Tendulkar predicts tight match
SINGAPORE, Sept 6 — Skipper Sachin Tendulkar today predicted a “tight match” against the West Indies in the final of the Singapore Challenge one-day triangular tournament here tomorrow and that bowling would be vital on the perfect batting strip at the Kallang ground.

RIETI, ITALY : Noah Ngeny cheers after braking the world record for the men's 1,000 meters at the Rieti Grand Prix II meet , Italy, on Sunday, clocking 2 minutes, 11.96 seconds to erase a mark had stood for 18 years. — AP/PTI

18-yr-old mark goes RIETI (Italy), Sept 6 — Noah Ngeny of Kenya broke Sebastian Coe’s 18-year-old world best for the 1,000 metres — the oldest world record in men’s track athletics — at a Grand Prix meeting yesterday. Ngeny, silver medallist over 1,500 metres at last month’s world championships, ran two minutes 11.96 seconds to shave 0.22 seconds off Coe’s record in the little-run distance.

Rehman advised not to lift ban on Akram
KARACHI, Sept 6 — Pakistan Cricket Board’s ad hoc committee chairman Mujeeb ur Rehman has been advised by his close associates against lifting the suspension on Wasim Akram immediately.

Border Aussie coach for Zimbabwe tour
BRISBANE, Sept 6 — Former Australian cricket captain Allan Border will be named as Australia’s interim national coach but remains undecided if he wants the job permanently, Australian Associated Press reported today.

Yugoslavia keep hope alive
BELGRADE, Sept 6 — Two goals from veteran skipper Dragan Stojkovic and one from Dejan Savicevic gave Yugoslavia a 3-1 win over Macedonia in their European championship group eight qualifier yesterday.

Punjab athletics squad announced
JALANDHAR, Sept 6 — Paramjit Singh Asian medallist in 400 M and Arjuna Award holder, and Neelam J. Singh Asian medallist in discus throw and Arjuna Award holder, will lead the state’s men and women athletics teams, respectively, for the Inter-State National Athletic Championship to be held at Lucknow from September 12 to 14, according to a spokesman of Punjab Amateur Athletic Association.

10-member boxing squad announced
PATIALA, Sept 6 — The Indian Amateur Boxing Federation (IABF) has announced a ten-member squad for the SAF Games scheduled to be held at Kathmandu from September 26 to October 4.

Abhinn loses to Suryana
BANGALORE, Sept 6 — India’s Abhinn Shyam Gupta lost to top seed Rio Suryana of Australia, ranked 24th in the world, in the final of the Australian Olympic Badminton event at Sydney.

Dalbir salvages pride NEW DELHI, Sept 6 — Dalbir Singh claimed three silver and salvaged Indian men lifters’ prestige in the ongoing Asian Weightlifting Championship at Wu Han (China).

Hingis, Venus, Huber in last 8

NEW YORK, Sept 6 (PTI) — Top seed Martina Hingis overcame a long rain delay and third seed Venus Williams was aided by showers as both advanced to the US Open tennis quarter-finals on a downpour-disrupted yesterday.

Rain delayed the start for two hours and 40 minutes, halted play four more times and led to Mary Joe Fernandez slipping on a slick court and hurting her right quadricep muscle in a 2-6, 6-1, 6-0 defeat.

Australian Open Champion Hingis had more trouble waiting out storms for hours than she did in beating 10th seed Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario 6-4, 7-5, extending her win streak over the Spaniard to 12 matches.

The Swiss teen star had a Spanish feast, ousting Sanchez from a Grand Slam for a sixth time. Hingis has won 13 sets in a row from Sanchez.

Williams, seeking her first Grand Slam title, raised her game after an error filled first set. It was her first singles match in four days after a walkover.

Williams led 2-0 in the second set when drizzle turned to rain during a point. Fernandez planted her foot to stretch for a backhand and slid.

“In the middle of the point, it just started coming down much harder,” Williams said. “Before it was only a few spots. After about six or seven strokes it was pretty wet. It was in the point when all the damage came.”

Play was halted a moment later, but the damage was done, Fernandez was sitting on the court holding her leg in pain as Williams grimaced.

Fernandez had the sore muscle taped when play resumed. But diminished mobility against the hard-hitting Williams was too much to overcome.

While the injury turned the tide, Williams did improve her play from 18 unforced errors and three broken service games in the first set.

Williams’ quarterfinal foe is Austrian 12th seed Barbara Schett while Hingis plays for a semifinal berth against German Anke Huber, who dodged raindrops to oust 15th seed Ameile Mauresmo of France 6-4, 6-4, to ensure her best showing in 10 trips here.

“It feels good,” Huber said. “It’s really nice. It’s a great success for me. I’m happy.”

Huber, rated 27th advanced despite a shaky effort after a rain delay came at match point. Mauresmo saved one match point before the rain came, then returned and saved two more to hold before Huber served out the match.

In men’s third round play, seventh seed Todd Martin and Britain’s Greg Rusedski reached a fourth-round rematch of the April Davis Cup match won by the American.

Martin advanced in 36 minutes when Sweden’s 81st-ranked Magnus Larsson retired with a left knee injury after Martin won the first set 6-3. Ninth seed Rusedski beat American Chris Woodruff 7-5, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.

Fifth seed Gustavo Kuerten of Brazil continued his best hardcourt Grand Slam run by beating Croatia’s Goran Ivanisevic 6-4, 6-2, 6-4, to set a round of 16 date with Sweden’s 24th ranked Magnus Norman in quest of his first hardcourt title.

“I had one final and a couple of semifinals on hardcourt,” Kuerten said.

Emotional comeback for Seles, Capriati

NEW YORK, Sept 6 (AFP) — Monica Seles and Jennifer Capriati, whose 1991 US Open semifinal seemed to herald a new era of women’s tennis, meet again in the fourth round here, each on the brink of a new era in their own life.

Gone are the machine gun giggles that punctuated the 17-year-old Seles’ conversation. Gone is the happy-go-lucky nonchalance with which 15-year-old Capriati regarded her precocious success.

What remains as they approach a fourth-round US Open meeting expected today are the stinging shots that astonished onlookers nine Opens ago and the desire to get the most out of the talents they possess.

Capriati, who was trying for a Grand Slam breakthrough in ’91 after reaching the semi-finals at Wimbledon that year and at the French Open the year before, came within two points of ousting Seles before succumbing in a third-set tiebreaker.

Seles, who had won the French Open in 1990 and the Australian and French titles in ’91, went on to capture the first of back-to back US Open crowns, defeating 34-year-old Martina Navratilova in the final.

In the intervening years, women’s tennis has been flooded with hard-hitting, outspoken teenagers, while Seles and Capriati have battled personal demons that threatened to take them out of the game forever.

“I think what it did, it brought women’s tennis to a different level,” Seles said of the 1991 match. “At that point the young girls were watching because they realised ‘We’ve got to hit the ball hard.’

“The game has been raised another level.”

One of those watching that match was reigning US Open champion Lindsay Davenport.

“I remember watching it from my hotel room in the city,” said Davenport, who was playing in the junior tournament that year. “It was one of the best women’s matches of all time.”

In addition, Davenport noted, the varying obstacles each player has faced gives the rematch added poignancy.

“Both of them have gone such different routes over the last eight years,” Davenport said. “A lot of sad stories involving both their lives.”

Seles left the game for 27 months after she was stabbed in the back by a deranged fan in 1993.

Her comeback, begun in 1995, was slowed by injuries, and in 1998 she missed two months as she chose to spend more time with her father and coach, Karolj, as he battled cancer.

His death in May of 1998 has left Seles still rebuilding her tennis life, trying to find the right people to coach and guide her through the remainder of her career.

“It’s been a tough one for me to find people who share my same goals, because I think that’s important,” Seles said. “I didn’t get to be number one on my own. You need a support system. You would have to have a tremendous ego to think you can do this on your own.”

Capriati’s woes began with a so-called support system gone out of control. After turning pro at the age of 13, Capriati soared briefly, becoming the youngest ever top-10 player at 14, the youngest-ever Wimbledon semi-finalist, the Olympic champion in 1992 and the youngest player to pass one million dollars in earnings when she was 16.

Andrei Medvedev is motivated by bets

NEW YORK, Sept 6 (Reuters) — Andrei Medvedev may look to be a longshot against his old friend Yevgeny Kafelnikov in the fight for a quarterfinal berth at the US Open, but don’t bet against him.

The unseeded Medvedev says nothing motivates him more than a side bet with his daily practice partner Kafelnikov, the third seed who is aiming for his third Grand Slam title and the world number one ranking at the Open.

“We are playing for $ 50,000,” Medvedev calculated about the difference in prize money between the round-of-16 and the quarter-finals. “But if we put 20 dollars before the match on the side, the match will be much more interesting.”

Medvedev acknowledged kafelnikov’s brilliant form of late, but the Ukrainian said “forget about the form charts when cash money is on the line.”

“We play for money, that’s all that matters between me and him when we are on the court,” he said. “We can play a thousand sets for nothing, we will not get as motivated as if we play for 10. If the bet is more, which normally it is, you get even more motivated.”

“We have bets every day, every single day. Sometimes I win, sometimes he wins. At the moment, I got his money. The next week, it can turn around.”

Medvedev turned around his moribund career with a sensational run this spring at the French Open.

The Ukrainian, who turned 25 last week, knocked out Pete Sampras and 1997 champion Gustavo Kuerten on the way to the French final and captured the first two sets of the title match against Andre Agassi before being overtaken by the flashy American.

The rousing Roland Garros campaign appeared to revive Medvedev, whose ranking at the end of 1998 had sunk to 61, his lowest mark in eight years.

But after the French, Medvedev went back to sleep, failing to win more than one match in any tournament leading up the Open.

It was such a letdown after the French. I felt that my tank was empty, my spiritual tank,” said Medvedev. “It was the dream for me to win the French Open. I was so close. Losing it, I had a letdown.”

“Actually I was looking very much forward to playing the US Open because I knew I’d get my motivation back here.”

Medvedev may have lost his motivation, but certainly not his off-beat sense of humour, which he exhibited once again after his five-set victory over Australian teenager Lleyton Hewitt on Saturday night.The Ukrainian, who once accused Open chefs of trying to sabotage players with poison pasta in the commissary, spit up some fluids in the secondset of his Louis Armstrong St adium marathon against Hewitt.

He blamed his upset stomach this time on a chocolate energy bar he ate before the match to fortify himself against the fleet-footed Hewitt.

Reminded that Sampras had relieved his wave of nausea on the same court during his famed 1996 quarter-final win over Alex Corretja, Medvedev said: “you can rename it. Not Armstrong, but throw-up court.”

Medvedev, who in the past ripped the chaotic conditions surrounding the Open, revealed that he kept an apartment in Manhattan, near Central Park, and counted New York as one of the places he loved dearest.

“Actually, hate and love is very close,” he said. “Sometimes you don’t know if you hate or love it. I realise I love this city.”

“It’s a city that you can do anything 24 hours a day. You have a 1-800 number for every need you need. Everything is roll free, fat free, bullshit free. It’s the best.”

Medvedev hopes to prove himself to be the best when he meets friendly foe Kafelnikov, the Australian Open champion and former French Open winner. The two are scheduled to clash today, pending possible changes due to rain.

“I like my chances,” said Medvedev, who leads their personal series 5-3 although the Russian has won the last two.

“I can play him with my eyes closed. He can do the same. I mean, we practice every day here. We can play our rallies with our eyes closed because we know where we’re hitting the ball.

“It’s who is hitting the ball better and whose hand is not shaking when you go for the passing shot or the winner. That’s the mental side. The one who is better prepared for that day will win.”

Medvedev, however, admitted he was not quite prepared to put all his money where his mouth was.

“All or nothing? No,” Medvedev said about the possible size of a wager with the Russian on their Open showdown. “He would. I’m not ready for that, No.”

Tendulkar, Lara hold key

SINGAPORE, Sept 6 (PTI) — Rival captains Sachin Tendulkar and Brian Lara will be the key men as India take on the West Indies in a potentially high-scoring final of the Singapore Challenge One-Day Triangular Cricket Tournament. Both are desperate to win to revive their flagging fortunes.

Dealt a major blow after one day specialist Ajay Jadeja was ruled out with a right calf-muscle injury suffered in the game against Zimbabwe on September 4, an unsettled Indian side packed with several below-par performers will have to lift themselves several notches to win their first one-day tournament of the year against a Caribbean side showing ominous form.

Battling maestro Tendulkar has braved his troublesome back with back to back knocks of 120 — against Sri Lanka in the final league tie of the just-ended tri-series in the island and a match-winning 85 alongwith Jadeja against Zimbabwe.

But India, barring a gritty performance by gangling seamer Debasish Mohanty here, has struggled to produce a collected show since returning to action after the World Cup in June.

Tendulkar has been left exasperated after lack of fitness and sloppy fielding in particular saw his second stint as captain begin on a disappointing note. A victory alone will boost the side ahead of their one-day campaign against the West Indies to follow in Toronto and the four-nation event in Nairobi starting on September 25.

Tendulkar’s withdrawal from the Toronto series to seek expert medical advice for his back trouble and key leg spinner Anil Kumble’s axing for the tournament on poor form has hardly added to the team’s morale taking on the rivals who won a psychological battle by winning yesterday’s inconsequential final league tie by 42 runs.

The Indian bowlers, in the absence of paceman Javagal Srinath, have put up a decent show overall despite coming in for punishment yesterday in the small Kalang Stadium here that has proved happy-hunting ground for big-hitters.

But batting-considered India’s strength — has remained a worry with none in the middle and late order, barring the resolute veteran Robin Singh, contributing their mite.

Newcomers Amay Khurasia and young stumper M.S.K. Prasad have failed to grab their chances while experienced left-hander Vinod Kambli continues to look out of sorts.

Kambli, also a liability as a fielder, was surprisingly included for the Sri Lankan trip only to be promptly axed by the selectors for the Toronto matches slated for September 11, 12 and 14. But they set a bad precedent by including him once Tendulkar and Jadeja were ruled out for Canada.

Off-spinner Nikhil Chopra and left-arm spinner Sunil Joshi have come up with encouraging efforts as tail-enders, but their job in both batting and bowling will be challenging against the free-stroking Caribbean batsmen and a four-pronged pace attack.

With Jadeja absent, India look likely to play S. Ramesh as opener while aspiring all-rounder Laxmi Ratan Shukla, also a sharp fielder, could be considered ahead of Kambli or Khurasiya.

With M.S.K. Prasad not doing much with the bat once again, the job of tending the wickets looks likely to fall back on Rahul Dravid.

In a side packed with talented left-handers, Brain Lara has thus far batted like a king here with racy knocks of 48 against Zimbabwe followed by his 60 off 43 balls against the under-strength Indian attack yesterday.

But the real find that has boosted the rickety Caribbean middle-order has been newcomer Ricardo Powell, who has underlined his abilities with impressive knocks of unbeaten 61 and 48 off 44 balls yesterday.

Indian batsmen will also have to contend with the pace attack led by veteran Courtney Walsh, as mean as ever despite his 36 years and aching limbs. Marvyn Dillon, Reon King and Hendry Bryan have given good support with Nixon Mclean, who is also a decent bat, giving further options.

The Indian attack will be strengthened by the return of paceman Venkatesh Prasad and Kumble who were rested yesterday, but it will be batsmen Sourav Ganguly — named stand — in skipper for Toronto yesterday — and Dravid who will have to play crucial knocks.

The teams:

India: S. Tendulkar (capt), S, Ganguly, S. Ramesh, R. Dravid, A. Khurasiya, V. Kambli, Robin Singh, L.R. Shukla, M.S.K. Prasad, S. Joshi, N. Chopra, A.Kumble, V. Prasad, D. Mohanty.

West Indies: B.Lara (capt), S.Cambell, R. Jacobs, J. Adams, S. Chanderpaul, R.Powell, N.Perry, H.Bryan, R.King, M.Dillon, C. Walsh, N. Mclean.

Tendulkar predicts tight match

SINGAPORE, Sept 6 (PTI) — Skipper Sachin Tendulkar today predicted a “tight match” against the West Indies in the final of the Singapore Challenge one-day triangular tournament here tomorrow and that bowling would be vital on the perfect batting strip at the Kallang ground.

“It is important that we win here, but it is going to be tough. I think it will be a good, tough match,” he said as India looked to reverse their recent slide with their first one-day tournament win this year.

About the absence of Ajay Jadeja, who is out after tearing his calf muscle, he said it was a blow, but said an all-round effort was required if India had to win. Asked whether batting would decide the outcome, he said though the pitch was quite placid, bowling will be important. “We have to bowl very well to back the batting,” he said.

Most of the players took the day off after playing back-to-backmatches for the last two days while few others were put through their paces at the Singapore Indian Association ground by coach Anshuman Gaekwad this morning.

Gaekwad indicated that left-handed opener S Ramesh would be retained to bolster the batting in Jadeja’s absence.

But a worry was of the full fitness of 18-year-old all-rounder Laxmi Ratan Shukla, who took a drive by Jimmy Adams on his right foot on the follow through yesterday.

“He is very much an option and he can also field well. He has recovered well, but we will have a look in the morning before including him,” he added.

West Indian coach Clive Lloyd said there was no room for complacency despite his team entering the final with two wins, including the 42-run verdict over India yesterday.

“We do have the psychological advantage, but the boys can’t be complacent,” he said after practice at the Ceylon Association ground adjacent to the Indian practice venue.

Lloyd was happy with the “tough, exciting and very professional” approach by his team so far, but said bowling could decide the outcome.

“The team that contains the opposition should win, though it is really a good batting track,” he added.

Rehman advised not to lift ban on Akram

KARACHI, Sept 6 (ANI) — Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) ad hoc committee chairman Mujeeb ur Rehman has been advised by his close associates against lifting the suspension on Wasim Akram immediately.

According to sources, Rehman has held discussions with his close aides, including adviser and chief selector Colonel (retd) Naushad Ali, member of the ad hoc committee Javed Zaman and Pakistan manager Yawar Saeed and they feel the PCB should not rush into lifting the ban on Wasim to allow him to play in Toronto.

It is understood that Naushad and Yawar have advised Mujeeb that it would be better if the PCB waited for Justice Malik Muhammad Qayyum Commission to conclude its inquiry into the allegations of match fixing and betting.

Indications suggest that Wasim would be cleared by the commission of involvement to match fixing due to the lack of evidence.

The commission is due to hold its final hearing on Wednesday, after which Justice Qayyum will submit his findings to the chief patron of the PCB and the government. The commission proceedings could be prolonged if any of the four cricketers called to appear before it on Wednesday, decides to ask for another date to be cross examined.

The four cricketers are Rashid Latif, Basit Ali, Sarfraz Nawaz and Mazid Khan.

Sources said in all probability Moin Khan will now be named captain of the Pakistan cricket team.

That means Wasim will have to wait until the tournament in Sharjah in October to make a comeback. Aamer Sohail, who has not played for Pakistan since last winter’s series against Zimbabwe is certain to make a return to the team for the Toronto series.

Border Aussie coach for Zimbabwe tour

BRISBANE, Sept 6 (AP) — Former Australian cricket captain Allan Border will be named as Australia’s interim national coach but remains undecided if he wants the job permanently, Australian Associated Press (AAP) reported today.

Border will guide the Australians through a three-week tour of Zimbabwe next month after the World Cup-winning coach Geoff Marsh steps down following the current tour of Sri Lanka, it said.

The news agency said the Australian Cricket Board (ACB) would confirm Border’s interim appointment tomorrow and the 44-year-old, who has scored more Test runs than any other batsman, said he was interested in the full-time role.

But Border repeated his call that “a few things had to fall into place” before he decided whether he wanted to take over from Marsh.

“I love the game and it’s good to have that direct involvement but it’s very part-time at the moment,” Border said. “There’s no point reading anything into it because it’s one of those things where I have to wait and see.”

Border, who is a national selector, has coached Australia in an interim capacity before, guiding the team through a brief tournament in Sharjah.

The left-hander captained Australia in 93 of his 156 Tests scoring 11,174 runs at an average of 50.56 before he retired from Test play and helped Queensland state to a Sheffield Shield domestic title in 1994-95.

He emerged as an obvious candidate for the coaching role when Marsh announced his surprise resignation last month, citing family reasons for his decision to quit soon after signing a new contract.

Queensland coach Johan Buchanan and former Test wicketkeeper Steve Rixon, who finished his tenure as New Zealand coach last month, are also believed to be contenders for the position.

18-yr-old mark goes

RIETI (Italy), Sept 6 (Reuters) — Noah Ngeny of Kenya broke Sebastian Coe’s 18-year-old world best for the 1,000 metres — the oldest world record in men’s track athletics — at a Grand Prix meeting yesterday.

Ngeny, silver medallist over 1,500 metres at last month’s world championships, ran two minutes 11.96 seconds to shave 0.22 seconds off Coe’s record in the little-run distance.

“I started out very well and at the 400 metres mark I felt I was going very fast and I knew I was going to win”, Ngeny said.

“But to break a record that was set 18 years ago — it is truly amazing”.

Britain’s Coe said the race in which he set the 1,000-metre record, at the Bislett Games in Oslo in July 1981, was the perfect performance.

“That was the one race of my career when I knew I could not possibly have run one step faster”, the double Olympic gold medallist at 1,500 metres said in 1997.

Coe also set a world record for the 800 metres in 1981, a mark that lasted until August 1997 when it was finally beaten by Wilson Kipketer.

Ngeny, who failed to break the 1,000-metre mark by under half a second in Nice in July, was pulled along by compatriots William Yampoy and Nicholas Wachira over the first half of the race before hitting the front at the start of the final lap.

His time lopped more than eight seconds off the meet record of 2:20.06 set 11 years ago.

Yugoslavia keep hope alive

BELGRADE, Sept 6 (Reuters) — Two goals from veteran skipper Dragan Stojkovic and one from Dejan Savicevic gave Yugoslavia a 3-1 win over Macedonia in their European championship group eight qualifier yesterday.

The result puts the Yugoslavs in a good position to qualify but they still have work to do in a tight three-way battle which will go to the final games on October 10.

Croatia lead the group with 14 points from seven matches, one ahead of Yugoslavia who have a game in hand — the return with Macedonia in Skopje on Wednesday. Ireland, who also have a game in hand over the leaders, have 12 points but are likely to add to that against Malta on Wednesday.

The Irish complete their campaign in Macedonia on the same day as Yugoslavia and bitter rivals Croatia have their showdown in Zagreb.

Macedonia, cheered by a small but vociferous band of supporters, were the brighter starters yesterday but and missed two good chances in the opening 15 minutes.

Striker Georgi Hristov shot wide from close range and Yugoslav keeper Ivica Kralj tipped Toni Micevski’s superb shot over the bar moments later.

The Yugoslavs regained their composure and took a deserved 36th minute lead through Stojkovic, back in the side after a rib injury, after a predrag Mijatovic cross found him at the far post.

Mijatovic was the provider again nine minutes after the interval when he put Stojkovic through with a defence-splitting pass and the skipper blasted the ball into the roof of the net to double the lead.

Macedonia threw men forward and got their reward in the 64th minute when Sasa Ciric sent Kralj the wrong way from the penalty spot after second-half substitute Zarko Serafimovski was felled in the box.

Savicevic sealed Yugoslavia’s victory moments after coming on as a replacement for Stojkovic, when Boban Babunski deflected his speculative shot from the left flank past helpless keeper Petar Milosevski.

In another match a composed Cyprus side put on a solid performance to beat Israel 3-2 in their group six qualifier yesterday and keep alive their hopes of qualification.

The result means that Cyprus can clinch second place in their group if they manage to get four points from their remaining two fixtures, away to Spain on Wednesday and in Austria next month.

Israel, who host San Marino on Wednesday and then travel to Spain in October, can also finish second.

After a nervous start by both teams, Panayotis Engomitis gave Cyprus the lead in the 27th minute with a powerful low shot which left Israel goalkeeper Nir Davidovich helpless.

Israel were soon level when Wimbledon midfielder Walid Badir, who came on for Berkovic, headed in to equalise after 32 minutes, just after striker Alon Mizrahi’s shot had hit the crossbar.

Punjab athletics squad announced
From Our Sports Reporter

JALANDHAR, Sept 6 — Paramjit Singh Asian medallist in 400 M and Arjuna Award holder, and Neelam J. Singh Asian medallist in discus throw and Arjuna Award holder, will lead the state’s men and women athletics teams, respectively, for the Inter-State National Athletic Championship to be held at Lucknow from September 12 to 14, according to a spokesman of Punjab Amateur Athletic Association. The other national record holder and international level athletes in this team are: Sunita Rani (Asian medallist and National record in 5000 M, 1500 M), Harbans Kaur (National record holder in shot put), Madhuri A Singh (gold medal winner in 1500, 5000, 10,000 M, National Fames), Paramjit Kaur (National record holder in 10 km walk), Bahadur Singh (SAF Games gold medallist in shot put), Ramanjit Singh (National record holder in javelin throw), Jagdish Vasnoi (National champion in javelin), and Mandeep Kaur, Surinderjit Kaur, Gurpreet Kaur, Prabhjot Singh, Harjit Kaur, Kamalpreet Singh, Gurmeet Singh and Isque Ahmed, all medal winners in the nationals.

The other members of the team are: Vikas Prashar, Rajeev Kumar, Ajay Raj Singh, Bhagwant Singh, Jaswinder Singh, Harpal Singh, Amindeep Singh, Joga Singh, Amarjit Kaur, Balwinder Singh, Sharda Chandle, Jaspinder Singh, Rajinder Singh, Satnam Singh, Depinder Kaur, Avtar Singh, Davinder Singh, Rupinder Singh, Simorjit Kaur, Madan Singh, Gamdoor Singh, Dharam Singh, Subash Yadav, Subash Chander and Baljit Singh.

The selected athletes are undergoing a training camp at the synthetic track of Sports College, Jalandhar. Fitness trials for these athletes will be held on September 8.

10-member boxing squad announced
From Our Sports Reporter

PATIALA, Sept 6 — The Indian Amateur Boxing Federation (IABF) has announced a ten-member squad for the SAF Games scheduled to be held at Kathmandu from September 26 to October 4.

The selection was made on the basis of trials held at the NIS here today. The meeting was chaired by the IABF president, Mr Ashok Matoo.

The team: Mohammad Ali Qamar (Bengal), Balbir Singh (CISF), N.G. Dingko Singh, B. Ramanand, Narendra Rana, Sajeet Singh, Gurcharan Singh (all from SSCB), Z. Jollyson (STSB), Jitender Kumar (RSPB) and Harpal Singh (Punjab).

The chief coach of the squad will be Dronacharya awardee Mr G.S. Sandhu who will be assisted by Cuban coach Mr B.I. Fernandez. Dr Ashok Ahuja, senior sports medicine expert of SAI, will be the doctor and Padam Bahadur Mal will officiate as the manager of the squad.

Dalbir salvages pride

NEW DELHI, Sept 6 (UNI)— Dalbir Singh claimed three silver and salvaged Indian men lifters’ prestige in the ongoing Asian Weightlifting Championship at Wu Han (China).

The strongest man of India, Punjab Police Inspector Dalbir Singh lifted a total of 362.5 kg in the over 105 kg category to finish overall runners-up in this event.

Dalbir lifted 165 kg in snatch and 197.5 kg to total 362.5 kg and emerge one of the strongest men of Asia.

According to information received by former national selector Wg. Cdr P.K. Mahanand, with these three silver medals, the Indian tally in the championship has gone up to 26 medals so far (3 gold, seven silver and 16 bronze).

Dalbir, has been the strongest man of India for more than half a decade, shattering over 20 national records. He had won a silver at Nauru Commonwealth Championship last year.

Abhinn loses to Suryana

BANGALORE, Sept 6 (PTI) — India’s Abhinn Shyam Gupta lost to top seed Rio Suryana of Australia, ranked 24th in the world, in the final of the Australian Olympic Badminton event at Sydney.

The sixth seeded Gupta lost 6-15, 6-15 yesterday, according to a Badminton Association of India (BAI) release here today.

Suryana, who had a narrow semi-final win over Bertrand Gallet of France, played a more aggressive game, smashing and dribbling well at the net.

Ajay Chandel enters snooker final

CHANDIGARH, Sept 6 (BOSR) — Ajay Chandel sailed into the finals of the handicap snooker event of the YMCA open Billiards and Snooker Championship being held at YMCA Hall, Sector 11 today.

In the semifinals played here, Ajay had to work hard to overcome hard hitting Aman Bhasin in three frames. Ajay, in the first frame started with a flourish and displayed fine potting to outplay Aman 85-45 but the later bounced back to win the second frame 66-49. But then Ajay halted the winning spree of Aman and won the third frame 58-25 to take the match.

In the open billiards match, Sameer Bhalla entered the semifinals by getting the better of Manav Dhawan 403-362. Munish downed Sanjay Kaushal in another match 483-233 while Lalit Mohan won from Kakar 269-170

PPS Nabha beat Scindia School

PATIALA, Sept 6 (FOSR) — Punjab Public School Nabha, managed to scrap past a fighting Scindia Public School, Gwalior, by a solitary goal in the Inter-Public School Sports Tournament, played at the PPS School grounds here today.

Other results: Football: PPS Nabha beat Scindia Public School 1-0

Basketball: PPS beat Scindia Public School 54-37; Scindia Public School beat PPS Nabha 38-37.

HP to host National Winter Games

KULU, Sept 6 (FOC) — Himachal Pradesh will host the second National Winter Games and South Asian Federation Games (Skiing competitions) at the Solang slopes near Manali from Feb 3 to 10 next year, according to captain Randhir Salhuria, Deputy Director, Mountaineering and allied sports.