SPORTS

Dinesh Rawat, Shilpi Samyar corner glory
Our Sports Reporter

New Delhi, March 21
Dinesh Rawat of Central Electricity Authority (CEA) and Shilpi Samyar of National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) were declared the best athletes in the men’s and women’s section respectively in the two-day fifth Inter-Power Sector Athletic Meet organised by the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium. Union Minister of State for Power and co-chairperson of Power Sports Control Board Mrs Jayawanti Mehta gave away the prizes on the concluding day on Thursday. Dinesh Rawat, who had lifted the 200m gold on Wednesday, added the 400m and 100m gold to his tally to emerge the fastest athlete among men.

Rawat clocked 11.2 secs to win the 100m gold. He was followed by C.D.Kundu and R.K.Shrivastava, both of the Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC). In the 400m, Dinesh Rawat clocked 54.8 secs to win the gold. C.D.Kundu of DVC and Balbir Kumar of Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) came second and third. F.P.Tigga of DVC, who claimed the triple jump gold on the first day, added two more golds when he won the long jump and high jump titles on Thursday.

He leapt to 5.65 metres to win the long jump title. Pradip Acharya of DVC and R.S.Rawat of NHPC claimed the silver and bronze medals. In high jump, Tigga measured 1.56 metres to emerge first. He was followed by Pradip Acharya and D.S.Rawat respectively. Shilpi Samiyar, who had won the 200m gold on Wednesday, claimed the 400m and 100m races to emerge the fastest among women. She clocked 16.3 secs in the 100m. Sumitra of CEA and Kuldeep Kaur of BBMB came second and third. Following are the other results: Javelin throw (men): Hardev Singh (BBMB), 41.45m; Avtar Singh (BBMB) and Rajinder Kumar (NHPC). 1500m: Desh Raj (BBMB), 5m 9.9 secs; Dharam Singh, I.D.Singh (DVC). Shot put: Surjeet Singh (BBMB), Hardev Singh (BBMB) and Mohan Lal (NJPC). 4x400m relay: DVC, CEA and BBMB. Discuss throw (women): Santosh (CEA): 17.15m, Purvinder Kaur(BBMB), Nirmal (CEA). 4x100m relay: CEA, NHPC, BBMB.

SRF format to be changed
Our Sports Reporter

New Delhi, March 21
The 27-year-old SRF Open Golf Tournament, which was all through played as a 72-hole strokeplay event, will be changed to a matchplay format from this year. The name of the tournament will also change from SRF Open to SRF All-India Matchplay.

The tournament will now feature 64 players, based on their Order or Merit positions and finishes in the Qualifying School.

The prize money will also be raised substantially from last season’s Rs 8.5 lakh to Rs 10 lakh in the 28th edition of the tournament, beginning at the Delhi Golf Club course from April 1.

Dr Bharat Ram, chairman, SRF Ltd, and a founding member of the Delhi Golf Club, said, “the SRF Open has a unique place in Indian golf and it is about time when we made a few changes to make the tournament even more exciting for the players and spectators”.

In matchplay, the players are pitted directly against one another and the loser gets knocked out of the tournament.

While strokeplay rewards consistency over four days, matchplay demands consistency, risk-taking, mind games and individual brilliance.

The last time a matchplay tournament was played in the country was in the 1998-99 season, when Shiv Prakash won the Crompton Greaves All-India Matchplay in Mumbai.

Rajat, Beena Maan emerge best athletes
Our Sports Reporter

New Delhi, March 21
Polytechnic Institute of Nilokheri and Polytechnic Institute of Khanpur Kala annexed the athletics titles in the boys and girls section respectively in the 28th Inter-Polytechnic Athletic meet held at Nilokheri.

Rajat Bawal of Jhajjar was declared the best athlete among boys while Beena Maan of Khanpur Kala was adjudged the best athlete among girls.

Rajat won the gold in long jump and silver medals in the 400m hurdles and 100m sprint.

Beena Maan lifted eight gold medals and one silver medal to fully dominate the girls event. She stood first in 400m, 800m, 400m hurdles, shot put, 1500m, 100m, javelin throw and 200m and second in 80m hurdles.

Vinod Morval of Sirsa won a golden double when he emerged victorious in the 800m and 1500m races.

Senior vice-president of the Indian Olympic Association Abhay Singh Chautala, who gave away the prizes, said the Haryana Government had introduced a new sports policy under which new stadiums will be built at the headquarters of all districts and blocks, besides villages having a population of more than 10,000.

He said three per cent reservation had been made in Haryana Government jobs for sportspersons. Referring to the demand made by the MLA of Nilokheri Dharampal to set up a stadium in Nilokheri, Mr Chautala said as soon Rs five lakh was deposited with the Government, a sum of Rs 15 lakh would be spent by the Government to build the stadium.

Chand Khanna enter local club quarter- finals
Our Sports Reporter

New Delhi, March 21
A fine knock of 43 by Delhi Ranji Trophy player Varun Kumar helped Chand Khanna Club beat Lal Bahadur Shastri Club by 14 runs and enter the quarter-final of the third Shetal Prasad Jain Memorial Cricket Tournament organised by Subhania Club at Mohan Nagar.

Scores: Chand Khanna: 202 for 6 in 40 overs (Varun Kumar 43, Jaspreet Narula 32, Siddarth Verma 25, Rajan Gupta 2 for 37)

Lal Bahadur Shastri Club: 188 all out in 38.2 overs (Sumit Rana 73, Sanjay Rawat 43, R.R.Jha 2 for 27, Farman Ahmad 2 for 32).

Gaurav stars

An all-round performance by Haryana Ranji player Gaurav Vashisth (34 and 3 for 20) enabled Haryana Cricket Academy (HCA) beat Air Force by 11 runs in the first Krishna Verma Memorial Cricket Tournament at the Air Force ground.

Scores: HCA: 139 all out in 30.2 overs (Gaurav Vashisth 34, Sanjeev Saini 30, Mohd. Imtiyaz 3 for 12, Pankaj Kumar 3 for 23, Pankaj Maitrey 2 for 25).

Air Force: 128 all out in 34.2 (Sudhir Kumar 30, S Jha 29, Jitender Kumar 3 for 20, Ved Prakash 2 for 20).

Agarsen Cricket

Twelve prominent club teams from all over the country will participate in the seventh All-India Maharaja Agarsen (Under-17) Cricket Tournament to be held in different venues in Delhi from April 3.

According to tournament secretary Ashok Goel, prominent teams like Mohammedan Sporting, Kolkata, Arshad Ayub Cricket Academy, Hyderabad, Khel-Kud Academy, Varanasi, Bhopal Cricket Academy, Bhopal, Rajender Pal Cricket Academy, Uttaranchal and Haryana Cricket Academy, will participate in the tournament. Detailed information can be had from the club office at D-15/253, Sector 3, Rohini. Ph: 7919102.

Coaching camp

The Maharaja Agarsen Sports Club will organise a summer coaching camp at the Vivekanand Sports Complex, Vivekanand Puri, from April 1. The camp will be held for boys between the age group of 8 to 17 years. Details can be had from Mr Yogesh Sharma (ph: 7919102) or Tejinder Malhotra (ph: 7056199).

Cricket trials

The Millennium International Sports Club will organise selection trials to pick players for a tour of the United Kingdom and to play in the Sheesh Mahal Trophy in Lucknow in April, at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on March 23 at 1 pm. Details can be had from Pradeep Rathi, Pivotal Point, 19-20, DLF Centre, Greater Kailash II, New Delhi. Ph 6216541, 6232156.

Sports Festival

The 15th Haryana State Women’s Sports Festival will be held at the Rao Tula Ram Sports Complex in

Rewari on March 24 and 25. Deputy Commissioner of Rewari Vineet Garg said Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports Uma Bharti will inaugurate the two-day meet while Haryana Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala will distribute the prizes on the closing day.

NIIT shock Railway Officers’ Association
Our Sports Reporter

New Delhi, March 21
Kapil Gupta played a brilliant all round game (2 for 19 and 43) as NIIT upset Railway Officers’ Cricket Association by three wickets to enter the quarter-final of the ninth Teri Cup Cricket Tournament at the Teri Oval. Kapil Gupta was declared the man of the match.

Scores: Railway Officers’ Cricket Association: 175 for 7 wickets in 25 oversee (G.S.Gill 57, 6x4, 1x6; Ajay Sharma 52 n.o, 4x4, 2x6; Bhupinder Singh 34, 5x4; Kapil Gupta 2 for 19, Vikas Verma 2 for 29). NIIT: 176 for 7 wickets in 24.4 overs (Kapil Gupta 43, 2x4; Rajesh Varshney 38, 4x4, 2x6; Raj Kumar 28, 3x4; Ashish Sachdeva 21 n.o, 1x4; Ved Raj 2 for 28; Ajay Sharma 2 for 35; Sunil Mathur 1 for 37). Meanwhile K.P. Eashwar cracked a stroke-filled 96 with 14 boundaries to help hosts Teri beat Delphi India by 62 runs and enter the quarter-final of the 9th Teri Cup Cricket Tournament at the Teri Oval.

Scores: Teri: 181 for 7 wickets in 25 overs (K P Eashwar 96, Surinder 3 for 28). Delphi India: 119 all out in 17.5 overs (Hitender 35, 5x4; Mahesh 3 for 10, P V Jayaprasad 3 for 18).

Youngsters rout GG Dutt in DDCA League
Our Sports Reporter

New Delhi, March 21
Youngsters Club beat Goswami Ganesh Dutt Club by eight wickets in an A-I Division match of the DDCA League at the Kotla ground.

Scores: GG Dutt: 176 for 3 in 40 overs (Ankit Bhar Gaua 46 n.o, Amar Sharma 30, Sanjeev Sharma 2/28). Youngsters: 178 for 2 (Jitender Solanki 103 n.o, Jitender Gulia 50 n.o, Ankit Kalra 2/27).

In other matches, J.N.Golden (355 for 8: Anup Singh Rana 105, Sant Ram 75, Dipin Thakur 53, Rohan Sabharwal 3/60) beat Alpine (256: Pradeep Bism 144, Sant Ram 3/26, Anup Rana 3/52, Harun Rashid 3/57) by 99 runs in an A-II Division at Kotla II and South Delhi beat Central Warehousing Corporation by 133 runs. South Delhi: 250 for 6 (Mayank Tehlan 70, Ajeet Singh 46 n.o, Mannu Kumar 42, Sunil Sudan 3/48). CWC: 117 (Sunil Sudan 40, Sanjay Saini 3/29, Mannu Kumar 3/21).