Sarabjit hat-tricks in Punjab's crushing win
HYDERABAD, March 10 — International Sarabjit Singh of Punjab scored the first hat-trick of the 59th Senior National Hockey Championship, which began here today, as his team crushed Rajasthan 18-0 in a group-A league tie.

Lewis "searching for respect"
NEW YORK, March 10 — Britain’s Lennox Lewis will decide his place in boxing history here on Saturday, becoming either the undisputed world heavyweight champion or being tagged only a pretender to the throne.

East Bengal prevail over Bagan
CALCUTTA, March 10 — Formidable East Bengal displayed awesome superiority to prevail over arch-rivals Mohun Bagan 2-0 in a second leg match of the National Football League super division at the Salt Lake Stadium here today.

Sachin follows Chadha’s advice
CHANDIGARH, March 10 — It was on the advice of the Indian team doctor-cum-physio, Dr Ravinder Chadha, that Sachin Tendulkar has gone to London to seek a second opinion for his troublesome back.

Chandigarh, Delhi eves in quarters
ROPAR, March 10 — Punjab, Chandigarh, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, West Bengal and Kerala this evening sailed into the quarterfinals in the 27th Senior Women National Handball Championship, being played at the local Nehru Stadium.

Fans await Pak-Sri Lanka final
DHAKA, March 10 — Thousands of Bangladeshi cricket fans queued up today for tickets for the Asian Test Championship final starting here on Friday.

Sachin may miss some matches
MUMBAI, March 10 — India’s batting mainstay Sachin Tendulkar might miss a few matches in the forthcoming limited overs triangular series on his return from London because of his back problem which needed rest, President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, Mr Raj Singh Dungarpur, said here today.

Thipsay emerges sole leader
MUMBAI, March 10 — Grand master Praveen Thipsay of India defeated Bangladesh’s Enamul Hussian to emerge sole leader after the fourth round while Bhagyashree Thipsay leads the women’s section of Datamatics Asian Zonal Chess Championship here today.

Kafelnikov, Rafter upset; Graf triumphs
INDIAN WELLS, March 10 — A day before world number one Pete Sampras was scheduled for his first match at the $ 2.2 million Newsweek Champions Cup in Indian Wells, two of the four contenders who had a chance at knocking him off his perch lost their opening matches.

Dungarpur hits out at Sarfraz
MUMBAI, March 10 — The President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, Mr Raj Singh Dungarpur, today pooh-poohed the allegations of Pakistan's former pace bowler Sarfraz Nawaz that former Indian skipper Sunil Gavaskar was involved in match-fixing during the Mumbai Test of the 1979-80 series between the two countries.

Sarabjit hat-tricks in Punjab's crushing win

HYDERABAD, March 10 (PTI) — International Sarabjit Singh of Punjab scored the first hat-trick of the 59th Senior National Hockey Championship, which began here today, as his team crushed Rajasthan 18-0 in a group-A league tie.

Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) shared points with Uttar Pradesh after their group-B league tie ended in a goalless draw, while Food Corporation of India (FCI) thrashed Vidarbha 9-0 in their group-C league encounter.

National Games champions Punjab dominated the proceedings from the start with their forwards Harinder Singh, Gursewak Singh and Sarabjit Singh playing in tandem and breaching the Rajasthan defence with ease.

Punjab opened their account in the sixth minute through Sarabjit Singh off a pass from Gursewak Singh. Soon after, the Punjab forwards went on a rampage, scoring at will.

Sarabjit scored his second goal in the ninth minute with a solo effort. The Punjab forward slammed in three more goals in a row in the 46th, 53rd and 57th minutes to score the hat-trick after the teams changed over with Punjab leading 9-0.

FCI, with a few national and internationals in its ranks, blanked out Vidarbha 9-0. FCI played a fast faced game with some crisp passes which caught the Vidarbha boys on the wrong foot.

In the first half, both sides came up with a couple of good moves but FCI drew first blood through Navbir Singh, who found the target on the rebound of Vidarbha custodian Mohammed Shamim.

They scored their second goal through a penalty corner from left-half J. Kiro in the 26th minute to increase the tally to 2-0 at lemon time.

On change of ends, FCI, who made quick substitutions, pumped in seven more goals.

In an evenly contested group-B league tie, CSIF played well to split points with Uttar Pradesh.

U.P. Played a calculated game and thwarted the efforts of the CISF forwards with their defenders Jasbir Singh and Sunil Yadav doing excellent work.

Results: Group-A: Punjab 18 (Sarabjit Singh 9, Jaskaran Singh 1, Harinder Singh 5, Manpreet Singh 1, Gursewak Singh 2) beat Rajasthan 0.

Group-B: CISF 0 drew with Uttar Pradesh 0.

Group-C: FCI 9 (Gurmet 4, Navbir Singh 1, Kiro 1, Priyo 1, Sudhir 2) beat Vidarbha 0.

Indian Railways after initial hiccups outplayed Bihar 5-1.

In the group ‘B’ encounters, Indian Post and Telegraph (IPS) defeated Gujarat 4-2 after leading 2-1 at the breather.

Youthful Railway players, who are mostly the second string of the Indian squad, outplayed their rivals Bihar in all departments of the game despite conceding an early lead. Lowly placed Bihar shot into the lead in the 17th minute through a field goal scored by J. Jojo off a Philip Horo pass.

Stung by the reverses, Railway players re-grouped and intensified their attack after their coach Balwinder Singh made a couple of substitutions.

This ploy paid rich dividends with Railways getting the equaliser in the 31st minute when Brijnev’s long pass into the circle was well deflected into the cage by an agile Ajinderpal Singh.

Railways took the lead in the 37th minute following a penalty corner. Brijnev managed to deflect the ball into the net off Sunil’s shot.

Soon after, Railways, consolidated their position with a gem of a goal. Brijnev moved close to the cage, after dribbling past two Bihar defenders, and sent a grounder to Chanderpal who hood-winked Bihar custodian Nadeemuddin and scored.

Railways skipper Ekka’s reverse flick produced the fourth goal for the winners with Nadeemuddin rooted to the ground.

Soon after, Nausheer rounded off the tally when he scooped home a Lalit pass after Suleman and Mukthiar had initiated the move from the centre line.

Lewis "searching for respect"

NEW YORK, March 10 (AFP) — Britain’s Lennox Lewis will decide his place in boxing history here on Saturday, becoming either the undisputed world heavyweight champion or being tagged only a pretender to the throne.

World Boxing Council champion Lewis faces World Boxing Association and International Boxing Federation champion Evander Holyfield to reunify the heavyweight crowns, not held by one man since December 1992.

Lewis never fought Mike Tyson, George Foreman or Riddick Bowe in the pro ranks and had to convince rival promoters to work together to obtain a date with Holyfield. His 34-1 career has all been a prelude to Saturday.

"People have had a problem with me because they have never seen me against people they felt were great boxers," Lewis said. "The sacrifice can’t be too much for this fight because of the magnitude of this fight.

"This is going to be a defining fight for Lennox Lewis."

Epic fights are nothing new at Madison Square garden. Yesterday marked exactly 28 years since Joe Frazier won a 15-round decision over Muhammad Ali for the heavyweight crown in a legendary bout.

The long-awaited Lewis-Holyfield matchup likely will not attain that lofty level. But it could secure Tyson-conqueror Holyfield a place in boxing annals or signal the zenith of Lewis’ reign.

"This fight is do or die for Lennox Lewis," said Emanual Steward. Who trains Lewis. "His entire career hinges on this fight. What he does or doesn’t do will determine his spot in history."

"If he fails to win, he will go down in history as some big British kid with dreadlocks who won the championship a couple of times without fighting a real champion and when it came to the first real test he collapsed."

The last heavyweight unification bout came in 1987, when Mike Tyson won a unanimous decision over Tony Tucker. The crown passed to Buster Douglas and Holyfield in 1990 and then to Bowe in November 1992.

One month later, Bowe dropped the WBC belt in a trash can rather than face mandatory challenger Lewis, who beat Bowe in the 1988 Olympic super-heavyweight final. The crown has been divided ever since.

Holyfield, 36-3, with 25 knockouts, predicted a third-round knockout of the larger Lewis, who at 33 is also three years younger than Holyfield.

"I know I will win this fight," Holyfield said. "I’m going to blow him out in the third round. If I blow him in the third round, it’s because god wants me to — and I will blow him out."

Lewis called Holyfield a hypocrite for his devout behaviour in the wake of an admission of fathering several children with women other than his wife. He also scoffed at the third-round knockout prediction.

"I fail to see the realism in that," Lewis said. "Evander Holyfield has never knocked anyone out in three rounds in his whole career. Me being his toughest opponent I don’t see the realism in that at all."

Actually, Holyfield has stopped 10 foes in three rounds or less.

Holyfield has also signed a $ 20 million deal for the unification bout — twice what Lewis will make. Such snubs inspire Lewis.

"I’m searching for respect in boxing because I’m not getting enough," Lewis said. "For them to assassinate my character, it drives me to win to prove them wrong."

Lewis, a Jamaican-born former Canadian, plans to take the fight to Holyfield form the start after watching hours of videotape of his rival.

East Bengal prevail over Bagan

CALCUTTA, March 10 (PTI) — Formidable East Bengal displayed awesome superiority to prevail over arch-rivals Mohun Bagan 2-0 in a second leg match of the National Football League super division at the Salt Lake Stadium here today.

The winners dominated throughout the encounter, striking once in each half to move up to third position after the Goan outfits — Salgaocar Sports Club and Churchill Brothers.

Dipendu Biswas executed a sharp header to put East Bengal ahead in the 32nd minute, while Carlton Chapman sealed Bagan’s fate with a grounder in the 63rd minute.

The two Ghanaians — medio Emmanuel Opoku and right back Suley Musah — played stellar roles in East Bengal’s victory, with the former time and again rattling the Bagan citadel with sudden power-packed long-rangers.

Musah, on the other hand, repeatedly overlapped down the right, essaying centres which created panic among the opponent defenders.

But the creative fulcrum in the winners’ midfield was Chapman, who constantly fed the forwards with measured passes.

Such was East Bengal’s domination that the absence of ace-striker Baichung Bhutia, yet to return from his England trip, was not felt.

But Bagan dearly missed the injured Chima Okerie, as I.M. Vijayan looked off-colour due to lack of midfield support.

P.K. Banerjee’s gamble of fielding Adebayo Gbadebo as a stopper along with Samuel Omollo also came a cropper since the two displayed a pathetic lack of understanding.

East Bengal now have nine points from six matches, while Bagan have five from six outings.

East Bengal’s opening goal followed sustained pressure on the rival citadel for over half an hour. Chapman sent a floater from the right into the six yard box for Dipendu, who headed in perfectly.

The victors, however, could have shot into the lead earlier in the match, but for Bagan custodian V.N. Dinesh, who fisted over a Musah attempt in the 12th minute.

East Bengal got another chance on the stroke of halftime. The Bagan defenders, in their bid to lay an offside trap created trouble for themselves as Raman Vijayan seized the opportunity to enter the box, but then clashed with Dinesh, and the chance went abegging.

Three minutes into the second session, Vijayan moved up, played a wall with Chapman, and then took a booming shot which hit the side net.

The Bagan defenders again tried an offside trap in the 56th minute, and a stray ball came to Suley Musah on the right. The Ghanaian dribbled past Jo Paul Ancheri, and sent a minus for Opoku, whose snap shot hit the post.

The East Bengal onslaught continued, and a minute later, a long ranger by Opoku following Basudeb Mondal’s flag kick which was fisted over the bar by Dinesh.

East Bengal consolidated their position a little later, also in a Basudeb pass, Chapman controlled the ball well, advanced a few steps, and then unleashed a snap right footer which entered the corner of the net only to the right of Dinesh.

Sachin follows Chadha’s advice
By Abhijit Chatterjee
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, March 10 — It was on the advice of the Indian team doctor-cum-physio, Dr Ravinder Chadha, that Sachin Tendulkar has gone to London to seek a second opinion for his troublesome back. In London, Sachin Tendulkar will consult Dr Phillips who has treated Australian players like Ian Chappell and his brother Greg Chappell.

It was in the Chennai Test between India and Pakistan, the first match of the "Friendship Series", that Sachin Tendulkar suffered a back problem while batting in the India second innings which inhibited free movement while the Indian super star was slowly and tactfully taking his team towards a possible victory.

It was probably due to this back problem that Sachin, in spite of scoring a century, was unable to take India to a win. Instead, India fell short by a very slender margin. After India lost the match Sachin not only had muscular spasms but also suffered a mental depression which further aggravated his problems.

Dr Chadha said due to the extreme heat in Chennai Sachin also suffered from fatigue and dehydration. This also aggravated the pain in the back bone-hip bone region. Also, the star batsman suffered from stiffness of the body.

When the Indian team reached Delhi for the second Test against Pakistan, Sachin was taken to the Ganga Ram Hospital where the head of Orthopedic Department, Dr S.P. Mondol, examined him. Also an MRI test was conducted at the hospital. The test, however, showed no abnormalities.

At the Ganga Ram Hospital the doctor prescribed analgesic and anti-inflammatory drugs. Also, ultrasound treatment and trigger point laser treatment was suggested. All this treatment was carried out under the direct supervision of Dr Chadha himself. Dr Mondol also prescribed deep friction massage and TENS treatment, which was duly done. Sachin was also advised by Dr Chadha, who was also present while Dr Mondol conducted all the tests, to shed some weight because, of late, Sachin has shown a tendency to put on weight.

In such back pain problems, according to doctors, patients are advised to take complete rest. In Sachin's case, however, this was not possible since India were involved in a series against Pakistan, who were visiting the country after a gap of over 13 years.

As an added precaution in the Delhi Test Sachin wore a orthopedic belt to protect his back. All this, according to Dr Chadha, helped Sachin to play even when the weather conditions in Delhi was much colder than normal. Not only that. In Calcutta Sachin showed no signs of the back problem in the first match of the Asian Test Cricket Championship, also against in Pakistan.

However, in spite of all the prescribed treatment the problem resurfaced again at Colombo where India played Sri Lanka in the second match of the championship. In the Test not only did Sachin field the whole day but he also sent down a couple of overs. But when he was batting he again complained of the problems he had had at Chennai. At Colombo too sachin scored a century after playing a long innings.

It was at this stage that Dr Chadha suggested that Sachin should seek some expert advice from abroad. This is why Sachin has gone to London to consult Dr Kennedy. However, the Indian team doctor was of the firm view that Sachin would be fully fit for the World Cup in May although he might miss a few matches of the triangular series involving India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka commencing later this month.

Chandigarh, Delhi eves in quarters
From Sushil Goyal
Tribune News Service

ROPAR, March 10 — Punjab, Chandigarh, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh (UP), Madhya Pradesh (MP), Maharashtra, West Bengal and Kerala this evening sailed into the quarterfinals in the 27th Senior Women National Handball Championship, being played at the local Nehru Stadium.

In a one-sided match, Punjab trounced Andhra Pradesh 26-4. At the interval, the score was 13-3 in favour of Punjab. The Punjab team dominated throughout, especially in the second half as the AP team could only add one goal, Punjab team added 13 goal repeating its first half performance.

Gurpreet Kaur of Punjab was the star attraction in the match as she alone put the ball into the net 19 times while Ranjit Kaur did this thrice. From the AP side, P. Anjali and G. Saraswati scored two goals each for their team.

The match between Maharashtra and Jammu and Kashmir also proved one sided in which former won 16-3. At the breather, the score was 8-0 in favour of Maharashtra. In the first half, Maharashtra women scored whenever they got a chance. While in the second half, the J&K team made some good moves and got success in scoring three goals.

Jai Shree Naik of the Maharashtra remained top scorer with four goals while Mukta scored thrice. Nisha and Kalyani scored two goals each. Chitra, Manisha, Ashwani, Sujata and Rubina scored one goal each. For the J&K team, Sarbjit Kaur, Atula and Shivani scored one goal each.

In a well contested match, MP and Uttar Pradesh scored eight goals against each other as the match ended in a draw. At the interval, MP was leading 4-3. In the second half, the UP players proved supremacy over their rival team and drew the match by scoring five goals, against the four by MP.

Neeta of the MP put the ball into the goal post for four times while Moti did the same twice. The UP players Seema, Sushila Rana and Anuradha scored two goals each.

In another match, Kerala thrashed Haryana 20-3. The half time score was 13-1 in favour of Kerala. The Kerala team proved itself superiority. In the first half, it was almost a one-sided match while after interval the Haryana team opposed Kerala team all the way.

Sree Devi of Kerala scored eight goals while Usha Nandini put the ball into the net thrice. For Haryana, Mukesh scored all the three goals for her team.

In a match, Maharashtra defeated Delhi by a big margin of 10 goal the final score being 14-4. In the second half, the Delhi team could not do much except scoring one goal. Maharashtra added four goals in its first half total.

Chitra and Vandana of Maharashtra scored three goals each while Jawla, Mukta, Jai Shree and Kalyani scored two goals each. Suma of Delhi scored two goals against the Maharashtra.

In another match, played between Kerala and West Bengal, the former thrashed the later 30-3.

Fans await Pak-Sri Lanka final

DHAKA, March 10 (AFP) — Thousands of Bangladeshi cricket fans queued up today for tickets for the Asian Test Championship final starting here on Friday.

Al-Baraka Bank Ltd, the ticket agents, said sales at their branches were brisk but could give no numbers for the first two days of sales.

One fan, Monir, said he would try to be at the ground to watch all five days of the final between Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

"This is the first such championship and we are lucky it is happening here... I don’t want to miss any part of it."

Shumon Ahmed said it was thrilling to have the final at the Bangabandhu National Stadium. "I hope after last year’s mini-World Cup and this match, Dhaka will turn into one of the world’s most popular cricket venues," he said.

Although there is keen interest in the game in Bangladesh, it is not one of the major Test-playing nations.

The Pakistanis, led by captain Wasim Akram, arrived here yesterday and were holding net practice today at the stadium.

"I think the Sri Lankans are a real talented side and you can’t predict that Pakistan will win easily — not at all." said Akram.

Sri Lanka dropped regular skipper Arjuna Ranatunga and two other top players in naming a 14-member squad for the Dhaka final.

The Board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka named Ranatunga’s deputy Aravinda de Silva as captain. It gave no reason for dropping Ranatunga, who had opted out of the qualifying match against Pakistan citing injury.

Reuters: A depleted Sri Lanka cricket team arrived in Dhaka today ahead of Friday’s final.

"We may be without our key players, but I am confident about the ability of this young side who will play better in the final," said Sri Lankan manager Ranjeet Fernando.

Sri Lanka and Pakistan reached the final in the three-nation Test series on a points basis ahead of India.

Pakistan secured 25 points from the win over India in Calcutta and the draw with Sri Lanka in the Lahore test. Sri Lanka’s 11 points came from drawn Tests against India at Colombo and Pakistan at Lahore. India got 10 points from two matches.

Fernando said his team would put up a fight against favourites Pakistan although star batsmen like Sanath Jayasuriya and Arjuna Ranatunga, as well as off-spinner Muthiah Muralitharan were not playing.

However, Sri Lanka’s strength in the final will be boosted by the presence of Aravinda de Silva and pacer Chaminda Vaas, who did not play in Lahore.

Sri Lanka’s cricket board yesterday named its 14-member squad for the final.

The team: Aravinda de Silva, Hashan Tillekeratne, Russel Arnold, Avishka Gunawardena, Mahela Jayawardene, Romesh Kalu-witharana, Marvan Attapattu, Chaminda Vaas, Pramodya Wick-remasinghe, Upul Chandana, Ruchira Perera, Suresh Perera, Ruwan Kalpage and Chandrika Hathurusinghe.

Sachin may miss some matches

MUMBAI, March 10 (PTI) — India’s batting mainstay Sachin Tendulkar might miss a few matches in the forthcoming limited overs triangular series on his return from London because of his back problem which needed rest, President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Mr Raj Singh Dungarpur, said here today.

"We (in the BCCI) are aware that he wanted to have his back problem investigated properly. It is the right time to do it and it is better he gets a break now and be fully fit for the World Cup" Mr Dungarpur said.

Tendulkar flew out unnoticed to London yesterday morning accompanied by his wife Anjali, who herself is a doctor, to get treatment for his troublesome back.

Mr Dungarpur said the board was bearing the expenses for the Indian master batsman’s treatment by a specialist in London who had treated Australian greats Ian and Greg Chappell.

"It depends on what he has to undergo (during his treatment in London). He is entitled to a break. He is a committed player. It is entirely up to him when he decides to play. He had already informed me and the board Secretary Mr Jaywant Lele) of his impending trip to London.

"He may miss some matches in the triangular series," he said.

Tendulkar had suffered back spasms at Chennai during the first India-Pakistan Test in January end and the problem resurfaced during the Asian Test series clash against Sri Lanka at Colombo last month-end.  

Tendulkar reportedly had indicated to the board officials his desire to get his back examined and treated by a specialist during the Calcutta Test of the Asian series against Pakistan.

Asked whether some other seniors also would be rested for the series, Mr Dungarpur said it was entirely up to the selectors whether they wanted to do so in order to give a chance to newcomers named in the World Cup probables list of 19.

"We have to prune it down to 15 soon. It is entirely up to the selectors how they go about it. The board does not come into the picture", he added.

Mr Dungarpur also revealed that the board had borne the full expenses of the trip to South Africa undertaken by young speedster Ajit Agarkar when he was recuperating from a stress fracture in his landing leg a month ago.

"The board took care of the expenses of his trip to South Africa to be treated by Dr Ferguson", he said.

The same doctor had treated pace spearhead Javagal Srinath when he had torn the rotator cuff of his bowling shoulder in 1997, also at the board’s expense.

Thipsay emerges sole leader

MUMBAI, March 10 (PTI) — Grand master Praveen Thipsay of India defeated Bangladesh’s Enamul Hussian to emerge sole leader after the fourth round while Bhagyashree Thipsay leads the women’s section of Datamatics Asian Zonal Chess Championship here today.

India’s GM Dibyendu Barua along with IM Abhijit Kunte and Pakistan’s M. Lodhi were in second spot with three points each.

Thipsay tamed Hussain, who defeated Barua yesterday, to earn fourth consecutive victory.

Enamul Hussain playing with black pieces, employed sharp Sicilian pelikan opening and created active play on queenside but Thipsay countered the moves tactically. Enamul failed to visualise and was brilliantly trapped in the 27th move.

Overnight leader Kunte was toppled by compatriot V. Saravanan. Kunte landed into difficulties in the opening and Saravanan won a piece on 19th move.

Though Kunte tried to simplify the position and gave up one more pawn to enter into opposite colour bishop ending. But Saravanan foiled his attempts to score a victory after 61 moves.

Barua also jumped into second position with today’s victory. In slav defence Barua got into good position when his opponent chose to keep his king in the centre. Barua won a pawn on 26th move and pushed it to 7th rank by 31st move. Although the game ended after 51 moves Barua had technically won position after 40 moves.

Playing with white pieces, Pakistan champion Lodhi shrugged the reverse yesterday to beat Anup Deshmukh of India in benoni opening. Deshmukh’s poor opening preparation again landed him into difficulties. Experienced Lodhi did not let the grip loose although Deshmukh desperately tried to free his postion. The Indian was forced to give up a piece on 27th move. Thereafter Lodhi needed eight more moves to wrap the game.

In women‘s section Bhagyashree Thipsay chose caro kann defence against her Olympiad teammate Pallavi Shah. Although they castled on opposite sides, both avoided taking risk and exchanged the pieces to enter into drawish position. Peace was signed after 20 moves.

The other overnight leader Nisha Mohota was stopped by veteran Bangla player Rani Hamid. Nisha had better position but blundered exchange on 21st move to lose the game in 33 moves of caro kann game.

Swati Ghate had a chance to join Bhagyashree but her Indian compatriot Saritha Reddy put pressure on Swati throughout in "torre" attack game. Saritha obtained strong ‘D’ passer in the centre, which fetched her material and game after 52 moves

National champion S. Vijayalakshmi scored her first win of the tournament.

Kafelnikov, Rafter upset; Graf triumphs

INDIAN WELLS, March 10 (Reuters) — A day before world number one Pete Sampras was scheduled for his first match at the $ 2.2 million Newsweek Champions Cup in Indian Wells, two of the four contenders who had a chance at knocking him off his perch lost their opening matches.

Second seed Yevgeny Kafelnikov of Russia was sent packing by former French Open Champion Gustavo Kuerten of Brazil 0-6, 7-6, (7-4), 6-3 and fifth seed Patrick Rafter of Australia was upset 7-6 (7-2), 3-6, 7-5 by German upstart Nicolas Kiefer in second-round matches yesterday.

Kafelnikov, who was only 70 points behind Sampras in the rankings, blew a 3-1 third-set lead against Kuerten, completely melting down in the last few games.

"I can’t explain what happened," said Kafelnikov, the Australian Open Champion. "I lost focus for a little while and then boom, it was over. I was trying as hard as I could because there are not many times you have the opportunity to win a tournament and become number one."

Only third seed Alex Corretja and fourth seed Carlos Moya — who haven’t played here yet — have a shot at toppling Sampras from the number one position this week.

Two-time US Open Champion Rafter began to cramp at 2-2 in the third set of his match and was seriously restricted in his movement after that. Rafter double-faulted to lose the match.

"I started cramping for no reason," said Rafter. "That was a little bit annoying. It’s something that I’ve had to deal with my whole career. I couldn’t get off on my serve and take off."

Kiefer, an aggressive baseliner, passed and returned well against the charging Rafter for much of the match. "I knew in the third set it would be a big competition because he never gives up," Kiefer said. "He fights for every point. It’s good for me that I won."

Although Rafter had a numerical shot at Pete Sampras’s top spot this week, the 25-year-old Queenslander said his form was nowhere near that of a dominant player.

"I wasn’t even thinking about it," said Rafter, who was playing in only his second tournament in the past six weeks. "I just want to play well again. If I play well again, I’ll be happy. If number one comes along, it comes along."

The day was highlighted by victories by a handful of up-and-comers, including Americans Justin Gimelstob and Jan-Michael Gambill, as well as Australian Lleyton Hewitt, who defeated 33-year-old Countryman Mark Woodforde 4-6, 6-2, 6-4.

Seeded veterans who moved ahead included number 11 Todd Martin of the USA, number 12 Karol Kucera of Slovakia and number 14 Goran Ivanisevic of Croatia. No 16 seed Thomas Johansson of Sweden was upset by Sjeng Schalken of the Netherlands 6-3 6-3.

Serving and volleying with authority, Ivanisevic defeated unorthodox Spanish baseliner Alberto Berasategui 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, coming back from 1-4 down in the third set.

Novotna, Williams advance

Fourth-seeded Jana Novotna, fifth-seeded Steffi Graf, sixth-seeded Mary Pierce and Serena Williams all lived up to expectations, winning third-round matches convincingly at the Evert Cup yesterday.

Novotna, the reigning Wimbledon Champion, making her first appearance at this event since 1990, moved into the quarterfinals with a confident 6-1, 6-4 win over American Brie Rippner.

Graf, a former two-time champion here, spent 58 minutes whipping Ai Sugiyama of Japan 6-0, 6-1.

Pierce carried the day for France as she won a 6-1, 6-0, match over Rita Grande of Italy.

Williams, coming off her first career tournament victory at Paris, scored a 6-0, 7-5 win over Cara Black of Zimbabwe.

The quarterfinal pairings for the women are top-seeded Martina Hingis, of Switzerland against unseeded Chanda Rubin of the USA Novotna against Graft, 12th-seeded Sandrine Testud of France against unseeded Henrieta Nagyova of Slovakia and Pierce against Williams.

Novotna needed exactly one hour to dispatch the 81st-ranked Rippner.

The match was so routine for the Czech that she spent the majority of her post-match press conference discussing her taste in clothing designers.

"Giorgio Armani, Donna Karan and Calvin Klein, for sure," Novotna said. "I like Giorgio Armani. I like very simple, very stylish clothes — nothing too creative."

She did take a moment to look ahead to her quarterfinal match against Graf, a player she has lost to on 28 of 32 occasions.

The last time Novotna posted a victory over Graf was when she led 6-4 in a final match at a Philadelphia tournament in 1996 when Graf retired from the match.

The last time she beat Graf fair and square was at the 1992 Virginia Slims of Chicago.

"I saw her too many times, I don’t have to watch her play anymore," Novotna said, laughing. "Playing Steffi, I have done that so many times.

"I will have a strategy — I will remember how I played when I beat her."

Graf faced one break point at 30-40 in the opening game, but from that point on she was in total command of the match. The German won the first seven games before Sugiyama made it on the scoreboard.

"I have nothing to complain about," said Graf, who increased her career lead over Sugiyama to 4-1. "I felt I was moving very well, anticipating her shots very well."

"I definitely felt that I was going for it."

Dungarpur hits out at Sarfraz

MUMBAI, March 10 (PTI) — The President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Mr Raj Singh Dungarpur, today pooh-poohed the allegations of Pakistan's former pace bowler Sarfraz Nawaz that former Indian skipper Sunil Gavaskar was involved in match-fixing during the Mumbai Test of the 1979-80 series between the two countries.

Mr Dungarpur, who had first-hand knowledge of the particular Test as he was the manager of the team led by Gavaskar, described Sarfraj's allegations in Pakistan on a private TV channel as 'A figment of someone's imagination which needs to be condemned strongly'.

"Gavaskar's integrity and commitment is as legendary as his batsmanship. It is only the deep-seated frustration of the man (Nawaz) which has surfaced", he said.

"He (Gavaskar) enjoys tremendous respect in Pakistan which is the envy of all of us", Mr Dungarpur pointed out.

About the details of the Test match he said, "It was a hard-fought match on a cart track. I will not forget Kapil Dev's great innings when he made 60-odd runs and helped India recover from 170 for 7 to post 300. He gave the impression the ball was not turning at all".

Kujur’s hat-trick helps Signals win

JALANDHAR, March 10 (FOSR) — Hat-trick by left out V. Kujur enabled Corps of Signals to defeat Wonderland XI 3-2 on the second day of the Major GPS Bindra Memorial Gold Cup Hockey Tournament being organised by the Olypian and international sports society at Jalandhar Cantonment today. Wonderland XI opened their account in the sixth minute when full back Kishan Singh converted first penalty corner into the goal. It was international V. Kujur (2-0) from the Signals in 13th minute who levelled the score. V.K. Kujur scored second goal in the 26th minute. Signals team was leading by 2-1 at the interval. In the second half Wonderland XI exhibited better hockey in early minutes but they missed good chances, V. Kujur of Signal succeded in breaking the defence again as he got fifth penalty corner of the game in 65th minute. Kujur converted penalty corner into the goal (3-1). Amrit Pal Singh scored for Wonderland XI in the dying minute. In pool-A, Rail Coach Factory Kapurthala routed Artillery Centre, Jalandhar, by 2-1. Both teams played at a fast pace. Right out Satwant Singh of RCF sounded the board with a powerful hit 1-0. But in 10th minute Artillery Centre restored parity as their centre forward succeeded in breacking the defence of the rivals. In 32nd minute inside left Bhupinder Singh succeeded in breaking the defence as he got a good through pass and sounded the board which gave RCF 2-1 victory.

Mohindra College win trophy

PATIALA, March 10 (FOSR) — Government Mohindra College won the inter-college general sports trophy in the Punjabi University annual sports function held at the arts auditorium at the campus here today. In the women's section Government Physical Education College emerged victorious. All university sportspersons, who bagged first, second and third positions in all-India inter-university sports events, were given cash prizes. Punjabi University bagged positions in inter-varsity events in the disciplines of cycling, kabaddi, weightlifting, powerlifting, hockey and handball. In individual events Rs 1500 — Rs 1300 and Rs 1000 were awarded to gold, silver and bronze medalists, respectively. Mr G.S. Anand, Director, NIS, gave away the prizes while Mrs Manjit Bhagwat, Director, Sports, Punjabi University, read out the annual report and underlined the sports achievements of the university.