HEALTH

Move to shift civil dispensary raises hackles
Our Correspondent

Sonepat, April 18
The representatives of various political organisations, social and voluntary organisations as well as the trade unions today vehemently opposed the move of the Health Department to shift the civil dispensary from the building of the old civil hospital in the heart of city.

In a joint press release issued here, they pointed out that the state government had sanctioned the setting up of the present dispensary on January 13, 1995, and it was inaugurated by the then Haryana Minister of State for Food and Supplies, Mr Sham Dass Mukhija, on March 11, 1995. This followed the shifting of the 100-bed hospital to a place on the Sonepat-Bahalgarh Road which is about 3 km from the city. They also pointed out that there was no other health centre in this part of the city to cater to the needs of thousands of residents.

The state government, it may be recalled, had sanctioned a post of a medical officer, a pharmacist, a staff nurse and a Class IV employee for the smooth running of the dispensary. The representatives also said that the land on which this dispensary was functioning, belonged to the Sonepat Municipal Council and it had now planned to construct a shopping centre at a cost of Rs 50 lakh at this site. The representatives feared that the residents of this area would be deprived of the first-aid and treatment if this dispensary was not allowed to function in the present building.

They also urged the Chief Minister, Mr Om Parkash Chautala, and the State Health Minister, Dr M L Ranga, to ask the authorities concerned to allow the functioning of this dispensary and not to demolish the building. They also threatened to launch an agitation if the dispensary was not kept at the present place in the interest of the common people.

Meanwhile, the Residents Welfare Association and the Sonepat Citizens Forum also opposed the shifting or closure of the dispensary and said that the residents of this part of the city would face hardships to get treatment from the government health institutes as the civil hospital was far from the city.

SPORTS

Akash Chopra hits 134 in Sonnet’s triumph
Our Sports Reporter

New Delhi, April 18
North Zone batsman Akash Chopra blasted a crackling century knock of 134 runs off 121 balls with 19 fours to help Sonnet Club post a seven-wicket victory against Inborn Cricketers and enter the quarter-final of the 12th All-India Om Nath Sood Memorial

Cricket Tournament at the Khalsa College ground in the Capital on Thursday.

Inborn, who won the toss and opted to bat, made a handsome total of 224 for 5 in the stipulated 40 overs, with the aid of a brilliant unbeaten knock of 103 by Delhi Ranji Trophy player Sonu Vaid.

Inborn could have made a better impact, but for the loss some early wickets, which put shackles on their run-scoring, and off the first 15 overs, they could hoist only 66 runs for the loss of two wickets, and at the end of 30 overs, they crawled to 137 for 5 for the loss of five wickets.

This slow scoring by Inborn was capitalised by Sonnet as they launched into a blistering batting assault on the Inborn bowlers, spearheaded by Akash Malhotra, to raise 102 runs for the loss of no wicket at the end of the 15-over mark. At the end of 30 overs, they had raced to 187 for two wickets, to take the match beyond the reach of Inborn.

Naresh Jain gave able support to Akash Chopra as runs flowed in a cascade to the dismay of the Inborn bowlers. Sonnet cruised to victory in just 35 overs with the loss of just three wickets.

Akash Chopra was declared the Kimati Man of the Match for his dashing batting display.

Scores: Inborn Cricketers: 224 for 5 in 40 overs (Sonu Vaid 103 n.o., 90b, 3x6, 9x4; Vishal Razan 45, 5x4; Suresh Tanwar 17, Rahul Aneja 34 n.o., 37b, 3x4; Vikram Yadav 1 for 22, Naresh Jain 1 for 44, Rohit Mehra 1 for 47).

Sonnet: 227 for 3 in 35 overs (Akash Chopra 134, 121b,19x4; Naresh Jain 36, 38b, 4x4; Shikhar Dhawan 26, 32b, 1x4; Ravinder Singh 11 n.o; Vishal Sharma 2 for 49; Vishal Tyagi 1 for 44).

Frank-Pradeep team win a golf thriller
Our Sports Reporter

New Delhi, April 18
The one-day PATA Invitational Golf Tournament ended in a thrilling finish at the Jaypee Greens Golf Resort when the team of Frank Kagi Yama and Pradeep Jain beat UN-Sik_Chung and Daren Ng on a back-nine count back to win the title. The count back was necessitated after the top two teams finished with an identical 60 points.

The team of Gautam Chadha and Ashok Khanna finished third with 61 points. The tournament was played on a ‘scramble format’ and each team comprised two players with the handicap restricted to a maximum of 24 for men and 30 for women.

Among the others who stole the limelight was G.S.Kochar, whose drive finished 18 feet from the line, running centre of the fairway, to win the ‘straightest drive’ prize. Ajit Sirohi and Pammi Singh won the ‘closest to the pin’ award on the 9th and 12th holes respectively. The ‘longest drive’ was returned by D.S.Rathore who scorched the 17th hole with a 322-yard effort off the tee.

Frank Y Kagiyama, president, Overseas Travel Agency Co. Ltd and Pradeep Jain, MD, Landbase India Ltd. were presented with attractive silver trophies for their title win. The runners-up also bagged silver trophies. 

The prizes were given away by Director General of Tourism, Government of India, V.K.Duggal at a grand prize distribution function.

Kiwis to tour Pakistan on a testing series
Our Sports Reporter

New Delhi, April 18
Will New Zealand start a new chapter in Pakistan’ is the question cricket pundits are pondering over on the eve of their tour to Pakistan. The Kiwis have achieved some notable wins of late, the latest being against England at home. They first beat England 3-2 in the One-Day International series and then came back with flying colours to win the third Test by 78 runs and square the series after losing the first Test of the three-Test series.

Now, New Zealand take on Pakistan in three-match One-Day International series to be followed by a two-Test series.

However, New Zealand’s record in Pakistan has not been really great. This is their eighth visit to Pakistan and they have won only one series, that too more than three decades ago. In 1969-70, New Zealand had won a three-Test series 1-0 under Graham Dowling’s leadership. Since then, they have only won a Test in Pakistan in the year 1996-97. Pakistan, on the other hand, has shown a more resolute approach. They have won seven Test series at home and five in New Zealand.

Their recent dominance over the West Indies at Sharjah—the neutral venue— also speaks volumes of their consistency and class.s. Pakistan and New Zealand clash in the one-day series at Karachi (April 21), Rawalpindi (April 24) and Lahore (April 27). The Tests will be played at Lahore (from May 1 to 5) and Karachi (from May 8 to 12. ESPN will telecast the matches live.

Madan Lal Academy, National Stadium move up 
Our Sports Reporter

New Delhi, April 18
Madan Lal Cricket Academy and National Stadium Coaching Centre recorded facile wins in the seventh All-India Under-17 Stanford Cricket Tournament in the Capital.

While Madan Lal Academy beat Maharaja Agarsen Sports Club by 29 runs at the Mohan Meakin ground, National Stadium Coaching Centre crushed Rajinder Pal Academy, Dehra Dun by 134 runs at the National Stadium.

The Madan Lal Academy were well served by the fine batting performances of Dainny Gim, Onant Jai Singh, Aditya Jain and Rohan Sahdev. Though Parvesh Chikara and Ankit Rawat blazed the bat around for Maharaja Agarsen Club, their efforts fell just short of the target.

Scores: Madan Lal Academy: 218 for 4 in 40 overs (Dainny Jim 58 n.o., Onant Jai Singh 53, Aditya Jain 38, Rohan Sahdev 33, Vinay Sheel 2 for 48).

Maharaja Agarsen Club: 199 for 9 in 40 overs (Parvesh Chikara 70, Ankit Rawat 57 n.o., Varun Singh 3 for 26, Aditya Jain 2 for 27).

The National Stadium Coaching Centre thrived on the batting might of Puneet Bisth, Rahul Deewan, Tushar Alekar and Varun Raj and the bowling craft of Ajit Ranjan to post a huge victory.

Scores: National Stadium Coaching Centre: 308 for 6 in 40 overs (Puneet Bisth 80, Rahul Deewan 75, Tushar Alekar 36,Varun Raj 42 n.o., Deepak Yadav 2 for 64).

Rajinder Pal Academy: 174 all out in 26.4 overs (Deepak Yadav 48, Rupeeinder Singh 28, Jitender Baghen 28, Ajit Ranjan 6 for 24).

Pragun Poddar wins PATA tennis
Our Sports Reporter

New Delhi, April 18
Pragun Poddar won the PATA Tennis Tournament played at the Delhi Lawn Tennis Association court in the Capital. Poddar, manager, Travel Oriental Express Pvt. Ltd, won 17 out of 20 games he played. Ali Shiyam Abdullah of Maldives came a close second by winning 16 games.

Mrs Murphy, the only lady participant in the men’s draw, finished third.

The tournament was played on a round-robin format where each participant played a total of five games against the other contestants in their pool.

Mrs Rathi Jha, secretary, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, gave away the prizes.

Jag Parvesh Cricket: The first Jag Parvesh Chandra Memorial Cricket match will be played between Delhi Assembly XI and Journalists’ XI on Saturday, April 20, at the Ferozeshash Kotla ground. The match is being organised by the Delhi

Assembly Secretariat and the Bureau of Legislative Studies to commemorate the memory of veteran legislator and former

Chief Executive Councillor Pag Parvesh Chandra, who expired recently.

The match will be inaugurated by Delhi Assembly Speaker Ch. Prem Singh at 8 am. Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit will be the chief guest. The winning team will be awarded the Jag Parvesh Chandra Memorial Trophy.

Mr S.K.Sharma, Secretary, Delhi Vidhan Sabha, and political editor of Hindustan Times Pankaj Vohara, will be the umpires. As many as 35 MLAs have already volunteered to play in the match.

Mr Siddharth Rao, joint secretary, Delhi Assembly secretary, is the co-ordinator of the match.

Sumeet Dogra Academy enter quarter-final
Our Sports Reporter

New Delhi, April 18
A fine all-round performance by former Delhi Ranji Trophy player Sumeet Dogra (44 and 3 for 47)and 54 by Aman Arora helped Sumeet Dogra Academy beat Delhi Administration by 20 runs to enter the quarter-final of the third ARBDM Cricket Tournament at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Ghaziabad. Narender Malik took 2 for 38.

Scores: Sumeet Dogra Academy: 199 for eight in 35 overs (Aman Arora 54, Sumeet Dogra 44, Narender Malik 2 for 38, Maujpal Singh 2 for 20).

Delhi Administration: 179 all out in 33.3 overs (Narender Malik 33, Rajender Bhardwaj 30, Sumeet Dogra 3 for 47, Ansul Lamba 2 for 22).