Tuesday, August 3, 1999
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S P O R T | Tuesday, August 3, 1999 |
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BCCI to discuss Sahara
issue today Anti-graft bureau completes probe |
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Indian athletes return home
Batting won’t suffer, says
Tendulkar
Barua loses second game to
Khalifman USA denies visa Dhillon ruled out due to leg
injury |
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BCCI to discuss Sahara issue today CALCUTTA, Aug 2 (PTI) — Cricketing ties with Pakistan in the wake of the Kargil conflict and India’s performance in the World Cup were among the host of issues to be discussed at a Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI) working committee meeting here tomorrow. Though the board was awaiting govermental approval for the bilateral Sahara Cup series between India and Pakistan to be held in Toronto in September, the matter would come up for discussion with a few former and current players expressing their reservations about playing the series. The annual five-match Sahara Cup series ran into rough weather after sponsors Sahara India decided to pull out in the background of the Kargil situation throwing the tournament into jeopardy. The forthcoming international calendar featuring India would also come up for discussion at the working committee meeting to be chaired by Board President Raj Singh Dungarpur. Apart from routine financial and administrative deliberations, the meeting would also ratify the decisions taken by the Marketing and Sponsorship Committee and the Cricket Academy Committee which was to meet here today. The Marketing and Sponsorship Committee meeting was expected to take a decision on awarding television rights since the previous contract with Trans-World International (TWI) has come to an end. Doordarshan was one of the contenders for securing the television rights and has reportedly offered to bigger amount to the board this time. Sony Entertainment Television, whose coverage of sporting events has been restricted to exhibition ties so far, was also in the fray. The contract for TV rights could be for either three or five years. TWI had a contract for five years. The meeting would also discuss the proposed cricket academy which has been of the major projects of the board. The sponsors of the national team would also be discussed. The replies of three players — Robin Singh, Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly — would also be tabled at the working committee meeting. The three players had contravened Rule 17 of the Board bylaw by airing their views in the media about India’s performance in the World Cup and the BCCI had sought a written ‘explanation’ from them. Rule 17 debars a player
from writing, giving an interview or talking to the media
about any tour for two months after the conclusion of the
tour. BCCI ‘to decide’ on Azhar’s trial MUMBAI, Aug 2 (UNI) —Selection committee chairman Ajit Wadekar today said that it is up to the BCCI to decide whether to put Mohammed Azharuddin through a fitness trial or not. “If the BCCI decides against it there would be no fitness trial,” he said while pointing out that Azhar would submit his fitness certificate to the BCCI on August 5. “They (BCCI) would notify us (selection committee) about it, we will follow the board’s directive,” he added. Before the World Cup, the BCCI had held fitness trials for Ajit Agarkar and Vinod Kambli. They were conducted by Indian team’s physio Andrew Kokinos. Whether they do the same this time round, however, remains to be seen. Azharuddin had undergone surgery on his shoulder for a rotatary cuff tear after the World Cup, and is still recuperating. On his return last week, the former skipper had said that his shoulder would take two weeks to heal completely. Azharuddin has also not played any cricket after India’s match against New Zealand in the World Cup in the second week of June and was scheduled to practice from July 30. However, he has not yet been at the nets either at the Wankhede or the Brabourne stadium. Azhar is expected to
give his fitness certificate to the board on August 5, a
day before the selectors meet in Baroda to select the
team for Sri Lanka. |
Anti-graft bureau completes probe ISLAMABAD, Aug 2 (PTI) — The Pakistan anti-corruption bureau has completed its investigations into match-fixing allegations against some leading cricketers and sent it to the President even as interim chairman of the cricket board (PCB) today said Wasim Akram and two others will not be included in the team for the time being.The Ehtesab (accountability) Bureau has completed its fact-fixing inquiry on the basis of examination of the available records and information provided by the players and it has been sent to the President of Pakistan and the PCB, according to an official announcement today. The announcement, however, denied media reports that the senior players of Pakistan cricket team, including Akram have been grilled by the Bureau. It said the players were “treated with full decorum and respect” and that players “voluntarily” furnished all information. The official announcement also described as incorrect the reports that some players have been barred from travelling abroad by putting their names on “exit control list”. In the meantime, the PCB interim chairman Mujeebur Rehman has reiterated that Akram, Salim Malik and Ijaz Ahmed will not be included in the team presently, though he said that players were yet to be found guilty. Speaking in a PTV programme today, Rehman, however, said those who will be found guilty by the court will be fined and punished by the cricket board. The Ehtesab Bureau also said the inquiry was conducted on the request of the PCB chairman and on the directive of the court to furnish a report for its final decision on the match-fixing issue. A judicial commission headed by a judge of Lahore High Court is in the last stages of completing its findings on the match-fixing and betting imbroglio surrounding the Pakistani cricket for nearly two years now. The bureau came into the picture after it was asked to investigate the affairs in the wake of a national outcry over the humiliating loss of Pakistan in the World Cup final against Australia and the renewed allegations of match-fixing and indiscipline by the players before the match in England. Akram and several other members of the World Cup team appeared before the bureau in recent times. The bureau had already
recommended framing of charges against Akram, Malik and
Ijaz Ahmed on the basis of a one year old probe report of
an internal inquiry by the PCB which had led to
suspension of these three players. |
Time not ripe for cricket ties: Imran MUMBAI, Aug 2 (UNI) — Former Pakistan captain Imran Khan thinks time is not ripe for cricket ties with Indian in immediate future for, it will foster further ill-will among the two countries. Imran, who during his playing days had made some astounding apolitical statements like one made in Sharjah in 1991 that the Kashmir issue would be settled on the cricket field, had yesterday announced that Pakistan cricket team should not play till the match-fixing issue was cleared. Today in an Internet chat he felt the cricket matches between Indian and Pakistan will create more hatred than strengthen reviving friendship. He said “when hostilities are as high as they are right now, instead of promoting ties it will cause more hatred”. Regarding Sachin
Tendulkar replacing Mohammed Azharuddin as India’s
captain, Imran opined that captaincy was more of a burden
than the responsibility on Azharuddin, so it was a right
decision. Though given Sachin’s past stint as
captain perhaps Ajay Jadeja would have been a better
choice for a while, he added. |
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LUCKNOW, Aug 2 (UNI) — The ongoing tussle between International Cricket Council President Jagmohan Dalmia and the Sahara group over holding of the Sahara Cup cricket tournament in Toronto has deepened with the Sahara group Chairman Subrata Roy categorically denying his company was trying to hold the tournament. Mr Roy, in a statement here today, said Sahara India had not discussed the issue with anybody, including its advertising agent Pecept D’Mark. He reacted sharply to the accusation of Mr Dalmia that Mr Sanjay Lal, executive of the agency, had written to the International Management Group (IMG) reiterating the commitment of the Sahara to hold the tournament. Mr Dalmia had also distributed copies of the letter of July 29 and alleged that since the Kargil conflict was over the Sahara group was adopting double standards by making efforts to hold the series, he said. Mr Subrata Roy has also disputed the correctness of the letter, saying the letter only contained the request to the IMG not to accept the offer of some Pakistani businessman-owned DBS group, which had reportedly volunteered to organise the one- day series between India and Pakistan. “We strongly condemn Mr Dalmia’s statement for accusing Sahara for its double standards basing its conclusion on one individual’s incorrect letter to the IMG”,he said. Mr Roy further clarified that there was no question of holding the Sahara Cup but our concern was that the IMG, the event manager, should not unnecessarily lose their ground in India by accepting any Pakistani company as sponsors and unintentional provocation of India’s emotion under today’s circumstances. Mr Dalmia has jumped for the tournament by just getting a tiny support of one incorrect letter of an agency, he said. The Sahara release said
“we had never expected Mr Dalmia to react so lowly
against Sahara just on the basis of an individual’s
letter and we are still surprised that only on the basis
of the letter, a man of his stature should forget the
supreme sacrifices of our brave soldiers and advocate for
cricket tournament between India and Pakistan”, the
statement said. |
Batting won’t suffer, says Tendulkar NEW DELHI, Aug 2 (PTI) — The master batsman that he is, skipper Sachin Tendulkar has deftly side-stepped a question on reports that he did not want Mohammad Azharuddin to be a member of the Indian cricket team. Asked whether there was truth in reports that he had expressed reluctance to lead the team if his predecessor Azharuddin was part of it, Tendulkar said: “Let’s better leave them as rumours. Let’s stick to reality”. Tendulkar, in an interview to “Star News” last night, said he had expected the national selectors to pick Ajay Jadeja and not him as skipper at their July 28 meeting in Nagpur and that was the reason he left Mumbai. Tendulkar, who regained the job but was not available to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) officials or the media for almost two days, said he expected Jadeja, who was vice-captain, to take over from Azharuddin as per past convention. “I had spoken to the selectors earlier. I spoke to the board President, Mr Raj Singh (Dungarpur), selection committee Chairman Ajit Wadekar and Anshuman Gaekwad (coach) that I did not feel mentally prepared as I was not the vice-captain since I was replaced as captain,” Tendulkar said. He denied that pressures of captaincy would affect his batting and said he would more or less approach his second term as skipper as he had handled the job during his 17-month first stint from August 1996 to December 1997. “I don’t think there will be any extra pressure on my batting. The expectations then were too high. I will have to meet my own expectations. In fact, I had scored 1000 runs in both versions of cricket as captain,” he said. “I am still the same as then. As in the past, I will continue to give the best and try to win as many matches as possible. That effort will continue,” he said. “One always tends to learn,” the batting maestro quipped when asked whether he would be a more confident captain and said he was pretty confident about the abilities of his team-mates. Asked whether he would insist on being given a free hand as skipper, Tendulkar said “I will have to meet the selectors, the Secretary Mr Jaywant Lele and Mr Raj Singh. The seven of us will get together and decide”. To a question whether the Indian team suffered from lack of motivation compared to Pakistan or South Africa, he said motivation would automatically come when one was playing for the country. “All play motivated to win,” he added. Asked to spell out his
long-term goal as he looked set for a long term at the
helm, the skipper said: “At the moment, I have been
selected till September-end. I’ll concentrate on the
job on hand and give it my best try”.
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Barua loses second game to Khalifman LAS VEGAS, Aug 2 (PTI) — Needing a draw to reach the second round with an upset win, Indian grandmaster Dibyendu Barua lost the tough second game to be tied with Russia’s Alexander Khalifman on the second day of the World Chess Championship here. The 72nd ranked Barua, who made a flying start to the tournament by beating his highly-rated Russian opponent with white pieces in the first game of first round on Saturday, fought a tenacious battle against a rampaging Khalifman but could not force the draw as the match ended 1-1 yesterday. The two will lock horns in the playoff to decide a place against American Gata Kamasky in the second round. Playing with black, Barua, the lone Indian in the 100-player draw at the Caesars Palace Hotel, countered the 36th ranked Russian well but was forced to resign after a long endgame. Barua had scored a 60-move upset win in the first game by ambushing Khalifman with a novelty early in Sicilian defence classical variation. The Indian with an ELO rating of 2550 - 78 rungs below the Russian, will now have to come up with another fine display to secure a second round spot in the championship, which already has lost most of its glamour following the non-participation of top rated players. The championship, being held for first time on knockout basis, was left without three star players - Gary Kasparov and Anatoly Karpov, both of Russia, and India’s Viswanathan Anand. AP adds: Five players facing elimination fought back in the second game yesterday. Besides GM Khalifman, fellow Russian Sergei Dolmatov, Vlastimil Babula of the Czech Republic, Anthony Miles of England and Karen Asrian of Armenia bounced back in the second game of the first round, forcing playoffs. Each had lost or drawn in Saturday’s first game, the first of the two in a mini-match that comprises each round. The seven-round elimination tournament runs through the month. Daniel Fridman of Latvia
and Levon Aronian of Armenia, who scored upset victories
in the first game, swept higher-seeded opponents to
advance to the second round 1, which begins on Tuesday. |
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TEHERAN, Aug 2 (AFP) — An Iranian teen chess master was denied a chance to compete in a $ 3-million (US) tournament after Washington refused to grant him a visa, the official IRNA news agency said today. Amir Bagheri, 17, was
scheduled to be among some 100 competitors in the
“knockout world championship” that opened in
Las Vegas on Saturday. |
Brazil, Mexico enter final MEXICO CITY, Aug 2 (AFP) — Brazil ripped Saudi Arabia 8-2 and hosts Mexico edged the USA 1-0 in extra time in the semifinals yesterday, advancing to the championship match of the inaugural FIFA Confederations Cup football tournament. Both finalists are unbeaten in the tournament entering Wednesday’s title match here. The US team and Saudi Arabia meet tomorrow in Guadalajara for the third place match. Joao Carlos opened the scoring for Brazil in the eighth minute and Ronaldinho scored the first of his three goals in the 11th minute. The Saudis equalised on goals by Marzouk Al Otaibi in the 22nd and 30th minutes. But Ze Roberto put Brazil on top to stay in the 33rd and Alex boosted the half-time margin to 4-2 with a goal in the 35th minute. Roni boosted Brazil’s lead in the 61st minute, Ronaldinho found the net again in the 64th and 90th minutes and Alex added his second goal in the 74th. Cuauhtemor Blanco broke the US-Mexico deadlock with a 94th minute ‘golden goal’ before 60,000 fans. The US team, which beat Germany earlier in the tournament, went into the game with five men at the back and four in midfield, intent on soaking up pressure while hoping to counter-attack. AP adds: Brazil, often considered the best in the world, were heavily favoured against the relatively unknown Saudis. But Saudi Arabia came out fighting, pressing the Brazilians closely and mounting strong attacks from the start. The Brazilians responded with a strong offence, although Saudi Arabia often found holes in its defence, especially in the first half. Joao Carlos tapped a corner kick from Alex into the right side of the goal. Three minutes later, Ronaldinho took the ball up the middle all alone and drove it to the left of goalkeeper Mohammed al Deayea. Al Otaibi surprised the Brazilians, taking the ball up the centre and scoring with a shot into the right side of the net. Nine minutes later, he dribbled the ball up the right side of the field and scored again to the left of goalkeeper Dida. Three minutes later, Alex centred a ball for Brazil and Ze Roberto headed it in for Brazil’s third goal. The two reversed roles two minutes later, with Alex heading in a centre from Ze Roberto to make it 4-2. Vampeta made a nice pass to Roni, who dribbled around the goanie and tapped in the ball. A minute later, Ronaldinho kicked in another corner from Alex. He slid headfirst across the soggy field in celebration. The game was violent, especially in the first half, and medical teams pulled players off the field in stretchers five times. Most of the players returned to the field, but Evanilson was carried off in the 14th minute after colliding with another player. The team said he pulled a muscle. Kasey Keller was brilliant in goal for the USA, but Blancho finally broke through for the persistent Mexican attack. Blanco, tied up by Jeff
Agoos and later Eddie Lewis throughout most of the game,
first tried to kick the loose ball with his right foot,
but it bounced off a defender as Keller went to his left.
Blanco then just pushed it in for his fifth goal of the
tournament. The USA, playing at Mexico City’s
2,240-metre altitude with less than two days of rest,
fell short in its bid for its first ever victory over
Mexico at Azteca. |
Canada lose gold as goalie tests positive WINNIPEG, (Manitoba), Aug 2 (Reuters) — Canada lost glory and gold at the Pan American Games yesterday as Cuba shattered the host country’s Olympic baseball dreams and officials took away a roller hockey gold medal because of a positive doping test. Meanwhile, Canadian television reported, without giving a source, that there was a second positive test involving a Dominican Republic athlete. A spokesman for the country’s delegation would neither confirm nor deny the report. Olympic champion Cuba edged the Canadians 3-2 in a baseball semifinal that decided one of two Sydney Games bids available to Pan American Games participants. The USA won the other with a 2-1 victory over Mexico. Cuba and the USA will play for the gold on Monday, but the more significant triumphs came on Sunday. A protester who attempted to disrupt the game was kicked and punched by at least two Cuban players in the ninth inning. The middle-aged man ran onto the field carrying a banner which read “Human rights first.’’ Goalkeeper Steve Vezina’s positive doping test cost Canada their roller hockey gold medal. “This is a clear case of (using) a banned substance that will increase performance,’’ said Dr Eduardo de Rose, Chairman Pan American sports organisation medical commission, in revealing that Vezina’s urine sample contained high levels of the stimulants pseudoephedrine and ephedrine and the anabolic steroid nandrolone. Not all was lost for Canada, however, bronze medals stolen in a car break-in were returned to three Canadian water polo players by the police. Canada also qualified for the men’s hockey final against Argentina by beating Chile 5-2. Brazil won the women’s volleyball gold medal by beating old rivals Cuba 3-2 in a thrilling final in which the Caribbean islanders twice took a one-set lead. It was the only medal awarded on Sunday. There was trouble,
however, in the men’s basketball match between
Puerto Rico and Argentina. Rivalries from previous
encounters ended with a fight at half-time. |
Volker sets world record ISTANBUL, Aug 2 (AP) — Germany’s Sandra Volker broke her own world record in the 50-metre backstroke in the European Swimming Championships last evening, while the Netherland’s Pieter Van den Hoogenband again took centre stage as the sport’s new star.Volker was first off the blocks to finish in 28.71, beating Spain’s Nina Jivanevskaia by 0.31 seconds. Volker set the previous mark of 28.78 last month in Monte Carlo. Van den Hoogenband defeated Russian star Alexander Popov, swimming the 50-metre freestyle in 22.06. The Russian left the pool with his first ever bronze medal, behind Italy’s Lorenzo Vismara who took a stunning second place with 22.21. Popov clocked 22.32. Hoogenband then handed Popov his third defeat, taking him on the anchor leg of the 400 metres medley to give the Netherlands first place in 3:39.52. Germany were second in 3:40.15, while Russia and Sweden tied for third place with 3:41.18. His sixth medal tied the record set by Germany Michael Gross in 1985 in Sofia, Bulgaria. If the Netherlands had not been disqualified and lost their first place finish in the 800 metres relay, the man nicknamed “Hoogie” would have the European equivalent of the record seven golds won by American Mark Spitz in the 1972 Olympics. Runaway record breaker Inge de Bruijn of the Netherlands took her 50 metres freestyle race in 24.99, outside both the world and her own European pace. Therese Alshammar of Sweden was second in 25.30 Spain’s Frederik Hviid won the 400 metres medley in 4:17.16, followed by Israel’s Mikey Halika in 4:17.49. Romania’s Camelia Potec won the women’s 400 metres freestyle in 4:08.09, followed by Germany’s Kerstin Kielgass (4:08.57). Mette Jacobsen gave Denmark their first gold medal, winning the women’s 200 metres butterfly in 2:10.40. The final day of the 11-day championship wrapped up with the women’s 400 metres medley relay, a race won by Sweden in 4:07.52, Germany were second in 4:07.79 and Britain third with 4:09.18. Britain’s Antonio Ali won 3-metre springboard diving with 415.62 points, followed by Hungary’s Imre Lengyel 402.30. In women’s 10-metre synchronized diving, the Russian pair of Svetlana Timoshinina and Evgenia Olshevskaya won the event with 272.46 points. Ute Wetzig and Anke Piper of Germany accumulated 264.69 for second space. Germany topped the medal
table with 12 golds, followed by Russia with 11 and the
Netherlands with nine. |
Sampras outplays Agassi to win title LOS ANGELES, Aug 2 (AP) — Pete Sampras dominated Andre Agassi when it counted the most. In a rematch of their Wimbledon final four weeks earlier, Sampras needed a pair of tie-breakers to beat Agassi 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (7-1) last night in the final of the Mercedes-Benz Cup. The match was as tight as could be, except for the tie-breakers, where Sampras won 14 of the 18 points. Otherwise, Agassi won 74 points to 68 for Sampras. “Two tie-breakers,” Sampras said with a smile when asked the difference in the match. “Andre is so tough for me to play. He returns so well.” But not in the tie-breakers, where Sampras’ service was invincible. He served five winners in first-set tie-breaker, with one ace. Meanwhile, Agassi was 3-2 on his serve. Agassi opened the second-set tie-breaker with a double-fault - his only one of the match. Sampras followed with an ace, and it was all downhill from there. Agassi won a point on his serve to make it 3-1 before Sampras won four straight points to close out the match. Sampras was 4-0 while serving in second-set tie-breaker with his 11th and final ace along with unreturnable serves. Agassi had 10 aces in the match, and won 52 of 70 service points, but it wasn’t enough. Sampras won 64 of 90 service points. The top seed and defending champion Agassi lost for just the second time in 19 matches, while Sampras, the No 2 seed despite a 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 victory over Agassi at Wimbledon on July 4, has won 17 straight matches. Sampras, 15-10 lifetime against Agassi, earned $ 46,000 dollars by winning his third title this year and the 59th of his career, while Agassi collected $ 27,000. Sampras, who turns 28 on August 12, entered this tournament ranked second in the world behind Patrick Rafter but moved up to No 1 by winning his semifinal match on Saturday. Sampras, winner of 12 Grand Slam titles — tied with Roy Emerson for the most ever — will thus be ranked as the world’s best player for a record 271st week. Sampras shared the mark of 270 weeks with Ivan Lendl. Agassi, (29), will continue to be ranked third in the world. There were only two service breaks in the match - both in the first set. Sampras broke in the second game and went on to take a 4-1 lead before Agassi broke in the sixth game. There was nothing close to a break in the second set until Agassi took a 40-30 lead in the 12th game. However, Sampras won the next three points to hold serve and set up the tie-breaker, and the match was over a couple minutes later. “Against Pete, if you don’t capitalise on those opportunities, it turns quick,” Agassi said. STANFORD (AFP): World No 1 Lindsay Davenport defeated second seed Venus Williams in the WTA Bank of the West final for the second year in a row, taking a 7-6 (7/1), 6-2, victory here on Sunday. Top seed Davenport won $ 80,000 for the triumph over her American compatriot, improving to 8-1 lifetime against the bead-tressed 19-year-old by taking her fourth 1999 title and the 23rd championship of her career. “I was able to play important when it counted,” Davenport said. “It’s one of those things where you have to concentrate harder and play better percentage tennis. It’s one of those things that comes with experience.” Davenport improved to 33-5 this season, including 18-3 on hard courts, and snapped a 13-match hardcourt win streak by Williams, who fell to 36-7 on the year and 20-4 on hardcourts. Davenport, (23) also improved to 16-1 in her past 17 matches in her home state. She swept all three hardcourt US Open tuneup events in California last year on a run that ended with her taking the US Open title. Her lone loss in the state in the past 12 months came last March when she fell to Serena Williams, Venus’ younger sister, at Indian Wells. Williams, seeded second, fell short in a bid for her fifth 1999 title. An error-filled first set ended with Davenport dominating the tie -breaker. Williams made 40 unforced errors in the set, eight more than Davenport. Williams fell apart
thereafter as she twice lost her serve and failed to
capitalise on three break-point chances. Davenport
cruised through the second set in 32 minutes. |
Dhillon ruled out due to leg injury NEW DELHI, Aug 2 (UNI) — The Indian hockey team for the coming tour of South Africa suffered a big jolt today when star striker Baljit Singh Dhillon was ruled out of the squad due to leg injury. Dhillon was the second highest scorer for the team at the Bangkok Asian Games in which India won gold after 32 years. The substitute for Dhillon will be announced after chief coach Vasudevan Bhaskran discusses the issue with selection committee Chief and President of the Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) K.P.S. Gill. Dhillon had impressed in the recent team’s tour to Germany and Belgium, where he had formed a good combination with centre forward Gagan Ajit Singh. The Indian team led by versatile mid fielder Mohd Riaz is scheduled to play five Test matches against South Africa, all at Johannesburg on August 13,15,17,19 and 21. The team will depart
from Mumbai on August 12. |
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CHENNAI, Aug 2 (PTI) — The four-member Indian athletic team, which bagged five gold medals in as many events in the 77th Sri Lankan National Athletic championship, arrived here yesterday. Amongst the four athletes, Anju Marcose, long jumper from the Customs, set a personal best of 6.32 metres, breaking the SAF games record 6.31 m and her previous best of 6.26 metres. Though it was just 0.1 m below the national best of Lekha Thomas (6.33), the creditable performance of Anju Marcose should boost her to do better in the Travancore All-India Marathon. W.I. Davaram, Vice President of the Amateur Athletic Federation of India (AAFI), who held discussions with the Sri Lankan federation officials, told PTI that “India and Sri Lanka have decided to revive the Indo-Sri Lanka Athletic Meets”. He said that such a meet was last held in 1976 in India. According to Davaram,
long distance runner Shankar won a double winning both
5,000 and 10,000 m with timings of 14.26 mins and 30.30
mins, while P. Ramachandran clocked 21.78 secs for the
200 m gold. |
Ranatunga has a lot to offer: Whatmore COLOMBO, Aug 2 (PTI) — Sri Lanka’s new cricket coach Dave Whatmore, on his second stint after leaving the Emerald Islands in a huff in 1996 following differences with then skipper Arjuna Ranatunga, said the stocky batsman still had a great deal to offer to the team. “I think Arjuna has a lot to offer and should be included in the team,” Whatmore, the 1996 World Cup winning Sri Lanka coach told reporters after being recalled to coach the team following its humiliating campaign in England World Cup. Whatmore’s comments
come ahead of the crucial meeting of the national
selectors to announce a 14-member team from 30 probables
for the August 22 to 31 triangular series with India and
Australia. |
H
Susheel,
Narinder best w’lifters PATIALA, Aug 2 —Susheel Kumar of PSEB was declared the strongest w’lifter of Punjab and international Narinder Kaur of Patiala was declared the strongest woman w’lifter in the senior Punjab Powerlifting Championships which concluded at Rajpura, near here, today. In team championships it was PSEB team which won the title accumulating 69 points while Ludhiana with 60 points clinched second spot. In the women’s section Bathinda with 72 points won team title followed by Patiala with 54 points. Asian record holder
Narinder Kaur broke three national records in the 90-kg
plus category for women. In the bench press Narinder Kaur
lifted 107.5 kg breaking West Bengal’s Ruma
Paul’s previous record of 98 kg. In dead lift
Narinder Kaur lifted 192.5 kg breaking Ruma Paul’s
previous record of 182.5 kg. Narinder Kaur lifted a total
of 500 kg against Ruma Paul’s 460 kg and in the
process she became the second Indian woman to touch the
500-kg mark. |
Bindra, Gulshan win chess
titles JALANDHAR, Aug 2 — Bindra Sukheja and Gulshan Sukheja of Sangrur won the girls and boys (under-14) titles, respectively at the Punjab State Sub-Junior Chess Championship, which concluded at Government Model Co-Education Junior Secondary School, Ladowali Road, here yesterday. Final results: Boys U-14:Gulshan Sukheja (Sang) 5 points; 2 Aseem Bhasin (Jal)4;3. Shakti Kohli (Jal) 4. Girls U-14: 1. Bindra Sukheja (Sang)6; 2. Shiba Parveen (Jal) 5; 3. Richa Arbind Kumar (Jal) 4; Boys U-12: 1 Gulsher Singh (Ldh) 4.5 Bhavneet Singh (Jal) 4; Fatehbir (Pat) 4. Girls U -12 1. Mankiran Kaur (Jal) 4.5; 2 Arpan Deep Kaur (Pat) 4. Boys U-10: 1 Anumeet Singh Tuli (Pat) 6; 2 Surpreet Singh (Jal) 4.5; Sandeep Singh. Girls U-10: 1. Aarti Chawla (Jal) 3.5; Boys U-8: Ankush Jethi
(Jal) 5.5 points; 2. Gangandeep Singh (Jal) 4.5; 3 Samjot
Pal Singh (Amt) 2. |
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