Sethi,
Shandilya enter into finals
BANGKOK,
Dec 19:
India ensured a gold and silver in the billiards
single as world champion Geet Sethi and Ashok
Shandilya entered the finals in contrasting
styles at 13th Asian Games here today.
While Sethi easily
outsmarted Reynaldo Grandea (Philippines) 150-33,
150-0, 151-83, 152-119, Shandilya defeated local
hero Chalthanashri Praput 151-108, 151-134,
78-151, 150-70, 151-97.
Even before
Shandilya and Praprut complete their third frame,
Sethi completed his rout of the Filipino as he
started with a rousing 66 break in the first
frame and followed it up with a 150 and 151 in
the second and third frames.
However, in the
third grandea started with an 83, but that did
not endanger the prospects of Sethi. The fourth
saw the Filipino trying to come up with some good
short breaks of 34 and 36. But through his slow
and steady potting, Sethi won the frame and the
match in no time.
Shandilya, who was
merely a spectator in the doubles in which Sethi
played an outstanding game, came off with a
much-improved performance against his tough Thai
opponent.
Praprut had been
assured of a house and a car besides one million
bhats if he earned the gold.
The first frame
show praprut come off with a 101 break but that
did not unnerve Shandilya who missed a three
figure break by two points and took the frame at
151-108.
This made all the
difference for Shandilya who got back his
confidence and in a ding-dong battle in the
second frame led 134-131. Praprut missed a far
red from the top of the table and Shandilya,
encashing on it won 151-134 to take a 2-0
lead.’
The Thai, however,
bounced back into the game in the third frame and
with a break of 127 he won it to reduce the
margin by one frame.
However, the next
two frames saw Shandilya at his best as he
capitalised on the mistakes of the Thai cueist to
win them and make his entry into the final. (UNI)
Sethi-Shandilya
claim gold
BANGKOK,
Dec 18: World
professional billiards champion Geet Sethi
propelled India to their first gold medal from
the green baize sport as he and Ashok Shandilaya
won a nerve-wracking billiards doubles final
against Thailand’s C Praprut and K Mongkon
at the Asian Games tonight.
Sethi wielded his
cue like a magic wand to notch up a scintillating
break of 150 (unfinished) in the opening frame of
the best-of-nine final before pulling India from
the verge of a stunning upset by producing timely
breaks of 79 and 76 in the fifth and sixth
frames.
His fine cue touch
helped India turn around a 1-3 deficit into a 4-3
lead only for the Thais draw level by winning the
eighth.
But Sethi sewed up
the gold by compiling a scintillating 141 in the
decider to carry India to their first of two
expected gold medals.
Sethi and
Shandilya won 150-0, 51-150, 51-152, 139-151,
151-83, 152-23, 152-73, 46-151 and 151-34 to
claim gold pushing the Thai pair to silver.
India also claimed
the bronze medal when Devendra Joshi and
Balachandra Bhaskar made up for their unexpected
semifinal loss in the morning to swamp Reynaldo
Grandea and his partner B Ancaja of the
Philippines 151-144, 151-98, 150-137, 150-9.
Joshi’s break
of 106 in the third of the best of seven affair
stood out. (PTI)
India
regains hockey gold after 32 years
BANGKOK,
Dec 19:
India regained the men’s hockey gold after
32 years today to provide the perfect icing on
the contingent’s show in the Asian Games
here.
India battled hard
against holders South Korea before clinching the
gold.
It was at this
Thai capital that the Indian men had won their
one and only Asian Games crown, way back in 1966,
by beating arch-rivals Pakistan 1-0.
India have settled
for the runners-up position to the Pakistanis,
barring that lone triumph, ever since the sport
was introduced at the Asian Games in Tokyo in
1958 until South Korea upset all calculations by
edging out both the sub-continental hockey giants
for the gold at home in 1986.
India had won the
bronze in 1986 at Seoul an then were confined to
the silver standard in 1990 at Beijing and in
1994 at Hiroshima before regaining the title
today to round off an outstanding tournament
where they emerged victorious in all the matches
at the league and knock-out stages.
The Indians had
beaten the Koreans in the league stage before
providing an encore in the all-important final
when veteran Mukesh Kumar pushed in a weak
grounder to the left of the Korean custodian in
the strokes duel and sealed the win.
The hockey feat
outshone the two silver medals won by the Indian
men’s and women’s 4 x 400m relay
quartets and the rowing bronze won in the morning
by the men’s coxless open fours. It also
took the Indian gold tally to six on the
penultimate day of the games.
Goalkeeper Ashish
Ballal was the Indian team’s hero in its
hour of glory when he stopped two penalty-stroke
pushes from Koreans Yoo Moon-Ki and Jeong
Jin-Dong to provide India not only the gold but
also a ticket to the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
The Indians
converted all four penalty-strokes to claim their
first major hockey title since winning the 1980
Moscow Olympics gold.
The match was
fast-paced with the Koreans going in front in the
fifth minute through a penalty corner goal from
Yeo Woon-Gon.
Indian skipper
Dhanraj Pillay neutralied the Korean lead in the
23rd minute by scoring off a penalty-corner
rebound from Korean ‘keeper Koo
Jin-Soo’s pads.
The teams were
then deadlocked for the remainder of regular time
and extra time where the golden goal rule was in
force.
"This is the
greatest moment of my life", said Pillay who
played a major role in the team’s triumph by
notching eleven goals in the competition.
Earlier, India
secured two relay silvers when the men’s and
women’s 4 x 400m quartets finished second to
end their athletics campaign with an overall
tally of two gold, six silver and 6 bronze
medals.
The Indian women,
without former Asian quartermile queen P T Usha
in their ranks who was left out by the team
management, ailed to land the gold as expected
and finished runner-up to China by clocking 3
minutes, 32.20 seconds which was 0.17 seconds off
China’s winning time of 3:32.03.
Jincy Philips, who
replaced Usha in the quartet, ran the first leg
for India with M Beenamol and Rosa Kutty as the
second and third leg runners while 800-1,500m
gold medallist Jyotirmoyee Sikdar handled the
anchor leg to push Kazakhstan (3:37.16) to the
bronze level.
The men’s
relay foursome of Lijo David, P Ramachandran,
Paramjit Singh and Jata Shankar gave gold
medallists Japan a close fight before settling
for the silver with a new national record of four
minutes, 2.62 seconds which lowered their own
mark of 4:04.56 sit-in the semi-final heats
yesterday.
India’s hopes
of more medals from the Track and Field events
were dashed when Gulab Chand, the men’s
10,000m bronze medallist, ended up fourth in the
5,000m, while men Javelin throwers Satbir Singh
(75.21 metres) and Jagdish Kumar (72.03m)
finished sixth and eighth out of eleven
competitors.
India had started
the penultimate day of the games on an
encouraging note by winning a bronze in rowing
through the quartet of Birbal Singh, Jaggit
Singh, Johnson Xavier and Tarlochan Singh.
Yesterday the
rowers had picked up their first medal when the
quartet of Binu Kurien Kaleekkalethu, Kasam Khan,
Pappi Singh and Rampal Singh clinched the bronze
in the men’s lightweight coxless fours
event.
The Indian
foursome clocked 6 minutes, 11.48 seconds to
finish third behind gold medallists China and
second-placed Japan. (PTI)
Indian
rowers clinch 2nd bronze
BANGKOK,
Dec 19:
Indian rowers picked up their second bronze when
the quartet of Tarlochan Singh, Birbal Singh,
Jagjit Singh and John Xavier clocked 6:25.28 to
finish third in the Open Coxless HPL-4 event at
the 13th Asian Games here today.
The Chinese made a
clean sweep of gold medals winning all the eleven
at stake, including six today, the concluding day
of the rowing competitions at Pattaya, about 250
km from here.
Last evening in
the lightweight coxless four event, India’s
Rampal Singh, Kasam Khan, B Kaleekkalethu and
Pappi Singh had won the first rowing medal for
the country finishing third in 6:11.48.
In Open Coxless,
China’s Zhang Binggui, Dal Haizhen, Sun Jun
and Nie and Nie Junliang, rowing in the third
lane clocked 6:15.97 for the gold.
Japan’s
Shinpoi Murai, Tatsunori, Tatsuya Mizutani and
Yakuo Okamoto sailed for silver in 6:21.15.
Korea finished
fourth with 6:29.94. Uzbekistan came fifth in
6:30.28 while Kazakhstan was last with 6:34.57.
China won a gold
in the Coxless-2 event when two some of Cui
Yonghui and Il Yang came first with 6:39.05
followed by the Japanese pair of Kazuaki Mimito
and Daisaku (6:41.64) and North Korea’s Kim
Sun Yong and Ri Kye Jun took the bronze in
6:50.27.
Indonesia
(6:50.70), Kazakhstan (7:01.04) and Korea
(7:04.32) followed in that order.
In the individual
lightweight Coxless event, China’s Hua
Linguin took the gold in 7:08.22, North
Korea’s Kim Il Yong was second for a silver
in 7:13.84 and Pakistan’s Mohd Akram opened
his country’s account in rowing finishing
third for a bronze in 7:18.38. (UNI)
Dingko
brings glory from ring after 16 years
BANGKOK,
Dec 19:
Diminutive Ngangom Dingko Singh’s neatly
channelised his anger against official dom by
outboxing opponents in the ring to land
India’s first Asian Games boxing gold in 16
years and draw much respect to their abilities
from their world class opponents.
The 20-year-old
bantamweight boxer, hailing from Ekta village
near Imphal, Manipur, almost did not make it to
the games, but in a true triumph over adversity
the Navy pugilist has emerged one of the major
success stories of the mega event after going all
the way to snatch the gold in style.
Kismat Se Mujhe
Medal Mila, Achha Lagta Hai, (it was my destiny
to win the medal, it feels so good) Dingko Singh
told after savouring the victory which enabled
the four-member Indian boxing squad reap a gold
and a bronze, through lightheavy Gurucharan
Singh.
Dingko Singh, one
of five in a family which struggled after his
father passed away, was a depressed man after
hearing that the Government, pointing to his
first round loss in Commonwealth Games in Kuala
Lumpur in September, refused clearance despite
recommendation from the Idanamateur Boxing
Association before the Indian Olympic Association
decided to bring him along. (PTI)
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