Inter Battalion Sports Meet concludes
Promote sports culture, produce good players: DGP

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

Jammu, Mar 29: Dir-ector General of Police Kuldeep Khoda has underscored the need for harnessing the talent of sportsperson adding that Jammu Kashmir Police has introduced several reformative measures for promoting sports culture across the State.

Addressing the closing ceremony of week-long Inter-Battalion Sports Meet , organized by Jammu and Kashmir Police at Police Sports Stadium Gulshan Ground today, the DGP said encouraged by its superb performance over the years in various sports activities at the domestic, national and international level, Jammu and Kashmir Police has also embarked on adventure events like skiing, water sports, rock climbing and mountaineering.

He also distributed the prizes among the winners and runner up teams.

Earlier in his welcome address, the Deputy Inspector General of Police, Armed Jammu A. G. Mir threw light on the week-long sports meet and gave detailed account of the tournament in which more than 25 events were held.

Meanwhile, in the events held today, Tahir Ahmad (IRP-13th Bn) secured first position in 100 mts sprint followed by Irshad Hussain (IRP-10th Bn) and Raghubir (AP-8th Bn) who had to be content with second and third position respectively.

Simi Sharma of IRP-2nd Bn was adjudged best women athlete while Reyaz Ahmed of IRP-5th Bn bagged top honours in men section.

Rafiqa Malik (IRP-2nd Bn) was declared best boxer in women category while Mohd Razwan (IRP-13th Bn) adjudged best in men section.

Rajneesh Kumar (IRP-11th) was adjudged best swimmer whereas Mohd Sadique (AP-8th Bn) declared best shooter.

Rajneesh Kumar again declared best weightlifter while Mohd Zulf (AP-8th Bn) adjudged best wrestler.

AP-13th Bn got the better of IRP-4th Bn in the final to clinch the title.

Arbitration panel to give decision Yousuf on April 30

KARACHI, Mar 29: The arbitration panel which heard the case filed by Indian Cricket League to stop Pakistan batsman Mohammad Yousuf from playing in the lucrative Indian Premier League would not announce its final order before April 30, ICL lawyer said.

ICL legal adviser Hitesh Jain told Geo television from Mumbai that the panel had reserved its final order on the case to announce it on April 30.

This would rule out Yousuf, who was not put on IPL players’ auction in February because of the case, from playing a major part of the IPL which starts on April 18 even if the panel rules in his favour.

ICL had filed a case against Yousuf that he had first signed a contract with them and hence could not join IPL. The ‘rebel’ league had also disputed Yousuf’s claim that he had returned the advance payment amount he got from ICL to an ICL agent in Pakistan.

Jain said since the arbitration panel had reserved its order for final pronouncement the stay order on Yousuf from playing in the IPL remained.

"We are expecting a judgement where Yousuf will be prevented from participating in the IPL. Our case is that Yousuf has not returned the advance amount to ICL or to an authorised agent of ICL," Jain said.

"The person to whom Yousuf claimed to have returned the money is not ICL’s agent in Pakistan and therefore ICL has not received any money from Yousuf. ICL still holds that there is a binding contract between ICL and Yousuf and he can’t participate in any competing league during the term of the contract," Jain said. (PTI)

Batting records tumble, Test heading for draw

CHENNAI, Mar 29: Virender Sehwag (319) slammed the highest score by an Indian and Rahul Dravid (111) broke into the 10,000 Test run club even though their personal landmarks may not prove enough to force a result in the first cricket Test against South Africa.

In a change of trend after three days of lop-sided battle between the bat and the ball on a docile pitch, South African bowlers finally made a mark today and bartered 159 runs for nine Indian wickets that did not allow the hosts to stretch their first innings lead beyond 87 runs.

And after restricting the Indians to 627, South Africa were 131 for one in their second essay with in-form duo of Neil Mckenzie (59) and Hashim Amla (35) in the middle when stumps were drawn with the visitors leading by 44 runs.

Sehwag failed to eclipse Brian Lara’s world record score of 400 not out but he nonetheless posted the highest Test score by an Indian, bettering his 309 against Pakistan in the 2004 Multan Test.

Dravid (111) too had his slice of history as the former captain became the sixth batsman, and third Indian, to join the 10,000 Test run club en route to his 25th century in the longer version of the game.

With just one day’s play left, the Test seemed headed towards a draw unless the Indian bowlers produce an extra-ordinary display to skittle out the South Africans cheaply in the second innings.

When India resumed their innings at 468 for one this morning, the main focus point was whether Sehwag can break Lara’s record. Makhaya Ntitni, however, had other plans and the South African spearhead dealt a double blow to send groans across the MA Chidambaram stadium.

First he induced an edge from Sehwag that flew to Jacques Kallis in the slips and in his next over, the South African had Sachin Tendulkar caught by Neil Mckenzie, again in the slips, for a duck to silence the vociferous crowd.

Sehwag could add just 10 runs to his overnight score and his 319 was the result of his 304-minute stay in the middle which produced 42 delectable boundaries and five breathtaking sixes.

Sourav Ganguly (24) too got going but the left-hander could not convert the start and bottom edged Paul Harris to perish caught behind.

Dravid was far from fluent, as evident from his strike rate of 38.14, but the former captain was rewarded for his obduracy.

Batting at 79, Dravid flicked Morne Morkel and completed a single to join Brian Lara (11,953), Tendulkar (11,782), Allan Border (11,174), Steve Waugh (10,927) and Sunil Gavaskar (10,122) in the elite league.

Never the one to break into a wild celebration, Dravid raised his bat, took off the helmet and kissed it before acknowledging the rousing standing ovation from the crowd that included wife Vijeta and son Samit.

Ntini finally cut short Dravid’s stay when Kallis took a sharp catch in the slips. Dravid’s 291-ball 111 included 15 hits to the fence.

Once Dravid exited, India’s lower order was exposed and suddenly Dale Steyn decided to live up to the pre-series hype around him.

The Protea tearaway came up with a four-wicket burst that rocked India’s lower order. Steyn had MS Dhoni (16) caught beind before he went on to disturb the furnitures of Anil Kumble (3), Harbhajan Singh (0) and RP Singh (0).

VVS Laxman (39, 64b, 4x4) was the last man to go when Harris caught him off his own bowling to restrict India to 627.

In their second essay, South African openers Graeme Smith (35) and Neil Mckenzie began with a flourish, just like they had done in the first innings.

They scored at a brisk rate, five per over, to forge a half century stand before Harbhajan snapped the partnership by trapping the South African skipper in the 11th over.

Mckenzie and Amla, however, were unperturbed by the setback as they continued the good work to nip in the bud any prospect of a South African batting collapse that would have suited the hosts.

Obaidullah hockey in Bhopal

BHOPAL, Mar 29: Players from 18 countries will be seen in action at the prestigious Obaidulla Khan international hockey tournament scheduled here.

"Pakistan, Holland, Malaysia, Spain are among the prominent participants in the tournament to be played in flood light on astroturf at the Aishbagh Stadium,’’ the organiser, Bhopal Hockey Association’s Secretary I Rehman told reporters here today. (UNI)

NPCC beats NRCC by 39 runs

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, Mar 29: New Plot Cricket Club (NPCC) trounced Night Riders Cricket Club (NRCC) by 39 runs today in the ongoing Nishu Memorial Cricket Tournament being played at GGM Science College Grounds.

NPCC won the toss and opted to bat first. They accumulated piled up 163 runs in the allotted 20 overs with Saleem (31) and Ashok (28) were the notable contributors.

For NRCC, Rohit and Sahil grabbed three and one wicket respectively.

In reply, NRCC bowled out for 124 runs. Ishan and Rohit played fighting knocks of 18 and 15 runs respectively.

For NPCC, Sahil was the pick of the bowlers with three scalps while Satvir Jamwal and Smati shared two wickets apiece.

Sahil was adjudged man of the match.

Inter Battalion Sports Meet
IRP-10th Bn strikes double in Swimming

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, Mar 26: IRP-10th Bn team comprised Arshid, Ankush, Mohd Shabir and Aditya Sharma finished first in 4x10 mts Free Style Relay today in the ongoing Inter Battalion Sport Meet.

AP-8th Bn comprised Raghubir Singh, Pawan, Mukhtyar and Rajinder stood second.

In 4x100 mts Free Style Relay final, Arshid, Ankush, Mohd Shabir and Aditya Sharma again of IRP-10th Bn secured first position whereas Raghubir Singh, Pawan, Mukhtyar and Fayaz bagged second place.

In 50 mts Free Style (individual event), Rajnesh of IRP-11th Bn finished first while Raghubir Singh of AP-8th Bn stood second.

The gazetted officers events were commenced today in the disciplines of Lawn Tennis and Table Tennis.

In Lawn Tennis, SP Ajit Singh Salaria got the better of SP R K Bhat in the opening match while DySP Ranjit Singh prevailed over DySP Sanjay Bhagat in the next match.

DySP Daljit Singh overcame SSP A K Atri in the inaugural match of Table Tennis while DySP Sanjay Sharma had last laugh against SP Stenzen Narboo.

In other matches, SSP Israr Khan defeated DySP Azeem Qureshi and SSP T Punchok beat SP R K Bhat.

Other Results (Individual Events):

Weightlifting (60kg): Mukhtyar-ud-Din (1st) and Rattan Kumar (2nd).

62kg: Mohd Zulf (1st) and Javid Iqbal (2nd).

69kg: Ravinder Kumar (1st) and Shakil Ahmed (2nd).

77kg: Narinder Chib (1st) and Ashiq Hussain (2nd).

85kg: Rajnesh Kumar (1st) and Paramjeet Singh (2nd).

94kg: Maninder Singh (1st) and Davinder Gupta (2nd).

105kg: Rakesh Kumar (1st) and Rakesh Kumar (2nd).

Shot Put (final): Mohd Sadiq (1st), Mashqoor Ahmed (2nd) and Maninder Singh (3rd).

Discus Throw: Varun Dev Singh (1st), Mohd Sidique (2nd) and Rajinder Thapa (3rd).

Tripple Jump: Showket Ahmed (1st), Madan Sharma (2nd) and Pawan Kumar (3rd).

800mts: Reyaz Ahmed (1st), Ved Kumar (2nd) and Shabir Ahmed (3rd).

21 km Half Marathon: Reyaz Ahmed (1st), Ram Lal (2nd) and Rattan Kumar (3rd).

Hammer Throw: Mohd Sadiq (1st), Mohd Sidique (2nd) and Nazir Ahmed (3rd).

400mts: Tahir Ahmed (1st), Raghubir Singh (2nd) and Ved Kumar (3rd).

Team Events:

Hockey: AP-8th Bn beat AP-12th Bn and IRP-3rd Bn beat IRP-7th Bn.

Basketball: AP-8th Bn beat IRP-4th Bn and IRP-7th Bn beat AP-12th Bn.

Football: IRP-1st Bn beat AP-14th Bn, AP-8th Bn beat IRP-11th Bn, IRP-9th Bn beat AP-5th Bn, IRP-4th Bn beat AP-12th Bn, AP-8th Bn beat IRP-1st Bn and IRP-4th Bn beat IRP-9th Bn.

Volleyball: AP-5th Bn beat AP-6th Bn, IRP-13th Bn beat AP-8th Bn, IRP-6th Bn beat IRP-3rd Bn, AP-9th Bn beat IRP-8th Bn, AP-9th Bn beat IRP-13th Bn and IRP-6th Bn beat AP-5th Bn.

Tug-of-War: IRP-10th Bn beat IRP-7th Bn, AP-13th Bn beat IRP-2nd Bn, Ap-14th Bn beat AP-8th Bn, AP-7th Bn beat AP-9th Bn, IRP-8th Bn beat IRP-7th Bn, IRP-4th Bn beat IRP-11th Bn, AP-7th Bn beat AP-8th Bn, AP-13th Bn beat AP-14th Bn, IRP-4th Bn beat IRP-1st Bn and IRP-13th Bn beat IRP-7th Bn.

Handball: AP-6th Bn beat IRP-4th Bn and AP-8th Bn beat AP-14th Bn.

Kabaddi: IRP-6th Bn beat IRP-8th Bn, IRP-3rd Bn beat AP-8th Bn and IRP-6th Bn beat AP-13th Bn.

Sahaj clinches junior title in Squash tourney

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, Mar 29: Sahaj Gulati got the better of Arshad Khan by 9-7 and 9-4 in the final to clinch the senior title in the ongoing Jammu Open Squash Championship being played at Jammu Club today.

The junior final between Parteek Vikas and Rohit Verma would be played tomorrow.

The matches were officiated by Krishan Kumar, Manjeet Singh and Gagandeep Singh.

All the matches were conducted under the supervision of G S Bakshi.

Meanwhile, the State championship commencing from tomorrow at the same venue.

State Hockey Championship Jammu to
face Poonch for summit clash

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, Mar 29: Jammu set up a title clash with Poonch tomorrow in the ongoing State Hockey Championship being played at K K Hakku Stadium.

In the semifinals played today, Baramulla frittered away early advantage to suffer a 3-1 drubbing against Poonch.

Inderjeet Singh drew first blood in the 5th minute to give his team early but Poonch gave a befitted reply by scoring an equaliser in the 16th minute through Jamrod Singh.

At half time, the score card reads 1-1. In the second half, Poonch forwards shown urgency by unleashing flurry of attacks in an attempt to take a lead.

They finally tasted success as Parvinder Singh scored the much needed goal in the 42nd minute.

Motinderpal Singh then struck in the 55th minute to brought down curtains for Baramulla who only had to blame themselves for this defeat.

The second semifinal between Jammu and Kathua turned out to be a high voltage contest in which the former prevailed over the latter by 8-7 goals in a sudden death to secure a berth in the final.

The match was a real thriller went right down to the wire which saw fortunes fluctuating from one team to the other but in the end it was Jammu who held their nerves to emerge victorious.

The match was decided through penalty strokes after both teams levelled 3-3 in the allotted time.

Kathua went into the lead in the 23rd minute through Rahul. But their (Kathua) joy was short-lived as Mandeep Singh scored equaliser for Jammu in the 27th minute.

Two minutes later, Harshdev struck for Kathua in the 29th minute to make it 2-1 at the score of half time.

Jammu again levelled the lead in the 42nd minute through Jagjit Singh who showcased his skills with the stick by converting a penalty corner with perfection.

In the 55th minute, it was the turn of Amrinder Singh to prove his worth in the team which he did in style by slamming the third goal to help Jammu gain 3-2 lead.

Kathua forwards on the other hand, had other ideas who came back with a vengeance to level the lead through Sunil in the 60th minute to make the contest at razor edge.

In a nerve wrecking sudden death, Jammu exhibited nerves of steel to had the last laugh.

For Kathua, the goal scorers in the penalty shootout were Hardeep Singh, Maninder Kumar Amardeep Singh and Sunny Kumar.

Varinder Singh missed the target.

Amrinder Singh, Sukhwinder Singh, Amardeep Singh, Jagjit Singh (S) and Jagjit Singh (J) were the goal scorers for the winner team.

The match was officiated by Vijaypal Singh, Ranbir Singh, M S Reen, Vijay Vaid, S P Singh, Jasbir Singh, Harmenon Singh, D Singh, Amarjeet Singh, Jagjit Singh, Harmeet Singh and P D Singh.

The final will be played tomorrow at 4 pm.

Congo may lose home advantage in World Cup qualifiers

JOHANNESBURG, Mar 29: The democratic Republic of Congo may have to play home world Cup qualifiers away from Kinshasa after being given an ultimatum to fix security infrastructure at the capital’s martyrs stadium, FIFA said.

The Congolese Federation have been asked to name an alternate venue because FIFA are not satisfied that changes to improve the safety at the stadium had been implemented.

The Congolese, who qualified for the 1974 World Cup finals when the country was known as Zaire, had promised to make the changes and had been given until yesterday to provide such a guarantee, FIFA said.

FIFA have twice inspected the giant Chinese-built 80 000 capacity stadium, first at the end of 2006 and again last October. Visiting teams traditionally find the venue intimidating and the congolese rarely lose competitive matches at home.

"During the first visit, a list of requirements related to necessary improvements in infrastructure and security was established and given to the Fecofa,’’ a FIFA spokesman said.

"During the second visit, it was seen that the improvements had not been accomplished in a satisfactory way.

"As an exceptional measure, FIFA indicated to the Congolese Federation that we would be willing to have a third inspection visit in early may, but that we would request a written guarantee to be sent by April 4 from both the Ministry of Sports and the Federation that the works described during the first FIFA inspection visit would be carried out before May.’’ (AGENCIES)

Demand for adhoc committee to revive hockey

BHOPAL Mar 29: Holding Indian Hockey Federation President KPS Gill responsible for the decline of hockey, Bhopal Hockey Association demanded centre to constitute Federation’s adhoc committee and conduct impartial election under the supervision of retired judges.

"Putting people of a particular community away from the sport, ignoring required parameters in national sports and discriminatory attitude in selecting players are among the reasons responsible for the plight of hockey,’’ Association Secretary I Rehman told reporters here today.

He said despite having good talent, players belonging to minority community were not being included in the team for over five years.

Referring to Olympian Inamur Rehman, who bagged bronze medal in Olympics, Mr Rehman added, "we have experienced coaches, but their services are not being availed’’. (UNI)

PCA to talk with English players over IPL next week

LONDON, Mar 29: The Professional Cricketers’ Association (PCA) will have a talk regarding the Indian Premier League (IPL) with England players next week.

"We will ask the players how they feel,’’ PCA Chief Executive Sean Morris said. "We need to sit them down and ask their personal views - some might have different opinions to others.’’

"But I would like to think on behalf of the players we would be able to take advantage of this concept and allow them to reap the benefits,’’ he added.

"There may be a very strong collective view but there may also be different circumstances for each individual which would affect their decision.’’

He will also talk to ECB officials in a bid to find a way to accommodate those who wish to play in the IPL in the future.

The move comes after Lalit Modi, the IPL Chairman, reiterated his willingness to shift the dates of the cash-rich tournament in future years to accommodate English players. (AGENCIES)

UPCA agreed to pay Rs 9 lakh rent for Green Park

KANPUR, Mar 29: Dispute over rent payment for the third cricket Test match between India and South Africa here at Green Park was resolved after long negotiation between UPCA and State Sports Department at Lucknow.

"UPCA will pay Rs 9 lakh as rent for Green Park Stadium to organise five days cricket Test match,’’ Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association (UPCA) Sports Administration Secretary Prem Dhar Pathak said here today.

Earlier, the Uttar Pradesh Sports Department had demanded Rs 50 lakh for the same.

The UPCA was organising third and final cricket Test match at Green Park stadium in Kanpur scheduled to played from April 11 to 15.

Meanwhile, match preparations were in full swing at the stadium. (UNI)

Joshi appointed member of ICC’s medical committee

NEW DELHI, Mar 29: The BCCI’s sports medical consultant Anant Joshi has been appointed as a member of the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) newly established medical committee.

"Dr Joshi has been heading BCCI’s (Board of Control for Cricket in India) medical committee for almost two decades and has been appointed as a member of the newly constituted ICC medical committee,’’ a BCCI statement said.

The BCCI president Sharad Pawar is scheduled to over as vice-president of the ICC in a few months time and Dr Joshi’s appointment has come after I S Bindra was appointed the principal adviser of the governing body a few days back.

Dr Joshi is a Master in Sports Sciences in Sports Mechanic and Fitness from United States Sports Academy, Alabama and Master of Surgery (orthopaedic) from University of Bombay. (UNI)