Maharashtra lift soccer bronze
Amardeep Bhattal
Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, November 29
A third-minute goal by striker Samson Singh against Services fetched Maharashtra the bronze in men’s football in the 31st National Games on the penultmate day of the competition at Guru Nanak Stadium here this evening.

The match played under floodlights was evenly contested although Maharashtra enjoyed a slight edge over the rivals. The fight for the gold is billed for tomorrow when hosts Punjab will clash with Goa.

The Maharashtra team, comprising top level players from Air-India, Bengal-Mumbai Football Club, Central Railway, and Customs, who went down to Goa in sudden death in a thrilling encounter last night, cast aside their frustrations to redeem some prestige with the third position. Services did give them a fight but some wayward shooting coupled with bad luck denied them an opportunity to be among the medallists.

Having been deprived of the services of Air-India’s Osbern D’Souza, who was out with two yellow cards, Maharashtra seldom lowered their guard and in fact went into the attack right away. A through pass down the centre by Tomba Singh in the very third minute of play saw Samson Singh making the most of it as he calmly placed the ball in the net past with the Services goalie watching helplessly.

Thereafter, it seemed as if Maharashtra would end up with an impressive margin but that was not to be. A booming right-footer by dashing medio Sushil Kartak off a back pass was punched away by the rival custodian at the cost of a flag kick.

Services hit back with counter attacks and in the 22nd minute, three consecutive attempts proved abortive. VK Mishra attempted a long ranger from the right and a Services player leapt in vain for a header. The ball landed at the far end and yet another attempt by Services failed as the goalkeeper parried over the bar. Towards the end of the first half, Services made two good attempts. First VK Mihra managed to cut into the box but his intended back pass for Preetam Bahadur was intercepted. Mishra and Bahadur once again failed to strike an understanding as the former’s pass inside the box went abegging.

In the second half, Maharashtra’s Narendra Meetei missed an open goal when off a pass from the left, he shot wide with the goalkeeper having moved out of charge. A cross from the right for Darshan of Services also went waste although Darshan leapt for a volley but missed the flight of the ball.

In the 77th minute, Maharashtra’s Sushil Kartak was brought down inside Services territory and the resultant free kick was parried over the bar by the Services goalkeeper at the cost of a corner. The Services goal had a narrow escape towards the end when a shot by Samson almost sailed in but Anish Sharma made a gal-line save.

A brilliant header by V. K. Mishra off a cross by Gurung from the right corner almost resulted in the equaliser but unluckily the ball rolled a few inches away from the goal-post and Services had to remain content with the fourth position.

The men’s football final between Punjab and Goa will be played at 6. 30 p. m. at the floodlit Guru Nanak Stadium 

West Bengal eves take bronze

Jalandhar, November 29
West Bengal claimed the bronze medal in the women’s football in the 31st National Games at the Guru Gobind Singh Stadium here today.

In a one-sided match, West Bengal thrashed Bihar 3-1. Bihar took the lead in the 10th minute of the game as captain Anjana Rani scored after getting a beautiful pass by right out Kumari Swati. Bengal equalised in the 22nd minute from a solo effort by Pampa Sarkar who took full advantage of the free kick. Bihar tried hard to equalise but their efforts went in vain. Bengal on the other hand, increased their score in the 34th minute when Maduvmita Das gave a pass to enthusiastic Rinku Ghosh, who netted the ball quickly and take lead once again.

After resumption, West Bengal didn’t get lethargic and maintained their lead. In the opening minute of the second half, Papia Ghosh consolidated the lead as she dodged pass two players to net the ball in making it 3-1. In a last-ditch effort from Bihar to narrow down the score, captain Anjana Rani once again made a good move towards the goal but could not get past custodian Ranjita Khan.

Chance for Punjab to regain gold
Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, November 29
An intense battle for supremacy is on the cards as hosts Punjab clash with Goa in the men’s football final at Guru Nanak Stadium here tomorrow. Having romped into the final after 16 years, it is indeed a golden opportunity for the hosts to regain the gold which they last won at Delhi in 1985. Ever since, Punjab have only won the bronze once in the National Games held in Kerala in 1987. Coach Jagir singh and his deputy Avtar Singh are optimistic. “Hopefully we should do well and the boys are confident, “ he said today as his trainees went through their paces, taking snap shots at the goal.

Punjab’s line-up includes PSEB defender Dalip Kumar, JCT stopper back Ranjit Singh and RCF’s Harsharanjit who have performed satisfactorily and goalkeeper Arvind Kumar, also from JCTPunjab have a dependable goalkeeper, who so far has conceded only three goals, including one aganst Services in the semifinals yesterday. Wing back Balwinder Singh of Punjab Police has also performed creditably, lending support to the midfield and attack. Hardip Saini, who scored the golden goal against Services in the semifinals yesterday, as also Ram Pal, both from JCT, are also experienced players. Gurjit Atwal of BSF has also been in devastating form and his attacks on the left wing can pose danger to any outfit. Hardip Gill, Manjinder and Sher Singh have also struck a fine combination but the absence of the laborious Jaswinder, who suffered an injury at Jalandhar, may rob the Punjab of the much-needed sting.

The Goan coach, Norbert Gonsalves, perceives tomorrow’s contest as a close affair. “Chances are even, “he said today. The Goan outfit includes at least four players from Dempo, including Filip Gomes, Lazarus Fernandes, Sukhdev Arwade, and Minguel Rodrigues.

Path to the final: Punjab: (quarterfinal league) Punjab beat Tamil Nadu 2-1;Punjab lost to Kerala 0-1;Punjab beat Goa 2-0. (Semifinals): Punjab beat Services 2-1.

Goa: (Quarterfinal league): Goa beat Kerala 1-0; Goa beat TN 5-4;Goa lost to Punjab 0-2; (Semifinals): Goa beat Maharashtra 7-6. 

Punjab eves move into handball final
Anil Datt

Ludhiana, November 29
Hosts Punjab prevailed over holders Kerala while Chhatisgarh scraped past Manipur to set up the title clash in the women section of the handball event in the 31st National Games here today.

In the first semifinal (women), Chhatisgarh stunned last Games’ runner up, Manipur 22-21. Chhatisgarh in their madien participation in the National Games after its formation last year, displayed fine exhibition of ball control, stamina and execution skills.

Manipur eves relied on their experience to match the spirited Chhatisgarh. The two teams were tied at 9-all at the breather and fought a pitched in the second session to gain an upper hand. Chhatisgarh eventually managed to scrape past their opponents by one goal.

For Chhatisgarh, Meenakshi and Anita again excelled with 6 and 7 goals, respectively while Juliet struck thrice. Kamla (5), Bobby and Dama contributed 4 goals each for the losers.

The second semifinal between Punjab and the reigning champions Kerala was a well-contested affair with the home team, after trailing at 3-7 bounced back into the match thanks to internationals Gurpreet Kaur and goalkeeper Indu Bala who remained at the centre stage. Gurpreet helped her side to claim the lead while Indu made some spectacular saves. Punjab eves emerged winners 22-19.

Gurpreet Kaur starred in Punjab team’s stunning victory with 12 goals while Harvinder and Karamjeet Kaur scored 5 and 3 goals, respectively. For Kerala, Usha Nandini contributed 7 goals followed by Sheeba and Meena M.R. who chipped in with 5 and 3 goals, respectively.

In the men’s section, the first semifinal between the current champions Services and Madhya Pradesh was a ding-dong battle with the lead changing hands very quickly. The winners led 11-10 at half time.

Madhya Pradesh players made their opponents fight for every point. They caught the holders at 16-16 before going down fighting 20-26.

For Services, the main scorers were Parseed Kumar (8), Rajesh Kumar (6), Naveen, R. Mehta and Satish Kumar 3 goals each. Kunal and Firoz ( 5 goals each) and Binu V. (4) fought vailiantly for the losers.

In the second semifinal, Punjab faced a stiff challenge from Jammu and Kashmir before romping home 29-23. Punjab who had finished runners up in the last Games at Imphal in 1999 will clash with the holders Services in the final to be played tomorrow.

J& K players tried hard to match their strong rivals and all that they could do was to reduce the margin as the home team took an early lead which they maintained through out. The winners led by five goals (16-11) at half time.

The star performers for Punjab were Jaswant Singh (8), Kulwinder Singh jr. (6), Sawinder Pal Singh (4) and Jaskarn Singh (3) while for the losers Ranjeet Singh netted six goals followed by Dheeraj Kumar (5), Raja kumar (4), Bhachan Deep and Vivek Sharma with three goals each.

Services boxers finish on top, Punjab second
Ravi Dhaliwal

Patiala, November 29
Barring some minor hiccups, everything went on predictable lines as defending champions Services lived up to their top billing by garnering four gold, one silver and five bronze medals to claim the overall honours in the boxing event that concluded at the indoor gymnasium here late yesterday night.

Punjab, who had threatened to rip apart the reputation of the defending champion and who were placed third overall in the 1999 Manipur National Games, improved their position, as they were placed second with three gold, two silver and one bronze. Haryana was pushed to the third place with three gold and a solitary bronze.

The spotlight in the finals was on Punjab pugilist Harpal Singh in the super heavyweight category. His bout against Jitendera K Singh of SSCB was supposed to be a cakewalk. However, contrary to expectations the Services boxer proved that spirit might not be a substitute for skill but it does matter in an intense combat. Jitendera displayed it in ample measure against his more seasoned and experienced rival as he took the bout to the full distance. But that was till Harpal Singh, cheered by a vociferous and boisterous home crowd, came out of his shell in the last round and pulverised his rival into submission with a barrage of some well directed punches. The defeat of Jitendera was the only jarring note for Services, who had five boxers in the finals and romped home with a creditable four gold.

B. Ramanand, also of SSCB, had the unique distinction of claiming his third successive gold medal in the National Games. He had won a gold in the 1997 Bangalore National Games in the bantamweight category and followed it up with another gold in the feather weight class in the 1999 Imphal games. Last night he floored his opponent S. Dhanbir in the light weight category with minimum of fuss to make it a hat-trick of gold medals.

Harpreet Singh of Punjab, a boxer who dented the reputation of many fancied rivals in the run-up to the finals, choose the path of least resistance against Raj Kumar of Manipur as he stonewalled all attempts by his rival to subdue him. He side stepped out of harm’s way on most of the occasions the Manipur lad choose to attack, 11-1 was the margin of his victory and it reflects the near total dominance of the Punjab boxer who capped a wonderful run in the competition with a well-earned gold.

Results: (all finals): lt fly weight: Anurag (HP) b Manoj Saha (Utr) 11-6, flyweight: Bhim Singh (Pb) b G.Pawar (Mah) 22-8, bantamweight: H. Srinivas Rao (AP) b D. Parsad (Jha) 21-19, light weight: B. Ramanand (SSCB) b S. Dhabir (Man) RSC, lt middle : Satish Ghangas (SSCB) b Hemant Kumar (Pb) 5-4, middleweight: Hardeep (SSCB) b D.P Rajan (TN) RSC, heavyweight: Jitendera Kumar (Har) b Balkar Singh (Pb) RSC. super heavyweight: Harpal Singh (Pb) b Jitendera K. Singh (SSCB) RSC. 

Maharashtra men, Punjab eves in final

Patiala, November 29
Maharashtra proved their might in kho-kho once again, entering both the men’s and women’s finals. They will take on defending champions Karnataka in the men’s section and hosts Punjab in the women’s section in the 31st National Games here tomorrow.

Palwinder Kaur single-handedly won the second women’s semifinal for Punjab, scoring five points and running an amazing 5.33s. UNI

Stage set for exciting finish
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, November 29
Simerjeet Singh of Uttar Pradesh played some very good golf returning a three under card of 69 on the third day of the National Games golf event here today. Simerjeet started the day with bogies on the first two holes but thereafter he steadied and had a birdie on the 4th and 6th holes and pars on the remaining five holes in the front nine. In the back nine he fired an eagle on the 5-par 13th hole and a birdie on the 12th hole.

Saurabh Bahuguna of Delhi with a day’s score of 73 and the leader on the second day, Punjab’s H.S. Kang with a two-over round of 74, stood tied with Simerjeet Singh with third-day cumulative scores of 216.

Vikramjit Singh of Chandigarh had an eagle on the 12th hole and in spite of loosing his ball on the very first hole resulting in a double bogey, submitted a reasonable card of four over for the day.

At the end of the third day’s play there was a three-way tie for the lead amongst Simerjeet Singh (UP), Saurabh Bahuguna (Delhi) and H.S. Kang (Chandigarh) with three-day cumulative scores of 216. Nipping on their heels were Girish Virk (Chandigarh), A.S. Lehal (Punjab) and Pritam Saikia (West Bengal) with scores of 220, tying for the second spot.

With a difference of only four strokes amongst the first and second spot players the game is open for any of the top six players to take away the top three individual category medals. In fact players were gearing themselves for a do-or-die frame of mind for the ultimate day’s play.

Mr J.S. Cheema of the CGA and Chandigarh’s playing captain Bobby Sandhu, Mr P.K. Chowdhury, President Haryana Golf Association, Col B.S. Kahlon manager, Punjab golf team, and Mr Salam Santosh Kumar Singh, team manager, Manipur, were seen huddled with their team in introspection of the day’s play and planning for the next day’s play. In spite of a gruelling day on the course, players put in time to correct their game on the practice putting green and Driving Range.

The day’s tee-off started with players with the highest cumulative scores and ended with the leader group teeing off last. Players’ faces showed the grit and determination as they all expected some superlative golf on the beautiful but difficult Chandigarh Golf Club course.

Punjab started the day with a 17-stroke lead over Chandigarh. Delhi golfers produced some spectacular golf to end the third day’s play overtaking Chandigarh for the second spot.

At the end of the third day’s play, Punjab with a cumulative three-day score of 654 stood first, Delhi with a score of 665 were second followed by Chandigarh with a score of 674.

On account of a great team effort Delhi had the best cumulative score for the day(217) with level par rounds by Gagan Verma and Vikrant Chopra, Saurabh Bahuguna who produced a three-under par card on the second day’s play played one over and the fourth Delhi player produced a card of four over.

Players were all praise for the condition of the Chandigarh Golf Club course and they were unanimous that the fairways were well maintained and the greens were playing very true. Saurabh Bahuguna felt that the course had really improved and both Ananda Ranga Moola (Karnataka) and Gaurav Gosh (West Bengal) when questioned about the course just said ‘‘Fantastic’’.

Individual scores: Simerjeet Singh (UP), Saurabh Bahuguna (Dlh) and H.S. Kang (Pb) 216; Girish Virk (Chd), A.S. Lehal (Pb) and Pritam Saikia (WB) 220; Vikrant Chopra (Dlh) 222; Patwardhan Jaideep (Maha) 224; Gurbaaz Mann (Pb) and Jaskirat S. Dullet (Pb) 226.

Team scores: Punjab 654, Delhi 665, Chandigarh 674, Maharashtra 680, UP 687, SSCB 708, WB 723, Haryana 725, Karnataka 739, AP 741, MP 816, HP 829, Assam 841, Meghalaya 843 and Manipur 917.

GAMES DIARY
Equipment worth Rs 2 cr imported
Prabhjot Singh

Sports equipment worth Rs 2 crore was imported for use during the 31st National Games. This was in addition to the equipment procured from local markets and some equipment supplied free of cost by some of the sponsors.

Intriguingly, the mystery over the status of equipment imported in 1989 for the then aborted National Games persists. At that time, the government had spent about Rs 1.5 crore on the purchase of equipment from abroad.

Though some pieces of the of the imported equipment, including a number of items used in shooting, were recovered from Polo Grounds store (Patiala), no explanations were available for the remaining pieces of the equipment.

At one stage, there was a panic as the organising committee of the National Games (OCNG) was neither released funds nor granted permission to import the equipment directly. The availability of the already imported equipment notwithstanding, all items were imported afresh.

In cycling, an official had to go abroad to bring with him equipment worth Rs 29 lakh to make sure that the competition was held according to the latest norms. Interestingly, on the other hand, though the International Gymnastics Federation has decided to make certain changes in its rules and events, the equipment imported was for the event which exists no longer.

In case of table tennis, Cosco, the official sponsor of the Games, gave equipment worth Rs 10 lakh, free of cost, to the OCNG. It included Stiga tables and 50 dozen balls. The Tournament Director, however, did not allow the use of imported Stiga tables, as approved by the world body, but insisted on using tables supplied by a Meerut company.

There have been inconsistencies and deviations in the procurement of other imported equipment, including golf sticks.

Not only that, some of the equipment procured locally was not according to the norms. For example, the steeplechase hurdles purchased from within the state are not according to approved norms that the log at the top of the hurdle would be a single block. Instead, the hurdles used are made of more than one block of wooden pieces.

In 1989, among the items procured, but missing, from the inventory of the Sports Department, include 122 cm and 80 cm target faces of archery; starting pistols, windgauges, telescopic measuring apparatus for long jump and triple jump events, starting blocks for sprints in athletics; portable basketball backstops, boxing gloves and headgears, entire equipment for fencing, judo mats, equipment for taekwondo and even Eleiko weightlifting sets, both for men and women.

This time, the OCNG had to import mats for wrestling, judo and other events besides pits for field events in athletics. There must have been duplication in imports but in the absence of a proper inventory control, there was no choice but to import afresh to make sure that no event was disrupted for want of proper equipment.

The state government would do well to ensure that proper inventory was prepared and maintained of the equipment imported this time and all the existing stores of the department checked again to make sure that such costly equipment does not rot in the stores but is used for training of young, budding and talented sportsboys and girls of the state for future competitions.

Some accountability and responsibility needs to be fixed to make sure that mistakes of 1989 are not repeated. While the banners and hoardings of all unauthorised firms and companies have been removed from inside and outside playing arenas of the National Games, the OCNG may still charge the defaulters the sponsorship fee for the period for which the hoardings and banners were put up unauthorisedly inside and outside playing arenas.

Honours await Rajani, Vikas Pandey
Prabhjot Singh
Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, November 29
Rajani of Punjab and Vikas Pandey of Uttar Pradesh — both gymnasts — are all set to be declared best athletes while the hosts Punjab have assured themselves of Raja Bhalendra Singh Trophy for the overall team championship in the 31st National Games which will conclude here on Saturday.

Services is all set to bag the trophy for the best turnout amongst all contingents.

While Vikas Pandey has won seven gold medals, Rajani won three gold and a bronze to edge out Sonia Sharma of Jammu and Kashmir in a close contest. Sonia Sharma had won two gold and as many silver medals.

In the last National Games, the honours of best athletes were shared by swimmers — Sebastian Xavier and Nisha Mallet. Unfortunately swimming and water polo events were withdrawn because of the absence of heating facilities at the NSNIS swimming pool, the venue of the competition.

Vikas Pandey had won vaulting horse, floor exercises, pommel horse, rings, parallel bar, horizontal bar and overall individual championship while Rajani won the gold medals in rope (rhythmic), hoop (rhythmic) and rhythmic all round individual championship. She won a bronze in ribbon (rhythmic).

Though two of Punjab athletes — thrower Harwant Kaur and hurdler Gurpreet Singh — won two gold medals each in athletics, they could not match the individual tallies of gymnasts to bow out of the race for the best athlete of the Games award.

Besides these awards and trophies, the Organising Committee of the National games plans to honour the Union Finance Minister, Union Minister of State for Sports, the IOA President and Secretary-General and the Governor of Punjab at the closing ceremony, full dress rehearsal of which has been in progress here for the past few days.

The IOA, too, plans to honour seven prominent sports personalities.

Among the major attractions of the closing ceremony will be most of the members of the 1964 Tokyo Olympics gold medal and the 2001 Junior World Cup champion hockey teams.

According to Mr T.C. Guopta, Chairman, Media Committee, for the sports as well as culture enthusiasts, another attraction of the closing ceremony would be star singer Harbhajan Mann. The security “bandobast” would not be as heavy as it was for the opening ceremony thus facilitating free movement of the spectators.

The ceremony would start at 4.30 p.m. and may continue a little beyond two hours and may end in fire display. It would start with the usual march past by athletes who would be bidding adieu to the host city after mixing and mingling with each other and move in one group with flag bearers in front.

A group band display by 14 bands would be the next item of the ceremony. These bands, both pipes and brass, would be from police, paramilitary forces and the defence forces. A mass PT display by recruits of the Police Training School, Jahan Khelan in Hoshiarpur would provide some exciting display of collective physical exercises.

Mr Gupta said musical rides by mounted police to the beat of the drum would be followed by Harbhajan Mann taking the central stage.

The solemnity would be added at the time of lowering of the IOA and the Games flag and handing it over to the Andhra Pradesh Olympic Association, the next hosts of the Games. This ceremony would be performed by the 1964 Olympians as well as the 2001 Junior World Cup champion Indian hockey players.

After the Games flame is put off after 14 days, a grand finale will be provided by a spectacular display of fireworks. For each of the day, the Games flame has been consuming nearly 200 cylinders of LPG.

In between would be the presentations, Mr Gupta added.

UP, Haryana win gold in judo

Anandpur Sahib, November 29
Judokas from Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh and Manipur won the four gold on offer on the third day of judo in the 31st National Games here today.

Women: 48kg: Kamla Rawat (MP) 1, Reena (Har) 2, Namrok (Pun), Sapna Chauhan (HP) 3; 52kg: A.Anita Channu (Man) 1, Bharti Dogra (Pun) 2, Sunita Patil (Mah), Anuradha (Har) 3. PTI

Ramaswami, Manoj to clash in final
Gopal Sharma
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, November 29
Top seed Nitin Kirtane and second seed Vinod Sridhar tumbled out in the men's singles in the tennis competitions in the 31st National Games at the CLTA courts here today. Third seed Manoj Mahadevan of Tamil Nadu showed the door to Kirtane to set up summit clash with Ajay Ramaswami of Maharashtra, who sent defending champion Vinod Sridhar crashing out in contrasting semifinals.

Among women top seed Rushmi Chakravarty will cross swords with third seed Sonal Phadke for women's title. While Rushmi did not encounter much resistance before prevailing over fourth-seeded Sheetal Gautam by 6-2, 7-5, up-and-coming Sonal Phadke, the third seed, overcome S K Tara of Karnataka 6-4, 6-4 in the semifinals.

Kirtane was shown the door by by a spirited Mahadevan, who won in straight sets by 6-3, 6-4, while Ramaswami staged a remarkable rally to oust second-seded Vinod Sridhar by 2-6, 6-1, 6-1.

Ramaswami virtually could not find his feet in the first set which he lost rather tamely by 2-6. As if stung by the reverse he came back with a vengeance. Sridhar looked completely clueless as Ramaswami hurried through the next two set by 6-1, 6-1 to book a berth in the final. Mahadevan displayed better court craft as compared to Kirtane and romped home by 6-3, 6-4.

Nitin Kirtane, however, had the consolation of figuring in doubles final when in the company of his cousin Sandeep Kirtane he authored an authoritative win over Vinod Sridhar and Vijay Kannan of TN 6-3, 6-3. They will face Manoj Mahadevan and Rishi Sridhar, who just managed to subdued Ajay Ramaswami and Vijendra Laad 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 in the other doubles tie.

Women’s singles semifinal: Rushmi C. (TN) bt. Sheetal G. (Kar) 6-2, 7-5, Sonal P. (Mah) bt. S.K. Tara (Kar) 6-4, 6-4.

Men’s singles semifinal: Ajaya Ramaswami (Mah) bt. Vinod Sridhar (TN) 2-6, 6-1, 6-1, Manoj Mahadevan (TN) bt. Nitin Kritane (Mah) 6-3, 6-4.

Men’s doubles semifinal: Nitan K. & Sandeep K. (Mah) bt. Vinod S. & Vijay K. (TN) 6-3, 6-3, Manoj M. & Rishi S. (TN) bt. Ajay R. & Vijayendra (Mah) 4-6,6-2, 7-6. 

Cycle polo debut in Andhra
Gurvinder Kaur

Patiala, November 29
The royal game of polo was played using cycles as a demonstration sport in the ongoing National Games here and will be included as a discipline in the next games being held in Andhra Pradesh.

Cycle polo has got the nod of the Indian Olympic Association for inclusion in the next Nationals, disclosed Secretary General Randhir Singh who was the chief guest at a demonstration match of the sport played here yesterday between the federation team and the Patiala team in which the former was the victor with a score of 9-5.

The demonstration match was played with much gusto and seemed quite like polo. This, explained Punjab Cycle Polo Association Chief Dr J.S. Bhaia, was because it followed the same format but on a lesser scale.

Dr Bahia said cycle polo was played on a smaller field with a rough dimensions of 150 metres into 120 metres and players used shorter sticks and mallets keeping in view the low height of the cycles.

Besides, a soft ball is used unlike polo which has a hard ball. This, experts said was to ward off any risk to the bicycles being used in the sport. Each team has six players with four of them being active players.

There are four “chukkers” of seven and a half minutes each in the game.

The game itself needs even greater stamina than the traditional polo as players have to use much of their energy coordinating the movement of their cycles.

Cycle Polo Federation of India President Maharaja Yashwant Singh Alwar disclosed that efforts were being made by the federation to make it peoples game.

He disclosed that with the help of the IOA it would now be included in the calendar of the school games. Mr Yashwant Singh said the game was already being played in 13 states and efforts would be made to make it popular in other states of the country. He said India could take a lead in this game as it had already won the world championship in the event.

IOA Secretary General Randhir Singh gave away the prizes to both the teams. He said the Punjab Olympic Association had already given recognition to the game and that it could emerge as a popualar one in the state.

Netball gaining popularity
Arvind Katyal

Anandpur Sahib, November 29
The maiden entry of netball in the 31st National Games evoked a lot of enthusiasm among players and spectators at the picturesque grounds of the Dasmesh Academy School, here. Though netball was not a medal sport the enthusiasm from the teams participating in these games depict the growing popularity of the sport. On the basis of performance in the last senior National Netball Championships held at Amritsar early this year, a total of eight teams in men and eight in women section were took part. The teams were divided into two pools A and B in both men and women section. The teams were Karnataka, Orissa; UP, Delhi, Punjab; MP, Haryana; WB, Women: Orissa, Punjab, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Chhatisgarh, Delhi, Karnataka; Uttar Pradesh.

Mr Gurbir Sandhu, president of the Netball Federation of India, who was here last evening, said this sport was being approved by the Indian Olympic Association and the Association of Indian Universities while it might also get the nod of School Games Federation of India this year. S. Sharma secretary-general of the NFI said the sport was no longer played only by women sport, men were also showing interest in it. In each team there were allowed seven playing members with three substitutions could be carried out. Four players are allowed in ‘D’ while three can remain outside. The players allowed in ‘D’ are goal shooter, goal attacker, goal defencer and goal-keeper. Those outside the ‘D’ are: wing defencer, wing attacker and centre. One point is given for every basket netted.

***

Punjab hopeful

The huge indoor hall saw the judo competitions going in full swing with school children cheering the every bout being fought. Going by the statement of the President of the Punjab Judo Association, Mr T.C. Gupta, the judokas of the state have done a lot of homework and expected to a rich haul of medals.

Punjab dominate

Chandigarh
Punjab men and women have made it to the finals of the netball event in the 31st National Games, played at Dasmesh School grounds, Anandpur Sahib. As per reports reaching here, in the semifinals played on Thursday, Punjab men outplayed Uttar Pradesh while in the women’s section, they got the better of Karnataka. OSR

Services, Kerala reign supreme

Chandigarh, November 29
Services reigned supreme scooping up as many as nine of the 13 gold medals on offer as four meet records were re-written in the kayaking and canoeing events of the 31st National Games.

While the strong Services contingent dictated terms sweeping the bulk of the gold medals in the men’s events, Kerala bagged all the three golds in the women’s section.

P.K. Baroi stole the limelight by not only grabbing two gold medals but setting new meet records in the men’s 1000 m K-1 and K-4 events while Karma Toppo also picked up two yellow metals with record-breaking efforts.

Services Karma Toppo bagged gold by clocking 2:06.40 seconds in the men’s 500 m K-1 event while the silver went to Chandigarh’s Ravi Antil (2:10.34) and the bronze to Karnataka’s K.V Mohan (2:11:69).

In the men’s K-2 event, Andhra Pradesh’s Madhu P.S. and Parveen Kumar were the gold medal winners (1:53.76). Services had to settle for silver, Vinod P. and Ashish Kumar finishing in 1:57.08 seconds, and the bronze in this category went to Delhi’s pair of Suresh Kumar and Mahesh Yadav (1:58.58).

Services dominated the K-4 events as well winning the gold in this category (1:40.89) while Karnataka (1:46.34) finished second and Andhra Pradesh (1:48.34) had to settle for the bronze.

The men’s canoeing events were also dominated by the Services. In the C-1 category, Services’ Vagaram B (2:24.69) bagged gold and Anndhra’s Joby Joseph (2:27.38) finished second to earn silver. Host Punjab’s Humlung Pow (2:31.38) had to contend with a bronze.

The C-2 event was also swept by Services with Ajith Kumar and Daleep Beniwal(2:02.50) winning gold and Punjab’s Mahesan and Anand winning silver (2:11.33). Kerala’s Vinu V. and Sherry John had to settle for bronze (2:11.67).

In the women’s 500m kayaking events, Kerala swept all the three golds at stake today.

Kerala’s Mini Mol K bagged gold in the K-1 event (2:26.09). The silver went to Andaman and Nicobar’s Srimathi Sardar (2:28.79) and the bronze to Manipur’s M. Niteshwary (2:38.74). PTI

Series “hanging by a thread”

London, November 29
The English Cricket Board chief Lord MacLaurin was under attack in the British media today for being “confrontational” towards Indian cricket authorities after noting he probably “dragged” England into the Virender Sehwag controversy before it needed to come into the picture.

Media reports said England’s tour of India looked in “real danger” of cancellation after the BCCI chief Jagmohan Dalmiya refused to meet tomorrow’s deadline to pull out Virendra Sehwag out of the first test in Mohali next Monday.

While blaming Dalmiya for this “war of brinksmanship” that could put the series at risk, the media did not spare MacLaurin either saying he has “probably dragged England into the tussle between the ICC and the BCCI before they needed to be involved.”

“MacLaurin once again allowed emotions to get the better of him. By being confrontational, he has broken the first rule of negotiation and later the ECB realising it was still an ICC matter, somewhat delicately poised, sought to distance itself from his views,” wrote the Independent.

The Telegraph said the BCCI-ICC row would not only wreck the forthcoming three-Test series between India and England but also threaten India’s tour of England next year. The Times said the Test series is now “left hanging by a thread”. PTI 

SA concerned over possibility of split

Johannesburg, November 29
“Indians push cricket closer to civil war” was how one newspaper described it as the media in this country keenly followed the developments in the stand-off between the Indian cricket board and the International Cricket Council.

The news of batsman Virender Sehwag’s inclusion in the 14-member squad for the first Test against England at Mohali was given extensive coverage by the print and electronic media alike with most reports suggesting that world cricket was headed for a major split.

“Time bomb clicking in world cricket” wrote the Pretoria News while the Mercury of Durban headlined its story “Major split in world cricket looms”

The national SAFM radio station broadcast an interview with its New Delhi correspondent Rana Senn who told South Africans that Indians were very angry at the treatment meted out to their players by Mike Denness during the second Test between India and South Africa in Port Elizabeth.

He said Indians were not prepared to be treated shabbily. Some of the news bulletins also carried sound bites of the BCCI President Jagmohan Dalmiya on the selection of Sehwag and that India would not be dictated to say whether he will be included in the final line-up or not.

The Mercury published an article from London which said that Dalmiya was pushing for a split in world cricket. The report stated a split in world cricket had been concern of administrators for generations. “Now there are real concerns”, the report said, “that the BCCI President Jagmohan Dalmiya, the former ICC President, will try to use the Sehwag dispute as a pretext for launching an Asian breakaway from world cricket’s governing body”.

“To many in Asia, which boasts major cricket powers in India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, all of whom form the Asian Cricket Council, the fact that the world game is still run out of Lord’s is incomprehensible. PTI

Morale-boosting win for England

Jaipur, November 29
Deadly bowling by Craig White (5 for 31) and Andrew Flintoff (3 for 27) followed by a brilliant half century by skipper Nasser Husain (59) led touring England to a moral-boosting three-wicket dramatic victory over India ‘A’ at the Sawai Man Singh Stadium here today.

India ‘A’, which resumed at their overnight score of 75 for 3, were today bundled out for 109 leaving a target of 172 in 76 overs for England to win the match. The visitors achieved the target in 55.1 overs scoring 173 losing seven wickets.

The victory has given a moral boost to England ahead of the first Test to take place at Mohali from December 3.

Medium pacers Craig White and Flintoff exploited the morning condition on the green top strip allowing the batting side to add only 34 runs more to their total, losing six wickets. R. Sodhi could not bat as he had to retire hurt following as finger injury off a White delivery.

Flintoff gave the first jolt to India ‘A’, when he got Y.Gowd caught behind for 13. Thereafter it was the turn of Craig White, who had taken all the three wickets on the previous day for 19 runs. R.R. Parida was his first victim who was caught by Husain also for 13. India ‘A’ were now five down for 86 and on the same total. White bowled new comer Ajay Ratra before the batsman could open his account.

With R.Sodhi back in the pavilion retired hurt, India ‘A’ lost the remaining three wickets for the addition of only 23 runs. Abhijit Kale, who had scored a brilliant century in the first innings, was the next to depart, when he edged a Flintoff delivery at the second slip for Butcher after making only 3.

Skipper Sunil Joshi was the third to get out on unlucky 13. He too offered a catch to Trescothick in the slips. Iqbal Siddiqui, who got into the test side with an impressive bowling, was the last man to go, caught by Foster off Johnson. India ‘A’ innings folded in only 50.1 overs consuming 222 minutes.

Scoreboard

India ‘A’ (Ist inning): 233 (for 9 dec).

England (Ist inning): 170

India ‘A’ (2nd inning):

Mane lbw White 15

Gambhir b White 30

Gowd c Foster b Flintoff 13

Khoda lbw White 0

R.R. Parida c Husain b White 13

Kale c Butcher b Flintoff 3

Ratra b White 0

Sodhi retired hurt 0

Joshi c Trescothick b Flintoff 13

Siddiqui c Foster b Johnson 1

Ganesh not out 0

Extras (b 5, lb 9, nb 6, w 1) 21

Total (for 9 in 50.1 over) 109

FOW: 1-39, 2-64, 3-64, 4-77, 5-86, 6-86, 7-102, 8-105, 9-109.

Bowling: Richard Johnson 9.1-2-25-1; A.Flintoff 17-8-27-3; Craig White 13-3-31-5; M.Butcher 11-7-12-0.

England (2nd inning):

Butcher c Gambhir b Ganesh 4

Trescothick c Ratra b Siddiqui 30

Husain c Ratra b Gambhir 59

Ramprakash b Joshi 22

Flintoff c Khoda b Joshi 40

White c & b Gambhir 3

Giles not out 10

Foster c Joshi b Gambhir 0

Johnson not out 0

Extras (lb 2,nb 2, w 1) 5

Total (for 7 in 55.1 overs) 173

FOW: 1-5, 2-51, 3-109, 4-151, 5-157, 6-165, 7-172.

Bowling: D.Ganesh 11-3-37-1; I.Siddiqui 15-3-48-1; S.Joshi 13.1-5-30-2; G.Khoda 5-0-28-0; Y.Gowd 5-0-16-0; G.Gambhir 6-1-12-3. UNI

Henderson replaces injured Boje

Johannesburg, November 29
Left-arm spinner Claude Henderson has been called up to replace the injured Nicky Boje for South Africa’s tour of Australia starting next month.

Henderson was put on standby for the tour after fellow slow left-armer Boje suffered a recurrence of a knee injury. Henderson played his first two Tests against Zimbabwe in September.

Boje, who recently returned to action following shoulder and knee surgery which cut short his tour to West Indies last summer, was diagnosed with an inflamed tendon by a Cape Town surgeon yesterday.

“It does not look as bad as it did but, on advice from the surgeon, we can’t take the risk of Nicky going to Australia now,” South African team physiotherapist Craig Smith was quoted as saying in a statement released by the United Cricket Board today.

“Nicky will have treatment and rehabilitation in South Africa and maybe some domestic cricket over the next few weeks.”

The 15-man South African test squad leaves for Australia on Saturday. Reuters

Lara hammers unbeaten 178

Colombo, November 29
Brian Lara took centre stage with a superb 178 not out as the West Indies built the platform for a formidable total against Sri Lanka in the third and final Test today.

The Trinidadian left-hander spurred the West Indies to 327 for three at the close on the first day, giving his side a fine start in their attempt to salvage some pride from a series in which Sri Lanka have a 2-0 winning lead.

Lara’s second hundred of the rubber, and 17th in Tests, was made with effective support from Ramnaresh Sarwan, who scored 69, and captain Carl Hooper, who hit an unbeaten 52.

West Indies (1st innings):

Ganga lbw b Vaas 6

Gayle c Sangakkara b Vaas 0

Sarwan run out 69

Lara batting 178

Hooper batting 52

Extras (b-5, lb-7, nb-10) 22

Total (for 3 wkts, 90 overs) 327

Fall of wickets: 1-2, 2-17, 3-211.

Bowling: Vaas 22-2-92-2, Zoysa 12-1-37-0, Samaraweera 8-0-31-0, Bandaratilleke 9-2-37-0, Muralitharan 32-4-98-0, Jayasuriya 3-0-11-0, Arnold 3-0-8-0, Tillakaratne 1-0-1-0. Reuters

Chandigarh lads in semis

New Delhi, November 29
A golden goal by Sandeep Singh enabled Sanjay Public School, Chandigarh, dip MPLL Adarsh School, Faizabad, (UP) 2-1 to storm into the semifinals of the 41st Subroto Cup Football Tournament here today.

Army Boys (Bangalore) were lucky to have survived as they waged a grim battle to oust MCC XI, Imphal 1-0. The all-important goal came in the 59th minute when O. Manish covered a spot kick. UNI

SPORTS BRIEFS

WEST ZONE WIN
MUMBAI: West Zone crushed East Zone by nine wickets to record their fourth successive victory and win the internal-zonal limited-overs cricket tournament (under-19) for C K Nayudu Trophy at the Elf Oval on Thursday. East Zone, after being put into bat, scored a paltry 84 all out in 31 overs with only three players — Arun Nayak (23 off 54 balls with two fours), Rajesh Banik (20 off 19 balls with two fours) and Rakesh Mohantyr — reaching double figures. PTI

‘MOST PLAYERS CHEAT’
SYDNEY: As cricket stands at the crossroads of another crisis, one of the most trusted, respected and loved umpires David Shepherd of England says most of the current players are involved in cheating. “Now sadly, most players are at it, especially in Tests. Often they don’t consider they are cheating, presenting their behaviour as part of the games ritual, ” Shepherd writes in his new book, “Shep my autobiography”. Shepherd says this is in sharp contrast to the time when he himself played cricket. “The players were competitive but played the game with respect, in good spirit and honestly. If anyone cheated, it was very rare.” Shepherd officiating in a match has been a comforting influence on almost every cricketer, from England to Australia and India to South Africa. Batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar is said to have named him his favourite umpire and Shepherd returns the compliment. PTI

HARYANA MUST WIN
ROHTAK: Haryana in a must-win situation against Himachal Pradesh at Maharaja Aggarsain Stadium here on Friday as North Zone Ranji Trophy cricket league enters the final and decisive phase. Haryana can move into the knock-out stage after blocking Himachal’s engry, which is possible only if Haryana are able to register an outright victory in the match beginning here on Friday. At present, all the six teams in the North Zone have played four matches each and they have to play their last league match this season. Delhi and Punjab have virtually made it to the knock-out stage with 29 and 24 points, respectively. Himachal (19 points) are ahead of Haryana (16 points). OSR

VISHAL IN FINAL
PATIALA: Punjab’s Vishal Kumar outclassed statemate Gurpal Singh 111-107 to move into the final of the men’s individual (Olympic round) archery event in the 31st National Games here on Thursday. Mangal Singh of Uttar Pradesh also qualified for the semifinal beating Kailash 108-105 while G. Besra of Jharkhand defeated statemate Gautam Singh 108-102 to secure a berth in the last four. Vishal Kumar will take on Kailash in the semifinal while G.Besra will be pitted against Harish Kerai of Jharkhand in the other semifinal. In the women’s individual section (Olympic round), the Jharkhand archers completely dominated the show. Dola Bannerjee, Kezie Gunno, Jhanu Hansda, C.Swuoro reached the semifinals. In the team championship event (Olympic round) Jharkhand and Delhi stormed into the final in the men’s section while Jharkhand and Manipur will clash for the honours in the women’s section. PTI

AMBALA WRESTLING MEET
AMBALA: The Haryana Postal Circle under the auspices of the Haryana Postal Sports Board is going to organise the 16th All-India Postal Wrestling Tournament at Kurukshetra University from December 4 to 8. Ten teams, comprising about 100 wrestlers and officers, from various states are expected to participate in the meet. The team of the Haryana circle has been winning the tournament since 1995-96. Last year, the tournament was held at Patna and it was won by the Haryana circle team by defeating the Maharashtra team, a release said. TNS