Sunday, December 12, 1999
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S P O R T | Sunday, December 12, 1999 |
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India receive early shocks ADELAIDE, Dec 11 — The much-vaunted Indian batting put up a timid display to leave the team struggling at 123 for four after the Australians were allowed to pile up 441 in their first innings on the second day of the first cricket Test here today. Amritinder
slips to 41st spot |
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Hussain
leads fightback |
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Tollygunge shock East Bengal CALCUTTA, Dec 11 —Soccer giants East Bengal started their campaign for the National Football League on a disastrous note when they lost to Tollygunge Agragami 0-1 in their first outing at the Salt Lake Stadium here today.
Paes
downs Cowan, lifts title
Central
Zone crawl to 149 for 3 Ben
Johnson to coach football team Central
Railway, RCF in semis Asian
gymnastics meet at Patiala East
Zone under pressure National
record by Sabeeha Incentives
for athletes |
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India receive early shocks ADELAIDE, Dec 11 (PTI) — The much-vaunted Indian batting put up a timid display to leave the team struggling at 123 for four after the Australians were allowed to pile up 441 in their first innings on the second day of the first cricket Test here today. So overawed the Indians appeared to be against the accurate Australian attack and so grim was the struggle in the middle that a batsman of the calibre of Sachin Tendulkar remained runless for extended periods while paceman Glen McGrath sent down eight overs conceding only one run while leg spinner Shane Warne proved an ideal foil by giving away just 43 runs off 20 overs. The dismissal of openers S.Ramesh and Devang Gandhi with only nine runs on the board did not help matters. V.V.S.Laxman (41) and Rahul Dravid (35) put up some resistance before they too made their exit. The last of India’s rich middle-order, Tendulkar (12) and Saurav Ganguly (12) were sticking to the virtue of patience as India ended the day’s duel hoping to cross the immediate target of 241 tomorrow to avert the follow on. Earlier, Australia, resuming at the overnight score of 298 for five, were all out for 441 an hour after lunch, thanks mainly due to an aggressive knock of 86 by Shane Warne and his record 118-run partnership for the seventh wicket with skipper Steve Waugh who contributed a priceless 150. The Indians had a tough reception in the middle as they began their innings an hour after lunch but openers Gandhi (4) and Ramesh (2) were back in the pavilion within 18 minutes. Gandhi, egged on by Ramesh, went for a fourth run on an offdrive against McGrath and was dismayed to find his partner caught short at the non-strikers end by a Greg Blewett direct throw from extra cover boundary. Gandhi also did not survive for long. The Bengal opener failed to keep down a body-threatening short-pitched delivery from McGrath, putting the bat in front of his face for the ball to balloon to Michael Kasprowicz at backward short leg. Laxman, playing at one drop ahead of Dravid, straightaway started producing strokes off his high backlift, and looked good enough for Steve Waugh to replace Damien Fleming from the Cathedral end after just three overs. Kasprowicz who replaced him, proved a worse choice as his three overs yielded 24 runs and included five no balls. Laxman executed a most delectable flick against Fleming and then guided Kasprowicz through the slips for four. But when they were looking set to guide the team to safety, India lost both Laxman and Dravid. Laxman went to the first delivery of McGrath’s third spell, cutting a rising ball to point. Dravid fell to Warne when he played straight into the hands of Justin Langer at forward short leg. Dravid played with strong hands instead of relying on soft hands and perished. The Indians, however, did not have good time in the morning though Ajit Agarkar (2/86) gave them a breakthrough off the first ball by taking a return catch offered by wicketkeeper batsman Adam Gilchrist, who left at the overnight score of 298 without troubling the scorer. The butter-fingered Indians failed to capitalise on it and allowed Steve Waugh and Warne to flourish. Warne made most of the two lives he got as he piled up an entertaining 86 as Australia, who went to lunch at a commanding 392 for six, were all out for 441 an hour after lunch. Warne’s exit was a big disappointment for the crowd as he had smashed the Indian bowlers around the ground before being adjudged leg before to Kumble. He faced only 100 balls in 126 minutes and struck 13 fours and one six. But before Warne was out, Australia had lost captain Steve Waugh for 150. Australia (ist innings): G Blewett c MSK Prasad b Srinath 4 M Slater c Ramesh b Ganguly 28 J Langer lbw b V Prasad 11 M Waugh c MSK Prasad b V Prasad 5 S Waugh c MSK Prasad b Agarkar 150 R Ponting run out 125 A Gilchrist c and b Agarkar 0 S Warne lbw b Kumble 86 M Kasprowicz b Kumble 4 D Fleming not out 12 G McGrath c MSK Prasad b V Prasad 4 Extras (b-1, lb-5, nb-6) 12 Total (all out in 125.3 overs) 441 Fall of wickets: 1-8, 2-29, 3-45, 4-52, 5-291, 6-298, 7-406, 8-417, 9-424. Bowling: Srinath 29-3-117-1, Agarkar 26-5-86-2, V Prasad 24.3-4-83-3, Ganguly 7-1-34-1, Kumble 34-1-101-2 Tendulkar 2-0-12-0, Laxman 3-1-2-0. India (first innings): D Gandhi c Kasprowicz b McGrath 4 S Ramesh run out 2 VVS Laxman c S Waugh b McGrath 41 R Dravid c Langer b Warne 35 S Tendulkar batting 12 S Ganguly batting 12 Extras (lb-1, nb-16) 17 Total (for 4 wkts, 52 overs) 123 Fall of wickets: 1-7, 2-9, 3-90, 4-107. Bowling:
McGrath 14-8-11-2, Fleming 10-2-30-0, Kasprowicz
8-1-38-0, Warne 20-7-43-1. |
Aussies see Bradman in Sachin ADELAIDE, Dec 11 (PTI) — They are two generations apart in cricket, and the one is over three times as old as the other, but the arrival of Indian cricket skipper Sachin Tendulkar here, the city of Sir Donald Bradman, has commentators waxing eloquent on the similarity between the two cricketers. One such, Mike Coward, writing in ‘The Australian’, wondered what it was like to see him. What it was like to proudly boast: I was there. What it was like to see Bradman bat? “The pure joy of this summer is that, 50 years after Sir Donald Bradman played his last first-class innings, the Baby Boomers and their children and, in some cases, grandchildren, are going to get some idea of what it was like. “For Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar, the 1.6-metre colossus is in our midst. “A real comparison is not possible: Sir Donald played his 52 Tests on 10 grounds in Australia and England. At the age of 26, Tendulkar has played on 45 Test match grounds in 13 countries, while it is shameful that Australians have been deprived of seeing Tendulkar for the past eight years, it is fitting that his second tour of duty Down Under should start in Adelaide, Sir Donald’s home since the mid-1930s.” Sixteen months ago the
Don, as Sir Donald is known in cricket circles, and
Tendulkar met in Adelaide on the former’s 90th
birthday. At a lavish function, Tendulkar won the hearts
of the crowd when he staged a bidding duel with Warne at
an auction of some precious Bradman memorabilia. |
Amritinder slips to 41st spot SHENZEN, China, Dec 11 (UNI) — Jyoti Randhawa shot two under par 70 and held on to his joint eleventh slot but Amritinder Singh carded three over par 75 to slip down to the joint 41st place at the end of the third round of the $ 500,000 season ending Omega PGA Golf Championship here today. Felix Casas of the Philippines and South African Nico Van Rensburg finished the day tied for the lead. Overnight leader Casas hit a one over par 71 while his playing partner Van Rensburg fired a 69. Jyoti, who staged a big rally yesterday with five under par 67 could not reproduce the same form today but managed two under par round which enabled him to stay at the joint 11th slot. Amritinder Singh, who was joint 11th place along with Jyoti yesterday, tumbled down 30 places with his three over par 3rd round. Jeev Milkha Singh also slipped down from his joint 12th slot to 21st place. Jeev had one under par 71 third round. Arjun Singh had a par 72 round which enabled him to move six places up and was in 41st place along with Amritinder. Vivek Bhandari also hit par 72 round to climb up to 56th place while Amandeep Johl had an aweful 10 over par 82 and was lying last at 75th place. The pair of Casas and Rensburg lead on 12 under par 204 by stroke from Scotland’s Simon Yates and Americans Fran Quinn and Eric Meeks. Yates returned a 65, while Quinn and Meeks came in with rounds of 69 and 70, respectively. Casas and Van Rensburg were the joint leaders after the first round, and finished tied at the top again today following a two-stroke swing on the par-four 17th. Van Rensburg, a three-time winner on the David off tour, led by two with two to play but on 17 he raced his birdie attempt by the hole, and then missed the three-foot return putt. After a brilliant sand wedge approach shot, Casas holted a birdie putt from three feet to draw level. The South African made a clutch putt on the final hole, from five feet, to ensure he stayed level with his Filipino opponent. At the Casino Filipino Philippine Open in May, Casas also led after the second and third rounds but struggled on the final day and finished fifth. The man who won in the Philippines, Korea’s Anthony Kang, is nine under for this week’s tournament, a stroke ahead of Hong Kong’s Scott Rowe and South African James Kingston. Myanmar’s Kyi Hla Han, carded a 71 and is six behind the leaders. European Tour star Jeev
Milkha Singh returned a 71 and is eight back while
defending champion Kang Wook-Soon of Korea is three under
for the championship following a 71. |
Hussain leads fightback PORT ELIZABETH (South Africa), Dec 11 (AFP) — England captain Nasser Hussain led a spirited fightback after his team had taken a pounding from allrounder Lance Klusener on the second day of the second Test against England at St George’s Park yesterday. Hussain made 70 not out as England reached 139 for one at the close. Klusener earlier top-scored with 174 in a South African first innings total of 450. Hussain took the fight to South Africa’s all-pace attack after Mark Butcher had been bowled for four in Shaun Pollock’s first over. The England captain hooked two sixes in the first over he faced from Pollock and raced to a half-century off 54 balls. With South Africa forced onto the defensive, he then proceeded more cautiously until the close, facing another 71 balls in adding 20 more runs. Former captain Mike Atherton, dismissed twice for nought in the first Test, made 58 not out and helped Hussain put on an unbeaten 134 for the second wicket. On a hot, sunny day, conditions favoured the batsmen, with 336 runs being scored for the loss of only five wickets in 116 overs. That was unlike the first day, when South African slumped to 146 for five after being sent in to bat in overcast weather. It was at that point that Klusener walked in. Klusener completed the transition from World Cup one-day hero to Test stardom as he hit his 174 off 221 balls with 25 fours and two sixes. It was the highest score in 18 Tests played here beating the 167 by Lindsay Hassett for Australia in 1949/50. The powerful left-hander shared stands of 106 for the sixth wicket with Jonty Rhodes, 119 for the eighth wicket with Mark Boucher and 49 for the last wicket with new cap Mornantau Hayward. The stand with Boucher was a record eighth-wicket stand for South Africa against England. It was Klusener’s second Test century. He made 102 not out off 100 balls against India in Cape Town in 1996/97. Having reached 50 off 54 balls on Thursday, he was relatively restrained yesterday as he went to his century off 127 deliveries and then reached 150 off 201. He took on the responsibility of steering South Africa to a 400-plus first innings total for the seventh Test match in succession. But there were still plenty of the bludgeoning square cuts, cover drives and straight hits that have made him a crowd favourite. With England’s spirits wilting under a hot sun, he hit his last 33 runs during the last-wicket stand with Hayward. He was particularly severe on left-arm spinner Phil Tufnell, England’s best bowler, who conceded 26 runs off his last two overs after earlier keeping Klusener in check. Tufnell finished with four for 124. England, whose first wicket had fallen at one and nought during their innings defeat in the first Test in Johannesburg, again made a poor start. After punching Pollock through the covers for four, Butcher got an inside edge to an attempted force off the back foot and the ball crashed into his stumps. Hussain hooked the second ball he received from Pollock for four and thrashed sixes off the fourth and fifth balls he faced. The total reached 100 in the 23rd over, forcing South Africa to set defensive fields. Hayward built up impressive pace in his first test, with one delivery in the last over of the day timed at 151kph, making him almost as fast as Pakistan’s Shoaib Akhtar. He troubled both batsmen, one ball flying off Atherton’s shoulder to wicketkeeper Boucher and another beating Hussain’s inside edge. South Africa (Ist innings) Kirsten c Hussain b Caddick 15 Gibbs run out 48 Kallis c Caddick b Silverwood 1 Cullinan st Stewart b Tufnell 58 Cronje c Flintoff b Tufnell 2 Rhodes c Atherton b Flintoff 50 Klusener c Adams b Gough 174 Pollock c Vaughan b Flintoff 7 Boucher c Stewart b Tufnell 42 Donald c Hussain b Tufnell 9 Hayward not out 10 Extras: (b-10 lb-5 w-1 nb-18) 34 Total: All out 450 Fall of wickets: 1/28 2/57 3/87 4/91 5/146 6/252 7/268 8/387 9/401 Bowling: Gough 21.1-1-107-1 (1W 11NB), Caddick 31-5-100-1 (2NB), Silverwood 24-4-57-1 (3Nb), Tufnell 42-9-124-4 (2NB), Vaughan 3-0-16-0, Flintoff 7-0-31-2. England (Ist innings) Butcher b Pollock 4 Atherton not out 58 Hussain not out 70 Extras: (lb-2 nb-5) 7 Total: (for one wicket) 139 Fall of wicket: 1/5 Bowling: Donald
12-3-48-0, Pollock 15-5-41-1 (4NB), Hayward 8-1-31-0
(1NB), Klusener 6-2-14-0, Cronje 3-1-3-0. |
Tollygunge shock East Bengal CALCUTTA, Dec 11 (UNI) —Soccer giants East Bengal started their campaign for the National Football League on a disastrous note when they lost to Tollygunge Agragami 0-1 in their first outing at the Salt Lake Stadium here today. The match winner was netted by medio Chandan Das who capitalised on a Srikanta Dutta centre and made it home with an angular volley (1-0) in the 29th minute. East Bengal would have to blame themselves for the defeat as in spite of maintaining an edge all through they returned defeated because of poor finishing. East Bengal also failed to convert a spot kick a few seconds before the breather. Referee K. Shankar awarded the penalty to East Bengal when Tollygunge defender Kajal Bhattacharjee handled a long pass released by defender Jackson inside the dreaded zone. East Bengal midfield consisting of Ranjan Dey, Carlton Chapman, Tushar Rakshit and Rennedy Singh also looked rusty and failed to create moves to split the rival defence. In spite of being an inferior side, at least on paper, Tollygunge Agragami have become a bogey team to East Bengal who also lost to the former in the recently concluded IFA Shield. As usual, Tollygunge adopted defensive tactics crowding their deep defence with a number of players and going for counter attacks whenever the chances came. They also earned the
match winner in a similar fashion. Following a counter
attack, striker Srikanta Dutta collected the ball in his
own area and ran through East Bengal defence and released
a measured centre. Tollygunge medio Chandan Das, who was
following the move collected the ball neatly inside East
Bengal box and unleashed an angular volley which went in
while three of East Bengal defenders standing parallel
looked helplessly (1-0) midway through the first half. |
National Football League MARGAO, Dec 11 (PTI) — Goa’s league champion Churchill Brothers are favourites to win against Dempo in the opening match of the National Football League here tomorrow. Churchill, who stood third last year, will be looking to improve their standing this year and have a well balanced team. Defender Osamanu Hussein will be their main strength in the defence. He will be assisted by Denzil Ferrao, Anthony Pereira and Anthony Mathews. Edward Ansah, who has a safe pair of hands, would be under the bar. The roving Somatai Shaiza, Rocky Baretto, Oscar Honda and Mario Soares comprise the strong midfield. Francis Silveira and Marcus Carvalho and Kaustav Ghosh, who come off the bench, has the capabilities of breaking rival defence. But the worry is lack of consistency. Past experience shows the players having maintained good home record of most wins but away from Goa losing matches, which saw them coming third last year. Dempo, on other hand, after drawing with Churchill 1-1 in the first leg and losing 2-0 in second leg of professional league kept a low profile. They did not participate in any major tournament outside Goa and instead concentrated in building the team into a winning unit in preparation for national league. They got a shock when coach Chatunni resigned a week ago after the management turned down a request to recruit three to four quality players. New coach Ahmad Sanzare, who took over the reign from T.K. Chatunni, said he would do his best with the present bunch of youngsters in order to survive in the league. Dempo, in order to sharpen their attack, and defence have recruited three foreign players. Iranian striker Kamal Sayeed Ahamadi, defender-cum-midfielder Assad Sultan and goalkeeper Upendra Mansingh of Nepal, who played for Salgaocar last year. Mansingh would be playing tomorrow while the two Iranians might miss tomorrow’s match as their names have not been registered as yet. Dempo, who lost most of their key players this season, have roped in youngsters like Remus Gomes, Soccorrino Silveira and Mario Pereira, who had shown lot of promise. They have players like John D’Souza, Stanley Colaco, Anthony Alfonso, Kanan Priolkar, Achay Acharya and Mathew D’Costa, who could give tough time to their rival defence. Dempo will be missing services of Levy Coelho and Melwin Rodrigues, who had undergone knee and ankle operation. MUMBAI: Local outfit Mahindra and Mahindra and Bangalore’s ITI, who were in the rear of the pecking order in the last edition of the National Football League, are to lock horns at Cooperage ground tomorrow in their lung-opener in the current edition of the tournament. Mahindras, with coach S.S. Hakim to guide their fortunes, may have to start their campaign without injured striker Abbas Ali Rizvi and defender Sanjay Dayal. Rizvi has twisted his ankle while Dayal too is a doubtful starter because of a pulled thigh muscle. They are expected to be replaced in the starting line-up by Harish Kumar and Andrew Loius respectively. The local outfit’s deep defence is a bit suspect considering the fact that two of the players manning it, Nigerians Christopher and Bernard, are ageing and can be a bit slow. But in goalkeeper Virender Singh, who donned the India colours at Kathmandu SAF games this year, they have a player to watch apart from other talents like striker Mohd Najib, medio Shamsi Reza, defenders Naushad Moosa and Surmani Singh. ITI also have gone in for foreign imports to boost them this season. A.D. Nagendran, a former national under 19 coach, has at his command two Nigerians — striker Lalu and linkman Onykya — apart from Palestinian midfielder Youssuf Mohammed. The Bangalore team can
also draw upon the vast experience of defenders
Rehmatullah and Ilyas Pasha. |
Paes downs Cowan, lifts title JAIPUR, Dec 11 (PTI) — Indian ace Leander Paes overcame a nervous start to subdue eighth seed Barry Cowan of Britain 7-6 (10-8) 6-4 and win his second straight singles title of the year at the Bikaji Rajasthan Golden Jubilee ATP Tour Tennis Tournament here today. Cowan gave a stiff fight, serving well and playing a gritty game to extend Paes to an hour and 36 minutes, but the Indian, cheered on by a vocal — at times indisciplined —crowd, fired 10 aces on his way to victory. But Paes committed five double faults in the first set to get into some tight situations. Starting unsteadily, he dropped his serve in the opening game, casting a pall of hush on the spectators. But by the fourth game, the Indian had found his rhythm. Cowan, serving at 30-40, hit a return to the baseline chalk. The chair umpire called it in, but Paes contested the call and it was replayed. Cowan won the point and the game went into deuce. Paes, however, broke the Briton with a fine forehand pass to level at 2-2. After both players held their serve till 4-4, shouts from the crowd between the points affected Paes’ concentration and he served three double faults, but took the game with the help of two aces. In the next game, Paes wasted three break points and at one point shouted at the crowd to keep quiet and the set went into a tiebreaker. In the tightly fought tiebreaker, Paes took advantage of Cowan’s weak second serve to win the set. In the second set, Paes was in full flow, but Cowan gave nothing away. The Indian won his only break point in the seventh game when Cowan, serving at 30-30, hit a return wide. On the next point, Paes pounced on the Briton’s second serve and broke him when the latter hit a shot long. Cowan then saved a match
point, but could do nothing on the second as Paes send in
a deep serve to take the title. Earlier, Czech Tomas
Anzari and Japan’s Satoshi Iwabuchi won the doubles
title beating Ivo Karlovic of Slovakia and Yuri Schukin
of Russia 7-6 (8-6) 4-6 7-6 (7-5). |
Third straight win for Laila Ali DETROIT, Dec 11 (AP) — She says she was never athletic. She never saw her famous father fight. Still, Laila Ali has her sights set on a title fight of her own. Ali took another major step in that direction last night with a second-round knockout of Nicolyn Armstrong for her third straight win to chants of “Ali, Ali.” “That was a nice feeling,” said Ali, whose boxing career started in October, after she lost nine kilos (20 pounds). “But, I don’t pay much attention to that, because in the ring, it’s just me and that girl.” The 1.77-metre Ali, weighing in at 75 kilos less than her taller opponent, knocked Armstrong (1-4) down late in the first round with a left jab, followed by three hard rights. In the second round, Ali
battered Armstrong in the corner, then knocked her flat
on her back — as she had done her two previous
opponents — with a left-right combination that
brought a roar from the crowd of about 2,200 fans in the
Riverview Ballroom of Cob Center. |
Central Zone crawl to 149 for 3 GUWAHATI, Dec 11 (PTI) — Chasing North Zone’s mammoth first innings total of 543, Central Zone played cautiously to reach 149 for three before rain stopped play after tea on the third day of the Duleep Trophy semifinal tie here today. Resuming at the overnight 24 for one, Central’s opener Jyoti Yadav played sedately to remain unbeaten at 58 and keep his team’s hope alive of overhauling North’s huge total on what seemed to be a good batting track. Overnight batsman Abbas Ali, who looked quite comfortable, was the first to exit this morning with paceman Robin Singh providing the vital breakthrough. Ali was at the crease for 74 minutes and scored 31 off 62 balls with five fours. With central gasping at 48 for two, Yadav and Manoj Mudgal (27) batted extremely carefully and the third wicket partnership added 63 runs before Mudgal was out, lbw to Reetinder Sodhi. He was at the crease for 165 minutes and faced 132 balls. Raja Ali (25) was giving Yadav company at the crease when rain stopped play after the tea break with Central Zone facing an uphill task of taking the vital first innings lead. North Zone (1st innings): 543 Central Zone (1st innings): Sanjay Bangar b Robin Singh jr 0, Jyoti Yadav batting 58, Abbas Ali c Rathore b Robin Singh 31, Manoj Mudgal lbw b Sodhi 27, Raja Ali batting 25, Extras (lb-5, b-1, nb-1, w-1) 8. Total (for 3 wkts in 73 overs) 149. Fall of wickets: 1/0, 2/48, 3/111. Bowling: Robin
Singh jr 16-4-29-2; Shakti Singh 16-6-40-0; Nikhil Chopra
14-8-11-0; Navdip Singh 11-2-24-0; R.S.Sodhi 13-7-26-1;
V.Sehwag 3-0-13-0. |
Ben Johnson to coach football team WINNIPEG, (Manitoba), Dec 11 (Reuters) — Banned Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson has hired himself out to train members of the Libyan national soccer team, including the son of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, Johnson’s agent has said. The deal to provide strength and power training to Al-Saad Gaddafi and his teammates in the next three months, is worth about $ 35,000 to the cash-strapped Johnson, his agent Morris Chrobotek said from Toronto in a telephone interview. Chrobotek yesterday said he believes the Libyan deal will lead to a new career for Johnson as a trainer. “It’s going to
be state-of-the-art training as we did for Diego
Maradona,” said Chrobotek, referring to
Johnson’s work with the Argentinean soccer player in
his 1997 comeback. |
Central Railway, RCF in semis NABHA (Patiala), Dec 11 — RCF, Kapurthala will square off with Western Railway, Mumbai, while Central Railway will take on title contenders Indian Airlines in the semifinals of the 24th Liberals Hockey Tournament to be played at the Ripudaman College grounds tomorrow. Today, in the first match, star-studded Indian Airlines had to put up a tough fight against PSEB before ensuring themselves a place in the semifinal through the tie-breaker where they beat PSEB 4-2. PSEB nearly scored in the very first minute of the match itself, but Kuljit Singh failed to trap the ball properly. Had Kuljit showed a bit more skill in trapping, PSEB might have been one up as the Airlines custodian was spread-eagled on the ground with the goalmouth completely open. With a goalless first half quality took a back seat in the second session with both teams dishing out dull and drab hockey as the Airlines team did not seem to test the endurance of their star players. Riding on a wave of success in this tournament the powermen finally found their nemesis in today’s match and clearly the powermen lacked the class and firepower to leave and impression on their more famed rivals. Western Railway, Mumbai, made short work of holders Police Range, Ludhiana as they beat them 6-5 via the tie-breaker after both teams were locked a goal apiece at the end of regulation time. In the third quarterfinal, Central Railway found themselves a goal up in the second minute of the match when a rival defender stopped the ball on the goal-line with his foot and the resultant stroke was neatly converted by left half Merajuddin. The railmen surged ahead when left out Arif Beg shot home the ball with a stinging shot taken from the top of the striking circle. In the last quarterfinal
and on a day when every match had to be decided by a tie
breaker RCF, Kapurthala downed Punjab and Sind Bank 9-8
to make the last four grade. |
Asian gymnastics meet at
Patiala Chandigarh, Dec 11— Over 90 gymnasts from six countries, including India, will vie for honours in the first Central Asia Gymnastics Championships to be held at Patiala from December 23 to 25. The tournament would be held at the Polo Ground Gymnasium which had been specially built for the 1987 National Games which, however, could not be conducted in Punjab. Gymnasts from Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Uzbekistan and India will participate in the meet. The championship is being organised under the aegis of the Central South Asia Gymnastics Confederation, the President of the Punjab Gymnastics Association, Mr Sudhir Mittal, told newsmen last evening. The championship would give the much-needed exposure to Indian gymnasts . While Pakistan and Nepal would be sending only boys’ teams, the other four teams would field competitors both in the boys and girls sections. Each country would be permitted to send a maximum of six gymnasts in each section. Competitions would be held in individual championship, apparatus championship as also team championship. Mr Mittal declared that teams from Afghanistan and Bhutan would not figure in the meet as they had no gymnastic association in their respective countries. Mr Mittal, who was accompanied by Mr P.S.Virk, secretary of the Gymnastic Federation of India, who is also organising secretary of the championship, said that over 100 technical delegates would also be coming to Patiala for the conduct of the meet. The championship, according to Mr Mittal, would entail an expenditure of about Rs 20 lakh. He was confident that the Punjab Gymnastic Association would be able to muster the necessary resources. He said while Rs 3 lakh would come from the Government of India, Rs 1 lakh would come from the Anandpur Sahib Foundation. The meet had been dedicated to the tercentenary of the birth of the Khalsa, Mr Mittal added. He added that the Punjab Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, would inaugurate the championship on December 23. Mr Mittal said holding of the championship would give a big boost to the sport in Punjab whose gymnasts had already made a mark for themselves on the national scene. He said that after the championship the Punjab Gymnastics Association planned to set up a centre for excellence with adequate equipment as also good coaches, both from India and abroad. Mr Mittal said that
during a meeting of the Olympic Council of Asia held
during the Bangkok Asian Games in December last, the
Asian countries were divided into four zones —east
zone, south east zone, central south Asia zone and west
zone. The Central South Asia Zone comprises Afghanistan,
Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka,
Male and Uzbekistan. During the first meeting of the
Central South Asia Gymnastics Confederation held at
Bangkok, Mr B.S.Ojha was elected President while Mr
P.S.Virk was elected Secretary-General. It was at this
meeting that Mr Mittal offered to host the first
championship of the confederation in Punjab. |
East Zone under pressure CALCUTTA, Dec 11 (PTI) — East Zone’s top order batsmen succumbed to the pressure of chasing a mammoth total to find themselves struggling at 208 for five in their first innings at close on the third day of their Duleep Trophy semifinal match at the Eden Gardens here today. Replying to West’s imposing first innings total of 600 for eight declared, East got off to a reasonably good start but lost five wickets in quick succession to allow their rivals to take tight control of the contest. East openers Nikhil
Haldipur (59) and Shib Sundar Das (30) put on a brisk 83
runs for the first wicket but the departure of Das
triggered off a top order collapse. |
National record by Sabeeha PHILLAUR, Dec 11 — Sabeeha Dhillon of Chandigarh shot 394 to create a new national record in the 10 m air rifle (ISU) for junior women on the seventh day of the 43rd National Shooting Championship at the Ranjitgarh Rifle Club of Punjab Police Academy here today. Sabeeha bettered the previous record (381) set by Sumita Ghosh in 1997 by a handsome margin of 13 points. Rajkumari of Infantry with a score of 384 finished as a silver medallist. Sunita Sanketh also of Infantry shot 381 for the bronze. However, in the women’s category, Sabeeha (495.8) was pipped by CISF’s Anjali Ved Pathak (497.2) for the gold. Deepali Deshpande of Maharashtra 490.9 picked the bronze. CISF added two more gold to their kitty today. In the 10 m air rifle (ISU) team event, CISF hoisted 1154 points to win a gold through Kuhali Gangulee-383 Anjali Ved Pathak-395 and Leena Shirodkar-376. The Army team with a total of 1144 points won the silver while Maharashtra collected 1134 points to win the bronze. India’s ace marksman, Jaspal Rana of CISF proved his supremacy in the 25 m centre fire pistol to shoot 581 for a gold. Banwarlal of Army with a score of 575 followed Rana while another Army Shooter Ved Parkash (574) finished third. Results 10 M Air Rifle (ISU) Junior Women: 1-Sabeeha Dhillon (Chd) 394, 2-Rajkumari (Infantry)-384, 3-Sunita Sanketh (Infantry) 381. 10 M Air Rifle (ISU) women: 1-Anjali Ved Pathak (CSIF) 497.2, 2-Sabeeha Dhillon (Chd) 495.8, 3-Deepali Deshpande (Mah) 490.9. 10 M Air Rifle (ISU) Team-1- CSIF 1154, 2-Army 1144, 3-Maharashtra 1134. 25 M Centre Fire Pistol ISSF (Men): 1-Jaspal Rana (CSIF) 581, 2-Bhanwar Lal (Army) 575. 3-Ved Parkash (Army) 574. 25 M Centre Fire Pistol (ISSF) Team: 1-Army 1701. 2-BSF 1698, 3-Navy-1688. 25 M Centre Pistol ISSF men: 1-Rajeev Sharma (Delhi) 559, 2-Parneet Kohli (Delhi) 553, 3-Harneet Jakhar (Punjab) 545. 25 M Centre Pistol ISSF
team-1- Delhi 1625, 2-Maharashtra 1604, 3-Punjab 1542. |
Incentives for athletes CHANDIGARH, Dec 11 — Athletes breaking national record during 15th Haryana State Sports Festival commencing at Bhiwani on December 16 will be given a cash prize of Rs 11000 each, a Haryana Olympic Association (HOA) Press note said here today. HOA President Abhey Singh Chautala, would release logo of the festival showing state bird, Kaala Titar at the flagging off ceremony of Olympic torch at Mata Mansa Devi shrine complex near here in Panchkula on December 13. The logo would have a moto of friendship and fraternity for ever, for all and sundry. Hundreds of school and college students would take part in the Olympic run from Mata Mansa Devi temple Shakti Bhawan, Sector 6 round-about in Panchkula. This event would coincide with the running of the Arjuna awardees carrying the Olympic torch. Mr Chautala would honour the Arjuna awardees from Haryana who brought laurels to the state in various disciplines. The Arjuna awardees, running with the prestigious Olympic torch would be covering a distance of about 300 km in three days to reach Bhiwani via Ambala, Karnal, Panipat, Rohtak. The Arjuna awardees to be honoured are Bhim Singh, Mehtab Singh, M.K. Kaushik and golden girl Anju Dua. Bhim Singh is the first
player from Haryanvi to register his name in the
international arena by winning gold in high jump during
the 1966 fifth Asian Games at Bangkok. |
H
PU Campus win In another matches, PU Campus beat Arya College, Ludhiana, 1-0 while DAV College, Chandigarh, defeated PU Campus, Chandigarh, 11-4. In the PU Inter College Volleyball (women) ‘B’ Division Tournament also being played here, Dev Samaj College of Education, Chandigarh, got the better of Dev Samaj College of Education, Ferozepore 3-0 while Government College, Karamsar, defeated Khalsa College, Garhdiwala by 3-2. Vaish College
win Batting first Ahir College, scored 113 runs in 38.5 overs. Pramod and Gajraj scored 24 and 19 runs, respectively. Ashwani Kumar was the most successful bowler as he dismissed four batsmen giving away only seven runs in five overs. Ashwani Kaushik took three wickets for 14 runs in eight overs. Vaish College achieved the target without losing any wicket. Manoj Yadav and skipper Dinesh Dalal played unbeaten knocks of 50 and 51 runs respectively. Sri Dashmesh
Academy meet concludes Mandeep Singh of Beas House was adjudged the best athlete in the subjunior section. Harpal Singh also from Beas House was declared the best athlete in the junior section while Baljinder Singh Satlej House emerged as the best athlete in the senior section. Earlier, Air Marshal Bedi, chief guest, formally declared the meet open. He also gave away the prizes at the concluding function. An 11-member team of sky drivers of the Indian Air Force also displayed skills. A colourful march-past was also held followed by a P.T. show. Team selection Punjabi varsity
win While the hosts collected 35 points, Panjab University were placed second with 20 points while Manipur University managed to garner 17 points. In the women’s
section Manipur University lifted the trophy in track
events collecting 35 points while Kerala University were
a distant second with 12 points and the hosts had to fat
humble pie as they barely managed to collect a total of 8
points to be placed third in the pecking order. |
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