Delhi create history; so are state women

NEW DELHI, DECEMBER 29: If two months of physical conditioning can make a disoriented but talented unit click, there has to be some truth ...

NEW DELHI, DECEMBER 29: If two months of physical conditioning can make a disoriented but talented unit click, there has to be some truth in it. Delhi women brought home that truth in ample measure with a superb display of opportunism, speed and agility to enter the semi-finals of the Pepsi 50th National Basketball Championships at Talkatora Indoor Stadium today.

Their 72-57 upset-triumph not only dashed the hopes of Kerala, the runners-up, but also helped Delhi make the last four for the second time in the history of the Nationals. They last made the grade in 1979 at Jamshedpur. The victory left them in an unenvious position, in the path of the invincible Railway women. Earlier, Railways toyed with UP, Maharashtra met the nemesis in Tamil Nadu, to whom they had lost at Jaipur as well, and Punjab beat MP to complete the semi-finals line-up.

In the men’s section, Bihar’s tactical game placed them atop group B when they beat Services 67-53. Always wanting in bench strength, Bihar showed exemplary courage inthe face of two of its key men, Jaldeep Dhaliwal and Shahid Qureshi the former with a bloody nose going out midway in the first and second sessions respectively. But Nishant Kumar provided the soother. Junior internationals Mandeep Kaur and Shivani Gupta made Kerala women grope for the ring even as they collected the rebounds well, made fewer errors and when the opportunity presented them, made full use to justify their win.

Story continues below this ad

Kerala lost the game when Ambuli Thomas was out with five personal fouls four minutes before time. That’s not to take away the credit from the Delhi girls. Shivani and Mandeep, on the verge of being evicted, did well, contributing 32 and 19 respectively.

RESULTS
Men (Group A): Karnataka 92 (Murali Mohan 23, BS Gautham 28, KBN Arun 11) bt MP 49 (Virendra Joshi 10, Sumit Rucharia 11, Sukant Garg 10); (Group B): Bihar 67 (Nishant Kumar 20, Shahid Qureshi 19) bt Services 53 (Phool Singh 21, Sambhaji Kadam 10); Qualification for PQF: AP 57 (Hari Krishna 22, Rajesh 11)bt Kerala 37 (Subhash Shenoy 14).
Women (QF): Punjab 51 (Savitri Gularia 14) bt MP 45 (Poonam Singh 21); Railways 84 (BS Shyla 15, Rajini 11) bt UP 32 (Shiji Antony 11); Tamil Nadu 59 (P Anitha 15, Syamala Suguna 11) bt Maharashtra 56 (Pradnya Mane 12, Prachi Thatte 12, Lincy Joseph 10); Delhi 72 (Shivani Gupta 32, Mandeep Kaur 19) bt Kerala 57 (Ambuli 15, Liji George 12).

Iran’s moral enforcer, caught in scandal, video raises questions over daughter’s wedding

World21 min ago

Rear Admiral Ali Shamkhani - one of Iran’s most senior defence and national security figures and a close confidant of the supreme leader is facing an unusual public scandal after a leaked video of his daughter’s wedding showed guests flouting the strict Islamic dress and social codes he has helped enforce.

View all shorts

Live Blog

PHOTOS