SPORTS

Shahdara win in DSA League
Our Sports Reporter

New Delhi, February 27
Shahdara Club drubbed Sivananda-New Delhi Heroes 3-0 in a Group A Super League match of the Delhi Soccer Association (DSA)-SAIL Senior Division Football League Championship at the Ambedkar Stadium in the Capital on Wednesday.

After three consecutive defeats, Shahdara tasted sweet success when they downed N.D.Heroes. All the goals came in the second half.

Shahdara, after a barren first half, regrouped their midfield in the second session with Promodh Rawat, Rajesh Sinha and Siddharth Bhandari initiating good moves from the flanks. And the rewards came sooner than later when nippy striker Neeraj Chowdhary opened the account in the 60th minute while substitute Dharmender made it 2-0 in the 70th minute. Defender Rakesh Kohli completed the tally in 79th minute with a fine goal (3-0).

Shahdara have collected three points from four matches while Heroes are on one point from four matches.

In another Group A match, formidable Hindustan Club dropped two valuable points when they were held to a 1-1 draw by a spirited Delhi Police.

Hindustan Club called the shots and scored the first goal when Nigerian Sahiddi, who was fielded for the first time, found the mark in the 9th minute (1-0).

They then fell on the defensive, and paid for it in the second half, when Delhi Police pulled off the equaliser through Mahesh Bisht.

Delhi Police should have scored two more goals, but their forwards made a mess of their golden chances at the striking area.

Delhi Police’s Mahesh Bisht was booked for foul play by referee Abdul Saleem.

Meanwhile, the Delhi Soccer Association has appointed former internationals Anadi Barua and Tarun Roy and State player Pyare Lal as “spotters” to pick the best four players of the league.

Thursday’s fixtures: Frontiers vs Garhwal Heroes (1.30 pm); City vs Tarun Sangha (3.30 pm)—Ambedkar Stadium.

Business-Today Pro-Am attracts star golfers 
Our Sports Reporter

New Delhi, February 27
Top professional players will be seen in action in the seventh edition of the Business Today-American Express Pro-Am of Champions 2002 Golf Tournament, to be held at the Classic Golf Resort on March 2 and 3. The Rs 6 lakh prize money event has the distinction of being the only Pro-Am Golfing event recognised by the Professional Golfers Association of India (PGAI).

“This event brings together the creme-da-la-creme of India’s corporate and golfing fraternity under one umbrella, thereby helping them interact in a much lighter environment.

Right from its inception, this high profile tournament has been looked forward to with great anticipation by the golfing CEOs and figures as a priority in their engagements in the annual calendar”, said MrAshish Bagga, publisher of Business Today.

The field for the event includes 17 top professionals who will team up with 104 top CEOs over two days of exciting golf. Among the leading golfers slated to participate are leader of the money list and winner of five tournaments this season Mukesh Kumar, second-ranked golfer on money list Feroz Ali, Uttam Mundy, twice Indian Open champion Ali Sher, Vijay Kumar, Indrajit Bhalotia, SSP Chowrasia and winner of 100 career titles Rohtas Singh.

The professionals will play for a prize money of Rs 6 lakh in the individual and team categories, while the two top individual amateurs will get a chance to go to the prestigious Old Course at St Andrews, Scotland, which is considered the Mecca of Golf, to take part in the Famous Grouse Shotgun Foursome Tournament. The winning teams will get to visit Cairo, London and Dubai for a four-day stay.

ESPN Star Sports bag B’desh cricket rights
Our Sports Reporter

New Delhi, February 27
ESPN Star Sports has acquired the exclusive worldwide rights of all international cricket events, including Tests and one-day internationals, organised by the Bangladesh Cricket Board till mid 2006.

ESPN Star Sports will have exclusive telecast of over 90 days of international cricket from Bangladesh, covering at least seven international tours by India, South Africa, West Indies, England, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and Australia.

A tripartite agreement involving the Bangladesh Cricket Board, World Tel Inc and ESPN Star Sports, was signed by Mr Mohammed Ali Asghar, MP, president, BCB, Mrs Karen Mascarenhas, representing WorldTel and Mr Rik Dovey, managing director, ESPN Star Sports.

Mr Manu Sawhney, managing director, ESPN Software India Ltd, said , “The upcoming live and exclusive cricket programming on ESPN and Star Sports constitutes the most comprehensive cricket coverage showcased on any network”.

Hurricane ton by Lalit Anand
Our Sports Reporter

New Delhi, February 27
A hurricane century knock by Lalit Anand, which earned him the man of the match award, helped SAR Group beat Lucent Technologies by 114 runs in the ninth Teri Cup Cricket Tournament organised by Teri at the Central Secretariat ground.

SAR group won the toss and opted to bat.

Scores: SAR Group: 264 for 2 wickets in 25 overs (Lalit Anand 126 no, 13x4; Amresh Pradhan 44 no, 4x4; Lalit Maurya 3/17).

Lucent Technologies: 150 for 9 in 25 overs (S.C. Kar 54, 5x4, 1x6; Karan Singh 31, 5x4; V. Choudhary 3/14, Lalit Anand 2/24).

Eco-Retreat Cricket Cup

An Eco-Retreat Cricket Cup match between Indian Women’s XI and Padma Bhushan Pachauri’s Invitation XI will be played on Saturday, March 2, at 1 pm at the Teri Oval, Gurgaon.