Short Corner 8212; Chandigarh

Barua loses, playoff to decide his fate
Needing a draw to reach the second round with an upset win, Indian Grandmaster Dibyendu Barua lost the tough second game to be tied with Russia8217;s Alexander Khalifman on the second day of the World Chess Championship in Las Vegas. The 72nd ranked Barua, who made a flying start to the tournament by beating his highly-rated Russian opponent with white pieces in the first game of first round on Saturday, fought a tenacious battle against a rampaging Khalifman but could not force the draw as the match ended 1-1 yesterday.

Something wrong
If Sachin Tendulkar says he was quot;mentally unpreparedquot; to lead the Indian team after putting in 10 years in international cricket, there has to be something wrong, somewhere. True, he is only 26 but by no means inexperienced. Hasn8217;t he led the team already? Then, why this reluctance? Or, is it the case of once bitten, twice shy.

Lone wins marathon
The city is turning out to be a lucky venue for Bhairav Singh Lone. The 27-year-old railway ticket collector from Indore, changed gears midway through the 42.195 km course to win the fifth Good Knight AAFI-Travancore Marathon, grabbing his second title in his second appearance here.

Dhillon ruled out
The Indian hockey team for the coming tour of South Africa suffered a big jolt today when star striker Baljit Singh Dhillon was ruled out of the squad due to leg injury. Dhillon was the second highest scorer for the team at the Bangkok Asian Games.

World record
Germany8217;s Sandra Volker broke herown world record in the 50-metre backstroke in the European Swimming Championships last evening, while the Netherland8217;s Pieter Van Den Hoogenband again took center stage.