Gurdeep Rana stars in RLCR win

CHANDIGARH, DEC 31
An all-round performance by Gurdeep Rana (65, 3 for 17) enabled RLCR XI to defeat AZZARO XI by 22 runs in the league match of the second TR Mittal memorial cricket tournament, organized by Chandigarh Sports Club at Government Model Senior Secondary School ground in Sector 32 here today.
RLCR XI won the toss and opted to bat first. But the decision seemed to have backfired as the team lost its first two wickets at a score of just 8 runs in the second over itself. 2 more wickets fell subsequently and the team was struggling at 16 for 4 in 4.1 overs. But then the pair of Vipin Sharma (39) and Gurdeep Rana(65) took control and put up a fifth wicket partnership of 77 runs. The team finally put up a respectable total of 167 runs before getting all out. Manpreet Tinku chipped in with 22 runs to help his team. Pardeep Chibber showed a good bowling performance as he picked up 4 wickets giving away 17 runs in his 5 overs.

In reply, AZZARO XI started well with the first wicket partnership of 58 runs but they could not keep up with the required run rate and ended the innings 22 runs short of the target. Gurdeep Rana again performed well as he bowled both the openers to claim his 2 wickets in the innings.
Brief scores:
RLCR XI : -167 all out in 23 overs(Gurdep Rana 65, Vipin Sharma 39 Manpreet Tinku 22, Pardeep Chibber 4 for 17, Kapil Puri 3 for 31, Gourav Dhir 2 for 28).
AZZARO XI : - 145 for 8 in 25 overs (Gourav Dhir 30, Arvind Jindal 29, Rajeev Arora 23, Gurdeep Rana 2 for 17, Kirpal 2 for 32, Bipin Rana 2 for 3).
In another nail biting encounter of the day Pace-32 and Royal CC ended the match in a tie as the batsmen of both the teams could not put up a good show while the bowlers flourished. Both the teams were bowled out for 106 runs.
Brief scores: Pace -32 : 106 all out in 21.2 overs (Sahil Kapoor 25, Charanamrit 11, Aman11, Aman Kumar 3 for 13, Vimal Tinkoo 2 for 12, Suresh for 21).
Royal CC: 106 all out in 22 overs (Shiv Kumar 16, Vimal Tinkoo 14, Vinod Sharma 13, Sahil 2 for 21, Vipan Bhatia 2 for 14, Amanpreet 1 for 11).

Sandeep hat-tricks but Ravi scores winner for Dynamos

Sandeep Singh who performed three-in-a-row feat as Chandigarh Dynamos beat Chennai Veerans by 4-3 with an extra time silver goal scored by Ravi Pal Singh in the Premier Hockey League in Chandigarh on Monday.

Chandigarh Dynamos striker Olympian Deepak Thakur being challenged by Chennai Veerans goalkeeper Sreejesh and defender.

Balbir Singh
CHANDIGARH, Dec 31
Drag flick exponent Sandeep Singh became the first player to perform three-in-a-row feat as title contenders Chandigarh Dynamos struggled to overcome a stiff resistance from bottom-ranked Chennai Veerans by 4--3 by an extra time silver goal scored by Ravi Pal Singh in the IV Premier Hockey League being conducted at the Sector 42 Hockey Stadium here on Monday. The teams shared six goals in the regulation period.
Captain Adam Sinclair (15th and 34th minutes) and Raghunath (51st, penalty corner) were the scorers for Chennai Veerans. Drag flicker expert Sandeep Singh (24th, 44th, 60th penalty corners) scored all three goals for Dynamos in the regulation period. As the match was extened to extra time for a silver goal, Ravi Pal Singh struck the match-winners in the 76th minute.
By gaining two points from this match, Dynamos and Bangalore Hi-Fliers were tied for the top place in the standings after conclusion of 18th match, with 14 points apiece. However, on the basis of goal difference Dynamos (plus 4) pushed Bangalore Hi-Fliers (plus 3) to the second position. Both teams have qualified for the semi-finals.
Orissa Steelers (8 pts), Maratha Warriors (7), Hyderabad Sultans (5) and Sher-e-Jalandhar (5) are in the line to fill up the remaining two semi-final spots. Chennai Veerans secured their first points today as they extended Chandigarh Dynamos to extra time.
Chennai Veerans today put up a stubborn display that provided exciting moments for a sizeable crowd which thronged the Stadium on New Year's eve. Chandigarh Dynamos were taken aback by the new-found energy of their rivals as they huffed and puffed to remain in the match and thanks to Sandeep Singh, their drag-flick specialist, who converted three of the five short corners and stretched the match into extra-time for silver goal.
In the 76 th minute, a move initiated by Ghazanfar Ali in the midfield saw Sukhvir Singh Gill put Deepak Thakur in possession in the circle. Olympian Deepak took a shot from the right of the circle but Chennai goalie Sreejesh blocked it. The rebound went to Ravi Pal Singh at the top of the circle and the latter sent a fierce reverse-stick shot to slot the match-winning silver goal.
It was Chennai Veerans who took the lead in the 15th minute through a brilliant field goal scored by skipper Adam Sinclair. who took two defenders in his stride before sending a through pass to Mahendra Singh who from a zero angle scooped the ball into goalmouth and Adam Sinclair lunged forward to tap the ball home.
Chandigarh Dynamos restored parity earning the first of their five short corners and drag-flick specialist Sandeep Singh was bang on the target scoring a waist-high goal to the left of Chennai goalkeeper Sreejesh (1-1).
In the 34 th minute, Chennai Veerans forged ahead once again with their forwards Raja and Suresh working like a well-oiled machine. The move culminated into a goal with Adam Sinclair scoring with a good drive.
Chandigarh Dynamos drew level once again in the 44th minute. From the second short corner, Sandeep Singh converting it with ease.
Chennai mounted pressure and earned three short corners in the space four minutes. Raghunath sending a power-packed drag flick to the roof of the net that gave no chance to the rival goalkeeper. (3-2)
Chandigarh Dynamos equalized once again and kept themselves in the race earning the fifth and last of their short corners and Sandeep Singh was once again among the goals, scoring the first hat-trick of the fourth edition. His low flick lacked the power but was deceptive enough to hit the boards to the goalkeeper's left.
Sandeep Singh was declared man of the match award for his hat-trick.

Punjab and Haryana Court lift trophy

CHANDIGARH, Dec 31
A splendid all-round performance by Sandeep Moudgil (46 not out and 2 for 25) and valuable unbeaten 39 by Premjeet Singh Hundal enabled Punjab and Haryana High Court to lift the All-India Inter-High Court Advocates Cricket Championship defeating Madhya Pradesh by seven wickets played in Mysore today, according to information received here.
Earlier, Madhya Pradesh skipper Sanjay Tiwari won the toss and decided to bat in a 30 overs final match. Hemant Bassi scalped Raghunandan on the last delivery of the opening over as he got him caught by Navdeep Singh at mid-off while the batsman was trying to play over the infield 30 yards circle.
From the other end Harit Sharma with his sheer pace uprooted middle stump of Digesh and Madhya Pradesh were reeling at 3 for 2 after first two overs. Thereafter Punjab and Haryana High Court tightened up the things and reduced Madhya Pradesh 65 for 6 at the first drink break after 15 overs.
Harit Sharma was instrumental in claiming 3 wickets for 18 runs. Captain Sandeep Moudgil captured 2 for 25. After completion of spell from medium pacers, M.P. batsmen sighed relief on introduction dual spin attack and Deepak Tiwari (49) and Sanjay Tiwari (25) steadied the sinking ship before Sanjeev Trikha (3 for 25) polished of the tail. MP were bundled out for 158.
In reply Punjab & Haryana too lost opener Vineet Soni cheaply and S.S. Sidhu also could not stay for long. Amit was the bowler for Madhya Pradesh to give initial hic-ups who accounted for both the wickets for 23 runs. At this stage scoreboard read 17 for 2 after 4 overs. Sanjeev Trikha and Premjeet Singh Hundal resisted the aggression for a while and kept the scoreboard ticking. Both were involved in a 58-run partnership before Trikha perished to a flighted delivery from Sanjay while attempting to clear the long on fence. The scoreboard read 75 for 3. At this stage Sandeep Moudgil and Premjeet Singh Hundal took charge of the proceedings. They were associated in an unbeaten 84-run partnership. Sandeep Moudgil was declared Man of the Match whereas Premjeet Singh Hundal received Man of the Series award. Raghunandan of Andhra Pradesh High Court got the best bowler's award and Sanjeev Trikha bagged the best all-rounder award.
Brief scores: Madhya Pradesh High Court: 158 all out in 30 overs (
Deepak Tiwari 49, Sanjay 25, Harit Sharma 3 for 25, Sandeep Moudgil 2 for 25, Sanjeev Trikha 3 for 25).
Punjab & Haryana High Court: 159 for 3 in 26.5 overs (Sanjeev Trikha 36, P.S. Hundal 39 n.o. Sandeep Moudgil 46 n.o., Amit 2 for 23).

Dynamos join Bangalore in semis

Maratha Warriors captain Viren Rasquinha trying to dispossess Chandigarh Dynamos forward Deepak Thakur in the Premier Hockey League in Chandigarh on Sunday.

Balbir Singh
CHANDIGARH, DEC 30
With just four matches remaining in the seven-team league phase, former champions Bangalore Hi-Fliers and strong contenders Chandigarh Dynamos have qualified for the semi-finals in the fourth edition of the Premier Hockey League being played at the Sector 42 Hockey Stadium here today.
Till today 17 matches have been played and Bangalore Hi-Fliers climbed to the top of the table with 14 points after finishing their league programme with four outright victories and one in shoot-out session and one defeat. Two more semi-finalists would be spotted during the next four four days.
Defending champions Orissa Steelers (8 points), Maratha Warriors (7 pts), Sher-e-Jalandhar and Hyderabad Sultans (five points each) are fighting for the remaining two semi-final berths. Maratha Warriros have to beat Hyderabad Sultans in their last league match on January 2 if they want to qualify. Bottom placed Chennai Veerans are out of the race though they have two more matches in their hands. Sultans also have to play two more matches before picture becomes clear. Shers have only to play Orissa Steelers in their last match.

In today’s matches, Bangalore Hi-Fliers prevailed over Sher-E-Jalandhar by 2-1 and later Chandigarh Dynamos scored a hard-fought 1-0 triumph. Sher Singh converted a pass from Rajpal Singh from the left in the 26th minute for the lone goal of the match.
Maratha Warriors were awarded four penalty corners but failed to convert any.
Their Dutch import Looijem Melchior, who took the flicks, was foiled by the first runner during his first attempt and the second was sticked away by a diving Dynamos custodian Baljit Singh. From the third short corner, Warriors saw a bad stop but Ajmer Singh recovered and gave a short pass to Dhananjay Mahadik. But again goalkeeper Baljit blocked his shot. The rebound came back to Looijem on the right but the Dutch player's shot flew over the bar.
In the 56th minute, Warriors had a golden chance to equalise but a superb goalline save by Ravipal saved the blushes for Dynamos. Gurbaj Singh and Rehan Butt combined well on the left flank and Rehan darted into the circle before sending a pass to Dhananjay in the middle. The Warriors' player took a crack at the goal and beat goalkeeper Baljit Singh but Ravipal saved it on the goalline and cleared it to safety.
Chandigarh Dynamos captain Rajpal Singh was adjudged Man of the Match.

Bangalore Hi-Fliers tame Shers to confirm their semi-final spot in PHL

Sher-E-Jalandhar captain Kanwalpreet Singh checking Bangalore Hi-Fliers Hari Parsad in the Premier Hockey League in Chandigarh on Sunday.

Gurvinder Singh of Shers and You Hyo Sik of Bangalore Hi-Fliers trying to get the better of each other.

Balbir Singh
CHANDIGARH, Dec 30
With a 2-1 verdict against runners-up Sher-E-Jalandhar, former champions Bangalore Hi-Fliers confirmed their entry into the semi-final of the IV Premier Hockey League being conducted at the Sector 42 Hockey Stadium here on Sunday. Watched by a goodly holiday crowd Bangalore Hi-Fliers completed their league proramme with 14 points. Out of six outings, Bangalore Hi-Fliers won four in regulation period and one in tie-breaker. They suffered their solitary defeat at the hands of Maratha Warriors.
Shers are now struggling for survival and their only hope of qualifying for knockout semi-final is that they have to beat defending champions (eight points) by more than seven goals margin on January 3. It will be a Herculean task to achieve this margin but not an impossible one. Shers have just five points from as many matches. Steelers have a plus three goal advantage as Shers have minus three-goal difference.
Chandigarh Dynamos (9 pts), Orissa Steelers and Maratha Warriors (7) are the strong favourites for the remaining three semi-final spots.
Shers and Bangalore Hi-Fliers were evenly matched and the first half ended in a goalless draw. However, soon after minutes after crossing over, Bangalore Hi-Fliers earned two penalty corners in quick succession. After wasting a penalty cornr In the 47 th minute which, however, led to another, Bangalore Hi-Fliers converted in the 48th minute with drag flicker Len Aiyappa sent a low flick to the right of Salman Akbar of Pakistan guarding the Shers goal.

Thereafter, both the teams switched up gears and enlivened the proceedings. Shers too showed more urgency in their moves but failed to penetrate into the circle. Bangalore Hi-Fliers custodian Bharat Chetri foiled Sarvanjit Singh in the 52 nd minute and then blocked Shers' fourth and last set-piece drill in the 58th minute saving Kanwalpreet Singh's flick and finally Len cleared it.
But Shers tried desperately for the equalizer even as Bangalore midfielders fell back to assist the defence. Arjun Halappa played a good game in the midfield assisting in the front as an attacking midfielder and falling back to support the defence and to cut the rival raids.
Bangalore doubled their margin in the 67th minute. Captain Tushar Khandekar fed Bangalore's Korean forward You Hyo-Sik set the ball for teammate Sebastian on the top of the circle and moved into the goalmouth. Sebastian dribbled pased a couple of defenders before sending a minus into the goalmouth for Hyo-sik to do the rest.
Desperate Shers struck their lone goal one minute before end when Gurvinder Singh deflected home off a long diagonal cross into the circle from the left. Bangalore Hi=Fliers Arjun Halappa was declared the man of the match.

Steelers revive their hopes for semi-final berth

Orissa Steelers forward Shakeel Abassi of Pakistan about to score as Warriros goalkeeper Adrian D'Souza makes an abortive attempt in the Premier Hockey League in Chandigarh on Saturday.
This incident led to showing of yellow card to Shivender Singh (right) and Kim Chul in the 47th minute of the match between Orissa Steelers and Maratha Warriors.

Balbir Singh
CHANDIGARH, Dec 29
Holders revived their chances to qualify for the semi-finals of the fourth Premier Hockey League as they snatched full three points from Maratha Warriors whom they snubbed by 4-2 in an absorbing encounter at the floodlit Sector 42 Hockey Stadium here on Saturday night. With eight points Steelers led by former India captain Dilip Tirkey, were at the third place behind leaders Bangalore Hi-Fliers (11 pts) and strong contenders Chandigarh Dynamos (9). At the end of 15th match on Saturday, Maratha Warriors were at the fourth position with seven points. Hyderabad Sultans and Sher-E-Jalandhar were tied at fifth with five points each. Chennai Veerans were at the bottom without any points in the seven-team league phase programme.
Roshan Minz (7th), Pakisan's Shakeel Abassi (50th, 58th) and Damandeep (59th) were the winners' scorers. Looijem Melchior of Dutch converted penalty corners in the 57th and 62nd minutes to reduce the margin for Maratha Warriors and made an interesting affair.
Orissa Steelers today played an aggressive game. Their Pakistan forward Shakeel Abbasi was at his brilliant best throughout the match. With Prabodh Tirkey, Sunil Ekka and Ignace Tirkey playing their hearts out, Orissa Steelers dominated the proceedings. Shakeel who scored two brilliant field goals was declared man of the match.
Orissa Steelers forged ahead in the seventh minute. Sunil Ekka sent a stinging cross into the circle and the ball delfected off a defender stick before Roshan Minz managed to gain hold at the top of the circle wasted no time and took a rasping drive into the boards to put Orissa in the lead.
Maratha Warriors goalkeeper Adrian D'Souza made a brilliant save in the 25 th minute off a shot by Abbasi after Damandeep initiated a raid. Later in the third quarter, Adrian foiled Abbasi in the 40th minute and Eliazer Lakra in the 44th minute. Maratha Warriors' Shivender Singh was prominent in the attack but failed to get any support from his midfield. Pakistani Rehan Butt was not allowed enough space by the Orissa Stelers defence.
Orissa Steelers increased the lead in the 50th minute. Sunil Ekka sent a zooming shot into the circle from the left midfield and Shakeel Abbasi wriggled out of his marker Ajmer Singh and stretched his stick to make a brilliant deflection into the goal. (2-0).
However, Warriors earned the first of their three penalty corners and pulled one back in the 57th minute. Warriors' Dutch import Looijem Melchior sending his low drag flick to the boards. But Warriors plans of a comeback were thwarted immediately as Orissa Steelers struck two goals in the space of two minutes.
In the 58th minute, Shakeel Abbasi, put in by Ignace Tirkey, found the target to make it 3-1. With the defence out of place and only goalkeeper to beat, Abbasi caught goalie Adrian on the wrong foot and tapped through his legs.
In the very next minute, Orissa Steelers made it 4-1 with Ignace once again feeding the ball to Shakeel Abbasi. This time Shakeel cut into the circle and dribbled ahead but with the custodian rushing out he gave a back pass into the goalmouth and Damandeep Singh knocked into the open goal.
Warriors scored their second goal in the 62nd minute with Looijem scoring again with his waist-high drag flick from the second short corner.
Shivender Singh of Maratha Warriors and Kim Chul of Orissa Steelers were given yellow card in the 47th minute for pushing each other.

Avik and Anushree win TT titles

CHANDIGARH, DEC 29
Avik Das of North Bengal and Anushree Hazra of West Bengal won the sub-junior boys and sub-junior girls singles titles, respectively in the Velammal 69th Sub Junior National and Inter-State Table Tennis Championships which concluded at J.N.Multipurpose Indoor Stadium, Periamet in Chennai on Saturday.
According to information received here, Avik Das defeeated Sudarshan S of Tamil Nadu 7-11 11-5 15-13 12-10 11-6 in the sub-junior boys singles final. In the sub-junior girls final Anushree Hazra beat Charvi Kawle C of Maharashtrar -A 11-9 12-10 11-8 11-9.
Mr M.V.Muthuramalingam, Chairman, Velammal Education Trust and Mr M.S.Sundararajan, Chairman & Managing Director, Indian Bank jointly distributed the prizes.
Results:
Sub junior boys’ singles (final): Avik Das (NB) bt Sudarshan S (TN) 7-11 11-5 15-13 12-10 11-6. Semi-finals: Sudarshan S (TN) bt Rajib Sarkar (NB) 5-11 11-13 11-5 12-10 8-11 11-9 12-10. Avik Das (NB) bt Devdutta Phadnavis (MHR-A) 12-10 11-7 11-6 11-6.
Sub-junior girls’ singles (final): Anushree Hazra (WB) bt Charvi Kawle C (MHR-A) 11-9 12-10 11-8 11-9. Semi-finals: Anushree Hazra (WB) bt Krithicka S (TN) 8-11 11-8 8-11 11-6 10-12 11-9 12-10. Charvi Kawle C (MHR-A) bt Meghna (CHD) 5-11 11-5 5-11 10-12 11-8 11-9 11-8.

Bangalore Hi-Fliers fly high

Chennai Veerans captain Adam Sinchlair making a clearance against Bangalore Hi-Fliers in the Premier Hockey League in Chandigarh on Saturday.

Balbir Singh
CHANDIGARH, Dec 29
Bangalore Hi-Fliers defeated Chennai Veerans by 4-2 in the IV Premier Hockey League at the Sector 42 Stadium here on Saturday. By securing three points from this match, former champions Bangalore hi-Fliers have virtually assured a place in the semi-final with 11 points from five matches they have played so far. Besides, three outright victories, Bangalore Hi-Fliers have one extra time win and one defeat and at the conclusion of 14th match in the fourth edition of the PHL, were leading the table. Their round of their league engagemens with their last match against Sher-E-Jalandhar tomorrow.
Chennai Veerans are still pointless and were at the bottom after suffering their fourth defeat from as many matches. Their next matchse are against Chandigarh Dynamos and Hyderabad Sultans. They are virtually out of reckoning for a semifinal berth.
Chennai Veerans played an inspiring game and enjoyed an edge in the first two quarters but Bangalore Hi-Fliers bounced back into the game in the second half.
Chennai Veerans forged ahead in the 14th minute, with drag-flick specialist Raghunath converting their solitary penalty corner with a powerful flick. The lead, however short-lived as Bangalore Hi-Fliers restored parity within three minutes scoring a stunning field goal.
In the 17th minute, Arjun Halappa sent a cross into the goalmouth from the right corner of the field and Cheyanna received it and sidestepped defender Vikramjit Singh to send the ball past Chennai custodian Sreejesh.
Bangalore Hi-Fliers increased their lead in the 40 th minute. They forced their fiirst of their three short corners in the 40th minute. Len Aiyappa's drag flick beat an outstretched Sreejesh in the Chennai goal but the goal-bound ball hit the shoulder of Chennai defender Raghunath. Umpire Parnam Singh consulted the TV umpire and confiremed the penalty storke. Len Aiyappa made no mistake by pushing to the right of the goalkeeper. (2-1)
Chennai Veerans kept themselves in the race scoring the equalizer in the 49th minute through a brilliant field goal. Trapping a long pass from Suresh, Adam Sinclair pulled back and tapped into the goal. However, five minutes later Bangalore Hi-Fliers shot ahead once again with brilliant work from their Korean import You Hyo-sik.
In the 56th minute Hyo-sik sent a cross into the circle from the right and Sunil makes an attempt in the goalmouth. But with the ball rolling slowly, Cheyanna darts in from behind the rival goalkeeper and taps in. (3-2)
With Chennai going all out for the equalizer, Bangalore Hi-Fliers increased the margin with a minute to go . In a counter attack from the left flank, Korean Hyo Sik darted into the circle and with Chennai goalie Sreejesh advancing at him, he scooped the ball over his head to Hari Prasad in the goalmouth. Hari controlled the ball in the air and shot home into an open goal.
Cheyanna was awarded the man of the match.

Sandeep stars as Dynamos cage Shers

A jubilant Chandigarh Dynamos Sandeep Singh after converting his first (above) and second (below) penalty corner goals against Sher-E-Jalandhar in the Premier Hockey League in Chandigarh on Friday.

Balbir Singh
CHANDIGARH, Dec 28
Egged on by a strong 10,000 hockey lovers, star-studded Chandigarh Dynamos made a splendid rally through drag-flick specialist Sandeep Singh to help his team snatch a thrilling 2-1 victory over Sher-e-Jalandhar in the 13th match of the IV Premier Hockey League at the floodlit Sector 42 Hockey Stadium here on Friday night. Both played aggressive hockey and kept the spectators spell-bound throughout the match.
The well-earned triumph gave Dynamos three full points and they moved on the top in the points tally with nine points from four matches. Bangalore Hi-Fliers and Maratha Warriors wereat the second and third positions with eight and seven points, respectively.
Chandigarh's next matches are against Maratha Warriors on On December 29 and against Chennai Veerans on December 31. Shers will cross swords Bangalore Hi-Fliers on December 30 and their final league match against Orissa Steelers on January 3, next year. They have to win both matches if they aspire to qualify for semi-finals.
Shers took a first look at the rival goal in the very first minute with Jarnail Singh taking a shy at the goal.
Dynamos goalkeeper padded away Jarnail's shot but soon Jarnail drew the first blood for Shers in the seventh minute. Shers' defender Jugraj Singh initiated a counter attack sending a long ball into the rival 25-year area to put Mandeep Singh in possession. Dynamos' Rajpal Singh tried to clear Mandeep's weak shot but he too fumbled with the clearance and Shers' youngster Gurvinder Chandi gained the ball. Chandi hit touched a defender's stick and went to his teammate Jarnail Singh on the left of the circle. Jarnail dodged past Dynamos defender Sandeep Singh and moved in before sending a power-packed reverse hit into the boards from a narrow angle to beat Dynamos' custodian Baljit Singh.
Shers fell back after the lead and started to crowd the defence even as Dynamos took control of the midfield with their Pakistani import Ghazanfar Ali performing admirably as a centre-half. He was feeding his forwards consistently and controlled the tempo of the game. His good ball distribution helped Dynamos forwards Ravipal Singh and Rajpal Singh combine well with Deepak Thakur and Prabjot Singh. They created many anxious moments in the rival defence but could not beat the crowded defence. Both Thakur and Prabjot were marked tightly and were denied space to play their free-flowing hockey. Realising this, Dynamos fulcrum Ghazanfar Ali fed more balls to Ravipal and Rajpal and the strategy worked as Dynamos earned nine penalty corners in the match.
Dynamos drag flick specialist and former India star Sandeep Singh struggled with his flicks and was unable to launch the power-packed flicks which he is known for. However, from the fifth penalty corner, he sent a waist-high flick to the left of goalkeeper Salman Akbar to post the equalizer in the 52 nd minute.
Shers midfield completely collapsed and they depended more on long hits and fell back in numbers. Though Dilawar Hussain was brilliant in the defence, he got little support from his teammates. Dilawar was also instrumental in making two good clearances off the penalty corner rebounds and once through his dashing run during the set-piece drill.
However, Dynamos' sustained pressure yielded results when Sandeep Singh found the target from the ninth and last penalty corner just three minutes before the hooter.
Inderjit Chadha injected the push and Sukhvir Singh Gill set it up perfectly for Sandeep Singh and for once the drag-flick specialist got his moorings right and sent in a powerful flick to the roof of the net to beat Salman Akbar in Shers' goal.
Dynamos' centre-half Ghazanfar Ali was declared as man of the match for his brilliant midfield play.
Saturday's fixtures: Sher-e-Jallandhar Vs Bangalore Hi-Fliers (1.30 p.m.), Chandigarh Dynamos vs Maratha Warriors (4 p.m.).

Krithicka stuns top seed Mallika

CHANDIGARH, DEC 28
Krithicka of Tamil Nadu shocked top seeded and India No.1 ranked Mallika Bhandarkar of Mahrashtra 'A" in the Sub -Junior Girls’ Singles quarter-final of the Velammal 69th Sub Junior National & Inter-State Table Tennis Championships at J.N.Multipurpose Indoor Stadium, in Periamet, Chennai.
Eighth seed Krithicka having lost first two games, staged a grand rally to gain advantage. She raised her lead to 3-2. Again Mallika, with her skills levelled scores at 3-3. In the decider, Krithicka ran away with some early points and maintained lead right from the beginning. But Mallika’s experience with her international exposure gave hand in coming back to level scores at 9-9. At this instance Krithicka maintained her nerves to keep the ball in play to force Mallika to errors.
Krithicka sealed the game at 11-9 and the match in a seven set thriller by 4-3.
A never-say-die Chandigarh's Meghna who is a student of Sacred Heart, Sector 26, also moved into semi-final with a creditable 11-7 11-6 5-11 12-10 6-11 11-4 verdict over Reeth Risha of Tamil Nadu in quarter-final encounter.
Sudarshan is keeping the hopes of Tamilnadu alive in sub-junior boys. He defeated
Surojit Das of Petroleum Sports Promotion Board Academy, who earlier upset the top seeded Arnab Adhikari of North Bengal in the pre-quarter-final round. Sudarshan except for the third game at 12-10, never gave chance to his opponent and won the match by 4 - 1 games
Results:
Sub junior girls’ singles (Q/Finals): Krithicka S (TN) bt Mallika Bhandarkar (MHR-A) 3-11 6-11 12-10 11-9 11-8 9-11 11-9, Anushree Hazra (WB bt Aashita Jain (DLI) 11-7 11-5 11-3 11-9,
Meghna (CHD) bt Reeth Rishya T (TN) 11-7 11-6 5-11 12-10 6-11 11-4), Charvi Kawle C (MHR-A) bt Manika Batra (DLI) 11-8 11-5 11-5 11-7).
Sub Junior boys’ singles (QFs): Sudarshan S (TN) bt Surojit Das (PSPBA) 11-6 5-11 12-10 11-5 11-6, Rajib Sarkar (NB) bt Abhishek Yadav ([PSPBA) 11-8 13-11 8-11 11-2 11-8, Devdutta Phadnavis (MHR-A) bt Navajyoti Dowera (ASM) 11-5 11-1 6-11 11-7 8-11 11-9, Avik Das (NB) bt Puneeth P (KNT) 9-11 11-5 14-12 9-11 9-11 13-11 11-6.
Cadet girls’ singles (semi-finals): Jagriti Virmani (DLI) bt Anuska Dutta (NB) 6-11 11-6 11-9 9-11 11-7, Oisarja Deb (NB) bt Maitreyee Bailoor (KNT) 1-5 6-11 11-2 11-7).
Cadet boys singles (semi-finals): Suvendu Shaw (WB) bt Sandip Pal (WB) 12-10 11-5 10-12 11-13 12-10, Aditya Moitra (WB) bt Sourav Ghosh (WB) 9-11 11-8 11-8 11-4.

Bangalore Hi-Fliers edge past Sultans

Didar Singh of Hyderabad Sultans threw his stick in air after scoring equaliser against Bangalore Hi-Fliers in the Premier Hockey League on Thursday.

Johnson Ekka(right) of Hyderabad Sultans and Cheeeyanna of Bangalore Hi-Fliers trying to get the better of each other in the Premier Hockey League on Thursday.

Balbir Singh
CHANDIGARH, Dec 27 With a hard-fought 2-1 verdict against Hyderabad Sultans, unpretentious Bangalore Hi-Fliers became the sole leaders in the points table with eight points from four matches they have contested so far in the fourth edition of the Premier Hockey League at the Sector 42 Hockey Stadium here on Thursday.
It was a crucial match from both teams as they had an identical position in points table of five points each from one outright win, one defeat and one victory in extra time. Both required win to strengthen their chances to qualify for semi-finals from the seven-team league phase.
Bangalore Hi-Fliers owed their triumph to their team work. But Korean forward You Hyo Sik (23rd), and captain Tushar Khandekar (60th) translated their territorial supremacy, specially in the second half, into goals.
Despite trailing by the first-half goal scored by You Hyo Sik, Hyderabad Sultans fought a brave battle and neutralised the lead in the 46th minute.
Bangalore Hi-Fliers, captained by Tushar Khandekar, thwarted dangerous moves of Hyderbad Sultans. Captain Sardar Singh and Didar Singh gave Bangalore Hi-Fliers a tough time in the initial stages of the game. Bimal Lakra put up a good show to keep the Hyderabad forwards Didar Singh and Sardara Singh at bay.
Bangalore Hi-Fliers drew the first blood in the 23rd minute. A foray from the middle saw Cheyanna sending a pass to Arjun Halappa on the left. Arjun unleashed a powerful shot which Bangalore's Korean import You Hyo-Sik deflected it into the goal with a smooth action.
The team from Bangalore maintained their pressure in the third quarter but Hyderabad Sultans equalised in the 46th minute. A long ball from the midfield by Jasbir Singh entered the circle and Vinay tried to stop it. The ball rose and Didar Singh sneaked in to roll the ball in from a close distance.
Bangalore Hi-Fliers kept up the pressure and snatched the match-winner in the 60 th minute through a nice field goal scored by Tushar Khandekar. Vinay sent an immaculate cross from the right and found Tushar Khandekar in the circle. From the edge of the circle, Tushar stopped the ball and sent a sizzling drive which went like a bullet.
Bangalore Hi-Fliers defended stubbornly to deny Hyderabad Sultans second equaliser.
With this victory, Bangalore Hi-Fliers secured three points and became the leaders in points tally with eight points from four matches. Maratha Warriors are at the second spot with seven points.Chandigarh Dynamos who face Sher-E-Jalandhar tomorrow, were at the third spot with six points. Hyderabad Sultans, Sher-E-Jalandhar and Orissa Steelers were jointly at the fourth spot with five points apice.
Tushar Khandekar was declared man of the match.
Friday's fixture: Chandigarh Dynamos vs Sher-E-Jalandhar (6 p.m.).

North Bengal win two TT trophies

IHF general secretary K Jyothi Kumaran distributing the prizes in the 69th Sub-Junior National and Inter-State Table Tennis Championships at the Jawaharlal Nehru Multipurpose Indoor Stadium in Periamet, Chennai on Wednesday.
CHANDIGARH, DEC 26
North Bengal lifted the cadet girls and sub-junior boys team trophies in the 69th Sub Junior National and Inter-State Table Tennis Championships at the Jawaharlal Nehru Multipurpose Indoor Stadium in Periamet, Chennai on Wednesday.
In the Cadet Girls Team championship final North Bengal defeated Andhra Pradesh 3-1 and in the sub-junior boys team final, they beat P S P B A by 3-1.
P S P B A, however have the consolation of winning the cadet boys team title at the expense of West Bengal whom they beat by 3 - 1 in the final.The Sub Junior Girls Team crown was claimed by Maharashtra "A" who outplayed Delhi by 3-1 in the final.
Indian Hockey Federation general secretary Jyothi Kumaran distributed the prizes.
Results (all finals):
Cadet Boys Team: P S P B A beat West Bengal 3-1 (Abhishek Yadav bt Aditya Moitra 11-3 11-5 11-6, Pankaj Vishwakarma lost to Sourav Ghosh 6-11 3-11 8-11, Abhishek Yadav/Pankaj Vishwakarma bt Aditya Moitra/Sourav Ghosh 11-6 11-3 7-11 11-8, Abhishek Yadav bt Sourav Ghosh 11-6 6-11 11-3 11-5).
Sub Junior Girls Team: Maharashtra-"A" bt Delhi 3-1 (Mallika Bhandarkar bt Aashita Jain 11-3 11-5 11-8,Charvi Kawle C bt Manika Batra 13-11 7-11 11-9 11-3, Mallika Bhandarkar/Charvi Kawle C lost to Aashita Jain/Manika Batra 7-11 9-11 11-7 9-11, Mallika Bhandarkar beat Manika Batra 11-8 11-6 11-5).
Cadet Girls Team: North Bengal bt Andhra Pradesh 3-1 (Anuska Dutta bt Akshi Sancheti 9-11 7-11 13-11 11-8 12-10, Oisarja Deb bt Spoorthy K 11-5 11-8 11-9, Anuska Dutta/Oisarja Deb lost to Akshi Sancheti/Spoorthy K 6-11 10-12 4-11, Anuska Dutta bt Spoorthy K 11-0 11-5 11-8).
Sub Junior Boys Team: North Bengal bt P S P B A 3 - 1 (Arnab Adhikari lost to Vivek Bhargava 11-7 12-10 8-11 10-12 8-11, Avik Das bt Abhishek Yadav 11-5 11-2 11-5, Arnab Adhikari/Avik Das bt Vivek Bhargava/Abhishek Yadav 11-9 8-11 12-10 5-11 11-8, Arnab Adhikari bt Abhishek Yadav 11-2 11-5 11-2).

Orissa Steelers score their first win

A firece goalmouth melee in front of Chennai Veerans' goal as Orissa Steelers win by 3-0 in the Premier Hockey League in Chandigarh on Wednesday.

Orissa Steelers forward Ignace Tirkey trying to get the better of two Chennai Veerapan players.

Balbir Singh
CHANDIGARH, Dec 26
Holders Orissa Steelers registered their first triumph as they outclassed Chennai Veerans by 3-0 in the fourth edition of the Pemier Hockey League at the Sector 42 Hockey Stadium here on Wednesday. They gained three points from this victory, bringing their points to 5 from four matches. They were awarded one point each from their defeat in shootouts. They were beaten by Chandigarh Dynamos by 2-0.
It was Chennai Veerans' third successive defeat and were lying at the bottom in the seven-team round robin league without a point.
Maratha Warriors are leading the table with seven points with Chandigarh Dynamos are occupying second place with six points. Hyderabad Sultans, Sher-e-Jalandhar and Bangalore Hi-Fliers are sharing the third position with defending champions Orissa Steelers who are led by former India captain Dilip Tirkey.
Orissa Steelers played an attacking game right from the beginning with Roshan Minz, Ignace Tirkey, Sunil Ekka and Damandeep Singh combining well in the attacking line.
Birendra Lakra and Prabodh Tirkey controlliexceleld in the midfield. Man of the match William Xalxo gave an outstanding display in the defence.
In the second quarter. Roshan Minz had good but abortive try at the Chennai Veerans goal. Pakistan forward Shakeel Abbasi made a good effort to deflect a long ball from captain Dilip Tirkey, but missed the target by a narrow margin. The Chennai Veerans goal fell in the 26 th minute. Prabodh Tirkey fed Eliazer Lakra near the circle. Eliazer's reverse shot from top of the dee kissed rival goalkeeper Sreejesh's left glove before entering into in the net. (1-0)
Two goals in as many minutes drubbed Chennai Veerans. In the 41st minute, Birendra Lakra dashed and took a shot from the edge of the circle. Veerans goalkeeper Sreejesh blocked it. The ball travelled to. Sunil Ekka whotapped in to make it 2-0.
In the very next minute, Orissa Steelers struck again making it 3-0. Roshan Minz sent a pass to Joga Singh on the right goalline. The Steelers forward unleashed a sizzling shot into the goal from a difficult angle. The ball went in via goalkeeper Sreejesh's pads.
William Xalxo was declared man of the match.
Tomorrow's fixture: Hyderabad Sultans vs Bangalore Fliers.

Maharashtra A stop winning spree of Chandigarh sub-junior girls

Maharashtra A stop winning spree of Chandigarh
Chandigarh, Dec 26
Maharashtra A ended the winning spree of Chandigarh by beating them with a 3-1 margin in the sub-junior girls team championship semi-final in the 69th Sub Junior National & Inter State Table Tennis Championships at the Jawaharlal Nehru Multipurpose Indoor Stadium in Periamet, Chennai on Wednesday.
Chandigarh, who made their maiden appearance in the semi-final by toppling top seed North Bengal by 3-2 in the pre-quarter-final round, today could win one game through Meghana who defeated Charvi Kawla C by 9-11, 12-10, 11-3, 11-5 in the opening singles. However, Maharashtra A won the remaining three matches to move into final where they will now challenge Delhi who defeated West Bengal by 3-2.
Results:
Sub Junior Girls Team (semi-finals): Maharashtra-"A" bt Chandigarh 3-1 (Charvi Kawle C lost to Meghna 11-9 10-12 3-11 5-11, Mallika Bhandarkar bt Naina Suri 11-2 11-2 11-6, Mallika Bhandarkar/Charvi Kawle C bt Naina Suri/Kalyani 11-4 11-6 9-11 11-8, Mallika Bhandarkar bt Meghna 11-8 11-5 11-7).
Delhi bt West Bengal 3-2 (Aashita Jain lost to Anushree Hazra 4-11 7-11 8-11, Manika Batra lost to Priyanka Saha 12-10 7-11 9-11 11-9 11-13, Aashita Jain/Manika Batra bt Anushree Hazra/Camelia Sil 9-11 11-6 10-12 11-5 11-8, Manika Batra bt Anushree Hazra 6-11 11-8 11-8 11-8, Aashita Jain bt Priyanka Saha 8-11 16-14 11-9 14-12).
Cadet Girls Team (semi-finals): Andhra Pradesh bt Tamilnadu 3 - 0 (Akshi Sancheti bt Amrutha Pushpak 11-8 11-5 11-8, Spoorthy K bt Yukti Roshini 11-7 8-11 9-11 11-8 11-7, Akshi Sancheti/Spoorthy K bt Yukti Roshini/Amrutha Pushpak 11-7 2-11 11-9).
North Bengal bt Kerala 3 - 0 (Anuska Dutta bt Serha Jacob 11-8 11-8 11-2, Oisarja Deb bt Maria Rony 13-11 12-10 11-5, Anuska Dutta/Oisarja Deb bt Serha Jacob/Maria Rony 11-5 11-6 10-12 11-8).
P S P B A bt Delhi 3-1 (Abhishek Yadav bt Sabhay Virmani 11-7 11-4 11-7, Pankaj Vishwakarma lost to Utkarsh Gupta 11-7 7-11 7-11 7-11, Abhishek Yadav/Pankaj Vishwakarma bt Sabhay Virmani/Utkarsh Gupta 13-11 11-4 11-6, Abhishek Yadav bt Utkarsh Gupta 7-11 12-10 11-9 11-8).
Cadet boys Team (semi-finals): West Bengal bt Karnataka 3-1 (Suvendu Shaw lost to Shreyas M 8-11 11-5 14-12 8-11 7-11, Sourav Ghosh bt Vedanth M Urs 11-5 12-10 14-12, Sourav Ghosh/Aditya Moitra bt Shreyas M/Harshith R 8-11 7-11 11-7 11-8 11-5, Sourav Ghosh bt Shreyas M 11-6 11-7 11-3).
Sub Junior Boys Team (semi-finals): P S P B A bt Delhi 3 - 0 (Abhishek Yadav bt Akshit Dhall 11-8 2-11 6-11 12-10 11-7, Sandeepan Roy bt Abhishek Jaggi 9-11 11-6 11-8 11-7, Abhishek Yadav/Vivek Bhargava bt Utkarsh Gupta/Harshit Joon 11-9 11-2 11-4).
North Bengal bt Tamilnadu 3-0 (Arnab Adhikari bt Sameera Kumar D 11-7 4-11 11-9 11-5, Avik Das bt Sudarshan S 11-7 6-11 11-5 11-6, Arnab Adhikari/Avik Das bt Sameera Kumar D/Sudarshan S 11-4 11-8 11-8).

Chandigarh stun top seed North Bengal

CHANDIGARH, DEC 25
Chandigarh pulled off a biggest upset as they topped top seed North Bengal by 3-2 in the sub-junior girls quarter-final of the 69th Sub Junior National & Inter State Table Tennis Championships at the Jawaharlal Nehru Multipurpose Indoor Stadium in Periamet, Chennai on Tuesday.
Meghna and Naina Suri were responsible for steering Chandigarh into the sem-final. Chandigarh beagn on a losing note as Naina Suri was beaten by Shymoli Sarkar 2-3. Meghna, playing a consistent game defeated Anuska Dutta 3-0 to neutralise the lead. North Bengal again forged ahead as Chandigarh pair of Naini Suri and Meghna lost to Payal Mitera and Shymoli Sarkar by 0-3.However, Meghna bat Shymoli Sarkar by 3-0 for a 2-2 score. Naina Suri recorded a hard-fought 3-2 win over Anuska Dutta to clinch the issue in her team's favour.
Expressing happiness over Chandigarh girls performance, Chandigarh Table Tennis Association secretary Patanjli Kumar said "It is creditable on the part Chandigarh sub-junior girls team for entering the semi-final for the first time in Chandigarh's table tennis history. Toppling top seed Noth Bengal, must give the Chandigarh table tennis a big boost."
Karnataka cadet boys put up a brave fight against higher ranked opponent North Bengal and won the cade boys team q/finals in straight games 3-0.
Results:
Sub Jr Girls Team (Quarter Finals)
Chandigarh bt North Bengal 3-2 (Naina Suri lost to Shymoli Sarkar 4-11 12-10 3-11 13-11 6-11, Meghna bt Anuska Dutta 11-4 11-5 11-2,Naina Suri/Meghna lost to Payal Mitra/Shymoli Sarkar 11-13 9-11 6-11,Meghna bt Shymoli Sarkar 11-6 11-4 11-7, Naina Suri bt Anuska Dutta 11-9 4-11 9-11 14-12 11-2).
Maharashtra "A" bt Uttar Pradesh 3-0. Delhi bt Tamilnadu 3-0. West Bengal bt Rajasthan 3-2.
Cadet Boys Team (Quarter-Finals):
Karnataka bt North Bengal 3-0.
P S P B A bt Punjab 3 - 0 (Abhishek Yadav Beat Kushal 11-1 11-8 11-4, Pankaj Vishwakarma Beat Rohan 11-8 13-11 12-10, Pankaj Vishwakarma/Abhishek Yadav Beat Rohan/Rupam 11-7 11-4 11-4).
Delhi bt Tamilnadu 3-1.West Bengal bt Maharashtra "A" 3-1.
Sub Junior Boys' Team (Quarter-Finals)
P S P B A bt West Bengal 3-0.
North Bengal bt Maharashtra "A" 3-1.
Tamilnadu bt Karnataka 3-2.
Delhi Beat Andhra Pradesh 3-2.

Shers beat Warriors in sudden death

Girish Pimple of Maratha Warriors being chased by a Sher-E-Jalandhar defender in the Premier Hockey League in Chandigarh on Tuesday.

A Maratha Warriors forward being challenged by Sher-E-Jalandhar defenders in the Premier Hockey League.
Balbir Singh
CHANDIGARH, Dec 25
Sher-e-Jalandhar snatched two vital points from Maratha Warriors by deferating them with an aggregate 5-4 margin in the sudden death session in the 10th match of the fourth Premier Hockey League at the floodlit Sector 42 Hockey Stadium here on Tuesday.
With this win in sudden death, Sher-E-Jalandhar have now accumulated five points from three matches. Maratha Warriors, despite defeat today, got one points and have so far seven to their credit and are leading the table.
The teams played a one-all draw in the 70-minute stipulated session. The extra-time of 10 minutes for silver goal also could not resove the deadlock. Even the stalemate continued after the tie-breaker aa only two tries each were successful. In the sudden death, Gurvinder Singh Chandi converted the first chance for Shers while Shivender was successful for Maratha Warriors. In the next try, Sarvanjit Singh found the target for Shers.
But Shivender Singh failed for Maratha Warriors with Shers' custodian Salman Akbar of Pakistan saving his first shot and then forcing him to shoot wide in his second attempt in the eight seconds allowed for each stroke.
In the tie-breaker Viren Rasquinha, Shivender Singh were successful for Maratha Warriors while Bharat Chikara, Gurbaj Singh and Girish Pimpale failed. For Shers, Gurvinder Chandi and Sarvanjit Singh found the target while Don Prinse of Holland, Gurvinder Singh and Yudhvir messed up their `strokes'.
Earlier in the regulation time, Shers took the lead in the eighth minute through a quick counter-attack. Kanwalpreet gave a long pass to Gagan Ajit, who passed it to Gurvinder. Gurvinder gave a return pass and this time Gagan sent a short pass to an unmarked Jarnail Singh to find the target.
Maratha Warriors tried hard for the equalizer in the next three quarters but failed to penetgrate the rival defence. However, in the 58th minute, Maratha Warriors equalised through Vikram Pillay with a shot on the run of a pass from Korean import Kweeom Moon.
Sher-E-Jalandhar goalkeeper Salman Akbar of Pakistan was presented the man-of-the-match award.
Tomorrow's fixture: Orissa Steelers vs Chennai Veerans (3.30 p.m.)

Chandigarh move into sub-jr girls QF

CHANDIGARH, DEC 25
Chandigarh prevail over Karnataka by 3-2 in the sub-junior girls team championship prequarter-final match of the 69th Sub Junior National & Inter State Table Tennis Championships at the Jawaharlal Nehru Multipurpose Indoor Stadium in Periamet, Chennai on Tuesday.
In the opening singles Meghna beat Anjali Dinak 11-6 11-6 9-11 11-0 to give Chandigarh lead. Karnataka equalised when Chandigarh's Naina Suri lost to Bhavana V Murthy 11-13 11-9 5-11 11-8 1-11.
Naina Suri and Kalyani lost to Biak and Bhavana V Murthy 11-6 12-10 9-11 7-11 5-11, in doubles and Karnataka led 2-1.Chandigarh then won both next matches to register a hard-fought 3-2 victory. Meghna beat Bhavana V Murthy 8-11 13-11 11-9 4-11 11-9 and Naina Suri defeated Anjali Dinak 12-10 13-11 8-11 11-9.
Cadet Boys Team Championship (PQF):
P S P B A bt ORISSA 3 - 0 (Abhishek Yadav bt Ajitabh Kalta 11-7 11-7 11-3, Pankaj Vishwakarma bt Pranat Sachin 11-9 11-5 2-11 11-5, Abhishek Yadav/Pankaj Vishwakarma bt Ajitabh Kalta/Pranat Sachin 11-7 11-6 11-4).
PUNJAB bt KERALA 3 - 1 (Rohan bt Unnikrishnan M 11-7 11-9 11-6, Kushal lost to Renjith Benny 9-11 11-8 11-6 10-12 3-11, Rohan/Rupam bt Unnikrishnan M/Renjith Benny 12-10 6-11 11-9 10-12 12-10, Rohan bt Renjith Benny 11-8 11-9 6-11 3-11 11-4).
DELHI bt ANDHRA PRADESH 3 - 0 (Utkarsh Gupta bt Srikar SV 11-4 11-8 11-7, Sabhay Virmani bt Poorna Srivatsav 11-7 11-6 11-6, Sabhay Virmani/Utkarsh Gupta bt Poorna Srivatsav/Anasali 11-8 11-6 11-5).
TAMILNADU bt GUJARAT 3 - 0 (Sashank S Yogesh bt Ruchit Shah 11-7 19-17 11-8, Sachin Vishwanath bt Vraj Halwawala10-12 11-8 11-7 11-4, Sachin Vishwanath/Sashank S Yogesh bt Ruchit Shah/Harsh Sachnandani 11-9 11-3 11-5 ).
NORTH BENGAL bt MAHARASHTRA-"B" 3 - 1 (Subhankar Sarkar bt Parth Phansekar 11-7 11-5 12-10, Arindam Dey lost to Atharva Korde 11-13 10-12 11-3 11-8 6-11, Subhankar Sarkar/Arindam Dey bt Parth Phansekar/Atharva Korde 13-11 12-10 6-11 8-11 11-7, Subhankar Sarkar bt Atharva Korde 7-11 15-13 11-9 11-9).
KARNATAKA bt UTTAR PRADESH 3 - 1 (Shreyas M bt Mohd. Miraz 11-9 11-6 11-3, Vedanth M Urs lost to Arjun Kohli 8-11 8-11 11-8 9-11, Shreyas M/Harshith R bt Arjun Kohli/Mohd. Miraz 11-7 1-11 11-9 11-2, Shreyas M bt Arjun Kohli 11-3 2-11 13-11 14-12).
MAHARASHTRA-"A" bt ASSAM 3-0 (Nishad Shah bt Kalyan Singh 11-5 11-8 5-11 9-11 11-7, Subhankar Renavikar bt Abhilash Bora 11-5 11-7 11-6, Nishad Shah/Subhankar Renavikar bt Kalyan Singh/Gaurab Haloi 11-3 11-5 15-13).
WEST BENGAL bt UTTARAKHAND 3 - 0 (Sourav Ghosh bt Akash Gupta 11-13 11-8 11-9 5-11 11-2, Aditya Moitra bt Akshay Dabral 11-8 11-8 11-7, Aditya Moitra/Suvendu Shaw bt Akash Gupta/Akshay Dabral 11-3 11-8 11-5 ).
Sub Jr Girls Team Championship:
NORTH BENGAL bt ANDHRA PRADESH 3 - 1 (Shymoli Sarkar bt Harshitha K 11-7 7-11 11-8 9-11 11-5, Payal Mitra lost to Bhavana K 11-2 9-11 11-3 3-11 8-11, Shymoli Sarkar/Payal Mitra bt Harshitha K/Bhavana K 12-10 11-8 11-3 , Shymoli Sarkar bt Bhavana K 11-6 11-5 11-9).
CHANDIGARH beat KARNATAKA 3 - 2 (Meghna bt Anjali Dinak 11-6 11-6 9-11 11-0, Naina Suri lost to Bhavana V Murthy 11-13 11-9 5-11 11-8 1-11, Kalyani/Naina Suri lost to Anjali Dinak/Bhavana V Murthy 11-6 12-10 9-11 7-11 5-11, Meghna bt Bhavana V Murthy 8-11 13-11 11-9 4-11 11-9, Naina Suri bt Anjali Dinak 12-10 13-11 8-11 11-9).
UTTAR PRADESH bt PUDUCHERRY 3 - 2 (Ayushi Pandey bt Rahila M 11-9 12-10 11-5, Vandana Singh lost to Jenifer Jacquiline R 11-8 10-12 11-9 8-11 9-11, Ayushi Pandey/Vandana Singh lost to Rahila M/Jenifer Jacquiline R 9-11 12-14 10-12, Ayushi Pandey bt Jenifer Jacquiline R 12-14 7-11 11-8 11-8 11-9, Vandana Singh bt Rahila M 37-11 11-5 11-9 11-5).
MAHARASHTRA-"A" bt PUNJAB 3-0 (Natasha Kulkarni bt Bharti 11-4 11-5 11-3, Mallika Bhandarkar btt Tanveen 11-2 11-4 11-2, Mallika Bhandarkar/Charvi Kawle C bt Tanveen/Sugandha 11-7 11-5 11-5).
DELHI beat ORISSA 3-0 (Aashita Jain bt Samartha Prusty 11-4 11-8 11-9, Manika Batra bt Sunita S I 11-4 11-4 11-5, Manika Batra/Aashita Jain bt Samartha Prusty/Ankita Kha 11-6 11-1 11-6 ).
TAMILNADU bt KERALA 3 - 0 (Krithicka S bt Anjali S Nair 11-9 11-4 11-5, Reeth Rishya T bt Maria Rony 11-7 11-3 11-8, Krithicka S/Reeth Rishya T bt Maria Rony/Gayathri G 11-9 14-12 11-4).
RAJASTHAN bt MAHARASHTRA-"B" 3 - 2 ( Aarushi Asawa bt Vrushali Prasade 11-8 9-11 11-5 11-7, Monika Pareek lost to Paromita Das 6-11 9-11 8-11, Aarushi Asawa/Monika Pareek lost to Vrushali Prasade/Paromita Das 11-9 14-12 10-12 9-12 12-14,Aarushi Asawa bt Paromita Das 11-5 11-2 7-11 8-11 11-6, Monika Pareek btVrushali Prasade 11-9 11-8 13-11).
WEST BENGAL bt ASSAM 3-0 (Priyanka Saha bt Premee Bora 11-2 7-11 11-4 8-11 11-3, Anushree Hazra bt Mahesweta Batsallya 11-7 11-5 7-11 11-9, Camelia Sil/Anushree Hazra bt Premee Bora/Mahesweta Batsallya 11-5 11-6 7-11 11-4).

Korean stars Bangalore Hi-Fliers’ win over Chandigarh Dynamos

>Korean forward You Hyo Sik scoring goal for Bangalore Hi-Fliers against Chandigarh Dynamos in the Premier Hockey League on Tuesday.

CHAK DE: A kid displaying banner of Chak de movie and demanding from his dad to bring a hockey stick for him.
Balbir Singh
CHANDIGARH, DEC 25 Trailing by two earlier first-quarter goals, Bangalore Hi-Fliers staged a grand rally to down hot favourites Chandigarh Dynamos by 3-2 in the ninth match of the fourth Premier Hockey League being played at the Sector 42 Hockey Stadium on Tuesday.
It was Bangalore Hi-Fliers first triumph in regulation period which gave them three points. Earlier, Bangalore Hi-Fliers had beaten Orissa Steelers by 6-5 on penalties and lost to Maratha Warriors by 2-0. They have now five points from three matches.
It was a mild setback to Chandigarh Dynamos’ campaign. They have now six points from three outings.
Korean forward You Hyo Sik (23rd and 37th) and Cheyanna (67th) were the goal-getters for Bangalore Hi-Fliers. Drag flicker Sandeep Singh put Chandigarh Dynamos 2-0 up by converting penalty corners in the 10th and 12th minutes.
The winners were trailing by two goals in the first quarter before they staged a brilliant rally to snatch three full points, brining their tally to five from three matches. This was their first outright win. Earlier, they defeated Orissa Steelers by 6-5 in shoot-out but lost to Maratha Warriors by 2-0.
Chandigarh Dynamos coach Narinder Singh Sodhi was a disappointed man. “We should have confirmed the 2-0 lead with a strong forward line, some of them are current playing members of the Indian team. Bangalore Hi-Fliers were also given liberty to score twice on rebound.”
The forward line of Chandigarh Dynamos consisted of heavy weight like Rajpal Singh, Deepak Thakur, Prabhjot Singh, Inderjit Chadha and Ravi Pal Singh.
Playing before the home crowd, Chandigarh Dynamos gained 2-0 lead within a span of three minutes. Drag flicker Sandeep Singh converted penalty corners with in the 10th and 12th minutes to put Chandigarh Dynamos in an advantageous position which they surrendered..
Down by two goals, Bangalore Hi-Fliers scored their first goal in the 23rd minute. Sandeep Michael was responsible for winning Bangalore Hi-Fliers’ second short corner. Chandigarh Dynamos goalkeeper Baljit Singh took Len Aiyappa’s low drag flick on his pads but Korean You Hyo-sik quickly pounced on the rebound and converted it in a smooth action.
After two quarters, Banglore Hi-fliers mounted relentless pressure and raided the Chandigarh Dynamos repeatedly. Bimal Lakra, Vikramkanth and Vinay formed a good combination in the midfield and were feeding their forwards. Speedy Korean forward You Hyo-sik was the livewire of the Banalore Hi-Fliers.
Bangalore Hi-Fliers equalised in the 37th minute. In a fine move Vinay put Arjun Halappa in possession and former skipper passed it to Sandeep Michael. Sandeep stormed into the circle before giving a pass to Tushar Khandekar on the right. When challenged by advancing Chandigarh Dynamos goalkeeper Baljit Singh, Tushar Khandekar passed it to Hyo-sik who tapped the ball into the right corner.
Three minutes before close, Bangalore Hi-Fliers got their fourth penalty corner in the 67th minute. Tushar Khandekar took the push and Vikramkanth set it up for drag flicker Len Aiyappa whose low flick was once again saved by Chandigarh goalkeeper Baljit Singh. But Cheyanna capitalized on the rebound to snatch the match-winner for Bangalore Hi-Fliers.
Korean forward You Hyo-sik was adjudged the man of the match.

Chandigarh girls and boys win in TT

CHANDIGARH, DEC 24
Chandigarh began with a 3-0 rout of Haryana in Group E of the Sub-Junior girls team championship of the Velammal 69th Sub Junior National & Inter-State Table Tennis Championships which commenced at Jawaharlal Nehru Multipurpose Indoor Stadium in Periamet, Chennai today. Velammal Education Trust CEO M.V.M.Velmurugan inaugurated the championships.
In the cadet boys team championship group A Chandigarh whipped Mizoram by 3 – 0.
Cadet girls team championship: Group A: West Bengal bt Jammu & Kashmir 3 – 0. Group B: Maharashtra A w/o Bihar. Group C: Tamil Nadu bt Punjab 3 – 0, Meghalaya bt Chandigarh 3 – 1. Group D: North Bengal bt Uttar Pradesh 3 – 0. Andhra Pradesh bt Chhattisgarh 3 – 0. Group E: Delhi bt Orissa 3 – 1. Tripura bt Himachal Pradesh 3 – 0. Group F: Gujarat bt Madhya Pradesh 3 – 0. Pondicherry bt Manipur 3 – 0. Group G: Kerala bt Uttarakhand 3 – 0. Haryana bt Jharkhand 3 – 1. Group H: Maharashtra B bt Assam 3 – 0. Karnataka btMizoram 3 – 0.
Cadet boys team championship: Group A: PSPB A bt Uuttarakhand 3 – 1, Chandigarh bt Mizoram 3 – 0. Group B: West Bengal bt Kerala 3 – 0.Madhya Pradesh bt Jammu & Kashmir 3 – 1. Group C: Tamil Nadu bt Goa 3 – 0. Maharashtra B bt Jharkhand 3 – 0. Group D: North Bengal Tripura 3 – 0.
Group E: Maharashtra A bt Andhra Pradesh 3 – 0. Bihar bt Manipur 3 – 0. Group F: Karnataka bt Rajasthan 3 – 0. Orissa bt Sikkim 3 – 0. Group G:Assam bt Pondicherry 3 – 1. Punjab bt Chhattisgarh 3 – 0. Group H:elhi bt Uttar Pradesh 3 – 1. Haryana bt Meghalaya 3 – 0.
Sub Junior Girls team: Group A: North Bengal bt Goa 3 – 1. Group B:West Bengal bt Punjab 3 – 0. Chhattisgarh bt Himachal Pradesh 3 – 1.Group C: Maharashtra - A bt Sikkim 3 – 0. Orissa bt Mizoram 3 – 0. Group D: Andhra Pradesh bt Uttarakhand 3 – 0. Delhi w/o Bihar. Group E: Tamil Nadu bt Gujarat 3 – 0. Chandigarh bt Haryana 3 – 0. Group F: Karnataka w/o Manipur. Kerala bt Tripura 3 – 1. Group G: Pondicherry bt Jharkhand 3 – 0. Rajasthan bt Jammu & Kashmir 3 – 0. Group H: Maharashtra - B bt Uttar Pradesh 3 – 0. Madhya Pradesh bt Meghalaya 3 – 0.
Sub Junior Boys Team: Group A: P S P B A bt Jharkhand 3 – 0.Assam bt Himachal Pradesh 3 – 0. Group B: Tamil Nadu bt Chandigarh 3 – 0. Andhra Pradesh bt Tripura 3– 0. Group C: Maharashtra - A bt Punjab 3 – 0.Uttarakhand bt Mizoram 3 – 2. Group D: Haryana bt Kerala 3 – 0. Maharashtra - B bt Sikkim 3 – 0. Group E: North Bengal bt Orissa 3 – 0.Madhya Pradesh bt Pondicherry 3 – 1. Group F: Uttar Pradesh bt Gujarat 3 – 0. Karnataka bt Chhattisgarh 3 – 0. Group G: Delhi bt Bihar 3 – 0. Manipur bt Jammu & Kashmir 3 – 2. Group H: West Bengal bt Goa 3 – 0.
Rajasthan bt Meghalaya 3 – 0.

Hyderabad Sultans edge Orissa Steelers in shoot-out session

A fierce goalmouth melee in front of Hyderabad Sultans goal in their match against Orissa Steelers in the Premier Hockey League in Chandigarh on Monday night.
IHF Grade I umpire Satinder Sharma showing green card to Hyderabad Sultans captain Sardar Singh in the Premier Hockey League in Chandigarh on Monday night.

Balbir Singh
CHANDIGARH, Dec 24Hyderabad Sultans prevailed over Orissa Steelers by an agreegate 4-3 margin after playing a one-all draw in the regulation 70-minute session and 10 minutes of extra time for silver goal in the eighth match of the Premier Hockey League at the Sector 42 Hockey Stadium in Chandigarh on Monday night.
Hyderabad Sultans were awarded two points for win in the shoot-out and Orissa Steelers got one. Both teams have so far three matches each. Sultans have so far logged five points, including three from an outright win over Sher-E-Jalandhar by 3-0. They had lost to Chandigary Dynamos by 1-0. Orissa Steeliers, led by Indian captain Dilip Tirkey, have lost all their three encounters they have played so far. As two matches were extended to shoot-out sessions, they got one point from each match. Chandigarh Dynamos had scored an outright 2-0 verdict against Orissa Steelers.
After being goalless in the first two quarters, Hyderabad Sultans forced their first short corner in the 40th minute and took the lead as Diwakar Ram converting it with a fine drag flick. But Orissa Steelers fought back and notched the equalizer five minutes before the hooter through Jitender Saroha by converting a penalty corner to push the match into the extra-time.
Orissa dominated the first five-minutes of the extra-time for the silver goal but Hyderabad Sultans managed to hold it own. With no result, the match went into tie-breaker where each of the five stroke-takers gets eight seconds to score the goal starting from the 25-yard line with a one-on-one battle with the goalkeeper.
For Hyderabad Sultans , Sardar Singh and Pramod Kumar took the first two strokes and were successful while both Prabodh Tirkey and Ajitesh Roy failed for Orissa Steelers. However, the next two for Hyderabad Sultan, Deedar Singh and Chengappa messed up things and Orissa's Kim Chul and Roshan Minz converted to make the scores 2-2 after four strokes. Pawal Lakra made no mistake for Hyderabad scoring through Orissa Steelers goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh's legs and all eyes were on Joga Singh, the last man for Orissa Steelers. Hyderabad Sultan custodian Korean Oscar Tar Weme stretched and saved with his left palm to signal victory for his team.
Orissa Steeliers forced penalty corners in the 25th, 28th, 64th, 65th and 71st minutes. Hyderabad Sultans were awarded penalty corners in the 40th, 53rd and 69th minutes.
Hyderabad Sultan goalkeeper Oscar Tar Weme of Korea was declared man of the match.
Tomorrow's fixtures: Chandigarh Dynamos vs Bangalore Hi-Fliers (3.30 p.m.). Maratha Warriors vs Sher-E-Jalandhar (6 p.m.).

Sher-E-Jalandhar record their first win

Gurvinder Singh Chandi of Sher-E-Jalandhar being challenged by a Chennai Veerans player in the Premier Hockey League in Chandigarh on Sunday.
Gagan Ajit Singh being checked by a by a Chennai Veerans player in the Premier Hockey League in Chandigarh on Sunday.
Balbir Singh
Chandigarh, Dec 23
Sher-e-Jalandhar roared today as they defeated Chennai Veerans by two 2-0, both goals coming in the second half, in the seventh encounter of the Premier Hockey League at the Sector 42 Hockey Stadium here on Sunday.
While was first victory for Sher-E-Jalandhar who were outclassed by Hyderabad Sultans by 3-0, Chennai Veerans suffered their second successive defeat. They have to win all their four remainng matches if they apsire for semi-final berth out of seven teams in the fray.
The Sher-E-Jalandhar forward line today displayed better understanding. Full back Harpal Singh today played in the centre line. Jugraj and Kanwalpreet manned the defence and Salman Akbar of Pakistan was alert under the cage.
Shers and Veerans were engaged in a firece battle in the first two quarters with Chennai Veerans thwarting the Shers' moves. Chennai Veerans also initiated some good moves with the midfield supporting the frontline and they created some good turn-overs but failed to capitalize on them. However two goals within a space of three minutes early in the third quarter by Shers denied them victory. Veerans tried hard to come back into the match but all their efforts proved abortive..
Three minutes into the third quarter, Shers initiated a move on the left flank and Dilawar Hussain moved into the circle on the left goalline and sent a reverse pass to Olympian
Gagan Ajit Singh near the spot. Gagan received the ball, positioned himself and shot into the goal beating Veerans' custodian Sreejesh to put Shers in the lead.
Three minutes later, Shers were awarded their fourth penalty corner which Jugraj Singh converted it for Shers second goal.
Forward Dilawar Hussain from Pakistanwas declared man of the match.
Tomorrow Orissa Steelers will face Hyderabad Sultans under lights at 6 p.m.

Maratha Warriors down Bangalore Hi-Fliers

Maratha Warriors down Bangalore Hi-Fliers forward Kweeom Moon of South Korea being challenged by Bangalore Hi-Fliers Len Ayappa in the Premier Hockey League in Chandigarh on Sunday.Bangalore Hi-Fliers Arjun Halappa being challenged by Man of the Match Vikram Pillay while captain Viren Rasquinha looks on in the Premier Hockey League in Chandigarh on Sunday.

Balbir Singh
CHANDIGARH, Dec 23
Maratha Warriors prevailed over plucky Bangalore Hi-Fliers by two second-half goals for their second successive victory in the ongoing Premier Hockey League at the Sector 42 Hockey Stadium here on Sunday.
After a barren first half, Maratha Warriors struck two goals in the 61st and 62nd minutes to snatch full points at the expense of Bangalore Hi-Fliers. Dhanajay Mahadik and Kweeom Moon of South Korea were the scorers in that order.
Starting on an aggressive note, Bangalore Hi-Fliers were awarded two short corners in the 10th minute. They could have drew the first blood but first runner of Maratha Warriors Viren Rasquinha dashed in to deflect seasoned campaigner Len Aiyappa's flick and in the process conceded another short corner. This time Warriors' custodian Adrian D'Souza positioned himself well covered the angle well to palm away Len Aiyappa's drag flick.
After crossing over, Maratha Warriors took control of the midfield where skipper Viren Rasquinha and Vikram Pillay gave outstanding performance. Besides giving regular passes to their forwards, they also thwarted their rivals dangerous moves. Their sustained pressure yielded them four short corners in this quarter, but their Dutch import Looijem Melchior failed to convert these chances with his drag flicks. Maratha Warriors had a golden opportunity to score in the 48th minute. Following a counterattack Pakistan Rehan Butt got the ball in front of the circle. He darted into the circle and with the entire defence out of place he positioned himself for a strike, but Hi-Fliers' goalie Bharat Chetri charged out to the top. Rehan sidestepped him and was about to take a shot when Bimal Lakra cleared the ball.
Maratha Warriors forged ahead in the 61st minute by converting their eighth penalty corner. Dhananjay Mahadik 's drag flick beat Bangalore Hi-Fliers goalkeeper Bharat Chetri. In the same minute Bangalore Hi-Fliers had a chance to equalise Arjun Halappa's first shot was saved by goalkeeper Adrian and Sandeep Michael's missed the target with a narrow margin..
Maratha Warriors sealed the fate of Bangalore Hi-Fliers in the match in the 62nd minute. Following a defensive lapse in the midfield, Maratha Warriors took the ball into the circle. Their Korean import Kweeom Moon made his way to the circle and dodged past an advancing goalkeeper to score his team's second goal.
Maratha Warriors Vikram Pillay was adjudged man of the match.

COs restrained from unauthorised telecast of India Tour of Australia

CHANDIGARH, December 23
In a landmark order, the Delhi High Court restrained all cable operators from unauthorisedly showing the forthcoming India Tour of Australia through their cable networks. ESPN STAR Sports (ESPN) had filed a suit for permanent injunction against cable operators across the country against unauthorized broadcast of the India Tour of Australia which involves four Test matches followed by a Tri-angular ODI tournament involving India, Australia and Sri-Lanka and a Twenty20 between India and Australia.
STAR Cricket will exclusively telecast the Test series while STAR Sports will broadcast the tri-angular tournament. The series which starts in the last week of December 2007 will last till March 2008.
ESPN in its suit before the Delhi High Court claimed that it had the sole and exclusive rights from Cricket Australia (CA) to telecast CA properties exclusively in India. ESPN contented that it expects rampant piracy in certain parts of the country.
After this order anyone showing India Tour of Australia through any unauthorized means or any other channel will be held in contempt of court and liable for prosecution. The Delhi High Court has also permitted ESPN to take action against all other cable operators not party to the suit but are found to be unauthorisedly utilising the feed of ESPN and STAR Cricket without license.
Speaking on the occasion, Rajesh Kaul, Vice President –Affiliate Sales, ESPN Software India Pvt Ltd, said, "This is a very positive verdict as it gives a clear signal that piracy will not be tolerated. We will have a team of observers across the country to ensure that piracy does not happen and in case we spot any, we will align with the police to bring the guilty to the book."
Mr. Justice Sanjay Kishen Kaul of the Delhi High Court prima facie being satisfied by the material disclosed to it by ESPN, restrained the 100 named cable operators from transmitting and/or telecasting in any manner whatsoever without license from ESPN the telecast of India Tour of Australia. The said cable operators have been restrained from telecasting/transmitting Fox Sports and Super Sports or any other channel or in any other manner infringing the copyright/re-broadcast right of ESPN STAR Sports.
The Delhi High Court has also injuncted unnamed cable operators who may be found to be indulging in cable piracy of cricket matches played during the forthcoming India tour of Australia. The concerned police authorities have been directed to render all assistance to ESPN to enforce the order of injunction.

Dharminder, Avneet pedal to glory

CHANDIGARH, DEC 23
Dharminder of Cycling Coaching Centre won the Open Cross Country Mass Start race in the Chandigarh Mountain Biking Cycling competition organsied by the Chandigarh Amateur Cycling Association here on Sunday morning. Dharminder clocked 7:03.38 seconds.
Sahil of Baptist School-45 and Rupesh of DAV Senior Secondary School, Sector 8 finished second and third in 8:04.80 and 8:05.14, respectively.
In the junior section, Avneet Singh (HDPS-38) pedalled to glory by clocking 9:3.20 seconds. More than 30 cyclists took part in the Cycling Races organized on a specialy laidout circuit in the hills adjoining Kaimbala village.
Results: Open Cross Country Mass Start Race: 1. Dharminder (CCC) 7:03.38, 2. Sahil (Bapist School-45) 8:04.80 sec, 3. Rupesh (DAVSSS-8) 8:05.14 sec.
Cross Country Mass Start Race for Junior Boys: 1. Avneet Singh (HDPS-38) 9:13.20 sec, 2. Balpreet Singh (GMSSS-35) 9:15. 62 sec, 3. Sonu (DAVSSS-8) 10:02.13 sec.

Prabhjot stars in Dynamos' victory

Prabhjot Singh and Deepak Thukar celerabtes after the former scored for Chandigarh Dynamos as Orissa Steelers goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh sprawling on the ground in the Premiber Hockey League in Chandigarh on Saturday.
Prabhjot Singh and Inderjit Singh Chadha after Prabhjot scoring the first goal.
Balbir Singh
CHANDIGARH, Dec 22
Formidable Chandigarh Dynamos defeated Orissa Steelers by 2-0 in the fourth edition of the Premier Hockey League at the Sector 42 Hockey Stadium here on Saturday. It was their second successive triumph from twho matches they have played so far. Dynamos, though it was a team work, owed their trimph to ebullient Indian forward Prabhjot Singh who scored one each session in a well-contested encounter.
Chandigarh Dynamos forged ahead in the very third minute following a counter attack. Inderjit Singh Chadha initiated a move in the midfield and combined with Olympian Deepak Thakur, who relayed it to captain Rajpal Singh on the left flank. Rajpal sent a stinging hit into the circle and just in front of the goalkeeper Prabhjot stretched his stick to deflect the ball into the net.
Thereafter, Orissa raised their game and launched some good moves upfront but failed to score the equalizer. In the second quarter, Prabodh Tirkey sent a defence-splitting pass into the goalmouth and as it raced through the goalkeeper legs, Roshan Minz connected the ball, which rose and settled in the goal. But umpire Raghu Prasad disallowed it as he ruled dangerous play. The Orissa Steelers players protested for few second before resuming the play.
Orissa Steelers suffered another blow in the 52nd minute as Chandigarh Dynamos struck in a freak goal to increase the lead. After Rajpal and Deepak Thakur exchanged passes, Jaswinder sent a weak shot into the circle and with Orissa custodian Gurpreet Singh about to clear it, Prabhjot managed to stretch his stick and the ball zoomed in.
Orissa Steelers tried hard and had more ball possession but their numerous raids proved abortive. All they could show for their hard work were two aborted short corners as they lost their second match.
Orissa Steelers now have one point for stretching their match against Bangalore Hi Fliers to extra-time while Chandigarh Dynamos lead the table with six points. In PHL, if a match goes to extra time the winners will be awarded two points and the losers, one point.
Prabhjot Singh was adjudged man of the match.

Vidit Gujrathi is National Under-13 champion

Vidit holding the trophy.
CHANDIGARH, DEC 22 Vidit Gujrati of Maharashtra lifted the Parsvnath National under-13 Chess Championship drawing the 11th and final round game with state-mate Pranav Shetty in New Delhi. Vidit finished with an impressive score 9.5 points in all drawing three and winning 8 games and remained unbeaten throughout the event. The Nasik lad started as the favourite and had raced to 8.5/9 before taking two easy draws to take home the trophy.
Ankit Rajapara of Gujrat finished runner-up after beating former world under-12 champion N Srinath in a fine attacking game. Ankit took his tally to 9 points overall and had the better tiebreak than Pranav who finished third also on 9 points.
The top three of this event will participate in the next World and Asian Championship.
Final Standings :1 Vidit Santosh Gujarathi of Maharashtra (9.5), 2. Ankit R Rajara of Gujarat (9), 3. Pranav Shetty of Maharashtra (9), 4. Lokesh P of Tamilnadu (8.5), 5. Karma Pandya of Gujarat (8.5), 6. Navalgund Niranjan of Karnataka (8.5), 7.Gahan M G of Karnataka (8), 8. Girish A Koushik of Karnataka (8), 9. Prasanna Rao of Maharashtra (8), 10. Narayanan Srinath of Tamilnadu (8).

Sher-e-Jalandhar disappoint

A Hyderabad Sultan defender taking an evasive action as Sher-e-Jalandhar forward Gagan Ajit Singh taking a shot in the Premier Hockey League in Chandigarh on Saturday.
Sher-e-Jalandhar players, including Olympian Harpal Singh, protesting against the goal awarded by umpire Varinder Bahadur Singh in the Premier Hockey League in Chandigarh on Saturday.
Balbir Singh
CHANDIGARH, Dec 22 With a young and inexperienced forward line, barring Olympian Gagan Ajit Singh, in their line-up luckless but erratic Sher-e-Jalandhar gave a disappointed performance and were tamed by Hyderabad Sultans by 3-0 in their opening fixture in the fourth edition of the Premier Hockey League being played at the Sector 42 Hockey Stadium here today.
Commenting on the Shers' performance today, their manager former Olympian Surinder Singh Sodhi said "we have a very young forwardline except Gagan Ajit Singh. We also missed few chances. Once Dutch player Don Prinse's touch hit the crosspiece. Hyderabad Sutlans goalkeeper Oscar Tar Weme of Dutch saved the shots of Gagan Ajit and Oscar. Despite these misses, my boys did not play to their potentials."
After conceding a goal, Sher-e-Jalandhar played a subdued game with the forwards making erratice passes and Hyderabad Sultans capitalised on these mistakes. The first half remained goalless.
Hyderabad Sultans were also disallowed a goal by the TV umpire. The star performer for Sultans was Pawal Lakra who banged home two field goals. At the fag-end of the match Diwakar Ram made it 3-0.
Hyderabad Sultans got two short corners in the first quarter. Early in the second quarter, Didar Singh seemed to have deflected a pass from Pramod Kumar who was fed by captain Sardar Singh. Umpire Varinder Bahadur Singh awarded the goal. However, on protest from Shers, Singh referred it to the TV umpire who disallowed the goal. Soon, the Shers were reduced to 10 men as Mandeep Singh injured Adnan Maqsood of Pakistan and was shown yellow card.
Hyderabad Sultans took the lead in the 43rd minue. Put in by Nitin Kumar, Bikas Toppo stormed into the circle and gave a measured pass to Pawal Lakra who banged home in a smooth action. (1-0)
Hyderabad increased the margin through another field goal. Trapping a ball near the centre line Saradar Singh dribbled his way to the 25-yardline before giving a pass to his brother Didar Singh. Didar cut into the circle before shooting from an acute angle. Shers' custodian Salman Akbar fumbled and Pawal Lakra sneaked in and just tapped the ball into an open goal. (2-0)
Five minutes before the end, Bikas Toppo got Hyderabad's fifth of the six penalty corners. Sardar took the push and Nitin set it up perfectly for Diwakar Ram, who scored with a low flick .
Hyderabad Sultans forward Pawal Lakra was declared man of the match.
Hyderabad Sultans won their first match out of two. Earlier, they were beaten by Chandigarh Dynamos in the inaugural match. Shers were playing their first match.

Bangalore Hi-Fliers down Orissa Steelers in shoot-out

Bangalore Hi-Fliers captain Tushar Khandekar and Orissa Steelers Elizar trying to get the better of each other in the Premier Hockey League in Chandigarh on Friday night.
Balbir Singh
CHANDIGARH, DEC 21
Defending champions Orissa Steelers suffered a mild jolt in their opening match as they lost to Bangalore Hi-Fliers by aggregate 5-6 margin in shoot-out session as the regulation period of 70-minute ended in a two-all draw and 10 minutes of extra time for a silver goal ended in a deadlock in the fourth edition of the Premier Hockey League at the Sector 42 Hockey Stadium here on Friday night.
Sharing six goals in the shoot-out, Sandeep Michael snatched the match-winner for the Bangalore Hi-Fliers as he scooped over the Orissa Steelers goalkeeper Gurpreet and clinch the issue in favour of Bangalore Hi-Fliers.
Other goal-getters for Bangalore Hi-Fliers in shoot-out were Vimal, Arjun Halappa and Vikramkanth. Tushar Khandekar wasted his chance for Bangalore Hi-Fliers. For Orissa Steelers, Prabodh Tirkey, Roshan Minz scored. Shakeel and William Xalxo wasted their opportunities.
In a thrilling encounter, Bangalore Hi-Fliers had a slight edge in the first two quarters. Orissa Steelers forged ahead in the 25th minute. Eliazer Ekka sidestepped Hi-Fliers' defender Len Aiyappa on top of the circle and took a semi-circle before beating Bangalore team Bharat Chetri goalkeeper.
In a counter attack, Bangalore Hi-Fliers earned a penalty corner in the 41st minute. A defender took Len Aiyappa's drag flick on the body and another short corner was awarded. This time Len Aiyappa found the target with sizzling flick to equalise in the 42nd minute.
Orissa Steelers went ahead again in the 58th minute by converting the third of their five penalty corners. Birender took the push and Ignace Tirkey set the stage for William Xalxo to sound the boards with a direct drive.
With two minutes remailing, , BangaloreHi-Fliers forced their third and last short corner and once again Len Aiyappa banged the target.
The 10-minute extra-time for the silver goal proved abortive and the teams went into shoot-out. Ignace, Prabodh and Roshan Minz scored for Orissa and Vimal, Arjun Halappa and Vikramkanth found the target for Bangalore while Shakeel and Tushar missed from Orissas and Bangalore respectively.
From the last try, William Xalxo's attempt was blocked by Bangalore Hi-Fliers goalkeeper Bharat Chetri. Now Sandeep Michael drew the rival goalkeeper Gurpreet to the right before scooping over him for the match winner for Bangalore Hi-Fliers.
Hi-Fliers goalkeeper Bharat Chetri was adjudged the man of the match/

Maratha Warriors serve stern warning

Maratha Warriors forward Rehan Butt of Pakistan being checked by Chennai Veerans defenders in the Premier Hockey League in Chandigarh on Friday.
Umpire Varinder Bahadur awarding a penalty corner against Chennai Veerans.
Balbir Singh
CHANDIGARH, Dec 21
Maratha Warriors served a stern warning to their rivals as they majestically recorded a 4-1 triumph over Chennai Veerans in their opening match of the fourth edition of the Premier Hockey League being played at the Sector 42 Hockey Stadium here today.
Their star striker from Pakistan Rehan Butt contributed two goals for Warriors who led 2-0 at half time. Bharat Chikaria and Shivender Singh added one goal each to swell the winners' tally. Penalty corner exponent Raghunath converted a penalty corner for the long Chennai Veerans' goal.
Playing a methodical game, Maratha Warriors played with controlled aggression and tactical superiority to record an easy victory. They opened their account in the 19 th minute following a move on the right flank when Rehan Butt moved into the circle, turned around and effected a stunning reverse hit which caught Veerans' custodian Sreejesh napping.
Maintaining their pressure, Maratha Warriors struck again in the 32nd minute. Rehan Butt and Shivender combined well and moved together on the right flank. The Pakistani forward gave a short pass to Shivender near the circle and with the defence out of place Shivender relayed the ball to an unmarked Bharat Chikaria in front of the goal. Bharat just stopped the ball and with only goalkeeper to beat, he tapped in without any difficulty.
Four minutes into the third quarter, Chennai Veerans forced their first penalty corner. Dutch player Joost set it up perfectly for drag flicker Raghunath to beat goalkeeper Adrian in the Maratha gaol (2-1).
Veerans continued the tempo and looked like posting the equalizer. They got their second short corner but a brilliant save by Warriors' first runner Vikram Pillay. Maratha Warriors counter- attacked and Rehan Butt finished it off with a brilliant goal in the 45 th minute to notch his second goal. (3-1).
Maratha Warriors later earned two short corners to add to the one in the first quarter but their Dutch player Looijem could not convert them. However, they sealed the fate of the match with another goal in the 55 th minute. Rehan Butt initiated a move on the right flank and gave a short pass to Vikram Pillay, who was running parallel in the middle. Vikram gave it to Bharat Chikaria on the top of the circle. With Veerans' goalie Sreejesh advancing, Bharat, gave to Shivender to put his seal on the goal. (4-1)
Rehan Butt richly deserved the man of the match.

Jhelum House wins western dance title

Science exhibition at Delhi Public School in Pinjore
Pinjore (Haryana), Dec 21
Jhelum House won the Western Dance Inter-House Competiton of the Delhi Public School here today. Yamuna House and Ganga House finished second and third, respectively. The participants left everyone praising in awe seeing their nimble footedness.
Meawhile, the year 2007 is coming to a fag end. To welcome the new year with Christmas celebrations towards the end the joy and fervour is in the season. This was amazingly done at Delhi Punjab School here. The special assembly presented by the young artists left an impression on everyone present to witness the rejoicing, gaiety and fervour of the festival.
The assembly began with a message on Christmas followed by a wonderful skit on Nativity. Melodious carols mesmerized one and all.
The Principal addressed the students to give a message of 'humility and 'brotherhood so that they grow into good humanbeings with a value system that withstands difficulties and hardships.
SCIENCE EXHIBITION: A two-day Science Exhibition was put up by the students today in the school premises. Students from classes 3 to 11 are participating in the exhibition. Each project stood out for its quality and effort that had gone in creating it. Practical knowledge, thought, foresight and meticulous use of the recycled products were employed to put up the exhibition.
Some of the projects were easy to decipher some a bit complex. But the students who had created them had the explanation ready. Clear was the fact that they liked the subject and were paying attention in their classes, as their creations were based on their curriculum.
Some of the models that attracted the attention were 'Electronic logic Gates', which verify the truth table with the help of NAND GATE and NOR GATE; 'Bullet Train' explained the principle and working; with the help of permanent magnets and electromagnets; Hydel Power Project showed how electricity is generated; Global warming - a concern for the consequences we may face was shown through this project; Hydro system based on Pascal's law depicted the working of the hydrolic lifts.
With the deplition of our existing energy resources we must think of the alternate energy sources – like solar energy, wind mills etc. this was well explained by the students who had put up more than 25 projects. The working of various human body systems- the digestive system, respiratory system, heart, ear, nose, brain to name a few – were explained beautifully by the students.
The Science teachers were there to guide the students to put up this amazing venture. The exhibits earned the appreciation of the fellow students, parents and the teachers alike.

Mixed luck for Ajay Yadav

Navneet Kumar poised to release a forehand against Ajay Yadav in boys u-18 final.
CHANDIGARH, DEC 21
Ajay Yadav of Chandigarh had a mixed fourtunes in the All India Tennis Association Talent Series Tennis Tournament at the Sector 10 Tennis Stadium here today. He won the boys under-16 singles final. However, he was beaten in the boys Under-18 singles title.
Pitted against second seeded Garry Singh Amor of Chandigarh, fifth seeded Ajay Yadav displayed better match temperament. After splitting the first two sets, Ajay Yadav dominated and won the deciding set by dropping just one game. Ajay won 6-4, 7-5, 6-1.
Ajay put up a brave fight before losing Navneet Kumar of Uttar Pradesh in the boys under-18 singles final. Navneet was made to fight for every point before prevailing over Yadav by 7-5, 7-6 (4) in a well-contested final.
CLTA chairman Rajan Kashyap and Shivalik Public School Director-Principal DS Bedi jointly distributed the prizes.
Results:Boys Under-16 singles (final): Ajay Yadav (Chd) bt Garry S. Amor (Chd) 6-4, 5-7, 6-1.
Boys Under-18 singles (final): Navneet Kumar (UP) bt Ajay Yadav (Chd) 7-5, 7-6 (4).
GCG-11 WIN TENNIS TITLE: Government College for Girls, Sector 11 won the Panjab University (women) Inter-College Tennis Championship by defeating GGD SD College, Sector 32 by 2-0 in the final. Panjab University Campus beat AS College for Women, Khanna by 2-0 in a classification match for third and fourth positions.
Results: Final: GCG-11 bt SD College-32 by 2-0 (Simer bt Sakshi 6-0, 6-0, Manveer bt Sonia 6-3, 6-2. For third and fourth positions, PU Campus bt AS College, Khanna by 2-0 (Mallika bt Mandeep 6-0, 6-0, Jogwinder bt Himani 6-0, 6-0.
SGGS-26 NET HOCKEY TROPHY: Sri Guru Gobind Singh College, Sector 26 won the Panjab University Inter-College Hockey (men) Championship. LLR Govt College, Dhudhika, GBB College Doraha and PU Campus finished second, third and fourth, respectively. In today's league matches, GNN College beat PU Campus by 6-0 and GSSS College defeated LLR Government College, Dhudika by 2-1.