MUMBAI, Nov 4: Chairman of National Selection Committee Ajit Wadekar and Cricket Board (BCCI) Chief Raj Singh Dungarpur showed adept technique in evading a sharp bouncer hurled at them over the controversial Harbhajan Singh issue at the Ceat International Cricket Awards function here last night.

Put in a corner by "master of ceremony" and noted commentator Tony Cozier of the West Indies, who directed a pointed question on the issue, former Indian test skipper Wadekar evaded it by saying the board president was the right person to answer the query.

Dungarpur, also a former first class cricketer, ducked the question by remarking in a lighter vein that the whole issue could have been avoided had Wadekar and his co-selectors not chosen the young Punjab off-spinner in the Indian team.

Cozier let the matter rest there.

Harbhajan’s bowling action had come under scrutiny of two International Cricket Council (ICC) match referees, Peter Van Der Merwe of South Africa and Ranjan Madugalle of Sri Lanka, who referred it to the ICC’s "throwing panel".

The special ICC panel saw the bowler’s action on videotape and came to the conclusion that his action needed to be corrected and sent a letter to the Indian board to undertake corrective measures to rectify his "suspect" action.

The youngster was then shockingly left out of the just-concluded nine-nation tournament in Dhaka and the November 6-13 Sharjah tri-nation championship. Instead, he was sent to London for correcting his action under the watchful eyes of former England off-spinner fred titmus.

The bowler and the board’s executive secretary Sharad Diwadkar, a former Mumbai off-spinner who accompanied him, are scheduled to return home tonight. (PTI)

MUMBAI Nov 4: Sri Lankan swashbuckler Sanath Jayasuriya and the Australian cricket team, represented by its one-day skipper Steve Waugh, received the Ceat International Cricket Awards at a glittering function here last night.

Jayasuriya bagged the individual cricketer of the year award, worth Rs five lakh and a statuette, for his outstanding performance last season which helped him amass over 2000 runs and claim 50 wickets in the two versions of the game.

Lankan skipper Arjuna Ranatunga had accompanied his teammate, the mauler from the small village of Matara near Colombo, at the awards function which was graced by several past Indian test cricketers.

Jayasuriya, asked to comment on his monumental knock of 34 in the test series against India at the Premadasa Stadium in Colombo last year, said he was not looking to break any record but was only eager to help his team avert the follow-on after India had scored upwards of 500 runs.

Waugh, who was accompanied by team coach Geoff Marsh, received Rs five lakh and a silver trophy on behalf of his highly successful squad and praised team effort for the Aussies’ brilliant run of successes.

Award adjudicators and former skippers Sunil Gavaskar (India) and Ian Chappell (Australia) congratulated the award winners while the third judge, former West Indian captain Clive Lloyd, had sent a video-taped congratulatory message. (PTI)

TILBURG, Nov 4: Managing to hold on a tough challenge from Mathew Sadler, Vishwanathan Anand continued to lead Peter Leko by a half a point going to the final round of the Fontys-Tilburg International Chess Tournament.

Anand has seven points and Leko 6.5. Sadler, Jeron Piket and Vladimir Kramnik have 5.5 points.

In the last round both Leko and Anand have black. Anand plays Peter Svidler, whilst Leko plays Loek Van Wely.

In a sicilian Najdorf, where Anand had white, Sadler, one of the two english players in the field gave the Indian some scary moments and at one stage seemed close to causing a major upset. The Indian GM played a novelty on move 11. Sadler had to find an over-the-board solution to Anand’s home preparation. Sadler was able to move his king to a saver place and to bring his rook into play with brilliant play and followed up with pawn sacrifice.

But time pressure could not be worked on further and Anand managed to solve the problems with a combination after which the draw was agreed after 33 moves.

The 19-year old Peter Leko stunned stunned Michael Adams and closed the gap between him and Anand to just half a point with one round to go. However in the tenth round in Ruy Lopez he played brilliantly with white and had Adams on the mat. He played a great novelty on the 22nd move and Adams had a tough position and lost a pawn for which he had no compensation. He made it worse by sacrificing a piece in vain and the game was over in 40 moves. Lautier who started this event so disasterously is finding his way back up slowly after his second win in this event. In the gruenfeld Indian his victim was Peter Svilder, with black, who didn’t survive the opening all too well.

Picket played against his old teacher Viktor Korchnoi. The Dutchman got a good position but he offered a draw on move 27 which was accepted by Viktor. Piket had some time problem with six minutes for last 13 moves. The game was queen’s gambit declined, tarrash defence.

Vadim Zviaginsev one of the unbeaten players crashed against the fellow Russian Kramnik. Zviaginsev, for the first time awed by a rival, played passively.

Kramnik got a better position after the opening and showed his class by turning the advantage into a full point from a game that queen’s gambit with Kramnik having white.

Topalov after six and half hours managed only a draw against Loek Van Wely. The Bulgarian who had lost his last three games was going all out for a win. He was also better off but could not convert into a win. (AP)

UNDATED: Ace Indian tennis player Leander Paes is ranked 85th on the latest ATP tour rankings with 559 points.

Pete Sampras of the US occupies top slot on the rankings table with 3,990 points. He is followed by Marcelo Rios of Chile with 3,702 points while Patrick Rafter of Australia with 3, 489 points is at number three. Following are the men top ten rankings:

1, Pete Sampras, United States, 3,990 points.

2, Marcelo Rios, Chile, 3,702.

3, Patrick Rafter, Australia, 3,489.

4, Carlos Moya, Spain, 2,959.

5, Andre Agassi, United States, 2,867.

6, Alex Corretja, Spain, 2,798.

7, Karol Kucera, Slovakia, 2,620.

8, Yevgeny Kafelnikov, Russia, 2,581.

9, Richard Krajicek, Netherlands, 2,548.

10, Tim Henman, Britain, 2,452. (AP)

PARIS, Nov 4: Andre Agassi survived a first-set fright but settled down to defeat Italian veteran Gianluca Pozzi 6-4, 6-2 last night to reach the third round of the 2.45-million-dollar Paris Open.

The American fifth seed rolled to a 5-0 lead in the first set with a serve to come against the 33-year-old Italian at the last mercedes super 9 event of the season. But Pozzi refused to roll over and die, fighting back to 4-5.

Agassi lost out on a set point chance when Pozzi hustled to successfully retrieve a drop shot. The American finally prevailed in 36 minutes after saving a break point in the 10th game.

Agassi stayed in control in the second set to finish the match shortly before midnight.

The 28-year-old Agassi still has a chance at ending the year atop the rankings, but will need top performances this week and at the season wrapup this month in Hanover, Germany.

He won the only other match the two have played, at the French open six years ago.

Nicolas Escude sent three-time champion Boris Becker out in the first round with a 6-7 (2-7), 7-5, 6-4 first-round comeback victory.

The 22-year-old Frenchman, a semifinalist at the Australian Open, spent two hours, 22 minutes in the win over Becker, now playing only occasionally with a number 60 ranking on the ATP tour.

Becker notched 21 aces - the majority in the opening set - but fell to his second loss against the part-time surfer ranked 32nd. Becker notched 21 aces - the majority in the opening set - but fell to his second loss against the part-time surfer ranked 32nd.

Becker was looking for his 30th victory at the tournament, which he won in 1986, 1987 and 1992.

"It was an up-and-down match for me," said the German. "I played a couple of good games and then some loose ones. I should have put more pressure on him in the second set."

"He came up with brave shots when it mattered most and that was the way it went."

Becker provided the full dose of drama in a first set lasting just short of an hour.

The 30-year-old held a 5-4 lead over Escude, but dropped serve to let the French challenger back into contention.

Becker performed heroics in the 12th game of the set, firing over four aces - including one at 206 kph - to force a tiebreaker.

The German’s vast experience paid dividends in the decider. Becker earned four set points and needed just the first as Escude let loose with a wild forehand return wide.

German Tommy Haas notched an upset of tournament number 6 Alex Corretja of Spain, 7-6 (7-2), 2-6, 6-3.

American Davis Cup player Todd Martin completed a second fightback in as many days, handing number 14 Goran Ivanisevic an early exit 4-6, 6-1, 7-6 (7-4).

The seeded British pair of Tim Henman and Greg Rusedski, both fighting for possible places at the eight-man world championships in Hanover, both got through comfortably into the third round.

Henman, the ninth seed, who saw his provisional eighth entry position slip to ninth last week, beat up-and-coming local player Arnaud Di Pasquale 6-3, 6-3.

Number 13 Rusedski, still mathematically alive with a slight chance, ousted German number 1 Nicolas Kiefer 6-3, 6-4 at the Bercy Arena to keep his hopes burning.

Henman needs to reach the Paris semifinals to have a possibility of passing last week’s Eurocard Open winner Richard Krajicek (eighth) and Slovakian Karol Kucera, who stands seventh.

"I’m the underdog but my chances are pretty good," said Henman. "Krajicek and Kucera are in front of me but if I were to win a couple of more matches this week and I would probably be back in again."

Home hopes were mixed on day 2, with American Vince Spadea beating French number 1 Cedric Pioline 6-4, 6-4. Pioline continued his miserable record at Bercy, where he has passed the second round only once in eight appearances.

NEW DELHI, Nov 4: Unseeded teenager Shruti Dhawan gave yet another display of her great promise by toppling second seed Rushmi Chakravarthy to storm into an all-Indian final meeting against top seed Sai Jayalakshmi in the ITF Women’s Satellite Circuit Masters Tennis Tournament today.

The 16-year-old Shruti showed tenacity to rally after losing a close first set but almost undid her fine effort due to fraying nerves before ousting 21-year-old Rushmi 6-7 (9-11) 6-4 6-3 in a marathon clash lasting two hours and 15 minutes at the Delhi Tennis Association Deco Turf Courts here.

Sai Jayalakshmi’s hopes to clinch the masters title on top of victories in two of the three satellite legs survived a major scare from the impressive 16-year-old Russian Anna Nefadova before she regained composure late in the decider to win 6-0 3-6 7-5 after an absorbing one hour and 40 minutes.

Both the semifinal encounters proved touch-and-go affairs. Sai Jayalakshmi, 21, the India number two who had thrashed her Moscow-based rival in straight sets at the third satellite leg in Indore, and Anna Nefedova played impressive tennis, but the other match was full of errors from both.

Shruti Dhawan, who had beaten Rushmi in the last eight of the recent national championship at the same courts, held the whiphand early on but the latter, who won the Ahmedabad leg and was runner-up in the other two, showed resilience to recover from 1-4 down in the opening set to win the tie-break and then clawed back from a hopeless 0-5 in the decider before the teenager closed out the issue. (PTI)

WTA tour rankings

UNDATED: Lindsay Davenport of the US with 5,677 points is placed at number one on the latest WTA tour rankings. Martina Hingis of Swizerland follows her with 5,202 points. Jana Novotna of Czech Republic with 4,360 points occupies third slot on the rankings.

Following are the top ten WTA tour rankings:

1. Lindsay Davenport, United States, 5677.0000. points.

2. Martina Hingis, Switzerland, 5202.0000.

3. Jana Novotna, Czech Republic, 4360.0000.

4. Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario, Spain, 3700.0000.

5. Venus Williams, United States, 3263.0000.

6. Monica Seles, United States, 3110.0000.

7. Mary Pierce, France, 2743.0000.

8. Conchita Martinez, Spain, 2364.0000.

9. Nathalie Tauziat, France, 2342.0000.

10. Patty Schnyder, Switzerland, 2155.0000. (AP)

First quarter-final between BSF Jammu-Churchal Brothers today
Vijay Club, Young Stars enter quarts

Excelsior Correspondent

JAMMU, Nov 4: Vijay Club and Young Stars entered the quarters of the Ist Jammu Gold Cup Football Tournament being played at Mini Stadium, here today.

In the first match Vijay Club defeated Christian Stars 5-0 in plenty shoot outs. The match was at the stage of draw as the teams scored one goal each in the schedule time. Thereafter, referees without giving extra time directed both the teams to go for direct hits.

Christian Stars took the early lead by one goal in the very first ten minutes of the first half. The lead was well maintained by the Christian Stars till upto the 65th minutes when a direct kick was awarded to Vijay Club by the referee on the top of the plenty area. Then Kamaljeet, who is one of the best player in the state, took full advantage of the opportunity and secured the goal thus making it 1-1.

In the plenty shoot outs, Christian club missed virtually failed to convert their two shots into goals and lost the match 5-2.

For Vijay Club, Sunny, Joginder, Kamaljeet and Vikramjeet hit the plenty shoot outs. Whereas, for Christian Stars, Sonu and Girish hit the goals, while Sachin and Rashi missed the shots.

Mr Ashok Kumar, honorary treasure of the Jammu and Kashmir Football Association was the chief guest in the match.

In the second match, Young Stars outplayed Alfa Army Garwal 2-0 in a well contested pre-quarter final. Soon after the game started, Young Stars took the lead, when Narinder Chotra hit the first goal of the match in the first five minutes. He had given a well judged pass by Shiv Pal. The second goal which came in the 30th minutes of the first half was hit by Mukesh Kumar. Shiv Pal, who again played an crucial role, by giving an accurate pass to Mukesh, while playing forward position. Shiv Pal is also one of the selector of Jammu and Kashmir Football Association.

Mr T K Koul, Army Commander, 36 Brigade was the chief guest in the second match.

Harbans Lal, Suresh Dimple, Iqbal Singh and Master Saleem were the referees in today’s matches.

Tomorrow, BSF Jammu will take on Churchal Brothers in the first quarter-final of the tournament at 3 pm.

Kathua district Athletic meet
Surinder, Liyquat, Amit declared best Athletes

Excelsior Correspondent

KATHUA, Nov 4: Colourful prize distribution function marked the concluding day of the Inter-school Athletics meet of District Kathua at sports stadium here today.

Master Surinder Kumar of Middle school, Changran was declared best athlete in Under-19 years group, while Liyquat Ali of Higher Secondary school, Kathua was best in Under 17 years and Amit Kumar of Higher Secondary school was adjudged best in the age group of Under 19 years.

However, the overall championship in Under-19 and 17 years went to Higher Secondary school, Kathua, while Middle School, Changran lifted trophy in Under-14 years category.

A number of sports lover, senior citizens and district civil administration were present at the prize distribution function.

Assistant Commissioner, Revenue, Mr F R Javed , Tehsildar Kathua and Mr B S Sambyal, District Youth Services and Sports Officer, Kathua were among those present on the concluding function.

Around 875 athletes drawn from 60 institutions of the district participated in the meet organised by Department of Youth Services and Sports.

Final day’s results:

100 mts Under-19 yrs: Amit Kumar of HSS, Ghagwal, Ist, Sanjeev Kumar of HS, Lakhanpur, 2nd and Surjeet Singh of HSS, Kathua, 3rd.

1500 mts: Urmat Singh of HSS, Magloor, Ist, Sunil Singh of HSS, Barwal, 2nd and Mohinder Singh of HS, Jakhbar, 3rd.

100 mts Under-17 yrs: Gurnam Singh of HSS, Kathua, Ist, Ranjeet Singh of HS, Rajbag, 2nd and Pawan Kumar of HSS, Ghagwal, 3rd.

500 mts: Subash Singh of HS, Lakhanpur, Ist, Rajinder Singh of HSS, Kathua, 2nd and Hukam Singh of HS Lakhanpur, 3rd.

4x100 mts Relay: HSS, Kathua, Ist, HS, Lakhanpur 2nd and HS, Lachipur, 3rd.

In Wrestling competitions those secured Ist places in Under- 19 yrs are: Subash Singh of HS Lachipur in 48 kg, Krishan Chand of HSS, Marheen in 52 kg, Liyquat Ali, HSS, Kathua in 57 kg and Gulsar Ahmed of HSS, Kathua in 62 kg weight category.

Under 14 yrs: Raj Kumar, HS, Dilwan in 28 kg, Mohd Ali of HS Gaterwan in 30 kg, Naresh Kumar of MS, Khokhal in 32, Des Raj of HS, Gaterwan in 35 kg, Romesh Singh of MS, Diwan in 42 kg, Raj Kumar of MS, Mandyal in 46 kg and Arshad Ali of MS, Kathua in 52 kg weight category.