Baseball tourney: Ludhiana lads secure bronze medal

Ludhiana: Ludhiana defeated hosts Moga 8-3 in the match for hard-line cup to secure bronze medal in the 6th Junior Punjab State Baseball Tournament for Boys that concluded at Sri Hemkunt Sahib Senior Secondary School, Kot Isse Khan (Moga), on Sunday. For Ludhiana, Yuvraj, Rajwinder and Harjit accounted for two runs each, whereas for the hosts, Arshpreet contributed two runs to reduce the winning margin. In the final, Ferozepur got the better of Amritsar 6-4 to clinch the title. Lovepreet and Kamal-preet Singh scored two runs each for the winning side, while Shivam chipped in with two runs for the losers. Earlier, in the semi-finals, Ferozepur fought it tooth and nail to edge out Ludhiana 6-5, in which Lovepreet Singh and Rajwinder scored two runs each for the winners, while Harjit and Yuvraj played well for the losing side, scoring two runs each. However, in the second semi-final, Amritsar faced a little challenge from Moga, whom they beat easily 8-4 to set up the title clash with Ferozepur. Gurpinder and Shivam scored a brace each to help Amritsar to come out victorious, while Manish and Arshpreet gave good account of themselves, contributing two runs each for the losers. Sixteen teams participated in this two-day championship organised by the Punjab Baseball Association, in which matches were played on knock-out basis. In the first match of the tournament, Amritsar outplayed Fazilka 6-1 and in the next match Muktsar prevailed over Patiala 8-6. In other matches, Faridkot defeated Mohali 8-4, Moga blanked Fatehgarh Sahib 7-0, Ferozepur beat Barnala 5-0, Sangrur outperformed Jalandhar 9-2, Mansa outclassed Ropar 6-1 and Ludhiana pipped Bathinda 6-0. Then, in the quarter-finals, Moga proved too good for Faridkot whom they overwhelmed 10-0; Amritsar prevailed over Muktsar 4-2; Ludhiana blanked Mansa 10-0 and Ferozepur survived a scare against Sangrur before wrapping it up 2-0 to complete the semi-final line-up. Yuvraj Singh of Ludhiana was declared the best all-rounder of the tournament, while Lovepreet Singh of Ferozepur was adjudged the best hitter and Shivam of Amritsar was named the best catcher. Gurdarshan Singh Brar, District Sports Officer, Moga, inaugurated the tournament, while Inderpal Singh Dhillon, Assistant Education Officer, Moga, was the guest of honour. Host school’s chairman Kulwant Singh, distributed prizes. Others present were Punjab Baseball Association members, including Jagdeep Singh, Sukhdev Singh Aulakh, Harbir Singh Gill, Gurinder Singh, Jaspreet Singh, Kulwant Kaur, Gurdeep Singh, Rajinder Singh, Ranjeet Singh, Amarjeet Singh, Vikram Malhotra and Jatinder. — OC