Author: Abhishek Shukla

Owner of Sports India Live.
by Abhishek Shukla

PKL Season 6: Haryana Steelers defeated Gujarat in the first match at home

Haryana Steelers began their home leg of Vivo Pro Kabaddi Season VI as they beat Gujarat Fortunegiants 32-25. Steelers’ star raider Monu Goyat scored seven points and was ably supported by Kuldeep Singh who chipped in with seven points as well. For Gujarat, Sachin and Prapanjan combined to score 17 points. It was an all round effort from Haryana which propelled them to win the match.

Haryana Steelers were the better team in the first half as they scored raid points at will. With Monu and Kuldeep inflicting bulk of damage on Gujarat. Just before the end of the first half, Haryana Steelers inflicted an all out and led 20-13 at the break.

The fittest player of the match was Kuldeep Singh who looked sharper than all other raiders on the mat.

In the crowd was Olympic Games bronze medalist Yogeshwar Dutt who is also the brand ambassador for Haryana to cheer them on. In front of raucous home crowd, Steelers continued to pile on the pressure on Gujarat Fortunegiants.

Sunil Kumar at the back for Gujarat was a rock and scored five tackle points. In the second half it was once again Haryana Steelers who dominated the proceedings.

The bravest moment of the match came from Prapanjan who scored back to back raids to get Gujarat back in the game.

However it wasn’t enough as Haryana Steelers maintained their composure to win the match 32-25.

In tomorrow’s matches Telugu Titans will play UP Yoddha while Haryana Steelers face U Mumba.

by Abhishek Shukla

Indian Junior Men’s Hockey Team lose 2-3 to Great Britain

Johor Bahru (Malaysia), 07 October 2018: The Indian Junior Men’s Hockey team lost a hard-fought encounter 2-3 to Great Britain in the last round robin match here at the 8th Sultan of Johor Cup 2018 on Friday. However, with four wins on the trot earlier in the tournament, the Indian Junior Men’s Team qualified for the Final with 12 points. Great Britain are placed second in the points table with 10 points from five games out of which they won three matches.     
 
On Friday, the Indian Junior Men’s Team led by Mandeep Mor made a strong start making potential forays in the striking circle. The tactic fetched them two back-to-back PCs in the 5th minute and Vishnukant Singh converted the second attempt after a good variation. But the following minute Great Britain, last year’s Runner’s up, scored a brilliant field goal through Cameron Golden to equalise 1-1. 
 
In the second quarter too, India continued to keep up the momentum stretching Great Britain’s defense. While the first PC went amiss, the second PC was well-struck by Shilanand Lakra in the 20th minute which was handy work of good variation and deflection that helped them take a 2-1 lead. The third quarter though belonged to Great Britain, as they tested the Indian defence. Defensive errors in the circle on India’s part saw them give away back to back PCs. Great Britain didn’t miss this opportunity as they scored in the 39th minute through Stuart Rushmere. 
 
The English put Indian defence under pressure in the final quarter as they found ways to create chances in the circle. A PC earned in the 51st minute saw them convert their third goal through Captain Edward Way and eventually defended the score-line to hand Indian Junior Men’s Team their first loss in the tournament. 
 
Indian Junior Men’s Team will next play the Final on 13 October 2018 at 18.05hrs IST.
by Abhishek Shukla

Indian U-18 Men’s Hockey Team progress to Semi-Finals of Buenos Aires 2018 Youth Olympic Games

Buenos Aires (Argentina), 12 October 2018: The Indian U-18 Men’s Hockey Team continued to impress at the Buenos Aires 2018 Youth Olympic Games as they defeated Poland 4-2 in their Quarter-Final match held here at the Parque Polideportivo Roca on Friday and progress to the Semi-Finals of the fast-paced Hockey 5s competition. India’s well fought victory saw Shivam Anand (1′, 8′) score twice as Maninder Singh (3′) and Sanjay (17′) also registered their names on the score-sheet. Poland’s goals were scored by Eryk Bembenek (16′) and Michal Nowakowski (18′).

India started the match well and rocketed to a 2-0 lead inside the first three minutes as Forward Shivam Anand scored the first goal within 48 seconds of the beginning while Midfielder Maninder Singh scored the second in the 3rd minute after fellow team-mate Sudeep Chirmako had missed the target in the 2nd minute. Poland, on the other hand, did not back down and forced Indian Goalkeeper Prashant Chauhan to make four brilliant saves in the first period. India’s Shivam Anand made sure that Poland went into the half-time break three goals down as the Indian scored his second of the match in the 7th minute and help his team dominate the encounter.

The second period saw Poland produce some more shots at the Indian goal which helped them in pulling a goal back in the 16th minute through Eryk Bembenek, who scored after several attempts were wasted by his teammates. However, India’s Sanjay helped his team in restoring the three-goal advantage as he scored past Polish Goalkeeper Jakub Gebler to make the scoreline 4-1. The Polish team tried to create more chances to turn the match around and found a second goal in the 18th minute which was scored by Michal Nowakowski, but it turned out to be too little, too late for the Europeans as India secured their passage through to the Semi-Finals of the competition.

The Indian U-18 Men’s Hockey team will face the winner of the Quarter-Final match between hosts Argentina and Bangladesh.

India will be playing their Semi-Final match on 13th October 2018 from 22.30hrs IST onwards.

by Abhishek Shukla

Indian U-18 Women’s Hockey Team progress to Quarter-Finals of Buenos Aires 2018 Youth Olympic Games

Buenos Aires (Argentina), 12 October 2018: The Indian U-18 Women’s Hockey team on Thursday produced a decisive performance to defeat South Africa 5-2 in their fifth and final Pool A match of the Buenos Aires 2018 Youth Olympic Games held here at the Parque Polideportivo Roca. The victory saw India secure their spot in the Quarter-Finals of the Hockey 5s competition as they finished in the second spot with a tally of 12 points, behind leaders Argentina.

Mumtaz Khan (2′, 17′), Reet (10′), Lalremsiami (12′) and Ishika Chaudhary (13′) scored in India’s convincing victory over South Africa as the team ended the Pool stages on a positive after Wednesday’s defeat to hosts Argentina.

The match against South Africa saw India score their first goal inside the opening two minutes as Mumtaz Khan scored off her first shot. Both the teams had their chances in the first period, and it was South Africa’s turn to make the most of the opportunity as they scored the equalizer in the 10th minute through Kayla de Waal. However, India’s Reet made sure that her team went into the half-time break with a 2-1 lead as she scored emphatically with just five seconds remaining on the clock.

The start of the second period saw India’s Mumtaz Khan force two saves off the South African Goalkeeper Mishka Ellis, but it was Lalremsiami who benefited from the constant pressure as she scored India’s third goal in the 12th minute. Iskika Chaudhary also registered her name on the score-sheet as she popped up in the 13th minute to extend India’s lead to 4-1, while Mumtaz Khan scored her second of the match in the 17th minute to make the scoreline 5-1 in India’s favour. South Africa tried to make a comeback into the match in the dying stages but could only pull a goal back in the 19th minute through Angela Welham, as India registered their fourth win in five matches to secure the second spot in Pool A.

The Indian U-18 Women’s team will now play in the Quarter-Finals of the competition which will be held on 12th October 2018 from 22.30hrs IST onwards.

by Abhishek Shukla

Spirited Indian Junior Men’s Hockey Team beat Defending Champions Australia 5-4

Johor Bahru (Malaysia), 10 October 2018: The Indian Junior Men’s Hockey team registered their fourth successive victory at the 8th Sultan of Johor Cup 2018 as they beat Defending Champions Australia 5-4. The win has helped the team top the Pool Table and an assured place in Top four stage.   
 
The Indian Team made a dominating start to their match with their best attack in the first quarter. Though their initial chance of scoring from a PC went amiss, Gursahibjit Singh scored a fine field goal to give India 1-0 lead in the 5th minute. The team built on a good start to score three more back-to-back goals in the 11th, 14th and 15th minute through Haspreet Singh, Mandeep Mor and Vishnukant Singh respectively. The 4-0 lead at the end of the first quarter was a major setback for the Defending Champions. 
 
However, India faltered in their defence in the second quarter only to give away an easy goal through a penalty stroke in the 18th minute. Damon Steffens who scored the first goal for Australia ended up scoring the second goal too when an Indian infringement inside the circle saw them concede a PC in the 35th minute, narrowing the goal deficit to 4-2. Though Shilanand Lakra scored in the 43rd minute to take India’s lead to 5-3, Australia put India through some tense moments as they appeared to make a late recovery, by stretching India’s defence. 
 
In the 59th minute, the pressure to defend the scoreline saw India Colts give away another penalty stroke which was easily converted by Steffans taking the goal difference to a narrow 5-4. But India held their nerves to finish the match in their favour.  
 
Indian Junior Men’s Team will next take on Great Britain in their fifth match on 12 October 2018 at 13.35hrs IST.
by Abhishek Shukla

Need to play cautiously against every team at the Hero Asian Champions Trophy Muscat 2018: Manpreet Singh

Muscat, 08 October, 2018: The disappointment of losing to Malaysia in the Semi-Final of the recently held 18th Asian Games Jakarta-Palembang still lingers on at the back of Manpreet Singh’s mind. “It was a tournament we should have won and the disappointment of losing to Malaysia in the Semi-Final still haunts us,” stated the midfielder, who was named the Captain by Hockey India for the Hero Asian Champions Trophy Muscat 2018. 
 
Over the past three weeks, the Indian Men’s Hockey team has been put through the grind at the Kalinga Stadium – the venue for the prestigious quadrennial event Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup, Bhubaneswar 2018. Doing well at the Hero Asian Champions Trophy Muscat 2018 will be integral in their preparations for the mega event on home soil later this year. Manpreet said, “At the 18th Asian Games Jakarta-Palembang, I think we were slightly overconfident that we are Asia’s No.1 team and this complacency is what we need to avoid during the Hero Asian Champions Trophy Muscat 2018 if we want to retain the title. Post the Semi-Final loss, the team had several meetings to understand where we went wrong and watched the videos from that match numerous times. When we regrouped for the National Camp, we told ourselves it’s time to move on and we cannot let the past affect our chances at the upcoming two big tournaments.”
 
The Defending Champions will take on hosts Oman in their opening match on 18 October and play arch-rivals and previous edition’s runners-up Pakistan in their second round robin match on 20 October. The Manpreet Singh-led squad will play 18th Asian Games Jakarta-Palembang Champions Japan on 21 October. The team will take on Malaysia on 23 October followed by the last round robin match on 24 October against Korea. The Semi-Finals will be played on 27 October with the Final to be held on 28 October. 
 
The Captain of the team further stated that the challenging weather conditions in Bhubaneswar will help them acclimatize to the humid playing conditions in Oman. “The playing conditions in Oman will be similar to Bhubaneswar and we are training hard, sometimes train till late in the night as some of our matches start late in the Hero Asian Champions Trophy Muscat 2018. Our aim going into the tournament is simple – We play to our potential against every team without taking anyone including Oman lightly. There won’t be any room for complacency. We have watched videos of how each of these teams play and we are prepared for the challenge,” he said.      
 
Speaking of his own role in the midfield, in the absence of stalwart Sardar Singh who announced his retirement last month, Manpreet said: “I always aim to do my best for the team and what is expected from me by the team. We have youngsters like Nilakanta Sharma who plays beside me and defender Hardik Singh who is making his debut, the seniors constantly talk and communicate on field to help the youngsters and ensure everyone understands each other’s game well. Everyone is putting their best effort in our preparations and we have paid a lot of attention to on-field communication apart from other aspects of the game,” Manpreet concluded. 
 
Indian Men’s Hockey Team list: 
 
Goalkeepers: PR Sreejesh, Krishan Bahadur Pathak
Defenders: Harmanpreet Singh, Gurinder Singh, Varun Kumar, Kothajit Singh Khadangbam, Surender Kumar, Jarmanpreet Singh, Hardik Singh
Midfielders: Manpreet Singh (Captain), Sumit, Nilakanta Sharma, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay, Chinglensana Singh Kangujam (Vice Captain)
Forwards: Akashdeep Singh, Gurjant Singh, Mandeep Singh, Dilpreet Singh
by Abhishek Shukla

Archana meets Chinese Yingsha in YOG semifinals

Pune, October 10: Archana Girish Kamath had to summon all her skills, energy and nerves to overcome Azerbaijan’s Nign Jing 13-11, 8-11, 6-11, 11-3, 6-11, 12-10, 11-7 to enter the semifinals of the 3rd Youth Olympics Games in Buenos Aires (Argentina).

In the semifinals, to be played later tonight, she takes on China’s Yingsha Sun. A win against will put her into the medal round straightaway, failing which the Indian will have a shot at the playoff for the bronze medal.

But the spectacular fight she put yesterday in the Argentina capital must have given her enough confidence for the semifinals against the Chinese.

After taking the extended first game, Archana was hit back by Ning Jing, a Chinese original players turning out for Azerbaijan, who went 2-1 up to mount pressure on the Indian. But Archana was up to the task and levelled 3-3 before dropping the next.

At this junction, the 18-year-old had to muster courage to keep her nerves calm and approach the match with composure. And she did it marvelously to first erase the deficit and in the decider, playing like a champion, she simply demolished her opponent.

“It was a tough match and she fought till the very end. So I am very happy that I could win. But credit should also go her because she played really well,” said Archana. Asked about her plans, she just smiled and added: I am very excited about the semifinals.”

by Abhishek Shukla

Indian U-18 Women’s Hockey Team beat Vanuatu 16-0 in their 3rd match of the Buenos Aires 2018 Youth Olympic Games

Buenos Aires (Argentina), 09 October 2018: The Indian U-18 Women’s Hockey continued their good form at the Buenos Aires 2018 Youth Olympic Games as they defeated Vanuatu 16-0 in their third match of the Hockey 5s competition here today at the Parque Polideportivo Roca. Forward Mumtaz Khan (8’, 11′, 12′, 15’) scored four times and Chetna scored thrice (6’, 14’, 17’) to help India achieve this dominating win.

 

The Indian team were in top gear right from the word go. Like last match, in-form striker Lalremsiami opened India’s account scoring in the 2nd minute. Thirty seconds later, Reet scored India’s second and a minute later skipper Salima Tete joined the party to make it 3-0 in just four minutes of first period. Vanuatu had no replies to India’s constant attack as Baljeet Kaur entered score sheets twice within 5th minute making it 5-0. Chetna scored her first of three in the sixth minute as Reet doubled her tally in the same minute to take India to 7-0. Mumtaz (8’) and Lalremsiami (10’) scored apiece before the first period ended at 9-0 in India’s favour.

 

The second period looked no different as India continued to add to Vanuatu’s misery by scoring goals at will. The island nation who already had conceded 32 goals in their last two outings hardly had shots on India’s goal. The Indians took as many as 40 shots in total during the match compared to just five from their opponents. India scored a goal a minute in the first five minutes of the second half through Mumtaz (11′, 12′, 15’), Salima (13’) and Chetna (14’). India’s 15th and Chetna’s third came in the 17th minute. Ishika Chaudhary scored India’s last goal in the last minute ensuring all players except goalkeeper entered the scoresheet.

 

The Indian U-18 Women’s team will now face Argentina in their fourth match of the Hockey 5s competition on Wednesday, 10th October 2018, at 21.00hrs IST.

 

by Abhishek Shukla

Saurav Ghosal fell at the hands of Mohamed Elshorbagy at US Open

Philadelphia: Top ranked Indian, Saurav Ghosal’s tenure ended in the US Open 2018, a PSA world tour platinum event, in the third round on Tuesday.

Pitted against the top seed and highly rated Egyptian Mohamed Elshorbagy, the Indian did put up some resistance but in the end that did not help. The Egyptian won 11-5, 16-14, 11-9 to enter the quarterfinal.

The other Indian in the fray, Joshna Chinappa, the 16th seed in the women’s section awaits herthird round match against eighth seeded Sarah Jane Perry, later tonight.

by Abhishek Shukla

Indian U-18 Men’s Hockey Team beat Kenya 7-1 in third match of Buenos Aires 2018 Youth Olympic Games

Buenos Aires (Argentina), 09 October 2018: The Indian U-18 Men’s Hockey Team registered their third consecutive win of the Buenos Aires 2018 Youth Olympic Games as they beat Kenya 7-1 in their third Pool B match held here at the Parque Polideportivo Roca on Tuesday. India’s Sudeep Chirmako (5′, 10′), and Rabichandra Moirangthem (5′,11′) were in prime form as they scored a brace each, while skipper Vivek Sagar Prasad (8′), Sanjay (14′) and Rahul Kumar Rajbhar (17′) also scored in the convincing victory. Kenya’s only goal came in the 7th minute through Olanda Ouma.
India started the match well as they took 8 shots at the Kenyan goal inside the first three minutes. It was only in the 5th minute that the Indian team took the lead through Sudeep Chirmako’s goal. The same minute saw Rabichandra Moirangthem also register his name on the score-sheet as he took India’s lead to two goals. However, Kenya also threatened on the counter attack and scored their opening goal in the 7th minute through Olando Ouma as his shot was deflected off Indian Goalkeeper Prashant Chauhan’s left leg and into the back of the net. However, India’s Captain Vivek Sagar Prasad restored his team’s two-goal lead as he scored in the 8th minute to make the scores 3-1. It was Sudeep Chirmako who got onto the score-sheet again as he scored in the dying seconds of the first period to extend India’s lead to 4-1.
The second period also started on a positive note for the Indian team as Rabichandra Moirangthem scored his second goal of the match in the 11th minute. Three minutes later, Sanjay found himself in space inside the Kenyan half and scored with a precise finish to make the scoreline 6-1. India kept putting pressure on the Kenyans and scored their seventh goal in the 17th minute through Rahul Kumar Rajbhar. In the last minute of the match, India were awarded a Penalty Corner but Kenyan Goalkeeper Paul Ongadi made a great save to deny Sanjay.  Both the Kenyan Goalkeepers, Samuel Silong and Paul Ongadi, were busy throughout the match as they made eight and six saves respectively but their efforts could not be enough as India won the match convincingly 7-1.
The Indian team will now face Australia in their fourth match of the Hockey 5s competition on Thursday, 11th October 2018, at 02.15hrs IST.
by Abhishek Shukla

Archana first Indian to enter YOG quarterfinals

Pune, October 9: Archana Girish Kamath became the first Indian to enter the quarterfinals in women singles at the 3rd Youth Olympics Games when she beat Hong Kong’s Lee Ka Yee 4-2 (14-12, 14-12, 9-11, 8-11, 12-10, 15-13) in Buenos Aires (Argentina).

Thus, Archana avenged her YOG qualifiers’ loss in the Road to Buenos Aires series held in the Czech Republic a couple of months before she finally made the grade in the last qualifiers held in Rarontonga, Cooks Islands, in June.

In the pre-quarterfinals that lasted 40 minutes, the 18-year-old paddler from Bengaluru won the tie on her second match-point to stop Lee on her tracks after she had staged a fine recovery from a 0-2 deficit.

In the quarterfinals, she will play Jing Ning from Azerbaijan, who beat Puerto Rican  Adriana Dais, tomorrow.

In the needle match, Archana had an upper hand despite the Hong Kong paddler was just separated by a couple of points to begin win. In the first two games, Archana held her nerves to outwit on her second game point, twice over.

But a determined Lee went into attacking mode right from the word go in the third game and that paid off as the Indian was pushed into the corner and was largely playing into her opponent’s hands. Probably upset by the loss, Archana was unable to keep the ball on the table which only helped Lee’s cause. Some crucial points also went the way of Lee to propel her.

But in the fifth, Archana regained control and led by a slender margin. At 10-10, it was anybody’s game but Archana held on to go up 3-2. And in the next, Archana surged into 5-2 lead but allowed her rival to come close at 8-7 when coach Soumyadeep Roy took time-out. But unfortunately, it didn’t help as Lee leveled 8-8 and then the game went 9-9 before Archana seizing the lead at 10-9.

Leet deuced and Archana was on her first match point at 11-10 only to let her opponent off the hook. But in the end, on her second chance she grabbed it with both hands to progress.

“It was a tense game with fortunes fluctuating. I should have won the match on the first chance but somehow managed to do it on the second occasion,” said an elated Archana.

On her next opponent, Archana said she and the coach will sit and strategise tomorrow. “We have to plan for tomorrow’s match and I have to carry today’s confidence into tomorrow’s quarterfinals,” she added.

Equally happy M.P. Singh, Secretary General of TTFI, sent his congratulatory message to Archana. “You did us all proud. Play the way you have been. You are just a step away from the medal round!” he said in his message.

Meanwhile, Manav Thakkar lost his pre-quarterfinals to Japanese Tomokazu Harmoto 4-1 to make his exit in the men singles event.

by Abhishek Shukla

Sharath shows class and Madhurika hits groove

Pune, October 9: Reigning national champion A. Sharath Kamal and former national champion Madhurika Patkar would be immensely happy to have ended the zonal season on a winning note, taking the men and women singles crowns in the 11Sports National Ranking (West Zone) Table Tennis Championships at the Mhalunge-Balewadi Sports Complex here today.

Sharath took just 25 minutes to dispose of final opponent Anirban Ghosh of AAI 4-0 and Madhurika finally arrested the dry spell to beat Divya Deshpande 4-2 in her final. Incidentally, they were the first titles for both this season.

Sharath has had an up-and-down run-up to the final but once he was there, he ensured he won it with authority. Taking complete control from game 1, he demolished the young Anirban, who had done to reach the final. “I needed this victory,” said the 36-year-old, whose exploits this year in the CWG and Asian Games need no repetition. But what his words reiterated was the hunger in his underbelly, the desire to win more and more titles, national or international.

Despite hitting a purple patch in the tournament, she was 0-2 down against Divya Deshpande but mustered courage to take the next four games in her own inimitable style—his forehands were as powerful as the backhands. Divya somewhat lost her way after taking a comfortable lead and could not overcome the mental block, particularly in the fifth game which was anybody’s game. When Madhurika won 12-10, it was almost curtains for Divya as she wrapped up the next in double quick time.

Gujarat’s Manush Shah, making of the absence of his bête noire, Manav Thakkar, defeated Jeet Chandra of Haryan 4-0 to claim the Youth Boys title while Sreeja Akula denied Prapti Sen another Youth Girls title as the RBI girl won 4-3 in a tough final. Sreeja clinched the decider on extended points after it was 10-all.

Manika could not repeat yesterday’s form and was easily subdued by Madhurika Patkar, who hit her purple patch in the tournament. Manika managed to win her opening game in the semifinals but could not add to the solitary point that she got in the second. She, however, fought well in the third to stay in the match but Madhurika claimed crucial points after deuce to go 2-1 up. And Manika took another game before a confidence personified Madhurika ran riot to enter the final.

In the other semifinal, Sagarika Mukherjee was no match to her rival Divya Deshpande as the latter just dropped a game before pulling herself up to reach the final. Divya played percentage game and her free-flowing shots on both flanks left the Railways girl dumbfounded.

Sharath, like yesterday, took some time before settling down and overcome a 0-2 deficit and then going up 3-2. Amalraj did all he could to come back and even took a game off him. But then the wily Sharath played a superb endgame—he was trailing 4-8 and then 8-10—to win the decider on extended points. On the other hand, Sanil Shetty fought back well from 1-3 to level 3-3 but Anirban Ghosh, running a decent lead in the sixth game, was well ahead of the PSPB lefthander. Aniban clinched the crucial two points to stop him at nine.

In Youth Boys semifinals Jeet Chandra from Haryana had to last the full course against his West Bengal rival and first-timer Kiranjoy Pushilal to win 4-3 while Manush Shah, trailing 4-8 in the decider, knocked Payas Jain, denying the Delhi boy yet another shot at the title. Payas, probably tiring, made a few crucial errors that cost him another final this season.

In Youth Girls, Sreeja Akula and Prapti Sen moved into the final, both having to endure longer resistance from their opponents Surbhi Patwari and Selenadeethi Selvakumar.

 

Results:

Women: Final: Madhurika Patkar (PSPB) bt Divya Deshpande ((PSPB) 7-11, 10-12, 11-8, 11-9, 12-10, 11-5; Semifinals: Divya Deshpande bt Sagarika Mukherjee (RSPB) 11-6, 11-7, 11-1, 9-11, 11-6; Madhurika Patkar bt Manika Batra (PSPB) 10-12, 11-1, 13-11, 6-11, 11-9, 12-10.

Men: Final: A. Sharath Kamal (PSPB) bt Anirban Ghosh (AAI) 11-6, 11-8, 11-3, 11-5; Semifinals:  Sharath Kamal bt A. Amalraj (PSPB) 12-14, 7-11, 11-9, 14-12, 11-7, 9-11, 13-11; Anirban Ghosh bt Sanil Shetty (PSPB) 11-9, 11-9, 10-12, 11-9, 9-11, 8-11, 11-9.

Youth Girls: Final: Sreeja Akula (RBI) bt Prapti Sen (WB) 11-7, 5-11, 11-9, 14-16, 11-9, 9-11, 12-10; Semifinals: Sreeja Akula bt Surbhi Patwari (WB) 9-11, 11-9, 3-11, 11-5, 14-12, 11-5; Prapti Sen bt Selenadeepthi Selvakuar (AAI) 11-8, 5-11, 7-11, 11-3, 11-9, 5-11, 11-8.

Youth Boys: Final: Manush Shah (Guj) bt Jeet Chandra (Har) 11-6, 12-10, 12-10, 13-11; Semifinals: Jeet Chandra bt Kiranjoy Pushilal (WB) 9-11, 9-11, 11-7, 11-13, 11-9, 11-9, 11-6; Manush Shah bt Payas Jain (Del) 11-8, 9-11, 11-4, 10-12, 11-9, 13-15, 11-8.

by Abhishek Shukla

Jeremy Lalrinnunga wins first Gold for India at Youth Olympics

Tuesday, 9th October 2018: Jeremy Lalrinnunga (62 kg) Youth Boy athlete entered into HALL OF FAME by winning GOLD MEDAL during 3rd Youth Olympic Games at Buenos Aires (Argentina) on 8th October 2018 with a scintillating performance of 274 kg (124 kg + 150 kg) achieving his best total in 62 kg and smashed 2 National records both in total of 62 kg of Youth (Boys) and Junior (Men). This is the first GOLD MEDAL for India at any Edition of Youth Olympic Games since its inception in 2010.

During the selection trials of 3rd Youth Olympic Games held at Sports Authority of India, Netaji Subhash National Institute of Sports, Patiala on 8th August 2018 – Jeremy Lalrinnunga finished with a total of 273 kg (126 kg + 147 kg).

Sneha Soren of Odisha finished 5th in 48 kg Youth Girls with a lift of 151 kg (67 kg + 84 kg).

by Abhishek Shukla

Indian U-18 Men’s Hockey Team beat Austria 9-1 in second match of Buenos Aires 2018 Youth Olympic Games

Buenos Aires (Argentina), 09 October 2018: A dominant performance from the Indian U-18 Men’s Hockey team saw them register an emphatic 9-1 victory over Austria in their second Hockey 5s Pool B match of the Buenos Aires 2018 Youth Olympic Games held here at the Parque Polideportivo Roca on Monday. The Indian Men’s team continued their winning start to the campaign as Sudeep Chirmako (6′, 11′, 14′, 18′) and Shivam Anand (4′, 10′, 17′) scored hat-tricks while Sanjay (2′) and Captain Vivek Sagar Prasad (13”) also scored in the victory. Austria’s only goal was scored by Paul Drusany in the 8th minute of the match.
There was no shortage of confidence within the Indian team as they started to attack their opponents in the first minute itself. Sanjay, Sudeep Chirmako and skipper Vivek Sagar Prasad, all took shots in the first two minutes but could not score until Sanjay scored off his second shot to give India the lead in the 2nd minute. It was Shivam Anand who doubled India’s lead in the 4th minute as Austria failed to create opportunities. Two minutes later, Sudeep Chirmako also scored to make it 3-0 in India’s favour but Paul Drusany pulled a goal back for Austria in the 8th minute. With just seconds remaining for the half-time whistle, it was Shivam Anand who restored India’s 3-goal advantage as he scored his second of the match.
Austria started the second period on the offensive as they forced Indian Goalkeeper Pawan to make three saves inside the first minute but it was India who scored again as Sudeep Chirmako pounced on a counter to make the scores 5-1 in India’s favour. The Indian team’s continued dominance saw them score four more goals in the second period which came throughSudeep Chirmako (14′, 18′ ), Captain Vivek Sagar Prasad (13′) and Shivam Anand (17′) as the team registered their second consecutive win to stay at the top of Pool B.
India will now face Kenya in their third match of the Hockey 5s competition on Tuesday, 9th October 2018, at 18.00hrs IST.
by Abhishek Shukla

Indian U-18 Women’s Hockey Team beat Uruguay 2-1 in 2nd match of Buenos Aires 2018 Youth Olympic Games

Buenos Aires (Argentina), 08 October 2018: The Indian U-18 Women’s Hockey maintained their fine start to the Buenos Aires 2018 Youth Olympic Games as they defeated Uruguay in their second match of the Hockey 5s competition here today at the Parque Polideportivo Roca. Striker Lalremsiami (1′, 19′) continued her goal-scoring form as she scored twice again to help India defeat Uruguary, whose only goal was scored by Magdalena Verga (10′).
The Indian team, on the back of their 4-2 victory in the opening match against Austria, looked confident right from the first minute of the match and scored through in-form striker Lalremsiami in the 1st minute. India dominated the first period and saw a goal being disallowed in the 9th minute when Mumtaz Khan thought she had given India a 2-0 lead, but the umpire blew the whistle for a foul. Uruguay’s Goalkeeper Victoria Bate produced a fantastic performance to make 13 saves in the match out of India’s total 15 shots on target, to keep her team in the match. The South Americans found possession of the ball in the last minute of the first period and scored the equalizer at the stroke of half-time through Magdalena Verga (10′) to make for an interesting second period.
However, the second period was again dominated by the Indian team as they looked for a winner. The Indians took as many as 25 shots in total during the match, but could only manage to convert twice. The second instance was the one which brought India their winning goal as Lalremsiami popped up again in the 19th minute to snatch a 2-1 win for her team.
The Indian U-18 Women’s team will now face Vanuatu in their third match of the Hockey 5s competition on Wednesday, 10th October 2018, at 00.45hrs IST.
by Abhishek Shukla

Saurav and Joshna have moved into the third round in the Prestigious US Open squash

Philadelphia: Indian stars Saurav Ghosal and Joshna Chinappa have moved into round three in the prestigious US Open 2018, a PSA world tour platinum event being held here. However Dipika Pallikal Karthik fell in the second round, losing to Egyptian third seed Nour El Tayeb in stright games 11-6, 11-5, 11-9.

Where Saurav and Joshna began their campaign from round two, Dipika had an earlier start. She was stretched to five games by a Canadian Danielle Letourneau before winning 11-6, 11-13, 11-6, 9-11, 11-4. Joshna, who is seeded 16, also had a tough match in her opener against Julianne Courtice of England. Joshna won 6-11, 11-9, 8-11, 12-10,11-3. In comparison Saurav had a smoother ride in the men’s section. The Indian beat Tom Richards of England 11-4, 11-8, 11-3 to meet the top seed Mohamed Elshorbagy of Egypt next.

by Abhishek Shukla

Vodafone PBL 4 Auctions: Dalmia Cement owned Delhi Dashers announces the team for this edition

New Delhi/ Kolkata, October 8, 2018: Dalmia Cement (Bharat) Ltd., the owner of the Delhi Dashers has bagged its prestigious team for the fourth edition of theVodafone Premier Badminton League (PBL), through the Players’ Auction that was announced in New Delhi earlier today. The 4th edition of the sport promises to be a ritzy affair, with leading players from around the world and the country vying for the winning spot.

At the auction, Mr. Mahendra Singhi, Group CEO, Dalmia Cement (Bharat) Ltd. said “Badminton being the second most played sport in India after cricket, is very popular. We are thrilled to announce our team Delhi Dashers and the choicest players for this season of Premier Badminton League 2018. Led by Indian icon H S Prannoy and Indonesian champion Tommy Sugiarto, we are confident that the team will perform exceptionally well and emerge victorious this season. We have the right mix of power and punch when it comes to our new players in this edition. It is the vision of the company to make sports a way of life for everyone in the country and Badminton is just the right sport to achieve this. We are privileged and extremely excited for the league to begin.”

The world’s greenest cement company Dalmia Cement (Bharat) Ltd. has been associated with sports through active on-ground sponsorship and this is its first foray into sports as a team owner.

Mr. Singhi added “Indian Badminton is an emerging sport where we see a great potential for our youth to make their mark at the world stage. Leagues like PBL will also provide a platform to the youth to choose Badminton as a career. This association will also help greater visibility for our brands with the growing popularity of the game. We look forward to a long-term association with PBL.”

 

The team for Delhi Dashers this year has a formidable line up comprising of one Indian and five international players namely H.S. Prannoy ranked world number 15 in Men’s singles, Tommy Sugiarto, ranked world number 11 in Men’s singles, Evgeniya Kosetskaya, Chai Biao, Maneepo Ngjongjit and Wang Sijie.

The Delhi team, which was known as Delhi Acers till two editions, was officially rechristened to Delhi Dashers from the 3rd season. Dalmia Cement (Bharat) Ltd. became the new owners of the Delhi Dashers franchise from the third edition (2017–18) of PBL.

The PBL, which is held under the aegis of the Badminton Association of India has already acquired the tag of being the richest badminton league that attracts all the top players. The 24-day league will see eight teams, namely Delhi Dashers, Mumbai Rockets, Bengaluru Blasters, Chennai Smashers, Hyderabad Hunters, North Eastern Warriors, Ahmedabad Smash Masters and Awadh Warriors in action.

by Abhishek Shukla

India’s Vikram Malhotra won his second PSA event in a week

Houston: India’s Vikram Malhotra is on fire. The US- based player, who had only last week won a PSA Challenger event in Canada, added one more to his kitty with the triumph in the Texas Open, a PSA challenger here on Sunday. He beat Daniel Mekbeb of Czeck Republic over five games 11-6, 2-11, 5-11, 15-13, 11-1. This is Vikram’s 8th PSA title overall in his career thus far.

The fourth seeded Indian, who moved ahead after a first-round bye, got past three players enroute to the final. His second round victim was Syed Hamzad Bukhari of Pakistan, followed by Reuben Phillips of England in the quarterfinals and another Pakistani Shahjahan Khan, the 8th seed in the semi-final 11-6, 9-11, 11-5, 11-6.

Incidentally the top seed in this event was Ramit Tandon but he conceded his match in the quarter final to Shahjahan Khan, Vikram’s sem-final victim.

by Abhishek Shukla

Suthirtha escapes by the skin of her teeth in 11Sports National Ranking (West Zone) Table Tennis Championships

Pune, October 7: Top-seed and winner of South and East Zone titles had to really dig in to make a great escape and move into the second round of the women singles in the 11Sports National Ranking (West Zone) Table Tennis Championships at the Mhalunge-Balewadi Sports Complex here today.

Her opponent Mamata Prabhu of Dena Bank on the verge of clinching the tie at 10-9 in the sixth game—she was leading 3-2 at that stage—but allowed the Haryana girl to wriggle herself out of the rut as she deuced and went on to win the game 12-10 and equal the score 3-3. From there, the team gold winner at the 2018 CWG was a changed player as she simply demolished the former India player 4-3.

In fact, the top-heavy half saw more such matches than the bottom half but all top eight seeds moved up without much hiccups.

In other interesting matches in the top half, Priyadarsini Das of RBI was stretched fully by Maria Ro of Canara Bank before the former winning the extended decider. Divya Deshpande, No. 8 seed, was in some discomfort before overcoming AAI’s Munmun Kundu to win 4-2.

Among the seeded players, No. 2 Manika Batra beat Vanshika Bhargava of Delhi 11-9, 11-6, 11-4, 12-10. But the little put up a good resistance to stretch her in the fourth game. However, it was easy for Pooja Sahasrabudhe, the fourth seed, against Tamil Nadu’s Shanmathi Sathyamoorthy, winning the match 11-5, 11-2, 11-8, 11-7.

Among men seeds, ninth seed Jubin Kumar was staring at an imminent defeat against Gujarat’s Jignesh Jaiswal, the oldest player in fray, at 1-3. But the left-handed picked up nicely to take the last three games and move into the next round. Probably, the old legs could not sustain the pressure unleashed by the Haryana man.

But it was rather surprising to see Tamil Nadu’s Ananth Devaraj losing to youngster Shreyal Telang from Karnataka in the round of 64 1-4. Ananth had entered the semifinals in the South Zone at Vijawada a few weeks back. Similarly, Manush Shah from Gujarat, a free-flowing left-hander, was struggling before overcoming Souvik Banerjee of West Bengal 10-12, 11-8, 7-11, 11-6, 12-10, 11-9.

For other seeds, it was as easy as it can get, including top-ranked Indian in the world Sharath Kamal who went through the motions.

Important Results:

Men: Round of 64: Jubin Kumar (Har) bt Jignesh Jaiswal (Guj) 7-11, 10-12, 11-6, 7-11, 11-7, 11-8, 11-5; Shreyal Telang (Kar) bt Ananth Devarajan (TN) 14-12, 11-8, 10-12, 11-9, 11-6; Arjun Ghosh (AAI) bt Mandar Hardikar (Mah) 11-6, 4-11, 6-11, 12-10, 13-11, 11-6; Parth Virmani (Del) bt Ravindra Kotiyan (RSPB) 8-11, 12-10, 11-8, 7-11, 8-11, 11-9, 11-9; Jeet Chandra (Har) bt Kishore Kumar (CRSB) 11-5, 9-11, 5-11, 11-13, 11-8, 11-9, 11-6; Manush Shah (Guj) bt Souvik Banerjee (WB) 10-12, 11-8, 7-11, 11-6, 12-10, 11-9.

Women: Round of 64: Sutirtha Mukherjee (Har) bt Mamata Prabhu (DB) 13-11, 6-11, 11-7, 4-11, 9-11, 12-10, 11-8; Priyadarsini Das (RBI) bt Maria Rony (CB) 11-5, 7-11, 6-11, 11-13, 11-8, 11-8, 13-11; Divya Deshpande (PSPB) bt Munmun Kundu (AAI) 5-11, 11-6, 4-11, 11-4, 11-3, 11-4; Garima Goyal (Del) bt Deepa Neelakandan (TN) 12-10, 10-12, 8-11, 11-8, 11-8, 3-11, 11-9; Poymantee Baisya (WB) bt Shreya Deshpande (DB) 8-11, 8-11, 12-10, 11-6, 6-11, 11-6, 11-4; Sreeja Akula (RBI) bt Moumita Dutta (AAI) 11-9, 10-12, 10-12, 8-11, 11-9, 13-11, 11-5; Ayhima Mukjerjee (RBI) bt K. Shamini (PSPB) 11-5, 10-12, 11-4, 11-8, 12-14, 11-6; Mallika Bhandarkar bt Varuni Jaiswal (Telg) 8-11, 11-6, 9-11, 9-11, 11-9, 11-6, 11-8.

Sutirtha Mukherjee (Har) bt Mamata Prabhu (Dena Bank) 13-11, 6-11, 11-7, 4-11, 9-11, 12-10, 11-8; Selena Deepthi (AAI) bt Sushmita Bidri (Kar) 11-7, 11-5, 11-6, 11-9; Aanchal Malhotra (Del) bt Seraha Jacob (TN) 11-3, 11-5, 12-10, 14-16, 4-11, 11-6; Nikhat Banu (RBI) bt Mrunmayee Mhatre (LIC) 11-8, 14-12, 11-8, 11-8;  Sagarika Mukherjee (RSPB) bt Payal Hansapuri (Chg) 11-7, 11-7, 11-7, 11-5; Divya Deshpande (PSPB) bt Munmun Kundu (AAI) 5-11, 11-6, 4-11, 11-4, 11-3, 11-4; Amrutha Pushpak (RBI) bt Manushree Patil (Har-HoB) 11-7, 9-11, 6-11, 11-6, 11-5, 11-7; Pooja Sahasrabuddhe (PSPB) bt Sathya Shanmathi (TN) 11-5, 11-2, 11-8, 11-7; Harsha Vardhini (RBI) bt Kaushani Nath (AAI) 11-8, 11-6, 12-14, 7-11, 11-8, 11-8; Oishwaryaa Deb (Har) bt N. Vidya (CRSB) 11-3, 11-6, 11-8, 11-8; Ahyika Mukherjee (RBI) bt K. Shamini (PSPB) 11-5, 10-12, 11-4, 11-8, 12-14, 11-6; S. Yashini (TN) bt Kausha Bhairapure (Guj) 11-4, 11-8, 11-5, 11-5; Manika Batra (PSPB) bt Vanshika Bhargava (Del) 11-9, 11-6, 11-4, 12-10.

by Abhishek Shukla

Indian Junior Men’s Hockey Team beat New Zealand 7-1

Johor Bahru (Malaysia), 07 October 2018: The Indian Junior Men’s Hockeyteam continued to impress at the 8th Sultan of Johor Cup 2018 as they notched up their second successive win here on Sunday as they beat New Zealand 7-1.
On the opening day of the tournament, the India Colts had registered a hard fought 2-1 victory against hosts Malaysia. In their second match, it was Prabhjot Singh (6′), Shilanand Lakra (15′, 43′), Harmanjit Singh (21′), Mohd Faraz (23′), Abhishek (50′) and Skipper Mandeep Mor (60′) who scored in India’s scintillating win. For New Zealand, Sam Hiha (53′) scored the lone goal.
Last year’s Bronze Medallists’ India got off to an attacking start as Prabhjot’s fine goal in the 6th minute put New Zealand on the back foot. The Junior India side displayed disciplined hockey, played to structure and ensured swift accurate passes that helped them make potential forays into the striking circle.
Shilanand Lakra, who had made his Senior debut earlier this year at the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in Malaysia, was in good nick as he capitalized on a good assist to put the ball past the New Zealand goalkeeper winning India a strong 2-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Though New Zealand tried to overcome the initial setback, India Colts’ defence held strong not allowing any easy circle entries. India goalkeeper Pankaj Rajak too was in good stead to avert New Zealand from converting by making good saves. Building on their attack from a fine start, the Indian forwards kept up the pressure as they scored back-to-back goals in the 21st and 23rd minute through Harmanjit’s field goal and Mohd Faraz’s fabulously struck PC.
While the third quarter saw both teams drop the pace a tad bit, with India managing a single goal in the 43rd minute through Lakra.
It was Abhishek’s 50th minute goal that put India ahead by 6-0, even as New Zealand’s Sam Hiha scored a goal three minute later, it was just a consolation as India Colts’ Skipper Mandeep Mor ensured his team wrapped up the three winning points as he converted a smart variation in PC to finish with a splendid 7-1 scoreline.
The Indian Junior Men’s Team will next take on Japan in their third match on 9 October 2018 at 15.35hrs IST.
by Abhishek Shukla

Indian U-18 Men’s Hockey Team defeat Bangladesh 10-0 in opening match of Buenos Aires 2018 Youth Olympic Games

Buenos Aires (Argentina), 07 October 2018: The Indian U-18 Men’sHockey team registered an emphatic 10-0 win over Bangladesh in their opening match of the Buenos Aires 2018 Youth Olympic Games to start their Hockey 5s campaign on a positive note at the Parque Polideportivo Roca here today. The Indian team were helped by goals from Rabichandra Moirangthem (9′, 20′), Sudeep Chirmako (11′, 17′) skipper Vivek Sagar Prasad (9′, 18′), Shivam Anand (4′), Rahul Kumar Rajbhar (4′), Sanjay (6′) and Maninder Singh (12′).
India dominated the match from the start as they scored five goals in the first period, not giving the Bangladeshi team any chances to score. Shivam Anand scored India’s first goal of the tournament in the 4th minute and Rahul Kumar Rajbhar also scored in the same minute to make it 2-0. A third goal from Sanjay in the 6th minute saw India stamp their authority, with two more goals in the 9th minute by Rabichandra Moirangthem and skipper Vivek Sagar Prasad meant that India took a 5-0 lead into the half-time break.
A quick start to the second period saw India score two goals in the opening two minutes through Sudeep Chirmako (11′) and Maninder Singh (12′). The Indian team dominated the match throughout, taking a total of 30 shots in the match and scoring 10 goals with Sudeep Chirmako (17′), Vivek Sagar Prasad (18′) and Rabichandra Moirangthem (20′) getting their braces.
India will now face Austria in their second match of the Hockey 5s competition on Monday, 8th October 2018, at 23.15hrs IST.
by Abhishek Shukla

Indian U-18 Women’s Hockey Team start Buenos Aires 2018 Youth Olympic Games with a 4-2 win over Austria

Buenos Aires (Argentina), 07 October 2018: The Indian U-18 Women’s Hockey team today started their Buenos Aires 2018 Youth Olympic Games campaign with a 4-2 victory over Austria in their first Hockey 5s match of the competition here at the Parque Polideportivo Roca. After the Men’s team’s victory earlier in the day, the U-18 Women’s team were helped by goals from Lalremsiami (4′, 17′), skipper Salima Tete (5′) and Mumtaz Khan (16′) as Austria’s Sabrina Hruby (13′) and Laura Kern (20′) scored for the opponents.
The Indian team started the match well as they scored twice in the opening five minutes as Vice-Captain Lalremsiami (4′) and Captain Salima Tete (5′) led from the front and registered their names on the score-sheet. India took their two-goal advantage into the half-time break but the Austrian team did trouble the Indians as they took a total of 9 shots in the match.
The second period started well for India’s opponents as they scored their first goal in the 13th minute through Sabrina Hruby, but India restored their two-goal advantage three minutes later as Mumtaz Khan also scored in the 16th minute. Another goal by Lalremsiami in the 17th minute saw India extend their lead to 4-1 and maintain pressure on their opponents. However, Laura Kern scored a consolation goal for Austria in the last minute to make it a 4-2 victory for India in their opening match.
The Indian U-18 Women’s team will now face Uruguay in their second match of the Hockey 5s competition on Monday, 8th October 2018, at 18.00hrs IST.
Please find attached file photos of Lalremsiami and the match schedule of the Buenos Aires 2018 Youth Olympic Games.
by Abhishek Shukla

Indian Junior Men’s Hockey Team face hosts Malaysia in the 8th Sultan of Johor Cup opening match

Johor Bahru (Malaysia), 05 October 2018: The Indian Junior Men’s Hockey Team will take on hosts Malaysia in the opening match of the 8th Sultan of Johor Cup 2018 here on Saturday.

The team led by the talented Mandeep Mor and Vice Captained by in-form forward Shilanand Lakra will look to start the prestigious tournament on a winning note. “It is always important to begin the tournament with a win as it boosts the confidence and motivates the team to build on their performance as the event progresses. But having said that, many players will also be playing their first international match and they must shake off the initial jitters to play their natural game,” stated Coach Jude Felix on the eve of the match.

In the previous year’s edition, India had beaten Malaysia 2-1 in a closely fought round robin match. In the Bronze Medal classification match though, the team had elevated their performance to beat the hosts convincingly by 4-0 to finish with a Bronze.

“Playing the hosts in the first match is never easy because of the home ground support the opponents would enjoy. But I am confident if these boys play their natural game, we should do well,” emphasised a confident Felix.

The Indian Junior Men’s team will play New Zealand in their second match on Sunday and play against Japan on 9 October. The team will take on defending Champions Australia on 10 October and will play their last round robin match on 12 October against Great Britain.

Though last year, India won a high-scoring match (22-0) against USA, this year the minnows have been replaced by a formidable New Zealand squad who will pose to be a thorn in India’s aim to finish on the podium. In 2017, India had won three matches in the round robin stage (3-2 against Japan, 2-1 against Malaysia and 22-0 against USA) and had lost two close matches to Australia 3-4 and Great Britain 1-2 that saw them lose the Final berth.

“According to me it’s never about who we play but how well we play and we will go into the tournament ith the mind set to play our best hockey and we have prepared well for this tournament and the players are certainly looking forward to the first match, from there on we will take one match at a time,” expressed Felix.

by Abhishek Shukla

Top paddlers’ return for West Zone TT promises good competitions

Pune, October 4: There is some good news at last. A. Sharath Kamal, the top-ranked Indian in the world at No. 31, and Manika Batra, the new icon, will be part of the star parade at the 11Sports National Ranking (West Zone) Table Tennis Championships, beginning at the Mhalunge-Balewadi Sports Complex here from tomorrow.

This has come as shot in the arm for the organizers, Sudesh Shelar Memorial Foundation, which is conducting the tournament in memory of the national-level player and sports administrator, who passed away in 2006. This is the first ever venture at national level by the foundation.

Harmeet Desai, who played a major role in India’s medal hunt at Gold Coast (CWG) and Jakarka (Asian Games), has joined the parade, but G. Sathiyan with his league commitment abroad has not taken the plunge yet. However, he did participate in the Institutional championships and emerged as the men singles champion.

Both Manav Thakkar, winner of two titles this season, and Archana Kamath, will miss the tournament as they are representing India at the Youth Olympics, beginning October 6, at Buenos Aires in Argentina.

Except for these aberrations, the West Zone championships promise the usual challenges and god competitions with contenders trying to win the last zonal before the nationals get underway from December.

Anthony Amalraj, who won title at Vijayawada, would like to add the West Zone crown while Harmeet will look to upstage him. But Siddesh Pande, who became a surprise winner at East Zone, should be itching to lift the trophy a second time. He was simply superb at Guwahati.

The return of Manika Batra could see tight contests for the top podium finish as challengers Suthirtha Mukherjee, (South and East Zone winner), Pooja Sahasrabudhe (Central Zone winner) and Divya Deshpande (Institutional champion) would like to make the crown their own as Manika is coming into the tournament with little match practice.

The youth and junior paddlers have done themselves proud by challenging the authority of fancied seniors time and again. So have been the Cadet players with new faces emerging every tournament.

The prize money apart, which Rs. 7.47 lakh, there are some incentives on offer from the organizers for 10 under-15 players, who have a lot of potential. “We would be paying Rs. 50,000 each to the 10 selected (ideally five in each section) and support them,” said Rajesh Shelar, ex-international player and the brother of Sudesh. “We have raised the funds from our friends to help promote young kids, especially those in real need,” he added.

The open draw for top-ranked 16 men and eight women paddlers, conducted today at the venue by chief referee T.G. Upadhya, has given both Amalraj and Suthirta the top slots, respectively. And it is up to them to live up to the seeding.

According to the referee, 16 STAG tables, Stag plastic balls and flooring will be used during the seven-day competition, which kicks off with men and women groups matches, followed competition in Youth section. The chief referee will be assisted by deputies in A. Satheese and Rohit shinde who will be supported by 45 Blue Badge, international and national referees.

by Abhishek Shukla

Edelweiss Group signs on sprinter Hima Das to its roster of women athletes

Mumbai, 28th September 2018: Edelweiss Group, India’s leading diversified financial services conglomerate, today announced the signing of sprinter Hima Das to its roster of women athletes. With this addition, Edelweiss now supports six of India’s iconic women sports champions, including womens hockey captain Rani Rampal, shooter Heena Sidhu, paddler Manika Batra, weightlifter Mirabai Chanu and gymnast Dipa Karmakar.

Recognising the power of sports as an enabler for women empowerment, Edelweiss has been encouraging athletes to pursue their dreams fearlessly and continue to achieve newer milestones while it creates, grows and protects their wealth. As part of this endeavor, Edelweiss has offered each of these six iconic women athletes a Life Insurance cover of INR 1 crore and a Health Insurance cover of INR 10 lakh. Further recognizing their stellar performance at the Asian Games 2018 and the CWG 2018, Edelweiss Group has rewarded these athletes with an investible corpus of INR 5 lakh that will offer them long term financial security.

Congratulating the athletes, Mr. Rashesh Shah, Chairman & CEO, Edelweiss Group said, “Sports is close to our hearts and we are proud to be associated with some of the leading women sports icons of the country. They are true champions and inspire women across geographies each time their achievements raise the Indian tricolour. Sports in India is experiencing a growth trajectory and we intend to catalyse its path by taking care of the athletes’ financial needs. Through our support, we wish to ensure that no athlete has any hesitation in pursuing sports as career.”

“Our vision is to create an ecosystem where sports emerges as a serious career option. We will work towards facilitating this by providing financial security to fulfill their aspirations. The #BeUnlimited spirit is in our group’s DNA and we remain committed towards investing in many more upcoming women sports champions in our optimum capacity.” he added.

Edelweiss also proudly announced that three of their six sports champions were recently honoured with some of the most prestigious sports-led awards by the Government of India i.e. Padma Shri and Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award for Weightlifter Mirabai Chanu and Arjuna Award for sprinter Hima Das and paddler Manika Batra.

Edelweiss has a long-term commitment to sports, which resonates with its own culture of excellence. Earlier through its philanthropic arm – EdelGive Foundation, the Group has supported several women athletes like MC Mary Kom, PV Sindhu and Ayonika Paul taking care of their training, nutrition, physiotherapy etc.