By A Sports Correspondent

NEW DELHI: Balwinder Singh, who led the triumphant Punjab team in the National Kabaddi Championships has been appointed captain of the Indian team for the SAF Games in Islamabad next month.

The President of the Amateur Kabaddi Federation of India, Janardhan Singh Geblot, described Balwinder as an outstanding player.

He said the Punjab star had been recommended for this year’s Aqjuna Award.

The Indian team was selected last week: at Patiala, The list was released by the federation here

Balwinder Singh was selected captain despite the fact that he had not attended the Patiala camp. But Gehlot said that the Punjab captain had been asked to report at the camp immediately.

Balwinder Singh is the only player from Punjab to have been selected in the team.

Gehlot pointed out that three other players from Punjab had been invited to attend the camp but they failed to run up at Patiala.

The Indian team for the SAF Games will be: Balwinder Singh (Punjab); Ashan Kumar, Balwan Singh and B.J Sirohi (all from Services); Vijindra Singh and Randhir Singh (both from Railways), Tirth Raj (DeIhi), Ashok Shindwa and Suryakant Tatil (Maharashtra), Kamal Kishore Pathak (Rajasthan); J. Palani (Tamil Nadu) and Padam Veer Singh (UP).

Padam Veer Singh had also not attended the camp but was included purely on merit, Gehlot said.

  1. Nair will be the manager and RL. Rana the coach of the team.

The four players in the standby list are  Chaudhary (West Bengal), Gopi (Kamnataka), Veer Pal Singh (UP) and Om Prakash from Haryana.

The Kabaddi Federation chief said that besides India, host Pakistan, Bangladesh, Butan and Nepal would compete in the Kabaddi event of the SAF games.

After the SAF Games, an Indian team is due to tour China from November 1010 16. ‘This is being done at the invitation of the Chinese Olympic Committee.

India would also take part in an International Invitation Tournament at Kuala Tournament at Kuala Lumpur from November 20 to 25.

A Kabaddi team from Bhutan would come for seven days to Calcutta this month to train at the camp for the SAF Games.

The Japan Kabaddi Association bad also asked for an Indian coach to train their team for the next two months BANGALORE: India will field a 10 member weightlifting team at the SAF games, according to a Weightlifting Federation of India (WEI) Press release issued here.

After the three day trials here, where many records were shattered, the following were selected to represent the country at the games. G. Velu (Railways: 56 kg), UDanda Pani (Railways; 60 ke), Parmjit Sharma (Services 67.5 ke) K.D. Mondal (Services 75 kg), Ks. Muthu (Services 82.5 kg), Rajinder Pal (Railways 90 kg), Jagjit Singh (Railways 100 kg), A.K. Sirohi (Railways 110 kg) and Dalbir Singh (Punjab over 110 kg).

Agjuna award winners E. Karunakaran of the Railways and P.S, Sandhu (Services) will be the manager and coach, respectively.

Article extracted from this publication >>  September 29, 1989