CHENNAI: Overnight leader Koneru Humpy (AP) was held to a draw by third seed Saheli Barua (Ryls) in the fifth round facilitating Anupama Gokhale (PSCB), R Aarthie and S Meenakshi (both TN) to join Humpy in the lead with 4.5 points each in the 25th Sportstar National Women `B' Chess Championship.Five players, Saritha Reddy, MR Sangeetha, Pazha Sivakami (all TN), Saheli Barua (Rlys) and Neha Singh (Bih) were sharing the second spot with 4 points each at the conlusion of the fifth round today..

Important Results (5th rund): Saheli Barua (Rlys) 4 drew with K Humpy (AP) 4.5, JE Kavitha (TN) 3.5 lost to Anupama Gokhale (PSCB) (4.5), S Meenakshi (TN) 4.5 bt SR Radha (PSCB) 3.5, R Aarthie (TN) 4.5 bt E Sheena (Ker) 3.5, Saritha R (TN) 4 bt S Mahajan (Mah) (3), Bindu Saritha (LIC) 3 lost to PL Sivakami (TN) 4, M Kasturi (TN) 3 lost to Neha Singh (Bih) 4, MR Sangeetha (TN) 4 bt Indulakshmi (TN) 3

Ratiwatana shocks Saif Ali

CALCUTTA: Thesecond day of the International Tennis Federation Junior Meet witnessed another upset in the boys' singles when sixth seed Saif Ali went down to unseeded S Ratiwatana of Thailand in the first round itself. Ali, hailing from Calcutta, managed to win the first set 6-2, but went on to lose the next two 3-6, 1-6.

Later, Ali pairing with Dipesh Rao, seeded second in boys' doubles, lost to S Ashutosh and Shivanandan 4-6, 2-6.

CRPF upstage Air-India for title

NEW DELHI: Central Reserve Police Force defeated Air-India (Mumbai) 6-3 via tie-breaker in the final of the All-India Lal Bahadur Shastri Hockey Tournament at the National Stadium here today. The teams were locked 2-2 at the end of the regulation time with SK Vashist & Topher Kujur scoring for CRPF while Gagan Ajit Singh and Rajesh Chauhan finding the mark for the airmen.

The Mumbai outfit staged a remarkable recovery to tie the score but former India junior goalkeeper Edgar Mascarenhas failed to live up to his reputation in the shootout.

Incontrast, CRPF custodian Y Rabindro Singh was able to stop twice during the tie-breaker.

Peerless surge into last-four stage

CALCUTTA: Title aspirant Peerless played out a goalless draw against Calcutta Port Trust (CPT) in their last Group-A league match and moved into the semi-finals of the 14th All Airlines Gold Cup Football Tournament at the Salt Lake stadium here today.

Peerless, who lost their opening match to Border Security Force (BSF) by a solitary goal, thus completed their league engagements with three points.

Runglee Rangloit Golf from Thursday

CALCUTTA: The second Runglee Rangliot Golf Championships, one of the biggest amateur golf events, will be held at the Royal Calcutta Golf Club from Thursday. The handicap tournament to be played among teams of three individuals each, will continue till December 13. As many as 657 amateur golfers have entered their names, of which 47 are women.

INDIAN OPEN: The Classic Indian Open Golf Tournament, will be held at the RoyalCalcutta Golf Club for the fourth consecutive year in 1999. The event will start on March 18 and continue till March 21.