Chandigarh men rout Goa in softball

Chandigarh, Jun 25 (UNI) Playing before the home crowd, Chandigarh men recorded a cakewalk win against Goa by 22-0 margin in the men's match on the opening day of the 30th Senior National Softball Championship at the Panjab University Campus here today.

Dewan (4 home runs), Ravinder Singh, Nimit, Rohit and Vijay (3 home runs each), Vishal, Harshit and Vijay ( 2 each) were the run getters for the winners.

Andhra Pradesh also scored a runaway 18-0 triumph over Haryana in a hopelessly one sided affair. Srinath and Ashih made three home run each. Karunakar, Narinder, Vinod, Deepash and Vinod Junior scored two home runs each.

Jharkhand men also had a smooth sailing against Tamil Nadu whom they defeated by 15-5 margins. Praveen Kanahaya, Ravi, Mahesh, Sashi Kant and Roshan (2 each) paved the way for Jharkhand's win.

Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Chattisgarh women registered victories over their respective rivals.

Punjab blanked Puddicherry by 4-0 and Madhya Pradesh outpointed Himachal Pradesh by 12-2. Chattisgarh defeated Manipur by 16-4.

Earlier, Panjab University Director Sports Naval Kishore inaugurated the Senior Nationals in which players from 20 States and Union Territories have staked their claims for the top honours.

This is the first Senior Nationals after Rana Gurmit Singh Sodhi was unanimously elected president of Softball Federation of India yesterday.

Chandigarh Softball Association secretary Roop Lal Sharma claimed that secretaries/presidents of 24 states attended the annual general body meeting held yesterday.

Chairman of the organising committee SS Dhillon said participation of such a large number of states was a testimony that softball was becoming popular in India.

Results: Men: Chandigarh bt Goa 22-1; Madhya Pradesh bt Uttranchal 10-0; Chattisgarh bt Himachal Pradesh 8-6; Andhra Pradesh bt Haryana 18-0; Jharkhand bt Tamil Nadu 15-5.

Women: Maharashtra bt Uttar Pradesh 10-4; Punjab bt Puddicherry 4-0; Jammu and Kashmir bt Haryana 10-0, Madhya Pradesh bt Himachal Pradesh 12-2; Chattisgarh bt Manipur 16-4.

UNI XC HS MP BST0118