Chandigarh, March 27
Everybody is a winner here because it is all about winning hearts! It is not only cricket but also loads of fun thrown in for good measure where children on both sides of the border get to know about each other’s lives.

As many as 16 children, who form the combined under-13 team of four Lahore schools, and their seven teachers are here at the grounds of St John’s School, Sector 26, here to play a series of matches with the St John’s Cricket Academy team which started today.

It was the initiative of the office-bearers of St John’s Cricket Academy who invited them to play a friendly series on the academy’s pitch.

Bowled over by the hospitality extended to them, a teacher trainer with Lahore Grammar School, Lahore, Rubina Nadeem said, “It is a kind of intervention at the school level which would help foster cordial relations between students of our two countries.”

“We have heard about the City Beautiful but I doubt if anyone of us knows much about Chandigarh. We have plans to go sightseeing but from what we can see, the city is neat and clean, much like Islamabad,” coach Shehzaad Qureshi said.

“It is my second visit to the city, I told them about the amazing Rock Garden and Sukhna Lake,” thirteen-year-old Ahsan Tahil said. His friends-Abdul Rehman, Talha, Mohammad Ahmad, Umar Bilal and Shahrukh - are excited to be part of the trip and want to share their delightful experience with their friends across the border.

Talking about Pakistan, Rubina said, “Times have really changed at Lahore. Women now take active part in the nation’s development. They are into every sector be it teaching, journalism, multinationals companies, IT sector, tourism etc.”

Chandigarh, March 27
Fine performances by Shivam Bhambri (81 runs, 3 for 16) and skipper Vaibhav Kaushik (57 runs, 1 for 22) enabled St John’s Cricket Academy to defeat Lahore School’s XI by 18 runs in the first match of the Friendship Cup tournament being held at St John’s High School, Sector 26, here.

Electing to bat first, St John’s piled on 175 runs in the allotted 25 overs. The highlight of the innings was a 140-run partnership between Shivam and Vaibhav. For the Lahore team, Haris Haroon and Yasir Ijaz took one wicket each.

In reply, Lahore’s team put up a valiant show but they fell short by 18 runs. Shahrukh (66 runs) and Tahir (25 runs) were the main contributors. Brief scores: St John’s: 175 for 2 in 25 overs (Shivam 81, Vaibhav 57, Haris Haroon 1 for 14, Yasir 1 for 21)

Lahore schools XI: 157 for 7 in 25 over (Shahrukh 66, Tahir 25, Shivam 3 for 16, Aditya 2 for 22).

Chandigarh, March 27
Play is at work. Nearly 60 years after the borders of religion, caste and creed were converted into political and geographical boundaries with Partition; Chandigarh is all set to strengthen the ties by providing five-year training to two young tennis players from Pakistan .

They are expected to stay in the city for not just learning the finesse of the game, but complete grooming too.

In Chandigarh as part of a programme to promote friendly sporting ties between India and Pakistan, secretary to Pakistan’s Government of Punjab, Iftikhar Ahmed Rao, says: Selections have already taken place and the boys are expected to arrive in the city soon.

Elaborating, Rao says: The training and grooming course at the Commonwealth Youth Centre is part of a youth development programme.

As many as seven countries are sponsoring two tennis players each between the age group of 11 and 12.

At Chandigarh, the training will be carried out with the help of the Chandigarh Lawn Tennis Association (CLTA) in Sector 10.

Agreeing that the city has better training and coaching facilities, along with infrastructure, he says already five young players are here for attending a 15-dayspecialised coaching camp at the CLTA.

They will stay here for taking part in a tournament scheduled to be held between April 7 and 13.

Also the president of the Punjab Lawn Tennis Association, Rao says Pakistan will be sending more trainees for specialised coaching. Besides this, Pakistani coaches are also scheduled to undergo training. The country is also in touch with an Indian firm, “Syncots”, for the purpose of providing consultation in the process of laying courts.

Talking in between tennis games at the Chandigarh Club courts, he says the advantage is now with tennis. So far, tennis has been the game of the elite with clubs being the venue for playing it.

But now things are changing.

As cricket is losing its sheen with the allegations of bookies playing the matches hitting the sport’s image, activities like tennis stand a better chance of winning the top slot.

Cricket, he adds, hogged the limelight in the two countries due to media glare.

But as money started to flow in from the sponsors, the game acquired commercial dimensions resulting in the downfall of its standards and bowling out of the charm.

Twenty-twenty cricket is just an attempt at reviving the interest in the game.

He adds that Pakistan has already launched the process of making tennis popular among the masses. In each district of Punjab, a tennis court is being dedicated to the general children.

Besides this, four tennis academies with synthetic courts are being set up.

While the ones at Rawalpindi and Lahore have started to function, the others at Faizalabad and Multan are coming up.