Sunday, October 3, 1999
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S P O R T | Sunday, October 3, 1999 |
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An engrossing final on the cards NAIROBI, Oct 2 — India will strive to cap a rare resilience and consistency they have displayed so far when they take on formidable South Africa in what promises to be an engrossing final of the LG Cup quadrangular cricket tournament here tomorrow. Bangladesh shatter India’s hopes KATHMANDU, Oct 2 — A spirited Bangladesh shrugged off their indifferent form to humble reigning champions India by a solitary second-half goal and romp into the final of the SAF Games football championship here today. |
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 KATHMANDU: Anuj Kumar of India shows his gold medal after winning 85 kg category in wrestling competition of South Asia Games in Kathmandu on Friday. AP/PTI Indian marksmen reign supreme KATHMANDU, Oct 2 — Indian marksmen continued to reign supreme winning all the three gold medals at stake, as Jaspal Rana, without stretching himself much, won his third individual gold in the shooting events of the eighth SAF games here today. |
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Venus
Williams avenges US Open loss Ponting
hits century on rain-hit day Paddlers
clinch a grand treble Reetinder,
T. Kumaran wreck Karnataka Surjit
hockey from Nov 5 Final
day’s play washed out Malini
clinches gold PSB,
Punjab cops move into semis Vishal,
Kamaljit enter final TN
swimmer sets endurance record Dutch
club offers contract to Pillay
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An engrossing final on the cards NAIROBI, Oct 2 (PTI) — India will strive to cap a rare resilience and consistency they have displayed so far when they take on formidable South Africa in what promises to be an engrossing final of the LG Cup quadrangular cricket tournament here tomorrow. The team, despite being withered down by injuries, most vital being the absence of skipper Sachin Tendulkar due to back trouble, have shown the hunger to win and have been led well by an innovative and inspiring Ajay Jadeja. With four fluent wins in a row, starting in the Toronto series and a third final on the trot in the space of three weeks, India stand a healthy chance to bring home the second successive title. India will, however, have to contend with the resilience of the Proteas and the poor overall record against them — 30 per cent success rate — despite the grand eight-wicket victory in the first league tie against the World Cup semifinalists. The Indian community here have requested Jadeja’s boys to join a special prayer meeting for tomorrow’s final. Going by the passion the game arouses back home, millions of prayers must be going up for the team. And if they were to have a bearing, India may well be clear favourites. “We may have lost far more matches than we have won in the past, but this is a different team. We have not over the past few weeks rested upon our earlier performance and have given our hundred per cent on the field. The team is young and we have enjoyed ourselves thoroughly”, Jadeja said. The enjoyment has been reflected in each of the three matches where openers Sourav Ganguly and Sadagopan Ramesh have given a decent start. And if the batting lost direction in the middle overs like the match against Kenya, the death overs have proved very productive. India put up 84 runs against the hosts in a remarkable final assault, and against Zimbabwe yesterday, when the going was good right through, the lower order stepped up the tempo to score as many as 94 runs. If India continue with the trend, they will have a chip on their shoulders against the South Africans. While the most recognised batsmen in the side have got runs against their names, onus will be again on Rahul Dravid to convert his good nick into a big score like he did against the West Indies in the final of the Toronto series. The stylish Karnataka batsman is known to revel in conditions not conducive to batting and against express pace. With the weathermen predicting showers in the evening today and overcast conditions tomorrow, India will be looking at Dravid to keep one end going against the South African quickies on a damp track. Both captains have made the right noises about the wicket, ahead of the final. While Jadeja has criticised it as being “excessively watered and unfavourable to batsmen”, Hansie Cronje has expressed his fears about being given “a slow turner like in the subcontinent” for the final. Harilal Shah, captain of the East African team in the inaugural 1975 World Cup, and now in charge of the wicket here, contends that the wicket will favour the fast bowlers in the early part of the day. With so much attention centring around the 22-yard strip, it goes without saying that toss will be a crucial factor tomorrow. Jadeja has not been lucky with the coin so far and must be looking forward to be fourth time lucky to seize the initial advantage. His opening bowlers — Venkatesh Prasad and Debashish Mohanty have given early breakthroughs, save the match against South Africa in which the spinners ran through. While Sunil Joshi was the match-winner against South Africa, Nikhil Chopra has been the most consistent performer in the spin department. The Delhi off-spinner is the highest wicket-taker in the tournament so far with nine wickets, and has bowled a nagging line right through to keep the batsmen in check even when the going has been rough. However, it’s Vijay Bhardwaj who has been a revelation for India. The bespectacled 24-year-old newcomer has picked up six wickets from the three matches with his fastish off-spin and has bowled with remarkable poise as was evident both in the opener against South Africa and against Zimbabwe yesterday. He has displayed a similar calm at the crease in each of the three innings, the 41-run cameo against Kenya being the most impressive and fruitful. But more than anything else the Bangalore boy’s zeal to put the team before self has been most refreshing and that seems to have rubbed off on the team. For the South Africans, the going has not been smooth in Nairobi so far. They have looked rusty and do not seem to have got back to the groove after the long lay off after the World Cup. They have had only one convincing win so far — the eight wicket win over Zimbabwe — and have not succeeded in putting their act together. Both against India and Kenya, they got off to a poor start and while they collapsed in front of the Indian spinners, they salvaged the innings against the hosts through Jacques Kallis and vice-captain Shaun Pollock. With Herschelle Gibbs doubtful for the final because of the toe-sprain he suffered in the match against Zimbabwe, South Africa will have to rely on Boeta Dippenaar at the top. The Free State youngster has been far from impressive in his two innings so far and if Gibbs misses the match tomorrow, the Proteas have a problem on hand right at the top. Cronje promoted himself up the order against Kenya but failed and that has added to the pressure on the South African skipper whose poor run since the World Cup continues. Another weak link in the South Africa middle-order has been Dale Benkenstein, who has looked tentative in both his knocks. The ability of the South Africans to negotiate the spinners will be on test tomorrow, though they have improved with each match after the debacle against India in the opener. The Indian bowlers will
be really wary of Jacques Kallis and Lance Klusener, the
former for his solidity and the latter for his firepower.
Pumped up by the Ceat Awards given last evening for their
performances, if the two click India will definitely have
a tough time on the field. |
Bangladesh shatter India’s hopes KATHMANDU, Oct 2 (PTI) — A spirited Bangladesh shrugged off their indifferent form to humble reigning champions India by a solitary second-half goal and romp into the final of the SAF Games football championship here today. Substitute striker Mohd Shajuddin Tipu produced a brilliant goal in the second session to shatter India’s hopes of retaining the title in a match which seldom rose to great heights. The Indians, who had won their league matches by huge margins, were a pale shadow of their self today and had themselves to blame for the debacle as they failed to play to their full potential when it mattered most. After a barren opening session, Tipu, who came in as substitute for Mizanur Rehaman, unleashed a stunning 30-yard right footer to find the target in the 19th minute of second half to put Bangladesh ahead and they latched on to the lead till the very end much to the frustrations of the Indians. The lone goal came as a surprise to the Indians, who did not expect Tipu to take the attempt and goalkeeper Virender Singh was in no position to stop the curling long ranger despite diving full length. The goal had a demoralising effect on the Indians who seemed too desperate to get the equaliser and made a number of feeble and aimless attempts at the rival goal without much luck. Bangladesh, who had struggled to find their peak form in league stage and had lost to the Maldives, regained their touch at the right time to avenge their solitary goal defeat against India in the last SAF Games final in Chennai four years back. Bangladesh will now meet the winner of second semifinal between the Maldives and hosts Nepal in the final scheduled to be held on October 4, the day of the closing ceremony of the 12-event sporting extravaganza. The Indians, who had managed to score an early goal in all their league matches, appeared to be a little tentative in the initial stages and the forwards invariably failed to get their act together inside the box. The overtly defensive Indians did managed to break the Bangladeshi defence on a number of occasions but did not pose much of a threat due to the poor finishing. The heavy downpour before the start of the match rendered the ground slippery and soggy and both the teams found it a little difficult of control the ball. “We were a little defensive and the players were off colour today. We simply did not play to our full potential,” the Indian chief coach Sukhwinder Singh said after the match. Mercurial striker I.M.
Vijayan, who struck two consecutive hattricks in the
league matches, could not be very effective today as he
was well marked right through the contest while none of
the other Indians could make much of an impact. |
Indian marksmen reign supreme KATHMANDU, Oct 2 (UNI) — Indian marksmen continued to reign supreme winning all the three gold medals at stake, as Jaspal Rana, without stretching himself much, won his third individual gold in the shooting events of the eighth SAF games here today. Jaspal won the men’s 10 m air pistol gold with 670.7 points, far behind his SAF games record of 676.1 and also played a leading role in the team championship victory giving a good lead at the end of elimination rounds. Ved Prakash and Vivek Singh did their job to perfection along side Jaspal to ensure the team gold for India with a record total of 1706, erasing the existing score of 1687 set by Bangladesh in 1993 Games at Dhaka. Personally it was the sixth gold for the Indian ace Jaspal having played a leading role in the team championship victories also. The other gold came in the free rifle 3 position when the Indian trio of a Subbiah, Ashok Kumar Shahi and T.C. Palangappa altogether tallied 3345 points way ahead of second placed Bangladesh (3269) and Sri Lanka (3236). The individual events in this section would be held tomorrow. India has so far won 18 of the 23 gold medals decided in the shooting events. It was a memorable performance by Ved Prakash and Vivek Singh. With Pakistan shooters doing so well in the initial phase, there was an air of suspicion in the Indian camp. But Vivek and Ved Prakash did exceedingly well to maintain the lead given by Jaspal for the team event gold. The performance by Ved Prakash and Vivek Singh was far more creditable in the final round of 10 shots where they shot themselves into contention to ensure the silver and bronze for India. It was simply superb. Placed third and fifth respectively at the end of elimination round with scores of 567 (Ved Prakash) and 563 (Vivek Singh), the two Indians came up with a forget- me-not performance displaying good concentration and consistency. Vivek particularly shot six ten-plus and three 9.9 scores to gain the edge over their Pakistani rivals and win the bronze. But for 8.7 in the first shot, Ved Prakash also shot consistently to finish behind Jaspal, whose performance was far from impressive. But he still won the gold with a score of 670.7 Ved Prakash (665.4) Vivek (664.9) finished behind him. Men’s: 10m air pistol: Team championship: |
Indian spikers set up title clash with Pak KATHMANDU, Oct 2 (PTI) — Reigning champions India shrugged off their lethargy to quell Bangladesh in straight sets and set up a summit clash with a arch rival Pakistan in the SAF Games men’s volleyball championship here today. The Indian spikers played below par but managed to get the better of Bangladesh with a 25-16, 25-10, 25-15 triumph to romp into the final where they will get the opportunity to avenge their defeat against Pakistan in the league stage. Pakistan demolished hosts Nepal 25-16, 25-11, 25-17 in the other semifinal. Jolted by the defeat against Pakistan, the Indians still seemed to struggle to find their peak form and both their spiking and blocking quality left much to be desired though Bangladeshi spikers could not capitalise on the lapses. Amir Singh brought off some brilliant spikes in patches but lacked the consistency but Roy Joseph and Tom Joseph were quite effective in finding the gaps in the rival defence. The Pakistan met with a spirited challenge by the Nepalese who made them fight for every point amidst cheers from the home crowd. The Pakistani spikers made full use of their experience to come out of tight positions and eventually win the match in straight sets. The Indian women spikers maintained their winning spree and kept themselves on course for the gold by spanking Bangladesh in straight sets in the five-team round robin league. The Indian eves, who had won the gold in the last SAF Games in Chennai, were not really tested as they carved out a convincing 25-9, 25-12, 25-7 verdict to register their third successive victory. In another round robin
league match, hosts Nepal thrashed lowly Maldives 25-16,
25-15, 25-11. |
Venus Williams avenges US Open loss MUNICH (Germany), Oct 2 (Reuters) — World No. 1 Martina Hingis was beaten 6-2, 6-7, 7-9 by Venus Williams in a thrilling Grand Slam Cup semifinal yesterday. The defending champion won the first set unexpectedly easily but then fought off a valiant comeback by the Swiss. “It was a great match,” said Williams after avenging her defeat by Hingis in the US Open semifinals three weeks ago. “It was back and forth the whole way. We both fought hard. I didn’t want to lose. I wanted to come out the victor for once.” The two and a half hours clash was easily the best of the tournament. World No. 3 Williams will play Lindsay Davenport or sister Serena Williams for the $ 800,000 first prize in Sunday’s final. In the men’s quarterfinals, Briton Greg Rusedski defeated second seed Yevgeny Kafelnikov of Russia 7-5, 7-6 and Ukrainian Andrei Medvedev eliminated Dutchman Richard Karjicek 7-6, 6-4. Williams blasted 18 aces in a ferocious display of power tennis but she also double-faulted 12 times. Many of the American’s returns seemed to be faster than her opponent’s service. “It was almost embarrassing at the beginning,” said Hingis. “It was like, what going on? This can’t be happening.” “I was surprised by the way she was serving,” added Hingis, who had beaten Williams in eight of their 11 previous meetings. “From what I remember, her serves usually fall apart. I even had some problems on her second serve today.” Williams cut Hingis to pieces three times and fired blazing above 185 kph. Hingis did not manage one ace. Williams threatened to turn the match into a rout, going ahead 4-1 in the second set before Hingis began her comeback and forced a tie-break. Hingis led 4-2 before Williams surged ahead and reached match point at 6-5. But Hingis took the next three points to claim the tie-break 8-6. “I thought I was going to close it out,” said Williams, trying to explain the second-set slump that let Hingis back into the match. “It just didn’t turn out that way.” In the decisive set. Hingis led 4-1 before Williams levelled at 6-6. Williams took the decisive break in the 15th game and served out for the match. “I had my chances in the third set and did’t cash in,” said Hingis, who still earned $ 300,000. Williams said Hingis still deserved to be number one, but that she, her sister and Davenport were all closing in on the pinnacle. “I was myself would
love to be number one,” said Williams. “I know
Serena wants to be number one. Most likely Lindsay wants
to be number one. We’re all trying our best. Right
now she (Hingis) is at the top and deserves to be there.
One day I’ll deserve that spot,” too. |
Ponting hits century on rain-hit day COLOMBO, Oct 2 (Reuters) — Ricky Ponting hit his fourth Test century today but further rain increased the prospect of Australia’s first Test series defeat by Sri Lanka. Play was abandoned shortly after lunch on the third day of the third and final Test with only one innings completed. Australia carried their overnight score of 318 for seven to 342 all out in the 43 minutes of play. Only 506 minutes of play have been possible out of a total 1,080 minutes during the first three days of the Test. Ponting, who resumed on 90, reached his century with an on-driven boundary off Muttiah Muralitharan. He had faced 168 balls and hit 10 boundaries. Muralitharan broke the 80-run eighth wicket stand between Ponting and Damiem Fleming when he had Fleming caught by Marvan Atapattu for 32. Medium pace bowler Chaminda Vaas then claimed the wickets of Collin Miller and Glenn McGrath, both out without scoring. Ponting remained unbeaten on 105. Vaas finished with four for 54. Sri Lanka won the first Test and the second ended in a draw. Scoreboard Australia (Ist innings)
(overnight 318-7) Extras: (nb-10) 10 Total: (all out 136.4 overs) 342 Fall of wickets: 1-126 2-147 3-182 4-183 5-221 6-253 7-255 8-335 9-342 Bowling: Vaas
23.4-5-54-4, Zoysa 10-4-23-0, Herath 35-10-98-2,
Muralitharan 52-5-150-3, Jayasuriya 9-2-14-0, Arnold
7-4-3-1. |
Paddlers clinch a grand treble KATHMANDU, Oct 2 (PTI) — India clinched a grand treble winning the men’s and women’s doubles as well as the mixed doubles while Chetan Baboor and S. Raman kept on course for singles honours by storming into the semifinals of the SAF Games table tennis competitions here today. Baboor and Raman, the top seeds, bagged the men’s doubles gold beating compatriots Arup Basak and Arjun Datta 21-16, 21-19 in an all-India affair while Anandita Chakraborty and Mantu Ghosh overcame a fighting Poulomi Ghatak and N.R. Indu 21-17, 14-21, 21-14 in an exciting clash as the Indian paddlers expectedly dominated the event. Baboor and Mantu claimed their third gold when they outclassed Pakistan giant-killers Asim Qureshi and Gazhala Roohi 21-14, 21-18 in the mixed doubles final. The Pakistani pair had ousted top seeds Raman and Poulomi Ghatak in the quarterfinals last night. Earlier, top ranked Chetan Baboor and S. Raman carved out facile victories to romp into men’s singles semifinals. Top seeded Baboor played
below par but still managed to demolish Syed
Mosaddequl-Huq Rochi of Bangladesh 21-16 21-13 21-14 and
second seed Raman accounted for Sri Lanka’s
Priyadasa Thilina Laknath 21-16 21-11 21-15 to have
rather smooth passage to semifinal in the men’s
singles event. |
Reetinder, T. Kumaran wreck Karnataka BANGALORE, Oct 2 (PTI) — The Rest of India were 93 for three wickets in their first innings in reply to Karnataka’s 170, at close of play on the second day of the five-day Irani Trophy match here today. Sudhanshu Kotak and Hemang Badani were at the crease with 12 each when stumps were drawn for the day at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium here. Javagal Srinath, D. Ganesh and Anand Yalvigi claimed a wicket each for Karnataka. Earlier, Ranji champions Karnataka were bundled out for 170 in 79.3 overs, in 360 minutes. The Rest of India began disastrously losing Hyderabad’s VVS Laxman, who had led the India ‘A’ side in the recent Los Angeles tournament, in the fifth over. Speedster Srinath, seeking to get back into the Indian team, was his usual attacking self, having Laxman clean bowled for just one when the team’s total was 7. Scoreboard Somasundar c Nilesh Kulkarni b H.S. Sodhi 21,Vijay lbw H.S. Sodhi 8, Tilak Naidu b Kumaran 5,Arun Kumar lbw b Kumaran 30, Sriram lbw b Kumaran 6, Kumble c Kulkarni b R.S. Sodhi 1, Shiruguppi c Kotak b R.S. Sodhi 42, Srinath c Laxman b Kumaran 12,Yalvigi c Mongia b R.S. Sodhi 23, Ganesh b R.S. Sodhi 4, Katti not out 1. Extras: (b-1, lb-7, nb-9) 17 Total: (all out off 79.3 overs in 360 minutes) 170 Fall of wickets: 1-29, 2-52, 3-69, 4-80, 5-81, 6-96, 7-130, 8-155, 9-166. Bowling: H.S. Sodhi 20-2-46-2, T. Kumaran 23-10-47-4, Kulkarni 17-9-36-0, R.S. Sodhi 19.3-7-33-4. Rest of India (first innings): Laxman b Srinath 1, Haldipur b Yalvigi 40, Das c Somasundar b Ganesh 23, Kotak batting 12, Badani batting 12. Extras: (b-4, lb-1) 5. Total: (for 3 wkts off 37 overs, 155 munutes) 93 Fall of wickets: 1-7, 2-67, 3-69. Bowling: Ganesh
13-3-31-1, Srinath 11-3-25-1, Kumble 7-1-21-0, Yalvigi
5-0-10-1, Katti 1-0-1-0. |
Surjit hockey from Nov 5 JALANDHAR, Oct 2 (UNI) — The 16th All-India Surjit Memorial Hockey Tournament will be held here from November 5 to 13. A Surjit hockey society spokesman here today said 17 teams would take part in the tournament to be played on a knockout-cum-league basis. He said that while 12 teams would play in the knockout round out of which three would qualify for the super-league, four semifinalists of last year and Indian Airlines have been seeded directly into the super-league to be divided into two groups of four teams each. The two top teams from each group would qualify for the semifinals, he added. While holders Border Security Force, runners-up Punjab and Sind Bank and two other semifinalists Punjab Police and Air India besides Indian Airlines have been seeded direct into the super-league, three teams out of the remaining 12 would qualify for the super-league.The 12 teams are Rail Coach Factory, Kapurthala, Bharat Petroleum, Mumbai, Tata Sports Mumbai, EME, Jalandhar, Punjab State Electricity Board, (Patiala), Corps of Signals, Jalandhar, Indo-Tibetean Police Force, Army Service Corps, Jalandhar and Sikh Regimental Centre, Punjab and Sind Bank Academy, Surjit Hockey Academy and Sail Academy. The spokesman said the
Indian Hockey Federation had appointed international
hockey umpires Shakil Quereshi, R.S. Sodhi, V.B. Singh,
P.S. Bhatia, Balwinder Shammi, Satinder Sharma and M.S.
Reen to referee the tournament, which is being sponsored
by the Indian Oil Corporation and Coca Cola among others. |
Final day’s play washed out PUNE, Oct 2 (PTI) — The third and final day’s play in the visiting New Zealand team’s tour opener against India ‘A’ was washed out here today because of a slushy outfields following heavy rain last night. Umpires E.V. Jayprakash and M.R. Singh had a cursory look at the unplayable ground conditions and promptly called off play and the match was abandoned as a draw. Only three hours’ play was possible yesterday on the second day of the three-day match. The kiwis made 135 for 6 in 44 overs after winning the toss. Nathan Astle (29) and Chris Cairns (1) remained unbeaten at the end. The opening day’s play on Thursday was also washed out without a ball being bowled. The tourists now take on Board President xi led by Hrishikesh Kanitkar in a three-day match commencing at Jodhpur on October 5. The first Test in the three Test series against host India is scheduled from October 10 to 14 at Mohali. Delhi youngster Amit Bhandari was the sole player who was able to make an impression in the rain-hit match. Medium-pacer Bhandari,
who turned 21 yesterday, showed a pleasing approach by
pegging on the off-stump and moving the ball both ways. |
Malini clinches gold KATHMANDU, Oct 2 (PTI) — India’s G. Malini won the gold medal in the women’s heavyweight category as hosts Nepal dominated by bagging four of the six gold medals on offer on the opening day of the SAF Games taekwondo competitions here today. Malini prevailed over her formidable Nepali challenger Manju Taludhar to give India something to cheer about on the first day of an event which has been introduced in the Games for the first time. The Indians, who were
expected to fare better in the feather and fin weight
category while Manju Naik (men’s fin weight), Renu
Dutta Mishal (men’s heavy weight), Rani Bala Devi
(women’s feather weight), K. Bhagyalatha
(women’s fin weight) were the bronze winners on the
opening day at the Shahanshan Hall here. |
PSB, Punjab cops move into
semis CHANDIGARH, Oct 2 — Defending champions Punjab and Sind Bank and Punjab Police, Jalandhar, justified their seeding in the last eight by outclassing Food Corporation of India and Punjab State Electricity Board, respectively, in the quarterfinals of the 29th All-India Gurmit Memorial Hockey Tournament at the Sector 42 hockey stadium here today. While title holders Punjab and Sind Bank had little difficulty in edging out FCI (northern region) by a brace, scoring once in each half, star-studded Punjab Police almost turned the contest against PSEB one-sided with a late second-half resurgence. The final score of 6-2 only reflected the domination of the Punjab cops, who otherwise missed the services of Olympian Baljit Singh Dhillon, sidelined for the past few weeks due an injury. In the semifinals to be played tomorrow, Punjab Police will take on Border Security Force while Punjab and Sind Bank will clash with Air India to decide the finalists of the tournament . Punjab and Sind Bank, as usual, relied on former Olympian Sanjeev Kumar who, on numerous occasions in the past, has steered his side to memorable wins. While Sanjeev himself scored the second goal for his side today, he was also instrumental in setting up many intelligent moves. When he left the ground for a brief spell, the bank men’s attack seemed to have lost its sting. Punjab and Sind Bank commenced the proceedings on a promising note with Sanjeev initiating a move near the centre line. His through pass to Bhupinder saw the latter putting Parminder in possession, but Parminder’s hit missed the target by inches. Thereafter Sandeep combined with Parminder but the move fizzled out. The much-awaited goal for PSB came in the 27th minute when they were awarded a penalty corner. Off the subsequent hit, a passing bout ensued between full back Rajinder Singh and Parminder and ultimately the ball came to Sandeep who was sharp enough to put the ball in the FCI goal. The FCI attack spearheaded by Rajeev, Harbir and Sanjeet was blunted by the alert PSB defence and goalkeeper Teja Singh, too, was outstanding under the bank men’s bar. In the second half, PSB could have added another goal when Bhupinder’s pass to Parminder saw the latter attempting a hit from hand-shaking distance but the ball missed the target narrowly. It was in the 62nd minute that the bank men consolidated the lead. Sandeep Singh Ghuman sent a neat pass to Sanjeev whose not-so-powerful hit sailed into the goalmouth (2-0). FCI did try to come back into the match later through Rajeev but PSB custodian Teja Singh stood his ground, palming away a couple of dangerous hits. FCI earned a penalty corner in the last minute which was availed after the final hooter but even that proved abortive. The last quarter-final between Punjab Police and PSEB remained largely one-sided. After a couple of unsuccessful attempts, the Punjab cops forged ahead in the 15th minute when Sarabjit Singh, on receiving a pass inside the ‘D’ turned around to shoot home with lightning speed (1-0). Baljit Bhullar could have added another goal midway through the first half but his scoop off a penalty corner saw the ball sailing over the cross-piece. However, in the 26th minute centre-forward Daljit Singh Dhillon made it 2-0 in favour of Punjab Police following a penalty corner. PSEB pulled one back before the breather when Sawind Singh found the target with a penalty corner hit. In the second-half, the Punjab cops compounded the misery of their rivals pumping in goals at regular intervals. After Sarabjit made it 3-1 with a field goal in the 51st minute, full-back Sukhwinder Singh found the target once again with a direct hit off a penalty corner making it 4-1. In the 60th minute Kuljinder scored another field goal for Punjab Police but PSEB’s Yog Raj managed to reduce the deficit with a field goal three minutes later (2-5). With only five minutes to go for the long hooter, Daljit capitalised on a pass from Harpreet to make it 6-2 in favour of Punjab Police. Sunday’s fixtures:
(semifinals) Punjab Police v Border Security Force —
1.30 p.m.; Punjab and Sind Bank v Air-India — 3 p.m. |
Vishal, Kamaljit enter final LUDHIANA, Oct 2 — Vishal and Kamaljit both from Patiala reached the cadet boys final of the 11th Prithipal Singh Memorial Open Table Tennis Tournament at the P.S. Sports Centre of Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) here today. In the semifinals, Vishal outplayed his town mate Harpreet 21-19, 21-15, while Kamaljit defeated Nitesh of Khanna 21-19, 18-21, 23-21. In the cadet girls section, Manisha Sharma of Patiala outclassed Neha Sharma also of Patiala 21-18, 21-12 and Ritika Chopra from Ropar overpowered Jaspreet of Patiala 21-19, 21-18 to enter the final. Results: Cadet Boys singles (q-final): Vishal Raj (Pta) b Nitin (Kha) 21-18, 21-16; Harpreet (Pta) b Munish Bhel (Ldh) 21-19, 22-20; Munish Saini (Pta) b Rohit (Pta) 21-18, 21-15; Kamaljit (Pta) b Nitesh (Kha) 21-19, 23-21. Sub-junior girls (q-final): Ritika (Rop) b Sarika (Pta) 21-16, 21-19; Charu (Jal) b Gagandeep (Rop) 21-19, 21-18; Manisha (Pta) b Raleta (Kha) 21-15, 21-14; Rauneet (Rop) b Jasleen (Ldh) 21-19, 21-18. Cadet boys singles (semis): Vishal (Pta) b Harpreet (Pta) 21-19, 21-15; Kamaljit (Pta) b Nitesh (Kha) 21-19, 18-21, 23-21. Cadet girls (semis): Manisha Sharma (Pta) b Neha Sharma (Pta) 21-18, 21-12; Ritika Chopra (Rop) b Jaspreet (Pta) 21-19, 21-8.Dadhwal/PRT/07.45 p.m. Surinder Kaur of College of Home Science and Satyajeet Anand of College of Agriculture Engineering won the Punjab Agricultural University single titles in the women’s and men’s section, respectively yesterday. In the finals, Surinder Kaur prevailed over Harpreet Sodhi, also of College of Home Science 21-18, 21-19 while in the men’s section, Satyajeet Anand got the better of Munish Dhiman of College of Agriculture 21-18, 21-17. PAU men’s singles (pre-quarterfinals): Arvind Arya (COAE) b Gaurav Arora (COA) 21-18, 21-19; Pankaj Kumar (COVS) b Gaganpreet Singh (COBS) 21-19, 21-18; Anubhav (COVS) b Raman Chopra (COA) 22-20, 21-15; Saurav (COA) b Samrat Khurana (COVS) 21-19, 23-21; Amandeep Singh (COBS) b Navdeep Singh Bajwa (COVS) 21-18, 21-15. Q-finals: Arvind Airy (COAE) b Sanjay (COA) 21-15, 21-18; Pankaj Kumar (COVSC) lost to Satyajeet Anand (COAE) 21-18, 19-21, 21-18; Mayank Jain (COBSC) b Anubhav (COVSC) 21-18, 22-20; Munish Dhiman (COA) b Navdeep (COVSC) 21-18, 20-22, 22-20. Semis: Satyajeet Anand (COAE) b Arvind Airy (COAE) 21-18, 20-22, 21-19; Munish Dhiman (COA) b Mayank Jain (COBSC) 21-19, 23-21. Final: Satyajeet Anand b Munish Dhiman 21-18, 21-17. Women’s singles (q-finals): Surinder Kaur (COHSC) b Mandeep Kaur (COHSC) 21-18, 21-19; Rupinder Kaur (COBSC and H) b Narinder Kaur (COHSC) 21-17, 21-15; Ravneet Kaur (COHSC) b Simarit Preet Kaur (COA) 21-19, 21-15; Harpreet Sodhi (COHSC) b Jyotsna Attri (COHSC) 21-18, 21-12. Semis: Surinder Kaur (COHSC) b Rupinder Kaur (COBSC) 21-19, 21-18; Harpreet Sodhi (COHSC) b Ravneet Kaur (COHSC) 21-18, 21-15. Final: Surinder Kaur b
Harpreet Sodhi 21-18, 21-19. |
TN swimmer sets endurance record CHENNAI, Oct 2 (PTI) — Former national swimming champion, Sandeep Kumar of Tamil Nadu, has created a world record in ‘endurance’ by swimming continuously for 30 hours. The feat is being included in the Guinness Book of Records, according to a Underwater Federation of India Press statement released here yesterday. The 23-year-old Sandeep Kumar, a former captain of Tamil Nadu contingent in the Nationals, had covered a distance of 91.9 km in the Velachery Aquatic Complex here on Sunday last, the statement said. He would be felicitated
at a function here on October 4, it added. |
Dutch club offers contract to Pillay MUMBAI, Oct 2 (PTI) — Former Indian hockey team captain and mercurial striker Dhanraj Pillay has been offered a six-month contract to play for the Dutch team Klein Zwitserland Club. The captain of the Maharashtra team which went on a European tour recently was offered the contract for the second-half of the Dutch league (till February 2000) by the Netherlands hockey legend and chairman of Klein Club, Ties Kruize, according to an official, who accompanied the team to Europe, on Thursday. Kruize offered Pillay the contract after watching the star striker during the Hague Hockeydays $10,000 prize money event where Pillay scored four goals and helped Maharashtra finish fifth, the official added. The Klein Zwitserland Club won the Hague event but Pillay had impressed Kruize when he slammed in three goals against Bloemendaal, which had four players from the World Cup winning Dutch national squad — Jaap Berk Buma, Teun de Nooijer, Remco Van Wijk and Erik Jazet — in its lineup. The foreign hockey
professionals in the Dutch league earn around Rs six lakh
per season and other perks including a car. Apart from
this they earn substantial amount coaching junior teams
attached to the club and through endorsements. |
H
Dist sports meet
results Results: Girls 19: Under 14: Sub-junior
b’minton The Junior National
Badminton Championship would be conducted from November
25 to December 1 this year, at Kohima (Nagaland). |
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