Delhi polo season kicks off with Hyundai Sonata Cup
Our Sports Reporter

New Delhi, October 31
The 2003 Delhi polo season will kick off with the Hyundai Sonata Cup, a 16-goal tournament. Organised by Equisport, the tournament opens on November 3, culminating with the finals on November 9 at the Jaipur polo ground. The season’s schedule, beginning in November, continues through mid-December with tournaments ranging from 8-20 goals, with some of the finest players competing.

The other major tournaments, also organised by Equisport, include the Reid and Taylor Indian Open Polo Championship 2003 from November 14-23, 2003, which is the National Championship of Polo and the ABN AMRO Bhopal and Pataudi Cup from December 16 to 21.

The tournament matches are open to the public, with game timings at 2 pm.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr J I Kim, Managing Director, Hyundai Motor India Ltd, said, “The Maharaja Sir Pratap Singh Polo Cup presents a vivid blend of royal grandeur and modern spirit. Hyundai Motor India is proud to play a constructive role in the revival of this heritage sport that is an enduring symbol of royal patronage. We are sure that this event will reinforce the active relationship that our Sonata customers have with the brand.”

The Hyundai Sonata tournament will be played on a half league basis. This year high goal teams comprising India’s star players and some foreign professionals are participating in this tournament. The teams include current holders of the cup, Jindal Power and Steel, ABN AMRO, Zara, McDowell’s Signature, Sahgal Stud, Indian Army, Arvali Polo and Royal Kashmir.

Hyundai Sonata is sponsoring this tournament for the third year in a row. Hyundai Motors sees this luxury car’s association with polo as a perfect brand fit. Like the Sonata this sport is a rare combination of power, style and substance.

Major Adhiraj Singh, Managing Director, Equisport, pioneers in the promotion of polo and equestrian sport in India, added, “By bringing polo to the arena of mainstream sports, through these tournaments, Equisport is helping engender a whole new breed of polo enthusiasts. In recent years polo has gained popularity as a spectator sport and tournaments such as the Hyundai Cup offer integrated and interactive opportunities for companies such as Hyundai Motors to make contact with their consumers.”

This year’s polo season is especially significant as the Indian team will travel to Pakistan for the world cup qualifying tournament slated for December. Matches are being played over four-six chukkers and there’s a special buzz to this polo season as probables of the Indian team for the Polo World Cup will also play in Delhi. The prospective clash with Pakistan in December is already exciting the polo fraternity.

Equisport is organising the Hyundai Sonata Cup, the Reid and Taylor Indian Open Polo Championship and the ABN AMRO Pataudi Cup. An event management and marketing company for sports and lifestyle events, Equisport is the pioneer in the promotion of polo and equestrian sport in India. Its aim is to realise the full potential of the game as a competitive sport and leverage the glamour and excitement as a promotional platform. Equisport has renewed in the mind of the consumer the royal connection of this sport in India, the country of its origin.

Wisden Awards winners get Timex watches
Our Sports Reporter

New Delhi, October 31
Timex Watches Limited, the official watch of Electrolux Wisden International Awards (EWIA), presented special designer square chronograph watches to the winners of the coveted Wisden International Awards yesterday at a glittering function held at NCPA in Mumbai.

The specially designed Timex chronographs were presented to Rahul Dravid by Mr. T. P. Pratap, Marketing Manager of Timex Watches Limited.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. T.P. Pratap said, “Timex is proud to present these specially designed chronographs to the EWIA winner Rahul Dravid. Timex is renowned for its support of international cricket and its resonance with its own sporty, techy and fash-first image.”

The specially designed Timex chronographs, the latest in line from the first chronograph invented by

Adolphi Nicole in 1862, are extremely accurate. Counters registering split seconds and minutes can be started and stopped as desired, making it relevant to the exacting standards of sportspersons. When these chronographs are used in conjunction with specialised counters on the dials they can be used to measure speed and distance with great precision.

Timex, which is the official watch of Wisden International Awards (EWIA), has been consistently sponsoring and supporting world class cricket. Last year, Timex presented a special commemorative watch to the winner and all nominees of the Indian Cricketer of the Century Awards, also organised in association with Wisden in a high profile function held at Lords, London. Timex India began its association with Indian cricket with the hugely successful and innovative Lefties Vs Righties match, played by India’s test cricketers at Mumbai in 2001. Timex’s subsequent tie-ups with Wisden and ESPN-Star Sports have firmly aligned the globally sporty, techy and fashionable brand of Timex with cricket in this country.

Sirsa youth dominate Haryana TT Championship
Our Sports Reporter

Sonepat, October 31
Youngsters from Sirsa continued to dominate the events of the four-day Haryana State Table Tennis Championship by winning the titles of sub-junior boys and under-17 girls on the third day of the championship.

Earlier, they had lifted the titles of under-10 boys as well as girls and under-12 girls’ section.

In the final of under-17 girls’ section, Sidhi of Sirsa defeated Neha of Sirsa by winning all three sets by 11-7, 11-8 and 11-9. The third place of this section went to Sheetal of Sirsa who defeated Suman, also of Sirsa. It is pointed out that Neha, while participating in the under-12 section, has won the first position.

In the sub-junior boys singles final, Satish of Sirsa maintained his lead over Hiteshi, also of Sirsa, by winning the first, third and fifth sets of the five-set final with 12-10, 11-8, 7-11 and 11-7. Vikas Nandal of Sonepat bagged the third position by defeating Rajat of Sirsa.

In the semi-finals of the boys sub-junior, Satish defeated Vikas Nandal by 11-7, 9-11, 11-8, and 12-10, and Hiteshi overcame Rajat with 5-11,11-7,11-5 and 11-7.

E. Booker thrash Jaquar again

New Delhi: A big opening wicket stand of 104 runs between Pankaj Matta (64 runs) and Prasanna (54 runs) and a four-wicket haul by Saurabh Sharma helped E. Bookers register their second successive victory over Jaquar in the third Turf Twenty 20 Cup at the Sri Venkateshwara College grounds.

Batting first, E. Bookers scored 192 runs for 8 wickets in the allotted 20 overs. Pankaj Matta and Prasanna were the top scorers for E. Bookers with 64 and 54 runs, respectively. For Jaquar skipper Yogesh Kumar 7 Manoj Vashisht were the highest wicket taker with three wickets. In replay, Jaquar were bundled out for 43 runs in 13.3 overs. Saurabh Sharma took four wickets for four runs of four overs for the winners. Saurabh Sharma was given the Man of the Match Award while Pankaj Matta and Yogesh Kumar were given the Best Batsman and Best Bowler of the Match Awards, respectively.

Brief scores: E Bookers-192 for 8 in 20 overs: O Prasanna-54, Pankaj Matta-64, Yogesh Kumar-3 for 28, Manoj Vashisht-3 for 20.

Jaquar-43 all out in 13.3 overs: Rajesh Kumar-23, Saurabh Sharma-4 for 4, Gagan Sharma 3 for 29, Avtar-2 for 5. OSR

Associate Finance lose to Fritolay
Our Sports Reporter

New Delhi, October 31
On winning the toss and electing to bat in the third Eventus Cricket Tournament 2003, Associate Finance could not post a decent total as wickets kept on falling at regular intervals. Chasing the small total, Fritolay made sure that they kept one end intact and runs came in from the other end.

The responsibility to keep one end intact was executed with brilliance by Man of the Match and captain Samik Basu.

Associate Finance: 102 all out in 19.1 overs: Javed Khan-21, Nitin Chander-21, Sunil Kumar-5-2-15-3, Kuldeep Singh-4.1-0-23-2, Rupinder Singh-5-0-30-2.

Fritolay: 107 for 4 wicket in 15.4 overs: Samik Basu-35, Manoj Kumar-31, Rupinder Singh-22 not out, Javed Khan-4-0-32-1.

Man of the Match - Samik Basu (Fritolay)