KIEV : Brazil's Mario Melo (left) fights for a ball with Ukraine's Oleksandr Kravchenko during the European Open Handicapped semifinal soccer match Ukraine vs Brazil in Kiev, Ukraine, on Sunday.The match ended 3-0 to Brazil. — AP/PTI

Players feel Murali throws: Emerson SYDNEY, Aug 9 — Australian cricket umpire Ross Emerson says many players around the world believe Sri Lankan off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan throws the ball. Bhutia’s achievement hailed CALCUTTA, Aug 9 — The football community today hailed the achievement of star footballer Bhaichung Bhutia who is set to become the first Indian to play as a professional with a European club.

Jr national hockey camp put off
PATIALA, Aug 9 — The Indian Women’s Hockey Federation (IWHF) plan of roping in renowned American physical conditioning expert, Mr Hubert Herbert, to train the national junior women’s squad has gone awry, as Mr Herbert has expressed his inability to take on the 15-day assignment citing ‘personal reasons’.

Best yet to come,warn Chinese
EINDHOVEN (Netherlands), Aug 9 — The all-conquering Chinese team left the 45th World Table Tennis Championships here with all five gold and silver medals in the bag and warned the rest of the world that the best was yet to come.

Bailey relegated to third position
COLOGNE, Aug 9 — Olympic 100 metres champion Donovan Bailey, struggling to recapture his form after a long injury break, was beaten into third place at the Cologne Grand Prix meeting yesterday.

3rd Test heads for a draw
MANCHESTER, Aug 9 — Rain and the efforts of former captain Alec Stewart ensured the third cricket Test between England and New Zealand was heading for a draw today.

Karthikeyan finishes 13th
CHENNAI, Aug 9 — India’s Narain Karthikeyan finished a creditable 13th despite a ‘mishap’ in the Marlboro Masters racing championship at Zandvoort Circuit in Holland.

Sangrur, Patiala win titles
ROPAR, Aug 9 — Sangrur with 137 points, and Patiala with 76 points, won the team championships in the junior boys and girls sections, respectively, at the Punjab State Subjunior and Junior Swimming Championships which concluded at the Nehru Stadium swimming pool here last evening.

Ojha re-elected GFI chief
CHANDIGARH, Aug 9 — Mr BS Ojha and Mr PS Virk have been unanimously re-elected the president and general secretary of the Gymnastics Federation of India at its annual general meeting held in Chandigarh.

New national records by Sunita, Anju

BANGALORE, Aug 9 (PTI) — Distance runner Sunita Rani set her second national mark in three days while Anju Markose leapt to glory in triple jump as two national records and six meet records were bettered on the concluding day of the fifth Federation Cup Athletic Championships here today.

Sunita Rani (Punjab) and Anju Markose (TN) set national records in the 5000m and triple jump respectively, while meet records were bettered in men’s and women’s 400m hurdles, men’s and women’s 100m, women’s 10 km walk and decathlon.

P. Anil Kumar (ASCB) and Rachita Mistry (Mah) emerged the fastest man and woman respectively, of the meet.

Sunita Rani, the 19-year-old Punjab girl, who had broken the 1500m national record on the opening day, timed 15:14.4 today to better her own mark of 15:54.43, set in the Bangkok Asian Games in December.

Anju Markose cleared 13.27m in the triple jump to erase the previous record of 13.26 m set by Lekha Thomas in 1998.

Markose, who has participated in seven meets in 30 days, looked tired and attempted only two jumps in which she set the record. She had won the long jump gold on the opening day.

Anil Kumar clocked 10.3s in 100m, bettering the old meet record of 10.43s set by Rajeev Balakrishnan in 1998.

In the women’s 100 m, Rachita Mistry timed 11.5s to better P.T. Usha’s 1998 meet record of 10.51s.

M.K. Asha (Karnataka) won the women’s 400m hurdles in 57.7s, improving upon her own record of 58.47s set in 1998.

Paramjit Kaur of Punjab won the 10 km walk with a timing of 51:24.0 bettering her own old 1998 meet record of 51.48.26.

In the decathlon, Kulwinder Singh (ASCB) with 6596 points better the old record by A.D. Ganpat (6563) set in 1995.

In the men’s 400m hurdles, Shishpal of Haryana set the meet record of 52.1s bettering M.P. Singh effort of 52.26s.

Johansson, Hingis lift titles

MONTREAL, Aug 9 (DPA) — Thomas Johansson of Sweden stunned Yevgeny Kafelnikov, denying the Russian a chance to move back to world number 2 with a 1-6, 6-3, 6-3 upset victory today in the final of the $ 2.45 million Canadian Open.

The 11th-seeded Johansson secured the first hardcourt title of his career despite straining a right groin muscle late in the second set and getting treatment after the first game of the third.

“I had some pain after the second set, but a strapping made it feel better,” he said.

Johansson is the fourth Swede to win a title in 1999 after Magnus Norman, Magnus Gustafsson and Thomas Enqvist.

The title match started nearly 90 minutes late after a morning of steady rain, with players taking to the hardcourt under cloudy, threatening conditions.

Third-seeded Kafelnikov, this year’s Australian Open champion, wasted no time in establishing the early dominance against Johansson, winner of two titles but playing his first career trophy match outdoors.

But the Swede was unimpressed by the former world number one and mounted a steady comeback to turn the momentum of the match and win his first title in two years.

“I had to do something after the first set, it went so fast,” said the winner. “I started hitting the ball harder. At the end I was a bit tired, I had to run a lot.”

Johansson triumphed in two hours, two minutes, becoming the first Swede to win the Canadian Open since Mikael Pernfors in 1993.

Johansson came good in his first try at the event — the last to do that was Russian Andrei Chesnokov in 1991. The Swede’s previous titles came in 1997 at Copenhagen and St. Petersburg.

Kafelnikov still showed that his form had taken a rise after a poor spring.

The 25-year-old Russian stood atop the standings for six weeks this year — a period which coincided with a deep slump of form stretching to six opening-round losses.

Montreal was Kafelnikov’s first hardcourt tournament since losing in the first round in Miami in March.

Johansson collected a cheque for $ 361,000 and 370 ranking points while Kafelnikov won $ 190,000.

The third set was marked by three consecutive breaks of serve, with Johansson taking a 4-3 lead. He made it 5-3 and moved to a pair of match points from a Kefelnikov double-fault.

The match ended controversially, as Kafelnikov thought he heard a let on his serve, but Johansson’s winning return was called good by the chair.

“I wanted to win today,” said Kafelnikov. “But it was a great day anyway.”

Kafelnikov began the delayed start with a break of the Swede in the second game, then ran his leading margin out to 5-1 with a second break of the 11th seed.

As in his semifinal sweep of second-seeded Andre Agassi, the Russian wasted no time, snapping up the set 6-1 in a mere 26 minutes.

But the 24-year-old Swede rallied early in the second, breaking for a 2-0 lead after a long game and moving to 3-0.

The Russian broke back in the fifth game, but was answered in the sixth as Johansson again nudged ahead, 4-2. The breaks continued, with Johansson gaining a 5-3 lead when Kafelnikov lost serve to love.

Though he saved two set points in the next game, Johansson slammed down a rare ace on his third chance to level the match at a set apiece after one hour, 20 minutes.

CARLSBAD, (California) (Reuters): Martina Hingis celebrated her return to the world number one spot by whipping Venus Williams 6-4 6-0 yesterday to win the $ 520,000 TIG Classic Tennis Tournament.

The second-seeded Hingis took the final nine games of the 61-minute match from the fourth-seeded American.

Hingis had regained the world number spot on Saturday by crushing seventh-seeded Amanda Coetzer after Williams surprised defending champion Lindsay Davenport in the first semifinal. However, the Swiss 18-year-old will not officially return to the top spot until the WTA releases the rankings today.

Players feel Murali throws: Emerson

SYDNEY, Aug 9 (Reuters) — Australian cricket umpire Ross Emerson says many players around the world believe Sri Lankan off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan throws the ball.

“I was told by a member of the Australian team that if a secret poll was taken of cricketers around the world, it would be 100 per cent in support of the idea that he throws,’’ Emerson said in an Australian television interview to be screened today.

The umpire’s comments are likely to raise the temperature ahead of Australia’s tour to Sri Lanka later this month.

Mr Emerson called Muralitharan for throwing during a limited-overs match against England at the Adelaide Oval last January. His call prompted angry scenes, with Sri Lankan captain Arjuna Ranatunga leading his players off the field in protest.

Mr Emerson, who had been on stress leave from his regular job at the time, was subsequently stood down by the Australian Cricket Board (ACB). He has also been overlooked for this season’s Test matches in Australia.

Emerson said he did not regret no-balling Muralitharan and believes his forthright manner cost him his job.

“I’m a strong character and they don’t want strong characters umpiring Test cricket,’’ Mr Emerson told Channel Seven television.

Mr Emerson said he had tacit backing from the ACB to call Muralitharan if necessary. He denies stress leave from his job was connected to cricket, and says the ACB were aware of the situation. He added: “I would think a lot of people thought I was a malingerer and I take offence at that.’’

Mr Emerson said he believed his international career might be over but he is still hoping to make a comeback, adding the integrity of umpires could be in jeopardy because he has not been named to officiate this year.

“If (umpires) are not calling the game as they see it, it probably brings their integrity into question,’’ he said.

ACB officials were not immediately available to comment on Mr Emerson’s remarks.

Jr national hockey camp put off
From Ravi Dhaliwal

PATIALA, Aug 9 — The Indian Women’s Hockey Federation (IWHF) plan of roping in renowned American physical conditioning expert, Mr Hubert Herbert, to train the national junior women’s squad has gone awry, as Mr Herbert has expressed his inability to take on the 15-day assignment citing ‘personal reasons’.

Interestingly the IWHF had synchronised the dates of Mr Herbert’s visit to India with the dates of the national junior hockey camp to be held at the NIS here but with Mr Herbert expressing his ‘unwillingness’ to come to India, the IWHF has been forced to postpone the dates of the camp. The camp was to be held at the NIS from August 5 to 19. The junior women’s hockey team is scheduled to take part in an invitational international tournament to be held at Bangkok from September 1 to 6.

Mrs Vidya Stokes, President of the IWHF who was in the city in connection with the selection of the senior national team which is scheduled to take part in a five-Test series in New Zealand, confirmed the unavailability of Mr Hubert. Mrs Stokes said she had received a communication from the Los Angeles based Mr Herbert citing his “unavailability” in which the conditioning expert, who has been attached with various American contingents in various disciplines in the recent past said that due to his wife’s illness he may not be able to take up the assignment. The government, apart from making Mr Herbert’s board and lodging arrangements, at the NIS here had even sent an air ticket to the conditioning expert.

It was in the wake of India’s encouraging showing in the Kuala Lumpur Commonwealth Games and the Bangkok Asiad that the Sports Ministry had agreed to the request of the IWHF for inviting the American conditioning expert. The IWHF sources say that Mr Herbert was to be paid $ 1500 for his 15-day stint.

Mrs Stokes also clarified that identifying a sponsor for the prestigious Asia Cup, scheduled to be held in New Delhi from December 1 to 10, was on the top of the priority list of the federation. She clarified that several proposals were being examined in order to find a title sponsor. She ruled out sponsorship from any tobacco or liquor manufacturing firm. Although the union government will chip in with some amount for the Asia Cup, which has been allotted to India by the Asian Hockey Association (AHA) for the first time since its inception, Mrs Stokes said that the idea of joint sponsorship could not be ruled out.

In a novel idea, Mrs Vidya Stokes exhorted all the IWHF affiliate units to explore the feasibility of conducting six-a-side tournaments at the state level for different age groups. The IWHF has already gone ahead with starting a six-a-side week-end league tournament in New Delhi on an “experimental” basis.

Bhutia’s achievement hailed

CALCUTTA, Aug 9 (PTI) — The football community today hailed the achievement of star footballer Bhaichung Bhutia who is set to become the first Indian to play as a professional with a European club.

“It is a great news for Indian football and would serve as a huge encouragement for other youngsters. It would inspire and motivate them,” former national captain Chuni Goswami told PTI here.

“I had expected him to turn out for a first division club in England. But even second division is not bad. If he can prove himself, then we may see him play the premier league next year,” the former dashing striker said.

The nimble-footed Bhutia was set to sign a three-year contract with English second division Club Bury based in Greater Manchester.

The Sikkim youngster had left the country in late May to fulfil his childhood dream of playing for a European Club and had appeared for trials for several clubs like Fulham FC and Crystal Palace during his stay in England.

Bhutia had undergone a rigorous training schedule in Sweden to fine tune his fitness before landing in England. Bhutia had gone to England last year also but could not find any club forcing him to return home and play for East Bengal.

Former player Sailen Manna said “It is a good news that an Indian is playing in the English professional league”.

He, however, said Bhutia’s personal achievement would have no impact on Indian football as a whole since the diminutive striker would only make a mark in England.

“To improve the standard of Indian football, we need to train promising youngsters under foreign coaches. It should be a systematic and long-term training programme,” he observed.

He felt that Bhutia’s small frame might prove to be a handicap in the gruelling English set-up as players there are physically stronger than the Indians.

But may be he will adjust. Let us give him some time to get used to the conditions there. If he succeeds, we can hope to see more Indians playing in European clubs,” he added.

Another former soccer great Tulsidas Balaram also expressed happiness over Bhutia’s prospects of playing in England saying “It is a good advertisement for Indian football overseas”.

Describing it as a welcome development, Prasun Banerjee, eminent midfielder of the 80’s, said “Bhutia has opened new vistas for talented Indian footballers”.

Banerjee, who has been appointed the technical director for the Indian youth team’s tour to Mauritius from Wednesday, said he has given a pep talk to his team members citing the example of Bhutia and they were really enthused.

Another former player Gautam Sarkar, now the coach of the Mauritius-bound team, also hailed Bhutia’s perseverance and said hard work had at last paid dividends.

“He had worked hard for it. It is a big development for Indian football,” he said.

Within a few days of arriving for trial at Bury, Bhutia made his mark with a hattrick in a friendly match which impressed club officials, including manager Neil Warnock.

Best yet to come,warn Chinese

EINDHOVEN (Netherlands), Aug 9 (AFP) — The all-conquering Chinese team left the 45th World Table Tennis Championships here with all five gold and silver medals in the bag and warned the rest of the world that the best was yet to come.

China, who also took four bronze medals, came to Holland determined to win back the men’s singles title that has spent most of the 1990s in Europe — they already dominated the women’s game — and they were not disappointed.

But even they were surprised by the extent of their supremacy in these games in which not a single non-Chinese player managed to reach a final in any category.

It is the third time China have swept the board — the other occasions were in Novi Sad, Yugoslavia in 1981, and on home soil in 1995.

New men’s champion Liu Guoliang was diplomatic to European sensitivities after a championship in which they were simply outclassed.

He said: “I would say that between Europe and Asia it is very much 50-50. I think the confrontation between Europe and Asia will continue for some time.”

But, even though victory against compatriot Ma Lin gave Liu the one title to elude him in his glittering career, the new champion indicated that the collective hunger for success was greater than ever.

When asked if he was eager to defend his Olympic crown at Sydney next year, Liu retorted: “The most important title for China is the world team title. “This (the World Team Championships in Malaysia, in February) is more imperative than the Sydney games because it is closer.”

In fact these were indeed the individual world championships but you would never have guessed it, judging by the way the Chinese delegation bonded as a team.

And the new millennium promises an even brighter future for the Chinese if Wang Nan, their new women’s singles champion is to be believed.

Bailey relegated to third position

COLOGNE, Aug 9 (Reuters) — Olympic 100 metres champion Donovan Bailey, struggling to recapture his form after a long injury break, was beaten into third place at the Cologne Grand Prix meeting yesterday.

Bailey, who returned in June after a nine-month absence following achilles surgery, clocked a modest 10.30 seconds in a race won by Barbados’ Obadele Thompson in 10.08.

“It’s getting better,” said the Canadian, who held the world record in 9.84 until American Maurice Greene smashed it with a sizzling 9.79 last June in Athens.

Bailey, beaten into last by Greene at Crystal Palace on Saturday, will not make a decision on entering the world championships in Seville until after Wednesday’s Zurich golden league meeting.

World record holder Colin Jackson of Britain warmed up for Seville in style by winning the 110 metres hurdles comfortably in 13.15 seconds.

The women’s 100 metres hurdles race went to Olga Shishigina of Kazakhstan, who has been dominating the event this season. She won in 12.53 seconds, beating American Melissa Morisson and Swede’s Ludmilla Engquist into second and third places.

Olympic and world champion Engquist, who returned last month after battling breast cancer, confirmed with a mark of 12.70 that she had fully recovered and could even go for a medal in Spain.

The 25,000 fans watching the meeting on a sunny afternoon were hoping for a good performance from local favourite Heike Henkel, the 1992 Olympic high jump champion, making her comeback after three years out of the sport.

The 34-year-old Henkel cleared only 1.85 metres and ended a disappointing seventh. Romania’s Monica Iagar-Dinescu won the competition with 1.96 metres.

The highlight of a relatively uneventful meeting promised to be a strong 3,000 metres with world record holder Daniel Komen and fellow Kenyan Moses Kiptanui.

But both looked far from their best and failed to react when unfancied Moroccan Brahim Lahlafi kicked 300 metres from home to win in seven minutes 33.87 seconds. Komen was a distant second ahead of German Dieter Baumann, who set the early pace. Kiptanui was a poor sixth.

Triple Olympic champion Marie-Jose Perec, who said on Saturday she would not go to Seville because she was out of shape, looked that way in the 200 metres.

3rd Test heads for a draw

MANCHESTER, Aug 9 (AFP) — Rain and the efforts of former captain Alec Stewart ensured the third cricket Test between England and New Zealand was heading for a draw today.

England were 118 for two overnight but the start of play on the fifth and final day was delayed by three hours as overnight rain persisted into the morning.

When play did get underway Stewart, 47 not out overnight, and Graham Thorpe guided England to 181 for two before rain forced the players off again for an early tea.

Stewart moved on to 83 with Thorpe on 25 not out.

It was especially frustrating for New Zealand who had earned a huge 297-run lead after the first innings.

Stewart, a key man in England’s bid to go into final Test with the series still pegged at 1-1, waited and turned an inswinger from Chris Harris to fine leg for his eighth four to reach his 50.

It was his 32nd Test 50 to add to 12 hundreds and came from 123 balls and in 129 minutes. His 11th hundred was instrumental in saving England against South Africa on the same ground last summer.

England had to negotiate a reduced quota of a minimum of 55 overs for safety, with 15 to be bowled in the final hour.

Karthikeyan finishes 13th

CHENNAI, Aug 9 (PTI) — India’s Narain Karthikeyan finished a creditable 13th despite a ‘mishap’ in the Marlboro Masters racing championship at Zandvoort Circuit in Holland.

Karthikeyan, who was 16th on the Formula III grid, had a good start in his Tata Mobil Dallara as he overtook three cars before the first bend, a notorious Tarzan hair pin curve, and had moved upto the 12th by the third lap, according to a fax message received here.

But South African driver Toby Scheckter hit Karthikeyan’s car in the rear, sending the Indian driver off the track. This effectively finished any chance of Karthikeyan getting into the top six, the message said.

Despite being fastest on the track in the morning warm-up, before a light spin saw Karthikeyan return to the pits, he was unable to make headway. But rejoining the track in the 15th place, Karthikeyan came 13th, while Scheckter went on to finish eighth overall.

The event was won by Briton Marc Hynes and many of Europe’s top drivers left the circuit disappointed with their results in the event, the most prestigious on the European calendar, the release said.

Govt promises all help
National Games
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, Aug 9 —The Punjab Government has promised all help for the successful conduct of the National Games, the first of the next millennium, and there will be no financial cuts , according to Mr Arvind Khanna, Secretary-General of the Punjab Olympic Association, the hosts of the 2000 National Games. The state government will provide full support for updating the existing facilities and, where necessary, will also provide funds for providing new facilities.

The Punjab Olympic Association has already undertaken an exercise to pinpoint facilities which will have to be provided for the successful conduct of the Games. This, according to Mr Khanna, could be broadly divided into two segments —where central assistance is required particularly for procurement of synthetic surfaces for conducting events like athletics, hockey, tennis, badminton etc besides provision of stadia to accommodate certain games which would, of course, become a permanent asset to the state. In this connection Mr Khanna clarified that the POA wanted floodlighting of Guru Nanak Dev Stadium at Ludhiana , which was the main stadium for the Games. The opening and closing ceremonies of the event are scheduled to be held at this venue.

Mr Khanna pointed out that the facilities built in the state over the years were put to right use and were utilised extensively. Consequently, wear and tear of the facilities occurred, justifying their replacement with the passage of time. In this connection he referred to the need to replace the synthetic surface laid for hockey at Burlton Park Stadium, Jalandhar, for the 1989 National Games (which were allotted to Punjab but could not be held due to militancy in the state). Similarly, the synthetic surface at Guru Nanak Dev Stadium , Ludhiana, also needed replacement.

Mr Khanna was happy that the Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) authorities at Ludhiana had promised to gear up their facilities for practice and competitions . “However, the swimming pool which stands isolated requires a diving and water polo pools separately for which sufficient space is available adjacent to the existing pool”, Mr Khanna pointed out. It could be brought to international standard on the pattern of the swimming complex available at the National Institute of Sports, Patiala, which was mainly used by the trainees undergoing diploma course and attending national coaching camps.

In fact, Mr Khanna suggested construction of an “ all weather proof” swimming pool so that the sportspersons who take up the discipline can get an opportunity to practice and compete throughout the year. He said facilities for conducting competitions in tennis, rowing, golf and shooting should be created in Punjab so that they could be utilised after the games by sportspersons of the state. As per the schedule of the National Games these events are to be held in Chandigarh where facilities for these disciplines exist.

While agreeing that to conduct rowing a suitable water course had to be identified, he suggested that the PAU complex could be a suitable venue for conducting tennis competitions after improving upon the existing facilities while an international level shooting range can be provided at Mulanpur where land is being made available by the state government. Coming to golf, Mr Khanna said that the existing golf courses either at Patiala or Jalandhar could be improved for the National Games.

Sangrur, Patiala win titles
Tribune News Service

ROPAR, Aug 9 — Sangrur with 137 points, and Patiala with 76 points, won the team championships in the junior boys and girls sections, respectively, at the Punjab State Subjunior and Junior Swimming Championships which concluded at the Nehru Stadium swimming pool here last evening.

Ropar with 101 points and 59 points were runners-up in both the junior boys and girls sections respectively.

In the subjunior boys section, Sangrur won the championship with 37 points while Patiala were runners-up with 21 points. In the subjunior girls section, Ludhiana clinched the title, securing 54 points, while Hoshiarpur were runners-up with 15 points.

In the under-19 boys section, Jaspreet Singh of Sangrur was adjudged the best swimmer. he collected 46 points. In the girls section, Kirandeep Kaur of Ropar was declared best swimmer who gathered 53 points.

In the under-17 boys and girls sections, Devinder Pal Singh of Ropar, with 44 points, and Neha Bector of Patiala, with 54 points respectively were declared best swimmers.

In the under-14 boys and girls sections, Gurpreet Singh of Sangrur with 27 points and Vibha Babbar of Ludhiana with 25 points respectively were adjudged best swimmers.

The following are the today’s results:

Under-19 (boys): 200 metres butter fly — Sukhwant Singh (Amritsar) 1, Kuldeep Singh (Sangrur) 2. 4x100 metres free style relay-Sangrur, Hoshiarpur 2. 200 metres breast stroke — Puneet Rana (Ropar) 1, Jaspreet Singh (Sng) 2. 100 metres back stroke — Jaspreet Singh (Sng) 1, Harsimran Singh (Rpr) 2. 200 metres individual medley — Jaspreet Singh (Sng) 1, Manmohan Singh (Sng) 2. 50 metres free style — Jaspreet Singh (Sng) 1, Manmohan Singh (Sng) 2.

Under-19 (girls): 200 metres breast stroke — Kirandeep Kaur (Rpr) 1, Rupinderjit Kaur (Sng) 2. 100 metres back stroke — Rupinderjit Kaur (Sng) 1, Kirandeep Kaur (Rpr) 2. 200 metres individual medley Kirandeep Kaur (Rpr)1, Rupinderjit Kaur (Sng)2. 50 metres free style — Kirandeep Kaur (Rpr) 1, Rupinderjit Kaur (Sng) 2.

Under-17 (boys): 200 metres butter fly — Devinder Pal Singh (Rpr) 1, Gurinderpal Singh (Ludhiana) 2. 4x100 metres medley relay — Ropar 1, Ludhiana 2. 200 metres breast stroke — Arvind Puri (Ldh) 1, Manraj Singh (Sng) 2. 100 metres back stroke — Dalbir Singh (Sng) 1, Devinderpal Singh (Rpr) 2. 200 metres individual medley — Devinderpal Singh (Rpr) 1, Balbir Singh (Sng) 2. 50 metres free style — Devenderpal Singh (Rpr) 1, Harpreet Singh (Rpr) 2.

Under-17 (girls): 200 metres breast stroke — Himanshi (Sng) 1, Neha Bector (Patiala) 2. 200 metres butter fly — Neha Bector (Pta) 1, anisha Maheshwari (Ldh) 2. 4x100 metres fee style relay — Ludhiana 1, Patiala 2. 100 metres free style — Neha Bector (Pta) 1, Anisha Maheshwari (Ldh)2. 200 metres breast stroke — Himanshi (Sng) 1, Neha Bector (Pta) 2. 100 metres back stroke — Neha Bector (Pta) 1, Himanshi (Sng) 2. 200 metres individual medlay — Neha Bector (Pta) 1, Himanshi (Sng) 2. 50 metres free style — Neha Bector (Pta), Himanshi (Sng) 2.

Under-14 (boys): 200 metres free style — Navpreet Singh (Pta) 1, Gurpreet Singh (Sng) 2. 100 metres free style — Gurpreet Singh (Sng) 1, Rohit Dheer (amritsar) 2. 100 metres butter fly — Gurpreet Singh (Sng) 1, Navpreet (Pta) 2.

Under-14 (girls): 200 metres free style — Sukhmandeep Kaur (Ldh) 1, Harpreet Kaur (Hoshiarpur) 2. 100 metres free style — Sukhmandeep Kaur (Ldh) 1, Vibha Babbar (Ldh) 2. 100 metres butter fly — Vibha Babbar (Ldh) 1, J. Kaur (Hoshiarpur) 2.

Ojha re-elected GFI chief
By Our Sports Reporter

CHANDIGARH, Aug 9 — Mr BS Ojha and Mr PS Virk have been unanimously re-elected the president and general secretary of the Gymnastics Federation of India at its annual general meeting held in Chandigarh.

Mr DV Bhatia and Mr SS Budhwar the president and the secretary of the Chandigarh Gymnastics Association have been re-elected vice president and joint secretary, respectively.

Mr Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, president Punjab Olympic Association attended the meeting as an observer of the Indian Olympic Association.

The other office-bearers who were also elected unanimously are; vice presidents Raj Chopra( Delhi), Raja Vijayendra Singh(HP), T. Venkata Rama Reddy (AP), Samir Chakarvorty (Tripura), Niranjan Arya (Rajasthan), Ajay Choksi Gujarat), PM Joseph (Kerala), Sudhir Mittal (Punjab), Sudhir Joshi (Maharashtra), UK Mishra (UP), ML Sharma (MP), Kamal Bhandari (WB), DV Bhatia (Chandigarh), DK Banerjee (Bihar), Sq. Ldr.Subosh Bhatnagar (services), Fakir Bhai Patel (Gujarat). treasurer M Balraj (AP); and joint secretaries KS Rathore (Raj), Jayant Shukla (Guj), M. Nagendra Prasad (Ktk), SS Budhwar (Chd), BB Patnayak (Ors), Ramdurale (Del), Tapan Mukherjee (WB), SS Saini (Rlys).

Nitika, Nadia steal show

SHIMLA, Aug 9 (TNS) — Jalandhar girl Nitika and Nadia of Chandigarh annexed three titles each while Harish Kumar won the men’s singles title defeating Tarun Akku in all-Chandigarh finals of Shimla Hot Weather Table Tennis Championship here today.

Unseeded Harish Kumar of A.G. Audit (Haryana) surprised Tarun Akku also from Chandigarh in a well-contested match. Harish won the first set at 21-11 and second set at 22-20 but lost the third set at 15-21. He struggled hard to win the fourth set at 23-21 to win the title.

The following are the results of the matches played on the final day:-

Men’s singles final: Harish Kumar b Tarun Akku 21-15, 22-20, 15-21, 23-21.

Women’s singles final: Nitika b Kuldeep 21-17, 11-21, 21-19, 21-10.

Men doubles final: Manu Sharma and Jaswant Gangta b Alkesh Saini and Sourabh Sharma 12-21, 21-19, 21-17.

Baby boys’ singles final: Kamaljeet b Divey Saini 21-16, 21-14.

Boy’s singles final: Neeraj Kumar (Chandigarh) b Amit Aggarwal (Chandigarh) 21-11, 21-14, 21-16.

Girls singles final: Nitika b Anuradha Bansal 21-13, 26-28, 21-15.

Cadet girls final: Nadia Saini b Manisha 21-17, 21-15.

Randev XI win

AMRITSAR, Aug 9 (FOSR) — All-rounder Tajinder Pal, who scored 70 runs and took three wickets helped Randev XI beat Khalsa College by four wickets to lift the District League cum Knock-Out Championship Trophy here today.

Khalsa College won the toss and elected to bat. Both the openers got out cheaply before a good knock of 57 by Davinder Matto stablised the innings. Khalsa College scored 205 all out. Left-handed spinner Tajinder Pal and Aman Randev took three wickets each.