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Monday,
February 25, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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Bangar, Kumble put India on top
SA slump to worst-ever Test defeat |
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‘England
need to be less clumsy’ India
avert disaster against Japan; Pak beat SA 5-0 WORLD CUP DIARY France claim last alpine skiing gold |
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Anand escapes with draw Srivastava fashions Central Zone win South register 60-run victory E Bengal scrape
past ITI Ashish Sharma wins singles title Chandigarh eves win
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Bangar, Kumble put India on top Nagpur, February 24 Bangar joined Tendulkar and Shiv Sunder Das in hitting centuries as India declared their first innings at 570 for seven, 283 runs ahead of Zimbabwe’s score of 287. Tendulkar, who had completed his 28th hundred yesterday, was finally out today for 176. The declaration came as soon as Bangar, playing his second Test, reached his maiden hundred. Leg-spinner Anil Kumble then took three important wickets to put Zimbabwe in further trouble. By stumps on the fourth day today, Zimbabwe had lost four wickets for 152 runs and needed 131 more runs to make India bat again. The sole consolation for the visitors, on a day when India took most of the honours, was the defiant batting by opener Trevor Gripper who remained unbeaten on 52. Off-spinner Ray Price, who earlier in the day had finished with a five-wicket haul, was giving him company on four runs after his team’s most experienced batsmen - skipper Stuart Carlisle, Alistair Campbell, Andy Flower and Gavin Rennie - had been sent back. India could have been better placed had luck favoured them a bit. Zimbabwe batsmen repeatedly produced edges and snicks when Kumble and off-spinner Harbhajan Singh were operating but they fell short of the close-in fielders. Both Tendulkar and Bangar showed a remarkable sense of urgency when India resumed at their overnight score of 437 for five this morning. The scoring rate, which was around 2.7 yesterday, climbed to more than 6.6 today as both the batsmen went after Zimbabwe bowling. Tendulkar went into the attack mode from the very start and played some attractive shots as he marched towards his third career double century. However, he was out for 176, which was studded with 23 boundaries, when he gave a simple catch to Andy Flower while trying to reverse sweep Price. Price picked his fifth wicket and returned a career-best figure of five for 182. The sixth-wicket association between Tendulkar and Bangar yielded 171 runs. India lost another wicket, that of Zaheer Khan who was promoted up the order to indulge in some hard hitting, at the same score of 547. Zaheer Khan (0) was clean bowled by Brighton Watambwa on the very second ball he faced. However, the day’s most attractive innings came from Bangar, who was a surprise inclusion in the team, ahead of Virender Sehwag, for the Test. Bangar, who had an impressive outing with the ball too though he did not get any wickets, smashed two sixes and 12 fours in his hundred which came off only 155 balls. He batted with a lot of confidence and never looked in any trouble even after Tendulkar’s dismissal. Kumble gave him good support in the eighth wicket association and remained unbeaten on 13. India declared 15 minutes before lunch when Bangar reached his century with a two off Watambwa. In the four overs before lunch, Zimbabwe scored 20 runs with first innings top-scorer Carlisle accounting for 19 of those. But Carlisle could not stay for long and was adjudged leg-before wicket to a Zaheer Khan delivery which came in sharply after pitching slightly outside the leg-stump. Carlisle scored 28 and Zimbabwe lost their first wicket at 32. Gripper and Campbell then carried the innings forward adding 48 for the second wicket before Kumble struck with the penultimate ball before tea. Campbell, who made a fine 30, lunged forward to play a defensive stroke but Kumble’s delivery took the outside edge and flew to VVS Laxman in the slips. Kumble also got rid of the big-hitting Andy Flower who failed for the second time in this match. The former Zimbabwe captain, who has a tremendous record against India, managed only eight runs before edging a delivery that rose sharply to give a simple catch to Rahul Dravid. Zimbabwe (1st innings): 287 India (1st innings): Das c Campbell b Price 105 Dasgupta b Price 33 Dravid b Streak 65 Tendulkar c A. Flower
b Price 176 Ganguly c G. Flower b Price 38
Laxman c Rennie b Price 13
Bangar not out 100 Zaheer b Watambwa 0 Kumble not out 13 Extras: (b-16, lb-2, w-3, nb-6) 27 Total: (for 7 wkts decl, 184.5 overs) 570 Fall of wickets: 1-79, 2-209, 3-247, 4-344, 5-376, 6-547, 7-547. Bowling: Streak 34-9-108-1, Watambwa 25.5-6-87-1, Price 68-18-182-5, Friend 22-3-61-0, G. Flower 30-8-96-0, Gripper 5-0-18-0. Zimbabwe (2nd innings): Carlisle lbw b Zaheer Khan 28 Gripper batting 52 Campbell c Laxman b Kumble 30 Flower c Dravid b Kumble 8 Rennie c sub
(Sehwag)
Price batting 4 Extras: (b-1, lb-2, nb-2) 5 Total: (for 4 wkts, 67 overs) 152 Fall of wickets:
1-32, 2-80, 3-103, 4-147. Bowling: Srinath 6-3-20-0, Kumble 26-11-47-3, Zaheer Khan 8-1-33-1, Harbhajan Singh 21-4-38-0, Tendulkar 6-2-11-0.
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Unchanged squad for second Test Nagpur, February 24 The Selection Committee met here today and decided against making any changes to the 14-member squad for the first Test currently being played here. Asked about the performance of wicketkeeper Deep Dasgupta, Selection Committee chairman Chandu Borde said he was steadily improving though a lot of progress was still required. Borde said India’s fielding also needed to improve considerably though some progress had been achieved in this department too. Borde said the team for the five-match one-day series would be picked in Delhi during the second Test. Team: Sourav Ganguly (captain), Shiv Sunder Das, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, V.S.S. Laxman, Virender Sehwag, Sanjay Bangar, Deep Dasgupta, Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Javagal Srinath, Sarandeep Singh, Tinu Yohannan.
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SA slump to worst-ever Test defeat Johannesburg, February 24 South Africa were bowled out for 159 and 133 in reply to Australia’s first innings of 652 for seven declared as the visitors also claimed their biggest ever win. South Africa’s previous worst defeat was by an innings and 259 runs against Australia in Port Elizabeth in 1949-50 while the only bigger winning margin in Test history was when England beat Australia by an innings and 579 runs at the Oval in 1938. Stand-in South African captain Mark Boucher admitted his side had no answer to their opponents. “We were beaten by a better side. They put us under a lot of pressure and we folded.” His Australian counterpart Steve Waugh, whose side need to win the three match series to remain atop the world championship standings, said it had been a magnificent performance by his team. “We played very well and took all our catches.” Waugh paid tribute to Man of the Match Adam Gilchrist, who slammed an unbeaten 204 off 213 balls. “He’s a once-in-a-generation cricketer.” Leg-spinner Shane Warne passed both Sir Richard Hadlee and Kapil Dev to become the second-highest wicket-taker in Test history as he took four wickets in 28 balls to plunge South Africa’s follow-on innings into disarray. But fast bowler Glenn McRath was Australia’s highest wicket-taker of the innings, claiming five for 21 as South Africa were humbled for 133 in only 38.3 overs. It was the 23rd time McGrath had taken five wickets or more in a test innings. SCOREBOARD Australia, (Ist innings): 652-7 dec South Africa,
(Ist innings):
Gibbs lbw b Warne 34 Kirsten c Warne b McGrath 1 Prince c Hayden b Gillespie 49 Kallis c Warne b Lee 3 McKenzie c Gillespie
Dippenaar c Gilchrist
Boucher c Gilchrist b Lee 23 Boje c M. Waugh b Gillespie 0 Ntini c S. Waugh b Lee 9 Nel lbw b Warne 7 Donald not out 3 Extras:
(b-4, lb-3, nb-5) 12 Total: (in 48 overs) 159 Fall of wickets: 1-11, 2-51, 3-55, 4-108, 5-113, 6-113, 7-114, 8-146, 9-155 Bowling:
McGrath 14-6-28-3, Gillespie 15-5-58-2, Warne 9-0-26-2, Lee 10-1-40-3. South Africa (2nd innings): Gibbs st Gilchrist b Warne 47 Kirsten c Martyn b Gillespie 12 Prince b Warne 28 Kallis c Gilchrist b McGrath 8 McKenzie not out 27 Dippenaar lbw b Warne 1 Boucher b Warne 1 Boje c Ponting b McGrath 5 Ntini b McGrath 0 Nel c Langer b McGrath 0 Donald c Hayden b McGrath 0 Extras
(nb-3, w-1) 4 Total (all out, 38.3 overs) 133 Fall of wicket: 1-20, 2-69, 3-98, 4-98, 5-107, 6-109, 7-122, 8-122, 9-122. Bowling:
McGrath 12.3-4-21-5, Lee 10-2-55-0, Gillespie 4-1-13-1, Warne
12-3-44-4. AFP |
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‘England need to be less clumsy’ Dunedin, New Zealand, February 24 The five-match series is locked at 2-2. “If we do all the disciplines together we can beat New Zealand,’’ Hussain said ahead of Tuesday’s fifth one-day game at Carisbrook. “The trouble is we can be a little bit clumsy. We take a good catch and then put one down. If we put it all together we will progress and it would be nice to get it right here.’’ England’s clumsiness was evident when Chris Cairns and Chris Harris were threatening to take the game away from them in Auckland. Their fielding became error-ridden under pressure after looking the slickest it had been in the series.
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India avert disaster against Japan; Pak beat SA 5-0 Kuala Lumpur, February 24 Today’s results Korea b Cuba 6-2; England b Poland 1-0; Pakistan b S.Africa 5-0; Spain b Belgium 2-0; Germany b Argentina 5-2; Netherlands b N.Zealand 4-0; India draw Japan 2-2; Australia b Malaysia 3-0. It would not be incorrect to describe India’s showing as pathetic, especially in the first half. The Japanese were in complete control and the Indians seemed clueless in the face of sustained onslaughts. It was only in the second half that India showed some urgency and managed to restore parity despite a full-throated backing from the crowd. A few minutes from the commencement, the Japanese stunned the Indian camp through an opportunistic strike by skipper Takahiko Yamahori off a penalty corner (1-0). India also forced two short corners but off the second, a jaded Daljit Dhillon shot wide. Two minutes into the second half,Japan struck again. A gaping hole in the Indian defence was what Kazuyuki Ozawa was looking for and his full blooded shot went past Jude Menezes leaving the Indians stunned (2-0). However, it was midway into the second session that India displayed some control. A series of penalty corners resulted in the first goal when skipper Baljit Dhillon and the hard working Dhanraj Pillay showing perfect understanding, managed to reduce the margin. Pillay, in fact provided the finishing touches to Dhillon’s hit off the third penalty corner of the series(2-1). Six minutes later, junior World Cup hero Deepak Thakur, capitalised on a move by Pillay and guided the ball home much to the relief of his team-mates(2-2). India’s defence was clearly at the receiving end and so was the midfield. Skipper Baljit Dhillon shone only in patches. Deepak Thakur, Pillay and Sukhbir Gill showed some enterprise and if the current form
continues, India may well be in trouble in the subsequent encounters. Defending champions Nether-lands prevailed over New Zealand 4-0 scoring twice in each half. The Dutch appeared to be in devastating form and in the 11th minute, Marten Eikelboom capitalised on a rebound in a melee to shoot
home. The second goal came off a penalty corner and Bram Lomans’ drag flick was bang on
target. In the second half, the Dutch added two more through Piet Hein Geeris and Teun de Nooijer to complete the rout. However, this is not to deny the New Zealand custodian Paul Woolford the credit of making several spectacular saves and it was primarily due to his performance that the Dutch scoreline was restricted. Hot favourites Germany handed down a 5-2 drubbing to Argentina after leading 3-1 at half time. Argentina shocked the Germans with an early strike when Santiago Capurro found the target in the 11th minute but Germany were 3-1 up soon after with goals from Christoph Bechmann, Wess Timo, and Christian Wein. In the second half, Bjorn Michel made it 4-1 for Germany with a field goal but Argentina pulled one back through Mario Almada. In the dying minutes, Germany’s Matthias Witthaus made it 5-2 with a brilliant field goal. Pakistan, four times winners of the World Cup, outplayed South Africa 5-0 thanks to a fine brace each by Atif Bashir and Sohail Abbas. In fact it was off Bashir’s attempt that Pakistan took the lead in the 25th minute but South Africa fought back and prevented further damage. However, after the breather, the flood gates opened and penalty corner
specialist Sohail Abbas scored the second off a short corner in the 39th minute followed by Muhammad Shabir’s field goal. In the last 14 minutes, Pakistan added two more goals. First Atif Bashir found the target with a brilliant attempt and then Sohail Abbas shot home off a penalty corner in the 63rd minute to give his side a flying start in the World Cup. Runners-up of the previous edition Spain also made a rousing start with a 2-0 win over Belgium. The scorers were Albert Sala and Xavier Ribas who scored in the 19th and 53rd minutes, respectively. Earlier, in the opening match, South Korea rallied to down a fighting Cuba 6-2 although Cuba led 2-1 at half time. Korea took the lead in the ninth minute when Yeo Woon-Kon converted a penalty corner but Cuba hit back with twin strikes through Abreu Abreus Alexander and Lemus Rodriguez Roberto in the 19th and 20th minutes to forge ahead. Both were field goals. After half time, it was Korea all the way. The equaliser came in the 41st minute through a field goal by Yoo Moon-Ki and Song Seung-Tae put the Koreans ahead three minutes later with another field goal. Thereafter, Korea scored three more through Shin Seok-Kyo, skipper Kang Keon-Wook, and Yoon Sung-Hoon to complete the rout. England, silver medallists of the 1986 edition, made a winning start, getting past Poland by a solitary goal. After the two sides were locked goal-less at half time, England scored the match winner through Mathews Dave who converted a penalty corner in the 54th minute. The match, more or less was a drab affair although England coach Malcolm Wood later felt that his team could have won by a bigger margin. Polish team manager Tomasz Felman, nevertheless, was not surprised with the result as many of his players lacked sufficient international exposure. Tomorrow four matches will be played. Pakistan will meet Belgium, South Africa face Germany, New Zealand take on Spain and Holland will clash with Argentina. |
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Colourful opening
to World Cup Kuala Lumpur, February 24 After the march past and release of balloons, a colourful cultural programme featuring Malaysian dances was presented. However, the loudest applause was reserved for ‘bhangra’ and as the stadium reverberated to the tunes of “Ah Sohneya Tere Naal Lag Nachhna” young Malaysians of Punjabi origin performed the breathtaking dance to the accompaniment of high watt music. Earlier, the president of the International Hockey Federation, Ms Els Van Breda Vriesman, lauded the efforts of the organising committee. |
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WORLD
CUP DIARY Malaysian hockey captain Mirnawan Nawawi, who will be playing his last World Cup having already played in the previous edition at Utrecht as well as three Olympics, has set a realistic target. He wants his team to finish among the top eight. “We will be fighting till the end and we also plan to prove a point to all. Our fans should judge us at the end of the tournament,” he said while appealing to the people to lend them full support. * * * * The Kuala Lumpur rail transit system is among the symbols which reflect Malaysia’s status as a developed nation. Running across the length and breadth of the capital, the rail transit system is perhaps the fastest mode of travel in the city. The coaches are sparklessly clean as no food or drinks are allowed. Smoking, pets, and littering is strictly
prohibited. The presence of uniformed and plainclothed security men is a deterrent to any unlawful activity. * * * * ‘If you’re wondering why so many public phones don’t work, meet the coin collector.’ This headline of the Malay Mail is displayed in a poster which is an advertisement of the prominent
daily to boost its sales. It gives details of how a group of urchins regularly pilfered coins from the telephone booths leaving the public fuming. * * * * Punjabis settled abroad love to interact with their brethern from India and this probably was the reason why Sarjit Gill, son of Mr Karnail Singh Gill, Managing Director of a company dealing in stationary, ushered me into his shop on the Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman in Kuala Lumpur the other day. The Gill family, originally from Dhudike village near Moga, had immigrated to Malaysia more than 40 years ago. However, they occasionally visit their ancestral village
as, according to Sarjit,severing ties with Moga is just not possible. * * * * The tenth men’s hockey World Cup is yet to catch the fancy of the public but the crowds are expected to swell in the coming
days. The largest turnout on the opening day today was in the Malaysia-Australia match but in the earlier matches the stands were sparsely filled. |
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France claim last alpine skiing gold
Salt Lake City, February 24 With the drumbeat of protest apparently dying on the penultimate day of the games, seven gold medals were up for grabs and Frenchman Jean-Pierre Vidal won the last one on offer in alpine skiing. He claimed the men’s slalom gold medal with the silver going to another Frenchman Sebastien Amiez and Alain Baxter of Britain picking up a surprise bronze. It was Britain’s first ever alpine skiing medal and their third medal at the 2002 games after the women’s curling gold and Alex Coomber’s skeleton bronze. In speed skating, Claudia Pechstein of Germany needed a world record to capture her third straight 5,000-metre speed skating gold medal and she did it, matching American Bonnie Blair’s Olympic treble. Gretha Smit of the Netherlands, who broke the world mark earlier in the competition, was second in 6 minutes 49.22 seconds with Canadian Clara Hughes third in 6:53.53. Vidal denied US gold-medal favourite Miller, who missed a gate and came to grief on a tricky Deer Valley piste. Miller (24) ends the Olympics with two silvers in his pocket from the combined and the giant slalom. With Miller out of the way, Vidal could ease off on his second run and he came in safely with a combined time of 1:41.06, 0.76 seconds clear of Amiez and 1.26 seconds ahead of Baxter. Vidal, who turns 25 today, returned to the top flight only this year following a double knee operation which kept him out of action for a lengthy spell. He is the second French alpine ski gold medal of the games following Carole Montillet’s emotional win in the women’s downhill on February 11 and gives France’s their first men’s Olympic slalom gold since Jean-Claude Killy at Grenoble in 1968. Muhlegg, (31) skiing for Spain since his split with the German skiing federation in 1999, won what for Nordic skiing fans is the toughest race of them all — the 50km classical cross-country race. Russia’s Mikhail Ivanov, who led Muhlegg for most of the race, took the silver with bronze going to Estonia’s Andrus Veerpalu. Muhlegg finished in a time of 2 hours 06 minutes 5.9 sec with Ivanov 14.9 seconds behind to claim the first cross-country medal of the games for the Russian men’s team. Classic style specialist Veerpalu, who claimed Estonia’s first ever Olympic gold medal since the country became independent when he won the 15 km classic, came in at 38.6 seconds. For Pechstein, who celebrated her 30th birthday on Friday it was her second gold medal, world-record combination here, following her 3,000 m victory. Madrid: Triple winter Olympics cross-country skiing champion Johann Muhlegg of Spain has tested positive for the banned drug EPO, Spanish radio reported here. Muhlegg was informed of the news late yesterday during a victory banquet after he won his third gold medal of the games, Spanish sports council official Angel Luiz Lopez De La Fuente told Spanish national radio. The radio station said Muhlegg had been summoned to appear before a doping panel of the international Olympic committee in Salt Lake following the test results on February 21. The 31-year-old German-born cross country skiier was at the centre of drug test rumours shortly before lining up to start yesterday’s 50 km classic, which saw him bag his third gold of the games. A first test was believed to have shown high levels of Haemoglobin. Muhlegg said this was due to the high altitude of the competition venue and his diet-claims rejected by IOC medical chief patrick schamasch.
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Anand escapes with draw Linares, February 24 Anand, the winner of the world championship in 2000, yesterday had to survive a difficult position by the skin of his teeth. It was sheer magic that followed in the late stages of the game, helping Anand to get off the hook. Shirov opened with his pet kings pawn and was in for surprise in the opening itself as Anand opted for the Sicilian Taimanov with black pieces. The opening featured a variation wherein Shirov appeared to be better prepared than Anand and he soon took control of the proceedings with some finely crafted manoeuvres in the center. The first round had all the excitement for the followers of the games worldwide even though it produced only one decisive result. And quite aptly the winner was the youngest ever world champion ruslan ponomariov, 18, of ukraine who continued from where he left. Crushing compatriot Vassily Ivanchuk, his rival in the world championship final, Ponomariov became the first leader in the tournament. Francisco Vallejo Pons, the young Spaniard, started his campaign on a very positive note, drawing with world’s highest rated player GM Gary Kasparov of Russia. Anand was left reeling under pressure when Shirov guided his missile-like-bishops on the king side and parted with a pawn to ease the situation. It was a treat to watch Anand defending thereon with his ever-present grit, determination and perseverance. In machine-like fashion, Anand went on exchanging pieces and though he gave up another pawn in the process, the resulting endgame with bishops of opposite colours was just equal. Shirov played till the 52nd move before signing the peace treaty. Ponomariov was in his element in squeezing Ivanchuk in a French defence game with white pieces. Ivanchuk deviated from his favoured variation in their last match and chose a risky middlegame set-up that gave Ponomariov the chance to play for an attack against the king. Ivanchuks strategy did not yield the desirable position and his young opponent soon seized the initiative with a timely pawn sacrifice to open lines on the queenside for a probable rook invasion.
PTI |
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Srivastava fashions Central Zone win Una, February 24 Opting to bat, North Zone started on a disastrous note, losing openers Munish Sharma and Gautam Gambhir early. Yuvraj Singh played a ludicrous shot that led to an irreversible slide. The middle order fell in a heap at 81 for six the stage was set for Ajay Ratra to silence his critics but the young keeper-batsman was more content on providing some practice to the slip fielders. Twice dropped in that area. Ratra ended his 25-minutes agony at the crease when he was finally consumed at second slip trying to steer the ball. The chase for Central Zone was made easier as Amay Khurasia belted the ball to all corners of the ground. He fell trying to hoist leggie Amit Mishra out of the ground. M. Kaif and J.P. Yadav ensured that there were no further hiccups on the way. Score: North Zone: M. Sharma c G. Khoda b S. Srivastva 9, G. Gambhir c G. Khoda b S. Srivastva 18, D. Mongia c N. Ojha b Harvinder 0, Sangram Singh c N. Ojha b M. Kartik 34, V. Dhiya 18 run out, A. Ratra c A. Khurasia b J.P. Yadav 5, Sonu Sharma b M. Kartik 0, A. Mishra c N. Ojha b S. Srivastva 0, A. Nehra c N. Ojha b J.P. Yadav 0, A. Bhandari 2 n.o. Extras 20. Total 108. Bowling: Harvinder Singh 9-1-31-1, S. Srivastva 7-1-18-4, J.P. Yadav 10-1-21-2, D. Bundela 7-0-30-0, M. Kartik 1.2-0-3-2. Central Zone: Jyoti Yadav lbw A. Nehra 9, G. Khoda c Yuvraj b A. Bhandari 4, A. Khurasia c A. Bhandari b A. Mishra 50, M. Kaif 24 n.o. J.P. Yadav 16, n.o. Extras: 9. Total: 112 for 3. Bowling: A. Nehra 8-1-30-1, A. Bhandari 4-1-24-1, S. Sharma 4-0-15-0, A. Mishra 7.1-0-42-1. |
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South register 60-run victory Mandi, February 24 The contest was reduced to 43 overs as the pitch was wet. Winning the toss South Zone elected to bat. Opener M.S.K. Prasad and the skipper opened the innings and was involved in a 64-run partnership for the first wicket with J. Arun Kumar (32) before latter was sent home by L.R. Shukla. International Hemant Badani joined the skipper and both added 76 runs taking the score to 140 runs. Prasad scored brilliant 62 runs before he was back in pavilion in the 28th over. Badani enthralled the crowd with 10 fours and two sixes but was unlucky, to miss his century by a single run. He made 99 runs off 89 balls before Sukhwinder Singh bowled him out in the 39th over. At this time the score was 214 runs. Y. Venugopalan Rao added 33 runs as South Zone set a target of 264 for the East Zone. The East Zone led by Rohan Gavaskar gave a poor performance. They lost their first wicket in the shape of P. Dass in the seventh over who made 22 runs. Debang Gandhi was bowled in the very next over adding just five runs on the board. P. Malik and Rohan Gavaskar were out cheaply in the 11th and 15th overs. East Zone were 76 for the loss of our wickets. Raul showed some character and made 45 runs before he was run out by Badani. R. Prida added 26 runs while tail-enders Z. Zufri and Utpal Chatterjee added 45 runs in total to reduce the defeat margin. |
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E Bengal scrape
past ITI Bangalore, February 24 Unimpressive in their victory, the mighty East Bengal got their lone goal through Chandan Das in the 41st minute even as ITI, virtually playing its second string, put up a brave fight. With their star players out either due to suspension or injury, ITI came out with a steller performance, but could not stop the Red and golden Yellow brigade from earning full points. ITI enjoyed territorial advantage as their medios opened up the game and gave passes to the strikers, who failed to capitalise on opportunities. ITI moves were purposeful, but they lacked the finish. Absence of their star forwards Mike Okoru and George Ekeh were clearly felt as the makeshift attackers failed to cash on the chances.
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Ashish Sharma wins singles title Chandigarh, February 24 In the men’s singles final Ashish Sharma of AG Punjab beat Vijay Sharma of Delhi in three straight games to clinch the title. In the women’s singles final Saroj Chawdhary of AG Haryana beat her team-mate Kusum Sharma to win the title. In the veteran’s singles final T.K. Dogra of Dehi beat Pala Ram of AG Punjab to win the title. The results (all final): AG UP beat AG Punjab 3-2 Utsav Mishra b Ashish Sharma 3-7, 7-3, 8-6, 7-3; Harish Tiwari lost to Yogesh Chauhan 0-7, 0-7, 1-7; Sandeep and Salil b Amit and Jaswant 7-0, 7-0, 7-2; Amit Mahrotra b Amit Sachdeva 1-7, 3-7, 0-7; Utsav and Amit b Ashish and Yogesh 7-5, 7-4, 7-3. Men (Singles): Ashish Sharma b Vijay sharma 7-2, 7-1, 7-3 Women (singles): Saroj Chowdhary b Kusum Sharma 4/7, 2/2 (conceded). |
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Chandigarh eves win
Kolkata, February 24 Kalpana Sahoo fired the first salvo in the 10th minute of the contest while Shrabhanjali Samantray sealed the fate of their opponents in the 51st minute in their last group-A league match. In another inconsequential group D encounter in Malda, Chandigarh trounced Rajasthan 4-0 in what turned out to be lop-sided affair. Pinky Sharma (18th and 52nd) and Arati (34th and 39th) scored the goals for Chandigarh. Assam have already qualified for the quarterfinals from the group. Defending champions Manipur, hosts Bengal, Bihar, Tripura and Maharashtra had already secured berths in the last eight stage of the championship. The quarterfinal league matches will begin from February 26.
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