Rashid, Sanjeev represent
India in Olympic Qualifying Fencing tourney
KT NEWS SERVICE
JAMMU, Apr 17: Two Jammu and Kashmir Fencers Rashid ahmed of Jammu and Kashmir Police and Sanjeev Suri among the three men and two women fencers will represent India in the Olympic Qualifying Fencing Tournament slated for April 22 in Bangkok.
According to Fencing Association of India Secretary-General Arun Vij, Vikram Singh from Jammu and Kashmir will be among two coaches for the Indian team selected
The men fencers are Sanjeev Suri from Jammu and Kashmir (Epee), Vijay Kumar of Services Sports Control Board (Foil) and Rashid Ahmed from Jammu and Kashmir (Sabre). The women fencers are Kavita from Assam (Epee) and Diana from Manipur (Sabre).
The coaches are Vikram (Jammu and Kashmir) and Jamwal (Services Sports Control Board).
Meanwhile, in the Senior Asian Fencing Championship slated for April 25 to 29 in Bangkok seven men fencers and four women fencers will represent India.
The Men fencers who will participate in the championship are Vijay Kumar, Shobha Raj and Shobha Singh (Foil), Sanjeev Suri, Sholin Meetei and Rohit Gangadhar (Epee), Rashid Ahmed (Sabre). The Women fencers are Kavita and Lakshmi (Epee), Diana and Gita (Sabre).

Onkar, Jakker share Chhourta Kesari title
KT NEWS SERVICE
JAMMU, Apr 17: Two wrestlers Onkar Singh of Border Security Force (BSF) and Jakker have shared the 10th Annual Chourta Kesari title, which was held at village Chhourta (Jhajjar Kotli) in block Dansal of district Jammu.
The dangal was organised by the Chhourta Dangal Committee under the aegis of J&K Indian Style Wrestling Association in order to promote the country's traditional game among the youths of the state.
MLA Jugal Kishore Sharma was the chief guest on the occasion. Shiv Kumar Sharma, treasurer Indian Style Wrestling Association of India presided over the function.
The first main bout was played between Pahalwan Jakker of Jammu and Onkar Singh of BSF. This bout remained undecided. Both wrestlers were were given Rs 2,500 each by the chief guest. In the second main bout, Qasim Din of J&K Police has defeated Jagdish of Punjab. J&K Police wrestler was awarded Rs 1800, while Jagdish got Rs 1,200.
Mohd Akram of Jammu won the third main bout by defeating Bijali of Hoshiarpur, Punjab.
In all 28 bouts were played in the day long dangal. In other bouts, Sahid Ali beat Baboo, Balbir beat Ajay, the bout between Kulbir Singh and Shahidu ended in a draw.
Sharma said that an amount of Rs 35,565 have been incurred for the conduct of the said dangal and about 3,500 people drawn from surrounding of Jhajjar Kotli witnessed the day long dangal. He also complimented the Chhoutra Dangal Committee for making this dangal a regular feature for the last the ten years. He also assured the committee members their cooperation for the promotion of this game in this block

Bashir elected as head of Veteran Athletic Asso
KT NEWS SERVICE
JAMMU, Apr 17: Bashir Ahmed elected as the president of the J&K Veteran Athletic Association in a meeting of the association, which was held on yesterday here.
Som Raj and Parvez Mohi-ud-din will be vice presidents, while A M Andrabi nominated as general secretary. Govind Sareen will be treasurer. Ashok Kumar, Mohd Shafi and Mohd Issa named as joint secretaries. The organizing secretary of the association will be ML Kapoor. Ajay Sharma was the observer.

JU Inter-Deptt Volleyball tourney
Physical Education Deptt trounces MCA 2-1
KT NEWS SERVICE
JAMMU, Apr 17: Hosts Physical Education department today trounced MCA department by 2-1 of the ongoing Inter-Department Volleyball tournament tie played at JU Volleyball Court here today.
The Physical Education department won the match by 2-1 set with set score 25-10, 18-25 and 15-4. Anil Sharma and Vishal Sharma of Physical Education department displayed powerful and accurate smashes in the match. The opponent side blockers could not gave reply to his smashes.
Anju Khajuria and Parveen Sadhotra of MCA department also played a good game in the second set due to which team won this set with a margin of 25-18 points. However, the third was easily won by the Physical Education department with a lead of 15-4 points.
In the second match, Urdu department got walkover against the Business School.
The tournament is organised by the department of Physical Education department under the supervision of Romesh Sharma, PTI Campus. Neeraj Sharma, Muddassar and Sanjeev Jamwal were the officials of today's matches.
The Physical Education department will take on Law School and the Law department will lock horns with Sociology department on April 21 at 10: 30 AM.
Clarification
All J&K Physical Education Teachers Association today maintained that its members have not paid any amount for their adjustments.
The office bearers of the association claimed today they did not level any allegations against the director. These protesting teachers were demanding their adjustment for the last six months.
They expressed their anguish against the callous attitude and delaying tactics of the administration regarding their adjustment.
The association has appealed to all the teachers to assemble in front of the directorate office at MA Stadium on April 21 at 11:00 AM to decide future course of action.

Test is yard stick for judging quality of cricketer: Ganguly
BANGALORE, Apr 17 (UNI): Former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly today opined that "test is the yard stick for judging quality of a player and nothing can replace the yard stick."
Addressing a press conference on the eve of IPL match, Ganguly, who is leading Kolkata Knight Riders against Royal Challengers Bangalore in the inaugural match, said "test is important, my priority would be for test matches and in my personal view a player can be rated based on his performance in the test matches."
On the kind of pressure while leading T20 team and test team, he said "leading a test team is entirely different from T20 but when you lead the country it is entirely different."
"Even the upcoming speed star Ishant Sharm's performance can also be judged only after 10 years from now depending upon how he does in test matches", Ganguly added.
On how he feels captaining with Australia captain Ricky Ponting in his T20 team, he said "Ricky is one of the great players in the world and knows his responsibility."
About strategy for the morrow's match, he said during last three days interaction with the players were going on and had come out with a strategy which will be revealed only during the match.
When asked whether he feels tired to play in IPL after hectic South Africa series, the 'Bengal Tiger' said "I am ready after three days of rest after the series."
Ganguly said "the 43-day IPL will certainly give a thrilling experience and I am sure it is going to be a good experience since it requires to perform to keep up reputation and the amount of money involved."
Kolkota Knight Riders team coach John Buchanon, former Australian coach, said "the IPL is a good idea, it is an important competition and it gives opportunity to improve the game of cricket in three forms - test, ODI and now T20."
He said that it gives good opportunity for the players since great players from different parts of the world are coming together to play for their respective teams.

Security plays spoilsport as Torch relay passes off peacefully
NEW DELHI, Apr 17 (UNI): As the Olympic Torch relay passed offpeacefully amid tight security here today, Anju Bobby Georgecautioned India's Olympic contingent before the Bejing Games,saying the athletes still have a long way to go.
"Shooters have a great chance to bring a few medals but in athletics we still have a long way to go," Anju told mediapersons after the conclusion of the Torch relay.
The Kerala athlete, however, agreed that the heightened security did diminish the charm of the event to some extent.
"Yes, it (security) did affect the occasion but since this was such an important event, the security had to be kept in mind," she conceded.
To the delight of Indian tennis fans, veterans Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi ran together to hand over the flame to Sports Minister MS Gill at India Gate.
"It was a unique experience and an honour to run with the Olympic Torch," Bhupathi told mediapersons after the relay.
However, Bhupathi did not seem very excited to have shared the torch with his three-time Davis Cup partner.
"Nothing much, it just made a good picture for the readers and viewers," he said.
Since the Davis Cup against Uzbekistan in February, the sour relations between the two players have been open to the public.
Meanwhile, Indian Olympic Association (IOA) vice-president Randhir Singh was a relieved man with torch realy ending on a peaceful note.
"It was very satisfying that the relay went incident-free. It has been a success here and we have set an example," he said.
However, he added with a tinge disappointment that it was sad that no cricketer could be a part of the event because of their prior commitments.
"Cricket is personaly very close to me as a sport and it is sad the no cricketer could be a part of the relay.
"We did miss them but both Sachin and Gavaskar were involved with their IPL meetings," he said.
The other athlete who ran the relay was Dhanraj Pillay and the former national hockey captain gave his inputs about the present sate of Indian hockey.
"It was sad that first time in the history Indian hockey team will not be able to take part in Olympics.
"Hopefully the women's hockey team which has gone for the qualifiers in Russia will bring laurels to the country and will secure a medal at the Bejing Games," he said.
Even Pillay agreed that the public should not have been deprived of the Olympic Torch relay as the flame arrived amid tight security.
"I feel kids should have ran with the flame but with such security measures it was not possible," he added.

India downs Tajikistan to enter
quaterfinals of World junior tennis
SHENZEN, Apr 17 (UNI): India blanked Tajikistan 3-0 in theirlast Group 'A' encounter here to advance to the quarterfinals ofthe Asia-Oceania leg of the World under-14 tennis championship.
Ramkumar Ramanathan defeated Abdurasai Nazirov 6-0, 6-0 in straight sets yesterday in the first singles to hand India the lead.
Ronit Bisht increased the margin as he blanked Bakhodur Faridun with an identical scoreline in the second singles.
Bisht then joined Digvijay Singh Mehta to down Nazirov and Faridun 6-0, 6-0 in the doubles.
India, who are the top seeds, will take on Uzbekistan in the quarterfinals of the Asia-Oceania leg for a berth in the World Group final to be held in Prostejov, Czech Republic, in August.

India wishes Beijing Olympic a grand success: Milkha Singh
NEW DELHI, Apr 17 (UNI): Legendary runner Milkha Singh and cinestar Aamir Khan led the star parade amid unprecedented securitycover as the truncated 2.3 KM relay of the Olympic Torch went offpeacefully at the Rajpath here today.
The climax of the relay was the best part of this 55 minute show when the tennis duo of Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi jointly ran the last part of the relay and handed over the torch to Sports Minister MS Gill at India Gate.
It was a heady mix of sports and glamour as Saif Ali Khan, and 'Chak De India' Girl Sagarika Ghatge rubbing shoulders with athletes while hockey greats Ajit Pal Singh, Dhanraj Pillay, Zafar Iqbal, MP Ganesh and Aslam Sher Khan went down the memory lane.
There were sportspersons like swimmer Khazan Singh, Karnam Malleswari, Kunjarani Devi and Anju George who did India proud with their sterling showing on the international fora.
The entire stretch of Rajpath was teeming with security personnal as the torch was lit at the specially designed stage just outside the Rashtrapati Bhawan by a three-member special Chinese task force which has been accompanying the torch from the start.
After lighting the torch, they handed it over to Bejing Olympic Games Organising committee (BOGOC) vice president Jiang Xiaoyu who in turned gave it to Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dixit.
The Chief Minister then handed the torch to Indian Olympic Association (IOA) president Suresh Kalmadi who ran 15 meters before giving it to Milkha Singh.
"It is a great moment, a dream come true," said a visibly relieved Suresh Kalmadi after he ran his lap. "We were confident that the relay will be a great success and it has come true."
Milkha Singh, just before receiving the torch from Kalmadi, told UNI that he was very happy to be the first sportsperson to carry the torch in India. "The torch is a peace message.India welcomes this Olympic Torch with open heart.It is a celebration of sports and its spirit. Indians want Beijing Olympics to be a grand success."
Though the relay went off peacefully, there was a tinge of sadness among the participants because of lack of people's participation. "I wish there were people to be part of this celebration," said one sportsperson.
The two oldest participants in the rally were hockey legends Balbir Singh (SR) and Cdr Nandy Singh. Balbir was a member of the Indian Gold medal winning team of 1948, 52 and 56 while Nandy representted the country in 1948 and 52.
All the 67 - participants were brought to the starting point near the Rashtrapati Bhawan in three buses and they were followed by a fleet of cars carrying Chinese officials and the torch.
The participants were called on the stage one by one for their introductions and after that the relay began.
There were a few techincal glitches which saw light of couple of torches going off but the matter was set right in no time and the relay continued.
The Paes-Bhupathi duo joining hands thrilled the small crowd. "The Indian Express" is the medal hope for India at Beijing and it is indeed great to see them together and,"We shall thank the Olympic Torch for that," remarked an official who was accomanying the relay.
"For any sportsperson, it is an ultimate desire to take part in the Olympics," said former hockey captain Ajit Pal Singh. "And to run for the Games, like carrying the Olympic torch is also a great honour," he added.
Balbir Singh said he wished that the Olympics be left for the sportspersons,"These games are a grand festival for the sportspersons from all over the world.They spread ther message of peace and love and we should carry on with that."
Table Tennis star Chetan Baboor, and the first Indian women runner to win an Asian gold medal, Kamaljit Sandhu were very thrilled to be a part of the relay.
World champion shooters Abhinav Bindra and Manavjit Sandhu said it was a dream of every sportsperson to be a part of the Olympic movement, be it the games or the Torch Relay and and this evening their dream has come true.
"I am thrilled to be part of the relay. I am associated with the Olympic movement for the last 13 years, but Today was some thing special.
"I am proud that I ran for my country for the spirit which is of the utmost importance," Trap shooter Sandhu said.
"It was a proud moment of my life and I am going to cherish it," he added .
Rajinder Singh Rahelu, the weightlifting bronze medal winner in the Athens Paralympics in 2004 and Sagarika Ghadge of 'Chak de India' fame said they were thrilled to be a part of the relay.

Subroto Chess Tourney heading for exciting finish
NEW DELHI, Apr 17 (UNI): The second Air Marshal Subroto Mukerjee Memorial All India Open International Rating Chess Tournament is heading for an exciting finish as a pack of seven players are leading the table with eight points after penultimate round matches.
Overnight leader, International Master (IM) Himanshu Sharma tried hard to find a winning combination on the top board against Sudhir Kumar Sinha, but after a marathon 125 moves, he had to be satisfied with half a point.
Playing safe, other leaders IM P Konguvel and Rahul Sangma signed the peace treaty after 29 moves.
These two top board results helped J Venkata Ramana, D P Singh and Akash Thakur to catch up with the leaders with outright wins against their rivals B S Shivananda, Anup Deshkukh and G B Joshi respectively.

'No cash' in cash-rich IPL
LONDON, Apr 17 (UNI): Federation of International Cricketers'Association (FICA) chief executive, Tim May has warned thatplayers, who were auctioned in the Indian Premier League (IPL),can walk away from their contracts as some of them had stillnot been paid.
"There is a worry that some players have not been paid nor received their signed copies of contracts," May said.
"We need to get a good feel on how widespread it is. If it has just alienated a couple of players I'm sure the thing can be worked out reasonably sensibly.
"With the start of the tournament on April 18 there may be a significant amount of players and their managers who, if obligations from the employer have not been honoured at this stage, and they have taken the proper procedures to recover these obligations might want to walk away from the contract or not take part in the game," he added.
Most players expected to receive 15 per cent of their auction fee on April 1 but it is thought that at least two Australian players have yet to be paid the first instalment.
Rick Olarenshaw, the agent of David Hussey, one of the players still waiting their remuneration, has criticised the amount of bureaucracy involved.
"It's been an absolute nightmare in terms of the paperwork required to get the players there," he said.
"I don't think it's anything sinister. We're expecting to have all the paperwork done and Huss will be ready to play," he added.

U-13 time to learn, not to play 20-20: Azad
CHANDIGARH, Apr 17 (UNI): Cricket Droncharya Desh Prem Azad suggested that the Twenty-20 version of cricket should be for senior players only and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) should trust and promote "our own coaches" instead of depending on foreign trainers.
Talking on the slam bang version of cricket, Azad, who has trained the legendary Kapil Dev Nikhanj, Ashok Malhotra, Chetan Sharma and Yog Raj Singh and scores of other international cricketers, said "By organising under-13 20-20 cricket tournaments, the organisers are playing with the lives of young and budding cricketers."
Advocating that the 20-20 format should be left to the senior cricketers who have passed through all phases of training and competitions, Azad, who runs a cricket academy in the city said, "If at the age of under-13 years, a young cricketer is introduced to 20-20, his life will be ruined. This move is to throttle them young instead of catching them young."
"I wonder when I read that a boy of the age of u-13 years hitting a six. At this tender age, he is just learning the basics. Consequently, only an experienced player over the age of 13 years can lift the bowler over the rope," said the seasoned cricket coach.
"If an under-13 boy starts playing 20-20 when will he learn the basics of batting, bowling and fielding?"
"However, the format is fine for the seniors who have played through the stages of under-15, under-17, under-19, under-22, Ranji Trophy, Duleep Trophy and other domestic cricket, Tests and One-Day Internationals. They gain experience and their basics and fundamentals become sound as they move from one phase to other."
Strongly advocating that a beginner requires longer version of competition instead of 20-20 or 30-30, he said, "It should not be less then 50 overs a side match."
He has requested the authorities, including the BCCI, to take appropriate steps so that no organisation can exploit the "cricket kids".
Another area of concern, Azad said was the dependence on the foreign coaches. "For how long we will depend on them?" questions Azad.
"The Indian coaches do not have to prove their talent and ability to the authorities. We have produced world beaters. India has won the World Cup 20-20 with the Indian coach. Cricket greats namely Kapil Dev (coach, DP Azad), Sunil Gavaskar (coach, Madhav Mantri), Sachin Tendulkar (coach, Achrekar) and Rahul Dravid (coach, Keki Tarapur) are all products of the Indian coaches' hard work."
"Despite these merits, if the authorities think the Indian trainers have shortcomings, a foreign coach could be invited to coach the Indian coaches at the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore," said Azad, who is known for his on-and-off the field discipline and coaching abilities.

Gill urges hike in sports scholarship
NEW DELHI, Apr 17 (UNI) :With a view to encreasing the standard ofsports in India, Union Sports Minister M S Gill today demandedan increase in the scholarship money given to children who excellin various games.
"Overall we have around 21 crore children and a little less than 10,000 scholarships which is very nominal. There is a need to expand all these with the support of Prime Minister and Finance Minister," Gill said.
The minister, who was replying to questions in the Rajya Sabha, gave details about the scholarship money which ranges between Rs 6,600 per annum to 18,000 per annum.
"It is a pittance. It embarrasses me and should embarrass the country. We will look into it," he added.

Knight Riders sharpen swords
to take on Challengers in IPL opener
BANGALORE, Apr 17 (UNI):The cash-rich, extravagant Indian Premier League (IPL) rpt Premier, that has taken the world of cricket by storm, will kick off here tomorrow with a 'Royal' battle between Kolkata's Knights and Challengers, Bangalore in the inaugural Twenty-20 competition at the M Chinnaswamy stadium here.
The two teams led by former Indian captains Saurav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid, respectiely, may not be flamboyant but are 'classy' as the two rivals put it.
Dravid said Bangalore not able to 'bag' young flamboyant players like M S Dhoni or its own Robin Uthappa in the much hyped auction, will not hurt the team as the seasoned campaigners were capable of taking the team to the top.
Kolkata too may not have the 'slam bangers' in the T20 mould, but has a solid batting line up in Australian captain Ricky Ponting, West Indian captain Chris Gayle, keeper batsmen Brendon McCullum from New Zealand and Indian speed spearhead Ishant Sharma.
The local team face injury threat as ace leg spinner and India's Test captain Anil Kumble is not likely to play tomorrow due to the persisting groin injury while Zaheer Khan will have to prove his fitness before tomorrow night's match.
For Kolkata, it is a problem of a different kind as tearaway Pakistani Shoaib Akthar is now a non starter in the tournament, following the five-year ban slapped by PCB.
But Royal Challengers, owned by liquor baron Vijay Mallya can boast of a fine blend of youth and experience with South African Jacques Kallis, the most dependable all rounder, hard hitting wicket keeper batsmen Mark Boucher, West Indian Shivnarien Chanderpaul and Pakistani Misbah-ul-Haque, all batsmen in the classic mould.
It's aggressive youth brigade would be in India Under-19 world cup winning captain Virat Kohli and India's recent one-day hero downunder Praveenkumar Singh.
It's bowling looks much better than that of the Kolkatans with tearaway fast bowler Dale Steyn of South Africa, who had demolished India in the second Test recently leading the attack and the Australian left arm medium pacer Nathan Bracken.
But the notable player in the local team will be Aussie Camaron White who has played highest number of first class T20 and holds the highest score of unbeaten 141 in the English league. The young Victorian will be the one to watch for in Challengers middle order.
The M Chinnaswamy Stadium has been given a facelift for the IPL opener. The stadium has been painted with Red and Yellow, the official colour of Royal Challengers and also that of the Kannada flag.
Though organisers were tight lipped over the sale of tickets, it is understood that the sale was brisk and most of the buyers were from Corporate sector.
With cultural programmes arranged one hour before the inauguration, there are many surprises in store for the spectators.
For the Bollywood super star Shahrukh Khan owned Kolkata team though the batting looks quite formidable, the bowling could be worrisome in the absence of Shoaib Akthar. It will now be spearheaded by Delhi speedster Ishant Sharma with Ajit Agarkar and left arm spinner Murali Kartik.
But how successful will the first edition of the league, being launched by the BCCI to take on its predecessor Indian Cricket League (ICL) promoted by Essel Group's, media baron Subash Chandra, be remains to be seen.
Thousands of crores had been ploughed in by the franchise teams and other stake holders. But even before it started, the League face several hassels and a threat of media boycott with the Editors Guild strongly protesting against the restrictions on the media.
Thankfully for the promoters, the air seems to have been cleared after prolonged negotiations.
The match will begin at 2030 hrs, the organisers said.
The teams(from):
Royal Challengers Bangalore: Rahul Dravid (Capt), Jacques Kallis, Zaheer Khan, Wasim Jaffer, Praveenkumar Singh, Mark Boucher (WK), Dale Steyn, Nathan Bracken, Misbah-ul-Haq, Virat Kohli, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Ross Taylor, Sunil Joshi, J Arun Kumar, Cameron White, Shreevats Goswami and Abdul Razzak.
Kolkata Knight Riders: Saurav Ganguly (Capt), Ricky Ponting, Brendon McCullum (WK), Chris Gayle, David Hussey, Mohammaed Hafiz, Laxmi Ratan Shukla, Wriddhiman Saha, Ajit Agarkar, Ashok Dinda, Murali Kartik, Ishant Sharma, Debabrata Das and Iqbal Abdullah.

Arunachal to implement sports policy
ITANAGAR, Apr 17 (UNI): The Arunachal Pradesh government is considering the implementation of a sports policy to encourage the players representing the state at various national and international events.
Arunachal Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu assured the Sports Association Arunachal (SSA) to provide more funds to facilitate sports activities in the state.
A committee would be formed with the Sports and Youth Affairs, Panchayati Raj and Education Ministers to oversee the smooth functioning of the forthcoming club national games in the state, official sources said.
The Chief Minister gave the assurance in response to the memorandum submitted by the Arunachal Olympic Association (AOA) yesterday, urging the state government to draft and adopt a sports policy.
The AOA urged the Chief Minister to provide five per cent reservation in government jobs for talented sportspersons.
It further urged that the government formulate a policy whereby selected students would be granted leave from their respective institutions to participate in important sports events.
It also urged that seven to 15 per cent grace marks be provided to students who represent the state in various games and sports events.
The AOA pointed out that though the state government had a policy of providing incentives to sportspersons excelling in national and international events, it was not being put into practice for the past few years.
Advocating for sports infrastructure development in the state, the association suggested that the government draft something on the lines of national draft sports policy to be tabled in the next Parliamentary session.
It stated that the youth affairs directorate should be allowed to concentrate on sports and youth affairs and suggested creating posts of district assistant sports officers and coaches.
The delegation also demanded a yearly grant of Rs five to eight lakh for the AOA and funds for district sports offices and organisations working for development of sports in the state, the sources added.