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Tuesday,
November 27, 2001, Chandigarh, India  
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Punjab win, to clash with Services in semis
GAMES
DIARY |
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Punjab to meet TN in final Punjab dominate
in handball
Haryana eves storm into final No more free lunches at Games: OCNG ‘Dope testing essential to ensure fairness,
health of players’ Vikas Pandey on way to ‘perfect 10’ 5 Services boxers enter semis Delhi shooters bag four
gold Delhi girls
lose Haryana wrestlers in limelight
Rains brighten India’s chances
Rain rescues Kiwis Heartache for Aussies, Uruguay qualify Manhas slams 128
n.o. Cricket tourney
from Dec 6
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Punjab win, to clash with Services in semis Jalandhar, November 26 Punjab's domination was complete and Goa remained under constant pressure but it was only five minutes from the long whistle that a cross by winger Jaswinder from the right corner was brilliantly headed in by substitute Sukhjit. And with three minutes remaining, Ram Pal provided the icing on the cake, shooting to the left of Felix D'Souza under the Goan bar, sending a wave of joy in the stands. The hard-earned victory propelled Punjab to the top position in pool 'B' with six points from two wins and one draw. Goa too collected six points but have inferior goal average. In the semifinals to be played at Ludhiana on November 28, Punjab will meet Services while Goa will clash with Maharashtra. Earlier, Tamil Nadu rallied to hold Kerala 2-2 to shatter the hopes of the national champions who only a few days back lifted the Santosh Trophy. Kerala thus finished third accumulating four points while Tamil Nadu collected only one point with today's draw. It was a fully charged-up Punjab team which took the ground today under the captaincy of Hardip Saini. The entire half-line as also the forwards remained in rival territory for considerable spells keeping Goa under tremendous pressure. Goa could make only one worthwhile attack through Sukhdev Arwade who looked dangerous early on but he was checked inside the box by the Punjab defenders. Punjab had a good chance in the 30th minute but Manjinder's booming volley struck the goalkeeper. A lob by Jaswinder, the architect of Punjab's win, went waste as Manjinder, despite being well-positioned, headed over the bar. In the second half, Punjab stepped up the pace and a snap shot by Jaswinder was saved by the Goa custodian. Again Manjinder, on receiving a cross from the right despatched a powerful volley but the goalie brought off an equally good save. Felix once again warded off danger off a cross by Hardip Gill when Manjinder, who plays for RCF, attempted an excellent angular shot. Gill again missed an open goal when after cutting past Filip Gomes, he shot wide. The match took a dramatic turn with the induction of Sukhjit. The laborious Jaswinder, who moved up and down like lightning, sent a cross from the right corner and Sukhjit headed home(1-0). Then following a flag kick, Ram Pal who had come in during the second half, bulged the net shooting to the left of Felix after a quick exchange of passes(2-0). Punjab coach Jagir Singh appeared to be the happiest man today as his trainees bowed to touch his feet following the impressive victory. Earlier, Kerala's hopes were shattered by Tamil Nadu who held them to a 2-2 draw. Kerala took the lead in the fourth minute through Ignatious and international Abdul Hakim made it 2-0 in the 49th minute. However, Tamil Nadu hit back in the 78th minute when off a Kulothungan pass, AJ Antony shot home. And with only two minutes remaining for the long whistle, a solo effort by Kulothungan yielded the equaliser which spelt doom for Kerala. In the women's section, Manipur routed Maharashtra 8-0 to finish on top in pool 'B' while Bihar held Kerala to a goal-less draw to finish second in this pool. In the semifinals to be played here on November 28, Punjab will meet Bihar while Manipur will take on Bengal. The following are the standings of the teams on conclusion of the league fixtures(read under teams, matches played, won, drawn, lost, goals for, goals against, and points):
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Win revives memories for Punjab coach Jalandhar, November 26 Playing as a right back, Jagir had then thwarted many a Bengal move in gallant rearguard action. Today as his trainees battled to down Goa in front of a big crowd, Jagir was once again the cynosure of all eyes. When the players bowed to touch his feet after the gruelling tie, Jagir Singh was overwhelmed with emotion. “May the Almighty give you strength to cross the remaining hurdles, “ was all that he could mutter. |
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Services subdue
Punjab Jalandhar, November 26 With Services displaying complete domination, Punjab’s exit from the title race appeared inevitable. An indirect hit off a penalty corner by star forward Kamal Horo, who plays for Military Police, saw Services forging ahead in the 11th minute. Punjab shone in patches with Olympian Sanjeev Kumar taking the bulk of the load upfront. It was Sanjeev who brought Punjab on even terms, when off a rebound he hit home to restore parity in the 30th minute. However, with only a few seconds remaining for the breather, a brilliant run by Horo once again put Services ahead. Horo, who after cutting in from the left, despatched an angular hit, to which the Punjab custodian had no answer(2-1). In the second half, Punjab replaced goalkeeper Edward with Manpreet, who also remained under pressure. A stinging hit by Cyprian Aind from the right narrowly missed the target. But a counter-attack soon after yielded the desired results. It was a move by Kamal Horo and Aind and Sosan Topno made the most of it, sounding the boards with an angular hit. A few minutes from the long hooter, Punjab managed to reduce the margin when off a penalty corner, right full back Sharanjeet Singh, a player of Punjab and Sind Bank, found the target with a direct hit(2-3). Punjab coach and Olympian Pargat Singh was expectedly disappointed. “The team was lacking as a unit, “ he said. Punjab also missed the services of experienced players like Baljit Dhillon, Daljit, Kanwalpreet and Jugraj Singh, who are in the Indian team which will take part in the Champions Challenge Trophy in Kuala Lumpur next month. Olympian Baljit Saini also was sideloned with a fracture. Later, Karnataka marched into the final, chalking out a 4-1 win over Bengal in the second semifinal. Bengal took the lead in the fifth minute through a penalty corner conversion by Kishor Kujur but the joy was shortlived as Karnataka’s Rawat restored parity through a penalty stroke. (1-1). In the 17th minute, Rawat once again found the target off a penalty stroke making it 2-1. In the second half, Pundalik of Karnataka scored a field goal to make it 3-1 and with hardly three minutes remaining for the hooter, Rawat converted another penalty stroke boosting the tally to 4-1. Bengal were unlucky as they missed a penalty stroke in the 42nd minute as Edmond Kerketta’s hit was blocked by the Karnataka goalkeeper. The final will be played at 2. 30 pm tomorrow. It will be preceded by the match between the losing semifinalists at 12 noon. |
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GAMES
DIARY Certain performance, including those in athletics, wrestling and to an extent cycling and equestrian sports notwithstanding, there have been some disappointment in the home contingent over the reverses it suffered especially in hockey, both men and women, volleyball (men) and basketball (women). Much was expected of these teams. The failure of both men and women teams in the semi-final round of the hockey event was a major disappointment. It was more demoralising in men’s hockey in which the home team was the defending champion. And playing at home would have given it an additional advantage. But its loss to Services in the first semi-final at Surjit Stadium was shocking. Only last month, six of Punjab boys were members of the India team that won the Junior World Cup at Hobart in Australia. Loss to Services, primarily on fitness lines, is nothing more than an excuse. The other major excuse given by the officials that some of Punjab players are in the national camp and were not spared for the National Games is again an explanation with no basis. A nursery of hockey does not depend upon a few for its glory. In the women’s section, the defeat at hands of Haryana was not surprising. It is certainly the result of failure of Punjab to check its sports drain. Four of the Haryana girls play for Railways, the team that has provided the two finalists their main strength. If Haryana have four, Maharashtra, the other finalist, have their entire team from Railways. Punjab were once acknowledged a major force in women’s hockey. Though Mrs Surinder Umrao Singh, President, Punjab Women’s Hockey Association, accompanied by her husband, Mr Umrao Singh, sat through the semi-final and other games played by Punjab team but without sufficient talent at your back, you cannot hope to romp home victorious in every outing. Punjab will have to reconsider its sports priorities. After creating so much of infrastructure, if the state is not able to retain its talent, others would benefit and there would be another vacuum facing the state as it was facing now in certain sports, including the ones mentioned above. The story has been no different in women’s basketball. Initially the team had some problems in its training as most of the girls were busy playing in North Zone and the All-India Inter-Zone Inter-University championship. They had little time to train together. As a result, Punjab failed to even make the last four grade in women’s basketball. Again the moot point has been from where the other teams who did better than Punjab drew their strength from. Most of the girls playing for Tamil nadu were from Railways. Same may be the case with Maharashtra, which, otherwise, has the fittest team in the competition. Whatever be the reasons, now Punjab men and women would be playing for bronze in hockey tomorrow much to the chagrin of the followers of the sports in the state. Equally disappointing has been the performance of our volleyball team in men’s section. It was capable of performing better than a bronze medal it won. Mr M.S. Bhullar, Director-General of Police, who was entrusted with the job of training Punjab contingents for the Games, admits that little talent was coming to volleyball. “We have to hunt for volleyball players from other nurseries, including those in the neighbouring state of Himachal and Haryana.” Mr Bhullar was also disappointed with the cycling saying that the home team was capable of winning the overall championship hands down. But some of the best cyclists, he felt, could not compete because their licenses have been cancelled. |
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Punjab to meet TN in final Ludhiana, November 26 Punjab cagers dominated the game right from the beginning with star performers like captain Parminder sr, Gagnesh Kumar and Parminder jr scoring 28, 13 and 16 points respectively. For Andhra Pradesh K Vishal Kumar and S.N. Yadav scored 10 and 8 points, respectively. Favourites Punjab met little resistance from Andhra boys who at no stage of the game seemed to post any challenge to the hosts. Although Vishal Kumar and Yadav did try to give some good fight. Punjab will meet holders Tamil Nadu in the finals to be played tomorrow. Defending champions Tamil Nadu, in a battle of nerves, downed Jharkhand 77-67 to storm into the final. Trailing 20-34 at half time, Jharkhand players fought back valiantly to come near their strong opponents 54-55 at the end of the third quarter but the holders had a distinct edge in the exchanges, quicker on to the ball and eventually emerging winners. Moses Jeevananthan and S. Robinson played a brilliant game for the winners with 20 and 18 points, respectively. Desh Raj, Mohit Bhandari and Jharkhand’s captain Jasdeep Dhaliwal contributed 20 and 18 points for the losers. The current champions Mahararashtra routed Kerala and Tamil Nadu defeated Andhra Pradesh to settle for the title clash in the women section. In the first semi final, Tamil Nadu eves, displaying better co-ordination, dictated the terms in a fast paced encounter and wrested the advantage over Andhra Pradesh. Andhra Pradesh players were unable to contain their rivals among them Renijini Jose and P. Anitha stood out. They contributed 32 and 16 points respectively as Tamil Nadu handed out a crushing defeat to their rivals 92-57. N. Shyamala also chipped in with 15 points. For Andhra Pradesh, Jetty Jose and Laiji V.P. played well scoring 18 points each. In the second semifinal, reigning champions Maharashtra, keeping the same tempo which they had displayed in the earlier league matches edged out Kerala 75-47 after establishing a lead of 18 points (42-24) at the end of the second quarter. The relentless pressure put up by Maharashtra cagers with as many as four internationals in their ranks saw Kerala girls reeling under fury. Their captain, Ivy Cherian and Manisha Kaprekar displayed the dash and speed to unsettle the rival’s defence time and again. They stood tall among others scoring 28 and 19 points respectively. At the end of the third quarter, Maharashtra women were leading 56-34, Kerala players made last- ditch effort in the last quarter and what they could do before bowing it out was only to reduce the margin. For Kerala, Liji George and A. Binu scored 11 and 7 points respectively. |
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Punjab dominate
in handball Ludhiana, November 26 In men section, international Kulwinder Junior, remained the top scorer with 9 goal while another international Jaswant Singh scored 7 goal. Kulwinder Junior and Naveen scored 6 goal each. In women section, international Gurpreet Kaur scored maximum number of 18 goal while another international Harwinder Kaur increased the tally by 3 goals. Sharnjit, Karamjit and Harjit added two goal each in the winner’s tally. In a major upset Chhattisgarh eves pipped the defending champion Kerala by 22-15 in closely contested match. The bulk of the scoring for the winners was done by Anita Yadav whose contribution was of 17 goals. Pushpa and Anjellena Lawrance netted two goals each while Juliet Lawrance struck once. In a nail-biting match
Maharashtra eves outclassed Delhi by 18-15 while Manipur eves easily overpowered Chandigarh by 24-7. In men section, Karnataka beat Jammu and Kashmir in close match by 20-18 while Madaya Pardesh easily defeated Uttar Pardesh by 28-13 in an easy match. The scheduled match in men section, between Services and Rajasthan could not be played. According to the officials, the Rajasthan Olympic Association, has not allowed the team to participate in the event. All the matches to be played with Rajasthan team are reportedly cancelled. |
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Abhinav, Sabeeha for European circuit Chandigarh, November 26 The 24 shooters will take part in the air and pistol events. International air open competitions will be held from January 23 to 27 at
Munich, Germany, followed by Baltic Cup at Aarhus, Denmark from January 30 to February 2. Intershoot Densaag meet will be held at the Hague from February 6 to 9. The shooters will also participate in local tournaments in these countries for more exposure. Abhinav Bindra will also participate in another international tournament at Luxembourg in mid January. The shooters selected for European curcuit are:
air rifle (men) senior: Charan Singh, Sushil Gahle, Ashok Sahai; junior men: Abhinav
Bindra, Sameer Ambiker, Sandeep Tarate; Senior women: Anjali Ved
Pathak, Anuja Tere, Pornima Gawhane; Junior women: Meena Kumari, Raj
Kumari, Sabeeha Dhillon; air pistol: men: Jaspal Rana, Samresh Jung, Ved
Prakash; junior men: Amol Ranke, Rounak Pandit, Zakir Hussain. Senior women; Shilpi Singh, Sonika
Mannon, Saroja Kumari; junior women: Shweta Chaudhary, Anuraj Singh, Seema
Tomar. |
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Haryana eves storm into final Ludhiana, November 26 For Haryana’s Kamla Dalal, former Indian captain, Pritam Siwatch, who is leading the team and Surinder Kaur tried to put in their best. Their well coordinated efforts helped the team to make some brilliant moves. Haryana opened their account in the sixth minute of the game, when Surinder Kaur scored a field goal dribbling past a strong defence line of Punjab. In the ninth minute Suman Bala converted a penalty corner into a goal, giving her team a moral boosting lead of 2-0. Punjab girls were totally dominated by their rivals and they struggled hard to come back into the game. Desperately trying for recovery, they suffered further setback when Kamla Dalal former Indian captain scored a field goal. At half time Haryana were leading 3-0. In the second half the Punjab girls tried an attacking game. It seemed to work well with Amandeep Sr converting a penalty corner. This not only helped the team to regain the spirits, but also invigorated the strong crowd. Within a few minutes Jyoti Kullu scored another goal for her team to close the gap 3-2. At one stage Punjab girls seemed to take over with their captain Manjinder Kaur exhibiting some brilliant stickwork and swift body movement. However, she could not get the desired support. In the 49th minute Haryana came back in the game with Pritam Siwatch scoring a field goal thus taking the lead to 4-2. Punjab could claim three penalty corners against Haryana’s seven. It was a better match between Maharashtra and Chandigarh,
although the Chandigarh had to bear with some ‘unfair’ umpiring. Although Maharashtra won the match 4-1, with some controversial umpiring support, which was also resented by the crowd, at no stage did Chandigarh girls allow Maharashtra total dominance. Quite intelligently they had marked both Mamta Kharab and Shangai Chanu, by not letting them any free movement. For the first 20 minutes the game was evenly balanced. Probably for the first time in the Games, Maharshtra had met such a resistance. It was in the 20th minute that Madhu Yadav granted Maharashtra a penalty stroke, which was converted by Mamta Kharab. However, Chandigarh plugged the gap in the very next minute with Prakash Chuadhary scoring a brilliant field goal. This brought the stadium into lie once again. At half time both the teams were evenly placed at 1-1. Placed against some controversial umpiring and relatively better experienced side Chandigarh girls went down 2-1 in the 39th minute, when Pakpi Devi converted a penalty corner of a pass from Mamta Kharab . In the 47th minute Mamta Kharab scored another field goal for her team giving it a comfortable lead of 3-1. And in the 67th minute, Pakpi Devi scored another field goal taking the lead to 4-1 which was invincible at that stage. For Chandigarh Saba Anjum, a Class 10 student, made some brilliant moves. Nishi Chauhan and Prakash Chaudhary were equally good. The umpires seemed to be too obvious in their partiality. While some decisions could be overlooked, one decision was too obvious when Mamta Kharab hit Savita Singh by her stick and the umpires did not stop the game. |
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No more free lunches at Games: OCNG Ludhiana, November 26 The decision was necessitated following reports that certain unauthorized officials of the participating contingents were staying in the official guests’ hotel in defiance of their
entitlement while a number of companies had also put up their hoardings inside the sports stadia at various venues without any prior approval of the
OCNG. Sources reveal that several officials, numbering more than 10, have been staying in the official guests’ hotel. They have been asked either to pay the difference between their entitlement and the actual rent of the room in the hotel occupied by them or vacate the room unauthorisedly occupied by them. According to rules, only elected office-bearers of the IOA and the Chef-de-Mission of all contingents were entitled to stay in the officials hotel. The
OCNG, however, agreed to make an exception for a certain IOA official looking after the technical conduct of the Games while in remaining cases, it decided to convey its decision to the erring officials and their contingents. Though there are only a few official sponsors for the Games, but the number of hoardings at various venues suggest otherwise. For example, the Oil Companies and Cosco are the only official sponsors of events at Ludhiana. But the hoardings of a number of other companies appeared at Guru Nanak Stadium, Indoor Basketball Stadium, Indoor Multipurpose Hall, Hockey venue at PAU Campus and even cycling
velodrome. The OCNG directed the District Sports Officer either to get sponsorship money from these companies or get their hoardings and banners removed from all the venues immediately. The issue of payment of allowances to participants was resolved yesterday following intervention by the Union Chemical and Fertilizers Minister, Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa. Some of the athletes and cyclists were agitated for non-payment of the allowances due to them as they wanted to leave for home. Dhindsa reportedly directed some POA officials to organize funds for immediate payments as certain banking instruments, including drafts available with the
POA, could not be encashed yesterday being a holiday. All the payments were released and most of the athletes, cyclists and volleyball teams started their return journeys. Meanwhile, Mr Inderjit Singh
Bindra, Secretary-General, OCNG, reviewed arrangements at a meeting of the regional committee where all pending issues were resolved. Mr Dhindsa, who spent his entire day here yesterday, left late last night for Amritsar to attend the Political Affairs Committee meeting of the Shiromani Akali Dal. It was decided that there would be a firework display and not a laser display at the closing ceremony of the Games. Though a Bangalore company had offered to bring in its equipment for holding the laser show at the last ceremony of the Games, the absence of a tall building in the periphery of Guru Nanak Stadium and lack of proper infrastructure, it was decided to go for fireworks display and not risk laser display. The music and sound system, which had left a jarring note at the opening ceremony, too, came up for discussion and it was decided that the best system should be organized to make the ceremony memorable one. Meanwhile, with a day’s break in the events at Guru Nanak Stadium, rehearsal for the closing ceremony started. Semi-finals and final of the football event of the game would also be conducted here from tomorrow. |
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‘Dope testing essential to ensure fairness, Ludhiana, November 26 Dr Mukherjee, an authority in sports medicine and an official of
NIS, Patiala, while talking to Ludhiana Tribune, said that a total of 250 samples were taken in the National Games (from all over Punjab), out of which 62 samples were forwarded from Ludhiana. These samples were drawn from participating athletes, cyclists and volleyball players. The samples of all gold medallists and record-makers have also been taken by the dope committee.”
Some of the players have been screened twice and players who came fourth or fifth had also been screened by the committee”. The dope committee at Ludhiana has six members and one supervisor. “There are two females and four male members in the committee and they have come from different states so that there can be no partiality”, added Dr Mukherjee. Two fundamental tests are being conducted at the National Games by the dope committee. These are pH test — the acidity and basic content test — and specific gravity test for screening. The collected samples are sent to Patiala which is the headquarter of the doping commission and from there the samples are sent for analysis to the dope controlling laboratory at Jawahar Lal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi. Dr Mukherjee said they were expecting the reports of these tests by the end of this month. While discussing the importance of the doping tests, he said the level of prohibited drugs, steroids and narcotics could easily be known by spectroscopic analysis. “Players use these drugs to enhance their performance which are otherwise banned by the International Olympic Committee.”, It may be mentioned that latest Berag Kits have been used by the committee for the collection of samples. These kits were used in Sydney Olympics also. Dr Mukherjee said it was unfortunate that some people term these tests to be a mere eyewash. “If these were an eyewash, why some of these people were not letting us do our job properly. Why were they creating hurdles?” he asked. The doctor said that there should be a greater acceptability of these tests. The people should know that even if they were cleared at the national level (without dope tests), will they be able to get through at the international level. Besides, the use of drugs can cause severe irreversible damage to the health of a player. Dr Mukherjee said he was grateful to Dr
D.K. Tondon, director, technical, who was of great help to make the doping tests possible in the National Games. |
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Vikas Pandey on way to ‘perfect 10’ Patiala, November 26 Vikas Pandey achieved this distinction in the pommel horse exercise yesterday evening with a score of 9.625, the highest totted up by any gymnast in the country. He also picked up eight gold medals in the gymnastics event, repeating the record set by him in the 1993 National Games, where also he had bagged eight medals. Experts opined that the Patiala victory was all the more sweet for Vikas as well as for the unique academy of which he is a product, because he has now virtually stepped into the international arena by attempting exercises which can fetch perfect scores. ‘’The very fact that Vikas is attempting exercises of the difficulty of 10 means that in him India finally has a gymnast who can compete at the international level finally’’, a top coach said. Talking to TNS after his eight-medal haul, Vikas said it was the result of coaching by Chinese coach Lee Ji Ying and even more so due to the faith imposed on him by U.K. Mishra, a 1967 national gymnastic champion, who started an academy in Allahabad to train boys in gymnastics in 1992 which has now been adopted by the Sports Authoritiy of India (SAI). Next targets for Vikas are the Commonwealth and the Asian Games where he is sure he will be able to make a mark. Vikas is also optimistic about the future of men’s gymnastics in the country, saying with many of the Allahabad boys trained in Mishra’s academy were doing well at the junior level, they could be easily groomed to give the results at the senior level too. Vikas and many other promising gymnasts of the country, including Mayank Srivastav, Mohit Yadav, Abhinav Dixit and Abhishek Dixit, are the products of the acadmey started by Mishra. All of them have been groomed after being identified through special talent searches by Mishra and his team personally. The Allahabad Gymnastics Association now has the advantage of five foreign coaches to teach skills to the students. Besides this is the lone centre in the country which has the latest gymnastic equipment of international standards. While this has come in for criticism from other associations who have scant equipment, it is also due to the personal struggle of Mishra that the Allahabad Association is the best equipped in the country, according to sources. U.K. Mishra said it was his lifelong ambition to see one of his wards win an Olympic medal. He said his academy, which became operational in 1992, said all students being trained there were being provided full time training all the year around according to international specifications. He said all needs of the budding gymnasts, including the need to train them so that they could choose a suitable career later on, were being attended to. Though men’s gymnastics has leaped far ahead of women’s gymnastics mainly due to the single minded devotion of Mishra, there is good news for women gymnasts also with the Allahabad association deciding to train women gymnasts from next year. This will see world class facilities being provided to women gymnasts to help produce women who can emulate Vikas Pandey’s feat. |
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5 Services boxers enter semis Patiala, November 26 Giantkiller Bipin Pyngrope of SSCB, who is the flag-bearer of the Services contingent in the absence of ace boxers N G Dingko Singh and Gurcharan Singh, turned on the heat with yet another of his stellar performances against Dharam Singh of Chandigarh. For the first two rounds, both the boxers seemed to be technically evenly matched and it was towards the end of the third round that the nimble-footed Bipin began to stand his ground more and tried to outsmart his rival. At this stage the Chandigarh lad became more aggressive in his approach but was still unwilling to risk pressing an attack to avoid falling in the Services boxers trap. Bipin eventually wore down his rival and landed three punches in a flurry and in the opening seconds of the fourth round. Moments later he staggered Dharam Singh with a solid right-left combination, coupled with a left hook which he managed to connect beautifully. The final scoreline read 17-12 in favour of the Services boxer, making him the first one to reach the semifinals in any weight category. In what turned out to be one of the most interesting bouts of the day, in the light weight category, it could not have been more exciting for David Lalzuiliana of Mizoram and more excruciating for Parveen Shirodkar of Goa as he lost on 96-98 on the countback after being deadlocked 23-23 on points. Apart from B.
Pyngrope, the other Services pugilists who have made the semifinal stage are B. Ramanand, Rozima Colney, A. L. Meithi and R. S. Negi. International Bhim Singh of the hosts handed out an object lesson in the art of boxing to Anand Kumar of Chandigarh in the flyweight category bout as he simple mesmerised his opponent with his quicksilver footwork and slick technique. Bhim registered a convincing 15-3 win to become the first boxer of Punjab to enter the semifinals. The results: (all q-finals): Lt flyweight : Anurag (HP) b Ashwani Sharma (Chd) 19-13; Sandeep Kumar (AP) b N. Khanulkar (Goa) 21-9; flyweight: Dipender Negi (HP) b M. D. Safdar Khan (WB) 11-9; bantamweight: H. R. Rao (AP) b Dalbir Singh (Del) 21-13; featherweight: Naveen Kumar (Jhar) b Ashok Subba (Sikkim) 12-9; lightweight: H. Raju (AP) b Jospinder Singh (Har) RSC; lt welterweight: V Harikrishan (AP) b Manoj Pawar (Delhi) 13-9, Pawan Kumar (Pun) b Puran Lal
(Utran) 11-8. |
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Delhi shooters bag four
gold SAS Nagar, November 26 The day belonged to the Delhi shooters as two team championship gold medals, in the 10 metre air pistol (women) and 25 metre standard pistol (men) also went in their favour. The team gold in 10 metre air pistol went to the Delhi team of Sushma Rana, Sonika and Mukti Kapoor, who together shot 1100, while silver medal was bagged by Haryana Shilpi, Deepali and Shweta Chowdhary shot 1099 and bronze medal was clinched by the Uttar Pradesh eves at 1092 with Seema Tomar, Anuraj Singh and Sarvesh Tomar in the team. The men’s 25 metre standard pistol gold was taken by Delhi at 1670 with Vivek Singh, Rajeev Sharma and Jaspal Rana while silver went to SSCB team of CK Chaudhary, Mahavir Singh and Pemba Temang at 1659. The Madhya Pradesh team of Naresh Kumar, Manju Nath and Poonam Kumar shot 1650 for bronze medal. The 10 metre air pistol event, Sonika, participating after a gap of two years, shot 375 and had tie with fancied Shilpi Singh of Haryana, while Saroja Kumari of SSCB was at third place with 374. In the final round of the event, Sonika shot 99.4 (total 474.4) while Shilpi shot 95.9 (total 470.9) Saroja Kumari shot 93.80 (total 467.8) for bronze medal. Shweta Chaudhary of Haryana remained at No. 4. |
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Delhi girls
lose Chandigarh, November 26 Sandeep Kirtane and Ajay Ramaswami Maharashtra moved ahead defeating Vinod Sewa and Harshirt Sharma West Bengal respectively. Sandeep beat Vinod 6-4, 6-1, while Ajay beat Harshit Sharma 6-1, 6-1. The Maharashtra girls ended the hopes of Delhi in the team events as its Sonal Phadke thrashed Visika Chattri (Delhi) 6-0, 6-0 and Radhika Tulpule beat Antika Bhambri (Delhi) 6-2, 6-3. In the men’s doubles event, Maharshtra boys proved superiority. Sandeep Kirtane and Nitin Kirtane of Maharashtra beat Anant S and P. Ravi Krishna of Andhra Pradesh 6-2, 6-1, while another Maharashtra pair of Ajay R and Vijayendra outplayed Karnataka’s S.K. Shivshankar and C.D. Ajay 6-0, 6-2. Tamil Nadu’s Vinod Sridhar and Vijay beat Delhi’s Vishal Uppal and Vishal Gupta 6-1, 6-3. Manoj and Rishi Sridhar, also from TN, beat West Bengal’s Harshit Sharma and Dhrub Kumar 6-3, 6-2. In other women’s encounters, Andhra Pradesh beat Uttar Pradesh 2-0. Sania Mirza decimated Saima Khan 6-0, 6-0 while Geetamanohar had an easy time against Naina Karsolia 6-1, 6-1. Karnataka women beat Punjab 2-0. S.K. Tara beat Kamalpreet Brar Bhullar 6-0, 6-1 while G. Sheetaz beat Jasleen Randhawa 6-2, 6-1.
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Haryana wrestlers in limelight Patiala, November 26 Delhi raised their game in the dying stages of the contest to register a slender 24-23 victory while Haryana got the better of Services 33-20 to romp into the final. In the women’s national style section, defending champions Maharashtra routed Manipur 43-20 to storm into the final while Haryana prevailed over Karnataka 45-26 in another one-sided semi-final. While Punjab trounced Delhi 50-19 in the first semi-final Chandigarh were equally ruthless with a 44-19 victory against Haryana. Hosts Punjab entered the final of the circle style event with a convincing 53-26 victory over Madhya Pradesh while Haryana demolished Chandigarh 42-10 in the other semifinal.
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Rains brighten India’s chances Centurion, November 26 Having conceded a mammoth 334-run first innings lead, India had reached 118 for the loss of the two openers when rains forced an end of play, brightening India’s chances of forcing a draw. Shiv Sunder Das and Connor Williams made a good start putting on 92 runs for the opening wicket before falling within 24 runs of each other, as India still remained 216 runs behind South Africa’s first innings score. The hosts had earlier declared their innings at the overnight score of 566 for eight. Stand-in captain Rahul Dravid, on 11, and batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar, not out on two, were fighting with their backs to the wall. Only 10 overs of play was possible between lunch and tea after which a heavy downpour made further play impossible.
PTI The diminutive Orissa opener proved his worth again compiling another innings with patience. Das looked very strong on the off-side and hit a couple of cracking square-cuts off Kallis when the bowler pitched short. He had so far faced 123 balls and hit seven fours. Newcomer Williams grabbed his chance with both hands after failing in the first innings and played his natural game. Fighting with their backs to the wall, India survived the first session of the fourth morning, reaching 104 for one by lunch after having conceded a mammoth 334-run first innings lead to South Africa. After the South Africans declared their first innings at their overnight 566 for eight, the Indians did well in keeping their wickets intact for most of the first session. SCOREBOARD India (Ist innings): 232 South Africa (Ist innings): (566-8 overnight decl) India 2nd innings Das b Pollock 48 Williams c Kallis b Klusener 42 Dravid not out 11 Tendulkar not out 2 Extras (b-1 lb-8 nb-6) 15 Total (for two wickets) 118 Fall of wickets: 1-92, 2-116 Bowling: Pollock 11-2-27-1 (nb-4), Hayward 9-2-27-0 (nb-1), Ntini 11-4-13-0 (nb-1), Kallis 6-1-19-0, Klusener 6-4-10-1, Boje 3-1-13-0.
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Rain rescues Kiwis Hobart (Australia), November 26 Australia (1st innings): 558 for 8 decl. New Zealand (1st innings): Bell c Gilchrist b Warne 4 Richardson lbw b Gillespie 30 Sinclair b Gillespie 23 Fleming lbw b McGrath 71 Astle c Warne b M Waugh 11 McMillan b Gillespie 55 Cairns c Gilchrist b McGrath 20 Parore not out 10 Vettori not out 10 Extras (lb-1, nb-8) 9 Total (7 wkts, 105.2 overs) 243 Fall of wkts: 1-11, 2-53, 3-76, 4-100, 5-197, 6-219, 7-223. Bowling: McGrath 27-12-46-2, Gillespie 28-14-45-3, Warne 24.2-3-70-1, Lee 19-5-51-0, M Waugh 7-1-30-1.
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Heartache for Aussies, Uruguay qualify Montevideo, November 26 With Australia having won the first leg 1-0 last Tuesday in Melbourne, the Uruguayans were obliged to go for broke in this, the last of 778 qualifiers worldwide for the finals in Japan and South Korea and did so to secure a 3-1 aggregate win. The South Americans, world champions on home ground in the first World Cup in 1930 and then winners again in Brazil in 1950, thus advance to the finals for the first time since 1990. Uruguay’s Victor Pua, who was confirmed as coach for the 2002 finals in South Korea and
Japan after the game, said Uruguay’s more positive approach paid dividends. “Uruguay did not play badly in Australia and we had quite a few chances, but here, in the return leg, we really opened up our game, played more offensively and managed to triumph.” When asked why they had not scored in Melbourne in Tuesday’s 0-1 first leg defeat, Pua replied: “we were saving up all our goals for today.” “All our team played well, not just our front men Dario (Silva) and Alvaro (Recoba). We can thank the players’ and the Uruguayan public for our victory.” They drew first blood in a pulsating start as their coach Victor Pua decided to unleash his trump card in the shape of Malaga striker Silva, who missed the first match with a dislocated shoulder. And after 14 minutes Silva repaid Pua’s faith in him with the opening goal to delight the 68,000 crowd at the Centenario Stadium. The centre forward took a pass from Gianni Guigou, turned Sheffield United’s Shaun Murphy and slotted a right-footed effort low into the net past Aussie keeper Mark Schwarzer for his sixth goal in qualifying. Substitute Richard Morales finally settled a pulsating contest with a header for the killer second on 70 minutes — just four minutes after entering the action — and added the coup de grace with the third goal from close range in the final minute. The win meant Pua successfully completed the task assigned to him when he took over during the qualifiers from Argentine Daniel Passarella. The Australians almost levelled Silva’s opener on 16 minutes through burly Leeds forward Mark Viduka, whose header from a Stan Lazaridis cross from the left brought a fine diving save from home keeper Fabian Carini. Viduka’s clubmate Harry Kewell had a chance to level on 24 minutes but sent a curling freekick just over. Murphy was hugely unlucky as Carini superbly tipped over a towering header with 11 minutes remaining following a Brett Emerton corner kick for another fabulous chance but by that stage they were looking well beaten. The Australians had every incentive to get a result having only ever qualified for the finals once, in 1974. Four years ago they missed out after Iran beat them in another play-off and in 1994, the Socceroos again failed to clear the final hurdle as they lost 1-2 on aggregate to Argentina and here they suffered heartache once again.
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Manhas slams 128 n.o. New Delhi, November 26 Delhi have set up a tough 469-run victory target for Jammu and Kashmir, who were 128 for three in their second essay at stumps. Delhi (Ist innings) 286 Jammu and Kashmir (Ist innings) 134 Delhi (2nd innings): Akash Chopra l.b.w Vijay Sharma 18 Varun Kumar c Shabir Kanth b Jagtar Singh 21 Pradeep Chawla c Arshad Bhatt b Ashwani Gupta 52 Mithun Manhas not out 128 Sohail Rauf c and b Jagtar Singh 81, Sonu Vaid not out 04. Extras:(b 4, lb1, nb7) 12. Total: (in 59 overs) 316 for 4 decl. FOW: 1/31, 2/55, 3/143, 4/310. Bowling; Abdul Qayoom:16-1-77-0, Vijay Sharma:08-0-44-1, Jagtar Singh:21-2-97-2, Ashwani Gupta: 03-0-24-1, Raju Sharma: 09-1-50, Dhruv Mahajan: 02-0-19-0. Jammu and Kashmir (2nd innings): Shabir Kanth c Mithun Manhas b Arun Singh 42 Iqbal Shah b Amit Bhandari 06 Kanwaljit Singh batting 54 Dhruv Mahajan c Varun Kumar b Sarandeep 15 Guru Pratap batting 06. Extras (nb 5) 05. Total (in 42 overs) 128 for 3. FOW: 1-14, 2-72, 3-106 Bowling: Amit Bhandari:11-0-51-1, Arun Singh;12-4-29-1, Amit Suman:09-3-32-0,Sarandeep Singh:08-2-10-1, Harender Chaudhary; 02-0-06-0.
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Cricket tourney
from Dec 6
Chandigarh, November 26 Tournament organising secretary Bhagirath Dogra told newspersons here today that the tournament would be played on a league-cum-knock out basis. Pool A comprises Indian Airlines, Orient Shipping Agency, (Mumbai) and Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association which Pool B consists of Punjab Cricket Association, ONGC and Godrej Club B. The inaugural match would be played between Orient Shipping Agency, Mumbai, led by Test discard Abhey Kuruvilla and Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association eleven. One of the semifinals would, however, be played at Punjab Cricket Association stadium, Mohali near here on December 11. The winner of the tournament would get a cash award of Rs 51,000 while the runner-up Rs 31,000. Top cricket stars including D. Ganesh, Ashish Nehra, Yuvraj Singh, Dinesh Mongia, Vijay Dahiya, Reetinder Sodhi, Vikram Rathore, Abhey Kuruvilla, Pankaj Dharmani, Rahul Sanghvi, Saran Deep Singh and a lot of Ranji players will be seen in action. |
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