The Sri Krishna Institutions 84th Tamil Nadu State senior athletics championship for men and women begins at the Nehru Stadium here on Saturday.
Organised by the Coimbatore District Athletic Association, the two-day event, to be held under lights, has attracted 700 athletes from across the State.
C. Sylendra Babu, Coimbatore City Police Commissioner and vice-president of Tamil Nadu Athletic Association, said it is going to be star-studded with most of the top athletes confirming participation.
“We are geared up for the big meet,” said Mr. Babu.The top performers from this championship will represent Tamil Nadu in the national inter-State championship to be held in Bangalore during the second week of June.
The 3000m and 2000m steeplechase for men and women respectively has also found its way into the championship.
Andhra XI posts win
At Kovilpatti, Andhra XI eased past Lakshmi Ammal Rajiv Gandhi HC 9-2 in a first round match of the K.R. Educational Institutions–Lakshmi Ammal Memorial all-India hockey tournament on Friday.
The results: First round: Andhra XI 9 (Rameshkrishna 3, Praveen 3, Rambabu 1, Manikandan 1, Rajesh 1) bt Lakshmi Ammal Rajiv Gandhi HC 2 (Umashankar, Muthukumaran); Central Excise 8 (Sriram 4, Mervin 2, Lakshman Karan 2) bt Kerala XI 1 (Sharath).
Raj stars for DCW
At Tuticorin, Raj (five for 20 & 31) starred in DCW's six-wicket win over Kayal Sporting Club in the TNCA-Tuticorin DCA ‘A' division cricket league.
The scores:
A division: Kayal Sporting Club 110 in 30 overs (Raj five for 20) lost to DCW 112 for four in 15 overs (Edwin 58).
Classic 194 in 39.1 overs bt Pusco 174 in 39.1 overs (Krishnamurthi 41).
B division: Young Star 144 in 31.5 overs (Arul four for three) bt Young Waves 139 in 34.2 overs.
Pope's 80 in 26.4 overs lost to Youth 84 for three in 15.1 overs (Balasubramanian 40).
C division: United Sport Club 195 in 29.5 overs (Columbus 67) bt Pearl City 124 in 21.2 overs.
VOC XI 155 in 36.2 overs (Rufus 67, Manikandan four for 26) bt SDR 115 in 21.3 overs.
Tirunelveli in last four
Tirunelveli edged out Kancheepuram 1-0 and entered the semifinals in the senior State football championship at Sivanthipuram (Tirunelveli district) on Friday.
The results: Quarterfinals: Tirunelveli 1 (Praveen Raja) bt Kancheepuram 0. First round: Virudhunagar 5 (Balamurugan 3, Gnanaguru 1, Selvamani 1) bt Nagapattinam 1(Ilavarasan).
Basketball tourney
The 53rd all-India basketball tournament for the L.R.G. Naidu Memorial Cup (men) and the third all-India basketball tournament for the K.C.P. Indirani Memorial Cup (women) begin at the Municipal Tiruvalluvar playgrounds in Karur on Saturday.
The six-day tournament is being organised by the Karur Basketball Club.
The participating teams:
Men: IOB (Chennai), South Central Railway (Secunderabad), Sports Hostel of Excellence (Chennai), Indian Air Force (New Delhi), ICF (Chennai), Corps of Military Police (Bangalore), Customs (Chennai), KSEB (Thiruvananthapuram), Gopalapuram BC (Chennai), Arise BC (Chennai), Indian Navy (Lonavla) and Customs & Central Excise (Cochin).
Women: Southern Railway (Chennai), KSEB (Thiruvananthapuram), Rising Star BC (Chennai) and South Central Railway (Secunderabad).
Sandeep strikes
At Udhamangalam, S. Sandeep picked five for 38 and scored 65 in Colts Cricket Club's six-wicket win over Fernhill Youngsters Sports Club in the TNCA-NDCA second division cricket league for the Murali Babu Rolling Trophy at the HPF grounds on Friday.
The scores: Fernhill Youngsters SC 141 (J. Padmanabhan 59, R. Manigandan 39, S. Sandeep five for 38) lost to Colts CC 142 for four in 17.4 overs (S. Sandeep 65).
Green City CC 94 (A. Ignatius four for 36, P. Saravana Ragu three for 14) lost to Wonder XI 95 for two in 13.3 overs (I. Saurabh 48).
