winning on every Grand Slam surface. She reached the semifinals at Wimbledon, the French Open and the US Open by age 15. |
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NFL round-up KOLKATA, Jan 28 (PTI) — Title holders Mohun Bagan rode on a second half resurgence to pip Indian Telephone Industries 1-0 in a fifth National Football League match here today. After a barren first half, which saw a listless variety of soccer, Bagan struck the winner in the 63rd minute through their in form striker R.C. Prakash. The goal followed a measured Jose Ramirez Barreto free kick from the left of the box headed by Amauri da Silva towards the first post for Renedy Singh, who sent a short minus to Prakash, who in turn pushed home from close range. Bagan, who failed to find their bearings in the first half with their Brazilian upfronter Barreto being policed to submission by ITI’s Feroze in the striking zone, looked a changed side after the Breather as Barreto fell back. From then on, the Brazilian, freed from his marker, played a crucial role in creating several moves with his neat, incisive passes that foxed the ITI defence. Bagan could have won by a bigger margin had their forwards not frittered away a number of chances that came their way. ITI, on the other hand, matched Bagan attack for attack in the first half but lost steam in the later session. Bagan now have seven points from three encounters and ITI have four points from three matches. MARGAO: A penalty goal by medio Climax Lawrence in the first half helped Salgaocar edge past a fighting JCT, Phagwara 1-0 in the fifth edition of the National Football League here today. Both the teams played at a fast pace devoid of any goal bound thrill as the moves fizzled out at the top of the box. Salgaocar dominated the first half, while it was JCT all the way in the second. Salgaocar scored the all-important goal in the 29th minute through a penalty by medio Climax Lawrence. Dennis Cabral, who initiated the move from the right flank, put Climax in possesion inside the box and Climax in turn tried to pass to defender Roque Pereira who moved up but the ball brushed the hand of medio Harinder Singh and referee Shanker showed the dreaded spot. The resultant penalty was converted by Climax himself who beat goalkeeper Arvind Kumar to his left. JCT came back strongly into the second half with long aerial ball but their upfront faltered as they failed to beat the rival defence. Their best chance was in the first half when Hardip Gill passed to Rampal but his try was saved by keeper Juje Siddi who dived to his left and denied goal to the millmen. KOLKATA: Stung by an initial reverse, fancied East Bengal raised their game by several notches to outclass State Bank of Travancore 3-1 in a fifth National Football League encounter here yesterday. Dipendu Biswas, Diapankar Roy and Omoloja Olalekan struck for the winners after the bankmen took an early lead through T. Shabir Ali in the exciting encounter at the Rabindra Sarobar Stadium. East Bengal, who suffered a shock 0-1 defeat against ITI, Bangalore, after carving out a fluent 2-0 win over Manaksia Tollygunge Agragami in their tournament lung opener, now have six points in their kitty from three outings. SBT, who have played the same number of matches as East Bengal, have four points less. SBT began on a positive note, attacking from both flanks and scored their goal in only the sixth minute, but then failed to match forces with their formidable rivals who slowly took control of the game. Taking a 2-1 lead at the half way mark, the local outfit further stepped on the gas in the second session and pumped in another goal to put it across their opponents. MARGAO: Air-India came from behind to hold Vasco to a one-all draw in the action packed second half on Saturday. Vasco, who dominated most part of the match, shot into the lead in the 30th minute through Khoshimov Avazbek. Air-India improved their game in the second half and restored parity through substitute Narendra Meetei in the 52nd minute. Vasco medio Ravi Babu who worked his way on the left sent a long lob into the box for striker Avazbek Khoshimov, who got better of defender Khambiton Singh and Raju Singh and took a crack at the goal. The ball hit inside edge of the post and went in beating keeper Ansari to his left. FC Kochin win Though local hero stopper Jo Paul Anchery put the home side ahead in the 43rd minute of the first half through a penalty, Francis Silveira drew parity for Zee-Churchill in the 59th minute of the match played at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium. With just one minute before the final whistle Anoj shot home the winner and helped his team earn three more points. |
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Australia beat Zimbabwe by 86 runs SYDNEY, Jan 28 (AP) — Australia won their sixth consecutive match and clinched a berth in the finals of the tri-series limited-overs tournament with an 86-run victory today over Zimbabwe. Australia made 291-6 and held Zimbabwe to 205 off 47.5 overs. It was Zimbabwe’s fourth loss in five games. Zimbabwe gave themselves a chance of victory at the halfway stage but lacked the batting depth to chase the large total. Midway through the innings, the visitors appeared in control of the game as Stuart Carlisle (44) and Andy Flower (39) added 92 runs in composed fashion off 115 balls. But the pair were out within a few balls of each other, Flower slashing at a wide ball from Michael Bevan to be caught low down at backward point by Andrew Symonds. Carlisle was unlucky to be given out lbw to Shane Warne by umpire Peter Parker, with replays showing the ball hit him outside off stump and was turning even further away. Symonds then played a strong hand with his off-spinners, claiming Gavin Rennie (11) and Grant Flower (30) - both stumped by Gilchrist. Captain Steve Waugh drew heavily on his quartet of spin bowlers, with Symonds (2-35 off eight), Warne (2-52 off 10), Bevan (1-25 off seven) and Ricky Ponting (1-12 off five) all taking wickets. Australia’s fielding was exceptional. The final wicket of the game came when Damien Fleming threw from the boundary to run out Bryan Strang. In the end, Zimbabwe played for their net run-rate, which could prove decisive if they can beat the West Indies in Perth on Friday and draw level with them on the points table. Earlier, Bevan led Australia in their innings, making 74 not out from 70 balls. His innings featured only four fours and one six, but a lot of fast running between wickets. After a steady start from the top order, Bevan was able to cut loose in the latter stages of the innings and was ably supported in the final overs by the inform Darren Lehmann, who made 36 off 21 balls before he was bowled off the last ball of the innings. Bevan and Lehmann added 50 in 30 balls. The basis for the big score was the 98 runs in 22 overs put on by Adam Gilchrist, who made 63, and Mark Waugh (36).Symonds also contributed to the rapid fire scoring in the final 10 overs, making 22 off 13 balls. Dirk Viljoen was the best of the Zimbabwe bowlers, finishing with 3-62 off 10 overs. Australia Gilchrist c Campbell b Strang 63 M. Waugh run out 36 S. Waugh c A. Flower b Viljoen 36 Bevan not out 74 Ponting c Whittall b Viljoen 15 Symonds b Viljoen 22 Lehmann b Streak 36 Extras (lb-4 w-1 nb-4) 9 Total (for six wickets, 50 overs) 291 Fall of wickets: 1-98 2-111 3-159 4-187 5-241 6-291 Bowling: Streak 10-0-56-1 (nb-2, w-1), Strang 10-0-50-1 (nb-2), Nkala 8-0-56-0, Whittall 4-0-25-0, Murphy 8-0-38-0, Viljoen 10-0-62-3 Zimbabwe Campbell lbw b Fleming 3 Whittall c Warne b McGrath 10 Carlisle lbw b Warne 44 Flower c Symonds b Bevan 39 Flower st Gilchrist b Symonds 30 Rennie st Gilchrist v Symonds 11 Streak c Bevan b Ponting 9 Viljoen b Warne 31 Nkala c Gilchrist b Fleming 4 Strang run out 2 Murphy not out 2 Extras: (b-3 lb-6 w-5 nb-6) 20 Total (all out, 47.5 overs) 205 Fall of wickets: 1-13 2-13 3-105 4 119 5-143 6-159 7-190 8-200 9-200 Bowling: McGrath 6.5-1-26-1 (nb-2), Fleming 6-1-21-2, Warne 10-0-52-2 (nb-1, w-3), Bracken 5-0-25-0 (nb-3), Bevan 7-0-25-1 (w-2), Symonds 8-0-35-2, Ponting 5-0-12-1. |
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Yuvraj cracks maiden ton in drawn
tie NEW DELHI, Jan 28 — Dashing batsman Yuvraj Singh’s stroke-filled knock of 130 was the icing on North Zone’s Duleep Trophy cake, as the four-day league match against Central Zone ended in a predictable draw at the Ferozeshah Kotla ground here today. North Zone were ensured of retaining the title when East Zone shocked South Zone at Agartala yesterday. But North, instead of enforcing the follow-on against Central, decided to have a second go at batting and Yuvraj made the most of the opportunity to crack home his maiden Duleep Trophy hundred. North, who were on 18 points before this tie, collected five more to boost their tally to 23 points, while Central picked up three points, to enhance their number to 11, which may help them in the fight for the second place. Central Zone, chasing North Zone’s mammoth first innings total of 690 for eight declared, were shot out for 439, after 23.4 overs of batting today, as overnight not out batsman Yere Goud put up a determined fight to remain unbeaten on 107. North skipper Viram Rathore decided not to enforce the follow-on, as only about 60 overs of play would have been possible and opted to give his batsmen some more batting practice. “I knew that we would not be able to dismiss Central all out in 60 overs on this flat track, and hence decided against enforcing the follow-on”, Rathore explained. North scored 233 for eight off 56 overs in their second innings, before the match was called off after the completion of seven of the 15 mandatory overs. Consistently productive Dinesh Mongia, who notched up his second double century in the Duleep Trophy this season, in the first innings here, was declared the Man of the Match. Mongia had hit 201 against South Zone in their lung opener at Hyderabad. Central have a match on hand against South Zone, and the three points they garnered from this match, may stand them in good stead in the chase for the second position. Resuming at 370 for eight, Central had no plans to throw in the towel early as Yere Goud showed tremendous fighting spirits to prolong the battle as best as he could. Resuming at the overnight score of 67, Yere Goud was given able support by Shalab Srivastava to complete his century, after Murali Kartik was trapped lbw by Virender Sehwag in the 11th over of the day. Kartik, who resumed his knock at 3, put on a 42-run partnership with Goud, while making his 27 runs off 55 balls, in 73 minutes with four boundaries. Goud found an able ally in Shalab Srivastava, who protected his wicket for 46 minutes, facing 42 balls, to make just five runs, but helped the former reach his coveted three figure mark. Goud remained unconquered on 107 (302m, 227b, 13x4, 2x6). His 100 had come off 204b in 276m with 13 fours and two sixes. North suffered two early blows in their second essay when Vijay Dahiya was bowled by Shalab Srivastava with the third ball of the first over, with just four runs on the scoreboard, and after the addition of 29 runs, Srivastava sent back skipper Vikram Rathore too, for 16, caught by J.P. Yadav at fine leg. Rathore’s knock contained three boundaries. Dahiya’s exit had brought in Yuvraj Singh at the crease, and when he was shaping up for a marauding assault on the Central bowlers that Rathore departed. Virender Sehwag also could not last long, as he too fell a prey to Srivastava, caught by substitute Rohit Jhalani at square leg, for just one run. Scoreboard: North Zone (Ist innings): 690 for 8 decl. East Zone (Ist innings): 439 all out in 535 minutes, off 126.4 overs. North Zone (2nd innings): Vijay Dahiya b Shalab Srivastava 4, Vikram Rathore c J P Yadav b Shalab Srivastava 16, Yuvraj Singh c Gagan Khoda b Mohd Kaif 130, Virender Sehwag c Rohit Jhalani b Shalab Srivastava 1, Ritender Singh Sodhi lbw Rahul Kanwat 19, Rajiv Nayyar c Rohit Jhalani b Kanwat 18, Dinesh Mongia not out 23, Harbhajan Singh run out 9, Rahul Sanghvi lbw Kanwat 0, Surinder Singh not out 0. Extras: 13 Total: 233/8 off 56 overs. Fall of wickets: 1-4, 2-33, 3-41, 4-96, 5-190, 6-207, 7-228, 8-228. Bowling: Shalab Srivastava: 13-1-5-3, J P Yadav: 4-0-3-0, Rahul Kanwat: 24-7-7-2, Mohd Kaif 15-0-71-2. |
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Strong reply by Indian colts HYDERABAD, Jan 28 (PTI) — A fluent unbeaten knock of 114 by Vinayak Mane and an equally enterprising 65 by his opening partner Gautam Gambhir enabled India to post 220 for 3 in reply to England’s first innings score of 316 on the second day of the third and final under-19 Test match being played at Lal Bahadur Stadium here today. The visitors, resuming at 256 for 4, were bundled out for 316 just 12 minutes before lunch with Nitin Aggarwal and Amit Mishra claiming four wickets apiece. The Indian openers gave a flying start to the innings, with Gautam and Vinayak radiating elegant shots off the bat on either side of the wicket and had put in 112 runs without being separated. England (first innings):Sadler c Ratra b Mishra 22, Nickey Reng c Isham Ganda b A Mishra 24, Ian Bell lbw Dharmichand 46, G Pratt b Nitin Aggarwal 114, G Muchall c Ishan b Nitin Aggarwal 36, J Bishop lbw Nitin Aggarwal 2, Tremlett lbw Vidyut 9, Mark Wallace b A Mishra 10, Fergley not out 29, K Hogg c Gautam b A Mishra 0, McGarry lbw Nitin Aggarwal 8 Extras: (lb 6, nb 10) 16. Total: (all out in 132.3 overs) 316 Fall of wickets: 1-41, 2-66, 3-168, 4-249, 5-249, 6-263, 7-276, 8-293, 9/297 Bowling: Maninder Singh 17-10-20-0, Nitin Aggarwal 17.3-6-50-4, V Sivaramakrishnan 42-11-102-1, Amit Mishra 36-8-96-4, Dharmichand 18-8-36-1, Ishan Ganda 2-1-6-0. |
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Another feather in Irina’s
cap CHANDIGARH, Jan 28 — Brar is back. And this time with another feather in her cap. Yes, this 17-year-old Plus-1 student of Vivek High School won a cliff-hanger pipping Vandana Aggarwal to the post by just one stroke, and that too on the last hole of the tournament. The one-stroke victory gave her the title of the Western India Open Amateur Ladies Golf Championship held in Mumbai. Back in Chandigarh, Irina talked about the 15-foot putt on the last hole that got her the title with a birdie. And to top it the putt was executed from the left side bunker. This victory has put Irina way ahead of the others in the women' s circuit rankings. After this victory Irina leads with 70 points. Her nearest rival is another Chandigarh girl, Parnita Garewal (46 points) followed by Vandana Aggarwal (44 points)It was easy going for Irina. She and Vandana had identical scores of 74 on the opening day, with Parnita returning a poor card of 78. On the second day Irina returned a card of five over 75. But then Vandana had a bad day. This saw Irina take a four stroke lead. A sports apprentice with Indian Oil, Irina returned a card of 76 on the penultimate day. She continued to lead , but her lead margin came down to just two strokes. Going into the last day Irina got into a tight spot. She fumbled at the sixth hole (a par three hole) and ended up with a triple bogey. Barring that, she continued a par game. And as she was going into the final hole, her caddy came close and said:"You are equal with Vandana"'. Realising the gravity of the situation, Irina executed a perfect 15-foot putt from the left side bunker. The ball virtually glided into the hole. She had done it. She had emerged victorious. With the Plus 1 exams round the corner ---starting on March 2, Irina is now all set for the All-India Ladies Open Amateur Golf Championship to be held in Calcutta from February 12. The last year's winner, Tuhasini Selvazratnam of Sri Lanka, is not participating this year. But Irina says she would have loved to rub shoulders with her. About the exams, she says she is not that much worried. After all she has been a topper. And the Principal of Vivek High School has given her permission to play in all the tournaments knowing that Irina is good in studies. What is next. She plans to go in for a golf scholarship after completing her Plus 11. |
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Afridi’s bowling
action cleared ISLAMABAD, Jan 28 (PTI)
— Pakistani all-rounder Shahid Afridi’s bowling action has been
cleared and given a go-ahead by a three-member Pakistan Cricket Board
committee entrusted with the task of analysing the leg-spinner’s
action. A Pakistan Cricket Board spokesman told the local media here
today that the committee comprising Abdul Qadir, Ijaz Fakhi and
Mohshin Kamal found no problem with Afridi’s action and the report
would soon be sent to the ICC next week. Afridi was reported for a
suspect bowling action by match referee Barry Jarman during the
one-day series against England in October last year on home ground. Afridi,
who is among the probables for the New Zealand-bound Pakistan team,
said he was relieved by the decision. “I knew there was no problem
in my bowling action and I feel relieved on being cleared. Now I will
concentrate on my performance on the New Zealand tour,” he said.
As per the ICC rules, Afridi is free to play and if another doubt is
raised within 12 months, ICC will appoint its own man to review and
improve Afridi’s action. In case the problem persists, the same
Pakistani panel will come into action again and vote whether Afridi
should be banned or not. |
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Row over appointment of
DS PATIALA, Jan 28 — Decks have been cleared for the creation of a fresh post of Director (Sports) in Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB) , a decision which has led to widespread resentment among employees of the board — preceived to be one of the largest employers of sportspersons in the state. Ironically, while on the one hand the PSEB management is crying hoarse over the manner in which it has to function due to acute financial position and as a result of which it is fast abolishing posts at all levels, on the other hand it is in the process of creating a new post of Director (Sports). Informed sources reveal that the post is in the process of being specially created under political compulsions, apparently, to favour a former hockey Olympian. Interestingly, the same person had applied for the post a couple of month back but due to the financial crunch the case was put on the backburner. When contacted telephonically the PSEB Chairman, Mr. G.S. Sohal, confirmed that the case was under active consideration. Earlier, when Mr S.S. Dhindsa was the Chairman of the Board he tried to adjust one of his blue eyed boys on the same post but was restrained by a High Court order which stipulated the post should either be advertised or the incumbent should send his application through the employment exchange. In the present case, the board, in gross violation of norms, has neither advertised the post, nor has the candidate routed his application through the employment exchange. Sources reveal that the present case is scheduled to be given final shape in the next `Full Board’ meeting to be held shortly. Interestingly, the Member (Finance and Accounts), Ms. Ajanta Dayalan, who is also on the `Full Board’, has already noted on the file pretaining to the case that there was no need to create the post. However, this has not deterred the top brass of the board from hotly pursuing the case. Since there is a ban on recruitment in the board, sources reveal that in order to circumvent the ban, the management has taken a decision in principal to
accommodate the candidate by appointing him on a contractual basis. Earlier, in August last year, the board management had found itself in a soup when, despite the ban on recruitment, it not only recruited some `sportspersons’ but also gave the benefit of double promotions to all of them in complete contravention of rules. The ‘sportspersons’ were recruited directly on the basis of their achievements as “international level tug-of war players”. However, the discipline of ‘tug of war’ is neither recognised by any national sports federation nor is it in the list of 15 sports disciplines identified by the PSEB in its sports policy for the purpose of recruitment. At that time the Secretary, Mr D.K. Tiwari, had stated that the orders would be withdrawn but no action has been taken so far. For the past couple of years due to the recruitment ban, sports activity in the board has virtually come to a standstill. Sport was one big casuality when the board decided to abolish six posts in its sports cell, among them being the post of a Junior Sports Officer .With promotion channels blocked, top sportsmen are moving to other departments. In this backdrop, sportspersons are questioning the wisdom of the management of either appointing a Director (Sports) or adjusting him as Adviser
(Sports). |
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They brought laurels to
school CHANDIGARH, Jan 28 — Basketball girls of the IS Dev Samaj Girls Senior Secondary School, Sector 21, deserve kudos for making their institution proud by winning various titles in different meets hosted in the city. Some of the girls have also excelled the at national level. The school is getting acknowledged in sports circles as the school synonymous with this sport discipline. Ms Sumati Kanwar, Principal and herself an international basketball player, said when she joined three years back, it was her wish to do something for the game. Ms Sumati disclosed that the girls, who excelled in basketball at different levels like national school games, national youth basketball meets and inter-school invitational meets include Navneet Kaur, Harpreet Kaur both class XII students, Manpreet, Vandana, both of class XI, Amandeep, Shweta, Lucky Bhatia-class X students and Varsha, Deepika and Harpreet II. She stated that the IS Dev Samaj Memorial Tournament was being hosted by the school. In 1999, they were runner-up. Four school girls made it to national women sports festival coaching camp in progress at Sports Complex, Sector 7. Amandeep who belongs to Toddar Majra village in Kharar sub-division stated that she was having desired guidance from the school principal. Navneet, a key player, demanded that more camps should be held so that the players get more exposure. Shweta was happy that the school was offering right environment for basketball. Players get the free breakfast and a host of other benefits like free kits and duty leave for playing in various
tournaments. Ms Kanwar said that she would give whole hearted support to these young cagers, who should work hard and do better. |
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Swimmer Richa felicitated NEW DELHI, Jan 28 — National swimming champion Richa Mishra was felicitated with the Olympian Udham Singh Memorial “Sportsperson of the Year Award” by the Alliance International Youth Affairs and Education Society here. Richa had won a clutch of golds in the National Acquatic Championships held in Calcutta in November last year. Richa was also awarded the Golden Dolphin Trophy and a cash award of Rs 11,000 by Kalinga group chairman Balrej Sethi. Eighteen other sportspersons were also honoured, prominent among them being Gurbachan Singh Randhawa, Asha Aggarwal, Ranjit Bhatia, hockey Olympians Ajitpal Singh, Balbir Singh and swimmers Khazan Singh and Mohinder Singh. SNIPES chairman Dr Amrik Singh and former member of the International Olympic Committee Ashwini Kumar were also present at the function. |
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ITF meet begins
today CHANDIGARH, Jan 28 — Chandigarh’s Sunil Kumar among boys and Sania Mirza among girls will spearhead India’s challenge and have been given top billing in the Drish ITF Junior Tennis (under 18) championship beginning tomorrow at CLTA courts, Sector 10, here. This is the second leg of the tournament after the first ended on January 27 at Delhi. The six-day tournament will see top players of the country in action. Mr Dushan Deo of ITF will be the tournament referee. Amanjot Singh also of Chandigarh who had won the Sri Lanka ITF circuit a few days back, is the third seed. In the draw for 64 for boys, out of eight top seeds, four are Indians while the rest are foreigners. In girls, in the draw for 32, out of eight seeds, four are Indians while the rest are from outside the country. Many local players have not been able to take part due to forthcoming examinations. The seedings: (boys) —Sunil Kumar (Ind) 1, Vinod Sewa (Ind) 2, Amanjot Singh (Ind) 3, Adam Jaya (Mas) 4, Chandersekhar Mohanty (Ind) 5, Rohan Gajjar (Ind) 6, Nishank Mishra (Ind) 7, Ivan Kovalay (Kaz) 8. D Yahya (Mas) 9, Alamgir Wali (Pak) 10, Chhatwinder Singh (Ind) 12, Arun Prakash (Ind) 13, A. Mohammad (Oma) 14, Jaco T Mathew (Ind) 15, Nipun Gupta (Ind) 16. Girls — Sania Mirza (Ind) 1, Megha Vakaria (Ind) 2, Rebecca Dandeniya (GBR) 3, Sasha Abraham (Ind) 4, Nischela Bora Rosa (Ina) 5, Cheyee Liaw (Mas) 6, Stefanle Maya Rosa (Ina) 7, Sandy Gumulya (Ina) 8. |
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Centre to
implement Punjab proposals BADAL (Muktsar), Jan 28 — Ms Uma Bharti, Union Sports and the Youth Welfare Minister, today said that the central government would implement all proposals sent to it by the Punjab Government in connection with the development of sports infrastructure. Ms Bharti, who was here today to lay the foundation stone of a swimming pool and Astro-Turf at Dashmesh Girls College, said that she would do everything for women and girls of Punjab. She said the swimming pool would be constructed at a cost of Rs 2.5 crore while the Astro-Turf would be laid at a cost of Rs 2 crore. She added that there would be no shortage of funds to implement these two projects. While expressing happiness over the sports facilities available at Dashmesh Girls College, she said the shooting gallery in the college was perhaps better than that which had been set up at Patiala and Chandigarh by the Punjab Rifle Association. She added that about 15 shooters of this college had won various positions in the recently held state championship. Later, she distributed prizes to those who won positions in various events. The Punjab Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, was also present on the occasion. Dinesh’s team
wins title NEW DELHI, Jan 28 — Dinesh Raghuvanshi and his team won the pro-am event of the Wills Western Open, which brought down the curtains on the Rs 10-lakh tournament at the par-71 Poona Golf Club course today, according to information reaching here. The team led by local pro Sachin Nigade and comprising D.N. Mahajan and Sudeep Dabir tallied 101 points, four better than the team led by Mukesh Kumar, the No 1 golfer on the Wills Sport Tour in 1999-2000, and comprising Ikram Khan, Anuraj Gupta and V S Oberoi. The second runner-up place was bagged by Shiv Shankar Prasad Chowrasla’s team of Partha Iyengar, R D Bhave and Suhas Phalnikar with 96 points. |
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MELBOURNE, Jan 28 — Defending champion Andre Agassi outclassed Arnaud Clement 6-4 6-2 6-2 today to win the Australian Open men’s singles title for the third time.
