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Sunday,
December 23, 2001, Chandigarh, India  
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Fletcher defends
‘negative’ tactics Bangladesh slump to innings defeat Two punches, seven months apart dominated headlines |
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ITI hold Churchill to 1-1 draw Football probables for SAF Games Rajasthan trounce hapless HP HAL held by
Tollygunge PSB to clash with BSF in final National wrestling results Haryana wrestlers honoured Easy title win for Tushar Haryana spikers advance Bengal,
Delhi boxers excel Gopichand named
Sportsperson of Year
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Rain frustrates England
Bangalore, December 22 With just one day remaining to complete the second innings of both the teams, the chances of a result seem to have been all but drained away. And so have the hopes of England to square the series 1-1. For the brief while when the two teams were on the field, England continued their domination of the match to send the Indian team packing within 45 minutes of resumption of play. The three remaining Indian wickets fell for the addition of only 18 runs to the overnight total as the home team could manage only 238 in their first innings. Speedsters Matthew Hoggard and Andrew Flintoff claimed one wicket each to boost their figures to four wickets. England then made a brisk start to their second innings putting on 33 runs without losing any wicket in the 7.1 overs that were possible before rain interrupted barely 35 minutes after the tea break which was taken at the end of the Indian innings. Mark Butcher was batting on 23 and Marcus Trescothick on nine at that stage. The umpires made every effort to ensure that the game resumed at 5pm. However, with conditions not suitable for play, they were forced to call it off for the day. With weather playing truant on all the four days, a total of 150 overs and 602 minutes of play have already been lost. England made the maximum of whatever was available and quickly got rid of the Indian tailenders when play started at 2:15 in the afternoon. Overnight Indian batsmen Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh could add just five runs before the leg-spinner was snapped up by Marcus Trescothick in the slips to become the fourth victim of Flintoff. Kumble advanced from 10 to 14 before his innings was brought to an end. Harbhajan had been let off on the previous ball when his attempted hook shot went to the fine leg where it slipped out of the hands of a diving Hoggard. Harbhajan had a shaky stay in company of fellow off-spinner Sarandeep Singh, the two putting on 12 runs for the ninth wicket. Harbhajan, who made eight, was dismissed while trying to play a fuller delivery from Hoggard on the on-side but the swinging ball took the outside edge and flew to short covers where England skipper Nasser Hussain took a diving catch. Three runs later, a fine direct throw by Michael Vaughan found Sarandeep well short of his crease when the batsman had tried to steal a single from point. That brought an end to the Indian innings and the home team had conceded a 98-run lead. The visitors, who have made tremendous improvement in the last two games after losing the first Test at Mohali by 10 wickets, then showed a sense of urgency when they started their second knock. The very first over from Javagal Srinath produced 11 runs and both Butcher and Trescothick scored at a brisk pace and tried to accumulate as many runs as possible in a bid to force a result. They ran very hard singles and made a mockery of the field placement by Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly who had deployed four men on the boundary. However, it started drizzling heavily when Harbhajan Singh came on to bowl the eighth over, replacing Ganguly and the umpires had to ask for covers. SCOREBOARD England (Ist innings): 336 India (Ist innings): Das b Flintoff 28 Dasgupta c Trescothick b
Flintoff 0 Laxman b Flintoff 12 Tendulkar st Foster b Giles 90 Dravid c Foster b Hoggard 3 Ganguly c Butcher b Hoggard 0 Sehwag c Foster b Hoggard 66 Kumble c Trescothick b
Harbhajan c Hussain b Flintoff 8 Sarandeep run out 4 Srinath not out 2 Extras
(b-4, lb-4, nb-3) 11 Total: all out in 94.3 overs 238 Fall of wickets: 1-8, 2-22, 3-88, 4-121, 5-121, 6-173, 7-218, 8-228, 9-235, 10-238 Bowling: Mathew Hoggard 24.3-07-80-4, Andrew Flintoff 28-09-50-4, Ashley Giles 34-14-74-1, Craig White 8-02-26-0. England (2nd innings): Butcher batting 23 Trescothick batting 9 Extras
(b-1) 1 Total: (for no loss, 7.1 overs) 33 Bowling: Srinath 4-0-19-0, Ganguly 3-0-12-0, Harbhajan Singh 0.1-0-1-0. PTI
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Fletcher defends
‘negative’ tactics
Bangalore, December 22 “We were about 100 runs (98 runs is correct) ahead and added another 30 plus (33 for no loss is correct) at the end of the day. We are in quite a dominating position. Anything wrong (with it)”, he asked in the post match media press conference this evening after only 76 minutes of play was possible on the fourth day. He was responding to the media criticism about the use of negative tactics. About left-arm spinner Ashley Giles stifling tactics, he pointed out that Indian batting maestro got out to stumping for the first time in his 89-Test career. On the chances, he said only 105 overs were left on the final day. Also it had to be seen as to whether there would be a prompt start for the match. About the one-day tour commencing in the second week of next month, he said all available players would be considered. The team would be announced in the next few days, he added. Media manager David Clarke said Alec Stewart, who had pulled out of the Test series for personal reasons, was available for selection for the one-dayers likely to commence from January 22. England is likely to play six one-dayers in January-February, 2002. However, no final decision had been taken on the sixth one-dayer and discussions were on. On today’s play, he said it was frustrating . “We were in a dominating position”.
UNI |
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Bangladesh slump to innings defeat
Hamilton, December 22 Cairns took five wickets for seven runs this morning to end with figures of seven for 53 off 18.2 overs as Bangladesh were bowled out for 108 following on in their second innings. It took the New Zealand bowlers just 45 minutes to wrap up the Test on the final day after the first two days were lost to rain. The match lasted just 181.4 overs. Bangladesh resumed on 90 for four today under sunny skies but lasted just 13 overs as Cairns ripped into the Bangladesh batsmen. Their big hope Mohammad Al- Sahariar lasted just one ball when Cairns enticed an edge to wicketkeeper Adam Parore off the seventh ball of the day. Opener Al-Sahariar faced 103 balls for his 53. SCOREBOARD New Zealand (1st innings): 365-9 declared Bangladesh (1st innings): 205 Bangladesh (2nd innings): Omar lbw b Martin 15 Al-Sahariar c Parore b Cairns 53 Hashar c Parore b Cairns 1 A Islam b cairns 0 Ashraful c sub (Drum) b
Hossein b Bond 12 Masud c Fleming b Cairns 6 Mahmud c Sinclair b Cairns 0 Sharif not out 4 Mortaza c Vincent b Cairns 2 M Islam c Fleming b Cairns 1 Extras (lb-4, nb-4) 8 Total
(all out) 108 FOW: 1-39, 2-42, 3-42, 4-68, 5-90, 6-98, 7-98, 8-104, 9-107. Bowling: Cairns 18.2-2-53-7 Bond 15-4-28-2, Martin 4-1-6-1, Vettori 9-4-17-0.
AFP
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Two punches, seven months apart dominated headlines
Paris, December 22 The heavyweight scene may well be in irreversible decline, but the division did provide boxing’s most memorable image in 2001, namely a complacent Lennox Lewis knocked cold by the unheralded Hasim Rahman. Rahman’s victory at dawn in South Africa was one of the biggest shocks in boxing history, the 20-1 underdog American wresting away Lewis’ titles with a right-hand punch that was brutal perfection. The consensus at ringside was that Lewis got what he deserved for neglecting his training to a fatal degree. Having arrived in South Africa barely a fortnight before the bout — preferring to spend the buildup on a Las Vegas movie set — Lewis was poorly prepared for Johannesburg’s energy-sapping altitude. “I told you all I was confident. Not one time since the fight was made was I nervous,” said Rahman, after the stunning fifth-round knockout. Lewis meanwhile, whose first words to his cornermen when coming round were a groggy ‘Who won?’, was left to reflect on a devastating blow to his hopes of being remembered as one of boxing’s greats. “He was looking to win the fight and throwing lots of good punches — It just so happens that I stepped into one of them,” Lewis said, insisting his preparations had not played a part in the defeat. “He got lucky.” “He won this round but I will be back. I will be back,” said Lewis, who was to prove as good as his word, albeit after a court battle to get Rahman’s camp to honour a rematch clause. Rahman — tempted into signing up with the infamous Don King in a pact that involved a late-night hotel visit, a duffel bag and $500,000 — finally inked a deal with Lewis for a November rematch. By the time the two men met again in Las Vegas, a discernible level of needle was evident, stemming largely from a brawl between the two men during a television studio while Rahman and Lewis were promoting the fight. Rahman, who had reputedly questioned Lewis’ sexuality, was made to pay in the return, outclassed and overwhelmed in four one-sided round by his ruthlessly focused British opponent. “He showed a lot of disrespect to me,” said Lewis, who had brought the fight to a spectacular conclusion with his own awesome right hand. “Everyone thought that Rahman got under my skin. He did get under my skin a little bit, but I kept my reserve,” Lewis said of the man he branded ‘Has-been Rahman.’ Lewis can now look forward to a long-awaited, career-defining showdown with Mike Tyson in the new year. Tyson was inactive in 2001 save for a brief excursion to Copenhagen, where he pummeled blubbery Danish heavyweight Brian Nielsen into submission over seven rounds. The fact that Lewis and Tyson will both be well into their mid-30s if and when they climb into the ring serves only to highlight the paucity of talent in the heavyweight bracket. That dearth of talent was shown up again when ageing Evan-der Holyfield and John Ruiz fought out a dire third instalment of their rivalry in December. Holyfield’s controversial defeat on a split decision was described by one observer as ‘one of the most outrageous decisions in boxing history.’ With so much murkiness surrounding the big men, the lower divisions were again provided more of a competitive spectacle. A Don King-engineered series to unify the middleweight crown ended with a surprise win for Bernard ‘The Executioner’ Hopkins over the highly rated Felix Trinidad in New York. Trinidad, the hard-hitting Puerto Rican favourite, was comprehensively outfought as former convict Hopkins powered to a unanimous points victory. "I wanted the opportunity to prove myself," Hopkins said. "I am a role model. I finally got the opportunity to prove myself at 36. I’m one of the best middleweights of all time." It is doubtful that Hopkins can claim to be the world’s best pound-for-pound fighter, however. That mythical status belongs to American welterweight ‘Sugar’ Shane Mosley, who made two easy defences of his WBC crown in 2001 to stamp his class on the division. Whether the likes of Mosley and Hopkins can help to save boxing from itself remains to be seen. A surge in the number of ring deaths worldwide — with five in Indonesia alone — provided more ammunition for critics who believe the sport should be banned once and for all.
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ITI hold Churchill to 1-1 draw Margao, December 22 Both the goals came in the second half through Roque Baretto in the 48th minute for Zee Churchill Nigerian Kenneth Unow of ITI
equalised in the 50th minute. With this drawn match Churchill maintained their lead with seven points
from two wins and a draw and while ITI collected a total of three points from all three drawn matches. After a barren first half home team played with renewed vigour and shot into the lead in the 48th minute through Roque Baretto after collected a well measured cross from the left flank from Rajesh Meteei. Stung by the reverse, ITI roared back and restored the parity within the next two minutes through Nigerian recruit Kenneth Unow with a solo effort. He collected a ball from the midfield and moved down dangerously dodging past three rival defenders Osamanu Hussain, Francise Coelho and Danzil Ferao and later beat goalkeeper Edward Ansah and shot into the net 1-1. After the teams were tied at 1-1, both made desperate efforts for the match winner but without much luck though both had a couple of scoring
opportunities. In the 82nd minute Churchill almost took the lead when Abdul Saley took a shot beating rival goalkeeper Balaji but defender A.S. Feroze brought off a fine goalline save heading it out. In the 40th minute of the second half Churchill’s goalkeeper Edward Ansah made a fine save off a try from Kenneth Unow. Churchill would have won outright had not ITI goalkeeper N. Balaji brought off a couple of
brilliant saves under the bar. Earlier in the first half, Churchill dominated the proceedings with a major share of exchanges and made a few good forays into ITI citadel but failed to score. In the 9th minute, home team came up with a good combined move from Tajinder Kumar and Abdul Saley but saw Peter Mascarehnas’s try sail over the bar. Then in the 35th minute, Roque Barretto’s carpet drive shot landed safely into the hands of ITI goalkeeper Balaji. It was a pass from Peter Mascarenhas. Five minutes later, Aqueel Ansari’s header went straight into the hands of rival goalkeeper off a flag kick taken by Noel Wilson. Two minutes before the breather, ITI came up with a good move with George Ekka and floated towards Raghuvir, who unleashed a shot over the head of the Churchill goalkeeper but it sailed over the bar.
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Football probables for SAF Games Patiala, December 22 The probables were selected on the basis of their performance in the recently concluded Santosh Trophy. Names of some of top players of the country do not figure among the probables. Since the Sports Authority of India (SAI) has sanctioned the camp for 28 probables, the expenses for the rest of the nine footballers will be borne by the AIFF. The probables are: Felix D' Souza, Samir Naik, Wilton Gomez, Wilfred Mirinda, Francis Andrand (Goa), Toiba Singh, Samsan Singh, Narinder Mithai ( WIFA), Sukhjit Singh, Jaswinder Singh (Punjab), Asif Sakir, Abdul Hakim, Binoo Jose, Abdul Naushad, Binsiha (Kerala), Birjab Sheshkari, Tyamkum Ahau (Assam), Vinay Singh, Parveen Arora (Delhi), Pardeep Indu, Sandeep Ghosh (Bengal), Narain Singh, Kiran Singh (Manipur), Gopi, Javier Vijay Singh, Mahender Maini (Karnataka), V.K. Mishra, B.K. Deech, Abhyugobi Singh (Services), I. Anthony, Syed Sabir Pasha (Tamil Nadu), Satish Bharti, Janak Basu, Kasif Jamaal, Surjit Tigga (Railways) and Afroz Ahmed (UP).
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Rajasthan trounce hapless HP
Jaipur, December 22 In other matches of the day, Tamil Nadu beat Maharashtra 1-0 in a cluster III match. It was Senthil Kumar who scored the all-important goal in the 42nd minute after a goalless first half. In another match of the same cluster, Andhra Pradesh defeated Uttar Pradesh by the same 1-0 margin. The winning goal came through K. Kiran in 26th minute. U.P. got an opportunity to equalise two minutes before the close but substitute forward Mangleshwar missed the sitter. Madhya Pradesh got a walkover from Andaman and Nicobar in cluster VI. Rajasthan and MP, both of whom registered victories against HP and walkover against Andaman and Nicobar, will clash on Monday to decide the top spot in pool VI. Hosts Rajasthan put up an impressive show today and completely dominated the hapless Himachal boys. The first goal for the hosts was struck by Irshad Khan in the 15th minute. He got a good pass from Rakesh Kumar and controlling the ball deftly, beat the goalkeeper with ease. Rajasthan earned three consecutive corners but none could be converted. Their second goal came off an error on part of the Himachal goalkeeper. Rajasthan were awarded a free kick outside the box on the right flank. Sanjeev took the kick and his powerful direct hit could not be collected cleanly by Himachal goalkeeper Rahul. The ball slipped out of his hands and Tasleem, coming in as a substitute of Vipin, grabbed the opportunity to score the second goal for his team. Rajasthan led 2-0 at half time.
In cluster VI, Tamil Nadu and AP notched up their second consecutive victories. They are also slated to clash on Monday to decide the pool winner. Though Tamil Nadu dominated the proceedings against Maharashtra, their attempts to score were thwarted till the 42nd minute in the second half. The solitary goal of the match was scored by the talented Senthil Kumar through a header off a free kick. The other match of the cluster was also a lacklustre affair. AP took the lead in the 26th minute when a pass from behind provided an opportunity for K. Kiran to score a field goal. AP then did well to hold on to their lead till the close. They, however, had a fright two minutes before the hooter when Manglesh got an easy chance but muffed it by shooting off the mark.
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HAL held by
Tollygunge Bangalore, December 22 Both the teams had opportunities but failed to convert them. With this draw, HAL took their tally to five points from three matches while the Kolkata team has just two points from the same number of outings. As it drizzled in spells under the influence of depression in Bay of Bengal, the teams resorted to defensive play with ground conditions being not ideal. HAL had one good chance but Sunil’s header from Dayanand’s pass flew away. Sasti Tuley did a good job for Tollygunge and his three good moves were wasted by the forwards. Once Ashim Biswas hit the pass only to find it hit the cross piece, Later, Akeem Abolanlee’s powerful kick did not go in.
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PSB to clash with BSF in final Jalandhar, December 22 Today, Border Security Force and Bharat Petroleum added a point each to their tally in a 2-2 draw. Bharat Petroleum opened their account in the opening minutes of the game through Ajay Kumar Saroha. BSF did not lag behind in equalising, as Sushil Khajur scored from the right flank. Petroleum men gained their lead in the 20th minute as Ajay Kumar scored his second goal in style. Neering half time, BSF managed to neutralise again in the 32nd minute through Johan Jojo taking the score to 2-2. After half time, both teams tried hard to take the lead but all attempts went in vain and they shared a point each. In the second match, Punjab Police outclassed Guru Nanak Dev University 5-0. Jugraj Singh started the scoring in the opening minutes of the game as he scooped the ball into the rival net. He hit the board again in the 24th minute to make it 2-0. Three minutes later, Gurjant Singh scored form the left flank taking the score to 3-0. At half time the score was 3-0. After the breather, Gurjant struck again and in the 61st minute Surjit Singh added another goal to complete the tally. |
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National wrestling results Chandigarh, December 22 The followings are the results: Men: First round: 54 kg: Kirpa Shankar (Rly) bt Surendra (Jhar) by fall; Gagan (MP) bt Narender (AP) by TF; Rohtash (Del) bt Ram Chand (Bih) by TG; Rakesh (Pun) bt Lal Hussain (J and K) by fall; Neresh (Raj) bt Debendra (Ori) by fall; Ravinder (NCR) bt Lalhmunffla (Miz) by fall; Sandeep (Mah) bt Joginder Singh (Ben) 7-1; Surender (Ser) bt Narayan (Kar) by fall. 63 kg: Pardeep (Ser) bt Sunil (Man) by fall; Sandeep (Mah) bt T. Rajesh (AP) by fall; Niranjan (Chg) bt Suresh (Del) by fall; Gurvinder (U'chal) bt Prashad Shet (Goa) by fall; Jagbir (NCR) bt R. Vinu Kumar (NCR) by TF; Sahil (J and K) bt Vanlal Chama (Miz) 11-7; Shilk Ram (Ben) bt Kuldeep Singh (HP) by fall; Ombir (Pun) bt Sombir (Har) by TF; Karamvir (Bih) bt Zahir Mansoori (Guj) by fall; Jobin Son J. (Ker) bt Pardeep (Jhar) 9-0. 76 kg: Ajmer (Har) bt Ch. Roman (Man) by fall; Sunil (Del) bt Ram Niwas (Raj) by fall; Jung Bahadur (Pun) bt Ramesh (Kar) by fall; Sujeet (Rly) bt M. Shankar (TN) by fall; Ashish (NCR) bt Visa Khoto (Nag) by TF; Raj Singh (Chg) bt Bhagi Rathi (Ori) by fall; T. Durgesh Singh (AP) bt Vikram (HP) by fall; Naresh (UP) bt Manjeev (Miz) 5-3; Devendra (Bih) bt Dinesh (U'chal) by fall. 97 kg: Shripal (AIU) bt R. Arokiya (TN) by fall; Ashok (U'chal) bt Gajrat (Bih) by fall; Ganshyam (Ser) bt Baljit (Chg) 6-1; Rakesh (MP) bt Parveen (Ben) 7-0; Harjeet (Pun) bt Vikas (Jhar) by TF; Anil Mann (Rly) bt Himanshu (Ori) by fall; Chandrahas (Mah) bt Pinesh (Guj) by fall. Greco-Roman: First round: 54-kg: Manu (Bih) b Sandeep (Mah) by fall; Yashbir (NCR) b P. Shri Niwas (AP) by TF; Rajinder (U’ chal) b Piyush (Guj) by fall; Rajesh (Har) b Aditya (MP) by fall; Mandeep (Pub) b R. Dharam Raja (TN) by TF; Joginder (Chd) b N.B. Singh (Ser) 8-0. 63-kg: Ravinder (Rly) b Virender (MP) by TF; Dhiraj (Mah) b B. Nagraj (Kar) by TF; Rakesh (Bih) b Jameet (J & K) 8-0; Jitender (Del) b Subhash (Jhar) 7-1; Satender (NCR) b R. Dhanasekhar (TN) by TF; Sukhdeep (U’ chal) b Bipson (Guj) by fall; Umesh (Chg) b Satyanarayan (Ori) by fall; 76-kg:
Harinder (Ser) b Sudesh (AP) by fall; Sanjay (Har) b Vikram (U’ chal) by 5-2; Tejbir (UP) b Devender (HP) by TF; Shatrughan (MP) b Anand (Ben) by fall; Surinder (Bih) b Roshan (J & K) 3-2; Phool (NCR) b Pawan (Del) 8-5; N.C. Nayangora (Kar) b Dada Dhuman (Mah) by fall; Rajesh (Jhar) b Sujeesh (Ker) by fall; 97-kg: Anil (Del) b Kulbir (Chg) by fall; Harinder (U’ chal) b Satbir (Jhar) by TF; Sitender (Rly) b Abhilash (Ker) by fall; Mukthiyar (Bih) b Balram (MP) 3-0; Ram Avtar (Ser) b Sachhelal (UP) 4-1; Maheshwar (Ori) b Dharmender (NCR) 5-0; Dheeraj (J & K) b Bhupender (Chg) by TF. Women: Freestyle: First round: 46-kg: Mamta (Chg) b Sudesh (U’ chal) by fall; Shininder (Pun) b Hemant (Raj) by fall; Geotika Pant (MP) b Geetanjali (Ori) by fall; Kekhungdnu (Naq) b Jaya Mol (Ker) 13-6; Chitra (Mah) b Nilam (Ben) by fall; Reeta (Har b Sumel (Del) by fall. 56-kg: Neilalhdunvd (Nag) b Bindya Patel (Guj) by fall; Gurmeet (Pun) b Sandhya Paduda (Mah) by fall; N. Noni (Man) b Kamawini (Ori) by fall; Manju (NCR) b Anita (Raj) by fall; Meena Kumari (Ben) b C.D. Divya Mol (Ker) by fall; Monika (Chg) b Sheela Devi (U’ chal) 9-0. 68-kg: Sukhvinder (Pun) b Nayana (Guj) 3-2; Sunita (Mah) b Meera Sabavation (Ker) by fall; N. Ranjana Devi (Man) b Kelewnuo (Nag) by fall; Reenu (Ori) b Parveen (U’chal) 6-2; Geetika (Har) b Vanisiri (AP) by fall. |
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Haryana wrestlers honoured Nidani (Jind), December 22 These included Ramesh Kumar (free style, world jr meet, Uzbekistan, gold medal, 69 kg) Palwinder Cheema (free style, world jr meet Uzbekistan, gold medal, 130 kg); Sandeep Dahiya (free style, Asian cadet, gold medal, 54 kg), Dilbagh (free, style, Asian cadet, silver medal 85 kg); Sombir (free style, Asian cadet, silver medal, 63 kg), Sunita Sharma (free style, Asian sr meet, silver medal, 56 kg); Birju (Greco-Roman, Asian cadet,, silver medal, 85 kg); Mukesh Kumar Khatri (Greco-Roman, world jr meet, bronze medal, 54 kg), Anand (free style, Asian cadet, bronze medal, 42 kg), Narender (free style, Asian cadet, bronze medal, 76 kg). Besides the players, the coaches who were honoured included PR Sondhi (national coach, free style), S. Harlo (national coach, free style), Randhir Singh (national coach, Greco-Roman) and L. Liberman (national coach, Greco-Roman). |
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Easy title win for Tushar New Delhi, December 22 Two weeks of relentless tennis brought Liberhan the desired reward, as he had crashed out to eventual title winner Arun Prakash in the semi-final in straight sets in the Under-18 event last week. But he played an encore against Advani as Liberhan had beaten him in straight sets 7-5, 6-2 in the first round of the under-18 event. In the boys Under-14 event, unseeded J. Vishnu Vardhan of Andhra Pradesh outplayed fourth seeded Sumeet Prakash Gupta of Uttar Pradesh at 6-0, 2-6, 6-2 in one hour and 25 minutes. Seventh-seeded Sanaa Bhambri of Delhi stunned top seed and fellow-Delhiite Parul Goswami 6-1, 6-4 in hour and two minutes to lift the girls Under-16 title. Second-seeded Kartiki Bhat of Maharashtra toppled top-seeded Sandri Gangothri of Andhra 6-3, 6-1 in 55 minutes to annex the under-14 girls title. The 15-year-old Tushar Liberhan, a ninth class student of St. John’s School in Chandigarh, was in complete command over Advani in the title clash, as he played with unwavering concentration from the baseline to outpoint his rival. Liberhan, who has had a successful season this year, having won the AITA Junior event in Chandigarh, the four zonal titles in Delhi and the Delhi Development Authority under-16 event, played the crucial points well, though he had to struggle a bit to overcome the temporary aggression of Advani in the second set, when he was broken. But Liberhan quickly regained his touch to scorch the turf with some pleasing down the line winners and cross court smashes.
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Haryana spikers advance
Raipur, December 22 Andhra Pradesh spikers, displaying some brilliant smashes, took almost an hour to beat Uttar Pradesh 25-19, 25-21, 25-6 in a group-1 match. In other matches of women’s category Railway team rallied well to pip Punjab 25-11, 25-8, 25-10 and entered the next round of group-2 league match whereas Haryana and Gujarat, also in the same group, defeated their rivals Delhi 26-24, 25-19, 14-25, 23-25, 15-11 and Jharkhand 25-18, 26-24, 25-19 respectively. In the men’s category, Orissa took 98 minutes to beat Rajasthan in a thrilling match, while Chhattisgarh overcame Bihar 25-13, 23-25, 25-20, In the other matches of men’s category, Goa beat Jammu and Kashmir 24-26, 25-14, 25-22, 25-7, Haryana beat Andhra Pradesh 25-19, 25-18, 19-25, 21-25, 15-13, Jharkhand beat Maharashtra 25-19, 29-27, 21-25, 25-20 and Uttaranchal beat Gujarat 25-9, 25-22, 25-13. PTI
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Bengal, Delhi boxers excel Jamshedpur, December 22 In the 33 to 36 kg and 36 to 39 kg weight groups, Bengal boxers Aditya Kumar and Mushna Deo outclassed Sunil of Haryana and Sunil Shukla (SPSB) on points respectively, to win gold. Delhi pugilists Lalit Pawar and Rahul won their respective bouts against Bitupam Borgol of Assam and Santosh Kumar of Andhra Pradesh to emerge champions in the 42 to 45 kg and 39 to 42 kg category. In other bouts Assam's Bikash Shah was no match for Haryana's Dinesh, who went on to punch left and right from the beginning and referee had to stop the contest in the first round. PTI
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Gopichand named
Sportsperson of Year
Chennai, December 22 Gopichand, who won the title at Birmingham last March, would receive a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh and a citation at the Sportstar’s annual awards function in 2002, sportstar announced here today. It has also named sprint queen P.T. Usha for the Legend of Sport award for 2001 and the Indian junior hockey team that won the World Cup at Hobart for its young achievers award. Usha and the junior team would receive Rs 1 lakh and a citation. Usha is the first woman to win this award. The sportstar’s annual awards were introduced in 1994. The Legends Award was introduced the following year and the first winner was Sunil Gavaskar.
UNI
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Punjab need big win to go on top Patiala, December 22 With rain washing out Punjab’s first match against Himachal Pradesh, where the hosts had expected to garner the maximum 5 points, the permutations and combinations changed drastically as last year’s winners Punjab have to score a win by a wide margin without which they will face an ignonimous exit from the tournament. Delhi find themselves in the wilderness with just 10 points from four matches. |
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Hyderabad to host
junior b’minton Chandigarh, December 22 Doubles players in both, men’s and women’s would have to be wear identical kit as envisaged by the International Badminton Federation early this year and all national-level tournaments, as well as international meets, would have to follow the directive.
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