Pune, Dec 22 : Bangalore lads Chikkarangappa and Trishul Chinappa were in lead after the first round of the Lalit Suri Western India Junior Golf Championship at the par-71 Poona Club Golf Course here Tuesday.

Both players are tied for top spot after returning a card of four-over 75.

But it is only a slender lead for both players with three players - Ankur Chadha, Ashbeer Saini and Khalin Joshi - sharing third spot at five-over 76.

Pune, Dec 7 : Veer Patel, riding a CR 250F of Team Pashankar delivered two second places to clinch the overall title in the showpiece Class 1 class (Foreign motorcycles, Group A) in the sixth and concluding round of the MRF National Supercross championship.

CS Santosh of Team TVS (250X) took the honours in both the Motos (races) while team-mate Aravind KP, riding an identical bike, came in third behind Patel here Sunday.

Khadakwasla (Pune), Nov 29 : Chief of Army Staff, General Deepak Kapoor today said it is important to ensure that Pakistan''s nuclear weapons does not fall in wrong hands.

Responding to reports that the National Command Authority in Pakistan, which controls the nuclear button, has been handed over to Pakistan Prime Minister Yusouf Raza Gilani. General Kapoor said, "What is more important is to have proper control over nuclear weapons and ensure that it does not go to wrong hands."

Pune, Nov 27 : Rashid Khan once again came good on the final day to win the LG Western India Amateur title in a comfortable fashion. In the final round Friday, at the Par-71 Poona Club Golf Course Rashid shot a round of even-par 71, and with a tournament total of one-under 283, the Delhi player won by a margin of five shots.

Rahul Bajaj could not really put the pressure on the eventual winner and had to be content with a runner-up finish after he carded a round of four-over 75 to finish five shots back.

Pune (Maharashtra), Nov 26: A musical prayer meeting was held here on Thursday in the memory of slain Mumbai police officer Ashok Kaamte.

Friends, acquaintances and family members of the late police officer gathered at his residence to hold a condolence meeting.

"He sacrificed his life for the country. May his soul rest in peace. This type of incident should never occur in the country again. That is my prayer to almighty," said one of the male participants.

People also paid floral tributes to Kaamte.

Pune, Nov 25: Rahul Bajaj put on a spirited display to charge ahead of the rest of the field after the second round of the LG Western India Amateur at the par-71 Poona Club Golf Course.

Bajaj returned a card of four-under 67, the best round of the day. At six-under 136 for the tournament, he is four shots clear of second-placed Rashid Khan. Rashid carded a round of even-par 71 to take second place.

Pune, Nov. 25 : As President Pratibha Patil undertook her maiden flight wearing a G-Suit in a Sukhoi fighter jet from Sukhoi-30 MKI here on Wednesday morning, the Lohegaon Air Force base was all decked up for the sortie.

After reaching the Air Force base at about nine o’clock in the morning, the President, who is also the supreme commander of the armed forces of the country, was given a ceremonial Guard of Honour.

Pune, Nov 25 : A decision to induct women into the fighter stream will be taken after due consideration, President Pratibha Patil said after completing her sortie in the Indian Air Force (IAF) war jet Sukhoi Su-30 MKI Wednesday.

The president, who is also the first woman supreme commander of the Indian armed forces, said that while she had confidence in the capability of women, the decision to allow women in combat would be taken by the three services after deliberation.

Pune, Nov 25 - Flying President Pratibha Patil in a Sukhoi-30MKI was an honour and a pleasure, Wing Commander S. Sajan said Wednesday.

"I am honoured by the experience and it was a pleasure flying the president," said a beaming Sajan shortly after landing safely with his distinguished 'co-pilot' at the Lohegaon Air Base near Pune.

Pune, Nov. 25 : President Pratibha Devisingh Patil is all set to enter the record books by flying Sukhoi-30 on Wednesday from Pune Airbase, an attempt which is likely to register her name in Guinness Book of World Records.

President Patil, 74, is scheduled to fly in the Indian Air Force’s (IAF) most potent multi-role combat aircraft, the Sukhoi-30 MKI, from the Lohegaon air base here.

Pune, Nov 24 : Car designer Dilip Chhabria has revolutionised the automobile market by redesigning the cheapest car in the world, Nano, manufactured by Tata Motors.

Earlier in September, Chhabria''s DC Design and Jagdish Khattar-owned Carnation Auto, a multi-brand automobile solutions hub, had entered into a partnership, under which they would provide customized solutions to Nano owners in the country.

And, for an additional Rs. 80,000, Chhabria has come up with a stylish version of the Nano and named his creation as ‘Hot Nano’.

Pune, Nov 24 : President Pratibha Patil will Wednesday do what no woman before her has ever done - fly in a Sukhoi-30MKI, an Indian Air Force (IAF) fighter jet. And all preparations are in place for the 30-minute flight that takes off from the Lohegaon Air Force base on the outskirts of this city.

The air force base is all decked up for the sortie Wednesday morning, IAF Wing Commander T. K. Singha told IANS here Tuesday.

Pune, Nov 24 : Rashid Khan and Rahul Bajaj shot identical 69 each to take the lead after the first round of the LG Western India Amateur at the Par-71 Poona Club Golf Course here Tuesday.

Bajaj had as many as six birdies in his round, while Rashid managed to get to the mark with a final-hole eagle.

Hyderabad's Arshdeep Tiwana is two back after he carded a round of even-par 71. Two shots further back, at two-over 73 for the tournament, there are as many as five players led by local lad Aditya Bhandarkar. The others at the same mark are Abhinav Lohan, Gagan Verma, Siddharth Semwal and Bangalore's Chikkarangappa.

Pune, Nov 21 : Sixth-seeded and 237th-ranked Rika Fujiwara of Japan defeated 189th-ranked and third-seeded Bojana Jovanovski of Serbia 5-7, 6-4, 6-3 to lift the $50,000 NECC-ITF Women's tennis trophy here Saturday.

In a well-fought final lasting two hours and 33 minutes, the diminutive 28-year-old Japanese used all her experience to stop the fighting Serbian Fed Cupper Jovanovski and win the top prize of $7,315 and 70 WTA points.

Pune, Nov 20 : The Indian hockey team''s Spanish coach, Jose Manuel Brasa, has denied reports of a rift between him and the players.

He said this on the sidelines of a training session here on Thursday.

Pune, Nov 19 : Hockey India (HI) president Ashok Kumar Mattoo appears to have brought about at least a temporary truce between the players and national coach Jose Brasa, attributing the recent stand-off between them to a lack of communication.

Both Brasa and deposed captain Sandeep Singh, who is seen as the spearhead of a revolt by senior players, did their bit to defuse the tension by making politically correct statements, though the coach was aggressive while talking to the media.

Pune, Nov 18 : India's Nirupama Sanjeev, Poojashree Venkatesha, Sanaa Bhambri and lucky loser Sheetal Goutham crashed out of the singles event of the $50,000 NECC-ITF Women's Tennis championships here Wednesday.

Uzbek wild card Sabina Sharipova, 15, upset second seeded Slovak Masa Zec Peskiric 6-3, 6-2 to enter the quarter-finals.

In the second round, top seed and 111 ranked Tamarine Tanasugarn stopped Nirupama 6-2,6-3 in 91 minutes, while third seeded Bojana Jovanovski outplayed Poojashree Venkatesha 6-1, 6-0.

Pune, Nov 18 : The polling phase doesn''t seem to die away from the Pait and Parunde villages here. The villagers will cast their votes on November 22 to choose whether liquor shops should be banned in the area.

The residents of Pait village in Khed taluka and Parunde in Junnar taluka have put forward a memorandum to the District Collector and the Excise Department asking for the liquor shops to be removed from the area prior to the election.

The symbols this time are just two: a standing bottle and a tilted bottle.

Pune, Nov 17 : U S terror suspect David Headley visited the ''Osho Ashram'' here twice during 2008 and 2009, a top police official said on Tuesday.

"Headley stayed in the city for a day in June 2008 and March 2009 and visited the Ashram, frequented by foreigners," Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Ravindra Sengaonkar said.

Sengaonkar further quoted Ashram officials as saying that Headley also visited the establishment at Koregaon for meditation.

Pune, Nov 16 : Sanaa Bhambri provided the silver lining to a rainy day by outplaying Indo-Japanese player Anastasia Malhotra 6-3, 6-4 to enter the second round of the $50,000 NECC- ITF Women's Tennis championships here Monday.

In other first round singles played, second seeded and 119th ranked Masa Zec-Peskiric and sixth seeded and 237th ranked Rika Fujiwara of Japan also scored one-sided wins.

Zec-Peskiric outserved Hae-Sung Kim of Korea 6-3, 6-4, while Fujiwara ousted junior compatriot Miki Miyamura 6-2, 6-1.