Tamil Nadu, Indian Railways advance to semis

New Delhi: Tamil Nadu eves scored a thrilling 59-58 win over Andhra Pradesh to storm into the semifinals of the National Basketball Championship at the Talkatora Stadium here on Sunday. S Kokila (25) was the top scorer for the winners while Menda Meshram (16) did well for AP. Meanwhile, both the Indian Railways teams continued their unconquered run in the tournament as the women team demolished the challenge of Punjab by over a 100 points, winning 142-41 to book the semifinal berth. Manish Danle (24) and Anju Lakara (21) shone for Railways while Rajwinder Kaur scored 16 points for the Punjab side. The men`s team of the Indian Railways beat Chhattisgarh 83-41 in their quarterfinal. The star-studded Delhi Women`s team put up a dominating performance as they defeated Maharashtra easily 81-59 in their quarter-final game. Point guard Akanksha Singh led with 25 points for the hosts. Elsewhere, Punjab Men, one of the favourites of the competition, played a close match against a strong Uttarakhand side, managing to pull away late and win 56-52 in an exciting game.Punjab`s duo of Talwinderjit Singh and Amrit Pal Singh scored 19 points each to seal the victory. Scores: Women Chhattisgarh 66 (Akanskha Singh 22, Kavita 21) bt. Kerala 54 (Jeena PS 21, Soniya Joy 14). Tamil Nadu 59 (S Kokila 25, Apoorva Muralinath 13) bt. Andhra Pradesh 58 (Menda Meshram 16). Indian Railways 142 (Manisha Danle 24, Anju Lakara 21) bt. Punjab 41 (Rajwinder Kaur 16). Delhi 81 (Akanksha Singh 25) bt. Maharashtra 59 (Sneha Rajguru 13). Scores: Men Services 99 (Narendar G 26, Gopal Ram 18) bt. Andhra Pradesh 54. Punjab 56 (Talwinderjit Singh 19, Amrit Pal Singh 19) bt. Uttarakhand 52 (Murli Krishna 14). Indian Railways 83 (Vishesh Bhriguvanshi 13) bt. Chhattisgarh 41. Kerala 69 bt. Tamil Nadu 68. Semi Final Schedule for Monday, January 3. 1:00 PM Chhattisgarh vs Indian Railways (Women) 3:00 PM Punjab vs Indian Railways (Men) 5:00 PM Tamil Nadu vs Delhi (Women) 7:00 PM Services vs Kerala (Men). PTI