Heritage School celebrates annual day with pomp, show

Excelsior Correspondent

JAMMU, Feb 27: The Heritage School celebrated its annual day with great pomp and show on the theme "Save the Earth" here at Abhinav Theatre.

First Lady of the State Usha Vohra was the chief guest on the occasion. K B Aggarwal, Principal Secretary Mechanical, Roads and Buildings and ADGP Armed K Rajendra were the special guests on the occasion.

The students of Classes 3rd to 5th presented colourful cultural bonanza on the theme "Save the Earth" and highlighted the devastating effects on nature due imbalanced human activities.

The guests also released the science newsletter of the school on the occasion.

The Chief Guest appreciated the students and staff for conveying the important message of saving the earth for our own survival and highlighted the role of students in creating awareness for protection of environment and maintenance of ecological balance.

Mrs Vohra observed that global warming and climate change are the major challenges facing mankind and everyone needs to work towards effectively addressing these issues. She emphasized for minimizing noise and other types of pollution affecting life on Earth.

She also appreciated the efforts of the School for providing contemporary and quality education to the children of Jammu.

Earlier, Principal Sangiv Asthana welcomed the guests presented on the occasion.

Assistant Headmistress Chandra Upadhaya read out the annual report and highlighted the achievements of the school in academic and extra-curricular activities.

Later, Chief Guest along with others distributed the prizes among meritorious students.

Chairperson Sunita Gupta presented vote of thanks on the occasion.

Large number of prominent citizens, parents, staff and students were present during the celebration.

GCW Parade celebrates annual day, honour
meritorious students

Excelsior Correspondent

JAMMU, Feb 27: The Government College for Women, Parade celebrated annual day-cum-prize distribution function in the College premises in an impressive way, here today.

Minister for Higher Education Abdul Gani Malik was the chief guest on the occasion. Commissioner/Secretary to Higher Education Department Tanveer Jahan was the guest of honour while Director Colleges Dr Sham Lal Gupta presided over the function.

Former Principals and Principals of various Colleges besides faculty members and students were also present on the occasion.

The Minister in his address stressed on academic excellence and quality of education. He also suggested various ways and ideas for the promotion of education in the State.

On the occasion, the guests also released the campus chronicle, IQAC Newsletter, Bhasha Samachar, Genesis-Science Newsletter and BCA Newsletter CYOBORG.

It was followed by cultural programme including Dogri Songh, Puppet dance in Dogri, Devi Stuti, Gogri Dance and Kashmiri Dance which enthralled the audiences by spellbound performance of students.

Earlier, Principal Prof Kiran Bakshi welcomed the guests and presented the College annual report. She also highlighted the various achievements of the College in different fields on the occasion.

Later, the guests distributed trophies, mementos and certificates for their excellence and participation in academics, sports and various other fields.

Prof Shashi Koul, HOD, Home Science gave vote of thanks.

3rd State Ju-jitsu Championship concludes

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, Feb 27: The 3rd J&K State Ju-jitsu Championship being organised by Ju-Jitsu Association of Jammu and Kashmir concluded here at Indoor Sports Complex, M A Stadium.

About 200 players from various districts/school/clubs took part in the championship. The championship was held under the supervision of Tarsem Sharma, General Secretary of the Assocaiton.

During the prize distribution function, Kamal K Gupta was the chief guest. Rajan Sharma, Sports Officer of J&K State Sports Council and Summant Singh were the guest of honours. Subash Sharma and Ashok Singh were also present on the occasion.

Final Results:

Boys: Below 15kg: Anshuman (1st), Gunandeep Singh (2nd) while Rohan Choudhary and Ritesh Balgotra (3rd).

Below 18kg: Naman Sharma (1st), Prabjot Singh (2nd) while Mayant Chalotra and Antriksh Gupta (3rd).

Below 21kg: Sidharth Gupta (1st), Ashish Banotra (2nd) while Jaskaran Singh and Hridyansh (3rd).

Below 24kg: Abhishiv Khashu (1st), Pitamber Gupta (2nd) while Ayush Partap and Danish Mahajan (3rd).

Below 27kg: Sankarshan Sawhney (1st), Divyansh Sharma (2nd) while Gourang Vaid and Manik Langeh (3rd).

Below 30kg: Angat Pal Singh (1st), Danish Sharma (2nd) while Sanjeev Bagal and Ragav Abrol (3rd).

Below 34kg: Mohim Mahmood Khan (1st), Kukwar Pal Singh (2nd) while Faisal Chowdhary and Paras Padha (3rd).

Below 38kg: Akshit Ghai (1st), Sidharth Bhasin (2nd) while Mohd Kaif and Hardik Sharma (3rd).

Below 42kg (Group A): Dipenshu Deep Bhat (1st), Dibansh (2nd) while Aryaman and Rohit Razdan (3rd).

Below 42kg (Group B): Dishant (1st), Tanuj Preet (2nd) while Romil Razdan and Pranav Raina (3rd).

Below 46kg (Group A): Nomaan Choudhary (1st), Siddarth (2nd) while Simit Bhat and Chatanya Sharma (3rd).

Below 46kg (Group B): Amrit Koul (1st), Harsimar (2nd) while Ashutosh Zutshi and Parminder Dev (3rd).

Below 50kg (sub junior): Kunwar Pal Singh (1st), Hitesh Langer (2nd) while Aman Sharma and Karan Kumar (3rd).

Below 54kg (junior): Sanjay (1st), Ravi Kumar (2nd) while Rajat Gupta and Sikandar Farooq (3rd).

Below 58kg (junior): Jabeel Ahmed (1st), Raj Karan (2nd) while Mohit Angral and Aman (3rd).

Below 58kg (senior): Ayush Sharma (1st), Umar Mehraj (2nd) while Amit Gupta and Mohd Hassan (3rd).

Below 62kg (senior): Deepak Dogra (1st), Asif Hussain (2nd) while Vilyat Muzfar and Raj Kumar (3rd).

Below 66kg (senior): Sunny Kumar (1st), Ramez (2nd) while Azaj Hassan and Mukhtyar Ahmed Shan (3rd).

Below 72kg (senior): Mohd Nayem (1st) while Swarn Lal (2nd).

Girls: Below 15kg: Varda (1st), Bavjot Kour (2nd) while Kamakshi and Ritanshi (3rd).

Below 18kg: Bavneet Kour (1st), Balpreet (2nd) while Zevia and Pavleen (3rd).

Below 21kg: Tanushka (1st), Harmeet Kour (2nd) while Vanshika and Ziz-s-Noor (3rd).

Below 25kg: Ayushi Sharma (1st), Anisha Supolia (2nd) and Rishika Sharma (3rd).

Below 30kg: Samridhi Katoch (1st), Vanshika Manhas (2nd) while Shikh Zoya and Ruhi Kapoor (3rd).

Below 34kg: Shakshi Sharma (1st), Shivani Devi (2nd) while Nidhi Sharma and Vardana Devi (3rd).

Below 38kg: Anhika Gupta (1st), Vishali Bhagat (2nd) and Ritika Dogra (3rd).

Below 42kg: Shikha Devi (1st) and Tamana Kaokhar (2nd).

Below 50kg (senior): Mehak Batra (1st), Faizana Jan (2nd) and Kulsuma Ismail (3rd).

Below 55kg: Huma Farooq (1st), Mohsmi (2nd) and Shafia (3rd).

French Club holds function at Bal Niketan

Excelsior Correspondent

JAMMU, Feb 27: The French Club of Jammu and Kashmir organised function at Ved Mandir Bal Niketan, Amphalla and distributed various essential things to students, here today.

IGP Dilbagh Singh was the chief guest on the occasion. While speaking, he said that it is responsibility of every citizen to help these children who are so talented and God gifted. He appreciated the efforts of French Club for promoting the children of orphanage by organizing such function.

During the function, the students presented various items including Dogri songs and folk items.

Captain Purshottam Sharma, Vice President of the Ved Mandir Bal Niketan highlighted the role of the orphanage in the overall development of personalities of the children living there.

V K Mangi, Secretary of Bal Niketan and Sunil Dogra of French Club also spoke on the occasion.

Dramatic India-England encounter ends in tie

Bangalore, Feb 27 A sloppy India got their act together in the nick of time to escape with a dramatic tie against a spirited

England in a nerve-wracking World Cup group-B league match here today.

The Indians rode on Sachin Tendulkar's (120) record fifth World Cup century to pile up 338 all out but a heroic batting display by

Andrew Strauss (158) and some toothless bowling allowed England to leave the match tied at a jam-packed Chinnaswamy Stadium.

With 14 needed off the last over bowled by Munaf Patel, Graeme Swann collected three runs before Ahmal Shahzad sent the bowler straight down the ground for a six.

That reduced the difference as England needed five off three, and then two off the last delivery. Swann drove the final ball but could not clear mid-off as the match, which saw two magnificent knocks, came to a thrilling end.

The 37-year-old Tendulkar provided the sparks in a scintillating Indian batting display.

It was vintage stuff by Tendulkar as he unleashed 10 boundaries and five sixes in his 115-ball 120 to lay the platform for the Indian onslaught.

Tendulkar's milestone moment came in the 35th over when he glanced Tin Bresnan to the boundary to record his fifth World Cup ton, surpassing former India captain Sourav Ganguly, current Australia captain Ricky Ponting and his former teammate Mark Waugh who had four hundreds to their credit.

But things took a dramatic turn with England making a strong reply.

India, touted as the favourites, were in the end lucky to escape with a tie as England lost their nerves and collapsed in the dying stages after being 282 for two at one stage.

It was a remarkable result as both teams managed to get a point each from the thrilling contest which saw fortune fluctuate from one team to the other till the very end.

The Indians gave a sorry account of themselves on the field as they not only fielded poorly but the bowling also lacked the sting.

It was a fiery burst by Zaheer Khan, who took the key wickets of Strauss and Bell, which helped them to bounce back.

The England innings began with a flourish as Strauss and Kevin Petersen went for their strokes and maintained a scoring rate of over seven runs an over.

The opening pair put on 68 runs before Munaf provided the breakthrough by accounting for the dismissal of Pietersen, taking a stunning return catch in his second attempt much to the delight of his teammates.

Strauss seemed to be in no discomfort as he notched up his 28th ODI half century and also completed the milestone of scoring more than 4000 runs in ODIs.

Strauss and Jonathan Trott tried to carry the momentum before leg spinner Piyush Chawla struck by trapping Trott plumb in front of the wicket.

Ian Bell was lucky to survive a confident shout for leg before. Umpire Billy Bowden initially ruled him not out but the Indians opted for a review.

Television replays showed that the ball would have hit the stumps but the third umpire decided that he was too far down the track to be given out.

Strauss notched up his sixth ODI century and his first in the World Cup when he took a single off Yusuf Pathan to keep his team's run chase on track.

The Indian bowling completely lacked the sting as both Strauss and Bell took them closer to the target while poor fielding only compounded the home team's misery.

The duo stitched 170 runs for the third wicket before Zaheer livened up the proceedings by getting the scalps of Bell (69) and Strauss with two consecutive deliveries.

Bell, who was struggling with cramps, tried to go for a mighty heave but failed to time the ball properly and virat Kohli made no mistake with the catch.

In the very next ball, Strauss was trapped leg before to allow the Indians to come back into the game.

Zaheer struck again in the next over by castling the dangerous Paul Collingwood and suddenly England slumped to 285 for five from a comfortable 281 for two.

Harbhajan then got rid of Matt Prior with Suresh Raina taking a well judged catch.

Tim Bresnan and Swann smashed Chawla for two sixes in the penutimate over to once again bring England back in contention. But the three-time finalists fell short by just one run in the final analysis as the match ended in a tie, the fourth time in the history of World Cups.

Earlier, electing to bat first, the Indian innings began on a tentative note but the runs started flowing once the batsmen came to terms with the pace and bounce of the track.

Opener Virender Sehwag had a reprieve in the very first ball of the innings as Swann dropped a difficult chance in the second slip off James Anderson.

The dashing opener tried to push Anderson's outgoing delivery and got a thick edge but Swann could not latch on to the sharp chance.

Sehwag had two more close shaves in an eventful first over as he struggled to time the ball well. But he began to look a little more comfortable against paceman Shahzad as he spanked him to the boundary in his first ball.

Sehwag played with customary flourish and picked up Anderson for special treatment by clobbering him for 11 runs in one over.

But his belligerence was shortlived as he perished in the very next over with pacer Bresnan accounting for his scalp in his first over.

Bresnan provided some width and Sehwag tried to steer the ball through the vacant slips but only succeeded in edging the ball to wicket-keeper Prior. His whirlwind knock of 35 came off 26 balls and contained six boundaries.

The left-handed Gautam Gambhir, who joined Tendulkar after Sehwag's fall, made his intentions clear as he used his feet to smash spinner Swann to the boundary in his first over. But in that same over, Gambhir was lucky to survive a stumping chance.

Tendulkar then greeted Swann with two consecutive sixes.

Tendulkar lifted Swann's first ball for a six over wide long-on with intense power and then clobbered the next ball over mid wicket.

While Tendulkar went on the offensive, Gambhir fetched his 22nd ODI half century with a streaky boundary to the third man region.

But Gambhir (51) perished in the next over being bowled by Swann as he lazily tried to steer a turning ball towards third man only to see his stumps being knocked down, bringing an end to the rollicking 134-run partnership.

Tendulkar then created history by becoming the first cricketer to score five centuries in the World Cup when he glanced Bresnan to the fine leg boundary.

After completing the milestone, Tendulkar unleashed a flurry of strokes and again picked Swann for special treatment by clobbering him for a mighty six over long-on.

It was Anderson who brought an end to Tendulkar's rampaging knock as the champion batsman played his shot a touch too early and Yardy took the catch at cover. His scintillating 115-ball 120 contained 10 boundaries and five sixes.

Yuvraj notched up his 46th ODI half century by hitting Anderson to the boundary as he combined with captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni to maintain the run flow.

Both the batsmen, however, returned to the pavilion in quick succession as they tried to force the pace of scoring in the slog overs.

The tailenders also lost their wickets cheaply as India were all out in 49.5 overs. (PTI)

Way to go Sachin, tweets Omar

SRINAGAR, Feb 27: Sachin Tendulkar’s fine century in the World Cup match against England today has left Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, an ardent fan of the champion batsman, delighted.

"If there is a better sight on a cricket pitch than Tendulkar in full flow, I haven’t seen it yet," Omar wrote on micro-blogging site Twitter soon after the batsman scored his 47th OODI century at Bangalore’s Chinnaswamy Stadium.

Omar took the opportunity to hit out at newspapers, which had drawn curtains on Tendulkar’s career when he hit a rough patch a few years ago.

"And yet I can’t help but remember all those ENDulkar headlines in the newspapers when he hit a bad patch a few years ago. Way to go Sachin," Omar wrote. (PTI)

Improve or be ready for early flight back, Afridi tells team

COLOMBO, Feb 27: Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi is not rejoicing too much despite the "big win" over Sri Lanka in a World Cup match here as he is worried and baffled by the mistakes his team committed, especially in the fielding department.

"I think when we go ahead in this tournament our destination will get tougher and tougher and if we commit the same mistakes, then we will return to Pakistan very soon. We must improve," Afridi said after the 11-run win in a thrilling Group A encounter here last night.

Pakistan spilled catches and missed run-out and stumping chances in a fumbling fielding display last night that could have cost them dearly. And Afridi minced no words in pointing out the mistakes after the narrow win.

"Our fielding has been improving since the New Zealand tour, but I don't know why in this match we dropped catches and failed to take run-out chances," said the skipper, who was named man of the match for picking up four wickets which took his overall tally to 300.

Despite the shortcomings highlighted in the match, Afridi said it was nonetheless a big win for his team.

"It's a very big win for us, beating Sri Lanka before a capacity crowd, their own people and a strong team which has been playing very well recently," Afridi said.

Afridi was all praise for seniors Younus Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq for their crucial fifties which helped Pakistan post a challenging 277 on the board.

"I'm happy that seniors have taken responsibility. Younus and Misbah are the backbone of the team, and it's important that the captain performs well as it sets an example for others," he said.

Pakistan next face minnows Canada on March 3 and Afridi said the match is as important as any other game of the event.

"I will sit down and plan, I will take advice from my coach and from my senior players as it is everyone's team," Afridi said.

"Winning is very important for us, it is a good habit and we should try to win every match and play hard with our strength. I think we will give rest to some of our players but definitely we want to win each and every game," he added. (PTI)

Impatient Sri Lankan fans slam team

COLOMBO, Feb 27: Disappointed Sri Lankan fans criticised their team after they slipped to a World Cup defeat against Pakistan -- even though they only lost by 11 runs and have every chance of reaching the quarter-finals.

Despite high hopes coming into the match, 1996 champions Sri Lanka fell short of Pakistan's total of 277-7, leaving thousands at a packed R Premadasa stadium in Colombo devastated.

"When you concentrate on advertising and not your game, when you play for yourself and not for the country, the result is not that unexpected," posted a reader, Anuruddha, on the Daily Mirror website.

"They let us down," media executive Nilantha Rajendra said of yesterday's defeat. "We could have done much better and I felt some players did not play as a team."

But Sunil Perera, a keen follower of the national team, blamed the home fans for having expectations that were too high.

"We have the potential to win the World Cup, but we need to do a lot more," said Perera. "There is too much hype and many think we had already won even before the tournament opened.

"That is why this defeat is so difficult for so many to stomach."

Sri Lanka, co-hosting the World Cup with India and Bangladesh, now have one win and one defeat. They beat Canada by 210 runs in their first match.

Before the tournament started, a Sri Lankan newspaper took the unusual step of urging Kumar Sangakkara's squad not to win the World Cup -- for the greater good of the nation.

"Call me a traitor, a quisling... Anything. I don't want Sri Lanka to be the champions of cricket World Cup 2011," the sports writer of the privately run The Island daily said.

"Want to hang me, come catch me," Russell Palipane wrote.

He suggested that a Sri Lankan victory would be used by politicians to boost their image while government-appointed officials of governing body Sri Lanka Cricket might try to stay on without facing elections. (AGENCY)

Pakistan fined for maintaining slow over-rate
against Lanka

COLOMBO, Feb 27: Pakistan were fined for maintaining a slow over-rate during their 11-run win against Sri Lanka in the cricket World Cup here.

ICC Elite Panel Match Referee Chris Broad imposed the fines after Shahid Afridi's side were ruled to be one over short of target at the end of the match yesterday when time allowances were taken into consideration.

In accordance with ICC Code of Conduct regulations governing minor over-rate offences, players are fined 10 per cent of their match fees for every over their side fails to bowl in the allotted time, with the captain fined double that amount.

As such, Afridi was fined 20 per cent of his match fee while his players received 10 per cent fines, an ICC release said.

The offence is contrary to Article 2.5.1 of the code which relates to minor over-rate offences. The penalty was accepted by Pakistan without contest so there was no need for a hearing. (PTI)

Warnock all smiles as QPR push for promotion

LONDON, Feb 27: QPR manager Neil Warnock told his players to keep enjoying their football in order to secure promotion to the Premier League after claiming a comfortable 3-0 win over Middlesbrough.

The west London outfit cruised to victory at the Riverside Stadium yesterday to restore their five point cushion at the summit of the Championship.

"I've told the lads that they should be playing with a smile on their faces because we have the right recipe here now," Warnock said.

"We have the grit to battle when we need to but we have the ability to win games well too. You don't get many moments in football when it comes together like that.

"We're not getting carried away because we have a long way to go...But if we can keep getting that consistency and keep getting results in games like this, then we are well on the way."

Swansea manager Brendan Rodgers promised his team would try and play their way towards the Premier League after turning in a scintillating display to dispose of Leeds.

The Swans ran out 3-0 winners at the Liberty Stadium after two goals from in-form forward Scott Sinclair and a final strike by Luke Moore.

However, it was the manner of the victory which pleased Rodgers.

"I like winning games but I also want to do it in style," he said. "I'm proud of the players. It was a wonderful performance and great result.

"It's three points and it's what we want from a game. Three points, clean sheet and the fans go home happy."

The Swans remain one point ahead of bitter south Wales rivals Cardiff after City battled to a 2-0 win at Hull thanks to goals from Michael Chopra and Jay Emmanuel-Thomas.

Norwich moved up to fourth after disposing of Barnsley, Andrew Crofts scoring both goals in a 2-0 win.

Canaries manager Paul Lambert revealed he had high expectations for his team, and his goalscorer in particular. (AGENCY)

Expect good pace, bounce on Mohali track: Curator

MOHALI (Punjab), Feb 27: A bouncy track awaits the Netherlands and South African teams at the Punjab cricket Association stadium, which is set to host its first match of the World Cup on Thursday.

PCA curator Daljeet Singh today said that the wicket will offer good bounce, though it is being ensured that the bowlers are not able to get too much movement.

"It's important to keep grass on the wicket. There will be good pace and bounce, though our effort remains not to have too much movement. The grass will be brownish while the outfied will be fast," Singh said here today.

He, however, said that with cold weather conditions persisting in Punjab, which has been lashed by rains during this week, there would be some movement early on, with the match being a day game.

"The weather forecast shows signs of rain on March 3 and 4. We are keeping our fingers crossed. Due to bad weather earlier, we had started working on the track much early, so that the wicket gets hard before the tie, keeping room for possibility of spell of rains in between and the fact that we may have to cover the wicket," he said.

During the past few days, the upper hills of neighbouring Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir have received fresh spell of snowfall while the plains were lashed by rains. The maximum and minimum temperature at Mohali and adjoining Chandigarh during the past few days has been hovering around 20 degrees Celsius and 10 degrees Celsius, respectively.

Singh said that for the first league match at PCA grounds on March 3, the track used will be the one on which last Test match between India and Australia was played.

For the next league match on March 11 featuring Ireland and West Indies the pitch used will be the one on which Punjab and Tamil Nadu U-19 teams match was held recently.

"For the semi finals here (on March 30), we will be using either of the two tracks on which the league matches are played," he informed.

He said that the boundary length will be 75 m on square of the wicket while 73m straight on from the wicket.

"We have also further improved our indoor practice facilities," he said.

Meanwhile, PCA Joint Secretary, G S Walia said that the South African team will be arriving at Chandigarh tomorrow evening while the Dutch will arrive on Tuesday.

He said for the March 3 tie, 3200 tickets in the 28,000 capacity stadium had been sold and added sales were picking up gradually though initial response had been lukewarm.

On the great rush for tickets at some venues, Walia said that PCA had reserved 15,000-17,000 tickets for the general public including those for the semi-finals.

For the convenience of the fans coming to watch the match, for the first time routes had been printed on tickets which they are supposed to adopt to reach the stadium. (PTI)

Tight security for World Cup match at Kotla

NEW DELHI, Feb 27: Delhi Police has made elaborate arrangements for the World Cup cricket match between West Indies and the Netherlands tomorrow at Ferozeshah Kotla where armed security personnel are keeping a tight vigil.

Over 1,000 police personnel led by five Deputy Commissioners of Police will be deployed in and around the stadium in central Delhi for the match.

The police had conducted several mock drills at the stadium to check the preparedness of security agencies in case of any eventualities like terror strike or disaster, a senior police official said.

Private security guards have also been deployed in the stadium to help the security forces, he said.

The National Disaster Management Authority personnel have also been deployed in the stadium while a large number of volunteers will help spectators who are in need.

Police have also made elaborate traffic arrangements to ensure that there is minimum inconvenience to commuters.

No parking will be allowed for general vehicles in proximity of the stadium tomorrow. For spectators, park and ride facility has been created at Mata Sundari Parking and Shanti Van Parking. Spectators can also walk down to the stadium.

"After the conclusion of match, spectators are advised to reach park and ride places through shuttle service or by walking down.

"There will be very limited parking facilities for labelled vehicles in the proximity of the stadium and no parking will be allowed for general vehicles," the official said.

No vehicle will be allowed to be parked on both the carriageways of Bahadurshah Zafar Marg and Jawaharlal Nehru Marg on the match days and vehicles parked on these roads will be towed away and action taken as per law, he said.

Though no diversion has been planned for B S Z Marg or J L N Marg, the official said, the general public is advised to avoid some roads from 12 pm to 3.30 pm and 09.30 pm to 11.30 pm.

The stretches are Rajghat to J L N Marg, J L N Marg from Kamla Market to Raj Ghat, Asaf Ali Road from Turkman Gate to Delhi Gate and B S Z Marg from Ram Charan Agarwal Chowk to Delhi Gate.

Spectators cannot bring electronic items like laptop, camera or video camera, transistor, digital diary, remote controlled car-keys, eatables, food packets, water bottles, cigarette lighter, match boxes, knives and arms. (PTI)