Chandigarh, November 18
Technological advances in electronics and computers have revolutionised ultrasound practice and the introduction of ultrasound contrast media, intraoperative and endoluminal ultrasound, 3-D and 4-D ultrasound and ultrasound elastography made it possible to measuring the stiffness of tissues and differentiate between malignant lesions on the basis of soft tissue as well as hard tissue which was not possible earlier.

This was stated by Dr Veenu Singla, assistant professor, Department of Radio-diagnosis, PGI, while speaking on the concluding day of the Asian Conference of Radiological Technologists and the National Conference of Indian Association of Radiological Technologists at PGI here today.

Harrie Mol from Belgium highlighted the role of radiological technologist in radiation protection. explaining the role and responsibility of technologists, Mol said exposure to population from medical applications in use of radiation was higher as compared to other sources which counts more than 49 per cent of the annual exposure.

Explaining about the radiation dose from the various procedures in diagnostic radiology, he pointed out that more than 50 per cent of the radiation dose is from CT scan examination as compared to other radiological examinations. Moi emphasised that CT examination should not be prescribed unless and until it was really required.

Dr Manphool Singhal from the PGI highlighted the recent advances in magnetic resonance imaging and explained that medical imaging is one of the 20 greatest engineering achievements of the 20th century.

Dr Mohammad Anisur Rahaman Molla from BRAC University, Dhaka, spoke on manual and treatment planning system based dosimetry in remote after loading brachytherapy. R. K. Munjal, senior medical physicist from Delhi, highlighted the role of PET CT technology a newer modality which allowed to capture images of small lesions with PET and pin-point exact location of the tumour by CT thus helping the physicians in quick diagnosis and treatment of the cancers.

Chandigarh, November 18
A balanced diet and 45-minute brisk walk five days a week can help in reducing the risk of heart disease. In addition to this, one should also avoid smoking. These were a few tips given by world famous cardiologist Dr Naresh Trehan while addressing the mediapersons at a heart check-up camp organised jointly by the Chandigarh Press Club and Gianwati-OP Jain Memorial Trust, Charkhi Dadri, Haryana, here today.

Dr Trehan, who is setting up a medicity at Gurgaon with an aim to incorporate traditional Indian medical therapies, including ayurveda, said maintaining ideal body weight and break in the stress were the need of hour and yoga, at least three days a week, and some entertainment activity could prove good stress busters, said the cardiologist.

The chief guest, Justice Hemant Gupta, Punjab and Haryana High Court, lauding the efforts of the club in taking care of health concerns of its members, said the healthcare scenario in the country had witnessed a remarkable improvement as the people from other countries were choosing India as a destination for their treatment.

At least 200 persons were examined by a team of 12 medicos led by Dr Trehan. Blood pressure, ECG and echocardiography tests were carried out free of cost.

Chandigarh, November 18
The ancient art of yoga is panacea for all diseases which are playing havoc with the lives of millions of people, says yoga guru Swami Lal Ji Maharaj.

The yoga expert, who is here in connection with the 8-day yoga camp being organised by the Haryana Yoga Sabha at Sector 12, Panchkula, from November 18, said an unhealthy body was the major hurdle in leading a good life.

Jeewan tatwa, a body and mind reconditioning programme based on simple yogic practices, could only ensure good health and peace of mind, he asserted.

The yogic postures should be prescribed according to age, capacity and specific health conditions of a person, said the guru, who is credited with inventing scores of yogic techniques to deal with stress-related problems for benefit of the humanity.

On a unique mission to popularise yoga among all strata of society, the guru pointed out, "Yoga is beneficial to people from all walks of life irrespective of age, gender, occupation and environment.

“Yoga is especially advantageous for schoolchildren as it is the right age to introduce them to this art as good habits formed at this stage stay with them for the rest of their lives," he added.

Meanwhile, the Chandigarh Yoga Sabha will conduct a one-day yoga camp for the visually-impaired students of Blind School at Sector 26 on November 24. A group of 15 trained male and female yoga experts will impart the training to the students.

Mohali, November 18
Keeping the convenience of patients in mind, the civil hospital here, is all set to introduce a token system for central registration.

Patients will not have to stand in long queues waiting for their turn to get their registration slip issued. Instead, they will be issued tokens on their arrival at the hospital and will have to sit and wait for their turn to get the required slip for getting treatment done. Two display units will be installed at the reception where token numbers will be displayed.

Dr H.S. Sarang, SMO in charge of the hospital, said more sitting space was being made available for patients. He said on an average, 500 patients visited the hospital daily for treatment.

The aged and the pregnant women found it difficult to stand in long queues waiting for their turn. He said a trail run of the system was carried out and would be implemented very soon. 

Chandigarh, November 18
Mohali lad Ramakant brought laurels to the country by winning Musclemania World Body Building Championship 2007 (middle weight) held at Hotel Grand Wilshire in Los Angeles from November 15-17.

Expressing happiness while talking on phone from Los Angeles, the nine-time national champion said, “It is the biggest achievement of my life and is like a dream come true. I worked hard a lot to achieve the milestone”.

In all, three body builders took part in the championship. The other two were Gautam from Assam, who also won the gold medal in the junior category and Krishna from Karnataka.

Forty-year-old Ramakant, an employee of Mohali-based Semi Conductor, won Classic Mr India title at Karnataka on November 3. He will return on November 24.

Chandigarh, November 18
Sarita of Sikhiya School-46 defeated Neha of Government Model School-33 in the girls’ semifinal (30 kg category) bout while Bunti Raj of Government Model School-47 thrashed Naresh Bhatt of SD Club-32 in boys’ semifinal in the 44 kg category during the 22nd Chandigarh State Sub-Junior Boys and Girls Boxing Championship held at the Sector 42 sports complex here today.

Other results (all semifinal rounds) (I): Girls: 36 kg: Anju b Lucky; 40 kg: Savita b Tara Yadav; 44 kg: Rita b Jyoti; Gurmeet b Ramandeep; 46 kg: Sangeeta b Raavi; 52 kg: Mamta b Ramandeep; 54 kg: Pooja b Kamaldeep; 56 kg: Ravinder b Jatinder. Boys: 30 kg: Umakant b Subham; 34 kg: Kamal b Shankar Dalal; 40 kg (1995): Vijay Rawat b Vishal; 40 kg (1994): Rohit b Kuldeep; 44 kg: Barjinder b Deepak; Ashwani b Sumit; 46 kg: Umeed b Harish; Rahul b Jatinder; 48 kg: Prabhat b Mahir; 50 kg: Sunil b Dharam Singh; Barinder b Tahir Hussain; 46 kg: Sunil b Lalit; Vikas b Sunny; 50 kg: Surinder b Monu. 

Chandigarh, November 18
SGGS College for Women-26 team beat Dashmesh Girls College, Badal, 3-1 (20-25, 25-18, 25-22, 25-18) in a league match of volleyball on the third day of PU Inter- College Volleyball (Women) Tournament held at PU grounds here today.

In another match, Khalsa College for Women, Ludhiana, gave a one-sided defeat to MCM DAV College-37 girls’ team 3-0 (25-14, 25-20, 25-14). In the last match of the day, MCM DAV College team could not prevail over Dashmesh Girls’ College, Badal, team too and lost 3-1 ( 25-19, 16-25, 15-25, 15-25).

Ball Badminton: SGGS College -26, Chandigarh, team defeated PU Campus, Chandigarh, team 2-0 (29-21, 29-19) in the first semifinal match on the opening day of PU Inter-College Ball Badminton (Men) Tournament held at PU grounds here today. In another semifinal tie, DAV College, Chandigarh, team thrashed GGD SD College-32, Chandigarh, team 2-0 (29-22, 29-17). 

Panchkula, November 18
The dream of many local budding cricketers came true when they got a chance to share a practice session with one of the top cricketers of New Zealand, Chris Cairns, here today.

The young trainees at Tau Devi Lal Cricket Stadium, Sector 3, here were surprised when they found Cairns and former Indian player Reetinder Sodhi along with some other players of ICL’s local team, Chandigarh Lions, among themselves at the nets.

Providing valuable tips to the upcoming players in the age group of 10 to 17, Cairns taught them many nuances of the game.

Whereas fast bowlers surrounded Cairns to add sting to their bowling, the batsmen were seen asking questions from Sodhi about improving their batting skills.

The New Zealand all-rounder, too, seemed happy to share his experience with the young lot.

Excited medium pacer Sanyam Nagpal, who is in his teens, said meeting Cairns was a lifetime experience for him. “I learnt from him the trick of swinging the ball.

Another fast bowler, Amit Mittal, learnt the art of delivering a slow ball with fast-bowling action from the international pacer.

“With a few tips from Cairns, I am seeing much improvement in my game. He also told us how top-class bowler Shane Bond gripped the ball”, said Sunand, another budding pacer.

Sodhi taught the right stance besides correcting the footwork and bat-grip of the trainees.

“All of these young players are very talented. They pick up the tips quickly. It is also exciting for me to spend time with the players. I hope that one day they will bring fame to their country”, said Cairns, while talking to The Tribune.

The players, who turned up at Tau Devi Lal Cricket Stadium around 12 noon, spent about two hours with the junior players.

Chandigarh, November 18
Dev Saini and Nadia Saini won the men's and women's singles titles respectively in the 20th Chandigarh State Table Tennis Tournament that concluded at the Sector 23 Table Tennis Hall here today.

Dev Saini achieved three successive wins to emerge men's singles champion. Displaying consistency after three games, Dev Saini won 12-10, 10-12, 5-11, 13-11, 11-6, 11-4 in the men's final.

Dev Saini also claimed the mixed doubles and young boys singles titles. In the young boys final, lanky Dev defeated Puneet Kumar of Delhi Public School, Sector 40, by 11-4, 10-12, 11-9, 11-5, 11-5. Partnering Garima, Dev Saini ended the challenge of seasoned campaigner Vivek Lakhanpal and Nadia Saini 7-11, 11-8, 8-11, 11-7, 11-9.

Nadia Saini went on to claim the young girls singles title as she prevailed over Naina Suri in the final. Nadia won 11-4, 11-6, 11-13, 11-13, 11-6, 11-7.

In the women’s doubles final, Naina Suri and Garima beat Meghna and Barbie 4-11, 11-6, 11-7, 11-7.

Haryana Deputy Chief Minister Chander Mohan distributed prizes to the winners.

Results: Men's singles Semi-finals: Vikash Sharma bt Harish Kumar 11-3, 11-4, 5-11, 11-8, 2-11, 3-11, 11-5, Dev Saini bt Rachit Chopra 12-14, 11-8, 8-11, 9-11, 13-11, 11-9, 6-11. Final: Dev Saini bt Vikash Sharma 12-10, 10-12, 5-11, 13-11, 11-6, 11-4.

Men's doubles Semi-finals: Vivek Lakhanpal and Dev Saini by Varun Kassal and Rohit Chopra 11-6, 6-11, 11-9, 11-9, Vikas and Harish bt Mandeep Singh and Sanjeev Aggarwal 11-7, 8-11, 11-8, 11-9.

Final:Vikas and Harish bt Vivek Lakhanpal and Dev Saini 13-11, 11-8, 11-7.

Women singles: Semi-finals: Kalyani bt Garmia Goel 11-9, 11-1, 11-8, 13-11, Nadia Saini bt Meghna 11-7, 11-7, 11-6, 8-11, 11-3. Final: Nadia Saini bt Kalyani 13-11, 11-4, 11-12, 13-11.

Women's doubles: Semi-finals: Meghna and Barbie bt Kalyani and Bhawna 11-9, 9-11, 11-6, 7-11, 12-10. Naina and Garima bt Nadia Saini and Gurinder Kaur 11-9, 11-3, 10-12, 9-11, 11-8.

Final: Naina and Garima bt Meghna and Barbie 4-11, 11-6, 11-7, 11-7.

Mixed doubles semi-finals: Vivek and Nadia bt Harish and Kalyani 11-8, 11-3, 11-7, Dev Saini and Garima bt Vivek and Nadia 4-11, 8-11, 11-4, 11-6, 13-11. Final: Dev Saini and Garima bt Vivek Lakhanpal and Nadia Saini 7-11, 11-8, 8-11, 11-7, 11-9.

Young girls singles semi-finals: Nadia Saini bt Garima Goel 11-8, 11-5, 13-11, 11-7, Naina Suri bt Kalyani 9-11, 11-5, 11-8, 11-9. Final: Nadia Saini bt Naina Suri 11-4, 11-6, 11-13, 11-13, 11-6, 11-7. 

Chandigarh, November 18
Sahil emerged champion in the Bantem weight category in the boys’ sub-junior category of the Chandigarh State Taekwondo Championship that concluded at Skating Rink, Sector 10, here today.

Sahil Sagar and Saurav finished second and third respectively in the category.

In the juniors section (girls), Rupinder Kaur and Ela Vashisht won the first and second positions respectively in the Bantem category.

The other results are as follows: Boys (sub juniors) Welter: 1 Anup Rana, 2 Sukhwinder, 3 Gurpreet; Light Middle: 1 Himanshu, 2 Avin, 3 Sahib; Middle: 1 Yuvraj, 2 Aditya, 3 Anuj; Light Heavy: 1 Pratinav, 2 Pushpup, 3 Mohit; Heavy: 1 Ramandeep, 2 Gurpreet, 3 Chirag. Girls (junior) Fin: 1 Pooja, 2 Niranjana; Light: Lovleen Kaur, 2 Prabhjot Kaur; Fly: Sachya Arora, 2 Neha; Middle: 1 Poonam, 2 Sonam. Boys (junior) Fin: 1 Snativ, 2 Gagan, 3 Manoj; Bantem: 1 Rakesh, 2 Shiva, 3 Akshwen.