The Hindu : Sport : Kabir, George win Indmerc Power boat rally

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Monday, Feb 16, 2009
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Kabir, George win Indmerc Power boat rally

Principal Correspondent

KOCHI: Their rally began with a disaster and ended in triumph and joy. Kottayam’s Kabir Kurian and Kochi’s George Joseph won the Indmerc Power boat rally, organised by the Offshore Sailing Association of India, on the Kochi backwaters on Sunday.

After their first boat, a 50-hp vessel competing in the below-115 hp class, hit a rock minutes after the start, the duo came back in a powerful 250 hp Praga Marine Lancer and won the above-115 hp title in the 20-nautical mile event.

“We’re totally shocked with this victory,” said the 32-year-old Kabir Kurian, the captain of the AVG Kabir team at the Taj Malabar Hotel, the finishing point. “We were the last to start after we damaged the first boat but we were smart. We did well at all the six check points.”

They were lucky too. Amit Mathew, Senior Resident Editor and General Manager of Malayala Manorama (Kochi), was a front-runner for the top prize but a small confusion towards the end saw him miss the last checkpoint and spoil his chances.“We thought we had to regroup at the starting point. We missed it this time but we’ll be stronger next time,” said Diya Mathew, Amit’s wife and navigator.Kochi’s George John and John Mathews (Karian team) finished runner-up in the above 115-hp section. Jimmy Tachera and Manoj (Backwater Ripples) won the below 115-hp division with the second place shared by Navy teams, led by Rear Admiral Sunil Lanba and Cdr A. K. Behl. Vice Admiral Sunil K. Damle, who is also the President of the Offshore Sailing Association of India, was the chief guest at the closing function.

Final placings: Above 115 hp: 1. Kabir Kurian/George Joseph (Team AVG Kabir), 2. George John/John Mathew (Team Karian).

Below 115 hp: 1. Jimmy Tachera/Manoj (Backwater Ripples), 2. Rear Admiral Sunil Lanba/Cdr N. Bishnoi (Navy) & Cdr A. K. Behl/Lt Shyam Kiran.

Samson sizzles

A fine century by Sanju V. Samson (104) enabled State Bank of Travancore ‘B’ defeat Lover’s XI by six wickets in the Thiruvananthapuram district ‘B’ division league at the Agriculture College ground here on Sunday.

Lover’s XI aided by an unbeaten century by S. Shaji (101) posted a challenging score of 249 for nine in its allotted 45 overs. However, Sanju stole the thunder with a fine knock as SBT won with more than four overs to spare. In another match, Rising Star crushed YMCC by nine wickets.

The scores: Lover’s XI 249 for nine in 45 overs (S. Shaji 101 n.o.) lost to SBT ‘B’ 251 for four in 40.5 overs (Sanju V. Samson 104, Ashok Issac 57). YMCC 148 in 27 overs lost to Rising Star 149 for one in 15.4 overs (Manoj 47).

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