Tuesday, March 23, 1999
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S P O R T | Tuesday, March 23, 1999 |
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Lanka succumb to Ganguly NAGPUR, March 22 — Saurav Ganguly struck an unbeaten 130 and then polished off the Sri Lankan lower order claiming four for 21 to guide India to a resounding 80-run win over Sri Lanka in the Pepsi Cup Triangular Cricket Series tie today. Bhutia
fails to enter Aston Villa
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Eight-wicket win for South Africa |
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Chandigarh derail Railways CHENNAI, March 22 — Unfancied Chandigarh derailed former champions Indian Railways 2-0 to enter the quarterfinal league of the Santosh Trophy National Football Championship today. PSB ground AI, enter
q-final Punjab
dethrone Bihar Bahadur’s
warning on complacency East
Bengal finish second in NFL
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Lanka succumb to Ganguly NAGPUR, March 22 (PTI) — Saurav Ganguly struck an unbeaten 130 and then polished off the Sri Lankan lower order claiming four for 21 to guide India to a resounding 80-run win over Sri Lanka in the Pepsi Cup Triangular Cricket Series tie today. Ganguly and the stylish Rahul Dravid, who cracked an entertaining 116, compiled a record second wicket stand of 236 as India piled up 287 for four wickets on being asked to bat first and then handed out the reigning world cup champions their second straight defeat by dismissing them for 207 in 38 overs. Lanky paceman Ajit Agarkar, returning to the team after a long injury lay-off, rocked the Lankan innings with a three wicket burst to push them to 41 for three before Ganguly and off-spinner Nikhil Chopra (2/49) got into the act as Hashan Tillekeratne (44) and skipper Arjuna Ranatunga (46) threatened to mount a serious chase with an 81-run fifth wicket stand. The victory helped India, in the absence of the injured Sachin Tendulkar, make a sound start to the final phase of their World Cup build up, while Sri Lanka who lost narrowly to Pakistan at Jamshedpur in the inaugural tie on March 19, looked in real danger of being eliminated from a spot in the final. Ganguly, named ‘man of the match’ for his superb all-round effort, pulled the match firmly towards India as he trapped Ranatunga leg before to leave Sri Lanka struggling at 176 for six after Nikhil Chopra ended the partnership by having the other left-hander Tillekeratne stumped for the first of two brilliant efforts by ’keeper Nayan Mongia. India, with Agarkar and batsmen Ajay Jadeja and Vinod Kambli making comebacks after being away from the scene for a while, and teenager Laxmi Rattan Shukla making his debut, gave a sound batting display before their bowlers came on top on a placid track where the odd ball stopped and came. Both Ganguly (130 no - 159 b, 5x4, 2x6), who struck his sixth one-day century in his 91st match, and Dravid (116 - 118 b, 12x4, 1x6), who cracked his third hundred with far greater fluency than his partner, lifted India to a huge total. Their 236-run stand, which gathered momentum as it grew, was only the fifth instance of Indian batsmen producing double century partnerships eclipsing the previous mark of 231 set by Tendulkar and Navjot Sidhu against Pakistan at Sharjah in 1996. Set a daunting asking rate of 5.76, Sri Lankan top order was rocked by Agarkar, who suffered a stress fracture on his landing leg in December last just before the Indian team’s departure for New Zealand. The lean Agarkar made a roaring comeback by sending back Russel Arnold (1) and Mahela Jayawardene (0) in his first two overs before scalping the prize wicket of Aravinda de Silva (12) by having the star batsman play on attempting a drive on the off-side to leave Sri Lanka struggling. The single spell of the young Mumbai paceman, who shared the new ball with Javagal Srinath, read an impressive 6-0-14-3 and once opener Avisha Gunawardene (39 - 47 b, 10x4) was also trapped lbw by Chopra, Sri Lanka were in dire straits. Ranatunga and fellow left-hander Tillekeratne kept the chase alive by putting on a breezy 81 runs before Chopra gave the hosts the breakthrough by having the latter stumped. Ganguly, proving it was his day on replacing spearhead Srinath after only two overs of his second spell, had the Lankan skipper trapped leg before. Umpire K.S. Giridharan adjudged the appeal though Ranatunga, who was struck high on his front foot, looked clearly displeased with the decision. Ganguly, however, followed it up with three more wickets to end up with fine figures of four for 21 in four overs. Earlier, the Indian batsmen struggled a bit on a pitch where the odd ball stopped, to progress slowly to 66 for the loss of Ajay Jadeja in the first 15 overs. Jadeja (11), looking somewhat rusty as he had not played any cricket since returning from New Zealand, offered a tame return catch to left-arm paceman Chaminda Vaas, who finished with three for 56. But once Vaas and Pramodya Wickremasinghe were off the firing line, the others were easy picking for Ganguly and Dravid, the Indian opener also benefiting from dropped catches by debutant Hemanta Boteju off Vaas and Aravinda De Silva off his own bowling. The Lankan run chase began on a disastrous note when left-hander Arnold, who had replaced Marvan Atapattu who suffered a finger injury at Jamshedpur, flicked Agarkar straight to Vinod Kambli at square leg in his first over. It became 15 for two when Jayawardene miscued a lofted shot and spooned up a tame catch to Anil Kumble behind the bowler before the speedster claimed De Silva. But once Agarkar was off the attack, things became less hot for Gunawardene and Tillekeratne who put on 30 runs before Chopra sent back the former in the 17th over. Ranatunga showed his craft when he picked runs off the bowlers by lofting then into vacant positions. He punished Shukla by slamming the Bengal all-rounder for two successive lofted fours through mid-off to force Azharuddin to remove him after the teenager had gone for 32 runs in four overs. The stand between the two left-handers was assuming menacing proportions when Chopra had Tillekeratne stumped with a flighted delivery before Ganguly ended Ranatunga’s stay (46 - 43 b, 6x4). Ganguly also sent back left-hander Ruwan Kalpage (3) — victim of a brilliant stumping by Mongia standing up — and Boteju (2) in the space of ten balls as Sri Lanka slumped to 201 for eight. Anil Kumble then bowled Upul Chandana (38 - 25 b, 4x4, 1x6) to end his cameo before Ganguly got rid of Vaas through a catch at short extracover by Shukla to terminate the innings. SCOREBOARD SRI LANKA: |
My best show, says Ganguly NAGPUR, March 22 (PTI) — ‘Man of the Match’ Saurav Ganguly rated his fine all-round show of an unbeaten 130 followed by four for 21 in India’s 80-run win over Sri Lanka as the best of his career. "It was my best performance," the 25-year-old Calcuttan told reporters after playing a major role in India’s crushing win in the triseries limited overs cricket tie here today. "The ball was stopping and coming and batting was not easy on this pitch," the left-hander, who compiled a record second-wicket stand of 236 with Rahul Dravid (116), said. About his wicket-taking spell late in the day, he was very modest. "One had to pitch the ball up in the right spot and I did just that. The Lankans helped me by playing across." Indian skipper Mohd Azharuddin welcomed the much-needed result after a victory drought by saying: "It is the ideal confidence booster in our quest for the World Cup. We have not won for a long time." "I am not surprised with Ganguly’s performance with the ball. He likes to bowl whenever called upon," he added. Azhar said the win should stand in good stead for the other matches in the run-up to the World Cup in May-June. Sri Lankan Skipper Arjuna Ranatunga said his dismissal was the turning point. "We were going well after losing early wickets. My dismissal was crucial." "We have to hold catches. We can’t grumble about other things", he said when asked about his team’s poor fielding. But he was still
optimistic. "Two-down. But we are a capable side and
we can still win the tournament," he said. |
Jadeja is not an opener AFTER a slow start, a new look Indian side pulverised a mediocre Sri Lankan bowling attack. So ordinary looking and ineffective were the Lankan bowlers that even captain Ranatunga had no faith in them. When he won the toss on a good batting surface he felt his batsmen were better at chasing a total than his bowlers defending one. But even good bowlers would struggle with fielding that is way below the standard expected of Test players. Too many misfields, too many dropped catches and at times a lack of mobility from some fielders makes life much harder than it should be for their bowlers. Sri Lanka may well be without key players but there is no excuse for such poor fielding from anyone. They won’t win the World Cup with this sort of stuff — in fact they won’t make a good defence of it unless there is improvement quickly. There was a time when the team was invincible but not anymore! Matches are being lost too easily because they have forgotten the basics. So frustrated are the players with their own failings that when a couple of appeals for caught behind went against them, captain and wicket-keeper Tilakaratne were looking at the umpire at the end of each over. They want to blame anything and anybody instead of looking and analysing themselves. Ganguly and Dravid were excellent. Ganguly tried to hit the ball too hard and took time to realise that stroking the ball was more effective. Once in his stride there was no holding him back. Dravid is not a dasher but it was nice to see him blossom and get on top of the bowling. Whoever had the bright idea of opening with Jadeja got it wrong. He is not an opener in Test match or one-day cricket. He is outstanding at No 5 or 6 where he can control an innings that is in trouble or accelerate the last few overs. So why move him? When you have someone so good in any position keep him there. It was misplaced thinking. Young Ramesh should have gone in first. He is in good form — confidence high and a natural free scorer. It was an opportunity lost of the other young hopefuls and the returning wounded Agarkar was a revelation. Skidding the ball on to the batsmen with just a touch of outswing and outseam, he caused problems. Batsmen in the sub-continent are so used to working across the line of the ball and getting away with it but here was a young man who excelled and gave problems. Two batsmen got leading edges and his 3 for 14 off 6 overs killed off Sri Lanka. Any bowler who can get early wickets in priceless in any game because the opposition in immediately in trouble. He should find English pitches to his liking if he can get match of it in this triangular and Sharjah. Shukla was a bit disappointing. Nerves, youthfulness and no experience will have played a part but at medium pace he appeared to be just right for hitting through the line. The left handers Ranatunga and Tillekratne took a liking to his bowling and kept hitting him over mid-on. This was a tough learning experience for the young man. He will need to add variation of pace to his repertoire and learn to bowl around the wicket to left handers to cramp them for room. At his age, time is on his side. Srinath was a shadow of the fire bowler we have come to respect. He's had a good rest and it showed what he needs now in racing terms is a ‘gallop’ or two, some match bowling and he'll be okay. As for Kambli, he fielded well but had no opportunity to bat as the innings was nearly over and Ganguly taking wickets was like getting ready for the juicy pitches in England. It wasn't really a contest
as India had control of the match throughout the day and
in the process was able to gain some plusses from various
players. On the other hand, it is becoming increasingly
certain that if you want to lose money, back Sri Lanka to
retain their World Cup crown — they are a shadow of
their former selves. — PMG |
Eight-wicket win for South Africa WELLINGTON, March 22 (Reuters) — South Africa produced a resounding eight-wicket victory in the third Test against New Zealand at the Basin Reserve today to win the series one-nil. Resuming at 217 for seven, still 59 runs in arrears, the home side scored 74 more runs in 68 minutes before being dismissed for 291 to leave South Africa a modest target of 16 runs for victory. Dion Nash and Simon Doull added a bright 48 for the ninth wicket which avoided the innings defeat but the tourists were led safely to their target by opener Gary Kirsten after the careless run out of Herschelle Gibbs for a duck and Jacques Kallis, bowled by Daniel Vettori for four. Kirsten’s unbeaten 12 may not represent his finest innings but it will be memorable. Not only did he score the winning runs in a Test series victory, but when he reached eight he became his country’s leading run scorer in all Tests. Kirsten began the second innings with 3464 runs and finished with 3476, five runs ahead of Bruce Mitchell, who played 42 Tests for South Africa between 1929 and 1949 and averaged 48.8 with eight centuries. This match was Kirsten’s 53rd. Steve Elworthy earlier failed to claim one of the three remaining New Zealand wickets which would have given him five in the innings although some compensation came in the form of the man of the match award for a match analysis of 8-159. Shaun Pollock bowled Daniel Vettori (16) soon after play began and Paul Adams, who was hit for a straight six in his first over, bounced back to claim the last two wickets when Nash top edged a sweep to wicket keeper Mark Boucher and last man Shayne O’Connor (2) was caught close in. Nash scored 27 from 68 balls while Doull, who finished 38 not out, scored his runs from just 33 balls with six fours and a six. The two teams now resume the one-day series which commenced at the beginning of the tour with New Zealand taking a two-one lead. The final three matches will be played at Napier on Thursday, Auckland on Saturday and Wellington on Tuesday. SCOREBOARD South Africa (second
innings): |
Bhutia fails to enter Aston Villa LONDON, March 22 (IANS) — Baichung Bhutia lost a chance to kick his way into premier league football in Britain more due to circumstances than playing form, according to Birmingham footballers. The Aston Villa football club in Birmingham had invited Bhutia in some desperation and left him out in greater desperation, footballers who supported him told IANS. "The forward line was taken up by well-established strikers who have played for England," a player at the club said. "Aston Villa were left in need of a central defender after that," he said. "And for that Aston Villa has been considering Alan Stubbs from Celtic, the player added. The forward line for Aston Villa is now a hard slot to get for the topmost players in the premier league, let alone an outsider. Two of its old forwards, Paul Merson and Dim Dublin were leading contenders for the England squad. Aston Villa’s John Gregory has gone shopping for established strikers in recent weeks with a fat purse. He has spent more than 50 million pounds picking up forwards who have played for England. Steve Stone and Mark Delaney were two frontline stars Gregory bought up recently. Gregory has been shopping now for a central defender before a local deadline for transfers runs out. "With the deadline that near and Aston Villa losing their last seven matches, John wasn’t going to risk a complete outsider on the forward line," the player said. Gregory has said that Aston Villa’s performance has of late been "totally disappointing." The poor performances have hurt the club more because it led the premier league tables until the end of last year. Along with the new players bought up, two of the established forwards at Aston Villa — Ian Taylor and Steve Watson — have been playing well enough to look for a recall. In addition Dion Dublin is back after a ban. Two other players, Julian Joachim and Stan Callymore, have also been knocking hard for a place on the forward line. "It has all been getting quite crowded on the front line," the player said. "Baichung played very well here, but Gregory chose to go for the names," he said. But for playing performance Baichung was "close" to the standards of the other forwards, the player said. In Baichung Bhutia India had put their best foot forward. The 21-year-old turned pro at 16 and has netted 21 goals in 31 matches for India. The decision by Aston
Villa not to select Bhutia is a setback for Baichung and
for India. But it was a long shot to begin with. It,
however, shows that some managers at least are keeping an
eye on Indian players. |
Chandigarh derail Railways CHENNAI, March 22 (PTI) — Unfancied Chandigarh derailed former champions Indian Railways 2-0 to enter the quarterfinal league of the Santosh Trophy National Football Championship today. Chandigarh played total football and scored once in each half through Sachin (31st) and Viney Kanwar (48th) to upset their better rated rivals at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here. Chandigarh have made it to the second stage in only their second appearance in the nationals after making their debut last year at Duliajan in Assam. The Chandigarh players, who have shown their skills and played as a well-knit team here, won without the services of the indisposed Rajiv Rattan, their consistent scorer in the previous matches. Forwards Rajesh Sharma, Viney Kanwar and Suraj were nippy in attack, bolstered by Varinder Kanwar and Anil Saini playing upfront. Showing good anticipation, they out-manoeuvred the rival defence in strength, with dodges and body swerves. The first goal by Sachin followed a display of quick reflex action. Following a flag kick taken by Viney, the ball came to Sunil Kumar and went to Sachin past a few legs. His powerful grounder beat custodian Sumit Choudhary. Viney showed opportunism to increase the tally by making use of Railway defenders Tara Sankar and Rabindranath’s confusion near the goalmouth. Though Railways were in full cry midway through second session, Chandigarh defenders thwarted their efforts. Udhagamandalam: Mizoram survived a barrage of attacks from Uttar Pradesh in the closing stages to scrape past 3-2 in an inconsequential cluster ‘A’ pre-quarter final league match of the Santosh Trophy football championship here today. Mizoram forged ahead in the very fifth of the game through striker Thanshnga while medio Nitin Bishal brought parity for Uttar Pradesh in the 32nd. Mizoram went 2-1 ahead in the 69th minute through Ramzisinga only for Bishal to neutralise in the 70th minute. Thanshnga came to his team’s rescue again, striking the match winner in the 75th minute. With this match, both Mizoram and Uttar Pradesh have completed their engagements in the four-team league and are out of reckoning. Mizoram have three points (1 win, 2 losses) and so have Uttar Pradesh (1 win, 2 losses). Services are leading the table with six points. A draw against Jammu and Kashmir (3 points) on Wednesday would be sufficient for them to qualify for the quarter-final league from this pool. Enjoying a slightly upper
hand, Mizoram had the better share of exchanges against
Uttar Pradesh. Their mid-field functioned with verve and
flexibility and were also able to pin their rivals down
in their half for most part of the game. But, nearing the
closing stages, they encountered some stiff challenge
from UP players. However, goalkeeper Sanghmuna came to
their rescue with neat interceptions. |
PSB ground AI, enter q-final HYDERABAD, March 22 (UNI, PTI) — The agile Punjab and Sind Bank (PSB) along with debutants Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) qualified for the quarterfinal round in the PSB-SBI 59th Senior National Hockey Championship here today. The PSB grounded last year’s semifinalist Air-India 5-2 after leading 2-0 at half time and topped group "I" while CRPF entered the last eight round with a better goal average from group "H’’. Services, CRPF and Bengal were tied with nine points each but CRPF with a better goal average (33-2) moved into the quarters. In the quarter-final line up for tomorrow, Central Excise and Customs will take on Punjab and Sind Bank while CRPF will play either Tamil Nadu or Bhopal. CRPF, who had earlier defeated Kerala (10-0), Services (2-0), Assam (20-0) and lost to Bengal (1-2), have a total of 33 goals to their credit and have conceded only two goals in four ties. Services, who were in the run for the top position in the same group, lost the golden opportunity by failing to score maximum goals in their last group-league encounter against Bengal today whom they beat 3-1 in the morning. Services had earlier defeated Kerala (10-0), Assam (19-0) but had lost to CRPF (0-2) and by defeating Bengal 3-1 today have an aggregate of only 32 goals. They conceded three goals against their opponents thus enabling CRPF to move to the top of the ladder on better goal difference. Group-J league too is interestingly poised with Tamil Nadu and Bhopal in contention for the top spot. Tamil Nadu completed their league engagements with a 10-1 win over Manipur today. With two wins and a draw, they have seven points to their credit and are well placed on goal difference as well with a total of 18 goals in favour of them after conceding only five against. Bhopal have a record of one win (Manipur 8-2) and a draw (TN 3-3) with a total of four points. They will play their last league tie against Patiala. Bhopal have scored 11 goals while conceding five and are in deficit of seven goals over TN. They now have to beat Patiala by eight goals to make it to the last eight grade. In the Service-Bengal tie, the armymen were under some pressure to defend their citadel from the onslaught of the Bengal forwards. However, Bhengra, Pradeep and Anil Minz of services kept the Bengal forwards at bay in the first half. In the second half, Services scored two early goals in the 40th and 41st minutes. First Paramjit Singh converted a penalty stroke and in the next minute Rajpal Singh increased the lead. This sudden surge in the Services attack rattled the Bengal players who failed to defend their citadel allowing the opponents to score their third goal through Cyprian in the 53rd minute. In the 62nd minute, Mangramunda of Bengal reduced the margin. Results: Group-J: Tamil Nadu 10 Vinod Kumar 2 (15th, 54th), Senthil 3 (64th, 69th, 69th) Sunder 1 (49th) Prabakran 1 (55th) Thirumalavalavan 1 (57th), Felix 1 (69th) Radhakrishnan 1 (70th) b Manipur 1 (Hemantha Singh 1 (19th). (ht 1-1). Group-H: Services 3 Paramjit Singh 1 (40th) Rajpal Singh 1 (41st), Cyprian Aind 1 (53rd) b Bengal 1 (Mangramunda 1 (62nd). (ht: 2-0) Group-I: Pondicherry 9
Balamurugan 2 (19th, 59th), KP Vijayees 1 (6th),
Balganesh 1 (11th), Kanthavelu 1 (28th) Selvam 1 (34th),
Pandian 1 (53rd), Satish Kumar 1 (64th) b Universities 0.
(ht: 5-0). |
Punjab dethrone Bihar JAIPUR, March 22 (PTI) — After failing twice, Punjab rallied brilliantly from a first-half deficit to score a thrilling win over defending champions Bihar to regain the men’s national basketball crown here today. Punjab extracted sweet revenge for their twin losses to Bihar, in the previous nationals and the Imphal National Games last month, winning 53-51 in a low-scoring summit clash at the Sawai Man Singh Stadium courts here to clinch their sixth national title. Punjab, who won the inaugural tournament when they hosted it in Ludhiana in 1951, dashed Bihar’s hopes of claiming a hat-trick of national-level titles, after winning the last edition and at Imphal, and pipped the holders to post after trailing 21-24 at the interval. The tall and lanky Punjab boys came back strongly in the second session and with Vipin Kumar (12), international Parminder Singh Sr (12), Gagnesh Kumar (11), Tejendar Jeet Singh (7), Gurusharan Jeet Singh (5) and Satyanarayan (5) combining well, edged past Bihar for a superb win. For Bihar, who struggled
despite the presence of a number of international players
in their ranks and had lost to Railways in the league
phase in coming second behind Tamil Nadu in group
‘A’, Jaldeep Dhaliwal (15), Cyril Miranda (15),
Islauddin (10) and Nishant Kumar (11) came up with good
show but could not stop Punjab from taking the title. |
Bahadur’s warning on complacency PATIALA, March 22 — Despite winning a creditable 15 medals in the track and field events in the Bangkok Asian Games, an element of complacency, which seems to be creeping in, should be kept at bay and the need of the hour is to make a critical evaluation of the performance of Indian athletes keeping in view the forthcoming Sydney Olympics and the 2002 Pusan Asian Games. Talking to this correspondent, prior to the commencement of the national seminar on Development of athletics in the Post-Bangkok period' which concluded here yesterday, chief national athletics coach Bahadur Singh, said those who won medals must look forward to consolidating the gains and those who failed should analyse their shortcomings. Bahadur Singh also said even if five Russian coaches were involved in the preparations, the Indian coaches should not feel discredited. Much of the grooming of athletes, who won medals at Bangkok, like Jyotirmoyee Sikdar, Sunita Rani, Rosa Durry, Paramjit Singh, Shakti Singh, Neelam J Singh and others was done by Indian coaches. Dronacharya JS Saini, who at present is the head of AAFI's junior programme, said that three were numerous shortcomings in preparations. He said an evaluation should be done in consultation with AAFI. Dr Ashok Ahuja, senior sports medicine expert of SAI, said in this country there was enough talent. But it existed in isolation. AAFI secretary-general Lalit Bhanot said although Sikdar won two gold, her timings in 800m and 1500m were not impressive. The seminar was attended
by Major OP Bhatia, Executive Director, SAI Bahadur
Singh, chief national athletics coach, Mr Lalit Bhanot,
secretary-general of the AAFI. Dronacharya JS Saini, Mrs
Kamaljit Kooner, Dr Ashok Ahuja, senior SAI athletics
coach RS Randhawa, besides scientists from all over the
country. |
NFL clubs to submit charter of demands CALCUTTA, March 22 (PTI) — All the 12 clubs participating in the National Football League have decided to submit a 21-point charter of demands to the All-India Football Federation (AIFF) in an effort to improve the conduct and management of the game. Representatives of the clubs felt that there was scope for a lot of improvement in the conduct and management of the national league and Federational Cup football tournaments. Representatives of the clubs met at the residence of Mohun Bagan secretary, Anjan Mitra on Saturday and had finalised the list of demands, F.C. Kochin official, Babu Mather told newsman here yesterday. He said the clubs felt that the AIFF should announce the football calendar in the beginning of the season and notify the clubs on the national duty schedule of the players and also the national and international commitments well in advance. The clubs also felt that all national championships should be spaced in such a way that players get at least 10 days recovery period between the tournaments. Mr Mather said the clubs
wanted the game of football to be treated as an industry
by way of improved professional management, marketing and
media relations. |
East Bengal finish second in NFL CALCUTTA, March 22 (PTI) — City giants East Bengal came from behind to quell Churchill Brothers 2-1 and take the runner-up position for the second successive time in the National Football League at the Salt Lake Stadium here today. After conceding an early goal by Churchill’s Somatai Saiza, East Bengal swung the game in their favour by slamming in two goals in the second session through star striker Bhaichung Bhutia and Suleh Musah in a fast-paced encounter. With Salgaocar having already crowned themselves the league champions, the two teams played their hearts out for the second spot but the home team fought back brilliantly after the early setback to claim the honour for the second time in a row. East Bengal, who just needed a draw to finish second, thus finished their league engagements with 19 points from 10 matches while Churchill completed their outings with 15 points. Champions Salgaocar had logged 23 points after completing their league engagements. Churchill shot into the lead as early as the 10th minute of the contest with a curling freekick by Somatai Saiza but East Bengal restored parity in the 30th minute of the second session with Bhutia producing a gem of a goal. East Bengal defender Suleh Musah then converted a penalty without much fuss just four minutes before the long whistle to give victory to his team. Bagan pip Kochin Last year’s champions Mohun Bagan finished fourth in the third National Football League after pipping a fighting F.C. Kochin 1-0 in their final super six tie here today. Bagan struck in the 72nd minute through Adebayo Gbadebo, who headed home a Jo Paul Ancheri flag kick, to take their points tally to 10, one more than JCT, who finished fifth. Kochin, who played enterprising soccer creating a number of positive chances, failed to make any impact in the largely due to the sparkling display of Bagan custodian Sandip Nandy who brought off a number of excellent saves. The youthful Kerala team, comprising mainly fresh TATA Football Academy products, finished with the wooden spoon, culling only three points. Salgaocar had claimed the title while East Bengal and Churchill Brothers had finished behind them in that order. Bagan dominated the first half, and could have forged ahead in the 41st minute when central defender Samuel Omolo initiated a move from the midfield, played a wall pass with Ancheri, and chipped from just outside the box. F.C. Kochin custodian Casmira Palha tried to tip the shot over the bar, but off his hands the ball hit the crosspiece before going out for a flag kick. The second session saw the visitors trying to establish control over the midfield, where the hardworking Karunakar Raj played a key role. F.C. Kochin really came
good midway into the session, twice coming very near
scoring, but faded out in the later stages. |
Gopi Chand, Aparna lose in finals BANGALORE, March 22 (PTI) — National champions Pullela Gopichand and Aparna Popat’s quest to make it a grand double for Indian badminton was thwarted by their Chinese opponents at the French Open Badminton Championships in Paris last night. Defending champion Aparna was overpowered by top seed and world number four Zhou Mi of China 11-0, 11-2. In the first game, the tall and strong-built Chinese succeeded in pinning Aparna to the backcourt with flat clears and Aparna failed to gather enough strength in returning them, Badminton Association of India (BAI) prees note said here today. The men’s final was a thriller in which top seed Chen Gang, ranked 12th in the world, overcame a fighting Gopichand, 15-8, 10-15, 15-10. After levelling the games, Gopichand led 6-1 in the decider before Chen made a brilliant comeback to win the game 15-10, to crown himself French Open champion. In the first game, Gopichand was slow to react to Chen Gang’s fast flicks and smashes losing it 8-15. The Indian champion came back in the next with fast paced rallies to tire his Chinese opponent and won it 15-10. Gopichand held a comfortable lead of 6-1 with the Chinese flagging in strength. However, after one prolonged rally, Gopichand’s stamina gave away and he conceded 11 points at a stretch to concede the initiative and lose the game 10-15 to Chen. It was Gopichand’s third final in an international tournament. He had reached the final of the Indian Grand Prix in New Delhi in 1997 and the SAS Trophy Invitation Tournament at Dornbin in 1998. For Aparna, it was the second consecutive French Open final. Last year, she had won the title beating Karja Nichalowsky of Germany. Gopichand will be proceeding to Germany to play for his club FC Langenfeld in the German league matches before returning to India on March 29. Gopichand along with Aparna, Abhin Shyam Gupta and Sachin Ratti will be in Bangalore to take part in the month-long preparatory camp for the World Championships, commencing on April 5. The World Badminton Championships for the Sudirman Cup are scheduled to be held in Copenhagen from May 10 to 23.
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Boxing team CHANDIGARH, March 22 (BOSR)— Parmodh Negi will lead 12-member Chandigarh team in the 45th Senior National Boxing Championship to be held at Visakhapatnam (AP) from March 25 to 30, according to Mr C.K. Jerath, secretary of the Chandigarh Amateur Boxing Association. The team is: lt fly — Ramesh Singh, fly wt — Davinder Singh, bantam wt — Parmodh Negi, feather — Amar Kotal, light — Sanjeev Kumar, lt welter — Jasbir Singh, welter — Varinder Dangi, lt middle — Naresh Kumar, middle — A. Kapoor, lt heavy — Kulwinder Singh, heavy — Amrit Pal Singh senior heavy — Ranbir Singh Wadhwa, Mr Shiv Singh will be coach and Mr P.S. Brar manager of the team. Handball meet CHANDIGARH, March 22 (BOSR) — Chandigarh Handball Association will organise the 13th Junior UT State Handball Championship for boys and girls from March 26 to 28 at DAV Senior Secondary School, Sector 8, according to Mr Ravinder Talwar, secretary of the association. The players born or after January 1, 1979, are eligible to take part in this championship. Entries close with Mr Ravinder Singh, handball coach on March 25. Kabaddi results CHANDIGARH, March 22 (BOSR) — Chandigarh Police and Coaching Centre, Sector 42, won the men’s and women’s title, respectively, in the Chandigarh State Senior Kabaddi Tournament at Government College of Education, Sector 20 today. Results: (Men) Chandigarh Police b Manav Kendra Sports Club, (80-20); Coaching Centre-42 b Government College of Education-20, (39-11); Chandigarh Police b CC-42, (41-23). Government College of Education-20 b BEd Yoga Club (60-20). Women: Coaching Centre-42 b Kabaddi Coaching Centre ‘A’ Division Dhanas village, (73-20); Kabaddi Coaching Centre-Dhanas b GCE-20, (25-22); CC-42 b KCC, Dhanas B (53-24); KCC ‘A’ b Diamond Club-46, (33-17). Chandigarh rowing CHANDIGARH, March 22 (BOSR) — Chandigarh Rowing Association will organise the Chandigarh State Rowing Championship for men and women on March 27 and 28 at the Sukhna Lake, according to a press note of the association. The events to be conducted include, single and double scull, coxless pair and four. Entries close with the secretary of the association on March 26. Kabaddi meet SANGRUR, March 22 (FOSR)— The XII National Circle Kabaddi Championships for men and women will be held at Dirba, about 20 km from here, from April 5 to 7, according to a press note issued by Mr PP Singh, secretary, Kabaddi Federation of India (CS). The test for referees and
umpires will also be held along with the championships. |
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