SPORTS

Varanasi, Jalandhar enter semi-finals
Our Sports Reporter

New Delhi, February 18
Faculty of Humanity, Varanasi and DAV College, Jalandhar completed the semi-final line-ups of the 11th Nehru Champion Colleges Hockey Tournament at the Shivaji Stadium on Wednesday.

Faculty of Humanity had to wage a close battle to tame St. Xavier’s College, Ranchi via tie-breaker 5-4 while DAV College, Jalandhar trounced Guru Nanak Khalsa College, Yamuna Nagar 8-1 in the last quarter-final tie.

In the semi-finals on Thursday, Khalsa College, Patiala will clash against College of Arts and Education, Annamali at 1.30 pm while Faculty of Humanity will take on DA College, Jalandhar.

In the first quarter-final of the day, Varanasi found the Ranchi boys a hard nut to crack. Ranchi forged ahead in the 29th minute of first half when Thomas Nag converted a penalty stroke. Varanasi had to wage a desperate struggle to get the equaliser in the 51st minute when Mohd. Ali Shot in a fine field goal.

With the score tied one-all, the matter went into tie-breaker for a solution. And the Varanasi boys proved to be better marksmen as four of their players hit the mark—Amjad Khan, Manish K Shahi, Amit K Singh and Shashikant Singh. Only Pratap Singh muffed his shot.

For Ranchi, the successful marksmen were Thomas Nag, Vikram Mundu and Sunil Tirkey. Prakash Kerketta and Bipin Tete failed to strike the target.

In the second match, it was a virtual cakewalk for the Jalandhar team against Guru Nanak. Amarjit Singh converted a penalty corner to put the winners in the lead in the seventh minute.

Three minutes later, Gurpreet Singh enhanced the lead. And in the 25th minute, Navpreet Singh made use of yet another penalty corner to give a handsome 3-0 lead to Jalandhar. But four minutes before half time, Sukhwinder pulled one back to reduce the margin for Guru Nanak.

However, in the second half, the Jalandhar boys once again got into their scoring mood, with Ravinder Singh resuming the act in the 44th minute. He also scored the sixth goal in the 56th minute, but in between Damandeep Singh came up with the fifth goal, and later the seventh goal. Roop Singh completed the tally five minutes before the final hooter.

Three-way tie for lead in golf
Our Sports Reporter

New Delhi, February 18
The trio of Mukesh Kumar, Ashok Kumar and Jumman were sitting pretty atop the leader-board with identical cards on day one of the Padampat Singhania Open Golf Tournament played at the Noida Golf Course. The tournament is the 14th leg of the Hero Honda Golf Tour.

Meanwhile, there were as many as six players lying a stroke behind the leaders. Veteran Rohtas Singh, rookie Sandeep Syal, Rafick Ali, Yusuf Ali, Pappan, Gest Ram and SSP Chowrasia all returned cards of 70.

Starting from the tenth tee, the four-time Order of Merit winner Mukesh Kumar played a near flawless round as he recorded four birdies, two on the back nine, and an equal number on the front. The only bogey of his round came on the ninth, his finishing hole. “Overall, I am happy with the way I played today”, said Mukesh.

Delhi pro Ashok Kumar, who finished a creditable tied 19th at the Myanmar Open on the Asian PGA Tour last week, set the tone for his round in the very beginning as he birdied the par-5 opening hole. He went onto record birdies on the eighth, 14th and 17th holes. A bogey on the sixth marred his otherwise perfect round.

On that hole, his drive found the rough on the left edge from where he chipped on to the fairway and played for a bogey.

“Considering I came back only day before yesterday from Burma and didn’t get a practice round, I am quite happy with the way I was striking the ball. I hope to have an even better round tomorrow”, said the Delhi pro.

Jumman, the third player leading on the day, recorded six birdies in his round of 69. Starting from the first tee, the Lucknow golfer started with a birdie on the first and then after a bogey on the par-3 third hole, recovered to score three birdies on the trot on the fifth, sixth and seventh.

Some bad putting on his return journey saw him make bogies on the 15th and 17th holes. Chirag Kumar of Delhi returned the best card with a score of 71 in the amateur section. Three strokes behind at 74 was local amateur Simarjeet Singh.

Sanjay Sharma slams century for Dena Bank
Our Sports Reporter

New Delhi, February 18
Sanjay Sharma slammed a delightful century to guide Dena Bank to a five-wicket victory against Rohtak Road Gymkhana in a Super A Division match of the DDCA League at the Mohan Meakins ground. RR Gymkhana scored 220 all out in 39.2 overs.

Scores: R R Gymkhana: 220 all out in 39.2 overs (Abhinav Bali 55, Preet Pal Singh 49, Kartar Nath 3 for 39, Suresh Batra 2 for 30).

Dena Bank: 222 for 5 in 38.5 overs (Sanjay Sharma 101, Manu Nayar 35, Vivek Khurana 2 for 30).

Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) downed Darling Club by three wickets in a Super A Division match at the Yamuna Sports Complex ground.

Scores: Darling Club: 231 for 6 in 40 overs (Siddarth Verma 105 n o, Rohan Kumar 39). ONGC: 233 for 7 in 39.2 overs (Radhey Shyam Gupta 130 n o, Sandeep Sharma 52, Rajesh Dua 2 for 29, Siddarth Verma 2 for 52).

United India and Hind Club were tied in their A-I Division match at the University ground.

Scores: United Club: 143 all out in 29.3 overs (Ankit Rawat 36, Rajan Rana 4 for 21, Manoj Sharma 2 for 25).

Hind Club: 143 all out in 30 overs (Sanjay Dhiman 41, Jasbir Singh 2 for 18, J P Singh 2 for 30).

Delhi Telecom defeated Syndicate Bank by nine wickets in an A-II Division match at the University polo ground.

Scores: Syndicate Bank: 165 all out in 37.3 overs (Diwakar Jha 45 n o, R K Sharma 28, Sanjeev Rana 3 for 42, N S Negi 2 for 35, Rohit Mehra 2 for 19).

Delhi Telecom: 168 for 1 in 21.5 overs (N S Negi 84, Bhism Mittal 38 n o, Sanjeev Rana 21 n o).

Jyoti Randhawa leads Indian hope
Our Sports Reporter

New Delhi, February 18
Jyoti Randhawa, who recently broke into the top 100 in world rankings, leads the Indian hopes in the $ 1.21 million Carlsberg Malaysian Open which tees off on Thursday at Kuala Lumpur.

Randhawa, who is currently ranked 90th in the world rankings, had finished joint second in Malaysia last week. With defending champion Arjun Atwal skipping the tee-off order, Indian hopes are pinned on Randhawa in the joint-sanctioned event on the European and Asian PGA Tour.

The Gurgaon-based pro, who is currently in second position in Asian ranking, is raring to go.

“I am playing well. I am confident of a good finish. I am trying to play more number of tournaments on the Japanese circuit”, said Jyoti.

Jeev Milkha Singh, who had a bumpy ride in the past season, will also be hoping to regain his wonted form.

The other Indians in the fray include Vijay Kumar, who currently leads the Golf Tour Order of Merit list.

Harmeet Kahlon, who had injured his elbow recently, will be back in action, while Amandeep Johl and Arjun Singh completed the list of Indian entries.

Some of the top names in world golf are in the fray. Scotland’s Colin Montgomerie, Irish duo of Padraig Harrington and Paul McGinley, will be amongst the favourites. The Asian challenge is led by Thailand’s Thonchai Jaidee, who has two victories in his belt in as many months, including the Myanmar Open last week.

BSES defeat Ranbaxy in Corporate Cup
Our Sports Reporter

New Delhi, February 18
An all-round display by Ajit Choudhary (39 and 3 for 15) helped BSES Rajdhani Yamuna Power Limited defeat Ranbaxy Club by 21 runs in a league match of the Corporate Challenge Cup Cricket Tournament at the Saket Sports Complex ground.

BSES scored 134 all out in 24.5 overs. But Ranbaxy failed to achieve the target and scored 113 all out in 24.2 overs.

Scores: BSES: 134 all out in 24.5 overs (Ajit Choudhary 39, Ajay Maharaj 39, Vijesh Gupta 3 for 22, Arjun Tyagi 3 for 25).

Ranbaxy: 113 all out in 24.2 overs (Paresh Choudhary 35, Vijesh Gupta 30, Ajit Choudhary 3 for 15, P S Negi 2 for 18, Rajesh Sharma 2 for 22).

Turf Corporate Cricket

Fine batting displays by man of the match Sanjeev Sharma and best batsman Manoj Gupta helped Pepsi score a 51-run victory against Tecnovate in the fourth Turf Corporate Cricket Challenge at the Guru Gobind Singh College ground. Pepsi scored 213 for 5 in 25 overs.

Scores: Pepsi: 213 for 5 in 25 overs (Sanjeev Sharma 54 n o, Manoj Gupta 42, Rupinder 25, Sunny Mehra 23, Avtar Singh 2 for 40).

Tecnovate: 162 for 9 in 25 overs (Farhan Khan 32, Avtar Singh 33, Manoj Gupta 2 for 19, Anuj 2 for 1).

DMRC orders probe into building damage
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, February 18
The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) has set up an inquiry into last night’s incident in which a commercial building suffered severe damage during construction of an underground tunnel, following which emergency evacuations were carried out.

The DMRC has said that corrective measures were being taken to stabilise the affected structures. The Central Building Research Institute, Roorkee, has also been asked to suggest additional precautionary measures to ensure safety of the buildings.

The incident occurred in Hakim Baqa Lane near Hauz Qazi Chowk, Chawri Bazar when a Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) was working for constructing the underground Metro tunnel for connecting Delhi Main to Chawri Bazar.

The sources said that prima facie an old cavity loosely filled up in between the tunnel and the surface destabilised the buildings. Nearby shops in the area called Shanti Market are also under observation and have been evacuated.

Meanwhile, the Confederation of All India Traders today demanded compensation for the “destruction” of the commercial buildings. The damage caused to the buildings forced Metro officials to evacuate them in emergency in the night itself, it said.

In a statement, Confederation Secretary General Praveen Khandelwal said the Metro work, which was going on in a densely populated area, had caused cracks in several other buildings too. These areas should be surveyed thoroughly and safety steps should be taken so that no building was damaged and no loss of life and property occurred.

He also regretted that no compensation or alternative site has been given to those whose shops were acquired at the beginning of the Metro Project. He reiterated his demand to form a Walled City Development Board for a planned development of the area.