Imphal, June 28: After A.B. Meitei and S. Bikramjit, L. Imocha Singh became the third chess player from Manipur to qualify for the country’s National “A” championship.

His good chessboard moves helped him secure 23rd position in the 45th National “B” championship held at Dindigul in Tamil Nadu from June 10 to 20.

With his new ranking, Imocha can participate in the 45th National “A” championship to be held in Tamil Nadu later this year.

If Imocha fares well and moves to the top 10 slot, he is likely to be included in the squad that will represent India in the Chess Olympiad.

Junior hockey meet

Manipur boys entered the quarterfinals of the 34th National Junior Hockey Championship 2007 beating Karnataka yesterday by a 2-1 margin in the last league match in Chennai. They will take on Punjab later today.

In the Karnataka match, L. Joychandra proved lucky for Manipur as he scored both the winning goals. The Manipur team still remains undefeated. They blanked Tripura 10-2, posted a 3-2 win against defending champions SAIL India and beat Jammu & Kashmir by a 9-1 margin.

Abu in U-19 squad: Abu Nas-chim Ahmed was on Thursday named for the Indian under-19 squad that will tour Sri Lanka from July 15, says a staff reporter from Guwahati.

Last year, he represented India in the under-19 World Cup and toured England, Pakistan and New Zealand. Assam batsman Parvez Aziz, who was part of the team, has been excluded on having crossed the age limit. Pritam Das, who is among the probables for the Indian under-19 team, will be in the South Africa tour squad.