World No. 1 Mike Russell in action against Devendra Joshi of India in the ongoing first test match of Billiards between India and England in Mumbai on Thursday — PTI

England take lead in billiards MUMBAI, Sept 16 — England took a comfortable 5-1 lead on the opening day against India in the £ 11,000 (about Rs 7.70 lakh) prize money Riley Billiards Test Series at the Bombay Gymkhana here today. The only win for the hosts came in the sixth game when double gold medallist in the Bangkok Asian Games Ashok Shandilaya and his doubles partner Devendra Joshi rallied well to beat England captain Mike Russell and David Causier 3-1.

Leo Mills thwarts Fredericks’ bid to win 100m
JOHANNESBURG, Sept 16 — Leo Myles Mills of Ghana earned the title of fastest man in Africa last evening, beating Frankie Fredericks of Namibia for the 100 metres crown at the seventh All Africa Games.

Smooth sailing for top seeds
PATIALA, Sept 16 — The Punjab State Senior Badminton Championships got off to a quiet but fine start at the NIS courts here this evening.

Sangrur swimmers to the fore
ROPAR, Sept 16 — Swimmers from Sangrur secured first positions in nine events out of 21 on the second day of the Punjab State School Swimming Championship for boys and girls today at the Nehru Stadium Swimming Pool here.

Women’s sports fest from Oct 23
CHANDIGARH, Sept 16 — The 13th Haryana State Women Sports Festival will be held at Mahabir Stadium, Hisar, from September 23 to 25. This was disclosed by Mr Naresh Gulati, Commissioner and Secretary, Sports, Haryana Government, here today.

Ancheri skipper for SAF Games
CALCUTTA, Sept 16 — Seasoned footballer Jo Paul Ancheri will lead the 20-member Indian football team for the forthcoming SAF Games to be held in Kathmandu from September 25 to October 4.

Lanka ‘erred’ in axing Aravinda
NEW DELHI, Sept 16 — Sri Lanka had erred in dropping Aravinda de Silva from the one-day squad in the tri-nation AIWA Cup, and he will become one of the key factors in the team’s performance in the Sharjah Cup next month, Roy Dias said here today.

South Korea rout India 6-1

CANBERRA, Sept 16 (PTI) — Asian Games champions India were thrashed 1-6 by continental rivals South Korea in the opening round match of the four-nation Australia Cup Men’s Hockey Tournament here today.

The South Koreans looked more at home on a heavy rain-soaked surface and had too much speed and skill against an Indian midfield which at times appeared to be asleep, reports Australia Association Press (AAP).

In the morning tie, hosts Australia were stunned 0-4 by Canada as the experimental squad representing the Champions Trophy winners the tough Canadian defence and goalkeeper Mike Mohammed hard to breach.

Despite the resounding loss Indian coach Ramesh Parmeswaran said he was not too disappointed as his team contained several young players who were still finding their feet in the international arena.

“I think our preparations were a bit poor and we were perhaps a little unlucky today as we didn’t have the ground conditions to our potential,” he said.

“The new boys, I mean we don’t play on this kind of surface. But that’s not an excuse, as we did play quite badly in the midfield and that was our major problem today as our midfield is supposedly quite strong.

“But looking ahead I’m confident the boys can do better.”

Both teams began the match cautiously probing each others defences for the first half hour until Korean half Seong Ktae Jung broke the deadlock with an easy close-in goal.

Indian goalkeeper Edward Aloysius managed to block the attempt but his fellow defenders were slow to clear and Jung managed to regather and push the ball past Aloysius’ pads to put South Korea one up.

The scorecard remained that way into the break as both teams attempted to slow things down.

But South Korea, who won the silver medal in the Bangkok Asian Games losing to India in the final via tiebreaker, went into the second period with renewed enthusiasm and after just two minutes captain Jong Ha Jeon launched a slow run from halfway and found Jung again lurking unmarked to his left.

Jung was on target for his second and just over 10 minutes later striker Jong Ho Seo hammered home another goal after exploding past three Indian defenders and chipping over the top of a sliding Aloysius.

Soon after South Korea went 4-0 up, this time off a penalty corner. A series of passes inside the circle found Hyung Bae Han who converted with a powerful shot which keeper Aloysius barely even laid eyes on.

Anxious to avoid embarrassment the Indian midfield tightened up their act and substitute forward Baljit Singh Chandi scored on an acute angle from six metres out.

But South Korea in the final moments rubbed salt into the wound with a pair of spectacular goals, one to Yong Bae Kim off a rebound and another to Jong Hyun Hwang following a slick series of passes stemming from a penalty corner.

The Indians, who lost a Test series to South Africa last month, need to improve their performance or may face another ignominious outing in the double-leg tournament.

India will meet Canada tomorrow before the tournament move on to Sydney for the second leg.

Earlier, in driving rain, the young Australian team was ambushed by the spirited Canadians, who scored their maiden victory against the Kangaroos in 15 encounters.

The Champions Trophy winners found the rival defence, particularly custodian Mike Mahmood, tough to breach. Mahmood came up with some superb saves as the hosts dished out a mediocre performance with scappy midfield play and poor passing.

The Canadians, Pan American Games gold medallists, went into lead through Rob Short as early as the fifth minute and continued the onslaught.

Andrew Griffiths made it 2-0 in the 15th minute and Peter Milkovich added another in the 32nd to make 3-0. Ian Bird completed the rout with a goal in the 68th minute.

The Canadians outclassed the favourites with their darting attack and swarming man-to-man defence.

Chelsea hold AC Milan

HAMBURG, Sept 16 (DPA) — Chelsea and AC Milan played a goal-less draw in the European Champions League topper, while Andrei Tikhonov scored a hat-trick for Spartak Moscow in their 3-1 victory at Dutch side Willem II.

Bayern Munich shook off the trauma of losing last season’s final when they defeated PSV Eindhoven 2-1, while the record seven-times winners Real Madrid failed to hold on to a 2-1 lead, but rebounded from 3-2 down for a 3-3 draw at Olympiakos Piraeus of Greece yesterday.

Porto grabbed a last-gasp 1-0 victory at Norwegian newcomers Molde NK, Valencia powered 2-0 past Glasgow Rangers, Galatasaray Istanbul came from 2-0 down to a 2-2 draw with 10-man Hertha Berlin and Sparta Pragued wasted a penalty in their goal-less draw with Girondins Bordeaux.

Yesterday’s matches were those of groups E-H in the new-look 32-team event and came the day after groups A-D had kicked off the new campaign.

And just like holders Manchester United against Croatia Zagreb, premier league rivals Chelsea also only managed a goal-less draw against the six-times winners from Milan in a classy group H tie.

The Londoners, boasting a clearly superior physical condition, pressed the Italians throughout the first half but failed to profit from the territorial advantage in front of 33,800 fans at Stamford Bridge.

Milan, who were playing their 200th European Cup game, grew in confidence after the break but it was the Londoners who came twice close to scoring with Gianfranco Zola, who hit the post in the 64th and had a short range rifle saved by Christian Abbiati three minutes later.

The visitors’ only clear chance came in the 82nd with Brazilian winger Leonardo hitting the crossbar with a long distance rifle.

The other game in Istanbul also ended in a stalemate, but the 23,000 fans saw a desperate home team fight to a 2-2 draw through Gheorghe Hagi’s 86th-minute penalty, two minutes after Berlin were decimated by the ejection of Kostas Konstantinidis.

Berlin had shocked Galatasaray with a quick 2-0 lead from Michael Preetz’ and Dariusz Wosz’ double strike in the 12th and 13th, but star attacker Hakan Sukur ignited the fightback just 11 minutes later.

There was also plenty of entertainment in Piraeus, and it had a distinct Brazilian flavour with the first four goals all coming from Brazilians in the group E match with Madrid.

There was the double strike from Olympiakos’ Giovanni in the 11th and 64th for 1-0 and 2-2, while Savio (24th) and Roberto Carlos (32nd) had put Real on top temporarily.

Olympiakos’ finally seemed on course to victory when Slovenia’s Zlatko Zahovic put them on top in the 67th, but Raul’s 80th-minute strike gave Real a 3-3 draw.

In the group’s other game, it was another Brazilian, striker Deco, who sunk Molde with an 88th-minute header to give the visiting 1987 winners Porto the points in front of 9,000 disappointed fans.

Leo Mills thwarts Fredericks’ bid to
win 100m

JOHANNESBURG, Sept 16 (AP) — Leo Myles Mills of Ghana earned the title of fastest man in Africa last evening, beating Frankie Fredericks of Namibia for the 100 metres crown at the seventh All Africa Games.

Mills got off the line quickest and ran his second sub-10-second race, winning in 9.99 seconds. Nigeria’s Francis Obikwelu was second in 10.01, with Fredericks third in 10.10.

“The fitness was just not there after my injury,” said Fredericks, whose sciatic nerve injury had forced him out of the world championships finals in Seville, Spain. “I’m not taking anything away from Leo, because he deserved to win. I’m just glad to be taking a medal home.”

Double Olympic champion Penny Heyns won the women’s 100 metres breaststroke, setting a games record of 1:07.58, more than a second slower than the 1:06.52 world mark she set at the Pan Pacific Championships in Sydney, last month.

Fourteen-year-old Ziada Jardine (SA) took the silver and Zimbabwe’s Lauren Harvey the bronze. Heyns added the 100 metres title to the 200 metres breaststroke she won earlier at the games.

In athletics, Nigeria’s Mercy Nku claimed the women’s 100 metres in 11.03 seconds, ahead of surprise silver medallist Leanie Mani of Cameroon. Bronze went to Endurance Ojokolo of Nigeria.

Nigeria also won the men’s 110 metres hurdles when South Africa’s Shaun Bownes was upset in 13.71 seconds.

In the women’s 5,000 metres, Ethiopia’s Ayelech Worku won comfortably in 15:38.22. A last-lap dash brought South Africa’s Elana Meyer the silver in 15:42.76, three-hundredths of a second ahead of Kenya’s Vivian Cheruiyot.

Senegal’s Tacko Diouf won the women’s 400-metres hurdles in 55.70.

In other developments, an All Africa Games official threatened yesterday to expel the “undisciplined athletes from Cameroon” after they were involved in several incidents in a major event that was supposed to unify African nations.

The Cameroonian team first upset games officials by allegedly ignoring protocol and hoisting their national flag at the athletes’ village without waiting for the official flag-raising ceremony.

Since then, the west African country’s basketball team has been involved in rough play.

The most recent incident occurred on Tuesday when a Cameroonian player elbowed an Egyptian player fighting for a rebound, opening a cut on the Egyptian’s forehead which took 26 stitches to close, games board member Dan Moyo said.

If any other incidents involving Cameroonian athletes occur, “they must be kicked out of the competition,” Mr Moyo said. He then threatened to have exit visas issued to the whole team and have them expelled from the country.

There was no immediate reaction from Cameroon officials.

Meanwhile, Egyptian wrestler Ahmed Saber was temporarily blinded during a match yesterday, but reportedly regained his sight after being transported to a hospital.

About 10 minutes into his match against Mpia Isaac of Cameroon in the 97-kg division, Saber began screaming that he couldn’t see, said Steve Lawrence, who was photographing the match. Saber had not been gouged in the eyes, Mr Lawrence said.

Games official Barend Botha later said Saber recovered his sight at a hospital. There was no official word on what had caused the temporary blindness. Botha speculated it may have been due to a burst blood vessel or a steep drop in blood sugar.

Incidents, including crime and the food poisoning of children participating in the opening ceremonies, have plagued the All Africa Games.

Fear that games participants would fall victim to South Africa’s high crime rate crime increased after gunfire rang out near a bus transporting games participants from several countries to the athletes’ village in Alexandra, a black township on Johannesburg’s eastern outskirts.

The Police Superintendent, Mr Chris Wilkens said about eight shots were heard as the highway patrol was escorting a bus carrying athletes and officials along London Road, a main thoroughfare in Alexandra, which has a notoriously high crime rate.

Neither the highway patrol vehicle nor the bus was hit in the Tuesday night incident. Police, who are keeping the All Africa Games athletes and officials away from the London Road after the incident, don’t know where the shots came from.

Tennis moved into the semifinal stages yesterday, with top-seeded South Africa facing Namibia, and second-ranked Ivory Coast meeting third seeds Mauritius. South Africa’s team included Jeff Coetzee, who reached the quarterfinals of the US Open in doubles.

Smooth sailing for top seeds
From Harbans Singh Virdi

PATIALA, Sept 16 — The Punjab State Senior Badminton Championships got off to a quiet but fine start at the NIS courts here this evening.

About 100 men and women drawn from all the state have assembled here to measure swords with each other and to test to what extent they have been able to hone their skill in the past year or so. Rubbing shoulders with lesser mortals are the current men’s singles champion Jaideep Kohli, son of well-known former Punjab champion Ravinder Kohli, who himself had fought many a battle for Punjab in the national championships. Thus the flow of talent from the father to the son is natural.

In the women’s section is Meeta Bhandari of Patiala who will leave no stone unturned to retain the title that she won last year.

Normally, the badminton tournaments are organised at the indoor stadium in the polo grounds but this time because of the storage of the ballot boxes there, the venue has been shifted to the NIS where three courts have been made ready to conduct the matches.

On the opening day, the organisers — the Patiala District Badminton Association — started the schedule well ahead of the inauguration time so that the opening day’s schedule is complete without any botheration to players, organisers or even the media. So, though the Deputy commissioner, Mr Jasbir Singh Bir, inaugurated the meet at about 5.30 p.m. or so, matches were well under way by that time. Overseeing the arrangements is former India international in double Vinod Vatrana.

As was expected there was no casualty on the opening day of the championship as all seeded players had a smooth sailing in both men’s and women’s singles events. Though all winners recorded straight-set victories, yet in the women’s singles event, there was a minor skirmish, in which Sandhya of Jalandhar managed to hold on to her fort to come out unscathed. The Jalandhar girl won the first game 11-6 against Kashmir Kaur of Hoshiarpur but her opponent was in a different mould in the second game which Kashmir won 11-6 to make things even. But it did not dishearten Sandhya who had planned how to conquer her opponent though the third game saw the struggle. But in the end, it was Sandhya who won the decider 13-10 to move into the second round. Men’s champion Jaideep Kohli got a walkover today.

In the men’s singles first round though all winners recorded straight victories yet some of them really had to sweat for onward progress. Neverthless, according to PDBA president Brahm Mohindra, the tempo will pick up on the remaining two days which will witness intense fight among players from different districts.

Results:

Men’s singles (Ist round): Deepak Ramdev (Ldh) beat Ashish (Fgs) 15-7, 15-6, Ram Lakhan (Jal) beat Surinder Singh 15-1, 15-3, Navdeep Singh (Pta) beat Ramnik Singh 15-3, 15-9, Amandeep Sakhri (Ldh) beat Md. Bashir 15-3, 15-7, Neeraj Bansal (Jal) beat Narinder Singh (Pta) 15-3, 15-7, Dilpreet Singh (Ldh) beat Vikram Katoch 15-2, 15-4, Touseef (Sang) beat Rohit Kapoor (Fzr) 15-8, 15-5, Jaideep Kohli (Jal) got w/o from Davinder Singh (Fdk) Harvinder Singh (Ldh) beat AShok Kumar (Pta) 15-8, 15-7, Karandeep (Fdk) beat Iqbal Singh (Pta) 15-5, 15-3.

Ladies singles (Ist round):

Navneet Kaur (Hsp) beat Rupjit Kaur (Ldh) 11-4, 11-2, Saloni beat Parminder Kaur 11-1, 11-0, Rupinder Kaur (Sng) beat Baljeet Kaur (Ldh) 11-4, 11-9, Vidhu Vatrana (Pta) beat Shallu Soni 11-1, 11-2, Sandhya (Jal) beat Kashmir Kaur (Hsp) 11-6, 6-11, 13-10.

England take lead in billiards

MUMBAI, Sept 16 (PTI) — England took a comfortable 5-1 lead on the opening day against India in the £ 11,000 (about Rs 7.70 lakh) prize money Riley Billiards Test Series at the Bombay Gymkhana here today.

The only win for the hosts came in the sixth game when double gold medallist in the Bangkok Asian Games Ashok Shandilaya and his doubles partner Devendra Joshi rallied well to beat England captain Mike Russell and David Causier 3-1.

The Indians who had lost the first game closely at 107-152, pulled up their socks in time to win the next three games 151-70 150-96 150-0.

In the morning, Indian captain and world number two Geet Sethi went down without a fight to 21-year-old Chris Shutt 58-154 52-150 66-150 in the first singles tie.

The Indians then lost the next three singles and a doubles match before tasting victory. In the second singles Shandilya went down fighting to world number four Peter Gilchrist 135-151, 150-77, 93-151, 146-150 while world number three David Causier crushed world number seven Nalin Patel 3-0 with the game scores being 151-60, 150-72, 151-41.

In the fourth singles, world champion Mike Russell subdued world number nine Devendra Joshi 150-10, 92-151, 150-42, 150-7 while the doubles pair of Shutt and Gilchrist made it 5-0 when defeating Sethi and Patel 152-83, 151-27, 36-151, 150-30 before Shandilya and Joshi pulled one back by winning the last match.

England now need to win just four more matches to wrap-up the 16-match series. The team which wins nine out of 16 matches would win the series.

Results:-

Singles (first named are English players): C. Shutt bt G. Sethi 3-0 (154-58, 150-52, 150-66), P. Gilchrist bt A. Shandilya 3-1 (151-135, 77-150, 151-93, 150-146), D. Causier bt N. Patel 3-0 (151-60, 150-72, 151-41), M. Russell bt D. Joshi 3-1 (150-10, 92-151, 150-42, 150-79).

Doubles: P. Gilchrist/C. Shutt bt G. Sethi/N. Patel 3-1 (152-83, 151-27, 36-151, 150-30, M. Russell/D. Causier lost to A. Shandilya/D. Joshi 1-3 (152-107, 70-151, 96-150, 0-150).

Sangrur swimmers to the fore
From Sushil Goyal
Tribune News Service

ROPAR, Sept 16 — Swimmers from Sangrur secured first positions in nine events out of 21 on the second day of the Punjab State School Swimming Championship for boys and girls today at the Nehru Stadium Swimming Pool here. Swimmers from Ludhiana topped in four events.

In the under-19 boys section, Manmohan Singh from Sangrur won the 200 metres free style event while 200 metres individual medley was won by Sikander Pal Singh of Patiala. Sangrur secured top positions in 4x100 metres free style relay and 4x100 metres medley relay.

In the under-19 girls section, Rupinderjit Kaur from Sangrur clinched a gold in 200 metres free style while Puneet Chechi from Ropar did the same in 200 metres individual medley. In the under-17 boys section, Amitinder from Patiala got the first place in 200 metres free style while Rajwinder Singh from Sangrur emerged victorious in 200 metres individual medley. In 4x100 metres free style relay, Sangrur dominated the proceedings.

In the under-17 girls section, Deepti Kanwar from Hoshiarpur topped in the 200 metres free style while in 200 metres individual medley Simriti Gill from Ludhiana won.

In the under-14 boys, Ravinder Kumar from Sangrur, won two events — 200 metres free style and 200 metres individual medley while Sangrur also topped in 4x100 metres free style relay.

In the under-14 girls, Sukhmandeep from Ludhiana and Bibha Babbar also from Ludhiana emerged topper in 200 metres free style and 200 metres individual medley respectively. Hoshiarpur girls won the 4x100 metres free style relay.

The following are the results:

Under-19 (boys): 200 metres free style — Manmohan Singh (Sangrur) 1, Shyam Singh (Sng) 2, Chandanjit Singh (Ludhiana) 3. 200 metres individual medley — Sikanderpal Singh (Patiala) 1, Manmohan Singh (Sng) 2, Harpreet Singh (Sng) 3. 4x100 metres free style relay — Sangrur 1, Amritsar 2, Patiala 3. 4x100 metres medley relay — Sangrur 1, Amritsar 2, Patiala 3.

Under-17 (boys): 200 metres free style — Amitinder (Pta) 1, Gurpreet (Sng) 2, Arvind Puri (Ldh) 3. 200 metres individual medley — Rajwinder Singh (Sng) 1, Harpreet (Ferozepore) 2, Upinderjit Singh (Pta) 3. 4x100 metres free style relay — Sangrur 1, Patiala 2, Amritsar 3.

Under-14 (boys): 200 metres free style — Ravinder Kumar (Sng) 1, Hari Singh (Pta) 2, Haravtar Singh (Sng) 3. 200 metres individual medley — Ravinder Kumar (Sng) 1, Mridul (Ldh) 2, Sagar Sethi (Pta) 3. 4x100 metres free style relay — Sangrur 1, Ludhiana 2, Hoshiarpur 3.

Under-11 (boys): 100 metres individual medley — Nikhil Sunil (Ldh) 1, Surinderjit Saini (Sng) 2, Miank Vatish (Pta) 3. Under-11 (girls): 100 metres individual medley — Komal Avtar (Amritsar) 1, Prabhjot (Ropar) 2, Poonam (Gurdaspur) 3. 4x50 metres free style relay — Patiala 1, Ropar 2, Sangrur 3.

Water Polo results: Muktsar beat Hoshiarpur 4-0. Jalandhar defeated Patiala 8-0. Amritsar trounced Sangrur 8-2. Faridkot routed Ropar 9-4.

Women’s sports fest from Oct 23
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Sept 16 — The 13th Haryana State Women Sports Festival will be held at Mahabir Stadium, Hisar, from September 23 to 25. This was disclosed by Mr Naresh Gulati, Commissioner and Secretary, Sports, Haryana Government, here today.

Mr Gulati said about 2100 players from all over of the state were likely to participate in this festival. Free board and lodging would be provided to all the participants and officials. Haryana Transport Department has agreed to provide 50 per cent travelling concession to all the participants of this meet.

Mr H.S. Bhadu, Deputy Director, Sports, Headquarters, has been appointed as the chief coordinator of the festival.

According to Mr Bhadu, competitions in athletics, handball, kabaddi, volleyball, basketball and gymnastics will be conducted in the above 16-year age group, while in the under 16-year age group athletic, kabaddi and hockey competitions will be organised.

State women’s team for participation in the National Women Sports Festival group-I at Chandigarh and Patiala group-II at Delhi and group-III at Bangalore and also in all-India rural sports meet — group-I at Calcutta and group-II at Gandhi Nagar, Gujarat — will be selected on the basis of performance during the meet.

Haryana Sports Minister Raj Kumar Saini will inaugurate the festival while Sampat Singh, Finance Minister, Haryana will be the chief guest on the closing ceremony.

Bhutia gets work permit

BURY (England), Sept 16 (AFP) — Indian striker Baichung Bhutia has been given a work permit to play for English second division club Bury.

Bhutia, who has scored 25 goals in 40 appearances for his country, was originally refused a work permit by the British government but that decision was overturned on appeal.

The 22-year-old has been offered a three-year contract by Bury and will join up with his new club as soon as he arrives in England.

Despite Britain boasting a huge Asian population, mainly from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, only a handful of players from these communities have played professionally and none have reached premiership level.

Ancheri skipper for SAF Games

CALCUTTA, Sept 16 (PTI) — Seasoned footballer Jo Paul Ancheri will lead the 20-member Indian football team for the forthcoming SAF Games to be held in Kathmandu from September 25 to October 4.

The mercurial I.M. Vijayan, Bruno Coutinho and Raman Vijayan were the three main strikers named in the team announced by the All-India Football Federation (AIFF) here today.

Mohun Bagan striker Dipendu Biswas, former captain Carlton Chapman and Reazul Islam, who were in the list of probables, have been omitted from the team which would be trying to defend the title it won in the last SAF Games in Chennai.

The team, which is currently undergoing training at Patiala under chief coach Sukhwinder Singh, would leave for Kathmandu on September 23 from New Delhi.

Following is the team: Virender Singh, Prasanta Dora, Kalyan Choubey, Prabhjot Singh, Robert Fernandes, Deepak Mandal, Daljit Singh, Mahesh Gawli, Jules Robert, Ranjan Dey, Basudeb Mondal, Hardeep Sangha, Bruno Coutinho, I.M. Vijayan, Jo Paul Ancheri (captain), Raman Vijayan, Dhanesh K.V. Noel Wilson, Sabir Pasha, Mohd Nazib.

Lanka ‘erred’ in axing Aravinda

NEW DELHI, Sept 16 (PTI) — Sri Lanka had erred in dropping Aravinda de Silva from the one-day squad in the tri-nation AIWA Cup, and he will become one of the key factors in the team’s performance in the Sharjah Cup next month, Roy Dias said here today.

“I don’t know why de Silva was dropped. The selectors must have thought of trying new players but players like him are indispensable to any team,” former Sri Lankan cricketer Dias told PTI.

The veteran has proved his mettle in the first Test match against Australia which the home team won by six wickets, Dias said. The resurgent Sri Lanka also won the AIWA Cup defeating Australia in the final. India was the third team in the event.

De Silva and former skipper Arjuna Ranatunga were included in the team for the first Test match in which de Dilva scored 73 and 31 not out.

The hard hitting batsman of the early ’80s, Dias said former skipper Arjuna Ranatunga and de Silva’s experience will help the team in defeating Australia in the ongoing Test series.

“Ranatunga and de Silva’s experience will come in good stead for the Sanath Jayasuriya-led team in the remaining two Test matches,” he said.

“I think the change of captaincy and the appointment of Dave Whatmore as the coach has inspired the players. Whatmore is a good coach and he had transformed the team before it won the World Cup in 1996 and now with Jayasuriya as the skipper, the team is again poised for more laurels,” he said.

Dias said Jayasuriya would gain a lot from the experience of Ranatunga and de Silva, and the southpaw should make good use of this opportunity.

Amritsar win

AMRITSAR, Sept 16 (FOSR) — A century by Ravneet Ricky and fine 127 by night-watchman Sandeep Salwan enabled Amritsar to beat Jalandhar by 284 runs in the Katoch Shield two-day match here today.

Jalandhar won the toss and elected to bat but they were all out for 157 in 75 overs.

In reply, Amritsar scored 441 runs.

BSF go down to JCT

GARHSHANKAR, Sept 16 (FOC) — In the Punjab Football Super League, which is being played at SGGS Khalsa College, Mahilpur, JCT Phagwara thrashed BSF Jalandhar by six goals to nil today. In the first half, Sukhjit Rana of the JCT scored the first goal.

In the second half, BSF virtually surrendered to the superiority of JCT who scored five more goals at will. Sukhjit Rana scored the first hat-trick of the tournament. Harjinder, Sukhjinder and Hardip Saini were the other scorers for the JCT.

In the second match, RCF Kapurthala held JCT to a goal-less draw. In the beginning Sukhjit Rana of JCT got a clear chance but he failed to score. Sukhjit of JCT again failed to score off a pass from his team mate.

Manjinder of RCF also aimd a good shot later which was neatly collected by the Arvind, goalkeeper of JCT.

In the second half Sukhjit and Balkar of JCT missed good scoring chances. Both teams got a point each.