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Wednesday,
October 30, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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India start favourites Expert comments: Ravi
Shastri Expert comments Vivian Richards Chetan Sharma writes Cricketers’
association
takes birth |
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End of an era in Australian cricket Railways restrict Rest to 213 for 4 HP,
Punjab settle for draw
Bopanna advances; Sunil ousted Irina rewrites course record Kerala, Services
in semis Russians edge out India Sirsa-B lift women’s TT title
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India start favourites
Kolkata, October 29 With most top order batsmen in fine fettle and the spinners on a song, the magnificent Eden seems the perfect setting for another Indian victory. The series is already sealed with a 2-0 lead in Chennai. West Indies, in contrast, are a demoralised lot, with nothing going right for them in the series so far. Their batsmen have been all at sea, particularly against the guiles of the Indian spinners — Harbhajan Singh and the veteran Anil Kumble; their bowlers have lacked discipline and failed to be aggressive enough to unsettle the Indian batsmen. Even the Caribbean fielding and catching have been suspect, making their invincible predecessors of the 70s and 80s seem like men from another part of the globe. “Our performance has been disappointing,” skipper Carl Hooper admitted on his arrival here two days back. The hosts have been well served by their openers Virender Sehwag and Sanjay Bangar, who have been going great guns in the series so far and have proved perfect foil to each other. The sensational Sehwag had torn the West Indies attack to smithreens scoring a blazing hundred in Mumbai before coming up with another sizzling half-century in Chennai. Bangar, on the other hand, has played the anchor’s role to perfection at the other end, producing decent knocks in both the matches. Rahul Dravid, whose run of four successive hundreds was broken in Chennai, is another batsman in fine nick. The cool Bangalore player has carried his classy showing in England into the home series, and skipper Saurav Ganguly would expect him to keep up the good work to put it across the visitors yet again. Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar have not reached their lofty standards in the series so far and big knocks are overdue from them to bolster the Indian innings as both of them were yet to record a century at the historic Eden. Ganguly, though failing to score double digit runs even once in the series, has captained the side well with his customary aggressive style. A personal milestone beckons the prince of Kolkata on his home ground. He is only one win away from equalling Mohammed Azharuddin’s record of leading India to the maximum number of victories. While Ganguly has won 13 of his 28 Tests as captain, Azharuddin had won 14 out of 47. Eden has not been a happy hunting ground for Tendulkar, who has scores of 0, 9, 10 and 10 in his last four Test innings on the ground. Having played five Tests at the Eden, the star batsman has only two fifty-plus scores. The Test provides him a good opportunity to please his umpteen fans in the city. But with experts predicting that the relaid Eden Gardens turf would assist slow bowlers, Kumble and Harbhajan could well be the trumpcards for Ganguly. Harbhajan, after some indifferent performances in recent times, has roared back to form in the series, capturing a rich haul of 15 wickets in the first two Tests. Kumble has two less, and the West Indies batsmen have their task cut out against the duo. In the pace department, left-arm Ashish Nehra looks likely to partner Javagal Srinath in the absence of Zaheer Khan, who has been ruled out of action due to a knee injury. Bangar in all probability would chip in as the third seamer. The beleaguered visitors have an additional problem at hand. Left arm seamer Pedro Collins, who troubled Tendulkar in the Caribbeans early this year, is down with a lower back injury, making him uncertain for the Test. If Collins fails to recover, either Cameron Cuffy or Daren Powell might be asked to step in. However, there is also a possibility of the West Indies management opting for a double spin attack, in which case leggie Mahendra Nagamootoo might be called in to assist off spinner Gareth Breese. PTI
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Expert
comments: Ravi Shastri Two Tests down and the series surrendered, the West Indies have very little more to lose and everything to gain at the Eden Gardens over the next five days if they decide to shed their inhibitions and worries. I would think they should go for the kill, counter-attack, try and dominate from the start. It is unlikely they can win a battle of attrition against this Indian side, on the kind of wickets that we have seen in this series so far. Carl Hooper has a task on his hand even before the first ball is bowled: he has to get the balance of the team right. This will obviously depend on the state of the wicket, but considering what we have seen so far, the newly laid Eden Gardens track may not be much different. In that context, Hooper must play Nagamotoo because a spinner is more likely to win a match him than a paceman. However, the crux of the issue for the West Indies is that their batting has to improve 200 per cent. The top order has to find a way to unsettle the Indian spinners, not let them dictate terms. Tactically, it may not be a bad move for Hooper to bat at number 4 and Chanderpaul one slot below him. Hooper is the one batsman most likely to disrupt the rhythm of the spinners. He has the footwork, the stokers and the experience. Chanderpaul, who is essentially a defensive batsman, likes to play sheet anchor, and can shore up the innings even at number 5. Bottomline is that the batting has to improve vastly, with youngster like Sarwan making their presence felt too with some big scores. Without being reckless, the batsman have to be aggressive so that the spinners don’t control the tempo and trend of play. India, on the other hand, have to be ruthless. The test of a really good side is to show hunger for success at all times. Having won the series convincingly, India must now aim for a clean sweep. The wickets have been a god send, and this is a great chance to boost confidence further, savour the flavour of uninterrupted success. There was perhaps the opportunity to blood a young spinner but this seems doubtful with Zaheer Khan pulling out of this match. For the ardent fans, the focus of attention will be on two players who have never made a hundred at Kolkata — Sachin Tendulkar and Saurav Ganguly — who have otherwise batted with great success all over the world. Sachin is looking for a big score, and Saurav will be hoping that his luck will change after who dreadful decisions in the first two Tests. What better place than the Eden Gardens for these two gifted players to shine. (Gameplan)
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Expert comments Vivian Richards Two down in the series is not the situation we wanted ourselves in on the eve of the Kolkata Test. It’s really disheartening that overseas wins, the true yardstick to a team’s calibre, still elude this West Indian side. It is also disappointing that India have recorded their first-ever series win against West Indies this time. So how does the team motivate themselves in such adverse circumstances? I think playing for pride is something the West Indians will seek to do here. Often hurt pride can be a tremendous motivation, and I’m sure the players have read articles in the media criticizing their performance so far. If one or two individuals take this criticism to heart and decide to set the record straight, the Indians will find the opposition a lot tougher this time. Basically, the West Indians should set themselves three targets. First, they should go all out to prevent a 3-0 scoreline – nothing can be more damaging for a losing side than a complete wipeout. After that they must ensure that the game goes into the fifth day, something that has not happened so far. And finally, if they achieve the second target I’m sure they will put up a good fight and could even pull one back in the series. This Test will have a crucial role to play in the way the one-dayers go, and it is important that the West Indies enter the one-day series with some confidence restored. The batsmen in our side have got to realise that 40s and 50s will not do the job. Spending time in the middle is the only way to come to terms with these spinning pitches. A big score and big partnerships are important. The collapse in Chennai was an example of how everything goes wrong on some days, and now the West Indians must prove that that second innings collapse was an aberration. For me, “alien conditions” has never been a good alibi for a poor performance. I have seen fast bowler in past West Indian teams run through Indian sides on wickets that were much slower than what we have encountered on this tour. West Indies have consistently done well in India, and it’s always our fast bowlers that have troubled Indian batsmen. The players are young and must learn to adapt to conditions different from back home. Spending time in the middle, being patient, figuring out what to do and what not to do, all these qualities are what the West Indian youngsters must try and develop, only then can they be called true professionals. As a selector, what I’m looking for are a few good men. Men who have talent must also prove they have the head for international cricket. If you get the core players right then the more average players can work around them to form a good unit. We have identified some youngsters in this series, and hopefully they are the few good men I have been searching for. As far as India are concerned, motivation is certainly not a problem. Keeping your performance levels up even after winning the series is often a problem. Sure, this side has aggression but that can only take you so far. The players are also performing well and that is what matters more. I’m sure they are motivated enough to go for a complete 3-0 result. It’s now up to the West Indians to stop that, and good luck to them. The series has been decided in Chennai, but both teams have a lot to play for at the Eden Gardens. (Gameplan)
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Chetan Sharma writes As the series approaches its end, the result is already a foregone conclusion. India have made sure of the series but the question is, will they be able to make it 3-0, the first time against former world champions and the terror team of 70s and 80s West Indies? I bet India will make it a clean sweep as the West Indians have done little to convey that they have it in them to stop the Indian onslaught. Their batting especially hasn’t been able to come to terms with the Indian spinners and if I say that the Eden Gardens pitch has been made to suit spin, I would not be making wild guesses. Both Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh have made hay in the series. They have caught the West Indian batting in two minds, whether to attack or defend and the result has been a bagful of wickets. But what has helped them is the fact that even the medium pacers, Javagal Srinath and Zaheer Khan have supported them with early strikes so I would say that the Indian bowling has been a team effort. All they have got to do in the last Test is carry on with their work and history will be made. I pity the West Indies team because they are not really bad players like they have been playing here. I think the biggest letdown for them has been the poor form of skipper Carl Hooper who was not only expected to dominate the Indian spinners but give his team fighting totals too. But Hooper has been disappointing as he has not spent much time in the middle and because of that he has not been able to get the best out of his team-mates. The Eden Gardens is a good chance for him to do something worthwhile in this series otherwise he will have many critics when he goes back to the West Indies. Same is the case for Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Ramnaresh Sarwan as they have to realize that as the main batsmen for their team, they need to play big innings. The Indian batting has also lived up to their reputation of being champion batsmen at home. They were under little pressure in the last Test at Chennai but I hope they would have overcome that feeling and will come out all guns blazing in this Test. Personally, I would love to watch another classic innings by VVS Laxman, who had played an unbelievable knock of 281 against Australia at the same venue last year. May luck be with him.
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Cricketers’
association takes birth Kolkata, October 29 The former cricketer told a press conference here amidst presence of cricketing personalities like Ravi Shastri, Javagal Srinath, Rahul Dravid, Saurav Ganguly, Anil Kumble and Sachin Tendulkar, who had gathered in a show of solidarity with the ICPA, that this body would work along with all other like-minded associations or institutions in protecting the interests of the cricketers at the national and first class level. “Collectively we can become a great force. The body has been formed today and it would be formalised as soon as possible. The existing body would be ratified through
democratically held elections at regular intervals of time,” he said. Asked if they had already communicated with the BCCI, he said, “Nothing has been done formally as we have formed just today. But the little response we have got from the BCCI is very positive.” When told that Mr Dalmiya refused to recognise it as a players’ association unless it truly represents all the players of the country, he said, “Believe me, we are really trying to be the body that represents all the players and we will give the BCCI no chance to complain as we have formed ICPA as a non-confrontational body that believes that we are there to complement and supplement the BCCI.”
PTI, UNI |
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Sachin visits temple Kolkata, October 29 With this belief, Sachin made a surprise visit to the Kalighat temple last night to offer prayers to Goddess Kali. He also took Sanjay Bangar along. Sachin’s best in the five Tests at the Eden gardens was 79 in 1997-98 against Australia. But his dream of a century here has not been fulfilled and if it now materialises, it will be his 31st century. |
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End of an era in Australian cricket Chandigarh, October 29 But unlike the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) which, many say, acted with haste and immaturity, the Australian Cricket Board stood behind him like a rock when he, along with Shane Warne, were named as beneficiaries by an anonymous bookmaker. The fine too imposed by the Australian board was insignificant and probably did not make a dent in his pocket. But he escaped a ban and went on to play more and more matches in international cricket. Mark knew that the writing was on the wall and he would find it difficult to retain his place in what must be the most combative team in international cricket. He had averaged just over 30 in the last 12 Tests and had not scored a century since the last Ashes Test against England 14 months ago. Therefore, his axing from the Australian team for the first Test against England did not come as a surprise (he had lost his place in the Australian one-day side last year) but his decision to retire must have left the large number of fans of Australia’s all-time leading run scorers in one-day internationals in a state of shock and dismay. Mark also holds the world record of the most Test catches other than a wicketkeeper. Mark’s decision to retire marks the end of an era of Australian cricket and end of a pairing that was unique in the sport. The Waughs (the elder twin Steve still retains his place in the national squad but at 37 he knows that time is running out he too, sooner than later, will have to hang up his boots) shared a relation on the field which might never be repeated. Brothers have played for international cricket teams (41 sets of brothers have played at least one Test match together) but for twins to have together played over 100 Tests is something so remote that chances of such a situation ever happening in the future is near impossible. The twins have made nine Test partnerships of 100 and more, including a 197-run stand in the Ashes Test against England this year when both hit centuries. But the irony of that partnership is the fact that that was the last time that Mark shone on the international firmament. |
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Railways
restrict Rest to 213 for 4 New Delhi, October 29 The ambitious knock of Rest opener Akash Chopra was painfully cut short at 92 (253b, 11x4, 1x6) while skipper Yuvraj Singh was also made to walk back to the pavilion at 50 (91b, 6x4, 2x6) as the team, which was cruising at 195 for one at one stage after winning the toss and electing to bat, suddenly found itself forced on the backfoot. It was left-arm spinner Kartik who scalped the two dangerous batsmen in consecutive overs after tea to once again prove his skill with the old ball. The hard-working Parida then dismissed Abhijit Kale (1) even before the batsmen could get a feel of the slow and turning wicket at the Karnail Singh Stadium. At stumps, Rohan Gavaskar was batting on 12 with a six and four while Vijay Dahiya was on three. The maximum action on an otherwise dull and hot day came after the lunch break till when Rest had only managed a laboured 67 without loss. The cautious Rest batsmen began to open up in the second session scoring 73 runs while losing Mumbai opener Wasim Jaffer for a well made 41. But Jaffer’s dismissal, clean bowled by Parida when trying to play across the line, notwithstanding, both Chopra and Yuvraj played some attacking shots on either side of the wicket.
Scoreboard Rest of India (1st innings): A Chopra c Pagnis b Kartik 92 W Jaffer b Parida 41 Yuvraj Singh st Sharma
Abhijit Kale c Pagnis
R Gavaskar batting 12 V Dahiya batting 3 Extras: (b-8, lb-3, nb-3) 14 Total: (for 4 wkts, 91 overs) 213 Fall of wickets: 1-90, 2-195, 3-198, 4-198. Bowling: Harvinder Singh 13-4-30-0, Zakir Hussain 8-1-17-0, Murali Kartik 33-19-51-2, J P Yadav 12-4-19-0, Kulamani Parida 24-6-71-2, Shreyas Khanolkar 1-0-14-0.
PTI
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HP,
Punjab settle for draw Patiala,
October 29 Scores: Punjab: Ist innings-440 for 8
declared. HP: Ist innings-112 all out. HP: IInd innings: 120
for 2 (Varun Sharma 68 n.o, Munish Thakur 35 n.o, Bharat Loomba 1 for
37, Gaurav Gambhir 1 for 12). BSNL
tournament Uttar Pradesh (Wast) and Northern Telecom Region (NTR), New Delhi, were declared joint winners in the 2nd All-India BSNL cricket tournament. Scores:
NTR, Delhi: 168 for 9 in 50 overs (Rajinder Ahir 47, Dharminder Singh
36, Anil Kumar 28, R.S. Pawar 2 for 30, Inderjeet Singh 2 for 25, C.S.
Paul 2 for 26). UP (East): 168 all out in 50 overs (R.S.
Pawar 54, A. Srivastva 42, Gridhari Mishra 19, R.P Narang 3 for 19,
Dharminder Singh 2 for 32, Yashpal Saini 1 for 31, Sushil Sharma 1 for
31). In the matches to decide the third and fourth positions, Tamil Nadu eclipsed Himachal Pradesh by 13 runs. Scores:
TN: 155 all out ( Kenny Josey 25, Keshvan 32, E.Daniel 16, Vinod Dogar
4 for 15, A.S Sodhi 2 for 20, Sanjay Gupta 2 for 24). HP: 142
all out ( A.S Sodhi 32, Rajesh Dogar 30, Salav Raj 3 for 14, Satish
Kumar 3 for 19, C.P Sridhar 2 for 25). The man of the match award was bagged by R.S Pawar of UP (east) while Rajinder Ahir of NTR, Delhi, was declared the best all rounder. The prizes were distributed by Mr S.C Chowdhary, General Manager (Telecom), Punjab circle. Rly
officer best golfer AMBALA:
The Senior Divisional Accounts Officer (Ambala division), Mr G.S. Hira,
was adjudged best golfer at a golf meet held in Kolkata. The 47th
All-India Railway Golf Championship was organised by the Eastern
Railway Sports Association at Tollygunj Club, Kolkata. Mr G.S. Hira
was adjudged the best golfer and he won the P.C. Mukherjee
Trophy. |
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Qualifier
stuns Kuerten Paris, October 29 But the Brazilian’s latest visit ended in abject failure yesterday when he exited in the opening round of the $2.8 million Paris Masters Series, humbled in three sets by 23-year-old Czech qualifier Radek Stepanek, who outlasted him 4-6 6-3 7-6 (7/3). Kuerten has been bothered in recent months by a hip injury which has pushed him down to 35th in the ATP Champions Race and out of the picture for the season-ending Masters Cup in Shanghai. Against 64th-ranked Stepanek he faded after a solid start and the Czech’s appetite for the match grew and grew as he pulled off a shock win, finishing the contest with a mighty ace. “This is the best victory in my whole career - to beat a former world number one is an amazing feeling,” Stepanek said after booking a second-round meeting with British sixth seed Tim Henman. Kuerten, whose only title of the season came in his homeland at Bahia, said despite the injury-ravaged season he would look back on the year with some satisfaction. “Given the way I started (he underwent hip surgery in February) I think I got a better year than expected. The 26-year-old will now return home for a long break (after his interest in the doubles ends where he’s playing alongside Cedric Pioline) to a country looking for a bright new future under freshly-elected president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Earlier, Arnaud Clement was glad he elected not to swap his tennis racquet for a pair of football boots as the raucous home crowd cheered the man from Aixen Provence - who is also an avid Marseille supporter - into the second round with a 7-5 6-3 win over Rainer Schuttler of Germany. Last Saturday had seen ugly scenes at the Parcdes Princes as Paris Saint Germain beat Marseille in the French league with some visiting supporters throwing flares and missiles at PSG’s Brazilian maestro Ronaldinho. But football rivalry was buried for Clement and he saluted the crowd afterwards for shouting his name loudly throughout his match. “It’s great to have the fans behind me. “I was at the PSG-Marseille game and all I can say is it’s great to have the Paris crowd with you and not against you,” Clement joked after setting up a meeting with Dutch 15th seed Sjeng Schalken. Croatia’s Ivan Ljubicic beat Argentine Juan Ignacio Chela 6-3 6-3 to set up a meeting with US 12th seed Andy Roddick. Belgium’s Xavier Malisse fought off a back strain to oust Stefan Koubek of Austria 5-7 6-2 6-0 for a date with Swiss eighth seed Roger Federer. Finland’s Jarkko Nieminen was a 6-1 1-6 6-3 winner over Argentine Mariano Zabaleta and he will meet world number one Lleyton Hewitt later today. Argentina’s Gaston Gaudio ousted Italian Davide Sanguinetti 6-4 7-6 (7/1) and now must take on second seed Andre Agassi, twice a winner here.
AFP
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Bopanna
advances; Sunil ousted Chandigarh, October 29 In a mixed day for India, No 5 seed Vijay Kannan and giant-killing Vishal Punna also entered the quarterfinals while fourth-seeded Sunil Kumar Sipaeya, Saurav Panja, sixth-seeded Nitin Kirtane, and Ajay Ramaswami fell by the wayside. Playing against Pavel Ivanov of Russia, Sunil easily won the first set 6-3 but soon lost his serve in the second set to trail 1-4. Rallying brilliantly he soon brought the score par at 5-5 but Ivanov proved resilient and wraped up the set 7-5. Sunil lost the third set and the match 6-3, 5-7, 4-6. Putting his singles defeat aside, Sunil teamed up with Ajay Ramaswami to get the better of Shivang Mishra and Yew Ming Sl 6-3, 6-3. Bopanna, 2-4 down in the tie-breaker, played brilliantly to win it 7-4 and then took the next set to win 7-6 (7/4), 6-2. Saurav Panja failed to close out the match despite five points to eventually concede the match to Juraj Hasko of Slovakia 1-6, 7-5, 1-1. Nitin Kirtane failed to take the chances that came his way to lose 5-7, 7-6 ( 7/5) , 1-6 to Evgueni Smirnov of Russia. In other matches Harsh Mankad beat Ashutosh Singh 6-0, 6-1; Vishal Punna outplayed Pavel Lobanov 7-5, 7-5; Jan Masik overcame Ajay Ramaswami 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, and Vijay Kannan defeated Rohan Gajjar 6-4, 6-4. There was consolation victory for Nitin Kirtane and Saurav Panja as they combined to defeat Manoj Mahadeven and Vishal Uppal 6-2, 6-4. Pavel Ivanov and Evgueni Smirnov continued their winning run in the doubles too and crushed Amanjot Singh and Saurabh Singh 6-2, 6-4. In the other doubles matches, Rohan Bopanna/ Vijay Kannan defeated Kedar Tembe/Amod Wakalkar 6-3, 6-3; Pavel Lobanov/Jan Masik crushed Akash Sharma/Chhatwinder Singh 6-1, 6-1; Kamala Kannan/Rishi Sridhar overcame Vijayendra Laad/ Rohan Gajjar 7-5, 6-4; Somdev K. Dev Varman/Jaco T Mathew effortlessly crushed Robin Kumar/ Tushar Liberhan 6-1, 6-1 and Anton Kokurin/Stephen Nugent defeated Hayato Furukawa/Olivier Mauger 6-1, 6-2.
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Irina rewrites course record Chandigarh, October 29 She left her nearest rival, Anjali Chopra from Delhi, eight strokes behind. Mayali Talwar and Shalini Malik tied with seven over scores of 79. A BA Part I student of MCMDAV College, Irina began slow and steady countering her bogey on the first hole with a birdie on the sixth. Despite a nagging knee injury she turned up the heat in the return nine making birdies on the 11th, 16th and 17th to be three under par on the home stretch. She was on the verge of romping home with a three-under record. But the last hole caught on to her nerves. She ended up dropping a shot to finish with a two-under card. Irina was in top form today. Probably her stint in the USA under Sam Frost added a sting to her swing. Yes, Irina had a week-long coaching stint under the international teaching professional from South Africa. Northern India champion Mayali Talwar of Delhi started in brilliant fashion striking a birdie on the very first hole. She was going great guns till disaster struck when her ball went into the trees on the sixth. The triple bogie, however, did not deter her from birdying the very next hole. She went on to finish a creditable one stroke behind Anjali Chopra. Anjali played well in the beginning with a two-over in the first nine. But in the back nine she struggled with her hitting to return a card of six over. In the silver division Rana Alam leads the pack with gross score of 83. She also laid claim to the day’s best net score playing three under. The youngest participant, 11-year-old Vaishavi Sinha of NOIDA, had a creditable score of 86. The scores for various divisions. Championship Bowl-(gross): — Irina Brar-70, Anjali Chopra-78, Mayali Talwar-79. Silver Salver: Gross — Irina Brar-70, Shalini Malik-79, Neha Majithia-84; Nett — Irina Brar-69, Shalini Malik-71, Neha Majithia-73. Bronze plate: Gross — Neelu Chopra-99, Saroj Jyoti-102, Dr Rashmi-104; Nett — Saroj Joti-71, Shruti Naik-71, Neelu Chopra-74. Junior Shield: Gross — Mayali Talwar-79, Neha Majithia-84, Divya Kapur-85; Nett — Shruti Nayak-71, Neha Majithia-73, Divya Kapur-74. Subjunior Shield: Gross — Vashavi Sinha-86, Megna Bal-90, Shruti Naik-106; Nett — Shruti Naik-71, Vaishavi Sinha-74, Megna Bal-78. Senior Challenge: Gross — Madhu Brar-91, Dalbir Sahi-92, S. Ratia-95; Nett — Dalbir Sahi-71, Saroj Joti-71, Binny Bath-74. Super Senior: Gross — Dalbir Sahi-92, Saroj Joti-102, Darshi Narang-110; Nett — Saroj Joti-71, Dalbir Sahi-71. |
Kerala, Services
in semis Imphal, October 29 In the semifinals on November 1, Services will play against Kerala. After trailing for 70 minutes by a goal by Assam’s Sanjib Rongpi in the 36th minute, Kerala equalised from a penalty kick off defender K Bineesh in the 70th minute. Referee S.M. Baalu of Karnataka awarded a penalty kick when Assam goalkeeper Jitu Chetri piped Kerala striker Asif Saheer in the penalty box. In the 77th minute, Kerala shot into lead from a goal by S Ignatious and substitute Abdul Noushad buttressed the tally from a pile driver just at the stroke of the 90th minute. Midfielder K. Ajayan was adjudged the most valuable player of the match. In the other match of the day, in group B, Services defeated Railways 2-0.
UNI
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Russians
edge out India Bled, (Slovenia), October 29 This resulted in 24th seed India finding its placing at the 24th rank at close of the third round. As reported earlier, Indian captain Sasikiran went down to world’s best Garry Kasparov. Surya Sekhar Ganguly over-reached his position to lose. On the other hand both Pentalya Harikrishna and Abhijit Kunte drew for India. The 3-1 margin put Russia into a joint first place with Poland with Georgia and Cuba securing 10 points in the first three rounds. India with 3 points is to face with black piece on top board against 41st seed Norway.
UNI
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Sirsa-B lift women’s TT title Yamunanagar, October 29 In the men’s team championship semifinal Sirsa beat Haryana Power Sports Group Panchkula (HPSG) by 3-1 and Yamunanagar beat Faridabad by 3-1. In the kids (boys) singles U-10 pre-quarterfinals matches all seeded players except unseeded Pranav Midha of (Karnal) entered the quarterfinal. Aishwarya of (Panchkula), an unseeded player, defeated third seeded Nitu of (Bhiwani) 3-0 to enter the semifinal in the kids girls single under 10 section. Other three Richa (Rohtak), Jyoti (Bhiwani) and Anchal (Sirsa) also moved in to the semifinal. In the final of women team championship Sirsa B team beat Sirsa A 3-0, Suman lost Monika 11-9, 10-12, 6-11, 1-11, Nadia beat Sidhi 11-5, 11-2, 11-9, Steffi beat Richa 11-6, 14-12, 11-13, 11-5 Nadia beat Monika 9-11, 11-8, 11-6, 14-12, Hisar and Bhiwani got the bronze medals. In the final of boys team under 17 Panchkula beat Rohtak by 3-1. Manikant (Panchkula) beat Deepak Malik (Rohtak) 11-7, 4-11, 12-10, 11-6, Nitin lost to Vikram Saini 11-9, 9-11, 7-11, 7-11, Parteek beat Rahul Dahiya 6-11, 11-9, 4-11, 13-11, 11-8 and Manikant beat Vikram Saini 11-5, 11-9, 11-9. Gurgaon and Sirsa get bronze medals. In the semifinals men team championship Yamunanagar A team beat Faridabad by 3-1. |
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Kolkata, October 29
In video (
