Dhanoa Academy eves defeat Central Rlys
Our Sports Reporter

Ludhiana, March 9
The Dhanoa Academy (HMV), Jalandhar, defeated their senior rivals from the Central Railways, Mumbai 3-1 to record their second victory in a row on the second day of the eighth All-India Mohinder Partap Singh Grewal Memorial Women's Hockey Tournament being played at the Deso Turf ground of Punjab Agricultural University here today.

The Central Railways' girls managed to pierce through the academy players' territory time and again. In the process they forced two penalty corners ( 12th and 17th minute) but failed to capitalise on these scoring chances.

On the other hand, girls of the Dhanoa Academy, after repeated attempts, stormed into the railway's danger zone (24th minute) and Baljit Kaur who had struck twice yesterday against the North- Eastern Railways, much to the chagrin of the Central Railways, Nisha, rolled the ball into the net 1-0. They immediately enhanced the lead through Satinder Kaur 2-0.

In the second session, the Central Railway team began the proceedings on a rousing note, reducing the margin in the very first minute when Rani Benre sounded the board to make it 2-1. After this both teams exhibited some fine stick work, however, their efforts failed to cut much ice.

Six minutes before the long whistle, Arun Bala of the Dhanoa Academy scored a superb field goal to further consolidate the lead 3-1. The railway's players made some frantic moves to reduce the margin but failed to pierce through the defence of Jalandhar eves.

Earlier in the day, the North Eastern Railway, Gorakhpur, continued with their dismal display when they went down fighting 0-1 against the Sports Authority of India, Chandigarh. This was their second successive drubbing. Yesterday, they had lost to the Dhanoa Academy 2-3.

Midway through the first half, SAI, Chandigarh, shot into the lead through a field goal scored by Raj Rani. The railway's players forced eight penalty corners whereas Chandigarh eves got four but all these went abegging.

A cyclist of promise
Anil Datt

Ludhiana, March 9
A student of BA (II) of the local Satish Dhawan Government College for boys, Jorawar Singh Bhinder (19) is practising rigorously with the sole aim to become a cyclist of international fame. Jorawar has participated in a number of road races and track events during the past couple of years and impressed many with his abilities. His daily schedule includes around 80 km of pedalling on the Ludhiana-Rajpura road and about 100 km thrice a week to hone his skills.

On the basis of his performance, he has received an invitation to take part in the Asian Road Racing (2500 km) tournament, slated to be held in Malasiya from March 15 to April 8. Unfortunately, he would not be participating in this meet due to his annual exams.

Impressed with the thrill and speed of cyclists whom he saw some years ago during the National Cycling Championship held at the velodrome of Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, Jorawar began taking part in road races in 1999 and tasted success when he, representing Gujaranwala Guru Nanak Khalsa College, won a gold medal in the 1500 m team time trial in the Panjab University Inter-College Sports Competition held at the PAU.

Jorawar bagged a gold medal (1600 m time trial) and a bronze medal (4800 m massed start) in the annual sports meet of the college same year. He repeated the performance the next year also and was honoured with the “college colour” for his achievement.

In 2002, Jorawar represented Punjab in the National Games, though he failed to be among the medal winners. Same year, Jorawar clinched a silver medal (4000 m team pursuit) and a bronze medal (1500 m team time trial) in the Punjab State Cycling Championship conducted at Patiala.

Jorawar represented Government College in the Panjab University Inter-College Sports Meet at PAU, where he won two bronze medals in the 1000 m sprint and 1000 m massed start events, respectively. Last year, he took part in the All India Inter-Varsity Tournament (1000 m massed start) held at Pune and the National Meet at Kolkata.

For his performance, Jorawar was awarded the “college colour” at the annual prize distribution function of SD Government College held last week. Jorawar earned this distinction in the field despite the fact that there is no cycling coach in the city to polish the young promising riders’ skills. What Jorawar has achieved is his solo effort.