Azhar mum on umpiring decision
CHRISTCHURCH, Jan 20 — "I can’t comment on it., but the less said the better," said Indian captain Mohd Azharuddin expressing his feelings without actually putting them in words when asked about the controversial Chris Cairns decision in the final one-day tie which India lost by 70 runs here yesterday.

Indian bowling leaves much to be desired
CHANDIGARH: What should be worrying the powers that be in Indian cricket is that the bowling strength of the national squad is much below par as far as international cricket is concerned.

Lankans worried over lack of form
COLOMBO, Jan 20 — Sri Lankans are worried about the poor form of the World Cup champions who have lost their last eight one-day internationals and are bottom of the table in the current tournament in Australia.

Lara wants to stay captain
CENTURION (South Africa), Jan 20 — Brian Lara has said he was disappointed at West Indies’ 5-0 whitewash at the hands of South Africa but ruled out relinquishing the captaincy.

Paes-Bhupathi duo top seeded
MELBOURNE, Jan 20 — It was kind of a historic moment in Indian tennis, with Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi being named top seeds for the doubles event of the Australian Open.

Ponting dropped after brawl
HOBART, Jan 20 — Ricky Ponting was dropped from the Australian limited-overs team today after he was involved in a fight outside a nightclub in Sydney’s red light district after a night of heavy drinking.

Srinath lone Indian survivor
AHMEDABAD, Jan 20 — Davis cupper Prahlad Srinath emerged the lone survivor as the other Indian Nitin Kirtane perished in the quarterfinals of the Goldflake Aces ITF Men’s Future at the AGETA courts here today.

Fleming not fully fit yet
CHRISTCHURCH (New Zealand), Jan 20 — New Zealand cricket captain Stephen Fleming could be missing from the early limited-overs internationals against South Africa next month due to a groin injury and operation.

Police meet results
JALANDHAR, Jan 20 — The 43rd Punjab Police Sports and Athletic Meet was inaugurated by the Director-General of Police Mr P.C. Dogra, at PAP grounds, here today.

FCI cricket tourney from today
CHANDIGARH, Jan 20 — Prominent Ranji Trophy players like Amarjeet Kaypee, Akash Malhotra, Pankaj Thakur, Kanwaljit Singh Aashish Winston Zaidi and Debang Gandhi are likely to participate in the 29th FCI Inter-Zonal Cricket Tournament scheduled to be played at various venues in Chandigarh and SAS Nagar from January 24 to 30.

Corretja knocked out by Ruud

MELBOURNE, Jan 20 (Reuters) — Norway’s Christian Ruud sprang the biggest surprise of an unremarkable career today to knock Spaniard Alex Corretja out of the Australian Open.

Ruud, without a tournament win in seven years as a professional, ambushed the world number three 3-6 6-3 6-4 6-4 in the second round on a windy outside court at Melbourne Park.

The loss of Corretja means the first Grand Slam tournament of 1999 has lost the top three men in the world after Pete Sampras’s decision to rest rather than travel to Melbourne and number two Marcelo Rios’s late withdrawal with a back injury.

Australian fourth seed Pat Rafter, the US Open champion, and British Hope Tim Henman are left to lead the charge in a tournament billed as the "most open open in years".

Sixth seed Henman almost suffered the same fate as Corretja against Australian Sandon Stolle, a player best known for his father Fred than for his own prowess on court.

Briton avoided the ignominy of a second round defeat, battling back to beat Stolle 4-6 7-5 4-6 6-1 6-4.

Big-serving Australian Mark Philippoussis saw off fading American Michael Chang, the 14th seed beating the 1989 French Open champion 7-6 2-6 6-3 5-7 7-5.

Corretja never looked comfortable against an aggressive Ruud, who was happy to rely on his whippy forehand and to stay well behind the baseline to take advantage of a swirling wind.

Ruud, (26) is better known on the lesser challenger circuit and has a string of Grand Slam first and second round exits next to his name stretching back to 1992.

Corretja’s loss was another blow for Spain, which sent an Armada of players to Melbourne and saw 10 of their best sink without trace on Tuesday.

"It was not that bad (for Spain)...It was terrible," Corretja said.

World number one Lindsay Davenport continued her commanding form to crush Argentinian Florencia Labat 6-2 6-1 while seeds Jana Novotna, Conchita Martinez, Dominique Van Roost and Natasha Zvereva also advanced to the third round.

Switzerland’s Patty Schnyder became the highest ranked woman to be knocked out of the tournament when the eighth seed was upset 6-7 (1-7) 6-4 6-3 by Frenchwoman Amelie Mauresmo.

The action on court was a welcome respite from the drugs drama off it and came just hours after the sport’s ruling body ITF, called a news conference to deny the sport had a major doping problem.

Leading officials roundly rejected former world number one Jim Courier’s startling claim that blood doping was widespread in tennis, and tried to hose down the drugs controversy surrounding defending open champion Petr Korda.

Korda was found guilty of taking a banned steroid at last year’s Wimbledon but escaped a mandatory one-year ban.

Seventh seed Karol Kucera’s progress to the third round was much less eventful, the Slovakian right-hander crushing Italy’s Davide Sanguinetti 7-5 6-1 6-4.

Germany’s Anke Huber, a 1996 Open finalist, was beaten 6-7 (7-9) 6-3 7-5 by Austrian baseliner Sylvia Plischke, while former teenage star Jennifer Capriati succumbed to Spain’s Maria Antonia Sanchez Lorenzo 7-6 (7-2) 6-2.

Hingis on road to Hollywood?

MELBOURNE, Jan 20 (AFP) — Martina Hingis says she and doubles partner Anna Kournikova could one day be movie stars, but before that happens there’s an Australian Open title to defend.

While the Russian pin-up struggled yesterday, the Hingis juggernaut continued towards its destination with a comfortable 6-1 6-2 win over America’s Lilla Osterloh.

"It was a good warm-up," said Hingis. "I could try a lot of things and I’m pretty happy about my game, the match."

It is well known that 17-year-old Kournikova loves the spotlight and has proved she has that star quality, but Hingis the girl with the infectious laugh?

Last year US men’s magazine GQ showed it thought she had what it took, making her the first female athlete to grace its cover.

"A movie, yeah," he said when questioned on the possibility.

"Anna spends more time with make-up and stuff and she likes doing that and I love photo shoots, it’s fun and a great job for her after tennis".

"Maybe a TV show. I mean who knows what will happen in the future. Everyone is already saying we’re the spice girls of tennis, like me Anna, the Williams (sisters)."

Hingis has already said she doesn’t want to be playing at Steffi Graf’s age, 29, and the pressure of international tennis started to take its toll last year.

Team to land at undisclosed destination

MUMBAI, Jan 20 (PTI) — The home bound Indian cricket team scheduled to reach here tomorrow from New Zealand would land at an undisclosed destination as a security measure for the players.

Cricket board’s executive secretary Sharad Diwadkar told PTI here today that the team was already in Hong Kong and would spend a day there before returning.

"The decision to divert the place of the team’s arrival was conveyed to me by board secretary J.Y. Lele but the exact destination has been kept a secret for security reasons", he added.

"I have also cancelled the hotel booking for the players here", said Mr Diwadkar who looked completely recovered from the shock of being man-handled by a group who ransacked the BCCI headquarters here on Monday.

Maharashtra’s Deputy Chief Minister Gopinath Munde, who also holds the Home portfolio had yesterday assured "full security" for the players, including Sachin Tendulkar and skipper Mohammed Azharuddin on their arrival here.

Mr Diwadkar said the decision to shift the BCCI headquarters from Mumbai to Calcutta had not been conveyed to him officially.

"I know that the decision was taken yesterday at Calcutta but I have not been told as yet to implement it. Being the executive secretary of the board I am the one who implements the shifting of the office", he added.

Azhar mum on umpiring decision

CHRISTCHURCH, Jan 20 (PTI) — "I can’t comment on it., but the less said the better," said Indian captain Mohd Azharuddin expressing his feelings without actually putting them in words when asked about the controversial Chris Cairns decision in the final one-day tie which India lost by 70 runs here yesterday.

Speaking to reporters after the five-match series ended 2-all with the Indian batting and bowling crumbling when it mattered, Azhar refused to lay the blame on anyone and declined to give his opinion on the appalling decision by New Zealand umpire Chris King which reprieved Cairns, then on 51, and enabled him to eventually blast 115 off 80 balls.

"Anyway, it is part of the game and I think Cairns played a tremendous innings," Azhar said and denied the Indians did not applaud when he reached his hundred upset by the umpiring decision. "I spoke to Cairns at the end of the game and praised his innings," the Indian skipper said.

About India’s batting collapse, Azhar replied. ‘To chase such a big total, you need wickets in hand. But we kept losing them regularly. Such totals are sometimes chased successfully and sometimes they are not.’

Cairns himself was diplomatic when asked about the appeal saying ‘I did not hear anything’ and said he did not notice that the Indians had not applauded. New Zealand’s Aussie coach, Steve Rixon, under fire for comments against the visitors, expressed surprise that he was even asked to give his views on the umpiring decision.

Indian coach Anshuman Gaekwad described the tour as a learning experience. "Keeping in mind the coming World Cup, the boys had a good experience of conditions here which would be useful to us."

The conditions here are expected to be that of the early part of the English summer. But India did not really end up with a satisfactory outing.

Rioxon said his team had a philosophy about batting in one-dayers and though they failed to cash in on the first 15 overs, they compensated for it in the slog overs.

"I have always believed if we can retain wickets then probably we are equal to any other team in the final 10 overs," Rixon said.

"I think we played as well as the Indians in the one-day series, if not better and there is a feeling in the team now that we can beat quality opposition," the former Aussie wicketkeeper who has done a good job to improve New Zealand’s performance since taking over, said.

Though captain Stephen Fleming and batsman Nathan Astle were out with injuries, their replacements Bryan Young and Roger Twose cashed in on the opportunity well, he added.

Man of the match, Chris Cairns, whose 75-ball hundred was the fifth fastest in one-dayers, said he had got out on 40’s twice trying to accelerate. "This time it clicked and I just kept going and going," he said.

Indian bowling leaves much to be desired
By Abhijit Chatterjee
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH: What should be worrying the powers that be in Indian cricket is that the bowling strength of the national squad is much below par as far as international cricket is concerned. And with so little time on hands for the World Cup in England in mid-May there can be marginal improvement, if any.

The Indian bowling looked woefully brittle and weak in the final one-day encounter against New Zealand at Christchurch where the home team after being reduced to 101 for three put up a total of 300 for eight wickets in their allotted 50 overs, piling up 122 runs in the last 10 overs of the innings. And this have been the pattern in most one-day matches that India have played in the recent past. Many a time after the top order had been sent back to the dressing room the opposition tail has wagged effectively with the Indian bowlers running out of steam and ideas.

Only Javagal Srinath and Anil Kumble (though he took some stick in the latter overs of the New Zealand innings on Tuesday) looked to be world class players. But the same cannot be said of the remaining bowlers. The Kanitkars and Robin Singhs are fine bowlers when it comes to domestic cricket but at the international level are treated with contempt, unable to have any impression on the opposition batsmen, even tailenders. For Robin Singh , in particular, the tour of New Zealand was not a great success. He had some brief moments with the bat but his efforts overall did not do Indian cricket much good.

However, Delhi off-spinner Nikhil Chopra did well on his first international tour. But the question which arises is what use will be an off-spinner in England, specially in the early part of the summer when even gripping the ball is difficult due to the cold conditions. In any case one does not visualise a major role for any spinner in the coming World Cup.

Over the past couple of years Indian cricket has depended a lot on the young (comparatively speaking) shoulders of Sachin Tendulkar. A thinking cricketer, it is Sachin alone, who time and again has fashioned an Indian victory where defeat stared in the face of the Indians, be it with the bat but, more important, with the ball.

But one man alone cannot take Indian cricket to the top of one-day cricket. The minor players also must have a role to play if India hope to do well in the World Cup.

It is in this context that one is forced to scan the list of players shortlisted by the national selectors of the Board of Control for Cricket in India for the World Cup. But with very little time left it is doubtful whether raw players like Delhi's Virinder Sehwag or Bengal's Laxmi Ratan Shukla can be groomed to become effective bowlers at the international level.

Let us admit facts. One can visualise very few changes from the squad which played in the one-day series in New Zealand. Therefore, it will be in the fitness of things if players like Saurav Ganguly, who does bowl fairly effectively in the shorter version of the game, or Ajay Jadeja, who once used to bowl quite effectively at the domestic level, is given extended bowling in the one-dayers which India will play against Pakistan and Sri Lanka in March next. If these players can send down even five tight overs each the pressure on bowlers like Srinath or Kumble will be all the less.

Also, the selectors should try the players on the fringe of national selection in the triangular series , giving some well deserved rest to the frontline bowlers, who in any case have played far too much cricket in the recent past.

The aim of the Indian board, like all other cricket boards around the world, should be to do well in World Cup. And for that a lot of experimentation and also use of the right man for the right job (horses for the course) is needed if India hope to do well in England this coming summer.

Lankans worried over lack of form

COLOMBO, Jan 20 (Reuters) — Sri Lankans are worried about the poor form of the World Cup champions who have lost their last eight one-day internationals and are bottom of the table in the current tournament in Australia.

"We are very concerned, very worried and have been discussing the matter closely with the coach and tour management to see how soon we can rectify the situation," Thilanga Sumathipala, president of the Board on Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka, told Reuters.

England beat Sri Lanka by seven wickets in Melbourne on Tuesday, the third straight defeat for the world champions in the triangular series which also includes Australia.

"We cannot afford to go on like this, we feel something has to be done and are working towards it," Sumathipala said, adding that Sri Lanka still had a chance of qualifying for the finals with seven more matches to be played.

The board president said Sri Lanka had been badly affected by the absence of leading batsman Aravinda De Silva due to injury and poor of form by other key players.

But others said the problems ran deeper for Sri Lanka, who beat Australia in the 1996 final to win the World Cup.

"I think part of the problem is that they have been playing with the same team since the World Cup and three to four years down the line the players are not as agile as they were," said Michael Tissera, a former captain and vice-president of the board.

"Our fielding is letting us down badly and in particular in the one-day games this matters," he said.

The mantle of World Cup champions has put pressure on the team who have also been badly affected by the failure of their pinch-hitters in the first 15 overs.

"When this strategy does not work our batsmen have been unable to adjust and push singles," said Tissera.

Somasundaran Skandakumar, a former cricket board secretary said Sri Lanka need to rethink that strategy since other sides in particular South Africa, had been able to contain them well.

Sri Lanka’s success in the World Cup was partly credited to their coach, former Australian Test player Dan Whatmore, who was replaced shortly after the tournament by another Australian, Bruce Yardley.

Yardley resigned last May and since then local coaches and managers have run the team, who last tasted success during a 1998 tour to England when they won a one-off test and later a triangular one-day series that also included South Africa.

But since then little has gone right for Sri Lanka.

"The absence of a foreign coach is being felt... when it comes to mental toughness what is required could be a foreign coach," said Skandakumar.

"The killer instinct is not there. Sri Lanka have not only lost the spring in their step, but also spring in their blade.

Tissera said he did not believe Sri Lanka could rediscover their form in time to defend the World Cup title successfully in May in England.

"There is not enough time. We cannot bring in new people who have not had exposure. Best bet is to work with what we have got."

But Sumathipala was still optimistic.

"If everyone can play to their potential, we have a winning team. Any bad side can be converted to a good side if they fight back. We have the ability to do that," he said.

In Australia, Sri Lankan captain Arjuna Ranatunga said he was very disappointed with the behaviour of local crowds who were heckling off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan each time he bowled.

Muralitharan’s unusual action caused Australian umpire Darrell Hair to no-ball him during a Test match in 1995.

Although his action was subsequently cleared by the International Cricket Council, Australian crowds shout out "no ball" each time he bowls and Ranatunga said this had affected Muralitharan.

"I’m disappointed with the public. Really, really disappointed," Ranatunga said. "Something is wrong somewhere. It isn’t the way to treat a sportsman."

Lara wants to stay captain

CENTURION (South Africa), Jan 20 (Reuters) — Brian Lara has said he was disappointed at West Indies’ 5-0 whitewash at the hands of South Africa but ruled out relinquishing the captaincy.

South Africa won the fifth Test by a massive 351 runs at Centurion Park on Monday to inflict the first whitewash on the West Indies.

"The performances by our team were way below par," Lara said. "We were totally destroyed by a much better team in all departments."

However, Lara said he was still acquiring the skills and experience of Test captaincy and did not think he should resign. "I’m a learning captain. This is my first overseas tour and as I told Hansie Cronje it has not been a pleasure but it has been a great learning experience."

Asked if he still wanted to lead the West Indies, Lara replied: "It is not a case of wanting to captain the West Indies. It is a duty and an honour."

Lara felt the drubbing was the end result of several years of poor performances. "West Indies cricket has been in decline for a few years. And this is the end result of it. We need to look at our cricket back home and see how we can improve it."

Lara implied there was truth in the rumours during the tour that rifts had developed in the squad when he said: "The unity needs to be much better. As a team I would prefer to have guys tight together off the field and things would then work much better on it."

South African captain Hansie Cronje said his team’s emphatic victory had been a long time in the making.

"This started in the Commonwealth Games in September last year. The guys going over there with a sub-standard team and beating Australia. Then winning the mini World Cup in Bangladesh without two or three of the stars," Cronje said.

"Then we came into the Test series with clear ideas of what we wanted to do."

Losing the Test series 2-1 in England in the southern winter was also a factor.

"To come out and win this series 5-0 after the disappointment of losing in England makes me extremely proud to be part of this side," Cronje said.

Paes-Bhupathi duo top seeded

MELBOURNE, Jan 20 (UNI) — It was kind of a historic moment in Indian tennis, with Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi being named top seeds for the doubles event of the Australian Open.

It may have been the first time any Indian has got that honour — top seeds in a grand slam — but it didn’t cut much ice with the players themselves.

"So we’re No 1. We expected it but we are on a 0-4 losing streak at the moment. It will be nice to get a match under our belt."

That was the reaction of Bhupathi when asked what it meant for him and Paes to be the No 1 doubles team in the world and ranked the top seeds at a grand slam event.

The matter-of-fact response could be explained by the fact that the Indians, ranked No 2 in 1998, stepped into the No 1 slot because last year’s top pair, Dutchmen Jacco Eltingh and Paul Haarhuis, have disbanded — Eltingh has decided to quit competitive tennis.

But Bhupathi and Paes were not matter-of-fact about their approach to their first-round match, against another pair of Dutchmen, Edwin Kempes and Peter Wessels, to be played most likely on Thursday.

They were at work on the practice courts, about a 15-minute drive away from the main stadium, for nearly two hours in the afternoon, with Americans Michael Sell and Dave Di Lucia as their practice partners.

Paes and Bhupathi have not won a doubles match since their semi-final loss in the Stockholm Open in November. They lost both their matches in the World Doubles Championships and then lost their first-round match at the Qatar Open in Doha.

But then, both Indians were not at their physical best. Paes was coming off his long break while Bhupathi had the exhausting run from the Asian Cup in November to the Bangkok Asian Games, where he played in four events.

Bhupathi seemed relaxed, at the same eager and sharp. "A week off has done him good," said Bhupathi’s coach Enrico Piperno.

He’s also been having drills every day since we got here (on Saturday).

Paes too looked better physically than during his singles match against Sanguinetti. "My heel doesn’t hurt so much but my stomach’s still sore," he said after practice.

NEW DELHI (PTI): Tennis ace Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi will lead the Indian challenge at the Asia-Oceania Group-I first round Davis Cup tie against South Korea in Chejun from February 19 to 21.

Paes and Bhupathi pair, will have India number three Prahlad Srinath and upcoming Syed Fazaluddin as other teammates for the crucial tie against the formidable Asian Games champions Korea in the zonal round in which they find themselves after three years.

Top junior Vijay Kannan was named reserve for the tie.

Ponting dropped after brawl

HOBART, Jan 20 (Reuters) — Ricky Ponting was dropped from the Australian limited-overs team today after he was involved in a fight outside a nightclub in Sydney’s red light district after a night of heavy drinking.

Australian Cricket Board (ACB) chief executive Mal Speed told a news conference Ponting had been dropped for tomorrow’s tri-series match against Sri Lanka.

Mr Speed said he expected Ponting would be charged with breaching ACB’s code of conduct for players.

Ponting, sporting a black eye, told the conference that the incident happened outside a popular nightclub in the Sydney suburb of Kings Cross on Monday night, but said he had no recollection of it.

He said he had been drinking heavily and the first thing he remembered was waking up in the team hotel.

"I have to admit to myself that I have a problem with alcohol at times and I intend to overcome this problem," he said.

Ponting, considered one of the brightest young prospects in the game, has been widely tipped as a future Australian captain but his feats with the bat have been partly overshadowed by several off-field incidents.

He was fined by the Australian management after a fracas at a nightclub in India last year.

Srinath lone Indian survivor

AHMEDABAD, Jan 20 (PTI) — Davis cupper Prahlad Srinath emerged the lone survivor as the other Indian Nitin Kirtane perished in the quarterfinals of the Goldflake Aces ITF Men’s Future at the AGETA courts here today.

Fourth seed Srinath had to give out his best against unseeded Jacolin Roubichaud of Canada who managed to fully extend Srinath.

Srinath, making his moves from the baseline, managed to keep his rival pinned there for most part of the match but could not stop him from breaking him twice.

Srinath, who gave a vastly improved performance than what he gave yesterday against Vinod Sridhar in the pre-quarter finals, managed to get his first serve going and some of his shots down the line were a real treat to watch.

Though he raised his game a notch above his rival and managed to win the first set at 6-4, he somehow could not sustain the tempo in the second set as he literally caved in after his Canadian rival completely dominated the proceedings, winning the second set without conceding a game.

However in the final set, Srinath bounced back into reckoning with some superb backhand returns and slow second serves that upset the Canadian’s rhythm.

The fleet-footed Canadian found himself at the receiving end but played with great tenacity till 4-4. Thereafter Srinath managed to wrap up the match with a 6-4 scoreline.

In the other quarterfinals, unseeded southpaw Nitin Kirtane, who had made it a habit to wriggle out of tight spots, could not give an encore against top seeded Filippo Messori of Italy.

Messori, who did not show the class of a top seed and played well only in patches, managed to score points in the crunch situations.

The southpaw Indian could not raise his game and there were just flashes of brilliance at times. The Italian won with an identical score of 6-3, 6-3 in about 90 minutes.

Seventh seeded Jonathan Elrich of Israel defeated Martin Hromec of Slovakia in a battle that lasted for a little over two hours. Hromec won the first set at 7-6, but lost the second at 4-6 and came back with vengeance winning the match with a 6-2 verdict.

Third seeded Boris Borgula of Slovakia cut short his rival from Thailand Danai Udomchoke’s run of success with a straight 6-3, 6-4 victory. Eighth seeded Amir Hadad of Israel also did not have to sweat much against his Swedish rival Simon Aspelin as he posted a straight 6-3-6-2 win in about 70 minutes.

Fifth seeded Michel Kratochvil of Switzerland was just too good for Canadian Simon Larose as he cut him to size with a straight 6-0, 6-4 victory.

Kratochvil took things easy in the second set after winning the first 6-0 and allowed his rival to claw back to a fighting score of winning four games.

Pakistani challenger Aisam Qureshi also made his exit against a fired up Scott Barron of Ireland. Qureshi gave away too many negative points and seemed to have lost interest in the match as nothing seemed to go right for him. Barron won with an identical scoreline of 6-4, 6-4.

Results (all quarter-finals): Kratochvil bt Larose 6-0, 6-4, Prahlad Srinath bt Roubichoud 6-4, 0-6, 6-4, Kaskak bt Kaufmann 6-1, 6-2, Elrich bt Hromec 7-6, 4-6, 6-2, Borgula bt Udomchoke 6-3, 6-4, Hadad bt Aspelin 6-3, 6-2, Messori bt Nitin Kirtane 6-3, 6-3, Barron bt Qureshi 6-4, 6-4.

Fleming not fully fit yet

CHRISTCHURCH (New Zealand), Jan 20 (AP) — New Zealand cricket captain Stephen Fleming could be missing from the early limited-overs internationals against South Africa next month due to a groin injury and operation.

Fleming suffered the injury during the opening one-dayer against India in Taupo on January 9 and has been sidelined since. He is expected to be out of action for four to six weeks.

Team officials said on Wednesday he is likely to miss the first three one-dayers against South Africa on February 14, 17 and 20. Fleming is also in doubt for the first Test at Auckland from February 27 to March 3.

In Fleming's absence, allrounder Dion Nash led the New Zealand team to a 2-2 one-day series draw against India.

Police meet results
Tribune News Service

JALANDHAR, Jan 20 — The 43rd Punjab Police Sports and Athletic Meet was inaugurated by the Director-General of Police Mr P.C. Dogra, at PAP grounds, here today.

The teams participating are Border Range, Ludhiana Range, Patiala Range, Ferozepur Range, Combined Range, Jalandhar Range, Faridkot Range and PAP Range.

Todays results:
Hockey: Jalandhar Ferozepur 6-0; PAP w/o Combined Range; Patiala Faridkot 3-0, Border drew with Ludhiana 3-3.

Volleyball: Ferozepur Ludhiana 15-9, 15-4. Final— Jalandhar PAP 8-15, 11-15, 16-14, 15-13, 15-11.

Kabaddi: Patiala Faridkot, PAP Jalandhar, Border Combined Range.

Football: PAP Faridkot 3-0, Jalandhar drew with Patiala 1-1, Ludhiana Combined 6-2, Border Ferozepur 9-0

Wrestling (second round):
63 kg free style (G/A) — Kuldip Singh (Jal) b Rajinder Singh (Jal) on points; Surinder Singh (Ptl) b Milkh Raj (Fdk) by fall, 63 kg (G/B) — Jazz Singh (Border) b Jajjan Singh (PAP) on points, Milkh Raj (Fdk) b Rajinder Singh (Jal) on points. 63 kg greco roman (G/A) — Sukhdeep Singh (Fdk) b Hardev Singh (Border) on points, Gurinderjit Singh (PAP) b Raj Kumar (Ptl) by technical fall, 76 kg free style (G/A) — Surinder Singh (Ptl) beat Ravinder Singh (PAP) on points, Paramjit Singh (PAP) b Ajay Pathak (Ldh) on points, 76 KG greco roman (G/A) Sushil Kumar (Jal) beat Balwinder Singh (PAP) by fall, 97 KG free style (G/A) — Harpal Singh (Ldh) w/o Gurjit Singh (Ptl). Lehmber Singh (Jal) w/o Dev Sharan (Border).

FCI cricket tourney from today
Tribune News Editor

CHANDIGARH, Jan 20 (TNS) — Prominent Ranji Trophy players like Amarjeet Kaypee, Akash Malhotra, Pankaj Thakur, Kanwaljit Singh Aashish Winston Zaidi and Debang Gandhi are likely to participate in the 29th FCI Inter-Zonal Cricket Tournament scheduled to be played at various venues in Chandigarh and SAS Nagar from January 24 to 30. This was stated by Mr D.P. Reddy, Senior Regional Manager, FCI, Punjab Region, here today.

Six teams representing the NEF, North Zone, East Zone, West Zone, South Zone and the FCI headquarters will participate in the tournament being organised by the Regional Sports Promotion Committee, FCI, Punjab Region, Chandigarh.

Last year's winners East Zone will be the defending champions. The matches will be played at the PCA Stadium, SAS Nagar; Sector 16 Cricket Stadium, police lines, Sector 26; and Gursagar Stadium on league basis and each side will be allotted 40 overs. On the basis of the performance during the tournament an all-India team will be selected.

Mr N. Narsimhan, Chairman, FCI, will inaugurate the tournament at the PCA Stadium at 9 am on January 24.

The following is the schedule of matches:

January 24: North v/s South at PCA Mohali North East v/s West at police lines sector 26, Chandigarh East v/s Hqrs at Sector 16 stadium, Chandigarh.

January 25: South v/s West at PCA Mohali, Hqrs v/s North East Sector 16 stadium.

January 26: East v/s North East at police lines sector 26; North v/s West at sector 16 stadium.

January 27: East v/s South at Gursagar near Sukhna Lake, North v/s Hqrs at Sector 16 stadium.

January 28: Hqrs v/s South at sector 16 stadium, East v/s West Gursagar, near Sukhna Lake, North v/s North East Police Lines, Sector 26.

January 29: North East v/s South at Sector 16 stadium, Hqrs v/s West at PCA Mohali.

January 30: North v/s East at PCA Mohali.

Shooting squad

CHANDIGARH, Jan 20 (BOSR) — The Chandigarh Rifle Association has selected the following shooters in men and women sections to represent the UT in the 42nd National Shooting championship to be held at Bangalore from January 21 to February 4.

The team: Men: Parminder Singh, Jaswinder Singh, Anand Mehta, Holinder Singh, Pavitar Singh.

Women: Gurdarshan Kaur, Tripta Kumari, Raj Bala, Tamanna, Aarti Mehta.

Mr Manjit Singh will be the coach while Mr Daleep S. Chandel and Ms Ranjit Mehta will be the managers of the team.

Weightlifting trials

CHANDIGARH, Jan 20 (BOSR) — The Punjab state weightlifting trials for senior men and women will be held at NIS Patiala on January 25. The selected players will take part in the Fifth National Games scheduled to be held at Imphal (Manipur) from February 14. The competitors must bring with them three passport size photographs.

Cricket meet

SHIMLA, Jan 20 (TNS) — Thirty teams from four districts of Himachal Pradesh will participate in the sixth Ravindra Memorial Cricket Tournament which begins at Junga, near here, on January 28.

Mr Mahesh Sharma, organiser of the tournament, said that a cash prize of Rs 5000 and a silver trophy would be given to the winners and a cash prize of Rs 2000 and a trophy to the runners-up.

Jalandhar kho-kho

JALANDHAR, Jan 20 (FOSR) — Kanya Maha Vidyalya won the District Kho-Kho championship here yesterday.

KMV beat Government Girls School Jhandyala by 8-1 in the women's final. In the men's section Government Senior Secondary School, Partapur, stole the honours by defeating DAV Senior Secondary School 6-2.

Give more SPDA hockey centres to north: Saini

ROPAR, Jan 20 (FOC) — Hailing the reallotment of "Centre of Excellence", of Hockey to Patiala, the selector of the Junior national hockey team and Secretary of local Hawks Club, Mr S.S. Saini, has demanded more "S.P.D.A. hockey centres" for the northern region of the country as the players of Punjab and adjoining states find themselves unfit in the centres, situated in the Southern and Eastern parts of the country because of different cultures, languages, food habits and environmental conditions.

At present, there are two SPDA hockey centres at Patiala and Kurukshetra in the northern region, while in the southern and eastern parts, there are 12 and six centres, respectively.