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| Saturday, February
24, 2001, Chandigarh, India   
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Aussies skittled out for
203
India trounce Pakistan
by 77 runs Atapattu hammers double
century |
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| Bindra barred from board
meetings Chennai, February 23 The cricket board today unanimously decided to bar its former President I.S.Bindra from attending its meetings and participating in its activites for two years for his outburst against its functioning.
Dubai, February 23 Australian qualifier Rachel McQuillan knocked out second-seeded Mary Pierce in less than an hour to reach the semifinals of the $ 565,000 Sanex WTA Dubai Open yesterday. Kila Raipur meet from
today India, Singapore to clash in
opener Bhutia among 23
probables ‘Encroachment’ on sport complex
land
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Aussies skittled out for
203 Mumbai, February 23 At close, mumbai were effectively 208 runs ahead with Vinayak Mane (45) and Wasim Jaffer (36) looking set to post a good score. Earlier, Australia made 203 for nine with Mark Waugh being unable to bat due to a split webbing. Jaffer and Mane, both who failed in the first innings, however, looked composed and played some pleasing drives and cuts to put Mumbai in the driver’s seat. If the two can push the scoring along on the morrow, then they can give their bowlers a realistic chance of bowling out the Aussies to post their second victory over the mighty Aussies in three years. Earlier, Nilesh Kulkarni and Paras Mhambrey bowled with fire to reduce the Aussies to 133 for eight before the crisis man of the Aussie team their captain Steve Waugh, who made a brilliant unbeaten 106 along with Glenn McGrath (19) saved them from a follow-on, putting on 70 runs for the last wicket. Nilesh Kulkarni, the forgotten man of Indian cricket, showed the selectors that he still had it in him to produce goods when needed. He gave the ball enough air to lure the batsmen and his accuracy was spot-on giving no relief to the batsmen. His figures of four for 39 of 25 overs stand testimony to his accuracy and control. Kulkarni has now taken 11 wickets in two matches against the Australians (7 in 1998 and now four in the first innings here). Mhambrey, also once again showed that given the chance he can be as dangerous as anybody, making inroads in the top order of the innings and always coming back when his skipper needed to get a breakthrough. However, the thoughts of a follow-on which seemed very much on the cards was thwarted by Steve Waugh who played a brilliant chanceless 106 not out to guide Australia to 203 and thus avoid the follow-on. He showed the other batsmen how to bat on Indian wickets and after his failure in the first warm-up match in Nagpur, his return to form must be the most heartening news for the Aussies ahead of the first Test at the Wankhede Stadium here from February 27. Earlier, Paras Mhambrey made early inroads by getting rid of Slater and the dangerous Ponting with balls which left the batsmen to be caught in the slips cordon and the keeper respectively. Hayden was then consumed by Kulkarni as he played back to Kulkarni to be rapped in front of the wicket to leave Australia reeling at 28 for three. Kulkarni made the ball bounce with his height and also extracted turn showing up the Aussies in poor light against the turning ball which augurs well for India ahead of the first Test in Mumbai from February 27. Kulkarni then dismissed Langer, Fleming and Miller beating them in the flight and turn to show the selectors that he is not yet finished. Scoreboard Mumbai (1st innings): 328-9 decl. Australia (1st innings) Slater c Muzumdar bt Mhambrey 11, Hayden lbw Kulkarni 11, Langer c and b Kulkarnui 25, Ponting c Dighe b Mhambrey 1, Waugh not out 106, Gilchrist c Dighe b Mhambrey 22, Warne c Dighe b Bahutule 1, Fleming lbw Kulkarni 5, Miller b Kulkarni 0, McGrath lbw Mhambrey 19. Extras: (lb-1, nb-1) 2. Total: (all out in 64.3 overs) 203. Fall of wickets: 1-13, 2-25, 3-28, 4-70, 5-103, 6-118, 7-129, 8-133, 9-203. Bowling: P. Mhambrey 15.3-2-59-4, R. Morris 4-1-8-0, N. Kulkarni 25-11-39-4, R. Powar 7-1-42-0, S. Bahutule 13-0-54-1. Mumbai (2nd innings) V. Mane batting 45, W. Jaffer batting 36. Extras: (lb-1, nb-1) 2. Total: (for no loss in 28 overs) 83. Bowling: McGrath 6-4-15-0, Fleming 6-2-23-0, Warne 7-2-18-0, Miller 8-1-24-0, Hayden 1-0-3-0.
UNI |
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India trounce Pakistan
by 77 runs Dhaka, Febraury 23 In the other semifinal, hosts Bangladesh created a major upset as they ousted holders Sri Lanka by five wickets to setup a title clash with India slated for Saturday. Interestingly India had beaten Pakistan twice in the u-15 Asian Championship in Kuala Lumpur last year. Batting first, India scored 191 for 7 in 45 overs with Chougule emerging as top scorer with 40 runs (1x4,43 balls). India were given a good start by openers S.M. Dholpure 24 (3x4,48 balls) and P. A. Patel 12 (1x4,43 balls) as they put up 57 runs for the first wicket. There was another good 55-run partnership for the third wicket between Chougule 40 (3x4,55balls) and A.S.K. Verma 22 as Indians took their score to 128 for 3 in 30.5 overs but after that they lost two more wickets with the addition of only one run.
UNI |
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Atapattu
hammers double century
GALLE, February 23 Captain Sanath Jayasuriya declared the innings closed as soon as Atapattu completed the feat at 470 for five wickets, with the hope of striking a psychological blow early in the England innings. But openers Michael Atherton and Marcus Trescothick survived eight overs, which included four from off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan to take England to 27 for no loss by the close. Muralitharan is seen as the danger man for England, having routed them when the two sides last met at The Oval in 1998, taking 16 wickets. Atapattu proved to be the cornerstone on which the Sri Lanka innings was built. His unflappable concentration took him to his sixth Test century, four of which he has converted into double centuries. He batted without offering a chance until after tea when inside five balls he was missed twice at 177 by Andy Caddick when he failed to hold on to a return catch, and by wicket- keeper Alec Stewart who missed a stumping off left-arm spinner Ashley Giles. Stewart also missed stumping Atapattu at 196 off Giles when the ball bounced more than expected and hit him on the chest while out of his crease. Atapattu completed his double century in 677 minutes which was the third slowest in Test cricket after Sri Lankan Brendon Kuruppu’s 777 minutes and South African Gary Kirsten’s 741 minutes. He faced 530 balls and hit 18 fours. In his marathon stay at the crease, Atapattu was helped in a double century partnership by veteran Aravinda de Silva who scored his 19th Test century before being run out. De Silva, playing a chancy innings being missed at 20 on the first day and again at 97 when Stewart dropped him off spinner Robert Croft, went to his century with a sweep off Croft for three. It took him 307 minutes and 222 balls and included 10 fours and a six. He was run out when he failed to respond to a call for a single by Atapattu and found himself taking off rather late to beat Darren Gough’s return from mid-off to Stewart. The Atapattu-De Silva partnership for the third wicket yielded 230 runs, and fell short by 14 runs to break the Sri Lanka record for the wicket held by Sanath Jayasuriya and De Silva at The Oval in 1998. After De Silva’s departure, Mahela Jayawardene laid into the tired England bowling, flaying it for 61 runs and helping Atapattu add a further 111 for the fourth wicket. Jayewardene, using the reverse sweep to good effect against the spinners, hit four fours and two sixes in his 94-ball innings before being run out by Graham Thorpe who kicked the ball onto the stumps with the batsman well out of his ground. SCOREBOARD
Sri Lanka (1st innings) M. Atapattu not out 201 S. Jayasuriya c White
b Gough 14 K. Sangakkara c White b Croft 58 A. De Silva run out 106 M. Jayewardene run out 61 C. Vaas c White b Giles 8 R. Arnold not out 1 Extras (b-9, lb-2, nb-10) 21 Total (5 wkts decl., 170 overs) 470 Fall of wickets: 1-18, 2-110, 3-340, 4-451, 5-468. Bowling: Gough 26-3-95-1, Caddick 30-12-46-0, White 30-6-80-0, Giles 48-8-134-1, Croft 32-6-96-1, Hick 4-0-8-0. England (1st innings) M. Atherton not out 12 M. Trescothick not out 11 Extras (b-2, nb-2) 4 Total (no loss, 8 overs) 27 Bowling: Vaas 2-1-3-0, Muralitharan 4-0-8-0, Dharmasena 2-0-14-0.
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Bindra barred from board meetings Chennai, February 23 BCCI President A.C. Muthiah said Bindra was called before the decision was taken and the latter said if he had inadvertantly made certain remarks that hurt the board administrators, he was ready to apologise. The decision could be reviewed anytime before the expiry of the two year period by a special general body meeting. The Punjab Cricket Association, which was also issued a show cause notice along with Bindra following criticism of the board’s functioning, was asked not to nominate Bindra to represent it in the meetings of the board or any of its committees for a period of two years from today, unless this decision was changed by another Special General Body meeting of the board, Muthiah told a press conference. He said the PCA will get all its subsidy funds and enjoy all rights hitherto given to the units of the board. Some board sources expressed the hope that the decision on Bindra taken unanimously at the BCCI meeting here today might be reviewed within six months and Bindra re-admitted to the BCCI. Reacting to the decision, Bindra said: “I have always said I will respect the board President’s decision. We have maintained a tradition in the board and I was its President for three years. I accept Mr Muthiah’s decision and leave the rest to him, who is respected highly by the members of the board”. Answering a question, Muthiah said: “It is indeed a sad thing. But we have to apply the procedure which has been laid down”. He said: “It is a just and fair decision. It also gives a signal to all members of the board to be cautious before making baseless allegations, which bring disrepute to the board.” Excepting the PCA representative, all the other 29 member unit nominees and special invitees were present when the decisions were taken. Bindra and PCA Secretary M. P. Pandove were asked to wait outside the meeting hall, when the members deliberated for 10 minutes before passing the resolution moved by Muthiah. Before taking these decisions, Pandove followed by Bindra were called and asked whether they had anything further to inform the members present. “Pandove informed the members that PCA has nothing more to add to its written explanations given to the board and the Disciplinary Committee” Muthiah said adding “Bindra said if he had inadvertently made certain remarks which have hurt the feelings of the administrators, he had never meant it and he was ready to apologise”. Muthiah said “after considering what Pandove and Bindra had said the general body unanimously passed the resolution.” Asked whether the meeting had decided on further course of action if Bindra moved court or again made remarks against the board, Muthiah said: “The board will have to review its decision and take suitable action.” As for the other agenda for today’s meeting, Muthiah said “it is increasingly felt that from the proceeds of the television rights, 30 per cent would be kept with the board and the balance of 70 per cent would be distributed to member units as per the ratio decided and money released immediately. Of this, 50 per cent will be for cricketing activity. Units can also get subsidy for cricketing activities.”
PTI |
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Leander outplays Cermak, enters last
four Chandigarh, February 23 In the semifinals tomorrow he will take on top seed Dennis van Scheppingen of the Netherlands who sent Ota Fukarek of the Czech Republic packing 7-5,6-3 in one hour 19 minutes. The other two semifinalists are Israelis Noam Okun and Andy Ram who beat Dmitri Mazur of Uzbekistan and Martin Spottl of Austria, respectively. Paes entered the centre court to a round of applause from the smattering of an audience. Before the match had
started, even a chance shot into the board was applauded. Paes started the match in style with an ace. Paes and Cermak held serve to level at 1-1. In the third game from 0-15 down, Paes took the score to 30-15 but Cermak levelled at 30-all. Paes double-faulted but on the next point managed to draw level at 40-40. On the fourth deuce he again double-faulted to hand Cermak the advantage, who
duly won the next point for the vital break. The score read 2-1 for Cermack. Along with Paes the audience groaned in disappointment and frustration. Cermak barely held serve in the sixth game to go 4-2 up. At his athletic best in the next game, Paes at 40-30, was ready at the net when Cermak retrieved a shot which had hit the net cord. Paes gently placed the ball in the open court to make it 3-4. Paes broke his opponent’s serve in the eighth game after five dueces to level 4-4. Then doing what he is best at, chipping and charging, he held serve and again broke Cermak at love to take the set. Paes did not lose any opportunity to come to the net and won majority of his points there. He missed a few but they were more than compensated for by the winners. The second set was a walkover as after holding serve in the first game, he broke Cermak for a 2-0 lead. Paes, again served as ace in the third to lead 3-0. Adopting Paes’ tactics, Cermak too started coming to the net and won his service game. The score read 3-1 for Paes. That was the only game which Cermak won in the second set. An aggressive Paes won the next three games to take the set and match 6-4, 6-1. On court No 2 Van Scheppingen easily disposed of the challenge of 274-ranked Ota Fukarek. Both players held serve till 5-5. Frequently coming to the net Van Scheppingen held three break points in the 12th game. Fukarek saved one break points but a charging Van Scheppingen held on and won the set 7-5. The second set saw frequent breaks of service as the two players broke each other repeatedly. The Dutch again broke Fukarek in the second game of the second set. Two good returns of service, which the charging Fukarek missed, ensured the break for him to lead 2-0. Fukarek broke back in the next game and levelled the score at 2-2. Fukarek was again broken in the sixth game to hand a 4-2 lead back to Van Scheppingen but promptly broke back to be 3-4. Van Scheppingen showed enough spirit to break Fukarek after duece to lead 5-3 and then served out the match for a 7-5, 6-3 victory. In a match of qualifiers on the centre court Okun beat Mazur by the same score but was fiercely contested with both players going for long rallies. Okun gained an early 3-0 lead with down the line passing shots which Mazur had difficulty reaching. But Mazur surprised Okun and came back strongly to level the scores at 3-3. After that Okun managed to hold serve in the seventh game to be 4-3 up. In that game Mazur wasted four
opportunities to break Okun’s serve. After 5-5 Okun finally managed to get the decisive break. Mazur served a double fault in the crucial game to allow Okun take the set 7-5. In the second set both the players managed to hold serve till 3-3. The
decisive break came in the eight game as Okun’s down the line shots proved to be too much for Mazur. He lost the game after a fight and tamely submitted in the next to let Okun enter the semifinals. In the last match of the day second-seeded Andy Ram of Israel came from one set down to win against Martin Spottl of Austria 3-6, 6-3, 6-1. After taking a set apiece, Ram and Spottl held serves in the first two games. In the second game , at 30-30, Spottl sent down an ace and then deftly placed the ball in the open court to equalise at 1-1. Ram then held serve at love . Spottl served two consecutive double faults in the next game to let Ram lead 3-1. In the crucial fifth game Spottl fought Ram for every point. He made two beautiful returns of serve to lead 30-15 but Ram won three points, the line calls on last two of which were hotly contested by his opponent, to take a 4-1
lead. On the last point Ram lifted the ball for a lob which appeared to be out but was called good. After that Spottl appeared to have lost heart completely and gifted the sixth game to Ram, serving two double faults. Ram led 5-1. After taking time out Spottl did not even make an effort to return Ram’s serve, who took the match 3-6, 6-3, 6-1. The overall quality of line calls left a lot to be desired as a lot of calls were contested in the Paes-Cermak and Spottl- Ram match. The semifinal doubles matches were won without a ball being hit as Jamie Delgado and Stefano Galvani fell ill. Jamie Delgado (UK) and Dennis van Scheppingen (Netherlands) gave a walkover to Giorgio Galimberti (Italy) and Nir Welgreen (Israel). In the final they will take on the Czech pair of Frantisek Cermak and Radek Stepanek who got a walkover from Stefano Galvani (Italy) and Igor Kunitcin (Russia). Today’s results (quarterfinals): Dennis van Scheppingen (Ned) b Ota Fukarek (Cze) 7-5, 6-3; Leander Paes (Ind) b Frantisek Cermak (Cze) 6-4, 6-1; Noam Okun (Isr) b Dmitri Mazur (Uzb) 7-5, 6-3; Andy Ram (Isr) b Martin Spottl (Aut) 3-6, 6-3, 6-1.
Okun aims to be among top
100 Chandigarh, February 23 Okun , who will cross swords with his countrymate Andy Ram, seeded second here in the semi-finals tomorrow, said that he will like to do his best. Okun disclosed that in his country, it was becoming tough for tennis players since government or national federation support was not much. When asked why Israeli players preferred to play in India, Okun said that it was due to the harder surfaces available here. They practise at such surfaces in their own country. Two years back, Amir Hadad, a junior player of Israel had won the title at CLTA courts here. Okun said in Israel coaching centres were totally commercialised and children had no urge to play for the country at the international level. A native of Hafia (Israel) city with population of five lakh, Okun began playing at the age of eight. At junior level, he took part in the US Open junior meet. He among the top 50 players of the world then. He disclosed that in Israel everyone had to serve the army for at least three years and he completed the army job only six months back. Andy Ram, another player here, was still serving in the army, said Noam. Asked about his best or most memorable match of life, Okun whose main strength is backhand slicings and top spin, said that it was against Philippoussis of Australia in the Australian Open where he extended the then 15th seed to five sets. Okun is being coached by Ronnen Moralli who has also accompanied these players here in Chandigarh. Okun admitted that he needed to improve his volleys. He hoped to be among the top 100 of the world by next year. On the mental toughness of Israel players, Okun said that the game was very strenuous and unless one was mentally agile and strong at courts, it would be difficult to win. Okun now intends to play tournaments such as Singapore Open, Kyoto Open and Perth Open. |
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Dubai, February 23 In another quarterfinal match, world No. 1 Martina Hingis of Switzerland survived a three-set scare from Sandrine Testud of France 6-3 5-7 6-4 to advance to the semifinals. McQuillan, who contemplated retiring from professional tennis two years ago after a loss of form, was on top of her game. She racked up a 6-3 6-1 victory in 53 minutes over the Frenchwoman on centre court. The 29-year-old, having polished up her playing in the Australian satellite circuit over the past few years, was accurate with her service game, getting 86 per cent of her first serves in to frustrate Pierce, who admitted later that she was not playing her best tennis. “I was pretty much flat today but I have no excuses really. Rachel played very well,” said Pierce, the reigning French Open champion. “I am very disappointed in not winning here. I played better today than in my previous game but Rachel didn’t miss many shots.” Oklahoma City (USA): Top seed Monica Seles continued defence of her US Indoors title here yesterday with a 6-3 6-4 quarter-final triumph over fellow American Alexandra Stevenson. This is Seles’ first event since losing to Jennifer Capriati in the Australian Open quarter-finals. Capriati, the second seed, could face Seles again in Sunday’s final here at the $ 170,000 event. Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia posted the only upset of the day as she eliminated third seed and two-time finalist Amanda Coetzer of South Africa, 7-6 (7-0) 3-6 6-0 to advance to the quarter-finals. Fifth seed Lisa Raymond ousted fellow American Dawn Buth 6-3 6-0 in 66 minutes to set up a quarter-final matchup today with Capriati while Japan’s Shinobu Asagoe beat American Allison Bradshaw 3-6 6-3 7-6 (8/6). Asagoe will next face American Lilia Osterloh, who ousted US veteran Sandra Cacic 6-3 6-2. Rotterdam: Alex Corretja is one of only two seeds left in the World Tennis Tournament after beating Sjeng Schalken 6-4 4-6 6-1 to reach the quarter-finals on a day of upsets. Corretja, who had saved a match point against Jan Siemerink, was again forced to three sets by a tenacious Dutchman yesterday. The Spaniard is playing his first ATP event of the year after resting for the first six weeks of the season. Yevgeny Kafelnikov was one of four seeds to fall by the wayside in the second round. The second-seeded Russian was guilty of a host of errors and came a poor second in most baseline rallies in losing 6-4 6-2 to unseeded German Nicolas Kiefer.
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Kila Raipur meet from
today Kila Raipur, February 23 Widely perceived to be the world’s biggest rural sports extravaganza and having obtained such a spontaneous and passionate response from far-flung areas of rural India, it is natural that the meet, over the years, has earned the sobriquet of “rural Olympics”. The excitement and enthusiasm generated by the meet can be gauged from the fact that for the next three days thousands of ruralites will be consigning to the backburner their farming activities and other related chores just to revel in the festivities. A rich and varied feast awaits the spectators as the spotlight will be on sports activities — some ordinary, some extraordinary, some breathtaking and some even bordering on the bizarre. The aura and halo surrounding the “rural Olympics” has to be seen to be believed as everybody wants to become a somebody and quite often, some nondescript little known farmer does realise the dream of a lifetime. At Kila Raipur myths are created and shattered, reputations are made and unmade just over a tin of ‘desi ghee’. It is here that in their endeavour to be crowned “rural Olympians” — the most sought after title — rustics seem to climb on some invisible ladder and often reach heights denied to them somewhere else. This edition of the games was earlier postponed due to the death and devastation of the Republic Day earthquake in Gujarat and also due to the political compulsions of the organisers caused by the exigencies of the Majitha Vidhan Sabha byelection. A visit to the venue — a serene township 20 km away from the highly polluted city of Ludhiana — reflected the rural ambience which seemed to be all pervasive even as one could reach out and feel the thick air of excitement generated by the magic of the mega event. The image and identity of these “rural Olympics” is provided by the Grewal clan who have been organising the festival with verve and vigour for the past more than six decades. The
games, which truely capture the essence of the indefatigable spirit of the enterprising Punjabi community, will be telecast live by more than a dozen TV networks, including TWI, Star Sports, ANI, BBC and Japan Broadcasting Corporation (JBC). Such is the charm of the games the JBC crew has been camping at the venue for the last few days. Prominent among those who will be honoured on the occasion are Arjuna awardee and former hockey olympian Harmeek Singh, Lehmbar Singh (athletics), Tarsem Singh (hockey) and Balwinder Singh (hockey). Top Punjabi folk singers like Harbhajan Mann, Manmohan Waris and Surjit Bindrakhia are expected to regale the audience in the evenings on all three days of the festival. In a refreshing change from the past, the organisers have planned to start events for the physically challenged for both men and women. Top hockey teams of the region like BSF, Punjab Police, Rail Coach Factory, and Punjab and Sind Bank will vie for honours in the Bhagwant Gold Cup Hockey Tournament, the preliminary rounds of which concluded today. However, the events which will be the most savoured by the spectators will be the popular bullock cart races, camel races, tent pegging, horse and dog races. |
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India, Singapore to clash in opener New Delhi, February 23 India is placed in group ‘A’ in the 10-nation tournament along with Japan, Scotland, Singapore and the hosts Bangladesh. Former world and Olympic champion Pakistan are in group ‘B’ with Malaysia, Ireland, China and Egypt. Pakistan’s opener in the tournament is against China. India, Pakistan and Malaysia, will also be taking part in the King Azlan Shah Cup to be held in Kuala Lumpur in July. Schedule of the tournament: March 10: Malaysia vs Egypt, Bangladesh vs Singapore. March 11: Japan vs Scotland, Pakistan vs China, Ireland vs Egypt, India vs Singapore. March 12: Ireland vs China, Japan vs Bangladesh. March 13: India vs Scotland, Pakistan vs Malaysia. March 14: Japan vs Singapore, Egypt vs China, Scotland vs Bangladesh. March 15: Malaysia vs Ireland, Pakistan vs Egypt, India vs Japan. March 16: Scotland v Singapore, Malaysia v China, Pakistan v Ireland, India vs Bangladesh. March 17: Rest day. March 18: semi-finals and classification matches. March 19: Classification matches for fifth to 10th position. March 20: Final and third and fourth position play offs.
UNI |
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Bhutia among 23
probables New Delhi, February 23 AIFF secretary Alberto Colaco announced here today that some more players may be added to the camp after watching the National Football League matches. Sukhvinder Singh of Punjab will be the chief coach while Krishnaji Rao will be the technical director and Brahamanand the assistant coach-cum-goalkeeping coach. Mr Colaco said the 23 probables had been directed to report for the camp at Bangalore on March 24. The players are: Virender Singh, Balaji and Prasanta Dora (all goalkeepers), K.V. Dhanesh, Mahesh Gawli, Deepak Mandal, Robert Fernandes, Rattan Singh, Tapan Ghosh, Sur Kumar, Jo Paul Ancheri, Khalid Jamil, Hardip Sangha, Renedy Singh, R.P. Singh, Jules Alberto, Venkatesh, Noel Wilson, Bhaichung Bhutia, R.C. Prakash, MAM Abdul Hakim, I.M. Vijayan and Alvito D’Cunha. |
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‘Encroachment’ on sport complex
land Faridabad, February 22 Several sportpersons have highlighted the issue in their representation to the president of the Haryana Olympic Association (HOA), the Deputy Commissioner, Faridabad, and the top officials of the sports directorate, Haryana. These players belonging to various streams of sports like athletics, handball, hockey, basked ball, football, volleyball, badminton and judo have alleged that the District Cricket Association (DCA) club promoted by the association, which is holding the charge of maintenance of the cricket stadium, has allegedly encroached upon five acres of land of the complex for the purpose of using it for the activities of the club. Claiming that the construction of wall by the club recently had been a totally illegal, they have alleged that grounds of the other games like hockey and volleyball had been “covered up” and the space inside the wall was being used for holding marriage reception, melas and other such activities. Alleging that while no permission was taken from the district sports council before construction of the wall, they said they were not being allowed to enter the space covered inside the boundary wall by the security guards of the club. Sandeep Singh, a former captain of the district hockey team, claimed that the hockey ground which they used for practice earlier, had ceased to exist following the construction of the boundary wall. He said there was no other hockey ground available for practice at present. Alleging that the encroached space was being used for commercial purpose, he said he and some other sportspersons had lodged a complaint with the district authorities but no action had been taken so far. On other hand, Mr Sarkar Talwar, Deputy Director (Cricket) Haryana and a former general secretary of the DCA club, denied the charges and claimed that there had been no encroachment. |
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