Experts attend ‘burns update’ at PGI
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 6
More than 100 delegates from all over the country participated in Burns Update - 2006, a continuing education programme at the PGI, today. The programme was organised by the Department of Plastic Surgery.

Prof K.K. Talwar, Director of the PGI, stressed on the need for creating more public awareness regarding safety measures to prevent burn tragedies.

Prof J.L. Gupta, one of the founder members of the National Academy of Burns, discussed about the burn unit in the country.

Prof C.P. Sawhney, a former head of the Department of Plastic Surgery, spoke on various surgical methods to correct facial disfigurement due to burns. Lt-Gen L.P. Sadhotra, Director General Medical Services (Armed Forces), spoke on surgical methods to manage burns in the event of a nuclear disaster.

Other speakers included Prof Vijay Obed from CMC, Ludhiana, Prof A.K. Singh from Lucknow, Prof R.P. Narayan from New Delhi and Prof R.K. Sharma, Head of the Department of Plastic Surgery at the PGI.

Free bone density camp organised
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 6
A free camp for bone density test for senior citizens was organised under the aegis of the Senior Citizen Association, Manimajra, here today.

More than 150 senior citizens were examined. Mr Surinder Singh, Mayor, inaugurated the camp.

The Mayor said the land behind Durga Nursery would be levelled and made suitable for walking. The provision for water and bus shelters for Modern Housing Complex was under way, he said.

Railway senior citizens attend medical camp
Tribune News Service

Hans Raj bags most medals in skating
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 6
A two-day skating carnival organised by The Roller Hawks Skating Club got underway today at the skating rink of Hans Raj Public School, Sector 6, Panchkula. The hosts won the maximum medals in various events.

The following were the results of the first day :

U- 4 boys: Dhruv 1 and Harkaram Singh 2.

U-4 girls: Aditi 1 and Avani Taneja 2.

Learners (boys): Kartvaya Kaushik 1and Achint Singla 2.

Boys (4-6 years): Kartik Maan 1, Paryag 2 and Manan 3.

Girls (4-6 years): Swetlana Jagnani 1, Prishvi 2 and Noorpreet 3.

Learner (boys): Aryan Goyal and Aman Kampani 1, Ishaan Kansal 2, Yastharathi and Ishaan Kheterpal 3.

Learner (girls): Sirin Saini 1 and Zinia 2.

Boys learner (6-8 years): Bharat Kapoor 1, Saurav Bajaj 2, Dinesh Aggarwal and Kevin Chaudhry 3.

Learner girls: Megna 1, Muskan 2 and Antima 3.

Boys: Shubkaram 1, Naman 2 and Akshit Bhalla 3.

Girls: Sirjana 1, Karan George 2 and Tamanna Maan 3.

Boys(8-10 years): Sahil Ashat 1, Anuj 2, Jatin and Addit 3.

Girls: Darshwinder Kaur 1, Apurva Mittal 2 and Bhavya Bansal 3.

Leader (boys): Karamveer 1, Sukhpreet 2 and Ritik 3.

Girls: Apurva 1 and Munaash 2.

Boys (10-12 years): Dhruv Rana 1, Siddant 2 and Hardeep Singh and Anshul Sharma 3.

Girls: Naina Jaswal 1, Palk Puri 2 and Abha Gupta 3.

Leader (boys): Bawanpreet Singh 1. Inline: Abhinav Chauhan.

Boys (under 12-14 years): Maninder Singh 1, Rahul Mittal 2 and Mayank Gupta 3.

Girls: Naureen Miha 1 and Samridhi Raaj 2.

Boys (under 14-16 years) : Shresth 1, Ashu Gupta 2 and Bhanu 3.

Girls: Pawandeep Kaur 1 and Subudha Raaj 2.

Boys (above 16 years): Harvaj Grewal 1.

Bindra promises unforgettable World Cup
G. S. Paul
Tribune News Service

Mohali, May 6
“With our 1.5 billion dedicated cricket fans, the subcontinent will definitely deliver the biggest live and television audience ever. World Cup will be an unforgettable event and our bid comes with a promise that it will be the most successful one ever.”

These are the excerpts of a dialogue the Asian bloc had at an International Cricket Council Executive Board meeting held in Dubai for the World Cup 2011 bid.

Addressing mediapersons at the PCA Stadium here today, Mr I.S. Bindra, who represented the Asian bloc at the meeting, spoke about the bid and the country’s stake in hosting the World Cup.

“There is a rotation policy and after India hosted it in 1987, the 1996 final was played in Pakistan. Going by the same principle, it is our turn to host the final,” said Mr Bindra. The bid by India, Pakistan Sri Lanka and Bangladesh beat a joint Australia-New Zealand bid to bag the event.

The boards have identified 15 stadia in the subcontinent to host the matches. Eight venues have been identified in India, four in Pakistan, two in Sri Lanka and one in Bangladesh. “Anyway, it is too early to talk about the venue for the finals. Everything will be discussed when all four boards attend the first meeting,” the former BCCI president said.

On the state of the stadia having corporate obligations, Mr Bindra said they would request the sponsors not to insist on displaying their names during the event.

“We will have our first meeting by June because we don’t have much time left. In fact, Pakistan and our colleagues in other cricket boards will finalise everything at the meeting,” he said.

Each venue would get a facelift and each stadium would have world-class facilities for the visiting teams, spectators and the media.

Mr Bindra accused the previous regime of not passing information and files pertaining to the ICC for the past 10 years, including the 100-page ICC compliance manual that all bidders had to compulsorily answer.

“We almost lost by default. It was Pakistan that informed us a few days before the bid submission deadline of February 28 and you can’t ask for government guarantees in such a short time,” he said.

Mr Bindra said the new BCCI office-bearers came to know about the ICC compliance manual when they went to Lahore to watch the Pakistan-India one-day international on February 13.

“Everything concerning the ICC was handled directly from Kolkata, without any board office-bearer having a peep into the documents. That’s why we asked for an extension from the ICC,” he said.

To a question, he said Pakistan had refused to play in a proposed tri-series involving India and Australia in September here.

“Pakistan has said they will be arriving late from their England tour and then with Ramadan it will be difficult for them to play in the proposed tournament,” said Mr Bindra.

Hefty pay packets draw coaches away from city
Akash Ghai
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 6
The shifting of base by talented tennis coaches from Chandigarh to other places is a cause of concern for the budding tennis players as well as the authorities related to the sports. Since last year almost 10 coaches have left the city for better financial prospects. The most affected tennis academy is the Chandigarh Lawn Tennis Association, Sector 10, from where more than six coaches have gone either abroad or to academies in other cities. Many of them were level III and level II coaches. Internationally renowned level III coach Kanwaljit Singh and level II coaches Robin Kumar and Birbal Vadhera have quit the academy while the others are Pradeep Yadav and Sarat Ayekpam.

The other complex, which loses its coaches, is Lake Sports Complex, which has 12 courts in its premises. Only one coach, Praveen Kumar is looking after over 60 trainees at the centre as his two fellow coaches Sandeep Singh and Gurwinder Singh Sahota have chosen other academies.

Along with Kanwaljit Singh and Pradeep Yadav, Sandeep has joined Harwest Tennis Academy at Jassowal, about 20 km from Ludhiana a month ago whereas Sahota and Sarat have left the country for better avenues. The Ludhiana academy belongs to an NRI. “The main reason behind the exodus is heavier packets, which the coaches are getting from the private academies these days”, said a city-based tennis coach on the condition of anonymity. “Actually, it is very necessary for qualified coaches to update themselves about the latest techniques by attending seminars, workshops and refresher courses being held anywhere in the country or even foreign countries. For the purpose, we have to spend money from our own pocket. Besides these, we spend a lot on expensive paraphernalia of the game. To meet the expenses, a coach needs a hefty purse but here the average pay of tennis coach is getting just around Rs 10,000 a month”, he added.

It is also learnt that the Ludhiana academy, which has been attracting the attention of the local coaches since its inception six months ago, is paying above Rs 25,000 a month to a coach. Apart from the payment, all other basic facilities are provided to them free of cost.

The issue has started telling upon the game of the local sportspersons in the national as well as other big competitions.

“In the big competitions held recently at Gurgaon, Delhi and Kolkata, the poor performance of Chandigarh players corroborates the fact”, said a father of an upcoming player.

Not only coaches, many upcoming and talented local players have also started joining the other academies like Delhi-based Delhi Lawn Tennis Association and National Tennis Academy as their game got affected due to frequent changes of coaches in a short span.

On the issue, Mr Rajan Kashyap, Chairman, CLTA is of the view: “We are aware of the issue and to stop the practice of leaving the academy for the sake of money, we have raised the salary of CLTA coaches. At the moment we have nine coaches to impart training and all are definitely getting from Rs 15,000 to Rs 30,000 plus incentives”.

“To meet the challenge of shortage of qualified coaches, we are planning with the All-India Tennis Federation to prepare new crop of coaches by starting fresh courses at different academies”, added Mr Kashyap. However, he did not agree with the point that the game of local players had suffered due to the shifting of coaches.

On the other hand Chandigarh Sports Council’s coach at Lake Sports Complex, Parveen Kumar, who has been selected as a tennis official at Wimbledon, agreed that the sport had been suffering in the city and it would take at least one year to fill the chasm.

Sudhir, Darshan win top positions in yatching
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 6
The oars Sudhir Kumar and Darshan Lal won top positions in men category whereas in women category Raj Saini and Bhupinder Kaur remained first in Chandigarh State Yatching Championship held at the Lake Sports Complex here today.

The duo, Dawinder Kumar and Daljit Singh, got the second position and Rahul Rana and Parvesh Kumar finished the third. In women category, the second position went to Teena and Yashu.

Earlier, the championship was inaugurated by Mr I. S. Sandhu, Director, Sports, U T and president of the Chandigarh Yachting Association.

The prizes will be distributed tomorrow at 10 am at the lake complex.

Kapurthala all out for 132
Tribune News Service

Mohali, May 6
Kapurthala team was bundled out for 132 in 77 overs in a match against Mohali squad during the M.L. Markan trophy for 2006, played at the PCA Stadium, here today.

Kapurthala won the toss and elected to bat. Harpreet (52) and Krishan (35) were the main scorers for Kapurthala. Gunjot 3 for 30, Harpreet Golu 3 for 40, Harpreet 2 for 10 and Hami 2 for 12 were the main wicket takers for the Mohali squad.

At the end of day's play, Yuv Raj of Mohali team was bating on 25 runs with the team's score 42 for 2.

Drishti win karate match
Tribune News Service