Bhopal: Sunita Rani of Railways on her way to set new meet record in women's 5000 mts event at the 39th Open National Athletic championship in Bhopal on Friday — PTI photo

Irina wins Punjab Open CHANDIGARH, Oct. 29 — Irina Brar could not have asked for more. A day after her 16th birthday she emerged the champion in the seventh Punjab Open ladies Amateur Golf Championship, which concluded at the Chandigarh Golf Club here today. Randhawa, Williams joint leaders NEW DELHI, Oct 29 — Jyoti Randhawa’s splendid display, Feroz Ali’s missed putts, Gaurav Ghei’s remarkable display of five under 67 and Jeev Milkha Singh’s self-inflicted two-stroke penalty were some of the notable Indian highlights on the second-day of the four-round Hero Honda Masters Golf Championship at the Delhi Golf Club course here today.

Agassi, Rusedski sail through
STUTTGART, Oct 29 — Andre Agassi was once again inspired by the presence of his new girlfriend Steffi Graf as he cruised into the quarterfinals of the $ 2.45-million Eurocard Open yesterday, 6-4, 6-2 over Dutchman Sjeng Schalken.

Srinath, Chicoine enter final
PUNE, Oct 29 — Top seed Prahlad Srinath of India and fifth seed Tom Chicoine of the USA today entered the final of the second leg of the ITF Satellite Tennis Circuit at the Deccan Gymkhana courts here.

Dalbir shatters w’lifting record
JALANDHAR, Oct 29 — Dalbir Singh salvaged Punjab Police lifters’ prestige in the 48th All-India Police Games at Punjab Armed Police’s headquarters here today.

Aravinda opts out of tour
COLOMBO, Oct 29 — Sri Lanka’s batsman Aravinda de Silva yesterday opted out of the upcoming tour of Zimbabwe citing personal reasons, cricket officials here said.

Ramesh, Sachin hit centuries

AHMEDABAD, Oct 29 (PTI) — Opener Sadagopan Ramesh and skipper Sachin Tendulkar cracked splendid centuries as Indian batsmen completely dominated the opening day to take command in the third and final cricket Test against New Zealand today.

Tendulkar struck a cultured, unbeaten 104 for his 21st Test hundred after left-hander Ramesh made a strokeful 110 in his customary style to notch up the second ton of his fledgling career as India piled up 311 for three wickets to take the upper hand at the Sardar Patel Stadium here.

The hosts, 1-0 up in the series, were handsomely placed with Tendulkar and Saurav Ganguly (51 batting) bracing themselves for much more having raised 129 runs for the fourth wicket after Tendulkar won the toss and promptly chose to bat.

The 26-year-old Tendulkar was unconquered after drawing level with former skipper Mohammed Azharuddin in Test hundreds and the batting maestro now stands only behind Sunil Gavaskar (34). He has struck 17 fours, facing 163 balls in a stay of 247 minutes.

But the in-form Ramesh built the Indian innings superbly to set the stage for his skipper to arrive and send the Kiwis on a leather hunt. The 24-year-old batsman was a picture of minimum footwork but sweet timing as he peppered his knock with a string of shots behind and square of the wicket on the off side cashing in on the easy-paced pitch.

Ramesh, with significant scores of 73 and 83 in the first two Tests, batted for 208 minutes, faced 169 balls and struck 13 fours. 

Ramesh put on 82 runs for the second wicket with Rahul Dravid, who made 33 off 64 balls, after the early fall of his opening partner Devang Gandhi (6) in the ninth over when India were 20.

The left-hander then strung together a stand of 80 for the fourth wicket with Tendulkar, whose step-out drives in the “V” were in contrast to the mainly static footwork of Ramesh as the latter fetched runs mainly square and behind the wickets.

Tendulkar started cautiously and then opened out with blazing pull shots off Daniel Vettori on the placid track whenever the young left-arm spinner bowled short and was also on to the pitch of the ball on twinkling toes whenever the bowlers overpitched a wee bit.

But the master batsman, who was in total command, was lucky to escape being caught when on 94 in the 83rd over of the day.

Chris Cairns, operating the first over with the second new ball, pitched one a shade short and Tendulkar mispulled. Nathan Astle ran back from the slip cordon and got underneath the ball but dropped the top-edge much to the chagrin of the hard-pressed Kiwi players striving to square the series.

Tendulkar, who promptly reached his hundred square-cutting Dion Nash to the point fence, had put on an ominous looking partnership with Ganguly, who reached his 11th Test fifty just before stumps (118 b, 8x4’s).

With the Kiwi bowling holding no threat whatsoever on the benign pitch and this Indian pair looking in good touch, a tall score is on the cards.

In the morning, Tendulkar won the vital toss for the first time in the short series and the hosts called the shots for almost the entire day once they recovered from the early fall of Gandhi, who had made 75, 88 and 31 not out in his previous three innings in this series.

The opener inside-edged a ball from Cairns which deviated a bit into him and was caught by wicket-keeper Adam Parore on his second attempt.

Thereafter, it was India’s day with the consistent Ramesh blossoming in the company of Dravid to take them to a healthy lunchtime score of 93 for one in 28 overs and then joining hands with his captain to grind the Kiwi bowling.

Dravid was caught behind off Vettori trying to cut in the second over after lunch, and India were 102 for 2 in the 30th over. Another wicket at this stage might have put pressure on the Indian batsmen.

But Tendulkar and Ramesh weathered some tight bowling from Dion Nash and Vettori before gradually re-asserting themselves. Ramesh reached his century in three and a half hours after facing 155 balls, half an hour before tea.

But 12 minutes before the interval, he casually stretched out to Chris Harris, one of the two changes in the New Zealand team from their Kanpur eleven, and edged to lone slip Craig Spearman, who had dropped Gandhi earlier in the day at third slip off Cairns.

This brought together Ganguly and Tendulkar and the two went on to further pile on the runs with attacking methods.

SCOREBOARD

India (1st innings):

Gandhi c Parore b Cairns 6

Ramesh c Spearman b Harris 110

Dravid c Parore b Vettori 33

Tendulkar batting 104

Ganguly batting 51

Extras (b-3, lb-1, nb-3): 7

Total (for 3 wkts, 90 overs): 311

Fall of wickets: 1-20, 2-102, 3-182

Bowling: Cairns 17-4-56-1, Nash 17-4-46-0, Vettori 28-2-103-1, Astle 2-0-12-0, Harris 12-3-40-1, Wiseman 14-2-50-0.

South Africa dominate

BLOEMFONTEIN, Oct 29 (Reuters) — Shaun Pollock took his 10th five-wicket haul in Test cricket as South Africa dominated the opening day of the first Test against Zimbabwe today.

Pollock took five for 39 as Zimbabwe were shot out for 192 on a pitch of steep but consistent bounce. South Africa were 29 without loss by the close.

The paceman was on target from the start, trapping Grant Flower in front for a duck with his second delivery.

Pollock’s performance put him ahead of his fast bowling father Peter, who took nine five-wicket hauls for South Africa in 28 Tests.

Guy Whittall prolonged the innings with a defiant 85, scored in 148 minutes. He hit 14 boundaries.

ZIMBABWE (first innings):

G. Flower lbw b Pollock 0

Gripper run out 16

Goodwin c Boucher b Pollock 7

Campbell c Klusener b Pollock 27

A. Flower lbw b Pollock 13

Johnson c Boucher b Donald 6

Rennie c Cullinan b Kallis 14

Whittall c Boucher b Kallis 85

Strang c Cronje b Pollock 9

Olonga b Kallis 1

Mbangwa not out 0

Extras (lb-6 nb-5 w-3) 14

Total (all out in 75 overs) 192

Fall of wickets: 1-1, 2-14, 3-41, 4-63, 5-78, 6-79, 7-117, 8-140, 9-183.

Bowling: Donald 18-5-58-1 (w-2), Pollock 21-6-39-5 (nb-5), Klusener 16-5-40-0, Kallis 17-4-44-3 (w-1), Adams 3-1-5-0.

South Africa (first innings)

B. Dippenaar not out 17

A. Bacher not out 9

Extras (nb-3) 3

Total (without loss) 29

Bowling: Olonga 4-1-11-0 (nb-1), Strang 6-3-10-0 (nb-2), Johnson 2-0-8-0, G. Flower 1-1-0-0.

Ntini wins appeal

JOHANNESBURG, Oct 29 (Reuters) — Top black South African cricketer Makhaya Ntini today won his appeal against a rape conviction and a six-year jail term that had nearly ruined his sporting career, the South African Press Association reported.

The high court Judge in the eastern Cape Town on Grahamstown said there were too many deficiencies in the state’s case, the news agency reported.

It said Grahamstown acting high court Judge Chris Whitehead had ruled that the guilt of Ntini, who made history as the first black African to play for South Africa, had not been proved beyond reasonable doubt.

He said the “probabilities were overwhelmingly against the version of the complainant”.

Ntini was convicted on April 23 of the rape last December of a 22-year-old woman in the toilets of Buffalo Park cricket ground in the east coast town of East London where he plays provincial cricket for the border team.

His conviction at that time dealt a blow to South Africa’s hopes of presenting a more racially balance team at the World Cup played in June

Ntini made his Test debut in England last year and had been used as a flag-bearer for multi-racism in cricket , a sport still heavily dominated by whites at all levels in South Africa.

Agassi, Rusedski sail through

STUTTGART, Oct 29 (DPA) — Andre Agassi was once again inspired by the presence of his new girlfriend Steffi Graf as he cruised into the quarterfinals of the $ 2.45-million Eurocard Open yesterday, 6-4, 6-2 over Dutchman Sjeng Schalken.

World number 1 Agassi won the last four games and clinched his third victory in as many meetings with the 55th-ranked Schalken after 79 minutes on his first match point.

Clad all in black, Graf was watching from the players box as Agassi matched his best performance in Stuttgart from 1996, when he also reached the quarters before losing to Pete Sampras.

“He is a very solid player and you have to force him into errors. I had to stay focussed,” said the French Open and US Open champ Agassi, who now meets Romanian wildcard entry Andrei Pavel.

Agassi (29) broke for 4-3 to take the first set. He squandered an early 2-0 lead in the second as Schalken broke back for 2-2, but then reeled off the last four games.

“It is not easy to switch from outdoors to indoors, come in and be 100 per cent”, said Agassi, who is playing only his third tournament under a roof after the US Open title on September 12. The third-seeded US Open runner-up Todd Martin ousted Czech Jiri Novak 6-2, 6-4 and 5 seed Greg Rusedski of Britain needed 77 minutes to dispose of 11 seed and local hope Tommy Hass 6-4, 6-3.

The sixth-seeded Chilean Marcelo Rios ousted 13 seed Nicolas Lapenti of Ecuador in South American duel 6-4, 6-3 but a 4 seed Gustavo Kuerten crashed out, 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 to Swede Thomas Enqvist.

Irina wins Punjab Open
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Oct. 29 — Irina Brar could not have asked for more. A day after her 16th birthday she emerged the champion in the seventh Punjab Open ladies Amateur Golf Championship, which concluded at the Chandigarh Golf Club here today.

Irina gave an outstanding display of golfing temperament and talent. Trailing stalwart Parnita Garewal on the first two days Irina cut loose yesterday and planted herself in the lead which she defended and widened playing impeccable golf today.

Starting the day well Irina made straight pars till the fifth where a missed putt caused a bogey. Only one more dropped shot on the eighth saw her turn at two over par. By then Parnita had made three bogeys and Guneet Raikhy had dropped four shots despite two birdies on the second and fourth.

Irina continued to play steady golf in the back nine and dropping only two more shots cruised home with a three stroke lead over Parnita Garewal who could not raise the birdies that could help her win . Guneet Raikhy who has improved vastly over the last few months did well to finish a close third.

Talking to the Press after her win Irina was all smiles. She said she was pleased to win as she wanted to give herself this birthday present and to prove that her previous win over Parnita was not just a flash in the pan.

Taran Simran Singh won the silver and the senior divisions at a canter from Sheena Sekhon and Vijay Wadhawan who got the “nett” prize.

In the bronze division Vijay Wadhawan took the gross prize and young Mina Johl claimed the nett prize.

At a glittering prize distribution ceremony at the Chandigarh Golf Club Lawns Mrs Vanita Rai, gave away the prizes to the winners.

Punjab Open Cup: Irina Brar (winner).

Punjab Open Silver Salver (Gold division (0-12 handicap): Irina Brar 1, Parnita Garewal 2, Guneet Raikhy 3.

Punjab Open Challenge bowl silver division ( 13-24 handicap): Taran Simran Singh 1, Sheena Sekhon 2, Harinder Sandhu 3. Pikka P Singh (best nett).

Punjab Open Bronze Plate bronze division (25-36 handicap): Vijay Wadhawan 1, Ritu Lumba 2, Neelu Chopra 3. Mina Johl (best nett).

Punjab Open Seniors Trophy ( above 50): Best Gross — Taran Simran Singh; Best nett — Vijay Wadhawan.

Punjab Open Juniors Shield (below 18): Best gross — Irina Brar; Best nett — Guneet Raikhy.

Punjab Open subjunior trophy (below 14): Best gross — Kirat Grewal 1, Best nett—Sruthi Reddy 2.

Randhawa, Williams joint leaders
From Our Sports Reporter

NEW DELHI, Oct 29 — Jyoti Randhawa’s splendid display, Feroz Ali’s missed putts, Gaurav Ghei’s remarkable display of five under 67 and Jeev Milkha Singh’s self-inflicted two-stroke penalty were some of the notable Indian highlights on the second-day of the four-round Hero Honda Masters Golf Championship at the Delhi Golf Club course here today.

Randhawa fired 69 to Chris William’s 70 as they tied for top honours with an aggregate of 138. A stroke behind were Sammy Daniels and Rafael Ponce on 139, while Arjun Singh, Anthony Kang, Scott Taylor and Feroz Ali were placed together on 140.

Relaxed, calm and easy-going, Randhawa played consistently firing 69, three under, while Feroz Ali several birdie-putt misses, which saw him slip from top of the ladder to the fifth position.

Jeev had yet another disastrous day as he teed-off (Ist tee but 10th hole) from the wrong side and had to earn two-stroke penalty. This saw him finish with a poor total of 150, six over, along with Daniel Chopra (Sweden), who also earned a two-stroke penalty for reporting late for his first tee-shot.

Gaurav Ghei was in the most determined mood. Playing impeccably in driving and putting, he fired five under 67 to get an aggregate of 141, which was only three behind two leaders.

While Jeev and Daniel just about made the cut, which was applied at 151 and ties, there were five Indians among nine who had raised visions of winning the title, which carried a prize money of $ 200,000.

Randhawa, who dazzled on this course as he did last year, was a confident-personified pro had two under in first nine and one under in back nine (69). This was the score he had achieved yesterday (aggregate 138).

Williams could not strike his yesterday’s form but he played consistently to get the score of 70 (35 and 35) to reach an aggregate of six under 138 as that of Randhawa.

Ghei, a player of many moods, found that his strokes and putting stood by him on his favourite course. He seldom erred on any hole after an early lapse. He brought out superb putts and drove steadily throughout. His was a gave that he had produced a few years ago on this very course.

Initially Ghei started badly on the 10th hole (Ist tee). He bogeyed it. He had a problem with his swing for another four holes. But then he regained his rhythm with his swing. He now got into his best strike achieving birdies on the 16th and the 18th. Encouraged by this success, he went on to produce four more birdies on Ist, 4th, 5th and 6th. This saw him fire five under 67. His aggregate of 141, three behind had placed in a line for wearing the crown.

“Today’s display has helped to regain my confidence despite occasional swing problem”, said Ghei, adding: “I am now determined that I can finish among the leaders on the next two days”. My restoration of confidence came about on the 16th when I achieved a 10-foot birdie-putt”, said Ghei.

Feroz Ali, leader yesterday and Indian Open champion last year at Calcutta, blamed himself for indifferent putting. “I had several chances of many holes to get birdies but I could not because I putted s indifferently”, said Feroz Ali, adding: “Hopefully, I will be steadier tomorrow”. He could fire a par score 72 (37 and 35).

Despite being in depth of despair owing to two-stroke penalty that he earned for teeing-off from wrong side, Jeev still nurtured a hope of staging a comeback in the championship. “I curse myself for this unexpected mistake, which I have never committed out to me before I positioned myself for the shot on the first tee (10th hole). He went on to say that Feroz was about to make the similar mistake but his caddy was quick to warn him from taking his shot.

Imprisoned at a low position of 54th, Jeev might advance to several position but it would be difficult for him to win the title. “I am aware of this but I have learnt to play at my best and try my utmost”, said Jeev, with a typical shrug of his shoulders.

Before imposing two-stroke penalty of Jeev and Chopra, the chief referee, who was summoned to pronounce his ruling, he showed both the erring players rules, which were clear-cut. Both players were satisfied with the ruling and blamed themselves for the penalty.

Leading scores:

Jyoti Randhawa 69 and 69 - 138, Chris Williams (England) 68 and 70 - 138, Samy Daniels (RSA) 70 and 69 - 139, Rafael Ponce (Ecu) 69 and 70 - 139, Arjun Singh 71 and 69 -140, Anthony Kang (Korea) 69 and 72 - 140, Scott Taylor (USA) 68 and 72 - 140, Feroz Ali 68 and 72 - 140.

Gaurav Ghei and Mukesh Kumar were placed on 141, while Greg Hanrahan (USA), Ashok Kumar (amateur) and Arjun Atwal were positioned on 142.

Third wild card for Sunil

NEW DELHI, Oct 29 (PTI) — National champion Sunil Kumar has received his third wild card in a row at the ITF Satellite Circuit tennis tournament despite a poor showing in the first two legs.

Southpaw Sunil, who beat some big names on his way to the men’s title at the national championship here, won a first round match in Mumbai before bowing out in the next.

He lost in the opening round to 1998 champion Nitin Kirtane at the Pune leg early this week.

Vishal Uppal, Mustafa Ghouse and Kedar Tembe are the other youngsters given wild cards for the final leg, an All-India Tennis Association release said here yesterday.

Sansaruz Zaman was named alternate. If Uppal makes it to the main draw on merit, Zaman would get the fourth wild card.

In the doubles, the pair of C S Mohanty and Benjamin Xavier and A V Rao/Sunil Kumar have been given wild cards.

The remaining wild cards for the doubles and qualifying tournaments would be announced by the Maharashtra Lawn Tennis Association, AITA said.

Srinath, Chicoine enter final

PUNE, Oct 29 (PTI) — Top seed Prahlad Srinath of India and fifth seed Tom Chicoine of the USA today entered the final of the second leg of the ITF Satellite Tennis Circuit at the Deccan Gymkhana courts here.

In the semifinals today, Srinath defeated fourth seed Per Thornadtsson of Sweden 6-3, 6-2, while Chicoine rolled over local lad and giant-killer Sandeep Kirtane of India 6-0, 6-3.

In a match that lasted just over an hour, Davis Cupper Srinath took total control of the proceedings in the second set after winning the first, hammering several aces.

Thornadtsson could not match the Indian’s returns and made five double faults in the second set to Srinath’s one.

Despite having the benefit of playing on home court, Sandeep could not cope with Chicoine’s fine baseline game.

Chicoine took the first set 6-0 without any difficulty. He started with a bang in the second and took an early lead, breaking Sandeep’s serve in the third game to go 2-1 up.

In the 7th game, Sandeep broke Chicoine, but failed to hold his own serve, giving the American a 5-3 lead. Though Sandeep had a break point in the ninth game, Chicoine, a semi-finalist in the first leg, pulled through to take the set 6-3.

Meanwhile, ITF supervisor Romain Martens (Belgium) slapped a fine on Fazaluddin of India and Andrei Youzhny of Russia for unsporting behaviour and racquet abuse, respectively. Both players had lost their respective matches in the quarterfinal round yesterday.

Results: Singles (semi-finals): Srinath bt Thornadtsson 6-3, 6-2; Chicoine bt Kirtane 6-0, 6-3.

Doubles semifinals: Tom Chicoine and Kunj Mazmudar (USA) beat Syed Fazaluddin (India) and Niko Karagiannis (Greece) 7-5, 6-3.

Nitin Kirtane and Sandeep Kirtane (India) beat Prahlad Srinath and Vasudeva Reddy (India) 6-1, 3-1. (conceded).

Dalbir shatters w’lifting record
From Our Sports Reporter

JALANDHAR, Oct 29 — Dalbir Singh salvaged Punjab Police lifters’ prestige in the 48th All-India Police Games at Punjab Armed Police’s headquarters here today.

The strongest man of India, Punjab Police Inspector Dalbir Singh lifted a total of 370.5 kg weight in the over 105 kg category to establish a new record. Dalbir lifted 170 kg in snatch and 200.5 kg in jerk to total 370.5 kg. Dalbir has been the strongest man of India for more than half a decade, shattering over 35 national records. He had won a silver at the Commonwealth Championship last year. Punjab Police ironmen completed a clean sweep by earning the 213 points whereas CRPF finished second with 192 points and BSF were at number three with 159 points. In women’s section CRPF won the championship with 185 points and with 109 points each, CISF and Karnataka Police secured the second and third position, respectively.

Hosts Punjab Police gymnasts secured 593.55 points to bag the top position in team event in gymnastics. Border Security Force and CRPF with 574.35 & 543.40 were second, and third, respectively. In allround individual, competitions hosts Punjab Police gymnasts won the first three places. Rajinder Kumar with 103.10 points, Kuldeep Kumar with 101.90 points and Vikrant Sharma with 100.30 finished first, second and third, respectively.

Punjabi wrestlers proved their monopoly by winning the all deciding matches in freestyle and Greco Roman categories. In the semifinal of the Greco Roman Mandeep Kumar of Punjab Police beat Gobind Yadav of M.P. Police, Jasbir Singh of CISF beat Rohtas of BSF in 54 kg, Gurvinder Singh of Punjab Police beat Satish Singh of CISF and Jatinder Singh of BSF beat Gurbinder Singh of Punjab Police in 63 kg, Randeer Singh of Punjab Police beat Rajesh of BSF and Pawan Kumar of CISF beat Jaivinder Singh of BSF, in 76 kg, Satish Kumar of CISF beat Balbir Singh of CISF and Azad Singh of Punjab Police beat Mehar Singh of Delhi Police to enter the finals. In freestyle Shamsher Singh and Ravinder Singh both from Punjab Police, Pawan Kumar of Punjab Police and Karambir Singh of BSF, Ramesh Kumar of CISF and Narinder Singh of BSF, Dharampal of CISF and Rakesh Kumar of BSF entered the finals of the 97 kg, 76 kg, 63 kg & 54 kg, respectively.

In boxing Punjab Police’s Pawan Kumar caused a major upset by defeating the SAF Games gold medal winner and Assam Rifles’ Sanjeev Kumar in the semifinal of the light welter weight category.

Aravinda opts out of tour

COLOMBO, Oct 29 (PTI) — Sri Lanka’s batsman Aravinda de Silva yesterday opted out of the upcoming tour of Zimbabwe citing personal reasons, cricket officials here said.

The veteran batsman, who was considered the backbone of the Sri Lanka team, did not give any specific reasons, but said he was ready to play in the remaining fixtures slated for early next near, they said.

The 34-year-old De Silva was included in the 16-member new-look squad for the November 4-December 20 tour where the islanders were scheduled to play three Tests and five one-day internationals.

CBSE b’ball meet results

CHANDIGARH, Oct 29 (TNS) — The C.B.S.E. Cluster-XI Boys’ Basketball Tournament commenced at Lawrence School, Sanawar, yesterday. The inaugural function was presided over by Mrs RA Solomon, officiating Headmistress.

The results: Lawrence School b Central School for Tibetans Shimla 45-19; Shir Guru Harkishan Public School b GAV Kangra 22-18; Geeta Adrash Vidyalaya got a walkover; New Public School, Chandigarh beat Central School for Tibetans, Paonta Sahib, 44-27. Guru Nanak PS b Shri Harkisha PS; Lawrence School got a walkover; New Public School b Geeta Adarsh Vidyalay 82-25; Lawrence School b Geeta Adrash Vidyalaya 68-21; New Public School b Guru Nanak Public School 60-37. The first round matches were played on a knockout basis but the final round is now being played on round robin league basis. There are two crucial matches tomorrow to be followed by the closing ceremony and prize distribution.

Triathlon meet postponed

AMRITSAR, Oct 29 (TNS) — The Punjab Triathlon Championship which was to be held from October 31 to November 1 here has been postponed.

Fresh dates and venue will be announced later, according to Mr J.P. Birdi, IG (Border Range) and senior vice-president of the Punjab Triathlon Association.

GND varsity win kabaddi title

KURUKSHETRA, Oct 29 (UNI) — Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, won the North Zone Inter-University Kabaddi (men) Tournament here today by defeating holders Maharshi Dayanand University Rohtak in the final.

Hosts Kurukshetra finished third pulling Chaudhri Charan Singh University, Meerut to the fourth place.

Organising secretary Dalel Singh Chauhan said all the four teams would participate in the All-India Inter-University Kabaddi Championship to be hosted by Sri Krishna Devaria University, Anantpur (Andhra Pradesh). The dates of the championship would be announced shortly.

Lok Sabha member Kailasho Devi gave away the trophy, prizes and medals to the winners and runners-up.

Hamirpur polytechnic lads to the fore

KANGRA, Oct 29 (FOC) — Polytechnic College, Hamirpur, won all boys events during the fifth five-day Himachal Pradesh Polytechnic Sports Championship which concluded at the Kangra Polytechnic College here today.

In the basketball final, Hamirpur College defeated hosts Polytechnic College, Kangra 48-29. In football, Polytechnic College, Hamirpur, won the final 1-0 beating Sundernagar.

In the table tennis final Hamirpur won 3-0 defeating Polytechnic College, Rohru.

In kabaddi Hamirpur Polytechnic won the final defeating Polytechnic College, Rohru 57-33.

In the volleyball final Hamirpur won 3-1 against Polytechnic College, Sundernagar.

In table tennis for girls, hosts Polytechnic College, Kangra, won the final 3-0 defeating Kandhaghat.

In the volleyball final for girls, Kandhaghat Polytechnic College won 3-0 against the hosts Polytechnic College, Kangra.

District police chief K.C. Sandiyal, distributed the prizes. Mr I.D. Sharma, Principal, Polytechnic College, Kangra, said 28 teams participated in this championship from all over the state.

GND varsity, PU in semis

SHIMLA, Oct 29 (TNS) — Panjab University, Chandigarh, today entered the semi-finals of the North-East Zone Inter-University Volleyball (women) Championship defeating Delhi University in three straight sets 25-21, 25-22 and 26-24.

Punjabi University, Patiala, defeated Kumaon University, Nainital, by three sets to one to enter the semifinals. The score: 25-11, 12-25, 25-10 and 25-13.

Hosts Himachal Pradesh University (HPU) also entered the semifinals defeating Lucknow University. Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, defeated MDU, Rohtak, in three straight sets in a one-sided match and entered the semifinals. The score was 25-12, 25-12 and 25-9. Earlier, Kumaon University entered the quarterfinals defeating the Vishwa Bharti, Shantiniketan, in three straight sets 25-13, 25-13 and 25-19. MDU, Rohtak, had defeated Avadh University, Faizabad, in three sets, 25-19, 25-18 and 25-9.

Massive defeat for Sirsa school

NEW DELHI, Oct 29 (PTI) — Lal Thlanawma’s solitary goal led Zotlang High School, Aizawl, to blank the surprise finalist St Joseph’s High School, Goa, 1-0 to lift the 28th Nehru Hockey Consolation Trophy here today.

In super league matches, favourites Birsamunda Vidyapitha, Rourkela, drubbed Shah Satnamji Boys School, Sirsa 16-0 while St Ignatius High School, Gumla, managed a 1-1 draw against Syallpur Khalsa Senior Secondary School, Jalandhar.

Playing to advantage, strong and sturdy Mizoram outfit dominated the proceedings as Goa boys fought hard for their share of play. Mizoram raided Goa post on numerous occasions but an alert Goa defence foiled their attempts.

The lone goal of the match came in the 28th minute when Lal Thlanawma struck past the goalkeeper.

Skipper Severan Barla led the Rourkela assault with seven goals, including a double hat-trick as underdogs Sirsa boys looked on haplessly.

After Jerom Kujur opened the scoring in 4th minute, Barla netted in 7th, 11th and 17th to record the first hat-trick. He was back in action in the second half scoring in 53rd, 54th, 62nd and 63rd minute.

Anil Kumar Ekka came good with a treble while William Xalxo, Romi Ekka, Theodore Samad, Junas Bara and Sunil Kumar Ekka scored one each.

Pitched against strongmen Jalandhar, Gumla boys survived a first half scare when Cornelius Kullu converted a penalty corner in the 49th minute to draw the game. Earlier, Jalandhar went ahead with Pavitarjit Singh’s solo effort in the 34th minute.

Cricket team

NAHAN, Oct 29 (FOC) — Sirmour District Cricket Association has selected 16-member district U-16 team, Mr Rajender Babbi, general secretary of the association, disclosed here today. The team will play its first match at Una on November 2.

The players selected are: Sumit, Neeraj, Gaurav Sharma, Saurabh Chauhan, Pawan, Shailender, Neeraj, Gurpreet Singh, Rahul Kaushal, Dinesh, Ashutosh, Rakesh Rai, Rajnish, Prashant, Ashish Malhotra and Sandeep.

Cooch Behar match

ROHTAK, Oct 29 (FOSR) — Haryana take on Jammu and Kashmir in the Cooch Behar (under-19) cricket match which starts at Vishwakarama Stadium here tomorrow. It will be the third match of this season for Haryana lads whereas the boys from Jammu and Kashmir will play their second match.

Earlier both the teams had conceded points to their opponents.