SPORTS

Kids keen to make a mark in cricket
Gopal Sharma
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 26
The enthusiasm among schoolchildren practising at the Sector 16 Cricket Stadium here has to be seen to be believed. The youngest cricketer, as coach Yograj Singh says, is a five-year-old player from Shimla, who is a talented batsman. A local six-year-old promising lad from Sector 16 spends hours daily to hone his skills as a batsman. Another six-and-a-half-year-old from Mani Majra is equally keen to learn the game at the centre.

The list does not end here. There are a host of other budding youngsters going through the rigours of a tough schedule to emerge better cricketers. Cricketers up to the under-19 age-group go through the drill day in and day out to be better cricketers under the watchful eyes of a dedicated Yograj Singh and a couple of other coaches.

Somebody as young as 10 years with pads and helmet in place can be seen executing a fluent cover drive. Or a nine-year-old going for a round of the stadium after batting practice in searing heat with sweat-drenched clothes. Or a budding cricketer of the same age-group rushing to Yograj to seek help about left-arm bowling. And Yograj, in attendance nearby, corrects flaws in the technique of the enthusiasts, besides giving them useful tips.

The nearly two-hour morning session is devoted to body conditioning. Along with Yograj, Arun Tuli, a former Punjab Ranji player, is there to guide the youngsters. The afternoon session (3 p.m. to 7.30 p.m.) is reserved for honing skills in batting, fielding and practising, during which Arun Sharma, a former Haryana player, Harish Sharma and Ajaib Singh are also there to assist Yograj. The final two hours of the day are spent by youngsters in a gymnasium to build stamina, endurance and power, he said.

“Arun had severely damaged his right leg in an accident two years back and was in bad shape. A major portion of his damaged leg had to be amputated and replaced by a wooden structure. He was persuaded to take up the task of guiding youngsters in the stadium. Since then, he is a regular to the centre. Despite the handicap, he is working hard to help them,” said Yograj, father of India’s one-day star Yuvraj Singh.

The former fast bowler has lost none of his enthusiasm and energy for the game. Totally devoted to the development of the game in the city, Yograj reaches the stadium around 3 p.m. and remains busy with the youngsters till late in the evening. He stated that the there was no dearth of talent in the city. Sidharth Sharma and Gaurav Gambhir, promising under-15 players from the centre, had been selected for a camp at the National Cricket Academy, Bangalore, he said.

“A three-month special coaching camp is being arranged from the first week of next month during which former cricketers will be invited for the benefit of youngsters. A similar camp will also be arranged during winter,” he said, adding that players must remain focused to the game throughout the year.

“Lack of affiliation with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is a major impediment as talented city cricketers do not have the right opening to showcase their talent. We have to convince the associations affiliated either with Punjab or Haryana to give our players a chance. And the help for even deserving players is hard to come by,” he lamented.

He said Kapil Dev had revealed that the city initially may get affiliation for the under-15 and under-19 tournaments. “Even this would be a big step in the right direction which would go a long way in improving the standard of cricket in the city,” he emphasised.

About his reported contract with the Rajasthan Cricket Association, which he was set to join at Jaipur on a coaching assignment, he stated: “The love and affection shown by the youngsters has prevented me from taking up the contract.”

Gearing up for roller hockey meet
Our Sports Reporter

Chandigarh, May 26
The second phase of the national women roller hockey camp has laid more emphasis on endurance and stamina, said Chandita Kamboj, 14-year-old national-level skater from Panchkula. On a visit to the venue of the ongoing national camp at KB DAV Centenary School, Sector 7, Chandigarh, this morning, this correspondent saw 11 girls going through a gruelling physical conditioning session being held under the guidance of national coach Harpreet Singh.

The camp, which began on May 20, will continue till June 3 and is being organised by the Roller Skating Federation of India (RSFI). Ms Madhu Bahl, camp coordinator, said earlier such a camp was held in February. She said the camp was being held to prepare a strong Indian roller hockey team for the Asian Roller Skating meet to be held in Japan in October this year. She said two more camps might be held before the team’s departure for the meet.

Kriti Puri, another versatile skater from Chandigarh who has secured 93.8 per cent marks in the class X examinations, said both the morning and evening sessions were giving them the right kind of exposure.

Suruchi Chandel, another skater from Panckula, said this time they were laying more stress on physical fitness. Another girl, Aasrita, who hails from Visakhapatnam, is accompanied by her parents.

Among the probables, a majority of the girls hail from Haryana, the reigning national champion in roller hockey.

The probables are Priyanka, Chandita Kamboj, Suruchi Chandel, Anuja Chauhan, Ritika, Rayasha, Swati Gupta, Gurpeet, Yashdeep, Sonali, Ritu, Renuka and Smriti (all from Haryana), Rekha (Punjab), Kriti Puri, Japneet, Jasmine and Shakun (all from Chandigarh) and Asrita and Asma Jain (both from Andhra Pradesh).

Saroj, Tejinder clinch carrom titles
Our Sports Reporter

Saroj Chandel Tejinder Harry

Chandigarh, May 26
Saroj Chandel of the Reserve Bank of India and Tejinder Harry of ICICI Bank clinched the women and men’s singles title, respectively, in the VIth Raj Kumar Babuta Memorial Prize Money Carrom Ranking Tournament which concluded this evening at St Stephen’s School, Sector 45, Chandigarh.

Saroj got the better of Shikah nanda 25-01,20-25 and 25-16, while Tejinder had to toil to overcome the challenge of Sanjay Negi 25-05, 25-15.

Mr Deepak Gomez, Principal, Saupin’s School, Panchkula gave away the prizes to the winners. The women’s singles winner was given a prize money of Rs 1,500 while men’s singles winner got Rs 2,500 as award.

Meanwhile, the Chandigarh Carrom Association has released its ranking list. Women: Saroj Chandel 1, Shikha Nanda 2, Pallavi Piplani 3, Anjali Negi 4, Sushila Prasad 5, Inder Kanta 6 and S. Rani 7. men: Tejinder Harry 1, Sanjay Negi 2, Gagandeep Singh 3, Sudhir Sidhu 4, Paramdeep 5, Dhruva 6, Devinderjit 7, K.S. Patwal 8.

Tennis meet

The qualifying rounds of the AITA Junior Tour Ranking Talent Series Tournament began here today at Tennis Stadium, Sector 10, Chandigarh. The matches were held in under-14 and under-18 sections. Those who made it to the third round of the under-14 section were Vikas Brijpal Randhawa, Pulkit Mishra, Mandeep Yadav, Sidharth Singh, Yuvresh Bansal, Parul Verma, Ashwani Kumar, Aditya Malhotra, Akshat Joshi, Amrinder Singh, Harry Singh, Aman Farmaha, Navdeep Singh and Anmol S Ladhar.

In the under-18 boys section, the following entered the second round: Nikhil Sharma, Gurmehar Brar, Gurdit Singh, Kuldeep Chugh, Simmerveer, Harman Randhawa, Rohit Sharma, Sunil Kumar, Gursimran Brar, Rahul Jain, Puneet Rawat, Gaurav Sharma, Khan Gura Singh and Varun Sharma. The under-14 matches will begin tomorrow at 7.30 a.m. The main round of draws will be released in the afternoon.